Two worship gatherings....

I really love having two worship gatherings at Community of Joy! There are so many positive things about this move!

I think having two very different worship styles is appealing to people who the blend wasn't appealing to and wouldn't appeal to! I have heard from guests recently that they are happy we have a traditional gathering and they are happy we have a contemporary one too! I really like the fact that it makes our smaller space feel like there is room for more people!

On a personal note, I love preaching twice... because I feel that I get the opportunity to make improvements the second time around.... I spend lots of time on the message and getting a chance to make it better is great. Also, I love both styles of worship and really enjoy singing the great hymns of the faith and the contemporary worship songs too!

Plus, I absolutely love having multiple times so that folks can choose whatever times suits them better! The move to two worship gatherings has been one of the best moves we've made besides, finding a more permanent location!

This week's message....

Began the mini Better Questions series yesterday... this mini series will ask the question... "Did Jesus really mean what he said, when he said...." Too often we skip over or ignore the more difficult teachings of Jesus.

This week it was when he said, the greatest of all will be a servant.

Some general observations...1. everyone likes the idea of being great, 2. too often we make it about what Jesus can do for us and not what we can do for him, 3. too often we pick and choose what we will obey... which begs the ? who is Lord, Jesus or me? and 4, If we really took Jesus seriously, the world we live in would be a different place!

Four factors that get in our way of serving others... 1. The "I gotta get there first" mindset. 2. The blinder Phenomena, 3. "The I am better than you" mindset, and 4. the "It's not on the schedule" excuse.

Last week's message....

I am currently doing a Better Questions Series... last week's question was...What is the church supposed to look like? It was planned to coincide with the dedication of our new ministry center.

C- Christ is present among us.
H- Helping others
U- United in Christ
R- Reaching out
C- Called out but sent in
H- Healing hurts happens

The church is NOT a building, an institution, a club or an organization!

Here is part of our dedication service....

Leader: To some people this building looks like a church. It is NOT! It is a ministry center. WE are the church. This ministry center is a place where people can find God’s love, hospitality, hope, healing and peace, as they meet Jesus here or elsewhere through the various ministries of which we are apart.

All: We dedicate this ministry center to continuing the work of Jesus in our community and world.

Leader: May this building be a tool for the work of ministry to which God has called us. And may it never be more important or matter more than the people who come through it’s doors or live around it’s border both near and far. May this place truly be a place where relationships matter!

Good News....

I checked the ministry center today to see if any rain water is coming in anywhere and it is NOT!!!! That means that we have fixed the water intrusion problems! YEAH!

Isn't it wonderful....

the rain that is! Just couldn't help blogging about this wonderful several day rain that we are getting! Thanks be to God!

Oh, how I wish we could send some of it to Southern California... our hearts and prayers go out for our brothers and sisters there!

A novel idea...to live with less so we can give more...

I just love reading Mark Batterson's blog. Here is what a friend of his is doing to make a difference in the world....http://www.junkycarclub.com/

Couldn't help doing this...

The transformation of the building we bought has been so huge... I couldn't help posting a pic of the first day we looked at the building.

If you look at this picture and the one in the post before this one... you will see the drastic difference. To me, it looks like a resurrection!

A final pic of the outside of the building...

Today, the building inspector called me to say that he was standing on a beautiful handicap ramp. In fact he said that it turned out far better than he ever imagined it would earlier this summer. No thanks to Larry Thomas Site and Concrete work! But thanks to Robert Pitts and Melvin Morrison and the folks at Railroad Ironcrafters.

What a blessing to be through this phase and granted final occupancy!!!!

Now we can turn our attention to the few small items and the huge task of re-claiming the wilderness! I've already started that process... got lots of trees cut and ready to be hauled. More to come! AND then we can turn our attention to the real reason we bought the building and that is MINISTRY!

An Updated Children's Room

Wow! Tracey Townsend sure did a great job enhancing the looks of our older children's room at the Ministry Center! Thanks Tracey!

A Blues Concert....

The churches that are working together on the cold weather emergency shelter are hosting a benefit concert of the shelter on November 2 @ 7 p.m. @ Christ United Methodist Church on Phillip Morris Drive. It will be a blues concert and all proceeds go to the shelter. The concert is called Blues Off the Street and features Hill Street Blues Band, Mike Truitt, and Heather Molnar (Miss Annapolis). Tickets are $10 and I have twenty for sale on a first come first serve basis.

FINALLY at LONG last!!!!!

After weeks of pestering and promises... the handicap ramp rails are installed!!!! Besides the slowness of the company... the poor foundation came back to haunt us! It really is wise to lay a good foundation in all that we do... it makes subsequent building easier!

Tomorrow we get our final inspection!!!

It is beautiful!

Also, today my neighbor stopped by -- the one who works for Delmarva Power, and he saw two problems with our supply lines and called to get a crew there and almost instantly there were two trucks there fixing the problems! WOW!

Dedication of Ministry Center

Yesterday in both of our worship gatherings, we dedicated our new ministry center. It is an exciting step in the journey. Here are some of the key components of our dedication....

Leader: To some people this building looks like a church. It is NOT! It is a ministry center. WE are the church. This ministry center is a place where people can find God’s love, hospitality, hope, healing and peace, as they meet Jesus here or elsewhere through the various ministries of which we are apart.

All: We dedicate this ministry center to continuing the work of Jesus in our community and world.

Leader: May this building be a tool for the work of ministry to which God has called us. And may it never be more important or matter more than the people who come through it’s doors or live around it’s border both near and far. May this place truly be a place where relationships matter!

All: We dedicate this ministry center to continuing the work of Jesus in our community and world. Thanks be to God!

Spending time with my nephew...

Actually went deer hunting yesterday and had a great time. Spent the afternoon with my 9 year old nephew. He and I had some great bonding time sitting in the fall woods in a tree stand 25 feet up in the air. We watched countless squirrels and saw 12-15 deer. It was a fun time... he is really excited about hunting and I am excited to be sharing something I love with him.

Couldn't help but take a trip down memory lane as he and I sat there last night. He is 9 and I was 9 when I shot my first deer right from that very location. Last night, we had a string of deer come by and I got two with my muzzleloader, which was a small feat since you only get one shot at a time and reloading is a cumbersome task. Those two made 3 for the day... we will be enjoying venison this winter as always!

Benjamin had a great time and so did I! For a young man who finds it challenging to sit still most of the time, he had no problem doing so when we were in the woods! I hope to take him again real soon! But first, I must do some butchering!

A new seat...

I had to give up my keys and seat today! And join the old man's club... Caroline got her learners permit and now is driving me all around! We logged almost an hour after she got her permit! She is a very good driver!

God continues to do his thing...

God continues to do his amazing math! Remember with God, 5 + 2 = 5,000! Today we saw that again!

Last night Frank Potvin called me to say that he was picking up 9 feet of base cabinets today from Doug Potvin's work. Doug had told me about the cabinets on Sunday night and asked if we wanted them... The story is that they were water damaged and the insurance company is replacing them.

Well, imagine my surprise when I spoke with Frank today as he was making a second trip to Seaford to get more cabinets because 9 feet turned into 16 feet. Guess how many feet of cabinets we wanted?!! I don't have to tell you! It's 16! And to make the deal even sweeter, they are solid wood and in NEW condition. In fact, Frank told me after Doug showed him the cabinets, he asked where the ones were that we were getting!

After a trip to Home Depot, we furnished the cabinets with a counter top and door hardware, which cost only a mere fraction of what these fine cabinets would have cost us!

Isn't God great!

Now Jim has another project to add to his ever shortening list! Installation of the cabinets and counter top... for now we just laid the counter top on the cabinets.

A new thing...

Tomorrow, I am going to do something I haven't done enough of lately... I'm going to take off! Yep, I am going to leave the office behind and spend a day or two or three care-free! It's muzzleloader season for deer and I have to fill the freezer for the year, so I will be out on the Island tomorrow looking for sika and then Friday and Saturday, I will head to the white-tail woods at my parents. Hope the weather cools down some! Looking forward to getting away!

Homeless Shelter...

Today was our second meeting with some folks from the city and county emergency services departments about life safety issues in our Community Emergency Shelter Program (CESP). It went fairly well! I truly believe that they desire to be helpful and not adversarial.

They will begin doing safety evaluations at our churches soon. We should be fine in this regard.

Community of Joy is co-hosting with Bethany Lutheran Church the week of Feb. 16-22. And we expect to have up to 80 (total) homeless men using our facilities as an emergency shelter. We will feed them a meal at supper time and provide a place to sleep and breakfast as well as a packed lunch. We are excited to be part of this important effort!

In addition the Wicomico Homeless Coalition is starting a "code blue" shelter for women and children in the coldest nights of the winter. They are seeking volunteers for this effort. Contact me if you might be interested in volunteering.

Another homeless related issue... CESP is hosting a fundraising blues concert on Nov. 2 at Christ United Methodist Church ... tickets are $10 and can be obtained from Jack's Religious Gift Shop, The Gospel Shop, or St. Peter's Episcopal Church. And the following day, Nov. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to noon is a volunteer training event for CESP.

The reason I stayed out of the woods today...

It was to see my lovely daughter, Caroline get all gussied up for Homecoming 07.... and to see all the other lovelies get gussied up and for their guys... It was a FUN time with the crowd here.

What a Blessing Mrs. T. is....

Mrs. T came to our house this afternoon to share her gifts with Caroline! She has been a hairdresser for years and came to help Caroline get her hair ready for the big homecoming dance. She arrived around 3 and stayed till 5 or so. Not only did she do Caroline's hair, but she helped with a friend's hair as well! What makes this really special is that Mrs. T. hasn't been able to do hair for some time due to health concerns... she deals with extreme pain constantly and in spite of that... she came to help out! THANKS Mrs. T.!

Today's job that is huge....

Today, several of us worked hard to begin the process of reclaiming the lot. Almost half the lot is grown up in multi-flora roses and briars and ivy and sapplings. My friend Wil and Carol, Frank, and myself worked this morning cutting and hauling two loads away. There are many more loads ready to haul and lots more to cut.

Next we will get a chainsaw going and cut bigger trees and then Wil and I have a friend who will come to bush hog for us! YEAH!

Tight Quarters....

The window wells in the front are tight quarters, yet Jim has been in them painting the original metal frames that we left in so as not to damage the brick. They sure look nice!

The New Doors...

Actually they aren't new... but they sure look new! Jim and Carol did a great job painting them and look at the brass handles... they cleaned up well!

Now we won't be known as the church with pink doors!

A beautiful day and what I needed....

After several weeks of feeling overwhelmed with schedule and projects, I finally got out for a hunting experience and what a renewing time it was/is!

I really enjoy hunting sika deer on Assateague Island and this morning a friend and I left the K-mart shopping center parking lot at 5 a.m. for the trip to the island. We saw several sika deer including a really nice stag on our way in... neither of us saw a thing while hunting. But we both enjoyed watching the sun come up over the ocean and getting away from the hustle and bustle.

On our way off the island we saw the snowy igrets roosted in a quiet cove and couldn't resist a couple pics. Also saw this 8 pt white-tail buck and snapped a few of him.

It is so important to take time off and get away... Next week I hope to do more!

Another room almost complete....

I've been working for the leaders of our Kids ministry to get the children's room up and ready for their use. Put up a bulletin board and a wide screen tv! Thanks to a couple donors, the wide screen is about half paid for... still looking for some extra dollars to cover it all! Confident that they will come in!

The curriculum that they use is video driven. So is the youth's, that's why we needed two spaces to use a television and dvd player.

Things are shaping up!

Let your yes be yes....

I know I don't always do everything when and as I say I plan to... but, I sure try to and when I can't, I call or let the person know I can't. Like today, I was supposed to go hunting with a friend in the late afternoon, and Sharon's work situation dictated that I cancel so that I could taxi the girls... so, I called my friend at once to tell him I couldn't go and to apologize for letting him down!

This ramp railing thing is getting the best of me! I keep getting the same song and dance every week. Last Friday, I was told that it would be installed on Monday or Tuesday. Today (Thursday), I was told that it would be installed early next week. But when I tried to pin her down to a day, she would only say by week's end. I highly doubt that it was as far along as I was told it was last week. In fact, I hope it is as far along as I am told this week. It sure would be nice to have it installed by next week!

The final windows are being installed!

The final windows are being installed in the basement! They look great! They are the same as the ones in the sanctuary and are awnings that turn out! What a BIG difference that will make in the heating bill. The old ones you could see daylight in many places.

These still need to be trimmed but that will happen tomorrow!

Disappointment, Frustration, and Life Goes On...

Today, I picked Caroline up from school at 3 p.m. and we went to the MVA to get her learner's permit. You already know what we did... we stood in line. And after the long wait, we learned that on October 1 the state passed a new law that means that kids under 16 must have a paper signed by their school saying they didn't miss more than 10 days of school. So, we got the paper and rushed over to the High School to find that the guidance counsellor was still there and was willing to fill it out and she was even willing to do the required sealed envelope. Then we went back to the MVA and got a number and then the real WAIT began... three-quarters of an hour... only to find out that when our number was called, we didn't have her birth certificate and social security card! So, we rushed out of there and got the required papers and rushed back ... they close the doors at 4:30 p.m. NOT 4:31 or 4:32! As I pulled up to the front door to let Caroline out and the man was locking the door... He mouthed the words... sorry! And I shouted..."THANKS!" to that he opened the door and we had a conversation, but he wouldn't let us in. So, I promised Caroline that we would go back tomorrow a.m. bright and early! Actually for the MVA that is 8:30 a.m.

She is handling the disappointment very well!

While we were doing this waiting, another classmate came in... only to find out the very same thing about the new law... she only had this day this week...and she was very disappointed!

The other neat thing... Caroline got some extra forms and will take them to her high school for the guidance office to have on hand for others in her situation. (We asked when we were there and they didn't have the papers). She will also work with the Regional Student Leader Association to get the papers in other high schools!

Life goes on and hopefully tomorrow, Caroline will get to drive me to her school!

Life is FULL...

Right now, life is too full! I am way too busy and am struggling with keeping my head above water and not being able to do some hunting... so, will be making some adjustments to schedule and saying no to some things so that I can get things back in perspective!

I know this is a reality all of us deal with, especially in our world today! Too many things calling our names. We must learn to make choices and to say no to things... even good things! Last night I agreed to go hunting with a friend of mine this morning... and after finding that it was stressing me out...because I had been out of town all day Friday and Saturday and yesterday was FULL with three worship gatherings at church and helping a new friend -- who has a drug addiction and wants to break free... I was basically gone yesterday from 8 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. So, I called my friend back and told him I just could NOT go hunting in the morning... Hunting should be something I enjoy, not something I dread or that puts stress on me. Saying no to good things is a necessary thing!

Today I am working hard to get my to do list knocked out... so I can feel relief from it's weight.

Jesus taught and modeled the sabbath principle... he often went away to pray by himself and seemed to have a healthy rhythm of doing and being. He also encouraged us to observe a sabbath. It's a day of rest and rejuvenation!

Known for our doors....

Earlier this summer, I blogged about a connection Caroline and I had made, who knew our ministry center by it's doors... at that time, I said, that I sure hoped we would not be known for our doors... that we would be known by the love we share and the impact we have on our community and world for Jesus... BUT NOW, I guess we WILL BE KNOWN by our doors... How do you like the pink doors???!!! Just in time for our big open house and dedication! We are the only church in town with PINK doors GUARANTEED!

A Change in plans...

We are going to postpone the "Did Jesus really mean what he said?" question from this week to the end of October and first 3 weeks in November. We will turn it into a 4 part mini-series in the overall series... Better Questions.

The topics will be October 28 Better Questions Series: Did Jesus really mean what he said when he said, "the greatest will be a servant"?

November 4 Better Questions Series: Did Jesus really mean what he said when he said, "the cost of being a disciple is to deny self"?

November 11 Better Questions Series: Did Jesus really mean what he said when he said, "to forgive someone 70 x 7 times"?

November 18 Better Questions Series: Did Jesus really mean what he said when he said, "to Love our enemies"?

This week we will ask... Better Questions Series: Do we have to defend the faith or share it?

In our worship design team gathering last night we realized that the question Did Jesus really mean what he said when he said... was much bigger than one week! Thus the change.

Next week will be Better Questions: If it's hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, why do we work so hard to get rich?

Then on October 21 for our Ministry Center Dedication, we will ask "what is the church supposed to look like?"

And the final question of the series will be November 25 and it will be "Can there be peace on earth?"

This week's topic...

This week we will ask... Did Jesus really mean what he said? Stay tuned...

This Better Questions series will spark your thoughts and hopefully cause you to go deeper in your connection with and love for God!

Some times we have better questions than answers and some times, there are better questions we could ask than the ones we are asking.

Last week we looked at the question... Does Prayer work? Let me go on record as saying YES! I believe prayer works... but not often in the way we try to make it work... Prayer is NOT a method to manipulate God by or a way to get all that we want... prayer is a way to grow deeper in our connection with God in a mysterious way. And prayer is a way that God transforms our lives as we connect deeper with him and gain his perspective, will, wisdom, love, healing, hope, peace, strength.

GREAT DAY>>>

Each week, I wonder how God will top the last... yesterday was again another great day for Community of Joy!!!!

We launched our two worship gatherings with adding one at 9 a.m. -- a traditional one. And the response was phenominal! And then had our 10:30 gathering -- a contemporary one!

Attendance was up -- after taking out the 11 who went to both. Attendance was up by about 50%! WOW!!!!