tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174006402024-03-13T13:53:23.217-04:00Derek's BlogDerekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-26211766779075541422014-09-30T18:14:00.001-04:002014-09-30T18:15:24.900-04:00The 7 Best Books on Christian Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago in my sermon I mentioned that you'd be crazy not to read some good books on marriage if you hope make your marriage last. Last time I checked marriage had about a 50% fail rate - so it's not as if the good ones just happen automatically. I received a few inquiries about some books I would recommend, so here are some of the best ones I know of (with links to Amazon). Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments. </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Marriage-What-Designed-Happy-ebook/dp/B0037YLBNQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412114122&sr=8-2&keywords=top+christian+marriage+books" target="_blank">Sacred Marriage</a> - by Thomas</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Respect-Desires-Desperately-Needs-ebook/dp/B004MYFQ3Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412114353&sr=1-1&keywords=love+and+respect" target="_blank">Love and Respect</a> - by Eggerichs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/His-Needs-Her-Building-Affair-Proof-ebook/dp/B004HKIIBC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412114398&sr=1-1&keywords=his+needs+her+needs+building+an+affair+proof+marriage" target="_blank">His Needs, Her Needs</a> - by Harley Jr. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Marriage-Facing-Complexities-Commitment-ebook/dp/B0054TVVPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412114441&sr=1-1&keywords=the+meaning+of+marriage" target="_blank">The Meaning of Marriage</a> - by Keller</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Women-Only-Revised-Updated-about-ebook/dp/B001E2NXBQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412114483&sr=1-1&keywords=for+women+only+shaunti+feldhahn" target="_blank">For Women Only</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Men-Only-Revised-Updated-Straightforward-ebook/dp/B001E2NXBG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412114531&sr=1-1&keywords=for+men+only+feldhahn" target="_blank">For Men Only</a> - by Feldhahn</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Languages-Secret-That-Lasts/dp/0802473156/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412115020&sr=1-1&keywords=five+love+languages" target="_blank">The Five Love Languages</a> - by Chapman</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/You-Me-Forever-Marriage-Eternity-ebook/dp/B00MX0BCR0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412114646&sr=1-1&keywords=you+and+me+forever" target="_blank">You and Me Forever</a> - by Chan</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are also some amazing studies on video at <a href="https://www.rightnow.org/Media" target="_blank">Right Now Media</a>. If you are a member at <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/" target="_blank">Grace Church</a> - we will provide you with a free subscription to this amazing resource. Just email <a href="mailto:larry@whoisgrace.com" target="_blank">Larry Shallenberger</a> for your login credentials. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope this helps!</span>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-74306518180657978902014-09-10T22:38:00.003-04:002014-09-11T09:56:43.981-04:00Volunteer Spotlight: Kerrie Grande<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have some amazing volunteers at <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a>! They are truly superstars. More than 2/3 or our staff are completely volunteer. I'm going to use some space in this blog to regularly recognize some of the people whose devotion and sacrifice is truly an inspiration to me. This month I want to introduce you to: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">KERRIE GRANDE</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GDU9_8cgKZ4/VBEIQBDl7lI/AAAAAAAAZ-M/rXOwfYhXJJQ/s1600/Kerrie%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GDU9_8cgKZ4/VBEIQBDl7lI/AAAAAAAAZ-M/rXOwfYhXJJQ/s1600/Kerrie%2B3.JPG" height="328" width="400"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kerrie is a member of our volunteer staff at <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/harborcreek/">Grace Harborcreek</a>. She has attended Grace for about 2 1/2 years now and has been volunteering in a leadership role with <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/next-steps/">Next Steps</a> and LIVE for about a year. Kerrie said when we talked, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;">“It has been the best 2 1/2 years of my life!" </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently asked her a few questions. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">What do you love about volunteering?</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> I</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> was out of church for so long prior to attending Grace.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">I just love the joy, fulfilling contentment and peace that I feel here.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">I love that I get to share that joy with others through my volunteer role.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> What are some things you've accomplished since you started volunteering?</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> I think I have improved my people skills
and my organizational skills. This role has helped me to step a little
outside my comfort zone, by talking openly and honestly about my faith journey
and all the bumps that have happened along the way to get me to
where I am today. My volunteer role at Grace has also helped me to accept those bumps in the road as learning tools for my faith, learning tools that I can use
when meeting new people, who are in all different places in their spiritual journey. One
of the best parts of volunteering in the roles I am currently serving in is
that while I have learned a lot about my Christian faith, I have also
learned about how much one person can really make a difference
to others. Someone did this for me- reached out to me- and it is an
incredibly humbling feeling to get to be a part of this with others on their
own faith journey, too. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9fna2DPefAc/VBEJ-VAmzcI/AAAAAAAAZ-Y/z7MIEPNWcU8/s1600/Kerrie%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9fna2DPefAc/VBEJ-VAmzcI/AAAAAAAAZ-Y/z7MIEPNWcU8/s1600/Kerrie%2B2.jpg" height="285" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">What is the craziest thing
you have seen at Grace?</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> I started attending Grace Harborcreek when our services were being held in the High School auditorium.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">I came from a Catholic background and always thought that church
happened in a church building.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">So to me, it was CRAZY to hold services in a school and I really wondered how it would
work.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Thank you so much for your amazing service Kerrie - we're honored to have you on the team!</span></div>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-57850889661063298782014-08-16T16:00:00.001-04:002014-08-16T16:01:13.329-04:00Top 18 quotes: 2014 Global Leadership Summit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This week for the 6th year in a row </span><a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Grace Church</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> hosted Willow Creek's </span><a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Global Leadership Summit</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. It continues to be one of the most important events in my own development as a person and a leader. Here are some of my favorite quotes from this year's Summit. They are in no particular order.</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you know the right thing to do, and you don't do it, that for you is evil. -Ivan Satyavrata</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When it looks like everything is going wrong, embrace the darkness. God is preparing you for a greater role in his unfolding story. -Louie Giglio</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gaps exist all over our countries, cities and villages. Gaps today are wider and more destructive than they've ever been. God is still asking, "who will stand in the gap" -Wilfredo DeJesus</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I want to know the God that makes my mom this happy. -Tyler Perry</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Going through tough times makes us humble. Humility isn't a character trait that we develop--it is a byproduct of being with Jesus. -Louie Giglio</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Any time you find yourself stuck, there is always a crucial conversation that needs to happen that's not happening. -Joseph Grenny</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We often believe the myth that we have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend. -Joseph Grenny </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Crucial conversations can become a trust-building accelerant toward intimacy for our organizations, teams, or families. -Joseph Grenny</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm tired of hearing about "servant leadership" -- because I don't think there is any other kind. -Patrick Lencioni</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can't be too vulnerable as a leader. People expect us to be competent, but they don't want us to be perfect, they want us to be human. -Patrick Lencioni</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our identity can get wrapped up in being a leader--and this is a problem when it crowds out our higher identities as a child of God, a parent or spouse. -Patrick Lencioni</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stop the madness in group work and team brainstorming. This is torture for introverts. Use a hybrid approach: let people work alone, and then come back to the group to share. -Susan Cain</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can't tell anything about a leader when the sun is up, when times are good. It takes a crisis to really discover a true leader. -Jeffery Immelt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The highest calling of leadership is to unlock the potential of others. -Carley Fiorina</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leaders with the highest level of vision and passion often have the lowest level of awareness of the spirit of the team surrounding him/her. -Bill Hybels</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every meeting should contain the three M's: 1) Move something ahead; 2) Modify the plan as needed; 3) Motivate your team. Make sure they leave encouraged. -Bill Hybels</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If we invite the Kingdom of God to where we are (business, politics, etc.), I believe God will take over and we will begin to see better societies. -Allen Catherine Kagina</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each one of us is more like orchestra than a soloist. We must learn to negotiate with our inner team. -Erica Ariel Fox</span></li>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-64030498590652374352014-03-17T07:30:00.000-04:002014-03-17T09:56:06.917-04:00VISION 2016: Update on 5 Initiatives<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016. I've written a series of blog posts to update you on where things stand. Here is a list of the posts all in one place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-3-new-multi-site-locations.html">#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-50-local-churches-serving.html">#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-2-global-church-partnerships.html">#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-936-weeks-partnering-with.html">#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-212-raise-discipleship.html">#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature</a></span><br />
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-50753698628773218842014-03-16T15:00:00.001-04:002014-03-17T09:57:15.797-04:00VISION 2016: 212-Raise Discipleship Temperature<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016. Here's a quick update:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>INITIATIVE #5 - 212 – we will raise the temperature for life-on-life
discipleship to the boiling point so it is normal for people to become
reproducing followers of Jesus by owning their personal growth.</b></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Our most recent commitment to discipleship at
Grace is the church-wide experience we’re in together called </span><a href="http://whoisgrace.com/e100/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">E100</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">This effort to encourage our entire church to engage daily with the
scriptures is proving to be life-changing for many. Individuals and families
are finding their chair and owning their personal growth by regularly connecting
with God through his Word. This practice, over the course of five months, will
fundamentally change the spiritual temperature at Grace.</span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Also, we have recently recruited over 40 small
group leaders to begin new groups at Grace. Many of those leaders are currently
leading groups who are engaged in E100. Our desire is that as people connect in
groups – that they will build spiritually-charged relationships with other believers
that will lead to vitality and accountability.</span></li>
</ul>
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<img src="http://greenvillenaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Adult-Small-Group-pic.jpg" /></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">We have made it very easy to find and get in a group with our new <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/groupfinder/">group finder</a> feature at our website. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Celebrate
Recovery launched this fall at Grace and has had a healing effect on the nearly
60 people who attend each week. The CR groups provide an important discipleship
component for those who attend. </span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://217a28f1f8f176db9417-c2d1cff20b12f9b29ab0eefe38f7ed2c.r44.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/h/0e2227917_1371581786_header-celebrate-recovery-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://217a28f1f8f176db9417-c2d1cff20b12f9b29ab0eefe38f7ed2c.r44.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/h/0e2227917_1371581786_header-celebrate-recovery-2.jpg" height="145" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;">Read Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-3-new-multi-site-locations.html">#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-50-local-churches-serving.html">#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-2-global-church-partnerships.html">#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-936-weeks-partnering-with.html">#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature</span><br />
<br /></div>
Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-84259015995180294432014-03-16T15:00:00.000-04:002014-03-13T20:47:31.510-04:00VISION 2016: 936 Weeks Partnering With Parents<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016. Here's a quick update:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>INITIATIVE #4 – 936 weeks of partnering with parents in shaping
Christ-centered families</b></span></div>
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/vzQsFXPIzg-jvyS9M3_6aL635uooCtpRUlf6ypWXrb5P3Sx961_HgW5bMAlw5RvB_CA=w300" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Stories are rolling in about the impact E100 is
having on families as parents and children partner in reading the Bible
together.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">One family is even opening up
their home and their child is leading a small group of other children to
discuss the E100 readings.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Plans are in the works for our second <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/su-event/266891281/parenting-summit/">Parenting Summit</a> on Saturday, April 26. I’ll be kicking off the event with a special message
for parents and we will provide some very helpful and practical workshops for
real-life issues parents are facing.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s
going to be a great day.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center; text-indent: -24px;">
<a href="http://whoisgrace.com/su-event/266891281/parenting-summit/"><img src="http://2efcd965596b9cdbed32-cc4c78a02fab26c1cff2b99982f0bc2f.r91.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/p/0e2968117_1394055046_parentingsummit.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">GraceKids has an average weekly attendance of
209 kids! The GFX ministry has been a great innovation that provides events
that connect families with each other and offer an opportunity to invite new
families to Grace. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">GraceYouth leaders are meeting with students at
their practices, over ice cream and school tutoring. They are currently
partnering with 11 families for in-depth one-on-one Biblical training of their
teens. And several GraceYouth leaders are having coffee with parents to “dream
and pray” for their teens.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center; text-indent: -24px;">
<img height="216" src="https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1/406829_495990307099566_675548178_n.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">You can find more information about all things ‘family’
at our </span><a href="http://whoisgrace.com/family/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">website</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">. </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;"><b>Read Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-3-new-multi-site-locations.html">#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-50-local-churches-serving.html">#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-2-global-church-partnerships.html">#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-4806266382387318472014-03-15T15:00:00.000-04:002014-03-13T20:46:11.926-04:00VISION 2016: 2 Global Church Partnerships<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016. Here's a quick update:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">INITIATIVE #3 – 2 global church to church partnerships</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JkqGRKnEXbc/UyIv45eyaAI/AAAAAAAAYpo/3weii90ECQ8/s1600/RF3A5759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JkqGRKnEXbc/UyIv45eyaAI/AAAAAAAAYpo/3weii90ECQ8/s1600/RF3A5759.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Our 3-part strategy for our partnership with Grace
en Sion is progressing. From the start we said that this partnership would move
forward in 3 stages: school, church, business.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uk2Ufj09ArI/UyIoIpjU0kI/AAAAAAAAYpQ/PtS0J71PP08/s1600/IMG_3050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uk2Ufj09ArI/UyIoIpjU0kI/AAAAAAAAYpQ/PtS0J71PP08/s1600/IMG_3050.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">We started with a concentration on the school because
we believe that it gives Grace en Sion the best chance to be financially self-sustaining.
The school has increased from 7 students to 142 students in the last 2 years. For
many of these children, it is the only chance they have for food during the
day, for a shower during the week, and to hear about Jesus during the year. You
can get involved in sponsoring a student through our </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/292489290868685/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Facebook page</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EDdWzkwzBSU/UyIwmVDcboI/AAAAAAAAYp4/QiBzLNeaebc/s1600/RF3A5546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EDdWzkwzBSU/UyIwmVDcboI/AAAAAAAAYp4/QiBzLNeaebc/s1600/RF3A5546.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">A team of 17 people from Grace Church recently
returned from Haiti. During their 10 trip they were able to; throw a Valentine’s
Day banquet for the parents of the children at Cowman School, host a parenting
conference for those same parents, lead worship at Grace en Sion Church, teach and
share love with the kids at the school, paint the Dennington’s home, volunteer
whenever needed at the clinic and orphanage, encourage the pastors and leaders
at Grace en Sion. It was a fruitful trip. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MvfZKSdoHuQ/UyIvTPed74I/AAAAAAAAYpg/WQSJ343eMhA/s1600/RF3A5658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MvfZKSdoHuQ/UyIvTPed74I/AAAAAAAAYpg/WQSJ343eMhA/s1600/RF3A5658.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Currently we are exploring additional church partnership options. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4j__3RDRNnU/UyIwKLWKyhI/AAAAAAAAYpw/KmkTjkYA5wQ/s1600/IMG_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4j__3RDRNnU/UyIwKLWKyhI/AAAAAAAAYpw/KmkTjkYA5wQ/s1600/IMG_3078.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;"><b>Read Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-3-new-multi-site-locations.html">#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-50-local-churches-serving.html">#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-83465169393545044562014-03-14T15:00:00.000-04:002014-03-13T20:44:47.598-04:00VISION 2016: 50 Local Churches Serving Erie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016. Here's a quick update:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>INITIATIVE #2 - 50 local churches
serving the Erie community</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIcPLPzyFOE/UyIja2GE8cI/AAAAAAAAYoo/tIf5-1cUunU/s1600/serveriefeb2012-1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIcPLPzyFOE/UyIja2GE8cI/AAAAAAAAYoo/tIf5-1cUunU/s1600/serveriefeb2012-1024.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had over 400 people at our last </span><a href="http://www.serverie.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ServErie
Saturday</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> representing 24 churches and organizations.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We’re expecting to see over 1000 participants
during the month of July as ServErie partners with Billy Graham Evangelical
Association and <a href="http://rockthelakes.org/">“Rock the Lakes”</a> for two community service events. We believe
that this partnership will allow us to surpass and expand our goal of 50 ServErie
partner churches.</span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKagVvUSbKs/UyIkYh2-6bI/AAAAAAAAYo8/0FLreSqbrUo/s1600/IMG_6947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKagVvUSbKs/UyIkYh2-6bI/AAAAAAAAYo8/0FLreSqbrUo/s1600/IMG_6947.JPG" height="286" width="400" /></a><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are currently exploring ServErie
partnerships with inner city schools through the Erie School District. We
believe that this can expand our capacity to serve the families of our city.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You
can follow the latest happenings at our </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ServErie" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Facebook page</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i3rxd0LOiRs/UyIj-aXYKtI/AAAAAAAAYos/raxq_JKhyjs/s1600/serveriefeb2012-1233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i3rxd0LOiRs/UyIj-aXYKtI/AAAAAAAAYos/raxq_JKhyjs/s1600/serveriefeb2012-1233.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;">Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/03/vision-2016-3-new-multi-site-locations.html">#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-89317379073511387932014-03-13T17:22:00.003-04:002014-03-16T15:02:40.962-04:00VISION 2016: 3 New Multi-Site Locations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016. Here's a quick update:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>I</b></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NITIATIVE #1 - 3 more multi-site locations</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Things are heating up in preparation to launch
our next location in West County. </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.beall" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Malcolm Beall</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> has signed on
to be our Campus Lead. He brings a rich family ministry history and a great
familiarity with the area, as well as a passion for Christ and great leadership ability. He, his wife Angie, and 'baby Mal' will be leading the charge in West County. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/4497_205697970105_1894700_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malcolm and Angie Beall on their wedding day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">March 16 we’ll be having our first gathering for
those interested in the West County location. Come out to our <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/su-event/281114053/multisite-ministry-fair/">Multi-Site Ministry</a> fair that evening at 6:00 to hear all the details.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">We also shared the exciting news that our own <a href="https://www.facebook.com/brianlusky">Pastor Brian Lusky</a> will be personally investing time at our West County location during the initial start-up phase until a great worship team is built. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=60900091&fref=ts">Chrissy Cole</a> came to us from Australia where she spent time learning and leading worship at <a href="https://hillsong.com/en/">Hillsong Church</a>, and will be leading musical worship at Grace McKean. </span></li>
</ul>
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<img height="146" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/1911761_10151874076781533_1290138119_n.png" width="400" /></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">We also just launched an improved </span><a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">website</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> and </span><a href="http://www.online.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Grace Online</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> that will prove to be
a powerful ministry tool as we launch additional sites.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;">Please pray for God's direction as it relates to a specific location in the West County. We are certain that He's leading us there and now need a place to gather in His name!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -24px;"><b>Coming posts about Vision 2016:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature</span></div>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-63120199290311698082014-02-26T22:52:00.000-05:002014-03-01T11:19:51.101-05:004 Things You Need to Know about Grace Online<a href="http://online.whoisgrace.com/"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kXsNCViXbMg/UwfO3ELf_2I/AAAAAAAAYmw/2OPwtUFBXv0/s1600/SLIDEwelcometograceonline.png" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a quick summary of the recent blog series I wrote on the top 4 questions about Grace Online</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-1-why-are-we-doing-it.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part 1: Why are we doing it? </a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-2-who-are-we-trying.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?</a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-3-is-this-substitute.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church? </a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-4-what-will-online.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part 4: What will an online service be like? </a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And here is the quick and dirty on some details:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting on Sunday, March 2, 2014, </span><a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grace Church</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called </span><a href="http://online.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grace Online</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week and we will adjust from there as needed. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To begin with, weekly service times will be:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday - 11 AM and 7 PM</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wednesday - 7 PM</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday - 11 AM and 7 PM </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All services will be identical. Please invite your friends - all are welcome!</span><br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kXsNCViXbMg/UwfO3ELf_2I/AAAAAAAAYmw/2OPwtUFBXv0/s1600/SLIDEwelcometograceonline.png" with "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kXsNCViXbMg/UwfO3ELf_2I/AAAAAAAAYmw/2OPwtUFBXv0/s1600/SLIDEwelcometograceonline.png" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-kXsNCViXbMg%2FUwfO3ELf_2I%2FAAAAAAAAYmw%2F2OPwtUFBXv0%2Fs1600%2FSLIDEwelcometograceonline.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kXsNCViXbMg/UwfO3ELf_2I/AAAAAAAAYmw/2OPwtUFBXv0/s1600/SLIDEwelcometograceonline.png" -->Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-22094621714164391712014-02-26T14:03:00.002-05:002014-02-26T22:56:00.511-05:00Grace Online Part 4: What will an online service be like?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting on Sunday, March 2 </span><a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grace Church</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called </span><a href="http://online.whoisgrace.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grace Online</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What will an online service at Grace Online be like? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike some other online worship services, ours will be specifically crafted for the online audience. All service elements will all be recorded ahead of time, but will be specifically created for Grace Online. Elements will include: </span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sermon</span> – the preaching pastor at Grace will record that week’s sermon for people who will be watching via screen. There will be sermon notes available for those who wish to take notes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Musical Worship</span> – our worship and media teams are recording and producing songs that will be used to inspire worship as people watch online. The words will be on the screen so that viewers will be able to sing along or simply meditate on the content of the song as it plays. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Online host</span> – each week a service host will walk viewers through the service encouraging people to engage and introducing different service elements and action steps. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Service Elements</span> – creative videos, life stories, meditative moments will all be regular features. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chat/follow up</span> – A care team will always be present to interact with viewers in the chat area and will be available to provide spiritual guidance, prayer, and advice for taking a next step. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Giving</span> – there will be a button available for people to financially support Grace Church and to worship God through giving. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prayer </span>– there is a convenient way for anyone to request prayer at any time during the Grace Online worship experience. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Invitation</span> – we will be encouraging every person who attends Grace Online to <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/invite/">invite their friends</a> to join them as well. People will be one click away from letting others know about Grace Online via Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or email. </span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Grace Online Blog Posts:</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-1-why-are-we-doing-it.html">Part 1: Why are we doing it</a>? </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-2-who-are-we-trying.html">Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-3-is-this-substitute.html">Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church? </a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-4-what-will-online.html">Part 4: What will an online service be like? </a></span></div>
<div>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-16462561517438439622014-02-24T23:57:00.000-05:002014-02-25T09:45:09.755-05:00Grace Online Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting on Sunday, March 2 <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a> is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called <a href="http://online.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Online</a>. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Is Grace Online a
substitute for physically attending church?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Let me start by saying that the breadth and depth of ministry that can be accomplished online is amazing. At Grace, we believe that real connections and real relationships can happen in an
online environment. However, we also believe that being the church involves
physically gathering together. Therefore, our goal is that Grace Online be a
front door into church life, but not a final church destination. One
of our goals will be to connect people who attend Grace online to a local
church in their area, whether that is a Grace physical location or
another like-minded local church. Here is why:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Spiritual gifts</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span> The church needs you! Many
people are looking for what they can </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">get
out of a church</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">. But the truth is – a relationship with a church is not
one-way. Each individual also brings something to the church that only they can
bring. Namely their spiritual gifts. Some of these spiritual gifts can be used
in an online environment and we will encourage people to get involved in Grace
Online. But some require a person’s embodied presence to be most effective.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">One anothers</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>- </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">if going to "church" once a week was
just about gaining what you need spiritually to make it through another week,
then tuning in online would be just fine. But the purpose of church is so much
broader than that. It is about corporate worship, praying and studying the
Bible together, serving one another and reaching out in mission together. In
fact the New Testament commands the church to practice 39 “one anothers.” These
can't be done in isolation.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ordinances </span>– Jesus commanded his
followers to observe two ordinances (some churches call them sacraments) and
both are intended to be enjoyed in community: communion and baptism. Some
churches have tried to find ways of including these ordinances in their online worship,
but we believe for a church to be a biblical church that there must be a
physical expression of these ordinances.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Grace Online Blog Posts:</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-1-why-are-we-doing-it.html">Part 1: Why are we doing it</a>? </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-2-who-are-we-trying.html">Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-3-is-this-substitute.html">Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church? </a> </span></div>
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<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Thanks to <a href="http://leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2012/06/why-go-to-a-church-service-when-you-can-watch-online.html">Tim Stevens</a> and <a href="http://marccortez.com/2011/11/22/is-an-online-church-really-a-church-why-we-need-better-arguments-ets-papers/">Marc Cortez</a> for their thoughts on this. </span></div>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-14801866286189578322014-02-23T11:44:00.001-05:002014-02-23T12:47:40.311-05:00Grace Online Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting on Sunday, March 2 <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a> is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called <a href="http://online.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Online</a>. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<img alt="internet-traffic-map.gif" src="http://betterplaceorg.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/internet-traffic-map.gif?w=500" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who are we trying to reach?</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Friends and family of Grace who don’t have a
church</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span> We still believe that a personal invitation to Christ and to
church is the most effective means to reach people with the hope of the gospel.
We want to provide another resource for
those who are attending Grace to share what God is doing with their friends and
families, both in town and out of town. Our online services will allow those
who aren't quite ready to step into a physical location to check out an online
experience in a safe and non-threatening environment.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">People who can’t attend church</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">. </span>There are
people who can’t attend church for a variety of reasons. Some consistently work
on Sunday mornings, some are out of town in business or vacation, and others
are physically unable to get out of the house to come to church. We will offer services multiple times each
week, so that people who can’t attend church during traditional times can still
experience worship and teaching every week.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">People in future multi-site areas</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span> As we
continue to plan for more multi-site locations, our online service will expose
people to Grace Church long before we have a physical location in that
area. It will allow our advance teams to
host small groups and provide a resource to fuel bible studies and ministry
events in that community. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The whole world</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span> It sounds weird to say that, but the truth is there is no limit to who Grace Online can reach. The internet has over 2
billion users worldwide making it the largest and most accessible mission field
in the world. It is more possible today than it’s ever been in history for the
church to fulfill Jesus’ call in Matthew 28 to preach the gospel to </span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>all
people</i></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">. We want to do our part. </span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Grace Online Blog Posts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-1-why-are-we-doing-it.html">Part 1: Why are we doing it</a>? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://dereksanford.blogspot.com/2014/02/grace-online-part-2-who-are-we-trying.html">Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?</a> </span></div>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-74606601187945537572014-02-21T17:13:00.000-05:002014-02-26T22:46:43.757-05:00Grace Online Part 1: Why are we doing it? <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting on Sunday, March 2 <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a> is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called <a href="http://online.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Online</a>. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why are we doing this? </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mission</span>: One aspect of our mission as a church is to
make more disciples of Jesus. This involves telling more and more people about
the love and hope and joy that comes from a personal relationship with Christ. This
mission drives us. One of the amazing
things about the internet is its massive reach. The internet has over 2 billion
users worldwide. 239 million Americans are on the Internet. 114 million
Americans are browsing the Internet on a mobile device. 107 million Americans
have smartphones. 59 million Americans have tablets like the iPad. The average American spends 32 hours per
month online. This makes the internet
one of the largest and most accessible mission fields in the entire world.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Technology</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">: We believe in using technology for the
purposes of the gospel. The church has always had a dubious relationship with
technology. Each time a new technology was introduced, the church has usually
been slow to embrace it. In the 14th C –the first organ was used in a worship
service and was considered to be of the devil. In the 16C the newfangled
printing press was viewed by some as a threat to the gospel. More recently
radio, and movies, and television have been run through the same gauntlet. But think about the historic impact of an
instrument like the organ in churches. Remember how the printing press was used
to make the gospel available to the common person and how great Christian
communicators like Billy Graham have used radio and TV to spread the gospel around
the world. We want to utilize all
technology available to us to spread the good news of Jesus to the world. The
internet is our latest technological tool. In 1 Corinthians 9:22 Paul says, “<i>I have become all things to all people, <b>that by all means</b> I might save some</i>.”
The internet is one of our <i>current means</i>
to save some.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Opportunity:</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> God has blessed Grace with teams of people who
are passionate about creative arts, music, technology, video production, etc.
Luke 12:48 says, “<i>Everyone to whom much was
given, of him much will be required</i>…” We believe that this is true for our
church. God has blessed us with people who are gifted in these areas and we
believe that these gifts weren’t meant to be kept to ourselves but to be shared
with others so that God can receive more glory. So, one of the reasons we are
doing Grace Online is because we can. God has positioned us to do it.</span></li>
</ol>
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<br />Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-71354213215384879652014-01-24T11:17:00.001-05:002014-01-24T11:17:11.778-05:005 Most Important E100 Resources<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a> is embarking on a really cool journey together. We're reading through the 100 essential bible stories starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation in a challenge called <a href="http://e100challenge.com/what">E100</a>. For many people this will be their first jaunt through the bible from beginning to end. And although we won't be reading every chapter and verse, the sweeping themes of the scriptures will be apparent. There are 5 readings a week for 20 weeks. This is a challenge for anyone who hasn't made a regular habit of reading the bible. That's why we are providing lots of resources to help everyone along. In addition to your bible, I've included the top 5 resources you will need for this journey.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. The E100 Reading Guide (or punch card).</span> The engine of this whole movement is individuals and families spending personal time in the bible, so it is important to have a plan. You can download the PDF version of this for $5 <a href="http://store.e100challenge.com/e100-challenge-guide-ebook-pdf/">here</a>. It's also vital to find your chair - that is - the place in your house where you can regularly meet with God. You can search Facebook at #wheresyourchair to see some pictures of people's chairs. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. A Small Group. </span>We believe that it's critical to go through this adventure with a group of people who are also committed to the challenge. That's why we have created nearly 40 new small groups for this initiative that meet all over our region on various nights of the week in people's homes. If you are interested in finding a group you can contact <a href="mailto:liveMCK@whoisgrace.com">Steve</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. E100 Equip Class.</span> Each Sunday at 9:15 and 11 AM at Grace there will be a class designed to help understand some of the back story of the readings for that particular week. This will be especially helpful for those looking to dig deeper in their readings and for small group leaders to get a jump on that week's content before their group meets. These videos will also be posted during the week at our vimeo site so that anyone can catch up on the material. Here is the <a href="https://vimeo.com/84445067">video</a> from week 1. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. E100 Sermons.</span> It's important for you to stay connected with the teachings each week. Don't worry, if you miss church you can find the sermons online <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/resources/sermons/#series-sort_e-100-challenge">here </a>and stay up-to-speed. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Mid-Week Video Devotional.</span> Every Wednesday we will post a 2-3 minute video to encourage you and inspire you to continue on in that week's reading. This is a good shot in the arm to get you through 'hump day' and to finish strong each week. You can find these videos at Grace's <a href="https://vimeo.com/whoisgrace">vimeo</a> page and they will also be posted on Facebook and Twitter. </div>
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Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-42981229921850866332014-01-01T23:30:00.000-05:002014-01-02T00:05:02.796-05:00Questions to Help You Evaluate 2013<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img height="207" src="http://www.markramseymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2013.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you have a system that you use to evaluate last year and prepare yourself for next year? Scott Hodge posted a very helpful <a href="http://www.iamscotthodge.com/looking-back-before-looking-ahead" target="_blank">blog post</a> a few years ago that helped me to clarify the end of the year malaise that can set in during late cold December evenings. Scott provides an excellent practical framework to look back and look ahead. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've picked a few of my favorite questions to ask.: </span><br />
<ol>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What was missing from last year as you look back?</span></span></li>
</ol>
Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-63691366600989922332013-04-30T11:02:00.001-04:002013-04-30T11:02:09.012-04:003 things a Christian parent has going for them<br />
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Parenting is one of the areas in life where people are the hardest on
themselves. This past weekend we had our first every Parenting Summit at <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a>. I was privileged to give a short talk to open the Summit. Here are some notes from my talk: </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3 things every Christian parent has going for them:</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
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<u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">1. A
God who is for you</u></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">If you follow sports- it’s always awkward to see
athletes claiming that God helped their team win. We’re left wondering does God
really take sides like that?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">You can be sure of this – if you are a Christian
and a parent – God takes your side. He wants you to succeed with your kids. God
cares about your kids more than you do.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">There have been so many nights after I have
screwed something up with my kids; whether I said the wrong thing, lost my temper, stared at my phone too much, when I come to God in prayer. He always meets me, teaches me,
rebukes me, encourages me. He is there to grow me through my failures as a
parent. </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The greatest resource you have
as a parent is a God who is for you.</b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Romans 8:31 says, <i>If God is for us, who can be
against us?</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">When Caleb was born it wasn't that beautiful birth scene that Kim and I had imagined. In fact, people started to come in
with equipment to get him breathing. He was whisked off into ICU. I realized in that moment that his life and his existence were not under my control.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">I remember God whispering, “Caleb is yours…
but he’s not really yours.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">You’re going to
raise him – and you’re going to bring him to Me.”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Jesus said to a father who asked for his son to
be healed “bring the boy to me.” What if that defined your parenting?</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">I believe that is what God is calling us all
to do as parents… bring the child to me. He said let the children come to me.
God loves children – he loves your children. He is for you!</span></li>
</ul>
<u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. A role you are called to</u><br />
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<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s no accident that you’re a parent. Even if
you had a "whoops" baby – it wasn't a "whoops" to God!</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Psalm 127:3-5 says, <i>Behold, children are a gift
of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a
warrior, so are the children of one’s youth</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The fact that your children are yours to care
for was God’s idea. They are a gift given to you by God. He knew you could care for
them – He knew that you had the exact raw materials, the right personality, the
proper tools, to raise them from a state of complete dependence to complete
independence and then release them back to God.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He could have given your kids to anyone to care
for – but he chose you. It wasn't an accident – he didn't mess this up – they
were entrusted to you. This role that you have is a calling from God. And you
have a very important role to play.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">What is the role? If kids are an arrow – the
parent’s job is to aim them toward faith. (see <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%206:4-9&version=ESV">Deuteronomy 6:4-9</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Family is the major vehicle through which God
extends faith. Faith is not passed through institutions or empires or governments or
even churches.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Which means your role is not just to put a roof
over their heads, or teach them how to ride a bike, or to give them good
education, or to help them succeed in sports. All those things are good
and fine. Your role is to point them toward faith in the God of the Bible.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">If you're an accountant or engineer or line worker or teacher or welder, they could replace you tomorrow. But you are the only one who
can be a parent to your kid, and God knew that.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">He planned it that way.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Parenting</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> is a
high and holy calling.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">You’re the one with the greatest shot at
influencing their faith.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. </span><u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">A
community to support you</u><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Hebrews 10:24-25 says <i>And let us
consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">One of the things parents struggle with is
feeling alone.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been with some parents who when we get on the topic of kids will only talk in hushed tones. It is as
if they have never admitted to anyone that their kids might have a single
problem. They've been so busy keeping up the image that it forced them into
isolation.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">As part of a church like Grace - we get to be
more of an open book – there are others who care about our kids. There are
adult role models that we can point our kids toward. There are other parents
that we can talk to and events like this help to carry on the conversation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">More than ever our church is committed to
partnering with parents. Getting resources in their hands, providing
environments for growth.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> You don’t have to do this alone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Reggie Joyner said, “There are two powerful influences on the planet
– the church and the home. They need each other. Too much is at stake for
either one to fail.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">We are trying to provide more and more <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/family/parent-family-resources/training-support/">resources</a> to parents. Things like the weekly Parent Cue, toolboxes, <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/family/parent-family-resources/936-newsletter/">936 Newlsetter</a>, etc. We also have a great <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/GraceFamilyMinistry/">Facebook page</a> devoted to parents</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">That’s what today is all about! Creating an
environment where you can come and take it in and meet other people, so that you know you have a community that's here to support you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Our dream is that you would say, “yes I have
this sacred calling called 'parenting,' yes I have a God who loves me and is for
me, but I also have some people in the flesh who are here to love me and
support me and encourage me and cheer me on and provide me with resources to
help me do this better.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was rock climbing on a youth trip some years
ago. Let me just tell you personally that it is scary to be caught in a situation where you’re climbing, and you realize that you're on your own because all the equipment that is supposed to be supporting you comes off. It's terrible when you don’t have a functioning support system. It's very scary.
Compare that to rock climbing while having all the right equipment. It still might be scary –but it’s more of a 'thrill' kind of scary than a death-wish! The same is true for parenting, it makes a huge difference knowing that you have the right support system in place: a harness (a community to support you), a karabiner and rope (a
role you've been called to) and most importantly a person anchored to the
ground (a God who is for you) – so that if you fall and <u>when you fall</u> –
it won’t be a fatal blow. These three things will work together to catch you and give
you another shot. </span></div>
Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-60440271569941677992012-01-13T11:21:00.010-05:002012-01-17T20:14:40.631-05:00My favorite comments to hear after a sermon<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hear all kinds of comments after a sermon - I always love the feedback even if it's less than positive! There's always the old standard, "good sermon Pastor." It's always nice to receive encouragement of any kind - so I don't want to discourage those who might pull this one out on occasion. But there are some post-sermon comments that really get my attention. Here are a few of them. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. "I was re-reading the passage you preached from ... "</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My prayer always is that Sunday's sermon will drive people to the word of God. I pray that it would compel them to read on their own. That the treatment of the scriptures would have been intriguing enough for them to look into the Bible themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2. "That specific part of your sermon helped me to change the way I ..."</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the driving goals of preaching is life change. Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish this in a person's heart, but I believe that the Spirit uses the preaching of God's word as change agent in the hearts of believers. I believe that there are specific parts of every message that God has hand-crafted for certain believers that will be a catalyst for change. We are not supposed to be just hearers, but do-ers of the word.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. "Can you explain what you meant by ..." </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I like to view most sermons as the start of a conversation. For those 35 minutes on Sunday I realized that the conversation is very one-sided. But I always pray that it will continue. Sometimes it continues with me, which is great, but most often it continues in small groups or over coffee somewhere. When people push back about a certain point in my sermon it gives me a chance to either explain further what I meant or to learn from the body of Christ. I'm still learning and working out my faith as well. </span><br />
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</span>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-17863957716395734212011-12-20T10:38:00.003-05:002012-01-15T00:25:43.002-05:003 F's of inviting someone to church<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Christmas is a time when people who don't normally go to church will consider going to church, especially if someone they trust invites them. We always encourage our folks to be inviters at Christmas time (without being weird and overbearing Christians!) Here are a few tips for a good invitation to church ... and since I'm a cheesy pastor ... they all start with "F". </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Facts</b> – it's important to have an idea what’s going on in the services and some key information to share when you make your invitation. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Be specific when you invite them – offer to meet them somewhere or come with them. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Tell you're guests what to expect, what you'll be wearing, etc. Know some facts. Use an invitation card (we have plenty available for Christmas Eve). Here are some facts about this year at Grace; Christmas Eve s</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ervices are at 1, 3, 5 PM at McKean worship center; 7 pm at Harborcreek High School; and then 10 AM in the Commons at McKean on Christmas morning. We're asking folks to choose one of the 5. Music will be relevant to the service. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Derek is preaching live at all, Brian wrote an original song that is fantastic, we will be singing Christmas carols, we'll be inspired by an original video by our video team. There is childcare at all of them except the Sunday morning service. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>First-hand account</b> – while you’re inviting them, tell them about how your involvement at the church has been important to you. Tell them how the church has made a difference in your life. Your credibility (not the church's) will be what ultimately compels them to come. </span></li>
</ol><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm praying that many people will find the hope of Christ this Christmas as a result of a bunch of Christians who had the guts to invite them. </span></div><br />
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</div>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-16714269328245302922011-12-17T00:22:00.002-05:002011-12-17T00:23:42.242-05:00I took a 50% pay cut this week…<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This past week was one of the most heart-quickening weeks in my 18 years of ministry. It started on Monday when our Central Team at <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a> got another discouraging financial report about November. We are in a $22K hole already this fall (our fiscal year starts in September). What’s concerning is that historically the fall tends to be a strong financial season for us. We don’t fully understand these giving trends since other indicators are generally good – attendance is strong, we’re constantly hearing stories of life-transformation, many are experiencing forward motion in their faith, our people are active and engaged in serving the community, etc. Certainly, there are some new realities that we can’t ignore; the economic downturn, a bit of a turnover in our membership due to some recent transitions, a very young demographic that we’re reaching. (you can read the letter we sent to our congregation <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X9FtTnuEQeiL8zJYLL6QsqOwAblEjzpuDimqiuTdL_U/edit">here</a>).</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We needed to quickly create some margin in our budget so that ministry can continue as planned. We believe strongly that God has called us to do the things that are in our budget this year. We also can’t keep going further and further in the hole and considering using our line of credit to fund ministries or salaries until things turn around. I was not ready to move toward ministry reductions (we would have to eliminate an entire department) or staff layoffs (I believe we have the right people on the team). And truthfully the ultimate answer isn’t cutting staff or ministries – it’s moving the people of our church toward generosity in their giving. But how does one do that? Our leaders decided to lead the way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In order to spark a movement of generosity at Grace, Kim and I talked and prayed and decided to reduce my salary by 50% during the next three months. I also proposed this to our <a href="http://whoisgrace.com/about/staff.dot">Central team and our staff</a>... voluntary salary reductions. I was overwhelmed by the response. On average our staff is taking a 20% pay reduction over the next 3 months until we right the ship and figure out what’s going on. I was moved to tears so many times last week as I got reports of what staff members were doing. In addition, our elders started sending emails – some of them are committing to increase their giving up to 50% and 100% during this time. It’s as close to Acts 2 as I have felt in a long time. All of the leaders at Grace, including Kim and I, are going to feel this deeply. Everyone made a sacrificial decision that will lead to a different kind of Christmas this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But among all the other options, here’s why we chose to take the approach we did. </span><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Church leaders must lead by example</b>. As church leaders, we can scold our churches into generosity, we can preach them into generosity, or we can lead them into generosity through our example. This decision by the leaders at Grace was a clear demonstration to our church that we believe in our mission to the core. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 <i>Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ</i>. Our leaders stepped up to the plate this week and said to our church, ‘follow us as we follow Christ.’ </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>The church must solve problems in community.</b> The impact of this past week on our staff is immeasurable. The most frequent response I got from staff members was “thank you.” What a strange response from people who just had their salaries reduced for three months! Why would they be thankful? I suppose everyone was aware that we could have simply started laying people off, but instead we chose to address the problem together – all hands in (We may eventually still need to consider layoffs, but at least we gave it our best shot first). As we walked through this hands-in-the-middle moment together, our staff is as close as we’ve ever been to one another. There are stories of staff and their spouses sharing deep and intimate moments together as they considered what they would sacrifice for the cause. We are better for having turned to community first and tried to solve this problem together. It reminds me of Acts 4:32 - <i>All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Church leaders must embrace opportunities to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel. </b>Jesus has always called his followers to sacrifice. He said in Luke 9:23, <i>whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me</i>. Sacrifice means giving to the Lord whatever He requires: our time, our earthly possessions, our energies to further His work. Christians have always been tried and tested to see if they will put the things of God first in their lives. And I’m convinced that we are most like Jesus when we choose sacrificial generosity. This week the leaders at Grace Church were put to this test, and they stood up. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I pray that many more in our congregation will also stand up – and learn the beauty of sacrificial generosity.</span>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-62624544643319352462011-10-06T23:58:00.002-04:002011-10-07T21:01:13.620-04:00Day 4 - Q&A with the Haitian People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ah_HqsI1_9Q/To9J6aN9RRI/AAAAAAAAFJ8/DguhwdDUsIw/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ah_HqsI1_9Q/To9J6aN9RRI/AAAAAAAAFJ8/DguhwdDUsIw/s400/IMG_0505.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today was my last full day in Haiti. There are many mixed emotions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yesterday we spoke to our second English class made up of adult Haitians who are mostly professionals or students. They are highly motivated to learn English. When enrollment opens up, people line up around the block to sign up like they're trying to get tickets to a rock concert. Dan and I got to share our stories and talk about our families and our occupations to two different classes this week. I got some interesting questions about being a pastor:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>Favorite questions I got from the ESL Classes</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What do you think of our country? <i>(this was asked in both classes)</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What time do your church services start? How long do they last? <i>(they laughed hard when I told them how 'late' we start at 9:15 and how 'short' our services are 1 hr. 15 mins. Some churches here have services at 6 AM and they last many hours.)</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What are the differences between your church and the church in Haiti?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How do you handle 'rival' churches and 'rival' religions?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What was your best and worst moment in ministry?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What size is your church?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How do people watch your sermons on video - how do you record it? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Can I watch your sermons on the internet?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What do you think are the signs that Jesus is coming back soon?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How many Haitian members are in your church? <i>(I was asked this in both sessions)</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Does racism still exist in America?</span></li>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u><b>More detailed info about my day</b></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I got to talk to Kim and the Kids last night and so it made me miss them all the more. On the other hand – this country does something to you. The people are profoundly beautiful. It has been a joy to encourage many of the believers here. To remind them that there is hope, that God is not distant but close by. And to be reminded of these things by them. My heart has been encouraged and my faith has been strengthened.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Day 4 was a good day. We trekked half way up the mountain to what the Americans call the ‘Prayer Tree’ – the Haitians call it the ‘Fasting Tree.’ There is a local prayer meeting that happens at the tree every Thursday beginning at 6 AM and lasting until mid afternoon. It was started over 20 years ago by two sisters who continue to lead it faithfully. Hundreds of people come and go throughout the day to pray for their needs and to pray for Haiti. There is a small sound system that is used for the leaders to guide people in and out of times of corporate prayer, singing, and private prayer. The tree is a mango tree with an exposed root system that makes for plenty of seating. Fortunately I had Wadner there to interpret all of the prayer instructions that were coming over the microphone. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were there during a time when people were encouraged to bring their requests to God. There were prayers for those who needed healing, those whose family members were sick or dying, those who were hungry, prayers were offered specifically for those who couldn’t sleep at night, throughout this time people were consistently encouraged to wave both hands toward heaven. Then there was a season of celebration and praise. Passionate singing, dancing, hand waving, greeting one another, swaying – all prayers were being offered at the same time so a low rumble of exultant voices was being raised to heaven. It was absolutely beautiful. Our praying is weak in America. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then I was asked to come forward to pray into the microphone for Haiti. I was honored. Wadner came with me to interpret – during the introduction it was noted that I’m the Pastor of the church who sent Bud and Jane and Miss Kate to Haiti – there were oohs and aahs from the gathering because our missionaries are so loved and respected throughout this whole region. I prayed for the redemption of Haiti – that the Holy Spirit would claim this nation for his name and his renown – I prayed that the enemy would be held at bay in Haiti and that God would continue to raise up leaders who would bring renewal and revival to this land. I couldn’t match their intensity, but I’m confident that God also heard my prayer... even though I’m sure my faith is small compared to these great souls. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We spent some time before lunch making the rounds with some of the missionaries to try to capture some of their day to day activity on video camera. When they come back to Erie to report what’s going on – they sometimes bring pictures or videos but never seem to have pictures or videos of themselves in action (for obvious reasons)! So we wanted to capture some of that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While we were out at one of the schools – we got word that the child my family sponsors (and his mother and Pastor) had arrived to meet me. We were 45 minutes away because this meeting wasn’t supposed to happen until the afternoon (time is a bit fluid here). So we hurried back while they waited and I got to meet Sander. It wasn’t exactly a Hallmark moment – but still deeply rewarding to meet him. We had a major language barrier so we couldn’t really communicate, he was very shy and not sure what to think about this whole thing, but I found out that he likes soccer and math and is doing very well in school. He and his mother also had met Jesus through the program that he was in. I gave him a kids Bible in Creole – and some gifts that I had brought from the states. My kids had made some pictures and there was a picture of our family. He and his mom were both very appreciative. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We then met for about 3 hours with Pastors Miguelson and James to discuss the church to church partnership some more. It was greatly encouraging – I heard some things that I was waiting to hear. They weren’t afraid to tell us that some of our ideas were not good ideas. They said that they would not hesitate to back out of the partnership if it was not serving their goals or our goals. They, like us, are interested in an equal mutually beneficial relationship that will expand God’s Kingdom. We nailed down some specific next steps and timelines. We walked through a SWOT analysis with them which helped to give us a good understanding of where they are at as a church and we both agreed to move forward with the partnership pending some conversations with both of our leadership teams (elders, ministry leaders, etc.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We then shared a Q&A time with our second adult English class which was taught by Kate (questions included above). At dinner time we went out with 3 Haitian young men for a night on the town. It was a great time. We went to a local restaurant for dinner - drove by a stadium with a huge local soccer match going on - saw a revival at a downtown church and got to witness first-hand how Cap-Haitien comes alive at night. More than that we had an absolute blast with Miguelson, James, and Wadner (ti Lo-Lo)! We laughed hard and long and continued to establish what I believe will be a deep and lasting bond. The guys shared some good-bye speeches with us that were very touching and gave insight into their hearts. These are godly young men who are going to be instrumental in bringing the light of Christ to Haiti. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I woke up to roosters crowing this morning and knew that a good day was ahead!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Over these past couple of days something has happened again and again that has simply blown me away. Everywhere I go people know of Grace church and the people of Grace. When they hear I'm the pastor there - stories come pouring out of this person or that person who has impacted their lives from Grace. I am swelling with a godly pride about the over 100 people from Grace who have visited this island over the past 10 years. Obviously these accolades have nothing to do with me but everything to do with the faithful people of Grace who have made the decision to invest in others. I'll give you a few examples. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">1. Kate - a longtime member of Grace -retired teacher - in her 70's. She has been in haiti for 9 years with no intentions of leaving anytime soon. She has brought the gift of education to hundreds (maybe thousands) of people. She's like a folk hero everywhere I go. And Erica is Kate's friend and counterpart at the school. She's not from Grace originally but we tease her that she has been 'grafted in.' We support her work here!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">2. Bud and Jane - Jane has given the gift of schools, and organization, and child sponsorships. Bud fixes everything in his sight. If you work with your hands and like to get greasy and never imagined yourself as a missionary - trust me there is a place for you... don't shut God down because of dreaming too small. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">3. Don and Debbie - they have brought the gift of love and a variety of kinds of support and care for the people of Haiti and our missionaries. Everytime their name comes up it is with deep honor and respect. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">4. Meg - the mention of those 3 letters M-E-G - brought cheers at the clinic here - her legacy of praying personally for each patient and the deep personal interest she took in every life - even when things were busy - lives on as legend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">5. Pam - again at the clinic Pam's name is honored because of her diligent work and fundraising and coordination in getting an X-Ray machine here and working.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">6. Pastor Mike - he has spearheaded many of our teams and efforts here and he is deeply loved. His intentional prayers and many acts of love for the people of this country are held in high esteem. I visited your special prayer circle today, Mike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I could go on and on and on, but just wanted to say thank you to the modern heroes who have encouraged and inspired so many people and who have made a lasting mark on this island. Thank you for extending Grace's reach to the ends of the earth and for representing The Church and Jesus the head of The Church so faithfully. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">This was the main thing I wanted to say- but if you'd care to read some more details about my day today - feel free to continue. I just understand that my reflections are wordy and most people who read blogs have short attention spans! Check back tomorrow for some reflections about our last day here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Day 3 - Fresh bananas for breakfast was a great treat (there are banana fields right next to where we are staying) - they have so much flavor when they are fresh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We then waited for a vehicle for transport to the seminary. I was scheduled to speak at their chapel service this morning at 10 AM. Several cars were out of commission today with Bud scrambling around from vehicle to vehicle trying to get them running. We finally got a ride with another missionary couple (Bud and Cindy) who were also traveling to the seminary for their Creole classes. With diesel fuel nearly $7.00 per gallon - they carpool as much as possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Our trip there (my longest van trip since being in Haiti) included views of the usual street vendors, lottery booths, and peopel milling about - but because the trip was longer we also got to see some rice fields, and pasture land, and the mountainous scenery is still breathtaking. If you didn't know differently, you'd think you were in Hawaii. We came across the location of a leading witch doctor - his house was marked with many high-flying flags to let the waiting world know he was there. Also the roads are filled with so many potholes that even the shortest trip involves jarring jolts that leave you wondering if you've dislocated something. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The seminary is beautiful. It contains the fingerprints of many people from Grace who have worked there over the years. It is a state of the art facility, with a beautiful modern kitchen, multiple buildings with classrooms, offices, dormitories, etc. We arrived 2 minutes before chapel was scheduled to start, but we were the first ones there. I was relieved since I was the guest speaker! Pretty soon some 60 well-dressed seminarians began filing in - a variety of 1st through 4th year students. The next generation of pastors and ministry leaders... the hope of Haiti. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The worship was powerful and passionate - I didn't understand a single word but understood the Spirit in the room in the most familiar of languages. I shared from 1 Timothy 4:12 - and the importance of setting an example for the believers with their lives - of being men worthy of following and imitating. I encouraged them that if Jesus could change the world through 12 faithful men, that he can certainly change Haiti with 60! Dan and I spent some great time with Matt Ayers - the Director of the Seminary and I was blown away by his love for the scriptures and passion to teach theology. We got to sit in on one of his classes - a Q&A study session for an upcoming test on Romans 1-4. Just to give you a glimpse of the level of engagement and learning - here were my two favorite questions: 1) which is justification more dependent upon; grace, or faith, or both? and 2) What is the connection (if any) between God's creation ex nihilo and the virgin birth? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We then ate a great Haitian lunch of corn gritz and pureed black bean sauce. I'm a picky eater, but once I got over my texture-phobia the food was delicious. We had some more discussion with Matt about the seminary facility's potential role in our church-to-church partnership since they have turned out many of the pastors in the region and have a heart for ongoing training and development. There is much potential here to be explored. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We came back to our headquarters and as Dan and I were discussing more detail about the church-to-church partnership, in walked Pastor Migueloson. We had an hour-long improptu conversation that was very instrumental. At every turn I am convinced of the strong fit between our churches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We visited Dr. Rodney, the doctor at the clinic, who just returned from a hospital stay of his own after nearly dying. He was literally nursed back to life by one of the visiting Doctors with OMS. It was an honor to pray for him. God will heal him soon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We then went to the Wednesday bible study for the missionaries at Kate's house, and it was a sweet time of deep study of the scriptures (Matt Ayers led us through John 7) and a time of worship and sharing prayer requests. I wrote down every request and plan to share some with you (without personal details). I think it will be a great teaching tool to compare and contrast with our context the kinds of things that people who are on the front lines of ministry are praying about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We had a great dinner tonight and on my way back to the house we're staying I received word that a young Haitian man was waiting to speak with me. He is a young man who is engaged to a young woman who is a friend of mine and member of Grace. He was nervous to say the least - we had a wonderful conversation and made plans for dinner together tomorrow night. He'll be taking Dan and I out on the town for an evening in Cap-Haitien. I can't wait.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">We talked for hours with Bud and Jane tonight, and I'm finally getting around to putting together some of my thoughts. Oh and I got to talk to Kim and all three of my kids tonight on the phone. I miss them terribly so it was a great encouragement to hear their voices. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Please pray for tomorrow. I'll be visiting the Prayer Tree in the early morning (a sacred spot where Christians come to pray every Thursday for their nation), we'll be meeting again with Pastor Miguelson and Pastor James to continue to frame out next steps for our partnership, and then in the afternoon I'll be meeting the family of the child that my family sponsors through Starfish Kids. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I have very mixed emotions. Tomorrow is our last day here. We leave Haiti early Friday morning. Dan and I covet your prayers. </span>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-26504481668795738592011-10-04T23:57:00.001-04:002011-10-07T14:33:32.009-04:00Day 2 - Issues/Opportunities- the Haitian church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXGm-tYfw34/To9Ft2EO3XI/AAAAAAAAFJ0/wiR76yROWZU/s1600/IMG_0445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXGm-tYfw34/To9Ft2EO3XI/AAAAAAAAFJ0/wiR76yROWZU/s400/IMG_0445.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is difficult not to fall head over heels in love with this place and these people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This computer/internet connection is not allowing me to post pictures or videos here. I really wish I could so you could see for yourself. All in good time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today was day 2.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Breakfast at 7:00 this morning – I tasted the freshest pineapple I’ve ever had. It was like candy. Then I had the privilege of meeting Ti Louie (small Louie) and touring the radio station that he runs. There are over 150,000 portable radios in distribution in Haiti that carry this one station that brings the gospel, and training, and worship music, all across this fine Island. It’s a brilliant ministry. I had the honor to share some thoughts at their staff morning Bible study and prayer meeting. There is discouragement among their ranks. Equipment is breaking, funds are short, and many are nervous about their jobs. I spoke to them from Romans 8:18-25 about ‘hope.’ In its biblical form it is far more than just wishful thinking and crossing our fingers, hope is deeply rooted in the identity of God. The foundation of hope is the promise of God to be with us. I pray that God used it to bring encouragement and,… well… hope. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We then got to tour the school where several of our missionaries teach – it is an English speaking school so it was fun to be able to communicate with the Haitian children who were fairly fluent in English. During their lunch break, I got to play soccer with the kids and kick the ball really high in the air to their oohs and aahs (I’m not a very skilled soccer player – so kicking it as hard and as high as I could was the only thing I could think of that might impress them ) They also loved looking at pictures of my kids on my Iphone. The girls thought Ayden was adorable and the boys wanted to play Angry Birds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We then visited the clinic that we’re associated with. Last year Grace and Hamot Hospital teamed up to ship a used X-Ray machine for use in this clinic. Last month we were able to send a technician down who was finally able to get the machine properly working. It was awesome to see it in action and to see the joy on the faces of the workers who are finally able to diagnose internal injuries when before it was a bit of a guessing game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I took a long walk for some prayer and reflection and was able to jot down some thoughts that I’ll share another time. Dan and I also got to talk a lot more about some ideas that have been brewing in regards to the church-to-church partnership. We will be meeting with the Pastors again at lunch time on Thursday to discuss next steps. Please keep us in your prayers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I then visited an adult English class that one of our missionaries, Kate, teaches. It was an advanced class for college students and professionals. I introduced myself and had a chance to field questions. There was a lively discussion about a number of church-related questions. It gave me a chance to share and it gave them a chance to practice their English – so it was a win-win. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally we were honored to be guests in Kate’s home for dinner. We dined with Kate, Erica, Bud and Jane (missionaries from Grace and supported by Grace). I was amazed by their accounts of God at work in this country, I clumsily tried to encourage them and let them know how valuable their work is. I learned a lot about Haitian culture from them that will affect how we approach the partnership. It was a great day. I’m getting some thoughts together for tomorrow as I’ll be preaching at the chapel service in the morning to 55 seminarians. I’m less intimidated since I preached today using an interpreter. It’s not as bad as I had anticipated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yesterday I promised to post a few of the issues that our potential partner church believed were the leading issues in their church and community. So here they are:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u><strong>Leading issues/opportunities of the Eglise Evangelique Baptiste Sion:</strong></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. Training – they are longing for training of all kinds – ongoing ministry training for the people in their congregation (leadership, worship, children, youth, couples, finances, etc) as well as basic life training of all varieties. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. Education – They provide a Christian school at their church, but it hasn’t had great traction because people have their children working instead of going to school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. They believe they have a resource in the women of their church who have time and skills to start small businesses. Generally in Haiti women don’t work but Miguelson and James believe they can break new ground in this area because some of their women are willing and able to try new things. They have toyed with a very basic micro-finance model within their church (the pastor gives a woman a goat – and she sells products related to the goat – and when the goat has babies she gifts the baby goats to some other women in the church.) This concept obviously needs to be developed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4. Once per month meal ministry. They had been in a habit of celebrating a meal together as a church one Sunday per month. The pastors were buying the food for everyone. For most it was their only meal on Sunday. They did it in conjunction with communion and it resembles the early church practice of the celebration meal. They have run out of funds to continue this ministry. We are hoping to help them figure this one out since food is such a basic need in their community. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I just wanted to give you some brief insight into some of the issues that we’re exploring and lean on your prayer support. </span>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-47960610886785919152011-10-03T23:36:00.001-04:002011-10-07T21:44:16.359-04:00Day 1 - First Impressions of Haiti<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> </shapetype></span></span></shapetype></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">We arrived in Haiti at 9:00 this morning. It was a great trip –everything was smooth. Dan is fantastic to travel with. We woke up at 3:30 AM to catch our flight – so right now at 10:00 PM I’m a little tired! But I wanted to capture some thoughts. We drove around right away to check out some new schools that had just been built in some of the remote regions around Cap-Haitien. </span></shapetype></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then met with Pastor Migueloson (38 years old) and Pastor James (32 years old) to discuss a potential partnership. Our advance teams did a great job in selecting these Pastors and this church, The Eglise Evangelique Baptiste Sion. Their hearts were so aligned with our hearts it nearly brought tears. We talked for about 2 hours about our respective churches and our dreams for the future. It was interesting that they have been framing their vision thoughts around the year 2016 which I also recently did at Grace. We then went and visited their church. It is a second story open-air facility with basically one room and a small office. They have about 100 people worshiping with them. Their dream is to have 2000 in the next 5 years. I love big dreams! But they’re not just empty dreams, they have plans and strategies to accompany them. I’ll try to post tomorrow about what they perceive their biggest community needs and challenges are. Very fascinating. Even though there are dramatic cultural differences between our churches - many of the challenges and issues are exactly the same. Our conversation flowed easily and passionately!</span></shapetype></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then we walked the neighborhood with them. If there had been any hesitation about the partnership before that – it would have completely evaporated as I watched how people responded to them in the streets. They were the heroes of their community. It was a really beautiful scene. We got to enter several homes and pray with some of the members of their church – several who were sick or dying. One particular woman stood out. She was a former prostitute who recently found Christ at their church. She has been healed and restored from her former life- she is the woman Jesus would have hung out with. When we started praying for her, she immediately fell to her knees and then her face on the ground in honor and humility before God. Jesus is alive and well in Haiti. </span></shapetype></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong><u>Some initial observations:</u></strong></span></shapetype></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">1. It is incredibly hot here. Even though it was only around 90 degrees today – the humidity was stifling. And it's buggy - there are bugs almost covering my laptop screen as I'm typing right now and I'm in a full sweat just sitting here typing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">2. The constant poverty is overwhelming. I know this is cliché but it’s something you can’t understand until you see it. It’s not just the level of poverty but the constancy of it. I have read that Haiti is a “4th World” country because the poverty is so pervasive that they will never be able to get themselves out of it on their own. It was shocking to fly in on the island and overlook breathtaking mountains and beaches that looked like they should be covered with multi-million dollar condominiums and resorts with nothing but poverty as far as the eye could see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">3. The people are beautiful. They are well-dressed, hard working, quick to smile and even quicker to extend a hand or a hug in greeting. As we walked the streets, it could have been very awkward and gawky and instead it was very natural because of peoples' friendliness and acceptance. Even though Americans are rarely allowed in the homes of Haitian people because they are proud and don’t want their poverty ‘on display’ – we were welcome because we were guests of their pastors. Deeply honored. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">4. There is spiritual oppression here that’s unexplainable other than appealing to the existence and activity of God and Satan. We heard story after story of the spiritual activity in this area. It’s real. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">5. These missionaries are modern-day heroes. The people who have given the rest of their lives to this island have blown me away. I want to have their love and devotion to the Savior when I grow up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Please pray for me tomorrow as I’m speaking at the Radio Station. I'll be speaking from <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208:18-25&version=NIV">Romans 8:18-25</a> on 4 Habits of People with Hope. I’ll also be visiting the school where our missionaries Kate and Erica teach. Looking forward to a great day. </span><br />
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<stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17400640.post-8916733573267055592011-10-02T23:37:00.001-04:002011-10-05T01:49:08.310-04:00Some goals for my Haiti trip this week<img alt="File:View of Cap-Haitien.jpg" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/View_of_Cap-Haitien.jpg/800px-View_of_Cap-Haitien.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tomorrow morning at 4:30 AM - Dan Palmer and I will arrive at the Ft Lauderdale aiport to prepare for departure on a small charter plan into Cap-Haitien, Haiti. It is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti. Grace church has been involved with this city for the last 10 years sending over 100 short-term missionaries and also sending several full-time missionaries who still reside there. We will be visiting Haiti this week with some very specific objectives.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Interview Pastor Miguelson and Pastor James and allow them to interview us in order to explore a church to church partnership with their church in Cap-Haitien. They pastor a church that is respected in the region and has influence on many other churches and pastors. We would love to pool influence, resources, and expertise in order to continue to bring the gospel to Haiti. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. If it appears to be a good fit for partnership, our next step will be to explore exactly what that partnership would look like and how it would impact the lives of individuals in each of our congregations. This can't just be a leadership partnership, but one that is felt and experienced deep into the seats in our churches. If it doesn't seem like a good fit - we will begin to investigate other partnership options.<br />
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3. Encourage the missionaries. There are full time missionaries from <a href="http://www.whoisgrace.com/">Grace Church</a> stationed there including Bud and Jane Dennington and Kate Zlotnicki. We also have a relationship with many of the missionaries stationed on the OMS compound as well as the Ayers who serve as leaders of the local seminary. I'll be sharing with the seminary students as well as on the local radio station. We hope to be an encouragement to the local missionaries who have given their lives to serve in a very difficult situation.<br />
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I'm also planning to visit the child that my family sponsors here through Starfish Kids. It's going to be a blast to meet him and his family in person. My kids have drawn pictures and sent along gifts for he and his brothers and sisters. I can't wait.<br />
</span></span>Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186585220798634272noreply@blogger.com3