Sunday In Review

Yesterday was just one of those days when a lot of really interesting things happened.  Most of them were actual events. Others were just thoughts that passed through my sometimes quite odd brain.  I thought you might find some of them worth hearing about, so here we go!

• Pastor Matthew Hartsfield began his sermon at Van Dyke Church by reminding us that there is one word to describe everything God has been trying to do since the beginning of creation.  That word is relationship.  He made humans because God wanted a relationship with us. He came to earth as Jesus because the relationship needed mending and we needed salvation. He sent the Holy Spirit so we would never be alone. If you read this blog often, then you know how I often I have pointed out that relationships are the basis of every form of ministry.  Church leaders often try to make it about theology, issues, worships styles and so many other things.  But if relationship is the key to God's love for us, shouldn't relationship be the key to every ministry we have?  In other news, I think Matthew has been reading my blog...  :)
• Yesterday was the final day at Van Dyke for Jeff Calhoun, the Executive Director of Worship at the church for most of the 5 years that we have been attending.  Jeff is a great guy, a splendid leader and organizer of worship (from lighting and staging to all of the music), but what I will remember first and foremost is that Jeff is the best guitar player I have ever seen in a church- or most anywhere else.  He regularly does things that only about 50 people in the world are even capable of playing.  Yesterday, as his swan song, he brought out his acoustic guitar and turned The Beatles song Eleanor Rigby into a worship anthem.  His arrangement was amazing; I am a veteran guitar player and I could not even IMAGINE playing the way he played.  It was emotional and beautiful. And at the end, after singing the original lyrics all the way through, Jeff finished with, "All the lonely people, where do they all belong?  They belong with you, Jesus... They belong with you, Jesus..."  My wife and I both had tears in our eyes. Thank you, Jeff for sharing your heart and your talents. You will be missed.
• Matthew talked about the scripture in Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." He also said something about how persistent that knock is, that Jesus never gives up on us.  And suddenly I found myself imagining Jesus knocking like Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory- "Thump thump thump Carl?"  Repeat 3 times.  Never giving up on me. It made me smile. 
• My new favorite quote, and one that needs to be shouted from pulpits across our land, came from Pastor Matthew as well.  He said that "church should be a safe place to hear a dangerous message."  Amen & Amen.
• I spent a very long time on the phone yesterday with my old youth group friend Tammy Doggett Foster.  In addition to being part of the group of people that formed who I am during my middle school and high school years, Tammy is one my heroes.  She has spent years as a student ministry volunteer at their church, with uncountable hours of service to teenagers in the name of Jesus. It was so awesome to catch up with her.  Thanks, Tammy, for all you have meant and still mean in my life.
• And finally, I got to text some this weekend with some friends who took time to make me feel special and loved. I am so blessed. They know who they are, so I won't embarrass them by naming them here.  But thank you....more than I can say!

I hope you Sunday was as blessed as mine!  So tell me...what did you learn yesterday?


Because of Jesus,