Saturday's service could perhaps be seen on the surface as nothing more than holiday filler. No real sermon to speak of, lots of regular attendees out on vacation or making time for some Christmas shopping. Lots of the folks in leadership also taking the time to recharge during the slow weekend at church. And yet, it was also a great service that transcends a bit of the Thanksgiving holiday intent.

Part of the reason, I'll sum up with in two video segments. The folks you see in these segments, I'm proud, honored, and humbled to claim as friends. To at least me, myself, and I, that multiplies the impact of hearing their Thanksgiving testimonies.

Darryl is one of the Lakewood ensemble singers - you'll also get a shot of him in action at the 2:00 mark on Clayton Ring's performance. It's been nothing short of a blessing on my part to meet a few of the choir & band types and see some positive feedback on what this little blog might contribute to them from time to time. Obviously, I'm a fan of their work ... so the gratitude is more than reciprocated. I typically have just a rare and sporadic moment to talk with these guys, but I have yet to leave any conversation more impressed with the people that lead us in worship than I was before. Darryl, for his part, probably has a great testimony about every aspect of his life. Here's a sample of that ...

Marie is ... well, Marie is Marie. Professionally known as an administrative assistant for some of the best pastoral staff we've got at Lakewood. But also one of the nicer and more encouraging folks you'll ever get to know at Lakewood, which says a tremendous amount. In my own little ministry of button-pushing for Koinonia, I've gone from finding my small group at a table waiting to fill up with people I may or may not have ever met ... to a little group that meets infrequently, sporadically, casually but joyfully in the AV booth. Both are great in their own way. I have to confess though, that early on in that work, I felt that I might be shortchanging myself by not leaving my station to join in at a table. But over time, I'd look around me while in the AV booth and see the folks I'm working with right there around me. That is, typically, my small group at Koinonia. And according to my way of thinking, it's just about the most fun to be had on a Saturday night. Here's one reason why ...

Oddly enough, when I left Saturday night, I thought I'd make sure to get all the services recorded and pick the best versions to post. In the end, though, I went with the first take on each. Pretty predictable on my part. Darryl's segment here is about twice as long as intended and he's pacing off some of his nervous energy; Marie's a bit more nervous here than the Sunday version and you don't get the cute picture of her with her dad that we saw on Sunday. But there's at least an extra ounce more of authenticity that comes from the initial message. And hopefully that shows a bit in the videos above.