Creativity from a Younger Elder

Creation

Take a look at these photos from Dan Gilliam.

Dan is so creative and full of the Holy spirit that it is hard to contain him. He moved to Colorado and then to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to walk closer to God and lead others in encountering God through creation and the Spirit.

Watch and thank God for His Creation.

http://www.dangilliam.net/photos.html

Future Planning

The 21st Century Church

For most Americans, long range planning is deciding what to do next week. I just spoke with Gasch, a medical researcher with his own company. He noted that despite the fact that our medical system in America is about to collapse, most politicians refuse to mention the real systemic problems or plan for ways to make real change.

But we in the churches of America are not much different. We are so invested in the "instant coffee" mentality of what is going to happen this week in worship that we do not think about how to position the church for the next three decades. The Reveal research put out by Willow Creek shows what happens when a movement becomes obsessed with one of two aspects of a ministry, such as focusing only or mainly on Seekers, can end in frustration and failure.

It will be interesting to see what they decide to do to correct their old paradigm. When I read some of the criticisms and comments about the Willow Creek research I am struck by the smugness of many writers. Then they tell us what Willow Creek and other Seeker Churches "should have done in the first place." I usually find the advice shallow, reflexive, old hat and predictable. Few are insightful and based on an in depth discernment. They say things like-- Willow Creek should have:

Preached longer sermons
Had better theology
Not changed the music
Stayed smaller
Done more Bible based teaching
Been more Calvinistic
Been more Arminian
Been more Pentecostal
Not been so Pentecostal
Had evening services
Had Sunday school
Used my books

I am hoping that Seasoned Saints with long experience as Christians, educators, business leaders and thinkers will put their brains and hearts to work figuring out what God wants us all to do to prepare for 2040 and 2050.

Here is one suggestion from one. Take a look at the things that God has blessed. Do better in-depth research on what has worked with different groups and different places. Understand what the USA and the world will be like in three decades and plan to actually model Christ in that environment.

If you are ready to laugh at yourself, look this over. However, if you are too serious, skip it.

By the way, do you remember the beautiful clothes we wore in the Sixties? Here they are again.

If we wore these things back then we must have had a sense of humor.


Thanks to Joanie and Alan Gruber who sent me this cartoon.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/opinion/walthandelsman/blog/2007/11/animation_baby_boomers.html

Amazing Statistics

Professional writers usually try to stay away from statistics because the assumption is that readers will wince and turn the page as quickly as possible. But in my mind, some statistics are so startling and dramatic that we just cannot ignore them. (The cartoon shows how many folks will get Social Security. Click the pic to see a landslide!)

Take a long look at these data.

1. There are some 90 million Americans who are 50-plus years of age

2. Over the next two decades that number will grow by 74%

3. The percentage under 50 will increase by 1%

Questions:

a. What age group is the largest mission field in America?

b. What age group has the greatest reservoir of wealth, knowledge, experience and wisdom?

c. Why are churches so obsessed with recruiting young people?

d. What is your church doing to equip Seasoned Believers to minister effectively?

e. What is your church doing to evangelize Seasoned Citizens?

Another Country Heard From

I am amazed at how many nations are represented by people who read my blogs. In the past day I have had clicks from Oslo and Bergen Norway. I think the Oslo visitor is Jens-Petter Jorgensen, a member of the Sweeten Life Systems International Board. Jens-Petter is a man of great wisdom and experience among world leaders. He has observed and written many books and articles over the last 30 years dealing with the movements of the Holy Spirit.

We are also being visited by folks in Holland, Brazil, Russia, Singapore, The Philippines, Malaysia, Canada, England, and more. Wow! This little log of my ideas and concerns travels around the earth every day.

I wish more people would comment on the blog. That would make it more interesting and exciting. Maybe I need to create some controversy by writing my own questions like the politicians do. I could write and ask, "Dear Dr. Sweeten, I am just ten years old but I wonder, do you believe in God or are you just faking it?"

Then I could reply, "My, that is a tough question. But many tough questions are being asked by young people these days. Yada, yada, yada."

Oh well, I don't have to fake my questions because this is all my own ideas. Besides, I am not running for any office so nobody really cares. I do wonder, however, why some people get so radicalized about an election. I am interested but not a fanatic. I have some preferences and hope my side wins but God will be sovereign no matter who wins.

The Seasoned Believer Video

Mother Teresa-A Seasoned Believer Who Made a Difference



Some of you may have already noticed that I have put up a link to the "What If Video". Click the link and watch the video. Then write in and let us know what you think.

The video was designed by a team of us and the really hard work was done by Steve Helterbridle, a friend who retired from P&G several years ago to minister more freely.

It was our very first attempt to develop our own Multi Media project and I am very proud of the great job Steve did. It is one more example of what wonderful, creative things we can do if we just believe in ourselves.

The next time you are in a church, golfing group or a club with people like you, take a brief time to assess the wisdom, talents and experiences that could be unleashed into the world if someone took decided to gather them together and launch a new ministry of some kind. Examples:

Joe-30 years at GE, twenty years as an elder and teacher
Joan-Reared three kids, degree in Economics, teaches part time at UC, led task force on relocating the new city hall.
Jasper-35 years as an engineer, ten years in Egypt and five in Malaysia. Sits on Trustees.
Jill-Reared four children and two grand kids, Masters in City Planning, inherited lots of P&G stock and is passionate about helping the poor
John-Retired Ph. D. Psychologist who established a large practice and recently sold it

Almost weekly I hear from friends whose past ministries included some of the most creative ministries and programs imaginable. Now their most dynamic Christian involvement is sitting in a padded pew at Old First Reformed and Armed.

C'mon, friends, church is not for "attending" but acting! You and I are the church!

Support for Your Family

Breaking the Age Barrier



Karen and I met this week with a group of 50+ folks to discuss the best ways to show care and assistance to elderly relatives. The group was well educated, articulate, spiritually experienced and wise in the ways of the business world. However, most of us were novices on the topic at hand. Some of us had already faced getting care for elderly parents and grandparents but it still presents a brand new challenge.

How can we best provide the knowledge and wisdom people need?

Option #1. Get personal professional assistance from doctors, therapists, gerontologists, financial planners, insurance agents, nurses, home care specialists, pastoral care, etc. This route will require hundreds of hours and lots of money to plan, meet and our findings.

Option #2. "Intentional Communities of Wisdom" at church and community groups of lay and professional experts from law, medicine, gerontology, financial planning, insurance, counseling, etc. to provide education, mutual support, wisdom, past experiences and referrals. This approach is more efficient, effective and provides a much broader span of care, counsel and insight.

Only Option #2. will thrive. Professionals cannot meet the need except as those who teach us how to provide Peer Support.

By mobilizing wizened Seasoned Believers a church could develop a top flight Peer Support Group to provide all the services needed by the Sandwich Generations. And, the Peer team would receive many blessings by using their talents, gifts and abilities.

Any church that fails to develop such a program will be missing a sure way to bring enrichment and blessings to their people and will benefit in many ways as an organization.

Preparing for Elder Care

The Sandwich Generation: Stress from Parents Stress from Kids

I spoke earlier tonight at Horizon Community Church about how to best care for our elderly relatives, friends and church members. There was a nice group of people in attendance that ranged in age from 50 to 75.

Many had already started to deal with elderly parents and relatives. Several were asking questions about estate planning, long term insurance, ways to discuss financial issues with elders, and how to buffer the shock of becoming dependent again after being independent.

As we plan our curriculum for 2008 I am committed to having sessions on these and other timely topics. Education can assist us in facilitating good, open discussions with out family and ways to avoid family squabbles.

What topics would you like to see covered in our next year? (Other than how to correct a golf slice and ways to putt better.)

Finances
Long Term Care
Facilitating a Family Council with elderly parents
How to decide when to enter a retirement home?
Sibling rivalry
How to deal with elder resistance and anger?
Other Issues?

Great Article by Pastor Pete Scarrero

I have been recommending Janet Hagberg's book on the stages of spiritual growth for the past year. I recently read a great book by Pastor Pete Scazzero who "Hit the Wall" of burn out and frustration before discovering the need for activating his inner life of prayer and meditation.

Below is an article sent to me by an old friend from Columbus, Buff Delcamp. Read and notice the difference between it and the article by Dan Gilliam protesting a church that canceled prayer meetings that focused on the inner life.

Gary Sweeten

JOURNEY THROUGH THE WALL
by Pete Scazzero

I meet many believers (and churches) today who are stuck at a wall. Some are discouraged. Others have dropped out altogether. They often fail to see the larger picture of the transforming work God seeks to do in them at their wall. The disorientation and pain of their present circumstances blinds them. And they feel unsuccessful in finding other companions for such a journey.

What most don't understand is that growth into maturity in Christ, both for us as leaders and for us as church communities, requires us to go through "the wall."

The wall: stages of faith
Throughout church history, great men and women have written about the phases of this journey to help us understand the larger picture, or map, of what God is doing in our lives. In The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith (Sheffield Publishing, 2005), Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich developed a model that includes the essential place of the wall in our journeys. The following is my adaptation of their work.

Note that each stage builds naturally upon the other. In the physical world, babies must grow into young children and then into teenagers who become adult men and women. In a similar way spiritually, each stage builds on the ones that go before it.

An important difference, however, is that we can stagnate very easily at a certain stage and choose not to move forward in our journeys with Christ. We refuse to trust God into this unknown, mysterious place.

Let's take a look at the stages:

Stage 1: Life-Changing Awareness of God – This stage, whether in childhood or adulthood, is the beginning of our journey with Christ as we become aware of his reality. We realize our need for mercy and begin our relationship with him.

Stage 2: Discipleship – This stage is characterized by learning about God and what it means to be a follower of Christ. We become part of a Christian community and begin to get rooted in the disciplines of the faith.

Stage 3: The Active Life – This is described as the "doing" stage. We get involved, actively working for God, serving him and his people. We take responsibility by bringing our unique talents and gifts to serve Christ and others.

Stage 4: The Wall and the Journey Inward – Notice that the wall and the inward journey are closely related. The wall drives us into an inward journey. In some cases people feel compelled to move into an inward journey that eventually leads them to the wall. It has rightly been said that the perhaps 85 percent of evangelicals do not get through the wall. Often our image of God doesn't allow for such a difficult experience.

Stage 5: The Journey Outward – Having passed through the crisis of faith and the intense inner work necessary to go through the wall, we begin once again to move outward to "do" for God. We may do some of the same active external things we did before (e.g., provide leadership, serve, and initiate acts of mercy towards others). The difference is that now we give out of a new, grounded center of ourselves in God.

Stage 6: Transformed by Love – God's goal, in the language of John Wesley, is that we be made perfect in love, that Christ's love becomes our love both toward God and others. We realize love truly is the beginning and the end. By this stage, the perfect love of God has driven out fear (see 1 John 4:18). And the whole of our spiritual lives is finally about surrender and obedience to God's perfect will. For most of us, the wall appears through a crisis that turns our world upside down. It comes, perhaps, through a divorce, a job loss, the death of a close friend or family member, a cancer diagnosis, a disillusioning church experience, a betrayal, a shattered dream, a wayward child, a car accident, an inability to get pregnant, a deep desire to marry that remains unfulfilled, a dryness or loss of joy in our relationship with God. We question ourselves, God, the church.

We discover for the first time that our faith does not appear to "work." We have more questions than answers as the very foundation of our faith feels like it is on the line. We don't know where God is, what he is doing, where he is going, how he is getting us there, or when this will be over. On a certain level it is correct to say that walls come to us in various ways throughout our lifetimes. It's not simply a one-time event that we pass through and get beyond. It appears to be something we return to as part of our ongoing relationship with God.

We see this, for example, in Abraham waiting at the wall for 25 years for his first child with his wife, Sarah, to be born. Later God led him again to another wall – the sacrificing of that long-awaited son he loved, Isaac, on an altar. Regardless of how we get there, every follower of Jesus at some point will confront the wall.

The best way to understand the dynamics of the wall is to examine the classic work of St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, written over 500 years ago. He described the journey in three phases: beginners, progressives, and perfect. To move out of the beginning stage, he argued, required the receiving of God's gift of the dark night, or the wall. This is the "ordinary way" we grow in Christ. A failure to understand this is one of the major reasons many start out well in their journeys but do not finish well. How do we know we are in "the dark night"? Our good feelings of God's presence evaporate. We feel the door of heaven has been shut as we pray. Darkness, helplessness, weariness, a sense of failure or defeat, barrenness, emptiness, or dryness descends upon us. The Christian disciplines that have served us up to this time "no longer work." We can't see what God is doing and see little visible fruit in our lives.

This is God's way of rewiring and "purging our affections and passions." He does this so we might delight in his love and enter into a richer, fuller communion with him. God wants to communicate to us his true sweetness and love. He longs that we might know his true peace and rest. He works to free us from unhealthy attachments and idolatries of the world. He longs for an intimate, passionate love relationship with us. God's desire is that his will truly be our will. Failure to understand and surrender to God's working in us at the wall often results in great long-term pain and confusion. Receiving the gift of God in the wall, however, transforms our lives forever.

Pete Scazzero is author of the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Integrity, 2006), a groundbreaking work on the integration of emotional health and contemplative spirituality in our discipleship and formation in Christ. He has also authored The Emotionally Healthy Church (Zondervan, 2003), winner of the Gold Medallion Award for 2003. For tools on leading an emotionally healthy church, go to www.emotionallyhealthy.org

Add your 2 cents worth on these stories in comments or by mail

gsweeten@cinci.rr.com

Dualism in American Society

Damned if your Do
Damned if your Don't
(Also posted on my Brave Heart blog)

In psychology and counseling we can "Double Bind Messages" by a big name, suggesting the cause mental illness in kids from those kinds of homes. Our kids must be getting more confused and mentally stressed by the week by the "Double Bind Messages" in our culture.

TV, radio, music and government agencies are getting more aggressive and bold about promoting genital sex. Some schools want to distribute condoms to pre-pubescent girls. Despite research to the contrary, they say that condoms will prevent sexually transmitted diseases such as genital warts, gonorrhea and AIDS. That is a strong "Go for sex" message.

At the same time schools and law enforcement agencies warn kids against hugging, patting and other "Public displays of affection". Kids are being expelled weekly if they are caught anywhere hugging, even at a sports venue. (One kid was punished for hugging a friend who had recently lost his mother!)

No wonder kids are having mental and emotional breakdowns at record rates. Depression rates are skyrocketing among youth. Girls are especially vulnerable. Is it because women no longer know what is right or wrong?

Genital sex, along with secret abortions by teens, was strongly promoted by the Clinton Administration's head of Health. The court system and government bureaucracies will not allow schools to dispense an aspirin but will offer brightly colored condoms and birth control pills without parental knowledge because, "They are going to do it anyway".

Sex is now called "hooking up" because it is OK to share genitals without sharing one's heart, soul or commitment to care. Sharing and caring are forbidden but sharing genitals is inevitable in the jargon of modern values free education.

Is hooking up forbidden or only hugging?

Some school systems are building "Homosexual only schools" so young people with that issue will not feel "disrespected or put down".

Is there any wonder why school levies fail time after time? Do you want to support such irrational social and cultural disasters? Why do so many people in the educational industry want to destroy younger generations on the altar of personal "freedoms" and yet forbid healthy interactions?

The Fourth Great Awakening is upon us. What the world needs now is "Love sweet love" and that is what we have. The world also needs the wealth of wisdom and values we bring to the table. By modeling and teaching about marriages and family life filled with hugs, pats and caring we can model a better way for the future.

We need families and churches that hug and teach hugging. We need small groups that celebrate a full range of generations and male female relationships with no confusion about what is right and wrong.

We need Seasoned Believers to write articles, letters to editors and books about living a life full of commitment and family values. Tell your politicians and school boards you want this downward spiral stopped.

We need 4 hugs daily to survive emotionally, spiritually and physically
We need 8 hugs daily for emotional, spiritual and physical health
We need 12 hugs daily to thrive emotionally, spiritually and physically

Prayer is Forbidden by Church Leaders

One reason I am "Unleashing Seasoned Believers" is summarized in the story . It was sent in Dan Gilliam, an old friend from the 1980's. It reminds me of similar stories I hear over and over that far too often, the most seasoned, experienced, wise, biblically grounded, well balanced and dedicated Christians are being quashed and stifled by the churches they have loved and supported for years or even decades.

That is not always true, of course, but there is a "spirit of control and fear" in many congregations. These churches have an immediate, reflexive "NO! response" to any desire for freedom to minister, lead or influence others.

Church Cancels Prayer Service

So I heard from a bird this week that a certain Christian church in a Western state recently made the decision to cancel a small prayer and meditation worship gathering because it did not fit within the parameters of their philosophy of spiritual development and programming. Sounds familiar.

This gathering did not fit the church's philosophy and programming from day one. Ironically, that's why it was started; to provide a place and time for church members (including the church leadership) to grow in their relationship with God by expanding their personal and corporate practice of prayer and mediation.

The wheels were in motion to cancel (it) months after it started. It wasn't so much a matter of small numbers, though the small attendance figures were a problem for some from the beginning. It was more that the "program" of the silent gathering was un-programmed. (It) allowed for the possibility that someone might think something to themselves and assign an aberrant message to God.

Hmmm. After all, we really can't know for sure that God is speaking to us unless someone is reading the Bible to us, preferably someone ordained by an approved Bible College. God would never give each of us the ability to learn to hear His voice (like sheep know their Shepherd's voice) when he has clearly given us preachers to tell us what God thinks and to explain to us how to interpret the ancient words he gave to Moses, Jesus and Paul.

All religious people know that silence is a gateway for Satan to come in, therefore it is best if we never wait in quiet before the Lord (except by ourselves at home for our private devotions) when we can safely worship God with clanging cymbals and amplified gongs.

That would be bad. So, it really is best that this prayer and meditation gathering got canceled rather than attended ... In the long run it was going to hurt the church. Prayer can do that, especially if we don't really want God's input into how we do church. (Edited)

Enjoy Life,

Dan Gilliam

www.dangilliam.net

Well, what do you think? Is it dangerous to actually allow people to seek God and respond to His voice? Maybe they are right and the people cannot be trusted.

Photos from the October Gathering

What Do You Think About Boomer Believers?

This blog hopes to assist the many men and women who are dissatisfied with their current spiritual situation. Most have been involved in church and para church groups for two or three decades but have grown weary of pew sitting or volunteering to do the same old boring things they had always done. They came to me for counsel because they wanted more out of life in the Spirit.

(Photo: Three Seasoned Believers discussing how to unleash Boomers.)

Peggy Lee's song, "Is that all there is?" is the theme through many of their stories. A refrain I heard, "I helped run a large, creative company and made a lot of money but now I want to serve the Lord and 'give something back'".

When I asked about the things they could do at church I got the same answers: "I can sit on a boring committee, teach Sunday school and donate. And, of course, I can attend and sit still while some guy half my age tells me his opinions about the world."

What are you seeing in your city, town or region? Are the Seasoned Believers satisfied with their level of spiritual involvement and creativity? Are they treated like old fogies whose time has come and gone? Are the often bored?

Write and tell me what you see, hear and want to have. The ball is in your court.

More from Loving Deb Smith

While Karen and I were out of town we received the following note from Michael Cristiani, one of the heroes along with Rick and Barb Hine of the creative and interconnected blog for Deb Smith and her family. Read and look at the photos.

These men and women were mostly college students when Karen and I opened our house and heart the hordes coming to faith in Christ in 1970, 71, 72 and 73. Tom Smith was called at that time to head the new Christian Student Fellowship Ministry on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. He met and married Deb and they developed "The House of the Carpenter". This experiment in communal living had rooms and real love that became a center of Revival for Cincinnati in the Seventies.

Now those "kids" are mothers and fathers, grandparents and business owners, church leaders and engineers, politicians and preachers. They have been "SEASONED" by life's realities. The love, truth and power offered them at the House of the Carpenter soaked into their DNA. Most God and His people in many and varied ways both inside and outside formal ecclesiastical systems. But, they began their faith walk as revolutionaries so finishing that way is no surprise.

Hello, Dear Ones!

Today, November 4, 2007, is Deb Smith's 54th birthday. In remembrance, there is a new entry on Loving Deb Smith. It notes that today is Deb's birthday, and includes a link to a new photo album, Celebration of the Resurrection, which contains the photos used during the Mt Vernon and Cincinnati Celebrations.

There is also a small photo album (thanks to Randy Moody) of pix from the dinner and fellowship at Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati. If anyone else took pictures during the weekend of the 20th-21st that they would like to share, please send them to Loving Deb Smith and they will be added to the album.

Your constant kindness and love are the Good News!

All Glory to God!
--
MANY BLESSINGS!
Peace and All Good!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement. (2Cor 1: 4-7)

Seasoned Believer Poster Children

I am always looking for "Poster Children" who exemplify Seasoned Believers who came to faith a couple of decades ago and have been serving God with faithfulness, verve and fire ever since. They are getting better with age even when the bones ache and eyes require trifocals.

Jim and Mary Buchan are natives of Ohio from the Columbus area. Jim followed his father into the legal profession for several years but it did not seem to fit after he met Christ. Mary became a nurse and her compassion led her into an interest in healing the whole person. It was not long before they followed the Heavenly Father into Pastoral Care and Teaching. (Mary's photo is on the right.)

But here is the interesting part. Jim and Mary are both very creative in the arts. Mary is a gifted musician and song writer who plays the guitar and sings her own creations and others in a soft and caring way. Jim is a very good writer and editor whose insights into publishing have led him to produce books, magazines and articles for several Christian publishers.

Now Mary has put out a web page to publicize her ministry of holistic care, counsel and consultation through combining the word, worship and wisdom from medicine and nutrition. I logged in and listened to her presentation on YouTube and I was impressed.

She is an of a Believer that has gained and depth of God's call through work, rearing a family and seeking God. Mary glorifies God and brings her talents, gifts and wisdom together in a holistic manner. Mary's website for her music ministry: www.marybuchan.com

Jim has helped many famous and not so famous people write and publish their insights. You can contact him at BuchanJ@aol.com

A Book for the New Millennium

Yes, another book.

It is WIKINOMICS, by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

Anyone interested in having influence in the New Millennium needs to read it. It sub title says it all: "How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything".

Are you a business leader? You need it to read. Are you a Para-Church Leader? You need it to read. Are you an elder? You need it to read. Are you a Grand Parent? You need it to read. Are you a Parent? You need it to read.

We live in the midst of the Fourth Great Awakening as predicted by Nobel Prize winning Economist Robert Fogel. Fogel saw the revival of the Sixties as culminating in the Awakening in the New Millennium. Believers need to get on board now and ride God's waves of Renewal, Restoration and Reformation.

Just as Gutenberg revolutionized business, education, the Bible and thus the church and the world, the world wide web will revolutionize all institutions. Some Pastors are still trying to build a church designed to fit the 16Th Century and here we are in the 21st Century. It is frustrating to see such ideas in our churches.

Some old fashioned leaders are very afraid of anything unusual or different. Like dinosaurs who died because they could not adapt the current church movements are breathing their last unless the leaders wake up and smell the caffeine. Historically Christians led the scientific revolution, the American Revolution and the freedom from slavery revolution. Now is the time for a new revolution of communication, outreach and Christian impact.

The book Wikinomics is startling in its insights about what is happening in the world of business, industry, research science and world trade.

Make Your List and Check it Twice

Tomorrow Karen and I are off to visit Jack Donovan Sweeten, the 2 1/2 year old musical genius who lives in Steelers' Country. Oh well, we can't have everything.

While we are on vacation, design a program to deliver health care to those who need it. In the last blog I asked several questions. I have not received any Comments yet and I am disappointed.

Maybe the questions were dumb, uninteresting or off the point. But, there they are and I am stuck with them.



Take a swing at the questions and imagine you have been given a grant of $1,000,000.00 to spend on building a Christian health and healing ministry. Take a leap of faith and make up a plan to spend the dough that Bill Gates gave you to deliver health care more effectively. The whole world is in desperate need for a better system of health care.

Jesus, The Great Physician, seemed to know a lot about healing and He cared a lot for sick people. Does it make sense that he would ignore those people in the 21st Century? Why do so many Christians boycott health and healing today? Seasoned Believers have the knowledge, wisdom, experience and time to make real changes in the lives of millions of people.

Allow me to offer a hint. Almost every chronic disease today results from a badly chosen "life style". What Seasoned Believers have to offer are our spiritual, emotional and relational resources.

Second, many problems could be treated easier, cheaper, quicker and better if there as a system that brought all the resources together in one web page.

Third, the greatest needs are spiritual in nature not physical.

Fourth, lay people are critically important to enhancing good health.



Have fun!!

The Crisis in Church Growth

Imagine that you and your spouse are interested in helping poverty stricken people get good health care at a reasonable price. You are a doctor and your spouse is a nurse and you have a million dollars to invest in developing a solid, modern health care facility in the middle of a destitute nation.

What would you do with the million dollars to have the greatest long term effect?

Option #1. Build a clinic and offer free medical and nursing care to everyone who came.

Option #2. Start a nursing school and select a few highly qualified students to be trained.

Option #3. Start a medical school and select a few highly qualified students to be trained.

Option #4. Start a school to teach the villagers how to prevent diseases and care for themselves.

Option #5. Invite foreign specialists to visit each year and do badly needed surgery.

Option #6. Start a church and teach the people to pray, read the Bible and know Christ.

Option #7. Some combination of these. (Which ones?)

I have my priorities. Do you?

Seasoned Believers can do all of these, if they choose to do so.

Seeker Churches and Seasoned Believers

The last slide I have taken from the Reveal blog shows the data they discovered about their most dedicated and long term members. In what must have been a terrible blow to Bill Hybels, the data shows that their most committed people are also the most dissatisfied. In fact, they are so wrought up they want to leave the church soon.

Many of the members of this group are ready to bolt. That is what the huge drop at the end of the chart means. Such a realization would have to shake the foundations for any of us in ministry and, according to the Willow Web, it shook them to the core.

None of these slides is truly understandable if all you do is look at them on my blog. I urge you to buy the book, Reveal, and prayerfully read it with a new appreciation for what Willow Creek has done for us all. They, and the other churches in the survey, are certainly not alone in having worked hard to produce satisfied disciples only to discover otherwise. Go to their blog and read. http://www.revealnow.com/storyPage.asp?pageID=6

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next step is the crucial one. What are we to do about it? What types of processes, programs, materials, gatherings will actually transform Christians into fully functioning, mature Disciples?

Willow Creek's Research is Still Boiling

An article in the web Out of Ur lays out the research of Willow Creek under a controversial title

October 18, 2007 Willow Creek Repents? Why the most influential church in America now says "We made a mistake."


The chart shows that people start well at Willow but "Hit walls" of problems crash, burn and drop out.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/10/willow_creek_re.html The writer says it this way:

When I read the comments on the post I could see American Christianity writ small. Almost every person has an axe to grind. Several were wounded that the title seemed to attack Willow Creek. Others are upset that few churches are preaching "Expository sermons that go line by line through the text," because if they did we would not have so many immature Christians. (It occurred to me that Jesus would be considered a complete failure if He were judged by that standard.)

Here are my own comments:

Thanks to WC for a gutsy look at themselves. Think stages of spiritual growth just like stages of academic and emotional growth. WC has done well with Pre Believers and New Believers. Not so well with folks with spiritual problems who Stalled and not well with the older, more committed types. (See the chart above for those who stalled.)

So, WC is a good OB GYN unit that gets people born again and then follows up with pretty good nursery school and kindergarten but poor counseling and guidance for the children and teenagers who have problems.

They do worst with the Seasoned Saints who have developed a deeper life with Christ & need college and graduate school. So, WC has been very, very successful with beginnings but not on Finishing Well. I am an educator who read Reveal to see what kind of philosophy WC followed. It was said that they assumed if people came, gave and volunteered they would grow & be satisfied. They were wrong in that assumption.

The WC folks are smart and getting wise so I am sure they will learn from this and change their ways. I hope they consult an expert in Xn growth, healing and education.

Seasoned Believer Brings Health to Business

Bob Robinson, Jr. shows the Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Jon Eckberg how his newest invention kills the bacteria that can "eat human flesh." Bob's entrepreneurial abilities really began to bloom as a Seasoned Believer.

Bob and his wife Carlene were running Valley Supplies in Hamilton when Bob was inspired by a life experience of facing the difficulty of working in an unpleasant space cleaning to invent a "Hands Free" cleaning machine. He recruited his sons to help him come up with a great name and KaiVac was the result. It proved to be such a success that it is being hailed as a way to insure that schools, hospitals and cafes can be for all of us. Kai Vac is an internationally marketed brand of "No Touch Cleaning" Products.

Bob's University of Cincinnati Engineering background helped him hone his natural and godly gifts of creativity to integrate machinery and cleaning. That turned into a brand new, unique design clean rest rooms faster, easier and better. See Jon Eckberg's article at:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/BIZ01/710230388/-1/all

Remember, Seasoned Believers can minister in the Name of the Lord in any venue.

Taking A Stand

Luther: "Here I stand. So help me God, I can do nothing else. "

I wrote a long post for the Brave Heart Blog about all the Seasoned Believers we saw at Deb Smith's Celebration of the Resurrection. The church was filled with old friends who had come to faith in Christ back "In the day" and who were still, for the most part, living for the Lord all this time later.

Those young men and women in the Sixties and Seventies took strong stands for God despite the criticism of parents, preachers and pundits.

Take a look at the post on BRAVE HEART and see what you think. I am too tired to write again.

Speaking of Healthy Spirituality

It is not possible to grow in Christ without growing down as well as up. Growing DOWN means we must be taught how to meditate, contemplate, hear God and be away from noise.

Here is an opportunity for Women to Grow Down as well as Up.


Women: Register now for a room of your own at the November 2-3 Overnight Time of Refreshment Retreat at the Milford Spiritual Center.

Savor time alone with God, enjoy the beauty and serenity of the wooded grounds alongside the Little Miami River, opt for a personal seated massage, enjoy meals prepared for you, and be refreshed from the unhurried pace and peace awaiting you.

Friday, 7:00 pm through Saturday at 4:30.
Cost: $85.00.

To register, send an email to timeofrefreshment@gmail.com

Information call Judy Haag: 513-853-2995.

Great Link

While reading Rick Warren's update I noticed he had a link to an article written by Pastor Pete Scarezzo, an author and wise leader on healthy relationships. I was surprised to see that Pete has not only written and talked lots about Generational Family issues he is also focusing on another issue that I think is critically important to God's heart: Working through the Walls of our hearts to reach a depth relationship with God.

The link to Pete is: http://www.pastors.com/rwmt/article.asp?ArtID=10925

Pete is a great admirer of my latest spiritual hero, Janet Hagberg, a woman of wisdom and insight who wrote a book The Critical Journey with Robert Guelich ( Sheffield Publishing, 2005). I have found this book to contain great wisdom about the stages of spiritual growth and how "Hitting the wall" is a normal way that the Lord uses to move us deeper into wisdom and love.

It may be impossible for young people to lead Christian movements. They have usually not suffered enough to develop real wisdom and love. How many pits, problems and prisons does a Believer have to experience before he/she is ready to be an "Elder"?

Instead of pushing Seasoned Saints to bus rides to Branson and supper fellowship suppers with soft food these venerable saints need to have their wealth, wisdom and willing hearts unleashed in a blizzard of innovation, creativity and good deeds.

Social Security eNews

I read the news today, oh boy!

October 18, 2007

Big week at Social Security

This week the Social Security Administration made two important announcements.

On Monday, October 15, the nation's first Baby Boomer applied for Social Security Retirement Benefits online.

"Filing for Social Security benefits online is easy and convenient," said Kathy Casey-Kirschling, who turns 62 on January 1, 2008. "I urge my fellow Baby Boomers to give Social Security's online services a try. Save a trip and do business with Social Security from the comfort of your home or office."

To read more about that event and the agency's online services www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/babyboomerfiles-pr.htm .

On Wednesday, October 17, the Social Security Administration announced that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 54 million Americans will increase 2.3 percent in 2008.

To read more about the Cost of Living Adjustment www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/2008cola-pr.htm .