We have been experiencing tremendous growth in the number of people who walk through these doors.  The Sunday services, particularly at 11am, have become so packed that we’ve had to break out extra chairs in the café!

Realizing the need to address this, we considered a number of alternatives: adding a Sunday evening service, an earlier service on Sunday mornings, or even a service on another weekday.  After much prayer and thought, we chose what we believe to be the best option, took a straw poll, and decided on our new service times:

• Saturdays — 6pm
• Sundays — 9am, 10:30am, 12pm

This weekend we begin the new schedule.  We trust that it will let even more people encounter Jesus firsthand.  In fact, I would be thrilled if we continued to grow beyond even these four services, and had to talk about our next set of options…

Now, we expect that 10:30am will continue to draw a crowd (just as 11am did), so we’re asking that you try the 9am or noon service for a few weeks to see whether it works for you.  And particularly this Easter, when we expect many visitors to join us at 10:30.

Speaking of, I am very excited about Easter this year!  It is one of the few times when we can talk about the foundational truth of our faith to so many, and afford everyone the very real chance to meet a very real Savior.  (Besides that, I just love to celebrate, which is exactly what we’ll be doing!)

Join us for Good Friday at 6pm or 7:30pm (both services are identical), and for our Easter services during one of the newly scheduled times.

See you then.

A survey of thousands of individuals by The Barna Group found that the three most common perceptions of present-day Christianity include:

• that we are anti-homosexual,
• that we are judgmental, and
• that we are hypocritical.

Among young people (ages 16-29), these numbers were found to be particularly high: 91% said we are against homosexuals, 87% saw us as judgmental, and 85% felt we are hypocritical.  We have become known for what we oppose, rather than what we are for.

If these statistics hold for our area, where literally 100,000 young people are attending colleges within driving distance of PAC, then we can assume that 80,000 - 90,000 of them will never be interested in attending our church.  And that doesn’t include the young professionals in our area.

So, how do we address this?  The answer is not as complex as we may think.

First, we have to leave our facility to reach our community.  If their perception of us deters them from approaching us, then we need to find them where they are.

Once outside our walls, we need to live and speak in such a way that people can experience the true nature of Jesus.  We will never change someone’s mind with a sermon — they have to see us in authentic action. They need to see that our love and concern for other people is real.  They need to see that we are open to talk about and struggle with difficult issues. They need to see that we do not consider them as objects to win to Christ but that we are interested in them as people.

They need to know us by our love.

I have been spending some time in the book of Acts these past two weeks.  As I started on chapter five, I was struck by this summary of the first church:

The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

I always loved that last sentence — that people were coming to know Christ daily.  But this time, as I read these verses, it struck me that no one but the believers gathered together for the meetings. Even though people held them in such high regard, there remained this fear or awe that kept others away from the Christian gatherings.  If that were the case, then how did more and more people come to know Christ?

It had to be outside these meetings!   Believers were coming in to be informed and impassioned about Christ but they were going back out to live and speak these truths to their friends and neighbors.   They may have met together at the “hub,” but it was their lives out at the “rim” that made the difference.

Where is the strength of our Christian lives lived out — at the hub or the rim? Where are we working harder to get the message out through our lives and words? If we want to learn from the first church, then we had better start making “rim-work” a priority.

I hope to see you this weekend.  (And don’t forget to set your clocks forward by an hour on Saturday night.)

As I was working on my dissertation this week, I took a break from reading “Manichaeism and Judaism in Light of the Cologne Mani Codex” (no kidding!) by walking through Princeton University.  In case you’ve never done the same, I’ll say this: it is an incredibly impressive campus, and it is clear that the University continues to spend millions to restore and maintain the original stone buildings.  But impressive as the structures are, they’re useless without the students who walk through them.  Princeton University may drop a dime or two on renovation, but what the leadership is really investing in, is the development of some of the best young minds of the next generation.

As I was walking, the lesson for us was very clear.  We need to take particular care to preserve the precious truths of our faith within this next generation.  We need to remember that we exist to pass on what we learn, that these truths have a short-lived advantage if they aren’t developed in the minds of those who will soon stand in our shoes.

Later this year we will devote a whole series to these thoughts; for now, I had better get back to the codex…

Be perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We find this nugget of inconceivable directive in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. (Yes, I am still in that thing…) Now, I have always heard this “perfection” explained as an incredible standard of holiness that is, frankly, unattainable. I’ve heard that it is a message given to make us feel hopeless and to keep us dependent on the work of Christ. That we just can’t live this stuff.

But do you think this is really what Jesus means? If you look closely at the context, you’ll notice that this “perfection” is not described at the end of the sermon. Instead, it is placed in the middle, after these words:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Could it be that the “perfection” Jesus calls for is a non-violent, non-vengeful response to everyone outside our existing boundary of friendships? Could it be that Jesus is reminding us that God’s love differs from ours because it is comprehensive?

God’s love includes everyone. It is compassionate, even towards those who would hate us.  See, by imitating God’s love, we demonstrate the part of God that makes him “perfectly” different, and in doing so, we can actually revolutionize society rather than proliferate the usual circle of violence and hatred.

As Brian McLaren writes in his most recent book, The Secret Message of Jesus: “If there is a point in this book where readers might be tempted to slam the cover shut and say ‘this is ridiculous…’ this would be that point.” But what a thought to consider.  What else would we do? Go back to the same old, same old? Isn’t this new way, this new “perfection,” the only one with hope?

As many of you know, we spoke about renewal in our families last weekend.  I witnessed many neat moments under the chupas during the services, and it was a great way to finish our Messy Life series.

Although these six weeks went by quickly, you know that serious relationships don’t have quick fixes. Continue to look for ways to grow: we have some resources available to you.  There is also the Making Marriage Last course at 11am on Sundays, and we have fully-trained counselors available.

This weekend we start a new series in the book of Philippians.  Paul’s experiences in his letter to the people of Philippi will help us to enjoy and to follow the God who is more than enough.  We will spend four weeks walking with Paul, his incredible attitude of trust, and the generosity that flowed from him because of his deep commitment to Christ.  I think it will be fun… and I know it will be challenging.

See you on the weekend!