Hi Ren Family!
Today I will be taking a pause from the Ephesians teaching series to give you an important talk about reopening. As you may have noticed there is much division in the church world over this and it’s getting messy and political. I discuss the conundrum we are in, explain what reopening would mean for us and cast some fresh vision for summer church life. Watch the video linked above for all the details.
It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve written a newsletter. Sorry to disappear but I desperately needed some time off. Since the pandemic began I’ve been working (and thinking) at an unhealthy pace just wanting to pastor well through all this. As usual, this lifestyle of excessive mental work and no rest caught up to me and caused me to crash a bit. Some of you have been worried about me. Thanks for worrying! I’m taking it slower and feeling much better. Each day my strength seems to be increasing. But please continue to pray for me.
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Hello Ren family and friends!
What a beautiful service last week featuring about a dozen Ren people who each made home videos as a way to minister to us. I was so refreshed by it. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the many amazing people who are part of the Ren church family. If you missed the online service you can still access it on the homepage of our website.
Hello Ren family!
This Sunday you are in for a special treat as you’ll hear from about a dozen Ren folks who have put together short home videos to inspire and encourage the church. I’m especially excited about this because I’m tired of watching so much of myself on Sundays. It’s like the “Scott show” :)
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Hello Ren Family!
I am at my office and just finished the final piece for this Sunday’s service. Filming has been fun but is quite exhausting. We shot the worship Monday night. My sermon was Thursday and today I did the opening and closing pieces. I really hope everyone is encouraged by the service. I’m praying much that God would really move upon hearts as they watch.
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Today, as many of you are, I’m working from home. My youngest daughter is also home because her college campus at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) is closed. She’s continuing her architecture studies at home and attending classes through Zoom technology. I’m now sharing an office with my wife who is a photographer. With all three of us working here, the house, which is small, feels even smaller. But we are making it work. Our older daughter is living with friends in Providence and it’s been hard not seeing her as frequently as everyone is practicing “social distancing”. My wife and I have been trying to get fresh air daily by going for a walk by the ocean at Rocky Point. Sadly, since the parks are getting closed soon, this won’t be an option. I’m really missing my normal routine of gathering with the church, having people over for meals, going to restaurants and cafes and so on. It’s a daily fight to stay positive and productive.
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I’m sitting in my office at the church as the sun is setting over the football field. It’s been a beautiful sunny day full of hope. The highlight for me was a Zoom video gathering with some of the local pastors for prayer. What a gift to connect with them and pour out our hearts in prayer for the people we have been entrusted to pastor.
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Hello everyone! I have a million things to share but I’m going to try to share what’s most important. This pandemic is one of the strangest and most dramatic things I’ve ever seen in my 52 years of living. It is affecting the entire planet! Everyone has some sort of message about how we need to respond right now. The messages come from presidents and CEO’s and celebrities and NPR and pastors and Who leaders and the CDC experts and governors and mayors. We are told to stay calm, don’t panic, practice social distancing, flatten the curve, wash your hands and don’t touch your face. We are being instructed on how to stay connected through technology. Christians seem to be talking a lot about not being fearful.
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If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the service from yesterday I want to strongly encourage you to. It can be found on the homepage of our website. It’s a message from Psalm 46 followed by some prayers from several of our leaders. I believe it will encourage you to not be afraid.
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Many of you are probably asking questions about whether we will gather Sunday or not in view of the present pandemic. The governor of Rhode Island asked that all gatherings of 250+ be suspended for two weeks. In addition, Mayor Elorza asked for a ban on gatherings of 100+. In the spirit of cooperation with authority figures we have decided it’s best to suspend Sunday services for two weeks. Hopefully, we can resume meeting together by March 29th (3 weeks) but we cannot predict. Easter is April 12th so we are really hoping the suspension is lifted by then.
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As most of you probably know, September is the month when we see an influx of visitors more than any other month of the year. Easter service is the day we see the most new faces but September is the greatest month. Part of the reason lies in the fact that our city is a college town and Ren has always been a church college students have chosen. So we will see college students streaming in. September is also a month when people get back into routines and into the habit of attending church. It’s also a time when people move to the city to start jobs. For all these reasons we will see a beautiful influx of new people at our gatherings in the coming weeks. This is always exciting!
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Do you enjoy praying? Do you consider it one of your absolute favorite things to do? Do you enjoy gathering for prayer and worship? Pause before reading on and answer these questions honestly in your own heart.
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Prayer has always been an important aspect of my life since I came to Christ in 1989 and throughout my ministry. Before we started Ren in 2003 countless hours were given to bathing the idea in prayer. In 2009 prayer deepened in my own life and began to overflow to the community. What I've observed in my life and the life of the church through the years is that prayer can be a little like the waters of the sea. At times it can be dead and other times there is rapid movement. It's up and down. It's a fight to maintain a strong passionate fiery prayer life. It seems like everything in our flesh, and in this present world and in the invisible demonic realms around us, is fighting to squelch the spirit of prayer within us. I'm feeling that resistance this week.
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God is doing deep things in my heart in this season. I can feel a beautiful shift happening and an increase of hunger and thirst. I'm eager to go out into the deep waters of God. The picture that came to me recently was that we've been in shallow waters. Refreshing and real and good but shallow. And now God wants us to push out into the deep and envelop us with His glory. The plethora of promises of fullness and greater works and abundance are so alive to me right now. I just sense God drawing us into something greater.
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For some time now I've been unsettled about the format of our mid-week gathering called Refresh.
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It has been on my heart lately that many people attend Ren but for whatever reason feel on the outside looking on. The visual that comes to mind is a circle within a circle. In the inner circle at Ren there seems to be a depth of connection and care that is spectacular. But for those in that outer circle it's a different experience. I want to say a few things to those in the outer circle.
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What has been happening in recent days is absolutely appalling but not surprising. I think most of us are aware that racism is alive and well, not just in a small band of white supremacists, but in a significant portion of American society. I'm certain it has sunk into every human heart to some extent which is why we all need to constantly ask God to search our hearts. We should always be on the side of promoting justice and defending those who are being oppressed. It's our calling as followers of Jesus.
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Several weeks ago we had special guest Jonathan Reid with us talking about fostering and adoption. I'm sure many of you heard the message but if not you can find it in the stand alone section of our sermon page on our website (look for the graphic of the light bulb).
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In every season at Ren, about ⅓ of the people coming on Sundays are new. They may be brand new as in first timers. Or fairly new as in coming just recently. There are also many who I humorously call “church shoppers”. These are people who are doing the circuit of local churches to find that perfect fit. So they come one week and then we’ll see them again 5 weeks later. This shopping around is normal and I'd do the same thing if I moved to a new city. Finding the right church can be a little overwhelming and it's especially challenging if you are a person who has never been involved in church culture. Here are a few things that I think can help.
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This Sunday, we are going to take a pause in our series on the parables to discuss something on my heart. The complexities of urban living have made it quite challenging to have deep meaningful relationships. I want to share some insight on how we can overcome this.