Thursday, October 06, 2011

Gunfight at the OK Corral

Know that lovely feeling you sometimes have when you’ve left church and there’s no big agenda for the afternoon, the message really spoke to you, and all seems right with the world, at least for that moment? Yeah, I was having such a moment.


Nick had spoken to us about the life lesson from Haggai – making complete dedication to God the foundation of my life. All his message points and the personal application of them were still firing away in my brain synapses.


My "low fuel" light came in, so I stopped at the Safeway fuel station to fill my gas tank. On such a lovely summer’s day, it made sense that it would be a busy scene, especially so close to the interstate, and I was patiently waiting my turn. Two cars in front of me got their place, and then a spot opened up right in front of me, so I began to turn my car around so my gas tank would be next to the pump.


I was just about to back into the spot, when an older man and his wife came into view, and began to head around me into the place I was headed! I motioned that I was about to back into the space, but he just kept coming!


Then I realized there wasn’t room for him to get around me, and that if he didn’t stop, he was going to hit me! He didn’t even slow down! He just plowed right into my driver’s side front bumper and tried to shove my car out of his way! I was so amazed, I didn’t know what to do! I had said out loud, "You’re going to hit me!" just before he rammed into me. He ignored my pleas to stop, and the look I know I had on my face, and just kept coming.


It gets better. After he hit me, he realized he couldn’t shove me out of the way, and BACKED UP AND HIT ME AGAIN! This time he had pulled to the right enough that when he hit my bumper again, he slid across it and around my car.


I was so in disbelief that this had happened, I just sat there for a few seconds. None of the guys pumping gas into their cars tried to come to my rescue, or even yell,


"Dude! Whaddah yah doin’?!"


I wanted to jump out of my car and scream at this man. I wanted to cry. I thought about how quickly I went from pleasant contentment to the urge to strangle someone!


So much for my pleasant Sunday morning!


I got my gas, finally, at a different pump. I drove away, in rapid conversation with God.


"What was THAT about, Lord?!?"


(My daily meditations this past week have been from John MacArthur’s The Quest for Character, the chapter on Merciful Compassion.)


"You expect me to have MERCY and COMPASSION for this guy?!?"


"Why should I?"


"He was so obviously in the wrong!"


"This isn’t fair!"

"I should have at least been allowed to get out of my car and give him a piece of my mind, and You know I considered doing that, even when I knew it wasn’t going to change the outcome!"


Finally, I shut up long enough for the Holy Spirit to get another word in sideways.


The only thing I had heard from Him during all this, when I begged for the Grace to forgive this guy, was a gentle reminder of this week’s study.


That was before my little rant.


Then the Holy Spirit said, "You have prayed all week for this character trait to be given to you. You have asked for insight about how that might happen, since all the suggestions in the Beatitudes seem so far beyond our human capacity. This is certainly an opportunity for that, don’t you think?"


"What has happened in that old man’s life to allow him to think what he did was justified?"


"Maybe he is suffering from dementia, and really shouldn’t be driving anymore, but doesn’t know any other way to get to town and get groceries and gas."


"You don’t know, and you don’t need to know. Just surrender your "rights", your "will" and your life, again, the way you did at the close of this morning’s services, and go on.


"You might even remember to express a little gratitude for the lesson in mercy and compassion. Have a nice day."


So, the focus for October’s The House: Grace Stories. How has it come to you when you needed it most? Share it with us, won’t you? We grow as we share our stories. It’s part of His Plan for our lives; walking this walk together.



Mary Hagle


Editor


The House

Stories from Bosnia By Marian Waller

The best way to describe what the EHA mission trip to Bosnia meant to me is to let you have a glimpse into my thoughts and feelings from the daily journal I kept. While I have left out many precious memories and experiences, I hope you will get a sense of the profound impact this journey has had on my life.


Tues, Sept. 13

– It’s early morning, having some quiet time before I head to work one last time before we leave. It’s completely surreal knowing I’m leaving in twenty hours for an adventure unlike anything I’ve ever known. I can’t even fathom it. I just want to drink in every moment, savoring with all my senses what God is allowing me to experience. I want to be open and responsive to the people I meet. I want to share my journey without fear. I want to go to Bosnia as a risk taker and come home that same way. I am overwhelmed at the immensity of this trip and so humbled that I get to be part of it all.


Fri, Sept 16

- Petula (the missionary we worked with most closely and who is also the director of Izvor) encouraged us to learn from the Bosnian way of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’. Relationships trump everything and they are taken very seriously – one would never think of meeting for coffee or lunch and then texting on their cell phones all through their time together. If you have a best friend, you see them every day or call or text them daily at the very least. This isn’t just a girl thing either. Men will meet their best friends for coffee as well. This closeness also makes it difficult (for believers) to enter into new friendships (with unbelievers).


Sat, Sept 17

– Lora and I are back at our home, preparing to meet Petula so we can get ready for the Pampering Seminar, where I am speaking. I really don’t want to be nervous about this. I want my story to touch the heart of another woman, even if I never know of it. God, please use me any way You choose.


What a powerful evening – and yet so different from what I expected. About 20-25 women arrived for the Pampering Seminar. They are a friendly, vivacious group of women; all ages, believers and non-believers alike. It was awkward at first, but several of the women and I talked as we beaded. I mostly talked and joked with a beautiful and funny young girl named Marissa, who I later learned was a devout Muslim. I should add that it was decided that I should not give my testimony because there were several unbelievers there who needed the non-threatening environment of just being with women of the church. I totally got that, too. Petula encouraged me to invite Marissa to Izvor for a one-on-one English session, which I did as I told her goodbye, hugged her and thanked her for being such a great beading partner. She said she will come to the center and I can only pray she will. I do believe that God has given me an opportunity with Marissa, whether it was just to nurture the seeds planted in her heart, or if there will be more. Regardless, she will be in my prayers for a long time.


Sun, Sept 18

– Lora and I walked for about 30 minutes along the river to meet Karen (one of the missionaries) and her girls, so we could take the tram out to Ilidza for church, which was amazing. Zeljko is preaching there and his heart for Christ and his love for people is so evident. As soon as he began praying I just wanted to cry. We worshipped, singing in Bosnian, and it was so easy to let my mind and heart go to God’s throne room. Nick preached from Zechariah and it was powerful.


We attended the Malta church for their service in the evening. It was full – maybe 30 or 40 people. They are passionate and responsive worshippers. Caleb shared about the mission trip to Mexico – about how God moved as they persisted in praying for healing. Nick preached from Habakkuk about when God seems slow to answer. So timely.


Tues, Sept 20

– Marissa came to Izvor tonight!! If the weather had been nicer, Lora and I would’ve been shopping and would have totally missed her! I asked Marissa if she is coming to the Open House on Saturday and she said she would, and took an invitation. I will keep praying for her. She has touched my heart.


Wed, Sept 21

– I had trouble falling asleep, but woke up on my own around 6am. Marissa was on my heart and I prayed for her. I’ve really been thinking about people here and at home. Without Christ, all are without hope and peace, no matter where they live. I have been so convicted of how content I am to live in my own little bubble, with very little concern for the lost people of Kelso/Longview. I want to be much more intentional about living each day in expectancy and building relationships with unbelievers. I want to go home a radically different woman, living in confidence and boldness, not the "Much Afraid" that I am honestly much more comfortable with.


Sat, Sept 24

- Tonight was the Open House. To my delight, Marissa came to see me! She stayed with me at the kids’ table the whole time she was there. I tried to give her the bracelet I made at the Pampering Seminar, but she would not accept it. Instead, she gave me one of her bracelets. We hugged and kissed so many times – I am a bit surprised. I told her I would join Facebook so we could stay in touch. She will be worth it! Having her come absolutely made my day!


Sun, Sept 25

– The bells are ringing their 7am cacophony and I am trying to savor those sounds, knowing I will hear those chimes only one more time. I don’t understand why I feel such heartache at leaving – well, actually maybe I do. Even though I say I will come again, only God knows the reality of that. Saying goodbye – maybe goodbye even in the eternal sense – grieves me and spurs me to pray even more for my new friends here who do not know Jesus.


Tues, Sept 27

– This trip has been beyond anything I could have imagined. I am sad to leave, yes, but I spent time alone saying my goodbyes and praying over the city, so now I am ready to go home. I am leaving with no regrets, only a very full heart that will be missing the piece I am leaving here. My prayers will be so different for this place and for these people whom God has allowed me to love. I pray I am coming home a different person, fatter in my soul and spirit, not just in my body!


Ciao Sarajevo. I love you. I will miss you. I will pray for you. I will rejoice with God’s people as the love of Christ is poured over this place. Hallelujah.

What's So Amazing About Grace?

Philip Yancey

Yes, it is the title of his book, and a book I have found very informative about understanding Grace. But, it is a question about which I still have lots of questions. I wonder if I am alone in this. If you are reading this newsletter, and you have insight about accessing Grace, I would love to chat.

The question that has been in the forefront of my exploration on this subject over the last ten or eleven years is, "How can I stay ‘plugged in’ to Grace?"

You know how we talk about Grace:

"She just had lots of Grace to do that. It was so difficult, but she just seemed to have an extra measure of Grace and Favor to do what had to be done."

"God’s Grace just seemed to fall on him. He was able to do what he had always failed to be able to do before. He just had Grace to do it."

A good friend and Christian cohort and I were talking about this just last week. My questions remain:

"Is all Grace available all the time?"

"If it is, how do we access that Grace?"

"Sometimes a difficult task just seems easy, like I’m being carried through it. At other times, I just can’t seem to accomplish what I want so badly to do, or say what I want so badly to convey. What makes the difference?"

"Is it my surrender to God’s will, or the lack of it?"

"Is not ‘having Grace’ a sign that God isn’t in what I’m attempting to do or be?"

Yancey says:

" "What pulled me along was my search for grace. I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else."

And he also quotes from "Babette’s Feast":

"In the generals’ speech, Isak Dinesen leaves no doubt that she wrote "Babette’s Feast" not simply as a story of a fine meal but as a parable of grace: a gift that cost everything for the giver and nothing for the recipient. This is what General Loewenhielm told the grim-faced parishioners gathered around him at Babette’s table:

‘ We have all of us been told that grace is to be found in the universe. But in our human foolishness and shortsightedness we imagine divine grace to be finite . . . But the moment comes when our eyes are opened, and we see and realize that grace is finite. Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we shall await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude.’

Twelve years before, Babette had landed among the graceless ones. Followers of Luther, they heard sermons on grace nearly every Sunday and the rest of the week tried to earn God’s favor with their pieties and renunciations. Grace came to them in the form of a feast, Babette’s feast, a meal of a lifetime lavished on those who had in no way earned it, who barely possessed the faculties to receive it. Grace came to Norre Vosburg as it always comes: free of charge, no strings attached, on the house."

I would be interested in a book study Life Group gathering to read Yancey’s What’s So Amazing about Grace?, gathering over coffee to discuss what we’ve read. There are twenty chapters, divided into four parts. We could gather four times to discuss having read each part, or twenty times to discuss each chapter. Anyone? Call me at 355-6286 or email me at hagle54@gmail.com. I’d love to learn more about Grace!

Microwaves and Stoves...

It may come as a complete shock to you that as a college student, I was often very self-centered. I am sure none of you struggled with this in your late teens as you blossomed into adulthood. I am certain you were a generous, kind-hearted, others-focused individual. I, however, was not. I was very concerned with my own world and having things my way.

So in my junior year when I moved into upper-classman housing, I was surprised to find that our shared apartment did not come with a microwave. Granted, we did have a stove, but among the four of us sharing the house, I am uncertain if any one of us knew how to turn it on. A microwave, however, was a basic necessity. The thought of surviving a year of college life without one was absolutely unthinkable. The idea that perhaps we should just buy our own never crossed my mind. Why? Because every dorm room at our campus had a microwave. This meant that every freshman on campus had something for "free" which we did not, even though we were paying more for our apartment-style housing.

As a young man seriously committed to my own well-being, I decided to give our campus janitorial and housing staff a piece of my mind. In a rather tersely worded e-mail, I informed them that it was only right and fair for the college to install microwaves in the upper classman apartments. With an arrogant sense of self-righteousness, I hit "send" and waited for this great wrong to be righted.

By the next day, I had received a kind reply from Dave Grandy, the gentleman in charge of this department. He wanted to meet with me in person. Looking back, I can see that it would have been entirely fair for Mr. Grandy to call me onto the carpet and straighten me out for my attitude. It would have been entirely fair for him to ignore me all together. So why call this meeting? I am convinced that Mr. Grandy, a man of great grace, saw a teachable opportunity.

Mr. Grandy called me into his office that day to gently point out my error. He responded kindly to my email, even thanking me for pointing out a flaw in their services. But then he walked me through my e-mail and helped me to see how my attitude and approach was not only selfish and arrogant, but simply wrong. Mr. Grandy knew that I was headed into ministry, and he had it on his heart to help me see how to deal with conflict in an appropriate manner.

The truth is, I experienced on that day the kind of encounter Jesus had in mind in Matthew 18. I was corrected that day by a fellow believer, but done so with such grace and love that I actually left the meeting feeling grateful. Mr. Grandy chose to exercise that rare blend of grace and truth that is so uncommon today. He truthfully pointed out my sinful attitude, but graciously helped me to learn and grow.

I will always be thankful to Dave Grandy. He served in a thankless job outside of the college limelight. But when he faced a choice to rightly administer truth or boldly offer grace, he followed the example of Christ in choosing both. I hope that in my current roles as pastor, father, husband,

and friend, I am learning to do the same. I have also learned to operate a stove.


Grace AND Truth to you-

Nick

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Why Plant?

Over the last several months, the leadership of East Hills has begun to think, dream and pray about the prospect of planting a second church in the Kelso/Longview area. Dating back several decades, East Hills has had a vision for planting a church but the timing has never seemed right to make this idea reality.

We believe that the right time may be now. Here are the top 5 reasons why we are considering planting a second church:

More churches are closing each year than opening.

Each year, between 3500 and 4000 churches in American are permanently closing their doors, while only 1100 to 1500 new churches open. We need to plant churches just to keep up with population growth!

Kelso/Longview is not as “reached” as we think.

Not only is the Pacific Northwest regularly referred to as the “least reached area” of our country, but our cities are also in need of more churches. If every single church in town was filled to capacity twice a weekend, there would still be 20,000 people in our cities without a seat in the building.

Church plants are effective with evangelism.

More people are coming to Christ in America in church plants than in any other environment or gathering. Over 80% of churches in the country are plateaued or in decline, while church plants continue to reach the lost and grow.

A church plant creates leadership opportunities.

As churches become established and continue to age, leadership becomes more static with a small percent of the congregation involved in leadership. Church plants create leadership opportunities on multiple levels and encourage people to move from by-standers to fully-engaged participants.

God is blessing East Hills.

We are a time like never before for our church. The leadership is strong and united. The church body is filled with peace and unity. Our financial picture is incredibly healthy with no outstanding debt. Why has God blessed us with so much? We believe it is so we can give it away and multiply ourselves.

We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about church planting! Please email or contact Pastor Nick directly and let us know what God is stirring up in your heart.(nick@easthillsalliance.org) It is only by God’s grace and strength that this will happen, so we are relying on Him each step of the way.