The Story
Before Sunday be sure to read 1 Kings 12-16 and/or Chapter 14 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
Upcoming…
- Weekend Under… – Come out August 12-14 for a weekend under the stars, under the sun, and under the tent.
- Friday 7 pm concert: A Side of Taylors. Concessions and a movie when the sun goes down. Bring your friends and family!
- Saturday 4 pm picnic: eat at 4:30 pm, stay for games and water games and a campfire with S’mores later! Bring a well-filled picnic basket of casseroles, side dishes and desserts.More details in the bulletin Sunday.
- One Service on Sunday at 10 am under the tent – outdoor worship together! Come at 9 am for coffee and donuts!
- Rockhouse Lunch – This Sunday, July 24, following the 10:45 am service in Room 101.
- Conversation With The Elders – Sunday, July 31, 6 pm in the Gathering Area. Your Board of Elders invites you to join them for a conversation. These conversations allow Elders to update you on developments at ECOB and give you a chance to ask questions. Topics will include: Financial Update, Parking Lot, Storage Facility and Lexington Road Listing. Please plan to join us!
- Greenhouse Kids Worship Meeting – NEW DATE– Sunday, August 7, 9 am, Room 5, hear about our hopes and dreams for Kids Worship and how you can be involved! Open to all ages. Childcare available.
- Child Protection Policy Training/Recertification – Wednesday, August 3, 7 pm in the Conference Room and Sunday, August 7, 9am in Room 3. You do not need to pre-register, but plan to attend one of these sessions if you have received a letter, or you are working with children, youth, security or medical teams and have not had the training. Contact Lois Simmons at 456-6068 (wljjsimmons@earthlink.net) or Diana Oburn at 456-9512 (mothermedic@hotmail.com).
All Together Now
One of the marks of the church is our unity in Jesus Christ. Although there are many things that could divide us, it is the power of Christ that has the ability to overcome all of those barriers to unite us. The apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth appeals in the name of Christ to a church divided. He says, “10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, t in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” A little later he reminds them of why we should be unified when he says, “12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” He reminds them that it is a part of our identity in Christ.
I bring these verses today, not because I feel we are a church divided, but because I don’t want us to become a church divided. Unfortunately it is too easy to become divided in this world. Often our divisions consist of misunderstandings and assumptions that cause great damage to the body of Christ and negatively impact our ability to carry out our mission. That should not be true of our church or any church. While we will not always agree, but we should remain united as we focus on Jesus Christ.
Here are a few practical ways for us to remain united in Christ:
- Make worship a priority in your schedules.
- We can sometimes lose touch with one another when we haven’t spent time together in worship…time to focus on Christ.
- Reach out to someone from this body that you haven’t seen in a while.
- Look around and see who is missing and send them a note, give them a call or go pay them a visit and tell them they are missed. We all play an important part in this body and we need encouragement along the way.
- Attend a different Sunday morning worship gathering.
- While we may have a “favorite” worship style, it is good to step out of our normal place and connect with others. You never know how you can be a blessing to others by reaching out and introducing yourself and getting to know them. Don’t assume they are connected.
- Connect in a “One Another Small Group”
- In a larger church, like ECOB, small groups are the way to build intentional, healthy relationships with a few others. These relationships bring greater growth and accountability and make our larger gatherings more meaningful. Stop by the One Another Group kiosk to find a group.
Each of these practical steps and many more can create lines of communication and connection to help us be united in Christ. These connections decrease the potential for disengagement and disillusion in the church. When we are engaged in the body there is greater unity because we are experiencing what it means to be the body of Christ. Everyone wants to be a part of something greater than themselves. There is nothing greater than the life of Christ’s body furthering the Kingdom of God.
I look forward to hearing your stories of how you took a step of faith and were agents of unity in the life of ECOB.
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Dan
July 15, 2016
Missions and Outreach Team Update
As we all know, ECOB is in a time of transition. Pastor Dan stepped into the shoes formerly filled for many years by Pastor Martin. We have sold the campus on North Barron Street to L & M Products, and we are now literally bulging at our seams in ‘stuff’ from that location and embarking on solutions for all that ‘stuff’!!
Along with those changes, we also are having changes to some of our ministries. One of those changes is the name and the scope of the Missionary Committee. We are now the Missions and Outreach Team. With that name change comes revamping what we are tasked to do.
We are now working on rewriting our Policies to incorporate not only our foreign and domestic long term missionaries and short term mission trips, but we are incorporating local outreach ministries.
We currently have six missionaries in foreign locals: Bruce and Ching Behnken in the Philippines, Dirk and Karen Martin in Haiti, Bev Charles in Romania, Steve and Natasha Rudd in Macedonia, Becky Karns in Haiti and Jesse Witt with Austin Stone Storyteam in Texas.
Our outreach duties encompass the Luke 3:11 ministry, Second Saturday ministry and we are partnering with the HIT Foundation to provide meals at the homeless shelter and the cold shelter Preble County.
One of our goals is to keep you ‘the church’ up-to-date through LifeShare, on a regular basis, the most important ministry of any church – MISSION. We will highlight our missionaries, report on mission trips, and update you on our outreach programs.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact one of the team members. Our Missions and Outreach Team for 2016 consists of Jerry Deaton, Brenda Geeting, Karen Mays, Cherie Reese and Doris Simmons. Our Elder Board Liaison is Mark Yeazel.
ECOB Missions and Outreach Team
The Story
Before Sunday be sure to read 1 Kings 1-8; 10-11; 2 Chronicles 5-7; Proverbs 1-3; 6; 20-21 and/or Chapter 13 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
Concert: A Side of Taylors
We’re kicking off “Weekend Under…” (see below) with a concert. Featuring rich vocal harmonies, the Americana/folk/bluegrass band, A Side of Taylors, is fronted by lead singer and teen son Mason, who’s quite adept on the mandolin, and is backed by father Chris, who plays guitar and banjo, among other instruments, as well as the rest of the Taylor clan. With their unique style, they cover a wide range of music from the past fifty years and beyond, including songs by Johnny Cash, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan, in addition to southern gospel hymns. You won’t want to miss them under the tent. (See video below.)
- DATE: Friday, Aug. 12
- TIME: 7 pm
Upcoming…
- Weekend Under… – Come out August 12-14 for a weekend under the stars, under the sun, and under the tent.
- Friday 7 pm concert: A Side of Taylors. Concessions and a movie when the sun goes down.
- Saturday 4 pm picnic: eat at 4:30 pm then games, games, games!
- One Service on Sunday at 10 am under the tent – outdoor worship together!
- School Supply Drive – The Once Around Shop will accept the following donations through Tuesday, July 19, for students in need. Shop hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 am to 2 pm, or call 456-6560 for other arrangements. Items needed are: wide-rule loose leaf paper, crayons (24 pack), glue bottles, and large back packs. Thank you!
- Guys’ Night Out – (6-12th grade males) Friday, July 22, 6 pm to Midnight. Food, Sports and Video Games! Cost $10. Register at eatoncob.org/connect/students.
- Greenhouse Kids Worship – Sunday, July 31, 9 am, Room 5, hear about our hopes and dreams for Kids Worship and how you can be involved! Open to all ages. Childcare available.
- Parking Lot Reminder – Paving is complete! The lines may or may not be done by Sunday depending on circumstances. Since the pavement will be curing, please be sure to wipe your feet on the provided rug path into the building. Attendants will be there to guide you.
July 8, 2016
The Story
Before Sunday be sure to read 1 Kings 1-8; 10-11; 2 Chronicles 5-7; Proverbs 1-3; 6; 20-21 and/or Chapter 13 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
Upcoming…
- Movie Night– Finding Nemo, Friday, July 8, 8pm pre-movie activities, 9:15pm movie with free popcorn. Concession stand available. Invite your family and friends and bring your own seating – a lawn chair or blanket. We will move inside if it rains. Click here.
- Church Office – will be closed Friday, July 8.
- Greenhouse Kids Worship – Sunday, July 10, 9am, Room 5, hear about our hopes and dreams for Kids Worship and how you can be involved! Open to all ages. Childcare available.
- RockHouse Lunch– This Sunday in Room 101 following the 10am service! More info – click here.
- One Service with Communion and Baptism – Sunday, July 10, 10am, we will celebrate communion and baptism in a combined church worship service. In breaking the bread and sharing the cup, just as Jesus did with his disciples, we remember the ultimate gift of love – Jesus’ sacrificial death. In baptism we symbolically identify with dying to self, as we are immersed and then raised to life in Jesus Christ as a new creation as we come out of the water. Let us join one another in this meaningful time of remembrance and celebration.
- Parking Lot Reminder – Because of the wet weather, the parking lot project has not progressed as planned. So, be aware that there will be parking changes, and remember we are all coming at the same time this Sunday. Attendants will be there to guide you.
- Church Picnic Weekend! – August 12-14 at Camden Road. Friday concert and movie, Saturday picnic and Sunday One Service under the tent!
- School Supply Drive – The Once Around Shop will accept the following donations through Tuesday, July 19, for students in need. Shop hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10am to 2pm, or call 456-6560 for other arrangements. Items needed are: wide-rule loose leaf paper, crayons (24 pack), glue bottles, and large back packs. Thank you!
Disruptions
Does your life ever feel like it’s full of disruptions? You know… those disturbances or problems that interrupt an event, activity or process. Like an unexpected phone call that keeps you from completing that project on time or catching a virus that puts you in bed for two days and wreaks havoc on your schedule. Disruptions come in all shapes and sizes and seem to be frequent during most days and weeks. This week I am reminded of that each day as I pull into the church parking lot and see how the weather has disrupted our parking lot improvement project. The good news is that with all the rain the geese have some new options for swimming and bathing.
Disruptions happen and will continue to happen but I think they’re good for us. While disruptions can be an inconvenience and require some sacrifice on our part, they can teach us to walk humbly as servants. Jesus was really good at causing some disruptions in the lives of the Pharisees. His mission to reach and save the lost constantly interrupted the religious ways of the Pharisees and revealed their selfish motives. I truly believe that disruptions have the power to shape our character and make us more like Christ. The challenge for each of us is to choose how we are going to react to the various disruptions in our lives. Our goal is to reflect Christ through any inconvenience or interruption, even when it’s hard.
The Bible is full of words like “be still and know that I am God” that remind us to focus and depend on God and He will walk us through any disruption. What’s really beautiful is that He can shape us to be more like Christ through the disruption. We don’t have to look back at any disruption and only say, “I got through it.” Rather, we can look back and say “God walked me through it and I am more like Jesus because of it.” That takes any so-called disruption and makes it an opportunity to worship God. Unplanned, unpleasant, and uncomfortable disruptions can lead us, as Christ followers, to be more dependent on Him. As you pull in the church parking lot this week be reminded that disruptions will happen but it’s OK because God desires to walk us through them and gives us the assurance and confidence we need. Remember, we can’t prevent disruptions in our personal lives, or in our life as the body of Christ, but we can glorify Christ and model to this lost and lonely world what it means to follow and live for God amid the disruptions.
Don’t forget that we will worship in one service this Sunday at 10:00 am as we celebrate baptism and communion. Looking forward to worshiping with you!
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Dan
Extra Resources for The Story #12
Here are the resources I promised in my sermon this past Sunday.
- Prayer for Sexual Healing from Ransomed Heart Ministries. You’ll want to spend considerable time with this prayer, searching your heart and allowing God to cleanse you from sin.
- When Good Men Are Tempted by William Perkins. I just took my discipleship group through this book and it’s mostly good. The chapters are short, allowing for an easy read. There’s a chapter for wives, as well.
- Sex, Romance and the Glory of God by C. J. Mahaney (with a word for wives from Carolyn Mahaney).
- Internet pornography is, needless to say, pervasive in our culture — and Christians are not immune from its reach. Check out XXX Church for many valuable resources.
- The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Marriage with the Wisdom of God by Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller. This is actually a great book for singles as well, probably the best one on marriage. I’ve read it several times, and Cindy and I are currently studying it with our small group.
- Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship and Life Together by Mark Driscoll (with contributions by Grace Driscoll).
- The Mingling of Souls: God’s Design for Love, Marriage, Sex, and Redemption by Matt Chandler. I haven’t read this one, but Chandler is a pretty good resource.
- Family Life has many helpful resources. You’ll want to check them out.
Here’s the sermon in case you missed it.
GREENHOUSE Kids Worship
Psalm 78:1-8 NIV
1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old– 3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. 8 They would not be like their ancestors– a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
I mentioned this passage found in the book of Psalms in a sermon several weeks ago. At ECOB, our children are a top priority. They are the next generation. They are our legacy. They are who we are responsible to pass the truths of Jesus Christ to. It requires our involvement. Regardless if you have children, or your children aren’t home, or you don’t have children at all. As a church, it is our responsibility for ALL to care for the next generation. Whether we are encouragers and feeders into the lives of teachers, helpers in the classroom who are present for “crowd control”, or maybe God is laying the seeds of a desire to teach, our children are a top priority.
In one meeting with some of the ECOB staff, Pastor Matt, shared the passage above with us in reference to how he sees our roles and responsibilities as a church to care for the generations that follow us (even those yet to be born!). In so many words, Pastor Matt suggested we form an image in our mind of what we desire our children to look like.
Asaph, the author of this Psalm, paints a picture of two generations. One generation taking the responsibility to share the wonders and glory of the LORD. A picture of faithfulness. A picture of a people focused on hope. A generation who trusts and obeys their LORD… and keep his commands! What a beautiful picture of a holy generation!
Then Asaph paints the picture of a different generation. A generation who is consumed with their own hopes and desires. Stubborn, rebellious, disloyal, whose hearts aren’t in it and whose spirits are unfaithful.
Which generation are we hoping for? I believe it is very easy to know which generation we hope for… THE FIRST ONE! We want our children to crave their savior! We want them to make Him their life. But in order for that to happen, we must set the example… we must rise up and fill the needs God has for them (not ours). And we can say we want this holy generation all we want, but the only way we can prepare them to receive Christ as their hope is for us to DO IT.
We have a choice. And the choice is now. We must choose with not only our words, but our lives and our commitment… You, ALL at ECOB (myself included), have an opportunity to hear a little more about GREENHOUSE Kids Worship and how you can be involved. There is a meeting taking place on July 10th at 9am (in room 5), before we have our Communion & Baptism Service. This is our chance to make a difference in the next generation. It’s our chance to find a way to feed into them the truths of the God who created the universe! The One who conquered the grave! The one who brought us life! Are you ready to join us?
June 24, 2016
This is the new format for LifeShare. We are soon going to be discontinuing the emails you received before. If you want to continue to receive LifeShare in this new format, you will need to subscribe at http://www.lifeshare.live, where you can see posts about current happenings and posts from Pastor Dan and others.
The Story
Before Sunday be sure to read 1 Samuel 16-18; 24; 31; 2 Samuel 6; 22; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 59 and/or Chapter 11 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
Upcoming…
- One Service with Communion and Baptism – Sunday, July 10, 10am, we will celebrate communion and baptism in a combined church worship service. In breaking the bread and sharing the cup, just as Jesus did with his disciples, we remember the ultimate gift of love – Jesus’ sacrificial death. In baptism we symbolically identify with dying to self, as we are immersed and then raised to life in Jesus Christ as a new creation as we come out of the water. Let us join one another in this meaningful time of remembrance and celebration.
- Baptism – Sunday, July 10. Have you invited Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior, but have never experienced the blessing of water baptism? Contact the office or one of the Pastors no later than Wednesday, July 6.
- Movie Night– Finding Nemo, Friday, July 8, 8pm pre-movie activities, 9:15pm movie with free popcorn. Concession stand available. Invite your family and friends and bring your own seating – a lawn chair or blanket. We will move inside if it rains.
- Church Picnic Weekend! – August 12-14 at Camden Road. Friday concert and movie, Saturday picnic and Sunday One Service under the tent!
- RockHouse Lunch– This Sunday in Room 101 following the 10:45am service!
- Soul Bowl – Sunday, 6-9pm, Richmond 40 Bowl, 75 S. 37th St., Richmond, IN. $5/person, up to 6/lane, 3 hours unlimited bowling including all equipment. Contact Christina, 765-966-2641, for info or to reserve lanes for your group. http://www.Richmond40Bowl.com.
- Save The Date! – Sr. Adult Banquet is August 20.
A New Ministry, A Not-So-New Calling
I live for the moments when a student’s eyes light up when they realize because of the Resurrection they no longer need to cling to sin. I am moved to tears when a student repents of sin and accepts Jesus as their Savior. There’s nothing quite like it! As a pastor, it’s these reasons and the countless others that have kept me in youth ministry.
And then comes high school graduation…
My mind goes often to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Part of my job is to scatter the seed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it lands on many different types of surfaces (road, rocky, thorny, good). And I watch in the seasons after graduation as many students show what kind of surface had been cultivated in their lives throughout childhood and high school. And the results aren’t very encouraging.
Students are leaving the church. Even worse, they are leaving the faith altogether. In my experience, to say that half the students in youth ministry stay in church would be generous, and I’m not the only one who is seeing this trend.
The blame can be placed anywhere. “The youth pastor isn’t doing it the right way.” “We need more events to attract students.” “Parents aren’t following through with their responsibility to teach their children about faith.” All of these reasons (and more) have validity to them, and there are elements to each that we must investigate in our own selves and church and see what changes need to be made to correct the problem of young generations leaving the church.
For us all, though, I must echo the challenge once again that Francis Chan provided in the video I showed in my sermon several weeks ago. “Would you [the older generation] set the example for the young people?” By doing this, we are cultivating good soil within the next generations.
Can we LET GO of an Americanized version of Christianity that asks, “What am I getting out of church?” If we approach church that way, then the younger people will as well. We must stop thinking that discipleship is merely dropping our children off to be taught about God, but instead REIMAGINE discipleship as breathing and living God every second of every day with every inch of ourselves. Can we do that? Will we REFLECT the person of Christ as if we were the very mirror image of Him to the world? Are we able to unite as a church, TOGETHER for one common purpose: to PASS ON the truth of the gospel to everyone, praying that their soil has been cultivated and enriched to where roots set in and the hope of Christ blossoms into a beautiful image of Jesus Christ?
At ECOB we are calling ALL: the older, the youth, the middle-aged, the singles, the young married couples, the widows and widowers, the empty nesters, the children… ALL… to begin taking on this NEW (though it’s really not that new) approach to discipleship. We must be willing to embrace the five values mentioned above: LET GO, REIMAGINE, REFLECT, TOGETHER, and PASS ON.
And we are going to be providing an opportunity starting September 7th for this approach to discipleship to take place. Wednesday nights will no longer be focused on just children and youth. Wednesday evenings are now going to be a ministry focused on how each of us can take on the responsibility Christ laid out for us in being his followers (Matthew 16:24).
This new ministry IS NOT an adaptation of Children’s Ministry. It IS NOT a new way to do Youth Ministry. This ministry is DISCIPLESHIP, and ALL are needed to make it happen. We are trying to create an environment to cultivate the soils in the lives of all the members and attenders at Eaton Church of the Brethren.
I promise you, this doesn’t mean we are going to cease Children’s and Youth Ministries. Yes, these ministries will be changing, and looking different than they did before, but we are not deleting them. Our hope is with our approach to discipleship on Wednesday evenings, we will be able to cultivate the kind of soil needed for our Children’s and Youth Ministries to flourish! But not just those two ministries… Men’s and Women’s, One Another Groups, Bible Studies, EMT, Missions, Luke 3:11, 2nd Saturdays, and any other ministry I’m forgetting will benefit from our intentional focus on discipleship.
So are you ready? Are you ready for what God has in store for ECOB? Are you ready to set the example for the younger generation? I know I am!
LifeShare 