March 1
Yahoo! A Roundup of 150 Pastors and 4 Horses
There were 150 wild pastors and 4 tame horses—or was it the other way around? We are just returning from being in Texas for a week of vacation. I led one group and got thrown out of the other!
One reason to come to Texas was to see our daughter and son-in-law, Lauren and Josiah. We had some special time with them and saw their new shop for handmade goods in Austin. (theburlapbag.com) The shop stems from Lauren’s college business making earrings for teenage girls (http://www.etsy.com/shop/alliteration). It’s wonderful to see them enjoying life after college and living their dream of being small business owners.
What about the horses? The four of us went for a trail ride on the Texas prairie one day (you can start yodeling a Gene Autry song here). At one point my horse got spooked and started a little stampede. I slowed it but it bumped another horse. My horse reared, I began to steady it, but it turned and I got thrown off. Taste the dirt! On the good note, I didn’t break any bones. Yet it hurt my body and broke my pride. Somehow I need to spin this that I was on a bucking bronco in a rodeo, but my family won’t go for it. I’m still stiff and sore, but fortunately I’m in good shape so I’m recovering rapidly. Welcome to Texas!
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March 1
The Magic Mirror
Anybody remember the kids’ TV show, “Romper Room”? (Now I am really dating myself.) Miss Barbara, the show’s host, used to look into her magic mirror and start calling out the names of all the children she sees in TV land. “I see Heidi and George and Mary and Lisa and Chuck and Tom and … ” You just wished she’d call out your name.
When I think of the thousands of people and volunteers who serve at The Chapel on a regular basis, I sort of feel like Miss Barbara. “I see Suzanne and Barry and Grant and DJ and Alice and Dale and Tom and Phyllis and Becky and … ”
We could even look in the magic mirror and see all the areas and people who are wonderfully impacted by our volunteers. Our finance and our kids’ office. Our teens and our worship services. Those that are sick and our college students. The homeless and our Sunday cameras. And like Miss Barbara, I could never name everyone or tell all of the great stories that make The Chapel such a nice place because of its volunteers.
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Conversation on a Plane
by Bruce Britten
Bruce and Carol Britten serve with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) in Swaziland. They have served since 1967 in a few capacities. Currently, Bruce is teaching at Zion Bible College of Swaziland, which was started by the Brittens in 2003. Bruce is a teacher, and he and Carol have written many books to reach the hearts of Africans.
In mid-January we said tearful goodbyes to our kids and got on the plane leaving Ohio. Carol and I were disappointed that our seats were three rows apart. I was seated next to Jon. As we talked about family, we found that his daughter-in-law and our daughter are both battling cancer. Jon talked a lot about his church (Lutheran). He was a very religious person. I wasn’t sure what to say, but I said, “I admire Martin Luther for his strong stand on justification by faith.”
“Me too,” Jon said.
But then he looked at me and asked, “What would you say ‘justification by faith’ means?”
A lot of theology raced through my mind, but then I found myself giving an overly simple answer. I said, “Remember how the prodigal son came home and his brother told the father, ‘I’m the one who has worked for you all these years. I never disobeyed you. Now you should be having a party for me—not him.’ That shows what ‘justification by faith’ is not. No one gets right with God by saying, ‘I worked … I obeyed.’ We get right with God by saying, ‘I’m so sinful, but now I take Jesus.’”
I have been witnessing since I was 17, but never before have I seen a reaction like Jon’s.
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March 8
The DNA of The Chapel
DNA is often used when talking about “the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms.” This is the origin of the term. Extra points to you if you can say and spell what DNA stands for, but I’m not going there in this story.
DNA has a derived meaning from popular use, “the fundamental and distinctive characteristics of someone or something.” When used in this sense, we can talk about the DNA of The Chapel. We have some distinctive characteristics of our church. The DNA is that which is consistent from Akron to Green, Wadsworth to The Gathering (our Sunday night venue for college and young professionals), to Camp Carl and new sites. So—what is the DNA of The Chapel?
From before my time in coming to The Chapel, we have had three elements of our DNA:
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March 8
Walk Like Jesus
I know someone whose family has befriended one of those fellows who hold signs at the highway entrance ramp pleading for help. They’ve had meaningful conversations with him. They invited him for Thanksgiving supper last year. Hmmm. How many of us would initiate a relationship with the visibly marginalized? How many of us should?
In John’s Letter this week he tells us that the one who knows Christ intimately should walk as Jesus walked. Jesus said and acted on words like: “Blessed are the poor … Inasmuch as you’ve shown love to the least of these, you have shown love to me … Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
There is a team of Chapel folks preparing to go to Mozambique in a couple of months. This is no vacation. And this is no “Westerner feel good for helping” story. This is a concerted and ongoing collaboration of blessing and empowerment. More than a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name, this is a sharing of the heart of Jesus and watching him multiply our efforts. One Chapel couple will be going there for several months, sharing all of themselves for these new friends.
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Chapel Kids Serve Community
Have you seen the gum ball machines in the Chapel Kids hallways? You may wonder where all that gum ball money goes. At the Green Campus, Chapel Kids are currently using the gum ball money to purchase breakfast items for Leggett School. Our Chapel Urban Ministries sends “Love Packets” of these items home each weekend with kids whose families are going through rough times financially.
The elementary department is also collecting food items for Leggett. We have collected over six laundry baskets of items in the elementary departments.
Last month we studied in the Bible ways that we can honor God and others. This is a great example of how we can serve others in our community. Way to go Chapel Kids!
March 15
Spring Training
Join me in “Spring Training”! Today is my fifth day of spring training (yes, I know that spring technically hasn’t started yet). I would love it if you would join me for “2012 Spring Training.”
Many of you will think that I am referring to baseball. But, I’m not. I’m referring to a spring training that each of you can do. Last year my “2011 Spring Training” even lasted through most of the summer. It made me feel better, stronger, and got me thinner by 50 pounds!
As a way of introducing the topic, did you know that the “average” American watches between 4 and 5 hours of television a day! Of course you, the intelligent reader, would never spend that much time watching. But suppose that you did watch ninety minutes a day of television—between the news, sports and a favorite show or movie.
What I’m inviting you to do is not to turn off the television for your favorite shows, but make double use of the time. Instead of just sitting back and watching television, get some exercise at that same time.
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March 15
A Plan for Your Life
Do you ever feel like, “God loves you, and everyone else has a wonderful plan for you life”? Try this. Sign up for that. Make sure you attend next week’s … Oh, and don’t forget to …
That’s not uncommon, is it? Well-intentioned folks who have your best interest in mind (sort of) know just what you need. And it coincidentally lines up with what they are passionate about. Nothing really wrong with that, except your uniqueness and what God is doing in your heart and life is not taken into consideration.
Hopefully that is not the message that is coming across as we promote and encourage various ministries and programs at The Chapel. Our DNA is all about Worship, Community, and Mission. We believe that God has called us to exalt Christ with our lives, and that he has designed us to function best in community wherein love and care takes place, and biblical truth is spoken into lives. The Lord desires that all of his followers be imitators of Christ in a needy world. And that wherever our destinations happen to be, it is there where we ought to best reflect our Lord.
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The Cry of the Poor
by Colleen Koladzinski, Director of Benevolence & Local Missions
What runs through your mind when you see people on our street corners holding signs asking for help?
Maybe sadness, disappointment, anger, despair. And yet, what do you do? Ignore them, talk to them, pray for them? Lots of questions. Where do we find the answers?
We dig into Scripture and see God’s abundant messages about the poor.
- There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. (Deuteronomy 15:11)
- If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. (Proverbs 21:13)
- Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. (Proverbs 22:2)
March 22
Online Giving
Thanks for graciously giving to God’s ministry at The Chapel! One-third of all of our ministry dollars goes outside our walls—to Local Missions, Benevolence, Camp Carl, Fresh Passion ministries and Global Missions. If you want a benchmark, many churches spend five to fifteen percent of their budget on missions. Few churches in the United States spend 33% of their budgets for outside ministry and missions as we do. God is doing great work through you, the people of The Chapel! Thanks for being partners in Christ’s ministry of redemption and reconciliation.
About online giving, some are going to love it. Others are not going to like it. That is the nature of online giving. The Chapel introduced online giving this month because many asked for it. If you are one of those people who don’t like the concept, read this article and then go on giving your normal way. If you are thrilled about online giving, read this article and then go to this page to try it out.
Giving in the church service: In most of our services, we pass offering baskets. This is a fine way to give. In one of our services, The Gathering on Sunday night, a service that is focused on young professionals, they don’t pass the plate. Instead, they encourage their folks to use the offering boxes at the back of the auditorium. This is another fine way to give. About eighty percent of all donations to The Chapel come through donations in the worship services and offering boxes.
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They Didn’t Hesitate
In Matthew 25, Jesus reminds us that, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” When we, as Christians, serve one another, we’re really serving our Lord and Savior. We can serve Him by offering a hot meal to a hungry man, giving a glass of cold water to a thirsty woman, or … hunting down bed bugs?
Absolutely.
Just ask Fred and Sandy Muffet, ministry managers for Chapel Community Service (CCS) and Mission USA. When they were contacted by the Stark County Pregnancy Support Center to help Melissa, a young mother, eliminate bed bugs from her home, they didn’t hesitate.
A young woman with little knowledge of cooking, cleaning, or maintaining a household, Melissa wasn’t only facing eviction—she was in danger of losing her four children. Her home was infested with bed bugs, and they weren’t just in the beds. They’d burrowed into the furniture, nested behind picture frames, and taken up residence in the carpets.
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March 22
Generosity
The Chapel is all about helping each other become spiritually healthy reflections of Christ. As we equip one another through the ministries of teaching and serving, our aim is that we become imitators of our Lord. We are committed to loving others with the words and actions of the gospel. We give of our resources and talents that God’s Kingdom work
may be done.
Thank you for your faithful and generous giving. It is vital to the work that goes on through your church and in the name of Christ.
Historically, the people of God have been called upon to give of their finances to the work of their Lord. Giving is both a statement of thankful obedience to our generous Provider and of care for others.
In the Old Testament the giving was called a tithe. It literally meant a tenth. The covenant people of God were required to give 10% of their income. This reminded them that God was both the provider and owner of everything they had. By giving 10% “off the top” the worshipper was remembering to put God first and that his offering was vital to the life and care of the temple and its people.
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The Great Date
Our receptionists witness many blessings from The Chapel’s front desk, but in the words of Suzanne Ludwick, one of three receptionists at the Akron Campus, the first official Great Date “was very, very special.”
The Great Date is an emerging ministry at The Chapel, managed exclusively by the New Life Community Group. Consisting primarily of young married couples and new families, the New Life group was eager to begin serving others within the church. Their Sunday morning meeting time, coupled with a desire to worship together, meant that finding time to volunteer would be challenging. Fortunately, the group members were up to the challenge.
The solution? New Life decided to take advantage of The Chapel’s well-suited facility and offer free child care for three hours on a Friday evening. In order to adhere to our security standards, every single member of the New Life community group went through the full volunteer approval and training process established by Chapel Kids. They submitted to background checks, provided references, and received procedural training from experienced Chapel Kids staff members.
On the night of the Great Date, parents were invited to drop off their kids, ages 2 through 10, and enjoy some much-needed alone time, secure in the knowledge that the children were in good hands, and it wasn’t costing them a dime. Over 40 children enjoyed games and activities while their moms and dads enjoyed some quality time together!
Our receptionist watched with thankful eyes as parents left for their dates, hand-in-hand. How fortunate we are, as a church, to be blessed this way by the members of New Life and their servants’ hearts. 
Doug Ley to Join Chapel Staff
After much prayer for God’s leading, we welcome Doug Ley to The Chapel’s staff as Senior Associate Pastor over Mission. Doug and his wife, Paula, have been on the mission field for the last 12 years. Doug is a pastor, missionary, and professor (most recently at The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut) and Paula has been active with women’s discipleship ministries and their Sunday night institute.
God stirred a desire for change in their hearts that left them open for his direction bringing them to The Chapel. You may recognize the name as his son, Jacob (wife: Alicia, and children: Isaiah, and Xavier), is on staff as well.
Doug will be in the office at the Akron Campus beginning June 1. We thank God for his leading in the lives of Doug and Paula as well his direction to all of us. Please join us in thanking God for his provision.
March 29
A Kind Word
A while back, I was not having a great Sunday. It was one of those snowy days where everything seemed rather bleak. I had recently returned from India, so my body and my mind were really, really tired. It all came together one Sunday with a giant case of “feeling so-so.” I put on a smile and entered the auditorium.
As we sat down in the worship service, a man looked at us. Immediately when he saw me, he then got up and walked straight toward us. He gave his name and told me briefly about his involvement at The Chapel. Then he said why he came over to speak to me.
I won’t share what he said. The exact words are not the point. The topic that he spoke on isn’t germane either. The important thing is that he brought “a kind word.” He had been looking for me for several weeks and wanted to speak to me. In a few simple words, he shared some wonderful thoughts with us. And, before we knew it, he was gone.
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March 29
Ritual and Remembrance
Sue and I have a ritual when she prepares pasta for dinner—which is most nights :). She plucks a string of spaghetti from the boiling pot and rushes the hot noodle over for me to test. I bite it, and if it is just right (not too hard or soft), I declare the pasta done. Sue then drains all the spaghetti from the pot and finishes preparing the perfect spaghetti dish. “Al dente” (to the teeth) is the way you want your pasta cooked.
The other day I was eating out and I ordered spaghetti. Unfortunately it was mushy, overcooked. I smiled to myself and thought of our ritual. Though Sue was not with me, she may as well have been. In my heart I was sharing the meal with my wife. Through the power of memory and ritual, Sue, though absent, was very present with me.
That happens every time Christ followers meet together to share a meal called the Lord’s Table or Communion. Though Christ is not there physically, he is very much there in spirit through memory (“do this in memory of me”) and ritual (“as often as you do this …”).
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Furniture and the Gospel
by Scott Johnson, Intern in Global Ministries
At the beginning of every semester, students from all over the world arrive in Akron with suitcases of clothes in both hands and exhausted. The Chapel’s Internationals Ministry welcomes these students in many different ways. One way is by providing used furniture.
That’s what I do. At the beginning of the semester, I drive around the Akron U campus, dropping off furniture to students that have only been in the United States a matter of days, sometimes hours. Walking into apartments and seeing blankets on the floor and t-shirts stuffed in duffel bags isn’t a rarity, it’s the norm. While I get so excited seeing students sitting in a chair or putting their books on the desk I just dropped off, using this avenue to talk about life and God is even more exciting.
This spring I dropped off a chair to a student from Africa. I asked him, “What are your hopes for your time in Akron?” He wanted to get a good education, and he added that he wanted to learn about God. That week I started meeting with him. We are reading Ephesians and learning about God’s awesome grace.
We all have a part to play in sharing the gospel. If I didn’t have that chair to give away, then I would never have had the opportunity to meet this student. When we meet basic needs of the people around us, we have the chance to engage them with hope and truth.
How about it? Would you like to become involved with Internationals Ministry? Contact Todd at 330.315.5655 or visit their website.
