CATCHING UP

It's already 2007 here and has been for several hours. So for those of you who have yet to catch up and start your festivities - Happy New Year.

We didn't see the ball drop in Times Square, but we did enjoy some good Scottish food and traditional music - didn't get home until 3.15am which is later than I expected but much earlier than it used to be in years gone by!

HAPPY HOGMANAY

Hogmanay (pronounced [ˌhɔgməˈneː] — with the main stress on the last syllable - hog-muh-NAY) is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish manner. Its official date is the 31 December. However this is normally only the start of a celebration which lasts through the night until the morning of the 1 January or, in some cases, 2 January which is a Scottish Bank Holiday.

For the uninitiated, it would be good to explain that New Year in Scotland is what Thanksgiving is to Americans. It's the biggest holiday of the year, a huge event that carries over two full days.

Our plans tonight start with a service with friends in a local church. That will run from 10.30 to midnight and then the fun starts with a ceilidh, scheduled to run until 3.00am.

A céilidh (pronounced /ˈkʲʰeːlʲiː/) is the traditional Gaelic social dance in Ireland and Scotland. Other spellings encountered are ceilidh, céilí (Irish reformed spelling) and cèilidh (Scottish Gaelic reformed spelling). Before discos and nightclubs, there were Céilidhs in most town and village halls on Friday or Saturday nights and are still common today. Originally céilidhs facilitated courting and prospects of marriage for young people and, although discos and nightclubs have displaced céilidhs to a considerable extent, they are still an important and popular social outlet in rural parts of Ireland and Scotland, especially in the Gaelic-speaking west coast regions. Céilidhs are sometimes held on a smaller scale in private or public houses, for example in remote rural hinterlands and during busy festivals. It is common for some clubs and institutions such as sports clubs, schools and universities and even employers to arrange céilidhs on a regular or at least annual basis. The formality of these can vary. Some mix modern pop music with a Scottish country dancing band and dress codes range from compulsory highland dress to informal. Knowledge and use of the basic dance steps is not always strictly necessary, and dances often alternate with songs, poetry recitals, story telling and other types of "party pieces".

Céilidh music is provided by any assortment of fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán (pronounced /ˈboːrɑːn/ or /ˈbaurɑːn/) (a drumlike instrument, traditionally with a wooden frame covered with stretched goat hide), and in more recent times also drums and electric bass guitar. The music is cheerful and lively, and the basic steps can be learned easily; a short instructional session is often provided for new dancers before the start of the dance itself.

After the ceilidh, the festivities will continue in private homes and while we have several invitations to keep going well into the morning hours, I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll be making an exit before the ceilidh itself is even over.

It will probably be quieter where you are. but Happy Hogmanay anyway and may 2007 be a very special year for you.

WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST?

To tell the truth, I have not seen breakfast time for the past two days. The five hours time difference makes it tough to get to sleep at night here and even tougher to face daylight in the morning.

British breakfasts vary a little from what we may eat in a New York diner as you can see from this photo. Note the absence of fat on the bacon, the beans - yes beans! - on the plate and some black stuff on top of the bacon that you really don't need to know about. But since you asked, it's called Black Pudding and it is comprised mainly of blood!!!

Our church will be kicking off The Earliest New Years Party Ever at 8.30 tomorrow and more familiar items will be on the breakfast buffet - like scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, home fries, french toast, pancakes and of course bagels!

That will be followed by our last service of 2006, with a great guest speaker - Ivan Vorster - who is Lesaya Kelly's father. Ivan pastored in South Africa for years, but more recently is the Chaplain to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department in California and is the pastor of a church there also. He's a great guy.

So don't miss breakfast tomorrow morning - it's free of course - and I'll do my very best to get up in time to eat over here too.

GREAT CHRISTMAS IN INDIA

We had a huge Christmas Eve, with the attendance only twenty people and change under our biggest Sunday of the year, Easter. It was a great time.

Today I got word from our friend Basil D'Souza in Thane,Bombay about their special services last weekend -

I think we made the right decision to have two services in Thane for Christmas, although it was hard work. We had 480 at the Hindi Service (5.30pm) and 284 at the English (9.00pm).
In addition Agnel had 190 at Calangute and 80 at Vasco, bringing the total number of those who attended service at Covenant Blessings Churches to 1000+.... God is so very good.

Isn't that amazing? - Over 1,000 people in services there celebrating Christmas in a Hindi culture. Basil is really doing a great job over in India, but I have shared with him that I believe the potential for development and growth surpasses anything he can even imagine.

And it's the same for us too!

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

If you check the weather forecast for the north east of Scotland, it will tell you that the temperature was around 40 today. They're lying! What they don't take into account is what I had forgotten about this area in winter - there's a lingering dampness in the air and the wind has been gusting up to 80mph.

80mph - I lie not. Back on Long Island that's enough to have warnings flashing across the bottom of the TV screen, but here it's just another windy day that feels like its in the teens.

When I went out for a run this morning I doscovered that walking was barely possible. It was a test to cover around two miles heading straight into the wind, but it was a heck of a lot easier jogging the return journey with the wind at my back.

And the moral of this story is - sometimes the going is tough and everything is against you, but it changes. Nothing stays the way it is. Stick at it and stay the course.

Better go be sociable. Loving being here with family and friends - but baby it's cold ouitside!

THE WONDER OF WI-FI

Forty eight hours before we were due to leave for a vacation in Scotland last July, our son-in-law's father had a horrific sky-diving accident. Needless to say, our plans were put on hold. Freddie is home now, still recovering, but a living miracle and we had the joy of spending Christmas with him.

With that crisis behind us, we decided to use our plane tickets to be in Scotland for New Year, so here we are in London's Heathrow Airport waiting for our connecting flight to Aberdeen.

New Year is huge for the Scots, so it will be a good time to be with family and friends there. We will be staying with Gill's brother and sister-in-law. Sue has been battling colon cancer for the past eighteen months, so we really want to see her and spend some time with her.

I intend to use the time to wind down, relax and contemplate the year ahead. I am convinced that 2007 will be a pivotal year for Church At The Movies. It will be a year that shapes our destiny as we look at fresh challenges and opportunities and take bold steps forward. I'll be outlining some of this in my "State Of The Church Address" on Sundays January 21st and 28th - Dangerous Church 2007, but there's a lot of good stuff happening before then.

The Earliest New Years Party Ever kicks of this coming Sunday morning with a full breakfast being served from 8.30 to 9.30 and then our end of year service with guest speaker, Ivan Vorster, gets under way in Worship Central.

Celebration Sunday is January 14th, with our fourth baptismal service in nine months and a time for communion too.

A great end to one year and an exciting start to a new one - a year in which we will be pushing the limits still further. Buckle up for the ride of your life!

WHO WON'T COME

Here's a great post, stolen in its entirety from - John Laeger's blog


Why "church in a movie theater"?

Because of who WON'T come.

My observation is that most Christians who are looking for a church, are looking for a church that has its own building. But let me get right to the point. Meadow does not exist to reach Christians. They are already reached. (That’s why they are called “Christians”.) Being a “church in a movie theater” will actually give Christians who are looking for a new church, a reason NOT to come to Meadow and I am perfectly okay with that.

If you were to look back at the brief history of Meadow, we have had very few Christians come to Meadow who considered themselves (noticed I said “considered themselves”) “solid” Christians. Because the perception of a church that meets in a movie theater – to most “solid” Christians (whatever that means) is that it is not a “solid” church.

However, I would put the teaching of Meadow up against any other church. I don’t say this to create some kind of competition. Other churches are not our competition. I say that because we do teach solid doctrine. We just don’t use big words. Being a "church in a movie theater" has nothing to do with the content and focus of our teaching.

We teach what the Bible says about the tough subjects most churches (in their own buildings) won’t touch like money, sex, and leadership. We are clear in our teaching that unless a person puts their faith in Christ, they are bound for eternal hell. We just don’t lay it on with a major guilt trip. Our teaching is laser focused on LIVING out a relationship with Christ, not KNOWING more stuff about theology, parsing verbs, knowing the Greek tense, etc. Truth is, “solid” Christians have left Meadow because they wanted to hear more Bible “stuff” rather than change their behavior to be more “Christ-like”.

Bottom line is that being a “church in a movie theater” gives Christians who believe a church and its teaching is defined by a building - a reason NOT to come. And it creates curiosity in those who are far from God to come check us out. To many who are far from God, a church in a church building makes that church like every other church and that’s why they don’t go. Being a “church in a movie theater” at least raises the intrigue factor and gets them in the door – “maybe they are different”. Once they get in the door, they hear teaching that is real, Biblical, makes sense, and they can understand it – AND it makes their life better. They also meet others (you and me) who are also walking this path of trying to live a life that honors Christ.

We are working on a strategy to make sure every person in Scott County knows about this church in Shakopee that is a “church in a movie theater”. We believe that over the next few months, we are going to see hundreds of people come to Meadow simply because we DO meet in a movie theater. But they won't be Christians who believe a church is defined by its building.

Is it possible to be reaching 500 people every Sunday in 2007 because we are a “church in a movie theater”? Yes, it is!

CONCERNED FRIENDS CAN RELAX

It's official!

I can confirm for all my concerned friends that I am not anorexic, bulemic, nor am I simply starving myself.

I can still eat and I have been doing so!

In fact I'm stuffed - guess it's Christmas!!!

NEW TRADITIONS

Now if you're sitting reading my blog on Christmas Day, read fast and go back to the real world!

It's all different this year in the Blackmore household. This is the first time ever that we have not all been together for Christmas and so it brings a different flavor to the holiday. We're a tight bunch, as you might have gathered, but life is all about changes.

I won't be making my brief Christmas dinner table speech that the best gift of all is having my family all around the table, but that doesn't alter the fact that the best thing I have this Christmas is a wonderful wife, children and grandchildren who are the #1 joy of my life.

It's all a little new this year, but new traditions are good too.

We're heading over to Charlotte's later for what will be an amazing celebration as her father-in-law, Freddy, who should have died in his sky-diving fall in July, was released from hospital on Friday and will be there with us. This is the Christmas none of the doctors expected him to see! I guess God had other plans!

So, wherever you are, Merry Christmas.

And if things are not the way they once were, appreciate what you have now - and enjoy!

GREAT JOB

Congratulations to those of our forefathers who hijacked the pagan rituals of mid-winter and decided to make it into a celebration of the birth of Jesus.

We all know Christ did not actually come into the world "in the deep mid-winter", despite what the carols say. It was probably spring time in Palestine when the Babe of Bethlehem made his entrance, but in the absence of a registrar's records, I applaud the decision made by whoever it was to name the day as December 25.

I love Christmas. It's a brightspot in winter and I personally use it to remember the coming of the Savior and to appreciate family and friends.

No point in getting all hot under the collar about Christ getting lost in all the seasonal paraphernalea. This time of year started out pagan and for a lot of people it has stayed that way.

What a pity for them. Let's not criticize, let's be thankful we know what we know and share the good news.

WEIRD

This is strange. It's Saturday evening and we have no service in the morning, so there's none of the anticipation that's normally a part of the weekend process.

I'm meeting one of the guys from the church for breakfast at the diner tomorrow instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to be at the theater right through the set-up process.

Of course we do have our Christmas service at 4.00pm and I'll be hyper by the time it gets to around noon, but in the meanwhile I'm spending Saturday evening wondering what's missing!

NOW THIS IS CHRISTMAS

Had a great time on our regular Saturday afternoon mobile soup kitchen run today. We've been collecting the guys' sizes over the past few weeks and today everyone we served got a personalized Christmas gift bag with sweat shirt, tee shirt, candy, toiletries, etc. We also distributed the usual hot meals and pantry bags at these rooming houses and sober houses we visit.

You would not believe how appreciative everyone was. For some of those we served this may well be the only Christmas gift they get, which made it all the more satisfying to do it for them.

We had a great group of almost 20 people out with us distributing the goodies and it was a very special start to the holiday weekend.

In addition to these gift bags, we were able to provide them for the residents of the Ridge Adult Home and for the ladies in Frank Summer's Tuesday night group in Brentwood jail - almost 100 gift bags in all.

I guess Jesus was showing he knows a thing or two when he said it's more blessed to give than to receive!

THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS

The Saddleback Church Christmas Eve Service featuring Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven® Life, is tentatively scheduled to be broadcast on FOX NEWS channel -

December 24 (8-9 pm and 10-11 pm EST)
December 25 (12-1 am, 10-11 am, and 2-3 pm EST).

SETTLING THE CAR SCENARIO

Lest you fear I have been reduced to using the bus all week while my Expedition has undergone some surgery, let me reduce your anxiety by letting you know that I was given extended use of the Mustang I tried out last Friday.

The seller had offered me an outstanding deal - a real Christmas gift from him - so after driving it around for seven days, today I bought it from him, did the necessary paperwork at DMV and am the proud owner of a 005 Ford Mustang GT.

It's a great car!

WANNA COME?

I have been thinking today of how those two words really did change my whole life. In the context I'm remembering them, they were spoken to me by one of the boys I had been hanging out with on a winter afternoon in 1962. Dave Paton was explaining why he wouldn't be around that evening and told us he was going to be at his church youth group instead.

Then came the fateful question - Wanna come?

I said Yes and I went and that became a pivotal point in my life.

Because Dave asked me, I went to his youth group.

Then I went to his church.

There I became a Christian.

I eventually went to Bible College.

There I met my wife.

I became a pastor.

I eventually moved to the USA.

I planted Church At The Movies.

And all that hinges on a two-word question that isn't even good grammar!
None of it would have happened if the invitation had not been given.
Whose life may that question change this Christmas?

Why not try it out and see?

MAKING LEMONADE

Charlie Russo spent much of his early years living in some form of child care. He was an orphan. He once told me that at Christmas he never went without, because of so many generous people, but the one difference was that the gifts under the tree for him were what people had given, but outside in the real world kids got what they wanted.

He's in his fifties now and a very succesful Suffolk County attorney. He's also a judge in the exclusive incorporated village where he has made his home.

But if you sit in his law office, one unique feature is that he does not have endless shelves of impressive looking books, or several diplomas on the wall to show why he is qualified to do what he does. Instead Charlie has framed letters from children thanking him for making a difference in their lives.

Remembering his roots, Charlie Russo makes a point of giving back. The Christmas Magic program he has created provides gifts for over 5,000 kids every year and they all get what they want. Charlie collects Christmas letters from shelters and other sources and then he makes up the orders so that each child gets exactly what they asked for.

When I met him today he had several wrapped boxes for a needy family. "They only wanted one thing", he explained, "a computer - so here it all is."

Charlie also gave us a van full of toys to distribute through our food pantry again this Christmas. Life must have been tough for him at times as a kid, but he has taken the lemons and made lemonade - lemonade that thousands of children are enjoying this Christmas.

THIS IN FROM SADDLEBACK!

This year the Fox News Network will broadcast Saddleback’s Christmas service on Christmas Eve, and again on Christmas Day, and we’ve come up with a plan to use the broadcast to point people to your congregation.

Here’s how the plan will work:

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Fox News Channel will broadcast “The Purpose of Christmas - From Saddleback Church.” At the end of the broadcast, Pastor Rick Warren will invite people to register their spiritual decision or interest in finding a church by going to a website called www.thepeaceplan.com

On that site, we’re creating a “Church Finder” list of every qualified church in our network. Your church needs to be on that list so people in your area can find you!

People who request follow-up information from the website will give us their name, email, and ZIP code. Then we’ll send you the names of people in your area who are looking for a church! We’re paying for this. It’s free to you and other churches in our network.

Needless to say, we're signed up - check the listings and note it's the Fox News Channel not Fox 5 NY

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Thirty seven years ago I was in church at this precise time of day. It was 3.00pm in the UK on a dull Saturday afternoon just five days before Christmas. While the rest of the world was taking advantage of the last major shopping day before the big holiday hit (stores closed on Sundays in those antedeluvian times), about 120 of us were sitting in the Assembly of God in Exeter, England listening to carols being played on the church's organ.

Years ago that building had been the city mission and my parents had met there while they were serving "Penny Dinners" to the poor people who lived all around in the West Quarter. I had started attending church there about eight years before, had become a committed Christian and was now slightly more than half way through my Bible College training, preparing for a blissful life of pastoring!

The music stopped, the pastor asked us all to stand and the organ started playing The Bridal March. I turned around and watched as my young bride slowly walked down the aisle and could hardly believe that I was actually going to get to marry her.

Gill and I had met at Bible College, sharing a passion for serving God and reaching out to people with the good news of His love. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, and while we had no idea where the path would lead us as we stood there on December 20th 1969, we committed to face all our tomorrows together.

God has blessed me with thirty seven years with the most wonderful woman you could ever meet. It has been quite some trip from Exeter to New York, but every step has been with the love, encouragement and support of the best friend and wife any man could ever hope to have.

GREAT LOOK

This picture hardly does it justice, but our folks have done an amazing job of setting up the stage this past couple of Sundays. Did I say that I love Christmas?

TOP TEN REASONS NOT TO MISS CHRISTMAS EVE

This weekend sees one of those once-every-156-years phenomenon and am I every ready for it! My favorite day of the week coincides with my favorite Holiday and so we get to do Christmas Eve in church on Sunday afternoon, in a big way.

Here are a few reasons you won't want to miss it (with thanks to Perry Noble!)-

#10 - We’ll shoot your eye out if you don’t come!

#9 - Your kids will not have to wear your bathrobes in order to be a shepherd…instead they will have their own Christmas KIDMO which is off the hook.

#8 - It will be FUN!!!!

#7 - We guarantee you’ll like at least one song, no matter how old, hip, or square you are!

#6 - You are not required to wear a Christmas sweater or a santa tie (whatever your wife says!).

#5 - Because people are GOING to meet Jesus…and you can be a part of that IF you INVITE someone TODAY! (GET PEOPLE HERE!!!)

#4 - You can grab some hot chocolate with whipped cream, plus a fistful of Christmas cookies and munch on them all through the service!

#3 - No Handel’s Messiah–Hallelujah!!!

#2 - It will be the most AWESOME experience you have ever had at church on a Christmas Eve

#1 - We understand that Christmas is all about JESUS…and HE will be lifted up in a radical way!!!

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

What better way to end your day off than settle down and watch one of the NFL's best teams - the Colts of course - on Monday night football?

Of course you have to be a raving insomniac to get the best out of any of ESPN's Monday offerings because their much vaunted earlier start to these games still seldom means the final whistle blows before 11.30pm.

For those of us to whom football is little more than recreation because we do in fact have a life, it's annoying to have to switch off the TV at half time and head for bed so that we can function the following morning.

I know we have four time zones in this country and we need to consider the west coast audience, but what do Pacific coast viewers care - this season anyway? Would they really care if Oakland, San Fran or Seattle had games being aired while they were still at work. It might be merciful to spare them the trauma of watching at all!

MOnday night football at 7.30pm - now you're talking.

OLD FRIENDS

We took a drive into Manhattan this afternoon to cacth up with some old friends we had first met when I started getting involved with a homeless ministry there back in '94.

In those days you constantly watched your back down on the Lower East Side, where squatters had taken over abandoned buildings, Tompkins Square Park was a home for the homeless and the downright weird, and drug deals were going down on every corner.

Now it's full of yuppies, the squats have been demolished, there are dog runs in the Park and sidewalk cafes abound. I guess that's progress, but the old buzz has gone and it just doesn't feel the same!

My drive today across the Williamsburg Bridge and down into Alphabet City was for a very special reason, to dedicate a young couple's baby and celebrate with the family. I met Jackie and her family when they were living in a shelter after being driven from their home by a fire.

They came to us for food back then, stayed to help, got connected to Jesus and there was a real transformation in the household. I had married her mom and dad, who had been living together for years and so it was great to hook up with them again today, meet their first grandson and dedicate him to the Lord.

Great memories and lasting friendships from adventures on the street.

MY KIDS

Not that it needs to be of interest to anyone who occasionally reads my ramblings, but this is what grandparents do.

Here are my Texas grandkids, Benjamin and Emily, growing up too quick and too far away from civilization here in NY.

SUNDAY'S COMING!

Taking the nativity story for a sermon series seemed really logical when we decided on it several months ago - and far less demanding than some of the stuff we've done so far this year.

And the truth is, I really am enjoying getting into it. Okay, I'll be honest and admit that last Sunday's message was one of those I felt I should apologize for when I'd finished. I know it wasn't a classic, but that had more to do with the fact that my brain was still somewhere between here and India, struggling hard to catch up with my body.

Having said that, one man told me after that he had committed his life to Christ at the end of the teaching and that he plans to be in the baptism class this Sunday, so the truth is God was still at work wherever my head was at.

I'm looking forward to this Sunday. The nativity story is really down-to-earth when you strip away all the add-ons, romantic ideas and Catholic nonsense that have been added in over the years.

It's about a teenager whose God-given purpose in life was unbelievably tough to live out in the real world. Forget all the health, wealth and prosperity stupidity, it costs something to bring Christ to others. But it's the greatest life you could ever live.

IT'S A SIGN

I have been giving some serious thought to getting a new car, while not getting rid of my seven year old Expedition with 130,000+ miles on the clock, as its cargo capacity is extremely useful, especially on Sunday mornings.

I have been offered an outstanding deal on a two year old model of my favorite car, with a very low mileage and plan to take it for a spin tomorrow. If it's comfortable I'll go for it.

So tonight Gill and I take our daughter and grandson to see the Christmas lights at the nearby Ecology Park. We drive around, enjoy the display, go see Santa, get photos with the old guy (will post tomorrow) and then get into the car to head for home. It died. Stone cold dead. Finito. Expired. No longer with us. Departed. Gone to be with Jesus.

A friend who is a mechanic kindly dropped everything and came to help, but even he couldn't revive the ageing Ford. So it's still there, awaiting a tow truck in the morning.

Do you think that's a sign that I should go for the new vehicle I've been offered?

(Yes is a good answer!)

THINGS TAKE TIME

While sweating on the treadmill this morning I was reflecting on the journey of this past year and some, while looking at some seriously obese people around me and seriously considering telling them "Stick at it. It takes time. You should have seen me twenty one months ago."

It's interesting meeting people I haven't seen in quite a while. They generally ask How much have you lost? - 128 lb by the way!

Then invariably the second question is - How long has it taken?

The bottom line is that in every area of life most people want the quick fix. They want to shed 50 lb in three minutes or get their massive credit card debt paid off in three months. It doesn't happen that way.

And it doesn't happen at all unless you make a start and stick at it!

THROUGH ANOTHER'S EYES

We invited feedback and suggestions from the team visiting us from Minnesota this past weekend to check out how we do church in our theater. Charlotte got some comments today, so here's how we looked to one of them -


It is awesome to know there is another church out there with the same mission, vision, and environment that we have. I absolutely love everyone's energy and enthusiasm. You asked for feedback also. So, I will tell you what I saw:

1. Well marked areas with clear directives about where venues took place.

2. A welcoming and warm enviroment. Seriously, I didn't know New Yorkers hugged each other as a greeting! : ) I love it! Wow...stereotypes are so limiting!!

3. People of all generations! Wahoo! I love that you draw in Seniors...how cool is that? We learn from the experiences of those who go before us. Your "Bagel/ Coffe Team" and Front door greeters were so gracious. Everyone was so helpful and gave us input.

4. Storage carts organized for each venue (kids, preschool, nursery, altered, video cafe, live service, etc.). That was so cool! Just to have it all together and people know exactly where it belongs on Sunday morning.

5. Your set up crew was super! They reminded me of our own. What a heart for service they have in them.

6. A beautifully decorated stage and great worship music in the "big church" venue.

7. A relaxing and open atmosphere in your video cafe. I love that people feel they are able to chat with one another about the message!

8. In Altered, I saw young adults and youth worshipping to live music and listening to a live message relevant to them. I can't imagine the energy that it takes every week since it appeared to be a one-man show. Again, a teen serving on the power point. Wow! They really seem into serving one another.

9. The nursery was in such a great area. The foam was super for keeping babies socks and knees clean! I spoke with the volunteers a bit and they really have a heart for kids. Your teens are wonderful with the little ones!

10. In the preschool, Tracy has a nice program for the younger kids. They were interacting with the video, she did not seem to have any behavior problems. When "big church" got out early, she was so disappointed that the kids didn't get to finish everything. The parents waited patiently for her to finish and for the kids to buy prizes with their reward money. I have NEVER seen preschoolers so focused. Wow!

11. In the grade school, I saw your enthusiasm for the curriculum and passion for kids. Wow! do they love competing! They were so engaged in the game, I couldn't believe it. They all seemed happy to be there and were so focused on the lesson. Your mic was wonderful. It really helped the kids stay focused. The other adult volunteers spoke of your enthusiasm and how they enjoyed serving the kids. Some commented on the effectiveness of the curriculum and showed passion for bringing kids into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Cool!

I don't know what more I can say. You have it down! The church's collective passion for showing people the love of Jesus Christ is evident. I wish I knew what type of suggestions to make but, as an outsider, it looks like you have it all figured out!

CHRISTMAS INSANITY

Check out this video that my friend Gary Lamb put together to promote their Christmas Eve service in Canton, GA.

Christmas In Canton

PHOTOS FROM AMBALA, INDIA

Just to show I really was there and not on a beach someplace in Florida!
This is the conference for Pastors and Bible School Students that I taught in northern India.

CHECKING US OUT

I'm heading out shortly to meet up with a group of people from Meadow Spring Community Church in Shakopee, Minnesota who are visiting us for the weekend.

They've been worshiping in a movie theater for some time now and their pastor, John Laeger, recently told me they have made the decision to embrace their theater church identity rather than go ahead with looking for their own building.

So a bunch of his folks are visiting Long Island's original Church At The Movies to check us out, see how we do things and see if they can get any pointers from the way we utilize the space we rent. Of course I'll be picking their brains too!

Looks like more and more churches are seeing this as the way to go. This weekend I learned that Brandon Duff, whom I have been encouraging up in Ontario, has just about secured the use of a movie theater for the launch of Church At The Falls next spring.

It's a lot of space at a good price and above all it's taking the church to the market place, providing neutral ground for the people we want to reach.

SLAMMED

Imagine this - you don't sleep one night apart from dozing on a plane. The next night you are still awake at 5.30am. That's where I'm at. Though it's only 7.00pm, my body thinks it's still the 10 1/2 hours ahead that it was in India.

Bear with me, I've got nothing much to say here (what's new???), I'm just rambling in order to stay awake for just one more hour, or else I'll sleep now and be wide awake in the middle of the night.

DELTA

Dear old Delta did it again - got me back home safely from almost the other side of the world. It's a bit short of 8,000 miles in total and it took around 16 hours, but when we touched down at JFK just after 7.00 this morning, it was great to step out into the freezing morning air and know I was back in New York.

I don't know what's behind all Delta's corporate problems, but I applaud their progressive move in introducing a non-stop flight to Mumbai, making it far easier to travel to one of the world's fastest-growing economies. It will be fascinating to watch India continue to rise over the next 50 years (though of course I may not see all of the 50!)and as the country continues to take huge steps forward, the number of people traveling there will rise too.

Delta will get my dollar if they continue to offer such good service and flights that mean it is not necessary to set foot on certain parts of European soil en route.

Great trip! The Mumbai church is really developing. Happy to be able to advise/ coach/ mentor or whatever is the current "in" word!

But man am I tired!!!!

DISTRACTIONS

While it's a relief to get back in touch with the world again on the dear old worlwide web, I must admit to being a little distracted just now by the incredible aroma from lunch being cooked in the nearby kitechen.

It's a well documented fact that I love Indian food, so meal times are no hardship on this particular missions venture. Maintaining self-control when it comes to quantities is the real battle.

Most of the uninitiated think Indian cuisine is simply spelled H-O-T, but there's far more to it than that. For a start not every dish burns your mouth, but you can be assured that whatever is set before you, it will lack nothing in flavor. That's why I planned a walk this morning (haven't exercised much this trip) that included another visit to the supermarket. There I picked up a couple of items you won't find on shelves on Long Island, to add to those purchased a few days ago. Tamarind paste, ginger paste, garlic paste, ginger/garlic paste.

Lest anyone rushes to the conclusion that food is the main focus of my time here, let me hasten to add that after lunch I will be spending some time planning the Purpose Driven Church Conference that I will be teaching key pastors here in Mumbai in February and then this evening I have two teaching sessions with the English-speaking congregation of Basil's church.

Tomorrow night I head for home, arrive early Friday morning (don't ask how, but there will be 34 hours to my Friday due to time zones) and get right into finalizing plans for the launch of our Christmas series The Nativity story on Sunday morning.

There are some great things happening here and a lot of potential as we look to the future - more about that on Sunday!

For now, I smell lunch calling!

CAN YOU IMAGINE?

A world without internet access??? Scarey thought, eh?

That's how ut has been for the past week as I have been in the city of Ambala in norhtern India. I guess there are internet connections in the city itself, but on the outskirts where I was, staying in a small hotel and being shuttled to the chuirch each day for the pastors' conference, there was no chance to discover how to connect with the worldwide web.

The conference was outstanding, with 75 students from the church's short-term Bible School program and 50 pastors from a number of states. It's difficult to comprehend the journeys some of these guys had, travelling hundreds of miles for three days of teaching. I hope they thought it was worthwhile!!!

Since they have no study aids at all and no other access to Bible teaching, the hours that Basil and I spent with them will probably be their sole source of in put for the year and they thoroughly appreciated the time we spent there.

Now we're back in Mumbai. Tonight I'm meeting with the church leadership team and will be encouraging them to be radical in their planning as well as in their personal lives. But before that I have to eat some Indian-style shrimp, in a hot spicey sauce - I love this place.

More news as I get chance.

Thanks for praying.

A very fruitful visit!