Below is the newsletter article for October at Memorial. I wanted to share this on the blog for those who did not already read it. Blessings @ you! PM
To My Church Family,
We are in a
season of discovery as a church. This
season of discovery is characterized by seeking the Father in order to know his
direction for his church. Memorial is
his church. Our desire is to turn our
lives over to Father and let him direct us in his Kingdom work. So, we are in a season of discovery. Here are some different questions that are
guiding our search:
1.
How do we continue to use our buildings for
Father’s redemptive purposes?
2.
How do we respond to the needs of our city and
community?
3.
What opportunities do we see Father opening up
for our continued influence of the gospel in culture?
4.
What updates and/or changes need to happen with
our facilities?
This list of questions will help
you to both pray and prepare for the future at Memorial. I am excited about what God is doing. We are being stretched in our imagination of
mission and ministry to our community and world. I ask that you join with us in preparing our
hearts to receive the direction as Father faithfully leads. Also, I ask that you join with us in
preparing our hands to work diligently as well.
I am convinced that we must not pray to know unless we have also
prepared to obey. The hear of scripture
is equal to the obey of scripture. They
go hand in hand. We must prepare to
engage the work that we are instructed to do.
Last Sunday, I mentioned a passage
of scripture from Ezra 3:10-12, which verse 12 says, “but many of the older
priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen
the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes,
wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy.” This is an interesting picture of how
different people see changes. Sometimes,
people see change and it causes them to remember the past. Sometimes, people see change and it causes
them to dream about the future. How do
you see change? Maybe this is a better
question: When do you see change? This question is better because it relates to
our situation. You see, the question
says, “when do you see change?” Meaning,
not all change affects us directly, so when do you take notice of changes? Do you allow yourself to be concerned with
things that do not necessarily concern you today? This is the real issue with change. Life is changing for many people in our
community and world. However, these
changes do not directly affect us. So,
should we be concerned? I would say
yes. We should be concerned.
Concerning ourselves with the
cares of others requires that we experience heart change. When Father changes our hearts for others we
are then able to move beyond:
--Anxiety to Commitment
--Fear to Courage
--Loneliness to Community
--Needy to Fruit-filled
--Confused to Focused
--Protective to Productive (from, The Church of Irresistible Influence, Lewis,
93.)
What will it look like to concern
ourselves with the needs of others in the future? That is what we are praying to discover right
now. I ask that you would join me in
this season and rejoice at the foundation being laid for the new work Father is
doing in us! See
you Sunday! PM
