Author Archives: dennyowens

Monday Morning Musings …

Yes, yes, yes … it was a very good weekend and an outstanding Sunday. Our cry as we left worship yesterday was “Fill me up, light me up and use me Lord!” Here are some musings …

-Once again God showed up in a very powerful way. I know I have been saying that a lot recently, but it is really true. We have been experiencing a great season of God moving in our times of worship and in some of our small groups.

-We had some sound issues once again. I have been trying to get the company who supposedly wants to upgrade our system to get started. Evidently they are so busy that they can’t get back to me. Note to self: maybe they are too busy for us.

-I preached from Judges 6 and 7. This was sort of a conclusion to the series I have been preaching on prayer. This was about God’s call to action and that no matter what we are facing or how we feel God is with us and desires to work through us.

-I had a “take home” reminder of the message. It was something that those who were willing to answer the call had to come forward and respond to and then take home the illustration. I was humbled and pumped at how many people came forward in answer to the call.

-The rally cry of the message was focused on Judges 6:12 where the angel of the Lord told Gideon “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” We all need to remember that no matter how we feel and no matter what we are facing God is still God and He is with us. The other part of the cry came from how God gave them the victory. He had them use pitchers and torches. Our finishing call was “Fill me up, light me up and use me.” (I know that they also blew trumpets, but I couldn’t get everyone a horn and a kazoo seemed a little off as an illustration.)

-We had good attendance and it was very good when you look at how many of our regular attenders were gone.

-We had a great number of children again and we had a few teens in attendance for worship. We are making progress in this area.

-My wife and I enjoyed having her brother and sister in law visiting with us this past weekend and worshiping with us yesterday.

-We have a growing number of people who are getting serious about prayer and are praying often.

-We had a first time visitor and another couple who returned for the 3rd week in a row.

-I was very encouraged by several encounters with people in the community as I attended a few community events this past weekend. It is nice to see the time I have been investing in people, in being a part of the community and of talking with people outside of my church are beginning to result in growing relationships.

-I am very burdened by several who are in the midst of very painful family relationship issues.

-I am very excited to share with another church this week about Natural Church Development and encouraging them to look at their church health and possibly work with them for the next several months as a coach.

Here’s hoping that you have a week of reminders that God is with you. Here’s hoping that you choose to answer the call.

 

Dennis

Leave a comment

Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was a very emotional and moving day, which was preceded by a very emotional and moving 3 or 4 days. I experienced the power of the presence of the Lord in mighty ways during that time and I experienced the agony of hurting for others who are hurt. I witnessed friendship at its best and observed some leadership at its worst. My musings may seem a little scattered this morning as a result of some events last week added to the fact that I am subbing as Chaplain at our local hospital today for a friend. Here we go …

-God showed up in a powerful way yesterday during our worship service. It was one of those times that no one could deny the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. I needed that and I know that I was not alone in need. We have been focusing on prayer and many more people than normal have been praying extra so God showing up in a powerful way should come as no surprise. Wow! Thank you Jesus!

-Our time of singing was so good. People participated and our worship team led us, they didn’t perform, they led in worship. That certainly set the tone for the service.

-Our prayer times are becoming powerful in our worship services. This is because people are praying before they arrive and they are praying along with me and not just listening to me pray. That makes a huge difference.

-My son in law, and family, were visiting with us and he graciously agreed to sing during worship. (After much “persuasion” from my wife.) He sang with such an open spirit and with such feeling that the whole room was changed. Someone came to the altar while he was singing and was immediately surrounded by prayer supporters. It was a wonderful thing to see. He is such a wonderful worship leader that even though he was “just singing a song” for us, he led us all into the presence of the Lord.

-He sang just before I was to preach, but I called an audible and we had another time of prayer. God really showed up.

-My message was the 3rd in a series on prayer. This one was from the Old Testament, I Samuel 12:19-25.

-One of the points of this passage that really hit me was when Samuel told the people in verse 23 “… far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you…” Wow! I can sin by failing to pray for someone. Notice that these people had ignored Samuel’s leadership many times and yet he was still praying for them. Just like Jesus, when on the cross he cried out “Father, forgive them”.

-This really hit me as I was preparing the sermon and I spent some time in prayer and confession as a result. Who have you failed to pray for recently?

-I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning with 4 friends from college. The 5 of us have remained friends ever since we met as freshmen at Olivet Nazarene University. 7 or 8 years ago we began spending a weekend together every year. It is great to catch up with each other. It is great to laugh a lot. It is great to be reminded of God’s faithfulness in all of our lives. It was great to see and sense their support for a loved one of mine who is going through a very difficult situation.

-There have been many tears and prayers for loved ones this past week. The prayers are a regular daily thing for me, the tears, though not unusual, are not a daily event. I was reminded of how important it is to lean on God and to support those we love.

-Our attendance was good and we had a new family visit with us yesterday and the family who visited last Sunday returned yesterday.

Here’s hoping that you see, and sense, God’s presence and power in your life this week. Here’s hoping that you find someone to encourage this week. Here’s hoping that you will not fail to pray for someone this week.

Dennis

Leave a comment

Monday Morning Musings …

What a difference a week makes. The temperature was 20 degrees cooler yesterday than it was the Sunday before. The good news is that God is not limited by anything and He showed up again this weekend. As for my musings …

-I have to start by talking about the Saturday evening Community Concert of Prayer that we hosted. I am a part of a Pastor’s Prayer Network that meets to pray every other Thursday morning. There were 6 of us, representing 5 churches of different denominations, who have been praying for each other, our churches and revival in our city and county. We decided to have a focused period of prayer among our churches and inviting other churches to join culminating in a large prayer rally with an outside speaker. The first event was Saturday evening. The purpose of the night was to pray. Nothing more, nothing less. There were over 60 in attendance and there were 6 churches represented. The presence of the Lord was powerful. The sight of seeing people all over our sanctuary praying together was powerful. The sound of dozens of people crying out to God for revival was moving. (We have recently added 4 more pastors praying with us!)

-No wonder it was easy to preach yesterday after what took place Saturday evening.

-That being said, I blew it at the end of the sermon. I had a call to action concerning prayer, but I didn’t have people do anything with the call to action. It was just a challenge that I left hanging. Yesterday during lunch I told my wife that I blew it. She didn’t disagree. She thought the sermon was good and was clear, but she also thought I could have had a better conclusion.

-We had some minor technical issues, but that has become the norm. My fear is that it has become so normal that we are losing steam on fixing the problems. I am going to work on that this week.

-We did have a new couple in attendance yesterday. What we didn’t do was get any information from them. I hate when that happens.

-Our greeter issues from the week before were much better yesterday. I love the willing spirit that permeates my congregation.

-Our time of singing was very powerful and moving. I love hearing, and participating with people when they are really worshiping as they sing.

-I was encouraged as I heard some of the people who attended the Community Concert of Prayer telling others what they missed and urging them to participate in the next event.

-Our attendance was actually less than last Sunday which was a holiday weekend. The good news is that we had very good attendance last Sunday.

-We had a good number of children present. It is very encouraging to see the number of children increasing. That will translate into teens very soon.

-I am noticing that as I focus on praying more, and praying more purposely, that I am getting a lot more requests to pray about some really big stuff. The good news is that God is greater than whatever we are facing.

Here’s hoping you have a week of seeing God move in your life and the life of your church.

Denny

P.S. – My fantasy football team won. I knew you would be happy for me.

Leave a comment

Monday Musings …

Even on a holiday (at least in the United States) there is much to reflect on this Monday. The musings might bounce around a bit, just giving that warning at the beginning. On to the musings …

-Yesterday’s sermon was on “Learning to Pray” and it became obvious it needed a second message, so this coming Sunday will add to what we learned yesterday.

-I did my best to make the sermon instructional and inspirational. You would have to ask those who listened if that was in fact true.

-There was a great, energetic, almost festive spirit in our worship time. I loved it.

-People were very engaged from the beginning of the service. I think they were even listening to the announcements. That doesn’t always happen.

-We have a lot of people going through some difficult issues and yet they seem to really be seeking God’s direction in everything they are facing.

-Our prayer time in the middle of the service seemed to have some extra meaning yesterday. That was a God thing, and God things are always awesome.

-Our sound and technical issues were okay yesterday but we did have another microphone bite the dust. We really have to get this sound project going.

-We had no first time visitors yesterday. That is not good.

-We had very good attendance for Labor Day weekend. That was a pleasant surprise.

-We had some people not show up for areas of ministry. I need to make sure that we are clear on our schedules and communication of when people are to serve. It was glaring yesterday because one of the areas was among our greeters.

-My practice run of the sermon did not go well yesterday. That always makes me very nervous.

-We had some major issues with our WiFi before our small groups/Sunday School classes began. That took quite a bit of my time getting that sorted out. I probably should get someone else to be the troubleshooter, especially since I really don’t know what I am doing.

-There were many people who hung around and talked with each other after worship. I love seeing, and hearing, that kind of fellowship.

-I am ready for some fall weather.

-I will be immersed in discipleship material for the next few days as I prepare for our first session of discipleship training on Wednesday evening.

-I was able to FaceTime with my 5 year old granddaughter yesterday. The purpose was for her to show me that she lost a tooth. It is right up front in the middle. My favorite part of it, besides seeing her and talking with her, was that the tooth fell out while she was at church and she caught it. How cool was that?

Here’s hoping you make a good catch this week.

Dennis

Leave a comment

Monday Morning Musings …

Back in the saddle again is a theme running through my head this morning. This is my first Monday back at it after about 12 days of vacation. The good news is that I am refreshed and excited. The bad news is that I intended to do some writing and posting during vacation but as we arrived at our destination I realized that our cottage had no wifi. I decided to just unplug and enjoy it. But I am back, and back at it, and this is an awesome Monday. Let me get to the musings …

-Vacation was great. I got spend a lot of uninterrupted time with wife, I always love spending time with her. I slept a lot. I read a lot. I fished. We got to spend time with some old friends and play some Rook with them as well. We spent some great time with my youngest granddaughter, and her parents. I was able to attend my granddaughter’s dedication and even had the privilege to pray over her and her parents. It was great to get away and unplug and it was great to get back home.

-We had a great time celebrating yesterday. Several months ago we began emphasizing praying for our unsaved friends and family. I encouraged people to focus on 3 people and pray fervently for them to come to faith in Christ. One our people shared that one of his 3 got saved last week! Then we shared that a 4 year old great grandson of a couple in our church who was diagnosed with leukemia was now in full remission! There was much celebrating in our congregation for both.

-There was a tremendous spirit in our worship service. You couldn’t be in the service and not be impacted yesterday.

-Many people responded to the message at the end of the service.

-The message was on grace. The sermon in a sentence was “Grace is greater.” It is greater than whatever you are facing or fearing. (I preached more than just a sentence, but this is the condensed sermon.)

-Our attendance was very good.

-Our children’s church crowd was in the service for all the music, prayer time and giving. They added a lot of energy to the room. They also are not inhibited, so they were clapping and moving during the music. I loved it!!!

-There were great spiritual conversations taking place after the service concluded. I love hearing those conversations.

-I had a couple of people approach me after the service to let me know they would gone next Sunday. But the reason they were informing me of this is that they wanted to let me know they were willing to help with an event that is happening in 2 weeks. Since they won’t be here next week to get all the details they wanted to get in on serving. How cool is that?

-I have another anniversary of my birth tomorrow. I am told it is a big one. I assume I will feel much the same tomorrow morning as did today and I want to celebrate each day. But it is kind of fun to enter a new decade. Hey, it’s just a number, albeit a big number, but I am not deciding what I can and cannot do based on age. So let’s eat some cake, or better yet let’s eat some really spicy food.

This week I pray that you find some things to celebrate. If you can’t think of anything feel free to celebrate my birthday.

Dennis

1 Comment

Monday Musings …

Yesterday was a banner day in our church and in my personal life as well. We had a phenomenal day at church and it was the 40th anniversary of my wedding day. (You can read some personal stuff about that milestone in my previous 2 posts.)

-We celebrated our Vacation Bible School (VBS) yesterday. We finished it a week ago but we chose to have our celebration yesterday. It was awesome. We had a total of 47 different children attend VBS and we 35 of them come back for this celebration.

-The kids did fantastic. They sang, they did some Bible memory and they recounted the main points of every lesson when I quizzed them. Looks like they learned the lessons, now praying that they are really living the lessons.

-There was a lot of energy in the building as we worshiped. I loved it. There were a lot more smiles from the adults yesterday than I normally receive. Wonder what that is all about?

-An older couple came in a few minutes late. The kids were on the platform already doing their thing. This couple sat right in the middle of where the kids had been sitting and would return to sit when they finished. My wife whispered to me that I should go get them to move to some other seats. I said, “No, let ‘em fend for themselves”. It was fun to see the couple’s reaction when 30+ kids surrounded them. The couple handled it great and so did the kids.

-We had the second largest attendance we have had in my time here in Canton. It was awesome to see some parents, and other relatives in attendance who don’t normally attend. Praying that they will take the message the kids, and I, shared and accept it themselves.

-Praying that some of those family members will return and begin attending.

-It was great for our congregation to see the fruit of their prayers, their giving and their faithfulness with a platform full of kids and a sanctuary with so many people in attendance.

-The church had a big meal after the service in honor of our 40th wedding anniversary. The food was great and the cake was delicious. We received so many cards and a wonderful love offering. This church body is good to us and shows us in so many ways week in and week out how much they love us. Ministry is so much fun with a group like this at your side.

-Our 2 daughters, one of our sons-in-law and 4 of our grandkids were able to be with us. One of our sons-in-law was leading worship at his church and our son, daughter-in-law and 5 grandkids are in Africa, but we did hear from all of them. Our house is full and so is my heart.

-We already have some kids saving for next year’s VBS offering! How cool is that?

-Our sound system even cooperated for most of the morning.

-Our District Superintendent slipped into the service and stayed for the meal after. It was great to have him witness what is taking place in Canton. Love that man and his leadership.

-We had a first time visitor come yesterday who didn’t know that we were having our VBS celebration. I hope we didn’t scare them off. But at least they saw a lot of energy, smiles and joy. That should be enough to get them to give us another shot.

Here’s to you finding joy in your service this week. I am praying that each person who reads this is encouraged and has a reminder that God is present where you are and that you are loved.

Dennis

Leave a comment

40 Reasons We are still Going Strong … (they aren’t all in this post)

True confession. Today is the 40th anniversary of our wedding. At this time 40 years ago I was awake and excited about getting married. I was nervous, but strangely I think I was more nervous about putting my Tux on than I was about committing to someone for a lifetime. You see I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know what I was doing with a Tux or a marriage. (More on that in another post.)

Over the next few days I am going to give my wife some notes, cards and other things that will contain 40 reasons I love her. Shhhhh, don’t tell her this is going to happen, it is a surprise.

Here are 5 of the 40 …

–She is beautiful. In all honesty I noticed her because she was so pretty and she is more beautiful today than she was when I first met her. (Side note: I first met her while on a date with someone else. Don’t get upset the first time I called to ask her out I had to wait until she got in from a date with another guy.)

–She still laughs at my jokes. Even the ones no one else gets. I am pretty sure that she sometimes laughs just to make me feel good. But the fact that she still laughs after 40 years is pretty cool.

–She is my biggest cheerleader. (If you ask her she has a great cheerleader story to tell you. It is very inspirational and has become a family legend. A former staff member of mine still calls and asks her to repeat the story sometimes.)

–She is an awesome mother and mother-in-law. She loves our kids, and we consider our in-law kids our kids and she loves them the same. She has sacrificed much, more than our kids know, while our kids were still at home. Actually, she still does.

–She has been, and still is, my partner in ministry for the 32+ years that I have served. There have been times in my ministry that I was pretty sure some of the churches were happier she was with them than me.

There are many more and I will share them in the near future.

For today, I just want to say Happy Anniversary to the love of my life, to my partner in every sense of the word , to the one who has given me more than I will ever deserve.

Here’s to Jody, I love you.

Dennis

Leave a comment

Unconditional … After all these years

As my wife and I are approaching the 40th anniversary of our wedding day I have been thinking a lot about how to describe our relationship and love. The best word I have been able to come up with is “unconditional”. To support, or love, without concern of any qualifications or prerequisites. That is my working definition of unconditional. What would your definition be? Do you have any unconditional relationships in your life?

After going through 40 years of marriage, living in 8 different states, 3 children, 9 (1 more arriving in January) grandkids, the death of 3 parents and 1 sibling, enduring me finishing college and then going from school teacher/coach to pastor (still coaching some), we are still together.

We are more than still together. I told my wife recently that I like where we are in our relationship today much more than I did 40 years ago! Do you feel that way?

We had youth, anticipation, dreams and the unknown on our side 40 years ago. Today we have experience, and the scars to prove it, we have so many memories (but sadly not a lot of pictures), we have 17 (with one on the way) in our family as opposed to the 2 of us and we have so many more friends than we could have imagined.

There have been difficult times, some very difficult times, and I wish that we hadn’t gone through some of them, but I wouldn’t trade what we learned and where we are for anything.  We have also had more wonderful times than I could possibly recall. 40 years ago when we came home to our tilted, 10X50 foot mobile home where we watched the winter winds blow the curtains covering our closed windows and where I could reach out of a window and exchange a newspaper with my neighbor, I could not imagine where we would be today.

I have learned that unconditional is not just a word, or a concept, in wedding vows. I have experienced unconditional love and life with the love of my life and I couldn’t be more content.

Funny thing is, we still have dreams about the future, we still believe that some of our greatest days are still ahead of us, we still believe in each other and in our savior Jesus Christ who has always loved us (and you) unconditionally. We still believe you can work out your disagreements and disappointments. We still believe that “I do” is a continuing statement.

I love her so much more today than I did on that Saturday afternoon in Flint, Michigan 40 years ago that I don’t know how to adequately describe it. I am very excited for the next ____ years. I won’t be a limit on our time together. Because no matter how much longer it is I know it will be awesome and that it will continue to be marked by “unconditional” love

Here’s to my wife, you are the best. I love you!

Dennis

Leave a comment

Monday Morning Musings …

We finally had a true summer Sunday. The weather was warm and it hasn’t rained in 8 or 9 days and many people were gone. It is okay, one out of the first 10 Sundays of the summer is okay. It was still another good day …

-The spirit during our time of music in worship yesterday was tremendous and that was with some significant sound issues. People were really singing out aloud. Maybe it was because I told them that I had decided the music goes better with motions, after experiencing worship with our Vacation Bible School kids this past week. I told the congregation as we began that after watching the kids in VBS that if the adults didn’t sing out I was going to make them do motions with all the songs. Maybe I need to make that threat every week. Just kidding, sort of.

-It was so fun to share with the entire congregation that our kids brought in $1,000 for kids in Kenya during VBS.

-We had a missionary speak during worship and he is serving in Kenya. That worked out great given our focus for giving during VBS. He and his college student daughter also shared with all of our children during Sunday School. That was a great follow up for our kids after VBS.

-I love hearing from people who are passionate about serving Christ. I was especially moved hearing from the missionary’s daughter about her passion to serve those in need wherever she is located.

-Our attendance was below our last year’s average for the first time all summer. The good news is that it was just barely below. But it was the first time it has felt like a summer Sunday.

-I am excited that a couple of our kids, and some of our grandkids, will be in worship with us next Sunday. They are coming in to help us celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Even better news is that will all be staying with us for 3 or 4 days. The other kid, and grandkids, have a great excuse for not being here, they are serving in Kenya. We hope to Skype with them.

-I am very excited to hear from a few people this weekend who are desiring to serve in ministry. These are people who have not been serving until now. In fact, they are very excited to begin serving. Good things really are happening in Canton.

-Loved getting together with some of the people from our small group last evening. We will be starting a couple of new groups out of this group in a few weeks. It is exciting to think of reaching new people, seeing new relationships begin and seeing people step up in leadership.

-My wife and I enjoyed having lunch with the missionary and his daughter. They serve a little over an hour from where our son and family are serving. We were able to talk about some familiar places.

-Next Sunday will be our celebration of Vacation Bible School. They kids will be sharing in song, memory verses and sharing about their giving. I am so excited to see them all together again and I am praying that many of their family members come and experience this with them. I am excited for our whole congregation to see and share in this outstanding event as well. For many who give faithfully to see that their giving is going to reach many children and families in our community.

Here’s hoping that you are already looking forward to next Sunday. I am praying that you will have many opportunities to encourage someone this week.

Dennis

Leave a comment

Lessons learned from Vacation Bible School …

“Oh, I know Jesus loves me, Oh I know Jesus loves you, from the top of my head to my wiggly toes …” That song (with motions) is stuck in my head. Why? We just finished our Vacation Bible School and that was part of the theme song. Vacation Bible School was great and I know I learned more than the kids. The kids learned a lot, but I can say without a doubt that I learned more. Just over a year ago I wrote a post “7 Lessons learned from Vacation Bible School”. I learned some more this year and was reminded of some of the lessons I learned last year.

-I learned that energy makes worship and learning a lot easier and more fun. The kids brought the energy every night and the adults used that energy to serve in powerful ways. Now if we could just get the rest of the people who attend on Sunday mornings to have a little more energy. Maybe we should start requiring that they do motions with every song. What do you think?

-I learned that giving can be fun. Our church, that is not large, at least not yet, had a total of 47 kids attend VBS. Those kids gave over $1,000 in 4 nights!!! You read that correctly. More impressive is they did it with no incentive of a prize and none of the money given was for anyone they knew. The money is all going to Africa to send a bunch of kids to school and feed thousands of kids who otherwise would have no meal at their school.

(Highlight: some of you are being cynical and thinking that all the money came from the kid’s parents and grandparents. Much of it did, but we had many, many kids emptying their personal banks to give their personal money for other kids. In fact one boy had been saving coins since last year’s VBS so that he could give to other kids this year. How is that for sacrifice?)

-Serving together is a great way to get to know people. There is a great bond that forms when you serve with someone.

-We have many outstanding adults. So many gave so much of their time, and energy, to serve the kids. Some gave up hours at work, some took vacation days to serve and all of them gave all the energy they had to serve. There are some serious naps going to be taking place this weekend.

-Smiles really do made a huge difference. I wrote something about kid’s smiles last year and I was blown away by the smiles of the kids and the smiles they were able to produce in the adults this year. I will go through smile withdrawal this next week.

-Kids love to volunteer. When we asked for volunteers we had dozens of hands go up no matter what we were asking them to do.

-Kids remind me that Church can, and should be, fun.

What are some of your memories of VBS? What have you learned from serving children?

Here’s hoping that you receive many smiles this week.

Dennis

Leave a comment