It has been some time since I last wrote a Newsletter. My intentions were often honorable but my actions were less so. I would like to change things if I may, maybe even get a Newsletter out for two consecutive months? We'll see. There is, however, enough new information available and pertinent right now to warrant something.
Much has changed since last August [the last Newsletter]. We have moved into a new presidential administration with some fear and trembling. The economic situation worsens almost on a daily basis. Newbies in office tend to make mistakes as they get used to the reins, let's pray that this newbie president and his administration makes few errors either in judgment or in deed.
The situation has changed mildly at Amazing Grace Christian Church, too. We have enjoyed excellent relations with our landlord, Northwest Baptist Seminary, over the past few years. We still do. What this has meant to us is that if the facility was vacant then we would be allowed to use it for various church programs that fall outside our normal lease agreement.
For Amazing Grace, access to facility has been necessary and vital for church growth and discipleship. Recently, though, the school has fallen on hard financial times. It was reported to me that they are currently about three-four months behind in paying their bills. One of their remedies for this is to charge all users of the facility at their stated rate, no exceptions. In practical terms this means that Amazing Grace will have to cut back on extra activities on campus in order to stay within our budget.
This is not a fatal blow but it does crimp our on-campus activities. I have frequently prayed about our situation here in the north end of Tacoma, even before this situation arose. Lord God, what direction will You send us? You brought us here, what will you have us do now ? And then this circumstance came up. Does this sound to you like a gentle nudge from Him? We have this opportunity placed before us to attend to God's leadings and react accordingly.
Will you please pray for this? That God will guide us to where He would have us be, both physically and spiritually? Will you please pray for the financial and spiritual well-being of Northwest Baptist Seminary as well? This institution has graduated numerous gifted pastors and world-class scholars for many, many years. They truly are doing God's work. They desperately need God's providence and support at this juncture.
Tresa and I have talked from time to time about using video casting in this ministry. This has surfaced recently in my prayer and thought life as something to consider.
Currently we have audio recordings of each sermon. This began when a young lady in Denver wanted to hear one particular sermon. So I struggled with, do I make a CD and mail it to her, or do I put it on our website? It turned out to be much easier and less expensive to webcast the material so that is the direction we have taken. But now, what about video? So much more can be done with video; Scripture verses can be interactively displayed, you can see a face and read the emotions, you get a better "feel" for what is being said by watching it, video clips that are played for the congregation would then be available online. We have even considered video taping our survey course, Route 66, and making it available as a webcast. The pdf material could be posted online, too, so that students around the world could benefit.
Equipment and software costs are minimal anymore so that is not a large issue. Additionally, I believe that God will bring forward the necessary talent to shoot and edit any material. But is this a direction that God wants us to move? Will you please pray about this? Maybe you can pray about this hand in hand with the prayer request from above.
Remember, in everything that we do and say, in everything that we pray, be sure to give God the glory for His Presence and providence in our lives! Thank Him for His answer to our prayers!
I have had the displeasure of visiting a couple of social network sites in the recent past and receiving a rude surprise. One of the cookies that they patch into your computer is a little ditty that strips off all your email addresses. It uses these addresses to "invite" others to come join the fun in your name. Some social networks are more ethical than others.
This came up in the last couple of days when a dear friend of mine got Tagged by her daughter to come join up. That's the name of the social network by the way, Tagged. When she clicked on the email, everyone on her address list then received these great invitations to join up . . myself included. Another site that can exhibit this type behavior is Facebook. My experience there is that address book mining surfaces when you choose certain options.
My advice in dealing with potentially dishonest and invasive tactics is to delete any social network invitations immediately, do not open the email. Contact your friend or family member by regular email. Ask them if they intended to invite you in as their "friend". You can then decide whether or not to get involved with the social network based upon their reply.
That said, you can still find me on Facebook although I am not very active.
I have been working through a sermon series on Joy in the Lord over the past few weeks. Let me say, it has been a joy to do so. One conclusion that we have reached in this series is that joy is an attitude. Joy, true Biblical joy, is not so much a spontaneous emotion as it is a deliberate decision that you make in your life. Why else would James write, consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials? This word trials, as it is translated in the NASB, has the connotation of testing, temptation or enticement in the original language of the New Testament. James moves on from there to say, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
In essence, as you face various trials, tribulations and temptations in your life, what James suggests is that God is actively working in your life at that time to mold and shape you. [c.f. 1 Peter 1:6-7] Is that not sufficient cause for celebration and joy, knowing that God is actively moving and shaking your life? Not always, sometimes life gets downright painful. How can you experience joy in those situations?
This is where joy as an attitude comes into play. Look at Nehemiah 8. Even though the people wept, Nehemiah and the priests instructed them to put aside this mourning because, the joy in the Lord is your strength [v.10]. The joy of the Lord will empower you to put away grief, set aside suffering, distance yourself from worry, and focus on worshipping God, for He is holy and worthy to be praised. And sometimes the only way that we can get there is to intentionally take on joy as an attitude.
So how does this pan out in your life? I sent around a video about Nick Vujicic a few days ago, I have seen a few others in which he was featured. One of the things that he touched upon was very profound,
- We all are denying ourselves and taking up our cross. We all know how it feels to be lonely or broken. We can not and we should not compare sufferings. What we do is, we come together as a family of God, hand in hand, holding your hand, metaphorically speaking, and then together coming and standing upon the promises of God, knowing that no matter who you are, no matter what you are going through, that God knows it, He's with you, He's going to pull you through.
A Monthly Newsletter
This month's E-Connection features:
- Gateway Pastor's Conference
- "Bible Bee" information
- Syncretism and Unity Movements
- Windmill Point Church
- Plus much more
