Global Leadership Summit Coming!

Long Drive/Short Meeting

Wednesday I drove 10 hours round trip to Chicago for lunch and a 3 hour meeting. It was worth the drive! I drove 9 of the 10 hours in silence: praying, thinking and planning.

The lunch was delicious and the meeting insightful. I met with Bill Hybels and about 20 church leaders who will host the Global Leadership Summit in their local congregations this coming August. Orchard would be one of the smallest churches at the table. I love getting to know the humble and good people who lead some of the largest churches in the Midwest. I love hearing their hearts for God and their congregations. I love the opportunity to discuss common challenges that Christ’s church is facing.

I came back enthusiastic about this year’s Global Summit. We will be getting information out as it becomes more public. For now, simply mark your calendars for August 11-12, 2011. I hope that we can reach 500 people in attendance at this year’s Cedar Falls sight.

I Love My GPS!
This trip reminded me how much I enjoy the GPS on my Ipad. It’s a life-saver. Without GPS I used to believe that I knew where I was but had trouble getting to the destination. Now, with GPS, I never know where I am but I always get to my destination. It seems like a great spiritual lesson. Follow Jesus one step at a time and let him get us to the correct destination!

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Baptisms in a hot tub on a cold day!

Saturday was a beautiful day to baptize two young women in a hot tub. It was emotionally and spiritually moving to listen to their testimonies as they spoke of the role of Jesus in their lives. Jess Taylor and Rebekah Zimmerman both had their faith in Jesus solidified on high school mission trips. God is surely at work on those mission trips!

Watch for a story of faith video coming to Orchard on a Sunday morning soon!

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Bricks and More!

As you probably know the Marathon Team (with the help of our Farmer's Resource Bank) and lots of their friends raised $105,000 to build a school in Mozambique, Africa. These pictures show that some of the bricks have arrived. It is so cool to know that regular everyday people in Iowa can make a difference for kids and families in rural Africa where they have so little.

These pictures make me eager to travel with our team in June to be there with the families and children. I'm eager to pray with them, meet with parents, pastors and tribal leaders. I'm eager to be the hands and feet, eyes and smiles of the church of Jesus Christ on another continent.

Even this evening as I pray for Mozambique and the future school, it is really clear to me that we do not need to travel to Africa to be the church. Tomorrow morning as Orchard (and other Christian churches) opens it doors to followers of Christ and to those who are further from God, we will be the church. And as we love our neighbors, family and co-workers right here in Cedar Falls, we are Christ's church. We must serve Christ across the world beginning right here and right now.

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New Member Stories

Forty-four New Members!
Forty-four people will be joining Orchard Hill as new members in this current class of people. They will be acknowledged on a coming Sunday morning.

In the last couple days I've been reading their faith journey stories and the stories are so very inspiring. The stories of the folks who are choosing to join with us in our mission make me smile at how God works in so many different ways.

Let me share some of the things that I learned:

1. The people of Orchard are inviting friends and relatives. Most of these folks are at Orchard on the arm of a trusted friend.

2. Many young adults are joining Orchard in order to continue to grow spiritually and be sure their young ones have a spiritual home.

3. Several of these families were motivated to attend by their children who had been active in our Student Ministry.

4. Several of these folks have come to faith in Jesus Christ real recently and for them this is a commitment to continue to grow spiritually.

5. Twenty-one of the 44 are coming to Orchard by Letter of Transfer from another church and 23 are coming by reaffirmation of faith and first-time confession of faith.

I want To See the Individuals
Reading these stories inspires me to walk around the Orchard campus and our communitites with my eyes wide open to see individuals and their stories. I want to not see a mass of people, but instead, I want to see individuals who each have a story and each is striving to love and know God.

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I Love Blizzards and Other Storms!

One of my favorite books is by John Ortberg entitled, Everybody's Normal Until You Get To Know Them. So, I want to confess before I continue to write that I know I am not normal as you get to know me. I'm just not normal (whatever that is)!

One place in which my idiosyncracies show up is in my love for all kinds of storms and especially I love blizzards. I went for a walk last evening in the wind and snow. It was beautiful. When I walked north, the wind would drive the snow into my face and I could sense the incredible power of God. When I woke this morning and checked out the drifts, his power and his ability to put a stop to much of life was just so evident.

During a storm, like last evening, it's just so clear in my spirit who is in charge and who is not in charge. Humans predict and wait. Humans respond. Humans change their plans and react to the storm. God initiates all that creates our weather and our storms. God is in charge. He is never surprised.

As I look back in my life and into the lives of our congregation, it is often the storms of life that remind us that God is needed and in charge. The storm of a health problem, or the storm of a death of a loved one, or the storm of living through a huge disappointment--all of these storms can also remind us of who is in charge and who is not.

Maybe, as you spend time at home this evening, you could reflect upon our God who is in charge in this life. Maybe, as you finish the shoveling or the snowblowing, you could reflect upon His power. Maybe, as you feel the sore muscles from this exercise, you could reflect upon his great power.

Have a good evening!

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Opportunities!

"Thank you for the opportunities of this day," has been a prayer I've been saying at the beginning of each day lately.

I've been seeing the moments of each day filled with opportunities to encourage, to challenge and to walk with people. It's a cool way to live and I hope that many others will see their life as an adventure of opportunity!

Today, I had the opportunity to be with our staff in our bi-weekly staff meeting where we celebrated Tobias Timothy Walsten, the new baby of Tim and Shelby. We also awarded paddles to our recently hired staff people: Tara, Sheila, Nikki, Kaity and Kaytlyn. It was fun to watch the staff affirm these new people.

I also got to meet with a couple who are trying to decide whether or not to make Orchard their home church, visit with two moms who have sons who will be having surgery, and visit with a friend who wants to start a new ministry.

I've been reflecting upon a story that someone told me last week. (I'm sorry that I cannot remember who told me this story). It goes like this:

I'm being chased by a huge lion who is very hungry and sees me as a possible lunch. The lion may represent a stress or a problem or a struggle that is after me. I'm running hard and staying one step in front and out of reach when I come to a high cliff with no place to run. However, I see a rope and I grab the rope and go over the cliff to avoid the lion.

Now I find myself hanging over the cliff at the end of a 10 foot rope and begin to evaluate my situation. The lion is at the edge of cliff waiting for me to climb up as I will make a great lunch. I look below and see that a couple hundred feet down is ragged sharp rocks. No escape. I pray for help and notice a juicy ripe strawberry hanging near my rope. I hear God whisper, "enjoy the moment and have a strawberry!"

I don't know why this story strikes me so. I think because I need to take more moments of enjoying God's presence and His gifts. So today, I'm looking for strawberries. Hope you'll join me!

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Top Ten Stories of 2010!

I read so many lists of Top Ten Stories as a review of what happened in 2010 that I decided to try to write and share Orchard's Top Ten Stories of 2010. Actually, this is a list of God at work through the ministry of Orchard during this past year.

One of our themes is the song title Not To Us which includes the line Not to us, but to His name be the glory. That's the heart with which I share what I believe might be some of our top stories of God at work.

1. Changed Lives
We see changed live everywhere. People who were far from God are moving toward him by attending church, reading his Word and praying. Families are putting Christ at the center.

2. New Faith in Christ
First-time commitments to Jesus took place with our children, teenagers and new members. Forty-two of 83 new members were first-time commitments or reaffirmations after being far from God.

3. Passing the Baton to Next Generations
Sixty babies were welcomed into church family. Forty-one weddings done by Core Staff. Children and Student Ministries are bulging at the seams. "Often, when I'm doing a wedding somewhere a young person comes up to me and tells me the great impact that Orchard had on their life during their college years."

4. Focus on Five Communities
This Big Hairy Audacious Goal: Changing lives for Christ within and between five communities brought huge focus and clarity to our mission. Those communites are: the Cedar Valley, Grundy County, Walnut Neighborhood (in East Waterloo), Pignon, Haiti, and the Gorongosa region of Mozambique.

5. Marathon Team and Mozambique School
135 runners participated at the Des Monies Marathon & 1/2 Marathon. Together with our farmers (Food Resource Bank) they provided $105,00 to build a school by enlisting 1,000+ donors. This was a day more about spiritual training than physical training.

6. Christmas Store and Craft Fair
Under-resourced parents were blessed to put quality gifts under their trees for their children. Gifts which they purchased and provided with help from us! 230 enthusiastic volunteers and 1470 gifts. Money from the purchase of gifts was given to many schools.

7. Global Leadership Summit
God surprised us and exceeded all expectations with this one. More than 300 leaders attended our first Premiere Site within the Cedar Valley. Both the number of attendees and the impact of the sessions were surprising.

8. Focus on 6th Community
We introduced the concept now of a 6th Community which is that place in our individual lives where we already have influence with friends, teamates, co-workers and family. Many people are working to be "salt and light" within their 6th Community.

9. Route 55
This is a new brand for our Senior Ministry and so much more. This is a ministry of people who are 55 years of age and better and it is making a huge difference in the lives of people across our five communities. The passion for this is even spreading to other churches.

10. Generous Financial Support
Our congregation again gave generously so that we ended our budget year in the black with some carry-over funds to propel us into 2011. We thank God for the generosity of our people and recognize our responsibility to carefully manage God's money in strategic ways.

If I missed your most important story (and for many of our congregation, I know I did) I apologize. God is doing so much in so many ways places with so many people that I simply wanted to lift up some of what He is doing.

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