the glorious exchange

More Twitteresque snippets from the life of this guy:

• Sunday was awesome. The message was out of the whole book of Revelation (we touched on nearly every chapter), and was about the worth of Christ, and putting Him first in our lives. Many Christians call this worship. You should definitely check it out on the podcast. Just go to HarmonyGreenville.com and click on the blue rectangle. It’s self-explanatory, I promise.
• Pablo has a wrap-up of the worship set here: 6.22.08 Review
• I think we’re going to start having a “Scripture reading” to start every service, a la old-school Presbyterian churches. I’m totally down with this. I love Pablo’s heart, and his desire to know the Living Word through the Written Word.
• Brad Beamon is in Ecuador. He returns in a week. Really missed that guy, but it’ll be great to have him back. He’s had some insightful posts recently at his blog (here). Definitely check out the one on husbandry (is that the right word?)
• Brad Proctor has been here. He recently joined Trailer as a percussionist, playing an electric kit and a handdrum set this past week with Pablo and Ian. Check out his blog at BradProctor.com. Plus, he twitters here.
• It’s true. I’m redesigning the website. Check it out, and let me know what you think! HarmonyGreenville.com is the location.
• Sherry, super-woman and the mother of two awesome boys (Aaron and Isaac), had the anti-environmentalist quote of the week: “I want to know how I can sell my carbon footprint.” (emphasis mine). It was hilarious at the time, and still is. I’m still looking into it….
• Clay, Sherry’s husband, and the father of the two, is amazing. He’s the only man I know with enough testosterone to make jewelry and get away with it. His jewelry is Scripture-based, and beautiful. Miranda loves it. Check out his mySpace here: Heart Art NC. So what makes him so manly? He has the hair of Samson (it’s gorgeous), he is married to a former conference-champ diver, and he sucks squirrel brains. I can’t make this stuff up. Plus, he hates tomato pudding.
• I’m stoked for this week! We’re talking about having a passion for others, and then the following week we have a corporate opportunity to follow through, as we serve the Umbrella Market through giving out free bottled water. Awesome stuff.

So, the city council article which mentioned us briefly was published here at the Reflector (link here) and in the Triangle’s newspaper, the News and Observer (link here). So our assistance with Dr. Unk’s zoning problem is now available to over 1 million people.

Ok, so what? We get mentioned in a major state newspaper. Who cares?

How about this:

Pablo and I went to Dr. Unk’s today to watch the soccer game (Sweden vs. Spain), and we were making small talk with Lindsey, our waitress, when all of a sudden, she starts talking about our latest flyers we put up at Dr. Unk’s. Let me explain something about our flyers. They are “Jesus fun facts”, complete with Scripture references for each one, including:

• Jesus has a tattoo.
• Jesus partied.
• Jesus served the best wine.
• Jesus hung out with baby-mommas.
• Jesus didn’t like religion too much.
• Jesus loved the outcasts.

And this is what she tells us: the band on Friday night (their name is Ballyhoo) took the flyers down from where we had posted them…..and started reading them out loud to a packed crowd. On a Friday night. At a bar/music venue. She said that they would read a fun fact out loud, and then the crowd would lift their glasses in the air, and cheer. For Jesus. Screw the Observer talking about us at the city council. People screaming for Jesus: that’s what it’s all about.

Satan: go to hell. But you’re not taking Greenville with you.

This past Thursday night, there was a city council meeting to determine the fate of all restaurants in Greenville, including the one we meet in, Dr. Unk’s. Here’s the story:

Background

Earlier this year, Dr. Unk’s received a complaint (about food vs. alcohol sales), and they were audited by the city. As it turns out, Dr. Unk’s sales $370,000 in food. That’s a lot of money. But not enough compared to their total sales (the rest comes in alcohol sales). In the city of Greenville, it takes 51% in order to be classified as a restaurant, which presents a problem to Dr. Unk’s because a bar/nightclub cannot exist in their current zoning district. But city law flies in the face of state law (30%) and other similar cities (eg: Chapel Hill, Wilmington). So, Jeremy (the owner of Dr. Unk’s) made an amendment to city law to amend the current law to 30%, compliant with state law. The meeting on Thursday night was to vote on the amendment.

The Meeting

Over 30 people turned out on Dr. Unk’s behalf, including 7 members of our church. We got a mention in the newspaper. I spoke on Dr. Unk’s behalf as well, before the council. The meeting looked to be going to a vote, where it would have been in a 3-3 tie. The mayor would have then voted against the amendment, I think primarily because Dr. Unk’s very openly and avidly supported Chip Little, the current mayor’s recent opponent in a very tight mayoral race. Instead, a substitute amendment was made to gather more information, including why the state law is at 30%, why Greenville law is at 51%, how many restaurants would close if audited, and what other cities do with regard to zoning restaurants. When all was said and done (after 2 hours), the discussion was continued until (at least) August.
The Outlook

I think it looks good for Dr. Unk’s (and therefore, us). Dr. Unk’s has a lot of neighborhood support, including a church .  They also have other options besides this amendment being passed. A special use permit could be enacted, or the area could be rezoned as general commercial, among other less desirable, but effective, methods. There are tons of options, legally. Regardless, Jeremy informed me that as it turns out [randomly ] he owns the building that Dr. Unk’s is currently in, and that we would probably have a place to meet no matter what happens. Which is great.

Thanks for the prayers!

So here’s the rundown from yesterday’s service.

• One more week of meeting on Sunday, one more week of unexpected growth. Met 5 new people yesterday. 4 during Sunday am service, and 1 during Echo Group.
• Speaking of Echo Group, we’re going to have to split again soon. We had 14 in Miranda’s living room last night. Pretty frickin’ awesome. Tough to deal with the logistics (seating, food, etc.), but it’s always worth it. Cost us $85 to feed the people last night. Wasn’t expecting that…
• I talked about the church as the sons and daughters of God sent on mission. The podcast will be up in the next 10 minutes. The podcast is up now. I think it went over well. For the first time in quite a while, I used a cutesy acronym. ::shivers::
  • Live under the Lordship of Christ (repent, seek Him)
  • Open your homes to outsiders
  • Volunteer your talents to the Church
  • Echo the Gospel through word and action
• It was awesome having Pablo back leading worship for us. He always does a great job. We still don’t recognize what it means to worship, we just kind of stare at Pablo. It’s pretty funny sometimes, frustrating at other times. Over time, that will change.
• If you want to exercise the “V” in L.O.V.E., let me know! We’re looking for musicians, geeks, servants, teachers, and leaders. Shoot me an email at derek@harmonydc.com!
• Hit up the 2:9 books this week! We are in the second week, and I’m stoked about it!

Comments? Thoughts? Questions? Hit me up.

Church was awesome yesterday!

• We had Matthew Lilley and the 6:22 Band in yesterday leading worship (link), and they played an awesome set. Those guys are so talented. Here’s the setlist:
  • Shine by Collective Soul
  • Behold the Lamb by Brandon Willett (a new fav)
  • Salvation is Here by Hillsong United
  • Reward of His Suffering by Jonathan David Helser
  • Mighty to Save by Hillsong
• Great stuff. I preached on Jonah 2: the prayer of Jonah from the belly of the whale. He moves from the recognition of God into a passion for others, which is where the 2:9 project will hopefully take us as a church.
• We saw quite a few new people yesterday, which was exciting. Our Echo Group last night reflected that as well. We even had a guy come because of a doorhanger he had received the day before! Awesome.
• Speaking of Echo Group, last night’s discussion on Mark 10 was incredible: we had great discussions on marriage as a picture of the Gospel, incorporating children into our community, what the real meaning of the “rich young ruler” passage was, and how we can learn from all of that as Christians in today’s society. Great stuff.
• I get to hang out with a couple of the new guys tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings. We’re headed to watch the hockey game. I’m stoked. Go Penguins.
• Miranda took the day and took her sister and some friends to the beach. So excited she got to do that. Equally as exciting was the fact that I slept until 1pm. You really don’t understand how tired I was. I’ve been running practically nonstop since last Wednesday. Whew!
• Praying for lots of things…pray for me and us as a church. I’m so pumped about what God is going to do through us as a church! I can’t believe I get to do this…