When I was in the 10^th grade, my best friend invited me to visit him at Phillips Andover Academy.  When I was there, I met the head football coach, the son of Hall of Famer Otto Graham.  Coach Graham and I began a three year correspondence after which, I decided rather than going directly to college, that I would take a post-graduate year at Andover, a decision which completely changed the course of my life.

 At Andover, I met Mark Freni—he played football with me and had an older brother who had recently graduated Middlebury College, and was now coaching there as a graduate assistant.  Mark’s father was a big fan of the school and convinced my Dad that I should really consider this school in Vermont.  Older brother Larry came to watch his brother play, and after the game he invited me to join Mark on a trip to visit Middlebury to meet the head coach, and tour the campus. By the time I left campus, I committed to enrolling to Middlebury and told the coach, that if I were to be accepted, or “invited” to attend, I would enthusiastically accept.

 In December of 1995, five years after graduating from Middlebury, my fraternity brother Patrick Berry invited me to his engagement party.  At this party, I met his sister Megan.  In the fall of 1996, Megan invited me to accompany her at a wedding of her friend Beth, who happened to work at MCI with this character, DR Carlson.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed watching DR perform that evening—thinking that he was perhaps one of the most entertaining people on the planet.

 In the spring of 2000, I happened to meet DR Carlson at Einstein Bagels in Reston.  Megan and I had been married for three years, and unbeknownst to us, DR lived a few houses up the street.

 He was having a birthday party that next weekend and he invited us to join him and his girlfriend Jenny to celebrate it.  We were so thrilled to finally meet some folks our own age in the neighborhood and we became fast friends.

 In December of that same year, DR invited us to attend a Christmas service at Reston Bible Church; an invitation we ultimately accepted in January of 2001.

 In that same month, I accepted the invitation to put my faith in Christ.

 When I look back upon my life, I notice that the most important events in my life came through invitations that were extended through people whom I trusted and admired.

 You see, it wasn’t so much about the EVENT that made me want to accept the invitation, as it was the PERSON who extended it.

 I had no interest in attending Phillips Academy.  I had an interest in spending time with my friend Sid.

 I had no clue about Middlebury College, but I knew the Freni family and trusted their invitation.

 I had never even met Megan, but I accepted the invitation to join her brother at his engagement party because I really enjoyed spending time with him.

 I never would have met DR had we not both liked Beth enough to attend her wedding.

 I would not have accepted DR’s invitation to his party if I didn’t think he was a good dude, and would be a good friend.

 I would not have accepted the invitation to attend Reston Bible Church without the invitation from DR, because I saw a difference in his life, admired the attitude he had developed about life, and saw the changes he had made since he had started going to church.  I trusted him.  I didn’t go to church because I trusted God.  I hardly even knew Him enough to trust Him.

 How has an invitation that you accepted changed your life?

 And who trusts you enough to accept your invitation to join you at FUEL?

 What friend, coworker, or neighbor do you know that would accept an invitation to the eight week series we are launching next week called Starting Point?

 When you look back at your own life, would you see a similar track like mine:  that accepting invitations from your friends opens doors to new possibilities in your life?

 You now have that very same opportunity—to invite someone you know into the wide open possibilities that God has in store for those who begin to seek Him.

 Don’t over complicate this invitation—it has more to do with YOU and your relationship with your friend than it has to do with the 8 week series or your explanation of what it is…

 So please, invest, invite, and be open to what God can do through the simple obedient act of inviting someone and leaving the rest up to God…

 See you on Wednesday morning –consider yourself INVITED.

Pat Mancuso

Men of Fuel;

 Ever been upset about being invited somewhere?

 Think about that for a second.  Have you ever gotten angry about being extended an invitation?

 I have thought about this and don’t think I can’t think of a time where the “invitation” upset me.  I can point to countless times where I declined an invitation, but I can’t pinpoint a single time when an invitation upset me.  As a matter of fact I can even point to times when I declined an invitation but was still appreciative of the invite.  I clearly remember a time when I was in eighth grade, being asked by a girl to a dance she was having at her school.  I said no, but was still pretty fired up that a girl had asked me to a dance.  The fact that I am 45 and still remember that might point to the fact that it had an impact on me.

 Ever been upset about not being invited someplace?

 I didn’t have to spend as much time thinking about this one.

 Again, it didn’t seem to matter if I was going to accept the invite or not.  I bet all of us could point to a time where we weren’t invited to something, that we wouldn’t have been able to go to, or even wanted to go to, and we were still bummed by the fact that we weren’t invited.

 What is it about an invitation that’s so powerful?

 Please accept this as in invitation to discuss this tomorrow morning, as we continue our series “Wide Open”

 See you in the am.

D.R. Carlson

As we prepare to “invest and invite” our friends, co-workers, and even family members to Fuel’s kickoff session, “Wide Open”, I was reminded of the buffoonery of my first attempts to share my faith about 13 years ago…

 First, I bought everyone in my family a bible, and thought they’d magically start reading it and discover the error of their ways, and call me and thank me on the spot.  I am still waiting for those phone calls…

 About a year or two later, I visited my college buddies on a retreat weekend.  This weekend was all about how many beers you could drink and stupid things you could say.  Yet, undeterred to save their heathen souls,  I brought everyone a copy of the book, “Man in the Mirror” and was quickly called David Koresh for the rest of the weekend.

 After needling me the entire weekend about how much I “sucked” for my new found faith, I finally retorted, “God shall not be mocked.”  Yet, I was mocking God by doing the exact same thing my friends were doing.

 Why is that I seem to forget that God can creatively show up in the lives of the people I love,  just as creatively as He showed up in mine? Its almost as if–unless someone mimics my relationship with God, and sees Him through the same lens I see him, their salvation is in jeopardy.

 Romans 5:10  ^0 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

 Why can’t I seem to let this verse play out in the lives of the people I love?  That verse works well for me–that God saved me, while I was his enemy.  But, all you sinning evil doers better start looking more like ME, so God can love you too.

 It’s ridiculous.  It’s almost like trying to go on a diet your friend went on—hey, jack, it worked for me. Therefore, it should work for you too. But diets don’t work the same.  And our faith is very individualized as well—open to great possibilities that many of us never think of.  And often times, when we frame God for others to see him just as we saw him…He rarely comes into focus.

 I am not saying there are multiple pathways to God outside of Jesus—HE is the ONE way to God—but what I am saying is there are multiple pathways to Jesus that look nothing like the pathway He blazed for me (or you) to find Him. And I need to—we all need to—be aware that our experience with Him was made for us, uniquely.

 I find God when I am with my sons, when I am fishing, and when I am discussing life with my fellow Christian brothers.  I do not find God through systematic theology, interpretive dance, long sermons, or meditating.  IF those were my only options, I’d be doomed.

 I have friends who find communion with God on the gun range, when they hunt, on the golf course, or when they go camping.  Whatever it is, it is something that I shouldn’t judge—

 I should be open, wide open, to the fact that with God, all things are possible.

 See you in the morning!

6:30AM, Hidden Creek Country Club.

Pat Mancuso