October newsletter

Dear friend,

As I write this letter, we are just a couple of days away from our first service in our new building, so there is a mad rush to try to get everything together, or at least operational, for our first meeting. Inside the sanctuary is a sign left by the previous owner that reads, ‘Chaos is necessary, but cannot be scheduled.’ That is pretty reflective of this week for all of us.

Also, as I write this letter, we owe less than $30,000 on the building. From a church with an annual budget of just over $100,000/year, this is a miracle! Your gifts have been such a measure of grace to us, and we believe that we are going to be debt free by the end of the year. Now there are several projects that we need to do in the building to make it more functional, including a sprinkler system, more bathrooms, finishing out the basement with an egress stairway and window, and a commercial kitchen so that we might be able to prepare meals here for 200 people. And I believe that as God has provided the money for the building, he will continue to provide for our needs!

But, raising money for the church has put a strain on the staff accounts. Currently, several members of staff are underfunded, and as I noted in my last newsletter, I have been underfunded for the past two months. Additionally, I have not been able to expense my pastoral allowance, insurance, or cell phone since March, so things have been a little tight. I am hoping to go to Texas in October to do some fundraising, so please remember me in your prayers in this endeavor.

All that said, though, life in ministry is going well. I was able to take a few days off last week to get away to the mountains and enjoy the turning of the aspens. The hills are all shades of red, orange, and yellow. It is quite spectacular. And it was a much-needed respite after everything that has happened with the zoning and the building.

And as things with the building begin to smooth out, I am able to spend more time in pastoral ministry, which is where my heart lies. We will begin a new small group this week on a book entitled UnChristian: What a New Generation thinks about Christianity…And Why It Matters. It is a study on 6 principles discovered by researchers about what people outside the church in my generation think about the church. It gives practical steps toward bringing about dialogue with them. It is my hope that this will spur our church on toward a missional perspective, especially as we move into our new building and encounter a new population.

I am also working on guidelines for ‘Groups of 3’ which would be small groups for guys. There would be no leader, but each member would be responsible for preparing for the study. It has been my conviction recently that the guys at the church need something to spur them on toward growth and maturity, and by sitting under the teaching of someone, they are losing this opportunity to provide for themselves and each other spiritually. I must admit, I am nervous about this, as it might fail miserably, or even in part, but I feel that it is necessary for the maturation of the guys here at Scum. And as they grow in their maturity, the Kingdom of God will advance in our city.

And lastly, I am hoping to start another small group that brews beer and studies the miracles of Jesus (like turning water into wine, or malt, hops, yeast, and water into beer). I have been brewing for a couple of years ago, and have recently been brewing quite a bit of beer. I have found that it is an incredible opportunity to bring people together, and people are extremely excited about it! And so, as we brew beer (about 4 weeks), we would have an opportunity to discuss the miracles of Jesus, and how that relates to our present lives. Also, once it is finished, we can have a tasting, which would be an incredible opportunity for outreach!

And this is the stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning: seeing how our lives are changed and shaped by God, and how we might be agents of that change in others’ lives around us.