Connecting

Tonight Matt, me, and Barry O. are going to play our usual Tuesday night poker in Avalon. Some judge us for this...not our friends, but people who hardly know us...but I think the connections we have made there are so awesome. We are connecting with real people who (most) don't know Christ and God is really using us. We are connecting with the same people that C3 has a desire to reach. The last time we played poker we really felt a connection starting to build, here's why:

We went to play last week and all sat at the same table...there were probably 8 people sitting with us. I was wearing my C3 shirt and that started a whole conversation about church. I am so glad that we have shirts like that! It is amazing that a small thing like a shirt can get people talking. We had some questions about our church thrown at us...nothing we haven't heard before, but the others at the table heard and joined in, too. We had one guy at the table say, "How can you guys play poker? Isn't that against your rules?" It is amazing the assumptions people have put on "church people." Well, actually, none of us are "church people" we're all just people who love Jesus and love others, the guy just put us in that category because unfortunately that is what most Christians are like. Anyway, I looked back at the guy and said, proudly might I add, we don't go to your typical church. What an awesome thing to be able to say that our church is different! We don't expect you to act in this holy manner on Sunday and then do whatever you want during the week. We just let you be real...everyday! When our staff is real, why would they expect anything else from the members. C3 doesn't expect holy, they just want you to love Jesus and others..but if you're not sure about Jesus...they'll love you anyway!

We had continuous conversations with one particular person, who appears to already go to a church, for a while...the best part was the others who were listening in. They heard us talk about C3, church in general, and they knew what we believed after that. I expected them to act differently and talk differently around us after that...they didn't. Despite what they said, what they drank, or how they acted we chose not to judge. It can be hard not to judge, but I bet they expected us to do that to them. I wonder why they would expect that...

I am just thankful that God has given us this opportunity. I never would have thought we could build connections playing poker. I always just thought of it as fun and that we would just kind of keep to ourselves. God had different plans! =) He is making me more and more thankful for that everyday and for our church. The kind of church that loves people NO MATTER WHAT!

Well, we're off for another fun night of poker...By the way, I got 2nd place last time! (higher than Matt and Barry!) I'm going for the win tonight =) I'll keep updating on the connections we make and the people we meet!