Lengthy

When our former pastor resigned I made an inward and outward commitment: we will take my time to hire the next assistant pastor for our church. The prediction was that we would have someone in place by August 1. Isn't August 1 next week? Ya, we're not all that close to bringing that person to minister to/with us. And so we wait and we search.

I've met some great people along the way and have enjoyed some of the process of the search. Some of it I could do without. But we will get there.

Enough?

It's a funny thing, discouragement. It hits at the wierdest times and in the most unexpected ways. For me, as it may be for others, it comes down to the "enoughs" of life.

• Did I do enough?
• How come they didn't give enough?
• The board said "yes", but did they say yes enough?
• Were enough people at church?
• Will there be enough volunteers?
• How will we be effective enough?
• Did I call enough people?
• Do people feel loved enough?
• Did I work hard enough?
• _____________________________? (fill in your own)

And check it out--it's all centered on performance. But does God want my performance or does he simply want me? He wants me to want Him. He wants me to love Him. He wants me to know Him. Seems to me that Jesus was like this with Mary & Martha--one who was doing and one who was being.

Oswald Chambers makes a distinction between active work and spiritual activity in today's (July 10) entry of My Utmost for His Highest. He writes, "Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity." Trying to do enough is counterfeit spirituality. (I think this is along the lines of what Thomas Merton calls the "false self".)

In a performance driven society it is difficult not to be performance driven our spiritual lives. It is just as difficult to rightly handle performance in our corporate (church fellowship) lives. But it seems necessary. Sure, we have to guage what's going on spiritually, corporately, etc..., but the questions that center on the "enoughs" are just about enough to take one down and lay them out. Tread carefully.

Community Gift

4 days of work, over 100 volunteers, 500 yards of mulch, donations galore from local businesses and individuals equals 1 completed playground project.

Two years ago our church began meeting in our community park for 5-6 weeks in the summer. Two years ago we thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have some updated playground equipment in our park?" Two years ago that thought was planted in my mind. Three days ago it came to a great end!

It was great working with people from our community to see this project come together. Our village leaders supported the project from the get-go and from there it was "simply" a matter of seeing all the details come together. I thank the Lord for the way in which he provided people and finances. Our church really showed up in a great way and it was fun for us to work alongside the people of our community.

Personally this was an exhilarating project...and an exhausting project. I am glad to have been associated with it.

Where You've Been...Where You're Going

In a tribute to our graduation seniors (high school & university), in farewell to our Student Ministries Pastor, and as a word of encouragement to every person who comes and goes from our church I penned the following words for my Sunday sermon. Inspiration came from that all too popular book by Dr. Seuss, Oh, the places you'll go!, as well as from the fact that the Bible reminds us we are all interconnected as the body of Christ. We come and go, but we are in this together.

Here goes...

The big question today, the big thought we all wonder
Is whether or not lwe'll leave here and blunder.
Will we make it far or go just a little?
In Christ you’ll complete every jot and every tittle.

Suess, that is Dr., once wrote a fine book
He wrote it last and it brings a smile in the look.
Will you succeed? He wrote. Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

Your success, my success, our successes are related
For all at this church have been similarly slated.
Common bonds, common friends, common hopes with no end.
We are tied together through thick and through thin.

You go from this place, some to school some to serve
Some on clear paths, some that will swerve.
Some go to a workplace, some go to a home
All want a good life and want HIM to be known.

How will this happen? How can it be?
People like us to make a difference, you see.
You might think you don’t have much to offer
But the king knows exactly what you have in your coffer.

Look at Paul, for example, that great man of God.
He had one purpose in life wherever he trod.
Bring Christ to the center of each location
Despite how he got there or the next destination.

Five times he was beaten forty stripes minus one,
Three times with rods, once he was stoned.
Three times the ship wrecked leaving him in the sea
He found peril in waters and in many journeys.

In danger from robbers, his countrymen, his friends,
In danger from Gentiles—those to whom God did send.
Even in cities, just like the wild
He found no safely like a mother and child.

Weariness, doctrine, hunger and cold
Hardwork and fasting must have grown old.
Yet in spite of all this, in spite of the pain,
His one purpose for Christ yet did remain.

Look at Daniel, from the Lion’s Den, and the great fiery furnace.
He stood his ground and did so with earnest.
Not in shouting or yelling but with strength and with poise
He was indeed the healthiest of all the king’s boys.

There came such a day as the sins of the whole
Were too obvious to forget and needed forgiveness total.
They weren’t his sins necessarily but they were just the same
For they were his people and he shared in their shame.

He prayed to the Lord, the great awesome Father,
Knowing that God loves his people and those who love others.
He prayed about the sins that the people had committed
Again they weren’t his but all needed acquitted.

How did Paul make it, barely it seems
But his purpose was clear and the fruit can be seen.
What about Daniel and the trials he witnessed?
Would we act similar and take on someone’s missteps?

To succeed we must, we must endure and engage.
The journey we travel knows no age.
Paul’s passion was the church, Daniel’s was purity
The Bible says this church must be likewise—that’s certainty.

Oh it’s fun to think of the places we’ll go
But our journey starts here and from here we will go.
If the start is muddled and the beginning a sham
That doesn’t leave much hope for the rest of the plan.

So it’s here in this place that God resets the game
He has a great plan for us, we go with a great name.
His name is the one we must carry well.
We represent the son of Heaven, not...

Well you know who I mean you know it’s through Jesus
You know it’s in Him that the world should see us.
So put on the new self, Colossians implores.
And see where you’ll go, what God has in store.

For all here today, not just those in transition,
I want you to hear me, “You are on a mission.”
Your work is not done if you’re still drawing breath
It’s possible God is not through with you yet.

So be quick to trust, to finish your work
Be committed to those who sometimes are jerks.
For at times we are jerks and God still loves us.
He loves us, he made us, and for us He makes a fuss.

Confess your own sin, the quicker the better.
The longer it lingers it just settles and festers.
Look around you as well, for their sins are yours,
The Bible is clear, corporate sins He abhors.

If that is the case, then my pain in yours.
And with that as the case your gain is ours.
We share in this journey, we are marked together,
You’ll go from this place connected forever.

Take from here what is good and renounce what brings shame.
You can do it, be free, all in Jesus’ name.
Will you succeed, we began, that was the question?
Succeed indeed with God in direction.

So take hope today, you young and you old.
You’ll do great things in the Bible we’re told.
You’ll wonder at times if you’re doing OK
You’ll wonder at times if today is the day.

You’ll have moments of levity and moments of grief,
But please, oh please, don’t forsake your belief.
For Christ died for you, 100 percent.
And into the world each one of us is sent.

In the name of the one who died in your place
In the name of the one who gives so much grace.
In his name I send you to go and succeed,
For in his name you will, that’s guaranteed.

Long time coming

Well I've been out of it for quite some time. Good grief I'm one of those people who has a blog but has not updated it for a long time.

I know that part of my hesistation in writing is the fear of really being honest in my writing. Have you ever read a deceased person's journal? Have you ever thought while reading it, "Did they mean for me to read this?" But at the same time you find yourself incredibly moved by what they are saying or how they lived. Maybe most writers find it difficult to just lay it all out there for others, I don't know. I do.

My last post covered the fact that our assistant pastor has resigned and is moving. This Sunday is his final Sunday. If I were to be honest (and I will be) it has been a hard transition. There are many reasons why it has been hard but one in particular is how hard it is to pastor the size of church I pastor. We run around 250 or so...at least lately...and summer might change all that. But everything I experience and everything I am reading about churches like ours tells me that this is a difficult size church.

My greatest hope for my church would be the further empowerment of people to do stuff. (In church circles this is called discipleship.) Plain and simple, I want people to do the work of the church. Acts 2, Ephesians 4, et al., all speak about role clarification. I'm finding great pressure to be the "everything pastor" in a church that is too big for an everything pastor.

We are not going to hire a specialized minister for our next hire. We are taking our time and praying for a person who will come to be a "leader of leaders" as I call it. I'm looking for a person who gets excited about leading other people, holding them accountable, and getting other people involved in serving. We must grow wider at our base or the top will keep getting too dull.

I keep wondering who I know that could be this person. I'd love to hire someone I already know and trust but just haven't come to that name yet.

If you're interested in the position, email me: peter@nbwesleyan.org and I'll get you a job description.

Ch-ch-changes

David Bowie sang it.
The rest of us live it.
Changes.

Tony Parsons, our Assistant Pastor, officially resigned this past Sunday. In August it would have been 3 years that he and I have served together. He has accepted a Youth Pastor postion at a church in North Carolina. June 1 will be his final Sunday. For those who read this and know him, shoot him a line of encouragement and prayer at tony@nbwesleyan.org.

I'm optimistic about the next steps for our church and for the student ministries of our church. I"m determined not to hire in a hurry or under pressure. I believe God will direct me and the leaders of our church in the right direction.

More changes to come...

Autobiography

I'm reading an autobiography of a women who loved and lived in Africa, I Dreamed of Africa.
Last night as Sarah and I were in bed reading I told her that in reading this book I keep wondering where it's heading. But then I realized it is the story of one woman's life so it's simply heading through her life.

...from there it went downhill...

While I was in college I thought it might be a cool idea to write my life story. My plan was to give it to my parents as a gift at some point. I told Sarah that I'd once thought this and she erupted in laughter! :) At first I thought it just kinda tickled her a bit but she laughed for several minutes while pushing out words like, "That's the funniest thing you've ever told me" and "Only your parents would think that's the best gift ever"--which is true.

Her laughter caught me and eventually were both laughing.
I told her I was going to blog about this. I also feel like I should tell her that my next attempt at my autobiography will be dedicated to her.

By the way, the first attempt didn't make it too far. It is probably still on some harddrive of the now antiquated computer that reside in the basement computer lab of the old science hall of Indiana Wesleyan University.

If anyone ever comes across it let me know.

Good Reading

The other day I took Kate & William to the North Branch Library while Sarah did some running around. I was very happy when Sarah showed up to take us home; William had played Go Diego Go games on nickjr.com for too long and Kate had put about 30 books in her mouth. In the few minutes we stayed after Sarah arrived I quickly browsed the books our library has in the "leadership" section--it didn't take long.

The book I checked out, Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry, is a totally unknown book/author to me. It's secular, it's not church related, and it's not written to/for pastors. (I admit I do not read many books with this criteria.) Some of the content is quite basic. But much of it has been refreshing to me. It's laid out well and covers a great range of topics.

I told Sarah last night that I am enjoying this book because it is not written for me, as a pastor. It is written for me as a leader. As a pastor I can take the leadership aspects of the book and imagine how I can apply them to me and to my church. It is fun for my mind to wander and process versus reading a "how-to run your church like I run my church" leadership book.

Vacation cont...

the obligatory family picture. :)

cute beach girl
william did not stop running...

our vacation spot overlooking the ocean

Vacation

We own a 2006 Ford Freestyle...correction: we don't own it, we are in debt with it...and in the course of 18 months we have had 2 tires blowout and 1 flat due to a nail lodged in the side of a tire. BUT, even a flat tire on I-75 South in Detroit, in rush hour traffic, could not stop us from going on vacation. We had a flight to catch!

Spending the next several days in Myrtle Beach, SC, will be great! Our place for the week looks out over the ocean and is just great. We're here with Sarah's folks who are a great help with our kids and who are going to earn every cent of that greatness---if I have anything to do with it. (Just kidding. I won't be mean. But it is nice to have some additional hands to be with the kids.)

Maybe some pix in another post.

Stoves are great...

Stoves are great, when you have one that works.

The whole Easter weekend was nutty. Thursday - Sunday were jam packed with services and church stuff. On the morning of Good Friday I had a phone call from some folks in my church. Turns out that for the past several days their oven had stopped working. The stove top worked, but they could not cook anything in the oven. They were wondering if I know of an agency that could help them out with this. Here's where the story gets good!

Last summer I went golfing with a guy from our congregation. In the midst of our round of golf he got a call from someone needing an appliance. With little effort he was able to commit to the person on the other end of the line and the deal was done.

So Good Friday morning I call him and ask if he can get his hands on a stove. He said he was on his way out of town and trying to run some errands. He then shared, "I'll see what I can do." Within 30 minutes he called me back with a stove in his vehicle and he was heading into North Branch to make a couple stops. Less than 30 minutes later he calls me and said he was waiting downtown if I'd like to meet him and drop off the stove. Would I...?!

From the time I received the call to the time we dropped it off, it must have been about 90 minutes.

It was so fun to squeeze that in prior to the Good Friday Service I helped lead with a couple other community churches. I'm putting the Stove on the list, right after Jesus' Resurrection, as a favorite Easter Moment of 2008.

Hope your Easter was grand wherever you were.

Returning Home

Saturday afternoon I, and 5 others, returned home from our short term Mission Trip to Antigua. All told I was away from home 9 days. It was a new experience to be away for that period of time. It was also a new experience to travel and minister like that without my wife being with me.

The ministry opportunities on the small island of Antigua are on a grand scale. For the tourist, the island is a tropical get away. For the national people the island is home and is home to many needs. Because we traveled there for ministry we definitely saw a side of the island that few tourists would see. For instance, the church we served, Grays Farm Holiness Church, has housed a preschool in its lower level for the past two years. During that time there has never been running water and functional bathrooms. It's exciting to share that that has now changed. A guy on our team spent 3 days working to get the plumbing functional and the bathrooms operational! So cool. Those of us who are not inclined to digging in toilets and drains spent out time giving a cosmetic facelift to the exterior of the church building. We were like flies as we painted the building. We were everywhere. It was great to see progress on a daily basis.

I found great joy in the several occasions when we were away from the church property and people recognized us. (Who wouldn't recognize a bunch of very white people in the midst of a predominately black population!) Seriously though, we were recognized not so much for our skin color but for the work we were doing. People would say, "You are the group working at the church." Or, "Aren't you the people helping Grays Farm?" It was cool.

We still have a group of people in Antigua for the remainder of this week. They are continuing to minister at the church and the surrounding community. You can pray for them. Check out their ongoing ministry here.

Enjoy the few pix I've added below.


the painting crew
doing my part
the minister at Grays Farm, Brother Michael
with the kids in the preschool

finding shells to bring home (we worked hard and played a bit too)

Joy Spots

In the weeks leading up to Easter I am encouraging our church to be intentional about "spotting" God at work among us, answered prayers, people serving selflessly, etc...

Our sanctuary and foyer are separated by a wall of glass. The hope is to cover that glass with Joy Spots. They are simple in design and function but my aim is to see our Joy increase, our appreciation of one another deepen, and a renewed excitement of God's ongoing work in our midst.

Mark Twain once wrote, "Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."

Stand!

We are enjoying a 3 week sermon series entitled, "Stand". Two weeks ago the point was Stand: Together (based on Philippians 1:27ff---perhaps my favorite passage in the Bible). Last Sunday found us digging into Romans 14-15 on the topic of Stand: Down (when believers should step back). I wrestled hard with the text throughout the week, finally felt some clarity in the text and then really enjoyed teaching it. This week we'll finish up with Stand: Up. Matthew 5:38-41 is Jesus' famous teaching on turning the other cheek. Is this a passage designed to teach Christians to roll over or is there a message of strength included?