For the last few days I have been looking at new phones for the family and finally took the plunge yesterday. I upgraded our plan and phones so my wife and I could get a Blackberry Curve. All I can say so far this thing is pretty cool. It has everything I need…phone, email, text, calender, internet, plus all sorts of music and entertainment. It’s a great way to stay wired and connected no matter where you go.
What would happen? How would your community react? Now, I am not talking about self-esteem reactions such as “does anyone like me” but more of an impact factor. If you picked up and left a community would the community know you left?
Saturday at church I was sharing about how in life you leave a wake behind you kind of like a boat. Some boats go by and the wake is incredible while other boats go by and a few minutes later there isn’t even a ripple in the water. Life is like that, you leave an impact where ever you go. It happens at your work and at play. What is your impact on your community?
As Christians we should be adding something positive to our communities. I’m not talking about religious stuff or evangelism, these are important but not what I mean. What I mean is, are you a positive member of the community. Are you involved in things that do something for the community that aren’t about anything other then being a part of your community. If you have kids this would be things like coaching or being involved in the PTA. Something that adds value to the community.
So if you moved away, would the community care or even know? It’s a tough question, isn’t it? I want to challenge everyone to get involved, be a part of your community. Let’s make sure that the wake we leave behind us is a memorable one, in a positive way.
Since we have been making huge changes at the church, there have been a lot questions about our direction and updates. We now have all of this information online at www.whatifchurch.com. It should answer most questions.
Make sure to let your friends know about it! If anyone has any questions or would like to talk more about where we are headed and how they might fit in, I would love to take them to coffee or lunch. Have a great weekend!
We took a family vacation last week and had a great time in South Dakota, Montana and Idaho. We spend a few days camping and hiking at Holland Lake on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Northwest Montana. What a great time. Here are some pics.
If you see the valley going up between the two mountains on the left, this is the valley my wife and went up into the wildnerness for our honeymoon a number of years back. This area is just beautiful. The lake is Holland Lake looking at the edge mountains of the Bob Marshall.
Here are a few pics we took on a day hike up the mountain.
This picture of Holland Lake above is just awesome. Look at that glassy water with the Mission Mountain Range in the background! It was pretty cold too. Nothing like swimming in a mountain fed lake.
This next picture below was the reason for the hike. Holland Falls! This water is cold. I comes from upper Holland Lake at about 6000ft and is fed by the meltdown off the mountain. Upper Holland Lake is where my wife and I based camp out of or our honeymoon. The upper lake is just incredible, it takes about a 6 hour (7 mile) hike up the mountain. We didn’t have the time to backpack all the way up but someday we will do it again.
And last a nice family picture of us on the side of the mountain over looking Holland Lake.
One of the most important things that we do as leaders and Christians is to try and determine how God is leading us. It can get difficult and complicated. Leadership Journal has this great article to help leadership teams discern and obey the voice of God. Check it out here.
