"Caught in the Act"

 
At 6' 7", Bob Noland is one of the few people at JCPC I literally have to look up to. Bob just happened to have a photo of himself playing basketball for Kansas State, so I asked him to hold it up when I took this picture. If you look closely, he looks kind of like Larry Bird. (Bob said it was too bad he couldn't shoot the basketball like Larry Bird!)
 
But I look up to Bob for another reason beside the fact that he is a few inches taller than I am. I look up to Bob because of the great job he does most Sunday mornings making sure people, especially our guests, feel welcomed when they come for worship. It is very appropriate that in this picture Bob is standing beneath the words of our church motto - Non Nobis Solum - which is Latin for "Not For Us Alone."
 
Bob embodies what we talked about last spring - "Radical Hospitality." Bob always goes out of his way to speak to folks. If you are ever out with Bob for lunch, you know this is true wherever Bob goes. He always takes time to speak to almost everybody. I know on Sunday mornings that if we have a guest who doesn't know where to go or what to do, he or she will probably not escape without Bob offering whatever help is needed.
 
But Bob is not the only one who goes out of their way to show radical hospitality to our guests. Many folks, especially those who choose to become members, tell me of how welcomed they felt when they entered our buildings and how soon JCPC felt to them like "home." That radical hospitality is really related to giving our time and showing #ExtravagantGenerosity. Giving back to God is really about sharing all we have - "time, talents and treasure" - in the name of Christ. We do this out of gratitude for what God has given to us!

Prayer for Today

Thank you, God, for all of those who are generous with their attention and their time. May each one of us share whatever we have to give, so that others might experience the love of Christ through us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.