I write this little column every week to remind us what we are doing here. We exist to glorify God by following Christ and leading others to follow him. This ministry of making
disciples requires supernatural power. God is our source of strength. In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to draw your attention to 2 Corinthians 9:8. It says, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Notice the repetition: -all grace abound -in all things -at all times -all you need -you will abound in every good work! What is the source of all of this? Notice how the verse starts, "God is able-" He is! And we can trust in him. How can we do all we are called to do? God empowers us to accomplish his will.

In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to challenge our resignation to what appears to be the inevitability of the summer slump. In other words, I'm wondering why we expect, allow and accept erosion at Dayspring when the sun shines. You might explain that we expect less people to attend when the weather turns good because it has always been this way. And you might say that we allow and accept the lower level of involvement because we can't do anything else. The talk around seems to suggest that we lay down and play dead, accepting the fact that half of our congregation gets very casual about corporate worship in the summer. I've heard people say things like this, "Well, here we go. Attendance is low on Memorial Day and it's going to stay like this until September. It's been like this every year. Check the numbers and you'll see. And it's the same at other churches in Oregon as well." Even if this is the case, I don't want resignation to lull us into ambivalence. Let's not let what has been predict and dictate what will be. Let me tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to be here in worship as many weekends in the summer as I am in any other season. I'm going to stimulate attendance by reaching out with encouragement to people I haven't seen for a while. And, when attendance is down, I'm going to remain passionate and preach to 600 people the same way that I would to 900. Maybe most important, I'm going to concentrate on ministering to those who are here and not get pre-occupied on those who aren't. The full chairs matter more than the empty ones. But the people occupying chairs should be prayerful and passionate about what it takes to reach people who could be in those yet-unoccupied chairs. What can you do as we try to beat the summer slump together?

Last week many of you gave your time to serve our community at the Keizer Iris Festival. You may think that picking up trash and so on isn't all that important. But sacrificial service is central to Christian living.

In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to stimulate your thinking about service with a couple classic quotes. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: "When Jesus bids us follow him, he bids us come and die." That ties in with what Jesus said about laying down your life as he did. The Bible uses this extreme analogy because death illustrates the severity of commitment and the finality of choice. Another influential Christian writer, A.W. Tozer, wrote, "Discipleship means discipline. In every Christian's heart there is cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross, he remains on the throne. Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among... believers today. We want to be saved, but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king... and wear our tinsel crown...; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility."

The way of Christ is the way of the cross. It requires humility and involves sacrificial service. Ending our self-centric lives means coming alive to the needs of others. God-centric living serves and gives.

Jesus told his followers to pray and said that God answers prayer. He made that clear. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened"
(Matt 7:7,8). Though it is easy for us to lose faith in prayer, we must prevail despite the disappointments. Jesus wouldn't call us to waste time in some pointless activity or ritual. If we have faith in Christ, then we must practice prayer.

In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to remind you that prayer is our access to God's power to accomplish his will. It doesn't precede ministry; it is ministry. It's impossible for us to fulfill our commission without God's supernatural power accessed by prayer.

It is amazing, but this is how God set things up. He actually allows our communication to have an impact. Interestingly, there are times when it is not our circumstances that have to change; we do. And at those times the miracle is that prayer is used by God to change our hearts. There are times when God opens our hearts rather than the particular door we had in mind. Prayer affects the one who prays as we learn to depend on God and to see things his way.

As a church, let's recommit ourselves to passionate prayer.

I'm going to ask you to once again consider our "health plan." How can Dayspring Fellowship attain and maintain health as a church? It is as simple as ABC:

Align all activities toward the goal.

Believe that God is alive and active.

Commit to take the next step toward Christ.

In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I'll expand a little bit on that last idea: the C of our health plan is to challenge each person to commit to take the next step toward Christ. Remember the government program called, "No Child Left Behind?" I like adapting that for our church: "No Attender Left Behind!" We want to challenge every single person to get right with God, get in a group, and grow in the Christian faith. I urge you to commit yourself to take the next step toward Christ, whatever that is. What is it for you? Is it becoming more regular in fellowship? Then I look forward to seeing you every weekend! Is it joining a growth group? You can sign up this weekend. Is the next step for you to get into a men's support group or women's Bible study? Follow through! Let's not be satisfied to have everything stay as it is. Complacency won't do. We want to challenge every person to take the next step of commitment!

Larry's MAPS will return next week.


Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about [a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I've been talking and writing about Daysping's "health plan." How can we attain and maintain health as a church? It is as simple as ABC:

Align all activities toward the goal.

Believe that God is alive and active.

Commit to take the next step toward Christ.

In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I'll elaborate on the B of our health plan, that is to Believe that God is alive and active. I believe this. I believe that he's ready and willing and able. God calls us to have faith that he not only can but will do something significant in our midst. Jesus said that it will be according to our faith (Mt 9:29). As overreaction against some crazy teaching about the power of faith (which dethrones God), we have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. The pendulum has swung too far. Sure, we don't want to promote a faith in faith, but we do want to teach and model faith in God! Since he's alive, let's pray and expect answers! Imagine what it would be like for hundreds of people to gather in worship with enthusiastic expectation that God would meet and equip them! Let's not bask in the stupifying warmth of complacency. Let's not let next year be the same as last year. Picture people who really believe they are on a mission from God and that supernatural strength is available! Let's live to actualize this reality in our midst. Believe that God is real and that he can and will draw you into a deeper relationship with him and into meaningful service. God can use you! Believe it!

Last week, in our Easter services, I painted a picture of what people should be able to expect here at Dayspring Fellowship. I used a word-picture, calling it our health plan. I'll review it in this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, and then elaborate on it next week.

Just as a plan for achieving health in your physical body is simple, so is the plan for achieving health in the body of Christ. What is simple isn't necessarily easy, in fact, what is uncomplicated may be difficult. For instance, if you're aiming at physical health, you probably already know the principles to practice: choose nutritious, natural foods and don't consume more calories than you burn. That's simple, but it's not easy. Health in the body of Christ can be spelled out just as simply, but it too can be hard. It's as simple as ABC.

The A of our health plan is to Align all activities toward the goal. Ministries and events aren't haphazard, but aligned toward a common goal. What goal? "Do it all for God's glory" (1 Cor 10:31).

The B of our health plan is to Believe that God is alive and active. He's ready and willing and able. We can have faith that he will do something significant in our midst. "It will be according to your faith" (Mt 9:29). Since he's alive, let's pray and expect answers!

The C of our health plan is to challenge each person to Commit to take the next step toward Christ. We need to adopt the motto: no attender left behind! We're going to challenge you to get right with God, get in a group, and grow in your faith.

Consider Col. 4:5,6
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

For this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I'll simply lead you in prayer. Father, we're instructed to make the most of opportunities, knowing that people who don't know you are looking at us, and learning about you. May we represent you well, both accurately and attractively. May our lives shine forth the light of your love. We've got a big opportunity before us this weekend. Many who are outside, so to speak, will come in for a brief look. I pray that what they see will draw them in further. May the way we speak, and present the good news of our Risen Savior, provide answers to the deepest questions on the hearts and minds of our visitors this Easter season. Our prayer is that you will bring yourself the glory you deserve by working through us to draw people into Christ's new life. We trust that you will answer our prayers. Do something in our midst that could not possibly be explained by any other means. We want you to be visible and to be honored. Hallowed be your name.

Sincerely,
your thankful children at Dayspring.

He has risen!

When I was a kid, my neighborhood used to have some scary dogs that barked at us. They were intimidating. My mom used to say, "Ignore them and they will go away." The same is true about people. When we ignore them, they will eventually go away. This is even true about people that you don't want to go away. Picture yourself working at a restaurant and a couple is waiting to place their order. If they are ignored long enough, you've lost the chance to serve them. As Christians, we don't want to miss out on the opportunity to serve people. Let's not ignore them.

Last week I wrote about the ministry that can take place in our lobby before and after services. With our Easter services coming up, it is more important than ever to welcome people with sincere kindness and warmth. In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I'll give you a quick 10-step approach. Even if you only do half of these, Dayspring will come to be known as a friendly place.

1. Be Christ-conscious, not self-conscious. You have nothing to lose - it's not about you.
2. Think of what it is like to be new and not know anyone.
3. Ask God to awaken your heart to others and to guide you to someone who needs a greeting.
4. Break out of your holy-huddle and look for someone you don't know.
5. Approach them, confident that they want contact.
6. Share your name and learn theirs.
7. Introduce them to someone they don't know that has something in common.
8. Invite them to be your guest for carne asada with guacamole and invite a pastor as well.
9. Remember their name the next week.
10. Repeat weekly.