by David Docusen | September 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
I got a text message the other day that sent shock up and down my spine.
“Mary just cut her hair.”
Our little princess (the one with the long, curly hair that had never been cut) decided to take a pair of scissors and cut her hair off just below her ears. It wasn’t a great haircut. We tried to rescue it at a hair salon, but kid cuts just aren’t all that savable.
Oh well, she’s still adorable. That wasn’t quite what we expected for her first haircut, but it is memorable!
by David Docusen | September 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
We took the kids shopping the other day and had a blast as a family. Upon returning home, we looked into the stroller and realized that one of our kids had taken a baby toy from Old Navy and put it into Baby Ben’s seat. We strolled away with it – and effectively stole a $5 item. Petty theft. By one of the Docusen kids.
We should probably return that soon.
by David Docusen | September 21, 2009 | Uncategorized
Proverbs 21:5 – Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
As I have prayed for the vision and direction of Center City Church, I keep on feeling the same thing. Slow and steady. Focus on the foundation. Focus on the people God has brought together. Don’t worry about three steps ahead. Focus on today.
I feel such a counterintuitive call as I lead Center City Church. Our team knows how to advertise, market, create buzz, create amazing websites, etc. But the more I pray, the more I feel like God is continuing to call us to a slow and steady approach to the beginning stages of this church. We will – one day – redeem all of the talent that our group has bursting from the seams. Artists, digital designers, musicians, administrators, leaders, etc.
I am encouraged by Proverbs 21:5. There is nothing wrong with all of those talents. There is nothing wrong with churches that use all of those tools at the very beginning of their church and have a huge launch for their community. But our call at Center City is one that has turned out to be quite understated. We have chosen to focus on the intangible things that most cannot see when looking from the outside in.
Cookouts. Time spent together. Listening. Talking. Sharing. Praying. Opening up. More cookouts. This is our call for today. And tomorrow.
I feel pressure (brought on by myself and what I know how to do in church planting) to present Center City to the community creatively. I have found that I am spending way more time communicating who we are rather than how we look to the community. This approach to church planting is way more time consuming, slow and methodical. I could easily spend my time working on graphics, marketing and digital communication. I love that stuff. But I find that the more time I commit to the people we already have, the more our vision of who we are crystallizes in the hearts and minds of all of us at Center City.
I am praying that I will not take hasty shortcuts, but that I would stay faithful to the specific call that God has placed on our hearts at Center City. It’s going to take much longer, but I am believing that good planning and hard work will lead to prosperity. Even if it takes much longer.
I love Center City.
by David Docusen | September 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
We are so excited to have our full team in Charlotte for the first time! We are having our second gathering for Center City Church tomorrow night at 6pm in our basement and I’m going to be sharing the vision that God has placed in our hearts.
Our house is packed this weekend. We have thirteen people staying in our home including all of us adults and our kids. People crammed into every room and taking up floor space with sleeping bags 🙂
Clark, Salina and Salem came in last night from Atlanta. Jerred and Randi drove up from Orlando tonight. Malcolm just arrived on a cross country flight from LA.
I am so blessed to be a part of this team. Our house if full of amazing people! And tomorrow night it will be flat out crazy around here with close to thirty people (including lots of munchkins). Such a memorable time of life!
by David Docusen | September 18, 2009 | Uncategorized
I just got my new computer delivered today!
I’m so grateful for so many people that blessed me in such a big way. Our core team, another sister church and a friend in Orlando that works at Apple came together to round up enough money to get me an amazing Macbook Pro and surprised me on my birthday. Every time I look at this computer I am reminded of people that love and care for me. Not only did they meet a practical need, they blessed me with more than I could have imagined.
So grateful.
