jvbc's Xanga

November 10, 2009 9:45 a.m.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:02:27 GMT

Kristen is going to a report by the Barna Group on Thursday afternoon. They are a Christian research group that studies demographics. Specifically they study trends in spirituality, religious beliefs, and religious behaviors. What makes this study interesting is that they are looking at Houston. Their particular focus is people who would call themselves Christians, but have not attended church in over six months.

There is an incredible amount of information in the report. It will take a long time to digest it all. I can’t talk about it before the report is presented, but I would like to talk about one thing.

What do you think is the number one strategy that is most likely to get someone who hasn’t come to church in a long time to come to church?

A personal invitation from a friend. It is better than cds, or websites, or mail outs. It is number one in a landslide.

We are nearing the Christmas season. There are remarkable opportunities to invite our friends to incredible events.

The women who put on our Ladies’ Holiday Banquet know how to do it. They are sold out. They know how to invite their friends. Their entertainment is called “Minnie Pause and the Hot Flashes.” Must be a chick thing, but it works. Personal contacts work.

We have Christmas Theatre, Path to the Cradle, and Christmas Eve services. I am no George Barna, but I guarantee this. Christmas is the easiest time of year to invite a friend and the easiest to get them to come.

Here is a link to the schedules, times, and ticket info. Would you take a second and invite a friend? It could change everything for them.

http://www.jvbc.org/Christmas.htm

JVBC on Twitter: http://twittercom/jvbcatthecross
JVBC on Facebook: http://wwwfacebookcom/group.php?gid=15999501661&ref=mf
JVBC on Xanga: http://jvbcxanga.com/

November 9, 2009 8:30 a.m.

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:18:51 GMT

Life is filled with cycles and routines.

I have a favorite comedian. He talks in one routine about the difference between a job and a career.

One of the ways you can tell this difference is Monday morning.

If you have a job you hate Mondays. It is a long time to the weekend. The clock seems to move slowly on Monday mornings.

I love Mondays. It sets the pace and agenda for the whole week. This morning is when I plan my priorities and necessities and all that needs to occur this week. If I can go home tonight and know that I have had a productive Monday, then the rest of the week is really downhill after that.

I love the weekly cycle of worship, work, and rest; when I live according to God’s plan for my life. It has been that way from the beginning.

I also love the seasonal cycles. I will write the Call to Worship for Advent this morning. It is early November, but my mind is already wrapped around Christmas. I will set the rehearsal schedule for dramas during advent today. One way I stay fresh and excited about preaching is this…by the time I deliver a sermon on Sunday morning, the idea has been moving around in my mind for six weeks or so. I can’t wait for you to hear what I have had on my mind for a long time.

I am starting to get a picture of what the first sermon series of the New Year should be.

I also love longer cycles in life and ministry. We are in a season of economic recession. Do you remember the prognosticators who reassured us in February with the promise of a third quarter or fourth quarter rebound? We are there and it still hasn’t happened. Why? This season isn’t a six month season.

In the weekly cycles there are patterns of worship, work, and rest…and in yearly cycles there are four seasons and work, vacation and holidays…there are also patterns in the extended cycles of life.

We go through times of school, career, marriage, parenthood, empty nest [yeahh!!!], retirement etc. Those times are also punctuated with times of affluence and times of struggle. There are times of health and times of illness. There are times of family stability and times of dysfunction. These seasons are not as predictable or measurable as are the weekly day timer and the year long calendar.

So how do we keep life balanced in the midst of longer cycles such as economic recessions?

I had a friend who helped me greatly in this area. He said we have to live every day like we are going to live forever and every day like it is our last.

My ability to stay calm, cool and collected in long term instability is based on my ability to make the best of today. Good days make good weeks and good weeks make good seasons and good seasons make good lives.

So in summary….Happy Monday to you. Happy Monday to you. Happy Monday dear friend. Happy Monday to you!

November 5, 2009 9:30 a.m.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:04:47 GMT

It has been an unusually busy week and something had to be neglected. For better or worse it was my blog. Let me catch you up on a couple of items for your prayer support and general information.

The search for Joe Houston continues. Members of our church continue to minister to the family. Below is a link to a blog that can keep you up to date. Unbelievably his plane went down last Wednesday and they have not found him yet. We join the family in praying for a miracle. My specific prayer is that they find him very, very soon.

http://www.findjoehouston.blogspot.com/

Sometimes knowing nothing is worse than the reality of the situation.

I had the privilege of conducting three funeral services this week. I enjoy the different ways that people approach these services. I love hearing the different stories. Johnie Schulte’s service was on Monday. He lost a son eighteen years ago. He became a father figure to many men.

I asked the people who were at the service how many men considered Johnie a mentor or father figure. No less than 75 men raised their hand. I have never seen anything like it.

A Lutheran tradition is that the family goes to church at the church of the deceased the Sunday after the funeral. It is a really great idea. It is hard to reenter the worship center where you last saw your husband’s casket. Barbara will not be alone when she comes to church this Sunday.

I told the story of Johnie’s desire to be baptized by immersion, but not having the health to do that. I spoke with a lady this week who heard the story. The day after the service her mother told her she wanted to be immersed at our church. I will have the pleasure of performing that ceremony Saturday morning.

Even in the midst of a busy and sometimes crazy week you never know which story or which word will be the one that God uses to help and bless others.

I never cease to be amazed at the ways that God lets us in on all the things He does here.

Pigskin Pickins returns tomorrow with guest pickers. I went 5-0 last week. The pressure is on.

p.s. One of our church members is making free tickets to Christmas Theatre available to church members who can’t afford them. Contact me directly and I will take care of this for you.

November 3, 2009 9:40 a.m.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:55:00 GMT

Guest Blog by Kristen Haskett, Media Director

When planning church media, and I think when making any decision in life, we have to ask ourselves “Why?” – if we’re doing something just because we can or just because it might look cool, we shouldn’t do it at all. The purpose behind everything we do with media as a church should be to help make the church relevant to our society and community in order to build up believers and reach out to a fallen world. Jesus Christ made his message relevant to people around Him while He walked the earth. He used parables of shepherds and sheep and farmers and crops because that’s what people did then. Our job of being the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” remains the same now as it was then, and the message of Hope is the same now that it was then. What has changed is the means by which we communicate that message. It is our job as the Church today to have our finger on the pulse of trends in our society so we can be relevant to the community around us. The Church should be setting the pace – not the last to follow the latest trends.

I was inspired last week by a couple videos (links below) that include surprising statistics about the growing use of social media today. Check it out if you have time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXKI506w-E

So what does this mean for us at JVBC? Social media is drastically changing the way we communicate and is opening new doors to reach a much wider audience. Where before we could write a letter, send an email, or even send a text to one or two people, we now can post a tweet on Twitter or a status on Facebook for the world to see. Social media provides a new tool to the church to communicate the message of Christ with more people, more quickly, more effectively than ever before. But the church on it’s own can’t reach all of our community – we need you! Facebook and Twitter are both FREE and easy to use. Below is a link to an article from Collide Magazine on why Christians should use Twitter.

http://www.collidemagazine.com/article/264/why-christians-should-use-twitter

In case you aren’t convinced yet, we are having a FREE JVBC Christmas t-shirt giveaway today at noon. All you have to do to enter is join the JVBC page on Facebook or follow JVBCatthecross on Twitter – just click on the links below to get started!

http://www.facebook.com/JVBCatthecross

http://www.twitter.com/JVBCatthecross

One more link, just in case you’re thinking right now, “What in the world is Twitter, and how would I know how to use it???” Below is a You Tube video that gives step by step instructions on how to sign up for Twitter and how to use it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0xbjIE8cPM

God has placed you in your home, job, neighborhood, and circle of friends for a specific purpose and desires to use you where you are to share His message. Thanks for joining us – I hope you will add salt to someone’s day today, maybe in a new way than ever before!

JVBC on Twitter: http://twittercom/jvbcatthecross
JVBC on Facebook: http://wwwfacebookcom/group.php?gid=15999501661&ref=mf
JVBC on Xanga: http://jvbcxanga.com/

November 2, 2009 5:00 p.m.

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:06:49 GMT

It has been a really busy weekend. Let me catch you up on some details.

Johnie Schulte’s funeral was this morning at 10:00 a.m. at His House. It was a wonderful service and tribute to a wonderful man.

Joe Houston is still missing. He grew up in our church. He is one of two Navy men who went down in a plane off the Texas coast last week. The other man has been found, but Joe has not. Continue to pray for his parents John and Glyndell, his brother Jimmy, his five year old son, and his fiancée. Needless to say, time is of the essence.

Pam Gardner is coordinating meals to take to the family. If you want to help contact Jeff or me at the church and we will pass that along.

Yesterday we had a worship service which revolved around the theme AMAZING GRACE.

Take a second and listen to this version. It is amazing!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785324681?bclid=1338935106&bctid=1913313052

My daughter turned 19 yesterday. Her friends spray painted the Oberlin Rocks on the quad in her honor. Friends at the church she attends cooked a birthday meal. They googled southern food and found a recipe for fried okra. It was a very thoughtful and nice thing to do.

I hope and pray that you all have a wonderful week.

JVBC on Twitter: http://twittercom/jvbcatthecross
JVBC on Facebook: http://wwwfacebookcom/group.php?gid=15999501661&ref=mf
JVBC on Xanga: http://jvbcxanga.com/

October 30, 2009 12:25 p.m.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:34:49 GMT

Sorry we did not mention in the blog who it was that passed away. It was Johnnie Schulte, a dear friend and church member.

October 30, 2009 11:45 a.m.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:00:44 GMT

I wanted to let you know about something. I lost a really good friend last night. Our church and community lost a really good friend who past away last night.

I will write more in a blog next week. The family visitation will be at Klein Funeral Home in the Cypress area, the funeral service itself will be at JVBC in His House. We will let you know more information as we know it.

I also received an update on Joe Houston last night from his mom and dad. Continue to pray!

On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, about 3:20 p.m. our Navy son's plane went down while on a routine training mission. Joe was flying with a senior flight instructor. An intensive search and rescue mission was begun, and as of this writing nothing has been located.

Our hearts are blessed by your outpouring of love and prayers on behalf of our son, Joe, and his pilot friend. Prayer is the key. Please continue continual prayer vigil and we will attempt to keep you updated as we hear something.

The search continues until midnight tonight involving the Coast Guard, Navy, and Border Patrol. In the morning a large Coast Guard cutter boat with 4 divers will be added. Private helicopter companies have volunteered and joined in the search. A small oil slick has been spotted that might possibly be a clue.

Prayer points:

- time is of the essence

- weather is a factor

- pray for our 5 yr. old grandson, Asher

- pray for rescuers to remain safe

- for God to illuminate and guide them to the spot

- for both pilots to be alive and safe

- for God to be glorified in everything surrounding this event

Gratefully,

Glyndell & John

October 30, 2009 9:30 a.m.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:46:52 GMT

Friday is fun day on my blog. Thoughts turn to the weekend. More specifically…my thoughts turn toward football.

In Crockett there was a radio program that was huge. It was called: “Pigskin Pickins”. It aired on Fridays in the late afternoon. It was designed to be a program people would listen to as they headed off to their favorite high school game.

The format was simple. You had on air radio personalities, experts like Aggie great Edd Hargett and the guest celebrity picker of the week. In Crockett, being the Pastor at First Baptist qualified you to be a celebrity picker. Go figure.

The truth is…I LOVED IT!!!

It was recorded on Wednesday afternoon. We had to act like we were recording it on Friday afternoon. You would say things like: “I can’t wait for the big game tonight!” or “Traffic is really picking up on the square as people head out to the stadium.”

If you were a part of the crew that week you had to stay home bound during the broadcast lest you give away the elusion that was live radio.

The hard part was this. We mainly picked high school football games. What could I possibly know about Arp Versus Groveton?

I would pick teams in unusual ways. For example…a bear would always beat a bobcat in a fight.

Sometimes I would choose by team color. Red beats blue. Green beats yellow etc.

The football purists didn’t care for my approach. Women and children found me amusing.

One time I chose teams by the city with the best Dairy Queen.

A couple of times my picks were the best of the bunch. It was always fun. So in that tradition I would like to ask you to join me in a special edition of

“Pigskin Pickins.”

I have chosen five games from college. These are my picks. See how I do after the weekend. Take a minute and pick your own. Who knows…we might revive the tradition here at JVBC.

The big question is this. Who would our experts be? Who would the celebrities be? Could the women do better than the men? You never know.

U.T. @ Ok. State Stillwater is a tough place to play. Texas needs to get off to a fast start. Ok. State has a few injuries. I am going with Texas by ten.

Oregon @ USC This is my upset special. It will also be the best game of the day. The Ducks are strong after an embarrassing first game. They will win in a last minute nail biter.

Nebraska @ Baylor. Baylor will keep it close, but Nebraska will not lose three straight. How do those Baptists in Waco drown their sorrow? Dr. Pepper??

Iowa State @ Texas A&M This will be a really good game. Iowa State is much improved. Which Aggie team shows up? The team that lost to K State or the team that dismantled Tech. I am going with the Ags by seven.

Kansas at Texas Tech I like the Jayhawks [aka Fighting Manginos] but they are really inconsistent lately. Tech is coming off a tough loss. Mike Leach had the best line this week. When asked why his players underperformed he replied: “I think my players spent too much time talking to their fat girlfriends this week.” The Red Raiders win in a blow out.

For the record my wife and daughter think Leach should be fired for such comments. I question his sanity.

Let me know your picks. Let’s see how you do.

Will I be watching the UT game? NO!!!!! I will be at Trunk or Treat. See you there.

October 29, 2009 4:50 p.m.

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:11:56 GMT

We wanted to send out a brief update to the blog we sent out this morning asking you to pray for John and Glyndell Houston’s son, Joe.

No sightings yet of Joe, the co-pilot, or the airplane. They have expanded the search and will continue it for 4 days. Joe is considered "missing but hopeful" at this time. Glyndell is surrounded by family and they are set with food and other provisions.

The Navy officers visited them earlier today and are the ones that receive the latest updates and will filter the information to the Houstons immediately upon receipt. She asked that we also pray for the co-pilot who is married with a young child.

She thanks each of you for your continued prayers for Joe and the family.

This afternoon the press will release the names of Joe and the other training pilot.

You might want to keep checking the Corpus Christi Caller newspaper online for additional updates.

Please also pray for Joe’s fiancée, whose name is Jenn. Thank you for your prayers!

p.s. We have had multiple problems with ticket links on our website when people have been trying to purchase tickets for Christmas Theatre (http://www.jvbc.org/Christmas.htm) or the David Crowder Band concert (http://www.jvbc.org). These events are not sold out, and all links should be working now. Just click on the Christmas banner on our home page to purchase Christmas Theatre tickets, and click on the link below for David Crowder tickets. Thank you for your patience as we work out the bugs in the system!

http://public.serviceu.com/ticketing/chooseSection.asp?OrgID=9681&EventID=4365796&OccID=152806742&VenueID=827

JVBC on Twitter: http://twittercom/jvbcatthecross
JVBC on Facebook: http://wwwfacebookcom/group.php?gid=15999501661&ref=mf
JVBC on Xanga: http://jvbcxanga.com/

October 29, 2009 8:20 a.m.

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:06:17 GMT

We have an urgent prayer request that we need you to pray with us about. John and Glyndell Houston's son, Joe, who is in the Navy and stationed in Corpus Christi was flying Wednesday afternoon and his plane went off the radar at 3:30 p.m. An extensive search is still under way for the Joe and his co-pilot who also went down with the plane. They have sent Navy people to be with the family until Joe is found. Please pray for the search and rescue team, for Joe and his co-pilot's safety and for peace and comfort for the Houston family.

This news article below gives you more details about the incident:

http://www.caller.com/news/2009/oct/28/navy-training-plane-missing/

JVBC on Twitter: http://twittercom/jvbcatthecross
JVBC on Facebook: http://wwwfacebookcom/group.php?gid=15999501661&ref=mf
JVBC on Xanga: http://jvbcxanga.com/