It has literally taken me 2 days to recover from Sunday… and what a Sunday it was! Here is the ReCap:
- We kicked off the annual Big Give emphasis on supporting the Mission of The MET and began a new teaching series: BELIEVE.
- I have yet to type believe without putting the e before the i… random fact for you.
- Sunday morning setup was kind of crazy, new set pieces on stage, but Andy and the Tech Team did a great job… kudos yall!
Big Give Stage Look - We have two volunteers who do our lighting: Chuck and Art… and they kill it every week, but outdid themselves this week. Great job guys! You wouldn’t believe (did it again) that they havent been doing this for years. We are blessed by all of our Fry Roadies.
- Loved the “HOPPER HOUND NIGHT CLUB” poster above the stage… Great reminder of the impact we can have on the school, not just using it as a place to meet. Also, I want one of the Husky cutouts for my office wall.
- Worship Team did a great job with a very complicated service and video/timing integration. If you missed the story of Samuel, I will see if I can get a link… lets just put it this way, it wrecked me. Video ended with this line: Its hard to believe when you go to sleep hungry.
- The message was ok… I probably made it more complicated than it needed to be… Here is the nickel version if you dont have time to listen to The MET @ Fry Blog: What we believe leads to margin which is the ability to give in our lives. How we give reveals what we believe about what we have. All we have (no matter how much or little) in Gods hands, is all they need.
- Teardown went great, and we chowed on some pizza before heading to Church Under the Bridge.
- CUTB was really cool… we got some wires crossed internally and had many more people than we needed down there… its was 2 to 1 MET to homeless people, but it was still a moving experience. So proud that so many from Fry went down there… next time, I promise we will not over populate and everyone will get to put their hands to the work.
Communion Under the Bridge - That said, anyone who says they had nothing to do was wrong and missed out on impacting people’s lives. I had some great conversations before the service and during the meal… sometimes serving is simply asking questions and listening. Or looking them in the eye or shaking their hand. You wouldn’t believe what eye contact will do to someone everyone else tries to ignore. Even calling them by name makes a huge difference. I hope you didn’t settle for standing around.
- I saw somewhere around 10 or so hands of people that said they prayed to receive Christ and become a part of God’s Story and make their Story a part of His Story… I hope to never take life change for granted.
- We capped Sunday off with the Bi-Annual (that means two times a year, right?) church business meeting… lots of Roberts Rules and voting and it was great to see 180 folks show up to hear what God is doing and make their voice known. I love it when people are passionate about the MISSION… its also really easy to see when people are off mission or on one of their own.
- Mad props to Fry Road folks at the business meeting thanks for believing that we are one church in two locations! It was fun to tell of what God is doing at Fry.
- Think that about wraps it up.. I hope you guys were challenged on what God is calling you to put in your Big Give bag and lay on the altar on December 13…
- The awkward end to the service was designed to leave you uncomfortable as to what is next. My prayer is that you are praying about what you have and what God is calling you to do with it.
- This Sunday you will get the chance to participate in a CHALLENGE to identify with our mission and check what you believe about what you deserve… Here is a hint: EAT UP on thanksgiving.
Enjoy time with friends and family this week… Looking forward to Lance being back at Fry this Sunday and bringing us week 2 of Believe.
Meet You on Fry Road.
Launch Clarity 
Go ahead big knucksy… You know what really blew me away more than anything at CUTB? In conversations with the homeless, it was like chatting with a neighbor or s stranger at the mall or whatever. There is very little difference, maybe an addiction or a few random/unfortunate circumstances, between myself and them!! I do realize that we are all Gods children and He sees us in the same light. I mean I never considered myself any better in some sort of wierd hierarchy. But during my dialogue with them God really burnt into me the desire to know them and have some real, non-superficial dialogue/connection. I waited awhile and realized there was never going to be this golden moment for me to strike up a conversation so I just dove in and mixed it up. It is much easier for me to do this because God has blessed me with gifts of encouragement and being a salesman does not hurt either. One thing is certain, God showed me that these men were me and I am them. Bryan felt it. I felt it. It was Gods Spirit working through eye contact. Spoken or unspoken love was evident under that bridge that Sunday. I could only offer my love and my encouragement that day. And so I did, in my own way. And God convicted my heart to tell a few homeless men that I care about them and that they have a brother out there in the night when things seem hopeless. I told them to hang tuff and never give up! When all seems lost, God will bring a new day. So hang on through that cold night because that warm sun will break on the horizon and He will ALWAYS love you and forgie you of your past transgressions. He works through people like you and me and those men downtown living under the Pierce Elevated Bridge.