A SHOE TREE AT E-FREE!

This Sunday we will begin a brand new 5-week series through Galatians 5 that we are calling “WALK THIS WAY” through which we will learn what it means to walk by the Spirit of God.  Galatians 5:16 is the key verse that tell us to "Walk by the Spirit so that you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  As a result, Most of our visual elements will center on shoes.  For example:

The stage will have giant SHOES on them representing all aspects of life from a bare foot, to a slipper, to a dress shoe, to a work shoe and more.  This is to demonstrate that WALKING BY THE SPIRIT is something we need to do all the time – no matter what shoes we are wearing.  There will also be a tightrope hanging high above the seats in the Gospel Center as we will learn this Sunday that "walking by the Spirit" is like walking a tightrope.

There will also be a SHOE TREE placed out by our church sign.  Have you ever seen a SHOE TREE?  A SHOE TREE is just that – a tree that is covered with old shoes.  Actually a SHOE TREE can serve one of many purposes.  It can serve a practical purpose such as hanging shoes to dry.  It can serve a celebratory purpose in honor of an event like a graduation.  I'm told that sometime it is the work of a bully who steals a younger child's shoes and throws them in a tree where they can't be reached.  Sometimes gangs can use a SHOE TREE to mark their turf.  And sometimes it can even have an artistic purpose.

So what is our purpose for putting a SHOE TREE out in front of our church during this 5-week series?  We have two reasons,  First, this will serve to help each person on each Sunday focus on the idea of “WALKING” from the moment they drive into the church parking lot.  Second, it will also provide an element of “curiosity” for people driving by who will be wondering, “Why does that church have a SHOE TREE out front?”  

The tree will be put up this Saturday!  I already have several old pairs of shoes that I need to dispose of that I will be throwing up on to the tree come Sunday morning.  PLEASE DO THE SAME!  We actually encourage it.  Bring any old shoes you do not want any longer and throw them on the tree.  It is our hope that by the end of the series you will not be able to see the tree due to the amount of shoes hanging on it.


Let this SHOE TREE remind us of our need to WALK BY THE SPIRIT!