Longing to Worship

I had the most encouraging text from a friend this past week.
He let me know that he couldn't be at the worship service because of his work.
Then he added that-
it pained him that he would miss the worship service.
That's enough to make a pastor's month!

Why do we go to church to worship?
Because we have to?
No, we don't have to.
Because we want to!

• Because we want to sing God's glory.
• Because we want to hear the bible taught in a relevant way.
• Because we want to see our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Because we want to serve on a Ministry Team and make a difference in people's lives.
• Because it's in worship that we feel most alive!
• Because we feel encouraged, uplifted, stretched and challenged all at the same time.

For some people this is a totally foreign experience- to actually want to be in worship.
If you know someone who's in that category- invite them to Connections this Sunday.

• They'll hear laughter in the lobby;
• See people hugging and loving on each other;
• Hear a band that rivals most any group you'd pay to hear;
• And listen to a preacher who teaches people about "manscaping."

(OK, that last part might not be the best selling point for our worship service.)

The Game of LIFE

Hey Connectors,

This Sunday, November 2, 2008, we kick off our "Game of LIFE" series.
We'll be talking about a classic game each week, and how it relates to the game of life. This Sunday it's "Trivial Pursuit." What are the trivial things that consume so much of our lives, and what is the most "meaningful pursuit" of our lives.

I promise that everyone who comes out to play is gonna leave a winner this Sunday!

Information is Service

You know the old expression,

"Information is power!"

I'm tweaking it-

Information is Service!

When folks are involved with Connections and understand Connections- our mission, how we operate, what our programs are, etc- then they can better serve. And we can better place them where they need to be.
Recently one of our volunteers apologetically told us she didn't feel comfortable in the volunteer role we put her in.
GREAT- now she knows something about herself and we can put her in role that fits better.

Information helps people to:
feel empowered;
help visitors;
point other people in the right direction.

Information doesn't put them in a position of power, it puts them in position of service.

So I encourage all our volunteers and attenders-
Get informed,
and get serving.
If you don't know, ask.
If you know, serve.

We have to work together to make this mission happen!

The Real Us

Sunday night our Connection Group got a taste of the real Saylor household.

• I left the house at 3pm to preach at an event in a neighboring town.
• Robin came home at about 6pm from another party and started cleaning up.
• I picked up Justin at 6:15pm from his friend Caleb's house.
• Our group started to arrive at 6:30pm, right on time.
• I didn't get home until 6:45pm.
• Robin asked if I remembered to pick up Eden.
• I didn't.
• The birthday party she was at ended at 4pm (what 3 hours late among friends?)
• Justin and I had not eaten.
• I gave Justin a bag of lunch meat and a block of cheese.
• I grabbed a piece of cheese cake.
• Justin rejected the bag-o-meat and opted for my cheese cake.
• Robin walked in with Eden to see all this unfolding in front of our group.

So much for the image of the perfect pastor's family.
We tried so hard to keep up appearances!

We told the group when we started that we'd be hospitable, but we'd also be real. Now they've seen the real side. "Life in a Fishbowl" as Robin's blog says.

Then we had a great discussion.
And we really prayed for each other.
This is authentic community.

Then we had company come to spend the night!
2 days into the week and we've had nearly 30 visitors already!

Monday's Musings

Yesterday we had our biggest turnout yet- 284 people.
Wow.
I knew it was a big crowd when we ran out of programs, but I had no idea.
A lot of folks were there to support the Kaastra and Terry families.
But still, take away 50 guests and we still had 234 people there to worship.

So I went home feeling pretty full of myself.
Then it started to dawn on me- God is really doing something here.
And if God is doing something, I'm both thrilled... and terrified.
I got the chills.

And I feel out of comfort zone already.

• How to you transition from wondering if anyone is going to show up, to knowing that a couple hundred will show up?
• What do you do when you fill your meeting space?
• Multiple services, multiple locations, video services, new venue?
• How do you make such a transition and keep the momentum?
• How do you lead people when you're clearly in over your head?
• I don't know, but it's going to be a blast figuring it out.

I had a confidence going into church planting that I could lead a group of people with a vision to change lives for Jesus. But taking that vision to the next level is where my challenge really begins.

• I'm going to have to resist the urge to play it safe now.
• Take chances on people.
• Let go of some things and trust others with leadership.
• Think organizationally as well as missionally.
• Plan ahead instead of respond to the moment.
  

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Yesterday I also preached at a Reformation Day service to a couple hundred people. It was awesome, and they were so excited to hear what God is doing through church planting.

Then we had our Connection Group at my place. Five weeks into the semester and I already feel so close with these people. Our prayer time was awesome!

We had company show up at 11:30pm to spend the night. I had never met them before. Honestly, I said who are you people and why are you at my house? Almost 12 years of marriage to Robin and she is still surprising me.

This morning we made pumpkin pancakes. It was a taste of the glory yet to come.