- We’ll call today a tale of two Experiences.
- The first one was terrible and the second one was much better.
- Having only 50 minutes for the first one so we could get over to the communion service was just not enough time.
- Between only doing one song and then having to do things in a different order, I was all out of sorts by the time the message started.
- I was doing so much to try to rush through that I was all over the place.
- I feel bad for Ben Meyers who had to try to follow along with me on slides…good job Ben for doing the best you could with a bad situation.
- If you attended the first Experience, I again apologize and would encourage you to listen to the online version of the message so you get a better feel for what I intended.
- Hooray for two Experiences…without the ability to go back and do it over again, I’d have beaten myself up all week.
- The other thing that made today weird was I can barely lift my left arm…it even hurt to hold my bible like I normally do, so I just sat at the table the whole time to teach.
- Getting old sucks!
- On a better note, the communion service over in the sanctuary was great…it’s always nice to bring everyone together for something as meaningful as communion.
- A few of you asked about where to find the historical context of some of the things I shared today. I have a pretty intensive computer program that helps spit out a lot of it, but you may also want to consider, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah and also the web-site www.followtherabbi.com.
- Without any guys singing today, it reminded me of when I first arrived at United and we were strictly a chick band…ah the good old days. :)
- Had some friends in today from WV, MD and WA (yep that is far away)…always nice to see peeps.
- Time for a nap and then dinner.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Not the best of days but anytime you’ve got people giving their lives to Jesus, there’s not much you can complain about.
- We had a brief power outage this morning during set-up time which delayed things a bit and then we had a cable connector go bad on my mic which meant Andy had to do some early morning solidering work.
- We had two of our teens running projection and lights today and both did a great job. Well done Ben and Dustin!
- As always the worship team did an excellent job…both crowds seemed to really be into the music today!
- I re-did the message on Monday, which I’m glad I did…still not one of my best but I think the point was clear…don’t be just a consumer, become a contributor.
- I’m glad this series is over…not because I didn’t like it, but because I’m really excited about the Maverick series which starts next week.
- I got to see a little bit of the stage design changeover that the team was doing this afternoon and it’s going to be awesome!
- During the 1st Experience announcement time I kept getting tongue tied. I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to say, “the dictionary definition” or the “definition in the dictionary says”. My mind couldn’t figure it out so I kept saying, “the defionary”.
- The more I tried to get it right the harder it got…finally I just gave up.
- I met a great couple after the first Experience, who just moved here from Hawaii, who get what we’re all about.
- They loved United and realized it’s not about making them happy but reaching out to those who are far from God.
- I attribute this great attitude to their former pastor when they lived in Virginia Beach.
- He’s a friend of mine by the name of Vince Antonucci. Vince is passionate about reaching out to his community and just took a big step of faith by leaving his church to start a brand new one on the Las Vegas Strip.
- Thanks Vince for such an awesome job of teaching and modeling for people that it’s not about what we want, but it’s all about sharing the good news of Jesus with others.
- Speaking of…make sure you invite lots of people for the new Maverick series…I think people will be surprised by the fresh look at Jesus we’ll be taking.
- Be there…be there early…and don’t forget to sit up front!
- I’ll be posting the final Reality Check video later in the week…great job by Brian and Aaron in making these happen!
- Ok time for a quick nap before heading back over to the church for our annual congregational meeting…come on out to hear the exciting things we have in store for 2010!