Closing the back door

One of the greatest gifts of our new building is how it has truly opened the front door to so many more people in our community. We are so blessed that God is bringing new faces and new personalities to be a part of our church!

For me, the biggest challenge in our new reality is understanding how to welcome these new folks effectively and help them connect to our congregation. I've recently signed up for a coaching network with Nelson Searcy, lead pastor at Journey Church. Nelson has a great gift for teaching churches to structure for growth.

This month, our learning is about "assimilation" -- not necessarily my favorite word, but very descriptive. I'm learning that it is hardest to earn that first visit from a guest (also learning that we need to be intentional about welcoming them as we would welcome a guest in our home). The next hardest task is to earn a return visit. Then, you have to help them want to become a regular attender. At this point, they either get connected in a small group and form relationships -- or they don't. If they don't, it is nearly impossible to help them see the benefits of membership.

I'm learning about some specific ways we can welcome our guests and help them feel the love of Christ. What I've already known is that every person or family that visits our church has made a very important choice to be there. They have chosen NOT to do something else so they could join us -- that is just the reality of the world we live in. And -- most of them are seeking a touch from God, deliberately seeking. What a gift! I want to lead us to honor this gift more intentionally and nurture more people into a life-changing faith than ever before.

More on this as I learn...Charla

Fall Small Groups

I'm looking forward to a very short-term session of small groups this fall.

The mission planning team is working toward a BIG day on Oct. 11, a day of BEING the church instead of just going to church. They felt a four-week session of small groups would be a great way for the whole church to prepare for this great day.

I'm looking HARD for a few more small group leaders. If you would be one of them, please send me an email: pastor@choctawumc.com

Thanks!

Recovery update/small groups update

I did see my surgeon last Tuesday, Aug. 5, for a 6 week follow-up visit. He looked at my x-rays and said everything looks great. He can even see the beginning of bone growth, which I think is tremendous for 6 weeks after surgery. I talked with him about my pain and he said that my spine moves differently now that L4 & L5 are fused. It changes the way my hips, knees and even ankles move and feel pressure. He wasn't surprised by my pain levels and feels it is likely the pain will continue to decrease over time, but he doesn't know for sure. As he said, "I don't have a crystal ball."

Since the week of VBS, I have had times of breath-catching pain. It is not constant -- and I do get relief fairly quickly after the pain hits...but it can be present most of the day, and surprise me at the oddest times. I do find it difficult to sleep most nights because every time I move, the pain will wake me up. I still find I need pain medication and a muscle relaxer to be comfortable at night, but Tylenol seems to do the trick during the day.

Dr. Robertson prescribed physical therapy for me. I started this morning. They are helping me strengthen my core muscles so I will maintain good posture and protect the healing in my back. I will go three times a week for a while. Dr. Robertson also encouraged me to continue wearing my back brace for at least another six weeks. He showed me how to adjust it so I can sit more comfortably in it. He even asked me to wear it while driving -- so in case I'm in an accident, it will provide some protection. I guess his final word to me was, "You need to slow down some. You're only six weeks out from surgery and you're trying to go full steam. It's just not there yet."

As for the small groups, I had to report to the Ad Council last night that I am just not ready for a fall launch. We discerned together (thanks to Janice C.) that it will be possible for us to reach the point where we can be a church OF small groups, not just a church WITH small groups. This fall, with the help of some great and dedicated leaders, we will be launching ourselves into a full-blown mission project. We intend to work toward a short small group session of four weeks to accompany this project. This will be a good trial run to see how it might work for some of our current small groups to try a new method.

On Wednesday, I'll be giving a more in depth report on our mission emphasis for this fall. :-)