Come And Gone

Without question, the highlight for any vacation of mine is getting the chance to worship at another church. Unless you've been in a leadership role, you have no idea what it is like to worship in a place where you don't have a single leadership responsibility. Don't get me wrong, I love Antioch but I also enjoy the few Sundays every year in which I can get out and visit other churches [I sneak out on Saturday nights every once in a while]. So as I close the chapter on yet another vacation, allow me to give you a quick run down on yesterday's church visits.

As I shared on numerous occasions, I had been anticipating my trip to River Hills Christian Church for some time. My sister and her family have been attending since Amy's death and seem to love it. It's a newer church [planted 9 years ago by Jeff Metzger, a Kentucky boy] that it currently meeting at my alma mater [Loveland High] but is anxiously awaiting the completion of their new facility. If you have time, watch the virtual tour. It is one of the most unique church buildings I've ever seen. My favorite part is that they are going have place to check your children in upstairs and then they shoot down a slide to be delivered to their worship area downstairs. Makes me want to go to junior church!

Buildings aside, it was neat to see my sister's four children so excited about church. River Hills has created an environment where church is the most exciting hour of their week. That makes it nice for mom and dad!

On a side note - it never fails that when I visit another church, hoping to hear the senior pastor preach, I always choose a week he's on vacation or taking a week off. This was again the case on Sunday as Adam Norsworthy, the student minister, filled in but did a great job for Jeff.

Then it was off to church number two. I headed to northern Kentucky for Canvas, which is a young adult service at Lakeside Christian. The entire service is well done, from the stage set up to the lighting to the worship to the message, it was a great experience. I love their vision for doing something different and I have to say that I was impressed with how friendly the group was. I had several people recognize me as a newcomer and introduce themselves. After the service we went back to Shane and Kendra Armstrong's [Shane is a friend and staff member at Lakeside] to hang out and eat some homemade ice cream. The ice cream was to die for but the conversation was even better.

Overall, my vacation Sunday was refreshing but I'm ready to get back in the saddle. I can't wait to preach on Sunday!