Time

Good morning Trinity Tribe!

I hope all is well with you this morning!

This morning I have been thinking about how people measure time differently because of their experiences. This morning at 6am we hear loud thumps and the dogs went ballistic. Mark went outside to investigate to discover the roofers had arrived and were setting up for the day of re-roofing the parsonage. They thought that 6am was a perfectly good time to begin the work day. As hot as their work is, I certainly agree. However, it would have been nice to know they were coming that early so that we were prepared.

On Monday, the medical technician took Mark back to be prepped for surgery and told me to wait in the waiting area. A call comes through on the waiting area phone later. The nurse calls to inform me that he had gone into surgery. What? I didn't get to pray with him? I didn't get to say goodbye? I didn't get a last "I love you" in? They were in a rush, so letting me say good-bye and I love you would have taken too much time. Two minutes was too much time.

We, as Christians, also measure time differently. For us, today is not all there is. Today isn't the end of the story. Even death isn't the end of the story for us. In Revelation 21 the writer explains the end of time this way, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." This time will end. This earth as we know it, will end. Things will change and be renewed. It is hard for us to understand, but we have faith that it will happen. People who don't believe in Christ do not measure time in this way, but we do. The measurement of time depends on your perspective. Our perspective is focused on Jesus Christ.

Continue praying for healing for Louise, Aileen, Sam, Mark, and Pam.

Have a wonderful day!

Cog in the Machine

Good Morning Trinity Tribe,

I hope you are well this morning! I am still tired from yesterday's ordeal at the hospital, but I feel better than Mark does! ;-) I finally got Hanna an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. So, hopefully that will go well this afternoon.

Mark went to the hospital not knowing if the surgery would occur yesterday or not. He went to an appointment several weeks back with the ENT thinking that was his pre-operative appointment. It was in one sense, with the ENT. However, he did not have an appointment with anesthesia or anything else. He told them that he would be on leave for two weeks and would be able to go to an appointment the first week of leave since we would be in the mountains on the second week. Of course, with a big bureaucracy, that didn't happen. They scheduled him for Thursday of last week. And then no one bothered to call and tell him about the appointment. He happened to call three times checking on it and finally talked to a human on the third try.

Being a Christian can be like this adventure in the Army medical system. We have to fight to get to the end goal of Christ. We have to fight our desire to go to bed early rather than studying our bible. We have to keep making appointments for ourselves to spend time in prayer. We have to go to church even if we are angry with someone there. It is a place full of sinners, after all so we will hurt one another's feelings. In the end, just like Mark got his sinus issues taken care of, God will take care of us. God helps us apologize when we have hurt someone. God helps us to open our Bible when we would rather be lazy and watch TV. God helps us keep that appointment for prayer. We just need to be open to God's help. I am stubborn and like to do things myself, so I still struggle with letting God help me. I pray that you do better in that than I do!

Bam! Getting clubbed by a devotion!

Good morning Trinity Tribe!

How is your Spiritual Fitness this morning? In terms of my physical fitness, I will report that we walked as a family last night, and I walked this morning! ;-)

I am in the middle of the Evangelism Committee for the North Carolina Conference. I was personally convicted by our devotional this morning. Carol led us in an imaginative reading where we put ourselves in Martha's shoes. We have so many busy things to do. We are juggling balls and spinning plates. Then we talk to Jesus. He loves us. He reminds us of what is really important. Then we name those burdens. Then we lay them down. And walk away.

I am terrible about asking for help. Just ask Mark about how I battle with this. I was convicted in this devotional time. I need to continue to work on asking for people to help me. I have been so busy with moving and unpacking that I haven't asked for help.

So, here I will give it a go…

If you were not in worship yesterday, I, and the Education/Fellowship committee, need help pulling off the Family Fun Night…the Back to School Edition. We need snow cone makers. Shoppers. Hot dog cookers. Smiling welcoming faces. I personally need several someones to help get the equipment back to Fort Bragg on the Monday afterwards. Mark is having surgery, so I don't have his help! ;-)

So, prayerfully consider helping this event happen next Sunday, August 22nd from 5-7pm.

On your knees

Good morning Trinity Tribe,

I hope you are all well! My wonderful husband, Mark, is almost finished with the bathroom renovations, so I have been putting things away and cleaning all morning. I even did some cleaning last night while he was working. It doesn't look like it when you look in my office, but I will finish shortly! ;-)

I was on my knees cleaning the toilet and began to think. Why do we pray on our knees? Of course, there are references to it in the bible. Like I Kings 8:54: When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.

For me today, I prayed while I cleaned the toilet. That is not a glamorous job, by any stretch of the imagination. However, it is something that MUST be done! I can't think of a better time to pray. For me, it reminded me that I am merely a creation of an awesome God. I need to be humble. I need to pray often, in all of the normal daily things. I don't have to pray in the church at the altar exclusively. God wants us to pray during all that we do. God wants us to do worshipful work…no matter if that is cleaning toilets or balancing spreadsheets or typing legal briefs. No matter what we do, if we do it with an eternal attitude and as worship, it is pleasing to God.

Enjoy your worshipful work today! I am off to the New Pastor's luncheon and then back here to finish cleaning up my mess, worshipfully!

Just happening….

Good morning Trinity Tribe!

I hope you are all well! We got several more boxes unpacked last night, and I even unpacked one or two this morning! Mark is putting the finishing touches on the renovation of the bathroom here at the office, and it looks GREAT! One day soon, we will be organized! ;-)

I sent out an email yesterday afternoon because I noticed that the Red Springs Senior Citizens will be gathering at Trinity on Friday. I asked if the event "just happened." What I really meant, was did the group manage itself or is that something that we, as a host church, manage. And it turns out that the later is the case, of course.

Church is a place where you think things "just happen." People joke that "the church mice" did this or that. What does that say about church and church people?

First, people choose to invest in church, both the organization and the people. What would Trinity be without the people over the years who have chosen to invest time in doing the piddly things like polishing the brass or organizing the archives or making sure the newsletter went out? These are not things that people put a plaque up to praise your work. These, instead, are the unnoticed things. People who count the offering after church or make sure the flowers are watered are the unsung heroes of our community. They don't HAVE to do what they do. Instead, they choose to invest of themselves, of their time, and often of their financial means to get things done that need doing. Other people invest in people themselves. Who here can't name names of Sunday School teachers or choir directors or youth leaders that impacted our lives? Other people invested in us and in our development as Christians. For example, I went to visit Betsy last week. I found out that David and Patricia had been to see her just the day before. Betsy had been the youth director here at Trinity. She meant a lot to them, so they took the time to visit her down in Lumberton at Wesley Pines. She had invested in them and in their family, so they returned the favor and paid her a visit. That shows how important it is to invest in others. In both arenas, we need more people that are willing to use their gifts for the good of the community at this church and in every church.

Secondly, the fact that things don't magically happen at church tell us that we are needed. Everyone who walks through our doors is important and needed. We don't want you to just warm up the pew from 11-12 on Sundays. We need your prayers for our ministries and for our people and for all the people hurting in the world. We need your presence. Church is not the same when you aren't here. We need your gifts…all of them, not just the financial ones. We need your expertise at hospitality or cooking or laughing or playing with children. No matter what your gifts are, we need them in this community. We need your service. There are many people in this community and around the world to serve. We also need your witness. Where has God worked in your life? Where is God working in your life right now? Who has invested in you? What has changed your heart?

In 1 Peter 4:9-11 the writer states, 9"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

We are means of grace for other people. We can be a conduit for the Holy Spirit to act. God can use our words, our work, our witness, and even our countenance to touch other people and bring them to faith.

In what or whom will you invest yourself today? Will those investments have eternal reward?

Feeling Like Home

Good Monday Morning Trinity Tribe,

We had a wonderful worship service yesterday! My family joined the church officially, which is great and makes me happy! If you weren't with us, we missed you! We hope you will be with us next week! I have attached the bulletin and sermon, if you would like to keep in the loop!

We are officially moved into the parsonage! Hip Hip Hooray! I am within striking distance of having the kitchen together. Mark worked hard yesterday getting our beds put together and organizing other things. We are living in a fishbowl since the blinds aren't up yet, which makes mornings funny. We get to see everyone go by as we eat breakfast!

Thank you to all the people who helped us move in on Saturday! It went quickly since you were so kind to give up your Saturday afternoon to help us!

Living in the parsonage is a new experience for us. My grandparents who were in ministry no longer served a church when I came along and our last church didn't have a parsonage, so none of us have not lived in a parsonage before. It is a house owned by the church and provided because it is too difficult to buy and sell houses as pastors move around. Looking at the wall of previous pastors here at Trinity, some only stayed for a year or two! There is no way that a pastor could afford to buy and sell a house that quickly.

400 East Third Avenue is your house. People in this church raised the money to build it back in the early 1950s. Part of the church budget is saved every year for repairs on the parsonage. In the Book of Discipline para. 258.2.g.16 it says, "The parsonage is to be mutually respected by the pastor's family as the porperty of the church and by the church as a place of privacy for the pastor's family. The chairperson of the committee on pastor-parish relations, the chairperson of the board of trustees, and the pastor shall make an annual review of the church-owned parsonage to assure proper maintenance."

We, of course, will have that annual review every January. We also want to have an open house in the late fall or early winter so that everyone can see the "new" floors in the parsonage, so be watching your bulletin and newsletter for details!

400 East Third Avenue is also our home. Right now it looks like a rummage sale with all the boxes, but soon we will make it look like real people live there! We hope that you will drop by and say hello when you are in the neighborhood. We have already enjoyed walking the dogs around Flora McDonald and the surrounding neighborhood. We ran into church folks as we walked and had a great conversation. We are having a great time as official members of the Red Springs community!

And to quote a country song, "It feels like home!"

Opportunities in the Mountains!

Good morning Trinity Tribe,

I hope you are all well! I am still dog tired but very grateful for my 3 block commute!

I have been selected for a wonderful opportunity that is wonderful for Trinity as well. The United Methodist Church runs a retreat and conference and support center for rural ministry in Hayesville, NC. The Hinton Rural Life Center will be a great place for us to do a church mission trip. They do a Habitat for Humanity type mission program where we would go in and repair or build homes for people in poverty in the Appalachian Mountains along with having Bible study and lots of fun. They also hold many workshops to support pastors, especially those in rural communities. One of the projects they administer, thanks to a Lily Foundation Grant, is to support new pastors in smaller churches. This project is a continuing education program aimed at developing and sustaining effective pastoral leadership in the small membership church. I was nominated and then selected to participate. I am very excited about the opportunity! It will help me be a more effective pastor for Trinity. Trainers from Hinton will also come visit us here in Red Springs! They will come and help us with our long-range planning for how we will minister to Red Springs for the decades to come. And to top it off, the continuing education, on-site visit, travel, meals etc. is practically free for the church thanks to the Lily grant. Hooray for bargains!

I am thrilled to be a part of this both for my personal growth as well as for Trinity! It does mean that I will be out of town from Monday morning to Thursday evening six times over the next 30 months. The first week is next week. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call. I will have our friends over at the Baptist and Presbyterian churches on standby if you need immediate assistance. The next session is at the end of October.

In Colossians 3:15-17 the author writes, "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way." I pray that this opportunity will help me be in tune with you and you with me as well as help all of us be in tune with Red Springs. Please pray for me that I learn what I need to learn in this process. And please pray for the four of us as we travel.

By the way, Hinton Rural Life Center has great facilities if you want an inexpensive mountain vacation or to host a mountain family reunion as well. So here is their website, if you would like any more information: http://www.hintoncenter.org/

Mission of the Church

Good morning dear Trinity Tribe!

I am happy to report that my mother's pain has gone from a 10 to a 2 thanks to the injection yesterday. It was most unpleasant, but she is feeling much better! Thank you for your prayers!

Today I am thinking about the mission of the church. What are we supposed to do in the world? According to the United Methodist Book of Discipline in paragraph 120 (which is our over 200 year old living and breathing document of faith, laws, planning, polity, and process for the UMC), "the mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs." That task almost seems simple. We only have one thing to do in the world. However, when we dig deeper into the meaning of that, we can see how many levels there are to disciple making and world transformation.

Jesus tells his disciples, including us, that we are to go and make disciples of all nations and to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. First, we have to go. We cannot just wait for people to walk through our doors. We have to be outside the doors inviting and welcoming people in both literally and figuratively. We also have to make disciples. Making something implies work. We can't just pray for disciples to happen. We have to love people. We have to teach people. We have to help people grow in faith, hope, and love. We have to invest in people. We cannot be stand-offish. We cannot let other people handle it. We have to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty in order to help people see the God that loves them so much.

The Book of Discipline goes on to describe how we carry out the mission in paragraph 122. We are to proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ…lead people to commit their lives to Christ…nurture people through worship, the sacraments, spiritual disciplines, and other means of grace…then send people into the world do the work of Christ. This cycle is continuously repeating and growing and dividing.

I invite us all to pray for how God will use each of us with our individual gifts to fulfill the mission of the Church. Perhaps you are called to make phone calls to cheer people up or reach out to someone who is new or hasn't been to church in a while…or you might be called to invite your neighbor to church…or to babysit for that busy mom who is at the end of her rope…or to visit someone who is homebound…or to be at worship every Sunday…or to help with Youth Group… There are as many ways to be Jesus in the world as there are grains of sand on the beach. I pray that we can all use our passions to go and make disciples for the transformation of the world, starting right here in Red Springs.

Have a great day

Thinking about Church with a capital "C"

Good morning Trinity Tribe!

What is the character of the church? What is the church like? As with any human organization, the church has not yet reached perfection. We are imperfect people in an imperfect band of believers. However, many wonderful things exist because of and have become real through congregations of people who believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The intrinsic qualities of the church are love, forgiveness, embodiment of the Gospel, and servant hood.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the church as a body. He writes, “12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” We are all part of the body of Christ through our baptism. No matter our denomination; we are all connected through our brother, Christ, and washed in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The church is already but also not yet. We are already living into the Kingdom of God. However, the Kingdom has not fully come in Christ. We love God and neighbor, but we cannot fully love either until the kingdom has come which will enable us to love fully without our human reservations. We act in the world with Christ as our power source and as our guide, but our selfishness still prevails. Through us God is bringing about God’s kingdom. However, we are imperfect but are made perfect through Christ’s sacrifice.

Many people who are not Christians look upon us with disdain. We, as the Church, have done many things wrong and against our own teachings. After all, the Church did almost nothing to stop or at least protest against Hitler, we led the Crusades, we have turned a blind eye to hatred, suffering, and evil. Churches are full of hypocrites. Church is full of scandals be you Evangelical or United Methodist or Roman Catholic. Church cannot fix the world’s ills alone. We are certainly imperfect. Yet, we oftentimes pretend that we are perfect and everything is just fine. How often have we experienced someone being truly vulnerable at church? How often do we let other people help carry our “private” burdens? Could we work harder to live our beliefs in all that we do rather than from 11am-12pm on Sundays? Can we work harder to respond to pain, tragedy, and brokenness around the world but more importantly in our neighborhood? We cannot, as one congregation, wipe out all negative opinions and judgments about church. However, we can change perceptions one person at a time, as we love them as our neighbor.

What do you think the nature of the church is?

Sharing Our Faith

Kenna and I are here at the office this morning in the quiet. She has a doctor's appointment to get the plethora of skin tags off her eyelid at 1pm. She is excited about having them gone. Apparently every day at camp multiple people would tell her that she had something on her eyelid. Apparently every day at camp last week, someone and usually multiple someones told her that she had something on her eyelid. The first couple of days she told people the whole story of her having skin tags and having them removed twice from her eyelid already. Later in the week, she would just tell the person to ask someone who already knew the story because she was tired of telling it over and over. By Friday, she would just say "OK" to the person and go on. She got sick of explaining what was going on.

Are we ever like that as Christians? Sometimes when we first become a Christian or after we have been on Chrysalis or the Walk to Emmaus, we are like Kenna was at the beginning of the week…we tell our whole story about Christ and our relationship with him. When the newness starts to wear off, we start to shorten the story or tell it with less excitement. Later we tell other people with questions about Christianity, to go ask someone else. And finally, we choose to ignore those opportunities to share our faith story when it is inconvenient or if we feel uncomfortable.

How can we keep the excitement of being a new Christian when we have been one for a while or even a long time? I think it would help if we hung out with new Christians or people just coming to faith more often. I know that it is hard to NOT catch the excitement that Kenna and Hanna have over doing something simple like making brownies. So, it seems staying around new Christians would do the same thing. I think we should also invest in our faith like a new Christian. They seem to always be reading their Bibles or reading a book on Christianity. So, perhaps we could pick up one of those type books at the library next time we are there. (I have a whole bunch…Donald Miller…Andy Stanley…Marva Dawn….Dan Kimball…) We could also spend time reading our Bibles more diligently. Zondervan, the publisher of the New International Version of the Bible has several reading plans for the Bible. Here is the website for them, if you are interested:

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/Bible/Plans.htm?QueryStringSite=Zondervan

New Christians seem to be the most dedicated about attending church. Could we all make a new commitment to be present more often? Jesus said that where two or more are gathered, he would be with us. So, I feel confident about being present at church and that I will be blessed in the gathering. We all are sick on occasion, of course. However, it is important to be with our fellow believers, even if it is at the church at the beach. (I get great ideas when I visit other congregations! So, bring some back from your vacation church visits!)

I pray that we all catch the fire that burns in the hearts of new believers and share that fire with everyone we meet!

Last but certainly not least!

Hello Trinity Tribe,

The United Methodist News Service has an article that you might want to check out. It goes along with our discussion of Church vitality. Here is the shortened link: http://bit.ly/bgM0ot

During the last week we have been looking at four characteristics of a vital congregation as discovered by research the United Methodist Church is doing.

To catch you up…

According to a study of the United Methodist Church, the four main drivers of vitality in a congregation are:

A mix of both traditional and contemporary worship services
Small groups including programs for children and youth
Inspirational preaching and length of pastoral appointment
Lay leadership
Lay leadership is the final component of a vital congregation. I have been a member of churches where the laity liked to pay staff people to do the work of the church. In a sense, I suppose, they didn't want to get their hands dirty. It was a lot easier to pay someone to lead youth group than to have to hang out with teenagers, for example.

This is something that Trinity really has going for it. The lay people in this congregation take church seriously. I have never been in a church that had a lay person lead so much of the worship service. I have usually seen the lay person read the scripture and occasionally do the prayer, but never have I seen the lay people lead the majority of the service and I certainly have never seen them distribute the communion elements. I do have to admit that I miss doing that, but I affirm how involved the congregation is in worship leadership. Similarly, the Nurture Committee is very active in designing worship services. I don't have to pick out hymns by myself. The Nurture Committee including Penny Gibson, our wonderful choir director, actively works to design meaningful worship services.

Here is some of the findings from that research study that I thought were very interesting:

Effectiveness of lay leadership has a strong impact on vitality
Churches with effective lay leadership are:
␣ 84% more likely to be a high vital church
␣ 48% more likely to be high attendance church
␣ 54% more likely to be a high growth church
␣ 30% more likely to be a high engagement church
␣
␣ ␣
What drives laity Effectiveness?
Demonstrate vital personal faith
Rotate
More attendees serving as lay leaders


So, what can we do at Trinity to make lay people in our church even MORE effective? The research says that a Lay leadership team that demonstrates vital personal faith (e.g., regular disciplines of prayer and Bible Study, regular attendance at weekly worship, proportional giving, participation in mission opportunities, personal faith- sharing) is important to the vitality of the church. So, what opportunities do we need to create for people to practice spiritual disciplines? Are we faithfully attending church? If not, why not? How are we encouraging others to be here as we worship together? Do we check on people who are absent?

And giving…are people investing monetarily in their church? Or are we finding all sorts of excuses not to? What do we invest in with our giving? Sure, the light bill has to be paid. However, are we spending money in places that bring more people to know Jesus Christ or know him more deeply?

And missions…not everyone can physically go to Nicaragua or to Mexico on a mission trip. However, is everyone in the congregation in prayer for the people who can? Is everyone reaching out to the people we see in Red Springs that need help? Are we using our gifts for other people? If I am a carpenter, for example, am I helping repair homes for the needy? If I can knit, am I helping with the prayer shawl ministry? If I am a child, am I praying for other children who have nothing or am I being kind to kids in my class who are picked on? No matter what our gifts are, we can use them to God's glory.

And faith-sharing…I have only been around a short while, and I have heard people share their faith individually. Do we need practice doing this every day in our usual life activities? How do we share our faith with others genuinely without coming off like we are weird? I would also like us to share our faith more in church. Testimony used to be a big part of being Methodist, so I wonder how we could recapture that without putting people on the spot. Our stories are important. Our stories of faith are helpful for others to hear.

The study also said vital congregations focus on developing, coaching and mentoring to enable laity leadership to improve performance. The same people do not serve on the same committees year after year. There is rotation within the leadership structure in vital congregations.

This issue is something we will want to work on and pray about. We certainly need to invite people of all ages and stages to participate in the leadership of the church. I especially would like the youth and young adults to be more involved in leadership. Paul mentored Timothy, so it is natural and important for us to do the same. Where would Billy Graham had ended up if he hadn't been mentored by people such as Mordecai Ham? As God raises up leaders, there is opportunity for mentorship. Mentorship makes leaders more effective more quickly because they don't have to reinvent the wheel. God calls leaders and then folds others into the vision God has given the leader.

So, as we finish this look at vital congregations, I invite you to be in prayer with Trinity. How can we become more vital? How can we reach and teach more people about Jesus Christ? How can we make a bigger impact in our community?

I am excited about the ministry we will be doing together! Have a blessed day!