“I still remember the first Sunday we came to Seneca Creek.”  I listened as this couple described their first impressions.  Then what they said next caught me off guard.  “We would not be married today if it weren’t for Seneca Creek.”  They didn’t provide gory details, just the frank realization that if they hadn’t had the teaching, the encouragement, and the relationships of this church, their marriage would have ended like so many others.  And it all started with an invitation.

I thought about the legacy of our church.  And I realized that in the coming years, we will likely hear the same kind of stories.  Just like this couple, they’ll talk about how they first heard…how they considered the invitation…and how they eventually decided to give it a try.

Did you realize that over 80% of people in this country say they would consider attending a church service if they were invited by a friend?  Translation: You have a four out of five chance of helping change someone’s life forever simply by inviting them to Seneca Creek.

Easter is one of the two most likely times for people to consider attending church.  So as we approach Easter, would you prayerfully consider who you could invite this year?  We’ll provide you with printed invitations in the coming weeks.  And years from now, someone could talk about the invitation that changed their life.  Your invitation.

-Pastor Mark

In the next two weeks you’ll have two opportunities to significantly improve your life.  Two opportunities to expand your vision and strengthen your faith.  We’ve made them as easy as possible.  Interested?

First, the Bishop will be speaking this Sunday morning, March 10^th.  If you’re relatively new to Seneca Creek, the Bishop is Eliudi Issangya, from Tanzania.  For the last 30 years he has provided leadership and vision for an incredible ministry in East Africa that includes

• a Bible School for church leaders,
• an elementary and high school for local students,
• a trade school for locals who need marketable skills,
• an orphanage for children whose parents are often the victims of AIDS,
• drilling fresh water wells for local villages,
• and a medical clinic.

For the last six years we’ve had a partnership with the Bishop and his ministries in Tanzania.  (www.ieoministries.org) If you were with us over the Christmas season, you know that we helped raise the necessary funds to complete construction of a brand new medical clinic.  Work is underway, and should be finished by May or June.

The Bishop is an engaging speaker , and a visionary leader who never fails to inspire the people at Seneca Creek.  I’m often asked, “why is he a bishop?”  (a term we associate with church hierarchy, robes and other things).  While there’s no official connection with Seneca Creek, he functions as a pastor and leader for many other pastors in that part of Africa, and legitimately serves as a “bishop” or overseer of pastors.  And no, he doesn’t wear a robe or expect special treatment.

The second opportunity to improve your life is our upcoming seminar on faith and science.  For too long these two areas of life have been seen as being in conflict with one another.  If you’ve taken any science classes in college, or even high school, you may have wondered how intelligent, thinking adults could ever reconcile what the Bible says about the origins of human life, with what science has learned about those origins.  Our own national history is full of regrettable battles waged over this debate, which still rages in many parts of the country.

On March 16^th (Saturday) from 9:00 a.m to Noon, we’ll hear from two distinguished scientists (Dr. Darrel Falk, and Dr. Fazale Rana) about how they understand the stories of the Bible and the findings of science to work together.  While their views do not necessarily agree with each other, both of them will present intelligent, satisfying answers to the questions that you may have long ago thought were unanswerable.  This is an event that you can confidently invite your skeptical friends to attend.  The last hour of this seminar will be devoted to Q&A from those in attendance.

For a little insider info, you can check out their organizations at the following sites:

• Reasons To Believe – www.rtb.org
• BioLogos – www.biologos.org

I hope you’ll benefit from both of these events in the next two weeks.  They will strengthen your faith, and expand your thinking like nothing else.

-Pastor Mark

P.S. Remember to set your clocks AHEAD one hour before you go to sleep on Saturday.

The church has no walls.  We believe that.  And seeing is believing.  Here’s what I recently saw in the life of, Sooky, a mom from Seneca Creek.  She sent out the following email to friends who are interested in serving with their entire families:

Coming on Sunday, Feb 24th:  2 sessions hosted by Whole Foods in Kentlands to make lunches for local women’s homeless shelter, Rainbow Place:  2pm to 3pm and from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.  Parents and kids ages 5 and up.  The Director of the shelter will be there to give a talk.  Sign up today:  http://vols.pt/Rap4zJ

We will be collecting travel-size toiletry items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, lotion, etc.) for the ladies at Rainbow Place as well as size Large and Extra Large women’s sweatpants.  We will also be collecting cash donations for Whole Foods’ “Whole Planet Foundation,” a group born out of Whole Foods Market’s desire to give back and combat persistent problems like world poverty and hunger…WPF’s goal is poverty alleviation through microcredit in communities that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products.  We can fight homelessness in our backyard and abroad!

At your service,

Sooky McFadden and Sherry Dunda, KidServe Volunteer Coordinators

kidserve@yahoo.com , 301-208-xxxx

“Kids partnering with parents to serve”

 Then I got the follow up email this week after the event:

[after thanking those who served]…In case you weren’t able to make it, here are some discussions questions for your family at home:

1. How much food does your family throw away in one day?  Keep a log of all you put in the trash.  Talk about what you think about your log.
2. Start a family journal of thanks and write in it daily.  Take time to read over the journal together at the end of the week.
3. When you see a homeless person asking for money or food, how do you feel?  What do you do and why?  If you do give, does it matter to you what they do with the money?
4. What do you think is the most difficult part of being homeless?  What do you think homeless people miss the most?

NEXT EVENT: Sunday, March 10, 2013 at the Kentlands Clubhouse, 485 Tschiffely Square Road.  2pm to 3pm.  Sign up now!  We’ll be making stationary for U.S. troops to send home to their loved ones for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and we’ll be preparing care packages to send them.  List of requested donations are posted on our sign up link: http://vols.pt/oS8Qt7

Check out our Facebook page for more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KidServe/303722629685066?ref=ts&fref=ts

Wow!  Those questions REALLY made me stop and think.  And Sooky’s actions are making a difference for others while showing her kids the value of serving.

This is what happens when the church is not defined by the walls of a building.  This is what happens when someone follows the example of the little boy in John 6 who offered his loaves and fish to Jesus (see podcast from Feb 10^th).  This is what happens when someone takes Jesus’ example of washing the disciples’ feet and puts it into a 21^st century context (see podcast from Feb 17^th).  This is what happens when someone stays connected to the vine (see last week’s podcast).  This is what happens when God gets loose in someone’s life, and they decide to live out their faith in the real world.

What could happen if God got loose in your life?

-Pastor Mark

Have you ever tried a spiritual discipline or practice, only to discover that it didn’t produce the results you were hoping for?  Then you’ll appreciate what I came across this past week.

Some of you, like me, have adopted one or more spiritual practices during the season of Lent.  One practice I’ve adopted for Lent is to eliminate “road noise” from my life.  When driving, I turn off the radio, the CD and the cell phone.  No music, no calls, no news.  Just me and God.  It’s a modern day equivalent of solitude.  And it’s really interesting what happens in those times.

I received a small book called, “Less is More: A Lenten Guide for Personal Renewal.”  (I know, the title didn’t work for me, either.)  But inside this book I discovered some great insights into spiritual practices, or disciplines.  I thought you may also find it helpful.

The writer was sharing that sometimes the practice of solitude creates some problems.  He writes:

A confession: I’d rather be studying, serving, and engaging others in life-giving conversations than just sitting and being quiet.  For years, I didn’t see the point.  Even when I did begin to understand the reasoning behind it, I couldn’t talk myself into it.  What’s the benefit?  What will I gain?  Will it work?

My questions uncovered the false assumptions I had about solitude in particular, and the spiritual disciplines in general.  I was assuming a cause and effect relationship with God.  “I am quiet.  You, God, speak.”  “I give. God, you reward.”  If I didn’t get the response I wanted, I would say something like, “That didn’t work” and move on to something else. 

Then one day my daughter said, “Daddy, come and sit with me.”  I assumed she wanted me to do something.  She just wanted me next to her.

Aha.  So does God.  Solitude became God’s invitation to “come and sit with me.”  If, in the quiet, I heard something from God, I was grateful.  But, it was enough just to be together.

Have you attempted to adopt a spiritual practice for Lent?  If so, does wanting something, or needing something from God keep you from just being with God?  Maybe God is content to just spend time hanging out with you.  Maybe your spiritual practice is “working” just fine.

If you’ve benefited from the practice of the Big Read (reading and reflecting on Scripture), be sure to add your comments in the section below.  Even if it’s just knowing that you were simply spending time with the God who made you.

-Pastor Mark

You’ve probably seen the paintings of Jesus as he comforts people, reassures them, and appears like a Nobel peace prize candidate.  A fitting picture for Valentine’s Day, right?  But have you seen the painting of the divisive Jesus?  I just saw it earlier this week.

In our Big Read project we’ve been reading through John’s account of Jesus life.  And in chapter 9, after healing a blind man, Jesus makes this comment:

For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.  (John 9:39)

As with other bold statements of Jesus, he makes it clear that people will HAVE to make a decision about him.  They will either acknowledge who he is (and who they are), or they will choose to deny him as Messiah (and make a statement about themselves in the process).  The person and mission of Jesus will be divisive.  You can see it in Jesus own life.  Some saw the miracles and believed.  Some saw the miracles and ran off to report him to the authorities.  But everyone had to make a choice.  Jesus was, and continues to be a divisive figure.

Here’s what I believe.  When it comes to decisions, relationships, habits, words, actions, and values, Jesus will be divisive.  He will divide everyone into one of two groups.  He will force you to pick one way or the other.  Either you’ll believe him, or you’ll run off and report him to the authorities.

So as you continue with us in the Big Read, be prepared for Jesus to force you to choose.  I hope you choose wisely.  Because only then do you really experience the Nobel peace prize Jesus that we’re all so desperately looking for.

-Pastor Mark

Every year you celebrate your birthday.  And every year you celebrate Christmas and Easter.  These celebrations are marked by joy, gifts, and festivities.  Then there’s Lent.

In some church traditions Lent is very structured and somber.  In others it’s ignored completely, due to the fact that it’s not in the Bible.  But when Lent is rightly understood and wisely practiced it can have a real powerful “head-clearing” effect on our lives.  So over the last several years we’ve encouraged everyone at Seneca Creek to rethink their approach to Lent, and to consider temporarily inconveniencing ourselves.  Here’s a quick overview to consider:

WHY?  Lent is a way to bring focus to our pursuit of Christ.  The comforts we enjoy in our culture can create a fog in our spiritual lives, obscuring what is really important to us.  By removing the comfortable distractions, we create opportunities to connect with God.  It can also help us identify with the sufferings that Christ went through for us, sort of like when you give up a meal out of solidarity with those who are starving.  And it creates tremendous anticipation of, and appreciation of Easter Sunday when it finally arrives!

HOW?  Prayerfully consider what changes may help you pursue Christ, listen to the Spirit, and connect with God.  This is not a duty or an obligation.  If you’re dreading it, you may want to step back and understand why.

WHAT?  It’s extremely flexible.  Some choose to forego a luxury or habit, such as sweets, chocolate, alcohol, television, or movies. Others choose to adopt a new practice, such as prayer walking, meditation, generosity to strangers, reading, or serving others.  You may want to discuss your options with a mentor or friend.  The key is that your choices help you pursue Christ.

WHEN? Lent begins on Wednesday, Feb. 13 and continues until Easter Sunday.  Traditionally, the practices of Lent are lifted each Sunday in order to celebrate Christ.  The total number of days observed will then be 40.  That number has biblical significance, from the Israelite’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, to Jesus’ 40 days of fasting.

WHO? This is something you can do on your own.  However, most people find it helpful to share the journey with others.  Talk about your commitments, but then also share how you’re experiencing God during this season.  If you’d like, you can add your comments at in the section below.

So I challenge you to join us this year in the Lent Experiment.  Really, what do you have to lose?  It’s only 40 days.  And it’s only a small inconvenience to our comfort.  In exchange for a little comfort, you may very well experience God like never before.

I look forward to the journey with you this year.

-Pastor Mark

Henry Ford is often quoted as having said, “The customer can have any color car they like, so long as it is black!”  Talk about options, right?  Well until now, if you wanted to attend a worship gathering at Seneca Creek, you could pick any day you liked as long as it was Sunday.  But that’s about to change…

More and more of you are joining us each weekend for our worship gatherings.  And more and more lives are being changed by the power of God and the message of the gospel.  (We’ve had 29 first time families fill in connection cards in January alone!)  We’re super excited about this, but it’s also creating some crowding.  The parking lot, the kids space, and the auditorium are all getting squishy.  So in order to relieve the crowding, and to make room for those who will walk through the doors of Seneca Creek in the coming months, we’re creating another option.

Starting April 6^th we’ll offer a Saturday evening worship gathering with the same topic, same teacher, and same amazing PowerHouse.  Because most of what happens on Sunday is the result of hundreds of volunteers, we can’t simply ask them to serve an additional day.  So we’ll be building new teams of volunteers to park cars, greet guests, teach kids, and lead us in worship.  On February 10^th we’ll present all the different ways that you might be able to help.

I’m excited about what lies ahead of us!  But I realized this is a big change, and if you’re involved at Seneca Creek, you may be concerned about how this will impact you or your ministry area, or your kids.  Between now and April 6^th we’ll keep you informed of all the details.  And we’ll try to answer all your questions and concerns, too.

Could I make a request?  As I look around, I realize that we are surrounded by men, women, and students who are living without the hope that we have.  This is our chance to do something about that. Would you please join our staff and Leadership Council in praying for this new worship gathering?  Pray that this will create even more opportunities for us to ignite the HOPE of Christ right here in our city.  Thank you!

-Pastor Mark

Has this ever happened to you?  Someone that you kinda know asks for some of your time.  They call, or invite you to coffee or dinner, without mentioning a clear reason.  So with some apprehension, you agree to meet.

When you get together, there may be all kinds of pleasantries and formalities, but inside you have a gut feeling that there’s an agenda.  Your “spidey sense” is telling you that they want something.  (It could be your money, your time, your forgiveness, your advice, etc.)  And the only real question is whether you’ll want to cooperate with their request.

Turns out, people came to Jesus like that, too.  (See, you’re in good company!)  If you’re part of the Big Read, you probably read Mark 8 earlier this week.  In that chapter, Jesus conducts a mini-survey, and asks what others think of him.  Then he asks his disciples who THEY think he is.  Peter nails it!  “You’re the Messiah, the one that was promised!”  So far, so good.  But Peter has an agenda.  He has something he wants from the Messiah.  And we know this because of what happens next.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Mark 8:31-32

 Peter rebuked Jesus, which is pretty gutsy in itself.  But it was because he had an agenda, and that agenda did NOT involve the Messiah suffering and dying!  Peter needed Jesus to cooperate with PETER’S plan.  But Jesus won’t go along.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Mark 8:33 (emphasis added)

Jesus calls him out in front of his friends.  Rebukes him, and even calls him “Satan”!  Because Peter could only see his plan, and wasn’t able to see God’s plan.

Has that ever happened to you?  You have a plan, and you need Jesus to cooperate?  But he doesn’t.  Because Jesus has in mind God’s plan.  Which may differ significantly from your plan.  If Jesus doesn’t seem to be cooperating with your plan, have you considered that maybe he has God’s (better) plan in mind?

One benefit of spending time in the Big Read is it will help you get more familiar with God’s plan, as seen through Jesus.  And hopefully it will help you avoid the embarrassing situation Peter faced when Jesus had to call him out.

-Pastor Mark

Sometimes the weeks after Christmas can bring regrets from overspending, overindulging, overeating, or over committing.  But there’s something that none of us are regretting this year at Seneca Creek.

On Christmas Eve we take a special offering and give it away.  Our Christmas Eve Project this year had two objectives:

1. To finish construction of a medical clinic in Tanzania, providing medical care for 16,000 people (cost: $20,000)
2. To help with the restoration work of homes in the NJ/NY area that were damaged during super-storm Sandy

When the gifts were added up, the generous people at Seneca Creek gave over $37,000 to these two projects!  I can only say “Thank You!” to each and every one of you who helped us get there.  What a demonstration of the church working together to make an impact, and to literally ignite HOPE for thousands of people in our world!  Absolutely NO regrets, right?

If you’re interested in continuing this legacy of generosity, I encourage you to join in with our “One Percent Solution.”  We talked about it last Sunday (check out the podcast here if you missed it), and over 70 families already committed to implementing the One Percent Solution in 2013!  You can find more details about it at this blog site.  Be part of the Solution!

Finally, we’ll kick off a new initiative this Sunday that’s sure to change your year, and your entire life.  It’s called “The Big Read.”  Be sure to check it out at 9:15 or 11:00 this Sunday.  See you then.

-Pastor Mark