When The Beast opened at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio in 1979,  it was the world’s longest, tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster.  People stood in line for hours to ride that ride.  There was such a cool factor to being in that line….but I was just 11 years old, and I had not figured out “cool” yet.  I thought I was doing very well to not look terrified!

The wait took hours…hours of rock music, surrounded by teenagers in concert Ts, everybody with long hair and NOBODY looking near as terrified as they should, given their impending doom… and eventually we’d come up to the sign…

The turnstiles were right around the corner and there was no time left to run, and I remember really hoping my head was below that line!!  I mean really…is it safe if I’m just barely tall enough??  Are we sure about this?  Has anyone tested this theory??

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I’m sitting in The Cheesecake Factory with my good friend Sara and I think, “What is it with The Cheesecake Factory?  Everybody loves to eat here!”  Well, obviously, it’s the cheesecake!  But there is something intriguing about the guests…we are surrounded by the most eclectic group of people: parents with small children, high schoolers dressed up for Homecoming, a “girls night out” group, some older couples, some younger couples, some people who are not sure if they are going to be a couple….

So, what is it about The Cheesecake Factory?  Is it fantastic marketing?  Atmosphere?  Great food?  Great service?  All of the above?

Maybe, when we talk about how to be a church, maybe we should think about experiences like eating at The Cheesecake Factory.

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He was stoned the last time I saw him.  His eyes were puffy and he had a dazed look.  I got the impression he had not slept much.

I was sober, and timid; I had slept in a comfortable bed, in a comfortable house with a comfortably full fridge, and we both knew it.

I had asked how he was doing, but somehow my question, and my very presence had irritated him.  He was surly, and slurry and sarcastic.  I was overwhelmed and under-caffeinated and out of place.

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“When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness  with great fear and trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”  1 Corinthians 2:1-5

I am going to miss the smell of the place.  The way it hit me every time I walked into the worship space.  So many memories.  The pictures will be great to look at, but there is something about sitting there and simply inhaling the place.

That big old wooden cross…how many times have I spoken to that cross…how many times it has spoken to me.

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