Venice, New York, Paris, Ancient Rome--all in one morning!

This morning's 4.5 took me past ancient Rome, Paris, Venice, a pirate galleon, and New York--all in under an hour. Time travel? A Star Trek transporter? No, just Las Vegas. Last night some of my colleagues and I drove up and down the Strip to take in a macro view. The lights, the music, the crowds--it was all pretty impressive in a way. At 5:45 this morning, a bit of the glamor was gone from the the glitz.

Those who know me would probably say that while I hold strong personal opinions and convictions, I am generally not judgmental toward others. I guess I believe that grown-ups are responsible for their own choices--including the consequences of those choices. So while I am not a fan of the activities that Las Vegas seems to promote, that doesn't bother me as much as something else.

Everything that I have seen in ads and then seen for myself last night leads me to the conclusion that what the entertainment side of Vegas promotes is non-reality. From the hotels and casinos that are built to appear like famous landmarks and places, to the promise of doing here what you would never do at home--and not having any consequences--it is fake. The clearest example was the mobile billboard we were driving behind for a few blocks. It pictured some very good looking young women wearing not very much and the tag line read, "These girls want to talk with you." I said to myself, "Really? No they don't. They don't know me from Adam and couldn't care less about me. At best they want some of my money and my self-respect." If even half of the stories you hear around the office are close to accurate, time in Vegas is bathing in the un-genuine. And I hate the pursuit of that which is not genuine.

I would rather have genuine and difficult or ugly, than fake happiness or contentment. I prefer truth to deception--even when the truth is uncomfortable, unwanted, or unpleasant.

Toward the end of my run I wondered whether the non-churched world looks at our churches somewhat like I was seeing the hotels and casinos this morning. Places where people can go to be entertained (worship concerts and televised preachers), filled with people who put on fake smiles and are there for the show, whose involvement in whatever happens inside the doors makes no difference in their lives when they get back to the "real world." A lack of genuineness is as disgusting in the church as it is on the Strip--and more harmful.

At the end of the day, anyone who comes to the Strip expecting to find reality is just being silly. But people who come to church should be able to expect to find real people who are learning how to better know, love, and serve our great and wonderful God. People who may be broken or bruised, but who are candid about our imperfections--and graceful to the other imperfect people who worship beside us.

That is one thing I love about my own church--the Quarry--and my brother's church--Edgewater United Methodist in Port Charlotte, Florida. Recently Edgewater did a GO Saturday--God's heart, Our hands. Want to see what they are all about? Take a look here--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZBGCIlVANo. These people are genuine about their faith and I am really proud that Dan is leading them so well.

After people go home from, Las Vegas they may have some memories of the "fun" that they had--or they may not remember much about it at all. When God's people are genuine about expressing our faith in real and tangible ways, God changes the world through us. Which is the better investment of the one life that you have? That I have?

Pressing On!
-Ken