Thursday, September 25, 2008

Crazy Week

Most of you know that my son Dietrich has had a rough summer. He has had surgery, stung by jellyfish at least twice, was bitten by close to 200 seed ticks (we counted them), then had 6 teeth pulled, and this week has been home from school for a week with a serious sinus infection and fever. Dietrich has had it rough. Pray for him!

Then this week has been a busy week with several meetings for me in the evenings. it's been one of the weeks when i say hi and bye to the family and roll on. You have weeks like that now and then.

it can wear on you mentally a little bit. That's why I was thankful for the finance seminar tonight. We looked at Romans 8:28 where God says he works together all things for good for thos who love him. I know I love God and I know he loves me (He went first) so i know things are working for good. God doesn't get tired so he is my refreshment and my source of strength. What a great verse of scripture!

I'm also preparing for the Simple Church Seminar on Saturday and God is really impressing me onthe power of systems. a system is how an organization gets things done. For example, McDonald's has a system on delivering you a hamburger. GM has a system for building a car. Your body has a system for walking, breathing, and battling viruses.

The church has a system and like a body it has several systems. I'm just learning about all of this and it really is amazing. I think the knowledge about systems will help our church grow farther.

Every church, I have learned, has eight primary systems of getting things accomplished. Each one needs attention to furtehr the church. I'll expand on those systems in upcoming blogs. It really is exciting.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

I'm excited about our church

I'm excited becasue I see so many people excited, even passionate about ministry. It's really exciting to see so many people involved in seeing the Gospel of Jesus Christ expanded. Last year at this time we were setting up 80 chairs. Now we are setting up 149! I believe we've practically doubled the amouont of people involved in some type of minisry inside and outside of the church. Last year we din't have a strong presence in the community. This year we have an incredible presence. Last year we had 2 elders. This year we 4 elders (Was 5 but Paul is moving to TX), 2 Deacons, and 10 ministry teams. It is out of this world exciting. God is blessing us in mighty ways.

The most exciting number is baptisms. We have seen several people come to Jesus as thier personal Lord and Savior.

May God continue to bless us.

We have challenges too. Children's and Youth minstries are overcrowded. They need space! We need a permanent place to worship. More people need to get involved in Life Groups and Service. We need to see the prayer level go up in our church.

I believe though, as we follow God, that all these challenges will be met with God's grace.

God Bless!

Kirk

No Country for Us Men (and Women)

I went to the men's Small Group Wednesday night and had a great time. It's good to get with other guys. In the midst of this study we looked at Hebrews 11, the great hero chapter of the Bible.

In the midst of the study I read these verses and they really stood out to me. It's Hebrews 11:13-15. "Heb 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Heb 11:14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. Heb 11:15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Heb 11:16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (NIV)

All these heroes mentioned did not see the promise God gave them come true in thier lifetime. It says they only saw them at a distance. In other words they had a clear vision in their mind of what God promised, but they never saw the reality of that.

The promise God gave them would not come true on earth, in this country, but a country they belong to not on this earth. Thet were longing for the country to come called heaven.

For me that means there is no country on earth for me. The country I long for, I desire for, I want for my children, is not the US, or any oher nation past, present, or future. The country I belong to is still to come and I can see it from a distance.

I long for that country called heaven, and God is building a city in that country that defies description. The country is challenging to live in, but it has complete peace. No more shots. perfect health. No robberies or sex predators. I won't have to worry about being harmed or deal with heartache. He land i see is still in the distence, but i know I'm gettting closer everyday.

What a great scripture!

Kirk

Friday, September 12, 2008

Hello!

What a crazy week! it's been very busy this week for me, but a good week.

Tuesday I went to the VEF board meeting. I am now serving as one of the directors. In case you don't know VEF (Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship) planted our church here a little over 6 years ago. VEF is involved in helping ChristianChurch preachers across the state, planting new churches (In fact 3 are being planted in VA this fall), and helping churches that are already existing. VEF is all about "pursuing kingdom growth." Our church supports VEF and through our support we are helping churches be planted all across the state of Virginia.

After I the meeting I came away with some lessons, ideas, or something like that. First, I noticed that I lacked a lot of perspective at how awesome and active the Kingdom of God is (sorry about the prep). We are not alone! We can get so caught up in our little concerns that we forget that we are part of the giant plan of God. Secondly, I came away humbled by these men on the board. Not all of them are preachers. Many are businessman. All seek to pursue kingdom growth. Thirdly, I get to participate. I wasn't treated like the new guy. They wanted to know what I was thinking. They found out real quickly not much! I was honored by theior attitude.

What does that mean for you? You are not alone. You are par of a bigger plan that has been going on for generations. God is bringing all people together.

Awesome! It's neat to see that all over the state.

Chat at cha later... Kirk