Good Neighbor Sunday is just two days away! This is going to be an awesome day all around Beaverton, as we join with Westside Community Church and Common Ground to love our city. In case you're still wondering what Good Neighbor Sunday is all about, let me give you a brief overview. Good Neighbor Sunday is an event designed to blanket our city with the love of Jesus. We will accomplish this by rolling up our sleeves and helping where needed. We believe that Jesus cares just as deeply as we do about our communities and would want us to be seen as good neighbors. Some of the places that will be impacted include schools, senior living facilities, apartment complexes and neighborhood parks.
FBC and Common Ground will be working at Beaverton High School. The plan is to gather at FBC this Sunday, August 26th at 9:00am for an abbreviated time of worship, prayer and a challenge from God's Word. After that, around 9:30am, we will head over to Beaverton High School and put the finishing touches on their campus, as they prepare for the start of a brand new school year. The day will conclude at noon with a time of prayer for the administration, teachers and students. Because we are going to Beaverton High School immediately following our service, please come to church dressed to work. A couple of question you might be asking are: 1) What will we be doing? and 2) What do I need to bring?. Here are the answers to both of those questions...… 1. The projects we will be working on include: painting an office, adjusting the height of around 80 classroom stools, wiping down/cleaning bleachers, hanging dry erase boards, cleaning and spray painting bookcases, cleaning-up and weeding an interior courtyard, etc. 2. Here is what would be helpful for you to bring with you. manual or electric Philip head screwdrivers, towels and rags for cleaning bleachers, window sills, windows, etc., rakes, push brooms, weeding tools and tools to hang the dry erase boards (drill, level, stud finder, anchor bolts, etc.) Please consider joining us on Sunday for this amazing opportunity to bless the staff and students of Beaverton High School. Finally, as we look to the Fall, on Sunday, September 2, we will begin a new series titled, Brand New. During the month of September, we will look into God's Word to help us understand what Jesus truly intended when he launched the church over 2,000 years ago. Please continue to pray for our Church Council and Grow Young Team, as they continue to process of Replanting an engaging, vibrant, growing, Biblically-based, discipleship-focused church. See you Sunday for Good Neighbor Sunday! Pastor Doug
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For the last few weeks, Rose and I have been preparing Cassie, and ourselves, for college life! As I have reminisced about the past 18 years and the numerous milestones we have shared as a family, I thought I would take this edition of TAB and challenge all of us to take some time over the next few weeks to think about ways we can better cultivate the relationships we have with our families.....especially our kids! Many years ago, I came across an article in Newsweek entitled, "Dear Dads, Save your Sons," by Christopher Bacorn, a psychologist living in Texas. In his article, he tells the story about an anxious mother in her mid-thirties who came to his office with her fifteen year-old son. His dad had left four years before, and since then the teenager had descended into alcohol and gangs. The boy obviously hated being there, but his mother knew nowhere else to go. After attempting for thirty minutes to get the boy to open up and express his feelings, Dr. Bacorn realized it was futile. In his column he wrote: "I have come to believe that most adolescent boys can't make use of professional counseling....What a boy can use, and all too often doesn't have is the fellowship of men--at least one man who pays attention to him, who spends time with him, who admires him. A boy needs a man he can look up to. What he doesn't need is a shrink.....As a nation, we are racked by youth violence, overrun by gangs, guns and drugs. The greatest majority of youthful offenders are male, most without fathers involved in their lives in any useful way. Many have never even met their fathers." While the article is specifically directed at father's of boys, having 2 teenager girls and one, who in a couple of years will be a teenager, I can tell you that the same fate awaits girls who grow up with absentee dads. The only difference is that instead of turning to violence and gangs, these girls turn to social media and their boyfriends to replace a missing father. So, while many fathers are being absorbed by their careers or pursuing other interests, their kids are suffering the affects of absentee parents. Thankfully, there are exceptions and maybe you're one of those dads or moms who is doing an amazing job, if so, THANK YOU! However, we can all do a better job of cultivating healthy relationships within our families. So, here is my question for you to ponder. "What do you do when you have a free day, holiday, or even a few available hours?" Are you tempted to fill this time with "necessary" work projects or spend the whole day golfing or shopping with your friends? Next time you have a choice between family and friends, stop and ask yourself, "Why not spend some quiet time with one of my kids or my spouse or another family member". As Rose and I take Cassie to school, I'm going to do everything I can to close my mind to church tasks and direct all of my attention to making some lasting memories. I want to leave Utah with no regrets for the last 18 years of being Cassie's dad, knowing that the adventure is only beginning! Join us this Sunday at 9:00am, as Larry Annes, our church council chairman, concludes our summer series in the book of Philippians. Also, as a reminder, this Sunday from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, THPRD will be hosting Fiesta en el Parque, next to our church. This is a free event that is geared toward the Latino community. El Buen Pastor will be providing volunteer support and FBC has offered about 50 parking spaces. We plan to block off these spaces on Saturday and as such, I want to encourage you to give yourself a little extra time on Sunday, as things could be a little hectic on Erickson Ave. Finally, our Adults on Mission team will be meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:30am in the Fireside Room. They will be spending time praying for our missionaries, as well as FBC. Consider joining them. See you when I get back from Utah! Pastor Doug Hi FBC Family.
This weekend will be a busy one on our campus..... Calling all Green Thumbs: Don't forget to join us tomorrow, Saturday, at 9:00am, as we take a couple of hours to spruce up the exterior landscape of our campus. The focus will be on weeding, cutting back vegetation near the building and cleaning up the planter boxes in our parking lot. On Sunday morning at 9:00am, we will continue our series in Philippians. This week, we will be looking at Philippians 4:1-9 and talking about how a mature follower of Jesus is able to rejoice in every circumstance, relax and allow God to be God and finally, rest in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Sunday night, I want to invite you to join us for a time of potluck and prayer. The evening will kick-off at 6:00pm with a potluck dinner, followed by a time of prayer, as we spend time praying for Jesus to reveal His will for FBC and for the Holy Spirit to give us boldness to follow His direction. Drinks and cookies will be provided. \nWe will also pray for those families involved in Room 4 Hope, who will be staying on our campus this next week. There will be 4 families (14 people) sleeping on our campus. One of these families is about to become a family of 3, as the wife is preparing to give birth to their first child on September 4th. We will be in "wait and see" mode during her time on our campus. How exciting! I want to thank those who have stepped-up to volunteer in helping provide a safe and loving environment during this next week. \nI know this is a short update but as you can see, it is going to be a busy week here at FBC. As you spend time in prayer, please remember to pray for our Church Council and Grow Young team as they continue to strategize and plan for moving FBC into the future. \nSee you Sunday. \nPastor Doug There is a sign along an Alaskan highway that reads, "Choose your rut carefully.....You'll be in it for the next 150 miles." Author Henri Nouwen, in his book, In the Name of Jesus, admits to being in one of these ruts for well over twenty years. Judging from his life at the time, who could blame him for not wanting to change course. After all, he had the University of Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard on his professional resume. He had studied theology, mixed with courses in pastoral psychology and Christian spirituality. Henri Nouwen was comfortable and saw no compelling reason to seek a change. Until one day, he felt an internal discontent churning inside of him. Look at what he wrote:
"As I entered into my fifties and was able to realize the unlikelihood of doubling my years, I came face to face with the simple question, 'Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?' After twenty-five years of priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues.....something inside was telling me that my success was putting my soul in danger.....I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and the term "burnout" was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death." Nouwen asked the Lord to show him where He wanted him to go and he would follow. The Lord made it crystal clear to him that he should make a drastic change, leave everything that was familiar, comfortable and convenient and join the L'Arche communities for mentally handicapped people. The lessons awaiting Nouwen were numerous: some painful, a few humiliating, but all of them necessary. Slowly, he experienced a change deep within himself. The master teacher learned to be the humble servant.....the self-confident, proud individualist became a compassionate, caring friend. \nMost of us have no idea how deep or long our rut extends. Externally, everything looks fine. Our activities often revolve around church and Christian friends we love. We have meetings to attend, lessons to prepare and songs to sing. Who can criticize any of that? After all, there is a big job to get done. No one can question our faithfulness. \nUnfortunately this rut of religious activity can numb our souls, until we find ourselves in need of spiritual refreshment--a fresh touch from God. We need to rediscover the renewed passion that once drove our spiritual lives. The kind of drive that propels us to change our old habits and ask God the same bold question asked by Professor Nouwen....."Tell me where to go, tell me what to do and I will follow." Are you ready to make a change? God might not be asking you to sell everything, move to a third world country and live among the poor, instead; he might simply be asking you to get out of your comfort zone, walk across the street and live among those who need the love of Jesus. Begin your journey by filtering out the essentials from the incidentals and see what God does. \nJoin us this Sunday, as we look at Paul the sports fan and the training he endured in order to win the race and receive the prize of Christlikeness. Read Proverbs 3:12-21 and come ready to enter the race! \nSee you Sunday. \nPastor Doug |
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