Lent: A 4D Future for 3D People (Discovering, Dreaming, Designing a Destiny with Deeply Devoted Disciples)
Lent is a time of reflection, self examination and a renewed commitment to what it is to be a follower of Christ and live into God’s destiny. Often this is an individual journey one takes with Christ for 40 days of prayer, examination, study of God’s word, fasting in order to walk with Christ on his journey toward the destiny of resurrection. What would it mean for us as a church to move through the dimension of discovery, dreaming and designing our life as a church in order to reach the destiny God has for St. Luke’s future. What if, for the next 40 days, we took the time as a church to pray and reflect over the same questions, to examine where we’ve been and dream about where we could go, to study the same scriptures and words and to fast at the same time, in order to discover the collective journey God has for St. Luke’s.
Wall Posts
In Habakkuk 2:1-4, we read of God telling the prophet to write downthe vision he has of GodÂs reign- to make it clear and visible so all who run by would see a vision of what GodÂs Kingdom truly is.Yesterday we invited each congregant to become a prophet among us, and to write down the vision God has placed in their heart for how St. LukeÂs can build the Kingdom for the future.Ifyou havenÂ't already had a chance post your vision here:
In the next 3-5 years, what could be said that God has accomplished in and through St. LukeÂs?
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 "Ash Wednesday" PSALM 51:1-17
Blended Worship TBD Sanctuary
Sunday, February 26, 2012 First Sunday of Lent "Temptation of Jesus" MATTHEW 4:1-11; ROMANS 5:12-19 For the sin of this one man, Adam, cause death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Traditional Worship 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary
Sunday, March 04, 2012 Second Sunday of Lent Holy Communion "Martha at death of Lazarus" JOHN 11:17-44 But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.
Traditional Worship 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary
Sunday, March 11, 2012 Third Sunday of Lent "Pharisees and Caiaphas" JOHN 11:45-57 If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him.
Traditional Worship 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary
Sunday, March 18, 2012 Fourth Sunday of Lent "Anointing of Jesus - Judas" JOHN 12:1-7 That perfume was worth a years wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Not that he cared for the poor - he was a thief...
Traditional Worship 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary
Sunday, March 25, 2012 Fifth Sunday of Lent "The Crowd" JOHN 12:20-36 we understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the son of many will die? Just who is this son of many, anyway?
Traditional Worship 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary
Sunday, April 01, 2012 Palm Sunday "Palm Sunday" JOHN 12:14-19; ISAIAH 50:4-9; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 Then the Pharisees said to each other. 'There's nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him.
Traditional Worship 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary
Thursday, April 05, 2012 Holy Thursday "Holy Thursday" PETER
Blended Worship TBD TBD
Friday, April 06, 2012 Good Friday "Two Thieves on the Cross"
Traditional Worship TBD Sanctuary
Contemporary Worship TBD Coleman Gymnasium
Sunday, April 08, 2012 Easter "From Lost to Found"
Traditional Worship TBD Sanctuary
Contemporary Worship TBD Coleman Gymnasium
4D Future for 3D People Blog
By Jenn Stiles Williams
Posted on 3/3/2011 9:48:00 AM
Last Updated on 5/12/2011 9:02:19 PM
March 23, 2011
1 Corinthians 12 speaks about the spiritual gifts God gives to each person for the building up of God’s church.The entire chapter explains the need and use for each spiritual gift given by God to help the entire body of the church function in it’s role and purpose of building the Kingdom in the world.
When we speak about discovering what St. Luke’s is best at, or gifted for, we have to take into consideration the way in which God has gifted each of us with spiritual gifts andhow those gifts fit together in our particular calling to build the Kingdom in our community.We have a great way for you to find out what your spiritual gifts are through our website.Just click on the drop down menu to the upper right of this page and answ
Click on Spiritual Gifts Inventory and take the quiz.When you submit your answers, Joline Krolicki, our Director of Adult Discipleship will be contacting you with your results and help you find ways to use your gifts through the ministires of St. Luke’s.
We thought you would be interested in knowing how the God has gifted our congregation .Of those who have taken the test, the results for our giftedness line upin the following way:remember the results gives each person a list of their top 3 gifts.
I believe God gives these gifts to churches in a way to help them fulfill their vision and mission to their community and world. How we are gifted in many ways,helps inform how we can best meet others in our community.When you look at the list, how does it help inform us as we begin to dream about what St. Luke’s can do to fulfill it’s mission and vision for the coming years?
March 18, 2011
Alice Williams, one of our members of Church Council, led the 4D Debrief last Thursday night and gave an overview of the Appreciative Inquiry orientation.She used a great analogy about playing to your strengths in connection with playing a musical instrument.She reminded us that some of us can practice and practice piano for years, but we will never be a piano virtuoso.We can be good and even great, but a virtuoso is wired differently, with this innate touch and ear to help them play even the most simple pieces masterfully.The same concept is true in many different arenas of life.For example, my daughter is taking Italian and I decided it would be fun to learn as well. She and I can say the same Italian phrase and it will role off Grace’s tongue like it is her first language, while I sound like a southern American trying to speak.She has an ear for the language, I do not.No matter how hard I try, it will never sound natural.
So how do we apply this to our church?This AI approach is all about recognizing our strengths and our giftedness and recognizing God has gifted us in certain ways to fulfill Christ’s commission at the end of Matthew to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”St. Luke’s is going to have unique ways God has wired and gifted us as a congregation, to fulfill this commission and reach people.What do you think this means?What does it mean for us as a congregation to spend time discovering what we are best at in order to God’s will in our community?What happens when we work in areas or ministries we are not particularly gifted or wired for?How id the Kingdom of God impacted when we work in our strengths?Share your reflections below.
March 13, 2011
In the book of Esther found in the Old Testament a young Jewish girl named Esther finds favor with King Ahasuerus and became his Queen.It was however, unknown to the king that Esther was in fact from a Jewish family.Her uncle Mordecai, who had raised her as his own had advised Esther not to reveal her lineage.Later, in a great conspiracy tale that seems lifted out of an epic movie, the King’s right hand leader Haman realizes Mordecai will not bow to him and has the King give a decrees to destroy all the Jews.Esther, concerned about the future of her people, is trapped and doesn’t know what to do.In an exchange with Mordecai, her uncle says to her in Esther 4:14 “for if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter…Who knows?Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”
Someone asked me recently “Why are you asking our opinions about the future of the church, what do I have to offer?”This was a newer person to our congregation who thought themselves ill equipped to be a part of the visioning for St. Luke’s.But my response would be similar to the question Mordecai asked Esther.“Who knows?Perhaps you have come to St. Luke’s for just such a time as this?I believe God has placed us all here, in this moment of time, for a reason.Each of us has different reasons we were called by God, led by the Spirit to come to St. Luke’s.Each of us has similar, but sometimes different reasons as to why we stay.But the greater gift is we are each HERE – right now, for just such a time as this.
Each voice is important to the future of St. Luke’s in order to reach, relieve and deliver people in our community with the good news of Christ.Each of you is in this place to give a word from your history, or your story, or your giftedness which will fit into the pieces of the puzzled to become our destiny.The bigger question will be – how will you let your voice be used?Esther had a choice to make – I’ll let you read the rest of the story for yourself to see how it turned out.Do you believe God has placed you here in St. Luke’s to worship, grow and serve as a disciple for just such a time as this?Post your thoughts and comments below.
Vision Process for St. Luke’s UMC
OBJECTIVE: St. Luke’s Church Council believes that the time is right to re-examine the direction of the church and establish a clear and proactive plan for the next three to five years.
The vision, mission and values of St. Luke’s are sound, time-tested and remain the same
Changes in the national and local culture, economy, population, etc. warrant continuing examination and offer new potential opportunities for living into our vision and mission in a "post-modern" world
Church Council is committed to a positive, strength-based and faith-centered approach to planning for the future
RECOMMENDATION: Create a high-involvement strategic planning process that engages not only lay and staff leadership, but as much of the congregation as possible. Leverage sermons, podcasts, the website, "working" worship services, Thursday Thrive sessions and other large group methods.
Follow the Appreciative Inquiry model and its four key tenants:
DISCOVER: The identification of church processes in our Mission Essential areas that work well.
DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.
DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.
DESTINY: The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.
(More information in Appreciative Inquiry can be found in the appendix)
KEY STEPS:
Launch the Congregational Involvement approach in March. Build a complete sermon series around the process. Preach on an AI element (e.g. "Discover") one Sunday and then follow-up the next Sunday with a "working" worship service in which the congregation is offered opportunities to Discover, Dream, Design together through opportunities to share their reflections, and give feedback through written and oral testimonies about what St. Luke's is best at, the dreams and hopes for the future work of St. Luke's. Do this for Dream, Design and Destiny also. Capitalize on Destiny's relevance to Lent. The data from the AI elements then goes to church leadership (some combination of the councils and staff) for additional work on Design and Destiny. A plan is ready for offering back to the congregation for reflection, response and feedback in September. The Church Council will then take comments back and rework a final plan to be adopted at Charge Conference in late fall and implementation will begin January 2012.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an organizational development process or philosophy that engages individuals within an organizational system in its renewal, change and focused performance. AI is based on the assumption that organizations change in the way they inquire and the claim that an organization that inquires into problems or difficult situations will keep finding more of the same, but an organization that tries to appreciate what is best in itself will find/discover more and more of what is good.
Appreciative Inquiry was adopted from work done by earlier action research theorists and practitioners and further developed by David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University and Suresh Srivastva in the 1980s. Cooperrider and Srivastva say that anorganization is a miracle to be embraced rather than a problem to be solved. According to them, inquiry into organizational life should have the following characteristics:
Appreciative
Applicable
Provocative
Collaborative
It is now a commonly accepted practice in the creation of organizational development strategy and implementation of organizational effectiveness tactics.
Appreciative Inquiry is a particular way of asking questions and envisioning the future that fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, a situation, or an organization. In so doing, it enhances a system's capacity for collaboration and change. Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a cycle of 4 processes focusing on:
DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.
DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.
DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.
DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.
The basic idea is to build ministry around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't. It is the opposite of problem solving. Instead of focusing on gaps and inadequacies to remediate skills or practices, AI focuses on how to create more of the exceptional performance that is occurring when a core of strengths is aligned. It opens the door to a universe of possibilities, since the work doesn't stop when a particular problem is solved but rather focuses on "What is the best we can be?" The approach acknowledges the contribution of individuals, in order to increase trust and organizational alignment. The method aims to create meaning by drawing from stories of concrete successes and lends itself to cross-industrial social activities.
The basic philosophy of AI is also found in other positively oriented approaches to individual change as well as organizational change. As noted above, " AI ...fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, or a situation ...." The principles behind A.I. are based in the rapidly developing science of Positive Psychology. The idea of building on strength, rather than just focusing on faults and weakness is a powerful idea in use in mentoring programs, and in coaching dynamics. AI has been used extensively to foster change in businesses (a variety of sectors), health care systems, social profit organizations, educational institutions, communities, local governments, and religious institutions.
Churches around the nation have been using the AI orientation to build on the strengths and spiritual gifts God has blessed them with in order to vision their ministry for the future. This approach is rooted in the scriptures for 1 Corinthians about the body of Christ and the need for our gifts to work toward God’s destiny for us to Build the Kingdom by Building Disciples.
Videos from our Worship Services
Sweet Spot - March 20th, 8:00 Traditional Service
Sweet Spot - March 20th, 9:30 Traditional Service
Sweet Spot - March 20th, 9:30 Contemporary Service
Sweet Spot - March 20th, 11:00 Traditional Service
Sweet Spot - March 20th, 5:30 Contemporary Service
In the next 3-5 years, what an be said that God has accomplished in and through St. Luke's?
Discovery Week 1
What Keeps You Coming to St. Luke's
Survey Results 2011
In March 13, 2011 as part of the 4D Sermon series, the congregation was asked to respond to the question: What keeps you coming to St Lukes? The answers were free form and the people were asked to fill out their response during the worship time.
The verbatim comments were typed into a spreadsheet and three members read the verbatim and assigned one or two word "reasons" that they felt the author was trying to express. The reasons seem to fall into two major categories: items such as sermons, activities, people vs. feelings such as caring, acceptance, growth. Most people did not express just one reason, leading to the impression that people do not have just one reason to attend but come because of the complete package that is available at St Lukes United Methodist Church.
Since the three people who read the data were not given a distinct list of reasons to use nor were they limited to one reason per comment, the raw data provided a very broad range of 173 different reasons. These reasons were then grouped. For example: Bill, Jenn, David, Beth, Pastors were all grouped as pastors; choir, children’s choir, music were all grouped into music. The grouped results provided 33 reasons for attending. The top 10 grouped reasons from top to bottom are:
Outreach - 196
Spiritual - 174
People - 159
Pastors - 147
Sermons - 109
Music - 102
Acceptance - 91
Worship - 86
Activities - 68
Growth - 67
The accompanying spreadsheet provides the following results tabs:
Verbatim- This is all the comments received from the congregation. The first column identifies which service the comment was received from. To the right of each comment are the "reasons" assigned by the readers.
Reasons Grouped – Top 10 – This is the top ten list with counts that were derived from the grouped results. All of these reasons were included in at least 50 verbatim. There is also a graph providing a visual of the top ten results.
Grouping Totals – This is a chart of the grouped reasons with the count of how many verbatim included this reason.
Grouping Chart – This is a chart that visually shows the 33 grouped reasons by count of the number of verbatim that included each reason.
Reasons - Raw Data Subtotals – This sheet takes all the original reasons before they were grouped and subtotals them.
First Reason by Service – This list takes only the first reason listed by the reader, separates the responses by service and then subtotals by reason.
What Keeps You Coming to St. Luke's
Survey Results 2011
In March 20, 2011 as part of the 4D Sermon series, the congregation was asked to respond to the question: I’ve experienced the Sweet spot of the Kingdom at St. Luke’s when... The answers were free form and people were asked to respond either during open mic, or to write their responses.
The verbatim comments were typed into a spreadsheet and three members read the verbatim and assigned one or two word "reasons" that they felt the author was trying to express. The reasons seem to fall into two major categories: items such as sermons, activities, people vs. feelings such as caring, acceptance, growth. Most people did not express just one reason, leading to the impression that people do not have just one reason to attend but come because of the complete package that is available at St. Luke's United Methodist Church.
Reasons were tabulated and categorized into themes, consistent with the results for the Question from week 1. These themes were:
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