I know people may have some questions about our upcoming move, so I thought I would answer them here.

1. Why are you leaving your present church?

We are moving for family reasons and to be closer to family back south.

Are you leaving because of conflict in the church? No. Agawam Church is a wonderful, peaceable church family with little to no conflict. I would not want the news of my moving to reflect badly on the church in any way.

Are you leaving because you were caught in some sin? Ooh, the juicy stuff. No. Although I confess sin daily, I am not being asked to step down because of some disqualifying sin in my life.

Are you leaving because of financial reasons? No. Agawam Church of the Bible has always provided well for me and my family.

2. Where are you going?

I wish I knew! We are focusing on Florida, Georgia and Texas, but we want to remain open to wherever God might lead us.

3. When are you planning to move?

The “when” depends on a number of things, including the “where” in the list above! We are probably looking at a 3-6 month window before we can move. We need to find a new place of ministry, we need to sell our home, and we need to make sure there is a smooth transition for our church on this end.

4. Does your church know you are leaving?

Yes. This is something that I have been discussing with the church elders for some time and shared with the church family several weeks ago.

5. What kind of a church are you looking for?

I have served mostly in Baptist and independent churches. I am committed to expository preaching from God’s Word, teaching and discipleship, missions and evangelism. You can find more information about me at my Pastoral Profile page.

6. Is there anything we can do to help?

Yes. You can help me network by passing my information on to any churches you know that may be looking for a pastor. If you are a blogger, feel free to mention our move as a point of interest and post a link to my profile. Also, please email me if you know of an open church opportunity.

And you can pray.

      1) Pray for us as we seek the new place God has for us.
      2) Pray for a smooth transition for Agawam Church of the Bible.
      3) Pray for the new pastor God will be calling ACB’s way.

Thanks! We look forward to seeing where God would have us serve next.

Related posts:
    • Church Search
    • Big Change for the Fowler Family
    • Pastoral Profile

I would appreciate your prayers for us at this time as we are looking at moving back south to be closer to family. We are now in our fifth year here at Agawam Church of the Bible. I am going to miss this church and all the wonderful people here, but it is time for us to go.

We are still looking for God’s next place for us, so if you know of any churches that are looking for pastors, please pass this information along. We are especially looking at Florida, Georgia, or along the Gulf Coast of Texas, but we want to go where God calls us and are seeking his will in this first.

I have put together a Pastoral Profile Page with materials for prospective churches: resume, ministry statement, statement of faith, theology of ministry, family profile, and sermon links. Click here to access the Pastoral Profile Page.

Once again, please pass this information on to any interested churches you may know. Thank you!

Related posts:
    • Church Search
    • Questions and Answers about Our Upcoming Move
    • Pastoral Profile

Kevin DeYoung just finished up a series on high places in the church today. In the Old Testament the high places represented blind spots for the kings of Israel and Judah. DeYoung writes:

Several times in Kings and Chronicles we are told that so-and-so did what was right, except…except for the high places. This little bit of pagan influence, this little capitulation to the culture was too ingrained in their thinking to be seen. Or if it was seen, it seemed too normal to think of doing anything about it.

DeYoung highlights five areas that may be high places for the church today.

1. The lack of psalm singing in our churches
2. Worldliness in entertainment
3. The idolatry of youth
4. Our lack of church discipline
5. Prayerlessness

What do you think? Do these represent blind spots for the modern church? What other areas might be high places for the church today?

Related post: The Sin of Prayerlessness Series

According to a recent poll, nearly two-thirds of all Americans plan to attend an Easter church service this year. Maybe they will attend yours if you invite them!

Most Americans say they would visit a church if invited by a family member, neighbor or a friend.

A recent study by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and LifeWay Research found that 67 percent of Americans say a personal invitation from a family member would be effective in getting them to visit a church. A personal invitation from a friend or neighbor would effectively reach 63 percent.

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) are willing to receive information about a local congregation or faith community from a family member, and 56 percent are willing to receive such information from a friend or neighbor.

“The primary lesson North American believers should learn from this research is that many of your unchurched friends are ready for an invitation to conversation,” said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. “Unbelievers next door still need a simple, personal invitation to talk, to be in community and to church.”

So, what are you waiting for? Who will you invite to church this week?

(From The Cartoon Blog)

We once did a skit at our church very similar to this as a way of reminding our people to reach out to guests on Sunday mornings. Does this cartoon remind you of your church at all? What are some ways your church tries to make guests feel welcome?

Related post: The Dullest Blog in the World

I enjoyed reading this article about Houston Rockets basketball player Shane Battier. Although he doesn’t have the stats to prove it, apparently when Battier is on the court, his own team plays significantly better and the opposing team plays worse.

Here we have a basketball mystery: a player is widely regarded inside the N.B.A. as, at best, a replaceable cog in a machine driven by superstars. And yet every team he has ever played on has acquired some magical ability to win …

Battier’s game is a weird combination of obvious weaknesses and nearly invisible strengths. When he is on the court, his teammates get better, often a lot better, and his opponents get worse — often a lot worse. He may not grab huge numbers of rebounds, but he has an uncanny ability to improve his teammates’ rebounding. He doesn’t shoot much, but when he does, he takes only the most efficient shots. He also has a knack for getting the ball to teammates who are in a position to do the same, and he commits few turnovers. On defense, although he routinely guards the N.B.A.’s most prolific scorers, he significantly ­reduces their shooting percentages. At the same time he somehow improves the defensive efficiency of his teammates — probably, Morey surmises, by helping them out in all sorts of subtle ways.

“I call him Lego,” Morey says. “When he’s on the court, all the pieces start to fit together. And everything that leads to winning that you can get to through intellect instead of innate ability, Shane excels in. I’ll bet he’s in the hundredth percentile of every category.”

Battier reminds me of the many people in church situations who serve quietly behind the scenes. Because they are not up front, you may not notice them a lot; but the whole church runs more smoothly as a result of their service.

Lenten Series:
    1. What is Lent?
    2. Should Christians Celebrate Lent?
    3. What is Ash Wednesday?
    4. Should I Give Something Up for Lent?
    5. Giving Up Church for Lent

I once received a phone call from a woman who told me she would not be at church for the next several weeks. I asked her if she was going away, and she replied, “No, I’m giving up church for Lent.” I said, “Excuse me?” and she said, “I’m giving up church for Lent.” I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” She explained that she observes Lent every year and that this year she wanted to give up something that really meant a lot to her. She loves going to church and thought that would be a perfect thing to give up for Lent. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was determined. True to her word, she didn’t come back to church until Easter Sunday. She told me later, “I really missed church. It was a big sacrifice for me.”

My thoughts? Well, I agree if you are going to give up something for God, it should be something meaningful, rather than just chocolate or American Idol. (See my earlier post: Should I Give Something Up for Lent?) But somehow I don’t think God wants you to give up things like church attendance, Bible reading, or prayer. What is the strangest thing you have ever heard someone giving up for Lent?

One of our stated core values as a church is that the church is for children as well as for adults.

“We believe that children can become believers, grow spiritually and serve the church body, and therefore, we will have ministries designed to equip and facilitate this process.” (from Agawam Church of the Bible Core Values Statement)

As a result, we encourage our young people to serve in the church. Probably the most visible way our young people serve is on the church worship team, but others help with Sunday morning set-up, running the sound system, children’s church, nursery, and other areas. So I found it interesting to read that John Calvin also encouraged children to serve in the musical ministry of the church.

“The ministers expect the singing of psalms to have a positive influence on the prayers and on the glorification of the name of God. A number of qualified children are to be selected to lead the congregation in the singing of the psalms.” (Wulfert de Greef, The Writings of John Calvin, p. 111)

Does your church encourage young people to serve? If so, in what ways?

HT: Expository Thoughts

Here is your official New England Church Weather Report for 2009:

    1) Wake up.
    2) Look outside.
    3) If it is snowing, it must be Sunday.

Oh well, at least that’s the way it seems to be working out so far this year. Maybe we’ll get a snow-free Sunday next week?

Brad Wright reviews Willow Creek’s Follow Me: What’s Next for You? (Reveal II) by Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson. What’s the difference between Reveal and Follow Me?

Reveal uncovers and explains a spiritual continuum that identifies four segments of the spiritual journey … Follow Me focuses on movement—the vital things that catalyze growth and move people from one segment to the next on the spiritual continuum.

Here are the links to Brad’s 13-part review:

Part 1:  A Review of Willow Creek’s Follow Me: What’s Next for You?
Part 2:  Summary of Findings
Part 3:  Strengths of the Study
Part 4:  Why Collect Data
Part 5:  What’s New?
Part 6:  Answering longitudinal questions with cross-sectional data
Part 7:  Which comes first? Spiritual growth or behaviors and attitudes?
Part 8:  Is the spiritual continuum a useful concept?
Part 9:  Do church services matter? Apparently yes.
Part 10:  The gap between importance and satisfaction
Part 11  Is academic research of value to the church?
Part 12:  Do breakthrough findings exist?
Part 13:  Conclusion

Related posts:
    • A Sociologist Reviews UnChristian
    • Willow Creek Shifts Model Based on Reveal
    • A Sociologist Reviews Willow Creek’s Reveal Study

From New Zealand: Church wants to set up self-contained city.

The leader of Destiny Church says plans are underway to create a self-contained “Destiny City” for its followers in the middle of South Auckland … Plans for the city include a 5000-seat church, maraes, medical centres and schools – eliminating the need for residents to ever leave. “Every child of every member of this church will never go to a state school again,” Mr Tamaki said. He urged the church’s 7000-plus members to sell their homes and move to his city “for the purpose of God”. (HT: MMI)

Even beyond the obvious financial abuse and manipulation, there is just so much wrong with this picture. As believers we are called not to isolate ourselves from the world but to reach out to the world. We are to be in the world but not of the world. (John 17:14-15). Jesus himself set the example when he left the glories of heaven in order to walk this planet with us.

Listen to this short cut from the following song and then consider:  In what ways do we sometimes isolate ourselves from the world as Christians? In what ways could we do a better job of engaging the world for Christ?

Click “►” button to play | Length: 0:47

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Sara Groves; “To the Moon” (from the album Add to the Beauty)

“TO THE MOON” – by Sara Groves

It was there in the bulletin
We’re leaving soon
After the bake sale to raise funds for fuel
The rocket is ready and we’re going to
Take our church to the moon

There’ll be no one there to tell us we’re odd
No one to change our opinions of God
Just lots of rocks and this dusty sod
Here in our church on the moon

We know our liberties we know our rights
We know how to fight a very good fight
Just grab that last bag there and turn out the light
We’re taking our church to the moon
We’re taking our church to the moon
We’ll be leaving soon