Miss something?

Did ya tune in to the MotoGP World Championships this afternoon and see Valentino Rossi fall at 80+ mph in the middle of a curve ... and lose any chance of winning a second straight championship title?

Doesn't matter, 'cause you can tune in to SpeedTV through the week and watch the replay. So let's move on to something really stunning.

When I was a kid I asked my parents once why God didn't speak to people or do miracles like He used to in the Bible. The answer they told me was, "Because so many people today are so evil."

I've seen four miracles in the past two weeks. No hyperbole, I mean real miracles. Three had to do with me personally so the details aren't important; trust me, they happened. But I saw the fourth miracle tonight at the 6 PM.

I got accused once of being "married to New Spring," and it wasn't meant as a compliment. I'm not on the church staff, I'm not trying to get hired or make friends with the church staff ... and I don't know P personally at all.

So it's just me talking here, standing on my own two feet.

But when P talked tonight about the addiction he'd put behind him in 1999, which not coincidentally was the same year New Spring started, it occured to me we were seeing an on-going, living miracle. I can't remember the exact quote but before God could get busy putting the man to work, the man had to set sinful distractions aside.

Seven years later we're still seeing the results of P's decision and committment as the gospel is being spread throughout the upstate in a staggering way ... and eight thousand people is just the beginning.

Not that numbers matter, except that every number represents a living soul.

People's lives are being changed ... despite what the critics say.

Are there things I don't like about my church? Sure, there's things that drive me up the wall. Like getting handed a pen that's out of ink ... which keeps me from scribbling in the blanks on my outline (in fact, I'm so angry I think I'll fire off a text message threatening to withold my tithe unless something's done pronto, just as soon as I get around to it).

Like I said, I don't know P and have to trust he was what he said he was before Christ powerwashed his soul ... but I've seen what the Holy Spirit has done through him.

So forgive me if it sounds like I'm bragging when I blog about church, the awesome staff or the hundreds of volunteers that make the whole thing happen every Sunday, or when I describe P as the most effective communicator, anywhere. But I've seen the big TV names ... maybe it's just that P makes the gospel come alive to me in a way I never thought possible. I'm only sharing my reaction.

Not bragging, not cheap praise, not deifying. Just telling you how I see proof of what the Holy Spirit can accomplish when a man is willing to set himself and his desires aside, and starts living his life with the throttle down, running his race all-out for Christ on every lap.

When I write about my church I'm trying to share just a hint of the excitement that's come into my life ... as a result of P putting himself aside and putting Christ first way back in 1999.

If I invited you to share a winning lottery ticket you'd probably be on your way over before I put the phone down. And if I invite you to go with me to share a gift that's infinitely more rewarding and seem frustrated that you don't or can't share my enthusiasm, then let me say thanks in advance for not getting mad or calling me a fanatic.

Maybe you're not in that place yet. But you will be.

I hope you'll be patient anyway, because I'm gonna ask you again ... and keep asking ... the same way ORP had to keep asking me before my hard-headedness softened up enough so I could start listening ... and started seeing a few real-life miracles at work, too.