God is so good!

Well the first step went very well. We have a long way to go.

But today's meeting with 12 key Pastors in our community went extremely well. Jim Ruddy delivered an amazing teaching on how Abraham was called to go out to a place he did not know, and that God would give him that land for his inheritance. The Holy Spirit stirred our souls with excitement about what it feels like to walk in uncomfortable places, in faith.

There was a powerful feeling of possibility on the room. Several Pastors commented on how important it was that we were all working together on something as Kingdom-powerful as reaching thousands of new believers and starting 10 new church in the next 18 months. All seemed honored to be part of something on this scale- something that has never been done in America- some thing that could raise the water level of faith in our community. I could almost see the Holy Spirit walking among us, tapping our shoulders, gaining our attention.

We are hoping that many of these churches will mother their first church plant, that all will grow, and all will experience fresh anointing that comes when we do something out of our comfort zone, that God cares so much about.

Thanks everyone for your kind expressions of prayer and support. Amazing things are happening!

I need prayer!!

Friends,

Tommorrow, Nov 18, at 12 noon, Jim Ruddy and I are gathering about 12 very influential Pastors in the Gettysburg area, to present to them an idea that we think has great potential. 

May I ask you to pray with us? I have never felt as small, or more needy of God's help.

God seems to have given us a glimpse of an idea that we think has potential to reach thousands of new believers, and start 10 new churches.

Our Swedish friend, Evangelist Johannes Amritzer is holding Signs & Wonders crusades around the world that result in hundreds or thousands of salvations, and often 10 or more new churches at a time. 

Could that heppen here in America?

We are asking God for it, and we are asking you to pray for us. Would you please? You may know how challenging it is to get churches to work together on projects, and how often  those projects can be side tracked into endless christian trivia that does not necessarily reach the harvest.

That is why I am asking (begging) for your help in prayer. A hundred years from now, we hope that you will meet some believers in Heaven that you prayed for.

 I know you have busy lives and so much to do. I know you are doing Kingdom-growing things as well, many of which are far better ideas than this. I will pray for you when I hear of them, and ask God for your success in the eternal work that we do.

Thank you for considering it.

Gerry Stoltzfoos

Freedom Valley Worship Center

Gettysburg, PA. 

Communitas: intimacy through adventure

Many of us crave teamwork, adventure and risk in our leadership environment, but most of the time these are sorely missing. We are caught between our need for stability and success in ministry, and the powerful lure to live an edgier form of Christianity, like we imagine Jesus Himself and the apostles lived.

How many times have we bemoaned the lack of commitment we see from church folks? No matter how hard we promote and cajole, it seems like the same folks always make up the core of volunteers. There must be a better way to carry out Christ's mission. What began as an amazing safari turns into a tedious trip to the zoo.

I think I may have found an answer in what Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost call "Communitas". Dictionary.com defines it as "the sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persons who experience liminality as a group." "Liminality" refers to a place of threshhold, where a group is out of their normal environment and culture and moving into a new phase of experience.

Communitas describes what I felt on the cold and wet soccer field or in the suffocating wrestling room as my fellow athletes struggled together chasing the elusive goal of greatness. It is found in perhaps its most extreme form on the field of battle, when soldiers very lives depend upon their intimate relationships with their comrades.

I have always wondered why I have not found a greater sense of teamwork and closeness in church life, even among peers in our denomination. I have found most relationships to be pretty much surface level, and cooperation to be short-lived. I know I am not alone.

As a fraternity brother in the 1970's the pursuit of communitas in the house was very intentional. In fact, it was the main goal when bringing new members into the house. The hazing and rituals were all about creating a "brotherhood" through liminality. While Christ's methods and goals are very different from those of a secular fraternity, lessons can be drawn from what they are able to achieve.

There have been times when I felt a greater sense of communitas, as opposed to the shallow and paltry sense of "Community" we usually end up with in the church context. Short-term missions trips produce this level of relationship because they place us in a foreign environment with limited resources and uncertain outcomes. Folks feel united, exhilirated and renewed after such an experience, and are generally disappointed when they return to "normal" church.

But I have identified a few other practical ways to promote and create communitas in our churches and lives. Group fasting creates a type of communitas, as do retreats, certain types of small groups, spiritual discipline groups, and intentional missional outreaches. Articulating purpose and vision and plunging into it with others is what these ordeals are all about, and they energize people. There are innumerable ways to do this.

The idea of liminality is crucial because while we go to great lengths to make people comfortable in church, the way to intimacy and greater commitment may lie in calling them, counterintuitively, to a higher level of separation and sacrifice.

I am still researching this idea, but believe that the renewal of our movement and churches may lie in pursuing communitas. Paul had communitas in the churches he planted, and in his planting team. Jesus had it with His disciples, and when given the chance to opt out of it they replied, "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life." John 6:68

Jeff Leake's event

I should start this with a disclaimer: Jeff Leake did not authorize me to do this. I could be messing up some of his plans, I don't know. I lifted this off his blog directly.

But I have been to his events similar to this in the last few years, and find them incredibly life giving. I think you should know about them. I'd love to see you there.

His new church planting school, and growing vision through his church planting network, is really excellent, and rare. I think it would be cool to see a couple of you visionary types there next week!

Gerry Stoltzfoos

Coming Soon: HARVESTCRY 2008

Next month, Allison Park Church is going to host our first HARVESTCRY event in partnership with Mission SOS.

What is HARVESTCRY?

It is three nights of services/events to celebrate what God is doing around the world and to focus our attention on the cry of those unreached with the gospel.

It is also an opportunity for prospective students to check out the MCM Ministry School by attending the MCM Classes for a day.

What happens each night?

THURSDAY 7PM - Jeff Deyo in concert. Jeff was formerly the lead singer for SONICFLOOD. He has written some powerful songs like BLESS THE LORD and JESUS I SURRENDER. The concert is FREE to all.

FRIDAY 7PM - David Santistevan will lead us in worship and Johannes Amritzer from Mission SOS will be our special guest speaker. Before and after the service the concourse will be filled with inflatables and lots of fun.

SATURDAY 6PM - APC Missions Celebration Service - during this evening service, we will celebrate some of the happenings and testimonies from our missions endeavors around the world. Johannes will again be our speaker for this special evening.

SUNDAY 9 AND 11AM SERVICES - This weekend the Saturday and Sunday services will be distinct. Johannes will speak on Saturday night. I will speak on Sunday morning. During the Sunday services we have some special testimonies planned and we will celebrate communion together to conclude this wonderful week.

What about the MCM MInistry School?

The School will be highlighted at all the evening events. But Friday morning will be something special. ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THE SCHOOL IN THE FUTURE, can attend the MCM classes on Friday morning.

If you want more information, or would like to sign up for this MCM Ministry School Experience, CLICK HERE.

Before He Speaks

Special thanks to Jim Pentz for passing this along!

'Let it Rise': A Benefit Worship Concert

I know this is far in advance, but there is already much angst locally regarding the numbers of families that are going to find their heating fuel bills overwhelming this winter. There is no one solution, but the churches in State College are prepared to help be part of the solution.

On Sunday, November 23 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving) at 7 pm, there will be a community benefit worship concert held at State College Assembly of God, in which a collection will be taken to assist needy families in this regard.

There will be worship bands from 3 congregations participating: Unity Church of Jesus Christ (who may have the best worship team in town), Calvary Baptist, and State College Assembly of God. The music will be superb and the evening will end with 3 roof-raising songs with all 3 bands joining as one. The event will be heavily advertised in various local media outlets, and the Salvation Army has agreed to administer the funds.

With broad support, together we hope to make a big difference. Also, we hope to introduce many community members to contemporary worship at the same time.

This might be an idea that you might want to use. If you start right now, there is still time to pull something like this off in your community for the glory of God.

Seeds planted in unreached tribe

I visited our local skate park in Shamokin alone last night with 7 Bibles in hand to give away. Last week a group of 17 of us cleaned up their park again and served BBQed burgers and dogs, but I think we overwhelmed them and felt we invaded their turf. The Lord showed me last week what I needed to do to plant some seed. Going alone was the right thing last night.
As I got out of my car I approached a group of about 8 youth in the parking lot and asked if they wanted free Bibles. They were suspicious and unreceptive and said they did not need a Bible. I was glad there was another group over by the skate ramps or this trip would have been a bust in 30 seconds flat!
As I approached the group by the ramps I was glad I had called for prayer support from my wife Faith. I could feel the Lord's hand on me. Cold call evangelism is not my style, so I was glad when some of the kids recognized me from our previous clean up trips.
I asked them if they would like a free Bible and they all said "sure". I then asked if I could read a chapter to them and they said "no problem", and started asking me questions about heaven before I even got started. I was concerned that one wise guy would dominate and distract the group with silly questions, but his questions turned out to be sincere. He even told me that he gets afraid sometimes that heaven is real and he won't be there.
There were 7 kids at first, all boys, but then a few others came over to see what was up. We talked for 40 minutes and I got to look into their eyes and see a lot of pain and hunger. I told them that connecting with God was the most important thing, we talked about repentance and drugs and demons and miracles. Some of them knew quite a bit about the Bible, and you could tell which ones knew right from wrong. The focus was on Jesus and what He came to do on this earth. I left when it got dark and told them I would be back soon. I need more Bibles...
This was one of the most exhilirating times of evangelism I have ever had. I think it was because of the uncertainty. I like security and usually try to make any ministry opportunities a "sure thing" with no room for error. I don't think Jesus operated that way. He was on the edge all the time. It did not make Him nervous, but it gave the disciples fits!

The Lure of the Automat

The Horn and Hardart Automat Restaurant in NY City, circa 1960's

My dad was a child of the depression and spent his early years in Brooklyn before my grandfather moved the family out to what was then "the country", but is now just another congested NY City suburb, the Village of Valley Stream. My dad maintained a fascination for the city, linked with a healthy fear that he passed on to his five children.

One thing that had special lure for him was the famous Horn and Hardart Automat in Manhattan (the first one was actually in Philadelphia). I remember him taking us there when we were small. There was an amazing array of freshly prepared foods behind crystal clear glass doors that were available "automatically" when you dropped your nickels in the slot. This was real Americana and the height of consumerism.

In Organic Church author Neil Cole describes the "all by itself" principle of church growth/discipleship that Jesus spoke of in Mark 4:26-29.

"...The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

That was the lure of the automat. It seemed as though the food just presented itself without any human involvement at all. That had great appeal in an era when we had yet to really see the dark side of science and technology. (Remember the Jetsons cooking food in those magic machines)

But the fact was that "automats weren’t truly automatic. They were heavily staffed. As a customer removed a compartment’s contents, a behind-the-machine human quickly slipped another sandwich, salad, piece of pie or coffee cake into the vacated chamber." (Wikipeda reference)

Christian Schwarz (Natural Church Development) also speaks of this same principle which says that if the circumstances and environment (church health) are right then church growth and discipleship will begin to happen all by themselves. This runs counter to our strategic style of planting churches which emphasize demographics, facilities, flow charts and powerful launches.

The thing we must wrestle with is what Jesus says. He is the one, in parabolic form, who says that the kingdom grows "all by itself". Our role, according to the parable is to scatter seed in order to grow the kingdom. This task of sowing is emphasized in the Parable of the Soils and the Parable of the Mustard Seed as well.

Sometimes I think we try to reap a harvest when there has been little in the way of real sowing of seed. We spend an enormous amount of resources on impersonal advertising, growing programs, events and churches, but what would qualify as "sowing the seed" of the Gospel gets neglected.

This is meant as a word of encouragement. I have always taken more responsibility for the growth of my church than I think the Lord would ask of me. Perhaps we should spend more time removing stones, turning over ground, keeping our furrows straight, placing seeds in the ground, and keeping them watered. After all, the growth is up to the Lord Himself!

1 Corinthians 3:6-7

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters,

but God who gives the increase.

Second unreached tribe discovered in Shamokin

My last post seemed to generate some interest so I am following it with this which occurred Sunday night. I do believe that the discussion and implementation of missional ideas and practices is just beginning. Experimentation and retooling are words we had better get used to.

The fact is that unreached tribes make up most of our culture. When we focus on being attractional we see these tribes as competition because we want them to leave their tribe and join ours. But that's not how successful missions work accomplishes the goal of growing the kingdom. We cannot merely put on native clothes in order to infiltrate the new tribe. We must have genuine love for people, and be willing to spend time with them.

Our Faith in Action team of 25 (including teens and children) met at 6 pm for prayer and the Word before heading out on four mercy missions. I shared Luke 14 -the Parable of the Great Supper -to give foundation to our task of going into the highways and hedges. We also included our prayer team, who remained at the church to intercede for our work.

Space does not permit me to elaborate on the amazing God moments experienced by the three smaller groups we sent out. But the group I was leading discovered a second lost tribe of young people at a local skate park. It resembled "Lord of the Flies" as there were no adults in sight, and there was an aboriginal feel to the place.

We first set out for the park where we discovered the "Ultimate Fighting" tribe a few weeks ago (see earlier post). They were nowhere to be found. So we cleaned up the park again and talked and prayed with a group of five who were playing basketball. They seemed embarassed, but grateful as we gave them each a 20 oz. ice cold energy drink.

Next we headed to the skate park. A notoriously dirty and dangerous place. It was filthy, but the tribe of about 30 skaters between the ages of 11 and 20 seemed oblivious to their surroundings. We began sweeping and picking up, waiting for a chance to speak with some of them. We had only 19 energy drinks to give out, but with 30 kids there, I was afraid giving them out would start a riot, so I began to ask the Lord what to do.

Then it became clear to me that I could stand in the middle of the park and hand the drinks out to those who answered questions I would ask. It was a bit risky, but I ran to the van and got the cooler. I summoned anyone who wanted an energy drink to come close, and instantly had a group of 15 hanging on my words. (the older "cool ones" did not come around, it was mostly the younger ones)

I proceeded to ask them general Bible questions off the top of my head. "Who was Moses and what was the most important thing he did?", "Name one thing Jesus said," "Who was Judas and what did he do?", and so on. It was electric. These kids were thinking and talking about God. One kid recited the entire Lord's Prayer. They came up short on John 3:16, but it gave me a chance to tell them about it.

The spontaneous atmosphere, and incarnational character of what we have been doing opens the door for the Spirit to do more than if we had stayed in our church box. It also gives more value to the times we do meet for worship and teaching because that's where we get fueled for the mission.

As we were leaving some of the boys came and said thanks for cleaning up, and for the drinks. I am hoping they will begin to take pride in the place and keep it clean themselves. Then one of the boys, who was wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, came up to me and said, "I think you were my pastor when I was a kid." I thought he looked familiar, and it turned out to be Georgie. His family had left the church in a split a few years ago, but George always sat up front and loved to be in church. It was great to reconnect with him, and I think something stirred in his heart. I know something stirred in mine.

1 Corinthians 15:58 With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

Unreached tribe discovered in Shamokin

Many of us have been reading a lot over the past few years about the missional church and how to reach our culture. It is obvious that things are changing rapidly, and we are lurching farther and farther away from the type of church we grew up in. We are clearly at the place where we must be true missionaries who bring the gospel to unreached people, rather than trying to return the culture to a church they never really knew.

In light of this new reality many have spoken of the tribalization of our culture. We are no longer a homogenous "American" culture, but rather a panoply of tiny and distinct tribes. From skaters to goths and from Nascar to NY City arts types, not to mention the many ethnic groups, we seem to be coalescing around fairly narrow personal interests and affinities. The trend is accelerating. The church is seen as a separate subculture all it's own, with numerous sub subcultures. This has profound implications for us in pastoral ministry as we move away from a purely attractional model.

Mountainside began a bold experiment (bold for us, anyway) this summer as "Faith in Action" was born. We morphed a successful in house small group ministry into a team mission approach to reach our own community. The tiny group of 8 who began with us a few months ago has swelled to as many as 32 as we branch out every Sunday night to perform acts of service for whoever needs help. The focus is on the unreached, though we help church folks too. There are no strings attached, and we have not pushed or promoted our church at all. We do pray with people (they almost always cry grateful tears when we do) when we are done, but prefer to wait for them to ask us why we are doing what we are doing. We have had some visit our services, and one single mom has already surrendered to Jesus. Teams then gather at a local eatery to discuss our excursions and share what God did each night.

This past Sunday I took a small group of teens to do some street sweeping and trash pickup at a local playground. As we drove up we were surprised to find a large group of about 35 teens and younger kids gathered on a grassy patch. They were cheering and we noticed two shirtless teens wrestling in the middle. At first I thought they were just wrestling (Shamokin is a wrestling town), but as I spoke with some of the boys, I found out it was their own version of "Ultimate Fighting". There is no punching, but choke holds are allowed, and you either pin your opponent or they have to "tap out". They alternated matches between older teen and pre-adolescent boys. There was not an adult in sight.

I have an extensive history in amateur wrestling and I am not a big fan of the more brutal forms of the sport. Much like missionaries to Africa were forced to overlook the nakedness of primitive tribes in order to be accepted by them I had to withold my criticisms and safety concerns in order to engage the members of the tribe in conversation. I was able to meet a few members of the tribe and set the stage for a return visit in a few weeks.

Shamokin is a difficult mission field. The city is facing bankruptcy and everything good is shrinking, while negatives abound. We have seen 4 churches close in the past few years, with many others holding on for dear life. The situation is dire.

Any strategy to see this community transformed must be long term or we should really not bother. Single events or splashy presentations will not make a ripple. Missions work is not for the faint of heart or glory-seekers. If we had been holed up in church that night we never would have discovered this "lost" tribe. Now we must pray for an open door for the gospel. The need for our being there is acute as we seek to gain their confidence and provide a redeeming presence.

Bell to Well

Some futurists and cultural observers are positing the demise of the familiar Bell Curve which charts normal distribution and the ascendency of what is being called the Well Curve. Some have said that this only happens in times of great social upheaval and transition.

In modern times it was a given that there was a large middle and smaller extremes. The middle class was the norm, with the very rich and very poor at the fringes- smaller in number.

The theory of the well curve assumes that the middle has been slowly disappearing, and the extremes are on the rise. This is hard to argue with when you consider the evidence in education (achievers and dropouts), economics (rich and poor), technology (small and big), politics (liberal and conservative). There are examples in almost every aspect of life.

I heard Leonard Sweet touch on this at a conference last year and was intrigued. I looked for signs of this phenomenon in church life and the news. I am seeing more evidence as time goes on. The megachurch movement is an example. It seems we are seeing rises in large churches which value diversity and excellence, and also in small and house churches which value community. The "plain vanilla" church with little to distinguish itself, is becoming less attractive. I spoke with a seasoned ministry pioneer recently about a church plant in a certain community and he said the only thing that would work would be something that had "an edge to it". That's the edge of the well curve as I see it.

It seems this is already affecting our churches as we have some folks who are very involved in our mission, and others stay aloof and merely attned on Sunday. Some churches are doing away with membership, while others are raising the bar or providing options for membership.

Perhaps this explains the difficulty many churches are having with maintaining a viable Sunday School. It is based on a premise that everyone wants the same thing on Sunday morning. Vanilla is no longer the preferred flavor- everyone wants a custom flavor.

I think this is something to watch in the days ahead. There may be adjustments we need to make to maintain our "edge". I think Jesus lived there!

Gas Prices and Church Attendance

This past Saturday's front page of the local Centre Daily Times featured a McClatchy Newspaper story suggesting that rising gas prices may permanently affect the lifestyle of Americans.

Of course, pastors such as myself wonder how it will affect church attendance and involvement.

A recent USA Today story touched on this somewhat, but one wonders if the church attendance megatrend of the past 20 years may begin to reverse itself.

What is that trend?

Well, one might call it the Wal-Marting of worship. Many years ago, small congregations built worship buildings within walking/carriage distance within small communities or at crossroads in rural farming areas.

Over the past few decades, more and more people chose to drive to larger congregations in nearby larger communities, which could offer more expansive children's and youth programs as well as stirring, semi-professional music. (Of course, the preaching wasn't necessarily any better.:)) As a result, many of the smaller congregations fell on hard times as scores of cars would pass them on the way to the big city.

One now wonders if that trend will begin to reverse itself. I have been told by some that they cannot afford to travel 45 minutes and be involved in our congregation and are choosing to attend somewhere closer to home.

I don't know; it's too soon to predict a megatrend yet, but one wonders.

Lakeland: The Blog

Once again the Body of Christ is trying to discern what is of God and what is not in a reputed revival.

To help, Tom Rees has compiled a blog with assorted helpful information for pastors and others, including pros and cons.

Tom reports; you decide.

Extreme Home Makeover

Green Ridge Assembly of God Style

Click here for TV News Video

Here is some great news out of northeast PennDel.
From the Times Tribune:

DUNMORE - Minutes before the Murray family pulled up after being sequestered in an area hotel for three days, their house was still a beehive of activity, swarmed by volunteers engaged in a last-minute frenzy of finishing touches.

"Ten minutes!" yelled the Rev. David Twiss, Assembly of God's lead pastor and coordinator of the Green Ridge church's project, a sort of local version of the hit television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Bill Yeisley, of Old Forge and an employee for C.A. Sileo Construction in Dunmore, volunteers his time to renovate a bathroom at the Murray home at 135 East Grove St. in Dunmore on Thursday, June 5, 2008. The home makeover was organized by the Green Ridge Assembly of God.

A human conveyor belt formed in the yard as kids and parents alike passed boxes of debris to be hauled away. Karen Liples adjusted the sash above a window in the master bedroom upstairs, and William McDonald was still smoothing the grout between new slate tiles on the kitchen floor while another man ran a sponge across the floor behind him.

What began as a simple bathroom renovation and ceiling repair for a family in need, morphed into a massive community undertaking as more and more people - many from outside the church - heard about the project and donated time, money and supplies, which, according to the Rev. Twiss, probably exceeded $20,000.

"People just kept coming," said Charles Sileo, a local contractor who had been working on the site with his two sons since 7 the previous morning.

A "before" shot of the home would have panned the ceiling above the front entrance, which was a gaping hole for several years after a leak in the upstairs bathroom, a broken twin bed shared by the two boys and wicker chairs around the dining room table with many of the seats smashed through.

The "after" version would showcase a new swirl-textured ceiling, a bunk bed in the boys' room, new carpet, new couches, reupholstered chairs, a refurbished kitchen, paint inside and out and a landscaped yard replete with a crimson maple sapling, geraniums and purple salvia in front and a "Serenity Garden" with lavender and a birdbath in back.

The volunteers, about 70 of them, gathered along the curb outside the Murray family's home at 135 E. Grove St., eager to see the family's reaction.

When Joseph and Lynn Murray and their five children pulled up and got out of the car, the crowd clapped and hollered and the family stood quietly. Courtney, 14, in her basketball jersey, brushed tears from her cheeks and one of her brothers, Matthew, 11 let out a "Yee-haw!" of approval.

"It's just overwhelming," Joseph Murray said. "All the people who helped, I just can't say thank you to everyone," he said.

***********************************************************************

Kudos to Pastor Dave Twiss and the congregation and community of Greenridge! What a great way to spend a weekend!

For All of Us, May This Be Our Prayer for Our City

Youth Ministry Resources

It's been many, many years since I was a youth pastor, but I came across this list of youth ministry web sites on Christianity Today's blog site, sites recommended by Mark Oestreicher, president of Youth Specialties.

I trust it's of help to someone.

Catalyst Groups Make a Difference!

Belonging Before Believing?

This is a phrase I've heard quite often in the past five years, and I'd like to take a moment to challenge it, because so much is at stake. And since this blog is all about ecclesiology...

The phrase, "belonging before believing," suggests that unbelievers should feel included in the Body of Christ so as to cause them to be more open to believing. One writer in my own denomination has even suggested that every church board should have an unbeliever on the board. Now, I'm certainly not one to suggest that we should not be extra-nice to unbelievers who come to our worship services, but I would suggest that they should understand that it actually means something to be a Christian, and that passing from death to life is not a line that should be easily blurred.

Now, I don't think I'm a pure contrarian (I'm actually rather committed to non-traditionalism), but I do think it is always fair to question the questioners. I'm afraid there is an attitude out there that some can question everything Christianity has ever held sacred, but they themselves cannot be questioned. Is that arrogance or just immaturity or something else? I don't know, but for some, being positive means questioning everything except those who are questioning everything.

Anyhow, here are some of my questions regarding "belonging before believing":
1. Where is the New Testament biblical support for such an idea? Is the Church not the communion/community of the saints? Did I miss a memo canceling out New Testament ecclesiology?
2. What is the compelling reason for overturning 2000 years of ecclesiology? For example, did Jonathan Edwards get canned in Northampton for no good reason? Were the catechetical schools of the Early Church for nothing?
3. How is this different than liberal Protestant churches who wish to include all regardless of their faith or lifestyle? How effective a strategy has that been for them?
4. If you can't draw the line at ministry, or membership, or 'lay' leadership, where do you draw the line? Ordination? And why?
5. If Willowcreek has now discovered that their "seeker sensitive" strategy has caused a lack of maturation of the saints, how does this strategy not "seeker sensitive" on steroids, and thus doomed to fail even faster?
6. Why do you see corporate gatherings as the primary means of evangelism, when in the New Testament and Early Churches, it was interpersonal and outside the corporate gatherings?
7. If communion is banned from those who fail to "discern the Body of Christ," how does an unbeliever meet the requirement of 1 Corinthians 11?
8. What are the major success stories of this strategy that you would share, particularly in non-urban settings (in major urban settings you can get a group of people together who worship shoelaces).

Just wondering. My questions are 100% sincere. Can anyone help me here?

"An Evangelical Manifesto"

Many in the evangelical world has been abuzz about the newly released collaborative statement, "An Evangelical Manifesto."

Here is the main site, and a PDF file of the actual (long) statement. I count 9 Assemblies of God leaders/scholars among the 77 original signatories.

Any thoughts?

Beauty

Wow!

This is a powerful video from Mosaic Church.

I plan on using it this weekend in my Mother's Day message.
It communicates God's grace and how He adds color to our lives.

Ministries Summit

The Penn-Del Ministries Summit is being held this week in Dover, Delaware at Calvary Assembly of God led by Roland Coon.


Here are a few thoughts from the 7th pew back on the right hand side of the sanctuary:


1. Pastor Coon has a really sweet facility here in Dover. It's always cool to check out other churches in the District.


2. Paul Grabill was just reelected as the Assistant Superintendent. Congrats Paul! We love you man.


3. There are showing tons of videos to promote the C3 and church planting. Good stuff. Church planters rock. My friend just got back from India and he told me that you are not allowed to be part of the AG in India unless you plant a church or pastor a church that plants at least one church a year. That's serious! Perhaps that's why they are turning their nation upside down for Christ.


More to come!

Friends,

I want to make you aware of someone who will be manning a table at the Ministries Summit next week. If you are interested in starting a young adult ministry, it would be worth your time to meet Cindy Janczyk and find out more about her ministry, “The S.O.S. Project” (www.thesosproject.com). She has authored a book and curriculum series on relationships entitled, Finding Intimacy in a Love-Starved World. It’s a great resource for ministers who see the need for reaching twenty-somethings but don’t know where to begin. You should check it out.

Cindy worked on our ministry staff at Freedom Valley, co–founding and directing our marriage ministry for nearly 10 years until God called her to work with young adults before marriage. Currently, she is leading a thriving young adult ministry at our church and holds a 5 year position on the faculty of Gettysburg Master's Commission. Cindy is anointed to write and teach on the Song of Solomon love-model, bringing biblical relevancy to today’s relationship challenges. Her writings reflect years of "inner court" experiences with Jesus Christ and she approaches the sensitive themes of romance with non-threatening finesse, communicating a love that’s tangible for this culture.

I hope you have the pleasure of meeting her.

Gerry Stoltzfoos

A Pastoral Question: Did Wright Feel Wronged?

**This post has nothing to do with politics, except what we can learn to help us be better pastors.**

On the one hand, it seems there has been more than enough public analysis of Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and his public speeches (his past sermons and his most recent appearance at the National Press Club), including a brief post of my own here a month ago on my Centre Daily Times blog, Pray Tell.

On the other hand, much of the recent analysis has focused on the obvious--that Pastor Wright's continued outspokeness is surely hurting his former parishoner's campaign for the presidency. The talking heads have asked if Pastor Wright is utterly clueless to this fact (yet he appears to be quite bright), or is he just plain selfish, wanting any spotlight he can get for himself and his upcoming book.

I believe there are two other possibilities:

(1) That Jeremiah is incredibly focused on his lifelong, prophetic 'jeremiad,' and cares little about how it affects anyone in his life, including himself. Of course, that doesn't sound very pastoral.

(2) That he is hurt that Barack Obama has distanced himself from his former pastor (in particular, disinviting Rev. Wright to his original candidacy announcement last year).

The second theory is given credence by an insightful news commentary linked today on the Drudge Report, that the woman who organized Rev. Wright's appearance before the National Press Club is an avid supporter of Hillary Clinton.

Okay, maybe Rev. Wright was manipulated a bit, but that begs the question as to what would cause him, again, to so obviously do something that would bring harm to Obama's candidacy, the first real possibility that America has ever had of electing an African-American to the presidency.

A lot of people think that pastors are beyond being hurt, but, unfortunately, I have not found that to be the case. Not only are we people, too, but sometimes we expect far too much from those around us and we wrestle with the same forgiveness issues that everyone wrestles with when that happens.

As someone who often oversees pastors, I often hear their stories of hurt and disappointment coming from an action of one of their parishoners. I often say to them, "That's why they need us."

In the Early Church, there was a book written called The Shepherd of Hermas. It was held in such high regard that some Early Church fathers felt it should be included in the Christian Scriptures. Here is a passage that is a hard passage for pastors to hear, but I share it nonetheless:

For if the shepherds themselves shall have been found scattered, how will they answer for the flocks? Will they say that they were harassed by the flock? No credence will be given them. For it is an incredible thing that a shepherd should be injured by his flock; and he will be punished the more because of his falsehood.

Have I ever been hurt by a parishoner? Yes, I'm afraid I have, but I try to remember the passage above and then forgive and move on. It's like a parent overreacting to a hurt from a teenager. It can then endanger everyone.

Pastors, by nature, have to have a great degree of sensitivity, but that sensitivity can also bring us (and everyone else) down if we are not careful.

What do you think?

Improving our Ministry Economy

In May, evangelical Christians across America will receive tens of billions of unexpected dollars from the IRS.

We at State College A/G are encouraging our people to give in a short-term "Improving our Ministry Economy" campaign. You could make it for anything, but we are asking people to give toward our mortgage to save money in the long run and release more ministry.

I am asking those without serious personal debt issues to consider doing what Arline and I will do--simply endorse the check over. Others may split it in half, or do whatever they feel the Lord wants them to do.

It's not too late for you to do this. We have very, very simple artwork. If you wish to email me at pgrabill@aol.com, I can send you a PDF file.

Sven's 11 steps to identify pride

Sven Bengsston's 11 ways to identify pride

1. talks about self
2. wants the glory
3. is not impressed by others
4. is a bad listener
5. lies to maintain a false front
6. lies to avoid embarrassment
7. will not admit wrong
8. has a hard time asking for help
9. wants to be different
10. is demanding
11. always wants to be boss

If you want, you can watch or listen to this message at www.freedomvalley.org, in the sermons section. Hopefully you will be helped as much as I was!

messed up

Wow, God messed me up tonight.

Sven Benggston preach tonight on 11 ways to know if pride is creeping into your life. To my dismay and humiliation, I pretty much found myself in all 11 of them! Instead of praying for a lot of penitent sinners at the altar, I led them there and wept, while the Holy Spirit scrubbed my rotten little heart.

I left my notes in my Bible at church, so perhaps later I can write them out for you here. But until then, his sermon (which probably will not hit you like it hit me) is available on our website if you care to watch or listen to it.

And while I am at it, please forgive me, all of you, for my pride and my arrogance. If I know anything from years of counseling and leading people, it is that you-all saw this in me for years already, and were patiently waiting for God to deal with me on it. I usually marvel when someone repents, that they are the last person to see it -everyone else already knew. So I would guess you-all saw this in me years ago. I am horrified and humiliated, and so sorry.

You-all must have put up with a lot, while waiting. I am sorry. Please pray for me. And thank you for your friendship nonetheless all these years.

Gerry Stoltzfoos

BridgePoint Church Opens

BrigePoint Church in Tarentum had their Grand Opening service on Sunday. They had a great service with 132 in attendance. This is another church plant through Allison Park. Congratulations to Pastor Greg & Francie Krowitz!



Tarentum Church goes another Round in Gym
By Michael Aubele
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Monday, March 17, 2008

Clara Manca walked away from Sunday's service at Tarentum's newest church feeling spiritually satisfied.

"I'm leaving with a smile on my face," the Lower Burrell resident said.

Manca and her two children, Harlee, 15, and Julius, 11, worshipped Sunday at BridgePoint Church, which marked its grand opening inside the James 5:16 Center along West Seventh Avenue.

BridgePoint is under the umbrella of Allison Park Church on Duncan Road in Hampton. BridgePoint Pastor Greg Krowitz said his church is the seventh one that Allison Park Church, an Assembly of God denomination, has begun in the Pittsburgh area.

BridgePoint bills itself as a church that "connects real people to the real God," Krowitz said. He said the church grew out of a small Bible study organized about two years ago in a house along East 10th Avenue in Tarentum.

Krowitz said the Bible study grew from a handful of people to about 30.

The group was forced to find a new home when the house where it was meeting was sold. Krowitz said the group found a new location at the James 5:16 Center, a faith-based boxing gym, thanks to gym owner Jim Kobert.

"The building is available to them for as long as they want to use it," Kobert said.

The church distributed thousands of mailers and fliers before Sunday's opening. Over the past few months, the congregation met for several worship services similar to a business "soft opening."

BridgePoint will hold regular services at 10 a.m. Sundays.

Krowitz found it hard to contain his excitement.

"Are you as excited as I am to be here?" he asked the congregation. Members responded with cheers and applause.

Krowitz told the congregation that with the help of Jesus Christ, "The sky is the limit," in terms of what can be accomplished in life, especially in the face of difficult challenges.

He invited boxer Paul Pindroh, 26, of Valencia to share the story about Pindroh became a Christian.

Pindroh said he came to his faith about five years ago after visiting Allison Park Church. He said his life before that was centered on partying as much as he could.

"God changes lives," Pindroh said. "God transforms your life."

Ron Johnson with us Tuesday

Ron Johnson will be with us this Tuesday (18'th) for our Catalyst meeting. It starts at 12 noon and goes to about 2pm. He is teaching on Leadership. Ron Pastored about 3000 until his resignation about a month ago. He's planted numerous churches here at home and many more over seas. He teaches eloquently on mentoring, apostolic leadership, and much more. he is a champion of useful changes in the AG, and longs for disciple-making effectiveness in our movement.

You are all welcome to join us if this is of interest for you. Lunch is on us. If you are coming, it would help with food prep to know about your coming- 24 hours in advance if possible.

Ron is also meeting with our future church planters Tuesday evening at 7. Pizza will be served as we fellowship. This meeting is open to any and all who are interested in Kingdom expansion through planting churches.

It's too quiet out there

Okay, it's just too quiet out there. So here's my little contribution for the month.

We are celebrating 1 year anniversary of yet another attempt to reach people and bring them in. This has got to be the most odd idea ever, but it might also be among the most fruitful! It's called Cowboy Church, which we do monthly, and it is bearing fruit in terms of quite a few people being baptized and being trained as disciples.

Yesterday a reporter showed up, and logged this article in the York Daily Record, as well as video submitted to the AP. If you are interested, check it here: (http://www.inyork.com/local/ci_8354969)

It's amazing what (and who) God will use.

Gerry Stoltzfoos

FutureAG Website

When energy goes from constructive to deconstructive, it is time to step back. I commend the originators of the FutureAG website for having the courage to unplug the site for a while. Because of this move they are taking, I believe that there will be a future for FutureAG when we find ourselves at another pivotal crossroad.

Here is the statement they made on why they are making the change.

Risk Youth Convention

Here is the latest promo for Youth Convention by Nick Palomo.
Nick is the graphic designer that set up this C3 Blog for us.

Sound System Theory

Here's an alternate theory for those pastors who think their sound system hates them and/or is demonized.:)

Teaching People How to Handle Money

Our congregation is still teaching Crown Financial material, but others are using Dave Ramsey's stuff.

Here's a great article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about one of our Catalyst leaders, Bill Ellis, and his congregation's classes on financial management.

Has anyone used both Crown and Ramsey? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Church Governance

I have to admit that I do not get all that inspired about thinking in terms of church governance. But I have learned the hard way that if you don't pay attention to the values of healthy church function, you often reap a whirlwind of unnecessary conflict.

My church is in the process of evaluating our By-Laws. But even more than that, we are looking at the values behind the document.

Recently, I wrote a paper for my Board and my Catalyst Group about Church Family Governance. Here is the link to my personal blog were you can find the document.

The over-riding theme of the approach, and what I am trying to teach my church is this: WE SEEK RELATIONAL SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS AND NOT POLITICAL ONES.

I would love your feedback.

"Bar Chaplains Will Offer Hope"

This item was published last Friday by the AG-News service.

An excerpt: Pastor Chuck Kish is looking forward to the day when members of his church will be bar regulars. Beginning February 1, chaplains commissioned by Bethel Assembly in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, will minister to patrons at a local bar.

What do you think? You can be anonymous if you wish, but you must be kind.

Yeah, Right

Many of you have probably heard on the news that Omar Osama bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden, wants to begin a campaign for peace.

Yeah, right. We, in the Penn-Del District, know that this is just Doug Sayers, our District Youth Director, in dreadlocks and up to one of his elaborate practical jokes.

You don't fool me, Doug!

Jerusalem, The Website

If you haven't seen this yet, it's truly incredible. It's a comprehensive, Jewish website for Jerusalem, in all of its historic glory.

The evangelical vote

Once again, the evangelical vote seems to have won the day.

I have been voting since the late 70's. In that time (especially since the Clinton years) it seems like every election reporting cadre is surprised by the groundswell of the 'evangelical vote'. Rush Limbaugh said last night that the spectre of these passionate voters makes the politicos very nervous. He said they are no longer able to sniff about us being 'one issue voters', but need to start taking us seriously.

There is something interesting going on here. Something is happening in America. Yes, 'evil men and seducers are waxing worse' in certain circles, and there is much to be done to be redemptive in this society. May God help us reach the 6-8 million people in Penn-Del who do not attend church currently.

But one of my weaknesses in the past, has been to not celebrate the good things enough. As a goal driven, type-A person, I charge from goal to goal, not taking enough time to thank God for what he has done (usually in spite of me) already. I'd like to repent by taking time today to celebrate that the 'evangelical vote' in Iowa flexed it's conscience yesterday and caused the nation to notice for about 30 seconds.

No wonder church shootings are on the rise! (ever Google 'church shootings'? It will make you want a gun permit) The devil better stop these people one way or another, or this nation has potential to actually become affected (infected?) by them!

Fasting + Prayer

We have a tradition at APC that I am sure many of you share. We begin our year in January with a week of Prayer and Fasting. For us, the fast begins on a Sunday after lunch and continues through until a Friday night.

During the week of prayer we do several things to engage people:

1. Daily Noon Prayer Gatherings.
2. Evening Services with a guest speaker. In the past, we would follow our week of prayer with a week of spiritual emphasis services. But we have changed that now. The evening meetings give people something to focus on as they fast and pray.
3. I provide a Prayer Guide for people to use during the week.
4. We pass out Bill Bright's 7 STEPS TO FASTING booklet to help equip people as to how to fast properly.
5. Since my staff is out every night of that week, I give them the mornings off and ask them to suspend their normal activities as much as is possible.
6. Currently, we have a Prayer Chapel that we try to man with 24/7 Prayer all year round. But we started this plan by filling a week with 24/7 Prayer. So people sign up to fill a one-hour time slot. We pass the baton in prayer from person to person throughout the week.
7. We conclude the week on a Friday night with a CELEBRATION and COMMISSIONING service. So we pray over our leaders. Then we break the fast together with some soup and bread which the church provides for free.

We have seen so much fruit from this practice. I am curious to learn what you might do during your week of prayer? I am always looking for fresh ideas for the future.