April 2018 Newsletter Article

Here is the article that I prepared for the April Newsletter.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Pastor's Ponderings

Hello everyone, by the time you read this Easter will already be upon us or maybe even past.  It's such a wonderfully chaotic time of year for us as a Church.  So many events and so much going on... at times it's overwhelming and there is always the danger that Jesus gets lost in all the preparing for Jesus.  I pray that none of us gets so caught up in the actions that we forget the reason for the season... Christ's coming to this world to address the 'sin' problem and the promise that He will come again.

As I write this I'm preparing for worship at Opportunity Living tomorrow, then we have worship Thursday night for Maundy Thursday, then the Cross Raising on Good Friday, and of course then comes Easter Sunday and all the activity of this most blessed day.  Perhaps you're reading this article on Easter morning, if so don't forget the Sunrise Service at 7 am, the breakfast at 8:15, the Easter Egg Hunt at 9 am, and of course Easter Sunday Worship at 10 am.  We will be baptizing three members of the Kuhlers family that morning and what a wonderful event baptisms always are!  Jared, Stephanie, and William will be joining our membership rolls and we are so very blessed to have them.  That morning we will also have special music by Nathan & Katie Burley, and a solo by Eric Holm.  We are so blessed to have such talented souls among us!  Thank you to Nathan, Katie, and Eric for sharing your gifts with us.

I also want to thank everyone who took part in the 24 hours of Prayer.  This is such a wonderful tradition and ministry here at Woodlawn. Thank you all for your devotion and for being genuine 'Prayer Warriors'!  God bless you all.

During the month of March, we had so many, many things going on and that along with the last snow has made it an interesting month.  We need to thank Clyde Westcott once more for all the snow removal he's done, let's hope with the coming of Easter that we are now past the need for the snow blower.  Thank you, Clyde!  

Among all the preparation for Easter, worship services, the meetings, the youth group, the various counseling sessions, the baptism classes, a funeral for a non-member, I also took in a two day 'Church Security' training seminar along with Clyde Westcott, Bill Hungate, and Jesse Gorden.  Clyde and I attended both days and Jesse and Bill each attended one of the days.  It was a very interesting seminar and we will be working towards adapting and adopting some of the insights that we gained.  I also purchased a couple of books (never put me in a room with books for sale) and a couple of videos which will serve as reference material for any changes we might make in church policy and procedures.

Starting on Thursday, April 5th, we will be having a weekly 'Contemporary Worship' service at 7 PM in the Chapel.  This service will be more casual and contemporary in nature.  If you have friends or family who might be more receptive to this kind of environment, please invite them to come and check out this new service time and style. Hopefully, this service will meet a need in the community, remember absolutely all are welcomed! 

Plans are being made for the Concert this Summer, so mark your calendars for July 21st and start telling everyone to plan to come and take in a great night of music and fun.  The concert is free so why wouldn't everyone want to come?  Remember to talk it up!  This year we have a whole new line-up and we'll be hosting three acts instead of just two, plan to be there... it will be a great event!

During April, I will be attending the “Prairie Pastors Conference” in Omaha from April 16th to the18th. This is a gathering of American Baptist Ministers from all over the Midwest.  Then on April 28th, I and several others will be attending in Des Moines a training seminar on grief given by Stephen Ministries.  These events along with the “Church Security” seminar will likely take care of most if not all the continuing education requirements that I will have for 2018.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter, a wonderful time of family dinners, coloring eggs with children and grandchildren, and just doing all those wonderful holiday things... but, remember to recognize and relay to your family why we are doing all these things... we do them because the Tomb was empty...

John 20:1-2 The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Always remember that we follow a risen Savior, a living God, who loves us so much He sent His own Son into this world to ensure that each of us can escape spiritual death and reside with Him in all eternity...  Praise God!

Be a blessing to someone today!  Pastor Roy