Friends,
Mark your calendar now for the
annual Heritage Days Community Church Service at the Belvidere Community
Building on June 26 at 10 a.m.
Featuring a community choir directed
by Karen Kahler and one of my favorite local messengers (AR), this is one of
the three annual worship services bringing the Church of Belvidere and
Boone County together to worship God while shedding...well, uh, you
know...
Our first service will be as
regularly scheduled in the chapel at 7:20 a.m. while our second service will be
directed to the Community Building in obedience to John 17 and our continuing
remnantal allegiance to God and country: "'Return to Me,' says the Lord,
'and I will restore you!'"
BTW, second servicers will be
stunned by how many first servicers go to both services!!!
I've been asked why all churches in
Belvidere and Boone County don't participate in this opportunity to honor God
and beg Him, "Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy
light. Protect us by Thy might, great God, our King!"
Well, to be honest which is the only
Christian thing to do, some churches don't like to mix God and country
and don't share our belief that America has been especially and exceptionally
blessed by God to bless Him and love everyone like He loves us in Jesus.
Annnnnnnd there
are many churches - I am being honest not judgmental when noting this -
who think they're in franchises aka denominations and sects and whatevers that
are "more saved" than everybody else and "know Jesus more than
anybody else" who don't want to associate with the rest of the body that
they think are...
Really.
They are the ones who fence their
tables of Holy Communion in complete disobedience to our Lord's invitation,
inclusion, welcoming, and agape.
They just feel, uh, spiritually
superior to the rest of us who know we don't know it all and are just
scratching the surface of our relationship with Jesus.
Annnnnnnd there
are many very, very, very faithful yet financially struggling friends around
who won't come because they can't overcome giving up a week's collection aka $.
Frankly, we've suffered every year
with that. Deleting a week's collection around this time of the year when
$ is as scarce as common sense in this Presidential race is very, very, very
painful. People tend to forget bills for ministry don't stop when people
miss a service or two or three or...in the summer.
Which brings me to an annual
reality.
Our giving is down...way
down...around this time of the year.
Annnnnnnd this
year, it's even worse with the recent renovations to our most recent major
renovation to a six-figure tune that dipped into shallow reserves depleted in
our most recent major renovation.
We did not expect to have so many
necessary and new and costly renovations.
"It happens," as Gump
said.
I'm not worried.
Prayerfully sober?
Yes.
Worried?
Absolutely not!
We are asking our Lord to provide
the wherewithal to weather this annual drought.
You have been generous; and I trust
your generosity will inspire more of the same.
I've even been asked to attend a
finance committee meeting in the near future; which means I will probably be
asked what we should do for a quick fix to the challenge. Because I trust
you and our elders, I don't like to attend too many committee meetings.
So when I'm asked to attend one, I know there's a crisis and I will have to
make some bold decisions. I am prepared to recommend cuts that will cause
mini-eruptions and misunderstanding; but I am prepared to do that if it is
necessary. I don't think it will be necessary; but I am prepared to make
such recommendations.
Parenthetically, I am prepared to
make a very tough recommendation if necessary; and I have already made
a clearly reasonable and faithful recommendation - see below - that
indicates I will have no hesitancy making a very tough recommendation if
finances do not improve in the next two months.
Of course, don't forget I will not
beg anyone to fork over; for Eugene confirmed what I was taught by my home
pastor and our Lord Himself: "I never tried to get people to do anything
when I was pastor. You don't have to persuade Christians to follow
Jesus. You don't have to motivate Christians."
So this is just information and
invitation and...we'll see...
Yes, He will...
Speaking of decisions, I had a
vision about a year ago that intensified about six months ago that incarnated
in the past two weeks.
Session authorized me to share that
vision with a special committee of Julie, Katie, Leslie, and Tyler. It
involves the exciting evolution of our youth programs for the future.
While I will hold the announcement until a formal confirmation from session of
the special committee's deliberations, I know you will be rejoicing with us.
Annnnnnnd echoing
the call to obedience to Jesus in John 17 noted in the first few paragraphs, I
am excited to announce several faithful families of the Church in
Belvidere and Boone County will soon be sponsoring a monthly youth gathering at
our local YMCA.
I think it will begin in late August. Praise the Lord!
Blessings and Love!
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