The internet on my computer is down,but I had to find myself on another computer to share with all who will listen about yesterday’s service.  It was Fellowshipable!  Not sure if this is a word, but go with me.

Before the service I thought we were going to get hammered in attendance because so many people have been on vacation and doing their thang, so I brought a few members of the team together (Al and Billy) and told them that no matter how many people we have in this room, we will do what God would want us to do if the room was packed.  Then I prayed with them, and felt much better. 

But alas, it’s not just that the room was packed, but the spirit in the room was unbelievable.  It was electric!  Here are some of the highlights of the morning service for me:

*We finished the “One prayer” series.  This has been amazing and couldn’t have finished on a better note.
*The band, led by Al, had a smooth sound yesterday right off the bat.  They started the service with a jazzy blues jig, and never slowed down.
*Going up to welcome our attenders for that day, and just watching more and more people come in the door.  I wonder if North Point has (relatively speaking) thousands of people coming in late.  Just to let everyone know, our service really does start at 10:30 am now.
*Getting to worship (with music) without being distracted by a whole lot going on.
*The Production team played this video that showed all the churches participating in One Prayer this year. 

I have been saying all along that 1,200, then 1,300, then 1,400, then 1,500 churches were along for the ride, but seeing it scroll in front of them made those numbers come to life!

*The crowd cheering two times in that video:  When Fellowship Church’s name scrolled by, and at the end of the video. 

*Craig’s message or his prayer for the church was “Make us one” and all I can say was how it evidently impacted our church.  Even on video it connected in a way that was clear by the end of the service.

*Our church commiting in their prayer and singing to be one in heart and purpose.  POWERFUL!

*At the end of the service during the last two songs, I went to an office and knelt down and prayed for our church.  Then the band played and for the first time ever, I couldn’t hear Al and the band – only the church as a whole. 

*You need to know that several people in our church community gave up their time to serve on Saturday in the spirit of One Prayer and picked up trash to give back Tacoma St in Worcester for the kingdom of God.  We prayed together, and had a great time too.  Here are some pics:
 

So this was my weekend.

*Next week, we’ll have the “Party in the Park”.  Our morning service will be outside at 10:30 am!  Save for rain of course.  Bring a blanket or a chair, and invite some friends.  Afterwards we’ll have a potluck dinner with your choice of games or talking or whatever you want to do!

I thought of a lot of things.  I thought of the times my dad used to turn on the television on Sunday afternoons and we’d watch the Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish dominate everything that moved on the old parquet floor of the Boston Garden.  I thought of the times immediately after when I’d run outside, pretending I was their point guard Dennis Johnson (I was pretty short as a child) and dribbling through orange cones and chairs and anything else that could defend me.  I thought of the countless number of times that I would go out as a young teenager and practice my turn around jumper ala Larry Bird, or my baby hook ala Robert and Kevin (I had grown a bit at that point).  I thought of the Wheaties box I bought the first week I moved to Massachusetts – July 9, 1998 – with a commemorative picture of Bird on it.  I have yet to open it.

I also thought of the playoffs in 2002 when Pierce and Walker took the C’s to the semifinals, and I would sit in my pastor’s house and watch the games over chinese food and ice cream with Lonnie and Ruth Snell.  They almost did it then, but they definitely were not the best team, and typically in the NBA, the best team wins.  Ironically enough, that year Shaq and Koby were the leaders of the best team, the Lakers.
And then I thought about what Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers must have gone through last year.  The worst team in the league.  The joke – and they were a joke – of this great professional sports area.  To bring your team from that to win the world championship is a feat that not many people’s psyche would have allowed.  But quitting, losing, and ultimate defeat were words that were not even in the dictionary when Ainge pulled off the trades that would ultimately bring them to win it all.  Not just bringing in Allen and Garnett, but also Posey, House, and Brown, and still made them a team, something even this Celtics fan denied could happen in a year.
“Two years, maybe, but I’d give it three, and even then, the new “big three” will probably be showing their age too much to win a championship.”
And then last night happened, as the Celtics destroyed the Lakers in a fitting end to their dominant year, and as I sat with my friends, some old friends, some new, (A shout out to Jay, Al, Steve bramlett, Jon, and Ben inserted here) I thought about this moment,and I thought about what it takes to be a champion.
It takes a team, committed to something more than personal glory, committed to something more than a “me first” mentality, to show up on a regular basis, and admit in their action, I will do what it takes to accomplish the task at hand.
That’s what I want to be a part of, and the vision may be different for me (no trophies for this one), but the end result wil be so much more satisfying.  To see people connect into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  And I love the team I get to accomplish this goal with.

What’s your Championship?

This post was written with Randy Elrod’s Watercooler Wednesday in mind.

My life group had a cookout last night.  This is a new game that Ben Erickson taught us.  It proves that a group of adults can have a good time with one pen, dice, and paper.

Who is in this video?