Meadowbrook Church

MEADOWBROOK FAMILY FOCUS

Volume 11 Issue 5 August 2008

How Much Would It Take?

I recently learned of the online shoe retailer Zappos and their strategy to build their company. They hire employees, put them through four weeks of training and immersion into the Zappos culture and then they make "The Offer": The company says to its newest employees, "If you quit today we will pay you for the amount of time you've worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus." Zappos actually bribes its employees to quit! They figure that if you take the offer then you weren't the type of employee with the type of commitment that they need.

I immediately reflected on my own situation. What would it take for me to leave Meadowbrook Church where I serve as lead pastor? I thought about $1 million. Nope. I thought about $10 million. That's a lot of money and I could do a lot of ministry and a lot of good in a lot of places, but the answer was no. When I leaped to the thought of $100 million it was also a quick no.

 Sound crazy? The fact of the matter is that God is more important to me than all of the money in the world, AND, I believe that God wants me serving Him and others at Meadowbrook. I live and serve at His pleasure. So, I wouldn't leave any place that God has planted my life for any amount of money.

 What about you? Are you planted in the life (work, family, relationships, etc.) that God has called you to? If not, why not? AND, is there any amount of money that could entice you to leave the place of God's calling? If so, then money is more important to you than God.

 Something to ponder.

 What Does God Will for His Church?

The Apostle Paul exhorts in First Timothy 2:8, "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer..."

 What does God want us to pray?

 There are many things that God wants us to pray about and the "call" is God's invitation to us to join Him in what He is doing in our world. Our prayers release His presence and power upon people and circumstances for which God has prompted us to pray.

Recently the Meadowbrook family was polled with this question, "If you could only pray one prayer for the Church of Jesus Christ, what would that be?"

 Dozens of you prayerfully thought about what God would want you to pray and you responded with your request in writing. Pastor Scott will be teaching on 5 different Sundays from the Bible what God says about YOUR prayer requests.

Why are we embarking on this series of worship gatherings?

1. We want to see what God wants His Church to be and do.

2. We want to become a praying people who pray biblically, powerfully and with divine insight.

3. We want to greatly honor and glorify Christ with the kind of church Meadowbrook becomes.

4. We want God to use Meadowbrook in eternal, life-changing and world impacting ways.

 Beginning August 17 plan to attend, bring your Bible, and prepare your heart so that God might speak deeply into all of us.

 UPDATE: James Appleby 

As mentioned in the last issue James and Marilyn Appleby plan to join the Meadowbrook ministry as Executive Pastor in October. They are spending the summer raising funds and transitioning away from their current ministry in Wisconsin.

(Remember: James will not receive a salary from Meadowbrook. Raising support is necessary.)

 Please continue to pray for them. The fund raising has had a very slow start, no doubt in part because of the current economic difficulties across the US. And, James' mother's health has declined so that she is now living with him. This of course is an additional challenge and financial concern.

They remain optimistic and look forward to the move.

LIFE BUILDING Update 

Phase 1 on Target

Phase 1 of our LIFE BUILDING effort was the development of a Gathering Place for worship and other community events.

We began worshiping in the Gathering Place in March and since that time have also been able to use the facility for Parent's Night Out, ministry team meetings, SHARE Groups, Recovery Group, youth gatherings and two memorial services.

 Soon we'll also have ESL training, MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), a Blood Drive (8/19) and a leadership retreat.

 As a way of serving our community in the Gathering Place we had a sister church hold a ministry celebration, a Jewish group hold worship services and a paralegal support group.

 All of this is in keeping with our vision for this space to be used to worship God and bless people every day of the week.

Kitchen Donation

Some of you have noticed that we now have a hole in the wall between the kitchen and lobby. Generously we have had donated to us  new cabinetry and we'll soon have a new serving counter that will better facilitate our serving refreshments and meals. Special thanks to Martha Jones for her contacts with the donors and to Bob Dalziel for his labor to install.

Phase 2 Still Pending

We're still praying and believing for additional funds to be able to develop Phase 2 where we will have more multi-purpose space for PromiseLand, CSS, youth, discipleship and community events.

The architect has done the drawings and the contractor is ready to go. We're simply waiting on the funds. The current LB commitments were for Phase 1. We're needing new donors or additional donations from current donors in order to complete the dream.

Contact Us

If you sense that God is leading you to participate in some way to the development of Phase 2 please contact one of our Elders or the Church Office.

 LIFE BUILDING

Total Commitments: $564,750

Contributed To Date: $358,739

 Women's Shelter Opens

Elaina Dulaney and Judy Chambers traveled to New Delhi, India July 17-23 for the grand opening of "Elaina Hall". The women's shelter is dedicated for ministry to battered women and is named after Elaina because of her efforts in raising the $20,000 needed for construction.

The shelter will operate under the leadership of Ramesh and Gloria Landge, directors of Cooperative Outreach of India.

In addition to attending the grand opening festivities, Elaina and Judy spoke to groups of women and visited the COI school for children and a tailoring class (pictured) for women. The goal is to give those they serve "life skills" with which they can make a living and "faith experiences" with Christ with which they can make a life.

 Judy remarked, "It was amazing to see God's presence, provision and guidance every step of the way. The money that was sent to build the shelter was used in a way that will make an eternal difference in so many lives."

Elaina observed that the shelter is the most beautiful building in the neighborhood, an indicator of the kind of care God wants to provide for women in crisis. However, all the money received was spent upon the building itself. There is still a need for funding in order to furnish it throughout in a way that will meet needs and restore lives. "I believe that God is continuing to call us to support this project by helping to raise funds in order to provide furnishings, computers, and training for the staff. Perhaps  we could take a team of 5-8 women who could teach jewelry making, cake decorating/baking or other skills that would help women become employable," Elaina explained. "The women also need basic hygiene training so nurses would be helpful to teach the women. Truly this project has just begun."