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Showing posts from September, 2008

The Car Show - 2008

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The 2008 Car Show, co-hosted by Central Community and the South Winds Corvette Club, was a great event. With 339 registered cars and nearly 100 more "host" cars on the parking lot, it was quite a sight to see. The US flags were flying across the front of the property framing 2 rows of Corvettes. Vintage cars, custom cars, hot rods, and novelty vehicles (like the "amphibicar") filled in the remainder of the west parking lots as many newcomers to the church enjoyed a picture perfect day. We prayed for good weather and glory to Him which He receives it all. This benefit event supported various kids organizations such as the Wichita Children's Home. For next year, I hope for more intentional praise to God for lives changed as we bring in those who have given themselves fully to Jesus and encourage them to share their stories.

When is the church, the church?

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to help out with the Parking Ministry and rode around in a golf cart giving rides to folks who had some distance to walk from their cars to the church building. Then suddenly, I had to be careful not to be hit by those leaving the church parking lot after Sunday School. This leads to my question: If folks go to Sunday School but do not attend one of the larger congregational worship opportunities, are they fully a part of the church? While these folks typically attend faithfully and serve regularly within the constraints of their Sunday School class, here are some of the reasons offered for their departure: The time between the end of Sunday School and their preferred style of worship (more traditional) is over 30 minutes and, for some, it's physically too long to sit. Their preferred worship service is often longer than the planned 75 minutes and therefore releases sometimes closer to 12:30pm. While their preferred service is described as

Parting is such sorrow...

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In June and July 2007, my family and I were blessed to visit my daughter, Katharina, in Germany to attend her high school graduation celebration. It was great fun and an experience none of us shall soon forget. When we left, we had to say goodbye to Katharina. What made it even more sad was that we had no idea how long it would be until we saw each other again. Looking through some pictures recently, I came across a snapshot my sister took of me and Katharina as we shared those last moments together, saying goodbye to one another. Given that Katharina has been unable to come visit us due to her university and work schedule, this picture not only captures those moments but reminds me again of how much I miss her. Sweet girl, come see us soon!

There's platinum in them there...vans

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Platinum, palladium, and rhodium are just three of the precious metals that are found in most catalytic converters . For those who don't know what these are, they help reduce the toxicity of chemicals that come from your cars and trucks. Because of the rise in commodity prices of these and other metals, there are thieves that look for isolated vehicles - especially SUVs and trucks with a lot of ground clearance - and with a battery-operated sawzall - remove the device and sell it to scrap metal dealers who won't ask tough questions. Thefts of these devices are nationwide and occur outside residential homes, in shopping mall parking lots, and at churches! Early one morning this past week, a team of thieves stole 3 of our vans' catalytic converters - thus costing the church money we did not plan to spend. Working with the Wichita Police Department, here are some things we all can do to avoid these thefts: If possible, get your vans and trucks inside the garage. If the vehicle

Benefit of the doubt

According to Wikipedia, the phrase "benefit of the doubt" means: A favorable judgement given in the absence of full evidence. "Absence of full evidence." Isn't that faith? Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen - Hebrews 11:1 (KJV). One of the lessons last month (indeed, the previous 46 years) and remains today is that we each should give each other the "benefit of the doubt" whenever and wherever we can. Do you find that difficult? There are times when I do. While working with a team of German engineers at HP in the late 90s, we went through cultural training to help us understand the differences between the way the typical German professional works and communicates as opposed to the typical American professional. One key difference was along these lines. For example, to an American, receiving no news must mean bad news. In other words, if I haven't heard anything from the other part of our international te

Fine line between modeling and imitation...

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Great post by Mark Batterson on Imitation is Suicide. Quoting Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic in LA, Mark writes: He said something that was so profound. Really made me think. "I think a lot of pastors have a dream that matches the life of the pastor who is the living the dream they want." Wow. This really got me thinking and I'm thankful for Mark's posting for two reasons and two responses: As a fairly new executive pastor, I occasionally find myself looking at the seeming successes of other executive pastors or administrative pastors and, frankly, questioning my call - am I the right guy in the right seat on the right bus? Or, am I just warming it up for someone else? While in some respects this is healthy humility which allows me to keep sharp and relying on God, it can foster into an insecurity blossomed from a reliance on myself rather than God. Bottom line - I don't have to look very hard to see God's hand upon Sherry and me in bringing us to this place