Candy Coated Donuts

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2  

 

As I mentioned last week, it represented a major paradigm shift for the Wrights:  sustained, heavier than air flight.  As a kid growing up, I learned that if I jumped off the roof of the garage, no matter if I had a cool Superman cape on or not, I would fall to the ground…and hard.    The biggest hurdle to overcome is impossibility.   I stepped into a Tim Horton’s this week for a meeting.  Thought I’d get a little something before we got started so I glanced at the case.  That’s when I saw the world’s most decadent, over-the-top confection…a cream-filled, chocolate icing topped long john covered with crushed M and M’s.  No way!  How can they get away with that?  Candy covered donuts?  My modern, healthy food scruples began to crawl.  Then I thought to myself, “Why do I have a problem with this?  This breaks my paradigm.”   So then I thought, “What makes a paradigm?”  I concluded at least in the moment, my values:  whole grain over white flour, complex carbohydrates over refined sugars, light protein over empty calories, etc., etc.  My wife has trained me well.   Got me thinking, “What are the values I hold onto that keep me from embracing more kingdom values?”    I made a list of things I’ve seen us start to invert for the sake of Christ as I have traveled the district…   The value of one lost over 99 in the fold.  Do a majority of our resources go toward ministering to those in the pew or those still on the streets?  Unfortunately, many congregations today in North America are inverted, and thus one could say, Anti-Christ.  Many in Miami Valley however are shifting.   Humility over entitlement.  Washing feet over climbing the clergy collared ladder.  There is no ideal appointment.  The best appointment is usually the one that’s waiting where we are after we give it our best leadership.  So many of our colleagues are committing to slogging it out for the long, hard-fought haul.  Way to go!   Outreach over building maintenance.  While many are still trying to do both, push may come to shove and we won’t have any other choice but to go missional.  The economy may not ever be what it was.  How should we organize ourselves for the new normal?   With what values do you struggle?   I heard of a church recently that flipped their sanctuary.  Instead of everything focused on the front altar area, they flipped it.  Now, the rear is the old altar, where people come in, and where handicapped seating is now provided.  Everyone faces just the opposite, instead of the high and holy place they turned toward their old doors…to the world.    What new values do you need to embrace to be even better, kingdom agents of change and transformation?   Thriving in Christ with you,   Chris  

The Power of Positive Thinking

“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.”

I Corinthians 1:27

 

“The Power of Positive Thinking”

A Lesson from Our History as the District of Innovation

 

Did you know Rev. Norman Vincent Peale grew up in our district?  His father was pastor of Greeneville First way back when.

 

Struggling with a debilitating, low self-esteem, Peale recounts the day he accepted Christ in our very own Darke County led in prayer by his dad…

 

Finally Father said, “Norman, are you willing to let this great Doctor, Jesus Christ, treat you for that inferiority complex? If you will let Jesus take charge of your mind, indeed your whole life, you can be freed of this misery which, if it continues, can destroy your effectiveness.” I was profoundly impressed and said I would give my life into the hands of Jesus.   

 

Now I must confess, I always thought Dr. Peale was a little kooky.  My grandma loved him.  I though did not.  On visiting the Crystal Cathedral one day with some colleagues, however, I learned that Dr. Peale was the main inspiration of Robert Schuller.  Now, I had always thought Dr. Schuller could be a little kooky too, but I still respected him nonetheless.  You cannot deny that God has used him over the years especially when, as I knew it for myself, his ministry saved my dad.

 

During high school, my father had been unemployed for almost a year.  If it wasn’t for the Hour of Power every Sunday morning, I don’t know where my dad would be today let alone me.  Our family needed every bit of that “Power of Positive Thinking” that we could get.

 

So, now I have to like Dr. Peale too, especially since he was one of our former M.Y.F. kids.

 

I thank God that the Lord raises up people for a special time and place, despite how the rest of history and even Christendom will judge.  What kind of leader does God need today?  What kind of leader is God looking forward to calling forth in you?

 

You have my permission to be as kooky as you need to win people for Christ.   Maybe, just maybe, God will use you to change someone’s destiny.

 

Thriving in Christ with you,

 

Chris

 

Latest and Greatest God-Stories:  “Signs of New Life”

 

1. “Anchored in Peace” Prayer Rally is planned sponsored by several of our UM churches including Fairview and Grace in Dayton.  May 2, 1:00pm across from Hara Arena at the corner of Wolf and Shiloh Springs.  Did you know sellers do not need to conduct background checks?  Come and show your support.  Work toward peace and justice.

 

2. West Elkton UMC celebrated resurrection morning with great enthusiasm!  We had 48 at sunrise service and a great breakfast after with around 70.  We had 116 for our 10:30 worship service and at 3 PM we had over 60 at our Easter egg hunt.  What a day and what a mighty God we serve!   Sandra J. Apgar

 

 

What is your latest God Story of new life?

 

 

"Controlling Versus Controlled"

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. “  II Timothy 1:7, NAS

 

“Controlling Versus Controlled”

A Lesson from Our History as the District of Innovation

 

Did you know the Miami Valley was the Silicon Valley back in the early 1900s?  Kettering, Patterson, and the Wright Brothers were just some of the more famous personalities.     

 

If God first revealed God’s Self as Creator, maybe we can feel a little more freedom in our experimentation for the Kingdom.   What lessons, therefore, from their days of innovation can we apply in our own as we seek to maximize our service to Christ and His mission?

 

The mind set the Wright Brothers had to overcome was enormous.  It represented a major paradigm shift in their day:  sustained, heavier than air flight.  Imagine getting your mind around that for the first time?  Flying in a vehicle that was heavier than the air around it went against all conventional wisdom.

 

Key to their success was not in the development of a more powerful engine, however, but in the mastery of control.

 

The three critical parameters in flight dynamics are the angles of a plane’s rotation around its main center of mass are known as pitch, roll, and yaw.

 

Pitch...the up and down orientation of the nose as it faces into the wind.

Roll...the side to side tilting or balance.

Yaw...the left to right orientation of it the plane’s overall position in the air.

 

The Wright Brothers figured out a way to control all three of them.  That actually was one of their main inventions, not the development of a more powerful engine, but what became known as “three axis control.” What helped them most in their discovery was their work with bicycles.  Learning to ride a bike is an art of balance as much as it is a factor of how much hoof we have in our pedal.

 

I need to hear that.  God has given us a spirit though that covers both and, in fact, adds a third: “power, love, AND self-control.”

 

The Spirit wants to give us success in all three.

 

As you recover from knocking it out of the ballpark for Christ this Easter, it is just as important to replenish our ministry strategy and the posture of our soul as it is our strength.

 

Thriving in Christ with you,

 

Chris

 

 

 

"Changing Lives"

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.”  Colossians 1:6 (New Living Translation)

 

This was sweet.  Ran into someone this past week who told me for the very first time they made a decision to go into the ministry as the result of a message I gave over ten years ago.  I poured it out for that message.  Truthfully though, I didn’t know it went a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e.   One of those times you didn’t know if you honored God or not.  God showed up anyways, as always.

 

As a result, this person’s life was forever changed.  Their next ten years were changed as well as all the rest.  This weekend when you preach, know that you aren’t just preaching the most high and holy moment of Easter.  It’ll be great no matter what.  It’s Easter.   You might very well though be preaching for the next ten years…of someone else’s life.  Preach, lead, and serve for a ten year track record that you might not ever realize.  Knock it out anyways.

 

Just for fun, read the verse at the heading one more time (just in case you didn’t read it the first).

 

Thriving in Christ with you,

 

Chris

 

 

Latest and Greatest God-Stories:  “Signs of New Life”

You can email me yours if you’d like to share.

 

1. The people of Mechanicsburg and Nation Chapel UMCs have taken the tradition of feeding their congregations on Easter morning and turned it around and upside down this year by feeding the community by going to the community! On Sunday, April 4, the congregations will come together to serve a free community Easter breakfast in an empty former coffee shop storefront in downtown Mechanicsburg.  A local Fair Trade coffee roaster will provide delicious coffees, the local IGA juice and fresh rolls, and the food the churches traditionally cook for themselves on Easter morning will be used instead to feed our neighbors. Live music from the Nation Chapel worship band, special Easter treats for the children along with radical hospitality will surely spread the joy of the Resurrection Day! 

 

2. Tipp City UMC just completed a Paul Borden Consultation weekend.

 

3. Greenville EUM will be celebrating Easter in their brand new building.  Wow is it nice!

 

What is your latest God Story of new life?

 

"Spring Forward"

“If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation.”  II Corinthians 5:17

 

Don’t you just love Spring?  My dad got his fishing equipment out this last week, started to clean it, and got it ready for the first outing of the year.  My son took his first jog in the country.  My youngest daughter got a new pair of cleats for fast-pitch and the other, laid out the other afternoon working on her tan base for prom (for real).  My wife got some Easter colored Hershey Kisses for our candy dish.  And I worked on getting our kayaks licensed for their inaugural trip down the river.  We chunked up the snow drift in front of the house so it could melt faster.  Birdseed is now in the feeder.  We grilled out the first batch of chicken and got the blades on the mower sharpened.  My dog wants to go outside more.  I got a new pair of tennis shoes.  How have you gotten ready for this new season of life that God wants to bring?

 

The following are just some of the more recent God-Stories from throughout our District where new life is getting ready to bust out because people made preparations for Spring.

 

You too can email me yours if you’d like to share.

 

1. Prayers and best wishes are extended to Aldersgate UMC as they partner together with Rev. J.D. Grigsby to launch a new AME Church in Huber Heights called New Visions.  Launch service is scheduled for Sunday, March 28^th 4:00pm at the Wayne High School Auditorium.

 

2. Nation Chapel took a new step of faith and hired a youth pastor, Matt Yoder, who recently started his candidacy process here in the Miami Valley. 

 

3. Vandalia UMC held an anniversary celebration for the incorporation of their city and invited the whole town.  What a great blockbuster type of event to demonstrate a new level of commitment to one’s community.

 

4. Grace UMC of Dayton held a vision and strategic planning seminar for their church to help launch a new season of fruitfulness.

 

5. Several of the ethnic churches in Dayton have been working with a consultant and trusting God as they reach into the future.

 

6. Springfield Faith (the merger of LaGonda, Story Hypes, and Central) is in its first full year of existence laying the ground work in new staff, leadership structure and ministry for a new legacy in Christ and their community.

 

7. Pemberton UMC started a new monthly men’s ministry entitled F.I.R.S.T., after the first Saturday.  The acronym stands for Faith, Integrity, Responsibility, Strength, and Trust.

 

What is your latest God Story of new life?

 

 

 

"Our Unique Call"

Dear Ones, praying for you to experience a glorious, God-filled day.  One of the things that helps me get through my schedule is an e-devotional put out by the Henri Nouwen Society using many of his original writings.  Their material is a good balance for my driven pace and personality.  You too could sign up if you wish at their website...http://www.henrinouwen.org/.
 
The following came to my inbox yesterday.  It always comes at a good time, gives me a fresh perspective, and reminds me of the simple things that I often forget.  I am not the Savior of the world.  I don’t have to be.  Never had to try.  Can’t be.  Would be no good at it on the best of my days.  Jesus already took care of that job.  He did it real well.  Looked bad at first, but turned it all around on the third day.  He will take care of your job too when we stay committed to the work.  Enjoy and thrive, Chris    
 
“Our Unique Call”
 
So many terrible things happen every day that we start wondering whether the few things we do ourselves make any sense. When people are starving only a few thousand miles away, when wars are raging close to our borders, when countless people in our own cities have no homes to live in, our own activities look futile. Such considerations, however, can paralyse us and depress us.

Here the word call becomes important. We are not called to save the world, solve all problems, and help all people. But we each have our own unique call, in our families, in our work, in our world. We have to keep asking God to help us see clearly what our call is and to give us the strength to live out that call with trust. Then we will discover that our faithfulness to a small task is the most healing response to the illnesses of our time.

"Make 'Em Jealous"

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples…But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  John 20, NIV

 

Standing at the fish counter at Meijer’s in Troy, I was privileged to meet a sweet-little-old, Italian woman; her sweet- little-old Italian brother; and his wife.  They were examining the salmon.  In their native Italian, it sounded like a family fight.  Speaking a language I don’t often hear around these parts, I asked where they were from.  While one ended up being a neighbor of mine in Sidney, the others still lived in Italy, but had just come back from attending the Olympics in Vancouver.  I remarked how beautiful the scenes were on TV, especially in HD.  Weren’t they awesome?  They, though, said it didn’t even compare to being there.  I believed them.  You should have seen the glow in their eyes.  They were still beaming like little kids…uh, little Italian kids.  Made me all the more wish I had been there.

 

Make them jealous.  Does your faith in Christ make people want more?  The disciples of old didn’t just fill positions.  They weren’t the local institutional reps of a dying denomination.  They were fellow travelers with Jesus and had actually been there...with Him, in all of the glorious detail.  They not only witnessed it, but had experienced it and were still feasting off the joy. 

 

May your faith illicit the same passionate resolve in others.  If it doesn’t, maybe it’s time to go somewhere in YOUR journey that brings a child’s excitement to your soul all over again.

 

Thriving in Christ with you,

 

Chris