Messages About Purpose & Strategy (MAPS)

January 28 & 29

Larry Grine — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:13:43 GMT

Some people may trip over a certain phrase in our 25-word vision statement. The word that can cause trouble is “more.” Here it is in context: The Vision of Dayspring Fellowship is “to glorify God by reaching out in love to more people, connecting them into authentic relationships, and growing up in maturity as followers of Christ.” Last week I pointed out that this vision depicts disciple-making and each one of us has part in this process. We can all reach out in love to more people! But how about this word, “more?” Is more necessarily better? It all depends. More of what? More broccoli doesn’t sound good, nor does more rain. But in this case we’re talking about people. Every person is important to God. If we are making disciples, why settle for just a few? Why not lead many to follow Christ? It’s exciting to read in Acts 2:47 - “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Note that “more” is a relative term. We should not only ask, “more of what?” But also, “more than what?” More than now. This is a vision of the future. More tomorrow than today. More this new year than last year. Why? There will always be more people who need to hear the good news, people who need to experience forgiveness, get off drugs, or get out of debt. There will always be more families who need healing. Know anyone with those needs? So do I. So let’s reach out in love to more people.

January 21 & 22

Larry Grine — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:18:00 GMT

As we approach the weekend, the big news around town is that part of the town is underwater! In this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll write about this exciting and potentially treacherous event. I have never seen the Willamette so high. This is the highest it has been since the flood of '96, and I didn't live here then. A few years ago I kayaked through the Keizer Rapids Park trails when the river rose to 26', but it is predicted to go higher today (Friday), cresting over 29'.

Yesterday I joked that I would be kayaking in to work today. Awaking to Lake Larry in the lower yard made me realize that it wasn't a joke at all! My son sees one good thing about the high water; he gets the day off school! The only advantage I see is that this may help me with my mole eradication problem.

While I have not experienced a bigger flood of water, I have seen many people in our valley flooded with suffering of one kind or another. My first text message of the morning came from a man telling me his mother had just died, after suffering from a prolonged illness. He is threatened by a flood of sorrow. He, and many of you, can probably relate to Psalm 69:2 - "I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me." I hope to help him grab on to something solid so he isn't swept away. The Bible says we can trust in God, even when the waters are rising. You can lead people to higher ground. There is one place to go. The Rock will never move or give way.

January 8, 2012

Larry Grine — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:08:36 GMT

In today’s installment of these Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I will tell you what I want to see at the end of each of our weekend services. When it is all said and done, you will rise up and step out. You will stand and walk out of our building into the world where you represent Jesus. You will go back to your homes, your families, your jobs, your hobbies, and your lives. May you do so with a renewed sense of purpose. May you be tenacious and single-minded, for you exist to glorify God by following Jesus and leading others to follow him. My desire is to see you living with passionate abandon, persistently persevering to rise above the mundane of daily existence and linking your life to eternity. You have a destiny. Your Creator made you to receive and reflect his love. You can do that, by the power of his Spirit and for the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ.

January 1, 2012

Larry Grine — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:10:00 GMT

Most people despise hearing about New Year’s resolutions. So, in today’s installment of these Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I will not ask you to set goals that you will fail to meet. But I will emphasize the value of utilizing this time of year as a fulcrum.

Don’t be discouraged about failures in your past. This weekend is a chance to make a new start. Have you had trouble with keeping your commitments? Maybe you’ve always wanted to read the Bible through in a year but you’ve fallen off the wagon somewhere in Leviticus. Yesterday’s failures will only drag you down if you let them.

I like to reach forward to things that I don’t yet have. Set your eyes on something that is beyond you. Stretch. May this New Year be a really new year for you. January 2012 can be the date you look back on and remember that you took a step up to a new kind of living.

You can live with purpose. You can organize your life to point toward the objectives you set. And as a church we can become what God wants us to be and do here in the Salem region. We represent Jesus Christ to a world in need. Let’s Rise Up and Step Out! Let’s get off to a good start this year and grow to a new place, and then grow some more!

December 25, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 05:11:00 GMT

In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll answer a question that may be on your mind: Why Christmas? Whenever we ask “why,” the answer can either explain the motive for an event or what results from it. The Bible clearly addresses both what led to Christmas and what it leads to. The answer reminds us of what matters most. I could turn to a variety of familiar passages in the Bible for a succinct explanation of what this holiday means. But I think I’ll direct your attention to a verse you may not commonly think of as a Christmas text. It is 1 John 4:9, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”

Why Christmas? God showed his love for us by sending his Son so we could live life as it was meant to be lived. This verse clearly addresses both what led to Christmas and what it leads to. Here’s the answer: Love led to Christmas. And Christmas leads to life! The same thing is taught in John 3:16. Christmas means that God loved us so much that he send his Son to give us life. Christmas is a message which transcends time and is stronger than the toughest of circumstances. It is good news of a great joy.

December 18, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:16:00 GMT

A very meaningful tradition at Christmas time is to read the beautiful account in Luke 2. In verses 17 and 18 we read about the way the shepherds responded to God’s gift of Jesus Christ. “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” This makes me think of how we are to respond to the same good news they heard and saw. In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll remind you of our responsibility to tell others about what God has done.

The news about Jesus is too good to keep as a secret to ourselves. Anything this wonderful must be shared. The shepherds came to understand that God had invaded their lives. He had intervened in the most amazing way possible. He came here to dwell among us. Theirs was a lonely life. Shepherds were not regarded highly in their day and spent long hours away from other people.

They realized that they would never be alone again. Jesus was called, “Emmanuel, God with us.” He came to be with them and to be with us. That is news to share!

November 26 & 27, 2011

Larry Grine — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:24:50 GMT

This is the time of year that people think of giving thanks. It’s about time. Presumption isn’t an attractive attitude, whereas, appreciation is a winsome attribute.

The Bible teaches us to pray and to give thanks as we make our requests. In Phil 4:6,7, we read, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” In this week’sMessage About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll remind you of the importance of giving thanks to God for all he is and all he does for us.

Many of our grandmothers told us to count our blessings. They were right. This is good counsel. Thanking God concurrently as we make our requests shows faith. Sometimes we end up thanking him that he has the wisdom to not automatically give us what we want.

We don’t have all we want. We can’t move as fast as we’d like. We aren’t making progress at the pace we desire. But all we have is from God and all we have is for him as well. So we thank him. When things go well, we honor him. When they don’t, we still look to his hand, dependently and expectantly.

This week, and ever week, give thanks.

November 19 & 20, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 15:58:31 GMT

I recently came across a little scrap of paper with some scribbled notes. I recognized it as a note I made to myself several (many) years ago. I was visiting a church and a small event in the service made a big impression on me. In this week’sMessage About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll tell you what I wrote to myself. It was important enough that I wanted to remember what I learned that day.

I was listening to the worship leader. He was from the younger generation. The holes in the knees of his jeans gave him away. He was singing a song that, at the time, was unfamiliar to me. I liked the style (retro-folk-alternative) and I was seeking to connect with the lyrics. He sang, “Lord, please break my heart in two.” The next line started, “Lord, please show me…” and, thinking fast and jumping to conclusions, I expected the rhyme, “…what to do.” That would make sense to me; just show me what to do, God. That’s how I plan on pleasing you, by doing something. But I was surprised. He finished the line this way: “show me more of you.”

I immediately thought about the difference in our generations and wrote a note to myself to explore the concept more later (this is the “later” I was looking forward to, now that I’ve finally found the note). My generation seeks to fulfill duty. We value faithfulness and sacrifice. These are good qualities, as are commitment and loyalty. That’s our stuff. We roll up our sleeves. We know about hard work, but we are not particularly experiential and don’t naturally think of God relationally. Most people my age want the younger generation to get to work. But they have something significant to teach us and in humility we had better learn the lesson. Seeking to serve God is great, but let’s make sure we seek him first! We must know him before we can make him known. Pray this: “Lord, show me more of you.”

November 12 & 13, 2011

Larry Grine — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:31:58 GMT

A knock at my office door disturbed my concentration, but that is okay; I’ve come to see interruptions as opportunities. In walked two women with a vacuum cleaner. Hesitatingly, the younger one, a student, asked me if I would like her to vacuum my office. The young woman laboriously but sincerely sought to communicate. She needed word by word coaching from the supportive special needs instructional assistant who accompanied her. I replied that I would like my office vacuumed and began to help by moving chairs around. The program assistant pointed out every little fuzzy and scrap of paper on my carpet while the student (I’m not using their names due to a policy with the school district) faithfully followed her helper’s tender leadership and pushed the vacuum into new dusty territory.

Each week a short white bus pulls into our parking lot and special education students and their helpers descend on our church. They are part of the Salem-Keizer Public Schools Community Transition Program. The arrangement is to their advantage because they get to practice communication and job skills in an accepting environment. It is to our advantage because we get the office vacuumed! And, today, I received another blessing: seeing love work.

In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll speculate on how this special needs instructional assistant feels at the end of her workday. When she gets home at night, is she discouraged over the apparent lack of progress, or does she have reason to rejoice? Has she fulfilled her goal for the day? What is her goal? Is it to “fix” the student? It is to “solve” the problem? I think not. I imagine that she views herself as serving the student’s special needs. And each day that she demonstrates such tender love to the needy is a day that she has been successful.

You may be called to serve in a way that does not seem to solve the situation. Should you be discouraged? Should you give up and abandon the endeavor? Sometimes success is measured not by completing a project, but by loving people persistently through a process. As I watched the kind instructional assistant serve the young woman with the disabilities, I saw success. I saw that love works.

November 5 & 6, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:34:00 GMT

As I write this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’m listening to a video debate between two pastors on the question: Do you preach to build attendance or to build attenders? One is making good points about the importance of using the weekend services to reach lost people while the other guy is arguing for the priority of using the services for feeding the sheep. As you might guess, the moderator of the discussion is saying that both things matter. Pastors philosophies tend to follow their gifting. One of these men is gifted as an evangelist and another as a teacher. Both gifts are needed and both ends must be accomplished. In a sense, the debate is exploring a false dichotomy. God can draw people to himself in the same service where others are being challenged to grow. Here at Dayspring, we can’t be forced to choose between reaching people or being doctrinally deep. It is not one or the other, evangelism or discipleship; we want to do both things. To state it negatively, we don’t just want to draw a crowd, but neither do we just want to continue to feed the spiritually fat. Our mission is to make disciples and this involves teaching them all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:18-20). Fulfilling the Great Commission includes both evangelism and discipleship. If the person in question does not yet know Christ, then our ministry is evangelism. Once the person has been born again, we help them grow. Both facets are simply leading people to follow Christ.

October 29 & 30, 2011

Larry Grine — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:36:05 GMT

What business are we in? What is our product? Who is our customer? In today’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll remind you that the church has been commissioned to make disciples for God. Disciples (followers of Christ) are our product and God is our only customer. The whole process of evangelism and discipleship (leading people to follow Christ) is for God. We must not engage in role reversal and regard ourselves as the consumers. It is crucial that we get this right. Our product is not the Sunday show, or the care we offer. It is not our programs, music or teaching, and the paid professionals are not performers. We don’t exist for ourselves. It would be a tragedy for the church to proliferate self-indulgent consumerism. Christianity, as a system, relationship, worldview and lifestyle, is not intended to meet the felt needs of society (though it will). This whole shebang is to please God. Think of it: you are not the customer of what we do here; you are the product! Since this is the case, when we evaluate how we’re doing, we don’t ask how many satisfied customers are buying what we are selling, but what kind of people are we producing for God? We make disciples for God. We lead people to follow Christ for God’s sake.

October 22 & 23, 2011

Larry Grine — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:19:00 GMT

I’m trying to remember a billboard I saw while driving through Salem. I think it said, “I can’t go to college,” but the word “can’t” was crossed out and it said, “can.” The ad featured someone’s face with a determined smile. Do you remember seeing it? The sign came to mind as I was preparing this week’s message from Numbers 13 and 14, but the idea is also suitable for today’s Message About Purpose and Strategy.

The ad campaign was aimed at inspiring people to go to college. When you believe that you can do it then you will feel the confidence to actually enroll and start school again. If you don’t believe it, and remain full of debilitating trepidation, then you won’t follow through. Your insecurity will immobilize you so you stop before you even start! But if you can really do it, if that is the truth, then there is no reason for your sense of inadequacy!

As I think of what God is calling us to be and do as a church, I think, “We can do it!” When God calls his people to do something, he also equips them to do it. There is no power shortage with God. We want to make choices based on reality. The truth is that we can succeed because God has promised his presence and power. We can! Let’s do so.

October 15 & 16, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:42:00 GMT

I don‘t think I’ve ever resorted to using my Message About Purpose and Strategy for shameless advertising, but I will this week. And I’m not stooping to do so. It’s with great enthusiasm that I urge you to see the movie, Courageous. This movie fits into the fulfillment of our purpose as a church. We exist to glorify God by leading people to follow Jesus Christ. The movie aims at convincing men to prioritize their role as fathers and honor God with how they influence their kids. Promoting this movie is strategic. See it, use it; don’t miss it.

Sherwood Pictures, a ministry of a Baptist church in Georgia, made the movie. They are the ones who also did Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof. Courageous is overtly Christian and very touching. I urge you to see it and bring a friend. Courageous is still playing in theaters. Once it is released on DVD, buy a copy and lend it to friends.

Don’t miss this chance. See this movie.

October 8 & 9, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 04:48:00 GMT

Last week I used my Message About Purpose and Strategy to share some factors that contributed to Scott Marshall being the top scorer on his soccer team. He communicated that his success was a product of gifting, effort, and desire. These principles are transferable to the rest of life. Listen again to what this young man has to teach us about success.

"I believe these factors help me succeed in my marriage, work and ministry. God has given me natural abilities to communicate, problem solve, and relate with people. With my wife, this is a constant process but my natural abilities help me. Along with that, I always have to work hard at deepening our relationship. I know that stagnation in our relationship will not benefit our marriage. In work and ministry, I think hard work shows through in follow up with students, peers, and coworkers. It's not easy or fun to follow up but in order to have a successful career or ministry it is vital. Finally, hunger for success comes into play. I strongly desire to have a successful marriage and family. I believe I was greatly blessed with my upbringing and I want to pass that on to my family. This comes through learning, constantly honing my skills, reading, accountability, and communication. I also want to have a vital ministry and successful career. Initiative is a huge piece to success.”

I thank God for young couples like Scott and Jessica Marshall and the lessons he’s sharing with us about success in life. Let’s follow this advice! Dayspring, let’s rise up and use our gifts, put out effort, and be passionate about doing God’s will in this place.

October 1 & 2, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:22:35 GMT

I learned that a fine young family, the Marshalls, were about to move to another city. Their decision to relocate was driven by a great new job opportunity for Scott. While I was excited for them, I was sorry to hear we would be losing them, for both Scott and Jessica have been involved in ministry here.

I told Scott I wanted something from him before he left. I had heard that he was a leading scorer on his college soccer team. I had an idea that what made him successful in sports would be transferable to other areas of life. In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll share with you his input. By the way, Scott has no ego. He is no braggart. We’re just examining him as a case study in what goes into success.

"I think there are three things that made me successful in soccer. First, God gave me natural athletic abilities which I honed through practice as well as trial and error.”

“Second, hard work. I spent summers getting into shape, working on my individual skills, and strength training. I poured hours into these activities and it paid off. I also would get together with a couple other guys and kick the ball around outside of practice to work on combination play and handling balls in the air. Hard work and developing the work ethic significantly helped me become a leading scorer.”

“Finally, I think the thing that helped me most was hunger for goals. Early on in my soccer career, I discovered that I would much rather score the goals than defend our goal. I always tried to put myself in a place where I could score if the ball came my direction. I built my individual skills in shooting, dribbling, deception, and composure. I was certainly not the biggest or fastest player on the field, but I usually was the best scorer. And this was because of my hunger to score goals. Another area of hunger was in learning. I remember watching soccer videos with my dad when my brothers were outside playing. Seeing the great players make moves and shoot the ball helped me so I could visualize myself doing the same things.”

That’s the first half of what Scott told me. His story includes great principles: success is a product of gifting, effort, and desire. I’ll share the second half next week, in which Scott applies these same principles to experiencing success in ministry.

September 17 & 18, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:20:25 GMT

In last week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I mentioned a meeting with Growth Group leaders. Let me tell you about something cool we did together, besides eating dessert. In our training meeting, I tried to get the group facilitators to picture the potential of exponential growth. I don’t want to boggle any anti-math minds, but a comparison between arithmetic progression and multiplication is eye-opening. When you start with one and add one nine more times, you end up with a grand total of 10. But if you start with one and start to double it, look what happens: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1,024! The difference between arithmetic progression (adding) and exponential growth (multiplying) is amazing. In 20 generations, the total is 1,048,576!

The potential for growth of this kind can be illustrated by folding a paper in half and in half and in half over and over. Incredible as it may seem, after 30 folds its thickness would be beyond the limits of the atmosphere! (Do the math!)

Why the emphasis on numbers? Someone will say: numbers aren’t important. I’d answer: it depends what the numbers represent. If we’re talking about numbers of people, then yes, numbers matter! Think and pray about the potential of spiritual reproduction and reach people who can reach people for Christ! As I wrote last week, follow Christ in a way that leads others to follow. Disciples are disciplemakers.

September 10 & 11, 2011

Larry Grine — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:15:47 GMT

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” He used this figurative language to convey that ultimate satisfaction is found in him. It is a great illustration because most people can relate to the way bread is so satisfying. A loaf of bread comes into play in the story I’ll tell you today. It definitely met a need.

I usually use these weekly Message About Purpose and Strategy to motivate you concerning what we do here at Dayspring and why we do it. This week I’ll simply share the first chapter in an unfolding success story.

Last weekend I met a family in the lobby between services and we had a very nice conversation. They had heard about Dayspring and were hesitant about attending at first, but have now been around for a month and they say they love it here. Since then, I’ve had some email contact with the Lopez family and they have expressed their appreciation for us in a very encouraging way.

“We have enjoyed attending the Sunday service as visitors and were warmly welcomed by many members each and every time. We were so surprised when we got home one evening on the last week of August when there was a nice letter from Dayspring thanking us for coming to the service. Under the letter was a delicious loaf of Zucchini chocolate chip bread which all four of us devoured in a couple of days! I immediately laughed and jokingly told my wife, ‘I guess Pastor Larry couldn't get rid of all the zucchini so they decided to make some bread out of it."

” No, I didn’t bake the bread. A more talented woman here at Dayspring named Paula Miller got the idea of making bread and delivering it to people who visit our church as a gift. The Lopez family was blessed by this simple expression of hospitality. What a good reminder of the importance of relational warmth!

In another note, they conveyed this wonderful encouragement: “We've been searching for 15 years to find our church home, and I think our search has finally come to a happy end. Thank you, Dayspring.”

How can you bless someone this week? Try walking across the lobby with a genuine smile and greet someone you don’t know.

September 3 & 4, 2011

Larry Grine — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:15:00 GMT

The other day I was encouraging an individual about his future. I told him that his success in life would be dependent upon his progress in the process of maturation. So many people get fixated in adolescence with its self-absorption and entitlement syndrome. I was calling him to step up and spelled out three facets of maturity. After we talked I got to thinking how the advice I gave him is applicable to the church as well. I write these weekly Message About Purpose and Strategy to train and motivate you. This week I’ll list these same three facets of maturity and I want you to think about how they apply to us here at Dayspring Fellowship.

1. Maturity involves the ability to offset reward. I’m talking about discipline. We need to be able to make sacrifices for a future benefit.

2. Maturity involves the ability to “own your stuff.” This expression means to take personal responsibility - to not blame anyone else or hide behind excuses, but to rise up and do what needs to be done!

3. Maturity involves the ability to operate under authority. I don’t know of a job where this is not important. Everyone needs to learn how to demonstrate respect. This applies to Christians in a big way because we call Jesus Christ our Lord. If he is the King, then we are subjects in his kingdom and must submit to his rule in our lives.

Just as individuals mature, so must a church grow up and demonstrate discipline, responsibility, and respect.

August 27 & 28, 2011

Larry Grine — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:19:30 GMT

One of the highlights of the recent Global Leadership Summit was a simple talk by a young pastor named Steven Furtick. The most powerful part of his presentation was an account from the Bible that describes a wonderful miracle. In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll call your attention to this passage. It is in 2 Kings 3:9-20. Check it out. The people were in desperate need for water and God’s Word came with the odd message: “Make this valley full of ditches.” I’ll tell you, if I’m thirsty, that last thing I want to do is to swing a pick into dry dirt under the hot sun! God was planning on blessing them with rain, but he told them to get ready to receive the miracle. People are responsible to do their part, but they are dependent upon God to do his part. Only God can send the rain. Let’s get ready for the blessing of God. 3:17,18 - “For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water… This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord….” We can learn more about techniques and become more efficient, but ultimately, we are reliant upon God to accomplish what only he can do. While we wait for revival, let’s get ready by digging some ditches.

August 6 & 7, 2011

Larry Grine — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 02:42:36 GMT

I passed a restaurant and noticed its name on the sign. The place is called, “Almost Home.” That’s an interesting name. I don’t suppose they want to convey that the food is not quite as good as what is at home in your fridge, otherwise you would just drive by and go nuke some leftovers. My impression is that they want you to think of warmth and acceptance. They want to portray an ambiance that reminds you of good memories and better times. People remember fondly the sights, smells, and feelings associated with being at home. Home is the place you feel safe. Home makes you think of consistency and that produces security. That’s what I want people to experience here at Dayspring. In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll challenge you to consider how you can contribute to our church feeling like home for more people. We want the kind of atmosphere where no one is left out. There should be the feeling of familiarity and the sound of laughter. You can play a part in making our church more hospitable. Look for someone you don’t know in the lobby and walk across the room to extend your hand. Learn their name and help them to feel happy they came to Dayspring. May we experience the blessing of family, even in our large setting by each doing our part to treat others like they matter. Love works! Try it.