The conference is over and we’re flying back to NY tomorrow, which should be an interesting experience considering a lousy weather forecast for LaGuardia, which gets backed up like crazy if there’s just a hint of rain.

We’re certainly leaving here with more questions than answers because a lot of things have been stirred up by all that we’ve heard over the past couple of days.

Here are a few conference quotes -

MARK BATTERSON -

I’m cursed! Every movie theater that I visit, I think how church would work there.

If we don’t do anything, nothing is going to happen.

DINO RIZZO -

As we follow our plan, God brings in things that are his plan.

Does our leadership have room for divine interruptions?

Doing some good things diligently day after day opens the way for some great things.

GREG SURRATT -

There is always nore vision than money.

Winners don’t find successors – they create them.

If nothing was impossible, what would we attempt?

I’ll be flying to India on Election Day and there’s a pretty good chance that by the time that I stop in Abu Dhabi for a layover, the rest of the world will know who is the new President of the USA. I’ll be switching my phone on as soon as we land there and logging onto the internet.

Since I will be leaving home really early that day, I have downloaded the application form for an absentee ballot. I think that voting is a privilege. It’s a right, but one that a lot of people in this world do not get the chance to exercise. I’m an American now. This is my country and I have a say in its government. If you do too, whether in person or through an absentee ballot, you should gratefully grasp the privilege of recording your vote also.

In the presidential race neither of the candidates comes close to embracing all the things that I value. I don’t honestly care for either choice and find it sad that in a country of 300 million people these are the two options we are left with.

So I plan to make the most of it by casting my ballot for the person who embraces more of the issues that are most important to me in my own limited understanding of the grand scheme of things than the other candidate does.

I am getting weary of so much that I hear and read that demonizes one candidate and virtually deifies the other. Both are men, mortals, imperfect and extremely flawed. They have differing viewpoints on a whole range of topics, but in the purposes of God, one of them will live in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next January and the other will be at home.

Barack Obama will not turn this country to Christ and neither will John McCain. You cannot legislate godly values even if you are inclined to do so.

When all the rhetoric has ended and the TV ads have subsided. When the Bush era comes to an end and a new chapter begins in the continuing story of this great country. When history has been made by the election of the first African-American president or the first female vice-president – life in Washington DC will continue pretty much as usual.

And it is the church that will continue to be the hope of the world.

Pray, vote, be nice and remember it’s us who really matter in the lives of ordinary people.

It’s sunny and warm down here in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, which is a very nice break from the autumnal chill that has got into the air back in New York lately.

Speaking of warm, that’s a good word for the welcome from the host church of the Multi-Site Church Conference – Sea Coast Church – www.seacoast.org It’s a bit disconcerting at times for a New Yorker to have everyone saying hello to you, shaking your hand and generally smiling, from the time you get out of the car. It seemed like there were greeters every three steps, so we definitely got the point that they were glad to have us around. Great job Sea Coast!

Free lattes before the conference began, Coldstone Creamery ice cream during the first break and shrimp in sauce over grits during the second helped with the general feeling of being welcome here in the south. I am proud to say that I skipped the ice cream!

This twenty year old church has 10,000 people in worship services on 13 campuses every weekend, which makes the leaders guys that are worth listening to. I enjoyed hearing Mark Batterson again too. Mark’s church – National Community Church in DC (www.theaterchurch.com) – is establishing a network of congregations in movie theaters around the nation’s capital. Wise man to use movie theaters. Is there anywhere else to do church???

I bought his new book, Wild Goose Chase. He’s a good writer, easy to read and with a load of snippets that make you stop and think.

Plenty to make us think during today’s session and a full day ahead tomorrow, starting at 8.00am with breakfast at the church – thankfully it’s only five minutes from the hotel.

Ran into my old friend Gary Lamb today while having breakfast in the hotel. That was a pleasant surprise as I didn’t know he was going to be here. I may be able to hang with him for a bit tomorrow – it’s good for this reserved Brit to spend time with a 200% redneck!!!

+ Long day. Good day. I’m currently sitting in a hotel room in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and looking forward to the Multi-Site Church Conference in Sea Coast Church that starts tomorrow.

+ Flew over Shea as we took off from LaGuardia this afternoon. It was packed for the final game. The Mets lost of course, while the Brewers won, which means the season’s over. No post-season again this year, but to be honest the team was never going far with the players available.

+ We had a great service this morning. Lesya’s teaching was unbelievable. She did an amazing job of  tackling a topic I have never heard covered in church in over 45 years of being a Christian – dealing with divorce. I guess the fact she has lived it helped a lot as her preaching was 100% authentic.

+ God blessed us incredibly when he brought her into our church family – great woman. I know a lot of churches where there’s no scope for women pastors. That’s their loss.

+ Ate at Mama Fu’s Asian House this evening. Their food is good. Gill and I went to one while we were in California in the spring. I had the steamed veggies with shrimp which seemed very healthy – I doubt if the appetizer was though!

+ It has been ten years next weekend since we started. One heck of a journey!

+ Can you believe the Redskins beat the Cowboys? What’s up with that?

+ Checked out the hotel’s gym, but I don’t trust hotel treadmills since I had a tumble on one in Houston last summer. I think I’ll stick to running outdoors in the morning. The weather should be good – it’s still warm here in SC.

+ We’ll have a full house next weekend. Good job we got our third-string spare bedroom redecorated. On Saturday evening we’re having a crowd of people over for what we’ve called a Day One Dinner. We’ve invited everyone who was with us for the start of our church and continued with us, to come over for dinner. That will definitely be a capacity crowd.

+ Did I say Lesaya was phenomenal this morning?

+ Looks like our November missions team to New Orleans is growing. Some last-minute additions will make the team even more effective. We have a number of seasoned short-term missionaries heading south to help with the lingering devastation of Katrina.

+ Pity about the Mets!

 Ten years ago this weekend I had a Sunday off and discovered why unchurched people don’t go to church. It’s called fresh coffee, bagels and the Sunday paper. I loved it!

It was just seven days before we launched Grace Church and seven days since my farewell from my previous ministry position. This was the lull before the storm! It would be pretty much non-stop for the next week and far, far beyond!

Anyway, sitting eating a bagel – or maybe even two in those days! – I realized that if we were serious about wanting to connect with people who did not know Jesus, we’d have to do a bit more than put on church as usual. They needed to have a reason to leave the comfort of their own homes on their only free day in the week.

After almost 30 years of what was in all honesty doing church for Christians, busting a gut to try to keep them all happy and frequently failing, a lot of re-thinking and re-shaping had to be done on the fly to make sure what we were starting was going to achieve its goals.

Let’s face it, every church says it wants to reach those who don’t know Christ, but the truth is most aren’t doing it and aren’t even shaped for it.

Changing things on the fly has become a way of life for us over the past ten years and we’re still constantly fine-tuning. After all this time it still feels like we’re flying by the seat of our pants, but that’s okay with me because I’ve done comfortable, predictable church before and it is most definitely not all it’s cracked up to be.

Some way down the road, I’m happy that so many people have their Sunday bagels and coffee with us now and not alone on their own patios.

Okay, so I took a bit of good-natured ribbing over our teaching series to kick off the fall season, but as we approach the final Sunday of Wipeout, I want to boldly state that whatever others thought before the event, I was right and they now agree!

It might not have sounded too sexy to be talking about dealing with death, financial disaster, job loss and divorce, but the fact is I’ve probably got more positive feedback from the past three weeks of teaching than I’ve got on anything we’ve covered for a long time.

Sunday we’re going to be looking at how to survive the breakdown of a marriage and I’m expecting this to be a fitting climax to our September focus. Mind you, I must confess that I’m going to miss the Wipeout song being played as I go up to teach.

By the way, in response to several who have asked, the song was originally released in 1963 – which is almost half a century ago and which proves that good music lasts!!!

Sunday afternoon the pastoral team is going on a field trip to South Carolina where we’ll be spending a couple of days at the Multi-Site Church Conference being hosted by Sea Coast Church near Charleston. That should be an informative and inspring visit to one of the country’s pioneers in planting new congregations while maintaining a single identity.

So if you’re part of our congregation, join us for the final Sunday of our series and the last Sunday of our 10th year.

I’ve had a complaint about my lack of posting here this week – sorry, busy week.

Here’s something to tide you over until I get to writing something earth-shattering later today. This is me on my final visit to Shea – unless of course I get playoff tickets!

+ Relaxing for a while – if watching the Mets at this time of year can ever be looked upon as a sensible way to unwind.

+ Have to go to Kennedy in a bit to pick up Becky. She has been in London for a couple of days where some of her work was in an exhibition in a very upscale art studio. She’s apparently quite the artist, though doing digital/ photographic stuff I don’t even understand!

+ I like this time of year – really cold this morning, but upper 70’s now.

+ Everyone loved the “wrapped” van. It’s going to be a great rolling billboard for us. Need to keep it on the road as much as possible.

+ Enjoyed church. Preaching was not my best ever, but what it may have lacked was more than made up for by Ian Baer sharing the story of what God did for him and his family when he lost his job earlier in the year.  Great to hear real people testifying to divine direction and provision.

+ Had a good lunch with the guys from our Saturday outreach who have become part of our church. Al Saponieri, who went to be with the Lord earlier this year, had promised to take them to the new J & R’s Steakhouse in Patchogue when it opened, but since God had other ideas for Al I took the guys out to eat.

+ Several of our folks ran the Cow Harbor 10K Race yesterday. Some impressive times. I have run it the last two years, but my regular Saturday responsibilities with Weight Watchers meant I had to miss it this time around. Pity, it was ideal weather.

Our plain white van will be no more by this time tomorrow. Here’s the new look!

My final visit ever to Shea Stadium last Friday night turned out to be a huge non-event as the game was rained off. So much for one last game before the wrecking ball moves in ten days or so from now.

But to compensate for that disappointment, this afternoon I had a visit from a great couple in our church, who went up even further in my estimation as they handed over six tickets for Monday night’s game against the Cubbies.

It just so happens that I’m free one night next week and that’s Monday, so off I’ll go one more last time …

Unless the Mets make the playoffs and some other benefactor emerges, that is.

God does love me. Maybe he likes baseball too – and even the Mets???