mattmehaffey

Lesson from Le Tub

Monday night, Janie and I ate at the world famous Le Tub restaurant in Hollywood, FL.  A few years ago they jumped into the spotlight when "The Oprah" declared them to have the best burger in the U.S.

It definitely is worth checking out if you are in the area (the ambiance alone is a unique dining experience).  A brief paragraph in the handwritten menu caught my attention.  

"We are a small restaurant.  We do not serve fast food.  We do regret that we may not be able to accommodate you as quickly as you'd like.  But we will not let the wildly increasing demand affect the quality of our cooking. Please enjoy yourselves."

A great reminder from an unexpected place that staying on mission is crucial to The Pursuit's future.  Perhaps I'll scribble the following in our menu/programs from here on out.

"The Pursuit helps people find their way back to God.  We are not here to make Christians feel comfortable.  Sorry, we will not scratch your itch to 'go deeper' (if you had the depth you claimed to have you would be focused on helping people find their way back to God too).  There are way too many people far from God in South Florida and we aren't guaranteed another breath so get busy being the Good News of Jesus."

The World is Flat

“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.” - Nelson Mandela

"...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  - Jesus from Acts 1:8

There has never been a time with more opportunity and potential for global change than the time in which we live.

Globalization is nothing new for the city of Miami.  The latest study by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that over half of the city's residents were born in another country.  Miami is a gateway to the corners of the earth. 

The Pursuit Christian Church wants to storm that gate!

That's why our next series has been dubbed, The World Is Flat.  In his book, with the same title, Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, looks at how globalization gives people all over the world greater opportunities economically and socially than ever before. Friedman says that the world has “shrunk and flattened” in a way that empowers individuals like never before. 

In this series, we will be challenged by the life of Jesus to see our opportunities and responsibilities to change the world in three key areas:

• Sunday, November 2 - Lonely World: "Responding to God's call to reduce loneliness in the world."
• Sunday, November 9 - Impoverished World: "Responding to God's call to reduce poverty in the world."
• Sunday, November 16 - Lost World: "Responding to God's call to help people find their way back to Him."

Sunday Blend :: October 12, 2008

I am still flying high after an amazing Sunday in the life of The Pursuit yesterday.

- The biggest highlight by far was Frank Fernandez's baptism. Words cannot explain how cool this was. On her blog, Janie does a much better job than I ever could so I'll let her explain. More baptisms are on their way.
- After seeing the past four weeks in our new warehouse venue, two services will definitely be needed in our near future! A bunch of new guests are coming (and coming back) every week.
- Our great friends, Sam and Renee Cole and their daughter Catie, came down for a visit this weekend. They are huge supporters of us and The Pursuit. I'm so glad they could see with their own eyes what God is doing. Our dog Jeter definitely misses his new pal, Catie.
- The Big Idea yesterday was: My fourth purpose in life is to serve God by serving others.
- We received a great response from people on their Connection Cards, committing to serve.
- Alex and the band (they need a good band name) rocked out to Gavin DeGraw's "I don't wanna be." Check out the video Alex downloaded below. I am glad people don't really feel the way the title reads!

I Dont Wanna Be @ The Pursuit from Alex Diaz on Vimeo.

Sunday Blend :: Sept. 28, 2008

God is doing something BIG in Miami.

In January of 2007, I was on a plane flying to Miami to scope out four possible locations The Pursuit Christian Church would start. Two young men, I did not know, were sitting next to me. Halfway through the flight they turned to me and asked me straight out if I was going to start a new church in Miami.

"How did you know," I asked.

One of the guys said, "God revealed to us that he is going to do something huge in the South Florida area and he is raising up new, young leaders to make it happen."

Let me say, I am not a charismatic guy by any stretch of the imagination. But, over the past two years I have seen enough evidence where I actually wasn't shocked with their words. Their words made perfect sense.

Now, I usually use Sunday Blend to share all the good things happening at The Pursuit. And this Sunday, there were great things to share, but I am not going to. Instead, I want to shine the spotlight on two godly, young leaders who are leading a couple other great churches in one of the most unchurched areas in the U.S. Both guys I look up to a lot and need to spend more time around and soak up what they've learned.

Travis Johnson @ Life Pointe Church in Homestead, announced today they are going to launch their 2nd campus in an old church given to them in gorgeous Islamorada (in the Keys).

and

Bob Franquiz @ Calvary Fellowship in Miami Lakes, recently moved out of a movie theater and into an awesome 1,000 seat school auditorium.

Glad to be serving along side you guys!