Kids Ministry Information and Registration Form

Please take a moment to fill out the following information. This will help us in preparing for our summer ministries. Thank you!

Big Timber Evangelical Church Values Survey

The Peacemaking Ministry Team

Don Bray and I (Pastor Bryan) recently attending a Peacemaker training event in Seattle, WA on Conflict Coaching and Mediation. This was a three day training event designed to equip the church in assisting people experiencing conflict.

Why would the church want to get involved in helping people work out conflict?

Christians are encouraged to resolve conflicts in their lives within the church (Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 6:4; Ephesians 3:10; Hebrews 13:17). The church fulfills this ministry when it has people equipped to address the conflicts which tear apart many churches, families, marriages and organizations.

What is the foundation of peacemaking?

Believe it or not, it is the gospel. Believers need to be reminded of the gospel as the source for encouragement in our ongoing struggle with sin. Jesus died to reconcile us to God. Because of our fallen condition all of us need to be reminded of our need for God and his peace. In addition, we need to pursue peace with Him and each other.

We are developing a team of people to help us work out the conflicts the inevitable occur in life. Right now the peacemaking team consists of Don Bray, Susan Fremont, Dana Dribnenki, and me (Bryan).

So what are we doing?

Right now we are trying to teach the principles of peacemaking to our church body. First though, we are trying to learn them ourselves.

Are we available to help now?

Yes... Even though we are in process of learning how help each other deal with the conflicts of life, we are available to help now. Here are some things that we can do:

1. Provide resources regarding peacemaking,
2. Lead or help facilitate small group studies about peacemaking,
3. Train other leaders in peacemaking skills,
4. and Meet with individuals who are engaged in a conflict for prayer and coaching.

Feel free to contact the church office (932-5637) or talk to Pastor Bryan for more information!

Why a sabbatical?

Why a sabbatical?
As most of you know, the church has granted me (Bryan) a sabbatical during this coming summer. So what is a sabbatical?

A sabbatical is an extended period of time for church leaders to rest, restore, revision, and refuel for the future. It is time away from the tyranny of the urgent to focus on other things. These are all goals of this upcoming sabbatical. Here are some things that will happen both in preparation for the summer and throughout the sabbatical.

1. Study Time -- time for reading and writing.
2. Personal Mentoring - time with individuals who will challenge me to grow spiritually.
3. Professional Mentoring - time with other pastors and ministry leaders who can sharpen me for future ministry effectiveness.
4. Restoring Vision - time to focus on exploring God's call for me and for our church family!
5. Rest - time with my family without the daily demands of ministry pulling me away!

Currently the PPR (Pastoral Relations Team) and a Sabbatical Planning Team are working on preparing for this! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to talk to Betty Streeter (PPR Chair) or Dave Osen (Sabbatical Team).

One September Morning

One September Morning on the 103^rd Floor

 

The skies were partly cloudy, the temperature was 68 degrees, the wind was out of the west at 10 miles per hour. A beautiful day. At 8:45 A.M., people working on the 103^rd floor were pouring their morning coffee, straightening their desks, reviewing their Tuesday appointments, bantering with office mates, glancing at the harbor.

One minute later, none of that mattered. Twenty floors below, a 757 transected the building, leaving the 103^rd floor cutoff, trapped, hopeless. But not yet dead.

When you have ten minutes to live, what are you thoughts? What is important in the last seconds? As a tribute to those nameless faces staring down at us from the smoky inferno, can we stop long enough to listen to them? Seeing death from this perspective is not morbid: on the contrary, it can help us see life.

Those who found phones called—not their stockbrokers to check the latest ticker, not their hairstylists to cancel the afternoon’s appointment, not even their insurance agents to check coverage levels. The called spouses to say “I love you” one last time, children to say “You are precious” one

 last time, parents to say “Thank you” one last time. Through tears they called best friends, neighbors, pastors, and priests and rabbis. “I just want you to know what you mean to me.” And surely those standing on the brink of another world though of God—of truth and eternity, judgment and redemption, grace and the gospel.

 

Imminent death has a commanding power to straighten life’s priorities with a jolt. At such dramatic moments, people suddenly realize that priorities matter.

 

Tragically, however, chronic overloading obscures this truth. How we live influences how we die, and misplaced busyness leads to terminal regrets. If we don’t move to establish and then guard that which matters most, the breathless pace of daily overload will blind us to eternal priorities, until one day we too stand at such a window and look down. Perhaps with regret.

 

Slow the pace of living until you again remember that day. If that were you on the 103^rd floor, what would have been important? Live it. Don’t hide behind the excuse of overload. Daily make space in your life for the things that matter most.

 

 

 

Swenson, Richard A., M.D., A Minute of Margin, NAVPRESS, 2003.

7 Ways to say Thank you to God!

Here are some of the thoughts that came out of last weeks message! If you missed Sunday you can find the message under Resources and Sermons on the website.

Thanksgiving

1. Spend time with Him (not just 1 hr a week)
   
2. Forgive others
   
3. Serve others ("when you do this, you do it for me")
   
4. Witness
   
5. Help those who are hurting or those who are in need.
   
6. Give God the best of your time, talents, and tithe.
   
7. In your praise and worship.
   

Our Thanksgiving should include:

• The Blessings of Life
• The Burdens of Life
• The Benefits of Life

Faith Begins at …………………?

Where does faith begin? Well, yes it begins when a person puts their trust in Jesus, but where does it begin locationally (Wow, what a word!)?

Where do we live out our faith?

Let me answer a little bit of the question for you by saying that it's not a church. If faith is lived out at church then what happens to our faith the other six days of the week? The number one reason why non-Christians struggle with Christians is because so many Christians have a one day a week faith (Sunday). The Church is not the place where you live out your faith, it is where you are encouraged in the faith and the people with whom you are equipped with in the faith through worship, discipleship, fellowship and the other essentials of faith.

So where should faith begin? If you really want to know read on.
Do you have a home? Is your house full of kids? Are you married our single or living in the so called "empty nest?" If you answered "yes" to any of the above then I have news for you. The home--your home--is where faith gets lived out. It's where faith wears shoe leather. This is the way that author and pastor Mark Holman, one of the speakers during the the Focus on Parenting Simulcast describes it. The Biblical word that we use for where faith begins is incarnate, which means "takes on flesh." Otherwise as, the home is where a faithful person becomes a fruitful person. It is where the single person honors God in how they spend their time, the media that they expose themselves to, the things that they do when no one else is looking. Its where the husband not only does the same but also loves his wife "as Christ loves the church" and sets a Godly example for his wife and children. Its where the wife lives out respect for her husband and encourages her children to grow physically and spiritually. Its where children learn to honor their parents and make good choices. And so on...

It also where we are the most vulnerable because the home is the place where we are who we are, if you know what I mean. It is where we lose our tempers and say things that we wouldn't say in public. It's a lot more difficult to live out our faith at home than it is around the church because we can't put up appearance as easily at home.

So what can we do?

We can (You can) GET HELP FROM GOD.

1. Find encouragement in his Word, the Bible. Read his word reflectively and with the purpose of applying it to your life. If you're a parent or grandparent a great passage to start with is Deuteronomy 6:1-19. Actually, its a great passage for anyone regardless of the situation.
2. Spend daily time in prayer. Pray for each one of your family members (especially if they have not yet connected to Christ). Pray for daily wisdom and strength, that you can live out your faith at home, at work and in the public arena.
3. Spend time in confession. In what ways have you fallen short in your faith. Confess it to God.
4. Repent. (It means turn around) If you have gone the wrong direction, so to speak, then turn around and get back on track.

What about starting a daily time (personal) and or a family time (with your spouse and kids) of seeking God? Easy ways to do this:

• Pray before meal times. This is a 3 time a day connection time with God to thank him for both the food and friends he gives us. Families should try to eat together at least 1 time a day. Families can use the time to talk about daily events and parents can use these times to help kids connect with God.
• Activities. Plan a daily activity to help you live out your faith. What about sitting down with someone daily to talk about your work, life and or thoughts. How would you like to grow in your  faith or lived out your faith in each of these areas? For those who are married talk about this together and then commit to praying for each other.
• Finally, get connect to a more extended group of believers through a small group. (We really need to kick off a couple more of these.)

If there is anyway I can encourage you in all of this please let me know.
In Christ,

Pastor Bryan