Consider this?

In my leadership classes here at the church, I’ve asked a question. I’m really thrilled to see some of the answers. WHAT WOULD CHURCH LOOK LIKE IF GOD HAD HIS WAY COMPLETELY? Your thoughts?

Thank you, Mr. President…

Dear Mr. President…

I want to add my ‘thank you’ to the many you are hopefully receiving at this time. While there are many who have second-guessed you and your decisions over the last eight years, I, for one, want to say that you have done a magnificent job in leading our country during what I believe historians will say was one of the most challenging times in American history. Thank you for standing proud as an American. Thank you for doing everything in your power to keep our nation safe. Thank you for leading and guiding us, using both your common sense and God-given grace to work through each problem as they came across your desk. Thank you for being pro-active in your leadership, and thank you for modeling for all of us how to persevere with hope and courage even in the most difficult trials and under the most intense criticism. Thank you, Mr. President. May you and your family enjoy this next season of your lives together. Know that there are many in America who believe you have completed your job of service to America with great honor! GOD BLESS YOU!

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

MAY YOUR CHRISTMAS BE FILLED WITH JESUS, HIS EVER-EXPANDING KINGDOM, and HIS UNENDING JOY!

A Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.

Two key things for leaders

Since October, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my two per month personal coaching sessions from Pastor Dave Jacobs. Dave is a former Vineyard pastor who lives in Oregon and recently retired from full-time pastoral ministry to become a personal life coach to pastors. Over the six or seven sessions we’ve had thus far, we’ve talked about a lot of various issues and all of it has been very insightful and truly revolutionary as I begin to institute some of the ideas Dave has shared. One of my primary goals in seeking out Dave as a personal coach is to improve my abilities to coach and lead those God has given me here at our church.

Sandy and I have been blessed to be surrounded by dozens of wonderfully talented men and women who love Jesus passionately and have a strong desire to lead others here in our church family. I want to do my very best to lead them in the way Jesus desires me to.

One great quote Dave shared with me today, comes from Pastor John Maxwell. Maxwell, as you might know, has written many books on leadership and I’ve come to appreciate many of his ideas on leadership skills. His quote today:

“I teach my leaders to do two things…1. THINK.  2. DO THINGS IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE”

As Dave and I talked about this quote, I realize that I get so busy “doing things” for Jesus, I can sometimes be running so fast to get the job done, that I forget to STOP, RELAX a MOMENT, and THINK. Allowing time in my busy schedule for THINK TIME is one of those revolutionary ideas of Dave’s I’m trying to institute into my schedule. Quality thinking is so missing in my schedule. How about you? Another quote from Dave comes from Albert Einstein. This great “thinker” quipped…

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved by using the same level of thinking that created our problems in the first place.”

Ouch. I guess it’s time to make a New Year’s resolution right now. Lord, help me to become a better THINKER in 2009, and let that be priority one!

Take a Moment Today…

Regardless of our political stance, it’s time for all Americans to pause just a moment and take in the importance of this hour. In a nation where once it was heresy for an African-American to be invited by President Teddy Roosevelt to the White House for a state dinner, we now will have an African-American sitting in the oval office. Whether you like Senator Obama’s political views or not, I encourage you to take just a moment and reflect on the greatness of this unique hour. In my life-time, a person of color has gone from being told to sit in the back of the bus (or no seat at all) to sitting in the White House. I, for one, am proud of our American heritage and strengths, where all men and women can be free and follow their dream. Thank you God, for this “upward lift” that You have granted to this nation over the last 250 years. We acknowledge Your mercies and thank You, that indeed, in this very unique way, we are experiencing in part, the biblical truth that in Your eyes, ALL MEN and WOMEN are CREATED EQUAL.

As I See It-Our 10th Anniversary

It was the summer of 1997. At the time, I was working with Promise Keepers traveling around the state, assisting pastors and lay leaders in developing effective men’s ministries in their churches. It was a very exciting job that brought me in contact with literally hundreds of men, all looking to draw closer to Jesus and become more godly husbands and fathers.

On numerous occasions that summer, I would spend my evenings sitting on our front porch, reflecting and praying as I watched the sun slowly setting behind Mercy Hospital. While I was truly enjoying my work with Promise Keepers, I was also pondering what was next for my life. I knew in my heart that my work with Promise Keepers would not last forever, and believed at some point, I would return to pastoring.

Sandy & I had served as children’s pastors at the Evanston, IL Vineyard in the early 1980’s before moving to Iowa in 1987. In Iowa City, we took our first crack at church planting and put together the first Vineyard church there in 1988. Before coming on staff with PK, I served as associate pastor at River of Life here in Cedar Rapids, and now God was stirring my heart again for stepping back into pastoral ministry.

Though we had not been actively attached to a Vineyard church for nearly seven years, we had kept our many Vineyard friendships intact during that time, staying up with our good friends at the Evanston Vineyard and with Pastors Dan & RoiLene Paxton, who moved to Waterloo/Cedar Falls in 1988 to plant the Heartland Vineyard.

One evening on our front porch, as I was reflecting on such things, I flipped through the pages of Cutting Edge, Vineyard’s church planting magazine. One article caught my attention. It was an article on the top-ten list of cities in the Midwest that needed a Vineyard church plant.

There it was! Cedar Rapids. Right there in the top-ten list! The fine print told me that all the Vineyard pastors around the Midwest were asked to give their suggestions for cities that were ripe for Vineyard church plants, and wow, did I get excited!

I took that article as just another way God was prompting me on what was next. Within a few months, Sandy had decided I was truly hearing from God, and gave me her complete support in moving toward this new goal. By mid-November, Pastor Francis Frangipane had given us his complete support in helping us begin our new endeavor, so I picked up the phone and setup my first recruiting call to Brian Brinkert. Brian and Andrea, a young, vibrant couple with whom we had built relationship at River of Life, were ready to roll, and by mid-January, 1998, we were sitting in our living room with four other couples, sharing the dream of planting a Vineyard church in Cedar Rapids.

So there it is. That’s the way it was. If it weren’t for those summer evenings on my front porch near Mercy Hospital and that copy of Cutting Edge, who knows what we’d all be doing today? But thanks to God’s faithfulness, we’re here celebrating our 10^th year anniversary, and looking with excitement toward all God has in store for us in the next ten years! We hope you feel the same!

Living in This World with a Mind for the Next

I ran across this C.S. Lewis quote today…

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

Indeed if I can grasp the consequences and powerful applications to Activated Inaugurated Eschatology (Kingdom Theology) where all of the future, all of heaven, all of God’s power & manifest glory is breaking in now, in this present moment, I will indeed be able to impact the world around me in a very profound way. Jesus walked with such power and authority because He was totally consumed with bringing the Kingdom (God’s future rule & reign) into the present moment in which He was living. When heaven and the work of heaven on earth (Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven) consumes me as I walk in this present world, my effectiveness and fruitfulness in this world radically increases.

Jesus’ ministry was all about extending the Kingdom of God (the next world’s glory) into the dryness and darkness of this present age (today). May I, Lord, be consumed this day with a similar vision and purpose. For Your name’s sake!

An Open Letter to www.corridorrecovery.org

On Friday, June 13th, 2008 the Cedar River, which runs through the heart of our city at an average depth of 7 feet, crested over its’ banks at 31.12 feet. As the river receded, the statistics left behind were staggering. 5,390 flood-affected homes with 25,000 people displaced in Cedar Rapids and 1,300 city blocks (9 square miles) were hit, leaving a vast array of business and residential properties with extensive flood damage! The recovery and rebuilding efforts here in Cedar Rapids are massive and will take years to accomplish. The toll is not only in property damage, but more importantly, there are countless individuals and families who have lost nearly all their earthly belongings and worldly treasures.

Yet as this disaster hit so many so hard, it’s important for all of us to remember that HOPE was not washed away with the flood. HOPE springs eternal, the saying goes, and here in the Heartland, it’s important for all of us to pull together in HOPE as we walk this long road back to normalcy in Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

So what does HOPE look like? Certainly it is more than just a smile and a friendly wave towards those who have lost so much. As I see it, the most perfect specimen of HOPE is one that offers a helping hand to those in need. HOPE is best expressed by getting a bit dirty alongside a neighbor who needs help tearing out drywall or power-washing a basement. HOPE is stepping out of our comfort zones, offering a bit of sweat-equity to a co-worker who is working hard to get their home restored before winter.

In the months ahead, let’s work together, hand-in-hand, making HOPE a practical expression of our care for one another in our City of Five Seasons.

The Flood Relief Effort Continues!

An OPEN LETTER to Doug Anderson, Mercy Response-Vineyard USA Director

August 1, 2008

As we close in on the first six weeks of FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS here in Cedar Rapids, we want to express to you, Phil Schissler, Jeff and Janell Hirschoff, and the entire Mercy Response-Vineyard USA Team the many THANK YOUS from all of us here at Vineyard Church of Cedar Rapids.

As senior pastors, we can’t imagine what the last six weeks would have been like for us as a church body if the Mercy Response team had not pulled into Cedar Rapids on Friday night, June 20th. Since then, we as a church community have experienced one miracle after another as we have joined hands with Mercy Response in responding to the human suffering caused by the Floods of 2008.

Just to refresh your memory, on June 13^th, 2008 Cedar Rapids was hit with massive flooding from the Cedar River. The river, which normally runs at an average of 7 feet in depth, rolled over its’ banks to a record 31.12 feet, flooding 1,300 city blocks (including our downtown business area) and inundating 9 square miles of our city. 5,390 homes and over 1,000 businesses were flooded, with over 25,000 people evacuated from their residences. Other major communities such as Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa City, and countless other smaller farm communities were hit as well in what has been called the worst natural disaster in Iowa history.

We, as a church family, were actively involved in the days prior to the flood, helping people to prepare for and to evacuate their homes before the deluge hit. While our church facility was far outside the flood zone, we did have 15 of our church’s families directly affected by the disaster. Our primary goal in the first few days after the flood was to check with those families, assess damages, and assist them in any way we could to connect with local emergency shelters.

When the Mercy Response team arrived on June 20th, they were tired and worn out from the long haul from New Orleans to Cedar Rapids. Yet despite their weariness, Phil and his team still wanted to survey some of the heaviest hit neighborhoods and began even that evening planning out the flood relief strategy that has now become Camp Vineyard.

While the last six weeks has been the busiest summer our staff and church family have ever had (normally summer in the Midwest is a time to relax and play while church programming takes a breather), we’ve been totally blessed to work alongside the Mercy Response team as we’ve sent out 500+ volunteers from Camp Vineyard into 36+ flood-affected homes. See details at www.crvineyard.org/flood2008.kt.

As we said earlier, we can not imagine how different our flood-relief efforts would have been if Mercy Response had not rolled into Cedar Rapids. In our own strength, we would have been fortunate to have cleaned up and gutted only a hand-full of homes. With the experienced MR team here from New Orleans combined with the equipment and resources they have brought with them, VCCR has had the fortunate opportunity to be at the fore-front of the flood recovery effort here in Cedar Rapids.

By Labor Day, we hope to have completed the clean-up and gutting process and begin to move into the next phase of the flood-recovery effort. As God leads, we look forward to teaming with Vineyard-USA, Mercy Response, and other flood-relief organizations in continued efforts toward rebuilding and restoring our community back to life and vibrancy.

As we move from the flood relief efforts to the rebuilding and recovery phase, we’ve spelled out our long term vision at www.crvineyard.org/longtermrecovery.kt. We’ve also given Phil (on his latest trip to Cedar Rapids) a Power Point presentation we are using to share our story and cast our vision for the work still ahead. Thank you again to Vineyard-USA and the entire Mercy Response team.

In His service…

Senior Pastors Marty & Sandy Boller

Vineyard Church of Cedar Rapids

A Little SHAKAH Floor Time

Back a few months ago, I did a sermon series on WORSHIP. The first mention of the word WORSHIP in the Bible is the reference to Abraham going up the mountain with his treasured son, Isaac. God, in one of those gut-wrenching unexplainable biblical moments, seems to be asking his blessed servant, Abraham, to offer up the best gift he has ever received from God (his only son) as a sacrificial offering to his Maker. Talk about hard choices.

In a response of massive proportion, Abraham chooses to walk up the mountain with his future inheritance trailing him just a few steps behind, and in an ACT of WORSHIP, be obedient to the Lord’s request and offer his only son back to God in a fiery sacrificial bonfire. The Hebrew word for WORSHIP (SHAKAH) is used here for the first time in the scriptures. It means to totally prostrate one’s self. It means to bow low, actually so low; your body is flat on the floor with your head and hands pushing down into the ground. SHAKAH is a humbling of one’s self before a person of great wealth or worth. It’s an outward bodily expression of an inward heart and mind attitude.

To SHAKAH before Yahweh, the magnificent God of the Bible, means aggressive floor time where rug burns might even occur from your desire to humble yourself before Him. To SHAKAH before Yahweh means laying done all the precious gifts He has given me and saying like David, I’d rather be a simple doorkeeper servant-boy in Your temple and have nothing to my name, than have a multitude of riches and yet go it in life alone!

Yesterday morning at our worship service at the Vineyard, I decided to SHAKAH. I’ve done it before, but had forgotten how totally uncomfortable it is to SHAKAH. First of all, it’s totally embarrassing to SHAKAH in most churches. There is so little room between the chairs and absolutely no one does it, so you feel quite foolish trying to squash yourself down on the floor with your legs and arms stretched out in the SHAKAH position. Secondly, the older I get, the harder it is to SHAKAH. Maybe our old bodies are trying to tell us something here, but my guess is the more I do it, the easier it might get on the bones!

Yet while it took some effort to SHAKAH yesterday, wow, am I glad I did it! You know what? I found God down there with my face pushing into the carpet. Not that the carpet at our church smelled that nice, but I found a wonderful peace come over me as I laid down my church leadership role once again at the feet of Jesus and just let the music roll over me. You know it’s amazing, but worship music sounds different when listened to from below it. It seemed sweeter and more intense. It seemed more real with my eyes closed and my face pushed into the carpet and with my heart telling God that I’d rather have Him than all the external blessings He might give me. Wow…I enjoyed it so much, I might even try it again next week. Who knows? Maybe soon we won’t even need chairs at our Sunday worship service? Wouldn’t that be a kick?