The Drake Relays

Josh, second from left

We had a great time at the Drake Relays yesterday watching Josh and the Linn-Mar team run the 1600 sprint relay, competing with 23 other teams from around the state.

John Rehnstrom and Josh ran solid 200 meter legs and Steve Olson ran a great sub 50 second 400 meter lap. And then Zach Braff ran a tremendous 800 meters, blowing by three runners in the last turn to give Linn-Mar a fourth place finish. The team set a new school record with their time of 3.32.11! You can click on the picture above to see a slideshow of the race.

All in all, it was a great day. The rain held off in the morning for the race and we got to see some great track and field events. You can click here to see pictures of a 26 plus foot long jump by USA long jump champion, Miguel Pate. The track and field competition was awesome, the renovated Drake Stadium and blue track was beautiful, and the performance by the 1600 sprint relay team was determined.

We Are Blessed

Our fabulous support staff

Today officially being Administrative Professionals Day, we sent our support staff out for lunch. As they were waiting in the parking lot for their ride to a secret destination, someone pulled up with two tables strapped to a trailer. We told them, that since the weather was so nice, we decided that it would be fun for them to eat outside. I don't think they bought it!

A few minutes later Phil and Linda Conn pulled up in the New Covenant coach bus to take them to Debbie Berberich's Stone Barn for lunch. I'm sure that Debbie served them in style. You can click on the picture above to see a short slideshow of the trip.

Our support staff do a fantastic job, serving quietly behind the scenes. Today our entire New Covenant equipping staff says "thank you" to Angie, Brenda, Dea Jo, Donna, Gina, JoDee, Mary, Peggy, Sara, Sharon, Terri and Vicky. Your encouragement, help and assistance is appreciated. We are blessed!

Welcome Lunch

We had a great Welcome Lunch today with over 100 in attendance! We enjoyed grilled hotdogs, hamburgers along with great fellowship around our tables. You can click on the picture above to see a slideshow of our time together.

It's always interesting when we have a Welcome Lunch. We never know who is going to attend or how many to prepare for! It's sort of like feeding the 5000 except we do burgers rather than fish! And of course, we couldn't do this without our fantastic Kitchen Team. Thanks again for a great lunch!

And for those who came to the lunch as our guest, welcome to the family. And I hope to see you at the Friends Class next Sunday!

He Is Risen

We had an unbelievable time of worship today as we celebrated the resurrected Christ. And speaking of unbelievable, the 8:00 AM service was so full that we had to use additional seating in the Activity Center. A special "thank you" to all those who sacrificed to come at 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM to free up seats for our guests and visitors. In all, we had over 2000 people in our four services!

You can click on the picture above to see a short slideshow of the day. As Pastor Bob says, if today didn't get your fire going, then your wood is wet!

Don't be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Mark 16:6

World Champs

Regardless of what you think about the US immigration policy, you have to love this Christianity Today article. 27% of the major league baseball players are foreign born. The recent World Baseball Classic proved that baseball is truly an international sport, with Japan beating Cuba in the final game of the Classic.

The beauty of athletics is that it's color blind. The person who runs the fastest, hits the ball the farthest, or jumps the highest has the job. The competitive drive to win levels the playing field for all.

The rest of the world is beginning to catch up with the United States. We no longer have a corner on the world market. Even the two sports that originated in the United States, baseball and basketball, have been exported around the world.

Our monopoly and dominance is over. The US NBA superstars finished third in the 2003 Olympic Games and our major league baseball players didn't even make it into the semi-finals! America, it's time to wake up and take notice. There is a hungry world knocking on our door, just waiting for the opportunity to prove that they are world champs!

The Gospel According to Jesus

Have you noticed all the new theories, stories, myths and fiction being written about Jesus and His followers? The Da Vinci Code, The Jesus Papers, The Gospel According to Judas ... you need a score card to keep them all straight! Christianity Today has a good article about this on their web site that I encourage you to read.

So what's a follower of Jesus to do? How do we combat and respond to each new salvo that is launched at the Scriptures? By all means, become conversant with what is being said and written. Respected web sites like Christianity Today can be a great resource to us in this regard. There is nothing new under the sun. There are good answers and we don't need to be afraid or bury our heads in the sand.

On the other hand, let me suggest that we don't need to become defensive, preoccupied or overly focused on the latest issues, fads and revelations either. So what are we to do?

We are to do what Jesus has always expected His followers to do - to love our enemies, to do good to all, to let our light shine so that people may see our good works and give glory to God, to care for the hurting, to be a caring community in the midst of a dark world. We are the body of Christ, His church, left to be a witness and testimony to a lost world.

In case it has escaped your notice, each new revelation creates a revenue stream. Each new movie, each new book profits those who advance their "truth" claim.

Nothing has really changed since the time of Paul. Paul's response to those who "peddled" their personal version of the gospel was:

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. 2 Corinthians 2:17

Paul goes on to talk about the validation of his ministry - the changed lives of the Corinthian believers.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:3

So what is a follower of Christ to do? Invite your disillusioned, seeking friends to your small group, your Adult Bible Fellowship, a men's or women's event or to church. Let them see and experience for themselves the reality of a life that has been transformed by Jesus Christ. Expose them to a community of believers who sincerely love God and one another. Through word and deed, share the Gospel according to Jesus!

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you. so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35

Ready, Set ....

Linn-Mar participated in the Wilkinson Relays at Kingston last Friday. I only have one word to describe the meet - cold! I forgot to throw my winter coat into the car and my spring jacket just didn't cut the wind.

Josh and Jon ran in the varsity open 400. You can click on the picture above to see a slideshow of the race. Jon is the one closest to the camera and Josh is the one third from the right.

I'm looking forward to the track season. I just need to remember to pack my gloves and winter coat!

Friends Class

We finished our Friends Class this morning. We had a smaller class this time around, but it was great group of people. Several people were gone this morning so I wasn't able to get their photo. You can click on the picture above to see a short slideshow of our class.

It's always fun to get to know those who are new to our church. It's exciting to see how God is at work in the lives of people. And it is rewarding to watch how those from the Friends Class become part of our church family.

Beautiful

Joanne Just

We had Joanne Just's funeral service today. We met at the graveside and then gathered at New Covenant for a Celebration of Life service. Here is what I shared today at the service.

The word that comes to mind when I think of Joanne is the word beauty. Joanne loved to decorate, to arrange, to entertain. She loved the beauty of God’s creation and she took pleasure in creating beauty for others to enjoy.

Joanne took delight in discovering beauty, even in the ordinary. Perhaps it was her quest for beauty that drew her into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In Psalms 27:4 David says:

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

Today we can take comfort that Joanne is in the presence of her Savior, enjoying his beauty forever.

Joanne also understood that true beauty is not merely external, but rather emanates from a persons character. Proverbs 31:10 says:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Joanne knew the secret of true beauty. Her warm smile and twinkle in her eyes immediately drew people to her. Her beauty was more that cosmetic, it came from deep within, from a heart that was yielded to her God and His purposes for her life.

1 Peter 3:3-4 says:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

Because Joanne attended to her inner world and nourished her relationship with Christ, at the end of her life she was as beautiful as the day Steve first met her. Her beauty was unfading, emanating from a heart that was at rest. And it was this inner beauty that Joanne possessed that drew many of you to her. You felt better just being around her.

Our modern culture worships youth and beauty. We seek image make overs in our quest for the perfect look. Joanne aspired to a different kind of beauty. An inner beauty that transcended time. An eternal beauty that is greatly valued in God’s sight. She sought a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Today we grieve our loss, but we rejoice in Joanne’s gain. Today Joanne is reunited with the God she loved, being transformed into the image of Christ. Today as Joanne gazes into her Saviors face, she has never been more beautiful.

True Greatness

We were blessed to have Larry DeWitt with us this weekend. Larry preached on Mark 10 and the importance of being a servant. The thing I like about Larry the most, is that he has a servant heart and that he practices what he teaches. Larry has been a great encouragement to our Serve the City coalition of churches over the past nine months. You can click on the picture above to see a short slideshow of the day.

The Children's Church worship team lead us in worship today. It was so encouraging to see their enthusiasm and love for Christ. And of course Jeremy and Loretta Bushlack were right there with the kids, modeling servant hearts.

Power, position and prestige all loose their grip on our heart when we follow in the footsteps of Christ, seeking to become a servant. And in the process of giving ourselves away, we find true greatness.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

Play Ball

Today is officially the first day of spring. I know, I know, the calendar says that March 20 was the first day of spring. But everyone knows that spring isn't officially here until the first pitch is thrown out on the Opening Day of major league baseball!

And so spring is ushered in tonight as the Cleveland Indians take on the Chicago White Sox. Opening Day is one of my favorite days of the year. The long winter is over, spring is here, and baseball is back.

So let the season begin. The boys of summer have returned. Spring has arrived. Play ball!

Our Ignite Team

What a fantastic weekend we had together! Lloyd Reeb did a great job today of leading us through a process to GRASP our God-given design. The GRASP acronym stands for the following:

• Grounding Values - The basic, foundational aspects of a persons design.
• Roles - The functions that enable a person to make their best contribution to an overall effort.
• Abilities - The tasks in which a person excels and that internally energize them.
• Spiritual Gifts - The supernatural enablement God chooses to give to fulfill His purposes.
• Passions - Those few areas a person strongly desires to focus on in order to have an impact.

We used this material to flesh out a personal mission statement to guide our second-half journey of faith. It was an exciting weekend as we listened to stories of how others had discovered their God-given design and used their first-half experiences for the kingdom. You can click on the picture above to see a slideshow of our time together. Our photo above is missing Tye Male, a member of our Ignite Team.

It will be exciting to see how God uses this weekend to 'ignite' a movement of people to impact our world for Christ.

Halftime

Greg Murtha, Lloyd Reeb and Steve Jenkins

Greg Murtha and Lloyd Reeb arrived today. Our Ignite team had dinner with them this evening and interacted with them regarding halftime issues. We talked about how men and women approach halftime differently, what marketplace leaders need from the church, and how to integrate halftime leaders into a church context.

I'm looking forward to our Halftime Conference on Friday and Saturday. It will be exciting to see how the Spirit of God leads people into creative and innovative ministry in the weeks and months ahead. There is no limit to what God can accomplish through a community of people who dare to dream His dreams.

It's Hard to Believe

Lloyd Reeb

It's hard to believe! That's a common phrase for those of us in halftime.

• It's hard to believe that our children have left home.
• It's hard to believe that our children have completed college and haven't left home!
• It's hard to believe that I'm this old.
• It's hard to believe that we've lived here this long.

For me, it's hard to believe that our Ignite Halftime Conference with our special speaker, Lloyd Reeb, is this coming weekend! Wow, this has gone from a vision to a full-blown event in a years time. We have over 120 already registered for Friday evening and over 100 registered for Saturday!

And of course, as good as the Conference will be, an event like this merely surfaces the issues that need to be addressed. For this reason, we will be offering several ten week, Ignite Halftime small groups for further study and application.

Over the next ten years we're going to see an increasing number of people begin to invest their resources and lives for the sake of the kingdom. What kind of impact can our Halftimers have on Cedar Rapids and the world? It's hard to imagine!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20

We Are Family

Membership Weekend

We had another great Membership Class this weekend with 47 people in attendance. You can click on the above picture to see a slideshow of our time together.

The family is one of my favorite metaphors regarding the church. Have you noticed that nobody asks your opinion regarding who gets admitted into your family? You enter a family through birth, marriage or adoption. So too in the family of God, everyone who has placed their faith in Christ is admitted into God's family, the church. A healthy church welcomes newcomers and values and affirms each member.

In a healthy family, everyone has an age appropriate responsibility. So too in the family of God. The body grows and builds itself up in love as each member does its part.

New Covenant is a family of growing disciples. We are committed to growing great lives. We are family.

It Takes A Team

Mike, Tye, Mark, Kim and Brian

It's been a good morning. I've started a once-a-month group called A Bagel and A Book. We had the first meeting this morning at Panera to discuss the book, The Wisdom of Teams. I love learning together in community, so times like this morning are energizing for me.

The premise of the book is that organizations and groups of people are more effective when they work together as a team. A team is defined as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

And though the Bible does not use the word team, the concept of teamwork is reflected throughout Scripture. The Trinity, the 12 disciples, Paul's missionary teams, the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ and many more examples show us the importance of working with others in order to accomplish our mission.

So why is true teamwork so rare? Because working effectively as a team requires humility. Teamwork by it's very nature means that I need others, that I can't accomplish my performance goals by myself, that others can do something better than me and add value to my life, that I don't have all the answers, and that I can't and don't control everything. Teamwork requires commitment and trust and a compelling vision and goal.

This coming year, I'm committed to becoming a better team member, a better team leader and a better servant leader. It's a joy to do this together with people you love and trust - my family, our church staff, the many wonderful ministry leaders and members in our New Covenant church family. It takes a family to raise a child; it takes a team to lead a church.

Forgiven

Gerry McNamara

The boys were celebrat'n at the Pagel house this weekend. It's official, we're suffering from Orange Fever! Syracuse University won the Big East Conference basketball tournament on Saturday, securing an NCAA tournament bid. It was an improbable feat, one that no one expected. Consider these facts:

• The Big East is the toughest conference in the country.
• Syracuse had lost their last three games coming into the tournament, including getting beat by DePaul (a team that didn't even make the Big East tournament) by 39 points! By the way, Jason went to that game in Chicago and saw Jim Boeheim's worst defeat ever!
• It was generally accepted, even by Coach Boeheim, that Syracuse had played themselves out of a spot in the NCAA tournament.
• Syracuse had to play the University of Connecticut in the second round. UConn just happens to be the #1 team in the nation and had already beaten Syracuse twice during the regular season.
• No team had ever won the conference tournament without receiving a first round bye. Syracuse became the first team to win four games.
• Syracuse could have easily lost all four games. Come from behind victories and three point shots at the buzzer made for heart-stopping drama.
• Just days before the tournament, Gerry McNamara, the senior team leader, was criticized for being over-rated. Even the Syracuse Herald newspaper joined in the criticism. All Gerry did to answer his critics was to hit a tournament record 16 three point shots, win three games at the buzzer, and be named tournament MVP!
• Syracuse went from being out of the tournament to a number 5 seed in just four short days.

You have to love the underdog. And you can't help feel their joy when they come out of no where to exceed everyone's expectations. That's what's so thrilling about March Madness. In one brief moment in time, an improbable hero is born and an unlikely victor is crowned. For a short moment in time, the tears of victory erase all the memories of the past. In one moment in time, all can be forgiven.

God With Us

What an incredible day of worship! Pastor Gary, and our orchestra and choir were awesome. And Pastor Bob led us in a wonderful time of prayer as people gathered around those who had prayer needs.

Our theme today was God With Us. And we sensed His presence among us as we lifted up our voices in worship.

As I stood in the back of the worship center this evening, I was filled with a tremendous sense of gratitude and awe. I was overwhelmed with the goodness of God and the way He has so graciously provided for me and my family. And I was grateful to be able to serve in a church that understands grace, honors God's Word and loves people. As a church family, it was a time to experience God with us.

Shamrock Around The Clock

Who are these people and what are they doing? It's scary when you begin to meet people at church that make Bernice look normal! With all the green they are wearing I guess they must be associated with Shamrock Around The Clock.

Shamrock is our Sr. High Youth Group's St. Patricks Scavenger Hunt. This year's event is Friday, March 17. There are a lot of opportunities to help out with this outreach. Elves, drivers, gophers, chaperones, and green food preparers are all needed!

Contact Pastor Mark Forstrom if you would like to volunteer. And by the way, if you see Bernice and her two wacky friends around the church, tell them about Shamrock Around The Clock.

Hall of Shame

Bonds

Buster Olney from ESPN has written a column about Barry Bonds that's a must read. Buster writes about a Cooperstown induction speech that could have been, should have been, but won't be given. Barry may someday be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, but his reputation and itegrity have been tarnished. Here is some of what Buster imagines the induction speech could have sounded like.

"Sure, the end of his career got a little ugly, as it did for the rest of us. Barry's knees were killing him, but he played through it, for the last five years of his career. He wasn't hitting 70 homers, like some of his peers, but he played the game with the highest possible integrity. Those 25 homers he hit in his last year, in 2004, we can take those to the bank. We can take everything he accomplished at face value."

"He didn't finish his career with as many homers as Henry Aaron, or Babe Ruth, or myself, or Frank Robinson. But Barry was the best player of his generation -- one of the greatest of all time."

The crowd cheers loudly.

"In recent years, you have seen a lot of the stage behind me empty, and you know why. A lot of the Hall of Famers won't come when they presume that the inductees put something in their bodies that wasn't supposed to be there. But now look behind us. The stage is packed. Look, we all know Barry has been a bit prickly from time to time. But we all know the choices Barry faced, and the choices Barry made, and because of that, there is no player from his era more respected."

"With that, I want to introduce to you my godson, Barry Bonds."

There are cheers, and as Bonds rises from his chair, the Hall of Famers behind Bonds rise, as well, and clap.

It behooves us all to pause from time to time to reflect on how we want our lives to end. To reflect on how we want people to remember us. When a person lives a life of integrity, at the end of their life, people don't have to lie about what they say about them.

The choices we make today shape our future. What kind of life are you building? What kind of heritage do you want to leave behind? I long to hear the words, "Well done my good and faithful servant." And I long for my family to remember me as one who was faithful to Christ in my generation - one of the greatest men of all time.