40 days is a sacred time period for Christians. We look back and recognize that Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai when he received the 10 Commandments from God. Jesus took 40 days for prayer and fasting before he began his ministry to the world. Jesus also spent 40 days after his resurrection with his followers. So God seems to do amazing things in 40 days.
I believe God has done it again. As we gave 40 days focusing on what it means to live in community, we learned that we are better together. Not only did we learn that lesson, but we lived it.
Yesterday in worship we had a time for people to share what God did in 40 days. It was a powerful time of hearing testimonies of what God was doing. I want to do the same with my blog this week. I want to invite anyone who reads it to share what God did in your life the last 40 days. So please comment on this blog and just share a sentence or a story praising God for what He did.
I praise God for all of the servants I have seen. Hearing all of the ideas that the 40 Days small groups are coming up with to reach out and serve our community is amazing. And then seeing results from some of those ministries already encourages me that God has plenty more for us to do to show his love to this world.
Our 40 Days of Community focus has ended, but I believe it is just the beginning of the next step for St. Paul's UMC to become the Body of Christ God has called us to be.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
40 Days of Community: We Worship
Day 37. The final purpose we have as a community during this 40 day focus is worship. We worship together. We worship as we are reminded of God's love for us and as we give love back to God. I think worship can be a personal experience, but it also is an amazing experience in community.
One of the most powerful worship experiences I have had in my life was going to Promise Keeper's in Minneapolis. Promise Keeper's is a ministry for men. We had 40,000-50,000 men in the Metrodome singing praise to God. Many times I see men sing shyly in church. But in the dome we were belting it out. And to hear that many men singing praises to God was powerful.
Worshiping with a huge group of people is powerful, but not necessary for wonderful worship. I have experienced mighty worship will small groups as well. I remember an Ash Wednesday service held a few years ago when our old parsonage was our Church Center. We had about a foot of snow that day and only 6 or 8 of us gathered. Yet the worship was wonderful. God was gathered there with us in that cozy setting.
Jesus says, "Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you" (Matthew 18:20). When we gather together for worship God is present with us, whether it is 3 of us or 3,000. We need to keep meeting together to receive God's love and to give love back to him.
I would love to hear your wonderful worship experiences in community if you would like to share them.
One of the most powerful worship experiences I have had in my life was going to Promise Keeper's in Minneapolis. Promise Keeper's is a ministry for men. We had 40,000-50,000 men in the Metrodome singing praise to God. Many times I see men sing shyly in church. But in the dome we were belting it out. And to hear that many men singing praises to God was powerful.
Worshiping with a huge group of people is powerful, but not necessary for wonderful worship. I have experienced mighty worship will small groups as well. I remember an Ash Wednesday service held a few years ago when our old parsonage was our Church Center. We had about a foot of snow that day and only 6 or 8 of us gathered. Yet the worship was wonderful. God was gathered there with us in that cozy setting.
Jesus says, "Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you" (Matthew 18:20). When we gather together for worship God is present with us, whether it is 3 of us or 3,000. We need to keep meeting together to receive God's love and to give love back to him.
I would love to hear your wonderful worship experiences in community if you would like to share them.
Monday, October 11, 2010
40 Days of Community: Made for Ministry Together
Day 30. You were made for ministry. We were made for ministry together. God has given each of us gifts and talents to use to serve other people. Sometimes we may think that ministry should be left to the "professionals," but Scripture clearly calls everyone into ministry.
In Luke 5:17-26 there is a powerful incident in Jesus' life that shares with us many lessons about being in ministry together. In this passage we hear about four men who carry a paralyzed man onto the roof of a home because they cannot get their friend through the crowd that has gathered around Jesus. They dig a hole in the roof and lower him down in front of Jesus. Because of their faith Jesus forgives this man's sins and heals him. He stands up and walks out of the house.
I think it would be interesting to know how this all started. Who took the initiative to go on this mission to get the paralyzed man to Jesus? It could have been the paralyzed man himself that thought up this plan and invited some friends to help. Or maybe he even convinced some strangers to help. The idea could have possibly come from these four guys. Maybe they decided to serve the paralyzed man, and didn't even tell him what they were doing. They just picked him up and took him to Jesus.
We will probably never know how this all started, but it made me think about how ministry starts in the church today. There are several ways people get involved in ministry. Some people are initiators and will jump right in and participate in ministry. Other people need to be asked or invited to serve in ministry. Personally I prefer the initiators, but I know most people need to be asked.
So I need to be sure we are able to help both groups get into ministry. We need to have a system that will encourage and support the initiators and help them get going in ministry. We also need to find ways to invite people to join in the ministry that is ongoing. We need to be ready to help everyone get connected in ministry because God has ministry for all of us.
Take time to think about how you get connected in ministry. If you are an initiator then keep jumping in and serving others. Sometimes ministries may not move fast enough for you, but keep pressing on. If you are one that waits for the invitation, just recognize that and be ready to respond when the request comes.
If you have ideas to help any of us get into ministry, I would love to hear them. We were made for ministry together.
In Luke 5:17-26 there is a powerful incident in Jesus' life that shares with us many lessons about being in ministry together. In this passage we hear about four men who carry a paralyzed man onto the roof of a home because they cannot get their friend through the crowd that has gathered around Jesus. They dig a hole in the roof and lower him down in front of Jesus. Because of their faith Jesus forgives this man's sins and heals him. He stands up and walks out of the house.
I think it would be interesting to know how this all started. Who took the initiative to go on this mission to get the paralyzed man to Jesus? It could have been the paralyzed man himself that thought up this plan and invited some friends to help. Or maybe he even convinced some strangers to help. The idea could have possibly come from these four guys. Maybe they decided to serve the paralyzed man, and didn't even tell him what they were doing. They just picked him up and took him to Jesus.
We will probably never know how this all started, but it made me think about how ministry starts in the church today. There are several ways people get involved in ministry. Some people are initiators and will jump right in and participate in ministry. Other people need to be asked or invited to serve in ministry. Personally I prefer the initiators, but I know most people need to be asked.
So I need to be sure we are able to help both groups get into ministry. We need to have a system that will encourage and support the initiators and help them get going in ministry. We also need to find ways to invite people to join in the ministry that is ongoing. We need to be ready to help everyone get connected in ministry because God has ministry for all of us.
Take time to think about how you get connected in ministry. If you are an initiator then keep jumping in and serving others. Sometimes ministries may not move fast enough for you, but keep pressing on. If you are one that waits for the invitation, just recognize that and be ready to respond when the request comes.
If you have ideas to help any of us get into ministry, I would love to hear them. We were made for ministry together.
Monday, October 4, 2010
40 Days of Community: Designed For Discipleship
Day 23. You were designed for discipleship. God put us together in such a way that we need to grow in our faith as disciples in a group. Being a part of a discipling group is essential to growing in our faith. It is essential to have other people with us on our faith journey. And not just people that will cheer us on (although we need that), but people who will ask us hard questions and hold us accountable in our faith.
The two most popular excuses I hear for not being in a discipling small group are fear of not knowing the Bible well enough and because the other people might hurt them.
To the first excuse I try to remind people that the point of the group is to get to know the Bible better. Everyone else in the group is there to learn also. Some may know a little more, but chances are someone will know less. I don't know it all and I need help from others to understand the Scriptures. That is okay. The point of the group is not to show off your biblical knowledge, it is to grow in your faith and grow in your knowledge of the love of God. (You may have someone who "knows it all" but they need your presence as well.)
I know the other concern about being hurt by other people is a real concern. When we are open and honest with other people we become vulnerable to being hurt by them. And if we are honest we have hurt people as well. This is part of being in relationship with imperfect people. The best way to handle this is to be open about it. Share those concerns with the people in your group. Let them know how important it is to you that confidences are kept. Also remember you do not have to bare your soul at the first meeting. Take your time. Get to know the people in the group and when you are ready you can share.
My best advice is to try a small group and if that one does not work try another. And keep trying until you find the right group. If a child gave up trying to walk because they fell once or twice, we would all be crawling around ruining our pants. So keep looking for the right people and the right group for you to be growing in discipleship with others around you. You will truly be blessed by those relationships and God will fill your life with amazing blessings.
The two most popular excuses I hear for not being in a discipling small group are fear of not knowing the Bible well enough and because the other people might hurt them.
To the first excuse I try to remind people that the point of the group is to get to know the Bible better. Everyone else in the group is there to learn also. Some may know a little more, but chances are someone will know less. I don't know it all and I need help from others to understand the Scriptures. That is okay. The point of the group is not to show off your biblical knowledge, it is to grow in your faith and grow in your knowledge of the love of God. (You may have someone who "knows it all" but they need your presence as well.)
I know the other concern about being hurt by other people is a real concern. When we are open and honest with other people we become vulnerable to being hurt by them. And if we are honest we have hurt people as well. This is part of being in relationship with imperfect people. The best way to handle this is to be open about it. Share those concerns with the people in your group. Let them know how important it is to you that confidences are kept. Also remember you do not have to bare your soul at the first meeting. Take your time. Get to know the people in the group and when you are ready you can share.
My best advice is to try a small group and if that one does not work try another. And keep trying until you find the right group. If a child gave up trying to walk because they fell once or twice, we would all be crawling around ruining our pants. So keep looking for the right people and the right group for you to be growing in discipleship with others around you. You will truly be blessed by those relationships and God will fill your life with amazing blessings.
Monday, September 27, 2010
40 Days of Community: You Belong
Day 16. For some reason I was reminded this morning of a horrible youth overnight Helen and I had down in Tennessee. We took the youth to a rock concert and then we were going to camp out at a state park. We had set up three tents and had a great evening, but in the middle of the night a thunderstorm rolled in. It started pouring.
I was in a tent with 5 of the boys and our tent started to leak. We made a barricade with our dirty clothes to keep the water from our sleeping bags. But the levee broke and we were sleeping in water.
Eventually we realized another tent was in water and we all made a run for the church 15 passenger bus. Looking at our tent we saw it was in 3 to 4 inches of standing water and we had put the tents up in the lowest part of the campground. We affectionately called it "Lake Stupid."
We ended up having at least 12 of us sleep in the church bus. We put two of the smaller kids into the overhead luggage racks to sleep and I slept on the cold, metal floor.
I thought about this because that was a terrible night's sleep and really just a miserable evening. However, it was a blast! It was a night that would be remembered for years in the youth group. Why? Because it was a storm we weathered together. It was a wonderful night of fellowship. Our youth group bonded and grew closer together through the night.
This is what fellowship is all about. We were created to go through life together. We are to be with one another in the good times and the bad. We need to be there for one another because we belong to each other. When you think about Christian fellowship just remember it is all about living life together.
You belong to the Body of Christ. You were formed for fellowship.
I was in a tent with 5 of the boys and our tent started to leak. We made a barricade with our dirty clothes to keep the water from our sleeping bags. But the levee broke and we were sleeping in water.
Eventually we realized another tent was in water and we all made a run for the church 15 passenger bus. Looking at our tent we saw it was in 3 to 4 inches of standing water and we had put the tents up in the lowest part of the campground. We affectionately called it "Lake Stupid."
We ended up having at least 12 of us sleep in the church bus. We put two of the smaller kids into the overhead luggage racks to sleep and I slept on the cold, metal floor.
I thought about this because that was a terrible night's sleep and really just a miserable evening. However, it was a blast! It was a night that would be remembered for years in the youth group. Why? Because it was a storm we weathered together. It was a wonderful night of fellowship. Our youth group bonded and grew closer together through the night.
This is what fellowship is all about. We were created to go through life together. We are to be with one another in the good times and the bad. We need to be there for one another because we belong to each other. When you think about Christian fellowship just remember it is all about living life together.
You belong to the Body of Christ. You were formed for fellowship.
Monday, September 20, 2010
40 Days of Community: Better Get-Together
Day 9. We have five purposes as a community: Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Worship and Evangelism. This week we are to focus on evangelism. Evangelism is sharing your faith with other people. This is a calling for all of us as individuals, but also as a community. So my question for you is how can you work with a community to share Christ with others?
There are many ways we can work together to reach people with God's love. First, we need to be praying for other people. Second, we need to love them. This is a great way to reach out with a group. Get a group together to go and show God's love to others. Each of our 40 Days small groups has been challenged to do this. (Personally I think my group will have the best ideas and reach the most people, but we will see.)
Along with those two things I want to encourage you to have better get-togethers. Have times of fun and fellowship with your Christian friends, but also be intentional to invite some people who do not have a church home or a relationship with Christ. You can be very creative with this, but just decide to do something you love and use it to reach out. We have a guy in our church that offers free guitar lessons. As people learn guitar they also experience some of God's love. I read about several couples who have season tickets to a professional football team. The couples then purchased two extra tickets to invite non-Christians to join them for the fun. Then if the non-Christians show interest they invite them to their weekly small group.
What do you love to do with other people? Think of how you could purposefully plan to do that with others in order to help someone experience God. Who would have thought going to a football game or learning the guitar could eternally change someone's life? But it can, if we get together and share God's love with them. God will do amazing things if we get together with others and allow God to work.
I would love to hear from you either what can happen through a community reaching out or what ideas you might have to reach out. If we share these ideas they may spark some wonderful things in one another. We are better together.
There are many ways we can work together to reach people with God's love. First, we need to be praying for other people. Second, we need to love them. This is a great way to reach out with a group. Get a group together to go and show God's love to others. Each of our 40 Days small groups has been challenged to do this. (Personally I think my group will have the best ideas and reach the most people, but we will see.)
Along with those two things I want to encourage you to have better get-togethers. Have times of fun and fellowship with your Christian friends, but also be intentional to invite some people who do not have a church home or a relationship with Christ. You can be very creative with this, but just decide to do something you love and use it to reach out. We have a guy in our church that offers free guitar lessons. As people learn guitar they also experience some of God's love. I read about several couples who have season tickets to a professional football team. The couples then purchased two extra tickets to invite non-Christians to join them for the fun. Then if the non-Christians show interest they invite them to their weekly small group.
What do you love to do with other people? Think of how you could purposefully plan to do that with others in order to help someone experience God. Who would have thought going to a football game or learning the guitar could eternally change someone's life? But it can, if we get together and share God's love with them. God will do amazing things if we get together with others and allow God to work.
I would love to hear from you either what can happen through a community reaching out or what ideas you might have to reach out. If we share these ideas they may spark some wonderful things in one another. We are better together.
Monday, September 13, 2010
40 Days of Community - Created for Community
Day 2
I am excited about what God is going to do as we focus on community for 40 days. I truly believe that if we are willing to live in real Christian community that the struggles of life will not defeat us. We can overcome any obstacle when we live life together. Ecclesiastes 3:12 says, "A cord of three strands is not easily broken." This reminds us that when we stand alone we are not as strong as when we are woven together with others.
This idea of being better together can be a new mindset for most of us. For most of our life we have been encouraged to be independent. It is time to get out on my own, to take care of myself, and to stand on my own two feet. Our country was founded on the Declaration of Independence. We are told it is weak to depend on other people.
This is different than God's teaching. The Bible does not teach us to be independent, but rather interdependent. We are taught in the Scriptures and through the life of Jesus to depend on God and depend on one another. We were created for community, not created for independence.
This means we need to open ourselves up to those around us. We need to be willing to share our struggles and let people know when we need help. We also need to be willing to help when others are in need.
Right now what I see happening is that people are struggling with loneliness, depression, financial situations, broken relationships (especially marriages), and many other situations. They are struggling and because they want to be independent they will not share their need for a community to lift them up. At the same time, we do not have a close enough relationship with that person to know the struggles in their lives.
We need to work on creating a community where we know each other. Where we are open with each other and trust each other. This will weave us together into a strong cord that will not be broken. Then we all will be a community that will hold each other up when facing struggles.
This will not happen overnight, but I believe it is a great goal to pursue. It starts with you, and it can start today. Will you join me in declaring our interdependence?
P.S.
If you actually read the Declaration of Independence you will find in the last line a declaration of dependence on God and each other. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
I am excited about what God is going to do as we focus on community for 40 days. I truly believe that if we are willing to live in real Christian community that the struggles of life will not defeat us. We can overcome any obstacle when we live life together. Ecclesiastes 3:12 says, "A cord of three strands is not easily broken." This reminds us that when we stand alone we are not as strong as when we are woven together with others.
This idea of being better together can be a new mindset for most of us. For most of our life we have been encouraged to be independent. It is time to get out on my own, to take care of myself, and to stand on my own two feet. Our country was founded on the Declaration of Independence. We are told it is weak to depend on other people.
This is different than God's teaching. The Bible does not teach us to be independent, but rather interdependent. We are taught in the Scriptures and through the life of Jesus to depend on God and depend on one another. We were created for community, not created for independence.
This means we need to open ourselves up to those around us. We need to be willing to share our struggles and let people know when we need help. We also need to be willing to help when others are in need.
Right now what I see happening is that people are struggling with loneliness, depression, financial situations, broken relationships (especially marriages), and many other situations. They are struggling and because they want to be independent they will not share their need for a community to lift them up. At the same time, we do not have a close enough relationship with that person to know the struggles in their lives.
We need to work on creating a community where we know each other. Where we are open with each other and trust each other. This will weave us together into a strong cord that will not be broken. Then we all will be a community that will hold each other up when facing struggles.
This will not happen overnight, but I believe it is a great goal to pursue. It starts with you, and it can start today. Will you join me in declaring our interdependence?
P.S.
If you actually read the Declaration of Independence you will find in the last line a declaration of dependence on God and each other. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
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