I just had a very meaningful conversation with a young man who was in my youth group in Georgia. In fact, this young man was in the first Sunday School class I ever taught when I was fresh out of college. The first day I walked in dressed in all scuba gear (we were talking about Jonah that day … um, yea) … halfway through the class I was very warm and decided to go in the closet to change into my regular clothes; this young man wasted no time in leading a cohort of his buddies to blockade the closet door … leaving me locked in, and feeling ridiculous. Well, throughout high school this guy had pretty even split of shining moments and shameful moments. But all along I saw God working in his life, tugging on his heart to draw near to Him, to love Him, serve Him, and enjoy His goodness.

So, when we talked today and he shared what was on his heart I was thrilled, but not really surprised. He never liked school much, nor responsibility in general for that matter … but now he is excelling in school, will be a paramedic in May and is considering continuing in school to work on his bachelor’s and then go on to medical school. No shock here. This kid was born with a razor sharp mind.

But what was more exciting than that was what he shared about his walk with the Lord. Mark is going through a crisis of satisfaction. He is being challenged with this simple question: who or what will be the person or thing that provides satisfaction for your searching heart (any of us who are completely honest have wrestled with this same question at some point). Having recognized how his girlfriend was serving as that satisfaction piece, he has since broken things off with her, as he should. It’s not fair to her to ask her to provide something for him that she is not designed to be able to provide – ultimate satisfaction for the longings of the human soul. He also challenged himself to give up alcohol and tobacco … he realized that too often he turned to these for relief when things got stressful … instead of the one who says “come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” He has grown closer to his roommates as they have been keeping him accountable for his commitments, and he has grown immeasurably closer to God, having cleared out the junk that was getting in the way of finding satisfaction in Him alone.

“Whom have I in Heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25,26) Can we say with the Psalmist, “earth has nothing I desire besides you”?

Today, Mark Mellette can. Proud of you Mark. Keep crucifying the flesh; keep finding your joy in Christ. He alone satisfies. Love you.

I'm Really Intrigued

It was the kind of reaction I like to hear when people are first introduced to thoughts about Movement Church. This was a lady in the park with two kids. We had a lovely little talk about cute and sweet kids are, and then she asked me, "what brings you to Richmond?" So, I told her, and then explained what our Community Groups are all about. And she was intrigued. She said it sounded really neat, and unique ... which we both agreed was unfortunate, that it was unique. When she asked me what kind of denomination we are and I explained that we try to focus on the Bible and what Jesus said ... she said, but how do you know what Jesus said. A fair question. So I shared that there was pretty good evidence for the reliability of the Gospels, the accounts of the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I told her about two different ways ancient texts are tested for reliability: # of years in between the date written and the date of the earliest copy we have (this time span represents the number of times it would have been recopied, more time, more margin for error); and the number of total copies (the more copies, the more texts you have to compare and validate one another). So, in light of that, I compared for her Plato and the New Testament ... consider the data below (it's a little jumbled but I can't fix it, so do your best):

Text Date Written First Copy Difference # of Copies
Aristotle 384-322 BC 1100 AD 1400 years 49
Ceasar 100-44 BC 900 AD 950 years 10
Plato 427-347 BC 900 AD 1200 years 7
NT 40-100 AD 125 AD 25 years over 24,000

It turned out to be a really great conversation, and I'm praying that God will use that seed to draw her to Him. I'm so grateful for these opportunities and for the confidence we can have in God's Word!

Mighty Mouse, Part III

I think we got him ... with poison. Not so mighty now are you? I win.

Mighty Mouse, Part II

Ok, so last night at about 3:45 a.m. Joanna wakes me up, tells me the mouse has been struggling in the sticky trap for about 45 minutes, and says I have to do something because she has to pee extremely bad and she's not going out there by herself. Amazingly, I was coherent enough to understand what she said ... so I got up, trudged in there, and tried to figure out which of the twelve traps it was stuck in (ok, not really twelve) ... of course, under the stove, so I try to move the stove and I'll make a dramatic story shorter ... I saw a tale, I heard a struggle, I reached for the trap and ... silence. Houdini got away again (third escape for this guy) ... but the trap was thoroughly chewed and our friend had left another gift of droppings ... the whole thing must have scared the crap out of him. Anyway, stake out tonight ... coffee, headlamp, sling shot ... and victory cigar. I'll let you know what happens.

Mighty Mouse

I'm not exactly sure what the deal is ... a couple nights ago we heard a rustle behind the fridge (so we said, "Russell, what are you doing back there" ... sorry). We concluded it was a mouse (also b/c of the mouse poo everywhere). So, I bought some sticky trap thingies. We put them out and headed to bed, but after about ten minutes we heard insanity in the kitchen. Certain we had our little furry friend, I went into the kitchen to check it out. Nope. But the trap was turned upside down ... spry little mouse. So, the next night, we try again, but this time w/ a little cheese right in the middle of each trap, ya know, to make him get up there in the middle and get good and stuck. The next morning ... no mouse, but it did look like a little of the cheese was gone ... and he left some droppings for us ... ON THE TRAP. Come on, seriously. Am I being mocked by a rodent? I think so. This isn't over ...

Service Connection

Sunday we gathered at Cheswick Park to discuss and demonstrate these two values: City, Generosity. We are generous with what we have because that what we have has been given to us. We want to be be generous with our time, talent, treasure, and the truth. We value our city because there's something very special in the city ... people. We love people. And if we truly love people we will want to positively impact the city in which they live. Credibility will be gained as we demonstrate that our faith breeches the walls of a building where a church gathers.

The work went great. We had three new people, and we washed about 20 tables, plus washed and painted seven grills. Then enjoyed a quick discussion of the values, plus pizza and hang out time. Worship Connection this Sunday. Pray for us.

I Don't Go As Often As I Should ...

"... ya ever heard that before," he said with a snicker. I have, plenty. And I always wonder what sort of things are going on in peoples' hearts to cause this pseudo conviction. There are people who say they belong to a church, don't really attend, and yet, feel as though they probably should. Now, before you roll your eyes thinking this is a blog about church attendance, let me assure you, it's not. The issues in the church today go much deeper than people not showing up on Sundays. In fact I would encourage the church to attend functions where people are, instead of just expecting them to come to us.

So, anyway, where was I ... oh yea ... why the pseudo conviction? Not sure. I guess like most people in the world they feel like they should be doing something to appease the gods. I wonder if they realize that the one true God has been appeased, His wrath has been satisfied, by His Son dying a criminal's death ... and so we go to church not to appease, but to celebrate. Not to earn anything, but to express our gratitude for what has been earned. We don't go to church to appease God.

So, what's with the title? ... I was walking down the street today and started talking to a man in his yard. The comment came after I shared what I am doing here in Richmond and asked him if he goes to church anywhere. I smiled, we kept talking, and then I explained our vision for community and relational depth. He seemed intrigued. I then gave him a card, asked him to say a prayer for me and went to walk off. He responded by asking me to say a prayer for him, with an added, "I just might go to church this Sunday." So, I went ahead and offered to pray for him right then. He seemed touched, and held his hand out for me to hold. Not what I expected. I grabbed his hand and talked to God, simply and sincerely , thanking Him for listening to us, and loving us, and dying for us. I finished and looked up to see a moist-eyed older man who had been touched by a simple prayer to an awesome God.

I walked away feeling like a missionary, and affirming to myself that this is all I ever want to do ... bring God to people. So where does this leave us with the church conversation? There are people outside the church walls, with some sense of religious convictions ... they just need to encounter Jesus ... will they encounter Him in you?