You Can GET CONNECTED!

Whether you've been coming to PCC for a short time or a long time, it may BE time to get connected!

I really believe that a person who is really actively growing in their faith needs to be doing these two things :

• Small Group. This is where you really get to know some folks and where community happens. I like to say that small group is where real church happens. It's where folks will miss you when you don't make it. They'll often remember your birthday and show up for special occasions and be there when you struggle.

• Serve. Every Christ follower has gifts, experiences, skills, passions, and a unique personality. These things combine and God uses them to grow you while He's growing the church. There are countless places you can get involved and be a part of what's happening. It's what you were called to do.

Whenever I hear from someone who is stuck in their faith journey, I always ask about these two areas. More often than not, someone who's faith is stagnant is either not in a small group, not using their gifts and talents, or not doing either one.

You can get connected in serving and small group by clicking here. You'll be on your way to a new season of growing!

Reading Schedule for Wild Goose Chase

I am sorry that I did not publish before now a reading schedule for Wild Goose Chase. People have bought hundreds of books, which is a humbling thought. There are obviously a lot of people who are going to follow along while we Chase the Goose. I should have made the reading guide clearer.

Here's how it will go:

We will do the 6 cages in order, beginning this coming Sunday (October 3). So, since most small groups are meeting this week, I would read the introduction chapters this week and have a 'get to know you' small group this week.

By next week's small group night, read about the first cage, and so forth. In this way, I'll 'introduce' the cage on Sundays while you are reading about it and then we'll all discuss the cage with the full information and having thought about it at our small groups.

I think we will get a maximum benefit of the Bible's teachings and God's interaction with us in this way.

Enjoy the Chase!

Summer Small Groups

I have often said that small groups are where real church happens. You don't have enough time on Sunday mornings to really get to know people. There is always a lot of energy, fun, coffee, greetings, maybe one or two conversation that goes beyond the weather.

But in small groups, you get to really know folks, and they get to know you. It's a little scary at first, but it's worth it. I've seen people grow more because of the small group connection than from any other source. In Small Group, you can talk through the application of Sunday's teaching, hold each other accountable for some changes you want to make in your lives, and know God more deeply. Because of my small group experiences and the friendships I've made there, I'm a better husband and a better Dad.

It's not too late. Sign up for a summer small group today!

Ekklesia

By Sammy Frame, Pastor for Small Groups

Ekklesia.

It’s a Greek word. In the New Testament (NT) it’s the word consistently translated “church”. It’s a rich, complicated word that has some implications for you and me.

In the ancient world, before the NT came into existence, ekklesia was a civic term. It referred to city councils and other assemblies of persons who held some importance within the community and had authority over the community. The authors of the NT, like Matthew, Luke, and Paul knew this when they adopted the term and used it to refer to the people of God. They were clearly saying that our towns and cities have ‘ekklesias’ but those who follow Christ are the ‘ekklesia’ of the kingdom of God. The church is the assembly of heaven. So when Jesus says in Matthew 16:18-19, “On this rock I will build my ‘ekklesia’, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven,” he means that this ekklesia, together, speaks for his kingdom. It has the authority, the power, the privilege, and the prestige.

Second, the noun ‘ekklesia’ stems from the Greek verb ‘ekkaleō’. Ekkaleō simple means ‘to call out’. Therefore, the ‘ekklesia’ are the ones who are called out. Today, to call someone out is slang for indicting them or charging them with an offense. In the ancient world, someone who was called out was someone who had been asked to a position of importance. In the Bible, then, the ‘ekklesia’ are those who have been called from the mundane and ordinary to the life of significance and purpose.

Third, we tend to think of the church as a place or thing to which you go. So, we’ll say on Sunday mornings, “Let’s go to church today.” Many of us realize that church isn’t a place you go but something you are. So, we might say, “Be the church.” The ancient Greek word ‘ekklesia’, however, referred to an assembly. It was a group of people gathered for a common purpose. In other words, the church is the assembled people of God. You’re a disciple on your own. You’re the church on Sunday morning or at small group. So when Brian says, “The small group is where real church happens,” he’s telling the truth.

So, the question is, “Are you part of the ekklesia”? Are you in the assembly? Are you called to something more significant, to a higher purpose? Are you doing this alone and thinking you’re the church, or are you living in a community where together you express the kingdom of God?

If you’re not sure, you can always get started at www.powhatancommunitychurch.org/idZenCart.

Another Small Group

Tonight was a difficult night for me. For the past four years, I've led the same small group. They have become some of my close friends and we've all walked together through some of life's most difficult, and most wonderful, moments. We've learned about God, grown spiritually, matured. We've been together long enough to have gotten mad and then we've made up. We've been on mini-vacations, spent lazy days on the water, and eaten scores of meals together. Our kids have played and fought and played some more.

One of the few things I do well is connect people to each other, while they are finding their connection with God. And it was time, as we move to a new and innovative and more effective small group model, for me to connect a new group of folks in community.

So, tonight I said goodbye and let my group go on its own. In a way, it was a little weird. I mean, many of these friends live in my neighborhood - literally down the street and around the corner. So, it's not like I'm really going anywhere.

And yet, in another way, it was surreal. It really felt like a chapter was ending...and it was really hard. You simply can't do life with someone every week for four years and not be affected when you stop getting together.

What's interesting is that, by the end of the night, it was clear that they were going to be just fine without me. And, strangely, that's both sad and very satisfying, at the same time. It tells me that I've done the job I was called to do, and that our church is getting stronger.

Bill Hybels says that there is nothing like the local church when the local church is working right. I agree. And the small group is where the church is at its best. Of all the things we need to do well, continuing to assimilate people into great small group communities is at the top of the list.

If you are not in a small group, you don't know what you are missing.

Virtual Community

Guest blogger Sammy Frame shares some exciting news about a new way to connect.

How busy are you? If you’re like the vast majority of Americans, the answer to this question is “extremely.” Yet, “the average American actually has more leisure time today than thirty years ago.”1 In fact, recent research suggests that Americans have five hours more a week than they did 50 years ago!2 So, what are you doing with your extra five hours?

In truth, our sense of ‘busyness’ has never been more real and while we do have more discretionary time, we tend to use it more in volunteerism and community participation. For example, how many hours a week do you spend carting your kids all over the Richmond area for their respective activities? Nonetheless, our need for connection and community has never been more real. To whom are you connected?

In our lives it can seem daunting and exhausting to ‘find’ an extra night of the week to connect with our church family. When you only have one free night, do you really want to spend it out on the roads again? At PCC we make no apologies for asking you to connect to community life here. We believe it’s important for you and we believe it’s part of what it means to be ‘church’. Yet, we want to facilitate that, not overload anyone.

So, for the first time ever, we’re going to try starting groups online. We would like to launch our first ever virtual small group and for those of you who can’t drive out another night, if you have internet access, we’d like to invite you to be involved. Your connection to a community that loves you and wants to see you grow in your knowledge of, faith in, and relationship to Jesus is incredibly important. Perhaps this will provide you with a way to do that. If you live too far away to be involved in a standard small group, then maybe this will give you a chance to connect. If you work weird shifts and can’t find a good time slot for a standard small group, then perhaps this will work for you.

Currently, we’re soliciting interest in such a group. If you have an interest in becoming involved with a virtual small group that you can participate in from the comfort of your own living room, office, bedroom, or wherever you keep your computer, then please email me, Sammy Frame, at sammy{at}powhatancommunitychurch{dot}org or Tina Grinolds at knit4h1m{at}comcast{dot}net. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.

1 Miller, Will and Glenn Sparks. Refrigerator Rights. (Barrington, IL: Willow Creek Resources, 2008), 168.
2 Ibid.

iD

At PCC, our mission has two parts:  to reach people, and then to guide them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  We are pretty good at reaching people.  Not flawless.  Not perfect.  We can certainly get better.  But we're pretty good.  And reaching is easier to measure.  Attendance.  Baptisms.  It's just easier to measure the 'front door' of the church.

The rest of the journey is more nebulous.  It's harder to gauge where someone is in their faith journey or how close they are to becoming a fully devoted follower.  Nobody ever 'arrives', right?  Nobody ever wakes up one day and says, "well, I'm headed for my final exam.  If I get through this class, I'll be a fully devoted follower.  Glad that's over!"  No, we're always striving.  Paul put it like this, "Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of [perfection]. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philip. 3:13-14, TNIV).

At PCC, we have two primary ways that we make available for the Christ follower to "press on toward the goal" of becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ.  One is the Small Group.  Small Groups study the Bible in the context of friendships.  The other is our i.D. program.  This is where you can get some Bible teaching in the context of an instructional setting.  These are classes, and the idea is to to give you experiential learning, but to also give you information.  They are for a defined term and then they end, which is why we put them on a semester system.

These classes are designed for a wide range points on a spiritual journey - from those who are new to faith to those who have been Christ followers for decades.  If you want to go deeper, check out an i.D. class.  This program offers the completion of our package for discipleship at PCC, and we believe that those who take advantage of i.D., and small groups are well on their way to becoming fully devoted follower of Christ.  So, come check out what we're offering...you'll be glad you did!

For more information on PCC Small Groups, click here.  For course descriptions and online registration for iD courses, click here.

Guest Blogger Ray Crews

Guest blogger Ray Crews is a member of the PCC Steering Team as well as a volunteer on the Production Team.  Ray is also a blogger; you can check out his blog here.

Here's some great insight into the workings of PCC's Small Group Leadership Team, of which Ray is also a part (he's a busy guy!).

The A Team

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men and women promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Powhatan underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team.

Do you belong to a successful team? I do.

I belong to a group called the Small Group Leadership Team, which works to assist my friend Sammy with the Small Groups program at Powhatan Community Church where Daleen and I attend. As a rule, I am a sucker for a good cause and unless I stop myself, I will pretty much always say yes when asked to volunteer for something. So, when Sammy asked me to help him, I don't think I even paused for a second before saying, "Well of course, I'd love to be on your team!"

For those of you who don't know, Small Groups is, in my opinion, where our church resides during the week in-between Sundays. Ours is such a large church, there is no way the church staff can work with everyone on an individual basis, and there is no way people can really form meaningful relationships on just Sunday mornings. Also, in my opinion, there is just not enough time for an in-depth discussion on some pretty deep topics in a one hour service, one morning a week. So, Small Groups were formed to bridge that gap. They are small groups of folks who usually get together during the week to just talk, eat, keep tabs on one another, and help each other out when needed. Of course, these small communities also do studies on the bible as well as other topics such as financial management, relationships, etc. Basically they do what I believe can't be done in an hour on Sunday mornings... build relationships/community, and have more in-depth discussions in a safe, comfortable environment.

So, the Small Groups Leadership Team is responsible for helping my friend Sammy with planning activities for the small groups community, providing training for small group leaders, finding new people to lead and host new groups, and get people who are interested plugged into a group that will suit them.

As a team, I would say like all teams, we have had our high points and low points. There have been times where I think we have been on our game, and times where I've felt like we're spinning our wheels and not going anywhere. We are friends, but there have been times of conflict. But the whole time, I have felt good about the people on the team. Everyone is committed to moving this thing forward and making it grow. I have no doubt about that.

Last Monday evening, Sammy and I met up and talked for a couple of hours. We're both some pretty busy guys and it had been a while since we just sat down and talked. We were both very honest in our discussions about our team and and we talked about what we had done well and what could be done to strengthen our team. And then, like many discussions we had before, our talk shifted into a more upbeat tone as we began to talk about what we could do to make the Small Groups program at our church grow and improve. This is the part when I think our team is at its best, when we start brainstorming ideas about possibilities. Everyone on our team is kind of a dreamer and I think everyone begins to smile a little more when the ideas begin to flow (I know I do). The best part is, nobody on out team is all that negative when it comes to the pouring out of ideas. We are a bunch that instead of asking "Why?" always asks "Why not?".

On Monday night, we exchanged several ideas which I think were great. I know others on the team have also met with Sammy and I'll bet they have also contributed some good stuff. The bottom line is that after thinking for a couple of days since our meeting, I am now a lot more energized and positive about our team and what we are doing than I think I have ever been, and it feels great. In fact, now I feel like I'm the one not doing enough and I need to catch up. It really feels awesome.

I am excited about this team I am on and I think we are going to make some pretty amazing things happen in the next year. In fact I know we will and I'll definitely be telling you about it here. I'm just thankful to be on a team with people who are willing to work together as a small community, a small group if you will, to build up something that involves people and relationships in such a positive way. I think when it comes to what we do, we are definitely the A-Team. However, I am still working up the courage to get a mohawk, a bunch of gold chains, and start saying "I pity the fool...."

PCC Picnic

The weather held off, the food was incredible, the games were awesome and the PCC Picnic was a great success!

This week kicks off our annual spiritual growth emphasis. The teaching series is called 'Awaken'; the topic is the book of James, and the small group study is Live Wisely. Today's service about "Focus" was a tremendous kickoff, with Brian's message emphasizing the value of the work God does in us through our most challenging times. We were all called to rise above being defined by our issues and persevere.

If you missed the service - pick up a dvd next Sunday.

If you're not connected with a small group - contact the PCC office and ask about the best fit for you.

If you missed the picnic - here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

The food was out of this world - and the desserts were TERRIFIC!

This looks like a fun-loving small group!

Are these folks hiding something behind those grins?

The hula hoop was a big hit!

The kids got a great ride out of the tire swing!

A true sign of friendship!

Families and picnics go GREAT together!