Our Lives

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 3
Dear Friend, One of the loveliest comments in the writings of the Apostle Paul is his word to the Christians in the town of Thessalonica:                                          “So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”  I Thessalonians 2:8 You immediately see these people were people to Paul and not merely objects, students, customers, patients, or parishioners to whom he had something to offer but with whom he had no relationship. Indeed he had a very deep and personal friendship with them and makes it clear they were so dear that he and his team not only shared the good news about Jesus but entered into the complexities that come of shared personal lives. It’s a joy and a calling for each of us to teach and share the truth and wonders of God’s Word to people. Never forget, however, that they are people who long to be known personally.  Enter into their complex lives as you come alongside and share your own personal life with them. One joyful way to read what the apostle wrote is to re-read it and ask yourself if Jesus would say the same words, “So deeply do I care for you that I am determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also my own self, because you have become very dear to me.” You see immediately that is exactly what Jesus would say, exactly what he did do, and precisely what you and I are invited to do as well.
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
To view archived issues and to subscribe:  www.buildingoneanother.org

Turn Serve Wait

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 2
Dear Friend, Occasionally while reading Scripture for the shear pleasure of opening ourselves to a word from the Lord who loves us we come across a wonderful pithy summary of the life of faith. I Thessalonians 1:9-10 is just such a succinct word: “For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.”I Thessalonians 1:9-10* The apostle Paul was explaining how the people of Macedonia summarized the response of the people of the town of Thessalonica to the good news about the person of Jesus. They turned – from idols.           They served – a living and true God (that is to say the            real God).                     They waited – for Jesus (the Jesus whom the real                     God raised from the dead).   What a wonderful summary of the entire Christian life. In your life – make the “turn” from that which is less than the God who loves you – choose to “serve” the God who loves you – and between now and the time you are face to face with Jesus – “wait” for him in trust in him. May the one who rescues us from the wrath to come encourage your heart this day.
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
To view archived issues and to subscribe:  www.buildingoneanother.org

A Church Leadership Idea

In the Acts 16:5 Initiative, we often speak about developing church leaders.  One simple way we develop leaders in the church I serve is through a one-hour, monthly meeting we call, “Council.”  On the first Tuesday of every month our elders, deacons, ministry team leaders, and staff gather in the same room.  The Council agenda each month has two parts.

For the first 30 minutes, we talk about leadership.  The discussion may come from a book excerpt, a magazine piece I give them, a You Tube video I show them, or a leadership-related question I pose to them.  For 30 minutes we talk about leadership as it applies to our role as leaders in our congregation. 

These conversations are always engaging and fruitful. 

For the second 30 minutes, I work through a list of current church topics I want our leaders to know about or about which I want to receive their feedback.  This list might include everything from a review of the Christmas Eve services; to information about an upcoming sermon series; a monthly update on youth ministry; or a reminder to get their annual team goals submitted by the end of the month.  In other words, it’s a time to keep us all on the “same page” of church life.

Just this month, I included a new piece to our Council meeting.  Last Tuesday, with about ten minutes left in the hour-long meeting, I directed them to the back page of the agenda on which I had printed about 25 church-related items for prayer.  I then asked them to spread out in the room in groups of two or three and spend the final few minutes in prayer for our congregation using the listed topics as a guide.  It was moving to participate in and listen to the many prayers of our leaders being lifted up in those final minutes of Council. 

So moving, we’ll do it again next month!

By the way, I encourage our ministry teams to meet the same night as Council.  So, Council meets from 7-8 pm, and then, ministry teams meet from 8-9 pm.  In this model, then, our leaders come out one night for two meetings.  They (and I!) appreciate this more efficient use of time.  Our monthly meeting schedule also allows me to easily touch-in with all of our teams on a regular basis.  I rotate from team meeting to team meeting from 8-9 pm offering support and input.

A Council meeting night like I just described will take some time to introduce and become part of the fabric of church life.  But after many years of practicing this simple monthly pattern of meeting with our leaders, it has become the best ongoing opportunity I have to encourage their growth in church leadership.   

With joy,

Steve Ebling

We Are Chosen, And...

The other day I was going through my morning devotion and one of the texts for reading and prayer was John 15:12-17.  This chapter of the Gospel of John contains Jesus’ commandment to love one another.  Verse 16 jumped out at me, and with this being a new year, I thought it would be a good memory verse to undergird the year.

You did not choose me but I chose you.

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit,

fruit that will last,

so that the Father will give you

whatever you ask in my name.

We are chosen and loved.  The love is of God.  Because we know God first loved us, we are invited to be in relationship with God in Christ and also with the human race.  In relationship we are called to bear fruit that is not the throw away kind that our society often espouses.  It is fruit that will match the deep and abiding love of God.  On top of that, when we pray for fruit that will last, God will give it graciously in Jesus’ name.

The fact that we are chosen is only the beginning.  It’s the part about the relationships and tasks to which we are asked to engage that the going gets harder.  Jesus says we will never be alone when we have to love the unlovely and when we are asked to endure something difficult for his sake.

I am going to be more intentional this year about praying to God so that the fruit I bear, by God’s grace, will be of the lasting kind.  Perhaps you could join me in that endeavor.  Someone once told me that when you meditate on a verse like this and say it slowly in your mind, it drops like pearls into your deepest being.  May it be so for you and for me.

In Christ,

Anne Clifton H

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GPS and the Acts 16:5 Initiative's Principles

Not too long ago, I was driving somewhere I’d never been before.  I did not have a GPS, but I did have directions courtesy of Googlemaps.  I was doing fine for a while, but then, even though I was following the directions, I began to get the feeling that I had missed something.  That something wasn’t right.  Maybe there was a mistake in the directions I had.  Maybe I had missed a turn.  I kept checking the directions and I seemed to be following them, but I still had the feeling I was off-track.  The road I was on just didn’t look like I thought it should look.  It didn’t feel like I was making progress toward my destination.  It seemed to be taking longer than it should.  I was tempted to turn off on a road that seemed like it would get me where I was going faster.  But I resisted that urge and kept on following the directions I had. And just shortly after that, it became clear that the way I was going was the right way.  The directions I had were correct.  I just had to keep going, keep following them, even though it felt like maybe I wasn’t going the right way.

I think this happens sometimes when we are in the midst of engaging the principles and practices of Acts 16:5.  We have good directions.  The gatherings and manuals provide a GPS of sorts for the journey we embark upon when we begin the adventure of the Acts 16:5 Initiative.  But then we start to dream about what God wants to do in our church.  We get excited about the vision God gives us, and we begin to map out directions towards that vision.  We get a few Action Learning Teams working on opportunities and challenges we see around us.  

And then it happens:  we don’t feel like we are making progress toward the vision.  The way we are heading doesn’t look right, doesn’t feel right.  Maybe we had missed a turn.  Maybe our directions weren’t good.  And we begin to second-guess the directions and either turn back the way we came or turn onto another route.

When you get to this place—and you surely will get here at some point—let me offer you some advice:  Keep going!  Trust the directions—the principles and practices detailed for you in the manuals and the gatherings.   They have worked for many, many churches as tools for vitality and growth. 

Sometimes God does have to ‘recalculate’ our directions because we’re working with a faulty map.  But very often we have a good map, but we fail to trust that map, a map that—if we continue to follow it, in spite of how it looks or how we feel or how difficult the route—will get us to where God wants us to go.

So take the adventure God has for you!  And trust the directions.  They will lead to vitality and renewal and new possibilities in your church and community.

Wishing you JOY for the journey!

Kathi Busch

Wonder-Full

Building One Another - Vol. 10, No. 29
Dear Friend, When is the last time something so moved you that you simply felt “wonder?” A month ago I looked into the eyes of my then six-week old granddaughter.  It was wonderful. She is wonderful.  I was simply full of wonder! After the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds who went to Bethlehem to see Joseph, Mary and the baby, “they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:17-19 The people were amazed and Mary treasured and pondered the shepherd’s words.  All of them were wonder-full. I urge you this Christmas week to take a time-out from your busy life.  Simply reflect on the story of the birth of Jesus and allow yourself to get in touch with the wonder of the moment. May you be wonder-full of this Lord who loves you!
Merry Christmas - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
To view archived issues and to subscribe:  www.buildingoneanother.org

LOL

Do you know that LOL is now an official word?!  It’s true: as of March of this year, LOL can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary.  We use it all the time in our texts and emails and social media:  we’re ‘laughing out loud.’  But of course, the person to whom we are writing it can’t hear us laughing or share our laughter with us, because we’re not actually together.

I’d like to propose another meaning for LOL, a way to describe the Defining Practice we call the With-Me Principle.  LOL means Life on Life.  Our lives as followers of Jesus are not meant to take place in isolation or even in the artificial kind of community we experience on Facebook.  Our lives as disciples are meant to be lived Life on Life.  Jesus' life on my life, my life on your life, your life on my life, and our lives on the lives of those in our communities and even the world.  Our God is the ‘with us’ God, and He created us to live a ‘with me’ life:  to experience deep communion with God and deep community with one another.  It’s LOL:  Life on Life.

So who are the people you have invited to be with you?  Who do you LOL with?  Are you in a small group or a one on one or two accountability group?  Maybe the Ministry Team in which you serve is intentionally working the ‘with me’ principle into what they do.  Whatever you do and in whatever setting—home, work, neighborhood, or church—make sure you LOL a lot!  Invite someone to be with you, to share life on life experiences together.  Not only will you grow and learn together, but I’m sure there will be lots of LOL, too!

With joy,

Kathi Busch