I fell for it again.  I thought that by now I would be stronger, but apparently I wasn’t.  I mean, I’ve been prayed over, I’ve fasted, I’ve done everything short of putting on sackcloth and ashes, but there are still times I give in to my addiction.  Even though I knew in my head that it was all a lie, my heart apparently had not yet gotten the memo.  As hard as I tried to resist, I was sucked in like a ball of lint into the mouth of a toddler.
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The sun is shining on the autumn leaves, reflecting a tapestry of reds, yellows, and oranges around the assembled crowd, as the young man stands, smiling. The last bridesmaid has taken her place to his right, beaming at him, and the winding path before him now stands deserted. And then, from over the hill and out of his line of sight, comes the faint noise of horse’s hooves, and soon enough he can just make out the horse and buggy coming around the bend.

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Why are teenagers so scary?

Why do I feel like I shrunk back in cowardice every time a pack of teens slouched by our AppleFest booth this past Saturday??? Was it their unkempt hair? Their “cooler-than-thou” attitudes? Their complete lack of interest in stopping by a church’s booth (or was it slight interest completely annihilated by the crushing peer pressure not to be seen stopping by a church booth?)?

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I’M getting my picture taken tomorrow by a real photojournalist (it’s actually Sarah Schultz of NewLife). I’M going to have my picture in the paper (the River East and Glastonbury Citizen, most likely). Maybe they’ll even write something nice about ME. You see, I am a BIG SHOT, because I am a PASTOR.

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Many writers and philosophers of our age love to point out how impatient our society is, how fast food and high speed internet and everything on demand has left us wanting things to happen now, now, now. And as worn out as that observation is, I can feel its truth beating within me as I sit here at my desk on my first official day as the full-time pastor of NewLife. In so many ways, I know what I want NewLife to become… I can see our church transforming our community through the sacrificial love we show toward those around us… I can picture the passionate worship on Sunday morning filling people with a desire to know their Savior more… I can see the fellowship praying for God to move in mighty ways, and watching as He fills us with awe again and again at what He is capable of… I can see new people being embraced by a fellowship that sees past the exteriors and loves people as if they were Jesus Himself entering the church doors. And I can see the pastor and man I want to become… someone who is not afraid to give and love with all He has… a man who can speak the truth in love, and commit to seeing people through their most difficult times… a pastor whose passionate devotion to God flows through everything He does… a man who wants nothing more than to please His God. And I want all of this to happen by the end of the week.

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