What North Point & Las Vegas Have In Common

Last week, I spent time in Atlanta and Las Vegas.

I spent the first half of the week with Kent Rogers, our worship minister, at the Drive Conference in Atlanta. North Point Community Church is one of the largest churches in the world. And Drive is practical leadership conference that gives church leaders an insider's look at how Andy Stanley and his staff conceive of and envision church in their context.

North Point unabashedly wants to create churches that unchurched people want to attend.

And I love that. (If you think that idea is shallow, pick up Andy's book Deep & Wide. I'm in the middle of it. It's definitely worth a read.)

I'm not sure I've ever been a part of a church that seriously wanted to do that. But if we were honest with ourselves, most of us would have to admit we attend churches that exist for churched people.

And after spending half of a week in a church that exists for unchurched people, I spent the rest of the week in Las Vegas, a city of unchurched people.

I played 36 holes of golf with my buddy Daniel on Thursday at Desert Pines & Royal Links. Great golf & great weather.

Holly and I had a great time with some of our best friends in Vegas. Unfortunately, I figured out I was allergic to Sin City, as I struggled with my sinuses all weekend. But all in all, we had a great time!

I'm still processing the week, but it seems obvious that the church needs to rethink its mission as it relates to a growing segment of our population that loves Jesus, but wants nothing to do with his church.

I saw people in Vegas who could use an encounter with Jesus. Is the church truly ready?

A Snow-Forced Sabbath

Today, Denver is expecting 8-14 inches of snow. It's coming down and expected to come down for the rest of the day.

And what I love about days like today is...Snow Days force us to slow down.

Our culture has become proficient at refusing rest, but you have to be more intentional to miss the opportunity to slow down and enjoy your family on a day like today.

It's interesting what we've done with God's command for Sabbath rest. We have convinced ourselves that we are free from the old Law. We're grateful to Jesus and Paul for enacting and announcing our freedom from those 613 commands in the Old Testament.

But days like today remind me that the rhythm we were given in the first seven days of Creation aren't incidental. Our bodies need rest just as God modeled for us on day seven.

And we ignore our need for Sabbath to our own demise.