Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Women's Conference in Augusta, GA
It is my continued hope to point women to opportunities for their own spiritual growth outside of Cedar Creek. Another of those is the Women's Community Celebration at Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church in Augusta, GA on Saturday, October 6, 2007. You can download a copy of the brochure on the Women of the Vine link at www.trinityonthehill.net and mail in the registration by September 26. About twenty of our women were thoroughly inspired last year by Priscilla Shirer and this year's speaker is Roseanne Coleman. I haven't heard her, but I can vouch for the quality of this conference and the amazing amount of prayer that surrounds it. The worship last year was exceptional, and it even included lunch that we were able to share about our experiences together. It's a great opportunity to share a conference with other women in our church and not have to travel far. Brochures are also available at our "Under Construction" kiosk.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
What?! No Bible studies this fall at Cedar Creek??
Well, we know that this is not going to be a popular decision, but there will be no organized women’s Bible studies offered this fall at Cedar Creek. As previously mentioned, we believe God wanted us to stop doing any events, Bible studies included, so that we could concentrate on hearing from Him. We want our ministry to be done with excellence, so we plan to wait until we can unveil the full offering of activities at once, hopefully in January. Until then, here are some suggestions to meet some Bible study requests:
- Visit Lifeway.com for three online Bible studies, “Believing God” and “Living Beyond Yourself” by Beth Moore and “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby and Claude King.
- Sign up for a regular devotional message to encourage you to get in God’s word (favorite ones listed on the blog—see below)
- Listen to your favorite authors teach Bible lessons on www.oneplace.com.
- Gather a group of girlfriends and do a study together. Visit your local bookstore or online resource (www.lifeway.com or www.christianbook.com) for selections.
What’s Going On in Women's Ministry?
Lots more than you think! A team of women has been meeting since February to rethink how we do women’s ministry at Cedar Creek. We are prayerfully seeking how God would have us minister to the women of our church and community. We’ve heard from other ministries at Cedar Creek to see how we can partner with them, read leadership books or listened to ministry leaders around the world. We will soon enter into 40 days of spiritual preparation for our planning retreat.
I ask for your prayers as this team meets monthly. We are obeying God’s call to stop doing anything until He says, “Go!” That means, however, that 2007 will be strangely quiet, but be assured that God is at work in us for the Kingdom. We hope that come January the construction goes away, and we get to the work God has called us to do.
I ask for your prayers as this team meets monthly. We are obeying God’s call to stop doing anything until He says, “Go!” That means, however, that 2007 will be strangely quiet, but be assured that God is at work in us for the Kingdom. We hope that come January the construction goes away, and we get to the work God has called us to do.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
What the Summit "said" for our Women's Ministry
I was confirmed in our "process" of discovering God’s direction for Girlfriends at Cedar Creek. Now I know why it’s felt laborious and slow-moving—it’s because it IS laborious and slow-moving! I believe that we will have ownership in the vision that God gives us, but the refinement and declaration steps were new for me to consider.
We had two other conversations that were notable. We have to consider our ministry as to how it meets the needs of our "consumers" (women) in a way that no other ministry does. When we picked apart the fact that CCC does an exceptional job of bringing women in, Linda pointed out that Girlfriends did indeed connect women and provide small groups to encourage women. We all agreed that we failed to "close the back door" and get women involved in the life of our church. Second, as we talked about the clubs, which really could be the best way to connect women, there were two issues: leadership with the vision and areas of interest that met the needs of "most" women. Linda came up with a great suggestion: create three "types" of groups – intellectual (books, museums, lectures, etc.), activity (walking, line dancing, hiking, games, etc.) and skills (crafts, cooking, etc.), with a different focus each month instead of one group doing the same thing all of the time. Each could be lead by a team of women who would share their gifts and the responsibilities, and they could all still meet at the same time each month. Another snippet of information, came through a book called "Reveal" where Willow details their research to examine the value of their money spent on their congregation to make a difference in their lives. What surprised them (and me too) was that the most devoted followers of Christ said that they feel the least fed at Willow. Bill joked that he’d "hire a seminary prof and feed them until they puke." What captivated me is that I believe CCC is in the same place. I’ve lost several friends to other churches because I could not adequately answer the question "Where do people go to get discipled?" Maybe we need to focus on getting women into God’s Word on their own, not by the vehicle of Bible studies offered.
I am haunted however, by the discussions on poverty and AIDs and the images supplied by Richard Curtis (You can watch them at www.makepovertyhistory.org/video/ ., "Yellow Dress" and "Toddlers" are especially troubling.). God is creating a holy discontent in me to do whatever we can to alleviate the plight of women and children around the world. I truly believe that this breaks the heart of God.
We had two other conversations that were notable. We have to consider our ministry as to how it meets the needs of our "consumers" (women) in a way that no other ministry does. When we picked apart the fact that CCC does an exceptional job of bringing women in, Linda pointed out that Girlfriends did indeed connect women and provide small groups to encourage women. We all agreed that we failed to "close the back door" and get women involved in the life of our church. Second, as we talked about the clubs, which really could be the best way to connect women, there were two issues: leadership with the vision and areas of interest that met the needs of "most" women. Linda came up with a great suggestion: create three "types" of groups – intellectual (books, museums, lectures, etc.), activity (walking, line dancing, hiking, games, etc.) and skills (crafts, cooking, etc.), with a different focus each month instead of one group doing the same thing all of the time. Each could be lead by a team of women who would share their gifts and the responsibilities, and they could all still meet at the same time each month. Another snippet of information, came through a book called "Reveal" where Willow details their research to examine the value of their money spent on their congregation to make a difference in their lives. What surprised them (and me too) was that the most devoted followers of Christ said that they feel the least fed at Willow. Bill joked that he’d "hire a seminary prof and feed them until they puke." What captivated me is that I believe CCC is in the same place. I’ve lost several friends to other churches because I could not adequately answer the question "Where do people go to get discipled?" Maybe we need to focus on getting women into God’s Word on their own, not by the vehicle of Bible studies offered.
I am haunted however, by the discussions on poverty and AIDs and the images supplied by Richard Curtis (You can watch them at www.makepovertyhistory.org/video/ ., "Yellow Dress" and "Toddlers" are especially troubling.). God is creating a holy discontent in me to do whatever we can to alleviate the plight of women and children around the world. I truly believe that this breaks the heart of God.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Incredible Summit!
I had the privilege of attending the Willow Creek Leadership Summit simulcast at Stephens Creek Community Church in Augusta, GA on August 9-11 with five of my team members: Linda Neighbor, Dianne Paul, Frances Reynolds, Brandee Green and Melisa Bryant. I knew it was going to be good, but I had no idea how powerful the speakers and the relevancy of their topics would be.
Bill Hybels truly affirmed our vision-seeking process and added some ideas that we had never considered. We are right on track with our plans for this year and I believe we will see it all come together in our retreat in October. They constantly challenged us about the plight of the poor and AIDS victims around the world and called us as a church to take these problems head on. God really tugged at our hearts about women and children around the world. Stephen Porter, strategy guru, encouraged us to view our efforts at "doing good" in our communities with critical eyes. How well are we doing? What mission does a community organization have? What are their goals? It really gave me some benchmarks to evaluate our involvement with local organizations. We need to be effective with every dollar and minute expended! Marcus Buckingham called us to determine our strengths and develop them, not just try to build up our weaknesses. He was one of the most powerful and entertaining speakers. Richard Curtis, well-known film maker, was interviewed and showed how he is using film to raise poverty awareness. What he is capturing on film is haunting. There was so much more, and you can take a look at:
http://wall.willowcreek.com/leaders/#
I have committed that I will be sure that the auditorium at Stephens Creek is much fuller next year, if I have anything to do about it. It is a not-miss opportunity for leaders in the church world and the business world.
Bill Hybels truly affirmed our vision-seeking process and added some ideas that we had never considered. We are right on track with our plans for this year and I believe we will see it all come together in our retreat in October. They constantly challenged us about the plight of the poor and AIDS victims around the world and called us as a church to take these problems head on. God really tugged at our hearts about women and children around the world. Stephen Porter, strategy guru, encouraged us to view our efforts at "doing good" in our communities with critical eyes. How well are we doing? What mission does a community organization have? What are their goals? It really gave me some benchmarks to evaluate our involvement with local organizations. We need to be effective with every dollar and minute expended! Marcus Buckingham called us to determine our strengths and develop them, not just try to build up our weaknesses. He was one of the most powerful and entertaining speakers. Richard Curtis, well-known film maker, was interviewed and showed how he is using film to raise poverty awareness. What he is capturing on film is haunting. There was so much more, and you can take a look at:
http://wall.willowcreek.com/leaders/#
I have committed that I will be sure that the auditorium at Stephens Creek is much fuller next year, if I have anything to do about it. It is a not-miss opportunity for leaders in the church world and the business world.
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