Rolling, Rolling, Rolling, Rawhide!

Last night I was able to get some time out with my youngest son. We were invited to use a couple of extra tickets to the National Finals Rodeo here in Vegas. The skill and athleticism of the competitors was pretty remarkable. My son loved it. Four nights ago he was watching the opening night of the Finals on ESPN2 and wishing he could go someday. Just three days later there he was. I didn't tell him where we were going until we were in my truck and headed toward the arena. The look on his face was priceless. "Are we going for real? Are we going to see real cowboys?"

That kind of treatment of the animals in the name of sport became questionable to me, though, as I watched it in person. I'm still trying to figure out how this sits within the framework of God's creational mandate to Adam and Eve, and then again to Noah, to image God in their treatment of the animals as they care for them in God's stead.

Things within the City-Wide Redeemer community are so much fun right now. Our discipleship groups are getting into full swing. We should be hitting on all cylinders on the men's side of the house after the holidays. We are still organizing the women's groups.

It has been awesome to see many of our folks taking greater initiative in sharing the gospel with their families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Many of them are beginning to use a tool that we have borrowed from Perimeter Church in Atlanta, GA called Life Issues and another book called The Answer. But this isn't an "evangelism program." It is a case of men and women reshaping a resource to match their own style and personality in the great mission of making God's name known in Las Vegas. I expect that we will be able to see several more people responding to God's gracious forgiveness and acceptance through the Lord Jesus in the near future.

I can't explain what is happening, but we continue to come into contact with many people who are at a place in their lives where they want answers to their questions about God, the Bible, their own mortality, life after death, etc. It's like God is orchestrating the choreography of several lives to meet on the dance floors brokenness and crisis simultaneously, some with questions and others with hope to offer. God's Spirit is clearly at work here.

Sunday mornings are getting easier for me personally. When we launched out I had many things to take care of before we began our services of worship. I basically had to bring everything from nursery items to backdrops to music/sound items. Now we have the workings of a great set-up and tear-down crew that have made Sundays much more manageable for me. And the best part, everyone who pitches in does so with such joy. It's fun to see and experience.