December 16, 2009

Santa and Children

Yesterday, I had a visit from Santa. The Santa Claus who came to visit the children of our Child Enrichment Center came by the office and gave us a candy cane. It was lunch time when Santa finished his visits in each classroom. I had gone down to join Gina for lunch when he came by her office. He said, “This is the best program I visit.” For several moments he bragged on our Child Enrichment Center. He said that of all the Day Cares and Preschools he visits our Child Enrichment Center is the best.

What a complement to the staff of our Child Enrichment Center. They seek to be at their best for the children, knowing that each child is a precious gift from God.

I was shown a picture that was taken of Santa in one of the classrooms. Santa was kneeling alongside a couple of the children, looking at the Manger. I don’t know this Santa’s name. He is the one the Child Enrichment Center uses each year. But he is very quick to tell the children that Jesus is the reason for the season.

In all of the activities of Christmas it is easy to loose sight of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. The original St. Nicolas did not give gifts to draw attention to himself. He gave to those in need as an act of worship and commitment to Christ. He loved because Christ had captured his heart.

I’ve witnessed that kind of giving in our Church Family. In spite of the struggling economy you gave over 300 “Shoeboxes” that are being delivered to children. Then you adopted all the angels from the Casa Angel Tree. You gave $2,183.50 to the White Christmas Offering, which supports our United Methodist Children’s Homes. And because of your giving we are helping several church families who are having struggles financially.

You’ve also demonstrated your worship of Christ through your financial commitment to the ministries of the church. According to the scriptures, that should be our first act of giving. 239 adults/families and 23 children have committed $1,116,429.64 toward our 2010 Ministry Budget. They have committed 62 % of the 2010 Ministry Budget. Of those who have made commitments, 40 have made a first time commitment to this church. If you have not made your Financial Commitment to the 2010 Ministry Budget, Commitment Cards are available in the Welcome Areas or you can contact our Financial Secretary, Cece McNeil.

We also worship Christ by giving of our time. Peter wrote, “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” (1 Peter 4:10; NRSV) Writing on that passage, Oz Hillman said, “There is a Kingdom principle I find few really understand. The principle is this: When you focus on serving others, your need is often met through God’s supernatural law of serving.”

In this week’s TGIF devotional (December 16, 2009) Oz’s went on to say; “Whenever God calls me to serve another person with my time and resources, I notice how God measures resources back to me from unrelated sources. Sometimes it comes through an unexpected donation to our ministry or a speaking engagement or a new opportunity. It is uncanny how this happens consistently when I serve others.”

We have an opportunity to serve this Sunday night. Join us for Caroling to our Homebound persons. Meet at the church at 5:00 PM. Bill has two caroling routes lined up. We want to fill a Bus or two on each route. Then we will return to the Fellowship Hall for some refreshments and fellowship.

Family Night at the Movies is this Thursday, December 17. It begins at 6:30 PM in our Family Ministry Building (Gym). There is no cost, so invite your friends and neighbors.

Next week we celebrate Christmas. We will again have three different Christmas Eve Services:
5:00 PM – Carols, Scripture and Communion in the Sanctuary.
7:00 PM – Contemporary Worship, Communion and Candlelight in the Gym
11:00 PM – Carols, Scripture, Communion and Candlelight in the Sanctuary.

As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Fulfilling Vows - Part 2

Over and over in Psalm 103, the Psalmist remembers the “steadfast love” of God toward us. In verse four he writes, “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.” (Psalm 103:17-18; NRSV)

How do we truly give thanks to such a God? One way is to keep our vows to Him. Our songs and prayers of praise and thanksgiving are empty rituals if we do not “remember to do his commandments.” God longs for and certainly deserves our faithfulness to the vows we made to Him.

Every person who is a member of a Church made a vow of loyalty with our gifts to God. Commitment Sunday provides us with an opportunity to reaffirm our vows to God, through commitment of our time, talents, gifts and service. 187 Adults/Families and 23 children have used the Commitment Card to reaffirm their vows to God. They have committed $907,305.64 toward our 2010 Ministry Budget. That brings us to 50% of the Ministry Budget being committed. The majority of these have also made commitments of their time and talents to one or more ministries of the church.

If you have not turned in your Commitment Card, I encourage you to do so. They help the Finance Committee in their recommendations concerning the 2010 Budget. Commitment Cards are available in the office and the Welcome Areas around the Church.

This Saturday, November 21, is our Community Service Day. A couple of us from my Small Group are anticipating doing some painting that morning. A few others from my Small Group are visiting some homebound persons, taking them some goodies and cards made by one of our Child Enrichment Classes. If you are not in a Small Group you can still share in this morning of outreach. Auburn is off and most of the projects can be finished in time for you to see most of the Alabama game. Be at the Church at 7:30 AM for prayer and final instructions.

This Sunday evening, November 22, we will host our Community Thanksgiving Services. I say services because there will be a Children’s Service in the gym at the same time as the service in the Sanctuary. Both services will begin at 6:00 PM. There will be special music lead by the worship ministries of our church and the Church Revived, with a combined choir from various churches. Pastor Curt Sanford, the president of the North Jefferson Ministry Association and Associate Pastor at The Church Revived, will bring the message. Let’s be good hosts and do our part in filling the sanctuary and gym.

Fulfilling Vows - Part 1

Os Hillman writes a couple of email devotions that I find meaningful. One is Primetime and the other Marketplace Leaders. In this morning’s (11-18-09) Marketplace Leaders he addresses the issues of vows.

In Ecclesiastes we read this about vows; “When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it.” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5; NRSV)

Those of us who are married or have been married, made a vow. Those in positions of leaderships made a vow in accepting their position. And every person who belongs to a church made a vow to God and the Church. How are you doing on your vows?

Hillman wrote:
Have you ever had a business relationship with someone who made a commitment but later said, "Well, things changed, so I cannot honor our original agreement.”? Sometimes this may be the case, but often it is simply an opportunity to avoid fulfilling an agreement. God is big on fulfilling vows. God's nature is righteousness and truth. You will always see God honor His Word. He expects the same of His people.
Hillman went on to point out…
God says there are consequences when we do not fulfill our vows. Subsequent Scripture verses reveal the following:
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry with what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:5-7)
God tells us that He will destroy the work of our hands for failure to fulfill vows. That's pretty strong language. It gives us an indication of how important fulfilling vows is to God. He will not prosper our work if there are unfulfilled vows in our lives.

Hillman ends the devotional this way; “Ask God today if there are any unfulfilled vows in your life. If so, begin today to make them right so that you may be successful in whatever God calls you to do.

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. I shared with the children this morning in Chapel that Thanksgiving goes further back than the Pilgrims and Indians. The Psalms are filled with reminders to give thanks to God. And one of the main reasons we are to give thanks to God is God’s faithfulness.

A Church For Children

Yesterday, at the North Jefferson Ministry Association luncheon, our Harvest Hoedown was one of the topics of discussion. I was reminded again of the outreach opportunity it is. We had over 1400 persons register. When you add in those who were serving and those who did not go by the registration table, there had to be over 1500 at this year’s Harvest Hoedown. This is a joint ministry between Gardendale-Mt. Vernon and The Church Revived. Of those registered, 130 were from The Church Revived and 250 from Gardendale-Mt. Vernon. That means about 2/3 of those who came were not a part of either of our churches. The majority did say they were members of a church, but 265 have no church home. That is the major reason we invest the time and resources in the Harvest Hoedown. As Kelly Wiegert said at our Administrative Board meeting on Monday, this is our largest Outreach Event. Our Evangelism Team will work with our Children’s Team to follow up on those who do not have a church.

I shared Sunday morning about a family who said they wanted to be a part of church that had such a heart for children. The person to whom that comment was made is not part of our church. When the father said, “I wonder what time worship is?” he was directed to our sign. I don’t know if they were in attendance Sunday. We did have first time guests, as we do most Sundays.

I keep thinking about that statement, I want to be part of a church that has a heart from children. Jesus certainly wants His Church to have a heart for children. He is the one who said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14; RSV) I thank God that Gardendale-Mt. Vernon is seen as a church that welcomes children.

At the Harvest Hoedown, a young lady introduced herself and her daughter to me and said, we are the ones who have an appointment with you. They are not in a church, but her daughter attends our Children Enrichment Center. Her daughter has been learning scripture in her class and in chapel. She had been asking her mother questions about faith. So this mother is bringing her daughter to talk with me. This is another opportunity to touch a child and through a child, touch a parent. These opportunities happen when we make kids a priority.

Here are some upcoming opportunities to touch children:
· Gardendale Soccer Servant Evangelism, November 7th, 4:00 PM. We will be serving pizza and drinks as the Soccer league has their Closing Ceremonies. Volunteers are needed to cook and serve. Contact Paul Wiegert, pwiegert@gmvumc.org.
· Operation Christmas Child - Our Missions Team has boxes with instructions on how to fill them. This ministry serves kids in 130 countries. Our goal is to fill 300 boxes. In order to get them to kids by Christmas, they are due back November 22nd.
· Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, December 12th. This is a great opportunity for persons who do not have young children to bless children and their parents. We want parents of preschool and elementary age children to be able to participate with their kids. Contact Kelly Wiegert kwiegert@gmvumc.org to volunteer.

Our Community Service Day, November 21st, provides the opportunity to touch God’s older children. The Mission Team has 15 projects lined up. They range from yard work, gutter cleaning to painting a shed and painting some bathrooms. There will also be some teams taking Thanksgiving goodies to some homebound persons. If you are not in a Living the Good Life small group, contact Paul Wiegert to volunteer pwiegert@gmvumc.org. You can also provide some financial resources to help purchase paint and other supplies needed that day. Simply identify your gifts for “Community Service Day.”

Talking about ministry with children, Frank Malone made a motion at Monday’s Administrative Board meeting that the Children’s Building Committee be reactivated. The motion passed. One of the first things I anticipate the Children’s Building Committee to do will be to get some new projections on the proposed building. Some other churches have found this to be a good time to build. We presently have $1,235,661.88 in our children’s building fund. Be in prayer as they begin their work.

Take My life - The Church's Theme

John Shugart came from Tennessee in 1860 to what is now Gardendale, Alabama, to plant a new church. Those early brush arbor services soon became Shugart Methodist Episcopal Church, South. That was the beginning of what today is Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. Next year, we will celebrate our 150th anniversary in ministry.

Just over a decade later, Frances R. Havergal wrote a song that became the theme song for the church. No, it was never adopted as the church’s song. But the song “Take My Life” certainly captures the focus of this church family through the generations. Those early believers who built that first wood frame facility, gave their lives to Christ saying, “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord to thee.”

Beginning in January we will have a year long celebration of these 150 years of ministry in North Jefferson County. One of the things I’ve noticed as we look over the history is the commitment of God’s people to give their lives whole-heartedly to Christ and the building of Christ’s Church. They have lived the song, “Take My Life.” That is the reason I suggest it could well be the theme song of this church. We are blessed with this present location and facilities, because of people who did more than sing, “Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.” What about you and me? Are we willing to make such a commitment?

The many ministries that take place today, happen because of people who continue to live the song, “Take my will, and make it thine, it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne. Take my life, my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure store. Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for thee.”

Penny War

Have you noticed the change wagons around the church? The Child Enrichment Center and Children’s Ministries are having their 2nd Annual Alabama verses Auburn Penny War. This year the funds will go to upgrading the Playground. Presently, Auburn is in the hole. You might ask how a team gets in the hole. Pennies score for your team. Silver change and dollar bills in your team’s bucket are a penalty against your team. For example, someone put a $20 dollar bill in the Alabama bucket in the office. That means $20.00 of pennies will have to be taken out of Alabama and put in the Referee’s bucket. So there are two ways to help your team. Put pennies in your teams bucket and other change and bills in the other teams bucket.

Last year, Alabama won, but the real winner was the Church. 72,500 pennies were raised and that went toward the pay off Principle on our Debt. This year, it seems that some Big Ten involvement has joined with Auburn. I understand one particular Big Ten supporter has been collecting money to help Auburn. So Bama fans, you have your work cut out. You know you don’t want to see Orange in the pulpit the Sunday before the real Alabama-Auburn game.

Church Facilites - Place of Ministry

September 23, 2009

Church Facilities – Place of Ministry

One of my images of the Church is the “Training Facilities” to the Body Christ. We gather in the Church facilities to worship Christ and to grow as disciples.

When many of us think about church, our mind goes to Sunday when the Church gathers for worship and learning. Some of us also think about Wednesday evening when a couple of hundred gather for G.R.O.W. opportunities. But these facilities are the place of many more ministries of which you may not be aware.

I’ve been thinking about all the ministries that took place on the campus this past weekend, September 18, 19 and 20th. Here are some of which I’m aware:

Friday, the Open Door Sunday School Class provided a meal in the Fellowship Hall for the Land family, before Mary Land’s memorial service.
Friday and Saturday, pictures were being taken for our next Pictorial Directory. If you have not registered to have your picture taken, contact the office. We have had a great response, so some additional dates in October have been opened.
Friday evening the Chapel was the site of a wedding for some of our church family.
Friday evening the Fellowship Hall and Family Ministry Building were used for a Youth Fifth Quarter. In spite of bad weather that caused football games to be delayed and even canceled, 110 youth came to Fifth Quarter. A variety of activities were offered, food, of course and two of our youth (Haley Brown and Gregory Payne) shared their testimonies.
Saturday, a Prayer Vigil was held in the Chapel from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Saturday Morning the Sanctuary was used for the visitation and Memorial Service for Charles Scroggins. Then the Fellowship Class provided a meal in the Fellowship Hall for the Scroggins Family.
Saturday evening we hosted a Volunteer’s in Mission group from Ohio. This was not their first time to stay with us on their way to the Gulf Coast where they were helping people who are still recovering from the Hurricanes of the last few years. We tend to forget that recovery on the Gulf Coast is still taking place following the destruction of Katrina.
Sunday began with worship teams rehearsals, the Prayer Walk and preparations for hospitality.
The Volunteer’s in Mission Team from Ohio worshipped with us at the 8:30 service, where we had prayer for them.
We had new members join in two of our three Sunday morning services.
On Sunday afternoon we hosted a training for Girl Scout Leaders in the Fellowship Hall.
On Sunday evening there were rehearsals for youth choir, Sonrise Team and Ladies ensemble.
Youth Small Groups and an Adult Living the Good Life group meet.
The weekend closed with the Evening Grow Service.

This was not a typical weekend, but not totally out of the ordinary either. The facilities here are used seven days a week to provide a variety of ministries. All of these ministries take place because of those who honor God by bringing their tithe to the storehouse.

The Fellowship Hall had to be cleaned and reset four times during this past weekend. The gym had to be set up for Crossfire Worship on Saturday, instead of Friday, due to Fifth Quarter. When you arrived Sunday morning, you found the facilities looking good and ready for fellowship, worship and study. This does not happen by accident. This variety of ministry happens because of dedicated custodians and committed volunteers who labor to have things looking good each week. And it happens because of persons who bring their tithe to the storehouse.