You Are Important

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

Have you ever taken a moment to wonder what a difference you make at PCC? When my family started attending Pathway, the average Sunday attendance was around 500, and we thought that was a large church. Now that the weekend attendance is around 3,000, it would be easy to fall into the mindset that one person really doesn’t make that much of a difference.

"W" #4: LIFE Together

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

In 1939, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book called Life Together. In the book, he explored the gap between the body of Christ as it was described in the book of Acts, which he called a "community of love," and the way it looks to the modern world around us. Nowadays, you can't hardly read a church website or brochure on their small group ministry without seeing these words used together in some fashion. Doing life together. Experiencing life together. Serving life... together. At Pathway, we're no different. If you've done any snooping around, you know that we say our life groups are where we can pursue LIFE together. But here's why our use of the phrase is a little unique (and so much cooler than everyone else's)....

The Illegal Substitution Penalty

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

If you are a football fan (and if you aren’t I would submit you should be!) then you are aware of a penalty that is occasionally flagged called illegal substitution. I must admit that when this penalty is called it always seems like it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. As parents, and specifically men, we can be very guilty of just such a penalty. Only the consequences of repeated substitutions can be much more severe than in a football game. What I mean is this.

The Power of Our Words

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3:2

Ouch. Did you feel that? Probably not…but I’ll bet you have in the past…that little jab as you listened to someone who carelessly spoke without regard to the feelings of others. It may have been intentional or purely accidental, as we never know the path that someone else has travelled.

"W" #12: Return Costumers

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

I remember several years ago I heard a guy say something that I thought was pretty weird. This was an older man that I was in ministry with at the time, and he was known for being kind of a rascal. I forget the context of the comment, and even the exact wording, but somehow the subject of marriage had come up. Now, this guy was married to a sweet woman, and there were some who generally regarded her with a mild sense of pity for the way her evangelist husband would drag her around from this place to that - all in the name of ministry. As we were talking about marriage, on this particular occasion, at some point he added that if anything ever happened to his dear wife, he would just have to get married again. Keep in mind, she was standing right next to him, and was privy to all that was being said. I actually thought it was pretty insensitive, but he was trying to make a point. His intention with that comment was to say that marriage had been such a good experience, he'd readily jump right back into it again if given the chance.

"W" #14: Sharing the Shout-Outs

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

Have you ever been moved by a story? Amanda and I watched the movie Secretariat the other night, and we were inspired. I mean, I've never cared much about race horses, but now I want to be one! It was that inspiring! But seriously, there's just something about that story--in which a house wife is forced to take bold business risks in a time and industry dominated by men, placing her family's future on a horse that was passed over by the experts--that inspires us to follow our hopes and dreams. And part of what makes that story so powerful is that it's true.

"W" #5: Accountability

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

A few weeks ago I began to work through a list of what I'm calling the "wins" for our life groups at PCC. These "wins" are the things, as Reggie Joiner says, that we celebrate as we see them happening in our groups. And this series of posts is designed to clarify those "wins" for our groups. Here's this week's "W": Accountability.

Stepping Out: Part 4

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

The month of November flew by, as we were caught up in the rush of Life on Purpose, and then thrown into the mix of holiday madness. Now that Life on Purpose is officially behind us, however, I wanted to offer a conclusion to the Stepping Out series, and share a few things I learned as my wife and I stepped up to host a group in our neighborhood this fall.

How NOT to be an Annoying Leader

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

I was sitting in my kitchen this morning, sipping some coffee, and I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my Saturday morning. So, naturally, I decided to write a quick post.

A Firm Affirmation

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

One of the most impactfull experiences I've had in my journey as a Christ follower was when a friend and mentor offered a few words of affirmation. They came after a period of time where I had been through probably the darkest year of my life. I had lost my job, we were struggling financially, I had been running from the Lord, and all this was taking a toll on our marriage. For several months I had been opening up to my mentor, sharing my struggles, my fears, and my hurts. And after some time, healing began to take place, and I began to feel that God was calling me into full time vocational ministry. Of course, I immediately began to wrestle with a sense of inadequacy. After all, I had, as I said, been running from the Lord... my relationship with him had been distant, at best, for the better part of three years. And at times, I felt like an 18 year follower of Christ who was still just a spiritual infant. In spite of that, I wanted to at least share this with my mentor, and get his take on it. I still remember the conversation - it was only almost seven years ago.

I told him that I was beginning to feel called back into ministry, but on a full time basis. He asked me what I thought that would look like, and for the first time I knew what it would look like. Youth ministry, I told him. And here's what I expected him to say: That's great, Eric. Now, let's take a look at where you're at spiritually. You've got a lot of work to do to get ready for that calling. Let's take the next year to pray about this, prepare for it, and so on. I'm excited for you... I believe you can do it... but you're just not ready for it yet. 

That's what I expected him to say. But that's not what he said. What he said was, Eric, I wish I had the budget to hire a full time youth pastor... I'd hire you right now. 

Even now, almost seven years later, those words bring such encouragement to me. They were words of affirmation. They were words that said, I believe in you. You can do it. I know where you've been, but I've seen how far you've come. God is at work in you. Keep it up, and follow his lead. 

One of the great things about community is that it provides an environment where affirmation can take place. In fact, one of the things that we've included in the ten habits of journey groups is affirming one another. As groups pursue life together, they have the opportunity to impact the lives of those within the group through words of affirmation. This is one of the reasons why community is so powerful and life-changing. My life was deeply impacted by words of affirmation. Think of how your words of affirmation might impact those in your group.

God has placed gifts and abilities into each one of us. He's working on each of us in different ways. He's nudging each of us in the direction of his will and purpose for our lives. Sometimes all we need is the gentle nudge from a close friend who can speak loving truth into our lives. Sometimes an encouraging word of affirmation is all that's needed to move someone into action. Maybe your words - spoken into the lives of those in your group - will be just what they needed to hear, when they needed to hear it, and will change the course of their lives forever.

Group Facilitators: you have a unique opportunity as you lead your group. You have the opportunity to watch those in your group as they grow and mature in their relationship with Christ. You have the opportunity to observe the gifts and abilities that God has placed within each of them. And you have the privilege to be that voice of affirmation. When you see a gift in someone, acknowledge it. Celebrate it. You may have a future journey group facilitator in your group. Or a future KidCity story teller, or worship team musician, or greeter in your group. You may have a future pastor or missionary in your group, and all they need to hear is someone acknowledge those gifts for them to accept that they're there.

The point is this: affirming one another really can change someone's life. You're voice of encouragement really can have a dramatic impact on those around you. Allow God to use your journey group to be a place where affirmation breaths new life into each one of you.

Take a minute to reflect on a time when someone's words of affirmation impacted you. If you want to, take a moment to share that in a comment on this blog (see the link below).