"Everywhere there is an internet connection, there is a church. "

This past weekend, another church with another pastor named Joel opened up a new, bigger, more expensive building to house their congregation. It's interesting to me to listen to the sermons that come right before such moves and immediately after. There's a wonderful sense of celebration in them that's tough to match.

Here's a clip of Joel Hunter's from the new Northland Church building. I had to be selective about what excerpt I chose here since the clip I initially wanted to run was effectively a full third of the sermon. Needless to say, I heartily recommend a download of Hunter's sermon (8/19/07 -- "Is Branching Out for the Birds?").

In this small portion of the sermon, Pastor Hunter is adding to the concept that the "church" is not "a building." And the latest addition to his Northland Church is not intended to be the final destination for God's message as it departs from that particular building. Of course, I'm also moved by Hunter's endorsement that a bar can be a church. Not that I drink more than a six-pack over the course of a year or two, but it's still good to know. Listen and enjoy ...

(If the flash player isn't showing up in the RSS feed, click the link for old-fashioned blog reading methodology)

Congrats to all the folks at Northland on the recent addition. As one who appreciates Hunter's sermons via my home PC, it's heartening to see a church acknowledge the potential reach they have online ... or at bars.