God answered a prayer of mine the other day. It wasn't a huge, life-changing, thunder from heaven, miracle of miracles. It was just a simple prayer with a simple answer that proved to me that God was still there. I didn't even realize that I might have been wondering about that. I love when God knows what I need even before I do.
I don't know why some prayers seem to go unnoticed or unanswered. I have read a lot about prayer, studied about prayer, taught on prayer, prayed quite a bit myself, but still there is an element of the unknown regarding prayer. I'm learning to be okay with that. You see, it's times like this when God proves Himself through small answers that my faith grows a little bit, and I realize that the maker of the universe sees me, sees what I need, and is willing and wants to take care of it.
My prayers aren't always answered the way I want them to be. As I'm learning to trust God more, I realize maybe that is a good thing.
I don't know why some prayers seem to go unnoticed or unanswered. I have read a lot about prayer, studied about prayer, taught on prayer, prayed quite a bit myself, but still there is an element of the unknown regarding prayer. I'm learning to be okay with that. You see, it's times like this when God proves Himself through small answers that my faith grows a little bit, and I realize that the maker of the universe sees me, sees what I need, and is willing and wants to take care of it.
My prayers aren't always answered the way I want them to be. As I'm learning to trust God more, I realize maybe that is a good thing.
I wash windows. I am a window washer. It is part of my livelihood and how I put food on the table. In fact, just the other day I was scheduled to wash the windows of 24 apartments. Looking back on it now I realize how crazy I was. I started at 7am and finished at 9pm. I was only able to get 23 done.
My problem was that I couldn't say no. Every time someone would call I would just put them on my list. I could easily rationalize having such a busy day.
"I am a window washer. This is what I do!"
"I have to do this to make money."
"This is part of what I do to be a good husband."
"This is part of what I do to be a good father."
"This is part of what I do to feel good about myself."
While these are all true, there was some sanity that I learned. My need to "do" outweighed any other concerns I may have had (like working knees and joints the next day).
Our topic last week and this week is "What is the role of a church in its community?" What a great topic - especially for a new church that wants so much to have a strong impact on its community. What do we need to do? What strategies do we develop? How many outreaches are we planning? How many people do we need to mobilize? There are brainstorming sessions, planning meetings, planning meetings to plan other planning meetings, meetings for this and meetings for that. Then we finally get to "do". Pretty soon even I as the pastor am overwhelmed with all the busy-ness.
But we can rationalize all the busy-ness.
"I am a Christian. This is what I do."
"This is what we do to show others who we are and who Christ is."
"This is part of what we do to be good examples to others."
"This is part of what I do to feel good about myself."
While these may be true. They should only be a little true. The role of a church in its community first and foremost is to...well, I shouldn't give too much away yet. Join us on Saturday night, and we'll talk about it!
My problem was that I couldn't say no. Every time someone would call I would just put them on my list. I could easily rationalize having such a busy day.
"I am a window washer. This is what I do!"
"I have to do this to make money."
"This is part of what I do to be a good husband."
"This is part of what I do to be a good father."
"This is part of what I do to feel good about myself."
While these are all true, there was some sanity that I learned. My need to "do" outweighed any other concerns I may have had (like working knees and joints the next day).
Our topic last week and this week is "What is the role of a church in its community?" What a great topic - especially for a new church that wants so much to have a strong impact on its community. What do we need to do? What strategies do we develop? How many outreaches are we planning? How many people do we need to mobilize? There are brainstorming sessions, planning meetings, planning meetings to plan other planning meetings, meetings for this and meetings for that. Then we finally get to "do". Pretty soon even I as the pastor am overwhelmed with all the busy-ness.
But we can rationalize all the busy-ness.
"I am a Christian. This is what I do."
"This is what we do to show others who we are and who Christ is."
"This is part of what we do to be good examples to others."
"This is part of what I do to feel good about myself."
While these may be true. They should only be a little true. The role of a church in its community first and foremost is to...well, I shouldn't give too much away yet. Join us on Saturday night, and we'll talk about it!
I went to college. To protect the innocent I'll refrain from saying where. Just about every day I would pass a little cafe that was named simply "Restaurant". I always had a desire to go try it out. I mean anybody that was brave enough to call their establishment just "Restaurant" had to: a. have great food to stay in business or b. be doing something illegal on the side that was profitable enough to keep them running. At least that's the way I saw it.
I never went. It didn't help that my wife refused to go with me. Something about rats and cleanliness and clientele with bushy beards and lots of flannel. She was just assuming, of course. The name just didn't give her enough information. I thought a lot about that restaurant, though, as we were trying to name this new church. Why couldn't we just call it "Church"? Short and to the point. Would fit nicely on stationary, mugs, and t-shirts. But, just as my wife would never visit "Restaurant", most people would probably be confused and hesitant of "Church" I guess.
So, what do we name it? With First Church of the Glorious Worshiping Mass of People voted down right away and our team not allowing me to have Denver Broncos in the name somewhere, I was at a loss. After many more bad ideas, a few good ones, and John Elway Assembly being voted down...again, we asked ourselves the question about the nature of the church. Why does the church exist? What is our name going to say about who we are as a church? After that, it just seemed to fall into place - Catalyst - an agent of change.
We want to see and help people change. We want to be a part of helping people grow closer to God through discipleship. We want to be a vehicle that God uses to bring new people to Him. We want to, ourselves, continue to grow and change in an effort to be more like Jesus. We want to be right in the middle of what God wants to do in Loveland, CO. We want to get our hands dirty. If you're reading this then perhaps that is your desire, too. We're at the beginning of the journey. You are welcome to jump in. Don't worry, flannel is not required.
I never went. It didn't help that my wife refused to go with me. Something about rats and cleanliness and clientele with bushy beards and lots of flannel. She was just assuming, of course. The name just didn't give her enough information. I thought a lot about that restaurant, though, as we were trying to name this new church. Why couldn't we just call it "Church"? Short and to the point. Would fit nicely on stationary, mugs, and t-shirts. But, just as my wife would never visit "Restaurant", most people would probably be confused and hesitant of "Church" I guess.
So, what do we name it? With First Church of the Glorious Worshiping Mass of People voted down right away and our team not allowing me to have Denver Broncos in the name somewhere, I was at a loss. After many more bad ideas, a few good ones, and John Elway Assembly being voted down...again, we asked ourselves the question about the nature of the church. Why does the church exist? What is our name going to say about who we are as a church? After that, it just seemed to fall into place - Catalyst - an agent of change.
We want to see and help people change. We want to be a part of helping people grow closer to God through discipleship. We want to be a vehicle that God uses to bring new people to Him. We want to, ourselves, continue to grow and change in an effort to be more like Jesus. We want to be right in the middle of what God wants to do in Loveland, CO. We want to get our hands dirty. If you're reading this then perhaps that is your desire, too. We're at the beginning of the journey. You are welcome to jump in. Don't worry, flannel is not required.
