cars, colds, and crap

so it's friday -- where did my week go?. . . what started out as a a calm week of christmas decorating and finals has ended with my car being worked on twice, me in bed with a bad cold, and a pushed back final - thank you dr. payne!

but. . . through it all. . . it's been a good God week! -- i was able to connect with a good prospect for a volunteer in the men's depart. not to mention had my brain challenged with appling the things i've learned in my class to my church and my context here in Pa. if i had to pin-point one thing i will take away from this class. . . it is what my defination and thoughts are in regard to church - what it is and how it grows. -- i've always considered myself to be an out of the box thinker. . . however, the issues and topics we've discussed in the class has really caused me to admit that underneath all of my fluff -- i'm really a traditional modeled person at heart.

yes, i've always seen the church not just the building but the people -- however, to think of church planting and church growth in terms of the laity leading over having a trained pastorate -- that's been hard to grasp - i understand it but it's been hard to wrap myself around. and in terms of church growth. . . to see that real growth occurs in conjunction with sunday school -- that too has been hard for me to admit. . . due to my own church's experience with traditional sunday school, i've sort of writen it off -- i didn't see how it could work or for that matter how revelant it was to today's context of church -- but after reading and studying some of thom rainer's stuff. . . sunday school is the best assimilation method to get church growth.

so my question is. . . why doesn't it work for some churches and why does it for others?

yesterday has joe was taking me home to sleep, since my car was in the shop, we talked about the mission, our roles in ministry, and many other things - but the thing hit me that i verbalized finally was how uncertain things are for me right now -- i thought i had my road mapped out - but that's all changed -- yet. . . i know God will and wants to use me -- not sure in what specific way yet. . . but that's what this season is for. . . to be trained - to press more into Him - to study to show myself approved! the 45 minute phone conversation i had with a girl i met at an event i spoke at recently affirmed my call to counseling -- here it is. . . she called from eastliverpool, oh to just seek my advice.

through it all. . . praise God -

He's still work'n on me to make me what I ought to me. it took just a week to make the moon and stars, the sun and earth and jupiter and mars. how loving and patient he must be, cause he's still work'n on me!