Passages was Great!

Last night was the first Passages: Conversations with God event... it was very meaningful. We will be doing it each Wednesday night @ 7:15... but NOT this coming Wednesday due to Vacation Bible School.

We met in the sanctuary in a circle with low lighting and a worship center in the middle of the circle. We began with introductions and then moved to a musical meditation and praying the "Jesus Prayer"... Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner." Then we read/listened 3 times a passage of Scripture from Luke 10. And we asked 5 questions of that experience. That was followed by a lenghthy conversation about the scripture and the work of God. Then we shared prayer needs and prayed together. It was really neat!

My hopes for this gathering are to provide a place where we can slow down and get away from the hectic pace of life for a period of time inorder to connect with God in a deeper way. I also hope to expose us to a variety of spiritual disciplines and practices. Further, I wanted to test out a possible idea for "the sermon time" in a new worship gathering that I would like to launch this fall.... My intent was to use this time to engage the scriputres in a way that they truely become the Living Word of God in our lives not an object to analyze and study, but a way to hear from God. Time will tell, but if last night was any indication, this will prove to be a meanigful way to connect with God!

She didn't, but it would be like her....

My mother in law, Anna Cobb, died tonight about 8:30 p.m. after a life well lived and in a very peaceful way with her three daughters and many of the grandchildren close by.

My daughter Emma is at Camp Mardela's outdoor adventure camp until friday night, and was to leave town for a work camp on Wednesday. Caroline has band camp all next week. Micah and Janna, and Whit, two other grandchildren and a grandchild-in-law had a church league softball tournament on Sat... Micah is the team manager. I know that Mom didn't plan it so as not to interrupt the activities of her grandchildren but if she could have, she would have... that's just the kind of awesome grandmother she was... ALWAYS wanting her children and grandchildren to experience it all and never wanting to hold them back!

I thank God for the priviledge of being part of the family for 20 of her 92 years! She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, great grandmother and mother-in-law!

The Family Gathers and Waits...

Just got off the phone with Sharon and they continue to keep vigil by her mom's bedside. Mom's condition changed somewhat rapidly this morning... and the hospice nurse will come this afternoon. This time is a sacred and holy time.... the family gathers and even a grandson, who has not been around much in the last few years, has come. They are supporting one another, reading scriptures to mom, praying with her, holding her hand and letting her know they are there. They also are looking through pictures, sharing stories and memories of a life well lived!

So glad that Sharon left yesterday and is there with the family today!

Long Day....

Just got back around 10 p.m. from taking Sharon to Hagerstown to meet her neice who was in Martinsburg, WVA so that they could go to VA to be with Sharon's mom and sisters. They got to VA quicker than I got home...but glad she is there and so is she!

Left the house at noon for the trip. Traffic was heavier going up than coming back. Got to see my uncle and aunt in Hagerstown for a couple of minutes. Uncle Earl is a dairy farmer and usually starts milking around 4 but it was 5 when I was there and he hadn't started yet... so he was in a hurry to get that started.

It's a go....

Will definitely do Passages: Conversations with God this Wednesday ... unless Sharon's mother passes before. Looks like I will be around ... Sharon is going to VA this afternoon but the girls and I will be around until we need to go for the funeral.

So, unless otherwise noted... It's a GO!

Probably will....and maybe won't....

I probably will need to postpone our first gatghering of Passages: Conversations with God from this Wednesday night until August 13. But then again, I might not...

Sharon's mom is nearing death and we are getting ready to go to Virginia soon... keep her and the family in prayer.

I will send out an email to verify this possibility. It looks like I will be taking Sharon to VA tonight and then return home to work and wait. So, I just might be here on Wednesday night!

What Fun!

Today, I got to ride in an Answered Prayer... actually, I got to drive it! That was lots of fun! I would have been happy to ride, but Glenn MADE me drive it! Thanks Glenn and Cindy!

What do you see....

When you look at this picture... what do you see?

Sure there is a really great couple who are VERY happy to have this car finished. Sure there is a Classic Mustang that has been given a new birth. But beyond the obvious... What do you see?

I see so many things...

1. Answered Prayer --- this has been a very challenging journey for Glenn and Cindy as it took longer than anticipated to get this car on the road... but they will both tell you that through prayer, the car is now on the road. All this last week, I wanted to call Glenn to see how he was coming on the car, but didn't because I didn't want to frustrate him... knowing that it was not going as hoped... SO, I prayed each time I thought about calling. I was DELIGHTED to get a call from Glenn last night saying it was done... and he was so excited that he took it for a test spin from Delmar and ended up in Allen (forgetting that the car neither had a hood nor tags!)

2. I see a courageous lady who is drawing her strength from the Lord as she battles cancer and has long since beaten the odds she was given when they discovered it! Cindy you inspire me!

3. I see a husband who will go to great lengths to make his wife happy! Glen, I could learn from you!

4. I see the combined effort and love of lots of people who chipped in to make this car a reality! From top to bottom... friends and new acqaintences have stepped up to the plate to help out... this is the way it should be in the world!

4. I see a dream come true... Cindy has always dreamed of owning a 1966 Mustang and now she not only owns one, but what a car it is!

5. I see God... for without God's involvement in this journey... the car would not have been at the car show today!

CONGRATS Cindy and Glenn! It is a real beauty! Can't wait to see it again tomorrow at the Community of Joy Ministry Center... hope you don't have plans after the worship gathering!

When you look....

When you look for God, you will find that he is already at work in the world in ways you haven't thought or dreamed.

We have been working hard at getting the overgrowth area of our lot at the Ministry Center cleared of brush and ready to seed in grass this fall.

One of the things that we needed to do was get the stumps ground. I checked into the cost of renting a stump grinder and the cheapest one was $257 for half a day. I though John Hardy would be about that price, but both the numbers we had for him did not work... they were assigned to someone else. So what were we going to do????

Wednesday, I was at the Ministry Center getting the trash to take to the dump and I noticed a few branches that had blown onto the yard. I picked them up to take with me and throw them on the brush pile at the dump... It was just a couple... but since I was going that way, I threw them on.

When I pulled into the brush area to unload them, I pulled up beside... yep, John Hardy! I told him what I wanted and he said he'd check it our and give me a call. I got a card from him with his new numbers and gave him mine. Today, his wife called and I met them there... and the price to have him grind the stumps AND haul the billets of wood away was $300!

Isn't God good!

Just goes to show that when you look... God is everywhere and he is at work in ways you and I can't imagine!

Invitation....

I've decided to offer a weekly Connecting time called "Passages: Conversations with God" @ 7:15 p.m. on Wednesdays @ the Community of Joy Ministry Center, 302 South Blvd. Starting July 30 but skipping August 6 (due to Vacation Bible School).

This will be a time of sharing, praying, reading scripture, reflecting and practicing different spiritual disciplines all as a passage to a deeper conversation with God in our everyday lives. It will be held in the sanctuary and will be different each week.

Should last no more than an hour and a half.

Looking for God....

God sometimes shows up in the most unexpected ways!

This is the story I promised a little while ago...

Recently, I ordered a load of stones for our Ministry Center Parking Lot....the driver was unable to do a good job spreading them out and left them in LOTS of BIG piles. I had put out an email earlier in the week seeking help on Saturday at 9 a.m.

No help came... I couldn't do it alone, especially having just had a medical procedure the day before that meant, I probably shouldn't have been there at all! About 9:15... Glenn stops as he is driving by to get Cindy's car running. He racks his brain for people who could bring a tractor to help out... I hated to take too much of his time... as this car is really important.... Glenn offered a time the following week to spread them if they didn't get done that day. At 10:15, I decided that was a good idea... so, I roped off that entrance and called the two folks that use that area to tell them that they would need to park elsewhere on Sunday.

At noon, Glenn called to say he and his friend would be by in an hour with his friend's bobcat and rollback truck to get the job done. I left 15 minutes later to go meet them there... when I arrived at the Ministry Center the stones were SPREAD!

I immediately called Glenn to tell him what I found and he said he hadn't even gotten the bobcat loaded yet... I told him not to and thanked him for his willingness.

After some investigation, I discovered that Tri had come about 10:30 and was working on the piles by himself when a guy rode by on his bicycle and stopped to say that he had a machine that could do the job... Tri told him that he was not authorized to pay anything for the work... the guy said he wasn't looking for any compensation... God was directing him to help out! He rode his bike to his place of business and brought a nearly new Kubota backhoe and spread the stones in less than an hour! What a blessing Jimmy was to us that day!

Isn't it truly amazing how God works! He is ALWAYS at work around us... and sometimes we get the privilege to see him work. God's ways are higher than my ways! What an incredible journey it has been! THANKS be to GOD!

GONE.....

Yep, our beautiful sign is GONE!

Roger Jones came to get it today... so that we can add to it's height to make it changeable.

It should be up in time to promote our Vacation Bible School in early August and many other activities that we will do. We found that our last (ugly) portable sign caught the attention of many passersby and brought them in the door. We hope that this sign will be a significant tool to communicate with our neighbors!

Coming Soon.....

Here is the NEW sign design... it will allow us to change messages regularly.

Unfortunately, it will cost a little more than the original sign...BUT we feel that it is well worth the money since our other temporary sign caught the attention of lots of people.

A Day of Celebration...

Yesterday was indeed a day of celebration at Community of Joy! It was our one year Anniversary Celebration of being in our building. Great spirit present. Delicious cake! Awesome stories of God's interaction with us. Beautiful singing. And an offering of $2275 extra toward our principal.

Can't wait to see how this next year plays out for us! Thanks be to God for all that he has done and is doing and will do in our lives!

One year ago....

We were busy putting the finishing touches on our new ministry center in order to get it ready for our GRAND OPENING... Now on Sunday we will mark that year and ALL that GOD has done in our lives and through our lives as we have followed him this year. It's been a GREAT ride and I am so looking forward to all that will yet happen!

It will be fun on Sunday to show folks the pics from the last year highlighting all the changes and efforts we have made at being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.

What an AWESOME group of people to be part of! Community of Joy... This year, our name has taken on NEW meaning!

Don't miss the cake on Sunday! 10 a.m.... I know it will be good!

What a Day!

We lost water last Saturday... but since Sharon and Emma left on Saturday and I was going away on Sunday and Caroline was staying with a friend, I scheduled a plumber to come on this morning. When I spoke with him, we had water, just lots of air bursts in it. He was supposed to come today at 8 a.m. When he hadn't called or showed by 9, I called him... he was at an emergency (like ours wasn't?! to be fair... he didn't know we were out of water -- also he had written down the wrong number for us). He said he would be here in 45 minutes... then at 11:30 he called to say he would be in 15 minutes.... by 12:05 he arrived. Only to find that -- at first he thought my well was having problems ... after cutting off the top of the well pipe, we found that there is water at 12 feet, so for now we are investigating other options... like a check valve, the line from the well to the house, maybe even the pump... though it is just 2 years and one month old! I am relieved that it appears NOT to be the well. And hope it is not the pump.... as it is only warrantied for 18 months from manufacture or 12 months from installation, whichever is shorter! How is that for a warranty???!!!!!!!!!!!

The girls are excited to get water soon... so am I! Hope it happens yet today... as of now the plumber is on lunch break and it is 1:30.

It's fixed...2 hours later... $245 later... to replace a check valve! Wow... $85 an hour for labor... I guess I need to get a different job... When I was doing carpentry work, you carried your tools with you when you arrived at the job... now, they leave them in the van and send the helper to get them as they are needed! UNBELIEVABLE!

The BIG Meeting....

This year the Church of the Brethren is celebrating 300 years since it's beginnig. In August of 1708 in Schwarzenau, Germany, 8 people who had been studying the Bible and felt strongly that they needed to say yes to Jesus for themselves and enter the waters of baptism as adults. At the time this was a crime, punishable by death... because they were members of the state church (Lutheran) and would have already been baptized as infants.... to be re-baptized was to renounce the state church. From the Eider River where they were baptized, they immediately went into hiding and eventually found their way to America where they began what is now known, in part, as the Church of the Brethren.

This past week, the Church of the Brethren held it's Annual Conference or as some call it Big Meeting, in Richmond, VA. It was a joint conference with one of the 5 off-shoots of the original Brethren body... The Brethren Church. Attendance was over 6,000 people with nearly 900 delegates sent from congregations to conduct the business of the church.

Annual Conference is always a time of re-connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. This year as we did that, it was unsettling how old we are becoming... many of our friends from Seminary have children in college or going to college and in one case a young man, who was a teen years ago when we were students with his parents at Bethany Theological Seminary, is now on the faculty of the Seminary! That will make one feel old in a HURRY! WOW!

It was also fun to be aksed to share leadership of an insight session on Engaging Our Communities with Jesus.... I shared SOME of what God has done and is doing at Community of Joy in the last year!

Back...

Got back from our trip to Richmond, VA tonight around 7... unloaded the van, carried water, talked to the neighbor for too long!, ate supper, went to the hospital to visit George, sold two items on ebay... now catching up on email and blog... will blog more tomorrow!

Good trip... starting to feel old! Glad to be home! There is no place like home!...even home without water... but that will change tomorrow a.m. I hope!

God is so awesome!

I've had such a neat God day... I am bubbling over! It is amazing how God shows up often when we least expect it and in ways that we can't imagine! That happened to me today and I can't wait to tell others about it...

I won't share it here now... because I want to tell it first tomorrow morning in worship...

But I promise one day next week, I will tell it here. Probably about Thursday... as I will be out of town at a church conference tomorrow night through Wednesday night.

YEAH GOD!

Did you know....

How many food commercials there are on television? Neither did I, before last night... when I had to starve myself all day due to a medical procedure today. Boy was it hard to watch all that temptation! It seemed like every commercial was for food! And the hard part was that they all looked good!

Isn't that how temptation is? When you can't or shouldn't have something... it always makes itself known and is very attractive.... but that's where prayer and the presence of the H.S. is very helpful! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... Philippians 4:13.... last night was definitely a 4:13 moment!

What an incredible journey...

This past year has been an incredible journey for us at Community of Joy! God has done some amazing things! He provided a new Ministry Center, caused significant funds to be given to purchase and remodel the building, drew new people to join us in our journey, allowed us to operate a cold weather homeless men's shelter in our ministry center and to support another group in another week, caused two other churches to join us in cooperating in some ministries like the shelter and VBS, and the list goes on....

I am excited about our Celebration next Sunday... Anxious to hear people's stories, to see how God will move in our hearts to give generously toward the retirement of our debt, to begin thinking and praying about the coming year and eagerly anticipating what God will do in each of us and through each of us as we join him in the work he is doing!

And to think over a year ago, I was on the edge of throwing in the towel on ministry... and God got my attention and moved in some amazing ways... It's been a great year!

ALL thanks to God!

Some things I believe about mission...

1. God is at work in the lives of those outside the church as well as inside the church.
2. God invites us to join him in the work that he is doing.
3. People who are not part of the church are interested in spiritual matters.
4. People who are interested in spiritual matters and not connected to a church can be reached relationally.
5. Prayer is part of that process.
6. When we listen to those outside the church, we will learn where God is already at work in their lives.

Here's a great quote from Tangible Kingdom by Matt Smay and Hugh Halter...

"The incarnational big-story gospel will require a place of discovery, where people will be able to see the truth before they hear about it. This place will not be a location, but a community of people who are inclusive of everyone. These people will be making eternity attractive by how they live such self-less lives now and will be modeling life in a New Kingdom in ways that will make it easy for other people to give it a try. People like this aren't desperate to convert people; they are desperate to be like Christ and to be where he is. Their heartbeat is to be transformed into the image of Christ and to pray and work for little specks of transformation in everyone and everything they touch. Success is faithfulness and the rest is up to God!"

Hard to Believe...

It is hard to believe that in a little over a week, we will have occupied our Ministry Center for a year now! What a great and awesome year it has been! Looking forward to our Celebration Sunday on July 20, where we will look back and look forward.

In the coming year, I want us to look at who God has called us to be as Community of Joy! We will do that by looking at where God has placed us and the needs that are present there and by looking at who we -- what are the unique capabilities and resources God has given us and what particular focus most energizes us.

For me, I want to see us actively live our vision... being the hands and feet of Jesus and being a place where relationships matter. I want to see us identify ways we can make a profound difference in our community... ways we can bring up there, down here! Moving from an attractional model of ministry to an incarnational model of ministry.

I have a hunch that two groups of people that we can actively reach out to are the homeless and the university students...

What would happen if we reached out to the university students by sharing cold water on move-in day, inviting them to a free meal that night, then to another free meal the next week and then to our pork roast, and then we opened our building as a place to hang... sharing refreshments, free wi-fi, opportunities to connect?

What would happen if we purchased some property to turn into a transitional housing situation for a family on the edge and mentored them with life skills, financial counseling, and shared love with them?

What would happen if we bought a property and developed a training facility like DC Central Kitchen that would train street folks as we feed the hungry in our community?

Or what would happen if the burning desire of your heart became a reality and we found other ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus by actively reaching out with his love, hospitality, hope, healing, and peace?

It's time for us to think about, pray about, dream about such things! The growth of the church will be a by-product of our efforts to be the tangible kingdom of God!

Don't be that...

This past week at the work camp with our youth, Kevin Brown taught me something.... I overheard him saying to one of the other youth... something that I think is AWESOME. When one of the guys was getting out of line or beginning to act up... Kevin said, "Don't be that man!" "Don't be that woman!"

That statement is an awesome reminder that we can choose who we are... when things aren't going the way we want them to go or things are overwhelming us and we begin to act up or get out of line or aren't representing Jesus well... to be reminded by a brother or a sister... Don't be that man! Don't be that woman! is a great help!

Sometimes, that is all the reminder we need to change the course of our attitude or actions!

I have no idea where Kevin got that or if he made it up himself... but I like it a lot! Thanks Kevin!

Our final hours in D.C.

After eating lunch at the International Guest House and rounding up our belongings, we took our vehicles out to the New Carrolton Metro Station and hoped the metro back to Union Station. We enjoyed iced coffee drinks at Ebeneezer's Coffee House which is owned by National Community Church. We also attended their 5 p.m. worship service below the coffee shop... it was packed to overflowing... 170 plus people in a space that should hold about 125! People who wanted in, even had to leave due to no more space! They were participating in One Prayer and we heard their campus pastor's prayer for the church... Make us Doers! The neat thing for me was that the very passage of Scripture that he spoke about from James... was the passage I had planned to use for morning devotions but due to the hectic pace of running out of time at breakfast, I did not do devotions! In fact the message to be doers was the very emphasis I was going to make ... isn't God COOL!

We arrived home around 10:15 p.m. and I went straight to bed!

Our Last day in D.C.

Went to the Capital Area Food Bank today to ackage food for some daycare facilities next week.

It is a 48,000 sf facility where thousands of people are provided groceries. It gets donations from ara supermarkets that have slightly damaged packages or otherwise unable to be sold to the public. It is called food recovery... because the food would be thrown away otherwise.

LOTS of Serving...

Yesterday, we did LOTS of serving and today we will be serving as well! Yesterday was an absolutely FUN day! The fun started as we were on our way to the DC Central Kitchen, where they serve 4500 people a day! More on that later... we posed for pics in the fancy new CoJ/C2 youth shirts. Then the second bus driver helped us get where we were going even though his bus didn't get there. Then it was serving time...

After orientation, where we were told about this kitchen being the source of food for 4500 people in DC a day, we were each assigned a chef to work with... actually there were 4 or so chefs. Christian, Kevin and I cut up 100 pounds of potatoes, made a potatoe and carrots dish, filled pans with baked chicken for distribution, loaded pans with hotdogs, and helped to package the potatoes and carrots for distribution. Miss Tami, helped cut onions, cucumbers and to make cole-slaw. Miss Belinda was promoted to assistant to the chef and she monitored the ovens (approximately 10) and made a homemade soup (chicken and rice). Caroline, Brittany, and Kayla made two days worth of breakfast sandwiches.... for this morning and tomorrow. They made more than our Chef Mike though they would make!

Chef Mike was totally IMPRESSED with our group! AWESOME bunch of willing servants! I was TOTALLY PROUD of them!

After all that, about 12:15 we ate there with the other group from Kansas, who came to serve.

The DC Central Kitchen has a motto to cook as if for your family. They are the supplier of food to most of the DC region's soup kitchens and they also feed the residents in the shelter that is above the kitchen. The kitchen is a top notch commercial kitchen where they also operate a catering business from. They employ chefs and drivers... the drivers take the food to the shelters each day in nice box vans. They are funded by grants, in kind donations, and the profits from the catering business. It was founded by Robert Egger who then wrote a book (which I bought several years ago, but haven't read, indeed I will now though!)

Here is what the description on Amason.com says about DC Central "You are a good person. You are one of the 84 million Americans who volunteer with a charity. You are part of a national donor pool that contributes nearly $200 billion to good causes every year. But you wonder: Why don't your efforts seem to make a difference?

Fifteen years ago, Robert Egger asked himself this same question as he reluctantly climbed aboard a food service truck for a night of volunteering to help serve meals to the homeless. He wondered why there were still people waiting in line for soup in this day and age. Where were the drug counselors, the job trainers, and the support team to help these men and women get off the streets? Why were volunteers buying supplies from grocery stores when restaurants were throwing away unused fresh food every night? Why had politicians, citizens, and local businesses allowed charity to become an end in itself? Why wasn't there an efficient way to solve the problem?

Robert knew there had to be a better way. In 1989, he started the D.C. Central Kitchen by collecting unused food from local restaurants, caterers, and hotels and bringing it back to a central location where hot, nutritious meals were prepared and distributed to agencies around the city."

After serving... we went through the Holocost Museum... what a SAD and AWEFUL tragedy that memorializes... we were very numb when we finished walking through the main exhibit for 2 hours.

Then it was out to get rained on and supper and then fireworks near the Whitehouse and Washington Monument. Afterward, we waited for nearly an hour and 3/4 for a bus. Tami and I took advantage of the wait to do a photo op at the whitehouse... George and Larua didn't invite us in!

SORRY this is so long and the pics are out of order!

LOTS of WALKING today....

Today, we got breakfast early... and jumped on a bus to go to the capital area... to meet Phil Jones, the Church of the Brethren Washington Office Director and then we walked from his office to the Capital for a special tour he had arranged for us. Then we walked out onto the part of the Capital that will be used in January for the Presidential Inauguration and stood where the new President will take the oath of office.

While there, we hear the practice session for tomorrow night's fourth celebration with Huey Lewis and the News.... From there, we walked to the Lincoln Memorial touring it and the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, WW Memorials and the Monument. From the Monument, we walked back to the capital and then to Union Station.... it was a LONG walk... we are all sore and the kids are questioning my guiding ability... though I did know where I was going and when they were concerned, I stopped two people to confirm my great sense of direction! It's just that is was about 25 block farther than I told them it would be!

The steps we are walking down in the pics are the very steps that the president walks down to get to the inauguration. The chamber is the old senate chamber and the pics with the large paintings are in the rotunda. The biggest disappointment of the day is that after taking these pictures, my camera memory card died!

It was my first time ever seeing the Vietnam War Memorial... and I was amazed at the wave of sadness that overtook me when I started walking down reading the names.... I almost burst out crying... what a sad thing war is!

Having a great time in D.C.

We arrived safely and in good time at our host site for our stay in D.C. It is the International Guest House which is run by the Allegany Conference of Mennonites. Wilbur and Helen Yoder, our volunteer hosts are very sweet and provide a very warm welcome. The pics are of the house and it's wonderful porch.

We walked 8 blocks tonight to get supper from a Carry out Chinese place that took about 45 minutes to prepare. The city definitely changed the farther we walked... and while we were waiting for dinner, we were glad that we were not staying in that part of town. The house is in a great section though.

At 9 p.m. every night... the 13 residents and staff all join together for tea in the living room. That was fun... we drank iced tea and had birthday cake for Wilbur's birthday and went around the circle introducing ourselves. One lady was from Harrisonburg VA and after a few more sentences we found out she grew up in Belleville PA... SMALL WORLD... There were other connections as well... a delightful time... met one lady... Rasy who is from Cambodia and is blind and homeless... but had enough money to travel from the streets of California to here... she spent last night at Reagan Airport and is here tonight and then will go back to the airport... interesting lady... I really enjoyed talking to her.

This is going to be a great experience for our kids... each morning they put the flags from the countries that the guests represent on the table at breakfast. Tomorrow there will be one for Cambodia, Congo, among others. Neat, neat experience!

Going to D.C. on a Work Camp Experience...

I am going with some of our senior high youth today through Saturday night to Washington D.C. on a work camp experience that Miss Tami put together for us.

We will be staying at the international guest house and tomorrow we will visit with the Church of the Brethren Washington Office director and will tour the capitol, meet our congressional reps and look at some of the monuments. Then Friday and Saturday, we will work at a soup kitchen and food bank. Of course, we will take in the 4th of July fireworks on Friday and on Saturday night, we will attend the 5 p.m. worship gathering of National Community Church which owns a coffe shop called Ebenezers.

It should be a fun and meaningful trip.

Some Quotes....

Here are some quotes to share and think about....

”Religious people have preferences; Missional people have stories” Bruce Wesley

“If you copy someone else’s vision, who will accomplish yours?” unknown

”What causes exclusive community is fear. What causes inclusive community is love!” Hugh Halter

“If people aren’t asking about our lives, then we haven’t postured our faith well enough or long enough.” Hugh Halter

“The gospel is the tangible life of God flowing into every nook and cranny of our everyday life.” Hugh Halter

“People who only dream of community usually destroy it, but those who love people without expectation unknowingly create it.” Hugh Halter

”Missional people are individuals committed to forming their character and lifestyle after those of Christ and who are compelled to live out their faith in the context of a community.” Hugh Halter

God's Amazing Work....

During this One Prayer series, where I had a significant break from preaching, I had decided that I wanted to use the extra time I had to wrestle with the question (through prayer and reading) of how we as a congregation get to the next level. A friend of mine, Jeff Glass, suggested a book to me... so, I bought it and a sequel and read them both. In the mean time, one Sunday after worship, Connie Polovina was talking to me about next steps and asked what my vision was for the congregation. Then I saw two more books that looked helpful in this quest and I purchased and read them. Turns out they were VERY helpful.

One of the things that I was concerned about was that in 1999 when Sharon and I first came to Community of Joy, things were booming for the first 10 months -- excitement was high and attendance and giving jumped to all time highs for us as a congregation. Part of that was excitement of new leadership and part of that was an intentional vision casting process and part of that was some new ways of doing things.... BUT about 10 months into the journey, things started to plateau and then we began the slow decline until a year ago, when we purchased our ministry center and things took off again... however, in recent months the plateau has begun again... some of that is due to loosing our sign out front... but I think it is more than that... I am beginning to see that we have a vision issue again... NOT that we don't have a vision, but that our vision is mostly words on a paper and not a song in our hearts. Part of the vision issue is that for some the motivating vision is still to become a self-supporting congregation... which includes owning a building, meeting our budget, paying our mortgage, and modest growth. But there has to be more to vision than that!

The book that was most helpful to me in this regard is called Church Unique by Will Mancini... in it Will shares a process that helps us determine what our UNIQUE vision from God is and then offers a framework to integrate that vision so that it motivates us on to new levels. It all begins with developing a Kingdom Concept... which is the simple, clear, big idea that defines how our church will glorify God and make disciples... based on the local opportunities where God has placed us, the unique resources and capabilities that God brings together in us and the particular focus that most energizes and animates us.

One of the things that I realized and this book confirms is that without a motivating vision that is unique to us... we jump from one idea to the next in the hopes that something will get us where we want to go. I confess that I am part of a movement of pastors in America that have hopped on the Conference bandwagon that we spend time at ministry conferences hearing what is happening in certain churches and then try to imitate that hoping that it will help us too! Doing this ignores the fact that God has made each church unique and called us to a unique purpose. God doesn't mass produce his church... each church is unique. "If we copy someone else's vision, who will accomplish ours?"

I think it is time to clarify our vision! And I am exploring a relationship with a Navigator who will help us do that and will be working with and through the leadership team to determine where we go next. The one thing I am sure of... I don't want to enter a decline again... I want to continue moving forward on mission... being the hands and feet of Jesus in the community and world.

Another thing I am clear on is ... growing the church is the by-product of vision and not the vision. The church will grow as we live out our God given unique vision in the place where God has planted us!