Inside Today's Experience - Gilbert Thurston

Amazing that today ended up going as smoothly as it did.
Yesterday our computer which runs lights and had everything lighting wise saved on it crashed.
So this morning we had to start from scratch.
Unfortunately the first computer Andy brought in didn’t work either.
So he ran home and got another.
May not sound like a big deal but it is. Each light then needs to be assigned to communicate with the computer through what’s called a DMX universe. Once that happens then each lighting scene needs to be written.
Good thing my message today was on how to handle stress. :)
With all that said, by the time the Experience started, it was hard to tell that things were any different than normal. Wasn’t elaborate but it did the trick.
Wow it was cold this morning as Mike and I put the signs out but I’m finding the exercise both warms and wakes me up.
I already told you our lighting dilemma…the other thing we had going against us was the amount of people away because of sickness.
However, we have an awesome team and they still got everything set-up on time.
You might be asking what the picture for this post is all about?
As we began the “I Hate the Holidays” series, Bill and the band put on the most hideous looking Christmas sweaters and sweatshirts you can imagine and sang accapella “Deck the Halls”. I then interrupted and we went right into the bumper video for this series of me putting a beat down on a Christmas tree.
If you want to hear how it all went down, you can listen to it and the message here.
For the video click here.
I filmed that a few years back…it was fun although I got hurt during the dive part and afterward we found out the Christmas tree we thought was a spare was actually something our Children’s Pastor needed the same night we filmed this. Needless to say a quick trip was made to Wal-Mart for a replacement. :)
Saw quite a few tears at the end of the message…either it was that bad or people really were giving up their “Bethlehem” to God.
Confused by that last statement…you’ll just have to listen to the message.
We had 4 more people make professions of faith in Jesus…that never gets old!
One nice thing about being within an hour and 40 minutes of two of the previous churches I pastored at is you never know who might show up. Today a couple from my first church, that I haven’t seen for awhile, showed up for a visit since they needed to be in the area. Cool to see them.
Love getting to meet with people afterward and hear how excited they are about what we’re doing.
One woman shared with me, “I gave up on organized religion years ago but someone kept inviting to check you out. I loved it and I’ll be back”.
That’s what we mean when we say we’re a “church for people who don’t like church”.
Whether it be people who are unchurched or dechurched we want to provide an Experience for them with God that is relevant to their lives but most of all life-changing.
Her story also illustrates why it’s so important to keep inviting and inviting and inviting.
So who will you invite this week?
Remember people are more open to invites at Christmas time than any other time of the year.
We’re doing our part to help with name recognition…here’s the 4 radio ads we began running this week.
Next week, Chad will be preaching for the first time and will talk about how many times we have unrealistic or unfulfilled expectations during the holidays that cause us to hate them.
Later this afternoon I’m meeting with a great friend, Fred Kress who is the National Director for Evangelism Explosion. It was through 2 guys using the EE presentation of the Gospel that I became a follower of Jesus back in 1993.
Fred and I met in 1997 after I became a certified trainer and have tried to keep up with each other whenever we can.
It’s been a few years so I’m looking forward to catching up face-to-face.
Have a great week…don’t forget to show restraint, be thankful and reflect this holiday season so you can reduce stress.

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