Isaiah 63 calls us to "recount the deeds of the Lord." So, as an end of year post, I'm going to recount some of those moments we've had as a church that revealed God moving among us. I toyed with the idea of throwing a couple of personal ones in, but figured you really weren't interested in the firing of Ed Orgeron or how I got to teach Len Sweet to use his iPhone.

Here goes. I'll give you 10 of my favorite moments of the last year at Parkway Heights. If I missed your top moment/moments, please feel free to add them. I'll give the list in reverse order (a la David Letterman):

10. ISNOWL '07. You'd think that the graffiti on the door of my garage would have disqualified this one from inclusion on the list. But, what a great event for our students every year. Every year, lives are changed and faith is renewed (even if there is occasional vandalism).

9. The arrival of the Stillmen. I lay the idea for the Stillmen at the feet of John Burks. Who would've thought that a couple of cheap mannequins would've been so helpful in promoting our Every Member in Ministry campaign?

8. 11 p.m. Christmas Eve Service - It was late. I was tired. But, I also wasn't in charge. And getting to worship on Christmas Eve without any significant responsibility is a rarity for a pastor. To top it off, Jennifer sang, O Holy Night. THE best Christmas song ever composed.

7.  Pumpkin Carving and Trunk or Treat.  Two Wednesdays nights that revealed how many young families and children are finding their place at Parkway Heights.  During the Trunk or Treat, one older member said, "I'm glad we're attracting so many children from the neighborhood."  To which a staff member replied, "Actually, these are all Parkway Heights kids."  Both events were also multi-generational.

6.  All Saints.  Wow.  That's about all I can say.  Not only did we remember those we lost, but we baptized a child into the faith as well.  That's the hope of All Saints.  Looking back and forward as we trust that God is undergirding it all.  Then to follow the service with a picnic on a beautiful day was perfect.  I hope we always do one service with a picnic for our All Saints celebration.

5.  Staff Realignment.  I wish I had space here to tell the full story of how this happened.  But if anything significant happened in my first year at Parkway Heights, it was that God healed and aligned the staff in such a way that the needs and dreams of God within our congregation could truly be met with great leadership.  That Jonathan Wallace was available and willing to come to Parkway Heights was great confirmation that the rest of the moves were driving by the Holy Spirit. 

4. Young Adult Gathering.  We put 52 people in my house for supper.  Many young adults that have been with us at Parkway Heights for a while and many, many new faces.  It was a great night.

3.  Baptisms. I don't have the number in front of me, but it seems like we were baptizing people every other week, and there are more on the calendar for 2008 already.  One of the brightest spots in my position is to get to meet with parents before the baptism to talk about what it means that we are claiming the grace of Christ for their little one

2.  Building Vote.   When I arrived at Parkway Heights in the summer of 2006, I told the building chair that we would be deliberately slow because we had some issues to work through before we put a building project in front of the congregation.  And that's when I thought we were just going to add a multi-purpose facility, not a complete reworking of our campus.  But, God continued to push the committee and the plans forward.  Leading up to a unanimous vote in early October on a facility that will literally prepare the way for the next 3-4 generations to experience the grace of Christ at Parkway Heights. 

1. New Focus Statement.  Focus statements aren't exciting or flashy (though ous is pretty good, I think).  But they are the heart and sould of every congregation.  They provide a clear picture of what is to be done and the outcome.  Ours?  As seekers we connect, equip, and send faithful dicsiples of Jesus Christ.  It tells us who we are:  We'are all seekers here.  It tells us what we do:  we connect people to Christ and one another, we equip people for service, and we send people into life and the mission field (the two are actually the same).  AND, it tells us what the outcome is: faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.  We're not here to make good people.  We're not here to make moral people.  We don't exist to simply do good things.  Our task is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.  Nothing more and nothing less.  

Those are mine.  What moments do you remember from this past year?  How do you "recount the gracious deeds of the Lord?"

Posted by Eddie Rester at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yes, I know I'm dragging this thing out by not posting. We're going to finish this week.

Today, we're going to talk about the center portion of our focus statement (As seekers we connect, equip, and send faithful disciples of Jesus Christ):

Connect, Equip, Send

Connect, Equip, Send

I decided we'd talk all three of these together, because you can't have one without the other.  Imagine a three legged stool.  If you lose/break/take off one leg, you still have a stool, just not a very effective stool.  In fact, it's kind of dangerous.  These three words help us understand what we do, and to separate them means they are less individually than they are together.  Each leads to and informs the other.  Here's what I mean:

•  Connect - As disciples we connect people to Christ.  That's our primary directive from Jesus (Go and make disciples).  But as the Body of Christ, we also connect with each other.  We strengthen each other and hold one another accountable as we learn what it means to live the lifestyle of Jesus.  But, once we connect to Christ and one another, then what?  How do we move forward together with our relationship with Christ?  That takes us to the next word . . .
• Equip- We equip each other.  Paul talks about this specifically in Ephesians 4.  We each have our gifts and talents and what we individually bring to the body of Christ so we can EQUIP one another.  In other words we have a unique responsibility to assist one another find the life God has waiting for us.  We assist one another in discovering our strengths, gifts, and resources AND how to best employ them for the Kingdom.  Recently I was at a birthday party/roast for one of our senior members.  Everyone who roasted her recalled how she would call and ask (I think it was more like insist or order) them to help with the Edwards Street mission.  She actively found people with the gifts needed to make that ministry flourish and then gave them the opportunity to use those gifts.  That's what I'm talking about.  Once we're connected to each other and Christ, then we actively equip one another for what's next . . .
• Our Sending.  We are sent into the world in mission and ministry.  This does NOT mean we all go to Africa or Honduras or the Navajo reservation or even across town to Edwards Street.  What it does mean is that we take seriously the concept that we are sent people.  Jesus sends us into the world to minister.  That may mean teaching Sunday School to children or youth.  Or cooking for people who are sick.  Or visiting shut-ins.  Or starting a new ministry for adults.  We all have a mission to do.  We all have unique places we are sent to.  For some it's home.  We have our ministry with our families or neighbors. 
  

But here's the thing.  When we understand that we are sent, then we see opportunities to connect people to Christ and one another.  And guess what?  It all starts again.

 Connect.  Equip.  Send.  It's what we do.  

Next time, we'll talk about the ultimate outcome.  What really happens when we are faithful to connecting, equipping, and sending?  Stay tuned . . .

Posted by Eddie Rester at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

As Seekers, we connect, equip, and send faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

That's who we say we are. I truly think about this statement all the time. Trying to think through how it impacts how we'll organize, budget, minister. I'm already thinking in terms of things we do that we don't need to do anymore. And, things we don't do that it's time to say openly, "This is what we need to do." More on that later.

For now, we'll look at just one more word:

WE

This post is about the first person plural pronoun "we."  For us, or any church, understanding "we" as opposed to "me" (first person singular) or "them" (third person plural). 

As Jesus gathered his disciples he was very clear with the diciples that he never wanted them to understand the work they were doing as about "me."   Jesus taught the disciples as a whole.  He sent them out together.  When two of the brothers wanted to know who was greatest (and who was least), they got a harsh rebuke.  Discipleship is never about ONE, no matter how talented, amazing, wonderful, faithful that one actually is.  Jesus built a group of followers who did not know "ego."  They were not called to be amazing individuals. 

When Paul talked about this, he gave Jesus' idea an additional twist when he talked about the Body of Christ (or as my friend Jerry calls it, "the Bod of God").  For the Body of Christ to function, there are no parts more important or less important - just more noticeable.  When all parts realize their critical nature, then and only then can the body work effectively and efficiently.  

But, if we're getting rid of "me," then we also have to get rid of the idea of "them."  You know how we use that.  "Those people" will handle that.  "The staff will take care of doing the work."  "Someone will teach the children."  "Those other people will work with the youth."  It's easy in the church to deal in the world of the mythical "them" and think that someone else will handle . . . whatever. 

But Jesus called all people to faithfulness in their situation, in their moment.  For us, that means there is a moment of taking responsibility--a moment when we claim our spot, our talent, our place in the work of the kingdom.  We must be careful not to think too highly of ourselves.  But  be open to where we need to plug in.

I've got to be honest.  Right now, I've been overwhelmed by the response to the formation of the Capital Campaign team.  We've called 51 people to serve.  49 have said yes.  It's been unbelievable to watch people step into leadership roles.  And for me, as a pastor, it's exciting to watch people step up and act on their faith--to accept that it's about "we."

Posted by Eddie Rester at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

If you weren't here for Church Conference Sunday, then you haven't seen this. If you were here, then I guarantee you missed some stuff.

Thanks Robin!

Posted by Eddie Rester at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

At our Church Conference this year, we announced a new vision statement that will guide our work at Parkway Heights.

This is the statement the Church Council agreed on:

As seekers, we connect, equip, and send faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

Just 12 words. But 12 important words. Today, I begin a series about those words. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

Posted by Eddie Rester at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Our Church Conference on Sunday featured a video in the style of the TV show, "The Office."

It was created for us by Robin Kauth. She is a graduate student/professor at USM in the Radio, Television, and Media Department. Her husband played saxophone at the 10:55 service yesterday. She is very talented and did this as a volunteer project.

Since this is exam week, she's promised that when she has a free moment she will upload the video for us.

So, if you want to see it or share it, keep checking back! It'll be up soon (as well as some extra footage which was not used in the video).

And, thanks Robin. It was great.

Posted by Eddie Rester at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)