The Week In Brief(s) (5/3/09)

Every Sunday I’m sharing a recap on some of what happened that week. It will be quick (in brief) and I’ll write in my underwear (in briefs). Here ya go:

1. On Sunday I spoke three times at University Christian Church in Los Angeles. A very unique church; really appreciate them! They did a special offering for our church plant, which was great.

2. Met with a few people from our Launch Team. They are raring to go, but right now there’s not tons to do (outside of praying and developing relationships – which are huge!).

3. I worked on our church bylaws and on the “official” record for our upcoming first Management Team (Board of Directors) meeting. Doing all that made me think about blowing my brains out. I seriously lost the will to live.

4. But I am excited about our first Management Team meeting. I have an awesome group for my Management Team. Having them to give me wisdom and counsel is like a dream.

5. Met with a pastor of a local church – not sure if I should say which one – who told me they did a survey of their people and the average consumer debt per person/family was $54,000! Holy crap! By the way, I think that’s not a reflection of that church, but of Vegas.

6. Met with one of the Associate Pastors at Central Christian Church, who told me that of the people who go through their newcomer classes, 65% do not own a Bible. Wow, that says something great about Central!

7. Took Wednesday to get away and pray and read. It was good and much needed. And, man, in Vegas there are some beautiful places to go pray!

8. Met with Captain Hank, who is the Police Chief over the unit that patrols the Strip area. He is a great guy and was totally excited to have us working alongside him to make the Strip a better place. One thing he said was, “In my district there are no schools and only one church, a Catholic church. So when I heard about someone starting a new church in my district, I had to meet with them!”

9. We had a new family commit to moving to Vegas to help start Verve!! The number of adults on our Launch Team is now 25 (plus their 20 kids). Of the 25, 20 are people who have or are moving to Vegas just for this, and 5 are local Vegas people.

10. Flew to Michigan on Saturday to speak at The Journey in Muskegon. I’m a big fan of their Pastor, Paul Urban, and have heard great things about this church. They are going to ask their people to support our church plant, and are also starting the series based on my book!

TO PRAY ABOUT THIS WEEK:

1. Because we decided to live in Vegas for a year before having our “Grand Opening” (so we could get to know the community, and start a church that is not only true to God and the Gospel, but also to Vegas and its people), there is less to do right now than if we had taken only 6 months to ramp up. I think that some on our Launch Team are, understandably, feeling like, “Let’s get this thing started!” So please pray that God gives everyone patience and helps each of us to spend this time growing closer to Him and to people who are far from Him.

2. Some big meetings this week: As I mentioned, our first Management Team meeting. Also, Robb and I are going, as representatives of The Verve Foundation, to a meeting for a new coalition of non-profits that are looking to partner together and also seek grant money that is only available to coalitions.