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Sermon Series:
Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2006

Grace Church of Burlington January 15, 2006  “Women always worry about the things that men forget; men always worry about the things women remember.”             Now I’m not sure if that’s true or not but I do know that all of us have a tendency to be forgetful. Our lives get too overloaded or we get overtired, or sometimes too much time has passed and we just simply forget.  Periodically, in our home we have what has been dubbed “the family meeting.” Sometimes it’s to talk about future plans or projects that we are working on. Frequently, it is just to have a meeting of things that we all already know, yet just need to be reminded of.  From time to time we all forget. So let’s have a “Grace family meeting.”             a) Please remember to be on time. Let’s be honest, many of us struggle with being on time (I know that I do). But when something is important to us, we are usually on time, if not early. If worship is really a priority in our life, we’ll be on time. But if you are “providentially hindered” (not late because of poor planning), please enter quietly. Look for empty seats. If additional chairs need to be set-up, please let our ushers do it (that’s why we pay them the BIG BUCKS! ☺). Because it is a worship service and we want to be considerate of others, we do ask that you please patiently wait in the back during prayer, Scripture reading and special music. The best time to enter or have chairs set-up is during congregational singing so it causes the least distraction.             b) The bulletin and Buzz Book do have a purpose. Each week we take hours to put together the church bulletin. Every year we put in long hours putting together a Buzz Book. Yet, nearly every week, we get phone calls from folk wondering about this activity or that, or what time something starts...and it was in the bulletin. Or, we get countless phone calls looking for someone’s phone number and it’s in the Buzz Book. These are tools that we invest in and supply to our church family (in fact, we even mail you a bulletin if you miss). Please use them so that we are not unwise stewards.             c) If everyone helps a little, no one usually has to do a lot. We want to keep our facilities nice, so if you see something dropped on the floor or left, please pick it up and dispose of it...even if it’s not yours! Periodically, there will be litter on the lawn at the Kendall Street property. If you notice it, please pick it up and throw it away.  One of the cardinal sins in the Carson home is to say, “It’s not my job.” And that family frustration is also true in a church family. The church is not a labor union, it’s a family. When everyone pitches in, it makes ministry and church family life so much more enjoyable.             d) Take ministry responsibility seriously. Too often we get busy or our lives get a little hectic but the first thing that gets jettisoned are church ministries. Sadly, we don’t usually evaluate to see if some of our “extras” could be deleted. Church quickly is sliced off. Then, some apparently don’t see a church commitment as act of worship to the Lord. For example, if someone is scheduled for the nursery or for cleaning, some seem to see it as very, very optional. If they show up okay, but if they don’t it’s no big deal. But it is. Others are depending on us. At Grace, we continually evaluate ministries and never want to have “busy work” ministries. So, if you have a commitment, please see it as an offering to God. That being said, periodically things come up. Someone gets sick or we have some other emergency. Please just call and make sure that your ministry team leader knows.             e) Worthy worship is passionate worship. Our worship leaders are not performing, they are leading. It’s our opportunity to follow them as they lead us in singing and praises to our awesome God. We’re commanded to make a joyful noise to the Lord. It weighs heavy on me that some will stand with closed mouths when we are giving them an opportunity to praise God. Did you know that we are going to spend much of our time in heaven praising God? This is the practice room down here. So, please participate, don’t just spectate!             f) Be part of the solution, not the problem. Unfortunately, most believers do not consider complaining a serious sin...but it is. Just ask the Children of Israel who wandered forty years because of complaining.It takes work, courage and spiritual maturity to seek to Biblically problem-solve. It usually means going to the leader in charge of the particular ministry who can work to either address the situation or at least explain why it is being done that way. And sadly, too often we get all upset over the trivial. So first evaluate whether the “problem” is really a problem. If it is, handle it in a way that pleases the Lord by going to the leader in charge of that particular ministry. Remember, to treat them as you would want to be treated if you were on the receiving end. And if someone’s native tongue happens to be complaint, graciously encourage them to stop and to instead seek to Biblically problem-solve.             Grace Church is a family!! The family works and functions so much better if we each take our family responsibilities seriously. Can we count on you?