It's February 14th and it's a Reality!

This year, February 14th is not only Valentine's Day, but it falls on a weekend with all the winter activities of snowmobiling, skiing, sledding, hockey games, ice fishing, community fund raisers, shows, and the opening of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Oh, Yes, it is also the official day of the Branches Church launch as the newest ARC church plant in Wisconsin!

We are one of four churches launching this weekend through the Association of Related Churches. The other three are: Champion Center Church in New York City; The Freedom Church in Anniston, Alabama; and Second Place Church in Monee, Illinois. You can learn more about these and other church plants preparing to launch at the Association of Related Churches website at: http://www.arcchurches.com/

We are celebrating what God has done in opening the door to the Kingdom of God wider in the Dunn County area! We are thankful for everyone who has captured the vision of having a place where people can "come as they are" and joined the team to help build that reality. So, for Sunday, with all its activities to capture our time and attention, I say we are still going to have a celebration! I'll see you there!

Pastor Mike

Our Weekend

We missed being at home in Menomonie with the Branches congregation this morning. I am glad that this is Jesus' church and not mine or any individuals. We, as parts of the body of Christ, can never say we have no need of another part. THANK YOU to all of you who kept Branches going this weekend!! You have my deepest respect.

Last night and today Robin and I were on two of four church campuses with New Life Church in Little Rock, AR participating in the Saturday night service at one and the first Sunday service at another as they were simulcast to the other three campuses. Then we became one of the 'kids' participating in the children's ministry service. I've not moved that much to music since jogging with a cassette walk-man. (Hint: there's an age time-line clue here!) We had a great time learning about ministering to K-5th graders and the different curriculum that is available to us. These connections we're making are great for resources!

After that we had lunch with the Pastor and then sat through a new-membership class the way New Life does it. Ideas for how Branches can do some of these kinds of things are filling my head and we are going to be able to get together and get it down in writing as soon as we're back with you.

We are being affirmed as we hear what God is doing in the country all around us. There are congregations just like us planting themselves where people have distanced themselves from church and ultimately God. We are on a great time-line. We have made great choices concerning our mission and values, our purpose and facility, our governing, and our leadership. God is good.

Monday brings classes on vision, communication, decision making, marketing, and finance. Robin says her brain is exploding...wait 'till tomorrow dear!

We'll fill you in more later.

Mike and Robin from Little Rock

Be Prepared - What we learn from the Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts have a great motto: "Be Prepared". It has gotten many a boy, and man, through tough times or difficult circumstances just by giving them a fighting chance and an educated guess to work with. The preparation in living out that motto takes intentional time, effort, focus, and work on their part in order to "Be Prepared".

So too, the task before us in planting Branches Church. We say we are "Real People, Living Real Lives, in a Real World" but authenticity does not prepare us for action in our role as real people in the real world...being prepared does.

I'm thinking of two particular stories that Jesus talked about:
1. The Good Samaritan...Luke 10
2. The final judgment...Matthew 25
Both stories contain the accounts of people who had done the right thing by being prepared with what was needed at the time; medicine, money, compassion, friendship, food, water, clothing and the basic needs of life. Both stories have Jesus applauding those who were prepared for the task they found themselves in. He even went so far as to say that as they used their compassion and resources for those around them, they were actually using them for Him! It really hits home the Greatest Commandment; "love God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself" and the New Commandment Jesus left His church: "love one another as I have loved you".

In wanting to be prepared, Robin and I are heading to a church planter's basic training. This training is sponsored by ARC (The Association of Related Churches) and is in Little Rock, AR and is seven days of intense unpacking of the things it is going to take to organize and establish Branches Church as a new congregation. It sheds light on what it takes to be prepared to have the best launch day we possibly can and what to expect during our first year as a new church in our community. We also have our Church Planter Assessment this month in Atlanta. It consists of a two day interview with ARC on our ministry, our game plan, our gifts and fit, the core team, Branches financial state, and how ARC can come alongside and help. Be prepared. It's a good motto. It's a lot of work and commitment. It's worth it.

I heard a story today about two farmers. They both prayed for rain at the beginning of the season but none was falling. One went out and plowed his dry field and the other waited for it to rain before he did his work...which one was living in faith? Be prepared. It's a good motto.

Mike

On your mark, get set...

This being the first of many blogs for Branches Church, I have to remember that although we are excited about the vision and plans for the future of our church, we are still lining up to the starting mark. We have much work to do in the next three months. We are praying, talking together, recruiting workers, asking a lot of questions, looking for space to meet and how to use it to our best advantage. We've been working with people who have done this kind of thing before and getting their advice as well as rounding up resources. God bless us, everyone!

The most important thing we can do right now is to immerse ourselves into community with each other and continually reinforce the "come as you are" culture we want to create. As we've discovered, people are keeping church, religion, and ultimately Jesus at arms length, so we want to be prepared to meet them as they are, which can be hard for many of us. We're used to people trying to clean up their act before they come to church. We're used to putting on a "happy face" before we "do" Sunday morning with others. We cannot be offended or afraid of holding each other to the task of being accepting, loving, and nurturing. Jesus spent most of his time with people on the streets (in real life) and He championed them and their desire to be redeemed, made whole, fed, and have their questions answered. We will hold to this same mind that was in Christ.

We've been asking, "Why can't church be different?" It can if we do it like Jesus did. We must be willing to defend the vision for Branches "come as you are" culture with everything we've got. Not just "doing church", but "being the church" is the ultimate expression of Christ in the real world today.

Let's go!
Mike