I'll Keep My Day Job....

Here is a rough sketch of the building footprint....

a concept drawing...

I am NO artist... never claimed to be!!! But I am using this technology to get some pics up for an architect to do a drawing for us on our ramp... trying to speed the process... these with the pics below in 2 postings titled "for mark" and "more pics for mark" will get us there I hope!

It begins with Jesus...

Today was another great day at the ministry center... good crowd and lots of energy. At the end of the worship gathering, the last song begins on the chorus which starts, "Jesus..." When Daryl, who is doing a great job learning the projection system, had the first verse up, Joy (our song leader) said out loud..."Daryl, it begins with Jesus."

That got me to thinking... when the last word of the song was "Jesus"... what a beautiful image for us... It's really all about Jesus... It begins and ends with Jesus. And everything in the middle is about Jesus as well... not in some sappy way... but I believe we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world... and if we are to be that, we have to get out of the way and let it all be about Jesus!

That's our goal!

more pics for mark

for mark

My heart breaks...

My heart breaks each time I get a call from someone in desperate need! I get several of these calls a month. That's why I have set up the "Renewing Joy Fund" at our church, so that we can meet some of these needs!

Today's call was a lady who came up here from Georgia to pick watermelons. She has a 1 year old son and is staying at the Thrift Travel Motel. She needed help with the room but more than that, she said she and her son were hungry... I could hear the son crying in the background. She was hoping to hold on til the 3rd when she got a check and could go back to Georgia. But today is the 27th.

At first I told her that I could gladly get them something to eat... asked her what she liked... chicken was the reply... so, I went to Chic-Fila and got her and her son two 12 pack value meals. On the way there, I felt led to offer to pay one night's lodging from the renewing joy fund.

The struggle I have is how do you help someone in such a situation change the situation... my offer of food and a night's lodging means she is in the same situation tomorrow! Yet, not to help her seems unChristian. After all Jesus taught us that when we shared with the "least of these" we shared with him. And the Apostle Paul teaches that "Since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us." (I John 4:11,12)

And I believe that full expression of love has no room for judgement of what made this lady get in the situation she is in...it just calls for me to show love... Wouldn't the world be a different place if we all looked out for each other? Maybe that's what Jesus meant when he taught us to "do it to the least of these"!

The Tensions of New Territory...

The tensions associated with new territory are always around habits and ways of being... we have done things certain ways for so long that now we are having to adjust our practices and find new ways....that's always a good thing!

It brings a freshness and creativity to light that can slip out of sight when we stay in the same territory too long. Right now we are navigating this tension, as we figure out ways to do things that are important to us... like how do we maximize our space while keeping an open flow for relationship building and connection? How do we do participatory worship gatherings when we need the space for chairs? How do we keep our strong leaning toward being flexible and meeting challenges with enthusiasm, when we have a permanent location?

Then there are the other tensions of new territory... related to form and function. How do we use certain areas and yet make them attractive? What values are more important ... values that center around form or values that center around function and how do we keep a healthy balance?

Another tension that is present... is the one where we have been riding a HUGE wave of enthusiasm and the BIG MO has been on our side (big mo = momentum) and now the natural leaning is to let down and rest. How do we keep on the crest of the wave? How do we keep the BIG MO working for us?

These are just a few of the healthy tensions I am feeling as we traverse the waters of owning our very first ministry center.

P.S. it was very nice this week to be able to go there before Sunday a.m. to set up and make sure that technology was the way I wanted it!

And it is great to know that our congregation WILL meet these tensions in healthy ways! I am excited for what is ahead!

Even the Stones will cry out...

I just got back from returning the floor fan to Bob Miller -- he left it at the ministry center on Friday after he cleaned the carpet... As I drove by the farm fields and the evidence of the first measurable rain we have had in weeks was on the roads, I thought I heard the soybeans and grass singing praise to God for the rain... then I remembered the comment Jesus made to the Pharisees as they challenged him to rebuke his disciples..."I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

The rain has lifted my spirit in praise of the One who gives it... and I know that the crops are crying out in praise too!

Riding the wave...

What an AWESOME couple of months these past few have been for me and for our congregation as we have experienced God's tremendous blessing and provision allowing us to purchase our very first ministry center... no longer in rented facilities! YEAH!!!

Our first Sunday (the 22nd) was also both and AWESOME and SOBERING experience for me... we filled the ministry center with a standing room only crowd... the first time we have ever done that! BUT the sobering part is that while I knew it was small... that showed me and I suspect us... just how small it really is! To keep riding the wave that God has given, we will need to begin immediately thinking about our second worship gathering. It's not that we haven't planned for this... our worship time moved to make room for adding another on Sunday and our sign has lots of blank space for those times.... it's just that we must keep on top of the wave... we can't afford to let the wave get ahead of us or pass us by.

I'm on it... and I trust that others will join me as we continue to ride the wave God has given us! I look forward to the next few months as we see how God continues to bless and use us!

Thanks for ALL your work, Jim!

No one gave more time at the ministry center in the construction phase than Jim Replogle. He was there on average 50 hours a week for the last 4 weeks. It was fun to work together! Probably not many pastors and Leadership Team Leaders have spent so much time together as we have in this project.

Jim's favorite tool was his father's 4 ft. level which was missing a bubble or two... but the running joke was that every time we needed some special tool for a specific job, it was time to get out my trusty flat bar! No one had ever seen one before... I got mine in high school when I worked for Jimmy Sedgwick @ Shore Hospitality Contractors in Easton and it has come in handy lots of times. I searched high and low for one for Jim... Found one in the paint section at Lowes and bought it... painted it gold, and wrote the following note on it... "Jim, thanks for being a blessing to me, CoJ, and the work of God through the generosity of your time, leadership, and talents. Pastor Martin 7-22-07"

My friend Laura Swann took these pics of me presenting it to Jim. Thanks Laura!

Wouldn't you know that this gift was the one thing I left at home on Sunday morning when I came to the ministry center... I HAD to go home to get it... and man is it a lot longer ride!

Ambiance... making folk feel welcome

The Decorating Team did a great job creating a warm and inviting lobby. They also did a great job adding personal touches to the rest of the building. Thanks Team!

Our Doors are open wide...

Today we openned our doors wide to our community... our prayer is to show God's love to all!

What a blessing...

Today, we had standing room only... but that included about 30 guests from other churches. Several of the contractors came and we recognized and thanked them for their hard and great work.

We received lots of gifts from other sister churches... FIRST, the former church owners brought a huge bouquet of roses and a beautiful note of encouragement and blessing. Then the folks from Bethany Lutheran Church (our new neighbors) brought a huge cake and ALL the necessaries for eating it... napkins, plates, and forks... What a blessing and a great start to what I hope is a GREAT ministry relationship.

AND other sister Churches of the Brethren were represented and some brought gifts. The Green Hill CoB bought some pictures in our lobby, and the Bethany CoB brought a plant for our landscaping.

What a blessing today was! All praise to God!

What a Great First Day in our New Ministry Center...

Last night, the last thing we did was hang the cross on the front wall... we were very intentional about putting a cross in the center of the worship space and the technology on the sides... to remind us of what is central in our lives.

Here is a pic of the cross at night before anyone but the ones who hung it saw it. Thanks to Tri and Tracey Townsend for the wood, to Dennis Handley for surfacing the wood and to Jim Replogle for crafting it!

Thing are really taking shape....

Today... we learned that the contact we had with the contractor has resigned... so now the contractor's office is really lining things up... sub-contractors are coming out of the woodwork to finish the project. It will be a few weeks, though due to needing to order the windows.

The floors were cleaned today for free by Bob Miller of Floortech. Great job!

And the sign is being installed by Roger and Claudia Jones of Jones Signs.

And Jim is there finishing some trim work and touch up painting. Tonight the masses arrive to clean and tomorrow we move everything in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!~

Two days and counting....

We are busy trying to get the final construction things done and the finishing touches that make this ministry center our new home!

The decorating team has been busy at work and the evidence of their work is transforming the place! Thanks team!

Several of us have spent hours at the ministry center over the past few months... and this week is no exception... it's been 3 straight nights of after 11:30 leaving times.

We heard from the bookkeeper at Haines Construction... please pray for the contractor's supervisor, Frank... he has been not only MIA from us but his employer as well... They and we are busy trying to find other contractors to complete the work... much will NOT be done for Sunday, but there is time to do it later... the good news is we are moving forward and WILL worship in the ministry center this Sunday for the first!

More Camping Pics...

When we camp with our friends -- the Bilgers and the Pursels and their friends and ours... we have lots of fun! We've been doing that for 11 years.

The top pic is inside a beautiful old stone church that Caroline just loves...Brittany reads a good sermon to Caroline.

The next pics are of us doing each other's hair and the results of Chelsea's hair.

The final one is Bryan and Levi (Father/Son) boxing a bit... I think Bryan had the upper hand!

Man I miss that place! It was a great week.

Occupancy granted...

Today the building inspector granted us temporary occupancy with permanent coming after the ramp and cement pad near back door are done.

The inspector asked us to install fire extinguishers, which were already scheduled for today and a door closure on the back door which is purchased and waiting a person to install it!

WOW!!!! Sunday's coming...

It's D-week at the ministry center...

Lots of things are and aren't happening at the ministry center this week... we are busily preparing for our first worship gathering on Sunday.... the contractor -- Haines Construction... is still missing in action (or inaction as the case is!)

The color is coming... see pics...

The views are spectacular!

We just love the mountains of PA... such spectacular views. We camp at Greenwood Furnace and have done so for the last 11 years mostly with the same three families. The amish are abundant in the Big Valley area and it's always fun driving around and looking at their beautiful homes and gardens.

Moutain Top Experiences...

Camping in the Mountains of PA provides lots of mountain top expereinces for us...

A 3 mile trek back this single lane road accross the top of the mountain to a blueberry patch owned by an amish family....

A trek accross the top of the mountain about 3/4 mile back to see the sights from the look out...

The rock are the very ones I fell down over last year causing lots of brush burns and a broken camera... on the way to the look out!

Great Camping Trip...

Our camping trip with the family and two of the girls friends, who are like 2 other daughters and our two family of friends in PA was great! It was hot on Tuesday when we arrived, but a cool front blew through and the temps cooled until the day we left! The pics are of the adults and most of the kids and then Sharon and I after just before going to church on Sunday a.m. Just love those PA mountains...