Job Offer

I've got great news! The leadership of FFC has offered the positions of Youth Pastor and Children's Pastor to James and Tonya Pinkerton!! James and Tonya have accepted the offer and the next step is to seek the congregations approval at our June 6th Business Meeting. Everyone I've talked to is so excited about this. We think James and Tonya will make great additions to our team at Farmland Friends.

I'm looking forward to having them move out here and ministering side by side with my best friends. There is a lot of work ahead of James and Tonya with the youth ministries at the church but I know they are up to the challenge. I'm confident that they will bless the youth of our community in fantastic ways.

Job Offer

I've got great news! The leadership of FFC has offered the positions of Youth Pastor and Children's Pastor to James and Tonya Pinkerton!! James and Tonya have accepted the offer and the next step is to seek the congregations approval at our June 6th Business Meeting. Everyone I've talked to is so excited about this. We think James and Tonya will make great additions to our team at Farmland Friends.

I'm looking forward to having them move out here and ministering side by side with my best friends. There is a lot of work ahead of James and Tonya with the youth ministries at the church but I know they are up to the challenge. I'm confident that they will bless the youth of our community in fantastic ways.

"Fish" Book Review

This afternoon I read a book called “Fish”. “Fish” is about boosting morale in the workplace and is a parable similar to the book “Who Moved My Cheese”. It was a quick read and I enjoyed the book. The 4 principles to apply were: Choose your attitude (chose to be positive or negative, your attitude affects others), Play (have fun and create energy), Make their day (engage other employees/customers and make their day better), and Be present (be fully engaged in conversations). At the end of this book is this great motto:

“As you enter this place of work please choose to make today a great day. Your colleagues, customers, team members, and you yourself will be thankful. Find ways to play. We can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves. Stay focused in order to be present when your customers and team members most need you. And should you feel your energy lapsing, try this surefire remedy: Find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support, or a good ear – and make their day.”

"Fish" Book Review

This afternoon I read a book called “Fish”. “Fish” is about boosting morale in the workplace and is a parable similar to the book “Who Moved My Cheese”. It was a quick read and I enjoyed the book. The 4 principles to apply were: Choose your attitude (chose to be positive or negative, your attitude affects others), Play (have fun and create energy), Make their day (engage other employees/customers and make their day better), and Be present (be fully engaged in conversations). At the end of this book is this great motto:

“As you enter this place of work please choose to make today a great day. Your colleagues, customers, team members, and you yourself will be thankful. Find ways to play. We can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves. Stay focused in order to be present when your customers and team members most need you. And should you feel your energy lapsing, try this surefire remedy: Find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support, or a good ear – and make their day.”

Negativity

In a couple of weeks I’m going to begin a new series and the first topic will be “complaining”. Complaining is a personal struggle of mine. Here are some initial random thoughts on negativity: there are 2 choices in every situation negativity or positivity. Left on our own most people naturally drift toward negativity. Negative people will also have other traits attached to them; they may be lazy, liars, and live in the past.

I listened to a sermon by Ed Young today and he said, “Positivity is a God driven outlook that gives us a God ordained outcome.” When we follow Jesus and we have our eyes on Him our outlook can determine our destiny.

What are some of your thoughts on negativity/complaining? Are you like me and struggle with the drift towards negativity? Any thoughts, comments, or quotes that might be beneficial for the sermon in a couple of weeks?

Negativity

In a couple of weeks I’m going to begin a new series and the first topic will be “complaining”. Complaining is a personal struggle of mine. Here are some initial random thoughts on negativity: there are 2 choices in every situation negativity or positivity. Left on our own most people naturally drift toward negativity. Negative people will also have other traits attached to them; they may be lazy, liars, and live in the past.

I listened to a sermon by Ed Young today and he said, “Positivity is a God driven outlook that gives us a God ordained outcome.” When we follow Jesus and we have our eyes on Him our outlook can determine our destiny.

What are some of your thoughts on negativity/complaining? Are you like me and struggle with the drift towards negativity? Any thoughts, comments, or quotes that might be beneficial for the sermon in a couple of weeks?

Pinkerton Update

This afternoon I got James and Tonya Pinkerton to the airport for their flight back home. It was so awesome having them here this weekend. We stayed up late every night sharing stories and laughing. Shelby really hit it off with them - it will be great meeting their 2 children, Sidney (7yrs.) and Lucas (4yrs).

This morning James and I joined Bryan Vickery at the golf course - (we let Heavy B beat us... we thought it would be the "Christian" thing to do :-), especially considering we cleaned his clock at Foosball Sunday night.) James and Tonya had a good time meeting all of the great folks at FFC and everyone I've spoken to really enjoyed them too.

Pinkerton Update

This afternoon I got James and Tonya Pinkerton to the airport for their flight back home. It was so awesome having them here this weekend. We stayed up late every night sharing stories and laughing. Shelby really hit it off with them - it will be great meeting their 2 children, Sidney (7yrs.) and Lucas (4yrs).

This morning James and I joined Bryan Vickery at the golf course - (we let Heavy B beat us... we thought it would be the "Christian" thing to do :-), especially considering we cleaned his clock at Foosball Sunday night.) James and Tonya had a good time meeting all of the great folks at FFC and everyone I've spoken to really enjoyed them too.

Oops...

I failed to blog again last night - that's what happens when you are up past midnight talking with your good friends. We are enjoying our time with James and Tonya. The weekend is passing by way too quick.

I'm typing this in my office right before our 8:30 ("traditional") service. I'm praying that God moves today and touches hearts as we worship Him with everything in us. I'd better close and get to work.

Oops...

I failed to blog again last night - that's what happens when you are up past midnight talking with your good friends. We are enjoying our time with James and Tonya. The weekend is passing by way too quick.

I'm typing this in my office right before our 8:30 ("traditional") service. I'm praying that God moves today and touches hearts as we worship Him with everything in us. I'd better close and get to work.

Forgot to Blog Yesterday...

Last night in all the excitement of having my good friends here I forgot to blog. That's the first time I've been home that I missed a day of blogging.

I picked up James and Tonya Pinkerton yesterday evening at the Columbus airport. We had a good time yesterday sharing memories of the past and dreaming about the future. Today they interview for the positions of Youth Pastor and Children's Pastor. This will be a very busy Memorial Day weekend for them and for some of the leaders at our church. Please pray that God would give everyone discernment regarding these open positions at FFC.

Forgot to Blog Yesterday...

Last night in all the excitement of having my good friends here I forgot to blog. That's the first time I've been home that I missed a day of blogging.

I picked up James and Tonya Pinkerton yesterday evening at the Columbus airport. We had a good time yesterday sharing memories of the past and dreaming about the future. Today they interview for the positions of Youth Pastor and Children's Pastor. This will be a very busy Memorial Day weekend for them and for some of the leaders at our church. Please pray that God would give everyone discernment regarding these open positions at FFC.

Contentment

Recently I have been working on my attitude, it needed an adjustment. I have been focusing on not complaining and being content. I don't always catch myself complaining, but I'm trying to. (If you are around me you have permission to remind me if you hear me complaining. I won't get mad - what am I going to do complain about you catching me complain??)

Philippians 4:7-8, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Contentment

Recently I have been working on my attitude, it needed an adjustment. I have been focusing on not complaining and being content. I don't always catch myself complaining, but I'm trying to. (If you are around me you have permission to remind me if you hear me complaining. I won't get mad - what am I going to do complain about you catching me complain??)

Philippians 4:7-8, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Season Finale

Tonight is the season finale of Lost. I'm going to curl up in my chair, grab a bag of shelled peanuts (it's my latest food kick), and watch every moment.

By the way - I can't wait for Heroes to come back on next season. FYI: as of this moment there is 123 days and 23 hours before the next episode... Yes, I'm counting.

Get this widget!

Season Finale

Tonight is the season finale of Lost. I'm going to curl up in my chair, grab a bag of shelled peanuts (it's my latest food kick), and watch every moment.

By the way - I can't wait for Heroes to come back on next season. FYI: as of this moment there is 123 days and 23 hours before the next episode... Yes, I'm counting.

Get this widget!

Garbage - Dump

Last year I did a sermon called “Garbage Dump”. I had trashed the whole sanctuary with paper, plastic, tin cans, etc. I had piles of garbage sacks and other trash on the stage, all of which represented the unforgiveness that we hold against others.

Some people say, “I don’t want to forgive anyone. I don’t feel like it.” You can decide not to forgive if you want to, but realize you are just taking bitterness with you everywhere that you go. The longer you hang on to that resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness the more others don’t want to be around you because you start to stink. Emotionally and spiritually you stink and others can’t stand to be around you. Your relationships begin to fall apart. It is important that you get rid of the garbage.

When someone hurts you, will you become bitter or will you become better? Because pain only leads you one of two places – bitter (focused on the person or the pain) or better (because you are focused on God and the process of removing the garbage).

To get rid of the garbage (pain, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.) you need to discover who dumped the pain on you in the first place, and then you need to define how they hurt you. What specific garbage did they put in your life? You say, “Why is that important?” Because if you don’t identify how much they owe you, you can’t release the debt.

Once you have identified who and what then you have to do the hard part and dispose of the garbage. You must forgive and let the garbage go.

Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

When Christ was on the cross He was given garbage, it didn’t belong to Him, it was our sin, and yet He said “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

At the cross you lost all of the excuses not to forgive someone. You will never have to forgive someone more than God through Christ has forgiven you. Know that Jesus died so that you wouldn’t have to carry your garbage around.

Garbage - Dump

Last year I did a sermon called “Garbage Dump”. I had trashed the whole sanctuary with paper, plastic, tin cans, etc. I had piles of garbage sacks and other trash on the stage, all of which represented the unforgiveness that we hold against others.

Some people say, “I don’t want to forgive anyone. I don’t feel like it.” You can decide not to forgive if you want to, but realize you are just taking bitterness with you everywhere that you go. The longer you hang on to that resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness the more others don’t want to be around you because you start to stink. Emotionally and spiritually you stink and others can’t stand to be around you. Your relationships begin to fall apart. It is important that you get rid of the garbage.

When someone hurts you, will you become bitter or will you become better? Because pain only leads you one of two places – bitter (focused on the person or the pain) or better (because you are focused on God and the process of removing the garbage).

To get rid of the garbage (pain, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.) you need to discover who dumped the pain on you in the first place, and then you need to define how they hurt you. What specific garbage did they put in your life? You say, “Why is that important?” Because if you don’t identify how much they owe you, you can’t release the debt.

Once you have identified who and what then you have to do the hard part and dispose of the garbage. You must forgive and let the garbage go.

Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

When Christ was on the cross He was given garbage, it didn’t belong to Him, it was our sin, and yet He said “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

At the cross you lost all of the excuses not to forgive someone. You will never have to forgive someone more than God through Christ has forgiven you. Know that Jesus died so that you wouldn’t have to carry your garbage around.

Criticism

I read something by Erwin McManus the other day that stuck with me, in his book “Stand Against the Wind” he writes, “When we are in love with ourselves, we are prone to listen only to what we want to hear. We become more than willing to trade insight for affirmation. We want to feel good about ourselves more than we want ourselves to become good.”

In order to become a better leader, and just a better person in general, it is necessary to be realistic about our short-comings and to hear others out when they provide constructive criticism. As I mature I find that I am able to handle criticism much better than I used to.

Proverbs 18:2, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.”

Criticism

I read something by Erwin McManus the other day that stuck with me, in his book “Stand Against the Wind” he writes, “When we are in love with ourselves, we are prone to listen only to what we want to hear. We become more than willing to trade insight for affirmation. We want to feel good about ourselves more than we want ourselves to become good.”

In order to become a better leader, and just a better person in general, it is necessary to be realistic about our short-comings and to hear others out when they provide constructive criticism. As I mature I find that I am able to handle criticism much better than I used to.

Proverbs 18:2, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.”

Big Thanks

One of my weeknesses as a leader is that I don't compliment folks near as much as I should. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to brag on some of the staff and volunteers at FFC.

Jeff Pfohl is our Pastor of Outreach. Jeff and his wife Mindy were fantastic volunteers in our church before we hired him. I can remember the day that Jeff came into my office as a volunteer at the church and handed me a 3 page paper outlining different ways we could reach our community. We knew we had to Jeff on board to help us keep pushing our congregation to get outside the walls of the church.

Marggy Hensley is our Pastor of Administration and she does a fantastic job of keeping stuff organized. She really is my right hand many days. She lightened my load by half; not so much my work load but my stress load. It is so awesome having a pastor who will focus on the details of administration – I’m truly blessed.

Bryan Vickery has been a fantastic volunteer with the Youth Group for many years and not long ago accepted the position as full-time Youth Pastor. Recently Bryan has decided to not pursue youth ministry full-time; “Heavy B” will continue to be on the youth team and lead the group in the interim of finding the full-time Youth Pastor that God will send our way. I am going to miss hanging out with “B” in the office but I am thankful that he will still be on the team as a volunteer.

Jill Cunningham is the most awesome administrative assistant I’ve ever seen. Jill looks out for me like no one else. She will keep me straight with names, appointments, and is always looking 2/3 steps ahead for me. She has been the church secretary even before I came on board. I can remember when it was just Jill and I working in the office trying to get everything done ourselves. I don’t think we could function without her.

Jenny Lee has been a God-send. Jenny is our Office Administrator/bookkeeper. Jenny has one full plate I would just be touching the tip of the iceberg if I listed 10 things that she does in the office and she does everything great. We would be in a world of hurt without Jenny’s expertise. We stole her from our county courthouse and her knowledge has benefited our church numerous times.

Dennis Patty is our part-time Media Minister. Dennis keeps the gears running in our media ministry. I would have to say Dennis and his team of volunteers are the best I’ve ever seen, they do an awesome job week in and week out. Dennis is also an electrician (which has come in very handy). Dennis is so much fun to spend time with and he has a great servant’s heart.

Debi Howell was recently hired as our part-time Congregational Care Pastor. Debi served for many years as our Youth Pastor and has a huge heart of compassion and mercy. She is doing a fantastic job of reaching out and ministering to individuals and serving our S.A.M group (senior adult ministry). It encourages me to see Debi using her gifts to touch people’s lives in our church.

Connie Akers isn’t a paid staff member but she has been serving our congregation for many years now as a minister to our children. She has grown our KidZone and blesses our children every week. She has so much energy and so much knowledge about children’s ministry it amazes me. Connie will be retiring from her position this summer but I’m sure she will be finding some other way to serve the Lord within our congregation.

I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. I’ve not said anything about our part-time treasurer, Bill Harshman; volunteers like Marcia Flanagan (nursery), Neva Chalfant (Lil’ KidZone), Elizabeth McAllister (Higher Ground Coffee Shop), Ryan McAllister, Bruce Grimes, JD Akers (worship leaders), Stephen Price, Cari Lott, Randy Roberts, Jamie Vickery, not to mention all the awesome greeters, all the fantastic worship teams, all the great children’s ministry volunteers, the way cool coffee shop barista’s, the office volunteers… and I could go on and on...

I am so blessed to be working with so many people who love the Lord and love Farmland Friends Church. Thank you to each and every person who serves at FFC, I love you.

Big Thanks

One of my weeknesses as a leader is that I don't compliment folks near as much as I should. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to brag on some of the staff and volunteers at FFC.

Jeff Pfohl is our Pastor of Outreach. Jeff and his wife Mindy were fantastic volunteers in our church before we hired him. I can remember the day that Jeff came into my office as a volunteer at the church and handed me a 3 page paper outlining different ways we could reach our community. We knew we had to Jeff on board to help us keep pushing our congregation to get outside the walls of the church.

Marggy Hensley is our Pastor of Administration and she does a fantastic job of keeping stuff organized. She really is my right hand many days. She lightened my load by half; not so much my work load but my stress load. It is so awesome having a pastor who will focus on the details of administration – I’m truly blessed.

Bryan Vickery has been a fantastic volunteer with the Youth Group for many years and not long ago accepted the position as full-time Youth Pastor. Recently Bryan has decided to not pursue youth ministry full-time; “Heavy B” will continue to be on the youth team and lead the group in the interim of finding the full-time Youth Pastor that God will send our way. I am going to miss hanging out with “B” in the office but I am thankful that he will still be on the team as a volunteer.

Jill Cunningham is the most awesome administrative assistant I’ve ever seen. Jill looks out for me like no one else. She will keep me straight with names, appointments, and is always looking 2/3 steps ahead for me. She has been the church secretary even before I came on board. I can remember when it was just Jill and I working in the office trying to get everything done ourselves. I don’t think we could function without her.

Jenny Lee has been a God-send. Jenny is our Office Administrator/bookkeeper. Jenny has one full plate I would just be touching the tip of the iceberg if I listed 10 things that she does in the office and she does everything great. We would be in a world of hurt without Jenny’s expertise. We stole her from our county courthouse and her knowledge has benefited our church numerous times.

Dennis Patty is our part-time Media Minister. Dennis keeps the gears running in our media ministry. I would have to say Dennis and his team of volunteers are the best I’ve ever seen, they do an awesome job week in and week out. Dennis is also an electrician (which has come in very handy). Dennis is so much fun to spend time with and he has a great servant’s heart.

Debi Howell was recently hired as our part-time Congregational Care Pastor. Debi served for many years as our Youth Pastor and has a huge heart of compassion and mercy. She is doing a fantastic job of reaching out and ministering to individuals and serving our S.A.M group (senior adult ministry). It encourages me to see Debi using her gifts to touch people’s lives in our church.

Connie Akers isn’t a paid staff member but she has been serving our congregation for many years now as a minister to our children. She has grown our KidZone and blesses our children every week. She has so much energy and so much knowledge about children’s ministry it amazes me. Connie will be retiring from her position this summer but I’m sure she will be finding some other way to serve the Lord within our congregation.

I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. I’ve not said anything about our part-time treasurer, Bill Harshman; volunteers like Marcia Flanagan (nursery), Neva Chalfant (Lil’ KidZone), Elizabeth McAllister (Higher Ground Coffee Shop), Ryan McAllister, Bruce Grimes, JD Akers (worship leaders), Stephen Price, Cari Lott, Randy Roberts, Jamie Vickery, not to mention all the awesome greeters, all the fantastic worship teams, all the great children’s ministry volunteers, the way cool coffee shop barista’s, the office volunteers… and I could go on and on...

I am so blessed to be working with so many people who love the Lord and love Farmland Friends Church. Thank you to each and every person who serves at FFC, I love you.

Just in Case You Forget How to...

I saw this sign in almost every restroom I went into at Walt Disney World. I don't even know how to respond to this kind of sign...

Maybe this - Ummm, if you are old enough to read then you should have already been taught the basics of washing your hands. =)

Just in Case You Forget How to...

I saw this sign in almost every restroom I went into at Walt Disney World. I don't even know how to respond to this kind of sign...

Maybe this - Ummm, if you are old enough to read then you should have already been taught the basics of washing your hands. =)

200th Post

This is my 200th post - another milestone. I started blogging six months ago. I am so proud of myself for staying with it. The main goal of this blog is to allow those who attend our church and others who may not attend our church to get to know me better. It also allows people to learn more about what is going on at the church (sometimes without all of the facts), but there are times that you'll get the lowdown here first.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. I will continue to mix in devotional thoughts, light hearted fun, and more of my personal thoughts and insights.

200th Post

This is my 200th post - another milestone. I started blogging six months ago. I am so proud of myself for staying with it. The main goal of this blog is to allow those who attend our church and others who may not attend our church to get to know me better. It also allows people to learn more about what is going on at the church (sometimes without all of the facts), but there are times that you'll get the lowdown here first.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. I will continue to mix in devotional thoughts, light hearted fun, and more of my personal thoughts and insights.

Late Night Update

Last night I was up until 2:30 A.M. putting pen to paper and dreaming about the future of the church. I’m happy to say that the late night was not in vain. I now have a very good handle on the direction we are to take with our new building as well as utilizing the current space we have. Everyone that I’ve shared my vision with has responded very favorably. This is a huge relief to me and I can’t wait to share my thoughts and vision with the whole congregation.

I’ve passed my ‘chicken scratches’ off to the experts who will be helping us with making the dream a reality and, Lord willing, within a few weeks we can start officially unveiling some of the plans and show what it looks like on paper.

In the meantime, we are still in the process of interviewing for the positions of Children’s Pastor and Youth Pastor. The next candidates that we will be interviewing are a couple of my good friends from California. We will be flying in James and Tonya Pinkerton to interview over Memorial Day weekend. James & Tonya went to Barclay College with Tammy and me; it will be great seeing them in person again and I can’t wait to hang out with these two cool cats =)

Late Night Update

Last night I was up until 2:30 A.M. putting pen to paper and dreaming about the future of the church. I’m happy to say that the late night was not in vain. I now have a very good handle on the direction we are to take with our new building as well as utilizing the current space we have. Everyone that I’ve shared my vision with has responded very favorably. This is a huge relief to me and I can’t wait to share my thoughts and vision with the whole congregation.

I’ve passed my ‘chicken scratches’ off to the experts who will be helping us with making the dream a reality and, Lord willing, within a few weeks we can start officially unveiling some of the plans and show what it looks like on paper.

In the meantime, we are still in the process of interviewing for the positions of Children’s Pastor and Youth Pastor. The next candidates that we will be interviewing are a couple of my good friends from California. We will be flying in James and Tonya Pinkerton to interview over Memorial Day weekend. James & Tonya went to Barclay College with Tammy and me; it will be great seeing them in person again and I can’t wait to hang out with these two cool cats =)

Late Night

Well, here it is almost 11:30 P.M in Parker City, IN. and I am still working. I just got home from the church and some very important meetings that have to do with the future of our church. I’m telling you, God has some great things in store for us. It will definitely stretch our faith – but if I know our congregation we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m going to make this a short blog post because I’ve got a late night in front of me. I plan on spending some time and putting pen to paper and dreaming about the future of our church. I really don’t mind the late nights because I tend to get more done when everyone else is in bed – I just need to get some supper so that I can think straight.

Late Night

Well, here it is almost 11:30 P.M in Parker City, IN. and I am still working. I just got home from the church and some very important meetings that have to do with the future of our church. I’m telling you, God has some great things in store for us. It will definitely stretch our faith – but if I know our congregation we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m going to make this a short blog post because I’ve got a late night in front of me. I plan on spending some time and putting pen to paper and dreaming about the future of our church. I really don’t mind the late nights because I tend to get more done when everyone else is in bed – I just need to get some supper so that I can think straight.

Lost and Found

Have you ever lost something? It drives me nuts when I lose something, especially if it had any value. Before Tammy and I left on vacation I lost $187. We have a Disney Visa card that offers us rewards and I had redeemed our reward dollars and had it placed on a special card that we were going to take to Disney World with us. I was actually going to give the card to Tammy and Shelby and let them shop with it. I turned the whole house upside down looking for that card; I checked every drawer, pants pocket, and under every piece of paper.

While looking for the money I can remember praying – hard. I prayed with every ounce of faith I had, and I was confident God would lead me to the card. Yet, I looked for 3 full days and couldn’t find it. We took the trip minus a big chunk of spending money - and I was bummed.

This afternoon Tammy called me at work with great news, she found the long lost card. It had evidently fallen out of one of my pants pockets before our vacation and was lying at the bottom of the clothes hamper. Needless to say, there was great rejoicing in the Sorensen household.

Now, the convicting part - if I could just maintain that kind of passion about those who are spiritually lost...

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8

Lost and Found

Have you ever lost something? It drives me nuts when I lose something, especially if it had any value. Before Tammy and I left on vacation I lost $187. We have a Disney Visa card that offers us rewards and I had redeemed our reward dollars and had it placed on a special card that we were going to take to Disney World with us. I was actually going to give the card to Tammy and Shelby and let them shop with it. I turned the whole house upside down looking for that card; I checked every drawer, pants pocket, and under every piece of paper.

While looking for the money I can remember praying – hard. I prayed with every ounce of faith I had, and I was confident God would lead me to the card. Yet, I looked for 3 full days and couldn’t find it. We took the trip minus a big chunk of spending money - and I was bummed.

This afternoon Tammy called me at work with great news, she found the long lost card. It had evidently fallen out of one of my pants pockets before our vacation and was lying at the bottom of the clothes hamper. Needless to say, there was great rejoicing in the Sorensen household.

Now, the convicting part - if I could just maintain that kind of passion about those who are spiritually lost...

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8

Trepidation and Change

Something I’ve noticed in the almost 10 years that I have been in pastoral ministry is that ministry is always in a state of transition and change. This season in the life of our congregation is no exception. We are seeing transitions take place currently in staffing as we seek to fill the positions of Children’s Pastor and Youth Pastor. There is change taking place within certain areas of leadership such as the Elder Board and Dwayne Lott stepping forward as our new clerk (I’m sure he will do a great job!). There is change on the horizon for our church building as we plan to expand in order to create more space for our youth ministries and further outreach into our community. These changes may bring about a level of trepidation in some and high expectation in others.

No matter where you are at on the continuum of trepidation and expectation, when change comes you can’t ignore the inevitable. The important thing to do is to look for God at work in the midst of all of the transitions and change.

I can see that God is not done doing great things at Farmland Friends Church. With the transitions and changes at FFC come great opportunities once again to minister to a hurting world and see lives changed by the power of Jesus Christ.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!” Isa. 43:18

Trepidation and Change

Something I’ve noticed in the almost 10 years that I have been in pastoral ministry is that ministry is always in a state of transition and change. This season in the life of our congregation is no exception. We are seeing transitions take place currently in staffing as we seek to fill the positions of Children’s Pastor and Youth Pastor. There is change taking place within certain areas of leadership such as the Elder Board and Dwayne Lott stepping forward as our new clerk (I’m sure he will do a great job!). There is change on the horizon for our church building as we plan to expand in order to create more space for our youth ministries and further outreach into our community. These changes may bring about a level of trepidation in some and high expectation in others.

No matter where you are at on the continuum of trepidation and expectation, when change comes you can’t ignore the inevitable. The important thing to do is to look for God at work in the midst of all of the transitions and change.

I can see that God is not done doing great things at Farmland Friends Church. With the transitions and changes at FFC come great opportunities once again to minister to a hurting world and see lives changed by the power of Jesus Christ.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!” Isa. 43:18

Happy Mother's Day

Today for Mother’s Day, Shelby and I took Tammy into Muncie to eat at her favorite place, Panera. We also ordered a little gift for Tammy, a brand new dishwasher. Some ladies would prefer flowers or jewelry, not Tammy she relished the fact that we were getting a new dishwasher. Unfortunately our old dishwasher broke a couple of weeks ago and Tammy dreads doing dishes by hand. So needless to say I scored points this Mother’s Day (however all points revert back to zero at midnight and I have to start fresh tomorrow… I’ve been married long enough now to know how this whole point system works with your wife =)

Happy Mother's Day

Today for Mother’s Day, Shelby and I took Tammy into Muncie to eat at her favorite place, Panera. We also ordered a little gift for Tammy, a brand new dishwasher. Some ladies would prefer flowers or jewelry, not Tammy she relished the fact that we were getting a new dishwasher. Unfortunately our old dishwasher broke a couple of weeks ago and Tammy dreads doing dishes by hand. So needless to say I scored points this Mother’s Day (however all points revert back to zero at midnight and I have to start fresh tomorrow… I’ve been married long enough now to know how this whole point system works with your wife =)

Preaching and Bike Riding

I’m not sure if it is the same for every preacher, but for me preaching is not like riding a bike. If I take a week off I can definitely tell a difference. It takes me at least a week to get back into the swing of things. I’m just very thankful that I have a congregation that will show me a lot of grace when the sermon isn’t a “homerun”.

Preaching and Bike Riding

I’m not sure if it is the same for every preacher, but for me preaching is not like riding a bike. If I take a week off I can definitely tell a difference. It takes me at least a week to get back into the swing of things. I’m just very thankful that I have a congregation that will show me a lot of grace when the sermon isn’t a “homerun”.

I'm Back

I’m back. There is way too much to type about so here are some short snippets of thoughts I could do whole blogs on:

I spent way too much money on this vacation to Walt Disney World. (I blew my whole vacation budget; time to start saving again).

Disney amazes me with their creativity, attention to detail, most of all the level of organization.

Tammy placed 578th out of 2,400 people in the Minnie Marathon – not too bad!

Tammy accidentally dumped $20 worth of lunch on Shelby’s head yesterday. Shelby ended up wearing pizza, sprite, and a Panini. The Disney employees replaced all the food and offered to buy Shelby a new outfit. ($20 for lunch, $30 for new outfit, making a Disney memory - priceless).

I came home to lots of emails, phone calls, issues, and very little time to get ready for this weekend’s message.

Greensburg, Kansas is the neighboring town of where Tammy and I went to college. Tammy's best friend, Deb, lives/lived in Greensburg.

We discovered Deb was still alive by catching her briefly on CNN while watching TV at Disney. We saw Deb crawling out of a house and cheered.

It was nice taking a little blogging break – but it is good to be back.

I'm Back

I’m back. There is way too much to type about so here are some short snippets of thoughts I could do whole blogs on:

I spent way too much money on this vacation to Walt Disney World. (I blew my whole vacation budget; time to start saving again).

Disney amazes me with their creativity, attention to detail, most of all the level of organization.

Tammy placed 578th out of 2,400 people in the Minnie Marathon – not too bad!

Tammy accidentally dumped $20 worth of lunch on Shelby’s head yesterday. Shelby ended up wearing pizza, sprite, and a Panini. The Disney employees replaced all the food and offered to buy Shelby a new outfit. ($20 for lunch, $30 for new outfit, making a Disney memory - priceless).

I came home to lots of emails, phone calls, issues, and very little time to get ready for this weekend’s message.

Greensburg, Kansas is the neighboring town of where Tammy and I went to college. Tammy's best friend, Deb, lives/lived in Greensburg.

We discovered Deb was still alive by catching her briefly on CNN while watching TV at Disney. We saw Deb crawling out of a house and cheered.

It was nice taking a little blogging break – but it is good to be back.

A Short Break in the Blog

I’m going to be disconnected from my computer for the next several days while we are away on vacation. So I may not have a post each day on the blog. One thing I may try to do is use my Jott program. Jott allows me to use my cell phone to post a blog. One of the downsides of using Jott is that it may not spell what I’m saying over the phone correctly. So let me just apologize in advance if it spells something wrong. My biggest fear is that it would spell something inappropriate like a cuss word or something; I can hear it now, “Did you see what that pastor put on his blog? I don’t think he loves Jesus…”

I’m so ready for this vacation. If you don’t hear from me for a while just assume I’m having a great time and I’ll catch you up on my life and thoughts when I get a chance. Peace out!

A Short Break in the Blog

I’m going to be disconnected from my computer for the next several days while we are away on vacation. So I may not have a post each day on the blog. One thing I may try to do is use my Jott program. Jott allows me to use my cell phone to post a blog. One of the downsides of using Jott is that it may not spell what I’m saying over the phone correctly. So let me just apologize in advance if it spells something wrong. My biggest fear is that it would spell something inappropriate like a cuss word or something; I can hear it now, “Did you see what that pastor put on his blog? I don’t think he loves Jesus…”

I’m so ready for this vacation. If you don’t hear from me for a while just assume I’m having a great time and I’ll catch you up on my life and thoughts when I get a chance. Peace out!

Getting Ready for Relaxation

Tammy, Shelby, and I are gearing up for a special vacation. We are going to be taking off for Walt Disney World. Ever since 2000 I have been taking trips down to Florida to enjoy the sunshine, fun, and creativity found at Walt Disney World. I think I enjoy it so much because it is an escape; I literally forget all about the details, stress, issues, problems, conflict, and pressure of pastoral ministry. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and God has very specifically called me to be a pastor. But there are times in my life I just need to detach for my own sanity.

This will be a special vacation because Tammy is preparing to run in the “Minnie Marathon” for the first time. Tammy has wanted to do this half marathon for women for a while, and this year she finally gets to do it – I’m really excited for her. (However, running 9+ miles is not my idea of a vacation =)

On this trip we will be splitting our stay between 2 different resorts. The first resort we will be staying at is the Port Orleans Riverside Resort.

They have beautiful landscaping at this resort (in 1995 it won an award of excellence for its landscaping; the Port Orleans resorts have over 100,000 flowering trees and bushes).

After we check out of Port Orleans Riverside we will be using some of our Disney Vacation Club points and staying at Boardwalk Villas.

I’m looking forward to staying at Boardwalk since this will be our first time staying there.

If there is any room left in one of the suitcases does anyone else want to go with us? It may be a little tight in the suitcase, Shelby has packed every swimsuit she owns.

Getting Ready for Relaxation

Tammy, Shelby, and I are gearing up for a special vacation. We are going to be taking off for Walt Disney World. Ever since 2000 I have been taking trips down to Florida to enjoy the sunshine, fun, and creativity found at Walt Disney World. I think I enjoy it so much because it is an escape; I literally forget all about the details, stress, issues, problems, conflict, and pressure of pastoral ministry. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and God has very specifically called me to be a pastor. But there are times in my life I just need to detach for my own sanity.

This will be a special vacation because Tammy is preparing to run in the “Minnie Marathon” for the first time. Tammy has wanted to do this half marathon for women for a while, and this year she finally gets to do it – I’m really excited for her. (However, running 9+ miles is not my idea of a vacation =)

On this trip we will be splitting our stay between 2 different resorts. The first resort we will be staying at is the Port Orleans Riverside Resort.

They have beautiful landscaping at this resort (in 1995 it won an award of excellence for its landscaping; the Port Orleans resorts have over 100,000 flowering trees and bushes).

After we check out of Port Orleans Riverside we will be using some of our Disney Vacation Club points and staying at Boardwalk Villas.

I’m looking forward to staying at Boardwalk since this will be our first time staying there.

If there is any room left in one of the suitcases does anyone else want to go with us? It may be a little tight in the suitcase, Shelby has packed every swimsuit she owns.