REARVIEW & WINDSHIELD - January 15, 2012

We had a fantastic Sunday last week. We began a study in Nehemiah, and had - in my experience - the most powerful church service I've personally been a part of. There were two things that made this service stand out from any others.


1. PRAYER
As a part of the message, I asked everyone to group up with people around them and pray. I asked them to identify what burdened them, share those burdens, and then pray over those burdens. We prayed specifically for our family & friends, our church, and our nation & world.


It was amazing.


As I stood on stage and watched people gather, share, cry & laugh with each other during this 20 minute exercise, I was absolutely moved as I stood and watched the congregation transform into a community before my eyes.


Sharing our burdens set the stage for the second event that made this service special:


2. COMMITMENT
Each seat in the auditorium had a commitment card that stated:
"Somebody Has To Do Something... It Might As Well Be Me!" across the top. There was then room for a name, and a "Next Step." I challenged whoever was willing to write down as little or as much information on the card as they were comfortable, and then STAND, walk forward, and place their commitment in a bucket on stage. I'm going to be very honest and say I expected, at most, twenty people to take me up on that. Instead, the center aisle flooded with people, and 67 took the challenge.


I lost it.


Several minutes later, I was finally able to gain enough composure to wrap the morning up. I was absolutely blown away by the response of our congregation, and by the very real and awesome power of the Holy Spirit that I felt in our services.


I said it that morning, and I will say it again: I am so proud and honored to be a part of this church at this moment. God has something unimaginably awesome in store for us, and I am incredibly thankful that I get to be a part of it!


YAY GOD!