There's a Season for That!

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Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11 served as the main text. Click here to read it!

Here were some of the driving thoughts about seasonal living from my message yesterday..."There's a season for that." The message should be online by tomorrow.

  • Recognize that the the nature of seasons are like the seasons of nature...they will pass!!
  • A season in our life is a time frame that has been allotted for something to happen.
  • If you fail to recognize a season of planting and soil work (unseen and internal), you may miss the harvest (noticed and external). I will not know to go gather the crop if I never knew it got planted!
  • Genesis 8:22 confirms that life has seasons when it says "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."
  • Advice: Don’t Force Spring When It is Winter.
  • Resist rushing or delaying your seasons!! You will pay for both!
  • Proverbs 20:4 says, “If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest.”
  • In the natural realm we have a calendar which says that on the 20th day of this month, the season changed. Yet we know the season doesn’t always change on the 20th. The physical manifestation doesn’t always appear on the 20th.
  • So, remember this: The season doesn’t change because the day has arrived, the season changes because the time has arrived.
  • When King David was anointed to be the King of Israel, it would be years later before he would be appointed King, because the time of his anointing was not the time of his appointing.
  • Remember your seasons! Do not forget them. And rack up the lessons learned in them!!
  • Gal 6:9 says "Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."

Praying for you as I write this that God will do the work in the soil of your heart that causes you to reap a harvest of faithfulness!

What season do you see yourself in right now? What is God showing you in this season?

The Blogging Church (Book Review)

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I love to use this blog to review books that I read. It may help you some, but it will help me more. It helps me to reinforce my highlights and document what I read and learned for later when I need it.

While in Guyana, I read "The Blogging Church" by Brian Bailey. Guys, it was such an incredibly helpful tool/manual to help me become a better, healthier and more effective blogger. GREAT BOOK! If you are a blogger or are thinking about starting one, this book is a must, must read. Here are some random bullets of my favorite ideas in the book:

  • Blogging is a revolution in communication, community and conversation...a revolution that churches cannot afford to miss.
  • The Blogosphere is a new online home for the curious and creative.
  • Before blogs, if you wanted to publish something online, you needed a website, money and a whole lot of knowledge about online code to do it. Now, it is free, type and publish!
  • At the start of 2001, most Americans did not know what a blog was. By the end of 2004, Webster declared blog the word of the year!
  • Blogging is simply online hospitality.
  • Blogs help make a big church small.
  • One of the biggest decisions every blogger needs to make is whether is a tool or a toy!
  • Blogging gives a phenomenal return on ministry.
  • People love blogs because they love real time updates.
  • Blogs do what church bulletins and newsletters cannot because they are from me to you (personal). Not from we to you all (impersonal)! Oh, and did I mention that blogs are free? No printing cost.
  • People are asking questions and blogs are a place to answer them. Why not answer for hundreds all at once, instead of one person one time.
  • When laptops, wireless networks and coffee shops converged, we gained the ability to work anywhere and anytime.
  • Blogs are one of the few ways that Pastors can disciple people while they are asleep.
  • Blog writers are huge blog readers! It is where we get our inspiration. What a tool. Free, fresh and current thinking everyday!
  • Blogging has radically and permanently changed ministry! No longer do we need to travel to learn. Who needs to go to as many conferences when there is top notch free info in the blogosphere?
  • Picasso said "Good artists copy. Great artists steal."
  • Don't be driven by statistics. You will never be a successful blogger if your only motivation for blogging is more traffic.
  • People are looking to blogs for something that they cannot get anywhere else. That something is you!
  • People are tired of perfection and hungry for authenticity. A blog that is free of emotion and controversy and written like a company annual report will not be a successful one.
  • Churches are often 100% relevant on Sundays and 0% relevant the rest of the week. Blogs help prevent this trap!
  • One whole chapter dealt with commenting. Some bloggers allow them. Others do not. You can get some pretty inappropriate comments sometimes, but not allowing them turns your blog into another sermon instead of a conversation.
  • As with all that we do, in blogging we have to determine whether we are doing what we do for His glory or for ours. Are we focused on serving our church, our readers or ourselves?
  • The book helpfully warned of traffic traps, blogging burnout and blogging addictions. (Yes, I was listening!)
  • Be controversial once in a while. Stimulate healthy debate!
  • Blogs represent the evolving expression of our most passionately held ideas.
  • Blog your whole experience, not just your polished thoughts.

I am stopping now. I could keep going. This is enough, though.

-Noah

Let God Be God! (Lisa Savoy has something to tell you!)

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Hey, friends. This morning I had the privilege of doing a hospital visit with one of my favorite sidekicks...Momma! We went down to visit Lisa Savoy at Hadley Memorial Hospital in SW. As with almost every mission trip or hospital visit...it impacted us more than her.

I want to take a moment to share with you an update about Lisa. She is excited to have a voice through this blog. Lisa cannot talk anymore. She can no longer breathe on her own either. She is on a breathing machine. She gave her doctor permission to share with us what is happening. She has Sjogrens syndrome, Polymyositis, COPD/Emphysema and now has been diagnosed with Pneumonia. Today, we learned that she will need to remain on a breathing machine for the rest of her life. Although she could not talk, we seemed to read her lips well and she pointed to letters when she needed to.

I asked Lisa what are the 3 most important ways that CCF can be praying with her? She answered:

  1. That God's will would be done in my life and future. If it is his will that I go home (Silver Spring), let it be done. If it is His will that I go home (Heaven), let it be done.
  2. That Aetna Insurance would open up their heart and help me!!
  3. That my life will still count for something. That I will still be of value and make a difference!

After hearing that and crying together, I assured her that she still had a voice and she was still making a difference! At least to our church and the hundreds that read my blog.

I then asked Lisa what the ONE THING is that she would want to tell people. Without hesitation, she said:

Let God be God!

There is so much to extract from those 4 simple words. She made it a point to say, "even when you cannot talk or breathe on your own, let God be God!" "Do not rely on yourself...rely on God. Put him first and let him be who is wants to be in your life."

Amazing! Finally, she she said that too many visits exhaust her. She just wanted me to bring her words and heart back to you. She also enthusiastically agreed to a short video shoot. Here is Lisa Savoy. Same sweet spirit. Same precious heart. Same love for her church. (Oh, she made sure to tell me that this was HER church!) Check her out....blowing you kisses:

Facebook Fan!

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If I have any doubt before about this whole Facebook thing....it's gone....I'm a believer!

Here are a few reasons why:

  • I made 3 new friends in Guyana! Not online...in person! Because I saw them on Facebook at a restaurant we were at. I walked up and said: "Oh, cool. Facebook! I want to be your friend." There faces lit up as they asked me my name and typed it in the search box. I am now friends with Collin, Lisa and Marlon from Guyana! We communicate. They see me talk about my family, my church and my God. Seeds are being planted! Love it!
  • Facebook is growing our church (and will keep doing so if we leverage it)! I am connecting with old friends and acquaintances that are coming to CCF. Two more friends are planning to visit this weekend! The connections are amazing.
  • Unlike other social networking sites, it is easy to use and consumes very little time. Maybe I am doing something wrong or underusing it, but I check it every other day for 3 minutes and stay in touch. (The fact that my Twitter updates automatically show up there make me look like a power user.)

Facebook Rocks! It is going to open up great doors for impacting people. That is my heart! That is why I do it. Lord knows I don't need one more thing to do. I see it as a tool, not a toy! It is all in how you use it. You have to use it, not let it use you!

(If you have not joined, do so today at www.facebook.com)

"There's a Season for That!"

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This Sundays message is going to be out of Ecclesiastes 3 and other texts. The title of my message will be...

"There's a Season for That!"

Gonna be talking about seasonal thinking. Last Friday was the first day of spring. Made me think of the meaning and value of seasons. What is a season? What does God intend for a season to do in you? What happens when we miss one? Rush one? The main premise will be this: Everything that happens is getting you ready for what's next.

Come this Sunday expecting to hear from God together as we open Scripture.

--Pastor Noah
______________________________
Oh, Would you mind leaving a comment?

This blog is not a monologue. I want it to be more of a conversation. I invite you to leave a comment answering this question:

What is the most insightful thing that you have learned about life's seasons? (You may just hear your comment in the sermon on Sunday.)

JFK Airport Intimidates Me

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...But I love it!!

Seriously, JFK airport is an amazing place, but a scary place:

  • It is massive!! We had to change planes today. The walk was equivalent to walking from Bowie to Annapolis.
  • Planes are parked everywhere like cars at Target.
  • There are Airlines that I cannot pronounce heading to cities that I did not know existed.
  • While we were standing in line to clear customs, there were so many nationalities and languages being spoken around us that it hurt my brain.
  • I stare a lot at International Airports. Just so many types of people I have never seen before. Anyone know what I am talking about, or am I just weird?

...But I love it! I love the diversity at JFK. I love the reminders all around of how big the world is, how small I am and how creative God is!

Anyway, that was my thought of the day.

It was a smooth trip home. Watched a movie on the flight home and it made 6 hours feel like 3!

Prayer for Guyana

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Up before the sun, but not before the Son!! Last morning here in Guyana. Felt compelled to just spend some more time praying for this nation..as I have done throughout these last few days. I prayed for the hearts of the people to turn to Jesus. For Alcoholism to be removed. For poverty to be replaced with equality. For diseases to be healed. For other people around the world to assist in social justice work here in this country. But perhaps my most focused prayer was for those that have met Jesus...or at least think they have. The longer I live, the more I observe people in the faith, the more afraid I become that we are more the problem than the solution. I prayed that Christians here would be authentic difference makers for Jesus and not so set apart from the brokenness that they let broken people fall apart and miss out on the blessing of abundant life and eternal life!

There is something different about praying for a nation on the ground...on their turf. Something profoundly moving that is hard to put into words.

I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples. -Psalm 108:3

Trip Overview

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This is the last full day that we are in Guyana. Let me give you a few brief comments about this trip:

  1. Overall, the weather has actually been unusually cool. Go God! He knew Mim and I were coming. Hal can handle the heat better than us.
  2. We had more down time than we anticipated. We used it wisely and feel zero guilt about it. Have stayed connected online (a totally unexpected treat) and have accomplished a tremendous amount of reading and writing.
  3. We met with the leaders of the churches that we have planted here in Guyana. Different from other trips, they came to us in the Capital city instead of us traveling in to them. This was intentional. We discerned it to be the more appropriate approach for this particular visit. Our discussions were successful...exceeded our expectations!!
  4. You may have been interpreting my silence and/or reading between some lines on some of what is going on here. As soon as we are home, Hal and I will be briefing the Executive Board and the International Team and then we will be sharing more detail with the congregation. Hang in there and we will get you up to speed real soon. There are reasons that we have not yet.
  5. Nikki Harrison (formerly Greaves) and I were kids in the youth group together. Now, she is living here in Georgetown, is married to John and has two beautiful boys, Jon-Jon and Judah. Judah is a massive 5.5 pounds!! We have spent time with them and truly enjoyed it. It has meant so much to them. They send greeting to the family back home. If I can get a short video clip of them later, I will post it.
  6. Trying to arrange a meeting with another Pastor here in Georgetown for today. We'll see.
  7. We will be traveling all day tomorrow. Leaving our hotel at 6am tomorrow...should be kissing my wife by 8pm!

Thoughts from "Guynana" (as Davis calls it),

Noah

Changes to my Blog

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I am 2 chapters from being done reading a book called "The Blogging Church." I will share a review on it when I finish....maybe later today. Great tool. As I read it, it has made recommendations about the blog and encourages you to go implement it as you read it. I did.

Here are a few minor changes that I made that I wanted to tell you about:

  1. I introduce myself now. The book pointed out that many bloggers are missing the most important thing. Who are you? And how can I contact you? I have given that info on the left sidebar now.
  2. Made it easy to get to some of my favorite and your most popular posts. Some new readers want to see some of what this blog is about....an overview...without searching for it themselves. If particular posts were frequently visited or linked by to by others, the book advised I sift them out for you and share them with you. I have done that. I hope it helps committed readers re-read some oldies but goodies and new readers get acquainted with the kind of stuff they will find here. They are now on the sidebar on the left as well.
  3. Changed "blogs I read" to "sites I visit" allowing me to share more than just good blogs, but good sites too!
  4. Adjusted the home page so that it only shows 1 week of posts at a time. I did this in hopes that the blog loads up faster for some of you on a slower connection.

More to come...These are just a few changes with the hope of improving your visits. Great to have you around.

Noah

Money Matters in the Church

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I brought 2 books with me on this trip. Big mistake. Should have brought 3 or 4. I am done 1 and halfway done the second. Bummer. Anyway, this morning I was up at 6am and had 3 hours alone with the Bible and a book. Such a treat! I read the book of Acts and finished another book called "Money Matters in the Church" by Aubrey Malphurs and Steve Stroope. Thoroughly insightful book. About half of it strums on CCF's guitar.

The book addressed:

  • A Biblical theology of stewardship (all the rest of the book is built on this)
  • Developing donors and maximizing contributions
  • Strategic Budget preparation and management
  • Protecting the church's financial integrity
  • Understanding your Giving Champions
  • Deciding who decides about what
  • Regularly, systematically and creatively teaching about giving through more than just sermons
  • Staff Compensation Ideas
  • Legal issues, debt management, church banking, capital campaigns, and more...

A++!!!

Great book. Great tool to be used. I look forward to handing this one off to our Finance Staff and Executive Board. We can really use this teaching to make our already accountable system even more airtight!

Blogging by the pool with a lovely warm breeze...

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Yes, you read that title correctly. And yes, this is a missions trip or a trip with a mission.

I knew that I would not have cell service down here. Every time that I've come in the past, I have barely had Internet. I would have to find an Internet cafe, pay, and then hope that the Internet moved fast enough to send Tricia an email telling her hello. This trip, I decided to bring my MacBook so that I could at least do some typing and work on my next sermon.

Well, we ARE staying in a hotel and it does have a pool. But, you can erase what you are picturing. We are not living it up at the resort. Trust me. Well, today, I brought my computer outside to the table we were sitting at by the pool, clicked on the Internet and BAM! Google.com/guyana! Poolside, online, and high speed wireless...thanks to my MacDaddy! It won't work in my room, though. Just by the pool. Poor me. So, all that to say that I get to stay connected during this trip. I was kinda looking forward to the break, so I may not write as much. We'll see. You know me and my mad blogging tendencies.

A few thoughts/lessons from the day:

  • People in most (maybe every?) country and culture appreciate truth telling and honest integrity.
  • People in other countries (at least Guyana) think that people in the US have all the answers and all the money. Definitely a teachable opportunity in that. (I wish they could watch our news for 10 minutes to see how much money we DON'T have!)
  • Prawns are Shrimp. I hope. That is what I had for dinner.
  • Cricket is HUGE in Guyana. When we left the airport this morning, we sat in a cricket traffic jam for a big cricket event here today. Went 1 mile in 1 hour (after flying all night). That's always fun.

Holding off for bed so I can get back on schedule. We have meetings starting at 8:30am tomorrow.

Holla for Guyana!

--Pastor Noah

Here Safe...Saying Hi

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We are here in Guyana safely. Other than a 3o minute nap on the plane and a 2 hours nap in the hotel, I have been up since Thursday morning. Tired to say the least. We have been in meetings with leaders for the last few hours and about to get some dinner now.

I have a good sense that God is already at work blessing this trip. We feel your prayers and ask you to keep sending them.

With love,

Noah, Hal and Mim

Flying out, Signing off (probably)

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Getting ready to leave for National Airport. Then, we puddle jump to JFK. After wasting 4 hours of our life at JFK, we take an overnight flight to Georgetown, Guyana. I wanted to throw up a post before leaving.

Hal and Mim Smith and I are the three going. Hal is the chair of our Executive Board and International Team. Mim is very close to some Guyanese friends connected to CCF that live in Georgetown (a few of you may know Nikki...Patrick and Pauline Greaves daughter).

We are heading down so Hal and I can meet with our leaders in the Guyanese churches that we have been supporting for many years. The conversations that we anticipate having may not be easy. We really feel that we need your prayer support over the next few days. We will be returning Tuesday. Pray for safety, wisdom and peace. Pray also for our leaders and churches there that God would be there strength and portion.

If I can get on Internet, and it moves fast enough (that is the issue), I will post from there.

Much love and peace!!! I will miss you Sunday.

Pastor Noah