OBCC Blog

Lately we’ve heard a lot of discussion about reaching out to our community. Pastor Chip has talked about the Church being the only organization that exists for the benefit of its non-members on more than one occasion.

Last week I ran across a devotional blog on the Building Church Leaders website that summed up this concept in a beautiful word picture. In it, Mary C. Miller talked about playing in her grandparents’ barn as a child and discovering the seed oats stored in the loft. She went on to write about how sometimes we as Christians “would rather stay in the coziness of the seed barn than go out into the field. There is no risk that our seed will be eaten by birds, scorched by hot wind, or strangled by thistles. But the seeds of the kingdom of heaven, the gospel of our Lord, the gifts of grace gathered inside the walls of the church are not meant to stay inside those walls. They are meant for planting.”

The article  was quite thought provoking – and even more prayer provoking for me. You can read Mary’s blog here.

At the end of the blog is a quote that I’ve heard referenced a lot recently:

“There is a subtle false teaching that says we can be evangelical without being evangelistic. It has us believe we ‘go’ to church rather than we ‘are’ the church.” —Chris A. Lyons, pastor

I find I’m spending a lot of time in my conversations with God asking how he wants me to “be the church” in the field he’s planted me in.  How about you?

As I write this, I’m in the midst of preparing for our fourth night of this week’s Vacation Bible School, “Crocodile Dock”.  What an adventure this has been!  Already, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know more than sixty kids (more than half of whom don’t attend OBCC!), and share the love of Christ with them.  I’ve been blessed to see our team of volunteers work hard at preparing new lessons and activities each day this week.  Many of our dedicated kids workers have gotten involved, but I’ve been pleased to see a few new faces as well!  We’ve become a great team.

To be honest, organizing the “Crocodile Dock” had me more than just a little nervous over the past few weeks.  It’s been more than ten years since I was involved with a Vacation Bible School – and at that one, I only had to plan the music!  I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough supplies, then I was worried that we’d have too many.  I fretted about the slow sign-up, but then felt overwhelmed when more and more calls started coming in.  At first, I complained that there wasn’t enough material to keep the kids interested, but as time went on I began to wonder how I was going to fit everything in!  I’ll admit that I stressed over the “how to’s” of this event more than I’ve stressed over anything else in a long time!  Does that sound familiar?

You know what?  All my stress and worry was for naught.  It usually is!  On Monday night, when the kids began to arrive, our dedicated staff gathered them in small groups and began to get to know them better.  I watched as the music played for our first songs, and kids faces began to light up as they tried to learn all the words and motions.  I marveled at how they responded to the Bible stories, created wonderful crafts, competed in games, and ran to serve one another during the snack time.  Best of all was the closing of the first night, when I watched kids that we had only just met seek out a particular leader for a quick “goodbye” hug, and a promise to return tomorrow.

Since then, several parents have shared with me (sometimes through tears) about how thrilled they are to hear their kids sing our songs and recite their Bible verses throughout the day.  Many kids have returned for day two or three with their friends from the neighborhood.  Kids with no other exposure to the gospel message are learning the love of Christ.

I’m proud of the many workers who have taken a risk in dedicating their time and talent this week to invest in the next generation.  I’m especially proud of the ones who have never worked with kids before, but responded to the Holy Spirit’s call and joined our team.  I’m glad that I took the risk to get involved at a “hands-on” level, rather than just filling out the paperwork and approving the budget.  I look forward to our next opportunity to extend the Kingdom of God.

Pray for us tonight . . . we’ll be sharing the message of the cross.  God is doing a great thing in the lives of children in this generation!

I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the past several weeks meditating on 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It’s one of the more memorable and quotable passages from the Old Testament, and one that rings true with many believers today.

Pastor Robert referred to this verse several weeks ago when his congregation from Chicago visited us on a Sunday morning. The worship team discussed it together one night after one of our rehearsals. Pastor Chip helped us pray through this passage just last Sunday in our worship service. It’s become a recurring theme for me lately.

As Christians, it seems to me that we are eager to latch on to God’s promise to heal our land. We are grateful for our nation, but ever mindful of the way sin has cast its shadow over our world.

I’ve been challenged anew to understand and remember how God promises to bring healing to our land. Too often, I think, we’re inclined to think, “if we could just elect more Christians to public office”, or “if more people in our communities would turn to Christ”, or “if the courts would protect prayer in public schools” . . . then everything would be better.

Certainly, each of those scenarios would be wonderful realities. I think we should work toward those ends, and others, to shine the gospel’s light in the dark places of this world.

But God doesn’t equate any of those issues with His promise to heal our land. According to the Bible, the missing ingredient to God’s forgiveness and healing touch lies solely in the hands of His Church. We are His people; we are called by His name. If we really desire God’s forgiveness and healing in our land, then we should be challenged afresh to humble ourselves, pray, and seek His face. His promise isn’t contingent on public policies, political parties, or the makeup of the Supreme Court. It’s up to us.

I like to remember the evening news when I pray. But these days, I’m praying differently. I’m praying for my nation, the land in which I live. When I see bad news in foreign lands, I pray about the issues, but I also pray that the believers in those places (however many or few they may be) would be impassioned to pray for their land. I believe that God’s promise is for all His people, for all times. What a privilege to be counted in that number!

I have this thing about shoveling snow. I like it! I actually enjoy getting to a new fallen snow as quickly as possible. I’m not quite sure why but maybe it has something to do with the fact that I didn’t get to do it for all the years we lived in Kenya. Or, maybe it’s just the chance to do some physical work that is different than the relational work of ministry. It may even be that I am just following the example of my father. He can’t be kept from a new fallen snow at 80!

Recently I was reminded of another reason. When our last snow hit several days ago we (in addition to me there are two qualified teenage snow shovelers and Cyndi, who is a stubborn shoveler, as well) didn’t get right to it for several reasons. By the time I was able to get to it the tracks were many. My first attempt at shoveling proved the tracks were set and I wasn’t in the mood to fight that. But, a few days ago I went to work on those well worn tracks. What a chore! Digging up worn snow tracks is work.

You know what? Life is like that. We get so accustomed to making tracks and we forget the work it is to clean them up. Sin, bad habits, and sometimes just routine are terrible tracks that get packed down.

It takes hard work to clean up those kind of tracks. I’ve found that this 21 day church fast is a good “track breaker.” It’s work, but it works. God is revealing tracks in my life that need to be dug up and shoveled away.

What about you? Don’t wait until the tracks are set. Keep the sin, bad habits or lazy routine removal current. Then you won’t have to do the hard work of shoveling the ingrained tracks.

Just a few thoughts from one who loves to shovel snow…

There’s a lot of talk about change these days. President-Elect Obama road the “Change We Need” mantra all the way to the White House.

When I was a teenager, my father made a statement that I have never forgotten. It’s simply this: “People never change after 40.” The comment came as he was mentally reviewing a church board meeting that he was a part of. That says something about church life. When he made the comment I didn’t care much because I was passionate about being a learner and I still had 23 years until 40. Then as I approached 40 I reconsidered and used this statement to push me to break the mold. Now I’m pushing 50. I’m almost 10 years past the change gauge. I keep asking myself: Am I a statistic that supports my father’s statement or one that rebuffs it?

How about you on a personal basis? Are you willing to change? Are you open to change? Do you embrace change?

What about us as the church? Are we unwilling to change or are we agents of change?

I want to be one that lives a life that is ever learning and always willing to initiate, embrace, and commit to change that will make a difference for the glory of God.

On Tuesday evening, Cassidy had a homework assignment to finish, but because we have an older version of Word on our home computer, she couldn’t open her file. At 6:30, Wednesday morning we arrived at church so she could use my office computer to complete the paper before school.

It was a cold, snowy morning. And as we walked from the parking lot to the door, a man who’d been walking down Midwest Road with his bicycle approached us. He explained to me that he was homeless and penniless and was on his way to somewhere he hoped would hire him as a day laborer. He asked if the church could help him. He had no money for food and he just wanted to get a little breakfast as he tried to get work that day.

Standing there in the snow and cold at 6:30am, I explained that our benevolence ministry was available on Friday mornings, that any cash or gift cards the church had available were locked in the safe and that I didn’t have access to them until the business office staff arrived later that morning.  The man rode off on his bike, still hungry and broke, and I went on about my day.

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
-Isaiah 58:6-7

This was a portion of the text I planned to use Wednesday evening to teach on “true fasting”.  As I began preparing for the service and read these words, my heart sank.  I had lost an opportunity to live out the very words I had planned to teach!

It would have easy to give the man a few dollars from my own pocket. It would have been a minor inconvenience to drive him to the nearest McDonalds and buy him breakfast. I did neither.  And now I stood in front of a group of people telling my story and admitting that I was unqualified to teach from this passage.

God definitely got my attention! May I never forget this lesson.

I encourage you to take time to read through Isaiah 58 and meditate on the type of true fasting it describes.  What lesson is it speaking to you?  Post your comments or observations…let’s open this up from a teaching to a discussion.

I love the thought of a fresh start. A new year brings that feeling every January 1st. Christ brings that offer every day! (Note: His mercies are new every morning – Lamentations 3:23) Don’t just be a new year’s resolution person…be a daily resolution person.

Last Sunday as I started the new sermon series “Hungry!”,  I asked the question: How hungry are you for God? I gave seven hunger hints from Paul’s declaration of his passion to go after God. (You can download the podcast under the Interactive tab above – select Sermons Online.) Here’s the key “Hunger Hint” of the seven: Declare Your Desire. Make known your intention to go after God. Paul said, “I want to know HIM” (Phil. 3:10)!

How about starting everyday of 2009 saying, I want to know Christ…more, increasingly, passionately..completely. Pray it. Say it. Live it!

How hungry are you for God?

This summer we are taking a look at love.  My heart is that we wouldn’t just talk about love, but that we would “be” love! God’s desire for this body is that we would be a place where love IS.

What would happen if we did become such a place of love that people couldn’t resist?  What if we started a true revolution on the corner of 31st & Midwest Road?

Are you up for the challenge?

We are coming to the end of our 40 day emphasis: the Power in “ONE.” Last Sunday as we were focusing on the “One desire” portion of our study, where David said, This one thing I ask… (Psalm 27), the service took a unique turn. Many small things led to my decision to let the preaching segment be a direct connect with God and not listening to a messenger. Allow me to process it a bit with you.

As the week was unfolding there was a growing sense in me that the best way to present this was not by me preaching it. Sometimes we take these “leadings” too lightly, but I couldn’t shake it. We are so ready to preach something into others and less prepared to throw out our preconceived plans and let the Holy Spirit do it Himself.  In this case, there was also a deep sense of conviction through my prayer and fasting that I needed to give God some room to deal with me.

Still battling….Sunday morning I was up early finishing preparations for the day. As I wrestled for a sense of direction I decided to put my notes aside and just worship. I asked Cyndi to put a Worship CD on.  I began to listen to the words of a CD that I had never heard before. They grabbed my spirit. They ushered me into the very sense of what I was to be preaching on a few hours later. I knew I had to be open to setting the stage for a direct connect not another Chip Block sermon.

As the service unfolded later that morning I was prepared to step aside after reading the text and let the Holy Spirit be the teacher of the day. I challenged the attendees to take the sermon note page and fill it with a prayer or words they sensed God was speaking to them. As we moved through that portion of the service there was a strong sense of God’s presence…..a Holy hush. We gave God time to drive his agenda. It was fresh, spontaneous, and meaningful.

I have received several notes, emails or direct comments coming out of our Sunday worship experience:  All positive (although I know the other are out there). Most of the comments have reflected the fresh, spontaneous, and meaningful aspects of the time spent. What about you. Any thoughts? In this case there is some validity to the statement: I guess you had to be there. But, I would love to hear from you.

We finish the actual 40 days today. I did some extended fasting two different times during the 40 days and then some shorter fasting exercises in between. I come out of this affirming again that prayer with fasting is powerful!!!! The battle with the flesh is no stronger that when we are fighting it in seasons of fasting and prayer. I experienced that first hand. BUT, the spiritual awareness, sensitivity and rewards of breakthrough far out-weight.

Let’s keep pressing on to all that God has for us!!!!

Hope to see you Sunday,

Chip

We are continuing with the 40 day prayer and fasting emphasis. There are several things that we must be aware of in the midst of and coming out of a concerted time of prayer and fasting. Let me just highlight one: Spiritual Warfare. We enjoy the rationalization that goes something like this, ” If I spend time praying and fasting things will have to get better.” It sounds good….but sometimes things get worse before they get better. We often don’t address the warfare element. We need to be fully alert during a season like this. Is your “spiritual antenna” operating?

Matthew 4:1-3 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said……”

It was after the fasting that the warfare began. Don’t be afraid of that. Be mindful and ready. Stay focused.

God is desiring to do great things in our midst! Let’s pray and fast towards that end.