Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

Archives for March 2010

Did You Know?

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On this St. Patrick’s Day I thought I’d throw out something perhaps you didn’t know.  Patrick who was born in Ireland eventually found himself living in England.  However, he felt a burden to return back to his native land and preach the good news of Christ.  What he found though when he returned was shocking.  The country was about as pagan as it could be.

Patrick decided that he was going to become a missionary his own country.  Slowly but surely he made a difference.  In fact, he founded more than 300 churches and baptized more than 120,000 people. His ministry made such an impact that he came to be known as the one who “found Ireland all heathen and left it all Christian.”

So what about you?  What will you be known for when you die?  Will you leave an eternal legacy like St. Patrick, or are you consumed with getting stuff in this world that will eventually, rust, rot or fade away?

People of United…there are still 70,000 people in Franklin County that don’t know Jesus.  People of Exponential…there are over 425,000 people that don’t yet know Christ in Harrisburg.  I’m sure when St. Patrick arrived in Ireland, the task at hand seemed large and overwhelming, but he started with one and grew from there.  So who’s your one.  Easter is only a few weeks away…who is the one person that you’re investing in to make an eternal difference?

University on Wheels

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There is an old saying that, “Leaders are Readers”.  However, so often in such a fast paced world, it can be difficult to read as much as you might like.  So that’s why I like to say, “Leaders are Learners”.  The key is to be learning as much as you can each and everyday.  So what can you do when you don’t have as much time to read as you’d like?  Simple…turn your car into a University on Wheels.

There are tons of CD’s and MP3’s that can be listened to while you’re driving that will make your drive time more productive.  Having trouble reading the bible?  Ok, listen to it instead.  Need to get some more info on healthy living.  Listen to something.  Have a big project at work you need to have more knowledge for.  Find a book that touches on the subject then buy the audio version instead.

I’m a huge fan of music and periodically you just need some music to listen to while driving, however if you’re smart you’ll start introducing some learning into the mix as well.  Even just 1/2 hour per day will add up to significant amounts of learning over the course of a year.  I started this habit back in the mid 90’s and now I hardly ever listen to music while in the car…between Cd’s and podcasts there is a never ending source of great teaching out there, the question is are you tapping into it?  Leaders are learners…how you doing?

Inside Today’s Experiences

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  • First I love that we don’t change clocks until after the Experiences.
  • So nice to get a regular nights sleep.
  • Except that I woke up early anyway.
  • Because of some unexpected events this past week we weren’t able to do a normal run through on Thursday night so I was bit nervous that everything would be working/look right today.
  • Luckily since I’m preaching a series on worry right now, it wasn’t as worried as I might have normally been.  :)
  • Loved all the music today…good blend of high energy stuff and passionate worship.
  • Andrea and Gayle also did awesome with Scars by Allison Iraheta.
  • Heard her perform it on Idol the other week and knew it would fit well.
  • Love the new stage set that Brian came up with.
  • Looks completely different than anything we’ve done before.
  • Crowds were sparse today…hope the rain didn’t keep people away.
  • Had a lot of fun sharing today’s message.
  • As I said, The bible is not hard to understand”.
  • Just keep reminding yourself that since God loves me more than a bird, I don’t have to worry.
  • Fun singing “Don’t Worry Be Happy” with everyone.
  • Forgot how bad I really sing, until I listened back to it on the recording.
  • We had a breaker keep blowing during the 2nd Experience putting half the stage in the dark.
  • ARRGGGGG!!!!
  • Hate that stuff.
  • Had a group of 6 people from Harrisburg visiting today to get a feel for what’s to come this fall when we move there.
  • I have mixed emotions…sad to be leaving but excited as well to be meeting with people who will be a part of the next phase of our lives.
  • If you haven’t seen it yet, we started a Facebook page for the new church which I’d love for you to join.
  • Wow I’m tired…time for a nap.

Random Thoughts

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Been awhile since I a random thoughts post.  Here we go…

  • Excited about the 60+ resumes that have come in to take over for me at United.
  • Couple of potentially good candidates in that stack.  Pray for the search team to find the right person.
  • Balancing my full-time responsibilities I still have at CFCOG along with starting a new church is interesting.
  • I have a follow-up meeting this Friday with a man that owns one of the buildings we’re looking at.   Please pray about that.
  • We have two really good but vastly different options when it comes to where we’re going to meet.
  • Speaking of buildings, if you know anyone who’s looking to buy a house, steer them our way.  Here’s the listing for our house.
  • Excited about the new series we’re starting this weekend called, Littlefaither:  The Worry Wart Series.
  • Don’t forget we ARE NOT changing our clocks this weekend until after the Sunday morning Experiences.
  • Love that we do this…why lose an hour’s sleep when you don’t have to!
  • It’s amazing the speed I can rip through a whole box of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies.
  • What’s even more amazing is how quickly I can go through two boxes!  :)
  • Really enjoying the warmer weather!
  • I know NASCAR said they we’re going to let the boys be boys this year but the whole Carl Edwards thing was a bit ridiculous.
  • When someone dies in the future they are going to have a lawsuit on their hands for being accomplices in a homicide.
  • The lawyer will argue that because they didn’t do anything about it now, others felt it was ok and the result was death.
  • Speaking of sports, my Caps are kicking some serious butt.  Hope they don’t use up all there good game play in the regular season then falter in the play-offs.
  • Ok, one last sports thing…sorry ladies once my mind goes there it’s hard to stop…This week and the next two are arguably the best all year round.  Can’t wait for March Madness to start…especially since my Terps are playing so well!
  • Now back to our regularly scheduled blog, already in progress…
  • The Toyota with the stuck gas pedal thing had to have been quite frightening…did you see the guys face after he got out and was being interviewed.
  • I think he was in a need of a change of underwear!
  • Can’t believe there are only 9 more episodes of LOST.
  • Please writers don’t let us down…we’ve stuck with you this long…give us a good conclusion or I’ll send the smoke monster to your house.
  • Glad Idol isn’t 5 hours a week anymore.  Even with the ability to speed things up on the DVR, that is still crazy.
  • I really liked Andrew, but he’s been a disappointment recently.  Now I’m thinking a girl might win it…Crystal?
  • Guess that’s enough for now…have a great day!

I Can’t Believe I’m Posting About…

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…Women’s college basketball.  Ok so most of you know I’m a huge sports fan and will watch just about anything.  However, I’ve never been a fan of women’s basketball.  I think in this sport you most see the difference’s in athleticism between men and women and to me a fast break that doesn’t end with a dunk is just a bit boring.   However, I’m not posting this to get into a conversation about that, instead I want to talk about…

The University of Connecticut team that last night won their 70th game in a row.  This is the second time they’ve done this, but what stood out to me in the article I just read about it was that every victory in this streak has been by at least 10 points or more.  In other words, they’re very good at what they do and they don’t let the outcome in doubt.

To me that’s what churches should be all about.  Work together as a team to do the very best you can and each week make sure the devil knows that he’s not just beat, but stomped on big time.  I believe we need to run up the score on him.  Never should a Sunday pass us by that we just barely got through.  Never should we go into an Experience/Service without a game plan to severely humiliate our opponent.  God is the Harlem Globetrotters, the devil is the Washington Generals.  We should make him look foolish and our record should be unblemished.

Here’s the bad news.  The church in America is on the decline.  While the population has increased…and surprisingly people’s interest in God has increased over the past decade, statistics tell us actual attendance is on the decline.   In fact the amount of unchurched in our nation has doubled since 1994.  Is the problem with God?  No, He hasn’t changed.  Do we need to give up on church and do something different?  No the church was Jesus idea and He said the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against it.  Do we need to change our strategy in how we do church?  Yes!

The same game plans that won basketball games back in the 1950’s no longer works today.  Same goes for football.  The best teams and coaches keep up with what’s winning now, not what won 50 years ago, 20 years ago or even 5 years ago for that matter.  Our culture in America is always changing and either we keep up and redeem it or our culture looks at us like we’re in the stone-age and thinks of us a boring and antiquated.  That’s not a reflection on God, that’s a reflection on us and our methods.

I had no idea where I was going with this post when I first started writing, but it’s become pretty clear that this was meant for pastors and church leaders to examine your methods.  Remember, the message never changes, but our methods must.  Are you just barely surviving and sometimes that devil wins a game or two, or are you like the UConn women’s team?  Each week executing your game plan and running up the score?  Geno Auriemma the UConn coach gave the predictable, “We just take it one game at a time” quote when asked about their success.  But there’s truth there.  Just concentrate on creating the best worship experience you can this week.  After that’s done, repeat it again the next week and then the week after that.  Before long you’ll have put together a nice streak and the devil will have been put on notice that he’s in for a losing battle.  So be strong!  Be courageous!  Do not fear for God is with you and will give you victory!