I just wanted to make known, if I haven't done it enough before, of how proud I am to be the lead pastor of The Journey. This is a church in which I have never experienced the realness, authenticity, and true genuine desire to live and become all that Christ calls us to be. We have handled conflicts well, by getting face to face and resolving issues. I have never seen churches that do that. James Ulmer, one of our elders, has been to many churches in his years and said that he has never witnessed it either -- he has seen a lot of churches :-). It makes me proud to know that we have people who are willing to deal with each other in love, even when they don't agree with one another or have had a conflict arise.
I love the transparency that people have. It is rare to find people who are not putting up a front about their life. I'm engaged with conversations with many throughout the church. It seems that their is an openness at our church to just be yourself. It is OK to admit you have struggles and to voice those. Those attitudes and that culture creates an environment of acceptance. It allows for us to invite the roughest and most broken into our community as they are, believing that God can do the work needed to be done.
I want to end by saying don't miss this Sunday if at all possible. In fact, invite friends to come with you. It will be inspiring. It will be uplifting. It will make you grateful for all that God, through Jesus Christ, has done for you. Thanks to everyone who has put in the hard work to make this series special and to prepare for this upcoming Sunday.
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