Tim Talk

Tim Talk
from the desk of our pastor...

July 2010

Greetings!

As I sit here in the middle of June trying to concentrate on the task at hand, namely writing my “Tim Talk” for July, my mind just won’t settle down. So many exciting thoughts flit in and out of my mind, like playful sparrows in the Spring.

We just returned from an amazing Staff Planning Retreat where God really answered our prayers…He spoke very clearly to us as to what we are to focus on for this next season. Following are the words the Holy Spirit is bringing to our hearts as we seek His will and guidance. My hope is that you will thoughtfully read these and heed the call to join us in prayer to truly see God’s purposes realized through all of us as New Hope.

FAMILY — We need to begin to reconnect as a Family, to spend time fellowshipping with one another…to “Familyship”(*) together! J People who have been part of this family for many years and those who have become part of this more recently need to laugh together--get to know one another. Aren’t we all simply yearning for friendship?

SIMPLIFY — In order to reconnect, we are going to need to spend time with one another again. This is a challenge in the midst of a very busy culture, and I sense the Spirit’s call to bring some fresh changes to New Hope so that our church calendar does not promote disconnectedness. Who has time to hang out, to befriend new people, to reach out to their neighbors? I mean, I’ve got a very important Bible study/outreach to get to, so don’t bug me with your issues! We must find a way to simplify our lives so we’re not too busy to hear and obey Father’s voice when He speaks.

REPENT — Yeah, I dislike this word, too. Mostly because I don’t feel I’ve ever actually learned what it means. Don’t get me wrong, I know that most of us have an intellectual understanding of the meaning of this word, but how many of us actually know how to repent? How many of us have had someone teach us the beauty of repentance? I am seeking God for revelation on this because I think it is key to unlocking the divine-purposes He has dreamed about for His church in this world. (II Chronicles 7:14)

BELIEVE — Little faith is not unbelief. It’s not…the sovereign Creator-God of the universe only needs us to have faith the size of a mustard seed (Luke 17:5-6). He just needs our “little” to collide with His “everything we need” and a revolution will begin! (II Peter 1:3)
Now that God has been faithful to speak to us very clearly, it is up to us to be faithful to obey Him. As we step forward with what we do know, I believe He will be faithful to fill in the details. He has given us the corner pieces of the puzzle, now we must find the rest of the edges and put them together so we know the framework within which He has called us to function and minister. Once that is done, each one of us will bring our piece to the table, connect it where it belongs, and we will see this beautiful picture of New Hope that only God could dream up!

Tim

(*) This word, along with any other made up words in this article, is patent pending and cannot be used or reproduced for financial gain without the express written permission of Tim Kemptner. (J)