Thanks be to God...

Today we really stepped out in faith - and had a blast!  Not only did our band kick it up a notch with a LOT of U2 tunes, but we put together a New England gospel choir - 25+ voices - for a shot at "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - and it rocked!  A young girl sang lead with a seasoned rocker, two little dudes - also 10 years old - joined me on acoustic guitars and we had a BLAST!  Two important thoughts come to mind at the end of a beautiful day:

+ First, this was inter-generational worship in the best way.  Nothing was dumbed-down for the children and at the same time they were integral to the integrity of the music and the message. This was about being the BODY of Christ together in a new/old way. I was so blessed by the way everyone pulled together and gave shape and form to a vision the Spirit has been encouraging for the past four years.

+ Second, our band is VERY tight and getting better.  It will be fun to move into a new program year with a new music director helping us explore new sounds of hope and compassion.  After worship we met with our new music guy and we'll be doing BIG events once a quarter - finding ways to welcome new musicians into the mix as well as deepen the groove the old timers are creating, too.

And given the fact that we just hired a new Christian Education person...!  Let's just say things are really lining up for a TON of creativity to start shaking after we get back from vacation.  Right before worship I headed to the restroom where I met one of the singer's in the band who asked, "Is this what you had in mind when you came here four years ago?" I paused and replied, "It is something of what I had hoped might happen... given our unique New England spin... and a lot of time and prayer."

With patience and love - with the work of a LOT of people and the grace of God - the renewal work I was called to help shape is really coming to pass.  And while I can't WAIT for my vacation time with Di in Montreal, this year is going to be so wonderful as we really start to go deeper into the spirit of joy and hope and commitment in our new incarnation.  As we sang, it was a beautiful day...