I read an article this week that made me pause and think for a moment about the world we live in and the direction we are heading in as a country. The article spoke of the 'newly' established day of blasphemy which is coming up on September 30th of this year (just a couple of days from now). Yes, you heard me right. There is a group of people out there who want to have a contest to see just how badly they can blaspheme the name of God and, particularly Christ. So, they have gone public with this contest and expect it to be a great time of freedom of expression to 'expose' the hypocrisy of religion.
Now, before I got too upset about this whole thing, the author of the article reminded me that Christianity is not a religion of 'honor' and therefor we do not need to, as Christians, defend the good name of God or His honor. In fact, truth be told, one day He will defend Himself. What is or should be our course of action? To humbly take the way of the cross and endure suffering and shame in the same way that He did, so that people might see His love shining in and through us and respond to His grace!
As a church we have a unique opportunity in our community to respond to the discouragement of our time and 'reengage' in a Gospel living and lifestyle that opens up the door for conversations about Christ rather than creates walls that put up barriers between us and a world in desperate need of the love of Christ.
So, toward that end we are going to launch a new set of Sermon Series for the month of October called, 'Fully Engaged' the Power of a Committed life! We will deal with several topics that I believe will help each of us become more engaged than ever before and will help us live our lives to the fullest for Christ. This weekend I will kick us off by talking about being Fully Engaged in our Walk with the Lord. This is a great place to start for you and me! So, if you are feeling discouraged or disengaged then join us for the next four weeks as we seek to Fully Engage together and walk with Him into our communities!
I will also have the privilege to officially introduce Pierre Bourque and Mikelann Renwick to the congregation. These two folks are gifted servants and leaders in the Kingdom of God and will help us grow closer to Him as we Fully Engage in Worship and Outreach in the coming weeks and months. I am very, very excited about how the Lord is going to build us up, send us out and bring us others through their service with us! Please come out and take some time to get to know them and their wonderful families as we begin this new journey together!
All Involved, All Accountable!
Biz
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Congregational Care Team On the Way to WCC!
For several months now I have been speaking with you about the need to establish a congregational care team here at Westside Community Church. Over the past years our church has faced many needs and handled them well, but as we continue to grow and see new families come into our midst it gets more and more difficult to keep up with the increasing need of caring for one another and building each other up.
As your pastor I simply cannot make all the visits to hospitals or homes that need to be made. But we as a congregation can and this is a great way to explore your ministry gifted-ness, calling and commitments! In order to help us effectively meet this need of caring for one another as a congregation, Pastor Rick Keaton is going to begin recruiting, training and leading a team of individuals who can carry the load of ministry in this area and share the love of Christ with our hurting, home bound, infirm and folks in need or a moment of crisis! I want to ask you to consider joining this team and becoming a part of this great ministry. I promise you that it will change your life. Whenever we give ourselves away for the cause of Christ we cannot help but be changed.
The really cool part about ministry is that as you connect with your life mission through ministry and you experience life change that only service to Christ can bring, then you will notice others gravitating toward you! You will literally be like a 'magnet' for the Lord! They will see the change and want to know more about it and the Lord will only increase your own ministry, growth and outreach to those around you that you have probably been praying about for years! Yes, Christ can use you! Yes, Christ wants to use YOU! He just needs a willing person - one who will turn the 'reigns' of life over to Him and say, 'here I am, dear Lord, just use me.' Won't you join Him actively today as He seeks to equip, empower and encourage you for the Life He has in store and the future He has already crafted just for you?
Over these past months I have been in prayer about the vision and purpose of this ministry and here is what the Lord has given me. Take a moment and explore it, you may find that this ministry effort is indeed your fit!
The Purpose of Westside Community Church's Congregational Care team is to
Engage our hurting, home bound, in firm and hospitalized with the love of God;
Equip them with the presence of Christ in their time of need;
Enlist others to join us in this cause and to increase our care and love for each other and others.
All Involved, All Acccountable!
Pastor Biz
As your pastor I simply cannot make all the visits to hospitals or homes that need to be made. But we as a congregation can and this is a great way to explore your ministry gifted-ness, calling and commitments! In order to help us effectively meet this need of caring for one another as a congregation, Pastor Rick Keaton is going to begin recruiting, training and leading a team of individuals who can carry the load of ministry in this area and share the love of Christ with our hurting, home bound, infirm and folks in need or a moment of crisis! I want to ask you to consider joining this team and becoming a part of this great ministry. I promise you that it will change your life. Whenever we give ourselves away for the cause of Christ we cannot help but be changed.
The really cool part about ministry is that as you connect with your life mission through ministry and you experience life change that only service to Christ can bring, then you will notice others gravitating toward you! You will literally be like a 'magnet' for the Lord! They will see the change and want to know more about it and the Lord will only increase your own ministry, growth and outreach to those around you that you have probably been praying about for years! Yes, Christ can use you! Yes, Christ wants to use YOU! He just needs a willing person - one who will turn the 'reigns' of life over to Him and say, 'here I am, dear Lord, just use me.' Won't you join Him actively today as He seeks to equip, empower and encourage you for the Life He has in store and the future He has already crafted just for you?
Over these past months I have been in prayer about the vision and purpose of this ministry and here is what the Lord has given me. Take a moment and explore it, you may find that this ministry effort is indeed your fit!
The Purpose of Westside Community Church's Congregational Care team is to
Engage our hurting, home bound, in firm and hospitalized with the love of God;
Equip them with the presence of Christ in their time of need;
Enlist others to join us in this cause and to increase our care and love for each other and others.
All Involved, All Acccountable!
Pastor Biz
Saturday, September 5, 2009
All Involved Continues
All Involved, All Accountable - four words (really three) that I have been repeating in my head again and again this past week. I am asking the Lord for ways I can continue to encourage this congregation, His church, how we might become All Involved and All Accountable and I have also asked that He provide blessing to our people in the way of financial, spiritual, relational and emotional peace in our lives. Already I am hearing testimonies of how God's provision is coming our way at this time!
I know that the key way peace of this type is provided is through our 'connections' with Him and each other. There are several ways we as a church attempt to make this happen on a regular basis. One way is, of course our small groups - which are beginning the next two weeks! Another way is how we care for each other as a congregation. This is seen in how our love for one another is expressed through visits, gifts, encouragement, time spent, etc. And yet a third way is how we love strangers and how we get involved in ministry - I mean in ministry in a way that connects us to God's mission for our life. Pastor Amy (our children's pastor) calls this our M@M around here (next time you eat one of those chocolaty candies think about your mission).
In order for us to be effective in these three areas, though it requires leadership. So many people have stepped up recently in our youth ministry, children's ministry and worship ministry (among others). So many are reaching out like never before. I am so thankful for the volunteers who have made a renewed dedication to this ministry and I am excited about the fruit we will and ARE already seeing. Another who has stepped up is one of our elders, Rick Keaton. Rick has volunteered to help lead our small groups and our congregational care ministries. Rick's goal is to get you equipped and enlisted in these areas so that you might be connected to God's goal for your life. So, over the next few weeks you will begin to see us put some 'teeth' to some of the ministries we have been talking about and praying for these past weeks and months.
Our next step for you is to encourage you to speak with Rick about how you believe the Lord is leading you and then for you to get involved as Rick works with you to put you in the perfect 'fit' for ministry and life! Okay, okay, it may not be a perfect fit, but I hope and pray that as you take your next steps in ministry and life you will allow us to encourage, guide and at times even direct you toward what and where that might be. We have so much to do and I know that we will need everyone pouring in together if we are to get it done!
I am excited and enthused about what is next for us. I hope and pray that you are too! Please remember we are also recruiting our Bridges/Mentors for the new year - this would be a great first step for many of you . . . jump in with us, jump in now!
All Involved, All Accountable!
Pastor Biz
P.S. Don't forget, our new Welcome Class is coming up on the 13th and we have Baptism scheduled for the 20th. Maybe you have already participated in both, but know someone who hasn't - sign them up today!
I know that the key way peace of this type is provided is through our 'connections' with Him and each other. There are several ways we as a church attempt to make this happen on a regular basis. One way is, of course our small groups - which are beginning the next two weeks! Another way is how we care for each other as a congregation. This is seen in how our love for one another is expressed through visits, gifts, encouragement, time spent, etc. And yet a third way is how we love strangers and how we get involved in ministry - I mean in ministry in a way that connects us to God's mission for our life. Pastor Amy (our children's pastor) calls this our M@M around here (next time you eat one of those chocolaty candies think about your mission).
In order for us to be effective in these three areas, though it requires leadership. So many people have stepped up recently in our youth ministry, children's ministry and worship ministry (among others). So many are reaching out like never before. I am so thankful for the volunteers who have made a renewed dedication to this ministry and I am excited about the fruit we will and ARE already seeing. Another who has stepped up is one of our elders, Rick Keaton. Rick has volunteered to help lead our small groups and our congregational care ministries. Rick's goal is to get you equipped and enlisted in these areas so that you might be connected to God's goal for your life. So, over the next few weeks you will begin to see us put some 'teeth' to some of the ministries we have been talking about and praying for these past weeks and months.
Our next step for you is to encourage you to speak with Rick about how you believe the Lord is leading you and then for you to get involved as Rick works with you to put you in the perfect 'fit' for ministry and life! Okay, okay, it may not be a perfect fit, but I hope and pray that as you take your next steps in ministry and life you will allow us to encourage, guide and at times even direct you toward what and where that might be. We have so much to do and I know that we will need everyone pouring in together if we are to get it done!
I am excited and enthused about what is next for us. I hope and pray that you are too! Please remember we are also recruiting our Bridges/Mentors for the new year - this would be a great first step for many of you . . . jump in with us, jump in now!
All Involved, All Accountable!
Pastor Biz
P.S. Don't forget, our new Welcome Class is coming up on the 13th and we have Baptism scheduled for the 20th. Maybe you have already participated in both, but know someone who hasn't - sign them up today!
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