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The last several days have been hard.  Hard because we have a new baby girl and the sleep meter is on empty.  Hard because there is more work to be done at Watermark than I will be able to get done this week…or next week for that matter.  Hard because we don’t have enough idiots on our staff.  That’s right, you heard me correctly, we don’t have enough idiots on our staff.

Now that seems strange doesn’t it?  Most people complain about working with idiots, and I don’t have enough of them.  The truth is, to leave the technology world and come to work here you would need to be an idiot.  Why?  The hours here are long and the pay is less than what you could make in the outside world.  You’ll work crazy hours and the lines will get blurry between your personal life and ministry.  You grow technically, but you’ll never be as deep in one area as you’d like because you have to be good at everything.  You’ll question yourself… a lot.

And yet I trust that God will bring us idiots to do this job… He always has.  Jesus was always looking for people foolish enough to leave everything and follow.  Some days are harder than others.  Today it was hard to want to be covered in Jesus’s dust… today it was hard to pick up and follow.

I remember hearing Terry Storch at MinistryTech this spring talking about being an idiot.  He mentioned three things that allow him to be an idiot for Christ.

1)    Idiots embrace being idiots (Acts 4:13)
2)    Idiots are comfortably uncomfortable.  Strategy, stability, security, structure…  typical IT topics, but if they veer off track it can destroy the church and turn into “COMFORT”.  We don’t worship the God of comfort so work hard and build freedom.
3)    Idiots expose their weaknesses.  (John 10:10)

So are you an idiot?  Are you worshiping the God of comfort?  Have you fully embraced giving up the dream to do something crazy?  Do your friends scratch their heads from time to time and wonder why you do what you do?  If you are an idiot for Christ, we’re looking to hire a few good idiots.

Well today is the big day.  Our third child will be born sometime today.  Unlike the past two times, we don’t know whether this one is a boy or a girl.  But we do know one thing, we’ll have the answer to that question before today is over.

Our two girls (5 and 3 1/2) are excited to meet their new brother or sister.  I’m not sure if they know what’s about to hit them though.  So far we are checked into the hospital and the waiting game has begun.

Man, we really pulled out all the stops last night for the Watermark Volunteer Appreciation.  Our church only works because thousands of people pour their lives out every day serving the body of Christ, in Dallas and all over the world.  Last night was just a chance for the staff to say “thanks”.

We converted the entire courtyard into a “south of the border” experience with a cantina, a working fountain, props galore and great food from Blue Mesa.  All of the staff were dressed in costumes (think sombreros, , sashes for belts, running of the bulls… funny.)  After eating good food and hanging out, everyone went into the worship center for a “staff production.”  Words don’t work to describe it, so here is the video.  Let’s just say that it was a combination of Gloria Estefan’s “Do the Conga”, a poorly subtitled spanish love song,  and “Living la vida loca.”  Scary.

Then comedian Tim Hawkins (www.timhawkins.net) brought the house down with his routine.  He must have done a full 45 minutes of comedy.  If you haven’t heard Tim, you should check out his stuff.  Lots of church comedy which was freakin hilarious. Todd wrapped up with a reminder that the fun that we were having last night is just a very small taste of how we will enjoy heaven and challenged folks to continue to dive in and build the crowns that we will get to lay at our Savior’s feet one day.

Finally, we retired out under the stars in our outdoor villa for dessert, coffee, and hang time with the most important people in our church… our volunteers.  Man, I hope that after last night they feel even half as appreciated as they really are.  We love these folks.  I’m so thankful to be on a team like this.