Merridee’s Monday
(Starbucks this morning, for the umbrellas)

Franklin is such an anomaly. At any given day, at any time of day, you can walk into a Starbucks (the Christian bar) and find at least one person, usually more, reading their Bible. The guy that served me my decaf-Americano -w/ whip asked me how my weekend was and I told him it was good but I’m tired from four services at Church. He completely understood and we talked about his church for a while. The guy behind me is having his quiet time and the guy next to us is talking about his preaching.

Surely Nashville is the heart that pumps the “red” through the arteries of this very red state. It’s something to be proud of for sure. This is a great community to raise kids and with so many mission minded church here, millions are going to missions every week. But there’s also something to be weary of as well. It is so culturally correct to be a conservative evangelical here that we risk wielding a very dull sword when it comes to battle. Jennifer and I often envy Christians who live in parts of the country where following Jesus is not the norm because we know we would have to be much sharper and aware of our environment if we lived there. Franklin isn’t heaven, or utopia, but you do have to look to find non-Christians.

I’m not sure why exactly this is on my mind this morning but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts. I’ll be on my computer for a while if you want to chime in. At about eleven I have to head to church to help with kids camp. On my way there I’ll stop at Chik-fil-A, where they will be playing worship music on the in-store music system, and I’ll get a Christian Diet Coke.