Ask a Stupid Question….. April 8, 2008

My daughter (10 yrs old) baked brownies today.  Before I left for my meeting, she gave me two brownies on a plate told me that one was for me and the other was for Bro. Keith (our pastor).  Since I was in a hurry, I thanked her and ran out the door without thinking, “Hey, Bro. Keith isn’t going to be at this meeting.”  Oops.

So I ate one brownie on the way to the meeting and then remembered that Bro. Keith wouldn’t be there.  I stared at that rich, fudgy, yummy brownie through the whole meeting.  *sigh*  After the meeting, I scarfed that brownie down in two seconds flat….and it was goooooood. 

Then I ran over to the church.  I’ll give you one guess who was there.  Yep.  Bro. Keith, all smiles, saying “Hey Becky, what’s up?”  My response?  “Hey would you lie for me?”  I wish you could have seen his face.  ROFL  Guess I should have told him why before asking him to lie for me.  After I explained he said, “I’ll tell her that’s the best brownie I ever heard of” and promised to say the “heard of” really low and quiet.  lol  Ah well.  Guess I’ll have to explain to my daughter that Mommy’s chocolate addiction won this round. 

On a different note, I’m really proud of my dh tonight.  He went up to the church after work today and did some painting.  While I was up there, I looked at the room he did and it looked great!  He impresses me so much.  And he would never eat a brownie intended for someone else.

Filling the Need April 8, 2008

So I’ve been thinking about all the things that need to be done at church.  Not focusing on my department, but on the church as a whole, there’s much that needs to be done.  We’re growing really fast and it’s hard to fill all the positions that need to be filled in order to keep up with the rate of growth.  I’m excited though to see all the people stepping up to serve.  Some of them have never served in ministry before, so they don’t even realize yet what a blessing they are…or what a blessing they will get. 

So if you’re looking for somewhere to serve at H.O.W., you can pretty much pick any department you’d like.    Nursery, children’s LIFE Groups, Children’s Church, Youth, Adult LIFE Groups, Media Team, Worship Team, Ensemble, Ushers, Parking Lot Attendants, Greeters, Decision Assist, etc etc etc….you name it, there’s a place for you.  It’s really kind of exciting when you think about it. 

Why is it exciting?  Well, think about it.  Churches across the country are growing at lightning fast speed.  It reminds me of when in the New Testament they were “adding to their number daily.”  Thousands coming to know Christ and serve Him.  Awesome!  H.O.W. is one of the churches that is growing super fast and I can’t help but get excited when I see that.  I love it!

I remember when I was 21, I didn’t want to be involved in ministry.  My pastor asked me to help with the Youth and I told him that I didn’t think I could because I was still trying to “learn how to be a Christian.”  I’ve never forgotten his response.  “Becky, do you really think you’re going to learn how to be like Christ if you don’t do what He did?  He served.  And sometimes serving means filling a need.  Now we have a need and I can’t make you fill it, but if you want to be a Christian, then you need to act like one and serve.”  That one statement altered my life.  Seriously.

When I became involved in ministry, I didn’t feel “called” to it.  I was simply filling a need.  And somehow I ended up blessed.  lol  And then I moved away, found another church and began filling a need there.  That’s where I found my niche.  That’s where I discovered my gifts and began to utilize them.  But that never would have happened if I hadn’t first stepped up to fill a need.

I will never regret getting involved in ministry.  I learned more about Jesus while serving others than I ever learned before.  What my former pastor told me was absolutely correct.  How could I learn to be Christlike if I didn’t follow His example and serve? 

When I look around H.O.W., I’m really encouraged to see people of all different age ranges serving one another.  One lady told me, “I plan to keep on serving.  God doesn’t stop being God just ’cause I’m old and people don’t stop needing things either.”  Gosh, I hope I always think like that.