The Journey – July 2010
I have been doing a little looking back recently as a means of working into the future on a solid foundation. Shortly after first coming here First Christian Church, I arranged as many of our participating members into small groups as I could manage. Not knowing the populace of the congregation, I relied on folks who have been here many years to help and we felt that we were as thorough as possible given that we had a time constraint. I wanted to meet with everyone possible within my first 90 days here so that my decisions, leadership, and vision would match closely with the “spiritual DNA” of the congregation from the beginning of my ministry here. I felt then as I do now that your responses were heart-felt, genuine, and to the point. Looking forward a year from when I published a summary of your responses, it feels appropriate to fill the bulk of The Journey for this month with a few paragraphs from the beginning of that booklet, printed May 30, 2009:
I am amazed at the diverse paths that have brought all of you to this congregation. Some of you grew up in this church and some of you were baptized as adults. Some of you were baptized as children in churches here in town and later joined this church because of a marriage. Some of you were raised in churches in other towns and joined this church when you moved into the area. The most common thread in the midst of this diversity is that you either met or knew someone in this congregation and they became your “doorway” into the church. Several of you started coming here when you moved into town simply because this is the Disciples church here. None of you have said, though, that you started participating here because you found the church in the Yellow Pages. For many of you, the person who was your doorway had invited you to a Sunday school class, and so you noted that that class was your doorway. Whether a person was your doorway, or your doorway here was the tradition of being a Disciple, the key here is connection.
I was amazed to hear the stories of how faithful women in this congregation worked for years to host dinners and raise money to build the building we are in now at ten cents a meal. How many dimes does it take to build a church building? We are able to be here today because people were able to look long term past the immediate challenges and grasp a vision for what the people of the future would need. We are living in that future in the result of their faithfulness. Now we must look ahead as they did to see how God may be calling us to ensure that those who come behind us have an even stronger foundation than that on which we now stand.
When you discussed how this church has really been “church” for you, the most frequent type of response was around families and individuals experiencing tragedy or life-threatening situations. One or more people in the church reached out, prayed, visited, and provided profound support for these people. This goes way beyond just asking “How are you?” on Sunday morning. The people of First Christian Church have gone over and above what most people would expect in the average friendship today. Giving transportation to doctor appointments and surgeries, staying up late with sick friends, providing prayer circles while church friends are in surgery, or going to a friend in need at any hour of the day or night are hallmarks of how this church is “really church” for other people. For this church to carry on the legacy left by those who have lovingly gotten us here, we will continue to be this kind of church even for people we have not yet met. Who will be the people in small group sessions in the year 2050 who talk about how you were “really church” for them?
A great many of you expressed that you either started attending here or continued attending here because of one significant person. Also, many of you, when talking about when FCC was “really church” for you, expressed one significant person who sort of held you together through very difficult moments in your life. In the last 125+ years of this congregation, there have been stalwart, faithful people who have been unofficial mentors within the congregation, helping their fellow Christians through the worst of times, celebrating the best of times, and teaching the deep faith to which they held fast. The names that were mentioned night after night in our small groups sessions were Sue Albert, Carl Wayne, and Roscoe Hubbs. Many other people were mentioned, and while I hate to leave anyone out, these people deserve mention because of the sheer number of people here today who were significantly touched by their faithfulness and dedication. If they could get you a message from where they are now, they would likely tell you to not memorialize them and say how great they were. They would say that they were a person each of you can be. We do little to honor their memory if we only remember what they did for the kingdom of God through this congregation. The greatest honor we can bestow is to do our very best to teach, love, nurture, and guide the way they taught all of you to do. We have new people coming to worship on a regular basis. Many of you have met them and welcomed them. Who will be the people that these new people mention 20 years from now in the same light many of you talk about Sue, Carl, Roscoe, and other beloved people in the history of our congregation? Will you be one of those mentors? You can, you know. Deepen your faith, pray for others, be involved, and connect.
A really good reason for coming to church is that there is likely someone else who will be there who is looking forward to seeing and talking with you. Be there for them as well as any other reason. You may be a way that they experience the presence of God.
I hope and pray all of this touches you as deeply as it continues to touch me. If you would like to have a copy of the entire booklet, please let me know and I’ll gladly provide it to you. You are a blessing to this ministry, to me, and to our community. All of this is to orient our compasses as we continue along the journey.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Mark
Books Wanted
The Disciples Women are collecting new and/or gently used books for children and youth. Contributions
may be placed in a special container in the coatroom off the Narthex. These books will be taken by the women to the annual Spiritual Life Retreat held this coming September at Cedar Lakes. Thanks for your help. Thanks for helping to keep our kids reading.
WANTED: Pictures or Other Church Memorabilia
Our Church Librarian is compiling a scrapbook about the history of First Christian Church. Several items have already been donated for inclusion in this book. Pictures of classes, groups, etc. will help make the book as complete as possible and will be greatly appreciated. Photos that need to be returned can be scanned in the church office; photo may also be submitted electronically to pastormarkdmills@frontier.com. When completed, this scrapbook will belong to the church and available for members to see. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Church Picnic in Grandview Park
On August 29, First Christian Church will hold its regular worship at 10:30, followed by a day of fun and food in the park. Further details will be posted here as they are available, but the plan is to have food, entertainment, and games. Come and enjoy some friendkly competition in Bocce, corn hole, or badminton. Teems are forming for other games. Adult players are being asked to ante up 25 cents prior to playing a game. All money collected will be donated to a community need.
Meat dishes, rolls, and drinks will be furnished. You will need to bring:
- A covered dish
- Your table service
- A lawn chair (if you’ll want one)
- Please bring a friend!
Wrists bands are available for $11.00 for all day pool and miniature golf.
Frisbee golf is $3.00, play as long as you want.
You will need to purchase these on your own, so sign up ASAP!
Education News
The Education Committee is working on VBS plans for 2010. The theme for this year is “High Seas Adventures.” VBS is set for Sunday, July 11, through Thursday, July 17. The carnival will be held Sunday, July 20. Mark your calendars! Anyone interested in volunteering please see Kathy Wallace. We’re bound to have a whale of a time!
The “MOE” Team
What is a MOE? 
MOE is actually an umbrella covering three church committees, Membership, Outreach, and Evangelism. I have worn a number of hats in my years at First Christian Church but these are all new ones for me. At the end of 2009 there were two committees without a chairperson, namely Outreach and Evangelism. I decided that since there were so many good and capable elders to take on the chair of that group that I would like to try something different. Then, as I looked over our constitution and Bylaws, it became evident that the Evangelism and Membership committees are tied closely together. Actually, according to the Bylaws Evangelism is charged with promoting new growth in church membership and attendance and Membership is responsible for promoting fellowship and assisting the Evangelism committee in orienting new members into the life and fellowship of the church. In addition, Membership assists in promoting and providing publicity for the church.
So, how do we go about increasing and developing our membership? Well, it really remains to be seen. Are there people out there looking for a church? You bet there are! Every single day! Are there people we can reach? Absolutely! Are there people you and I can bring to know Jesus Christ? Certainly! How do we get them through our doors and when we do get them through the doors, how do we keep them here? Simply, by the expressions of our faith, kindness, love, and commitment to Jesus Christ.
What works somewhere else may either be great or woefully inadequate for our needs at FCC. There are lots of good promotional materials out there for purchase, literally thousands of ideas for dealing with Membership, Evangelism, and Outreach issues. As a team we need to understand this; the church is not the same as it was 50, 25, or even 10 years ago. We need to think “Outside the Box”. We must change our ways of thinking to get moving in a forward direction. For the past several years the number of members gained has not kept up with the members lost. In the past seven years we have lost 38 members to death alone. Others who have moved or transferred or are no longer coming account for some of the decline in attendance. I am confident that we can turn the corner with an enthusiastic MOE with a vision for success of what we can be rather that what we currently are. In recent years we have made many great improvements in the physical church. Now it’s time to move forward with spiritual life improvements with the same (or more) enthusiasm.
Outreach speaks for itself. Not only in the six special offerings we take over a year but in absolute compassion for those who have less than us and are unable to fend or defend themselves. We have in recent years seen horrible devastation in lives, property, and natural resources in this country and around the world. More recent events such as earthquakes remind us that even when we “think” we are in control there are other factors against which we find ourselves humbled and virtually powerless .
I have made my commitment as have several others by agreeing to be on this MOE team. Won’t you help us and make your commitment as well to help us move forward and give God the glory he so much deserves for sending His son to live and walk among us to show what true evangelism and compassion is really about?
The first meeting for the MOE team will be Tuesday, Jan. 26th @ 7 p.m.
Earl
Look to hear mo’ from the “The MOE Team”!
MOE is actually an umbrella covering three church committees,
Membership, Outreach, and Evangelism.
I have worn a number of hats in my years at First Christian
Church but these are all new ones for me. At the end of 2009
there were two committees without a chairperson, namely
Outreach and Evangelism. I decided that since there were so
many good and capable elders to take on the chair of that
group that I would like to try something different.
Then, as I looked over our constitution and Bylaws, it became
evident that the Evangelism and Membership committees are
tied closely together. Actually, according to the Bylaws Evangelism is charged with promoting new growth in church
membership and attendance and Membership is responsible for promoting fellowship and assisting the Evangelism committee
in orienting new members into the life and fellowship of the church. In addition, Membership assists in promoting
and providing publicity for the church.
So, how do we go about increasing and developing our membership? Well, it really remains to be seen. Are there people
out there looking for a church? You bet there are! Every single day! Are there people we can reach? Absolutely! Are
there people you and I can bring to know Jesus Christ? Certainly! How do we get them through our doors and when we
do get them through the doors, how do we keep them here? Simply, by the expressions of our faith, kindness, love, and
commitment to Jesus Christ.
What works somewhere else may either be great or woefully inadequate for our needs at FCC. There are lots of good promotional
materials out there for purchase, literally thousands of ideas for dealing with Membership, Evangelism, and
Outreach issues. As a team we need to understand this; the church is not the same as it was 50, 25, or even 10 years ago.
We need to think “Outside the Box”. We must change our ways of thinking to get moving in a forward direction. For the
past several years the number of members gained has not kept up with the members lost. In the past seven years we
have lost 38 members to death alone. Others who have moved or transferred or are no longer coming account for some
of the decline in attendance. I am confident that we can turn the corner with an enthusiastic MOE with a vision for success
of what we can be rather that what we currently are. In recent years we have made many great improvements in
the physical church. Now it’s time to move forward with spiritual life improvements with the same (or more) enthusiasm.
Outreach speaks for itself. Not only in the six special offerings we take over a year but in absolute compassion for those
who have less than us and are unable to fend or defend themselves. We have in recent years seen horrible devastation in
lives, property, and natural resources in this country and around the world. More recent events such as earthquakes remind
us that even when we “think” we are in control there are other factors against which we find ourselves humbled and
virtually powerless .
I have made my commitment as have several others by agreeing to be on this MOE team. Won’t you help us and make
your commitment as well to help us move forward and give God the glory he so much deserves for sending His son to live
and walk among us to show what true evangelism and compassion is really about?
The first meeting for the MOE team will be Tuesday, Jan. 26th @
7 p.m.
Earl
Look to hear mo’ from the “The MOE Team”!
“The MOE Team” Members:
Vicki Howsare, Calvin Mercer, Lora Rutter, Lynn Uraco, Kelly Dunlap,
Betty Burkett, Bill Campbell, Bud Clark, Helen Edge, Polly Warmuth,
Susan Richmond, Jeff Anderson, A.D. Rutter, John Young, Jeannie
Young, Sandy McCombs, and Earl Shaw
CWF NEWS
The Christian Women’s Fellowship will hold the February General Meeting Monday evening, Feb. 1, at 7:00 p.m. Terri Chamberlain will be providing the program.
The women of the CWF will receive Lenten Devotional Calendars for use Ash Wednesday through Easter. Proceeds to be designated at the February General Meeting.
The Sonshine group will meet Thursday Feb. 18, noon, for lunch at Young’s, then come back to the church for a meeting and program. The Grace group will meet Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7:00 p.m.
The Journey – January 2010
Imagine you are on a boat. Not a big cruise liner like you might board during a vacation. I’m talking about a regular old wooden, single-masted sailboat. Where would you go? Where do you think you might have been? The boat is an appropriate biblical metaphor for the church. In fact, the inside of many church structures resembles the inside of a ship’s hull if it were turned upside down. If you are on a journey in your boat and you find that it is no longer appropriate for the waters you find yourself in, you might want to adapt your boat to meet your current navigational needs. Before you can adapt your boat, though, you will need to know where you are going so that you don’t just adapt it for the waters you are in at present. You will want to adapt it for the journey ahead. So to be sure your boat will be adequate in helping you accomplish your journey, you will want to know where you are headed, the status of your current currents, and even reflect on how you got to where you are.
This is where churches are today. We are in boats, all on the same journey while at the same time involved in individual journeys. We are all heading ultimately to the same destination though we might express the journey differently. Some churches talk about having a mission of being mentors, some talk about healing broken hearts, some talk about connecting people with similar spiritual gifts. All of these are tuned in with divine purpose and are part of the overall purpose of the church, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. (Matt 28:19-20)” Each congregation today needs to have a clear sense of mission that concurs with the larger mission Jesus laid out for the church. Adapting our boat, you might say, to navigate the waters in which we currently find ourselves and to prepare for the waters ahead.
January is an appropriate time to look back and reflect on the waters we traveled to this point on our journey. Last spring we engaged in several small group sessions in which many of you related your personal spiritual journeys to me and with each other, and in which you also shared with me what you find important and meaningful in your church. I assimilated this input into a booklet and made it available on Pentecost. If you never got a copy, please let me know and I’ll get you one. If you never got a chance to share your journey with me, please call me. I would love to hear your story.
In July, we held an awesome Vacation Bible School, bringing nearly 40 children into our fellowship and letting them lead our worship the following Sunday. We have two families still closely associated with our church that were not previously coming here simply because of VBS. This is mission at work through our education program. On that Sunday of VBS worship, our General Board approved funding to transform a classroom into a youth activities room. The room was completed in October and we currently have more active youth in our youth ministry than we did at this time last year. For the first time in a while, we have youth officers and Scott, Kayla, Katherine, and Lindsey are doing an awesome job, not to mention being led by their dedicated leader, Lanette Gilbert. We also implemented a Youth Ministry Council (YMC) under the auspices of our Education Dept. Because it quickly grew to be too much for them, our Moderator, A.D. Rutter, split it off into its own committee with Derek Wayne as the chair. The activities and upcoming mission trip have been planned and implemented by the YMC with our youth and they are doing an awesome job.
We also used the new youth room to help facilitate our Fifth Quarter Event on October 31 during which we hosted nearly 50 young people from local schools. Some of those young people were astounded that we would offer them something like this for free just because we wanted to do something for them. Also in October, we held a Family Halloween event on the grass on our corner, attracting many people from the neighborhood and other folks who don’t go to church here. In November, we honored our veterans and remembered the saints among us who went on to be with our Lord over the previous year.
In December, our youth presented an awesome Christmas musical. If you missed it, you really missed a treat. Once again we integrated education with mission as our youth and children engaged a great many people who don’t regularly attend church here. John Nozum and I led worship for the good people of the Moundview Care Center with lots of Christmas carols the Christmas story. We integrated worship with mission on Christmas Eve as we hosted over 200 people, bringing everyone through the journey of the Light into the darkness of the world.
So, those are the highlights of how we got here, now. The waters in which we find ourselves may feel murky. We may not feel we can clearly see the currents and which way they seem to lead. We may feel difficulty seeing how we may need to adapt our boat to best navigate the stream. Not to worry! To reference some demographics research that I’ve passed on to our MOE (Membership/Outreach/Evangelism) Chair, Earl Shaw, the people in our immediate area share some striking challenges that we can rise to meet!
The lifestyle of people in this area is highly diverse with 20 of the 50 U.S. lifestyles represented. People aged 29-49 and 50-67 both make up 26% of the population for a total of 52% made up of people age 29-67. Family structures are somewhat traditional meaning mostly married couples with children. Overall education level is low with 65% of the population around us having only a high school education or less and 35% having at least some college education. 11% have college degrees meaning 4-yr and post-graduate programs.
Concerns among the population here, according the latest census data, are finding a good church, adequate food, finding spiritual teaching, health insurance, problems in schools, and divorce. The overall community stress level is indicated as being somewhat high because of the number of households below the poverty line, adults without a high school diploma, households with a single mother, and unusually high concern about community problems, family problems, and basic necessities.
Considering where we currently are can also lead us toward a future direction as indicated by the general programs and church services that may be preferred in the area. The census data indicates that divorce recovery programs, Bible study and prayer groups, personal and/or family counseling, and twelve-step programs are the kinds of things people need. Overall, programs and ministries that relate to spiritual development are the kinds of things we should consider.
So, that is where we are. Where are we going? That is up to what we decide together. Earl Shaw is gearing up to a big challenge and I am confident he will do well with it. Our Executive Committee felt that perhaps we could combine out Membership, Outreach, and Evangelism committees into a joint effort since their purposes are similar. Earl has an article in this newsletter explaining it more detail. When you look at the demographics and the needs of the people around us, the possibilities are energizing. Calling this the MOE committee, or team, is great because as I write this it occurs to me that it is time for us to MOE-bilize for mission. Not only these 3 dimensions of our structure, but also our Education, Worship, Property, and Stewardship committees. We can mobilize our Sunday school and other spiritual development classes for mission. We can use our worship to mobilize us all for mission. We can even use the physical plant of our building and grounds to mobilize for mission and ensure that we gear the stewardship of our finances toward mobilizing our congregation for mission. Maybe 2010 will be MOE better than the years before! We can have a lot of fun with this MOE thing while at the same time save lost people! There are a lot of them around us. Adapting our boat to navigate the waters ahead and thus MOEbilize ourselves for mission will help us get ‘em all. Let’s go!
Blessings to all of us on our journey together,
Pastor Mark
The Journey – November 2009
I love a good action movie. Not that I love ALL action movies; I said I love a GOOD one. I guess this goes all the way back to 1978 when I saw Star Wars: A New Hope in a movie theatre. That was the most incredible movie experience I’d had up to that point and I walked out of the theatre with adrenaline pumping and a strong desire to get behind the controls of a tie fighter. Since then, I’ve enjoyed all the Star Wars movies, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and of course … the Harry Potter series. I like some of the cop action movies, but like I said, I like GOOD movies, so not all of those qualify. The criteria of what makes it a good or bad movie to me has a lot to do with a sense of fascination, of what is coming next. And, of course, there is the cool factor. The script can be somewhat lame, but if the movie has elements in the story that make the viewer think, “Whoa, cool!” then it can overcome a weak script. The cool factor can be overdone, though. Shannon and I recently rented Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. I hated it. The script was weak and that cool factor was so over-the-top that it lost me. Too much cool can be overdone. I don’t want to sit and watch two computer-generated robot characters have a conversation that is supposed to make me care about the plot. I did like the first Transformers movie, though, because it had a lot of human interaction with the cool factor supporting what was going on with real people.
The action movies of the 30s and 40s, like King Kong, stirred movie-goers with just as much emotion as our new movies do, but no one would go to see a movie today made with the same techniques used 70 years ago. Over time, we humans teach ourselves how to do things more effectively to get the result we’re looking for. We run into trouble when we forget about the results and just use the same techniques because those are the techniques we’ve always used. If you were running MGM Studios, how long do you think you’d have your job if you didn’t look for better ways to make movies? George Lucas has become a lifetime success as a filmmaker because he is always pushing the envelope in developing the technology to make a better, more effective movie. Much of what we see on the screen today from other filmmakers is there because Lucas figured out how to do it.
I also like a good worship experience, a deeply moving moment of spiritual depth, and energizing work of the church. All of those do more for me than the very best action movie because the effect is eternal and life-changing; not superficial. They are life-changing when the experience isn’t about superficial elements, but rather is about relationship. The Church of this millennium faces some serious decisions. People who currently have no desire to go to church are staying home because churches all over the land are trying to be effective with 70-year-old methods. The business model we use of committees and officers is a business model from the 1930s-50s and may or may not be effective in helping us get the results God is leading us to get. “Results, you say? Since when is the church supposed to get results?” That question may be on the minds of some of you reading this, so I can answer that easily. Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Yes, the church is tasked with getting results, and we can measure those results. If we are not baptizing adults who have no previous affiliation with the church, then we are not getting the results Jesus tasked the church to get. Pretty simple.
So how do we get those kinds of results? We can’t make other people worship the way we want them to worship and like it when it doesn’t speak to them. We can’t make other people understand how we function as church when we ourselves may not be able to express the purpose behind it and the people we’d like to reach just want to be understood and find a place to belong. Maybe some of the people we need to reach need to find a bit of a “cool factor” in the church for us to get their attention. While we can’t have CGI robots in our worship (why would we want that?) we can stretch the envelope so that during worship a new person might think, “Whoa, that’s cool!” We can have more events like the Brent Vernon concert and find any number of ways to invite the public into this church home and make them feel welcome.
Over this next year we’re going to have to take a deep look at our business model. Our nominating committee had an incredibly difficult time filling positions this year and maybe that’s because we have too many positions. Maybe it’s because we have an outdated structure that isn’t helping us get the results Christ tasks us to get. Maybe we need to get down to a strong sense of purpose for everything we do as a church and then redevelop a structure that helps us get the result of fulfilling that purpose. My gut tells me that we need to be a light to the valley, like the lighthouse I wrote about last month, a safe-haven for the lost and a place of purpose for those who are seeking purpose in their lives. People need a sense of meaning, to know that each day matters and to know that we each matter to someone else. Decisions we make in the church and the work of each leader in the church need to fulfill our purpose and derive the results Christ wants for us.
One of my other all-time favorite movies is The Santa Clause with Tim Allen. It had that cool factor and the script was also very well-written. In fact, this movie is probably one of the best Christmas movies ever made. Unfortunately, as much as I love this movie, it isn’t the perfect Christmas movie for one reason. It isn’t about Christ and it doesn’t mention Jesus anywhere. That’s probably because its makers didn’t want to offend anyone coming to see it and the focus was just on Santa. Instead, this great movie is all about the trimmings around the season without ever mentioning the core reason for Christmas. This gives me pause to wonder if across this great nation of ours churches everywhere have made their ministry all about the trimmings around Christianity (structure, budget, etc.) without being driven by the core reason for being church in the first place.
I pray that we all have a very merry Christmas because we know the reason for the season. I also pray that as we move into 2010, we press toward a very fulfilling, inspirational, and results-oriented ministry in Moundsville because Jesus is at the very core of everything we do. Like the Transformers movie, the cool factor in the church can simply be the fact that we are willing to transform to fulfill our purpose. Rather than an action movie, we are an action church. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). My Christmas list includes more of the Light of Christ in my own life, in the work I do in the church, in the work we all do together in the church, in our worship, and in the ways we reach out to our community. I hope and pray yours does as well. Merry Christmas to you!
Candles, Carols, and Communion – Christmas Eve, 7 p.m.
Join the faith community of First Christian Church for an inspirational evening of music, worship, and communion. We will have several musicians providing music including soloists, our youth and children accompanied by Pastor Mark on guitar, and our sanctuary choir. We will journey through the Advent themes of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy, and will consummate this special worship with communion, candlelighting, and an invitation for the Light of Christ to be born anew into our hearts and lives. Don’t miss this deeply moving experience on Christmas Eve.
