Kids and Invitation

Kids

This morning the church will be blessed with 170 kids leading us at the 10:30 worship experience. To the adults who have made this possible—we are so grateful for you. As a pastor and the parent of a first grade student—I am thankful for all the men and women who invest in our children on Sunday mornings and during the week. Each of you is a blessing to our children, our families, our church, and our city.

Compared to November of last year, our Frog Pond has grown from 129 kids per week to 170 children per week—an increase of 31%. This doesn’t include 100 middle and high school students who gather on Wednesday evenings at the ministry center and in small groups throughout the city to grow and connect. One of the four reasons The Water’s Edge exists is to partner with parents in raising children and to radically invest in the next generation. One of the priorities for our staff in 2014 is to create environments where families can thrive.

 

• My dream is that parents will be equipped by God and supported by others. 
• My dream is that children grow in their love for God and their love for people as together we spiritually, emotionally, and relationally prepare them for life. 
• My dream is that all of us experience community and fun in the process. 

I hope The Water’s Edge has been a big blessing for you and your family in 2013. I pray The Water’s Edge is an even bigger blessing to you and your family in the years to come. 

Invite 

Our Sunday night worship experience reminds me of our early days at Russell Middle School. There were about 60 to 75 of us around on Sunday mornings. We had four small groups and two of them were pretty small! It has been a joy to see so many people added to our church family over the past six years. Every new person makes our family better and more diverse and more like the Kingdom of Heaven: sinner and saints; seekers and skeptics; devotees and disciples; supporters and servants. 

Most of our church family started attending because somebody invited you. We are not an easy church to find. We have met at five locations and don’t have a permanent facility yet. We invite because we believe the Gospel changes lives: grace, power, hospitality, community, children, forgiveness, service, hope, generosity, fun, and eternal life. 

The single time to invite is Christmas Eve. We have three identical Christmas Eve worship experiences in the auditorium at Millard West this year: Sunday, December 22nd at 6:00 and Tuesday, December 24th at 4:00 and 5:30. One invitation can change a life! I look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus with you next week. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

Children

This is Sunday's column. I wrote it a few days ago. Our Children's Christmas Pageant is Sunday morning at 10:30 and the following was written to share how Jesus and Paul use children as a metaphor for an abundant life.

The timing of this post is coincidental to the events of today. The school shooting in Connecticut is heartbreaking. Being the parent of a Kindergartener and hanging around an elementary school for the last seven years, my feelings are anger, fear, confusion, and sympathy. This column doesn't seek to address what happened today as if any column, from me or anybody else, could.

Children. Nothing quite like them. 

Childish. The mess on the family room floor. The loss of appetite when the Brussels sprouts and baked chicken come out of the oven and the simultaneous reemergence of the appetite when the key lime pie comes out of the refrigerator a few minutes later. They can be selfish, egocentric, unreasonable, quarrelsome, and spoiled. People don’t necessarily grow out of such things the way a baby grows out of diapers or the way a young adult grows out of acne. One has to make a concerted effort to put such behaviors behind us. Paul sums it up at the end of his discussion of love when he writes: 

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put my childish ways behind me. – 1 Corinthians 13:11 

Childlike. But it was Jesus who tells us to become like children. 

The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become childlike, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. -Matthew 18:1-4 

Jesus is talking to a group of childish men. They want to know about order of importance, pecking order, and how to get to the top. Their selfishness and egocentric life has emerged like cream rises to the top of a bowl of porridge. Then Jesus tells them they don’t really have a clue and they need to become a lot more like this little guy he just plucked from the crowd. The little boy stands there. All the disciples are looking at him. Jesus is talking about him. He is innocent: unable to wear a mask or be anything other than what he truly is. No point in neurotically comparing and competing against others when one is blissfully being oneself. His eyes are wide-eyed and full of faith when the great teacher summoned him. He is up for an adventure. 

This is what Jesus meant by humility. Not modesty, polite self-deprecation, or thinking ill of yourself. Not saying that you aren’t much of a poker player, when you and everybody else knows you are. It’s more like this: When the chips are down, the boy knew the cards in his hand. He didn’t pretend to be anything other than what he was and trusted in the one who called him. Authentic. Bona fide. Faithful. And that is more than enough. 

If God’s Kingdom is what you are seeking, Jesus says be like a child. It’s not an achievement you accomplish or a box you check-off. Instead, it’s a way of life and a rather splendid one at that. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

WE Celebrate - Worship

About as beautiful as beautiful gets.

AJ, the band, and the kids leading worship

My First Bible

I can think of very few things I have owned for thirty years. The clothes of my childhood don’t quite fit anymore. The footballs, bicycles, video games – they have all be thrown away or donated or are in the back of one of the closets at my mom’s house. I do have a monkey that is older thirty years. He is quite handsome, but well worn. Tall and slender. Stuffed with women’s nylons. I guess men don’t wear nylons, so the word “women’s” is a bit redundant. The monkey is in David’s room now.

I still remember the day I got my Bible. There was eight or nine of us. We were confirmed together. We graduated together. We have gathered two more times in the church: for the funerals of two boys who got their Bibles that day. Never were the words of the Bible more important than they were on those two days. The eight of nine of us were all dressed up in our Sunday best, which was most likely khaki pants, a white shirt, and a tie for the boys and some kind of long dress for the girls. We nervously stood in front of the small congregation and were presented our Bible. We were encouraged to read it and bring it with us to Sunday school and worship. 

The Bible got put away for about ten years or so. It was always available, but seldom used. This Bible travelled with me when I left my little town in northwest Iowa as a socially awkward eighteen year old and attended college at Drake University. I didn’t believe in God at the time, but taking the Bible to college seemed like the right thing to do. The Bible has lived in such places as Spencer, Iowa; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; and Lexington, Kentucky. 

I remember one time I travelled to Malaysia and Indonesia. We gave hundreds of Bibles, written in their language, to young adults hungry for God’s Word. They opened them with the same wide-eyed optimism that a child opens his or her first present on Christmas morning. 

This morning I’ll give away about thirty-five Bibles to our third grade students. I was looking at the Bibles the other day. They are a little more colorful and well illustrated than mine. They have sections to explain things and help apply God’s Word to our lives. But the words remain the same. 

I’ll probably say something like this on Sunday morning: Find a few minutes to read this book everyday. Read it on the days when you think you need it the least and read it on the days when you need it the most. Read it with your family a couple times a week and talk for a few minutes about what it means. If you don’t understand everything, that’s okay. Sometimes I don’t either. But keep reading. It is the best way to hear God’s voice and is the single most important thing that will help you think and act like God. And thirty years from now, you’ll still have it. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

Strategic Matters

A few weeks ago, our youngest son, David, was leaving his class in the Frog Pond. He was one of 31 soon-to-be kindergarteners. I remembered back 5 years when our total population of children birth to fifth grade was less than 30 students. In a month or so, 35 third graders will be receiving their Bibles and starting a Bible mentor program with an adult. The Children’s Ministry Team has great things planned for the remainder of the year: The children will be doing the 40 Days in the Word Campaign alongside the adults. They will serve kids in Africa by participating in Operation Christmas Child. They will serve older students and adults at The Water’s Edge by preparing and performing a Christmas musical. I am so grateful for all of the volunteers who serve our children. You are investing in people important to God and people important to many of us. Parents: if you have questions – email nancy@watersedgeomaha.com. She is on our staff to serve you.

I used to be a youth minister. It’s been over 12 years ago. Wednesday night my oldest son, Benjamin, will start youth group! The youth ministry is ready to launch. We have over 30 adult leaders, with about half of them being new, who will mentor and serve our middle and high school students. The youth will also join the adults and kids with the 40 Days in the Word study. If you have a middle and/or high school student and want more information on the weekly gatherings or summer mission trips send an email to chad@watersedgeomaha.com.

This fall WE will have over 25 adult small groups. Many of these are new and others are accepting new people. Small groups are a great way to create new friendships, strengthen existing relationships, connect to God, and apply biblical principles to our lives. Over 75 new people have signed-up for a small group in the last few weeks. All groups will launch the week of September 9th. I encourage you to register for a group on Sunday morning or email jill@watersedgeomaha.com. 

Sunday, August 12th, was one of the great Sundays at The Water’s Edge. Over 350 of us served two nursing homes: The Lighthouse and Good Samaritan; three local ministries: Release Ministries, the Hope Center, and Together Omaha; two elementary schools: Rockwell and Willowdale; a 5K race: the Boxer 500; and at Millard West High School by assembling health and hygiene kits and welcome bags to teachers. We most look like Jesus when we serve. 

Construction on the Ministry Center is progressing well. A dedicated group of workers is making this possible. We are looking at moving in early October. You will also be hearing a lot from the Capital Campaign Team in the weeks and months to come as we seek to fund the Harrison Street property this fall. These are exciting times and I’m grateful to be on this journey with you. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

Students and Children

The Water’s Edge Launch, Part 2 

Last week we started looking at the difference between a take-off and a launch for The Water’s Edge, beginning on January 1st, 2012, as we become a United Methodist Church separate from Faith-Westwood. Last week I wrote about what a launch looks like in the area of missions, serving, and outreach to our world, country, and city. 

This week we will look the people with a special place in the heart of Jesus and a special place in our hearts: children and students.

Kids serving runners this spring

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. –Mark 10:13-16 

The above passage talks about the importance of children to Jesus. I’m a parent of two boys, ages 10 and 4. I know how important our children are to us and I know how important your children are to you. For those who don’t have children or for those whose children are adults—I know you see the value of outstanding and excellent children’s and student ministries to the church, to our culture, and most importantly to the children and students. 

Eight years from now, Benjamin will be a freshman in college. One of my dreams for him is that he will leave The Water’s Edge and be a Christian leader at his college and for the rest of his days. That is one of my prayers for all children and students at The Water’s Edge. I have confidence that a solid foundation will be laid in his life through incredible staff people who lead caring and committed men and women in service to our children and students and to children and students in the community as well. 

We already have well over one-hundred volunteers serving in children and student ministries. And we are going to need a whole lot more. One of the biggest challenges we have had in 2011 is managing the explosive growth in our children’s area (a great challenge to have!). I want to challenge all of us to serve and invest some way in these essential areas of ministry that are so important to God and so important to so many of us. I promise I will lead by example. I promise I will do my best in helping raise other people’s children and I know you will do your best in helping us raise our children. 

The best is yet to come…

Craig

Laughter and Being a Young Mom

Not much of this is terribly original, but Happy Mother's Day, in advance, to all the moms out there.

Ten Reasons You Know You Are A Young Mother

1. You know all the words to the Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Dora the Explorer theme songs.
2. You cut up your husband’s dinner in bite-sized pieces.
3. Your favorite piece of jewelry says "Mommy" on it and only cost $10.
4. You have hundreds of photos of your kids, but not a single one of yourself.
5. Your feet stick to the kitchen floor...and you are good with that.
6. A gourmet meal is chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese.
7. You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.
8. You've mastered the art of placing large quantities of pancakes and eggs on a plate without anything touching.
9. You hope ketchup is a vegetable, since it's the only one your child eats.
10. You say at least once a day, "I'm not cut out for this job", but you know you wouldn't trade it for anything.