I (Heart) Atheists

A new friend I met where I go swing dancing got quite the surprise when she heard what I did for a living. Her response: "Oh, well you may not like me then. I'm an Atheist." I thanked her for her honesty and assured her that I don't limit my friendships to people who believe the same as I do. She told me she and her family had come across different speakers who challenged the belief in God, but apparently had never heard any good responses to those challenges. I got to meet her boyfriend and a bunch of other recent Vegas arrivals in the next few weeks. After a game night at her place her boyfriend caught wind of my "day job" and started asking me a lot of questions about what I believe, while sharing his own story. We decided to continue the conversation another night over dinner. I was surprised when they invited 2 others to join us, both of whom saw no valid use for "religion" as they saw it. Not all who came were open to respectful conversations on such matters (so we decided to table the conversation until later), but one has come to a couple of our Missional Community gatherings, while the original couple has asked about coming to hear me preach. I love the honesty and desire for community I see in this group, and would love to see what God has in store for them in the future.

On the Move...

I made an offer on a house in the heart of the neighborhood our Missional Community meets in (about 1/3 of it's market value 3 years ago) ... and the seller accepted it! Now I must wait for the bank to approve the short sale (may take a few months). While my swamp cooler in my temporary home struggles to keep up with temperatures over 110, I've been able to beat the heat the old fashioned way ... by heading to cooler climates!

At the end of June I was flown out to Colorado to DJ for the daughter of a family I lived with after graduating seminary. After celebrating "Canada Day" in Vegas with with a wedding group from Newfoundland (who somehow thought that being a Vegas DJ meant I knew where they could get drugs at that hotel), I flew to Canada over 4th of July to visit some family I hadn't seen for 9 years. Great time of reconnecting in the beautiful foothills of the Canadian Rockies (the picture above is from their ranch). The next Sunday I preached in response to 3 questions given for our "I Have a Question" sermon series, all revolving around the origin of the Bible and how we understand it as a church. The next week I was off to fill the pulpit for another church in the area. It's encouraging to see what God is doing in other churches throughout this city. Final count: 4 churches in 4 weeks, 7 planes, 3 cancelled / rerouted flights, 2 malfunctioning video projectors, and 1 home sweaty (err... sweet) home.

Coming Up...

At the end of August I get to play tourist in my own town as my mom and her sister come to visit. But before my "stay-cation" I have an action-packed 4 weeks. This week I travel to Chicago for some church planter training with other planters from around the country. It should be a great opportunity to learn from others who have been down this road before. When I get back I'll work my 11th DJ gig of the month (yikes!), and we'll get to celebrate the wedding of a couple in our Paradise Missional Community right there in the back yard of the home that hosts it. My focus will then be preparing for sermons and the final exams of my ordination process in August. Assuming all goes well, I would then be ordained here in Las Vegas September 25th. Please pray for these times of training and preparation. It will be a very intense month, I'm sure.

June Update

Odd Hour Ministry

With a lot of Friday night DJ gigs, I've been showing up pretty late to the Aruba (hotel where I go swing dancing). This means most of the dancing is done and only the bar regulars are left. About 1 AM a guy was sharing stories of an old friend of theirs. One of the regulars started telling me the group's back-story and how that guy from the stories committed suicide last fall. Telling funny stories about him was their way of coping with their loss. She then told me how her sister had just died, that she knew I was a pastor, and that the religious upbringing she had was based on fear and control. Now as an adult she no longer goes to church. The next day I sent her a recent sermon from our church that I thought would interest her, since I thought it touched on everything we discussed that night. She agreed and wrote back, saying, "You have a very interesting take on things. It's not what I'm used to hearing. Thank you for sending it to me." Thanks to all of you for your gifts and prayers that make it possible to share the message of the gospel here in Vegas.

Special Delivery!

Recently a friend from my North Carolina days came to town to compete in the World Series of Poker (played across the street from me). It's been a blessing to have someone close by to connect with at odd hours. This morning I took a friend from my St. Louis church to the airport after he was in town for a wedding. Last night he got to join our Paradise Missional Community for a time of fellowship and prayer for each other, our community and our city. Our conversations while he was here helped confirm for me that God is at work in Vegas, even if it took a second set of eyes to help me see that better. His whole visit was a great encouragement.

Consumer or Servant?

A recent survey of Las Vegas residents revealed that 40% would leave the state if they could. That's a lot of unhappy locals. Recently I understood where the 40% are coming from. One Friday night in May I was driving home from a DJ gig, frustrated with my new home town. A combination of miscummunication, poor planning, forgetfulness, and a lack of ownership for mistakes all converged in one event I was working, and I became the "clean up" guy trying to make it all better. The next day a co-worker tried to remind me how this city was built on "greasing palms" and kickbacks, and how the trend continues today. In the middle of my frustration I caught myself thinking like a "consumer," concerning myself simply with what I'm getting out of this town. I had to ask myself, "Am I here for what this city has to offer me, or for what Christ has to offer this city?" Seeing this "consumer mentality" in my own heart challenged me. Please pray that I not lose focus on the reason I am here, and that Christ sustains me in the process.

May Day! May Day!

That's how I was feeling about 11:00 AM on May 1st (a.k.a. "May Day"). I had just returned from one intense week in Atlanta, after which I was given the formal "thumbs up" to help start new churches in the PCA, and was feeling exhausted already. Now some scheduling changes made me wonder if my licensure exams (the first half of the ordination process) would have to be pushed back a couple months. So at 11:00 AM, in the middle of an intense theological examination with the pastors overseeing my ordination, where my mind was fuzzy and feeling overwhelmed, a friend climbing a mountain hundreds of miles away felt led to pray for me - in the middle of her climb - but didn't know why. The next day she told me of the odd time and place where she felt led to pray. I then told her what was happening at that time, and how that moment was the turning point for me. By the end of my "May Day" my mind was clear, my heart settled, and I had passed my exams with flying colors. I left that experience even more convinced that God works through our prayers. Thank you all for your prayers for myself and the work God is doing here in Las Vegas.

Paradise Valley Missional Community

This is the name of the new missional community we began in April, meeting in the neighborhood east of the Strip and UNLV. Sunday night 15 of us gathered for dinner (pictured above). It was wonderful to see God bringing together people from different ethnic, educational, cultural, and even spiritual backgrounds (picture an Arab university scholar eating with an American fighter pilot, while a disabled man who lived on the streets for 2 years catches up with a professional musician). Last week I had lunch with one of them who says he's searching for Truth and the meaning of life, knows he's not a follower of Jesus, but is now considering whether the Bible is the Word of God, and whether his search for Truth and God needs to be redirected outward toward Christ, rather than an inward search for enlightenment. Please pray for Mike that his search for Truth leads him to the one who called himself, "The Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6).

On The Move

This next month I'll hopefully be moving into the Paradise Valley neighborhood. I still have to figure out the exact location, whether to rent or buy, roommates, etc. I'll also be scoping out potential worship gathering sites for down the road while also trying to network in the area. The decisions we make in the next few weeks will be pivotal to the mission of the church. Please pray for God's leading in this process. I look forward to updating you on what happens as the summer approaches.