Something Old, Something New

Published
by
Pastor Bill Bendert
on November 14, 2008
in Random
. 1 Comment

There is something new coming to King of Kings. But, as the title of this blog alludes, it is also something old.  Our name for it is “LifeGroups.”  Now many people immediately say, “that sounds like small groups.” And you would be right. But you’d be wrong too.  (Gosh I’m having fun with this!)  In some sense it is like small group ministry, in that it does involve groups. But that is where the similarity ends.

Small groups have typically been about gathering a group of 8 or so people together who will meet for 18 months to two years, or until Jesus comes again, to develop deep, intimate, soul searching, transformational relationships. 

LifeGroups are a group of 15-20 people. The size is larger so if there are people who can’t make it one week, you don’t reduce your group down to 6 or 4 people.  LifeGroups meet in semesters of 8-12 weeks, depending on the season. You only commit to that period of time together and then when it is finished, you can sign up for the next semester or take some time off.  LifeGroups is about making friends.  It is about getting to know people in our church community.  Intimacy comes from making frienships as a natural development of relationships.  There are basically three semesters in a year:  Fall, Winter (Lent) and Spring.  During one semester each year, probably in the Fall, all LifeGroups will be doing the same curriculum, supported in our worship services.  The other two semesters, LifeGroup Leaders will chose the curriculum for their group from a list of study programs (or one that is approved by the LifeGroup Team) that is pertinant to their LifeGroup situation.  Everyone may be doing something different.

So why are they called LifeGroups?  Because half of the groups offered will have a common relationship theme. For instance, there will be Women’s Groups, Men’s Groups, Married Couples, Parents, 50+, 25 and under, etc.  The other half of the groups offered will be general groups that may only have in common that they are meeting on Tuesday night at 6pm at someone’s house!

Coming in Lent, 2009 will be our Launch time for LifeGroups. You will hear a lot more about this in the coming months, newsletter, church emails, and sermons.  So here is your head start to be thinking AND praying for this wonderful opportunity.  This is a great way for our members to get to know each other, GROW in the word (part of our mission), and connect new members into the fabric of King of Kings.  Don’t miss out on these opportunities.  It isn’t just a program we are launching. This is a way for us to be the Body of Christ together.

What are you holding on to?

Published
by
Pastor Bill Bendert
on October 26, 2008
in Random
. 0 Comments

Recent events in the news have certainly driven many people to a sense of hopelessness and helplessness.  The bailout seems to not be the magic bullet everyone hoped it would be.  The market is on a roller coaster ride every day.  Locally here, the talks about a GM buyout of Chrysler has everyone on edge.  It reminds us once again how easy it is for us to hold on to the wrong things for stability and peace in our lives.  Certainly when times are good and affluent, we have no problems believing that our 401Ks, our local industries, and our government are the things that keep us safe.

But what we find today is that none of those things give us peace and security.  Once again, Jesus’ words ring true to us in these uncertain times: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV)

The only bailout that truly makes any difference at all is not the bailout that congress has passed. It is the bailout that happened 2,000 years ago when Jesus died for us on Good Friday.  God reminds us that no matter what happens to us, no matter what comes in the economy, our relationship with God is secure.  And in the midst of all this uncertainty, we are reminded of how much we need our faith family to get us through this time.  God never intended us to go it alone. 

If you are reading this, and you have a faith family, or you are a part of the faith family at King of Kings, you know what I’m talking about. If you have no faith family, I personally want to invite you to come and experience the family of faith at King of Kings. God never intended you to go it alone.  And you already know the high price of holding on to the wrong things!

A Face in the Crowd

Published
by
Pastor Bill Bendert
on October 2, 2008
in Random
. 2 Comments

We all know what it is like to be just another face in the crowd. It can be the lonliest feeling in the world, surrounded by people and yet all alone. That experience can be so much worse for the vistor at church.
In a recent book I was reading entitled “Fusion,” author Nelson Searcy challenges churches to see visitors as gifts sent from God. In my own experience, most people who visit a church without an invitation from someone within the congregation come out of brokenness and searching. There is often something broken in their lives, or they are searching for love and acceptance in a place where others have said they found it–among God’s people.
That is why it is so important for those of us who are “in” the church to greet and welcome those whose faces are unfamiliar. When God sends someone to us, there must be a reason. Perhaps we have something they need for health and wholeness. Perhaps there is something we need from this person! In either case, it is God who sends them here. How can we ignore them or turn them away?
So far this year, would it surprise you that we have had 288 people visit our church? These are people who visited for the first time since January 1, 2008 to the present. That is more people than worship on average every Sunday here at King of Kings! Of that number, 38 joined our church. 250 people came and went without notice. Now, not everyone who visits us will make us their church home. But what if half of them did? Or a quarter of them did? We would be reaching so many more people for Christ.
And it all starts with hello. Take a moment and welcome that face you don’t recognize. It’s okay if you stumble on someone who usually worships at a different service. Just tell them how wonderful it is to see them today! But when you welcome the stranger, the one who is coming to find wholeness, or meaning, you welcome someone home.

A recent question

Published
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Pastor Bill Bendert
on September 13, 2008
in Random
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Someone recently asked me, “If you were going to start a church from scratch, what would be the most important parts for you?”  Without hesitation, I answered, “If I was starting a new church today, I’d make sure it had two things–because I think they are essential for growing a church.”

First of all, I would create quality worship–that place where people come together to experience the power of God. I would make sure that worship was not only “for us,” but that it was also friendly and open to those who have never come to church before.  I think too often we make worship all about us and what we need. It is so easy to forget who is not here, because they cannot speak for themselves. 

That’s a whole ‘nuther blog.  The second thing that I think is equally important, would be establishing a church of small groups.  I believe the small group experience is so important to the life of the church that it needs to be at the very heart of the structure of the congregation.  We get so close to it with activities that we use to create the small group atmosphere.  We study together in smaller classes, we sing in choirs or praise teams, we find other places where we can connect with a group that is smaller than the total worshipping community.  We hunger for those experiences.  How many times do people join a church our size, only to find themselves out the back door in 8 months after not connecting into the church family.  You can do almost anything from the power of small groups in your church. Missions?  Perhaps one of your small groups will decide to do a mission trip together.  Maybe several of them will do it.  Christian Education?  Small groups are one of the best ways people grow in their faith.  Even traditional Sunday School classes have been successful small groups in the past.  Stewardship?  Evangelism?  Don’t you wish you had a way to teach every small group about Stewardship?  When have you met members of a successful small group that aren’t on fire to invite others into their experience?  Pastoral Care?  Who can care more for God’s people than the people who gather together and pray together and support each other?

Small Groups are the very heart of where we are going.  I believe that if we are to grow at all as God’s people in this place, small groups will be the engine to make it grow.  It is where the Spirit works together with God’s word, connecting people together in faith. 

What are your life rules?

Published
by
Pastor Bill Bendert
on September 5, 2008
in Random
. 2 Comments

Every one of us lives by a set of “life rules.”  You can see them at work all around you, and you might even know a few of your own.  Things like–”He hit me first,” or “I’ll treat others like they treat me” are simple examples of life rules.  Often time we have one set of rules for how we live and relate with God, and another set for how we relate to others.  For instance, when I am out playing golf with strangers, and they are swearing up a storm, I love the look on their faces when they find out at the 18th hole that I am a pastor (I always wait to tell them!).  Once they find out my vocation, they immediately change their life rules.  It’s okay to swear and tell dirty jokes to friends–even strangers.  But not to one of God’s representatives!  They apologize all over themselves. I usually remind them that I’m not the one who would be offended. 

In any case, God’s word tells us a very different story.  God says that the health and maturity of our relationship with others directly reflects the maturity and health of our relationship with God.  When Jesus was asked which was the greatest of the commandments, he said there were TWO:  Love God with all you got AND love your neighbor as you love yourself.  They are directly connected.

And so, when I forgive others, how do I forgive them?  Do I forgive them in the same way that God forgives me?  Or do I tend to forgive as I feel others are worthy of being forgiven?  Do I accept others as Christ accepted me and died for me on the cross? 

In our sermon series that begins this Sunday (September 7th) we will be using Andy Stanley’s sermon series called “Life Rules” to look at the health of our relationship with God through the lens of our relationship with others.  We will never love like God has loved us, but as followers of Christ we are slowly becoming like Christ, day by day, decision by decision.  We don’t love others so that God will love us more.  We love others BECAUSE God has loved us so much.  And so we love others and we grow in that ability to love.

Come join us as we walk through some simple life rules for our lives:
Forgive…Accept…Serve…Encourage…Submit.

Where can we grow as God’s people?  And in the process of understanding ourselves better, can we come to understand God’s love for us in a new way?

Pastor Bill   <><…….

Remembering a Friend

Published
by
Pastor Bill Bendert
on August 22, 2008
in Random
. 0 Comments

I recently shared in worship my personal sadness at the loss of our Bishop, Rev. John Schreiber. John was only 47 years old. I grieve his loss with the rest of our Synod, not only because John was so young or because of the impact this will have on his family. I grieve our loss because as a Bishop—and this is the highest tribute I can pay to John or any bishop—he was my pastor. You don’t always find that in a bishop of our church. Our bishops give all of themselves in the ministry of the church. But many times they are great administrators and visionaries of the church, but they are not great pastors to the pastors. John was. The times I have spoken to Bishop John, he always listened with a pastor’s ear and spoke from his heart. He lifted me up during some times when I was feeling pretty low. In all of my years of being a pastor, for one of the few times, I had a pastor. I will miss that with all my heart.
I know that for many of you reading this here at King of Kings, you also know what it is like to lose a pastor when you are not ready to do so. It is a very unsettling feeling. Pastors come and go from congregations, but when it is from an untimely death, it is always a deep tragedy. I truly feel with many of you in a way that maybe I did not before. It is quite a loss.
One of my favorite passages from Scripture is Hebrews 11 & 12. It is filled with the great stories of faith that we hold so dear in the Bible. After spending an entire chapter recalling the great acts of faith on the part of people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses and the like, the writer of Hebrews uses an image that is as contemporary as our modern Olympics. He describes each of us as a runner in a marathon. Do you remember what it was like in the Bird’s Nest in Beijing when the runners would enter the stadium? There were thousands there cheering on the runners with a sound that is barely imaginable. Hebrews tells us that we are surrounded by such a cloud of great witnesses, cheering each of us on in our faith as we run the same race they did. There are faces in the crowd that we have known from long ago. Certainly there are Abraham and Sarah, Moses and David, Peter and Paul, Mary-the mother of Jesus, Lydia and thousands of other. There are those we know from our recent past—our grandparents and parents, our mentors and friends. And now, there is John. Like any runner, each of us scans the stands for the faces that we are familiar with, looking for those who cheer us on. And as Hebrews says in chapter 12, verse 2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”
We fix our eyes on Jesus!

An Organism–Not an Organization

Published
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Pastor Bill Bendert
on August 6, 2008
in Random
. 0 Comments

I’ve been doing a lot of church reading lately.  Many of the books have the same general theme to them about the church reaching out beyond itself and not becoming closed in on itself.  One of the themes that I hear over and over again is that the church is an organism, not an organization.  The church is not a constitution and a series of governing boards and committees.  It is always described as “The body of Christ.”  Any body is a living thing.  And when something is living, it is always changing.  It never stays the same. When it does, it dies.  Our bodies are constantly changing, constantly renewing themselves.  Think of those things that are still in your bodies that you don’t need anymore because you have changed.  An appendix… wisdom teeth… they were once important parts.  But now because of change and adaptation, they are no longer needed, in fact many times they get in the way.

We are the body of Christ, and individually members of that body.  We are constantly changing and growing. As I was reading this, I flashed on our logo.  What a God sighting it was!  If you haven’t taken a look recently at our logo, take a fresh look.  Not the Know-Grow-Sow words!  The picture!  It is trees; not just one tree but several trees.  All at different heights, different stages of growth.  Not just one tree, but many trees. And there are leaves… lots of leaves.  Leaves that will grow and bring life, and then drop off in the fall only for new ones to come again.  THAT’s who we are as the body of Christ. We are constantly changing, always growing, losing some leaves only to grow others in their place.  We are all at different places in our spiritual walk, but all pointing together to the same Sun (Son!). 

What a joy it is to be a part of the living body of Christ. 

Contemporary or Traditional?

Published
by
admin
on July 21, 2008
in Housekeeping and Worship
. 6 Comments

One of the recommendations from Dr. Hunter in our consultation is that we no longer refer to our services as “contemporary” and “traditional.”  In the history of our own church, as well as many churches, those two words have been at the center of what some call “the worship wars.”  It is as if some would want to say that contemporary is relevant, where traditional is no longer relevant in our fast changing culture. 

Paul and I have been looking at other churches who have two different styles of worship for ideas on what one would call the services if you don’t use these terms.  Suffice it to say that a quick perusal of web pages shows that most churches use these terms to identify their services.  But does traditional and contemporary really reflect the nature of the services?  Or are they terms that are descriptive of the music styles? Or something else?

For instance… we use the video screens, graphics and video clips at all three of our services.  Doesn’t that make them “contemporary?”  When we sing a hymn at one of our early services, does that mean we are being “traditional?”  The guitar and drums are more ancient instruments than the organ ever will be.  Does that mean an organ is “contemporary?”  The new hymnal was printed in 2007.  Isn’t that contemporary?  Do you see where I’m going with this?  In thinking about this, we tend to use these terms as ways of talking about what speaks to us, and what does not speak to us, in worship.  Perhaps these terms really have been misused and need a fresh looking at.  Truthfully, I’m throwing this out there to see if it generates any discussion.  I have found some churches that have come up with “names” for their services, and they go on in their literature to describe the instrumentation of their service which is what some people look for in a service.  I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on this, as well as some creative ideas for service names. 

What do you think?

New Blog

Published
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admin
on May 3, 2008
in Housekeeping and Random
. 0 Comments

We decided to host Pastor’s Blog 100% on our own servers! This gives us the flexibility to do things the way we want and control layout, design, and all that fun stuff.

You are still able to view Pastor’s old blog, but be sure to bookmark this RSS Feed for all new content. Let me know if you have any problems with the feed or anything else by leaving a comment or sending me an email, thanks.
 

Jeff - Technical Coordinator