I’ve been slammed the past few days. Very, very busy. Finally got caught up and now have a little time to write:
Attendance has been up the last two weeks. Very glad to see that.
Today’s message was our annual State of the Church Address. It contained three sections: (1) A financial update of PCC, (2) An update on going back to one service, and, (3) A personal update about myself.
Regarding the financial portion, we talked about our (1) annual income, (2) annual expenses, (3) end-of-year bank balances, (4) how we recovered and got back to the $200,000 threshold, i.,e, our rainy day fund, (5) the painful journey of budget cuts and cutting expenses (6) the new mortgage (7) a recent staff reduction, (8) our squeaky-clean procedures, and, (9) the positive possibilities for 2013!
When the house erupted in spontaneous applause, I suppose it was a pretty good sign that people were very encouraged about their church.
Apparently, the best line of the message was this: “I had a series of meetings and told people that we’re not using that $200,000 for cake and ice cream parties, and we’re not using it to buy pencils.”
Got a lot of positive feedback on that one. :-)
Of the hundreds of people in service today, only 20 picked up a financial statement. That’s a normal trend for us. The end-of-year talks I give each January are so transparent that the questions of most people are answered satisfactorily.
It also reveals that virtually everyone is happy with PCC, and has confidence in their church and its leaders.
There’s a massive difference between ministry theory and ministry in actuality.
Though we were talking about “in house” business matters, God showed up today and His presence was felt.
I really hate it for people who miss a move of God because they're so focused on procedual matters that they get sideways and leave the church.
The main "business" of the church is to make disciples. We're doing that. Lives are being changed. We are reaching people who are far from God and turing them into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is moving at PCC. We baptized dozens of people last year. Attendance is up, conversions are up, baptisms are up, and volunteerism is up. The music is better, worship is vertically focused, and the teaching is deeper. Prayer groups are forming, cell groups meet regurlary, fellowship is strong, teenagers are on fire. Church unity is at an all-time high, and, most importantly, Jesus is being exalted in all we do.
I also gave a brief personal update about myself – my health and state of mind. I was experiencing burnout in 2011, so I took active steps in 2012 to recover. I’m glad to report that I’m better now, my strength has returned, and I’m ready to be at the helm in 2013.
I really hate it for people who miss a move of God because they're so focused on procedual matters that they get sideways and leave the church.
The main "business" of the church is to make disciples. We're doing that. Lives are being changed. We are reaching people who are far from God and turing them into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is moving at PCC. We baptized dozens of people last year. Attendance is up, conversions are up, baptisms are up, and volunteerism is up. The music is better, worship is vertically focused, and the teaching is deeper. Prayer groups are forming, cell groups meet regurlary, fellowship is strong, teenagers are on fire. Church unity is at an all-time high, and, most importantly, Jesus is being exalted in all we do.
I also gave a brief personal update about myself – my health and state of mind. I was experiencing burnout in 2011, so I took active steps in 2012 to recover. I’m glad to report that I’m better now, my strength has returned, and I’m ready to be at the helm in 2013.
Now we’re off and running for 2013!
2012 is over… and all the junk that came with it. It’s time to raise our sails and catch a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit.
The next sermon series is going to be from the book of 1st Timothy.
1st Timothy (along with 2nd Timothy and Titus) are “pastoral epistles” and cover a lot of aspects regarding church life, holiness, morality, elders, who leads the church, false doctrine, the role of women, etc.. I think PCC will greatly benefit from the instruction contained in this letter.
The following series is likely to be from the book of James. The focus will be upon very practical aspects of the Christian life such as relationships, pursuing wisdom, favoritism in church, helping the needy, praying for the sick, and much more.
I intend to use a team-teaching approach for the James series (meaning I will use a couple of other men in the church to assist me.
Good things will come from this.
My garden is doing good and I’m still getting a lot of enjoyment from it. Right now I am harvesting carrots, green onions (scallions), and lots of collards.
I have two rows of garlic and two rows of bulbing onions planted. The rows are 100’ long each. I plan to harvest the garlic and onion in May or June.
Sometime this month I will be planting red potatoes. Last year I planted 7lbs and harvested 90 lbs. That’s a good increase. This year I will be planting about 50 lbs and should harvest 500 lbs.
Of course, I’ll be giving plenty of them away.
I currently have 22 blueberry bushes planted and want to plant 8 more for a total of 30.
This week or next I will be planting muscadine grape vines and building a trellis for them to climb.
A deer has been eating my collards. I’m about fed up.
The Denver Bronco’s lost the playoff games. Do you remember that one time when Tim Tebow won a playoff game for Denver
Due to the massive outbreak of flu, today I replaced my usual handshakes after church with a “woot toot’ and two hands raised in the air.
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