March 28, 2008
Dear Resurrection Family,
What a great Easter weekend we celebrated here at Resurrection. I'll tell you all about it below along with other news about the church; but first, a word about LaVon's uncle, Ed Spencer.
Ed passed away this morning. He lived just outside of Decatur, Illinois with his wife of 50 plus years. Ed was the model of Christian character. He loved people. He always had an encouraging or kind word for whoever he was with. He looked "on the sunny side" in every situation; he was always positive, saw the glass as half full, and refused to be discouraged by life's challenges. Ed has had health challenges for the last fifteen years. Everywhere he went he had to take a large oxygen pump with him. His ability to do the things he once had done was sharply curtailed. Yet, he refused to allow this to keep him from living. The last time LaVon and I were with him we were having a campfire at his house. It was chilly, but he came outside in his wheelchair and oxygen so that he could be with the family. When Danielle graduated from high school a few years ago he and Aunt Pattie, drove down Sunday morning so they could spend the day with us at the graduation party before driving back home the next day. He loved God. His faith was the source of his hope and his joy in the face of adversity. He looked forward to the day when Christ would call his name, and he would see all the things we only dream of here on this side of eternity. I've often thought that I wanted to be like him when I grow up.
What makes his passing a cause for celebration and joy in the face of grief is the faith that sustained him and the hope he had in Christ. The words of the third verse of Fannie Crosby's classic gospel hymn Blessed Assurance come to mind when I think of Ed: "Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long." This morning the Good Shepherd called Ed's name, and I am certain Ed heard him say, "Welcome home, Ed, my good and faithful servant. Welcome home."
This is what I hope for each of you - that your life is shaped by Christ, and that you are confident of the hope you have in him, so you are able to face adversity, hardship and even death with blessed assurance.
Here's a little of what's up at Church of the Resurrection this week…
1. Easter News and Numbers
2. Resurrection Recognized as Largest Blood Donor for 2007
3. New Sermon Series: Seven Simple Lessons About LIFE
4. My New Book: Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White
5. Pastor Jeff Clinger to Join Congregational Care Team
1. Easter News and Numbers
Thank you to all who attended an alternative worship time, invited a friend to worship, and especially those who volunteered and helped make Easter possible last weekend. We ended up having a record Easter attendance despite this being the second weekend of Spring Break. We had 18,905 people in attendance plus another 300 who joined us for worship via the Internet for our live web stream of the 11:00 am Easter service (last year attendance was 18,327). We had people from Uruguay, Sweden, Mexico and from across the U.S. that worshiped via the Internet. We had 17,723 at the Central Campus, 853 at Resurrection West, and 329 at Grand Avenue Temple. There were a large number of new visitors and people who have expressed a strong desire to worship with us again beginning this weekend. This was our 18th Easter at Church of the Resurrection and, for me, it was the most moving and inspirational. Two days later I still found myself singing the songs and reflecting on the meaning of Easter. Again, thank you to each of you who made this a great weekend of worship.
2. Resurrection Recognized as Largest Blood Donor for 2007
For the second year in a row you were recognized by the Community Blood Center with an award for being the largest blood drive in Kansas City. You provided 1,500 units of blood supporting 72 hospitals across the region. To date you've provided 13,650 pints of blood, each of which benefits 2 to 3 individuals - the blood center suggests your gifts have benefited as many as 40,000 people. Special thanks to Bob Hite and Ann Joyner and the more than 100 faithful volunteers who make this ministry possible. The next Blood Drive is May 12-13.
3. New Sermon Series: Seven Simple Lessons About LIFE
This weekend we begin a new sermon series entitled, Seven Simple Lessons About LIFE. I planned the series as I was thinking about our youngest daughter, Rebecca, who has just finished high school and is moving away from home this June. I was thinking of the most important lessons of life that I wanted to make sure she knew before moving away - lessons that, if missed, will lead to frustration and pain in life; but if these lessons are followed they increase the likelihood of our living lives of meaning, and joy. The lessons are simple, and there's not one you haven't thought of. The challenge is that we often forget to live them. Each of these lessons relates to each of us, and they are all drawn from the scriptures. This weekend we'll look at, "The Gold Standard for Life" - that is, the Golden Rule and how we live it. As a part of this sermon we'll look at the different needs men and women have in relationships, (sometimes called our "love languages") and how the Golden Rule relates to marriage. We'll also look at how it is meant to be lived in business and daily life. The video promo is fun and captures the lighthearted way we'll approach the sermon series. To watch the promo or to send it to a friend, click on this link.
4. My New Book: Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White
Often my sermons ultimately become books. This time around I wrote the book first, and then preached the sermons. Over the last 18 months I've been working on a book entitled, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics. In the book I answer some of the most frequently asked questions about faith and morality, explore some of the controversial issues of our time, and I try to articulate an approach to faith, morality, and politics for those of us who don't fully identify with either the right or the left, and who tend to see gray in the world where others only see black and white. There are 23 chapters in the book including, "Straining Gnats," "Being Pentecostal Without Losing Your Mind," "Will There Be Hindus in Heaven?," "The Battle Over the Bible," "In Praise of Honest Doubt," "Is Your Jesus Too Small?," "Situation Ethics and WWJD," "The Questions of War," and 15 others.
The official release date for the book is April 2. Church of the Resurrection is receiving the first copies of the first edition and they should arrive at our bookstore later today. If you'd like a signed copy of this first edition, I am going to sign 200 copies of the book and leave them in the bookstore this weekend. They'll be available at The Well Saturday when it opens.
I was blessed to have a number of bishops, professors, pastors and Christian leaders read and offer endorsements for the book. To read what Bill Hybels, John Ortberg, Brian McLaren, Len Sweet, and a number of others have said about the book, click on this link.
For those who live outside of Kansas City, you can order a copy of the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Cokesbury or, if you would like a signed copy, you can order online from our church's bookstore. Click on this link to order a signed copy.
5. Pastor Jeff Clinger to Join Congregational Care Team
As I announced several weeks ago, Pastor Judy Long O'Neal has been asked by Bishop Jones to become the Senior Pastor at Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church in Topeka. Joining our Congregational Care Team is Rev. Jeff Clinger who comes to us from Ridge United Methodist Church in Munster, Indiana. Jeff is originally from Lawrence, Kansas and is coming back home. He graduated from Garret-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Chicago in 2005 (3.9 GPA) and received his BA from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2002 (3.95 GPA). Jeff has a passion for reaching non-religious and nominally religious people, helping them know Christ and then living the gospel in service to the world. Evangelism, Justice and Missions are among his passions. He currently oversees the student ministries at his church and shares pastoral care responsibilities with the senior pastor. He comes highly recommended, is excited to be serving at Church of the Resurrection, and he has been described by his current Senior Pastor as, "Outstanding in every way." Jeff will join our congregational care team July 1.
As I've spent time reading, studying and reflecting upon the Golden Rule in preparing this weekend's sermon, I've come to see just how far short I fall in living it, and how important this commandment is in every area of life - marriage, business, friendships, and in every other dimension of human interaction. I'll share with you a few of my shortcomings, and help you see how this command relates to every part of life. This would be a perfect sermon to invite an unchurched friend to attend. It will be practical, helpful, a bit humorous, and will relate to every single person. So, send a friend the e-invite by clicking the link above, or just give them a call and invite them to join you as we begin this series on Seven Simple Lessons about LIFE!
See you in worship!
Adam Hamilton