This Week at The River Ministry Center - 4/8/2009
Apr 08, 2009
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Dear friends and partners, In our high-tolerance world, it can feel like death to speak of Jesus with friends and neighbors. But, it is often the channel of our testimony and invitation that Jesus uses to bring forth new life in others. (After all, isn’t that how most of us came to faith?) Last Sunday, one of Mark’s challenges was to let our faith be known to neighbors. I want to reiterate his challenge, especially with respect to Easter Sunday. Research tells us that when people who visit church for the first time are asked why they hadn’t visited until that point, the most common response is “no one ever invited me.” It’s also the case that people are most likely to accept an invitation on a special occasion such as Easter. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone we invite will come. But, they most certainly won’t come if we don’t invite them. Let’s be a people who lean towards risk. I was out for a run yesterday and came across a neighbor who was walking her dog. It seemed very natural to say, “Hi Diane. I don’t know what you and Al traditionally do for Easter. But, if you don’t have any plans, we’d love to host you in our church.” She expressed great interest. I think there’s a good chance she’ll come. But, even if she doesn’t, I’m confident she felt cared for. As I expressed a few weeks ago, my Sabbatical begins immediately after Easter. You’ll see me around, but not as often and certainly not in my teaching role. In the three months I’m away, leadership of the church is entrusted to Mark Phifer-Houseman. My charge to him is not merely to mind the shop or tread water (not his style anyways), but to lead the church aggressively towards the next season of what God has for us. Our sense is that God wants to lead our church into a deeper dependence upon Him in prayer. Having spent a good portion of the year on the horizontal task of peacemaking, we hear a call to throw ourselves into the vertical relationship with God in prayer (Of course, the horizontal and vertical are never disconnected). So, we’ve crafted our plans to respond to that leading. Our next Sunday morning message series will call us to enter more fully into the life of prayer. Our small groups team has carefully prepared an excellent series of studies with the hope of deepening corporate prayer in small groups. And there will likely be opportunities, led by our staff, to experiment with different modes of prayer. All of this is will be done with the great hope of connecting more meaningfully with the love, power, and wisdom of the One who is redeeming our world. I hope you’ll take advantage of every opportunity to grow in the life that Jesus is eager to lead us into. My eager expectation is to return in July to a community marked by an atmosphere of greater joy and faith. Grace and peace, |
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Hello Reef! Please mark your calendars for the All Church Retreat at Mission Springs, Friday August 21 – Sunday August 23. Your last chance to walk the labyrinth is this week! The labyrinth is a contemplative experience set up at The River’s ministry center designed to center you in God. See this article for more information. Saturday, April 11 is the final day to walk! A 10-week men’s book club led by David is starting this Monday. The will be studying Dallas Willard’s Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God. See the event page for more information. BudgetWatchers, led by yours truly, is starting this Monday as well! Still time to squeeze yourself in at the last second. More info here. The youth had a great experience together at the Planet Wisdom conference. The conference was relevant, entertaining, and bonding for everyone. Check the student ministries blog for some cool pictures. We had our Congregational Meeting to talk about the formalization of the Advisory Council into a Governing Board. If you have questions about the process, please contact . Small Group Leaders had a nice lunch together this past Sunday. We took the time to experience one of the upcoming prayer sessions together: “Listening to God for One Another.” We had an excellent time of prayer ministry and everyone is excited to bring the material to the small groups.
Finally, this coming Sunday is Brad’s last Sunday before his well-deserved three-month sabbatical begins. Please be praying for rest and refreshment for him. |
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Closing Announcements – April 5, 2009 Easter Week
Women’s Retreat - See the event page for more information. Giving Team Update - See this article for more information. |
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