Reaction to the London bombings

The recent terror attacks in England bring about a variety of feelings for me. First of all, we all send our deepest sympathies to the English people. What a tragedy, especially after the joy of receiving the Olympics the day before.

Yet...something else is nagging at me. The feeling that, in spite of this, we (the coalition against terror) are really winning in a big way.

Don't get me wrong...any death is a horrific and lamentable event. But we also have to keep some perspective. First, since 9/11, this is basically all that Al Qaeda has managed to "pull off" against England or the US. For all of their bluster, they haven't managed to do much in their so-called Jihad. Second, I think they have underestimated our friends the Brits. Do they think this will do anything but stiffen the resolve of our only true ally in this war? The English are not the Spanish or French, thank God. They will pull together, persevere, and remain united against terror.

I've travelled to a number of countries in Europe, but England is not one of them. For many reasons, I can't wait for the day I am able to do so. I admire the British, and our common history runs deep. Our prayers and sympathies are with them right now.

What a night it has been! Thursday nights at Church of the Cross, we have our Genesis worship service, which is a very casual, emerging worship style service. The music is contemporary, with a guitar driven rick sound. It is a wonderfully intense encounter with God, and I always look forward to it. Tonight I preached on the subject of "Becoming Like Christ," and we heard an awesome testimony about a prison visit from our worship band leader. The sermon should be posted to our website, www.genesisatnight.com, sometime early next week.

One of the awesome aspects to this service is the incredible lay leadership. While I am the primary teacher at this service, we also have a few other young adults who have begun teaching/preaching, and they have done an incredible job. It is amazing what God can do when people are willing to step forward and follow His call to serve. There have been so many lives changed recently, and I consider it a huge blessing to be able to walk alongside all these people and learn from them!