Last Sunday’s worship service featured the largest collection of Hawaiian shirts that we’ve seen since visiting the Hilo Hattie store in Honolulu. All those bright colours made for a very celebrative event and we want to thank each person who came to church wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sarong or lei. Thanks, especially, to Yolanda. It was her idea. As a member of the Visual Arts team, she sure knows how to dress up not only a church stage but also a church family! For us, it was a very joyful welcome home.
Now that we’re back, we find ourselves still processing everything that we experienced, studied and learned on our sabbatical. How did we study? What did we learn?
Almost immediately we established a daily routine that saw Marja and me spending each weekday morning reading the books that we had put on our reading list. Most were written by Wayne Cordeiro, the founding pastor of New Hope Oahu, but there were other ministry related books and articles that we also read and discussed. Additionally, we listened to sundry lectures and sermons on the Internet, as well as every message preached at Hope Fellowship during our absence. These study times filled our tanks.
That morning routine is one of the things that we miss from our three months in Hawaii. It affirmed one of Wayne Cordeiro’s pet themes: don’t just rely on Sunday sermons; feed yourself daily with God’s Word. With the return of normal life, we have continued to hold each other accountable for spending at least fifteen minutes alone each day, reading and reflecting on a Bible passage. Those fifteen minutes are precious!
How else did we study? What else did we learn?
We studied creation by hiking trails that took us through rain forests and into the mountains where we learned about God the artist. We interacted with Polynesian, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, African American and Caucasian people and learned about God’s beautifully diverse image. We studied the worship services that we attended and learned about God’s victory over sin and death in Christ. We studied the ministries of New Hope Church by participating in their small groups and work with the homeless, and learned more about God’s compassion. We studied the news and gained an appreciation for Hawaii’s unique challenges and learned about God’s concerns.
This sabbatical, however, was not so much about our growth individually as it is about our growth as a congregation. I am convinced that God intends to use the things we studied and learned to lead our whole church family to the next level of our faith journey and commitment to Christ. I’m not sure what “the next level” will look like for us individually or corporately, but I sure am interested in finding out. I hope you are, too.
We know that the Lord has stretched us in ways that we don’t fully understand yet. Last Sunday’s service gave a hint of some of the ways that we’ve grown. In the coming weeks, one bite sized chunk at a time, I hope to share more sabbatical fruit.
At our Hawaiian Shirt Sunday, I loved telling several stories related to the theme of being Christ’s ambassadors. This Sunday, I will tell some other stories that highlight the importance of belonging to one another. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to inspiring and challenging you with other stories and ideas that have come out of our sabbatical experience. Hopefully, we will be encouraged by these hopeful glimpses of the abundant life that God has in store for those who choose to follow Jesus.
- Pastor Peter
Now that we’re back, we find ourselves still processing everything that we experienced, studied and learned on our sabbatical. How did we study? What did we learn?
Almost immediately we established a daily routine that saw Marja and me spending each weekday morning reading the books that we had put on our reading list. Most were written by Wayne Cordeiro, the founding pastor of New Hope Oahu, but there were other ministry related books and articles that we also read and discussed. Additionally, we listened to sundry lectures and sermons on the Internet, as well as every message preached at Hope Fellowship during our absence. These study times filled our tanks.
That morning routine is one of the things that we miss from our three months in Hawaii. It affirmed one of Wayne Cordeiro’s pet themes: don’t just rely on Sunday sermons; feed yourself daily with God’s Word. With the return of normal life, we have continued to hold each other accountable for spending at least fifteen minutes alone each day, reading and reflecting on a Bible passage. Those fifteen minutes are precious!
How else did we study? What else did we learn?
We studied creation by hiking trails that took us through rain forests and into the mountains where we learned about God the artist. We interacted with Polynesian, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, African American and Caucasian people and learned about God’s beautifully diverse image. We studied the worship services that we attended and learned about God’s victory over sin and death in Christ. We studied the ministries of New Hope Church by participating in their small groups and work with the homeless, and learned more about God’s compassion. We studied the news and gained an appreciation for Hawaii’s unique challenges and learned about God’s concerns.
This sabbatical, however, was not so much about our growth individually as it is about our growth as a congregation. I am convinced that God intends to use the things we studied and learned to lead our whole church family to the next level of our faith journey and commitment to Christ. I’m not sure what “the next level” will look like for us individually or corporately, but I sure am interested in finding out. I hope you are, too.
We know that the Lord has stretched us in ways that we don’t fully understand yet. Last Sunday’s service gave a hint of some of the ways that we’ve grown. In the coming weeks, one bite sized chunk at a time, I hope to share more sabbatical fruit.
At our Hawaiian Shirt Sunday, I loved telling several stories related to the theme of being Christ’s ambassadors. This Sunday, I will tell some other stories that highlight the importance of belonging to one another. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to inspiring and challenging you with other stories and ideas that have come out of our sabbatical experience. Hopefully, we will be encouraged by these hopeful glimpses of the abundant life that God has in store for those who choose to follow Jesus.
- Pastor Peter
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