P A S T O R. Holly Tree Chapel Newsletter March Dear Holly Tree Chapel,

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1 Contact Us 1620 South FM 2869 Holly Lake Ranch, TX Website: hollytreechapel.com mail: Pastor: Dr. Tim Mink We seek to glorify God as the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms our lives, our church, our community, and our world. Dear Holly Tree Chapel, Holly Tree Chapel Newsletter March 2017 I recently attended a very informative seminar titled, Lead Well. It was hosted by Summit Heights Fellowship, and led by an associate pastor from Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where Chuck Swindoll serves as senior pastor. Let me share some insights I learned during the seminar. P A S T O R Leadership and leadership development is critical to any organization. However, leadership is often invisible, and what is invisible is often ignored, or taken for granted. Like air, or like gravity, leadership can be neglected until something dramatic happens---we suddenly can t breathe during the allergy season, and we are unable to get the oxygen we need; or we suddenly trip and fall, and gravity takes us to the floor. We often don t think about leadership until we come to a crisis, and we are forced to think about it. We live in an age of rapid change. Before the 1800 s, during the agricultural age, a paradigm shift [such as from an agricultural to an industrial age] might occur every 1000 years. The industrial age produced a definite paradigm shift within a century-- and then within a generation or two we had a shift to an information age. Up until the year 2000, the average person could expect three paradigm shifts during our lifetime. One author suggests that since the year 2000, paradigm shifts have begun to occur at the rate of seven to ten per lifetime. The result is a turbulent cultural landscape with accelerating changes taking place all around us. This leaves us feeling at a loss, confused, frustrated, and wondering how to cope with the future.

2 The only things that happen naturally in an organization are friction, confusion and mal-performance. verything else is a result of leadership, writes Henry Drucker. For an organization to flourish, it needs both competent leaders and capable followers. Throughout life, we function in both capacities. We may be a leader at work, or a follower in a voluntary organization such as Holly Tree Chapel. Our church has elders and deacons as our primary leadership team. Strong, courageous, servant leadership will help maintain the health of your organization. (Don McMinn, Lead Well). Friction, confusion and malperformance will not be resolved Alert unless Academy you exert good leadership. I think most of us at HTC will agree that the turmoil of the past years $500 of church life have calmed down to a point where we can begin to grow and develop in ministry. No one would dare to work as a physician without first studying medicine; no one would get into the cockpit of an airplane and attempt to fly without first submitting to rigorous training to be a pilot. Sometimes in volunteer organizations, we assume a leadership position without learning the skills that leadership requires. Authors Kouses and Posner state, There still persist, even in this millennium, a pernicious myth that leadership is reserved for only a very few of us. Another myth is that leadership is associated with position. It s an assumption that leadership starts with a capital L, and that when you re on top, you re automatically a leader. Well, forget it! Leadership is not a place, it s not a gene, and it s not a secret code that can t be deciphered by ordinary people. The truth is that leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities that are useful whether one is in the executive suite or on the front line. And any skill can be strengthened, honed, and enhanced, given the motivation and desire, the practice and feedback, and the role models and coaching. In the weeks ahead, our Deacon Board will be meeting to discuss leadership as it relates to Holly Tree Chapel. We will evaluate where we have been, and where we would like to see the Lord Jesus take us in the years to come. Obviously, a cultural paradigm shift has taken place within our church, and we need to meet that challenge head on. We appreciate your prayers as we press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). Pastor Tim blanket ministry We started the prayer blanket program in March 2016 in the past year we have given out the following prayer blankets: Female Male TOTAL 28 prayer blankets 18 prayer blankets 46 prayer blankets If you know anyone who would benefit from a prayer blanket please call or Jeanette Lewis at the church, give her the address and I will get it in the mail the next day. God Bless, Diane Bowman

3 W O M N S F L L O W S H I P Creation Undone xodus 10:21-29 In the beginning of the creation account in Genesis, God makes the formless and dark world light. This ninth plague unravels God s creation and returns the land to chaos. It attacks gypt s most potent religious symbol, the sun god Ra, and Pharaoh himself who was considered the incarnation of Amon-Ra. In the Bible, God is characterized as light (1), but when He withdraws His presence there is a supernatural darkness that can be felt. That darkness symbolizes evil, chaos and judgment. Yet the people of Goshen were not touched by this tangible darkness, but were bathed in light. Pharaoh is exasperated beyond reason as he ironically banishes Moses from seeing him again. Throughout God s story, those who follow Him are portrayed as walking in the light. John s Gospel often uses the image of light to refer to Jesus and to those who believe in Him. Yet some choose to live in darkness and to enjoy, even flaunt, that darkness. And that darkness presses in around us as boundaries of what is considered acceptable are continually pushed in our culture. Television shows that were once considered controversial and on the edge of what s appropriate are now considered laughably tame and outdated. Our culture seems to demand tolerance, yet in reality has no tolerance for the idea that God created the universe, including us, for His purpose. Well-known pastor Tim Keller notes that, Jesus is the Maker who was willing to be unmade so that we might be remade. (2) This story shows elements of that unmaking in order to remake. Disobedience to the unique God of Israel results in chaos and darkness. Without God s gift of redemption, we could not be children of light. May we be like the people of Goshen living in the light even if the world surrounding us is plunged into the darkness. JewsforJesus.org

4 Saturday May As you begin your spring cleaning, start saving items for the garage sale. A sign-up sheet will be available soon in the narthex. We need volunteers, not only for the garage sale, but for the four Thursdays preceding the sale: April 6, 13, 20 & 27th from 11 am to 2 pm. Please price all items before bringing them to Chapel. The following items we cannot accept...mattresses, TV's, adult clothing, electrical items that no longer work, anything broken, (hearts included.) Library News Library Game Day was a huge success! We re sorry for those who couldn t make it, because the food was great. Thanks to Kathy Huffstetler & Diane Stinchcomb for setting up tables, doing the raffles, etc., etc., and those behind the scenes. Best of all, the tables were filled with friends, the most fun of all! We are in the process of purchasing new books (as usual) written by wellknown authors such as Kellerman & Patterson, in addition to new authors as well. One of the new books is a heart-breaking nonfiction titled The Underground Girls of Kabul. Here is a quote from Jessica, age 8: You really shouldn t say I Love You unless you mean it. But IF you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. L I B R A R Y

5 M M B R N W S Gary & Nancy Weaver 3/14 Tom & Francine vans 3/19 MN S FRIDAY BIBL STUDY Men s Bible Study begins each Friday at 7:50 a.m. The men are currently studying in the book of Isaiah. Gentlemen of Holly Tree Chapel Our usher teams are in need of assistance. We are looking for men to usher on Sundays. If the Holy Spirit moves you, and you could pre-dedicate one Sunday or more a month to help us it would be a blessing. For information on joining the usher team, please contact any of us: Usher Captain Leon Ward Usher Captain Jim Armstrong ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL We invite you to join us each Sunday morning at 8:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall for spiritual growth and fellowship. 2 Chronicles Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness. Holly Tree Chapel 2017 Board of Deacons Jeannette Pyle Secretary Francine vans - Treasurer Suzan Armstrong Dennis Bowman Nancy Weaver Dr. Tim Mink, Pastor

6 Hello all! God is working everywhere and for the next few months you will be reading mission news sent to us by several missionaries we help support. They are grateful for our partnership in spreading God s word. Thank you for making this possible. Dear Friends, Your giving impacted the lives of homeless people in Shanghai and took the Renewal Center to new places in I want to thank you for your kindness and ask you to renew your commitment this year. I ve been so encouraged by your support as the Renewal Center saw big changes in After the center relocated to a new neighborhood, we reopened and began welcoming guests in a larger space. ven with the move, the Renewal Center has continued to thrive and grow, and we can now offer more help to the homeless. Wang Xiaoyuan is one newcomer who is already using the services in our new location to start a new life. Originally from Sichuan Province, Wang s father kicked him out of their home when he was just a young teenager. He worked odd jobs and eventually ended up living on the streets of Shanghai. The homeless people in Shanghai, like Wang, often face illness but cannot access healthcare. They collect recycling to earn a few cents but don t have the resources to find a good job. They are dirty but have no place to shower or get clean clothes. They are locked out of government benefits and cannot navigate the legal system. Wang hit an even lower point last year when he lost his ID card. Without it, he couldn t get a job, and he felt too dirty to be around other people. Friends on the street told Wang about the Renewal Center. The promise of a shower and a fresh change of clothes brought him to our door. He said, It s great to have a place to get cleaned up, that way you can ride on the metro without feeling shamed. B N V O L N C After his first visit, Wang became a regular at the center. Now he is part of our training program and looks forward to the day he can support himself. Because of your kindness our guests have a safe place to go where they will be accepted and helped. As you can imagine, the people who come to the Renewal Center do not have many opportunities to improve their situation. You play a vital part in this important, life-changing work. I am so grateful for compassionate friends like you who care about the homeless in Shanghai. Wang has a fresh start thanks to you, and your continued support will give more people a new beginning in Gratefully, Jimmy McWhinney

7 Retirement.. Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests itself: I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish bin under the table, and notice that the bin is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my cheque (check) book off the table, and see that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye: they need to be watered. I place the coke down on the work surface, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the work top, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone has left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the lounge where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: The car isn't washed. The bills aren't paid. There is a warm can of coke sitting on the work surface. The flowers don't have enough water. There is still only one cheque in my chequebook. I can't find the TV remote. I can't find my glasses and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e- mail. PS. I just remembered, I left the water running...

8 If you would like to order aster Lilies, please use the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. aster Lilies $10 each Limited Time to Order