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First Christian Church of Warner Robins, Georgia Pastor's Corner

First Christian Church of Warner Robins, Georgia Pastor's Corner

Tag Archives: Hope Partnership

Pastor’s Corner – December 2016

01 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership, New Beginning, Path to Shine

Here we are at the end of 2016. It has been a full year at First Christian Church. There were ups and downs just like any other living organization. While I am not someone who usually makes resolutions at the end of the year in preparation for the coming New Year, I may deviate from my norm a bit this year. In looking back at all that has taken place, maybe forward with resolution might be the way to go forward.

At the beginning of this year, a leadership team from First Christian was trained in the process for the Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation. If you thought it was long reading it, try saying it aloud fast. This program is from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and helps churches make hard decisions about the future of their congregations. In May and June we held house groups to go over the material provided, look at information about our community, and make recommendations to the congregation. Ultimately, we decided to begin the process of re-visioning, redefining the Mission of First Christian Church.

Re-visioning is not about saying we will spread the Gospel message. It requires we create a dynamic statement that is action oriented. Ultimately, it reflects the Great Commission of going out and making disciples, but is directed toward the unique time and place in which we live.

As part of the process, we suspended our constitution and by-laws in order to be flexible during this process. We also created a Transition Team to guide the effort and communicate with the congregation. Since that time, we have taken some new steps and done different things that we have not attempted as a congregation in a long time.

On October 1st, we hosted a Fall Festival for the Pre-K through 3rd grade children and their families at Miller Elementary School. There were inflatable events and games, hotdogs and chips, and prizes. Children were given a card with numbers for each of the stations. As they went to the Bouncy House, or the Face Painting room, or one of the games, their card was stamped. They even got a stamp when they went to eat. The last stop was in the prize room where there were colorful pencils, stickers, pencil bags, coloring books and reading books. Many parents were surprised that this was all free, especially the food and books. We had a good turnout of volunteers and children, and it was a fun afternoon.

We have also joined with All Saints Episcopal Church and Faith Lutheran Church to provide an after school tutoring program created by the Episcopal Church in GA called Path To Shine. This program targets early elementary children who are on the edge between success and failure. According to studies, if these children don’t improve, the chances that they will leave school before graduation are very high. This program began on Nov. 8th. The response of the children the day after the program started was tremendous. People from all of the congregations volunteer to tutor, lead recreation, bring special programs like art, or music, and provide food for the children.

We also partnered with Faith Lutheran Church to hold an Ecumenical Election Eve Prayer Service. On the Monday before the election, we gathered in the sanctuary to pray and to remember that we are called to pray for those selected to serve the government at all levels. We also recalled our baptisms in order to remember that no matter who won or lost, we as Christians must stand together and not give in to divisiveness.

The newest opportunity to gather for fellowship and conversation is the Wine and Wisdom gatherings on Wednesday evening every 2 weeks. This program provides our church family as well as anyone else who would like to come to the Fellowship Hall and share in focused conversations on various topics, of which not all of the topics will be serious. We will also share in wine and other refreshments as people choose. As I am writing this column on the day before the first Wine and Wisdom party, I cannot tell you how it went. I am hopeful that it will go well.

Our focus as a congregation is moving from counting numbers on Sunday morning and moving toward counting the impact First Christian has in our neighborhood and community. Counting the amount in the offering plate and the number of people in worship has been the norm for generations. We need to look back to what counted in the Gospel, who was touched, who was fed, who was healed. We made an impact with children and their families with the Fall Festival; we are touching the future through Path to Shine; we are reaching in new ways to our community and seeking greater depth of disciple within the congregation.

Now, as we approach our next step in Re-visioning, we will begin to write our Future Story, a narrative vision of our next 5 years of serving God in Warner Robins. We look at 5 years, because the world changes rapidly and we need to develop a habit of reassessing what is needed and what we can do more frequently than we have in our history. We are called to serve in a living community where needs and challenges can change and we as First Christian Church, need to be able to respond more quickly than ever before. Please pray and participate in the process and the ministries come from this effort.

This December, Christmas Day is the last Sunday of the month. Because of this, we will do some different things in worship. There will still be singing and have scripture and responsive readings, but the focus for the sermons will be odd.

On Dec. 4th, the sermon will be on The Littlest Angel; Dec. 11th will be on The Little Drummer Boy, Dec. 18th will be The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and on Christmas Day we will sing as many carols as we want.

On Christmas Day we will have a light breakfast available at 10:00. There will be no Sunday School, so come enjoy fellowship and then come to worship. Also, if you received a new clothing item for Christmas, wear it. Well, maybe not PJs. We will sing carols and read the Christmas story and celebrate at the Lord’s Table.

Shalom, Darrell

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Pastor’s Corner – October 2016

01 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership, New Beginning

By the time you read this, we will have completed our first Fall Festival. On Oct. 1, we are holding a Fall Festival for the Pre-K through 3rd graders and their families of Miller Elementary. There are going to be games and food and all sorts of fun for the people coming to the church. This is the first event since we completed the Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation program.

I am reading a book that referred to churches like ours stepping forward out of our comfort zones as going out into the mission fields, out on the edge. This triggered a connection to the heritage of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our church began on the frontier of this nation.

We are back on the frontier of our church in Warner Robins. With this as inspiration, I have prepared sermons for the month of October looking at the core of our denomination for guidance as we move into the frontier. Rather than traditional sermons, there will be time for thoughts and dialogue as we explore how our founders looked at the Bible, focused upon communion, structured the church, dealt with challenging issues that might divide, and looked at other denominations.

Alexander Campbell and his father, Thomas, lived and ministered on the western border of Virginia and Barton Stone in the heart of the Kentucky frontier pulled together people who were out on the edge, beyond the familiar they had known before. The world in which they lived was dangerous, challenging, and even frightening. They needed a place to gather and people upon whom they could count on, not people who would look down on them or judge them as less than others. Sound a bit familiar? Aren’t we in a similar world today?

We grew up as a denomination in this world. Yes, we didn’t always get it right, but we did our best in that time. We can do the same by remembering from where we came. I hope you will participate in an exploration of our heritage.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor’s Corner – September 2016

01 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership, New Beginning, Path to Shine

Much is happening within this church. We have finished the self-evaluation part of the Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation and have now begun the journey to live into our new mission statement; We Seek to Love God by Loving Others.

We have entered into a joint project with Faith Lutheran Church and All Saints Episcopal Church to provide an after school program for children of Westside Elementary School. The program, “Path to Shine”, seeks to help borderline students in early elementary school. It meets once per week while school is in session. It is a Jubilee Ministry of the Episcopal Church. We already have a list of volunteers to fill in a variety of roles in the program.

We are also gearing up to host a Fall Festival for the students, parents, and staff of Miller Elementary School. We will play games, have inflatable equipment, serve hotdogs and chips and have a good time during the October 1st event. The Fall Festival team began meeting August 24th to put it all together.

We are also trying to arrange a special worship event for the blessing of animals and involve rescue groups as well as people wishing to have their pets blessed. Having had two daughters who had pet albino corn snakes, I will bless the reptiles. (I won’t handle the venomous varieties.) Watch for the date to be announced and bring your pets to be blessed.

First Christian undertook these efforts so that we could answer one question, “If our church ceased to exist, would anyone in the community notice?” We want that answer to be a resounding yes. Therefore, we have begun the process to serve our community, not just to serve ourselves. This includes seeking a college student to work with our youth on Sundays and midweek. We will also begin training opportunities for better equipping this congregation to do the work before us, to be better Disciples.

The immediate goal is to become a flexible congregation that can quickly respond to our needs and the needs of the surrounding community. We will strive to respond as Jesus taught His disciples to respond, with grace, forgiveness, and love. We do not have to be a big church to make a big impact.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor’s Corner – June 2016

01 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership

School’s out, vacations begin, what’s next? The beginning of summer is often a time for a pause in all that has gone on this year. A time to sit back, reflect and look to what’s next. At some point this month, we will make a bold decision about the future mission of this congregation. We will have finished the house groups, shared their visions with leadership and then built a consensus for the congregation to consider and select.

We have four graduates from high school who are using this time to prepare for what is next. There will be college for some, work and then training for others. There is a college grad in our family of faith already into her graduate program to make ready for her next step. In the time line of our congregation, we are daring to step forth into a new direction. At the time of this writing, I don’t know what it will be. But that is alright, because I know that whatever it is, God will guide us.

The world teaches us to be afraid, to let fear dictate how we react and how we make decisions; fear people who are different, fear the scarcity of resources, fear the unknown of tomorrow. As disciples of Jesus, we are to live in faith, the opposite of fear. Courage is not the opposite of fear. Faith is. We have faith that God will guide us. We have faith that Jesus walks with us. We have faith that there is no power in all of God’s creation that can separate us from the Love of God.

Society may call this foolishness, but then we are to be fools for God. There once was a son of a wealthy merchant who argued with his father about the needs of the community. The father, in anger, told the son if he didn’t like the way he provided for the family, he was welcome to surrender everything he had received as the father’s son. Tradition tells us that he took off all of the clothes his father had purchased and walked out of his father’s house the way he had entered the world. He is credited with the creation of a community that encouraged men and women to work together to help the people around them, to spend time in prayer and worship, and to live on the simple things that they could grow and make on their own. We know this man’s name; it was Francis from the town of Assisi.

Do not fear because you lack what modern society says you must have and protect. What we truly need is to trust and have faith in God to provide us what is truly needed and that we can accomplish great things when we walk in faith.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor’s Corner – May 2016

07 Saturday May 2016

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership

As this month begins, the House Groups have finished their first week of meeting. This is part of the Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation. The participants are learning a process that will lead to a big step in how we can answer God’s Vision for First Christian Church in Warner Robins.

Whether you are in a group or not, continue to pray for God’s guidance as we explore the understanding of what church is and how we can respond to God. This is among the most important things we have done as a congregation.

After the groups meet, the group leaders and I will sort through their decisions and present the assessment to the board and then to the congregation. We all need to be involved in responding to the results of the House Groups efforts.

We are at our best when we come together as the people of God to love as we have been loved. Let us roll up our sleeves and get ready to work for God in Warner Robins.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor’s Corner – March 2016

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership

This month we will celebrate Easter. Easter marks the dramatic victory of life over death, of freedom over fear, and of hope over despair.

We know the story of Easter, but we often miss the profound transformation that took place. A prophetic healer challenged the status quo of the world and the powers in charge said it will cost your life. Crucifixion was the most profound method of humiliating execution available at the time. To be hung on a cross was to erase your name and memory from all who once knew you. Those who died on the cross offended the authority of Rome and their families often refused to attend the execution because they feared that they would be seen as supporting the cause of the person killed.

Jesus died on the cross. Rome was satisfied that they had the last word. God spoke another word and life returned!

We follow someone who was executed by the state for a capital crime. We should be embarrassed. We should be ashamed. Instead, we hold to the vision that God is always the last Word and that Word is always LIFE.

During this month, we will be recruiting participants for House Groups as we move forward in the Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation. Yes, I know that sounds like jargon. What it means is that we are preparing ourselves for a journey we will take to discover God’s mission for First Christian Church in Warner Robins. During this month we will pray for guidance and for the willingness of all of us to listen to God and each other and ultimately make a bold decision about our future mission.

This will mean a great deal of work. We are being asked to commit about 2 hours a day for 6 weeks to meet and journey through the material with openness, honesty and most of all prayer. It is vital that we have at least 30 people participate in these House Groups. It would be wonderful to have more.

Just as the disciples’ lives were transformed by the discovery of an empty tomb, so may our congregation be transformed. This is not a program to fix problems. It is to get a profound discovery of God’s call for us. Fishermen, tax collectors, and all the other jobs that the Disciples had before the tomb was found empty became secondary to the Call to Mission that they discovered. Much like the Disciples, after we complete this process, we will make attempts to answer God’s call. Sometimes we will fail. Sometimes we will not recognize our success, and sometimes we will be amazed at what God does through our efforts.

If you are in Warner Robins, sign up for a House Group. If you live elsewhere or cannot commit the time, pray for us as we journey toward mission.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor’s Corner – September 2015

01 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership

Back in February of this year, I was invited to a Clergy Summit at the Museum of Aviation.  At this summit we learned about the struggles taking place in the lives of the civilian work force.  The Wing Chaplain and the Base Chaplain explained how the Chaplains serve the military personnel, but are limited in what they can do for the civilian workers.  They also shared some of the struggles when people do not understand the work of the military chaplain.

As a result of this summit, The Robins Ministerial Alliance has been created.  The goal of this alliance is to bring together faith communities to provide support not only for the military but specifically for the civilians who work on base.

The 21st Century group has created a website that lists all the programs offering help in a variety of ways and a variety of faith traditions.

A group of on-call clergy responders is being created to respond at a moment’s notice to any emergency situation faced by civilian workers.  These men and women will meet people on the base or where ever they need to go to offer support.

A training program is being developed to provide education for civilian employees within faith communities so that they can recognize and respond to co-workers in need.  The goal is to have people already on base, who have been trained in how to contact and help provide the information, or where to acquire the information, to get people the help they need.

I am involved in this program, so watch for more information and future events that will provide the members of our congregation about the work of supporting base personnel.

On Wednesday, September 9th, the New Beginning Assessment from the Hope Partnership will be at our church to begin the process of providing us with guidance as we look to the future of our church.  Mr. Jim Bane will be here starting in the mid-afternoon and will meet with a variety of people, and finally will have time to talk to a larger group of our congregation that night.
3:00 Meet at the church for a tour of the building and property.
4:00 Review the finances with the Treasurer and/or Financial Secretary.
4:30 Windshield tour of the community.
5:30 Dinner with the Pastor, Board Chair, and Regional partner.
7:00 Appreciative Inquiry Session with up to 30 church participants who are interested in the future of the congregation.

This can be a great opportunity, if we fully participate and are open to possibilities.  I want to encourage everyone interested and available to take part in this program, especially the Appreciative Inquiry.

On Sunday, September 13th at 3:00 p.m. there will be a meeting of the Corporate Board of the Vineville Christian Tower at First Christian Church in Macon.  As many of you are aware, for the past several years there has been a lawsuit in the courts involving the VCT Board.  That suit was withdrawn over six months ago, and since it has not been reintroduced in that time frame, the suit is over.  Even though the Christian Church Homes of Northern California (a Disciples of Christ group) bought the Vineville Christian Tower property a couple of years ago, it was necessary to maintain the VCT Board during the court case.  Now that the case is finished, the Board can meet to take final actions to end the corporation.

This does not mean that we no longer have a mission with the Vineville Tower.  There are still people living there who continue to need people to reach out for worship and special events.  I know that for many, Macon is a long trip, yet it is no farther away than going to Perry, or Fort Valley, or Hawkinsville.  We may no longer own the building, but the Tower remains a witness to the ministry of the Christian Churches of Macon and Warner Robins.  Pray for the VCT Board, and dream of ways to continue the ministry at the Tower.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor’s Corner – July 2015

01 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by fccwrpastor in Pondering

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First Christian Church, Hope Partnership, New Beginning

There will be a called Congregational Meeting on Sunday, July 12th, during the Sunday morning service.  The reason for this meeting is to make a decision regarding the Hope Partnership program New Beginning.  Some material was shared at the Fellowship Dinner in June.  If you were not able to be at the dinner, I will share some information here.

This program is part of our denomination.  You can go to www.hopepmt.org/nb for their website information.  This program teaches churches how to be transformation leaders.  It guides congregations in change that brings churches from institutions to sources of missions.  Sort of moving from a “what was” mindset to a “what is” mindset.  Another way that they express this is to move the focus of the church from member comfort to service to the community.

There are three steps to this process.  The first involves interviews with church leadership, demographics of the community, review of congregational history and activities.  Then they produce a 60 page report.  This report guides churches with future options.

The next step is leader training for small groups and the pastor.  The training will guide the leadership through the next step.

The last step is a series of house meetings of about eight people in a group.  The group reviews the options and then begin work toward a vision statement.  These groups meet over six weeks.  When this is concluded the congregation makes a decision about what the next step should be.

Processes such as this have a price.  Normally the charge is $3,800.00.  But because the whole region is working through this we are getting a break and the cost is $2,800.00.

While a decision is required about participation by July 15, the fee is not needed until the end of the year.  I want to encourage everyone to do some research and pray about this.  Talk to each other about your thoughts.  Then come to the congregational meeting on July 12th.

Shalom, Darrell

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