Ideas

My In-Box today has been just over-flowing with ideas!
It does appear that everyone has been busy over the weekend dreaming up good stuff.

Here's a recommendation for a book that might be great for the CPI pastors (and others too). Here's a great web site with wonderful preaching tips. Here's a terrific report from a congregation who had an amazing service on Sunday morning with a whole bunch of visitors, who'd come at the invitation of a young adult via his facebook page. What a great idea!

I've managed as well to collect two boxes of books from a dear friend who's downsizing and thought I'd have an idea about what to do with them. And invitations. I have invitations to attend any number of amazing activities and events. I really must pace myself, or I'll have so many good ideas of new things to do, places to go, people to see that I shall run out of time for them all.

So here is my advice to all you dear friends who keep sending me your excellent ideas:
Don't send me any more of them. Keep them and Do something exciting with them. Then send me the story of what your idea was, what you did with it, who helped you and what was the amazing and surprising result that was even more than you expected.

Now I'm not suggesting that all these good ideas that are coming my way are ALL being offered for me to do with by myself--although, all too frequently there is a tiny hint that "CEM should do something." But I am saying that my time is limited and is getting shorter every day. So do get busy yourself, because that will happen to you one day and you'll be glad of all the ideas you acted on.

And I shall love to hear your stories. Now, off with you. Get busy working on one of those great ideas yourself. Permission granted!

Posted by Marion

Yes

Now that you’ve had several days to get over the shock of “the answer is NO” I think it’s probably time for me to repent and offer some antidote to that somewhat harsh blog post of last week. The very fact that so much of that message was indeed true ought to give you a sense that, in fact, much of the time our beloved Mission Centre President does try to give the answer “Yes!” It’s a fact. As a former apostle of ours used to say: we’re in the permission giving business.

Much of the message all of us are trying to give is mission-focused. To be focused on ‘mission’ is to be anxious to be doing God’s work in our communities. What is God’s Spirit up to in your community and how can you get involved? How are we answering that omni-present question “what matters most?” All of those questions really, really require “Yes” answers.

So you’ll find that if it is at all possible, we’ll be figuring out how to give you a “yes” answer. Here are a few that will work:

• Is there are way to take care of some of this red tape that’s tying up our project to care for the homeless, bless the poor, serve the children, house the needy…?
• Can you offer any ideas about how we can have better worship, more interesting Christian ed programs, exciting vacation Bible schools, engaging discussion groups, useful budgeting workshops…?
• Do you know someone we might invite to help us get better at reaching out to the unchurched, improve our witnessing/inviting ministries…?
• Is there some way our congregation can tap into the potential of the Internet to keep our people connected or maybe engage our children and youth in ways that appeal to them?
• Do you think it would be OK if we disposed of some of these old books and set up a more useful library for the things our people really want to read about; maybe some more current resources like e-books and the like?
• Can we let community groups use our facilities for their cooperative cooking class for single moms, or their organic gardening project, or the family movie night, or…?
• Will you tell us how to get the permission we need for projecting music, or showing movies or offering computer classes or…?
• Is there something we need to do to ensure our kids’ programs are as safe as they can be?
• I think I have some skills or some experience and I've got a bit of time; is there something I can do to help?
  

You see, there are lots of things that will almost certainly get you a “Yes!”

See if you can find some in this list, or invent some of your own. Give us a call. We really like Yes questions best.

Posted by Marion