24 | 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

The following happens between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

My assistant, Jami, stopped me as I entered the building. “Tony, while you were gone, the UPS man delivered this package. It looks like it’s a book. Do you want me to open it?”

“Yes, you may open the package. Hey, by any chance was the UPS man named Mark?”

Jami opened the package then replied, “No, but this book is by a Mark—Mark Batterson. This must be a pre-release copy of his new book. It’s called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.”

And then my mind raced back to the conversation I had with Terry earlier this morning. His final comment was “It will find you if you want it to.” Could this just be a coincidence, or was this package “finding me?” And, if so, does that mean Mark Batterson is the hostage? This was bad. Very bad. Not only is Mark a husband, father, pastor and blogger, he’s also one of the keynote speakers for this year’s Innovative Church Conference.

“Jami, I have a few things I need you to do. First, we need to remove the elephant from WiredChurches.com. Then, get on the horn (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase) with our friends at National Community Church to see if Mark is, indeed, in a pit with a lion on a snowy day. Finally, don’t ever question what Brown can do for you.”

I couldn’t figure out why something this bad was happening to a blogger like me. But I guess that’s why they say every rose has its thorn; just like every night has its dawn; just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song; every rose has its thorn. This was definitely my thorn…