Forward
January 2011
A National Public Radio segment this morning (December 20, 2010) said that Miriam Webster’s word for 2010 was austerity! It is one thing to hear this…but I know that many of us lived it. I have a privileged seat in our proverbial house. I see the lost jobs, hear about the struggling marriages, counsel the despairing, and my staff and I have fielded many calls from people in need. But I also see things turning. Many who have lost jobs have found jobs, homes that were overshadowed by foreclosure are safe again, and there is a smattering of hope in our world. There still remain trials and stress, but my prayer as we exit 2010 is that we might move from a hunkered down austerity and discover a new word for the year 2011.
If I might be so bold, I have an idea. I am casting my vote early for the word forward. I know. It is a simple word and pretty uncomplicated. I remember a conversation with my maternal uncle, David, a California almond grower, almost a decade ago. When he was approaching the 20-year mark in that particular vocation he was getting a bit restless. Through some soul searching he decided to remain in farming…a profession that even in the downturns has been good to him. But what sticks out so prominently in my mind is what got him through those hard patches of boredom and uncertainty. “Nathan,” he would say, “You’ve got to have things to look forward to!” In his life that would be trip a to their favorite vacation spot at Pismo Beach a couple times a year, the next Michael W. Smith concert, or managing the downs at the local Friday night high school varsity football games. He looked forward to things within his work as well (harvest time for all its hard work is actually revitalizing and fun…and reminds you why you do what you do), but having a diversity of things on the horizon gave him the motivation and energy to persist through difficult times.
At St. Stephen, I find myself looking forward to many new things that will be happening amongst us. Some of it is going to make our worship better, some of these new things are going to prepare us for the building of our new Community Life Center in the near future, and some of these things are simply going to widen our scope of impact on the world as God’s people.
So here’s my list of things I’m looking forward to at St. Stephen:
A family at SSLC has given a new digital camera for use in worship. Ever had a hard time seeing what’s going on during the sermon or children’s sermon? That’s about to change! Be patient with us as we learn how to use the new technology!
A new member is a local radio personality and has approached me about taking the audio from my sermons and turning them into a professionally produced Podcast. He’s created a demo, and it’s incredible. So starting in January…
In February we will begin a fund drive both in the congregation and community to raise $12,500.00 to make 50,000 meals for the people of Haiti. Yes…you read that right: 50,000 meals. Folks, we are going to have a HUGE impact!
When we begin construction on our new Community Life Center, we will lose the ability to use the Learning Center, Nursery, and Choir Room for more than nine months. To accommodate our needs for nursery space, Christian educational spaces for Sunday School, Solid Rock Youth activities, and choir rehearsals, things on our campus are going to get a bit tight. One of the ways we are going to get around that is by creating two Sunday School hours in the Fall of 2011…preparing ourselves for a year of transition. In addition, we will be moving the 9am worship service to 9:30am (we’ll do this in June 2011), and offering those two Sunday School hours concurrent with our worship services – one at 9:30am and the other at 11am. Because they are relatively close together and because we have a congregational ethic of worshipping with our kids, we are hoping that families will still choose to do worship at one hour and Sunday School at the other. Folks, I’m excited about this. It’s going to make our transition into new space easier, and it’s also going to create more space for kids, both now and the future. Oh…and we’ll all get an extra half hour of sleep on Sunday mornings!
I have been approached by leadership in the Synod to have St. Stephen be an Internship site for a student preparing to be a pastor. If all goes well, it looks as if there will be a grant that will pay for about half the cost of an Intern. This intern pastor would join us for a period of 12 months starting in late August. This is NOT hard and fast yet…but I’m excited. St. Stephen is exactly the sort of congregation that should be training the next generation of pastors!
This keeps on being put off…primarily because I have not needed another thing on my plate while finishing up my doctorate. But that should be done in the Spring, and in the Fall I will be planning a trip back to Haiti. Want to come along?
These are just some of the things that have me fired up for 2011 and moving forward in my heart and head. What are you looking forward to?
From my Longwood lanai…forward with all of you in mission and ministry for the sake of God’s kingdom! It is 2011! Let’s make this year great!
Pastor Nathan
January 2011
A National Public Radio segment this morning (December 20, 2010) said that Miriam Webster’s word for 2010 was austerity! It is one thing to hear this…but I know that many of us lived it. I have a privileged seat in our proverbial house. I see the lost jobs, hear about the struggling marriages, counsel the despairing, and my staff and I have fielded many calls from people in need. But I also see things turning. Many who have lost jobs have found jobs, homes that were overshadowed by foreclosure are safe again, and there is a smattering of hope in our world. There still remain trials and stress, but my prayer as we exit 2010 is that we might move from a hunkered down austerity and discover a new word for the year 2011.
If I might be so bold, I have an idea. I am casting my vote early for the word forward. I know. It is a simple word and pretty uncomplicated. I remember a conversation with my maternal uncle, David, a California almond grower, almost a decade ago. When he was approaching the 20-year mark in that particular vocation he was getting a bit restless. Through some soul searching he decided to remain in farming…a profession that even in the downturns has been good to him. But what sticks out so prominently in my mind is what got him through those hard patches of boredom and uncertainty. “Nathan,” he would say, “You’ve got to have things to look forward to!” In his life that would be trip a to their favorite vacation spot at Pismo Beach a couple times a year, the next Michael W. Smith concert, or managing the downs at the local Friday night high school varsity football games. He looked forward to things within his work as well (harvest time for all its hard work is actually revitalizing and fun…and reminds you why you do what you do), but having a diversity of things on the horizon gave him the motivation and energy to persist through difficult times.
At St. Stephen, I find myself looking forward to many new things that will be happening amongst us. Some of it is going to make our worship better, some of these new things are going to prepare us for the building of our new Community Life Center in the near future, and some of these things are simply going to widen our scope of impact on the world as God’s people.
So here’s my list of things I’m looking forward to at St. Stephen:
A family at SSLC has given a new digital camera for use in worship. Ever had a hard time seeing what’s going on during the sermon or children’s sermon? That’s about to change! Be patient with us as we learn how to use the new technology!
A new member is a local radio personality and has approached me about taking the audio from my sermons and turning them into a professionally produced Podcast. He’s created a demo, and it’s incredible. So starting in January…
In February we will begin a fund drive both in the congregation and community to raise $12,500.00 to make 50,000 meals for the people of Haiti. Yes…you read that right: 50,000 meals. Folks, we are going to have a HUGE impact!
When we begin construction on our new Community Life Center, we will lose the ability to use the Learning Center, Nursery, and Choir Room for more than nine months. To accommodate our needs for nursery space, Christian educational spaces for Sunday School, Solid Rock Youth activities, and choir rehearsals, things on our campus are going to get a bit tight. One of the ways we are going to get around that is by creating two Sunday School hours in the Fall of 2011…preparing ourselves for a year of transition. In addition, we will be moving the 9am worship service to 9:30am (we’ll do this in June 2011), and offering those two Sunday School hours concurrent with our worship services – one at 9:30am and the other at 11am. Because they are relatively close together and because we have a congregational ethic of worshipping with our kids, we are hoping that families will still choose to do worship at one hour and Sunday School at the other. Folks, I’m excited about this. It’s going to make our transition into new space easier, and it’s also going to create more space for kids, both now and the future. Oh…and we’ll all get an extra half hour of sleep on Sunday mornings!
I have been approached by leadership in the Synod to have St. Stephen be an Internship site for a student preparing to be a pastor. If all goes well, it looks as if there will be a grant that will pay for about half the cost of an Intern. This intern pastor would join us for a period of 12 months starting in late August. This is NOT hard and fast yet…but I’m excited. St. Stephen is exactly the sort of congregation that should be training the next generation of pastors!
This keeps on being put off…primarily because I have not needed another thing on my plate while finishing up my doctorate. But that should be done in the Spring, and in the Fall I will be planning a trip back to Haiti. Want to come along?
These are just some of the things that have me fired up for 2011 and moving forward in my heart and head. What are you looking forward to?
From my Longwood lanai…forward with all of you in mission and ministry for the sake of God’s kingdom! It is 2011! Let’s make this year great!
Pastor Nathan
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