1) Morning Worship attendance was about 10% higher yesterday than it was a month ago. This is not always the best indication of progress but at least more people add energy to the service. The message was taken from James 3 and titled, “A Church of Peacemakers in a World of Troublemakers”. I ended with the challenge of taking the Peacemaker’s Pledge which is borrowed from Ken Sande’s book – The Peacemaker. I don’t know how long we will stay on the focus of speaking the truth in love and living in peace as a community of believers. When I sense God telling us to move in a different direction, I will, but not until then.
2) Last night we commissioned 8 Share and Prayer Triplets. I was hoping for ten, which would have been about ½ of the average adult Sunday morning attenders. But these 24 people are excited about getting involved with each other on a deeper level and praying more intensely on behalf of the church. I know that these triplets will have some powerful testimonies to share with the rest of the congregation throughout the months of September and October.
3) This Wednesday we kick-off our Mid-week Bible study series based on the “one another” commands of the New Testament. Besides the Bible, my source material for this study is Living in Authentic Community by Jim Van Yperen. This series will last about four months and will give opportunity for our people to go deeper into the Scriptures as we learn how to live together as a faith community.
4) This morning I made a hospital visit with a man who is a former church attender (from like 30-40 years ago). When I introduced myself, he responded, “I sure hope you can get that church straightened out.” I have heard some version of that statement over and over again in the last few weeks. Confession: it bothers me. I can’t straighten other people out. Only God can do that and He will only do it when they let Him. My calling is to be a model of what it means to live as a peacemaker and to help others figure out how God wants them to live as peacemakers.
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