Our last regular season game is tomorrow.  If we win, we’re first seed for the playoffs.  If we lose, we’re second.  Come and cheer on our softball team at Abundant Life Fellowship @ 4:30 tomorrow, July 11!

I’ve officially join the Work Out Center.  Bye-bye belly!  Dean Stokes, a friend of mine from our softball team, is going to make sure I do this right.  He should know.  His arms are bigger than my  head.  This will be a new discipline for me.

I’ll keep you posted.

While traveling to a youth event back in the day, the driver of the van didn’t notice that the light had turned green.  A friend of mine, a person known for her quite nature, let the driver know the folly of his way by quietly stating “It ain’t gettin’ no greener.”

On my way into the office this morning, I was momentarily halted at a green light because the driver in front of me didn’t notice the light had changed.  He caught on after only a few seconds, but the irony of the situation didn’t escape me.  My morning commute was slowed down by a FedEx truck!  Isn’t it their job to get things to their destinations as quickly as possible, hence the “express” part of their name?

Churches that want nothing to do with aggressive evangelism efforts (including, but not restricted to, church planting) puzzle me in the same way as the FedEx experience I just shared.  Isn’t it the Church’s purpose to tell people about Jesus?  Yet, so many are so busy paying attention to other things that they miss their God-given purpose.  All the while, Jesus is saying to them, “It ain’t gettin’ no greener.”  Jesus didn’t tell us to get our act together before we told people about him, or to wait until we reached a certain maturity level before fulfilling our purpose.

 It’s our purpose, friends.  Let’s just get out there and do it.  Otherwise, we’re living a spiritual irony that keeps others from their destinations.  That’s why The Gate is pursuing other ministries even though our church is still young.  It’s who we’re called to be, and we’ll settle for nothing less.

One of the high points of our church is the emphasis on having fun together.  Over the summer we’ll be taking a break from our LifeGroups to meet three times as a church to just hang out in different venues.  The first is this Sunday.  We’ll all be meeting at Debbie Turnbull’s home in Canfield.  Check out our web site for more info under the “current events” button.  Debbie will provide directions to her home at the guest services table this Sunday.  You can also let her know what goodies you’ll be bringing for grub.

 The kids of The Gate have been inspired by our winning softball team and have challenged the adults to a game.  Bring your gloves and bats so we’ll have enough to go around.

See you then.

On Saturday I was at the Rally in The Valley, a men’s event at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH.  There were many great speakers there to encourage and challenge us to live like men and to bring Jesus Christ to the Mahoning Valley.

Reverend Kenneth Paramore of the Christian Revival and Discipleship Center in Youngstown was used by God to speak profound truth to me about my wife, Vanda.  He argued very convincingly through scripture that one of the blessings provided God through the marriage relationship is the woman’s role in bringing out the best that God has in mind for her husband.

It occurred to me that every right choice I’ve made with regard to the direction God would have me go was because of the wisdom offered by Vanda.  I am a pastor because of her.  I am a church planter because of her willingness to take a wild risk with me.  I am enjoying the role of dad for three awesome kids because I’ve listened when God has spoken truth through her on what it means to be a godly father.

So guys, if you’re not sure about what God has in mind for you, humble yourselves and listen to your wives.  Allow God to bring out the best in you with her help.

Jesus rose from the dead.  So, what does that mean for you and me . . . 2,000 years later?

This Sunday is Easter, and we’ll be looking at the Bible’s claims that Jesus rose from the dead as a person, not a spirit.  And, it matters.

This is a message that Christians and non-Christians need to hear.  If your skeptical about the Resurrection, it would be to your advantage to see why we believe God planned it this way to begin with.  Understanding the “So What?” question is a different, refreshing approach to the Easter debate.

Everyone is welcome!

It’s really quite pathetic that, having grown up in upstate New York, where snow has always been plentiful and slopes crowded, I’m not a skier, snow boarder, hockey player, or anything else represented in the Olympic games.  If I had to choose right now, it would be snowboarding.  Snowboarders seem to have fun no matter what happens.  If they win gold, they’re happy; if they don’t win gold . . . their smiles are just a big.  And, they’re incredibly supportive of those they compete against.  Any athlete in the Olympic games has worked very hard to get there.  So, the snow boarders’ demeanor at the competition can’t possibly betray a careless attitude.

That’s the way life should be.  Work hard and enjoy the ride.  Shoot for the stars and, if you miss, you can still enjoy the awesome scenery along the way.  That’s life to the fullest extent through faith in Jesus Christ.

I’ll see you later.  Time for some research on how much a snowboard costs.

Sweet chips of cocoa and baked dough;

of these ingredients, I’m not a rookie.

But, blast! the tantalizing, infectious allure:

this thing we call – a cookie.

Too great an affection for these, I’ve learned

Can make one become, well, fat;

So, pursue the famed ti shrub, my friend,

The one that we call, Pat.

(Back to my inkwell filling.  If you’re confused by this blog, go to www.thesmugcloud.wordpress.com and check out Kimmy’s Feb 3 entry.)

God was with us in an amazing way Sunday morning during our worship gathering at The Gate.  Our series on “If” has been about keeping the dream alive about the possibilities God has in mind for us.  God made the nation of Israel wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a punishment for not trusting him to deliver the Promised Land into their hands after they heard the report from the Israelite spies about how large the people of the land were.  They wandered because God saw their lack of faith as contempt for him since they had already seen miracles like the parting of the Red Sea and the plagues (Numbers 14:22-23).

“If” is the dream of what it is God wants our church to become for his purposes.  But, other “if’s” get in the way, otherwise known as “if only’s” (i.e. If only we had more money).  To combat the negative if’s, on Sunday we had an “If Happens” wall where people could write down some of the amazing things God has done for them.  It is a reminder of what God has done and an encouragement that he will do more if we just trust him to take us into the promise of the vision of a vibrant Christian community.  We’ll have it in the commons area for people to add to it anytime on Sunday mornings and, when it’s filled up, we’ll display it at our church office on Union Street.

Feel free to share your “if happens” here as well.

Radio stations on my car radio go in and out here in our little corner of Northeast Ohio.  Today I was flipping through channels on the way to work and came across the Imus In The Morning show.  A Catholic priest was sharing the differences between Christianity and other religions.

Imus had an open mind and asked some great questions, which the priest handled pretty well for the most part.  Imus pointed out that Tiger Woods is a Buddhist and that people have suggested that his path to salvation would be easier if he were a Christian. Then THE question came.  It’s the one question that’s like the perfect pitch in softball that’s chest level and over the middle of the plate – ripe for an evangelistic home run.  Imus asked: Is Christianity the easiest way to salvation?

The priest said that other religions are about rules, but Christianity is about a person – Jesus Christ.  He is certainly right, but he hit a triple when he could have hit a grand slam.  Every other religion is about earning your way to heaven.  Through Jesus Christ, salvation is absolutely free!  If Tiger would ask Jesus to forgive him of all his sins right now, he would be free from them right now.  No strings attached.  Nothing more to be done.

If you feel weighed down by your sins, just ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you from them.  It’s that easy.  If you want more info, just comment on this blog and ask me not to post it (if you wish).  I’d be honored to chat with you about him.