Friday, August 5, 2016
Weekly eNote from Senior Pastor Adam Hamilton from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Friday, 5 August 2016
Dear Resurrection Family,
I’ve spent most of this week in meetings at Resurrection and working on my annual sermon planning for the year ahead. I’m away this weekend at the lake finishing the preaching plan for 2017-2018. Thank you to all of you who submitted ideas for sermon series. I’ve incorporated parts of many of your ideas in various places in the preaching plan for the next two years. I have sermons planned on world religions, Peter the Flawed but Faithful Disciple, What Heaven is Like, Facing our Fears with Courage and Hope, and more. Next October (2017) is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and we’ll have a series on the Reformation and how it shaped our faith. I have a series on the Gospel in Film, a series on Questions Thinking People Ask that Keep Them From Faith, a series on Joseph the Carpenter and many others.
Some wonder how you can plan that far out. The sermon plan is a guide for me and our teams – some of the sermon series we currently have planned will be changed out as the Spirit or circumstances point to a need for a different series here or there. But there is a joy in being able to look ahead and pray, dream and plan series that I think God can use to help us build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
This weekend in worship Pastor Scott Chrostek will conclude our sermon series, Next Door: The Art of Neighboring – developed during our team’s sermon planning retreat last year thanks to the encouragement of Wendy Connelly, our community outreach coordinator. I loved last weekend’s sermon and was convicted as Scott spoke about walking around looking at our cell phones rather than engaging with other people. I was at McDonald’s on State Line this week, getting a quick salad and planning on working while I ate, laptop and iPad open. An 89-year-old veteran came up, his friends telling them I was their pastor, and he asked if he could sit with me at lunch. My immediate thought was to tell him I was too busy, that I had things I had to get done. Then I thought of Scott’s sermon and thought, I can get this work done later, and I invited him to sit with me.
He was alone and needed someone to talk to, and I had the chance to give him the gift of listening. But I was listening and, before we were done, he shared with me how he goes to places like McDonald's and spends several hours just looking to see if there was someone there he could bless. His aim is to bless and encourage three people each day. I was seeking to bless him by listening. He was seeking to bless me by sharing. It was one of those God-incidences. I still managed to get my work done that day. I’ve shared with you on many occasions John Lennon’s favorite quote, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.” I think we sometimes miss out on life because we are too distracted by our electronic toys – I know I do. Don’t miss Scott’s conclusion to this three part series on Next Door: The Art of Neighboring, as we seek to do a better job of Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. I’ll be back in the pulpit the next week, kicking off our series on Moses.
This week I was walking with our architects through the new sanctuary. One of the key design directives for the new sanctuary was to foster a greater sense of community. You may recall that the sections get much smaller – there are 44 sections averaging about 80 seats per section. We’re describing these as neighborhoods within the sanctuary. Since our members are creatures of habit, many of you sit in the same sections every week. We want you to be able to recognize the people in your section, and new visitors in your section. We’re looking for 1,000 volunteers – yes, 1000! – to serve to provide hospitality and welcome in each section at each service. We hope to have teams of 10 to 12 people who are ushers, greeters, and communion servers for each of those 44 sections at all 5 sanctuary services (not every service will fill the room so we’ll have 20 sections at some services, 44 at our largest services). Would you be willing to sign up to be a part of the team to serve one section? The job is easy, rewarding and will give you a chance to make a difference as we seek to build a greater sense of community and connection for our congregation – making this big church feel much smaller. To sign up contact Stephanie Hubers at stephanie.hubers@cor.org. We will have more information in worship this weekend.
Another way you can be a good neighbor is by offering hospitality to our guests by becoming a tour guide, showing our members and guests the spaces where ministry happens at Leawood. Training will be provided and we will have an informational meeting Tuesday, August 25 at 7 pm. Register for the meeting online, or fill out the tear-off that will be available in the bulletin this weekend. For more information please click here. There are many opportunities for everyone to be a good neighbor for those you worship with and Church of the Resurrection guests.
We have had a great response to our School Supplies and Uniform drive. Thank you for your generosity! As our community prepares for school to begin, I want to remind you that your donations of School Supplies and Uniforms for our Partner Schools need to be turned in this weekend. Enrollment is projected to be up 30% this year, and we are counting on your generosity in meeting this need. We also have a few volunteer spots open for sorting at our schools. For more information or to register please click here.
I would also invite you to join us on Thursday, September 8 at 10:00 am to learn about the many opportunities that are available to impact the lives of children throughout the Kansas City metro area with our Education Ministry. Attending this meeting is not a commitment to serve, just a way for you to become educated about the many ways in which you could serve. To register or get more information please click here.
Next Thursday and Friday, August 11/12, I’m really looking forward to attending the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. If you are attending the Summit please join me for lunch and follow-up conversation Friday, Aug. 12, in the Leawood Student Center. Cost for the box lunch is $10 and includes turkey sandwich on white bread, chips, cookie and water; please pre-purchase with cash or checkThursday morning, Aug. 11, at check-in. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch and come share in the discussion. We are looking forward to this great event!
As school begins and we all look at getting back into a routine, this is a good time to re-commit to growing in your faith by participating in a small group Bible study. We still have openings in our Disciple Bible Study classes. The single best group Bible study I’ve ever participated in is Disciple Bible Study. I’ve taken and helped lead this on multiple occasions. There’s something rich about connecting with 12 to 15 other people in reading through the Bible together, looking at its major themes, and discussing how the Bible relates to our lives. Disciple I is now a 24 week overview of scripture. You can find out more about Disciple or sign up by clicking this link.
I received word this morning that one of our long time members passed, a man many of you know as Mr. Johnson County, Ben Craig. Back in 1991 Ben Craig gave the church our first loan and has been a part of the church ever since. Few people, maybe no one, has had a greater impact on Johnson County than Ben. I considered it a privilege to be his pastor and to count him as my friend. We’ll celebrate his life in our sanctuary on Saturday, August 13 at 1 pm.
Back to sermon planning!
Adam
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
913.897.0120
www.cor.org
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