The Arrival

This year, Shami and I decided to take Bayley and Savanah to Disney World to experience Christmas “Disney-style.” 

When we lived in Las Vegas, we were able to go to Disneyland many times to do that, but this will be our first time heading to Florida at Christmas time. 

They really deck the halls for Christmas at Disney Parks.  It is really something quite special to see.  We are looking forward to arriving there this weekend.

 

I often wonder what it would have been like to see the arrival of Jesus into our world. 

How did Joseph and Mary handle all that comes with a baby being born while staying in a stable? 

Was it just the two of them? 

Did anyone come to their aid? 

How long would they have to live in the stable before they had a place to stay? 

Even with all of those questions, I believe the arrival of the Messiah and Savior of the world was really something quite special to see. 

 

Not because of glitz or glam but because of the honest, raw and authentic way the Son of God arrived.

He came as a baby, not a king.

He showed up helpless, not powerful.

He entered as a creation, not the creator.

It’s not how I would have done it if I was God and going to arrive on the scene.  Good thing, I’m not God, huh?!

 

God wanted to make a point at the very beginning of the story of Jesus. 

He wanted to show us He really was with us.  Not above us, not over us or in control of us but with us.

How Jesus arrived was just as important as how He died.

Simply put:  The Arrival mattered.

 

So let it matter to you.  Take time this Christmas and reflect on Jesus and His arrival to earth.

Don’t let it get lost in the glitz or glam (whether it’s Disney-style or not).

 

Merry Christmas!  I pray it is the best one yet for each of you and your loved ones.”

Tap into the Power

Hey New Life,

This last Sunday I talked about tapping into the power source as we go about telling others the message of Jesus.  I want to tell you a story of when I tapped into a new power source when I was younger.

I was a teenager when I first experienced any type of verbal gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I grew up in a Baptist church and we viewed those things as wrong an unbiblical kinds of things.  Then one day my brother went to his friend’s church and came back changed.  He had been a real punk of a big brother with a horrible attitude towards our parents but something was different and I said to myself I had to check out this church that had changed him.

Obviously it wasn’t the church that changed him but it was Jesus, but I think you understand my curiosity, none the less.

When I went to the Assembly of God church youth gathering I saw students worshipping God with such freedom that I had never experienced before.  It was incredible.  I wanted to worship God like that.  I wanted to worship God with true freedom.  I thought the whole verbal gifts thing was still odd and different and my friends in my old church thought I was crazy but I liked the freedom and didn’t want to let go of it.

A year or so later, at a Winter Retreat, there was an opportunity to receive what is called “the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.”  I really didn’t know what it was all about but if Jesus had something more for me than what I already had then I wanted it.  Nothing “happened” to me during that time but then that night in bed I woke up and began speaking a new language I had never heard before.

Now the whole point of verbal gifts of the Holy Spirit is very specific.  It says in Acts 1:8 that the purpose is to give you power to be a witness wherever you are.  You see, if you have the faith to speak an unknown language then speaking to someone about Jesus in your common language should actually take less faith.

Here’s the thing though, people can get really weird and do crazy things in the name of the Holy Spirit and I think that turns people off to the idea of verbal gifts.  But don’t you and I both know people who have done things in the name of Jesus that are so not Jesus?

I am a die hard Seattle Seahawks fan and I remember going to a game in Indy against the Colts a few years ago and there was another Seahawks fan about 10 rows below me acting like a total jerk.  All the Colts fans wanted to take him out and beat him up.  Hey, even I wanted to shut him up because of the way he was acting.

I say that to tell you we have specific, biblical guidelines for the verbal gifts during a Sunday gathering so things are not chaotic but orderly just like I believe we experience on Sundays because we want people to say, “God is truly here among you.” (1 Corinthian 14:25) when the verbal gifts are used at church.

But remember the why behind it all is to tap into a power that helps you share the message of Jesus.  Let be sure to tap into that power source today!

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

A Sunday to Remember - part 4

Ok, October 2^nd really was a Sunday to remember. 

The final reason it was a Sunday to remember was presenting the Phase 1 of our 3 Remodel Initiatives, from 9-11-16, for approval.  There comes a time in every church where they must be willing to take a step of faith and yes a step of risk to move forward in the God designed plans for it and its calling.  The leadership of New Life believed Now is the Time for us to move forward.

I am grateful for a church that is willing to move forward.  I am grateful for a church that asks questions about the why, when and how we are moving forward.  I am grateful for a church that trusts what its leaders believe is the direction for that moving forward.  I am grateful we can have different opinions and yet still come to a place of unity once we decide to move forward.  I am grateful for New Life – the church I call my home.

Our goal is clear.  We want to raise commitments for and complete Phase 1 of our remodel initiatives.

I’m looking forward to Easter in April 2017 when our lobby improvements will include a brand new check in area for kids ministries, a brand new Next Steps kiosk – a new way for people to see how they can connect in Life Groups and see how they can serve at New Life.  Along with these elements we plan on having new furniture inside the lobby and new paint on the trim outside the lobby.

I’m looking forward to our 60^th Anniversary in July 2017 when our gym will have a brand new roof, furnaces, flooring, lighting, paint and bathrooms.  All of it culminating in naming that space the Thomason Westside Community Center in honor of our founding pastors.  What a way that will be to celebrate what God has done in the first 60 years of our church.

I’m looking forward to the next school year in September 2017 when our kids areas will have a brand new theme – KidsWorld – and with that a whole new look on every wall and in every hallway.  This new theme will create spaces that immerse kids into a new adventure every weekend.

All of this is possible because our church said, “yes, now is the time” to move forward.

What a Sunday to remember, indeed!

A Sunday to Remember – part 3

The morning of October 2^nd was a Sunday to remember at New Life for sure.  Yes, it was the launching point of our new Sunday morning gatherings (We love what is happening in both of them – check out the servant leader quote in the bulletin on Sunday)  and our Life Groups that meet all throughout the week (We have over 13 groups reading and discussing the Plan A book).  Awesome stuff!

But it also had some significant things happen at night too, the first being Momentum Youth Ministries kicked off their 30 day STL (Speed The Light) T-shirt challenge.  I think it gave us a sense of what can happen when a group of people are unified toward accomplishing the same goal.  Seeing about 30 students and servant leaders gather together wearing their STL T-shirts that night was…well…pretty cool!

The students have a goal of raising $2500.  Several of them already have well over $100-200 pledged or given.  Thank you to those who have pledged to give, and already given to the STL T-shirt challenge.  Also thank you to those of you who gave in the offering this past Sunday to STL.  If you haven’t had a student come your way yet, can you do one of two things?

Either look for a blue STL T-shirt and ask if you can give to their efforts or give something to STL in the offering box the next 2 Sundays to help the Momentum students reach their $2500 goal.

Thanks for helping Missionaries get the transportation and the communication tools they need to share the message of Jesus.  It means a lot to our students that you would step up and personally get involved.  It means a lot to me.  It means a lot to Jesus.

Thanks New Life for being a giving church!

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

A Sunday to Remember - part 2

Hey New Life,

Last week, I said, Sunday, October 2^nd, was “A Sunday to Remember.”

Besides it being our first Sunday going to 2 Sunday Morning Gatherings, it was also the Sunday we launched Life Groups, our new small group initiative from 9-11-16.  Life Groups are a new way at looking at how we can connect with God and with others here at New Life. 

We believe Life Groups can happen wherever life happens (a home, a coffee house, a park, the church, a school campus, a restaurant, etc. I think you get the idea).

We also believe Life Groups can be any size.  The fact that Scripture tells says, where two or more are gathered, God is there, tells us that a Life Group only needs a couple people to accomplish its purpose of connecting with God and connecting with others.

So how are our Life Groups going 9 days into their launch?  As of today, we have at least 13 active Life Groups meeting all throughout the week.  Isn’t that awesome!  Some of the groups are for guys or ladies only while others mix it all up.  Some are meeting at night while others meet in the morning or lunchtime.  Some Life Groups meet on the weekend and others on weekdays. 

I love seeing people doing life together because we are better together.  And I love seeing people connecting with God and others.

By the way, it’s not too late to be part of a Life Group either.  You can call the church and we can let you know when and where Life Groups are meeting or you can talk with Shami, our Life Group Coordinator, and she’ll help you start your own Life Group or get you connected with a Life Group that’s already meeting when you can.

Keep connecting!

Pastor David

A Sunday to Remember - part 1

This past Sunday was a Sunday to remember at New Life.

 

When we first envisioned changing Sunday mornings at New Life, it was clear we desired for 2 things to happen.

Honor those who serve

and

Give God more opportunities to impact people’s lives

 

A third desire came into focus as we drew closer to our relaunch date of 9-11-16...

...to have a greater influence on the next generation.

 

I have to tell you that we saw all three of these desired goals happen last Sunday, October 2nd.

 

Several servant leaders attended 1 and served 1 Sunday morning gathering.  (not to mention our awesome worship team and some of the hospitality team that served in both Sunday gatherings!) It was so great to be able to see servant leaders give AND receive on the same day, and to be able to start our new series, “Plan A” knowing they can be a part of the entire series.  I loved it!!  I look forward to seeing more servant leaders being able to take advantage of this opportunity and it’s my hope every servant leader feels honored by it.

 

More lives were impacted because we had 2 Sunday gatherings.  One story that came out of the second Sunday morning gathering was of one new family that came specifically because we are now offering an additional Sunday morning gathering later in the morning.  The family actually said they were “watching” what was going on at New Life through Facebook and were waiting for this Sunday to be able to come and attend.  Having our second Sunday morning gathering gave God an opportunity to impact the lives of this family!

 

There was a greater influence on the next generation.  Initially because the two Sunday morning gatherings offered, our Kids Ministry servant leaders will have less kids to lead and serve in each gathering.  What this gives them is a chance to have that greater influence on the kids they have with them each week, plus with teenagers stepping up to serve in kids ministry they too will be influenced by adult servant leaders.

 

So what a great successful Sunday we had honoring those who serve, giving God more opportunities to impact lives and having a greater influence on the next generation! 

 

I am so proud of you New Life!

 

Leading and serving with you,

Pastor David

An Open Letter to those who serve at New Life

I want to first say a huge “thank you” to you for stepping up to serve and personally get involved at New Life.  This Sunday is a big day for all of us as we launch our new Sunday Morning Gathering times of 9:30 & 11:15.

I want you to know that the primary reason why we made this change was for YOU.  Yes we want to give God more opportunities to impact lives and have a greater influence on the next generation but we first of all want to honor those who serve. 

You are so important to me and to everyone at New Life.  And because you are important and valuable we wanted to honor you by providing a way for you to not only give out in serving on Sunday but receive and be served.

We really have a desired goal in mind that everyone “Attend 1 and Serve 1.”  Attend one Sunday gathering while serving in the other one.  When we do this we will be better unified as a church and in the direction God has for us. 

And there is nothing greater than a unified group of people.  God himself said so…

“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! ~ Genesis 11:6

So thanks again for serving and because of our additional Sunday gathering I look forward to seeing you in one of our two services this weekend as we start a new series, “Plan A: There is no plan B.”

Leading and serving with you,

Pastor David

Why 2?

Would you like to know why we came up with 10 relaunch initiatives?

Each week for the next 10 weeks, I’m going to share with you a little behind the scenes and answer the why we are doing behind the what we are doing.

Instead of starting with initiative #1, I want to start with the one initiative that I think has the greatest immediate impact on those of us that call New Life home.

 

Initiative #4 – New Sunday Gathering Times of 9:30 & 11:15, starting Sunday, October 2nd

(Yep, just 10 days away!)

 

The first reason for making this change was to honor those who serve at New Life. 

Did you know we have more than 80 people who have chosen to step up to lead, serve and personally get involved at New Life? 

Of those 80+, almost 50 of them lead and serve our kids and youth (our NextGen).

 

Whenever someone chooses to become a servant leader in our kids ministry, they then choose to not be in a Sunday morning gathering for anywhere from 1-4 weeks in a row. 

I love their commitment!

Now they can listen to the messages online to stay current but the energy, excitement and engagement with God and others is not the same compared to being present in a live Sunday gathering.

It is the desire to keep those amazing servant leaders unified with what is happening each Sunday that prompted me and our leadership team to ask – Why not 2 services?

 

Another reason why 2 Sunday morning gatherings is to give God more opportunities to impact people’s lives.

I remember Easter weekend and how we had 2 very different services and yet both had significant God moments that were life-changing for so many.

Going to 2 Sunday morning gatherings will give you and me more opportunities to invite a friend, neighbor or coworker. 

It will give God more opportunities to impact lives!

 

Finally, going to 2 Sunday morning gatherings allows us to have an even greater influence on the next generation.

I recently read in historical documents of New Life that we had as many as 370 kids at New Life through our bus ministry.  What a legacy of influence we have on the next generation!

New Life has had a call to reach out to the next generation from its early days and though we do not have a bus ministry any longer, we still have the call on our church to influence the next generation.

2 Sunday morning gatherings helps us do that.

 

Let me leave you with a quote from one of our own, Megan, who chose to step up to lead and serve in our preschool aged kids area (KidZone Jr).

She said this last Sunday...

I started off not wanting to serve in kidzone or kidzone jr. Because I'm a single mom my life revolves around being with children 24/7. So I looked at Sunday mornings as my break from children. Lol But I agreed to serve in the back with the two year olds. It turned out to be such a blessing! I love seeing all the different personalities. But the best part is watching them learn, grow and play together. If you are dead set on not working with the kids or serving in general I would say just try it out. If you don't like it then quit. It's not a life sentence. Lol. But I mean how can you go wrong by investing in some really AMAZING kids? #tryitout! #itsservingnotworking. 

 

How will you choose to step up as we launch our 2 new Sunday morning gatherings?

Leading and serving with you,

Pastor David

And We Have Lift Off!

What a Sunday!  

Yesterday was truly fantastic!

In days ahead I am going to be sending out in these weekly blogs each relaunch initiative along with some more details about each one as I share them.

If you were unable to be there Sunday, be sure to download the video below to get my take on the day.

Click to Download

Whether you were there or not, we can be excited that our relaunch has begun but we are only just beginning. 

The next few weeks are significant in preparing for the initiatives that start on October 2nd. (Life Groups and 2 Sunday Gatherings)  That gives us 20 days to get ready.

We can do this as long as we do this together!  We are better together.

Ask yourself, 

“How can I step up and personally get involved in the next 3 weeks?”

I’ve already had one person ask that question of themselves, talk with me and decided to get involved in our preschool ministry – KidZone Jr.

That is so awesome!

My heart is for kids, especially for those 2-5 years old in KidZone Jr because I was their age when I said, “Yes to Jesus!”

Can you imagine partnering with parents, serving families and impacting kids lives and helping the next generation say, “Yes to Jesus!?”

Incredible!!

So download the video above or click on this link to see it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.grieve.399/videos/10154086478674387/

And be on the look out for each initiative and its details in the weeks to come!

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

Now is the time!

Hey New Lifers,

 

With just 3 days until New Life’s relaunch is there anything we can do but wait?

 

Actually there is something we can do.  The same thing Esther did.

Let me explain.

 

Most of us know the story of Esther.

Through events uncontrollable by Esther but definitely designed by God, Esther was crowned the new Queen of Persia. 

And it is during this time a threat rises to exterminate her people from the kingdom. 

Her uncle, Mordecai, comes to her asking for help and when she first refuses he responds with those famous words in Esther 4:14.

 

“Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

 

Mordecai’s words struck a cord with Esther so she decides to risk her life to save the lives of her people.

But before doing that, she requested her uncle and all the Jews in the kingdom join her in a fast in preparation for going to the king unannounced (which was punishable by death).

 

After 3 days of fasting, she went to the king, gained his favor and saved her people.

 

In the spirit of Mordecai I ask,

“Who knows if perhaps you were brought to New Life for just such a time as this?”

I think you were.

 

And in the spirit of Esther I ask,

“Will you join me in a fast the next 3 days (Thursday-Saturday) before we go and see the King of kings on Sunday?”

 

If you are already fasting then finish strong with me.

If you have finished your fast or never started, start with me today.

 

Something special is going to happen this Sunday on 9-11-16 and I would love for all of you to be a part of it.  And bring a friend.  Why?

Because - Now is the time!

 

See you Sunday,

Pastor David

10 Days!!

Everything changes in 10 days!

I want to personally thank everyone who has been fasting and praying with me and Shami the past 30 days.  Whether you started 30 days ago or you started yesterday I am grateful that you chose to step up and personally get involved in what is happening at New Life. 

We are on the home stretch towards New Life's relaunch on 9-11-16.

And as we hit these last 10 days I am asking if you will step up once again.

Will you step up and join me in prayer? 

 

Will you pray 10 minutes 10 times in the next 10 days for New Life's relaunch on 9-11-16?
That's one time of 10 minutes each day for the next 10 days praying specifically for our relaunch.

Acts 2:42 tells us one of the things the followers of Jesus were all devoted to was prayer.

Will you devote 10 minutes of prayer with me for the next 10 days?

C'mon New Life let's do this!
9-11-16 is almost here!!

Are you In?  Now is the Time!

Praying with you,
Pastor David

In It

This is the day the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad IN IT. ~ Psalm 118:24

 

We’ve had some crazy weather recently in Indiana.

I remember a couple weeks ago there was a downpour as I was driving from my home into Marion.

I mean it was coming down so hard that I had to slow down just to see and almost decided to pull over until the crashing rain came to a halt.

 

I decided to push on and within less than a minute the rain was nothing.  

It was gone just as quick as it had come.

While I was in the rain, I stayed focused on the road.  

I didn’t let anything take me off my focus.  

I couldn’t afford to lose focus in that rain storm.

 

I think those last 2 words of Psalm 118:24 are the most powerful words in that verse... 

IN IT.

What if we decided each day to stay focused on what God has for our day?

Who does God want us to meet?

Where does God want us to go?

What does God want us to say?

What does God want us to hear?

 

On Sunday I challenged us all at New Life to help others become better.  

That won’t happen if we do not stay focused IN our day.

May you have the focus you need for the rest of the day while you are IN IT.

 

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

 

PS – Just 18 days until New Life’s relaunch on 9-11-16!!  

If you are praying and fasting with me, THANK YOU!  

If you aren’t there is no better time than today to start.

RE-JOY

This is the day the Lord has made,

I will rejoice and be glad in it. ~ Psalm 118:24

Every morning on the way to dropping off the girls before school, we pray.  Today, Savanah prayed that we might have a Thrillifric Thursday (that’s thrilling and terrific put together for those not sure).  Well to be honest today to this point has not been thrilling or terrific for me.  In fact, trying to right this has been hard, very hard.

Why?

Because how do you rejoice and be glad when your day has been less than the best, to say the least?  I mean it would be so much easier to tell you to rejoice and be glad on a day when everything is going well.  I guess though talking about rejoicing and being glad when I don’t feel like it is probably the better time to do it.

What does it mean to rejoice?  The dictionary says rejoice means to show great joy.  When I see the word rejoice I see the prefix “re” along with the word “joy.”  Re means again and again.  Joy means to have great pleasure.

So I see rejoice as a way of saying have pleasure (or joy) in today again and again and again and…you get the idea.  It’s not about having pleasure in what is happening in your day but more about having pleasure that you actually HAVE today in the first place.

I think if we looked more at our day as an opportunity to be grateful we have it, it might change how we view what happens in it.  Let’s look at choosing to rejoice and be glad in our day as a way of choosing to hit the reset button on the day.  Choose to RE-JOY:  have pleasure in having today again and again through the rest of your day.

The good news?  Today is not over.  So whether it ever gets to be thrillifric or not we can still choose to…you guessed it…rejoice and be glad for having today in the first place.

Who Made it?

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24 (emphasis mine)

Today begins the start of a few things for most of us.  Week 2 of our 40 days of prayer and fasting leading up to 9-11-16 has begun but for most families in Grant County, Indiana that is not at the top of our minds.  Instead moms, dads, grandparents, kids, tweens, teens, and teachers (maybe even your pets) are more focused on the start of another school year.

Each year in the Grieve home we have a few first day of school rituals.  Pictures of the girls at the same wall, same swing and same porch we have been taking these pictures almost every year since 2007.  We end it with a family selfie and hugs and kisses as they head out with mom to go to their first day of another school year.

Do you know what this day has in common with every day before it and every day after it?  

The Lord has made them all.

That’s right.  When we are graced with the air to breathe in another day in, it was made by the Creator of all things.  What an amazing thought. 

So today I encourage you to remember who gave you this day and that in this day the Lord has made take some time to give him thanks for making it and allowing you to enjoy it and every other day before it.

Thanking Him with you,

Pastor David

This is the day

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24

I love this verse and I want to take the next few weeks and break it down for us as we begin our 40 day journey to 9-11-16 with prayer and fasting.

Let’s begin with the first four words of Psalm 118:24

“This is the day…”

Do you realize there is no other day than Today that can be “the day?”

Yesterday is not the day.  It’s gone.  It’s over.  It’s not coming back.

Tomorrow is not the day.  It’s not here.  It’s not guaranteed.

Too many times we look back and think of those good ‘ole days or we look ahead at what we plan to do that is going to be the best yet.  Now don’t get me wrong, remembering our past and planning for the future are both important.

It’s just that we need to make the most of what we do have right now.  And what we do have right now is “this is the day.”

This is the day we must choose to spend time with God.

This is the day we must pray and not give up.

This is the day we must start to tithe or give more to/for God.

This is the day to tell others about Jesus.

This is the day to make choices with eternity in mind for you and others.

What will you do on this day?

You can start by joining others from New Life and setting aside time on this day for fasting and praying.  Don’t be concerned about fasting and praying for 40 days straight.  Choose this day to fast and pray.

Remember - This is the day!

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

Connecting with God

Yesterday, I picked up my mom from the airport.  After stopping for dinner, we made our way to a gas station so I could fill up our gas tank.  I had prepaid with cash but didn’t use it all so I went in to get my change.  The line was a little long but it was worth the wait for my $2.75 and what happened next.

On my way out, I held the door open for Alex.  He thanked me and we both began to talk about the weather.  He then mentioned how last week he had to work in attic that felt like it was 140 degrees and it reminded me of the story Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31 about heaven and hell that I had read that morning.  I knew I couldn’t just walk away from Alex without saying anything so I asked him if he knew Jesus.  He said he did but there was a hesitancy in his voice so I kindly pressed further.  I asked if he had asked Jesus into his life and from there, we eventually prayed together and reminded Alex of how much God loved him that we would meet and reassured Alex of the love God has for him.

It might have been a time of rededication for him or a first time really thinking about an authentic relationship with Jesus, I’m not sure.  But I am sure that God wanted Alex and I to meet and help him connect with God last night.

By the way, the only reason I was there at that moment of time was because my food order was messed up at dinner so we took a longer time getting through dinner because of the mistake.  That mistake led us to be there when Alex was walking out of the gas station.  It was no mistake when it came to God’s timing though!

Who does God want you to meet this week, perhaps even today, and help connect with Him?  Be ready it can happen anywhere and at any time.

Leading and Serving you,

Pastor David

Connecting with Others

Hey New Lifers,

 

After Shami and I returned from our trip to Toronto, Canada celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, Shami came up with a wonderful idea:  Why don’t we host different families, individuals and couples at our home for a bonfire.  We have intentionally kept them small (no more than 4 families) because it is in a smaller group where you can hope to better connect with others.

 

And that’s the reason for the bonfire nights – connect with others.

We have a few more planned and we know we unfortunately won’t be able to have everyone over for a bonfire this summer, but you can still connect with others.

 

Why not invite others, some you know well and some you don’t, over to your home for a bonfire.  No firepit?  Then take advantage of whatever your home has to offer.

The point is to connect with others and connect with them in a way that is relaxing and comfortable.

 

The Free Movie Night at New Life, July 30th at 6 pm  is one more way you can connect with others.  There will be hotdogs, cotton candy, popcorn and water that is just $5 a family before and $7 a family at the door, but even if you don’t choose the food, choose the movie (Disney’s Zootopia) and choose to connect with others.

 

Another way to connect with others is through our “Recalibrate  Your Life” small groups.  Phil and Mary Prows hosted our first small group on Sunday night, while Mark & Rikki Bailey host tonight and Pastor Garth & Kari host Wednesday night or you are welcome to come to our small group on Thursdays but it doesn’t begin until August 4th.  One thing that I love about these small groups beyond the ability to connect with others is being able to connect with God.  So do all you can to be a part of connecting with others and connecting with God the rest of the summer.

 

Even if you can’t make it the first week, don’t give up connecting with others in a small group.  You can still attend starting week 2.

 

Have a great summer connecting with others...and with God!

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

Servant Leader

As we come to the end of our 2nd quarter of 2016 and the end of our focus on Recalibrating Your Ministry, there’s a term you’ve probably heard me say quite a lot these past 3 months.

“Servant Leader”

This is the term we use to describe those at New Life who have stepped up to personally get involved in the church.  This term can also be used for when you step up in your home and in your community.  I think there is no better way to describe a leader than by calling them a servant.  A servant leader serves those they lead so they can impact lives and partner in other’s spiritual growth.

Marcie, our KidZone Ministry Leader, recently sent this out to many of her servant leaders that have stepped up to personally get involved in KidZone.  I thought it was a great illustration of what a servant leader is.

Servant LeaderServant Leaders are just ordinary people

with extraordinary hearts.

They offer the gift of their time
to teach, to listen, to help, to inspire,
to build, to grow, to learn.

They expect no pay, yet the value of their
work knows no limit.
They’ve known the unexpected joy
of a simple hug.

They’ve planted tiny seeds of love
in countless lives.

Servant Leaders
are just ordinary people
who reach out
and take a hand
and together make a difference
that lasts a lifetime.

As we get ready to do our last Service Project this Saturday, July 2^nd, of cleaning the Cardinal Greenway from 9 am – 12 noon (Starting at the Miller Ave entrance by the railroad tracks), be reminded of the impact you have on others when you choose to step up and become a servant leader.  Thank you!

Leading and serving with you,

Pastor David

Time to Serve

It’s June!

 

And that means it’s time to serve our community!

Instead of sharing my words with you today, here is a video I’d like you to watch.

 

Check out how one man serves his community in Texas with his own version of our “Reverse Offering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTYjvOFGA1w

 

I’ve loved hearing the stories of how you have stepped up to serve others with your finances.  Now is the chance to step to serve with your hands and feet.

Popsicles in the Park is this Sunday, June 12th at 4 pm.

Meet at the entrance to the Matter Park playground and we will go out from there giving out cold treats to any and every one who wants one.

If someone asks why you’re doing it, just say it’s because we want to give out God’s love.

 

Daycare Care Packs is Monday, June 20th.

10 am – if you want to help purchase the items

6:30 pm – if you want to help pack the items

Either time meet at the church office.  Imagine the faces of the families of our daycare when they receive a laundry basket filled with life’s essentials like toothpaste, soap, shampoo, laundry soap, AND a big package of toilet paper and paper towels!  Gets me so excited just thinking about it.

 

Details and Date fro Cardinal Greenway clean up coming soon!

See you Sunday,

Pastor David

More and more

As we move into the summer months, one thing that can happen is we can tend to think of taking things easy.  Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking some time to get away on vacation with your spouse, family and/or friends.  In fact, I strongly urge you to do it!!

At the same time, just because Summer has arrived, I also urge you to keep making the choice to step up and personally get involved in your home, church and community.

One way to do that is always looking for ways to grow.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul tell his readers to continue to live the way they are living…

1)      Live to please God (4:1)

2)      Live to love others (4:10)

But then he adds 3 words to his commendations for seeing them living out these two ways. 

Those 3 words?

“More and more”

“More and more” is telling us we need to always be growing – never settling for where we are. 

Once we settle, we actually begin to sink.  Just like when something settles in the ground means it lowers into the ground.  If we settle we lower more into the ways of the world instead of the 2 ways mentioned above.

But…more and more living to please God and more and more living to love others will not settle us but stretch us.  It is in this stretching that we grow.

And growing is what Paul wanted for his readers so he chose to tell them to stretch the way they live…More and more.

May God stretch you as you step up to personally get involved in your home, church and community…More and more.

Leading and Serving with you,

Pastor David

Step up in Community

“We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:8

I hope the last 2 weeks you’ve seen how this verse perfectly fits for our current focus to step up and personally getting involved in your home, your church and your community. 

We have looked at it from the view of our homes and our church so let’s finish by looking at it from the view of our community.

Ever since we moved to Indiana, 10 years ago, Shami and I have been supporters of Marion Community Schools. 

We believe in the public school system because we are products of that system and believe it helps prepare you for the real world. 

Being able to lead and serve as an assistant coach for the high school football team has only deepened my love for our schools and the students.

As an assistant coach, I was given the opportunity to serve in another capacity at the high school. 

I asked Shami if she wanted to help serve too and together we helped at most of the home games of the Marion Giants basketball team. 

It was a lot of fun meeting new people, seeing students, coaches and other I knew and watching the basketball team play (which included some of the boys I coached).

So when the boys’ basketball team made it to the state championship game, we couldn’t be there but Shami and I watched the game on her iPhone. 

We felt like we were part of the team as we watched them win a state record, 8^th state championship. 

This is what it means to share your life with your community.

When we choose to personally get involved and step up to lead and serve in our community, we take ownership, we become participants and not spectators. 

I am asking every one that calls New Life home to personally step up and get involved in the community. 

There are many ways we can do this but this Sunday, we will give you an opportunity to step up and serve our community. 

This Sunday, May 22^nd, is our Taste of Ministry. 

Along with seeing areas of ministry where you can choose to step up and get involved, we will have Community Service Projects that you can choose to serve in this June.

Get ready!  Now is the Time to step up and personally get involved.

Leading and serving with you,

Pastor David

What can you offer?

 “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Last week, I mentioned how this verse is a perfect fit for our current focus to step up and personally getting involved in your home, your church and your community. 

So after looking at the home last week, today, let’s look at what this means for your church.

There is a prevailing view of the local church that does nothing good for the church worldwide.  It actually brings great harm to the local church.  What is this view?

What can a church offer me and my family?

Why is this so detrimental?  The danger is that such a view makes one think the church is here to meet me and my family’s needs.  If every person came into church with the thought, “what can this church offer me?”  Then nothing would ever be offered.  This is actually the underlining issue behind most failed marriages. 

If a husband begins to think his bride is not meeting his needs, he will begin to get frustrated, perhaps angry and resentful to his bride and if left unchecked will likely go find a way or his needs to be met elsewhere by something or someone.  The same is true when a bride starts saying, “he doesn’t provide what I need.”

In marriage, God is the one who is the provider, not your spouse.  The beauty of His provision is that He has designed it so He can use the husband for his bride’s needs and the bride for her husband’s needs.

So what’s this got to do with church?

The proper way of viewing a church is not “what can this church offer me?” but rather “what can I offer this church?”

And believe me, you offer quite a lot for any church.  And at New Life, we know that God has provided what we need through each of you that calls New Life home. 

At New Life, when it comes to families, we desire to partner with parents, serve families, and impact kids’ lives, but that is not done without the amazing people who step up to personally get involved.  These are people who have decided to ask themselves, “what can I offer New Life?”  As a result, parents are partnered with, families (including their own) are served and kids’ lives are impacted.

When you go to church thinking, “what can I offer this church?” you go with a mentality that is seen all throughout the New Testament.  There are some 50-60 verses that use either “one another” or “each other” to describe how those in church work together.

So as you ask yourself, “what can I offer this church?”  and then go offer it to those who lead and serve you at your church.  At New Life, we can help show you ways you can personally step up and get involved.  There is no better opportunity than on Sunday, May 22^nd at our Taste of Ministry.  There you will see first-hand the areas of ministry where you can offer what you have and you can choose to step up and get involved.

Full Attention

 “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:8

This verse is a perfect fit for our current focus to Recalibrate Your Ministry. 

When we mean to recalibrate in your ministry we mean for you to step up by personally getting involved in your home, your church and your community. 

I’ll take the next 3 weeks to look at this verse through each of these areas.

Today, let’s look at the home. 

When we personally step up at home, we have to do more than just provide a roof over our kids’ heads, clothing for our loved ones to wear and food for our family to eat. 

We need to provide our “own lives, too.”

Let me show you what I mean. 

The other day, Savanah told me something she had accomplished and I quickly just gave it my approval. 

As I did, I realized I had not given her my full attention so I asked her for a do over. 

She smiled and shared again what she had accomplished one more time and this time I gave her my full attention and you could tell how proud it made her feel.

Our loved ones deserve our full attention when we are home. 

More than deserve it, they need our full attention when we are home. 

Giving our full attention is one way we can personally step up and get involved in our homes.

As we near Mother’s Day, may you take this opportunity to give your full attention to those who have “mothered” you through the years. 

Whether it be your biological mom, step-mom, adopted mom, foster mom, grandma, aunt, sister, neighbor, church member or anyone else who has “loved you so much” they too shared their “own lives” with you.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone and especially our New Life Moms!

~ Pastor David

Do you know your SHAPE?

The next 3 months at New Life are all about focusing on Recalibrating Your Ministry.  But what do I mean by Recalibrating Your Ministry anyways?

Let me answer this question by sharing the beginning to one of my most favorite stories of all time…

“Not long ago and not far away, a Nobody named Ordinary lived in the Land of Familiar.

Every day was pretty much the same for Ordinary.  In the mornings he got up and went to his Usual Job.  After work, he ate almost the same dinner he’d eaten the evening before.  Then he sat in his recliner and watched the box that mesmerized most Nobodies on most nights.”

(The Dream Giver, by Bruce Wilkinson)

Does this sound anything like your life?  If we’re honest with ourselves, all our lives can get into the “same ole” routine.  All our lives can feel ordinary and even a bit boring.  How? 

We slowly drift away from our purpose. 

Ordinary didn’t realize his purpose until the Dream Giver came and gave him a Big Dream and soon Ordinary set out to discover it.  What is your purpose in life?

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (emphasis mine)~ Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

It’s clear from this verse that part of our purpose is to serve.  This means to serve others in your home, in your church and in your community.  And one great way to recalibrate, and get back on track with your purpose to serve is to discover your SHAPE.

Spiritial Gifts

Heart (or Passion)

Abilities

Personality

Experiences

All of these things SHAPE you into who God wants you to become and these same things will help you Recalibrate Your Ministry.  I invite you to join me on Wednesday, April 20^th at 6:30 pm in the lobby of New Life to discover your SHAPE and begin to discover your very own Big Dream from the Dream Giver.

Reverse Offering

I decided to wait until after the Easter weekend to post my final blog on our 3 month focus to “Recalibrate our Finances” at New Life because of the “Reverse Offering” we did on Sunday.

If you were unable to be there or have never heard of a Reverse Offering, it simply is the church giving to the people on Sunday instead of the people giving to the church.

But this giving to the people was not so they can get but rather so they can give away what they received.  This past Sunday, we gave each family who attended our 9:30 and 11:15 services a $50 bill so they can use it to give away in whatever way they sense God directing them.

To help each family we also gave some tips on how they can give the $50 away...

1 – Bless a family so they can have a family night out.
2 – Surprise someone at the gas pump
3 – Pool your money with others to help someone with a major need (like a car or home repair)
4 – Tip your waiter or waitress extravagantly!
5 – Spread some joy to someone who has recently experienced a loss. (a divorce, unemployment, a death)
6 – Pay for the groceries of the person in front of you!

These tips are to help spark the imagination of those who were there at New Life on Sunday.  Perhaps you weren’t there.  Perhaps you don’t even live near New Life.  No matter, you too can choose to use these 6 tips to spark your imagination on how you can give away what God has given you to help others. 

Imagine what it could and would do if we were more focused on giving rather than getting.

Giving away with you,

Pastor David

Give a little away

During this first 3 month focus at New Life, to Recalibrate our Finances, I know for some of you things might be so tight that you may have only been able to save a little if any in January. You may have been able to pay down a little if any debt in February too and now you are just waiting for March to get over because you will have only a little to give away if any.

And so you may be asking yourself this question:
What can I do with so little?

This is the same question I have asked myself at times when I have seemingly had so little to give away.  This is essentially the same question asked by the disciples of Jesus when a boy was willing to give away the little he had to help serve and feed 5,000 others.

"With what?" - Mark 6:37
"But we have only 5 loaves of bread and two fish." - Luke 9:13

But what the disciples didn't realize and probably the boy too for that matter was,,,
Jesus can do more with our little than we can.  If we give it away.

Do you realize it?
Jesus can do more with our little than we can.  If we give it away.

It's ok you have a little to give away. Give it away anyways and watch what happens when Jesus gets a hold of it and it multiplies far beyond your wildest imagination!

Giving away with you,
Pastor David