Church Surch, Week 41

 

Life Pointe Church

www.life-pointe.com

 

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him,

rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and

overflowing with thankfulness."  


~Colossians 2:6-7


 

After two failed attempts at finding churches (online addresses that didn't exist!), and after an hour of wandering around like Moses, only on a bike, I found the Promised Land, LPC.

 

The place is in a refurbished auto parts store, the offices from offices, the sanctuary from the warehouse. They bought this place recently after spending many years hauling junk back and forth from a theater. Churches grow stronger through adversity, and setting up and tearing down makes one strong.

 


Travis met me as I dawdled in the foyer, checking out the cafe, concrete floors, nice decor and a flat screen displaying tweets. He gave me a brief history and I told him of our travels. He mentioned he rode a bicycle in Cambodia last summer. What he didn't say (humble man) was that he biked 600 miles in five days to raise money for their outreach there. Wow, he has my respect. His mother disclosed that and Travis is the pastor. Yep, a wild man for Christ. Love it. Underscores their slogan, "loving god and man with reckless abandon." Yes, and it's all lower case letters, even God, which disturbs me, but I suppose it's the geezer in me coming out.  

 

The sanctuary was redone with flat black open ceilings and concrete floors. However, should you like comfort, the entire first row is couches and easy chairs. No way I'd sit there, I'd go right to sleep. Not because of the service however, as the band and singers led worship with contemporary music. All right! And for some folks' comfort, they provide earplugs at the entry. After a lifetime of abuse and tinnitus, my ears enjoyed the muffle.

 

Travis Johnson spoke and their theme was 'In.' Oops. 'in.' Apparently they don't teach capitalization anymore. We can follow along in the bulletin and fill in the blanks, which I like, as I think we pay attention better. Travis explained the Old Testament versus the New Covenant, good job. He could wander a bit and I think he tried to jam too much into a sermon, but got us thinking. One thing he said that impressed me was, "If you want to know the deep things of God, get to know Jesus deeply."

 

Besides the earplugs, Travis provided me with another first, as he called a member in the congregation, Brian, a liar and a thief. Funny actually, as he pointed out that by the Old Testament standard, we must follow every single rule. And who has? So he asked Brian if he'd ever stolen. Then if he'd ever lied. Well, I'm sold, I'm a liar and a thief. But through the New Covenant, we become new and want to be God's sons and daughters of honesty and integrity. What a fresh cool breeze of a church, one that's ready to do the ridiculous, the extravagant and the daring for Christ.



Next week, we work our way North-Cape Canaveral, Daytona, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Tallahassee. Thanks for following, hope you're enjoying it!

4 comments:

Mel said...

Are you callin' me a liar and a thief? Well... you're right... guilty as charged! Thank God for His grace, mercy and forgiveness for all of us, eh?

Unknown said...

From one liar and thief to another, yes! And that's the truth. But thank God for His grace, yes.
KP

Travis Johnson said...

Kevin,

Thanks for the notes and for your time in South FL! It was a privilege having you spend the morning with us.

Cheers to your travels...and to the family of God: both for the capitalizing and non-capitalizing relatives! :)

God's best to you, amigo!

Unknown said...

Thanks Travis, I love your church. And next time you're in Sin City (never know when you might want to sin!) look us up. God bless.