Monopoly: to play or not to play?

Grace Church has ended up in the unenviable position of being surrounded by houses. Years ago, what is now the development that lines what we would call the back of the church property, was a field. From what I hear, we had a chance to purchase it, but at that stage of Grace's life we weren't positioned to do so. The houses that front the church on West Lincoln have been there since the 1970s.

I noticed in the past few weeks that the large house next to the Chapel parking lot is on the market. Over the past 6-8 years all but maybe one of the houses that line West Lincoln have gone on the market. Each time a house went on the market the Elders weighed the pros/cons of purchasing it.

To date, they've decided, and I support, not buying the properties. The land is of most value to us. Additional land would give us more green space to build out other parts of the property. The houses create a visual block to our property from West Lincoln, reducing our visibility. In a lot of respects we'd probably prefer to level the houses. Of course, paying market rates for 5+ residential properties is going to run upwards of $1M in today's market - that's a lot of money for but an aggregate of a couple of acres. That's why we haven't pursued them.

Each time I see one of those houses go on the market, I remind myself why we've decided not to pursue them.

What's Happening Now?

The general sentiment seems to be that with the Rodeo complete, the church office has entered reclusion. In reality, the opposite has occurred. We're knee deep in getting ready for the upcoming academic year and trying to keep up with growing ministries. It's a 24x7 challenge. Here's my attempt to quantify it...

The school, daycare and children's ministries are growing. We're working on re-arranging room usage to free up space for additional math classes, the afterschool program and for more Sunday School and Wednesday night programs. That all begins a domino affect on other groups that use our facility. Groups that had been using the Fellowship Hall throughout the year, beginning at 5pm, are having to push their start times back because we need the room through 5:30. The Worship Arts ministry rehearsals are moving to a different night of the week. Sunday morning Adult Bible Fellowships are being moved around so the Children's Ministry can use some of the larger rooms in the building. We're also rescheduling the outside groups that use our building as well. It's a very complicated tango that's being expertly choreographed by our Master Calendar master, Elaine.

We're also taking a hard look at the Children's Wing, reevaluating our usage of the space in that area and looking for more efficient ways to use it to further the direction of the Children's Ministry. For years we've accepted the space as is, but we're now recognizing that in some ways it's inhibiting the ministry.

We've added additional staff this summer including a Pastor, several support positions, an assistant in the Athletic Department plus an Elementary PE Teacher. Of course, as new positions, we didn't have offices for them, so we're busy creating and equipping new offices.

We're reassessing our insurance policies

We're putting in some new interior doors to further isolate our children's areas from the main lobby and gymnasium during school/daycare hours to continue to increase our security measures. If we reach our goal, it should hardly be noticeable on Sundays and Wednesday nights.

We're replacing several rooftop HVAC units - the building is showing it's age.

The annual State daycare white-glove inspection is this week.

We're rethinking our computer network log-in accounts, especially for students. Classes endured long delays logging into our system last year so we're trying to correct that.

I'm working on upgrading our data storage system, we filled that last one up over the span of 18 months - it's getting harder and harder to keep up with the demand for data storage.

I'm working with Betsy, our computer teacher and a couple of IT guys that I've gotten to know who attend Grace to create a strategic roadmap for our IT department for the next 3-5 years to keep our IT stuff up to snuff.

We're considering changing the normal seating configuration in the Auditorium for Sunday mornings.

The Concept Development Team meets for the first time this week. We've been wanting to get that launched for the past two years and are finally getting it off the pad. This is the group that will first devote it's attention to the property across the street and ultimately help us nail down the conceptual direction we'll propose in terms of future expansion.

I realized recently that our web page is due for a content makeover, so we've put that on the to do list, too.

And on top of everything, the financial audit begins today and will continue most of this week.

Getting in good with the alumni department

Being a Grace Brethren Church, you might expect our staff have a strong Grace College representation. There are a few. Seeing as our Senior Pastor graduated from Liberty, you might expect our staff to consist of several Liberty grads. While we don't, five out of last year's Senior class are headed to Lynchburg in the fall.

Though none of my doing, the number of PCB/PBU grads on staff has increased from three when I started 9+ years ago to six, by my count, as of this week.

New feature on LGBC.ORG

In conjunction with the iBook message series and specifically the Bible reading challenge, we're rolling out an interactive forum on LGBC.ORG this weekend. It's designed to give the Grace Church body an opportunity to share what they're learning or thinking about as they read the different portions of scripture. It's also a forum in which the body can ask questions to which our Pastoral staff can respond. I've been working with TCW, our tech support company, over the past few weeks to get it set up.

I'm excited to be able to use the internet for this kind of an application. The challenge is the internet is accessible by everyone under the sun and our target for this application is those who are connected with the ministries of Grace Church. We're gonna try to control that by moderating the comments.

On each day's scripture passage you'll be able to post your thoughts, questions, comments, etc. about the passage. Others will be able to respond with threading so you can see who's responding to what.

You can watch for it at blog.lgbc.org

Help Wanted: Flower Gardens

We could use help keeping the church flowers beds and bushes looking nice and presentable. Flower beds were formally assigned to ABF classes for them to plant and care for over the summer months. However, since few ABFs actually meet over the summer that system didn't really coincide with their schedule or the built-in accountability. So we're trying to come up with a new system to keep our property looking nice.

I wonder if the system they used at my first elementary school is still in place? I attended Labo Elementary School for grades 1 and 2 - in the boondocks of Southern Luzon. Like many other grade school students after the first day of school I brought home a grocery list of items that I needed for the school year. My parents were a little concerned that the list included a sickle. See the daily morning routine for the entire school included the following:
Morning assembly on the soccer field to sign the national anthem and morning calisthenics
Cutting the grass with sickles and tending to the garden and grounds around our classroom
Oh, and each Friday afternoon we cleared the classroom floor and got out the brooms, floor wax and coconut husks as all the students cleaned the floor!

So if you're looking to help out at the church and enjoy yard work, give me a call or send me an email. Last week, Aimee spent a couple of hours on two consecutive days on the office side and I really appreciate her work.

If you have suggestions of new systems I can consider to replace the now defunct ABF flower garden system, leave a comment.

Help rename LGBC.ORG

I've wanted for quite some time to replace our LGBC.ORG web address with an address that's more connected with our ministry. Our current address is an acronym for Lititz Grace Brethren Church, and while it's still one of many nicknames people use to refer to the body of believers that meet at 501 W Lincoln Ave, I think it's finally becoming less prevalent. As a result, I'm looking to get a new web address. Unfortunately, most, if not all of the logical ones are already taken, so I need your creative help. I welcome your suggestions and thank you in advance.

Celebrating Holidays Overseas

Sue Weaver, who along with the rest of the Weaver family, Grace Church sent to France as missionaries back in the 1980s, shared the realities of celebrating holidays overseas in her Xanga yesterday.

Is the building sacred?

I have to give credit to all that were involved in the design/layout of the building projects at Grace. For more than 30 years the walls/rooms/hallways that they conceived have served the needs of the ministries of Grace. They planned with foresight and a joining God in what He is/is-going-to-do mentality that ended up with spaces able to accommodate a lot more people than were being served at the time of construction. I hope to emulate their ability to plan for future growth.

With 30+ years of ministry under our belts, with God using our ministry to reach more and more people, with the changes in our culture, and with an aging building, we're having to evaluate our facility. Rooms that we've become accustomed to being the same for many of those 30 years, some of you recall riding your tricycle down the aisle in the midst of construction, are being used in entirely different ways that what they were originally.

If you look back there are ways that we've adjusted our ministry. With few large rooms and strict policies to protect the Auditorium carpet, our church rarely hosted all-church social functions. But that's changed in the last several years. We've had several all-church potluck dinners. That's just one example.

In all of this, I'm seeing a greater demand for more multi-use, multi-purpose rooms with mid-sized floor space. The schedule pressure for use of the Fellowship Hall and the Youth Room, our two current rooms that fit that description is intense.

The new sense of commoraderie and cooperation among staff and ministries has been integral to making the ministry schedule pressures work to this point. We're exhausting our current resources forcing us to look for new ways to stay up with demand. The good news is we have the floor space, it just isn't configured efficiently.

This summer we are reevaluating room assignments/room use around our facility and have ideas of way to reassign spaces for maximum efficiency with the way ministries are wanting to use the building in 2007-2008. We are also identifying spaces that with a little bit of renovation/reconfiguring can open up more opportunities for our ministries.

I want our building to be a tool that ministries can use efficiently. Our ability to use it to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be is more sacred than the walls themselves.

This Might be a Dumb Question

A radio program I often listen to has a weekly segment entitled This Might be a Dumb Question. The host asks callers to call in with things they've always wondered, but never asked. Each call begins with the phrase, "This might be a dumb question, but..."

I wonder what questions people who regularly attend or are connected with the ministry of Grace Church have? It may seem like a dumb question, but I'm sincerely interested in trying to answer what I can. Here's a list of some of the questions I've answered in the past:

This might be a dumb question...

• but why can't I use the church kitchen?
• how in the world did we come up with the idea of doing a rodeo?
• but what are the benefits of a multi-purpose building?
• but is baptism so important that we should spend extra money for a full baptismal?
• but why do we baptize people in a hot tub?
• but how did we arrive with the concept of meeting people/moving people?
• but why do I have to have clearances to volunteer to work with kids?
• but what happens if someone collapses during a church service?
• but why do we use giving envelopes?
• but how do I start a ministry at Grace?
• but what happens at a Grace Church staff meeting?
• but why does Grace Church rarely cancel Sunday services because of weather?
• but why am I too cold in the Auditorium?

If you regularly attend or are connected with the ministry of Grace Church, I'd like to know what questions you have by posting a comment.

Rodeo Photos

In addition to an article, the Lititz Record has posted 236 photos of last Sunday's Rodeo.

Ministry Plan for 2007-2008

On June 17, Pastor Scott, John Kegarise (Elder Chairman) and myself presented the ministry plan for 2007-2008. The ministry plan has been developed by the ministry leaders and paid staff. I've assembled their work and reviewed it with Pastor Scott before presenting it to the Elders. With Elder approval the plan went before the church body for their review. But before we look ahead, let's take a quick review of what God has been doing in our midst for the past several months.

For about a decade our attention has been focused on other ministry areas, but over the past year, it appears that God started to move in new ways in our Children's Ministries. By providing the financial resources we were able to set aside funds to return the Children's Ministry Director position to full time status and to increase the Early Childhood Director to a half-time position. In addition to providing the funds, God also provided the individuals to fill those slots.

Our second year of the Christmas Walk-Thru had even greater numbers of people travel through our building to the Victorian era, on to Italy, then Switzerland and finally the manger scene.

On Sunday mornings we've studied the Book of James, When Faith and Life Collide; what Jesus said about the future, Back in the Future; Meeting People Where They Are and Moving People to Where God Wants Them to Be; Baptism and Footwashing, Just Add Water; Lost and Reel Families. Through these studies, God has challenged us, convicted us and drawn us into a deeper relationship with Him. And of course we baptized 104 adults and children this past Spring.

Sunday morning Auditorium attendance has been up about 8% over the previous year. We're averaging 1,191 people per Sunday in the Auditorium. Giving has been healthy too, but as you might expect with an influx of new attenders, it's increased at a slower pace.

God has done some AMAZING things in our midst in 2006-2007! What could He possibly have in mind for 2007-2008?

In 2007-2008 we are seeing signs that God is opening up opportunities for us to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be.

Meeting People Through the Rodeo
The Elders and staff are really excited about the potential of how God might work through us and the rodeo outreach to build new relationships with people who are far from God. With the tremendous upside potential in that one day, we are preparing across the board to be able to meet more people and help them take steps closer to God. We anticipate that the rodeo impact on our ministry may well span all of 2007-2008, if not beyond.

Meeting People; Moving People Through the Core Classes
With all of the growth we've experienced over the past several years, we've identified that we need to provide stronger opportunities for people to connect with our body. The Pastor's Class is being reworked into four Core Classes. Each class will end with a specific next steps of seeking water baptism, daily Bible reading, getting involved in a specific ministry and regular tithing. The Core Classes have the potential to provide those who are new to Grace an avenue to take steps to grow deeper in their relationship with God.

Meeting Children and Teens Where They Are, Moving Them to Where God Wants Them To Be
We're also anticipating fresh approaches in our ministries for children and teens. We think we see signs that the work God initiated in these areas in 2006-2007 will take off in 2007-2008. The new staff are getting settled in their positions, have had time to assess and seek God's direction for their ministry and in 2007-2008, we'll start to see the launch of some of those new components. These ministry areas have been using the same type of approach for more than a decade; meanwhile the culture of the children/teens we've been serving has changed drastically. We are excited about how God is leading us in new directions to reach the children and teens of today with His Word in a way that is relevant to the way they think.

Moving McCracken's and Roche's to Where God Wants Them To Be
In Global Outreach we're excited about what God is doing in Cambodia. Our support of three Cambodian nationals, who've been supported through the Birthday Gift for Jesus is now part of the budget. We also have the opportunity to support them as they shift into tent-making ministries. We are happy to announce that we'll be sending Mike and Joan McCracken to assist the Cambodians in setting up a business of raising pigs. In our backyard, we're happy to be officially partnering with Joe and Kim Roche, who've been our go-to couple for people with financial counseling needs. The Roche's have sensed God's leading them to join with Crown Financial Ministries in a full time capacity and seeing evidence of how God has equipped them and utilized them in that type of role already, we are excited to be supporting them as they take this step of faith.

To sum up, we the staff and the Elders, see 2007-2008 as a hallmark year for Grace Church. As God continues to lead us in seeing His Kingdom expand in the greater Lititz area, we recognize that our body has to be equipped at every level to be able to handle the growth. We need to see those who've joined the Grace Church body of the past several years get connected and involved in our ministries beyond Sunday morning services and become fully engaged, active participants of the living body that is Grace Church.

The budget translates our proposed ministry plan for 2007-2008 into financial figures. The plan requires a bit more from each of us than in year's past. While each endeavor has an attached price tag, and giving is an important part of this process, it's not so much your money for which we are asking. We want to see everyone under the umbrella of Grace Church become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, joining us in our endless pursuit to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be.

Help trim bushes, weed, carpentry

We can use help at the church from people who are interested in trimming bushes, weeding and carpentry. One mom who recognized the need contacted me out of the blue and has already worked four days weeding, trimming and cutting the areas around the church office. If you are willing to help make our facility look nice, let me know.

Rodeo Wrap-Up

Stories continue to surface about the seeds that were planted surrounding the rodeo and Lord-willing, we'll be hearing those stories for years to come. Ironically, three days after the event the field still isn't completely cleared off yet. The port-a-potties are still standing there in the middle of an empty field. It's a funny picture.


Here are some final numbers:

• 12.5 acre field
• 7,000+ in attendance
• 35 port-a-potties
• 2 electric generators
• 3,100 hot dogs
• 3,000 bags of chips
• 3,000 1-pint drinks
  
• 30 gallons of chili
• 10 tents
• 20 trash cans
• 1 dumpster
• 1 refrigerated tractor-trailer
• 2,500 seat bleachers
• 1 rodeo arena
• 34 received minor medical treatment for brush burns, splinters, blisters and abrasions (no medical emergencies)
• 1 Senior Pastor with very tired feet from standing the entire day at the main entrance greeting everyone as they arrived and thanking them as they went home
• 4 shuttle buses that operated all day ferrying Grace Church attenders to/from the parking area at Warwick High School
• 3 Operation Barnabas teams
• 1 ATV
• 2 Gator-type golf carts
• 320+ volunteers
• 3,000 rodeo programs
• 2,409 food coupons
  

Now we look ahead. I had a conversation with the farmer yesterday so I could learn the different crop schedules. In planning for next year, I wanted to know what crops could be planted on the land depending on the church plans. It turned into a fun conversation not much different than a game of Pit as we talked about rye, oats, wheat, corn, soybeans and flax. I learned that oats is the fastest to grow and be harvested, taking about three months from the time planted to the time of harvest. Oats is what was harvested off of the field just a few weeks ago. Rye is the next fastest crop, followed by wheat and corn. Even though the game was invented in 1904, the grain values in Pit still hold true today. Wheat is the only cash crop for the farmer with whom I was talking. Corn is the next in value, though for silage it's the best but it takes the longest to grow. Of course, the ethanol movement is creating a shift in grain values. I always loved Pit, so this whole phone call was a blast. I shared my fascination with the farmer and his response took the conversation to a whole different universe.

He said, "I am constantly amazed at how I can plant a seed, nurture it to grow into a crop, harvest the crop, feed it to my cows and the cows produce milk. To see one little seed ultimately turn into milk is a process man has tried unsuccessfully to duplicate, it's a process only God can do." I replied with the following which is a good wrap to my rodeo coverage...

The cool thing is that on Sunday we planted a different kind of seed and in the coming days, we'll nurture them and watch them grow to produce fruit. And like the seed-milk process, it's a process only God can do.

Rodeo: So what's next?

I previously documented the genesis of the rodeo idea. It hit me recently that in our wish to see our ministries (church, daycare and school specifically) become more cohesive, the rodeo idea was first suggested by one of the Lititz Christian teachers who doesn't even attend Grace on a regular basis. I think it's cool how God worked through that one person's suggestion, close to probably three years ago, to impact as many people as He did.

Of course, the buzz ever since the event got underway has been, "Are you going to do a rodeo next year?" Such sentiments are an affirmation that we succeeded in producing an event with quality. I'm not sure if Lititz had ever had a rodeo or when the last one was. That's probably one of the reasons why so many people checked it out. Whether we do a rodeo next year, I don't know. But I know we will pursue, like an American's Cup sailor seeking the next wind shift, where God is working, how we can join Him in what He is doing all to make it as hard as possible for people to go to hell.

For now, we gave the farmer permission to plant another crop of oats on the field which should be harvested in November. Whether another crop goes in after that will be a season by season decision based on where we are in the ministry planning cycles. The whole farming angle of all of this is almost like a life-sized version of PIT. I'll explain in the next episode of the Rodeo Miniseries on Administering Grace.

Some three years ago, a teacher suggested we do a rodeo. Where do YOU see God working? Has God put a rodeo-like idea on your mind?

Rodeo: Rising to the occassion

It took a volunteer train to pull off the rodeo, but near the front of the train, leading the effort, were several individuals. You've probably met them, heard of them or saw them about during the rodeo. But there's a unique element to them that you're likely unaware of and that didn't strike me until just recently.

Imagine you've just started in a new job as the head of an entire department or division. Along with an able staff, you job is leading about 100 people. You've never done anything on this level before, you've barely gotten your feet wet, but you've got tremendous support from the team around you and your leader. That's not too far from the position in which Doug, Tammy, Susan and Con found themselves last fall; all four of them had assumed new roles at Grace.

Having already identified their strong leadership and organizational skills, and needing people to ring lead the rodeo efforts, when they had only been in their new roles for but a few months, we asked them to take on the additional challenge. As I look back, I'm astounded. They've excelled beyond our expectations. If put in the exact same position, I'm not sure I would have succeeded to the levels they reached.

In addition to being incredible people, they are and have surrounded themselves with a collection of an equally incredible team that empowered them to reach greater heights. And, if I haven't stressed it enough already, through all of us it was really God working and His doing immeasurably more than we imagined.

Oh, and while I've got your attention, I thought of another fringe benefit to the rodeo... we used the land. While we worked hard during the land purchase process to orient people to where the property lines where and which field we were buying by handing out maps etc., I still heard people asking where the field was even just last week. Those who participated in the rodeo have a clear idea not only as to where the field is, but a concept of it's size, what it looks like and the condition it's in. In fact, a lot of us took a good bit of the field home with us covered in layers of dust. Many have even tasted the new property. Hmmm, I'm not sure that if those were the only things to come out of the rodeo that it would've been worth it just for that.

So, are we doing it again next year? Watch for my next post.

Rodeo: Ms. Simpson and others

I enjoy meeting new people and seeing the opportunities God provides to use me to impact their lives, the challenge to show them God's love for them. Though I didn't get to do that anywhere near as much as I'd hoped to do for reasons out of my control, the few interactions I did have were a lot of fun.

I recognized the first family I encountered at the start of the day from our daycare ministry. It was neat to see them being impacted by a different aspect of our church. Later, I was also surprised by several people, who after enjoying the rodeo, were interested in seeing what our auditorium looked like. I enjoyed being able to show them the room, empty as it was, and answer some standard questions about what our church is like. But the interaction I probably enjoyed the most of the day was with Ms. Simpson.

Just after the start of the event, I realized that one of the areas for which I was responsible wasn't covered as I'd expected. This led me to make multiple walks back and forth between the 501 W Lincoln property and the rodeo location. On one of those trips, as I greeted the droves of people walking down the drive to the event, I was asked if we had a wheelchair for a lady who needed some assistance. She apparently had sent her friends on to the event while she awaited my return.

After grabbing a chair and getting her situated, with no one else to help her, I had the privilege of wheeling her to the event. Of course, I had my doubts as to whether we'd succeed in taking the wheelchair four-wheeling across the field. Within a few feet of getting off of the private drive and onto the dusty field, she gladly accepted resorting to staying on the periphery with a distant view of the arena. She was simply content to be in the shade. She took me up on my offer to alert the others in her party as to where she was located, so I was off to find the two among the mass of humanity spread across the field. I have no idea how, but I succeeded in finding the others.

As I headed on my next trip back to the church building, on my way out I let her know that I'd found her friends. In the meantime, Josh (the teen who gave his testimony during Sunday's service) was talking with her. Josh and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. Someone with a Rita's container caught her eye and while she'd had lunch already and wasn't interested in using her free hot dog coupon, a gelati suited her fancy. Without hesitation, both Josh and I reached for our wallets. With Josh agreeing to help her out and my duties calling me elsewhere, I left her in Josh's care for the time being.

Between Josh and myself and hopefully even others I don't know about, I hope Ms. Simpson sensed God's love through us that afternoon. I've got several more posts in the coming days about the rodeo, but in the meantime, who were some of the people you met and what opportunities did you have to share God's love with them?

What Pepsi, Basketball and a Rodeo have in common?

My parents were part of four church planting initiatives in the course of their ministry in the Philippines. We'd move to a new town as complete strangers with the goal of spreading the Gospel. How do you start a church when you're a complete stranger, let alone a stick out of the crowd foreigner, and you have no idea whether anyone else in town has ever heard that Christ's death on the cross was a payment for their sin?

One of the methods my Dad used was to go to the Philippine equivalent of the local Sheetz, buy a Pepsi and strike up conversations. Multiple conversations led to a regular get together that transformed into a Bible study.

As a 6-foot tall, high-energy, competitive high school student, in a country that loves basketball, I would head to the closest cul-de-sac and play ball each afternoon with the men in town. I'd strike up conversations, explain what a guy like me was doing in their village instead of playing professional basketball (their assumption, not mine) and build relationships with them.

Pepsi and basketball ultimately led to a group of believers who gathered weekly and began sharing the Good News with their friends and family. The Rodeo wasn't much different. It was an opportunity for us to strike up conversations, explain why we would do such a thing like that and build relationships that otherwise may not have been established.

In my next post, I'll introduce you to Ms. Simpson and some others I was able to meet Sunday afternoon.

Rodeo: Analysis

I've spent the better part of a week or more keeping you informed of the behind the scenes details of the Rodeo outreach - it's been fun to be a part of it and to bring you along for the ride. Now, some time for reflection.

What a day! I can't believe how well everything came together and the number of complete strangers that showed up. I'm astounded by the many levels in an event like the Rodeo and at each level I saw the potential of how God could use it for His glory.

The prayer life of Grace Church - I don't have a measure of what the routine prayer life of the body of Grace Church consists of, but for at least the last few weeks, in some cases maybe even the last nine months since we announced the idea, people have been praying. They've been praying for a specific purpose and possibly praying more than they normally do. Pastor Scott, myself and others have challenged people to pray and shared specific areas for prayer, but whether or not people followed was between them and God. If indeed their prayer lives increased, that can only be attributed to the Spirit's prompting. An increase prayer life in a church is just one of the benefits of doing something like the Rodeo. And, if God did nothing else, but to increase the prayer life of Grace Church, I think it was worth all of the effort.

Investing in Grace Church - I'm not talking about cash, I'm referring to lives. We've experienced tremendous growth at Grace over the past four years (yes, the growth trend started even before Pastor Young completed his ministry). As we saw with the Beach Blast, an event like the Rodeo opens opportunities for more people to get involved in the ministry of Grace. Sure, we've got slots that need to be filled across our ministries, but a lot of them are in circles with established networks that can be difficult to penetrate for someone new. That's what makes events like the Beach Blast or Rodeo unique. Because they're completely new, there are few, if any established networks in place, so everyone is on an even playing ground and can get involved. We had 320 people show up at the volunteer meeting for the Rodeo. A bunch of them had not participated in a Grace event previously. They've now had that chance and are likely to invest more of their life at Grace Church. Let's just say that the whole prayer life aspect of this was a mirage, if the only God does through the Rodeo is use it to motivate people to invest their lives in serving Him, it would all be worth it.

Intrapersonal relationships - After the meeting Saturday night, it was neat to see how many people stuck around just chatting together. A number of those conversations were groups of people who had just met. New relationships formed as a result of working side by side during the Rodeo. New relationships that God can use in a ton of different ways tomorrow and into the future. Even if they never volunteer for another activity, if all God did through the Rodeo is build new relationships among the church body, it would have been worth it all.

Leadership Development - Events like a Rodeo are an undertaking that requires leadership. They're in essence a concentrated leadership development program full of delegation, prioritization, working with people, leading people, trusting people, managing a budget, troubleshooting, and on and on. We've seen the leadership abilities of the people on the task force developed to new levels. And if that alone were the single outcome of the Rodeo, it would have been worth it.

Church/Staff Unity - When faced with the impossible, groups have the choice of rallying together or splitting a part. By God's grace, we rallied together, both as a church and as a staff. It was obvious by the conversations. What are you doing in the Rodeo? Are you excited for Sunday? I can't wait for the Rodeo? Who did you invite? The staff rallied together in a way that exceeded everything I've witnessed in my years at Grace. We hit snags, we always do, but as a staff, we solved them together in a positive atmosphere. We flexed unlike I've ever seen, rolled with the punches and methodically found creative solutions for unexpected problems. Those experiences will reap benefits for years to come which is well worth all the toil if God accomplished nothing else through the Rodeo. There are many more I can think of, but that horse is dead.

These are just some of the fringe benefits. In my next post, What Pepsi, basketball and a Rodeo have in common, I'll get to why we did the Rodeo in the first place, which I didn't even get to in this post.

Rodeo: Cleanup and another challenge

It's 8:30 Sunday night, and at this point, you can hardly tell what happened today. The cleanup was as amazing as the event itself. Meanwhile, the 501 W Lincoln property has morphed in a matter of minutes into an Avalanche Ranch for VBS which kicks off tomorrow. This is the challenge to keep praying!!!

The OB Teams have helped immensely to get everything set tonight, but more work is slated for tomorrow as well. Be praying for the 300+ kids that are registered already and invite the kids in your neighborhood to come on out beginning tomorrow night or any night this week. Pray, pray, pray and pray some more!!!

It's great working/serving of Lord and Saviour side by side with each of you.

Rodeo: Winding down

It's 6:35 Sunday evening the day is winding down, but what a day it was. From all reports, the bleachers were packed for both rodeos. I saw a ton of people I'd never seen before and a lot who didn't appear to be from Lititz.

To my knowledge, from what I've heard to this point, there were no major issues either. Unbelievable!!!

Rodeo: The army has gathered

We just finished the gathering of the army - 320 people attended tonight's volunteer organizational meeting for the Rodeo tomorrow. I think we had a small taste of what Gideon and his force may have experienced as they got together.

The field is set. Tents are up and staying up. The sound system is in place. The arena is up, bleachers are ready. The animals are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning and a few people are camping out on the field tonight for the fun of it and for security. It's all coming together in a very amazing way and I'm seeing so many different positive things coming out of this even before we start building relationships with people we've never met or seen before. I've been taking pictures to document all of this, but haven't shared them because you gotta come check it out in person... even if you live in France, find some way to get over here!

Rodeo: weather update

Don't stop now. Even though it appears God is answering our 6 months of prayers by eliminating the rain concern, we still need God to give us the perfect weather mix. Yesterday, the wind presented some challenges.

We ordered something like seven tents and in normal setups, the company gets them put up in several hours. The tents arrived around 9 or 10 Friday morning. When I left the office at 4:30, two were set up and had been for several hours, two others had been set up and then blown over. Pray that we have just the right weather mix over the next two days.

Pray for the souls too. I took a phone call from a family in Lancaster yesterday that's planning to attend. I'm brushing up on my Spanish.

I look forward to seeing the volunteer army assembled at 7pm tonight. Can you feel the anticipation?

Rodeo: registration count

Though we closed pre-registrations at 2pm today, everyone can still come and fully participate in the rodeo on Sunday. The pre-registration was designed to merely give us an idea of how many people to expect so we could gauge how much food we needed to have prepared. As of 2pm, pre-registrations topped out at 2,409.

The field is in the midst of being converted to a rodeo arena. Tents are being erected, port-a-potties have been dropped off as well as several large generators.

You'll want to wear sneakers or boots as it's still a field. Feel free to bring lawn chairs, though we'll have plenty of seating on bleachers that hold several thousand and lots of hay bales. Continue to pray as there are still many logistical details that need to fall into place. I can report that everyone is working through their tasks list in a very calm demeanor with eager anticipation.

If you're volunteering, see you Saturday night at 7!

Rodeo: Pray and pray some more

The trucks started rolling in at 8 this morning. The bleachers and arena are working their way to Lititz. The field's to be disc-ed today. Lots of logistics need to come together over the course of today and tomorrow and with it a lot of details. Be praying with and for us as we look to coordinate everything.

Rodeo Registrations Exceed 1,700

Registrations for the Rodeo crossed over 1,700 at 9:15 this morning.

Rodeo: Pictures/Video

Though we have a couple of volunteers lined up as official picture takers to document Sunday's outreach, like a wedding, bring your camera/video camera. The more pictures and video clips we have to work with the better!

As of 8:30 this morning, we crossed over 1,500 registrations.

Rodeo: How to engage someone in conversation

Over lunch with the Operation Barnabas teens today I asked them for some help. I heard that they had been trained in how to engage someone they've never met before in a conversation. I thought those tips might be useful to us as we have the opportunity to engage people we've never met before at the rodeo on Sunday. The approach they use is based on the acrostic F.O.R.M.; each letter represents a potential conversation topic.

F - Family
People are usually very interested in talking about their family be it their kids, their spouse or other loved one. On Sunday, there's a high likelihood that there will be a lot of families at the event so questions about their kids/family will be a great conversation starter.

O - Occupation
Second to family topics, the OB'ers explained that adults are usually very willing to talk about what they do for a living.

R - Religion
Similar to what Bill Fay shared a few years ago, questions like, "what do you normally do on a Sunday afternoon?" or "do you regularly attend a church?" will also start a conversation.

M - Message
Unfortunately, the my lunch conversation with the OB'ers go interrupted at this point and I wasn't able to get a good definition of what Message stands for.


As of 2:30, Rodeo registrations have crossed over 1,400.

Rodeo: Parking

The parking plan for Sunday has been finalized. All Grace Church attenders will be asked to park their vehicles at Warwick High School. Shuttles will be running from WHS to the field at regular intervals.

The trick will be emptying the Grace Church lot after Sunday's services. We need everyone to move their cars to the high school as soon as the second service is over on Sunday morning. Thanks in advance for helping us out with this.

Rodeo: Staff Meeting Prayer Walk

We had a unbelievable staff meeting this morning. TK from CE National challenged us based on Ephesians 3:20 and we spent the better part of an hour meditating on who God is and what it would look like if He did immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. It was a humbling and terrifying exercise.

We ended by walking over to the field, forming a circle and committing the coming days as well as the land and the events to God.

I challenge you to consider taking a prayer walk with friends or your family and to walk the field together asking God to make it clear as to how He is challenging us to be a part of what He is doing. If you come by, park in the Grace Church lot and just be cautious when crossing the street.

And before you ask, yes, Warwick Township has offered to assist us with traffic control so everyone can cross the street safely on Sunday.

Rodeo: overnight activity

Registrations for the rodeo crossed over 1,000 overnight (we received 70 since the office closed Monday afternoon). Word about the event is spreading, so much so that we've had several food vendors contact us requesting to join. So as of yesterday, funnel cakes were added to the food menu. How cool is that?!?

One person has responded to yesterday's post and will be helping with phone registrations today, but I've got more slots available if you enjoy data entry and taking phone calls. Don't miss your chance to be a part of this amazing event!

Rodeo: Who did you invite?

Someone was sharing with me yesterday that they were doing projects around the house the other day when their son answered the phone. A minute or so later the parent was summoned. The communication went something like, "We regret to inform you that due to other commitments, President Bush will be unable to attend this Sunday's Rodeo and Western Fair, but he appreciates the invitation."

Apparently a similar call was received from Governor Rendell's office. I'm inviting our two neighbors and my contacts at the bank. Who are you inviting?

Rodeo Update 2

I'll try to give you a play by play of rodeo prep this week...

First off, I learned it was rye that was planted on the field, not oats. The rye was cut and harvested last Friday/Saturday.

According to reports the field is very dry and dusty. The rye is so short we don't even need to mow it with a lawn mower as we had prepared to do. The road access for the event trucks looks to be better than expected as well.

Of all things, the first thing to be placed on the property in preparation for the event... a dumpster. It was dropped off this morning, a little earlier than any of us expected.

We're taking a fair amount of phone registrations, so if you know anyone who'd like to volunteer to help with some data entry this week, let me know. We could use an hour or more of help any day Monday-Friday from 8:30-4:30 and if possible, I'd love to have some phone coverage lined up on Saturday from 8:30-4:30.

With press releases hitting the papers this week I'm anticipating phone traffic. My assumption is that if they get a live person, the likelihood of the caller attending the event will increase. Not that they wouldn't come if they reach the auto attendant, but it's another impact opportunity.

Have you seen the marquees in front of Keller Ford and Keller Dodge in Lititz?

Sunday Reflection: Baptism

One of many things I appreciate about Pastor Scott is his willingness to try things. We held a baptism yesterday and unlike previous baptisms, this one was held outside. We set up the inflatable pool just outside the auditorium and baptized seven individuals. It was neat to see a daycare employee and a Lititz Christian alum take the step of baptism, especially since both have started attended Grace in just the past year or two.

Fortunately, it wasn't until the pool was setup outside that it was learned that if you overfill the pool, it collapses. It would've been interesting had that been learned in doors!

There's something about an outdoor baptism for me, whether it's the public proclamation aspect of the event or the memories it stirs of so many outdoor baptisms in rivers, public swimming pools, lakes and oceans throughout my childhood in the Philippines.

On the other hand, whether it was because the audience was able to get right up to the pool or the natural lighting conditions, it was hard to ignore just how awkward it is to baptize in a not-deep-enough pool. The problem solver/logistician that I am, I was ready to put in a real pool on the spot. I don't have the data to back it up, but I think we'll find that chiropractic visits increase after each Grace Church baptism!

Either way, it was neat to be part of the church family, who gathered in a casual, outdoor atmosphere to celebrate with the seven who took the step of baptism.

Pray Harder

The church staff arrived at the office yesterday only to find that the hard drive that contained all of our files and databases went bad rendering them unusable for the majority of the day yesterday. It's operating today, but different files are corrupt. Fortunately, we have a good back up from which to restore and that seems to be working. On top of that, our photocopiers aren't working as they normally do this morning. Oh, and there was the tornado warning Wednesday afternoon too.

These inconveniences are throwing our normal routines out of sync. The bulletin is just now being printed - it's usually signed, sealed and delivered by now, ready for Sunday. I haven't been able to publish our ministry plan for 2007-2008 which I'm to present Sunday night. The Operation Barnabas Orientation isn't able to make the copies they need.

The timing of all of this seems more than just coincidence. Aside from completely losing it, the only thing I can think of is to PRAY HARDER!!!

The Rodeo's Big Obstacle: Parking

We're just over a week away from the Rodeo. Some 15,000 mailers are arriving in homes over the next day or two; we received ours today. Next Wednesday night the Operation Barnabas teens along with our youth group teens will be going door to door to invite families in the Manheim area. Things are coming together.

On this side of the event, aside from the weather next weekend, the biggest obstacle we anticipate is parking. Anticipating a crowd of up to 5,000, they'll be bring a lot of vehicles to the rodeo. All of the events are slated to occur on the farm field, so we'll be using the 501 W Lincoln property for parking only. Our overflow plan includes parking vehicles on the soccer field. And to give us as many parking spots as possible, we'll be asking all Grace people to park at an to-be-announced off-site parking location.

Please join us in praying for clear weather for next week and for families attending the rodeo to carpool!

The Conference Room that is no more

Over the past two weeks the conference room that used to be in the Administrative Wing has ceased to exist. Over the last 6-9 months conference room use has changed.

To begin with, the Elders never did fit around the entire table. The conference table seats 12 comfortably. The Elders have numbered upwards of 20, so like you see at US Senate Committee hearings there was always a second row of Elders seated behind those who were at the table. It was never conducive to an all inclusive group discussion.

The formerly organized School Board, numbered around 10, fitting comfortably around the table. But in the daycare/school reorganization the Board of Education numbered 16 immediately outgrowing the size of the room.

And while the church staff of around 12 had no problem holding staff meetings around the conference table in 2004, once the daycare/school office staff's were included plus other staff additions, the attendance doubled to something like 22.

Accessibility was another factor. Though the logical location for group meetings the conference room was never an easy room to access in the first place with the level of office security.

The need for more offices was the final shift that necessitated change. In the summer of 2006 we added three PT ministry staff positions but only had one private office. As PT positions and seeing as we didn't know what the future would hold, we setup a temporary shared office arrangement for two of the three PT positions. We made that work for several months.

As anticipated the landscape of the three PT positions changed over the course of the year. By June we no longer needed the shared office arrangement. However, the creation of the FT Pastor of Spiritual Formation position necessitated another private office. Already recognizing the limited use of the conference room, we've divided it in half to create two private offices, one that will be for the Pastor of Spiritual Formation and the other for a use to be determined later.

If you've been in the holy of holies before, the next time you stop by you'll notice things are a little different with the conference room that is no more.

A Field of Oats

The future site of the rodeo is currently a field of oats. One of the first issues we had to face in preparing for Sunday, June 24 was how to convert a farm field into a rodeo arena/ground that people can navigate comfortably. Not having any farm experience in my life to this point, I've learned some things that probably won't be on my resume, but interesting facts nonetheless.

The greatest concern was to do everything we could to keep from having a field of mud on Sunday, June 24. We've been praying for dry weather for that day/weekend since day 1 of this project. Secondly, I learned that oats have a strong root system that provides a firm surface/sub-surface. From what I learned, oats in our area are usually harvested around the 4th of July. The operation that farms our field graciously agreed to forgo their corn crop this summer, corn's usually planted in the Spring; planted oats to help us create a firm surface and will harvest the crop of oats a week prior to June 24, a few weeks earlier than normal.

But for now, it's just a field of oats.

Who are you?

If you're reading Administering Grace, would you leave a comment to let me know who you are? I'd like a better understand of the audience for whom I write . I often question the merit of the dribble I post here and whether I'm contributing anything of relevance. Feel free to suggest what topics you'd like me to pursue further or that most interest you.

Genesis of the Rodeo

Some may wonder how we came up with the idea for a rodeo outreach. If my memory serves right and I'm not 100% sure as to the accuracy of this, but my first recollection of any mention of a rodeo dates back a couple of years to when we were in the process of purchasing the 12.5 acre farm field. I recall Pastor Scott mentioning in passing that we could use the field for a rodeo. Last summer, the Science Teacher at Lititz Christian, who happens to participate in a Christian rodeo ministry over the summer, invited Pastor Scott and myself to attend one of their events. It didn't suit our schedule, so we never made it, but that was the next time a rodeo appeared on our radar. Fast forward to the Fall of 2006.

Having almost doubled the number of people attending our staff meetings, Pastor Scott realized we needed to do some team building exercises. He divided the staff into 4 groups and asked them to work together to put together a staff meeting. One of the groups, knowing that we would be hosting the Operation Barnabas Orientation in the Summer of 2007, led the staff in a brainstorming session of what ministry opportunities we could use to partner with Operation Barnabas. In that brainstorm, the rodeo appeared on the radar again, this time, gaining momentum and turning into a full fledged endeavor.

So it's not too far fetched to say that it's an outreach that's more than two years in the works.

A Lifetime Impact: Summary

Mr. French, Mr. Friesen and Ms. Wollerton, while each giving me knowledge in different areas together reinforced a common theme... they instilled self confidence. They each have played a key role in shaping who I am today. Each have a deep love for God, a passion to serve Him with excellence and had a passion for educating missionary children. Mr. French continues to teach art at Faith Academy. Mr. Friesen is now on staff in the IT department at Taylor University and Ms. Wollerton now has her doctorate in education and is teaching higher education at Azusa Pacific University according to my Google Search results.

With so much rosy attention on high school these past few posts you may be wondering why I bothered with college and graduate work. I attended college to gain a foundational Biblical education and graduate work for professional expertise in leadership. Maybe when we start a college program at Grace I'll expound on the lifetime impact of those years of my life.

A Lifetime Impact: Ms. Wollerton

Ms. Wollerton, English, Speech, Yearbook - Return on investment is common terminology in the financial arena. Of just about any class I've taken, grade school, undergrad and graduate school, I'd have to say I've received the highest return on the investment from taking Yearbook. Amazing when I think that it was a course for which I signed up to simply fill an elective my Junior year of high school. I participated in two years of Yearbook and the principles I learned in those two years I've used weekly since entering church ministry. Meticulously, Ms. Wollerton instructed us in the principles of page layouts, headline and caption writing, capturing the essence of an event or period of time in a matter of paragraphs, how to establish a theme across a collection of pages, how to crop pictures among many other details that appear in the weekly bulletin. They're lessons I've passed along to my staff not just in the bulletin, our brochures and the webpage.

In producing the Yearbook index, I was trusted to work in the main IT server room, without adult supervision into the wee hours of the morning - a privilege I took very seriously and considered a great honor. In my Senior year a simple composition of mine was used as the theme for the entire book, I designed graphics and a photograph to coincide that were used throughout the publication. It was amazing to see my work on a printed page with hundreds of copies in the hands of the student body.

In Speech I learned to communicate verbally to an audience, specifically how to think on my feet. Elements that come in handy in the midst of business meetings. Ms. Wollerton invested an inordinate amount of time in these classes instructing me, setting high expectations, equipping me to meet them and then challenging me to exceed them.

Though I'm not in a classroom on a daily basis, I hope the few chances I have to show our students how something works or talk to them about how I do what I do or to talk with the Yearbook staff, that I too will give them nuggets that last a lifetime.

A Lifetime Impact: Mr. Friesen

Mr. Friesen, Computer Teacher and JV Basketball Coach - My first interaction with Mr. Friesen was on the basketball court. I hadn't excelled in intramural basketball, but like any other sport for me, it involved competition so I played. I didn't understand the fundamentals of the game beyond don't double dribble, don't travel and heave the ball at the basket (I was a scrawny malnurished missionary kid). One particular open gym while shooting at a basket by myself, Mr. Friesen took the time to come over and show me one simple pointer - on my shooting hand, hold the ball on my finger tips instead of in my palm. He gave me that one simple instruction and he let me be the rest of that day. I eventually made the JV squad and he began to teach me the game of basketball. He invested time teaching me the game, but kept his expectations high. Over Christmas all of the missionaries in our mission would gather for a week long conference. Someone had the bright idea that Mr. Friesen and his wife would be a great couple to lead the sessions for us teens-the sessions were great, but the fringe benefits were less than desireable. Each morning at about 6am, when I was still recovering from having watched the latest bowl game, he'd wake me to go running to stay in shape since it was mid-season. He pushed me hard, had high expectations and didn't let me fail. After the first game of my Junior year, a game in which I had been yelling instructions to my teammates throughout the game, inadvertently letting the other team and everyone else in the gym for that matter know that we were in a 1-3-1 defense, Mr. Friesen pulled me aside and pointed out that my teammates had been listening to me, that I had been an on-the-court leader. He also mentioned we'd be implementing signals so I wouldn't give away our defensive scheme.

In the classroom, Mr. Friesen unleashed my love for computers, particularly programming. I was bitten by the programming bug early, as early as grade 4. As I reached high school, Mr. Friesen was in the early stages of introducing a new programming curriculum based on Turbo Pascal. I think he mostly taught himself and built the new program from scratch. The new curriculum was the exact set of challenges I needed to spur me on to strive for more. He taught us in a way that was open to our ideas. Other than Computer Applications, which I pretty much already knew since I was teaching missionaries how to use WordPerfect and the ill-fated WordStar, I took every computer course Mr. Friesen offered during my time in high school, culminating in AP Computer Science. He came oh so close to getting me to go to his alma mater, Taylor University to study Computer Science. I had the chance to visit the Taylor campus at the end of my Junior year in college and had I visited the campus prior to deciding which college to attend, I probably would've picked Taylor.

Mr. Friesen's taking my undeveloped abilities on the basketball court and in programming computers and molding them to reach a greater potential have stayed with me to this day. Even though it doesn't help me make a living, I still shoot a consistent free throw. And the computer expertise I gleaned from all those courses is used daily as I now try to strip apart the code behind webpages, create more and more complicated functions in Excel spreadsheets and enhance our databases.

Mr. Friesen's impact on my life was so fundamental and has had such long lasting an impact, I hope that I have but a smidge of a similar opportunity to influence the lives of the kids in our school.

High School: A Lifetime Impact... Mr. French

I've been taken by surprise by my recent feelings about our school ministry. Without a doubt I've become much more passionate about that aspect of our ministry over the past few years and it's led me to analyze exactly why.

With my increased influence in the school program, I've taken a higher interest in what the ministry is accomplishing. And my standard of measure of the outcomes I desire are directly related to the outcomes my high school education has helped me achieve. When I look at who I am today, the abilities and strengths that have been developed in me, I trace a lot of them back to my high school education and a few specific teachers that took the time to invest in my life.

David French, Art Teacher - I don't consider myself an artist in the most compromised definition of that word, but that one semester or year of art my Senior year has had a lasting impact. For it was Mr. French who encouraged me to be creative, not to be afraid to go against the norm if that's what I felt led to do. This was most captured in a class project that year. We were to bring an empty soda can to class, crumple it up and create a pencil drawing of the crumpled can. I watched my classmates all crumple their cans that while each would be unique, they'd all be similarly crumpled. I approached Mr. French with a different idea, draw an uncrumpled can then crumple the drawing instead of the can. The end product didn't produce the effect I was going for, but from the get go, Mr. French encouraged me to pursue the concept. It was a stupid soda can, but it's stuck with me for close to two decades.

In spite of my odd intricacies, he gave me the freedom to create. When he gave the class the option of drawing a part of a human skeleton, I of course chose the pelvis and along with all the other pieces, it too hung at the main entrance to the school for all guests, staff and students to admire. So too did the green/blue faced and red-eyed Ayatollah Khomeini and a collection of red cows.

Following Mr. French's example, I love the opportunities to encourage our students to be creative and pursue their ideas.

Commencement 2006-2007

My wife and I attended the Lititz Christian School commencement of 2006-2007. We started attending the annual celebration several years ago. I enjoy seeing the students who I've passed in the hallways on a regular basis and some who I've coached on the soccer field in years past, achieve the accomplishment of completing their high school graduation.

I had heard many compliment the Lititz Christian Class of 2007, but never really realized it myself until commencement. It was clear throughout the program that this was a special class. Unified, upstanding teens who came together as a group, encouraging each other and spurring each other on toward love and good deeds. I'm proud of these students, but even more, I'm excited about how God might use them in the future.

I was excited to hear how each graduate feels God is leading them right now. At least two are feeling led to use their God-given musical talents to lead church worship. There are students pursuing social work, nursing, teaching english, dance, fire/EMT, business - a whole array. I haven't had a big role in their education, but I take the chance to shake the hands of the students I've gotten to know and congratulate them on their accomplishments. In some cases, kids that I first met as 6th grade runts who I've watched grow into young teens. Kids who as freshmen we acting well below their age in the front seat of the bus on the way to a soccer match, who, with a few years under their belts are now ready to head to college with a level of confidence. Kids for whom studying maybe didn't come naturally making this achievement worth celebrating.

I'm proud of our Class of 2007. I congratulate them and am excited to hear how God uses them as they enter the next phase of their lives.

A Church/School Relationship that is Working

Thank you to the Administering Grace faithful who've been checking in daily/weekly in spite of the recent black out. The 2007-2008 budgets have finally been completed and hopefully more regular posting will resume.

The 2007 school year is on the cusp of of completion. I came to Grace with a preconception about church-run schools. My grandparents attended a church that had a school ministry that strained both ministries. Hearing the stories of the regular tension between the church and school made me nervous about such arrangements. When I had the opportunity to join the staff at Grace, I seized it with a challenge to influence a positive church/school arrangement.

I've benefited greatly from the philosophy, values and structure that Pastor Young had already ingrained which already had our ministries primed to work in unison. In the last several years, it has been exciting to see us move to an even higher level of cooperation, in the end benefiting the people in our care. I've been energized by our school ministry in 2006-2007 and have seized opportunities to encourage, participate and support that aspect of our ministry.

From eating lunch with the faculty and staff, to being the secret reader, attending graduation and the school play, speaking to the grade 12 accounting class and the grade 6 computer class. I've gained an even deeper appreciation for the ministry of our teachers and the daily opportunity they have to influence the lives of the kids in the classes. I've gained a greater understanding of the huge role I have in providing the faculty and staff with the best benefits and compensation possible.

Through the school, and my responsibilities in supporting the faculty and staff, I have the privilege of impacting the lives of the students as well.

Ministry Toolbox: Encouragement File

I'm not exactly sure where I picked up this tool, but somewhere along the way, whether it was from one of my undergrad courses or a suggestion of my college roommate, it's become one of the most valuable tools in my ministry tool box. The encouragement file.

Like a hammer, my encouragement file is nothing elaborate, just a regular manila folder. But it's contents can fuel me for months, sometimes years at a time. Since college, I've saved just about every note or communication that acknowledged some difference I had made in some one's life - notes of encouragement. I don't look at the file often, but in going through files a few weeks ago, I took a few moments to read through the file yet again. I was surprised at how I'd forgotten what was in that folder. Notes from close friends that I can't even remember the context in which they were written, but that isn't what matters, it's the messages they contain that lift my spirits. Email messages, cards, one-sided notes, some as small as a business card, they're in there, each with a message that picks me up. Granted, the file isn't overflowing.

As in a lot of other contexts, we probably don't encourage one another or build each other up as much as God, speaking through Timothy, intended. My ministry journey has at times required passing through the desert and in some cases the distance from one oasis to the next has been a long stretch. It's in those times when I've used the encouragement file to keep me going. (After my experience yesterday, so does being the Secret Reader - I happened to pass the grade 1 class in the hallway this morning and they all waved as if I was the King of England.)

My encouragement file is a key tool in my ministry toolbox and like a hammer, I strongly recommend everyone in ministry keep an encouragement file in their toolbox as well.

What is your Grace story?

I've been filling in, working evenings, for the Evening Building Supervisor this week. Ken, who has been in that role since January, is in Baltimore for the summer, so I've had to hire a summer replacement. What I've enjoyed about this week is getting to talk with people who's paths I don't normally cross.

Just last night I met someone for the first time and out of curiosity, I asked how they came to Grace (those stories always interest me). Her husband is into remote controlled airplanes and I guess was in a RC airplane club or often flew planes with someone who regularly attended Grace. After several invitations to come to Grace, the couple checked Grace out. That was about two years ago.

What is your Grace story?

Meeting CHILDREN Where They Are

I had the opportunity to be the Secret Reader for our grade 1 and grade 2 classes today; what a way to make my day! I read two books that have had a significant impact on my life: Big Joe's Trailer Truck and Curious George Gets A Medal. Though I was only scheduled to read one book, they convinced me and their teachers to go for two.

I thoroughly enjoyed having all of 30 minutes with these kids, many of whom I recognize from being in our daycare and from the Kindergarten graduation program the last two years. Nothing like this kind of an opportunity to make me even more aware of just how important a role our staff play in partnering with each child's parents in helping them train their children in the way they should go. That really hit home with one of the students who I know has been in our care since she was close to 6-weeks old. I remember the day she took her first steps...in our building. We all cheered her on!

Our staff have incredible opportunities on a daily basis to meet children where they are and move them to where God wants them to be. And as I walk the hallways, I know that can be a very challenging task at times. I do not take for granted the opportunity I have to support and encourage them in their ministry. Though just as faulty, if not less than me, I have the utmost respect and admiration for our staff.

Women Power!

A beach blast rolled in overnight and our building looks very different this morning. If you have the chance, stop by today or find an excuse to drive your spouse/daughter to the Blast tonight so you can take a peek. It's a sight to see.

I heard that the volunteer army behind this event totals some 150 women. That's amazing! There are so many facets to ministry - obviously, the primary goal of an event like this is creating opportunities and an atmosphere for people to connect and build relationships with those who are far from God. That's the main goal. But there are so many fringe benefits that occur naturally through the process. Take the 150 volunteers. This event has provided an opportunity for 150 individuals to get more connected with our ministry and in all likelihood, for relationships to be strengthened there too. Who knows how God might use those relationships in the future.

I am so excited to see people of Grace banding together to watch God work in and through them. And as this army carries out it's mission tonight, there's an even bigger army that's gaining momentum for the June 24 outreach. I'm telling you, now is the time to get involved! It appears to me that God is at work around us and if you sense that He is inviting you to join Him in what He is doing, fill out the volunteer form for the rodeo. Join us in watching how God works as we work our tails off.

Meeting PEOPLE where they are and moving people to where GOD wants them to be!

Headaches with Rewards - Multi-Use Buildings

There's no doubt about it, when handed the keys to a multi-use facility, a large bottle of Aspirin should be on the key chain. Take for example, the poor student who was slightly injured Monday morning because one of the rooms hadn't been completely returned to it's Monday-Friday to setup. But with those headaches, come a lot of rewards because of the flexibility of multi-use space.

Over Christmas, our building transformed into a winter wonderland for the Christmas Walk-Thru.
Last week, it transformed into an art gallery for the school's Creative Arts Festival.
Today, it's in the midst of transforming into a ocean side resort for this weekend's Beach Blast.
A multi-use facility with creative minds can transform into all kinds of things!

Yes, a dedicated Sanctuary space is the envy of most churches, but I think I much prefer the flexibility afforded by multi-use/multi-purpose spaces.

Today at Grace: New HVAC unit installed

The 1990 addition of our facility is approaching it's 20th birthday. We continue to see things in that area wearing out, needing replacement etc. Today at Grace, one of the roof top HVAC units is being replaced. You should see the faces of the daycare kids; I know it would've made my week to have a crane visit my daycare/school. Apparently, when the kids said there was a crane on the roof, the student teacher went out looking for a bird. Go figure.

Cheap IT Information

Several people I interact with on a regular basis often ask what the deal is with blogging. Though I haven't counted them up recently, I probably track 30+ blogs on a weekly basis. Predominantly, I'm tracking the blogs of church staff who are responsible for the computer/informational issues at churches across the country. Though I'm somewhat versed in computers, what formal computer training I had was in programming, so I'm not trained for leading/managing a network. I get a lot of cheap information, no, free information from these people who see blogging as an opportunity to exchange information. I greatly appreciate the time they put in and the knowledge they share with me. It's helped me lead our efforts to chart our path for the next five years.

Here's the list of IT bloggers I track...
Fady's Blog
Eric Busby
Chris Todd
Bryson Medlock
Brett Anderson
The Appian Way
Jeff Wilson
Terry Storch
Kyle Sagarsee
Nick Nicholaou
Brian Bailey
Scott Reichling
Stephen Wareham
Tony Dye
Jason Powell
Ed Buford

Pastor Scott has a higher gear!

Of several things I've greatly appreciated about Pastor Scott are his love of The Word and his love for lost people. Since joining our ministry, his passion for those two subjects has motivated me time after time during Sunday messages; each at a level that was higher than I'd ever experienced before. I remember during the candidating process the buzz about how driven Pastor Scott was and how we needed to be ready to run once he came on board. And believe me, we've been running ever since. But to my utter amazement, the staff discovered this past Tuesday that he has an even higher gear!

In my post-staff meeting assessment, I think we witnessed three forces colliding to form not the perfect storm, but an entire weather phenomena. As he lead us through a scripture passage, he was excited about all that it contained that his passion reached even high levels; it was so unbelievable, it was comical. At several points, in an euphoria of explaining the passage, he found one point only to put that aside because he remembered a second point he wanted to share, only to recall yet a third point he wanted to make first. Like the runway at O'Hare, he had three points lined up in succession that if he could, he would've shared simultaneously. It was, as he would say, AMAZING! His passion for the passage, the truths it contained and the direct application to our lives inspired and motivated me to seek Christ even more. So watch out, like any other motor, Pastor Scott's got an even higher gear than what we've seen to date. I wonder what got the RPM's up high enough for him to be able to shift?

I see three things (and I'm just conjecturing here) that possibly collided to put him into the next gear.

1. His love of scripture and lost people. Because the passage dealt directly with the topic of lost people, I think it resonated with him in a deep way.

2. His trip to Israel. I think the trip opened his eyes to the cultural background in a new way which in turn has given him a fresh perspective on the stories of the Bible.

3. I think he's had more time to study and with the pending addition of another Pastor to our staff, I think he'll have more time to study.

Rodeo Marquee

Though I hope he has a speedy and full recovery, afterall, this is the second time in but a short span that New Jersey has found itself Governor-less, I can't resist the following...

The marquee event at the upcoming Rodeo on June 24 will feature The Drag Racing Governors: Corzine mano-e-mano against Rendell. Oh, their State Police provided drivers can be in the vehicle with them. Odds are in Rendell's favor based on their qualifying speeds (Rendell 100; Corzine 91).

Interactive IRS

I appreciate the steps the IRS is taking to utilize the power of the internet for the tax payer's benefit. Was just able to check the status of our personal filing, pretty cool!

Maybe I've just missed it, but I wish there was a way to file electronically without having to use someone else's software or service. For now, I'm content with the PDF's they provide.

Driving the Church: Spiritually and Logistically

If you've been attending Grace or listening to our messages for the last few years, you've grown accustomed to the mantra, "Evangelism is the engine that must drive the church." I'd like to add to that statement.

Evangelism is the engine that must drive the church, spiritually.
Logistically, the church database is the engine that must drive the church.

The church database is the core system for tracking people - it's our earthly version of the Book of Life, if you will or the 2007 version of the Book of Numbers. It identifies the people in our church body, it provides channels for us to stay in touch with them, among a lot of other things.

Our database has lacked since I started here some eight years ago, but since January, we've been making huge improvements, thanks in full to Jodi's help. After serving in the Children's ministry for many years, Jodi, who's professionally trained in database programming (her service in the Children's ministry was a total Aaron/Moses type things - "God, I'm not, nor do I feel qualified to do this ministry, but if it's how You want to use me, here am I, send me), turned the Children's ministry over to other leadership in January. Though phasing out of that ministry she was interested in helping us in the office, particularly our databases. I have so appreciated having her on board so that every time I uncover a list of addresses someone has in a Word file, I can ask Jodi to go talk with them and explore if there are more efficient ways to track the data and produce the same end result. In just a few months, we've consolidated countless Word documents of address lists, address labels into our main database. We've introduced the concept of a mail merge!!! And Jodi's dug into the backend tables of the database to create links and other things to manipulate the data for our needs. It's a thing of beauty. What makes it even more cool is to see the smile on Jodi's face. Though way behind the scenes and details that don't interest many, the background work that Jodi's doing that will enable the rest of us in the office to enter and track more data all combines into the engine that must drive the church logistically.

Following the examples of Moses (The Book of Numbers) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:5), we too keep track of families.

Mountaintop Easter Sunrise

Unfortunately, I don't recall the actual Easter morning of the particular Holy Week I've been recounting here, but I do recall an Easter morning a few years later.

When planting churches, which is what comprised my parent's ministry, the early years usually consist of only a handful of believers, possibly even just the church planting team. We often would join with other groups of believers to celebrate Christ's resurrection.

I remember one Easter we celebrated in the province of Banaue. It's a part of the world unlike any other I've ever seen. It's in the northern part of Luzon, in the mountains; very remote and known for it's g-string wearing, beetle-juice spitting tribal people, the Ifugao, who primarily farmed rice. Rice farming necessitates flat terrain, so it's not the most conducive crop in mountainous regions. By hand, the Ifugao had carved numerous terraces into most of the entire mountain range (imagine the Shenandoah Mountains) to create rice field upon rice field. Such was the setting of an Easter sunrise service one year. We were on the top of a hill, maybe 30 of us, just our voices, no sound system, maybe a guitar or two. It was a serene environment as the sun crested over the mountains.

To celebrate the resurrected Lord, on a mountain top, at the crack of dawn, in the midst of a people group that practiced witchcraft and idol worship... it was a literal mountaintop Easter.

Holy Week - Saturday Morning

The next morning our regular playtime was interrupted by commotion on the street in front of our house as neighbors and friends gathered. We ran to our second floor window and peering between the louvers saw a group of 20-some people marching down the street. As they drew closer I was able to make out wreaths on their heads and cloths covering their heads. They were shirtless and barefoot with but a skimpy pair of shorts on. Though out of the ordinary to see a group marching down our street like that, it wasn't until they'd passed us that the horror set in.

The skin of their bare backs, which normally would've been a light brown color, was rubbed raw red, bleeding. I can't remember if I had been mesmerized trying to figure out the identities of these men - was one of them my buddy's Dad? - or what, but I guess I hadn't at first noticed the chains they were carrying. I recall my brother and I, using tube socks as a substitute, marching around the house reenacting the scene we witnessed that Saturday morning. It took my parents explanation to understand why those men felt the need to flagellate themselves.

As they marched on down the street, clinking each time the chains slashed against their back, sweating profusely under their anonymous disguises, it was a vivid, firsthand illustration of Christ's atonement for my sin - a deep theological lesson that in those few moments was comprehended even by a small first grade mind.

What I witnessed that Holy Week has resonated with me ever since. For sure, though those I observed were desperately trying to mimic Christ in His sufferings, and what I witnessed was indeed severe on a human scale, they still weren't coming close to capturing all that my Saviour endured. Though in other parts of the country others reenact actually being nailed to a cross, I never witnessed them firsthand. The despair, lack of hope and vain pursuit of atonement that entire week could be overwhelming, were it not for the mountain top, which I'll explain next time.

Here's an adult perspective on some of the same things I witnessed and some that I had forgotten.

The Holy Week I'll Never Forget

It was Holy Week, probably 1978. I think I was in the first grade at the time and we were living in a remote town on the southern half of the main island of the Philippines. The town of Labo was a farming town, not too much different than Lititz.

During that time period Roman Catholicism was ingrained in the Philippine culture. I remember how much not just Holy Week, but the whole month leading up to Easter was a big deal. Even as a first grader, I remember hearing the verbal accounts of the men who were embarked on a month-long pilgrimage carrying a cross for miles and miles. To put it in our terms, probably something like carrying a cross, on foot from Philly to Pittsburgh.

I remember the night of Good Friday. There was a procession through town, led by a band playing a dirge. Following were sights that as a young first grader, I had never pictured so vividly in my mind before, the 12 stations of the cross. Each station was in or on a wheeled float-type thing pulled by people. Just about everyone in town was out to watch the procession. And I seem to recall that the crowd as a whole was pretty emotional.

I felt uncomfortable. They looked like idols to me and I knew I wasn't supposed to worship idols, so even seeing them pass by seemed wrong. Add to that the detail of the stations and having never contemplated the magnitude of Christ's sufferings, it was a lot to take in on one night. Little did I expect what would pass by our house the next morning.

April Fool's Offering

Tomorrow I'll start a 3-post series about the Holy Week I'll Never Forget, but here's one more post from the weekend...

April Fool's was always marked on my calendar and often involved several weeks of premeditation. See, when you live in a all-boys dorm of some 15+ teenagers, it's an atmosphere ripe for joking. I remember many a morning coming to the breakfast table to be met by blue-colored milk or green eggs as someone snuck into the kitchen and gotten a hold of the food coloring.

So when the Count Team brought me the following offering envelope yesterday morning, I smiled immediately. Someone's Monopoly set is short $500.

Nelson's Beginning

I dug into the bulletin archives out of interest in what the Grace Church bulletin looked like when Bryan first started at Grace. I'm not exactly sure why, but church offices tend to keep and archive each week's bulletin. Interesting to see the change in formatting, type styles, graphics and worship in 10 years.