Give me Your eyes
A leader walks a fine line of balance between what is good for the church to hear and what he needs to protect them from. I feel compelled to write at a level that comes up to the line today.
I believe our church is bleeding right now.
† I say that, in part, from just an obvious “no duh” at the state of our economy and how it has rocked so many people in our community. I couldn’t begin to tell you all the stories I have heard lately; in them the overwhelming theme is people are shaken up, uncertain, dealing with loss of jobs, potential loss of jobs, bankruptcy, etc.
† I say it from the fact that honestly, in my lifetime, I have personally never seen more marriages in trouble, or ending, or near the brink, or on life support.
† I say it from the fact that there is a massive amount of turnover at this church. Massive. We have recently started using a system called F1. It tracks attendance and members among other things. The truth is that while Sunset has a big front door, it also has a huge back door. If the church is a family… a community, this one keeps getting new dads, new moms, new brothers and sisters, and losing precious old ones.
There has been a lot of talk lately among the leaders at Sunset about the reality of this back door.
I think one of the reasons we have a huge back door is that we don’t care for each other well. And let me start with me. The two main reasons I don’t care for others well is because of my own laziness and my own selfishness. I battle these two things in ministry when it comes to loving others more than anything else. The job and the tasks can easily, without a lot of thought, become the main thing; then people fall through the cracks and become second on the list. But I suspect I’m not alone. We are a church that talks a lot about wanting to reach out, love those outside our walls, to reach out into our community. I don’t think we can do that till we really start loving our own.
This weekend we are singing a song called, “Give me Your Eyes”.
The chorus reads:
Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
I’m convinced that, should I continue to work at a church, this is one of the main things God is going to continue to refine in me over the years… the importance of people.
What about you? If you are like me, sometimes the immensity of the need, of the hurt and void that exists in this community, overwhelms me and causes me to do nothing. But what if we started small, with one person this week? One person we let God prompt us to reach out to in some small way… just to let them know we are thinking about them and that we care.
Give us Your eyes Lord.
Opportunities to Serve
Children's Spring Musical Drama Auditions Sunday, Feb 22nd, 12:30 - 2 pm, Basement Any child, who attends Kidtropolis, ages K - 5th is welcome to tryout for the Spring Musical. No previous experience or training is required. Performance will be in the Sanctuary on May 17th RSVP to Daphne Parker: mailto:dramamomma3@gmail.com subject Spring Musical
Are You Musical??
We are always on the lookout for talented musicians with a heart to serve on the team. Whether you play the electric guitar or the Swedish bagpipes, we want to hear you play!
Come April 5th, 1pm in the Sanctuary. Please rsvp to Tyler at tylerbraun@sunsetpres.org asap and we will get you more info on how you can prepare.
1 Dish Dinners
We are looking for people who would be willing to prepare a 1 dish dinner once a month for the team working behind the scenes at the 5pm gathering. Drop off the dish Sunday a.m. when you come to church, we’ll cook it, clean it and be very thankful to grab a bite to eat on the run. For more information or to volunteer to cook please contact carriepeeples@sunsetpres.org.
Ushers Needed!
We are in need of ushers to serve once-a-month during the 9am, 11am or 5pm gathering each week. Let Gene Barrett (Baarrett@aol.com) know which gathering you’d prefer to serve in.
Upcoming Events
Evening of Support for Those Who Have Lost Jobs
Tuesday, February 17th from 7:00 pm
Check out this week’s bulletin for more details
Hymn Night - This evening is a wonderful opportunity to worship God in the rich theology, history and tradition passed on to us through these wonderful songs. Whether you miss singing hymns or simply appreciate the story that is told in the lyrics, Sunset warmly invites you to come together for a Night of Hymns to praise God together in His house. Sunday, March 8th, 6:30pm.
February 17- March 10 – Good $ense classes, Tuesday evenings (see bulletin for more detail)
February 20-21 – Women’s Retreat, Closer Event, (see bulletin for more detail)
March 8 – Daylight Savings Begins
March 8 – Hymn Night, 6pm
March 13-15 – Ironman Conference, sign up in the lobby or online www.sunsetpres.org/go/men
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