His ways are not our ways...

You know we read Isaiah 55:8 and it tells us that our thoughts and God's thoughts are not always the same. That became very obvious to me this week...

Last week our local high school received a bomb threat. Someone had written on a girl's bathroom door that a bomb would explode on Monday in the high school. The school system took the threat very seriously. They sent a note home to make families aware of the danger. They spent many hours searching the school for possible trouble. They did everything short of canceling classes for the day of the threat.

In church on Sunday, we as a congregation gave the problem to God. We asked Him to protect our children from any possible danger. Shortly after church on Sunday the weather turned bad. It was so bad that school was cancelled for Monday and Tuesday! In fact, not just for our hometown, but for all schools within about a 100 mile radius was cancelled. No one could go back and say that the school played it safe and cancelled for the bomb threat. God gets the credit for keeping everyone safe!

Its funny, you or I would have probably said the best way to prevent the problem would be to find the person and have them confess what they were thinking by making such a horrible threat. God thought differently. He decided the best thing was to keep everyone home together. Our family, and many others have truly enjoyed the 48 hours of unexpected family time.

Thanks God, for being creative, and thanks for keeping our children safe!

Holiday Busyness!

'Tis the season to be busy, fa la la la la, la la la, la! Anyone else feel like the walls are coming in on them? It is unbelievable how busy we are during the holidays. I took a long hard look at my calendar this morning and just laughed. I had to laugh or else I would cry!

Between the regular monthly meetings and appointments that we have on an ongoing basis, we add Christmas parties, carolling, kids programs, special church events, and vacation to see family onto an already busy calendar! Where do we find the time? How are we supposed to get everything done?

So, here comes my New Year's resolution... For every extra event that I add to my calendar, I take away one thing. I know that I put in around 60 hours in a typical week. It is not honoring to God, nor is it good for my body or my family to over-exhaust myself with an over-busy schedule. I must be willing to cut some things out, and allow someone else to take that responsibility.

Is it possible to allow someone else to do something that we always do? I believe so! I believe that a strong leader is willing to relinquish some of his power and control. Weak leaders have this deep desire to control everything. That is not necessary. In my church I have allowed others to preach, teach, and even lead Governing Board meetings. I must remember that this is not my church, it is God's. I am called to serve, and if I am exhausted by too much work, how am I going to be able to serve effectively?

Hopefully this years resolution will become a regular fixture of my life, and will not be a passing fad like so many other resolutions of the past!

Sunday Morning Prep...

I'm not sure what Sunday mornings are like for most senior pastor's, but I like to have a pretty tight routine for the hours that preceed my congregation coming.

I try to get into the church two to three hours before anyone else. I spend the first thirty minutes in reading and being quiet. I typically read a chapter from the Message translation, then I read from another devotional type of book to go along with God's Word. Right now I am reading Ann Spangler's "Praying the Names of God." When I am finished with my reading I spend a few minutes just being quiet and meditating on what I have read.

Then I like to go into the sanctuary and walk laps around the chairs praying for my congregation. It is funny how people for the most part always sit in the same chairs! I can sometimes visualize them watching me as I pray for them. Sometimes I take the picture directory with me to look at the faces, and other times I just take my whole rolodex with everyone in it and pray for them. Most of the times I will have a cup of coffee in one hand while I slowly stroll around the chairs.

Then I like to preach through my sermon to the empty chairs. I like to do this so I can try to iron out any wrinkles in the wording of the sermon. It is very hard on me on Sunday mornings during our worship time If I have not preached through my sermon. Many times I feel like I am "tied" to my notes, and I don't get the eye contact during the sermon that I like to get. I like for my congregation to feel that they are involved in the sermon. It also helps to keep them awake :)

When I have finished those things then I can go and spend time on any last minute adjustments to my sermon or to the building before my elders arrive for prayer. It truly does make for a long Sunday, but in the long run I believe it is worth it!

Make Some Noise!

Today is going to be a day when we make a little noise in and for Hawley Alliance Church. Let me explain...

At noon the staff is going to throw a little luncheon party for a volunteer. We have a person who comes in every week to fold bulletins and answer the phone. She also comes in on other occasions when we have something special going on. This week is her birthday and we want her to know just how special she is.

There are so many people who do things behind the scenes that get unnoticed. (Unnoticed by the world that is but not by God!) I believe that when we get a chance to acknowledge that and thank them that we ought to make the most of the opportunity. So a little lunch with cake afterwards is appropriate!

After lunch I will travel to Mahnomen to make a little different type of noise. Our boy's high school football team has made it to the semi-finals for the State Championship. The game will be played in Minneapolis. We know that many people are interested in the game, but will not make the 250 mile trip south to see it. We have decided to advertise for our church during the football game on KRJM 101.5 FM. This will be a great opportunity to let our community know that we are here and supportive of our team.

We also will advertise our upcoming crusade that will feature The Power Team. This event will take place December 7-11. The Power Team is a group of world class athletes who have performed the world’s greatest exhibitions of power, strength, speed, inspiration, and motivation in every state and in over 40 countries for almost 30 years. The Power Team has performed over 15,000 school assemblies over the past 20 years, and is ranked as one of the top school assemblies in the nation. Believing that inspiration and motivation equals academic and personal achievement, they tackle the tough issues of drugs, alcohol, violence, abstinence, peer pressure, and suicide. The Power Team is scheduled to speak in the Hawley, Ulen-Hitterdal, and Barnesville schools. They will be at Hawley Alliance Church every evening of the crusade at 7 PM. We want to get the word out that this is coming to our area.

As I close this morning I'd like to ask you to help me make some noise. Not about people or programs though, help me make some noise about Jesus! He is the Savior of the world! Our world needs to hear that!

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Hello Friends,

Many of my friends who are pastors have been blogging for some time to allow their congregations to know what is going on in the life of their pastor and in the day to day activities of the church. I decided it was time for me to give this a whirl. I can not promise how long I will keep this up, or how often I will be able to post. I will do my best to keep up with it though!

We are now finished with the Old Testament Challenge. I'm so thankful to Willowcreek for making this resource available to churches. Our game plan for the rest of the year is to focus around the holidays. We will celebrate Thanksgiving this Sunday (Nov. 20), and then get going on Christmas. Our church Christmas Program is scheduled for Sunday, December 18th. Please mark this down on your calendars. Once we are in the new year I will begin a message series that is on marriage and family.

Thanks for your continued prayers for my mother. I talk to her just about every day. She continues to hang on bravely. She weighs about 50 pounds and she has left the doctors shrugging their shoulders. I have no idea what God has in mind. I am thankful though that He has a plan, and that He is in control of that plan.

Well friends, winter is upon us. 15 degrees this morning when I came into church. Bundle up and think warm thoughts! We'll keep in touch!

Pastor Jeff