Monday Morning Reflections

I know the title of this post sucks, but as our Creative Team can attest I am the worst person in the world at coming up with titles for anything...anyway...

Yesterday was one of my favorite Sundays ever, for three reasons.

First, I got to teach live at Ballantyne Campus for the first time ever! Did it because we want to do it several times a year and also because the message is one of our most critical and values-centered - evangelism - and I wanted to deliver it face to face. Can't tell you how great it was to get to meet people I had only heard of and to be told, repeatedly, "You are shorter and balder than you look on video!" Thanks, guys.

Seriously, it is an amazing group of leaders and volunteers making Ballantyne happen and I drove away totally pumped.

THEN, second, BJ's soccer team won the Charlotte City Cup championship for U10. Now, this team, you have to understand, was threatening to become the Buffalo Bills of Charlotte youth club soccer having improbably advanced to the finals of six straight regional tournaments and lost each time. And this time looked grim. They lost the opening round game on Saturday, which put them behind the eight ball.

But they came out with a crushing win on Saturday afternoon, a huge win against a nemesis team on Sunday morning (for the record, I hate Sunday morning youth sports because I never get to see those games and it keeps some disconnected people away from church), and then gutted out an improbable comeback win in Sunday afternoon's championship game after being down 3-1. Yeah, SCSA Manchester United U10! For the next year the boys have full rights to call themselves the best soccer team of 10 and 11 year olds in Charlotte.

It was great they won, but to tell you the truth, I was most proud of Beej for the way he led by words and example. He is the team captain and he is great at building the other players up, making sure they are positioned well, and being an encourager. The team is full of great, great kids and to see BJ as a leader in that setting fills me with perhaps way more pride that I ought to feel!

THEN, third...we had Leadership Community last night, which is always my favorite meeting ever. Ten times a year, celebration, worship, Communion with our amazing leaders...what a way to cap a great, great day!

Was so pumped I barely slept last night - it is now only 8:40 AM and I am nearly four hours into the work day - I will crash hard tonight!