Some results of your giving

I'm thrilled with the heart of generosity I'm seeing in our church as the 1Q of 2012 wraps up.  Our offerings have been trending in the positive direction and there have been some generous donations to our missions and outreach goals.  For the first time in some time we're not drawing on our reserves.

Recently, we've had some needs that if they had arisen just a few months ago we wouldn't have been able to do them.  

1.  Stacy wants to begin creating some fun backdrops for the children's ministry but we already are in a storage space crunch...so, we're able to get a second mobile mini and I was able to say Yes create away!

2.  Our worship service computer crashed a couple Sundays ago and Michelle wanted to upgrade it.  When she asked me a few months ago I had to say no...this time I could say Yes!

3. Tammy wants to do her usual classy set up for Easter Sunday (brunch, decor, updated signage)...I said yes! 

4.  Jon & I have been talking about re-doing our MVCC orientation for some time (Newcomer BBQ's became a "GPS Party.")  Sunday we were able to pull it off with quality...catered lunch for adults & pizza & bounce houses for the kids.

5.  I met wit Brian yesterday to dream a little about developing youth leadership and I didn't have to say...figure out how to do it with the 5 dollars in your pocket!

6.  When McKenzie came back from Haiti and talked to me about if we can begin to plan to adopt an orphanage, 3 months ago I would have said we have to get our own financial house in order before we can dream that dream...instead I said let's start praying!!

I could go on with other examples, but you see the impact of what happens when you make tithing a conviction in your life.  It's a win for you because you're learning to trust God and you're demonstrating Godly priorities in your life...and as a church we win because we begin to dream big!

Reaching out to broken people

Recently, I received an email from someone who had only attended our church a few times, but who appreciated the encouragement he had received from many at MVCC.  He also mentioned a comment that I had made that had really encouraged him.  That was yet again a reminder to me that we regularly have people coming to our church who are broken and needing God's grace.  I'm glad that I took the time to speak up since I don't always.  We all need to take every opportunity to share words of encouragement even with people we don't know...yet.

Last Sunday we held an important meeting to help people who want to be core players at our church to know who we are and where we're going.  It's my desire and vision that we continue to be a church that is reaching out to the broken and to the vulnerable around us.  Sometimes we meet people who are one or the other and sometimes people are both broken and vulnerable.  Sometimes these people are obvious to us, but sometimes they're quiet about their needs.  Sometimes these people are the obvious "down and outters."  However, sometimes they're even "up and inners."  So speak words of encouragement and pray for each other!

Learning from Tim Tebow

Every chance you get, watch and listen to Tim Tebow.  I don't advise you listen to what everyone else says about him...just listen to him.  There are a lot of people who want to give him too much credit and others who don't want him to get any credit for his NFL accomplishments.  However, when the camera is on him here's what you usually hear.
1) Genuine optimism
2) Positive comments about his organization & team mates (both past and present)
3) Giving credit to others
4) Confidence without arrogance
5) Appreciation for the opportunities he's been given
6) Lack of entitlement attitude - desires to earn respect
7) Is quick to share about his faith in Christ but usually waits to be asked

Reading Ruth

I'm in the process of reading through the book of Ruth multiple times and then I'm going to go back and study it slowly.  If you are needing a Bible reading plan I invite you to study Ruth along with me.  Make it your goal to read it through at least once this next week.

Anyone who is interested in learning and talking about the mission of the church I encourage to read and study Acts in the New Testament and Ruth in the Old Testament.  I'm moved every time I read in the Bible examples of loving redemption or when I hear similar stories happening in our world today.

As you're reading Ruth, think about who has the power and who doesn't.  How is that power wielded?

Negative church people

I recently received a rude email from a person who had attended our church a handful of times and doesn't understand why we would care about orphans in Haiti or about doing anything outside of our immediate community for that matter. The tone of her email was very negative and she took the opportunity to throw in a couple backhanded slams at one of our church leaders who in my opinion is the epitome of the type of person I'm trying to develop at Mountain Vista...loves God, loves his family, serves his community and serves the church family. 

Normally I let these types of emails simply disappear without the dignity of even a response and I pray that the sender will find the peace they obviously are missing in their life. Then, I move on with the job God has called me to do. In this case, because of the comment about one of our Spiritual Leaders I responded.  I don't apologize or back down in the face of misguided criticism that is directed at one of our leaders. I'm OK if people have an honest difference of opinion or different priorities, but I'm not OK when they say things that disparage the people I respect and care about. 

The reality is that people choose to join with our church or to leave as a regular occurrence due to whether they do or don't feel connected to our mission and vision. That's a good thing...we don't want people hanging around who are fundamentally opposed to what God has called us to accomplish as a church. We do want a growing number who are getting on board the bus and joining us in this amazing journey to know God and serve him in ways that matter!

What should we do about Joseph Kony - part 2

I have yet to take an official position on the "Cover The Night" campaign which is is the by-product of the Joseph Kony 2012 viral video international sensation.  From my first exposure my gut has been saying this isn't a good idea.  Instead of feeling the exuberance of "we together have the power" that so many felt after watching the film, I felt hesitation.


1.  Is it wise to make someone who is running and hiding and who has lost much of his power and influence into a bigger celebrity than he's ever been before?  Will that rally others to his cause? 
2.  Is this group partnering with other groups who are in the trenches...who really know the people and the culture?  Are their objectives well conceived and thought through?
3.   Should I be focusing on the perpetrator or on his victims? or both? 


At this point for all I know this could be a good idea or a bad idea.  In either case it's an idea that has legs and won't stop until it's run it's course.  According to Vimeo, four people viewed this video on March 3rd,  eight watched it on March 4th, and 58,000 viewed the video on March 5th.  Then, the following day it had 2.7 million views and on the 7th,  8.2 million views.  It's a powerful and influential media piece that is accomplishing it's producers' primary objective, to raise awareness of a real problem in central Africa.  Unfortunately, stories like this, of extreme evil perpetrated against the people of Africa aren't uncommon nor confined to Joseph Kony.


If greater awareness does bring this heinous man to justice I'll be jumping for joy.  In the mean time I'm allowing this heightened awareness of the plight of many in Africa to reignite my focus on their needs.  So there is good that is coming from this.  I'm going to focus as much as I can on the African victims of father-lessness, of disease, of malnutrition, and of anarchy.


If you would like to also focus on the victims to tell them that God hasn't forgotten them, please visit and pray about partnering with - 

http://www.hopealiveafrica.org/          

What should we do about Joseph Kony?

If you've been a part of Mountain Vista for some time you've heard me speak of Uganda and a ministry there that I believe in.

In case you've been swept up in the current Joseph Kony craze, let he help you see a bigger picture.  I was in Kampala Uganda (and some of it's surrounding villages) in the summer of 2004 with a team of young adults.  That was the time when a campaign of awareness and activism against Joseph Kony was needed.  In many respects the affected communities have moved on after Joseph Kony exited the country years ago.  However, the problems of disease and parent-less families remains.

The catalyst for this tidal wave of support is a viral video put out by Invisible Children.  Everything I've read about this NGO is that they're being opportunistic, using a noble idea that has little relevance today.  Their motive...you'll have to be the judge of that.

If you would like to do something to help the children of Uganda I strongly recommend that you connect with a ministry called Hope Alive Africa.  I've visited their ministry in person.  I've met with and interviewed their leaders.  They were on the ground working with families and children displaced by Joseph Kony in the days when he WAS ravaging northern Uganda.  Today they remain committed to caring for and educating the children in Uganda who have little hope.

http://www.hopealiveafrica.org/              

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1:27