Lent – spring – commitment for growth

I am writing this blog on March 5, known as Ash Wednesday, the day when in many Christian traditions the Lent begins.  The word lent comes from Dutch lente, meaning spring.  There is nothing overtly religious in this word.  In time it came to be associated with the 40 days of fasting in preparation for the Good Friday, celebrating death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, as you reflect on the meaning of spring I invite you to consider this teaching of Jesus: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

Spring season, the lent, holds a mysterious paradox: that in the falling and dying there is healing, transformation, new life. First one must let go to receive the abundance.

After such a prolonged winter, everyone is awaiting the spring warmth.  My family can’t wait to get into the garden, to plant our organic kitchen garden.  Yet, I invite you to consider also what are you going to plant spiritually in your life?  What will you let go this season for God to fill you with His abundance?

This season is the season of fasting, giving up, covenanting, practicing spiritual disciplines, exercising yourself toward godliness (1^st Timothy 4:7-8).  You may not be ready for 40 days of fasting like Jesus did, but you could practice giving up one of your luxuries, learn self-sacrifice, and as you fast you will be reminded by your cravings of your commitment for personal growth.

Lent is the season of investing for harvest.  Will you invest into mentoring someone?  Will you befriend someone to introduce them to your Friend, Jesus?  Will you plant the seeds of Gospel in someone’s life this spring?

We as a church body also must consider what we do together corporately for the Kingdom growth this spring.  A group of 16 people from London attended the SEEDS church growth conference past Sabbath in Toronto.  It was almost symbolic – meeting on the first calendar day of spring J  the passion is high to plant a new church, to give a new beginning for yet another venue where the Three Angels message will be preached.  The first step in all beginnings is prayer, seeking God’s Will, God’s direction. 

May this season of lent, this spring will be your time of prayer for growth, prayer of surrendering burdens to receive blessings.  May this season be a time of investing, planting, starting new for God’s Kingdom.

Church Planting – inevitable!!!

As you are reading this, there will be a dozen of people from London in Toronto at the first ever Church Planting Conference in Ontario.  I am planning to spend two additional days, into Monday with other pastors and church leaders discussing the direction for church growth in our region.

From the first day of my ministry here I had been sharing with you the need for church planting, the need to have more churches in London.  I have communicated this through newsletters, sermons, blogs and in personal conversations.  9 years ago I hoped that there would be at least 5 Adventist churches in London by 2015.  So far we added only one – Spanish congregation, and the opinions among our members are widely divided.  Some would rather have a big mega-church, with variety of ministries to offer, and an impressive presence in the city.  Others would like to have many churches regardless of size, but located in different areas of the city, guaranteeing more personal involvement and multiplied presence. 

Reality is that more than 95% of churches today in America are small churches, with membership less than 80.  Not all small churches are doing well.  Yet, small churches have significant advantages – better fellowship, where you know each other, better pastoral care, where a minister can attend to people’s needs, better discipleship and accountability, more personal involvement in ministries, and church services, more spiritual harvest!  Large churches may offer greater performance quality programming, and for consumers it is OK to come and receive.  But with size comes increased challenges of pastoral care, discipleship, and opportunities for personal ministries.

When you consider our current location and facility, how can we grow here?  Our church membership exceeds 220, and when factored in those who worship with us and have their membership elsewhere, the church family is nearly 300 people.  We can sit only 200 in the sanctuary, and no more than 100 in the fellowship hall.  How can we accommodate growth?  How can we grow numerically in this location?

One option suggested was to go to two or three services.   Growing in numbers without investing in bricks and mortar.  For the past two months we had been trying this option.  We had promised to continue 4 months trial and will conduct evaluation by the end of March to decide the future direction.  However, our parking lot is not conducive to in and out traffic between services, as there is only 1 entrance. People are also sharing some concerns about other logistics of two services. Without moving, there remains only one alternative – planting a new congregation.

I remember sharing with you a few years back, that if London would be Grenada we would have 191 churches, if London would be Jamaica we would have 115 churches, Zimbabwe proportion of churches per population – London would have 54 churches!  Even by our Canadian average stats we should have 5 (five!) churches being 11^th metropolitan area in Canada!

Please prayerfully consider, that for the Kingdom of god to grow new wineskins are needed for the new wine (Matthew 9:17)

February – African American History month

During this month we were reminded in many ways through media and social events about the significance and importance of recognizing the Black history today.

As I reflect on things I learned this month, I want to share a few facts:

February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.  The first week long commemorative celebration was held in 1926, as a Negro History Week.  It was not until the civil rights movement in 1960s that it became the Black History Month, unofficially, until in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford made an official declaration.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton’s Proclamation 6863 renamed the effort as the "National African American History Month," and it is the proper official name today.

 Each year has a theme.  Last year, 2013 it was commemoration of 150^th anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation I n1863, and 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington.  This year, 2014, the theme continues: “Civil Rights in America.” 

Thecelebrations take place also in Canada. Two commemorative stamps were produced for circulation this year inCanada (purchase and order these as you do your mailing to build awarenessJ).  This year is also 100^th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War and the 75^th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.  Black Canadians served in both these conflicts. During the First World War black Canadians were recruited for the N^o. 2 Construction Battalion. It was the first all-black regiment raised in Canada. Years later, despite many barriers to their participation, including restrictive recruitment policies that continued into the Second World War, thousands of black Canadians persevered and served both at home and overseas in a wider variety of roles than had previously been the case.

An interesting historical fact came to light recently.  A Canadian, Ontario born (1879) missionary, Arthur Asa Carscallen, was preaching the Gospel in 1906 in Kenya, Africa, after finishing Newbold College in England.  He had mastered the Luo language and written the first grammar book.  One of the first students/disciples was a 9-year old boy, who attended the boarding school on the shore of Lake Victoria, by the name Onyango Obama.  Much of his family followed the lead and became Seventh-day Adventists. He was the grandfather of the current, 44^th president of the USA.     

More on Alignment in Church

We did not get enough time at our board meeting, early Sunday morning past week, as we had to sort through a lot of urgent practical activities to do.  And I am hoping that our leaders will take time and discuss the value of being aligned at our next meeting. This week pastors of Western Ontario met to talk about aligning the work of our churches for more impact on our communities.  Pastor Atencio led with devotional on the need of teamwork.  The church as the Body of Christ has no individual victories, unless we win together.  There is no competition in the Church as the Body of Christ but group effort, and it needs alignment!

Have you ever visited a chiropractor? You know about alignment – when your bones and vertebra are aligned you are well and functioning.  When something is out of alignment – it causes pain, tensions, scaring and dysfunction.  For the Body of Christ, the church to seek alignment is to adjust one another, to be in the place we were made and were appointed to be, to consider how we connect with one another, and who we are connected to.  In bone-setting business, often doctor has to break afresh what was set without proper alignment, and then reset it again.

Consider how your life and schedule is aligned.  Are you taking into consideration your church family, the schedule of the church, events planned by different ministries as “body parts”?  Are you involved, do you participate and attend events, seminars, activities of the Church?

I hope you are reading, thinking, and examining yourself, and your place in the Body.  There are a lot of things that we need to transform, we need resurrection from spiritual death and awakening from dormancy.  Education and discipleship is one of our urgent needs. Improvement in leadership and management is needed.  Yet, without proper alignment it will not happen.

Let me share this simple Biblical picture:  Psalm 85:13 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.  When we walk in His footsteps, when our path is aligned with God’s path we will all walk together instep!

We either align, or malign.  Apostle Paul was out of alignment, kicking against the goads (Acts 9:5) until he met Christ and got redirected.  Some of us may need the “Damascus Road experience” to recognize our need for alignment.  May the words of psalmist David be your desire - Psalm 37:23: The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.  May God order your steps, may your steps be in-step with the Church as Body of Christ.  May we all be aligned with God’s Will and purpose, and walk together in unity, rowing in sync. 

Alignment in Church

Since 2011 the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventists, of which our church is a part, has organized it’s activities by 5 principles, with acronym REACH.  We had hosted a rally for al district churches with president of Ontario, Mansfield Edwards explaining why REACH.  I had presented an appealing sermon last year about the need for organizing the church to be healthy, effective and functional.

REACH is simply a platform that reminds us of accountability we have before each other and the sisterhood of churches to seek following:

Revival & Transformation

It is applicable to our individual lives; to ministries, as we all need to improve, change, grow, and, if something got neglected – it needs to be revived, resurrected, restarted, renewed.  Our marriages need revivals and transformations.

Education & Discipleship

We have always prided ourselves that as a movement we offer education as an upward movement, a way to progress.  Let’s keep the focus on the importance of educating our next generation, not only secular science, but the principles of godliness and Biblical spirituality.  Sabbath School classes are about Discipleship, yet we lack in consistent approach to discipleship through Small Groups and mentoring, and the commitment to Christian Education, to Church school is lacking

Alignment

Just one word...with a lot of meaning.  On the banner in church we chose a picture of a rowing team working together.  A word used today in computer media is “sync” (synchronizing) to communicate being at one.  Have we aligned our schedules, our lives to the unity of church mission and church purpose?  As leaders we are asking this accountability question – are our programs aligned with people’s needs and interests?  Do our ministries align with one another not to interfere but to edify people for the common good?  This is the most urgent and touchy subject right now.  True alignment requires shedding selfish agenda and interests and putting others before self.

Yet, without this one element the remaining two, and the two listed earlier become difficult, if not impossible!  If we just figure out how to align ourselves for a teamwork, for cooperation, for considering the Big Picture, and what everyone is doing for common benefit, then we would also succeed more in

Community outreach & Evangelism

Healthy Management & Leadership

Focus on the Family

Last Wednesday I shared in our mid-week prayer meeting ten principles that functional families live by:

• Expectations/hope from one another.
• Forgiveness (Matthew 6:12)
• Encouragement (Hebrews 10:24-25)
• Discipline (Hebrews 12:7-8)
• Family is a support group (1^st Cor. 12:26)
• Problems are solved together, in unity (Matthew 12:25)
• Identity in the Name
• Security of caring for the needs
• Acceptance, unconditional love
• Comfort

As you consider the Church, which is the Family of God, God’s household (1 Timothy 3:15), we are to have same principles, same values among our fellowship.  Paul writes “the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” (Hebrews 2:11)   Our identity is in the name – Christian, since we had put on Christ at our baptism (Galatians 3:26-27).

As a church family we must apply the above mentioned principles to our fellowship.  Our expectations from one another are based on Biblical instructions, we are to be forgiving as we are forgiven by God. 

As I read Adventist Home advice to parents to make family homes attractive, comfortable, so the children would want to be home, and would not look elsewhere to spend time, I think about our church family.  We ought to also have this church facility and our gathering times so comfortable, attractive, that we would not want to leave J

Pastor Sam Pascoe is credited with this short version of Christian history: “Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.”

Our church is not a philosophy club, even though we do study and seek wisdom; it is not an enterprise, we are not here to make money but to do charity; we are not an institution, or an organization, even though we have policy and rules.  We are the Body of Christ, an organism, a movement, a Family of God.  Let’s not forget that.

Reclaiming the lost

I am reflecting on the recent Church board session as we discussed what is important for our church.  No matter which goals we considered all conversations returned to one topic – strengthening the family, reviving the family life, helping families to cope with pressures of life.  Family Life is set as our top priority for revival and transformation!  Be though education, or community outreach – family values, and strong families in the core of our church are essential.  I invited you all to consider Biblical teachings on the Church as the Family of God.  The relationships, not just programs or events, RELATIONSHIPS! – taking time to visit, to talk, to listen, to help – TIME spent together is the key for healing relationships and families.

This week I took time to review the materials from the recent summit on retention of church members, the first ever event on this topic held at our church world-wide headquarters.  Only 8 divisions (out of 13) reported on approaches taken.  North American report was missing, as we are reluctant in the North America to address this subject – auditing our membership, and reconnecting with those who stopped attending the church family gatherings.

Following were listed as the most effective methods for reconnecting with people:

·         Private visits at home by friends from the church

·         Pastoral visitation

·         Ongoing friendship and visiting during the week

·         Official visits by elders of the church

These are way of getting people to re-visit, to come back.  But, to keep them, for retention, for the staying power it takes more.  Small Groups for spiritual growth and relationships building is the top practice in retention, and ….. the most successful method reported – healthy families in churches as mediating factor!  When people come and see that Christ’s presence in the Church community changes families, makes families well, improves families from being dysfunctional to becoming loving, caring and peaceful – it is the greatest witness and intervention possible!

It is not an easy “quick fix,” improving our families.  It is a process needing time, determination and commitment.  It is a change of characters by Holy Spirit, and it must begin by admitting that we need help, by not covering up and pretending that everything is OK, but by seeking help.  Pride stands in the way of healthy families.  It is only with humility of considering others, lifting others up and allowing the community to keep us accountable, that this process of family makeovers may begin.