April 11, 2008

Dear Resurrection Family,

I'm hopeful that you are doing well on this cold and blustery day! We had a Church Council meeting last night and I came away from it feeling really excited about where we are as a church, and what's on the horizon. We have a tremendous leadership team, both on the Council and on all our other ministry teams. I'll share a few brief bits of news from the Church Council below.

Here's what's up in today's email:

1. This weekend: "Surviving LIFE's Setbacks and Storms"
2. Attention Car Dealers and Hybrid Owners!
3. In the Narthex and Sanctuary Last Weekend (and Student Center Last Wednesday)
4. Newsweek and Abortion – Read the Blog
5. News from Church Council: New Pastor Coming, Worship Attendance, More
6. Attention Visitors: Join me for coffee this weekend!

1. This weekend: "Surviving LIFE's Setbacks and Storms"
This weekend, as we continue our series on Seven Simple Truths About LIFE, I'll preach on "Surviving LIFE's Setbacks and Storms." We'll look at the research into the characteristics and habits of people who are resilient and overcome adversity. We'll try to make sense of how God fits into suffering. We'll learn from the stories of real people in our congregation who have faced adversity; and we'll find in the scriptures guidance and truth that helps us overcome. Every one of us will face adversity. Invite a friend to join you for worship this weekend.

2. Attention Car Dealers and Hybrid Owners!
Next weekend, April 19/20, is Earth Day weekend. Our EarthCOR ministry will sponsor fun things including giving a free light bulb to each family in the church. Car dealers – we will have a special place in front of the church for you to bring and display new hybrid cars for our members to look at and enjoy. We have room for ten different cars. Contact us for more information. If you drive a Hybrid, we'd like for you to park near the front of the church as well. 

3. In the Narthex and Sanctuary Last Weekend (and Student Center Last Wednesday)
Last weekend and during evening programming Wednesday night one of our members distributed flyers to people in the church buildings encouraging them to purchase my new book. I appreciate the intent of the individuals who pursued this action, but it runs counter to my desires for the sale of the book. As soon as we learned of the activity, we asked them to stop, though many of you may have received these flyers.

I want you to know my perspective on this. I write books in the hope of helping others, or conveying ideas that I think are important. I do not ever want you to buy a book I've written to bless me. If you want to read one of my books, of course you are welcome to purchase it; or you might simply borrow it from our library, located in the east building.

Finally, this is a good opportunity to remind you that the church has a written policy regarding the distribution of printed materials that states all materials for distribution must be approved by our Executive Staff and sponsored by an official ministry of Church of the Resurrection.

4. Newsweek and Abortion – Read the Blog
This week Newsweek included a short article on my chapter on abortion in my new book. Because the context for some of my comments was not included, I wrote a post on my blog to offer a bit of clarification and it includes a link to read the chapter on abortion online. If you are interested, click here to read my post, the Newsweek article and the chapter from the book.

5. News from Church Council: New Pastor Coming, Worship Attendance, More
Here are a few highlights from last night's Church Council meeting:

• Rev. Dagney Pullen has been appointed by Bishop Jones to join our pastoral staff. Dagney's husband, Dave, is also on our staff. Dagney was a part of our church before she went to seminary and she is a very gifted pastor – we're excited that she'll be joining our staff.
• Worship attendance is up 300 per weekend over last year, up 4%.
• Offerings are up 13% over last year.
• Over 900 households representing over 2,000 people participated in the capital campaign feasibility study earlier this year. The results will be presented to the Church Council on June 19.
• New congregational care offices are under construction in the south end of the east building. These are aimed at creating a better environment for our members, when they come to meet with pastors, and our pastors, some of whom have been working out of very cramped quarters. This will also bring all of our pastors together in one area. We expect the offices to be completed in June.
• New study and prayer guides are being designed and rolled out in June aimed at helping us accomplish one of our key strategic objectives: Doubling the number of persons who are pursuing daily scripture reading.
• The organizing meeting for Resurrection at Grand Avenue Temple will take place this month. There has been tremendous response and enthusiasm. David and Kelly Sisney will chair this team.
• Our Russia team recently completed leadership training for all pastors and lay leaders of the United Methodist churches in northwestern Russia. We will complete training events across all of Russia within the next 12 months. Every United Methodist pastor and many of the lay leaders in Russia will have received leadership training from our church within the next year.
• We plan to offer live simulcast of our worship on the Internet each week by June. We had 300 households who watched the service online on Easter in our trial run.

There are so many other exciting things that were talked about at Church Council, but those will have to wait for another email!

6. Attention Visitors: Join me for coffee this weekend!
Are you a visitor to the church who would like to know more about the congregation and what's involved in becoming a member? This Sunday afternoon, from 2:00 to 3:45 pm, please join me and our other pastors for Coffee with the Pastors. We'll meet in the Wesley Covenant Chapel. We'll share with you more about the church's story and the membership requirements. This presentation lasts about an hour and a half. Following a brief break, those who wish to join are received into the membership of the church. If you need child care please click on this link to make your reservation online or call 913-897-0120, ext. 2003, otherwise you are welcome simply to come as you are.

I hope to see you this weekend in worship!

Adam