Well, it's not the USSR anymore.

It's just Russia.

But I'm back. It was a mind-bending trip. I'll post about it in more detail next week. When I'm over jet lag.

In the meantime, tomorrow's message continues Things Jesus Never Said: "I've Come To Bring Peace On Earth."

Happily, many things happened in Moscow that only got me more excited to give this message.

See you then.

I still remember the Bicentennial -- July 4, 1976. I was 14 and it was an enormous celebration. You can read about it here.

Since I remember it so well, it means I'm old.

It also means we still have a lot to be thankful for. Primarily for the boldness and courage of those who've come before us.

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One of the freedoms we celebrate today includes the freedom of expression.

That's why I'm so excited about tomorrow night. We take our Thrive ministry "on the road" for the first of its Thrive Alive engagements.

The first one is at RiverGate Shopping Center, in between Cold Stone Creamery and BT's Burger Joint. The band will rock and the people of the church will have chances to make connections with the Steele Creek Community. This is one of the best ways we've come up with yet for "high touch, low threat" evangelism.

You can read more about Thrive Alive here.

Come and be part of something really big and really good.