A Struggle

Lance’s last message series on GraceWorks brought some observations to mind.

Since the first century, the Church has struggled to both maintain its moral compass AND treat violators with grace.

There have been periods where the church lowered or eliminated its Biblical standards and treated people with “grace.”

While other periods, the Church has loudly proclaimed its moral absolutes and used them to ungraciously hammer on those not meeting those standards.

Proclaiming God’s standards of right and wrong WHILE graciously receiving those failing to meet the standards (Isn’t that all of us?) appears to be an illusive goal.

What I’ve noticed is that any issue in which the Church fails to find that balance seems to open up a vacuum in the culture that others are more than eager to fill by lowering or eliminating the standard and providing acceptance to those disenfranchised by the Church.

Over even my lifetime, it has proven to be a high price to pay.

My prayer is that at Shadow Lake we may both loudly proclaim God’s standards while we graciously wrap our arms around all of us failing to meet the standards.

Dave Arch
Director
Impact Leadership Team
dave@shadowlakechurch.com

My GraceWorks Story

I have heard many reports of great discussions in the past 5 weeks as Life Groups have discussed the GraceWorks sermon series. For many people it may have been the first time they have heard Grace described in this way. That it is Jesus and absolutely nothing else

Marvelous Light

Last weekend at Shadow Lake Community Church we sang the song Marvelous Light. The chorus includes the following lines. “Into marvelous light I’m running, out of darkness, out of shame, by the cross, You are the truth, You are the life, You are the way.” At the time we were singing this song I was less than 4 hours from being a Grandpa for the very first time. My daughter was well along in the labor and delivery process, so everything I heard and sang was going through this filter, “I am about to be a Grandpa.”

Protecting the Culture of Life Groups

Every organization or in our case ministry has a culture. Life Groups have a culture. Culture is a set of unwritten rules that determines how people in an organization act, react, communicate, problem-solve, and treat each other. Culture includes the attitudes, beliefs, values, standards, expectation, prejudices, approaches, and phobias that characterize its people when they are together. Culture is the personality of an organization. Culture is the personality of your Life Group.

Could You Survive Among The Wealthy?

Just as I would struggle to fit in with the truly wealthy (think Bill Gates), others struggle to fit into the middle class. God gives us compassion and empathy not by some mystical experience but rather when we begin to truly understand that all people did not start life at the same place and that the hurdles for overcoming struggles are significant for those who wish to move on from where they find themselves. Click on the quiz to read more about the book from which this quiz was taken.

Could You Survive In The Middle Class?

According to Ruby Payne in her book entitled A Framework For Understanding Poverty, you couldn’t survive if you didn’t know the answers on this quiz. Click on the quiz to read more about her book.  Her point is that oftentimes it’s the unwritten rules of a given social class that keeps other people from being successful in that social strata.

Could You Survive In Poverty?

Here’s a quiz that you would need to pass in order to live in poverty according to Ruby Payne in the book entitled A Framework For Understanding Poverty. You can read more about this book by clicking on the quiz.

He’s Got The Whole World …

“For God so loved the world …”
“Go into all the world …”

As cool as it is to watch God work up close in my world, when I began to realize that He is doing that and more simultaneously in ALL countries of the world, my view of God’s size and capabilities expanded exponentially.

Unfortunately, I can’t count on our national media to keep giving me an international perspective on what God is doing. Too often what Kim Kardashian is doing trumps what’s happening in Syria. Did someone say “Trump?” Don’t get me started.

Front Row Seats!

Far too often the church has sometimes mis-represented ministry as something a person does for God (sometimes in payment for their salvation!).

As Lance so carefully explained last week, whether or not we ever get involved in service, God’s salvation of us is eternally secure. In fact, it is clear by looking at the book of Revelation that God will get His plan done with or without us.

So … what role does getting involved in volunteer opportunities contribute to strengthening our relationship with God?