Some weekends you plan. Some weekends plan you. Week 23 was a little of both, and somewhere in the middle of a haircut, a stranded driver, and one chord on a keyboard, God reminded me again that the most important moments are usually the ones you didn't put on the calendar.
Random fact about my own backyard: right here in Anderson, there's a 2,000-year-old earthwork at Mounds State Park. The Great Mound was built by hand around 160 B.C., one basket of dirt at a time, and it's still standing today. Nobody remembers the names of the people who built it, but the thing they built outlasted them by two thousand years. That's legacy. You pour yourself into something with your own hands, and generations you'll never meet get to stand on it.
So here we go — Week 23.
Friday
Friday started the way a day off is supposed to start, which means it didn't really start like a day off at all. I got up, knocked out some work around the house, and then spent a little time working on my message for Sunday. I've learned that Sunday doesn't prepare itself, and "I'll just wing it" is not a spiritual gift.
Then I made the run to Fisher's to get my hair cut at V's Barber Shop. Patrick always does a great job. I walk in looking like I lost a fight with my pillow, and I walk out looking like I might have my life together. He does good work, and a good barber is worth the drive.
From there I ran to BJ's and filled up on gas that was only slightly less outrageous than usual. I've made peace with the fact that the gas light is a negotiation and I am always on the losing side. I ran in for a few items, and I bumped into Bill, one of our church folks. I ran in for a few items, and I bumped into Bill, one of our church folks. It was like the old Ray Steven’s song The Streak (a classic), “I's standin' over there by the tomaters, And here he come, Running through the pole beans, Through the fruits and vegetables…” We stood there and caught up for a good while. That's the thing about church family. You go in for ground beef and come out having had a real conversation. I'll take that trade every time.
Then I headed back to the house to chill with DeAnna for the evening. After the haircut, the gas, the groceries, and the catching up, a quiet evening with my wife sounded like exactly the right way to end the day.
Saturday
Saturday morning came early. I was up before the sun to head to our Marathon Praise Team and Production Team practice. On the way, I made what I consider an essential ministry stop at Deluxe Donuts, one of our favorite donut shops, to grab donuts for the crew. Say what you want, but a team that gets fed shows up differently.
At the donut shop, we saw a lady struggling with her car. So we did what you do. We tried to jump her off. The car had other plans. It would not turn over no matter what we tried. So we loaded her up and took her home so she wouldn't be left stranded. We didn't fix the car, but we got her where she needed to be. Sometimes that's the only way you can actually help somebody. You can't solve the whole problem, so you meet the need that's right in front of you. And we still made it to church with plenty of time to do everything we needed to do to get ready for the meeting.
After the production meeting, I did a little office work. Then DeAnna and I treated ourselves to a five-star establishment, otherwise known as Arby's, for a Beef 'n Cheddar. I'm not saying it's fine dining, but I'm not not saying it either. We had to fuel up, because we had a graduation party and a birthday party to get to before meeting our missionary friends, Brian and Michelle Paulauskas, who were coming into town to be with us at GT Church on Sunday.
By the time the parties were behind us and the missionaries were in and fed, and ready for Sunday. Tired, but ready.
Sunday
Sunday was an amazing day. And I don't use that word the way people use it for parking spots and cheeseburgers. I mean something shifted.
Our worship reached a place where the presence of the Lord came into the room. There was no song. Just one chord on the keyboard. Nobody was leading anything, nobody was performing, nobody was filling the silence. The Lord came over His people, and they just began to worship Him. I had not seen that in many years. It was powerful, and I believe it was a moment we are supposed to steward — not analyze, not reproduce on demand, but honor and protect.
Something is happening at GT Church. The worship encounter Sunday was not a service we ran. It was a move of God we got to stand in. The room was full, the presence was thick, and people stopped spectating and started participating. That's the difference between a crowd and a church. A crowd watches. A church leans in.
And then we baptized serveral of our church family going public with their fath. I'll be straight with you, baptisms fire me up like almost nothing else. I try to keep my pastoral composure up there, but anybody who has watched me knows I'm one good testimony away from losing it. Every person who goes under is a story God is rewriting in real time. We're not counting numbers at the water. We're counting names, and Heaven knows every one of them.
Then Brian and Michelle did a tremendous job sharing their burden and passion for Peru. They presented a BGMC project to put the Word of God on solar-powered devices that carry the Gospel to people in their own native language. As they talked, I felt the Holy Spirit impress on me to sow into it. So I took an impromptu offering, and our people raised over $1,900 toward the project. I've said it for years and I'll say it again: you can't out-give God.
Afterward we went to one of our favorite spots, Thai Divine, a genuinely authentic Thai restaurant here in town, and enjoyed catching up with our missionary friends over good food. Then we headed back to the house to relax for a bit and keep the conversation going.
But Sunday wasn't done. Brian and I headed back to the church to prepare for Fire Night.
Fire Night was a time of prayer and worship, and it was an amazing time. The Spirit of God sat down in that room. I keep coming back to that picture, because that's exactly what it felt like. It was a watershed moment, and I believe it changed the trajectory of GT Church.
Fire Night carried the same weight as the morning. People came hungry, and hungry people are dangerous in the best way. Revival doesn't start in a crowd. It starts in a heart, and then it spreads.
By the time we wrapped up, it was late and we still had two missionaries to feed. We weren't about to send Brian and Michelle back to the hotel hungry, so we landed at Buffalo Wild Wings to cap the night. There's something fitting about closing a day like that over wings and conversation, still buzzing from what God had done. Nobody wanted the day to end, and honestly, neither did I.
Closing Thoughts
Week 23 had everything. A haircut, a meat-department reunion, donuts, a car that wouldn't jump off, Arby's, two parties, missionary friends, Thai food, wings, and a tank of gas I'm still recovering from financially.
But underneath all of it, one thing kept rising to the top: when God shows up, your job is to steward the moment.
We can plan the service. We can build the production schedule. We can train the praise team. We can print the order of worship. We can prep the message and brew the coffee and set the lights. And we should. Excellence honors God, and we don't drift toward it by accident. But you cannot schedule one chord on a keyboard that empties a room of everything except the presence of God. You can only recognize it when it comes, and steward it well.
That's what I want for us. Not a moment we talk about for a week and forget. A trajectory we follow. The presence of God in our worship, in that stranded lady's driveway, in an offering for Peru, in a Fire Night that ran late because nobody wanted to leave. That's not hype. That's what actually happened this weekend, and I believe it's a sign of where we're going.
Here's what I want you to see. Momentum is a gift, but it's also a responsibility. It's easier to steer than stagnation, but only if we keep moving. So this week, don't just sit back and admire what God did on Sunday and move on. Bring someone. Invite the person who keeps crossing your mind. We're not chasing crowds. We're pursuing His presence, and we're making room for more.
Lord, make us a people who recognize Your presence and steward it well. Help us pursue revival, build authentic community, release God-given purpose, and leave a legacy that impacts generations. And while You're at it, do something about the price of gas, because a man can only pray so hard at the pump.
Above All Continue In Love And Excellence.
