Let’s give a helping hand and loving heart where needed – Camp Vera

(Jesus) told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field" Matthew 13:31

Over the years, God has used Olivet to plant many mustard seeds into the lives of our immigrant brothers and sisters. The following is a diary entry/blog that Lisa wrote about the Camp Vera daycamp happening this week and next. Read this and rejoice at God’s hand in our efforts to "Love our neighbor".

Notes from day three of CAMP VERA (BY LISA B.) On Wednesday morning, my first task was picking up kids at their various homes and apartments. After picking up the Krah kids we drove the beginning of the big circle, which started with collecting the borrowed van from Meredith Drive Reformed Church, then traveling to the two apartment complexes on Douglas to collect groups of kids, first Liberians, then Burmese. At the first stop, several Liberian boys who I know from volunteering at their school came to the van, begging to come with us. I’m sorry there wasn’t room. When I returned the kids at the end of the day, the boys continued their pleas to join us. At the second stop, a little group of Burmese kids watched mournfully as their playmates climbed into the van. The potential for offering care and hospitality to our newcomer friends is overwhelmingly huge. Three years ago I took our first batch of kids to swimming lessons and I imagined how if every church in the city that has a 15-passenger van took 13 or 14 immigrant kids to swimming lessons, the impact would be wonderful.

Lucy, Prince’s mom, came to watch swimming lessons. Her eyes were bright, her countenance strong. This was a big change from her visits to lessons in previous years. This is because Lucy lost Prince’s sister / her daughter, Vera, to a drowning in 2006. Vera didn’t know how to swim. Which is why several of us decided that we had to help the other immigrant children in our midst learn to swim. Thus the name Camp Vera, which Lucy consented to let us use for the first time this year. When Lucy saw Prince swimming like a little fish, she smiled. When Prince’s swimming instructor was introduced to Lucy, she beamed as he bragged about how well Prince was doing in class. Thank God he was Prince’s instructor last year, too, and so a trust level was built in to the lessons this year.

So many times in life I wonder if what we do really matters. Evidence weighs in both directions on any given day, but never wholeheartedly positive or negative. Watching Lucy watch Prince swim and all the other kids, too, made me realize that yes, what we do does indeed matter. Each of us wakes each morning to a plethora of choices. We can choose to be an instrument of God’s peace –right here in Des Moines.

I’m so very thankful for Cody*, the swimming instructor who chose to work at Birdland Pool in Des Moines, Iowa one more summer and for Mrs. Marge and Mr. Mike who became "grandma" and "grandpa" to Vera, Prince, and Lucy when they arrived in 2004 from a refugee camp in West Africa (I even heard other kids calling them grandma and grandpa!) and for Mrs. Sherrie who lead the singing and made the lunches today and filled in all the little gaps for the last three days and for Ryan who decided to help lead games each afternoon we’re at church when he could be studying instead and for Mrs. Jenny whose heart for children is absolutely huge which is what made her want to help us every day and for Mrs. Marie, who is new to our church and steps up to the plate and volunteers to help as often as she can, and for Brittney and Josie, two teens choosing to be with little kids instead of hanging out at the mall and for Mr. Bob, who loves helping us at the pool and at church and who quietly sat watching us all eat our lunches without saying anything about not having a lunch until I asked. Ernest said on the way home, "I really like Mr. Bob. He’s nice. I feel very bad that he watched us eat when he didn’t have any food so I gave him some of my food."

And I’m thankful for Victoria, who made me a crown. I announced that I was now "Queen Lisa." Our little kingdom is amazing, isn’t it?

Lisa B. *

*Many more people helped with lunches and donations and other aspects of Camp Vera. Those mentioned above were the ones who happened to be helping on day 3. I’m extremely thankful for everyone who had input in this day camp! (You know who you are!)

The Church is not a Religious Club

I love seminary because it forces me to read a lot, and what I read has been preselected as the best content available.  I just ran across this jewel:

“The Anglican leader and evangelist Michael Green cuts through church cant: ‘God’s church exists not for itself but for the benefit of those who are not yet members… [and] the church which lives for itself will be sure to die by itself.’  The church is not a religious club and it does not have a secular mission.  Instead, it is a worshiping and sending community.”

The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight, pg 232

This text simply hit home for me.  If as a church we are only worried about serving our own needs, growing our own institution, and fulfilling our own non-Jesus centered missions, we will not attract anybody to Jesus and will eventually cease to exist.  If, on the other hand, our mission is to live as missionaries in our own communities, telling people about Jesus and the work he is doing in our lives, people will be drawn to Jesus and His message of love and acceptance.

New Wineskins: Part 2

Are you CRAZY attempting to "try, try again"? Or . . . Should you persevere and avoid looking for something "new and improved"?

Mark 2:21-22 (Jesus said) "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." During the past few months God has been encouraging me (poking/prodding me) towards longer and more focused times of prayer and personal Bible study. Like most of you, my devotional life can cycle between times that are extensive/exciting and at other times both brief and boring. As I have looked at and prayed through the above passage, I think two things are true in my life:

First, in my experience, there are times perseverance has finally produced the needed result. If I can force myself to continue in the same, tried and true patterns of prayer and study – then God rewards these efforts by leading me to exciting times of answered prayers and extensive digging through and enjoying times of study and reflection. So – sometimes I simply need to "try, try again".

Secondly, there are times that perseverance simply leads to less and less devotion and more and more boredom. It’s at these times that I really need to try something new. One definition of insanity is to "do the same thing over and over again, but expect different results". There are times I need to try something new – in effect, pour new wine into new wineskins!

How can we know which is best? Should we continue to pray and study using our personal tried and true methods -even through the dry, desert times? OR, should we stop doing the same old/same old and try something new?

For me, the answer is "yes". I need to do both. Persevere in my efforts to pray and meditate on the Word. Sometimes using a new pattern, a new time, a new method, a new style – but always persevering in my efforts to become a man who "prays without ceasing" and who studies/meditates on the Word "both day and night".

Would you like to see God grow your times of prayer and study? Then pray that God will give you wisdom in this – He always answers that prayer for His children! God teaches us to try, try again, but He will also direct us towards new wine and new wineskins sometimes. Try both, and see how He blesses you!

Also – Please keep praying for the Transition Team as they seek wisdom in reviewing and evaluating the ongoing ministries and programs of Olivet.

This Saturday at 7:30 – an Hour of Pure Worship

Have the concerns of this world left you worn out and spiritually thirsty?  Do you feel like you just haven’t been connecting with God lately?  Do you love to spend time in corporate worship with others who want to drink deeply from the well of everlasting life, that is Jesus Christ?  If so, then join us at Olivet for an hour of pure worship, prayer, and encouragement on Saturday, June 12th at 7:30 PM.  Ryan and Michelle Lenerz will lead a free-flow worship service of contemporary music as we corporately seek the love, acceptance, grace, and peace of God.

Note: Nursery will be available for 0-2 year olds.

New Wineskins, Part One

(Part One is reprinted below. It is the June Oasis cover article)

Mark 2:21-22 (Jesus said) "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

New Wine at Olivet

Jesus spoke the above in response to complaints from the Pharisees. They felt that potential converts must obey all the religious obligations and the religious lifestyle that they had developed over the centuries. There are two problems with their approach. First, new Gentile believers are, by definition, not theologically mature believers. Secondly, the Pharisees’ lifestyle had become more about “the rules” than the heart. They wanted to keep all the old wineskins and force the new wine to fit in.

Notice what Jesus encourages: Keep making wine and keep putting it into wineskins.

Our staff and lay-leaders are examining all the programs, ministries, and the structure of Olivet. We are looking at the existing wineskins. Are we too rigid in some areas? We are looking to God to provide wisdom and discernment so that we do not become like the Pharisees in any of our ministries or programs.

Our Transition Team (T.T.) has been reading two books: “One Church –Four Generations” and “One Size Doesn’t Fit All”. Through these books Olivet is being challenged by Scripture to continue our efforts to teach and preach the Gospel and to make new disciples. The Lord may lead Olivet to replace some of our old wineskins with new ones, but that does not mean that the new wineskins will made in a completely different shape or style/method. But the illustration Jesus uses does discourage putting this new wine into any older wineskins that may have become too stiff or rigid.

Please pray for the T.T. as they try to make sure Olivet has enough flexibility in our hearts and church culture to accept new wine. And pray that God continues to bless us with opportunities to live the Gospel in such a way that the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus. Pastor Steve