a treasure to pursue

My home page is set to cbsnews.com. So, whenever I open my web browser I get a quick look at the latest news. The top headline just now caught my attention more than most: “$500M Treasure Ship Found in Atlantic”

Wow. That’s exciting. Fortune, adventure, scuba diving, 17 tons of colonial-era silver and gold coins… maybe I chose the wrong profession.

But then I remembered what Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like. “…the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was searching for fine pearls. When he found a valuable pearl, he went away, sold everything he had, and bought it.” I guess that’s what we’re trying to do. We’ve found something that’s worth our full attention. Something that’s worth giving up everything else in life. And, we’re pursuing it with passion.

So, some have asked me recently when our next service project to the poor will be. Let me fill you in on what’s going on:

People who are excited about BEING the church (not just going to church) are coming out of the woodwork and saying they want to get involved. We’ve been needing people to organize and lead service projects, outreach projects, prayer events, etc to help provide opportunities for all of us to BE the church during the week. So far, here’s who is helping to lead the charge:

Randy Hill – Randy is working on a BBQ cookout and painting project at Trailer City. It’s going to be great for building relationships with some of the poor people in that area. If you want to get involved in this, email Randy @ randhil@regent.edu

Jason Plumley – Jason is working on an outreach to some of the local nursing homes in the area. Is there a better way to grow as a disciple of Christ than to serve and share the gospel with the undervalued elderly in our community? Imagine sitting down and writing a letter to a son or daughter for hands that are too old and tired to write themselves.

David Crane – David and the rest of the Life Ministry team are continuing to advance our efforts in fighting against what is clearly one of the most (if not THE most) important social injustice issues facing the church today…abortion.

Emily Teagle & Doug Drader – This project, called “Less is More” is going to be awesome. Imagine if everyone in our church were to simplify their lives by bringing in their possessions that they don’t really need or use. We all have those things that we don’t need but we hold on to anyway. With “Less is More” we’ll benefit by simplifying our lives and becoming (hopefully) a bit less materialistic. But that’s only the first part. We’re then going to sell the items and use the profit to do something awesome like dig a well in Africa or buy a trailer for a widow who can’t afford a home. Stay tuned for more info. ALSO, we still need one more person to help lead this in order to launch it. If you are interested, contact Emily at emailtheteagle@yahoo.com

So, that’s not just to inform you of what’s going on. This is an INVITATION to join in on this movement. If you are interested in getting more involved, contact me at briansweet77@yahoo.com Let’s pursue the kingdom of heaven with all that we have and all that we are. Let’s pursue it with passion.