Early this morning, I met with three great guys from our church to talk about Discipleship Triads at our church. They had been meeting together for several years (I was involved for a long time in one iteration of the group), but had been hearing about the triad modeling we are starting to use in our discipleship efforts and they wanted to learn more.
When we think about spiritual maturity or spiritual leaders in the church, we often look for people who are the most engaged, the most involved, the busiest. We often equate busy-ness and lots of activity with becoming more mature. But, as Willow Creek’s research called Reveal a decade ago showed, church activity is not a very effective predictor or driver of spiritual maturity.
I came across a great article (based on a book) which highlights three commonly forgotten aspects of spiritual formation: bodies, brains, and communion. You can read the full article here. The basic point is that we are not simply souls in a body, but body-souls in one. What we do with our bodies, how we feed and treat our bodies affects our spiritual lives, too. And, our brains are significant. They affect how we think and perceive and act in the world. As some of have become painful aware through brain cancer and Alzheimer’s when brains change, people change. It is worth investing in Christian counseling to deal with the traumas and pains of our lives so we do not simply bury these experiences. When we bury, these traumas find other ways to work out in our lives and it rarely leads to healthy wise choices. And then finally, we are made for community and we grow best in community where we are known.
This is the great value I have found in the two discipleship triads I have been in (triads split regularly). We share our lives with each other. We confess struggles and sins. At its best, we experience a small Christian community in which we are both known and accepted. AA is the most successful human change program be cause it offers precisely this place to be known and invited to change.
Following God is hard. Doing so alone is nearly impossible. If you want a community to walk with you, join one of our triads. Shoot me an e-mailand I will get you connected or teach you how to start one of you own.
Connect to God
An angry prophet. A fearsome and hated enemy. An overwhelming storm. And a surprising message of a merciful God to his people. The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are not religious, are familiar with Jonah: a rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there’s much more to Jonah’s story than most of us realize. As we continue our study of Jonah, the sailors as Jonah about who he is and we discover a prophet whose identity is rooted in his ethnicity rather than in his God. When we fail to find our identity in Christ, we create false gods and begin walking down a path of exclusion rather than the loving embrace of God.
This Sunday, we will celebrate communion, also called The Lord’s Super or the Eucharist. This is the family meal of Christians. We invite all committed followers of Jesus Christ to partake of this sacrament: those who are baptized members of a congregation that proclaims the gospel, who are at peace with God and with their neighbor, and who seek strength to live more faithfully for Christ. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not prepared to share in this meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer. We hope that this time is helpful to you as you consider your relationship with Jesus Christ and with His people, the church.
If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.
Grow in Community
Mark VanderZouwen underwent knee replacement surgery on Tuesday and is currently doing well and recovering at home. We also congratulate Mark on his 6th place finish in the national school bus driving competition over the weekend.
Barb Overweg underwent a thyroid biopsy on Tuesday as well and she is awaiting test results sometime next week. She asks for prayers for positive results and peace during this time of waiting.
We congratulate Justin and Amanda Vasquez in the birth of their son Hayden Henry Vasquez on Sunday evening. He was 9 lbs 3 oz and 20.5 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing great.
We also extend our sympathy to Jim and Elaine Schripsema in the passing of their nephew, Joseph, earlier this month.
Rev. Gerry Mahler, former pastor at Zion from 1977 to 1980, passed away last week Friday. The memorial service will be held this Saturday at Calvary Church of Wayland at 11:30 am. Visitation will begin at 10 am and conclude shortly before the service starts.
We still have several open volunteer opportunities during August in our Summer Children’s Ministries. You can sign-up outside of Rm. 205 on Sunday or you can sign-up through the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044cafad2ca2ff2-summer1
Serve the World
Our high school students continue to serve in Lincoln, NE throughout this week with F Street Church. Please hold them in your prayers both in their service and in the travels home.
If you are interested in learning about other cultures or exposing your children to other cultures and want to support global mission work, come out to Johnson Park on July 20 from 2-8 pm for a Taste of Bangladesh. All proceeds will go to support Bangla Ministries Worldwide. You will be able to sample Bangla food, see Bangla clothing and play Bangla games as well as enjoy a petting zoo, bluegrass music and a chili cook-off. More information can be found outside the church office or here.
Also, we will once again be collecting donations for School Supply Santa through Sunday, August 4. You can learn more about what is needed in the announcement at the end of this e-mail.
Administrative Details
Mark your calendars, our next Leaders Meeting will be on Sunday, August 25 from 5-7 pm. This will be a great night of food, worship, ministry specific training, and great time with friends. In addition, we will be conducting our annual training about our child protection policies this night. If you volunteer with children or teens in any capacity in our church, you are strongly encouraged to attend this meeting. You cannot serve in these roles without going through this training and a background check. We look forward to see many of you there.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared a little about the Vision 2020 team and potential changes for our denomination. At General Synod, our national gathering, they shared three broad options for how we could move forward as a denomination given the ongoing tensions around issues of human sexuality. Each of their three options contained several variations of the options. The first option was to do nothing and stay the same. While the Vision 2020 team did not think this was a realistic option, it is a possibility. Alternatively, we could simply rearrange the furniture, so to speak, and focus on key theological beliefs we share in common and allow for permissible differences on a variety of social issues. You can read more about the third option here.
We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget: $88,734.56
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $77,326.04
Hello Camp Zion Families,
