I had to reschedule….then the day we scheduled was a Sunday morning…..and it was raining.  Not a bunch to smile about, but they made it easy.

Here’s a few of my favorites….

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It is December 1st.  Know what that means?  It means that I can GUARANTEE you that the military community I’m surrounded by has FIVE DOLLARS.

Not military?  Well, you have it too…..don’t lie .

Friend, fellow blogger and a pastor at the world’s greatest church, Scot Longyear is trying to plan a trip to Uganda. Click here to read all about it.

He’s set a lofty goal, but an attainable one, to raise ALL of the money needed in 48 hours.

So, let’s do our part and help him help others….others who probably DO NOT have $5.

$5, $10, $50, $100…..Whatever you can do, click the widget below and get er done.

A HUGE thank you in advance!

Simple Worship 2 from Toby Keathley on Vimeo.

CLICK THIS LINK and get your copy of Simple Worship 2….Right NOW !

Today I want to tell you about a place.  A place that made our trip home a great one.  There was no party….No big announcements that the Keathley’s were home…..I’m not sure there are words to tell ya what this place means to me.  So, what’s the place?  Mom’s house?  No, that’s a post in its own.  Olive Garden?  While my mouth waters thinking about it, no, that’s not it either.

The place I’d like to share with you today is Maryland Community Church, and specifically, the Exchange community within that church.  As advertised, a COMMUNITY of people who follow CHRIST and serve in His CAUSE.

I thank God every day that He brought me to Exchange.  You can listen to how He led me there HERE.  (kinda tough to watch as I was a babbling idiot at that point, but you’ll get the idea)

I’ve written about this before on another blog and had the same problem then that I’m having now.  I type words that try to explain how this place, and the people in it, have impacted my life.  Then I delete them.  Words just can’t bring justice to what is in my heart.

I remember the first time I ever walked into the current building.  My kids are with me and I just start bawling.  I wasn’t a big cry-er at that point in my life, so understand my confusion.  I have no idea what it was, but I was HOME.  Then, many months down the road, I’m having thoughts of seminary and going to school to do something I feel God leading me to do.  I voiced my desires to many people….some would listen, but most would look at me like, yeah right….YOU, a preacher???  I kept running into walls and it seemed like people just didn’t want to support me or believe that I was serious.

Then came Scot.  Scot, the lead pastor at Exchange, didn’t reveal to me great things that I didn’t know.  He didn’t wave a wand and make all the doubters go away, but he listened.  He didn’t know me at all.  I was just another guy asking to have lunch with him.  The thing is, Scot was about the 15th leader in a church that I had requested to speak to about a life in ministry, but he was the first to meet with me.  He was actually the last I spoke with prior to enrolling at Liberty University.  He didn’t put it off until he HAD to…..I asked and he said “how’s Wednesday?”  You may think to yourself, “so what, he had lunch with you…”  Let me tell ya something…..when you are eager, craving acceptance into a world that is totally foreign to you, into a world that is supposed to be open, honest, friendly, giving…Christ-like….You begin to feel like you’re applying to join a prestigious club.  Especially when none of the club members want to recognize your existence.

Bottom line:  There were no amazing revelations in this meeting between Scot and I, but he showed a genuine concern, answered some questions and I left that lunch thinking there was at least one person who didn’t doubt me and one person, outside of my family, who cared.  That meant the world to me at the time and I can’t thank him enough.

Fast forward to our latest trip home….Scot, Shawn, Bill and I met for lunch.  First of all, it was the first time I have spoken untyped words to Bill and Shawn.  That’s amazing enough in itself, right?  The wonderful world of Twitter and blogs have kept us connected.  Anyway, again, no amazing revelations, but to a stranger sitting in, you would have never guessed that 3 of us just met and the other had only met me once.  It was great to sit down and chat with 3 guys sold out for the Lord.  Each one of them inspire me in different ways and I appreciate their friendship.  If you haven’t already, go click their names and subscribe to their blogs.  You’ll not be disappointed.

As for Exchange….Ezra said it best in his testimony….It’s like you’re on a couch in a big living room.  It’s just home….surrounded by a bunch of family members.  A direct reflection of the leadership personalities exists in each member of the church.  The first church, or any place for that matter, I have been a part of that I want every person I come in contact with to experience.  Community and Christ are paramount in everything I have mentioned thus far, but I think it’s the CAUSE part that gets me the most.  Our CAUSE should be to live Christ-like lives…..to get out of the seats in the church and ACT.  I blog about it all of the time, but Exchange is no blog.  They not only preach it, but LIVE it.  The only church I’ve been to where you may come in on a Sunday and Scot will say, “we’re gonna play a few songs and then we’re leaving.”  And he’s not kidding…..The church will leave, separate into groups and go out into the community to give help to those who are in need.  They call it “crashing” and it’s simply awesome.

I know this is an agonizingly long blog for me…..sorry, they’re just that good!  One day, Scot will listen to me and will be streaming services live and you’ll get to see for yourself what I speak of here.  Until then, check out the Podcasts. Community, Christ, Cause!  It doesn’t get any better.

Thank you guys!

Throughout it all though, ya know what stands out in my mind?  The deep sense of community.  Sometimes it’s painful and we struggle to see God’s great work, but to hear how this community has come together to help each other out is, no doubt, a perfect picture of God at His best.

I tried embedding the pictures here, but they didn’t fit well.  Click here to see the pics.