Thank You!

In less than 24 hours since sending word out about what happened, we have received:

• Emails from 29 people
• 25 texts
• 5 Blog comments
• A feeling that we are really loved!
• And the peace of God that comes through your prayer!

We love and thank you all! We are uniquely blessed and we know it. We are just being together and taking some family time. Davis running around the house really helps!

--Noah and Tricia

This made us smile

This really put a smile on our face tonight.

Click on this link here: http://severnriverchurch.com/sermons.asp

Click on the one that says "Song by Sydney." This is my friend Ben and his daughter. So cute!! Listen until the end. The end is the cutest!

Sad News. Would Appreciate Your Prayers.

Wanted to share on my blog, the same thing that I sent to our Church prayer-email today. Please read below:

Good Afternoon Church,

I trust that you are walking strong and seeing the Lord at work in your life. On this historic inauguration day, I pray that we will find opportunities to have conversations that point to Jesus, the giver of all life, freedom and liberty! Let us remember to pray for God's hand on the life of our new President.

The other reason that I write today is to ask you to pray for Tricia and I for peace and understanding. Yesterday at about 4pm, my wife began bleeding very badly. After 7 hours at the hospital, we learned that Tricia was pregnant and had miscarried. Please pray for us, especially Tricia as our hearts are quite heavy today. I returned home from a trip I was on to be here with Tricia.

We appreciate your prayers and love, but ask that calls or visits wait at this time. Feel free to email either of us anytime!

We are both thankful for the gift and sign of life that this represents.

He is able!

Heading to VA for 3 days

I am leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for 3 days in Harrisonburg, VA.

Why? A leadership training event

Where? Eastern Mennonite Seminary

Topic? Christians engaging cultural change

Link to event? Click Here

Who is going? Nelson and I

Excited to learn and to network. Always appreciate the connections we make. Not excited to leave Tricia and Davis. Never am.

I am sure that I will be online down there, so check back in this week.

Hope you have a great week!

--Noah

Why today was special!!

From the heart of a happy Pastor on a Sunday afternoon before football starts...

Today was special for a lot of reasons. Here are a few of those reasons:

• Today was special, because after lots of hard work, dreaming and prayer, we launched EntryPoint, our new assimilation ministry.
  
• It was great that there were 16 people present including the 3 coaches. That would mean 13 people ready and searching for deep connection to God and this ministry.
• Today was special, because I got the joy of listening to all 13 of these people introduce themselves to the group. The range went from just saved 3 weeks ago to been saved 50 years. From been at CCF for 1 week to been at CCF 4 years. There were people there looking to become partners, others looking to find that small group that fits them and still others there today because they are ready to serve in ministry and want to find their fit. Too cool to know that we will meet for 5 more Sundays! Gonna be great!
  
• Today was great because I got to hear Robert Taylor (EntryPoint coach and member of CCF since 1962!!!) discuss the 60s and 70s at Cottage City Mennonite Church (now CCF) and I got to hear Pam Kaye (EntryPoint Coach and my Mom) reflect about the Capitol College Days and Cydne Nash (EntryPoint Coach) talk about the new CCF as she just came a few years ago. Those 3 perspectives painted a beautiful picture of our history, while pointing boldly into our future!
• Today was special because we worshiped God together out of glad and sincere hearts!
• Today was special because Pastor Nelson helped us to weave GOD'S STORY into the story of Martin Luther King Day tomorrow and the Inauguration on Tuesday. After all, we are indeed God's creation and this is HIS story.

Today was special, because I was reminded again what an absolutely amazing blessing and honor it is to Pastor this community of faith! What an incredibly authentic congregation you are. I am a better man for knowing each of you.

Am I the only one that feels a rumble like God is about to do something Big? I don't know, but I think that something is coming down the tracks. Or as Caleb put it in hie Tweet this morning..."there is a spirit that something big is about to crash though these walls."

Our eyes and our attention is on you, our God! We love you! We are seeing you at work and trying to meet you there.

--Noah

Start with Worship

I believe that our true call to worship, is to worship with our lives. How we live, who we are! Romans 12:1-2 says "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

I am seeing more and more that what we DO for God and others needs to flow out of a life of worship. This morning, I reread this verse in Matthew 2:11 that struck me in a new way. Matthew 2 is the account of the Magi bringing gifts to Baby Jesus. But, check this out. It says "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Notice that they worshiped FIRST. Then, they gave. May our first move toward God be WORSHIP! Then, may all we do and give thereafter flow out of that heart of worship.

--Noah

Welcome to DC for the Innauguration

For those of you who have ever driven in the DC area, I thought you would enjoy the following, for all living in the DC area and those who plan to visit our area

• First, you must learn to call it by its rightful name. It is DC or "the District" - only tourists call it Washington.
  
• Next, if your road map of Montgomery County is more than a few weeks old, throw it out and buy a new one. It's obsolete. If in Loudoun or Fairfax County and your map is one day old, it's already obsolete.
• There is no such thing as a dangerous high speed chase in D.C. It's just another chase, usually on the Baltimore Washington Parkway
• All directions start with "The Beltway"... which has no beginning and no end, just one continuous loop that locals believe is somehow clarified by an "inner" and "outer" loop designation. This makes no sense to ANYONE outside the area. (or in the area for that matter)
  
• The morning rush hour is from 5 to 11 AM. The evening rush hour is from 1 to 8 PM. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning, especially during the summer on Route 50 eastbound.
• If there is a ball game at the Redskins stadium, there is no point driving anywhere near PG County.
  
• If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended and shot at. If you run the red light, be sure to smile for the $100 "picture" you will receive courtesy of DMV.
  
• If you don't go as soon as the light turns green, you will get cussed out in 382 languages.
• Rain causes an immediate 50 point drop of IQ in drivers. Snow causes a 100 point drop in IQ and a rush to the nearest Giant for toilet paper and milk.
• Construction on I-270 is a way of life and a permanent source of scorn and cynical entertainment. It's ironic that it's called an "Interstate," but runs only from Bethesda to Frederick . Opening in the 60's, it has been torn up and under reconstruction ever since. Also, it has a "Spur" section which is even more confusing.
• All old ladies in Buicks have the right of way in the area of Leisure World.
• Many roads mysteriously change their names as you cross intersections. Don't ask why, no one knows.
• If asking directions in Arlington, Langley Park, Wheaton or Adams Morgan, Spanish helps. If in Annandale, Cambodian or Vietnamese will come in handy. If on Dupont Circle, Capital Hill or U Street, tolerance for same sex helps. If you stop to ask directions in Southeast...well, just don't.
• A taxi ride across town will cost you $12.50. A taxi ride two blocks will cost you 16.75. (It's a zone thing, you wouldn't understand.)
• Traveling south out of DC on Interstate 395/95 is the most dangerous, scariest thing you will ever do.
• There is nothing more comforting then seven lanes of traffic cruising along at 85 mph, BUMPER TO BUMPER!!! ( Truer words have never been written! )
  
• The minimum acceptable speed on the Beltway is 85. Anything less is considered down right sissy. The open lane for passing on all Maryland interstates is the far right lane because no self-respecting Marylander would ever be caught driving in the "slow" lane. Unofficially, both shoulders are fair game also. The far left lanes on all Maryland interstates are official "chat" lanes reserved for drivers who wish to talk on their cell phones.

Pick me up off the floor. This is hilarious!!

Prophetic Word. Move Froward.

Note: For those of you that just glance at my blog, you may want to actually read this one!

At the end of the service this past Sunday, our Bishop Glenn approached Pastor Nelson and I and shared what he believed to be a prophetic word for us. It was powerful and I have been thinking and praying into it all week.

Here is the thumbnail sketch:

• God is bringing an increased anointing onto us.
• God is developing increased character in us.
• The things that we see happening at CCF are merely a fractional sign of what is coming.
• We need to actively rest in what God is about to do. (Not passively rest.)

Then, here is the part that has been shaping me most:

In this season of economic and societal "pulling back", there will be abundant fruitfulness for those who move forward into God's purposes! We should not faithlessly hoard and retreat, but rather faithfully move ahead into the future that God has for us. The economy of God is not the economy of the world! Move forward, don't pull back. But, move forward in a confident humility and a resting in the fact that God may want to be revealing himself most in a time where people can depend on stuff the least!

Did you know that the Australian seal has an Emu and a Kangaroo in it? Neither of these animals can move backwards. It speaks to their desire as a land to be always moving ahead. Interesting.

This word needs to be tested through scripture and the leading of the Spirit. It is certainly not a word to be reckless and lack wisdom and for what it's, I think that it has very little to do with spending money.

Is the Lord showing you anything through this word?

Cool Video

This video is pretty cool. Enjoy!

Adjusting to a larger Staff

One of the absolute greatest joys of my job is working with, caring for, and leading other leaders. I love seeing our Pastors and Staff thrive in their calling. It is a thrill to grow with them and to learn from them. In fact, I think that my relationship building with staff is one of the most important things that I do at CCF. It is our hope that our authentic relationships reproduce all over the church!

That said, I am finding myself in a time of new learning and adjustment right now. It all happened so suddenly. I woke up one day and realized that I am now serving as a Lead Pastor and Supervisor for 6 Staff members! This is different from 2-3 as it has been. With the growth of the staff this year, comes several realities...some a breeze, others more challenging, all wonderful!!! It is kinda hard to explain with words. It is just an adjustment, and for the most part I love it. I am pumped up about the team that the Lord has assembled here and believe it has only just begun. Speaking of which, we had an AWESOME offsite staff meeting this morning.

I just need to do some adjusting in my role, so I can handle it in a healthy way. I have had to do this before and I will have to do it again. More people to care for, more meetings to hold, more details to juggle, more info to know, more issues to respond to, more emails, more calls, more texts, more praying for these leaders, more pastoring and discipling them that I need to rise to. This is of course in addition to the many, many other things that I do and preparing to preach, etc. In order to add all that onto the plate, I will need to remove some things off the plate. So, that is what I am doing. I thank God for good leaders above me in my life that will help me process this increased responsibility.

If you see this post as me complaining about any of this, you did not get it!

--Noah

EnrtyPoint Image

Sooooo excited to launch EntryPoint this Sunday at 9:00am in the Upper Room. New Guest? Long Term Visitor? Not plugged into CCF yet? See you Sunday at 9! Here is the unveiling of the EntryPoint Image.

List Person...Did I finish?

I keep wondering if there was something else that I intended to share with you about my list/organization system. For those that have been reading those posts, do you have any further questions? Anything more that you were hoping I would share? Click on the "responses" button below and I would be happy to hear from you. If not, I will leave well enough alone. :-)

From the guy who has to make sure things are completed,

--Noah

Supreme Sports Performance & Training

I am so proud of our friends Matt and Sioux-z Gary. They are driven, committed and inspiring in their desire for fitness and health. Their lives have been committed to it. A dream came true for them today. They opened their own business just minutes from their (new) home in Rockville. It is called Supreme Sports Performance and Training. You can click here to see their site (designed by another friend in our church, Adolph Key).

It was the last week of 2004 when I met the Gary's in the lobby of the church as they were seeking a place to get married in. They found that. They also found a church community that they have dedicated themselves to in a BIG way. They are in our Small Group. They are very special to Tricia and I, and we are totally proud of them tonight!

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Luke 2:52

How do we partner?

Here is a very simple review/recap of my message yesterday.

How does a CCF Partner commit to this ministry?

Answer: Embraces and lives the vision by

1. Faithfully connecting in large group
2. Faithfully connecting in small group
3. Faithfully serving in a ministry
   

We believe that EntryPoint will be the main catalyst to move people through these steps, but there will be other catalysts too. We also believe that these above commitments will lead people into faithfulness in many areas of life including a financial commitment to this ministry. As I said Sunday...at CCF, we encourage people to give regularly and sacrificially. That may look different for each of us.

So excited about the people that God is already sending our way so that we can partner in ministry!

Barak

Last night, we got to hang out with Barak. Okanya that is. Davis and he are just a few weeks apart and are great friends. We were glad to have him for the evening. I count it a great joy to know that my Associate Pastor is also my friend! In fact, I feel like I am friends with every member of the team I am privileged to work with. What a blessing!

Well, I wanted to share this picture of Grammy (my Mom) reading to Davis and Barak last night. Precious!

Partnership

This morning, we renamed membership! Instead of joining into membership at CCF...starting today, we invite people into partnership.

Why not membership?

• First of all, just because we have always done something or held to a certain name, does not mean we always have to! Sometimes, it is really healthy to rename or redefine for the sake of the new thing that God may want to do!
• Next, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, as far as I am concerned, you are already a member of the body of Christ! No membership status will ever beat that!
• Also, your membership at BJ's, the local pool and the country club requires that you pay a fee and receive a service or benefit. I think that perspective only fuels the growing consumeristic mindset of church shoppers more then it makes disciples.
  
• Finally, I have been leading our Discovery 101 membership class for the last 3-4 years and have noticed that the "M" word (membership) scares more people off than the Boogie Man...and that should not be so. People are missing the point. And I for one think that is because of the baggage and anxiety that people bring to that very word...membership. I am tired of running people off and seeing them miss the point.
  

Why partnership?

• We would like to think of connecting to CCF as Partnering with a movement, more than becoming a member of a club.
  
• Partners team up to provide a service, more than receive one. I have said it before. We are the church and we exist to serve and reach the world. We are the servants, not the recipients.
  
• At CCF, we believe that each of us is called by God for ministry (Eph. 4:11-13) to join the body of Christ in partnering together to love God (Matt. 22:36-40), love each other (Matt. 22:36-40) and to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).

If you are local, we hope you will partner with us in this ministry! If you are out of state, we hope that you will partner with us in prayer!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

The day the projector died

Yesterday we learned that we had no signal to the projector hanging from the ceiling in our Worship Center. No matter how hard our guys tried (8 hours yesterday), they could not get it working. We think it may be a cable issue or something. Buying a new one is not in the plan. Why? Because our Director of Worship (my Brother, Caleb) informed me this week that those suckers are like $10,000-$80,000. Whoa!! Well, since we had no media today, we printed the lyrics to the songs and laid them on the seats in the Worship Center.

Not convinced whether there is a connection or not, but here is what I noticed:

• We worshipped!
• The room was seemed more full of expressions of praise than most Sundays.
• Even the volume and unity of the voices seemed to fill the room up more.
• The Worship Team was on!! They were dynamic, engaged and inviting us into a time of meaningful worship!
• I cried like I haven't in a long time.
  
• It blessed my heart.
  

Couldn't help but wonder if it was a nice needed change of atmosphere. Couldn't help but wonder if it was a part of God's plan for us today. Maybe some of us stare at the screen for words we already know. I wonder what would happen if we put our eyes on the screen less and put our eyes on Jesus more?

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:2a

This is CRAZY...the human mind

After not blogging since Thursday, I post this. It don't take much to amuse me, huh? I got this email tonight and it fascinated me. I laughed pretty hard and it kind of creeped me out, actually. Not sure why, but, hey...check it out.

Can you read this?

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeilng was ipmorantt!

You never know what you will find on this blog.

The Talking Calendar

Picking up on my recent daily posts about being a list person...let me address what I have began to affectionately call the "talking calendar." I know that this title errs on the cheesy side, but it makes my point.

I said in my post yesterday that the thrust of my organizational system is based on the conversation that exists between my task list and my calendar. Hence, the talking calendar. Or, I guess we could say, the talking task list as well.

Let me explain.

In short: I need "to-do" things to be prepared for what is approaching in my calendar. And I need to-schedule the things in my task list that I need to-do. If I am missing one or the other, something is going to crumble.

As a result, over the last 10 years, I have made a daily habit of ensuring that my calendar and task list communicate.

My calendar says things to my task list such as:

• You have Small Group tonight, have you prepared your lesson?
  
• You are meeting with the bishop next week, are you ready for that?
• Davis's Birthday party is Saturday, you need to go get the balloons.
  
• You are preaching Sunday. Is your message done?
  
• You are meeting with Entry Point coaches next week, email them the draft and prepare for that meeting.
• You have Executive Board next Thursday. Email the board the agenda.

My Task list says things to my calendar such as:

• When can you meet with that couple next week?
• You need 2 hours to finish your ordination paperwork and need to be focused. What are 2 good hours for this to happen within the next 10 days?
• Tricia and I have not seen our friends Tim and Michelle in a long time. When can we go visit them on a Friday-Saturday in the next 3 months?
• You need 3 hours to finish your message in the next 2 days. Plug those 3 hours in now.

Look, if it is going to get done, it probably needs to be scheduled. And if it's on the schedule I need to-do what I need to-do to get ready for it!

Sooo...the calendar and task list talk back and forth at each other, coordinate with each other and sometimes ask provoking questions about my priorities.

Let me know if you are finding any of this helpful. Or is it too long that you are not reading it? What would you add to improve this system?

EntryPoint!!

Introducing…EntryPoint!

Launching on… Sunday, January 18^th at 9:00am

EntryPoint is CCF’s connection ministry for all those wanting to take next steps with us! Designed for new guests and long term visitors, EntryPoint will coach you into partnering with CCF, its vision and its ministries.

Curious about joining CCF as a partner?

Curious about Small Groups?

Curious about ministry?

Come to EntryPoint!

The purpose of EntryPoint: To connect you to CCF and to the Lord so you will love God, love people and live as a disciple of Jesus!

How is EntryPoint set up?

• Sort of like a short term Small Group.
• There are 6 sessions and then they start over and repeat.
• There will be EntryPoint coaches that will help you make connections with the church. You won’t have to do it alone.
• EntryPoint will take place every Sunday from 9am-10am.
• You can join in any Sunday. It does not matter which session you start at. Come any Sunday at 9am!

See you at EntryPoint!

[You may wonder why there is no space in the title, EntryPoint? It is intentional...to remind us that EntryPoint exists so that no one falls through the cracks.]