Putting the Pieces of the ‘Vision Puzzle’ Together”
Posted on March 2nd, 2010
Pastor’s Column, published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for February, 2010)
As a child, I used to do puzzles. Often, I would choose a puzzle because of the picture on the box cover and I would put the puzzle together by starting with the border pieces on the edge and working my way in. It was so gratifying seeing the pieces of the puzzle coming together and looking like the picture on the box. I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I completed a puzzle. But it sure was frustrating when a piece or two of the puzzle went missing, and the puzzle could not be completed.
As we continue our Spiritual Transformation Journey, I’ve heard people say many times that they are still waiting and praying for God to reveal a vision of our future as a church. It is as if we’re waiting for the fog to lift so that we’ll see clearly a vision or a road map so that we can begin our spiritual journey in earnest. But for now, we’re just waiting and praying.
In the last few weeks, I’m beginning to realize that the vision for our future is not “out there” while we’re just waiting for God to unveil it. It is more likely that the vision for our future is within us! We are the vision of Farmville Baptist Church, and God is waiting on us to live out His call for our lives! We are like the pieces of the puzzle; each of us plays a unique part in the overall picture of God’s plan for our church. To the extent that we discern God’s will for our lives and have the courage to live it out as a church to the best of our understanding, we are putting the pieces of the “vision puzzle” together! No, we can’t see the whole picture beforehand, but we will see with greater clarity what that picture is when we begin to live out what we know. Furthermore, this vision puzzle does not have any edges or borders. We begin in the center and work our way out to an ever-expanding picture of what God wants us to be and to do in our community and our world! Finally, in order for the “vision puzzle” to be complete, every member of Farmville Baptist Church is needed to be a part of this discerning process to see who God is calling us to serve and what ministries God is calling us to join or to start in our community.
During these weeks of Lent, may God lead us all, to place us where He wants us, so that together we will put the pieces of the vision puzzle together and live into the kind of church God wants us to be!
Journeying on, Michael
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Looking Toward a New Year with Thanksgiving and Hope
Posted on December 31st, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for January, 2010)
As 2009 draws to a close, I look back with thanksgiving for the ways God has been active and working in Farmville Baptist Church. I am thankful for
- our church going on a spiritual journey to renew its vision and mission
- the Initiating Leadership Community for our spiritual journey
- the thirty people who participated in our prayer triplets
- a burgeoning collegiate ministry that has over 35 students adopted by our church members, and an active contingent of students attending worship
- Julie Gaines and Sara Thompson, our two college ministry interns
- an increasing number of members volunteering at FACES each month
- young adults and young families attending and joining the church
- a wonderful group of deacons excited about mobilizing the church for greater ministry and service
- our Sunday School teachers and students, choir members, children’s volunteers, and Wednesday night prayer group for their ongoing ministry
- our Social Committee members who minister through their gift of hospitality and cooking
- our building that is being used by “Reclaiming Our Lives Ministry” to serve the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of single mothers and their children
- a great staff in Kathy, Anita, Mc and Al
As I look toward 2010, I am hopeful that God will continue to show and lead us to be the presence of Christ in our community and beyond. God is good! I’m eager to see what God has in store for Farmville Baptist in 2010!
— Journeying on, Michael
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“Advent Conspiracy”
Posted on December 3rd, 2009
Pastor’s Column, published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for December, 2009)
Starting last Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, I began a new sermon series called “Advent Conspiracy.” Too often, preachers and Christians have complained that Christmas has become too commercialized, too much of the world and of the checkout line. Well, this year, I hope we can actually do something about that as we conspire against the prevailing powers of this world to live out and witness the true meaning of Christmas.
During these Sundays of Advent, we will learn how to worship more fully our true God and not the god of consumerism, because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus. We will also learn how to reorder our desires so that we’ll spend less on ourselves this Christmas in order to free our resources for things that truly matter. We will practice giving more to others of our presence, our hands, our words, our time, and our hearts. Finally we will be challenged to love all – the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, the sick, in ways that make a difference – because after all, for God so loved the world, that He send His only begotten Son. And during our Christmas Eve service, we will collect an offering to give solely to our community, so that even as we receive God’s greatest gift to us, we may, in our thankfulness and joy, share that gift with those around us. Read the rest of this entry »
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Thankful for the Saints Among Us
Posted on November 4th, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for November, 2009)
November 1 is “All Saints Day” in our liturgical calendar and in our worship service that morning, we will remember the members of our congregation who passed away this year. In addition to that remembrance, we will also acknowledge three members of Farmville Baptist by presenting them with a “Good and Faithful Servant” recognition. This acknowledgement is not a competition, and this year’s recipients are not “more worthy” than others in our congregation. It is simply a way for our church to publicly express our thanks and appreciation to individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to Farmville Baptist Church
This year, we will recognize Edith Ann Austin, who has served as a Sunday School teacher or department head since 1980. She has also served multiple terms on the Personnel, Constitution and Special Memorial Committees.
We will also recognize Janie Simpson, who has taught Sunday School since 1974, as well as served on the Audit, Personnel and Special Memorial Committees.
Betty Watson will also be recognized for her contributions as the Clerk for 26 years, for teaching Sunday School and being a Teller for over 20 years. Betty has also served on the Constitution, Stewardship, and Pastor Search Committees.
In addition to these three, we will also designate Peggy Cave as a Life Deacon in recognition for her four-term service as a deacon. Peggy sang in the choir for over 30 years and she also served as a volunteer choir director. She has served on the Personnel, Pulpit Supply, Library, Nominating, Music & Worship, Outreach, Preschool and Pastor Search Committees. She currently teaches a Sunday School class and leads the Wednesday night prayer time.
I am so thankful for these saints among us, and I hope you will be at church on November 1 to express your thanks to God for them.
— Yours in Christ, Michael
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“Being the Church ‘Outside the Box’”
Posted on September 30th, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for October, 2009)
At our second cluster retreat in Richmond last weekend, our Spiritual Transformation Journey initiating leadership team was asked at a breakout session to reflect on and answer the following fictional scenario:
“Due to an unfortunate “happening,” Farmville Baptist Church lost all of its buildings and resources inside its buildings. In the face of this new reality, share ideas of how the congregation can be the Church, the “living presence of Christ,” to those He is calling and gifting it to serve.”
I must admit, it was hard for us to imagine how we could be the church “outside the box,” outside the white brick building located on 132 N. Main Street. But we all agreed that we do not cease to be Farmville Baptist Church just because we no longer had a building. After some discussion, we came up with some interesting possibilities.
First of all, we talked about how the church could take our worship service “to the streets,” gathering under a tent in our parking lot, assembling in places like Brock Commons on Longwood campus, or meeting at Holly Manor or even at Piedmont Regional Jail. We might rent space in other churches, in schools or the movie theater to hold our worship service. We could also hold smaller worship services at many different locations (like in people’s homes) and then gather as the whole church family once a month in a rented space.
We might consider having Sunday School in restaurants, in people’s homes and dorm rooms, and not just on Sunday mornings, but every day of the week and at different times during the day. We could expand our small prayer groups and hold prayer meetings in the homes of our shut-ins and in the activity room of Brookview. We could utilize technology more—like email, our church website and Facebook—to stay connected 24-7, and to post and update prayer requests.
Finally, we agreed that instead of focusing on “our” ministries in “our” building, we could focus on joining forces with the many wonderful ministries already established in town, like FACES, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, “Reclaiming Our Lives Ministry,” and others. We also wouldn’t need to wait for the Missions and Outreach Committee to come up with missions opportunities—we could just do missions and intentionally serve others as part of our daily lives.
These are some of our answers to this fictional scenario, but we can actually do some of these things already regardless of whether we have a building or not! What possibilities can you imagine for Farmville Baptist to be the church “outside the box”? I hope you will ponder this question as a way to invite God to show you how Farmville Baptist can be the presence of Christ in our community in fresh, exciting and creative ways!
— Journeying on, Michael
Tags: church, outside the box
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Get a Life!
Posted on August 28th, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for September 2009)
Good news, folks — your pastor is about to get a life! Come on, admit it, you’ve been hoping it would happen . . . at least I know Beth has!
Seriously though, I’m excited about the five-week class and sermon series that I will lead during Sunday School and worship starting September 6. This summer, I’ve been reading a book called Get a Life! that deals with how a person can have a full and abundant life as promised by Jesus in John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” It is a very practical book, one that has challenged me to look deeper into my life and my faith. I hope to share some insights from what I’ve learned this summer, and I cordially invite all our adults and youth to attend the class Sunday mornings from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
Having issued my invitation, I do want to make it clear that this class may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The class will heavily depend on the active participation and sharing of those in attendance. To get the most out of the class and the sermon series, some might want to order the book Get a Life! It Is All About You by Reggie McNeal. For others, this topic might be “old hat,” and some Sunday School classes may rightly decide to continue meeting separately during those five weeks. Probably most of all, this class and sermon series is about me taking some risks and going a little bit out of my comfort zone to teach and preach in ways that I have not done so before.
During these five weeks, we will address some significant questions. Questions like “Why am I here?”, “What is really important to me?”, What am I really good at?”, and “What do I need to learn?” We will not be able to answer fully each of these questions, but my hope is that these questions will stimulate us to examine our lives so that we may live more fully into the lives that God has intended for us as individuals and as a church.
As we start a new school year, I hope you will join me in enrolling in the “school of life.” May God bless and enlighten us as we take this journey together.
— Journeying on, Michael
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Paying Attention
Posted on August 1st, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for August 2009)
It has been a joy for me to come back after my vacation to hear of all the exciting things that God is doing in the lives of the members of Farmville Baptist Church. In our Laity Sunday worship service on July 19, I loved seeing members of our prayer triplets being so at ease with each other and sharing about all the things they are learning from God. I heard the excitement in their voices as common themes came to the fore – themes like the blessing they are receiving from a closer relationship with God through prayer, and a deeper connection with members of their triplets. More than once, participants shared about how we need to trust God to lead us into our future and be less anxious to control and manage what might come. I also heard how God may be calling us to risk more in focusing our energy and resources to people and causes outside the walls of our church.
The next Sunday evening, I attended our youth group’s “No Holds Barred” meeting where I heard reports from our youth about their experience at Passport Camp the previous week. There was such energy and excitement during that meeting as youth after youth shared about how that week at camp was one of the most spiritually transformative experiences they’ve had as a Christian. God had gotten their attention, and now they were eager to follow in God’s footsteps.
Those two experiences reminded me of the wise words of John Westerhoff and John Eusden in their book The Spiritual Life:
For too long we have thought of the Christian life as essentially either involvement in political, economic, social concerns that wear us out and result in depression or activity which keeps the church intact and doctrinally pure. Our primary orientation cannot be an institution or some great cause or even other people, but first and forever to God. Unless our identity is hid in God we will never know who we are or what we are to do. Our first act must be prayer. . . . We are called to continuously formed and transformed by the thought of God within us. Prayer is a disciplined dedication to paying attention. Without the single-minded attentiveness of prayer we will rarely hear anything worth repeating or catch a vision worth asking anyone else to gaze upon.
In the coming weeks and months, I am eager to pay attention to what God will be telling us and what vision He may be revealing to us through prayer and through the members of Farmville Baptist — our children, our youth, our prayer triplet participants and others. I’m confident that we will hear things worth repeating and catch a vision worth following!
— Journeying on, Michael
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Let the Children Come to Me
Posted on July 1st, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for July 2009)
Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me . . . for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs” (Mark 10:14). These past several weeks, I had two experiences that reminded me of these words from Jesus and just how special it is to be a part of the faith development of our children.
First, I had the privilege of helping out with Vacation Bible School During VBS, it was heartwarming to see the excitement on the faces of the children and to hear them shout “Fear Not!” and sing songs with joy and abandon. I am so grateful to Crystal Cupp and Sandy East for their outstanding job in directing VBS this year. We are also so fortunate to have so many adult and youth volunteers who offered their time and talents to show our VBS campers the love of Jesus.
After our week of VBS, I then had the opportunity to chaperone five of our children to Passport Kids! camp at Eagle Eyrie Conference Center in Lynchburg, VA. The camp theme for this year is “HEROES.” Each day, we learned one characteristic of a true hero in Christ:
H – hope (1 Timothy 4:10)
E – encouragement (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
R – responsibility (Mark 2:1-12)
O – obedience (John 14:15)
The campers also learned about India and the various ministries that missionaries are undertaking in that country. On day two, campers actually made recycled paper out of old newspapers for use in a “moveable school” in India. That night, the camp was transformed into an Indian Market so that campers could learn more about India’s culture, food, sports, and religions. On the third night, everyone enjoyed a “variety show”/”superhero” ball. Our group performed a skit and a song, and that was a big hit. Every day, the kids also had a “camper’s choice” rotation, choosing among crafts, sports, drama and worship leadership, etc. It was a great experience! Our only regret was that one of our would-be campers got sick and couldn’t come with us.
Our children are a treasure to us at Farmville Baptist Church. I thank God for them and for their parents who bring them to church to learn more about God. I also thank God for all the adults in the church who lavish their love on our children by teaching Sunday School, volunteering for extended session, leading children’s church, organizing children’s activities, directing and accompanying them in choir, supporting their activities financially, and all the countless other ways that are seldom noticed. May God continue to bless our children and bless those who welcome and honor their presence in our midst!
- Michael
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The Right “GPS” for the Journey
Posted on June 6th, 2009
Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for June 2009)
As we prepare to take family trips to St. Louis and Houston this summer, one thing that we are glad to have in our car is a “GPS,” or a “Global Positioning System.” A GPS is a very handy device. We program into the little box our final destination, and then a voice calls out directions, turn by turn, through every intersection along the route. If I fail to follow the instructions, the GPS pauses and then announces “recalculating,” and then it guides you along an alternate route or suggests that I make the nearest U-turn. While our GPS is not perfect, it certainly has been very useful in guiding us in our travels, especially while driving through strange and unfamiliar parts of the country.
As we launched our ten Prayer Triplets the last two Sundays, I have often wondered where our church’s Spiritual Transformation Journey will take us. But then I’m reminded that we have the right “GPS” for the journey – we have “God’s Positioning System!” God knows our destination even though we do not. God also promises that His Spirit will come to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). We just need to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46:10) and trust that God will show us the way that we should go (Psalm 143:8). The formation of Prayer Triplets is just one way that we can intentionally set aside time to be still and listen to God’s voice as He guides us every step of the way as individuals and as a church in our faith journey.
And our destination? I am reminded of the words of Gary Shockley in his book Following the Spirit’s Leading: “I am trying to learn something at once both simple and incredibly difficult: the destination is not a place but a person-a person who loves me very much and more than anything wants to be with me along the journey of life. I am much more open these days to the idea that God isn’t all that interested in getting me somewhere. God is just interested in getting me!”
May God “get us” in the coming months, so that wherever He leads, we’ll go.
Journeying on, Michael
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“Spiritual Transformation Journey” Retreat
Posted on April 30th, 2009
On April 24-25, members of our Spiritual Transformation Journey Initiating Leadership Team (pictured above) attended our first cluster retreat at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Led by congregational coach Bill Moore, we joined the leadership teams from West End Baptist in Suffolk and Patterson Ave. Baptist in Richmond to learn more about what this “Spiritual Transformation Journey” is all about.
Here’s what we learned:
- This is a spiritual journey to rekindle our first love for God.
- We lose our passion for God when we become distracted by the “noise” and the busyness of our everyday lives.
- The way to rekindle our love for God is to concentrate less on doing things for God and to focus more on being with God, communing with Jesus and abiding in God’s Spirit.
- We commune with God through prayer, Bible reading, silence and meditation as individuals and as a community.
- When we center ourselves in God and in Christ, we have a better chance to hear and discern what God wants us to be and to do.
- When the whole church embarks on this journey, our church’s spiritual life will be transformed and we will gain a clearer vision of what God wants us to be and to do as a church.
- God is already at work in leading Farmville Baptist into His preferred future. We just have to be still, and listen, and then follow!
On the journey – Michael
For more pictures of the retreat . . . Read the rest of this entry »
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