Here are some snapshots from the trip.
Kids' Outreach: Making Melodies in My Heart
Worship Team Practice with Pastor Dave
Psalm 139
Thanks for praying!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Missions Trip!
Thanks to East End Assembly for hosting our missions trip to Pittsburgh!
Here are some snapshots from the trip.
Thanks for praying!
Here are some snapshots from the trip.
Thanks for praying!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Some things change. others do not
Pat and I returned home Sunday morning from Phoenix, AZ where we attended General Council. We have attended every council since1969. We drove from Michigan to Dallas that year. Candace who was only three months old. Our Ford was not air conditioned and temperatures daily approached 100 degrees.
The contrasts between the first council and the one convened last week are many. I list a few of the most striking differences.
• On a personal level, three of our granddaughters attended this year and enjoyed special sessions for youth. I am no longer the youth movement!
• Business sessions were once long and tedious. Resolutions were endless and often adopted after intense debate. I remember one issue being debated for more than eight hours in 1975. Most resolutions were adopted last week with few comments or amendments.
• In the past appeals for offerings were long, and many. On Friday night, following the message, the speaker asked that everyone contribute to a special offering for youth by texting from their i-phones and digital devices! Devices flipped open and tiny screens lit up as people younger than me eagerly entered codes and amounts in response to the challenge.
• Several daily wardrobe changes were the norm a few years ago. Men wore suits and ladies often appeared as if they were on their way to a dinner party. Last week I saw a district official in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops in a business session. This is the first time I did not wear a tie to a session, but shorts and flip-flops are a bit much for an old guy like me. Suits and ties are a bit much when daily temperatures are over 100 degrees.
• The music and language now is different. “How cool is that?” sounds funny to me when used as an aside from a speaker approaching the mandatory age for filing for Medicare. But the message was a profoundly important and solidly Biblical.
Other things remain the same. I celebrate what has not changed and commit myself to investing in those who embrace the same call of the Spirit which gripped my heart as a youth.
• The preaching remains outstanding. We heard Biblically sound messages filled with promise and warnings. The same call to holy living and faithfulness to vocation we heard as fledgling preachers in the 60's continues.
• Youth still fill arenas with praise and cry out to the Lord at altars when invitations are extended. Large crowds worshiping were meaningful instruments of the Spirit used to shape me. I will always remember the times when an elder minister prayed words of assurance with a hand on my shoulder following the General Superintendent’s keynote message. The opportunity for another generation to experience the support of elders is still being repeated.
• Leaders continue to define our mission. Pentecostals have never satisfied with past accomplishments. The command to “go into all the world” is still on our lips and in our hearts. Today’s methods are more sophisticated yesterday’s, the mission remains unchanged.
• Friends still gather at alumni receptions. Our hair is grayer, or gone; out gait is stiffer; and our hearing imperfect; but our outlook remains optimistic, hopeful. We are aware that our sons and daughters, and grandchildren, will be the ones filling offices, chairing meetings, defining vision. They will do it with excellence and in the power of the Spirit.
Some waste time lamenting change. Let us choose to remember the past with fondness and look forward boldly. As youth, we believed we would change the world. And, we did the best we could. The work of world-changers is incomplete. The Holy Spirit continues to effectively prepare people for His use in the mission. Change ought to be celebrated if we are confident that Jesus remains at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit will fill all who seek Him, and that the Kingdom of God is indestructible!
Another thing has not changed. While I was gone, no one did my work for me. There are weeds to pull in my garden, bills to pay, and errands to run. There will be someone with whom I may be able to spend time and encourage. Let’s look forward! Positively!
The contrasts between the first council and the one convened last week are many. I list a few of the most striking differences.
• On a personal level, three of our granddaughters attended this year and enjoyed special sessions for youth. I am no longer the youth movement!
• Business sessions were once long and tedious. Resolutions were endless and often adopted after intense debate. I remember one issue being debated for more than eight hours in 1975. Most resolutions were adopted last week with few comments or amendments.
• In the past appeals for offerings were long, and many. On Friday night, following the message, the speaker asked that everyone contribute to a special offering for youth by texting from their i-phones and digital devices! Devices flipped open and tiny screens lit up as people younger than me eagerly entered codes and amounts in response to the challenge.
• Several daily wardrobe changes were the norm a few years ago. Men wore suits and ladies often appeared as if they were on their way to a dinner party. Last week I saw a district official in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops in a business session. This is the first time I did not wear a tie to a session, but shorts and flip-flops are a bit much for an old guy like me. Suits and ties are a bit much when daily temperatures are over 100 degrees.
• The music and language now is different. “How cool is that?” sounds funny to me when used as an aside from a speaker approaching the mandatory age for filing for Medicare. But the message was a profoundly important and solidly Biblical.
Other things remain the same. I celebrate what has not changed and commit myself to investing in those who embrace the same call of the Spirit which gripped my heart as a youth.
• The preaching remains outstanding. We heard Biblically sound messages filled with promise and warnings. The same call to holy living and faithfulness to vocation we heard as fledgling preachers in the 60's continues.
• Youth still fill arenas with praise and cry out to the Lord at altars when invitations are extended. Large crowds worshiping were meaningful instruments of the Spirit used to shape me. I will always remember the times when an elder minister prayed words of assurance with a hand on my shoulder following the General Superintendent’s keynote message. The opportunity for another generation to experience the support of elders is still being repeated.
• Leaders continue to define our mission. Pentecostals have never satisfied with past accomplishments. The command to “go into all the world” is still on our lips and in our hearts. Today’s methods are more sophisticated yesterday’s, the mission remains unchanged.
• Friends still gather at alumni receptions. Our hair is grayer, or gone; out gait is stiffer; and our hearing imperfect; but our outlook remains optimistic, hopeful. We are aware that our sons and daughters, and grandchildren, will be the ones filling offices, chairing meetings, defining vision. They will do it with excellence and in the power of the Spirit.
Some waste time lamenting change. Let us choose to remember the past with fondness and look forward boldly. As youth, we believed we would change the world. And, we did the best we could. The work of world-changers is incomplete. The Holy Spirit continues to effectively prepare people for His use in the mission. Change ought to be celebrated if we are confident that Jesus remains at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit will fill all who seek Him, and that the Kingdom of God is indestructible!
Another thing has not changed. While I was gone, no one did my work for me. There are weeds to pull in my garden, bills to pay, and errands to run. There will be someone with whom I may be able to spend time and encourage. Let’s look forward! Positively!
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