Spread the Word!

Spread the word: The Lobby is Open!

For those of you who have been attending The Lobby for a while, I want to say thank you. Thank you for all your support.

That said - I have one fear I would like to express to my friends at The Lobby. Our family is shrinking - just a bit, and very slowly, but we are. I know that quantity isn't everything - but it is something.

So here is my challenge to every one of you who has become a Lobbyist. When you look back to your times before The Lobby, maybe before Church at all, who do you remember? That is, who took the time with you to get to know you, share their story, and learn your story? Who first invited you to The Lobby?

Once you have remembered that person, remember what he or she did, said, etc. Could you do that too? What if every person in The Lobby invited just one other person? Just one other person to come and share in our coffee, our conversations, our beloved service. That is all I ask - that each person try and invite one new person very soon. You all have friends outside The Lobby and we would all love to get to know them.

Shalom.

...a little help from my friends...

Not to promote all that the Beatles did, but we at The Lobby have always emphasized conversation and helping each other out. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen people rejoice over a new raise, pray thorugh a struggle, stand in firm friendship with each other in all sorts of situations. I have always loved seeing people, long after we have been dismissed, sit and talk for 15 or 20 min, just getting to know one another, praying and talking and just doing life.

I say this because I love it, and it brings such joy to my heart. I also say this because I have a 2 special requests from all our Lobbyists. One is a need in our service: we are in need of somebody who can care for the children and lead a kids Bible study durring the normal 6:00 service. If you are interested, you can contact me at SLWC or at service itself.

The second is a little more obscure: we are trying to design an identity-in-writting for all our venues. I know what I think The Lobby is, but I would love to hear from you all. What do you think we are at The Lobby? How are we different, special, etc? If you can post comments with thoughts or ideas, I would really appreciate it.

Shalom.

New and Old

What a week it has been setting up the The Lobby. This is Peter, actually, not Dave. I will be leading The Lobby for the summer and keeping everything together, as most of you already know.

I have been thinking a lot about the new and the old at The Lobby. With Dave leaving it has really opened my eyes to The Lobby. On one hand, we still have The Lobby Girl - who has faithfully come almost every Sunday and is now serving with us here. On the other hand, I just met Nick last week, who has been attending for a while, but who I have yet to meet. These are just two of the many cases of new and old people - The Lobby is growing and our family is strengthening.

But there one more New and Old this week, as well. I, the new venue guy, am old hat. I will still be here, but I am stepping into a new position, and I am really excited about it. On the other hand, this week we at SLWC welcomed 6 new interns (making it 7, including yours truly), and they will be not only new faces around the church but also new people up front at The Lobby. I can't wait for you all to meet them: David, Joy, Matt, Mark, Emily, and one other who I have not yet met.

Anyway, I'll stop jabbering. See you on Sunday.

Shalom.

The Lobby Makeover

Wow... if you haven't seen the lobby makeover then come by and check out the new digs. The feedback we're receiving on our new seating and more appropriately "coffee shop style" atmospher is so positive. For those that go to the lobby at 6pm on Sunday Nights it just "feels more like us now." Come and grab a comfy leather chair or a nice coffee shop table and join us!

Walk Thru the Bible

Sunday night January 28^th there will be no lobby worship gathering as we will be having Walk Through the Bible that day. Lobby attendees are encouraged to attend Walk Through the Bible that day and those looking to visit the lobby should check us out one of the following weeks in February, including our super bowl party on February 4^th at 6:00 PM.

Jyoti's Tears

Last night at the lobby Justin Martin sang a song after Jo Anne Lyon's video message that he wrote called “Jyoti’s Tears.” He’s had some interactions with people from International Justice Mission, who work with World Hope, Jo Anne's org. He wrote this song after hearing about a young woman named “Jyoti” who was rescued by IJM.

He has not yet recorded this song—but it was powerful to hear it live at the lobby and “pass the buckets” for the AIDS offering after the message. Here are the lyrics at least...

Jyoti’s Tears
By Justin Martin

I wake up in this place,

Behind a curtain and a padlock,

In this dirty room I live.

Or can I call it that,

It’s more like I exist.

I didn’t come by choice

But this is where I am,

Can you sympathize

With this shattered life I’m in?

Does no one hear my cry?

Do they even know I’m here?

Look into my eyes,

See open wounds and hopeless tears.

The way they look at me,

They just want their money’s worth.

“Which one do you want, that’ll be this much,”

All too familiar words.

I don’t want to wake up,

Just to feel this numbness here again,

God if you can hear,

Send me a savior – make this end.

Does no one hear my cry?

Do they even know I’m here?

Look into my eyes,

See open wounds and hopeless tears.

Does no one hear my cry,

Or has this fallen on deaf ears,

You say your God is love,

then why won’t love bring justice here.

© 2006 by Justin Martin

Free mug

You know when you go to a coffee shop or out to lunch and you get a certain amount of "punches" that get you a free cup of coffee or a free sandwich? I love those cards! I think I have about 15 of them for all the coffee shops and lunch joints I go to.

Well we thought that was a good idea at the lobby. The problem is we offer our free gormet "lobby roast" coffee every week already--so it's not like a free cup of coffee is anything more special than normal.

So instead we're offering your own free personalized mug if you come every week in the month of October. At the end of the month if you have a full punch card you get to decorate your own mug which we'll have "fired" at the ceramics place in Grand Haven... and the following week you'll have your own specialized mug to use on lobby nights.

How cool is that?

Choose your response and leave a "comment" behind it by clicking the comments link below:
a) That idea doesn't suck... I'm suprised, you usually have dorky ideas.
b) It's moderately cool.
c) It's very cool.
d) It's so cool I am going to tell my friends about it.
e) It's so cool that I am actually crying with joy right now as I read this blog.