Annual Family Business Mtg & Pie Social

What a great time we had together tonight!

I believe many good things came out of the business that was discussed.

One important point of order, was the decision to make next year's annual family business mtg after church on a Sunday AM with a potluck, so it will be easier for all members to attend...

Here's a few highlights from the teaching I shared opening the mtg.:

(I will leave some copies of the full teaching in the foyer if you missed tonight's fun)

Prodigal Friendly Church:

1. Teach believers to appreciate diversity.

2. Teach believers to respect the spiritual journey of every person in the room.

3. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead people into the lifestyle changes they need to make.

4. Train people to understand the difference between these three things...absolutes, cultural expectations, and preferences.

5. Pray to God that there will be an authentic move of God in people in every church service you have.

"Let God renew and clean the heart, body, and spirit of a prodigal. When we try to clean people up it usually brings confusion."

party on, church

Essential commitments for leadership:

(remember: everyone's a leader, a minister and everyone needs a ministry)

If you were to look thru the NT for the phrase "make every effort," you'd find it 6x:

1. Vow to maintain integrity, 2 Peter 3:14

2. Vow to forgive those who hurt you, Hebrews 12:14,15

3. Vow to relax and trust God, Hebrews 4:11

4. Vow to be an ENCOURAGER, Romans 14:19

5. Vow to be a peacemaker, Ephesians 4:3

6. Vow to never stop growing, 2 Peter 1:5-8

Privileges of Church Membership:

Many people are confused, cautious, sceptical; fearing commitment, obligation...

But there are HEALTH BENEFITS

"helper's high"

regular acts of kindness or serving stimulate the release of endorphins

improve mood and immune system

lower blood pressure, improves self-esteem, increases sense of well-being, lowers stress

retired men who volunteer one day a week live two-and-a-half times longer than retired men who don't volunteer at all...

(this explains why Pastor Short may just out-live us all, unselfishness)

Romans 12:1-5

tithing income and time

1. A church family helps us grow up together

2. A church family moves us out of self-centered isolation

(the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at Sunday services...when we become careless about fellowship, everything else begins to slide too)

3. A church family is our primary place of service

"the difference between being a church attender and a church member is service. Attenders are spectators on the sidelines; members get involved in the ministry. Attenders are consumers; members are contributors. Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility..."

real life, abundant life begins when we ask the right question:

what can I give? not, what can I take?