Pictures from VBS

Herb Reefer, pastor of First Presbeterian Church in Ford City
This is me with red hair. You can't really see the red but it was there.
This is Curt Sirwell getting a mohawk. Yes, I do some barbering on the side.
Craig Peterson, pastor of the Allegheny Charge of United Methodist churches.
Alice Miller, volunteer.

Why do these people have mohawks and colored hair? To raise money for biosand filters. If the kids could raise over $500 dollars Curt and Pastor Craig Peterson were going to get mohawks. As the money increased, a few of us jumped on board to keep things rolling. At the end of the week the children had raised over $750. We averaged about 50 kids a day. Praise the Lord. We also had a great backpack giveaway where we were able to give away around 50 backpacks. What a week. I'm a little tired but thankful to God for all that He did this past week. And there's more.

Two women who helped out with VBS last week came to church this past Sunday and surrendered their lives to Jesus. The example people from the churches and the children set for them encouraged them to get back into church and Jesus. Praise the Lord! I can't thank the Lord enough for all that He did this past week. A relationship with Jesus is truly an exciting adventure.

What a Week!

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. It has been a busy week with VBS, but what a week it was. I started out a little slow. I love VBS and getting to clown around with kids, but it took a day or two for me to get into it. But once I got geared up to show and tell these kids about Jesus, it was on. Throw in a day that I helped Pastor Art move around 9o0 pound dryers for his laundrymats and I'm exhausted. But no time to rest now, I have the Back Pack Giveaway to get ready for. So keep all that is going on in your prayers and I will post some pics on here as soon as I can.

Hidden Sackcloth 2

In 2 Kings 6, it talks about two women who were going to eat their babies because of a severe famine in the land. When the king of Israel heard this, it disturbed him and he put on sackcloth and was walking on the wall. As people got closer to him on the wall, they could see the sackcloth under his royal robes. Now you have to understand, sackcloth was worn to mourn and in repentance. So to have it on meant something was wrong. Here the king of Israel has it on because of what is going on in Israel, but he doesn't want anybody to know. But as they get closer, they can see it.

This is what happens in todays church. We have so much hurt and pain and need for repentance, but instead of admitting it, we try and hide it under a facade. The problem is though, as people get closer to us they can see that their is a problem. And yet most of the time we are still unwilling to admit it. Why? If we really and truly believe that Jesus brings freedom to the captives, hope to the hopeless, love for the brokenhearted, then why is the church full of people captive, hopeless, and brokenhearted? It's because we are unwilling to admit things. Can we not overcome our pride and admit when their is a problem, a failure in our life, and find the help we need in Jesus and others? Can we not cry out to Jesus in church and not care what others think?

We must all be willing to get close to others in this day and age so that we can spur one another on. It is to easy to rely on email, text messaging, etc. and not see people face to face or hear a voice. But we are never going to escape our need for fellowship and interaction with others. We must become honest with ourselves and with others so that we can find the true healing and freedom that Jesus brings. I believe as we can do this, we will see healing in the marriages and relationships that have been strained through the years. Now is not the time to be a lone ranger. Now is the time to enter into fellowship.

It's in fellowship that we learn and grow in being strong men and women of God. It's in fellowship that we can learn and grow to be a better husband/wife to our spouse. It's in fellowship that we can learn and grow in being a better father/mother to our child. We all need taught in all of these areas, if we would only have a teachable spirit and be willing to seek Jesus and get involved with others so that we can ask questions. To not ask questions is to never understand and truly grasp what is being taught. Let's not hide our pain. Let's bring it out into the open and get through it.

Lord, I repent for the times that I have reacted wrongly when being confided in. I realize that as a human, I can say and do some pretty dumb things. But I pray that you will help me and everyone overcome these tendancies so that we could be used by You to bring help to those who are hurting. May I and everyone else grow in being a true friend and someone that others can confide in. We all need relationships, first with You most importantly, and then with others. Give us a desire to grow in our relationship with You and with others. May we no longer hide our troubles and struggles but admit them so that we can overcome them. Satan will no longer hold us down, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Hidden Sackcloth

I worked under a pastor that once said to me that as a pastor you will have days where you go through every emotion that you can think of. There has been many things to be excited about here at the NLC but I have to admit that there is a major concern I have... marriages. I am hearing far to many stories of church going people who are ending marriages that have been together for 5, 10, 25, even 40 years. My heart breaks as I hear the reasons why? And most of the reasons come from lack of communication which leads to lack of knowing one's role. You've heard it spoken negatively but there is truly something to "Know your role." A thought that came from todays noon time prayer was that America is filled with babies marrying babies then having babies. Nobody is being taught their role in a marriage (attention parents) and no one, once they are married, is talking about what their role is in the marriage. Everyone just has a thought of what their spouse is supposed to do. Husbands take out the garbage and mow the lawn. Wives cook and clean. Trouble arises when one of the spouses doesn't do what we think they are supposed to do. There is no written code that says that the above mentioned is how a marriage is to operate. But instead of talking through issues like this and being willing to humble ourselves and admit a weakness, we argue and fight to the detriment of the marriage and any children that may be involved. We become critics of the other saying things like "You are lazy" and "I can't live with you anymore" and many other horrible things. There is no team work and no compromise.
When there is communication and each of us is willing to share issues we have, then things can be worked out. I really feel like the church has become a place where we hide the real issues in our lives and put on a facade so that no one knows the pain inside. There are people right now in the NLC that are struggling in their marriage, their walk with the Lord, etc. and you wouldn't even know it. It's breaking my heart the pride that we have in us that we are unwilling to go to a pastor or elder or counselor or whoever to find help working through our issues.
Please join me in praying for marriages. Satan is truly trying to rip the family apart and I'm seeing it more and more right in front of me. Lord, help men and women to begin to communicate and work together. May their be humility and healing in every marriage that is in turmoil right now. That each family will become strong once again. Amen. More on this later.

Church is not the Building

After reading a post by Jack Thomas, someone I played basketball against in college but am now just getting the opportunity to know and truly appreciate, I think I need to write what has been on my heart. Church isn't a building. So when people say this or that church is dead, they are talking about people, since we already know that buildings are not living beings. Unless it is a transformer, just kidding. When you begin to say things like this, I think we also need to take a look at our own life and see if we are bringing any life into the building.

It is becoming something that really irritates me when I hear that our church, specifically, is dying. (Not that I've heard this recently.) Because when I look out at the people we have in our congregation, I see people who want to do what God has called them to do. They may be a little scared or feel overwhelmed over the task ahead but they want to pursue the adventure that is living for Jesus Christ. I see people committing themselves to being part of and making others feel welcome to our OHANA. We are beginning to unite through vision and the sky is the limit. So, I don't for a minute think that we are a dead church. (Yes, we have had our share of difficulties the past 8 years, but we are overcoming them one at a time and will continue to overcome them and become all that God has called us to be.)

The people who say such statements should really check themselves. Because the only dead church their can be is a dead individual, since we are the church. I'm challenged by this thought. It is so easy to look on the outside of things and say that this or that church is dying instead of looking at myself and seeing what I might be able to do to help bring life to that church and that pastor. Yes, we have to be honest when their are struggles but it should never lead us to pull the plug on the people who make up any church. The King always has another move! He can breathe life into dead, dry bones, as He did in Ezekiel's case. And He can do it for churches today. PRAISE THE LORD!

Lord, continue to breathe life into the NLC and the churches here in Ford City and Kittanning. May we not put down or pull the plug on any church but begin to see through your eyes of life. Let us live lives that would help bring life into places that seem to be dying. The atmosphere is changing and your glory is filling this place. Let it be. Amen.

Check this Video Out

This song appears on the new Hillsong CD "This is Our God."

Memories

What a Sunday. This morning I heard a testimony of how well people thought yesterday went. We are still looking at Overhaulin: Rethinking Church, with our goal being bringing unity through everyone having a common vision for our community. It's exciting seeing what God is doing through this series.

I also got my new phone. A palm centro. I'm enjoying it as it helps me organize my life without having to carry a bunch of gadgets around. And with email and internet access, I'm connected everywhere.

On a lighter note, last night I got to watch DC Studio? or something like that on the Disney channel. It had the Disney actors join with the Muppets. For those of you who don't know, and don't laugh, God used Animal to draw me to the drums. When I was little, I loved Animal and how he played the drums. He was a big factor in me wanting to learn how to play the drums. So last night the family sat down and watched the show. It was beautiful. The sad part though was when it was over, Isaiah turned to me and wanted me to turn the Muppets on again. He thought I had turned the channel and I had to explain to him that the show was over. The Muppets and their drawing factor for the Riggle's. Can't wait till next week.