When my family and I walked out of FOTP 4 years ago, I asked my daughter Caroline what she thought.  She said, "I like it because they are reaching people."  She was so right.

We are so blessed to be a part of what God is doing at FOTP.  Check out this video and see what we are all about.

http://www.vimeo.com/12964372

Hallinan is a former writer for the Wall Street Journal and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.  Like many books that I read, I was intrigued by the title.  As it turns out, this is a fairly informative and entertaining book.  It is somewhat of the flip side to the book Blink which showed how we can make fairly accurate assessments based on a sliver of information.  In this book, we are shown how easily we can make mistakes and often do.

One of my favorite sections of the book dealt airplane pilots and what is called CFIT – Controlled Flight Into Terrain.  CFIT refers to a completely operational aircraft that is flown into the ground.  The reason in most cases is simply a lack of focus.  The example that was cited had to do with an Easter Airlines flight which was flown into the Florida everglades simply because the pilot and flight crew got so focused on an indicator light that did not come on, that they lost sight of the most important task at hand, flying the plane.   As a result, 99 people died due to a light bulb that cost $12.

This was a good read for someone like me who speaks often and is fascinated with human behavior but would not be or much value to many people.

Lots of things have transpired over the last few weeks.  After months of praying and searching, we have a contract on 4.35 acres of land in Grapevine on Hall Johnson just east of 121.  The whole thing is a great God story!

We are praying that the city will give us permission to build there.  If so we could have a permanent church home in about 2 years or less.

In the meantime, we have received permission to move to the new Faith Christian School facility on Dallas Street this fall.  We are so very blessed to be able to meet at Faith and the new high visibility location should help us reach even more people.

Our weekly attendance continues to grow and in some ways defy what is the norm as far  church growth goes.  We have had several peak attendances since Easter including last Sunday with 192 in attendance.  Not many churches have ever had one of their all time high attendance days in the summer but that is just the way it is at FOTP Grapevine!

Two weeks ago we baptized two more people who have committed their lives to Christ.  This coming Sunday we will have two more people baptized at our Fellowship at the Water Park.  We have several more people scheduled for baptism in August.

In his book IT, author and pastor Craig Groeschel says that some churches experience the life changing power of God which he refers to as IT.  IT is hard to describe but most of us can tell when a church has IT and when a church doesn’t.  By God’s grace and at least for now, FOTP Grapevine has IT and I pray that IT never goes away.

To God be the glory!

Dr. Marti Olsen Laney is well qualified to write this book since she herself is introverted.  According to her research only about 25% of us are introverted.   I am not one of those people.  My purpose in reading the book was to gain a greater appreciation for those who are and to learn to relate to introverts in a more effective manner.

The book includes a quickie quiz to help you determine if you are an introvert.  For instance introverts…

            Prefer to relax alone with a few close friends

            Consider only deep relationships as friends

            Appear calm, self contained and like to observe

            Don’t like feeling rushed

            Tend to think before they speak

There is a much more extensive self assessment in the book as well.

Part of the reason Dr. Olson wrote this book is to clear up some misconceptions about introverts.  For instance, we often think of introverts as being unsociable.  The fact is they are very sociable but in a different way.  They prefer close friendships and deep conversations over chit chat.

Introverts will discover that they are in good company.  Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, Laura Bush, Bill Gates, Harrison Ford, and Diane Sawyer are just a few of the famous introverts.

I enjoyed reading The Introvert Advantage.  I can truly say that it helped me reach my intended goal of learning more about introverts and how to relate to them.

I had quoted Henri Nouwen so often, that I decided it was time I actually read a book that that he had written.  After skimming a few pages of this short book, I decided to give it a shot.  I do not regret that decision.

Nouwen takes the reader through five simple movements to serve as a guide through difficult times.  The five movements are:

From Our Little Selves to a Larger World – This helps us to see that everyone is hurting in some way and our pain is simply one part of the big picture.  In other words, we are not alone when we hurt.  He points out that most of our communities are organized to keep suffering at a distance.  Even though this is the case, he says the Dancer invites us to rise up and take the first step.  Jesus enters our sadness, takes us by the hand, pulls us gently up to stand and invites us to dance.  “You have turned my mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11) because at the center of our grief we find the grace of God.

From Holding Tight to Letting Go – Nouwen states that we suffer from the great illusion that life is a property to be owned and people can be manipulated or managed.  The solution is found in letting go of the great illusion and turning to the God who waits to catch us.

From Fatalism to Hope – We can achieve this by reading life backwards and seeing a purpose in our pain.  We then allow this insight to give us hope as we face the future because we are reminded of the faithfulness of God in hard places.

From Manipulation to Love – If we relate to people as a conqueror, they will hide their real nature from us.   We must be willing to enter their pain with them.

From a Fearful Death to Joyous Life – While Nouwen gives us a picture of eternity that is possible because of Christ, he falls short in my opinion in helping people see their need for Christ as their savior.  For that reason, I would not recommend this book for someone who is not a Christ follower, hoping that would find their need for Christ in reading.  That said, it is an excellent book for those who are Christ followers and want to see their mourning turned into dancing.

I would ask you to pray for my cousin (she calls me Uncle Charles) but she is actually my cousin.  Stevie Brook Patrick had surgery two weeks ago for a malignant brain tumor.  They were able to remove 99% of the tumor but now she must undego radiation.  Today they got the news that the tumor would most likely return within a few years.  If that is the case she will need to take chemo at that time.

Stevie is a strong Christ follower.  She is 28 and has been married 5 years.  Stevie has more joy in her life than just about anyone I know.  She is simply amazing.

Please pray for her when you think of her. 

Thank you.