Why Children's Ministry is Vital

 

“Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.”

                                                                 Henry Ward Beecher

 
This past week we had a fantastic time at our Kid’s Cooking Camp! We’re thankful to the many of you who invested your time, loaned appliances, or generously gave so we can invest in children’s ministries. We’re blessed to have a church family that’s committed to investing in the next generation!
  Our children/teen ministry is not just another program. Though it has sociological dimensions, our priority is on the spiritual and eternal. There are programs like Scouts, FFA, youth sports, dance teams, etc., that will help a young person develop character, but they won’t help a young person know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We are committed to our programs being gospel driven. Our prayer and commitment are that the young people who attend our programs will have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, live more heavenly now and spend eternity in heaven.
  We’re continually looking for ways to increase our effectiveness with the next generation. We want to be a community of believers who serve today and plan for tomorrow. If today’s young people are to be the Christ-followers, church members and leaders in 2050, how do we help them get there? How should we change our thinking?
  The primary seasons of faith formation are during childhood and the teen years. Church researcher, George Barna’s studies concluded that spiritual beliefs are largely set by the time a person reaches thirteen. Research has found that among adults ages 18-29, the church dropout rate is 64%. If consistent church attendance has never been part of a child’s life during their formative years, it’s improbable it will be in adulthood. We want children to be prepared for this brief life and eternal life. To accomplish that, it’s vital that we spiritually develop the youth in our church family.
  We have a biblical mandate. We’re commanded to do this. The last words Jesus said before He ascended into heaven was that the business of the church is to make disciples. That means as parents, the young people that are given to us must be disciples. Parents are to share the gospel with their children so that they become Christ-followers and train them to be servants and leaders in the church. For the rest of us in the church family, some who’ve been walking with Christ for years, we have a responsibility to disciple younger folk. It’s a church family effort. That means serving the Lord in the nursery, Grace Kids, Amped and Grace Student Ministries.
  A critical factor of whether young people raised in the church stay in the church after they graduate in those post-high school years is that they had at least one friendship with an adult outside of their parents in the church. Relationships take time with each other to develop. We have a biblical mandate to befriend and invest our lives in young people for the Lord.  
  Our future depends on it. The hard facts are that if we don’t invest in young people today, our church won’t be here tomorrow. If we don’t raise up a younger generation of committed Christ-followers, who will worship the Lord, reach this community, lead and take the baton to keep running the Christian race in the future.
  A high percentage of churches in America are greying out. It’s a massive crisis. From a practical level, we must invest in the next generation. We must disciple younger leaders because they’re the ones who will make sure that Christ’s mission continues and is carried forward into the future.
  We need their energy. The message never changes yet the methods continually adapt. Young people bring freshness, excitement and energy to a church. The older generation needs that. They need our maturity. We need their energy. We need each other. We’re a family. A healthy family has grandparents, parents, and children, a church family models that.  
  Yet, to have that it takes older believers willing to take great risks and do the things that can be difficult like going to hard places and even enduring persecution. We need the passion of the younger generation, so it’s vital that we develop young believers and leaders in our church.
  Children model for us what it means to be a Christ-follower. They model for us what we often forget as “sophisticated” adults. Let me suggest four aspects of this.
  They remind us that to be a Christ-follower you must have absolute trust. Children trust others for everything—their food, their lodging, the arms of others who carry them. Regarding trust in God, the child’s ability to believe hasn’t been wounded by cruel deception or a cynical world. Those who receive the kingdom like a little child have the saving element of faith. They have belief plus trust. They believe in Jesus, but it’s more than a mind-belief—they trust Jesus for everything to do with salvation and life.
  They remind us that to be a Christ-follower you must have pure humility. Children don’t engage in the various forms of pride of adulthood. They’re not proud of their morality or virtues. A child doesn’t battle self-righteousness to come to Christ. A small child is free from the pride of knowledge. He has no education or degrees to pile up before the cross. Children are teachable. They receive the gospel without attempting to complicate or add to it. Because children have not developed the pride of adulthood, they readily repent. Little ones quickly cry over a wrong done. Their unseared consciences still have their powerful moral instruments intact. They’re miserable over their sins. Uncontaminated humility leaves a young soul open to receiving the greatest of gifts, the gift of salvation.
  They remind us that to be a Christ-follower you must have complete receptiveness. Children know how to receive a gift—they just take it. On their first birthday, they’re not sure what a gift is. As two-year-olds, if they have siblings, they understand well enough. By the time they’re three, they’re really into receptivity! The wrapping paper flies! As David Goodling explains: “A little child takes its food, its parents’ love and protection, because they are given, without beginning to think of whether it deserves them or whether it is important enough to merit such attention. So must we all receive God’s kingdom and enter into it.”
  They remind us that to be a Christ-follower you must have sincere love. Children easily return love for gifts. Enthusiastic hugs and kisses and multiple “Thanks” are showered on the giver. Spiritually, “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Total love is the province of those who receive the kingdom as little children.
  We’re privileged to share God’s truth with the next generation. We can each leave a heavenly legacy. Together let’s commit to raise the next generation of Christ-followers, servants and leaders for our future church. Christ-followers steadfast in their faith and passionate about spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth! That work needs to begin today.

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Church Family: Dancing in the Minefields

 “And we went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storms
And it was harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for.” 

                                                                               Andrew Peterson

 As a married couple do you have a song? Did you play it on Valentine’s Day? For Jane and me, it’s always been Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? by Anne Murray.
  When I conduct a wedding, it’s interesting to learn what song the couple feels is a picture of their love for their special day. Often, it’s a recent popular love song about the positive, romantic side of love. Yet, there’s another side of marriage, the dark side. During pre-marital counseling, I include sessions on how to fight a clean fight or working through differences over sex or finances. Frequently, I get starry eyed looks of, “we don’t need this, we won’t have those conflicts” staring back at me.  

  Maybe that’s why I appreciate Andrew Peterson’s song Dancing in the Minefields. It’s a poignant ode to the complexities and challenges of marriage. With a combination of vulnerability, depth, and hope, Peterson explores the realities of navigating the treacherous landscape of marriage. It’s a metaphor for the challenges and risks couples face when committing to a lifelong journey together. Marriage is not always smooth sailing but can often feel like treading through dangerous territory. Yet rather than fearing the obstacles, Peterson encourages embracing the dance amidst the minefields, finding beauty, love, and joy in the midst of the struggles.

  Church relationships are like that too. A church isn’t a religious social club, it’s a family. Yet, as a family of brothers and sisters in Christ, there’s some Dancing in the Minefields. Too often we forget that a church is made up of redeemed sinners. The ideal won’t happen until we get Home.   

  Today we’re celebrating our 6^th Anniversary in this building. God has been so good to us! You’re sitting in a “miracle.” God’s hand was here and so evident providing all along the way from purchasing the land to our first service in this facility. We never want to forget His goodness to us! We want to unite together in praising God for all that He has done for us and how He has so wonderfully blessed us on this 6^th Anniversary!

  Yet, in a church family we must also remember that as in a marriage, we’re all sinners saved by grace. Sometimes we’re so focused on the “grace,” we forget the “sinners” side. A local church is made up of redeemed sinners, yet the completeness of our redemption won’t happen until heaven. Until then we all struggle with our sinful minefields. Family is messy, even the family of God. We say the wrong thing. We get on each other’s nerves. We disagree, get offended and even become angry, but if we will submit to King Jesus, we’ll grow in grace through it, grow closer to Him and each other. 

  God uses conflict to open our eyes to our blind spots to help us grow to be more like Jesus. Yet, too often conflicts (even small ones) instead of encouraging Christlike growth result in some believers exiting rather than problem-solving. The church isn’t seen as a family but as a “spiritual retail outlet.” So, if you’re not getting the service that you feel you deserve, you go shopping for another one. Yet, the next church has redeemed sinners too and we often carry the same unresolved baggage from our last church into our new one. It’s so much better to biblically problem-solve, grow in grace and persevere. Our goal is not to be “nice Christians” who fake love. Our goal is to be authentic and like Jesus. That will take us the rest of our lives.

  God will never give us a beautiful, flaw free dance. He has something so much better. He wants our love for each other to deepen through conflict and even pain. As we grow closer to Him, we’ll grow closer to each other.

  As in a healthy marriage, to grow more like Jesus requires two attitudes – selflessness and sacrifice. Most conflict arises because those are missing. Can you imagine a couple having a fight because they’re too selfless and sacrificial? As you’ll never be happy in a marriage, if you approach it with, What’s in it for me? The same is true of a church. And if you don’t get this, you’ll soon be heading down the road looking for that next church that will fulfill your desire for – What’s in it for me?

  As a healthy marriage takes two hosts, the same is true of a healthy church, multiple ones. To be fulfilled in Christ’s Church, you must come as a servant. We are saved to serve (Ephesians 2:10). Isn’t that the example that Jesus gave us as He washed His disciples’ feet? Unhappy Christians don’t serve but sit and complain. So, I have a few challenges for us before our next Anniversary. 

  Let’s stop playing it safe. This past week I had the privilege of talking with our J.O.Y. ministry. I challenged them to break out of their safe circles of befriending and hanging with those like them and in the same age bracket. Seniors need friendships with young people, not just other seniors.

  The same is true for all of us. Are your friends all pretty much like you? Same age, family and social status? That’s not a biblical model. A church family is diverse, not just in its make-up, it’s diverse in its friendships. The Christian life isn’t about being safe. You won’t grow in grace if you only stay in the same “safe” friendships.

  Lower your expectations of others. When we walk in a church, we know that we’re sinners. We know that we recently had a fight with our spouse or complained about something. Yet, we don’t want others to be sinners…but they are. That doesn’t mean we settle for mediocrity. It does mean that we show God’s grace to others just as we want them to show it to us.  

  Spend daily time with God. If you don’t regularly spend time with the Father, you’re not going to like His family. It’s difficult to worship together if we’re not on the same page spiritually. It’s amazing how daily time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer changes your outlook.

  Continually grow in gratitude. A believer should be the most grateful person. We know what we deserve. Yet not only have we been rescued from Hell, we also have Heaven waiting for us and innumerable blessings from the Father in our journey through this life. So, develop the habit of counting your blessings. Be thankful for your brothers and sisters in Christ, even the ones who annoy you a little. Grow in grace and gratitude.

  Healthy church relationships are like dancing in the minefield, yet as we learn to dance, we grow more in His likeness and know more of His joy! 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

The First 35 Years!

 

“Our privilege is twofold. We have an amazing task, 

and we get it to do it among people we get to love.” Daryl Dash

 
It’s been a year of anniversaries for me. In May I was honored for twenty years of service as the chaplain of the Burlington Police Department. Then, on July 2^nd our church family joined Jane and me as we celebrated 40 years of marriage and this weekend marks 35 years as your pastor.
  Little did Jane and I realize that as we moved our family from Detroit that we would some day be celebrating 35 years as your pastor in Burlington. We were in the midst of assisting a new church plant on the northwest side of the Detroit suburbs when God called us here. They celebrated their launch of their first Sunday on our first Sunday in Burlington.
  No doubt you have heard the old saying, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Wisconsin was not our first choice of places to minister. Jane and I had both gone to school in Watertown and the college we attended sadly had an adversarial relationship with the community. Then, most of our family and friends lived in Michigan. We thought that we might serve the Lord in Wisconsin for five or so years and then head back to Michigan…and an opportunity did arise, but I turned it down. It just didn’t seem like it was God’s will.
  Today this is our home. You are our family. This is our community (please, just don’t demand that we be Packer fans).
  Looking back. Burlington was the smallest town either of us have lived in. In 1988, the city didn’t have a traffic light. I quickly realized how small the city was when I opened a bank account the next morning after we moved in at what was then “the Bank of Burlington.” The woman at the front desk greeted me with, “You’re the minister who moved in last night.”
  Yet I look back with gratitude at the faith and hope of those 30 some people who called us to come. The church had recently gone through some deep waters. That small group had discussed closing, but they persevered. They didn’t just talk about making changes, as so many churches do, they truly wanted change. They were cognizant that it was change or die…and so we did.
  They weren’t astronomical changes. Most were incremental. Many times, we fail to realize that as each of us needs to grow spiritually, churches too must grow spiritually…and pastors must grow spiritually. My approach and philosophy of ministry today is very different from my approach to ministry in 1988. God was going to work on my heart.
  Funerals are the dark valley of being a pastor. God was so gracious to me in my first one at our church. It was for a dear old saint, Bess Norum, who was 95-years young. Bess was a firecracker and had sung in the choir for Evangelist Billy Sunday’s crusades and Bess was ready to go Home. It helped prepare me for my next funeral of a young mother who was a cancer victim and left behind a husband and two young children.
  In thirty-five years, there are thousands of memories. Yet, as I look back, I continually marvel at the faith of our church family. They trusted the Lord. They trusted Him to work through our leadership. There were some big challenges and some deep waters, but they remained faithful. We changed our philosophy of ministry from internally focused to externally focused, our music, our version of Scripture, even our location to our present building. Those are radical changes for a church. Many a church has died because they refused to grow and change. We are here today because of their faith in God and perseverance.
  Looking at the present. The most dangerous place for a believer is to become satisfied and think that they’ve arrived. It’s even more dangerous for a church. Too many churches rest on the victories of yesterday.
  I’m so thankful that our church has a holy sense of discontent. There is a passion to continue to grow in grace and to reach our community with the gospel. Most churches talk about reaching their community but have internal barriers that hinder it like cliquishness, pettiness, legalism, liberalism or politicalization.
  Currently, most churches grow either through children in the church coming to Christ or believers from another area church transferring in, not through outreach. At Grace, we’re thankful for children who come to faith, yet hold that we’re co-laborers with other churches not competitors. Our mission field is our community and those who have not yet met our Savior.  
  I feel so blessed to systematically work our way through Scripture with you so that we grow in our understanding and application of His truth to our lives. This is our family! It’s a privilege to pray for each of you and to share your needs and burdens with the Father. I am so thankful that our church is growing in its understanding that our church is not a “business,” it’s a family of redeemed brothers and sisters. That means that we’re not clones. Our differences become building blocks of unity and spiritual growth. Today our church is made up of those from varied walks of life, marital situations, and economic levels. Committed discipleship is one of our goals as we continue to move forward together.
  What’s ahead? Personally, I’m thankful that I don’t know. Retirement is not in our plans. We still have a fiery passion to take new ground and reach more folk for His glory! We don’t want to coast or be satisfied with the status quo. We want to invest and be part of raising up the next generation to love Jesus and reach our community for the glory of God.
  Yet, there comes a time to step away. Most pastors leave too soon, some though stay too long. Jane and I want to be sensitive that we are helping you move forward into becoming more like Jesus. All of us need to be cognizant of the fragility of life and good health. Experience has taught us that one’s health situation can change quickly. We never want to get in the way of God’s plans or what He’s doing. Afterall, it’s His church.
  One of our next steps is to continue with our master plan and build a children’s wing. We want to plan for the future and next generation. This church is not about us, it’s Him and them.
  Jane and I look forward to one day going Home. Yet we know that we are so blessed to have had a taste of heaven for the past 35 years of serving Him by serving you, our Grace Church family! All I can say is: Thank you for being so good to us! We love you so much!!

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

The Gift - God's Love for All

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” Anne Frank

 My nephew, Bryce Pegram, and his wife, Chelsea, recently had a daughter and named her after my Mom, Dorothy, (they’re calling her “Dottie”). I teased Chelsea that Dottie will need to learn shorthand someday. 

  My Mom was the best secret Santa. Maybe it was because she had five children but Mom knew how to keep Christmas under wraps. As a kid, it drove me crazy. Like most kids, I was brimming with curiosity, especially about what I was getting for Christmas. My Mom wrote all of her Christmas lists in shorthand. Your name would be at the top of a list and then there were these notes of what looked like chicken scratch. It was impossible to decipher. 

  When she would run errands, there would be a great search of the house for where she might have hidden my presents. I never did find them. Once a present was under the tree, I’d try to carefully pull back the tape and peek. She was great at wrapping gifts too and I never did succeed.

  So what’s the weirdest Christmas gift that you’ve ever received? I’ve had a few over the years. Jane won’t let me share any personal ones for fear that the guilty party might read my blog. But I’m so thankful that in my 40 years of ministry, no one has even given me praying hands.

  Pastors though do periodically receive some “interesting” Christmas gifts. One friend in the ministry received “Jesus Bandages.” Another was given a large bottle of Tequila. One received a Steak and Shake gift card with $7.33 left on it. But that was surpassed by the pastor who received a gift card to a local restaurant…and there was no money on the card! One received a heavy blanket and a pillow from the local hospital. Another one got a Jesus-head candle! The wick was in the top of his head! My favorite though was the pastor who was given a bobblehead of himself. (I think he probably re-gifted it to his mother-in-law).

  Have you ever stressed over finding the perfect present for someone? It’s sometimes difficult to make that decision. Do I get them something they need or want? Do I give them clothes or money? Will they like it? Will they ever wear it? Will they return it? Will they regift it to someone else? Will I see it in next year’s white elephant gift exchange?

  Today we’re starting a new series, Unwrapping the Gifts of Christmas. It’s about the gifts that God has given us.

  So what is it that you want for Christmas this year? Maybe a better question is, what is it you want from Christmas? Or maybe even better, what do you need from Christmas this year? It’s easy to want things that aren’t the best or even good for us.

  God’s focus isn’t on what we want, it’s on what we need. During this season, let’s prepare ourselves for what God has to offer us this Christmas. God has some wonderful gifts if we’ll open our lives to what He has for us.

  The greatest gift is a growing understanding that we can have of God because He came to us in the form of a baby named Jesus. The Incarnation changed everything about how so many thought of God in the Old Testament. Christmas still changes everything. And God’s Christmas gifts are so different from ours. Think about it…

  God’s Christmas gifts are just what we need. All of us from time to time long for things that our Heavenly Father knows isn’t good for us. Like a parent who limits a child’s candy intake, God sometimes doesn’t give us what we think we need.

  For example, most of us think that we need more money. Most of us, even those who never buy a ticket, have thought longingly about what we’d do with all of that money if we won the lottery. Google lottery winners and you’ll find that many of them wished that they’d never won because it ruined their lives. Some even tried to return the money. Yet, God’s gifts to us are always what we need, even if they’re not perhaps what we want.

  God’s Christmas gifts are just the right size. (Just a hint for any husbands, if you’re buying clothes for your wife, it’s better to err on the side of being a little small). God though always gets us the right size. Wise is the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:8-9: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” God’s gifts are always just right because He knows exactly what will fit our lives.  

  God’s Christmas gifts don’t need a warranty. Other than a car, I rarely ever purchase an extended warranty. God’s gifts never need one. They’re not just timeless, they’re everlasting with eternal benefits.

  One of the problems we all struggle with is that we are far too “this world” in our thinking. We’re like a child obsessed with a Happy Meal toy but missing out on what has true lasting value. One day all the material things that we cherish in this world will be gone…forever. The only thing that we can take with us to heaven is those we’ve led to the Lord. That’s why it’s critical that we share and live out the gospel with our families. All of those things this temporary world tells us are critical will one day be gone. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ lasts forever.

  God’s Christmas gifts never need to be returned. The day after Christmas there will be a long line of shoppers returning gifts that are either broken, the wrong size, or unwanted. Yet, once we’ve accepted God’s gifts to us, we never want to return them – they’re life-changing. They make a difference, not just in this world, but in eternity.

  God’s Christmas gifts are forever. Have you ever noticed when you’re up high, things appear smaller? One nervous airplane passenger finally got up enough courage to glance out the window. He said to the person next to him, “It’s true what they say, people do look like ants from up here.” His seatmate said, “Those are ants…we haven’t taken off yet!”

  Things look a lot different when you’re up high. When you look at our world from outer space, the earth’s surface appears completely smooth. We know there are deep valleys and high mountains, but when you’re back away a few thousand miles, it appears as smooth as a billiard ball. Seeing life from God’s perspective gives His gifts to us true value. Yet, we’ll miss it if we fail to look down at this world from a higher perspective!

  My friend, the best gifts you and I will ever receive are God’s Christmas gifts. They’re life-changing. They’re eternally transforming. As we work through this series, will you choose to let them change you?

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.

 

 

Trunk 'N Treat -- Showing Kindness

 

"You are a Christian because somebody cared. 

Now it’s your turn.” Warren Wiersbe

  Do you remember trick or treating as a child? What was one of your favorite costumes? One of my favorite traditions as a child was buying a pumpkin and attempting to cut a face in it. Some have such great talent at that (I’m not one of them). To me, it’s a much better tradition than buying a plastic pre-made one at a store. There’s something fulfilling about a healthy “artistic”  opportunity to come up with something creative.

  This all reminds me of one of my favorite Christian Halloween stories. It seems that a woman had recently been baptized. One of her coworkers asked her what it was like to be a Christian. She was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer. But, then she looked up, she saw a jack-o’-lantern on the desk and answered, “It’s like being a pumpkin.” Her co-worker asked her to explain that one.

  “Well, God picks you from the patch and brings you in, and washes off all the dirt on the outside that you got from being around all the other pumpkins. Then He cuts off the top and takes all the yucky stuff out from inside the pumpkin. He removes all those seeds and slime of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then God carves you a new smiling face and puts his light inside of you to shine for all to see. It’s our choice to either stay outside and rot on the vine or come inside and be something new and bright.

  I like that! One of my greatest memories from childhood was a friendship with a retired couple that lived across the road from our subdivision, the Jamesons. Like most kids at Halloween, we were looking for a few more houses to go Trick or Treating at. Someone had the idea of going across the road to the Jamesons. Now none of us knew the Jamesons but it was Halloween and we loved candy…and candy is a big motivator for a kid.

  They had a long driveway with a fence and gate, and their house set back probably 50 yards from that gate. Back then, I didn’t know anyone with a fenced-in yard with a gate. Their drive was surrounded by trees, so it was a bit spooky – but it was one more house that might have candy, so we decided to take the risk. I’m so glad that we did.

  Not only did they have treats for our gang of kids they welcomed us into their home…and a friendship with the neighborhood kids was born. They’d make special treats for the kids. Because they owned a huge parcel of property, Mr. Jameson would hook up his tractor to a wagon and load us all up for wagon rides, followed by ice cream floats back at their house. There never seemed to be a bad time to drop in at the Jameson’s. They were so kind and loving to children.   

  What a difference kindness makes! Kindness with no strings attached and expecting nothing in return. The Bible refers to kindness some 40 times. If anyone lived out kindness, it was the Lord Jesus. As believers, we are called to be Jesus in our world. That means that we’re commanded to be kind. It’s part of loving your neighbor as yourself.

  My mentor, Dr. Dave Cummins (for me “Dad” Cummins) often said, “Scott, I have never regretted being too kind” and neither have I. In a cold, harsh, often cruel world Christ-followers should first be known for being kind. Isn’t that what we see from the Cross? “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”? Isn’t that what we see in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan – kindness? He was good because he was kind. 

  Our Trunk ‘N Treat is an opportunity for us to show kindness, often to complete strangers. We’re inviting our community to come to our place so that we can show Jesus’ kindness to them. We’re inviting them to come to our place so that we can demonstrate generosity just as God has shown to us. We’re inviting them to come to our place so that we can welcome them with a warm smile and a friendly face.

  It’s an opportunity to be kind to their children and grandchildren. Most of us don’t pay nearly the amount of attention when someone is kind to us as we do when someone is kind to our children and/or grandchildren. When someone goes the extra mile to be generous to them, to encourage them, to notice and compliment them – it gets our attention.

  We want this event to use it to show kindness to small businesses both within and outside of our church. It’s why we’ve invited Jacobs Smokehouse to bring their food truck. We want people to come get free treats from us and potentially buy food from them. Not only have they endured through Covid, but then the State closed the road to their business for repairs. It could have sunk them and resulted in them going out of business.

  At Grace, we want to be part of lending them a hand. Even if folk don’t buy food from them, it helps Jacobs Smokehouse with free advertising.

  Add to that, we have several small businesses both in and out of our church. We want to be kind to them by letting them decorate a vehicle that advertises their business as they give away candy.

  One of the core teachings of our church is that we can take any seasonal celebration and use it as an opportunity to build bridges of kindness and be an opportunity to share the gospel. It might seem that one of the more challenging holidays to apply that teaching is Halloween, yet in reality, it’s one of the easiest ones.

  First, it’s one of the few times that the neighbors and community are coming to us. Then, this is the one time of year when people are thinking about the afterlife, of life after death. Granted the secular view of this is distorted, yet it’s an opportunity to build a bridge to a discussion about the reality that we are eternally existing souls.

  Most people believe they will live forever, but the question is, if we are going to live forever, what neighborhood will we live in? Halloween acknowledges that there is another life beyond the short one. Though people might make fun of it, they can’t help but wonder what truth there is to life beyond this one. Along with that is the almost universal belief or wish of an afterlife of light reunited with loved ones.

  Halloween gives us the opportunity to share why we believe that Jesus is the only Savior who conquered death and who can give us eternal life and peace, and a home in the neighborhood of joy if we trust Him as Savior.

  At a time when those outside the Church often think Christ-followers are against nearly everything, we want to share what we are for. We are for them! We are for God! We are for sharing the only hope this world has! We are for sharing that God loves them so much that He gave His very best for them, His only Son! And we want to be Jesus to them!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

DNA: The Building Blocks of Who We Are

“Often in life we forget the things that we should remember

and remember the things that we should forget.”

  

  While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and resumed their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table but she didn't miss them until they’d been driving for about forty minutes. By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses. And all the way back, her husband was the classic grumpy old man, fussing and complaining. He scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up. Finally, to her relief, they arrived at the restaurant. As the berated woman got out of the car and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, “While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and credit card.” 

  According to researcher, Karen Bolla, everyone periodically forgets things. Here are the six things we most often forget: Names – 83%; Where something is – 60%; Telephone numbers – 57%; Words – 53%; What was said – 49%; Faces - 42%. And if you can’t remember whether you’ve just done something, you’re in good company with 38% of the population.

  The Bible has a lot to say about remembering. The word remember is used 234 times in the Bible. But God knows how forgetful we are. In the Old Testament, we find that God continually gave His people memory reminders to assist them in remembering. In the New Testament, we have two of those that were given to the local church so we wouldn’t forget what Jesus has done for us in our salvation: Baptism and Communion.

  For the next several weeks we’re breaking from our series on 1 Samuel for a new summer series: DNA – The Building Blocks of Who We Are. We want to unpack who we are and why we do what we do at Grace. Many of you are new to our church and we want you to know our DNA and why we do what we do. Yet, even for those who’ve been here for years or decades, it’s easy to forget our purpose or what we’re calling our DNA.

  If you asked most Americans what makes being part of a church important, according to The Pew Research Center, you’d hear reasons like…attending church is important because we have children. Others admit that they primarily go to church because they feel obligated. Some attend a church because they’re looking for guidance to help them through life. Some go to church to feel God’s presence. Then, others go to church for fellowship and social reasons.

  While none of those reasons are wrong, they’re not necessarily biblical and they’re not our DNA at Grace Church. While other gospel teaching churches are similar to ours, none of us are clones. Each church has its own distinctives, values, and personality. While we do not believe that we are the best church in the community and we don’t believe in competing or trying to “sell” people on our church. We are though committed to being the best church that we can be for the glory of God. We are committed to building His Kingdom not our little Empire.

  We also know we’re not for everybody. There are many good churches within driving distance of our church. They have pastors and people who love the Lord and are seeking to please Him. That’s why every week at our church prayer meeting we pray for area gospel-preaching churches and we partner together with them on ministries like our teen program.

  At Grace, we want to be transparent about who we are. Many times when someone has called or visited our church and we find that they’re looking for a certain program or type of ministry that’s not us, we direct them elsewhere. At Grace, we’re committed to the biblical reality that every Christian should be a fully committed Christ-follower. There are times though when because of our values, personality, or DNA, someone will thrive more spiritually in another church. Growing spiritually, becoming more like Jesus, and glorifying Him, is more important than being part of Grace Church. We just don’t want to be an obstacle in someone’s loving and being more like Jesus.

  We are though very, very excited about what the Lord is doing here at Grace and where we’re headed. In the last few years, we’ve seen more come to Christ or get juiced about their faith or walk with the Lord than we have in decades. We’ve experienced a fresh moving of God’s Spirit in our church family, more than ever before. We’re headed in a direction and we want to make sure our church family knows where we are going and remembers who we are.

  For some, this series will be just a good reminder. It’s easy for a church to become distracted or focused on the nonessentials. For others, this will be new. Perhaps you thought that all churches are essentially the same. They’re not. Every church has its own DNA.  

  What is church DNA? Essentially, it’s the essence or soul of a church. It’s the often unspoken assumptions that shape a church’s vision, values, and mission. It’s subtly mirrored in a church’s symbols, stories, and history. It’s difficult to define because it’s invisible, like the air we breathe.

  Sometimes DNA is most easily understood when things are out of alignment when something isn’t quite right. A church that is out of sync with its DNA is one of the greatest causes of conflict in a local church family and creates more damage than nearly any other church issue. Incongruence with DNA can be highly destructive.

  Perhaps you remember several years ago when Sears launched “the softer side of Sears” campaign, it bombed. Why? Because when people think of Sears, they think of tools or appliances, not nightgowns and dress suits. It didn’t fit their DNA. Healthy churches have a clear sense of identity. They know their DNA and they don't readily deviate from it.

  At Grace we want you to know our DNA, so for the next few weeks, we’ll be working through some of our values and what we believe is important. It won’t be exhaustive. It will help all of us though be on the same page, so we can grow together, better pray, and move forward together for His glory…because that’s what it’s really all about – pleasing King Jesus!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

The first 33 years are the best!

 “If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, 

how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?” David Livingstone

 

  Last week I learned that a friend of mine had a staffing need at his church. I immediately thought of a young man I knew that I felt might fit the position and reached out to my young friend. He wasn’t really interested because it would mean he’d have to relocate from the state he grew up in. 

  As Jane and I discussed it, we chuckled. Many years ago we foolishly determined that there was one state that we did not want to pastor in. Someone wisely said, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Jane and I are so thankful and feel very blessed that God’s wiser plans overruled our limited ones.

  This weekend I’m beginning my 34^th year of ministry as your pastor. The national average for a tenure for a pastor is five years. (I always was a bit of an overachiever). There is no place on earth that Jane and I would rather be than serving the Lord at Grace Church. Jane and I believe that we are in the greatest church in the world.

  It seems like it was only yesterday that we pulled up in our U-Haul truck from Detroit. At other times it feels like we’ve been here all of our lives. I do know that we wouldn’t trade it. This is our home. You are our family! We love this community!

  We are blessed with lifelong friends. Earlier this week a man who attended Grace many years ago contacted me just to see how things were going at Grace. He came to Christ at Grace. Though we haven’t see each other in well over a decade, we’re still friends and brothers in Christ.

  When Jane and I travel, if we can, we’ll get together with friends who moved but were once part of the Grace family. God allowed us the privilege of ministering to them and then moved them to another part of His harvest field. What a joy to see how they’re continuing to walk with the Lord, serving Him and seeking to make a difference for His Kingdom.

  Each Sunday my heart is moved as I look out and see the faces of those that the Lord has given me the privilege of being a part of their coming to Christ, or seeing them grow spiritually or had the privilege of baptizing them. Susan Riddle, our church clerk, who is the master of all statistics recently shared with me that with the addition of those recently baptized, I’ve now baptized 200 people at Grace Church. God is so good!

  I’ve had the joy of dedicating countless parents and babies to the Lord. I’ve lost track of how many weddings. You do feel a tad ancient when the children of someone whose wedding you officiated now has college-age children and a slew of grandchildren.

  When you’ve walked with someone through a valley or difficulty, there’s a lifelong bond. What a privilege I’ve been given to be there, to pray with folk, often in their darkest hour and then seen the Lord wonderfully intervene. One of the burdens tinted with joy of a long pastorate is that you must often bury your friends. Yet, heaven is all the sweeter for us because we have many folk who have gone before us…and no doubt there will be more that will, as Bunyan said, cross over “to the Celestial City.” For a pastor who understands his biblical calling, the ministry isn’t a job. Being a pastor means being there for people when their burdens are so heavy to help them carry the load (Galatians 6:2).

  An old rabbi asked a faithful student, “Do you love me?” The student answered, “Yes, you know I do.” “Then do you know what causes me pain?” “No.” “If you’re not close enough to know what causes me pain,” said the rabbi, “then you are not close enough to love me.”

  Being a pastor means that you’re close to people and willingly share their pain. It means being there when someone is struggling with their marriage or a wayward child. It means being there when someone received a medical prognosis of an incurable disease or impending death. It means being there to help someone turn to the Lord and marshal enough courage to pick up the pieces after failure and disgrace. It means being there when someone struggles with doubt or fear or other burdens.  

  We are blessed with a fantastic team. Many of our leaders have now served the Lord in their positions for years. We’re so blessed with godly committed Deacons: Dave Bonnar, Travis Brinks, Ryan Mattila, Ron Strelow, and Mike Weimer. Their counsel, commitment, and discernment is a gift to our church and to me. Rick Hall, as our church treasurer, and Karyn Borucki, as our Financial Secretary, love the Lord and passionately use their gifts to serve Him. And what would our church do without James Hauser, Gary Thompson, Susan Riddle, Jane Carson, and Mike Wiemer. They don’t serve our church for money but because they love the Master. 

  We are blessed with kindred spirits in ministry. Each week I pray for a list of pastors and churches. Many of them serve in our community. They’re not competitors, they’re co-laborers. They have our passion. They want to see people come to Christ and know what it is to be forgiven and on their way to heaven. I’m blessed to have many of them as close friends.

  We are blessed with a community that we love. Dorothy was right, “there’s no place like home.” Jane and I have now lived in three different homes in this community and have dear friends from each neighborhood.

  Many of our community leaders are close friends. It’s a privilege to pray for them and seek to encourage and support them.

  One of the blessings of a smaller community is that you’re often on a first-name basis with many local business owners, managers, or employees. You’re not some nameless customer but doing business and interacting with a friend. It’s a privilege to refer others to them because you know they’ll receive quality service from your friends.

  33 years of serving the Lord in a church family that you love and a community that you love! I’m a very rich man!

  If you study Scripture, you’ll find that the Bible tells us more about what isn’t in heaven, than what is there. One thing that I know, God has allowed Jane and I a little taste of heaven now by allowing us the privilege of serving Him these many years here at Grace. We are so blessed!  

 

 Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Erasing Fear

 

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”                                                   Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Back in the wild West, a stranger stands at a saloon bar. Suddenly a cowboy runs in screaming, “Hey, everybody, Big Bad John is coming to town.” Several others exclaim: “Big Bad John is the meanest, toughest, biggest outlaw in the West. Let’s run for it.” Everyone heads for the door except the stranger and the bartender. The bartender says, “Are you deaf, Mister? Big Bad John is coming!” The stranger replies, “I don’t know who he is, but he can’t be all that big and bad. I’m not afraid.” So the stranger and the bartender wait. Soon the saloon doors fly open and off their hinges, and a mountain of a man stomps through the door. Covered with scars and sporting a scowl, he demands a drink. The bartender meekly complies. The stranger nervously thinks to himself, “Now I wish I’d run away; this guy is the biggest, meanest-looking outlaw I’ve ever seen.” The outlaw downs the drink in one gulp, slams it the glass down on the bar, then turns and looks the stranger coldly in the eye to announce, “I don’t know about you, stranger, but I’m gettin’ outta here. I don’t wanna be here when Big Bad John comes in!”

Fear is a strong and complicated emotion. It can cause us to react and overreact. It can cause us to do things, say things, and feel things quickly and powerfully. It doesn’t go away quickly, sometimes for good reason. Fear is complicated because we’re not all afraid of the same things. Sometimes we’re not even sure why we’re afraid. At other times, our bodies and minds respond with fear for a variety of reasons. Fear is universal. As 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man…”

Alasdair Groves and Winston Smith, in their book Untangling Emotions, explain that it’s insightful how many different English words we have for fear. Words like uneasy, worried, nervous, anxious, tense, uptight, spooked, haunted, scared, afraid, panicked, terrified, and petrified occupy slightly different points on the spectrum, yet all express some version of the same core experience… Fear is everywhere and everyone deals with it.  There’s not a single person who doesn’t deal with fear in some way. We must compassionately acknowledge that fear is complex and recognize that strategies for dealing with fear are also complex.

Today we’re beginning a new sermon series: Fear: The Invisible Enemy. During this series, we’ll be looking at the broad spectrum of fear. One message might be the one that you need and be life-changing for you. For others, this series might be one piece of a really big puzzle that you’re putting together. Because of the power of God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, I believe that all of us will find this series helpful.

Anxiety and fear show up in surprising ways. Sometimes we don’t even know why we’re anxious. Sometimes we find ourselves going to bed feeling anxious. Other times, when we wake up we feel anxious, but nothing has happened. There are times when anxiety can be debilitating.

All of know what that’s like. For some fear is a much larger problem. Worry and fear aren’t just around the corner; they’re the clothes you wear every day, and maybe for good reason. Perhaps something traumatic happened to you, and now you find yourself being self-protective and hyper-vigilant. Others simply have a disposition—a family background, personality, physical make-up, body chemistry— that inclines them toward anxiety. And, for some, it’s not just a struggle; it’s nearly your identity. You don’t just struggle with worry; you’re a worrier.

My prayer is that this study will be used by our loving Heavenly Father to help each of us. Fear is a true enemy. And while worry, fear, and anxiety were a huge struggle before COVID-19, they’re enormous struggles now.

While fear is the invisible enemy, faith in the invisible Presence is the cure. Our Heavenly Father has promised us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

The prescription for fear is the promises of God. Just this one promise, “I am always with you” means that we’re never alone, never abandoned, never deserted. God is always with us. This promise is listed as the reason that God’s people are commanded not to fear. Our Heavenly Father’s promised presence is the reason we are told not to fear.

Consider each of these words: I. Am. With. You. The sovereign God, who is orchestrating all the events of life, walks with His people through their sorrows. Isolation, abandonment, and being alone are contrary to the very nature of our humanity. How many of you remember a moment in your childhood where you were lost and you thought you were all alone? Or how many of you know the sick feeling of people not standing up for you?

Satan loves to tempt us into believing that God has abandoned us. But the Bible tells us that, while we can’t see God and while we don’t always know what He’s doing, we can rest our souls and bank our lives on the fact that He’s always with us.

Often it’s a struggle to trust His promises. Someone has referred to it as a “promise battle.” Worry and fear are a battle, but the first step in winning that battle is rehearsing over and over again who’s ultimately in control.

In this series, we’ll explore the most common worries and fears that we experience, consider practical steps for overcoming these fears, and reflect upon fear in the light of God’s Word and a faith that promises again and again that we don’t need to live in fear. We want to experience the power of God to overcome our fears and live in peace with courage and hope.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.