Easter Service

This post is coming late because over the weekend my computer began complaining that the limited memory may shut everything down. Thanks to some great tech support in the office I am back into the computing world. Special thanks to Tom and Ben.

Sunday was a celebration of Easter. It was the culmination of several weeks of preparation and many volunteer hours. We moved as a team committed to serve God through the Church. There is something very wonderful about being a part of a team of people whose joint efforts can make things happen, that no one could have done alone. Special thanks to those who fabricated brackets, designed and installed the track system, hung the valence and scrim, positioned the lights and projectors, prepared to sing, play an instrument, design poster, bulletins, response cards and sing in the choir. It was a great see all of our efforts come together. We did it because our Savior is worth whatever effort we can give. No job is insignificant. In the middle of our preparation, someone told me that they wanted to serve. They continued to describe how that for them any job done for the Lord was greatly significant.They would even consider hidden jobs like cleaning important because it is done for the One we love.

After trying the center projector we have decided to buy it. When it arrives, we will be able to incorporate several effects that a large middle projection can provide.

As I looked through the response cards, it was great to read the comments and rejoice with those who accepted Christ or renewed their commitment to walk with Him. When I called through the comment cards many expressed their intentions to come and worship with us again. It was a great Easter.

Changes for Easter and beyond...

We live in a day where we have some amazing attention getting technology. Much of what we see has one goal in mind, to capture our attention in order to deliver a message.

Easter is the one Sunday in the year that many people who have grown weary of church come back to give it one more chance. It is our goal to get their attention in order to deliver a life changing message from God's word. That message has not changed since it was first delivered. The environments in which people receive it has changed with every generation.

We have been working to be able to capture the attention of those who come Easter not only for that Sunday, but to get them back. We have reset out screens, added a scrim and will project one of the largest images they would see anywhere in town. We know that while we can work to get people's attention it is still the prayers of God's people, the power of the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in individual hearts that will make a difference.

I am looking forward to Easter. We know God has chosen His church and His people to be witness to His story of redemption. Join me in prayer for this Easter Sunday.

Easter is Coming

Easter, this Sunday

Easter is just a few day away. You may have noticed some changes to the platform Sunday. These are part of the preparations for our Easter program. Our theme is "WHY DO WE NEED EASTER". The answer to that question is because we need REDEMPTION. Please invite your friends. Even people who would consider attending church on Easter are more likely to go where they have been invited. Offer to meet them in the lobby and sit with them. Let us all pray for them. The redemption of men and women was God's idea and continues to be His work. He has also made it clear that He wants to use you and me and His church in the process.

Easter is a day for us to rejoice. Bring your heart of worship, your relatives and friends and lets make Easter a celebration.

It Happened...My Truth Project Group Got Canceled

Last night the Truth Project group I host did not meet. Some had to miss because of other obligations. Others needed to tend to family members that did not feel well (we were one of those in that category, nursing Coco who was post-wisdom teeth removal and not well at all). When I did the math more would miss than be present and so we canceled. At first, I felt very defeated. The power of the small group concept is meeting, pure and simple. If you don't meet, it is not good. And then something dawned on me.

Even though we did not meet as a group, there had been a lot of communication and life sharing conversations on the phone. We did not meet, but we had stayed connected. Accountability often sounds like a scary supervisory word. What I experienced was more like phone calls among friends.

Becoming friends is something that happens in small groups. When people increase friendships in church, they feel more connected and the church gets stronger. The following quote comes from Rick Warren's writings.

"Lyle Schaller has done extensive research that shows the more friendships a person has in a congregation, the less likely he is to become inactive or leave. In contrast, I once read about a survey of four hundred church drop-outs who were asked why they left their churches. Over 75% of the respondents said, "I didn't feel anyone cared whether I was there or not."

It is a myth that you must know everyone in the church in order to feel like a part of a church. The average church member knows 67 people in the congregation, whether the church has 200 or 2,000 attending. A member does not have to know everyone in the church in order to feel like it's "my church" but he does have to know some people!

While some relationships will spontaneously develop by chance, the friendship factor in assimilation is too crucial to leave to chance. You can't just hope members will make friends in the church. You must encourage it, plan for it, structure for it, and facilitate it."

So, our group did not meet. But the fact that we have the group and are getting to know each other, some of whom are new to High Street, is doing something very good.

Truth Project Groups

The Truth Project has captured the attention of High Street in a very exciting way. Over the last few weeks on an average we have had well over 500 people meeting in 45 small groups. There have been more than 618 adults attend one or more meetings. This is well over the 300 something that had been attending our regular Sunday evening services. Clearly God is at work here. I want to point out some important observations:

• We have gone from the Sunday Evening routine to a Sunday evening with purpose.
• The Truth Project teaching is well done, thought provoking and many of us are becoming better equipped for ministry.
• One thing that must not be overlooked is that we have tried a new group dynamic and that is the small groups in homes. For those who prefer to meet in small groups at the church, we have 5 groups meeting there. There are 45 facilitators serving.
  
• This paradigm is giving opportunity for more people to be involved in ministry. Each group has been active to take care of their people. We take attendance instantly because as a group leader, I can visualize my living room and I know who was there and who was not. It is easy for me and other leaders to make calls to care for those who are absent.
  
• This plan has allowed us to get to know people who are new to High Street. We are doing a better job of getting to know them and them us. This assimilation of those who are new is very important to growth.
  

Now this new plan is not perfect. There are things that are less convenient for some. We have had to find creative ways to care for the children in the groups. It is not automatic but the exercise has been good for us. I am getting used to the noise coming from the basement and the needed parent trips to check on the kids. There is something good about being with other families and getting to know other people's children.

While discussing this with someone over email he sent me an article that pointed our some very important observations.

• The early church included this house to house format.

Acts 2:46, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ^ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

• While church buildings are very suited for corporate worship and teaching, they are not designed to encourage fellowship.
  

"Nowhere in the New Testament do we find the terms church (ekklesia), temple, or house of God used to refer to a building.

The church building is far less warm, personal, and friendly than someone’s home – the organic meeting place of early Christians. The church building is not designed for intimacy nor fellowship. In most church buildings, the seating consists of wooden pews bolted to the floor. The pews (another man-made tradition) or chairs are arranged in rows, all facing the pulpit (yet another man-made tradition).

This arrangement makes it nearly impossible for one worshipper to look into the face of another. Instead, it creates a sit-and-soak form of worship that turns functioning Christians into “pew potatoes.” Quote copied from Kit Pharo, Sunday Morning Inspirations

There is much more to for us to learn about this. God is doing something good and we must not ignore this.<sup>


If you are in a Truth Project group and have some stories or comments, I would love to hear from you.</sup>

MyBopsBlog

I have started a new blog to share some of the great sayings and experiences we have with our son James. For those of you who don't know James, he is our fifth child and he has Down Syndrome. His challenges as well as his unique perspectives on life provide a constant flow of things to report. Hope you enjoy these. The address is mybopsblog.blogspot.com.