People - Children

Bringing Out The Best In Your Kids

People - The Beach

I went to the beach yesterday afternoon for my first time in '09. My son and a friend of his and mine went with me and we had a good time with other friends in the sand and surf. As I came off of the parking lot and over the dune to see the beautiful blugreenish ocean with nice little swells I felt relief come over my shoulders, mind, and even my soul. It was good to enjoy the sand, surf and sun. It was relaxing and challenging to walk into the water paddle out and start trying to catch the first wave of '09. For a lurfer (a person learning to surf) the water and waves were nice. Good sets, not to mushy and just the right size for an inside lurfer. As I sat in my chair looking over the vast water and as I floated on my board in the water looking to the horizon while watching for swell to form I could not help but think how big God is and how small I am, yet the big God I worship know my name, my weaknesses, my strengths, my concerns, my joys and my hopes. He knows me. That is good news. He is real, personal, and involved. That brings relief. It also makes me desire to invite others to Him just as I often invite others to the beach.

P.S.
At the end of the day my son and I took a few minutes and shared God's message of hope with our new friend. In doing so we found out that he had accepted Christ a few years ago by some others friends sharing with Him the message of Good News, the Gospel. CooliO.

Purpose - Make Disciples

Make disciples who can make disciples or we are really not making disciples. - Steve Nethery

Purpose - Focus

Change as we need to focus on making disciples. Too many followers of Jesus have found their constant in church instead of God and therefore are not open to changing and adapting as we need to in order to help people accept JC as Savior and Lord.

People - Law Of The Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital! 'This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don 't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don 't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Thanks to Tommy Speight

People - Things Change

Power - Prayer and Revival

Logan County Revival

Power - God's Call

The call of God does what the call of man cannot. It raises the dead. - John Piper

Purpose - Time

Value Your Time
Valuing your time means being time-conscious, not time-anxious. This isn’t about cramming every spare moment of the day with an activity. Schedule your days, but schedule in time to relax. Schedule in time to putz around the house. Schedule in time to have dinner with your family. Schedule these kinds of margins into your calendar. Valuing time also means changing some of the mundane things we have to do into something meaningful through creative thinking. For example, use time in the car with your children to ask them a “question of the day.” That way you can turn a mundane activity into a meaningful experience. Here are four questions that will help you learn to value your time:
Is what I’m doing helping me reach my goals? This assumes you have some goals. It goes back to the question, What is important to me? If you can’t answer that question, you won’t have significant goals, and without goals, how you spend your time doesn’t really matter. In Alice in Wonderland, Alice comes to a big crossroads, and she asks the Cheshire Cat sitting on the fencepost, “Which way do I go?” The Cheshire Cat asks, “Well, where do you want to wind up?” And she says, “I don’t know.” And his response is, “Well, then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” Indeed. You’ve got to have goals. And when you do, you need to keep referring back to them to see if you’re on the right path in terms of how you’re spending your time.
Must I do it now? There’s an old saying: “Urgent things are the subtle cloaking of minor projects with major status under the guise of crisis.” We can be governed by the tyranny of the urgent if we’re not careful. As another old saying goes, “Important things are seldom urgent and urgent things are seldom important.”
Is there something more important that I should be doing? This goes back to the principle of setting priorities. Make sure you address your biggest priorities first, and then fill in with the lesser tasks and commitments.
Should someone else be doing it? The principle involved here is delegation. It’s often hard for ministry leaders to give up control of certain projects and details, but it’s vital for proper time management. Plus, it’s important in the development of your volunteers. You might be concerned that volunteers can’t do something as well as you can. It’s true that you need to delegate in different ways to different people based upon their ability. But if you never delegate, then your volunteers will never develop needed skills. Giving your volunteers the ability to do something you normally do— even if they only initially do it 85 percent as well as you could—frees you up to do something else of value to the ministry that only you can do. Let your volunteers learn by experience, and someday they might be doing the task better than you ever did.
Know That Little Things Add Up
So often we try to accomplish too much in one week or one month, and far too little in one year. When we try to accomplish too much in a short period of time, we get discouraged and burned out. It’s easy for a whole year to go by without accomplishing what’s possible in small, steady increments. This principle has tremendous applicability to all arenas of life. Two examples:
— The average reader can read 15 pages in 20 minutes of a normal book. If we took 20 minutes to read 15 pages every day, we could read 5,200 pages a year, or 26 200–page books.

— You can write a small note of affirmation or thanks in about a minute and a half. If you did that three times a week, you’d write 156 notes a year. What an encouragement that would be to your volunteers!
Take Care of Things the First Time
Boost your efficiency by dealing with things the first time around. Here are four ways in which you can take care of things at the beginning:
Decisions. Indecision is a great thief of time. Decision theorists tell us that 80 percent of the decisions we’re confronted with ought to be made right then and there, without delay. You might not have all of the information, but you’ve got enough information to make a good decision. Decision theorists also point out that a wrong decision made early is often better than no decision at all or a delayed decision. If you make an early decision and then realize another strategy would be better, you have time to make adjustments. So, when at all possible, try to make decisions when you’re prompted with the question.
Paper. Here’s your goal: only handle a piece of paper that comes across your desk once. That means you’re not necessarily going to pick it up as soon as it comes. Wait until you know you’ve got a small block of time to take care of it—throw it away if it’s of no value; if you think it would be valuable to someone else, pass it on immediately; and if it has larger implications than you have time for immediately, schedule it on your calendar and file the paper away until you can get to it. People who are not good at this can handle the same piece of paper 20 or 30 times. Try to get as close to once as possible.
E-mails. This goal is similar to that with paper: view it and act. Delete it, forward it, file it, or reply to it. Don’t let your e-mail inbox become full of more things waiting to be done. This means you shouldn’t open e-mail every chance you get. Wait until you have a block of time, maybe in the late afternoon when you have some creative downtime and can focus on whittling down the contents of your inbox.
Projects. If you can, follow a project from start to finish all in one fell swoop. This might require blocking out a significant amount of uninterrupted time from your schedule. That’s hard when you’re involved with ministry and people’s needs. It’s hard to say “I’m busy” to a person who comes to you with a need. But we need these blocks of uninterrupted time to get the important things done—for the sake of people’s needs. If you don’t do a good job planning the next year of the ministry because people are always interrupting you, who’s going to suffer? The people—the kids, the volunteers, and everybody associated with the ministry. So give yourself permission to shut the door and work on a project from start to finish. For some projects, it’s simply impossible to go from start to finish in one push. In those cases, employ “chunking.” Determine what the different parts of the project are, how long those parts will take, and schedule in those smaller blocks of time on your calendar.
Create a Thought Processing System
Our minds are asked to do three things:
1) To shuttle information. We ask our minds to store and retrieve information.
2) To handle incompletions. Things that require action or attention build stress within us. Oh, I’ve got to get that done. I’ve got to remember to do this. I’ve got to follow up on that. There are two things you can do to relieve the stress around incomplete things: — One, get it done. But that’s not always possible. So… — Two, write it down in a place that your mind knows you will not forget (like your calendar). That relieves the mind’s stress.
3) To do creative thinking. You can’t do creative thinking if your mind is loaded with anxiety about incomplete tasks.
Manage Your Time

To aid your mind in accomplishing the things you ask of it, you can utilize these practical tools of a life management system:

A calendar. You need a place where you can plan for the future and store incomplete tasks so your mind knows you’ll see it. This can be a palm pilot, a paper calendar, a Day-Timer, or whatever works best for you.

A prioritized to-do list. Keep yout to do list with you as you go through the day.

Be aware of the unexpected. Ask yourself where this unexpected thing fits on your to-do list. Is it more important than anything else on the list? If so, write it down and get to it immediately or in due time depending on where it fits among your priorities. Remember, you cannot do better than to do that which is most important. If you conclude that the unexpected event or issue is more important than anything else and it takes you the whole day to deal with it, go home at the end of the day and say, I did that which was most important. Find peace and satisfaction from that. Know that God is a sovereign God and he understands the pressures of daily life.

Seeking to make the most of time is not about time management it is about life management and leadership purpose. May you and I seek to be purposeful with our time for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Partnership - Mission/Educational Agencies

Lifeway

VBMB

Partnership

Partnership is the ability to be able to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organized objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.... Simply put, it is less "me" and more "we."

Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ's body... for we each have a different work to do ... each needs all the others. Romans 12:4-5 TLB

Purpose and People - Three Questions For Church Leaders

1. If you weren't on staff at your church, would you worship there? I think we've all served at churches that we wouldn't worship at. (I know I have). And many times we are in the process of transitioning them into a church that we'd love to attend. If you're in that position right now, this is still a great question to ask. Why wouldn't you want to worship there? And what is keeping other people away from the church that you serve?

2. If you didn't know ANYTHING about Jesus, what would you know about him after a normal weekend at your church? Think about your service yesterday. If you didn't know squat about Jesus yesterday morning; what would you know about Him or think about Him today? This is a question that we need to ask each and every week. How does your church communicate Jesus?

3. If you had a loved one who didn't know Christ, and they had one week left to live, would you take them to your church or another? In this last question, it goes one level deeper. How's your church doing at communicating the main message? Truthfully; would you take your dying unsaved mother to a service at your church or another church across town? How clear is the gospel presented in your church?

Craig Groeschel, Lifechurch

Purpose - Serve

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” 36 “What is your request?” he asked. 37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” 39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.” 41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:35-45 NLT

People Matter - WAY TO GO

During the month of May speak as many encouraging words as you can to family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors and people who serve you in local stores. May is a beautiful month in America as Spring really arrives and the summer months of fun approach. Children celebrate moving from one grade to another, many weddings are celebrated in May, College Graduations are celebrated, High School graduations are celebrated or are just a few weeks from being celebrated, Mother's Day is celebrated, and nature celebrates green and numerous other colors as flowers are planted in yards. So lets make May "WAY TO GO" Month. Let's celebrate one another and lift one another up. I know all is not perfect and life is hard at times. That is exactly why we need a "WAY TO GO" month. Move away from sarcasm, and cynicism and into encouragement. So plan on speaking words of encouragement, mailing words of encouragement, emailing words of encouragement, facebooking words of encouragement, twittering words of encouragement, sending pictures out that are encouraging, and catching someone doing something right or the right thing and say, "Way to go." Here are just a few statements that you and I can use to practice "WAY TO GO".

Job well done. You look sharp. Way to go. That is awesome. You are awesome. Happy anniversary. Thanks for being my friend. I love you. Let me buy you lunch. Way to go. Excellent job. Congrats. That is a nice _________. You are one smart kid. Great catch. Great shot. You gave it your best. Let's shoot some hoop. Let's play catch. Let's get some coffee. Let ________________. Way to go. You have pretty eyes. Great report card. You are now a Junior (whatever grade) and that is sweeeeet. Way to go.

Power - Prayer - NDP

I participated in the National Day of Prayer yesterday by praying throughout the day, viewing the Washington DC gathering via webcast and by attending a gathering in Downtown Portsmouth, VA. At the Sunrise Financial Ministry Team meeting the NDP was spoken about briefly by those attending. Prayer... America's Hope was the theme for this years NDP. I hope and pray that we who are followers of Jesus Christ will continue to pray fervently as many did yesterday. My we commune with God in times of quiet and solitude and converse with God about life, holiness, grace, truth, family, friends, revival, the Kingdom of Heaven and life here on earth. May we seek to be in tune with God throughout the day. May offer ourselves to Him in our daily routine so that routine is no more because we begin to understand that God is not routine. He is powerful, wonderful, real, mighty, and routinely unroutine. May we draw near to God. May we humble ourselves. May we pray as a group of ladies did in Southern California, "God, make up there come down here." (See John Ortbergs book, God Is Closer Than You Think). As an American, I am blessed to live in a country that recognizes prayer as an important part of it's fabric. I am grateful for the NDP and and the gatherings that took place throughout the country. However, may we continue in prayer. May we flesh out our prayer for peace, prosperity, helping the poor, being kind, and recognizing God as God and not we as God. May we walk the talk. May the rhetoric have results as I move beyond myself and as you move beyond yourself and into the glorious Kingdom of "God, make up there come down here."

Power - Repentance

12 "Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?' "
Joel 2:12-17

Partnership - One Another

The Gospels
1. “…Be at peace with each other” (Mark 9:50)
2. “…Wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14)
3. “…Love one another…” (John 13:34-35; John 15:12, 17)

Paul’s Letters
Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians
4. “Love one another”(Romans 13:8)
5. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…” (Romans 12:10)
6. “Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10)
7. “Live in harmony with one another…” (Romans 12:16)
8. “…Stop passing judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13)
9. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…” (Romans 15:7)
10. “…instruct one another” (Romans 15:4)
11. “Greet one another with a holy kiss…” (Romans 16:16; I Corinthians 16:20, II Corinthians
13:12; I Thessalonians 5:26)
12. “…When you come together to eat, wait for each other” (I Corinthians 11:33)
13. “…Have equal concern for each other” (I Corinthians 12:25)
14. “…Serve one another in love” (II Corinthians 13:12)

Galatians, Ephesians
15. “Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2)
16. “If you keep on biting and devouring each other…you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:15)
17. “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” (Galatians 5:26)
18. “…Be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2)
19. “Be kind and compassionate to one another…” (Ephesians 4:32)
20. “…forgiving each other…” (Ephesians 4:32)
21. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19)
22. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21)

Philippians, Colossians
23. “…in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3)
24. “Do not lie to each other…” (Colossians 3:9)
25. “Bear with each other…” (Colossians 3:13)
26. “…Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another” (Colossians 3:13)
27. “Teach…[one another]” (Colossians 3:16)
28. “…admonish one another” (Colossians 3:16)

I Thessalonians, Hebrews29. “…make your love increase and overflow for each other” (I Thessalonians 3:12)
30. “Encourage one another” (I Thessalonians 4:18, 5:11; Hebrews 10:25)
31. “…Build each other up…” (I Thessalonians 5:11)
32. “Encourage one another daily…” (Hebrews 3:13)
33. “Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24)

Other Letters
James, I Peter, I John, II John
34. “…Do not slander one another” (James 4:11)
35. “Don’t grumble against each other” (James 5:9)
36. “Confess your sins to each other…” (James 5:16)
37. “…Pray for each other” (James 5:16)
38. “…Love one another deeply, from the heart” (I Peter 1:22, 4:8)39. “…Live in harmony with one another…” (I Peter 3:8)
40. “Greet one another with a kiss of love” (I Peter 5:14)
41. “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (I Peter 4:9)
42. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…” (I Peter 4:10)
43. “…Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…” (I Peter 5:15)
44. “Love one another” (I John 3:11, 23, 4:7,11,12; II John 5)

Power - National Day Of Prayer

National Day of Prayer

Purpose - Helping People Accept Jesus Christ

Accepting Jesus Christ

We as leaders need to take a look at the churches website, churches material and other ministries to be sure we are relating a clear message of God's love and hope found in Jesus Christ. This is SCC's site. It is a good start, but needs more pics, and some video testimonies. We are working on it. How about you?

Purpose - Testimony

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
I Timothy 1:15-16

ALL 4

1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:1-3

Purpose - We Shine By Steve Fee

SCC'S band rocked this song Sunday morning, 5-3-09.

Purpose and Partnering - Good Read

Making Disciples

Power - Vision - MMI

I was challenged today: My dreams aren't big enough. Dreaming and envisioning the future is something I really enjoy doing. I'm a builder. I love to take an idea and run with it… create something out of it… and turn it over to others to take to the next level. I like to think of myself as somewhat of an idea guy. You know, the guy who comes up with a ton of lame ideas most of the time, and some of the time actually hits on something that has some possible potential. But today, I was stretched. I was talking to a friend who is on a church team that is doing some really cool things. You are probably using some of their tools in your ministry, and you might not even know it. I was impacted by the enormity of his ideas. These ideas will not just affect the church he serves, but other churches in his community, state, the nation; and literally the world. This is big stuff. And it's not just one idea that his team is working on; but a handful of significant projects, many of which will very likely change the way you and I do ministry in the future. The potential Kingdom impact will be long term and exponential. If these ideas take hold, they have the potential to win literally thousands of new believers worldwide. I walked away thinking… snap… my dreams are too small!
That’s the problem… my dreams are Todd-sized, rather than God-sized. You’d think I’d learn my lesson by now. God can do immeasurably more than I can ever imagine. And I need to revisit some of my ideas with a whole new perspective… a perspective that allows God to broaden the horizon that Todd thought he had down cold.
What are you dreaming about? Is it a you-sized dream or a God-sized dream? If you’re hoping to impact 50 people, then why not 500? Are you dreaming of things that only God can do, or simply attempting things that you can organize and pull off with your own ability?
Maybe you should join me this morning and re-think your strategy! Let me know what your new dream is! You can email me at http://webmail.east.cox.net/do/mail/message/mailto?to=trhoades%40mondaymorninginsight.com.
Have a GREAT Monday!
Todd Rhoades -- Editor / Publisher

Partnering - Rasnet

The Spence Network

People - The Harvest

Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. "What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!"
Matthew 9:35-38 The Message

Purpose - JFF (Just For Fun)

Purpose - Mission Outpost

Jesus, His Church, Mission Outpost

In those forty days between his ascension and his resurrection we have very few of his (Jesus) sermons recorded. Two of them were about his followers going into the whole world with a mission. The first occurred in Galilee on one of the mountains surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Matthew recorded that scene. Jesus said to his followers, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the world.” The second was immediately before he ascended. That is recorded in Acts 1. Jesus said, “Go down the mountain and stay in Jerusalem. Just wait. In a few days you are going to be bathed with the Spirit that I’ve been telling you about. And you are going to receive such power when that happens that you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus was ensuring his legacy. He was ensuring that his teachings and his compassion for the poor and his passion for people who are spiritually lost would be carried lived out by the church in the world.

Jesus didn’t found a retreat center. He founded a mission outpost. Retreat centers are great. But they are very different from mission outposts. I googled “retreat center” recently and the descriptions were similar. Here are a few:Surrounded by lush green fields, relaxing streams and breathtaking sunsets, your experience at the Walking on Water Retreat Center will be harmonious and unforgettable. Our retreat center is a place to escape and enjoy and let your creativity soar. A great place to escape and just have some fun with your friends.Those could be the mission statements of a lot of churches! A lot of churches have chosen to be retreat centers. But I don’t believe for a minute that Jesus intended to found retreat centers. Jesus wanted to found mission outposts! Mission outposts were and are those places where Christian missionaries go and plant themselves among people who are far from God and/or in great need. They are inconvenient and dangerous. They require an appreciation and understanding of the local culture and language. When I googled “mission outposts” I found stories of heroism and adventure. Like Frederic Baraga, “The Snowshoe Bishop” who came from Europe to establish a mission outpost in the harsh lands around Lake Superior in the early 1800’s to evangelize the Ojibway Indians. From his mission outpost he risked his life and nearly died more than once, but by the time he did breathe his last on earth he had baptized four thousand Native Americans.

See the difference between retreat centers and mission outposts?

A retreat center mentality builds walls. A mission outpost mentality builds bridges. A retreat center mentality wants guards. A mission outpost mentality wants scouts .A retreat center wants watch dogs. A mission outpost wants search dogs. A retreat center mentality says “the world out there is bad and we need to isolate ourselves.”A mission outpost mentality says “God is just as interested in ‘out there’ as He is our sub-culture in here.” A retreat center mentality fears being impacted by the culture out there. A mission outpost mentality wants to impact the culture out there. A retreat center mentality gives awards for the most congenial. A mission outpost mentality gives awards for the most courageous. A retreat center mentality’s theme song is “Kum Ba Yah.” A mission outpost mentality’s theme song is, “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go.”

Don’t get me wrong. People in a mission outpost depend on each other and help each other and, yes, love each other. When one is wounded the others help patch him or her up. The camaraderie in a mission outpost is deeper and more sincere than the shallow niceness of a retreat center. But the people of a mission outpost know that the place exists not for them, but for the people around them.

This is from Travis Collins who is pastor at Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, VA.

Power - Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.