I wasn't raised in a Christian home, but my parents weren't opposed to letting my brother and I attend church if we wanted to, which I did for a short time as a youth. Outside of that brief period in my youth, the closest I usually got to church was weddings, funerals, and a local Sunday morning kid's show my brother and I watched called Timothy Church-mouse. Still, my childhood and teenage years were filled with the pursuit of trying to fill what Bible teacher and pastor Greg Laurie has referred to as that "God-shaped blank in our hearts." That "God-shaped blank", as he explains, is that place in us we human beings usually spend all our time trying to fill with everything other than the very thing (or One) it was meant to be filled by.

February 6th, 2009 is a date that I'll always remember as the end of an era in my life. For nearly 21 years I worked at a Christian bookstore here in Indianapolis until the day the doors closed for good on January 31^st. After the closing I spent the next 6 days packing the remaining stock, book shelves and additional furniture to be shipped to other stores in the chain that had been spared our fate. I helped tear down the walls that formed the Bible Department I had worked in and saw not only the dismantling of a store, but also the dismantling of the heart of the store... my co-workers and customers. It was a sad time on many fronts, but still, there was hope.

Being the critically acclaimed and accomplished international writing phenomenon that I am , (alright already...I know, I'm a pastor, so I can't lie)... being the phenomenon that I am, (yeah), I'm sure you all read my last BLOG titled, "Love all, serve all." This title was a take on a slogan made popular by the "Hard Rock Café" restaurant chain. In it I highlighted the experiences a friend of mine and I had one day as we visited a couple of stores...one which rubbed us the wrong way, another that did just the opposite. I attempted to apply a spiritual principle to those experiences to show that when we take the time to look beyond ourselves and actively engage people, showing them how much we care about them, that such an approach will go a long way in giving us an opportunity to impact their lives.

The shirt read, "LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL". That is the saying on the back of a Hard Rock café shirt I bought while visiting some friends in New Orleans a few years ago. It's a great motto for a restaurant chain to have representing it. It sends the message that they won't judge you even if you do have issues that need addressed, that they won't show favoritism, that they will do their best to ensure the best experience for you. An experience that makes you feel like everybody dropped their agenda to make sure you felt like you were the only one in the restaurant. An experience that ensures you'll tell everyone you know and solidify you for life as a return customer. In the retail field this is referred to as feeling "valued and appreciated".