doing the right thing wrong

went downtown to do the yearly trek to the post office to bring some needed tax relief to the people doing last minute filing...

arrived loaded with 6 barrels of water bottles and hundreds of tax relief stamp booklets...when we arrive i noted things were different this year...protesters for 'say no to unfair tax' were there in force.

i approached the police and asked what was up...he commented they are here to protest and hand out pamphlets...

duly noted we moved down away from the protesters to give space between our groups...light turned red we gave away stamps and bottles of water to grateful people lining up in their cars to hand in their tax forms...comments like...are you guys the vineyard?...wow thanks...who are you guys?...vineyard drivers commented...wow you guys really do do the stuff you talk about...

principle...light turns red we hand out water and stamps...light turns green we stop...police were grateful that we honored their request...

after about an hour and a half of successful outreach...the protesters moved in mass to our spot...bummer...now instead of smiling open people...people seeing the huge 'say no to unfair tax' signs now rolled up windows and looked straight ahead...sooo we nixed the outreach gathered up the remaining stamps and headed out...

i went up to the group and asked where the leader was...a guy asked why?...good question...i mentioned that whenever there is more then one community group doing good things it might be nice to notice and to engage in some conversation before taking over another groups spot...he asked 'what would you have us do?' ...i replied, 'that whenever there is more then one community group doing good things it might be nice to notice and to engage in some conversation before taking over another groups spot' and just like i'm talking to you it would have been nice for someone to talk to our group...he then asked a similar question...i mentioned that saturday we pulled off a huge easter egg hunt and had some ruffled feathers and took note of what to do better next year...and commented it might be good in the future to notice other community groups...

point:ever attempted to do something right and good and yet do it wrong...doing the right thing the wrong way?...

the protesters were doing something right...but it came across wrong...looking how we are perceived by others is important...

how many church groups attempt to do the right thing the wrong way? i wonder...it makes me pause, ponder and think...hopefully i can learn to do the right thing the right way...

by the way we gave water to most of the grateful protesters...hopefully in a right way...

outward...

Steve

Giant Egg Hunt

here are some pics of the egg hunt...

it's a beautiful day

I woke with U2's it's a beautiful day in my head...

wow...what do you do when an easter egg hunt is published as starting at 11am some people come at 10am believe it or not some show up at 1pm...

the minions line up around the huge area pressing against the barrier...crowds growing impatient...people still coming...drifting in...etc...for the sake of safety and sanity we blew the 'go get the eggs' at 25 past 11am...off and running the 15,000 eggs were gobbled up in approx 3min and 40 seconds...amazing to see...

all went according to plan...hotdogs cooked...prizes given...snowcones made and tons of popcorn eaten...rock walls climbed, giant slides slid, bouncy castles bounced, faces painted, and helium balloons given, park cleaned up...everyone in general had a good day...

hundreds of people kids and a few dogs...many amazing smiling, tired but fulfilled vineyard volunteers.

one happy, smiling, shining lady, 'our church attempted to do this on the property of the church...i'm glad you chose to do this away from the church out into the community...i think this is how it is supposed to be...churches reaching out, being a go to church rather than a come to church.' I agree...i think she is right...it was a beautiful day.

"Beautiful Day"

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town

You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere

You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace

It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
Was a beautiful day
U2

chipping away

don't know if it's known but we are a pretty good church...i ordered helium the other day, the guy on the phone said, 'you're that pretty good church up in indian ripple rd...i said, 'yep, we're not a perfect church' he commented, 'it's better to be forgiven than perfect' i said.'yep that's why we're pretty good...we are forgiven by the Perfect one.'

we also are working on prettygoodchurch.com and a blog http://prettygoodchurch.blogspot.com

below is a post from the blog

pretty good churches...chip away...

how often are pastors under pressure to be all together...to have all we envision in place...the reality... a pretty good church chips away...small steps help keep the church moving toward a future vision...looking to the not yet, but embracing the now of the not yet... or vision...Vision...those who dream of what could be will create what could be laurie beth jones

we move forward one step at a time, sometimes it seems like two steps back and one step forward...working toward vision takes time, patience and faith...often a pretty good mindset helps us keep focus...patient and plodding on...knowing what we envision will come to pass...

one speaker mentioned how every church make it...plodding on, one day at a time, learning not to drift through life on a river of routine but to have an active faith... our situation:a new paint job on the building...done...a children's area / ministry excitingly emerging...done... how? by keeping the end in mind and walking with small steps that create small but large changes... a new outreach adventure touching single parents... in process...

a pretty good church remembers we are all in process...the danger comes when we lose sight of the end...when we lose sight of the steps that need to happen for the not yet to become a reality we can become frustrated and enter into unbelief...

fact: a pretty good church...chips away in a positive, hope-filled mindset which over time produces the mission that keeps us on vision...think:the mission of Jesus was the vision...on mission=on vision...that's pretty good...as a pretty good church we are committed to the chip away.

gearing up

long busy day leading up to a long busy weekend...most of the leaders will be living at the vineyard from today to sunday and then an outreach on monday...keeping the reason...many people being exposed to the mercy and grace of God and hearing and experiencing the good news...is the main reason...focusing on the reason brings synergy and encouragement to walk in love and guard the ole heart attitude...we are expecting a lot of people...cool thing our parking lot should have enough gravel to be able to park on the lot...

what do you get

What do you get when you mix 15,000 Easter Eggs, over 100 volunteers, clowns, huge blow up bouncy castles, 1500 hotdogs, drinks, face painting, helium balloons and many, many kidz and parents…A Giant Community Easter Egg Hunt that's what...happening this Saturday at Delco Park 11am…

This event began 4 years ago when I first arrived in Dayton...we booked a smaller park Indian Riffle and were overwhelmed by the numbers of people who showed up so we moved to Delco Park…even bigger crowds...last March Easter was early...windy, rainy all the way up to the day of the event...I thought about canceling and had a dream where I saw cars lining up and yelled to a coworker Don’t Cancel! We had a good time…

The weather should be great for this years hunt….

mercy me 2

“Grace is what God gives us when we don't deserve it and mercy is when God doesn't give us what we do deserve”

John Wesley taught that people must be Christians in both word and deed, which were to express the love of God. He believed that Christians must grow in God's grace, which first prepares us for belief, then accepts us when we respond to God in faith, and sustains us as we do good works and participate in God's mission.

'And, First, with regard to works of mercy. "Take heed,"that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: Otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven."

-- Although this only is named, yet is every work of charity included, every thing which we give, or speak, or do, whereby our neighbour may be profited; whereby another man may receive any advantage, either in his body or soul. The feeding the hungry, the clothing the naked, the entertaining or assisting the stranger, the visiting those that are sick or in prison, the comforting the afflicted, the instructing the ignorant, the reproving the wicked, the exhorting and encouraging the well-doer; and if there be any other work of mercy, it is equally included in this direction.'

“Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending”
Herman Melville

“Teach me to feel another's woe,To hide the fault I see,That mercy I to others show,That mercy show to me.”
Alexander Pope

“The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.”
William Shakespeare

“I would lose my way again, be led hopelessly astray again, just so I can pray again...For the mercy in you.”
Sabian Depeche Mode

“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.”
Thomas Merton