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H1N1 Close to Home

  [Life Issues]
11/12/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

H1N1 is the big news buzz these days. It has also hit close to home—my home, that is. My daughter and now wife have contracted the bug. So far, Meghan is getting the worst of it, with a temp as high as 105. Seeing my family under the weather from something unseen makes me think of the similarities to temptation and sin. Both H1N1 and temptation arrive uninvited and at first undetected. When they find a host, both multiply into nasty consequences.

If only a single exposure to sin would result in immunity from contracting it again! But it isn’t so, is it? Just as our physical health includes vigilant habits like hand-washing, our spiritual health includes steering clear of influences which we know lead to sin.  

A Time for Action

  [Life Issues]
11/08/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

Great time at church this morning! Six leaders talked about why they're accepting accountability to lead us forward in several new initiatives aimed at becoming more effective as a church. After they spoke, we asked everyone to join one of the action teams. It was heartwarming to see members coming forward to bring their response cards. Now the fun begins!

Living Into Our Future Story

  [Life Issues]
11/06/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

I've been waiting for this Sunday! After months of church-wide prayer, discussion and dreaming aloud together, we're ready to launch several initiatives that will give us traction as we look to the future. I'm excited that six of our seven initiatives have a leader in place, ready to recruit their teams.

Our initiatives are:

1. Make personal investing & inviting our regular practice. Everyone needs Jesus Christ, and so we want to invite friends who have no church home to come and see Christ with us. Leader Kim Bouwens beautifully embodies this already. Just this year, one of her long-time friends has discovered the love of Christ.

2. Engage in effective corporate outreach to the community where God has placed us. Leader Patrick Carl already has a March start date for beginning with a Financial Peace University class. Given the current financial skittishness, we're glad to offer training in how to handle money wisely.

3. Broaden our outreach by adding a second weekend worship service next fall. Although we don't have the leader identified for this key initiative yet, we want to pray and look for the right person. We value a variety of approaches to reach different kinds of people, while aligning our ministries around the shared theme of knowing & honoring Jesus Christ.

4. Make our children's ministries wonderfully attractional. We have a great team who serve kids well, and find ourselves in an area populated by young families. Leader Nancy Dain-Cooper was telling me just this week how her daughter loves coming to Kids Creek & feels loved by her teacher. That's the kind of gold we're after!

5. Effective connecting, discipleship & leadership development. Huge in scope, this initiative encompasses from a guest's first visit all the way through identifying upcoming leaders. Leader Steve Gelwicks handles complexity well and brings a proven track record of following Christ and leading well.

6. Cross-cultural missions. There's something powerful about staying in touch with what God is doing around the world. Leaders Scott & Cindy Malefyt bring a love of missions, and even now are preparing to lead our high school students on a summer missions trip to El Salvador in 2010.

7.  Orchestrated prayer undergirding all that we do. Leader Chuck Seeger is a man of prayer and a team player. His team will organize prayer throughout the congregation, so that all of our ministries are done in the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore effective.

Fall Creek's future story now online

  [Life Issues]
09/06/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

If you're wondering what this church is about, check out our strategic vision presentation video under the "Sermons" section of our website or at http://fallcreek.org/content.cfm?id=213. It is the cumulative result of a hundred days of prayer and much discussion and discernment. The key vision statement throughout is what's most important: "Knowing & honoring Jesus Christ--Good news for everyone and all of life." 

Grab a drink, turn up your speakers, and enjoy!

Back & Refreshed!

  [Life Issues]
07/24/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

Fresh back from summer vacation, and refreshed. A friend's wedding in New York gave us all the excuse we needed to head for the hills--the Adirondack Mountains, to be precise. It was wonderfully restful to spend several unrushed days in the midst of the high peaks region, with 46 mountain peaks reaching more than 4000 feet in elevation. A highlight was the vista from atop Whiteface Mountain, a favorite skiing haunt of mine from years past & site of the 1980 Olypics skiing events. At 4,867 feet abouve sea level, we had a stunning 360 degree panorama of verdant mountains & lakes. And way off in the distance, we could make out the Montreal skyline through binoculars. Beautiful!

The Uninvited Guest

  [Life Issues]
07/05/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

This past week I was asked to officiate the funeral of one of our members' relatives. Seeing the grief death brings to surviving family members and friends led me to this insightful passage from Walter Wangerin's book "Mourning Into Dancing." Wangerin writes:
“Uninvited, unappreciated. Feared, in fact. Abhorred! There comes to any party, at any time, one who causes such dismay and hatred that the people respond by not responding at all: they ignore her. They know they can’t command her. The silent part of their souls knows that she controls, and she is not kind. She’ll do as she pleases. So they pretend she isn’t there, that she’s not anywhere. And this is the marvelous thing: they succeed! Though she continues to stand beside them, breathing against their necks, they dance their fervent, grinning dances, by motion alone denying her presence until she touches them, one by one or two by two, and the game is up, and the dance is done, and none can refuse her. None. And then her name is on the lips of those whose dancing she destroyed. Her name is…death."

He's right. I value giving families room to grieve rather than presenting the funeral as a celebration of the one now removed from us. Time to celebrate will come. No doubt at the after-funeral reception, stories came up about this loved one which brought forth familiar laughter. That's good for the soul, too.

I'm grateful for caring people, a congregation quick to come alongside the family. Even when the dance is interrupted, thank God, he sends his people to lift up the weary: the hands of Him who invited, "Come to me, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

The Making of a Leader

  [Life Issues]
06/23/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

I've been thinking lately about what goes into the making of a good leader. There has been much written in the past couple of decades about leadership. Preparing for next Sunday's message, I find myself examining the life of Old Testament leader Samuel through the lens of God's way of shaping him as a leader.

Typical messages at Fall Creek have us exploring one key passage of Scripture, mining its meaning and application for today. This coming Sunday will be different in an exciting way: we're going to overview Samuel's entire life--24 chapters in the Bible--in one shot. What we're looking for are the leadership lessons, both positive and negative, from one man's story of the making of a leader.

My mind is filled with ideas from Samuel's life and from leadership lessons I've gleaned along the way. Also coming into play are the writings of leaders who continue to mentor me, including J. Oswald Sanders (Spiritual Leadership), John Maxwell (Leadership Gold), Bill Hybels (When Leadership and Discipleship Collide), and John Bogle (Enough: True Measures of Money, Business and Life).

Such a wealth is found in Scripture! Reminds me of the words of Jerome, the first to translate the Bible--in his case, from Hebrew & Greek into Latin. Jerome observed, "The Scriptures are shallow enough for a baby to come and drink without fear of drowning, and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever touching bottom." Looking forward to diving in this Sunday!

Follow me on Facebook

  [Life Issues]
06/16/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

Snag! Just locked in on http://www.facebook.com/kencav as my user address. Checking out Fall Creek? Feel free to follow me on Facebook.

What is the good news (gospel)...in less than 2 minutes.

  [Life Issues]
06/10/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

What Is The Gospel? - Mark Dever from Shane Trammel on Vimeo.

God is leading us!

  [Life Issues]
06/10/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

Fantastic time last Sunday at Fall Creek. As a congregation, we clearly discerned God's calling for us at this time is to focus our energy on getting the word out about what God is doing here, so that many more can join in. God is putting big dreams in our hearts! In order to walk into the future we believe God is calling us toward, we are looking for like-minded Christ-followers to link hands with us. The dream is that in the years to come, there will be many who will be able to tell of finding Christ here--all starting with a simple invitation to come and see.  If you love Jesus Christ and want to see his kingdom come in this community, let's talk!

Take, Bless, Break, Give

  [Life Issues]
06/10/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

Four Words from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Listening for God's leading

  [Life Issues]
06/06/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

Tomorrow is a big day for Fall Creek! Since January, we have given more energy & attention than ever before to seeking God for what specifically he is calling this church to focus on in the years ahead. We started with a January weekend devoted to accurately assessing our strengths and weaknesses, along with typical trends of churches over time.

For the 100 days that followed, we gave ourselves to meeting 10 times over a hundred days, for about 100 minutes each time, for prayer & discussion in groups of three. Each triplet had a guide focusing on ten characteristics of vibrant, God-honoring churches.

A half-way check-in of all the groups surfaced the beginning of a few recurring themes. In May, a second weekend brought everyone together to see and analyze ideas for Fall Creek's coming years offered by each triplet. It was beautiful to see the heart for God reflected in the ideas that came forth. From there, we formed three writing teams, each to develop a distinct picture of Fall Creek in the year 2020.

One team took an incremental approach to change so that friendships stay strong, another looked at significant change aimed at attracting more people so we can expand our ministries,and a third team looked as radical change aimed at impacting the community rather than focusing on Sunday ministries.

Tomorrow, each team presents their picture of the future in story form, as though it is the year 2020 and we're describing Fall Creek. The idea is to see and hear what each approach could lead to. Everyone will be given a feedback form and asked to prayerfully identify which scenario they think best captures the future into which God is calling us.

Based on what the congregation discerns together, we will craft our best discernment of Fall Creek's future story, presenting it in August. From there, we will begin aligning our actions with the future into which we believe God is calling us.

The beauty of it all is that God answers those who seek him, who take the time to listen for his best. Trusting in the Lord of the Church to guide us, I'm eager to see the next step. Reign in your Church, Lord Jesus Christ!

God Encounter

  [Life Issues]
05/29/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

God met me powerfully tonight. Fell to my knees in worship at the privilege of coming before the holy God.

At a gathering of some 1,600 pastors, missionaries & church members from across the nation, an African-American pastor brought the message at tonight’s Communion service, with a few distinctives of black preaching. It was wonderful, joyful, & heartfelt. A highlight was when he preached through the alphabet (!), highlighting who Christ is to us who believe. When the time came for singing, I was brought to my knees in worship and the tears flowed, so thankful for Christ’s embrace, that he has opened the way to the Father for us. Oh, how I long for many more to know this love.

Remembering

  [Life Issues]
05/26/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

An annual tradition continued in my home town yesterday, one I miss seeing. Carle Place is an unusual mix: a little less than one mile square and one of New York's smallest school districts, it's also an easy commute to NYC, with its own train station and access to parkways. A little more than 5,000 people call Carle Place home. Many who grow up there return, though the cost of homes has skyrocketed. I think I understand why they do.

Every Memorial Day, Carle Place joins towns across the country in remembering the sacrifices that made the freedoms we enjoy possible. Members of the all-volunteer Fire Department wash and wax the fire trucks. Just about everybody who might march in a parade gets dressed up to make the event. There are Cub Scouts & Brownies, Boy & Girl Scouts, every Little League team member & coach, Carle Place's firefighters & EMTs...you get the idea.

The undisputed heroes, however, are the veterans. Members of the local American Legion put on their hats and jackets and march, a range of ages displaying the generations who have sacrificed to preserve our freedoms. My Dad is among them. A WWII vet now in his 80's, he's still out there marching. The ranks to which he belongs are shrinking: it's said that 2,000 American WWII veterans die daily.

On Memorial Day in Carle Place, veterans living as well as those who are gone are honored. The parade stops in front of the American Legion Hall, and a plaque is read with the names of local residents who died in wartime. There's Roy, our neighbor from across the street, who was shot down over Vietnam. The rescue attempt failed and cost several others their lives. Roy was listed as a POW, but when the POWs came home, he wasn't among them. No one knows what happened to Roy. His name is on The Wall in D.C., and on that plaque in Carle Place. He is not forgotten. Every year we pause to remember, before enjoying the rest of the day with its barbecues and games.

One of our freedoms in the U.S. is that of open debate. Today's news carries the leaked name of our new President's first pick for the Supreme Court. No doubt the verbal volleys will begin shortly, and who is picked is important. Memorial Day reminds us of the cost paid--with names attached--for the privileges we might otherwise take for granted. I remember and am grateful. I only wish I could have been in Carle Place yesterday to see my Dad march. I would salute him and those alongside him.

Heroes in my head

  [Life Issues]
05/16/2009
By Cavanagh, Ken

I’ve got heroes on my mind.
A few thoughts:

• Years ago Tina Turner sang “We don’t need another hero.”
• 9/11 showed us a new generation of heroes.
• They inspire us.
• Because of them, we aim higher.
• Heroes bring out the best in us.

Isn’t that something—the best in someone else can bring out the best in us?

 

That's why we’re devoting this summer at Fall Creek to heroes from another era—several Old Testament heroes. Like our contemporaries, they saw the desperate need for someone to step up and act. They did so, sometimes at great cost but always worth it.

 

I believe it’s the same today. We live in a time that cries out for new heroes. I pray God will use the summer series to call out the hero in each of us.

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