Events at Weston United Methodist Church

This week's events at Weston UMC!
www.westonumc.com


Theophilus Concert- Saturday, Feb. 5th, 7-10pm
Youth Ministry Event! The band, Theophilus, will be in concert in our sanctuary this Saturday. Following the concert we will have pizza and pop available for both a $1 a piece. The "Truck Stop" will also be open after the concert if you would like to play pool or catch a movie.


Superbowl Party- Sunday, Feb. 6th, 4:45pm-end of game
Corry and Cynthia Holmes are hosting a church Superbowl Party at their home, 21945 County Road M.(http://mapq.st/fAJGh3). They have plenty of areas to watch the game from and children are welcomed. Everyone is welcomed to come and bring friends. If you are able, please bring a food item. Feel free to also bring whatever games and activities you would like.

The "Job Seeking Workshop Interest Meeting" that was scheduled for Monday, January 31st was rescheduled for Monday, February 28th from 6:30-8pm.

Sunday Worship Services
9am- Contemporary Service
10am- Sunday School Classes for Children and Adults
11am- Traditional Service
Sermon Series for February: Why the Romans Need Straightening Out (Lessons from the Book of Romans)

The Book Bug!

So after a year hiatus from even desiring to read a book the craving has come back. I'm not sure what happened for a year but I blame it on eight years of seminary. I read books, but only what I had to read for work and ordination stuff. I have three books I'm into now and one on the back burner.

The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns: Richard is the President of World Vision. He is discussing the dissonance between a confessional Gospel that does not lead to Christian action. I'm only into the first chapter but so far he has shared his story of moving over from a prominent CEO position to become the president of World Vision. He is also describing a great need within our world that affluent Christians are able to hide from in the US.

Walking on Water, by Anthony De Mello: My mentor gave me this book and I am reading it with Brandon, my accountability partner. It's an awesome book that I want to read much faster but I told Brandon we'd read a chapter a week:) It's written by Anthony who was (deceased) an Indian (India) Christian spiritualist. He presents a Christian message through stories within other faith traditions. He is also focusing on the importance of meditation . . . so far.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker, M.D.: I started this book a long, long time ago but just recently had the gumption to pick it back up. I'm just a few chapters from finishing now. It's a great book about (you guessed it) fathers, raising daughters. Meg has some great insight as a counselor/doctor. I'll need to read it again in seven years.

Crazy Love, by Francis Chan: My wife's step-sister gave me this book for Christmas. It appears to be on the best seller lists (Christian and secular). It's on the back burner and next in line when I finish "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters".

So, you reading anything interesting?

Missions in Missouri Methodist Churches

Our conference office puts together some great videos on what Methodist Churches in Missouri are doing in the area of missions. Sometimes it's local missions and sometimes international. If you have a minute you should check out some of the video selections- they are pretty cool!
http://www.momissioncast.com/?cat=4

Courageous Leaders

I must admit that I’m coming off a bit of a high after yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 16^th)! We had 114 in worship and around 25 kids upfront for the Children’s Time. We had a good amount of guests in worship as we have had for the last month or so. There are some really encouraging things going on in our church!

The Thursday before we had our first Council Meeting of the new year. We approved a new business meeting format for 2011 (see article “New Council Format) that will hopefully minimize the amount of evenings we spend on business and maximize time for ministry and relationships. Our Council Chairperson, Kim Kirby, started the meeting with a devotional from a book she recently read, “Courageous Leadership”, by Bill Hybels.

Courage happens to be a value of our church: Courage, Compassion and Honor. Leaders who lack courage are people-pleasers. They are very happy with the status quo and will very reluctantly do anything new that might upset the balance of satisfaction within their circle of influence. Leaders who are courageous have a desire to strengthen people, practice servant leadership and make hard decisions in order to further their cause or the cause of their organization/institution.

The cause of the church is to “make disciples and teach them to obey the commands of Jesus Christ” – Matthew 28:19-20. Any church with a vision or mission statement must contain that seed phrase somewhere within their statement. Adding anything more to it can almost endanger the most important aspect of it. As leaders of this church we must courageously and successfully go about this cause. So, what flags and alarms are going off in your head right now? What is more important to you than the mission of our church? Courage is setting that thing aside; leadership is helping others move their things aside and together we are the church captivated with Christ, moving courageously forward in his mission.

Article on United Methodist Reform

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5259669&ct=8832629&sms_ss=email&at_xt=4cc622c48222050b,0

United Methodism has been declining fast for a long time. It's kind of like being on blood thinners and having a nose bleed; unless you get medical attention it's only a matter of time before you pass out. I am not fully ordained yet in the U.M. denomination and there have been a few times where I have strongly considered the fact that I am about to tie myself to the mast of a sinking ship. I did not grow up U.M. nor do I have any strong allegiance to the denomination through family or friends growing up.

I believe God has guided me towards the United Methodist Church and has called me to serve in a land (denomination) where I have no roots. After years and years of study, research and application I have become theologically U.M. This was not an easy process for me and I get very short with those who grew up U.M. and say that it all makes sense! It makes sense if you grew up in it but if you grew up in something very different (especially sacramentally) it takes a lot of re-learning to embrace theologically. However, we do have a phenomenal history and theology! We have some incredible building blocks that embrace a loving God and people of all backgrounds who are in desperate need of grace and friendship.

I believe the United Methodist church will experience renewal, but only after it hits rock bottom. It has to almost die in order for us to decide to reform The Book of Discipline and systems that worked well in the 1950's but not so much in 2010. According to this article we are finally getting close. Please pray for reform in our denomination. Pray that we will choose life, salvation and renewal and not limit ourselves to a heavy yolk that we have placed upon ourselves. After all, I'm pretty sure if John Wesley were here today he'd slap us around and give us a good scolding. And if that's Wesley, just think what Jesus would do:)?

People vs. Tasks

Some days I can't make up my mind: Am I a relational person or a task oriented person? I just finished a preaching series on relationships, yet it's very easy to forget their importance. As a small church pastor I have so many things that need to get done that no one else is going to get done, unless I delegate, but that's another blog. I guess that's one thing this pastor is learning from his community, the value of relationships. The value of stopping in for coffee or just catching up on life. To visit with someone is to let go of what's on your mind and lay it aside for the sake of the conversation; another valuable lesson. How much of what "has to get done" could really be laid aside? Is the "task" going to miss me if I don't visit; probably not? But a person will miss me . . . or you.

The Basement

So our air conditioner in the sanctuary went out last week. We didn't realize it until Saturday afternoon. I probably should have called someone to fix it then but I was worried about the weekend rates. Next time I'll make the call. It was so hot by 11am that I decided to move our traditional service to the basement (Fellowship Hall) for worship. I determined that most folks would be willing to make the change instead of sweating for an hour and I believe that was the consensus. What was surprising was how much people seemed to enjoy the closeness! We were a packed house in the basement and almost every seat was full. Some enjoy their space in the sanctuary, but most enjoyed a more intimate setting in the basement. This has really made me think about the importance of community on Sunday morning. So how many people do you think would throw a fit if I roped off the last three or four pews on Sunday morning?