Snake-bit!

The day began innocuously enough.

Julie, Tabs, Elijah and I had been spending a couple of days with my sister's family in Atokah, TN (a suburb of Memphis). Julie and I drove to the resplendant and revered home of the late, great, King--Elvis.

Graceland is worth the visit. Not because it is an overwhelming display of wealth, but because it is an amazing commentary on the life of a man who was incredibly gifted by God. Elvis purchased Graceland at the age of 22 (imagine his success) and died at Graceland at the age of 42. Sad. Very, very sad.

Julie and I returned to Gina and Erik's and spent a restful afternoon culminating with a delicious BBQ chicken feast my sister and brother-in-law put together. After dinner I went outside to enjoy a cigar and a good book. Awhile later I prepared to go inside. On the stoop of the door leading into their house was a snake--a small snake--one that I had not seen before. I called to Erik: "Erik come out here!" Erik and I looked at the snake . . . it was not one that he recognized either (though he did point out to me that it had a pointed head and was probably poisonous.)

What to do?

Erik got a shovel. "Let's cut its head off and be done with it," he said. "No," I replied, "Just get me a leather work glove. I'll pick it up and throw it into the woods."

The damned thing bit me! Right through the leather glove!

At first it felt like a bee sting. And then it felt like I had stuck my hand into a hive. When my hand began to swell, my sister, Gina, called 911.

I'm not exagerating . . . one ambulance and two firetrucks later, 10 emergency workers were telling me to "sit down and keep my arm above my heart."

Turns out the snake I was trying to rescue (now headless--thanks to Erik and his shovel) was a Copperhead. And though their venom is rarely fatal to a healthy adult, it is serious and causes EXTREME pain.

They rushed me to the hospital where (much to my dismay) they admitted me for the night. My arm (up to my shoulder) had swollen to twice its normal size. I wish I was making this up! It seems they were concerned about me going into cardiac arrest or the venom reaching my throat.

After a day in the hospital they released me. I felt like a fool. Did I mention that snakes can bite through leather gloves--even leather boots!?!

Anyhow, I'm fine. Except for the dull "tooth-achey" pain in my left arm as the swelling continues to subside.

Sooo, there are so many analogies. Sin can cause a lot of pain . . . but because of Jesus death has been defeated. Or, it only takes one little prick to start a whole lot of trouble. How about, "Just get me a glove"--kind of a guy thing.

Anyway, the adventure continues and I live to tell another story of adventure . . .

And by the way, in the future when I encounter a snake . . . he better hope that Jesus saves 'cause Greg will be showing no mercy.

NACC

I attended the North American Christian Convention, held in Cincinnati, Ohio, this past week. The program was very high level. Lots of great speakers with lots of encouraging words and insights. Nearly 10,000 church leaders attended from across the country.

By far, the most meaningful part of my time spent at the Convention was my time spent connecting and reconnecting with people I care about. I had two hours one night with a young Pastor leading an amazing church in Las Vegas. Julie and I had dinner with "The Stinklings" one evening. I touched base with a myriad of frontline warriors who are advancing God's Kingdom.

Same relentless purpose, pain and joy . . .

I need the North American Christian Convention.

Break my heart

A friend of mine sent me this link to view. It broke my heart . . . God broke my heart. May my heart break with the things that break God's heart.

Please watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R3F8cQ2LJI

The American Church In Crisis

My friend, Bob Harrington, recommended this book to me. The American Church In Crisis by David Olson is a very important read.

Here are some of Olson's conclusions:

*77% of Americans do not have a consistent, life-giving connection with a local church.

*Large churches are the 2nd leading growth factor in the American church (new church plants are the leading growth factor).

*The higher the percentage of females in the membership of a church, the faster the church is likely to decline in attendance.

*For the American church to keep up with population growth, 2,900 additional new churches need to be started each year.

*The best way for pastors to leave a spiritual legacy that will last for generations is for their present church to plant new churches.

If you have any interest in the state of the church . . . I strongly recommend this one!

Creative prayer

We have probably all had experiences with prayer when we struggled to stay awake. Certainly part of that is simply that we routinely do not get enough sleep! However, there have been times when I'm in a group prayer setting listening to someone drone on to God that I wonder if God isn't having a challenging time staying awake.

Each month the Elders of RiverTree gather for a time of prayer. And each time the meeting rotates to a different home of one of the Elders. The host Elder is then responsible for the format of the evening's prayer gathering.

A few days ago we gathered at the home of Tom Patton. Tom put together one of the most creative times of prayer that I have ever experienced. When we arrived he announced that "We don't celebrate enough. Tonight we're going to offer up celebration prayers of thanksgiving." He then led us all outside his home.

Tom had placed eight six foot long PVC tubes with one end anchored firmly in the ground and the other end pointing toward the sky. He gave each of the eight Elders three bottle rockets and a book of matches. He then showed us how to place our rockets safely into the end of the "launchers."

We first thanked God for all He had done and is going to do through our Wreck The Roof life change initiative. We lit our rockets and watched as they flared into the night sky exploding far above our heads. We all yelled "Yeah God!" We ended by thanking God--one by one--for something that He has done in our lives. One Elder thanked God for his new grandchild. Another for his wife's return to good health. I thanked God for our new son, Elijah John. And then we lit the fuses. More "rocket prayers" shooting into the heavens.

I don't think I'll ever look at fireworks the same! Thank God for prayer . . . and for creativity.

What's your most creative experience with prayer?

Homerun Hotdog

I attended the Jackson Township Community Festival one evening this week with my family. As always, there were loads of interesting foods to eat. I indulged in a deep fried corn dog, greasy fries with lots of salt and dripping with vinegar and nachos loaded with jalapenos. Didn't sleep too well that night.

The strangest food that I ate was being given away at a free sample tent. Shearer's potato chips had set up a tent to give away cups full of their most recent potato chip flavors. The flavor that caught my eye was "Homerun Hotdog." My thinking went like this: I like hotdogs and I like potato chips . . . Sooo, these have to be good.

It was one of the worst things I have ever eaten. The chips, true to their name, DID taste like a hot dog. However, some things simply should not be mixed! It was a bit of a joke around their display--people were laughing and saying, "You've got to try these. They're horrible!"

Tried any bad foods lately?

Living with more

Father's Day weekend is always an amazing time at RiverTree. Rather than our attendance at our services "tanking," it actually climbs. We work hard to make everything "guy friendly." In fact, our front sign at the Portage Campus actually says throughout the week: Men actually like it here!

One of the things that we did this year for the first time was to incorporate the Junky Car Club. In the past we've had classic car shows (lots of fun and great for dad's and their kids to enjoy). But this year we asked members of the Junky Car Club to bring their vehicles and put them on display.

To be a member of the Junky Car Club your vehicle has to be paid off and you must be sponsoring a child through Compassion International. In other words, you have made a conscious decision to "live with less so that you can give more away." For more information check out http://www.junkycarclub.org/.

Throughout Father's Day weekend 34 more families joined the Junky Car Club and of course more Compassion children were sponsored.

Julie and I belong to the Junky Car Club. Our 2003 Saturn VUE was paid off this spring and we sponsor four Compassion children around the world.

While I was enjoying my time looking at the vehicles in the Junky Car Club and reading their bumber sticker, "Living with less to give more," I was struck with a thought. We should have another bumper sticker printed: LIVING WITH MORE SO I CAN GIVE LESS!

At the heart of every purchase I make I am making a choice. Is this purchase necessary? Sometimes it is. But sometimes it is simply a frivilous indulgence driven by slick marketing. Every purchase I make determines my ability to give more or to give less.

It's the choice we all face . . . Will we choose to live with less so that we can give more or will we choose to live with more so that we can give less?

*To sponsor a child, go to www.compassion.com.