From the VCC Newsletter on 12/3: Christmas Giving

Our church mission statement is a simple one: Love God, Love People, and Pass It On. Yet fulfilling that mission is no small task. Everyday we are faced with decisions about how we treat people, how we interact with God and men, and how we steward our resources (time, money, relationships, and stuff). As we move from Thanksgiving to Christmas, most of us are busy shopping and focusing on showing our loved ones how much they mean to us, as well we should. I don’t want to discourage the spirit of generosity. Instead I would like to add-on and ask you to pray about the very mission of Christmas. Jesus came into our world in the most disarming way, as a helpless baby, for one of the most demanding missions ever: to save the world. No pressure! In doing so he left the comfort of heaven to walk among a people who would later curse and crucify him. The very spirit of Christmas is one of making ourselves available and vulnerable to those who need the good news desperately but are not grateful we came. They don’t see our gospel as good news, and often reject us just because of who we are. To that world God gave his Son, and to that world God has called us to minister in the most inconvenient ways, sometimes to an ungrateful, disrespectful, and ever-suspicious world. One that is divided politically, racially, and theologically. To that same kind of world we have been called to continue the mission.

Over the last year we have been through numerous transitions, including a big change in staff. Meanwhile we have expanded our ministry and made several improvements to make our building more functional. We made numerous improvements to the community center (far exceeding the special donations given for that building) and expanded our community outreach . Currently we are wrapping up the new lobby entrance and ramping-up for the Christmas season and all of its related outreaches. Each step we have walked by faith, being diligent to manage every dime. As we look toward to the New Year, we are full of vision and we have some exciting plans. But as you can imagine, just like all of you, we have increased expenses at the end of the year, and in the new year. However, unlike retail, there is no Black Friday to help us; in fact, it is easy for expenses to exceed income during this time of year. So I am asking you to consider your giving in this season of generosity to include the mission and vision of VCC. Thank you for all of your support and confidence in the ministry of VCC. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Too Busy to Really Live?

Its funny how we equate organization with planning. Many of us have well organized lives that are packed with activities. A wise person once said, “Activity suggests a life full of purpose.” The truth is that well organized activity is just busyness, while a life full of purpose is one grounded in people, values, and goals.

What do you value most? Who is most important to you? What are the goals in life that you most desire to achieve? For me those things center around my faith, my family, and my friends. The complicated part for me is that all of those intersect heavily with my work life as a pastor, so I have to be intentional not to let the activity of my job become a replacement for those people and things that I say I value most. What about you?

How does what you value most translate into your daily schedule? What goals are you actually working on in those most important, most valued areas of your life? I have to plan my life according to what I say I value most or what I consider important will get swallowed up in activity. In the words of John Wooden, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” What are you planning?