By: Pastor Doug

On Saturday morning, January 26, leaders of Holy Cross gathered for a leadership summit. The focus of this summit was on what we call the vision frame of Holy Cross. Some of you are aware of what this frame is, but my gut tells me that most of you are not.

This leadership summit consisted of youth, school staff, lay leadership, and church staff. People of various ages and different responsibilities gathered in groups of four to discuss the direction of Holy Cross by means of our vision frame.

What is the vision frame?

Picture a painting that’s hanging in your home. A frame probably surrounds that picture. The focus is on the picture, but the frame is important to the beauty of the painting.

That specific picture does not have to be in that frame. You might find yourself purchasing another painting and using the same frame to surround this new painting.

The frame stays the same, but the picture can change.

The leaders of Holy Cross spent time exploring the frame that surrounds the vision of Holy Cross. This frame remains the same, even when the vision changes.

A portion of that frame appears each week on the cover of our bulletin. The mission mandate of our vision frame states that we “encourage those who hunger to be nourished by God.”

The leaders were not only encouraged to delve into our mission mandate, but also our mission motives (core values), mission map (strategy), and mission marks (how we hope lives will be changed at Holy Cross through the work we do together), ending with time spent admiring the picture which this frame surrounds.

What is that picture?

Here is the vision that we’re working toward at Holy Cross.

As modeled by Jesus, we will build a welcoming community that’s transformed through genuine worship, growth, and service so all may follow him.

The vision statement appears outside the entrance to the sanctuary. I hope that you will spend time reading it and thinking about the part you play in becoming this welcoming community.

This welcoming community is modeled after Jesus. He welcomed sinners, tax collectors, and outcasts. He stood up for the widows and orphans. He even ate with his enemies.

However, Jesus didn’t welcome people just to make them feel good. He welcomed people that they might be transformed through their connection to him. He was not content to leave people wallowing in the brokenness of their lives.

And neither should we be content with simply being a welcoming community. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God is changing us to be more like Christ and he is changing others through us.

How does he do his transforming work here at Holy Cross? We believe that God is working through genuine worship, growth and service to cause this change. This is our three-legged stool of how we do things at Holy Cross. The ministry at Holy Cross is organized around worship, growth and service.

There was a great deal of excitement, conversation and desire to embrace this direction for Holy Cross at the leadership summit. Though you might not always be aware of what is driving the work of your leaders, I hope that you will experience the excitement that they felt at this summit as we move forward into God’s future for us.

 

By: DCE Dan Hampton

3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
What are you willing to jump for?

Growing up in Indiana, most people watch basketball. My family was no exception; in fact, March Madness is almost a holiday. One of my favorite memories is seeing my mother watch the games. She gets into them especially when it is a team she is rooting for, like Purdue or IU. When they score she is likely found on her feet shouting at the TV. When they make an error, she is once again on the edge of her seat “coaching” them to make better decisions on the basketball floor next time (as if they can hear her).

What about you? What will get you on the edge of your seat ready to jump for joy or exhilaration? For Peter, it was all about Jesus. Not once but twice he jumped out of the boat that he was in so that he could meet the Lord. He showed great enthusiasm to follow Christ.
Several youth and members from our congregation spent 10 days jumping out of the boat in Peru this past July. While there, they were surrounded by the Peruvian culture and languages. Some things are very different from our lives in the United States, but others are just the same.

At one point when our group had challenged the villagers to a futball game, we witnessed several local teens walking around the village checking their Facebook accounts. On the other hand, though the villagers are not impoverished or in need of our saving, their lives are quite different from ours. Still, they live in contentment, knowing that God will continue to provide for everything they need.

How often do we find ourselves just desiring more and more? Or how often do we compare ourselves to the things another person has and wonder why God is blessing them so much more than he is to us?

We spent our week helping the local missionaries add on to an existing church. We placed walls, painted, and mixed concrete. We were quite literally the hands and feet of Jesus. It was difficult for me to watch some of the construction techniques they used, knowing it could be done better with the right amount of materials, but they used everything they had and rejoiced to God. They jumped to their feet to help. I believe they helped us more than we helped them.

May we learn from them. May we find that jumping out of the boat for Jesus doesn’t have to mean going on a big trip to Peru, but it could be something as simple as letting someone go in line before you. God’s desire is for us to follow Him with our whole being. Peter did it. How is God calling you to JUMP out of the boat?