A Note from Our Pastor about this Past Sunday

Hey Friends,

Wanted to pass along this note from our senior pastor Ben Cachiaras. If you absolutely hate the church for its supposed hypocrisy or maybe you're burnt out from being a part of a church that makes you feel like it's going nowhere, this note is for you! Enjoy, maybe even get involved:

Hi Mountain friends,

Sunday was one of those days we'll all remember for a long, long time. I believe we all heard from God and were given a simple, practical way to put feet to the story Jesus told about being a neighbor who serves like Jesus. I think the Lord helped us see a need, feel something, and then do something we could do to be a doulos - one who serves God by serving others. Sunday at all three venues was God's Frat Party at its best.

It's not every Sunday you're invited to leave your shoes for people who need them. But that's what we did. What a powerful scene. I sat stunned and happy, proud, outclassed and overwhelmed all at the same time, watching people pour down the aisles to leave their shoes. They left their cowboy boots, their brand new Nikes, their pumps, boat shoes, heels, and wing tips. There were big flip flops next to baby shoes, along with Chuck Taylors, surf shoes, sneakers and fuzzy fashion boots. As the worship continued and shoes piled up in all our venues, I think we all felt the freedom and lightness that comes from giving. With 40% of the world going shoeless, it's a small act of kindness to make a practical difference.

One woman was angry. She was not the only one. She left church with shoes in hand. "These are my new shoes." She got out to her car and couldn't leave. She stormed back in and with a melted heart left her shoes in the pile. Her anger was at herself for feeling so attached to her new shoes, when there are 300 million children with none.

My wife Karla attended a baby shower Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Richardson was there, one of our eighty year old members, as classy and dignified as any one you will ever meet. There she sat in her beautiful dress, pantyhose, and bare feet. She'd left her shoes at church.

After the service, I sat for a while on the front row, before a mountain of shoes, symbols of sacrifice, worship, and love. Along came a young mother with a couple of kids in tow, about 4 and 7 years old. They stared at the pile of shoes like it was a holy monument. She whispered some explanation in their ears. Immediately her daughter reached down, yanked off her shiny white Sunday dress sandals, and her eyes asked the question for her: "Can I give them, Mommy?" The woman nodded yes, and the little girl and the little boy left their tiny shoes on the pile, sending them off with love. Soon, some mother in Haiti will be handed that white pair of sandals and told they are from Jesus.

Many others carried their shoes to their car, eager to come back this week with pairs of new shoes for kids in Romania.

One friend said he went without shoes all day and his feet were so sore! Mine too. A poignant reminder of the discomfort we are spared, and what much of the world lives with daily. Facebook is jammed with pictures and powerful stories from the day.

Let me try to clarify what the plan is moving forward and explain things for those of you who weren't present (you can always go online and LISTEN to the Sundays you miss.)

1. Haiti: The gently worn shoes are for HAITI and are being distributed through Soles4Souls. Yes, you can still donate used shoes for Haiti - but this Sunday, May 23, will be the last day we will collect them. You can do so at all three venues.

2. Romania: We are now collecting new shoes for Romania which will be distributed by Remember the Children (CLICK HERE for the brochure that explains how it all works and our partnership with them.). You can also visit their website at www.Remember-the-children.org where there is more information about what is being done nationwide to gather shoes for Romania. Mountain is concentrating our collection of shoes for Romania from now through Sunday, June 27. So you may bring new shoes of any size - kids or adults - and place them in the collection containers in the Commons area of the New Life Center & Cook Auditorium any day of the week and at the Bel Air location on Sundays only from now through June 27. You may also make a monetary donation to help with shipping or purchasing shoes by going to the collection locations on Sunday and giving cash or check, which will be used by Remember the Children this Fall. If you have interest in going to Romania to help distribute, check out the brochure I mentioned a moment ago.

3. Go viral. "What about sharing this idea with my 10 friends?" Go for it. Have a shoeless day at work. Why not get your friends involved in gathering shoes for Romania? Use the online brochure if you want to. People who aren't Christians often want to help others, too. One group of ladies is having a shoe drive in their neighborhood, and already have word out and are arranging a pick up on Friday. Others are posting information about it all on Facebook or using email chains. Great. Shoe drives from this point forward should be focused on new shoes for Romania, and can be brought to the church anytime until June 27, our last collection day.

4. Help: We need some help binding donated shoes in rubber bands, counting, and packing them into crates. If you, your friends, your small group, or family want to help with this important part of making this happen, please drop us a note at shoes@mountainchristian.org (or if you don't do email, call the church office) to say you can help and which session you plan to help with. Happy hands are needed to help at the following times in the NLC:

1. Wednesday, May 19, noon - 2 PM
2. Wednesday, May 19, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
3. Thursday, May 20, 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Be sure to contact us so we can contact you if the work is already done and we cancel work sessions.

Also - we are looking for a way to get several pallets of shoes down to Nashville sometime during the week of May 24. Anyone got access to a truck who is game for a road trip? Write us at shoes@mountainchristian.org to let us know.

5. Share. I'd love to hear your shoe story. What happened on Sunday, and what is God saying to and doing in you since? If you want to tell what it was like from your perspective, or talk about some other aspect of Shoe Sunday, write us at shoes@mountainchristian.org.

That's all for now. Spread the word. "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

See you Sunday, shoes or no shoes. Either way it's holy ground.

Ben

P.S. We begin a really important new series about our priorities in life - and the distractions that can pull us away from a life devoted to God. It's called American Idols and would be a great series to invite friends to who do not currently have any church home. See you then.

I think I can, I think I can... and then I crashed.

I can't believe it's been over 6 weeks since I wrote last. Truth be told, it's exciting to see life change happen, but for a lot of us, pursuing a life that matters can quickly and unknowingly become a pursuit of burn out.

Many of us grew up hearing the story of The Little Engine that Could. Thanks to the wonder that is wikipedia, I've provided the short version:

A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cards on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill "I can't; that is too much a pull for me," said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. "I think I can," puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, "I--think--I--can, I--think--I--can." It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could."

A great story, with an obvious moral: Work hard, never give up, always persevere, and you will always come out on top. Inspired by this classic tale, I felt obligated to write the sequel:

News of the little engine who could spread far and wide. Here was a train who really could do anything! He always thought he could do it, and he never said "no" to anyone.

Before long, the little engine forgot all about his family of trains from which he came. Those who were once close to his heart quickly slipped to the caboose of his mind. Local engineers said if he didn't slow down, the steam from his stack and the heat from his furnace would soon burn out.

Always persevering, the little engine pressed on. "I know I can, I know I can," proclaimed the little engine.

And forgetting to balance his work with his family, never taking time to really plug into his source of energy, the little engine accomplished many wonderful deeds that people still speak about to this day!

And the little engine? One day he woke up and realized all that he had lost but before he could correct his course, he crashed. He died: young, rusted, and alone.

The End

In case you missed the moral, let me say it like this. My dad spent most of his life telling me to grow up fast because he wouldn't be around forever. Toward the last few years of his life, he started telling me to slow down, that I was going to burn out. I've still got a long way to go before I can hear this advice, but I thank God that in the midst of all that God has been doing in my life and in the church community where I serve, enough people have gotten in my face to challenge me to put first things first. In the words of Andy Stanley, "No one retires to their office."

Of course, life is all about tension. Some people find themselves so complacent and lazy that they haven't yet begun to reach their full potential. If you're like me though, you've made the opposite error. You're pushing too hard in your work. You sense that you're called to do something great, but you're striving for it on your own power, not God's.

As much as Jesus says we're to do great things, his calling is covered with a plea to rhythm, relationship, and rest:

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him produces much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Abiding comes first, then we produce. We can do nothing that matters without the power of God within us.

Let's also not forget Jesus asking, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest."

Friends, sometimes in life, we find ourselves in unhealthy rhythms where we constantly think we can. My prayer for you is that you would open your eyes to the crash that may be just around the corner. May you seek comfort, rest, and healing in the only person that can refuel and restore your strength!