The space may be land-locked, but Parkcrest Christian Church is growing and expanding all ways: spiritually, geographically, and numerically. Led by Mike Goldsworthy, one of the younger megachurch pastors in the USA, Parkcrest reaches into the neighborhoods and into the lives of folks in Long Beach. I was thrilled with the salt of the earth folks I met, and kept saying to myself “This is what church is.” They all pitched in for the baptism when they discovered the baptismal was empty; I’ve never seen so many buckets filled and emptied in my life — and so fast!
I was invited to speak about The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible
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so I urged folks to become Bible readers and enter the Story of God in the Bible, and then I illustrated it with the The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
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,so I urged folks to become Bible readers and enter the Story of God in the Bible, and then I illustrated it with the The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
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Every place we go the highlights become the opportunity to preach the gospel and the people we meet — and it was wonderful to meet Mike and to hear of what is going on at Parkcrest, and to meet and chat with a young leader, Rachel Oblon, who shares some teaching time with Mike.
Here’s what was best. I was grabbing a cup of coffee between the second and third services Sunday morning and an elderly gentleman came up to me and said this:
“Scot, I liked your idea that we have to enter the Story.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Scot,” he continued with a gentle, matter-of-fact voice, “I think that’s the heart of it, you know. I really got a lot out of that. Gave me something to think about this week.”
It’s one thing to think preaching is an event at a service. It’s another to give people something to think about and carry them through the week. I was glad to be at that spot with that man at that moment. I suspect he’s living the Story this week.
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