SWEPT

Wow, the Mets got swept for the first time this season! The Red Sox outplayed them three nights in a row - it's as simple as that.

But don't be fooled, they've got plenty left for the series against the Yankees that starts tomorrow night in the Bronx. And I'll be there - courtesy of a friend who is connected enough and unavailable enoungh himself to have had four tickets for the best show in town to pass on to a surprised and happy English convert to baseball.

I hope I won't be too conspicuous in my Martinez shirt as I know they're not too keen on Mets fans in the House that Ruth built, but I figure there'll be enough of us there for me to melt into the crowd.

Forget the Boston debacle - tomorrow is another day!

SUNDAY'S COMING

I'm pretty pumped about Sunday. I like the format we adopted in the Spring of bringing together baptisms and communion every three months on one special Sunday. Of course we celebrate communion at other times too, but pairing it up with baptism is pretty cool.

It takes quite a bit of effort to baptize by immersion in a movie theater. The esential props are a horse trough (!) and countless gallons of water which have to be carried around 500 feet. But I'd far rather have baptisms in front of the whole church than off in some other place with just a fraction of our folks there.

Back in Scotland we generally baptized in the North Sea, which got a little chilly during the winter - that was when I learned that the pastor does not have to do the baptizing!

BACK!

Okay, that was it - a great break out at my favorite part of the Island! Sure the weather wasn't all it might have been, but there was enough sunshine to leave me pretty sore all over despite wearing factor 30 sunblock and to leave the elongated Blackmore nose shining like a beacon in the dark. Move over Rudolph!

It's probably good to come clean and confess that I did watch a lot of World Cup Soccer, so didn't get through all the reading I had planned.

But it was relaxing, refreshing and I certainly read enough to be challenged in a few areas and to be left with some things to think through, which hopefully will help me improve in doing what I do night and day - and love doing.

I know reading is fast becoming a lost art, but there is so much out there to amuse, entertain, inform, inspire that I need to find some more time to give myself to learning from others.

DON'T DATE ME!

Okay, so today I hit 56 - but I'm not really that old, honest. If you don't believe me, do what they do to trees - cut me in half and count the rings - I'm sure the total won't come to more than 26.

I do have to admit that my back creaked a lot when I got up this morning and it has been giving me some grief all day, but young people have back problems as well as old relics from a bygone era, so that proves nothing.

What a great birthday - breakfast out with Gill and then the whole afternoon on the beach here in Montauk, reading and watching the sea. Charlotte, Mike and Jace will be here shortly and we'll go eat together, watching the waves lap the shore.

On the subject of eating, there is good news for those who have used the word "anorexic", albeit in jest, in my presence. I granted myself a holiday today and this morning I put away a huge omelette, homefries and toast. This afternoon I saty ont he beach and consumed strawberry mousse from the local bakery, with about an inch of whipped cream on the top of it. Tonight I will eat whatever I like, but I bet it will include french fries. So don't worry, I can still eat - that's the real problem!

BANG, BANG, HAMMER, HAMMER

It's great to be sitting here 200 yards from the shore and listening to the waves hitting the beach. However, I can't see the sea because it's still shrouded in mist, fog or whatever. Last night we had enjoyed around 5 inches of rain here - it will be interesting to see what the weekend total was when I listen to the late news today..

But for now it has stopped and though I'm not exactly jumping into my new orange swimming trunks and heading for the sands, being out here - even in bad weather - sure beats being beat around the head with a kipper by a drunken Irishman!

Went in for the service this morning. I know I'm biased, but I love our church. I'm also glad we have a lot of warmheated people like Dr. Marvin Katzmann who worked on my back for me right after I left the theater. I pulled a muscle on Friday and have been in a lot of discomfort since then! Next step is the hot bath he recommended and hopefully it will be a virtually pain-free birthday for me tomorrow!

By the way, I heard a couple of great stories from people planning to be baptized next weekend, but I'm not going to tell them here, you'll have to be there on the day for our Celebration Sunday!

YOU NEVER KNOW

We're working on a complete overhaul of our website this summer and I love the new look. Our techi guy, Jim Dudley, is just waiting for me now to write a load of updated material, provide new photos, etc, which I have promised him will happen after this study break! Let's face it, it won't happen during it!

Thanks to Jimmy, our ministry reaches far wider than our own Sunday morning services nowadays. During June around 450 people listened to our podcasts and that number is growing as I get emails from other parts of the USA and from other countries about the messages preached at Grace.

You never know who may be listening it seems!

Nearer home, it wasn't exactly a summer day here in Montauk today. We gave up on the beach after about one hour as there was a chilly breeze, but it has been a good, quiet day. I walked a few miles, got into my first book and watched Togo give France all kinds of trouble in the World Cup. Sadly the French won and will go through to the next round!

I love it out here - did I say that before? But I'm looking forward to driving in on Sunday to meet our live congregation and our internet friends and give them Hell!

SUNDAY'S COMING

I've never been much of a hell fire and damnation preacher, but since I do believe in hell, I need not only to warn people but above all else to inspire and be inspired to keep as many people out of there as possible.

I like the title of German Evangelist Reinnhard Bonnke's autobiography - Plundering Hell To Populate Heaven.

Just finished my sermon for Sunday - let's pray we'll be doing a bit of that plundering stuff!

MAKING THE CUT

Later today I'm leaving town for a week (I will be coming back for Sunday) on one of my favorite trips of the year. As far as I can recall, already this year I've been in Texas (twice), D.C., California, Indiana (twice), Scotland and India.

Early this evening we take the shortest trek of all - to the far flung eastern end of Long Island and a little town I love - Montauk.

Some good friends have given us the use of their condo in this beautiful little resort for more summers than I can remember and it's a haven. Why?

1. You can be in Montauk in less than 90 minutes, but it feels like you're in another state.

2. The beach is so long it's seldom really crowded.

3. No disrespect to anyone, but I seldom run into anyone I know in Montauk.

4. There's a real relaxed atmosphere out there. We just veg out and fit right in.

5. All the comforts of home, but you're away from home.

6. And the clincher - there are no shops worth speaking of, no big stores. So you couldn't spend hours shopping if you wanted to. And of course I don't want to.

The toughest decision is working out which books to take with me from my "To Read" stack. So this morning I've made the final cut.

The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus
I love his stuff - his podcast is outstanding. I've had the book since January so will be glad to get into it.

Emotional Branding by Marc Gobe
This is a book on marketing that was recommended to me by a friend as a must for all pastors.

The Multi-Site Church Revolution by Geoff Surratt and others
Is this the next step for Grace? One church, multiple congregations, different locations? Who knows? The book should be interesting.

Leading Beyond The Walls by Adam Hamilton
This has been called "The best book on how to be an effective pastor". I can glean from it I'm sure - wonder if that quote is from the writer's brother???

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
I saw this book recommended in an in-flight magazine on one of those journeys I made earlier this year. It's about building networks and relationships. I meet a lot of people over meals already, but I'm up for any new excuse I can find for good (healthy!) food.

We're taking a vacation in August, so I'm calling this week a Study Break. Tough life, I know, but pastoring demands sacrifices!

SUDDENLY!

Our Wednesday morning Pastoral Team meeting went well today. We continued to discuss plans for the summer and beyond, with exciting changes ahead in most areas of the church's life (more of all this in time).

Above all I'm glad that we've got some positive summer plans instead of just letting these months slip by as we have done over the past couple of years, with a great youth program starting next month and Backyard Bible Clubs for children being organized by Charlotte for August. It will all climax with an End Of Summer Festival for the community at Patchogue Bandstand on Labor Day.

So it was a good meeting ... fastforward thirty minutes and Lesaya gets news from her mother in California that her seven year old nephew in England has been involved in a scary swimming incident and was found at the bottom of a pool. Suddenly the day and the mood changes. We get word in the office and all stop to pray - then we wait for word. For news of a miracle.

It is hours coming, but finally we learn that young Joe was revived in the ambulance, his vitals looked good, there was no immediate sign of damage due to oxygen deprivation and he was actually on his way home. Thanks God!

None of us knows what a day will bring, but it's good to know who holds every day and all our tomorrows in his hands.

Please continue to pray for Joe's complete recovery.

MULTI-TASKING

Wireless internet connections are a wonderful thing. Here I am sitting on my settee watching England play Sweden in the soccer World Cup, while at the same time I've been catching up on emails and am now updating my blog.

What a great time to be alive. If Al Gore hadn't already invented the internet, I think I'd have done it myself.

This morning we had a guy here switching our phone system from dear old Verizon's traditional phone line service to Vonage who somehow or other provide the same conveniences by hooking the house phones up to the internet. It's all a little beyond my comprehension - totally beyond my comprehension to be absolutely honest - but I do know it will save me in the region of $70 a month on my phone bill.

All this is a world away from the small black and white TV that I was watching last time England won the world cup - way back in 1966.

England's soccer really isn't great - but while their glory days may be behind them, I'm glad to be living a life where the best is still to come. Technology isn't the only thing that's constantly changing. Church is too!

MONDAY,MONDAY

Had a quiet day so far today, which is always the plan for Mondays but doesn't usually happen.

Gym this morning and then Weightwatchers (lost a bit more for a 109lb total so far). Did a bit of shopping this afternoon while Gill was at the physical therapist. Was pleased with a pair of black semi-dress shoes on clearance for $15 instead of $70. Did you know your feet shrink too when you lose weight???

Well, that's about the scintillating level of my day today. But we all need days like this from time to time. Will be going to a wake tonight and then doing little for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow will be a different matter altogether!

FATHER'S DAY

In the thirty or so years since President Lyndon B. Johnson established that the third Sunday in June should be honored as Father's Day, Hallmark, Home Depot and every other retail chain in the country have quickly learned to milk it for all it's worth.

As I grabbed my early morning cup of java from the 7-11 today, the cashier wished me a happy Dather's Day and added she was assuming I am a father. Is it really that obvious?

I wonder what the tell-tale signs are? After several hours of thought, I think I might have cracked this major issue.

1. The simplest clue is the color of my hair. Gray is the sign of surviving years of bouncing from one crisis to the next as a parent.

2. It might have been the way I slowly counted out my coins to give her just the right change. In reality I was just looking to empty all the loose change from my pocket - she probably thought my kids had left me broke.

3. It could have been that I was dressed in a shirt I would never have chosen personally, which gave her the clue that I had crossed the line and was no longer capable of picking my own outfits, instead my children were suggesting clothes more suited to someone from their own era.

4. But it was probably just the fact that I was smiling at 6.30am. She obviously confused me for the father of younger children who had actually escaped the lunacy of his home for an hour on a Sunday morning to enjoy a cup of coffee, read the paper and forget that his life had been taken over years ago by a breed of aliens soon heading for high school and ultimately destined to leave him void of cash, hair and sanity.

FRIDAY THOUGHTS

Getting back from India on Tuesday has sure made this a short week. Wednesday I was still like an alien trying to find his way around a crowded supermarket, but yesterday and today my head actually feels connected to my body.

So the #1 task of the day is to finish my message for Sunday morning. We're starting a new series (we seem to say that very frequently nowadays) called If I Die Before I Wake, during which we're going to take a look at death, after death, heaven and hell.

The series grew out of a snowday we had back in February when I was unable to complete the last part of our Win 4 Life series which was to have been a talk on heaven.

So I've expanded it into a three part series which will give me some time to look at the fact that Christians do die and that the Bible says God thinks it's a good thing when a Christian leaves this earth. I want to lay to rest the nonsense that suggests someone should have prayed more, fasted a load or must have just generally failed somehow because someone who loved Jesus went home. There are a bunch of other myths I'll be happy to explode too.

We need to learn to celebrate death because Jesus came to deliver us from the grip of the fear of dying.

Sorry, you got me started - maybe I'd just better get off here and finish the content for Five Seconds After Your Last Breath and you can hear it in full on Sunday or listen to it on our website or our podcast.

TEAMWORK

Getting back into the swing of things here, there's one aspect of the coming weekend that is blowing my mind.

A few months ago we had the idea of throwing a party for all the volunteers in our church, but discovered that would be such a huge event it would be tough to pull it off. So we went for a bash just for those who make Sundays happen by being involved in one way or another.

It's going to be a barbecue at Frank Summers' house (he has the biggest back yard) and at the last count there will be 100 people there. Isn't that an insane figure?

Forget the fact there are a whole bunch of folks who are already committed to a graduation party, bar-mitzvah, family reunion or boat launching party elsewhere, one hundred people who are actively involved in our Sunday programs are going to join us.

I can't believe the head count. I knew it took the effort of a lot of willing workers, but had no idea what the total was. Good job we're throwing them a party - they deserve it!

REFLECTIONS ON MY TRIP

The good news is - the Mets kept me awake last night as they beat the Phillies. And the Tylenol PM kept me asleep until a decent time of day. So now I'm catching up with a few things, doing some essentials, looking forward to Gill coming home this afternoon (she has been visiting friends in Florida) and will be fully back into the swing of things tomorrow.

What was the point of going more than half way around the world for just seven days? Good question.

1. It further strengthened our relationship with Basil D'Souza and Covenant Blessings Church.

2. I was able to give him some input on a number of significant issues he is looking at just now.

3. I was there when he got news from the UK of the death of a good friend and fellow pastor, Barry Graham. Barry has been heavily involved with Basil in training Indian pastors.

4. I spent a lot of time with them ironing out the practical details of their 40 Days of Purpose campaign that starts on July 16th.

5. I visited the church in Goa, encouraged them and preached a couple of nights at special services.

6. I traveled around with the pastor there as he continued his search for suitable land to build a church on.

7. I spent a whole day doing some training with the wider leadership team in Covenant Blessings Church.

8. I preached at both their English and Hindi services on Sunday.

9. My passion for reaching other nations was fired up and my love for India and its people grew.

10. I resolved to do all I can to fill the gap Barry left and to ensure that we are actively involved in training as many Indian pastors as we can.

HOLDING OUT

My body thinks it's after 5.30am and so is desperate for sleep. But if I give in now, I'll be wide awake again in a few hours and spend the rest of the night tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep.

So the goal is to stay up until 9.00 tonight. How to do that?

+ Type on my laptop!

+ Watch the Mets (can't sleep while they're on this season!).

+ Drink coffee.

Some people wonder why we put ourselves through all we do on missions trips. Over the past nine days I have sat on cramped planes for over forty hours; tried and failed to get a good night's sleep day after day in unbelievably hot and humid conditions; dealt with three days of Delhi Belly so I hardly dared eat and felt pretty awful.

Why then will dozens of people from our church give themselves to help others they hardly know in different states and foreign countries this year? What is their problem? Why will they put themselves through this?

That's easy. They have read the best-selling book of all time in the USA - The Purpose Driven Life.

They know and live the opening statement on its riveting pages -

It's not about you!

And that folks, says it all!

BACK!

We made really good time on the journey home - almost exactly 24 hours from door to door. Just over 8,000 miles - India to England and England to New York. Did I ever say I love New York?

Walking out of Terminal 7 at JFK, the sky was clear blue, the temperature was cool compared to the harrowing heat of Bombay these past few days, and scam artists were trying to fool uninformed tourists into taking a $100 ride to the city.

It will take a day or two to get back into a regular routine as the 9 1/2 hours time difference is a bit of a readjustment.

More about the trip later. For now, it's good to be home!

NEWS FROM AFAR

Just managed to get to an internet cafe, so I'm catching up with a few things from the southern state of Goa. While the monsoon rains started last week they seem to have abated, so we are left with hot and very humid conditions with the occasional heavy downpour.

There was one of those showers a few minutes ago, which hit the power here. I guess the computers are on a generator, but the fans and the lights obviously are not. So I'm typing like a blind man in a sauna and am thankful to have some excuse for typos today!

Here are a few bits and pieces from the last few days -

+ Good journey here. Thanks to Justin Majeed for the tip that Nyquil works better than Tylenol PM to guarantee a good sleep on long plane trips.

+ They've really upgraded Mumbai airport so getting through immigration was far quicker. Now they just need to speed up the baggage claim.

+ Arrived early Tuesday and flew down to Goa later that day.

+ The church here is doing very well. So good to see all the folks. Spent last night doing some teaching with their key leaders - same again tonight.

+ Took some time yesterday looking at property for the church to build. Everything has risen in price dramatically and there's not too much available. They have been let down several times already.

+ It looks like there are two current options. One is a couple of miles from where most of the people live and would involve them walking up over a big hill to get there. (These are poor people who do not have any form of transport). The second is right in the middle of their community, but it is expensive.

+ They may be poor, but God isn't. So I have encouraged them to pursue the best location and we'll believe together for God to provide the extra $7500.

+ By the way. I learned they have banned The DaVinci Code in six states here in India as it brings Jesus into disrepute. Does Christian America have anything to learn from Hindi India? I don't advocate censorship, but I do appreciate respect being shown to Christ!

SPICING THINGS UP

Okay, that's it - I've eaten the my last bland food for the next nine days. Egg whites omelette with peppers and onions is tasty in its own way, but it can't hold a candle to the Indian cuisine I will be compelled to eat from now until June 13th.

This is definitley one of those instances where it's tough but someone has to do it.

Some people have the idea that doing what God wants has got to hurt. I do not subscribe to that deviation from truth. The Bible talks about how we take great delight in doing God's will. We enjoy it. We love it. The food too.

I'm happy to be going to such a fascinating country where not only are the people outstanding, but they serve my favorite dishes.

Please don't get the wrong idea, I'm going to be doing some leadership training, preaching, etc., but a man has to eat too!

Will blog when I can - leaving for the airport soon!

MY PHONE DIDN'T RING!

There's a ton of stuff to take care of when you're planning to be away for a short while and this week has been the time to get everything in place so that I'm clear for my time in rain-soaked India.

One important matter was passing a lot of paperwork and other information on to our attorney so that the interested party in Washington DC can continue examining how the Town of Brookhaven has been denying its constituents' First Amendment rights.

Last night I took another look at the Town Board meeting when the amendment to regulate building in residential areas was slipped through at the last minute (though it was not even on the agenda). Councilman Hennessey asked for several assurances from the Planning Commissioner regarding Grace Church. One was that she call us the next morning - September 21st 2005 - to explain how best we could proceed. She assured him that she would.My phone didn't ring!

But that's okay. Things are taking their course and the work of God has never been dependant upon the Town of Brookhaven.

Later this afternoon our most recent missions team to the Dominican Republic will return from a most succesful trip. Tomorrow we will gather resources for another year of reaching out to those in need at home and abroad. New people are worshiping with us every Sunday and on July 2nd we will be baptizing some of those who have come to faith in Christ.

When Nehemiah was rebuiilding the walls of Jerusalem, his adversaries wanted him to come down and talk things over with them. He replied - What I'm doing is important, I can't waste my time with you. (RJB Version).

We're involved in life-changing stuff. I am thankful that we have outstanding attorneys who are dealing with God's adversaries on our behalf. I'm happy to leave it all with them and carry on with what is important.

I'M PUMPED

This is a major weekend for us at Grace. We're a missions-minded church (pity that description has to be used, because it should be true of all churches) and on Sunday we draw our annual May missions focus to a close.

It will be great to have the short-term team returning from the DR tomorrow to help us do that. It will also be cool to have all the candles on the stage lit - sorry if it's giving some of you ex-Catholics flashbacks!

One of the main issues for Sunday is money. I have no qualms about saying that. What we do to advance the kingdom in the main areas we are serving will be decided to a large degree by dollars and cents.

And we can't budget without first knowing what will come in. That's why we're inviting folks to make a missions commitment for the next twelve months, or faith promise if you prefer that phrase.

We've got a provisional missions budget of $100,000 for the year ahead of us - which is probably equal to the total annual budget of an average church in this country. But it all depends on what everyone at Grace is ready to commit to.

Sunday is the acid test of whether people have really got it.
This could be the year we pass that $100,000 point for the first time in our brief history.

I'm pumped - can't wait to see the outcome. Then I'm going to run out the door, jump on a plane and head to India myself - which underlines the fact that we don't just preach missions, we do it. All our pastors will be leading at least one missions teams this year. It's a requirement - but they want to do it anyway.

Being Friendly Isn't Enough

WARNING - STOLEN BLOG AHEAD
I read this on my friend Tony McCollum's blog today - it's good stuff!

I tell our ushers and greeters that I want visitors to feel welcomed AND expected. It’s not enough to just be nice. We need to be ready for the visitors. We need to anticipate what they need and have it waiting on them.

I once stopped in a rural community to get something to eat at a restaurant that had been recommend to me, but when I got there the waitress just asked me what I wanted without any sort of menu, in hand or on the wall. I had to ask for a menu and she had difficulty finding one. She finally came back with a dusty, faded one. She then told me it was out of date and tried to list from memory everything they served at the restaurant. The waitress was nice and the food was good but I felt weird. I felt like an outsider and a not very important one at that.

I once visited a church that evidently hadn’t had a visitor in a hundred years. The very elderly ushers spotted me the minute I go out of my car and they knew I was a visitor because they had never seen me before AND I was under the average age of the members of the church which I guessed to be 182. As I walked through the front door the second set of ushers had been notified that a VISITOR was in motion. (I believe they yelled “code blue” or something.) Anyway, I vividly remember them holding me at the door of the sanctuary as they rummaged around in a box of old papers looking for the “emergency” visitor packet with neon orange visitor tagging sticker. They eventually found it but it was too late. I already knew that visitors were an oddity for them, or at least it seemed that way to me. The place simply couldn’t have seemed more lifeless and dead to me.

When people visit our churches, it should at least look like we have visitors all the time. We should be ready to rock and roll. We should do this for the comfort of our guests and to honor them but also to make sure that we are communicating that there’s life in this place and we’re ready for it.