Lawrence W. Wilson, a former pastor is the author of this book which is a collection of true stories from his life.  He is a humorous, insightful writer.  The book is an easy read since each chpter is a complete story in itself.  It is one of those books you can put down for a few days, pick back up and start wherever you left off.

When I picked the book up, my attention was captured by Wilson's simple definition of a Chrisitian - someone who thinks and acts like Christ.  I also appreciated the fact that he wrote the book in the hope that some who do not know Christ will  put their faith in Him and those who know Him would think and act more like him whose name they bear. 

The title of the book is based on the fact that when Mary and Jesus' brothers at one point thought he had lost his mind - that he was crazy.  According to Wilson, in a way they were right - he was crazy but it was a different kind of crazy.   The kind that says we are to love our enemies and be kind to those who may not return the favor.

I enjoyed this book and can easily recommend it.  It is not going to make my all-time favorite list but I am definitely glad I read it.

I have a feeling some people might confuse it with one of my favorite books,  Same Kind of Different as Me.  I told my daughter that I was going to combine the two books and call the new book Same Kind of Different Kind of Crazy As Me.  I think that would be good title for a book about my life.

I will be speaking this Sunday at FOTP Keller as we continue the series FAMILY Inc.  I will be addressing the needs of blended families and single parent families. Here is a look at the state of these two forms of parentinging in the US today

52% of first time marriages fail 

68% of those marriages produce children 

79% of the women and 89% of the men will remarry within 5 years

70% of blended families fail within 6 years

There are 13.6 milion single parents in America raising 21.2 million children (26% of children under 21)

Here are couple of websites that I found to be very informative www.thebondedfamily.com and www.singleparents.about.com

We will launch our week to week services at FOTP Grapevine on Sunday, September 7 at 10:30.  We meet at Faith Christian School located at 730 E. Worth Street in Grapevine.

Our 2 preview services have confirmed the need we perceived for a new church in the area.  We have found many people who want to be a part of a church where they can truly make a difference.

I will be teaching Christianity 101 on Wednesday nights 7-8:15 starting on September 17.  This four week class is designed for anyone who has ever pondered the following questions:

• Who wrote the Bible?
• How do we know it is true?
• Did men really live to be 900 year old?
• Was there actually a world wide flood?
• Did God create human life or did we evolve from a lower form of life?

I have taught this class to over 1000 people in the last 10 years.  The material is practical and easy to grasp.  Many people have had some of their most perplexing questions answered and as a result many lives have been transformed.

Please let me know ( charlesthornton@fellowshipoftheparks.com )if you plan on attending so that we can make sure to have adequate seating and material.  Christianity 101 will meet at 800 Ira E. Woods Ave. (Brown Chiropractic Center) in Grapevine.

This book is a follow up to Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages.  He was motivated to write the book when he realized that knowing the five love languages does not help someone who is not willing to live in a loving way. 

The book is broken into three parts: Part1 Why We Want to Love  Part 2 The Seven Secrets of Love and Part 3 Making Love a Way of Life

Part 1 is short and highly motivational.  Part 2 introduces the seven secrets of love which are kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty.  Part 3 is about making love as a way of life in marriage, parenting, the workplace, and the motivation for love.

I got bogged down before I got to part 3.  The book starts strong but most of it has to do with things that we know we should do but sometimes we choose not to do.  It got a little wordy and the illustrations were long and involved at this point.  He did give some practical steps on how to improve in each of the seven areas he mentions.

It is a good book but not one I recommend highly.  Not a book a lot men would be motivated to read, not that it wouldn’t help them.  It just is not something that would hold their interest.

Let me begin this entry with some help for those who have lost a child due to a miscarriage, still birth or early infant death.  I have done two funerals in the last month with young couples that have faced the most difficult challenge that life can bring our way – the loss of a child.  I was recently made aware of an organization that is dedicated to help moms face this challenge,  M.E.N.D. – Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death.  The website is www.mend.org

I pray that some day we will have a support group from FOTP Grapevine to help mothers in our area who have lost an infant.  My mother did not lose an infant but lost her son, my brother, when he was 28.  My mom has endured a lot of tough challenges in her life, but this was no doubt the toughest.  I will always have a soft spot in my heart for people dealing with the death of a child.

Speaking of FOTP Grapevine, we had over 100 in our second preview service and at least 50 in workers service at 9.  That does not include the children that we had in attendance. 

I thank God for all of those who have attended.  God is truly building up our team for our launch on September 7 and for the weeks, months, and years ahead.   

Every time you venture out in the life of faith, you will find something in your common-sense circumstances that flatly contradicts your faith.  Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. They stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual.  Can you venture heroically on Jesus Christ’s statements when the facts of your common-sense life shout – “It’s a lie.”  On the mount it is easy to say – “Oh, yes, I believe God can do it” but you have to come down into the demon-possessed valley and meet with the facts that laugh ironically at the whole of your mount of transfiguration belief.  Faith must be tested, because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict.” –Oswald Chambers

FOTP Grapevine is an act of faith.  I am so thankful for the many people who have come down of the mount to engage in this endeavor and say  - “Oh, yes, I believe God can do it.

OUR SECOND PREVIEW SERVICE IS THIS SUNDAY AT 10:30.  WE MEET AT FAITH CHRISTIAN SCHOOL LOCATED AT 730 E. WORTH STREET IN GRAPEVINE.

WE WILL LAUNCH OUR WEEKLY SERVICES ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 AT THE SAME TIME AND LOCATION.

 If you have iTunes you can listen to the message (Why A New Church) I shared at the first preview service of Fellowship of the Parks at the following location:

Our next preview service is next Sunday, August 17 at 10:30.  Our church meets at Faith Chrisitian School located at 730 E. Worth Street in Grapevine.

We are praying that God will continue to raise up people who want to make a difference in the lives of others.  We had several couples who came to the last service who are now a part of our core team.

Last Sunday at FOTP Keller we had 1,486 in attendance.  That is 22% higher than the same Sunday last year.  When my family and I started attending FOTP Keller 2 years ago the attendance was 1,100 a Sunday.

I believe that the day will come in the future when FOTP Grapevine will be having that type of attendance and seeing hundreds of lives transformed each year for the cause of Christ.

I think our country is in serious need of a kindness revolution.  We need to stop acting rude.  We need to stop getting angry over the small things in life.

I almost witnessed a fight (it never came to blows) at the gorcery store the other night. It seemed to have been instigated by something that took place in the check out line.  I don't know the details or who was at fault.  All I know is that it culminated in two men standing toe to toe yelling at each other loud enough you could hear them in the next county.

I began to look around the store for some other hopefully rather big men who would be willing to join forces with me to break it up if in fact it turned into a fight.  Growing up in a small town in Lousiana I witnessed some incredible fights including seeing a man knocked unconcious with a pool cue stick right after he declared to his opponent that he knew a little karate.  On that day, I decided that a little karate could get you killed.  If you are going to brag about it you better have at least gotten to the lesson on cue sticks.

So I say lets start a kindness revolution.  Kindness simply means noticing someone else and recognizing their needs.

I just read the story of four women, all friends who are just acting kind towards others.  They buy a gift card at Starbucks, give it to the server, and pay for the drinks of customers until the money is depleted.  These four women then sit at a nearby table and watch the customers reaction to the act of kindness.  I love it!

They also go to soccer games and give away bottles of water or serve hot chocolate depending on whether it is hot or cold that day.  They potted dozens of pansies and distributed them to the residents of a nursing home.

These ladies are doing thier part to make thier corner of the world a little better place to live!

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

This book will only be interesting to those of us who are involved in the church growth movement.  It definitely is an affirmation for what we are doing at Fellowship of the Parks Grapevine. 

The authors feel strongly that the multi-site church revolution is going to allow us to reach more people in America and abroad.  It only makes sense that starting new churches, whether they are church plants or satellite churches will have the end result of more people coming to know Christ as long as that is in fact the focus of those churches.  Since most of the churches in America are not growing, it is imperative for those that are growing to replicate.  Of the ten fastest growing churches in America, seven are multi-site.  Of the ten largest churches in America, nine are multi-site. 

The authors do a good job of pointing out that there are many different multi-site models.  The book is full of examples of these many models.

It made me thankful to be a part of this movement.