Back in the Saddle

Well, I'm back from vacation and trying to get caught up. Should have posted something here days ago, but digging out after vacation can be a little...overwhelming. Here are some things that are on my mind:

• Vacation was great. The water was warm, the weather was mild, the sky was sunny, and the beach was perfect. I'm so grateful that we have such an awesome staff that I can go away now with no worries about our church. I didn't take my laptop and, therefore, didn't check my email and left my phone in the car while I was gone, which is somewhat of a milestone for me.
• It felt so good to be back on the stage on Sunday. With a death in the family together with a scheduled out of town wedding and then vacation, I had been away 3 of the previous 4 Sundays. I was really missing our church and I missed teaching.
• Last Sunday produced a multitude of incredible conversations. For all of those who were uncomfortable, let me assure you that we absolutely connected with folks who are searching for God. Many have expressed to me that they felt respected and it it left them wanting to continue their quest to know God. They are open to the truth about Jesus and are glad to be on their journey at PCC.
• Today, several members of our staff toured the new Westchester Commons Regal movie theater (at 288 and 60) for a possible eastern campus for PCC. This was extremely exciting and generated a lot of conversation about the possibilities.
• We go to look at another potential site in Chester on Thursday.
• Tomorrow, we have a one-day staff retreat working through a strengths assessment. Should be a great day.
• We make progress with our building every day. A letter should arrive in the mailbox of every person on the PCC mailing list this week to update you on where we are and what we expect will happen next.
• I'm really pumped about our next series...some really cool things that will be extremely attractional for seekers and folks who don't like church. Invite your friends!
• I'm also excited about getting to speak at some churches that are special to me and to PCC in the coming weeks - Amelia Community Church and Coastal Community Church (in Virginia Beach)
• Susan and I got to go out on a date last night...ate at Tripps (what an awesome place) and then bought a movie that looked great and came home to watch it. Crossing Over with Harrison Ford, Ray Liota, Ashley Judd. Looked great on the cover, but it was terrible. Don't waste your time.
• Next week is the Leadership Summit. One of my favorite events all year. I'm so pumped about it! There is still time to go if you want to go with us, so let me know or call the office or yell or email or something...we want you to be there!
• The PCC housebuilding project is almost finished and there are some very interested folks looking at it. I would call it a huge success. We certainly learned a lot in the process, too.

I'll have some posts about several of these things to follow up and provide more details, but wanted you to know a little about what's going on with me and our church.