Working for Habitat

Risky

I genuinely hope those Schweitzer folks that read this on occasion were able to be at one of our services over the weekend.  At our Saturday service and 8:20 service, Pastor Jim delivered a very timely message about “The Revealing God,” and how to see God in others around us.  At 9:45 and 11:00 we heard from author and “ordinary radical” Shane Claiborne who clearly challenged us to live what we believe.  I’ve known of Shane for a while, but as the time for him to visit drew closer, I carved out time to pick up his book, The Irresistible Revolution .  I have to say that it is really messing with me and disturbing my life right now.  I am fascinated by the truth that Shane observes in this book about how we (meaning those of us who call ourselves believers and the church) spend so much time “studying” the life of Christ and far less time actually putting into practice the things Jesus taught and lived.  As I’ve spent time thinking about this, I’ve thought about the many fantastic ways I see our church living Christ’s teachings out….building bikes for kids, packaging meals for Kids Against Hunger, building a house for Habitat.  But, I’m also a bit uneasy about all that we could do, that I know we don’t.  Ok….I’m going to get a bit pointed here for a minute, so indulge me if you will.  This church, in which I am SO VERY grateful to work, is teeming with resources.  Now, before you think I’m just talking about the financial kind, give me a minute.  Yes – I think I can truly say that there are many in this congregation to whom God has given the responsibility of managing a great deal of money.  This congregation is also overflowing with people with an overwhelming array of gifts, abilities, faith, passions….I could go on and on.  In fact, I’d say that there is not one soul here that God does not want to specifically and uniquely use as his eyes, ears, hands and feet.  Which brings me to what is disturbing me most right now.  I wonder if it is all too easy for us to fall back time and time again on the excuse, “I’m so busy…I have this job…I have this family, these kids, this house, this (insert a MILLION other things here).  AND, on top of that, I’m really not a leader.  I’ll ‘help out’ if I can find the time, but I just am really not an idea person, a visionary.”  I have said all of these things to myself and to others so many times, I can’t even count.  Here’s the thing….I really think God rolls his eyes when he here’s this.  He promised us that the Holy Spirit would live in us, and because of that, all we have to do is put ourselves out there.  He will take care of the rest….i.e. giving us the ability, the time, etc. 

Do I know what all of this specifically means for us?  I’m not sure, but I do sense that God is telling us to be more risky about how we live as Christians.  I have a sense that many of you are feeling this too.  What’s that thing that God is messing with you about?  I’m excited to hear from you!!

 

Habitat

We are about to embark on a HUGE project in conjunction with the other Methodist churches in the district.  While we’ve given it some attention in our bulletin/news, etc., some are just hearing about this amazing opportunity, and it is absolutely NOT TOO LATE to get on board and be a part.  We will be participating in what is known as a “Blitz Build” beginning October 10th and running through October 24th.  During this span, we will be constructing (from the bottom up) a brand new home for a single mom, Ms. Latricia “Tootie” Wright, and her 5 beautiful girls.  I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Tootie, but I absolutely cannot wait to make her acquaintance.  I understand from Kristy Nelson (Habitat development and marketing director) that Tootie is absolutely thrilled and excited about her new home, and is just bubbling over with enthusiasm.  There are SO many ways to be involved in this project:

- Pray, pray, pray for the endeavor, for the family, for safety, for great weather, for the hearts of all those involved.
- Volunteer to help with construction (don’t worry…there will be wonderful people available the whole time to tell you what to do, but you do need to be 16 years old).
- Be a part of the hospitality team…direct people to the site, help people fill out needed forms, prepare and serve snacks, meals, and drinks, help with parking (you can be younger than 16 to help with this).
- Help with landscaping.
- Donate new building materials (dry wall, lumber, nails….you know the stuff).
- Donate new or used tools (how many extra hammers and screwdrivers are hanging around your garage?)
- Donate your professional skilled labor (are you an electrician, a plumbing professional, an HVAC expert?…all are welcomed and needed).

I hope and pray you will join me in getting involved in this fantastic outreach.  Please send me a note with details about how you would like to be involved.  Click here (just click on the picture of the people building the house)  for the volunteer information form…you can e-mail it to me, drop it by the church, mail it via snail mail, or bring it with you on your first work day.  Or you can click here to sign up via our website.  Here is more information about the Wright family:

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">Wright Family

Exciting Times

It is such a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of a growing church.  I’m sure many of you, like me, probably know far-flung friends, family, or acquaintences who are or have been a part of a church that truly struggle with growth.  Schweitzer is certainly not in that category!  With this blessing of growth comes challenges, and in light of  this, the leaders of Schweitzer have been in the process over the past couple of years of prayerfully considering how God would have us rise to these challenges.   I am truly hoping that you will take time to attend one of the upcoming Town Hall meetings to learn more about these plans, dreams, and opportunities.  These meetings will be informative, but will also give you an opportunity to ask questions, offer input and feedback, and gain more perspective about where Schweitzer has come from and where God is leading us.  I whole-heartedly encourage you to make this a priority.   You can choose from two upcoming meetings, Sunday, September 27th at 2:00 p.m. or Thursday, October 1 at 6:30 in Memorial Hall.  For more information click here.

Leaders

Pie in the Face

This is a picture of Sylvie’s swim team this morning.  It is nearly the end of their competing season, and the coaches decided to end the season this year by allowing the kids to attack them (in a somewhat controlled manner) with whipped cream “pies.”  The premise behind this end-of-the-season event was that the kids could wage some revenge on the coaches for all of the hard practices they put them through over the summer.  As I watched this fun and silly process, it got me thinking about leaders, and what makes some leaders stand out from the rest.   It seems to me that really great leaders have to be willing at times to be humbled by those they lead, to “take a pie in the face,” once in a while so to speak.  Sometimes, the one thing that really stands in the way of a leader rising to the next level is their unwillingness to realize that, in giving push-back and constructive criticism, those they lead often will provide them with the most essential information needed to truly improve as a leader.   It has been my experience also that leaders who are open and willing to respond to those they lead garner a much higher level of respect.  And, aren’t humility and openness traits that truly characterize a servant leader?  In what ways have you seen great leaders willing to humble themselves?

Solitude

A few months ago, even before the true warm weather arrived, I began working on a new challenge.  I started walking.  Now, I’ve been an off-and-on walker for a long time with some forays into biking here and there as well, but this time has been different.  Since roughly the beginning of March, I’ve been walking regularly 4 to 6 miles, usually 6 days a week, and rarely less than 5.  That’s a lot of walking….for me anyway.  To be perfectly honest, my original motive was to speed up my weight loss efforts, and it certainly has helped in that department, but it has had an added side effect as well.  I first began to notice this new benefit when I began to walk in the early mornings.  Now for those who know me, I am absolutely not someone who adores the morning hours, but as the weather warmed, I found that it was nicer to walk in the cooler air, I saw many more creatures when I walked the route that included the nature center, and I didn’t have to try to squeeze my exercise time in later in the day.  So, as this morning walk thing became more routine, I began finding myself feeling the presence of God in a way I hadn’t for quite some time.  Now, that’s not to say that it’s been a LONG time since I’ve felt the Spirit — I often feel His unmistakable presence during worship or during prayer time — but this morning outdoor experience has been different.  It feels more like God and I just hanging out together without any particular agenda, and that is a new experience for me.  I’m beginning to learn more and more about how this idea of solitude is actually a spiritual discipline that allows us to draw ourselves into God’s lap and just be with Him.  In this way, He infuses us with his love and comfort and whispers to us thoughts and ideas that He wants us to know.  I’m amazed at the thoughts and memories that come to my mind, and I truly believe they are sent from Him.  It’s just really cool that He loves me enough to just hang with me, and my only regret is that it’s taken me so long to experience it.  Here’s a picture I snapped this morning of a couple of creatures at the nature center.  I hope you can find some time this week to just hang with God too.

Lazy Bloggers

I have to say…I finally had a few minutes of “downtime” this afternoon and decided to peruse the Schweitzer staff blogs.  To say we are a bit lax about our updating (with the possible exception of Pastor Kerner) would be putting it mildly, and I certainly count myself in with that statement as well.  So, for those of you who happen by on occasion, please accept my apology for the lack of consistent new content.  Things here are busy as usual and moving full steam ahead into summer.  Tonight begins the OnePrayer worship experience at Schweitzer.  For the next 4 Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 (come at 5:30 if you’d like to have something to eat first), we will be experiencing midweek worship with video teaching from some outstanding nationally known pastors, along with some small group discussion time.  This will be a great opportunity to get to know new people, as well as have a midweek time of spiritual renewal.  I really hope you’ll make time to join us.  Worship will take place in Memorial Hall, downstairs below the sanctuary.

Tuesday Good News

Yes…I realize it’s not Tuesday, but I’ve been excited to share with you about this really neat, relatively new ministry, and it happens to occur on Tuesdays.  Back in January, a team of dynamic, dedicated Schweitzer people, led by 3 amazing women (Gail, Claire, and Marie) jumped into the “deep end” and began an after-school “Good News Club” at Alice Pittman elementary school.  Now Schweitzer has had a fairly long relationship with Pittman – it’s almost literally in our backyard – but this was the first time we had ventured into the realm of offering a regular after-school opportunity for these kids to learn more about what it means to get to know Jesus and have a relationship with him.  I personally got involved at first just as a support person, but then found my curiosity peaked a bit.  You see – I attended Alice Pittman all the way from my kindergarten year through 6th grade (back when we still went to 6th grade in elementary school), and I thought maybe I’d just attend a couple of times to get a glimpse of my old school and “help out” a bit.  That idea changed quickly after my first couple of experiences.  I was most certainly bitten by “the bug,” and found myself looking forward to Tuesdays and spending time singing, listening to, and praying with this bunch of really neat kids.  We started off with something in the neighborhood of 10 children attending, but have been growing steadily, and our last two meetings have had 19 and 18 kids respectively.  Seems we may be onto something here.  Anyway…I’d encourage you to visit sometime to see what this outreach is all about.  We have one more meeting this year, May 12th, and then we will begin again in September.  Below are a couple of pics from our last group.  Enjoy!!

Sources?

Thank you for your patience as I take some time between posts.  As all of you, I try to balance and prioritize my time on a daily basis, and the past few weeks have necessitated that my thought, energy, and time be focused in other places.  I’m still awaiting the upload of some pictures of a really neat ministry here at Schweitzer that I want to share with you, but until then, I thought I’d stop in and pose a question.  In your experiences with leading in various capacities – at work, at home, in paid and unpaid positions – what or who do you look to the most for direction?  Some leaders I know look to other leaders whom they respect.  Some look at great leadership books and materials.  Others rely on past experiences as a follower and model themselves on leaders who influenced them in some way.  Still others focus solely on prayer and the inner voice of the Spirit guiding their decisions.  More than likely, your answer will be a combination of things….perhaps ideas not even listed here.  I’d love to see some discussion around this as I think we can all learn a lot from each other.  Feel free to share.