WHAT A VIEW!
I love it when the plane takes the flight path right up the East River on its descent to LaGuardia. You get to see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and all the cool stuff that typifies New York. I watch the tourists stretching their necks to see out of the left side of the plane and think - that's my town!
To tell you the truth, though I enjoy it, our arrival back into Queens didn't take that route today. We came from somewhere way over in Jersey, got an eyeful of the projects in the Bronx and bounced all over the tarmac once the wheels finally hit the ground.
But New York really is one outstanding place. Don't get me wrong, I met some great people down south this weekend, but they talk weird, can't drive and a few that I bumped into are very, very strange.
Over the next couple of days I'll write about churches we visited, but I have to start with the new plant that was the main reason for making the trip - Ridgestone Community Church in Canton, GA.
We had a blast there. I've read a ton of other reports from people who have gone to check out this two year old congregation and its zany pastor, but my lasting impression has not been carved from the things most of them noted. Gary is an outstanding communicator (are preachers really allowed to say 'crap' in the south?) and his church is friendly, relevant, well-equipped and above all, going places.
Preston does a phenomenal job with their kids' stuff - it's second to none. The band rocks and the big guy, the head honcho, the big cheese, makes me wish I was 30 years old too.
I made a load of notes, picked up some useful ideas to tweak what we do in a movie theater, but there were a couple of things outside of the service itself that hit me and not only showed Gary's heart, but gave the clearest indication that they are really on track.
Sure I'll copy some of his signage, follow up on lighting upgrades and I'll look into the giant printer they have to produce a ton of good graphics. But those aren't the main thing I got out of my time at Ridgestone - it wasn't them that reminded me this old Brit and the young redneck have an awful lot in common.
Later!
To tell you the truth, though I enjoy it, our arrival back into Queens didn't take that route today. We came from somewhere way over in Jersey, got an eyeful of the projects in the Bronx and bounced all over the tarmac once the wheels finally hit the ground.
But New York really is one outstanding place. Don't get me wrong, I met some great people down south this weekend, but they talk weird, can't drive and a few that I bumped into are very, very strange.
Over the next couple of days I'll write about churches we visited, but I have to start with the new plant that was the main reason for making the trip - Ridgestone Community Church in Canton, GA.
We had a blast there. I've read a ton of other reports from people who have gone to check out this two year old congregation and its zany pastor, but my lasting impression has not been carved from the things most of them noted. Gary is an outstanding communicator (are preachers really allowed to say 'crap' in the south?) and his church is friendly, relevant, well-equipped and above all, going places.
Preston does a phenomenal job with their kids' stuff - it's second to none. The band rocks and the big guy, the head honcho, the big cheese, makes me wish I was 30 years old too.
I made a load of notes, picked up some useful ideas to tweak what we do in a movie theater, but there were a couple of things outside of the service itself that hit me and not only showed Gary's heart, but gave the clearest indication that they are really on track.
Sure I'll copy some of his signage, follow up on lighting upgrades and I'll look into the giant printer they have to produce a ton of good graphics. But those aren't the main thing I got out of my time at Ridgestone - it wasn't them that reminded me this old Brit and the young redneck have an awful lot in common.
Later!
posted by Roger Blackmore | 4:33 PM
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