Friday, February 24, 2012
HEAVENLY BREW
The place became a kind of sanctuary for me. Sharon Wargo, who was married to a police detective, had taken an old house near downtown and turned it into a coffee shop.
She called it Heavenly Brew. Sharon and her husband were both Christians. Their love for Jesus and for people -all kinds of people walked through the door of that small shop- came through in the hospitality they offered us all.
Heavenly Brew was clean with big windows. The coffee was great. Sharon and her staff always treated you, when you came inside, like a friend who had come into their home. There were smiles. They got to know almost all of our names. And they always seemed to have time to talk -even if they were running from the kitchen to the dining area.
Sharon knew I came from the Y, and that I had a tough time cooling down so she would set a tall glass of ice water on the counter when she saw me pull into the parking lot. She knew I would want a cup of coffee and she also knew I -almost always- was either going to order a bowl of Blueberry Baked Oatmeal or a Better Morning Muffin. (She prepared everything they served.)
We’re talking for a few weeks, in these emails, about the priorities identified by our leaders at the recent Leadership & Vision Retreat. Our leaders believe God wants us to be known for an extraordinary level of hospitality we offer visitors. So last Sunday we talked about First as a place where people are given a gracious, radical welcome. Not only will we welcome people, but we’ll work hard to help people connect to others and become a part of the fellowship.
Welcoming congregations are places where everyone in every group of every age is oriented towards helping visitors feel welcome and then connect with others.
Charles Arn (“6 Questions From Newcomers” in OutreachMagazine.com) says during their first six months in a new church people tend to ask these questions:
1. “Can I make friends in this church?”
2. “Is there a place I can fit in?”
3. “Does this church really want me?”
One of the questions people start asking after that first six months is this: “Is my contribution important?” People want to know that their investment of time will make a difference in the world…and in the lives of others. They aren’t looking for a self-serving religious “club” where they will be kept busy doing things that don’t really matter.
What might it look like for a church to offer a gracious, radical, proactive welcome to all?
1. Adequate parking.
2. Greetersin the parking areas and greeters opening doors.
3. Doorsthat are easy to open.
4. Signagethat helps visitors locate where they are at each entrance and signage that leads them through the building.
5. A Visitor’s Centerstaffed with friendly, knowledgeable people.
6. A web sitethat is bright, easy to navigate, and contains basic information about the schedule, worship styles, serving opportunities, small groups, youth ministries, etc.
7. A brief “meet and greet”time for new visitors with the preaching pastor of the morning immediately after the worship service. A welcome packet with basic information, and a DVD, would be available both at this “After Party” and at the Visitor’s Center.
8. People in each worship service ready to serve as Section Hosts/Hostesses. They would sit in the same basic area each week and look for visitors to greet and assist.
9. Gorilla Greeters (a phrase used by Geoff Surratt of Exponential) who are prepared to talk to people they don’t know for the first ten minutes after they arrive at church and for the first ten minutes after the service is over. They are looking for people who “seem disconnected and figure out how to connect them.”
10.A building that sparklesand is clean from top to bottom, and where the sound system allows people to clearly hear what is said.
11.A Connections Team(visitor follow up) who see that a brief doorstep visit is made with a gift to each guest, and who work with a database of recent visitors to make sure persons are invited to small groups, Sunday school classes, serving teams, and new member classes.
12.Regular New Member Classesthat are fun, well led, and introduce people to the basics of the faith, our congregational mission, and ways of serving.
How do you see yourself being used by God to welcome the stranger (see Matthew 25)? What can you do this week to help us be even more welcoming?
If you want to see what radical, generous Biblical hospitality looks like glance at Luke 7:44-47. There a welcome involves offering the guest water for their feet, a kiss of welcome, and anointing the guest with oil.
God is calling us to be a place where people are welcomed in a radically generous and gracious way. And a community where we help people connect with others in Christian fellowship.
When I think of Heavenly Brew, I can almost smell the coffee and taste the nutmeg (is that what it was?) in those muffins. What stands out is Sharon’s smile, though. What do you think stands out when someone has been with us in worship or in a class for the first time?
Welcome to the adventure!
In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
Friday, February 17, 2012
HIGH STAKES FRIENDSHIP
How can we be
surrounded by people and still be starving for intimacy?
Hundreds of United Methodist pastors will gather in Indianapolis this Thursday and Friday for something the Bishop calls “Our Life Together.” I will be hanging out with three friends I have known for more than 25 years. Each one of us loves God very much, and yet we are human…so very flawed…and cursed with a very immature sense of humor. (Okay…Herb is kind of grown up, but the rest of us are sometimes 8th grade boys trapped in the bodies of middle aged men.)
Now here is the mystery: pastors are often the loneliest people in the world. They can be like hunger relief workers who feed the crowds. We preach fellowship, we sign people up for small groups the way relief workers hand out cereal, and bread, and milk, and then we look around for some place where we can be real…human. Tell our story. Speak of our angels and confess our demons.
John Ortberg recently wrote an article talking about how, even when he is worn down, life feels different when his best friend prays over him (over the phone from four states away). Ortberg, a pastor in California, talks about something he calls “a full-disclosure friendship.”
He cites the example of a man who has become a part of a small group with four other guys. They met in an exercise class. Just hit it off. One of them proposed “An Experiment in Friendship.” They began meeting regularly for dinner. The evenings last for three hours. They talk about everything: family, work, sex, religion, dreams, fears, what ticks them.
Two of the men are Buddhist. One is a “religious mutt.” Another is kind of a Christian and the last is a seminary president. One man says it is the “most profound group experience he’s ever had.”
Here are the rules they live by in their group:
Hundreds of United Methodist pastors will gather in Indianapolis this Thursday and Friday for something the Bishop calls “Our Life Together.” I will be hanging out with three friends I have known for more than 25 years. Each one of us loves God very much, and yet we are human…so very flawed…and cursed with a very immature sense of humor. (Okay…Herb is kind of grown up, but the rest of us are sometimes 8th grade boys trapped in the bodies of middle aged men.)
Now here is the mystery: pastors are often the loneliest people in the world. They can be like hunger relief workers who feed the crowds. We preach fellowship, we sign people up for small groups the way relief workers hand out cereal, and bread, and milk, and then we look around for some place where we can be real…human. Tell our story. Speak of our angels and confess our demons.
John Ortberg recently wrote an article talking about how, even when he is worn down, life feels different when his best friend prays over him (over the phone from four states away). Ortberg, a pastor in California, talks about something he calls “a full-disclosure friendship.”
He cites the example of a man who has become a part of a small group with four other guys. They met in an exercise class. Just hit it off. One of them proposed “An Experiment in Friendship.” They began meeting regularly for dinner. The evenings last for three hours. They talk about everything: family, work, sex, religion, dreams, fears, what ticks them.
Two of the men are Buddhist. One is a “religious mutt.” Another is kind of a Christian and the last is a seminary president. One man says it is the “most profound group experience he’s ever had.”
Here are the rules they live by in their group:
- We can ask anything, no holds barred.
- If you answer, you must tell the truth, as much as you know it.
- If you don’t answer, you must say why you won’t or can’t answer.
- Everything that is said to each other will be held in absolute confidence.
- We will make absolutely no judgments of each other.
Ortberg wonders how many people are starving for this kind of honesty, this kind of community. He wonders how many pastors crash and burn because of their loneliness.
Ortberg, who says Twinkies are a gift from God (and who is quite concerned about the Hostess Corporation going bankrupt), intended to help us get through the day saying, “Everybody needs help facing a world without Twinkies.”
I keep bumping into people here and out in the community who seem eager for some kind of “Experiment in Friendship.”
See you Sunday. If you look closely, you’ll notice my eyes are twinkling (not Twinkie-ing!) because I have been with my buddies…
Welcome to the adventure!
In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
Friday, February 10, 2012
ONE NIBBLE AT A TIME: JOIN US ON FEB 19TH FOR TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY
On Sunday the 19th we’ll be looking
at the priorities identified by over 50 lay leaders who met together on January
28th. A bit later this Winter you will be invited to talk about these top
tier priorities in a small group setting.
Andy Stanley says “vision leaks.” What he means is we have to keep “checking in”, or the church can wander off course. Musicians must tune and re-tune their instruments. Pro golfers or tennis players keep practicing their swing. No matter how good we are we can’t forget the basics!
A friend of mine grew up on a farm in north central Indiana. Every time she read the passages in the Gospels where Jesus talks about us as sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd, she said, “Sheep bite.” (I think she spoke from personal experience.) She would warn people that if they joined a church or went into ordained ministry: “Sheep bite.” In every church!
The other thing she would say about sheep is they get lost one bite at a time. Churches can have the same thing: we get lost one bite at a time. People have good ideas of things we can do. We like to stay busy. We like to make things happen! So we start saying yes to one thing after the other. Before you know it we are busy doing all sorts of good things - even if they aren’t a part of our core mission!
The Gospels tell us Jesus set his face for Jerusalem. He never allowed himself to be detoured. He knew what his life was all about (Luke 4): “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”
So on the 19th we’ll be looking at these big ideas:
Andy Stanley says “vision leaks.” What he means is we have to keep “checking in”, or the church can wander off course. Musicians must tune and re-tune their instruments. Pro golfers or tennis players keep practicing their swing. No matter how good we are we can’t forget the basics!
A friend of mine grew up on a farm in north central Indiana. Every time she read the passages in the Gospels where Jesus talks about us as sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd, she said, “Sheep bite.” (I think she spoke from personal experience.) She would warn people that if they joined a church or went into ordained ministry: “Sheep bite.” In every church!
The other thing she would say about sheep is they get lost one bite at a time. Churches can have the same thing: we get lost one bite at a time. People have good ideas of things we can do. We like to stay busy. We like to make things happen! So we start saying yes to one thing after the other. Before you know it we are busy doing all sorts of good things - even if they aren’t a part of our core mission!
The Gospels tell us Jesus set his face for Jerusalem. He never allowed himself to be detoured. He knew what his life was all about (Luke 4): “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”
So on the 19th we’ll be looking at these big ideas:
- Welcome & connecting.
- Growing & going deeper.
- Equipping & serving.
Here is a question: what is your
life all about? If someone were to ask you about your life purpose what
would you say? How would you summarize your life purpose in a 30 second
“elevator speech?” I encourage you to spend time with God, talk with
trusted friends, and see what Jesus might say about the meaning of your life.
We get lost one bite a time. Before you guard against getting lost, though, you need to do the hard work of listening for God’s call on your life.
Welcome to the adventure!
Join us on Wednesday night for our Ash Wednesday service at 5:30 p.m.
In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
We get lost one bite a time. Before you guard against getting lost, though, you need to do the hard work of listening for God’s call on your life.
Welcome to the adventure!
Join us on Wednesday night for our Ash Wednesday service at 5:30 p.m.
In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
Friday, February 3, 2012
THE BIG THREE
More
than fifty lay leaders and staff of FUMC gathered on January 28th and
began to outline the next chapter here. Led by lay leaders like Tom
Bunger, Sue Sgambelluri, Jonathan Purvis, and others the group worked hard to
identify the key priorities during the 12-18 month period ahead.
While affirming the ongoing important ministries we do in areas like outreach and mission, music and worship, caring ministries, and the need for facility improvements, the group identified the top tier priorities as:
1. Spiritual growth opportunities. (Christian education & spiritual formation.) This would mean offering small groups, retreats, and on-going classes that would help people grow spiritually and experience God in a more profound way. First/ The Open Door would offer transformational, Christ-centered experiences that emphasize Bible study and literacy. These experiences would help people not only connect with Christ, but with one another.
2. Hospitality and Fellowship. We would be intentional about living out a radical kind of hospitality. We would not only welcome guests, but offer experiences/small groups/ serving opportunities where people could make connections with one another.
3. New Member and Equipping Ministries. We will focus on offering outstanding experiences that will help welcome people, prepare people for the exciting life of a disciple of Jesus Christ, and help equip our members to serve as they know their spiritual gifts and engage need.
From where I sit, it all comes down to two words: WELCOME and CONNECTIONS. These mean being the church in very simple, practical ways: welcoming people, helping people grow in their faith through transformational classes/groups/ serving teams, and equipping God loving servants to serve!
A lay leader said it even more eloquently: we are here to connect, grow, and serve.
This is all real basic. If you look in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-35 you’ll see parallels with the early Christians. People were welcomed. People experienced God in new and life changing ways. People rolled up their sleeves and went to work to serve the needy and tell the Good News.
Years ago people in the auto world talked about “the Big Three.” GM, Ford, and Chrysler were dominating the car manufacturing world. In some ways they took their eyes off their core mission and nearly went out of business. Now things are getting better as they focus on their mission of building quality vehicles in a cost effective manner. As a congregation we believe God wants us to focus on “the Big Three” of these priorities.
Watch for more information about how we will move forward in these key areas: welcoming and connecting; growing, and equipping people to serve.
Welcome to the adventure!
In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
While affirming the ongoing important ministries we do in areas like outreach and mission, music and worship, caring ministries, and the need for facility improvements, the group identified the top tier priorities as:
1. Spiritual growth opportunities. (Christian education & spiritual formation.) This would mean offering small groups, retreats, and on-going classes that would help people grow spiritually and experience God in a more profound way. First/ The Open Door would offer transformational, Christ-centered experiences that emphasize Bible study and literacy. These experiences would help people not only connect with Christ, but with one another.
2. Hospitality and Fellowship. We would be intentional about living out a radical kind of hospitality. We would not only welcome guests, but offer experiences/small groups/ serving opportunities where people could make connections with one another.
3. New Member and Equipping Ministries. We will focus on offering outstanding experiences that will help welcome people, prepare people for the exciting life of a disciple of Jesus Christ, and help equip our members to serve as they know their spiritual gifts and engage need.
From where I sit, it all comes down to two words: WELCOME and CONNECTIONS. These mean being the church in very simple, practical ways: welcoming people, helping people grow in their faith through transformational classes/groups/ serving teams, and equipping God loving servants to serve!
A lay leader said it even more eloquently: we are here to connect, grow, and serve.
This is all real basic. If you look in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-35 you’ll see parallels with the early Christians. People were welcomed. People experienced God in new and life changing ways. People rolled up their sleeves and went to work to serve the needy and tell the Good News.
Years ago people in the auto world talked about “the Big Three.” GM, Ford, and Chrysler were dominating the car manufacturing world. In some ways they took their eyes off their core mission and nearly went out of business. Now things are getting better as they focus on their mission of building quality vehicles in a cost effective manner. As a congregation we believe God wants us to focus on “the Big Three” of these priorities.
Watch for more information about how we will move forward in these key areas: welcoming and connecting; growing, and equipping people to serve.
Welcome to the adventure!
In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
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