July 8, 2011

July 8, 2011

Dear Resurrection Family,

It's been an exciting week around here - hundreds of volunteers and now thousands of shoppers at the annual UMW Rummage sale (I picked up a top notch brand new putter in the sale!). In addition this week the contracts were signed for the purchase of an awesome building for Resurrection Downtown. We're now in the due diligence period and we will officially close on October 5. Tomorrow is the annual car show and we have a great number of cars that will be on display. We've had mission teams coming and going all week on various mission trips. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

I've also been moved as I've been preparing this weekend's sermon on The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is the last in our series on The Gospel in Disney and I believe you'll find this message speaks to you. More on that below.

Here's what I'll cover today:

1. This Weekend in Worship: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
2. Sunday Night - Final Family Movie Night of the Summer
3. More Info on the Car Show and Rummage Sale
4. The President of Starbucks Speaking on Leadership at Resurrection?
5. 40 Mission Teams Sent From Resurrection So Far This Summer
6. An Opportunity for Those Who are Grieving
7. Experimental Initiative Being Launched by Resurrection for Small Churches

1. This Weekend in Worship: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The most overtly Christian of all Disney animated films is the 1996 film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Based upon Victor Hugo's 1831 novel by the same name, the film is set in Paris in 1482, in and around the cathedral of Notre Dame. One of the most profound scenes, part of which I'll show in this weekend's sermon, is a prayer that takes place inside the cathedral. The film captures the best and worst of humanity as it tells the story of Quasimodo - the hunchback of Notre Dame. This film, like all in this series, serves as an illustration - a parable in film - of numerous gospel themes. I'm looking forward to sharing this message with you. If you have friends who are non-religious or nominally religious this would be a GREAT weekend to invite them to worship - The Hunchback of Notre Dame is in many ways a parallel to my sermons of two years ago on When Christians Get it Wrong.

2. Sunday Night - Final Family Movie Night of the Summer
This Sunday night at our Leawood Campus we'll have the final Family Movie Night as we show Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. These movie nights have been a huge hit. Come early for free popcorn. We'll also have hot dogs and other snacks for sale. The movie starts promptly at 7:00 pm. Invite your friends and neighbors to join you for a free night at the movies!

3. More Info on the Car Show and Rummage Sale
This is a big weekend at Resurrection's Leawood Campus! We have the UMW Rummage sale today and Saturday, July 8 and 9 - this is huge and all the proceeds benefit missions' projects. To find out more about when you can shop at, the UMW Rummage Sale click on this link. 

One of my favorite annual events at Resurrection is the Annual Car Show. This will take place on Saturday morning, July 9, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Check out more than 100 unique cars on display this weekend. If you have a car to show, registration begins at 7:00 am. For more information and to register your car please click on this link, or contact Joe Campbell, 913-888-1968.

4. The President of Starbucks Speaking on Leadership at Resurrection?
Yes, Howard Shultz will be speaking on leadership here in our Sanctuary, along with an all star cast of outstanding leaders - they will be coming to us live via satellite on a huge screen as we host once again the annual Global Leadership Summit. This event will give you an injection of vision, skill development and inspiration. Whether you are a leader in corporate world, in the church, or in the civic arena you'll be blessed by this 36 hour event occurring August 11-12. As Resurrection members or attendees you can attend for a steep discount off the regular price of $275; register by July 12 for only $75. For more information or to register please click on this link.

5. 40 Mission Teams Sent From Resurrection So Far This Summer
This week I was receiving a report about our missions efforts so far this summer. To date we've had 13 youth mission teams (Leawood and Resurrection West as well as youth choir and orchestra) and 29 adult mission teams. Some of these were teams that went on day trips to Joplin, most were for a week. These teams were in Tuscaloosa, Joplin, Reading, Malawi, South Africa, Honduras, Haiti, the Navajo Nation and a host of other sites serving as the hands and feet of Christ. In addition we've had over 700 volunteers serving in our bless the school effort and 70 others who have been volunteering in the tutoring programs in the schools this summer. There are 15 more trips scheduled for the rest of the year. If you are interested in learning more about or registering for a future 2011 Mission trips or to sign up for the Upper Room Summer Reading Program please click on this link.

6. An Opportunity for Those Who are Grieving
Our Congregational Care Ministry is offering a healing and support ministry for those who have experienced grief through loss of a loved one. This summer we are excited about new opportunities for healing through The Birdhouse Project.

Kris Munsch, a local high school teacher, encountered the devastating reality of his son's death from a car accident. In the aftermath of dealing with this crisis, Kris found the creative process to be a healing way for him to work through the pain of his loss. In this class, each participant will assemble a wooden birdhouse that you will take with you as a source of ongoing healing in your life. We are excited to offer this one-day event as part of our grief-support ministry. This class will be presented on Saturday, July 16, from 9am to noon in Room 220. There will be a $10 fee for the cost of materials. No matter where you are on the journey of grief, this three-hour time span will be of healing strength to you.

Click on this link to for more information or to register. Please contact Amanda Schenk at 913-544-0707 if you have any questions.

7. Experimental Initiative Being Launched by Resurrection for Small Churches
One of our strategic goals for 2011 is to pilot a project in which Resurrection partners with smaller churches offering coaching, resources and our sermons via video to help declining churches to have a future with hope. There are over 15,000 United Methodist Churches with less than 50 people in worship each week. Many are vital and vibrant faith churches; others are struggling. We've wondered what might happen if large churches partner with smaller churches in a model that looks something like what happens with our campuses, though, under this new model, each smaller church remains its own congregation. We would provide coaching, marketing resources; training and Resurrection's sermons would be used in these churches via video 75% of the time. We're testing this with three churches in the next year. If it is successful, we'll offer this model to other large and small churches to look at creating similar partnerships called "circuits." If you are the pastor of a small church and you would like to be considered for this pilot project, please contact Debi Nixon.

I have to run - I'm meeting championship bass fisherman (and Resurrection member) Brent Chapman to go fishing. He's helping me prepare for our upcoming sermon series - no really!! He's teaching me how to fish, and we're looking together for insights into the fishing stories of the gospels. Our next sermon series, starting next week is called: Going Fishing: Exploring the Fishing Stories in the Gospels. Jesus called fishermen to join him in fishing for people. He took them out fishing and they caught such a large catch their boats could hardly contain them. Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves to feed the multitudes. He told parables about fish and nets. And the last time the disciples saw Jesus, according to John's Gospel, was when they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. I'm looking forward to this sermon series, and to gaining a few tips on how to fish!

In Christ's Love,

Adam