When Leah Larsen volunteered for “A Full Summer,” she wanted to help people who might “starve to death” this summer without the food. On Saturday, she and 250 other volunteers sacked, rice, beans, and vitamins in just under 2 hours. Our combined efforts provided 50,000 meals for hungry children in Leon County. Leah is a […]
Read More »Pentecost is this Sunday, June 8. Fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the birth of the church through the gift of the Holy Spirit. This Sunday in worship, we have a special treat. Marty Smith, Penny Folsom, and George Feijoo have arranged a special edition of “God is so Good,” to be sung in many […]
Read More »Humans need humor. Christians need to laugh at themselves especially. Any time we can get together with people of faith, we are making room for the movement of the Spirit in our midst. Last week, 34 of our Seniors played together in Branson, Missouri. The time of travel and fellowship was sweetened by the sounds […]
Read More »Last Wednesday, Josh Hall kicked off a two-part series on preventing suicide. This is a tough topic for any church to address, but naming the problem diffuses the pain and encourages people to discuss difficult issues at church. If we can’t talk about these things here, then where else can we discuss them? Often times […]
Read More »Last week at the Weekday graduation reception, I chatted with a couple of parents about their experience with Weekday. As you know, last week 22 students completed the program and are now ready for kindergarten. They’ll spend a few more weeks with us this summer, and then they’ll be off to school. I noticed two […]
Read More »Where do you feel at home? From college to marriage, I lived in about 10 different places. I’ll never forget my one-bedroom efficiency apartment my junior summer of college. It was noisy, convenient, and flexible. It was the only place in Birmingham that would agree to a 3-month lease. When Kelly and I were married, […]
Read More »In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders convinced most people that God was a jealous warrior, an angry disciplinarian, or a distant presence inside a temple. This message created a community of zealot-like warriors, pious Pharisees, duty-bound Sadducees, or guilt-ridden every day people. Community was a tight-knit group of people limited to those who ate the […]
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Do you love to attend potluck dinners? They’re the original comfort food. You never know what you will get, but each offering is a small picture of the chef’s life. Believers shared a common life together in Acts. It looked like an outward-focused potluck. They invited anyone to come, and the movement multiplied. In Acts […]
Read More »The German word for fellowship is “gemeinschaft.” It’s more than an adjective on the “Fellowship Hall,” or an event that you have after a service. This is not “having a fellowship.” This is a way of doing life together, from eating to hospitality, study, and community. Even the free churches in Germany call themselves a […]
Read More »The early churches first heard the scriptures read together. For instance, Paul writes 1 Thessalonians and asks for the letter to be read “in all the churches.” But what is it that brought them together to be the church? We know that the churches served their cities, were located in houses, moved out to the […]
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