Southern California Churches

I'm in the process of putting together a leadership community of externally focused churches in Southern California. Eric Marsh from Grace Brethren Long Beach has really been the catalyst and bulldog on this but I do think it is coming together. I prefer to visit churches that are candidates for LCs simply to have a look around...to see how externally focused is expressed in bulletins, kiosks, etc. On Saturday evening I was at Skyline Wesleyan in San Diego. They are really doing a great job in their externally focused ministry...led by Phill Longmire. On Sunday morning I drove up to Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa for the 9am service. The place was packed. I think I got the very last parking spaceThey meet in an upscale industrial park (not an oxymoron in SoCal) as many newer churches do in this part of the US. Under the leadership of Mike Kenyon, they are helping to lead the charge in Orange County. Ran into Mike at the service and we talked briefly. He's a great guy. A mile or so away is the Crossing with their externall focused ministry led by Ian Stevenson. They are right on Newport Blvd and I caught their 10am service...(sort of like attending "hurch" since I missed the opening (and they served up a great bearclaw). Again a very dynamic serice and lots of evidence of external focus. From Costa Mesa I drove up to Park Crest Christian Church and ran into Cathy Taylor in the patio area. Wow! She's doing a wonderful job...especially in the area of recovery. While we were talking a tatood man in his 30s stopped to say goodbye. Cathy told me he was a recovering drug addict who had been clean for several months and had just finished painting one of their extention campuses. Pretty cool. I was also able to catch Erwin McManus at Mosaic meeting at the Mayan Theatre at 10th and Hill in L.A. Erwin's always good. They are considering being a part of this EF Community. Erwin mentioned that this week he was at a U-2 concert on Wednesday night. Bono opened with, "What day is it? Wednesday night? No! It's Sunday morning!" What an interesting sysmic rumble.....

Five churches in 24 hours. You'd think something like that would make one more spiritual....You'd think....

Well, five churches