Grrrrrrrrrr!

I don't know why, but I'm getting a ton of spammy comments lately. I've not wanted to, but I decided to go ahead and require word verification for leaving a comment. It's really no big deal, and I hope this doesn't put off anyone who wants to add to the conversation. I just don't want anyone getting spammed or even worse contracting a virus because of this blog.

Thanks for reading!

New Babies!!

Monday evening, my very good friends Mike and Kelli Lanahan got a bit of a surprise when their doctor said, "today's the day!" Skip forward just a very few hours and look what happened...



and then there were five...



now that's a happy (and relieved) mama.

Congratulations Mike, Kelli and Joey! And welcome to the world Jacob and Addison.

Check out more pics here.

Thanking my team / 705

This past Saturday was the big kick-off for our remodel of 705 E Washington, the older church building that we've bought to serve as NC3's temporary home. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I realize that some of you had to miss it and I'm very sorry that you did. We had a great time. I'm not sure how many people were there but I would guess upwards of 50.

Everyone did a great job, but I'm forced to report very objectively that MY TEAM IS THE VERY BEST ONE! Some of the folks who showed up to help weren't even signed up...they just showed up. (Kinda sounds like this!)

Of course it helps that the major job my team accomplished was DESTRUCTION! We got to tear things up and tear things down and to my knowledge there was only one event that nearly required stitches. Good times!!


Well if you're feeling like you missed out on all the fun, don't sit around moping about it. There are people working at 705 nearly all of the time currently. Next Saturday will again be a huge work day with all of the same energy and fun (there's also going to be a COOK-OUT!) The sad part is, the destruction is nearly over, but that just makes room for the fun part of building something that will last and be used for a long time. Walls are being scraped, cleaned and painted... New walls are being put up about as fast as the old walls came down. Bathrooms are getting a complete make-over (much needed. Thanks LLK).


When we had a prayer service on location last Friday, PK read some great scriptures, some of which were taken from the dedication of the temple of Solomon. This ain't no temple, but it is God's building. Every wall, every square foot of carpet, every stroke of paint, every piece of equipment... it's all God's. We're not offering thousands of cattle or sheep as a sacrifice...we're bringing a sacrifice of our willing hearts, our gloved hands and our joyful spirits. We're sacrificing our most precious commodity (our time) to see that what belongs to God for His purposes is the very best we can provide. There is no room for mediocre. I'm not talking about budgets here, I'm talking about fiercely pursuing excellence in all that we put our hands to... excellence being defined as the very best we can do with what we have and what we can get. God's dream for Grundy County is worth everything we can give!

So come on out this Saturday! If you're not already on a team, show up anyway with gloves and a great attitude. God will use you for what He is accomplishing at 705.

100th Post!

So my blog has turned 100. It took just over 1 year, so I guess I'm averaging just under 2 posts a week. To help me celebrate my 100th post, I want you to do something for me. Let me know why you read this blog. Boredom, insight, entertainment, church happenings, maybe just to see what horrible thing I'll say next... Whatever it is, drop me a comment.

I now I'd like to speak directly to all of you lurkers who read but prefer to stay unseen and unheard from... Come out into the open! It's time.

For the next year or next 100 posts, whichever comes first, I'm considering narrowing the focus but before I do that, I want to know what draws you here in the first place. Help me out, just drop me a comment and don't do it anonymously. What would you like more of? What should never be mentioned again (Philips Bodygroomer, perhaps)?

And to those of you who read consistently, thank you... it's been fun so far, it will only get better.

Bob the Builder...

...I am not! But Corbett the General Contractor, I'm having to become.

This is it, folks. Friday we close on the property at 705 E. Washington Street. That night, we're having a prayer service there, and work starts Saturday morning at 8am. There's a lot to do before our completion goal of April 18, but I think we have the manpower and just enough experts (you can have too many experts) to get the job done and do it with excellence!

I can't wait to get to work with my team to make the Auditorium a great place for our family to come together and worship Almighty God. It might not be Solomon's Temple (I wonder what his budget was for acoustical treatment?) but it will be the VERY BEST we can make it, because God deserves our very best.

I know that we don't have an unlimited budget and also that this is a temporary home for us--we'll be building a larger facility at IL-47 and Minooka Road within the next few years--but we are going to do our best to make 705 E. Washington a very special place to 1)Bring you in, 2)Build you up, and 3)Send you out!

I believe that for the rest of my life, 705 (as we've begun to call the new property) should be synonymous with Reaching People with the Gospel of Jesus. This property will be a tool that we use to connect people with Jesus, and there is no stone that should be left unturned.

The people of Morris and Grundy County that will encounter God at 705, they deserve the best we can do. The people who've been burned by churches before... the people who are skeptical at best about organized religion... the people who's lives seem to be doing just great without any more than just token acknowledgement or service to our Creator... Some of these people are going to come through our doors...maybe only once. Our task is to create an environment that gives them a reason to re-think what they've always thunk.

Now this can't be done just with a building. It will take dedication and sacrifice and leadership... people willing to make Sunday morning more about the guest than the member. But if we sell out to the vision of Building Bridges to connect people with Jesus, we'll see that come to pass. And we can help that along by providing a physical space that screams of excellence and encourages interaction. I can't wait to get started! Get ready Morris!