Man Church was great again. Here are some highlights:

Stroope was terrific (again). Trust in God because... God is in control; God knows what we do not know; and God loves you. Line of the night: Our definition of "good" is "comfort;" while God defines "good" as anything that helps us "conform to the image of His Son." Steve didn't cuss, too, which is always a bonus.

Joel and the Man Band were on fire. U2's Beautiful Day was the perfect opening song, and the worship was really great. Joel is a fantastic worship leader - we're fortunate to have him.

Singing "Your grace is amazing, amazing to me - You know me so well, yet your love sets me free," I was thinking about all the things I regularly do that are so bad, and God knows them all and still loves me. If my wife knew them all, she'd be pissed. God, however, knew them even before He sent his Son to pay the price for my stupidity.

Jason Cole (audio) really cranks up the volume. I know some guys don't like that (especially the older one's (my father-in-law would HATE IT)), but it's important. Guys need to sing to God, but it does not come natural. Actually, we sing all the time if no one is around. We'll sing in the shower, in our car - ALONE. So, if I know the guy next to me can hear me, I won't sing, or certainly won't sing loud. But, if I can't even hear myself, then I can belt out real praise - they way it's supposed to be sung. I know it shouldn't matter what others think, but it does.

The media team is really, really good. There are 15 or so who work while we enjoy Man Church. They're also very nice. Kevin reminds me every month of our deadline for getting stuff to him, and every month I bring something late, and every month he's nice about it, even when I know they say bad things about me when I'm not around. That's OK - everybody does that, and I'm totally comfortable with it.

Saw a guy eating a double-meat, double-cheese burger loaded with mayo, mustard and ketchup. I'd have taken a picture of his face, with yellow, orange and red slobber coming out both sides of his mouth, but I'm trying to offend less people in 2010 (one of my 147 resolutions).

The gym was closed to us, so the LakePointe Sports basketball kids could practice. A little girl walked through the huge crowd at the hamburger line, walked toward the gym, looked at her mom and said, "are all these people here to watch us practice?"

Lots and lots of questions at the end - and we didn't have time for 1/3 of them. It's a shame, too, as they were really good questions, and I would have stayed much longer to hear Steve's answer.

Funny the way God gets your attention. At lunch yesterday, a friend gave me Chad Henning's (Dallas Cowboys - 3 Superbowl rings) new book, "Rules of Engagement." Then, a guy came up at Man Church and said, "I heard Chad Hennings on the radio today - he'd be good for Man Church." Two minutes later, another guy in the PR business said, "We're representing Chad Hennings, and he'd like to come to Man Church." OK, God, I get it. So, we're going to book Chad Hennings to speak to Man Church in May or October. We'll let you know.

We've decided that "Manure" is our new Man Church word for BS. So, for those of you who have potty mouths (you know who we are), strike the BS from your vocabulary and substitute "manure." It's not as strong, but it's more encompassing. BS comes only from bulls, but manure comes from all cows, so there's about 80% more manure than BS. Repeat after me...manure...manure...manure. I especially liked how the guy on the video said it... man-UR, instead of the Texas way - man-YUR. Taking the Y out makes it sound less french, and I always like that.

Next month, February 10, is the first ever ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS Championship, and I wasn't kidding when I said we'd have fun prizes for the finalists, and GREAT prizes for the champion.

After multiple reports of women trying to sneak into Man Church, Man Church has implemented various security measures to ensure that all Man Church men are men. Man Church men should expect long lines in the hamberger lines. We have to make sure all the men eating Man Church burgers are men. Man Church men should also expect delays entering the Man Church auditorium, as new state-of-the-art screening procedures will be in effect.

Some past breaches have increased concern:

* Two non-men were admitted to a past Man Church after successfully guessing the Man Church password, "MC1234"
* A group of women claiming to be the Philadelphia Eagles football team were taken on an exclusive tour that included the special and secret Man Church burger recipe
* After managing to slip past the Man Church security detail explicitly designed to keep out wives of Man Church men, Liz Beauchamp was heard saying, "I don't know what all the fuss is about."
* Man Church security discovered a hose attached to an outdoor spigot after the last Man Church and followed it across to the parking lot the Bed, Bath and Beyond.

New security procedures include, but are not limited to:

* Checking all Man Church men for underarm hair. No hair under arm - no admittance - no exceptions.
* All Man Church men will be asked if they prefer the toilet paper to roll over the role, or from the bottom of the role. Only those who prefer the toilet paper to roll over the role will be admitted.
* All Man Church men will be asked who their favorite dancer is on "Dancing With the Stars." If they give a name, any name, it ain't happening.

The next MAN CHURCH is Wednesday, JANUARY 13, 2010. Burgers at 6:00; Man Church at 6:56. Pastor Steve Stroope is speaking on the topic, "What to Do When Things Get Tough." Don't miss it.