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Monday, December 9th, 2024
I’m going to brag a little bit. Not about me but about the church I pastor. Even as I write that it sounds bad. But please hear me out before you write me off. š
Yesterday was a big day in the life of Owen Valley Christian Fellowship. Perhaps I can give you a better perspective by giving you a shortened timeline of the history of OVCF.
- Started in October of 2004
- They met at several different places until they settled on the Owen Valley Sports Complex.
- The pastor who came with them left after just a few months, but they plugged away with guest speakers, some from the community.
- Jo & I came in November of 2005. Diana, the church secretary, and I started the same time.
- The complex was dirty and small but we made due.
- The flood of 2008 displaced us for 4 months (we met at the Owen Valley Middle School).
- In 2010 we purchased a previously abandoned Mormon church building and began immediately getting it ready for occupancy. September of 2010 was our first worship in the new building. It was small (we knew it ahead of time), but it was to become our home.
- In 2011 we found out we had been embezzled out of $200+k. We chose to forgive and move on.
- In 2012 we renovated and remodeled our inside space.
- In 2014 we hired Ryan East as our youth pastor.
- In 2018 we expanded by building a children’s wing.Ā That was a very, very wise choice.Ā We paid cash (another very wise choice).
- In 2020-2022 we lived through the COVID era but through the faithfulness of God on multiple fronts and the generosity of our people, we never had to cut anything. It was during this time that our live stream became a reality.
- Beginning with the dedication of the children’s wing in 2018, we started planning and preparing and saving for an addition to our building. We were determined to pay cash for it. Our people have been patient meeting in two services and faithful in their giving.
Yesterday, December 8th, we broke ground for that addition.Ā The weather, which had been frigid all week, turned beautiful. The sun was shining and it was in the 40s. I used Psalm 84:1-2,10-12 as we prayed and dedicated our new effort to God and several turned dirt.Ā The excavators are possibly starting this week. Our plan is to get the earth moved and let it sit through the winter and then in the spring pour concrete and put up the building. We will proceed as we have the money. God has been faithful. Why would He stop now? He won’t.
Thanks for listening to my “brag” this morning. But I never want it to sound as though “we did this.” We are extremely thankful to God for His abundant grace and faithfulness to us as a church family. My prayer is that we will never forget what God has done. My further prayer is that we will never lose sight of Who is in charge; that we will never get too big for our britches (and that God will make us bring our belts in a few notches if we do); and that OVCF will always feel like home.
Posted in InTheShadow | 10 Responses »
Tags: Church, Church History, God, God's faithfulness, Ministry, Miscellaneous, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Monday, October 28th, 2024
Where do I start?
Owen Valley Christian Fellowship (OVCF), the church I have pastored (I start my 20th year in November) just celebrated her 20th anniversary yesterday. I will draw your attention to the previous post here to get the story behind the story. My purpose in this post is to share with you some of what happened, but then to tell you where I have been the past two month in my preaching and to tell you how I brought it to a close.
WHAT WE SAW YESTERDAY:
- We saw a lot of volunteers show up to set up and tear down and multiple things in between.
- We sensed the presence of God as we sang and shared.
- We heard some testimonies from people as to why they chose OVCF to be their home.
- We experienced some really, really (did I say really) good food.Ā š
- We also found out why we are looking forward to being in a larger auditorium that will be big enough for one service.
WHAT WE HAVE SEEN THE PAST TWO MONTHS:
The church has a “WELCOME HOME where…” outlook.Ā That can be seen in the series I just finished preaching:
The Gospel is Preached
Jesus is Honored
Grace is Offered
Lives are Changed
Obedience is Encouraged
Along the way I also talked about love and had messages on Ruth and Philemon. But the key to our ongoing future is being a place where people are welcomed. I concluded the series yesterday with a sermon on Luke 15:11-32 and the parable of the Loving Father/Lost Son. Due to the venue and the presence of tons of children (it is called antsy), I cut things fairly short by emphasizing the love and concern the father showed for his lost son. When he saw his son coming, he set aside all decorum and ran to him, putting his arms around him and welcoming him home. It didn’t matter what his son had done; all that mattered was that he came home. We are that son; God is that father.Ā
The purpose of home is to be a place of acceptance and love. A place of safety and refuge. Without compromising the truth of the Gospel, OVCF desires to be that kind of home. We aren’t always going to get it right, but we will always try to be the place people can call home.Ā Would you please pray for us as we continue seeking to put that into practice?
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Tags: Church, God's Plan, Home, Leadership, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Friday, October 25th, 2024
āCELEBRATE!ā (cue up Rare Earth from the 60s or if you prefer Kool and the Gang)
I normally donāt post on Friday, or the weekend for that matter. But this is big! Huge in fact! I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear what is so important that Bill would break protocol to post on a Friday.
OVCF, the church I have had the honor and pleasure of pastoring for 19 years (I start #20 next month) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this Sunday. 20 YEARS!!! No matter how you look at it that is quite an accomplishment. From starting out with a meeting in a hardware-type building with just a few folks and meeting at several different places in its beginning, the church found a āhomeā at the Owen Valley Sports Complex, where it was meeting when Jo and I moved here in November of 2005. We temporarily moved to the middle school for a few months until someone got a wild hair to get us out so we went back to the complex. We went back to the middle school when the flood of 2008 displaced us from the complex for about 4 months. In 2010 we bought an unused Mormon church building. We had our first worship in the new facility in September and were excited about the future. In January of 2011 it came to light that over $200k had been embezzled from us. But God was good. I missed one paycheck during that time and it was made up at the next pay period. In 2012 we remodeled our building to accommodate our growth. We knew when we bought the building it was too small and would require an expansion. Ā In 2014 we hired Ryan East to be our youth pastor. He had been working at IU Credit Union and teaching our youth group. It was a perfect fit! In 2018 we sacrificed expanding the adult worship area for a youth wing. It was a very wise decision. Along with that we became debt free thanks to someoneās inheritance. When COVID hit the generosity of the people never quit. We didnāt miss a beat. In fact, we expanded to offer live stream during that time! We also increased our mission giving. Ā After finishing the youth addition, we began saving for an expansion on our adult worship area. We have been in two services since 2013 and there is a strong desire for a unified body in one service. Holidays like Christmas and Resurrection Sunday will often find us at the Abram Event Venue to hold all of us at once. But that comes with a ton of inconvenience and limited ministry to the kids (like none). Ā We have continued saving to be able to build debt free. Along the way we have taken our Easter offering and given it away to missions, giving all of Ā away unless designated otherwise. We have taken our anniversary offering and put it in the building fund or given away all or part of it to missions as well. God has been more than faithful to us.
So we celebrate Him this Sunday. We celebrate His faithfulness and goodness to us this Sunday. And yes, we celebrate the people of OVCF. They are, after all, the church. Not the building. People have come and gone-some through death, some through moving, and yes, some through discontent. But along the way, God has also brought some exciting people that Iām proud to call friends and ministry colleagues. One of them reads and comments on this blog almost daily-Ryan and his wife, Amanda. Jo and I still see them and go out to eat with them (Chiliās here we come!). People like Ryan have impacted my life in ways they do not know and words fail when I try to express them. Over my 19 years I have seen a lot happen at OVCF and in Spencer. My prayer is that the influence and legacy has been a positive one.
Iāll close this post for now and give an update on our celebration on Monday (Lord willing, of course). Until then, may I ask you to pray for us for Sunday? My deepest prayer, my most fervent prayer, is that in our celebration we will never lose sight of Who is behind it all and to Whom we give all the praise. One of the songs we will be singing, along with Good Ā Good Father and No Longer Slaves is Ā Firm Foundation (I prefer the Disciple/Honor and Glory version): āChrist is my firm foundation/The Rock on which I stand/when everything around me is shaken/Iāve never been more glad/I put my faith in Jesus/Cause Heās never let down.ā
Amen!
{Note : if you so desire, we are unable to live stream from AEV due to a lack of good internet connection. My message has been prerecorded and downloaded and will be shown at 10:00 Sunday morning on our YouTube channel. It is a shortened version of the live experience but will give you a little bit of a taste of being there}.
One more thing: I did this from home on my iPhone so if you find typing mistakes, blame the phone. š
Posted in InTheShadow | 10 Responses »
Tags: Celebration, Church, God, God's faithfulness, God's goodness, Gratitude, Leadership, Miscellaneous, Opinion, Reflection, Story, Thanksgiving
Monday, October 14th, 2024
Not every week, but at least twice a month we open the sermon time with the following saying. I have it put on the screen and TVs so we can all say it together:
WE’RE GLAD YOU ARE HERE!
If you are happy we want to celebrate with you.
If you are tired and need rest;
If you are hurting and need comfort;
If you have failed, feel guilt and shame and wonder if God still loves you;
If you feel you are at the end of your rope and need a lifeline;
If you think you are too great a sinner and feel hopeless;
If you are here but can’t raise your eyes, head, or hands in worship…
That’s okay. We want this to be a place where you find strength to go on. Let us pray for you, stand beside you and even carry you to God’s throne where you can find new hope.
I firmly believe this should be what every church says to every person who walks through their doors on a Sunday morning. In fact, it would be a great thing if the church was known for this every day of the week. People will know we are Christ-followers not by our religious sounding words, our American Idol Sunday morning productions, our promise of prosperity, or fancy buildings. They will know we are Christ-followers by our love. That is exactly what Jesus said in John 13:34-35:Ā “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each others. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (NLT)Ā Love each other. I see no qualifiers there. I see no “be like this or don’t be like this” in those words. We are to simply love. Nothing more; nothing less.
To love like this is the church being the church. It is also the church being like Jesus. What are you doing to make this happen?
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Tags: Christian Living, Church, Friendship, God's Plan, Grace, Jesus, Leadership, Love, Mercy, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Story
Monday, September 9th, 2024
Q: Who will teach our children?
A: The public school. Aaaah yeah.
A: The local church. That’s a little bit better answer but it still falls short.
A: The home/parents. At one point in the past we might have said, “Yes!” But recent events and previous events/years show us that is not always the best source.
A: The church and the home together. This is probably the best answer. Not the exclusive one like it used to be. When both church and home are off the rails, that makes for a crazy train ride.
I ask that question because of something I read this morning. It struck home. Psalm 78:4-6 says this: “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them-even the children not yet born-and they in turn will teach their own children.” (NLT)
The admonition there is that parents have been taught to teach so they can teach by passing down the lessons learned. This psalm is pretty clear that the bulk of the teaching is to be done at home, not at the public school (heaven forbid) or even the church (some of that is whacked).
But there is more! Verses 7-8 tell us why we are to teach our children! “So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors-stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.” (NLT)
Methinks that somewhere along the line we missed the target. Just sayin’.
{Note: I’m not saying all public schools are off base. There are some-like my local school district-who, at this point, try hard to teach values I would consider worth learning. That’s the value of a small town school.}
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Church, Leadership, Opinion, Parenting, Reflection, Scripture look, Teaching children
Wednesday, August 21st, 2024
I’m thinking this morning about control. In a moment I’ll tell you why, but first let’s consider what I mean.
Control can be seen in a variety of ways-both good and bad:
- An employer “controls” the atmosphere at work by the way an employee(s) are treated.
- A parent “controls” the behavior of a child by certain “rules of the house” that are to be obeyed.
- A teacher “controls” the classroom by threats or by a little black book with check marks for daily actions.
- A coach “controls” the team by extra practice or punishment for work not done or plays not run.
- Churches or pastors “control” their church by rules and regulations.
It is the latter that concerns me. Last night I spent considerable time on the phone with a couple struggling with the legalism and “control tactics” of his parents. Scriptures taken out of context were being used to demean and undermine them and their marriage. The parents live several states away and belong to a cult that uses control to force submission on people. Hence the control tactics of the parents. The details are not important at the moment but suffice it to say that laying the guilt on thick is one of their tactics. Rules and regulations taken out of context are used to manipulate control over others. They were seeking guidance on how to handle the newest slam by the parents.
One characteristic of control is a pastor or a church using rules and regulations of their own making to control the narrative. If they can get a person to live up to their rules-go to church, tithe, dress a certain way, etc-the control factor is big. Sadly, a person’s commitment to Christ is judged on keeping their rules. What they really have is law, not grace. What we really have is a perversion of the Gospel.
Jesus once said, “These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” (Mk.7:6-6 NLT) (And yes, I am a heretic because I didn’t quote the King James Bible).
All Jesus said was “Love me first.” That’s it! Love Him first. Not “Keep these rules and I will know you love me.” Love Him first. ‘Nuff said.
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Tags: Christian Living, Church, God's Word, Legalism, Lifestyle, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look
Monday, August 19th, 2024
A nationwide network of a haven for at risk kids is called Safe Place. There is a sign we are asked to display that if a young person is ever in trouble, needs shelter from a “pesky” adult or predator or simply needs a place to “get their head together” that sign says, “Here is a place for you to find refuge. A safe place.” The church I pastor has been a part of that network for years. We have never had a young person show up and yet, if one did and was given a safe place, it is well worth it.
A church should be a safe place. I like to call it a PLACE OF GRACE. Someone has said, “The church is to be a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints.”Ā I wonder if that is what Bob Goff had in mind when he wrote these words:
We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other…You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who have messed up, but kingdoms have grace. There’s one last thing castles have-trolls. You’ve probably met a couple.” (Everybody, Always-p.41)
Church should be a place where people can go to find safety. I was visiting with someone yesterday who has one year of sobriety under his belt. Yeah for him! Even though coming to church has not been on his radar that often, he knows he needs to be there and he knows he is welcome and accepted there. He has a friend whoĀ stopped going to church (he was going even though he tends to be an agnostic) because supposedly where he was going the pastor said something against the lifestyle of his daughter. Whether it is true or not, I don’t know. Neither did the man I was talking to. But I was pleased when he said, “But they are welcome at OVCF! You have always said that.” True on both counts. I reiterated that I may not agree with a person’s lifestyle and if asked would be honest, but would never ask that person to not come or to leave.
Why? Because church is a place for sinners…like me. It is a place of grace. It is a safe place where people can come to find help and love, a kingdom not a castle. There is much more to say on this topic but that is for another time. Until then, be a safe place for a person seeking solace and answers or simply needs to come in from out of the cold.
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Tags: Christian Living, Church, Grace, Love, Mercy, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection
Thursday, June 27th, 2024
All people matter to God, therefore they should matter to us.
Lately Iāve been reading a book on dementia entitledĀ Finding Grace in the Face of DementiaĀ by John Dunlop, MD. Because it seems to be becoming a bigger issue these days, I thought Iād read up on it and learn more. It has been an eye-opening book (in a good way). Over and over Dr Dunlop has emphasized the importance of dignity for the dementia sufferer, as well as itās kissing cousin, Alzheimerās.
Dr. Dunlop is a committed Christ-follower so his perspective is different than many in the medical field. Instead of writing them off as a “nuisance” and a “bother” for others, especially their caregivers, he pushes the belief that showing them dignity is first and foremost. One very helpful section is found on pages 123-125 where he gives a number of practical way we can express dignity. He does it from the perspective of entering their “world.”
But this devotion is not a book review. While he has obviously focused his attention on the dementia patient, I couldnāt help but make the correlation to others in our sphere on influence. Each person we come in contact with should be deemed a person who matters. Whether it is the same sex, ethnicity, color, position in life, or social status, we need to, no, we must see them as people who hold special importance in Godās eye. As a Christ-follower that means they must hold importance in my eyes as well. We may not always agree, we may not always get along, we may butt heads from time to time, but that should not change how much each of us should matter.
In James 2 James warns the church about choosing sides and showing preference to one group over another. He says it is a shame and a black mark to do so (my loose translation). Jesus Himself told the parable of the Good Samaritan and showed how a man who was hated because of his ethnicity was actually more of a brother than the so-called “religious people.”
We have all seen people snubbed because of political affiliation. We have all seen people snubbed because of color. We have all seen people snubbed because of sexual orientation. We have all seen people snubbed because of status. We have all seen people snubbed because of a medical condition. It is ugly. Like I said, I may not agree with someone’s opinion or lifestyle, and canāt compromise the truth, but at the same time that gives me NO RIGHT to denigrate or write someone off as being persona non grata because we are different.
Dementia patients deserve loving treatment. We all do. Letās begin to give dignity to others. Let’s begin to treat others as we would like to be treated.Ā
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Tags: Alzheimer's, Choices, Christian Living, Church, Dementia, Dignity, Friendship, Jesus, Kindness, Lifestyle, Love, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Truth Telling
Monday, June 24th, 2024
“Welcome to Pioneer Days.”
Those were the words I greeted people with yesterday. No, we didn’t have a dress-up Sunday. And no, Jesse James, Wild Bill, or any other cowboy came to visit. What made it like Pioneer Days was at 8:00 am
THE POWER WENT OUT.
I haven’t heard the exact cause although I have heard of a tree across a power line a few miles down the road, but then I heard of others who didn’t have power. One lives a good 10-15 miles from the church building and another lives a little over two the opposite direction.Ā The people at the first service were real troopers and so we soldiered on. We sang with minimum instrumentation. We sang without the words on the screen (Power Point). I preached holding a little light in my hand so I could see my notes and Bible (that was weird). And by the time we were done the temperature and humidity in the building had become a sauna-like existence. It was so bad that even those who always come up to speak to me afterwards or to give me a hug left without doing either. I told someone I sure am glad I used deodorant and body spray! šĀ Gail spoke to me. She said, “It used to be we didn’t have A/C in our houses and survived. Now we can barely function without it.” (Comments paraphrased). She’s right you know?
I am really proud of the folks from OVCF. I do feel bad for the first-time visitors we had. But then again, they did see us “trooper on.”
Back to my opening comment. It sure makes one wonder how in the world they did it back in Pioneer Days.Ā No air. No fans. No electricity. Maybe because of that they could better manage a day like yesterday. Hot, humid, with temps in the 80s-90s. But we survived without power instruments. Without Power Point. Without air. Without lights. Without fans. I knew those bulletins we use are more than just to make our Bibles look thick. š Oh…five minutes after I gave the benediction the power came back on in time for a cool down for the second service.
Thankfully, our worship is not dependent on modern conveniences to be worship. Simple. Singularly focused. God-honoring. That is all we had…but that was enough.
{Note: There will be no meditation tomorrow. For a belated birthday present, we are taking Tami to see her beloved Atlanta Braves (cough cough) see the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis. We will be leaving this morning (Monday) and returning tomorrow. Your prayers for a safe trip would be appreciated). One good thing: I am wearing Pittsburgh Pirate shirt. š }
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Tags: Church, God's Plan, God's Word, Leadership, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Worship
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
I thought I would be doing a post on Jacob wrestling with God. But something else has come to the forefront and takes importance. Some of it is not my words. They come from a blogging friend whom I have come to love at a (very long) distance and respect. Her husband, Dick, is a pastor and she has had (and still does have) her own blog. I’m going to put two links I would ask that you read. You may comment here or you may follow her and email her personally. That being said, I would still like to hear your thoughts.
There is a lot of ruminating and discussion going on in the church world concerning what our culture is demanding we accept. Probably the one affecting us the most is the whole Alphabet soup of letters and the acceptance of that lifestyle. While I am willing to accept anyone who walks through the doors of the church, and can be friendly to anyone, I cannot and will not affirm their lifestyle.Ā There is a difference between acceptance and affirmation. That is not hatred. That is not judgment. It is standing on the Bible as the infallible, inerrant, Spirit-inspired Word of God. To compromise that is (in my mind and heart) to deny the faith. We are urged to “defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.“ (Jude 3). To read the next verse tells you why: “I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”Ā (emphasis mine) Can anyone say 2024? (And they have the nerve to say the Bible is so out-dated).Ā
Pam writes from the heart. I will let her two blogs tell you her story.
Read this one first: https://2encourage.blogspot.com/2024/06/changes-in-umc.html
Read this one next: https://2encourage.blogspot.com/2024/05/try-little-kindness.html
Here was my email to Pam: Well…you sure did it in! š And I totally agree with you on both. Although not a member or any way affiliated with the UMC, I ache for those, like you and Dick, who want to stay true to God’s Word and find yourself on the outside not even being able to look in. I suspect there are many grieving with you over what is lost and probably will never be recovered. I have to think that what they deem a “world reaching decision” will, in actuality, destroy the UMC. One cannot compromise with the world and expect good results. I John 2:15-17 shows us that. In our effort to be “kind” we have fallen on the slippery slope and done a free fall.
Prayers for you and Dick to find your niche and place of service.
In all honesty, I stand firm with Dick and Pam and what I wrote. I see the downfall of the UMC and others of that ilk in the years to come. All one has to do is look at the more liberal denominations and see their decline in all ways in order to see the devastating affect of compromise. We are not “kind” if we withhold the truth of God’s Word and the results of rejection of it, and even more, Jesus.
I would like to know what you think. Feel free to comment here, but may I also encourage you to encourage Pam (and Dick).
{All Scripture from the New Living Translation}
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Tags: Choices, Church, Compromise, God's Word, Leadership, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Sin, Truth Telling