DAY ONE - CALLED OUT OF HIDING

Genesis 3:9-10 (ESV) - ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
(READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER)

The cry of the desperate mother filled the store as she frantically searched for her lost little boy. Ben, where are you? Ben sheepishly stepped out from behind the rack of dress shirts. Crisis over. Mother relieved.
In the opening pages of the Bible God calls out—not frantically but persistently to Adam and Eve: “Where are you?” Like Ben, Adam and Eve were hiding—but unlike Ben, they were playing no game. The setting in which God calls out sounds idyllic, soothing, peaceful; he is taking a stroll in the garden in the cool of the day. Yet for Adam and Eve there was no peace as they hid among the trees—hiding their shame, their nakedness, their guilt, their sin. Yet, God calls and pursues them. He calls out: “Adam and Eve, where are you?” God is not ignorant of their whereabouts but rather, his calling out is the first picture of God pursuing fallen, sinful human beings in order to rescue and restore them.
Adam’s response to God’s gracious pursuit is fear and hiding. “I heard you in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” This blunt confession of Adam rings true to how humanity lives even today. Why was Adam afraid? Because his true, naked, fallen self was exposed. What does he do? He tries to hide from God’s presence “among the trees.” Today, people do the same thing— hiding one’s sin, brokenness, and nakedness “among the trees”—and there is a whole forest full! The human race hides behind the trees of denial, respectability, busyness, false intimacy, status, wealth, power, alcohol, or drugs. The forest is full and it is not hard to find a tree to hide from God’s pursuit. Yet God calls— not because he doesn’t know where people are—but because in fact, he does see us. The “hound of heaven” pursues us with what John Wesley described as a “gracious pursuit with a view to recovery.” Time to come out from behind the trees. God is pursuing. No need to be afraid. God calls: Where are you?

PONDER:   DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU ARE HIDING OR RUNNING FROM GOD?  WHAT DOES YOUR "TREE" OR HIDING PLACE LOOK LIKE?

Discussion OR Reflection

God allowed Adam and Eve to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the one tree that was off limits. In that moment, sin entered the world.

Read Genesis 3:9-10 again (individually or as a family). How did Adam and Eve react when God called out to them? Why? Have you ever done something wrong that made you feel like hiding? What happened? Read 1 John 1:9. How does God respond when we mess up? How is God’s response encouraging to you?

A February ReCap

BAPTISM CELEBRATION (Feb 8)We had the opportunity to xaptize SIX kids and teens at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center on Sunday Night, February 8.  It was a great time!  Check out the video [HERE]

SENDING OFF GRANT (Feb 14)
Grant Delahunt (our Saturday Night Cajon player) has decided to take this semester off of college... sell all that he has... buy a 1992 Volvo Station Wagon and live out of the back of it for the next three months while serving the homeless.  We had the opportunity to pray over him before he left.  AWESOME NIGHT.  Follow his journey at his blog [LINK] or Facebook [LINK]

BABY DEDICATION (Feb 15)
Lifting up a child and their family to the Lord as they choose to follow God... THAT NEVER GETS OLD!  Congrats to Dylan and Taylor Tynes and baby Gibson!

TAKING THE TURN - The Chronological Gospels
As we have been going through the Gospels from the birth of Jesus to His resurrection, we have come to the last week in the Ministry of Jesus life.  We covered John 12 and his anointing [listen online] last weekend and we move to the TRIUMPHAL ENTRY this week [READ Matthew 21-22].  It is an exciting time as we lead up to Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection!

Here is a quick survey I would love for you to take... as we begin the move to our new facility some changes need to be made in our approach to ministry.  We want to serve both Paragon and the surrounding community as best as we can with all that we have... so let us know how that might be possible by filling this out.  THANKS!

A QUICK SURVEY

Coming soon!

Some years ago the London Transit Authority was receiving a lot of complaints because their buses were driving past customers who were standing at the bus stops. The Transit Authority put an explanation in the paper that has become infamous with public relations departments. The explanation said, “It is impossible for us to maintain our schedule if we are always having to stop and pick up passengers.” Clearly, that company had forgotten its purpose.

Of the five thousand new companies that are started each year, only one thousand remain two years later. After five years, only two hundred are left. Corporate consultants say that the common denominator among all those failed companies is that they have no clear purpose; they lack a specific goal and direction. Steven Covey, famous for the Franklin Covey time management system once said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Today, I want to remind you, as well as myself, that the main thing in any church is to reach people for Jesus Christ. The mission of the church is given to us by our Lord in Matthew 28:19-20. We are to introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them grow spiritually. Evangelism (sharing the gospel) and discipleship (bringing people along in the gospel) should be the driving force behind everything we do.

Andy Stanley wrote a book not too long ago called “The Seven Practices of Ministry.”  The basic outline and summary has been posted in my office since we started Paragon.  Here are the seven.

1.     Clarify the Win. When all is said and done, what is it that we want to look back on and celebrate? What is the goal to be accomplished?

2.     Think Steps, Not Programs.  Your programs should take people somewhere, not simply fill up their time. Ask yourself, “Where do we want our people to be?  What do we want them to become? Is our programming designed to take them there?

3.     Narrow The Focus.  Focus is the key to achieving excellence and making an impact. Each ministry environment should be designed to do no more than one or two things well.  (DO A FEW THINGS WELL)

4.     Teach More For Less.  The less you say, the more you will communicate. Learn to say only what you need to say to the people who need to hear it.

5.     Listen To Outsiders.  The needs and interests of insiders have a tendency to determine the agenda for the organization. Focus your efforts on those you’re trying to reach, rather than those you’re trying to keep.

6.     Replace Yourself. One day someone else will be doing what you are doing. Embrace the inevitable and prepare now for the future.

7.     Work On It.  To maintain your relevance, your sanity, and your effectiveness, you must carve out time in your schedule to step back and evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it.

I must admit, in the last three years, that piece of paper has become white noise in my office.  It is something that I forgot was there, even though it is posted right over my desk. 

Since our family meeting back in June, I began to think over these seven and I really began to think a lot about them.  Clarify the win… why do we do what we do?  Think steps on how to achieve that win.  Focus on the win and keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t settle for what has happened, but evaluate it and make sure your target win is up front and center.

Our win at Paragon, our main thing, like I said earlier, it to reach people for Christ and see them become fully devoted followers of Him.  As I “work on it” I have seen that we can improve in these areas.  You see, we minister in a city with 85,000 people living in it and that doesn’t even include the many we can “reach” in west ABQ.  In the three years we have been in existence, we have see 80 people get baptized.  While I am excited for the 80 and what God has done and is doing in their lives, there are a lot more that need to be reached.

As I have evaluated, I have seen myself and others become a little too focused on the upcoming services and less focused on the gospel and taking it out.  That has to change.  As a church, we have never been called to get people to come to us, we have been called to go out to all of them.  When Jesus says in the book of Acts to go to the uttermost parts of the earth, that does not exist inside the walls of the church, it just starts there.

That is why the leadership of the church, and many spiritual leaders outside of the church, have been praying for God’s direction for Paragon.  We want to make sure we are staying on mission and doing what we originally set out to do… not to become just another church in Rio Rancho, but to reach Rio Rancho and the surrounding communities for Christ.  We desire to make a difference in this world by responsibly using what God has given us in the ways of our time, our treasure, and our talents.

Through these two months of prayer, we feel God is leading us to make some changes at Paragon.  In the very near future, we will be making changes to our worship services, our kids ministry, our adult ministry, how we “make disciples,” and even where we meet.

While change is rarely easy, I am excited about what is to come and how God will use these transitions to glorify Himself.  I cannot wait to see how God will use us to reach this community in a whole new way.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.  I cannot promise that I have all of the answers, but I can tell you that we have sought God’s direction in this and have not made any of these decisions out of haste or desperation.

We want to reach more people for Christ and believe this will be a great new start in the process of seeing that take place.

THANKS!

SPEND LESS (follow up)

On Sunday Night it took me a long time to fall asleep and when I finally did go to sleep I did not sleep well.  There were so many things racing through my mind.  Stats we had talked about that morning popped into my mind.  A thought I couldn’t get past is the blessing that I have to sleep in warm house and in a comfortable bed… and even letting my dogs in to sleep in the laundry room on their soft beds while there are families sleeping in their cars in single digit temperatures.  I must admit Sunday (December 9) was a great Sunday at Paragon BUT it wasn’t an easy Sunday.  A lot of things weighed on my mind as God spoke.  I am not sure if the message shook you up at all, but it hit a nerve with me.

 

If you weren’t able to make it in or to the service, the message is online in its entirety… but I want to give you a quick overview of what “Spend Less” of the Advent Conspiracy series covered.  You might think from the title, it was all about “spending less money” and you would be correct in your assumption, but it was so much more than that. 

A RECAP OF SOME DISTURBING STATS - Do you realize how much money Americans spend on things that are not as important as we make them out to be…

• In 2011, Americans spent 470 BILLION DOLLARS on Christmas Gifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  That is $714 per person… and even more astounding, over 10 million dollars a minute.
• In 2011, Americans spent 42 BILLION DOLLARS on their pets alone.  Now, I LOVE MY DOGS, but there is something wrong with that stat… and I said something Sunday about my dogs that may have upset you (you’ll have to listen if you weren’t there) and you may not have agreed with me and may never agree with me but I ask you to understand where I am coming from and please put it into perspective with the OTHER STATS I shared… the ones that REALLY should have upset you.

Listen to this…

• It would take roughly TWO BILLION DOLLARS to provide clean drinking water to the entire world.  That may not seem like a big deal, but over 30,000 people die every week from diseases caused by unclean drinking water.  27,000 of those deaths are children under the age of 5.  That is hard to fathom because we are not there, we don’t see it, and here in America we go about our regular day with a clean crisp bottle of purified water within the reach of our hands almost 24/7.  Take a second and transplant yourself to a rural village in Africa… sitting in a hut watching your 4 year old cry out because the water he drank gave him dysentery and now he is withering away from dehydration and will probably die by the end of this week.  A very serious question… does the 42 Billion we spend on our pets seem a bit excessive now?
• Another crazy stat… Every 15 seconds, somewhere in the world, a person dies from hunger related causes (meaning 3-5 people have died since you started reading this).  According to statistics, it would take roughly 30 BILLION DOLLARS a year to end world hunger.   30 BILLION a year is A LOT OF MONEY… but think about the 470 Billion we spend in ONE MONTH on a lot of stuff that we DON’T really NEED (clarify... NOT don’t really want - but don’t really need).   That 470 Billion would take care of world hunger for over 15 years.

What if we would just spend a little less money and a little less time on the wants in our lives?  How could that change the world?  You must know that SPEND LESS is more about not wasting time and money than not spending at all…  When we fully realize what Christmas is all about, realize that it is all about Jesus; it should change who we are and how we live.  It will start with us Worshiping Jesus Fully… That will carry over to us SPENDING LESS on stuff that doesn’t really matter and be concerned with what God is concerned with, having the same priorities Jesus does.

As I close, there are two things I want to share with you..

ONE - The quote I closed with on Sunday from CS Lewis - Mere Christianity (p 86) in which Lewis is talking about what we should see from Christians in the realm of Social Morality…

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give.  I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.  In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard of common among those with the same income as our own, we a probably giving away too little.  If our charities do not at all pinch us or hamper us, I should say they are too small.  There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

What would our world look like if people of faith began acting on Lewis’s suggestion?  This advent season, let’s give it a try.

TWO - WHAT TO DO TODAY?  Here are a few ideas to consider…

• Be considerate when spending money.
• Set your budget and know your limit (try to go debt free)
• Before you start buying, consider each person you are buying for and focus more on their needs… rather than focusing on their wants.
• Consider your CORE VALUES and whether what you are buying reflects those values.
• Buy Less Stuff.

Balloon Fiesta Thoughts

It’s that time of year again here in the 505… the ABQ International Balloon Fiesta.  My family and I look forward to getting up and watching the sky as well as the TV coverage to see all the hot air balloons going up.  There is no doubt it is an impressive display.  Hundreds of balloons litter the view with the sunrise coming up right behind them.  I have lived here for over 10 years and I can tell you the only thing better than watching it from afar is being right down on the Launch Field.

Yes, I know, the crowds can make it difficult, you might have to take more time out of your day and it may cost you a bit more ($7 for a breakfast burrito can seem a bit outrageous)… but when you get right up close your whole perspective changes.  When you are far away, you say, “Oh, that’s pretty cool” and then go about your day but when you are down on the field, you cannot help but experience the rush, feel the warmth, and see the vibrant colors right there.

I think we can say the same thing about God and our relationship with Him.  There is a huge difference between knowing God from a far and knowing Him up close and personal.  We can sit back from far away, look at what God is doing and say, “that is pretty cool” and then go about your day… OR you can get up close to Him and experience all that God is, feel that rush, the warmth, and see vibrant glory.  Sure, it may take more time out of your day, fighting the crowds may be difficult, and it will probably cost you more, but the change in perspective is worth all of that, plus more.

           

Today, I challenge you to get closer to God and experience Him for who He is.  It will blow your mind how different of an experience it can be from sitting back and watching from a distance.

Baptism Video (sept 16)

baptism 9_16_2012 from Paragon Church on Vimeo.