Mid-Week Memo

Hey Five Oakers,

I have TEN things I want to share with you this week.

#1- Last weekend's message focused on unreasonable doubt as we looked at Luke 11:29-36. We also spent some time looking at the benefits of reasonable doubt. Justin played and sang "Doubting Thomas" by Nickel Creek toward the end of my message. It was just him and the guitar and it was beautiful. The words are worth contemplating:

What will be left when I've drawn my last breath
Besides the folks I've met and the folks who've known me
Will I discover a soul-saving love
Or just the dirt above and below me

I'm a doubting Thomas
I took a promise
But I do not feel safe
Oh me of little faith

Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face
Then I beg to be spared cause I'm a coward
If there's a master of death
I bet he's holding his breath
As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power

I'm a doubting Thomas
I can't keep my promises
Cause I don't know what's safe
Oh me of little faith

Can I be used to help others find truth
When I'm scared I'll find proof that it's a lie
Can I be led down a trail dropping bread crumbs
That prove I'm not ready to die

Please give me time to decipher the signs
Please forgive me for time that I've wasted

I'm a doubting Thomas
I'll take your promise
Though I know nothin's safe
Oh me of little faith

#2- Here are most of the comments from the Communication Cards from the weekend:

• I’ve never felt that the worship music was too loud. I feel I can worship better when I can sing loudly (is that crazy!). [Nope.]
• Great message!
• Really cold today! Brrr!
• Why is it always so cold in the worship center? [The time of year when it's hard to get it right is when the weather is up and down (fall and spring usually, but what can I say about this crazy weather). It's not just about setting a temperature. It's about whether or not it should be heat or cool and the effects of 100's of people's body temperature.
• I am visiting Five Oaks with one of my confirmation students to see how worship is conducted (from Woodbury Korean UMC) thank you and God bless you on a wonderful ministry. [I sat right across from you but didn't get to say hi. Thanks for coming.]
  
• Great sermon Henry.
• Thank you very much for all the very hard “behind the scenes” work the staff does. Several times this week, we have taken advantage of archived audio messages and they had direct application in what we are going through now. We were so blessed by the ease and convenience of being able to bring God’s truth directly into our lives and living room.
  
• “Majesty” … beautiful! “Little Faith” great message! Henry, great message. My wife's dad used to say that “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Good intentions produce no fruits. By fruit you will know we are Christians.
• Meant to share this weeks ago: lighting with different colors moving around into the faces of audience is cool but can trigger seizure – even in those who haven’t had one in awhile, lead to too much sensory for those with autism/EBD/Aspergers and migraines. So may want to forsake “cool” for the health of all. Thank you lighting for being so servant hearted.
• Excellent sermon! Henry, you have so much passion for Christ. Way to go Lois! The burden is on them. 
• Dear Pastor and Five Oaks. I love being here.
• Henry, thank you so much for bringing God’s instruction for me and my life – to me through your message. Thank you God for creating Five Oaks.
• Just tried to savor and enjoy all the instruments this service. Thanks, for Aaron’s “touches” on the drums, Jonathan on the keyboard (even backing up prayer), the guitars, the vocals – thanks. Love this sermon series. Thanks Henry. Liked Justin’s song, good tie-in. Great closing call Henry! Great closing set! 
• I really like the plus and minus station. It is a reminder that there are others working towards knowing God better. 
• Is there a study version of the Bible app for iphone/ipad? [Yes, but it costs about $10. It's the ESV Study Bible + from Crossway.]
• Thanks for placing the notes at the worship center entry!

#3- Guys, you don't want to miss the Courageous Challenge on the Saturday morning after Easter. There have been some people saying that women can come, but I don't advice it. Changes the whole dynamics of the event. I'm going to share a bit this weekend about how a great all-men's event is such a powerful catalyst for growth as a follower of Christ, husband and dad. I'll share one story of how it has impacted my life. I'm sure this is dynamic is true for all-women's events, but I've never attended one. :-) It's just a different dynamic. Get info and sign up here.

#4- Here are the results of our most recent quarterly survey. These help us see how we're doing (at least on certain important behavioral factors). We had 100 more responses than in December, so thanks for taking the 30 seconds it takes to complete it. The first number is the most recent survey and the second is December's number.

• Volunteer at Five Oaks: 67% Now / 67% in December
• Invited someone to Five Oaks: 55% / 55%
• Read and reflected on the Bible at least five days a week: 62% / 61%
• Participated in an Impact initiative (e.g., the Feed Event, tutoring, etc.): 77% / 63%S

#5- Speaking of Impact, I'm loving my weekly mentoring relationship at Woodbury Elementary through our Kid's Hope ministry. One of the best parts for me is that it fits my schedule so well. It's amazing how time and busyness gets in the way of serving hurting people. I just want to encourage you not to give up trying to find your niche for service in our world. Our Impact ministry is chock full of ideas for you, your family or small group.

#6- Welcome back to the Nicaragua Family Mission Trip team. I heard you had a great and profitable time.

#7- We're looking for people to donate toward the Student Ministry Silent Auction. We'll be offering the Cuban meal as usual. What might you be able to offer?

#8- Easter is just two weekends away. The service times are all different. And don't forget to let us know what service you will be attending (click here). We will be focusing on the resurrection, but our service will include all the usual elements, including the time of response (and stations). That's who we are and we've finally figured out that changing for Easter or Christmas is not very smart. My message will be on 1 Corinthians 15:16-20. Paul explores what the ramifications would be if Jesus had not risen from the dead. In doing so we see the impact the truth of the resurrection brings to our lives. It's going to be an incredible weekend of worship and the gospel will be clearly preached. Is there someone you can invite who needs to hear the message of the gospel? Invite now!

#9- Over the last two weeks I have been able to participate in some incredible leadership growth experiences. Last week I was in a room with about six pastors for three hours with the creator of REVEAL learning about new insights and the best practices of top 5% churches. Then three hours with about a dozen pastors and Bill Hybels, peppering him with questions. Bill Hybels is one of my life heroes so it was especially fun to be so up close and personal. I came back so full of ideas and encouraged that I just can't quantify it. The week before that I met for two days with about 40 EFree pastors of large churches for my annual K-Club meeting in CA. Two days of open discussion facilitated by Larry Osborne. Larry always brings such a fresh perspective to spiritual growth, church life and leadership. I've learned tons from him and the other pastors in that group. It's one of the most valuable leadership experienced I get to do every year. Right up there with the Summit.

#10- This weekend's message is on Luke 11:37-54 and focuses on what religious hypocrisy looks like. Jesus isn't very "nice" in this passage, and for good reason. The most surprising insight I had in my study is that religious hypocrites not only turn others off to Christianity, but they also bully other believers. That's just one of the insights. Unfortunately we're all in danger of becoming first-class hypocrites and we all slip into it from time to time...even irreligious people do!

See you on the weekend. God bless you all,

Pastor Henry

Mid-Week Memo

Hey Five Oakers,

I have just FOUR things I want to share with you this week:

#1- I missed last weekend but I heard great things about the service and about Vince’s message. Vince listed some of the quotes and books he mentioned on his timeline on Facebook. Here are all the Com Card comments (made me wish so much that I was there):

• Love the Jam session. 
• I like the “pre-show” song, but why the change? It makes me worry that I’m late!  [I’ve joked that this is going to drive punctual people crazy and you’re the first to let me know. :-) There’s a reason for it, but I hesitate to go into it in detail. Here’s the short answer: Our call to worship at the beginning of the worship gathering is a crucial part of our worship. We are being very intentional about reminding everyone that God calls us to gather together to worship him, looking to his Word or singing a call and then taking time for confession and for receiving assurance of forgiveness. Yes, all that is packed into the first few minutes. But 2/3 of the congregation was missing most of it…until we started early. That’s all I’m going to say.]
• So very thankful for the God given talent given to the worship team(s). Loved the guitars solos. Whoop! 
• Great display of talent that God gives! 
• Thanks for joining us Vince! Thank you Worship Team, awesome! 
• Last song – amazing! 
• Great solos on final worship song! 
• Loved the version of “How Great Is Our God” – cool rhythm. 
• Justin – you keep getting better! Wonderful. “More than Amazing” was amazing. 
• Yes, following God is indeed a party. Thank you for the rocking song! 
• Worship team! Wow! 
• Awesome worship! 
• Great message. 
• Nice jam! 
• Worship (praise) is so full of Jesus this morning. Thank you Worship Team! 
• Missed you guys last week (spring break vacation). Great to be back in my worship home! Vince great to see and hear from you! Great message Vince, thank you. Really hit home – either we are with Him or against Him. Please avoid turning up guitars during final prayer, very distracting. 
• Vince Miller had a great message today! He’s helped me begin my week with a positive goal. Thanks to his love for the Word. 
• Great worship time. Very real message. Thanks. 
• Great job on the last song worship team! Awesome! 
• Looks like we forgot to let Vince know that we now use ESV version. [Yep, my bad.]
• The music is great, except too loud, especially the last song. Please tone it down. Thanks. 
• I was very upset with the guitar solo during worship. It should be about God, not the people on stage.
• The volume of the first worship set was very loud. I had one lady ask for ear plugs (I was at the info desk working security.) I went in and I must agree it was loud.
• Music was very loud, almost painful - 9:30. 

#2- Okay, so I want to speak a little to the “too loud” issue.

• First, in our evaluation, we think that the 9:30am was probably the service that drew the most comments about loudness. With spring break, that service is was not as full as usual and was much less attended than the 11am. We may not have made proper adjustments in sound since people in the seats absorb sound.
• Second, we have taken many, many additional steps to make the sound less abrasive over the last year including changing the symbols, working with our drummers and sound volunteers to take out abrasive sounds and many other steps (I’ll detail them in another post some time).
• Third, we still have one more investment to make to help the sound that will be applied in coming weeks (i.e., putting sound reinforcements on the stage area ceiling).
• Fourth, I want you to know that we never run the decibels loud enough to damage hearing. We are always monitoring the level and we stayed in our normal range, even in the 9:30am this week. But sometimes the mix is such that some sounds are harsher on the hearing.

I just want everyone to know that we are CONSTANTLY working on removing harsh sounds while, at the same time, keeping the energy and volume levels up (and, yes, the two are connected).

#3- A couple of weeks ago I was talking to Justin about all that goes on behind the scenes each week for the worship team to prepare for the service…besides rehearsing. I’m talking about the spiritual prep that takes place.

• Since the team can’t do the stations, they take time to worship with some iPod music and they do the stations together.
• The team walks through the worship center praying about what will take place in the service and touching every chair as a representation of the folks that will be sitting in the chairs.
• During rehearsal, they have a time of sharing prayer requests and praying for each other.
• Lastly, during the third service and during the transition to the message, they circle around and “popcorn” prayers of thanks. Justin doesn’t want a week to go by where they don’t thank God for making it all possible.

#4- Congratulations to head coach (and Five Oaker) Brad Frost and his Gopher Women’s Hockey team on their national championship! We're talking about a collegiate National championship folks!!!

I can’t wait to be back in the saddle this weekend. I’m teaching on Luke 11:29-36 and addressing reasonable and unreasonable doubt. Jesus is very patient with the Thomas’ of this world who struggle with doubts, but in this passage he becomes quite impatient with some doubters. What’s the difference? Come and see how our doubts can become unreasonable.

See you on the weekend.

With much love,

Pastor Henry