Front Row Seats....

Reading "Love Without Walls: Learning to be a Church in the World, For the World by Laurie Beshore... and here is a quote to ponder...

"When we are serving Jesus by serving those in need, and when his Spirit is working in us, we are blessed with a front-row seat to God's work of changing lives - something we cannot do on our own."

Something to think about...

Here is something to think about...for every follower of Jesus..."no one accidentally creates disciples. Discipleship is an intentional pursuit.". Mike Breen

A Delightful Celebration!

A good sized group of us from Community of Joy dropped by Miss Mattie Brown's house last night to help her kick off her 107th year!  It was a delightful time!   What a sweet lady she is!

106 Years Young...

Today is a big day for a special lady in our congregation!  It is the 106 birthday of Miss Mattie Brown.  And we are excited to help her celebrate.   We will surprise her tonight with a cake and some singing.

Later tonight I will post a picture of me with her on her day.   I have a picture of me with the birthday girl every year since her 100th!  She is such a delightful lady... I love visiting with her!

Happy Birthday Miss Mattie!  Hope your day is as special as you are!

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made...

The psalm writer says,

"For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 119:13-16.

As you probably know, I have been still under the affects of my bells palsey since March 2011.  But I am happy to report that I am making slow progress.  After 15 acupuncture appointments and about a month of taking chinese herbs, I am now able to whistle more than ever before and my eye is not as restricted as it was.  However, one thing that I am marveling at is the interconnectedness of our body parts.  When I went to Indiana earlier in June, I saw a friend who sang in our wedding and was in seminary with us, who is now an acupuncturist.  He showed me a Korean hand reflexology to use in the hopes that it will promote healing in my face and indeed I think it is!

I know that when I do the massage, it feels less restricted; and I think it is staying that way when I am done.

This is where the above verse comes in.  My trouble is with my right side of my face, but the spot that I am to put pressure on and massage with a round object like a pencil is on my right middle finger.  A small spot out near the end of the finger on the inside  of the finger near the fingernail.  I am absolutely amazed that this spot affects my eye and mouth, but it sure seems that way to me.

I am in awe of how God made our bodies.  Indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!  And all thanks be to God, the creator of all!

Who is my neighbor?

I just love our Tuesday and Thursday Bible Study groups...such rich experiences and learnings from the Bible and each other.

Last night at the Get Nailed Men's Group that meets at Slocum Insurance Agency, 308 Civic Ave @ 5 p.m. on Thursdays, we explored Luke 10:25-37 where a lawyer tries to set Jesus up.  He asks what he must do to inherit eternal life and Jesus turns it back to him asking him what the law of Moses says and how he understands it.  When he answers that the law says to Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and Love your neigbhor as yourself, he then asks for a definition of neighbor.

But Jesus blows him out of the water by telling a story that has lots of unexpected twists.  We would define our neighbor as someone who lives nearby... thus our definition of neighbor is proximity.  But not Jesus!   His definition of neighbor is anyone who is in need of mercy!  That is who we are to love!

That widens the field of possible neighbors!

Jesus in this passage sought to stretch the lawyers understanding of who he was required to love.   Isn't it interesting that most of the time we want to know the bare minimum we have to do.  Yet Jesus expands the expectation... way beyond what we would have thought. 

By Jesus' definition, we have neighbors that live halfway around the world!

Stephen's Story...

Received this email from my friend Stephen Slocum last night... (he gave permission to post it and pics)

Pastor Martin : Lots of thoughts going through my head tonight.   I sent you a picture Sunday 6-10-12 four days before a very long and intense surgery to remove a large tumor on my tongue along with a couple of glands from my neck that may be infected. The other picture was taken today less than 6 days after the surgery. To those who know me I like to be Frankenstein during Halloween will save lots this year on make-up I now have one scare from the bottom of my left ear around my
neck to my chin and one about five inches below my neck. I felt pretty chipper before and wanted to see how I looked in my costume.

How would you handle this situation. I could take a whole different attitude of why me Lord.  I go to Church, I'm a nice guy, I spread your word, why have you done this to me....Nope!   I LOVE the blessing! How do we really know where our faith lies unless we get a chance to still be on board the
boat when then waves are coming over the sides?   I called out to God several times to be with me especially in the OR where you are naked and tied down and surrounded by 20 plus people getting to work on me - most would be scared! But not me!  Why ( I had my Best Friend and Father with me ) then another time in the ICU I was being attacked by EVIL things and visions again I called out for help from God and again evil was removed.

I'm so thankful to you for re-introducing me to my Father in heaven!  I really feel sorry, sad for those who don't have that relationship what would they do during this situation?  As you are aware
this is just another one of many major challenges my family and I have faced this year from Breast Cancer, Heart Attack, Sudden Death Cardiac Arrest which added a defibulator  to my body, and now major Cancer Removal Surgery, by the way had a car accident in this year too, which for most people it would be a big thing - I know it's my business, but this did not even register.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN MY SITUATION....health care, work, etc..........DONT NEED TO BE ALONE IN THE BOAT!   If you know of anyone that would benefit from my talking to them, please send them my way!   Also, know that I am praying for the growth of our men's Bible Study group - Get Nailed Men's Bible Study Group which has been a major force of encouragement to me throughout all of this!


Gods Peace,

Your Brother in Christ Stephen

                                                                     Stephen Before Surgery

Stephen After Surgery

One Incision

Worth the Work!

Before he left the earth on his way to heaven after his resurrection, Jesus left the disciples with these words..."All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end."    He charged them and all who follow after with the task of making disciples! 

Making disciples is hard work and takes lots of time, but it is so worth the work!

I have been investing in a friend's life for many years now and he has just come through what some would call the most challenging time of his family's life, but he is doing it with a smile because of the peace of Christ that he feels.   And more than that he is now seeking to use his story to impact others and he is discipling a couple of guys as well.   There is nothing more rewarding than to see a friend filled with the peace of Christ and sharing that with others!

Now, I am investing in another friends life!  It takes lots of time... there are text messages throughout the day, phone calls for long periods of time, hours spent together talking, serving, studying the Bible, praying, laughing.   And I wouldn't trade one second of that for something else!   I am starting to see this friend deepen his faith and find the same peace that my first friend has found!  

And the cool thing is that this friend has been going through some rough times as well and he is being sustained through them by the peace of Christ.   And even more... he is reaching out to other friends to share his journey with them and is begining to disciple others.

Making disciples takes lots of time, energy, and is hard work, but it is so worth all of the work involved!

And more than that, it is what we are charged by Jesus to do!   I am glad that I have had these experiences and wouldn't trade them for anything in the whole world.  I am praying for more opportunities and hope you will consider how you can begin the process of discipling others too!

Gifts....

I had a neat text exchange last night with one of our youth!  On Sunday, I was encouraging folks to think about the gifts that God has given them and the passions they have.  I think all of us have at least one gift.  On Sunday, I said that anyone who didn't know what their gift was should see me.  It is out of that context that the text came last night.  The youth was wanting to know what her gift was.

So, I began by asking what she thought it might be.  She had no idea.  So, I listed 4 gifts that I see in her.  And her reply was that those were "common gifts"  nothing special.

So, I responded in a variety of ways but the one that I want to share here is this... "It is not the gift that makes you special, it is how you use the gift that makes you special."   In other words, the gift of compassion is a gift that lots of people share but those who use the gift to make a difference in someone's life are special!

What gift/s do you have?  And are you willing to employ them for the Kingdom of God?

Prayer focus...

The following is a sample of something we are working on at Community of Joy.  I post it here for our Leadership Team to see it in the best graphics that I can given differing machines we use.

And this is the one that will not be marked up but serve as a visual reminder...

I refuse...

I have heard this song many times... but never really paid attention to the words... until a friend shared them last night.   I love the song and the words and they sum up my feeling very well... and the way I want the folks at Community of Joy to approach life...

I Refuse by Josh Wilson....

"'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse

To sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse"

If more Christ followers lived this way, the world that Jesus taught us to pray for would be a reality... "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on EARTH as it is in heaven."!

Update on Blessing...

Got this in an email today from the guidance counselor at Pinehurst after she delivered the food...

"I cannot tell you what amazing timing this seemed to be for this family. The grandmother was trying to figure out how they were going to piece things together all summer, now that all of the children would need to be fed three times a day all summer. She said that God answered her prayers today. Several of the children were home when we delivered the food, and they were happy to help us. They formed an assembly line down the hallway. This family is so grateful for all you and your congregation have done for them. Pinehurst Elementary is so very grateful for all you have done over the course of this year for our Piney families! What an amazing, giving group of people you are. We are blessed to have you in our lives.

Thank you. May God bless all of you!"

 

So cool to be an answer to this grandmother's prayers!   Community of Joy is a very generous group of people.

 

What The Church Should Be Doing...

I am so blessed to be part of a church that is making small steps toward doing the kind of things a church should be doing to share the love of Christ with others!  Today I was fortunate enough to witness the culmination of a vision that two ladies had and with the involvement of friends and two churches, a family of 13 is blessed for the summer.

The vision was to bless a family of 13 with enough food for breakfast for the summer.  The call went out to Community of Joy and friends of one of the ladies... and another church also got involved a bit too.   The guidance counselor at Pinehurst Elementary School identified the family who we could bless and also delivered the goods.

Here is the bounty of a vision and an invitation...

Two vehicles loaded with goodies.... and here is the goodies all in the guidance counselor's vehicle ready to be delivered....



A generous donation from a Community of Joy Family of $200 bought this...

As we chatted a bit on the sidewalk after the food was all transfered, two ladies came out from the office to take our pictures (not something we wanted done) and to thank us.  Then another staff member came out to thank us for our support and generousity and to arrange a time to visit the church to say thank you.  You see this is the kind of acts that churches should be doing to share the love of Jesus with others... and when we do, it gets noticed.   So much more than pointing fingers and calling people out.  

We are already gearing up for our school supply drive, which is a way to bless more children at Pinehurst in the Fall.   

Taking a break

I will be taking a break from the blog this week...be back Friday.

Ministry Center

When we moved into our new facility in 2007 we began calling it a ministry center... for a couple of reasons... one is WE ARE the church... another is that we wanted it to be a place where ministry happens and is birthed. 

After years of renting facilities we were excited to have our own place.  Yet we will never forget the blessing to us that other facilities were when we didn't have our own.  So, it is with great excitement that on Sunday we begin making our space available to a new group of Quakers in town that are forming...  They will use it the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month for now. 

I pray God's Blessing on them as they gather and form and become...