Dear, can you come up here?

That’s what my husband, Bill, said last year on the day after Christmas. I went upstairs to our bedroom and found him shaking and unresponsive. After screaming down to our son Zack to call 9-1-1, I did CPR (thank goodness for educational tv). Thankfully, within minutes our bedroom was packed with life-saving EMTs, leaving my sons and me watching in the hallway.

The cardiologist in the ER said something that I won’t ever forget…

He is very lucky to be alive

…lucky that we were home at the time, that EMTs had responded so quickly and that the heart attack had occurred in the back of his heart.  She couldn’t imagine how he had survived this massive heart attack.

I knew something our cardiologist didn’t, my husband was covered in prayer support! While the EMTs worked, I called some immediate family to spread the news and pray. I texted my pastor (who then was my boss and was finally out of town having some family Christmas time) and he passed the news along to staff and more prayers were on their way. And I also jumped online to update my twitter and facebook statuses, “Please pray. Hubby’s having chest pains, paramedics are here.”

Because of the situation, I didn’t see the responses to my online prayer request for several hours. But what I saw blew me away. My prayer request got an overwhelming response of prayer from friends and followers, and they shared my request with theirs friends as well. We had hundreds praying for us. My online small group was praying as well. I received many offers from online friends across the country to come and help. Wow! In my most alone hours, too exhausted to talk or receive a hug, I found comfort in online support of wonderful friends, many of whom I’ve never met. Of course, our church family jumped into action as soon as they heard. We had meals delivered, prayers, support in the waiting room through a 5-hour open heart surgery. I am still overcome when I recall the love and support we received.

Bill and I celebrated 25 years together a few days ago! I want to thank all my on and offline community of prayer support, and include you in our celebration! I know that your prayers made a difference. I am thankful for a loving God who hears us!

I’m really enjoying the book, “Trust Agents: Using the web to build influence, improve reputation, and earn trust” by Chris Brogan.  Chock-full of information, and practical advice about how to use it. I posted on Chapter 2 – Action Step #1 – Make It Your Game. You can see it and posts along the way on the book here.

Recommended resource for those wanting to improve your online presence and credibility. What books do you recommend?

It’s been awhile since I posted and I hope you’ll understand. Transitioning off a ministry staff takes time, even more so when we are purposeful about making it a healthy transition. I am so very thankful to Greg Lee for this video post he made, first because I can feel his heart-felt appreciation, and second, because he does such a great job explaining my transition. I love how God has worked through Suncrest to help me grow. I am blessed by how Suncrest continues to care about people far from God and help them cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus.  Bill and I will continue to attend Suncrest unless God calls us elsewhere.

So, what am I doing now?

• I’ve decided to take October as a month to unwind, reflect and recalibrate. I’ve learned many things about myself in the last 6 years doing ministry, both strengths and weaknesses.  I’m not going to go into those here, but would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t take time to learn from the experience.
• I am involved in two weekly small groups right now, one at Suncrest, one online. Both challenge and stretch me. And even though I’ve chosen to have a month of separation, God showed me isolation was not the answer. I need these groups more than ever right now, and they just ROCK! Thank you!
• I am also part of a blogging team for the book, “Trust Agents: Using the web to build influence, improve reputation, and earn trust” by Chris Brogan. I am convinced that the web is key for the next generation of outreach for the kingdom. The potential is endless and kingdom workers need to learn to navigate this tool so we can leverage it to God’s glory. Can’t wait to hear this group’s input on the book. The discussion has just begun here.
• October is crazy-full of church leadership conferences!  For the last five years, our Suncrest Group Leadership Team has enjoyed the GroupLife Conference at Willow Creek. I always loved getting away with my team to learn, eat, laugh and… eat some more. This year I’ll have an opportunity to sit behind the scenes as part of Willow’s volunteer social media team. Hope to enjoy the view from this different ’seat’. Then there’s the Cultivate09 conference (finally meeting my online group leader, Tony Steward, offline) and STORY (by Ben Arment – creator of the Catalyst conference). Both conferences look amazing, can’t wait to ‘tweetup’ with many twitter friends there. Plans are to live-blog as much as possible. Stay tuned!

At Suncrest, we’ve relied on an all-church study in the fall for 2 reasons…

1. Jump start small group momentum

2. Refocus on one of our four “C”s.

Generally, we keep the all-church study between 4-7 sessions, and groups have great curriculum liberty after that.

As group leaders step into leadership, I meet with them and talk about the need to be unified with what the church’s mission is. Leaders also sign a covenant which outlines their responsibilities. The first one being Unity, and it says, Leaders at Suncrest will always strive to protect the unity of the church. We will speak positively of other church leaders…etc.

So what do you say when a group leader doesn’t want to do the all-church study? When they’ve told their group they don’t really like the study? The reasons are pretty flimsy…Homework. Not cool enough.

Summer is a time when many pastors seek out guest speakers so they can enjoy time away with their family.  Or sometimes your 4-part teaching series doesn’t quite stretch to the fall kick-off series and you have a week buffer in between. Maybe you just want to build your teaching team.

Starting today, videoteaching.com has your solution…a free online library full of high-quality video messages from gifted Christian communicators. If you liked OnePrayer, you’ll love this!   Your church simply logs in, finds teaching that is a good fit for your church, and downloads the video. Stay updated by following videoteaching.com on twitter.  Thanks to our friends at Lifechurch.tv for making this resource available.

Check out other free resources from Lifechurch.tv here.

Went biking with some friends the other day and we found ourselves surrounded by a prairie filled with a variety of wildflowers, grasses, a deer and a few chipmunks. I commented the beauty of the orange and yellow flowers sprinkled throughout the tall grasses. But my friend said, well those are just weeds.

Why do we call something so beautiful a weed?

Is it only because man has judged that they are not worthy of our manicured landscaping? Or that they are less worthy than any other plant? How often are people classified as ‘weeds’…less worthy, or worse yet, even unworthy of love or compassion. Homeless, widow, handicap, poverty, addicted, race, geography, beliefs…all these, and more, are used to label and create distance between people.

God does not create ‘weeds’, just flowers.

We need to see people through the eyes of their beloved, through the eyes of our God… each person as beautiful, created in His image.

Team Digerati at LifeChurch.tv is always thinking ahead with new ideas and using new technologies, all to reach out and build the Kingdom. Their newest project, babelwith.me, makes online chatting with a global audience as easy as entering your name and choosing a language (45 to pick from).

This tool is priceless as online ministry continues to scramble to meet the trends of an online generation. Best of all, babelwith.me is available for free. Thinking of beginning an online service or ministry? Then checking out this new tool is a must!  Just go to babelwith.me and invite a few friends. Simple!

Inviting twitter and facebook friends is a nice built-in feature! Follow babelwith.me on twitter for the latest news.

Way to go Team Digerati!!

View more Microsoft Word documents from Kelsey Ruger.

While most of these are business-oriented, much of the information can be valuable to churches too.

If you liked this slideshow on Social Media, check out this site.

Pagan Christianity had us reflecting on church practices and how many were derived from the secular world. Once again, in From Eternity to Here, Frank Viola makes us stop and think about the validity of our modern expression of church. I think we are drawn into the discussion from a nagging sense that the modern-day American church lacks the passion, vitality, or spontaneity of the Acts 2 church.

While  I can’t say I agree with all of Viola’s assertions, I strongly resonate with some. For instance, I love the picture he paints of God’s love for us. “...So take heart: You are someone that God ’so loves.’ He has drawn you to Himself….in the moment when you feel the most unworthy, you are the most welcome.” I also agree with Viola’s emphasis on the church as the body of Christ as opposed to a religious structure bound by man-made limitations. “…there is a habitat that is native to our species as Christians. It’s called the ekklesia. And it is commonly translated ‘church’ in your New Testament. Ekklesia is not a building. It’s not a denomination. It’s not a church service…It’s a local gathering of God’s people who live as community and who assemble together regularly.”

“The church is called to gather together regularly to display God’s life through the ministry of every believer.” Agreed, but as soon as you begin to describe the how, you have once again resorted to man-made limitations. Maybe we need to revisit those churches from Acts. Those churches we all seem bent on reproducing today. What happened to them? Were they really as perfect as we think?  I’m not suggesting they were/were not perfect, but I do think that the best expression of individual churches today would be the one God is dictating to those He has called to lead them. As the body of Christ-at-large, there are great things happening! There is a greater sense of belonging across denominations, distance, generations and preferences.

I recommend reading this book if you want to be reminded of how much God loves and pursues you, and challenged to re-evaluate the practices you engage in both personally, in your church, and as the body of Christ-at-large. Thanks to Frank Viola for always challenging us to think about who we are in Christ, and how that is expressed in our lives and in our churches.

OTHER BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THE “FROM ETERNITY TO HERE” BLOG CIRCUIT

Today (June 9th), the following blogs are discussing Frank Viola’s new bestselling book “From Eternity to Here” (David C. Cook, 2009). The book just hit the May CBA Bestseller List. Some are posting Q & A with Frank; others are posting full reviews of the book. To read more reviews and order a copy at a 33% discount, go to Amazon.com

For more resources, such as downloadable audios, the free Discussion Guide, the Facebook Group page, etc. go to the official website: FromEternitytoHere.org

Enjoy the reviews and the Q and A:
—–
Out of Ur – http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/05/viola.html
Shapevine – www.Shapevine.com (June newsletter)
Brian Eberly – http://www.brianeberly.com
DashHouse.com – http://www.DashHouse.com/
Greg Boyd – http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/
Vision Advance – http://vision2advance.blogspot.com/
David Flowers – http://ddflowers.wordpress.com
Kingdom Grace – http://kingdomgrace.wordpress.com
Captain’s Blog – http://www.captainestes.blogspot.com/
Christine Sine – http://godspace.wordpress.com
Darin Hufford – The Free Believers Network – www.freebelievers.com
Zoecarnate – http://zoecarnate.wordpress.com
Church Planting Novice – www.churchplantingnovice.wordpress.com
Staying Focused – http://kimmartinezstayingfocused.wordpress.com/
Take Your Vitamin Z – www.takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com
Jeff Goins – http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org
Bunny Trails – http://bunny-trails.blogspot.com
Matt Cleaver – http://mattcleaver.com
Jason T. Berggren – http://blog.jasonberggren.com/
Simple Church – http://www.simplechurchjournal.com/
Emerging from Montana – http://wordofmouthministries.blogspot.com/
Parable Life – http://www.theparablelife.blogspot.com
Oikos Australia – http://www.oikos.org.au/blog/
West Coast Witness – www.WestCoastWitness.com
Keith Giles – http://www.Keith.Giles.com
Consuming Worship — http://www.consumingworship.org
Tasha Via – www.tashavia.blogspot.com
Andrew Courtright – www.andrewcourtright.blogspot.com
ShowMeTheMooneys! – http://www.showmethemooneys.com/
Leaving Salem, Blog of Ronnie McBrayer – http://leavingsalem.wordpress.com/
Jason Coker – pastoralia.missionaltribe.org
From Knowledge to Wisdom – http://isthistheway.typepad.com/
Home Brewed Christianity – http://www.homebrewedchristianity.com
Dispossessed – http://kblog.kevinjbowman.com
Dandelion Seeds – http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Dandelionseeds
David Brodsky’s Blog- “Flip the tape Deck” – http://flipthetapedeck.blogspot.com/
Chaordic Journey – http://jeffrhodes.wordpress.com
Renee Martin – http://www.reneemartinmusic.com/profiles/blog/list
Bob Kuhn – http://organicchurchnola.wordpress.com/
Living with Freaks: www.livingwithfreaks.com
Real Worship – http://therealworshipleader.com
Fervent Worship – http://ferventworship.blogspot.com
Julie Ferwerda Blog – www.JulieFerwerda.com /  www.OneMillionArrows.com
What’s With Christina?! – http://w2christina.blogspot.com
Irreligious Canuck – http://www.irreligiouscanuck.com
This day on the journey – http://guychmieleski.blogspot.com
Live and Move: Thoughts on Authentic Christianity – http://liveandmove.blogspot.com/
Spiritual Journey With God – http://www.elvineve.blogspot.com/

Dries Conje – http://www.echurch.co.za / http://www.thejesusfeed.com / http://www.bookdisciple.com.
Journey with Others – http://journeywithothers.blogspot.com
On Now to the Third Level – www.080808onnowto.blogspot.com
Christine Moers – www.welcometomybrain.net
Breaking Point – http://marybethstockdale.wordpress.com
Hand to the Plough – http://www.handtotheplough.com.au
Jon Reid – http://jonreid.blogs.com/oneanother/welcome-pilgrim.html
Weblight – www.blog.worldwidewebservices.se
D. L. Webster – http://gzmproductions.com/dlwebster
Searching for the Whole-Hearted Life – wholeheartedlife.blogspot.com

Are you a group leader who connects with members through the week on facebook? Are you a group director that has established a facebook group for your coaching team? Do you have a group twitter or blog? Does your group connect through online bible applications like YouVersion?  Are you a group that has created a ning page?  If you have other ideas… the rest of us small group leaders would love to hear them. Maybe you know of someone else who’s using Social Media to enhance their ministry? Please have them share their thoughts with us as well.

Just enter in the comments below. This can be an amazing resource for small group ministries!