Stacie Shoemaker did another great job of taking pictures at our Church Requel service tonight. Most of the pictures are of our setup again. Each week we get better at the setup. But we're adding a lot of things with the LOST set. As a result, we barely got everything done in time to open.
The camaraderie was really wonderful tonight. I enjoyed watching everyone work joyfully in taking down the set and then saying their goodbyes. We have learned to love one another deeply. You can see from the picture above that we also have a great deal of fun together.
Click here if you'd like to see the 14 photos in tonight's album.
What should a Christ follower learn from the younger son in Jesus' Prodigal parable? In "Wasted" we consider 5 versions of one key question we should ask ourselves every single day. Join me in this audio version of this evening's sermon as we study Luke 15:11-16.
Tonight at Church Requel we are going to consider the parable of the prodigal son, perhaps the best known parable that Jesus ever told. We know it so well that we might actually discount it's meaning for us today. Especially if we are Christ followers, we might think that we know the major characters and the meanings attached to each of them. We think of the lost son and think to ourselves that his story doesn't apply to us. We're part of the "found" we say to ourselves, not the "lost." We think of the father who welcomed back his lost son and know this refers to God the Father who loves us with so much compassion. And we think of the older son, so critical of both father and son - we don't want to identify with him either.
We'll come to each of these characters over the next three weeks in our LOST series. But in preparation for tonight I thought of the younger son and the part of the story where Jesus says, "the younger son packed up all he had" (Luke 15: 13 NIrV). We often think of ourselves as "staying" with God, not moving off to a far away land. I wonder, though, if sometimes we keep ourselves "packed up" with those aspects of our lives we would just rather keep to ourselves. We all have those "monsters" that we're not proud of, that keep up the barrier between us and God.
In preparation for tonight I came across a movie clip from a recent movie, "The Answer Man,"that I think demonstrates well what I'm talking about. The main character admits that he collects monster figurines and keeps them packed away inside of his closet. A friend suggests that he takes out his monsters and display them in his home. The friend says, "Just try it out. Consider it an experiment."
We can all identify with the collector who says, "But I don't want it (the monster) there. I want it with all my other monsters." Like him, we want to contain all of our monsters in a safe and closed off place, all packed away.
Fortunately, God wants to deal with our monsters. He wants to heal us. He wants to live with us, to abide with us. This means I can be myself with God. I can be real. Authentic. Do you have some monsters hidden away in your closet that need unpacked?
Come tonight to Church Requel to hear more. We have lots of good things in store for everyone who comes. Our service begins at 6PM and meets at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, 890 4th Street, Mansfield, across the street from Arlin Field.
I love listening to podcasts and the Catalyst Podcast is one of the very best. Yesterday I listened to Episode 88 with guest Rick Warren. I highly recommend listening; in fact, I think I may go back and listen again myself.
For those of you who do not know, Catalyst's goal is about impacting the next
generation of leaders. Through conferences, podcasts and other resources, they attempt to influence “change agents” throughout the church. I attended the Catalyst Conference this past October for the first time.
Rick Warren has completed 30 years of ministry all at one church: Saddleback Community Church. Stop and think what a remarkable accomplishment that is! My prayer is that God may grant me the rest of my life as pastor of Church Requel. But at age 52, I can only hope that I have another 29 years remaining.
Listening to Rick Warren talk to hosts Brad Lomenick and Ken Coleman was a productive and enjoyable experience for me. Rick is perhaps the greatest teaching pastor, in my humble opinion, of our generation. I know that during the conversation he is repeating many of the things that he has taught over the years - but he is so natural at it and is of such good humor with such great humility - that I cannot help but smile as I soak up all he has to say.
Three items may be of particular interest to my readers and congregants. First is his commitment to the concept of mentoring: both of being a mentor and of being mentored. Second I found his vision of his next ten years of ministry, what he calls the decade of destiny, to be inspiring. Finally, his description of "radicalis" was insightful. Interesting coincidence... Rick's concept of "radicalis" will be familiar to those who've heard me talk about "requel."
The entire podcast takes 58 minutes to play. For those that want to skip right to the Rick Warren interview, start playing the podcast about 8 minutes into it. The interview runs 46 minutes.
Valentine's Day will make it's grand entrance again this weekend. The florists, candy makers, and greeting card companies are prepped and ready to go. Every newspaper, magazine, and media outlet will be making a big deal out of Valentine's Day.
Does the thought of Valentine's Day get your romantic engines running? Or do you wish you could just check out this time around? Come on. You can be honest with me. It's just us talking here.
I think for a large group of folks, Valentine's Day is just another day to be reminded of what you don't have. After all it's a day for lovers, we're told. A day for romance. Chocolates and cards and date nights prevail. And if your romance life has seen better days, perhaps Valentine's Day is more like a painful memory than a day to celebrate.
Would you be surprised to learn that Valentine's Day got it's start, not from lover's romance, but from Christian martyrs? In the second and third centuries several people named Valentine gave their life for their faith. So yes, it IS a day for lovers... for lovers of Christ, who demonstrated their faith to a watching world!
Why do I write this to you today? Because I'd like to re energize Valentine's Day for you if it's become a day for painful memories. Let's start making some new memories! Let's take some "requel" action on Valentine's Day this year. We use the word "requel" to tell an old story in a new and fresh way. How could you REQUEL Valentine's Day?
How about doing something kind and loving for someone else this year on Valentine's Day? It doesn't have to be your lover. Rather, it can be someone who Jesus loves. And that's a pretty wide open group! Find someone who maybe won't be getting chocolates this year, and send them some. Or send some flowers or a card. You don't even have to say why you're doing it. Just let someone know that they are loved this year on Valentine's Day... because they are!
Church Requel has been having so much fun with this LOST series, that we’ve decided to extend it by a couple weeks through March 7th. And we thought it would be a great idea to celebrate the conclusion of our Hawaiian themed series with a Luau on Sunday evening, March 7th. We learned on December 7th that Church Requel loves their potlucks! More details will be coming, but put this on your calendar for 5PM on the first Sunday in March. Hint: keep looking for anything tropical that we can use to decorate our space at Mid-Ohio. And plan to wear your island best!
Are you looking for a receipt for your giving to Church Requel from last year? There are several ways that you can receive this receipt. First, for our regular attendees, your giving record is available in our Online Community website through CCB. Just log in, click the “My Profile” tab, click the “Financial” tab, then click “Giving Statement.” If you need help or a username and password, let me know.
Second, if you want your giving statement, but would prefer not to get it online yourself, just let me know and I'll get it right out to you. You can email me (Mark.Pierce AT ChurchRequel.org) or call me at 419.564.1525. I promise I'll get it right out to you!
I invested my day in planning for this weekend's service. I know you expect to hear me say this, but I am really excited about some of the special things we have planned for you Sunday evening. We still have the LOST paradise island theme going, but this week we have added a few elements. We'll open the service with three great worship and praise songs. I know some of you like to know what they'll going to be, so here's the list:
After we read Luke 15:11-16 together, we'll watch a short skit about the Prodigal Son by The Skit Guys. (I think you'll really enjoy this!) We'll then study the first part of the Prodigal Son parable in a talk I wrote this week entitled, "Wasted." During the talk we'll consider 5 versions of one question we should ask ourselves daily.
Finally, Nate Williams will wrap everything up with a special song, "And Now My Lifesong Sings," performed originally by Casting Crowns. It will be a great way to wrap up what I think will be a very special evening. I hope to see you there... Come dressed in your island best! Pastor Mark
If you weren't paying attention, you might have missed it. It was only 15 seconds long. During the most watched television show in history, David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, and Jay Leno appeared together in a quarter-minute ad for the Letterman Show. In case you weren't among the 106 million folks watching last Sunday, here is the CBS commercial.
It is no secret that the recent shake up in late night television has given rise to acerbic (and funny) comments by both Letterman and Leno. And those who have been around long enough (like yours truly) remember the early days when Letterman made the transition from NBC to CBS and began the 17-year contest for late night bragging rights. So to see both Leno and Letterman in the same commercial with the queen of talk sitting between them was entertaining indeed.
According to staff members of the “Late Show with David Letterman” who
were on the scene that day — including the executive producer, Rob
Burnett – it all happened because Mr. Letterman had an idea he thought
would be truly funny: a Super Bowl ad that featured the two
longest-running adversaries in late night, sitting with Ms. Winfrey as
though at a Super Bowl party.
The interesting thing about this is that in the week's aftermath when pundits have put together their lists of favorite Super Bowl commercials, the Late Show ad is often included in the top picks. This got me to thinking. What is it about this ad that is so appealing? Other marketers spent months and millions of dollars putting together their spots. The Late Show ad was filmed in less than a half hour in the balcony of the Ed Sullivan theater.
The quick and easy answer, of course, is that seeing all three celebrities together is appealing all by itself. But I think the charm of the commercial goes way beyond that. There's just something inherently built into us that is attracted to reconciliation - even the 15-second, make-believe, Super Bowl kind.
Those preachers among us like to say that there is a place within each one of us that only God can fill. The greatest God story that we love to tell, and sing about, and preach upon is how God Himself provided the reconciliation for each of us to be in relationship with Him. We read in Romans 5:11: "We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." Much of the story of the Bible is about reconciliation between us and God as well as between us and... us!
The truth of the Leno-Letterman feud is that there is actually a cordiality between them that might be surprising to many observers. Again, the Feb. 7th NY Times writes:
The two late-night rivals greeted each other warmly, Mr. Burnett said.
“It was very friendly, very professional, totally cordial,” he said.
“You could tell these were two guys who have known each other for a
long time.”
My question for you today, dear reader, is who might you surprise? To whom might you be reconciled? Consider the joy you could experience, the lightness in your step, the lift to your spirit if you put aside long-ago hurts and offenses! You might not make the favorite 15 seconds of Super Bowl fame, but it will be a scene your heavenly Father will enjoy immensely. And the instant replay of your fence mending could replace that rut in your mind of your past pain. Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.
I've been working on the sermon for this weekend and have concluded that I need to extend our entire LOST series. I simply cannot do justice to the Luke 15 passages in the four weeks I had previously given to it. The extension will give me more time for the Prodigal Son passages in Luke 15:11-24. What I had previously planned on teaching in one week, I will now cover in three weeks. For those who like to keep up on the big picture at Church Requel, here is how the new LOST sermon series will look:
February 28th - "Radical Compassion," Luke 15:20b-24
March 7th - "The Other," Luke 15:25-32
This means, of course, that we'll keep the LOST set going for a couple extra weeks. So if you have some Hawaiian Luau set pieces, we'd really appreciate you lending them to us for a few weeks. By the time we get to the end of the series, we should be able to decorate Hawaiian quite well! This also means that attendees can continue their festive island paradise clothing choices for a couple more weeks too.
Each week of the remaining series will be held at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, 890 Fourth Street, Mansfield, 44906.
Maybe, by the end of the sermon series, we should celebrate with a real Hawaiian Luau on March 7th! What do you think? It will have been three months since our last Church Requel pot luck. Let me know if you'd like to have a party on March 7th!
"As the social networking train gathers momentum, some riders are getting off. Their reasons run the gamut from being besieged
by online 'friends' who aren't really friends to lingering concerns
over where their messages and photos might materialize. If there's a
common theme to their exodus, it's the nagging sense that a
time-sucking habit was taking the "real" out of life."
Even with 400 million users on board, there is something to this notion of people dropping out. In my own case, my youngest daughter, Jillian, perhaps one of the most social people on Planet Earth dropped Facebook a couple years back. (That was about the time I got on the Facebook train. But I'm sure that was only coincidence!) In addition, some of those closest to me, my brother Todd, my best friend Roc, my remarkably ever-youthful Dad never signed up for the social network hoopla to begin with.
But those of us concerned with making an impact for Christ in our world and in our neighborhoods should not be quick to abandon this most useful tool. With all the flaws that come along with Facebook and the like, there's plenty to like as well. I now have the ability to stay in touch with my parishioners in a way that was unheard of even 5 years ago. For example, a quick perusal of my Facebook account this morning reminded me that one of our church attendees is celebrating a birthday today. (Heather, again Happy Birthday!) And I can't begin to tell you how many people will choose to send me messages through Facebook instead of looking up my email, or God forbid, actually call me.
Some will be quick to conclude that such "messaging" is the very definition of less faceless friendships. But I welcome it with open arms and am thankful for the opportunity to be more connected. I know I have opportunities now through social media technology that I never would have had otherwise.
Social networking is as old as mankind. It's only the technology that's new. And like any new technology, we need to learn the rules about how to use it well. Sites like Facebook are not going away any time soon. Why else would Google want to get into the social networking business?
So what should pastors and church leaders do? Two thoughts come to my mind as I wrap up today's post.
Continue to participate in social networking sites, but don't push anyone else to do the same. As a leader - lead by example. Set personal limits in terms of time and participation. Let others into your life and show them what a growing life in Christ looks like.
In addition to joining public social networking sites, offer a private, church-only social networking site to your parishioners. At Church Requel, we have done this through Church Community Builder. As wonderful as the public sites like Facebook and Twitter are, there just are some things that are better when offered privately within the church. Examples of this include small group connections, event calendaring, and online giving. One of my first decisions as pastor of Church Requel was to sign up for CCB. I'm convinced it was also one of my best decisions.
It has been long overdue. I haven't changed the basic layout of this blog since I set it up in the summer of 2008. Since then I've lost a job, started a home church, then moved it out of the house and over to our public setting at Mid-Ohio Conference Center. All the while, the look of the Church Requel blog has remained the same.
Anyone who knows me knows that I get tired of things in short order. I love to create and refashion. But the blog was just always on the bottom of the totem pole of things that needed doing. Since I've started the blog, there's been the work on the new church website, the audio blog, the private online church community site, the Vimeo and YouTube video sites, not to mention the fun sites like Twitter and Facebook. And of course there is the weekly, creative juices that go into each Church Requel worship service.
Three things have motivated me to get out the blog paint brush and tidy things up. First, my seminary class has been canceled because of the snow so I suddenly had a few free hours. Second, the News Journal will be publishing an article about Mansfield's top bloggers within the next few days and I thought this might be a good excuse to fancy up just a bit. (Apparently if one googles "blog Mansfield Ohio," three of the top six sites belong to Church Requel!)
Third, and really the most important reason, is that this blog has taken on a different life than it had when it began. In the summer of 2008, this blog was the story of an executive pastor at a local megachurch. Now it's the story of a church planter AND (the most important aspect) his friends who have decided to take this journey with him. So I thought the look of the blog should reflect that.
The banner at the top now includes pictures of the many people involved in Church Requel. The color scheme is lighter and, I hope, more pleasing to the eye. And I now have some easy navigation links across the top that can take the reader to any of the sites that I keep up on a day to day basis.
So... what do you think? I'd love to hear your feedback! Mark
This past weekend was an important one in the short history of Church Requel. It was the second weekend since we launched publicly last October that our primary meeting location, Mid-Ohio Conference Center, was not available to us. Most churches teach their parishioners that the church is much more than the building in which they meet. However, for us, this message is so regularly true! This past weekend we met at Mosaic. It would have been easy to scrub the weekend - our primary meeting place was unavailable, a winter storm had closed most area churches anyway, and the Super Bowl was on! However, we plowed on and, I think, those who came had a great experience. Certainly our attendance was the best, but I'm not sure we would have had many more had we been at Mid-Ohio. The real story of this weekend was that we had the chance to test our mobile church - and the test went very well. If you haven't already seen the pictures, check out this photo album from last weekend.
The video of the talk came off quite nicely. For those of you who couldn't make it and want to be caught up with the teaching for next weekend, I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch. Jesus told us that God searches for lost people in the same way that a woman searches for a lost and precious coin. What are the ten motivating facts that make us want to search as diligently as God? Join me as we study Luke 15:8-10 from the sanctuary of Mosaic at Park Avenue Baptist Church. Here are some resources to assist you:
Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast. Would you like to read my notes for this sermon? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.
This past weekend I preached a sermon titled Search Party. During this talk we considered Acts 4:12,
“Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. We must be saved through him" (NCV).
I made the point that people are hopeless without Christ. In response to our society's value of tolerance in all things religious, I said the following:
We have the tendency to read this through today’s PC terminology. It’s politically correct to be tolerant of other people’s different views. So to say Jesus is the only one or the only power can be twisted to seem intolerant. It’s not intolerant. It is merciful.
Members of NorthWood and the mosque will attend the regular worship
service tonight at Temple Shalom. On Saturday afternoon, the Christians
and Jews will visit the mosque. Finally, on Sunday morning, the Jews
and Muslims will attend NorthWood for worship. After each gathering, the three clergymen will answer questions about the differences and similarities of their faiths.
I encourage my readers, especially my parishioners, to read this Catablog article because I think it shows the right way to demonstrate love, acceptance, and yes... even tolerance, while at the same time holding on to the teachings of our Lord. When asked to describe the weekend, Pastor Bob Roberts said:
The largest mosque and synagogue in DFW along with our church came
together not for an inter-faith service but a multi-faith education and
relationship building event. On Friday - we all went to the synagogue -
had refreshments and conversation for an hour, and then and observed
their worship. When it concluded, me, the rabbi, and the imam took Q
& A for 45 minutes. Saturday we all went to the mosque - and then
Sunday they all came to the church. I'll tell you, it was strange as a
pastor looking out and seeing hundreds of head coverings of hijabs,
skull caps, etc. Our members worshiped with passion, clapping, raising
their hands - and to see other religions interspersed through us as we worshiped was indescribable - all I could think of was Paul in the
synagogues, Mars Hill.
I like the idea of a multi-faith "education and relationship building event." But what about THE QUESTION, the one that can make a Christian appear intolerant, when he or she affirms Jesus as the only way to be saved? Not surprisingly it was the first question asked. Here was his response:
I was asked several times about John 14:6 "I am the way the truth and
the life and no one comes to the Father but by me." I was asked if I
believed that - as a matter of fact a reporter asked me that, and it
was the first question asked me at the synagogue - my answer. "Yes, I
do believe that. I don't wish to offend you or seem arrogant or cocky
or narrow. But I believe in the authority of the Bible and it says that
- it's a quote from my Savior and I can't compromise on that. It's true
for all religions - even Baptist! That doesn't mean I think I'm better
than you - it means truth is absolute and not subjective - and wish you
all believed that and I'd love to help you with that and then baptize
all of you (with a big smile)." To which with a smile being returned I
was told "no thank you."
Sometimes it seems that Christ-followers follow one of two extremes when it comes to defending their faith. On one hand they can take the "all roads leads to one God" approach in an effort to be acceptable to our society, but at the expense of what our faith truly teaches. But the other extreme can be just as bad - defending the Christian faith in a demeaning and arrogant way. This article demonstrates the attitude of loving the one that is missing from the faith, which is the central message of our current weekend teachings from Luke 15.
Last evening Church Requel met at Mosaic. Our meeting place was unavailable so we needed a place to conduct our Sunday evening service. Mosaic was most gracious to allow us to use their church last night. I was so proud of our setup team. They showed up early and worked tirelessly and enthusiastically. Predictably our crowd last night was lower than normal because of the weekend's winter storm and because of the Super Bowl. But I am glad we held our service. We learned a lot about ourselves last night... and all of it good! I know I'm blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of people. And I sense they all feel the same way. Stacie Shoemaker came with her camera again last night. (Thanks Stacie!) Click here to go to the photo album (26 photos) from last night's Church Requel at Mosaic service.
Jesus told us that God searches for lost people in the same way that a woman searches for a lost and precious coin. What are the ten motivating facts that make us want to search as diligently as God? Join me in this audio sermon as we study Luke 15:8-10.
Everyone - Church Requel is a "GO" for service tonight. I just got off the phone with the Mansfield Police Department. The snow emergency has been lifted for all of Richland County. Jonathan and I have drove all over the streets in Mansfield late this morning. Most roads are plowed and slick in spots, but definitely passable. Also, the parking lot next to Mosaic has been plowed out (Thank you Mosaic!) The lot across the street at the Dry Cleaners and at Church's Chicken are also plowed. The lot at the funeral home west of Mosaic has not been plowed.
We are deciding to go ahead with our service this evening for all those who wish to come. The set up team will be meeting at Mid-Ohio Conference Center at 1:30PM to get our equipment and we plan on being at Mosaic at 2PM to set up. We know that Mosaic had to make the call to close their service this morning. So any Mosaic folks who wish to join us tonight will be most welcomed! Use your own judgment about the roads where you are. Don't take any unnecessary risks. But if you decide to come, we'll see you later this evening!
I love the enthusiastic support of those who attend our new church. This past weekend I received one of those really great suggestions that makes me scratch my head later on wondering why I didn't think of it myself. Kristy Lawson suggested on the back of her Info Card that we start letting people know about the songs that we are singing and listening to at Church Requel each weekend. She explained to me that she would like to obtain those songs herself so she could sing them throughout the week. It also would help her and others know the songs better so they could participate more in the worship. Great idea Kristy!
Here are the songs we will be singing this weekend, along with links to the YouTube songs and artist websites:
I also update our Pre-service and Post-service playlist every few weeks with the top played songs from K-Love. Those interested in today's contemporary Christian music scene may also wish to check them out.
We've been saying for months that the church is MORE than a building. We're going to put that to the test this weekend. Church Requel is going to do something very unusual for us... we're going to actually meet inside of a church! Our normal meeting place, Mid-Ohio Conference Center, booked a bridal show and will use the entire facility. So we will move our services this weekend to Mosaic, what used to be known as the Park Avenue Baptist Church. For those who like to look up addresses, punch in 296 Park Avenue West, 44903. But if you want easy directions, just drive west on P.A.W. from downtown until you come to Church's Chicken. The church is right next door.
Our thanks to Pastor Tony Pingitore and his entire church for accommodating us this weekend.
If there's anyone who wants to help us set up, we plan on being at Mid-Ohio at 1:30PM Sunday to pick up our gear and at Mosaic by 2:00PM to begin setting up.
Below is a short, 1-minute video I shot today before the snow storm hit. Enjoy!
I was interviewed by Al Lawrence of the News Journal today. He asked me questions about blogging and how it relates to our ministry at Church Requel. Over the one-hour interview we discussed the relationship between blogging and the journals kept by our forefathers, like Ben Franklin and John Adams. We also discussed the relationship between blogging and social networking sites like Facebook. I attempted to make the point that blogging is simply another communication tool, another means to reach people.
The interview was a pleasant experience. I felt like I was able to have a great conversation, not just an interview. Of course that also might be evidence of how good an interviewer Mr. Lawrence is. He will be interviewing 5 other Mansfield bloggers in addition to me. I'll let you, my readers, know when the article is published in the News Journal.
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