Hello Emmanuel,
If you are reading this, then congratulations!!! You get to read about my MASTER PLAN (insert evil... er... godly laugh here). November is on its way. Many don't realize it, but I believe November is the most critical month for church life at Emmanuel. It is the month that makes the pastor and other leadership more nervous and hopeful than any other month. Surprised? Consider the following:
1. November is when the Worship, Outreach and Hospitality Teams plan the Advent and Christmas seasons. We are preparing services that are going to reach more people in any 4 week span of the year. People will be coming to church in December that haven't been for months or maybe ever. How we plan will say a lot on what kind of impact the Good News will have on so many people.
2. November is when we decide how we will spend our resources in the next calendar year. The Finance Team will estimate a budget for 2013. We will decide how to responsibly spend your tithes and offerings so that ministry at Emmanuel will continue to impact lives and 'make disciples of Christ'. The budget will be influenced by Consecration Sunday--- a Sunday when worshippers are invited to estimate their giving for the next calendar year.
3. November is the month that servant leadership is organized for the next calendar year. Emmanuel is constantly looking for servants as we continue to grow. Honestly, Emmanuel is as hungry for servant leadership than ever. November is when ministry teams are structured and set. Servant leadership strongly influences the addition or subtraction of ministry programs that share Good News.
So Worship, Stewardship and Servant Leadership become critical issues for the church in November. You think it is a coincidence I am preaching on the 5 love languages? (insert evil... er... godly laugh here) Why? Because the 3 issues described above is a direct result of the languages we use to express love to God.
Planning worship? What better way than to spend 'quality time' (love language) than preparing to share Good News to others.
Stewardship? At the very core of tithing is the belief that 'gifts' (love language) is a way to thank God for abundant blessings.
Leadership? Without disciples that committ to 'serve' (love language), Good News simply doesn't get shared.
How do you thank God?
As we continue moving through the love languages, think about how you will thank God this November.... and in the year ahead. It is not only good and right, but it also empowers the Church to lead others to being introduced to God who loves them also.
Be a part of Emmanuel's journey. It continues on.....
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
P.S. The Boo Bash went AWESOME!! We had an estimated 200 people attend, including about 50-60 children. And everyone got invited to worship with us.... and they got candy too!!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Saturday is Born
Hello Emmanuel.....
Where do I start? The kick-off to the new Saturday service was awesome. 80 peple attended worship, including 18 first-time visitors. I watched God work in a whole new way in worship at Emmanuel. I've got lots to share in regards to this new thing. Let me try to not write a book and whittle it down to points of celebration as well as caution.
First, celebration.....
Emmanuel has awesome leaders. Everywhere from the Outreach Team that got the word out, to the band, to the multi-media people, to the childcare providers to the hospitality people...... it's been a blessing to witness the enthusiasm and willingess to serve. What is born out of this committment is a vast potential. A church that is averaging 172 worshippers on a given Sunday is now looking at averaging an easy 200 over the next 7 weeks. IF (a big 'if') Saturday service establishes itself, Emmanuel could be looking at 250-300 worshippers this time next year. That means MORE worshippers which means MORE disciples of Jesus.... which means living into God's Vision for Emmanuel takes on MORE steam and grows God's Kingdom even MORE. Simply Awesome!!
Second, caution.....
The largest risk to any church going to 3 services is the impact it can have on its leaders. The leadership can be spread too thin, extend too far and simply get worn out. To prepare for this, I have emphasized to the leaders that I didn't want them to do double duty. Serve on Saturday or serve on Sunday, but not both. After experiencing my first weekend of 3 services, I quickly recognized the reality of this. Therefore, I'm going to be more insistent over the next several weeks. If you are doing double duty (and you know who you are), prepare for me to get a little testy. If there is community interest in an established Saturday worship service, we are going to need leaders who are not spread too thin.
Third, invitation....
This potential is so exciting. However, the hunger for leaders is also big. If you are one that is exploring a Call to be a part of Emmanuel's journey into the future, let me know. pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com. Making disciples of Jesus simply doesn't happen if people who already know the Good News don't answer the Call to help make more disciples. Be a part of the journey. God doesn't promise it will ALWAYS be fun, but God does promise that you will be blessed.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
Where do I start? The kick-off to the new Saturday service was awesome. 80 peple attended worship, including 18 first-time visitors. I watched God work in a whole new way in worship at Emmanuel. I've got lots to share in regards to this new thing. Let me try to not write a book and whittle it down to points of celebration as well as caution.
First, celebration.....
Emmanuel has awesome leaders. Everywhere from the Outreach Team that got the word out, to the band, to the multi-media people, to the childcare providers to the hospitality people...... it's been a blessing to witness the enthusiasm and willingess to serve. What is born out of this committment is a vast potential. A church that is averaging 172 worshippers on a given Sunday is now looking at averaging an easy 200 over the next 7 weeks. IF (a big 'if') Saturday service establishes itself, Emmanuel could be looking at 250-300 worshippers this time next year. That means MORE worshippers which means MORE disciples of Jesus.... which means living into God's Vision for Emmanuel takes on MORE steam and grows God's Kingdom even MORE. Simply Awesome!!
Second, caution.....
The largest risk to any church going to 3 services is the impact it can have on its leaders. The leadership can be spread too thin, extend too far and simply get worn out. To prepare for this, I have emphasized to the leaders that I didn't want them to do double duty. Serve on Saturday or serve on Sunday, but not both. After experiencing my first weekend of 3 services, I quickly recognized the reality of this. Therefore, I'm going to be more insistent over the next several weeks. If you are doing double duty (and you know who you are), prepare for me to get a little testy. If there is community interest in an established Saturday worship service, we are going to need leaders who are not spread too thin.
Third, invitation....
This potential is so exciting. However, the hunger for leaders is also big. If you are one that is exploring a Call to be a part of Emmanuel's journey into the future, let me know. pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com. Making disciples of Jesus simply doesn't happen if people who already know the Good News don't answer the Call to help make more disciples. Be a part of the journey. God doesn't promise it will ALWAYS be fun, but God does promise that you will be blessed.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Grand Delusion
Hello Emmanuel,
You shouldn't be more tired after vacation than before. That is the opposite of how it is suppose to work. The purpose of vacation is to vacate. It is to go away; to vacate the daily grind of your regular activities in order to.... to.... to what?
I know a few people who never take vacation. My grandpa was one of them. I personally think there is something mentally wrong with them. But perhaps there isn't. Maybe there is a sort of logic behind their madness. Maybe... just maybe... vacation is a delusion. Or maybe vacation serves a different purpose than what I'm thinking it should serve. I always thought it was suppose to revitalize you; to re-energize you; to give you that 'umph' to continue on the daily girnd. I'm considering that I may be mistaken.
I wonder if vacation serves no other purpose than to save us from the daily repetition that lulls us to sleep and eventually into boredom. I'm not referring to the kind of boredom of doing nothing. I'm referring to the kind of boredom that results from doing the same things every week, no matter how busy we are; to repeat ourselves so often that we could live our lives while being half asleep. Can we get to the point when we sleep-walk through life because we always seem to know what to expect every Monday morning when we start yet another predictable week?
This brings me to the Church and your faith in Christ. God doesn't want you to be bored. God certainly doesn't want you to be lulled to sleep with weekly repetition. Does He? A journey of discipleship is wrought with unpredictable twists and turns. No way would I ever have thought I'd be on the east side of Cincinnati typing a weekly article at a gas station. Yet, here I am. I never thought I'd be enjoying the complexities of helping married people sort through their difficulties. Yet, I do. I never thought that I'd be a public speaker, an administrator, a mentor and certainly not a father of 5. Yet, here I am.
And yet I went on vacation. Why?
I think the anwer is this: no matter what we do, repetition lulls us to unawareness which brings boredom. It is the same for our faith. To do church the same all the time lulls us to the unawareness of God. We get bored with the 'sameness' that we think we know what to expect. Unfortunately, we tend to see what we only expect. Churches that haven't changed since 1999, 1980 or--Lord forbid--1955 are congregations that, at some point, were lulled to sleep with repetition. They never took a vacation from their daily expectations to see how else the world was living.... or how other churches were living and why.
My challenge to you is to look in the mirror and see if you are being lulled to unawareness because of your repetition. Is God trying to speak to you in a way that you wouldn't expect? Are you aware enough to consider it, hear it, understand it? Are you open-minded enough to look for it? Or are you so enmeshed with your weekly slumber that you think you know what to expect?
If so, then maybe you need a vacation.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
You shouldn't be more tired after vacation than before. That is the opposite of how it is suppose to work. The purpose of vacation is to vacate. It is to go away; to vacate the daily grind of your regular activities in order to.... to.... to what?
I know a few people who never take vacation. My grandpa was one of them. I personally think there is something mentally wrong with them. But perhaps there isn't. Maybe there is a sort of logic behind their madness. Maybe... just maybe... vacation is a delusion. Or maybe vacation serves a different purpose than what I'm thinking it should serve. I always thought it was suppose to revitalize you; to re-energize you; to give you that 'umph' to continue on the daily girnd. I'm considering that I may be mistaken.
I wonder if vacation serves no other purpose than to save us from the daily repetition that lulls us to sleep and eventually into boredom. I'm not referring to the kind of boredom of doing nothing. I'm referring to the kind of boredom that results from doing the same things every week, no matter how busy we are; to repeat ourselves so often that we could live our lives while being half asleep. Can we get to the point when we sleep-walk through life because we always seem to know what to expect every Monday morning when we start yet another predictable week?
This brings me to the Church and your faith in Christ. God doesn't want you to be bored. God certainly doesn't want you to be lulled to sleep with weekly repetition. Does He? A journey of discipleship is wrought with unpredictable twists and turns. No way would I ever have thought I'd be on the east side of Cincinnati typing a weekly article at a gas station. Yet, here I am. I never thought I'd be enjoying the complexities of helping married people sort through their difficulties. Yet, I do. I never thought that I'd be a public speaker, an administrator, a mentor and certainly not a father of 5. Yet, here I am.
And yet I went on vacation. Why?
I think the anwer is this: no matter what we do, repetition lulls us to unawareness which brings boredom. It is the same for our faith. To do church the same all the time lulls us to the unawareness of God. We get bored with the 'sameness' that we think we know what to expect. Unfortunately, we tend to see what we only expect. Churches that haven't changed since 1999, 1980 or--Lord forbid--1955 are congregations that, at some point, were lulled to sleep with repetition. They never took a vacation from their daily expectations to see how else the world was living.... or how other churches were living and why.
My challenge to you is to look in the mirror and see if you are being lulled to unawareness because of your repetition. Is God trying to speak to you in a way that you wouldn't expect? Are you aware enough to consider it, hear it, understand it? Are you open-minded enough to look for it? Or are you so enmeshed with your weekly slumber that you think you know what to expect?
If so, then maybe you need a vacation.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
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