Hot and Ready

Our original plans yesterday were to go door-to-door handing out flyers for the Community Harvest Party and Trunk or Treat.  We had to run into town and figured we’d put up a few flyers there until we got back to Bear Lake to do the door-to-door outreach. I know the idea of going door-to-door for just about anything scares the living daylights out of people (especially city people) but it is the cheapest and most effective method of “advertising” here in the hinter lands.

As sometimes happens, since we had the whole family in the van, once we got to town our plans changed.  We decided to head into Erie (an hour drive) because we needed to buy some tissue paper for Amy’s home built pinatas, and that we’d hand out flyers when we got back. It ended up taking us going to three different stores to find tissue paper (orange and black were needed) and then we were a bit later in the day getting back.  On the way home, I saw a billboard for “Hot and Ready” pizza in the small town that is nearest us and we decided to pick some up for later, in spite of the fact that we were all stuffed, from having stopped at Sam’s club that had an extraordinary amount of samples, including fish, steak, sausage, chicken brats, and a host of other things.

We had decided to go work at the church and to continue cleaning up there and knew that the kids would get hungry later despite their protestations to the contrary earlier. We needed something that was quick, easy, and could be eaten without having to worry about cooking it.  We opted for that pizza joint that has the “Hot and Ready” pizza for $5.55 each.  It was on the way home, it was cheap to buy two pizza’s and even if the pizza got cold it was still easy to eat.  I also knew, from our former forays into cleaning that the local neighbor kids would probably stop down as soon as they saw that we were cleaning the church.

We’ve Been BUSY!

Sorry to leave you hanging like I have.  We’ve been busy. I started a new job. (Can you say Bi-vocational?) and just been busy preaching and teaching. We’ve got a fairly faithful small group attending out house for the 11:00 Sunday time of fellowship and worship.  Including my family, we’ve had 15 people, and hope to have another 4 or 5 first time visitors this week.   It’s been a long journey in many respects and we have a long way to go, but most people won’t come to a “church meeting” in your  house unless they know you fairly well to begin with.

So here are a few pics from my “Resurrection Bread” both while it’s rising and after it’s baked, and the following Resurrection Sunday worship.  My 4th Grade daughter, who just started the violin this year, played “Amazing Grace” for us.  You’ll see the Easter Sunday my “pulpit” is an old piece of furniture we had laying around.  You’ll also notice that one of the gentleman (Ray) who attends and is in a wheel chair.  He lost his legs in an accident helping someone who was broken down back in ’81. The next Saturday, I built the wheel chair ramp and the pulpit.  Both have worked wonderfully and we feel blessed.

This week, Ray and Bonnie (his wife) brought their granddaughter Amanda with them.  Praise God, she heard a gospel message!  Still have the broken down old computer and dial up so it’s been harder to write and with the spring hitting us hard and fast, we are trying to get our garden ready.

Funny, but our garden is an outreach too… we are planting seedlings for neighbors (they don’t all know it) but my experience in the past is that people always decide too late that they want to have a garden for the year… and then can’t find the seedlings they want or need.

So from out here… that’s an update.

Rural Reality: Life Intervenes.

Hi all. If you follow this blog it’s because you are interested in Rural Churches and Rural Church Planting.  Many of you, who may pastor a rural church, are probably bi-vocational.  I joined your ranks as a bi-vocational rural church pastor/planter this week.  Well, technically I start Monday, but I had interviews, drug-tests and testing this week.  But we’ve been very busy.  Thanks to those of you who have been praying for us for our many needs.

In other news, we are looking forward to a great Resurrection service here at the house with (hopefully) 20 in attendance (including our family of 6).

Today, I am baking “Resurrection Loaves”.  Basically bread that I will be distributing to the neighbors  with a flyer explaining that Jesus is the Bread of Life.   I’ve had several neighbors ask me “when are you going to give me a loaf of your home baked bread?”  What better time than this Holy Weekend!

Pictures to follow.

On top of planting the word of God we will be planting seedlings today too!

MUST READ: Why I Don’t Understand Church Planting.

A great post by Cerulean Sanctum.

But here, it seems to me what some church planters do is more akin to fostering envy. Their new church is hotter. Their new church is cooler. Their new church meets a felt need not addressed by the church across the street. So people in that community shuffle from church to church. Or the new church plant sucks completely dry some older church that wasn’t quite as hip. And the church planter gets a pat on the back for doing a fine job moving people from Them to Us.

Meanwhile, the percentage of people who are genuine born-again Christians in this country continues to drop. Meanwhile, the number of people attending church on the weekends falls off a cliff. More new churches than ever, and yet worse results.

What really troubles me is that you don’t need the Holy Spirit at all to start what passes for the average church plant here in the U.S. You just need a clever marketing campaign. In fact, if one of the challenges on the TV show The Apprentice were to start a church that had a hundred regular attendees within six months , I suspect the contestants would have no problem doing so, even if not a single one of those contestants was born again.

How sad is that?

You want a real test of God’s power? John the Baptist, by the Holy Spirit empowering his ministry, helped restore a dead nation to life. This is one reason why Jesus said there was no prophet greater than John.

Go read the whole post.  Tell me what you think.

Rural Church Planting Tips: Maximize Your Strengths.

Start a list. Write down the strengths of your church. Don’t ask anyone about their list.  Their list won’t be your list. Sure you can look for examples, but look outside the box of what you consider strengths. Then ask God to provide for a way to maximize that strength to His glory.  This church did that by maximizing on the strength of their people in food production. They are asking their church members, who happen to be poor rural folks for the most part, to give at least 10% of their garden yields to the local food bank.

Church Asks Portion of Local Gardens for Food Bank

PRINCETON, MN (March 23, 2009) – Karmel Covenant Church is sowing the seed of an idea they hope will fall on good soil across the country.

The church is asking members and others to give at least 10 percent of what they grow in their gardens to the local food bank. They have aptly named the project “Garden Givers.”

There is a great need for the food, says Pastor Alan Johnson. “Our food banks have been crying out for food for the last half year.”

Johnson hopes churches and civic groups will consider doing the same thing in their neighborhoods, no matter whether they are located in rural, suburban, or urban areas.

Johnson says the project will greatly help food pantries at relatively little cost to gardeners, including labor. “Giving 10 percent of our orchards and gardens doesn’t make the work a lot more difficult.”

People can hardly wait to get started, says Johnson. “Everywhere we turn, we are getting positive response.” That response is coming from directors of food banks who are looking forward to the opportunity to give away fresh food.

Bringing home-grown produce to the food banks also will feel more rewarding than bringing only canned goods, Johnson says.

Rural Church Planting Tips: You CAN help missionaries and church planters…

…without spending money. Just came across this and wanted to share this thought from Brian Thomas.   Here is what Brian says:

A small example from our own work is the many ways we can be helped:

1) Encouragement through prayers and cards
2) Help in finding  a church planting wife that can correspond with my wife on occasion.
3) Providing contacts that would hep us in our fund raising efforts (people to meet or those who may have contacts)
4) Providing contacts that will help me in my picture book writing, devotional writing and with selling my photography (ways we hope to help support our work in the future).

Any of the above would help us out tremendously. Everyone knows someone. I have had ministers in small churches recommend contacts in some very large churches. People underestimate what they can personally do for missionaries and domestic church planters (both are the same in my book).  God has provided each of us with the gifts to help others. You can probably think of other ways to help missionaries/church planters without spending money, leave those in the comments below.

Small churches, I’ve got a suggestion for the next time someone cold calls you on the phone asking to speak about their work for God. Instead of saying “We’re not interested.” and quickly hang up the phone (it’s happened to me a few times) or say that you’re too small and money is tight, try saying, “We have no money, but is there another way can we help?” You then might want to add the simple phrase, “I’m serious.”

I’d probably faint if someone asked me the above question. Here’s your mission – make someone faint in the very near future!!! Create a low or no cost missions ministry today for your congregation or for yourself. God will smile upon you.

Peace,

Brian

What a great reminder from Brian.  We can all do more.  We need to give more and help support Kingdom work.

Rural Reality: Church Planting Pornography.

This post is my opinion on something that could be considered controversial to some. It’s not intended to be inflammatory and I don’t want it to come across as such.  Now you would think I was talking about sex or something really provocative like Hyper-Calvinism… but that’s not the case.  I am not even talking about “pornography” in the sense of the internet/magazine depravity that is ravaging the church these days. I am talking about church planting conferences, convergences, rallies, break-outs, meet-ups or whatever they may be called.  Let’s start this way: Here is a quote from Ed Stetzer:

“Too many conferences and chapel services are like ministry pornography. They’re an unrealistic depiction of an experience you are never going to have that distracts you from the real thing. …. Normal is that you plant a church in America and 4 years later it’s a 100. That’s normal.”

Be careful to read what he says. It’s a good comparison. Pornography (as we know the internet/magazine variety to be) provide an unrealistic depiction of sex.  It takes the sacred, marriage based sex, and turns it into something it’s not. “TOO MANY” conferences do the same thing.

Lord Willing…

Computer is on life support (see pic) That clamp is the only thing that is keeping the monitor working. Well… that and the digital camera that is JUST the right weight to keep it with enough down pressure.

I opened it up and don’t see anything obviously loose or frayed…  So my posts will be intermittent until I can get a new computer. Of course I don’t have the $$$ to do that right now. I had to weigh the options… gravel in the driveway or new laptop.

My heart wanted one… but my wife’s feet needed the other.

A computer might seem like a minor thing, but all of our flyers, etc. are designed and printed with it.  Pray that the Lord provides me with a new laptop.

Thanks!

Update: Nothing as Simple as…

a “yes” or “no”.

I had a meeting with Judy the head of the ministry which owns the old empty church building. It was an informative meeting as she spent a long time talking about a number of things. They have had plans for years to start a church in the area but nothing ever seemed to come of it. She had a guy who she was training to be a “pastor” and he just got a DUI, his third in 25 years so it involves federal jail time, so they aren’t going to be able to use the building. She said she needed to speak to the “board” (whoever they are) about it.

My points were simple.  There is a church here NOW, a pastor here NOW and we need a place to meet. I didn’t want to tell her that I think God has been reserving the building for us after she told me there troubles of starting a church. I took along a man who is involved in our church plant. His name is Larry. I guess the ministry there has had interaction with people down here in Bear Lake and there are some issues with the community so that ministry pulled back a bit.

All that to say, it’s in God’s hands and it’s pretty typical of what you have to deal with in a small community/rural area. Larry told me that he thinks it may have been a bad idea to take him up there and that “this” and “that” would probably happen.  I told Larry to have some faith in God.

I truly think the reason God has pulled an outsider into this community to plant this church is because I don’t know all the old battles and animosity that may have taken place in the past and that “it won’t work because…” isn’t an option for us.  God has a purpose and reason and I trust him.  Even if I get a “no” answer.  But I think it’s God’s will for us to be in that building soon and told the head of the ministry that owns it that.

Please keep praying friends.

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In other news… I am waiting for a “certified” birth certificate so I can get my license over here. It’s costly because I have a CDL with the hazmat endorsement.  Hopefully I’ll get it in the mail today.

Also please pray that God provides a vehicle for us that can pass the PA. Inspection.  Our Ohio vehicles have no hope of passing.  Our needs are pretty distinct. 4 wheel drive is a necessity where I live, not really an option.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the prayers.

End of Day Stuff.

For all eight of you who read this blog:

Please pray for me today(tomorrow)/Tuesday.  Pray that God’s will be done, that he would give me wisdom to guide this church plant and that he would provide for us and the church. I have plans (I feel at God’s direction) to sit down with a lady who runs a ministry across the state line in a small town. Her ministry owns an empty church building that was given to them a few years back so they could use it to reach Bear Lake. They’ve not used it at all, being busy and not having the help.  I am here and have families that want to meet. I would like to use her building. I look at it as God’s building. I asked her a couple of months back but she said they have “plans” to use it.  God impressed upon me to call her last week and tell her to re-pray about it. She said she would because their plans had fallen through again. The Lord also impressed for me to take one of the men, whose family we’ve been working with, to go with me tomorrow.

Please pray for all of this. We would like to be in there and meeting the week before Easter.

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A reminder and prayer:

Father,

I yearn to do your will but I get in the way too often. Please forgive me and take over when I lean on me and not you. Please Lord. Your will be done.  Draw me near to you. I get so caught up in INFORMATION that my focus is not on loving you and seeking you. I seek to be about your business, but feel pretty useless at it.

FatherGod, I can’t do this without you and don’t want to. My heart is heavy. God there are so many broken people here and families in trouble that need you and your word and yet I am worried about petty money/support issues. Give me the faith to do your will. Show yourself here in Bear Lake. I want to glorify you Lord.

Help me to be the father I need to be Lord. Let the Spirit speak for me Lord because my own spirit is groaning within me.  Guide me in your paths. Reveal my sin Lord so that it doesn’t get between me and you.  Please Lord give us a place to meet Lord and draw men to you as the cross is lifted.