PLEASE PRAY FOR ELOISE – URGENT!

FROM SARAH, OUR DAUGHTER, ABOUT OUR GRANDDAUGHTER, ELOISE

Eloise will be having her 5th heart surgery next friday, May 9th.   This is not one of the original scheduled ones that we knew she would have to have.  

Eloise, in one year, has gained not even a pound.   For those who understand medical terms, her oxygen saturation is at 78-79%.   To give you an idea of how tiny she is, she will be two in June and now in the end of April she weighs almost 19 pounds.   Her little heart is beating so fast to produce enough oxygenated blood to allow her to survive that she is burning every bit of caloric nutrience that enters her body.   The goal of the surgery is to open up more pathway (arteries/veins) to allow more blood flow from her heart. This will hopefully slow her heart down.   They also plan on closing off the arteries that are taking the blood flow away from the lungs (where the blood is oxygenated), allowing her O2 saturations to increase.   She is an extremely blue baby right now, we want to “pinken” her up a little.  

Okay, enough of the details, how you can pray:

-pray for the surgeons, they will prep her for open heart, but they plan to start with a heart catheter going in through both sides of her neck and both sides of her groin.   PRay that they can achieve their goals through these ports and they do not have to open her chest up.   Pray that they can see the problem and fix it.   Pray for the anesthesiologist, putting babies with severe heart defects under anesthesia is very dangerous and hard on their bodies. 

-pray for Eloise, now that she is older she is able to communicate a little more, but her understanding of pain is a lot more invasive.   She already does not like doctors (wonder why .  

 
-pray for me as I try to console her and keep her calm during the recovery (which we are not sure at this point as to what it will involve)

-pray that I can remain strong and composed for her and for my family.   Pray that Sam and Abe   during this time.  

 
-pray for quick healing. 

Okay now for the good news:   OUR GOD IS SO GREAT.  

Her last surgery (other than the tubes that she had put in her ears in Feburary) was May of 2007.   At that point Clayton and I asked the Lord to please give Eloise and us, as her parents, one year.   One year of health, of growth, and of connection time with her that we had lost over the last year.  

Do you know that this surgery falls 1 year and two days after her last one.  

God is so good.   He answered our prayer.  

That is the promise that we are clinging to with this one.   He is a God who watches over us, loves us, and answers when we call upon him.   

Thank you friends for praying.   I will keep you posted as much as I can. 
 
Sarah Owen
 

10 Things Churches Could Learn from Disney

Bob Franquiz recently visited Disneyland, and observed what churches could learn about excellance.

1. No beeping – Driving on the Disney property is an amazing experience. No one beeps. It showed me that when people are happy, they get along

2. Nothing is more important to people than their kids – I’m amazed at the lines people will stand in and the overpriced food they will eat all for their kids. I wonder what would happen if churches really took children’s ministry seriously.

3. They make feeling special common – The cast members at Disney made us feel special every day we walked on the park. They were so kind to my daughter and gave her stickers. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it was so nice and made us feel as though we were the most important there.

4. Intentionally creating experiences – Disney thinks through every part of the experience (music, decor, lighting, etc…) in their parks, hotels, and restaurants.

5. Going out of their way in special circumstances – We went to a Disney restaurant and it was totally booked, but they had a cancellation and got us in without us waiting even 5 minutes! That’s how you create raving fans!

6. Committed staff is tied to a big vision – They can’t create a great experience without a staff that’s committed to executing that vision.

7. Constant change is accepted when people think the change will be better – I was amazed by the number of things that were getting remodeled (Ghiradelli’s chocalote was one of them). But they have proven over and over again that when they change things it’s always better.

8. They know the little things are what get remembered – Every time I leave Disney it’s 4-5 little things that bring me back. The big things matter, but it was little conversations with cast members and my daughter meeting the Little Einsteins that I’ll reminder.

9. If they can’t do it with excellence they don’t do it – Disney doesn’t do anything halfway. If they can’t bring it 100%, they don’t bother doing it.

10. They make you want to come back – Disney has a 90% retention rate! Talk about great assimilation!

Economic Stimulus Check and Christ-followers

I really appreciate the suggestion of John Piper:

For a moment, forget the political puzzle of getting money back when the country is nine trillion dollars in debt. The more immediate question is: How will you make much of Christ with your “economic stimulus payment”? The president says it will be in the mail in time for Cinco de Mayo.

Clue: Nobody in the world will see you spend your money on yourself and conclude that Christ is your treasure. They will assume you are just like them, no matter how loudly you thank God for this boon. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend it on yourself (the way we do with most of what we earn). Not everything we do can look different from the world—eat, pay utilities, fill up the car, wear clothes (even thrift-store clothes). And yes, we hope (somehow) that spending on ourselves in some way contributes to our being more Christ-exalting people.

But do we really need this money? Very few do. We would have gotten on fine without it. If we didn’t know it was coming, we wouldn’t even be feeling the desires we are feeling right now.

May I encourage you to be radically creative and hedonistic. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). And those crazy Macedonians in a “severe test of affliction” and in “extreme poverty” had an “abundance of joy” that overflowed in a “wealth of generosity.” They even begged Paul “for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:2-4). They really believed what Jesus said. Really.

Before the check comes dream of some person or ministry which might make much of Christ because you treasured him above your next home project.

The reason God created money and enabled us to earn it is so that we could show by the way we use it that money is not our treasure, Christ is. That’s why the checks are coming. So we can make Christ look great.

“Be content with what you have, for he has said,
‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Why is Jesus the only way?

Do Southern Baptists have a future?

I’ve been a Southern Baptist pastor and missionary. I was trained in a SBC university and seminary. I’ve been in innumerable meetings with SBC leaders, and have prayerfully declined the invitation to lead several SBC organizations.

The following commentary by Dr. Nathan Finn is a helpful understanding of where Southern Baptist are. When one out of every 4 SBC churches baptized no one last year – you read that right – something is very wrong. I encourage you to read all the article, and pray for God’s reviving, and repentance-producing hand to touch Southern Baptist.

With much online fanfare, Ed Stetzer has published a study by LifeWay Research that shows that the SBC is in numeric decline. Many of us knew that this study was in the works. I suspect most engaged Southern Baptists already knew what’s happening in the SBC, even if there were no study to substantiate it. The various factions in the SBC blogosphere have responded pretty much like I expected them to respond. Some will claim that the SBC is already hopelessly lost and all but suggest we should all move on (or at least get rid of Paige Patterson, Al Mohler, or whomever they hate this week). Others will attempt to discredit the study by ignoring the facts and continuing to delude themselves into thinking that the SBC is fundamentally healthy. Don’t buy either approach. We are unhealthy and declining. Rapidly. But there’s still hope.

Some have wondered if perhaps our numeric decline is related to a recovery of regenerate church membership. At the risk of being rude, I have to keep from laughing out loud at the suggestion. Our numbers would really decline if we were honest about our statistics! But at least we could talk about our churches and baptisms without breaking the ninth commandment, even if it meant admitting that Southern Baptists are not “THE LARGEST PROTESTANT DENOMINATION IN AMERICA” (insert collective strut here). As I have been saying for four years, don’t buy the statistics that claim we baptize 350,000 people a year. Those stats are bloated because of toddler baptisms, “rebaptisms” of tender-conscienced souls who are casualties of a tacky revivalism, and the immersion of new church members who have come to our churches from other types of churches that do not share our baptismal convictions. If we annually baptize 75,000 lost people over the age of 12 who are not already attending our churches’ activities, I would be shocked. We are far less evangelistic than you think we are, but too proud (and pragmatic) to admit it.

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Final Report on Eight Days of Hope – Tupelo

Eight Days of Hope – Tupelo – is now history.

God was very present with all of us this past five days in Tupelo. He walked with us, guided us, stirred our hearts, lifted our burdens, infused us with joy, and strengthened our desire to serve him.

Ministry took place in parks, hospitals, on the side of the road, in homes, in parking lots, stores, on roofs, hanging drywall, in the Worship Center of Hope Church.

Thank you – all who heard God’s call to Tupelo. Thanks for all who prayed. Thanks to all who ministered to so many!

The final number is in on the number of homes we ministered in. A total of 34 homes were renovated in some way – this means at least 34 families were prayed for, cared for, and blessed.

American Family Radio had extensive work done in their facility.

Global Outreach, a missionary-sending organization, had its new facility completely dr-walled – 42,000 square feet of drywall? WOW!

Once again, we learned there is more joy in giving than receiving. I’m so grateful to be part of the Body of Christ.

Revival

This morning, at the Exponiental Church Conference, Tim Keller spoke on the subject of revival.

He mentioned three instruments the Spirit uses to bring revival:

1. Recovery of the difference between the gospel and religion (Religion: “I obey God in order to be accepted.” The gospel: “I am accepted, and therefore, obey.”)

2. Extraordinary prayer

3. Radical creativity. (Every revival is unique. C. S. Lewis said, “You never get back into Narnia the same way twice.” )

Tim mentioned three aspects of revival we have no control over:

1. Nominal church members are converted.

2. Sleepy Christians are awakened to the love of God

3. Non-believers are attracted.

He closed with four results of revival:

1. A looney fringe emerges (I know what that looks like!)

2. There is a backlash inside the church – leaders are threatened by the growth (been there, done that, have the t-shirt)

3. Lots of new churches are planted

4. Real social healing takes place.

Hearing Tim address revival only deepened my desire to pray, work, and expect another great move of the Spirit.

So flawed… so loved

Today, at the conclusion of the Exponential Conference, I had the joy of listening to Tim Keller twice. I’ve also been reading his book, The Reason for God, a wonderful book.

Keller writes…

“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

- Timothy Keller, The Reason For God

How to reverse the decline in American Christianity

The pastor of Europe’s largest evangelical church gave advice on how to revive Christianity and the Church in the United States Tuesday evening during a Q&A session based on questions submitted by American Christians.

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(Photo: The Christian Post / File)

Pastor Sunday Adelaja, senior pastor of Embassy of God in Kiev, Ukraine, addresses pastors at a Billion Soul Summit in Dallas, October of 2006. Adelaja launched a new U.S. ministry called ChurchShift on June 19, 2007.

Sunday Adelaja, founding pastor to the 30,000-member God’s Embassy Church in Kiev, Ukraine, was the featured guest of a teleconference hosted by Strang Communications, the publisher of Charisma and Ministry Today magazines.

God’s Embassy Church boasts more than two million converts and 600 church plants worldwide.

During the Q&A, Adelaja emphasized how the Church should not be pulpit-focused, but rather concentrate on how to reveal Jesus Christ to people if they want to experience growth.

The Nigerian-born Christian leader used his own church as example, saying that his church first experienced massive growth after four fruitless years when he started to go out and fed the poor and took care of the drug addicts and alcoholics in Ukraine.

He also encouraged every single church member to influence and impact the culture for God.

“Do not let your people get comfortable with sitting down in the pews,” Adelaja advised a pastor who submitted a question during the teleconference. “You have to literally push them out of the pews and

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Where the cross should be raised

I simply argue that the Cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles; but on a cross between two thieves; on the towns’ garbage heap; at a crossroad, so cosmopolitan they had to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek… at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died. And that is what He died about. So, that is where church-men ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about.
Rev. Dr. George McLeod, Minister, Church of Scotland, 1895-1991

Investment Tips for 2008

For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG bucks. Watch for these consolidations in 2008:

1. Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R. Grace Co. will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.

2. Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner, Cracker.

3. 3M will merge with Good Year and become: MMMGood.

4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa

5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.

6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become: Fairwell Honeychild.

7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.

8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become: Knott NOW!

What I heard at the Exponential New Church Conference

1. There is never a “good time” to plant a church – just as there is never a good time to begin to have children.

2. The DNA of a church: Divine truth, Nurturing relationships, Apostolic mission.

3. What we celebrate, we become.

4. Church planting is the extreme sports of ministry.

5. How to make vision stick (Andy Stanley)
State it simply
Cast it convincingly (What it the problem your vision will fix?)
Repeat it regularly
Celebrate it systematically – find someone living out the vision and hold them up as an example
Embrace it personally

6. Most places in the United States do not need another church. They need a place to bring unchurched friends.

7. The power of a short, simple mission is incredible. Andy asked, “what is the vision of Barak Obama?” The 2500 attending, in one voice, said, “change.” When asked the vision of Hillary or McCain, there was a cacophony of sound, smiles, laughter. The point was proven.

Bono’s mission to end poverty has a simple vision – “make poverty history.” Doesn’t say it all, but it is memorable.

8. What became obvious to me: the need to SIMPLIFY and MULTIPLY and EDIFY (make disciples)

Not to worry – I can take him!!

Why David delighted in God’s law

I’m reading through the Psalms these days, and I’m struck with how often David and the other psalmists speak of delighting in the law of God. This statement occurs 12 times in the version I’m reading – the English Standard Version.

C. S. Lewis, in his Reflections on the Psalms, says it is a mystery to him how people could rejoice in the law. He could imagine fearing the law, or respecting the law, but how could they delight in it?

He concluded,

Their delight in the law is the delight in having touched firmness; like the pedestrian delights in feeling the hard road beneath his feet after a false shortcut has long entangled him in muddy fields.

I can relate. Years ago, I went deep sea fishing with some friends. We were out a few miles, the waves became choppy, the boat was bobbing like crazy, and I became as sick as I’ve ever been. When we finally returned to land, the feeling of firmness was a huge relief and joy.

In a world of uncertainty, there is one thing that is rock-solid and firm – the word of God.

10 questions that have me thinking

I’m attending the National New Church Conference in Orlando this week. Weather is gorgeous, FBC, Orlando is impressive and friendly, and I’m running into some old friends.

Today, in the first conference on the nuts and bolts of church planting, as I listened and took notes, I jotted these questions down in my notebook:

1. How can a local church be the hands of Jesus and serve the community?

2. What 25 things to serve the community are on our church calendar? (This question is not only convicting – it is motivating!)

3. Who is trying to reach lost people in our community?

4. Why did Southern Baptist churches grow faster than anyone else between 1950-1990? (Everything at every level was done for one purpose – evangelism. Sunday School was not for Bible study or fellowship – it was for evangelism)

5. How is starting a church like building a house? (There are between 400-800 different decisions that must be made, in a particular order)

6. Could I launch a church this weekend? (yes, if I had $1,000,000 given to me for the plant).

7. How did Nehemiah build a wall 1 1/2 miles long and 3 stories tall – in 52 days? (The entire wall was built at once – families built the part of the wall in front of their home. He delegated.)

8. Is it better to launch a church by pouring energy into a great worship service or into developing small groups? (Both are legitimate strategies with many success stories to tell)

9. What is the fatal flaw in Simple Church – in other words, why is it not enough to love God, love people and serve the world? (What is missing is developing leaders)

10. All other things being equal, is it true that the more money spent before the launch, the larger the church? (according to studies of hundreds of new churches, the answer seems to be yes).