HANNIBAL-- Welcome to Friday night.

Not much going on over here in Marion County; a quiet day with family.  The Cardinals won tonight, which was good.  I'm still convinced that they can turn this thing around.  I enjoyed Mexican with my mother today, and an afternoon visit to my grandmother that concluded with the determination that we would eat lunch tomorrow (ah, but where). 

My brother also told me today that he noticed that my front passenger tire was low, and that I probably needed to have that checked out.  My brother usually knows what he's talking about in things like this, so I called the nearest tire store to get an appointment late this morning.  They told me they could get me in at 6:30 this evening.  After waiting in their waiting room for about fifteen minutes, my 2001 Ford Taurus completely under their control, a middle-aged mechanic told me that I needed a new tire and that steel was coming out of my old rubber (I never saw that, but I'll give them a bye there).  Fifteen more minutes and $100 later, I drove away.  At least all this happened while I was in Hannibal, and not ten miles away from the nearest mechanic like I would have been in Bucklin.

I also decided today, in a spare moment, to endorse Mike Huckabee, former two-term Governor of Arkansas, for President.  It is simply the right thing to do.  In my opinion, he is the most balanced, likable, and principled conservative in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.  He also was a former two-term President of the Arkansas State Baptist Convention and pastored a number of Southern Baptist churches in the Opportunity State before his election as Lieutenant Governor of that great state of my forefathers in 1994.  He certainly is committed to life, and to destroying terrorism in all forms, and to securing this country's safety and economic well-being.  But Gov. Huckabee is also a supremely conversant character, ready to discuss and work with Democrats and liberals on all issues, from environmental policy to welfare issues.  I honestly think that given a shot, Huckabee could be the most persuasive conservative in this race, and a man who could beat any Democrat if allowed a fair stage to compete.  More on Huckabee later.  But he's my man.

I've also been reading a lot lately on the issue of church growth and planting, and what makes churches grow, etc.  To be honest, I'm getting tired of the whole thing, and wondering if the whole solution to successful, healthy church growth is predicated on two very simple, yet profound things:  a commitment to God and His Word, and a commitment to just love people.  What has really bothered me recently is the self-righteous moralistic ramblings of mostly Christians from my generation about what they perceive as self-righteous moralism in the traditional church.  So many postmodern evangelicals snub the traditional Southern Baptist church because we bother to have organ music (or even 19th-century hymns for that matter; quality Christian music, for that matter, seems to have taken a roughly 190-year vacation after about 1800, a faulty proposition at best), or dress up on Sundays, or have evening worship, or fellowship dinners, or Sunday-school classes.

In response to all that, let me just ramble at this late hour myself a little bit.  I really, really sense that Pleasant Grove is growing and about to grow some more (how much more, I don't know, and I really leave that up to the Lord).  We have services at 10:30 and 7:00 every Sunday, and 7:00 every Wednesday.  We have old-fashioned, age-divided Sunday-school classes (but are definitely open to non-age-graded classes and weekly small groups as well), even including the "Primary" and "Juniors"!  Our organ still works, and we have a very competent organist!  We sing old hymns and a lot of '80s-era choruses.  I preach in a coat and tie on Sunday mornings (and only Sunday mornings, may I add).  And we're growing.  But I didn't mention one thing:  If I can brag a little bit, I think people are really loved at Pleasant Grove.  It's the friendliest church I've ever been in, and the most praying church I've ever been a part of as well.  Our welcome time, after a rousing rendition of an opening hymn (hallelujah, it's "He Lives" this week), will often last five solid minutes of hugging and conversation.  I really think everybody in church gets hugged at least twice before they leave on a Sunday morning.  We are simply ourselves, and consumed with God's love.  And we're growing; no fancy programs, no candles, no guitar music, no Taize, no extra, advertised attempts for "relevance."  We're growing.  If a church feels led of the Lord to do those things, I'm more than okay with that, and think that my Baptist family has more than enough room for that methodology.  So what are we doing wrong?  I'll leave it to the Lord, and His infallible Word, to let me know on that one.

Tomorrow?  Lunch with Grandma, maybe go to Quincy, watch the Cardinals and Braves in the evening, a later trip back to Bucklin.

Until tomorrow night...