Based on the conviction that discipleship requires eye contact, I am incredibly thankful for my leadership team this morning. I can’t imagine how big of an impact it would have had on my young, confused, insecure self to be surrounded by a community of mentors modeling authentic Christian faith expressed in dusty, street-level love, rather than the airy, cloud-level cliches shouted down from the distant, humanlike Christians who hang like ornaments in the sky, whose faith turns out to be the very hot air that keeps them from the people of the streets and, ironically, from the God of the streets. I’m thankful that they know a God who made eye contact with them and heeded the call of the horizontal plane, the catch and release call of the kingdom of God. Without them, this ministry would be a hot-air ballon service. GRATEFUL!