I was at church Saturday night listening to Reggie Joiner bring the message.  (I have loved just being in church the last two weekends – not leading anything, just plugging into God as a Christ-follower.)  Something Reggie said in the middle of the message stopped me in my tracks.

That struck me as so completely true in my own life: I am attracted to people who offer forgiveness and who exude joy.   It also rang true as the heart of the message about Jesus.  What is the cross about if it's not about forgiveness?  And what does reconciliation with God bring if it doesn't bring joy? 

It's so real when it comes to reaching out to our friends and neighbours. Why would anyone go to a church that makes them feel like they need to pay for their own sins or where people live in a community that's merely some kind of lecture hall on truth or just a really lame party?  That's not actually close to what the scripture teaches.  The radical nature of Jesus' grace is that all is forgiven and we are invited into God's joy.

Those words deeply challenge me?  Do I forgive deeply enough?  Do I celebrate people and forgiveness and love and God deeply enough?  Is our community a place of forgiveness and joy?  Is my home?

So much to chew on, pray about and grow in.  So glad I went to church.

So my time in California is just about up.  Heading back this morning to fall head first into the mission in Central Ontario.

I was a little surprised (and excited) when we polled the room at the Orange Tour stop in LA Friday to discover that 75% of the people in the house had planted a church within the last year.  That's exciting.  California is a beautiful state geographically and naturally, but deeply secular the moment you get around people.  God just seems to have been vacuumed out of the ether. 

Friday night I had dinner with Raf, a church planter from Poland.  As we talked about his country, I learned there were 40 million people, 70% of whom don't go to church.  To serve those 40 million people are only 400 evangelical churches (all the other churches are Roman Catholic).  400 evangelical churches – 40 million people.  The average evangelical church has 40 people.  And according to Raf, the secular landscape there is even deeper than in California or even Canada.

I had some great conversations with so many leaders these last few days – people who are deeply committed to making an impact on their home territory for the Gospel. 

It made me really grateful for the team at home at Connexus.  A few lead pastors and I swapped theater church stories, and I continue to thank God that people at home are so willing to sacrifice so much so people can have a full relationship with God. 

Church planting is hard work.  You sacrifice just about everything and are guaranteed nothing in return.  But I LOVE people who take that risk.  Glad to be heading home to hang out with hundreds of folks who have done just that in Central Ontario.

So I've been here in California for the last week, sharing some time with my oldest son, Jordan and then moving into the final leg of the 2008 Orange Tour.

I've been so grateful for the time with him.  And I have really appreciated a chance to explore a bit of the West, having never been here before.  We had a crazy itinerary, but by far the highlight for me has been our day trip into Yosemite Valley National Park. It's like God did some extra work on the West Coast.  Never seen so much natural beauty before. 

I'm not by nature a "nature" guy, but Yosemite in particular amazed me.  In fact, nature itself has been the highlight of this trip.  While we dropped by Las Vegas and spent several days in Hollywood, Santa Monica and even got into a taping of the Tonight Show,  the time in Yosemite, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon stunned me to new levels. The pictures barely convey the experience.  Some of you know what I'm talking about because you've been there, but for a guy whose spent all his life in Central Canada or the east coast, this was refreshing and majestic.

When your breath gets taken away at almost every turn, it does something to your theology.  At least it does something to mine.  It gives me a deeper awe, wonder and trust that I don't want to lose when I get back home.  Remember when the Grinch's heart grew three sizes one day?  I think my heart did that (hope I'm not a grinch, though…).

It also brought to life three phrases we use all the time at Connexus when teaching our kids about Christ:  wonder, discovery and passion.   From pre-schooler through to high school students, we want our kids to develop a wonder about God, to discover Him, and to passionately pursue and serve Him.  This week, I've felt like the student again.  It's been so wonderful.

What gives you a sense of wonder, discovery or passion? 

I saw something last night I haven't seen in a while.

Like just about everyone else, I was glued to the tv last night watching election results come in. I watched Barack Obama make yet another exceptional speech last night.  Whatever you think about Obama's win, the man has to be one of the greatest orators in a generation, if not in a century. 

But beyond that, I was watching the crowd.  Like I can't remember seeing in a long time, I think I saw hope in people's eyes as 100,000 people gathered in Chicago.  Not just tears of joy.  Not just the smiles that comes with victory.  But I think I saw hope.  I think I saw in people a belief that things are going to get better.  That's been so rare lately in either Canada or the US. 

It reminded me of how important hope is.  How much we need it not just in our culture, but in the church.  I think hope happens when people begin to believe that tomorrow can be better than today.  Hope happens when we realize we can accomplish more together under great leadership than we can on our own.  Hope happens when we realize there is more power in "us" than in "me".

And it got me thinking about our faith.  Of any group, followers of Jesus have more to hope for than anyone.  Under Christ's leadership we can accomplish far more than we ever could on our own, and that we trust Him to do what He has promised.

I'm praying today for the new president elect and for our prime minister, because the scripture asks us to pray for our leaders.   But I'm also praying that we would learn to hope in God at such a profound level that even now, we believe we can help make tomorrow better than today under Christ's great leadership.

Hope is soooo wonderful to have.  What fuels your hope?  What pours a wet blanket on it?

Everyone once in a while, it's great to have undergo culture shock.  I just never thought it would have happened in Southern California.

My 16 year old son Jordan and I in town for the Orange Tour later this week and decided to explore the area.  Kind of a father and son road trip.  It's so great to finally do one!

We decided to head up to Santa Monica and scooted over to Hollywood, accidentally found Beverly Hills and spent time at Malibu.  All places we'd heard about but never been to.  I had never quite been in a place that felt, honestly, so secular before.  Not a trace of God.  Almost no churches (I know there are all kinds of mega churches in California but you can't see them driving around). 

Probably never seen so many square miles of affluence in one region either.  Jordan and I had dinner in Hollywood and happened to hear about a street party on Santa Monica Boulevard that night.  We went, and I have to tell you, it was a party.  A huge party.  Tons of fun, and also the center of the gay community in Hollywood.  Two things happened: I found myself really grateful for the people around us. My heart went out to them (unlike the guy with the placard on the corner who was telling them they were all evil and God was going to kill them unless they repent.) And second, I wondered how on earth you would become effective at ministering in this kind of culture?

I know a few church leaders in Southern California and follow a few others.  It gave me a whole new appreciation for what our friends at River Park Church in Ventura County and Discovery Church in Simi Valley (we worshiped with them this past weekend) are trying to do.  It gave me a whole new appreciation for Erwin McManus' decision to open Mosaic's services at the Mayan Nightclub to begin conversations with Hollywood about Jesus.  Every Sunday, their e-teams scrape urine, feces and debris from the walls and washrooms so worship can happen there a few minutes later.

Usually, when you meet people where they are at, it's easier to begin a conversation.  If you start with grace, it's amazing where the dialogue can go.

Got me thinking about how to do a better job meeting people at home where they are at.  Made me really grateful that we're at least meeting in theaters…where thousands of people go every week in our little communities to laugh, cry, be entertained and watch films about life. 

What do you think?  How can we better engage the culture where it lives?