Two interesting pieces of reading...possibly for the weekend:
First, an article by Ed Stetzer for those who "love Jesus" but don't want anything to do with the church.
Second, the latest edition of Time magazine (Sept. 24/07 issue) and the very interesting article regarding the various spouses’ of presidential nominees in the USA . Along with being an interesting article (though I don’t follow American politics too closely), I think it would be a good read for church leaders (ie elders, board, pastoral committees), pastors, and other para-church organizations – and to discuss honestly.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
September 07 Newsletter
(I've emailed this to most of our friends, but just in case... thought I'd post it on the blog).
Dear friends,
While we have emailed or talked to many of you individually, it has been a few months since I/we sent out an e-news-letter. So, let us update you on the latest happenings…
After an incredible wedding day, we were blessed to take part 1 of our honeymoon on Vancouver Island . We returned to Three Hills on Mother’s Day (May 13) arriving to a houseful of gifts that we enjoyed opening. We were so overwhelmed with people’s kindness and generosity! After a couple weeks back at work – Sarah at the Prairie Tabernacle church office and Steve cleaning out his office at Prairie Bible Institute – we headed off to India for part 2 of our honeymoon… An incredible 3½ weeks, highlighted by 10 days at Hebron International School where Sarah formerly taught and served as a dorm parent. It was an incredible pleasure and privilege for Steve to see this part of her life and meet many staff and students. Upon returning to Three Hills on June 20, Steve finished moving his office from PBI to Prairie Christian Academy (PCA) and began officially serving as Christian Education Co-ordinator on July 1. Sarah continues part-time (20-25 hours per week) at the church office. It has been a real blessing to have the summer months to settle into married life and my new job.
The school year began on Wednesday August 29 with registration and then a nice welcome BBQ for all students and their parents and an introduction to the PCA staff/teachers. Classes began the next day and we are praising the Lord that He has brought just over 400 students (approx) from pre-school to grade 12 to PCA this year who will receive an excellent, provincially accredited education under the influence of godly teachers as well as have the opportunity to grow in Christ personally through various co-curricular programs.
We also continue to be involved in our local church, the Prairie Tabernacle. In addition to Sarah’s role at the church office as administrative assistant, Steve also serves on the board of elders. Last year, Steve led a small group on Sunday nights and Sarah attended another small group (with Mom & Dad Ibbotson). Our small group was VERY glad to welcome Sarah in and we “re-started” after our summer break last Sunday (Sept 9). Our Senior Pastor, Tim Strickland, began a summer teaching series on the judges (OT)… and these rarely preached portions of Scripture have come alive and challenged our hearts. Tim plans to continue this series into the fall as the response has been so positive!
For a few months, Sarah has sensed it was time to move on to other avenues of service. Though she loves serving the people of Prairie Tabernacle, she is not called to be an administrative assistant. This position was a good “temporary” role for Sarah (and for the church) after returning from Hebron to see what the Lord had next. Seeing the response of the staff and students at Hebron confirmed (to Steve) that Sarah’s primary passions and gifts involve teaching and nurturing international students. So, we were already looking for the right time for Sarah to give notice to the church of her resignation when…
We found out that we are parents!!! The estimated date of our little one’s visible arrival in the world is March 16, 2008! We had our first pre-natal appointment on August 20 and were amazed and overwhelmed to hear the little baby’s heartbeat! We have spent the last couple weeks sharing the exciting news with our parents and siblings.
So what can you pray about for us?
1) Praise the Lord for a safe, healthy and wonderful trip to India ! You can check out Steve’s blog for a more detailed report of the trip!
2) Praise the Lord for a restful summer and smooth adjustments to married life and Steve’s new job.
3) Praise the Lord for graciously allowing “us” to get pregnant so quickly (and for almost no “sickness” for Sarah in the first trimester)
4) Pray for wisdom for Steve as he serves the various needs of PCA students… (It is a lot different working with Kindergarten to grade 3 students than college students!!!)
5) Pray for health and strength for Sarah during the pregnancy (and God’s hand upon our little baby!)
Ephesians 3:20 praises the One “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (NIV). We truly feel that the LORD has been doing incredibly wonderful things for us in the past 15 months! His grace continues to be overflowing to us in so many ways beyond our best (human) ideas… and we want to be sure to give Him ALL the praise!
For His glory,
Steve & Sarah
PS We would love to receive an email from you to hear your latest news!
Dear friends,
While we have emailed or talked to many of you individually, it has been a few months since I/we sent out an e-news-letter. So, let us update you on the latest happenings…
After an incredible wedding day, we were blessed to take part 1 of our honeymoon on Vancouver Island . We returned to Three Hills on Mother’s Day (May 13) arriving to a houseful of gifts that we enjoyed opening. We were so overwhelmed with people’s kindness and generosity! After a couple weeks back at work – Sarah at the Prairie Tabernacle church office and Steve cleaning out his office at Prairie Bible Institute – we headed off to India for part 2 of our honeymoon… An incredible 3½ weeks, highlighted by 10 days at Hebron International School where Sarah formerly taught and served as a dorm parent. It was an incredible pleasure and privilege for Steve to see this part of her life and meet many staff and students. Upon returning to Three Hills on June 20, Steve finished moving his office from PBI to Prairie Christian Academy (PCA) and began officially serving as Christian Education Co-ordinator on July 1. Sarah continues part-time (20-25 hours per week) at the church office. It has been a real blessing to have the summer months to settle into married life and my new job.
The school year began on Wednesday August 29 with registration and then a nice welcome BBQ for all students and their parents and an introduction to the PCA staff/teachers. Classes began the next day and we are praising the Lord that He has brought just over 400 students (approx) from pre-school to grade 12 to PCA this year who will receive an excellent, provincially accredited education under the influence of godly teachers as well as have the opportunity to grow in Christ personally through various co-curricular programs.
We also continue to be involved in our local church, the Prairie Tabernacle. In addition to Sarah’s role at the church office as administrative assistant, Steve also serves on the board of elders. Last year, Steve led a small group on Sunday nights and Sarah attended another small group (with Mom & Dad Ibbotson). Our small group was VERY glad to welcome Sarah in and we “re-started” after our summer break last Sunday (Sept 9). Our Senior Pastor, Tim Strickland, began a summer teaching series on the judges (OT)… and these rarely preached portions of Scripture have come alive and challenged our hearts. Tim plans to continue this series into the fall as the response has been so positive!
For a few months, Sarah has sensed it was time to move on to other avenues of service. Though she loves serving the people of Prairie Tabernacle, she is not called to be an administrative assistant. This position was a good “temporary” role for Sarah (and for the church) after returning from Hebron to see what the Lord had next. Seeing the response of the staff and students at Hebron confirmed (to Steve) that Sarah’s primary passions and gifts involve teaching and nurturing international students. So, we were already looking for the right time for Sarah to give notice to the church of her resignation when…
We found out that we are parents!!! The estimated date of our little one’s visible arrival in the world is March 16, 2008! We had our first pre-natal appointment on August 20 and were amazed and overwhelmed to hear the little baby’s heartbeat! We have spent the last couple weeks sharing the exciting news with our parents and siblings.
So what can you pray about for us?
1) Praise the Lord for a safe, healthy and wonderful trip to India ! You can check out Steve’s blog for a more detailed report of the trip!
2) Praise the Lord for a restful summer and smooth adjustments to married life and Steve’s new job.
3) Praise the Lord for graciously allowing “us” to get pregnant so quickly (and for almost no “sickness” for Sarah in the first trimester)
4) Pray for wisdom for Steve as he serves the various needs of PCA students… (It is a lot different working with Kindergarten to grade 3 students than college students!!!)
5) Pray for health and strength for Sarah during the pregnancy (and God’s hand upon our little baby!)
Ephesians 3:20 praises the One “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (NIV). We truly feel that the LORD has been doing incredibly wonderful things for us in the past 15 months! His grace continues to be overflowing to us in so many ways beyond our best (human) ideas… and we want to be sure to give Him ALL the praise!
For His glory,
Steve & Sarah
PS We would love to receive an email from you to hear your latest news!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Follow up to Holy Discontent Blog
As a follow up to Wednesday’s blog, I just read an article from John Maxwell’s “Leadership Wired” newsletter (Vol 10, Issue 13) where he summarizes nine principles from Dr. Henry Cloud’s book, 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life. Principle #6 is “Hate Well” and describes the difference between subjective hate (the kind that poisons and corrupts a person) and objective hate (anger with a purpose). I believe this parallels the “Holy Discontent” Hybels’ is talking about, though I haven’t read or even seek this book from Dr. Henry Cloud.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Initial Reflections on Bill Hybels' new book
I generally enjoy Bill Hybels’ writing (and speaking) and so I must say that I was eager to read Holy Discontent (Zondervan, 2007) when it arrived in the mail about a month ago... from my favorite book seller Amazon. In some ways it is encouraging me in one of the areas I am passionate about: leadership. However, I do have a concern about the general premise of the book (realize that I haven’t finished reading the book yet!).
Hybels’ basic premise is that God develops in each of us a holy discontent with something that becomes our life passion (no problem there). Often times this comes out of frustration or disappointment with a situation we experienced/saw during our formative years and this becomes something that we feel a burning desire to change… so that others never have to experience what we see/experience. Using the words of good ole’ Popeye, we come to a point when “I can’t stands it anymore” and we decide to do something about it. And that’s where I see the problem. If we set our life’s mission/purpose on the basis of what we cannot stand – even if it is an issue/concern that is in line w/ God’s character, values, and principles – I think we are eventually doomed to fail… or at best succeed minimally/temporarily. If our goal is NOT to be someone/something, we are basing our mission on a negative, not a positive. I agree that God does use our negative experiences to shape/influence the purpose(s) He has for our individual lives. But if they are only shaped by negative experiences, that’s a weak foundation, both spiritually and psychologically. That’s how people “go off the deep end” or “burn out” in trying to accomplish an individual or organizational mission.
For example, the child who watched a sibling (or parent) battle a disease for weeks or months before dying and then chooses to go into medical work “to help others” is not a good long-term candidate as a doctor/nurse. (Frankly, they may not have grieved properly!) On the other hand, the child who was sick and in hospital a lot and so decides to become a doctor so s/he can give back to others as s/he has benefited, MAY (though not necessarily) be a more good long-term worker in the health/medical field.
Again, to be blunt, I think I can talk about that one example with a fair bit of credibility… I’ve watched my fair share of medical dramas to know where my personal (unresolved?) “issues” are and how to work through them vicariously through tv… rather than on real-life people!
Last point: Don’t become a leader because the leaders you see/observe are soooo bad at leading. Choose to be a leader because God has developed in you the character to be one and the skills (competencies) to do the job well.
Hybels’ basic premise is that God develops in each of us a holy discontent with something that becomes our life passion (no problem there). Often times this comes out of frustration or disappointment with a situation we experienced/saw during our formative years and this becomes something that we feel a burning desire to change… so that others never have to experience what we see/experience. Using the words of good ole’ Popeye, we come to a point when “I can’t stands it anymore” and we decide to do something about it. And that’s where I see the problem. If we set our life’s mission/purpose on the basis of what we cannot stand – even if it is an issue/concern that is in line w/ God’s character, values, and principles – I think we are eventually doomed to fail… or at best succeed minimally/temporarily. If our goal is NOT to be someone/something, we are basing our mission on a negative, not a positive. I agree that God does use our negative experiences to shape/influence the purpose(s) He has for our individual lives. But if they are only shaped by negative experiences, that’s a weak foundation, both spiritually and psychologically. That’s how people “go off the deep end” or “burn out” in trying to accomplish an individual or organizational mission.
For example, the child who watched a sibling (or parent) battle a disease for weeks or months before dying and then chooses to go into medical work “to help others” is not a good long-term candidate as a doctor/nurse. (Frankly, they may not have grieved properly!) On the other hand, the child who was sick and in hospital a lot and so decides to become a doctor so s/he can give back to others as s/he has benefited, MAY (though not necessarily) be a more good long-term worker in the health/medical field.
Again, to be blunt, I think I can talk about that one example with a fair bit of credibility… I’ve watched my fair share of medical dramas to know where my personal (unresolved?) “issues” are and how to work through them vicariously through tv… rather than on real-life people!
Last point: Don’t become a leader because the leaders you see/observe are soooo bad at leading. Choose to be a leader because God has developed in you the character to be one and the skills (competencies) to do the job well.
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