prayer letter 9.2010

FYI - This month's prayer letter for The Table has been posted. Just hit the "prayer" link to the left. Thanks for your prayers for our church!

balance and the bellingham bay half-marathon

Next week is the race, The Bellingham Bay Half-Marathon. I've been training for about 7 weeks now. I always enjoy running a race in the fall. It seems like a good way to start a new season. This year I had another motivation... Mexico. A week after the race K8 and I are heading for Mexico to celebrate 10 Years of marriage, which should be sweet. So to gear up for it I felt extra motivation for this race (no one wants to see flabby Aaron). This is the longest week in my training, and I'm ready for shorter miles.

In light of thinking about making running for of a weekly/daily rhythm, I've been thinking about balance. Unless I have a goal, working out is usually the 1st thing to go in a busy schedule. But it is the workout that helps me maintain balance in the midst of a busy schedule. I find that if I don't get into the word and get active in the mornings, the rest of the day feels rushed or strained. It may be different for someone else, but this is what I've found. I dislike the days that feel disproportional toward one thing or another. A well proportioned day of study, fitness, work, being social, family time and service feels the best. And summer felt pretty proportioned and balanced. So the question for me is, How will I continue to find balance after the race is over, and once fall is fully in bloom?

I pray that you and I both will be blessed with the foresight to make proactive choices (rather than reactive choices) so we may live lives w/ margin, balance, and joy. I believe that when we are able to live in these spaces, we are able to listen to God's voice more clearly and have the room in our lives to bless our families, friends, and neighbors in His name. So will you join me in raising a glass to His movement in lives as we strive for balance?

change

As I was working at the Firehouse today, one customer mentioned that they had just dropped their kids off at school. Today is the 1st day back for Bellingham School District. I was curious if they were relieved to get their kids out of the house or wishing they didn't have to go. My customer mentioned that this year is their child's senior year of high school, and so they were navigating the feelings surrounding this being the last year of school, and all that means for their family. In contrast to this, just yesterday Kate and I were standing inside a classroom deciding whether to enroll Montana in her 1st year of preschool. "It's only preschool", but it feels funny thinking about sending her off to begin a new chapter. Then I also think about some new friends of mine. They've just moved to town from another state. Beginning new jobs today, making new friends, and finding "their" new spots to hang.

Change is in the air this week, and w/ it is a mix of emotions. We long to keep things as they are. I found myself saying (the same words my mother said to me as a kid) to Montana, "Don't grow up so fast". Yet, we also long for newness. I'm excited for the new adventures that the next season will bring. It's a strange mix of emotion. Change is in the air this week, but it always there. Change has a feeling of destabilizing us. And depending on our mood or disposition, this can either be welcomed or feared.

Change is something we can count on. But in the midst of it, there is One whom we can actually depend on, One we can look to for true stability. I'm encouraged by the words of Psalm 62:5-6, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." This fortress will remain solid in the face of attacks, and strong winds.

So as think about my customer, my friends, and our family - all experiencing a different form of change - I have hope. I hope in the Constant One, our strength and our salvation. I know He is good, stable and powerful when we feel mixed. For that, I have hope and give Him praise.

facebook

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http://www.facebook.com/thetablebellingham

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looking to fall

Summer has been nice. It has been a great change of pace compared to the rest of the ministry year, busy but different. Looking ahead to the fall, I know that it too will be different compared to what we've experienced thus far. I anticipate it to be an exercise in balance. It will be a balance between what we've been done all year (Bible studies, working at the Firehouse, and hanging out), the worship gathering we started this summer, and what we will add in the fall.

I mostly envision the addition of my Americorp grant to be the big wild card for balance. I received a part-time grant to do community organization in my neighborhood. This will add 20 hours a week to my schedule. My hope is that some of those 20 hours will be absorbed into existing activities, but that is yet to be determined. Ultimately it means defining or redefining what "ministry" means; what it means to me; what it means to the CRC; and what it means to everyone else. Does community organization or making coffee or volunteering fit into my calling as a missional pastor creating a new church? Answering this question is important to my relationship w/ those who support me, to our budding church, to my integrity as a pastor in the CRC, and most importantly to my call to be obedient to God's calling on my life and the life of my family.

To me the answer comes from meditating on the "Great Commission" from Matthew 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...(NIV)" A better translation would be "AS YOU GO make disciples of all nations..." As I go and do what I do in different settings, my call is to make disciples, build up the church that He has called me to pastor, and love Him, while I love others in His name. Definitions of "ministry" for organizations will vary, but to me it all goes toward fulfilling the Great Commission. So navigating and balancing my time this fall between different organizations and commitments will become a matter of translation and integrity. May He be glorified as we navigate the balance.

worship gathering

I just finished cleaning up, after having many friends over for our 5th worship gathering. It was a great discussion tonight, about making time to engage w/ neighbors, following Jesus' spirituality of engagement (Mk 2:13-22). Cool crew of folks tonight. It is a pleasure and honor to host and lead such an event!

Here's some photos form our 1st gathering back in June:

the table!

We are very excited to announce that the church plant finally has an official name... The Table! Our leadership community made the official decision this week. We are excited about our name, as it evokes images of rich relationship and community. “The Table” matches the rhythms of the new church, of hospitality, discipleship, and blessing. A table is a great place of connection between new friends… a table of hospitality. A table was where Christ invited his disciples into greater fellowship… a table of discipleship. A table is also a place where the hungry are fed… a table of blessing.

Now that we have a name, we plan to continue to doing what we have always been doing: living out our rhythms of hospitality, discipleship, and blessing. Our desire is to continue to make room, as individuals and as a church, in our lives to welcome others in; to continue to make Christ the focus of the hope we have and share; and, to continue to seek ways to tangible bless our neighbors. It is an exciting season at The Table! Here’s to God’s work at The Table!