We did it! We survived 5 Sundays of worship together as a church family. Actually, we did more than survive…we thrived. Not because our program was so great, but because our God is so great. The LORD met with us through his SPIRIT and through his WORD. Allow me to briefly recapture the Sundays of May.
Review
May 2 – We were challenged to “answer the call” of the King. Drama provided by Fusion Students
May 9 – Obeyed the 5th commandment by “honoring our Mothers.” Ministry provided by FirstKidz and three moms: Mrs. Ledbetter, Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Appiah
May 16 – The King is calling for more laborers in his Harvest Field. Ministry provided by YWAM Boston with emphasis on our Local Mission
May 23 – Pentecost Sunday. God spoke through messengers in our congregation and we moved with the Spirit in prayers for salvation, confession of sin and infilling of the Holy Spirit. Ministry provided by Pastor Dan
May 30 – Ordinance Sunday. We recognized the LORD’s deliverance through Communion and obedience to the LORD through Baptism. Word of exhortation provided by Okey Asoh.
God encouraged us as families to continue what was started during these services. Rather, than think of our encounters with God as events, we were challenged to pursue a process. However, before the process of growth can get into full swing – we must fill ourselves with God’s information (His Holy Word) before the transformation (the changed life) will take place.
Men and Women, Mothers and Fathers let us take what we have heard &experienced this past month and apply it to our lives and in our homes. If you currently read the Bible as an individual or as a family, I challenge you to INCREASE your intake. If you currently do not read the Bible as an individual or as a family, I challenge you to BEGIN reading GOD’s TRUTH for YOUR LIFE.
Feel free to COMMENT on this blog…what did you experience during our May worship services?

Into every life a little rain must fall, says modern proverb. We know that dreary days are a part of life, just as much as sunny days. When the sun shines, we feel upbeat and excited, we want to get out of the house and enjoy. Equally true, when the dark clouds form and thunder rolls, we naturally want to stay inside…we snuggle under a blanket, drink warm tea and quietly read a book (or play video games). In any event, God has created us in such as way that we instinctively respond to our environment.

Jesus describes an environment in Matthew 9:37 – 38. He uses agricultural words to describe the environmental condition and in fact, “the people condition.” Jesus says: The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. For an agricultural audience Jesus just described an environment and created a sense of urgency that those of us in post-agricultural/post-industrial America may miss. Please let me explain.

Grain is planted in the spring months here in New England and is harvested in late summer. When grain is ready to be harvested, the head of the grain is very heavy and the strength of the stalk is weak. This is why you will see the grain/grass sway in the wind and the tips bend over slightly from the weight of the head. When the harvest is ready, the biggest threat to the crop is no longer pestilence, or bugs, but the weather. If a very HEAVY STORM comes, it will knock down and flatten the grain, because there is no strength in the stalk. A farmer will lose the crop as the earth & moisture corrode the very valuable grain found in the head.

As a boy growing up in a farming community and coming from a farming family, I assure you that when it was harvest time, ALL HANDS were on deck to bring in the harvest. I remember being 6 years old working with my grandfather, father and uncles stacking hay into the night hours. Being a 6 year old, I could not lift a 75 lb. bale of hay very well, but I was still responsible to do participate in the harvest. My uncle would throw the bails to me, so they fell into the stack almost perfectly and I would straighten them out.

By the time I was a teenager, our family farm was sold, but we lived in a German farming community. When it was harvest time, the doorbell rang and I was asked to bale hay. On the wagon I worked next Frau Schneider, a grandmother who knew how to handle herself. EVERYONE – no matter their age, gender, strength or weakness has a role to play in Harvest season. If not…if no one shows up to work…if everyone has an excuse…the Harvest will be lost.

Jesus is saying: The Environment of People is HARVEST and it is PLENTIFUL…this means that people are ready to respond to the good news in great number. But there is a problem, The Environment of Christian Workers are few. This means that unless we ASK the LORD for more workers and BECOME WORKERS OURSELVES…the Harvest will be lost. A strong Storm will blow into someone’s life and flatten them. However, as we obey (Matt 9:37-38) and pray – THE LORD of the HARVEST will send us into his field (Matt 10) and GREAT will be the HARVEST of PEOPLE.

Let us become a church that understands the urgency and the bounty of GOD’S HARVEST.

To all our moms, grandmoms, grannys, nanas, me’me’res and all the special women in our lives, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day !!!
I am looking forward to spending the day with the mother of my children, her mother and hoping that my mother gets our Card and gift in time.
Our Sunday Mother’s Day service is being prepared by our Children’s Pastor, Elaina Rogers. She has plans to involve children and mothers in a celebration of God’s special relationship and role he has given to moms.
I know the task of being a mother is great. The responsibility and demands never end. Meanwhile the energy it takes to be a Mom, seems to end all too quickly. And yet, Mothers press on and we Honor you on this Day.
The scriptures point out the primary duty of parenting in Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This truth gets plays out in both the positive and the negative aspect. If we train our children in proper behavior and good habits, they will stick through their life. Equally as true, if our training allows poor habits and improper behavior to exist, then they will stick through our children’s life.
As your pastor, I realize that the stakes are high for Motherhood. Therefore, the Executive Board of our church recently adopted a mission, vision and goal statement which acknowledges the great task of parenting and our near-term plans to support the family unit. The core of the document is as follows:
Mission: Christ Centered Community Connected
Vision: To bring salvation, health and support to families and community by being child centered, family focused and relationship driven.
Goal: To be a spiritual leader to our children, families and community: We will accomplish this by focusing on reaching children from birth to age 21 and training their parents towards Christ centered lives.

This Sunday, May 2, we begin our Family Worship adventure…with an adventure. Our illustrated sermon will bring to life the action-adventure story found in Matthew chapter 9:35-10:42. Up until this point the disciples have been witnesses to Jesus’ authority, but now Jesus gives them authority and says, “Go tell people and show people that the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.” Our King is telling his loyal subjects to get to work in his Kingdom.
This Sunday’s message will involve a dramatization of this story. Not a line by line retelling, but a capturing of the spirit of the story with the same call to action. What I find so interesting in this account is the fact the Jesus first calls the disciples to pray. Few times in scripture does Jesus give us clear instruction on prayer and this is one of those times. Jesus says, the Harvest (speaking of people) is plentiful, but the workers (also people) are few, so pray that the LORD of the Harvest will send laborers into HIS harvest. Sounds simple enough…pray that people will go out and save souls.
What’s so amazing is that right after Jesus instructs his followers to pray this way, Jesus sends the disciples into the Harvest. You may have heard of a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” well this is a self-fulfilling prayer. Jesus, our King and incidentally, also the LORD of the Harvest, is showing us that our prayer is inevitably answered as we go out into the Harvest field.
Jesus wants the life of a disciple to be an adventure, to be action packed, to be somewhat dangerous, to be risky and to be filled with faith. How dangerous you wonder? How much action is required? There are factors at play here that are too deep for this discussion. Suffice it to say, the extent to which God uses us is a mixture of willingness, calling, giftedness, faith and obedience. But rest assured – no deed whether big or small, will be over looked by the LORD of the Harvest. According to Jesus (Matt 10:42), “Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cold cup of water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
All of us can give a simple cup of water to someone in need, whether a Kindergartner or a 59’er. No matter our age or stature, we all have a role to play in LORD’s Harvest. Begin praying the prayer of Matthew 9:38 as a man, woman or child and don’t be afraid to live it out. The King is counting on us!

We are now one week away from our Special Family Services during the Month of May. As you look at Sunday’s bulletin, you will see the upcoming schedule and get a sense of where we are heading.

As you know, we have been grappling with Matthew’s Gospel which explains to us what being a Disciple or a “Follower of Jesus,” is all about. The idea that being a Follower of Jesus is EASY is completely false. Matthew’s Gospel lays out a pretty challenging picture of what it means to Follow Jesus. Disciples shouldn’t expect the comforts and security of home, we shouldn’t expect that disciples are found only in church and we are commanded to go and make other disciples. In short, Following Jesus comes with great expectation.

One of our goals in holding these family services is to demonstrate those expectations to our children. Kids today learn very visually. Like it or not, America is no longer a “print-based” culture. Most newspapers are struggling, but the computer industry is thriving. We will use visually means to explain to our children what follow Jesus is all about. This many come through the depictions of communion, water baptism, and through an illustrated sermon which is planned for Sunday, May 2.

These visuals are geared to lay out the biblical expectations of being a Christ Follower. Communion bread and fruit speak of the love and devotion Christ showed us, that in turn should show HIM and each other. Water baptism illustrates the expectation that death leads to new life – a clean life, washed in Christ. And the illustrated sermon will speak of the Harvest of souls that is expected. The only thing missing is the labor force…and that is you, me and our kids…the followers of Jesus.

Our goal is to go beyond illustration and actually give the church opportunity to become part of Christ’s labor force. This summer we have several local missions opportunities available and we will invite ALL the body to join in the Harvest. You will be given a brochure to explain our summer mission opportunities and prayer needs, with an offering envelope included. I simply ask that you Follow Jesus by Praying, Giving and Going this summer…More on that in a few weeks.

Parents for now, we ask that you be prepared to sit with your kids in the main service for the month of May. Please give them instructions on behavior, encourage them when they do well and discipline them when they are out of line. Our Children’s Pastor is preparing a special bulletin for the kids. This will have information for them at their level and several questions that they can answer during the service. This will help them engage in worship and observe all that God is doing. After the service, the kids will be able to turn in their completed bulletin for Kidz Cash that can be redeemed the following month in their Kidz Club service.

I’ll admit that I have never been a part of a church that has done one whole month of family services. So, I don’t know exactly what will happen. I am walking by faith…but I think that’s what we are supposed to do…right?

It’s just one of those things. We all kind of know that the family unit has broken down in America, but none of us really knows what to do about it. Well…we know this much, change always begins with me. If I want America to embrace family values, I need to embrace family values. If I want America to understand biblical values, I should understand biblical values. With that logic in place, I actually have a slight problem. My particular job (being a pastor) takes me beyond self-change and requires me to help others change or “be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29, 12:1-2).” So, how do I help the American family unit function in a healthier way? If I just work on my family’s health, and hope for a trickle-down effect, I neglect my call to teach, instruct and disciple parents and grandparents, children and grandchildren. Do you see my dilemma? I know I must engage the issue, but how? When you get your preacher’s license there is no guidebook that comes with it. We trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth and I hear the Spirit saying – engage the issue. That means, Brian – be intentional. Talk to parents and children about God’s view of marriage, parenting, childhood, adolescence and being a healthy teenager.

Over the last year, our Executive Board has been engaging the issue of family through a variety of talks and team meetings. This has resulted in a mission, vision & goal statement that is available on this website. Its purpose is to give direction to the life and ministries of our church as we endeavor to be a Christ Centered – Community Connected. We know that families in our community and in our neighborhoods are struggling. We also know that our own church families also feel pressure. So this is where we will begin our engagement. Using the reasoning established above, the best way to help our American culture embrace the biblical values of family is for our church-body to embrace and practice the biblical values of family. We will engage our church-body first.

Over the past 6 months we have offered two simulcast conferences that spoke broadly towards the issues of family. The first conference was entitled, Focus on Parenting and the second was, Focus on Marriage. The information provided was exceptional and I have heard many positive reports regarding the inspiration and instruction given. We have also put in motion a plan to bolster the number of marriage counselors within the church. We will partner with a ministry known as, “2 = 1” and train married couples within our church in pre-marriage, marriage and family counseling. The material is bible based and not expert based, meaning you don’t need a counseling degree to engage the issues at this level. There will always be marriage needs that go beyond our capacity and we will refer those to the professionals. And we have many quality professional counselors ready for reference.

In addition, we intentionally choose to offer Connect Group material regarding marriage. This semester the DVD entitled, Marriage: Built to Last, has been rich. If you have not watched this series in your group and would like to, these DVDs will be available in the future for your use. Simply contact the church office to find out how you can borrow them. As well, we have been praying for marriages and offering pastoral counseling upon request and many in our congregation have taken advantage of the pastoral care in this church. I should also mention that we took steps to bolster our training of our children’s and youth ministries. One year ago, we brought in Brandon Diehl, from the AG national office to work with Pastor Elaina’s team and Pastor John provided training for his entire leadership team pertaining to “at risk youth”

All this talk about marriage and family may lead to you to ask…what about singles in our church? What is our position to help the unmarried, the divorced, the widows and the widowers? We thank God for the entire body of Christ and affirm every person’s unique situation. Our current vision of engaging and strengthening the family unit is simply a starting place. Our vision will sharpen and develop over time.

We want to invite every person in our church to join in the vision to reach out to the family unit. Remember, each of us was born into a family unit. Families are established by God. He is the one who instituted the covenant of marriage and children are a gift from God. We may not all be parents, but we are all children. In fact, some of us were born into healthy families, while others were born into broken families. No matter your situation, it should be said that on this side of heaven, all families have some element of dysfunction, and have room to improve.

Therefore, I call the entire “family of First Assembly” to grow and stimulate growth within their earthly families and their spiritual family, the church. We all have gifts, talents, stories and experiences that can be leveraged to bring health and strength to families within our church-body.

As a launch point I am calling the family unit to worship together during the Sundays of the Month of May. This will help us experience the Lord’s Presence together and model spiritual growth as a family. Look to the next blog entry for more specifics regarding the services and the details of worshipping together.

We are mid-way through the Focus on Marriage simulcast and I can’t get my mind off the first speaker. Francis Chan (FC) took some thoughts from 1 Cor. 7 saying, if you want to have a good marriage then start living like you aren’t married. Say What??? You can take a look at the scriptures yourself, but the basic idea is – when you are married you are concerned about your spouse and all the stuff of life, but when you are single, you can focus on your relationship with God and fulfilling HIS mission. We all want to meet God and hear the words, “well done my good and faithful servant,” and those words are only reserved for those who served God’s Mission. FC wanted us to see the big picture of marriage, before we looked at the dos and don’ts. The reality is, we could have a “happy” marriage by the world’s standards and stand before God having missed it all together ….OR…. as married people we can live for God first (with the single-mindedness of a single-person) and then stand before God having complemented each other in the pursuit of HIM. Thanks FC for pointing us in the right direction!

When the Haiti Earthquake hit we had a time of intense prayer during our Thursday night bible study. After the prayers quieted down, I asked our sister, Rose Claxton to say a special prayer for those in Haiti. Rose hails from the Caribbean Islands and I knew she could pray with empathy. And that she did! As Rose prayed heaven came down. In the course of her petitions, she switched from praying for the Haitians and began interceding for us – Americans. She prayed that we would be content and oh – my…the Spirit was there. I’m writing this just 2 hours before the Superbowl kick off and wondering how many at the Game are content? The pre-game show has reminded us of the plight in Haiti and the ongoing struggle for New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. How content am I sitting on the couch in the face of so many, who have suffered so much? Undoubtedly, the National Anthem will be sung at the Super Bowl along with a presentation of the colors of America. How content are we in light of many who have paid the ultimate sacrifice? Not for nothing…but while in prison the Apostle Paul wrote:

“…For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (NIV Philippians 4:11-12, emphasis mine).

I wonder what it will take for Americans to feel content?

 
Brian Rice, our new webmeister, asked me to begin this blog…pointing out the need for pastors to dialogue with people through technology, not just from the pulpit. In the communication realities of the 21st Century, he’s right and I thank him for nudging me along. I don’t think I can handle a daily blog, but I’ll try to do this weekly. However, why did we have to begin this week? Couldn’t we have begun on an easier week? I mean, there I was on Sunday trying to address the monumental realities of an earthquake in Haiti, while talking about the biggest political shift (potentially) since the Presidential Election and attempting to “squeeze-in” Connect Groups. At least that’s what I it felt like…Couldn’t we start on an easy week in which all was quiet on the western front??? Naaahhh. It’s time to address the issues of our day, as difficult as they are, with the light of God’s Word. For starters…were we really “squeezing-in” connect groups to our morning agenda or are they just as important as the other topics? Jesus says in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” According to this statement, the love that Christians show one another will have an evangelistic impact…meaning, people will know that we represent the person of Jesus Christ in a world that so often does not. Apply this to our Sunday morning emphases and it’s fair to say that:
People will know we are disciples of Jesus if we love Christian (and non-Christian) people in Haiti. People (and culture) will know we are disciples of Jesus if we vote in agreement with God’s Word. People will know that we are disciples of Jesus if we love each other within Connect Groups.
In light of these realities, I think “squeezing-in” Connect Groups is a pressure I shouldn’t feel. If we love each other (on any scale) we are fulfilling our mandate to love, in a world desperate for unfailing love. So…let’s get to it!!!
Love in Christ – PB (aka Pastor Brian)