Another Season Coming to a Close

It is the advent of Fall and the signs of the seasonal shift are everywhere: leaves are changing colors, cooler temperatures, etc.  For the inaugural season of the Community Garden, the ending is bittersweet.  I, myself, did not put anywhere near as much time as my wife did in the garden.  For the past five months, it has been a daily pressure for her physically and mentally.  Everyday, if she was not in the garden weeding and picking, she was thinking about it.  She would think about where the food was going to go or if she would have to water the garden.  Yes, it was a daily pressure.

Now, as I said, we are nearing the end.  All that is left in the garden are string beans.  Everything else has been mowed over.

So, now we have a choice to make: do we plant the garden again next year?  We did learn some valuable lessons this season.  DeAnne would confirm she learned more about herself than she thought possible just from gardening.

I learned that the quote from the movie "Field of Dreams" does not cover everything.  The ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson whispered from the Iowa corn field, "if you build it, he will come."  Well, we built this garden and volunteers did not show.

It may just be a question of location: maybe if the garden were planted elsewhere?  Then that led me to ask if I was planted elsewhere, would I be more fruitful?

Hard to say, but now that the gardening season is ending, we do have the time to think, pray, and discuss it.

The Body of Christ is Broken, part 3

I was reading over parts 1 and 2 (from 2010) for this piece and decided it needed an updating if only to report the successes in 2011 and 2012.
In late 2011, my wife and I delivered some used toys we had collected to a church, Crossroads Baptist, located north on Highway 57 in Oakland City, Indiana. The church was collecting the toys (and also blankets) for a giveaway for Christmas.
While delivering the toys, we met Jeanne Lee, administrator of the giveaway.  We struck up a conversation about churches working together.  She was very interested in teaming up to serve the community.  We decided to meet at a later time to talk more.
In early 2012, we met again with Jeanne Lee.  She brought along a couple from Crossroads who were community-minded, Roger and Candy Pancake.
We talked about working together despite differences in doctrine and theology.  It was clear we held serving in the name of Jesus, showing His love, was more important than focusing on which denomination was "more right."
We scheduled three events to partner together: a community baby shower in May 2012, a back-to-school giveaway in late summer 2012, and the toy/blanket giveaway in December 2012.
While the folks from Crossroads were not able to help out at the Community Baby Shower, we did get together for the Back-to-School giveaway and the toy/blanket giveaway.  In fact, the toy/blanket giveaway marked the first full year of our partnership.

Also in 2012, we met Heath Shradden and his wife, Michelle, from Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in Princeton, Indiana.  They direct a food ministry at the church.  Heath and I have become good friends and we help them when we can, most often at their monthly end-of-the-month food giveaways. 
Heath also is a leader in the March for Jesus ministry that conducts a non-denominational prayer march followed by a worship/praise concert from many churches.  The march is in October of each year.

I would love to say there were only successes but there are two negatives.  A pastor from a local church did ask our church to help his ministry financially.  We stated we did not have the funds to support another ministry but would love to team up.  He said he was excited about the prospects and wanted to talk again.  We exchanged email addresses and then, nothing.  I wrote him twice to followup but he did not respond.

Also while ministering with Heath in Illinois collecting food for a giveaway, we met a pastor from a local church in Mount Carmel, Illinois, who requested we take all the food we collected to a local food bank in Mount Carmel rather than the food bank in Princeton.  Even though we agreed, it was an intense discussion and I decided to look into the matter more.

I learned that the food bank in Mount Carmel has been struggling as have all food banks.  The recession has made the need for food even tougher as prices continue to climb.  Perhaps this pastor felt we were "stealing" from the Mount Carmel needy?  Only God knows.  Either way, the pastor obviously felt we were out of our "jurisdiction," so to speak.

So there you have it.  Is the Body broken?  Oh, yes, but signs of healing are evident.  Keep moving forward!

Brian

Goodbye, Dan and Sue!

In 2004, my family and I visited Lighthouse Christian Fellowship for the first time. At that time, we met Pastor Dan Caldwell and his wife, Sue. When we met them, my wife and I had went through a very hard time in our ministry and were feeling very discouraged. I was also having trouble keeping a job. All in all, it was very stressful.


We were showered with love and felt very welcome there even though we were just visiting.

Later that year, we announced to our families that we were moving to Arkansas to start a new life away from Indiana. In all the time in Arkansas, we were reminded of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship and Pastors Dan and Sue Caldwell.

Finally, after 3 years in Arkansas, we decided to move back to Indiana. Before securing a job or even a place of our own to stay in, we were at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship for church the next Sunday. And we have been there ever since.

Many times have I entered the office of Pastor Dan Caldwell; not once was I turned away. Not once was I told to make an appointment. Sadly, I have had pastors that did require an appointment from me. Dan always made time as soon as he possibly could to do what he could. Often, I just needed to vent and let off steam about something that was frustrating me. He always listened.

I remember well attending a leadership conference that Pastor Dan led in Boonville, Indiana. A lady there stopped me and asked, “Do you belong to the Caldwell’s?” I assumed she was asking if I attend Lighthouse Christian Fellowship so I responded that I did. She then said, “I knew it. You favor the Ashby’s.” “Ashby” is Sue’s maiden name. I told Dan and Sue about it. Sue just smiled and said, “We’ll claim you.” And that sums up Dan and Sue Caldwell: they are family. My family and I love them dearly and are very blessed to have them in our lives. We are excited for them as they embark on this new journey. God bless you, Dan and Sue.

Mental Vote?!

I met someone this morning who said they cast a "mental vote" for this election season.  And this person was happy with the results.

I find it interesting a person who did not vote would care one way or the other how an election turned out.  By not voting, all you are doing is trusting your opinion to the majority.  Basically, whatever they decide is alright with you.

Here in Indiana, we were voting not only for the President of the United States, we were also voting for a new Governor, a Senator, and a Congressman.  Not to mention the local and state government offices as well. 

That is a lot of trust and faith to place in the electorate to not place an actual vote, but instead cast the "mental vote."

On a side note, the Associated Press is reporting voter turnout is lower than 2008 and even in 2004.  However, early voting in 2012 was higher than 2008.  According to this news and the aforementioned person who cast their "mental vote," it is safe to say the majority of Americans are not Republican, Democrat, Independent or undecided.  They are uncaring.

The Plan

In another post, I had mentioned a vision, a plan, that saw local churches coming together.  I saw each township in Gibson County being a "hub church" that connected to the other "hub churches" in the county.  The hub church of a particular township would work to coordinate the other local churches in that township to reach out and serve the community together.  Ultimately, the goal is to draw everyone together to worship God in unity, in spirit, and in truth.

Let me paint an economic benefit to churches working together.  Imagine all the combined resources (volunteers, money, etc) being focused locally in our communities. Similar ministries and projects combining would eliminate redundancy and waste.  It would also exponentially multiply effectiveness.

An Audacious Idea

Here's an idea: churches working together!  And I even have a plan!
I attend a church Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Somerville, Indiana.  We are partnering with Crossroads Baptist Church this summer to host a back-to-school backpack giveaway.

My question: why stop there?

Here's the concept: Gibson County is divided into 3 school districts: East, South, and North.  The county is even divided more into 10 townships.  Within each one of those townships, one church would align with a church from each of the other townships.  This would create a co-op of 10 churches within Gibson County working together to transform Gibson County!  The 10 churches would meet on a semi-regular basis to coordinate and chart community events and joint worship services for the county.  Sounds too easy, doesn't it?  Well, this is what God has shown me.

Once the co-op is firmly underway, we would begin looking at neighboring counties to do the same thing.  Adjacent to Gibson County are Edwards, White, and Wabash counties in Illinois.  In Indiana, Knox, Pike, Warrick, Posey, and Vanderburgh are our neighbors.

Like I said...audacious.

Here we go.

The Body of Christ is Broken, or is it?

Yesterday was a very good day. I met with a pastor from another church and he agreed that churches should work together. Our churches will begin reaching out to the neighborhood together this weekend! Praise God!