Crazy Love Observations: Chapters 9 & 10 - “Who really lives that way?” and “The crux of the matter”

I’ve been thinking about all of you as summer is winding down and busy fall schedules are ramping up, and my heart has been so full of love and gratitude for you. I hope you don’t get sick of hearing me say this, but I really am so glad that the Lord has intertwined your lives with Jessica’s, our girls, and mine. I love our Grace Church family very much and there really is no place I’d rather be serving the Lord than with you in the 210-corridor of the Inland Empire (unless we all agreed to move to Maui together).

We had a very special baptism a couple of Sundays ago (I didn’t even mind getting continually dunked in the pool by some of your kids), but all through the following week I kept thinking of the hundreds and thousands of people that are yet to be baptized in our community. Pastor Jerry shared in a recent board meeting that there are 17 churches in La Verne, a city whose population is approximately 35,000. If each of the 17 churches average 200 people attending, then only 3,400 of the 35,000 residents of La Verne attend churches in La Verne. Granted, some people in La Verne attend churches in our neighboring cities; however, the bottom line statistic still bears out: tens of thousands of people in La Verne alone—not to mention Claremont, San Dimas, Pomona, Upland, or Glendora—need to encounter the presence and love of God, and become connected to a church family. Let’s be intercessors for the 210-corridor, and pray every day that God would make that happen!

This will be my last Crazy Love email. I’ve loved doing this reading program with you, and in a simple way, it has made me feel more connected to each of you during our busy summer. I think a program like this should become an annual practice for us. Thank you for your willingness to buy the book and read and process it with me. I think its content has been very timely for Grace, and we’ll talk more about that in upcoming weeks in our services, but for now I want to highlight one final thought from the book.

In the ninth chapter, Francis records a brief roster of some special saints who sound like something out of Hebrews 11 where it mentions men and women “of whom the world was not worthy.” Did you notice at the end of that compilation of inspiring stories that there was a heading that read, “Cornerstone Community Church”? I like that.

And I like to imagine what would be written under the heading, “Grace Church, La Verne.”

From my perspective, that’s our bottom line takeaway from this reading program—Will we be listed on the roster of men, women, and churches that went all- out in their love for God and left His mark on the community around them?

Our answer must be yes.

God bless you as you head back to school, sports, and all of the other activities that accompany the start of a new academic year. See you this Sunday!

Chris