LAYER ON LAYER

Having a relatively quiet day, which in theory is what Mondays are for in my routine. After getting four hours sleep Saturday night and navigating a busy Sunday, I would have overslept this morning were it not for a gentle voice beside me uttering the fateful words - Are you going to the gym today?

So I've been doing a bit of thinking - after I watched the Mets beat the Phillies of course - and here's what I realized.

The amazing momentum we have going now in the lead-up to September 10th's launch of our new-look Sundays is probably the result of what we've done the last two falls.

'04 was the 40 Days of Purpose campaign, which was a strengthening and growing experience for us as individuals and as a church.

'05 we went through 40 Days Of Community, which among other things established our small groups stronger than we have seen them at any time over the past eight years.

So where we are now is not somewhere we arrived at by chance, it's the result of a progressive building, layer upon layer. And of course where we are now is not where we will stay, because this next step is not our destination, it's simply the next stage towards the eventual goal.