FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS
WE’RE ABOUT TO TAKE OFF!

Can you believe that it has been two years since we launched into our first 40 Days campaign?  If you remember, we had a bad snowstorm that first Sunday that forced us to push the entire campaign back one week, but after that everything went without a hitch.  In looking back at my reports to the church administrative board, I found the following statement in my report for the month of March:

Throughout the 40 Days, reports have come in of people being blessed in extraordinary ways.  While some questioned before we started why we were doing something that lasted so long, generally speaking most people felt it went by too fast.  The combination of the Sunday services, the daily reading of the book and the involvement in the small groups had a strong impact on any who really took part.  In fact the blessing was proportional to the involvement.  Those who held back in their participation definitely received less from the Lord.  If a person was determined not to be blessed, the Lord generally honored the desire.  It is possible to rebuff the Holy Spirit.  The results speak for themselves.  The baptisms and the reception of eleven new members indicate the impact 40 Days had on people’s lives.  A few long time attendees joined the church because they recognized that they were missing out on God’s blessing through lack of commitment.  Many new people joined the church.  Most testified to wanting to join the church because of the love they experienced in our fellowship.  Time and again the subject came up.  We praise God for this, because a few years ago this was not the message I was hearing.

We now are preparing for the beginning of another campaign that is scheduled to start in mid-March.  During the 40 Days of Purpose we discovered that God placed each of us on earth for five purposes: to get to know and love him (worship), to learn to love each other (fellowship), to grow in becoming like Jesus (discipleship), to practice using our talents in serving God (ministry), and to share the Good News with others (evangelism).  As mentioned above we saw some great results from the 40 Days campaign.  We also needed time to soak it in and to catch our breath.  So here we are now ready to take the next step.  The goal of 40 Days of Community is to water the seeds of purpose that were planted in our lives during the first campaign and also to move on.  As Rick Warren has explained, the life of purpose that God intends for us, was never meant to be lived alone.  The fact is, it is impossible to fulfill God’s five purposes for our lives by ourselves.  We need each other.  From the beginning God’s plan has been that we fulfill his purposes in community with other people—people in our church family, in our small group, and in the world around us.  The reason for this is as Rick Warren says: “We’re better together!” 

Small groups were very important in the first campaign.  They are of even greater importance in this second campaign.  In fact, the participation of every individual in a small group is probably the most essential part of 40 Days of Community.  As Rick says: “Real community is not taught, it’s caught.”  Just as the first campaign focused on the question “What on earth am [I] here for?”  This campaign will focus on the question “What on earth are [we] here for?”  Therefore, as we get into the campaign the emphases will be as follows:

• 1. We fellowship better together!
• 2. We grow better together!
• 3. We serve better together!
• 4. We worship better together! And
• 5. We reach out better together. 

In this individualistic age, the importance of these themes cannot be overemphasized.  Just imagine what could happen if all those of us who want to do our own thing would actually get together and put our love into action.  Imagine what would happen if every small group in our church reached out together, showing love in practical ways to those in our community.  Don’t you think that would make a difference?  The book we will be studying this time is entitled BETTER TOGETHER, and that is the theme of our 40 Days campaign: Better together, What on earth are we here for?

As we join together for this 40 Day spiritual journey it will not only deepen the community of love within our church, it will also enable us to reach out in love to the community around the church.  I have said this before, and I will say it again, I am convinced that the number one reason for the moral failure in our country today is not the liberal judges or the liberal press, it is the failure of the church of God to make a positive impact on society.  As we join together with our small groups and our church family and with other congregations with the same purpose, we can make a difference in our culture and our world.  As Rick Warren says: “That is the awesome power of community!”  Let us pray that the Lord will bless us in a special way as we step out into this great venture.