What If Our Friends Asked Us to Come to Their Community?

What if your non-churchgoing friends asked you to join them for a few weekends in a given two-week period, doing what they do and going where they go. This would cause you to miss your church times, would you do it?

Some of you may have answered an emphatic "NO" to that question. Then the next question is simply, "Why?" I would guess that a lot of you would answer something like, "It would cause me to miss church", "I wouldn't feel 'right'", or "It would be odd/awkward/uncomfortable."

Here's another thought...what if your church decided to take out everything in its auditorium and replace it with some round tables, with chairs. Additionally, they stopped having regular meeting times and started having opportunities for you to come whenever you wanted to come, on Sundays (for tradition sake). When you did come, you could either sit down at a kiosk and listen to the sermon that was previously recorded or go into a room where, for bigger groups, and watch the sermon on the screen. You would also have your time to visit, maybe sitting around the tables that were set up or in an area that people could stand and visit. You also wouldn't be required to watch a sermon, you could simply come and hang out as long as you wanted. Does that sound appealing?

For most, that sounds like something so wrong and uncomfortable that it is not church at all.

What if I told you that the first scenario may be how some of your friends view an invitation to go to church with you. Does that surprise you? In essence you are asking them to interrupt their weekend plans for one, two or more weekends. They are going to a place they don't understand. Sing songs, do chants, shake hands with people, practice rituals and various other things, of which they are not familiar with and may make them uncomfortable.

I recently watched a video that talked about a churches and discipleship, by Todd Engstrom. It was eye-opening to me and showed me how our "church" gatherings may not be that appealing to others. It doesn't matter if it is a "small group" setting. These still tend to highlight the organizational aspect of religion.

People tend to not like organizational religion. The idea that everything is so formal or planned out, demonstrates how that speaks to me. To stand around and visit with people, similar to what one does when they go to an informal gathering, is "unorganized."

I doubt my church setting "remodel" will take place in my generation, but it may be a key in helping people become more attracted to church because it is more what society is like outside of our formal Sunday and Wednesday church gatherings.

I also find it interesting that Jesus went with others to their community. Zacchaeus, Matthew, and Woman at the Well all were example of Jesus being with them in their community. He didn't drop off his proverbial business card and say "Come and join us on Sunday." If He didn't do that, why do we?

Meeting them on their turf seemed to be less uncomfortable and more impactful. Maybe we could think about a way to use this principle and become more of what Christ would be to the 21st Century.

May we also be more sympathetic toward our non-churchgoing friends when they turn us down for an opportunity to join us for a church gathering.

Now it's your turn...How does this affect your view of your non-churchgoing friends?

RESTORE: A New Community

June of 1999, my wife, sister-in-law and I were traveling through Southern Colorado on our way back from a family reunion. We stopped at a gas station to fill-up and go to the restroom. I went to the restroom, came out, paid for the gasoline and went back out to the car to find my wife and sister-in-law laughing. Long story short, my sister-in-law had misread the bathroom sign and used the men's restroom. On top of that, she was in there when I was using the restroom. This continues to be a story that we laugh about.

The journey that was taken was filled with good memories. I could continue to write about moments I've had with people - some resulting in a lot of laughs, some resulting in laughs afterwards.

One continual journey is parenting. I enjoy seeing my kids learn life. I enjoy having those teachable moments come about and then seeing things "sink in." I have had my moments of learning, as well. The journey brings about a newness of knowledge and application.

As the Christian goes from conversion to heaven, there is a journey. This journey is to get as many people join in with this new life as possible. All those people who join in to create a new community. A community that presents a bigger, new life. With all that said, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Need for Togetherness ~ God, when setting up mankind, said "it was not good for man to be alone." We are created to be together with others. Sometimes that pertains to marriage and other times it means that we work better in life being with others. Being all by yourself presents several negative things, but we need to think about being with people as we go through life. The church that Jesus set up creates a great environment for togetherness. Let's get some more to come along with us in this eternal life journey.
• Exciting Times ~ Excitement is attractive. When you're excited others will be excited. Though the church community is not as new as the church in Acts 2, you can choose to get excited and promote the excitement to others. Then they will get excited, then others will get excited and the snowball continues. Get excited! Be excited!
• Being Sent Out ~ As Jesus sent out a group of individuals ahead of Him, we, too, are sent out. We are being sent and He, in a sense, follows up as we plant-and-water, plant-and-water. This is very exciting for me to think that God is following behind when I am planting-and-watering. As a Christian, you are being sent out - enjoy the privilege.

To go from rundown to restored is a journey. The journey is part of the joy. This all brings about a new community of those who are restored. I enjoy joining in with God in the effort to bring others along in this journey, adding to the new community.

Now it's your turn...how have you been impacted positively in the new community?

Achieve the Splendid...I Dare You!

I am simply fascinated by people who do great things with their life. Those that make significant impacts in their community, school, job, family, church, etc. are things that I never tire of hearing about. How about you?

I tear up so often when it comes to seeing kids perform in music, plays, or other art areas. I am touched by people who are able to touch other people's lives. No matter if you do something significant or help out someone to allow them to do something significant, you still did something significant. That brings us to this week's quote...

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared to believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance. ~ Bruce Barton

We must be willing to be open to doing something splendid. Splendid things do not just happen, generally. Even in the lives of people who had riches, for example, fall into their lap, it was probably because a person born before them did something significant.

So what will you dare to do? What is it that you believe in yourself that you can do which you will seek to achieve?

The circumstances to get you there may not be the easiest, but the sweetness that comes from the victory will be well worth it!

Now it's your turn...What will you dare to do that is "splendid?" I look forward to the stories that follow...

RESTORE: A World Re-Imagined

If you were to imagine an alternate life than what you are living what would it look like? You'd probably keep your family but possibly choose something that still changes the picture from what it is at the moment. A different house, car, or career may be one of the top choices that you select. Maybe it is something additional to what you have now, be it a vacation home or sports car. Regardless of what it may be, you can imagine it - and may frequently imagine your life differently.

I want us to imagine what a life would look like if more of the people we knew and the place we lived had a life in Christ. Beyond going to church but was able to get excited about the possibilities that came about when we looked at life as being on God's team and joining forces with Him day after day. Being open to the Holy Spirit's working in our lives and taking advantage of the moments which He brings our way to share about Him.

Sunday, we began a series called RESTORE. Taking the concept that we can help take what we "imagine" and turn it into an outcome, trying to restore our world into something better. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week.

• Imagine ~ Think of what you would like different in your school, neighborhood, home, career, church, family, etc. Then, try to think about what you can do to make it become closer to what you imagine? What vision do you have and how can you carry out that vision to accomplish the task?
• In the Beginning ~ When something is new it has a shimmer (literal or figurative) that is very appealing. All things are good and fun and interesting. Over time, things tend to lose that shimmer. Sometimes we polish or repair the item(s) to get it back to the way it was in the beginning because "in the beginning" it was good. Similarly, after man messed things up through sin, God found a way to make things all better, and put that plan into motion through Jesus.
• Reversing Time ~ Time is something you cannot have back. Once it is gone, it cannot come back. Challenges us to take advantage of any time we are given. Though time cannot be taken back and the effects of a mistake cannot always be changed, we can understand that we can be forgiven. Forgiveness is a process of restoration - be it for yourself or toward someone else.
• Look for the New ~ Upon completion of the restoration there will be something new that comes about. As you imagine what the new will be like, look for that to be showing up at the end of the period. The "new" is imaginable and take advantage of what comes along the way.

"Imagine...the world living as one" is possible. It may not be that probable, but our job is not to make sure it comes true, but to make sure that we do what we can to help accomplish the task.

May you carry out the vision you have to make an area of your world better by utilizing the passion and drive you have.

Now it's your turn...what do you imagine, in your world of influence, that needs to be changed?

Graphics and sermon skeleton are graciously shared through Open Resources and can be found here

Are You Afraid?

If you were given an open-ended budget, and you can pick the subject area, what would you get and why?

I think that one of the things I am afraid of is too many choices. When I am on the hunt for a new gadget, I will research and research information about the product. Then, I may wait and wait till I think I've found the best deal. However, when I have the opportunity to get "whatever I want" it can be more difficult than when I have parameters.

Mankind can have a tendency to have this same problem when it comes to pursuing life goals. Graduations are around the corner. Ask some high school Seniors about what they are going to do next year and you will get a wide variety of answers. However, they have put some direction in their life and are about to start the next phase to get to that goal.

What happens after all the schooling? Do we ever think that we can be great in something that we have no education in or something our job doesn't require of us?

That brings us to this week's quote...

Great work is done by people who are not afraid to be great. ~ Fernando Flores

After college you may get married and/or have children. Those are areas which you can be "great", but you must not be afraid to be great! There are lots of other areas, which may depend on where you live, in which you can be great. You may have a job that isn't your favorite - you can still be great. There are always community areas of involvement which you can implement great ideas...and be great.

I really enjoy getting to know people in my community. I have always liked to be involved. It has been less than six months since I have been where we live now, and I feel that God has allowed me to be very involved. I feel that I may be at my max for formal involvement. I am officially involved with two community groups and about to be involved with another one. That is probably my limit because they could overlap or spread out from here. I don't know if I will be given the opportunity to do something "great", but I'm not afraid to take the step to get there!

Take that step toward doing something great!

Substituting...Quite the Experiences

Most of you know that I have had the privilege, yes, privilege, of being able to be a substitute teach in the local schools. Practically all the time, it is in the high school. Being there frequently has allowed the kids to get to know me. This allows for me to have a certain sense of respect. During my time, I have not had to give anyone a detention. Part of that is due to that punishment not being that effective, in my opinion. And two, I don't resort to that until they are defying me. Occasional talking, I can handle. Being defiant, I can't.

I think, in the two and a half years that I have been doing this, I have filled in for almost every teacher. The only one I can think of that I haven't filled in for is the driver's ed teacher. This has allowed me to be in a variety of classrooms. Each classroom brings its own sense of challenges.

Last week, I was in the band room. I didn't have to do anything musically with them, but their freedom brought boredom and boredom brings trouble. The school has a cell phone policy. I was never told about what the policy actually is, so I have my own. It is based on me catching them and their honesty. During that period of forty-four minutes I confiscated three cell phones! Kids trying to text because the were bored! In the middle of the week I caught two, in another class. The first one gave up without a problem. The second one didn't want to give up his phone too easily. I asked for it, and he said "no". We visited, but he still wouldn't give it up. I gave him until the end of the hour (about 6 minutes) to decide if he was going to give it up or not. I even started to write a detention slip, and at that point, he gave it up. I drew the line, and he had to decide which side he was going to be on. That is a "secret" to my success, giving students a choice and then sticking with it.

I also do the same with the class, as a whole. Depending on the situation, they have the choice, as a class, to behave or not. Sometimes they want to go to lunch early or they have to read the entire class period. In these two cases, I will put up numbers from highest to zero. These numbers represent how early they can go to lunch or how much free time they have after reading. I tell them that they've already been given a warning. Then, if even one student is not doing what they are supposed to be doing, I mark a number off. They now have less time for free time or to be able to go to lunch early. It is very effective. Kids have the choice and they take care of each other to win the reward. I don't believe in warning kids over and over. I draw the line and they have the choice of where to stand.

Subbing has given me great opportunities to make Kingdom impacts in the community. Much of the time, the community doesn't even realize it. I love to observe what kids are going through and try to help them as they go through. I like to reach out to those who probably never get reached out to. I enjoy seeing them learn. I enjoy seeing them in the community. I enjoy congratulating them on their achievements. I enjoy meeting their parents. I really have enjoyed subbing and look forward to today, when I get another chance to be in the classroom having many more experiences! I could write about so many things, but this was long enough!!!

Fall Festival

This is the time of our town's annual Fall Festival. It is a three day event! Practically every town in Southern Illinois has some sort of festival in the fall. Our festival is bigger than the County Fair. People come out to eat, visit, listen to music, and ride rides.

Over the past three years, we have grown to look forward to the Festival. A time when you know you will see people you don't normally see.

Being involved in ministry has allowed our family the chance to get to know a lot of people, and I have had the privilege of subbing in the Jr/Sr High, which has allowed me to get to know a lot of kids, also. By these means, we have been able to have the opportunity to connect people to us and to Jesus. It is great to see how the community seems to have taken us in and supports us in our work here.

We look forward to seeing the seeds grow that have been sown through our work with this community. We plant and water and God makes it grow!

Sowing seeds...