Greatest Command: Bud or Bud Light

It is often called “The Great Commandment” and it can be found in Matthew 22. I recently took our entire church staff through this important passage. It begins with Jesus being tested in verses 34-36, but this was actually the third attempt at testing Him by the religious leaders. The first attempt happened back in verses 15-17 and was initiated by the Pharisees who sent one of their disciples to make the inquiry. The question was political in nature regarding if it was lawful or not to pay a poll tax to Caesar.

The second attempt in testing Jesus occurs in verses 23-33. This time it was by another religious group called the Sadducees who did not believe in a future resurrection. They asked a theological question based on an absurd scenario. If a woman remarries after her husband dies, and this happens 7 times, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?

That brings us to the third attempt to test Jesus that results in Jesus giving the Great Commandment. This time it is the Pharisees who are again behind this test and who again gather together to plan their strategy and trap. This time they send one of themselves, a lawyer who would have been an expert in the Mosaic Law, to question Jesus. And why do they give another try at trapping Jesus? They do so according to verse 34 because they heard that Jesus’ answer had silenced the Sadducees. You would think that the Pharisees, who believed in a resurrection, would have thoroughly enjoyed Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees. So why do they come to their assistance? They do so because in spite of their major differences, what they had in common, a hatred of Jesus, took precedent.

Now what was their question to Jesus that they thought would be fool-proof in trapping Jesus. This third attempt is another theological question. They asked, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Now you need to understand that the Rabbis of that day saw 613 commands in the Mosaic Law which they believed corresponded with the 613 separate letters in the Hebrew text of the Ten Commandments as given in Numbers. They then divided these 613 commands into groups. First they divided them into affirmative commands and negative commands. Affirmative commands were ones that required you to do something. They saw 248 affirmative commands, one for every part of the body as they knew it. Negative commands were ones that required you to avoid something. The Rabbis saw 365 negative commands, one for every day of the week.

They then went further and divided these 613 commands into what was called “heavy” and “light” commands. I guess you could call these “Bud Commands” and “Bud Light Commands.” Heavy commands were seen as binding commands. These commands had to be obeyed and there was no wiggle room involved. Light commands were less binding and could possibly by overlooked depending on the situation. The problem was that there was no anonymity among the Rabbis regarding which laws were heavy and which were light resulting in great debate. So the question, “Which is the greatest commandment,” was debated often with very little agreement. So no matter how Jesus answered, he would alienate a large group of people. In my blog tomorrow we will see exactly how Jesus does answer.

Do You Know Who My Wife Is?

It is November 11th which means it is a very special day. In fact, it is in my opinion the most important day of the year. You might think this is an introduction to it being Veteran’s Day today. But, taking nothing away from our veterans...I appreciate the service and sacrifice you made that allows us to be free as a nation, but today is not the most special day of the year because it is Veteran’s Day.

As meaningful and important as Veteran’s Day is, today is special for another reason. Today is my wife’s birthday. In a church our size, many within the church probably can’t even put a face to my wife’s name, but whether you can pick her out in a crowd or not, today is her birthday which makes today one of, if not the most special days of the year.

Because many of you don’t know my wife, Laura, as well as you know me, I thought I would give you some facts about the Pastor’s wife here at Grace Church in Lititz, PA as I wish her a very happy birthday today, November 11th:

My wife is older than me (from now until February 24 she is two years older than me)!

My wife is very sexy!

My wife was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado!

My wife is very sexy!

My wife’s favorite color is purple!

My wife is very sexy!

My wife took college classes in three states (Texas, Colorado and Virginia)!

My wife is very sexy!

My wife plays the keyboard on most Sunday mornings here at Grace Church!

My wife is very sexy!

My wife leads the women’s ministry here at Grace church called “Girlfriends at Grace”!

My wife is very sexy!

My wife is a Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies fan!

My wife is very sexy!

Construction at Grace - #27

The above 2 pictures are of the new office expansion!

This picture shows what will be the main entrance to the cafe and new office expansion with the office expansion being to the right and the cafe being to the left!

The above 2 pictures show the new welcome center that will be in the main lobby!

School Spirit and the Lady Eagles

The Lady Eagles Varsity Volleyball team of Lititz Christian School (a ministry of Grace Church) had quite the season accomplishing more in one season than any previous team before them in school history. I was not able to attend their first round District Playoff game last Thursday against Hanover High School out in York so I sent the team the following letter:

Lady Eagles,

“WHO-HA-HA!” I am so proud of all of you. You have already accomplished more than any Varsity Volleyball team before you here at Lititz Christian School. 14-0 including the regular and post-season in the CCAC - That is amazing! A perfect record all season long on home court - That is sensational! And a CCAC Championship to go with it all - That’s just terrific! Congratulations.

But beyond that, you have also accomplished something far more significant. You have been instrumental in raising school spirit here at LCS like I have never seen! You have done that not only by your excellent play on the court and your athletic accomplishments but you have also done so by your example off the court. I remember sitting in my office on a late afternoon not long ago and hearing a lot of noise out it the parking lot. I stuck my head out the door only to see our volleyball players giving our varsity soccer team a hero style send off as they loaded up the bus to go to their District Playoff game. Not many people saw what you did that afternoon but I did and I believed that it went a long way to put the guys in the right mindset that resulted in their playing what was arguably their best soccer of the season in spite of the 1-0 loss. Never underestimate the impact that school spirit has on a student body and it almost always goes back to the school’s athletic program.

One of the main things I love about you as a volleyball team is that there is not one star that carries the team on her shoulders. You are just that…a team and that is why you have been so successful in winning volleyball matches and rekindling the flame of school spirit here at LCS. Well done, ladies.

Unfortunately, due to an Elder meeting that was already on the calendar and could not be rescheduled, I will not be able to attend your District Playoff game Thursday night. Believe me, I wish I could be there to cheer you on. But please know that even though you won’t hear my voice from the stands, I will be there in spirit and thinking of you and rooting for you as you play. You have an opportunity to turn some heads in these District Playoffs and I know you will give your best. So play with excellence. Give your all. Leave it all on the court. I wish you well!

And one more thing, ladies…KICK BUTT!

Pastor Scott (Your #1 Fan)

SUPERMAN UPDATE - 48% THERE

As you know, if you have been following my blog, that I am participating in the fund-raiser for Lititz Christian School (LCS is a ministry of our church) called Race for Education in order to help them raise funds. LCS must raise $250,000 this academic year to end the year in the black. Their goal is to raise $75,000 through this initial fund-raiser. It is my goal to raise $20,000 for LCS through my involvement.

During the Race for Education students walk or run for 45 minutes, getting pledges in advance for people to sponsor them in their participation. Due to the later date of this event, this activity will be held inside. Well, I am participating in an expanded way. First, I will go 25% longer than the students (1 full hour). Second, I will do my walking outside on November 20th no matter what the weather (cold, rain, snow, etc.). And finally, I will do my walking dressed in a full SUPERMAN outfit.

So far I have received pledges from 56 people or couples for a total of $9,635.00 total which has me 48% of the way to my $20,000.00 goal. The average amount of pledges I have received is $172.00 that have ranged from 2 people who each sponsored me for $2,000.00 and 2 people who each sponsored me for $10.00. Below is the breakdown of the pledges I have received:

2 - $2,000
1 - $1,000
2 - $500
1 - $300
1 - $250
5 - $200
9 - $100
14 - $50
1 - $35
1 - $30
12 - $25
5 - $20
2 - $10

I appreciate each and every person who is sponsoring me no matter what the amount. I realize that all amounts are a sacrifice. Thank you! If you would like to join my sponsorship team and help get me to my goal by sponsoring me with a flat donation to Lititz Christian School, please send me an e-mail (skdistler@lgbc.org) with the amount of your pledge and I will reply to you with more information.

AND ONE MORE THING – WE ARE WORKING ON HAVING A LIVE FEED BROADCAST FROM LITITZ CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ON NOV 20 SO EVERYONE CAN WATCH ME, AS SUPERMAN, IN THE RACE FOR EDUCATION VIA THE INTERNET.

It Is Amamzing How Quiet 110,000 People Can Be!

I was there Saturday and I loved it! I also learned two things. First, I learned how LOUD 110,000 people can be! Second, and even more amazing, I learned how quiet 110,000 people can quickly become!

Yes, I am savoring the win of my beloved Buckeyes, but no, I am not wearing my Ohio State sweatshirt to preach in this morning. Why? Three reasons. First, I sweat like a mad dog when I preach and that heavy red sweatshirt would be way too hot. Second, I am trying to practice mercy, a spiritual characteristics that doesn't come easy for me. Third, though I would love wearing my Ohio State apparel this morning, I know it would most likely distract from a powerful passage we are looking at this morning from Ephesians 3. So, I will make ministry the main thing this morning at the same level of priority that Ohio State made kicking Penn State's tail the main thing yesterday!

YOU PICK - Survivor: Old Testament

I am not a “Reality TV” junkie at all. In fact, I don’t watch any of them…not Survivor; not Dancing with the Stars; not The Biggest Loser; not even American Idol. But for our mid-summer message series in 2010, I would like to do a series that we just might call “Survivor: Old Testament.” This series will be unique more in the lead-up to the series than in the actual messages themselves. I would like this to be a six-week series from the first Sunday in August through Labor Day weekend on six of the most exciting stories from the Old Testament. And in order to determine which six stories we use, I would like the congregation to vote each week on their favorite five stories from a list that begins with 14 possibilities. Then each week we will “vote off” two stories by taking off the list the two that receive the fewest votes that week. The next week the congregation would revote for their top five and we would continue to “vote off” two a week until we have only six left. Those will then be the six stories from the Old Testament that we use.

Here is the timeline for how this will take place:

April 4 – Announce the 14 possibilities and the voting process
April 11 – Start with 14 possibilities - Vote off two
April 18 – 12 possibilities left - Vote off two more stories
April 25 – 10 possibilities left - Vote off two more stories
May 2 – 8 possibilities left - Vote off two more stories
May 9 – Announce the final six stories
June 8 – Worship Design Team Plans the services for this series
August 1 – Message Series begins
September – Message Series ends

Here are the 14 stories from the Old Testament that we will start with as possibilities:

Noah and the Ark
David and Goliath
Cain Murders Abel
Moses and the Parting of the Red Sea
Lot and the Pillar of Salt
Abraham Offers Isaac as a Sacrifice
Balaam and the Donkey
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the Fiery Furnace
Elisha Heals Namaan of Leprosy
Deborah and the Tent Spike
Gideon and his Fleece
Jehu the Wild Chariot Driver
Solomon’s Wisdom in Dividing the Baby
The Patience of Job

Construction at Grace - #26

Knepper's Kitchens is doing the work on our new Welcome Center! Thanks, Bob!

YOU PICK - No Fear

Beginning this Easter, April 11th, we will begin a new message series that we are calling “No Fear”! We live in a time period right now where people’s levels of fear about the future are higher than they have been in some time. Times are uncertain. Whether it’s war, the swine flu, or the economy, fear is gripping our nation. But what does the Bible say about how to live in uncertain times with no fear? This series will give us the answers.

We will begin this series on Easter by talking about the fear of death. But the other five topics will be chosen by you. On Sunday, November 22nd, we will take an anonymous survey in all three of our Sunday morning services asking our people to identify the three greatest fears they live with when it comes to the future. We’re not talking phobias like fear of heights or fear of spiders. We are talking fears regarding the uncertainty of the times in which we live and how those fears impact our thoughts about the future.

On November 22nd we will give a survey listing fears and asking people to identify the 3 that concern them the most. Remember, fear of death is already a topic so it will not be on the list. Below is the list of fears that people can chose from or they can write in others that aren’t listed:

The Fear of Financial Failure
The Fear of a Failed Marriage/Broken Relationship
The Fear of My Kids Rebelling
The Fear of Being Alone
The Fear of Sickness
The Fear of Aging
The Fear of Terrorism
The Fear of Change
The Fear of Insignificance
The Fear of Disappointing God
The Fear that God/Heaven is Not Real
The Fear of Losing my Salvation
The Fear of Overwhelming Challenges

On November 22nd the church will pick the topics we will look at in our upcoming spring message series here at Grace Church, “No Fear!”

Construction at Grace - #25

Above is looking into the double window which will ultimately be in my new office!

Above we see the office and and cafe additions beginning to take shape!

Above is the new curbing and sidewalk going in on the Arrowhead Dr entrance!

Above is one of our sub-contrators company truck! Thanks, Dennis!




Above is the big crain lifting one of the new units on to our existing building! Because it had to be swung over the current office wing, we all had to evacuate....just in case. If only it would have fallen on my 12 year old Ford Escort!

Racism at Grace - Part Two

At my previous church I was naïve enough to think that race was not an issue in the church. I found out differently when we made a concerted effort to start a Spanish speaking ministry. Demographically we lived in one of the fastest growing areas in the state when it came to Spanish speaking people. So we invested in a couple and sent them to Argentina where they became fluent in speaking Spanish and learned how to reach Spanish speaking people and then returned to start a ministry to the Spanish speaking people in our area. As we went full force into this vision, I had a very influential man in the church come into my office that was very angry. He made his opinion very clear. If they can’t speak English they don’t deserve to hear the Gospel. I was shocked…I mean really shocked. And I found out that he was not alone in his sentiments. Folks, listen, we can’t just pretend that racism is not an issue because it is, even here at Grace Church.

Do me a favor. Next time you are at church here at Grace, look around you. In case you haven’t noticed it before, you will see that we are a predominantly white church. But that is slowly changing. I am thrilled that as we continue to grow as a church I am seeing God beginning to break that mold here at Grace. We now have many African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and other ethnic groups who are beginning to find their way into Grace Church and that to me is very, very, very exciting. After all, what is our purpose? It is to meet as many people as possible, not just to meet as many white people as possible but to meet as many people as possible right where they are and help move them to where God wants them to be. And for that to happen we have to come to the extremely important realization that race can never be allowed to be a barrier for those who choose to call Grace Church home and worship Christ in this place.

So how do we bring this to a practical and applicable ending? May I suggest several possibilities? First, take time this week to get alone with God and ask Him to really search every nook and cranny of your heart to root out any area where you are allowing a barrier to divide you from others who are part of God’s family, be it racial, political, denominational or due to style or preference. Admit it. Confess it. Repent from it.

Second, make it a point to genuinely welcome people here at Grace every time you are at church. Every time that you see someone on a Sunday morning that you don’t know or don’t recognize, be the one to initiate a conversation. Put out your hand of friendship. Ask them their name. Ask them about their family. Find out who they and how long they have been attending here at Grace. And especially do this to those who you see every Sunday here in church who look different than you.

And third, invite people of different ethnic backgrounds to attend Grace with you. Invite people with different color of skin to join your Connect Group. Jesus died to break down the barriers in His family. Jesus died to rescue us from our sin. But He also died to rescue us from the barriers that divide us. Let’s be proactive in making sure that those barriers never prohibit us from being the Body of Christ here at Grace

Racism at Grace - Part One

Last Sunday here at Grace as part of our Grace Matters message series we looked at the teaching of Paul in Ephesians 2 that dealt with the explosive racial issue of that day which occurred between Jews and Gentiles. You have to understand that the divide between Jews and Gentiles in that day was very deep and very extensive. It could be seen on many fronts. There was a religious divide in that the Jews knew the one true God and the Gentiles didn’t. There was a cultural or social divide in that the Jews practiced ceremonies and laws such as circumcision and dietary regulations that the Gentiles didn’t practice. And certainly there was a racial divide. The Jews blood line went back to the Patriarchs such as Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. The Gentiles bloodline went back to Esau Ishmael and others who were not the great Patriarchs.

Now you must also keep in mind that God had chosen Israel from all the peoples on the earth for His own special possession and had given promises to this group of people unlike He gave to any other group of people. So to a Jew in Paul’s day, that would mean that a Gentile would easily be seen as inferior. In fact, the Jews had an unflattering word for them. Just as we have degrading words today to describe people of other races that we erroneously see as inferior, so did they. Jews would have often referred to Gentiles as “the uncircumcision.” Now you might remember that back in the Old Testament God commanded all Jewish men to be circumcised as a physical sign marking that they were different than everyone else because they were His chosen people. So in the eyes of a Jew, the Gentiles were “the uncircumcision.”

Verse fourteen of chapter two tells us that Jesus brought us peace, which is mentioned four times in this passage. You see this word in verse 14. You see it again in verse 16. And you see it twice in verse 17. In other words, through the work of Christ, the division that existed so strongly due to race had been turned into peace. Notice what it said Jesus did in verse fourteen. He made both groups, Jews and Gentiles who were definite enemies, into one body by breaking down the barrier of the dividing wall. Verse 15 says that he abolished in His flesh the enmity that existed. There is so much that happened when Jesus died on the cross. One of these things is that when Jesus died on the cross He abolished every barrier between man and God as well as between man and man. Through the death of Jesus, Christ made it possible for Jews and Gentiles to be reconciled in Him. Reconciliation is when hostility is turned into friendship. For those who know Jesus, everything that made us enemies with each other has been abolished so that we can now be friends. We are one body in Christ.

This brings us to a topic that we haven’t really ever addressed here at Grace, at least not in the five years I have been here as pastor. Yet, it is a topic that is very real. And we are fooling ourselves, I mean really fooling ourselves, if we try to convince ourselves that it doesn’t exist right here at Grace. I am talking about the topic of racism. Be sure to log back on tomorrow and read my blog as I talk directly about the topic of racism here at Grace Church!

Your Pastor Is RIPPED!

As you know, I am participating in this year's Race for Education on Friday, November 20 with a personal goal of raising $20,000 for Lititz Christian School (a ministry of Grace Church) as part of their need to raise $250,000 this school year in order to ender their fiscal year with a balanced budget. But I am going above and beyond in my participation...or should I say, "up, up and away!" The students will particiapte for 45 minutes, I will go 25% longer (one full hour)! The students will participate indoors, I will be outdoors for the entire time to matter what the weather (cold, rain, snow, hail, sleet, tornado, hurricane or tsunamai)! The students will participate in their gym clothes, I will particpate dressed as SUPERMAN like I did when I preached back in June of 2008 as part of our Super Heroes messages series.

The SUPERMAN costume I used in June of 2008 when I preached was no longer available to me so I had to purchase one for the upcoming Race for Education. It is pictured above hanging in my office where it will remain hanging until I put it on for the very first time November 20th. I figured, if I have to buy a SUPERMAN outfit to wear on that day I may as well look ripped! In fact, I may start wearing this under my normal clothes all the time!!

Please keep praying with me that I will reach my goal of $20,000 in pledges. Currently I am 46% of the way there with 22 days left until the big day! If you would like to sponsor me by making a flat donation to Lititz Christian School to help me reach my goal as SUPERMAN, simply e-mail me at skdistler@lgbc.org and let me know the amount of your pledge and I will reply to you with more information.

CCAC Champions - "Who-Ha-Ha"!!

Congratulations to the Lady Eagles Varsity Volleyball Team of Lititz Christian School who swept Bible Baptist Friday evening at Lancaster Bible College to bring the CCAC Chamionship home to LCS WHERE IT BELONGS!

And a special "hats off" to our fans who filled the gym at LBC last night all sported out in their LCS WHO-HA-HA shirts. WHO-HA-HA has become somewhat of a battle cry for our Lady Eagles Volleyball Team. You can hear it after every successful kill on the court and last night it echoed through the gymnasium as a chant during every time out. I have never seen as much school spirit among our student body, faculty and parents as I have recently, especially last night. BUT IT IS NOT OVER YET...the LCS Varsity Volleyball team will be in action this Thursday night out at York Central High School against Hanover High School in the opening round of the District III playoffs. GO EAGLES!

The Spiritual Merit in Halloween

What is the history of Halloween? Without question, the history of Halloween is founded in occult themes. There is no debating that. Much of our holiday traditions goes way back to Scotland and Ireland where Druid Priests celebrated a special day in honor of Saman, Lord of the Dead. The belief was that on the eve of this celebration, Saman called together all the souls of those who had died the previous year and who currently inhabited the bodies of animals, to return to their homes. Bon-fires were lit to scare off these spirits and children would dress in costumes to confuse these wandering souls.

Jack-o-lanterns also go back to this era, only they started as large rutabagas, carved with gross faces and lit with candles. This is due to a tale about a man named Jack who was a notorious drunkard but who was also smart. The fable says that when he died, he was turned away from both heaven and hell. As a result, he put a glowing coal into a carved turnip and he has been wandering the earth ever since. Poor Jack!

So should Christians participate in Halloween? I really do not believe there is one “right” or “wrong” answer to that question for every person. Much like the issue of Christians eating meat offering to idols back in the days of the Apostle Paul, we must each follow our own conscience on this one. There is simply not one right answer for every believer. Our family has always put out jack-o-lanterns and participated in trick-or-treating but that does not mean that every Believer should. But is there any merit in Halloween that we can all agree on? I think there definitely is.

In 834 AD, in order to combat these occult practices, Pope Gregory IV moved the church festival of “All Saints Day” to November 1. This was a day to honor all the Saints who had died. The eve of the festival was called, “All Hallows E’en” (E’en is a contraction for evening). So let’s start a new Halloween tradition. Let’s take time to reflect on such great saints. First, we can remember saints of theology. These are individuals from the pages of Scripture whose life message greatly influence us for Jesus still today. For me, this is a man like Joshua who led Israel in possessing the Promised Land.

There are also saints of history. These are individuals who lived in history but are now with the Lord but whose testimony for Christ still impact us today. For me, that includes men like singer/songwriter, Keith Green, (pictured top) whose music kept me focused on God during my teen years, and Dr. Jerry Falwell (pictured middle) who greatly impacted my life through the ministry of Liberty University. Finally, there are saints of family. These would be family members or close friends who are now with Jesus but whose heritage causes us to walk with Jesus today. For me, this is my Grandpa Distler, (pictured bottom) who was a pastor for some 50 years.

You see, even Halloween can become a spiritual beneficial holiday for all of us. After all, it was on Halloween in 1517 that a great man of God named Martin Luther climbed some steps in Germany and posted his “95 Thesis” on the doors of the Wittenberg Church setting off the “Great Reformation.”

Construction at Grace - #24

Above are the windows of the new office addition...that will be my office window on the right and Pastor Tim's on the left!

Above is the hallway going from the current lobby down to the Education and Children's Wing of our facility...it is getting a complete face lift with new paint and new flooring!

Above is the new family room that is being put in next to our present restrooms in the lobby!

Above is the meeting room where the maintenance office and coat rooms use to be...the walls will all be glass and it will include a gas fireplace!

Above is the new Welcome Center that will be off the main office in the lobby!

Thanksgiving through Easter

Few things bring me greater excitement than prayerfully thinking through the upcoming message series that we will be having here at Grace. A few days ago Pastor Tim and I spent some time strategizing the upcoming message series that will take us from the Thanksgiving holiday through Christmas through Easter. Here is the tentative line-up:

Nov 22-Nov 29: This will be a 2-week series in Philippians 4:4-13 that we are simply calling 4:13. This series will allow us to take a look at 5 words that we must understand and apply to our lives if we are going to experience real, Biblical contentment.

Dec 6-Dec 27: This will be a 4-week Holiday series that we are calling “Avoiding the Christmas Crash.” We will be looking at four passages of Scripture that typically are not used at Christmas time in order to see how we can avoid a Christmas Crash this year when it comes to areas of gift-giving, preparations, family, and the dreaded post-Holiday blues.

Jan 3-Jan 31: This will be a 5-week series that will kick off our Year of Prayer emphasis here at Grace Church. During this month we will see the pattern of Jesus prayer life (Mark 1:35-39). We will see how to pray by imagining prayer as a huge mansion. We will see how to pray for our students. We will see what it means to be devoted to prayer (Colossians 4:2-4). And we will see the need for persistence in prayer (Luke 18:1-8)

Feb 7-Feb 28: This will be a 4-week series that will also coincide with our Year of Prayer by taking us through the details of the Great Commandment as given by Jesus in Matthew 22:33-40 including loving God and loving others. We will take a closer look at loving our neighbor through the story of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus in Luke 10:25-37 and the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-48 regarding loving even our enemies.

Mar 7-Mar 28: This will be our Vision Month here at Grace Church as we look to make the theme of the month “Foundations.” It will be our purpose through this series to see everyone who attends Grace Church take the same four foundational steps needed to help our church continue to effectively fulfill its purpose to meet as many people as possible right where they are and help move them to where God wants them to be.

Apr 4: On Palm Sunday we will have a “stand alone” message in which we answer the question, “Why and How should I Fast?” This message will be in preparation for a ministry wide day of Prayer and Fasting that we will have that coming week as we anticipate God doing great things in our Easter services here at Grace.

Apr 11-May 9: Easter Sunday through Mother’s Day we will have a 6-week series on the theme of “No Fear”. We will start on Easter Sunday dealing with the topic of fearing death. The other five areas of fear that we will deal with will be picked by you. On Sunday, November 22nd we will take a survey as part of all three of our morning services here at Grace to find out what areas of your life is creating the most fear for you when you think about the future.

Foyer and Welcome Center - Construction at Grace #24

GRACE in AFRICA and ASIA

As you know, Grace Church and Lititz Christian School fully support four Christian Schools for orphans in the Central African Republic. The following is a report we received from our school in Cattin written to us by Ginger Hock, who is the Field Director for Grace Brethren International Missions in the Central African Republic:

"I visited your school today and observed the classes meeting in the new school building. Here's Pastor Laida in front of the building that now has a nice tin roof and wood door and window frames (see picture above). He's still working on the windows in the classroom on the right. Both classes seem to be going well. Pastor Laida asked me to thank you once again for all you have done for the Cattin church and school. He is making a plea to the people in his church to have a little clinic to store medicines just for the orphan school children. This would be mostly worm and malaria medicine to assist the kids when they are feeling poorly. It's really great to see the Church on this side taking responsibility and thinking ahead about what they can do for these kids. I was blessed. Thanks again for all you do and for all your prayers!!!"

How awesome is that? And don’t forget that our Birthday Gift for Jesus project this Christmas will once again go toward our ongoing ministry to these precious orphans in the C.A.R. You can give to this fund throughout the month of December. As always we ask that all giving to these types of special funds be above and beyond your regular giving to the general fund.

Speaking of impacting the world, Mission Team leader here at Grace Church, Mike McCracken, and his wife, Joan, returned to Cambodia on October 26th and will not return home again until November 11. They are there for the Community Transformation Ministries (CTM) Summit. Since the founding of CTM it has been the vision and intention that it becomes a ministry with an Asia-wide focus. To this point, CTM’s ministries have been focused entirely in Cambodia. This Summit is designed to assemble all of the people who have been involved in development ministries throughout Asia and of those who will be involved in the future. This is a momentous event. This expansion and improvement of CTM at this time will profit immeasurably in its efforts to make disciples and plant churches throughout Asia, in particular the poorer countries of SE and East Asia.

Mike and Joan have been a very important part of the development of CTM over a number of years and a big part of the success and advancement of CTM in Cambodia. It is also the intention of the McCrackens to stay involved in CTM in the future. Since this Summit is such a significant event in the strategic advancement of Asia ministries, and since Mike and Joan factor large in the future development of CTM ministries, it is extremely important and beneficial that they are part. We have budget monies each year in our Missions area for Mike and Joan’s continued ministry abroad as ambassadors of Grace Church. Please be praying for Mike and Joan while they are gone.

Construction at Grace - #23

24 DAYS AND COUNTING

For months and months now we have been pouring enormous amounts of time, energy and strategy into a new website here at Grace Church and we are now counting down the days until we unviel it. We are so excited! We know that it is going to flat blow you away! Look for Grace Church's new website in just 24 days!!!! It will be unveiled on November 20th.

That day is also important for two other reasons!

First, it is the day that I, dressed as SUPERMAN, will participate outside no matter what the weather in our Race for Education for Lititz Christian School. My personal goal is to raise $20,000 in sponsors. See my blog from yesterday for more information.

Second, there is great cause to believe that the renovation of the foyer (not the cafe, just the foyer) will be finished by that weekend as well. That is also going to blow you away as well!

24 DAYS TO GO AND COUNTING!

The Need For SUPERMAN

Back in June of 2008 I dressed up in a full SUPERMAN costume to preach as part of our Super Heroes message series. I promised myself that I would never put the blue spandex and red cape back on ever again. Now, I am breaking that promise. I can tell you that to get me back in that costume would take something very important.

MorningStar Childcare and Lititz Christian School (LCS) are important and effective ministries of Grace Church. I have seen the value of these ministries day in and day out as a pastor and as a parent who has had two kids attend. But as you can imagine, the economic downturn of our country has provided challenges for all private education institutions. The administration of LCS has worked hard to make cuts and sacrifices, but even with this, in order to meet their budget they must raise still $250,000.

As a result, I have made the personal commitment to take it upon myself as the leader of our overall ministry to "jumpstart" their drive to raise this $250,000. On November 20th, our Educational Ministries will be holding its annual Race for Education fund-raiser in which our students spend the morning walking and/or running, getting sponsors who make pledges toward their walking/running per lap or at a flat donation. I have committed to participate in this year's Race for Education and to do so once again wearing the SUPERMAN outfit.

But I believe that leadership should go "above and beyond" (or in SUPERMAN'S case, "up, up and away!"). This year's event, because it is being held later in the year than usual, will be held indoors. NOT ME! I am committing to do my "walking" (sorry, not only will you not see SUPERMAN fly, you will not see him run either) outside no matter what the weather. Rain, sleet, hail, cold, snow, blizzard, hurricane, tsunami...it doesn't matter. If SUPERMAN can leap tall buildings in a single bound, I can do my walking outside in whatever weather there might be (but please pray with me that God would give us a warm, sunny November day on the 20th so SUPERMAN doesn't catch pneumonia).

I have set a personal goal of raising $20,000 in sponsors for my participating in our Race for Education as SUPERMAN. For this to happen, I could really use your help. As a reader of this blog, whether you are part of our ministry here at Grace or not, would you consider sponsoring me in my SUPER HERO participation in our Race for Education and help me to personally raise $20,000 for our school? I am not doing the "per lap" angle of the fund-raiser (SUPERMAN isn't in the best of shape right now), I am just doing the flat donations. To make your pledge, simply e-mail me (skdistler@lgbc.org) letting me know the amount of your pledge. Your donation is tax-deductible and you will receive a tax receipt for it. You can then send your donation, made out to Lititz Christian School, at anytime between now and the end of November to Lititz Christian School; 501 W Lincoln Ave; Lititz, PA 17543.

I have already asked our Church Elders, Church Staff and our Board of Education members, along with a few friends, to sponsor me and have already received 29 sponsors totalling $7,260.00! That is just over one-third of the way to my goal already! Only $12,740.00 to go!

So thank you in advance for helping me and our Educational Ministries! And it goes go without saying that I would ask that you not take any monies away from your normal giving to the church you attend for this event. I look forward to receiving your e-mail.

Geo-Thermal Units - Welcome Center - Fireplace in Meeting Room: Construction at Grace #22

How can I help you?

Last month I blogged about our Executive Pastor here at Grace Church, Tim Auld, taking our ministry staff and managers through Andy Stanley’s video series, Becoming a Great Staff. Last month we saw that a great staff is made up of great leaders and that the goal of that staff should be to have a culture characterized by mutual submission. This is a culture where the question is constantly asked of each other, “What can I do to help?”

Stanley than gave some best practices for creating this kind of great staff. Last month he talked about and I blogged about the principle, “Do for one when you can’t do for all.” This week we met again and looked at four more of these best practices for creating a great staff culture that is characterized by mutual submission. Here they are:

The second practice is to systematize top down service. Stanley said that random acts of kindness and service are not enough in ministry. Notice, he didn’t say that random acts of kindness were bad, just that they are not enough. We need to build top down service into the rhythm of our organization. This is the type of top down service that Jesus advocated in Mark 10:32-45 as we saw last month.

The third practice to ask the following question in response to your staff’s key objectives, “How can I help you?” We are good at demanding objectives from our staff and letting them know it when they don’t fulfill them, but when was the last time as a leader that one of my staff brought me their goals and objectives and I said, “Great, now what is one thing that I personally as the Senior Pastor of this ministry, can do to help you accomplish this task?” That is powerful. I confessed to our staff that instead of asking, “How can I help you,” I tend to say, “Now here is how I will help you!” I wonder how many times they have thought inside, “Oh, no! That is going to make my life so much more difficult, please don’t help me like that!” Maybe I should have asked.

The fourth practice is to create and maintain a sustainable pace. Without margin, there is no room to serve each other. When people are under pressure they become very self-centered. Without margin, we end up seeking our own kingdoms rather than His kingdom. Remember, this thing we are in is a marathon, not a sprint.

And the fifth practice Stanley gave to build this kind of a great staff is to celebrate and reward greatness. Now remember again what greatness is according to Mark 10. When you serve when you don’t have to serve, that’s greatness. Reward this kind of service when you see it in your ministry and among your staff. Stanley said that one of the most important leadership phrases in the entire world is this, “What’s rewarded is repeated!” Let me reward you by repeating that, “What’s rewarded is repeated!” You deserve another reward so let me say it again, “What’s rewarded is repeated!” So with that in mind, who do you need to reward? Who do you need to write a note of thanks to? Who served you this week when they didn’t have to do it? Who made your life a little bit easier this week, expecting nothing in return?

Our Youngest Turns 18 Today

Everyone would agree that turning 18 is one of those milestones of life. But this milestone is multiplied when the person turning 18 is your youngest child. Today is my son, Jonathan’s, 18th birthday. That’s right. Laura and I are right on the doorstep of the season of life called “Empty Nest” as we watch our children go from the realm of teenagers into the realm of adulthood.

Jonathan is a senior this year here at Lititz Christian School. Come the beginning of this approaching summer, he will graduate from High School. Come the end of this approaching summer and he will begin his first year in college. Jonathan has always been the personality who has brought us many laughs as a child and as a teenager. Now we will get to laugh with him (and quite often at him) as he enters to world of adulthood. How cool!

Come August, Jonathan will be attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia where his sister, Joy, is currently finishing her sophomore year. Since Laura and I are both graduates of Liberty (I also got my masters through Liberty’s correspondence program) we are thrilled to see our kids spending their college career on Liberty Mountain. Some might think that since we are alumni that we directed our kids to Liberty. That is nowhere near reality. Our kids chose Liberty completely on their own accord. Obviously, I’m glad. Personally, I don’t see why anyone would go anywhere else, but obviously I’m quite biased.

Jonathan has always had a soft heart. He was always the one who looked out for the underdog and wanted to befriend the person who didn’t make friends real easily. From the youngest of ages, Jonathan would find a friend in a matter of moments no matter where we went, from church to the Playland at McDonalds.

Jonathan has a love for music. He loves to play guitar. He loves to sing. He loves to write songs. He loves to worship. And he is rather good at all of these. I have always loved to watch my son play sports but nothing brings me greater joy than watching him lead worship. No wonder John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to see my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). Jonathan will be a Worship Arts Major at Liberty. He is really sensing a call on his life to be a Worship Arts Director or Worship Pastor. I can see that call developing in his life as well and it greatly excites me.

18 years ago today I held him in my arms for the first time. Now we start the process of officially letting him go. But that doesn’t sadden me. It really doesn’t. It actually excites me. You see, that is how it is supposed to be. That is how God intended it. In reality, Jonathan isn’t mine. He belongs 100% to God. 18 years ago today God gave Laura and I Jonathan, not to possess, but as good stewards, to raise in the nurture and admonition of the Lord so that He would ultimately fulfill the very plan that God has for his life. The last 18 years have been fun. But now the real fun begins…watching Jonathan accomplish God's plan for his life.

The Floor is Poured - Construction at Grace #21

Leading Through Uncertainty - FLEXIBILITY

Yesterday in my blog was the first part of my summary of Andy Stanley’s (pictured) talk at Lancaster Bible College last Friday on the topic of, "Leading Through Times of Uncertainty." We saw that uncertainty is a permanent part of leadership. We saw that uncertainty is why we need leadership. We also saw that God is very active and recognizable in times of uncertainty. We then begin to look at the two words that characterize our leadership in times of uncertainty. Yesterday, we discussed the first word which was "clarity."

Today let me complete the summary by talking about the second key word which is FLEXIBILITY. As we saw yesterday, our vision must remain clear and stay the same but we must understand that our plans can change. The problem is that we tend to confuse our vision with our pans. In times of uncertainty, plans fail and when they do we then feel like failures. We must remember that plans fail but even when they do our vision stays the same. That is where flexibility comes in. We should be infatuated with our plans but we should be in love with our vision.

Stanley then wrapped up his session with three final applications. Here they are:

First, be honest with your leaders and your followers. In other words, don’t pretend to know what you don’t know. Learn to confidently express your uncertainty. Respond like this, “I don’t know right now but we are going to figure it out.” Or say, “I don’t know right now but God has always been faithful and He will lead us in this one too.” Those statements express true uncertainty but it does so with confidence.

Second, seek counsel. Leadership is not making decisions on your own but owning the decisions you make. No matter how smart and successful you are you still need to listen and to learn. Isn’t it interesting that the person in the Bible who talked about wisdom the most was the person who needed it the least…Solomon.

Third, pray for wisdom all along the way. That needs no further explanation.

When the session was over, I then had the privilege to be one of 12 people to have lunch with Andy Stanley. We sat around the table in the President’s Dining Room at Lancaster Bible College and for nearly two hours we were able to discuss with Andy all kinds of issues facing the church and church leaders. It was awesome!

My questions to Andy centered around his process of message preparation. I was interested to learn that Andy starts with a team that comes up with the main concept of a series. Then he meets with his creative team (a totally different group of people from his concept team) to discuss the creative elements that can be used for the series. Then it is Andy’s job to put the content into it. Content comes last. My process has always been just the opposite. I always start with the concept, then add the content, then go to my creative team. Now that is something for me to think about!

Construction at Grace - #20

Leading Through Uncertainty - CLARITY

Last Friday I had the opportunity to hear Andy Stanley (pictured) speak at the Leadership Business Conference at Lancaster Bible College. Andy is the Sr Pastor at North Point Community Church in Atlanta with 22,000 people attending three campuses. In my opinion he is one of the most effective communicators of our day. He spoke on the topic of “Leading through Times of Uncertainty." What a timely topic as anyone who is leading today is leading through uncertain times. Let me use my blog today and tomorrow to try to summarize Stanley’s main points as I heard them and as I wrote them down.

Uncertainty is a permanent part of leadership. We will always be dealing with uncertainty because we always have limited knowledge. Why do we have limited knowledge? We have limited knowledge because we don’t know the future. It is a myth to think that if I were a good leader I would always know exactly what to do. The fact is that uncertainty does not equal poor leadership. Uncertainty is why we need leadership. If there were no uncertainty there would no need for leaders.

God is often most active and most recognizable in times of great uncertainty. Even though life is uncertain, God is not uncertain. We have the opportunity as leaders to leverage uncertainty to the glory of God. In times of uncertainty we have the opportunity as leaders to lead with hope to the glory of God. History, what we would see as the good parts and the bad parts of it, is all about the glory of God. Our ultimate goal as leaders is to figure out how God is glorified in times of uncertainty.

So what do we do as leaders in times of uncertainty? Stanley gave two words which characterize our leadership in times of uncertainty. The first key word is CLARITY. We can afford to be uncertain but we cannot afford to be unclear. The more uncertain times get the clearer we should be about why we are doing what we do.

When Joshua took over leadership from Moses God told him to lead Israel across the Jordan and to take possession of the land He had promised to them. Now up to this point all they had done for the past 40 years was wander. I’m sure that when Joshua gave them the new marching orders there was a lot of uncertainty. But Joshua made sure that they all knew very clearly what the vision was. There were many questions to be answered but one things was immovable…their vision. They were crossing the Jordan.

Uncertainty brings about emotion. As a result it is easy to lose our clarity and make some real bad decisions. We must remember that clarity will trump uncertainty every single time. When times are uncertain, we must retreat back to our vision. One thing must remain crystal clear and that is what we came together to do. That is why having a clear vision is essential. The clearer the vision the easier it is to bring clarity.

Andy Stanley shared the vision of their church that they keep clear. From the very beginning they were in it to, "Create a church that unchurched people loved to attend."

SUPERMAN RETURNS?

Back in June of 2008 I actually preached a sermon as part of our Super Heroes message series here at Grace Church dressed in a full SUPERMAN outfit. If you were here, I am sure that the image of me in that blue outfit with the red boots and cape and the big red "S" on my chest is seared into your mind forever.

It created quite the response as it found its way on to literally dozens of blogs all across the country. Well, guess what? It is possible that

SUPERMAN may RETURN!

Now, I won't be preaching as the x-ray vision wonder this time. It will be something else. Something really big and something really important.

That's it for now. In the very near future...you will here more!

But for now,

UP, UP and AWAY!!!!!