Immersion might not be strong enough to describe the experience we're having in Houston. Today we've visited a downtown house church, Harbor Church; a downtown primarily African-American United Methodist Church, St. John's Downtown; the largest United Methodist Church in the United States, Windsor Village; and a very large, wealthy, primarily Anglo UMC, Chapelwood. We were in Chapelwood's contemporary, recovery-focused worship service, Mercy Street. We met the staff at each location, heard their story and were amazed and challenged to take ministry to the next level. I have so many things jumping around in my head right now, that I can barely think. I'm so tired, that I'm not even sure what I'm writing right now.
Yesterday we visited Woodlands UMC, a very large suburban church and FaithBridge, another very large suburban UMC, only this one is a contemporary, recent, church plant. At FaithBridge we met the pastors of two other church plants, The River, and WordServe. I'll have to fill you in on details another time. Just to say, this has been, is... an amazing and inspiring experience. Not in the traditional "go to the big church conference to learn a few tricks to take back to your church" kind of way... These people are the real deal. They are totally sold out for Jesus and just being around them is challenging. I'm tired, but having a blast!
Tomorrow, it's off to Lakewood (Joel Osteen's church), Windsor Village, Ekklesia, and somewhere else that I can't think of right now. The Immersion continues...
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