Tomorrow is my sabbath. Here are some thoughts I will be setting my mind to think on during my times of prayer.
SABBATH QUOTES ON FOCUS
Author: joseph elon lillie
PREPARE OUR HOMES PT. 3
This year as our church HAS been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
seven prepare statements will be broken down into a series of brief devotionals we as a church will be learning to implement over the span of 2024.
Devotion # 9- Prepare your plans (your structures, infrastructures and plans)
When we talk about preparing our plans what are we talking about? We are talking about our mission, our vision, our core values and the execution of those things.
Let’s refresh our memory about the writing on the wall. Cornerstone’s vision is literally written on the walls of Cornerstone Church.
OUR PURPOSE: Souls Saved and Lives Changed! How are you doing in this arena? Are people coming to Jesus because of your witness? Are lives being changed because of something you are doing?
OUR VISION: To know Jesus and to make Him Known! How are we doing? Are people coming to know Jesus in relationship because of us? Because of you?
OUR MISSION: While doing life together • We will Reach the Lost • By Sending the Found • As We Discover Our Gifts • To Change this World! Three years ago we began doing life together with each other in DLT groups. Two years ago we began reaching out to our community to do life together with them. This year we must really begin to understand and use our gifts in community to change the worlds around us. THIS YEAR WE ARE SENDING THE FOUND DEEPER INTO COMMUNITY.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE GOD IS SENDING YOU?
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GIFT IS AND HOW TO USE IT ONCE YOU ARE IN THE PLACE GOD WOULD SEND YOU?
An Icy Parade Of Palms
We had an ice storm over night.
The day dawned bright, sunny and cold.
Nature decorated our Palm Sunday service with diamonds in the trees. Some of the towns in our area lost power due to power lines downed by ice laden trees.
I was a little worried it would be too cold for the Parade of Palms our local council of churches had planned.
But by noon the sun had warmed things up nicely.
About 70 people….family and friends gathered with palms in hand to march up our Central St. behind a donkey to commemorate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.
We finished with prayers by the clergy for our town. I got to pray.
Rabbi Ken prayed in Hebrew.
Jon Bauver the director of The Worship Room House of Prayer prayed.
Father Henry from Immaculate Heart prayed.
Finally Pastor Calvin Miller the coordinator of our event closed us out.
How Did You Spend Your Palm Sunday.?
WEEKEND COFFEE SHARE FROM THE VICARAGE
If we were sharing coffee today at the Vicarage, you would be drinking a strong generic French Roast from Market Basket. It is strong because I put an extra scoop (to two) in the basket. We would also be sharing any number of pastries from our kitchen: Coffee cake, Apple Fritters, Donuts, Turnovers. The congregation is keeping us well stocked during this season of my mother’s hospice.
Brenda, Joe, Kristine and I have worked hard this week to take care of Mom and Sevy.
Amanda,Melanie, James and the girls were vacationing in Pennsylvania.
I would share with you that it was a good week. I got a lot of work done from home. I even got to take some time on Thursday night to pray at the worship room.
Well everyone is back home safely now. Brenda, Mom and I are watching Dr. Dolittle (well Mom is sleeping peacefully through Dr. Dolittle) while the kids are playing Everdell in the other room.
Next week, starting tomorrow, promises to be busy. So today is rest up day and get ready day. What is your day like?
Freezing Flower Of Promise
Soooo cold….. It is 19 degrees with a windchill on this fine Spring day. To top it off we have 2- 4 inches of snow coming tonight.
But it its Spring and I am thinking of gardens. I really want to work outdoors this Spring and summer. To clean up. To burn brush. To plant. To water. To weed even. And to harvest!
At this time of year Spring snows are to be expected, even if they are never welcomed. The promise and the hope, of course, is that the snow will not last. It will come and it will go as do all of life’s trials. The roses will bloom again. Until then we hold onto the hope of flowers yet to grow and the memory of flowers faded and passed like the one above.
HERE IS A SONG ABOUT ALL THAT.
THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO CEE’S FLOWER OF THE DAY CHALLENGE.
Spring Festival 2024 Week 1
THIS POST IS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO DAWN’S SPRING FESTIVAL CHALLENGE.
Well it is early Spring in New England. The temperature today is 30. With the wind it feels like 15.
The Vicarage is soooo ready for some warmth and some color.
Still there is hope.
Soon the world will be green again.
In the meantime it’s time to clean up from the winter
TRAINING WHEELS COMING OFF
In my last coaching session I used a couple of similes to describe how my mother’s hospice care makes me feel. I said it makes me feel like Nemo at the edge of the reef staring out at the open ocean.
I also said it felt like the training wheels were about to come off of my bicycle.
In ministry, I have always struggled with not getting consumed by the expectations of others. It has been hard to navigate the waters of what other people think I should be doing as. minister. I have a problem with approval addiction.
Since I moved in with my mother over a decade ago, her health has been a concern and a governor for the amount of ministry I could do. As her health has declined over these last three or four years the ministry has become more governed. I have had to prioritize the things I really felt God telling me to do, THE FOUR THINGS, and let the rest of people’s expectations go.
Now as our family faces Mom’s passing I am faced with a question about how I will navigate ministry after her passing. Without her health concerns to guard, guide and keep me focused, will I fall back into old habits of being consumed by the ministry expectations of others? Will the old monster of approval addiction once again rear its ugly head and take control of how I work?
My coach asked me a good question in my last session with him: “What will be the new governors of your ministry work?”
I do worry about my ability to say “No!”
I do worry that my agenda will not be enough.
I know I need an intentionally thought out plan or I may just go back to…. old ways….old days.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU USE TO KEEP YOURSELF FROM GETTING DISTRACTED?
SABBATH THOUGHTS ON HOPE
Today I am preparing my heart for what passes as Sabbath these days. That will be tomorrow; So today I am making a list of thoughts I will be meditating on as I pass through my times of prayer on the morrow.
PREPARING OUR HOMES PT. 2
As 2024 began The Lord gave Cornerstone Church a directive we are calling the congregational sentence. It reads: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
Over the course of the next several weeks these seven “prepare statements” will be broken down into 21 weekly devotionals. This is devotional number 8 in our series. It is entitled,
Prepare your infrastructures (your structures, infrastructures and plans)
There is a certain sense, when we talk about preparing our structures that we understand we are talking about very practical activities. We understand it means to clean our bathrooms before company arrives. It means to stock up on some extra groceries in expectation of guests. We can even understand the very practical nature of preparing our hearts to be more intentionally welcoming when guests arrive at our church door(make sure you introduce yourself to the new people). But what does to mean to prepare our infrastructures? What even is an infrastructure?
Infrastructure-the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities of a community.
In community/ church life there are three kinds of Infrastructures we are concerned with preparing:
1. SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE- THESE ARE OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS. IN PREPARING THESE WE ARE STRENGTHENING THE CONGREGANTS HEART OF GENEROSITY AND THE LEADERSHIP SYSTEMS CONCERNING STEWARDSHIP OR GIFT MANAGEMENT. AS WE PREPARE WE CONFRONT THE STRONGHOLDS OF POVERTY, SELF-CENTEREDNESS AND ENTITLEMENT.
2. HARD INFRASTRUCTURE-
THESE INCLUDE OUR CHURCHES FACILITIES, ACCESS AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS.
HOW EASY IS IT FOR OUR PEOPLE TO GET INTO AND OUT OF THE CHURCH BUILDING? HOW EASY IS IT FOR NEW PEOPLE TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND THE BUILDING?
WHAT IF A PERSON CANNOT DRIVE OR HAS NO CAR? CAN THEY COME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY? CAN THEY COME TO YOUR DLT GROUP? HOW?
HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE IMPORTANT NEWS IN OUR CONGREGATION? IS OUR METHOD EFFECTIVE?
3. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE- THESE WE WILL DEFINE AS OUR EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. HOW DO WE FUNCTION IN AN INTERNAL EMERGENCY? HOW DO WE RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY A COMMUNITY WIDE EMERGENCY?
WHAT ARE OUR SECURITY PROTOCOLS?
SHOULD OUR COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE SOME SORT OF DISASTER ARE WE PREPARED TO INTENTIONALLY HELP? HOW?
IN LIGHT OF THESE QUESTIONS WHAT QUESTIONS COME UP IN YOUR HEART? WHAT ARE YOU PRAYING FOR TODAY CONCERNING OUR INFRASTRUCTURES?
FOUR THINGS
As I have been in my place of contemplation during the days of my Mom’s hospice care, I have come to realize that as a minister I am focused on four things.
The first focus of this part of my work is prayer. By prayer I mean five to six hours a day of deep abiding prayer. It has become my call and when I miss one of my prayer sessions I feel it.
The second focus of this work is the study of the Word of God, the Bible, and teaching it.
The third focus of this part of my ministry, is congregational visitation. One of the directives I feel God has set for me is to sit with every congregational member in an order for the purpose of encouraging and giving spiritual direction. This is not hospital visitation or counseling it is not crisis intervention. I feel I will be writing more about my ideas concerning crisis visiting in the future. In fact I am making a note of it right now. Suffice it to say, that crisis visits are a part of my work but not a focus of it. My focus is just visiting and being in the lives of the church body. Being a rather severe introvert I am surprised by how much I am enjoying this focus of the ministry.
The final focus of my work just now is leadership development. My desire is to see a second tier of leaders raised up in Cornerstone to replace those aging out of leadership (including myself) and to fill the slots of growing outreach in the community.
As my coach says, “What you say ‘Yes’ to automatically makes you say ‘No’ to other things.” So this is what I need to say yes to. It is what I have been saying yes to during the last three years and as I launch into the deep beyond THIS NEW THRESHOLD, I feel like I will be saying yes to these four things in an ever increasing measure.
WHAT IS YOUR BURNING YES?
Notes From the Vicarage 