Pete Menconi - Don't Worry About Being Right; Be Righteous

The NCS chapter in Winston-Salem had a great visit from Pete Menconi, head of missions and outreach programs at Greenwood Community Church in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Pete was in town for a family wedding, but took the time to share some of his thoughts about generational differences that exist in modern churches.

Pete is the author of the book, The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to www.com. Pete also made reference to David Kinnaman's book, unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters. As these titles clearly suggest, congregations across the country and across denominational lines have issues with generational disconnection - in the other words, the old folks and the young folks aren't able to relate, and the generations in the middle aren't helping much either. It's a scary trend.

This is a challenge at my church, Centenary United Methodist in Winston-Salem, NC. And although I believe our congregation would rather widely share the view that there are gaps in our ability to 'blend' the generations in any form of worship, I'm not certain anything is being done to stir things up and make it happen. As a mid-generation member, I am fairly directly entrenched in a ministry that suffers from the disconnect.

As lay minister for a youth-driven outreach called Love Thy Neighbor, I help our high school youth to plan and participate in monthly events that feed the homeless in the greater downtown Winston-Salem community. And while this is an amazing opportunity for teenagers to see a side of life that most are not directly subjected to in their daily routines, I am encouraged by their willingness to not only serve, but also to establish relationships with the downtrodden and often lonely neighbor participants who attend the LTN events.

But too often we find that our greater congregation complains about the presence of the neighbors, or 'those stinky people' as they have been labelled, in the hallways of our church. Heaven forbid one of our 'neighbors' should come to know Christ at our church! It is a tough dynamic with which we deal, be a very real one. And a sad reality at that.

And so I was profoundly struck by one of Pete Menconi's quotes during his NCS visit - and titled this blog post accordingly - "Don't worry about being right; be righteous!" Pete also reminded us that God is already at work - we just need to show up! I'm saddened to think that we often miss the opportunities to serve God just because someone is different than us and make us uncomfortable. What in the world are we teaching our youth when we focus on a man's odor, rather than his soul?...

Yount Shaw - Honduras Medical Mission and The Power of Prayer

This week at NCS we thoroughly enjoyed a visit from Winston-Salem native, Yount Shaw - a medical missionary doing great work at the Hospital Loma de Luz in Balfate, Honduras.

Yount's testimony is one of those stories that reminds us that God's plan for us may not always coincide with the plans we are attempting to make for ourselves. Yount made reference to Daniel and the manner in which God called him to serve the kingdom - and it most certainly wasn't easy for Daniel! But just as Daniel did, Yount curbed his own ideas and agenda to allow God to call him into action - where He wanted and when He wanted.

Having recently started my own company (Frogman Interactive), I have certainly struggled to 'control' all of the aspects of running a business - let alone the many aspects of my life as a struggling Christian. But if the testimonies shared at the lodge have reminded me of anything, it's definitely that God is in control. Always.

How did Yount (and Daniel) do it? One word - prayer. Here's that great quote Yount shared by Martin Tupper:

"Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence."

I also liked this gem: "Not praying with your wife in the morning is like giving up a gimme putt."

I'm grateful Yount shared the wonderful news of his missionary work with NCS. To make a financial contribution to Yount's mission, click here to make an online donation using the form found at the bottom of the page.

As for the prevalence of prayer in this posting - how's this for timing? Check out this photo of the praying mantis on my office window Friday afternoon. -David

Bill Wright - Sewing, Watering, Reaping

Bill Wright, a Winston-Salem resident and former lawyer with Kilpatrick Stockton, paid a visit to the NCS brotherhood on July 8th, while 'home' during a brief return from China. Bill is teaching constitutional law at a high-profile university in one of China's larger cities (5.9 million). But Bill is also spreading good news and he talked about his efforts to sew and reap in a land where he is truly a foreigner.

The previous weekend, I had taken my 6-year old son to see WALL-E: another stellar installment in the Disney Pixar series of incredible animated movies that entertain both kids and their parents. If you haven't seen this flick, I highly recommend it.

In short, WALL-E is the lone resident on future earth and is responsible for cleaning up all the trash created by humans. Then one day a space ship lands and leaves behind a state-of-the-art robot whose prime directive is to discover plant life on earth. This probe, named EVE, is solely focused on achieving 'her' mission - and isn't interested in bonding with the perpetually curious and equally lonely WALL-E

But as time passes and WALL-E remains persistent in his efforts to engage EVE for companionship, an amazing transformation takes place in EVE - and she suddenly develops an interest in learning more about another and what the significance of a relationship might provide her; all while still trying to honor the prime directive engrained in her programming.

To tell you more about the plot would potentially ruin it, so I'll stop there. But I must tell you the parallels between the efforts of WALL-E and what Bill Wright and his wife have elected to do in China - a country that does not infuse religion with cultural popularity - were undeniable. I can only paraphrase (at best) one of Bill's comments, but he spoke of how one seed can change perspective and open a new calling. That's powerful!

I also liked his analogy of the need for two chopsticks - one for support and the other for encouragement. I hope the return to NCS somehow gave Bill a healthy dose of both - we're certainly all behind him in Spirit!

Kevin Frack: The Spiritual History of Winston-Salem

After spending a month away, the NCS faithful willingly returned to the River Birch Lodge earlier this month for another wonderful gathering of faith-centric fellowship. Kevin Frack, formerly the pastor at Ardmore Moravian Church and a long-time brother at NCS, shared a wonderful spiritual history of Winston-Salem, NC with us on August 1, 2008.

Kevin framed his lesson by alerting us to the significance of an Experience Awakening - reminding us that God remakes people who are undone. How thankful we all are for that grace! I'm relieved to know that no matter how aimless I feel at times in my walk, I have a path upon which I can "re-set" my course. Kevin's reference to scripture reminds us that the groundwork for all that we do was laid out for each of us by our savior...

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 3:11

Here are some other topics and links pertaining to Kevin's visit and key moments linked to the history of Winston-Salem - please add others if I've forgotten anything!

• Jan Hus and the Bethlehem Chapel, Prague
• Great Awakening of 1727 - Herrnhut, Germany
• John Carteret and the House of Passage - Bethabara
• History of Bethania Moravian Church

In Him,
David