Work team coordinators (for West TN and Middle TN) will soon be named for those interested in helping with clean-up and rebuilding. Work team information will be posted as it becomes available.

New Hope August 2010 Calendar

AUGUST 27, 2010…

NEW HOPE CP CHURCH…VERNON BURROW

Hello, friends and members of this great congregation called New Hope.  I keep thinking about what a great name we have, and the slogan we put with it:  “New Hope – A Place for New Beginnings”.   On this Friday afternoon I am rejoicing that the temperature is normal for this time of year — low humidity and a gentle breeze.  It was almost chilly outside when I arose at my usual time, 5:00 AM.  God gives us a new world every morning.  Isn’t God good!!

JOHN CROWDER III joined the church last Sunday by re-affirmation of faith and transfer of church membership.  He has been very active in our church for over a year now.  He and his son John IV head up the Men’s Prayer Breakfast.  He is receiving training to become a Stephen Minister.  He is heading up a committee to plan the Fall Fest.  His wife Karen and brother in law Rick White joined the church earlier this year.  John and Karen have two children – Stacey and John IV and his two daughters, Jessica and Makayla also attend our church and live close by.  John III grew up in a strong Christian home.  He and Karen met in college.  Before retirement he ran a very successful construction business.  They are listed in your Church Worker’s Directory.  Both he and Karen will tell you that New Hope has been a place of new beginnings for the both of them.  Welcome.

JOYCE AND I

Joyce and I are having a little bit of trouble when we insinuate in any way that the other one is getting old and needs to be looked after.  On Wednesday she went to her primary care doctor and he made an appointment for her to get some kind of stomach scan because she showed signs of losing blood.

The stomach test was to take place at 1:15 Thursday.  It was very obvious to me that I needed to take her, and not let her go alone.  I re-adjusted my schedule, re-set some appointments in order to do so.  No problem.  Just glad to do it.  That is what husbands are supposed to do.

Halfway there she asked, “Why are we going this way?”  I said, “Because that is the way to Dr. Engle’s office.”  “Well,” she said, “they told me it was on Highland Ave.”   By then we were almost to Dr. Engle’s office at the opposite end of town to Highland Ave.  “Are you sure it is Dr. Engle we are seeing?”  “Yes”.  “Well he moved from Highland a long time ago, so here we are.”

We go in.  They find no record of any appointment.  The office gals were very disturbed thinking that they had fouled up.  Nothing to do but to reschedule with Dr. Engle.  Sometime after that and after many phone calls we found that the appointment was on Highland Ave, but not with Dr. Engle.  We missed that appointment.  On the way to get her something to eat (she had to fast for this appointment) I was saying that next time I would go with her to the doctor so we would not get confused about where we were to go.  I knew that Dr. Engle is her long time friend and that she just assumed that kind of test would be done by him.  It’s OK if she got a little mixed up.  After all……

Things went downhill from there.  She would like me to know that she is plenty capable of handling her doctor needs by herself and that she has been doing it for all these years before I came along and that I did not need to bother.  Not in an angry tone, smiling all the time, but very direct indeed.

She went away for a while today.  Saying when she returned that her primary care doctor would receive the results of her tests in a few days.  I cannot wait to tell her, “No, you do not need to go to the doctor with me.  I too can handle….”

(4:45 PM Joyce just got word from her doctor that all is well.  Yes!!)

ON THE TABLE IN THE NARTHEX ARE A NUMBER OF SCRIPTO BOOKLETS FOR YOUR TAKING.  The “Scripto” books deal with a wide range of topics that are of interest to Christians.  They are easy to read, with nice “scripto”.  I have distributed these in the past and these are some I found in my library.  You are free to take one or more of these free of charge.  If they prove to be helpful enough the church may want to consider buying a new supply.  Some of the titles are:

STEPHEN MINISTRY TRAINING IS IN FULL SWING.  These teachers and class members are putting in an enormous amount of time in training between now and Christmas.  They will spend 52 hours in training, not counting preparation time, and just the logistics associated with that many classes.  So I ask you to pray for them, and not only that, but to look for ways that you can be of practical help to these people.  They are making a great investment that will prove to be a blessing to many people in our church and beyond for many years to come.

I believe that effects of this program will be far-reaching.  I believe that our entire church will become more conscious of our need to care for one another, to bear each other’s burdens, and to weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice.

WITH OUR PEOPLE

-          College students

o   Brittany Brown in Vol State

o   Shawnee Etheridge at Cumberland University

o   Katie Dickson at Tennessee Tech

-          Jerry Etheridge is still waiting for a kidney.  He is at the top of the list now and should get a kidney pretty soon.  In the meantime, he is on dialysis three times a week.

-          Jerry Etheridge and a friend of his are partnering in setting up a program called “THE MENTOR PROGRAM – Alternative Intervention Juvenile Boot Camp.”  Pray for success for this much needed program and pitch in to help when you can.  His phone is 615-881-1100.

CHURCH WORKERS DIRECTORY UPDATE

Passed out last Sunday with the latest names, addresses, phone #, e-mail addresses, birthdays and anniversaries.  This is a very valuable tool to help us keep up with each other, encourage each other, affirm each other, get together with one another, talk with one another.  This one is printed in Orange, so you will know it is the latest.  The next update will be in another color.  Keeping it up to date is a full time job.  Already I have found that we misspelled Etheridge and had Jerry’s phone wrong.  It is 881-1100.  Please write on your attendance pads on Sunday when you have a change of address, phone #, etc.  I will pass them along to the congregation in Pastor Notes and in about 3 months we will have a new printing.   Thanks to Carrie Shehane for helping with this.

Good-bye until Sunday.  Pastor B.

PASTOR NOTES…

NEW HOPE CP CHURCH…AUGUST 2, 2010…

VERNON BURROW

FAIREST OF THE FAIR for Wilson County belongs to our own Katie Dickson this year.  There was a great picture of her on the front page of the Lebanon Democrat Tuesday morning.  Nineteen young ladies participated in the contest.  According to the article in the paper the pageant was “more than poise and beauty, it was also representing the number one fair in Tennessee.”  There were many factors in the selection, including an interview each contestant had with the judges.  Katie was quoted as saying “I practiced the questions in front of the mirror and with my mom.”  She added that growing up around agricultures makes the traditional ‘milking of the cow’ a no-brainer.  The article went on the say: “After competing in the pageant for the past three years, Dickson has also mastered the art of looking pretty in spite of the harsh humidity.”  “I tanned and got my nails done,” Katie is quoted as saying.  This Sunday is the last Sunday before she enters college at Tennessee Tech.  She will read the Scripture for us during morning worship.  She has numerous entries in the arts, crafts, cooking, etc.   She will have them on display along with the rest of you who have entries on Sunday 29^th.   She plans to be back home from college most week-ends.

BRING YOUR WILSON COUNTY FAIR ENTRIES AND/OR RIBBONS, PRIZES to church on

August 29.  We will display them for all to see.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER

There is a story about a hell, fire, and damnation preacher who strongly objected to a saloon being built close to his church.  He called the congregation to pray against it.  They prayed that someway God would intervene and keep the saloon from being built.  Sure enough, the night before it was to be opened lightning struck it and it was burned to the ground.  The saloon keeper filed a claim against the church.  He said that it was because of their prayers that his business was destroyed.  The preacher and his lawyer made the case before the court that the church was not responsible for the lightning.  The judge said, “This is the most puzzling case I have ever heard of.  You have a saloon owner who believes in the power of prayer, and a preacher that doesn’t.”

Well, we did some intercessory prayer Wednesday night.  The Bible says we are supposed to do that.  We prayed by name for every person that is listed on our prayer list in our Sunday bulletin.  We shared information about the people some of us did not know, or for what we were praying.  A few names were people none of us knew and we will take their names off to leave room for others.  But before that, we prayed for each person because we know that God knows the need.  We did that praying in the office complex.  From there we went to the gathering room for Rotation Sunday School and we prayed that enough workers will volunteer and many children will show up from our church and community.  Then we went to the sanctuary and gathered around the piano and sang some prayer songs.  At the altar of the church we prayed for Sandy and Karen in teaching the Stephen Ministry Series.  Karen offered a prayer for me that I may be able to fill the pulpit each Sunday in a way that is pleasing to God.   It was sort of a walk-through prayer meeting and it was meaningful and powerful, I think.

I imagine that most of you, like me, have a prayer list.  I make out a new one every Monday morning.  Joyce and I pray for each of those every day, and some people she has on her list, every morning during our devotional time.  I have a simple form on an 8 x 11 paper with a place for the name, what the need is for which I am praying, and the results.  I don’t put more than seven at any time, because it is hard for me to pray sincerely for more than that.  Most of the people on our lists are members of New Hope or St. Mark’s, or family, or close friends.  It is encouraging to see when prayers are answered.  God is good.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT IDEA

While we were praying last Wednesday someone brought up the idea that since Stephen Ministry training will be going on each Wednesday night for a while, that it might be good to have a meal for the whole church before the class starts, and then have something to do after the meal for those who are not in Stephen Ministry. That is a good idea.  I can think of many things we could do that would make the time spent worthwhile for all age groups.  In order for that to happen, someone will need to step up and give leadership in doing this.  I will be glad to talk with that person about ideas for programming.  I have a set of the Bible Studies that are based on old re-runs of the Andy Griffith show.  That’s one idea.  There are others.  Want to try it?  Let me or Evelyn know.

CHINA

Charlie B. went to China last week on business.  What is happening in China is a phenomenon that all of us need to be interested in.  I asked him for some impressions and here are a few of them (in my words)

-          China is going through something of what we did during the industrial revolution but for them change is coming a lot faster than it did for us.

-          They are very conscious of upward mobility

-          Unlike USA there are few labor laws regarding safety and workers rights, etc.  Charlie’s company is trying on its own to practice safety measures.

-          They work hard and long hours

-          They maybe have more electronic stuff than we, but other changes have not kept up with that.

-          They are fascinated with cars.  Buick is a status symbol.

Monica, Joyce’s granddaughter, works for Bank of America in Hong Kong, and her husband works in hotel management on the homeland.  She sees the Chinese as very hard workers.  She goes home at five, and many of them will stay much longer.  She says she doesn’t see many smiles on the faces of the Chinese.

I read in “Christian Science Monitor” this week that there is a very significant number of Christians in China.  The estimates vary because it is hard to keep up with their numbers.  A significant number are in house churches, or practice Christianity in more private ways.  But even a small percentage turns into a large number.  More than one billion of the world’s seven billion people are Chinese.

I really am anxious to see you Sunday.  It is a long time between Sundays and if you or I miss a Sunday it really seems like a long time.  Going to New Hope is like going home.  Hope you feel that way about it too.

Pastor B

PASTOR NOTES…

NEW HOPE CP CHURCH…AUGUST 14, 2010…

VERNON BURROW

FELLOWSHIP MEAL AFTER CHURCH THIS SUNDAY

The after church covered dish lunch this Sunday has been announced only once, and I fear that some of you may have forgotten it.  The session in its meeting August 4 looked at the calendar and noticed that there was no fellowship gathering set up for August so they designated August 15 as the time.  So if you can, fix a covered dish and bring it with you Sunday.  Eating together on some kind of regular basis helps us keep the fellowship among us close.

SERMON

The message this Sunday is based on Psalms 139:13-16.  Psalm 139 is one of the great passages in all of Scripture.  The four verses we will concentrate on gets right down and personal about the wonderful miracle God performed when he made us and the purpose for which He created each one of us.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Rich Binney used this passage for our Bible study at the Men’s breakfast last Tuesday, and he talked about what this passage has meant to him.  So, read the passage again, and come ready to receive a blessing from God’s Word.  Ben Spicer will do special music based on the 139^th Psalm.  It is a good time for you to invite someone to come with you.

STEPHEN MINISTRY TRAINING will begin a week from tomorrow, August 22.  The leadership team composed of Karen Crowder and Sandy Dancy will do the training.  There are seven persons who volunteered and were accepted for this training.

CHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Rotation Sunday School) is on schedule to open September 19.  We are sending special notices to each child in this age group (K-6) each week from now until September.  Let us know if we missed someone this week.  Again, let me encourage you to bring other children in age group for this first Sunday.  We want it to start off big.  Elaborate preparations are being made.  Murals on the walls in the main gathering room, a stage for drama in the fellowship hall, new computers for the computer room, and more.

PRAYER MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY Aug. 18, 6:30 PM

• Short devotional from Scripture
• A Time of Worship and Song
• Prayers for the challenging programs Coming Up

o   Stephen Ministry Training

o   Christian Intelligence Agency

o   Men’s Prayer Breakfast

o   Youth Fellowship

• Special needs of people connected with our church – prayer list in bulletin.

CHARLES FAITH was a life-long Cumberland Presbyterian pastor.  He died this week in Calico Rock, Ark, where he had retired following his last pastorate.  I remember him from college years at Bethel.  During those years in the early 1950’s Bethel College was a lot smaller than Bethel University is now.  We had only about 500 students.  A goodly number of young Cumberland Presbyterian students were there preparing for the ministry.  Also, a goodly number of young men had come to Bethel on football or basketball scholarships.  They were not bad people, but most of them were not that much into church.  There was a consciousness that there was a little bit of a gap between the two groups.   Among us preachers there were a few who were just a little bit self-righteous and a little bit judgmental toward those who came primarily to play ball.  Some of the rest of us “preacher boys” were not happy about that at all and wanted to do something about it, but it was Charles, more than any other who bridged the gap, and that without compromising any of his values.  Some of us mediocre preacher/athletes played ball primarily to get to know the athletes better.  Charles was not mediocre – he was a great basketball player – the best of the best.  He was highly respected by the athletes not only for his ability, but for his goodness that didn’t make a show of goodness and didn’t look down on those who didn’t share all his values.  He had a profound effect in bridging a gap.

The interesting thing was that a high percentage of the “athletes” left Bethel College with a lot more respect for church people than they had before.  After graduating from Bethel, many of them became school teachers and coaches and became significant leaders in the churches in their towns.  I would like to think that all of us “preacher boys” who played ball had some good influence, but Charles was the most effective.  So far as I know he didn’t do much if any pro-active “evangelism”.  He just bridged the gap and made it easier for some others to feel there was a place for them in Kingdom work and that the kind of life Charles lived made them hungry for what he had.

He was a great pastor for many years, but those years at Bethel are what I will remember him for.  I learned from him that getting to be with people who are somewhat different from you — accepting them, loving them, modeling a good life before them, often opens the doors of the church and the gospel to them.  That, too, is evangelism.

Some of you knew Argyle Faith who was once pastor of the CP Church in Lebanon.  Argyle died a few years back.  He was “little brother” to Charles.  Another brother, Gerdy Allen, is a great man and a member of a CP Church in Kentucky.  Their mother and I served on the Board of Foreign Missions of the CP Church for several years.  The Faith’s are a great family.

With our People

• Pauline Horton is still having a rough time with arthritis.
• Wayne, her son, has finished this round of chemo, but is feeling pretty bad.
• Katie Dickson is leaving for college at Tennessee Tech on Aug. 26^th.

I am sure that many of you have been attending the Fair.  We are fortunate to have such a good Fair in Wilson County.  I know that Mary Jo puts a lot of work into it each year.  There are no doubt others that I don’t know about.

Those who had entries in the Fair and received prizes, please bring them to church on the 22^nd if you can.  Let the church celebrate your skills with you.

Thanks again, for the privilege of being your pastor.  We have lots of good experiences and many good things are about to happen.  Call on me when I can help you with a spiritual mater, or in your ministry.

Pastor B.

Pastor Notes…

New Hope CP Church…8.6.10…

Vernon Burrow

Welcome to our Newest Members.  Connie Spears and Clayton Fisher united with the church last Sunday, August 1, 2010.  Connie came by Profession of Faith and received baptism.  Clayton comes by re-affirmation of faith and transfer of membership.  Their address is 3756 Cairo Bend, Lebanon, TN 37087.  Connie’s dad and her son and daughter and their families came for the baptism.  Connie and Clayton have lived at their present address since 1995.  Clayton grew up in and around this community.   Some of you have known them for quite some time and others of you have met them since they started coming to our church.  Now you have this picture and all of you will know them by this picture.  So help them to get to know your names if you haven’t already.  Clayton is a welder by trade and specializes in decorative iron works (rails, gates, etc).  Connie had to quit her job some time ago because of health.  We are thrilled to have them in our church.

STEPHEN MINISTRY

Seven people have signed up to receive Stephen Ministry training that will start August 21.  They will complete their 50 hours of training by Christmas, and will be commissioned on January 9, 2011.  Sandra Dancy and Karen Crowder are our Stephen Leaders.  They took the week-long training in St. Louis earlier this year and they have worked hard in promoting SM and enlisting SM trainees.

Rotation Sunday School

begins September 19.

• A small group of people (Robbie, Anna, Ben, Sandy, Michael) are putting a lot of work into getting the rooms ready (they need more help).  Ask Robbie what you can do to help.

• Each week for the next five weeks the kids in this age group (K – 6^th grade) will receive a mailing inviting them to the opening on September 19.
• We have the names and addresses of those who are in any way connected with this church, but we need more names and addresses of children who are in this age group.  Look for kids around you that don’t have a church and let us put them on our mailing list.

We will stop using Rotation Sunday School very soon and start with a new name “Christian Intelligence Agency” (CIA) that meets each Sunday at the New Hope Church and is for all kids who are in grades K-6.  Look for more information on our website:  www.newhopecpchurch.com

SESSION NOTES

-          Met last Tuesday.  All seven elders plus Amanda, Robbie, and I were present.

-          Prayed for special needs of people within the church

-          Approved the Treasurer’s Report:  Copies on table in narthex.  Offerings for August totaled $4943 – an average of $1231 per Sunday.

-          Received report from the Property Ministry.  Report by Rick White.  Very detailed about matter of maintenance and upkeep.  Seems AC is now working well.  Thanks to Ray Jones family and Bill Brown for lawn maintenance,  and John Crowder III for letting various maintenance workers in at times Rick couldn’t be there.  Thanks to Rick for overseeing this important ministry.

-          Plans for Rotation Sunday School (Christian Intelligence Agency) preparation and a plan for publicizing.

-          Report that Stephen Ministry Training is starting this month.

-          Ministry Projects Approved:

-          Cemetery

-          Fall Stewardship Program

MORNING WORSHIP

My son, Tim Burrow, will speak to us this Sunday on “God’s Discipline Is Part of the Process”  The message will focus on how God spurs us to grow through difficult experiences in life.  He has searched the scriptures on this subject.  He also has a personal testimony about how these teachings has worked in his own life.

Tim graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Architecture degree.  He worked as an architect in Nashville for several years before earning the Doctor of Jurisprudence, Nashville School of Law, top 10 percent of his class.  He does primarily construction law.  Burrow and Cravens Law Firm is located at 1700 Hayes St. in Nashville.  He maintains his architecture license and occasionally does design jobs, the largest being “The Braxton” in Ashland City.  He is also a licensed contractor.  His son, John Michael, is entering the University of Tennessee this Fall.  Tim’s  message is based on one of the chapters in a book he wrote and hopes to publish soon on “How to Get to Heaven”.   The book is dedicated to his late and much beloved wife, Tamara, who died of cancer.

He is not substituting for me.  I will be present.  I am looking forward to hearing his message.

SPECIAL PRAYER MEETING

Has been called for Wednesday, August 18, to pray for the success of our STEPHEN MINISTRY and our ROTATION SUNDAY SCHOOL.  We will also pray for the needs of people.  Those who have sickness or other problems and would like to be prayed for that night are encouraged to come.

Thank you for the privilege of serving as your pastor.  Let us pray for each other and encourage each other in the work God has set out for us to do.

Pastor B.

PASTOR NOTES

JULY 31, 2010

NEW HOPE CP CHURCH

NEW BABIES

Xylia (zi – le – a) Monroe Curtis was born to Sasha Curtis July 24, 2010, 7:39 PM, weighing 7’13”, 20 “ long.  Little Miss Curtis is the grand-daughter of Greg and Alene Gibson and the great-grand-daughter to Claude and Mary Thompson.

Kasyn Smith born to Marianne Thompson and Sedrick Smith 6/10/10.  Grandparents are Tommy and Kim Thompson and great-grandparents are Claude and Mary Thompson.

WITH OUR PEOPLE

• Christina Greer placed High Gold at Nationals in Myrtle Beach on dance team.  Also, just finished filming “Miracle on Honey Bee Hill” at MTSU.

QUOTES

• “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.”  Author unknown.   My comments – true enough, but the other side is “A real Christian doesn’t stay away from church anymore than a responsible family member deliberately stays away from home at dinner time or work time”

• Here’s one that might be helpful if you are seeking to help an atheist or agnostic re-adjust his/her thinking –

“I would rather live my life as if there is a God,
And die to find out there isn’t, than live my life

As if there isn’t, and die to find out there is.”

WEBSITE

I read this week that some church growth experts estimate that 85% of people find a church via the church’s website.  Maybe that is inflated, but the percentage is significant and is getting higher all the time.  Of course these figures apply only to those who are looking for a church.  There are many people we witness to that are not looking for a church and need the person to person influence of people of the faith before they will go to any church.

Robbie Haynes is our webmaster and the website www.newhopecpchurch.com is getting better all the time.   It is attractive, informational, and easy to use.  It’s many links will take you to places that have other information that will help you in your Christian journey and in your ministries i. e., Bible studies, inspirational videos, church supplies, denominational ministries, etc.

For example, there are many videos that could supply you with inspirational music and Bible teaching to nourish your soul for a long period of time.

The persons who check our website before attending will get a lot of information that will help them know what to expect and how to find their way around, even before they come to church.  This knowledge helps people to be more relaxed and more able to have a positive experience than if they didn’t have this information.

There is so much that helps members stay in touch.  The worship bulletin for Sunday is posted there the Saturday before.  You can find the bulletin for the last several Sundays.  The same goes for the “Pastor Notes”  will be on the website tomorrow.  You will also find the current calendar and the birthdays and anniversaries on it.  You can go there and get the names of people you wish to send greetings to.

You will find pictures of past events, such as VBS.

Through the denominational link you can find anything you wish about the beliefs and the programs of the denomination.

Fortunately, this website costs us very little.  After the set up fee we pay only a very small maintenance fee.  What a deal!  But the website is worthwhile only as it is used.  I encourage you to use it for the information and inspiration you need to be the best church member you can be.

Robbie is putting a lot of time into this.  Let’s use it.

PSALM 91 is a great one.  I have just finished my study on this.  I know I must do economy of words tomorrow because we have two other wonderful things happening during the worship hour.

1. It is Holy Communion Sunday and that is always the highlight of the service.  The sermon is always imperfect.  Communion is always perfect, because it is His.

2. We are going to have an adult baptism and receive people into the church.  Let’s all work together to let this be a great service.

MISSION OPPORTUNITY

You know what my 80 year old long time best friend, John Lovelace, is doing?  He is leading a work camp in Haiti.  Below is the invitation he gives.  Joyce and I seriously considered it and backed out because of our being newlyweds (is that good enough excuse?) But some of you may want to go.  Anyone who can be an unskilled helper may go, but John really needs a couple of skilled carpenters.  Here is his e-mail post:

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO HAITI TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR A FAMILY WHO LOST THEIR HOUSE IN THE EARTHQUAKE?

“Lord willing I will be leading a mission work group to Haiti Oct. 30-Nov. 7 to build a house in Fond-des-Blancs (FDB) for a re-located family who lost their house in Port Au Prince (PAP) during the terrible earthquake.  The government is encouraging families to leave PAP to live elsewhere since PAP is too heavily populated.

We will be working with Jean and Joy Thomas, founders and directors of Haitian Christian Development Fund.  They started their ministry in 1982.  He studied under John Perkins before he started his ministry and it was while there that he met his wife Joy who was a volunteer   I took a mission work group to work with them in 2004 and all of us were so impressed with them and their ministry.

We will be building a pre fab house which will cost $3,000 which is available in PAP plus around a $1000 for the foundation.  That is we will be doing this if we can raise the $4,000.   I thank God that we have $2,190 promised and I believe the rest will come in soon; thus this call for volunteers.

The cost will be around $1500.00.  Airfare is $688 if you fly out of Nashville.  Transportation to and from FDB is $150.  Meals will be around $150.  Stay in motel in PAP the last night is around $75.  Miscellaneous is $212.   Yes, this is a lot of money, but the need is so great that it seems worth the cost.

Sixteen is the capacity of the guest house and four I believe it is who have told me they want to go.  So if you feel led to go, let me know asap.  I’ve always worked on a first come first served basis on my previous 127 mission work trips; thus I’ll stick with it on this one too.

In the meantime let’s continue praying for the great need for housing as well as for the many other needs of the poor folks of Haiti.

Blessings,  John Lovelace”

And blessings to you, John.

Pastor B.

]]> http://www.newhopecpchurch.com/pastors-weekly-notes/116/feed/ 1 http://www.newhopecpchurch.com/passionate-worship/51/ http://www.newhopecpchurch.com/passionate-worship/51/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:18:54 +0000 admin http://www.newhopecpchurch.com/?p=51 (John 4:21-24)

In passionate worship, people are honest before God and one another, and they are open to God’s presence and will for their lives. People so eagerly desire such worship that they will reorder their lives to attend. Passionate worship motivates pastors not only to improve their preaching, but also to learn continually how to enhance content and technique for effective worship. Worship is something alive that requires continuing care, cultivation, and effort to keep it fresh. Pastors should willingly review and evaluate their own work and invite feedback. The motivation for enhancing the quality of worship is not only about deepening our own faith, but also about allowing God to use us and our congregations to offer hope, life and love to others. Worship is God’s gift and task, a sacred trust that requires our utmost and highest.

Return to “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations“

Taken from Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase (Abingdon Press, 2007).

Churches that practice Extravagant Generosity speak confidently and faithfully about money, giving, generosity, and the difference giving makes for the purposes of Christ and in the life of the giver. They emphasize the Christian’s need to give for more reasons than just the church’s need for money. They emphasize mission, purpose, and life-changing results rather than shortages, budgets, and institutional loyalty. Pastors express appreciation to people who give by thanking members collectively and personally, and they give God thanks for increased giving. Members are informed in positive and consistent ways about their giving. Pastors and church leadership view “giving beyond the walls” as indispensable to Christian discipleship and to congregational mission and vitality. Churches that grow in giving know that generosity increases with participation in ministry and community, and so they work to deepen the core ministries of worship, small group learning, and mission. They address the challenge of growing in giving to long-term members as to adults new to the faith. They also teach, model, and cultivate generosity among children and youth. The spiritual maturity that comes from growth in giving, and the extraordinary engagement that results from tithing, bring clarity of purpose and greater integrity to all the church’s ministries.

These five practices work together in the mission of the church. Take them beyond conversations between pastor and church leaders—take them into the worship services, classes, and homes of every church member to imbed them into the fabric of your congregation. By doing so, you will develop a unifying common language that helps people understand the tasks of Christian discipleship. The exemplary and repeated practices of Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity are the time-tested, theologically sound, and effective means congregations use to fulfill their mission with excellence and fruitfulness to the glory of God.

Return to “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations“

Taken from Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase (Abingdon Press, 2007).

Transformation comes through learning in community. Congregational leaders that practice Intentional Faith Development carefully consider the full life-cycle of members and look for ways the church forms faith at every age. They look for gaps, opportunities, and unmet needs to round out their ministries and ask how they can do better. They train lay people to lead small groups, teach Bible studies, and coordinate support groups. They realize the power of special topics and interests to attract unchurched people, and they advertise and invite beyond the walls of the church. They form affiliation groups such as grief or divorce recovery, substance abuse, parenting, and more. They explore new ways of forming learning communities–blogs, chat rooms, e-mail Bible studies, and downloadable materials. These pastors also participate in forms of community with other pastors or laypersons to help deepen their own relationship with God.

Return to “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations“

Taken from Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase (Abingdon Press, 2007).

Congregations offer the invitation and embrace of Jesus Christ, the gracious welcome that creates genuine belonging that brings people together in the Christian community. Churches characterized by radical hospitality are not just friendly and courteous. Instead, they exhibit restlessness because they realize so many people do not have a relationship to a faith community. They sense a calling and responsibility to pray and work to invite others and to help them feel welcome and supported in their faith journeys. Congregations surprise newcomers with a glimpse of the unmerited gracious love of God that they see in Christ. Our Radical Hospitality goes to the extremes, and we do it joyfully, not superficially, because we know our invitation is the invitation of Christ.

Return to “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations“

The purpose of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But how do we do that? The most visible way God knits people into the community of Christ and draws people into the relationship with God is through congregations that fulfill the ministry of Christ in the world. Fruitful congregations repeat and improve on these five basic practices: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity.

The practices are basic and fundamental. But it’s the adjectives that make these words come alive, because they stretch us and cause us to ask ourselves, “How are we doing in practicing these qualities of ministry in our congregation? How might we do better?”

Now these are practices-they’re not qualities that some churches have and some don’t. They’re not phases that, once we get them done, we can move on to something else. These are practices that we have to learn and improve upon constantly. These are the activities that are so critical to the mission of the church, that failure to perform them in an exemplary way leads to congregational decline and deterioration.

Here’s at look at the five practices used in fruitful congregations.

• Radical Hospitality
• Passionate Worship
• Intentional Faith Development
• Risk-Taking Mission and Service
• Extravagant Generosity

These five practices work together in the mission of the church. Take them beyond conversations between pastor and church leaders-take them into the worship services, classes, and homes of every church member to imbed them into the fabric of your congregation. By doing so, you will develop a unifying common language that helps people understand the tasks of Christian discipleship. The exemplary and repeated practices of Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity are the time-tested, theologically sound, and effective means congregations use to fulfill their mission with excellence and fruitfulness to the glory of God.

Taken from Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase (Abingdon Press, 2007).

For more information on this wonderful program visit the website at http://www.stephenministries.org

For more information about the stage of our planning, contact Sandy Dancy at dancysl@charter.net