Door greeters are the hope of the world

I think it goes without saying that this week has been of the most difficult, overwhelming weeks we've had in a long time. For our nation. For our community.

On Monday, Boston began the week with a tragic, twisted story. Tuesday, a man killed himself by jumping in front of a train .5 miles from my house. Wednesday, a plant in Texas blows up in the most visible display of power I've ever seen. Thursday, the mighty Des Plaines River begins climbing higher than ever in recorded history.

I sit here and ponder. Such pain. Such sadness. Such defeat.

I knew I needed to write something....but what? What could I say to all of this that would matter?

I'll start here: I don't have all of the answers. As our lead pastor wrote, Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble." He couldn't have been more right.  Jesus that is (Scott too!). So often, this place stinks. We face awful situations on a regular basis. And I wish I knew all of the answers to why.

But what I do know is there is hope. God hasn't left. In fact, he did the opposite.

I believe that there is hope found in Jesus Christ. He loves you. No really, he does. This God-man comes down here, lives through all of the crap we live through, and then dies for you. For you! He obviously wants to know you. WOW!!!  That is amazing.  And if you're not buying this, please keep reading anyway.

This is why I love my job. I love being a pastor. Every weekend more people in our community visit The Bridge and learn about this hope. This Jesus. That it is true. That there is WAY more to life than all of this pain. And they put their faith in him. Their destiny becomes heaven.

Again, you might laugh, or say "really?", but it is true. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to navigate a week like this hopeless, searching, depressed. I would never want you to do that.

That's why door greeters are the hope of the world. Because every person who is involved at our church, who welcomes people, teachers their kids, plays music for them, is part of the bigger story. That God wants to rescue YOU from this place. To show you love that you've never known. And they serve to make sure you know that!

So...if you serve at our church, thanks for being a part of the bigger story. God is using you. And don't worry, I know that ultimately Jesus is the hope of the world. It's just a title :).

BUT...if you've never learned this hope, I challenge you and encourage you: check out our site (www.thebridgedp.org) and make a visit this weekend. Come meet one of our door greeters. It might literally change your life.

Worship Leading: What We Do Is Pressure

Last November, I was asked to join the committee that plans the Experience Conference. I was shocked, thrilled, excited, and other words like that. Now they have me writing a blog. Oh my. Here goes....

Let me say this before I start: If you haven't been to the Experience Conference, you should go. I know it's a shameless plug, but I have to tell you, because it matters that much to me. You matter to me. 

Yes you, random person reading this. You are actually the reason I joined the committee. What you bring back, and what God does to your heart while you're there, is worth more to you and your church than you can imagine. It's worth the flight. The cost. The days off. The hotel. The planning. The effort. And it's worth everything to me.

Ok, here goes: There are many reasons we ‘need’ a conference like this. Let me talk about one real quick. What we do is high pressure.

Or maybe I'm the only one. Is it just me who feels the weight of leading people to God? The God who is searching for worshippers. Isn't it pressure to know that our words, our voices, our Scripture choices, our song selections, our transitions, our instruments, our sound mix, and our projected background, all play a huge part in what happens at our services? Wow. And we have to make those decisions every week?!

I know that God said rocks would take care of the "worship" line on Planning Center if we didn't show up. So He is ok. I also know the best service plan is nothing without the Holy Spirit. But we would be deceiving ourselves if we said it doesn't matter what we do every week. Of course it does. When music stinks and Numbers 16:1 is your passage, worship doesn't really happen. That's the pressure I'm talking about.

Every week we should give this pressure to God. We should. And maybe you do. But we often keep it with us. It builds up. And this is why the Experience Conference could be huge for your life. You need time away with God. Not just a vacation. You need a place where God can use others to feed your soul, to hit the reset button, to heal your battle wounds. A place that sends you back to wherever God has called you in a way that nothing else can. You need it. And your church needs you to do it.

This conference was created for you. For me. It is exactly what we need, because it's much more than info and artists. It's heart. It's about us as people.

These men and women really care about you. I care about you. Hope to see you this September.

More info at: www.experienceconference.com.