All Pro Dad's and iMom's

Once again I stumbled on a fantastic resource for ministry.

All Pro Dads - is a wonderful organization that provides Dad's with daily email messages about fatherhood and being a man. They support a monthly breakfast with your children and yearly events sponsored by businesses at NFL stadiums or practice facilities. We here at TRCC have started an All Pro Dad's Chapter, the only one in Northeast Missouri, and are hoping to partner with businesses and other churches in Kirksville. If you are interested check out the website or give me a call. It is open to all fathers and their children.

iMoms - this is a sister organization of All Pro Dads. They provide daily emails for Moms of newborns all the way through "Moms of Moms" Each section is specific to the needs at those different stages. This organization is new and does not have the sophistication of its brother organization, but TRCC will be starting a chapter of iMom's. We are looking for the same kind of partnerships with business and churches in Kirksville.

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how Sunday August 26 went down:

Worship: The highlight was the beautiful rendition of "Breathe". That song always reminds me of the how basic and necessary my need is for Jesus.

Drama: Despite a last minute cast change the drama team pulled another proverbial rabbit out of their hat. The drama was funny, yet had a very serious and timely message to us all about enduring through the tough times by focusing on God.

Movie Clip: I used the awesome "Deathcrawl" scene from Facing the Giants. There is no better scene that I can think of that captures the power of endurance like that scene.

Message: I concluded the "Adding Power to Your Purpose" Series by looking at the "Awesome Power of Endurance". Remember all of these messages are available on our website.

Attendance: 209 (-5% difference from same Sunday last year).

New Resources

I love discovering new resources for ministry. Just when I think I have found most everything to be found on the internet I get a new resource. My new friend Pastor Curtis Ferguson from Rehoboth Baptist Church told me about two new resources and thought I would share them with you.

Bluefishtv.com is a wonderful sight for video sermon illustrations and bible lessons. This sight has individual videos that just a couple minutes long as well as complete lessons. They are very reasonably priced.

The other resource is simply called The Source. This is a tremendous youth ministry resource that provides everything from games to complete lessons for meaningful and deep discussion.

Cave Time

If you are like me you have those times when you need to crawl in a cave and just be alone. I think this is a personality quirk, but I really have times when I need to be away from people and just be in my "cave". I am having one of those times right now. I simply need to escape and find a place to be by myself. I think this has to do with my spiritual gas tank and the need to refuel. I think that little yellow light is on in the dashboard of my heart telling me that I am dangerously low. I think it is time to find some 93 octane out there and fill up!

My journey through scripture

I have decided to get very intentional about my investment in God's word each day. I have read through the Bible several times. The last time being my second year of seminary, but that was almost three years ago now. I will keep you posted on how I am doing and share some highlights and reflections.

In the event that some of you may be interested in joining me on this journey, I'm using the book-at-a-time reading plan from the Discipleship Journal. This is a great plan as you can join it at anytime during the year. I really like that "reflection" days (or shall we say "catch-up"days) are built into this plan. If you do plan on joining me please let me know so we can share our thoughts and insights.

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how Sunday, August 19th went down:

Worship: The worship team was right on. The energy was great and the presence of God was very evident.

Message: I continued the "Adding Power to your Purpose" series by focusing on the power of faith. I used a clip from one of my favorite movies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The clip I chose was where Indy has to step from the lion's head into a bottomless chasm during the trials to attain the Holy Grail and save his father. His willingness to step into the void and risk death is the very crux of what it means to have faith. The willingness to believe a little more each day especially in those times of risk and fear.

Attendance: 212 (+15% increase from same Sunday last year)

Christmas in August

I received a real blessing on Saturday. My mother called and said that she would like to give us our Christmas present now. She said that she wanted to give us a new gas grill. My heart was all full of flutter at the thought of grilling chicken breasts and burgers over an open flame.

Now here is the other side of the story. My mother is visiting us over the Labor Day weekend. I think she wants some grilled chicken.

Merry Christmas to me! Now pass the sauce. The grill is hot and ready to go!

Sunday Scoreboard

Here is how Sunday, August 12 played:

Praise: We missed Steven terribly, but his replacement did a wonderful job on the drums. The energy was high and the team did remarkable job. I am really hoping I can get them to play the prayer song after the message more often.

Drama: Vickie and Debbie brought a very difficult drama about a woman dealing with forgiving the woman who had an affair with her husband. The emotion and pain were so real. Both of them had real chemistry on the stage and brought a message of forgiveness that was right inline with the message.

Message: I brought a message about forgiveness. This is always a tough subject, but one that all of us struggle with in some manner. We all need to understand that we are forgiven. If we do not feel forgiven then it is almost impossible for us to truly forgive others. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross washed away our sin. He "canceled the record" of our sins and they have been forgiven.

Attendance: 185 (+5% increase from same Sunday last year)

Vision Casting

I have set-up a number of meetings with the key leaders and groups at TRCC. These meetings will be for the purpose of sharing the initial draft of the vision. My hope is that God will work through all of us to better clarify the vision. If you have not been contacted about these meetings please call the church office.

Reflections

Now that I have a minute to reflect on the Leadership Summit from last week I thought I would share a few insights and observations.

Bill Hybels opened the Summit with probably the best message I have heard in a very long time. Unfortunately, he started so well that the rest of the speakers were running to match him. Hybels spoke on the insights that he has garnered over the years about vision and vision casting. This one message was worth the price of the conference.

Colin Powell also spoke at the conference. He is a tremendous leader. Despite his rough outer exterior and military demeanor there beats a warm heart for God and a genuine caring for other people.

John Ortberg spoke on a leader's greatest fear. He says a leaders greatest fear is what he calls their "Shadow Mission". I will be preaching a message about this subject in the near future. It is a powerful concept and something that each of us has to wrestle with. Briefly, a shadow mission is that dark part of your self that can control your life.

Former President Jimmy Carter spoke eloquently about the need for the church to bridge the poverty gap in our country. I completely agree with him that it is the church's duty to help to eradicate poverty from our communities.

It was a powerful time of learning for me as a leader. My goal for next year is to take some of our leaders here at TRCC with me.

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how Sunday, August 5, 2007 turned out:

Music: Our praise band was again in top form. Rob is really becoming a tremendous worship leader. He has all the qualities and appears to really like to be the one "out front" during the praise time.

Message: I began a new series "Adding Power to Your Purpose". The first message was "The Awesome Power of Focus". This message dealt with the 10 steps of Godly goal setting. We all set goals, but most of us never add the power of goal setting to the our ministry. When we set goals we gain tremendous focus and God gives power to that focus. I used a short clip from The Legend of Bagger Vance to illustrate the concept of focus.

Attendance: 214 (+8% from same Sunday last year)

Every Man's Battle

Today as I was traveling along Interstate 70, between Columbia, MO and Kansas City, MO, I was dismayed at the number of "Adult Stores" that advertise along the highway. These places are targeting the 1000's of truckers who travel this road every single day. I find this not only disturbing, but actually something that rips at the fabric of a man's identity.

There is a wonderful book called Every Man's Battle written by Steven Arterburn. These books deal with the visual temptations that men deal with every single day. God wired men to be visually stimulated, but we all deal with the battle against the temptation of pornography. This book will help every man resist these temptations in an honest and Godly way.

These places along the highway touch the most base temptations of men. I am going to ask you to pray with me for the truckers and other men who travel these highways. We need to give them the prayerful fortitude to resist these temptations and be the Godly men they were created to be.

Fun in the Summer Sun

Last Friday I borrowed a scooter from one of my church friends. I have been considering alternatives to our transportation issues and a scooter seems like a plausible solution. The Martins were generous enough to loan me one of their scooters for a day.

So put on the borrowed helmet and tooled around Kirksville on little red scooter. After remembering how to ride a bike I was riding around like seasoned biker. I quickly remembered to keep my mouth closed (yuke!) and the sunglasses firmly affixed to my face.

Now here is the crux...I am HOOKED! I want a scooter. Well actually I want a Harley Fatboy, but I will settle for a scooter. If I got the Harley we could start a men's ministry around riding...there are at least three guys I know of that have Harley's. I need to get Lisa to see the ministry value in this purchase...yeah that's the ticket. So now I need to figure out how to put that in the household budget.

The wind in my face and summer sun beating down on me! What a wonderful feeling.

The Challenge of Parenting

With three children of our own Lisa and I know full well the challenges of parenting. We pray daily that we give them the right tools and wisdom to make good choices in life. The faith of our oldest, Alex, amazes me sometimes. He is very deep spiritually and has a wonderful relationship with Jesus.

I was reading a survey published by George Barna talking about the faith challenges that parents face. The overwhelming concern for parents is that faith of their children. Christian parents are concerned with the relationship their children have with Jesus. Parents who did not identify themselves as Christians are concerned with the moral choices their children are making. It all comes down to one fact, we are all concerned with the spiritual health of our children.

This is where TRCC comes in to the equation. One of my commitments to this ministry is that we will provide a safe, loving and high quality children's ministry. Given our current limitations we confine this ministry to Sunday mornings. My prayer is that we can enlarge the this ministry and offer more opportunities to minister to children.

Our "Promise Land" program on Sunday mornings is not a babysitting service or Sunday daycare. It is the one opportunity that we have to help to shape the spiritual development of our children. Jesus was so concerned about them that despite his physical and mental fatigue he demanded that his disciples let the children come to him. I know it is easy to get tired and fatigued in children's ministry. I know that sometimes it is hard to see the "win" and we begin to question whether we are making a difference.

Let me share a small "win" with you. This week I had a small child come to me and tell me that something was bothering them. We talked about it and then he said, "Pastor Sam I prayed to Jesus and I know he will make it alright." Folks that is why we do this! We do this for the little child that trusts Jesus in his heart. We do it for the little child that turns to Jesus in their time of crisis.

Leadership Summit

Next week I head off to Kansas City to attend Willow Creek's Leadership Summit. This is an annual event that is video cast all over the country over the course of two and a half days. It features some of the finest leaders from the church world as well as the business and political worlds.

Last year this conference very likely saved my ministry. I was very burned out and feeling very unappreciated. I sat in an auditorium last year and listened as leaders poured out their hearts. They shared their struggles and their successes. I needed to hear how others have dealt with and over come some of the struggles I was having.

As we begin a new phase in the life of TRCC I am confident that God will use this time to strengthen and prepare me for the road ahead. I am really looking forward to the Summit and excited about what God has in store for me this year.

If you are a leader in church or business I would very highly recommend investing in yourself by attending this conference. One of my goals is to take some key leaders at TRCC with me next year.

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how the last Sunday in July worked out:

Praise: The band was back and sounded wonderful. I hope we feature Rachel and Rob a little more. They both have wonderful voices. There are times when music really hits my soul, well to be honest it is the cry of my heart. We sang Cry Out to Jesus by Third Day this Sunday and it hit me right square in the heart. I hope no one saw me wiping my eyes during that song.

Drama: Rachel made her debut as part of the drama team. She did a one woman act playing the part of an old-time carnival barker. She was peddling "salvation in a bottle". She did a fantastic job, despite being up all night working. Well done Rachel!

Message: I finished up the Running on Empty series with a message about slowing our life down and making time for God. We spend so much time running that we rarely ever stop, be quiet and connect with the source of our power. God desires to have a relationship with us. We need to make time to feed our souls. In fact, we should be spending as much time on our soul-health as we do on our physical health.

Attendance: 174 (-5% change from same Sunday last year)