A New School Year ...

By Susan Greeves

So here it is school time. Kids going back to private school, public school, charter school, and home school (or for some of us home schoolers it's just getting into a structured routine). I've been impressed upon that people tend to stereotype every avenue of choice there is. I've heard several times that people will say, 'oh your children are so well behaved, they must be home schooled' It boils down to this; it isn't the choice of education that makes the children the way they are; it's being raised in a Christ centered home that makes the difference. I'm going to use this as a springboard for some thing that has been on my mind lately. It's not the actions of the choices you make but what's in your heart of why you made those choices. No matter what area in life you are talking about; nursing-bottle feeding; eating organic-eating the best food your finances can buy; 'regular' birthing opposed to planned c-sections; homeschooling, private schooling, public schooling; EVERYthing has at least two sides to it, and it's only the heart that God is concerned with in the choices that aren't sinful either way(is this glorifying to Him and His kingdom--is Christ's reputation at the center of this thing we are choosing and He is allowing?). He is grieved if we "don't care" and just live life like we don't read the bible and don't measure our choices by what He says. It says in James 1:22" 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says". And He is grieved when we don't show our faith by our actions in matters of choice concerning sin.James 2: 24 "24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." But a lot of things we do in this life, are choices He allows us to do different from one another, and are not sin issues. Choice and His allowance of the follow through or outcome of that choice will glorify and honor God on His terms, not ours. Romans 8:28"28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" and Ephesians 1:11b "according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will".

This brings me to being a good steward of what He gave us, children, earth, resources, schools of all types, etc etc. Wikipedia defines the biblical world view of stewardship as: "'Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.' The central essence of biblical world view stewardship is managing everything God brings into the believers life in a manner that Honors God and impacts eternity." We need to use this definition as something to measure our choices up against, even the ones that have so many sides to choose from, and none of which are sins. And we aren't all going to choose or be able to choose the same things. We may want to, or not want to, but if God wants us to or doesn't want us to, then it will or won't work out-His outcome, after a heart that wants to glorify Him. We need to be edifying each other, building each other up, encouraging each other to keep Christ at the center, not whatever the choice is (as if it's a better choice than someone else's).

History repeating itself!

By Steve Ranney

Genesis 47:13-26 "Joseph and the Famine"

In olden times when Egypt had a serious famine, everyone ran out of food, so Pharaoh bought up all of the grain and sold it back to the people. When everyone ran out of money, Pharaoh took over their livestock for grain. And when they ran out of livestock, Pharaoh took over their land for food. Eventually the people were fully beholden to Pharaoh.

2010. We are broke. Homes have been forth closed. Health plan has been taken over by the government. Banks, real estate typhoons, the auto industry and others have been taken over by the government. Almost half of the entire population in the USA are being supported by the government by either subsidies of some sort or paying no taxes. Who can retire without the government and social security? Everyone is in bondage to the government, just like Pharaoh.

We only have one God, and that is not the government. Moses lead the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt. Our country was built out of tyranny in England and with Christian values. We cannot allow our county to return to the bad ways of the past.

A Response to a Call to Disciple

By Susan Greeves

Wow, Pastor Dan's sermon was excellent and hit the nail on the head in every way that God has been speaking to me! Challenging me to continue with discipling, not only discipling my children, but having a humble-a teachable spirit to BE discipled continually too.

Wikipedia defines the word disciple as this: "The word disciple is used today as a way of self-identification for those who seek to learn from the teachings of Jesus, such as the Sermon on the Mount." Wikipedia also says that while Jesus had a large number of followers, it was not clear if they were actually disciples (my own paraphrasing). I would agree, just because someone knows about Jesus, doesn't not mean they are actively seeking to learn His ways--the difference in "head" knowledge and "heart" knowledge.

I find that I say that I want my life to be submitted to God to allow Him to transform me, but I find myself taking back that submission over and over again (not necessarily in all areas of my life at once, but different ones at different times). I need to continually become humble-to allow my spirit to be teachable. Praise God that it's my heart that he looks and not my outward actions--it's my continual renewing of seeking His knowledge that He is able to glorify Himself through His transforming power in my life. What a wonderful power His transformation is, without me changing myself on my own power, I look back and see how He has changed me in so few years since accepting His son as my Savior and Lord of my life.

Let me switch gears here for a minute to what I've discovered discipling is not: I've realized that discipling is not telling someone else HOW God should be working in their life or that He will "come through" for them the same way as He did in my life. He works completely different in one life to another. When we disciple another we help them seek Him and His way for their responses to their circumstances in life (allowing Him to glorify Himself through us). We may use our similar experiences to prove God's faithful, but not to say that's how He will work in their life. We have to becareful not to tell someone else how God will work, but to encourage that He IS faithful and will work, if we seek Him wholly. Praise God!

A week in Haiti

By Eric Miller

(to see more pictures check out his blog - www.ericmillerblog.com)

I had the awesome opportunity to spend a week in Haiti from July 29 to August 5th and I can honestly say that it was one of the best weeks I’ve had in a long time. I’m also convinced that for the past 6-8 months, God had been preparing me BIG time for this opportunity. I’d like to tell you a little bit about the story of how I got to Haiti and let the video and the pictures tell the story of the week. I know that’s not usually how these things go, but if you’d like to hear more specifics about the week ... then you’ll have to take me out for coffee :) because I’m convinced that the coolest part of the story is what God did leading up to this week!

(I know this is long, but trust me ... you won’t regret reading it!)

In December of 2009, I had some hard decisions to make. The short version of the story is that I was about to take a significant pay cut at the church due to the economy and I was questioning whether God wanted me in Frederick as the Youth Pastor still. I spent several weeks praying about it and seeking the Lord’s Will the best that I could and by the beginning of the new year I was sure that this is where God wanted me to be ... right here in Frederick. The funny part is that I knew this would be the place where I would have to depend on Him the most and depend on myself the least. Little did I know what he had in store.

In January of 2010, with the pay cut now in effect I knew that I would need to start looking for a part-time job. And I found one working at a local middle school with an after school program. Truth be told, I really wasn’t all that excited about having to do this job just to supplement some of my lost income and was bummed that I was losing hours that I felt I needed to fulfill my role as Youth Pastor at the church. At the beginning my attitude probably wasn’t where it needed to be and I was pretty much just focused on myself. But I knew that this job had some potential because not only would it help me make the money I had lost in my pay cut, but I knew that it could open some doors and give me an opportunity to get to know some more students in the community. So I tried to make the most of it and gave it my best. What I quickly found out was that God was truly at work here. I ended up making $5 a month more than I had before my pay cut (see God does have a sense of humor - now I was “making money.”) But more importantly it was in the relationships that I built where I saw Him working the most. The director of our program was also in full-time ministry as her husband is also a Youth Pastor and I got to work along side Adam Forsberg as well, who was a part of my Youth Staff at the church and would later become my summer intern. Also on our staff at the school was another area Youth Pastor and a guy who lead a college aged Bible Study! If it hadn’t been for this part-time job, I might not have ever met these wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ and partners in the ministry.

In February, God started breaking my heart for some of the students at the school. Adam & I decided that we were going to start praying for them specifically by name and that we would were going to look for opportunities to encourage them if we could in any way. One of the students came on our Winter Retreat with our youth group and one other has since come to our Youth Group and many of the students from the program have started going to the Youth Group of the other Youth Pastor! It was amazing to see God use us as we built relationships with these students. But more than that, it was a wonderful partnership with those who I worked with. SO much so that my director’s husband got in contact with me and presented me with another opportunity. His name is Justin and he told me that he had recently co-authored a book with a good friend of his, Jeremy, and that he was in a band and they would be going on a book tour soon to promote their book. Well they asked if I’d be interested in having them come to our Youth Group to close out their tour. After learning that the band was WILLET and realizing that I had met them a year or so before at a Youth For Christ event that I spoke at (and they lead worship for) I was very excited to have them come. It was awesome getting to know Justin & Jeremy better as we prepared for that night and I learned that they are as passionate as it gets for the Lord and that God was doing amazing things in their lives.

The night that they came to our Youth Group, they presented our students with an opportunity to sponsor orphans in Haiti. We quickly learned that Jeremy’s wife, who is a full-time missionary in Haiti, works directly with many of these orphans and that she was in Haiti when the earthquake hit. I felt strongly that night that God was calling me to do more than just sponsor a child, but at the time I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Our students ended up sponsoring 25-30 orphans for a year and we invited WILLET to come back to our church again a few weeks later to lead worship on a Sunday morning. That Sunday, they gave the same invitation for our church to sponsor some children and another 45-50 were sponsored. It thrilled me to see this partnership with WILLET and our church and to see how God was moving in these two times that they were leading us in worship. So I talked to my former roommate (Matt Johnson) who had heard about WILLET’s matching grant for their book and we decided that we needed to do something else to help them raise some money for Haiti relief efforts. And thus our Dodgeball for Haiti Tournament was born. We were able to raise over $12,000 for disaster relief funds through WILLET and Food for the Hungry and this matching grant. This also gave us another opportunity to present the gospel to students in the community that we wouldn’t normally be able to reach.

Finally, this past spring, my college roommate sends me an email and says that he recently signed up for this one week trip to Haiti and that there’s only a few spots left and I should sign up to go. I truly wanted to go, but my mind quickly went to all the reasons why I wouldn’t be able to ... I had already been gone a lot from work over the summer, where would I come up with the money on such short notice, my passport had expired the summer before and on and on! Well I decided I’d at least ask our Senior Pastor to see what he’d say and he was really excited for me to have the opportunity and said I should go. So in less than 2 months time, I was then able to renew my passport, raise all the money that I needed, got my airfare booked 3 days before I left town and had a summer intern to cover for me at the church!

And while I was in Haiti, God truly renewed my heart for his Word, for His people and for the work that He’s doing in Haiti on a whole new level. It truly was a wonderful week and I cannot wait to help lead a team from Grace Community Church with Matt Johnson back to Haiti sometime in the next year or so (assuming God allows it!)

WOW! And seriously ALL of that happened because I made a hard decision to put my faith and trust in God when humanly speaking it made no sense at all. Praise God for my pay cut and for having to get a part-time job!

Serving for Him

By Angie Fogle

When I heard the questions asked last Sunday, “What can you do to serve God?” I immediately started to ask myself these questions. When would I fit “serving” into my already hectic schedule? What if I don’t know exactly what to say or do? What if I am not as effective as someone who might have more experience or be more knowledgeable in God’s word? Satan was truly working to make me believe that I am not good enough to serve.

I turned my thoughts to a time when others blessed me by serving my family and I. We had just brought a newborn home from the hospital and our small group and family organized meals to be served to us. The last thing on my mind after coming home from the hospital was what I would be making for dinner. I just wanted a little sleep! What a blessing it was to eat a hot meal that I did not have to prepare.

In last Sunday’s message, Pastor Mike reminded me that God will equip us to serve. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” ~Ephesians 4:11-13. God never intended for us to serve out of perfection. I don’t need to be perfect; I just need to be willing and available. My prayer is simply this, “Lord, show me where I can use my gifts, talents and even brokenness to serve others and bring glory to you”.

A Life Submissive

By Susan Greeves

There is a difference between someone who just simply chooses to do things for Christ and one who submits their life to Christ - dies to self - so that He can live through them --doing what He would have them do --and that "doing" comes naturally. Corrie Ten Boom says "If you want to be used, we needn't rely on ourselves, because it is the Holy Spirit who does it". Oswald Chambers states: "The one marvelous secret of a holy life is not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you". In fact Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest has a lot to say about letting Him live through us. He says this too: "How often we forget that our lives are not our own-but God's gift to us. We muddle our lives with OUR intentions--we need to remember to leave it to God. We are His servants. Isaiah 49:5 "And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be His servant."

Everywhere I look, it points me back to surrendering MY will to God, allowing Jesus to live through me--not me choosing to do things FOR HIM; separately from Him, but to let Him LIVE through me so He's the one doing things. It's the work God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. "Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Psalm 5:8"Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn". Isaiah 61:3 says "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting OF the Lord FOR the display of his splendor" it says that we are planted here BY Him to show His splendor through us, not to plant us then say 'ok, glorify me', He does the glorifying too, THROUGH us- His way, not ours. How awesome is that? All I need to do is to continually abide in Him and Him in me, to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."2 Corinthians 10:5b.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:15 "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again". How much clearer can it get! I'm so excited by this, it took a huge weight off my shoulders. I just have to let Him and He will glorify Himself through me--the way He intends. Wow!!! How freeing.

When we wake up in the morning, and breath, we've missed the mark-so how can any of my efforts on my own be pleasing or righteous to Him? Plus I don't have to earn my salvation, He did it for me because He made me (just like everything in creation- to glorify Him), and wants me to come back to Him, to live eternally with Him-and to tell others how much He loves them before I do come home. Why would I be so arrogant to think that what I want to do for Him is what He wants from me?

What He wants is for us to obey Him; to show love to Him for His mercy and grace He gives us; to surrender our will; to choose to be submissive to Jesus is the only answer. Everything else will follow. Praise God!

(Just a side note, I do realize how sinful I still am and always will be in this world, and I do pull back my submissiveness, sometimes taking the reigns myself, and thankfully God will still work it for the good-- Romans 8:28. I am so grateful for His mercy and grace. "What a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead." another quote from Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest.)

Preparing for South Africa

By Lisa Catania

My family and I are now officially leaving in less than a month on a mission’s trip to South Africa. We have never done a missions trip before. However, when we heard about this opportunity both my husband and I looked at each other and said, ” We need to do this!” Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

This past year we have been planning, organizing, praying, and raising support. What a journey! I must admit we have wrestled with questions of….what were we thinking?...this is crazy!....we are endangering our kids….are we going to be eaten by a lion?.... I am taking a live virus to keep me from getting it? Am I nuts? Honestly, those thoughts crossed my mind. However, God has carefully calmed our spirits with peace through the Psalms. Psalms 37:23 “The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord.” Ok….God is guiding us. Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”  Ok…God will protect us.

This journey has really taught our whole family to surrender. We can’t plan for everything. We won’t fully know what we will face. We just know God is in control and we need to surrender our lives to whatever He has planned for us. Philipppians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.”

So we ask for your prayers for our family and the entire team heading to South Africa. Please pray for peace, safety, and that we may glorify God in all that we do. (…and not get eaten by a lion!)

Letter to GCC from the Disciples Of Christ Outreach Church

Praise the Lord, this is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it!

It’s an honor to give a testimony of thanksgiving about a church such as Grace Community of Frederick. As the Pastor of Disciples of Christ Outreach Ministry it has been my joy and burden to serve the inner city communities of Washington D.C. and Suitland Md. Thanks to your support we are able to work with and reach out to our community with the gospel message of Jesus Christ. The Bible says “Let everything that hath Breath Praise the Lord.”  Today we praise and thank God for your friendship and support.

Over the years Grace Community Church has placed its arms around our ministry and has aided us in our spiritual acts of service such as; our annual food drive and basket giveaways, our annual coat drive and give away, our back to school community outreach and our, We care community mission focus.

I also thank God for the leaders and members of Grace Community, because of their kindness we have been able to develop wonderful relationships and engage in awesome times of fellowship. I especially recall the time Pastor R Greene and other leaders came to D.C. to support one of our many outreaches throughout the year. They aided us by going door to door inviting people to come out to our ministry and share in a special service we were planning the next day. The group came in with such an awesome energy and they had gifts for everyone they would come in contact with that day. They brought beautiful flowers with them and on the flower pots was a scripture verse and message which stated “We Care.” 

This really blessed our hearts and the hearts of many throughout our community.  Days later it was such an encouragement to walk the community and see many homes blessed by the gift of flowers and scripture reminding us all that God cares. This is just one of the many acts of kindness we’ve experienced from our wonderful church family in Fredrick.

In our absence this year we pray that the Lord will continue to bless and keep you as a ministry, full of light. We pray that you will continue to walk in the power of His might knowing that all things work together for good for them that love the Lord and are called to His purpose.

Disciples Of Christ Outreach Church or as Pastor R calls us “DOCOC” pray that you will continue to support our wonderful work. That our ministries will unite as one to continue the work of the Great Commission. Your sacrifice of giving has enabled this ministry full of struggle to not walk alone. Your generosity has placed hope into many men women and children as we’ve shared the gospel message of salvation together.

Special thanks and blessings to Pastor Greene, Pastor Brubaker, Pastor Miller, Pastor Kyle and all those who make Grace Community a special church.  

Last, special thanks to the one who planted the seed for our ministry to blossom the late Pastor Dr. James Dixon and family.  A true inspiration of faithfulness, whose legacy lives on throughout the many churches and missions throughout our fellowship.


In His Service,

Pastor Kevin and the D.O.C. Church Family

Update on the life and thoughts of Jimmy Greene

Hello my friends, Jimmy Greene writing to let you know some of the things that have been on my heart and mind these past few weeks. I recently returned from a much needed vacation with the family and sabbaticaling (if thats a word) father. The combination of the waves, sun and sporadic 10-12 mile runs on winding canal roads culminated in quite a relaxing atmosphere. My heart is filled with joy to be back in Frederick and to continue my work here with the adult and youth praise teams.

Some exciting things are coming your way to a Grace Community Church (of Frederick) near you...Saturday the 14th will feature another Toast and Jam opportunity for musicians in the church. See the bulletin for more info. In addition, August 14th will also feature a worship night from 7-9. The praise team will be worshipping in the FLC, come and join us! This will not be a structured "by the book" service. Our only agenda will be to praise and worship the living God. Amen!

To my shame, I recently watched Iron Man 2. I cant honestly say the film was worthy of the $3.25 ticket price at the Holiday Cinema theatre (one of the best kept secrets of Fredrick). As I frantically searched to take something away from this action packed, melodramatic film, my efforts were continually thwarted by Robert Downey Jr.'s over-inflated ego.

Then, redemption...One line in the movie caught my unwavering attention (and ensuing scrutiny). The Russian antagonist exclaimed after a "thwarted" attempt at taking Iron Man's life that, "If we can make God bleed, people will stop believing in him." This struck me as odd because our God DID bleed and that is why we believe in Him. One of the many mysteries of the gospel involves what has been often called the God-Man. How could God, a fully perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent being inhabit and dwell inside man who is temporal and finite. Although some questions require faith, as the answers may not be readily accessible, I am reminded of God's tremendous love, compassion and humility to undertake such a feat. Why didn't God  summoned a great host of angels to protect Him while the Romans proceeded to torture and crucify submit to death?
 
This question of a fully competent/powerful and equally submissive, compassionate, loving God has eluded philosophers like Nietzsche and Marx who argued that passivity in this regard would be a sign of weakness. In the world of Nietzsche and Marx, the "real" men are completely self-referential and only concerned with their personal gain. On their account, the mere thought of a God who would humble Himself to the cross, to die for sinners and enemies is not only baffling, it is lunacy.
 
However, Jesus' actions were not for the benefit of the Son. What these thinkers fail to see is that Christ was operating out of His tremendous love and compassion for us. The chasm that man had created between himself and God was only rectified by the sacrifice of a truly perfect Lamb...Jesus. My friends, although God was completely powerful on the cross, He was perfectly submissive to the will of the Father. He did this for us.
 
Stay strong in the faith my friends.

Who Are You Investing Your Life In?

By Adam Forsberg

Luke 12:48b: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Usually when we read this verse our mind jumps right to money and the financial aspect of our Christian life. While this verse does pertain to our finances, I also believe that it applies to our knowledge of God, and the growth in our relationship with Him. The more that we know about God, the more that we need to be passing on to others. This is a biblical concept know as discipleship.

A discipleship relationship is when a Christian who has been growing in their relationship with Christ comes alongside of a younger believer to help them grow in their faith. The main goals of discipleship are for the younger believer to develop Christ-like character, and for Spiritual maturity in Christ to be taking place. This is more than just sitting down and having a Bible study, it’s being a part of their life. There are two ways that the discipler impacts the person he’s discipling- transmission of information, and transmission of example. Paul is a great example of this. In 2 Timothy 2:1-16 we see him doing this with Timothy. Paul talks about the experiences that they shared together in ministry (vs. 2 “and the things you heard me say in the presence of many witnesses…”), and then goes on to give Timothy information about God and how to apply it. Paul teaches Timothy by example and by passing on information. It is also crucial to remember that God’s promise, working, Spirit, grace, and Word are ultimately what is changing people’s lives.

My challenge to the church is to find somebody to invest your life in. This past year I had the privilege to disciple two guys in the youth group, and it has been an amazing experience. It’s been awesome to see them grow in their faith throughout this past year. I get so excited when I think about how much spiritual grow can take place in our church if discipleship became a part of everybody’s life. I’m in still in college and am very new at discipleship, and I still saw God work in big ways, so I get so pumped to think about people who are way more spiritually mature than me discipling others.

It can be hard to start discipling another person, but it is definitely a worthwhile experience that helps you grow in your faith as well. In the fall the Grace Community Church will be having a discipleship class that teaches people how to be involved in a discipleship relationship. Please consider taking this class, and then start pouring your life into others, helping them grow closer to Christ.