I can't believe our series on "What in the World is Going On?" is almost over - just 3 more weeks! It has caused me to look ahead to what's next at The Grove. We'll begin a 2 week series called "I Love MY Church!" as we celebrate our 2 year anniversary.
Preliminary plans are to hold an outdoor worship service on July 5th to begin our celebration.
During the following week we hope to visit all of the Life-Growth Groups and video members responses to why they love The Grove.
On Saturday, July 11th at 6pm we will feature an outdoor concert (band TBD), ice cream social, carnival games, and bonfire for the whole family.
Then we will conclude our celebration the following morning and view many of the video taped testimonies as well as a few other surprises.
Invitations are being printed, but accept this note as a SAVE THE DATE request!
Start thinking about how you would answer the question, "why I love The Grove" and let us know if you'd like to be included in this celebration. Meanwhile watch for ways to help out to make this 2 year anniversary memorable to all.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Puddle Water or Living Water?
A couple of months ago, a dear pastor friend of mine passed away (prematurely at 56). I've remained in contact with the family somewhat, more so through our facebook connection. I have been so impressed with his daughters over the years. Looking at some of their photos have given me a look into their day to day lives and quite honestly I'm ashamed of myself! Why?
Because everything I see and sense from them is their daily pursuit of God, His will for their lives, and the quest to win others to Him. Am I as diligent? What about those that attend The Grove?
That's what I hope to spark in all who attend The Grove and especially in the young adults at The Edge. In my morning devotions this morning I ran across a quote from Matthew Henry. He is a theologian and has written many a book and Bible commentary. This is what grabbed my attention.
"Nothing will supply the needs, and satisfy the desires of a soul, but water out of this rock Jesus Christ, this fountain opened. The pleasures of sense are puddle-water; spiritual delights are rock water, so pure, so clear, and so refreshing -- rivers of pleasure." Matthew Henry
In essence - if you are seeking pleasure, happiness, fun, from things in this world you have been drinking puddle water. It is pleasant for the moment but it is contaminated, will dry up quickly and harden and crack your heart. Facebook, vices, sex, naps, another entertainment experience, etc, will not fulfill the longings of the heart that God has placed there for only Him to fill.
But if you drink exclusively of the "Living Water" you will find nourishment and be refreshed and satisfied.
So why not take a moment and identify where you may be trying to satisfy a spiritual hole in your life with stuff that doesn't satisfy and ask God to heal your heart and to seek after Him every day.
Because everything I see and sense from them is their daily pursuit of God, His will for their lives, and the quest to win others to Him. Am I as diligent? What about those that attend The Grove?
That's what I hope to spark in all who attend The Grove and especially in the young adults at The Edge. In my morning devotions this morning I ran across a quote from Matthew Henry. He is a theologian and has written many a book and Bible commentary. This is what grabbed my attention.
"Nothing will supply the needs, and satisfy the desires of a soul, but water out of this rock Jesus Christ, this fountain opened. The pleasures of sense are puddle-water; spiritual delights are rock water, so pure, so clear, and so refreshing -- rivers of pleasure." Matthew Henry
In essence - if you are seeking pleasure, happiness, fun, from things in this world you have been drinking puddle water. It is pleasant for the moment but it is contaminated, will dry up quickly and harden and crack your heart. Facebook, vices, sex, naps, another entertainment experience, etc, will not fulfill the longings of the heart that God has placed there for only Him to fill.
But if you drink exclusively of the "Living Water" you will find nourishment and be refreshed and satisfied.
So why not take a moment and identify where you may be trying to satisfy a spiritual hole in your life with stuff that doesn't satisfy and ask God to heal your heart and to seek after Him every day.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
So Much To Say, So Little Time
My brains about to explode. OK, I can hear all the comments 6 hours away (what brain, will probably be a small explosion etc.)
Today has been overwhelming. Ken Davis made us laugh til we cried this morning - his definition of humor, "A gentle way to acknowledge human frailty." he reminded pastors of our need to be "honest" with the gospel - in our relationships. I will have to work on that - I seem to battle with the desire to be liked too much - some people I need to be more honest with.
Part of the message needs to be directly related to a reminder that in regards to our culture people respond in one of 4 ways;
#1 - condemn it
We define ourselves as Christians by what we don't or won't do.
#2 - critique it
All we do is analyze - kind of like the paralysis of analysis
#3 - copy it
When all we do do is copy our culture, we then end up looking to our culture for what we need.
#4 - consume it
We've become culturally mainstream as Christians and the church and not necessarily culturally discerning.
None of these are going to change the world for the Kingdom's sake! All of those postures are reactionary. The biblical posture is to "cultivate"; keep something going that is already good and "create" ; by creating good culture - making good movies, good music, not always trailing behind the culture.
So what does this all mean for The Grove. I hope further discussion will clarify more.
Sorry for this random flow of thought - like I said too much to absorb - hope this has some meaning to your life. More later tonight or tomorrow.
Today has been overwhelming. Ken Davis made us laugh til we cried this morning - his definition of humor, "A gentle way to acknowledge human frailty." he reminded pastors of our need to be "honest" with the gospel - in our relationships. I will have to work on that - I seem to battle with the desire to be liked too much - some people I need to be more honest with.
Part of the message needs to be directly related to a reminder that in regards to our culture people respond in one of 4 ways;
#1 - condemn it
We define ourselves as Christians by what we don't or won't do.
#2 - critique it
All we do is analyze - kind of like the paralysis of analysis
#3 - copy it
When all we do do is copy our culture, we then end up looking to our culture for what we need.
#4 - consume it
We've become culturally mainstream as Christians and the church and not necessarily culturally discerning.
None of these are going to change the world for the Kingdom's sake! All of those postures are reactionary. The biblical posture is to "cultivate"; keep something going that is already good and "create" ; by creating good culture - making good movies, good music, not always trailing behind the culture.
So what does this all mean for The Grove. I hope further discussion will clarify more.
Sorry for this random flow of thought - like I said too much to absorb - hope this has some meaning to your life. More later tonight or tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Go Make Disciples
This was the second time I've had the privilege of hearing Voddie Baucham at Moody's Pastors Conference. He is a funny guy who goes straight to the point. He reminded us today that the Great Commission is simply this - Go Make Disciples! Yes we are to go into all the world and win souls and baptize them - but the primary thing is not to leave them there - it's to help them mature and fulfill their calling in Christ.
Voddie stated that God has provided a 3 legged stool to help us in the process.
Leg #1 - God has given us older, more mature believers in the faith as a tool to disciple us.
Leg #2 - God has given us Godly Elders as a disciple making tool.
Leg #3 - The Family - Godly families are a disciple making tool.
Actually Leg #3 is the primary disciple making tool. When you think about it, the church only gets children, and people for that matter, only a couple of hours a week. How many hours a week are we in our families?
The first of the year I challenged our Steering Committee members to begin to disciple at least one person in the Grove family. It's been quite a challenge for them to find someone who would be willing to put in the time to be mentored.
I guess we need to revisit this. I hope to develop this material into a message some day soon.
More insights tomorrow. Let me leave you with a couple questions:
What is your plan to mature in your faith?
Parents - what's your plan to mature your kids in their faith?
Voddie stated that God has provided a 3 legged stool to help us in the process.
Leg #1 - God has given us older, more mature believers in the faith as a tool to disciple us.
Leg #2 - God has given us Godly Elders as a disciple making tool.
Leg #3 - The Family - Godly families are a disciple making tool.
Actually Leg #3 is the primary disciple making tool. When you think about it, the church only gets children, and people for that matter, only a couple of hours a week. How many hours a week are we in our families?
The first of the year I challenged our Steering Committee members to begin to disciple at least one person in the Grove family. It's been quite a challenge for them to find someone who would be willing to put in the time to be mentored.
I guess we need to revisit this. I hope to develop this material into a message some day soon.
More insights tomorrow. Let me leave you with a couple questions:
What is your plan to mature in your faith?
Parents - what's your plan to mature your kids in their faith?
Monday, April 27, 2009
OK, So I Need Margin!
My last post talked about the need for us to have margin in our lives. OK, so I'm admitting I wrote that to myself - not sure whether anyone else can relate!
I've known for some time that I'm an activity junkie. When you add the potential for an activity to expand the kingdom and I'm there. One of my biggest struggles is evaluating between the good and the best. In fact, Steven Covey in his book, First Things First says that the enemy of the best is the good! So I'm going to spend some time identifying where I need to delegate, where my time can best be spent, and retool myself to become more productive with a little less cost to myself and family.
I say all this realizing there are a couple of things I can't possibly back down on. So Lord give me wisdom and insight and help us at The Grove cultivate more workers as you continue to grow us.
I've known for some time that I'm an activity junkie. When you add the potential for an activity to expand the kingdom and I'm there. One of my biggest struggles is evaluating between the good and the best. In fact, Steven Covey in his book, First Things First says that the enemy of the best is the good! So I'm going to spend some time identifying where I need to delegate, where my time can best be spent, and retool myself to become more productive with a little less cost to myself and family.
I say all this realizing there are a couple of things I can't possibly back down on. So Lord give me wisdom and insight and help us at The Grove cultivate more workers as you continue to grow us.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Do You Have Margin?
My morning devotional from Rick Warren states:
A lot of people are on overload and headed for a crash. Consider these statistics among U.S. citizens:
• People now sleep 2 1/2 fewer hours each night compared to people from one hundred years ago.
• The average work week is longer now than it was in the 1960s.
• The average office worker has 36 hours of work piled up on his or her desk. It takes three hours a week just to sort through it and find what we need.
• We spend eight months of our lives opening junk mail, two years of our lives playing phone tag with people who are too busy to answer, and five years waiting for people who are trying to do too much and are late for meetings.
We're a piled-on, stretched-to-the limit society; chronically rushed, chronically late, chronically exhausted. Many of us feel like Job did when he said, "I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming" (Job 3:26 GWT).
Overload comes when we have too much activity in our lives, too much change, too many choices, too much work, too much debt, too much media exposure.
Dr. Richard Swenson says, "The conditions of modern day living devour margin. If you're homeless we direct you to a shelter. If you're penniless we offer you food stamps. If you're breathless we connect you to oxygen. But if you're marginless we give you one more thing to do. Marginless is being thirty minutes late to the doctor's office because you were twenty minutes late getting out of the hairdresser because you were ten minutes late dropping the children off at school because the car ran out of gas two blocks from a gas station and you forgot your purse. That's marginless."
I hope you will commit with me to work on shutting down the presses, shutting up the noise and plan margin in our crazy lives!
Visit the Grove Church Website
Read other Grove Church Blogs
A lot of people are on overload and headed for a crash. Consider these statistics among U.S. citizens:
• People now sleep 2 1/2 fewer hours each night compared to people from one hundred years ago.
• The average work week is longer now than it was in the 1960s.
• The average office worker has 36 hours of work piled up on his or her desk. It takes three hours a week just to sort through it and find what we need.
• We spend eight months of our lives opening junk mail, two years of our lives playing phone tag with people who are too busy to answer, and five years waiting for people who are trying to do too much and are late for meetings.
We're a piled-on, stretched-to-the limit society; chronically rushed, chronically late, chronically exhausted. Many of us feel like Job did when he said, "I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming" (Job 3:26 GWT).
Overload comes when we have too much activity in our lives, too much change, too many choices, too much work, too much debt, too much media exposure.
Dr. Richard Swenson says, "The conditions of modern day living devour margin. If you're homeless we direct you to a shelter. If you're penniless we offer you food stamps. If you're breathless we connect you to oxygen. But if you're marginless we give you one more thing to do. Marginless is being thirty minutes late to the doctor's office because you were twenty minutes late getting out of the hairdresser because you were ten minutes late dropping the children off at school because the car ran out of gas two blocks from a gas station and you forgot your purse. That's marginless."
I hope you will commit with me to work on shutting down the presses, shutting up the noise and plan margin in our crazy lives!
Visit the Grove Church Website
Read other Grove Church Blogs
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Disconnected Thoughts
The last few days have been a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions.
Wednesday Night - another awesome time with my small group. The questions and discussion that followed didn't even allow us time to study the questions I had prepared! How exciting it is to be among people who have a hunger for God's Word and to understand His ways!
Thursday Night - Pastor Igor in his usually humble way, shared from his heart in his presentation, "Christ In The Passover". I have attended seder meals in the past but Igor's sharing was extra special.
Friday Morning - 12 Grovers attended the Good Friday breakfast at the YMCA. A record crowd of over 120 people were led in worship by Vince Ricci and we heard a message on the "Cost of the Cross" by Kathy Dickriede a Methodist Deacon. One of the participants stated they were surprised as to how touched they were by the experience. At the conclusion a young boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old., Theo, shared with me that his middle name meant he was a Warrior of God or a Warrior For God. He then went on to say he had a prayer request. He described a battle he had been having with a brain tumor. He expressed God's blessing in that he was now 6 months free from chemo. I will be praying for him everyday and will remember his confidence as he shared his faith with me. How deep is my faith I thought - how well do I deal with the challenge of life with all my experience compared to a young boy?
Saturday - our 3rd annual pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt. Record crowd for this event as well. What a great time! Many thanks to Marcia who coordinated this event and the many Grovers that worked so hard for it to go so smoothly. How rewarding it is to look into the faces of these young children.
Now I wait. Seems I do a lot of that. I have such high expectations of what God is going to do this Easter at The Grove. So much effort goes intov every facet of our weekend experiences. I want them to have a sense of joy over their hard work, I want them to be appreciated by others as much as I do.
But I'll have to wait. The good news is that I know the rest of the story.
Wednesday Night - another awesome time with my small group. The questions and discussion that followed didn't even allow us time to study the questions I had prepared! How exciting it is to be among people who have a hunger for God's Word and to understand His ways!
Thursday Night - Pastor Igor in his usually humble way, shared from his heart in his presentation, "Christ In The Passover". I have attended seder meals in the past but Igor's sharing was extra special.
Friday Morning - 12 Grovers attended the Good Friday breakfast at the YMCA. A record crowd of over 120 people were led in worship by Vince Ricci and we heard a message on the "Cost of the Cross" by Kathy Dickriede a Methodist Deacon. One of the participants stated they were surprised as to how touched they were by the experience. At the conclusion a young boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old., Theo, shared with me that his middle name meant he was a Warrior of God or a Warrior For God. He then went on to say he had a prayer request. He described a battle he had been having with a brain tumor. He expressed God's blessing in that he was now 6 months free from chemo. I will be praying for him everyday and will remember his confidence as he shared his faith with me. How deep is my faith I thought - how well do I deal with the challenge of life with all my experience compared to a young boy?
Saturday - our 3rd annual pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt. Record crowd for this event as well. What a great time! Many thanks to Marcia who coordinated this event and the many Grovers that worked so hard for it to go so smoothly. How rewarding it is to look into the faces of these young children.
Now I wait. Seems I do a lot of that. I have such high expectations of what God is going to do this Easter at The Grove. So much effort goes intov every facet of our weekend experiences. I want them to have a sense of joy over their hard work, I want them to be appreciated by others as much as I do.
But I'll have to wait. The good news is that I know the rest of the story.
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