What I Meant To Say…

The Last Field Trip

May 29, 2008 – 5:35 am

Driving in this morning with the kids I realized each of them was fired up beyond the normal level of hysteria and it didn’t take me long before I had pieced together the obvious - today is the day that each of them gets to go on their year end field trips!

Bowling, putt putt, go carts, swimming, arcades, lots of food and fun beyond words. My oldest son (still a little bleary eyed from a late night of “finals prep”) leaned back and told ‘em all – “enjoy it you guys – before you know it there wont be any more field trips.”

He’s right isn’t he? 

“Grown up” life gets complicated. It gets serious and disappointing and exhilarating and hard and sad and thrilling and joyous and confusing and hurtful.

And in the midst of it all I’ve been reminded in recent days that God alone is our peace. Just God. He is my peace. He alone brings the comfort and security that my soul longs for each and every day. 

Not stuff. Not accomplishments. Not people. 

Stuff breaks and gets old.

Accomplishments fade and are forgotten in time.

And people aren’t the answer cause we’re people. People get hurt and do hurtful things. People get twisted and cruel. People you thought were for you are suddenly against you. Friends who once tried to help now try to hurt - and you realize through your pain that only in intimacy with God are you truly secure.

Not safe. There is no safety in this fallen world. But we can have security – the faith that He is good and will not let us go. 

Only with Him. Only in Him. Only because of Him. 

And today my prayer for you is that you will humbly rest in that security that only He provides. John 15 paints a picture of “abiding in the Father” (like a healthy branch connected to the life giving trunk of a tree). And it’s a great reminder for each of us that only in a deep, solid connection to Him will we ever be able to endure the hurt and the pain of a life without field trips. 

A day at the go cart track does sound like fun, but for most of us the stakes have gotten higher. So in lieu of $3 and a permission slip let’s just stay very close to Him and maybe try to hang on to each other.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you think about the opportunities God is giving us at Blackhawk these days.

50 people needed to help little kids learn more about the Lord.

If there’s any way you’d be willing to sacrifice (I’m really not sure we should call it that) 6 Sunday mornings this summer – Janice and the Children’s Ministry team could really use your help! 

6 Sundays.

They’ve got an amazing plan for the kids this summer and are really looking forward to teaching and experiencing with the kids what they’re calling “God’s Big Back Yard”. All the prep work has been done – we just need willing people (young and old) to help pull it off. Please call us at 493-7400 and go to extension 278 or 280 – operators are standing by!

Father’s Day Baptisms @ Stillwater

I want to make sure all of you know that if you haven’t been baptized and you want to be – we’d love to have you with us at the lake on June 15th. If you have fully surrendered your heart and life to Christ the Scriptures are clear that being baptized is your next step. What a thrill it would be for us to be able to celebrate that with you as family – just let Andi Stevens (ext. 238) know that you’re interested and she can get you in one of our baptism classes on an upcoming Sunday. Its gonna be a great afternoon/evening for the entire Blackhawk family – baptisms, communion and worship! 4:30 is when it begins and directions to Stillwater are available at both the Guest Center and at our website – blackhawkministries.org.

Sunday June 8th could be painful??

What a great opportunity we’re going to have Sunday morning, June 8th. Not only are we kicking off our Summer Sunday morning study of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 with a special “interactive worship service” both hours in our High School gym – but we’re finally getting the chance to say “thanks” to a very good friend. For over 5 years Mitchell Kruse served on our team here at Blackhawk as a teaching pastor and during those 5 years God used Mitchell’s love for people and his passion for teaching the Scriptures to impact the hearts and lives of many. I’ve asked Mitchell to come back on June 8th to kick off our series and in the process give many of you the opportunity to thank him personally for the time and investment that he’s made in our lives. Both hours will be in the HS gym with places to sit in the bleachers as well as a large number of round tables for those in need of some more traditional seating. 

Along with providing a setting that will be more conducive to some extended times of interaction that we’re planning for the morning – the gym also provides us with another “worship component” that we don’t normally experience discomfort. 

Millions of believers all over the world gather to worship each week in everything from grass huts to prison cells. Some worship on the floor because there are no chairs to sit on, some worship in tents because there’s no money to build buildings, some worship standing up in case worship is interrupted by gun fire and they need to escape quickly. Some worship in caves or darkened warehouses in the middle of the night – while others gather for 6-7 hours on a Sunday because they’re only able to meet once every 6 weeks. 

In all my travel over the years God has used the “discomfort” of believers all around the world to remind me that every once in a while it might be a good idea for the rest of us who have so much - to periodically be uncomfortable. The bleachers for an hour on Sunday morning won’t feel as nice as the cushioned pews in the worship center – but we’ll survive. And along with surviving we’ll be reminded of how blessed we are and how grateful we should be.

I’m grateful I get to be your pastor – thanks for the kindness and loving support that so many of you continue to offer.

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Swimsuit at Church?

May 6, 2008 – 3:04 pm

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Thanks again for the prayers and support that so many of you offered over the last few weeks as we traveled to and from Kenya. Getting the chance to share just a little of the trip with so many of you this past Sunday morning was really encouraging and I’m looking forward to sharing with you more in the days to come.

 

There’s two really important things running around inside my heart and mind today that I wanted to let you know about but first let me say this. I’m grateful that so many of you have allowed me these chances to communicate with you and I hope that these periodic efforts to reach out are an encouragement to you. There really are times when I wish we could all just sit and talk – times when the clock would stop and we could truly catch up. I know in reality that’ll never happen so I really do try my best to share with you things in these “ramblings” that are important for you and me to know about and be aware of.

 

I LOVE BRINGING MY SWIMSUIT TO CHURCH!

 

One of the things today that I want you to be aware of is that this coming Sunday morning (Mothers Day – yeah Moms!) we are going to have the privilege of baptizing 14 people during our two Sunday morning services. What a huge encouragement this is for all of us at Blackhawk and what an honor it will be for you and I as part of this family to welcome them into our family as they publicly declare their love for our Lord. Please make every effort to be there and don’t ever loose sight of the fact that this “baptism celebration” is really one of the most significant and profound events in the life of any church that’s “devoted” (persistently obstinate) to making disciples. Please celebrate with enthusiasm and thank God for every one of the 14 people that step in to that water with me on Sunday. Be grateful for what God did as He saved them and gave them a new life, a new hope and an eternal future with Him. Be grateful for the transformation that each of them has experienced and make a new commitment in your own heart to pray for those in your world who you’re serving and sharing the gospel with. Keep praying for your “not yet saved” friends and keep asking God to give you opportunities to invite them to faith in Christ and a life that really satisfies.

 

Wow - I can’t wait to get in the water. I hope you’ll all be there with me.

 

NOTHING LIKE A FAMILY CHAT

 

The 2nd thing is this. I want to say thanks to those of you who have attended our recent Town Hall meetings. While the circumstances that have led us to conduct these meetings aren’t what I would have hoped for – it has nonetheless been a profound reminder to me of how important it is to communicate thoroughly and consistently in a setting like ours here at Blackhawk. We’ve got one more meeting planned for this coming Thursday evening (7pm in the High School library) but the truth of the matter is I really think we should do them more often. The questions that people are asking have been really good and the spirit with which they’ve been asked have been much appreciated. Letting people go from their ministry positions and suffering the loss that comes with that is something I’ll never get used to – but the lessons that are being learned and the ministry focus that is coming to the surface is invaluable. We’ll make sure to get together more often in the days to come so that questions can be asked and important information passed along.

 

Thanks for hanging in there with me and please keep praying for us as we do our best to lead and love this family well. Like I said this past Sunday morning I really am sorry for the mistakes that I’ve made in recent days as leader. I could sit here and tell you that “finances aren’t my thing” or that “other guys should have been more on top of things” – but the truth is that in many respects I’m responsible for what goes on - or doesn’t. As the letter that went out stated – there is a very clear plan in place today to make sure that we make our way back to a place of fiscal health and stability.

 

I guess I just wanted to say to each of you again how sorry I am for the detour.

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albert

April 27, 2008 – 2:28 pm

Half way through this past week i met a boy named Albert in Kibera.

I told you about Kibera a few entries ago - the saddest most tragic thing I’ve probably ever seen. As I walked up and down the mud and sewer covered slopes and through the tattered huts that day i found a friend who’s smile and “genuine” eyes caught mine.

his name was albert.

he’s 12 years old and told me he had never seen anyone so big. i told him i get that a lot.

he asked me question after question about my family and my life in indiana and he allowed me to do the same with him. over the next 4 hours God gave me a new friend and an opportunity like nothing i had ever expected.

his mom has been gone for a month - she has traveled “up country” to die at her parents home there in rural northern kenya. from what he was able to tell me it sounds as if she has AIDS. his 5 brothers and sisters live there in kibera with him and his Dad in a hut that’s smaller than my office and as we walked and talked he told me of his dream to someday fly jets and live in chicago!

that’s right. a boy in Kibera that lives on 1 meal every few days wants to learn how to fly and live in the windy city. he told me that flying jets would allow him to be far away from the sadness of his life and he picked Chicago because he heard it in the lyrics of a rap song by R Kelley.

he told me that there are nights in the rain when he wishes he wasn’t alive and that he hates to see his dad cry when his brothers and sisters are hungry and tired. he said the only hope he has is school and the possibility one day of getting in to the university. we talked about what it would take to pursue that dream and within the first hour i began to pray for him quietly as we walked.

oh yeah - as we walked he held my hand on more than one occasion.

when it was time to leave he gave me a big hug and told me, i was his best friend ever. he thanked me for being willing to spend time with him even though he knew he was dirty and didn’t look good. he thanked me for holding his hand and said that he would do his best to one day get out of Kibera.

i hugged back and begged him to work hard, study when others weren’t and to please stay healthy. i told him to read his bible every morning and every night and to please honor God with his days and nights. i told him to do what was right when others were choosing to do what was wrong and we prayed one last time that God would keep him warm at night, that Albert would never loose sight of his dreams and that hopefully someday we could meet again.

i don’t know if he’ll ever get out of that place.

i have no idea what the next few months or years will hold for him - but i do know this . . .

something else happend with Albert before we left and it was one of the most amazing things i’ve ever been a part of.

i’ll tell you about it when i get back.

be a priest . . . please be a priest!

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Something Happens When…

April 25, 2008 – 12:49 pm

sitting here in Nairobi looking at this screen i cannot escape the reality that something has happened to me. I’ve changed.

we were talking about it the other night as a team in our little living room and i really do think we’ve stumbled on to something worth considering.

something happens to you when you get beyond “Jerusalem”. when you and I leave home and the routine that home brings - when we step out of our schedule and GO! to the “outer most parts” (Acts 1:8) and allow ourselves to experience something completely out of the ordinary . . .
something extra ordinary happens.

it really is yet another reason why i want as many of you as possible to get on a plane someday with me or others from our Blackhawk team and GO!

when you get out here beyond Ft. Wayne and the normal schedule of your life and mine . . when there is no schedule other than serving . . when there is no place to be and no one else to be with other than where you are and who your with . .when all there is to do is sacrifice your time and energy, spend more time with fellow christ followers and give yourself completely to those you pray will someday follow Him . . . it’s amazing what happens to your soul.

when you get beyond car pools and work schedules, deadlines and soccer practices (which are all good things) . . when there’s less coming and going and more just “being” you begin to realize with great clarity and conviction those things that really do matter most.

you begin to see all over again that Christianity isn’t American and that neither is God.

you begin see that we really do fill our lives at times with too much and that our lives might be filled with greater purpose and meaning if we filled ‘em with a little less. you begin to see how much there is to learn from those who have so little instead of trying to keep up with
those who have so much.

when the bed doesn’t fit you and the pillow’s all wrong - you sometimes spend hours at night simply laying there in bed praying for those you love the most. when was the last time i prayed for an hour?

something happens to us when we are far away from our lives. we realize things about us that need desperately to change. we realize how big the kingdom is and what an honor it is to share “membership” in it with some of the dearest most gracious people on the planet. we realize how insignificant we are and how very significant the Lord is.

i can’t wait to see each and every one you and i certainly can’t wait to get home - but something has happened to me and it needed to. that doesn’t mean that home is bad and I’m certainly not going to get rid of my bed so that i spend more time praying. my point is this - every once in a while you and i need a drastic change in perspective. we need times when God completely realigns our thinking and vision with His.

it’s been an amazing 9 days and I’ve learned more and seen more than i could ever have imagined - but let me say this with absolute conviction - it never would have happened in Indiana. God’s taught me a lot there at home that’s true. He’s growing you and me in that place we call the Fort and i can’t wait to step back into it with you and keep growing . . . but there are some things you just can’t grasp unless you leave. maybe it will be Africa, maybe it will be Biloxi, maybe it’s somewhere else that we haven’t discovered yet . . .

but i can’t wait for you to GO! because i’ve learned that when you do - something happens.

see you next sunday

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That’s What Priest Do

April 23, 2008 – 7:17 am

there are 3 billion people in the world today who live on less than $2 a day.

yesterday i saw 1 million of them with my own eyes.

we walked for 4 hours through the heart of kibera, nairobi - the worlds largest slum. it contains 1.2 million people in a space that’s 1 square mile in size. 1.2 million people in 1 square mile.

no electricity. no running water. holes for toilettes that most don’t use and no sanitation removal or sidewalks. mud floors and aluminum scrap huts that reach as far as the eye can see.

and while i know the next line of this blog entry is supposed to say that i can’t wait for you to see and experience what i saw - there honestly is a part of me that wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

you shouldn’t have to see that level of heartache and despair. you shouldn’t have to see that level of pain, hopelessness and futility. you shouldn’t have to see that many people living without dignity, clothes or a future. even though on many of the children’s faces we saw joy and an uncanny sense of contentment - the emotional turmoil and personal confusion it has sparked in my own soul isn’t something i’d readily on anyone.

you could never imagine it and there’s no verbal picture i could ever paint that would ever come close to the raw and unrelenting poverty and desperation that we walked through yesterday. it was inescapable.

wanna know why?

because they touch you.

you can’t walk through kibera and stay detached. you can’t walk through kibera from a distance. you could walk around it and just look at it from the road - but if you’re gonna walk through the middle of it with our local pastor friend sammy (who grew up in kibera) then be ready to be touched. they hug you, they look in your eyes and there’s no turning away. they give you there babies to hold and school age kids snuggle up to your side holding your hand as you walk. they offer you their food, they tell you there names and they giggle with absolute glee when you take their picture and stroke their mud covered heads and hug their bodies that haven’t seen a bar of soap or stick of deodorant ever. ever.

i really have absolutely no idea what to do with what i saw and experienced. i’m going to keep asking God to help me sort it out in the days to come. and even though part of me really means it when i say i wouldn’t wish it on any of you . . . there’s another part of me that knows you have to go.

you have to look a hopeless 12 year old in the eyes, give him a long hug and tell him to do everything within his power to one day get out. you have to hold hands with two 5 year olds that haven’t left your side in 3 hours because they might not have their hands held ever again. you have to walk next to an outdoor market that runs right next to a flowing creek that consists of nothing but raw sewage while not holding your nose or covering your face with your shirt because that would only be demeaning.

you have to see what you can’t believe your seeing, take in what your soul finds impossible to process and in the midst of it all keep offering your hands and your prayers and your hugs and your encouragement - because that’s what Christ followers do.

as priests we pass along the compassion of our God to those that need it. and while there are those in ft. wayne that need it - there are those in kibera who need it as well and you and i are able to offer it so we should. where we live in the everyday of our life and in places far away - we should offer and extend God’s compassion with courage and great care.

i’m tired and i miss my family deeply. it did cost a lot of money to get here and it’s a huge sacrifice for many - but the bang for the buck is beyond description when you look the orphan in his eye and give love and affection to those that are hard to even look at you begin to understand why Jesus so often times did the same.

he was a priest and he knew that’s what priests do - they pass along the heart of God to others.

pack your bags.

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he’s got the whole world in his hands

April 22, 2008 – 8:08 am

hey everyone - jambo from kenya! half way through tuesday and across
the world in Nairobi i wanted to take a minute and let you know that i
am well and blessed beyond words to be with our team from blackhawk here
at the orphanage. these kids are precious, the staff are some of the
most gracious people i’ve ever met and the opportunities that God is
giving us to serve, feed, encourage and love are changing us day by day.

we went to church on sunday at nairobi chapel and had an extremely
special experience. the worship was energized and passionate, the
teaching was anointed and very well done, the people were kind and warm
and the entire experience reminded me of one of the reasons every single
of you should come and serve here in nairobi for a week. (during the
week i’ll keep sharing other reasons so stay tuned)

i know you’ve heard me and i’m sure countless others say this in the
past but as christ followers in ft. wayne, indiana you and i need
desperately at times to be reminded of how big - how very big our God is
and how vast and diverse his kingdom his. reason #1 - you need to see
and experience again and again how huge our God is. how big his reach
is and how large the family of God is. we are truly just a speck on the
kingdom screen and what an amazing family of specs are out there.

we are so far away from home and this place is so very different. the
trip is pretty long and grueling - the atmosphere here is as different
as you could ever imagine. it’s a completely different culture and we
stand out like you would imagine 10 white tourists walking around with
fanny packs and digital cameras would!

but . . . when the 10 white tourists with fanny packs walked in to
church on sunday we were home. it was truly amazing. home. we were
hugged and greeted warmly. we sang and worshiped without restraint or
hesitation. the word was taught with clarity and passion and the sense
of unity and fellowship was as real and personal as anything i’ve
ever experienced. what you and i have the privilege of experiencing and
being a part of at blackhawk is present all over the world. same God,
same truth, same family and the same spirit that binds us together no
matter where we are or what we look like.

please keep praying for us and know that God is opening doors for us
that we would have never imagined. can’t wait to tell you more. can’t
wait for you to come and see it for yourself.

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the small choice

February 13, 2008 – 8:22 am

I know a very special individual who recently had something happen to them that changed their life forever.  hopes and dreams got altered and today they’re traveling a new road that none of us would have ever dreamed this person would be on.  God is in control that’s true - and i believe the individual is trusting Him in new ways and at new levels of intimacy and grace that they’ve never before experienced.  and while i’m grateful for the hope that i know exists in this persons soul as they look to the future - i can’t help but think back (and i’m sure he can’t either) to the choice that was made.

 

a choice that changed everything.

 

and lest we forget - i know for a fact that if the individual were writing this they would tell you that the choice that REALLY “changed everything” was not the one that led to the recent incident . . . it was a choice made months ago; maybe even years ago.

 

and that’s the principle that we must consider in moments like these.  people don’t get up one day and say “today i’m going to ruin my life.”  we don’t just one day decide to make a choice that will strip us of all our hopes and dreams.

 

what we do is this. 

 

one day we decide to just give in a little. 

 

we make a “smaller choice” or a series of smaller choices that in time leads to a series of “medium choices” that in time leads to “huge choices” and the destruction of an entire life.  this sometimes can take place over the span of a few years - yet in other cases it can take place over the span of a few months.

 

as i’m sitting here typing this i’m thinking about many of you who i know and love - friends of mine who i know have hopes and dreams like me.  i’m begging you to make God honoring ”small choices” that will lead to obediant “medium choices” that will in time put you in a position to make “huge choices” that will preserve your life, deepen and broaden your impact and bring honor and glory to the God who wants to see your hopes and dreams fulfilled.

 

my grandpa would always tell me . . . a little compromise will always lead to a lot.

 

please choose well.

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we’re all punks

January 29, 2008 – 10:17 am

this past sunday morning following our second service i got to see and spend time with a family that is very dear to me.  the mom and dad are just a little younger than me and their kids are some of the best kids i’ve ever been around.  the family loves God deeply and they were an enormous encouragement to me for the several years that God had them here. 

they left Blackhawk a few years ago to pursue some new “life and ministry” opportunities in a town just a few hours away.

when they were leaving there were some concerns about the move - yet they truly sensed God’s hand in what they were doing and where they were going.  so they went and did what i knew they would - they served God with whole hearts and an unwavering passion . . . and things over time haven’t worked out. 

it’s a long and messy story that really has nothing to do with what’s on my heart.

what is on my heart is this.  with tears in their eyes on sunday morning they apologized to me for how they left.  to quote them they said, “we’re sorry for being such punks.  you wanted to help and we didn’t listen.”

i gave em the biggest hug i could and tried to reassure them of a couple things. #1 it was just sweet to be back together for a morning and enjoy the really sweet fellowship of koinanea. #2 that “lessons learned” are just part of life (philippians 1:6) and #3 that i loved them - a lot and was glad they were still learning.

here’s #4 - it came to me later that day.

i can be such a punk too. 

i can sit in meetings and think critically of other brothers and/or sisters as i “put up” with all they don’t know or all they don’t get.  i can be with people who have experienced a great deal more than me and exibit (internally) an unwillingness to learn or be challenged by them or their perspectives.  i can read a book and think “how stupid” or listen to a message on-line and say to myself “why would anyone ever listen to that”.  i can hear my own wife cry out to me in an effort to see me change - and not really listen.  i can hear my kids voice frustration with me at times and pridefully chalk it up to a “bad attitude that better change or else . . .”

i have so many things figured out.  i’ve come to so many conclusions in my life.  my years of experience and the skills and abilities that God has given me have brought about nothing shy of an “expertise” in numerous arenas.  i’m discerning and wise. 

i can be so prideful.

and when i am - and when you are - we can be such punks.  God can be waving flags right in front of us, begging us to reconsider, hoping that we’ll listen . . . yet too many times we’ve got this one figured out.

in the text that we were in this past sunday a.m. it said in 1 john 2 that we are to “test the spirits”.  in other words we’re to be very, very careful with what we choose or what we sense or feel is right.  and while the Word of God is always the best place to start -

sometimes he wants you to listen to others.  wise counsel. sometimes he wants me to learn from those that i’ve pridefully dismissed.  sometimes i should be more gracious and open to what God is saying through those he has in my life.

God i’m sorry for being such a punk.  

 

 

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when prodigals return

January 24, 2008 – 4:10 pm

i was in a meeting this morning with several local church leaders from here in ft. wayne and we had the privilege of hearing from a dear and profound gentleman from the UK who is giving himself completely to a ministry that helps people (parents especially) wrestle with the guilt and brokenness that comes with having lost a son or daughter to rebellion or a spiritually hardened heart.  they help those who have lost loved ones to the enemy’s offer.

 

Prodigals.

 

it was an incredibly compelling time and it caused me to think deeply and honestly about the reality of ”prodigals” in my own life and in the lives of countless others inside and outside the church today.  i sat there and wrote on my pad - “how many thousands are out there that just had enought and walked away?” 

 

i was once a prodigal. 

 

that’s right.  at the age of 18 i walked away from my family, my church and the God i thought i knew.  some very confusing and hurtful events that took place in my family and the subsequent pain that grew deep in my soul lead me to basically say, “screw it. I’m outta here.”

 

like the prodigal son in the gospels i bought in to the notion that somewhere off in the big city there had to be a better life.  somewhere away from my pain and dissapointment there had to be something or someone that would make me feel better.

 

that’s a longer story than i have time for right now - but this mornings meeting forced me again to ask some very important questions.

 

how many prodigals are out there right now in need of a genuine “no strings attached” invitation to come home?  how many mom’s and dad’s are out there dying each and every day the death that comes with a son or daughter who remains estranged?  parents covered in guilt and “what if’s” regarding their parental choices and strained relationships that they could just never get right.  how prepared or willing is the church to receive the prodigal back into our pews?  how ready are we to welcome them home with the “smell of their journey” still fresh in the air? 

 

the whole discussion left me wishing it was sunday so i could speak what was in my heart.  driving to my next appointment there were two things that the Spirit kept nudging me with.  two things that i couldn’t shake. 

 

the first was this.  the gentleman from the UK remided us that our heavenly Father who is a perfect “parent” has children who “walk away” every day.  God almighty has prodigals.  his point was that it’s not always a parents fault.  sometimes it happens because it happens.  sometime’s that’s what a young man or young woman chooses to do for a thousand other reasons.  we need to help parents lay down the guilt that i know many of them carry due to a wandering child that they assume wouldn’t be wandering if they had done their job.

 

the other thing i couldn’t shake was the posture of the father in the story of the prodigal son.  the text says that while the son (who was now filled with shame and regret and making the journey home to beg for a job as a slave) was “far off in the distance . . . the father saw him coming.”

 

the father was looking, hoping and ready.  just waiting for the opportunity to extend a hand of grace and offer this one he loved an unconditional embrace no matter the smell, the cost or the response of others. 

 

that’s another very compelling part to this story.  the response of the older brother.  it wasn’t good.  and sometimes we respond the same way.

 

but for more on that and many other insights from this story of the prodigal i’d like to invite to consider an experience you’ll never forget.  come and join this gentleman and his team from the UK here in ft. wayne on the IPFW campus in the Rhinehart Music Center on Saturday March 8 from 7-9:30pm for a night entitled “bringing home the prodigals”.  it’ll be a powerful night and i’m praying that God will enlighten and heal as we gather to celebrate the redemptive and reconciling heart of our God.

 

www.prodigals.org.uk/booking is the place to go for tickets. 

 

better get em quick.  there’s a lot of missing people in this town.

 

kelly

 

 

 

 

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i quit

January 11, 2008 – 9:13 am

that’s maybe not in this case what “I meant to say” but it’s what i felt like saying.

 

it was a recent conversation with someone who was so encouraged and excited they could hardly keep it in . . . he couldn’t wait to tell me about some families that were new to Blackhawk in the past 3 months and were now ready to call blackhawk their home and roll up their sleeves in whatever ways they could to help seeking people find and follow Christ.

 

specifically he wanted me to know what it was about the blackhawk experience that had so encouraged these people and helped them to come to this place of wanting to be here.

 

here’s what these families were so encouraged by.

the Sunday morning worship service

 

they talked about Korban’s authenticity and his calling our people to not just sing but to worship - and to worship biblically with hands and hearts raised to the King.  they loved learning new songs as well and appreciated getting to sing the older ones from time to time.

 

they seemed to enjoy my “honest” and “transparent” (their words not mine) approach to teaching the Scriptures.  they were grateful as well for a teaching time that was “more than a little 25 minute talk” and they said they often found themselves wishing that 12:15 would never come. 

 

one other thing that was mentioned was how much they appreciated an entire room full of people who were willing to walk an aisle and pray together at the end of the service. 

 

they were used to rigid and impersonal settings where people came and went often times without a word.  the thought of a pastor taking the time to pray for his congregation while another Christ follower’s hand was on their back praying for them as they walked out into a new week, stirred their hearts and left them feeling as if Blackhawk was comprised of people who actually cared for each other.

 

so you’re reading this thinking to yourself . . . “he wants to quit because people are saying this?”

 

let me clear up your confusion.  it was a different conversation i had just two days later that brought the pain.

 

in a nutshell here’s how it went.  

 

i was talking with another friend who was telling me about some people who have left our church.  he said it was important that i hear these things becasue he knew i’d want to do whatever i could to address ”the issues” that were driving people away. 

 

driving people away.

 

he said to me that really it all boiled down to one central issue

the Sunday morning worship service

 

“what’s with all the hands being raised” they asked.  “and why do we keep singing new songs?  why can’t we just sing the old ones that we know.” 

 

“and the messages.  not only are they not that good - they’re shallow and too long.  we’ve got places to go and things to do.  we need to be done and out the door by noon.”

 

and then lately my friend tells me they’ve experienced a new frustratioin.

 

“and what’s with kelly having us all come forward to pray?  all that does is add 5 more minutes to the service . . .  and besides who wants a strangers hand on their back.  we’re out-a-here.”

 

so there you have it.  what some love others can’t stand. sometimes it just makes me feel like cashing in my chips and going home. 

 

but i dont think i’m going to. 

 

i think i’ll keep at it.  i think i’ll keep listening and learning as best i can.

 

see you sunday.

 

kelly

 

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