Build it and they will chat

One of my new favorite websites is the Houston Architecture Info Forum.

I am a sucker for new developments here in H-Town. I love to hear about 'em and to watch 'em go up. As a kid, I wanted to be an architect (not just to pretend to be one, but to actually be one). But when I learned that math and science were involved, those plans changed.

The best part of the website? The forums. You'll find inside scoops from folks who are "in the know" about such things. Here's one of the best ones concerning the southwest corner of Kirby and Westheimer. Sure looks better than Jalepenos and a gas station! But with hundreds of high-rent-paying-inner-loopers right across the street, the wait at Chuy's may get a lot worse! iAdios mios!

Tearing Down Walls In More Ways Than One

Thanks for your prayers for Bob. I want to share with you an e-mail that I received from him today:

"Hi, thank you for your card. Im so sorry for what happened to the wall and at the same time I am very grateful that I was not seriously hurt, not even a scratch. I was not aware that I came out in the news. What did channel 2 say? Can you give me some information about that? Anyway............yes I would love some information about your services. I will not be going any time soon though, but I will go..........I just need some time. I know God has something for me and he is going to do it the easy way or hard way. I just need some time to get my life in order. Thanks again for sending me a card instead of a bill for the wall. Please keep me in your prayers, I really do need them alot."

In my reply to Bob (again, not his real name), I talked about "walls" that we build up in our lives that prevent us from having a closer relationship with God. I commented on the symbolism of his crashing into a wall -- and one at a church, too! It reminded me of how God chipped away at the walls in my life -- but that He just may be doing it more dramatically in Bob's life!

As I was typing my reply, Stephen Curtis Chapman's "Great Expectations" was playing on my radio. I was reminded of how that song ministered to me so much, especially not long after the "walls" had come down in my life. So, I quickly googled and shared the lyrics with Bob in my e-mail, too.

I offered to take Bob to lunch or dinner sometime with some other friends of mine. Please pray that he would be open to connecting more -- if not in person, then at least through e-mail. More importantly, pray for his heart to be softened and in tune with what God may be showing him.

Prayer for "Bob"

Please say a prayer for the guy who ran into our wall here at HFBC. For his sake, I'll just refer to him as Bob. (No, "Bob" is not his name.)

I'm sending him a card just to say that we are thinking about and praying for him. I also invited him and his family to come visit our church -- and promised that we would have an actual parking space available for him!

He's a young guy in his early 20s and lives on the other side of town. That's all I know about the guy (other than his real name). Since the scene had been cleared by the time I arrived that morning, I did not get a chance to meet him.

Anyway, say a prayer for him, please. Particularly, pray that the message in the card would be well-received. More importantly, pray for freedom from any circumstances in his life that may have led him to have that accident.

Who needs Pottery Barn?

My latest office decor ...

It's A Sign

My cell phone went off around 4:25 a.m. last Friday. Miraculously, I actually heard it. Truth be told, I think that the first call stirred me a little and it was the beeping of a new text message that finally raised me from a dead sleep.

The missed call and the text message were both from Priscilla Kwan, a friend of mine who is a reporter with KPRC Channel 2. She needed me to give her a call ASAP regarding an "accident" at HFBC. Not knowing what to expect -- and somewhat fearing the details -- I gave her a call.

Priscilla explained that a pick-'em-up truck had slammed into the "Houston's First Baptist Church" sign at the base of the tower along the I-10 feeder road. She asked if I could come up there for a live interview. I was to be the "spokesperson" for the church.

Now, I'm not sure if she tells all of her interviewees this when she wakes them up and summons them to the scene in the wee hours of the morning, but Priscilla specifically said, "Don't take a shower. Just comb your hair and come!"

Uh ... right.

So as the minutes ticked by -- closer and closer to the live 5:00 a.m. broadcast -- I frantically began to get ready for my first public statement on behalf of HFBC. My first project was my hair. Even if my head were small enough to wear a hat, I'm not sure that would have been the look I would've gone with. Instead, I stuck my head in the shower to wet down the Einsteinian morning mess and then towel-dried the life out of it. Just slap on some product and the hair project was set.

My second project was my clothes. The first couple of shirts that caught my eye had horizontal stripes. With God's mercy, I had the presence of mind to calculate the impact of horizontal stripes in front of a camera notorious for adding 10 pounds. Tragedy averted. Then, my eyes fell on my 2005 Houston Project t-shirt ("pray for more") and the clothing project was concluded.

My third project was to notify friends and family. Driving through Memorial Park, I managed to text friends (or at least the ones spiritually mature enough to forgive me for a pre-5:00 a.m. message) and asked for their prayers. (Thanks to those who replied!) Then, I called Mom and Dad. I hate calling the folks at odd hours because I know that from the time they hear the first ring until the time I can explain that I am not dead, every conceivable horrific scenario goes through their minds. Bless their hearts (literally).

It was an eerie sight when I arrived at HFBC only 28 minutes after getting the call. There in the pre-dawn fog and unflattering street lights were Priscilla, Steve (the camera guy) and a pile of shattered bricks. The cops, ambulance, tow-truck and suspect had already cleared the scene. Priscilla was told that the driver of the truck suffered only "bumps and bruises" -- no serious injuries at all. Police suspect alcohol may have been involved. Please lift up this unnamed man in a prayer.

We did a live segment a little after 5:00 a.m. and then did combo live/pre-recorded segments at 5:30, 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. You can see one of the segments on the Channel 2 website.

Since I started working at HFBC in early February, I have slowly been getting my office set up and arranged. Friday morning provided me with unique and unexpected decorations. On the top of my desk's hutch, I now have mementos from my first "crisis" at work -- portions of the brick wall and the large letter H. It's a sign of a special moment in my new career here. More importantly, it's a sign that the church is more than the bricks around us. The Lord's work keeps on going!

My Unexpected Day At The Spa

While hundreds of genuine and wannabe cowboys made their way down Memorial Drive from Memorial Park to downtown for the rodeo parade last Saturday, I passed by them on the way to the spa perfectly secure in my masculinity. The fact that I was using a gift certificate -- and not paying for this on my own -- gave me further comfort as I compared my plans for the day with those of the guys clomping along on horseback facing the cold and rainy elements.

The leadership team of The Shed class at Houston's First Baptist Church gave me a gift certificate to a spa when I stepped down as director last September to teach The Real Deal. They know me so well.

So finally, I made an appointment and went in for my day of pampering last Saturday. I signed up for the Chairman's Retreat which included a massage, manicure, pedicure, facial, haircut -- and "spa lunch" (which is spaspeak for "girl food").

When I made the appointment, the kind lady asked me what I would want for lunch that day. I opted for the chicken salad sandwich since BBQ ribs were not an option. She asked what I would want to drink and I asked for a Coke. I said, "I realize that a real Coke may not go with the whole concept of a 'spa lunch' but if you try to slip a Diet Coke on me, you can count on my throwing a spa tantrum." I got my Coke.

My day at the spa did not quite go as I had expected.

Keep in mind that most patrons are women, and most are not there for hours worth of pampering. They are in-and-out for either a manicure or a haircut or a pedicure ... or whatever else women get done to themselves. Therefore, they come in in their normal clothes and stay in their normal clothes.

I, on the other hand, had five "treatments" lined up. This elevated me to a whole other level of spa patron -- the partially dressed level. Upon arriving at the spa, I had to change into a robe, a pair of drawstring pants and a cheap pair of flip-flops. As I was escorted around the spa from one station to another (with resting stops in between appointments in the men's "holding room"), there I was in my spa get-up amidst women in their normal clothes.

I felt like Mrs. Roper in her muumuu on Three's Company.

Anyway ... back to the unexpected day at the spa. Here it is in a nutshell ...

• Pedicurist was a Christian woman who attends Second Baptist. She's friends with an HFBC staff member who provides her with Bibles in different languages so she can distribute them to the different women who work at the spa. And she loves Beth Moore.
• Masseuse was a Christian woman who attends Lakewood Church. Did not get to talk to her much given the circumstances (nearly being asleep during the massage).
• Manicurist was an Asian woman. My assumption is that she is one of the women to whom Pedicurist has been reaching out to with the Bibles.
• Hair guy asked me what "religion" I was when I told him I worked for my church. I said that I was Christian and attended a Baptist church. He said that he was Baptist, too, but did not attend a church. I invited him to visit my Sunday Bible study. Pray for him, please.
• Facial lady was widowed last year. When it came up that I worked at a church, she asked about opportunities for women in her situation. God gave me some names of other widows her age in our church and I've followed up with a few of them this week in hopes of making a connection. And she loves Beth Moore, too.

Finally, the front desk manager introduced herself to me during one of my layovers in the men's "holding room." She recognized me as a new staff member at HFBC. Turns out, she and her husband teach a Sunday Bible study there. When I checked out at the end of the day (six hours after I arrived), we compared notes on all of the "divine appointments" that I had during my spa day. Plans were made for her to continue where I left off with hair guy, and we talked about ways to minister to facial lady.

I left my day at the spa with opened pores, buffed nails, relaxed muscles and manageable hair. But I also left -- unexpectedly -- reminded that ministry opportunities are all around us if we take the time to stop, look and listen to others.