The wild ride of church planting

I'm having one of those weeks where you just can't believe what God is up to. I have had several amazing conversations with some people this week that want to possibly be part of this church. I hardly know where these people are coming from. It's exciting. I wonder who doesn't even live in Richmond right now, that will be here when we launch our church in 5 1/2 months. Who else will God call to join us on this wild ride?

This past month has been really cool. I keep being amazed that this is my full time job...starting a church. It has it's challenges, but for the most part it's great. Right now I'm sitting on our porch swing...it's 76 degrees outside and there is hardly a drop of humidity in the air...awesome stuff.

Stay tuned next week for a potentially huge facilities announcement. (no, it's not as big as the Byrd, but it's pretty huge.)
More fun stuff is ahead.

The value of community

Tonight we had a small group meet in our house. There were about 13 of us meeting in the living room and it was a blast. It's such a great mix of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds who all want to learn about God and grow in their faith.

I don't know if all these people will be part of Area 10 Faith Community some day. People can do what they want. I just want to get to know these people and we'll just see what happens. I think great things happen when people get together and God does his thing in their midst.

Who knows where this group leads...for now I'm just loving the ride.
A day like today makes me feel like I have the best job in the world.

Area 10 gets a bit of Style

Style Weekly, Richmond's alternative weekly paper did a little story about the church in the Byrd. They put a picture of me right there on page 7. Overall, it was a great write up about who we are and what we want to do. It's pretty funny too. The writer, Chris Dovi, I think did a good job of making it funny and informative. The photographer did a good job of making me look like a stalker. I specifically said to him "just please don't make me look like a stalker." and that's what we got. Oh well...not his fault I guess. If you naturally look like a stalker, what's the photographer supposed to do about that?

My favorite line in the article is when the writer refers to me as a "fixture" in Carytown. That's me. I'm a fixture...like a faucet, or lightpost.

Just call me Pastor Fixture.

To read the article click here.

Area 10 Faith Community

So what does our name mean? I was recently asked...what is Area 10 anyway?

So let me 'splain it to you. Realtors divide up the region into Areas. Like Area 30 for Chesterfield, or whatever. Area 10 is the area from Church Hill in the East, 195 in the West, the James River to the south, and I-64 to the north. It's a nice rectangle that encompasses most of the city of Richmond. It is the place I want to spend my life loving and serving.

I thought the name worked for the church because it's geographic and it describes the geography we want to serve. It's unusual in that I can't find any other churches with that name...and it is slightly mysterious in that it sounds like Area 51 which I believe is where the government is keeping the flying saucers.

So that's us...Jesus...Richmond...and flying saucers.

This church is gonna be awesome.

A Worship Leader?

I just spent the weekend with a potential worship leader. This is a guy we met a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. We spent the weekend and showed he and his wife some of the sites of Richmond. We even checked out the Byrd (which they loved)

Worship is a big deal in a church. We really need someone who loves God, loves people and has a gift for leading His people in worship. I was a worship leader for years, so I'm probably a bit extra picky about it.

That being said, this guy is a quality guy. We had a great weekend. We'll see what happens. Please pray for us and this guy as we try to figure out if this is the right fit for both of us. More updates on that when I have them.

The cultural center of Richmond

The other day I told my friend Glen that I was hoping to get the Byrd Theatre for our church to meet in.  His response was something like:  "That would be amazing.  The Byrd is one of the top 3 most recognizable landmarks in Richmond."  I agree completely.  It really is a great place.  On New Year's Eve- roughly 20,000 people showed up on Cary Street to listen to bands, get ripped, and watch the ball drop...except here in Richmond the ball goes up...weird...Anyway, here is a photo from on top of the Byrd looking down at the crowd.  In the far left of the picture, in the darkness, you see some lights.   One of those lights is my house.

A Byrd's Eye View

Here is the inside of the Byrd Theatre.  It's a gorgeous building that this picture doesn't quite do justice to.  I am praying already for the people who will fill these seats.