Shopping With Jesus

Hello Emmanuel,

So…. Because I know that all of you can hardly start your week without reading the MMP, I’m sure you are worried because you haven’t received it yet.  So here it is and this is why I’m late sending it out:

I had to go shopping

It isn’t my favorite thing to do.  Indeed, it is last on my list… like.. dead last.  As in, it wouldn’t be on my list at all if I could help it.  I am put into a high degree of emotional stress when having to shop (this as opposed to ‘hunting’, which is much different than ‘shopping’).  However, it was on my list because we had a great turnout at the Back To School Bash.  380 kids received school supplies.  Needless to say, we ran out of supplies.  So I went shopping in the name of Jesus…. Which is almost the only way you could get me to go shopping.

So I apologize for the lateness of the MMP.  Please understand I would’ve much rather typed this earlier today with my iced tea sitting next to me.  But let us not forget the joy of reaching out.  380 kids is more than doubled from last year.  We learned some more lessons this year (like don’t put yourself in the position to send your pastor out shopping).

Sarcasm aside, it was a GREAT day!!  The people were very patient and appreciative.  The process of the event went much better than last year.  The helpers were fantastic too!!! And to all of the individuals and ministry teams that helped this happen, kudos to you.  It is good to be the church. 

I was going to talk about all the good stuff coming this Fall, but I think I’ll encourage us to sit back and smile for a second.  A lot of energy and thought was put into this event and we should take time to thank God who has put us in a position to be a presence in the community in real, practical ways. 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Moodiness

Hello Emmanuel,

I woke up this morning in a bad mood and annoyed at Kim.  It isn’t her fault.  She can’t help what I dream about.  However, I feel ok with it.  She has been known to be downright angry with me because of what I did in her dreams.  So if this MMP seems overly sarcastic, I apologize in advance.  Authenticity is my main core value, after all.

My grouchy mood is somewhat justified.  One of our cars got towed yesterday for the 3^rd time in 6 weeks for 3 separate issues.  I have a great track record of something going wrong while I’m out of town.  I know this because Kim reminds me quite frequently…. Which is related to what I dreamed about last night which is why I woke up in a bad mood which is why I may seem overly sarcastic…. .thus my advanced apologies.

So I’m using this MMP to switch my mood.  I’m sitting at Panera, getting ramped up on iced tea and getting my mind set on good news: 

-          I had a great birthday weekend (I got permission to skip church, ate blueberry donuts and  my favorite meal; and I got tons of good wishes from many friends, parishioners and family);

-          My Panera card has earned me a free pastry… good until the end of the month

-          My fantasy baseball team has made a dramatic turnaround (7 wins in the last 8 games).  It’s also a good thing I don’t have to pay my players.  Several are up for contract renewals.

-          School starts in 10 days which gives me 2 more reasons (Hope and Joey) to rejoice between 8:30 and 2:00 every day (excluding weekends, holidays, snow days and teacher in-service days);

-          I hear Shawn did a great job editing/producing the video that was shown at church yesterday.  I can’t wait to see it.  I’m guessing it will be posted on facebook sometime today or tomorrow?  Or perhaps on our website (www.emmanuel-umc.com).  Shawn is awesome, but don’t tell him I said so (by the way, the church should get their own camera so he can do more stuff like that… just sayin’).

-          Jesus loves me regardless of any good or bad news/moods I could share with you;

-          And in other news that is related to the last point, next Sunday is filled with non-stop action:

The Back To School Bash is becoming a huge event at Emmanuel.  This is our 3^rd year and it has grown each time which has necessitated changes in how we do the event.  Our need for school supplies is urgent again.  We have one last week to at least double our supplies.  So please bring them in.  We are looking at helping well over 100 kids and could feasibly reach 200 kids this year.

We will also be promoting several children to their new Sunday School classes and blessing the teachers that spend their time with the children.  It will be a time for the teachers to let some of the students go and welcome new students into their care.  It will also be a time to feel glad for what goes on upstairs during the 10:30 service. 

Now that my mood has officially shifted, I’m going to get my free pastry, more tea and do more work starting with several emails that encourage and plan for future ministry.  My 43^rd year is going to be GREAT!  Why?  Because 43 is a prime number and prime numbers = prime time.  Everyone knows that.

Oh… and….

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

I'm Getting Coached!

Hello Emmanuel,

I’m getting a coach!  Yes, that’s right, the United Methodist Church offers coaching to pastors.  I’ve been coached before and it was a great experience.  It is the chance to spend one-on-one time with another pastor who has more experience than I do.  His name is Chris Holmes.  Your Lay Leader, Muriel Cunningham, and I will be spending the next year in conversation with him.  Here is more about Chris:

                                                            

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) credentialed Chris Holmes as a Associate Coach in 2008, and the United Methodist Church endorsed Chris for the ministry of coaching in 2009. He is a pastor with 26 years of experience serving small to large churches and has seven years serving as District Superintendent in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Chris has played a pivotal role in developing the coaching ministry in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. "As a leadership coach, I come beside denominational leaders and pastors to help them get sharply focused and committed to what they need to do in ministry and then lead boldly with courage."

Chris co-authored the Coach Approach Skills Training (CAST) manuals used by the General Board of Discipleship in the training of Bishops, District Superintendents, and Directors of Connection Ministries in the basic coaching skills. Chris has written numerous articles on coaching and serves as an adviser to several United Methodist Conferences in utilizing the basic skills of coaching in ministry at all levels of the church. He is the President-elect for the newly formed Maryland Chapter of the International Coaching Federation and a founding member of the Methodist Coaching Connection. Chris has begun working with Auburn's coaching program in 2012  (http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Chris-Holmes/8585320).

Some might wonder why I should get coached.  For those who are familiar with coaching, it is seen as often used with pastors who are in the midst of church conflict or immediately after the conflict.  This is not entirely true.  Coaching allows for pastors to take that extra step in becoming a more effective leader when the pastor isn’t sure how to go about taking that extra step. 

I’m at a place in my ministry where I’m not sure what more I could be or should be doing.  As well as Emmanuel is doing, I often feel like Emmanuel is primed for something more and I want to discern what that ‘more’ looks like.  Having a coach might help that become clearer.

So over the course of the next 12 months, Muriel and I will be meeting with Chris.  Chris will dive into our context at Emmanuel and learn about me and my strengths and weaknesses as well as learn about Emmanuel.  It will be a chance for us to get insight from a different perspective.  I’m looking forward to learning.

Finally, to be clear, a coach doesn’t pastor anyone.  He is also not my ‘boss’.  He is an advisor only.  You likely will never see Chris.  He will push me, support me, hold me accountable, pray for me and with me, but will never demand I do anything that I choose not to do.  Nor is his job to step in in my place to do my work.  His job is simply to be a coach.  I’m looking forward to learning.

If you have any other questions about this process, shoot me an email (pastorjoe@emmaneul-umc.com).  I’m sure this will make for interesting subjects for the MMP in future editions.  I’ll keep you informed.  It should be quite fun.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe