"Anger is the feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your brain." - Evan Esar

FAIL

Lots of stuff to report today.

• We learned today that as part of their bankruptcy filing, Chrysler announced they won't be paying back the $4 billion the govt. loaned them at the end of last year. But wait! There's more! They also won't be paying back the $3.2 billion the govt. loaned them last week. But wait! There's more! The govt. figures to loan Chrysler another $1.5 billion next year.
• Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today that the economy should pull out of the recession and show measurable growth by the end of this year. I'm not the kind to say, "I told you so" but if Bernanke had read by blog weeks ago.... Then again, maybe he did, and that's why he said this. I am, after all, heard on NPR.
  
• As part of our effort to get the Pathway word out we upgraded the church web site. We also contracted with a firm that optimizes our rankings when anyone searches for a church in our area. I think it's part of this company's service that provides us with stats on hits to our site. We're getting some very promising results! Since the first third of our direct mail piece went out last week we're seeing increased traffic to our site. Particularly good are the number of hits on the pages that list our service times, our location and our "What We Believe" page. Pathway people go there to read my occasional posts to the site's blog but they wouldn't be going to those other pages; only inquirers would. The chances that someone would receive a piece in the mail on Thursday and go to that church on Sunday are probably slim. But the fact that they go to our site to learn more is a very positive sign and - we pray! - bodes well for the future. Add to that the addtional 1,650 pieces that went out today and the same amount next Monday and things are looking good!
• Today is Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday that approximates our July 4th. Lots of us have wondered for a long time why we observe it here in the U.S. as much as we do (do you have kids in public school?), but I was interested to read in today' paper some push-back from a surprising group...Hispanics. Arizona shares a border with Mexico so it's not surprising that we have a significant Mexican population in the state - legal and illegal immigrants. But we also have a large Hispanic population from other Central and South American countries. Turns out they are at least irritated with all the attention given to a Mexican holiday.
  

All the curriculum letters are folded, stuffed and sealed. Tomorrow we'll get stamps and put them in the mail. My plan is to spend the majority of tomorrow working on curriculum and to have at least several pieces of it ready to email to my brother by tomorrow night. His company will do the authoring of the master CD's and the sooner he gets the content the sooner they can build the menus. Thursday morning I have a conference call scheduled with the artist who is designing the covers for the two CD's and the two DVD cases. We're getting close!

If I run as fast as I can, at least as fast as I can with a leash in my hand and a dog to my left, I can go just fast enough for Al to break into a gallop. So picture the two of us running down the street, one at 90% and the other at 12%, and then put into that scene a rabbit darting across the street 50 yards up ahead. One of us will instinctively kick it into the next gear. The other one of us doesn't have another gear.
A 74 lb. Greyhound can put quite a yank on the end of a leash.

I think the days of afternoon bike rides are just about over. I enjoy the heat, especially because it's so dry that a hard ride doesn't break a sweat, at least not one that I can feel. It evaporates almost instantly. But we're heading into triple digits for the next few days, and while that's still a little high for this time of year it's not that far above the norm. The other thing that strikes me about this time of year is that the evening temps don't drop like they did just a few weeks ago. Nighttime lows are now 70 degrees, which makes it harder to get the house cooled down.
And we don't hit that low until about 5 a.m., which means it's still in the high 80's to low 90's when we go to bed. Sleeping with the AC on isn't that far off.
I'll do my bike ride tomorrow as soon as the morning commuters are off the road.

I know I've said this before, but I am praying often and earnestly throughout the day for Pathway's growth. It is God's ministry and his sovereign will that decides the future. But he has taught us that he answers prayer and that sometimes we "have not because you ask not."

I feel no hesitation asking God to bless Pathway with growth because I am convinced that we are doing what pleases him - worshiping, serving and focusing on his Word. Too few churches have a commitment to the preaching and teaching of Scripture in a culture where church is designed to come to them instead of calling them to come to God.

But I confess that I have another reason I ask God to grow Pathway. Besides the conviction that we are doing what God called the church to do, I ask God to bless Pathway as a response to the faithfulness and commitment of the families who currently make up this congregation. No pastor ever started - and most never have - a group of families as steadfast and sacrificial as these. Our meeting condtions, while the cause for thankfulness, are a long way from ideal. The ratio of preschoolers to adults means they all serve too often in the other room with a crowd of kiddos. It would be a lot easier for them to go to a larger church where more developed ministries called for less effort on their part. But they all attend faithfully, give with incredible generosity (how do you think we can afford to do this outreach effort?) and smile all the while.

Yeah, I ask God to grow Pathway, and to do so soon for the sake of this great group of people it is my privilege to pastor. It may not fit the strict rules of theology, but I've told God they deserve his blessing of addtional people at Pathway.