Miracle of Christmas

Today people continue to believe they could have more faith in Jesus and His promises if they received some divine sign, maybe a visible miracle.

Possibly the most obvious miracles to us today are the changed lives of people in difficult life circumstances who through faith have been able to ascend above their problems by spiritually transforming themselves into new people.

Hope for the certainty of spiritual transformation became accessible to us beginning with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem two millennia ago.

If I were to summarize my life learning’s with Jesus in 2008, they are:

One major purpose of my spiritual life is to affect human transformation in me and others, the potential for recovery of the human race.

The possibility of transformation is the very essence of human hope.

If we are not transformed, we may simply settle for being informed or conformed; pseudo-transformation which becomes judgmental, exhausting, and unchallenging (we never open our heart to love and joy).

There is an immense difference between training to do something and just trying to do something.

Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but training hand in hand with Jesus.

Spiritual disciplines are to life what calisthenics are to a preparing for a game.

A disciplined person is someone who can do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason with confidence.

The devotions on the right side of my blog are my disciplines and summarize who I am becoming in Jesus.

This in part, is what I celebrate this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

Invest in Volunteers

“i TAFERR” Model – How to invest (i) in volunteers so that they have a life transformation experience
• Only 5% of recruited volunteers last six months in a ministry
• 47% of church volunteers feel used and abused
• 93% of all adults are not self initiators (only 7% are)
• Eph 4:11 – What does equipping the saints for the work of service look like?

Training
• If it’s worth doing, it’s worth training
• We tend to train people in what they don’t need to know
• Training has three parts; tell, show do

Affirmation
• Affirmation is noticing character not skill.
• 1000’s leave ministry every day because they never get affirmation
• Affirmation is sometimes called “volunteer pay”
• Give affirmation directly, briefly, skillfully, and face to face.

Feedback – After people serve, they should be better in every respect.
• We don’t give feedback because we are afraid people won’t come back. Three common ways:
• Bubbles – compliments aren’t bad…just mediocre
• Baseballs – hurts when it hits you, represent criticism, leaves a bruise, don’t grow, but run
• Beach balls are best. “The next time...”, absorb it, won’t hurt if it hits you, need permission first, do it in private
• Couple of don’ts… don’t do it right after, don’t do it in writing…it should be relational

Evaluation
• We don’t evaluate people, we evaluate effectiveness of teams and programs
• Three questions to ask, What should we stop doing?, Start doing?, Continue doing?

Recognition
• Only works if it done for an individual not a group
• Pick up the phone and say what you appreciate
• Tangible, real, and connects with the act of service
• Don’t give token gifts, it doesn’t work.

Reflection - help people move forward towards reflection
• If we do service without reflection, it is only volunteerism, not service.
• Understand the why I serve

Ministry Fair Details

This weekend is our Ministry Fair at PAC during all four services. Services will end about 20 minutes early so people can visit the ministry tables (which are now set up and decorated in the front hallways and café for this weekend).

To be ready, we have printed 1200 contact cards that will be given out by the ushers as people enter the sanctuary this weekend.

People will fill out these contact cards during the service providing their contact information as well as some information about their SHAPE to serve. During the last 20 minutes of the service, people will then leave the sanctuary and hopefully visit ministry tables they may be interested in joining.

These contact cards will then be left at the ministry tables they want to join or learn more about.

We only want people connecting with one new ministry this time. Our hope is throughout the entire Ministry Fair weekend, people will feel that they have been either pastored, sheparded or cared for and then as a secondary outcome might even become part of a ministry at PAC.

Session Two - A Servant Heart

This is week two of our six week sermon series, “Develop Your SHAPE to Serve Others”. Our weekend pulpit messages are coordinated to compliment our weekly study topics in our Community Groups. The weekend pulpit messages focus on “why” we serve. Our Community Group studies during the week then focuses on “how” we serve.

This week’s topic is developing a servant’s heart from Jesus’ perspective in Mark 10: 42-45 which is shown to the right with emphasis’ added.

Last week we learned that we are God’s Masterpiece down to every last minute detail. One discussion in our group dealt with what it meant to be “fearfully” and wonderfully made from Psalms 139: 13-16. We are not made to be fearful. Fear in the Bible many times means fear of God in terms of the feeling of awe. Awe is “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, and extremely powerful.” When we come to the realization that God fully accepts us and fully loves us at the same time and has created us for good works we can start to look at ourselves in awe as a masterpiece, something with priceless value to God and to mankind. If we can grasp this, we can fearfully worship God for what He has accomplished in us.

Since we are God’s masterpiece made for good works to worship God and serve man, we can look at Jesus’ example of how to serve, with a servant’s heart…selfless servant hood. We serve Jesus by serving His people. This week as you study how develop a servant’s heart to serve others, think of the world’s view of being great, significant, respected, valued and then think of Jesus’ model for serving in God’s Kingdom, as a masterpiece of God.

Session One – You Are God’s Masterpiece

This week starts our six week Community Group Campaign at Princeton Alliance Church. We are following a study called Developing Your SHAPE to serve others. This is an exciting time at PAC. We are being blessed with many new people coming to our church. Since March, over 500 new families have attended our services and have identified themselves to us. It is important and maybe overwhelming to think about challenges of connecting so many new people to our ministry and church family. The Community Group campaign is one effort to connect new people to our church family.

This week starts with our first session, "You are God's Masterpiece"! It is about realizing that God has created each of us uniquely for His purposes which are to draw all people unto Him. All of us are created uniquely different and equally important to meeting God’s purposes for our ministry in this area. The problem is that we mostly don’t believe that we are a masterpiece in any since of the word. It has been said that man’s deepest need is to be fully known and at the same time, fully loved. Most of us believe that if we were fully known no one would ever love us…thus begins all the misguided human games we play with each other to cope with the relationships in our lives.

Community Groups are intended to be safe places where all people in community can begin to believe that they can be more fully known and at the same time, be more completed accepted and loved by others.

You are a masterpiece, uniquely created in Jesus to do good things he has planned for us long go. That is what this six week series is about…to help you discover your SHAPE; Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences so you can discover your own uniqueness and how it fits into God’s master plan for us.

Join us this first week and begin to discover that you too are one of God’s masterpieces!

Community Group Campaign Begins October 11/12

This fall PAC will again have a Community Group Campaign to form new groups. Below is the time line for the campaign as well as the information meetings for new people to introduce them to Community Groups and the training for Community Hosts.

The material is the same format as last fall. We will be using the Doing Life Together material that follows the material we used last fall. It is entitled “Developing Your ‘SHAPE’ to Serve Others”.

The campaign will be six consecutive weeks following a weekly closely a sermon series as last year.

This year PAC will only provide at no charge the materials for new groups. All other groups will have to provide their own materials.

This year there will be a Ministry fair on November 8/9. There will not be a weekend of no church services (to serve in the community) like we did in 2007. The ministry fair is intended to give people opportunities to serve inside PAC.

Timeline for 2008 Fall Community Group Campaign

Fall Campaign 6 Week Sermon/DVD Series

1. October 12, 2008 You are God’s Masterpiece
2. October 19, 2008 A Servant’s Heart
3. October 26, 2008 Discovering Your Gifts
4. November 2, 2008 Your Unique Personality
5. November 9, 2008 Serving from Experience
6. November 16, 2008 Serving with your Whole Heart

Key Events for Fall Campaign

Fall Campaign Information Meetings- Following Each Sunday Service
Beginning Sunday, September 14 through October 19

Fall Campaign Host Training Sessions – Monday Nights 7:30pm
September 22, September 29, October 6, October 13, October 20

Ministry Fair
November 8/9

Community Group Campaign - Fall 2008

What PAC askes of you this fall 2008:

1. Attend a weekend service - 4 services each weekend to choose.
2. Get connected - Join a group or take the first Discovery class.
3. Serve - Community Group Fall Campaign starting October 12, 2008.

Six Week topic is "Developing your SHAPE to serve others"

S - Spiritual Gifts
H - Heart
A - Abilities
P - Personality
E - Experience

Watch for Ministry Fair November 8/9

That's it!

Trinidad Mission Team 2008 Prayer Request

PAC is sending a mission team to Trinidad from July 5 to July 15 to help with a Bible School for a local church. We expect about 100 young kids to participate during the day. In addition, there will be a nightly study for teens and adults. Our team is 15 people including Chloe and I, who have come together to serve the people of Trinidad.

Our prayer for us for this trip is Colossians 1:9-14:

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Please pray for us as we serve in a foreigh land. We look forward with anticipation for what God has planned for us in our lives and the lives of those we serve.

Thank You!

Basic Human Needs to be Fully Known and Fully Loved

“The A, B, C's of community in small groups are Authenticity, Belonging, and Caring.

Authenticity - is our basic desire to be fully known.

Belonging - is our basic need to be a part of something bigger than our selves so that, interacting with others, we can learn about our selves and receive.

Caring - we need to know that we are considered precious by others. We need to be loved.

The problem is that, on our own, we can get this exactly backwards. We start to think that if we are authentic - if people come to know us for who we really are - they will reject us. We will not Belong, and if we don't belong, we will not be loved. So from a human perspective, we see a conflict between being authentic and being loved.

But the good news is... Jesus fully knows us AND fully loves us - enough to die for us on the cross. And once we really accept the grace provided by the cross we can begin to be authentic with God. We can stop pretending that we can be good enough and accept the fact that through Him we truly Belong in the Kingdom of Heaven. In that security we can ask God to help us see ourselves - authentically.

So with Jesus, the Love comes first, when we accept this unconditional love, Belonging and Authenticity follows. So why do we need community? Because when we are alone, we fall back into human conventions. Like thinking that A comes before B and B before C. Even when we come here for corporate worship - we put on our best clothes and we tend to leave all the stuff that needs to be brought before God at home in closets. We're afraid to bring that stuff here because if we did, we might not Belong. And, as a result, we might not be loved.

So what we need is a place that's modeled on God's A,B,C's of community - not ours. Where the Caring comes first and the sense of Belonging follows. Together, these create an environment in which it is safe for us to be Authentic. And here's the good part - at this point a feedback loop kicks in - when a more authentic version of you is loved (even while being held accountable), you really feel like you belong and this allows you to be even more authentic, and when this version of you is loved, you belong even more..

When this upward spiral takes place lives are transformed as we grow in Christ, together. I believe that this spiral occurs more easily in Community Groups than in large groups and it occurs most easily where the caring - unconditional caring - comes first.

Make an online donation to join the relief effort in Myanmar or China

Princeton Alliance Church has providied an easy way to join the relief effort for the recent disasters in Myanmar and China, http://www.princetonalliance.org/relief/. It is very easy to help others in urgent need by using this weblink. Check it out.

Myanmar

On May 2, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar (Burma), resulting in at least 80 000 fatalities and leaving many more people still missing. Nargis is considered the second deadliest named cyclone of all time.

United Nations reports put nearly 2 000 square miles of Myanmar underwater. Lack of clean water, food and medical supplies have sparked fears that the number of casualties will continue to climb rapidly.

China

Sichuan Earthquake

Barely two weeks later, on May 12, a 8.3 MW earthquake struck China's Sichuan province, causing at least 65 000 fatalities, 350 000 injuries and leaving at least 4.8 million people homeless.

The initial earthquake was followed by three major aftershocks that caused more deaths, injuries and collapsed another 420 000 buildings.

Practical Help

The church is a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. CAMA, the disaster relief arm of the C&MA, has begun recovery efforts in both countries.

CAMA Director Phil Skellie explains their mission:

“A compassionate response during a disaster tangibly expresses Christ's love and opens doors for other ministries. Our initial goal is to raise [money] to assist with providing clean water and food, essential housing supplies and materials for rebuilding homes.”

Thank you!

Discovery Classes at PAC offered Saturday, April 19

April is a time of renewal in nature. It is also a great opportunity for spiritual renewal for our church family. PAC offers three core classes that bring clarity to what PAC is all about and where we are doing in 2008.These classes are offered sequentially so you need start with d1 and then continue on through d3.

Please attend one of these core courses on Saturday morning, April 19 at PAC. Register with Alicia at 609-799-9000, ext 27.

Following are the core class descriptions:

1. d1 Discovering Community

This is the first class in a series of three in the Discovery pathway. This class (also now serves as the PAC membership class) is for everyone who attends PAC, and is designed to help us develop community. We discover the basic structure, strategy, and importance of Community Groups as we impact our community one neighborhood at a time. There will be an opportunity to officially join our church family upon completion of this class.

2. d2 Discovering Spiritual Journey

This is the second of three classes in the Discovery pathway. This class helps us to understand and practice spiritual disciplines every Christ follower should have and master as we seek to fully know God. The principles and discipline of prayer, bible study, and generosity are among the topics covered. Frequent habits and tools that every disciple should have will be emphasized.

(Prerequisite: Discovering Community d1)

3. d3 Discovering Ministry

The final class in the Discovery Pathway trilogy, Discovering Ministry is designed to initiate the discovery of how God has uniquely shaped us to bring hope to the world around us. In this class we will discover how our spiritual gifts, heart desires, abilities, unique personality and our experiences will enable us to transform the world around us. Once you’ve discovered more about yourself, you’ll be able to discover the joy of ministry. You will have the opportunity to sample ministry both inside and outside the walls of PAC.

(Prerequisite: Discovering Community d1)(Prerequisite: Discovering Spiritual Journey d2)

Please join us on Saturday, April 19!

Front Line Ministries Update

In just three weeks, PAC is adding a fourth service on Easter weekend and then will stay with these four services times going forward for each weekend. The Saturday service remains at 6:00 pm. The three services times on Sunday will become, 9:00 am, 10:30 am and noon. This means several new things to Front Line Ministry volunteers.

1. Everyone who serves on Sunday morning will be serving at a new time beginning Easter weekend.

2. We will obviously need many more volunteers to serve in Front Line for four services.

3. We aren’t sure how many people will attend each of these new Sunday services.

4. Some of the things we have done in the past will be changing.

5. Easter weekend only – We need volunteers to serve at two Good Friday services (6:00 pm and 7:30 pm) as well as Saturday night and Sunday morning services.

For now, the important thing for us is to determine which of the new Sunday service times will be your choice to continue serving in this ministry. Once we can determine when you will be serving, we will know how many new volunteers we will need for each new service time.

Please let Lori Boulware know which service is your preference to serve. Lori will also have a clip board in the back of the sanctuary this weekend for you to let us know your preferences.

Thank you for the personal stamps that each of you add to make PAC a friendlier place for people to worship and hopefully meet God in the very relevant places of their widely varying lifestyles.

Front Line Ministries Luncheon

Frontline Ministries Luncheon February 24, 1pm - 3pm, at PAC.

Please join us for lunch if you are a Frontline Volunteer or if you would like to get involved in this area of ministry.

Frontline includes Ushering, Greeting, Parking, Welcome Center and Cafe Volunteers.

Register by Feb 20 by emailing lboulware@princetonalliance.org

P.E.A.C.E. in 2008

Each year, frosty January mornings finds Chloe and I re-reading our cards and letters from the just past Christmas. We started this practice a few years back and have stuck with it. After breakfast and newspaper puzzles we grab a small handful of cards and letters out of the special card basket and read them aloud to each other, one by one. It seems that the second time around, the cards and letters are even more meaningful to us. We reflect on our relationships and memories with our friends and family and often we pray for them. We are grateful each is a part of our lives.

One card we read this morning from a relative in the Midwest caused me to write this posting this morning. The message on the front of the card was, “God’s goodness yesterday, God’s presence today, and God’s promises tomorrow”. This message captures one of my central themes in my blog. Inside, the verse at the bottom of the card proclaims, “The yes to all of God’s promises is in Christ”, II Corinthians 1:20. Amen!

The back of the card reveals the publisher of the card, Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. Prominent on this face is Rick Warren’s program for touching lives around the globe, P.E.A.C.E.

Plant churches
Equip servant leaders
Assist the poor
Care for the sick
Educate the next generation

P.E.A.C.E. captures the essence of Community Groups at PAC. Come along side us this year by getting involved with one or two of the opportunities contained in the letters of P.E.A.C.E. This is what we are about in 2008 and beyond.

My blog

My blog has two components: On the left side of this page are postings that I write related to things I am finding important. These generally are core beliefs of mine or at least things that are important to my life at the time when I write them. On the right side are Bible verses that I find significant during my daily devotions. I enjoy highlighting words in these verses that I believe God is speaking to me. Finally, I summarize the idea of these verses by giving them a heading. These headings are leading to themes for the postings. Since April 24, 2007, of this year, my daily devotions have been reading one chapter a day in the New Testament, first in the Gospels then Paul’s letters, and now Old Testament prophets. I enjoy reading each verse unhurriedly and then graze on its meaning. This is really opening my mind as to my role of Care Pastor as PAC. So when you read my blog, read both the left and right side. Last year when I first started blogging, I posted the A, B, C’s of small groups. It is what Community Groups are all about; the DNA of small group activity. I believe that this piece is essential enough to re-post it again.

"The A, B, C's of community in small groups are Authenticity, Belonging, and Caring. Authenticity - is our basic desire to be fully known. Belonging - is our basic need to be a part of something bigger than our selves so that, interacting with others, we can learn about our selves and receive: Caring - we need to know that we are considered precious by others. We need to be loved.The problem is that, on our own, we can get this exactly backwards. We start to think that if we are authentic - if people come to know us for who we really are - they will reject us. We will not Belong, and if we don't belong, we will not be loved. So from a human perspective, we see a conflict between being authentic and being loved.

But the good news is... Jesus fully knows us AND fully loves us - enough to die for us on the cross. And once we really accept the grace provided by the cross we can begin to be authentic with God. We can stop pretending that we can be good enough and accept the fact that through Him we truly Belong in the Kingdom of Heaven. In that security we can ask God to help us see ourselves - authentically. So with Jesus, the Love comes first, when we accept this unconditional love, Belonging and Authenticity follows.

So why do we need community? Because when we are alone, we fall back into human conventions. Like thinking that A comes before B and B before C. Even when we come here for corporate worship - we put on our best clothes and we tend to leave all the stuff that needs to be brought before God at home in closets. We're afraid to bring that stuff here because if we did, we might not Belong. And, as a result, we might not be loved. So what we need is a place that's modeled on God's A,B,C's of community - not ours. Where the Caring comes first and the sense of Belonging follows. Together, these create an environment in which it is safe for us to be Authentic. And here's the good part - at this point a feedback loop kicks in - when a more authentic version of you is loved (even while being held accountable), you really feel like you belong and this allows you to be even more authentic, and when this version of you is loved, you belong even more..When this upward spiral takes place lives are transformed as we grow in Christ, together.