Today's Story...

Miss Tami, always talks about the stories we have to tell... well today I have one!

It is my wife, Sharon's 50th birthday and we are celebrating in a big way!  She always is ahead of me by several years and I love to have fun with her big birthdays!

For her 30th, I invited some friends from church to come over for a surprise and she had no idea they were coming, and greeted them at the door in sweats and not looking her best... she quickly slammed the door shut and ran upstairs to change.

Last weekend, her family came to the beach to surprise her and we celebrated all weekend.

Today, they had a cake at church and sang to her in both services.  Then we went to dinner to a place of her choosing.  She chose Texas Road House because Caroline works at one in VA and is at college, unable to be with us, but eating at TRH would remind her of Caroline.   We get seated and our waitress comes up to introduce herself to us and she says, "Hi my name is Caroline, and ..."  Too COOL!  Of course we texted our Caroline to tell her.   Imagine that!

Blessing Others...

Attended a meeting last night at the Board of Ed here in Wicomico about Faith Based Partnerships with Schools.  It was a dleightful meeting!  There is a real openness here to having the communities of faith come alongside the schools.  Neat to hear some of the things that various churches are doing in this arena with the schools they are partnered with.

They said last night that all but 4 schools in the county have faith based partners!  WOW!

So delighted that we are Pinehurst Elementary Schools Faith Based Partner.  And looking forward to more ways that we can bless them and share love with them.  

It is a real blessing to me to be able to go to the school monthly to see the children and share with them in some activity!

Soulprint Reviewed

Just finished reading Mark Batterson's newest book,  Soul Print: Discovering your divine destiny.  It is his fourth book in recent years.  I have read all of the others, In a Pit, Wild Goose Chase, and Primal.  All have been worth the time to read, but in my opinion, this is his best book to date!

In Soul Print, Mark explores the life of David - King David - of Old Testament fame and looks at how David discovered who he was created to be and how we can do the same.  Mark opens the book saying, "there has never been and never will be anyone else like you. But that isn't a testament to you.  It's a testament to God who created you... You owe it to yourself to be yourself.  But more important, you owe it to the One who designed you and destined you."  He goes on to say that we worship God when we live our life in the way God created us to live it!

Here are a couple key quotes from the book... "what we think of as the goal isn't really the goal.  The goal is not accomplishing the dream God has given you.  The dream is a secondary issue.  The primary issue is who you become in the process.  We fixate on what and when and where.  God's primary concern is always who.  And He won't get you where he wants you to go until you become who he wants you to be."  "Ultimately, all identity problems are really worship problems.  Identity issues are the result of worshipping the wrong thing."

Mark uses personal stories as well as examples from the life of David to help us understand how we can discover who God created us to be.

I was given this book to preview, in exchange for writing a review.  But even without being given the book, it is one I would have bought and would recommend that others buy.  By far Mark's best book to date!

What a beautiful Day!

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Oh what a day!

Bloom WHERE You Are Planted.

One day earlier this week, I read a blog post by a pastor of a large church who was speaking out against the very consumeristic American mentality that most churches have to deal with and that is the church shopping and hopping reality.  It happens alot these days!  People try churches out like samples of Rita's italian ice.  If they don't find what they want at one church or if something upsets them, they move on.  And that is not helpful!  In essence this reality cripples the effectiveness of the church and it's ability to be missional.

If you jump from church to church, you are not able to make the same kind of impact you could if you decided to "Bloom where you are planted"!   The shopping and hopping reality makes church about us and it really is about Jesus and following him! 

Here's a thought, if you want to see the church you are part of do something that they aren't doing, rather than leave and look for it somewhere else, why not lead an effort to see it happen?  Perhaps that is the very reason that God directed you to that church in the first place!

I learned along time ago that effective pastorates were long-term.  And years ago, I heard the statistic that the average pastoral stay at a church in America is 4-5 years.  In conjunction with that, I also heard that it takes about 7 years of working together before the trust levels and environment are such that you can lead the church somewhere.  If that is true... you soon see why most churches do very little changing and are not very effective in mission!  It is like they are on the leadership treadmill.  That is why Sharon and I made a commitment to having a long term pastorate here at Community of Joy.  We want to see the Kingdom of God planted in lives and this community and feel that the only way that will happen is to bloom right here where we are planted!

Sometimes it helps to hear someone else...

Sometimes it is helpful to get a perspective of someone else.  Especially when you are very close to a situation and they are from the outside looking in.  This is true in LOTS of areas of life.  But I found it true for me on Sunday too!

Sunday, I share a sermon where I looked back at 2010 and all that we have done at Community of Joy this past year and the many things that have taken place.  I confess that often, I feel that we aren't doing enough and long to do more and have greater impact in our community and world.

On Sunday after the worship gathering, I heard from two outside persons who have some familiarity with our congregation for many years express amazement at all that we are accomplishing at Community of Joy.  In fact one went so far as to say that he never thought we would be where we are today.

Good to hear!

I am thankful to be part of a group of people who are willing to take on challenge and are not afraid to venture into new territory for the sake of Jesus' mission.

Steps Toward Renewal

After 20 years of Ministry, I find myself getting weary.  I have blogged about that before. 

Now I am taking steps toward renewal for me.  In 2011, I plan to reclaim a REGULAR DAY OFF!  This is a practice that I let slide when I was needing to provide morning and evening transportation to school for our girls, and just never picked it back up.  But I am making a covenant with myself to religiously take a day off each week.  I have decided that the day will be Fridays. 

One thing that pastors never get is the chance to have a weekend... so, when I can, I will also take Saturdays too.  But when we have a congregational or district event on Saturday, I will be there.

One other thing I am doing again this year to help with renewal... is I am taking 3 days in Ocean City.  I did this two years ago and found it totally refreshing.  The cost of hotel's during this off season is reasonable and the change of scenery is helpful.  So in a week or so, I plan to go to OC to plan sermons for 2011 and do some reading.

Renewal doesn't happen if we don't take steps toward finding it.  What about you?

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Today, I took a delightful trip down memory lane!  As a kid growing up on a large farm near Cordova, MD, I have many fond memories of spending lots of time at my Mom Mom Hutchison's house.  It is on the main farm and is a big ole farm house.  My sister and I have 12 first cousins and all of us, but especially the older ones (I was third oldest) spent lots of time at the house while our parents worked on the farm, especially during tomatoe season (before we were old enough to work) and on Sunday afternoons after church.

My Mom Mom died in 1984 and pop pop moved out to a new house sometime there after.  I am not sure exactly when, but I am sure it has been at least 25 years since I was in that house last.

Today, was a party for the oldest of my cousins who turned 50 a few days ago.  Beverly's one request was to hold the party in the farm house.  Ever since I heard her request, I thought it was a neat idea.  However, I was not prepared for the emotions that would come as I entered back into that house some 25 years later on a Sunday afternoon after church and ate with my family and friends around the table in the dining room and sat in the living room watching the Ravens win... or standing upstairs in the bedrooms that we used to take naps in.  WOW!   It was so cool!

Tonight, I am so grateful for strong godly grandparents that shared their love freely and generously and always emphasized the importance of family.

The farm house no longer has the furniture it used to... some of the dining room peices are now in mine and the old oak roll top desk that was in the kitchen is now in my office.  And one of the wash stands that was in the bedroom upstairs where we napped is now in my living room.   I cherish not only those peices of furniture, but the many memories that they too evoke and the memories we are making with my children as we continue to use them and enjoy them.

Speaking of memories and furniture... our dining room table was my Grandmother Groves and before that it was her mother's... after Sharon and I got married and settled into the huge parsonage at Spring Run Church of the Brethren in McVeytown, PA, we didn't have much furniture and the beautiful cherry table that I enjoyed eating holiday meals around with the Grove family then resided in the basement of the tenant house - where my grandmother Grove lived at the time.  When I asked her if I could borrow it until we could get one of our own, she gave it to me and said that I was the only one of her grandchildren that she could imagine putting all the leaves in it and using it.  And that we do!  In fact, I still have the letter she wrote me when she gifted it to me.

One day in the distant future, I look forward to spending time with my grandchildren around that table and in our home making memories and sharing faith in Christ.

What a wonderful day!

A fun leadership lesson

One of the blogs that I read is that of Mark Waltz from Granger Community Church in Indiana. Here is a post he got from a friend of his...and here it is on the friend's blog...  http://sivers.org/ff.


Funny and informative!

Best Book Read To Date....

I am a BIG fan of Scot McKnight.  His book Blue Parakete is an awesome book on how to read the Bible.  But his latest book is by far the best book I have read to date and that is saying something.  I read about a book a week on average and this one is TOP shelf!

His book is called "One Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow"   Highly recommend it!

Here is a quote from the book... "Somewhere along the line the kingdom became personal spirituality and sunday gatherings became services.  Somewhere along the line the church became a place where individuals could gather on sunday for an hour and feed their precious souls.  Somewhere along the line we converted Jesus' kingdom dream into a personal-spirituality dream.  Somewhere along the line kingdom ceased being society and became spirituality.  The impact is devastating for a generation that needs fellowship more than any generation in history.  We are standing now, as individuals, at the onset of the twenty-first century, looking at beautiful buildings with a wonderful history, but, we are also wondering if the twenty-second century will even know who we are and what churches were designed to accomplish.....

But there is hope, because we can enter into the kingdom dream of Jesus all over again by asking once again for the spirit of Pentecost to fill us, to baptize us, to swarm us, and to revolutionize us so that we live as that early fellowship of Jesus followers lived."

Here is Scot's definition of a Christian...   "a Christian is one who follows Jesus by devoting his or her one.life to the kingdom of God, fired by Jesus' own imagination, to a life of loving God and loving others, and to a society shaped by justice, especially for those who have been marginalized, to peace, and to a life devoted to acquiring wisdom in the context of a local church.  This life can only be discovered by being empowered by God's Spirit."

His whole book works to develop and flesh out the above definition.  AWESOME read!

Clergy Renewal Leave

As I mentioned earlier, I applied for a grant for Clergy Renewal (aka Sabbath Rest or Sabbatical) last year and was denied that grant.  At the time, I was extremely disappointed, but now I see this as a wonderful blessing and opportunity God is giving me and Community of Joy.

In the past week, I have been researching another grant source which will give up to $50,000 per person/congregation for this Clergy Renewal Leave experience.   And I have been in touch with a pastor from Indiana that had such an experience this past fall that was funded by this grant.  Also, I have read two Alban Institute books on Clergy Renewal.   And finally, I met two other pastors from California (met them in Walmart in Harrisonburg, VA) who read my blog and were also denied the previous grant, but are taking a Clergy Renewal Leave anyways.

From the book, "Journeying toward Renewal"  By Melissa Bane Sevier, I found the following notes very helpful...

"Long-term pastorates often become soothing for pastor and congregation because people become used to each other, like in a long marriage.  They no longer challenge each other to do new things, to listen for the call of God to act out their fiath in new ways.  The dance we began (in our case in 1999 here at CoJ) as we excitedly learned how to adjust to each other's peculiarities has now sometimes become a shuffle in which we move together, using the same old rhythms and the same old steps, across the dance floor in choreographed, familiar ways."      

Melissa's findings and those of the Lily Foundation (the granting body) are that "pastoral leaders who are healthy find they stay longer in their congregations and congregations with healthy pastors are healthy themselves.... Balanced leaders make for balanced congregations."   We are now into a long-term pastorate here at Community of Joy and I would love for it to be even longer!

The question that the Lily Foundation asks for the Clergy Renewal Leave is "what will make your heart sing?"  A great question!

"A sabbatical is primarily for the renewal of the pastor, but when the pastor is rejuvenated, so is the congregation.  As change occurs in the pastor, leading from weariness to energy, from same-old to newness, from overwork to rest, that change almost of necessity seeps from the pastor's life into the church's life.  We are not beings who live apart from our work; rather, who we are greatly affects what we do.  Both the positive and negative aspects of our "pastoral personality" are contagious in the congregation.  Therefore, what gives us joy in renewal most likely will assist us in being agents of positive change upon our return."

"Don't take it personally, but your congregation need you to leave.  Not forever, but for a few weeks or months.  Why? Because while you are gone, they will learn all sorts of things about themselves they may have forgotten since you arrived.  They may suddenly remember how to work the thermostats, when the building needs to be unlocked for the scout troop, how to plan worship, whose turn it is to make the coffee before the service, and when to start organizing the fall stewardship campaign.  More importantly, they may remember to visit and care for each other, how to make visitors feel welcome, and that someone needs to stay in contact with the local food pantry.  It will be good for them to remember thse things without your prompting."

I am anxious to form a team to plan a renewal experience and to make application for the grant for myself and Community of Joy because I feel that it will be a mutually beneficial expereince for all of us!

A Father's Answered Prayers...

As a father, I want the best for my children.  What father doesn't?  And I want them to utilize the gifts that God has given them.  I also desire to see my daughters be strong women of faith.

But as a Pastor, I worry from time to time about how being in the fishbowl will affect my girls.  I have seen pastor's kids (PKs) turn sour on the church and even walk away from the church.  I pray regularly that this will not happen with my girls.  I also have been concerned what college will do to their faith as college is traditionally a time when youth walk away or back-burner the church and faith.

All fall, we have been delighted that Caroline has been frequently attending church at Harrisonburg First Church of the Brethren.  Yesterday, we got to hear her sing a duet with a friend in worship.  She did a GREAT job!  And in a couple weeks she will be leading worship - again, I am confident that she will do a great job!  As a parent and a pastor, it is so wonderful to see your children exercise their gifts in leadership in the church!  Nothing warms my heart more!

And not to leave Emma out ... yesterday, she was asked to read Scripture in worship and she did a GREAT job too!  Very confident and well articulated!  Again, what a heart warming experience!  

So proud of both my girls and happy that their faith is real and their love for the Lord and the church is an important part of who they are!