Big weekend coming up

This will be a big weekend for Headwaters. On Friday night we'll be participating in the Fall Art Walk downtown. Come see us at the old Blackfoot River Brewery Co. taproom at 54 S. Park Ave. next to Miller's Crossing. We'll have food, drink, and the photography of Tiffany Bushilla.

On Sunday, we're back at ExplorationWorks for our November worship service. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for coffee, tea, and refreshments and the service begins at 10:00.

At our previous worship gathering in October, we learned a few things about using the space at ExplorationWorks. So this time we'll be setting up the room a little bit differently. We'll have a more extensive program for children during the service. And we'll also be celebrating communion during our time together. My message will be taken from Luke 4:16-30 which tells of Jesus preaching in his hometown. This is where Jesus sets the agenda for his ministry--an appropriate place for us to start. Join us!

Sunday and sweets

Sunday
We had a great time at ExplorationWorks on Sunday. Good music. Good food. Good time with people. It was a great space to be in--welcoming, spacious, light. Actually, almost too light. We'll have to rethink how we set up the room next time so that the screen doesn't get washed out. But that was part of the point; we wanted to try out the space to see what works and what doesn't. So we're busy now making our lists of all the things we need to think about for next time.


Sweet Time for a Sweet Cause
What's great about the fall? Falling leaves, warm fires, and great desserts. Yes, it's time to bring on the pies and the tortes, the cookies and the cakes.

So on Wednesday, November 5, we'll be taking over the Fire Tower Coffee House from 7-9 p.m. to enjoy desserts, coffee and raise some money Food Share. Merideth's already perusing her vast collection of dessert recipes for ideas. Our friend Lacy Claeys will be providing some of her signature cookies. My daughter Carolyn will no doubt make sure we have plenty of pumpkin pie available. It'll be fun. And tasty. And benefit a great cause.

location, location, location

On tap today: checking out a potential location for worship for the new church. We've had open houses for the new church at my home (we were packed out with 50 people here--and a bunch of those were kids out in the yard and in the bounce house) and at Grandstreet Theatre in our historic downtown.

Thankfully we've got a person in our core group who is well connected with real estate people, property managers, business owners, and the chamber of commerce. That's a huge help.

Thinking about this whole issue puts the tension in the forefront: the church is the people, not a building; but the church needs an actual physical place for a significant part of it's life. At our first open house, it became clear that my house won't serve for 50 people.

That said, our core has been meeting at our house and will continue to do so as we get things organized and running. This Sunday we'll meet for some time in the word, some prayer, as well as a meal and planning time.

Going full time

I'm into my first week of full time church planting now. Almost all of the books are out of my old office...and piled all over the floor in my new office at home. I've got one bookcase on order and am working on plans to redo one of my closets to hold a bunch more of the my seemingly endless supply of scholarly tomes.

It's been a great week so far. Meeting with people in our core group. Meeting with people who are still checking us out. Sitting around our backyard fireplace with people and discussing all kinds of aspects of what our new church will be like (that's the way to have a church meeting--with 'smores!).

Things are beginning to coalesce, beginning to take shape. On our immediate agenda is finalizing our name and doing some legwork to get a facility secured for our first real worship service in October. Hopefully I'll have news on both of those fronts soon.