Kelly and Connie’s Place

Mission Coach Training;

This week we had 2 of our teams, ACMC Team & Church Partnership Team (CP Team), fly into Orlando to go through a 3 day workshop on “Church Missions Coach Training”. There were 22 of us all together. They arrived Sunday night and we started the sessions first thing Monday morning. Our 2 instructors flew in from New Mexico.

Kelly in the back, running the sound system

The Fly In The Ointment = Snow Day

On Monday, the city shut down our water to test the underground water tank on our property. How can you have 90+ staff people come to work with no bathroom facilities…you can’t. Our Executive Vice President, being from Minnesota, declared Monday a “Snow Day” and closed the office. J (Really! A snow day in Florida, that’s what he said.)

HEY, What About Us?

That was great for them, but we still had 20+ people coming for a 3 day event. Now we had no water, no bathrooms and no support staff to cook meals. OK, not a problem, we had it covered. We had bottled water, ordered “Port-a-Potties” and catered in food for one day. I was in charge of food pick-up. It was a little inconvenient but we were all missionaries and used to these kinds of things (and worse).

Our 2 Instructors, Barry on the left & Matt on the right

Lee with the ACMC Team & Tom with the CP Team getting better acquainted

A Second Fly In The Ointment = FAY

OK, the “Snow Day” on Monday was now followed on Tuesday by a “Hurricane Day.” (Is that possible?) Again, the office was closed pending this oncoming storm. WAIT! This means no support staff for a 2^nd day, and we hadn’t counted on that…. “no cooks” and all restaurants would be closed.

Taking a break between sessions

Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Now, Kelly and I would also have to be chief cook (if there’s electricity) and bottle washers and prepare 20+ guests for a possible Hurricane. This meant calming down our guests while we batten down the hatches, and compete with 1000’s of other Floridians flocking to nearby stores to stock up on candles, more bottled water and edible food (if we’re unable to cook without electricity) for 20+ people.

Greg, Larry & Curtis discussing missions between sessions

Kelly discussing details with instructor Barry

Near Miss

Thanks to prayers, the hurricane did not materialize but remained a tropical storm. We’re a little soggy (no, a LOT soggy), but we retained our electricity and the guys pitched in and helped in the kitchen. (See photo below.) We ate well – too well! Wednesday the office re-opened, the staff came back, including the chef, and we finished our sessions. No flights were canceled so everyone made it home as scheduled. The whole event was a great success…God is good!

Connie and her newly recruited kitchen help

(Photo above) It’s 7 AM Tuesday, and Mike & Greg (to my left) are fixing scrambled eggs for breakfast. Joe, (front right) is slicing baked chicken breast to top our salads later for lunch. I’m overseeing the guys (and watching the bacon in the oven). Joe was enjoying the “kitchenaid knife” a little too much, so the rest of us were staying well away from him.

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The other day, Kelly stepped outside our front door and there in front of him were 4 Florida ringneck snakes in this little bunch, as you see in the photo below. Look at those colors, aren’t they striking?!!

4 Central Florida Ringneck Snakes

We love these little guys, and they ARE little. Actually they are about the size of a #2 pencil, which is a ringneck’s typical size. The average adult size is 6-10 inches. They have a skinny black body with a bright orange or yellow neck ring. The belly is a captivating bright orange, yellow or red as seen above.

Here You See The Rings Around the Necks, As The 4 Snakes Disband

HABITAT:

Typically, they live in mulch and leaves under shrubs and feed on small lizards, earthworms, and slugs. They are as harmless as an earthworm with a mouth and teeth so small they couldn’t hurt anyone if they did bite them.

4 Ringneck Snakes Retreat Into Their Habitat

Kelly and I are constantly reminded of God’s handy work in creation by the beauty we see daily living here in Florida. It’s great to have this type of forum to share it with you. Come and visit us in Orlando and you can enjoy it all first hand.

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HOW OLD IS TOO OLD IN MISSIONS

Is the age “67” too old? Actually, we like to leave that one up to God. I mean, who are we to question God’s calling? All we have to do is discern:

• if they really heard from God
• are they missionary material
• if their values and vision fit those of PIONEERS
• can we help them fulfill their call

Last week, Aug 2-8, we had 25 new missionary candidates go through a week of orientation on our Orlando campus. This is our fourth group for the year. And yes, we had a young lady who was 67 yrs young. I have to say she has more energy than Kelly and I put together, and her passion for God was outstanding. In reality, the real record setting age was a young fellow who was just 18. His vision is to serve one year on the field before he returns to the US to start his college studies.

You’ve heard the age range: here are a few more statistics: 25 candidates – 11 singles (5 females & 6 males) and 7 couples. They came from the following states: CA, CO, DE, FL, IA, LA, MD, OH, TX, SC, TN, and WA. And, where do they want to serve? There were 7 who aren’t clear yet as to where God will have them serve, and the rest indicated: Vietnam, Thailand, India & and at least 5 other security sensitive countries that are best left unmentioned.

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Am I serious? Is my church missing? No, I’m talking about a GREAT book that I just finished reading. It struck a chord with me because it deals with an issue that has crept into many of our beloved congregations today. It could be a growing sentiment in your church.

Is there a chance you are hearing similar comments from your congregation, from those who are older, 50’s and up, whose life is closely tied into church? Are they struggling with relinquishing control and influence to: “change” and the “younger generation”?

Who Stole My Church is authored by a talented writer and pastor of 47+ yrs, Gordon MacDonald. It’s a captivating narrative that places the reader right in the middle of these church people’s lives. Even though they are fictional characters, you could very well find each one of them sitting in your church, only their name would be different. I thought this comment from MacDonald was very revealing about what he was about to share: “The specific reason for this meeting came out of an organizational meltdown that our membership had experienced in a congregational business meeting the week before…”

Tipping Point

Did he say “organizational meltdown”? He was describing what one would call a “tipping point” for this fictional church. They were on the brink of change or no change. (If you are from the two older generations you have probably heard similar comments, or maybe uttered them yourself, under your breath of course.) What are some of the comments this pastor was hearing? “The music is too loud and I miss singing the old hymns.” “Can’t we sing those songs without having to stand all the time?” “Why don’t more young people join the choir?” And for some churches, “I miss the choir, now all we have is a ‘praise band’ with 5 people standing up front. We can’t sing harmony to these new songs, and I wish we would go back to using the organ.”

Reinventing Church

We’ve all witnessed these changes to some degree over the past 10-20 years and made adjustments (we thought). Some we’ve liked, others were more difficult. Changes like; not wearing a suit and tie, replacement of pews with individual chairs, abandoning the midweek prayer service, placing coffee kiosks in the church lobby, or bulletins replaced with overhead power-points. Here’s a big one, changing the name of the church. But honestly, are these the things that make a church, …a church?

4 Generations:

The book is not just for the builders and boomers. All generations can grasp a better understanding of each other as we; ‘find a way to move gracefully into the 21^st century.’ If not, as MacDonald says: “Any church that has not turned its face toward the younger generation will simply cease to exist. We’re not talking decades—we’re talking just a few years.”

Anyway, I couldn’t put the book down. And last Sunday, we gave a copy of the book to our pastor and are recommending it to other pastors. We’ve seen give and take among the generations within our church, and that is very encouraging. Not that we’ve got it all figured out, but walking in love and submission is a major part of seeing God’s hand at work in His body.

If you’re wondering, here are the categories for the 4 generations: Builders (born before 1946), Boomers (1946-1964), Busters (1965-1983), & Bridgers (1984-2002) sometimes called Mosaics. Give the book a try, and happy reading. (Oh yeah, next time you see one of those bridgers at church with a tattoo and a couple of piercings in their eyebrow…give ‘em a hug! They could be your somebody’s grandchild, yours maybe?)

A great follow up to this book is “One Church Four Generations” Understanding and reaching all ages in your church, by Gary L. McIntosh.

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