In the presence of someone special

On Friday night Lori and I went to dinner at La Stella's restaurant. When we walked in we noticed the Dolliver family was there with some friends. We chatted for a few minutes and then went to our table. After we had settled in a commotion began as a party of people came into the restaurant. It was Senator Chris Dodd and his family. They were in town for the tree lighting at City Hall and made plans to have dinner with Abby and the family.

Hanging by the cash register were two photos of the Senator with the owner of the Restaurant so it was no surprise to see him. Even though I don't agree with many of his voting practices, I was none-the-less star struck to be sitting within five feet from him. He even spoke to us and apologized for all the fuss.

When you think about it, awe is a good way to describe how you feel when you stand that close to one of the most powerful men in our republic. He is a lawmaker and influential thinker. He is one of the few people who has the ability to shape the future of our world.

As we left the restaurant I began thinking about what I was going to say on Sunday morning. As I thought about church, it struck me that every week, we do one better than I had just done. Forget Senators and even Presidents: We get to spend time with the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe.

I've met a lot of people who tell me that they don't go to church because they find the services boring and out of touch with real life. I could say they that's because they don't come to First Baptist... but truthfully we aren't very different from most of the other churches in town. The real reason we don't feel anything is because we don't put worship in the proper perspective.

Worship is the opportunity to spend time with God. It is an act of devotion. I go to church each week, not because I have to, but because I know God will be there. He'll be there in the people, in the songs, in the scriptures and even in the sermon. When I leave, I will come away knowing that God loves me and he will always be with me.

So it was cool being with Senator Dodd for a few minutes but its even better spending each week with God.

Cal