B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

Last night as I settled into bed, I had to wonder if I wasn’t already dreaming.  The day, though long, full, and tiring, had been filled with so many beautiful glimpses of how God has allowed me to participate in His perfect plans right here in our city.

Cadence has become a place where people gather, connect, and well . . .cool things just seem to happen here all the time.  I love watching small groups gather to study Scripture together, or see people meet to discuss how they can make Chattanooga better, right there in our shop.

We took our first steps into a strategic partnership yesterday that will allow us the opportunity to create more jobs  for folks who really desire to get up on their feet and make an honest wage for themselves.

When I came home yesterday afternoon I was impacted yet again as I listened to my wife’s heart for orphans here in our community.  I never cease to be amazed at the mother’s heart God has given her.

Later, my two youngest daughters and I went to the West Side for a time of discipleship with other kids in a pretty tough neighborhood.  I watched with amazement how these kids, my girls included, took time to actively study Scripture.   Last week one girl, when asked to write her testimony said, “You know how the bottle we got at [Jesus Jam] was empty?”  (She was referring to empty bottles that the speaker had laid on every chair in the auditorium before his session.)  “That’s how I felt before I was saved and then I felt full.”  

I was challenged by folks from RiverChurch and other churches in Chattanooga, who are sacrificially loving the last, the lost, and the least in our city every Thursday night as they serve adults and kids alike in the West Side.  Significant doors seem to be opening in our community that will allow us to impact not just the West Side but the entire city of Chattanooga with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

On our way home we stopped by Cadence to see a cafe packed with college students, who had simply gathered to worship God and pray for one another.  It reminded me of days when college students would come at 5am for prayer at Cadence.

It almost seems like a dream.  A dream I dreamed years and years ago.  I keep expecting someone to pinch me and wake me up, but reality testifies that I’m not dreaming.  I find myself thinking all the time, “Really?  I really get to do this?  To be part of this?”  I am so blessed to be involved in what God is doing in our city.

So if you excuse me I’m going to keep on dreaming with my eyes open.