Multi-Voiced Church

A few weeks ago, I ordered a new book that caught my attention... by a writer that I appreciate..."The POWER of ALL:  Building a Multivoiced Church" by Stuart Murry Williams and his wife Sian.   I was excited to find it waiting for me on Friday when I returned home from Tampa.   Today I was elated to find a facebook notice from a friend and leader in the Church of the Brethren announcing a webinar today with Stuart on the topic of Multivoiced Learning.   I quickly figured out that I could make the times work for me in my schedule and am delighted that I did.  A second part Webinar is scheduled for next week as well and it is on my schedule.

Stuart was exploring the move from monologue to dialouge in preaching.   Or really a shift from performance by the preacher to learning by and from all!   I really like the idea and actually have employed it some (one facet of it anyways) at Community of Joy over the years.   And I find it a rich time when we have a talk back time after the sermon.  

Another aspect of this mutlivoiced learning that Stuart lifted up today was preparing sermons in a group.  I have employed that facet too but far less frequently and find that it is rich as well.  In fact this week I plan to do just that as I will be using the same passage that our guest speaker used last week because as we particpated in a sermon analysis focus group with her last week (as part of a preaching seminary class she is doing and we are the listening body for her) a wealth of ideas emerged from the group interaction that I thought would be fun to explore this week.

I am anxious now to read this book and have elevated it to the top of my "To Read" pile.   In addition to multivoiced learning it explores, multivoiced worship, multivoiced community, multivoiced discernment and multivoiced church.

Taking a break

I am taking a break from blogging this week.  Check back on Monday the 21st for the next installment.

Take Heart....

Mark Batterson is one of my favorite authors.  I have read all of his books and just got his latest, "Draw the Circle" and will break into it shortly.   Mark is a pastor in the DC area and has a way with short sayings.

One saying that he crafted and I like alot is... "Work like it all depends on you and pray like everything depends on God."

I hope in the next year at Community of Joy, we can take that to heart and live it!

She Didn't Listen!

Before Caroline went to LA she was so excited that she would be turning 21 out there and had big plans to celebrate with her roommate and other friends.  Her roommate turned 21 in December and she has been out with others who have also turned 21.  It seems that when a girl turns 21 now, they do alot to call attention to that fact... like wear a tiarra and a sash telling the world it is their 21st birthday.

 

Well, I was concerned about Caroline doing that out there in LA.  So, I gave her some fatherly advice.  I told her DO NOT CALL ATTENTION TO YOURSELF.   BLEND IN!

 

But she didn't listen!  

 

She called attention to herself in a BIG way!   She was the opening act on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.   She had about a 3 minute experience on the main stage with Craig.  Then Craig gave her a gift certificate for dinner at an upscale eatery called The Ivy.  The gift was for 4 people for up to $85 each.   She told us that the meal cost the 4 of them $325 dollars!   WOW!  What a birthday! 

 

Caroline will never forget her 21st birthday!  And for once, I am glad she didn't listen to me!

 

I love you Caroline!

 

 

 



 

Caroline and her roommate Brea!

 



Caroline Turns 21 Today!

I can hardly believe that my firstborn child - Caroline Elizabeth is 21 today!  It seems like only a few short years ago that we made our way to the JC Blair Hospital in Huntingdon, PA to start the process of brining her into the world.  

And now a few blinks later, she is 21 and in LA on a class trip with Bridgewater College.   I am very proud of who she has become and am excited to see where she goes in life in the coming years!


Sorry the quality isn't better... the photo was taken with my phone from the album Sharon made of Caroline's infant years.  This is her great grandmother Grove admiring her first great grand child.

Really???

Last night on my way home from hunting with my nephew Ben in Cordova, I drove by a church (that shall remain nameless) that had in gigantic letters on their lighted sign ... "Come Visit   All Are Welcome".

That is a great message and one that we certainly want to communicate as a church!  However, I seriously question the truthfulness of their message.   And not for reasons that you might think.    You see, no where was it evident what time their gatherings are.   So they are telling me I am welcome but they aren't telling me the time they want me to come!

Now to be fair, their times are on the sign but they are like 2 point size and unreadable even if you stopped on the shoulder of the road to find out.   The welcome message was big... like 70 point size. 

This sign got me to thinking... how much do we try to do all we can to make it easy for people to join us?   Sadly and I think unintentionally, we express welcome, but then we don't do all that is necessary to help people come.  So, in the end, our welcome really isn't very welcoming!

How welcome are new people to your church?

Who are you?

I have been having an interesting conversation with a friend about what defines who we are.  

My friend was saying that his life is a pyramid and the base of that pyramid on which everything is built, including his relationship with Christ, is his work or career.  Interesting perspective, but not what I think.

I think if our life is a pyramid, then our relationship with Christ is the base of the pyramid and everything else is built on that relationship with Christ, including your career, your other relationships, your interests and hobbies.

It is really a question of what defines who you are?  Is it your work or is it your relationship with Christ?   For me, seeking first the kingdom of God means that my relationship with Christ is the base and is what defines who I am.  Everything else is part of that relationship.   And it it can't be part of that relationship, then I need to cut it out of my life.

What do you think?  Who are you?   What defines who you are?

Great Way to Ring in the New Year!

I realize that I have been negligent in posting on my blog in the last few months of 2012.  So, I begin this new year with a desire to do better.

Sharon and I had no real plans for what we would do last night to see the new year in.  So, we went out to dinner at one of our favorite places to eat in Salisbury - Cactus Taverna!  After a delicious meal, we went across the highway to the Regal Cinemas to see Les Miserables.

Now, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I am not a big fan of plays and had no idea what the story line on this play made movie was but was hearing good reviews.  It was an incredible movie.  Very intense.  Very meaningful.  Very moving.   A great way to ring in the new year!

The thing that stands out to me the most from the movie (and likely also the play) was the power of grace!   It was vividly illustrated from begining to end of the movie.  And it is an important reminder that one experience of grace in our lives can drastically change the trajectory of our lives if we allow it to. 

Jean Val Jean was an escaped parolee and was hungry and desparate when he stumbled into the church.  After a hearty meal and some fine hospitality, in the middle of the night he decided to steal much of the silver that was in the church.  But sometime the next day, he was caught and returned to the church to be punished.  It was then that he first encountered grace and that encounter impacted his life and the lives of many after that!   As the officer was turning him over for punishment, the priest, told the officer that he had given the silver to Jean val Jean.  And then got the silver candle sticks and gave them to him saying, "you forgot to take these!"    Then put them in his pack and set him free.   That act of grace - unmerited favor - forever changed him.  All through out the movie - again and again, Jean val Jean had opportunity to extend grace to others, even his pursuer... and it impacted their lives as well.

As I reflect on that power... I can't help but feel that if we who follow Christ - God's gift of grace to the world, would allow that grace to change our lives in the same way Jean val Jean did... the world would be a drastically different place in which to live... it might even be what Jesus prayed for in his prayer taught to his followers... "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

God's Mercy is NEW Every Morning!

 

I have been neglectful lately in posting to my blog... mostly because I have been way busier than I like and feeling some stress due to that busyness! 

 

This morning as I was driving to the Mall(not to shop - that is long done) to walk for my morning exercize routine, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful sunrise.  I wish I had my real camer and not the iphone camera but I didn't so... I captured it with my iphone.   Isn't it beautful?!   It is a reminder to me that God's mercy is fresh and new every morning!

 

May you live into that freshness!

Hearing the Angels Sing....

Sitting here trying to come to grips with the news of this day... HORRIBLE news! 

Innocent lives taken!  The trajectory of people's lives changed in an instant.   A horrific school shooting...this news is becoming all too frequent in our world.

How desparately our world needs to hear the angels sing again!  Long ago, they proclaimed a message that we need to hear again... "peace on earth, goodwill to all"!

The only way that becomes a reality is when it begins in you and me... and overflows from our lives into the lives of others around us.

Praying for the victims families and the rest of us.... that our ears might be tuned in to hear the angels sing and our hearts might be forever changed by their song so that our lives would honor the life of others!

Walking a Mile in Someone's Shoes...

The old saying is... until you walk a mile in someone's shoes...

Well, today I had a similar experience but not in shoes... today, I got to ride in another person's wheel chair - not a manual one... but a motorized one... and what a scary experience!!!  Especially navigating it out of the tight corners from the bedroom, where it was located, to the van outside.  And the MOST SCARY part of all was riding it out of the van onto the lift and trusting that it would stop when it needed to.   I had it in the lowest gear and barely touched the joystick to inch it forward!

I gained a whole new appreciation for my friend.  She makes it look SO EASY navigating this chair around.   I can't tell you how many times I have seen her move around and thought how easy she does it.  However, when I got into the chair and began to navigate it, I soon realized tht 2 seconds was all I needed to know it is NOT EASY!

You can't really know a person and what their life is like until you ride in there wheel chair for more than 20 feet!

Praying my friend soon is able to use her chair... even better yet, that she will soon have her new chair.  First week behind us of the 4-6 they said until the ordered chair comes in.

Joy

I have been enjoying Adam Hamilton's devotional book "The Journey: A season of Reflections" this advent!   In it he writes the following about Joy and I say a hearty AMEN!

"Joy, unlike happiness, can come to us independant of our circumstances.  It comes not from changing our circumstances but from viewing them through the eyes of faith.... Joy is a choice we make when we look at our present circumstances through eyes of faith, trusting that God is at work and that he will never leave us nor abandon us.  And it is often found with the help of another who reassures us that God is with us."

Touched by Generosity!

It is the season of giving... and lately I have been touched by people's generosity.

I participate in a hunting forum online and one day this week a guy who recently lost his job was selling his hunting equipment so that he could raise $600 to get his children some things for Christmas.  A couple guys asked if he was getting out of hunting or if he was just doing this to provide for his children.  He said he was doing it to provide for his children.  One guy offered to buy his stuff and donate it back.  One guy stepped up to the plate and said that he would receive paypal donations from the members and would make up the difference himself to $500.  Well, that touched off a firestorm of donations.  It was almost no time till he had sent $2,000 and more are still coming.  It also touched off lots of offers for jobs.  And one guy offered to give him a new set of bow strings (this guy makes them) another guy paid his membership in the site.  Another guy offered his family to come to his Christmas Tree lot and get a tree.  My guess is that the donations now total over $2500.  Everytime I read the new posts, I get tears in my eyes seeing the generosity of people.  And all of this allowed the guy to keep his hunting stuff.

Tuesday, I stepped out in faith and made a financial commitment to help a friend.   I was sure that I could find the resources to meet the need between folks in our congregation and the men in my community Bible study group and if not I would kick in the difference.   Was not sweating it at all.  Wednesday, I got a phone call... totally unsolicited saying that someone wanted to step up and help out and it might cover the total amount!   Today, I received a call back saying that if it was needed the ENTIRE amount was covered!  WOW!

What a difference it makes in our lives and in the lives of others when we live generous lives!

Letting Go Is Part of Life...

Yesterday, I  had the Hutchison Fleet of vehicles minus one serviced with oil changes, tire rotations, and alignment checks... and worked at the Ministry Center between jockeying the cars to Expert Tire.   Emma's vehicle was first.

Shortly after dropping her vehicle off, my mom called and we chatted a bit and she asked what I was doing.  So, I told her and she made a comment that I thought about all day...  She told me that I needed to teach my girls how to take care of their own cars, getting them in for service and then let them do it for themselves.  I told her that they both know when it needs to be done and they let me know and I do the rest.  I know it is soon time for me to let them handle making the appointment and so forth.  They are doing that in other areas of their lives now - like dentist, doctors, and glasses.

Mom is right... a necessary part of growing up is teaching our children how to take care of themselves and letting go.

The same is true in our discipling relationships.  We need to teach the people we are discipling what they need to know and then we need to let them go on their own.

The same is true with the church, too!  We need to constantly be raising up new people to take responsibilities and then let go of those things.  

In all aspects of life... training others and letting go is a necessary part of life.  Otherwise we create a co-depenant culture and that is not healthy.   I want my girls to be able to live fully and not be dependant on me.  Not that I mind doing for them, but I want them to know how to do for themselves and to have the confidence to do so!

Evidence of God at Work...

Jesus calls us to love those who persecute us.  He also calls us to love our enemies.  He even calls us to love the unlovable.   That is very hard to do, especially when we get hurt in the mix.

As a Pastor, I love seeing when people in my congregation take this call of Jesus seriously!

In recent weeks, I have seen this evidenced in the lives of two people....

Here is the first account in that person's own words (used with their permission)...

"What a day. My rental house was broken into and so I had more repairs to do than expected. Strangely, I am not angry at the individual(s) that did this. I truly forgive the person(s) that caused the destruction to my house. Why?because no one hurts others unless they are hurting themselves. Hurt, anger, fear, resentment, substance abuse, violence, and apathy do not come from God. They come from be...ing lost in a life of desperation which is far from The Father. I pray for The Holy Spirit to move these unknown offenders to awaken to the love and joy of Jesus Christ. I also find it easy to extend grace, because God extends it to me every day. I will sleep peacefully tonight knowing that the kingdom of heaven is within me. Glory to The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit."

 

And the other one spent significant hours from their day helping someone who has been estranged from them for a while now.   This person went above and beyond to show the love of Christ.  And when I affirmed that, their response was, ... "What good am I to return good for good.  Even the heathen do that."

Responses like these from Christ Followers will change the world!