TRANSITION

Today we spent our last Sunday at Baker City Christian Church. It was a wonderful day celebrating what has been accomplished over the last 12 1/2 years, and looking forward to what God is doing as everyone looks to the future of the church. It was sad, but there was also great joy in loving, hugging, and celebrating our friendship with so many people.

Of course it was also a wonderful celebration of baptisms for Emma and Dallas Hardesty, Jasmine Fillebrown, and Joe Boyd. Also the dedication by Father and Mother, Clay and Lynette Simpson of their new (only 2 week old) baby daughter Susan Louise Simpson.

It is definitely not a "woe is me" attitude at the church. Jesse Whitford was recommended to the congregation by myself, the Elders, and the church board. When Jesse was announced to the congregation he got a standing ovation in both services. Nothing could please me more than to pass the leadership of BCCC over to Jesse, and I was so pleased to see the positive reception.

Now we begin our trek and transition over to leading Myrtle Point Christian Church. What a challenge! But God is all about stretching us and challenging us to new heights. I know He is with us as we begin our new ministry. We will spend some time dreaming and resting, as we make our way to Mytle Point, and in a week we will hit the ground running. What a Joy serving the Lord God Almighty!

Love you all, and thank you for your faithful love and support in return.

Roger and Sherrill

Are You Listening?

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Proverbs 9:10

Only the foolish would not desire wisdom. Yet this verse has left many wondering what it is to "fear the Lord."

God, whose desire it is to bless us with all heavenly blessings, does not ask us to be afraid of Him. No, that is not the kind of fear that King Solomon wrote of. Rather, this fear is one of "holding in extreme awe."If you think on that idea, it should be easy to hold in awe such an awesome God. More than that, God desires that we have an awesome relationship with him -- a personal relationship with such a loving, blessing God.

"Awesome,"the youngsters among us will say with ease. "Awesome."Try saying it with the reverence that comes when you know the One True and Ever-Loving God. This week as we begin counting down toward our National Day of Prayer in May, pray that our President, leaders and nation will sincerely fear God and seek His wisdom, longing to know Him and understand His awesome ways.

God Bless and have a great day and week!

Roger

Additional Reading: Proverbs 9:7-12

This article adapted from PrayerTeam@Presidential-Prayer-Team.org "Vantage Point" Devotional April 12, 2010

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday, the women visited the tomb (Luke 24:1-8), the disciples gathered (John 20:2-10), and the resurrected Lord appeared (Matthew 28:5-10).

Easter — Resurrection Day! The silence of a Saturday, and then, like a sunrise or the beauty of a freshly blooming garden, it is Easter!

In truth, there is a time for everything. Solomon's words ring loudly to all of us this Easter season: "A time to be born and a time to die" (Eccl. 3:2). That one phrase sums up the human predicament. We will all, in His time, move from this world into eternity.

Yet, what about the afterlife? Is that not one of the major messages of Easter? What if we gain the whole world in life, but lose our souls in death? To those who believe in Christ, "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. 15:54). Paul wrote, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied ... But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" (1 Cor. 15:17,19-20).

It is estimated that 40 percent of those who will sit in church on Easter do not have a personal relationship with the resurrected Lord. We must offer life to those who live in death. "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26). What a privilege to show the way to eternal life. People need to remember that Easter was and is for them. [Yet, sadly only 42 percent of those contacted in a recent Barna survey link Easter to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.]

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: "He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him"'" (Matt. 28:5-7).

Be Blessed, and Be a Blessing

Roger

Drew Brees Super Bowl Quarterback on Faith

In an interview last week with Sharing the Victory magazine, Drew Brees, MVP quarterback in last weekend's Superbowl, talked about how his faith affects his life and his game:

“I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart on my 17th birthday...Before that, I'd gone to church with my family, but I didn't fully understand it or accept it...I remember my pastor talking about God 'looking for a few good men.' All of a sudden the light bulb went [on] in my head and I was like, 'Hey, that's me; I can be one of those few good men!'”

When asked what that meant, Brees answered, “"It means that you trust in the Lord, you trust that He has a plan for your life. You trust that He's never going to put anything in front of you that's too hard for you…so no matter what comes your way, you'll overcome it and it will make you stronger. [It's] the ability to influence—in a positive way—so many other people, and just be able to spread the blessings that God has bestowed upon you.”

He also talked of his career-changing injury: “When I had that injury...in San Diego, I felt that was the worst thing that could've ever happened to me at the worst time—potentially career-ending—and you start to feel sorry for yourself. You start to ask, 'Why me, why now?' I looked back a year after that—after I'd already been [in New Orleans] a year—and I said, 'You know what, God? That was probably the BEST thing that could've happened to me!' ...Otherwise, I would've never had the opportunity to be a part of this community, to be a part of this rebuilding effort. I feel like I'm a mentally tougher, and stronger person for it; both with my job as a professional football player, as a husband, soon after as a father, and then with my faith.”

A great football player, but more important a great husband, a great Dad, and a proud witness for his faith in Jesus Christ. That's what Jesus has called us to be, no matter what we are doing in this life, we are called to give glory to God through Jesus Christ for how He is interacting with us and forming us in this life.

Thank you Drew Brees,
Roger

Sharing the Victory 2/2/10

Rose Bowl 2010

I just realized, Sherrill and I went to the Rose Bowl and then never said anything about it.

It was lots of fun, a loooooong drive, and on top of that our Oregon Ducks LOST! I'm sure a lot of my friends were glad of that for fear they would never hear the end of it if we had won.

Here we are in front of the Rose Bowl. Then we went back to our car to have a nice lunch on the parking lot. Can you believe it? At the Rose Bowl they park the cars on an 18 hole golf course. What a beautiful setting for a picnic.

But we had so much fun, and we were so proud of the Oregon football team. They played well, made a couple of crucial mistakes, and in the end we lost, but it was a good game, and Sherrill and I had so much fun, it was impossible to be TOO disappointed.

Watch out for Chip Kelly and those high flyin' Ducks next year.


Hey...........how do you like those pants I have on! I sure got a lot of envious looks and comments from Oregon fans about them.

God is soooo good to bless us with the opportunity to travel and enjoy some of the exciting adventures we have had over the last couple of years. Life is good, and so is our God. AMEN!

Yours and His
Roger & Sherrill

GOOD LEADERS ARE GOOD FOLLOWERS FIRST

Jesus said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).

If you want to be a good leader, start by being a good follower and a good servant! Sometimes, people want to lead before they learn how to follow. Non-followers make terrible leaders. They are self-absorbed and don't deal very well with people in general.

Occasionally, folks will come to me and offer their services in a leadership capacity. My usual response is "you can start your leadership journey by jumping in and helping others. The best leaders know how to follow well."

Sometimes, they walk away with a sniff. "I'm happy to be up front leading, but how dare you ask me to serve behind the scenes? Aren't you aware of my tremendous gifts and abilities?"

Yes -- and I am also aware of an over-inflated ego.

A gentleman graduated from college and signed up as an officer in the Salvation Army. He was a good Christian man, and was excited about his new role and looked forward to providing visionary leadership for the cause.

But he was greatly dismayed when on his first day at work, the very fist assignment was to polish a room full of boots -- filthy, worn, ugly scruffed up boots!

"I can't believe they're doing this to me!" he grumbled, "Don't they know that I'm here to lead? I am an officer for heaven's sake! I've just graduated with honors! Why on earth would they give me such a crummy task? I didn't apply to be a servant!"

Then, the truth dawned on him. In order to lead, he had to be a good follower. There is no job too small for a great leader. If you think a job is "beneath" you, that shows you aren't ready yet. Your job isn't beneath you, YOU are beneath the job!

The best leaders are servants. From underneath, they lift up those around them and possess a "whatever it takes" attitude.

Getting along with others is a golden rule of leadership.

Do you want to become a better leader? Start serving!

Lessons Churches Have Learned from the Economic Crisis

Most agree that the financial crisis has forever altered our economy and culture, and most people agree there are lessons to be learned for ministries and those who lead them. Few of these lessons have been easy; most of them are painful. In an article this week, Mark Holbrook, a provider of banking resources to evangelical ministries across the country, has seen three particularly important lessons emerge.

Early Recognition and Response Matters

Holbrook says churches need to recognize the scope and severity of economic conditions and make prudent, sometimes difficult, decisions sooner rather than later. "Ministries that did this generally weathered the economic storm better than those that just kept hoping things would get better. In the early stages of the economic crisis, we heard some ministry leaders say things such as, 'We believe the Lord will see us through,' or 'Our people will step up.' Some of them realized later that the real message from the Lord was probably more like, 'You need to trim expenses and learn to live on less.' In addition, before the decline, effective ministry was often defined in terms of programs, projects and paid staff; in fact, effectiveness may be more accurately measured by factors such as depth of relationship, relevance of message, and the presence of a spirit of joyful volunteerism.

Financial Management Matters

Holbrook further explained that prudent financial management is a must. "More effective ministry does not mean spending every dollar that comes in. While many ministries have learned the critical importance of maintaining adequate reserves and managing cash flow, others consider it almost a moral responsibility to spend every donated dime. Proverbs 6 suggests a wiser approach: Setting aside funds now for the coming season is part of good stewardship."

Relationships Matter

"Now more than ever, leaders are learning the value of relationships and resources that are available beyond the walls of their ministries," Holbrook added. "No church possesses all the expertise needed to pursue their mission well. We all need to recognize the value of outside resources. Interdependence is biblical, as is consulting with people who know things we don't and have done things we haven't." Holbrook suggested networking with ministry peers to find people better versed at handling difficult ministry tasks, such as renegotiating service contracts, project management, budgeting or financial forecasting.

He told the story of one large Southern California church that began its 2009 budgeting process early in the fall of 2008. Church leadership foresaw budgetary issues in the coming year, so, they developed three budget scenarios—one based on the church's giving history, one based on their best guess given what was happening in the economy, and one based on a worst-case scenario. They ultimately went with a hybrid of the best-guess plan, but they also regularly reviewed and adjusted the budget based on current reality. Along the way, they sought counsel from our ministry development team and others with whom they have relationships. In the end, this church not only weathered the storm, but became stronger in the midst of it.

God Bless, and may the Lord bless us as we attempt to be good stewards of His resources.

(from Church Leaders Intelligence Report)