Sunday, July 22, 2007
Baptism Sunday!
We baptized 35 people this Sunday! That's incredible! I've never been to a church that baptized more than 5 or so on any given Sunday. It's so awesome to see the all the work being done come to fruition in seeing baptisms, which are a symbol not only of Christ's work in the person's life, but of God working in a powerful way in the people of North Las Vegas. Many of the people baptized were those who had been baptized as a child, but felt like they wanted to make a public confession of faith of their own choosing. Many of them were children who recently committed their lives to Christ. But I think what was most exciting is that perhaps half of those baptized today were new to GP within the last 3 months or so, and their baptism is evidence of God working powerfully in their lives. At least 6 had not previously planned on being baptized today. This is the reason we expend so much effort on advertising, community outreach, and making our worship gatherings on Sunday as inviting to those who aren't yet saved.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
First H-60 Flight
I had my first H-60 flight last night; it was awesome. It was an aerial refueling mission where the C-130 dragged a hose and the H-60 pilots practice connecting and getting into the correct refueling position. I wore night vision goggles for the first time and learned something I never knew: there is not a point in the sky where there is not a star. I never realized that before last night. I mean, everyone knows there is a lot of stars, but honestly, how could there be that many!?
One of my main goals was to not get in anyone's way and to not make a complete idiot of myself. I feel like I did a pretty good job at both.
I realized that helicopter pilots tend to be much more accepting than fighter pilots. I think it's because of the crew mentality: let's all work together to get the job done. Fighter pilots, with a few exceptions (two of whom go to Grace Point), tend to be more exclusive. They can do everything, without anyone's help. If you're not one of them, you are inferior, period. Those words are never spoken, but it's well understood across the Air Force.
I've noticed that those who are not pilots often try to get close to the pilot world just like the not-so-cool kids in high school try to maneuver themselves close to the popular crowd to try and glean just a little of the adulation the popular kind bask in.
Anyways, the flight was awesome, and I finally feel like I'm earning my living.
One of my main goals was to not get in anyone's way and to not make a complete idiot of myself. I feel like I did a pretty good job at both.
I realized that helicopter pilots tend to be much more accepting than fighter pilots. I think it's because of the crew mentality: let's all work together to get the job done. Fighter pilots, with a few exceptions (two of whom go to Grace Point), tend to be more exclusive. They can do everything, without anyone's help. If you're not one of them, you are inferior, period. Those words are never spoken, but it's well understood across the Air Force.
I've noticed that those who are not pilots often try to get close to the pilot world just like the not-so-cool kids in high school try to maneuver themselves close to the popular crowd to try and glean just a little of the adulation the popular kind bask in.
Anyways, the flight was awesome, and I finally feel like I'm earning my living.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Teaching at Embry Riddle?
I heard today from a co-worker that there might be an opportunity for me to teach a class at Embry Riddle, which is a university that has campuses all over the U.S., especially at Air Force bases. (My dad actually got is undergrad degree there while he was still in the Air Force.) I guess the opportunity is that if you have a master's, you may be qualified to teach a class or two. This sounds exciting for a couple of reasons. One of my strongest attributes is that I love to learn. And because I love to learn, I love to help other people learn. Maybe to help them get excited about something they didn't know could be interesting. I would prefer to start out doing something fairly benign like math for dummies to get my feet wet. The other thing that's always a plus, though not as exciting is the extra money. However, I have no idea what the committment would be like on my part; it seems that it would get smaller the more familiar I am with the material. I'll find out soon if I'm even qualified to teach anything.
Liking Work
I'm really liking the latest installment of my job for the last month. This is the most fun I've had waiting on a security clearance so far. I'm working at a test squadron for HH-60 rescue helicopters. Lately, I'm mostly helping prepare for a helicopter aerial refueling test at Eglin AFB in August.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
More Lessons from "Volunteer Revolution"
-This is a good idea: create what Hybels calls "First Serve: one-time serving opportunities offered at a variety of times and tapping into a wide range of skills and areas of interest...First Serve mantra: Come once and check it out. No strings attached."
--This would be a good thing to do at GP. It would give people the permission to check out a service area before they committ to it. I think a few people get scared off thinking that if they come once or act interested, they will be conscripted for the long run.
-Hybels says after the volunteer serves once, he should ask himself a series of questions to see how well he matches this area of service.
1) Did the work feel meaningful? Did he feel emotionally energized or exhausted afterwards?
2) Did he enjoy working with the people he served with? That is, is there a comfortable relational dynamic on the serving team? (The relational sense of community may be just as, or more important than the actual work the volunteer is doing.)
3) Does the time frame for the service opportunity fit realisticly into the volunteer's schedule?
Hybels gives some examples of First Serve. Most of them involve a team leader or an experienced volunteer on the team meeting the person and showing him the ropes. If the task is one that can be easily performed by the first timer, such as directing traffic or raking leaves, he should do it. But more complicated volunteer positions could best be served by a tour as the action happens, such as the nursery/preschool area, so the person gets a realistic feel for what it would be like.
Hybels also says that a person should be allowed to experiment with many different opportunities until they find the one that would be most fullfilling to them. The best thing they can do, he says, is "Just jump in!"
--This would be a good thing to do at GP. It would give people the permission to check out a service area before they committ to it. I think a few people get scared off thinking that if they come once or act interested, they will be conscripted for the long run.
-Hybels says after the volunteer serves once, he should ask himself a series of questions to see how well he matches this area of service.
1) Did the work feel meaningful? Did he feel emotionally energized or exhausted afterwards?
2) Did he enjoy working with the people he served with? That is, is there a comfortable relational dynamic on the serving team? (The relational sense of community may be just as, or more important than the actual work the volunteer is doing.)
3) Does the time frame for the service opportunity fit realisticly into the volunteer's schedule?
Hybels gives some examples of First Serve. Most of them involve a team leader or an experienced volunteer on the team meeting the person and showing him the ropes. If the task is one that can be easily performed by the first timer, such as directing traffic or raking leaves, he should do it. But more complicated volunteer positions could best be served by a tour as the action happens, such as the nursery/preschool area, so the person gets a realistic feel for what it would be like.
Hybels also says that a person should be allowed to experiment with many different opportunities until they find the one that would be most fullfilling to them. The best thing they can do, he says, is "Just jump in!"
Lessons from "Volunteer Revolution"
Some quotes or paraphrases from Bill Hybels' "Volunteer Revolution." And some thoughts.
-"Too many willing-hearted volunteers have been wounded "on the job." They've responded to an invitiation serve, only to end up in a volunteer position that was poorly conceived, resulting in tasks that few people would find fulfilling. Or they show up to serve and discover they have nothing to do; an unprepared volunteer coordinator has wasted their time, causing them to lose precious hours they had willingly carved out from their busy schedule.
"Some work hard on menial tasks without ever hearing how their efforts serve a grander cause; they're given plenty of work, but no vision. Others have felt overwhelmed by unreasonable demands for which they've not received proper training; rather than being set up to win, they get put on the express lane to frustration and failure."
--Churches must leverage their volunteers; a church's staff must be a enabler for volunteers to be effective. In any church, all team leaders must be active participants in the work, but they must also train and guide all volunteers in that team. Each team member must know what they are doing supports the overall vision of the church, and therefore furthers God's kingdom here on earth. Team leaders must also be prepared when the volunteers arrive so that each volunteer is quickly moved into a task that accomplishes the overall task at hand. Volunteers MUST NEVER stand around wondering if they are needed or just simply in the way. Once the in-the-way thinking starts, there is a good chance they will leave--not just that event, but all events for the organization. The team leader must be both a big picture person and fine detail person all at once. They must see how each team member can contribute most effectively to the overall scheme, but they must also know the details of what must happen to get there. There is a tension there that must be maintained. This type of thinking must be conveyed to the team leaders, both those that have been in a position for a while, and also those team leaders that may have just moved into that role.
-"... a profound truth: the church was designed to be primarily a volunteer organization."
--Hybels goes on to talk about how many attenders of church expect their pastor to act like their doctor and their lawyer: I pay him to do all the work. My version of what a typical attender may say: "I go to church, sit in the seat and get ministered to. The pastor is supposed to preach, counsel, marry, do funerals, feed the poor, tell others about God, and serve. That's what I pay tithes for: so I don't have to do it." The reality is that the pastor is supposed to train up the body of Christ so that we can go do the good works and serve. That's what we were saved for! So, the pastor and the staff of a church must do well when they both train and provide avenues for everyone to be a priest in some way. In fact, this should be their primary role! This is one area that Grace Point is focused on: getting people into serving positions. Devin (lead pastor), always says, "You're never more like Christ than when you're serving."
-A Hard Lesson for Hybels to learn was that while his church was still very yound, the core developed a whatever it takes attitude toward volunteering without finding where their strengths and passions best coincided with the work that needed to be done. This lead to burn-out. Many left the church after five years wounded, tired, and disillusioned. Then the pendulum swung to the other side. They used spiritual gift tests, seminars, strength finders, etc. to make sure that every member found exactly what they were best suited for immediately. This worked sometimes, but often it made people believe that they must be perfect for the role that they first jumped into, which quickly led to discontentment, and volunteer attrition. Hybels' point is that we should try to help people find what their gifts and passions are (tests aren't bad), but allow for experimentation. Let people feel their way around while serving to determine what they're good at and passionate about.
--At Grace Point, we try hard to get people into those serving roles that best suit them. We can continue to get better at funneling people information through the Sunday message and small groups on where they can get involved in service.
-"Too many willing-hearted volunteers have been wounded "on the job." They've responded to an invitiation serve, only to end up in a volunteer position that was poorly conceived, resulting in tasks that few people would find fulfilling. Or they show up to serve and discover they have nothing to do; an unprepared volunteer coordinator has wasted their time, causing them to lose precious hours they had willingly carved out from their busy schedule.
"Some work hard on menial tasks without ever hearing how their efforts serve a grander cause; they're given plenty of work, but no vision. Others have felt overwhelmed by unreasonable demands for which they've not received proper training; rather than being set up to win, they get put on the express lane to frustration and failure."
--Churches must leverage their volunteers; a church's staff must be a enabler for volunteers to be effective. In any church, all team leaders must be active participants in the work, but they must also train and guide all volunteers in that team. Each team member must know what they are doing supports the overall vision of the church, and therefore furthers God's kingdom here on earth. Team leaders must also be prepared when the volunteers arrive so that each volunteer is quickly moved into a task that accomplishes the overall task at hand. Volunteers MUST NEVER stand around wondering if they are needed or just simply in the way. Once the in-the-way thinking starts, there is a good chance they will leave--not just that event, but all events for the organization. The team leader must be both a big picture person and fine detail person all at once. They must see how each team member can contribute most effectively to the overall scheme, but they must also know the details of what must happen to get there. There is a tension there that must be maintained. This type of thinking must be conveyed to the team leaders, both those that have been in a position for a while, and also those team leaders that may have just moved into that role.
-"... a profound truth: the church was designed to be primarily a volunteer organization."
--Hybels goes on to talk about how many attenders of church expect their pastor to act like their doctor and their lawyer: I pay him to do all the work. My version of what a typical attender may say: "I go to church, sit in the seat and get ministered to. The pastor is supposed to preach, counsel, marry, do funerals, feed the poor, tell others about God, and serve. That's what I pay tithes for: so I don't have to do it." The reality is that the pastor is supposed to train up the body of Christ so that we can go do the good works and serve. That's what we were saved for! So, the pastor and the staff of a church must do well when they both train and provide avenues for everyone to be a priest in some way. In fact, this should be their primary role! This is one area that Grace Point is focused on: getting people into serving positions. Devin (lead pastor), always says, "You're never more like Christ than when you're serving."
-A Hard Lesson for Hybels to learn was that while his church was still very yound, the core developed a whatever it takes attitude toward volunteering without finding where their strengths and passions best coincided with the work that needed to be done. This lead to burn-out. Many left the church after five years wounded, tired, and disillusioned. Then the pendulum swung to the other side. They used spiritual gift tests, seminars, strength finders, etc. to make sure that every member found exactly what they were best suited for immediately. This worked sometimes, but often it made people believe that they must be perfect for the role that they first jumped into, which quickly led to discontentment, and volunteer attrition. Hybels' point is that we should try to help people find what their gifts and passions are (tests aren't bad), but allow for experimentation. Let people feel their way around while serving to determine what they're good at and passionate about.
--At Grace Point, we try hard to get people into those serving roles that best suit them. We can continue to get better at funneling people information through the Sunday message and small groups on where they can get involved in service.
Constantine
I recently finished the book "The Christian Story", by Justo Gonzalez. I've been thinking a lot since moved to Vegas and got involved with Grace Point about what church is supposed to be like. I grew up in a Baptist background and I often wondered why we dressed up to go to church, the pastor wore a suit, the choir wore robes, there even was a choir, why there was an organ, what's with the stained glass windows, etc.... I learned in the book that the "conversion" of Constantine changed everything. Christian worship before 306 A.D. was very simple, revolving around the Communion, singing, and reading of Scriptures from both the O.T. and of the N.T. books that they happened to have. After Constantine, everything started to change. The bishops, or simply the head of the local church, started dressing in clothes likened to the emperor's, the local body moved from homes to more and more ornate buildings, choirs were added to beef up the singing, etc. Now I know why Christianity (both Catholics and Protestants)does a lot of the things it does, not because it was so ordained in the Bible, but because an emperor wanted his religion to fit his tastes a little better. When I hear preachers say, "We dress up for church on Sunday because we need to bring our best before God," it burns me up. Didn't God say, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," in Hosea 6:6? "A broken and contrite heart, Oh God, You do not despise." "Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart." Not only does this hinder a Christ follower's appropriate focus, it keeps outsiders from feeling comfortable in a world that's nothing like their everyday life.
One small thing that I don't necessarily disagree with that the church after Constantine did was that the reason churches started doing stained glass, carvings, and statues depicting stories from the Bible and of the Saints was because the masses were largely illiterate, and coming to church and seeing the stories depicted in visual form were often the only way they would learn.
One small thing that I don't necessarily disagree with that the church after Constantine did was that the reason churches started doing stained glass, carvings, and statues depicting stories from the Bible and of the Saints was because the masses were largely illiterate, and coming to church and seeing the stories depicted in visual form were often the only way they would learn.
Ready, Go.
So I enjoy reading blogs, but I wanted to start my own. I used myspace at first, but the advertisements were too annoying, so I quit. I'm going to talk about the books I've read, things I've heard and are thinking about, or just questions that I haven't found the answer to yet.
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