Here's a photo of my wife and I on the southern shore of the Dominican Republic this past summer, not far from the amazingly untouched hamlet of Los Patos (which may or may not mean, "the ducks").
We went to the DR with about a dozen other intrepid Christian travelers to help build a church and lend a financial hand to three other indigenous missionaries.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Scrapping the Sunday Service
Horizon is going to abandon its Sunday morning service and move to a Saturday-Only weekend service later this summer.
We're going to have a trial run on Saturday, June 16.
We thought about adding a Saturday service and keeping our Sunday service, but it soon became apparent that adding a Saturday service would add more than twice the amount of work, something Mark Beeson, pastor of Granger Community Church, warned me about this past fall.
So I prayed and told our Management Team that I thought a Saturday-Only service would be the way to go.
Lots of reasons, but mostly because our culture has shifted and most people aren't going to add something to their already-busy weekends on Sunday mornings. Folks already have Sunday morning habits that add to their rest and relaxation (call it Sabbath-keeping for the time being), and aren't likely to change those habits to include going to church. If that was the case, then it would already be happening.
Even church-going people are being squeezed by the increase of Sunday morning activities that are being added to their schedules.
I'm going to journal our journey to Saturdays-Only and beyond. I'm sure there will be plenty of learnings to pass on.
As I said in a congregational meeting a little while back when we introduced the change, there are two good reasons why going to Saturday-Only is a bad idea: First, it's change and, second, "What will people think (especially other Christians)?"
But our goal is to join the Lord in His redemptive mission of having everyone participating in the "eternal kind of life" and we will do what it takes to get the message out. If that means meeting on Saturday nights so more people will come, then that's what we'll do. If the culture shifts again and Sunday mornings become again the time when the most people will come, then we'll move back to Sundays.
"Keeping Sabbath," a day of rest, is a lost practice for most Christians. We are just as consumed by busy-ness as those who do not follow Jesus. Something's amiss about that.
By going to Saturdays-Only our hope is to give a Sabbath back to those who follow Jesus. Sunday becomes a time to build relationships, rather than strain them. Husbands and wives spend some time together (going to church and then dinner or a movie on Saturday night and then spending Sunday morning talking and relaxing together). Children get to sleep in (and parents, too, maybe!). We get to have a conversation with our neighbor, rather than spending Sunday morning in church. The possibilities are endless.
We'll see how the journey to Saturday-Only goes. Hang on for the ride.
May the Lord be glorified; and may more and more people enter "the eternal kind of life" that is given through Jesus.
We're going to have a trial run on Saturday, June 16.
We thought about adding a Saturday service and keeping our Sunday service, but it soon became apparent that adding a Saturday service would add more than twice the amount of work, something Mark Beeson, pastor of Granger Community Church, warned me about this past fall.
So I prayed and told our Management Team that I thought a Saturday-Only service would be the way to go.
Lots of reasons, but mostly because our culture has shifted and most people aren't going to add something to their already-busy weekends on Sunday mornings. Folks already have Sunday morning habits that add to their rest and relaxation (call it Sabbath-keeping for the time being), and aren't likely to change those habits to include going to church. If that was the case, then it would already be happening.
Even church-going people are being squeezed by the increase of Sunday morning activities that are being added to their schedules.
I'm going to journal our journey to Saturdays-Only and beyond. I'm sure there will be plenty of learnings to pass on.
As I said in a congregational meeting a little while back when we introduced the change, there are two good reasons why going to Saturday-Only is a bad idea: First, it's change and, second, "What will people think (especially other Christians)?"
But our goal is to join the Lord in His redemptive mission of having everyone participating in the "eternal kind of life" and we will do what it takes to get the message out. If that means meeting on Saturday nights so more people will come, then that's what we'll do. If the culture shifts again and Sunday mornings become again the time when the most people will come, then we'll move back to Sundays.
"Keeping Sabbath," a day of rest, is a lost practice for most Christians. We are just as consumed by busy-ness as those who do not follow Jesus. Something's amiss about that.
By going to Saturdays-Only our hope is to give a Sabbath back to those who follow Jesus. Sunday becomes a time to build relationships, rather than strain them. Husbands and wives spend some time together (going to church and then dinner or a movie on Saturday night and then spending Sunday morning talking and relaxing together). Children get to sleep in (and parents, too, maybe!). We get to have a conversation with our neighbor, rather than spending Sunday morning in church. The possibilities are endless.
We'll see how the journey to Saturday-Only goes. Hang on for the ride.
May the Lord be glorified; and may more and more people enter "the eternal kind of life" that is given through Jesus.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Just Asking
James wrote in, James 4:2 (TEV), "You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it."
I've always told people they should ask for what they need (or want), but to do so with freedom attached; freedom for the other person to say no.
But why do I find it so hard to ask for what I need or want? What is there inside of me that hesitates to ask somebody for something, be it large or small?
Perhaps the answer lies in a couple of areas.
First, I don't want to hear a no. Noes are hard to hear. No fun. No way. No how. AND I might just hear the no being aimed not at my request, but at me. Weird, I know, but I'll wager you've been there yourself.
Second, asking means that I am depending on someone else. And I want to be independent. Or, more honestly, self-dependent.
Third, who wants to be thought of as being "needy?" Not me.
BUT . . . the truth is that noes will come when you do some asking (and it's not all about you if you do it with some freedom attached), I AM dependent on others (God, family, friends, etc.) and I AM needy (for love, a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, etc.).
I'm traveling to the Dominican Republic with some friends in July to do some "mission" work. We're going to help build a small church building. We're also going to "build" some relationships. Lots of building--as I/we get "built-up" in the Lord.
I will be sending out a "support letter" in the next few days, asking for prayers and money. I expect to get some support--of both kinds--and I expect to get some noes.
But I've gotten over the "feeling needy" or "feeling dependent" stuff. So I'm being bold in asking for the support I need, both prayer and financial.
I guess I think about asking differently these days. I only ask when I need something. I try not to make requests for trivial stuff (like a riding lawnmower or a new bike), but for big, hairy things; God-sized things.
And I see my requests as giving the other person the chance to join me in my "God-stuff." Participating in a vicarious way as I boldly embark on the adventure to which the Lord has called me. The other person is along for the ride, in a way. But they wouldn't be if I didn't make the "ask" in the first place. So I'm doing them a favor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
It's good to ask. You might get both what you want and what you need.
I've always told people they should ask for what they need (or want), but to do so with freedom attached; freedom for the other person to say no.
But why do I find it so hard to ask for what I need or want? What is there inside of me that hesitates to ask somebody for something, be it large or small?
Perhaps the answer lies in a couple of areas.
First, I don't want to hear a no. Noes are hard to hear. No fun. No way. No how. AND I might just hear the no being aimed not at my request, but at me. Weird, I know, but I'll wager you've been there yourself.
Second, asking means that I am depending on someone else. And I want to be independent. Or, more honestly, self-dependent.
Third, who wants to be thought of as being "needy?" Not me.
BUT . . . the truth is that noes will come when you do some asking (and it's not all about you if you do it with some freedom attached), I AM dependent on others (God, family, friends, etc.) and I AM needy (for love, a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, etc.).
I'm traveling to the Dominican Republic with some friends in July to do some "mission" work. We're going to help build a small church building. We're also going to "build" some relationships. Lots of building--as I/we get "built-up" in the Lord.
I will be sending out a "support letter" in the next few days, asking for prayers and money. I expect to get some support--of both kinds--and I expect to get some noes.
But I've gotten over the "feeling needy" or "feeling dependent" stuff. So I'm being bold in asking for the support I need, both prayer and financial.
I guess I think about asking differently these days. I only ask when I need something. I try not to make requests for trivial stuff (like a riding lawnmower or a new bike), but for big, hairy things; God-sized things.
And I see my requests as giving the other person the chance to join me in my "God-stuff." Participating in a vicarious way as I boldly embark on the adventure to which the Lord has called me. The other person is along for the ride, in a way. But they wouldn't be if I didn't make the "ask" in the first place. So I'm doing them a favor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
It's good to ask. You might get both what you want and what you need.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Weather in Indiana
I am from Vermont, the Green Mountain State, tucked away in the northwest corner of New England.
In Vermont we have a saying that goes like this: "Vermont: 11 months of winter and one month of darn poor sleddin'."
Vermonters are used to winter, but they don't tend to like it. Winter is harsh in Vermont, even with the pristine beauty of snow-capped peaks and frozen rivers that sleepily wind their way through water-carved valleys.
So when it turns hot in my new locale, northern Indiana, I like it. I like the humidity. I like to sweat.
But Indiana has only two settings: hot and cold. The in-between times are short-lived, sometimes a day at most. Spring is a season that comes for a short time, usually too early, and then leaves until the arrival of summer. The temperatures go from too-low to too-high all of a sudden. Overnight, even.
Today is a hot one. And I like it. I rode my bike from my house to the church and the breeze was great. With gas at @3.59 a gallon, it makes sense to ride a bike around town. I'm sure there are some who will look askance at me as I pedal my way through the burg of Bremen, but they don't realize that, when they look at me, they are looking at their own future.
The day will come when many others will be joining me, bike helmets and all.
After all, aren't followers of Jesus supposed to be leaders of the pack?
We are told that Jesus is always going before us to the new places he is working (Mark 16:7 [NIV] "But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' ").
We find Jesus in the new places.
Followers of Jesus are people with new ideas, expressed in their behaviors, their stories, the art they produce and the communities they create and inhabit.
In this new season of high gas prices, hot weather (however temporary), wars near and far, may followers of Jesus be found doing new things as they follow their creative/Creator Lord.
In Vermont we have a saying that goes like this: "Vermont: 11 months of winter and one month of darn poor sleddin'."
Vermonters are used to winter, but they don't tend to like it. Winter is harsh in Vermont, even with the pristine beauty of snow-capped peaks and frozen rivers that sleepily wind their way through water-carved valleys.
So when it turns hot in my new locale, northern Indiana, I like it. I like the humidity. I like to sweat.
But Indiana has only two settings: hot and cold. The in-between times are short-lived, sometimes a day at most. Spring is a season that comes for a short time, usually too early, and then leaves until the arrival of summer. The temperatures go from too-low to too-high all of a sudden. Overnight, even.
Today is a hot one. And I like it. I rode my bike from my house to the church and the breeze was great. With gas at @3.59 a gallon, it makes sense to ride a bike around town. I'm sure there are some who will look askance at me as I pedal my way through the burg of Bremen, but they don't realize that, when they look at me, they are looking at their own future.
The day will come when many others will be joining me, bike helmets and all.
After all, aren't followers of Jesus supposed to be leaders of the pack?
We are told that Jesus is always going before us to the new places he is working (Mark 16:7 [NIV] "But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' ").
We find Jesus in the new places.
Followers of Jesus are people with new ideas, expressed in their behaviors, their stories, the art they produce and the communities they create and inhabit.
In this new season of high gas prices, hot weather (however temporary), wars near and far, may followers of Jesus be found doing new things as they follow their creative/Creator Lord.
May--The Most Stressful Month of the Year
I think May is the most stress-filled month of the year, more stressful than even December and the dreaded "holiday season."
Why? Because several major streams of life converge in May.
First, May is the month when the "run" that began last August/September is winding down. Another "academic" year is drawing to a close, with its attendant ceremonies and pressures. Students are graduating, be it from Kindergarten, first, fourth, eighth or twelfth grade, along with college and other institutions. Final grades are at stake. Life-trajectories are at stake (or so it seems, even to parents of first graders!).
Second, plans for summer are finalized and the last stages of preparation must be completed in May.
Third, there is the next "academic" season to prepare for, whether it's college, elementary school, high school, or just a job.
Fourth, the weather has finally decided to stay warm and so we've got to get outside and get the yard work done, begin anew the exercise program we fitfully started (and stopped) in the post-holiday days of winter, work around the house, get to T-Ball, soccer, softball, tennis, swimming and do who-knows-what-else because it's not winter anymore.
Exhausted yet?
Of course there are the outings to attend, like weddings, family reunions, and recreational weekends. These need to be planned in May because they will be here before you know it!
Now you can see why May is the most stressful month of the year!
But we don't realize it.
We can't understand why that black mood (could it be depression?) is hovering over our lives like a michievous cloud that sucks the energy out of us. We should be feeling great, we tell ourselves. The weather is finally decent. It's green again. The furnace isn't running and we don't need the air conditioner yet. We can sleep with the windows open (even if we are stuffed up with just a taste of an allergy).
We should be feeling great, but we're on edge and can't seem to break out of it. We snap at people. We want to pull the plug and say, "Time out!" Pushed and pulled in every direction imaginable, we want to get of the merry-go-round that is threatening to spin out of control. And we wonder what's wrong with us? Especially when everyone else is looking so happy.
It's stress.
And there's an alternative, a good one, to all of the stress that we're experiencing.
Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)--"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. [29] Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. [30] Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." --Jesus
I've tried it--the relationship with Jesus. It works. Even for a feeling-type like me, a sponge for all of the feelings and emotions that are swirling around me.
Peace in May. What a concept!
Why? Because several major streams of life converge in May.
First, May is the month when the "run" that began last August/September is winding down. Another "academic" year is drawing to a close, with its attendant ceremonies and pressures. Students are graduating, be it from Kindergarten, first, fourth, eighth or twelfth grade, along with college and other institutions. Final grades are at stake. Life-trajectories are at stake (or so it seems, even to parents of first graders!).
Second, plans for summer are finalized and the last stages of preparation must be completed in May.
Third, there is the next "academic" season to prepare for, whether it's college, elementary school, high school, or just a job.
Fourth, the weather has finally decided to stay warm and so we've got to get outside and get the yard work done, begin anew the exercise program we fitfully started (and stopped) in the post-holiday days of winter, work around the house, get to T-Ball, soccer, softball, tennis, swimming and do who-knows-what-else because it's not winter anymore.
Exhausted yet?
Of course there are the outings to attend, like weddings, family reunions, and recreational weekends. These need to be planned in May because they will be here before you know it!
Now you can see why May is the most stressful month of the year!
But we don't realize it.
We can't understand why that black mood (could it be depression?) is hovering over our lives like a michievous cloud that sucks the energy out of us. We should be feeling great, we tell ourselves. The weather is finally decent. It's green again. The furnace isn't running and we don't need the air conditioner yet. We can sleep with the windows open (even if we are stuffed up with just a taste of an allergy).
We should be feeling great, but we're on edge and can't seem to break out of it. We snap at people. We want to pull the plug and say, "Time out!" Pushed and pulled in every direction imaginable, we want to get of the merry-go-round that is threatening to spin out of control. And we wonder what's wrong with us? Especially when everyone else is looking so happy.
It's stress.
And there's an alternative, a good one, to all of the stress that we're experiencing.
Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)--"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. [29] Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. [30] Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." --Jesus
I've tried it--the relationship with Jesus. It works. Even for a feeling-type like me, a sponge for all of the feelings and emotions that are swirling around me.
Peace in May. What a concept!
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