From the Desk of Pastor Steve

Transcription

1 From the Desk of Pastor Steve Have you ever noticed that there are two types of people when it comes to things like goals and New Year s resolutions? There are some who love to write down goals, set up timelines, and work every day to make things happen. On the other hand, others just sort of take life as it comes. Now by this I do not mean they are lazy or unmotivated; they just go with the flow more and allow God to work out the details and the outcomes. Which one are you? Which way it right? Which way is more in touch with what God wants? When you turn to the Scripture, you don t get a real clear answer. For example, Proverbs 16:3 says, Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. And Psalms 37:4-5 says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this. Both of these passages seem to point towards a person setting goals and striving for them. They commit all these things to the Lord, and he steps in and helps them achieve the desires of their heart. On the other hand, Proverbs 3: 5-6 seems to paint a different picture, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. This passage seems to suggest that I should just follow God and honor him and he will lead me where I need to go. This passage could almost suggest that the plan God has for us comes on a need-to-know basis. So which one is it? Do I set goals and ask God to help me achieve the desires of my heart, or do I simply commit my ways to him and trust him with the outcome? I believe the answer to that question is yes! In other words, I think both ways are right. God has given each one of us different personalities, different perspectives, and different roles in life. If God has made you a type A person, driven to accomplish as much as possible, then use that gift to accomplish great things, giving glory to God all the way. If God made you a type B person, willing to go with the flow and focusing more on the journey than the destination, then do that to God s glory. I believe the world, and specifically the church, needs both types of people. I believe God uses some people to push and work as a catalyst. Others are used by God to be peacemakers who are relationally focused. We all have a tendency to react in two ways towards people who are different than us in this area. We either feel guilty because we are not more like them, or we become irritated that they are not more like us. I believe both of these responses are wrong. We can be happy with what God has made us to be. If you are driven, don t feel guilty about it-- submit to God and allow him to work through you. If you are more relationally focused, then focus on relationships. It is what God wants you to do. Appreciate the differences and thank God for them. The one thing we all have in common is this: In order to succeed, we have to submit ourselves to God. So as you approach the New Year, as you write down New Year s resolutions, or wonder why people bother, commit 2015 to the Lord. I believe God has more in store for you than you realize. God can do a lot in and through us in a year. Let s together allow God to have his way with us as we serve him with the personalities he has given us. May the verse I end almost every service with be true of each of us this year Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. (Ephesians 3:20 TLB) Pastor Steve

2 FIELD TRIP When I was growing up, I loved school field trips. Mostly because it got me out of school for a while, but also because it was fun to go somewhere new that I may not normally go or get the opportunity to visit. Those trips would include science museums, library, zoo and once I even visited a prison (scared me straight!). Those trips showed me that there is a lot of really cool stuff in our world to learn about and explore, and I shouldn t be afraid to be curious and try everything and anything because I never know what I may discover that I love. For instance, one field trip I took was to the ballet. No, seriously. It was a trip to Oklahoma City to watch Swan Princess by a professional ballet company. Now, as a 7 th grade boy, do you really think I wanted to go? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I was convinced the ballet was for girls. It would be the most boring, awkward and silly thing I would experience. On the way there I pictured myself hanging with the guys and just making fun of it the entire time. I was absolutely convinced I would hate it. But I went, because I had to. We found our seats, the lights dimmed and.i liked it. Actually, I thought it was really pretty cool. The music, atmosphere, the athleticism of the ballet dancers was something I hadn t seen before. I walked out of there with a totally different perspective definitely a new respect for ballet. Does that mean I became a ballet dancer or that I continue to go today? No. But I gained a respect and new appreciation for something I was convinced I would hate. Once I tried it, I found that I actually liked it enjoyed it even. It s something I would love for my kids to experience one day, and I wouldn t hesitate to encourage them to become a dancer themselves if that s where their passion was leading them. So what s the point of this story? Ministry can often feel like a field trip. There are a lot of great places to explore. There are some areas we get really excited about and we know we are going to love being a part of. And there are other areas where we cringe and think right off the bat, That is NOT for me. I will hate that!, very much the same type of attitude I had as I rode the bus to the ballet. But what I would like to do is challenge you to not be afraid to explore something that maybe, right now, you re convinced you would hate. One particular area I would encourage you to explore is Children s Ministry. So often people cringe and hide behind their seats when the pastor talks about needing volunteers. Many make the same face I did when I heard we were going to the ballet. But here s the thing.i ended up enjoying the ballet. How do you know you won t enjoy Children s Ministry if you won t give it a chance? So my challenge is this during the month of January, I want to invite you to go on a Children s Ministry field trip. If you go to Saturday night service, I want to encourage you to follow the children to Kidz Church and just watch. Watch what the leaders do, watch how the lessons are run, watch how the children are interacted with. If you attend Sunday morning service, I want to challenge you to do the same by following the kids to God Followers or Wiggle Worms.and watch. Don t cringe, don t judge, don t assume. Just watch. And see if you might actually walk away from those programs like I did the ballet. If you walk away still saying, It s cool, but it s not for me, that s okay. But, maybe you ll walk away thinking, That s cooler than I thought, I want to be a part of it. Of course I pray it s the latter. We call this a field trip because you re not committing to anything--you re just exploring. You re getting the chance to be a part of something that you may not normally see or do. I hope during one of the weeks in January, you will consider taking a Children s Ministry field trip. Hopefully the Christmas program has shown you that we have some amazing kids who love Jesus. We want you to be a part of that team that helps us raise up the next generation for the Lord. Will you take a field trip with us? I hope you will. Pastor Ryan Akers

3 A note from Pastor Mark, Lamont Youth Leader A common question that students face from day to day is Who am I? Students, and plenty of adults for that matter, struggle to find identity. We look for it in our jobs, in our families, in our friends, in our hobbies, or in our bank accounts. And after we search through all those ways, we still tend to come up empty handed. Students are no different in that. Maybe instead of a job, they are looking to a sport, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or a class. I m curious how we would answer this question if it was asked of us; Who do people say you are? and Who do you say you are? In our High School Sunday school class, we are finishing a long study called True U. It is a study on apologetics, which is just a fancy word for defending your faith. It was a three-part series that asks Does God exist?, Is the Bible reliable? and Who is Jesus? It has been an exciting journey to take and, though dry at times, it has been advantageous for our high school students to get through. The series produced some difficult questions and some great discussion. And while the video is geared toward year olds, I believe that a much larger group of people would benefit from the information in this video. The entire series ends with this one question: Who do you say I am? That is an interesting question, isn t it? Jesus asks His disciples that, and at times I believe He is asking me that as well. So, how would you answer that question? If Jesus, the Son of God and Son of man, stood before you and asked you what the world says about Him, and then asked you But who do you say that I am?, how would you reply? I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. C.S. Lewis I fear that too often we put Jesus on our to-do list instead of on our hearts. I worry that we focus on all the things that have to get done, and prayer is one of these things with a check mark next to it (or sometimes not). Are we living in a time that we would accept being dipped in burning oil for Jesus, being beaten or stoned, put into a chamber with 3 hungry lions, or even be crucified for Him? Have we become so overwhelmed with the reality of this world, that we have ignored the reality of heaven and hell? Who do you say that He is? Maybe a great moral teacher, or a simple carpenter? Or, if asked that question, would you respond with The Son of God, my Savior. Sadly, I believe far too many have stepped away from the tradition of honoring Christ and have forgotten who He is and what He has done. Perhaps as we look to our hopes and dreams for the coming new year, we can place Christ back at the top where He truly belongs. Peace and Hope, Pastor Mark

4 Babies here, babies there, Babies are popping up everywhere! LWC church family members welcomed three new babies over the past several weeks. Congratulations to everyone! Finn Ott Dickinson arrived on November 25, 2014 in Ottawa. He is the second child of Shawn & Megan (Ballard) Dickinson, and the third great-grandchild of Bonnie Ott. Charli Ann Vannocker was born on December 23, 2014 in Burlington. Charli is the first child of Troy and Jaci (Bemis) Vannocker of Lebo. She is the first grandchild of Conni Bemis and Todd Bemis. Seth & Courtnie (kraft) Wessel welcomed their first child, Kord Allen Wessel, on December 22 in Topeka. He is the grandson of Danny Kraft and Ginger Kraft.

5 New Adult Sunday School Classes starting in Lamont on January 18 Bible Basics Pastor Steve will be leading a class called Bible Basics. This will be a class designed for people who were not raised in church. Pastor Steve will explain the basics about the Bible--things like: How was the Bible written? What are the different sections about? What am I supposed to get from reading and studying the Bible? How do I study the Bible? And why are there different versions of the Bible? The class will also be a place for people to ask questions about God, the Bible, and church. Everyone is invited to attend. 8 Big Questions of Faith Pastor Ryan will be teaching an 8-week study called 8 Big Questions of Faith. The questions the group will tackle are: Does God always bless believers? Who are we to judge? How does forgiveness bring freedom? Does God know your next move? Where is God in this mess? Will God protect us? What is heaven like? A Special Invitation to Everyone We invite you to come to Lamont at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 11 to have breakfast and hear more about these upcoming class opportunities. Call the church office if you want more information. Breakfast will be provided for the kids as well. Note: The quarterly Bible study Sunday school class led by Jim Grimmett on Sunday mornings in Lamont continues. Anyone may join at any time.

6 PIZZA WITH THE PASTORS Are you just getting to know LWC and would like to know more? Have you attended for a while and would like to hear some of the LWC story? If so, we have just the thing for you! Pizza With The Pastors is a time when you can meet with our pastoral team, hear about LWC s history and values, and ask any questions you might have. We will have two Pizza With The Pastors events in January. One will be on Saturday, January 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Burlington location. The other will be on Sunday, January 25 in Lamont right after the morning worship service. Childcare will be provided at both events. There are a group of ladies who like to meet for lunch in Emporia once a month. If you would like to join them, meet them at noon on Thursday, January 8 at Coach s (2702 W. 15th Avenue). You can contact Gena Ott at if you would like her to save a seat for you. Or just show up; there is always room for one more.

7 January 1-4 Happenings at LWC December 2014 January 5-11 Thursday, 1/1: Happy New Year! No Women s Bible Study- Lamont Youth return from Shine Friday, 1/2: Church office closed Saturday, 1/3: 7:00p Burlington Service -Communion Sunday, 1/4: 9:30a Sunday School-Lamont 10:45a Lamont Service -Communion 12:00p Linger Longer-Lamont 6:00p Madison Home Group 6:30p Gridley Home Group Monday, 1/5: 12:00p DTC Care Team-Lamont 5:15p DTC Care Team-Burlington Tuesday, 1/6: 6:30p Women s Bible Study- Burlington Wednesday, 1/7: 6:45p Unleashed Youth Group 6:45p Station 3:16 Youth Group 7:00p Lamont Home Group Thursday, 1/8: 10:00a Women s Bible Study- Lamont 12:00p Women s Fellowship Coach s in Emporia Friday, 1/9: Saturday, 1/10: 7:00p Burlington Service Sunday, 1/11: 9:30a Sunday School Breakfast -Lamont 10:45a Lamont Service -Baptisms 6:00p Madison Home Group 6:30p Gridley Home Group January January Monday, 1/12: 12:00p DTC Care Team-Lamont 5:15p DTC Care Team-Burlington Tuesday, 1/13: 6:30p Women s Bible Study- Burlington Wednesday, 1/14: 6:45p Unleashed Youth Group 6:45p Station 3:16 Youth Group 7:00p Lamont Home Group Thursday, 1/15: 10:00a Women s Bible Study- Lamont Friday, 1/16: Saturday, 1/17: 7:00p Burlington Service Sunday, 1/18: 9:30a Sunday School-Lamont -New adult classes begin 10:45a Lamont Service 6:00p Madison Home Group 6:30p Gridley Home Group February newsletter deadline Monday, 1/19: 12:00p DTC Care Team-Lamont 5:15p DTC Care Team-Burlington Tuesday, 1/20: 6:30p Women s Bible Study- Burlington Wednesday, 1/21: 6:45p Unleashed Youth Group 6:45p Station 3:16 Youth Group 7:00p Lamont Home Group Thursday, 1/22: 10:00a Women s Bible Study- Lamont Friday, 1/23: Saturday, 1/24: 5:30p Pizza with the Pastors -Burlington 7:00p Burlington Service Sunday, 1/25: 9:30a Sunday School-Lamont 10:45a Lamont Service 12:00p Pizza with the Pastors -Lamont 6:00p Madison Home Group 6:30p Gridley Home Group January Monday, 1/26: 12:00p DTC Care Team-Lamont 5:15p DTC Care Team-Burlington 7:00p Church Board-Burlington Tuesday, 1/27: 6:30p Women s Bible Study- Burlington Wednesday, 1/28: 12:00p Newsletter assembly-lamont 6:45p Unleashed Youth Group 6:45p Station 3:16 Youth Group 7:00p Lamont Home Group Thursday, 1/29: 10:00a Women s Bible Study- Lamont Friday, 1/30: Saturday, 1/31: 7:00p Burlington Service

8 Christmas Programs December 20-21, 2014

9 Christmas Programs December 20-21, 2014

10 Birthdays 1/3 Garrison Pyle 1/4 Carl Ware 1/4 Clinton Sowder 1/4 Kaston Ratcliff 1/6 Twiggy Dale 1/6 Charlie Gowen 1/6 Todd Henricks 1/6 Mark Guptill 1/6 Jared Dale 1/7 Breylia Wasson 1/8 Cassandra Phillips 1/8 Devin Wonser 1/12 Jenny Anderson 1/13 Crystal Jamison 1/13 Quinten Lyons 1/13 Korryn Bolen 1/14 Connie Sherwin 1/14 Kevin Metzen 1/14 Analia Fegan 1/15 Kathy Kopfman 1/16 Marry Soverns 1/17 Jeanette Bialek 1/17 Josh Hosack 1/17 Isaac Gutsch 1/17 Skylar Gatewood 1/18 Laura Keegan 1/18 Carrie Njoroge 1/18 Asa Crutchfield 1/19 Jan Martin 1/19 Savannah Wike 1/22 Madison Stadel 1/22 Cash Smith 1/23 Jewel Ware 1/23 Sandy Stutesman 1/23 Ashley Wolgram 1/24 Ethan Tenorio 1/25 Eric Hatch 1/25 Jaleigh Steinke 1/26 Tiffany McIlvain 1/26 Courtney Metzen 1/27 Marge Fankhauser 1/28 Hannah Horst 1/28 Aiden Miller 1/28 Tate Sowder 1/30 Dustin Martin 1/30 Colin Kraft 1/30 Kendra McVey 1/30 Colton Fife 1/31 Shane Ballard Anniversaries 1/1 Chris & Katrina Alumbaugh 1/3 Peter & Laura Keegan 1/8 George & Joan Palmer 1/8 Dan & Diane Bitler 1/22 Les & Tabitha Gillis 1/26 Dan & Michele Johnston

11 LWC Prepares Commodities for Distribution in Coffey County On December 2 and 3, a number of LWCers gathered together at God s Storehouse to package up and then distribute commodities to folks in need in Coffey County. Thank you to everyone involved! Save the date VBS 2015 July 5-9, 2015

12 REMINDER TO BE PRAYING Please remember to be praying in early January for 4 LWCers who are on a mission work trip in Haiti: Pastor Steve McVey, Jan Kraft, Jola Casey & Bethany Unruh. Youth Group Snacks in January Unleashed 1st Wednesday - Volunteer(s) needed 2nd Wednesday - Gena Ott & Alana Engle 3rd Wednesday - Bonnie Ott 4th Wednesday - Melissa Harlan Station 3:16 1st Wednesday - Kristy Reeves 2nd Wednesday - Devra Parker 3rd Wednesday - Laura Keegan 4th Wednesday - Judy Hutson Ushers Lamont Campus: Tom Long, David Morgan, Chuck Spradlin, Harvey Lingenfelter, C.E. Murphy & Jim Corbin Burlington Campus: Bernie Bialek, Courtney Strawder, Austin Higgins, Bill Parker, Vance Crutchfield & Bruce Finlayson Greeters Lamont Campus: Les & Deb Harlan Burlington Campus: 1/3-Charlie Whitworth, 1/10-Bruce & Gail Finlayson, 1/17-Steve Trendel, 1/24-Dirk Over, 1/31-Courtney Strawder

13 MID-YEAR FINANCIAL UPDATE LWC s financial year starts on June 1 and so the end of December marks the halfway point for our fiscal year. I felt this would be a good time to give you an update on LWC s finances. As we prepared the spending plan for this current year, we were grateful for the generosity of the LWC family. Our giving has gone up every year for some time, and last year was no exception. At the same time, we felt that God was leading us to take some steps of faith and stretch ourselves financially in order to do more ministry in our communities. As a result we have doubled the amount we give the Wesleyan missionaries we support, added Pastor Mark Adams as a part-time youth pastor, and provided some additional funding to our youth and children s ministry leaders. We have also purchased and updated two parsonages in the last year. While these steps were a pretty big stretch, we felt there was even more that God wanted us to do. We sensed God may be leading us to hire a part-time children s minister. Additionally, we would like to make Pastor Mark a full-time minister. And we know that as our Burlington service continues to grow, we have some building issues that will need to be addressed. A church building in New Strawn would be a real help. Over the last six months, we have seen growth in both of our services. The building in Burlington is full almost every Saturday night, and our services in Lamont are building back up. We have seen a number of new families this year at both of our services. Our Christmas program weekend reflected that growth with 380 people attending our two services. Things are looking for good for LWC, and we thank God for that. The interesting thing is that while our attendance is up, our giving is slightly down from last year. Now to be clear, LWC is not in trouble financially! We maintain a healthy amount of reserves, and our current giving is still above giving of two years ago. If giving remains at its current level, we will be able to keep our increased commitments for another year. There is no panic button to push. However, if we are going to aggressively go forward, we are going to have to stretch together. So here is my challenge for you--would you be willing to pray about stretching with us? If you are not a regular weekly or monthly supporter of LWC, I would like to encourage you to put LWC in your monthly budget. This would be the first step towards tithing. I think many changes in our lives come in the form of baby steps. If you are not regularly giving, you may not be able to start tithing immediately. But I believe that God will honor you if you prayerfully ask him where you should start with regular support and do whatever he tells you to do. If you do support the ministry of LWC, but do not truly tithe, I would like you to prayerfully consider taking steps towards doing that. I truly believe that when we tithe in obedience to Scripture, God provides for our needs. People who tithe will tell you that true financial peace comes when you are putting God first in your life. If you are a regular tither I just want to say thank you. It is people like you that make the ministry of LWC a success. I do want to emphasize again that LWC is not hurting money wise, but that we as a leadership team believe God is calling us to do more. I believe God will honor us as we together do what he puts in our hearts to do. In the end, God does not need our money, but he wants to be first in our lives. May each one of us put God first in every area of our life. Blessings, Pastor Steve

14 JANUARY Nursery Schedule Burlington Campus 1st Saturday: Candy Dale, Courtney Goetz & Stephanie Baker 2nd Saturday: Christy Over, Devin Wonser & Brittany Harderson 3rd Saturday: Tara Glades, Raini Glades & Courtney Strawder 4th Saturday: Jill Whitworth, Brittany Harderson & Easton Burns Please contact Christy Over if you are wanting to volunteer! 5th Saturday: Candy Dale, Courtney Goetz & Kylen Sturgeon Lamont Campus We are in need! 1st Sunday: The Peterson s & Julie McKenzie 2nd Sunday: LaDonna Grimmett, Janiece Isch & Christian Isch 3rd Sunday: Lyn Blubaugh & Lindsey Fankhauser 4th Sunday: Cathy Kingery, Terry Kingery, Paige Casey, Emma Murphy & Alyssa Pyle Children s Sunday School Lessons & Children s Church Staff for January God Chooses Common People To Accomplish His Plans God Looks For The Lost God Longs For Us There Are Some Things God Will Not Do Wiggle Worms: Lamont 1st Sarah Adams 2nd Maggie Fankhauser 3rd Bethany Unruh Kidz Church: Burlington 1st Monica Mader Laura Keegan 2nd Kelsy Crutchfield Pete Keegan 3rd Kelsy Crutchfield Vance Crutchfield 4th Kelsy Crutchfield Laura Keegan 5th Dana Anderson

15 Urgent Needs Pastor Steve McVey, HOME Groups Pastor Ryan Akers, Sunday School Director Gena Ott, Private Prayer Requests Pastor Steve McVey, Dare-To-Care Linda Stair, Hammerheads Evan Casey, Michele Johnston, Station 3:16 Youth Group The Sturgeon s, Unleashed Youth Group Mark Adams, Burlington Worship Team Shaunna Sturgeon, Lamont Worship Team Eric Peterson, Ministry Coordinator Dale Free, Missions Coordinator Jola Casey, Visitor Follow-Up Bonnie Ott, Lamont Ushers Ryan Engle, Lamont Greeters Deb Harlan, Burlington Ushers Frank Stutesman, Burlington Greeters Charlie Whitworth, Nursery-Lamont Lyn Blubaugh, Nursery-Burlington Kelsy Crutchfield, Newsletter Dale Free, Webpage Coordinator Pastor Ryan Akers, Wiggle Worms Gena Ott, The God Followers Judy Hutson, Kidz Church (Burlington) Kelsy Crutchfield, Golf Ministry C.E. Murphy, VBS Director Kelsy Crutchfield, Casserole Ministry Judy Hutson, Women s Bible Study Lynn Morgan, Apples of Gold Judy Hutson, Visitation Pastor Jim Grimmett, Staff Pastor Pastor Ryan Akers, Don t forget! When you see these logos throughout the newsletter that is an opportunity to connect with others, grow in your faith, and/or serve our Lord Giving Statements We will be printing our 2014 giving statements on or about January 12. Statements will be prepared for anyone who gave $100 or more to LWC in If you gave less than that, but would still like to have a statement, it would be our pleasure to prepare one for you. Just contact the church office at or Dale Free at freeburlington@msn.com Thank you for your prayers and generosity, and happy new year!

16 From the desk of Pastor Steve Pizza with the Pastors Baptisms Planned New Adult Sunday School Classes Starting JAN 2015 The Lamont Wesleyan Church newsletter, Inside LWC, is published each month as a communications aid for our church family and friends. We hope you find this newsletter informative and useful. Important: We use a bulk mail permit for mailing our newsletter, which means we do not receive address changes from the post office. This means that it s very important that our records be accurate. If you receive this newsletter via an address that is not a complete mailing address, please let us know as soon as possible. If you have moved, please let us know your new address if you would like to continue to receive this newsletter. Also, please check the calendar each month and notify us as soon as possible if we have missed your birthday or anniversary. It is our sincere desire to recognizes those important dates in the lives of our LWC church family. If you have any information to submit, please contact Dale Free by at freeburlington@msn.com or by phone at Submissions for Inside LWC need to be given to Dale by 5:00 p.m. on the 2nd to last Sunday of each month. PO Box 593 Lamont, KS 66855