Thank you

It has been a long year for the Poirier & Merrill family as we have been at the side of my sister, Kim during her battle with cancer. Thank you to the many of you who have prayed for us and expressed yourselves through cards and emails as we grieve as a family. The love we have felt over the past year or so has been a blessing. I sure appreciate being loved!!

Scot

Reasons To Hope

Check out today's entry on Mike Cope's blog:

Signs of Hope

I like what he said and I agree. There are signs of hope.

Messages of Support for the Poirier's and Merrill's

Hello again.

Keep Scot and his family close to you these next few days. God is their strength and we are too. They are holding up well in their grief.

If you wish to view the obituary for Kim you can use this link:

Kim Merrill Obituary

Scroll down to view a picture of Kim and you can click to view the obiturary.

At the bottom of the obituary you can also sign a guestbook. Spend a few moments and leave your message of support. Scot told me today that this guestbook means a lot of him and his family. They spent this morning reading these messages and they are drawing great comfort from these words, and will do so in the days to come.

It will be a tough couple of days, but with God's help, all will make it through. Scot wanted me to let everyone know that he is so very grateful for your love.

The calling hours will be Thursday, 6-9pm, at the Potter Funeral Home.
The funeral will be Friday, 11am, at the Manchester (CT) Church of Christ.

A Loss

With deep sadness, I want to share that Kim lost her battle to cancer yesterday. The family was there and she fought to the very end. Scot and the family are in mourning as they await the funeral services later in the week.

Please keep Glen (Kim's husband), Theresa (her mother), and Scot and Helen in your prayers and thoughts this week. Some day grief will turn more towards joy, but right now hearts are heavy and broken.

Kim Merrill was a lovely lady, a follower of Christ, and great person! She will be terribly missed.

Prayers and Thoughts for Scot and Kim

Scot called me a few moments ago. He and Helen are headed to CT now. His sister, Kim, has turned for the worse. Her heart rate is irregular. Her breathing is shallow and labored. She is dehydrated and no longer eating. The family is gathering around her bed.

Please keep the Poirier and Merrill families in your thoughts and prayers.

Playing It Safe?

I "borrowed" this from Jim Martin's blog:

Too Dangerous to Play it Safe

There are some people who live dangerously. No I'm not talking about jumping out of an airplane with nothing between you and the ground but a parachute which you hope will open. I'm not talking about participating in the annual Sweetwater, Texas rattlesnake roundup. We went one year. Uhhh--nothing quite like it.

Right now, I am thinking about the danger of playing it safe. The following are some dangers I have in mind. Do you have some others to add?

1. The danger of staying the same. Don't grow. Don't move. Just stay where you are. Never change your habits or the way you use your time. Stay the same. Be your same predictable self. Close your mind to anything new, different, or untried. That can be a very dangerous way to live.

2. The danger of playing it safe. "Who me? No I can't do that." Why? "What if I fail? What will I do?" Far too many people are determined to play it safe. Far too many churches are so interested in playing it safe that they say "no" to opportunities for ministry before them. This attitude is putting many churches at great risk! Why? Playing it safe is often a rationalization. If I play it safe then you don't have to trust God. That can be a dangerous way to live.


3. The danger of avoiding risk. Perhaps your teens are talking about going to a mission field or working with the poor in some distant American city. "Wait! You can't do that. We want you to live near us! We would miss you if you were that far away!" So, a teenager's vision is doused with cold water because mom and dad have no such vision themselves.

4. The danger of avoiding pain at all costs. Of course, no one likes to experience pain. Yet, one can go to such lengths to avoid pain that it becomes dangerous. Mom and Dad can't stand to hear their four year old whine and throw a tantrum that they bribe the child with toys, ice cream, etc. Perhaps mom or dad can't stand to see their child worry about her ticket so they rush in to pay it themselves. Consistently removing the natural consequences of our children's behavior can be very dangerous in the long run.

5. The danger of avoiding any discussion about "the big pink elephant in the middle of the room." A family has a troubled son or daughter. At Christmas, the daughter never shows up. No call. No explanation. Nothing! However, the family never mentions it and goes on with Christmas. Her packages under the tree. Her plate and silverware on the table. Ice tea is next to her plate. Yet nothing is ever said. The "big pick elephant in the middle of the room" is ignored. Are you ignoring something that really ought to be addressed?


Can you think of others?

Wicked

Last night, my wife and I chaperoned a school field trip. Our two boys participate in their middle school chorus and the director planned a trip to the Boston Opera House to see the Broadway musical WICKED.

What a wonderful musical. The music captures your heart. The acting draws you into the story. And the set is very imaginative. Here is a brief synopsis:
Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years.

There are a few lines from one of the songs (Wonderful) I keep replaying in my head this morning: There are precious few at ease/With moral ambiguities/So we act as though they don't exist.

Sounds a little like some church folk I know these days.......

(Do you think my good Christian family will get second looks when they wear their WICKED apparel out in public? Maybe they'll even wear the clothes to a church service.)

Mike Cope's blog message for May 10, 2006

Inorganic Music

Once again, there were classes at Pepperdine (as there have been at ACU and Tulsa earlier this year) on the need for greater fellowship between Christian Churches and Churches of Christ — again taught by Bob Russell and Rick Atchley. Of course, this is just a beginning. A small beginning. But, it is an important beginning. (At least it’s a beginning in some places. Many of you are in places where you already realize that anyone who is a Christ-follower is WITH you not AGAINST you!)

So here’s my take on instrumental music: God doesn’t much care. Most of the old arguments were lame, built on shoddy hermeneutics.

Nevertheless, those in the a cappella tradition don’t need to be ashamed of it. There is a rich tradition in the church that runs through the centuries of singing without instruments. Even today, when people enter our churches, they are dumbfounded to hear people singing — full voice, four-part harmony.

That doesn’t mean it’s the only way, or that it’s God’s way. Sure, I could be blessed by being in a church with Chris Tomlin leading worship.

But I’m not. I’m in a congregation with a heritage of being a cappella. That doesn’t mark us as being the REAL people of God or as being RIGHT. But it is a rich heritage that can be, if continued in love and humility, a gift to Christian community, reminding us that worship is a place of full participation where we all offer ourselves again to God, seeking to be reshaped by him to live for the sake of the world.

So God bless the drums/guitars/saxophones that are played for the glory of God. And God bless the pitch pipes and the tuning forks that find a pitch so that others can sing without instruments.

Preserving this a cappella heritage isn’t nearly as important to me as it is to others. It’s nothing I’m going to fight a younger generation on. If they decide to set it aside for the sake of the mission, I’ll be with them. (Sad, perhaps, but still with them.)

But in the meantime, I want to participate at the top of my lungs; I want to remind others that such singing is a blessing; and I want to share with others a growing appreciation for the many different looks of the universal church that lives for Christ.

--------

From Paul:

For those who'd like to read the comments posted on Mike Cope's blog (usually the comment section is where the real action takes place) you can go to this link:

Mike Cope's Blog about Music

BTW, I think this is a good piece to wrestle with. Some may feel that our church unity might be tested by this, but we must work hard to listen before we speak, pray before we preach, read deep and wide (especially Scripture), and let God's reign and kingdom mission to the world guide our hearts and conversation with each other. For what it's worth, I believe we can hold diverse views on this subject and still live and work together in unity for the mission of Christ.

Still thinking about the Achilles tendon

Paul,

I’ve been thinking about your question regarding what our church's Achilles tendon is.

You, Tony Thompson from the Burlington church and I have worked on a series of lesson from Mark’s gospel. We’ve entitled the series “No Turning Back- living the surrendered life.” The challenge I see for the church is that the cause for which Christ died is being routed in our society. Ironically, as Christians our story underscores that God has come near. I heard a lesson from Randy Harris where he spoke about God coming near. He said 100 years ago in Africa about 7% of the people would have claimed to be Christian. Do you want to know what that number is today? 46%! Africans are now leaving their countries and going into other African countries to evangelize. Africa has become the center of Christianity. Or what about China? In 1900 about one half of one percent of the population claimed to be Christian. And after a hundred years of China trying to rid the country of Christianity it now has approximately 7% of the population that claims Christianity. There are more Chinese Christians than there are American Christians. But in our country the un-churched population is growing by leaps and bounds. Yet our story says that God has come near.

If we buy into the idea that there’s “No Turning Back” and that we are called to “Live the Surrendered Life,” we’ll find ourselves going to all kinds of people to show them that God is near. Here’s where our potential Achilles tendon is: There’s risk in buying into this idea. The risk is that all kinds of people will come into our churches and make them look a lot different. The risk is that God will be in control and for those of us who like to be in control––will be challenged.

In my rock climbing “year” I learned a valuable lesson. You need to trust the rope that ultimately holds you when you fall. Here’s my point––believe that God is the one who is in control. We are a people with a story. We are being called to let creation know that God is near. I’m convinced that when you do this, God’s got ya!! He’s got ya because it’s his mission and he’s the one in control.

Make no mistake, this new life we are called into for God will be one dedicated toward the goal of transforming others.

God has come near!

The Cast

It seems like I always have a story!



I’d love to tell you that I hurt my foot saving an elderly woman as she walked unknowingly into hostile traffic; or that I tripped while successfully saving innocent people from their burning home. But… I cant!

The awful truth is I hurt my foot playing––basketball. If you’re reading this and you know me you’re probably not at all surprised. I’m certainly not.

Here’s how it happened: I was having a great game of basketball. In the first five minutes of getting into a pick-up game at the YMCA, I jammed my left thumb on the ball (ouch!). BTW- I happen to be lefty. Anyway, with in 20 minutes of playing I ran the baseline (schooling the 18 year old who was trying to keep up with my youthful speed!!!), which is one of my signature moves for a reverse lay-up. Well––I got the reverse lay-up up but when I came down from my 2 inch vertical (in full stride) I evidently ripped the plantar facia:




And since Tuesday night I’ve had difficulty walking. Fortunately on Wednesday I was “squeezed in” to see my orthopedic. Now let me tell ya… this guy just loves me. I think I’ve given him enough business over the years to pay for his house and his twins’ college tuitions. Let me put it to you this way…we’re definitely on a first name basis.

So here I am––in a cast, nursing an injury that will no doubt slow me down for a few months. But make no mistake––I cant wait to get back out there on the court and do some schooling.

You know, the funny thing about all of this is even though I’m severely injured I can still beat Paul in hoop!

Weakness

Well....Scot has some news. If you see him hobbling around you'll know he has a weakness. His weakness is for basketball and his weakness is his body. He is suffering today because of his weakness. I let the old guy tell you about it some time.

I wonder out loud this morning. What is our church's Achilles tendon?

Hello! Is anybody out there?

Ah, so good to be back. Paul, I look forward to continuing to dialog the adventurous journey.

BTW, I received an email earlier today from "Day of Praying and Fasting." They are a good organization trying to make a difference by providing humanitarian aid around the world. This year their focus is in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Check out this link Day of Prayer and Fasting and jump on in.

Talk to you soon...

We're On The Way Back

Scot and I have been saying lately that we need to resurrect the ole' blog. I have been out straight with some major projects and Scot has been working on projects and giving his time to his sister. Her sister continues to struggle with cancer and we both continue to have projects. But we thought it would be good to get back to the blog. So, we're on the way back.

We'll start slow but hope to become more consistent as time goes by.

As you can see, we at least changed the template and we hope to add other things to the site in the future. We're both cheap, so we'll probably not get as fancy as other blogs, but at least we'll have some content that might be worth reading...or not.

Thanks for checkin' in.

Catching Up

As you can tell, Scot and I have been "radio silent" the past few months (and more). I ask for your prayers on behalf of Scot and his sister, Kim. She is in a deep struggle with her cancer and Scot is working really hard to be there for her and the family. Plus, he is trying to finish some graduate work with deadlines coming soon for a big project. Plus, church life is keeping him busy as well.

I...well, I have been in a "listening" time in my life. I have been doing a lot of reading, playing with my boys, enjoy time with my wife and catching up on church work and ministry. It has been good to go quiet for a while. I find myself trying to learn more and more about listening to the rhythm of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am asking myself lately, "What is the Spirit doing?" That is humbly, confusing, clarifying...often all at the same time.

We'll be posting more in the coming months. Thanks for checking in every now and then

Quote To Chew On....

Summarizing a statement by Donald Hagner: "The faith of Jesus unites us but faith in Jesus separates us."

I've been chewing on this one for while.....I like it.