City Love

Pretty excited for what is coming September 4! Five Wadsworth Churches are joining forces for a pretty cool afternoon of outreach to the community. We have nine different City Love stations around town that people will be serving at. The vision for this started last year. We started with one church and have now jumped to 5. My hope is that other church leaders in the community grab onto this momentum in years to come.

The event will end with a big ice cream sundae and time of celebration of what God has done in the gazebo area of downtown Wadsworth. Can't wait!

Worship without Obedience to Mission is something less than worship.

City Love

Pretty excited for the vision surrounding the event formerly known as Church ReVerb, that will this year be called "City Love".

The premise of the vision is that all the churches in the community would unite on a Sunday afternoon and do significant, vital ministry to the community to show that the church is alive and well.

The vision was laid out last year to about 5 churches in the community, and we were sort've the guinea pig trial run church in this experience. This year 10 churches came to hear the vision and so far three are on board to go for this. I love that collaboration is happening and while we targeted 30 churches in the community to cast the vision to, jumping from one congregation to three is an exciting first step.

There is always temptation to get discouraged, self-righteous or frustrated by 'turf wars' or disunity of Christ's Church, but I haven't really felt that at all. The bottom line is that we know that God is taking us here...so our responsibility remains solely to being faithful to that call. And as God moves, it seems obvious that His bride will want to move as well.

I'm expendable

And so are you.

God doesn't need you to accomplish what He is doing in the world, but He allows you opportunity to partner with His Kingdom and leverage your life for His purposes.

Its not about me. When I'm not careful, it is really easy to lose sight of this.

Narcissism is the worst kind of idolatry.

So, I need to stop thinking that I'm blessing God by being on His team and start being a blessing to the world He's called me to be poured out for.

Interesting article on Young Adult Ministry...or shameless self-promotion?

The East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church just released their Fall issue of their magazine "Joining Hands". Here is the link to the online article. Its on pages 4-5. The scholarly resource interviewed in this article has a great deal of insight, charm and manliness...if I do say so myself. haha.

Kenya help the Widow and the Orphan?

So, September 25 is a big day for Empower Worldwide Outreach, the organization that our young adults have partnered with the last two summers to go to Kenya. They have one primary fundraiser to help fund the day to day operations of the organization over in Kenya and this is it! It's Amazing Race, Ashland style. The game is based on the popular TV show. Teams of 4 will trek around Ashland (you don't need to be an Ashland native to succeed!), gather clues, accomplish tasks, figure out riddles and arrive safely at the end point trying to win the top prize! Even if you're lousy at all that, you still get a tee shirt and an amazing dinner at the end of the evening. It's from 3-8 p.m. and you can register your team at www.empowerworldwideoutreach.com.

I am on the board of the organization and I have been mandated from on high to bring 5 teams to compete in this, so I need your help!

Even if you can't make it, there's a second way you can help, which is by entering to win one of our raffle baskets!

I can appeal to the self indulgent stuff...that you'll enjoy yourself...eat amazing food...win prizes...but the reality is that if the funds aren't raised, it has a significant impact on whether grandmothers can take care of orphans in rural Kenya, give them food, pay for their school, get them out of the cycle of extreme poverty. I've seen it with my own eyes that it is really about life and death.

So help out. 3 reasons...1. the need is great in Kenya. 2. the fun you will have is substantial 3. I need to get 5 teams put together!

Mission Sunday

Getting excited to preach on Sunday for our Mission Sunday. It's one Sunday where we gather all the year's Mission Trips for a time of celebration of what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do next.

The problem with me getting excited to preach...is that I'm limited to between 10 and 15 minutes. It'd be easy to preach that if it wasn't something I was absolutely passionate about.

Anyways, I get a chance in this time to really lay out the plan for Church ReVerb which is quite honestly where the church is going in the next 25 years.

CHURCH ReVERB

So God is stirring something that I am pretty excited about. Its a movement where one Sunday in September, our church and potentially some other churches in the area will partner together, change things up and forego our normal Sunday morning worship routine. Instead of passing by the community so that we can gather to worship, we are going to put legs to our worship and go serve the community. There will be stations throughout the community that people can go serve at, ranging from prayer stations to habitat for humanity stations.

I'm excited because Jesus has a claim on the community of Wadsworth and wants all men to be saved.

I'm disappointed (though not surprised) at the amount of churches who have said 'no'.
From turf wars to having a sermon series they don't want to interrupt to one guy telling me that he would "never partner in anything ecumenical with damnable groups like Roman Catholics and Pentecostals".

I've always had a love/hate relationship with the church. I love the potential and I love when God births things in our midst and makes it the most creative place on earth. I hate when our doctrine, denominationalism and traditionalism lead us to disobedience to God's Spirit. I hate when we build motes where God seeks to build bridges. Now don't hear me saying that all denominations are the same...but the bottom line is that Christ is the heartbeat of the movement and if we can't acknowledge that His blood is flowing through His Body, then I think God grieves his bride. But whether we've got the support of 3 bodies of believers or 23, God is on the move.

CHURCH ReVERB...when God's people become God's movement so that hope will reverberate throughout the city.

You won't find Opposition if you're going with the grain

This might be the most important lesson our Kenya Team learned this year. If you're not pursuing radical obedience to God, then why would the adversary try to impede your progress?

So many people avoid taking any type of steps of faith, and then nothing happens in their life. So they end up with a luke warm faith that has little or no impact on their lives and their relationship with God is much the same.

My sister-in-law says that you spell FAITH R.I.S.K. and I'm inclined to agree. It was a risk to go to another country for the sake of the gospel.

And we met resistance. From plane delays and a near 2 day postponement to our initial flight, to lost luggage, to police and military security checks along the roadside, to frustration, negativity and disagreement within the team, to serious illness...we had a wide variety of obstacles.

But 15 kids going up to their school teacher after our group wrapped up their HIV-AIDS teaching and telling him that they wanted to make a decision to follow Jesus...that's what happens when obedience perseveres. Over 400 people receiving medical care at a medical camp for the underresourced...that's what happens when obedience perseveres...Massages given to grandmothers as old as 100 years of age, whose bodies were beaten, broken and deformed from years of selflessness...that's what happens when obedience perseveres. Bringing grief counseling to a group of women who never took the time to weep and grieve over loved ones they had buried and watching God open up their tear ducts so that they could finally deal with the loss of spouses, children, grandchildren and friends...that's what happens when obedience perseveres.

So the question we have to answer is what RISK God is calling us to for His glory and for His kingdom? And will we choose obedience or mediocrity?

All my bags are packed...

We may not be going to save the world from a giant asteroid...but we are going to share the hope of Christ. Here's 10 ways you can pray

1. Pray for team unity. We will only go as far and as deep as God takes us together. Pray that we would mesh supernaturally and that even in heated moments, we would work things out.

2. Pray for safe travels. I think we are clear of the volcano and clear of any cancellations due to British Airways strike.

3. Pray that we would be in mission en route to Kenya and not just in Kenya. There may be some flight attendant or passenger who God places in our path. Help us be attentive to how best to walk across the room.

4. Pray for Billy to capture God's vision and think about how best to capture it on video and still shot so that he can give voice to those who for too long have been voiceless.

5. Pray for the soccer initiative. Pray specifically that Devan and Logan would do more than just bring joy to kids because of a game. Pray that they could point the way to God and the ways to break the cycle of poverty.

6. Pray for the AIDS abstinence and awareness programs that Alicia and Carrie will be leading. Pray that the message would be grounded in Christ's message of hope and his plan and design for sex.

7. Pray for Skip and the grief counseling he will facilitate with the grandmothers who are caring for AIDS orphans. Many of these women have 0 income, they have buried multiple generations of family and are not sure where there next meal will come from. Pray for wisdom for Skip as he leads them toward emotional, psychological and spiritual healing.

8. Pray for Ben, Kathy, and Carrie as they meet and work with the leadership of EWO in Kenya. Give them discernment of where to dream, how to focus, and who to empower.

9. Pray for Brooke, Donna, and Simon who will take important roles medically as we initiate a medical camp on Saturday.

10. Pray for Shaina, Ben, Alicia, and Skip, who all may have roles in preaching/singing/testifying to God's glory on Sunday mornings in multiple churches.

All Systems Go.

If you weren't already excited about the Kenya trip...this will take you over the top.



Final Countdown, Baby!

I am excited for this expression of church

Canton Peace Day 2010 from Derek Urey on Vimeo.

What comes to mind when you watch this video?

God of Volcanoes, Airlines and Blue Skies

Well, God provided supernaturally for our team to be able to go on this Kenya mission trip. The financial ridiculousness of random people giving random amounts to meet our needs has proven yet again that when we take risks that are God led, there will be provision that is God fed.

With that said...everything is paid for...flights paid for...room and board paid for...the only thing left to do is get on the plane this Monday and fly for 20 hours.

And God is reminding me that we are dependant on his provision in more ways than financial resources. Now we need Him to be the God of volcanos and prevent any further eruptions that might cause our trip to Nairobi (via London) to be delayed.

We need Him to be the God of British Airways...who just last week went on strike causing 30% of the daily flights out of London-Heathrow to be cancelled...because the strike is to go to June 9 which has the potential to impact our travel. (So far our flight is slated to go.

It wouldn't hurt to have blue skies, as Bill, one of our team members has chosen Kenya as his first ever time in a plane...(Go big or go home right?).

So, join me in praying for this trip...first for travelling mercy, then for God to use us mightily. I don't want to come back from this trip with any reservations. I want us to be fully obedient to God's promptings even if that involves risk or discomfort. You can read the current article and follow our status at www.empowerworldwideoutreach.com

You are the least of these.

Matthew 25 is becoming a life forming passage for me. It's the sheep and the goats. The sheep are the good guys...they clothe the naked, feed the hungry, give the thirsty a drink, visit the imprisoned, welcome the homeless, and care for the sick. We are supposed to be sheep.

But here's the thing...Even when we're sheep we can get it wrong. Sometimes I am a sheep so that people can see my sheepishness. I want people to acknowledge how I serve the poor, help those in need...or I help others out of a spirit of haughtiness. I want them to note my ability and means to help them.

But what you and I both need to remember is that we are the least of these that Jesus was speaking about. He's covered our nakedness with grace. He's given us the bread of life. He's supplied us with living water. He has set us free from bondage. He's healed our infirmities. He's welcomed us home.

I want it to be clear as we wrap up the Sheep Initiative that it is not what we've done for God and for others...It's what God has done in, through and for us and others. Because what you and I do and who we are is nothing, compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.

I am just a beggar, trying to tell other beggars where to find food.

sheep initiative part 4

This Sunday's featured Sheep Initiative is Hunger. Jesus said "I was hungry and you gave me food" and that is exactly what we are seeking to do.

Our ministry partners are the Haven of Rest Ministries in Akron and Salvation Army in Wadsworth.

The goal is 1000 canned goods to be donated between the two sites. The measuring stick for this is simple...Mrs. Potato Head is in peril (suspended in mid air from the ceiling.) She is in serious need of rescue...which means her knight and shining armor, Mr. Potato Head is called to action. The only thing is that he needs a mountain built so that he can reach his damsel in distress. Every 25 canned good items that are brought in allow one industrial size aluminum can to be put in place to build the mountain. 40 of these cans will cause Mr. Potato Head to reach his bride.

We have just passed the halfway mark of the entire Sheep Initiative. And to date here are the numbers.

We've got about 2800 diapers on a goal of 3000!
We've got 98 malaria nets on a goal of 50!
We've got about 520 cans of food out of 1000
We've got 36 water jugs cleaned out of 80 (for a well to be dug in Liberia)!
We've got 70 kits assembled out of 100 for displaced people due to war and natural disaster!
We've got about 150 chains broken out of 400 for Bishop Hopkins' 3c's intiative.

We still have a ways to go on some of these, but Wadsworth UMC has rallied behind the cause of Jesus and I am so excited to see where these numbers end up!

If you want to contribute in any of these areas, drop off your donations or send them via mail to Wadsworth UMC c/o Sheep Initiative 195 Broad Street, Wadsworth, OH 44281.

God is doing immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. LOVE IT!

Sheep Initiative Part 3

Tomorrow we will be featuring our 3rd station of the Sheep Initiative, namely "Clothe". Jesus said, "When I was naked you gave me clothing" and that is exactly what we are seeking to do through our ministry partner Marian's Closet.

Marian's Closet is a Wadsworth clothing ministry for underresourced people. One of their greatest needs is diapers. So it only makes sense that we seek to meet this need for the Closet, but more importantly for these new mothers who are struggling mightily to make ends meet.

Some might say that giving out free diapers is "enabling" a spirit of poverty. But when these mothers can save that chunk of money each month and not have to spend it on diapers, suddenly they can make their rent, or get food on the table, or begin taking classes to get their ged or 2 year college degree...so a little gesture like diapers doesn't enable poverty, but it empowers the women to break the cycle.

The goal is simple...for every 100 diapers brought in, one diaper gets put on our clothesline. The goal is 30 diapers on the clothesline (3000 diapers total). If you want to help out with this. Order diapers online at places like diapers.com and have the order shipped to Wadsworth UMC 195 broad street in Wadsworth OH 44281.

The sizes that are needed are 3,4 and 5.

Really excited to feature this station on Mother's Day as a way to bless new mothers in our community

SHEEP INITIATIVE PART 2

Sheep Initiative Part Deux: "For I was thirsty and you gave me a drink." The second of our six featured stations for Operation:Sheep Initiative is called THIRST. Our goal is a God-sized goal...80 jugs of contaminated water, transformed to clean water with donations of $25 for each jug. 80 jugs purchased and cleaned = $2000 to donate to a well built in Liberia, where 60% of the country does not have access to clean drinking water.

It's about water...It's about the Church being less a noun that people go to and more a verb that goes to others!

Operation Sheep Initiative Underway!

Yesterday in church, we launched Operation:Sheep Initiative. It is 6 separate challenges to our church to do what sheep do (from Matthew 25:31ff).

Each week of our ReThink Church Series will highlight one of these six challenges, which I will then highlight on here.

The first of these six is Nothing But Nets. A person dies of Malaria every 30 seconds. Malaria is largely preventable if people in Africa had access to insect repellant mosquito nets. So in light of that, we are teaming up with Nothing But Nets, an organization founded by Rick Reilly (of ESPN and formerly of Sports Illustrated.) Our goal for this challenge is 50 nets paid for (each of which will cost $10.) You pay $10 and you get a shot at the Nothing But Nets Hoop. If you make that shot, a private donor will match your contribution!

You can learn more about Nothing But Nets at www.nothingbutnets.net

Or watch this video:

Divine Dining

Our mission teams wanted a more practical approach to fundraising this year, so we came up with something called Divine Dining. It is essentially a supper club where we have a menu that people sign up for meals and then the first Saturday of every month, the mission teams get together and assemble all the meals. Every menu option is freezable which makes it convenient for those days that you just don't have time or energy to cook.

It has been a fairly successful approach to fundraising and has simultaneously blessed families. One cool feature is that you can anonymously purchase meals for a family in need and we'll deliver them as a gift from the church. It has been neat to see how this has developed.

Anyways, if you have any interest in supporting our mission teams in Wadsworth, Cleveland, Iowa, NYC and Kenya, we could definitely use your help. I'd be glad to send a menu for April!

When Helping Hurts

I am also tackling a book called, "When Helping Hurts". It is a book about how best to approach ministering to the poor and oppressed. I have a feeling that it is going to be one of the more insightful books I've ever read and will soften my heart to our time in Kenya with AIDS stricken, poverty and disease riddled people who are made in the Image of God.

One powerful section of the book so far is on understanding poverty. If you were asked how you would define poverty, chances are it would differe greatly from how a grandmother in Africa, suffering with HIV and living on less than $1 a day.

Americans, because we have an abundance of basic and extravagant things, define poverty as lacking basic material things, but for the majority world, poverty is more about shame, about low self worth, about hopelessness than it is about lacking materials.

So if we go in and lavish things upon people without things and do nothing to care for them, love them, encourage them, we have not represented Christ. In fact, we may end up doing more harm than good, to them and to us.

Shift

We are not in a Christian culture.

This might be shocking to you.

In Ohio, the big news is that casinos are coming to the state, and I shudder to think of how the church will respond.

I'm sure many will shake their heads and point their finger saying that the world is going to pot. They will become porcupines...so worried that their own lives will be polluted that they will curl up and release their quills at the world.

Others will rally against the bad. Picketing, with anti-gambling jargon, catchy chants, and anger at those who are involved in the process of building, opening and running casinos.

Others will blame the government, the Republicans, the Democrats, the Dan Browns, the apathetic conservative voting contingent...and put a bumper sticker on their car that says 'don't blame me, I voted against casinos'.

But I woke up this morning...still indifferent to bipartisan politics...but pretty interested when I heard that the issue passed. My thought was not about the guys I know who already have serious gambling addictions. It wasn't about how the world's going to hell in a handbasket (whatever that means). You know what I whispered? "God what are you up to?"

The Church has a great opportunity to creatively and powerfully bring light into darkness. What is God going to accomplish with his bride synergized with his Spirit?

My prayer and I hope yours too, is not, "oh God rid the world of evil" but instead, "Oh God, let me be a part of overcoming evil with good." Because we never win when we try to fight evil...you notice that? It usually makes the church stoop to new lows that do nothing to bring God fame, and do everything to damage His message of reconciliation and love.

So recognize evil for what it is...but don't point your finger at it, scold it, or curse at it for being evil. Don't make your life cause fighting evil, getting casinos or prostitution or drugs or violence out of your town...JUST ASK GOD HOW HE WANTS TO OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD AND THEN JOIN HIM IN THAT JOURNEY.

For God's sake, be the Church.