Our Pastors, Directors and Residents: Caleb Aulie, pastoral resident | Cheryce Berg, ministry director of children | Roger Burgess, pastor of visitation | Julie Clemens, ministry director of STARS disabilities | Erik Dewar, pastor of worship and music Matt Heaton, pastoral resident | Baxter Helm, high school pastor | Dan Hiben, middle school pastor | Tim Hollinger, technology director | Jim Johanik, pastor of evangelism | Ann Karow, human resources director | Howard Kern, facilities director | Ethan Kim, pastoral resident | Bruce Main, pastor of visitation | Josh Maurer, pastor of discipleship and care | Curt Miller, missions pastor | Josh Moody, senior pastor | Mindy Rynbrandt, ministry director for women’s discipleship and care | James Seward, pastor of community | John Seward, executive pastor Nancy Singer, director of administration and finance | Wil Triggs, director of communications
Our Council of Elders: Mark Bradley, vice-chair | Jay Cunningham | Steve Ivester | Randy Jahns | Heinrich Johnsen | Anson Johnson | Jonathan (J.J.)
David Setran,
Connections is a monthly newsletter published for and about the people of College Church. Send news items and suggestions to: connections@ college-church.org. Keep Connections in mind to promote a community event to the College Church family. Send event information by the following dates: For the July issue: June 9 | For the August issue: July 9 For the September issue: August 9
CONTRIBUTORS
WALLACE ALCORN
Wallace and Ann Alcorn lived in Wheaton while he was on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and she was an office nurse at the Wheaton Medical Clinic. Their daughter, Dr. Allison Alcorn, graduated from Wheaton Conservatory of Music in music history and literature and is professor of musicology at Illinois State University. Granddaughter Kiersten Alcorn is in management at Detroit Symphony Orchestra and will be married in August.
GARY COOK
serves as the ministry associate for small groups at College Church and as an adjunct professor in theological studies. His pastoral experience and study of church history have given him a passion for faithful stewardship by the church of the essential truths of the Christian faith. Recently relocated from Texas, he and his wife, Karen, have two adult children: daughter Taddie, who serves in KMs, and son James, who serves on a church staff in Naperville.
JAMES COOK
and his wife, Becky, first met in HYACKS and are long time members of College Church. They have four adult children and three grandchildren. James has served as an usher and head usher for many years, and for the last six and a half years, he has served as head of the Life Safety Team here at College Church. A former social studies teacher, James enjoys his role as life safety manager.
PAT CIRRINCIONE
makes good use of her time reading, attending musicals and coffee and conversation with friends, old and new. She is devoted to praying for her grandchildren and writing. Her greatest joys are God and her family, and time with both makes for much joy and laughter.
TONY DILEONARDI
has been at College Church for almost 40 years. Today he serves on the board of directors for STARS Family Services and as the executive director of God Centered Life, the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Moody. Tony and Diane have four adult children and love providing coffee and snacks to congregants on many Sunday mornings.
JUDY HULSEBERG
enjoys traveling and game nights with her family. She loves Japanese gardens, especially the one that her husband built in their back yard.
ALEX LEE
has been a letter-carrier for 36 years and is counting down the days when he can hang up his satchel in retirement and take up his pen more frequently. He and his wife, Virginia, are blessed with a daughter and a son, and five grandchildren.
CHARLENE MILLER
preschool teacher, wife to Daniel, mom to Jonah—enjoys gardening, reading and painting.
THINGS TAKE TIME; TIME TAKES THINGS
WIL TRIGGS | EDITOR
Our theme for this month’s Connections is “time.” So this month our writers explore the stuff of our lives in contrast with the people we become over time. Wallace Alcorn’s “The Dollhouse,” (p. 2), Judy Hsu-Hulseberg “Time for Joy” (p.4) and even Alex Lee’s “Downsizing to the Max” (p.12) consider the weight of our accumulations over time. Gary Cook’s “Investing Our Time” (p.7)—explores how Scripture suggests our investment in time and Pat Cirrincionne’s “For Everything There Is a Season,” (p.10) riff on Ecclesiastes to-everything-a-season classic outlook on time. The cumulative effect of these may have eternal consequences.
And then, by extension, this issue also points to different ways we as people or as a church use the resources God has given us over time. In “A More Caring Congregation,” (p.18)
Josh Maurer and Mindy Rynbrandt point to a shift in our ministry structures to allow for a widening sense of pastoral and congregational care, from one person to many.
Tony DiLeonardi’s “What’s in a Name?” (p. 17) clarifies and celebrates STARS ministry and STARS Family Services—two ministries, each a part of us and our care for people. In “Pure Religion,” (p. 20) Charlene Miller overviews some of the challenges and joys of foster care. An anonymous writer challenges us to revisit the fundamentals of the sanctity of human life. And another anonymous writer links recent services and meetings of the church with a deepening sense of purpose.
More specifically about church, James Cooks answers questions about safety and security as he answers questions in his “FAQs about the Life Safety Team” (p.26) And Pastor Johanik asserts that “Growth is in our DNA” (p.30) as he looks back over time to our past and ahead to our future as we build buildings and more.
Are we running out of time? Saving time? Do we have time for something new? Manage time? Are we fooling ourselves when we think we can add days to our lives? Psalm 90:12 tells us to number our days and gain a heart of wisdom. And Jesus in Matthew 6: 27 asks us “ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?“
I trust this issue helps us to think about time and our lives and walk with God in a more focused way as we head into summer. May this season be one in which time is more redeemed than wasted for each one of us. Take time to get closer to Jesus, to find new ways to let him in.
Time for Joy
My husband and I spent a few weeks recently watching a show about the tiny house movement—a trend focused on the benefits and virtues of extreme downsizing. Some proponents cite affordability and sustainability as primary drivers for going tiny. Others emphasize the freedom to move easily and feed their wanderlust in the comfort of a portable home. And all extol the advantages of shedding stuff. Freedom from consumerism and materialism, less time spent cleaning and maintaining possessions, and as a result, more time and resources for the things that matter most: family and friends, meaningful experiences, activities that bring joy.
We experienced a degree of this when we downsized from our family home a few years ago. Sifting through the mountains of household items, clothing, books, sports equipment and assorted mementos accumulated over more than two decades was overwhelming. Deciding what would make the cut was excruciating—for me anyway. My husband, on the other hand, was giddy with every box load that made it to a different home, the resale shop or the end of the driveway (which, by the way, was a continual reminder that one man’s junk truly is another man’s treasure).
When the truckloads of dust had settled, and we were finally settled into the new place, we did begin to experience some of the advantages touted by tiny house promoters, chief among them, more time for what is most important to us. So, when we stumbled onto the show about tiny houses, we were intrigued by the resourcefulness and creativity built into the design of the homes, and the idea of conserving even more time for intentional and meaningful living.
Each episode highlighted idyllic tiny home lifestyles. A writer in Colorado
JUDY HULSEBERG
seemed to spend about a minute tidying up after breakfast on the patio before pulling out her handy workspace with its view of the Rockies. Countless families with young children seemed to cook and eat and clean together—Little House on the Prairie style—with nary a device or screen in sight. Everyone seemed to have reams of time for hikes and crafts and coffee on the porch. They retained the bare minimum but seemed to have just what they needed to live comfortably, thoughtfully and even spaciously, with one couple somehow entertaining a large family gathering with a miniature stove and an egg-shaped grill hitched to the side of their house. I could get on board with all of this, I thought. However, skeptical thoughts began to creep into my musings of a storybook life in a shoebox. Is it really efficient to take apart and put away an entire bed every morning? Would sharing an airplane-like lavatory and rain barrel shower with my husband and visiting children truly minimize cleanup and enhance closeness? When the mother of a toddler and infant explained that life was simpler now that she had given up a washer and dryer and taken to doing laundry outside—daily—with a hand-cranked contraption, I found myself thinking that we had hurtled past the point of diminishing returns and into the realm delusional thinking.
As I thought about the irony of spending so much time in an effort to save time, I realized that I was hardly one to find fault. I have wasted plenty of time pondering all manner of topics, including the nature of time and how to use it wisely.
The number of books, seminars and online tips on time management suggest that I am not alone in considering how to best utilize time. For the believer, there is the added desire to steward time well. We long not only to make the most of our days, but also to do so in a way that pleases God. A daunting task, given all the options placed before us each day. Even Moses, whom the Lord knew face-to-face, needed to pray, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
What a comfort to be reminded that, God, the creator and master of time, gave careful thought not only to the scope of our lives, but also to each day. “[I]n your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16) This truth is both an invitation to receive each moment and season as a gift from his hand, as well as a challenge to decide how best to spend the time we are given.
Attitudes toward time vary in different cultures, of course. Being on time means one thing in Germany and another in Italy. I will never forget the German cab driver who reminded me (while we were crawling in traffic and perilously close to missing our train) that, “If the schedule says 5:00, it leaves at 5:00, not 5:01, not 5:02.” The French zealously protect their vacation time, while many
Americans seem to prize squeezing as many activities as possible into already packed calendars.
The immigrant Asian culture, with its emphasis on effort and achievement, places a high value on productive use of time. Our Asian American church reinforced this with a focus on scriptural rules and warnings: Redeem the time because the days are evil, turn your eyes from worthless things, do God’s work as long as it is day, walk wisely and make the best use of the time.
Wisdom is found in these instructions and in keeping them there truly is great reward. However, purely focusing on carefully using time can sometimes leave little room for the other reminder from Psalm 139:16, that time is also a gift to be enjoyed.
My remarkably industrious mother serves tirelessly in and out of the home, and she has exemplified the principle of redeeming time. Perhaps from her good example, I somehow concluded that time spent working and serving was more important than times of rest and enjoyment, becoming more of a Martha than a Mary. Over the years, God has adjusted this perspective, in part through the example of family and friends who have demonstrated different ways of balancing times of productivity and pleasure beautifully. These days, when I make time for refreshing walks, good books and breaks on the patio to feel the sun on my face, I realize that adopting a more balanced view of time has enhanced my use of it.
I thought about this recently while spending extended time with my dad. A health crisis meant long days in a hospital room with plenty of time to think. Time in a hospital has a way of clearing away distractions and clarifying what is important. Some thoughts about my dad came to mind: The night he surprised us with a new car and pulled us out of bed for a drive in our PJs. Extra trips through the car wash just because my brother enjoyed them so much. Late night snacks and blackand-white movies. Chats about novels and advice about life. His coming to my apartment for “house calls,” black medical bag in hand, just to check in when I had a cold. My roommate couldn’t imagine her father taking the time to do that; it hadn’t occurred to me that my father wouldn’t.
God has given us extra time with my dad. It is an unexpected gift that many don’t receive, and we are so grateful. While we are savoring this season, not much has changed in how we spend time together. Being with my dad remains the same— sweet, peaceful, humorous. Like anyone, he is not perfect. But in thinking about his life, I realize that it is marked more by how he makes people feel than by anything he has done. Surely, this is another version of time well spent.
Most days, I continue to ask God to teach me to number my days so that I may gain a heart of wisdom. But with this addendum: Please teach me to order this day, Lord, that I may not miss the good works—and the joy—you have prepared for me.
Investing Our Time
GARY COOK
“For, though Himself eternal, and without beginning, yet He caused time to have a beginning; and man, whom He had not previously made He made in time, not from a new and sudden resolution, but by His unchangeable and eternal design.” (Augustine, City of God)
This fourth century bishop, who carefully studied the creation account in Genesis, observed something remarkable. Perhaps, from time to time, you pause to wonder at the beauty of the world God made. While there are so many aspects to admire, one of the amazing, mysterious and elusive ingredients of God’s creation is time.
Think about this for a moment: Time as we know it began when God spoke the universe into existence.
God is not only the creator of time but also the master of time. The Bible provides glimpses of this in so many ways. The creation-fallredemption narrative of Scripture unfolds God’s plan for creation and humanity progressively and precisely accomplished in the years, days and even seconds according to his eternal timetable. Markers of remembrance, such as the twelve stones planted in the middle of the Jordan River after the miraculous crossing into the promised land (Joshua 4), were established as reminders for his people at particular points in time when God displayed his presence, power and dominion over creation. Prophesies of future events, small and grand—such as the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus Christ, the Son of God—were given that were (and will be) accomplished, without any delay or disruption, at the exact times ordained by God.
We humans, though created in the image of God, operate on a completely different, so to speak, time schedule.
We also seek ways to master time. Some people make bucket lists of places they want to visit, experiences they want to have, goals they want to accomplish. Some people seek to apply discipline to time by crafting agendas, to-do lists, plans and visions to conform to specific timetables.
The truth is that no one, not one of us, can ordain time to perfectly concur with our carefully concocted road maps, even with convictions that these are intended to serve and bring glory to God. We cannot predict the future, knowing and preparing for potential and actual events of every coming moment that may change or cancel the course we have set.
James, the brother of Jesus, imparted sobering (and blunt) wisdom on our limitations:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are like a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13-15)
Gulp! What then? Should we surrender our scheduling, planning and goalsetting mindset and processes? Not so fast. Perhaps we simply need a proper perspective. First, it would do us good to remember that God created us to live in time as he designed it, a design that governs the entire universe and every individual human life. Second, by the eternal plan and grace of God, each of us were born at a particular time, redeemed at a particular time, and grafted into his grand and glorious purpose for this particular time. And third, and perhaps most compelling, God has a purpose with specific intentions for how we— individual Christians and the church— are to use the time we have been given.
Paul reminds us of this in his letters:
• He (God) is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our work but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began. (2 Timothy 1:9)
• For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them. (Ephesians 2:10)
• For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus ... And I pray this, that you love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with fruit that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:6, 9-11)
So how do we invest the time we have? Here’s a few recommendations. Spend time meditating on these Scriptures and others which speak of God’s perspective of our time. Seek to apply them to your goal setting, planning and scheduling efforts. Think about how each choice will bring glory to God. And when you face obstacles or setbacks, bridle any frustration by remembering that God’s plans, of which you and I are a part, will be fulfilled. His calling of us and his desires for us in every moment of time, even the difficult ones, are always best.
The Dollhouse
WALLACE ALCORN
“Dad, please do something about the dollhouse. Just, um, don’t tell me what.”
(So did Allison plea eighteen years ago.)
The dollhouse. Made forty years earlier in Milwaukee and first played with in Wheaton, we had transported it halfway across the country and back, now to Libertyville, where last played with. It wasn’t the classy sort of thing Hasbro, Mattel or Bandai Namco would have produced and sold at high prices in major retail stores. It was, well, not exactly ugly but, at least, awkward. Dad was no craftsman and lacked proper tools. What he lacked, he more than compensated for by making things for his family.
He made the thing in his un-equipped basement out of whatever materials were available. (The desk my brother and I used through high school, he made from orange crates.) For the dollhouse, he used thick, heavy plywood: 4 ft x 2 ft x 3 ft. It was a bear to move, which I was to do for thousands of miles.
Dad often mentioned his progress and seemed delighted with the project. After he had spent more than a year working on it, he asked us to drive up from Wheaton to Milwaukee, and there, we loaded the finished project into our station wagon. Ann and Mom kept Allison distracted.
Dad reminded me of the many hours he spent in constructing this but spoke to prepare me to receive an admission that embarrassed him. “I hope you understand what I mean, but now I’m a little glad [my brother] never had a girl.” I’m quite sure it was the last major project he ever attempted, dying less than two years later. He
meant, of course, that he could never do this again and that she was his only granddaughter. We kept the gift hidden in our basement until Christmas (1968) when Grandpa and Grandma came down to present this unique dollhouse. Allison’s obsession in playing matched Grandpa’s in building. It became a gathering place for neighborhood girls. (More than once, I spotted both brothers, if not playing with it, then at least near it.) After some years of heavy use and much affection, I built a protective crate for it for our move to Tacoma, Washington— a journey of over 2,000 miles.
We never did uncrate the dollhouse there. I once offered to do so, but the now self-conscious middle schooler declined unconvincingly. She made occasional nostalgic references as if recalled from another life. So, when we moved to Minnesota (1,800 miles this trip), it was still crated. No room in our house, I kept it in the garage. Though unseen for some years it was by no means forgotten.
Our granddaughter Kiersten, who had never met her great-grandfather, heard from her mother the many stories about this now famous dollhouse.
So, on one visit to Minnesota, when the dollhouse had been crated for twenty-eight years, I led mother and daughter to our garage. Allison, who had become pretty good at predicting what I might do, held her breath as I opened the garage door. I had removed its crating and covered the dollhouse with a trap. And with something like
the unveiling of a piece of fine art, I now pulled the tarp off.
Allison’s heart jumped into her throat, and she cried. Kiersten stared as if seeing an apparition. At six years old, she was exactly the age of her mother when she first saw the dollhouse. Now it had become a family legend, the experience of four generations.
We loaded the recovered dollhouse into their vehicle, and they drove it back to Libertyville, less than 400 miles this time. The dollhouse served in Libertyville as it had in Wheaton. Now Kiersten was becoming the young lady, and the dollhouse was again abandoned—but not forgotten.
“Dad, please do something about the dollhouse. Just, um, don’t tell me what.”
My journal for Monday, 19 February 2007:
“The dollhouse is no more, but two generations of little girls, and we, will never forget it. Indeed, what I did today was more emotional for me than I had thought it would be, if I had thought. It was bittersweet. My initial reaction was I’d knock it apart
in a few minutes and cart the scrap lumber to Austin for the dumpster.”
But I needed time, not unlike adjusting to the imminent death of a family member. And the dollhouse’s fate needed to remain unknown to daughter and granddaughter. Ann and I transported it back to Minnesota.
“It wasn’t this easy. When I took hammer in hand, I was laying my hand on my father’s handiwork. More, it was the work of his heart….
“I suppose I could have steeled myself emotionally and just whack the thing apart. I could have put all this from my mind and pretended it was just another demolition job. But I didn’t want to. The dollhouse would soon be gone, but I wanted to live with it a little longer. So, I chose not to wreck it but to Disassemble it.
“I picture Dad thoughtfully, painstakingly, lovingly planning and building this. I am confident he was thinking of Allison with every nail he drove in and every screw he placed. It’s easy for me to picture this today, because today I was thinking of him with every nail I pulled out and
every screw I removed. I relived his love for my daughter, and I was reminded of how pleased I was to present him with his first girl descendant. I engaged in a mental conversation with my father. ‘Alright, Dad, how did you install this wall between the living room and dining room?’ ‘You put a flathead screw in from beneath the floor? Yes, I found it, but how did you get it in at this angle?’ I wondered where he got his floor lan. He had never lived in a house like this [twostory], and he had never even owned a house. Could this be the house in his dreams he had always wanted to build for Mom? Now he was building it small for his granddaughter.
“I wish he could have known Kiersten, because she is a little Allison. I also gave him a great granddaughter, but they never knew each other. Kiersten thinks she knows him, because she met him embodied in the dollhouse he made for her….”
For “her”? Was this entry in my journal a slip? Did I confuse girls? I think not. When a family has its own dollhouse, it’s ours and it’s never not here. Not even now.
Gallery SPOTLIGHT
BÄTZSCHRIFT
the art of Timothy R. Botts and Jeremy Botts
JUNE 1-JULY 11
GALLERY HOURS: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12 to 2 p.m.
TIMOTHY BOTTS
TIMOTHY BOTTS
TIMOTHY BOTTS
TIMOTHY BOTTS
JEREMY BOTTS
JEREMY BOTTS
JEREMY BOTTS
JEREMY BOTTS
GALLERY
BÄTZSCHRIFT
the art of Timothy R. Botts and Jeremy Botts
JUNE 1-JULY 11 IN CROSSINGS RECEPTION ON JUNE 1 | 12-2PM
Featuring a live Art Demo by Timothy Botts.
ART & STORY
Artist & Writer collaborative Works
COMING IN JULY
Call for artists/writers
A collaborative gallery displaying the work of both artists and writers working in partnerships. Artists and writers can choose their collaborative partners, or we can choose them for you.
https://dynamic.formstack.com/ forms/art_story
GALLERY HOURS: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12 to 2 p.m.
NOTE: For other opening times, contact the church office at (630) 668-0878 or email artspace@college-church.org
GATHERING
A monthly coming together, where we discuss our personal projects and the many facets of creativity and God.
TUESDAY, JUNE 17
(NOTE DATE CHANGE) at 7 p.m. in Crossings
June through September we will be reading and considering the book Rembrandt Is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey. Books will be available at our June meeting for a reduced cost of $15.
June word of the month: TIME
July word of the month: IDOLS ALL ARE WELCOME!
WORKSHOP
COMING IN JULY:
GROWING YOUR WRITING MUSCLES IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2025
SATURDAY, JULY 19
10 a.m.-12 p.m. in Crossings
optional donation: $5
Not a repeat of the February workshop, this time we will build on the basics and encourage one another to persevere and branch out in writing in the second half of 2025. Panelists still to be determined.
Watch for details.
For more information or to sign up for a workshop, visit our webpage: college-church.org/artspace.
For ThereEverything Is a Season
PAT CIRRINCIONE
Time. When I hear this word in any context it reminds me of the peculiar white rabbit that appears in Lewis Carroll’s children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland With pocket watch in hand, he was always muttering about being “late.” As I grew up, I really came to dislike that pocket watch he carried around with him, because it meant that just about everything family and friends did was connected to looking at a watch. Hurry up, you’ll be late. Take your time, you’ll be early. Forget about it. It’s over, we didn’t get there in time. Seriously? Why do we allow a watch or clock to impose such rigid schedules and adherence to time? If I could just have a bit more of your time allow me to delve into this unwieldly topic of conversation.
According to Google, the word “time” appears 609 times in the King James Version of the Bible. The phrase “time” appears 820 times, and there are also 562 verses about time. The personal name of God is mentioned approximately 7000 times! In Scripture, God uses time as a linear progression of his
divine framework to fulfill his plans and make known his amazing love to humans. In Psalm 90:12, we are taught to count our days that we may gain a wise heart, but my most favorite passage about time appears in Ecclesiastes 3:18 where it is said: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to cast away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace. Says it all, doesn’t it?
The White Rabbit in Wonderland can’t even come close to God’s wisdom. Silly rabbit with his rigid schedule, determined by the pressures of his pocket watch, and the helplessness portrayed by his confusion as he runs around searching for answers he could have found in the Bible.
Time goes by quickly, so these next few things I’ve gleaned from Priscilla Schirer in her book Fervent, who wrote “Get along, don’t fret over politics, or other earthly things. Spend time with your Lord and Savior.” Try to see people the way Jesus sees you. Try not to let the enemy lure you into spending time in fear or anger. I have lost family ties because of people listening to Satan, the master of lies, who loves spending all his time telling people why they can’t kick old habits, lead a Bible study or aren’t qualified for a job, “You can’t do this, could never do that, and are too crazy to even think about doing that other thing!” Quit wasting your time and quit listening to the one who never wants you to spend your time using the gifts God has given you. Pray to be fearless and do the things
God has sent you here to do before you run out of time.
And please. Don’t you think it’s time to rid yourself of your pocket watch? I quit wearing my watch for a full year many years ago. It was liberating, refreshing and showed that even though I no longer wore my watch, I was, and continue to be, fixated on time. Church bell chimes calling me to Sunday service; commitments to be at certain places and specific times; school schedules, work schedules; all of these things still have us moving in a hurried pace and stressed about being late! (Except for a cousin of mine. If you told her dinner was at three, she arrived at five and wondered why the food wasn’t hot.)
We do know this about time from Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
So, here’s what I have left to do with my time: I want to serve God with a whole heart and willing mind, which hopefully will shape everything I do with whatever time I have left.
Because the Lord knows my every thought and plan, I would like to listen to his plans and use his gifts accordingly.
I’m going to seek the Lord with my time; turn to him with my questions, my needs and desires.
And then try to spend my time doing his work that he has chosen for me.
And then hope he’s not laughing right now because he alone knows my lofty ideas and my weaknesses, especially when I’m trying not to spend time eating too much chocolate in my frustrated moments.
What I won’t be doing is running around with a pocket watch like that crazy rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, muttering “I’m late, I’m late….” I don’t have time for that.
Downsizing to the Max
ALEX LEE
The tusks that clashed in mighty brawls Of mastodons are billiard balls.
“On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness”—Arthur Guiterman
Billiard balls, as it happens, though not of ivory or of prehistoric vintage, are some of the many objects I have in my basement, gathering dust—dust dating from the dawn of the age of garage sales. I found the balls atop a cast-metal Ertl dump truck made in Dyersville, Iowa. Turning my head, I took in the panoply of junk I had collected over four decades: vintage toys and Lesney Matchbox cars, bronze medals, old coins and banknotes and international postage stamps and postcards, all neatly stored in packets and albums; framed French lithographs; tobacco and cocoa tins from the early twentieth century; Red Wing crockery; volumes of books, lined along the rustic seat of a country church pew, and stacked high on a wooden child’s wagon, and crammed into every square inch of several bookcases; lead animals, representing a good portion of the biosphere’s familiar species; and natural objects, too: souvenir rocks, petrified wood, cowrie shells. All this within the confines of half of a small basement.
There was no applause at the end of my casual inventory, only my sense of muddled despair. My chamber of curiosities, now that I was nearing retirement, had to be discarded or packed away. Either
choice was difficult. The former choice for its accompanying emotional trauma; the latter, for its sheer physical demands. I mentioned Iowa earlier. The plan is for my wife and me to move to Des Moines, where my son lives with his family. We had already given away a dozen place settings of Lenox china and a phalanx of crystal goblets, along with boxes of surplus clothing and kitchenware. Some of our furniture was certain to find its way to thrift stores.
A couplet from Theodore Tilton’s saga of the imperturbable Persian king came to mind—
“What is wealth?” the King would say.
“Even this shall pass away.”
Solomon, an actual king, observed, “As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?” (Ecclesiastes 5:11, NIV) And there I was feasting my eyes on my pile of antique knick-knacks, sorry I had to deal with it now that the accumulation had reached a tipping point.
It had begun as a hobby, which grew into an implacable urge, which finally morphed into a vice—my fascination with musty or rusty artifacts imbued with the patina of longevity (or discoloration, as normal people might call the hue). We all suffer from a desire for possessions. Some of us like fussing with sleek, modern gadgets—electronics and digital devices; some adore jewelry; some prefer a closetful of fancy clothes and brand-name shoes; and some folks enjoy having a fleet of vehicles parked in their garage and driveway. What do all these possessions come to? Arthur Guiterman tells us in these lines of his poem:
The sword of Charlemagne the Just Is ferric oxide, known as rust.
Rust and moths and thieves, in Jesus’s view, are the ultimate beneficiaries of all worldly treasure. And some worldly treasure, of the stocks-and-bonds variety, may simply vanish into thin air at the close of the day’s market trading, without the benefit of chemical or predatory action.
Why then do we clutch things, and grasp at them with fierce and futile effort? Because we have thumbs is the short answer. This small but mighty appendage, the prehensile thumb, allows humans to manipulate objects, to create art and technology, and to build. Having commenced, we are loathed to stop; we are driven to build more and more, and to preserve what we have built, and when space is constrained, to demolish our work so we may build yet again. We begin to covet or resent what others have built, and the same thumb which initiated our genius now presses the red button to annihilate.
Where was I? Oh, yes, in my basement, awestricken with the weight of my superfluous stuff. Upstairs remain hangers and hangers of coats and shirts and trousers, vying for a place on
my finite anatomy. I own multiple shoes for multiple tasks— for hiking, running, or walking, and even for swimming, in summer or fall or winter, stylishly or casually, to match this or that apparel’s color. My, how Adam’s fig leaf has multiplied, subduing my drawers!
Around the house sit frames of dated photos. On each floor rests a television set dormant for so long it resembles an onyx sculpture. An aggregation of decorative paraphernalia, displayed to no discernible public effect, lies scattered within what realtors call the “living area.”
Who exactly does most of the living here? Possibly the succulent plants in their tiny pots, quietly relishing their God-given sunlight, and which, without clamor or complaint, wait for the occasional ration of water I provide them.
I have found downsizing to be liberating. It isn’t easy, and it doesn’t come naturally. It is a challenge, the same as Hercules’s labor in the Augean stables. But once the thumb’s initial resistance is overcome, and our hands relax and splay, letting go can be both pleasurable and enlightening.
I’m not there yet, torn for the moment between keeping and not keeping. Yet I have felt the burden of extraneous possessions lessen as I donate or discard some of my sundry ridiculous wealth. What remains then is that much nearer to my true sentiment, to my intrinsic self, my soul. I begin to approach the circumstance of the lilies which, neither toiling nor spinning in the field, are yet more splendidly arrayed than Solomon “in all his glory.”
“Is not the body,” Jesus argued, “more than clothes?”
All the calories I have ever consumed from birth, every dollar I earned and spent, the clothes I wore and wore out, the cars I drove and traded in, the pens which ran out of ink, the oxygen I inhaled and the carbon dioxide I exhaled—all this is vanity, and less than vanity, unworthy of being offered as castoffs even in the sorriest yard sale in heaven. On earth, the inevitability of decrepitude is expressed in Shelley’s image of King Ozymandias, whose wrecked monument to himself lies strewn in the desert, its inaugural inscription, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” still echoing its hollow hubris.
In the end, we depart this life much as we entered it, owning nothing; but in departing, we bear one crucial spiritual load, the answer to the pertinent question: Did we accept God’s grace and his free offer of salvation?
If we are saved in Christ, the King of kings, upon our death all that we owned in life was rubbish in retrospect, and we carry thence our crown to eternity.
If not, then we have stamped our own ticket to perdition—the life we thought we gained is gone forever, lock, stock, barrel, and the homeowner’s insurance policy covering their loss.
CHURCH LIFE
JUNE HIGHLIGHTS
SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICES
Everyone welcome.
Join us at 9:30 and 11 a.m. You can watch it at college-church.org/ livestream
MORNING SERMON SERIES: The Gospel of Matthew Senior Pastor Josh Moody preaching
JUNE 1: Blind and Mute, Matthew 9:27-34
JUNE 8: Harvest and Laborers, Matthew 9:35-38
JUNE 15: Pastor Josh Maurer preaching, Bear One Another’s Burdens, Galatians 5:13-6:5
JUNE 22: Pastor Baxter Helm preaching He Has Spoken, Hebrews 1:1-4
JUNE 29: TBD
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES:
Everyone welcome.
Join us at 5 p.m. in Commons Hall.
Let’s Gather: Songs of Wisdom: Sermons from the Psalms
JUNE 1: Psalm 119:17-24, Pastor Baxter Helm preaching
JUNE 8: Summerfest no evening service
JUNE 15: Psalm 119:25-32, Pastor Dan Hiben preaching
JUNE 22: Psalm 119:33-40, Pastor Josh Maurer preaching
JUNE 29: Psalm 119:41-48, Pastoral Resident Matt Heaton preaching
SUMMER FORUM
Praying Together with the Psalms
JUNE 1: Praying Together with the Psalms: What, Why, and How
JUNE 8: Not to Us, O Lord, Not to Us, but to Your Name Give Glory, Psalm 115
JUNE 15: Give the King Your Justice, O God, Psalm 72
JUNE 22: Let All the Peoples Praise You, Psalm 67
JUNE 29: O God, You Are My God, Earnestly I Seek You, Psalm 63
WOMEN’S MINISTRIES
MOM2MOM (MONDAYS)
JUNE 2: Playdate Meet-up at Newton Park (Glen Ellyn), 9:30–11:30 a.m.
JUNE 16: Playdate Meet-up at East Street Playground (Winfield), 9:30–11:30 a.m.
JUNE 30: Playdate Meet-up at Rathje Park (Wheaton), 9:30–11:30 a.m.
WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY
Summer in the Psalms!
We look forward to spending this summer in the Psalms! Along with the psalmist, we will set our hearts and our minds on the goodness of God’s work and character as we celebrate his faithfulness, love and mercy. Unlike the school year, we don’t organize groups over the summer. Rather, we encourage you to gather women you know, where and when works best for you! Pick up your six-week study guide(s) at church starting in early June. Books are available for free, please take one per person
WOMEN’S MINISTRY SUMMER SOCIALS
We hope you’ll join us as we learn new things this summer, whether that is a new game like Bunco or a new skill, like breadmaking. Registration requested so we can plan accordingly.
JUNE 6: 7 p.m. in Commons Hall
MEN’S MINISTRIES
No events in June.
SUMMER BOOK GROUP
I am excited to announce our Summer Book Group title for 2025. It’s Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in the Digital Age, Edited by Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa.
We encourage people to pick up their copy in advance of the first week so we can start off together discussing the intro the chapter one on the first night.
For Summer Book Group readers, we have a special reduced price of $10. Mention this price for the book group at the bookstall to get this deal. You can also pick up your copy during office hours at the church office (M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)
Hope to see you this summer, Wil Triggs
JUNE 10: Introduction and Chapter 1: From Amusement to Addiction: Introducing Dopamine Media (Patrick Miller)
JUNE 17: Chapter 2: From the Clock to the Smartphone: A Brief History of Belief-Changing Technologies (Joe Carter). Chapter 3: From the Age of Exposition to the Age of Expression (Jen Pollock Michel)
JUNE 24: Chapter 4: The Origins and Implications of a Post-Truth World (Hans Madueme) Chapter 5: Striving for Seasonableness in a “Now . . . This” World (Samuel D. James)
CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES (KIDS’ HARBOR)
SUNDAY MORNING
Nursery (0-2) at 9:30 and 11 a.m.
Bible school (preschool-third grade) at 9:30 a.m.
Wonders of Worship “WOW” (K-third grade) dismissed during second half of 11 a.m. service
Children’s church (older preschool) during second half of 11 a.m. service
Children’s church (younger preschool) at 11 a.m.
Evening Kids’ Harbor programs will resume in the fall.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ( KINGS MESSENGERS)
SUNDAY MORNINGS:
Sunday KMs will resume on August 17
WEDNESDAY EVENINGS:
7-8:30 p.m. in the Crossings.
JUNE 4: Sundaes on a Wednesday, Hibens’ home (702 Wakeman Ave, Wheaton)
JUNE 11: Crossings Night (games, worship, & Romans 5:6-11); sixthgrade dinner at 6:15 p.m.
JUNE 18: Sundaes on a Wednesday, Bongas’ home (403 E. Prairie Ave, Wheaton)
JUNE 25: Crossings Night (games, worship & 2 Corinthians 5:16-21); 6th-grade dinner at 6:15
HIGH SCHOOL (HYACKS)
SUNDAY MORNINGS: Sunday HYACKs will resume on August 17
WEDNESDAY EVENINGS: Wednesday Night HYACKS (rising 9-12th Graders)
Large group hangouts, games and devotional messages 7-8:30 p.m.
JUNE 4: Large Group at Jones Home (1N066 Ellis Ave, Carol Stream, IL 60188)
JUNE 11: No Large Group. Optional Discipleship Group Meeting Time
JUNE 18: Large Group at Tweeten Home (316 E Illinois St., Wheaton, IL 60187)
JUNE 25: No Large Group. Optional Discipleship Group Meeting Time
COLLEGE GROUP
Tuesdays, 7-8:30 p.m. in the Crossings
JUNE 3: music, fellowship, Ephesians
JUNE 10: music, fellowship, Ephesians
JUNE 17: music, fellowship, Ephesians
JUNE 24: music, fellowship, Ephesians
STARS DISABILITY
SUNDAY
Adult and Multi-Generational Sunday classes meet and attend church together at 9:30 a.m. only Child/Teen Sunday classes at 9:30 a.m. only
STARS Choir returns in September
STARS Moms Bible Study returns in September
STARS Praise in Action returns in September
STARS Friday Night Fun returns in October
SIGNS OF LOVE
Deaf Ministry. Building Bridges, June 1 and 15, 3:30-5 p.m. in the Crossings conference room
ARTSPACE
Details on page 9.
Summerfest ’25
Sunday, June 8, 12–5 p.m.
Invite a neighbor or friend to join you at an all-church celebration on June 8, from noon to 5 p.m. to start your summer. This is the last day of Cream of Wheaton, and we want to encourage residents of our community to come to College Church. Food options include Authentic Texas-style BBQ, hot dogs and all the fixings, plus desserts. Food is free for all guests and all you can eat for $10. Also, enjoy music, games, sports, inflatables and competitive trivia under a big tent. We will have an open house to display many of the ministries we have to offer.
STEPS OF FAITH
Steps of Faith such as believers baptism or confirmation, and infant baptism or dedication are important signposts in our lives. If you are interested in pursuing one of these for yourself or a family member, contact Christy at baptism@college-church.org.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRAYER
Call the church office or email info@college-church.org for details on these prayer meetings.
SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER: 8:15-8:40 a.m., meets in the Commons board room
MONDAY MORNING PRAYER: 6:15 a.m., meets in C104A
MIDWEEK PRAYER MEETING: Wednesdays at NOON via Zoom
JUNE 4: Jeff & Marilyn G., WBT (SIL), translation/OL in Southeast Asia
JUNE 11: Giles & Debbie Davis, SEND discipleship & training in Spain
JUNE 18: Dan & Beth Long, SIM, member care, worldwide
JUNE 25: two workers, OMF, personnel in the U.S. serving missionaries in Asia
PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: Fridays, 12-1 p.m. in the Board Room.
AARON-HUR PRAYER FELLOWSHIP
will meet on Thursday, June 12, at 7 p.m. at the home of Everett and Marcelyn Peterson, 127 Westminster Drive in Carol Stream (630) 784-0569). Our guests will be Charley and Cheryl Warner, serving in Ukraine.
BARNABAS PRAYER FELLOWSHIP
Barnabas Prayer Fellowship hears from C and D about their south Asian life and work at the group’s June 17 meeting. It will be held on that Tuesday at 1:30 in the Patio Dining Room at Covenant Living at Windsor Park. Men and women are welcome to visit or join the group at its monthly information and prayer sessions.
Under the Radar
WORLD RELIEF
Join World Relief
Thursday, June 12, at 7 p.m. at Church of the Resurrection, for Spotlight on Refugees: Journey to Belonging, where keynote speaker, Denis Kweri, will share his personal journey as a refugee and advocate followed by a panel discussion on the current global landscape for refugees and immigrants.
BAND CONCERTS
Thursday, June 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Park
Gala Opening Concert Wednesday, July 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Park
Red, White and KaBOOM: The band’s annual Americana concert will feature patriotic audience favorites.
FIELD OF HONOR
June 28-July 4
Seven Gables Park on Naperville Rd.
WALKING PLAYS
at the Morton Arboretum
Pride and Prejudice
July 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27 Performances start at 6 p.m.
For tickets visit: https://mortonarb.org/explore/ activities/events/walking-plays/
Facilities FACTS
How many doors are on College Church property?
With several large buildings, garages, parking lots, bell tower, Chase Bank, houses and apartment buildings, there are many different types of doors to account for, have keys or electrical locks, maintain and repair.
For the three large buildings only, not including the two apartment buildings, 5-houses, and 7 garages of various sizes, there are the following number of doors:
• 236 doors: 335 E. Seminary Ave.
• 95 Doors: STARS/Crossings/ Clapham
• 134: Commons
To join our team of volunteers who help to maintain the facilities and properties that God has given us to steward, please contact Howard Kern at HKern@college-church.org
Work with us.
College Church is looking for two part-time custodians to work alongside our facilities. Must be able to work 25 hours a week consistently. Email Ann Karow at akarow@ college-church.org if you’re interested in applying.
What’s in a Name?
TONY DILEONARDI
As American pioneer and frontiersman Daniel Boone, whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States, once quipped, “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”
Recently, I was making an announcement to a ministry group here, and I noted an upcoming STARS Family Services event. Later, several people came to me with questions. I was confused; I thought I was clear on this brief announcement. How did I botch this simple announcement? I thought. Well, as I have learned, it wasn’t the event that was confusing; it was which ministry I was referencing that caused the confusion.
Which STARS? they asked. That’s the challenge around our church sometimes, with all our various ministry efforts. But as it’s often said, it’s a sophisticated challenge to have.
Which STARS ministry indeed?
There are two distinct ministries here that care for, disciple and invest in our STARS community. And you may or may not know that STARS stands for Seeking To Always Reflect the Savior! STARS is our name for those in the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) community. We believe STARS are created by God for a purpose and are an indispensable part of the body of Christ. Our desire is to provide a place for everyone with intellectual or sensory challenges to worship God and learn more about him.
First is the disability ministries at church we call STARS. You had a beautiful glimpse of that ministry on a Sunday in April when they used their talents to lead us in worship. The STARS disability ministries at College Church is a thriving, large, long-established church ministry, led by Julie Clemens, ministry director of STARS disabilities, and a team of dedicated staff and volunteers.
College Church’s nearly 70-year-old disability ministry provides our STARS with opportunities to worship together, be in com-
munity together, do Bible study, participate in choir, and have family socials and fun. It has been a wonderful part of our church for many years
Additionally, there’s STARS Family Services (SFS), an independent, stand-alone 501-C3 ministry organization that, since 2008, has had a mission to create interdependence and independence for members of the adult STARS community. SFS does this with biblically based, clinically cognizant care, while maintaining and providing three private community-based homes, supportive living arrangements, and life-enhancing services for adults with IDDs. Confused yet?
Oh, by the way, have you ever shopped for treasures at the churchowned and operated STARS Resale Shop (SRS? Have you donated your old treasures to SRS next to the Crossings, or back when the store was on College Avenue? Or perhaps you’re waiting to go to the soon-to-open SRS 2 on north Main Street?
If you haven’t, you’ve missed some incredible deals on everything from clothes to furniture, jewelry to sports equipment. The resale shop provide jobs for our STARS and raise funds for SFS—two very worthy causes.
I guess there are three distinct ministries here that have STARS in their name and benefit the greater STARS community, all to the glory of God!
This local church body loves our STARS, and these three ministries all serve this community in unique, life-changing ways. We hope this removes any confusion about the STARS ministries at College Church, and please continue to pray, serve as a volunteer and support these ministries.
So according to Edwin R. Murrow, American broadcast journalist and World War II war correspondent, “Anyone who isn’t confused really doesn’t understand the situation.”
A More CongregationCaring
Connections talks with Josh Maurer and Mindy Rynbrandt about changes in their ministries.
What began as a response to cover the various care needs at church when Eric Channing became the pastor of Hope Fellowship has led to a different, more sustainable model of care at College Church.
In August 2022, Executive Pastor John Seward established a care team to collaborate on the care needs within the congregation. The team quickly recognized that each care situation presented required a different care response, and established categories of care: primary, mercy and crisis as well as pathways that helped the care team think in terms of volunteer engagement, equipping and resources specific to the type of care.
“This care team was established to ensure that no care needs fell between the cracks, but through that process we actually began building a different structure for care that we found very effective,” Mindy explains.
NOT JUST A TEMPORARY FIX
As the search and interview process for the position of pastor of congregational care continued, it became apparent to the care team that one person desig-
nated as the care lead was too much for a congregation of our size. The team saw the value in working together to build out the ministry of care within College Church.
“Part of what we both recognized is that there’s great synergy when we’re talking about discipleship and care, because doing pastoral care is really doing deep discipleship,” pointed out Mindy.
As job titles and responsibilities shift for Josh (now pastor of discipleship and care) and Mindy (now ministry director for women’s discipleship and care), they anticipate less involvement in the day-to-day programmatic side of discipleship and leaning more into the deep discipleship of pastoral care, while continuing to provide oversight to the teams in terms of programming.
While Josh oversees the big picture of the elder’s initiative of discipleship, James Seward, the pastor of community, will oversee the core adult ministries that involved Bible study, community, fellowship and prayer—these main avenues for connecting in a large church, developing community and finding people to walk through life with as followers of Christ.
A CULTURE-CHANGING TEAM
As care in the church moves from a specific pastoral role to a team, this team approach to care helps address all types of care needs in the church which require different skills, different resources and even different people involved, instead of a single pastor.
They describe this as culture shaping, especially as it relates to a healthy church that is organically responding to the needs of people.
Part of the care team’s overall vision is based on Ephesians 4 in terms of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ—all of which is care. “Care is something that the church does for itself,” Josh comments. “Our role will be to further equip the church to care for one another in that Ephesians kind of sense.”
WHEN MINISTRY PROGRAMS AND MINISTRY CARE MEET
Josh and Mindy view care as something that intersects with a lot of programs, and describe three pathways of care: primary care, mercy care and crisis care.
Part of the primary care pathway is to equip and support small groups and
Adult Communities to organically care for one another. For example, it’s helping lay leaders know and understand how Helping Hands or Care and Share or the deacon’s mercy committee works, as well as other resources the church has, which they can point people to who are going through harder times.
While mercy care draws on some of those same internal resources, it also looks outside to our partnership organizations in the community. Crisis care is needed in more complicated situations. Proactive pastoral care and sometimes outside referrals are often required in these situations.
When it comes to mercy and crisis care, Josh points out “that’s where we’ll have more direct involvement in administrating and getting resources to people who need it or providing direct ministry to individuals, couples or families.”
“Our job is soul care,” Mindy adds, “but often support is needed to lift the burdens so we can speak into a person’s heart.”
HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Each care situation begins when people are pointed in the right direction. On the care team, it’s Christy Chiodras who often is the first one to receive care requests, and who graciously responds to each one. If you think you may be in need of the care ministries of College Church, email Christy Chiodras (cchiodras@ college-church.org) as she supports these various ministries.
May College Church be known as a church that proclaims the gospel and cares well for those in need.
PURE RELIGION
CHARLENE MILLER
The Lord recently impressed upon me his love for the orphan. Not only that, but also his desire for me to become more connected to those that are actively caring for orphans. Over the past several months I’ve watched him weave new people into my life that are stretching themselves and their time to meet his call for orphan care. One of those people is Bethany Albright. She was a missionary kid in Papua New Guinea, where her parents, Dick and Roslyn Albright, served as College Church missionaries. Bethany recently decided to pursue her foster care license, and I sat down with her to find out more about her heart for foster care.
FIRST, WHAT IS FOSTER CARE?
Foster care is the system in which the government steps in and removes a child or children from their parents, typically due to abuse or neglect. The children are placed in a licensed foster home, the home of a relative (known as “kinship care”) or a group home. The number one goal of foster care is reunification—for the children to be returned to their parents—if at all possible. Before that can happen, the parents need to complete programs or reach milestones to prove to a judge that they are capable and ready to have their children returned to their home. Kids can live for months or years in foster care while their parents work towards reunification; sometimes it is not healthy or safe for kids to return to their parents, in which case the kids may be adopted or may stay in foster care until they become adults at age 18.
WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THE SYSTEM?
I had been aware of the existence of foster care for several years, but God used a Facebook post to move my own heart towards fostering. The post was an interview
with a young woman who had grown up in the foster care system and had been abused by several of the foster families she was placed with. I thought to myself, “I may not win any parent of the year awards, but I can certainly be a safe and loving place for kids to stay—there’s no reason for vulnerable kids to be taken from one bad situation and put into another!”
WHAT DOES THE FOSTER CARE LICENSING PROCESS LOOK LIKE?
It took me eight months to become a licensed foster parent that included going through a background check, filling out paperwork, collecting references, taking required foster parenting classes, having social workers visit my home, and lots of waiting in between steps of the process. I also spent the licensing period getting the spare bedroom of my home furnished and stocked with supplies and toys for the kids who will stay with me.
ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT BECOMING TOO ATTACHED TO A CHILD?
I think this is a fair question, because becoming attached to a child or children in foster care means it’s hard and heart-wrenching when they leave your home to go back to their first family. But I think the bigger question is what will happen to this child if he or she never experiences secure attachment with a safe adult? What if this little boy grows up never knowing he is precious to someone? What if this teen girl doesn’t have an adult who demonstrates in words and actions that she is worthy of love and respect? When I think about the kids that are impacted by the foster care system, I hope I do get “too attached” to the children who come into my home. I hope I love them too much. I hope they experience too much grace. Yes, when they leave my home, my heart will be wrung out and broken, but my hope and prayer is that God will use my love to help them know his perfect and sacrificial love.
HOW CAN THE CHURCH SUPPORT YOU, AND WELL, FOSTER FOSTER CARE.
Just like the “PGA Tour” of the GospelNow project, you can Pray, Give, and Act!
Please add me, another foster parent you know, or a family who is struggling to your daily prayer list. Pray for us to have strength, patience, encouragement, and wisdom. Pray that we would be deeply rooted in God’s grace and love for us and that we will pass that love and grace on to the children in our homes.
Give to a local nonprofit that supports foster families or families who have fallen on hard times. Donate new or gently used children’s and teens’ clothing to the local foster care closet right here in Wheaton.
You may not be able to become a foster parent or maybe you aren’t able to do it right now, but you can still act. Provide a meal for a family who has just been reunified after foster care. Help a foster parent with picking up kids from school. Babysit while a parent attends a support group or doctor’s appointment. Reach out to me or to College Church’s Family Advocacy Task Force (familyadvocacy@college-church.org) to learn more specifically about how you can pray, give, and act!
The Family Advocacy Task Force serves adoptive families, foster families, biological families who are at risk of being involved with foster care, and kinship families. We want to come alongside them in a variety of ways and are always looking for others to join us.
NEW MEMBERS
JACOB PANJWANI
Jake grew up in Iowa, Germany and Singapore, and went to college in Wheaton. He works in the field of finance.
JOHN RAPP
John has two adult daughters. He is involved in the Logos Adult Community and is in a small group. He works as a clinic therapist.
DAVE & KELLEY ROBBINS
The Robbins have been married since 1993 and have two adult children, both of whom were born in Russia. David is a son of College Church members Paul and Mary Robbins. Dave works as a member of the tech team for Awana Clubs International. Kelley teaches public speaking and does occasional professional voice work.
MICAH ROY
Micah is married to Suzy, and they have a blended family of five children. He works as assistant chief engineer for Northwestern University.
DANNY & PATRICIA STOVALL
The Stovalls have been married for 61 years! Along the way they adopted five children, two as infants born in Colorado, and three as siblings from Bolivia at 10, 11 and 12 years of age. They live out in Sycamore and are enjoying becoming more involved in College Church, attending Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies.
OUR VISION
2025 INITIATIVES
Vision: “Proclaiming the Gospel”
PATHWAY. We will foster a pathway for our gospel ministries: Discover Jesus, Grow in Your Faith and Impact the World. In 2025, we will continue to expand and strengthen this pathway by 1) equipping and encouraging congregants so that they are motivated to share the gospel and their personal faith stories within the community; 2) expanding outreach initiatives by building upon our existing programs and developing new efforts designed to invite community members to engage with the church more frequently and meaningfully; and 3) promoting the proclamation of the gospel and what College Church offers to the community through a variety of communication channels.
Rationale: After consultation with a Christian communications company, and surveying the neighborhood, we have discovered that we need to present the distinctive gospel ministry opportunity of College Church more clearly and invitationally to the surrounding community.
COMMUNITY. We will cultivate care, encouragement and connection in 2025 by: 1) Calling a pastor focused on care, encouragement and connection; 2) Establishing a permanent Care Team to support congregational care; and 3) Exhorting our congregation to: make consistent attendance on our Sunday morning worship a priority; be active in a smaller gathering; and to be involved in an area of service.
Rationale: After conversations with key ministry leaders, it is apparent we need to increase connectivity between members and attenders of the church through mutually loving and caring hospitality.
DISCIPLESHIP.
We will elevate biblically rigorous and practical discipleship in 2025, by developing a clear track to introduce people to the foundations of Christian discipleship: basics of the Christian faith, spiritual growth (including training in Bible study and prayer) and gospel impact. This will parallel our church-wide ministry pathway of discover, grow and impact.
Rationale: After a churchwide discipleship survey, we have ascertained a growing need for more rigorous and practical discipleship that is coherently coordinated across both small and large groups.
CAMPUS. We will increasingly activate our campus by utilizing the Crossings as a crossover space to reach the community and for student, worship and family space, executing year two of the three-year capital campaign launched in 2024, prioritizing safety and accessibility upgrades to our parking and other key areas, and clarifying the highest and best missional use for our portfolio of rental properties.
Rationale: After the Site and Facilities committee’s extensive work surveying the ministry pinch points, it is apparent that we need to develop our ministry space, and we will target the Crossings space.
PARTNERSHIPS. We will leverage the church’s history of church planting, training programs, and connections across the country and world by seeking to develop one new church partner in each category (planting, strengthening, revitalizing) by December 2025.
Rationale: By partnering with like-minded churches and organizations, and by broadening our scope to including planting, strengthening, and revitalization, we can increase our gospel impact through gospel-centered, Bible preaching churches.
We bathe all these initiatives in prayer.
“It” was the baby in my uterus. This was the question my church friend posed after I told her what I thought was amazing news: I was expecting a child. Speechless and hurt, I pressed the end call button on my cell phone.
“Are you sure you want it?” was not a question I expected from a woman who had prayed for me, encouraging me in my walk with the Lord. What impacted me the most was her calling the baby “it.” Was this her way of dismissing God’s image in the baby? Maybe “it” allowed her to see the baby as an inconvenience instead of human life.
On social media, we are constantly inundated with values of life, liberty and happiness or to have it your way that can taint how we should act as Christians with our call to live in a world that is not our home. For my church friend, these values caused her to prioritize my career advancement and see “it” as an obstacle. It was true that just six months ago I was informed that I would be making partner at my law firm; maybe there were concerns about how this child might affect my productivity. But she forgot the Godcreated life at the center of it all.
So why is this important? Is it a chance to wag a finger? No. It’s a chance to examine ourselves. I am grateful for the Sanctity of Human Life Task Force and its strong presence at College Church and work in the community. But even
Are You Sure You Want It?
ANONYMOUS
as we collect coins for Caring Network or donate to the crib, we may feel as if we are above being influenced by the world’s values. We would be the last to call a baby “it.”
But how easy it is for us to live by our own culture, comforts and desires instead of God’s Word. Jeremiah was surely right when he said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV) Maybe we get so wrapped up in Wheaton’s culture. Maybe we are unduly influenced by our news and media sources or even what we’ve been taught by our family and friends. We forget what God teaches us through his Word.
Perhaps we don’t struggle with seeing an embryo as a valued life, but we are not so sure about the immigrant. Or when we do care, we draw lines between illegal and legal immigrants. This dehumanizes just the same as calling an embryo “it,” making us falter when we could instead show Jesus’ love. Or maybe church attendance is easy for us, but we’re easily swayed by politicians and media figures calling themselves Christian without evaluating the fruit in their lives. If a third world country Christian were to evaluate our lives, how different would we look from our neighbors in how we spend our money. Is the American dream more important than taking up our cross and following him.
As the psalmist says, “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” (Psalm 19: 12-13, NIV)
The question, “Are you sure you want it?” still jars me today. On the one hand, I cannot imagine a life without “it.” On the other hand, what questions do I ask myself and what answers do I give to “have it my way?” May our daily prayer indeed be like that of the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE ANNOUNCEMENTS
IN THE NEWS
New abortion pill data shows that 1 in 10 women who take the abortion pill endure hemorrhage, sepsis and other infections at a much higher rate than previously known comes from the largest-ever analysis of abortion pill outcomes, conducted by the Ethics and Public Policy Center, examining over 800,000 mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023. https://stopharmingwomen.org/
BE ENCOURAGED
An abortion clinic in Rockford has closed! Rockford Family Initiative (RFI) supporters were so dedicated to prayer, protest, and action helped shut down the Auburn St. clinic. The RFI fifth annual Rockford March for Life and Family will be Saturday, June 14, featuring Jill Stanek. Jill was a registered nurse in the Labor & Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She discovered not only were abortions being committed there, but also babies were being aborted alive and left to die without medical care. Jill went public with this terrible story and has become a national figure in the effort to protect both born and pre-born infants. All life supporters are welcome to attend. https://www. proliferockford.com/walk
40 DAYS FOR LIFE PRAYER
Saturday, June 14, 1-2 p.m. Join the Sanctity of Human Life Task Force at 40 Days for Life’s year-round peaceful prayer vigil. Meet on Waterleaf pregnancy center’s property across from Planned Parenthood Aurora. Questions? Contact sohl@college-church.org.
CARING NETWORK CORNER
Holy Spirit at Work 19 clients received Christ January through March through Caring Network sharing Christ!
Forgot to turn in your Coins for Caring Network? Bring your bottle to the ushers or give online to provide operating funds for Caring Network as they open more centers this spring and summer in Chicago. If you give online through link below, please indicate you are from College Church so we can track the total.
Baby Bank Bring diapers (size 6 especially needed), wipes, baby lotion, shampoo, wash, diaper cream and formula to the crib (outside the Sanctuary on the first Sunday of every month and in the Commons the rest of the month). Check out Everylife diaper company which funds pregnancy centers. https://everylife.com/ (20% off with auto renew. Use code LIVEACTION10 for an additional $10 off first order.) You may also order from the Baby Bank Amazon QR code.
Medical Staff Needed New Caring Network pregnancy centers in Chicago are ready to open but lack essential staff. Please pass on job listings for nurses and sonographers to your contacts.https://caringnetwork.bamboohr. com/careers
Frequently Asked Questions About the Life Safety Team
JAMES COOK
WHAT IS THE LIFE SAFETY TEAM?
The Life Safety Team (LST) was created in response to several safety and security concerns which occur in a church the size of College Church. The LST is foremost a ministry. This ministry exists to provide a safe and welcoming environment to all attenders who walk through our doors.
HOW LONG HAS THE LIFE SAFETY TEAM (LST) BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
The Life Safety Team is under the auspices of the Board of Deacons and was officially approved by the deacons in August 2018.
Is there an LST presence at all three services?
Yes. In fact, each Sunday the LST covers all three morning services, the evening service, Children’s Choirs and the College Group’s After Hours. In addition, the LST covers Wednesday morning Women’s Bible study, Wednesday evening Women’s and Men’s Bible Studies, Pioneer Girls, Boys Brigade and the STARS Praise in Action programs. The LST also covers numerous other functions throughout each month and the year.
Wheaton Fire Department instructs Dave Oster and the LST in an LST Training Event.
WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE SERVING ON THE LST?
We have former law enforcement, nurses, a doctor, and many members with life experiences (teachers, counselor, ex-military, pastor, missionary, lawyer, etc.) which have prepared them for their role in safety and security.
WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DOES THE LST GO THROUGH?
The LST has held CPR/AED classes, been trained in Stop the Bleed, and attended numerous trainings held for church security. Every other month, there is an in-person training held onsite on the College Church campus. On the off months, members complete online training or readings.
WHAT KIND OF TRAINING HAVE YOU PERSONALLY HAD FOR THE LST?
As a teacher, I was on the district safety committee as well as the building emergency response team. I have been trained at the Security Training Center in Morgan Park, Chicago. I have extensive training including but not limited to training in numerous church security trainings throughout Chicagoland, CPR/AED, Stop the Bleed, CERTS, ALICE, SIL Security, Deescalation Techniques, Active Shooter Interaction and Crisis Management. As recently as the end of April, I attended a stellar church safety and security conference in Mt. Vernon, IL.
WHAT DOES THE LIFE SAFETY MANAGER DO DURING THE WEEK?
By design, the Life Safety Manager is stationed near the only unlocked door on campus during the week, the main doors to the Commons building. Each day brings new and intriguing situations. Campus security is provided; policies written and advised upon; AED, alarm company and other maintenance maintained; training for staff members and volunteers; parking lot
concerns; Clapham School needs; building safety and security issues; related meetings and advisement; safety and security availability for numerous groups meeting on campus.
Will there be a safety and security presence at Summerfest and other events that are outside?
Yes. Like last year, there will be a heavy LST presence as well as a medically staffed first aid tent. The LST is always aware of any kids’ programs. Keeping the kids in our flock safe and secure is an awesome responsibility that we make a priority. Thus, there is an LST presence at outdoor VBS events held on campus, Run for the STARS, Summerfest, etc.
IS SUMMER A RELAXED TIME FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY?
Unfortunately, there is never a relaxed time for safety and security. Safety and security do not just happen. Planning and preparation are ongoing.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PART OF THE LIFE SAFETY TEAM?
Over 40.
WHAT HAS THE LST RESPONDED TO SO FAR THIS YEAR?
In just the first four months of this year, the LST has responded to numerous medical situations, security situations, a flat tire, and a couple of situations I am not at liberty to discuss. For the sake of all parties involved, the LST holds confidentiality in extremely high regard, so I cannot share more.
WHY DOESN’T YOUR TEAM WEAR A UNIFORM?
The LST exists to provide a safe and secure environment for all the attenders of CCIW. We see no need to call attention to ourselves. We are there to provide security, but we are also there to provide a warm and welcoming environment. If we can help someone
feel welcome, show them where an Adult Community meets, find the washroom or a cup of coffee, we are all about those interactions as well.
HOW CAN CONGREGANTS HELP THE LST?
The LST cannot be everywhere, all at once. The LST needs the congregation’s assistance. The adage, “See something, say something” applies and we need the congregation’s help. The LST is very diligent, yet discreet and confidential in checking out any reports of concern.
WHAT IF WE NEED SOMEONE ON THE LST?
Great question! If you recognize someone nearby on the team, talk to that LST member. The LST coordinator can always be found in the Narthex. Ask an usher who the LST coordinator is for that service, and you will be directed accordingly.
WHAT IS THE ATTITUDE LIKE OF THOSE VOLUNTEERS SERVING ON THE LST?
The LST is a ministry made up of an incredible group of people God has brought together. Willing to fill in anywhere they are needed, the men and women of the LST are a dedicated team that is committed to the safety and security of all attenders of College Church. I am constantly amazed and humbled by the servants on the LST.
at the BOOKSTALL
AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS
Translation by Sarah Ruden
This bold new translation of Confessions by Sarah Ruden offers a fresh, historically grounded take on Augustine’s spiritual autobiography. With raw honesty, Augustine recounts his journey from rebellion and ambition to faith and surrender, making his ancient struggles feel strikingly modern. Ruden’s mastery of Latin and sensitivity to Augustine’s original voice deliver a version that is both stylistically beautiful and theologically unfiltered. A timeless classic, newly illuminated for today’s reader.
Bookstall Price: $13
THE LORD OF PSALM 23
by David Gibson
David Gibson invites readers to rediscover the beauty and depth of Psalm 23 in The Lord of Psalm 23, an expository study adapted from three rich sermons. Unpacking the Psalm’s imagery of sheep and shepherd, traveler and companion, and guest and host, Gibson shows how each verse points to our union with Christ. With theological insight and pastoral warmth, this short book offers fresh encouragement for every believer.
Bookstall Price: $15
Visit the Shepherd Shelf
ONE WITH MY LORD
by
Sam Allberry
In One with My Lord, Sam Allberry explores the powerful New Testament theme of being “in Christ”— a truth that shapes every part of the Christian life. Through short, devotional chapters, Allberry offers rich biblical insight and practical encouragement for living in light of our union with Jesus. This book helps believers see their identity, struggles, and worship through the lens of belonging fully to Christ. A timely reminder that in a world longing for belonging, our truest home is found in Him
Bookstall Price: $16
REMEMBER HEAVEN
by
Matthew McCullough
Remember Heaven by Matthew McCullough helps believers connect the promises of eternity with the struggles of everyday life. Through thoughtful meditations, he shows how our hope of heaven speaks into real experiences like grief, anxiety, sin, and dissatisfaction. Rather than viewing heaven as distant and abstract, McCullough invites readers to see it as a present, sustaining inheritance. A deeply encouraging read for anyone needing perspective, comfort, or renewed joy in Christ.
Bookstall Price: $15
Between the fireside and the bookstall checkout desk, we are building a “Shepherd Shelf,” a curated collection of books our pastors and directors are referencing in their varied counseling and Christian living situations. Be sure to check out this new “Shepherd Shelf.”
SCROLLING OURSELVES TO DEATH
by Brett McCracken & Ivan Mesa
In Scrolling Ourselves to Death, Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa confront the spiritual toll of our screensaturated lives. Drawing from biblical wisdom and cultural insight, they explore how constant scrolling can numb our souls, distort truth, and weaken our discipleship. This timely book calls readers to resist digital distraction and reclaim habits of focus, presence, and worship. A compelling guide for anyone seeking to follow Christ faithfully in a hyperconnected age.
Bookstall Price: $15
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PROTESTANT
by Gavin Ortlund
In What it Means to Be Protestant, Gavin Ortlund offers a compelling case for the enduring value of the Protestant tradition amid growing interest in more liturgical and sacramental church expressions. Drawing on church history and personal ecumenical engagement, he challenges common misconceptions and defends the Reformation as a true gospel renewal. Ortlund shows that Protestantism, grounded in Scripture and semper reformanda, provides a rich and historically rooted path forward. Thoughtful, charitable, and accessible, this book is a timely resource for those wrestling with questions of tradition and identity.
Bookstall Price: $19
SUMMER BOOK GROUP
Meets Tuesday nights in summer
Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age by Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa
June 10, 17, 24, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12. 7 p.m. in the Commons.
Copies of the book are available for a book group rate of $10 at the bookstall, at the meeting or at the Church Office M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MILESTONES
BIRTHS
James Victor was born to Mark and Erin Gordeuk on May 9. James’s paternal grandparents are Victor and Larissa Gordeuk.
Judah John was born to Jacob and Sarah Hackbarth on April 18 in Iowa City, Iowa. Judah’s maternal grandparents are Rick and Gail Pflederer.
MARRIAGES
Caroline Wildman married Reese Pustover on March 22 at College Church. Caroline is the daughter of College Church members Brian and Shelly Wildman.
DEATHS
Pray for retired College Church missionary Bob Wenninger, missionary Becky (Bob) Faber and other family members as they grieve the loss of Bob’s wife and Becky’s mother, Carol, who passed away on May 28 in Wheaton.
Pray for David Dick and family as they grieve the loss of David’s wife, Diane, who passed away on May 27 in Wheaton.
Pray for College Church missionary Debby (Greg) Nichols and family as they grieve the loss of Debby’s brother, Dan White, who passed away on May 13 after a brief illness.
Pray for George (Annette) Brichacek and family as they grieve the loss of George’s mother, Jeanette Glos, who passed away on May 11 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Pray for Susan (Jim) Brush and family as they grieve the loss of Susan’s mother, Barbara Cowell, who passed away on May 10.
Pray for Elin (Paul) Klauke and family as they grieve the loss of Elin’s twin brother, Knut, who passed away on May 1.
CONGRATULATIONS
At the May 19 Wheaton City Council meeting, Mark Taylor was one of ten individuals who were presented with a Good Citizen Award.
Growth Is in Our DNA
JIM JOHANIK
I’ve now been on staff with College Church for nearly two years as pastor of evangelism. When I was considering joining the team, I had candid conversations with the elders and senior pastoral staff about the church’s future. It was in those discussions that I became convinced this was the place where I could invest my most precious commodity—my time—for the advancement of God’s kingdom, both locally and globally. What especially resonated with me was the Gospel Now project. It made clear that this is a church unwilling to settle for the status quo. What struck me most was that a 160-yearold church still had a growth mindset—not a growth defined merely by attendance or budget numbers, but a spiritual and strategic urgency to reach more people for Christ. My role was re-created because of that urgency. And that same passion is now being demonstrated through bold investments in our facilities and infrastructure, all to make outreach more effective. Hiring a pastor to focus on evangelism is one thing. Launching an $8.5 million initiative to retire debt and expand ministry space and parking capacity by nearly 50%—that’s another. These are bold steps. And it’s no surprise people want to be part of what God is doing at College Church.
Of course, being in the heart of downtown Wheaton presents real limits to physical growth. But if I’ve understood our history correctly, this growth mindset is nothing new—it’s been in our DNA since 1861. Just look at how our campus has expanded over the decades:
• 1861: Church met on the first floor of Blanchard Hall
• 1872: Expanded into a larger space on the third floor of Blanchard
• 1925: Co-funded a new sanctuary with Wheaton College (now Pierce Chapel)
• 1935: Built a dedicated sanctuary on the east side of Washington Street
• 1993: Current Sanctuary constructed
• 2001: Commons Building added for staff, ministries, and large gatherings
• 2019: Acquired the Kinnaman properties and Toms-Price building (now the Crossings)
• 2024–2027: Raising funds to transform the Crossings into expanded outreach space for student and adult ministries— adding 50% more ministry space and 120 parking spots, while also retiring debt
What began as a one-room gathering in Blanchard Hall has become a three-block downtown campus. Equally significant, College Church has planted five U.S. congregations, one international church, and now gives nearly 30% of its annual contributions to global missions.
Friends, what we are doing today—raising funds to increase accessibility and impact—is simply continuing what this church has always done. It’s been 24 years since our last significant expansion. Now, we are responding again—this time by investing in one of our most vital areas of growth: student and adult Bible study ministries.
This is the mindset of a church I want to be part of. The Gospel Now initiative isn’t about maintaining a legacy— it’s about expanding our gospel impact for years to come. It marks only the fifth time we’ve substantively expanded our ministry space since 1935. And we’re doing it without leaving downtown Wheaton.
After the first year of this three-year campaign, we’ve already raised $4.7 million of our $8.5 million goal. With prayer, sacrificial giving, and continued gospel action, we will carry forward this rich tradition—serving as an ever-relevant, growing gospel presence in Chicagoland and a globally respected church with kingdom impact.
THE JOY OF BELONGING
ANONYMOUS
An interesting thing happened to me on May 18, 2025—yes, the Annual Meeting Sunday. I attended the 9:30 service because there wasn’t an 8:00 a.m. service that morning since that was the day the church moved to the summer schedule of two services. I’m not proud of the fact that I was a little annoyed because I really like the 8:00 a.m. service. It isn’t crowded and unlike the other services, there is plenty of parking available. It just seemed too early to be in summer mode already.
My high schoolers weren’t very cooperative that morning, and so another checkmark on the mental chalkboard in my mind. When we arrived, a little late I should add, there wasn’t any parking close by, and another checkmark was added. By the time we parked and got in the door, we were more than a few minutes late, but the greeter warmly invited us in, and the usher found me a seat for me as my kids bounded up the stairs to the balcony and their own group of friends.
As the music began, it started lifting my spirits, and then when Pastor Moody began his sermon, a vision sermon at that, a strange thing happened. I was pulled into what he was talking about. The banners on the front of the Sanctuary came to mind as he talked about “Discover Jesus”, “Grow in Your Faith” and “Impact the World”. I’ve looked at those banners and read those words dozens of times, but they never meant as much to me as they did that morning. The words he preached and the Scripture he used met me where my heart was that morning. It erased all those checkmarks on my mental chalkboard. The initiatives were clearer than they had ever been Pathway, Community, Discipleship, Campus and Partnerships. The rationale and reasoning behind each was something with which I could resonate.
I found myself at the end of Pastor Moody’s sermon wanting even more, and so I came back that evening and attended the annual meeting even though I’m not a member. I didn’t find myself out of place because the literature said that non-members were welcome to attend. And even though I couldn’t vote on items on the agenda, I could see how deeply involved everyone there who was a member and took all of it very seriously. Pastor Moody went to the lectern to give his remarks, I expected it to be a dry litany of things done in the last year, and maybe some predictions of items we’d be doing as a church in the new year. While there was a summary of the past year, Pastor Moody’s remarks were more dynamic and invitational than I expected. I was really excited to be a part of this church, and I can’t wait until the next membership class to become one of those who can vote and really get involved in the ministries from cradle to grave that are a part of this church. Through some of the slides and financial information presented, I realized that the church really does rely on its members and attenders (like me) to give of the resources God has given to us so that the Word can be preached and people learn about Jesus, those who have invited Jesus into their hearts already can go even deeper in knowing him, and then we can apply what we’ve learned and been given by our Savior, Jesus Christ, to go out into our spheres of influence and impact others, all for Jesus’ glory.
How about you? Won’t you take that step with me and become a member of this vibrant church of believers?
