THE BISHOP

Went to hear T.D. Jakes last night - the guy is a preachers' preacher and it was a treat just to be able to sit and listen to him. Apparently there was a line forming outside Upper Room early in the afternoon and it was still threading around the building at 7.00pm.

That's why connections are a wonderful thing. Ray Pensivy and I wandered up to a side door, referred to as the V.I.P. entrance, and were ushered to prime seating front and center, just four rows back.

Apart from the fact that the huge guy in front of me occasionally obscured some of my view and that he seemed to have a serious gas problem, they were among the best seats in the house.

Jakes talked about the incident in John 21 after the resurrection when Peter decided to go back to his fishing. I've got a sermon on that - called Gone Fishin' - which I had always considered to be among one of my better offerings, but after last night my weak effort will probably never see the light of day again.

Here are a couple of the things the Bishop said that particularly struck a cord with me -

1. STOP LOOKING FOR NORMAL

He was saying that the events leading up to the death of Jesus, his actual crucifixion and even all the happenings surrounding the resurrection had gotten just too much for Peter and he had decided to go back to what he knew and was comfortable with. But it didn't work.

God has called us away from normal and demanding as it sometimes gets, we need to keep pursuing the path that he has called us to follow.

2. DON'T GET DISTRACTED

Peter had been called to follow Jesus and fish for men, but here he was back on Galilee casting his nets. Sidetracked.

That's a warning we all need to hear on a regular basis. It's so easy for our focus to slip. I've talked about this so much lately that I'm beginning to feel like an old record with the needle stuck, but I'll say it one more time, our focus is reaching men and women who don't know Jesus yet. The devil will do anything he can to shift our attention from that, but we must not be deterred.

3. REPOSITION YOURSELF FOR SOMETHING BIG

Peter's night of fishing yielded nothing - until Jesus showed up. Then he told the disciples to make a slight adjustment to what they were doing - throw the nets down on the other side of the boat. Or as Jakes put it, they needed to reposition themselves.

I thought that was relevant to us with the knowledge that we're going to be moving our Sunday location some time this summer and I just took the words as an encouragement to my faith. Our repositioning will lead to soemthing far bigger than we could imagine.

All in all a great night - nice to sit and listen to one remarkable preacher!