MINISTRY

Developing

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My motto for this year is SHIFT YOUR FOCUS TO WONDER. In sharing that with my artist’s group back in January one of our artists wondered what God meant by wonder… that is, was I supposed to shift my focus towards looking at awe-inspiring things? Or was I supposed to shift my focus to ponder things more?

Now that I am in my third month of “SHIFTING”, I think God meant a little of both. On January 13th my sister and I embarked on a 10 day journey to The Philippines to attend my son’s marriage to Kristine Bernadette Causing Barrameda.

Those 10 days filled me with awe for sure.

I was awestruck by the fact that I was being privileged to witness such a sacred moment in the life of someone I had actually helped bring into the world.

I could not be prouder of the man he has become. I could not be more honored that a family a world away has entrusted us with the care of their beautiful daughter. I am awestruck that God has chosen to add another godly young woman full of talent and power to our family.

During that time I was often struck dumb by the overwhelming beauty of my daughter-in-law’s homeland. And I was floored by the total otherness of this place called The Philippines. Kristine said in the wedding video that she and Joe were from different worlds and she was completely truthful when she said it.

But during those 10 days in the developing nation that is The Philippines I was more than awestruck. I was left to ponder what God was and is DEVELOPING in me. Honestly, to my way of thinking what is transpiring inside of me is as foreign to my knowing as The Philippines was to my experience.

I am daily aware of the fact that my current spiritual reality is new ground for me. I have no memory of this place and precious little context to explain it.

I have often said to my boss that what God is going to do in our church may leave us looking somewhat unchurchy. If that is so for our congregation, it means that as individuals we are going to experience things that take us out of our understandings of who and what we have been. That is certainly something that might require some wondering.

I am mindful that historically, most powerful moves of God leave the people involved scratching their heads. As those moves DEVELOP people are left to fall back on the only thing that doesn’t change in the midst of life-altering change. That would be the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Well I am wondering at what God is doing in my life this year and I am wondering what to do about it. In all the wondering I am securing myself to God who is showing me through prayer, through the solid ground of His Word, the Bible and through the fellowship of believers. In that security I am DEVELOPING into the new thing that God wants me to be, in order to do the new thing that He expects from me as a part of Cornerstone Church.

Now what has God shown me in the midst of all this wondering……

A New Way

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Our fellowship has a very structured method for our member missionaries to raise funds. When Brenda came home last April she jumped right into using that method and following the rules to the “T”. While not great rule lovers we Lillies tend to be pretty stringent rule followers in most things.

Sadly the rules which are set up and which work for many of our member missionaries do not work well for all and they didn’t work at all for Brenda. She was actually losing money and driving herself nuts (literally) in the process.

Come October she was emotionally and spiritually exhausted and everyone who knew her understood that she could not go on with the process as it stood. Brenda’s leadership gave her three months sabbatical. Brenda used that time to pray and recuperate.

During that time God gave her an idea for a new play called “My Hiding Place.” The play is about a real life Christian heroine of the twentieth century, Corrie TenBoom. Brenda got permission from the TenBoom museum to write and perform the piece and began setting up shows for her return to ministry.

The show has made all the difference. It has activated Brenda’s creative bent and hitched it to the fundraising need. Bookings have begun to come in and the show is a roaring success. I have seen it three times now and each time I am moved to tears. Further the anointing is on this thing. 14 people have received Christ since the beginning of the year and Brenda has prayed with a host of people who profess Christianity but continue to walk in bitterness and unforgiveness.

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Here is Brenda’s booking schedule. She is currently looking at breaking out of New England she is currently working on a tour of some Southern States and Pennsylvania. Anyone interested?

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The Skinny

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So I haven’t posted here in a while. The skinny is that I have been keeping myself busy with distractions. Well, at least they are distractions now. You know how it is. Yesterday’s priorities can easily become today’s distractions.

A few months ago God told me He was going to be shifting my focus and that I would be entering a new season of life. In December He clarified that a bit with these words which have become my words for the year :“Shift focus to wonder.”

I guess I didn’t anticipate how hard it was going to be to shift my focus and to begin to concentrate on the new priorities God has given me. I also didn’t realize how much I have allowed other people to make decisions about what the important things in my life are. God warned me that people wouldn’t understand.

When Mom’s health took a turn, I understood that as the gateway to the changes. Everyone has been so supportive. It has been arranged that I should work more from home. Things have been put in place to make all that possible. Everything should be going so smoothly but I can’t seem to adjust to this new rhythm I am called to. The problem is me you see. I am finding it hard to say “No” to the things I used to say “Yes” to. I am having trouble giving up my freedom to use my time however I want to.

I was chatting with my boss the other day and telling him how I would love to join a certain committee in town, but that I really need to be careful of my commitments now. It made me kind of sad and yet at the same time felt like destiny was being unleashed.

I understand this is an exercise in crucifixion, a dying of a part of me that has to die. Yet I miss this free part of myself everyday and so I keep resurrecting it.

I know I must decrease so that He might increase. I must surrender my plans so that His plans might be accomplished, but honestly I really loved my plans. And here’s the other thing. People don’t understand. They have gotten used to me following a certain pathway and being a certain way and pursuing life a certain way. I have revealed to them intrinsically over years…even decades that I consider my ministry to be a certain way and they don’t yet know that the ministry plan has changed. The world around me can do nothing else but encourage me to keep going after the same old plan. They don’t fully see that God has made a change and that a new plan exists for me…for the church.

My sister asked me the other day how she could help me make this adjustment and I honestly don’t know. I have to get the new rhythm myself before I can play it for others. I think my time with my Son and Daughter-in-law in the Philippines really began to clarify for me the size of the change which was upon me. I understand now it is going to take me a little while to figure it all out. I think I am becoming better every day with understanding and implementing the changes.

Here are two things I know:

  1. My changes are just a part of a much larger change God is bringing to our church.
  2. Watch out world! Once I figure out this new rhythm I feel like a new level of effectiveness and achievement is going to kick in quickly, not just for me but for all the people God is moving me out of the way to release into their proper places.

QUESTIONS?

A Very Busy Weekend.

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It was such a busy weekend at the Vicarage, I haven’t finished all the work it created yet…and it is almost Thursday. Part of that work is this post which I started writing on Monday morning and had to keep putting off until now.

The sad thing about getting behind like this is that life events don’t just stop so you can catch up. Oh no! They just keep rolling in so the work you didn’t get done when it was supposed to be done, keeps getting pushed back behind the work that you have to do today until saying things like “It was a very busy weekend”, really don’t matter because it is almost next weekend.

But I really want to tell you about the weekend we had here at the Vicarage.

Amanda started the weekend off when one of her friends who works at an adult dayhab in our area was burned out of her home. Amanda put out the call for clothing and essentials and spent a good deal of time gathering those items for delivery this week.

In the meantime Brenda left for a weekend tour of Connecticut. She performed her show, My Hiding Place, in Bristol on Friday night, taught a teen seminar in Greenwich on Saturday, and then preached twice on Sunday in Farmington.

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Monday she started jury duty and got selected for a case she has been sitting panel for since.

For myself, I have been holding down the home front. Saturday our artist’s community set up an art show at one of the local libraries.

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Sunday of course was church and then housework. I think I did something like nine loads of laundry this week! Of course none of us including the people who stayed here in Massachusetts have yet recovered fully from our trip to the Philippines. Some things have changed with Mom since we left and that leaves us all a little worried about her health.

So we watch and wait and work and wonder what is coming next for the ministers of the Vicarage. In the end, we can only deal with things as they come along. All of us are learning to just live in the moment and rejoice in the busyness and the blessedness of serving God in it.

Rushing Headlong!

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Well the count down has begun! We are now just over two days from our trip to The Philippines to take part in Kristine and Joe’s wedding.

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The preparation to leave has our heads spinning. I typed out the list on how to manage the house for Amanda and Melanie who will be caring for Mom Jacopo, Mercedes and the Vicarage while Brenda and I are away. I have sat with the families from the church who will be helping them out during our away time. I picked up Mom’s meds, did some grocery shopping, got money out of the bank for their needs while I am away, bought the dog food and the bird food and the cat food. I still have to clean my car, do the bills, pack and clean my office.

But as the time approaches Brenda and I are reminded that our leaving for there does not mean life stops here. So much is going on this weekend and in our absence.

Brenda’s show debuted last night to rave reviews! It is a powerful show folks. If your church or community would like to book this show you can contact Brenda at Brenda J. Lillie For the Netherlands on Facebook.

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Meanwhile our church is getting ready for 21 days of fasting and prayer. I feel like this is one of the most important moments in our church’s history.

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Today after we open the 24/7 prayer and fasting I am heading off to Special Touch Ministries for our monthly gathering in Westminster. Then I have the 11P.M. – 1A.M. shift at prayer

Tomorrow, Brenda is preaching in Taunton MA and I am leading worship at Cornerstone and then Amanda, my Nephew Tyler and I are heading off on a little journey to wrap things up before Brenda and I take off on Monday for…

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Born And Bred Pt. 2

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The Vicarage is what we call our home. We call it that because it is a place where we three ministers of the gospel live. I know…I know…we are not really vicars but I couldn’t bear the thought of calling our little cottage the parsonage. It just doesn’t ring right. It is not just the place where we live though. It is the place where we ministers have grown up. Actually there have been Lillie’s on this block in our tiny town since the year 1940. From my back yard I can see the house where my father grew up.

But the Vicarage is not the Vicarage just because we live there. This old house has housed ministers of three different churches over the course of its life. God keeps putting His men in this house and I have to believe there is a reason for that. We have a purpose here in little Winchendon. We have a job to do which has been assigned by God. He has provided us a space from which to do it. The present troubles facing us do not compare to the power of the promise we have been given.

So no matter what may come, we will carry on.

My Hiding Place

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When last we spoke, one of the things I told you was that Brenda was put on sabbatical after her conferences in August. Her leadership told her she needed to take off through the end of October. I was relieved because she was emotionally and spiritually exhausted (and anyone who has ever done the work of full time ministry knows how difficult spiritual exhaustion can be).

During her time away from the itineration trail Brenda sought spiritual guidance and spent a lot of time praying. The Lord led her during that time to write a one woman show based on the life of Corrie TenBoom one of the 20th century’s great heroes of the faith. Corrie Tenboom’s name rises to the level of Graham, Bon Hoeffer, Elliot and Mother Theresa.

That show is almost ready to go up. The first production will be on January 10th. I have sat through two workshops of the play and a few rehersals. It is gripping.

As Brenda once again hits the itineration trail she is offering the show as an outreach to churches and civic groups. Here is a snippet she did for our church during the month of November. She was out of costume but worked it into a presentation she gave to our church. The full production is being hosted at Cornerstone in April.

Brenda is travelling across Southern New England with the show and is also looking at a tour in Michigan. She is wiling to tour your area as well and will come for the cost of travel and a love offering. If you would like to book her contact me in the comments section below.

Shift Focus To Wonder

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I spend the last few weeks of every year praying for a future word from God for the next year.

A few years ago the word was “Prepare for change.”. By April our church had lost its Lead Pastor, Children’s Pastor and Youth Pastor. Before the year was out we had welcomed in new people to all three positions.

Last year my word was directly from Scripture, Psalm 144:1 to be exact,

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

The year turned out to be one of the most difficult our church has faced.

This year the words came about two weeks before Christmas, “Shift your focus to wonder.”.

So much has changed, there has been so much battle these last few years and yet I know there has been purpose in all of it. God has been doing a remarkable work of restoration in my life which I was unaware I needed. God has been doing a wonderful work of restoration in our church which we were likewise unaware we needed. But the temptation to get our eyes focused on the spiritual pruning, which happens through difficulty, is great.

I believe the time has come to shift our eyes away from all the turmoil which has gone on among us. I believe God is about to do something great in my life and in our little church and that means the time has come to shift our focus to wonder.

As the year closed out the ministers of the Vicarage were honored to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of our longest tenured staff member, Wendy Brouillet.

Wendy has been the main desk receptionist at Cornerstone for more than half her marriage to Roger! Both of those things are amazing feats!

In a few week’s time Brenda and I will head to the Philippines to attend the wedding of my son Joe and his fiance Kristine.

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My daughters will be staying with my mother during that time and the church will embark on what I am believing is going to be one of its greatest spiritual adventures. Cornerstone will be hosting 21 days of 24/7 prayer and fasting.

Our times are perilous and yet full of the greatest wonder. We all get to choose what we look at. What will you focus on this year?

Born and Bred Pt. 1

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I was looking at my feed history just a few minutes ago and it strikes me that I haven’t really updated you on life at the Vicarage since August. So much water under the bridge since then!

Brenda and I went to Florida where she attended General Council and the World Missions Summit, while I vacationed.

Then Brenda went on a brief Sabbatical, for her health, in the fall. During that time things began to change for my mother. Dementia has taken a much stronger hand in her life and we have had to make some choices as a family.

I am working more from home now and shifting focus of ministry. Even the church has entered a new phase of its life and the leadership of the church has had to embrace the idea of reinvention to move into the future. That has caused much consternation among the old guard of the church. As one of the few originals of the church left ( I have been there since the founding) I know that the choices we are making are the right ones for the church, but it is still painful saying good-bye to old friends.

I have my marching orders from the Lord and I am determined to see them through…No matter what.

In the midst of all the changes and all the happenings stands this old homestead, The Vicarage. It has stood for a hundred and thirty odd years and has stood a silent witness to this little town through many more changes than I am facing right now.

Somehow that knowledge is comforting. There are things that stand the test of time. Things that are not as easily shaken as the moment. And there is ONE who will never be shaken by anything at all. I am reminded as I write tonight that He is my foundation. I shall not be! I shall not be moved!