Tulsa Workshops, etc.

Hello all,

I finally remembered how to sign in to the Blog. It has been a while. I kept checking for entries to read, though. Well enough on that.

We were blessed to attend the Soul Winning Workshop this year. I now understand Dan's and Tim's enthusiasm about it. Excellent speakers, excellent singing, etc.................................................

I ran into Garreth on Friday evening and Sharon and I got to talk with him for a while. We spotted Jerry Hill from Timothy Hill Children's Ranch on Saturday evening and he set with us during the Worship time. I wish you guys could have made it. We live approx. 20 minutes from the Expo Center.

We are plugged into a church family now. We kind of avoided this church because of its history and some words of other people. But a funny thing happened! We had an ice storm the week after Thanksgiving and Collinsville church of Christ was the only church in the entire area that did not cancel worship. We went and were surrounded by people. You would have thought that we were former members returning after a long absence. Well, we decided to give it a try and have dug in roots. Sharon has helped with the young kids chorus as they readied for a leadership conference where they earned several awards. I have so far not said yes (but the day is coming) to the numerous attempts to get me to teach a class, but do lead singing about every fourth Wednesday evening. We participate in the small group ministry (not really small, more of a fellowship group).

I think the thing that is most impressive about the congregation is the ministry to the community. They have a food pantry that is open several days a week to anyone in need. The local schools and even some other churches (including the Catholics) donate can goods to the cause. The church hosts the Good Samaritan Van once a month to provide free medical care to those needing it. We have neighbors down the street that had medical difficulties (Emily has cancer and peter had a car wreck) recently and an elder and his wife stepped in to provide food an rides for them. The church had a "clothing and stuff" give away a couple of Sundays ago and it made such an impact that they opened again on Friday and the local paper wrote an article to advertise it for free.

I talked with a police officer last night in my driveway (he is from Maine and saw our Massachusetts plates when we first moved in and introduced himself) and the conversation turned to church. I told him where we worship and he said he is very impressed with what the church does for the community. He is Catholic and his wife is pentecostal so he doesn't worship anywhere right now. I told him he would be welcome at our church and would not be judged because he comes form a different denomination. He laughed and said, " yea isn't funny how different groups decide everyone else is going to hell." Then his radio beckoned and he had to go. Who knows where it will lead.

I say all of this as encouragement that if you get involved in ministering to the community people will notice. It does not have to start out as a big thing. It just needs to start meeting unmet needs in the community to have an effect. It may be joining with another church to accomplish something, or making up baskets for battered women. It just needs to be something.

Collinsville was a small church with mostly old people less than ten years ago. They started praying for young families while serving the community and now the congregation is 200 strong with a lot of younger families and kids. We have six men with preaching/ministry degrees. We have four elders and four other former elders. We are starting a building fund to house the growth and the first contribution toward the fund was $38,000 in cash with another $15,ooo in pledges for the year.

I really believe that when the church becomes the blessing to the community, that God intends, He will bring growth to sustain that blessing and possibly grow it. I have no idea what plans you guys have at present, but if you will focus on the needs of the community, then you will become a sustainable blessing in West Springfield.

"nough said"
God Bless!
Alan

P.S. I think Alan Middleton may be in Africa on a mission trip right now - WOW!

New Leaf

Okay so this week is New Leaf Sunday, and I am hopeful. All of the invite cards have been taken, and several people have suggested that they are expecting people to come. Very cool. My hope is that it will lead to studies and such. May God turn over a New Leaf for us as a congregation.

After the Ward's Departure - further reflections

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. -- Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 7.

By quoting this after the title of my post, I don't mean to say that the Wards were Jesus. Rather, I wonder how the apostles felt when Jesus told them this. I wonder if they felt a sense of dispair, thinking that they didn't want the change it would mean. Perhaps they didn't want the helper - they wanted Jesus.

But the change his departure to the Father worked for the apostles was truly profound.

Now the change the Father has worked in our congregation after the departure of the Wards is not on the same scale as the coming of the Holy Spirit, but it is pretty significant. People who have not been teaching - who often and repeatedly said, "No" - those people are now in classrooms. Meetings that were closed because of lack of participation are reopening with more people particiapting than before.

Perhaps we had to be afflicted so that we might learn to trust God. Perhaps we needed to be pushed to take God more seriously. Perhaps we needed upheaval. Perhaps Psalm 119:71 applies here: It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

My hope is that we will continue in this positive dirrection - that this is no flash in the pan, but an ongoing, growing time in our lives.

Thoughts on the Ward's Departure

Posted this on my family blog that my parents and brother and sisters (and assorted in-laws) use to keep in touch. It kind of shows where I am with things. Thought perhaps the folks who read this blog might be interested in seeing it.

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Since I arrived at West Springfield, somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 folks have moved away. No one has been angry or upset (at least, not that I know of). It's been stuff like a military family that was transferred to another assignment, or folks who finish their studies here and move on to another place to get a job, or folks who loose their job here find one somewhere else.

The problem is, in that 60 people who moved away was the core of this church. Several of those folks were the folks who were able and willing to show up and work. They guy who did youth ministry, the family who did everything, they two strong song leaders, the guy who was willing to teach, the lady who always taught the third grade class – they’ve all moved off! Some of the folks who moved left little hole behind themselves, but several have left a vacuum (when that happens, it really sucks! Har).

This morning, the Ward family announced that they would be leaving to move to Oklahoma. Sharon Ward is a founding member of this church. Alan is kind of like the church father – his leadership keeps things going.

So now, I’m looking around, and what I keep thinking to myself is “The Lord is God.”

The reason I keep thinking this is simply this: if this church is going to live, it is because God wants it to live. Because it seems to me that this church does not have a lot of oomph, not a lot of will to live, and it seems to me that the support system is being shut off. Either the systems will kick in and begin to function, or the church is going to shut down and die.

And here’s the other thing – the boiler needs to be replaced. If we do not replace it before this winter, we will have to shut down the building for the winter. Winter is very, very long here. Very long.

Yikes!

Oh, and our education system at church is failing. We no longer have the number of teachers we need to keep a cradle roll going. We have never been able to staff Children’s Church unless Ashley was willing to run it (which she did for 8months!). It isn’t that we don’t have enough people – that would be sad, but it wouldn’t be irritating. But we do have folks who could teach, if they were only willing to do it. But people are actually refusing to help.

Oh, and I forgot to mention we have a pretty substantial mold problem. There is a beard on a few of the carpets, and there are actually mushrooms growing on a couple of the walls. We actually expect to put children in these rooms? Yikes!

Oh, and I’m beginning to have a morale problem (both my own, and a few other folks that I am sensing).

Oh, and Godzilla attacked our building last week, and burned up my library. [Okay, I made up the last one]

SO . . . starting to wonder, am I just not good at this job? Is this church failing and dying because I am not a very good minister? Beginning to wonder.

But the Lord, he is God. He can take care and He will do what is wisest and best. The Lord is God, and I will trust him. It's hard sometimes to understand and to believe and to trust. But I suppose those are the most important times to remember that the Lord, he is God.

What do we do when we are hurting?

Most of the time, when I feel a big burden on my life, I get sad and grumpy.

I know that I am not supposed to do this, but supposed to has very little with who I am at my worst moments. When I feel a heavy burden because I feel betrayed, or let down, or like a failure or a hundred other broken things that bring me down, I tend to be at less than my best.

I know what I ought to be and to do.

When I am in that broken place, I ought to turn to Jesus. He says to me, "Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." I know thats what I should do. I know from experience the few times I have done it that it works - I really do feel better after going to God with my pain and my shame.

So why don't I do it every time? Don't I want to feel better?

Who are we and what do we do when we feel bottomed out?

Knowing About God or Knowing God

So what's the difference between these two things? How do I know if I know God? How do I know if I love Him?

A short time ago, I spent an hour with my wife and children flying a kite. Why would I do that? Because it was terrific fun, and because I love them. I don't want to be a stranger to my kids or allow my relationship with my wife to drift, so I invest the time.

So is it any fun at all to spend time with God? When other things demand my time, do I greive because I can't be with Him? Does it ever worry me that I'm starting to feel like a stranger to Him or He seems strange to me? Do I enjoy wasting time with Him?

When I talk with my daughter, she says some of the funniest things. I love talking to her and holding her on my lap. She will lean over and say "I want to tell you a secret, Daddy." And then she will whisper in my ear, "I love you, Daddy."

Do I like to pray? Is it a sense of duty that sends me to my knees, or do I look forward to it? Do I feel like I am getting to spend time with a loved family member when I spend time in the quiet with God?

Sometimes I wonder if I know Him.

I know a lot about Him. I can explain His behavior and His character to people who have not heard and do not know. I can explain His great actions, and I can help people to look for Him in their lives. I can even see Him in mine.

But do I know Him? Do I love Him?

I want to. Sometimes, I think I am getting to know Him. But I do wonder sometimes if I will ever come to feel like I am any more than a nervous beginner in a relationship with Him.

I am glad to be known by Him. I want to come to know Him.

Behold He Comes

Isaiah 13:9 - Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Isaiah 40:10 - Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

What a difference the Servant of the Lord makes. One way or the other, He comes. Our experience of God is shaped by our relationship with Jesus. Either He comes as the strong and mighty Father on who’s arm we can lean with a reward in His hands, or He comes as a vicious warrior, cruel in his battle tactics to destroy us.

He comes. He comes.

Come soon Lord Jesus, but if you must wait, then keep us in your covenant of love and peace. When He comes, I want to see him smile, not draw his terrible sword.