Weekly Suncrest Update

Are any of you like me — sitting near the end of your week thinking “I had hopes of getting so much more done this week!”. But, interruptions are part of the rhythm of life. And this week has been a challenging one for our staff…

We had 5 staff members out this week either due to some serious illness or because they are serving on Mission Trips. Please especially pray for our beloved Children’s Ministry Director, Sue Hertzfeldt. She is fighting an extremely sensitive situation with one of her eyes right now and has had multiple doctor visits and is on a very strict regimen with eye-drops etc. Also, please pray for Martha Farrellbegg (one of our receptionists) as she is in the hospital after surgery earlier this week. I hope to see both Martha and Sue later today and will pass on that we are all praying for them. Mary Beth Stockdale, Denise Tribble and Laurie Olson have been serving on Suncrest mission trips to New England and New Orleans. And special thanks to Clara Clark for picking up lots of hours and big load in our office during an unusual week!

A new series starts this Sunday that Doug and I are really excited about. I’ll kick it off Sunday as we tackle “Things I Wish Jesus Never Said”. Alongside the comforting, encouraging and insightful words Jesus left us, he also left some very challenging statements. Get to church on time so you don’t miss a fun clip at the beginning of the service from the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. I know we have few Will Farrell fans out there.

The paving of the 2nd entrance is complete, with striping yet to come as the finishing touch. Thank you for your generosity toward this project!! I think it will still be closed this Sunday, but potentially open next weekend. Landscaping and sign will come soon.

Can’t wait for tonight…

Jenny and the kids have been gone since Tuesday and get back tonight. After just preaching three times and feeling totally drained, I still have to prep for a memorial service I’m doing tonight and visit one of our support staff who is in the hospital…so I might not even get to be home when they get there…but I will get there in time to see them tonight.  Having the house to myself is only good for about one day for me.  After that, I hate being there alone. 

I also couldn’t wait for today because our “Pause” series is over.  I’m really glad we did it, but also glad it’s done.  For some reason it felt “heavy” to me and I think to our church.  Of course, temptation/sin are never the most encouraging topics to teach on.  The feedback from people identifying with the series always makes it worth it.  I met some first-timers after the last two services that seemed to connect well with things which is one of my most important “gauges” of our effectiveness.

 

Next Sunday we begin an intriguing series called “Things I Wish Jesus Never Said“.  Can’t wait for that.  For any Will Farrell/Ricky Bobby fans out there, we have a special treat for you on Sunday!!

Praying for a miracle…Part 2

 

Just following up on an earlier post.  I mentioned I would write some more about miracles and about visiting people personally as the church goes.  Here’s a quick summary about praying for miracles. 

Probably the best teaching I ever heard on this was from Bob Russell, now retired from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY.  He had a progressive “Big idea”…

1.  God answers prayer.

2.  God answers prayer in miraculous ways.

3.  God answers prayer in miraculous ways, but not very often.

There is a lot that could be said about this, but let me give you my best thoughts…

First, Prayer has real power.  I say this as a theological truth and as a personal experience.  When we pray, God listens and responds.  He changes the course of circumstances, events, relational dynamics, and temptation.  Suncrest’s founding pastor, John Wasem, once said, “If you really believe in prayer, you would probably pray a whole lot more than you do.”  That’s true, isn’t it?  Prayer becomes a last resort or a token supplement to actions we take on our own to try to fix most situations.  But when the Bible says “You have not becasue you ask not” it is a motivator for asking, isn’t it?

Some people are hesitant to pray for miracles.  I think at some level it is because they are afraid God will not answer their request.  I mean, to answer a miraculous prayer God would have to act in a supernatural way, right?  I would agree wholeheartedly…but I fear the basis of that question reveals something about the other prayers of our lives — we don’t really expect God to act supernaturally (especially at our requests!). 

I would suggest that God cannot act in any way that is not supernatural.  It is is who he is.  So, every time he answers a prayer (large or small in our minds), he is acting supernaturally.

So, whether something seems small or large (in my mind, possible or impossible), I really try to make no distinction in how boldly I ask God to move.  Those are false barriers to God.  The only time I would not pray for a miracle is if it is clear to me that in His will, God has something else in mind.  (Since I’m no expert in reading God’s will in all circumstances, that means I rarely hesitate to pray for a miracle). 

Practically Speaking, that means I might pray with the qualifier “If it is your will, God…”, but I try to reflect that spirit in all of my prayers, whether I say it out loud or not.  My overarching prayer, always, is that God’s will be done in this world.

Here’s the thing about praying for miracles…I ask for them and even expect them (becuase I know God is able to do them), but I do not presume them to be answered.  I want my attitude to be the same as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were about to be thrown into a furnace that would burn them alive…

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”     -Daniel 3:17-18

God answers miraculous prayers for us rarely enough for us to remember they are miraculous.  If he answered them all, the event would feel very common place (and not very miraculous, wouldn’t it? 

Also, I think if you trace how God did miracles in the Bible you will always find a greater purpose — and most often that greater purpose (beyond the person being physically healed or something similar) was to open door for his good news message - lending credibility or cracking open people’s hearts with undeniable power.

I know that’s just the tip of the iceberg, but I’ll stop there for now.  If you post comments or questions, I’ll try to get to them.

Suncrest Black 14 - Suncrest Red 5

Last night was a big softball showdown.  This year we expanded to two teams and no longer play in a church league, but in a Rec League instead.  Imagine our surprise that the 2 suncrest teams are at the top of the standings.   Last night, with both teams entering the game undefeated, the two Suncrest teams battled it out and Black came out on top. 

As you might guess (since I’m giving it this level of attention), I’m on the black team.  Coach Kevin McHugh has us playing together and pitcher Don Book was player of the game last night.  Our team has a few new guys, but most of us have played together for a number of years.

The Red team is the newer (read “Younger”) team.  The best part about beating them is that our Student Life Pastor Jared Mehrle loves to talk smack and is on that team.  Now he doesn’t have anything to talk about!

Weekly Suncrest Update

 

Tonight is the start of “Simplexity” our Summer Study of 1 Corinthians — should be a great chance to dig in to a very interesting book of the Bible. Be here at 7:00pm — childcare provided!!

This weekend two of our summer mission trips take off that our Missions Team has coordinated. We have one of our largest groups ever going for our 6th trip to relief work in New Orleans. Also, we have a team traveling to help one of the new churches we started in Salem, New Hampshire do an awesome summer camp called “Camp Create.” Part of God’s plan for your life is that you contribute by serving…Pray for those that are serving in this unique way.

This Sunday we complete the “Pause” series.  Should be another introspective time to see how temptation plays with your future. We will watch a clip from an interesting interview that was done with serial killer Ted Bundy hours before his execution. It isn’t graphic, but it is revealing about how temptation spiraled in his life. We’re mixing up the service order a little bit too and think it will help create a powerful worship time.

The following Sunday we begin a new series that Doug and I are really excited about called “Things I Wish Jesus Never Said”. While I’ve never read words that were more encouraging or comforting than the ones Jesus used, he also spoke some challenging truth at times…Some of that tough advice we all need to hear. And….Bobby Jackson will lead us in worship this Sunday! It’s been great having him in the office this week. We’re going to enjoy having Bobby lead our worship ministry for a long time. Be there Sunday to welcome him and his family!

Two Mentors in one Day

I have lots of satisfying relationships.  Some are mutually fulfilling.  Some I feel like I give more than I get (which is usually OK).  Then there are a few people who have poured way more into me than I could ever give back to them.  There are at least two of those — My Dad and John Wasem (our founding pastor).

 Yesterday was a great day because I got to have breakfast with John (who now lives 11 hours away) and play golf with my dad (who was in town for Abby’s dedication and Birthday).   Whenever I’m with either of these guys, I just keep trying to soak up their wisdom.  Here’s some of my tidbits from yesterday…

John keeps teaching me about church leadership, church planting, coaching people to get the best out of them, and he still understands the nuances of this church with tremendous insight.  We talked about how Suncrest can keep growing it’s church planting vision in some pretty practical ways.  We talked about our kids (and now a granddaughter for John!) and his leadership at Emmanuel School of Religion and how he has now completed the coursework for his PhD in Organizational Leadership.

I love talking to my dad about fatherhood, the stock market (he’s taught me everything I know about money),  running a successful business (lots of parallels to church), the St. Louis Cardinals, and any number of other topics.  I beat him by one stroke yesterday…though neither of us were impressive and we had a 2 hour rain delay after 8 holes at White Hawk.  The picture above is one from Dad at the Master’s last year getting Jack Nickalaus’ signature on a practice round day! 

Weekly Suncrest Update

Just a brief note this week…I feel like I’ve already written a lot to you, but it was in a church-wide letter you’ll get next week in your real mailboxes.  There’s some great info in there that brings us up to date on finances, projects around here, etc.  From my office, I have the perfect view of the second entrance being constructed on our campus…gravel is going down right now!  Get the full update in that letter, including some neat news about our neighbors donating some land to us. 

Sunday’s beginning to the “Pause” message series was challenging wasn’t it?  It was to me.  I know I’ve had a lot of feedback including some very delicate and some very powerful struggles with temptation.  I got an email last night that I’ll share in part, preserving his/her anonymity… 

“…You see, I am a ‘minimizer’.  If I can think up some of the, what I call, “really huge sins” that people commit, it can make some of my sins seem much smaller.  It’s really a great tool and I use it quite often.  After the sermon on Sunday, with much meditation and self examination,  I came to the conclusion that the sin which I chose to focus on during this series and with God’s help remove from my life, that I have always considered not so huge,  is very, very huge.  And the reason that I finally came to confess that it is so huge is because it owns so much of me.  I know it’s going to take time, and much prayer and trust in God to believe that it can be removed from my life, but I am going to put my faith to great testing and truly believe that with God all things are possible.” 

This Sunday we will have a candid interview within the message about the obvious and not-so obvious effects that come from our falls to temptation. 

On a more upbeat note, it’s both Father’s Day and a Baby Dedication Sunday with about 2 dozen babies dedicated over our three services.  Benjamin Gamble, Gibson Mehrle, and our own daughter, Abby, will be among them (our staff is just trying to do our part to help this church grow!).  Sunday is also Abby’s first birthday, so we have plenty to celebrate…and a lot of family in town! 

See you Sunday…

Praying for a miracle…Part 1

Last night I went with our elders to pray for a woman to be healed.  Nancy Sanasack is one of my favorite people in the world.  She is graceful and gracious and generous and grounded.  She has been a true leader in our community for years as the principal at Kolling Elementary School.  In semi-retirement, she and Ken now operate an insurance school and my wife is one of their instructors.  My kids love her.  In the last month, she’s been diagnosed with and entered agressive treatment for ovarian cancer.

As elders, we don’t do go to pray as a group like this often, but we do as it is requested in the most serious of situaitons.  James 5:14-15 talks about the power of this.

It got me thinking about two huge things I’ll post on in the next few days…First,

1.  I sat there with Nancy and had the experience of personally “pastoring” someone at an intensely personal and uncertain time in life.  I love that opportunity and it really stirred some old feelings about why I got into ministry in the first place.  I definitely do a lot less of this now that the church has grown so much.  I think that is both good and bad, which I’ll explain later.

2.  When I prayed for Nancy, I asked God to heal her miraculously.  Some of the other elders did the same.  Some asked God to heal her “if it is His will.”  Others asked God to work through doctors, medicine, etc.  Do you ever pray for miracles?  Do you do it with high expectations or low expectations?  With hesitancy?  I’ll give you my 2 cents on this sometime soon.

Suncrest Update

Most every week, I write a brief email update to the church family.  I’ll post them here when I do them for now.  Probaly before long, I’ll just post them here and let everyone come here to find them.

Our teen band did a great job Sunday, didn’t they? And Jared was right on with his teaching. Our student ministry is stronger than it has ever been at Suncrest thanks to his leadership and some outstanding volunteers! We are starting a new three week message series this Sunday that I’ll be teaching through. We all face temptations (and we all give in to them!). This series has the real potential to help us tackle those struggles. I’ve really resonated with the passage I’m teaching from this week and I think you will too.

PAUSE

6/10 - Resisting the Urge

6/17 - A Victimless Crime?

6/24 - An Honest Assessment

Can I brag on all of you for a moment? I tell everyone I meet how cool it is to serve a church like Suncrest. My favorite parts…Great people…Big Vision…Willingness to try new things…and (best of all) it’s a church that really cares about people far from God. So I came across this report some time ago and thought it would be worth sharing with you. It’s not really good news for churches in general.

Only 22 of the 43,000 (about 0.005%) churches studied (southern baptist in this case):

• Baptized at least 26 people per year for 10 consecutive years
• Experienced overall worship attendance growth during the same 10 years
• Had a membership to baptism ratio of no more than 20 to 1.

On the positive side, Suncrest, you meet that criteria…and put yourself in pretty elite company! It’s an awesome reflection of our staff, ministry and group leaders and everyone who serves to make suncrest what it is! If you are interested in more on the study, you can click here.

The Value of Assessment

 

I got back into town tonight after being out of town for three days as an assessor at CPAC.  Suncrest has used CPAC a number of times to evaluate candidates as we plant new churches, but this was my first experience in person.  I’ll say I’m thankful I was an assessor and not and assessee!!  The process is challenging (I think I heard “brutal” more than once)…in both preparation and for the 60 hours you are there in person.  But I believe it is truly beneficial for everyone there…it is affirming to your giftedness, eye-openieng to blind-spots, and gives the true gift of critical feeback…that we all need to hear, but rarely do in a supportive way.

Doug Gamble (Associate Pastor) and Jared Mehrle (Student Life Pastor) were there being assessed for some unique ministry opportunities Suncrest may have as explore where God is leading us in the future.   I’ll write more on that sometime.  Both of these guys are top-tier as pastors and the roles they fulfill at Suncrest make a difference in people’s lives everyday.

 I’m thinking about having all new ministry staff hires go through the process becasue it is so comprhensive.  It would be so insightful.  Jon Ferguson from host Community Christian Church has a great description of it’s value on his blog.