Gorillas & Mules & Fools - Oh My!

Have you ever wanted to get something off your chest?  Put it all out on the table?  Address the gorilla in the room?  You know it's something that might have consequences once the words are out there but at that very moment, you're convinced you don't care - you just want to speak your mind!

I'm not always good at muzzling my thoughts.  (Right now those who know me best are uttering a sarcastic "Nooooooooooo, really?!!")  I have been known on more than one occasion to speak out of impulse and emotion because I just couldn't STAND the injustice of the situation another minute!

Basically, I stink at waiting.  That's problematic since waiting is generally needed for discernment, because waiting is often required to hear from God. 

On those occasions when I do manage to wait, it's often not silently and reverently with an ear toward the whisper in the wind. No, I'm much more likely to become head of the debate team. 

Yes, I, mere mortal that I am, try to explain to the God of the universe (read: argue with) why I should act in a certain manner. Forget that I'm full of faults and my past behavior of being the fool who rushes in where angels fear to tread has caused me nothing but embarrassment, heartache, or a full belly of crow. This time will be different!

Such was the case for me recently. I wrote a response to an email that I really, really, REALLY wanted to send. I was chomping at the bit to make my thoughts known, but I was counseled by two friends not to send it. I tweaked it. I saved it. I re-read it. I tried to talk both myself and my friends into the validity of it. They disagreed. I tweaked it some more.

The next day, I did what I should have done in the first place. I prayed for wisdom and discernment.  My prayer wasn't exactly textbook holy...it kind of went like this: "Lord, you know I can be stupid...please speak to me clearly through your Word this morning so I know what to do."

Be careful what you ask for if you really don't mean what you say. The devotional I read talked about being silent before God.  Seeking His face for guidance. I read the accompanying scriptures which were along the same vein, but then I noticed the previous year I had written in another scripture passage. I must behave this way more than I realize.

Psalm 32:8-9 says "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you."

Did I mention I had been 'chomping at the bit' to send the email? 

I deleted it. 

There's a saying "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt." It's very close to Proverbs 17:28 which says "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue."

Actually, Proverbs has a lot to say about fools. In 18:2 we read "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions" and in verse 7 of the same chapter it says "A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul." 

I'm sure if modern technology had been around in Biblical times the verses could just as easily have been written "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in posting all his opinions on Facebook" and "A fool's keyboard is his undoing and his texts and emails are a snare to his soul." 

I don't know about you, but while I aspire to be many things, a fool is not among them. 

Words, whether spoken or written, can never be taken back. Once that "send" button is pushed, you may just be opening your mouth and removing all doubt as to your foolishness. Thank you Lord for answering my prayer with clear instruction and providing a second chance to act wisely!

Adventures in Community Outreach - A Day of Service Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my church's Spring outreach which will take place June 1st...Central Cares Day.  I gave some background on how the idea evolved and the names of the organizations we'll be serving.

Today I wanted to provide more information on the nuts and bolts of how to put something like this together. 

First, last and always...pray.  Every outreach we've taken on has been a God-sized dream and they keep getting bigger.  Because they are so far out of the realm of our limited ability, at some point in each outreach, I begin to listen to the voices of fear in my head.  This time, I confess, I even considered canceling on a few projects because I worried there were not sufficient volunteers.  But when God is in the planning you have to trust that no matter how big the outreach seems, no matter how impossible it feels, He will be faithful to provide everything you need because it was His idea in the first place!  And so He has.  All work sites are a go as volunteers have poured in during the past few days.

Second...ask.  Because we've been working with service organizations like Dress for Success, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and the like, we had some connections already.  But a simple internet search and poll of those we know turned up many more non-profits and social service organizations to contact.  We also spoke with the superintendent of an inner city school system and an urban church.  It is rare to encounter a group willing to turn down free labor.

For the most part, I obtained a contact name and sent an email saying we had groups of people willing to do tasks such as painting, minor repairs, light landscaping, serving a meal, interacting with residents/clients, etc. and asked if they had any needs that would fit the bill.  I also explained we had set aside Saturday June 1st from 9-12 to perform the tasks.

Third...collect information.  When I received a positive response, I sent a form with basic questions like "Type of project?(painting, repair, landscaping, etc)", "How many volunteers needed?", "What tools can be provided?  What tools need to be supplied?", "Minimum age for volunteers?", and "How will the project benefit your organization and the community?" I also asked for the project address, a jpeg of their organization logo, and a contact name and number for the day of the event.

I took some time to visit most of the work sites to take pictures and see first hand what was needed.  In the case of several of the larger projects, the leaders also visited the site in advance of the project to make their own observations and plan out pre-event prep.

Fourth...budget.  We were blessed to have a donation made to our ministry for use toward the purchase of supplies, however we also solicited local home improvement stores for donations of paint, mulch, trash bags and the like.  One of the three stores contacted will be helping us.  I'm working with local store managers, but typically, donations have to come through a corporate office via their web site so putting in a request a minimum of 90 days in advance is recommended.

Fifth...recruit. Once we had a general idea of how many people would be required to cover all the work sites, we needed to advertise and recruit for volunteers.  Because this outreach is so comprehensive, we created a booklet to provide potential volunteers with all the information. Our designer took the information we gathered and created a layout which arranged outreach opportunities by age.  This helped volunteers with children to narrow down choices at a glance.  Again, we're blessed by having a congregant who does amazing design work for us for free...the design at the top of this post is her creation and appears not only on all our materials for the event, but also on the t-shirts we will wear that day. She was also responsible for the Free Market signage and t-shirt designs.

Recruitment was done in stages.  First, we personally invited those we thought would be a good fit for leadership roles at each site.  Next, we handed out the brochure to congregants and explained the event.   We provided a sign up form in the back of the booklet as well as a link to a free online service we highly recommend called "Volunteer Spot".

Having a pastoral staff that supports the outreach is very important.  Often when we have church-wide outreaches, the sign up phase is the culmination of a sermon series on a subject that ties in to the purpose of the outreach. The volunteer sign up allows our church to take what they've learned and put it into practice.  Service has really become part of the DNA of our church!

In addition, we use social media to "advertise" the event.  Those photos I took were posted on our Facebook page along with a description of the project and the link to Volunteer Spot.  The pictures of the work site and project details were helpful to some who needed more than just a written description to visualize the need.  We also encouraged those who weren't part of the congregation to join us.  As a result, friends, family, neighbors and co-workers of attendees will be part of the day.  I have found that people want to help - you just have to show them how and give them an opportunity.

Sixth...details.  I won't lie to you...when we took on this event, I thought it would be easy because we didn't have to come up with the project ideas or do things on our property.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  There are a million details in the coordinating and I have an incredible team of people to help tie up those loose ends.  Details include everything from shopping for supplies to coordinating rides and everything in between.

Seventh...giving thanks. One thing multiple outreaches have taught us is that when many people are part of the effort, not everyone knows/hears all the "God stories".  We will put together a picture presentation with stills and appropriate music that's shown a week or so after the event, but it's just not the same.  This time we are ending the outreach with a meal and time to share the God sightings from the day.  It is my hope that this time of fellowship will allow all those involved to be encouraged as they hear the stories from each of the work sites.  The meal is also a tangible way for us to thank our many volunteers for their time and service.

If you've made it this far, congratulations - that was a lot of information to plow through!  As always, if you desire more information or guidance on how you can bring this type of outreach to your community, just contact me via this blog and I'd be more than happy to provide you with more information.

And stay tuned...Central Cares Day is just a week away.  I will be bringing lots of pictures and stories of the day to this blog in the near future.



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Rowing In The Right Order

Last weekend, I headed to the lake to discover there was a regatta going on.  For those unfamiliar with the term, it's a series of boat races typically between rowed or sailed water craft.  This particular regatta was a competition where long boats are rowed.

I've seen the races before, but this time, as I watched the precision of the rowers and listened to the shouts of encouragement coming from a passenger in the boat, I grew curious about the details of the sport.  What I learned after some research was just how much a rowing team resembles our Christian walk...or at least how it should look.  For starters, just look at the teamwork required just to get the boat IN the water. The team needs to lift the burden together... just as we should be lifting one another's burdens up in prayer.

Then, once the boat is in the water, each of these team members has a specified position in the boat.

Using an 8 person boat as an example, the one closest to the front of the boat, or the 'stern', is called the 'stroke'.  This is the rower who is the most technically sound member of the team. It is that person's responsibility to establish the rhythm and rate of the boat - or basically, the speed at which they proceed.  In the picture below, you can see a person facing the rowers.  That non-rowing member of the team is the 'coxswain' and his responsibility is to steer the boat by working with the 'stroke', to provide motivation and encouragement to the crew, to let the crew know where they are in relation to other crews and the finish line, and to make any necessary race tactic calls.

Not to over simplify things, but when I think about the positions in the boat equated to our Christian walk, I think of Jesus as the one in the stroke seat with God as the coxswain.  Jesus is in the intercessor postion, establishing the rhythm of our lives when we're in submission to him. God's in the boat with us, directing us, providing encouragement throughout the race and the only one who can actually see the finish line.

The middle rowers are the body of believers.  We are to keep our eyes looking ahead, trusting on God to guide us.  We faithfully serve, pulling together to stay consistent in the race, and working together toward a common goal.

The last 2 rowers in the 8 person boat are called the bow pair.  This pair are more responsible for the stability and the direction of the boat than the other rowers, and are often very technical rowers.  In my little analogy, these would be our leaders, our pastors and the like.

So if the rowers all have a position in the boat that utilizes their strengths, what if one started to complain about their position within the boat?

What if a middle rower decides to switch positions or stop rowing? 

I'm not even sure it's physically possible to stand up in one of those long boats let alone crawl over others to switch seats...but I'll tell you what...aren't we all guilty of having made the attempt at one point or another in our lives? You know what I'm talking about. 

You think you can do something better than the person doing it...or

You think you're doing all the work with none of the credit...or

You don't see why you should have to be the one to volunteer...again...

Worse yet, maybe it's not another member of the body you have issue with...maybe you want to be in charge of the rhythm and rate of the boat. 

What if you try to sit in the stroke seat?

Yes...I'm talking about switching seats with Jesus.  C'mon, you remember...

Those times when things weren't moving along fast enough for you...

Those times when you thought switching lanes would give you an advantage...

Those times when you foolishly thought you could be face to face with God and tell him you could do a better job getting where you wanted to go...

And what happened?  You rocked the boat.  You capsized the boat.  Or maybe you just caused the boat to go around in circles without moving forward so long you got completely disoriented.

It's time for one more comparison today.  You see that big white boat in the picture?  That boat is like the Holy Spirit.  It follows the crews throughout the entire race.  The person in that boat chastises the rowers if they begin to stray from their lane.. he keeps them on the straight and narrow as it were.  If anything happens to a rower, they are there to pluck them up out of the water. 

In our Christian walk, as in rowing, there is a proper order to things.  We need God at the head or we run the risk of being in the race but getting off course because we cannot see the finish line.  We need Jesus in our midst to set the pace.  He intercedes on our behalf with the Father and together they guide us.  

We need to work together as a team, understanding that each person has strengths and weaknesses and God has placed us in the position He wants us in so we are best used to accomplish His purposes.  If we try to switch up that placement we run the risk of bringing harm to the entire group.  Our pastors and teachers are there to give us the stability and guidance we need as we navigate the sometimes rough waters in our lives.  We need to listen to the Holy Spirit to keep from straying from what is right. 

How are you doing today?  Are you fulfilling the mission of your position in the boat? 

Are you rowing in the right order? 

Adventures in Community Outreach - A Day of Service

In addition to my full-time job as Creative Services Director for a radio station, I serve as the Director of Community Connections, the local outreach ministry of my church, Central: a Christ-centered church.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that occasionally I write a new entry for the series - "Adventures in Community Outreach".  These posts detail just a few of the different outreaches my church has held over the years, in hopes that you may become inspired to do something similar to reach your community.

Last June, we held a Free Market on our grounds to help those who recently transitioned into their own home from a shelter situation, or who were struggling financially and needed household items.  It was a tremendous undertaking and touched about 300 lives, but we decided it's something to carry out every few years, not annually.  

That meant we needed a new idea this June.  I spent many months praying about what that would look like, and kept coming up empty.  Because my desire was to have our next outreach take place in the community and not on our grounds, we considered doing a health fair at a church we work with in the city.  But although I thought it was the right direction, several doors closed and it was necessary to go back to the drawing board.  That made me very nervous because we had a date of June 1st set aside, and March was rapidly approaching.  One day I may learn that my timing is not God's divine timing!

Because these church-wide outreaches tend to garner 150 - 200 volunteers, I had been stuck on finding a vehicle large enough to accommodate that size group.  Slowly, through a number of encounters, God shifted my thinking, and "Central Cares Day" was born.

Central Cares Day will take place June 1st from 9 til noon.  Groups of 5, 10, or 20 people will meet for a time of prayer and encouragement before going out to perform practical acts of service at the 16 sites we've identified throughout our county:

The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Mercer Street Friends (a food bank), Choice One (a crisis pregnancy center), The Arc Mercer County (a group home), Morris Hall (a nursing home), CareTrenton.org (a group dedicated to cleaning the streets of Trenton), UIH (strengthens families by working with dads), Henry J. Austin (a health clinic), Cadwalader Learning Center, 3 homeless shelters, 3 elementary schools. and 2 community centers.

The help we will provide will be as diverse as the organizations themselves...from art projects and entertainment, to housekeeping and administrative work, from light landscaping and serving a meal to painting and repairs.  Besides wanting to positively impact our community by putting hands and feet on our faith, we sought out things that could be done by a variety of ages and abilities so that all who wanted to participate, could.  We have several locations where families even with young children can participate together, some appropriate for 12 and up and some that are for adults 18+. 

The logistics have boiled down to this...each location will provide a contact person who will be onsite while we're working, and we will identify a team leader on our end for each project.  In this way, communication can be established prior to the work being done.  The group can go in fully prepared to perform the task at hand.

An army of volunteers - 291 - will be needed for Central Cares Day.  But if your church has a smaller congregation you can still organize something similar.  Simply begin with fewer sites, or, as I hope will occur in years to come with our "Cares Day", organize several churches in your area to work together to achieve the goal!

One of the other exciting facets of this outreach is how we plan to wind things up.  After all the groups have served at their site for the 3 hours, they will gather back together at our church where we will have a time of testimony and fellowship over a picnic lunch.  So often when we hold these large outreaches, we know what has happened in our little section of the event, but we don't hear all the other stories and encounters.  We usually pull together a video of stills, but it's not the same.  By coming together for a meal and time of sharing, we will get to learn how God has taken each one of these small outreaches to create a large impact all over our county.  

Of course, in order to have all this happen, we need a few more teams of volunteers behind the scenes - my ministry team is invaluable in putting together the details, helping sign up volunteers, and more, we need those willing to prep and serve the food, set up and take down  the meal portion of the event, provide childcare for the smaller children who can't help, and most importantly, a prayer team who covers the entire event in prayer!

We are already being blessed as several organizations have sought to meet to discuss an ongoing partnership with our church.  And then there are those crazy little detail Godincidences like the yard sale where I found 82 pairs of work gloves for a fraction of the regular price.

Volunteer signups begin this coming weekend, so stay tuned for updates as Central Cares Day approaches.  I'm sure there will be many God-sightings along the way!!

Life out of Death

Winter seemed to last forever in New Jersey this year.  Maybe it's because we took our cue from that furry rodent, Punxsutawney Phil.  You know, that groundhog who gets pulled out of his hole every February 2nd by a man wearing a top hat and overcoat.

Maybe this year, Phil just got tired of the early morning disturbance of his slumber and decided to teach us all a lesson by predicting an early spring.  I can hear that woodchuck chuckle over our disillusionment as we continue to turn on the heat in the evenings and wear heavy coats well into April.  But I digress...

This past week, temps soared into the high 70's and low 80's. And while the weekend rolled around to unveil a more moderate 60-65, we were still blessed with two beautiful days.

My friend Pam from In The Shadow Of His Wings shares some of her stunning photography of the lake at sunrise this weekend.  As she details in her post, Jesus called her to come away with him to a quiet place and led her there.

I had a similar experience Saturday morning, although not quite early enough to catch the sunrise.  I had been wrestling with something since Wednesday so as soon as I woke to sun streaming in my window, I knew I needed to connect with Him by the waterside to unburden my heart .

When I arrived, I was met with color.  I had been so wrapped up in my troubles, I hadn't realized that some plants had begun to bloom in the past few days.


The long winter had taken its toll on my spirit, but down by the lake that all began to melt away.  I no longer felt dormant and lifeless and cold.  It is impossible not to smile in the presence of Forsythia.  

And seeing the landscape of trees beginning to bud and flower reminded me of God's promise of rebirth through nature.  The hope of life out of death.  No matter what might have been burdening my heart, it was not the end...there was another season on the horizon.

As I walked the trails, I listened to a song by Frances Drost called "A Psalm of the Free One" that says in part..."Though I walk through the valley of the death, I know that I will bloom again.  In the desert places, you are my joy, and I am yours oh Lord.  You will guide me with all of your heart.  You will love me with all of your might.  For I am your child and your friend.  And you have heard my prayer."

You may still feel the ravages of winter in your life, but rest assured, Spring is coming.  God hears your prayers and you will bloom again.