Mid-Week Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

I have TEN things I want to share with you,

# 1- Dan Lukas did a great job leading worship last weekend. A big thank you to worship band. I love the first song they did for reflection, "Search Me." It's a Dan Lukas original. We've done it at least one other time, and it's a perfect song for reflection and response.

"Search Me"

even the dark is light to you

nothing is hidden from your eyes

steal away the broken lies

breath truth, bring life

search me and know me

discern my thoughts oh God

search me and know me

see if there be any wicked ways

# 2- We looked at another encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees (from Luke 11) and I noted five traits of religious hypocrisy. One was that it is OCD on minors and MIA on majors. I love that a high school student came up afterward with his note sheet and asked what those letters stood for. His note sheet was full of his notes!

# 3- Here are all the comments from the Communication Cards:

• Great music, great song choice. “Washed White as Snow” was great for Palm Sunday. Nice job Dan. “Let God Arise."
• If you want people to recite things on the screen, speak slow enough people can get the words out. Music was great!
• Great job on the worship set. Loved the crescendos! Really appreciating our drummers lately – the nuanced strokes. Henry great example with coffee cup – vivid! Excellent message, Henry! Your pauses and pace were very effective. Great closing song.
• Great message. Thanks.
• Great message Henry! It challenged me, especially the part about resisting change.
• Powerful message. 
• Henry, thanks for the extra encouragement for the men’s event. Your little tidbit about you and Lois is much appreciated!
• One of the most powerful messages I can remember. Ever. Thank you. [That means a lot to me coming from you. Thank you.]
• Good job Dan Lukas.
• Great job Dan and worship team.
• Especially appreciated Dan’s call for reflection after Christ be the center of our lives. What would that look like… made me really thing about what I was singing and challenged me to live like that.[I agree. Love the way he went back to that part of the song and asked us to reflect on it. Both Dan and Justin deeply and passionately want to LEAD us into worship...straight from the heart to our hearts toward God.]
• Thank you worship team.
• Thanks for your mid-week memo’s Henry. First response song was awesome!
• Loved the message, but where’s Palm Sunday? [Not sure if you were looking for more of if you missed the Call to Worship at the beginning of worship. That's where we focused on it.]
• I love Five Oaks – awesome church, awesome people, awesome staff. Thank you.
• Thanks for your honesty, Henry.
• Thanks for your promotion of the “Courageous” event. It’s going to be awesome.
• I forgot my notebook, wished for a small spot to take notes on bulletin, inspired sermons need notes for me to study later. [Not sure if you're aware that we have outlines on tables as you come in. Check it out. If you forget to pick it up, don't be shy. Feel free to get up and go get one. And I'm really glad you take notes and reflect on the message!!!]

# 4- After looking for feedback from a bunch of people we decided to keep our summer outdoor service, baptism, and all-church picnic at Hudson on the St. Croix River. It'll take place on July 22, so put it on the calendar. We want to add some new elements this year to keep it fresh. If you've not been baptised as a believer in Christ, maybe this is your year!

# 5- Jerry Meras is moving along in his plans to bike from CA to MN this summer with a group of Five Oakers to raise money and exposure for Feed My Starving Children (and to fund our event for next year). He met this week with people from FMSC and they are already proving to be a huge help in making this a great event. They are full of great ideas.

# 6- For all of you who love statistics, here's some information on the volume of sound in our worship services in relation to other sounds and OSHA standards for safety:

• Normal Conversation - 60-65dB
• Telephone Dial Tone - 80dB
• Hand Drill - 98dB
• Snowmobile/Motorcycle - 100dB
• Mower (at 3 ft) - 107dB
• OSHA Daily Permissible Noise Levels (hours per day)
  • 90dB - 8 hrs
  • 92dB - 6 hrs
  • 95dB - 4 hrs
  • 97dB - 3 hrs
  • 100dB - 2 hrs
  • 102dB - 1.5 hrs
  • 105dB - 1 hr

We normally run our volume in our gatherings around 93-94dB with peaks up to 95-96dB. Just thought you might be interested.

#7 - The book edition of the 40-day guided journey through the Bible that I wrote arrives this week in time for the next Story of God 7-week small group experience. (Register to attend here.) I did the self-publishing thing through Amazon (great experience), but I hope to make some more edits and seek out a publisher in the coming year. If you have any inroads with any publishers and could put in a word for me, let me know. I think it's a unique tool that can help a lot of people become biblically literate and enhance understanding for people who have been reading the Bible all their lives. 

# 8- The Good Friday service will be very similar to last year. It was very moving and high effective. We ran out of room last year, so arrive early. Sorry, but we're not ready to do two yet. Maybe if we run high again this year we can consider it.

# 9- Easter is going to be awesome because (1) it's all about the resurrection (you can't go wrong with that); (2) we have a great Faith Story on video; (3) we're singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and we're having the full complement of Response Stations;  (4) my message is shaping up really well and focuses on 1 Corinthians 15:13-20 (I've got a great opening illustration that sets things up and serves as a metaphor for the message); (5) Christians will be challenged to live in the reality of the resurrection (and better understand what that means); and (6) the gospel will be clearly presented and people will be crossing the line of faith. It doesn't get any better than that so bring yourself and your unchurched friends and participate as heaven cheers!

# 10- Have you registered for the Easter service you'll be attending? 9:45am on Sunday is closed! Register for an open service here.

God bless you and see you on the greatest weekend of the year,

Pastor Henry

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