So, When Do You Know You’ve Reached the Mountaintop?

Sharing Lives—Connecting Journeys—Following Christ

From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. Psalm 61:2-3

Our life group is made up of very diverse and unique individuals. Spanning almost 40 years difference in age, some married and some single. We represent a wide range of interests and life circumstances and each person brings a unique perspective. We often utilize the “Heart to Heart” discussion resource that is available to our life group leaders (we have more if you need one). As people open their lives and share stories of their journey initiated by questions asked during the game I am often surprised by what is shared. One of our younger members drew the card “ask any person a question”. Turning to one of our more seasoned members with a great history of life experiences he asked, “What was your most triumphant moment”? She replied in a somewhat low key manner, “the moment I summited McKinley”. I think everyone in the room turned and looked at her to see if she was serious. Several in our group are outdoor enthusiasts and a few even have climbed mountains but none have even attempted McKinley. Called “Denali” at 20,320 feet she is the tallest peak that graces the continent of North America. As we continued on with the game each person that could, would ask her additional questions to expand on her experience. She graciously complied and an incredible story of perseverance began to unfold.

Climbing with a professional guide and an experienced team of outdoor enthusiasts the endeavor appeared well planned and orchestrated. However even in the best laid plans events may still unfold that no one could have anticipated. After the group attained the base camp at 16,000 feet it became evident that the guide himself was suffering from altitude sickness and would be physical unable to complete the ascent. The decision was made to leave two people to care for the guide and the rest to continue on up the mountain. Our group member described the awesome beauty and panorama that would await them and the incredible sense of smallness in the vastness of the mountain. Crevasses had to be navigated around or crossed and only one thin line kept them together through interment visibility and strong winds. The real test however would come only 1500 feet from the top. The physical strain of increasing altitude issues among team members plus just the overwhelming fatigue was taking its toll. At one point of stopping for a brief rest the decision was made, the team would return back to the high base camp. All but one, the lady who was sharing this amazing story with our group. Call it stubbornness or call it courage she would not go back. She had simply come too far to return without conquering the mountain. As she related the experience you just have this incredible sense of the obstacle before her. Strong cross winds with driving snow made the air and ground turn blue and blend into one. In the rare moment she could see downward from the ridge she was traversing she could see the 6000 foot fall that awaited her only a step away. The struggle was now as much mental as physical and now it was only her and the mountain. With visibility so compromised and no longer able to carry an altimeter she faced another problem and question, “how would she know when she reached the summit”? One ridge after another was attained but each like stair steps led to another waiting for her. Then the moment when the driving snow cleared and she saw all around her the flags of the teams and nations who had made the summit before her. She had at last made it….the mountain had been conquered but then another dilemma, “since she was all alone how would she be able to document her attainment to the others of her team?” At that moment she remembered the camera stored in her gear. Struggling with cumbersome gloves she was able to unpack the pack and open the camera…..now “what picture would best represent her achievement? Of course, the one with the flags in the background.” The ones who had gone before her had provided the frame for her solution but it was left to her to see the vision and opportunity. She would go on to successfully complete her descent and all members of the team would eventually recover. But for her the memory of that moment when she stood among the memorials to those that had gone before was worth the struggle.

As leaders especially on the front lines of relationships we all have those moments of fatigue and discouragement. Not all of our group members are perfect (tongue in cheek). We all live in a fallen world with fallen people. What a great opportunity for grace…..what a great opportunity for mentoring. The only thing I could envision better than climbing the mountain would be sharing the climb with others. Finding out that beyond myself, beyond my abilities is this whole new mountaintop that God is just waiting to show us. A place of unspeakable joy and beauty that will be worth the struggle.

Blessings to you all as you climb higher daily.

Pastor Steve Bishop

If You Are Breathing…….. You Are Leading!!!

Sharing Life—Connecting Journeys—Following Christ

Your impact in your sphere of influence should never be underestimated. Joel Comisky—a top authority on cell group development shared a thought in his book entitled, “Priesthood of Believers”. He says, “While the church has done a good job of training people to go directly to God, by and large, it has failed to train people to minister to others. The Pastor is still considered the priest, the only one fit to minister. This barrier, tied in with lack of mentoring, produces a church of spectators who watch the pastoral performance each Sunday. Long accustomed to sit and soak, the “sermon tasters” in many churches become experts in critiquing the pastor and grumbling when their needs aren’t met. How far we have fallen from the New Testament Christianity of Peter’s day when he depicted the church as “….a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (1Peter 2:6).

God has prepared a place for each and every one of us…not only a physical place, but a role in His kingdom. Sometimes that place is in the business, farming or medical world. Sometimes it is in the public classroom and certainly it is in our own families. We are all leading in some capacity, and most of us desire to do it well but struggle with “how”. Often we are coming from a point with very little personal mentoring and few role models who have demonstrated to us how to lead and disciple. While the Holy Spirit often directs and guides our interactions with others we are also called upon to be diligent in our own pursuit of learning and intentional growth.

This fall starting September 12th Dr. Mitch Whitman will be making available to our congregation a series of classes taught specifically with developing the skills of leadership in mind. This is a series that is taught internationally by Dr. Whitman’s leadership resource organization with the focus being primarily on Christian leadership and mentoring. It will introduce both the practical and the biblical application of leadership in the Christian community, the secular community and the family. In other words in the places where we all live, serve and work.

Who should attend: All who see themselves as leaders, or potential leaders in any way. Life group leaders, teachers-sacred and secular, Dads and Moms, grandparents, those who currently lead in their business or profession.

Pastor Steve Bishop

The Prime Directive

Sharing Life—Connecting Journeys—Following Christ

The Shima---“Hear o Isreal:The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up…”. Deuteronomy 6:4-6

I think everyone who watched TV during the 70-80’s will remember the words of the introduction to Star Trek; “These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It’s five –year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before. (Modified quote from White house booklet published in 1958.”The Introduction to Outer Space”. Originally published in an effort to garner support for a national space program in the wake of the Sputnik flight.

Both the mission of the Enterprise and the words of the Shima speak to intentionality. Words that remind us that we live for more than ourselves alone and our lives should be lived with thought and premeditation (as much as possible).

I could not have imagined that the Star Fleet directors would have ever sent the Enterprise on a Sunday drive with no purpose. Can you imagine that discussion, “Go ahead and take her for a spin Jim along with the 350 crew members…let us know if you find anything interesting.” While the mission may have sounded a little vague in its wording it still pointedly defined their calling---

Explore, seek, Go boldly.

When God directed Moses to share the Shima He knew He was speaking to a people who wandered, who had issues with authority, who wouldn’t always show up when they were supposed to (sounds a lot like a life group) but He still called them beloved and “my people”.

God in His infinite wisdom has chosen us….frail, inconsistent beings that we are to help lead and mentor His kingdom here on earth. What a privilege…I love the words “God doesn’t always call the able, but He always enables those He calls”.

Summer is a great time to be intentional. Let me encourage you to continue meeting. It would be a great time to rotate leadership if you haven’t done so before. You could do it directly or simply take the opportunities when you are gone yourself to ask someone else to lead. Summers are great get together and party times…have your meetings at a local park so nobody has to vacuum or fix coffee. Pot lucks and picnics always are good connecting and inviting times. I know the creative group you are and have no doubt you can come up with lots of imaginative ways to connect and serve.

As was shared this last Sunday Kay Kolde has put together a study guide for Philippians that corresponds with what Pastor Joshua is teaching. Designed for families the study guide works very well for Life Groups as well. There will be a single sheet with Bible references and questions for each week in the usual place by the front office. If Bible study is important to you (which it is for all of us) consider utilizing the excellent study for your group. Why not have a different member of your group facilitate and lead one of the nine weeks of the study?

We are also looking for a person or couple who might have a particular burden for single Moms. The objective would be to facilitate a Life group on Sunday mornings helping the single Moms in our church to connect. If interested or you know of a good fit just send an email to Steve or Margo.

In all things we give thanks for you!!! YOU ARE APPRECIATED.

Is There A “Code 10-13” in Your Life?

Sharing Lives—Connecting Journeys—Following Christ

In moments of watching fictional or “reality” police shows we have all heard at sometime or other the radio call codes that officers of the law utilize to alert one another to transpiring events they need to respond to. Usually preceded by a number then another number these codes can be shared over radio waves and the public, whether citizens or crime perpetrators seldom have any idea what is being communicated. To those in the law enforcement community however call codes and knowing what they signify can make the difference between life and death. Between a routine traffic stop needing little back up or arriving at a scene with a hail of bullets to greet you.

I recently had the privilege of attending a men’s retreat with a number of men from our valley at the Young Life camp at Malibu, British Columbia. The main speaker was Bill Page a retired New York City detective with an amazing testimony. He shared with us the stories of his own troubled past and the redeeming work of Christ in his life and his eventual call into ministry. His love for his prior profession and the men and women he served with was evident. He reiterated over and over the stress that these public servants live in daily and the sad statistic that twice as many police officers will take their own lives out of quiet desperation than will die in the line of duty defending the public. He shared with us the priority in his life to continually answer the code 10-13 calls in his role as police chaplain. Code 10-13….the call sign that every officer dreads receiving, officer in imminent life threatening danger, all units proceed immediately to the location in full support. No hesitation, no priority greater. A brief numerical description of a potential event with life altering circumstances for everyone. Here are a few of the 10:13 verses in the Bible:

Daniel 10:13b …..then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the King of Persia.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Romans 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Just a few verses that confirm that we serve a loving God that knows our 10-13 moments before we even have them. As you serve and occasionally have your 10-13 calls know that what you do, and the care you bring as extensions of the “hands of Christ” matters. Thank you for answering the call and even loving the EGR (extra grace required) folks.

YOU ARE APPRECIATED!!!

Stephen Bishop—Director of Life Groups

“Mr. Gorbechov Tear Down That Wall!!!”

 Sharing Life—Connecting Journeys—Following Christ

Isaiah 60:18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.

  We have been blessed by Pastor Joshua preaching from Nehemiah and the narratives reflecting God’s provision and care of His people. I personally have a renewed sense that as the Jewish nation found purpose and protection in the building of the wall around Jerusalem they were laying groundwork not only for the protection of their families of the day but also lessons for us for the present day.

   Historically walls have served many purposes not only to protect and define territory but also to restrict and control. Just a few walls that come to mind; the Great Wall of China that protected that nation from the Mongolian hordes, Hadrian’s Wall that protected the Roman military forces and colonists of England from the Scots and Picts of the north. Many of us remember the wall of more recent times erected to separate the “East” and “West” portions of Berlin.  After World War ll the nation of Germany was partitioned between Britain, France, the Soviet Union and United States and the city of Berlin was isolated totally within the Soviet held portion. The city of Berlin itself was also allocated between the four powers with separate sections designated for each nation. As the citizens of Berlin and the surrounding countryside realized that partitioning was happening a mass migration began to occur from the Soviet held portion of the city (and the countryside) to the portion of the city held by the three western powers. The Soviets countered this by erecting first a barbed wire barrier between the two areas, then more extensive brick and concrete walls with sophisticated monitoring towers and machine gun emplacements every so many feet.  The people however still found ways to escape from “east to west”.  The Soviets were dealing with a real public relations problem with so many citizens fleeing from the “utopia” of the Communist State to the freedom of the nations that advocated free enterprise and self determination.  In typical Soviet style they resolved that this had to be dealt with severely and immediately. Tanks and soldiers rolled into place and as we remember they blockaded the city of Berlin preventing all ground access. Starting January 26^th 1948 the Soviets were going to starve Berlin into submission and hold the people of the city hostage until the nations of the west relinquished control and sovereignty over the western part of the city. The blockade would last 14 months and would initiate one of the great logistical accomplishments of the last century the “Berlin Airlift”.  Berlin’s lifeline became the steady stream of aircraft departing from the supporting nations and arriving every so many minutes for 14 months straight. As my Dad recalled this event I remember that he said it made him “proud to be an American” to see our nation coming to the aid of a besieged people. Dad was so proud of that event that as soon as he was old enough to enlist he put on the uniform of the United States Air Force and would go on to serve for many years in wartime and peace.

Flash forward to 1968 and I was standing on the observation platform looking over the Berlin wall at the great Market Platz…the Wall Street of the pre-World War ll world. Now in Soviet hands the great center of commerce was a shadow of what it had been.  Guard towers, barbed wire, masonry walls with great rollers and broken glass on top stood as silent reminders of the oppression that now was present.  The great wall stretched into the distance both directions from where we stood.  Along the west side of the wall commemorative wreaths bore witness to those who had died while attempting to escape to freedom since partition had occurred. Quiet reminders that there are things that act upon the human condition that people will pay any price to be free of.  Reminders that battlegrounds don’t always have the sound of gun fire or bombs exploding.  Sometimes battle fields look like schools, workplaces, malls, funeral parlors and hospitals. Places where as Thoreau put it “people lead lives of quiet desperation”.  As a Life Group leader you move in that world..…so often you are the front lines of that battle where people really live. Walls and fences may not be the limiting factors in our community but relationships, and mortality certainly can be.  Airlifts these days as in the past are largely a matter of caring for others right where they live and struggle.

In our desire to equip you for the front lines you serve on, our April 10^th huddle will be like no other we have had……. We will have a panel of long time servants and professors of life experience……who will review with us real life scenarios…how do you as a leader, and how does a Life Group respond when;

One of your group members shares that they have been diagnosed with cancer (or other debilitating disease)…..

A marriage is disintegrating

A death occurs…expected, unexpected

A member repents and confesses to……..

And other scenarios….

Practical wisdom shared with Godly folks!!!

What we really need is you!!!!  Haven’t connected for a while?

Why not be armed anyway?

Please extend the invitation to your apprentice leader (or one who fills that role).

April 10^th, Saturday from 10 am to 1pm. Lunch will be provided!!!! Fireside Room.

It is How You Finish!!!! An Olympic Moment!

    Sharing Life---Connecting Journeys—Following Christ

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…….2 Timothy 4:7

Given that we are watching the Winter Olympics on television now it seems fitting to recall a moment when character was on display for the whole world to see.  This is one of my personal favorites from an anthology of Olympic moments.

The year was 1968. The place was Mexico City, site of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games. It happened late one night in the main track and field stadium.  Out of that cold darkness. John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania entered the stadium. He hobbled slowly and unsteadily. Pain filled his every step. Blood ran down his bandaged leg. His dreams of Olympic glory had long since faded into the shadows of the night.

    More than an hour earlier, the winner of the Olympic marathon had already been declared. The other finishers began streaming across the line slowly thereafter. By the time Akhwari approached the stadium, only a few spectators remained in their seats. There was no one cheering, no flag waving. Yet the lone runner pressed on.

    As he neared the Olympic stadium, word circulated that there was one runner still struggling to compete the 26.2 mile course. Other Olympians and spectators quickly came back to the stadium to watch the scene unfold. The stadium lights flickered back on. Akhwari entered the stadium and began to wearily pound out his final lap around the track. As he neared the finish line, the small crowd that had gathered began to roar with appreciation. They stood and cheered the lone runner all the way to the finish line. After crossing the white stripe, an exhausted Akhwari nearly collapsed. Yet in his anguish, he managed to stay on his feet and acknowledge the faithful few who had witnessed his final steps.

   After it was all over a reporter asked Akhawari why he had not retired from the race, as he had fallen so far back and had no chance of winning.

    Akhwari seemed confused by the question but finally answered.”My country did not send me 5,000 miles to Mexico City to start the race,” he said. “They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

As each of us considers the race behind and before us let us choose to persevere. As Christ and the apostle Paul demonstrated character shows not in the moments of public acceptance and idolization but in the darkness of Gethsemane and the prison cells of Rome.  As you lead and may have times of discouragement and fatigue know that you are not alone. There is a great crowd of witnesses in heaven and teammates here on earth as well.

Thank you for leading—thank you for persevering—YOU ARE APPRECIATED!!!!

Thoughts of Emi Woro

Sharing Lives---Connecting Journeys—Following Christ
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work”.
2 Corinthians 9:8

The Bible is full of stories of ordinary folks……shepherds, fishermen, salesmen, tent makers, farmers, tax collectors, etc who make extraordinary contributions to the Kingdom of God. People whose stories we read about simply because they were obedient to the call of God on and in their lives. I often wonder how many more stories there should be in the Bible that were never written. People of extraordinary abilities that simply became a footnote in the history of time because when their moment….their “for such a time as this” came, they were staring out the other window or looking in the rear view mirror.
After spending the better part of three weeks with Devin and Bridget Myers in Emi Woro, Nigeria I am so impressed with their intentional pursuit and obedience to God’s call on their lives. I watched them process relationships with the people of their community, church and school like seasoned veterans not thirty day survivors. Dealing with labor, contractors, suppliers, fellow church members all in the framework of cultural differences and the politics of different tribes and villages would require someone with diplomatic seasoning beyond ordinary Americans but they do it so well and always with grace. You just have a sense that God has been preparing them their whole lives to fill this role, this day, in this place. When they encounter something unusual or beyond their ability of the moment then God fills that void with His ever present sufficiency and they demonstrate the humility to allow that to happen. One of the messages that they asked us to bring back to their family at WFMC is that they are well. Their concern, for our concern for them was touching and they wanted to make sure that we communicated to all their family and friends that they are growing and thriving.
They are an example to all of us that as believers we are all called to the “priesthood of all believers”. As Pastor Joshua alluded to Sunday we are to be FAT (faithful, available and teachable). There are no bleachers in the stadium—no spectators in the community of faith while we are here on earth. We are all called to be ministers, participants and builders on our “part of the wall”.
You as life group leaders have chosen to be participants, fellow engagers for the kingdom and I honor you for stepping up. No, we don’t all have to go to Emi Woro to be builders of the kingdom and I want to thank you for ministering right where you are. Keep loving, keep discipling and keep encouraging those God has placed in your circle and I celebrate with you the difference each of you are making in eternity.