gee whiz, I had fun tonight

Our newly formed men's discipleship group had our first meeting at an Atlanta Thrashers game tonight. We spanked the Sabres 5-0. One of the guys in the group owns great seats he uses for business purposes. His clients backed out tonight. Bummer for them...

The group is made up of some guys in the construction industry. Two concrete guys and two erosion control guys. They started the study group and asked if I would lead it. I, of course, said "Yes" simply because it was a way to help some guys that had been struggling spiritually and another that is on a spiritual quest.

The spiritual barometer for the group is: One follower of Christ that's just starting the growth process. Another is not a believer, but is intensely seeking spiritual things. The third is a Catholic dude that is spiritually sensitive, but I haven't had a chance to go much beyond that. Then there's me...a guy that thrives on making disciples.

Not only did we do some serious male bonding tonight, we also found out the reason that we all wanted to be a part of the group. That reason is that being in a macho industry doesn't make you a man. What makes you a man is the strength of your character. All of us have something(s) that we need to adjust in our lives. Our goal is to see that happen in this group.

So how did the four guys fare at the game? We all spent a ridiculous amount of money on Philips Arena food. None of the guys bought beer. The Catholic dude gave up beer for Lent. Two of the guys don't drink that much. Me...I'm a Southern Baptist again so that means drinking is verboten (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Seriously, "'You may say, "I am allowed to do anything." But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything'" (1 Corinthians 6:8, NLT).

I had fun tonight. It proves that you don't have to get hammered to have fun with the guys. It does, however, help if your team crushes their opponent.

the bittersweetness of sort of being back in the Southern Baptist loop

Stealth Baptist
I'm attending a stealth SBC church now. We're stealth because we don't have "baptist" in our name. I think they changed the name to save on printing costs. I'm not sure of that though. At least its a place where I feel comfortable inviting people to check out the claims of Jesus Christ.

Warm fuzzy
There is comfort level of being a part of a large organization. For me, it's knowing that there is some sort of support network. The ability to share and retrieve information related to the Mission increases dramatically when you're in the SBC loop. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy as I write this.

SBC doesn't stand for Stupid Baptist...yet
Granted, the SBC has its share of flaws. One that personally ticks me off right now is a controversy over something that isn't fundamental to carrying out the Mission of the Church. It's a controversy that has caused many to spend more time involved in writing postition papers than carrying out the Mission. Not good. I personally think they would rather argue than lead people to eternal hope. It's also causes others to spend their precious time making sure there is a balanced rebuttal to the whole thing. For those who care, check out the blog called SBC Outpost. My bud Marty Duren is just short of genius because his blog is so much cooler than mine.

Mission
In the grand scheme of things, nobody empowers people to be on Mission better than the SBC. You can plug into the system or you can create your own system. Very nice. We've come a long way baby.

Have a nice day......Yes, it's OK to hum the BonJovi tune right now.

just for fun

I've been tagged by Charlie...and I'm in the mood to talk...

Four Jobs I've Had

* Short-order cook (same as Charlie!)
* Truck rental operations manager (almost like Charlie!)
* Substitute teacher
* House painter

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

* The Matrix
* Tombstone
* Napoleon Dynamite
* Open Range

Four Places I've Lived:

* Lead Hill, Arkansas
* Kansas City, Kansas
* Little City, Oklahoma
* King George, Virginia

Four Shows I Like To Watch:

* 24
* SportsCenter
* Mythbusters
* UFC

Four Foods That I Like:

* Seafood
* Falafel wrap
* Medium rare filet mignon
* Little Debbie Devil Squares

Four Sites I Visit Everyday:

* Yahoo Sports
* Atlanta Falcons
* Atlanta Journal-Constitution
* GeorgiaWeather.net

Four Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

* Visit all of the Smithsonian museums
* Go deep sea fishing for sharks
* Do the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure thing
* Play bass for Eric Clapton

Four People I'm Tagging:

- The only people I know really well that blog have already been tagged...

It's been longer than next Monday...like seven months

The three day retreat was prophetic. I can't remember the Scripture reference that spoke to me the most, but it essentially said I should be silent when spoken against. So the last seven months have been silent. The emotions have died down. I have forgiven. I have moved on.

We're members at Chestnut Mountain Church . Great pastor, great staff, especially great student pastor. I'm playing in the band and helping out with the student ministry.

For income, I have taken a position as an Area Sales Manager for The Erosion Company. I would give you a link, but our website is lame. If you must see it, Google it. It's enjoyable primarily because I get to spend a lot of time outside and with all kinds of people. The vast majority of the people I come into contact with are not Christ followers. That makes for lots of opportunities to make a difference, so that's probably the coolest part of the job.

I am healed, energized, and ready to blog again. So here goes...