Encouraging Words

Proverbs 16:24 says:
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

I got a taste of honeycomb words just now, when someone emailed me with this:
"We really enjoyed the sermon yesterday. [A first time guest] told us that it was the first time he ever got anything out of going to church. I just wanted to pass that along to you to give you some encouragement!"

Thank you, Lord. That always helps - especially on a Monday!
-Dale

Hiking and Clay Pigeons

Today was our Elder/pastoral staff retreat in the mountains north of Saticoy, east of Camarillo. Gary Rafferty set it up with the owner on the property his grandfather used to own. After great breakfast, we took a two hour vertical loop (five mile hike) - with prayer together in a shady spot at the peak - and then we engaged in the decimation and cathartic slaying of a few boxes of clay pigeons. (No animals were harmed in this testosteronish ritual.) We cooked up some chicken/guacamole burritos, then blew off some more 12-guage shells until our shoulders hurt. Thanks Gary!
- Dale

The Visit

Today, Jon and I met with the principal of Agoura High School, asking how we could be of help to him by serving needs at the school. He was very receptive to the idea, and will get back to us with a list of projects/needs we could help with.

To put this in context, on June 1, we will be encouraging our whole congregation to serve for two hours on a practical hands-on project, with many going to Agoura High School.

(ABF will be one 50+ churches in the Conejo Valley that are participating in this Serve Weekend. Because Agoura High School is in our own backyard, with high-schoolers parking in our lot and on our street every day, it’s a no-brainer. We can all walk over there after church on Sunday June 1, work for a couple of hours, then walk back here and have a lunch together, where we will have a chance to share our experiences and talk about what we learned.)

This June 1 event is already being planned our Elders and staff. We’ll all gather for one worship service at 9am on Sunday, June 1, then leave our youngest children here with early child-care, while our older kids, middle schoolers and high schoolers and adults all head out for a two hour community service project, then come back here for lunch.

Then, after June 1, since our HBF’s typically don’t meet during the summer, we’d like to ask each HBF to pick one project during the summer, from one hour to one day in length, to do together, anytime from June through August. We will all have the whole month of May to brainstorm and plan it. (It can be anything, from visiting a nursing home, to weeding the yard of an elderly person, to serving lunch to a Habitat for Humanity work crew, to picking up trash along a road, to .... well, sky's the limit.)

And throughout the summer, once your group has completed that project, we’ll invite someone from your HBF to give a quick report to the church on what you did. (And for those not currently in a HBF, but would like to participate in a project, we’ll be taking sign-ups on May 4 after the service – so nobody has to be left out.)

So please begin thinking and praying about how God may want your group to put shoe leather to our faith!

- Dale

Admin Assistant Day

Today we celebrate the women in our office who work to make the pastors look good. Thank you, Nancy and Terry and Cindy, for your faithful service to the Lord at ABF!
- Dale

Blog It for Dummies

Dave Anthold just gave me some great information. Using facebook, and a free program called Blog It, I can write ONE blog entry, and it automatically posts to all three of my blog sites at once. Cool and amazing. Did I mention it's free? Following Google's lead, free is the new "value" in the 21st Century. Thanks, TypePad, for making this available for us dummies!
-- Dale

Is Religion Evil?

This morning I just read a disturbing poll result that claims that most people now think that the new social evil of the 21st century is religion. There is a widespread belief that faith of any kind is intolerant, irrational, is used to justify persecution. People think it divides society by fueling intolerance and spawning “irrational” educational policies (no doubt, those striving for a format for intelligent design). People think that religion inspires hatred and prejudice throughout the world, and is commonly used as justification for persecution of women, gays and people who do not have faith.

This is sad. Very sad. By simplistically lumping "all religion" into one camp, all these people who have no hope beyond this life have become absolutely closed-minded and vitriolic in their atheism. They mock the "God of love" because they see so little fruit in the lives of those who claim to follow God. No transformation, no converts.

On one hand, I'd like to point out the vast social benefits that have come from the Christian faith and worldview - schools, orphanages, hospitals, ending slavery, etc. But these folks would reply by claiming that its the Christians, those "republicans", who want to destroy the environment and rape the planet for a profit, and deprive gays their civil right of marriage, so "they" hold the higher moral ground.

On the other hand, perhaps we should simply agree with charge against "religion" and join our voices to the chorus -- then lovingly point out that true followers of Jesus do not have religion; they have a relationship with the most amazing man who ever lived. We follow a Person, not a prejudicial plan to show our superiority. We are here to serve, to love, to lift up, and to suffer for being misunderstood.

Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12).

We live in a time when these words are being fulfilled. It's time to rejoice in how blessed we are as followers of Jesus.

ABF Website

Thanks to iWeb, we have just launched Phase One of ABF's new website at http://www.agourabible.org

Eventually, this will morph into an interactive "Web 2.0" site with even more features.

Check it out!

Grandparenting Begins

Just a couple weeks ago, Peter and Marjie let us know that they are expecting their first baby in November, thus making us eligible for the most enviable status known to mankind: grandparents. As of this writing, the little person is nine weeks along -- and sprouting limbs like a pro.

I've heard that this stage of life will make all the prior trials feel worthwhile!