Change in Children's Ministry for Sat evening services

We will NOT have any children's ministry or childcare for the Saturday evening services after June 11 (so, effective June 18). We are hoping to resume children's ministry for Saturday services after the summer. Please spread the word.

If you have questions or want to talk or if you'd like to be a part of helping us grow our Saturday campus, please let me or a member of our staff know. You can find our staff by clicking here.

I posted a video on Facebook where I flesh this decision out a little (it's only 4 minutes). You can click here to see it.

Thanks for your support on this decision and for our church! Great things are happening at PCC!

How 'bout THEM Apples?!

I was really surprised today. Surprised with a very cool gift. It isn't my birthday or a special anniversary. It certainly isn't Christmas. But I got an awesome gift anyway.

A little background first...

About two months ago, I started having some trouble with my laptop. I got it fixed, then it broke again. In the meantime, I got a little mini (netbook) to tide me over until I could figure out what the long-term plan was. Frankly, there really isn't any money for new laptops and I was just trying to get by.

Then my mini got infected with a nasty virus - a malware that threatened to steal my identity. I had never been the victim of identity theft. It was scary. Yesterday before church, I was pretty distracted by it, worried that some faceless person was out there living it up on whatever he could buy with the Brian C. Hughes credit line.

So, before church yesterday, I was lamenting my situation here and there, but especially with some of my colleagues on staff like Chauncey and Beth. I've had a lot of trouble with computers lately, I vented.

And then, today, Beth calls and asks to meet with me face to face, and...immediately. This is almost NEVER good when someone requests that kind of meeting! You can imagine the kind of thoughts that traveled through my mind, but Beth assured me it "wasn't bad".

Susan and I went straight to Beth and Tony's music store, where they both presented me with a huge basket of apples. Wow. That is important. But under the first layer of apples, I noticed a bag, and after digging to get to it, I noticed the boxes. White boxes with an Apple emblem on them.

Turns out, some good friends chipped in to get me an iPad, instigated and orchestrated by Beth Stoddard! I've never had any machine like this one. It's like your first ride in a limo after driving a Pinto your whole life. Even the packaging said, "quality". I think it's time I leave the dark side...I'm probably going to say goodbye to the PC world now.

But not before I say Thank You to those who pitched in to help make it happen (I don't know who you are, except for Beth). You really made me feel appreciated and honored and special. This is an unusual surprise, and I am really, really grateful.

And a special thanks to my good friend Beth Stoddard, too. I was at a rare loss for words as the apples peeled back and revealed the Apple, but it was a really overwhelming and incredible thing you did for me. Thank you for the way you honored me today. I'm so glad we get to be on this journey together!

So, this is me-signing off, with a huge smile, heartfelt thanks, and a little more pep in my step, from...my iPad. :-)

A Few Thoughts about this Weekend...

It was a great weekend at PCC! Of course, Memorial Day Weekend is historically low attendance, and that was certainly the case this year! It was our lowest attendance since July and the first time we've seen attendance go below 1,000 since August. But it was predictable - the weather was mostly good and it's hard to resist a 3 & 1/2 day weekend! (And a good bit of folks were able to join us online from the river, beach, pool or lake.)

Those who were able to be at PCC today (either physically at one of our campuses or online) got to participate in some really great music, the pinnacle of which was an unbelievable song that closed the service, written by our own Lindsay Harris. That song is not just good...it's awesome! You'll hear it on the radio some day. Can't wait to get some great original music recorded for a PCC album!

We dealt with a difficult subject today in talking about hell. Plenty of churches take it on, but I think God has uniquely equipped PCC to handle topics like this in a way that feels less judgmental to someone who's not used to going to church. I'm not trying to make hell sound like a vacation spot. Rather, I am trying to create a forum where people are willing to approach these tough subjects with an open mind. This requires that they set aside their pre-conceived notions about the church, based on their previous observations and experiences. To get there, I usually lean into the conversation with that person by trying to ease the tension somehow. That's why I began with the Far Side cartoons and pushed the envelope a little towards the end with the...'expressions' about hell that are part of our vernacular.

I'll post most of the scripture references I used as well as some of the basic emphases of the message in my next post.

It was a good weekend at PCC. I think we may have helped some folks. Using both our best work and the work that fell short - God showed up. He always comes through!

Thinking of a new study...

A few weeks ago, as we led up to Easter, I did a series on this blog on the book of John (called it "Easter Soul Prep" and you can read the entire series on this blog. To see the first day, click here). Pretty much every day, we took one chapter of John at a time and finished all 21 chapters at Easter. For those of us who participated, it was a really good and meaningful part of our spiritual lives for those 3 weeks, and there was a good deal of very healthy discussion. For me, it served as a devotional time that was not a part of preparation for messages. Having some of you say you were counting on my posts was a healthy accountability for me, too.

Several have asked me to do it again, and I am sensing God nudging me that the time is right, so I'm eyeing some books:

• 1 Corinthians. 16 chapters keeps it concise. Paul covers a lot of topics, including unity, heaven and hell, sin, the way for the church to be healthy, gifts from God, etc.
• Genesis. One of my favorite books. An endless list of spiritual truths doused with familiar stories to most people. 50 chapters makes the commitment long, though, especially through the summer.
• Proverbs. 31 Proverbs make it perfect for a month. Many, many great things for us to talk about and hear from God about.

I'm open to something else. But these are the pieces I'm kind of pondering. Let me know if something strikes you or if you have another idea. But do it quickly, because I think I'm going to start on Wednesday, June 1.

The Friend who Calls Again...

I have a very close friend who is the Senior Pastor of a church like ours. This is someone who knows me well, and we've earned the right to poke around in each other's lives to help keep our lives healthy. We have permission to ask questions - sometimes hard or uncomfortable questions - to ensure we're not pretending, living duplicitously, or wearing a mask.

So Monday he calls me. We usually talk every week or two - sometimes about nothing, other times there is an agenda or a specific reason that's church related. "I'm just calling to check on you" he said. (this was prior to yesterday's blog post, by the way). "I'm good," I replied. I shared some frustration I was having with message preparation and a couple of other church things and shared a piece of personal good news I had gotten. But twice more during our 15 minute conversation he asked, "Are you sure you're ok?" I peeled a layer each time, but pretty much ended where I started - "I'm ok. I'm doing well."

Later that evening, my phone again and his name was on the screen. "I had to call you back," he said. "Since we talked earlier, I kept thinking about our conversation and...I'm just not sure you were completely honest with me earlier about being OK. I'm not sure you're telling me everything."

Everybody needs a friend like that!

A real friend calls again. He or she risks ticking you off by making that statement: "I'm not sure you told me the truth." And some people do get offended by such a question. But smart people would never rebuff such an inquiry from a good friend, because we understand that their motive is to help you take your mask off...and sometimes you don't even know you're wearing it.

I wasn't deliberately hiding anything...but the call pressed me to take a harder look, talk through some things, and see what I previously was missing. He prayed for me and I hung up and thought, "Now that is a good friend."

Real friends call again. If you don't have a friend like that, be deliberate. While this is true for everyone...Pastors - this is especially a message for you, because I know many of you don't have a friend who calls again. That kind of friendship won't usually happen for you on its own...you have to be intentional. Those kinds of friends are around, and even though they take time to develop, they are worth it.

A little...blah

When I was in sales (20 years ago) one of the lessons I learned that has served me well is this principal: Business is always good. Always. You might have not had a sale in 2 months, but if someone asks, business is always good. You don't have to fabricate data or lie about your production. But business is always good. why? Because no one wants to buy from a salesperson who is on his way out, can't sell his product, or is just miserable. They want to do business with someone who believes in their product and sells it like crazy. Business is always good.

Along the way, though, I learned to undergird that attitude with truth. You can still believe in your product while admitting it's a tough season.

Pastors of churches like PCC, as authentic as we can be, often hide behind the notion that 'business is good.' The last vestige of mask-wearing for innovative church pastors involves 2 areas: marriage and the blues. We can admit to struggling with temptation, sin, parent issues, being flawed, etc. But these 2 things...well, we just don't want to talk about them.

So, I thought I'd venture out a little and say, "business is still good, but I'm kind of struggling anyway."

You see, creative types tend to move in 'seasons' where everything is good sometimes and everything not at others. It's not really grounded in circumstances or even reality. Sometimes, everything is a disaster, but I feel great. Other times circumstances can be incredible, but I feel...blah.*

This is one of those seasons. I'm a little overwhelmed...a little tired...a little unsure of some decisions that need to be made...a little lacking in direction. As I described it to a friend, I feel a little unsteady. It's not a long term thing and I don't need a thousand pieces of advice about how "the sun coming out tomorrow" and "just whistle while I work". It's a short season and you just have to work your way through it. I'm not miserable. Nothing is particularly wrong. I'm just a little...blah. It's ok. Even the pastor can go through these times. (Yes, men have these seasons, too. They just don't know how to talk about them. Hopefully, someone reading this will feel inspired to share a little about what they're going through with a spouse or friend.) There is no shame in it. It's just part of life.

And, just to be sure we're clear, business is still very good!

*having struggled with depression in the past, I'm always aware that it can happen again. I'm quick to intervene if I see some red flags and have friends and family that serve as an 'early warning system', too. There is a difference between being 'blah' and being depressed, though one can lead to the other. Pastors who struggle with this should read Wayne Cordeiro's Leading on Empty.

Scriptures on Heaven

Today, I made reference to a LOT of scripture. Thought I'd recap here in case you wanted to look some of it up.

• John 14 is a critical chapter in my thinking on this subject. I really think you should read it.
• Matthew 4:17
• Romans 6:23 says that “the gift of God is eternal life with Jesus Christ.”
• 2 Cor 4:18 says, “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
• 2 Cor 5:1-2 says “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dewelling…”.
• WHEN will Heaven happen? I referred to Jesus' conversation with the thief on the cross next to him in Luke 23. I would also refer you to the account in Matthew 17:1-8 of Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus on the mountain. They were not laying 'in state', but were present with Jesus (presumably from heaven). I also noted 1 Cor 15:52 to note that something happens when Jesus returns.
• Speaking of Jesus' return, you can read about that in John 14, 1 Thess 4:16, Mark 13, Hebrews 2, 2 Thess, just to name a few.
• 1 Cor 15:40-58 will give you a taste of what Heaven will be like.
• Finally, how do you get into Heaven? I refer you to John 14:6, John 3:16 and Romans 10:9 for the answers.

More discussion about heaven later...