I know that some of you are not all on board with the spiritual gifts series and push.  I get it!  I am hoping you will see that understanding your spiritual gifts and actually using them are going to be the driving force between seeing MABC actually grow and thrive and not just exist.

You see, the early church didn’t care much about attendance.  They were concerned with ENGAGEMENT!  Engagement is emotional involvement or commitment to something.  People get passionate about things they are involved in such as a hobby or a sports team.  Football fans are passionate about their team.  Fans will show up in sub-freezing weather, tailgate for hours and then sit for three hours or more in the cold to cheer on their team.  They will spend hundreds of dollars on tickets and merchandise because they are passionate and engaged. They are not just spectators but they cheer when their team scores or makes a great play.  They moan in agony when things aren’t going their way.  They don’t just go and sit for an hour and then leave.  They are invested and engaged.

We are not ever going to be an attractional church where people will come because we have a flashy band or the latest and greatest video boards and cool graphics.  We aren’t going to have camels and a petting zoo at Christmas. I know of a megachurch in Wichita that actually built “camel doors” into their church design just for Christmas!  We aren’t going to have advertising on TV.  Our livestream right now is not a multi-camera production that people are going to be “wow, you gotta watch this church’s service!’  Those are just the cold hard facts.

We are a church that will need to make an impact in our neighborhood by engaging community and the people in our community.  We need to focus on using our gifts in a few ways.  One way is to benefit those already here by helping them grow in the Lord and become engaged followers. We also use our gifts to create an environment that is welcoming and comfortable to those who happen to visit. Another way is to use them to reach those who aren’t here now or don’t know Jesus. We are planning some events to serve community and engage our neighbors.  Our centennial celebration will not just be a celebration for us but an opportunity to engage our neighbors. Hopefully you will plan on sticking around on March 23 to visit with our teams about where you can engage.

This is not just about enlarging our attendance but to engage people so that they may see the goodness of God – his compassion, mercy and love (1 Peter 2:9). People who use their gifts and are passionate about their church are “attractional” in and of themselves.  We don’t just want people to attend – that includes you – but we want them to be engaged by becoming followers of Jesus. Culture is shifting and looking for community.  Younger people are especially interested in being a part of something that is impactful in community. In the early church, the people were engaged…daily…not just for an hour on Sunday. You are the body of Christ and are important in helping the body grow.  If a child was not growing, we would be concerned and do everything we can – passionately – about helping the child grow.  Let’s be that passionate about helping the body of Christ grow and trusting that the Lord will help us to grow in return if we are obedient to the Great Commission. That’s how we ensure another hundred years of MABC.

Let’s be an engaged people passionate about showing the goodness of Jesus to those that need to know about him.  Let’s be passionate and engaged about finding those that need to know about Jesus and his desire for them to his followers!

Have a great week!  If you haven’t done your inventory, please take the time to do so. I believe that gifting evolves with time and spiritual maturity.  I also believe God pulls some of your lesser gifts to the forefront depending on your place in the body at any given time.

Pastor Rick 

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, 

Welcome to the Monday Morning Rewind on Tuesday morning!  Sherry and I could use some prayers.  I spent the rest of Sunday in bed even missing our small group Super Bowl party.  Sounds like I didn’t miss much!  Monday was pretty much the same.  Now I think Sherry has whatever I have after caring for me.

In Sunday’s teaching I shared some thoughts by author Jim Ramos on being a witness in your neighborhood, how that is the most likely place to start.  He said your witness is made or dismayed in your front yard.  On Friday and Saturday I had a few things pop up on my news feeds or social media about people observing our lives.  Here is one:

A man and his family – wife and three children – were having breakfast at a café.  The man had been playing a dot game with his kids while they waited for breakfast.  When he asked for the check, the waitress gave him the receipt for a meal already paid for – $85.  On the back was a handwritten note that said “Thank you for being the dad they need you to be regardless of who’s watching

People are watching even if you don’t notice it.  

Here is another:

A man was driving through his neighborhood when he noticed a cedar privacy fence down.  He decided to stop and ask about it.  The home was owned by a single mom with one son. The mom’s mom answered the door and shared the story. The young mom had lost her husband 3 years ago.  A couple of months ago she had been in a serious car wreck totaling her car and suffering some injuries. The older mom said her daughter had been trying to get it fixed but all the estimates came in at $6000 or more.  The man was back at the house the next day rebuilding her fence at his expense, a cost of about $2000. The man said “he has always been passionate about making a difference in his community.”

He also said little acts of kindness start a ripple effect.

You don’t have to spend $85 or $2000 but what little thing can you do in your neighborhood to start a ripple effect?  As you learn about your neighbors, think about one little thing that might mean a lot to them.  Can you bake? Bake them their favorite cookie, take it over and tell them you were thinking about them and is there anything you can pray about for them?  Can you mow?  Or it might be something as simple as picking up some fallen tree limbs in somebody’s yard or taking their grass clippings or leaves to the yard waste sight.  Can you write?  Send them a handwritten note letting them know that you noticed them doing something good for someone else.  They may not have done it expecting any recognition but they will still enjoy your kind words.  It will require you be intentional…don’t you hate it when I use that word!

How is your life living out in your front yard?

Rick Neubauer

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, godliness,  faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  I Timothy 6:11

Good Monday morning!

It is going to be a beautiful day “in the neighborhood.”  Enjoy it because tomorrow it’s back to 39 degrees. That’s a lot like life isn’t it?  Good followed by some bad?

I am continuing to dig in and look at how we can become better known within this neighborhood.  I am meeting this afternoon with the young man who wondered in to our church yesterday and then asked for prayers during our prayer time.  He said he was in a dark place.  I am going to go out on a limb and say that a good portion of what is going on is that he lacks real connection to someone or something that is meaningful.  I will let you know.

If loneliness is the issue, he is not alone.  According to a Harvard Graduate School of Education report, there is what is being called an epidemic of loneliness in our country:

• People between 30-44 years of age were the loneliest group — 29% of people in this age range said they were “frequently” or “always” lonely
• Among 18–29 year-olds the rate was 24%
• For 45–64 year-olds, the rate was 20%
• Adults aged 65 and older reported the lowest rate: 10% felt lonely

Those are astounding numbers given the amount of “social technology” that is being used.  The problem is, there are a lot of acquaintances being made, a lot of influencers being followed but there are very few relationships being made.  I mean, real “ginosko” kinds of relationships.  Ginosko means “to know”.  It can also mean “to learn to know” or “come to know.”  This is an experiential knowledge gained through doing life together.  Kind of like learning about your neighbor.  It is knowing their hopes and dreams, what motivates them, what is hurting them and what life is like for them.

Carey Nieuwhof is a pastor, an author and speaker who focuses on helping churches make a greater impact in their communities.   Here are a few quotes I have picked up in my reading lately from Carey that should help us to see that “being a loving neighbor” is a good thing.

When the church becomes a club or already-convinced insiders, then the church has lost its mission.  (Club could also be construed as holy-huddle! P.R.)

This isn’t ‘church growth for the sake of church growth.’  If that’s all it is, it will fail. Churches that just want to grow to prop up the institution, pad their numbers or simply want “a story to tell” miss the point. (We shouldn’t be interested in building an MABC kingdom but helping to build “the Kingdom.” P.R.)

And finally…If God’s love truly compels us to reach out to the world, if we genuinely care about our neighbors who are not like us, and if we truly decide to love our enemies, the world might come running.  But right now, the church is spectacularly easy to ignore or dismiss. (Ouch! P.R)

Please be in prayer about how we might reach “our neighbors,” neighbors like the young man who was wandering the street yesterday and saw that worship began at 10:30 am.  It was 10:15 am and he thought…might as well go in.  Thank you to those who took the time to speak to him.

It made him feel valued. ( L.O.Valued E..)  

Pastor Rick

I have been rehashing yesterday’s message in my mind thinking about the disciples’ ministry in their “neighborhood.  Acts chapter 2 says they shared with those in need, worshipped together, shared their meals and enjoyed the good will of all the people.   And each day it says that the Lord added to their number.  In Acts 5 we find them all together again and the people held them in high regard.  They were reluctant to join the disciples as followers but…yet more and more people believed and joined the “crowd” so to speak.

What is it that the neighborhood around MABC needs?  What needs do we as a church need to meet in order that our neighbors know that we love them?  It would be interesting to see how many of you who attend MABC actually live in the neighborhood boundaries.  The Delano District’s boundaries are Meridian Ave on the west, the river to the north and the east and then Kellogg to the south.  How many of us in the Sunday morning crowd live within that 1.6 square miles?   I don’t ask that to be mean.  My point is that we have to work that much harder to be a “neighborhood” church when we aren’t in the neighborhood!   We really have to be intentional in what we want to see take place.

I have been looking at demographics this morning trying to get a picture of the neighborhood.  In terms of age, the greatest population group looks to be 20-30 year olds followed by a smaller group of 35-45 year olds.  The population appears to be 60% male to 40% female.  Therein lies a little bit of a struggle for us as MABC.  The neighborhood has an extremely small population of people from 65 on up whereas we are heavy in that age group.  Again, not a bad thing but not representative of the neighborhood makeup.  And, we are probably 60% female and 40% male.  Again, not saying that is a bad thing but we do not look like our neighborhood.

We need to do some soul searching and pray for wisdom and guidance as to where we focus our energies in the future.  I have always been a “let’s get the kids and mom and dad will follow” kind of guy.  However, when we look at our neighborhood, only a quarter of the residents are married couple families.  And out of those couples, only half of them have children.  The average household size in the District is 2.5 people.  That tells me there isn’t a lot of children in our neighborhood.  Does that mean we don’t do children and youth?  No, it means that we shouldn’t expect high numbers at this time.  We take care of the kids we have been given.  On Monday night, our Awana numbers will consist mainly of grandkids of members and those grandkids don’t live in our neighborhood.  Grandma is bringing them.  I love them to death and I try to bring my grands when they don’t have anything else to do.  There just aren’t many in our neighborhood.

Would you please be in serious prayer about what God is asking us to do? He has placed us here in the Delano District and there has to be a reason for us to still be doing ministry after nearly 100 years.  I recently read that there is 3 church closures in the US for every church plant.  We aren’t in that statistic and I don’t believe we will be if we are earnestly seeking God’s will for MABC here in this neighborhood. Not our will but his.

Have a great week!  Be blessed but by all means, be a blessing to a neighbor in some way.

P.R.

Brrrr…Good (?) Monday Morning,

If you are out and about this morning bundle up and be safe on the roads.  I will not be in the office this morning but will be in for an extended period tomorrow and then back in town for the Centennial Anniversary meeting Wednesday night.

Being a good neighbor is our focus right now just in case you seemed to have missed it.   Sherry and I were having a cup of coffee this morning discussing an offer on our house in Augusta as she opened her YouVersion Bible app. She said maybe you are on to something. Listen to the verse of the day…

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.     Rom 12:10

In this verse, love is the philia or brotherly love the Bible speaks of and that fits well with the honoring part of the verse.  If you recall yesterday’s message, philia is based on mutual respect and admiration for one another.  The Greek for honoring here means the price of something or to value.  In other words, we are to value one another for what each of us brings to the table.  Everyone has something of worth to offer…EVERYONE!  As a loving neighbor, we should make it our mission to discover just what that is in those we are called to love.  This covers the L and the V in our L.O.V.E acrostic from yesterday – Learn and Value.  Is it going to be difficult to learn these things and value others? Yes!  That is why Jesus commanded it and not just merely suggested it.

In a Harvard study released last October, 1 in 5 Americans reported feeling lonely.  This is amazing to me considering all the technology we have designed for social connectedness.   Of those who reported being lonely 81% said the experienced anxiety or depression, felt like they had no purpose in life and that their place in the world was not important.  In addition, 67% felt like they were not part of a meaningful group and 61% said they lacked close friends or family.

Here were some of the key recommendations to overcoming the problem:

1.  Promote a culture of care and service.   I wonder why “one another” is mentioned approximately 100 times in the Bible. If we do the “one anothers” in the Bible we could move this along.

2.  Take time to reach out to friends and family.  I would include take time to reach out to your neighbors.

One more solution was to create more community activities for your neighbors.  We mentioned that yesterday as well.  The MABC Leadership team has been discussing the idea of trying to do a community activity at least once a quarter in this new year.

There are no easy solutions.  We will all – young, old and in-between – need to play a part in this. Start today.  Reach out to a neighbor and check on them.  The weather, as much as we hate it, gives you ample reason to check in…”How are you doing in this cold weather?”

Pastor Rick