It is about 2am and I am working on a few side projects, while taking care of baby feedings, so my wife Shelli can get some sleep. We have a new addition to our family that arrived last week. If you didn't know you can see the details on my
personal blog.
All the activity that has been happening with this new child is a wonderful reminder how great my Home Team (small group) is. Many of them have checked in via phone, email, or at church on Sunday to make sure that we are all OK. They also are taking turns dropping off food to make sure we are well fed as we go through this transition.
If you are leading a group I want to encourage you to keep tabs on these sort of life transitions that occur in the lives of your group members. It could be a job change, arrival of a baby, death in the family, crisis moment, illness, or major wedding anniversary. Some of these life transitions are exciting and others are difficult. However, they all have one thing in common, they can be used to bring a group of people closer to each other and closer to God.
in full time ministry that you are the one "doing" all of the ministry. However, there are a few times every year that my small group really ministers to me. This past weekend was one of them.
We had a little bit of a scare this weekend. While I was out to lunch with a good friend of mine from my group Shelli called and informed me she was experiencing some contractions. She is 30 weeks pregnant so it is still a bit early to have the baby. You can read about the visit to the hospital on
my personal blog.
Immediately my group went into support mode. One family took my son Michael as I rushed Shelli to the hospital while others called us and left messages that they were praying. Sometimes it can be tough when you move to a different part of the country and you don't have your siblings or parents nearby. What we do have is our church family and our small group. This weekend they ministered to the minister and his wife.
.gif" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="270" height="180" align="right" />There is nothing like being a part of something new that God is doing. I shared that sentence with a new group that is starting at
our church. Groups at CCV come in all shapes and sizes and this new group, which caters to a growing number of seniors (55+), had its first meeting this past Saturday. They had a soup and salad lunch and a great dessert spread with cheesecake, key lime pie, and brownies. The people and the food have me hoping that they invite me to speak again soon!
To peak interest Pat, our volunteer leader for this group, asked if we could put an invitation in the bulletin on Sunday morning. It was a simple invitation that said, "DO NOT OPEN I UNLESS YOU ARE 55 OR OLDER." The invitation invited all of our seniors to the "Sensational Soup and Salad Saturday." My invitation was the only exception (since I'm not 55) since I was asked to share a devotional thought.
As I approached the building I heard the music of Sinatra and other classical artists. Seniors from our church greeted me at the door, gave me a name tag and escorted me to my table. Everything looked sharp, neat, and was done with excellence. I could immediately tell that this new group was starting off on the right foot and understands our church's value of EXCELLENCE. We often say, "Excellence honors God and inspires people."
The buzz at this meeting was great. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I visited CCV the second Sunday that the doors were open in the movie theater days (October 2000). I shared those memories with them and compared the new adventure that they are on now (starting something new in our church) to what we did in those early days. I am thrilled that we now have something for this growing age group in our church and I look forward to the life change that will happen as God uses these new relationships that are formed.
