Go to Church Somewhere Else (2 of 2)

This weekend, Julie and I got to worship at Journey Church in Norman, OK with Pastor Clark Mitchell and his wife Robin. What a phenomenal church!

The people are joyful and so welcoming. Their building is beautiful. The grounds are well kept. But, the thing that I walked away with was the depth and sincerity of their worship. Beautiful grounds, coffee and donuts, smiling people would never be able to hide hollow, going-through-the-motions worship.

And, their's isn't. Kyle, their worship pastor leads an incredibly gifted and loyal praise team, and their service radiates out from the entire church. Julie and I were so blessed to be there with them Sunday morning (and Saturday night for dinner and Sunday for lunch--both of which were through the roof).

Clark is one of those rare individuals who is a gifted, intuitive leader. Without even trying, he just gets it. But, then, he does try. And work. And pray. And study. He pays close attention to the details, but never takes his eyes off the big picture vision that God has given to him to lead Journey Church to fulfill. He's rare, because he voraciously adds to his intuitive gifts by reading and learning and seeking out other leaders to learn from. He's one of those people who just fill my tanks being around him.

Having said that, as blessed and honored as we were to be their guests, we loved flying home tonight and that home means the good ol' ATX. As wonderful as Journey Church is, we were reminded how deeply and profoundly we love Lake Hills Church--the people, the worship, the vision that God lets us be a part of every day.