Mid-Week Memo

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Hi Five Oakers,

I have a few things I want to share with you.

#1 - Wow, what a weekend with Stephen Kendrick. Thanks for Matt Turvey, Bill Wilson and the Journeymen's ministry we got a huge faith lift. His talk to fathers on Saturday was challenging and very practical. Over 400 men showed up. His message on Sunday was the most inspiring message I've ever heard on prayer. I loved his personal stories and you come away convinced that those movies could never have been made without God. Simply amazing.

#2 - I loved Stephen's answer to the guy who asked how to broach the subject of leadership in his home with his wife. Stephen said, "Don't ask your wife to step back. You step up." Listen, that's the essential problem in most Christian homes. The Bible rarely addresses the matter of who is in charge in the home. But it does speak of leadership as sacrificial love. Paul tells men to step up to leadership by loving like Jesus loved when he gave his life for the church. And as far as parenting is concerned, the problem is that men don't step up enough as spiritual leaders for their kids in their homes. Way too many leave it to their wives and the church. I love that one of the couples who attended one of our Story of God groups last year came because the husband was convicted about his lack of spiritual leadership with his kids at our Visionary Parenting Conference with Rob Rienow. He felt he needed to learn more about the Bible and ground his faith so he could lead out. Great answer, Stephen!

#3 - On Saturday Stephen talked about how one of his mentors taught him how to lead family devotions/worship at home.

  • Gather the family and ask them how their day went. He does it before bedtime for his young kids.
  • Pray.
  • Read a chapter of the Bible. He started at the beginning. I'd like to put together a list of the top 365 chapters of the Bible for families to read in one year. I could even add the Story of God icons. What do you think? Anyway, Stephen noted that you don't have to know what the chapter is about before you read it. No special preparation is necessary.
  • Quiz the kids and give away quarters for right answers. Make it fun. And you can make the questions up right there from the reading. That's it. Simple, but the Bible is central and it gets into your kids' hearts.

#4 - I've seen Fireproof and Courageous but never got around to seeing Facing the Giants. I certainly plan to see it now, and I'd also like to see their first movie even though he admits the quality of the filming isn't outstanding. 

#5 - Here are the comments we received on the Communication Cards this weekend (and one by email):

  • Thank you for bringing Stephen Kendrick to Five Oaks. Awesome lesson. 
  • Thank you for your support of the Courageous Challenge. We’ve already heard from so many men of life changes, new commitments to Christ, first time accepters of Christ, and men asking for next steps. Thanks to Dan and Kent for their support with logistics.
  • I attended the Courageous event and it was awesome! Thank you! 
  • Thank you – I was so moved. Praise God for touching me with the desire to learn, to pray unceasingly. [Loved what he said in the first service. Praying without ceasing is like starting your day with a phone call from God and then keeping him on the line all day.]
  • Powerful service! Thank you! 
  • Wow! How awesome this was. Thank you Men’s ministries!
  • I would like Steven’s sermon notes for Saturday and Sunday. [We can't post the message, but we can make it available to you if you contact the church office or let us know on your Communication Card.]
  • Thank you for the absolutely awesome men’s event on Saturday morning. I went with my son and I was so happy that we went! Great work Men’s Ministry! Awesome message today from Stephen! 
  • Thanks to God for Bill Wilson and Men’s group for what you have done for my family (Turvey’s). God is good.
  • I’m so inspired and feel challenged to pray every day. I know God has a plan for me and I want to see and feel what He will do through me for others. 
  • This ties in completely with the Beth Moore (Stephen) study Believing God – I’m doing right now. Praise the Lord I made it today! Amen! I hope this will be on a podcast so I can share it with my women’s group ladies who don’t attend Five Oaks.
  • I received another Beginning Bible and Purpose Driven Life. My plan is to give the second “dose” to a friend who is in need. 
  • I do not belong to Five Oaks, but have visited there three times and am very impressed by what you have to offer. I particularly wanted to express my appreciation to Five Oaks for hosting the Stephen Kendrick events this weekend. I attended the Courageous Challenge event on Saturday and also visited your church to hear him speak on Sunday. The events were life-changing and I appreciated the opportunity to share in those events more than I can say.  Thank you to the organizers and to Five Oaks for such terrific opportunities for us to connect with Christ.

#6 - Here are the comments we received back from Easter weekend guests:

  • My wife and I liked the childcare, very much enjoyed the sermon and enjoyed the music.  The volume of the music is/was too loud.  Mustering up the courage to wear ear plugs in church is too akin to a rock concert, and an experience not usually associated with church music.  How about acoustic?  The handoff of kids was rather hectic given we were attending the second service and there were kids both coming and going at the same time.  Felt like we had to be diligent because there were so many people! 
  • We really enjoy Five Oaks.  We will be back.
  • I did find/feel the music and sermon to be gospel/Bible based.  No one greeted me or made me to feel welcomed at Five Oaks at all. [I'm truly sorry you didn't feel welcomed. You're likely to have a different experience on a regular weekend. So many new faces and so much congestion on Easter.]

#7 - Todd and Kellie Stocker are the keynote speakers for the Woodbury Area Prayer Breakfast on May 1 this year!!! You will not want to miss this. Go here to register.

#8 - My message this weekend is on Luke 12:1-12 and focuses on standing strong for Christ in environments that are hostile to our faith. What Jesus says may surprise you.

#9 - Justin will lead us in worship with a simple, acoustic set this weekend. I love it when the worship team changes it up like this.

It's going to be a great great weekend and I look forward to seeing all of you.

Pastor Henry