Freezer Burn

Journey Church White Militia

Two nights ago I took seven guys from our Saturday morning group to spend the night in a secluded (and very rustic) cabin located in the middle of 4000 acres of land about 30 minutes from Conifer.  One of the drawing cards I used to convince grown men to spend the night in a freezing cold cabin was that we could do some coyote hunting while we were there.  As you can see from the image, they came loaded for bear.  After I took the picture I told them that we looked like a bunch of guys from some white militia outfit in North Dakota.  We didn't kill any coyotes (PETA fans can now relax), so instead we spent two hours shooting every conceivable weapon known to man.  It was loud, it was raucous, it was MANLY!  Add to that the fact that we enjoyed a BIG pot of chili the night before, and I could use the same adjectives to describe the atmosphere in the cabin sometime around 3 a.m.  In the end, the wood stove kept the cabin temperature tolerable and some of us actually got some sleep (present company excluded).  The next morning we made what can only be described as an awesome, artery-clogging breakfast: eggs, sausages by the pound, fried potatoes and grits.  We all stood around the campfire the night before, smoking pipes and cigars and telling stories about the most painful or frightening experiences we'd ever had ("You call THAT a scar?  Take a look at this baby...")  By around 10 pm the conversation moved to a deeper, more personal level as we talked about how we hear from God and shared some of our most significant "God Moments".

This is why I love to get a group of men away on their own where there's no cell phone coverage and no distractions, and we can finally start to be authentic with one another.  It was a truly great outing.

     We're all gearing up for our big Christmas Eve service at the high school, and we're hoping to have up to 1000 in attendance.  I am truly amazed by the growth-rate of this church, and even more so by the fact that most of the newcomers are brand new to church and not transplants from another congregation.  We'll always have a percentage of people who slide horizontally between our church and other local churches, based on theological or personal differences they may have with us or their previous church.  We don't encourage church-hopping, but it's a fact of life.  What seems incredible to all of us on staff here is how many people have started to attend from advertisements they've seen on Facebook, or from a poster, or a personal invitation.  This is what "The Church" is all about: reaching people far from God, and encouraging them to become fully devoted followers of Christ.