CUBS - BURRITOS - MORE READY THAN YOU REALIZE

I feel sick. For dinner tonight, I had a burrito from a tiny little burrito joint called Boca Burrito. The actual burrito was bigger than the restaurant itself. I can't go to bed in this condition, so it will probably be a very late (and loud) night.

Cubs won tonight, for which I'm very happy about. My hope is for the Cubs to face the Red Sox at the World Series. Here's the weird part about all of this - I am NOT a baseball fan, yet I am just shy of being fascinated with these games. I think that just knowing the history behind the Cubs (in addition to the fact that I live in Chicago) and the Red Sox has energized by baseball enthusiasm. No, let me think of a better word... It has "birthed" interest in me about baseball. Birth is better than energized. You can't energize something that's not already there.

We are beginning a new series Sunday @ The Orchard called "More Ready Than You Realize". It will be a four week series based on the book by the same title written by Brian McLaren. The "jist" of the series is going to be about redefining evangelism in the context of our current (postmodern) culture. In other words, how Christ followers can better relate to, respond to and ultimately reach those who are a part of our "sphere" of influence and beyond.

It's going to be a great series, as this is a topic that has been burning in my heart for quite some time now. What it all comes down to is this - In our postmodern context, I have to EARN the "right" to speak into someone's life. Sort of like that old John Maxwell quote, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." Gone are the days of "Hollywood" preacher land or "I'm better than you" Christianity. It's time to wake up and smell the Starbucks coffee and be real and authentic with those who need what we have - which is not a bigger ego or a nicer car or a bigger home - it's grace. Pure and simple.