Pastor Mike's Blog

Missions and Donna Project

There is a lot going on right now at Otterbein regarding Missions and outreach and it is very exciting.

Progress continues at the DONNA PROJECT.  This past week, painting took place in the house and next week final touches will be completed including the installation of the kitchen, etc.  The plan is to move Donna into her home sometime later next week.  Pretty amazing when you think about it.  In about one month's time, the old house was torn down and new home constructed.  Thanks to everyone who participated.

We also have others from Otterbein serving right now in short-term trips.  Gerden Riemenschnider is serving in Tanazania through July 18 with a group led by Dr. Bob Zimmerman - a local dentist. 

On Saturday (July 11), we have a group of 11 from Otterbein Traveling to Belize.  The team includes Bill Gleason, Lisa Cantwell and her son Tommy, Dave and Amy Churchman and their children Sarah, Elizabeth, Olivia, and Luke, and Rudy and Sandy Hawbaker.  They will do some construction work at a church and conduct a soccer camp for 23 kids from Belize.  They will return back to Waynesboro on July 25.  If you want to keep up-to-date on their trip, log on to www.hereshopeministries.org and follow the team's blog.

The other big group serving this week is a group of students from Otterbein who will be serving with the Chambersburg Project from Sunday, July 12 through Friday, July 17.  We have 16 students and 3 adults who are participating this year.  Students and adults who are serving include: Rachel Eyler, Clay & Colt Foreman, Skylar Green, Kylie House, Gini Jacobs, Hannah Kart, Michael Kassman, Nate & Emily LaPole, Tericca Massey, Chris Ramsey, Beth Schuurman, Micki Shew, Nathan Toney, Brennan Welty, Casey Bauer, Teresa Lum and Craig Schuler, Director of Student Ministries.

If you are not familiar with the Chambersburg Project, here is an overview of what it is all about:

The Chambersburg project is a one-week work camp to serve others by performing home repairs for those residents who have physical limitations, financial circumstances and live in Franklin County, PA. Some of the projects include painting, construction, roof replacement/repair, plumbing, electrical and outside clean-up. The volunteers will stay at a local school. The youth will discover the rewards of helping those in need; experience the impact of missions by serving the community; and enjoy working while making new friends. A typical day begins with breakfast and packing lunches. Then the crews head out and are at their jobs by 8:30 a.m. They head back to the school at 3:30 p.m. to grab a much needed shower and dinner before a time of fellowship and games. Then it’s off to the auditorium for a guest speaker and a time of worship. On Wednesday, crews work a half-day and then enjoy a relaxing afternoon of swimming and mini golf at the Municipal Park. The busy week will conclude on Friday night with a closing program at 6 p.m.

I encourage you to pray for all those who are serving at Otterbein.  God asks each of us to serve Him and others in Jesus' name and it is great to see people from Otterbein stepping out in faith and serving.

Honesty and Christianity

Recently, I started reading the book FAITH & DOUBT by John Ortberg.  Last fall, I heard the author speak at a conference I attended and I was intrigued by his thoughts.  Basically, the premise of the book is that every person of faith experiences some doubts.  Sometimes we say we don't, but our actions say otherwise.  For example, we can say that God is watching over us all the time, but the truth is that we often don't act as though God is watching us all the time.  If we did, we wouldn't do some of the things we do because we would be too ashamed to have God see us do them. Yet we do them anyway as though God isn't really watching.

I haven't read the whole book yet, but it does resonate with me because I am more and more convinced that we who are followers of Christ need to deal with the "realities" of our thoughts and beliefs and be honest about them.  It sometimes seems to me that we who are Christians are not willing to be "honest" about our faith -- about the doubts we sometimes have.  About the struggles that we have to do the right thing.  About the questions we have about stuff we read in the Bible.  It somehow feels "wrong" or a sign of weakness for us to admit that we have some doubts about God and the Bible.  Yet, I am convinced that most, if not all, people have some doubts about God and this thing called Christianity.  I know I do some times and I believe it is good for us to deal with them and wrestle with those doubts.

I want to encourage you to be "honest" with God and others about your faith journey.  It is okay to admit you sometimes have doubts.  If you aren't honest, you will end up feeling hypocritical and it will rob you of the joy and life that God wants you to have.   As I said before, I haven't read the whole book (Faith & Doubt) yet, but based on what I have read so far, I highly recommend it.  I try to write some more about this in my blog in the days and weeks to come.

Have a great week!

Happy July 4th -- Patriotic Musical Tomorrow Evening

Happy July 4th!!!  I don't know about you, but I thank God for the blessing of living in the United States.  While I know everything is not always perfect and we have our faults as a nation, God has given us an incredible privilige to live in prosperity, peace, and have the freedom to worship and honor Him.  I hope you will take a moment on this July 4th to say THANKS TO GOD for our country and to pray for God's direction and blessing.

I wanted to remind you about the Patriotic Musical -- Let Freedom Ring -- that will be held on Sunday evening at the cupola amphitheater which is located between the Waynesboro middle and high schools. The performance will begin at 6 p.m. Those in attendance are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. The musical will feature songs that reflect the heritage and faith of our nation and its people. There will also be a time of honoring those who serve in the military and emergency services. Antietam Dairy will be on site from 5 until 6 p.m. selling ice cream and free water-melon will be served. This is a very enjoyable evening for the entire family. Invite some friends and family members to come with you!

Sunday's Sermon - July 5, 2009

On Sunday, we are going to continue THE ELEPHANT IN THE CHURCH sermon series with a message about ALCOHOL and the CHRISTIAN'S USE OF ALCOHOL. As I was working on my sermon this week, I realized I hadn't spoken on this for many years.  Frankly, it is not the easiest subject I have ever spoken about and yet I realize it is a very important subject for us to consider.

As I said last Sunday when we talked about Divorce and Remarriage, often the church finds themselves in one of two extremes.  The same is true with the issue of alcohol.  My desire on Sunday is to let the Bible speak for itself and to deal with this subject as honestly and openly as we can.  Whether you drink or don't drink, I believe you will find the message informational and helpful to you and I hope you will be able to join us. It will be a good weekend to invite a guest to join you.

Sunday's services will include the Lord's Supper and a meaningful time of worship led by Dave Besecker and our music ministry.  Since it is July 4th weekend, the services will have a patriotic aspect to them along with our celebration of God and the freedom that comes through knowing Christ. 

Please pray for God to work in a special way through our services this weekend.  Pray for God to help every one who attends (including yourself) to have an open heart and mind to hear whatever it is that God wants to say to them.  And pray that I will clearly and accurately present God's word this weekend.

Have a great fourth of July weekend.  I hope to see you on Sunday.

Sunday's Service - June 28, 2009

On Sunday, we are going to continue The Elephant in the Church sermon series with a message about DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE. Research done about one year ago says that 33% of all people who are or have been married have experienced a divorce.  All of us know people who have been divorced and no doubt there are quite a few people reading this blog that have experienced it first hand.  Unfortunately it seems that people in the church have found themselves in one of two extremes when it comes to this issue.  One extreme is that all divorce is sinful and there is an almost shunning of divorced poeple.  The other extreme is an "almost anything goes" approach to divorce. 

My understanding of scripture is that both of these are in conflict with God's view.  On Sunday, we are going to try to look at the issue of divorce and remarriage in greater detail and see what God has to say about this important subject. The message will be biblical (we won't dance around what the Bible teaches), thought-provoking, and compassionate toward those who have experienced divorce.  I hope you will be able to join us.  It will also be a great week to invite a guest to join us for one of our worship services.

Dave and our music ministry team will lead us in a meaningful time of worship.  I also want to remind you that our Connection Cafe will be open before and after each of our worship services.  I hope you will have an opportunity to stop by and check it out and connect with a few others who attend Otterbein.

Please pray for our services on Sunday.  Pray God will pour out His Spirit in our church and work in a powerful way.  Pray for lives to be changed and encouraged.  And pray for our volunteers who will be serving this weekend -- pray God will help them as they prepare and serve on Sunday.

Don't forget to pray for those working on the DONNA PROJECT on Saturday.  See you on Sunday.

Mike

Donna Project - Thursday, June 25

Earlier this week, some men of the church and workers from the Chambersburg Project got together and constructed the floor of the Donna Project house.  If you want to see more pictures of what has been done, click here.  The next major part of the project takes place on Saturday, June 27 when the walls and the roof will be constructed.

As I mentioned on Sunday, we have all the workers needed for the project on Saturday.  Otterbein's response to this project has been fantastic and I am thankful for the willingness of the congregation to make a difference in our community in Jesus' name.

Please pray for good weather Saturday and for safety for everyone involved.  We are trusting for God's provision in every way this weekend.

Sunday's Service - June 21, 2009

On Sunday, I am beginning a new 4-week sermon series called THE ELEPHANT IN THE CHURCH.  We have probably all heard of the phrase "Elephant in the Room" which is a reference to something that everyone sees and knows, but we act like it doesn't exist or fail to talk about it because we don't want to seem critical or controversial.  In these days of political correctness in our society, there are some things that we sometimes avoid talking about that God has a lot to say about.  During the series, we are going to talk about some of those things.  Topics include Divorce and Remarriage; A Christian's Use of Alcohol, Sex Outside of Marriage, and God's View of Child Discipline.  I hope you will be able to join us throughout the series.

This Sunday, we are going to talk about the issue of CHILD DISCIPLINE and look at what the Bible has to say about this important issue.  Specifically, we will spend some time looking at the issue of corporal punishment.  Did you know that 24 countries in the world ban all corporal punishment of children including in the home?  More are considering it and even some states in the United States have been talking about it.  But what does God say about it?  That is what we are going to dig into on Sunday.  Regardless if you have kids in your home or not right now, Sunday's sermon will be helpful in looking at what the Bible teaches us about an important issue in our society.

Sunday's service will include a meaningful time of worship led by Dave Besecker and our music ministry team. We will also have infant dedications in the 2nd and 3rd services.  It is Father's Day and we have a special video tribute to dads.  I believe it is going to be a great worship service on Sunday and I hope you will be able to join us.  It will also be a great week to invite a friend to attend with you.

Don't forget we are opening up our Connection Cafe this Sunday.  It will be open before and after each of the worship services.  It is located in the lower level of the church.  Stop by and check it out.  For more information about the cafe, check out my blog post from a few days ago.

PLEASE PRAY for God to do something very special at our church this Sunday.  God is at work in the lives of people and it is an exciting time to be a part of Otterbein Church.  Pray for lives to be changed and for everyone who comes to have an open heart and mind to hear whatever God wants to say to them.  Until then, have a great weekend.

VBS UPDATE - 19 Kids Accept Christ So Far

It has been a great week of Vacation Bible School so far.  We have had more than 200 kids on campus for Bible School and God is working in a special way.

On Tuesday evening, we had 18 kids choose to become a follower of Christ.  Last night (Wednesday), we had another child choose to become a follower of Christ.  We rejoice in what God is doing through our VBS this year.

The other big thing that happened at VBS last evening is that we had the chance to speak to one of our global partners (I can't share her name on my blog because of security reasons for her) that our VBS offering will go to this year.  They used SKYPE to talk to her.  I wasn't there, but I heard it was pretty cool.  The kids even got to ask some questions and have them answered live.

Please continue to pray for VBS.  We still have two more evenings to go.  Pray for our volunteers who are doing a fantastic job and for our kids.    God is at work.

Donna Project Update

The Donna Project is progressing well.  The house was torn down this past Monday.  Later this week, the foundation will be built and the decking will be constructed sometime next week.  The big day will be on Saturday, June 27 when they hope to build the walls and put the house under roof in one day.  PRAY FOR GOOD WEATHER ON THE 27th.

If you followed the news on Monday, you know that several of the local papers and channel 25 did a special report about the Donna project.  Unfortunately, they got a number of facts wrong in their articles including a statement they made regarding the need for $30,000 dollars.  Here is the bottom line:  They have all the money they need to do the project.  The last thing needed was the appliances and because of the generosity of Otterbein Church who gave more than $12,000 toward the project, we were able to take care of the appliances.  One of the other things that was wrongly communicated had to do with the 85 volunteers Otterbein Church will have to construct the walls.  While we had around 85 people volunteer to provide food and/or do construction work, not everyone will be able to help with the walls and roof.  In fact, it looks like we had such a good response that we won't be able to use everyone who volunteered for the project.  Since the lot size and the house size is pretty small, we aren't able to accomadate too many people on the site and have to limit the number of people who will be able to help.

With all that said, I want to say WAY TO GO OTTERBEIN!!!  Your generosity and willingness to help someone in our community who has a special need is fantastic.  You are making a difference in Jesus' name which is God's call and challenge to our church.  THANKS.

We will try to keep you up to date with information on the Donna Project as the weeks progress.

Connection Cafe Opening Sunday - June 21

On Sunday, June 21, we are opening up the Connection Cafe here at the church.  It is located in the lower level of the Church (what we used to call our fellowship room).  Our hope is that it will be a place where those who attend Otterbein can spend time "connecting" with one another before and after our worship services.

For years, we have tried to find the best environment where that can take place on Sunday's.  As we have grown, our church lobby has become so crowded on Sunday mornings that it is not conducive to anykind of meaningful conversation or connection with one another.  We talked about doing something at the Ministry Center, but it was too far away from the main sanctuary and gathering place for people to use it regularly.  Our hope is that the close proximity to the sanctuary (down just a few steps to the lower level of the church) will make it convenient for people to stop by and visit with one another.

The Cafe will be open before and after each of the worship services.  It will not be open during the worship service and our hope is that people won't simply hang out at the cafe instead of coming into the sanctuary for worship.  The official times are: 7:35-8:15, 9:00-9:35, 10:20-11:00, and 11:50-12:20.

We are trying to provide a good food and beverage selection for everyone.  Here is the menu and price list for the cafe:

Each week we will offer several different flavors of coffee and tea beyond the traditional flavors.  You will be able to find them on the "black board" under the menu each week.

I hope you will stop by and check out the Connection Cafe.  Most of all, I hope you will find it to be a place where you can "connect" with one another informally and spend time with others who attend Otterbein Church.