Joy

I should have put joy into our list of values as a church.
So here I am unofficially adding to our list to things that are vitally important to our church culture- JOY.
What brings you joy?
This morning was full of joy for me.

I was downstairs, doing my coffee and bible reading thing, waiting for the rest of the family to get up. As a homeschooling family we have a wonderfully relaxed pace, but the kids are up by 7:30am and we get things going.

It was 7:45am. Finally I heard them calling my name. The whole clan was in my king-sized bed (I LOVE my king sized bed) snuggling- and they wanted their Daddy. So I listened to my own sermon this past Sunday (Serving God's People), decided NOT to walk by this moment, and jumped right back in bed.
It was one of those moments you want to hold onto for a lifetime.
How can a father describe the love you feel wrapped up with your family on a freakishly cold morning in April? Pure JOY.

Oh, I have to tell another story.
The scene: our little kitchen, Robin at the stove behind me working on dinner, me at the sink cleaning, Karis at the counter on a stool with her snack.
"Daddy move- I'm watching a cooking show."

The thing is, she knew she was being funny. At 6 years old she has the most amazing sense of humor. Her middle name is Joy, and she is the epitome of it. And her joy is contagious. She brings laughter everywhere she goes.

Back in the day when I preached in a church where the ministers wore the academic garb on Sunday morning (I still wear the robe... at costume parties!) I used a quote that said, "For too long the church has been associated with long faces and black robes." I looked at myself, unzipped (yes, I had a shirt on underneath) and ripped it off. I actually got cheers in a Presbyterian Church that morning!

For too long the church has not been associated as a place of joy- pure, extravagant, abundant joy. Read through Philippians. I am. I want to preach through it this summer. It's all about joy- rejoice always, your joy in Christ Jesus, make my joy complete, I am glad and rejoice with all of you... Read the Psalms- 56 out of 150 speak of our joy in the Lord.

Yes, there will be seasons for sorrow, but joy comes in the morning (Ps. 90). I pray you find her today- maybe even before you get out of bed.

Snuggly Creatures

The children's response to the stuffed animal giveaway in church was just what I expected- awesome.
I even had a group of teenage girls trying to convince me they each needed one!
Last night I put my son to sleep with his lion and told him again about God's love and our call to be servants.

FYI, our anonymous donor has started a blog. You can read all about the vision to share these stuffed animals, and God's love, with children in need.

http://snugglycreatures.blogspot.com/

Serving God's People

Series: Signs of Belonging
George J. Saylor
April 27, 2008



Last week I mentioned a favorite verse about bible study- 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Our study of the bible should be rigorous, it should be academic, it should be systematic, but above all it should be useful. Where as worship is in many ways gloriously impractical- it is about lavishly loving and adoring our God, transcending our lives, our space, our time; bible study, on the other hand, is wonderfully applicable to life. It will teach, rebuke, correct and train us. All for a purpose- to equip us for good works.

We are to life a live of good works, inspired and guided by our study of God's Word. This is the sign of service.

Read the whole sermon at cccsermons.blogspot.com
or listen to our podcasts at www.connectionschurch.ca

Bible Reading Plan

FYI, we now have a link to our bible reading plan on the website.
Please do us a favor and give us some feedback on the site.
Can you find your way around?
Can you hear the sermons?
Have you subscribed to the itunes podcast?
Have you tried to "Donate Online" link?

Let us know how we're doing and how we might improve.
Thanks,
G

http://www.connectionschurch.ca/bible/

A Disillusioned Generation

I sometimes forget i can just pass on interesting stuff through my blog, instead of alway having to find time to write. Here's one such interesting article. Check it out if you have 5 minutes.

Dear Disillusioned Generation

The 'failed experiment' called the church still looks better than the alternatives.

Katie Galli | posted 4/21/2008 08:45AM Christianity Today, April, 2008

The following article is located at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/april/28.69.html

If you've talked to 20-somethings lately, you've probably noticed we're disillusioned about almost everything—government, war, the economy, and most things having to do with The Man. We're especially disillusioned with church. Somewhere between the Crusades, the Inquisition, and fundamentalists bombing abortion clinics, we lost our appetite for institutionalized Christianity. A slew of recent books addresses this growing disenchantment.

An oft-disillusioned (and hopelessly idealistic) 20-something myself, I picked up Life After Church: God's Call to Disillusioned Christians (InterVarsity), and Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation (Zondervan). I figured that I'd find writers who share my frustrations. But I was also hoping they would push me toward a deeper and richer relationship with the church—and in this, I was left unsatisfied.

In Life After Church, Brian Sanders writes specifically for "leavers"—people who are committed to Jesus Christ but often view church as a "failed experiment." They feel that following Jesus and staying in a local congregation have become mutually exclusive. Likewise, Sarah Cunningham in Dear Church writes for those who "question whether attending a local church has anything to do with a person's faith."

Both authors focus on local congregations as the primary source of disappointment. Sanders says leavers find Sunday morning services irrelevant—they're repetitive, they don't address issues that really matter to them, and they fail to provide meaningful outlets for service. Leavers often feel that they've outgrown what they perceive as simplistic, seeker-oriented messages; nor do they find churches conducive to deep community. Cunningham says 20-somethings are uncomfortable with overly cool, overly polished churches "whose onstage dress code seems to keep designer clothing stores in business." She also wrestles with the socioeconomic and racial homogeneity of local congregations.

Both authors identify a variety of complaints with the church. But naming a problem isn't the same thing as addressing it.

Sanders and Cunningham suggest drawing on a "clean canvas" what it means to do church. Sanders looks to Acts 9, which describes the apostle Paul's calling following his conversion, in order to propose an "ecclesial minimum" of worship, community, and mission. He writes, "As easily as we have formed churches around cathedrals and buildings with steeples and stained glass, we can form churches around pubs and laundromats, parks and coffee shops. … Simply inviting believers and nonbelievers into our homes for the purpose of worshiping and sharing Jesus transforms our homes into churches."

Obviously it is essential that we as Christians intentionally build relationships with nonbelievers in pubs and laundromats, because that is where they are. But that isn't church. Church is much more complex than "worshiping and sharing Jesus."

Cunningham cites various New Testament passages that deal with early Christian communities. She mentions Matthew 16 a few times—where Jesus appoints Peter to be the rock on which the church will be built—as the biblical grounds for her understanding of church. Ultimately, though, she shies away from any notion of the church as an institution (the closest she comes is saying that the church should be "a permanent fixture in society"). Jesus, she says, "did away with institutionalized religion and instead championed a real-life faith where he hung out with his followers in a way that was perhaps reminiscent of Eden."

I'm unclear on how one can create a "permanent fixture in society" and not create an institution. Cunningham seems to suggest that "real-life faith" is stifled by institutions, so we should avoid them at all costs. I'm not sure it's possible to sustain real-life faith without institutions.

For those who leave the institutional church, the focus seems to be on alternative communities. In "A Leaver's Manifesto" at the end of his book, Sanders says that the foundation of this new movement is the home church. He is so committed to this idea that he writes, "We can affirm the larger gathering for worship and celebration, but we can't call it church."

There is no question that home churches can facilitate powerful, deep community. Indeed, worship, community, and mission are all part of what it means to be the church. But I suspect there is a reason the institutional church has incorporated from its beginning liturgy, catechesis, creeds, and ordained offices—not to mention the sacraments. Over time, we discovered these were vital elements of church. As much as these things can sometimes feel rote, it would be naïve to wave them off as unessential.

In trying to make church relevant again, the authors focus on rethinking the Sunday morning service. In the process, they suggest how culturally trapped many in my generation are. "Too often," Sanders writes, "churches have failed to create an experience that serves and nurtures people at each point on that journey." Cunningham quotes a 20-something who declared, "I'm really tired of the pulpit-pew congregation style because it doesn't transform lives in the same way as one-to-one communication does." She quotes one pastor whose rule of thumb is, "If it doesn't help someone live out their faith Monday through Friday, it's not worth saying."

Of course, local congregations should encourage and disciple their members, help them to serve one another in practical ways, and offer opportunities for meaningful community. But just because those things don't happen on Sunday morning doesn't mean we're not being the church when we gather for worship.

Yes, we're Americans. We multitask all day long. Efficiency is one of our top cultural values. I, too, am pragmatic. I'd like to use Sunday morning to worship God, to get a few pointers on how to improve my relationship with Jesus, and to reconnect with community. But every Sunday, the first words heard at my institutional church are, "Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." And I'm reminded that we gather weekly not to hear a practical talk on how to better live out our faith or to provide a venue to tell our friends about Jesus. We gather corporately to worship God, to celebrate the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, and to remember that our lives are not about us.

Sanders and Cunningham don't completely disagree. Each spends some time giving a kick in the pants to the disillusioned, and Cunningham's warning hits home: "This kind of unexpected idolatry—the obsession with living in despair over what is wrong with the institutionalized church—creeps up on you (like most shifty little idols do). … Criticism becomes what we end up worshiping." She encourages 20-somethings to have a little more grace and patience with the failures of the church and ends her book with a love letter to the church.

The church can indeed be bureaucratic, inefficient, and, at times, hopelessly outdated. It remains one of the most embarrassing institutions to which one can belong. But it has also given us a 2,000-year legacy of saints and social reformers, and a rich liturgy and theology—the very gift 20-somethings need to grow into the full stature of Christ.

Katie Galli, a barista and a member of an Anglican congregation in Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Life after Church: God's Call to Disillusioned Christians and Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation are available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

Studying God's Word

Series: Signs of Belonging
George J. Saylor
April 20, 2008

A collector of rare books was talking with a man who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that “Guten-somebody-or-other” had printed it.
"Not Gutenberg?" gasped the collector.
"Yes, that was it!"
"You fool! You've thrown away one of the first books ever printed. Depending on the condition that book could have been worth millions!"
"Oh, I don't think this book would have been worth much," replied the man. "Some guy named Martin Luther wrote all over it.”

Not many people are bible scholars, but most of us would know enough not to throw out a Guttenburg Press bible, especially one that had been owned by Martin Luther. But as valuable as that bible would be, the real value of any bible is simply found in one thing- reading it.

So here’s the point today- I want you to read the bible. I want you to be a student of God’s word. Now if you can promise me you’ll read your bible, we can wrap this up really quick and all go golfing.

Why read the bible? In the context of our signs of belonging, we have established this: we belong to God- he made us, he redeemed us, he loves us, he wants to us to know we are his and he is ours- we belong. And so we worship him. That’s the start. The way we worship him without ceasing is by embracing our role as stewards- we talked about stewarding our time, talents and treasures last week. Now here’s where being a student of God’s word fits in- because he loves us, because we belong to him, because we are to worship him, because God wants us to be stewards, he has not left us in the dark wondering how to do all this. He has literally given us a book so that we can know the story of his love for us. So we can know how to worship him, so we can know how to be stewards. Why read the bible? Because God loves us enough that we are not left wondering how to work all this stuff out.

Read the whole sermon at cccsermons.blogspot.com

www.connectionschurch.ca

I need to blatantly plug our web page any way I know how- because it's awesome.
www.connectionschurch.ca
We now have a video window where you can watch our promotional videos.
And you can now listen to sermons online, or even subscribe to our itunes podcast.

A special thanks to Steve for the audio recordings.
To Ben for the video.
To Will for figuring out how to put them on the website.
And Steve, our original website designer and host.

I humbled and awed by the talent and devotion of these guys.
They have all done excellent work out of no other motivation than their love of God.

I am humbled and awed by the commitment and work of so many in this mission.
It's awesome to see a teams of people working together to grow this ministry.

So enjoy the new and ever improving website.

Stewarding God's Gifts

Series: Signs of Belonging
George J. Saylor
April 13, 2008

Last week we started by talking about our first sign and the foundation of finding true belonging- finding our belonging in God. We were created by God, we have been saved by God through Jesus, and we are called to belong with God in the community of Christ-followers, the church. And we express this great sense of belonging in the thing called worship. We start our week Sunday morning, Soaring in Worship, then we live it throughout the week.

But how do we do that, really? How do we live a life of worship? Through this thing we call Stewardship.

Today we go deeper into what it looks like to life a life of worship. And we believe that this idea, this practice of Stewardship is the start. And it’s as simple, and complex, as saying “God, in worship of you, everything I have, everything you’ve given me, belongs to you. And I will use it for you.” Stewardship is embracing this idea that you are not your own, and your stuff is not your stuff alone. But really that you belong to God, and your stuff belongs to God- all your stuff- your time, your talents, and your treasures, as we’ll get into it.

Read the whole sermon at cccsermons.blogspot.com

3 cards= 3 lives

Yesterday we celebrated another milestone at Connections.
We had three people take a step of faith in Jesus.
How do I know? I'll explain.

This central to our mission- Connecting with God through Jesus Christ.
Our hope is to see people far from God connect to God.

We want to figure out the best ways to fulfill this mission- in our singing, praying, preaching and processes.

Our most essential tool in our process is our Communication Card.

Our card is much like you'll find at any church- name, regular attender, address, comments, etc.
One other feature is the bottom line (yes, it's symbolic even in it's placement) which reads,

"I made a decision to Connect with God today and would like to know the next steps."

Here's how we do this (starting yesterday!):

First, we make a big deal about this line.
We let people know that this is vitally important to us. We want people to know that we believe there is a way to connect with God and enter a relationship with him through accepting Jesus as Lord and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's not a footnote at the end of the service, it's central to what we are doing with the worship service.

Then, after explaining the card, and the significance of the bottom line, we give people an opportunity. If they've made that connection, for the first time or in a fresh way, we want want to celebrate that with them and help them in any way we can.

So we give them the opportunity (no manipulation involved here) to take the Card to our Welcome Centre and receive a free bible (good ones, leather bound!) and an information packet with resources and CD's.

When people do accept this gift it serves two purposes:
First, it helps them to "seal the deal" and make this step of faith in Jesus more meaningful. Jesus spoken often of confessing him before other people, and how this public declaration has a spiritual effect on our lives.

Second, we can then gauge our ministry to see if it is helping people make this first step.

In this process of using cards, handing them in, giving and receiving these gifts, we get beyond numbers and on to people. In this way I don't have to throw out anything generic like,

"We saw a bunch of people make a first step to connect with God this week!"

Too often churches inflate their "numbers" with these vague references.

I can say,

"We saw three people make a step toward God this week as they put their faith in Jesus. I know because my volunteers told me they received their cards, gave them bibles, and talke with them. I know because I know their names and we can continue to connect with them."

Did others connect with God? I hope so. But that's between them and God for now. All I know is God brought three people to him yesterday, and we had the PRIVILEGE of taking part.

I'm home schooled...in Canada...where the moose are!

Confession time-
I love High School Musical and Hannah Montana.
I was watching Hannah with Eden Tuesday night when, for reasons I won't rehash, Hannah's best friend disguised her identity by saying,

"We've never met. I'm home schooled...in Canada...where the moose are."

We cracked up. "That's me!" Eden said with a smile.

Which made me a little sad, because it's true. If you want to hide you're identity from America, go to Canada. We're off the radar up here.

But it gave me new resolve- I pray God does such amazing things through Connections that all of Canada, and America, and the world can't help but notice.

But I also got to thinking about why I like this silly kids show.
One word- Timeless. The genius is that it does nothing new- they simply rehash the classic comedy formulas with new faces and contemporary references. It's actually brilliant.

That's all we do at Connections Community Church. Take a look at the church when it was born, through 2000 years of changing lives, and at our church today.
Same Jesus.
Same Bible.
Same truths.

But...
New faces.
New tunes.
New venue.
New references.
New applications.
New lives being changed.

What we are doing is as ancient as time, but as fresh as tomorrow.
Up here...in Canada...where the moose are...and where we still home school our kids... even though it makes us look like a bunch of weirdos.

Signs of Belonging Video

Reflections From a Trip to Disney, part 4

I always try to read a book or two during holidays.
I picked up the book "Quiet Strength" by coach Tony Dungy.
(Check it out, coachdungy.com)

This book was great, but I'll use it as a string board for something else.

I was late in catching football fever.
I was torn in childhood. On one side I grew up in the shadow of the Steel Curtain and the Terrible Towel- Steelers country. Everyone was a fan.
But I had a mother who not-so-subtlety discouraged my brother and I from playing football.
"It will ruin your body!" she always said.
So I picked up really safe activities like skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding and rock climbing- nobody has ever hurt themselves in those sports!

It wasn't until I moved away from Pennsylvania that I became a football fan. Much to my surprise it became a way of keeping me rooted to my past. And I've genuinely come to appreciate the sport.

But here's my thought, or my regret:
Now, as an adult, I wish I had the experience of playing for a great coach on a great team.

I was either so poisoned by a culture that said "do your own thing," or just genuinely had bad coaches, that I really don't know what great coaching and teamwork looks like. At least from the inside out. I can't even remember the name of any coach I had in my childhood.

And that is a great loss in my life.

Alas, I can't turn back the clock.
But I can encourage my kids to find a sport, and find a team, and find a coach that truly means something to them.

And in the mean time, as I try to build this church and build our leadership and ministry teams, I can learn from books like "Quiet Strength."
I can learn from just watching and enjoying football.
And I can learn by continuing to coach my kids soccer teams.

Yes, I coach soccer- talk about the blind leading the blind!

Trust me, I'm no coach Dungy, but I'm growing.

Signs of Belonging: Soaring in Worship

Series: Signs of Belonging
Sermon: Soaring in Worship
George J. Saylor
April 6, 2008

We have to find our place of belonging. It’s as human as the need to eat and sleep and breathe. Here at Connections we have a couple of convictions about belonging:
We were created to belong to God. This is the ultimate connection we must make, the ultimate belonging that must happen in our lives.
We were created to belong as a group, what we would call being the church.
We were created to belong socially, in a smaller network of friends.
We were created to belong personally, invest with a few true friends.
And we were created to belong intimately. With a spouse, with family, maybe with one or two life long friends.
Belonging is not a simple thing, it’s not even as simple as yes or no. It’s multifaceted and works out on many levels in our lives.

For the next five weeks we are talking about the Signs of Belonging here at Connections Community Church. We want people to know that these are Signs that mark and identify this church. Today I want to you first understand why they are important.

Read the rest of the sermon at cccsermons.blogspot.com

Reflections from a Trip to Disney, part 3

Disney does things right!

The attention to detail was amazing.
The facilities were immaculate.
Everything was larger than life.

The real thing they do right is to go over and above your expectations.

Unlike so many other parks that let their "classic" rides get rundown, Disney keeps improving on the old.
Pirates of the Caribbean has been updated.
It's a Small World was clean and bright.
The Magic Kingdom was a magic as ever with new rides, parades and shows.

How many churches find the routine for their services and programs, then just let them run their course? When do churches decide that their worship is just right and then set it on "repeat" mode until eternity? Their contentment with mediocrity and the lack of creativity drives me nuts. At Disney they make every day special. They make every year different. They continue to grow and develop their vision.

And even that's not enough. On our third day, our last day, we were at Animal Kingdom. Definitely my favorite park. It was getting late, we were getting tired, the crowd was thinning out, but we had one more ride to hit- Dinosaur!

Just when you think you've seen it all, they take it to the next level.
A woman spotted us heading to the line (which was very short by now). She smiled and whispered to to the girls (and winked at me), "Please follow me."
The girls didn't know if they were in trouble or what was happening- I was loving it, because I knew this lady was up to something.
She gave us the royal treatment- little dinosaur toys, special certificates, a gift for Justin who was too small for the ride. Then a "time travel ship" of our very own- just the three of us in our own private car!

This woman saw the opportunity to make our trip that much more memorable- and she seized it.

I want to create a church environment where that attention to detail, and to people, consistent happens so that expectations are exceeded.

Reflections From a Trip to Disney, Part 2

Here's my second observation/reflection upon returning to work after my Holiday to Disney:

My calling to plant and lead Connections is not my entire life.

• First is being faithful to God.
• Second is being faithful to my wife and kids.
• Third is being faithful to the work of pastoring Connections.

We should all have the joy have putting a lot of our identity into what we do. I wish everyone would have the blessing of loving what they do, of feeling called to their vocation. Work is too important in God's kingdom and in our lives to be a drag. It really needs to be a joy.

Some people have none of their identity invested in what they do. They are punching the clock and working for the weekend. That's a hard life, and that's not how it's supposed to be. We should all do our work for the glory of God. We should take pleasure in the works of our hands (see the entire book of Ecclesiastes).

But others have too much of their identity wrapped up in their work (Pastors are notorious for this.) They have no other outlets. Their enjoyment of life is totally dependent on how things are at work, at the firm, in the office.

When I started this mission I came up with a motto that would guide me each day:

"Failure is not an option... I must be prepared to fail."

Each day I work as if failure is not an option-
We will launch the service.
We will improve the service.
We will grow the church.
We will take this to the next level.
I will take a bullet for this mission and will not let it be hijacked or thwarted...

But in the back of my head and heart I remind myself of this- if I fail, if this turns out to be a giant lesson in handling disappointment, if this is my ultimate life lesson in humility, if someone comes along who is better cut out for this and called to this, if the bottom falls out, if I have to step aside, I must be prepared.

Statistically more than 80% of new churches fold within a few years.

Holidays with my family help me prepare because where I CANNOT fail is in being faithful to God, faithful to my wife, and faithful to my children. If I am faithful in these areas I will be successful in the eyes of God.

And that helps me keep this all in perspective, even though I know we are in 20%!

Reflections From a Trip To Disney World, 2

Here's my second observation/reflection upon returning to work after my Holiday to Disney:

My calling to plant and lead Connections is not my entire life.

• First is being faithful to God.
• Second is being faithful to my wife and kids.
• Third is being faithful to the work of pastoring Connections.

We should all have the joy have putting a lot of our identity into what we do. I wish everyone would have the blessing of loving what they do, of feeling called to their vocation. Work is too important in God's kingdom and in our lives to be a drag. It really needs to be a joy.

Some people have none of their identity invested in what they do. They are punching the clock and working for the weekend. That's a hard life, and that's not how it's supposed to be. We should all do our work for the glory of God. We should take pleasure in the works of our hands (see the entire book of Ecclesiastes).

But others have too much of their identity wrapped up in their work (Pastors are notorious for this.) They have no other outlets. Their enjoyment of life is totally dependent on how things are at work, at the firm, in the office.

When I started this mission I came up with a motto that would guide me each day:

"Failure is not an option... I must be prepared to fail."

Each day I work as if failure is not an option-
We will launch the service.
We will improve the service.
We will grow the church.
We will take this to the next level.
I will take a bullet for this mission and will not let it be hijacked or thwarted...

But in the back of my head and heart I remind myself of this- if I fail, if this turns out to be a giant lesson in handling disappointment, if this is my ultimate life lesson in humility, if someone comes along who is better cut out for this and called to this, if the bottom falls out, if I have to step aside, I must be prepared.

Statistically more than 80% of new churches fold within a few years.

Holidays with my family help me prepare because where I CANNOT fail is in being faithful to God, faithful to my wife, and faithful to my children. If I am faithful in these areas I will be successful in the eyes of God.

And that helps me keep this all in perspective, even though I know we are in 20%!

Reflections From a Trip To Disney World

In case anyone been wondering why I haven't blogged for a week- this is why.
After Easter (the proverbial Superbowl of church services) I took my kids to Disney World.
Yeah, I'm that great a being a Dad!
Here we are watching the parade at the magic kingdom. Take note of the Steelers sweatshirt on Justin- and it was even his 4th birthday!

Actually, I can't take credit for Disney. We had made our arrangements to go to Florida to visit my parents as we do every winter. They called to ask if we though the kids were ready for the full-on Disney experience.
Were they?
Is Mickey a mouse?
Is Donald a duck?
Oh yeah!

So what does this have to do with the church?

Only this- going back to "work" today was one of the hardest moments of my life in recent history. It wasn't fun to try to explain to Justin why, after 7 days of begin together almost constantly, daddy had to go. It was easier for Eden and Karis, as they understand the ways of the world a little better than their brother. There is NOTHING better than simply being with my kids. There is nothing more important for me as a father to be with my kids. Not even church planting, which is my passion and a dream come true.

It makes me examine several things which I'll reflect on the next few days. Thus, I give to you,

Reflections From a Trip To Disney World

First, how do I explain my "work" to the kids? When will they start to understand this calling? Is there a line between my work as a pastor and the church?
Some pastors say they are going to the "office" to separate work and church. I don't. I boldly tell them I'm going to help build God's kingdom and his church. I tell them I have the greatest privilege and responsibility in the world- I get to be the pastor of a church just being born. And while I have some healthy boundaries on my life (like going to Florida and NOT checking email or phone messages), I DO NOT put my calling to plant and lead Connections in a box. I DO NOT talk about it like it's just some job.

It is my passion. But I'm just doing my part of the work. I'm not the one in charge. Holidays are a necessary reminder that Christ will build His church, not me. I just do my part faithfully.

Then when I come back and find out that things went great without me I can celebrate and give God all the glory! It's great to bear the responsibility of leading Connections, but it's better to know I don't carry all the weight.

Doubt