new homegroup

thinking about starting a new homegroup soon, feel like maybe Jesus is saying the time is right. mentioned it to ronni at dinner tonight, and she said she felt like Jesus had said the same thing to her at church this weekend. it's funny, we're pastoring a church now, but we've never led a homegroup. usually, home group leadership is like ground level pastoring - you get experience gathering, teaching, caring, counseling, equipping, leading prayer ministry, managing conflict, ministering to others while going through the challenges of managing your own lives, communicating vision, you name it. so leading a home group is the first step in learning pastoral ministry. we've led small groups of various sorts, ministry teams, high school small groups, etc., but this will be the first full-fledged (God willing!) home group, or kinship, depending on what language you like. worship-bible study-sharing-prayer deal.



I suppose we start by looking for someone in the church to serve as hosts and recruit a couple who can be assistant leaders who we can equip to either eventually take over the group we plant together, or plant a new group out of this one as it grows. maybe look for a worship leader to partner with too. we're thinking maybe tuesday nights, we'll see. anyway, kind of fun to start a new adventure and see where God leads.



on a completely unrelated note, shopping for a new laptop tonight. my current one is 3 years old and sadly too slow to create my powerpoint sermon presentations with. I'll never be able to afford it, but for kicks, take a look at this link . Over $7,000. unbelievable price, but an unbelievable machine too.



old laptop will go to compassion minstry, probably, so it can be used to help the ministry team check people in more quickly and manage the data. steve davis, who is on the core team for the minstry, sent an email out saying as of this last weekend, compassion has given away nearly 600,000 lbs of food in it's history. awesome!

community beginnings

got a phone call early yesterday morning. i tend to expect someone in crisis with early morning / late night calls. thankfully, not this time. it was someone in the church who works for u of m with a chance to score tickets for the michigan - hawaii NIT basketball game. 9:00 tip off, so i can make it after my evening meeting. suffice it to say, really looking forward to going with him tonight. in a small but powerful way, these kinds of relationships are a meaningful indicator of health in a church. obviously, the big stuff matters: visiting people when they are sick, bearing each other's burdens, serving Christ together, praying and worshipping together, being there when the rubber meets the road in each other's lives. but i think a lot of that is the fruit of relationships that grow from the little stuff. at the very least the little stuff functions like glue, or grease, depending. i'm praying that people throughout the church are sharing their lives together this way. we'll be so much more ready for the big stuff when it comes along if we're enjoying the little stuff together.

day's end

talked to a good friend tonight who is joining the catholic church on easter. really happy to see the impact a great parish and an extraordinary priest is having on his walk with Christ. another good friend called me up to play some command and conquer generals: zero hour tonight. excellent strategy game that's simple enough to play without overwhelming a tired brain and complex enough that it hasn't lost it's appeal to me. satisfying way to finish the day. about to do the night office (divine hours prayer on the website) and begin my personal sabbath with a good night's sleep.

guest from across the pond

rob clark, senior pastor of the bournemouth vineyard, spoke at the church this morning. great stuff about the fatherhood of God. simple and direct, annointed, seemed really effective. saw some people come up for prayer that i've never seen come forward before. some old friends were visiting this morning; feels good when that happens. rob's got a really fun church, has a knack for empowering others. want to learn to do that more myself. feel excited about what Jesus has in store down the road. went to cabella's with ronni, colin, and rob for lunch afterwards. absolutely packed.



piston's resounding victory over the cavs helped me unwind this afternoon. seems liked i'm always pretty "knackered" (british expression that's lodged in my brain) sunday afternoons--interesting since i didn't have to preach this morning. must be the relational energy expended.