In my last post I mentioned that I am believing that Washington DC will be transformed by God through the work of His people at NCC.

But here’s the thing, I believe this will only happen if we will step outside of our box and outside of our comfort zone to reach people who are not like us and don’t like us.

What do I mean by this?  Well, there are plenty of people in Washington DC who are not young urban professionals, plenty of people who aren’t college educated, who aren’t intellectuals, plenty of people who don’t smell like us because they don’t have a place to take a shower, people who don’t worship God like we do, and people who don’t believe in the same God.

If we want to make a lasting difference in all corners of our city, it’s going to be uncomfortable at times.  We’re going to have to talk to people outside of our circles and cliques. We’re going to have to reach out to those people who aren’t like us, and we’re going to have to reach out to those people who actively dislike us.

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“Greater Things” was the theme of the 2009 NCC Leadership Retreat and is the theme of NCC as a whole for the coming year.  So, what Greater Things am I believing God for?

I’m believing that God will use NCC to make a difference in Washington DC that is tangible and widespread, a difference that cannot be missed, a difference that affects everyone from the President to the poor, from the wealthy to the homeless.  I’m believing that the city will never be the same again because of the impact that God makes through His people in this city and specifically His people at National Community Church.

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Me After My Run

So I’ve recently started running again. I’ve gone about 4 or 5 times in the past few weeks. This is after over a year break from the gym and a several year break from running regularly. Today I was out and decided to just keep going. I went 7.4 miles in 67 minutes, meaning 9 minute miles. I was pretty happy with my distance, but my speed could have been better. Ah well, what can you expect when you haven’t run in years?

I’m not going to lie, part of my motivation was a tweet from @joetrippi (Joe Trippi, the political consultant). He recently started running again as well, and frankly, I was a bit embarrassed that a guy who is twice my age and is, by his own admission, not in the greatest shape was running farther than I was (about 4 miles).

I can tell already that I’m going to be hurting tomorrow, but I think it will be worth it. No pain, no gain.

My Route:

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