Sunday is going to be a great morning. I truly believe it could be one of those mornings that you look back on in your life and say that was the Sunday something changed. That was the Sunday I experienced GOD!
I am sharing a message on hearing the calling of God. Yes, you can grab it on podcast but, its not the same as being their. I think that about most of the 52 weeks out of the year. I pray every week is life changing. Why should we put the energy and effort into making Sunday happen unless it is going to be a life changing day?
The weatherman says it might snow a bit. WE LIVE IN MINNESOTA! after 61" of snow we should be used to it by now.
I would hate for you to miss hearing Gods voice about your next step because of a little snow.
Come expecting. Come listening for God to speak direction and purpose into your life. I know I am.
I read this in a recent article from the Hardy Group about sabbaticals.
Here are some quick observations on the value of taking a sustained period of time off called a sabbatical.
1. Spiritual Renewal – This is the single component which differentiates a pastor’s sabbatical from virtually every other career field. Because pastors eat, sleep and breathe in the spiritual world, there comes a point where they need to come apart from the work of the ministry before they truly come apart. This time away is perfect for God to speak to the quieted spirit within us.
2. Physical wind-down – It will take at least seven days and maybe more to bring your body to a slowed pace to actually relax. Physical rest will truly begin to set in when this happen.
3. Emotional wind-down – It will take an equally long period of time for your emotions to begin to settle down. Those stresses and emotional drains will begin to ebb from your life and a true sense of relaxation will set in. You will be amazed at just how relaxed you can be when your emotions are not all over the map.
4. Relationships improve – Presuming you take your sabbatical with your spouse, you will find your time together to be enriched. The pace of running your life by the clock will defer to the ease of spending time, extended time together. The stronger the pastor’s marital relationship, the more secure the Body feels as it moves forward.
5. Vision clears – Your ability to separate wild and crazy ideas from true vision for the future will become clear. There may be times on your sabbatical that you set aside to think about your own personal future. Depending on the designs of your sabbatical, it may be that vision for your ministry can become part of the mix. The ability to focus is increased.
6. Planning increases – If planning for the future is part of your sabbatical, the ability to do so without the clutter of phone, email, correspondence and emergencies is increased dramatically. Consequently, the resulting plan is of greater value to the church and its leadership.
7. Church benefits – The church learns that the staff and volunteers who serve so capably when you are physically at the helm are more than capable in carrying the day in your absence. Further, a renewed pastor results in a renewed congregation. The Body responds positively to the refreshing in their pastor. It can be said that sabbaticals, when implemented properly, can contribute to the numerical, financial and spiritual growth of the church because the leader comes back firing on all cylinders as opposed to when they left firing on only half of them.
I want to get something out to you about what is happening in my life. Here is a quick mind dump to share with you.
·Pastor Drew
did an outstanding job teaching on the “Rich Young Ruler.” The best line of the talk was his
definition of RICH: “having more than you need.” We can all fit into that
mindset in America.
·Drew
challenged us to look for things that might not be totally surrendered to
Jesus. Areas where we may be out of alignment with his callings for our lives.
This is an important thing to do every so often. The stuff of life can grow like a weed and eventually choke God’s best from
our garden if we are not careful.
·Sunday’s
mailer dropped early... We are trying a new way of doing our mailer and it
came a week before it was supposed to. I was a little frustrated. It’s kind of
like when people come to your house an hour before they were supposed to. You are
getting ready for them and the food is being prepared, but you are still in
your cleaning clothes and the table isn’t set. Basically we have a few plans
that were going to be implemented next week for the new arrivals. They were
also sent before a major holiday, which isn’t ideal, but everything is ok.
·We will
to try to an add on Facebookto rekindle people’s memories about the
mailer. So if you see them, hit the “Like” button and help us out.
·Visitor
flow was great. I met a lot of new people. I love hearing people’s stories.
There was a group of guys from Sierra Leon and a lady who is a guardian for people
in an assisted living home. So cool!
·Welcome
to the team. Alyssa Whitmire is joining the High Point Team as the Director
of Children’s Ministry. Add her as a friend Facebook and watch for great things
to come out of our Kids Department.
·Next week
is the beginning of “People of the Second Chance.” I am so excited for it
to begin! The Lord is going to do powerful things in people’s lives.
God of Second chances. I love this Song by "Carlos Whittaker". We will be singing it each week of this series enjoy it and see what happens when he takes the song to a park to record a video for it.
·I am excited
for football to begin. I like football but I don’t know enough about it, so
sometimes I feel lost when they start talking about nickels and dimes. Being in
two fantasy football leagues and not knowing most of the players is going to be
a lot of fun. I play by the numbers ESPN gives me, so for me the fun isn’t
because I am imagining myself on the field. What I am excited about is watching
it with Olivia. She is at the age where she wants to do whatever Dad wants to
do and maybe that thing might be football. I am going to get her a RODGERS
jersey this year.
·Elizabeth
is still having migraines. It has been going on since Memorial Day. Going an
entire summer with a massive pressurized headache is really starting to wear on
her. Please pray for complete healing and for pain relief.
·The air
is crisp and I love it! I don’t wear shorts unless I have to and short
sleeves are even a stretch. Why? Because it doesn’t look sharp (at least not on
me). I see the ads of the skinny guys in their Bermuda shorts and think, “Hey,
they look good.” Then I realize I will probably meet someone and start talking
about church and Jesus and they will look at me and dismiss me because I look
sloppy. Jackets, long sleeves, and shoes look much better, and now people won’t
be wondering what it feels like to have a fur coat growing on my legs when I
talk about church and Jesus.
·Pray for
me this week. We have a leader meeting, a wedding, and an important Sundays
service. It’s a lot to pile on top of all the other stuff going on in the
Farina house. I also feel as though I am staring a new job. You remember that feeling? As we move to a new level of church and family life so I must move to a new level of leader, husband and father. It's a bit messy but in my weakness the Lord is making himself STRONG! Thanks for praying for me.
What
are you trying to accomplish when you ask a person to do something? Does the
other person know? The big picture can be so clear to one and a mystery to
another.
The biggest leadership lesson I am learning
right now has to do with the WHY behind the WHAT. I have to make
sure people do not just know what I want them to do but why I want them to do
it. If they know that doing what I ask will accomplish something bigger than both of us then we both win.
In
the church world it is easy to lose sight of the big picture and see our role
as an isolated task. Isolated tasks are no fun. They’re not motivating. But being
apart of a mission, accomplishing something grand, or seeing what you do make a
kingdom difference in people’s lives — that is worth getting up in the
morning for.
Set Up/Tear Down at High Point is a
great example. It is easy to default into a task-driven mindset. Do this because we need it done fast. Those
involved in this part of High Point are preparing
an unholy place to be a place where God and man can meet. People who are far
from God and are without hope and in need of restoration come every Sunday because
we work at transforming a movie theater into a Holy Place.
High Point Kids is another example. It
would be easy to see it as babysitting, but that is far from what is happening.
We are helping kids meet GOD! By using language and concepts that are age-appropriate,
we are changing the world because we are helping change their world. They
discover Christ by watching how we model Him. We have an opportunity to pray
over their futures and be partners with their parents as we raise these
children in the Lord. That is pretty powerful stuff!
Hospitality is another example. We
serve coffee and donuts every Sunday. We buy the good stuff and spend a large
percent of our annual budget on sugary bread and hot water with bean juice in
it. Why? Because people are hungry in the morning? No... Because Tory freaks on
coffee? Maybe... but that's not the main reason. We spend lots of money
and have people put lots of time into this area on a Sunday because it creates
an environment that fosters community. When people are in community (Find Your
Place) they are more inclined to grow in their faith (Develop Your Faith). When
people are developing their faith and have friends to live life with, they are
more inclined to make better decisions (Live Your Potential!). Serving
donuts changes lives!
My
#1 job as the pastor of High Point Church is to show everyone in the church how
they can be apart of helping people Find
Their Place, Develop Their Faith, and Live Their Potential! If I do that, we
will have a church that everyone in this city will want to be a part of. Jesus’
name will be made famous because a lot of people who do not love or serve Him will
discover How AWESOME He is.
Do You know what a big role you play?
If you’re from High Point, I'll be letting you know a lot this year.
Pastor Rob Ketterling spent the day
with us on Sunday. I love that guy. He is truly a friend and my pastor. It’s
important to be in a healthy community and to have a pastor, even if you are a pastor. Rob challenged High Point to
not settle. To not get comfortable. To keep the mission of Jesus paramount in
our minds.
Here is a video he wanted us all to see
but we ran out of time on Sunday morning...
Penn says, "How much do you have
to hate... to not tell?" What an amazing statement! How true is that for
us? I wonder if it less about hating non-believers and more about not wanting
to step out of our relational comfort zone to talk to someone about what has
truly changed our lives.
Someone asked me how to do this? How do
you share about Jesus to people?
Let me give you a play-by-play how-to...
Pray for the person you want to share with. They need more to happen in
their life than you or I can do in a short conversation, but the Holy
Spirit will work on many levels in their life. We need to be their
personal prayer partner. They don't even need to know you’re praying for
God to do a deep work.
What is your story? What was your life like before Jesus? What happened
when Jesus was made CEO of your life? What has it meant for you to be
surrendered to the Lord?
Look for an opening to share your story. People respond out of need,
not out of argument. So look for the need in their life and talk through
your experience about how Jesus meets that need.
Ask them if they are interested in more. Ask permission to talk again
about this. Let them know you are interested in them as a person and are
in it for the long haul, not just for the moment. Authenticity and time
are the keys to helping people through the journey of faith.
Invite them to pray with you. Ask them if you can pray with
them right then and there. Keep
your eyes open. (Yes, God can hear an open-eyed prayer.) I will sometimes hold
their hand like a hand-shake or just fold my hands together. Then pray a
simple, non-emotional and non-hyped prayer. Address their concerns and ask
the Lord to have control in their situation.
Invite them to come to church or connection group. If they want to, bring them to
an environment where they are able to experience as much of God as they
want — a place where they can ask questions and can be welcomed into a
loving environment. Help them to find their place, develop their faith,
and live their potential!
In John 10 Jesus shares how he views Himself — as
a good shepherd who knows and understands His sheep. Rather than being a hired
hand who bails when things get tough. He digs in, and He’s there when His sheep
need Him the most. As a pastor, I read this and am challenged to lead the
people in my church in a
similar fashion.
I
love being a pastor. I love seeing those in the flock I’ve been entrusted with continue
to grow and discover their potential! I love surveying the needs of the flock each
week via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and direct conversations. It is challenging
but rewarding. When the people at High Point trust me and pour their hearts out
I can’t help but feel humbled that I am the one they go to.
Just
this week I have heard people pour out their hearts about infertility, job loss,
relational strife, discovering their place in life, and so much more. These
past four years I've seen people make it! I have also seen some not make it,
which grieves me. The sad stories
weigh on me more than the success stories. Thankfully, there have been more
successes than "failures." I am realizing that it is the accumulation
of life that counts.
To
the people of High Point:
Thank
you for trusting me as a good shepherd. I want you to know I love you. I pray
for you often. I pray that you all would discover God’s potential for your
life. I count it a privilege — a gift from God — to be able to serve you as
your pastor.
Here is a sneak peak at the "Caffeinate Your Life" fall invitation at High Point Church... Come Sunday and get your own... More info coming soon. Trust me you will want to give one of these out!
I saw that Starbucks is starting a new add campaign. They are now making food without a lot of extra artificial ingredients and with simple recipes. In other words they are making it more like you and i would make it at home. I am so glade they are making the switch! Their food had lost its luster! Made for shelf life rather than taste and nutrition.
In the church world We are called to take the simple and real message of Christ and prepare it in a way that it looks and tastes and satisfies the way Jesus intended it to! I think that means staying away from things that were never in the recipe of Christ... We do not get involved in politics at High Point. I want you to vote, I want you to be involved and to be active but we are not in the business of making politicians we are in the business of making disciples. We are not caught up in music style, buildings, carpet colors, or popularity votes. We are about the simple and effective mission of Jesus. All that we do, use, and work towards is about the simple and real delicious message that Jesus came to bring.
Jesus said, I am the bread of Life!!! Come and eat! It is Real food. Simply Delicious!
I was driving by Flamingo Road church in Ft. Lauderdale Fl. last week. I thought this was sorta funny. Both churches were marketing their location. The Adventist Church sign was right in front of two huge Flamingo Rd. signs.
I told a young lady at Church that I would let people know about her need. She is moving and needs to find a home for her 10 yr old black lab. Leave a comment if you are interested.
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