Watermark Church - Dallas, Texas

Watermark Church (click to zoom)

A handful of us from Central visited six churches in Dallas last week. We were researching building ideas for the next worship center at our Gilbert campus. Two of these churches stood out to me.

One of them, who will remain nameless, left us with a very bad impression. As we walked into their worship center, the aroma of mustiness washed over us. The damp air weighted upon us with a heavy thickness. My mind flashed back to my junior high locker room. Our guide, an executive member of their church staff, proudly showed us around. While we each stole glances of shock from one another, it was apparent our guide didn’t smell anything.

That’s because he was used to it. It was normal. To an outside guest however, nothing was normal about that smell.

Earlier that day we toured another church building. The church was Watermark and featured a cutting-edge design with wood panels all around the walls. This produced a rich smell that brought a feeling of a cabin in the woods or that moment you open a fine humidor of cigars. While we each glanced at the members of our group a pleasant look of surprise stole over our faces. And again, it was apparent our guide didn’t smell anything.

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Year with C.S. LewisThis post is part of my series through A Year with C.S. Lewis.

This month is a bit late… but better late than never! Here are my favorite quotes from the assorted C.S. Lewis books that are covered in the month of May in the book. I’ll begin with a section that I use when I do a funeral for someone.

On the one hand Death is the triumph of Satan, the punishment of the Fall, and the last enemy. Christ shed tears at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane: the Life of Lives that was in Him detested this penal obscenity not less than we do, but more. On the other hand, only he who loses his life will save it. We are baptised into the death of Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall. Death is, in fact, what some modern people call ‘ambivalent’. It is Satan’s great weapon and also God’s great weapon: it is holy and unholy; our supreme disgrace and our only hope; the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which He conquered.

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waiterI had dinner out with friends two nights in a row this past week. Both were nice restaurants where you’d expect great customer service. But only one delivered. Here’s how it played out.

The first night, our waiter had two noticeable habits. The first, which was unique to him above any server I’ve ever had, is that instead of grabbing a plate to clear the table he would hold out his hand in front of it. He did this to each of us and it took us each a moment to figure out what he was doing. We eventually realized he was waiting for us to hand our plates to him. While this is hard to describe with words on a blog post, I can do a killer impression of him in person.

The second thing this waiter did is to ask us every time our glass was empty if we wanted a refill. And every single time he got the exact same answer. What is he afraid of? That I’d suddenly realize I had a plethora of Dr. Pepper in my glass and look for someone to take it out on? If my glass is empty, fill it. You can make that call on your own. Continue Reading…

John F Kennedy“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” John F. Kennedy

Consider the above quote from John F. Kennedy about the significance of young people. There is something intrinsically true we know about it even if we don’t personally know a lot of young people. It’s the kind of statement that you hear and then it resonates with your own life experiences and observations. Young people are the future.

Now consider that John F. Kennedy never said that.

But you know the person who did.

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Rob Bell

While Rob Bell’s latest book doesn’t have the shortest title, it quickly became one of my favorites of what he’s written. Unlike his last book (Love Wins) which I think was written more for the hype, this book challenges the reader to think through the ways in which we think of God. For most people, this is a discipline they’ve never really spent the time on. But as Bell develops, this is a great challenge for us not only in our own journey with God but also in the way we share Him with others.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

What We Talk about When We Talk about God - Rob BellLike a mirror, God appears to be more and more a reflection of whoever it is that happens to be talking about God at the moment.

Explain how that particular song moves you. Articulate why you fell in love with that person. Provide data for the manner in which that meal with those friends made your soul soar. Most of the things in life we’re most sure of, many of those events and experiences that are more real to us than anything else, lots of sensations we have no doubt actually happened—these are things we cannot prove with any degree of scientific validity. Continue Reading…