I'd like to tell you a story

this is the story of a traveler who encountered a most peculiar town.
Once upon a time there was a town, a beautiful town. Providence had smiled upon this town and placed it at the center of commerce for the region it was in. The people prospered, but not only because they were placed there. These people were hard working, family oriented, and truly cared for this town because they knew they'd be a round for a long time. The town then became much more than that, it became a community. This was a place where people with families wanted to come to live in. It was a place where neighbors knew each other and stopped to chat during their afternoon walks. Kids played with their friends under the watchful eyes of the caring mothers who lived next door to each other. There was even a church where many of this families met and found a second home. Life was good, the Lord had blessed this little piece of His wonderful creation.
Then something terrible happened. A new town came to existence not far from the beautiful town. Only this town was different than any other, it had no houses or streets, or churches. This town was nothing more than a really big market. But somehow, people really liked it. People liked it so much that they left the beautiful town. Slowly but surely the town began to show signs of being abandoned. Some businesses moved to the other town, others had a worst fate, they could not survive so they closed. As these stores closed many people also left the beautiful town, it wasn't at the center any more. Soon there were only boarded up store fronts and the streets became dirtier and dirtier, the town wasn't beautiful anymore. What a sad end to such a beautiful town.
But wait, an incredible thing has happened just recently to this town. Somehow, a group of people who were looking for a home has heard of it. No one really knows how that happened but they started coming to the town! Why?,Nobody can figure it out, the town isn't beautiful anymore! Yet, what's even more amazing is what type of people they are. These people are hard working, family oriented, and they really seem to truly care for this town! Yes, I know, it's incredible! Since their arrival many of the boarded up stores have been restored, the streets are looking cleaner and cleaner. Some of them even come out early in the morning and sweep the sidewalk in front of their house or store! Could it be that providence is smiling again on the beautiful town? We don't know but it sure looks like it did a bit over one hundred years ago again. Perhaps there is an happily ever after ending for this story.

What do YOU mean by change?

I've been at Calvary for a bit over a month now. There is still much I need to learn as I adjust. Unfortunately I need to do this as we (the leadership) oversee radical changes in the church that need to lead it to a path it's never been on before. In the midst of that I have come to more fully realize something I hadn't thought much about this past 6 months of involvement with the church. A big part of my coming here was for the sake and awareness of the need of change. The problem is that though we are all using that word the meanings intended are vastly different at times. So, the problem isn't change itself, the whole church knows that it is paramount to our survival. The problem is the nature and result of that change. So, I ask you this then, what does change for Calvary mean to you? ( to our church members reading this) What does change mean to you? ( to the rest of you reading this in cyberspace) For this one I would really appreciate the responses and involvement from our Calvary membership.
Perhaps the most interesting question for me to ask the membership is this; what does Calvary Baptist Church of Norristown make you think of? When you see that title or think of the church what does it look like? I am new here so for me the changes coming will be part of my view of Calvary. You, however, have been here, many for generations, so you already have a view of Calvary. I'd like you to tell me what that is. What's important about that view? What do you think makes Calvary a church?

These are all very important things for me to know as I, along with the rest of the leadership, try to devise a way to shepherd the change that is inevitably coming. Please, get back to me and let me know what's important to you about Calvary!

World Missions Conference

Well, I just returned from WMI conference at Green Lake. It was a fantastic experience for me. I have had the priviledge of attending many of these conferences and they never fail to impress me greatly. One of the things I always look forward to is the diversity at the conference. American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse denominations in the United States, and every time I'm at green lake I get to see and enjoy the richness that comes from that. For me the people there let me see a glimpse of what the Kingdom will be. For example, a typical breakfast was me with, Moises from the Dominican Republic, Xavi from Spain, Frank from PR, etc. Then at night there was soccer with kids from Colorado, PA, IL, Republic of Georgia. Our God is not limited to one type or race of people and American Baptist Churches is one of the denominations who embodies this best. I look forward to helping Calvary as it too aims to be more of a glimpse of the kingdom here in Norristown.

Does anyone remember what evangelism is?

I've been in Norristown for a month now. I have enjoyed tremendously my interactions with the congregation and my walks to and from work. Everytime I walk I am reminded of the reason for Calvary being where it is, a place where Christ can be brought to Norristown through the power of the Spirit and the work of the body. During one of these walks I was thinking about what or how we could reach this community. There were many words and phrases in my mind, reaching out, culture imersion, social action, etc. Evangelizing never crossed my mind until I sat here to think about my next blog! Once I thought about it in the context of what Calvary and the church as a whole should be doing, all other words and phrases fit nicely into it. See, the way I see evangelism is all of the words I wrote before but with the added benefit of Christ's blessing. We are called to evangelize, together as part of the body of Christ.That is how we will reach out to our community.
It truly is fantastic that Calvary now has a pastor who lives in the community the church is in. But, did the church hire someone to do it's work for it? Is the work of the pastor to evangelize for the church? What is the responsibility of the church? These are questions I'd love for you to think about and reply to here in the little section at the end of this blog. ( the comments section)
Just one more thing, a good friend of mine just gave a sermon that really showed me a great deal about the responsibility of the church, pastor and congregation. You can hear it here www.fbcl.com/fbcl_sermons.htm

Pastors Kim & Doug visited Korea

Well, just a short update on a fantastic experience. Pastor Kim was given an invitation to a dinner put on by the Norristown Korean Business Association. The whole event was run by the pastor of a Korean church in Chonshohoken. We had the chance to sit at the "pastors" table and well, a good time was had by all. It was great to see Christ through that experience as well as hearing from our Korean brothers and sisters.