When I was out of town a couple of weeks ago, I missed a seminar that I was supposed to attend. I received the handouts from that seminar today, all 55 pages, front and back, of them. It’s a good thing I like to read! One handout included information about the above (see title). How would you answer that question? IS America (I assume they mean the United States, not all of North and South America) becoming less religious? What do you think?
Apparently the University of Chicago did a study that showed that more and more children are being raised with no faith at all. This increases the likelihood that they will be without religious faith as adults. The study goes on to say that “Only 4% of the Baby Boomers who grew up in the 50’s with hula hoops and ‘Father Knows Best’ say they were raised without a religious faith. However in their 40’s and 50’s a much larger 11% of the Baby Boomers say they have no religious preference.”
The study continues: “Now for the youngest adults: 13% of young people born between 1980 and 1984 were reared with no religion. Already 27% of them say they have no religious preference. We don’t know if they will return to church as they age. Each generation is less involved in religious life than the one that came before it.” (From Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism by Martha Grace Reese)
Just think about the implications of this! More importantly, think about what concrete steps can be taken to turn this around. What can we do as a church to impact the lives of young people with the love of Jesus Christ?
I have some thoughts on this subject. Maybe I should run out and buy Martha’s book to see what she thinks. But I would REALLY like to hear what you think. Post a comment, especially if you’re a young person. (At 44, I guess I don’t really qualify for that anymore.) I’d like to hear from you.
I’m about to go to bed but I didn’t want to until I let you know what a great time I had today. We held our first Neighborhood Fun Fest with a bounce house, kid’s games, free hot dogs, free popcorn, prizes, candy, clowns, and balloons for the homeowners of Mansfield National. We met so many wonderful kids, teenagers, and adults. The weather was perfect. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. Many, many thanks to John, Cindy, Shannon, Ashleigh, Pam, Tim, Laurin, Hal, Sandy, Ken, Dee, Russ, and Rachel who volunteered many hours to make this event a success. Also thanks to Carlos and Melissa who donated the bounce house, to St. Barnabas UMC who let us borrow their games, to the Kroger and Tom Thurmb grocery stores who donated the hot dogs and buns, and to the Mansfield National Homeowners Association who allowed us to give back to their community in this fun way. I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or those of us who were able to bring some joy to their lives in this small way. I do know that it was a terrific day and I look forward to when we can do something like this again.
Well, it’s off to bed. I hope your day was as wonderful as mine!
Our Thursday morning study at the Daily Grind Coffee House this morning focused on Jesus as a healer. Some of us felt like we were so healthy, we could leap tall buildings in a single bound! Some, like me, felt sound as a bell, but nothing extraordinary. Maybe our coffee just hadn’t kicked in yet. Still others felt like they were going through each day surviving but not thriving. That’s one reason I believe small groupo s like these are so important. Let’s be honest and admit it. Life can be hard and beat us down at times. It’s good to be reminded that we’re not alone. That we have others we can share with and rely on to give us support and encouragment. That we have a Savior who cares for us deeply. I don’t know about the rest of the group, but by the time I left, I felt energized by being in their presence. By being in Christ’s presence.
We’ll meet again on Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. Join us at the Daily Grind to connect with others and learn more about the life of Jesus at the same time.
Can’t make it during the day? Then come to Community of Hope United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. Here’s the description of tonight’s lesson entitled Breathe:
“With everything that we’ve got going on every day, how many of us ever think about our breathing, about the meaning of breathing? Yet, for thousands of years, people have understood that our physical breath is a picture of a deeper spiritual reality. In the Bible, the word for “breath” is the same as the word for “spirit.” There’s an inherent dilemma at the core of what makes us human. We’ve all been created in the image of God and possess immense power and strength. And at the same time our lives are incredibly vulnerable and fragile. Maybe if we had more insight into the meaning of breathing, we would better understand how God created us as human beings.”
Well, I better go now. I’m off to find some tall buildings to leap!
Well, I finally made it back home from a week-long conference in Arkansas. I heard 10 different pastors speak about their experiences starting new churches. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about going. I really don’t like being away from my family, especially for a whole week! But I must admit that it was very exciting to hear of how lives are being changed all around our nation through new churches.
Since I’ve been home I have hired a worship/music leader. His name is Hans Grim and he is an extremely talented musician. My husband Russ and I heard him play the piano and sing a couple of weeks ago at Ridglea United Methodist Church and we were so impressed. He will continue leading Sunday morning worship gatherings at Ridglea as well as working throughout the week at a private school in Ft. Worth. Hans will be leading New Day’s worship gatherings on Sunday evenings once we begin. In the meantime, he and I will be making plans for our monthly preview services which will begin on Feb. 8.
Well, I better get going. I need to get ready for the Forum for Adults in Youth Ministry being held today at First United Methodist Church-Mansfield. I hope I get some ideas for beginning a youth ministry at New Day from some experienced leaders in youth ministry. It should be a productive afternoon and I’m really looking forward to it!
I will be sitting here in a conference all week specifically for pastors who are starting new churches. After this first afternoon, I’ve heard about raising money in a new church setting and then heard a speaker from Tennessee talk about a new church that he started. I think I enjoyed listening to him the most. He told us about practical things he did when he started, like beginning Bible studies in homes and teaching about leadership and what it means to follow Jesus. But then he shared that before he started, he asked God that he might be a pastor of faith, trusting and believing regardless. He also asked God that he be a pastor of prayer, talking and reporting to God each day, believing and expecting things to happen.
What would it take for us to really be people of faith? To truly trust in God regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in? What would it take to really be people of prayer? To truly go to God in expectation that our lives can be changed for the better?
My prayer is that we will believe and trust, hope and expect God to do great things regardless of what we see. I think we call that walking by faith, not by sight. 
5 of us ladies attended the Thursday morning study on the life of Jesus at the Daily Grind Coffee House this morning. It was so nice to connect with others through laughter and discussion. To talk about our childhood heroes and discuss the greatest hero of all, Jesus Christ. We won’t be meeting next week because the facilitator (me) will be attending a new church pastor conference, but we will be back again on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. Think about meeting us then in the back room of the Daily Grind as together we become more aware of the new ways in which Christ wants each of us to live.
Maybe you work or have other commitments during the day. Then join us starting tonight for a Thursday evening class at Community of Hope United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. Here’s the description of tonight’s lesson entitled Rain:
“Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, or the way we think they will. Sometimes we don’t even see it coming. We get hit with some form of pain out of nowhere leaving us feeling desperate and helpless. That’s the way life is. Still, it makes us wonder how God can let these things happen to us. How God can just stand by and watch us suffer? Where is God when it really hurts? Maybe God is actually closer to us than we think. Maybe it’s when we’re in these situations, where everything seems to be falling apart, that God gets an opportunity to remind us of how much he really loves us.”
Try to join us and bring a friend if you’d like. Youth as well as adults are welcome. Hope to see you there!
“Father, I place my life in your hands!”
Those were Jesus’ final words uttered with his last breath. He was crucified at a place called Skull Hill, beside 2 criminals, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. Can you believe the injustice of it all? It was so unfair! Yet in the midst of his torture, Jesus was able to ask God to forgive his executioners, because “they don’t know what they’re doing.” At the end, in faith and trust, Jesus was able to continue to place his life in God’s hands.
Why do we sometimes find it so hard to trust God? To commit ourselves to God totally? What do we fear? What would it mean to surrender our lives to God completely? How would that change the way we live our lives?
Have you placed your life in God’s hands? If not, what’s holding you back?
I wanted to bring you up to date on our breakfast fundraiser. What a wonderful morning we had at Charlie’s Hamburgers yesterday. Brent, the owner, was fantastic to work with. The guys there who set-up and cooked for us were great! Our New Day volunteers who got up in the wee hours of the morning (Sandy, Hal, Cindy, John, Shannon, Ashleigh, Corrine, Rachel, and Russ) were outstanding! Our partner churches who got the word out to their church families (St. Barnabas UMC-Arlington, Community of Hope UMC-Mansfield, and First UMC-Mansfield) were incredible! And all the persons who bought tickets at the Pecan Festival or drove by and stopped in to support us deserve our gratitude. Donna Delhagen was the winner of our raffle. She won a $100 gift card to be used at any QT gas station. Way to go, Donna! All in all, it was a terrific morning!
After expenses, we took in nearly $2500. I admit that it didn’t hurt that we got 2 $1000 checks. As I told my friend Joe, the pastor at Community of Hope, “God is good! No, God is GREAT!!!!!”
I was reading my Bible this morning and I just couldn’t get into it. My eyes kept getting really heavy and I thought I was going to doze off. I don’t know. Maybe it was because I was reading the Old Testament book of Nehemiah and I didn’t feel particularly inspired. I decided to turn instead to the New Testament book of Luke. Jesus’ words in Chapter 6 helped wake me up:
“Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never-I promise-regret it. Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Be easy on people.”
I really liked how the Golden Rule was stated here in the Message Bible translation: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! We hear a lot about the need for change in our country right now. What would our world be like if we simply adopted this simple rule of thumb?
You say, “I can’t manage,” but God says, “You can be sure that I will take care of everything you need.”
You say, “I’m always worried and frustrated,” but God says, “Live carefree before me.”
You say, “I feel all alone,” but God says, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.”
You say, “Nobody really loves me,” but God says, “I LOVE YOU!”