New location for the blog

I am now posting from www.yelmchurch.com/blog .

Thank you, and God bless you.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930′s – 70′s

Life of an US kids in the…1930′s, 40′s, 50′s, 60′s and 70′s!

Some one sent this to me and it made me think about how we approach life these days.  Sure, bike helmets and other safety precautions are reasonable and responsible; but at times, at lest from my opinion, I think we have taken things so far that we may end up losing  risk-taking competitive edge.  Let me know what you think.

From an E-mail…

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they we pregnant.  They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.  We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.  Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.  We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.  We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon.  We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.  And, we weren’t overweight.

WHY?

Because we were always outside playing…that’s why!  We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.  No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.  We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s and X-boxes.  There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s,  No cell phones, No personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.  Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment.  Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.  They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.  We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,  and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them?  CONGRATULATIONS!  You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Launch Team

Launch Team

Below is some information to help you understand better what it means to be part of the Launch Team at Christ the King Church, Yelm, WA.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions.

What is the Christ the King Launch Team?

Men and women of all ages and spiritual maturity levels gathered together to glorify God and help bring Christ the King Church, Yelm, WA into existence.

What is “existence”?

Esistence in this context is holding regular weekly services and able to provide ministry to the whole family.  These ministries to the whole family do not need to be complete, but they need to be functional.

It also means that the majority of the support (service and financial) is from those within (those committed to remain…members).

Who can serve on the Launch Team?

Any Christian.  New believer and older saint alike.  Anyone willing to see this new ministry come into a fuller existence.

Do I have to commit to being a “member” of Christ the King?

No.  This does not require a long term commitment.  God may have you here to help this ministry launch and then move you to another congregation.

How long will the launch team function?  How long is my commitment?

The Launch Team will serve for about 6 – 9 months.  We would like you to commit for that time.  However, that commitment is between you and the Lord.  If you believe God has somewhere else for you to serve before the end of the Launch Team, we understand.

Once the church is functioning as described above, the Launch Team will disband and its members will be free to participate in the church as God leads.

What is expected of the Launch Team?

A commitment to:

1. Prayer: All we do needs to begin and continue in dialog with God.
2. Inviting and bringing: We exist to bring the hope of the Gospel and the healing power and love of God to individuals, relationships and the community.  This involves inviting and bringing people to opportunities where they can experience God’s grace and love.    Many of our friends, families, neighbors and coworkers may have had a relationship with God, but for some reason have stopped actively pursuing this relationship.  Others may have never been.
3. Support: God’s Word teaches us the principles of stewardship.  That is, wise management of our resources.  There is no mandate in the New Testament to tithe (giving a tenth).  However, we should recognize that all we have is from God and we are stewards of his resources.  Supporting the work of God with tithes and offerings is clearly taught in Scripture.
4. Service: There are many possible ways to serve: greeters, altar guild, hospitality, children’s ministry, ushers, small group leaders, outreach teams…and more.  God has equipped each of us with different talents, gifts, abilities and desires.
5. Attendance:  Regular attendance at worship services and launch team meetings.  We understand that life moves at a fast pace.  We are currently holding a monthly worship service with the plan of working toward a weekly worship service.  The Launch Team meets together once or twice a month.  With respect to your time, these meetings will last for about 1 hour.

How many people are needed for the Launch Team?

The Launch Team is considered by number of families or households.  That could be a single person, a couple are an entire family.  We are praying for 12 to 15 committed Launch Team families/individuals.

Prayer Priorities

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

• For the music talent God has provided
• For the people that are supporting this new ministry from afar
• For the people God has, and is raising up within this new community of faith
• For the churches that have partnered with us

Prayer Requests:

• A fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit
• That people come to know Christ or know him better
• Children Ministry
• Hospitality Ministry
• Music Ministry (that God would raise up people that are part of this parish—with ever grateful hearts for the support from Oakridge Ministries!)
• A skilled promoter: someone skilled in understand how to get out the message.
• Launch Team Members!

“…that the eyes of your heart be enlightened…”

First full service at Christ the King Church on Christ the King Sunday!

Readings: Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24; Psalm 95:1–7a; Ephesians 1:15–23; Matthew 25:31–46

“…that the eyes of your heart be enlightened…”

What is it worth?

The focus of the message is from Phil. 3.  However, It is be best to read all the Scriptures before listening to the messgae. Isaiah 5: 1-7; Psalm 80: 7-15; Philippians 3: 4b-14; Matthew 21: 33-46

What is it worth?

I pray you are encouraged and challanged in your life with God.

Building His Kingdom: A Community Meal

The Yelm, WA area has a growing population spreed out overs several towns, farms and unincorporated communities. Something special about this area is how several churches and ministries work together to care for the physical and spiritual needs of the community.

One of the many examples is the “Giving Thanks” Tuesday community meal hosted at Emanuel Lutheran Church. People from all aspects of the community find a hot meal, engaging conversation and an encouraging word. Some who attend have significant financial needs, even to the point of being homeless. Others lack the means of procuring proper nutrition. Yet other come for company and community.

Emanuel Lutheran Church does not do this alone. Faith Harvest Helpers with significant support from Prairie Christian Center (an Assemblies of God Church) provides much of the food that is prepared for the hot meals. Evergreen Baptist Church (Korean) also supports this effort; as does Christ the King Church (Charismatic Episcopal).

Each week fresh vegetables, a hot meal and desserts are served to more then 50 people (and as many as 90). The meal opens with a brief encouraging message and a prayer. Then people from across many social, economic, racial, political and religious boundaries break bread together. A recent development is a time of intercessory prayer following the meal for anyone desiring prayer or wishing to pray for others.

Live are being touch in many ways. Some Tuesday night meal guest are now making their way to weekend services. Some are still probing to see if the Christian community will really welcome them, will really love them. Some may never seek a spiritual journey toward our loving creator and redeemer; but they will have encountered His love, grace and provision.

All these brothers and sisters in Christ, from different traditions, coming together to help meet needs in the community. This is the Kingdom of God in action; a testimony to the love of Christ at work in His Church.

The Tentacles of PTSD Run Deep

As more time passes since my tours in Iraq it becomes more clear just how deep the tentacles of PTSD run deep into just about ever aspect of life. It is as if long gangly strands have wrapped themselves around parts of the brain and at in opportune times they squeeze; resulting in a chain reaction that becomes easy to predict but difficult to influence.

It is not only the more obvious triggers—smell, sounds, sights, etc—that can kick off the hyper vigilance and the fight and flight responses at in appropriate times. Things that are not as easily connect to the “stuff” directly experienced in war can also trigger this same kind of disproportional response. It is as if the whole fight/flight mechanism is out of balance.

The total cost of wars of aggression is much greater then anyone is willing to admit. Even years after the horrendous situations of war the bodies biology seems to still be affected.

There is hope! As I deal with my own PTSD and minister to many of my brothers and sisters who suffer the affects of war I am grown to learn in new ways the love of God. He is with us in the storm. As the winds and wave thrash against the boat, it becomes more clear to me that God with right there with us—as Jesus was with His disciples during their stormy night.

Patiently stand with those who are suffer such affects of our wars.

Peace,

David+

The “de-churched”

The English language is amazingly fluid. We are constantly joining words and parts of words together to communicate new concepts. De-churched is one such word that has come on the seen over the last couple of years.

The de-churched are those who went to church on a regular basis at some point in the past but have stopped all, or nearly all, participation in church. The area in which I live (western Washington, USA) has a considerable population of people that fit that description. There seems to be a couple of themes that come up in conversation with those who no longer are involved with a church.

Some feel hurt by a pastor, elder, teacher or members of a congregation. These hurts can run deep into the soul. Some feel abandoned, used and even abused. The bad behavior of others who claim the name (and maybe even authority) of Christ can leave deep wounds and the recovery process can be complex.

Others that grew up in church (even without the above experiences) learned that pleasing God is mostly in what the do and don’t do. Don’t cuss, don’t lie, don’t go to R rated movies (unless they are about the crucifixion of Christ), don’t listen to “secular music”, don’t, don’t, don’t… If you don’t do this and that, and if you go to church, read their bible and are nice to others you can have a good relationship with God. In short, morelism becomes the primary determining factor in pleasing.

We may do well to avoid some of the don’t(s). Some may even be harmful. But when they become the bases for how we deal with God and how we expect God to deal with us, we set ourselves up for disappointment.

Perhaps this is unintentional on the part of the teachers in such churches. Nevertheless, when troubles come, when failed relationships become a reality, when a rejection letter from a college, the death of a parent or close friend, or anything to shake their faith in God; they are left saying, “I was good. I did all the right things…yet God let me down.” An attitude gets adopted that God owes us because we were good. When life seems unfair, conclusions stemming from that “unfairness” are tied to God and much of what they learned about Him.

Many others reasons and explanations can be offered concerning the de-churching of a generation; but what remains true is God’s love of all—including those who no longer pursue a relationship with Him. God’s love for us is not tied to our goodness or our proper understanding of His nature.

Perhaps it is time for the Church to lovingly seek out and patently offer a healing hand to our brothers and sisters who’s faith has been shaken for one reason or another. This is a growing population in the US and evangelism is not necessarily the best word to describe what needs to happen.

Any thoughts on how to “reach out” to this population with the hope and healing power and love of God?

The Pain of War Continues…

This Memorial Day weekend has been particularly difficult for me. The memories of the loss of friends and people I served with as their pastor in Iraq have been brought to the forefront of my memories . Every bleeding and burnt body, every scream of the dieing, the cries of the families when they hear the devastating news serve as a painful reminder of the cost of war.

Memorial Day is about those who gave their all in service to this nation. We should also remember the sacrifices of their families.

I will avoid the politics of our current wars—as that will do nothing for those we memorialize this weekend. Our service members and their families deserve our respect and gratitude. (So, please, no “political” comments.)

The pain of the loss of those I personally knew and served as their pastor is especially difficult this year. My prayers are with their wonderful families. This may be a difficult time for those families and the veterans that have served along side the fallen. I will always remember their sacrifices and the sacrifices of all of my fallen brothers and sisters.

Perhaps you can help serve those who have served and the families of those how have given so much. There are many good organizations reaching out that could use your help. Gold Star Wives (http://www.goldstarwives.org/index.htm), Gold Star Mothers (http://www.goldstarmoms.com) , The USO (https://www.uso.org/), The Wounded Warrior Project (http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/), Project New Hope, VFW, are just a few of the many notable organizations that can make use of your time and talents.

Peace,

David+

 

Signs and Symbols

Believe it or not all Christian worship services fallow a liturgy (from the Greek referring to: thework of the people).  Practically speaking a liturgy is the form andstructure of the service.  It is what people say and do and howpeople respond.

Some churches incorporate and combine ancient and new elements of worship.  Why are they done?  What dothey mean?

Follow the link for a great guide by Bp. David Epps discussing what all the stuff means in churches referred to as “liturgical”–in this case a Charismatic, Evangelical and Liturgical church.

http://www.midsouthmedia.org/?p=446

Enjoy.