Sunday, June 26, 2005

Looking like God - that was what today's message was all about as we talked about being peacemakers and not peacebreakers or peacefakers. Today's services were a little smaller, as we actually had our lowest attendance in months - 79 - but they were good.

A few things to note:
1) We had a visitor (Pete) with us who prayed at the end and invited Christ into his life. I haven't received any visitor info on him, but I hope to see him back.
2) We had a couple visit in the second service (Amy & Chris) that I am excited to talk to at some point. They are looking for a church home, having recently relocated to the area.
3) We observed the Lord's Supper in both services and I thought it went pretty well so far as flow. I am anxious to make it a regular monthly part of our services.
4) The spirit of the people was good - the message was well-received, and even with a summer-thinned crowd, I felt the message hit home with many people.

Momentum - that is the one thing that I am striving to keep during the summer. We have different family events planned, as well as a few evangelistic events to draw people in, as we prepare for a fall harvest. Let's pray that the Lord of the Harvest will bring out more workers to labor in His fields and draw people to Himself.

The Journey Teens go to the Super Rally at Six Flags, Friday, June 24, 2005

This post is from Lee Thompson, our youth minister:
On Friday, June 24th, we took twelve teens to Six Flags New England in Agawam, Mass. to participate in Superrally 2005. Superrally is an annual gathering of teens from all over the northeastern United States. The young people enjoyed the rides and the water park on a picture perfect day!

The rally was the highpoint of the day. An awesome praise and worship concert by contempoary christian music group, Cross Culture primed the hearts of thousands of teens for the challenging gospel message by speaker, Tony Nolan. Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched literally hundreds of teens leave their seats in response to the invitation, including six from our group. A chorus of applause resounded from the pavillion as these teens courageously chose to make a public statement of their decision to become a follower of Jesus! What an awesome thing! GO GOD!!!

All in all a terrific day!

I am absolutely amazed!

I just returned about a half hour ago from Hannafords (a grocery store), and to my amazement, I read in the World News that someone has discovered the 11th through 20th commandments - that there were actually 20 and not 10 that God gave to Moses, but that Moses crumbled them up (or something). Well, being the minister that I am, I absolutely had to see what the rest were (my wife commented that it was hard enough at times to keep 10, never mind 20!). So I picked up the paper, and quite honestly, my preaching will stay the same. No new sermons for me to preach...no new revelations. They were absurd, and I was disappointed. In the words of a surfer dude, they were "totally bogus." I should have figured that would be the case when the other "headliner" was "Race of living scarecrows discovered in Kansas."

If you really want to know what the other commandments were, visit your local grocery store and get in the really long line and pick up the newspaper.

I just have to share this stuff. Any other off-the-wall headlines out there? Just wondering...

Sunday, June 19, 2005

I am excited about the direction The Journey is taking - even as we sometimes have to fight through adversity and occasional strife. Today was a good day - I felt that the message was what the church needed to hear, specifically in regards to serving others as we would serve Jesus ("In as much as you've done it to the least of my brethren, you've done it unto me"). The message was well-received as we talked about Matthew 5:8 - "God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God."

The music was ok - a little rough in places, but you have those days where things don't run smoothly. It's all good, right? :)

Overall, I was glad for the reception of the message, ending it with Keith Green's "The Sheep and the Goats" and "Asleep in the Light," two song that preach better than I do. I hope that the people really captured the heart of what Keith sang about, that the church would wake up and serve and love and help and minister to others all around.

We had 107, which is 5 straight Sundays of over 100! Praise God! If we have over 100 this weekend, that will be our first month ever of averaging over 100, which is an absolute work of God.

I want to encourage the readers out there with one thing - let's really make a push to get those that we know who are not believers into the doors of the church, as it is a great place for them not only to hear the good news, but a great place to see the good news in action through God's people.

Along with that, I will be preaching the following through July:
Sunday, June 26 - The Joy of Looking Like God- Blessed are the peacemakers
Sunday, July 3rd - The Joy of Being Used Up and Wasted for God - Blessed are the persecuted

That will wrap up our Experiencing the Joy of Jesus 8 week series, and we will take a small break from the Experiencing the Heart for a movie break, a 3-4 week series called "God in the Movies" in which we will look at spiritual lessons from a few summer blockbusters. Here's the plan:

Sunday, July 10th - Madagascar (Missionary Bill Crawford to Germany will also be with us)
Sunday, July 17th - Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Sunday, July 24th - The Fantastic Four (Birthday Sunday)
Sunday, July 31st - War of the Worlds (also taking Lord's Supper)

Now that the kids are out of school, let's take the summer time to relax together, learn together, and worship together - at The Journey!

Blog - dialogue or diabolical?

I need to be clear on something. There is a saying attributed to St. Augustine that says, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all points, charity." This blog and our church and my personal philosophy of ministry are centered around this.

What that means is that we have some core doctrines that we believe are clearly found in the Bible and that are essential to our faith, specifically the doctrines of The Trinity (including the deity of Christ); salvation by grace through faith alone; the virgin birth; the return of Christ; and the supremacy/inerrancy of Scripture. Without elaborating further, these are doctrines that we can't compromise on without calling into question the veracity of the Bible. A particular group is judged to be Christian (Baptist, Assemblies of God, Evangelical Free, Methodist, etc.) if they accept these, or cultic (Mormon, Scientology, Jehovah's Witness, Christian Science, etc) or of another religion (Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, etc.) if they do not. So in these essential doctrines, we have unity. We do not/will not sidestep, compromise, or turn away from these things.

But then we have some non-essential doctrines within Christianity that based upon a person's adherences to (or non-adherences) would determine denomination. These doctrines include (but are not limited to) the extent and role of spiritual gifts today; the role of women in the church; the particulars of the 2nd Coming of Christ, etc. My goal has been to not major on non-essentials - to allow diverse thought and liberty in these areas. As a pastor and spiritual leader, I have my own opinions, but I have a hard time requiring people to hold to those things which the Bible does not clearly line out. So non-essentials (of which I have barely scratched the surface) like these where there is disagreement, we have liberty to believe as we each sees fit.

But the last thing is that we are to show charity/love in all points. No matter what someone's opinion, we are to demonstrate the love of Christ to each of our neighbors (the 2nd greatest commandment). This takes into consideration all the things that Jesus said are important (remember the Beatitudes we are discussing?) - Jesus said mercy, forgiveness, compassion, justice - these things are important as they specifically relate to our treatment of others.

I call on us to remember this last point. This blog is meant to promote conversation, not confrontation or dissention. I feel that people might take things wrong at times when there is disagreement. If I disagree with you, please know that I do not speak to hurt or offend you or tear you down - and I would wipe out any comments that were destructive or were said mean-spirited. You can email me personally at robw@thejourneynh.com if I have offended you or call me at my office.

This blog is a dialogue - call it "dia-blog" - but let's not make it into something "diabolical." Let's use it to discuss and debate and sharpen each other. I know most everyone who comments, and I will speak up when I feel a foul is committed.

I ask your opinions on many things with never the intent to be-little or set ANYONE up as a fall-guy/fall-girl. Please understand that. I asked you below about what first impressions people might have - specifically non-believers who visit us with a friend or out of curiosity. My goal with that is to make sure that we have NOTHING that distracts them in service and NOTHING that deters them from coming back THAT WE CAN PREVENT. Too many diabolical forces are at work, trying to undermine all we do.

So the question is - what are some practical, cost-effective, noticeable fixes that we can do to make it so there are no distractions, disruptions, or turn-offs when people visit, specifically non-believers...? I would REALLY like to hear from you on these kinds of things. My two eyes only see so much - maybe you see something I don't. Maybe you can fix something I can't. LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO! :)

First impressions...?

OK - I have an important question for you to ponder, and then based upon your answers, to help me with:

*What is a person's first impressions of The Journey?

What I mean is -
*What is someone's first impression when they drive into our parking lot?
*What is someone's first impression when they walk into our main building?
*What is someone's first impression when they walk into our kid's education building?
*What is someone's first impression of our services?

Also included - our landscaping, our bathroom, our atmosphere, our nursery, our worship team, our pastor and associate pastors and wives, etc.

I ask this with the hopes that if you know of some things we can improve that you will not just tell me what's wrong but give me ways to make things right - maybe even help us make things right. I want people's experiences at The Journey to be great from the moment they drive into our parking lot. Let's be creative and think of better ways to do things or ways to improve things...and then let's do them!

I heard a great quote yesterday from a great church leader - "Always act like where you're going, not where you are!"

For more on this, check out this article from www.pastors.com.

I would love to hear some thoughts. As always, thanks.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

107! That was today's attendance as the Lord continues to add to our number. We have seen so many people come to The Journey over the last two months, many repeats, and my goal now is to draw some of them in for membership. I would appreciate prayers on this as I talk to some about making commitments to the body.

I spoke today about "Blessed are the merciful" from Matthew 5:7. I borrowed this sermon from John Piper as I felt it really conveyed what I wanted to say about being merciful and showing mercy. I don't typically borrow messages as I like to do my own studying, but on occasion I will and add in my own flavor. It is so important that we show mercy to others, and I especially emphasized the necessity for that within the church. Too often we are all too willing to villify and be unforgiving towards others in the body of Christ, and it is shameful. I am excited to talk over the next three weeks about the last three beatitudes and how we can improve our relationships with others.

To the Journey family, I will tell you that it has been fantastic worshiping with you for the past month or so! So many of you come ready to praise the Lord and worship, and you are to be commended and encouraged to keep going. Keep worshiping during the week and preparing yourselves. The Lord is pleased when His children come with thankful hearts ready to rejoice.

Please be in prayer with me over one thing. I am just about ready to launch our church leaders into a small groups concept that will revolutionize our church, enabling it to grow and at the same time build a deeper intimacy. Please be in prayer with me about that.

I thank the Lord for His hand working at The Journey.

The Journey Roofing Project, June 9-11, 2005

Well, after several delays, we finally this weekend replaced our sorry looking roof. It was a great experience for several reasons:
1) All the help, from the men on the roof to the volunteers on the ground to the cooking and cleaning crews...there are so many people to thank and name - you know who you are, and I cannot say "Thank you!" enough times.

2) We could not have picked two more hotter and humid days in New Hampshire than June 10 & 11 - the outside temperature was over 90 each day, and the roof was on fire at times, reaching well over 100 with the new shingles on. I have never drank so much water and not had to run to the restroom every two minutes! :)

3) We were spared miraculously from rain.

• On Thursday evening, a few guys deshingled some of the roof to give us a head start, and we for the overnight we had just bare decking, unaware of impending torrential rain showers. That night, it poured outside - a block north of us it absolutely poured and all around us, but God providentially held off the rain so that our building did not get a drop of rain!
• On Friday, with the same conditions, rain showers were all around the area, but not where we were. It didn't rain until we were ready to quit close to 6PM.
  
• On Saturday, again, we had rain showers just down the road - but not a drop on us while we worked, praise the Lord! And the great thing was that the Lord used a breeze from those showers to cool us down as we worked in the afternoon.

4) We had great camaraderie as everyone worked together - men, women, and teens all helped out in different ways to get things done.

5) Finally, outside of one finger cut from Chris, a teen, we had no injuries, no falls, no "oops!" - all we left with was some soreness, some blisters, and some sunburn.

I praise the Lord that we completed this project. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us while we worked. The Lord listens to His children, and I believe it was a great day for The Journey.

Pictures of this project are below.

Arthur holds up the scaffolding that he provided. :) 

Rod walks upward with the broom as other men continue to work on the roof. 

Getting those skylights out was a major chore - they weighed ALOT! Thank God for Andy, who managed them pretty easily. 

Chuck assesses the situation as Arthur breaks for a drink. 

I was on the roof, but I was very cautious. I'm not afraid of heights - I am afraid of falling. 

Brian with the sawzaw and Andy with the hammer...a great combination. 

Don takes out old roofing staples and Floyd works to the left. 

The hole that kept getting bigger is worked on by Brian (center) and Andy (left). Pete along with other teens was a huge help all during the project.  

Pastor and Andy are up on the roof getting it prepared for the new shingles. Pete looks off in the distance. 

Brian cools down - he was our main man on the roofing project and a God-send.  

Water and A/C was a necessity while we worked on the hot roof.  

Donut breaks were common - actually the building was air-conditioned, which provided a much needed shelter from the sun.

A possible answer to "boycotting"...

I told you last week that I would post what I believe is a response to boycotting - in my mind, a better alternative, and quite honestly, a more thorough and complete follow through. It is listed below off of the website www.nextwaveonline.com and I would love to know your thoughts. By the way, the AFA called off the Ford boycott until at least the end of the year - read about it here.

I have pasted this article from Nextwaveonline (thanks to my good friend and fellow church-planter [in San Francisco], Dave Lantow for bringing this article to my attention - catch Dave's blog online by clicking here ...)
A unique summit of church network and ministry leaders from 10 European nations was held recently in London.

The Strategic Leadership Consultation, hosted by Next Wave International, studied how the ‘new churches’ of Europe might engage more closely with the processes of government and civic leadership.

The following Statement of Intent was published at the conclusion of the two days of discussion. It outlines the principles church network leaders are committed to putting into practice within their European cities and nations:

"As leaders of European church networks / ministries, we affirm that we will:

1. Build churches and ministries which look to shape the future of cities today.

2. Work to create a better future for all the people in our cities and communities.

3. Build churches and ministries which, if they were not present, would be missed by their communities.

4. Encourage in Christian leaders a passion to bless the city and not just the church and to provide leadership for the city.

5. Pray for those in government and civic leadership.

6. Help political leaders to find pragmatic solutions to community problems.

7. Develop agendas of care for our cities and towns, promoting acts of kindness.

8. Promote what we stand for in the community, not simply what we stand against.

9. Bring people together, building inclusive alliances to solve community problems, while maintaining the core elements of our faith.

10. Develop leaders who are as comfortable in the community as they are in the church.

11. Work to gain the trust of politicians and other civic leaders, by establishing a positive track record for solving problems.

12. Equip and support people from within our churches who are called to work in the political sphere.

13. Offer a voice of moral conscience for our cities and nations – in a positive, respectful and engaging way.

14. Pursue constructive influence, through intimacy (with God) alongside involvement (with the community)."
*********************
Let's talk about these, as I think these resolutions are the direction that our churches should be taking. What do you think? :)

Sunday, June 5, 2005

Today I spoke on The Joy of Appetite - Hungering and Thirsting for God from Matthew 5:6. I opened up the sermon with an obnoxious video ("I'm fasting!") and then, although my sermon was simple, I felt the point was profound - we all are hungry and thirsty - but the satisfaction of that hunger can only be filled in God. Later on in the day, I was able to use this fact to talk with a woman who stopped by for help. She said that she felt really good when she watched some preachers on TV, and I told her it was because her soul was being fed. I then of course invited her to church.

Church was good - I was pleased with it overall. We had some visitors, including Lori Johnson who is a former Methodist pastor. It was great to talk with her, and see her passion for the Lord. I pray that we are able to minister to her further. Also, we had a couple of special friends with us from out of town - Amanda Hahn and Stephanie. But it was so good to catch up with them, and to see how the Lord is working in their lives.

The music was very good this morning again, as Andy Becker :) did a great job again on the bass. I am very proud of how He is growing not just instrumentally, but also in the Lord. I pray that Andy continues to gain a better understanding of how much God desires to use him, especially as he is someone that kids and teens flock to. Andy and his wife, Kim are going to do some great things through the Lord - God has revealed that to me.

After the first service (I forgot in the 2nd service), I spoke with several people about becoming part of The Journey and committing to our community. I pray that they will take that step and allow God to use them here.

Also speaking of Andy, his wife threw a surprise graduation party for him at the church for graduating from college (4 years), and he is now a journeyman...how fitting :)

We had 103 in attendance today, and I can't wait until we are in the 120's and 130's. An issue of prayer - please pray as I strategically plan for our church's growth while at the same time planning for a deeper intimacy among our people. I am going to be recruiting and training small group leaders soon so that our church can take on a whole different paradigm and minister more effectively. I can really use your prayers in this, specifically for wisdom and for God's timing.

God is good - we looked up last year's attendance at this time - it was 37...thank You, Lord, for your kindness and love toward us.

Men's Retreat, June 2-4, 2005

The men's retreat was great this year. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we had 6 of our guys from the Journey go with us - Rod Kesselring, Chuck Greene, Tim DeBenedictis, Lee Thompson, Andy Becker and me (Pastor).

Ed Trinkle, a pastor from Jacksonville, Florida spoke to us on the themes of purity and commitment (along with a few others.) The Crossroads praise band led worship and did great, and overall, it was just a good relaxing time of camaraderie and fellowship.

Pastor Ed Trinkle from Jacksonville, Florida was our guest speaker. We had a great time hearing him and getting to know him.

Pastor Anthony "the Man!" Milas from GSBC wearing a buff on the last day.

The Crossroads band led worship during each session.

Steve Jessmer (2nd from right) with some of his boys relaxing before a session.

Joe Martin, the first impressions pastor from GSBC, is a great guy.

Brother George Wakim from GSBC always has a smile.

These guys are so "buff"!

Pastor Matt Kyzer and his boys before the last session.

Rob from Crossroads and Rod from the Journey talk shop before a session.

Lee, Chuck, and Tim relax before the sessions.

Andy Becker shoots the breeze before a session.

A look at the platform.

Boycotts...? Should we or shouldn't we?

I am always alarmed when I see a Christian group act in a public way that brings controversy. I say "alarmed" in that I always wonder what other people think and how they feel about Christians and the way that we react. There is a new boycott now by the American Family Association on Ford - read about it at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8047423/. As you read this, let me ask you a few questions as I would love to get some feedback:
1) How do "boycotts" correlate with our call to be "salt" and "light" in Matthew 5:13-16?
2) Do you think that it is better for non-Christians to know what we stand for or what we stand against, or both?
3) Do you think that a call to a public boycott really makes a difference?
4) Is there a better way to go about making a statement?

Just wondering what your thoughts are, and if this should affect The Journey at all?