Author: Jim McMahon

A Month of Prayer

           Our Strategic Planning Committee and our staff have spent countless hours evaluating data from our community and our church, parsing simple phrases to create shared language for our congregation, and dreaming about the future God has planned for Fee Fee. I’m proud of the work these groups have done, and I cannot wait to share their findings with you in January.

However, the most important thing these groups have done isn’t found in the discussions, the mission statement, the values, or the recommendations for the church. Instead, the most important thing these groups have done is pray.

They prayed for wisdom in the discussions. They prayed for discernment when creating shared language. They prayed for clarity in seeing the vision God has for our church. And when both groups, separately, produce the same language and the same vision, we know that God answered their prayers.

But the vision isn’t going to become reality without more prayer. Having a great mission statement and clear values is good—but that doesn’t change hearts and lives. Starting and continuing amazing programs is wonderful—but without the power of God, those programs are nothing more than empty ways to pass the time. We can plan magnificent events and fill our building with eager visitors—but if the Holy Spirit doesn’t work to convince people of the love of Christ for them, then people will leave with nothing more than memories of a good evening.

We need the power of God for our church to survive. We need the power of God for our church to become a thriving, healthy, growing, evangelistic body of believers. We need the power of God to impact our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and our community. We can’t be content with our own power—we need the power of God.

In recognition of this fact, I want us to set aside January as a month in which we will engage in focused prayer for our church. We will have more focused prayer in our services, prayer points for our Sunday school classes, and prayer services on Sunday evenings. I will also encourage each member, if able, to fast on the final Friday of January, using your hunger to drive you to pray for our church. We need God to do what only he can do in our church.

Let’s pray.

In Christ,

Pastor Britton

Preparing for the Holidays

Holiday season is officially upon us. As I write this article, home cooks are dusting off their Thanksgiving recipes, providing those well-worn pages with their annual dose of sunlight. Christmas decorations—and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—fill every store I enter. Holiday-themed ads play during football games, soliciting way more emotion than a 30-second advertisement should. Love it or hate it, holiday season has arrived.

I personally love it. Many of you do too. For us, the holiday season represents family, traditions, and happy childhood memories (in addition to the powerful, gospel-centered celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas). Due to these warm connotations, the holidays are a wonderful time that we are awaiting with eagerness and anticipation.

But that isn’t true for everybody. For some people, the holiday season reinforces their feeling of loneliness. It brings up fresh feelings of sorrow, as they remember loved ones they have lost. The consumer-driven nature of the holidays places expectations on people to buy and spend, which can leave some families feeling anxious about their bank accounts or guilty about their inability to give nice gifts to their children. For some children, the holidays represent a break from school—which means more time at a home that isn’t safe, with a family they can’t stand. In short, there are people in our community—even people in our church—who are not looking forward to the holidays.

That’s where the body of Christ needs to step in. If you are staying in town for Thanksgiving or Christmas, consider inviting additional church members to join your festivities—particularly church members who are going to be alone on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Consider providing gifts to families in need through Angel Tree. Rather than assuming the people around you are excited for the holidays, go out of your way to give them a reason to celebrate.

We serve a God who met us where we were—in our sin, our shame, our brokenness. Let’s be a church that follows Christ’s lead, meeting people where they are, and encouraging them with the hope of the gospel—in word and deed. May Christ be magnified in us this holiday season.

In Christ,

Britton