August 25, 2006

Dear Resurrection Family,

I hope this e-mail finds you doing well today. I have several important and exciting things to share with you this week in my e-mail. Here's what I'll cover:

1. Resurrection West Launches with 778 in Attendance!
2. This Weekend: The Owner's Manual: Driving and Maintaining a Classic Car
3. Medical Trauma Depleted Blood Reserves - Blood Drive this Monday and Tuesday
4. Stained Glass or Resurrection's Leadership Institute? A Neat Story
5. 7:45 am This Sunday - Stump the Preacher
6. How Do Christians Disagree? An Uncharitable E-mail

1. Resurrection West Launches with 778 in Attendance!
Last Sunday morning our new west Johnson County site launched with 778 in attendance between the two services! This was very exciting and was a terrific opening day. This was a "soft launch" without publicity so we could continue to work out any issues and solve any problems before sending out invitations to the community. While there were hosts of things that will be tweaked this weekend and in the coming weeks, it was still a very exciting and a wonderful start. [By contrast, when we started Church of the Resurrection in 1990 we had 220 people on opening Sunday and dropped to 90 per weekend that first month thereafter.] If you live in western Johnson County consider joining this new venture as a pioneer and missionary in launching this new congregation, and invite your friends. For more information see www.rezwest.org.

2. This Weekend: The Owner's Manual: Driving and Maintaining a Classic Car
This weekend we'll continue our series of sermons entitled, "Road Trip." Last weekend was a terrific weekend in worship as we contrasted a car towed here from the junk yard with a beautifully restored classic Mustang. Both were metaphors for God's restoring work in our lives. We learned the Church is meant to be a salvage yard for sinners not a car wash for saints. Once again this weekend we'll use the metaphor of cars to consider how we grow in our faith. We'll also have seven or eight different classic cars on display in the parking lot as a part of our effort to help an inner city church with their bus ministry. We'll consider the importance of reading and understanding the Owner's Manual as we look at the importance of loving and serving God with our mind as well as our heart.

3. Medical Trauma Depleted Blood Reserves - Blood Drive this Monday and Tuesday
Next Monday and Tuesday, August 28/29, is our annual fall blood drive. This could not occur at a more important time. I received word today that a trauma this week had used 86 units of O-positive blood - all of the reserves of the Community Blood Center. Our blood drive is so important. Please plan on giving the gift of life this next Monday.

4. Stained Glass or Resurrection's Leadership Institute? A Neat Story
We received a note this last week from a person in Wichita whose parent had passed away. Funds in memory of their parent had been donated to the Wichita church to which they belonged. This individual, along with their church, made the decision to use the memorial funds to send leaders from the church to our annual Leadership Institute rather than using the funds for stained glass windows, believing that while the stained glass windows would enhance the outer beauty of the church, what was really needed was renewed leadership and new vision. I was moved hearing this - and reminded of how important our Leadership Institute is in encouraging and fostering renewal in mainline churches. I'd like to invite you to consider doing something. If you have connections in another mainline church - perhaps your home church or your parent's church, or maybe a church you belonged to in another city before moving here, I'd like to encourage you to invite your former church to send persons to our Leadership Institute. You are our greatest ambassador and salesperson. If you feel your former church would be blessed by two days of inspirational speakers, practical workshops and moving worship focused on helping mainline churches thrive, invite them to attend. You can visit our website www.cor.org/catalyst/li/li2006.html or e-mail your friends or family at other churches and send them the link. Let them know this event could be life changing for individual leaders, pastors and staff, and for the church. Take a quick look at this website and see if you think of someone you would want to invite.

5. 7:45 am This Sunday - Stump the Preacher
We will not have 7:45 am worship this weekend or the next (this worship service will resume on Sunday, September 10). This weekend I will enjoy a time with any 7:45 am worshipers who wish to attend in the Wesley Chapel for 50 minutes of "Stump the Preacher." I'll answer the top five questions submitted last weekend during the 7:45 am breakfast, and take questions from the floor - so, if you are a 7:45 am regular (or someone willing to get up early) and you'd like to hear answers to tough questions, join me in the Wesley Chapel.

6. How Do Christians Disagree? An Uncharitable E-mail
This week several of you forwarded me an e-mail sent out by a member of the religious right, regarding my appearance on Steve Rose's program Talk Back Live on PBS last week. The e-mail was apparently sent to a large number of people. I don't know the person who sent the e-mail; but the tone and the mischaracterization of what I said during the program was surprising. If you received this e-mail, and you would like to see the actual program, you can call KCPT at 816-756-3580 and talk with Amanda, there is a cost for ordering the program. The main thing I want to say here is this: If you are a leader, and you speak about anything of substance, you will have someone who disagrees with you. Some people know how to disagree in love - they know how to discuss ideas and to debate those ideas in a way that leads to greater understanding. Others forget Jesus' call to love, they bypass dialogue and discussion, and go straight to name calling and demeaning. I know this will happen, and, while finding this kind if e-mail disappointing and offensive, it does not surprise me. The only way to avoid criticism of this sort is never to say anything that anyone might take issue with. My response was to pray for this person who sent the e-mail, to reflect upon whether there was anything I needed to learn from it, and then to let it go. Jesus told us that people would speak ill of us at times and when it happens we're to "rejoice and be glad."

This weekend will be a great weekend in worship - God is doing so many exciting things here at the church. I look forward to seeing you as we consider, The Owner's Manual!

In Christ's Love,

Adam Hamilton