This week I am once again pastoring from Kansas City. Thanks to email and cell phones and a caring staff I don't think I am missed all that much. I always find these times away give me a chance to think outside of the context of Newark.

Sometimes a person needs to distance themselves from the normal routine to get a chance to think. These Assessment Centers are very hectic and go from early morning till late night but I still find that I am able to think while flying out and back.

These pictures are from the Assessment Center which is held at a Presbyterian Retreat Center outside of Kansas City. For all you Superbowl types I offer the following:

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPERBOWL I AND SUPERBOWL XLI

Life has changed since 1967 when the first superbowl game was played.
NATIONS POPULATION:1967: 200 million 2007: 300.9 million
WORLD POPULATION:1967: 3.5 billion 2007: 6.6 billion
MEDIAN WAGE AND SALARY INCOME:1967: Men: $5, 974 Women: $2,295 2006: Men: $34,926 Women: $23,546
THE MOST POPULAR BABY NAMES:1967: Boys: Michael Girls: Lisa 2006: Boys: Jacob Girls: Emily

By the way, this year's Super Bowl will cost employers $800 Million in lost productivity. Besides many people calling in sick the day after, workers will spend about 10 minutes a day talking about the game, making bets, surfing the internet for a new tv and other distraction like recipe searches.

This picture was taken last evening. I was standing by our very cool and attractive daughter however if you click and expand the picture it looks like I was bored to death. (Not that I wasn't uncomfortable but actually I was looking at someone in the balcony.)

To be honest it reminds me of a personal hangup and dislike I have had ever since the VBS Nazi worker tried to insist that I put a BIG hat on my head and lead the "rhythm band" in a march for the program. I was about 4 or 5 years old. I cried and to be honest felt traumatized by it. I have had an honest dislike for church bosses, people who think they always know whats best for others, and people who force others into doing things that make them extremely uncomfortable, ever since. I do not like being the center of attention or the focal point of a room full of strangers. This is why I do not like visitors at a church being paraded to the front row after service starts. I feel for them and usually recognize the trauma on their faces.

I made it through this experience and it was honor to support my daughter but unlike some who eat up the attention I would be just as happy to be in a corner of the bleachers away from the eyes of people I don't know. I know some of you are going to wonder how this can be when I stand for about thirty minutes each week in front of hundreds of people and speak. There is a big difference. I know most of the congregation and feel very much at home speaking in the context of our church. Take me out of that comfort zone a few degrees and I will wilt and withdrawal into the private person I am. For those who read this who love attention and to be "in the front," more power to you. Just try to understand that not everybody is alike and give others a break occasionally.

Here are my two favorite female people!

I am back in Newark and glad to be home. I always enjoy getting back to my family and my own bed, recliner, office, refrigerator etc. . .

There are also some members of another family I enjoy being around. They are pictured here for their first ever group photo. When no one else is listening they come alive with the sound of music. There is something very relaxing about having one of these instruments in my hands. My skills are not the best, in fact they are mediocre at best, but they are good enough to bring me a sense of peace, enjoyment, relaxation and even worship at times.

I noticed a pattern in this family. They are all old school in appearance! I like vintage, that is all there is to it.

This week I am deep in the southern Missouri woods conducting an Assessment Center for the General Baptist denomination. I am on loan from the Church of the Nazarene HQ Assessment Center that I normally do these for.

Camp Allen is two hours from St. Louis directly south and twenty miles from Poplar Bluff. There are some very exciting future church planters here and it is always rewarding to do this work and realize that you are influencing the work of God around the country. There are people here from this area as well as others who are headed to New York City.

This Sunday at Newark Naz. we launch into Quest For Faith. Together we will venture into the words of Jesus as shared on the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus saw the crowds that were flocking around Him and He began to teach the truth of discipleship and what it means to be His follower.

For more information read Matthew 5-7.