Melanie

When I went to see Dad in the hospital, I was blessed with empty seats and quiet airplanes—until the flight from Cincinnati to Dallas. I probably sighed out loud as a puffy-coated, spiked hair gal from Wisconsin looked at the row number and plopped down beside me. She had the aisle seat and her over-large winter coat smelled of smoke and crowded the armrest. She buried herself in her book and I settled back into my melancholy thoughts.

It probably took an hour before we began to talk. And then we talked a lot. And then she found out I was a pastor. And then I made sure she drank her vodka anyway. And then we got to talk about God.

She used to like God, but there were so many rules. Her Mennonite family followed them all and she learned to comply. That worked right up until the day she was raped, and then things got cloudy. She’s lived as the black sheep of her family ever since, but she’s thrilled by a recent marriage to a man who truly loves her. And she’s been thinking about God again.

For a moment she looked into my eyes—her own eyes confident at first, then quickly darting aside. “Do you think I need to stop smoking before I go back to church?” Her head fell as the words left her mouth, like she was bracing for what I might say.

It was a beautiful chance to reshare the gospel. We had already looked at John 5:24. I opened it again and said, “Tell me again what it says you have to do?” She laughed—this was the third time I had asked the same question. I don’t think she’ll forget it, but you can pray for her. Her name is Melanie. We were glad we had sat together, and I thanked God for a noisy seat.

I wonder how many Melanies come to our churches or how many almost come but stop because they are still smoking…. I told Melanie I thought churches should have ash trays outside—just so she could know it was okay for her to be there.

What do you think?

Christmas Party

Join us this Sunday at 7 in the Green Room for our end of the year Christmas Party. We'll have all kinds of baked goodies along with games to play and McKibben's special Hot Chocolate.

Also, in order to party with a purpose we invite you to bring along non-perishable food items to give toward the ongoing food drive at Bent Tree in hopes of helping families all over Dallas get enough to eat this Christmas.

So grab a few friends and a couple of cans of green beans and come meet and hang out with other Young Adults at Bent Tree and celebrate the birth of our Lord.

More here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215929191590&ref=mf

Pass/Fail

For our entire childhood everything thing we did in school was weighed and graded. If our right answers outweighed our wrong answers by a large enough margin we passed and were allowed to move on to the next measurement or test. This naturally caused us to begin to rank ourselves based on performance. The person that got the least things wrong was at the top and the person that did the least right was at the bottom. And in the end, if you had not done enough right then you failed.

Often I think this is how we view our spiritual lives as well, as if God is just the teacher of a class grading our lives on some giant sliding scale. And as long as our good actions outweigh our bad ones then we're in. Like in school, this causes us to begin to rank ourselves so that as long as you seem to be doing less bad than enough other people you should pass. Because, of course, if this is how God works, no one is perfect so he must grade on a curve.

Fortunately for the entire world, the Bible has examples on almost every page that speak in the face of that kind of system. Throughout history we see God using people who are steeped in sin for His purposes and covering them with His Grace.

Join us this Sunday as we look at the life of Rahab and how God used a lying prostitute to accomplish His purposes and then poured out grace on her and her family.

We'll be in the Green Room backstage at 7, bring a friend and join us as we grow closer to God and each other.

Check out the facebook event for more info.

Paint and Pizza on Sunday, Nov 29

Join us the Sunday night for the Clearing's Paint and Pizza Party at Bent Tree in the FX Live Theatre. We will have pizza and drinks and help finish painting the Christmas decorations and food drive boxes that will be in the Crossing over the Holiday season.

Bring your friends for a fun night of free food, no artistic skill needed (the children's ministry is working on some of the same things Sunday morning)

Hope to see you there!

RSVP on the Facebook Invite.

God of the City

Join us Sunday night for God of the City--Bent Tree at 6:30! The Clearing.

 

We'll be back to normal-ish Nov. 29.

More info: God of the City event.

Skeptic

Has this ever happened to you? You are watching or listening t0 a documentary or interview with a death row inmate, convicted for some ridiculously heinous crime, and they go on and on about how they are a changed person. How they came to know Jesus and they aren't the same. The good things they are doing in prison.

For some reason, my first reaction to this is always skepticism. I want to know what their angle is for claiming Christianity and I confess that a lot of times I write it off as a publicity stunt and ignore any chance that they may have truly changed.

What is it in us that allows us to proclaim the life changing power of faith in Christ and yet doubt that it can actually happen in the life of someone that has done something we think of as unforgivable. Or maybe it is your own life that holds the unforgivable sin.

Have you ever doubted that God could use someone because of their past?

Ever think God can't use you because of the things you've done?

Join us Sunday night @ 7 in the Green room to hear how God used a reluctant murderer to change the world forever.

Halloween Party!

Anna figures you may feel left out on Halloween--I mean, you're not trick-or-treating, right? Um... nevermind.
Anyway, Anna's folks are making chili--you bring your favorite games.

More info and a map here.