You may ask, “What should I expect if I show up at the brewery on a Sunday morning?”

If you are like me, I like to know about a movie before I ever see it. In fact, if I am interested I check out what reviewers have said. That is probably what you are doing now. Feel free to check out the information here. For even more info, go to Sojournblogs to read from a few Sojourners and from me, the pastor.

Now let’s talk about our Sunday gatherings. As you already know, we meet in a working brewery. On Saturday nights, a small team comes in and transforms the area into a worship center. You should see the before and after. There are tables with chairs near the stage. In the back, there is a living room with leather sofas and coffee tables. It is a unique place to worship and hear the teachings of Christ.

I’m doing a wedding today in the Mountain Brook area of Birmingham. I enjoy performing them. It is hard to keep Billy Idol’s classic 80’s tune out of my head on days like this.

The chorus goes:
“It’s a nice day to start again
It’s a nice day for a white wedding
It’s a nice day to start again”

Now, I don’t want to spiritualize Billy’s song. He would probably give me that well-known sneer. But in it you see one of the main cries of mankind - “start again.” This is a common theme in the human condition. We desire to see renewal in relationships, vision, career, body and spirituality.

Since my bicycle accident 2 weeks ago, during which I landed flat on my face, God’s been up to some pretty cool stuff in my life that I think is so important in the life of our church. I’ve discovered how hard it is for me to allow myself to be served by others. I mean, theres certainly a reason for this independence in my life I live by myself, and out of necessity have had to learn how to do most things for myself. I am a self-diagnosed independent woman, and proud of it!!! But there are several ways that this independence can be a problem.

The first problem that independence causes is in my relationship with God. God created us to be dependent on Him, and to me there’s no better example of this than in our bodies. One of the most amazing things I learned during my medical training is how incredibly small, insignificant problems in the chemistry of our bodies can lead to serious health issues, or even death! This is just one small example of how dependent we are on God to keep us ticking. In my independence, I don’t intentionally snub God, but I tend to go around doing things, making my own decisions, and, because of my independence, end up doing many things without involving Him at all. I am dependent on Him whether I realize it or not, and whether I acknowledge it or not in practical ways in my life. Living in dependence on Him is the way God created us to live, and life is much more full (John 10:10) when we live it that way.