Last Sunday in our group activity we broke out into 3 teams: Celebrate, Contribute, and Connect. Each team developed ideas around what it meant to have that strength and what was relevant to them in developing that strength. Below I have listed the participants and what those ideas were.
I encourage you to review the list and see how you can apply any of the ideas to help you with your struggles. The participants are there as a resource and support to help you apply these in your life.
CONNECT
Participants: Bethany, Maggie
What qualities do you think it takes to have these strengths?
+ Outgoing personality
+ Think about others and their needs (i.e. sending a card, phone call, and listening)
...by praying for our growth
Suggestion: Gradually add others needs and growth goals to regular prayer time.
...by warmly welcoming those who visit
Suggestion: Make a point / goal to meet one person at church you haven’t met.
...by regularly sharing life in a small group
Suggestion: Make group time a priority, natural openness and social ability.
...by accepting responsibility to care for others in Threads
Suggestion: Make a goal to address one persons needs each week (prayer / contact) or sign up for a ministry position within Threads
CONTRIBUTE
Participants: Zach, Brandon, John, Andy, Aubrey, Kristen, Colin
What qualities do you think it takes to have these strengths?
+ Personality
+ Passion
+ Faithfullness
+ Trust
+ Compassion
+ Intent
+ Results
...by inviting the unchurched to attend
...by using my gifts & talents in a ministry role
...by being equipped to serve by my leaders
...by giving regularly with my finances
Suggestions:
+ Prayer
+ Listening and acting
+ Knowing your limits and knowing what God is asking you to do within those limits
+ Be prepared and comfortable with possible rejection
+ Placing yourself in areas / situations where opportunities arise to invite / talk to the "unchurched"
+ Building relationships with "unchurched" people
+ Stepping out of comfort zones
CELEBRATE
Participants: Pat, Lisa, Donna, Mark, Michelle
What qualities do you think it takes to have these strengths?
+ Determined
+ Focused
+ Motivated
...by going public in the act of Baptism
Suggestions:
+ Praying / Listening to what God wants you to do and putting that above the fear of what others may think.
+ Realizing it is a symbol of commitment that you are a Christ follower and that you are honoring your baptism as an infant
...by personally taking time to pray and read the Bible
Suggestions:
+ Making a consistent time to read the Bible
+ Inquiring different stories of the Bible you have heard and not getting overwhelmed with reading it from start to finish.
+ Finding peace with reading the Bible, start with Psalms.
+ Be aware of your time (i.e reading the Bible instead of watching TV)
+ Reading the Bible to your kids and having quiet time for God
+ Getting more out of the Bible
+ Relate with Bible stories in conversation (don’t force it)
+ The more you know, the more confident you are about your spiritual journey, and sharing it with others.
+ Feel prepared when topics come up about books you read in the Bible in and out of church.
...by gathering regularly for worship with my Church
Suggestions:
+ Make a commitment
+ Look forward to how you can connect with others / witness.
This week's entry was written by the members of our Community Group and compiled by Mark Campbell.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Little Zac & the IRS
Last week we went over the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10. Zac was one of those guys who started out with 3 strikes against him:
Strike 1 - He was a puny little runt.
Strike 2 - He was a puppet of the Roman government.
Strike 3 - He abused his position to steal from fellow Jews.
Needless to say, he didn't have too many friends. But Jesus didn't care about any of that. He looked him straight in the eye and said, "Dude, let's go hang out together."
This simple act had a HUGE effect on Zac. Check out his response:
"But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."" - Luke 19:8 (TNIV)
Let that sink in a bit. He's gonna give half his money to the poor, and repay those he cheated with 300% interest. What would this mean to his lifestyle? It's not like he's got all this cash lying around in big burlap sacks with dollar signs on them. He's going to have to make a radical shift in his buying habits. No more lunches at Qdoba. Time to sell the 2nd car. He's gonna need every spare cent to go towards making good on his promise.
Because these aren't just words to him, it's a commitment to a changed life. Jesus' response confirms that:
"Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."" - Luke 19:9-10 (TNIV)
Zaccheus was this 3rd rate citizen. The guy everyone hated. The kid who always got his lunch money stolen. But just this simple act by Jesus completely changed his life.
So this is what I want you to think about: Who are the Zaccheuses in your life? Who are those people you go out of your way to avoid? Maybe it's someone who's not like you - someone with a different skin color, or age, or level of income or education. Maybe it's someone who did something wrong to you in the past, or someone who you did something wrong to. Maybe it's someone you see every day, but your conversation has never gotten deeper than the weather and the Tigers.
I want to challenge you this week to connect with a Zaccheus. Find one person and make a connection. Strike up a conversation. Invite them to a party. Bake them a cake. Pray for them.
If we each make a concerted effort in reaching out to our Zaccheuses, what kind of effect could that have? Could there be someone just waiting for that connection that may have the same kind of life-altering experience that Jesus' invitation had on Zaccheus? Could God really work through us in that way today?
Or how about this: If we each reach out and connect with someone we normally wouldn't, what kind of impact will this have on us?
Strike 1 - He was a puny little runt.
Strike 2 - He was a puppet of the Roman government.
Strike 3 - He abused his position to steal from fellow Jews.
Needless to say, he didn't have too many friends. But Jesus didn't care about any of that. He looked him straight in the eye and said, "Dude, let's go hang out together."
This simple act had a HUGE effect on Zac. Check out his response:
"But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."" - Luke 19:8 (TNIV)
Let that sink in a bit. He's gonna give half his money to the poor, and repay those he cheated with 300% interest. What would this mean to his lifestyle? It's not like he's got all this cash lying around in big burlap sacks with dollar signs on them. He's going to have to make a radical shift in his buying habits. No more lunches at Qdoba. Time to sell the 2nd car. He's gonna need every spare cent to go towards making good on his promise.
Because these aren't just words to him, it's a commitment to a changed life. Jesus' response confirms that:
"Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."" - Luke 19:9-10 (TNIV)
Zaccheus was this 3rd rate citizen. The guy everyone hated. The kid who always got his lunch money stolen. But just this simple act by Jesus completely changed his life.
So this is what I want you to think about: Who are the Zaccheuses in your life? Who are those people you go out of your way to avoid? Maybe it's someone who's not like you - someone with a different skin color, or age, or level of income or education. Maybe it's someone who did something wrong to you in the past, or someone who you did something wrong to. Maybe it's someone you see every day, but your conversation has never gotten deeper than the weather and the Tigers.
I want to challenge you this week to connect with a Zaccheus. Find one person and make a connection. Strike up a conversation. Invite them to a party. Bake them a cake. Pray for them.
If we each make a concerted effort in reaching out to our Zaccheuses, what kind of effect could that have? Could there be someone just waiting for that connection that may have the same kind of life-altering experience that Jesus' invitation had on Zaccheus? Could God really work through us in that way today?
Or how about this: If we each reach out and connect with someone we normally wouldn't, what kind of impact will this have on us?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Gift of Healing
The divorce rate in the United States is 34%. That means that out of every 3 married couples, 1 will get divorced.
Let me drive that a little closer to home. Think of 3 married couples that you know: family, friends, other group members. The statistics say that 1 of those couples will get divorced.
Scary, isn't it?
Here's something even more alarming. Do you know what the rate is for divorced couples who reconcile their differences and get re-married? The statistics are hard to pin down, but one source I found puts it at under 10%. Less than 1 out of 10 divorces. And even that number seems quite high to me in my experience. It's incredibly rare.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of being at one of those rare occasions.
We met Jim a couple years ago @ Threads. He and his wife had just separated and he was trying to fit into a new lifespace. He definitely had a feeling of being lost, but he had this smile and joy that was infectious...like he knew something you didn't know.
We were close with Jim for a while, then he found his way into another Community Group and we just kept touch every now and then. A couple weeks ago he comes up to us after the Worship Gathering with a huge smile on his face, and hands us a card. We open it up and see it's a wedding invitation. He must have noticed the looks of both joy and confusion on our face when we read the names.
"Do you know who that is?" he asked us, "It's my ex-wife."
The wedding was an incredible experience. On the surface, it was nothing special. Just a simple ceremony, a small church, screaming kids - you know, the normal. But everyone there knew they were part of something special. Something rare. Something bigger than us. Something that just doesn't happen in our society.
There was so much emotion in that room. So much hope. Every time Michelle told someone about it afterwards she said, "You always hear about people crying at weddings, but I've never actually seen it happen so much. And I've never really been moved to do so before." Neither have I.
This was one of those God things that you hear about all the time, but you still don't really expect to see. The risen Christ is not just a uniter, He is a healer. We read stories about Him all the time where He heals someone, or turns water to wine, or raises someone from the dead. And we say we believe that, but when it comes to now, today, in our lives, we don't expect that to happen.
Sometimes we just need real-life reminders. We need to see that the risen Christ really does heal lives. We need to see it in our friends, and in ourselves.
Let me drive that a little closer to home. Think of 3 married couples that you know: family, friends, other group members. The statistics say that 1 of those couples will get divorced.
Scary, isn't it?
Here's something even more alarming. Do you know what the rate is for divorced couples who reconcile their differences and get re-married? The statistics are hard to pin down, but one source I found puts it at under 10%. Less than 1 out of 10 divorces. And even that number seems quite high to me in my experience. It's incredibly rare.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of being at one of those rare occasions.
We met Jim a couple years ago @ Threads. He and his wife had just separated and he was trying to fit into a new lifespace. He definitely had a feeling of being lost, but he had this smile and joy that was infectious...like he knew something you didn't know.
We were close with Jim for a while, then he found his way into another Community Group and we just kept touch every now and then. A couple weeks ago he comes up to us after the Worship Gathering with a huge smile on his face, and hands us a card. We open it up and see it's a wedding invitation. He must have noticed the looks of both joy and confusion on our face when we read the names.
"Do you know who that is?" he asked us, "It's my ex-wife."
The wedding was an incredible experience. On the surface, it was nothing special. Just a simple ceremony, a small church, screaming kids - you know, the normal. But everyone there knew they were part of something special. Something rare. Something bigger than us. Something that just doesn't happen in our society.
There was so much emotion in that room. So much hope. Every time Michelle told someone about it afterwards she said, "You always hear about people crying at weddings, but I've never actually seen it happen so much. And I've never really been moved to do so before." Neither have I.
This was one of those God things that you hear about all the time, but you still don't really expect to see. The risen Christ is not just a uniter, He is a healer. We read stories about Him all the time where He heals someone, or turns water to wine, or raises someone from the dead. And we say we believe that, but when it comes to now, today, in our lives, we don't expect that to happen.
Sometimes we just need real-life reminders. We need to see that the risen Christ really does heal lives. We need to see it in our friends, and in ourselves.
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