Disaster Relief Training

Local press on upcoming UMCOR training is here.

Missionaries from DR visiting us Jan 15

What do you think a missionary family looks like? And why would they leave GA for the Dominican Republic?



Meet these Waynesboro GA missionaries to the DR Sunday, January 15th. We will host John & Donna Bearden and family that day at Trinity on the Hill from 10:00-10:45 AM in the Chapel. We have been pleased to partner with the Bearden
family this year as they've gotten established "on the field" full time and look forward to hearing their story. John and Donna have been doing mission work in the Dominican Republic for 11 years prior to accepting a position with United Methodist Volunteers In Missions and the Iglesia Evangelica Dominicana ministry. John worked for the State of Georgia and Donna served as a Neonatal Intensive Care Registered Nurse with University Hospital for 20 years prior to going to the DR full time. The Beardens are one of Trinity's sponsored international missionaries and we are glad to host this family. We also hope to take a team to the Dominican Republic in the next year and will learn about those opportunities.

Mission Training Feb. 4

Here's a replay you may have missed so you close out the old year well and are prepared for 2012:

The "Faith in Action" Mission Training will be at Trinity on the Hill in Augusta, Saturday February 4, 2012. This is hosted in coordination with the North Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church as Mike Yoder and the Disaster Response leadership of the conference train us. This event is open to all interested churches and individuals as we seek to be better prepared for emergencies in our communities, state, and region. Our hope is that many churches will participate as we all seek to improve our ability to serve in a disaster.

So we can be prepared and due to requirements for class sizes we do need participants to sign up prior to the event. Please consider this and encourage a team from your congregation or group to participate.

Classes include:

Children’s Disaster Services: Shelter Child Care Training- Friday-Saturday. Cost $45 with scholarships available. Instructs individuals on how to set-up and operate a child care center within a temporary disaster response shelter. 2 Day Training includes mandatory Overnight Stay. A minimum of 15 registrations are required by January 13. Friday, February 3, begins with dinner at 5:00 PM and concludes Saturday, February 4 at 6:00 PM includes emergency shelter simulation with meals provided. An overview of this excellent training may be found at CDS on YouTube. Please sign up ASAP as seating is limited.

Saturday, February 4, 9:00AM-5:00 PM with lunch & refreshments provided.

UMCOR: Disaster Assessment- Saturday, 3 hour course. Instruction on the UMCOR approach and coordination of disaster assessment immediately following a tornado or hurricane.

UMCOR: Disaster Prepared Church- Saturday, 3 hour course. Instructs the church how to prepare the physical facility before a disaster strikes and then respond to the needs of the local church, community and area following a disaster.

UMCOR: Basic Spiritual & Emotional Care- Saturday, 8 hour course. $10 for background check for badge. Trains individuals to provide support, information and referral for a holistic disaster recovery & help disaster survivors connect with their personal, community, spiritual, emotional and basic life resources.

UMCOR: Early Response Training- Saturday, 8 hour course. Cost: $10 for background check for badge. Training provides information that includes the who, what, when, where and how of doing ministry, as well as hands on experience in the specific tasks that early responders are expected to accomplish.

UMVIM Mission Team Leader Training- Saturday, 8 hour course. Cost $25 for notebook. Learn all the “nuts and bolts” or leading a team or enjoy a refresher course that allows you to network and lead UMVIM teams nationally and internationally.

More details and registration are HERE or by contacting the Trinity on the Hill UMC mission office. Please don't hesitate to register!

Day of Service Jan 28

Ready to go to work?

The Day of Service will be Saturday, January 28, and always proves to be an exciting day of mission projects.

We'll gather in the Wesley Hall dining room from 8:00-8:30 AM for coffee and fellowship (& for final instructions or weather changes), then gather teams and deploy at 8:40 for our locations. Most groups will work from 9:00AM– 12 Noon unless otherwise noted. Sign-ups start in January if you like the "clipboard after worship" approach or feel free to go online. Mission partners are still responding so other options will be available in addition to the few I highlight below.

Some of the mission options include:
Augusta Canal Clean Up— 8-10 workers needed to clean up both sides of the Trinity section of the canal from the locks to Broad Street.

Master’s Table Soup Kitchen- 702 Fenwick Street, Augusta. Ten to fifteen adults (18 years or older) serves from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM to prepare and help serve a meal to approximately 300 guests.

The Lydia Project— 10 workers need to help do some spring cleaning.

Augusta Urban Ministries (now called Action Ministries/ Augusta), 303 Hale Street. 8-12 workers needed to help build beds.

Mercy Ministries, 1621 15th Street (the old Castleberry plant). We can use two teams: 1) for unpacking and sorting at the Thrift Shop, and 2) a team or teams to frame and sheetrock dressing rooms for the Thrift Shop.

Stop Hunger Now Packing Party—need 40 people—10 AM-12 noon at Wesley Hall. Package a fortified, dehydrated rice/soy meal. The team will package 10,000 meals in 2 hours. Find more information here to learn what we'll be packing.

And did I mention that MORE teams are developing?!

Make plans to participate as we serve together in mission. Sign up HERE to secure your place. Some groups have a maximum number we can accommodate so be sure to sign up and follow through!

Faith in Action Mission Event Jan 28-Feb. 5

We host an annual mission emphasis and "hit the ground running" in the new year for the late January/early February event. Our Trinity Outreach Celebration theme this year will be “Faith in Action” & include mission training for disaster relief and for mission team leadership. I hope you'll get us on your calendar and make plans to attend.

Saturday, January 28, 8:30AM-12:00 Noon
Day of Mission Projects

Wednesday, February 1, 6:30-7:30PM
Mission Celebration
Worship with children’s choirs singing & Rev. Phil Schroeder preaching.

Saturday, February 4, 9:00AM-3:00PM
Mission Training Event
Half day & full day classes for certification for mission leadership, disaster response, shelter volunteers, and more.

Sunday February 5, Mission Challenge
Both 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM worship services include youth choirs singing & Rev. Phil Schroeder preaching.
Sunday School classes will include Mission Updates.

Go to Augusta Mission Training for details and to sign up.

Mission Training, February 4 @ Trinity on the Hill UMC

The "Faith in Action" Mission Training will be at Trinity on the Hill in Augusta, Saturday February 4, 2012. This is hosted in coordination with the North Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church as Mike Yoder and the Disaster Response leadership of the conference train us. This event is open to all interested churches and individuals as we seek to be better prepared for emergencies in our communities, state, and region. Our hope is that many churches will participate as we all seek to improve our ability to serve in a disaster.

So we can be prepared and due to requirements for class sizes we do need participants to sign up prior to the event. Please consider this and encourage a team from your congregation or group to participate.

Classes include:

Children’s Disaster Services: Shelter Child Care Training- Friday-Saturday. Cost $45 with scholarships available. Instructs individuals on how to set-up and operate a child care center within a temporary disaster response shelter. 2 Day Training includes mandatory Overnight Stay. A minimum of 15 registrations are required by January 13. Friday, February 3, begins with dinner at 5:00 PM and concludes Saturday, February 4 at 6:00 PM includes emergency shelter simulation with meals provided. An overview of this excellent training may be found at CDS on YouTube. Please sign up ASAP as seating is limited.

Saturday, February 4, 9:00AM-5:00 PM with lunch & refreshments provided.

UMCOR: Disaster Assessment- Saturday, 3 hour course. Instruction on the UMCOR approach and coordination of disaster assessment immediately following a tornado or hurricane.

UMCOR: Disaster Prepared Church- Saturday, 3 hour course. Instructs the church how to prepare the physical facility before a disaster strikes and then respond to the needs of the local church, community and area following a disaster.

UMCOR: Basic Spiritual & Emotional Care- Saturday, 8 hour course. $10 for background check for badge. Trains individuals to provide support, information and referral for a holistic disaster recovery & help disaster survivors connect with their personal, community, spiritual, emotional and basic life resources.

UMCOR: Early Response Training- Saturday, 8 hour course. Cost: $10 for background check for badge. Training provides information that includes the who, what, when, where and how of doing ministry, as well as hands on experience in the specific tasks that early responders are expected to accomplish.

UMVIM Mission Team Leader Training- Saturday, 8 hour course. Cost $25 for notebook. Learn all the “nuts and bolts” or leading a team or enjoy a refresher course that allows you to network and lead UMVIM teams nationally and internationally.

More details and registration are HERE or by contacting the Trinity on the Hill UMC mission office. Please don't hesitate to register!

January Day of Service

As part of the Trinity Outreach Celebration we'll have a mission work day and will offer a range of activities for children, teenagers, and adults. The Day of Service
will be Saturday, January 28, and always proves to be an exciting day of mission projects.

We'll gather in the Wesley Hall dining room from 8:00-8:30 AM for coffee and fellowship (& for final instructions or weather changes), then gather teams and deploy at 8:40 for our locations. Most groups will work from 9:00AM– 12 Noon unless otherwise noted. Sign-ups start in January if you like the "clipboard after worship" approach or feel free to go online. Mission partners are still responding so other options will be available in addition to the few I highlight below.

Some of the mission options include:
Augusta Canal Clean Up— 8-10 workers needed to clean up both sides of the Trinity section of the canal from the locks to Broad Street.

Master’s Table Soup Kitchen- 702 Fenwick Street, Augusta. Ten to fifteen adults (18 years or older) serves from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM to prepare and help serve a meal to approximately 300 guests.

The Lydia Project— 10 workers need to help do some spring cleaning.

Augusta Urban Ministries (now called Action Ministries/ Augusta), 303 Hale Street. 8-12 workers needed to help build beds.

Mercy Ministries, 1621 15th Street (the old Castleberry plant). We can use two teams: 1) for unpacking and sorting at the Thrift Shop, and 2) a team or teams to frame and sheetrock dressing rooms for the Thrift Shop.

Stop Hunger Now Packing Party—need 40 people—10 AM-12 noon at Wesley Hall. Package a fortified, dehydrated rice/soy meal. The team will package 10,000 meals in 2 hours. Find more information here to learn what we'll be packing.

And did I mention that MORE teams are developing?!

Make plans to participate as we serve together in mission!!

Christmas and Incarnational Mission Training

OK, I confess I'm very guilty of looking beyond Christmas! I'm already anticipating a very busy start to the new year. If you are in the Augusta GA area I hope you'll be part of the excitement.

We host an annual mission emphasis and "hit the ground running" in the new year for the late January/early February event. Our Trinity Outreach Celebration theme this year will be “Faith in Action” & include mission training for disaster relief and for mission team leadership. I hope you'll get us on your calendar and make plans to attend.

Saturday, January 28, 8:30AM-12:00 Noon
Day of Mission Projects

Wednesday, February 1, 6:30-7:30PM
Mission Celebration
Worship with children’s choirs singing & Rev. Phil Schroeder preaching.

Saturday, February 4, 9:00AM-3:00PM
Mission Training Event
Half day & full day classes for certification for mission leadership, disaster response, shelter volunteers, and more.

Sunday February 5, Mission Challenge
Both 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM worship services include youth choirs singing & Rev. Phil Schroeder preaching.
Sunday School classes will include Mission Updates.

Go to Augusta Mission Training for details and to sign up.

Trinity Outreach Celebration, January 28-February 5

Here's a sneak peak for TOC 2012 with our theme of "Faith in Action: Radically Courageous." We've scheduled it a little differently this year as there is too much to offer! Trinity will host some North Georgia UMC training, offer new mission projects, and have some exciting worship as part of our mission extravaganza.

Saturday Jan 28- Day of Mission—HANDS Day/Service Projects around town. We'll have a variety of options for all ages. We're excited this year to add a meal packing component as part of international hunger relief. If you don't know about Stop Hunger Now and the Meal Packaging Program get an idea. NOW get ready for Trinity on the Hill to offer this as one of our work day projects. I'll share more details on this and all the other great mission projects as we'll also be feeding the hungry in Augusta at the Master's Table that day, doing construction projects, helping clothe the naked, visiting the elderly, cleaning up creation, and more.

Wednesday, February 1- Mission Celebration- 6:30-7:30- including the mass children’s choir singing and Rev. Phil Schroeder preaching. While I knew of Phil, and had some conversations with him, I first got to know him best as we served together on church teams responding to Hurricane Katrina damage in Gulfport, Mississippi. You'll find him to be an exciting, challenging preacher who will inspire you in your mission service for Christ.

On Saturday, February 4 we will host a Faith in Action Training Event. Some classes will be half day and others full day with certification options for disaster response, mission team involvement, emergency shelter volunteers, etc. We are pleased to be offering a Children's Disaster Services training which will prepare volunteers to work with children in an emergency shelter setting. Space will be limited in these premiere classes so look for registration at the Trinity on the Hill website in December.

Sunday Feb 5- Mission Challenge @ both worship services (8:30 & 11:00AM) including both youth choirs with Rev. Phil Schroeder preaching.

This will prove to be great time of inspiration, education, and mission. I hope you make plans to be part of the mission!

Augusta GA Urban Poverty

Part of my context for ministry in Augusta includes a very high level of urban poverty. See the story which ranks us so high nationally. We've got over 26,000 people in neighborhoods with poverty rates of 40% or higher. "Local resources," mentioned in the story, are being pushed to the limit. What are the best, innovative, transformational approaches to reducing these sorts of poverty trends and the issues related to such high poverty pockets? Employment, housing, food, education, and violence are daily challenges in these neighborhoods. Imagine if half your neighborhood lived below the poverty level and you can see there are no easy answers.

Here's an addendum including the larger national story and the top 10 list:
Increase of Poverty.

Togo Missionary Newsletter- October 2011

Here's an update from Esaho & Beatrice Kipuke in Togo, west Africa. We are the primary sponsors for this couple but are eagerly recruiting other churches and sponsors for the incredible work being done in northern Togo. Here's Esaho's October report:

This publication is very special to us since it is being prepared on October 4th, the date of our 31st Wedding Anniversary. We thank God for His guidance and His blessings on our children, our ministries and especially on us. Thank you all for your cards, prayers, phone calls and the wish for many more years to come.

Evangelization
Kipuke Outreach Ministries goal for this year is to reach out to many more people in the remote villages far from Pya and win as many souls as we can for the Lord. Students and workers are mobilized along with our choir for that adventure. Elderly people in these villages who have no one to care for them will also be the focus of our outreach program. With God’s help, we will find them and provide them with spiritual and material support.

Education
Our school year 2011-2012 resumed September 12, 2011 with 47 students into our Home Economics program. School started with a prayer meeting where voices were raised up to God asking for His blessings unto all of our personal, programs and us for the entire 2011-2012 school year. Many students and workers expressed their gratitude to God for how He blessed them. They feel it was God himself who has enabled them to join Kipuke Outreach Ministries programs.

Our dormitory for girls lacks space to accommodate all new needy students. More beds and mattresses are needed. Kipuke Outreach and Ministries provides accommodations only to enrolled students coming from other villages, Cantons and Regions of the country. Exception is made to girls rejected by their families due to forced marriages, indigenous religion practices, witchcraft practices…

The Kipuke Outreach program for orphans provides education, food, clothing and medical care expenses for children they have placed in foster families. We are able to find families willing to take in an additional child, but they can barely support themselves, so we must provide money to feed and clothe the orphans they care for. The orphans resumed their school this first week of October 2011. Kipuke Outreach provided all of these children with school uniforms, school supplies, tuition and other related school fees for the school year 2011-2012. Families providing care to these children also benefited by receiving some food for the orphans under their care, and their own children

Visitations:
Kipuke Outreach and Ministries was blessed by the visit of Ed and Linda Baker, The Mission Society missionaries serving on the Global Resource Team with specialization in water and sanitation. Ed and Linda enjoyed their visit to Togo, especially the visit at the Kipuke Outreach Ministries project in the village of Pya. Ed and Linda noticed the difficulty the training center has with training the students in it’s home economics program. The kitchen has no sink and no running water, making it difficult to educate the students about cooking practices. Ed and Linda will be working hard in finding ways to get pipelines run from the well to the main building at Kipuke Outreach and Ministries training center in Pya.

The 9100 District Rotary Club Governor visited Kipuke Outreach Ministries project in Pya where the International Rotary Club approved a matching grand that helped provide electricity to Kipuke Outreach Ministries training center, add electric and manual sewing machines and purchased some kitchen supplies for our cooking program.
The Governor and all who were with him appreciated the Kipuke Outreach Ministries efforts in the area of community development. Bringing to the village of Pya a nice and well equipped school to help young Togolese women to learn a trade is a big investment a NGO can provide a rural area with.

The nursery program at Kipuke Outreach Ministries training center also attracted the attention of the Governor. He noticed that the nursery needs more equipment such as toys for children and, in the long range a play ground to benefit children in the area.

Kipuke Outreach Ministries held a three day seminar for their “Women of Love” program. The topic of the seminar was “Women Leaders – What is Their Role”. Many women from neighboring villages of Pya came. The goal was to provide information to help women understand how they can have a role when it comes to leadership - what they can do to be effective, and to not be misunderstood in a country where the culture has not fully given to women the power to be a leader of groups? A certificate of participation was given to all women who attended.

Event:
Kipuke Outreach Ministries is coordinating a French International Mobilization Conference in Togo, led by the Mission Society, December 9-13 in Bagbe (Presbyterian Retreat Center, 35 kilometers away from Lome). We are expecting church leader participants from USA, Mali, Cameroon, Bourkina-Faso, Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo.

Prayer:
Please, pray for our programs, our donors and especially for the event God has for Togo in the coming months. Also, do not forget to pray for us, your missionaries on the field for good health and patience with the challenges we have to deal with on a daily basis.

Esaho and Beatrice Kipuke
Missionaries in Togo

An Amazing Church

If you haven't figured it out by now I serve an amazing church! We tend to be active to hyperactive, keep old members & staff around for long tenures plus engage new folk into the life of the congregation, and serve the world in a lot of different ways. Just last week we had one outreach team in Jamaica on a medical mission. We also had a team in Ringgold, GA doing reconstruction on houses damaged by the spring tornadoes that hit Tuscaloosa and continued a line of destruction up into northwest Georgia. And, in addition to our normal ministries, we also had a group staging a huge church yard sale that raised $8100 for local mission and opened the doors of the church to the community.

After such a busy week we enjoyed a guest preacher on Sunday. Have you heard of the author and preacher Max Lucado? It was a great Sunday-- a little Christmas or Easter-- after a very busy week of mission and ministry.

Local Press on Lucado Visit

And, perhaps even better than such great local press, here's what a college student who's moved to our town said about the day in her blog.

What a blessing to serve an amazing church and "run and not grow weary!"

Togo Dancing

It's a cloudy day in Georgia, and a perfect time to catch up on some of the summer videos from our mission teams. Here's a short clip from our missionary friend Dr. Esaho Kipuke at the Women's Training Center with Pya, Togo Dancing.

Troublemaker Series: #1 Would You Accept Me In Your Church?

It's been a long, busy week as we've offered the fall consignment sale at the church. 40% of the proceeds go to missions, so we go through this huge ordeal that attracted 256 consignors and thousands of shoppers. We sold over 18,000 items, and will net a nice amount for mission use. Irony of ironies, the Sunday School class I lead has been studying the Gospel of John, and last week we were in Chapter 2 with today's lesson being on Jesus driving the money changers out of Temple. :) Since church members haven't stepped up with checks to make the consignment sale obsolete I guess we'll continue to do the sale until Jesus or the Spirit moves us to make up that funding some other way.

So, I'm really tired, a good tired I guess, but still rather beat up after a long, demanding week week. At the same time, perhaps because of my fatigue, I'm finding a number of good questions and ideas have come to mind today that are a challenge to me and the church. So, there's no reason to sugar coat it or varnish the truth, but live with the tough challenge. Thus, begins what I'll call my "Troublemaker Series." It's not a bad thing for Jesus to confront individuals or the church, so I'll just place these challenges out there for dialogue and see what happens.

Despite some real positives about offering a consignment sale I'm not sure it's the best way to be about the work of the church. Yet the consignment sale is a huge attraction that engages many, many people from the community (read this as 60 mile radius!). These are all the people you see at the community store, yet not in my/your community church. At least a dozen times during the sale, I found myself in conversation with shoppers as they congratulated us on a cool concept (the WIN/WIN benefits shoppers/consignors/church/plus mission partners who receive the donated items). Those talkative shoppers went on to discuss their need to find a new church.

These were very honest conversations as they'd talk out loud about some issue in their life and how their current church just wasn't meeting their needs. These weren't angry people, or negative folk in conversation, but all seemed to be people who were swept up in our experience and wanting that to be part of an honest, real, engaging church in their life every week.

Get the picture? They were feeling that pinch between where they were, realizing they couldn't create that, and wanting to be part of a church family.

Then, without fail, they'd come to a moment in the conversation where they'd ask a crucial question- put most succinctly by one shopper- "Will you really accept me?"

Hold on to that for a moment, and think of the variety of folk in your community. Get specific and ask it from the view point of someone of a different ethnicity than you...
-someone from a different socio-economic group than you and your church...
- someone with physical handicap or challenges...
-someone from a different political viewpoint than you and your church...
-someone who is homosexual...
- someone with an addiction- past or present...
- someone with ongoing mental health challenges...
- or perhaps you think of someone else in your community that God has placed in your life somehow that needs a family of faith.

Think of a line of "shoppers" in your community stepping up to your church asking you that question. How would you respond? Would you be telling the truth? And would your church be able to follow through with those great intentions?

While I'm rather certain what Jesus would do I wonder if our churches will take the risk and accept someone into the life of a congregation that the Spirit brings to us.

Fall 2011 Consignment Sale

I'm shocked that 6 months have past and it's now time for the fall consignment sale. But the calendar and last 2 days of hyperactivity remind me otherwise. This isn't the old church yard sales I experienced in my early years of ministry where everyone would show up on the day of the sale and we broke out the masking tape and markers. This is a laptop computer, barcodes on every item, 60,000-70,000 item consignment sale. And they didn't teach me to install software, integrate a new computer into a network, and set up a local area network back in seminary days-- but you do what you've got to do!

It's always a huge blessing for the church as we get 40% of the net for the church's various mission projects. So, it's worth the challenges & long hours. And we have a huge response from the community who are involved as consignors, volunteers, and shoppers. All in all, it's an incredible experience.

So far during the last two days of set-up I've been reminded:
-there is no easy way to gather 300+ volunteers
-communication is a challenge with people & the more people you deal with during a day the more challenging it gets
-throw in some heat (back to 95+ the last two days in Augusta) & long days and the above issues become greater
-and yet I'm continually amazed at some of the workhorses and saints that show a commitment, perseverance, and depth of character that restores hope and gives me that energy I most need.

The sale is Friday 9-7 & Saturday 8-2. Oh, and then we clean up!

Find all the details here.

Clothes

Toys

After Worship on September 11, 2011

We experienced a very moving worship service today. A highlight for me was the Natalie Sleeth's choral anthem "Joy in the Morning." The music and power of the movement from a minor key to a more hopeful sound and climax was just the right touch for my emotionss and thoughts ten years after 9/11.

There'll be joy in the morning on that day,
There'll be joy in the morning on that day,
For the daylight will dawn when the darkness is gone,
There'll be joy in the morning on that day.

There'll be peace and contentment evermore,
There'll be peace and contentment evermore,
Every heart, every voice will together rejoice,
There'll be peace and contentment evermore.

And the glory, glory, glory of the Lord
Will shine... will shine (shine upon us)
And the glory, glory, glory of the Lord
Will bring the truth divine.

There'll be love and forgiveness everywhere,
There'll be love and forgiveness everywhere,
And the way of the Lord will that day be restored,
There'll be love and forgiveness everywhere.

There'll be love and forgiveness,
Therell be peace and contentment,
Therell be joy, joy, joy, joy... JOY!

How to Be a GREAT College Football Fan (Among Other Things)

This is a wonderful time of year in the southeastern United States. Fall is trying to nudge out summer. School is back in session. Best of all, college football is in full swing!

Now I could just as easily focus on high school or pro football (NBC News highlighted the Cheeseheads this morning in Green Bay), but to me there is something special about college football. Living in Augusta GA we have a rich blend of college teams represented, and the closer you get to the weekend the more the talk is about football. I won't even go into the details of a certain UGA-SC game that is all the buzz in my area this week!

As I was enjoying cooler weather and doing some yard work, I couldn't help but think about the way great fans are a key part of college football. Watch ESPN Game Day, or attend your local game, and you know what I'm talking about.

Great fans plan and prepare to be part of the experience-- the clothes, the food, & all the preparations are part of the fun!

Great fans expect great things to happen in the next game! It usually doesn't matter what the record is since a great fan is going to hold out hope for the extraordinary to happen.

Great fans try to persuade other fans their team is the best. A great fan sticks with a team no matter the season record. Year in and year out they'll try to recruit other fans, players, and anyone who will listen that their team is the best.

Great fans know the players for this season and follow the numbers. A great fan gets into the details of the game. Such a fan isn't content with a superficial level of knowledge of the team.

Great fans encourage the coach. A person who has the long term interest of a team in mind accepts reality, yet is looking to build on the long term tradition.

Great fans are part of the game! They aren't idle participants, or lazy observers, but are actively engaged in the game even though they aren't playing on the field.

Great fans are part of why I love college football. Great fans attract other great fans and build on the tradition.

How exciting to be part of a crowd of rabid enthusiasts!

It's an old metaphor, yet still full of truth. Come to think of it, a great fan makes all the difference in church as well. I wonder what would happen if we all got as prepared, expecting the extraordinary, and as personally engaged in church life as we are with college football? The enthusiasm and excitement of one great fan is contagious and will attract other excited participation.

Let's bring on game day at church- I'll meet you in the parking lot for the tailgate party!

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11

John & Jonah Show Up in Worship

It happened again today as John appeared midway through the worship service at the center doors. He always stumbles through the doors, similar to Kramer from "Seinfeld," and then looks around rather confused trying to get his bearings. It would be funny except that John appears to be homeless and usually smells like he is. You can often see the look of dread on people's faces as they anticipate where John might sit!

The truth is John has a fairly severe mental illness and doesn't have a family that keeps him. He lives in one of those group transitional home settings just off Gordon Highway. He walks everywhere, and has little or no supervision. If you know Augusta then you may realize that means he walks miles to get to church on Sunday. You can't get much out of him to talk with him, so a few years ago I played detective and followed him to the house where he rents a room.

For the most part John is harmless, though at times he can be rather disruptive with his behavior. Usually he sits in worship, may get up a few times during an hour to go outside and smoke the very end of a throw away cigarette he picked up somewhere, and then he's either back in the sanctuary or in his favorite Sunday School class hoping they'll let him eat some food. So, I usually watch him like I would a 5 year old who can get into a lot of mischief with no supervision.

Today John appears at the center doors like a slapstick comedian, realizes he wasn't quite where he wanted to be, and quickly darts back in the narthex to then reappear in his favorite side aisle. Imagine your thoughts if you had to babysit John... or if you were sitting in church in the vicinity of such a character.

John certainly stands out in our crowd of primarily professional, middle class/upper class congregation. He's always got serious bedhead, usually favors an army jacket & surprisingly today is without it and sporting a half tucked shirt, hasn't bathed in who knows when, and laughs loudly at all the wrong places in worship. He usually likes a seat about 2/3's of the way down the aisle, and it doesn't really matter what time it is in the worship. If there is a cute female on the aisle all the better. Add in talking to himself and a rather serious wheezing and you get part of the picture!

Being "the mission guy" I usually try to sit near him. The ushers will give me the signal that one of "my guys" is in the building if I don't seem to be aware of a "disturbance in the force." I don't know what it is that is attractive to John, but he's as dedicated in attendance as many of our members.

At early worship this morning John appears just as the congregation is singing a prayer chorus and as some are going to the altar to pray.

Fill my cup, Lord, I lift it up, Lord.
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me til I want no more;
fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

As the worship service moves on toward offering, and sermon, and communion, my old brother John becomes more at ease and more animated. Since we are usually televised on live TV at 11 AM even the early service has great lighting. But is it something about the preacher's face or the emotions of the place that cause John to laugh at such odd times? I likely don't see or hear what John experiences, but I wonder what draws him here and what he sees. I start hearing him get a little louder, so concerned for others in the congregation, I move closer and sit on John's pew.

Even as I'm trying to play good brother to John and the congregation I hear my preacher, Rev. Dan Brown, as he shares scripture and sermon from Jonah 4:1-5. Dan shares the story of Jonah who didn't want to go where God sent him with the message that was intended, and instead preferred to go in the opposite direction. And then when Jonah finally did go he shared a half hearted message for those he could care less about. I hear something about "needing to show grace to others like God shows us." And later, "... we are to be extensions of God's grace, even to people we do not like."

So, God, and the preacher, and John are all laughing at me now! It occurs to me that both the messenger and the crowd need each other in this relationship of God's grace. Who knows what God is doing in all those lives and what response we might get from those we least expect to respond?

We concluded worship with that hymn/chorus I'm lobbying to have changed. I love the music and the sentiment, but know the words aren't quite what they should be. Here's my version of "Here I Am Lord":

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, when you lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

Standing with a Homeless Man

Every day there are people who give the church a phone call, or stop by to plead their case, seeking financial assistance. I've been in churches since 1992 that get this a lot, therefore it's a regular part of ministry. Not too many years ago it was a certain type of person who would know the system and appeal to churches and non-profit ministries for help with their "light bill" or rent or gas or food or whatever. With the tougher economy, and more people out of work, we get more people who don't know "the system" and who are unaccustomed to asking for help.

As a pastor, and as someone seeking to follow Christ in my personal life, it's a tough tight rope as I so often deal with con-men and those who live off others, yet seek to have a tender heart that takes time with people and is responsive to those who are in great need. There's never enough money, never enough time, and it's a challenge to safeguard what has been given to church and God for those most in need.

Late this afternoon the call came from the receptionist's desk that I had a "friend out front." Freddy had shown up a couple of months ago. He seemed transparent, likable, and even in spite of knowing he has had his challenges and is likely running a story, I found myself drawn to him. He was upbeat, optimistic, with a smile and a twinkle in eyes that showed a hope I didn't usually find from my brothers and sisters on the street. It was an afternoon when I didn't have many appointments and could take some time in conversation.

Freddy was very open and revealing. He responded to all my questions and didn't get defensive or seem evasive, even when I pushed in directions and gave advice that could have pushed anyone's buttons!

He told he'd done jail time. His only ID is from corrections.

He told me about the mission where he lives, and the challenges of living in such a place, of being out during the day with his Goodwill training and to look for work.

We sat and chatted leisurely for almost 30 minutes.

I gave him a little bit of money, and a pair of reading glasses as we had some left over from our recent west African mission trip. I told him about our mission partners at a local medical clinic that might be a help to him with some of his problems. We chatted some more and I gave him a blessing as he went back out on the street.

Today was very different. Today everything was different. Today we stood together and the emotion hung thick in the air.

Freddy seemed defeated. It was more than just his situation that had him down. Everything he said indicated he'd been beaten in life and was ready to give up. He said repeatedly that this was his "last chance." But his words and emotions sounded more like a man who didn't expect to have much longer to live. Freddy had a tear that kept popping up in the corner of his eye. His emotion was raw, but controlled, as the frustration, remorse, and hope to do better was all confessed. How amazing the sense of God's presence as this homeless brother of mine shared from the depths of his soul. In all of my years talking with my homeless neighbors I've never had an experience quite like this.

Freddy was drawn to the church today because of the deepest needs of his soul. He needed to talk. He had to say some things. He needed to hear some things.

At this moment as I write this, and as the night claims the day, I can't help but think of Freddy. I hope you'll pray for him, and for others like him in your neighborhood. As I think about him I'm drawn to a scripture that recalls Jesus who calls us all to his feet and who came to heal us all.

Luke 6:17-21 (though you may wisely wish to read more in that chapter). Speaking of Jesus the passage says:
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."

Lord, be with Freddy tonight. Help him to stay on your path and cling to You. And help me to have a similar faith and expectation of healing for my soul. Lord, let it be!

Speakers Available for Men's Meetings

Perhaps by now you notice I'm privileged to serve an extraordinary church. By that I don't mean we've got everything figured out. Instead, I mean there are lots of honest, real folk who are eager to serve and to share.

We've got four guys in the +/- 40 year old range that illustrate the point. In addition to their careers they are now making themselves available to share their stories and encourage other men. One is a high school principal, another an engineer, the third a financial advisor, and the fourth an international level gymnast who continues that interest in his businesses. They are an interesting group of men, with diverse personalities, yet with common goals of encouraging other men to live extraordinary lives.

Jason, Tim, Jeff and Jay can tailor their presentation to a seminar or a one day event or weekend retreat. They have presented "The Service Road" at a number of churches in the Augusta area, at the North Georgia UMC United Methodist Men's Retreat at Rock Eagle, and at FUMC of Fayetteville TN. These friends are highly respected in both our church and community. You would be hard pressed to find a stronger presentation and their hope is that they will help you to find a similar group develop in your own church.

Learn more about The Service Road here and find the contact information if you wish to have my friends lead your next men's event. If you want to reach men ages 25-50 you will not find a better group to lead a program.