Another teacher was helping her children learn to count backwards. All the kids shouted together: “Three! Two! One!” And then one kid shouted: “BLAST OFF!!!”
The Real Name of the Pilgrims’ Boat
One of the teachers at the Training Station was teaching her preschool kids about the Pilgrims. She asked them if anyone knew the name of the boat they took across the ocean. One little guy said: “The cauliflower!”
CrossWay: Celebrating 25 Years
Church was awesome yesterday at CrossWay! We celebrated our 25th anniversary as a church. It was the biggest crowd we’ve had since I’ve been pastor here, even bigger than Easter. Two of our former pastors were here, as well as some of the interim pastors and a number of former members and other people who have been connected with our church over the years.
We started off with the music, and Josh, our worship pastor, had a great selection which included a medley of some older songs.
Several people had worked to put together a video collage of pictures from the past 25 years, which was set to music. There weren’t a lot of dry eyes in the place by the time it was over!
A number of people served in different roles during the service. Steve had the tough job of following the video, which he handled beautifully. He was followed by Chuck Hostetter, the founding pastor, who shared an inspiring message from Psalm 105 about how God has been at work, is at work, and will continue to be at work in our church.
Bob Miller, who was Chuck’s successor as pastor, was unable to be with us but sent a message by video. We prayed for his dad, who had surgery the day before, and then heard from Joe Kolb. Joe was the pastor here for a couple years after Bob.
After I talked for a few minutes about 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 and how Jesus Christ is the permanent–eternal–foundation for our church, we heard from several other people before we wrapped up the worship service with “How Great Is Our God.”
Kristen took a group photo of everyone right after the service, which will be available on Flickr in a day or so.
Then we ate for about three hours, a totally delicious meal from Famous Dave’s.
A great, memorable, special day at CrossWay. I look forward to doing it again in another 25 years!
CrossWay Church Celebrates 25 years
This Sunday, CrossWay Church will celebrate our 25th anniversary. The church began as Ocean City Mennonite Church the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1983. (The church is now a quarter of a century old, and in its lifetime the Baltimore Orioles have not been to the World Series. Tsk tsk.)
It’s gonna be cool. Two of our former pastors, including the founding pastor, will be with us along with some interim pastors and former members. After the service we’re having a lunch catered by Famous Dave’s.
It’ll be good!
Cozy November
Days like this are the reason November is my favorite month. Chilly, windy, rainy… brightly colored leaves blowing everywhere and coating the world like a fresh snowfall…. Ahh, it’s the best….
On the Obama Victory
Sometimes you just gotta give the spotlight to people who can say things better than you. So on this first morning with our new President-elect, I’m turning the mic over to Darren Plummer, a church planter friend in the D.C. area.
Click here to read his thoughtful and well-expressed reaction to the Obama victory.
Back Porch Starbucks
Here we are halfway through Carolyn’s first trimester, and she can’t stand the smell of coffee–especially strong, dark, bold Starbucks coffee. So for any of you out there who might find yourself in a similar situation, I just thought I’d share one solution:
And My Vote For President Goes To…
… Merv Stoltzfus!
I believe Merv is the man who can reach across the aisle and bring this country back together. As we look ahead to the future, President Stoltzfus can lead this nation through our current troubles with his wise and discerning leadership.
Plus, he’s a good friend and our Conference Minister.
Here’s a picture of my vote for Merv on the screen of the voting machine. It’s a little blurry, but what can you expect with a cell phone camera snapping a shot of a computer screen?
Here I am campaigning for the candidate. If the sign looks a little cheap and poorly made, that’s because the campaign budget was only 53 cents.
A Third Way
With the big national election tomorrow, we talked yesterday at CrossWay about the political scene and how we should respond.
Conclusion: rather than placing our faith in McCain and the Republicans or Obama and the Democrats, we should choose a Leader who really is the answer for the messes we’ve created. His name is Jesus, and He offers a third way.
Government is important, of course, and it’s our civic duty to vote. But our primary allegiance must be to Jesus Christ, and He has entrusted us–not the government–with the responsibility of changing the world.
The podcast of “A Third Way” is now available in iTunes or at this site.
