Get Involved

There are many things I love about being part of a small, rural church. I love the friendly, family atmosphere. I appreciate the steadfast faith of the older church members. Their unshakeable trust is a great example to the younger generations. I enjoy hearing the children sing songs about Jesus at the top of their lungs and dancing to the tunes with great joy. Their unhindered worship is a great example to those of us who have allowed the world to stifle our passion and desire to scream the Good News from the top of our lungs. Yes, there are many great things about small, rural churches like BCC, the one I grew up in, and the others I’ve worshiped with over the years.

Any church regardless of size and location has struggles. Small, rural churches are not exempt from this, but I’m pretty convinced we don’t have to let struggles distract us from loving God and loving our neighbors. In fact, I’m growing more and more convinced that those struggles may be the greatest opportunities we can give God to make his name and glory known to our community.

Small, rural churches have an abundance of potential for amazing ministry to be done. One of the great struggles in these churches is that they rarely come close to reaching their God-given potential. There are various reasons that contribute to this, but it would take far too much space and time to explore them in a single article. Instead of looking at the reasons why, I would rather invite you to be a part of the solution. In order for any church to reach its God-given potential as a
congregation, it requires everyone to get involved. Every one has gifts, talents, and abilities. Everyone can do something. No matter you age, IQ, health, or stature. God wants you to partner with Him in doing His work.

So here is the invitation: find the things you are passionate about, that you enjoy doing, or are good at, and do them with a ministry heart. You can cook. Cook some meals for people recovering for surgery or for our church dinners. You love kids. Teach a Sunday School class or volunteer at JAM. You like to build and fix things. Help the neighbors with broken steps or spend a few hours every couple weeks helping us tackle some things around the building. If you don’t volunteer because you are waiting to be asked, THIS IS THE ASK!  God already told us to go serve. God already gave us instructions about all the parts of the body working together. Get in the game and help our church family be the church that God has called us to be.

We have worked hard this year to create new ministry teams and develop our existing teams. We have had individuals step up to be Ministry Team Leaders, so that we can do our part in the Kingdom work God has called us to do. Below you will see two lists. The first list consists of teams that currently have Ministry Team Leaders and are looking for people to serve alongside them in those ministries. The second list are the teams that we are hoping to find leaders for in the next few months. Which one catches your attention? Which one makes you excited about what God could do through that team? Which one includes gifts and talents you have? If you aren’t sure, give me a call or stop by the office. I would love to help you discover how God is desiring to partner with you!

Contact the Team Leader to get involved           
Finance Ministry Team (Doug Umbanhowar)        
Maintenance Ministry Team (Clair Springett)         
Care Ministry Team (Kathy Hodgman)           
Children’s Ministry Team (Sarah Johnson & Lisa Springett)   
JAM Ministry Team (Becky Springett)           
Student Ministry Team (Janice Cauvel)           
Adult Bible Studies Ministry Team (Sarah Johnson)       
Church Family Meals Ministry Team (Debbie Streeter & Becky Miller)
Missions Ministry Team (Julie Zecklin)
Outreach Ministry Team (Debbie McPike)          
Sunday Worship Ministry Team (Jeremiah Johnson)       
Tuesday Worship Ministry Team (Lisa Springett)
Worship Support Ministry Team (Becky Springett)


Contact Sarah to get involved
Transition Ministry Team
Housekeeping Ministry Team
Grounds Ministry Team
Decorations Ministry Team
Encouragement Ministry Team
Fellowship Ministry Team
Community Group Ministry Team

Year End Reflections

I have always found that the end of the calendar year draws me into a time of reflection. What were the highlights of the last year? What were the struggles of the last year? How did I see God move and reveal himself to me? Where did I see his faithfulness? Where did I see my faithfulness to him? What needs to shift in order to live a more surrendered life? How did I love well? How do I need to love more?

Despite the highs and lows in life, as disciples of Jesus we are always striving to live a life that puts God on display to those around us. We are allowing God’s spirit to shape and mold us into greater reflections of Jesus. During this Advent season, I’m asking God to show me how he is desiring to work in and through me. I want to invite you to join me in that same prayer as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

We started this year spending a great deal of time exploring what it means to be the Church and what that looks like for us as a local church family. I would like to invite you to use part of those studies as a tool as we ask God to speak to us. Remember, as a church family we have stated that we are committed to LOVING God and loving our neighbors by WORSHIPING together in unity; EQUIPPING Christians to serve others; and LEADING others to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

• How did you love God well in 2016?
• How might God be calling you to love him more deeply in 2017?
• How did you love your neighbor well in 2016?
• How might God be calling you to love your neighbor more deeply in 2017?
• How did you worship together in unity 2016?
• How might God be calling you to grow in your worship with one another in 2017?
• How did you equip others to serve during 2016?
• How might God be calling you to equip other people to serve in 2017?
• How did you lead others to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ in 2016?
• How might God be asking you to continue to lead others with a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ in 2017?

Lord give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand your Spirit as you reveal yourself and your will to us in this Advent season.

Rhythms of Rest

Jeremiah and I have just returned from a much needed three day personal retreat. We spent our time resting our bodies, renewing our souls, and reconnecting with God. I cannot tell you how good and healthy and necessary this is. The past several months have felt very much like a whirlwind running from church events to doctors appointments to camp planning meetings to family events and other work and personal obligations. Thinking about all of these things as I type them is exhausting. These are all good things. I want to fill my time with good things, things that make a difference and have an impact. I love filling my schedule with things to do.

Our culture, especially in the Midwest, is great at promoting and glorifying a “busy” life. We praise people for their productivity, hard work and full schedules. I have often been complimented for this. One friend once told me, “You get many miles out of life.” I think it is important to use time wisely and be productive, especially in our Kingdom work. However, I fear we have put way too much emphasis on this side of the spectrum and have neglected the equally important opposite end of the spectrum, rest.

From the very beginning it is clear that we were created to rest. God creates Adam and Eve on the sixth day of the Creation poem. They are created in God’s image and their first full day of existence is spent experiencing rest with God on day seven. We read over and over again in the first chapter of Genesis the phrase “evening and morning.” It is backwards from how we think about time. The Bible describes the idea of day as starting with the evening. What do you do in the evening? Rest! This pattern seems to indicate that our work comes from out rest, not the other way around.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, this is not how we think. We work hard all day so we can leave work to go home and rest. We work long hours to earn extra money so we can retire early and rest. I think this perspective of work is very dangerous. It is backwards from what God has laid out for us. He commands us to rest and Jesus models this and teaches us that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) God invites us to rest with Him, to trust that He is enough, to trust that our value and identity is in God alone and not our work.

I have found when I make rest the priority, my work is better. I’m more effective in ministering to others. I am more present with other people. I have a better attitude about those things I don’t really like doing. In these times my work has come from my rest. I have answered God’s invitation to rest and I can better do the work He has called me to do. But when I make the work the priority, things get messy. I struggle to concentrate. I miss things. I have a bad attitude. My work is sloppy. I’ve rejected God’s invitation and I make the work about me or something else other than God. And eventually I crash because I’ve been living outside of the rhythm in which I was created to live.

Think of it like the pendulum on a clock. It swings back and forth in a steady rhythm. When the pendulum swings properly the clock functions properly and keeps the right time. When that pendulum gets off balance, the clock doesn’t keep the proper time. It runs fast or slow. The rhythm of rest and work in our lives is just like that pendulum. When the rhythm is off we aren’t living the way God created us to live.

We have to intentionally manage our time to include daily rest (good sleep and time spent with God), weekly rest (Sabbath, a full day of rest), monthly rest (a day or two set aside for extra rest and renewal), and yearly rest (a vacation or retreat). This will not just happen. Perhaps you have heard the saying, “If you don’t manage your time, it will manage you.” God did not intend us to live like that. What do your rhythms of rest look like? Does your work flow out of your rest or is your work dictating your rest? Brothers and sister, we must be obedient in this. God is offering us an invitation to rest in Him and trust in Him. How will you answer that invitation?

Perspective and Attitude

 

I’m currently sitting in the allergist office waiting my mandatory 30 minutes to make sure I don’t have reactions. It is actually a very annoying weekly ritual, but it is for my own safety and in the long run makes me stronger. The waiting room tv is playing an interview with a woman who has diabetes. She just shared that many of her friends started to pray that God would take away diabetes. She responded by asking her friends to stop praying because diabetes saved her life. I thought that was a peculiar response so I listened a little closer. She went on to explain about how unhealthy and sick she felt until the discovered the disease and now she felt strong and healthy. She was grateful for the diagnoses, because of how it changed her life.

Now this might seem like a stretch, but it immediately caused me to think about the things around us that we are constantly asking God to take away because it is annoying or hard. What if God is allowing those things to be present in our lives to make us stronger, healthier or even greater reflections of Him? If that is the case, shouldn’t my attitude be one of thanksgiving instead of one of complaining.

Paul shares some similar thoughts with the church in Corinth. We don’t know exactly what the thorn in his flesh is, but he begs God to take it away three times. God chooses not to and teaches Paul, “My grace is sufficient of you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:7) Paul changes his attitude and decides to be grateful for this weakness and struggle. He discovers and explains in his letter that when he changes his attitude, “Christ’s power may rest in me…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

In Genesis, we discover Joseph seems to have embraced a similar attitude.  His brothers have plotted to kill him, but end up selling him as a servant. After serving in Potiphar’s house, he is falsely accused and thrown in prison. When he is finally reunited with his family and saves them from suffering during a famine he says to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” While I’m sure there were several times Joseph was frustrated and struggled with his circumstance, he allowed God to shape and mold him during the process.

Our God is very good and does not harm us, but he does desire to use the brokenness around for his glory. We have to be willing to allow his Spirit to work through us in that way. Are there things in your life that are causing frustration or hurt? What is your attitude toward those things? What might God be trying to teach you? How might he be trying to shape you through these circumstances? How might God be using this as an opportunity to make himself known to you and those around you?

Simplicity of Discipleship

As a Discipleship Minister it probably comes as no great surprise that I am passionate about discipleship and get really excited when I see it in action. I asked Jeremiah to snap this picture during service because I thought it was a beautiful picture of the simplicity of discipleship. Far too often we make discipleship into this massive task that is far too difficult to even talk about let alone try to do. The more I study discipleship and disciple others, the more amazed I become at the simplicity of it.

I used to think discipling others meant I had to be perfect at following Jesus. Wrong! Not one of the disciples we see in Scripture was perfect and they went on to start churches all over the world.

I used to think discipling others meant I had to have all the answers. Wrong! The disciples in Scriptures wrestled to understand the Text. I love Paul’s story because we see him mature and grow throughout the book of Acts.

I used to think discipling others meant lots of formal meetings where I would teach what I knew about Jesus and the Bible. Wrong! Jesus disciples others as they are doing simple every day things like fishing, going to the Temple to worship, eating meals, gathering water at a well.

Paul tells the church in Corinth, “Be imitators of me, just as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB). We read that and freak out because we know we aren’t the best imitators of Jesus. Paul is not saying he is a perfect imitator. He is simply telling the Christians in Corinth, “I’m following Jesus. Come follow Him with me.” Do the things I do in following Jesus so you can learn how to follow Jesus too. It sounds so simple, because is many ways it is.

Annette follows Jesus and worships Him by singing praises and making music for His glory. She invites Evelyn to do the same. So Evelyn learns to follow Jesus by worshiping Him through singing and clapping. There was no long lecture. Annette just followed Jesus and invited someone to do it with her.

Now I’m not saying the process of discipleship is always easy. That certainly is not the case. Often simple things aren’t easy. Try not eating that amazing bowl of Sherman’s Ice Cream or your favorite dessert placed right in front of you; simple but not easy. I do want to challenge us not to make discipleship more challenging than it should be. Let’s keep following Jesus and inviting others to do that with us.

It starts with an invitation. Jesus says to his apostles, “Come follow me.” Who can you say that to by inviting them to come to church with you or joining one of our Fall Bible Studies. It is a simple start to a beautiful journey.

Remember

I had a great view from my hospital bed last week. The sky was a gorgeous bright blue with big, fluffy white clouds. The tops of the tree tops were a full of different shades of green. Breathtaking! I made several comments about it throughout the afternoon. Later that evening, the clouds had dissipated, the bright blue was starting to dull, and the sun started to appear in the corner of the window. The sun made its way across the sky, and my window, and I was reminded of the many California sunsets I enjoyed on the west coast as the giant ball of fire slowly falls to below the earth’s edge. As I soaked up the sun shining in my eyes, God brought Psalm 103 to mind. There were only about three verses of the psalm I could remember, and my cell phone was almost dead. Fortunately it wasn’t long before Jeremiah returned with my Bible. I didn't even have to ask him to bring it; he knew I would want it.

I wanted to share one of my favorite Hebrew words from this psalm with you. Barak. It means to bless or to kneel. You have probably heard me say before the Hebrew is a very picturesque language. This means that the word pictures created in the Hebrew can help us better understand what the author is saying to us. When we bless someone, it is as if we are bending our knee toward them. This picture gets lost a little bit in our culture. We don’t bow before kings or queens. Kneeling is an act that recognizes you are submitting yourself to, honoring, or at the service of the one you are kneeling before. A man kneels before his girlfriend with a marriage proposal to serve and honor her.

If you are reading the NIV, it will translate barak as praise. This isn’t a bad translation, I simply think bless is a better translation. Take that for what it is worth. A vast majority of the time in Scripture, “bless” is used to talk about us blessing God. That is exactly what is happening in Psalm 103. However, we love to use the word “bless” to ask God to give us something. Remember the word picture, blessing someone is as if we are bending a knee to them. We are asking God to bend His knee toward us to serve us. I hope that makes you as uneasy as it does me. Is there anything wrong with asking God to be with us or help us? Absolutely not! He says he will do those things. Will God bless us? Absolutely! There are uncountable ways that he has.

Psalm 103 always reminds me who is on the throne and that regardless of circumstance, I bless God and God alone. It causes me to ask myself if I’m asking God to bless me more than I am blessing God. My challenge to you is to let Psalm 103 speak to you. Perhaps you could even literally bend your knees and make this psalm your prayer.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all you sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great isis love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

Bless the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Bless the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Bless the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Bless the LORD, o my soul.”
Psalm 103

Wilderness People (Repost)

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” Hosea 2:12

In July of 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel and Turkey on a study trip with some of the staff and students from Impact Campus Ministry. In a few weeks, another group will be going and I really wish I was joining them. After some recent conversations about the trip, I started re-reading my journals and blog posts from around the trip. I found a blog post that challenged me and I thought I would update it a little and share it with you.

Hiking is one of my favorite ways to connect with God; exploring His creative work, quieting my heart and listening to His voice. I spent a ton of time hiking when I lived in California even though there was a horrible draught the entire time I was there. The hills were always brown, and there was never much green to be seen. The trails were rocky and dusty. It wasn’t very pretty to most, in fact some days it made me miss the green forests of Michigan. But it always reminded me that God’s people were wilderness people.

The wilderness, or desert, is a land of “just enough.” There is just enough water and rain for the vegetation to survive. There is just enough vegetation for sheep and goats to graze. There is just enough shade to provide an overheated shepherd relief from the hot sun.

And because there is just enough and not too much, there is plenty of room to trust. There is plenty of room to trust you’ll have just enough food to survive the day. Plenty of room to trust you’ll have just enough water to survive the day. Plenty of room to trust you will have exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. It is not what I would consider comfortable, but it is exactly where I want to live my life.

One evening I decided to hike my regular route backwards. I do this sometimes just to have a more difficult hike and sometimes I just like the different perspective it gives me. That evening as I made my way up the final climb to the bluff, I was reminded of one of my wilderness moments and one of the hardest moments in my life, my battle with depression.

During that time, I was convinced the wilderness I was in was not a land of just enough but a land of no where near enough. Not enough of God’s grace to handle my weaknesses. Not enough of God’s love to love someone like me. Not enough second chances to try again after I messed up. Not enough reasons for me to even be alive. It was a very dark time. It was in the book of Hosea and the Psalms where I found any glimmer of hope. If Hosea could marry a prostitute and still follow God each day and rest in His love, surely I could handle another day. If David could tell God how broken and sad he was and write about it, surely I could tell God too.

Hosea 2:12 was one of the verses I clung to during those years. My life felt like the toughest, driest desert to ever exist, but it was in the desert that God spoke to His people. Most days it felt like He wasn’t speaking or listening at all. There were brief moments where I heard His voice. Brief moments where I knew He was there with me. Those moments sustained me. Those moments healed me.

Now I make it a habit to go to the literal wilderness to remind myself of what God has done. To remind myself that just enough is more than enough. To remind myself God is present. I sit in the wilderness to listen to His tender voice.

When the snow arrived this last winter, I did everything to avoid the outdoors. It was far too cold. However, I haven’t returned to my practice of heading to the wilderness to be still and listen. This post reminded me of how critical that is for me. Where do you hear God speak to you? Have you gone there to be still and listen? Make some time this month to create space for the Lord to speak to you.

Controlling Your Summer

Our new series will help all of us remember the things that really matter this summer.

 Can you believe June is here already?! Soon half of 2016 will be behind us. Time seems to pass  faster and faster each year. We have a limited amount of time and our priorities dictate how we spend that time. However, sometimes what we say our priorities are doesn’t actually match how our time is spent.  We allow time to control us, instead of us managing our time well.

Summer makes this even more difficult. Family vacations change our routine. The warm weather calls to us to enjoy the beach. The grass demands to be mowed. There is always something more to do. Before we know it, summer is gone and the things we intend to do never happened. Unfortunately, all too often practicing our faith falls into this category.

We started our year as a church family making a New Year’s Resolution to be the Church. In May, we recommitted to being members of Bangor Church of Christ and living out the purpose God has given our church family. These commitments take great intentionality. Following Jesus ought to be our highest priority. Our decision to be disciples of Jesus is the greatest commitment we can make, yet it quickly falls to the back burner once summer arrives.

This summer don’t let time control you. Manage your time well and make sure your highest priority is lived out during the summer months. Jeremiah has been studying and preparing a great sermon series to help us take our next steps after the commitments we have made as a church family. Make Sunday morning a priority so you can learn more about some of these next steps. In this month’s Carillon is a handful of lists that can help you make sure you are growing as a disciple this summer.

Make the decision now before summer is gone. The sun is here and I intend on enjoying as I pursue God. Let’s keep taking steps toward Jesus together!

Special Service Coming

By now you should have noticed a pretty strong theme in our corporate worship times this year. If you haven’t, you might be sleeping during service or simply not coming. Let me give you a clue…the big metal letters on stage that spell CHURCH. As a church family, we made a New Year’s resolution to be the church God has called us to be. Every Sunday since then we have looked to Scripture to understand what that means. This month we have narrowed our focus to want it means to be the Bangor Church of Christ. Our Leadership Team has given us a single statement that helps us remember who we are called to be. We call that our purpose statement.

    Bangor Church of Christ is committed to
    LOVING God and loving our neighbors by
    WORSHIPING together in unity;
    EQUIPPING Christians to serve others; and
    LEADING others to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

Love. Worship. Equip. Lead. If remember these four words, we can easily remember who we are as a church and how we should be living. These four words help us define our priorities. These four words help us understand how to use our time, our talents, and our treasures. These four words help us live out our identity in Christ. These four words help hold us accountable to being the sons and daughters of God that we were created to be.

Our all church worship gathering on May 1st at 11 AM is a very important gathering for our church family. This service is an opportunity for us as a community to declare to God that we want to be obedient to Him and be the Church he has commanded us to be. It is time for us as church family to put our faith into action again. It is time for us as a church family to take one step closer to Jesus. It is time for us as a church family to allow the Holy Spirit to move in, through and among us.

I want to personally ask you to make every effort to attend this service. I strongly encourage you to be in constant prayer for this service. I believe that God has incredible things in store for our church family if we will chose to be obedient to him and surrender our lives to him. I’m in! Will you join me?

A Story Worth Living

 I recently attended a bridal shower where neither the bride nor the groom remembered their engagement. They remembered around what time of year it happened and a few details about the event. It had only been a year since the groom had proposed, and I was completely amazed at how little they remembered about such a significant event. Jeremiah proposed to me well over a year ago and I can remember the event very well. It was a moment that would completely reshape the rest of my life. It was a moment would mark the beginning of a new chapter in my story.

Moments like this get repeated over and over again. When I returned home to California after that visit to Michigan, I was asked several dozen times to tell the story of how he proposed. It is a great story and because it was such an significant event, I was happy to tell it over and over again. I drove home from this bridal shower completely perplexed at the idea of forgetting something so important so quickly.

Last week a high school friend and I were corresponding about another story of people quickly forgetting. Joshua 2:10 says, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.”
Read that a few more times and let that sink in a little.

God delivers the entire nation of Israel from the oppression of the Egyptians. Moses leads a generation of people in following God through the wilderness, learning to hear God’s voice and what it means to be His people. They are commanded to tell and retell the great Story every year at Passover. The next generation comes along, Joshua marches them into the Promised Land as God gives them the great land He swore to give their forefathers. Joshua and the elders of that generation pass away and then no one knows the Story. You’ve got to be kidding me! Two generations in a row bear witness the incredible power, love and faithfulness of the Lord Almighty and the next generation grew up without knowing about it.

It doesn’t take long for a story to die. It simply stops being told. We are a generation that has heard the great Story of the Exodus and the redemption of God’s people through the blood of Jesus. Are we telling the Story to those who don’t know it? Are we living the Story in such a way that the next generation with grab hold of it? Will people write that this generation of the Bangor Church of Christ passed on and the next generation knew nothing of our Lord?

Good stories get told and retold. This is the absolute best story ever written or to be written. I’m afraid that far too often we choose to silence the Story because it is inconvenient or difficult. We can’t be bothered to gather each week to remind one another of the Story. We can’t be bothered to share the Story with our neighbors or invite them to come celebrate the Story with us on a Sunday morning. That simply unacceptable. I refuse to be known as the generation that let the Story be silenced. What about you? Are you in? Will you join me in sharing the Story so generation after generation may know about the goodness of our God?

Tell the Story. Live the Story. Don’t let it be silenced.

Committed Runners

Clearly this is not me running!

I have several friends who love to run. My sister ran on our school’s cross country team. I had a close friend who ran the Boston Marathon. I even had a friend run across the continental United States!  With so many friends sharing their incredible stories about running, I decided I would start training for a 5K. It was hard!! I got tired, frustrated, and angry. Every muscle in my body hurt. I decided it was a terrible idea and quit after two weeks. A few months later, I was sharing this with my friend who ran the Boston Marathon. She started talking about the infamous “runner’s high” and how great running feels after you push through the hard parts. I told her I hated running and would never experience the good, because I didn’t want to deal with the hard stuff.

Unfortunately, this is how many of us treat our faith journeys and the call to discipleship. Paul and the author of Hebrews both use the analogy of running a race to describe our call to live as disciples of Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scoring its shame, and sat down at the right had of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

As a church, we made a decision that because we are disciples of Jesus, we would commit to being the Church. For the last two months we have expanded on this commitment by studying what it looks like to be the Church. As a church family we have committed ourselves to these things.

•     Committed to loving the Church
•     Committed to making the Lord’s Supper a priority each week
•     Committed to embracing the diversity of the Kingdom
•     Committed to the Scriptures
•     Committed to prayer
•     Committed to being good stewards
•     Committed to rest
•     Committed to Kingdom work
•     Committed to making disciples

Like running a race, being a disciple and living out these commitments is not always easy. There are days and seasons in our life where it is very difficult to follow Jesus. I may decide to throw in the towel or allow myself to get easily distracted when it comes to running a 5K, but I never want to be accused of these things when it comes to my pursuit of Jesus. The church of Galatia was accused of this. Paul wrote to them saying, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7)

The commitment we have made as a church family will not always be easy, but it is always the race worth running. When it is hard, we carry each other. When it isn’t so hard, we run side by side. We invite others to run with us. Perhaps you have already forgotten about our new year’s resolution. So let me invite you to run with me, church family. Run with me!

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run is such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Serving

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of other, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:4-8

We have been taking a look at different aspects of discipleship over the last several months. We reminded ourselves of the need to be committed to the Text and community. We’ve reminded ourselves we cannot allow ourselves to only live on milk, but to push ourselves to grow in our faith. Another part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be involved in Kingdom work.

Jesus steps into our world as a servant. As his disciples, we also must live our lives as servants. All throughout Christ’s ministry he seeks out the oppressed and marginalized heals them, speaking truth into their lives and meeting their needs. We are surrounded by opportunities to meet the needs of others every day.

God has given each of us gifts, talents, skills, and passions that he is asking us to use to further his Kingdom. When each of us chooses in obedience to exercise these gifts and use them for God’s glory people experience God and his love. The Body of Christ thrives when each part plays its role and we thrive when we allow ourselves to be an active part of the Body.  When we chose not to be an active part of the body, not only do we miss out on the things God has in store for us, we put extra stress on other parts of the Body.

This month we’ve highlighted several areas in the church where you can serve (see the front page of the Carillon HERE). And these aren’t the only areas. There are ways everyone can serve. We want to do all that we can to help you be an active disciple of Jesus. If you aren’t sure what your gifts are, let’s discover them together. If you don’t know how to use your gifts for the Kingdom, let’s seek God together and see what he may be calling you to do. Let’s keep following Christ in our service.