In the last two weeks, three different Christ Church members reported reaching (or approaching) significant sobriety anniversaries. I’m thankful the church is becoming a bit more like an AA meeting. May we all face our brokenness more openly, and find the church a place of support not shame.
Quotes Worth Requoting:
- The disciples didn’t ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, but to teach them to pray.
- When the Fear of Change > the Fear of Not Changing, change seldom occurs.
On the Night Stand:
- The Book that recently grabbed my attention is, Rejoicing in Christ, by Michael Reeves (IVP Academic, 2015). I picked it up two years ago after it won Christianity Today’s book of the year award, but only recently started reading it. Reeves argues that what he’s written would have been common fare one hundred years ago. But today – because we tend to read about ourselves – many will find it powerfully new. I’m not sure about new, but I find it powerful. (Note: this is not a book read quickly).
- Why Plant Churches: Last week, Leadership Network reported five reasons churches should be planting new churches and starting new campuses: 1) New Works Reach Millennials. The majority of attenders in churches and campuses started in the last five years are 35 years old or younger; 2) They Facilitate Evangelism: People attending a church that is less than five years old are 52 percent more likely to invite their friends to consider faith in Christ; 3) They Grow Engagement. During the first five years of a church, people who attend are 31 percent more likely to volunteer than people across all subsequent years; 4) They Fuel Growth. Churches grow 170% faster in their first five years than across all subsequent years; and 5) They Steward Resources. Churches (and campuses) started in the last five years spend $460 annually per attender, compared with $1,667 annual ongoing cost for each attender in churches older than five years. All of this reminds me of Why Plant Churches, an article by Tim Keller, which came out four or five years ago. Keller’s argument– which is more theologically-shaped than the report by Leadership Network – changed my thinking.
Two Billy Graham Items:
- Two Billy Graham Items: In honor of Dr. Graham, who is no doubt enjoying quite a reception, I have two Billy Graham items. Click here for a joke he told weaving together Einstein and Graham’s own death. Click here for a 1969 interview of Dr. Graham by Woody Allen.
Without comment: Sales of bullet proof backpacks have soared in recent weeks.
Thanks and Praise: I just returned from a North Chicago Chamber of Commerce Economic Report – and the news was surprisingly good. Speakers rehearsed a number of ways things are ticking up, including this: 1) the growth of Sheridan Crossing looks to add 536 construction jobs and 468 permanent jobs; 2) Abbvie has announced plans to fund a new middle school; and 3) Money Magazine recently identified North Chicago as one of the best places in the US to open a new business. Lots of wonderful people – residents, city employees, volunteers, etc. – are investing lots of time and effort in North Chicago, and it shows.
Prayer Requests:
- This Sunday, Christ Church will host eight other churches for a joint baptism. Last year’s event was epic.
- This week is week two of the five-week REACH rollout. I am preaching from Genesis 13. Abraham and Lot. They chose different paths – and it made all the difference. My prayer is that we see that we have options, and we need to zealously pursue the right ones.
- Last week I reported that I was back to running. My surgeon was not happy. Apparently I was not acting my age. I’m sadly back to peddling a stationary bike.
Prayers Worth Praying: Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts. And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace. Amen. (Frank Borman, Apollo 8 Astronaut, prayed from space)