brians blah blah blahg

for the next three weeks we will be describing who we are as a church and who we believe God wants us to be. it is our annual vision messages-a great time to be here or invite someone curious as we rechart the course and fill in the blanks over the next three sundays.

when someone asks you to describe something. you probably say something like “it is ______.” and the adjective could be anything from big and brown to fresh and spicy. there is that snap decision that you have to make. and almost always the first unfiltered response is revealing and resounding. try it. “chiefs football is _____.” what did your involuntary synapsis fire out there? “chiefs football is…painful, aggravating, embarrassing, infuriating, coming soon…” what did you put in the blank? try again. “Sarah Palin is ______…well dressed, spunky, alaskan, tina fey”?

now that you have the hang of it, try this one: “my church is _____.” what instinctively filled the blank. what do you think you would say if you ran into an old friend at the grocery store who just ask you on the spot about your church? what descriptive word would you quick draw? what does that say about your innate sentiment toward the church? what does it say about you? the church is described as the bride of Christ, how did you describe her?

to be real honest, i generally get the biggest kick out of the new people at cedar ridge when they answer that question.  i recently ask our connecting point class (three sessions for new people where we talk about  1. who we are 2. what we believe and 3. what’s expected of me if i call this place home) to fill in the blank “cedar ridge is _____.” and the spontaneous responses were revealing (about both the person and the church) and resounding. some of the answers were…actually we will wait and share those next week. 

we are doing this “simple” series on sundays for the next three weeks where we get back to the rootbed of who we are and who we believe God is crafting us to be. since i am the only one who will have a microphone on sundays, and you just have to sit there and listen to who i say we are and who i say God wants us to be. how about you chime in and fill in the blank “cedar ridge is ______.” give us one word descriptions. if you can’t do it in one word shots, then use more, who’s gonna stop you?

tell us about us. pretty much anything is fair game. now is your chance to let it rip-whether it is embarrassing flattering or blushingly unflattering.

fill in the blank “cedar ridge is ______.” (respond in the comments below)

Proverbs 15:21-23 says

folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course.

plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

a man finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word!

so how about an apt reply. cedar ridge is _____.