The Segue Team (planning, implementing and overseeing the budding small group ministry) is recommending that we as a church go through a series of messages in the fall based on Crazy Love, a book by Francis Chan. Many of us have already read the book; some have even gone through a small group discussion of it. Suffice it to say that those who are familiar with the book are very excited to have our entire congregation work through the thoughts presented there.

This video gives you a taste of Francis Chan and his heart for ministry and the church.

Welcome Video from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

Beginning on our kickoff Sunday, we will begin to focus our attention during the worship services to the ideas presented in the book. Our prayer is that this series of messages will really challenge us to take seriously God’s call on our lives and to ask, “Where are we at in following Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?” Or, to ask it in a way more in keeping with the book, “How fully in love with God are we?”

More importantly, we will also be kicking off a number of small groups to “bring the message home.” We want the message and the ideas to literally be wrestled with in each one of our lives and in each one of our homes. These small groups will meet until Thanksgiving. In the winter of 2011, we will be offering more small groups focusing on a variety of different subjects.

So, what’s next? I need some help in thinking ahead! When we have done church-wide studies in the past, we have usually used materials supplied by others – including worship helps, visual ideas, etc. This time, we’re going it alone! To do this well, I/we need some help in brainstorming.

We’re looking for creative people who will be able to join together either June 29 from 9:00 – 10:30 at church or July 1 from 7:00 – 8:30 at my new house. In these meetings, I will present the overall vision for the study and begin to elicit some creative ways that we can visually draw our congregation in to the message. This may involve decorations in the Worship Center or Gathering Place, but could also be videos during worship, movie clips for during the sermon, thought-provoking items in the Gathering Place prior to worship, or…the skies the limit.

Following these two initial meetings, we will also gather on July 13th at 6:00 at the church to begin to draw the ideas together. We’ll have a potluck meal and enjoy some time together dreaming and planning.

If you are interested in helping, please let me know soon!

Coaching for Congregations
Coaching for Pastors
Health and Renewal
Technology

Finances

Lack of clarity on where we’re at
Unclear lines of responsibility – who decides where money is spent and when?
Reimbursement system

Jody Rice opened our meeting reading from Psalm 62. The Elders and Deacons then went into their districts to spend time in prayer and discussing any pressing pastoral concerns.

During our staff-led discussion time, we received updates on several grants that are being applied for from our denominations Sustaining Congregational Excellence (SCE) program. These grants are being applied for in the following areas:
1.Coaching for Congregations – we’ve applied to have a coach work alongside our congregation to help us figure out how to develop leaders of all types: Council members, ministry leaders and small group leaders;
2.Coaching for Pastor Cal – in the areas of spiritual growth/disciplines and pastoral care;
3.Health and Renewal (due June 1) – to provide for training for Bonnie and small group leaders as well as coaching for designing and implementing the small group ministry. This application is due June1;
4.Technology (due July 1) – this one will cover new items (e.g. a hand-held cordless mic or replacements for older computers).
These grants are available to smaller congregations. SCE will pay 75% of the expenses, but does require the congregation to pay 25%.

We also began a discussion of how we structure our finances. We struggle to have everyone know where we are at financially, it’s not always clear who is making financial decisions and we would like to move away from the use of personal funds that need to be reimbursed. Needless to say, there was a lot of discussion – which will help us when we bring up the topic again, this time with some staff-led direction.

This discussion led nicely into a discussion of the proposed budget. The budgeted amount from last year needed to be reduced for this year, in large part because we have only received roughly ½ of the budget slips back. We will try one more time to get slips back, then propose the budget based on what we have. Our loan balance as of May 24 is $746,064. We’ve set the annual Congregational Meeting for June 28 to approve the budget and to select Elders and Deacons. We have four Elder nominees and are just waiting to finalize Deacon nominees.

We reviewed minutes and/or received verbal reports on many of the different ministries and from the staff. Bonnie’s report raised an interesting discussion on how to handle large events. In the recent past, we have had some very large events that involved a lot of volunteer hours…and a lot of Bonnie’s time. The question is how we can host large events like these without overwhelming our volunteers and without overwhelming Bonnie. The suggestion is to find a Large Event Coordinator who will find people to take care of technology/sound, set-up and take down, kitchen, program/worship, publicity and custodial needs.

I’ve joined another team as well. You can find out more about it here. It is a continuation of the fast that Jason and I completed during Lent and the challenge that some of us took on to only drink tap water during Lent. (By the way, the check should be in the mail soon to supply materials to provide clean water for one village as a result of that. Almost $100 was raised through the water bottle. Thanks!)

Team World Vision is sponsoring a team to run in the 13.1 Marathon being run in Minneapolis on August 22. Along with looking like it could be fun (?), it helps to raise money for clean water projects through World Vision. I’d love to have your help in raising some money.

There are other good questions that deserve an answer as well:

Whose idea was this anyway?

Will Barbara Walters really be there?

What will the weather be like? How will we know? Why do we care?

What is an unusual, counter-intuitive word that can be used to describe God that brings hope to us?

Why all the secrecy?

What’s for dessert?

The answers to these and other good questions will be found at the Worship Center beginning at 9:30 am. Who would want to miss out on that?

Hey buddy.

Yeah you!

Come over here.

Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but Sunday at Bethel Church is going to be a very…unique…experience.

You won’t want to miss it! I think it’s safe to say that nothing like this has happened before or will happen again.

Be there!

I mentioned to the kids that Jesus once had a friend who died also. His name was Lazarus. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, were distraught. But when Jesus Himself went to the tomb, He wept.

Just like the adults at Bethel wept today (and often over the last few days) because of the grief we are feeling. I think the kids understood. BUT, what I should have said was:

“I wonder what Mary and Martha and the disciples thought when they saw Jesus crying.” After all, they believed that Jesus was “…the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27) I wonder what you think when you see the Son of God crying? When you see the one who heals the sick overwhelmed with grief? When you hear the sobs of the One who caused demons to cry out in fear? I wonder what you think then?

I can certainly understand why someone would be afraid. Whatever can make God cry must be really bad or really powerful.

I can understand why someone would be confused. Jesus had certainly seen death before. In fact, He stated that He was the resurrection and the life. Why would He weep in the face of death?

I could even understand why someone would have some doubts. If God weeps, doesn’t that mean that He is somehow not in control of the situation before Him?

But that’s not what John says. He writes, “Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” (John 11:36)

Our tears are indicators of our love for those who are lost. In which case, neither the children nor the adults should be afraid of the tears that we see. Rather, we should be thankful for them. The cause of the tears is not the death; the cause of the tears is the love that we have for the one who is gone.

And, when we cry, we should also remember that Jesus wept. His tears are not caused by His grief over the loved one who has died – especially since those who die in Christ have now been brought to be with Him. Rather, God’s tears are evidence of His love for those of us who are left behind. Bring on the tears!

At 6:00, the GEMS started their final meeting of the night. As we’ve noticed with morning worship services, when the GEMS have special events and invite the parents, the turn-out is great! At the same time, the Cadets were meeting in another room, working on airplanes. And in yet another room, a group was meeting to discuss the Boundaries book.

At 7:00, Ignite began their weekly meeting. They were spread throughout the building as they used a technological means of breaking into groups and asking questions of each other. If you want to know more about it, go to the blog at www.ignite-bethel.com.

It was tough to find a quiet spot to meet. But I can tell you this: I wouldn’t have it any other way. There were long-time members of Bethel meeting with new members of Bethel meeting with people from the community. There were kids with Bethel as their church home and kids from other congregations and kids who count Bethel as their home, but whose parents are certainly not part of our congregation. It was fun!

There are many reasons for which we are excited about having more small groups. People have had good experiences in the past and are excited that there are a lot of people who are willing to work throughout this coming summer to make it all happen.

We do see some obstacles that will need to be overcome.

1. How to handle childcare so that families with young children can be involved.
2. How to help people make the commitment to small groups.
3. How to help groups be compatible with each other.
4. Where do we find materials from?
5. Where do we find leaders?
6. How do we help people know when and how to get involved in small groups?

Just as mountains were made to be climbed, obstacles were made to be overcome. So in what ways can we do that?

1. We can star groups with just 2 or 3 individuals and/or couples.
2. We need to have short-term groups so that people who are not ready for a longer commitment can be involved.
3. We’ll need a coordinator who will work with the Small Group Ministry Team in order to keep things moving.
4. To help groups be compatible, we need to be willing to experiment, especially with the short-term groups. It’s awfully difficult to determine ahead of time what will draw a group together.
5. Where will we find the leaders? We’ll keep our eyes and mouths open: eyes to see the gifts at work, mouths that are ready to ask.
6. COMMUNICATION!

• Use testimonies to help people see the benefits.
• Have a central place for information (like a bulletin board).
• Personal invitation will work the best.

Jason reports that there continues to be great stuff happening upstairs, with new kids coming and lots of personal needs being met. They do need new leaders. We’re very thankful to add Brian Van Zee and Jennie Warner to the group, but Troy Payment is having to step down for a while. He will be missed (and should be temporarily replaced).

After some discussion, it was decided to change the start of our worship time to 9:30 am during the summer. This continues to be a decision that generates quite a bit of discussion and little agreement. The 9:30 am start will be in effect beginning on Memorial Day (May 30) and ending on Labor Day (September 5).

We currently have 3 people confirmed for nomination as Elder (we look for four nominees for each office every year), but only 1 for Deacon. Several people expressed disappointment in the number of declines that we have received. It’s not always clear why we have more declines some years than others, nor even why some people do decline. We’d like to see people look at serving on the Council as an opportunity and a joy, but we have some work to do to get there.

There were 13 people who attended our recent New Member’s luncheon on the theology of the Christian Reformed Church and another 12 who have expressed interest in becoming members. That’s great news! We will have another gathering on May 16 so speaks specifically to the expectations that we have of our members. This gathering is open to all and expected for all who want to become members. If you are interested in attending, please talk to Pastor Cal, as there will be a light lunch served. By the way, thanks to the Olson small group for doing such a great job of hosting (on short notice!) this recent luncheon!

While we haven’t received many commitments to help with the cost of the KBEK radio ministry, the Deacons feel that we will able to pay our portion for another year of broadcast. Speaking of giving, PLEASE get your budget pledges in soon so that the Deacons can make an accurate budget for next year.

Jason reported that Ignite took a slightly different approach in their last series of meetings (on relationships) took a slightly different approach that allowed the leaders to address an uncomfortable topic in a less intimidating manner. There will be a couple of weeks of a short series, then a couple of weeks tied up with Baccalaureate services then a bonfire to wrap up the ministry year.

That’s going to have to do it for now. The meeting was done by 9:30. My battery is almost done and your attention is probably shot. If you want a copy of the minutes for more details, feel free to ask Bonnie!

The game goes like this: go to the hardware store looking for help with something for which a solution has not yet been made. Ask for help. Watch them scratch their heads. Leave empty-handed. If it doesn’t seem fruitful or fun to you…make your own game! I enjoy this one. What I especially like is that often, while we’re walking the aisles, I find something that I can make work to do what I want.

OK, so you want an example. I have been missing a knob on my car stereo for years…like, at least 9 years. I decided it was time to fix it, so I went to the hardware store to buy a knob. Did they have one? No. So the game began. As I walked the aisles, I noticed two things that I might be able to make work. One was a nylon tube that I figured I could cram on to the knob holder thingy and it would be easier to grab and spin than that thin piece of metal. I also found a cork. I figured I could cram that on to the metal piece and spin it. It worked…or a day. Then it stripped out in the middle.

Anyway, I thought I would let you in on the fun…but at my expense rather than the hardware folks’. So, here’s the game: throw me a question that you would like to have answered in a sermon. It could be a passage that you don’t understand or a parable that leaves you scratching your head. Perhaps you’re baffled by a concept (grace, justice, the rapture, etc.) or are looking for advice in an area of your life. Take your best shot!

How can you get your questions to me? Well, go to pastorcal.com and leave a comment, for one. Or send me an email. If you want a low-tech solution, there is a box currently labeled The Power of One on the table as you come in the front door. Drop a question/note/comment in the box and let me help you wrestle with the concept in a sermon this summer.

One caveat: the questions are due on or before May 7. The following Wednesday, the Worship Planning Team will be meeting and they’ll want to know what is coming up in order to plan worship services.

As the old Pat Benatar song went, “Hit me with your best shot!”

At the end of our meeting last night, we passed around a sheet of paper for people to put their names on if they would be interested in having continued involvement through the summer months with designing, planning and implementing the new small group ministry at Bethel. Would you believe that 21 people put their names on the list! And that doesn’t include any who might not have been there last night who might be interested in this opportunity. WOW!!!

Put it this way: when I saw the list and when I later described to someone else what I saw, I was at the point of tears. Humbled by how God is working, in awe of His people’s willingness to minister to others and smitten by a love for this congregation. WOW!!!