Stuff to Get Excited About

  • Mike Rydman
  • Feb 2, 2009

Stuff to Get Excited About

 

I am excited about a number of things as we continue to take our first steps into this New Year. This is a Leap Year, which gives us an extra day in February. My guess is February must have a self-image problem, being the shortest month of the year and all, so the calendar people throw February a bone every four years. Now as to February also being the most commonly mispronounced month of the year we will have to leave to the linguistic police, I suppose. This is also an Olympic year, meaning I can now plan to spend two full weeks glued to the television watching, and actually caring about sports and contest outcomes that normally would not track across my radar. Isn't it funny how the results in men's field hockey or flat water kayaking can bring out the patriot in all of us?

 

This is also an election year, though Presidential election years in this country are now plural, as in "years." This year's primary season has already heated up, and the winners will be anyone's guess. Eight years ago we learned all about "shads," and in the past month we all acted like we understand "caucuses," though admittedly even the people in the Iowa don't really get it.

 

I am excited, also, for Soteria Church. Just in the past week or so we have made some incredible strides toward the initiatives and directions God has set for us. (This is also a nice way of saying we've crammed in a month's worth of meetings into a single week or so, but that's a small price to pay for progress.) Our Children's Ministry Team is tasked with the goal of creating a ministry to our children on Sundays that goes beyond simple childcare. It is our church's desire to offer a ministry that truly builds Jesus into the hearts of our little ones. We are also praising God that we now have "older kids" in the form of some energetic little men who require spiritual attention. The families in our church are also proving to be fruitful, and we continue to welcome new little ones into our church community on what seems like a regular basis.

 

Our media and communication needs are growing as our church grows. Chuck Hickman has assembled a crack team of professionals and volunteers who are busy raising the proverbial bar of proficiency and production values. Things like recorded sermons on the website and the look and feel of Sunday mornings are going from dream to reality as I write this. Our website is soon to have a new, more user-friendly look, and we are exploring more effective ways to communicate with you.

 

A big thrill of recent days has been the progress of our previously dormant Men's Ministry. Last week we had a tremendous turnout for a men's ministry organizational meeting, and the enthusiasm is high amongst the guys. Our goal is to develop men who will be priests in their homes, lovers of their wives, heroes to their children, and examples of godliness and devotion to Jesus to our church and city. Ben Ewoldt and Kim Phelps are taking the lead in developing a two-faceted approach. Man School kicks off on Friday, February 1, where the guys will meet for red meat and instruction from the Word of God. Man School will take place six times per year, once every two months. The guys will also be encouraged to meet in much smaller groups of men who will study, hold each other accountable in their growth, and pray through the issues men face. Some of these groups will meet on weekday evenings, some on Saturday mornings, and some will even meet as online communities. I am excited over what God will do in the lives of our men. Somebody wise once said, "Get the man and you get the family." I believe this to be true.

 

I will close by saying that I am also excited about our sermon series in Second Timothy. God has already rocked my own boat in the course of my study and preparations, and I am convinced that the Apostle Paul wrote Second Timothy to a young pastor in the first century...and to us as Soteria Church here in the twenty first century. In reading through this little but great book of the Bible I am both humbled in my inadequacies yet incredibly joyful in my acknowledgement of the grace of God in my life and in your lives as well.

 

I am energized in my work, and excited for our church. Our Lord Jesus Christ has called Soteria church to be a "community on mission," and we seem to have made some strong steps in that direction, even here in the first days of January. Praise God!

 

Now if I could only make some tangible steps on my resolution to eat healthy