Friday, June 25, 2010

Staying connected

A few Sundays ago I had to run our Children's Check-in at Hillcrest. I was an emergency fill in for one of our volunteers who couldn't make it at the last minute, and since I implemented our current check-in system, I was happy to fill in. Everything was going great- I was scanning check in cards, putting tags on the kids, visiting with families- until a new family came to check in. They had no check-in card and we had no labels for them and all of a sudden I didn't know what to do with a new family. And here's the kicker- I designed that part of our check-in process as well! So while I created what our check-in staff was to do with a new family, when it came time for me to practice it, I got stuck and couldn't remember what to do!

I think this event serves a good lesson for me of how important it is for me, someone who is paid to work at a church, to not lose connection with all of the various things we ask of our volunteers- whether it's checking in a new family, handing out a bulletin, serving on a Wednesday night, etc. It can be easy for me as a paid church worker to design systems, ministries, programs and events that I think will be beneficial to our people or to the community that we are serving. And yet, if I don't test out these ideas, if I don't step into the process or system I've created and see how it really works, I risk not only having something that doesn't work, but I risk losing credibility with those that I am serving. So from time to time, it's a good idea for me to fill at the check in center, even if it takes awhile to remember what it is that I am supposed to be doing!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Rework


I recently read Rework which is an interesting book on business and work. It's much different than the typical business or management book. It's broken into 2-3 page snippets where the authors tackle a quick topic or subject and then move onto another topic. One of the things they advocate is not policing people's use of Facebook or You Tube while at work. They argue that workers need diversions and if you outlaw something like Facebook, they simply find another one (solitaire anyone?!?).
One of the insights that really stuck with me was when they write "you don’t need more hours- you need better hours. When people have something to do at home, they get down to business. They get their work done at the office because they have somewhere else to be. They find ways to be more efficient because they have to. As the saying goes, ‘if you want something done, ask the busiest person you know.’ You want busy people. People who have a life outside of work. People who care about more than one thing. You shouldn’t expect the job to be someone’s entire life- at least not if you want to keep them around for a long time (258).
I think a couple of thoughts when it comes to busyness. The first is that sometimes busyness can be a competition between people or families. I often don't like this because in some regard, most people are busy- they have jobs, families, hobbies, friends, volunteering, etc. It's often futile to compare one's calendar with another in order to determine who is busier.
The second thought though is that often times being busy can be seen as negative. "You're so busy" is nowadays rarely given as a compliment, but is more likely either said
a) as a statement of reality or
b) a statement of gratitude that their schedule isn't like yours!
And yet I resonate with the words from the Rework authors, because one of the benefits of busy people is they often get things done. Now, there's plenty to be said about the pitfalls of being too busy, and I certainly can see those downsides, but as a 'busy' person, it does force me to try to utilize time as best as I can, to complete tasks as efficiently as possible, because at the end of the work day, there's other things to do.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Gospel + . . .

I had the opportunity to preach this past Sunday which is always a rewarding experience. We're currently working through Galatians this summer and so I took us through the second half of chapter two where Paul recalls his infamous conforntation with Peter over his hypocrisy of being ok to eat with the Gentiles in some situations but pulling away from the table when some of his Jewish collegaues were in town. For Paul, the overarching concern in Galatians is how people are saved, and Paul will continue to argue that people are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Galatians, and others of his letters, Paul is concerned about what we try to add to the gospel. When Peter pulls away from the table, Paul is immediately upset because it sends the message that there is a difference between the Jew and the Gentile regardless of their shared faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ. And if there is something that separates, than something has been added to the gospel. If the Gentiles wanted full fellowship with the Jews, than they'd have to be circumcised, observe food laws, and other customs. Paul was concerned that Peter's actions would add to the gospel.

I got to thinking about things that we add to the gospel- either as churches or individuals. I spoke Sunday about how churches sometimes add things onto the gospel like politics (you need to vote a certain way or be part of a certain party in order to be right with God) or theological perspective (in some Christian circles we ought to agree on the death and resurrection of Jesus, but if we differ on some theological perspective, than all of a sudden we're separated from each other). And I know from personal experience that I as an individual add to the gospel as well. Sometimes it's the gospel plus time with God (you're ok with God because of Christ's death and resurrection and the time you spend with God), or plus the time you serve, or plus the money you donate. The irony is that all of these things are good things, but in effect they are responses to what God has done; they are are activities we participate in as followers of Christ, but they are not things that we do in order to convince God to save us, otherwise, we've added to the gospel.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A Heroic VBS


It' s been a busy time lately as Tarina and the children's ministries' crew wraped up a hugely successful VBS over a week ago. There were about 90 or so students each night, a numerous and great volunteer staff, and best of all, the children donated enough money to purchase 6 Wonder Capes for sick and hospitalized children here in Sioux Falls (and it was actually 12 capes thanks to the Wonder Capes owner's generosity with a matching gift).

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Freedom

Hillcrest begins it summer series this Sunday called "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Freedom" that will take us through the book of Galatians for the next three months. And while Galatians is a meaty book and one worthy of three months of Sunday, we'll also have some fun. Some of the sermon titles include the following:
  • Religion is Dead
  • Good Doesn't Always Win
  • This Church Breaks the Law
  • Dead Man Walking

Check out Hillcrest's site for more information.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Powerhouse Tutoring Center Update



There are several updates concerning the Powerhouse Tutoring Center:

  • Jessi Matson, our director, is in town! She'll begin to get her feet wet to this new project in the days and weeks to come, but it's great to have her back.

  • Work continues on the house. Because of the burst of nice weather Sioux Falls has had, we've had difficulty getting framers to come in and frame the basement. So, we will do it ourselves this coming Saturday and hopefully be able to move quickly with the more technical and professional work (plumbing, electrical, etc).

  • We received a grant! Special thanks to the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation for their financial partnership with the Powerhouse Tutoring Center!

  • We also have our first student registered for tutoring this fall! Much work remains to insure that more students participate with this opportunity, but it's encouraging to have one name on the roster!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Land of a Thousand Hills Update


Hillcrest has donated two of these coffee bikes since beginning our partnership with Land of a 1000 Hills last fall. Each bike costs $250 and as Hillcresters donate money for the coffee they drink on Sundays, the extra amount after paying our costs goes to the purchase of bikes such as these. You can read more about the bikes and all the good they do for the Rwandan coffee farmer here.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Vacation

It's been a good past couple of weeks as I've been on vacation, which subsequently meant a break from the blog. I've been out of the office since May 18 and have completed most of the 'honey-do' list.

We also took the kids away for some time at a hotel in Owatonna, MN, where they had a great indoor waterpark that was actually open (several other Minnesota hotel waterparks are closed during the week as schools are still in session). A bonus was that the kids, all four of them, ate free at the hotel restaurant! We mini-golfed, went to a museum, played and ate at a park, went to a zoo and kids' carnival, and of course soaked up the waterpark. From there we went to my folks' lake place in Western Minnesota and had a great time with friends and family- the boys even managed to catch some fish! Tarina and I spent a couple of nights here thanks to my folks and family agreeing to watch our kids which was great as well.