More thoughts on God is Safe

Yesterday, I said I would put the scriptures I referred to on this blog. I also have a few questions you might consider:

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being completely trusting of everyone, how trusting are you:

• with your parents?
• with your spouse?
• with your small group?
• with your closest friends?

Do you view God as trustworthy? If so, what do you believe He is trustworthy to do or not to do?

Is God safe?

Is there any area of your life or thoughts that you wouldn't talk to Him about or that you don't want Him to know?

John 10:1-15 What do you think it means that Jesus is the Shepherd? Does it offend you that He says that He is the 'gate' and that all who enter through Him will be saved?

If you keep reading, Jesus says that he has other sheep that aren't currently a part of the flock and that he's got to go get them. What does he mean by that?

Here are the other scriptures I used:

Ps. 23 “The Lord is my shepherd…I shall not want”
Psalms 79:13 (NIV) Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever;
Psalms 80:1 (NIV) Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead [us] like a flock;
Isaiah 40:11 (NIV) He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Ezekiel 34:11-12 (NIV) "'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

I also referred to Jeremiah 29:11, John 8, Acts 8 and Romans 8.

Hope this helps.

A Unique Intern Opportunity

There is an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in possibly interning in an innovative ministry setting in South Africa for 3 months during the Soccer World Cup in the summer of 2010. (June through August)

Riaan Niemand, Senior Pastor from Eastside Community Church in Pretoria, South Africa, will be here to talk about it during the next week and will be staying with me for a couple of days. Each intern would have to raise their own support, but would be exposed to a variety of ministry settings in South Africa, working with some very high impact leaders and getting exposure to many different cultures. This is a very rare opportunity!

I know of at least two college students who are interested, but I'm guessing that there may be others. If you would like to be a part of this conversation, please let me know via email or by calling the PCC office.

Some GREAT news about our building.

Well, I can finally deliver some fantastic news concerning our building: The dispute with our former builder is behind us. For good.

We have negotiated for months, hoping for some way out of the stalemate. It wasn't without cost, but we had to weigh that against the cost of battling out the dispute for an undetermined amount of time into the future. The bottom line is that we really needed to put the dispute behind us. It was no longer a matter of us being right. It was clearly hurting the church in many ways to remain in the stalemate.

Ultimately, I had to come to terms with God's role and my role as a leader (and leadership in general). Specifically, I deeply wanted to see justice done. But I had to realize that justice is God's domain. My responsibility was to do what was in the best interest of the Church and our Mission. Continuing the dispute was hurting us.

But it's over now! And we are free to move ahead. There are no liens, no claims, no baggage.

What everyone wants to know now is: How long? When will we move in? Well, we should complete construction some time in early February. We will need some help and will have to do some of the final work ourselves (painting, planting shrubs, etc.). So keep your ears open for those opportunities.

And...we are going to need some money at the end in order to finish construction. I'll have more to say about that soon, but just to put a bug in your ear about it. If you haven't seriously given to the Reach Campaign or contributed to the building fund, now is the time.

Thank you for praying for PCC during this ordeal. I can't tell you how good it feels to have it behind us.

David's use of every person

In my devotional time today, I continued reading 1 Chronicles. Today, I read chapters 22-27. If you read it, you might find it a little...monotonous. I was carefully reading, though, for the morsels of great things that are often hidden in page after page of lists like you find in these chapters.

But what I feel like God showed me today wasn't in the details, but in the big picture. David went through his entire nation and made sure that everyone had a job to do. Every single person was important to the work and plan that God had for Israel.

On a much smaller scale, I think God is saying, 'Hey, I have a plan for every single person - to use their unique talents and gifts and experiences and even their difficulties. The CHURCH is my instrument and the LEADERS are my tools, so that everyone can find his or her place.'

This is very convicting for me. At times, it feels a little like we're filling holes. But God reminded me again today that when people get plugged in to serve, they are finding their place in Kingdom work - in doing something of lasting value.

If you haven't found your place here at PCC, we'd love to help you do that. Email me or call my office and we'll get started!

More thoughts from Sunday

I used a word picture on Sunday from my 16 hour airplane trip to South Africa. I talked about being in the small, economy class seat and drooling over the Business Elite section. My conclusion was that the reason my journey was limited and constrained was because I was unwilling to pay the price. The benefit didn't add enough value to justify the price (to me).

The analogy works well with our spiritual lives, too. God wants us to know the benefits of a life fully devoted to living His way, but there is a price...and plenty are unwilling to pay it.

I won't rehash the message, you can go hear it online if you want. But I do want to clarify a few things.

1) Every analogy breaks down at some point. So, the point was to get you to evaluate your spiritual life and determine if it was all that it could be. What are the costs and what would be the benefits to 'moving up' in the cabin.

2) In this word picture, there are only 2 seats. That's important. If you give a 3rd seat - one that is in the middle - most everyone will say that it's where they are. This is because long-time Christ followers want to be careful to not come across as arrogant. 'We can never say we've arrived'. So, we would evaluate our lives and say we're in the middle seat. But my next point is important, so keep reading.

3) After a lot of thought and prayer and hours of discussion, we developed the matrix that defines the life of a fully devoted follower as one that:

a) invests in a relationship with God (through prayer, Bible study, classes, etc.),

b) involves himself in the lives of other Christ followers (through small group and other community life, and

c) impacts her world with her faith (through missions, serving in the local church, and sharing her faith)

Nobody every 'arrives' or completely becomes a fully devoted follower of Jesus. We're all on the journey. In the plane ride analogy, we're still in the plane, on the way from where we were to where we're going. But considering that, what kind of journey are you going to make it? Will you sit in economy, where the view is limited and movement is constrained and potential is limited? Or will you stretch out and get the most out of the journey?

I would encourage you to read Philippians 3:12-14. Paul is talking about the goal of becoming perfect. He says that he's not there yet, but "this one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize..."

Paul rides in the big seats. When I evaluate my life, I have to say that I mostly am investing in my spiritual life, involving myself in the lives of other Christ followers, and impacting my world with my faith. Not always, but for the most part I am riding in the front of the plane.

The question is, are you?

Building Update November

Here is the latest on what we know about the building:

1) The settlement that we agreed to with the former builder included a stipulation that all subcontractor claimants would sign lien releases on the church and the building. We are told that this is completed.

2) There is one subcontractor who we need to sign a new subcontractor agreement. This has been agreed to already. We expect that he will sign that document tomorrow. Provided that happens, we can disburse the settlement funds tomorrow and this will all be over. Finally!

3) Some serious work is going on now on the building, in anticipation of the execution of this settlement.

Once the final doc is signed and the money is disbursed, which are expected to happen tomorrow, I will make another post talking about our plans to get the building completed.

Please continue to pray for this situation. It's almost over.

Another Chance To IMPACT Powhatan!

PCC IMPACT, led by Andy Heberle, is a group of people committed to investing in the people of Powhatan county in a very tangible way. IMPACT projects focus on necessary home improvements in an effort to share the love of Christ in a very real way. IMPACT projects offer opportunities to invest in hard work and real relationships.

IMPACT projects are ongoing, but a few times each year we gather for a community blitz, taking on several homes at once and sending a large team of folks out into the community to work.

On October 25th, PCC made a big IMPACT on Powhatan county - literally! Andy and his leadership team set up projects at seven different homes throughout the county. Folks signed up for specific tasks and locations and headed out after morning church services.

If you missed out on Sunday's work day - or you're just ready to go again - read on for more details!!!

Seven different Powhatan county families saw literal proof that God loves them and that we love them too! Because of your willingness to serve, we were able to make a tangible difference in the lives of these families. We'd like to say a big "thank you" to all who went out to work on Sunday!

People were stretched, people are sore, but attitudes are soaring- from our folks and the families we served.
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon - the rains of Saturday completely disappeared and we had excellent weather to work on each project!

We made incredible progress on Sunday; however, we still have some work to complete. If you were unable to participate last weekend, we're happy to let you know that there is another opportunity!

Maybe you missed out because of illness. Maybe a prior commitment made it impossible for you to attend. Maybe you want to go back. Maybe you just didn't realize what was happening, but now you're ready to join in!

Here's your opportunity - and WE NEED YOU! On Saturday November 7th, we will meet at the church office to receive our work assignments and go back into the community to put the final touches on these IMPACT projects. Bring your carpentry tools, saws, levels, tape measures, hammers, paint brushes and bucketS, electric screwdrivers, drills, extension ladders, step ladders - and come expecting a great return on your investment of time and energy!

Meet us at 9:00 AM on November 7th at 4480 Anderson Highway for our work assignments. Bring a bag lunch and a cooler with some drinks. It's going to be a GREAT day!

See you there!