Seeing the good in everyone is something I’m trying to improve in my life.  I think I was raised this way, but as time went on, and I saw and experienced the realism, politics, and harshness of the church and life, “seeing the good” in people became something of a dream rather than a reality.

But the last few weeks have gone a long way to improving my state of being in this area.  First, I started to really believe and live out the idea that “love spreads”, then this weekend I drove to Northway Church in Albany, while spending time with some really great friends that attend Terra Nova in Troy, NY.  Talking about the diversity of these two church really made me see the value in their differences.

Today is sermon creativity day for muah.  On Mondays I try to create sermons for the next several months – beginning some and adding to some I’ve already begun.  I also listen for a few hours to Pastors I enjoy.  But today I decided to listen to a pastor I enjoy, and also to a pastor with a different style than I normally “dig”.

Wow!  I feel so juiced by what God is showing me.   Though I don’t always agree with what everyone that I listen to says or writes, I can appreciate the spirit that they write in, and follow the truth God has for me as I read and listen.  And just to let you know, when I say I listened to pastors of differing viewpoints, I don’t mean that those differences have to do with Jesus.  They both proclaim Him and the His beautiful gospel!

But I’m still not telling you the names of the pastors.

Yes, this is true, my head feels like it’s exploding…in a good way.

I just spent some time with the guys from this church.  I used to hang a bit with this pastor from that church and all three of the pastors from the church spoke into my life today.  I feel energized and ready to go this week, and maybe this next year.  Thanks Brian, Buddy, and Nate.  Here are three lessons I’ve learned this weekend, not only from them, but also from the people around me, including Carie:

1.  Risk-taking – never get comfortable, and when you do, it’s time to take another risk.
2.  Clear expectations – “Marty, if you didn’t tell them, they might know that they’re supposed to have done that.” – uh, duh Marty!
3.  Sometimes if you want something done, you have to get dirty when you do it.

(4. Coldplay’s acoustic version of th song “Lost” almost brings me to tears. an unbelievable song!)

If you could teach me one thing right now that you’re learning, what would it be?

 Welcome to MoMo’s! HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time giving your “amazing story”, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.

To join me, write a post today (or a post you’ve written from last Monday to Sunday) sharing something tht has happened to you this last week - anything funny or interesting, crazy, fulfilled, too busy, hilarious, wistful, or any number of out of the ordinary happenings that made you happy or miserable last week.  Put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) here at the end of this post. Thanks.  By the way, I do this because I love stories.  To tell them, to hear them, and to read them.

So tell me your “Inspired by the truth” story every Monday…

Here’s mine.

On Sunday night, right before my Celtics destroyed the Atlanta Hawks, I had the privilege to attend a vision meeting at Northway Church in Malta, New York.  Carie and I were in town and decided to take the opportunity to attend this meeting specifically for the volunteers of Northway.  Two blogging friends, Buddy and Brian, pastor this church in New York, and I was excited to hear what God had placed in their hearts for the future of Northway.

As soon as I walked in the door, I was awed at what God is doing in this church.  Volunteers from all 3 campuses (Malta, Clifton Park, and Colonie) were packed in, catching up and eating amazing some church provided food.  It looked from first glance that their was an excitement in this church that made the place buzz like the “Lost” island did whenever someone didn’t push that dang button every 108 seconds in the 2nd season.

After a while, the meeting started with one of the church bands leading us in some sweet music like “How great is our God”, “Shout to the Lord”, and “Let God arise”.  They were great – very professional and seemed to really enjoy themselves as they worshipped.

Then Buddy came on stage and introduced a first class video made by their production team (or whatever they call it) called “The Revolution” which highlited Buddy riding on a helicoptor and flying over all 3 campuses of Northway Church.  He shared some of the amazing things God is doing there at the church and through it all, I could see not only his passion for what was going on there, but the passion of the hundreds of volunteers looking on, obviously overwhelmed by what how God is using them.  By the end of the video, I was inspired and wanted to get in on the revolution myself.

After the video, Buddy came up to address the crowd.  he challenged them to Look back (to see what God has done), Look up (to see what He’s doing), and look forward (to see where God is taking us).  I was challenged in my own life to do these things and appreciated his authenticity as he tearfully recalled the early days of Northway, and the changes that had gone on in the process.

After Buddy finished, the band came up once again as the crowd sang “How Great is our God.”

Afterwards, I chatted with Buddy briefly and thanked him for his vision and for allowing me in on what God is doing there at Northway Church.  I believe we have a similar vision at Fellowship Church, and am more excited than ever to allow God to use us to carry it out.

How about you?