Anything not a pachyderm is irrelephant.

Two posts in one day. And there's more in my head than you see here.
Note: quantity and quality come in no direct relationship.
Note: this morning's post is below this one.

I got the trailer hitch installed on the Sorento this morning. It took WAY longer than I thought it would, and the 105 degree temp with a dew point of 63 degrees made it even more fun. I think the knot on my forehead from the falling wrench will be gone by Sunday.
A 30-mile ride would have been easier.

The people are the BEST part!

Did you hear about Dick Cheney??? The man has no pulse! (No, this is not a Democratic talking point.) He had that blood pump installed in yesterday’s surgery. The pump is battery powered and runs constantly, keeping his blood flowing through his body. His heart valves are always open and his heart just sitting there. The pump does all the work. He’s supposed to carry spare batteries with him at all times. (Doh!)

What was (or has been) your favorite stage of parenting? Answers to that question would vary depending on the individual parent, and perhaps their kid(s). But one of my favorite stages was the 1- to 5-year old span. It was so much fun to watch the boys go through their day with virtually everything they encountered becoming a discovery process. When they reach the age they’re capable of cognitive thinking and interacting with their environment you can sit back and watch with amazement, and sometimes amusement, as they explore the world around them. That’s also a time of striking physical growth. Some days it seemed like they were bigger in the morning than when we put them to bed the night before.

Churches grow like that, too. And in a young church it’s sometimes visible from one week to the next - both the quantitative and the qualitative growth. Like children, churches go through growth spurts.

At our elder meeting last night the agenda included several items that represent steps of qualitative growth Pathway will take in the next few weeks. The least significant of them is our Constitution & Bylaws. The elders have been working on this doc for several months and finally finished it. At a congregational meeting on August 1 we’ll formally adopt it.

I say this is the least significant because the NT church did just fine without a constitution. For that matter, Pathway has done just fine without it for two and a half years. So why have one at all? It codifies as guiding principles some things we think are important (and biblical), like an elder-led structure, financial accountability and our commitment to sound doctrine. Doing that provides a safeguard for the future. Lord willing, Pathway will be here until he comes. And we want successive generations to remain faithful to some essential policies and procedures. (Cf. too many denominational churches who have found a way to “interpret” Scripture to their own bending ends.)

Much more significant was our decision to support Geoff & Shannon Husa and their three girls as they serve God with the Mibu people in Papau New Guinea. We’ll also talk about that at our congregational meeting on the 1st, explaining how we’ll go about participating as a church in their amazing ministry there. This represents a huge step in our maturation as a congregation, getting involved in God’s work beyond our walls. Just as a child should grow beyond the natural narcissism of infancy, so a church must involve itself in God’s work among people elsewhere.
(I wish you could meet the Husas and hear what they’re doing. The word stirring fits.)

We also discussed our impending move. At some point in August - maybe the 1st, but more likely the 22nd - we’ll move from The Wigwam across the street to Litchfield Elementary. That will bring some important advantages (!), but as with all change it also involves includes some downsides. It’s an older school and looks like it. We’ll have to find ways to make the cafeteria feel like a worship and learning space, and even with those strategies we’ll have to work a little harder at a vertical focus. That’s OK; maybe some of the anemia with the church in America comes from the ease we’ve created for all things spiritual.

Like I said, there’s more in my head. But it will have to wait until tomorrow’s post.
I know, you can hardly wait.