Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
When I was a freshman in Highschool I tried out for—and made—the Junior Varsity football team. If cameras had been invented back then I would be able to show you a picture of my team. Well, I wasn’t big or fast. I didn’t stand out among my peers as an exceptional athlete…so I was relegated to the second string defensive team and the third string offensive team. I guess the coach felt bad for me because he did put me on the first string kick off squad, which meant I got to be on the field at least a few minutes every game. Once the kick-off was over I’d head for the sidelines where I would continue to play an important role on my team—serving as an end and a guard. That is to say, I’d sit on the END of the bench and GUARD the water cooler and wait for the miracle which would entail the 2nd string defense or 3rd string offensive teams being called in.
Well, of course that never happened and as “important” as the kick-off team was—I hungered for more play time. I wanted to get off that bench and actually get in to the action. I got tired of ending the game with a clean uniform! I wanted my share of grass and mud stains! I wanted some of the glory! So…I told one of my fellow team-mates how I felt and he gave me some great advice. He said, “Mark, if you want to play you’ve got to be more aggressive. Don’t just sit on the bench waiting to be called. Get up and stand on the sidelines and whenever the coach says he needs someone to go in, run up to him and volunteer. Let him see how eager you are!”
Well, I followed this advice at the next game and it worked. The guard on the first string defensive squad got hurt so the coach said he needed someone and before anyone else responded I ran right up to him and said, “Put me in coach! I’m ready!” Either he admired my initiative or he had recently read the story of RUDY—because he put me in! He said, “Alright Adams! Get out there! Show us what you can do.” Unfortunately—since I was on 2nd string defense and 3rd string offense, I didn’t know the plays or even the rules of the game very well. This was because the coach worked almost primarily with the FIRST string. That was all the time he had—so he made sure those guys knew the GAME PLAN but we second-stringers were pretty much left out of the loop. We were basically just warm bodies for him to call on when the need arose. But I didn’t let my ignorance stop me. I just headed out on the field, hungry to get involved in any way I could. I wanted to get my hands dirty! I wanted to be a part of the action!
Well, when the tackle was made on that first play I was so eager to get in things that I jumped on the pile and grabbed the face-mask of the kid who had been carrying the ball. He was already down but I wanted to be in on things so bad that I grabbed it any way. I did it again the next play—and only then did I connect my grabbing action with our second 15 yard penalty in a row. The third play, I kind of froze—not knowing what to do and not wanting to make another mistake. The coach saw my hesitation so he yelled at me from the sideline, “Shoot the GAP Adams! Shoot the GAP!” I naively yelled back, “What’s a GAP?”
Now—I eventually learned these VERY important aspects of the great game of football—in fact, believe it or not I got pretty good at shooting the gap and sacking the quarterback. But I share my embarrassing failures with you to underscore the fact that if you want to win at football each player has to know the GAME PLAN. You have to know the plays! And—the same principle is found in the local church. If a body of believers like ours is to play a vital part of God’s great work in our community and world…then we each need to know His “GAME PLAN.” We need to know what it is that God is calling us to do—and make no mistake—He does call us to do things. As He says in our text, God has plans for His children—plans to prosper and give them hope and a future.
When Sue and I first came to Redland a little over 17 years ago now—one thing that impressed us both was the fact that the members of this church were very serious about BEING a church. I mean, they were a lot like me on that JV football team in that they wanted to get off the bench and get into action. They sincerely wanted to DO great things for God. I think this is why we used to call our church newsletter not The Sower but rather the Exciting Times because this was—a place where people were excited about doing God’s work. And it still is by the way! Well, that’s a good thing! This mind set is a great strength for any church—because Christianity is much more than just sitting in sanctuaries like ours once a week. It’s getting out there on the “playing field” of life and doing great things for Jesus. In fact, that’s why we gather each week in SS and worship—we come here to equip us to do God’s will—so it is very important that we KEEP this action-oriented mind-set as a church. We need to constantly insure that we are DOING what God calls us to do as His body—His “team”because as Rick Warren puts it,“Neither past nor future generations can serve God’s purposes in this generation. Only we can.”
This is why about this time each year I set aside a sermon to share exactly what it is that I believe God is calling us to do. And—that’s what we’re doing on this annual VISION Sunday. We’re “huddling up” as a team this morning to hear what I feel God’s game plan is for us as a church in the coming year. But before we get to that I want to take a few minutes to review the PROCESS that leads to this annual church-wide sermon “huddle.” Early every fall our staff gathers to share what we feel God is leading us to do in our various ministry areas. Last November, Bobby and Aaron and Jennifer and Carrie and I spent a day out at Camp Bennet for that express purpose. We prayed together and shared our dreams and hopes for 2008. At the same time our Church Council was praying—and then a few weeks later we all came together—as we do each year—for a 24 hour retreat in which we put our plans on paper. Here’s a picture we took at this year’s retreat. [pic of us on marquee]
For you new-comers, the Church Council is made up of both staff members and also the chairs of our major committees or “ministry teams”— groups like outreach and evangelism, fellowship, Christian education, deacons, building, etc. At this annual planning retreat I swell our numbers a bit by inviting a few new Redland members to give us their perspective on things. After the staff shares their dreams and plans, we take time to evaluate the past year as to how things went…how well we stuck with God’s game plan for the past 12 months…and then we prayerfully hammer out the next year’s CALENDAR. We also huddle together as a church council about 10 times during the year to make sure we’re sticking with the plan. Now, we’ve already given you a copy of the 2008 CALENDAR that we put together at this year’s retreat but there are extra copies on the table outside the sanctuary. Be sure you have a copy on your fridge or in your day-timer!
Well, the annual Vision Sunday sermon you are about to hear is inspired by that time of prayerful planning. I set aside a Sunday to deliver this important message—so you as a member—can prayerfully decide in what way or ways God is calling you to get off the “bench” or pew and become a part of His game plan for our church in 2008.
Now—as an aside—I would encourage Sunday School classes and small group Bible studies and ministry groups and committees to be sure not to plan any event without first checking with the plans the Church Council has made. Call the church office first because if you do we’ll both be sure we stick with the game plan God has given—and we’ll also avoid calendar conflicts. Don’t get me wrong—I’m glad to see believers getting excited about doing things for Jesus. We should all be on mission in our communities and work places. We should each be striving to become more and more like Jesus. But when it comes to group events, we need coordination to be effective. We need to work TOGETHER, which is why we have a church council in the first place!
Okay—here’s what I believe is God’s game plan for 2008. It’s very simple and has only TWO main parts. Now—I’m not going to mention EVERYTHING we do as a church. That would take too long—plus we did a pretty good job of that during our “Just Jump In” study a few months ago. So if your particular ministry isn’t highlighted don’t worry—I’m just focusing on the MAIN NEW things for the 2008 church ministry year. Okay—take out the insert in the bulletin—and as we go along, if you feel so led, check those parts of the game plan that you’d like to GET OFF THE BENCH and be a part of.
(1) In 2008, I believe God wants us to emphasize…GROWING….growing in several different ways.
A. First, we each need to get off the bench and strive to grow SPIRITUALLY.
Now, I would remind you that there are a lot of churches out there who’s “teams” are not doing this. Instead of striving to grow to be more like Jesus, the “plays” they call in their “huddles” focus on numerical growth. Well, we’re not going to make that mistake—because we know Jesus commissioned us to make DISCIPLES and without that—without discipleship or SPIRITUAL growth—numerical growth is meaningless. Plus—the best way to grow NUMERICALLY is to grow SPIRITUALLY. The more like Jesus we each become—the more we’ll each want to lead people to faith in Him and the better equipped we will be to do that.
I’m going to ask Dr. Bill Wehunt, who directs our discipleship efforts to come now and share his plans for spiritual growth in the coming year.
[BILL SHARES]
As you heard Bill remind us, we feel led to BEEF UP Sundays in the summer. As a church council we have felt God saying that in past years we have given the appearance that things kind of stop on Sundays in the summer months….and we want to correct that. So, we’re going to try and have a full choir loft each week—and we’re going to limit our mass SS class for adults to the four weeks of July. I believe God is reminding us that most of our visitors here at Redland—most of the people moving into our area looking for a church home—most of them come to check us out in August so we want them to see Redland in action! We want them to see full classrooms and choir lofts each Sunday.
Now—to supplement Bill’s excellent plan for an “RBC201 class” in July, we’re also going to offer a study of one of the classic books on discipleship, Paul Little’s, Know What You Believe.
This will be on Wednesday nights. If you’re interested in either or both of these studies check that on your card…and watch the SOWER for details. Another way that we’re going to emphasize SPIRITUAL growth is through an in-depth sermon series I’ll be doing this year on the book of ROMANS. [pic] We live in a time when many Christians are de-emphasizing doctrine and embracing more of a wishy-washy social gospel. I want to try and steer us away from that mistake by leading us through a study of Romans and I’ve picked it because it is one of the meatiest books in the New Testament. Herschel Hobbs once put it this way,“In the book of Romans we have the most complete statement of the Gospel found in the New Testament.”
And I agree—so we’re going to study the basic gospel in Romans and learn how better to apply it to our daily lives. Come ready to study and grow along with me. And then—another part of the game plan this year is for me to work on my own PERSONAL spiritual growth—so in November and December I’m going to finally take my first sabbatical. I’m still finalizing plans but my goal is to take advantage of this wonderful gift that you give yours pastoral staff each five years as a much-needed time of personal spiritual renewal. I had initially thought I should use this time to start my Doctor of Ministry degree but I’ve decided to use my NEXT sabbatical for that purpose.
This time I need to stop let my soul catch up with my body. I’m planning on attending a retreat at The Cove—the retreat center in the Smokey Mountains for pastors started by Billy Graham. Here’s a picture. I’m going to journal—and worship—and spend time in focused prayer—and rest. I’ve already invited Rev. Bill Craig to come and preach our Advent sermon series. If you know Bill then you know he is a gifted speaker. Bobby and others will fill the pulpit on the rest of those Sundays—and I plan on being back by Christmas Eve. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without that sharing that special service with you.
So this year God’s game plan calls for us to focus on SPIRITUAL growth.
B. But this is also going to be a year of growth in Family ministry.
Bobby comes to share Family ministry overview
D. This year will be a year of STAFF development and growth.
I know what you’re thinking, “What else is new?” It seems like we’ve had a search committee of some sort forever—but don’t be discouraged. I really believe this is going to be an EXCITING time because we’ll be focusing on following God’s leading to call new staff leadership in the area of Music, youth, and rec ministry. Our personnel committee is already hard and work on this and will have a detailed recommendation with job descriptions for you to look at next month. I don’t think these will be long-drawn out searches—at least that is my prayer! By the way, Kenn Owens has agreed to serve as our interim minister of music and is already very busily working on the transition with Aaron. I’m so very thankful to have someone of Kenn’s musical caliber and spiritual maturity to take the baton from Aaron as he heads south to Louisiana.
This will also be a year of secretarial staff changes. I say that because it looks like God’s game plan is to trade the Corbett family to a “Texas church team” which saddens us all a great deal…but we’re trusting God on this one. He brought the Corbetts to us through one of those little P.I.E. cards—and He’ll bring others to fill the MANY holes that will be left when they depart.
So—as you can see—God’s game plan for RBC for 2008 involves several different types of GROWING.
(2) But after a great deal of prayer….I also believe God is calling us to make these months time when we focus on GOING.
When I say “going” I’m referring to each of us going and doing our part to fulfill the Great Commission—and this year we’ll do this in two main ways.
A. First, we are going to emphasize RELATIONAL EVANGELISM.
Next week I will start a four-part sermon series based on Bill Hybels’ book Just Walk Across The Room. I’ll also be facilitating a study of this book on Wednesday nights. This was to be a part of our 2007 calendar but we just didn’t have time to get it in. In this book Hybels writes, “Ten thousand steps….roughly that’s the distance you travel sunrise to sunset each and every day of your life. It adds up to about 115,000 miles in a lifetime—or more than four times around this big blue planet of ours. With that said, are you using your steps wisely? Assuming the average distance across most rooms is twenty feet…about ten steps…the question I hope to answer is this: What if ten steps…just one-thousandth of your daily average…could actually impact eternity? If so, it just might change the way you walk.”
And it might! I hope you’ll be here every Sunday and will join us for the study on Wednesdays because evangelism is your responsibility. Telling people about Jesus is why you and I are here instead of in Heaven. Another way we’re going to follow God’s game plan this year and focus on personal evangelism is with our Lenten and Easter study. Next Sunday we will pass out copies of this little booklet based on Max Lucado’s best selling book 3:16 [HOLD UP]. It’s a 40-day devotional guide that will lead us right up until Palm Sunday. This year Palm Sunday is March 16 — 3/16 — and that is the text we’ll be focusing on during Holy Week, John 3:16. Say it with me: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) On 3/16 — March 16th — we’ll give you each a copy of ANOTHER booklet, The 3:16 Promise and I’ll encourage you to give it to a friend or co-worker or family member…someone who doesn’t know Jesus. I hope you’ll be praying during those 40 days of daily devotions…praying that God would tell you who to give that booklet to! And don’t just give it to them. Challenge them to read it and then invite them to join us for worship on Easter Sunday, March 23 as we focus on the last part of John 3:16.
Now—as you know, sometime this year—probably by late summer or early fall—our gym will be finished and will come on line. That building [SLIDE] will be a tool for personal evangelism that we will be able to use for many, many decades! It will be a church-family changing kind of building! It will identify us physically as a place that uses recreation as a ministry tool.
Now—I know this permitting process is taking us longer than we thought—but things are happening. I really believe that by the end of this month we’ll have permits and construction can begin. And—if you doubt that—I mean, if it feels to you as if nothing is happening let me remind you that we are making progress. This time last year our steeple was still laying in the front yard and we had no marquee or driveway lighting. The trees were still up where the gym will be—so things are happening. In a few months we’ll have our gym!
This past Tuesday Becca’s Girls Varsity team played at Richard Montgomery. Richard Montgomery has a brand new gym and it was the first time it was used. And I do have a picture of this athletic team. [PIC of BECCA’S TEAM] Everything was shiny and brand new and it smelled so good! Well, as I sat there it hit me that in a few months we’re going to have a shiny, new-smelling gym! [gym pic again] And I want you to come see it and smell it all you want—but more than that—I want each of you to become involved in using it as a tool of evangelism. I want us to begin to think of working in the gym as our participating in a church-wide mission trip that never ends. For this to work, we’ll need UPWARDS coaches and helpers. We’ll need people to work at the welcome desk. We’ll need volunteers to help keep it clean. We’ll need to give sacrificially so as to get rid of the mortgage that comes with it. In fact, if any of you have not pledged to be a part of THE CROSSING campaign, please do! We’ll have a mortgage of about a million dollars when the gym is done and I think we should pay it off as fast as we can!
But more than anything we’ll need to constantly be using our creative Redland brains to come up with new ways we can use the gym as a tool to fulfill the great commission. We’re planning a grand-opening October 19-24. Stay tuned for details. We’re also going to be having a “gym-shower” this year to stock the gym with basketballs and volleyballs and bleachers and treadmills, etc. And we’re going to spend these next months continuing to get ready to use the gym. This past week Bobby Cook and Kyle Kilgore attended a Rec Lab Conference in Florida to get ideas.
I’d also like us to schedule a field trip to go and visit the gym at Cool Spring Baptist Church in Richmond to get ideas from them. We’re going to send volunteers to another UPWARDS basketball clinic and gather parents whose kids have been involved in the UPWARDS program at Redeemer to get their input. Remember—God has been telling us to build this gym for nearly ten years now! This year that calling will come to fruition! We’ll finally reach “the promised land!” So things will change—in very EXCITING ways—as we “claim” this promised land and begin to learn to use it as God intends!
One final tool of local evangelism that I want to mention is our Web Page. This is a VITAL part of our ministry as a Way Station church. People all over the world who learn they are going to be transferred to our area go on line an search for a church and ours is usually the first one to pop up. We continue to get three to four hundred hits per day. One thing we decided at the CC retreat is that it’s time to update our web page. As you can see from this shot of the current one [pic] the pictures are very dated. Don’t get me wrong—it’s been a great web page that God has used in a powerful way…but like a car with too many miles on it—it’s time to trade it in for a new model. So Brenda and a few volunteers have been working on that and it will be ready to go on line soon. Here’s a shot of what the new web page will look like. Notice the buttons are right there. You don’t have to scroll down. And these pictures will cycle through five shots of our church. Brenda has even designed a new logo! [logo pic] Isn’t it sharp!?
B. Okay—that’s local “going”—local evangelism. The other way we will focus on going—is through adult mission trips and this year we are planning on two.
Bob Michael is taking a crew on a third trip to help rebuild following Katrina. This time though they’ll be going into New Orleans instead of Gulf Port.
BOB SHARES [slide of Louisiana]
And then in January (DATE) 2009 we’re going to be doing something I’ve wanted us to do for a long time…take a MEDICAL mission trip. My son, Daniel, who will be in his final year of med school by then, and will be leading a team of doctors and volunteers to the Dominican Republic.
DANIEL SHARES [slide of Dominican Republic]
Now—as you think about this form, I would remind you that we were DESIGNED to get off the bench and follow God’s game plan—so nothing else really fulfills us in life. One thing Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes is that he had tried living for the things of this world but it left him feeling empty. Remember? He said that living for the things of this world was like chasing wind. Well the reason he was so unsatisfied is that we were designed for MUCH more than “chasing wind.”
We were designed to join God in mission and ministry. That’s what fulfills us! So get off the bench this year! Just jump in! Roll up your sleeves and get involved! If you are our guest and you are looking for a church home then you came on the right Sunday because you have heard exactly what God is calling us to do and, if after hearing all this, you feel God leading you to join us, then we invite you to walk forward during our closing hymn and move your membership here.
Others of you attending this morning may not be Christians and you are seeking purpose and meaning in life. That is only found in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We invite you to make that decision this morning and to share it with us. Won’t you come as we sing? Let’s all respond right now as God leads. Redlanders, bring your commitment cards and lay them on the altar.