"Special Olympics" at Church?

Recently John Hall from WORD FM 101.5 asked my husband, "What does a typical Sunday at A Restoration Church look like?"

I got a really great "snap-shot" for an answer this past Sunday.

We always gather for lunch after worship. After we ate and were just sitting talking, our five-year-old twins (sons of one of the pastors) started a game of chase around the tables with Bobby. Three guys running around the tables racing each other doesn't sound so special except that Bobby has no legs. Bobby was racing in his wheelchair - great BIG smile on his face! Nathan and David were running as fast as they could to try to catch up - almost as big smiles on their faces, too! It was fun to watch! It was joy in motion!

O, did I forget to say - Bobby is 32. He was having fun and giving great fun to two little guys who have found a great new friend in Bobby!

At A Restoration Church we intentionally want to provide a loving, joyous, serving church family particularly for individuals and families affected by disability. That's just about all of us in one way or another - disabled, that is! So, together we are learning to be a community of faith and reaching out to others to include them in our joy!

So, I guess that's sort of what a typical Sunday at A Restoration Church "looks like" - It looks like joy in motion! The joy comes from our hearts. We get our joy from Jesus and it is contagious! We'd love for you to come catch some of that joy with us any Sunday!

Planting is Fun!

It's spring, and in Pittsburgh it is only just now starting to get warm enough to plant and garden. BUT that's not the kind of planting I have in mind. I'm thinking of planting a church. A lot of people have trouble even wrapping their minds around the idea of "planting a church." What does that mean? How in the world do you plant a church? Why in the world would anyone plant a church? Aren't there already enough churches to go around?

Well, here's the scoop! Church planting means multiplying. It means doing exactly what Jesus said to do:

• Go and tell people about the Gospel so they come to be part of God's forever family, too.
• Then bring those people into a context where they can grow and strengthen and even bloom in their faith so this wonderful process duplicates itself in Kingdom multiplication over and over and over again until Jesus comes back to earth!

The truth is that all churches either need to be in revitalization mode or planting mode to keep from getting stagnant. Churches have life cycles just like people and even plants, and decline is a part of the life cycle unless active measures are taken to keep vitality going. AND sometimes even active measures don't stave off the effects of aging no matter what we do! But that's another blog post ...

A Restoration Church gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh is a church plant! Church planting like planting a garden is a lot of hard work, but it's also a lot of fun! I was thinking about that today as we were setting up for worship tomorrow and for our lunch gathering after. I bet there's no where else in the city of Pittsburgh that twin boys (age 5) were working hard to help arrange chairs, carry plastic bins, carry in groceries and just generally give a lot of life and energy to the project of setting up for tomorrow's worship. It's pretty cool! Tomorrow those same two boys will take a turn at helping take up the offering. Their sister who is a born teacher at 10 takes the children out for a brief time of explaining the children's page we have each week that goes along with the theme for that week. Where else but in a church plant would two five-year-olds and a ten-year-old have the opportunity to develop gifts of serving in the church at such young ages? It's fun!

I think the statistics say that less than 10% of all church attenders are really "comfortable" church planting. It takes a certain kind of "pioneer heart." In my case, however I'm in the 100% category because that's what I am doing! And it's spring, and my "pioneer heart" says, "Let's get on with it!"

Funerals, Life and Restoration

This hasn't been a typical week at our house. Thankfully so as we have attended two funerals. Funerals are part of my adult life. I never went to a funeral as a child, and I can't say funerals are high on my list. That probably is typical.

My parents who are both in their 80's have attended four funerals in the past two weeks - one of them for a family member.

The very occasion of a funeral is because death has occurred. No matter when, no matter where, no matter how - death is such a "final" thing.

One of the funerals I attended this week was for a lady who died from painful cancer. In the small funeral home room there was the casket at the front. In between were rows of chairs with people and at the very back we sat with three young children - two of them four-year-old twin boys.

There is something about a casket and a funeral and 4-year-old twins that doesn't quite fit. There they are so full of life and boyishness in the presence of death and mostly oblivious.

I remember another funeral years ago. The casket held the body of the 32-year-old mother of 2-year old twin boys. She also died after a horrible, terrible, painful battle with cancer. That day long ago made me ache for those two little boys.

The presence of the twins yesterday gladdened my heart. They represented the essence of life in the presence of death. Thornton Wilder once wrote, "In the midst of life we are in the midst of death ... " That's what the twins made me think of - life in the midst of death!

But the picture here is a good parable of what is real and true - when we live with hearts restored by the love and grace of God, then even as we grow older or even die we move on to life eternal. That is the hope of life - the promise of eternity - even in the face of death - and we all need to know that truth! The promise of God's restoration makes all the difference in both living and dying! It is the story of Easter, and it's the real deal!

God's Helpers

A Restoration Church is starting in the South Hills of Pittsburgh!

I was just thinking today about some of the unusual helpers God is using in the process of building His church.

One has black hair and big brown eyes. She is very quiet and sweet. Her name is Susie. She has the ability to capture hearts quickly with her sweet gentle spirit. The people she meets in the doctor's office or at the "hair dresser" all love her. Who could find an invitation to church threatening in the presence of such a sweet, loveable dog?

These helpers are two. They are both very small. They help in amazing ways given their size and age. One may take up the offering. The other may join in joyful praise as we sing. One or both may share a concern during our sharing time or even offer to pray aloud. Who can be threatened by sharing or singing or praying when one or another of our resident four-year-old twins are such happy, willing participants?

There are other examples, but the point is that God uses unexpected helpers in unexpected ways to do His work in His world. I guess that means He can use just about anybody with a willing heart! It is certainly something to think about!

Me First?

Once upon a time long ago and far away there were two look-alike boys (twins). They always wanted the same thing at the same time. They especially seemed to want whatever the other one had or was playing with. Thus they got into many fights!

Finally their parents decided that they would always have the same toys - no more variety unless both had one. If one had a truck, the other did too. If one had a ball, the other did too. And so it went, but they still fought over what each had. They wanted the other boy's toy instead of their own.

You see, the problem was that each one always wanted to be first and have the best and usually have whatever the other one was playing with. So they still got into many fights resulting in many, many broken toys.

One day their father decreed that each of his boys would have his own color. Everything that son had must be either red or blue as the color was assigned. But the problem would never be solved by assigning colors. The problem was in each boy's heart!

Finally, enough was enough! So all the toys were cleared from their room. Each boy was seated at opposite ends of the room facing a wall, and they were left alone. As time went by, each boy started thinking about how he had acted. Eventually they began to talk. One said, "I was wrong to take your toy truck. I should have played with my own." The other said, "If I had a ball, I would ask you to play catch with me."

And as time went by, they moved their chairs right next to each other so they could talk better. After a long while, their father and mother opened the door and left a big basket in the middle of the room. The basket contained all the blue toys and all the red toys jumbled together, and the mother and father quietly closed the door again.

Then after a longer time the mother and father returned and opened the door. What an amazing sight they saw! The boys had connected all the parts of their train track and hooked up a VERY long train - red car, blue car, red car, blue car and so on. They were pushing the train back and forth to each other around the track.

When Mom and Dad got over their surprise, Dad said, "See, boys, when you try to keep everything for yourself and grab things away from your brother and always want only your own way - you have two times the trouble and absolutely no fun!" And the two look-alike boys knew Dad was right so they played happily ever after and never grabbed each other's toys again - well, almost never! The boys learned the “me first lesson!"

Does “Mr. Me First” live in your heart? Do you ever want to push ahead of someone else in line? Do you ever interrupt when someone else is talking? Do you ever grab a toy away from someone else? Well, any of those things and many more are things “Mr. Me First” does.

I’m sorry to say that “Mr. Me First” sometimes lives in my heart. I sometimes want to be front and center. I sometimes want my way over someone else’s. I sometimes interrupt when someone else is talking. Do you?

This "me first syndrome" is pandemic in our culture. We all want "my space" to be the most important space. We want "my way" all the time."

In Luke 9:46 – 50 Jesus’ main men show that “Mr. Me First” lives in their hearts. Here’s what happened: They all wanted to be first. They all wanted to be the most important main man to Jesus. They wanted “me first” !

They didn’t just think about being “me first.” They started fighting with words about which one of them was “first” – the most important. They must have had their fight “off camera” where Jesus couldn’t hear. Perhaps that means they knew what they were fighting about was wrong.

The Bible says that Jesus knew what they were thinking. Jesus knows what we are thinking, too. We can’t fool Jesus, and they didn’t fool Jesus either.

Jesus found a little child nearby. Jesus put his arm around the kid and told His main men (something like this), “Here is the deal, guys. See this kid. He is a very special person! In fact, he just might be more special than any one of you. Get this - when you value other people – even little kids - then you start leaning to love and value Me (Jesus.)”

Then Jesus went on, “And anyone who treats me special and loves me will also love My Father in heaven (God the Father).”

Then Jesus said the most important thing of all. He said (something like this), “If you want to be #1 then you have to be willing to be at the back of the line. You must think of other people before you think of yourself. You need to let people go ahead in line, be first, be #1. You need to learn to be willing to come along behind.” That's what Jesus told His main men. That's what JEses wants us to do, too.

Remember: Jesus wants to be #1 all the time! He is the ONLY ONE who really has the right to be "Mr. First" ! When Jesus is the "Mr. First" who lives in my heart, then I will love others and think of them. Jesus will be first in my heart and then other people will come next before me. That's the order of priority in a restored heart: Jesus first, others second, myself last.

People or Paper?

People or Paper?

Saturday two little four-year-olds visited me. They are identical twins. As we were driving, they spontaneously started a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Being twins their first five or so tries each came up with the identical symbol: both were rocks, both were scissors, both were rocks again.

In the game the object is to make the hand symbol that is stronger than the other person’s. So rock against rock is a draw. But rock against scissors: rock smashes scissors. Or scissors against paper: scissors cut paper. In the game, paper is the weakest symbol.

Then Sunday morning I went to church. A dear friend shared a sad story of a man battling a fatal disease. He faces lost work time as he gets treatment. He needs his employment and benefits to keep going. She said she wanted to donate some of her own sick leave days to his “account.” She was told that she couldn’t do that because they were in different levels of employment of the same company. Her voice shook as she said, “Paper is more important than people.”

Paper is NOT more important than people but that’s how we live at times. What a great reminder and challenge to live and order my life (and to encourage others to do the same) so that people always trump paper. Balancing priorities to always value people more than paper cuts against the grain of bureaucracy but it's the right way to live.

In our world, paper is often more important than people. But that’s a really skewed value. It’s upside down! People are more important than paper every time! Life should mimic the game making paper the weaker symbol: not paper crushes people but people care for people more than paper.