Wayne’s World of Blog

One day a friend and I were “studying” when the basketball game (that we were  studying) was interrupted by a commercial.  The commercial was advertising pearl necklaces for “only $19.95″ plus shipping and handling.  These were not your everyday pearls, they were “GEN-U-INE simulated” pearls.  The voice-over was so enthusiastic that it made you want to “order right now” before they ran out of their “limited supply”.  The over-emphasized word “GENUINE” followed immediately by the under-emphasized word “simulated” was designed to trick you into buying something that you thought was real but was only a cheap immitation.

This morning as I was meditating on Christ’s encounter with Satan in the desert, I was reminded once again that Satan has nothing of value to offer us.  The very best that he can offer us is a “genuine SIMULATED” immitation of the real thing.

As you make your way through this week LISTEN to the “fine print” and don’t waste your time or money on cheap immitations.  Let this be a reminder that God has the “REAL DEAL’ in store for you and I. Peace, PW

I have often heard the adage “If you ask the wrong question, you will get the wrong answer.”  I am reminded of some significant questions in scripture like this one from a Jewish Pharisee “How can a man be born again when he is old?”, the right words but the wrong question.  How about this question asked by the disciples “Who (of us) is the greatest?” or “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”.  Perhaps good questions but the wrong questions for the situation at hand.

I was reading an article about a church a little younger than FCC and a question in the article provoked me.  The pastor said, instead of asking “what’s the vision for our church?’ we asked the question “How could a community of people help actualize the Kingdom of God in (their town)?”.

We at FCC have wrestled with and avoided gimmicks and programs to “build/grow” the church.  We have done so, not because we don’t want the church to grow, but because the growth we seek is not programmed or gimmicky.  It is our desire for the church to grow naturally out of the spirit lead witness and power that God has uniquely made available to  His people (the Church).  This manifests itself in loving, caring seriving relationships with others.  Jesus told his disciples that their love for one another would be the evidence to others that Christ and His message were real.   

Their subsequent question is equally as provoking “What would Church look like if, instead of meeting needs with programs, we sought to meet needs primarily through relationships?”.

How would you answer those questions?  Let me know by clicking on “comments” below.  Peace, PW

I put my foot up against the stake and placing one foot immediately in front of the other began to count as I stepped “one, two, three, four…twenty-five, this should be about right”, I thought to myself as I looked up and across the hard packed sand.  I was standing at the approximate location of what will be the front edge of the stage.  

As I stood there and looked out across that white sandy building pad, in my mind’s eye I tried to imagine what it will look like when it is finished.  Over to my left I saw a group of people huddled around a coffee cart telling stories of their week and chuckling at the quirky realities of life.  I saw people sitting around tables on a Wednesday evening, enjoying a meal together and anticipating a time of learning and sharing that would follow.  I saw people walking in the front door on their way to CPR training that would take place in the large classroom in the back.  I saw a group of guys completely surrounding a man in prayer who was visibly shaken.  I saw people worshipping God with hands raised high and tears streaming down their faces, standing in awe of a God who loves them so much.  I saw babies being dedicated, people putting their faith in Christ, people being healed physically and emotionally and people being baptized.  I saw people being set free from the chains of addiction and marriages being healed.

As I walked off the building pad it struck me… the images I had seen were not walls or ceilings, not stage lights or sound systems, I saw people.  I was reminded once again that the builidng is just a tool, a tool for God’s work and God’s work is all about people.  It will be a tool that will help build a relationship with God and with others.

I invite you to go out and do the same thing that I did and let me know what you see.  You may leave your thoughts and comments by clicking in the link a the bottom of this post that  says “no comments”.  In the meantime, Peace. PW

Well, this is another of a long line of firsts since starting Faith Community Church.  There was the first time I brought two different colored dress shoes to preach in, and the first time I tried to stack all four speakers on top of ”Big Bertha” (the portable sound box…I do not recommend it), and lest I forget, dressing up in a pink dress and talking like Julia Childs as a banana was being crushed into the ear of another gullible “Untalented Show” participant. 

Finally, my very first BLOG.  In fact, it was not very long ago that I started hearing that term and had no idea what it was. and now I am creating one.  As is the case with so many things in life everything has a season, and the season has come for me to BLOG!

Now that I know what a blog is, I have come to see it as a tremendous tool through which to communicate.  I hope and trust SOMEONE will be interested in what I have to say.  I plan to share personal insights, vision, mission and building information on this site.  So… in the mean time…stay tuned…and happy blogging!