LiveBlogging VMA's [Part Two]

Things are getting started . . .

• HOVA!!!: IN THE HOUSE . . . hey, where'd you go? I thought this would be awesome.

• Falling Star?: No, just Justin Timberlake. Sorry, man, the run's over.

• Jack Black: is awesome. 'Nuff said.

• The production of the show: horrible. You think they could do better.

• The Rock: looks like he's lost some weight. I liked him better 'raslin'.

• Observation 1: I'm not a rap hater, but it's never as good live either.

• Jessica Simpson: looking too desperate. At least Nick looks classy. Leaving him was dumb.

• OK GO: You know, the treadmill guys, just performed it live. Still awesome.

• All American Rejects: Nice sound. I dig it.

• Madonna: 1) Had no idea she had an album out 2) Her video is absolutely embarrassing 3) the fact that MTV "nominated" her video for so many awards show that they're losing touch with their demographic.

• Pink: have to give her props. She fearless rips on the airheadedness of all these fake chicks. Her "Stupid Girl" could be the most important message MTV conveys tonight.

One hour left and I'm debating whether or not to keep watching. It's painfully boring. We'll see if I post anything else.

LiveBlogging VMA's [Part One]

Kelly and I catch most of the major awards shows. I don't really care for is the Emmy's to say nothing of the Tony's [but I'm not even sure they still have those]. Anyway, the MTV shows are always helpful in keeping up on what's happening in popular culture. Turning thirty means I have to try a little harder to figure out what's rad, so I'll be taking some notes throughout the night. Please enjoy. Pre-show

• Fergie of Black Eyed Peas: opens up with her new single. Is the "London Bridge" reference a mixed metaphor? She's come such a long way since Kids Incorporated. Did you know Jennifer Love Hewitt and AC Slater were both on that show?

• Shakira: wearing more clothes than she ever has in her life. Maybe she's turning Amish.

• TI: in attendance. Wear your kevlar vests, friends.

• My Chemical Romance: sound better when not live.

• MTV News' John Norris [aka Chuck's Little Brother]: still employed? His dad must own the station. At least Kurt Loder seems credible. John has always been painful to watch. No comments on Sway.

And now for the main event . . .

No Sugar Tonight . . .

. . . in my coffee. And while I'm at it, no coffee either. Getting close to the end of my to-do list as we get close to the relaunch. With ten days left there's been but one decision plaguing me the past few weeks. I've been mulling it over, researching it, exploring all the angles, doing everything short of praying about it. The dilemma:

Whether or not to serve coffee on Sunday nights at Echo.

It's interesting that coffee has become a staple of worship gatherings while communion has been moved to a side room or removed entirely. I have yet to see a new church that doesn't serve the beverage and most advertise it above all other strengths. A few churches go that extra mile and serve Starbucks to show that they're not cheap about it.

Now I'm not against serving coffee, per se, but right now it's not feasible. Because we're meeting in a 80+ year-old church, we're limited by the layout. The only place we could set up a station from which to serve coffee is in the lobby. This lobby wasn't made to hold many people; it's probably capable of supporting 20 adults comfortably. If we robbed enough space to set up a coffee area, we'd create an inhibitive environment where people felt claustrophobic. So it would be defeating the entire purpose that people cite for serving coffee in the first place [to make people feel comfortable].

So we'll be countercultural and go sans coffee. That's not to say that we'll never serve it, but there's no need for us to force the issue now just to be like everyone else. We've got to work with what we have. If we miss out on visitors because we don't serve coffee, we're more screwed than I ever could've imagined.

And people are more than welcome to bring whatever beverage they'd like into service [well, almost whatever. No Jagermeister] but we're not going to offer any. Sorry.

There's a new Mother Nature takin' over.

Bite Me, Satan

A tad too graphic? Perhaps. But it's how I feel right now. Tonight at about 7:45 I left Kelly and Kaelyn on the main floor and went down to get a drink from the kitchen. I heard a crash from upstairs and asked Kelly if she was OK. Kelly thought it was me making the commotion and went to the front door to observe some kicking in our door. She screamed and I ran upstairs to see the guy still there kicking at the door. I yelled at him and he stopped and walked away. I didn't have shoes on, otherwise I'm sure I would immediately headed out after him. The man, probably in his late forties, proceeded to walk down the stairs and head up the street nonchalantly. I immediately called the police and, by the time I hung up, headed outside unable to find the guy.

I don't know why I called the police first instead of taking off after the guy. I think it's cause I was first worried about Kel and Kaelyn and didn't want to freak them out. In retrospect, I think it was all for the best. It was still light outside as the guy tried to break-in, so he must've been on something to try a stunt like that. A few minutes later an officer showed up and proved to be little help at all. Most likely, I'll have to get the door replaced because the dude cracked it. I'm just thankful that I had the dead bolt locked. I've been in the habit of not locking it until it gets dark.

Just this past week I was dwelling on our urban mission. I'm constantly selling our vision to everyone we meet. It's not like I even think about it anymore; it's a part of me. Then something like tonight happens and sets itself up like a roadblock to that vision. The number one mission in my life is the safety of my wife and daughter. Honestly, if Kelly couldn't do this I would instantly choose our marriage over Echo. But she was the champ. She too admitted that for an instant she had a doubt, but that her mind instantly reaffirmed that's why we're needed here.

God has continually taken care of us in every aspect of our lives since we've come here. As much as I want to entertain the doubts He just won't let it happen. And I'm glad. We're not going to let some schlep scare us away from doing what we need to be doing in this city.

So now I just need someone or something to blame. I could blame this tool kicking at my door but he was most likely hopped up on some drug and probably was never given a chance in life. I could blame sinfulness and the fall of man, but sin doesn't really have an identity and I need a target. That's why, just this once, I'm going to jump on the evangelical bandwagon and blame Satan. I think Satan gets a lot of undeserved blame, and I might be adding to it. But still, I'm going to hurl some more at him so I have an object of scorn here. Hence, Bite me, Satan.

We're not going anywhere. And we're going to change this city, whether you like it or not.

Sad

Little Marcus Fiesel never had a chance. I think being a new father drew my interest to the story of this little boy in foster care who was missing. His foster mother kept talking to the media about how he disappeared. The more she talked, the more her story thinned out. Today Liz and David Carroll were charged with first degree manslaughter for Marcus' death. Allegedly, as they took a trip to a family reunion, they left the three year-old developmentally challenged boy tied up in a closet. When they returned, he was dead. David is accused of burning the little boy's body. And they concocted an elaborate cover-up plan, including Liz faking feinting in order to provide an alibi for Marcus to have gotten lost.

There is considerable outrage in our community about this, and rightly so, wondering how depraved these people could be to do such a thing to a little defenseless child. It's a horrible, horrible case, but I want to touch on a couple things relating to this tragedy.

First, the public outrage is immense but perhaps a little disturbing. Read through the many comments on Cincinnati.com and you will see that there are people advocating abuse, torture, the death penalty and even lynching for the couple. I'm not saying that the Carrolls don't deserve the harshest penalty the law will allow for their crime but I honestly think a lot of people, men and women alike, would want to flip the switch to the electric chair on these people. We need to beware that their atrocious sin doesn't draw us into sinning as well. Hate can easily consume us. Trust that justice will be done but beware how much we delight in it.

And second, perhaps the bigger perpetrator in the incident is Lifeway For Youth foster care program founded by a Dayton minister. Michael Berner and his wife Brenda earned more than $220,000 salary for running the organization that has constantly been under investigation by authorities for shady business practices including:

- Berner's sale of his van to Lifeway for $6,000. - Payment of $958 for a college meal plan, phone bills, parking, a student yearbook and intramural sports fees the Berners’ daughter Andrea. - Lifeway paid $600 for Brenda Berner to receive “life” experience credit for college-level religion courses she was not required to attend. - A donation of $9,000 to Grace Fellowship Church, which Michael Berner founded in New Carlisle, so that he could go on a mission trip to Peru.

Lifeway is a racket being carried out in the name of Jesus using children as pawns in order to provide financial security for its founder's family. The reality is that this organization was ultimately responsible for Marcus' well being and they failed. Obviously there are guaranteesees in whom you select to be foster parents but the organization was negligent in following up with this child. As the investigation around Marcus' death goes further, I imagine that Berner and Lifeway will face charges of some sort as well. And they should be prepared because, eventually, all of us will have to face the Lord and be heaccountableble for actions we've committed in God's name.

It's all incredibly unfortunate. Adults using the system to provide for themselves at the cost of a little boy's life. Justice will be served. At least Marcus is now in a place where he's in no pain, has no impairments, and will never be harmed again. God bless his soul.

Postcard 2: Electric Boogaloo

Today I made a return trip to Bethel and then drop-shipped the entire mailing. People will have the second postcard in their possession before the extended weekend. For the second card, we chose to be a little humorous. I think it'll go over well.

Card Front: Card Back:

Mad Props . . .

. . . to my boy, AB. Even though I never call him that. Aaron Burgess wrapped up a ten year ministry this morning at Impact Church. Kelly and I attended the service to witness his last Sunday there. I remember our first Sunday at the Oak Hills Christian Church in 2000. We were looking for a local congregation to join while I was employed at Cincinnati Bible College. Aaron had just become the preaching minister there and pleaded with us to attend. Although we attended college together we never really talked much. I actually didn't really like him. But for some reason Kelly and I knew that we needed to be there. Now, six years later, we're the best of friends and we talk almost daily. If I'm faced with an important decision I'll consult the wife, then family, and then Aaron.

I know that Impact will deeply miss his presence but I'm sure they're grateful for where he was able to lead them. Six years ago, Oak Hills Christian was struggling to survive. Under his guidance they successfully merged with another church and completed an impossible building project. He has definitely left things in better shape than when he started. It's difficult to move on, but I know God has great things in store for both Impact and the Burgesses.

Note: I credit Dorota with making him the man he is today. Best decision ever, Aaron. Without her you're selling hot dogs down at GABP. How do you say "lucky" in Polish?

Bloggers Remorse

"All I get say is . . ." That was what I titled my previous post. What I meant to type is, "All I GOTTA say." In my effort to get a quick post in past 1am I did a poor job of reading what I typed. All that is within me wants to go back to the post and correct it, but I refrain.

Why not correct it? Well, if I do, then it'll send out the post again to all of you reading this via RSS feed. And a second publishing makes it very apparent that I made a typo. I know some people who edit and re-edit three or four times after publishing. And each time they do, it pops up on my Google Reader. Busted. In their effort to look better, it actually gets even more annoying.

I'll admit: I've gone back and edited stuff after posting, but I try to do it sparingly. I need to challenge myself to do better the first time so as not to embarrass myself. So unless you want to be that guy/girl who can't let it go, I'd suggest giving your posts a once over before you publish to see if there are any glaring gaffs. Then stick with your post as much as possible despite any mistakes you catch later. And if you continually find yourself needing correction, don't just dismiss it. If you care enough to post on the internet and want others to read your thoughts, then you should do your best to make it readable. Work at it.

One of the things I've come to appreciate about having a wife that's an editor is that she's an incredible proof-reader. Whenever I'm ready to publish an important letter or article, I always have her look it over. It makes me sound better. Unfortunately she doesn't edit my blog posts. When she catches a mistake, it drives me crazy. I want to publish grammatically flawless posts, so I keep working at it.

I know this was a pot/kettle moment but I bring it up to call all of us bloggers into grammatical accountability. We can write beautifully. We just need to continually work at it. I need to do better. We need to do better. Rise up.

Lord knows no one, want to be know as a cronic mispeller.

All I get say is . . .

I'm glad I stayed up for it. Reds win. First place. I smell playoffs.

Cherri-no

A black fog has hung over this day and, no, it's not because seventeen years ago today Pete Rose was banished from baseball. But since you brought it up, let me quickly reset that day. It was a rainy summer morning and I was working with my dad, fixing an air conditioner in Delhi [why does everything this week revolve around Delhi?]. It was the house of an older lady who had her TV tuned into Channel 5. When the news came on all three of us glued our eyes to the set as Pete's fate was released. "They're not being fair to him," the lady uttered. "He was a great ballplayer." And she was very correct. Crazy how you remember things like that, huh? My take: sure he's flawed but if they let these steroid users into the Hall of Fame, Pete's gotta be in there too.

Anyway, that's not why I feel a sense of sadness today. Right about now Emily Hill is leaving on a jet plane, coming back in two years. She's moving to London where an incredible time awaits her. We're saddened but thrilled at the same time, but we know that these 24 months will soar by.

It should be noted that, if it weren't for Emily, we might not have started Echo in Walnut Hills. A few years ago she told us of her plan to buy a condo near downtown to see what might happen. She wasn't certain why God was urging her to do it, but it helped us become aware of this part of town and this neighborhood and imagine the possibility of a church here. Sure enough, we bought a place right down the street and found the Walnut Hills Christian Church just a few blocks away. Maybe the Spirit's leading was all so that Echo could be in the community.

I know Emily's a little heartbroken that she won't be able to see the immediate results of our relaunch but I pray that, when she returns in 2008, that God will amaze her with what her faith accomplished.

Travel safe, Emily. We'll see you soon.

p.s. Emily, did you like how I was somehow able to connect you with Pete Rose? That's homegrown westside talent there.

A New Way To Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture

I love this. Why didn't I think of it? HT: Cawleyblog

Say What?

Larry, Tim and I went to the CCU ministry fair to try to find some students to help out in our children's area for Sunday services. Had some good contacts, so it looks like we should be about where we need to be for the relaunch. Afterward Larry and I went to meet Aaron out at Mount St Joe College to watch CCU play them in soccer. We stopped off at Burger King to get some dinner, went inside, and had to wait an unusually long time to get our food. No problem, though, as we weren't in a hurry. Before we left they asked Larry if he wanted some sauce for his chicken and he said he wanted buffalo sauce. Trying to show we weren't butt-head customers who were put off about the delay, I joking asked, "What part of the buffalo does the sauce come from?"

Sure, not a great joke, but there are worse ones I could've made. So as we're just about out the door the cashier makes an obnoxious "huh, huh, huh" laugh, obviously mocking me for making what she deemed a corny joke.

Ooooh, I was steamed. I might still be. It's funny how the little things can light a fire under me. I guess what bothered me so much is that I tried to be extra-friendly because I wanted to come off as extra-understanding and it accomplished nothing but set myself up as an object of ridicule.

This experience serves as a valuable reminder to me at a critical time in my life: not everyone will like you, regardless of how hard you try. When you start a church, you desperately want people to like you because you need people at your church. Usually this means that you'll go to extraordinary lengths, perhaps even sacrifice your values, in order to win friends and influence people. It's just something you gotta resist. You have to be comfortable being you and trust God will take care of everything else.

Yes, I wanted to go back in and tell her where to shove her chicken fries. But I resisted. Mama used to say if you don't have anything nice to say . . . well, you know. And if I don't have thick enough skin to handle a BK cashier, then I have further to go than I've ever imagined.

Oh What A Night!

Thanks to the Duebbers for a splendid time down at the old ballpark. Of interest to us was the guy in the first row with a circa 1992 haircut who decided to stand the entire game while urging all others to do the same [and I must note that despite his limitless enthusiasm for the Redlegs, he was at the game wearing forest green]. Oh, and the game was great too. The Reds scored two touchdowns and the defense made a goal-line stand to keep em scoreless. Add that the Cards blew a 7-1 lead and the Reds are just one place out of first. Excellent. This team drives me crazy, but I do love them.

And special thanks to Aaron and Dorota who watched the little girl while we went out and enjoyed the game. I was with her all day and was a little suspicious because she went 12 hours without the need for a diaper change. Of course, we leave and she explodes. Atta' girl.

This is just one of those nights that I sit here unable to erase the smile from my face. Life is good.

Women's Work?

You know that whenever the media eats up a church-related story it most likely isn't favorable. Earlier this weekend I heard of the decision of a Baptist Church in New York firing an 81 year-old Sunday School teacher because she was female. Tonight, as a story about the incident aired on ABC's World News Tonight, I realized there ain't no stoppin' it now. So I thought I'd throw in a few thoughts about the whole to-do. 1) Where do I stand on the whole women issue? Not so easy to explain. Considering entire books have been written about 1 Timothy 2:12 [the text used to defend no female teachers in church], there's no way I can do justice to it in a few sentences. I would say that, in order to get your hands around this text, you have to examine what Paul is doing throughout the book. This isn't a woman bashing party but the opportunity to address a situation within a new church. Timothy, Paul's protege, had recently become the minister of the church and he was telling the younger man how church structure should look.

I believe that "teaching" in this text is better understood as "holding authority." In chapter 3, Paul proceeds to outline the requirements for elders, the overseers of a church, so this text should fit in with that context. Paul's message: women can't be elders. That being said, I think everything else is a green light. Do I think they can teach? Yes. Is that the same thing as "holding authority over a man"? Not necessarily. Do people disagree with this interpretation? Of course. Does that mean Christians can agree to disagree on the issue and peaceably coexist? Sure. Well, at least I can.

Now even this simple explanation of the matter opens myself up to much criticism, so before you jump all over me I would issue a warning to those on both sides of the issue: tread lightly. There's so much about this text we can't explain with full certainty. To form a hardcore theology based on this small part of Scripture could be dangerous.

2) Let me get back to the issue at hand: this church in New York. They handled this situation horribly. If you read the minister's account of things, this woman was part of a larger group of unhappy parishioners who were gunning for the pastor. The church needed to be extra wise about how they practiced their authority and they weren't. They said there were other issues for her dismissal. Instead of practicing church good church discipline they sent a letter [never a good way to handle conflict] ignored the real issues of conflict, and used Scripture as a trump card. Great way to end up on the evening news.

3) I love how the media runs with stories like this. Even though the Catholic Church is the biggest patriarchal organization in America, one false move by a Baptist Church and it's national news. Aren't we at war or something?

4) Don't mix ministry with politics. Every time I'm frustrated at something in this city I entertain the idea of running for City Council. This story [the minister is one the village council] proves it's a bad idea. When you become a politician, you sacrifice your ability to be totally honest. And if you're clergy, your personal convictions might not be community values. So now the minister, who thought he could make a difference setting town policy, has probably hurt the church's reputation in his town. It makes me wonder: if this guy wasn't a public official, would this had even made the news?

5) I love women. Um, don't take that wrong, but I mean it: I love them and so does God. I live with one of the most talented women I've ever met. And I'm raising a little girl who, I pray, will do wonderful things with her life. I want them to know that they can use gifts in the church to impact lives. And they can do it with God's blessing.

Postcard Update

The first set of postcards should have hit all the houses by today. We just got ours in the mail. So far, web traffic was up on Friday and a little higher on Saturday. Received one voicemail from a guy who said, "it's a rather attractive design, but I hate religion and don't care about Christians and Muslims." At least he was polite. This morning we received the next batch of cards. I'll let 'em sit this week and we'll get 'em out early next week.

I love not knowing.

What I'm Listening To

Since we've made the effort to become more fiscally responsible during this stage of the new church, I haven't bought much music recently. Thanks to Kay and Ann who hooked my up with the awesome iTunes card, I got a good collection of songs earlier this year. Downloaded some Franz Ferdinand and Green Day from that. Too cool. Just this last week, ordering some commentaries for our Matthew series at Echo, I also nabbed a CD from Amazon. It was one I've been tracking for awhile and was stoked to finally get: Lauryn Hill's Unplugged. I caught the performance on MTV a couple of years ago and was mesmerized. Taking her voice, backing it up with an acoustic guitar [which she play surprisingly well], and letting her unleash raw lyrics makes for a compelling listen.

Some of her fans expressed bitterness towards this album because it was nothing like her wildly popular Miseducation [if some one has a copy of this, let me know because I'd really like to listen to that now as well], but this recording shows how incredibly talented she really is.

Dang. She's so cool. ____________

One more thing, a good friend of mine heard a rumor that Lauryn made some inappropriate statements a few years back. Did a little research and discovered it was urban legend material. If curious, check it out here.

Going Postal

Headed out to Bethel, Ohio this morning. Our first postcard mailing for Echo was shipped to us yesterday, all labeled and ready for postage. Why did I have to go to Bethel? We needed a bulk mail permit so we could get the good non-profit rate on our mailing. CEF, the church planting organization who gave us this grant for our marketing, hooked us up with theirs. Part of the stipulation of using the permit is that you have to get postage counted at the post office of origin. CEF's postage is handled by the staff of Bethel Church of Christ, thus my trip to Bethel. So I took a 40 minute drive out to the far eastside of Cincy to get this done. All throughout the drive, I was a little leery of how things would go down; the only government entity more difficult to work with than the IRS is the US Postal Service. Add slow traffic on Ohio 125 and I was really not excited. But by the end of my trip I was incredibly grateful. I was blessed with a wonderful postal worker there named Nancy who was very understanding and worked step-by-step with me to get this done. After 45 minutes of her help, all 19,742 cards were ready to go. I think God let us have the experience at a small town post office to let things work out that well. If I had to do the same thing down at the downtown post office, I'd probably still be there.

Tomorrow I have to "drop ship" the boxes to three local post offices [it saved us some money to drop them off at the local post offices]. That means by early next week, are mailing should hit homes. I know you're curious what it looks like, so here it is:

Front

Back

We didn't design it; Outreach Marketing had this existing design we were able to pick and customize. I like it because it's striking, yet simple. Pending tomorrow's drop-offs, the process hasn't been too bad. Not sure what kind of return we'll get from it, but it's a great way to introduce the community to our church.

We're gaining speed. Just 24 days until the relaunch.

People Who Need People [Part Two]

So after a Sunday I'd prefer to forget [that I detailed here] I tried to synthesize my experience with what God has been teaching me. So rewind to Saturday night: I had the opportunity to speak at a young adult gathering in Georgetown, Ohio. It was the inaugural gathering of the group, a worship service called "Connect." I choose to roll with the theme and speak from Genesis 18, where Abraham welcomes three strangers, one of whom happens to be [most likely] God himself. I urged the college kids to take every opportunity to reach out to people, regardless of your preconceived notions about them, and engage them as if you're Abraham unknowingly entertaining the Lord. I think they got the message. Maybe God wanted me to get the message too, hence, my Sunday.

Jimmy and Richard are those kind of people I know I need to try to connect to. Not because I'm a pastor, but because I'm a Christian. In the long run, they might cause me more grief than joy, but it isn't mine to discriminate. I have to give it a go regardless.

That being said, I can't allow individual people to dominate my life. Don't get me wrong: I'm all about people trying to help people out, but I'm not Jesus- I can't save them. When I recognize I can do no more, it's time to give up. Jesus stated there's a point that, when your message isn't accepted, you just need to move on. It's rough because we always want to fail on the side of compassion, but Jesus had many other attributes that we sometimes fail to emulate.

Let me add a few other thoughts to wrap this up: it doesn't mean that it doesn't break your heart. I'm an optimist. I think that everybody I meet will wake up and get it. It's not like it's easy for me to give up on people.

Finally, just as I was wrapping this up, I get a phone call. It's Jimmy. He was calling to let me know he was OK. He also stated how much he cared about us and were glad that he had friends like us. I guess sometimes it does work out. That's why we can't stop trying.

People Who Need People [Part One]

Had a rather full weekend, so much so, that it demands a two-parter. Let me start at the end. Last October I wrote this post about God bringing certain kind of people into my life. The two people I focused on were Jimmy from Mason and Richard who's been attending Echo. Yesterday things came full circle as I had experiences concerning both of them.

Eight o'clock Sunday morning I get a call from Jimmy's mom, a German immigrant with a thick accent, asking me what happened to Jimmy Saturday night at church. I informed her that I had left CCM almost a year ago and had no idea what had happened. She said Jimmy fell, banged up his eye, and couldn't remember who brought him home. She was a little anxious because it's similar to how Jimmy became disabled in the first place: some drinking buddies were with him when he had his accident and dropped him off on his mom's doorstep while he lay internally bleeding. I did some investigating for her and found out the Jimmy fell while running [which he shouldn't have been doing in the first place] and told the family that took him home that he was OK.

I was trying to be honest with Jimmy's mom, telling her that his meds are affecting his memory and coordination, and that he needs more professional attention. She agreed and thanked me for being such a good friend to him. I was also told yesterday morning by the family that sometimes drops him off that every week he prays with them and he asks God to take care of me, Kelly, and Kaelyn.

So then, a little past six o'clock last night Richard comes into the church wanting to talk with me. Over the past year our people have given him many things and a lot of cash, hoping to make a difference in his life. Unfortunately, our good intentions have done nothing but help him feed an addiction and not work. And he even got in the habit of showing up before church, hitting people up for money, and leaving before the service started. Since his recent incarceration and stint in rehab, we've been withdrawing from giving him stuff.

So last night he sells me a story he's used many a time about desperately needing money and I tell him I've got nothing for him. He then asks me to go to the bank to get some money out for him, and I tell him no way. After seeing he wasn't getting anywhere, he started acting suspicious for a few minutes, walking in and out of the church. I was keeping my eye on him and he then approached Kelly to ask her for cash. I told him to back off and take a seat in the sanctuary because church was getting ready to start. At this he goes outside while I go to the sanctuary to get ready to start our service. Just then Kelly tells me that she watched him getting into someone's car in the parking lot!

Needless to say, I was livid. So I immediately go outside to see him mulling around some cars. I told him to leave immediately, that I was giving him a head start from the police. I said that if something was missing from the car, I'd call the cops and would tell them his address. He said he was sorry and I just told him to go away and not come back for awhile. The car belonged to someone from the choir that meets in the church at the same time. She was very understanding, and nothing was missing. Despite a good service, the rest of the evening sucked for me.

Not quite sure to do with these incidents. I'll try to bring it all together in part two.

Swedish Invasion

Looks like Ikea's coming to town. If I were cooler, I'd be excited.