Reflections From Sunday Evening

This has been a mixed day. You realize I base this on our church services this weekend. There were some really great things happening. The music - Jubilante, praise team, choir, were really on it. They practice and come on Sundays and help us experience the presence of God. So much talent and so many gifts.

We highlighted some amazing things going on in the life of the church. When Ginger talked about the upcoming "My First Prayer Retreat" I was so glad we are taking the opportunity to help our youngsters learn the joy and importance of prayer. That is amazing.

There were good conversations going on all over the place. That is a great sign of fellowship. We had first-time visitors. A number of people indicated they planned to come to the new member orientation this afternoon. Should be good. These are great signs of life.

I'm counting on our youth to download John Mellencamp's new song "Forgiveness." It is a great message.

People were engaged. I am convinced that many who were there gained some fresh insights into God's forgiveness and our human capability of extending grace and forgiveness to others.

Here's the other side of the mixed day. There were an awful lot of empty seats today. Our attendance was significantly lower today than it was on the final weekend of September last year. It makes me wonder what we need to do. There are so many doing so much, so what are we missing?

I suppose the best thing to do is get back to praying and planning for next week. We'll have a wonderful worship experience next week. There will be all sorts of service opportunities this week. God is alive and well among us and we are going to keep on loving and learning and serving our Savior. In that light it's been a good day.

On another note I've been watching the Chiefs today. (I am and will always be a Chiefs fan.) I'm reminded of what Coach John McKay once said following another loss of the Tampa Bay team he was coaching. When asked what he thought about his team's "execution" he responded, "Right now I'm all for it." I don't know how Todd Haley keeps from going out of his mind.

So much for that - just scored a TD.

Enough of this rambling. Have a great day and God bless you in all you do.