KevinChilds.com

As enjoyable and productive as our West Coast visit was, I am so glad to be back in Horry County.  They don’t even have humidity out there.  Who would want to live in a place where the summer temp doesn’t get above 80, and you don’t get to sweat all the way through your shirt as soon as you walk outside?  Pfffttt.   And (on the serious side) I wouldn’t trade any of the super-cool facilities we saw for our worship gathering in a movie theater.  Some observations from Sunday:

• Music rocked out again. I think everybody on the platform brought their A-game.  I wish everybody who worships with us could know our band folks on a personal spiritual level.  It makes worship even better.
• Welcome to new volunteer Team Leaders:  Kaci and Kevin Sansbury.  Kaci is going to coordinate our Greeter Ministry, and Kevin will lead our ushers.  Adrian Robertson will move over to serve as Volunteer Coordinator.  If you’ve been waiting to plug in, and you want to know how God can use your skill set, email Adrian at arobertson@sccoast.net.
• Thanks for letting me get a little more personal than the norm.  Hope my doubts and failures and struggles can help others who have been in similar spiritual wrestling matches.
• Sunday was a preview of what is coming in July.  Every Sunday we will look at a different piece of evidence … a different clue … that God exists.  I might take one Sunday to respond to some common objections and questions.   Things like:  How can all those other religions be wrong?  Or:  Why can’t all religions actually be pointing to the same basic thing?
• JP was right when he said that July 4 weekend is when some people slack off. So how many new guests will you bring to offset that?  In fact, when was the last time you brought an unchurched friend WITH you to The ROCK?
• July will be an excellent time to bring your skeptical friends.
• I had a friend call today to ask if we were doing “gay commital ceremonies” next weekend.  Short answer: NOOOOOOO.  Heck no.  Apparently a small homosexual-agenda-driven “church” at Myrtle Beach has chosen to name their outfit “Rock Church Myrtle Beach.”  How lovely.  AND the Sun News printed news of the commital ceremony in Sunday’s paper.  Here’s my response:  We love those who are trapped in a lifestyle of homosexuality.  But we love them too much to validate the sin with bogus “committal” ceremonies.
• This humorous episode is a reminder, my friend.  We ain’t in Kansas anymore.   We do not live in the “Pleasantville” innocence and discretion of 1950’s culture.  Followers of Jesus need to have credible and loving responses to a world gone crazy.    2 Tim. 2 says we need to be ready “in season and out of season.”   1 Peter 3:15 says we should always be ready to provide a rationale for the hope we have.
• So what is your response when someone asks: Is your church anti-gay … homophobic?  Is living together wrong, and if we are … can we come to your church?   How do you know there is a God?  What if I’m a stripper/prostitute/addict/homeless/transgendered/ … ?