Where I Worshiped - The Fourth Sunday

Yesterday morning The Wright Family had the privilege of attending worship together -believe it or not- for the first time this month as a whole family.  The three previous Sundays one or more of us were separated.  So, we woke up early, got ready and left the house shortly after 8:00 a.m. (a miracle in itself), and made our way back to the outskirts of Cleveland Ohio and worshiped at Parkside Church.

Their senior pastor, Alistair Begg was ministering in Scotland, so the sermon was given by Mickey Aquilno.  He preached a very practical, exegetical sermon from 2 Chronicles 14 on the life of King Asa.  The music was led by a special guest artist/worship leader named Nathan Tasker.  Everyone enjoyed the worship time, and it was so nice to sit together as a family.  (To read about Molly and Katie's take on their experience, check out my wife's blog here).

After the service, we took the children to the church's bookstore/cafe, where the children enjoyed the well stocked children's section.

 Their father also enjoyed perusing the New Release section,

while Molly did gymnastics in the "Common Area" just outside of the bookstore.

You'll notice that though we were merely visiting this church, our stop in the bookstore caused us to be among the last folks to leave the church, as is our habit!

After we left the church, we drove through McDonald's for Molly and Kate's lunch, and then took Cole and Megan to Gretchen's favorite fast food place...Chipotle.

There is much to learn by visiting and worshipping with other church families, however, we are so anxious to rejoin our own church family this coming Sunday for worship.

Look out First Baptist!  Here we come!!

(Check back in a few days for a wrap up of my sabbatical. 

And then for continuing posts in the future.)

Heading to D.C.

Greetings from Washington D.C.!

Early this week, Gretchen and I returned from our retreat in Walnut Creek, Ohio, gathered the children, and began to get back to the "normal" to which we are becoming accustomed this month.  Just when we got back in the swing of things, it was time for me to pack up again and head to our nation's capital to attend an event called "The Weekender" (click on colored words to link to the event site) at Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

(Pictures in this post are from article on Capitol Hill Baptist Church in the 

Christian Science Monitor--click here for more pictures.)

The trip to Washington D.C. was a far cry from what I experienced in the Amish countryside last week as traffic made my progress into the city itself, a creeping, crawling trial! Upon arrival I joined my fellow "weekenders" (there are 75 attendees this time instead of the normal 50) in a "behind-closed-door" elder's meeting that was to prove fascinating.  The meeting lasted three and a half hours and was something to behold.  I'll share more on that topic after I've had more of a chance to gather more information about the "whys and wherefores" of it all.

Today the schedule of activities is packed full and there's much to learn and observe.  The sample schedule of the weekend is here.

Have a super weekend!

I'll be worshiping here...

...this Sunday.

I'll be encouraged to hear of my own church family worshiping together this Sunday as well!

I pray the words of Paul in Colossians...

that [your] hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge....For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:2-3,5

I'll post more from D.C. as my weekender continues.

Where I Worshiped - The 2nd Sunday

Today Gretchen and I left the "peace and comfort" of our hotel room and made the 90 minute drive through winding roads and interstate to Parkside Church outside of Cleveland Ohio to worship with Alistair Begg and his church family.

This is a view from the backside of the church property.

Here is the worship center.

The worship team did a fantastic job of blending traditional and contemporary music together.  Their music has a very Irish feel to it.  If you would like to take a listen, click on the link below.

Here is a view from our pew.

Pastor Begg preached a terrific sermon from Romans 8.  Click on the link below to hear him read the scriptures in his Scottish accent.

If you are interested in hearing the sermon, you can access it for free by clicking here: Parkside Church and then clicking on the play button on the picture on the right side of the page.

It was a wonderful time of worship, and definitely worth the drive.  One of my favorite parts was being able to worship and sit beside my wife for an entire service. 

Day One

I begin this time of rest, reflection, and refueling with some very vivid pictures of my church family that I will hold in my mind while I'm gone from them.  This Sunday was an important one for many reasons: Molly's dedication and my final Sunday in the pulpit for a four week period.  My family and I were blessed to be able to ask a dear friend, a member of our church family,  and a fellow minister of the Gospel to perform Molly's dedication.

 What a blessing to have Pastor Jay as a part of our church body. He did a super job and we are grateful for the sincere words he shared with us and the church family during the dedication.

 Another picture that I cherish from last Sunday is of the congregation.  During the sermon, I said something to the effect of "look at verse..." and as I looked out at the congregation the majority of the family wasn't looking at me they had all dropped their gazes to their Bibles in unison!  I was so excited to see my church family in the Word together.  I wish you could have seen it along with me.  There were also many who shared kind words and testimonies that I continue to reflect on even today.

I spent this morning listening to audio CDs of one of my mentors.  The topic was "The Pastor's Fatigue." One of the most helpful things I learned was that fatigue causes you to "go through the motions" of ministry, and when you "go through the motions of ministry" you lose your passion.  When you lose your passion in ministry and for ministry you are in trouble.  I am once more reminded of the privilege of this sabbatical season which will help me to combat such struggles as I rest and learn.

I close this post today with a quote that was shared in the lesson from a counselor to a pastor:  "Everything you do you do to give away, you don't keep anything for yourself, and if you are always giving, you have to have time to replenish.  When you open a book every page has margin, when I look at your life I see no margin, there are words everywhere."  A good reminder for us all.