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Saturday, June 03, 2006

A Church for Anybody, But Not a Church for Everybody

So we had a major Vintage Fellowship event today - reducing the price of gas by a quarter and pumping it for people at the local Valero Gas Station. It was amazing, not just for the publicity on the local news, but for the people we met. Here's a recap:

The Cameraman - He came to tape us and to do an interview. He stayed for an hour. He talked about how he had been turned off by a big name pastor in our area. He and his wife haven't been to church in a while because of it. Vintage is for him.

The "Christian" - He was pumping gas when I walked up to him and offered him an invitation card saying we were starting a new church. He said, "No thanks. I go to that big church on Johnson Road that no one likes." And kind of turned away in a huff. That big church is pastored by the big name pastor who soured The Cameraman. There is a reason no one likes that church. Vintage is probably not for him.

The Dreamer - He was totally blown away by what we were doing. When I told him we were starting a new church, he said, "I have never been to church." "Never?" I said. "Yeah, never." He told me that he has been doing some soul searching and that he had been having a recurring dream. I said, gulping, "What's the dream." He said, "I have been dreaming that I walk into church and when I get there, everyone turns around and looks at me. I can see thought bubbles above all of their heads, and they are all thinking about how bad a person I am." I told him that at Vintage, we are all thinking about how bad we each are and that he would be welcomed no matter. "I might just come," he said. Vintage is for him.

The Father - Vanessa pumped his gas, and he said, "I am gay and HIV positive. Can I come?" "Sure," Vanessa said. "I've got a ten year old son. Can he come?" "Sure," Vanessa said. Vintage is for him.

The Grandma - She was like 900 years old and hadn't had someone pump her gas in years. She got nostalgic for full service from 1952 and wanted us to wash her windshield and check her tires, which Aaron did. I am just guessing, but I doubt Vintage is for her.

The Helper - We have been emailing for a week with Brittan, who is gung ho about Vintage, even though we hadn't met before. She came this morning and helped us pump gas, ending up on the local news. She has the kind of attitude and spirit we are looking for in Vintage leadership. It's not a stretch to say that Vintage is for her!

So, that's just some of the people we met today. What a day it was!

8 comments:

kingsjoy said...

Hey--that's the same pastor who warned us about the "Emerging Church Movement", which eventually led us to finding you! So, there's that... :)

Robb Ryerse said...

Yeah ... if only he knew what his impact really is.

Vanessa said...

I liked the Grandma a lot. She can come if she wants to and I'll volunteer Aaron to do more stuff for her.

Sara said...

Hey Robb,

Do you think your logo looks like the p.b. bunny.

sara

Sara said...

Hey watch out for Sara's brainwashing techniques.

steve

just having fun in the bayouca office (and other people)
don't get any dirty ideas

Robb Ryerse said...

We had that discussion here on the Grenz. Let me see if I can find the link to it.

Robb Ryerse said...

Here is that discussion.

Robb Ryerse said...

What it really looks like is the Kendall Motor Oil logo.