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."

Skype-ing Brazil

Monday was an absolute blast for me. I had the opportunity to talk via Skype with my friends Zeca and Gabia who live in Brazil. What was even better was getting to "meet" two of their three delightful daughters, Talita and Larissa (I still have yet to have the privilege of meeting Melissa). Brent Foulke also joined us on the call.

As I've said before, Zeca and his family are passionate about starting new churches that are good news to the city and helping people find their way back to God. They've been doing that together in Brazil for years. But it appears God is leading them to a new location.

After meeting them in May, while they were in the States, we felt an instant bond with them. We shared the same values and vision. There are thousands of Brazilians who have relocated to South Florida, which is already one of the most unchurched regions in U.S. There is a great need for leaders, like Zeca, who are willing to take a risk and do whatever it takes to start more and more Jesus-loving, Jesus-centered churches in SoFlo.

Here's the news: The Pursuit, Zeca and his family are "pursuing" the possibility of them joining our team. Zeca, would officially become a Campus Pastor at the Pembroke Pines / Miramar campus for a period of time but then he would start another campus of The Pursuit in another area of South Florida (where there is a high Brazilian demographic). Our hope is we can begin working together in early 2009. There are obviously several hurdles we have to climb before this becomes a reality. Support raising and the visa process are the two biggest.

We would appreciate keeping this entire process in your prayers.

Sneak Peak into Pursuit 1.0

One of my favorite events on the church calendar is Pursuit 1.0. This is basically a three hour time where we invite a smaller group to our house for dinner and conversation. After we fill up on food from Joey the Baker (yum), I get to show them "under the hood" of The Pursuit Christian Church and we look at what makes her run.

The main goal is to issue a challenge of membership. The Pursuit believes in having a high threshold for its members. We aren't signing up for a Blockbuster card where there is no commitment required. At the end of the night, some are ready to go all in and others are not. Either way I love talking about where God is taking The Pursuit and seeing new people ready to jump in and do their part.

Week 2 Recap

Alex's blog has a nice walk thru of last Sunday's celebration service. This week was even more fun for me because where last week I saw a crowd this week I saw a family.

Here's a few more thoughts of mine from Sunday:

- A bunch of people came back (which is always a good sign)
- We had around 20 1st time guests
- Klara Estrada, is an amazing artist and I wish I could have stopped preaching and just watched
- The band was great and I enjoyed Eric and Jaime jumping in on vocals for the 1st time
- We had a church planter come check us out this week. I have such a deep respect for anyone who follows God's call to start a church. It is a lot of work. She and her husband are coming back this Sunday.
- Brent Foulke (my church planting coach) came down from NY. Janie and I had a bunch of people over to watch the Giants pummel Tom Brady. Oh and there was a game too. Being from NY, Brent is a Giants fan and me being a Patriots-hater we had a great time!

Searching for Relationships

I have heard several people say how difficult it is to make friends in South Florida. I am so thankful for the people God has pulled together through The Pursuit Christian Church in such a short time. The coolest thing is He is adding new people every single week who come and see a community of people who truly care for one another. To this point, everyone who has come to check out The Pursuit has chosen to be a part of it! While it's likely this will not always be the case, I attribute this to the fact everyone of us wants to be connected with others. After all, God did not design us to go through life alone.

It's absolutely amazing how densely populated South Florida is and yet so many are still missing out on one of the most important elements in life.

You are invited to come and see for yourself! This Sunday is our first official Celebration Service. This is an event you will not want to miss! Below is a map to the Floridian Ballroom at Pines Blvd and 178 in the heart of Pembroke Pines. The service begins at 10:30 a.m. I'd get there early if you can!

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