Category Archives: Community Impact

Quote from Rock Dillaman…

Posted on by

It was great, hearing Rock Dillaman at Mahaffey Camp. He spoke to those present about the ministry of the Church in society. I took a few moments and typed these words from his first sermon at Mahaffey Family Camp, 2012.

I want to begin this first night by reading something that Bill Hybels said a few years ago, “There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources to those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness. Still, to this day, the potential of the local church is almost more than I can grasp,” he said. “No other organization on earth is like the church — nothing even comes close.”

But notice how he began: “There’s nothing like the local church when it’s working right.”

But let me tell you something that I think you already know: There is nothing more tragic, more heartbreaking, more discouraging than the local church when it isn’t working right. Because when it isn’t working right, the ugliness is indescribable. The weakness is breathtaking. The potential is unfulfilled. And rather than comforting the grieving, it just creates more heartache than there already is in this world. And as I look across the church scene in our own nation, in many places, I see the church being ugly rather than breathtaking.

We’re not even evangelizing our own children very well. Do you know that a recent study has indicated 57% of young men and women raised in evangelical churches — as soon as they get out of high school — walk away from the faith and walk away from the church. 57%. I don’t think that many would be walking away if they were seeing something breathtaking. But I think many are walking away, by their own testimony, because they’ve just seen ugliness, division, infighting, power struggles, personality cults, love of tradition rather than love of lost people, refusal to change, lack of Spirit-power, lack of vision, business as usual, excuse-making, deadness of spirit, deadness of heart. When the church isn’t working — just makes you want to weep. — Rock Dillaman at Mahaffey Family Camp, 7/20/2012

May God make our local church breathtaking.

~Pastor Steve

Oh Be Careful Little Fingers What You Type…

Posted on by

Today I listened to Blaine Workman’s podcast: Learning to Speak TOBOG. He was speaking about our speaking — the words we say. He noted that if Paul were writing to the Ephesians today, he might say words like this:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth or flow from your fingers. Texting, twitter, facebook, blogs — they are all helpful tools for communicating in our digital age, none of them good or bad in and of themselves. But the rotting verbal garbage that some Christians are willing to post in texts or online is just appalling. It has no place among God s people. In some weird inexplicable way, talking to their electronic device somehow frees people to spew the most vile and corrupting talk in ways they’d be ashamed to do, speaking face to face with the real person. And brothers and sisters, the anonymity of cyberspace is no license for corrupting talk. If your brother sins against you, Jesus says, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. Today, we go tell the whole world in an anonymous post in a blog somewhere… ~Pastor Blaine Workman

That’s a bold thing for a pastor to say. It’s especially bold today, because it’s a quick way to be unfriended in social media.

Take a listen to Pastor Blaine yourself. Maybe you could post it on your own facebook or other social media page.

I dare you.

Holding on to Hope…

Posted on by

At Curwensville Alliance, on Easter Sunday there were 109 in the first service and 191 in the second. That’s 300, but of course, many were in both services. As I’ve talked to many concerning this great day at Curwensville Alliance, one of them remarked, “I wonder how many of them will be there next week.” The cynic that I used to be would concur, thinking, “Yeah — those Easter and Christmas People….. Tsk, tsk, tsk. They have no commitment to being in church regularly.” I have since repented of such cynicism. Thank you, God, for purging it from my heart.

The Bible tells us to be men and women of faith. We are to never lose heart, but to hope (Romans 12:12). Losing heart is the pathway toward despair. I have never heard anyone indicate it was a good place to be. On the contrary, despair is a great evil that wise people resist with all their hearts.

The concept of holding on to hope is connected with the resurrection of Jesus. Paul concludes what many call The Resurrection Chapter with the words, “58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Cor 15:58 — NIV) Despairing people do not stand firm in their faith in Christ. Only those who choose to hope continue to give themselves fully to the work of the Lord. Only those who thoroughly resist cynicism know that their labor in the Lord has meaning.

Some weeks ago I was speaking to a gentleman concerning some mutual friends who made the same sinful choices over and over. In our conversation, his cynicism was showing. I wanted to help him turn from that path, so I said to him these simple words: Don’t despair. I say the same to each of you who call Curwensville Alliance your church home.

Easter Sunday was glorious. The evidence of the resurrection of Christ shone in our congregation as we enjoyed the drama, the meal, the visiting, the music, and the message. Rather than asking ourselves, “I wonder how many will be there this week?” let’s take a different path. Let’s take a path of hope — hope that the same God who broke through into our lives would break through into the lives of our friends and loved ones. And let’s put some wheels on that hope by praying for and reconnecting with those who were here on Easter and inviting them to join us again this week.

Let’s leave the cynicism behind and live as people of faith.

At the Medical Center…

Posted on by

image

Yesterday, at the Dead Sea, Ronnie burned his feet on the pavement, so here I sit in the waiting room waiting to see what the doctor says.

The Mount of Olives and Gethsemane would be nice to see again, but what a blessing to hear Ronnie say, “God bless you for coming with me.”

The news is that Donnie and Beverly. If they have to return to the States today. it will be a long journey.

UPDATE: Ronnie is recovering in his room as of 4:00 p.m. Thanks for praying.

Baptisms…

Posted on by

September 10, 2011

Please forgive me for how poorly written this is. I just don’t have time for edits. Click any image for a larger view.

Today began with a trip to the Church of the Beatitudes on the traditional site of The Sermon on the Mount. While there we read the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. Afterward we sang together. There is something amazing about being with dozens of other groups, hearing them each singing songs in their own tongue as you recognize the melodies and singing along. Being there brought back memories of being there and Rev. Paul Cope asking Laurel to read the Scripture.

From there we went to the traditional location of The Feeding of the Five-thousand. Doran pointed out that this miracle was probably the most well-known of Jesus’ miracles because so many people witnessed it. Additionally, Jesus did this in the Galilee – a poor region of Israel. Providing them with food was scratching them where they itched.


Nearby is The Church of Peter’s Primacy – the church built to recall the place where Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” those three times.

As we stood outside of the church, it was remarkable to read the text and understand that, by the death Peter died, he showed that he did love Jesus with a self-giving, sacrificial love. The church on this location is beautiful.

Next we went to the town Jesus spent most of his ministry in, Capernaum.

We saw the location of Peter’s house and The Synagogue of Jesus. The synagogue of Jesus was destroyed and rebuilt at a later time. It sits right near a archeological discovery that is thought to be the house of Peter. If this is the house of Peter, then, as we often hear, “George Washington slept here,” one might say, “Jesus slept here.” Jesus had no where to rest his head, so he almost certainly would have found hospitality with Peter and in the home of Peter’s mother-in-law.

By the way, in 1986 the Roman Church built a church over Peter’s house. The church is very ugly in comparison to the other churches we have seem. It looks like the Millennium Falcon. Ugh.

Along the way we stopped at the place Doran believes that Jesus cast the demons out of the pigs. We teased a lot about bacon and the like. Doran feels sure this is the spot because it is the only place the pigs could have run off a cliff into the sea. Today, this area is a minefield. Literally. There are mines buried there.

Lunch was interesting. We had the option of fish or fish or pizza. I opted for fish – tilapia or St. Peter’s Fish – head and all. It was good, although the fries were just not what fries should taste like. Someone let me taste her pizza and I was glad I didn’t get it. I have decided that when in Israel, you should eat their national foods – that’s what they are the most skilled at preparing.

Then we headed off the a baptism service at the Jordan. The location was the same one as we used last year, but it was so much more crowded. We had to share our baptismal area with two other groups. I asked Chuck Campbell to help me and he and I baptized 26 people – 2 or three first time baptisms and the read renewal / recommitment. Over the past several days I had been talking to baptism candidates, making sure they knew what baptism is and that they understood what the rededication meant. Before the baptism, I shared my personal testimony and explained how our love for God is a great motivator to be baptized.

We ended our day taking a ship operated by a Messianic Jewish man across the Sea of Galilee. We boarded the boat and I began my devotional.

The weather, however, was extremely breezy. The last time, the boat operator took us onto the lake and shut down the engines. I did that devotional in the quiet of the boat. This time we continued and with the stiff wind, the devotion was, at best, a flop. Afterward, Daniel, the captain of the boat, was preparing to share some music and suddenly a Jet Ski came up beside us and swerving away, sprayed us with gallons of water. One of the people said that it was a baptism by sprinkling! I was soaked. Daniel reported it on the radio and then they came back and hit us again. This time, they sped off into the distance and spilled the Jet Ski. We never saw them again. Daniel presented some beautiful music and a spirit of worship prevailed.

Tonight we are going shopping in Tiberius. I am ready for bed.

What a great day!