Ready to go on a Date....

We are in the middle of a sermon series called Visionary Love, Dream Sex. It deals head on with issues of marriage, relationships and sex. If you haven't listened to many of Pastor Steven's sermons, he almost always has a "so-what" to his sermon. "So-what's" are the "what you going to do with the message." It's the call to action, the rubber meeting the road, theology of scripture transforming your methodology of life.

One of the driving themes is for marriages to move from the dry land of survive and cross over into the abundant land of thrive. Our desire for this series is for marriages to be restored and strengthened. A way for that to start to happen is for a husband and wife to go out on a date. A date by itself won't fix a thing. But through giving couples uninterrupted time to discuss the things they are hearing on Sunday can provide a great opportunity for God's truth to shine through.

It's one thing to tell everyone on Sunday morning to take their wife on a date. Some will follow-through, but many will not. It's another thing to say "we want your marriages to be strong so we're going to pay for your date". And than to take it one step further and say "and we're going to pay for your childcare as well."

That's exactly what we did on Sunday. In a bold move Pastor Since told the church "you're going on a date and the church is paying for the meal and your childcare." Obviously it's expensive, but the return is beyond measure. I get jazzed thinking about how this will bless so many couples. Because of the economic times a lot of people can't afford to go on a date, so for many this will be the only they will go on. The speed of life can consume couples, they look up and years have passed, that's why they have to make this date happen in two weeks.

One of the most important elements of Pastor Steven's sermons are the call to action. But it starts with the leadership. If we're not smoking it, we shouldn't be selling it!