Ever had one of those weeks? One of those tough ones where you wonder, "Is it ever gonna end?" Well, it was my turn last week.

Because I'm just as human as you, sometimes I'm tempted to lose my temper, give up, or go in the tank. That's when I have to practice what I preach. I have to stay strong. I have to remember that God uses tough circumstances to shape us into the people He wants us to be. He uses those rough times to develop our patience, to sharpen our vision, to burnish our integrity, and build our perseverance.

I'm not saying that I've moved beyond those circumstances, yet. But God gave me a tremendous lift this past Sunday. We must be doing something right! While others criticize me, our people, and Gateway in general, God sends people to Gateway who write this on their comment card.

"It [Gateway] is like MTV Unplugged but as a church. It's real and raw and catches your attention without the frills and fluff like other churches."

Did you catch that? We're "real," we're "raw," and capture "attention." We don't have to worry about pretension on Sunday morning. We're who we are 24/7. We don't have to clean up to come here. We know life is hard, and we're not going to pretend that we're always smiling on the inside. We don't shy away from the truth, we're in your face from start to finish. We challenge you to find your purpose and life's meaning in Jesus Christ alone. But guess what, even if you don't, we love you anyway. We won't stare you down or gossip to others about how you've screwed up your life while ours are "all together." We don't need the "fluff" of meaningless traditions, especially when the tradition becomes more important than reaching people or honoring Christ. OUCH!

I thank God for comments like that. It lets me know that what we're doing is actually reaching people who need Jesus. He gave His life for them; I'm just glad we have a part in reaching them for Him and helping them to grow more like Him. That makes even my toughest weeks well worth it all!