Well I'm up late tonight. Thanks to swigging down some cold coffee after church and stopping for some additional caffeine at the gas station with Rick on the way home. I just wanted to thank everyone for loving Andrea, the kids and I. We feel so welcome here at Jubilee Family Church and in Batesville. We've only been here a year and a half but are extremely honored to be part of the community.
I'm very excited about some positive things that have happened with the Literacy Council of Independence county today. Chuck received a phone call from the IRS approving our 501 (c) 3 status. Things are moving forward nicely with the Literacy Council. I believe the Literacy council is a much needed service in our area to give people a hand up as apposed to a hand out. I love the concept of empowering people to take care of their own business. I also love the way teaching and education help defeat poverty in the lives of people. Our mission is to train tutors and help connect them to students who need basic literacy training as well as students who speak English as a second language. If you're interested in becoming a tutor or know of a potential student have them call the literacy council office at 870.793.5912.
Our web streaming is also moving along nicely. We web cast live, every Sunday morning at 10:00 AM and have an interactive online discussion every Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM CST. Participate with us if you're from out of town or even out of the country!
We were talking tonight about bearing fruit at church. I can't get off the page of using my life to glorify the Lord in the area of duplication. Duplicating myself into others, raising them up to be fruit bearing disciples of the Lord. That reminds me... I'll keep you all posted on our fair outreach. I haven't heard anything from the powers that be regarding a booth but have a guarantee that well be on the call list for a booth when they start organizing things. I'm excited to see Ron Brown in action winning souls. I've heard him mention evangelism explosion and the success that one of his previous churches had with it in the area of raising up new believers. I really enjoy getting around the zealous new believers. Don't you? They are so excited and full of life.
We'll be traveling up to Cape Girardeau this weekend for the Mellies Carbaugh wedding. That will be good and I'm excited for Andrew and Rachel.
Please keep praying for the successful launch of our two radio stations. I've got many hoops to jump through to turn the vision into reality. Thanks for praying with us for the fulfillment of the vision. I solicit your assistance in securing a location. I've been looking around and praying and have some thoughts. I need to press on some doors to see if one opens. Have a great week and feel free to make some comments.
Jubilee Family Church
June 5, 2008
May 15, 2008
Jubilee TV
Saints of God,
I've been praying and thinking about a way we as a church can reach out. About 10 months ago I believe the Lord directed me to develop an Internet congregation of people who relate to the church through the Internet. This didn't seem very feasible to me without the use of video, especially live video. Well today I finally got all the bugs worked out of our live video stream and now, anyone anywhere in the world can watch our services, live via the Internet. I'm very excited about the potential that lies before us as a church.
The limitations of geography are now non existent and the potential to reach thousands of people is now well within the realm of possibility. Please pray with me that this new ministry is fruitful and God blesses his word and our efforts.
There are some bandwidth limitations the way things are currently set up but with God's help we can expand our capabilities as the Lord directs us.
Excited about the ever increasing Kingdom of God,
Pastor Tony
Jubilee Family Church
I've been praying and thinking about a way we as a church can reach out. About 10 months ago I believe the Lord directed me to develop an Internet congregation of people who relate to the church through the Internet. This didn't seem very feasible to me without the use of video, especially live video. Well today I finally got all the bugs worked out of our live video stream and now, anyone anywhere in the world can watch our services, live via the Internet. I'm very excited about the potential that lies before us as a church.
The limitations of geography are now non existent and the potential to reach thousands of people is now well within the realm of possibility. Please pray with me that this new ministry is fruitful and God blesses his word and our efforts.
There are some bandwidth limitations the way things are currently set up but with God's help we can expand our capabilities as the Lord directs us.
Excited about the ever increasing Kingdom of God,
Pastor Tony
Jubilee Family Church
May 9, 2008
The Manifest Sons of God
I believe that Almighty God wants everyone on the Earth to know him personally. Because I believe this I also believe that there's a plan in the heart of God to get this vision of His to unfold. I believe his plan is to use people who have his heart, character and spirit in them to impart the essence of Heaven into the realm of the Earth. Jesus did teach his disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." So we know that Jesus Christ wanted us to come into agreement with the will of His Father that there would be a divine collision between the stuff of Heaven and the stuff of Earth. When this happens the hearts of people become open and receptive to the redeeming message of Jesus. Outreach and evangelism in the presence of the miraculous is much more effective, fun and easy than when our gospel message is a "sales pitch". I would like you to pray with me that you and I would begin to be divine channels of blessing to a lost and fallen world desperately in need of a savior. God has given us the City we just have to step into the revealed strategy he's given us and walk it out in obedience. I'm so excited about the potential that we have within us to influence a region for God. Thank you for being obedient to the heavenly vision and playing your role to establish the rule and reign of Christ in our area of influence. I believe that the events in the book of Acts are really just the beginning of the acts of the Holy Spirit. There are more acts to this play and you and I have a part to play in expressing the Kingdom of God.
Romans 8:19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
Jubilee Family Church
Romans 8:19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
Jubilee Family Church
May 7, 2008
Johnny's Family Fiction
Jubilee Family Church
Hey, it's Johnny. For those of you who remember the stories I used to write for the church, you will now have an outlet to read them and new ones. Pastor Tony has allowed me some space to share stories that I write. I have a blog page called Johnny's Family Fiction. Please feel free to check it out. It is my hope that these stories can open up new times of devotion with the whole family. Some of the stories will be geared to younger readers, and some toward the older ones and any in-between.
PS, if any of you have copies of stories that I did in the past, could you pass them along to me. Moving around has caused some things to get misplaced. :-)
johnny
Hey, it's Johnny. For those of you who remember the stories I used to write for the church, you will now have an outlet to read them and new ones. Pastor Tony has allowed me some space to share stories that I write. I have a blog page called Johnny's Family Fiction. Please feel free to check it out. It is my hope that these stories can open up new times of devotion with the whole family. Some of the stories will be geared to younger readers, and some toward the older ones and any in-between.
PS, if any of you have copies of stories that I did in the past, could you pass them along to me. Moving around has caused some things to get misplaced. :-)
johnny
Lessons from the Square Watermelon
I received an e-mail and thought I'd share it with you. I thought it was good.
Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don't have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. That is how I would assume the vast majority of people would respond. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, "How can we provide one?" It wasn't long before they invented the square watermelon.
The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn't nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn't assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.
What does this have do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a few lessons that can you can take away from this story which help you in all parts of your life. Here are a few of them:
Don't Assume: The major problem was that most people had always seen round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don't even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things. This was one of the most difficult things for me to do because most of the assumptions I make, I don't even realize that I'm making them. They seem perfectly logical on the surface, so I hav e to constantly make an effort to question them.
Question habits: The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question your habits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a consistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them. I have changed a large number of habits that I have had after taking the time to question them and continue to do so. Some of them I have know idea where they came from while others I can trace to certain people or instances in my life. It's a never ending process, but by doing this, you can cons istently strive toward making all aspects of your life more enjoyable instead of defaulting to what you have now.
Be creative: When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this question likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter water melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can't see them. I am not a creative person, but I've found that the more that you look at things from different perspectives, the more creative I have become. It's a le arned art and builds upon itself.
Look for a better way: The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It's impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place. I try to ask if there is a better way of doing the things that I do and I constantly write down the things I wish I could do (but currently can't) since these are usually hints about steps I need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, "Is there a better way I could be doing this?" and you will find there often is.
Impossibilities often aren't: If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error. Take away the lessons from the square watermelons and apply them to all areas in your life (work, finances, relationships, etc) and you will find that by consistently applying them, you will constantly be improving all aspects of your life.
Don't Assume: The major problem was that most people had always seen round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don't even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things. This was one of the most difficult things for me to do because most of the assumptions I make, I don't even realize that I'm making them. They seem perfectly logical on the surface, so I hav e to constantly make an effort to question them.
Question habits: The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question your habits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a consistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them. I have changed a large number of habits that I have had after taking the time to question them and continue to do so. Some of them I have know idea where they came from while others I can trace to certain people or instances in my life. It's a never ending process, but by doing this, you can cons istently strive toward making all aspects of your life more enjoyable instead of defaulting to what you have now.
Be creative: When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this question likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter water melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can't see them. I am not a creative person, but I've found that the more that you look at things from different perspectives, the more creative I have become. It's a le arned art and builds upon itself.
Look for a better way: The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It's impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place. I try to ask if there is a better way of doing the things that I do and I constantly write down the things I wish I could do (but currently can't) since these are usually hints about steps I need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, "Is there a better way I could be doing this?" and you will find there often is.
Impossibilities often aren't: If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error. Take away the lessons from the square watermelons and apply them to all areas in your life (work, finances, relationships, etc) and you will find that by consistently applying them, you will constantly be improving all aspects of your life.
Nothing quite like out of the box thinking that puts a watermelon into a box.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)