Summer can have a powerful impact on us. It’s likely cultural as we either consciously (or sub-c) recall our summers off from the routine of school. But no matter – for most of us summer is when we let down our guard a little bit and let ourselves play.

Our family is currently enjoying a little down time in Branson, MO, away from the daily “grind” of life. No rush, no schedule, and no pressure to be anything other than Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Girl. It has taken us a couple days to get used to it, but I’m now looking forward to connecting on a deeper level with the two most important women in my life. Time is on our side, and the spirit of summer is conducive to reaching levels of connection that can evade us in everyday life. We are blessed to have this opportunity.

Richwoods is doing something similar in Group Life. We’re providing Summer Connections events where people can get together, have fun, and experience a taste of Group Life within the context of the lazy days of summer. No commitments, no worries – just a little food, fun and fellowship as we share the wonder of Group Life with those that may not know what it’s all about. Check the link above for details – we would love to see you there!

Personally, I’ll be attending a couple events on the east side of the river. The first one is this coming Sunday from 3 – 5 @ Harry LaHood Park in Washington. A second one over there will be @ the Wilkes’ home in German Town Hills on August 21 from 5 – 7.

So take advantage of the spirit of summer and come out to play! We’re going to have a great time. And while we’re at it, we will hopefully realize the value of connecting in community. It’s a powerful thing.

“God’s aim in human history is the creation of an inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included as its primary sustainer and most glorious inhabitant.”  –  Dallas Willard

If you were building a house and noticed a critical flaw in the foundation soon after starting, would you do what it took to fix the problem? Can you appreciate how much harder it would be to fix the problem later, after the house was completed? It’s one of those things that makes you not want to look too closely.

That very thing happened to us when we built our home in 1997. As the first level was sheeted, I noticed a lift in the floor right around the basement stairwell. I pointed it out to the builder, and he assured me that “the weight of the house will push it down and make it all level.” I really should have known better. It wasn’t that the entire foundation was bad, but the primary supporting wall at the stairwell was not installed correctly. And by the time I came around, it was too late.

It was easier to cut a brand new door on the second floor to allow it to swing without rubbing the carpet than to fix the foundation wall. To do the latter could have cracked drywall throughout the house, messed with windows, and cost a LOT of money. It was easier to look the other way.

It was a mistake of 1) inexperience, and 2) over-reliance on a single perspective – my builder’s.

What about our faith?

If you have “grown up in the faith” – been around God and Christ’s Church through your formative years – you have built a foundation upon which all your future learning will be based. For me it was my college and young adult years when my schedule allowed for more intensive study and learning.

What no one bothered to tell me, though, was that there would likely be some flaws in my foundation. It was inevitable. I was 1) inexperienced, and 2) overly reliant on a select few teachers. It wasn’t all bad – the majority was GREAT! And for that, I am eternally grateful. But a few inevitable flaws continue to show themselves as I mature.

Please hear me. I’m not talking about the Rock, the Cornerstone, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. I’m talking about me and my “stinkin’ thinkin’” – thought processes and faulty lines of logic that can be traced all the way back as far as I can remember.

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to accept the fact that I was (and sometimes continue to be) a rookie – that I probably didn’t get it right the first, second, or _____ time – that I’m not perfect. In fact, I embrace it. This acknowledgement allows me to live in a Proverbs 3:5-8 mindset.

What about you?

I’m not at all suggesting you should doubt everything you have come to know and love about your faith. But, I would ask you to be open to the fact that we don’t have it all figured out, that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

I would ask you to be willing, if need be, to let the drywall break and the windows skew and the dust fly.

It might be hard. It might be scary. It might come with great cost. But as you grow, don’t be afraid to look for flaws in your foundation. And when you find them, be willing to do what it takes to root them out and correct them in the light of scripture, God’s leading, and, yes, maybe even some fresh teaching.

To do anything less would make us no different than the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament. And that, my friend, would not be cool. Not cool at all.

This is the next brief chapter in our “Who, What, When, Where, Why” series regarding the Richwoods multi-site effort. I say “#1″ because there will undoubtedly be additional installments on this particular topic. It’s both broad and deep, but I wanted to at least begin the “What” discourse.

One Church, Many Locations

This may be best described pictorially, but think about our existing services. If you attend Richwoods regularly, you’ve likely settled in to one or the other. You may occasionally switch, but you are primarily either a “Saturday @ 5:30 pm”, a “Sunday @9:15 am” or a “Sunday @ 11:00 am” person. Does the fact that we meet at different times mean we aren’t “one church”? Not at all!

In much the same way, as our East Campus gets up and running next year, you will likely settle in to one campus or the other. Any number of factors might influence that decision, but one should not be an issue at all – whichever campus you attend, you will experience and be a part of Richwoods Christian Church.

We are one church that happens to meet at various times, and soon-to-be in various locations, throughout the greater Peoria area.

A couple local car dealers recently decided to follow me on twitter, so I thought this post might be a unique way to engage them as an audience and possibly help out my fellow consumer. I will keep in mind that blog experts lay out a few simple ground rules for us newbies…two of which are: 1) don’t be mean, and 2) be helpful.

OK, here goes…

Car Dealer Math

Speaking as a regular guy with a base-line college education, since when does 52 = 150?

I took my car into a car dealer a few weeks back with a water leak. I went to a dealer thinking this might be unique to my brand – they might have to pull out seats and carpeting – maybe even pull the dash. I was prepared to spend money because I needed it fixed, and I wanted it fixed right. Remember that – I expected it to be hundreds of dollars…

Well, the issue wasn’t all that bad. If you know cars and cabin water leaks, you know one of the first places to look is the air conditioning drain tube. Sure enough, that was it. $10 in parts.

That’s where it gets hairy. See, they have this “diagnostic charge” that is apparently universal to car dealers. The mere fact that I asked them to do something to my car cost me 1 hour’s labor – $83 in today’s language. I kind of understand the “minimum 1 hour charge” thing – it keeps the penny-anty stuff out and guarantees the dealer some money even if the customer declines additional service.

But, this isn’t a “minimum charge” – it’s a diagnostic charge. The labor it took to replace the drain tube was added on top of the diagnostic.

And as if that wasn’t enough, I had the bright idea of asking them to, “while they were at it”, look into one other thing that was going wrong – my door locks. Yep, you guessed it – another diagnostic charge.

My car was in the shop for a total of 52 minutes (the receipt time stamps prove it). In that time I had two diagnosis and a repaired drain tube. I was charged for 2.5 hours labor (2 hours diagnostic + 1/2 hour labor for tube install = 150 minutes). $207.50 labor charge for 52 minutes of work.

In my complaint process to the dealer, I was assured that the calculation technique was universal. It seems that according to car dealer math, 52 = 150.

Ridiculous, but I hope that was helpful…

In an informational meeting a few weeks back regarding our multi-site effort at Richwoods, I joked that there were many, many unknowns – so many, in fact, that we didn’t even know what name we were going to use for the new site!

Of course, we are Richwoods Christian Church. That name will remain. But what we hadn’t done is specifically think through the identifier we would use to reference this new campus. All we knew was that it was going to be hosted somewhere in East Peoria, and that became the de-facto moniker until further notice.

Well, consider this post “further notice”. After intentional deliberation of possible names, it has been decided. From here forward our new campus will be referred to as: Richwoods Christian Church – East Campus (or simply “East Campus”).

Whew! Glad that’s behind us!

Just kidding, of course, on that exclamation. But I am very pleased to be able to announce this news. I am so looking forward to working with many of you to bring our East Campus into being.

Blessings to you all!