missio

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…

Ed sat down in the car, and I asked him what he wanted to eat. He responded with “a hamburger.” Alright, and so we headed towards the nearest McDonald’s. We walk in, Ed’s limping on his prosthetic leg and carrying his crutch, and we head to the cash registers. He says “I’ll just take a hamburger”, and I ask him what he really wants.

“Man, I haven’t had a Big Mac in years.”

So I buy him a Big Mac combo, I order a Big and Tasty (no tomato, no mayo, of course), and we sit down to eat. As I’m talking to Ed, I find out something peculiar: this man knows the Gospel better than most Christians. He knows that he can do nothing in and of himself, and that in fact, without God, he is utterly useless. He describes his relationship with his parents, his addiction to alcohol, and his incarceration for disorderly conduct all in terms of God’s grace and providence. This man is definitely saved…yet struggling. He’s been clean from alcohol since January, and I encouraged him in that, and invited him out to church when he got a chance.

We conclude our lunch with a promise to try to meet once a week for lunch. I give him my phone number (he has a cell phone), and I take him back to the shelter and we part ways.

We are thinking as a church to pair up our people with homeless people for “lunch dates” in the fall. Any ideas?

Just wanted to let you guys know of a couple new bloggers from Harmony out there. Brad recently joined the leadership team after Donald left to assist a new AG church plant in Williamston, NC. You can read Brad’s blog here: brad beamon.

Becca Mueffelmann has been with us since January, she’s got a great head on her shoulders, is growing in the Gospel, and come August, will be co-leading the Campus Echo group. You can read her blog here: a continuing story.