We kicked off “The Fountain of Truth” series today.  Here’s some thoughts.

• We began with discussing the history and beliefs of Mormonism.
• These talks are a little more “academic” than usual, so I asked the worship teams for a little more time.
• Jonathan installed a self-check in kiosk for Kidventure.  Nice touch.
• Teaching on these religions is the most draining topic that I’ve ever done.  I am literally wiped out, and I’m not usually tired on Sundays.  These topics are tough to cover, and I think there’s some increased spiritual warfare when you talk about things like this.  The preparation is tense, much like it was last year when we talked about topics like abortion and homosexuality.
• We had a couple of church planters visit with us today.  Always nice to connect with those guys.  I think there’s a special place in heaven for church planters.  Or, if you’re Mormon, a special planet.
• Attendance was strong…up over 800.  Thanks to everyone who came to the 8:45 service!
• If you missed the message, you can watch it online sometime tomorrow.  Mark is the man when it comes to production and video stuff!
• I showed a few FUEL pictures and celebrated the kickoff of Oak Leaf Students with our church.  I am really pumped about that service.  I think I’m going to look forward to Wednesdays as much as I look forward to Sundays.
• We had a partnership class after church today where I got to talk about our mission and challenge people to get in a group or on a serving team.  As a bonus, there was a huge family reunion going on at the same time, so I sneaked over and got some extra food.
• Next week: Islam.  It’s going to be a good one.
• Please pray for the House of Rock.  We should get our building permit this week and be able to get back on track.  Sitting around is just killing me.
• On Friday, I saw two movies in the same day.  Took Lauren to see the Beverly Hills dog movie (terrible) and took Jennie to see Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (worse).  I am counting on the next James Bond movie to redeem movies.
• I have a special treat for everyone when we finish this series with Christianity.  It’s going to be good.
• We’re going on a short family vacation at the end of this week.  Next week, I’m going to Mexico for a few days to preach.  And at the end of the month, we’re doing a sermon planning retreat to plan series for 2009.  I have some great ideas that I can’t wait to process with our creative team.
• I am really excited about the direction of Oak Leaf Church.  I can sense that something big is around the corner.  Good times!