Only in Morgantown

So it's Halloween evening, I'm driving through gridlock traffic near the old stadium loop, and what do I see? A dude walking across campus in a white dress shirt with no pants on. That's right, no pants. During past Halloweens in Morgantown, I have seen other outlandish "costumes", many of which are unmentionable due my desire to keep this blog family friendly.

In a few moments, I'm heading over to the BCM worship gathering where David will be leading worship for the first time in his illustrious career with an electric guitar (Fender telecaster?). We are also going to do some video interviews to be shown at the StoneBridge B-Day bash on Sunday.

Barrier Update

Yesterday, we broke the 65 barrier again, with 73 attending the worship service. God is giving us new opportunities and momentum heading into next weeks 3rd Birthday Bash for StoneBridge.

Huddle Post Game

Random thoughts from huddle:

- this year's lineup of presenters was strong. To Larry, Dubs, Mike, Bill, and Kyle: thank for for encouraging me and stretching my mind. Dubs' session on facing discouragment and handling criticism really resonated with me.

- I covet Mike's travel trailer. Seriously, it was the perfect crib for me during the huddle. Kind of like having my own apartment for 3 days. The six gallon hot water heater was a challenge though. The only thing missing was ESPN.

- it's fun watching new church planters come on the scene. I'm glad we're not the news guys on the block anymore and I'm pulling for the OS guys, Chris Barnett, and the Johnson Bros.

- speaking of Chris Barnett, it was great visiting with him again. Chris pastored Vista Pointe in Hobbs, NM when I rolled through there on deputation in November 2002 and it was one of the most enjoyable churches we visited on dep. I'm confident God is going to use Chris to plant a dynamic church in Minneapolis.

- the people at Trinity know how to put on a good feed. They must have read my blog the other day because Wednesday night they served fried catfish and pulled prk BBQ. Mmmm good!

- Johnny Williams is my favorite piano player. Would like to watch him jam with David someday.

- Huddle was a home run. This year I wasn't exactly counting down the days for Huddle to arrive, but I'm already looking forward to next year.

Sometimes its better to drive

Traveling back home from Memphis was no treat. My flight was delayed out of Memphis. My flight from Atlanta to Pitt was canceled so I spent several hours in Atlanta killing time. Finally arrived in Pittsburgh at 6:00 pm to discover that my car keys were missing out of my suitcase (which I had to check as baggage because of the goofy gels rule). Without car keys, I had to rent a car to drive back to Morgantown. Drove back to Pittsburgh today to return rental car, and with spare set of keys in hand, drove my old Toyota home.

It's good to be home.

Off to Memphis

Today I'm headed to West Memphis for a two day church planters' huddle sponsored by Reach America. I'm looking forward to the sessions and adding some tools to my toolbelt. Wednesday morning I'm facilitating a session on "Theater Church" and I'm hoping God will use me to challenge current and future planters as they tackle doing portable church.

I'm also hoping I get a chance to eat the best catfish in the world at the Ol' Feed House in West Memphis and eat some world famous Memphis BBQ.

Winter Wonderland

Tonight we're getting our first snowfall of the season. The National Weather Service is calling for 3 inches in Preston County. Time to wax the skis.

Did You Know?

It is said that Napoleon Bonaparte never forgot a name. In fact, during his lifetime, he could recall the name of 15,000 people. In contrast, the average person can only remember 300 names.

The Wrong Side of the Law and the Right Side of the Word

I've got to share this hilarious account of one of our Life Transformation Groups getting in trouble with the law. You can read about it here.

A Great Way to Spend a Fall Afternoon in WV

This post is somewhat late, but I had to share another highlight of the weekend. Thanks, Phil for hooking me up with a ticket to see WVU destroy Syracuse on Saturday afternoon.

Breaking Free...From Attendance Barriers

Yesterday our church finally conquered an old nemesis...the 65 attendance barrier. We have broken this barrier and even reached 100 on several planned emphasis days (i.e. Friend Day), but had never broken 65 on a "normal" Sunday. Everything fell into place as 71 people attended worship yesterday. Now, I am learning not to knee-jerk react to days like this, just like I shouldn't jump off of Coopers Rock if we happen to have 40, but I am encouraged at how God is working through several people in our church. Yesterday, StoneBridgers picked up several hundred invite cards for our church's 3rd Birthday Bash and free movie to be held on November 5th. I am anticipating good things over the next several weeks.

Exercising My 2nd Amendment Right

This morning it was 29 degrees at the house. Deer season is coming soon. Last year I went deer hunting for the first time in my life, and I'm hooked. So now, I'm ready to invest in my first rifle, and I can't decide what to buy. I'm considering a bolt action .25-.06, .270, and the American classic, a lever action .30-.30. I need some feedback..what should I buy?

Reading the Right Numbers

Bob Franquiz has a great post for church planters about gauging our progress, and not riding the manic-despressive roller coaster of Sunday attendance. You can read it here.

StoneBridge Front Porch

Monday on the Roaring Plains

I spent my Monday off hiking the Roaring Plains area of the Dolly Sods wilderness with Manny Johnson. This area is probably the wildest, most rugged area in West Virginia. I enjoyed the convo with Manny and our time trying to decipher Acts 8, specifically verses 15-17. I would love to hear additional thoughts and opinions on this passage of scripture.

Rangers Fan Blues

I'm watching game 3 of the Tigers-Yankees series tonight and it looks like a Texas Rangers reunion party. Kenny Rogers, the ex-Ranger who is now 41, is pitching a shutout into the 8th inning. Pudge Rodriguez, the greatest catcher in Rangers history, hit a RBI double in the 7th to put the Tigers up 4-0. A-Rod, the infamous, $252 million ex-Ranger shortstop, is still struggling for the Yankees. Must be a Rangers hex. This week the stRangers fired Buck Showalter. I liked Buck, and I hope they hire somebody who can pull them out of perpetual mediocrity.

Baseball is just not fun when your teams are down. Don't even get me started about the Cubs.

heard at the moose

why I love my office...

"I'll see ya'll in the funny papers, unless you see me in the obituaries first."
- regular Moose patron walking out the door

Keeping my head in the sand during the evening news...

Sometimes when I hear horrible TV news or read a disturbing headline I will either turn the TV channel or head for the front page of the sports section of the Post. Why? For me, it can be emotionally exhausting following in detail some of the horrors taking place around the world. This scenario played out Monday when news of the Amish school shootings permeated the media. My heart was saddened for the Amish people and I prayed for them as I read the headlines and not the details. And so I was able to move on and dwell on happier things for the duration of the week...

...Until our staff met yesterday to review Jason's message for this Sunday. We are in the second week of a series investigating the book of Habbakuk and this Sunday's message deals with the latter part of Chapter 1 and is titled, "Does God make mistakes?". It's amazing how timely this series is shaping up to be. Habakkuk writes in chapter 1,

2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

And so as we discussed this passage, I was forced to take a closer look at what happened Monday in Pennsylvania. And my heart grieves for those people and yet amazed at their ability to forgive and embrace. And I know God is going to fulfill His promise in Romans 8:28 in the midst of this calamity.

Invite Cards for StoneBridge B-Day Bash

Thought I'd share a draft of the invite cards we'll be using to promote our 3rd Birthday celebration on November 5th. Let me know what you think.