iHOPE

Pastor's Summer Book Club

Want a couple good reads this summer?  Check out the selections for this year’s Pastor’s Summer Book Club!

 Summer can be a hectic time and it is hard to have a set, regular time for the kind of classes I teach in the Fall and Winter.  That’s where the Pastor’s Summer Book Club comes in.  I have picked a couple of books that I have read this year and would love to discuss.  You get to read them at your own pace and then come together to discuss them.

 As easy as 1-2-3!

 Here’s how to participate:

1. Pick up the Book: Copies will be available at the church, but can also be picked up a bookstores or on line (Both selections are available for Kindle/Tablets)
2. Read the Book: Do it at your own pace
3. Discuss the Book:  Discussions will be held on Sundays after the 2^nd service (Noon- 2pm). Bring a brown bag lunch. Bring your insights and questions (even if you didn’t finish reading it!). Hear how it affected others and get their insights, too!

 That’s it! Treat yourself to one or both of these great books this summer:

 Ragamuffin Gospel: The Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-up, and Burnt Out

by Brennan Manning

Cost at Church:  $13

Discussion Date:  Sunday, July 14   Noon- 2:00 pm

Brennan Manning passed away this year and so did one of the most powerful voices for the grace of God.  I don’t know anyone who can startle, challenge and comfort (sometimes all in the same paragraph!) the way Manning does. His books will keep that voice alive and this is one of his best.

"We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that He should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at His love, bewildered at this very moment that we are standing on holy ground." from  Ragamuffin Gospel

 

What We Talk About When We Talk About God

by Rob Bell

Cost at Church:  $18

Discussion Date: Sunday, September 15*   Noon- 2:00 pm

 Rob Bell is always provocative (and often misunderstood).  If you liked my series last Fall (“Losing My Religion”), you’ll appreciate this book.

 "I've written this book because there's a growing sense that when it comes to God, we're at the end of one era and the start of another, an entire mode of understanding and talking about God is dying as something new is being birthed."- Rob Bell

*This is a change from the original date of September 8

Neighbor Care & Partners of Hope: Making a Difference

Did you see this story?  It was in today's Denver Post as part of the YourHub section, detailing the growing demand for elderly services in Douglas County. Karie Erikson is the program manager and reports that when she began five years ago, Neighbor Network served five people. Today, they serve 250 people and have 80 volunteers. They primarily provide transportation, as well as companionship and home repairs.

Partners of Hope

A number of those volunteers come from New Hope and are part of our "Partners of Hope" ministry. Partners of Hope is not a new ministry as much as it is a "meta-ministry" that tries to coordinate and focus existing ministries for maximum effectiveness in our community. We have created a whole new, "Partners of Hope"  blog so they can tell their story and get more people involved. Mike Massine is heading that up for us and his latest article outlines some of the current needs in the community. Some of these needs are just waiting for individuals to donate a little time. Others might be great projects for a LIFE group over the summer.

One Story

One group that is already involved is our "Fix-It" Ministry. This is a group that began meeting informally for coffee and conversation on Wednesday mornings. Afterwards, some of them would stick around to help with various projects around the church. Not only did they save us thousands of dollars in maintenance and repair, they 'gelled' as a group and began to look for other needs in the community. Below is an example (I shared this as part of the sermon last Sunday) of how Partners of Hope connects the gifts and resources of the congregation with the needs of the community.

We learned of Ed through one of our community partners - Neighbor Network. Our involvement started by providing rides to doctor appointments. But, as what usually happens, one conversation leads to another, and we have been able to assist Ed - who is 88, legally blind, and living independently in his home - in many ways. We have helped with shopping, with banking, with snow removal, and companionship (Ed always buys lunch!)

Yesterday, the guys from New Hope's Fix-It Ministry assisted Ed in a big way. They repaired his shower, replaced a bathroom sink, and stopped multiple water leaks. Way to go guys!!!

Through Partners of Hope, Ed has been rejuvenated with new hope and he has several new friends.

Making a Difference

Around New Hope, we like to say that we aren't trying to be the "best church IN our community" as much as the "best church FOR our community". There is a big difference. One pits us against all the other churches as if they were our 'competition'. The other makes us partners and engages us in service. The above stories are some of the latest examples of how that happens. Being the "best church FOR our community" means we get to be part of the Great Story of God.

 

Worshipping with ALL Your Mind

Do you worship with only half your brain?

I know sometimes I do (I'll wait so you can fill in the appropriate punchline...) In fact, it is how I worship most comfortably, most of the time.

We've known for a long time that the brain has two halves. While it is sometimes overstated, generally each side functions differently and contributes to our whole self (you can read a pretty good summary here):

Left Brain: Words are the primary form of communication in the left brain. It uses logic and reason to nurture the soul.  It seeks to find the meaning and explain reality- including God. The left side of my brain is good at this, but it can't experience God. It can't experience anything. To do that, we need the right side of our brain.

Right Brain: This is where creativity and intuition come from. It communicates not with words, but with images and symbols. The senses play a big role for the right side of our brain.This is also the part of the brain that allows us to better experience beauty, mystery and wonder. In fact, there is a fascinating story about a neuroscientist who 'discovered' spirituality only when she had a stroke and the left side of her brain shut down for awhile.

Dallas Willard: "Thank You"

Dallas Willard passed away yesterday. For all the reading I do, there is only a short list of authors who have profoundly changed, shaped and informed my idea of discipleship and ministry. Dallas Willard is on that list.

He,as well as anyone, articulated that being a Christian is supposed to make a difference: in the person and in the world.  Something is actually supposed to happen within the heart and character of the person who is a follower of Jesus Christ. More than new knowledge or a set of beliefs (as important as those can be), openness to Christ is meant to transform a person and the presence of such a person in the world is supposed to make a difference in the world.

“Individually the disciple and friend of Jesus who has learned to work shoulder to shoulder with his or her Lord stands in this world as a point of contact between heaven and earth, a kind of Jacob’s ladder by which the angels of God may ascend from and descend into human life. Thus the disciple stands as an envoy or a receiver by which the kingdom of God is conveyed into every quarter of human affairs.”

Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

When we talk about New Hope as a church that 'makes a difference', this is what we are talking about.

More than just inspire people to make a difference, Willard also talked about 'how' people are transformed into the kind of people who would impact their world.  Some authors are great at holding up a vision of inner transformation. Others are known for articulating a passionate vision of how the church is to change the world. Willard was one of the rare people who powerfully connected the two.

More than write and speak about it, Willard lived it. Evidence of that was related from his death bed where he succumbed to pancreatic cancer. His last words were reported to be, "Thank you." For a man who is known for his countless words in his many books, articles and lectures, the best window into his God-saturated heart came down to just two: "Thank You." 

Indeed.