Good Morning

Well, we're starting into the final day. Today's class is focused on Minister's Taxes. Some may not know that Minister's taxes are different by IRS Code than both regular employees and self-employed workers in America.

As you know the tax law is about the only thing that gets longer in order to simplify itself.

-- ben

Day Two Done

We finished day two yesterday early. I'm kinda thankful for when our proffessors let us go early. I don't complain.

I had a good evening eating with my friend Jeff and he introduced a friend who lives out this way. It was a good time.

Today we are in lectures all day with Richard Hammar. He is the world's foremost authority on religious law. When the Vatican began dealing with the explosion of clergy abuse cases a few years ago, they flew Richard Hammar in to advise them.

Well, he's starting now and he is impressive already, so I need to tune in to him. I'll keep you updated.

--Ben

indebted to our team

Many of you know that SRC is not a one man show. In addition to the wonderful team pastor we have, Matt, we also are blessed with a great operations team that meet weekly in order to assess and direct the progress of the church.

These faithful people meet weekly, every week. For several of the last few weeks I've been away and unable to attend. I find myself in that situation again tonight. I wish I could be there with them because they're so motivated and up to great things. I love you guys. Thanks for carrying on without me tonight.

You know, this is a private look into a pastor's world. Nothing makes me prouder than mentioning my team and their meeting in front of a group of pastors like I'm surrounded by now at this class. Because they hear about it and ask, "You're team is meeting even with you here?" I say yes proudly, because our OT is awesome. And here is another secret, the other pastors ask that question because so many churches lack people who make the kind of commitment SRCers do. Thanks SRC,

--Ben

Day One Done

We had a rousing start to our study of law and the relationship of the government and the church. We often hear reference to the establishment clause of the separation of church and state, how separated do you think they should be? How should that look?

Here's some more questions for thought:
1. Does the State have or should the State have any jurisdiction over religious and spiritual matters?
2. Should the State allow or prohibit, for example, prayer or Bible reading or worship in public schools?
3. Should it prohibit the use of a Bible when a president is sworn in?
4. Would your answer change if it was a book of Mormon, Koran, or Satanic Bible?


--Ben

Grad School or Seminary

Well, I'm at school again this week. I'll be trying to post as much as I can. I attend module class for a week that include pre-session and post-session work. My graduate school is Assembly of God Theological Seminary.

This week I'm in a class called Legal Issues for Church and Clergy. Doesn't that sound interesting?
I have realized why I didn't become a lawyer. (snore) Borrring!

--Ben

Delightful

Friday's are my day off and as such have become the day that I have Father/daughter time. Corie is working today so I got to spend the day with the greatest part of my life today. There is just something beautiful about the person(s) you create. What a blessing from God!

Sydney and I went to the Park today and played for over an hour. She was great. She is not an adventurous child by nature, so sometimes I egg her on. But she did a lot of stuff today. The weather was beautiful. I was the only Daddy there, and the mommies all laughed at me when this boy Collin (4) told me all about the handyman named John that came over and fixed their fan. It's amazing what kids pick up. He invited me over to his house to play. "No thanks" I said. "I'm gonna stay and play with her."

Sydney does a lot of walking on her own now being almost two, and there is nothing so enjoyable as her holding my finger and walking to the park. Good days, and I'm enjoying them.


--Ben

Crunch Time

My regular readers have grown accoustomed to the predictable crunch time that comes up for me each time I have an AGTS class. This is it. For the next 72 hours I get to work my fingers to the bone producing the papers that earn my grades. Some people have a hard time identifying with my brand of academic excellence. They see these crunch times and believe that the better way would be to space the work out over weeks, however I am of the persuasion that this is good time management. I give myself enough time at the end to complete my writing. I do my reading over the weeks prior to the class but save my writing until now.

It works for me.

--Ben

Nancy

Last week in small group I asked for prayer for my second cousin Nancy who was diagnosed only a few months ago with cancer. Within the last few weeks they pinpointed the cancer in her brain, and gave her a short time to live. She passed away this week.

I'll be traveling to the funeral this weekend and would ask for your prayers for my family.

Thanks,
Ben

Filming Done

Well, we're done. We filmed this morning. It is a lot different to teach on video as opposed to a live audience. I felt so constrained because on tape you can't mess up. In person, I can misspeak and then fix it, but on camera you're recording and it's a lot harder to cover the flubs. We only had a few retakes.

I will say that while I was teaching, Matt was nodding his head watching the screen, so I felt like I was connecting. You'll be the judge this weekend at our house churches. I want to thank all SRCers for being part of this important morning.

--Ben

Significant Encounters

Apparently the A/G World Missions organization requires missionaries to have a determined number of "Significant Encounters". This means that they have to meet pastors in some way to have a conversation. So a local missionary Mike Henningson is taking me to lunch today. He has asked me repeatedly how he can help SRC grow in missions. What do you think? Are there ways he can help us?


--Ben

First day of Spring

Well, it's the first full day of spring. The Sun crossed the equator yesterday, and there we had it; the vernal equinox.

So with spring comes a 20 degree drop in temperature, but hey it'll be warm again by the weekend. Then I hope that the cold weather will be totally behind us. I don't know why but the cold bothered me more this year than usual. I feel bad complaining about it because so much of the winter was warm. Maybe that's why. Maybe I just never transitioned into cold weather mode.

I love global warming.

--Ben

Great Quote

Just came across this quote in my study for Sunday's message: "The way you clean up a dirty vocabulary is not to brush your teeth, but to cleanse your heart." I'm actually not talking about vocabulary, but it can be applied a lot of different ways.

--Ben

Open Honest Church

After Church on Sunday Marc said, "I like your church. The people are very open and transparent about things." He was referring to some conversations that he had with people after the gathering. I laughed and said that I was not surprised that they shared those things considering they had shared the same things with me in a very open way. I love that about our church.

I told Marc that I try to lead by example. My life is an open book, and in our large groups and small groups I try to be transparent. Even here on the blog. Marc commented that he couldn't blog because it is a permanent record. I think that's why I like it. I can look back and see how I've grown and/or changed. There are small changes happening in our lives everyday. We need to be able to embrace them and be open about where we are on our journey.

I shared last night at our OT meeting about a need Corie and I have, and was right up-front with them that I wasn't sure that it was the kind of prayer that should be prayed. That I wasn't sure whether my motives were right. I quoted James which says, "You have not because you ask not and when you ask, you have the wrong motives, and think of how you might spend it on yourself." (BRV) And we laughed and they made some instructional comments to me, and that is how the body of Christ is supposed to be.

If we never tell each other what's really going on. If we never come out and say that we're really not totally sure. We will never be the community that Christ has called us to be.

Open-Honest.

You make me so proud.

--Ben

Filming postponed

Filming has been put off till Thursday. I'll keep you updated.

--Ben

Filming

We're filming for the DVD message for Sunday today. I'm a little nervous about it. I've never filmed anything this long. Not sure how it will turn out, but I have some ideas about how to do it so I'm excited about it.

I just hope Matt will be able to work some magic to make it look really nice.

One church, three locations: See you at house churches Sunday.

--Ben

Scouting and Preparing

We're in the midst of March Madness, and a thought occurred to me that I thought I'd share. It's about scouting and preparing. Coaches like to say, "We take it one game at a time." That's coach speak for, "I'm not going to tell you if I think we can win this game and whether we can beat the next opponent after this game." Whether they do or don't is immaterial. What is important is the game at hand. The opponent that you're going to match up against, and whether you feel that you are inferior or superior, you scout and prepare anyway.

So why the update on Basketball strategy. It's because we are facing opponents called growth barriers. In the realm of "group dynamics" there are boundaries that form that seem to hold churches back from growing to another level. At SRC we value GROWTH. We believe that we have a responsibility to grow for a couple reasons. First, healthy things grow. It's as natural as that. When my daughter is healthy she grows. If she were malnourished or handicapped it would keep her from her normal growth. Churches are the same way. When Severn River Church is healthy in our approach to following Christ and His mission then we will naturally grow. The second reason is because of the character of God. John 15 gives us a glimpse into God's character that he is like a vine dresser, and branches that don't grow he gives some more time but eventually cuts off. We are therefore mandated to grow and we value it so much we track our growth. But we don't only look back, we also look ahead.

We are a church of about 40 now and we're growing into our plan for 50. Soon we will be (and in some ways we already are) implementing our plan for 100. Some might ask, "Why would we do that if we only had 36 people last Sunday? It's because of scouting and preparing.

B-ball teams don't wait until they are playing the game to plan for opportunities that might arise. They practice multiple things throughout the week that they might never implement during the game because it might occur and they want to be ready. Inbounding plays, half-court sets, and secondary fast breaks. These are basketball plays that you practice in case something happens during the game. You can't just make them happen, but you have to be prepared for when the opportunity arises. The fact is that many churches are not scouting and preparing. They don't ask the question, "What if God wanted our church to serve 100 more people?" If He did, would your church be ready to handle it? We wouldn't. That's why we're taking time to get prepared for it. We identify our next opponent in the growth game and we're scouting and preparing for the 100 opponent. And it won't be far beyond that that we're operating in a way to take on greater and greater growth.

I had lunch with a guy several weeks ago who told me that when he looks at SRC he sees about 50 people attending over the next 5 years. He also said that he knows when I look at SRC I see it growing much larger than that. And he said, "That's why you are in the position you are in leading us." I know that there are people who see things for what they are. I choose to see things for what they can and should be. The tension in those opposites is the health that will bring growth.

--Ben

Super Set

Well, it's that time again. We are looking for your submissions of music to use in our singing together at Severn River Church. We entertain submissions via e-mail you can e-mail me at ben@severnriverchurch.com.

We'll narrow the list down to 12 for the next 3 months. We're open to any songs so long as we feel we can play them in a fresh way. So submit early and often.

Thanks,
Ben

Voice Update

Thanks for your patience yesterday with my voice. Some people have asked me about it so I thought I'd explain. Since not long after leaving Valley Forge I have struggled with my singing voice. It generally doesn't affect my speaking voice. When a person sings they push air over their vocal chords at a higher intensity because of the use of their diaphram. When I push air over my vocal chords I feel a pain occasionally, but it's particularly bad if my throat is dry. Once I feel that pain, my throat closes and I'm done while my throat flems up and heals itself.

Diagnosis? probably the cause of scaring that I received while singing with a band in college. Likely not a full-blown "vocal node".

Treatment? rest, and vocal training to sing in a more classical way. Not interested.

My singing days are behind me, I only sing publicly because it's necessary. One day we'll have another worship leader at SRC and I'll be able to focus on Teaching. I look forward to that day.

--Ben

Good Friend

It was a real pleasure to have Marc SanGiovanni share with us on Sunday in a practical theology teaching discussion called, "Nickel and Dimed to Death". Marc deals with the area of Banking, Investing and Retirement planning. Well worth the listen on our website www.severnriverchurch.com.

A number of people were interested in help with financial planning. Marc would rather not mix the relationship he has with SRC and the transaction of that business, but he is helping me work with his financial planner. In that event we'll line up a one day appointment for him and arrange appointments throughout the day for SRCers.

Thanks Marc for the great day.

Winter Wonderland

Well, as most of you know Friday's are my day-off during the week. So yesterday I spent almost the whole day in my house working on school work. I'm currently reading through my textbook which is an examination of Tax Laws. If you've ever had a law class, you know what they're like.

One thing about it though, Marc called me and asked if I was watching the news. Marc is my friend coming in to speak to SRC tomorrow about stewardship of their money. He lives in NY and was concerned his flight would be canceled. "For what?" I wondered. It turns out that what was just rain here was snow and ice up there. Over the next couple hours it turned into a mess here as well. But I didn't care. It was my day off. I thought about how when I have to work the weather issues are always so much bigger, and to you who worked yesterday I know you were stressed about it, but what a reality check for me. It really isn't important if you're not tied up in it.

Huh!?!

--Ben

Almost Wet Myself

Ok, that title is more figurative than literal. Have you ever heard the saying "measure twice, cut once"? Well, sometimes I measure once, oh brother, another metaphor gone bad. Anyway...

My friend Gayla called me today. Gayla works for AACC the college we rent space from. She is getting ready to head out of town and wanted to send the invoice for this semester's rent because she's getting ready to go away, and the school is closing, yada, yada.

So I called her back, and as we were talking she said, "cause you know the school is closed this weekend." (play sound of screeching tires) WHAT? I replied calmly, "Oh, you mean next weekend the 25th." She said, "Oh yeah, that's what I meant."

For that moment though this lump crawled up into my throat, and I thought I might cry like a baby. Not really, but I thought I'd add another metaphor.

--Ben

March Madness

I take you liked the play by play, since we almost set a record yesterday for hits on the blog. I'll try it again when MD plays on Saturday. Wanted to keep you updated though. In the SRC Fantasy March Madness League, I'm currently leading as the best picker.

You know what I say about the best picking...just follow your nose.

--Ben

Office Space

As many of you know, I occupy a second bedroom in our house as my office space. It is a nice place to work, and I love being close to home. This morning I was in a phone meeting with Matt and I could hear Sydney outside the door saying, "daddy, daddy" in a way that I could not describe in words. It was so cute. She wasn't really calling for me, I think she was trying to tell Corie that I was in here.

But looming over my desk is a four month planning calendar that shows me in big letters in the month of May, that I have to "MOVE OUT OF OFFICE". This note has been written by my lovely and talented wife, Corie. See, in the subsequent months we're expecting our second daughter, and the second bedroom will be needed for it's primary use. A place for Sydney to sleep. Therefore, I'm getting the boot. So, where can I move my desk, bookshelves, filing cabinet, printers and couch? That's what I'm trying to figure out myself. Something to pray about.

--Ben

Stickiness

I've been thinking about something that another church planter mentioned on his blog. He calls it "Stickiness" the ability to have people come into the church and stick. What do you think makes people stick to a church?

--Ben

New Territory

Part of the transition between being a staff pastor and a lead pastor is the weekly preaching responsibility. As a staff pastor I preached just about every week for our youth, but as lead pastor I have the overall mantle for scriptural direction for the church. Because we value alignment the small groups including our youth ministry all start with Sunday's message as a starting point a baseline, and build on it from there. I have always looked forward to this responsibility. It is not an easy one, but it is an enjoyable journey as I work through it.

Right off the bat in this church plant I spent considerably more time in preparation then I ever had. I tend to spend between 12-16 hours a week in sermon prep. That would make my professors happy. For what it's worth, most homiletics (that's a fancy word for preaching) teachers recommend around 15-20 hours a week for preparation.

Typically I spend Wednesday and Thursday in teaching prep. We have a different week this week as we're welcoming Marc SanGiovanni to share the teaching with me in a question-answer format related to banking, investing and retirement. So not as much exegesis (another word of my trade which means study of scripture). So I'm working ahead...I know, my wife wouldn't believe me either.

I've been studying for next weeks message today (yes even during the Terps game). I'm excited because next week we try our experiment of One Church, Three Locations. For those who haven't been hearing the announcements I'll explain. The first part of our vision statement at SRC is to be a multiplying church. And we are going to experiment with multiplication. March 25th we don't have access to the campus, so what is it they say about Neccessity being the Mother of Invention. We are hosting three meeting places for one church. This time we're doing it in our homes. Matt Boyer, Doug Grace, and I are opening our homes for our small groups and whoever else wants to join us for our Sunday gatherings in our homes. We're going to have one message that each location will see simultaneously called Legacy Giving in Digital Video. Music, Prayer, Communion, Giving, Donuts, everything you've come to experience at SRC will happen at each of our locations.

One thing we enjoy is making everything an experiment. The fact is that we have our eyes focused on the future. One day, we will experience the same basic thing only it will be a campus at AACC, a coffee house, a bowling alley, or bar. there are a number of venues that could facilitate the growth and multiplication we're aiming for. I want to thank everyone at SRC in advance for being part of this exciting weekend. I'm looking forward to how it will turn out.

--Ben

Maryland vs. Davidson

MD Terrapins win by twelve. On their way! I want to thank CBS and all of our affiliates. Enjoy the Tournament.

Standing ovation for Curry as he fouls out. This is a sharp freshman.

Looks like DV is depending too much on Curry. Going to him constantly, he's trying to do it all and draw the foul. I think this will cost them.

They're getting slower. Strawberry playing defense on Curry, shutting him down. MD up 75-68

OSBY! OSBY! He is electric right now.

Maryland has turned it on, on fast tempo they 're much better. They're up by one. Keep it up.

I don't know why that name is so large.

Just came across this quote in my study it has nothing to do with B-ball, but I think it's a good quote:

"Feel for others—in your pocket."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Alright the terps are on a little run now, but I hate when they pass poorly. They give the ball away, they did the same thing with Miami. They are so much more athletic. They need to play smart.

The Terps seem flat starting the second half. Nothing is falling. 9-0 run by Davidson.

Just realizing how nice it is to watch a team that gets respect from natonal media. Everyone seems very Terp friendly. Nothing like Ravens coverage.

(at half-time I get to see Pitino's Louisville Team. wow, they put up a lot of pressure. Louisville 46; Stanford 19 OUCH)

We're at the Half: MD 44; DV 43. Go Terps!

Are you ever thankful to live in Low Definition? If I had to watch this in High Def. I might go crazy. There's something nice about just watching white streaks and red streaks, up and down the court.

Wow! Curry is amazing. Just pulled up the quickest three pointer I've ever seen, and made it on the run. OUCH.

Great steal by strawberry. He's quick, came out of no where to pick off that pass.

Tied up 35-35. I love that basketball is a game of spirts. You can see momentum shift back and forth.

With less than 7 minutes to play Davidson is up by 5.

How does Kevin Bacon get a deal with Hanes?

Somebody hose Curry off, he's on fire.

Awww, Lance Armstrong is teaching a little girl to ride a bicycle.

I'm liking MD's press.

This Davidson team can shoot threes.

Nice Rebound Bowers.

Prayer Needed

Matt and I are trying to fine tune the teachings for the Easter Series, "What did Jesus Really Say?" We would like to ask you for prayer as we sort through the things that unchurched people most need to hear about the Jesus that they think they know, but don't really.

We want to engage them in a way that intrigues them with the hope that He may not be what they've always thought. There are so many misconceptions that really aren't the fault of the unchurched, they've just been getting an untruthful message from the church. We want to attack that.

Thanks for your prayer,
Ben

March Madness

The tourney kicked off kinda on Tuesday with a "play-in" game, and today the real tournament begins. I'm looking forward to the Maryland Terps game at 12:20. In fact, I'm going to be posting comments throughout the game, so feel free to check back often.

We're talking about Basketball for those of you who don't know.

--Ben

Severn River Church has not yet found its voice.

"Severn River Church has not yet found its voice." This is the thought that's been recurring in my mind for the last several days. I was walking into the loading door (the door we use for loading and unloading equipment into the Cade Building) on Sunday and that thought struck me. We haven't found our voice.

Now as I write this, a really sappy illustration comes to my mind. It will classify my age I'm sure, but do you remember Symba of the Lion King finding his roar? It's kinda like that.

I believe that every significant organization becomes significant because of its voice. It finds its unique, God-given purpose and reason for being and in every way that it presents itself it is heard through that voice.

Voices are unique. I talked to a friend, Joseph, on the phone the other day and thought he was his dad. I commented that it must be difficult for him. The whole first half of his life when he answered the phone people would say, "Jessica?" (his mother), now everyone hears his voice and says, "Joe?" (his father). But in actuality when you talk with Joseph he has his own voice.

Or consider, people have long compared my voice to my fathers. There are a large number of people who have told me over the years that I sing well, but not as good as my father. See though there are similarities, their are unique differences as well.

And the penultimate example...Dr. David Dippold. He was a professor at VFCC where I went to college. He had a fantastic voice. I wish I could even half represent how deep and full of character it is.

Of course, a famous example of an organizational voice is the Ford Company that wanted to "democratize the automobile", in other words make it affordable for every family in America. Or consider Starbucks. They don't just sell coffee, they sell community. The reason they get four and a half bucks for a cup of coffee is not because they have the best beans, it's because they create a place you want to drink your coffee, meet with a friend, make friends with the guy making your coffee, play chess in the corner, talk the same language (Mocha, Venti, Skinny, Frap, etc.).

In the Christian world we observe this at the Saddleback Church. Their voice is "Purpose-Driven" and everything you hear them say is in that voice. The Willow Creek Church is voiced in "Seeker" terms. Other churches have a voice that opposed to the traditional church, or voiced in Missions, or even in the edifices they own and build.

What is SRC's voice? I think that mission is an important part of it. The more we pursue our mission the more we will be developing our own voice. In the meantime we need to be pathfinders; finding our way along. And just like a boy who is experiencing a voice change there will be squeaks and squelches along the way. We need to remain vigilant in this one thing, our pursuit of being a significant church in the greater Annapolis area; making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey God's word.

--Ben

Rick Shroder? Are you kidding me?

24 was on last night, and my house guests were kind enough to leave before I heard Jack Bauer say, "Previously On 24". So as the girls settled into their beds, and the lights in the house were turned out, I pulled up my seat in front of TV's most exciting hour. As lagging echoes of Corie's reprimand drifted through my head, something about school work and misplaced priorities, I focused on the crisis at hand. A Russian splinter faction has teamed up with Arab pawns to set off suitcase nukes in the US. Jack has been taken captive in the Russian Consulate, and has information that could preempt the looming attack. So who does CTU (counter terrorist unit) bring in to save Jack?

Ricky Schroder. Please. While I love the show I think this casting was a mistake. The only good thing about his role was seeing his age starting to change his facial character. But to pull of the Jack away from Jack role? I didn't buy it. Over all I wasn't very impressed with the episode as it was, so I have to believe that I am being served a 24 sandwhich and last night serves as the cheese.

I hope next week Schroder's character is no longer needed.

I hope Jack survives.

I think that the best case scenario is that one day Jack will be appointed to be Secretary of Defense by David Palmer's great nephew, the president. And that through a tremendous terrorist attack, assassinating every life of political leadership in line for presidency, Jack becomes president. That would be a great way to end the show in its last season.

--Ben

The Results Are In...

Corie and I had an appointment today at the Fetal Medicine Dr. to have a full sonogram at our 20 week point (that's half-way). First let me say "WOW!" The equipment this place had was much sharper than anything I had previously seen. It did the 3-d photo and everything. We were examined by a technician, then the Dr. came in and looked at everything again. And as I held my wife's hand under the paper towel that they put around her belly....

It's gonna be a girl. I even think in one of the pictures she looks a little like Sydney, but maybe a Steven's nose?? We'll see.

I'll keep you posted.

--Ben

Baby steps

You know that as a baby church we take baby steps, but with each step comes a little more mobility and health. We're at a place to take the next step. We have had the active participation of many of our members over the last six months in setup and teardown. Now as we're growing we're going to split into teams. We start with Team A this week. These teams serve two weeks at a time.

An email has been sent to everyone involved. Please make sure you know which team you're on. If you haven't been assigned to a team and would like to be, please contact me ben@severnriverchurch.com

Off School...Are You Kidding Me?

I can't believe AA County called off school so early this morning. I only remember one day when this happened to me. It was snowing really bad in the morning, but just after they called off school, it turned to rain all the snow went away, and it was just a drizzly day off school.

Well for everyone enjoying their day off...Enjoy it.

--Ben

Organic Ministry

One of the things we value at Severn River Church is mission-driven creativity. It is a response to the many ministry programs that have been built to be Plug and Play in church circles. We want to be more intentional about measuring whether the ministry is needed and if it is meeting the needs of our target area. A couple of for instances came up in the last week and I thought I'd mention them and give props where deserved.

Last night some of the women from SRC went to The Melting Pot. I'm sure it was an adventure in Fascination and Fondue. If you've never been, it is quite an experience. I thought that was so cool, that they decided to do that so they got together and made it happen. There were ten that went, and the best part...they weren't all SRCers. In fact, the dinner outing directly influenced women who don't attend church anywhere. Awesome.

On Sunday we played Football. No big deal. But Kevin had a vision for it, and made it happen. The best part of the day was when I asked where one person's husband was. I wish he'd come to play. Someone else chimed in just when I did, "Yeah he doesn't even have to church, we'd just love to play with him." See, we believe the church is better at being the church when we're not at church so places like football fields, fondue pots, and Texas Hold 'Em tables are more important places for people to meet Jesus than in the Cade building.

Thanks for the grass roots effort to make ministry happen.

Matt asked me to explain the difference between the above examples and a "Women's Ministry", "Men's Ministry", etc. I told him that the women getting together wasn't and SRC thing. It was the people of SRC seeing the need, meeting the need. And that's all the farther it went. Football is seeing the need, meeting the need. It becomes SRC's Football Ministry, when we can offer a value-added opportunity for the community as a whole, i.e. a football league for the greater Annapolis area. I hope that is a helpful way to understand our view of ministry development.

--Ben

Breakfast with Missionaries

This morning I had the privilege of meeting with friends and missionaries, Dan and Sue Maksim. This couple is the first missionaries we've ever had speak at our Large Group Gathering on Sunday morning. Their message is available by clicking here.

So much of missions is related to the relationship that missionaries build with the church, and that is why missionaries often ask Pastor's to go to share a meal. At that meal we talked about SRC and our unfolding and expanding plan for missions. We also talked about the work of the US Center for World Mission. It was a good breakfast. In case you're wondering we went to the Double T Diner around the corner from my house. And I had the oatmeal. Delectable. I really like that DTD has white grape rasins for the oatmeal. It's a unique thing.

I wanted to reference a couple of the books that Dan and Sue recommended on Sunday, in case you want to pick them up. Be Warned. I'm linking for information only. For best prices call 1-800-647-7466.
God's Heart for the Nations by Jeff Lewis
God's World Changers by Steve Richardson & Jack Layman
Daughters of Islam by Miriam Adeney
Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper

Thanks to Sue and Dan for their affirmation of our work here at SRC. They asked me today how they could help SRC grow. I told them that if they wanted our church to grow they should let us give them money for their work. At Severn River Church we believe that you can't out-give God. By giving money away that comes into our church we will see growth, it's called the law of sowing and reaping. The more we sow into the missionfield, the more we harvest here at our church. Thank God we can support missions.

Please be praying about your faith commitments. Don't forget we'll be collecting them in our small groups.

--Ben

Football

Yesterday was a great day. After our gathering about a dozen of us walked down to a field on campus and played football. Some played, some watched. Some of us pretended to play (I was one of them). I just wonder....

is anyone else stiff/sore? We need to do that more often. I had a great time.

--Ben

Back in Business

Well, last week I posted about being off, but I'm back. I had a morning meeting with our bookkeeper, and then headed to staff meeting with Matt. That's my normal routine on Monday's. Matt and I have a standing meeting at Corky's Cafe. I had a good time this morning. Corky is getting more comfortable talking to us. He made a joke to us as he walked by this morning. I also got to meet a Web designer named Andre. He's been local for two years, and been in business for himself for a year and a half. Nice guy.

I got my first view of Windows Vista today. The web designer had a computer that he didn't know how to operate (which seemed odd to me but...), so I helped him get connected to the internet. He saw our computers up and running and thought we could help him with ours. It was new, and had the Vista operating system. Very interesting. It was different, but I felt I could keep up with the changes. I had him connected in a couple minutes. Nice guy. I've seen him there before. I told him about Matt and I, showed him our website, and returned to my meeting. (He commented on the nice colors, Drew.)

So, I'm back on it. Feel free to call or drop me an e-mail.

Thanks,
Ben

Congrats Severn River Church

Yesterday was Fine Arts Festival, a festival for students to display their abilities in just about any kind of art expression you can imagine. We had a student who participated in the area of Drama. Shelby Reinhardt joined with students of our sister church Pasadena A/G and together they did a Large Drama Group and a Small Drama Group. It was very exciting because in the Large catagory they competed as Pasadena A/G and in the Small they competed as Severn River Church.

I went for the SDG, and the excitment was thick in the room just prior to the performance. I asked the room moderator when he announced Shelby and Kristina to please say, "And now for the first time ever Severn River Church." Of course it wasn't S and K's first time performing, just the first time as SRC...

It was really interesting to hear the audience's response when the girls were finished, "That was their first time?" It made me chuckle and as we headed out of the room I said, "Well, I'll SR C-Ya!" (These are the corny jokes that are part of my DNA.)

I was very proud of the students. I heard nothing but good things from everyone about the Large group, and the small group was great. In fact, both teams advanced to the National Festival in Indianapolis this summer. Congrats to them.

You know I was also very proud of Matt. He did a great job preparing our students for Fine Arts. I told Pastor Phil of PAG that Matt was as good or better than me. I think he's settled on the better part, and that really excites me. There's nothing better than having a great team. And we are blessed with a great team pastor in Matt Boyer. Thanks Matt I'm proud of you.

Both Drama teams will be performing at SRC on May 20.

--Ben