Crowning Jewel

Good morning everyone. It is Monday morning of course and a point at which I can look back over the weekend and evaluate what kind of a weekend it was. Sundays are a culmination of a week's full of work and the crowning jewel of the week. I believe Sunday's are what makes the weekend so special for me. This last Sunday was no exception. It was great to see a good crowd and people just worshiping God.

I had a friend in town this weekend. The last time he attended church here was six years ago. This friend moved out of town and now attends and is active in a very large Southern Baptist Church. The church that he attends is an awesome church and has reached many people for Christ over the years. If I were to name this church almost every person in Baptist circles would know the church and their former pastor who was a household name in Southern Baptist circles. My friend is a musician and even used to play the bass here when we were Parkway Baptist years ago. He now plays the bass at the church were he is a member. He shared with me that about a year ago they tried to do something a little more contemporary in their Wednesday night services in order to reach a generation that is on the decline in this church. He said the musicians and music minister were pumped up to do this "new" praise band format with more contemporary music then what the church is normally used to. They thought Wednesday night would be a good option to ease into it. My friend told me that they did the new format on a Wednesday night and there was such a backlash of complaints and disgruntled older adults that they immediately killed the plan for a more contemporary Wednesday night service. My friend said that the older adults thought that they were bringing too much of the "world" into the church. The older adults said that the look, the music and the feel were too "worldly" and that they could still reach people without those kind of changes. But by my friend's admission the younger generation is on a steady decline in this church. My friend thought it was a shame that they could not do something a little different to reach people in the city in which he lives.

My friend attended C3 this weekend and was blown away. He really liked the worship and the energy. The worship was different than what he is normally used to but I think in a small way he and his wife get why we do church the way we do. When I shared with them that over two hundred people had prayed to receive Christ since last august they were amazed. Is reaching the lost more important than our traditions, programs and our "church social club" atmosphere? You better believe it is.

Andrea was telling me last night that her friend whom she works with that had never attended church before visiting C3 and prayed to receive Christ a week before Easter was talking to her yesterday. Andrea's friend knows nothing about the Christian walk and is so hungry to learn. Yesterday Andrea shared the story of Paul, how he was a persecutor of Christians and then became a great soul winner after his conversion to Christ. Andrea said that her friend had tears in her eyes and said that truly God can save anyone including herself and her friends she is concerned about. It is people like Andrea's friend and the many who have come to know Christ every Sunday that makes the struggles to be a relevant church devoted to changed lives worth it. It is also so awesome to see my friend who I had not seen in a while get the vision if only for a brief moment while he is visiting from another city. It is also great to have a conversation with a friend who has come back to C3 after a change of heart that Christ has done. The excitement in the air yesterday was contagious and refreshing. So was the weekend good? Yes and yesterday was truly the crowning jewel of a week of worship. Praise be to God!