Further Cofessions Of A Reader

I'll admit that I'm milking this a bit, but I thought of a few more habits I have when it comes to reading. And I enjoy hearing other people's habits...

I guess it is my fundamental belief that the book is subject to me not vice versa. I pound it into submission:

• I break the spine of books.I know that many people have strong feelings against that, but I like my books to lay flat, and can't stand when pages move, so at least every couple pages I'm breaking in another part of the book.
  
• I dog ear pages.
• I constantly mark in the book with pens, pencils, highlighters anything I can. I also keep a thin, 6 inch ruler for underlining in my books.
  
• I mark every word I don't understand then add it to my task list to look up on dictionary.com
• At the end of a book, I'll flip back through to see the things I marked, and I consider this the essential message of the book. Very subjective.

So those are all the other habits I have when I read.

--Ben

idiosyncrasies

My book review below confronted one of my idiosyncrasies. I can't stand the paper cover that comes on hardback books. When I get a book, the first thing I do is uncover it and throw the cover away. It gets in my way, and I hate the way it feels on my fingers when I read. So there I said it.

When I shot the pic of the book for my review I realized that the front is plain black so I had to open it to the title page.

Another idiosyncrasy is that I regularly check for my wallet by tapping my right back pocket. My slap generally falls on the wallet so it's not that big a deal, but it feels really funny when I don't have it in. And I feel odd sometimes, like people are watching me slap my butt. So there I said that too.

--Ben

Book Review: The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team

The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team was a great, easy read. Patrick Lencioni is fond of the leadership parable genre. So 4/5 of the book is a fictional story about a CEO that leads a dysfunctional executive team to fruitful labor. It is well written and compelling. I especially like short chapters it gives such a sense of accomplishment.

Lencioni identifies 5 dysfunctions namely: Absense of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results. These are listed in layers building on each other. It is an interdependent model where each dysfunction is dependent on the others.

I've learned over the years that the tems that I have led have faced these dysfunctions. Some have overcome them, others haven't. But a team functioning with any of these dysfunctions will always be held back from its true potential.

Great principles in this book.

--Ben

Jennifer Road * Update *

I got to see Tom today. He was in good spirits; making jokes about hanging out with his new friends. He is still being processed, for another day or so, which means that he is in lockdown with about 6 hours a day out of his room. When he is assigned to the general population area then he'll have more free time, and he is looking forward to that.

He said the food is mostly bad but bearable. In fact, he had pancakes this morning that he thought were really good. He wanted me to let everyone know that he is ok.

--Ben

Jennifer Road

I'm heading out to visit Tom at the Jennifer Road Detention Center. It will be my first visit to this facility, so I'm a little unsure of the process. Today will be about learning. I would appreciate your prayers.

Last night when I put my daughter to bed we prayed for Tom. I prayed that he would be able to sleep well in a new place. Sydney asked what it meant to be in jail. I explained, and I shared that I would be going to visit him. As I did I had a deep question come to my mind, "What would you do if Jesus were being held at Jennifer Road?" How often would I visit? What would I do to help his stay? What would I talk about to bring him comfort?

That's what has been on my heart overnight. Doing something about it today.

By the way, I will be finding out the details of how to write letters to Tom. I do know he can receive mail, so I just need to find out the procedure. I will be in touch with those who have signed up for the Letter Guild. If you would like to sign up to write a letter to Tom about your faith, please sign up by clicking HERE.

--Ben

Letter Guild

I listened to a interview of John Ashcroft a few weeks back, and he shared that when he went to college his father offered a deal. He would write a letter to John each time John wrote one to him. John said that they weren't just letters of what was going on at home, but they were well thought out impartations of his father's beliefs and outlook of the world. Indeed, in my own life there have been letters that have meant a great deal to me, and I have tried to regularly send handwritten letters to people that I think are important, to communicate just a little more deeply than we're used to via email or even just saying thanks.

Tom started attending SRC several weeks ago, and in the middle of April gave his life to Christ. He has been forthright in sharing that he made some mistakes over the previous year, and because of it he'll be serving time in Jennifer Rd. Detention Center for the next thirty days. The idea came to me that we might be able to minister to him through letters. Letters in and out of prison have historically played a great role in Christian history. So I'm initiating the Letter Guild, a collective of believers that will write a letter to Tom over the next thirty days. Not just pointless notes, but explaination of your faith, the things of Christ that you're most thankful for, words of prayer that you would share with this young Christ-follower. If you would like to join this effort, please click here and sign-up. The list will be confidential, no names will appear publicly. When you've signed up, I'll contact you with instructions for participating.

Remember the words of Christ, "For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you didn't look after me...I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Matthew 25: 42-45

--Ben

Not Right To Write

Yesterday and today I've struggled for motivation to write. Maybe the heat has sapped it out of me. But I promise to post something more meaningful when I have the ability to write it. There are after all so many things to inform you about:

• The Member's Meeting
• My Sermon rebound
• New staffing
• and much, much more...

Please check back soon.

--Ben

Happy Birthday Sydney

My first born is turning four years old this week. We're celebrating today with a birthday party. We have always held the party at my inlaw's house, but their yard doesn't respond well to rain. This year we get to do it at our house. That means a mad dash all around to get everything ready. We've been working all week, and are close. The problem is that with a 4 and 2 year old, every time we clean up a mess they pull it out again.

Should be fun though.

--Ben

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at the art (in progress) for our next series on the life of Habakkuk. I'm really looking forward to this series.

--Ben

Newspaper Essay

I was asked to submit a 200 word essay on Ephesians 2:10 to a local newspaper for a segment they call "From the Pulpit". I tried my best, and thought I'd throw it up here for you all to read as well. This is one of the essential messages of my ministry, so you'll probably have heard it before.
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Why Do You Stutter?

No wonder Moses tried to decline God’s leadership offer. Moses, a fugitive of Egypt, is in the desert of Midian, shoeless, and standing in front of a burning bush. The most compelling argument that he comes up with is found in Exodus 4:10 “…Master… I stutter and stammer.” (The Message)

Moses lived during the height of Egyptian civilization. He was reared in Pharaoh’s house, trained in diplomacy, and likely educated in rhetoric. But when God asked him to live out his purpose he told God that he couldn’t because he stuttered.

We stutter when we hesitate. Moses’ past in Egypt made it hard for him to go back. We stutter when we get ahead of God. The future task of leading the exodus was daunting. But this was God’s purpose for Moses’ life.

God has a purpose for your life. When you are confronted by the work of God, do you stutter because of your past? Do you stutter because of what it might mean? God’s plan is prepared for each of us, and we are specially designed for His purpose. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." -- Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

Why do you stutter?

Benjamin Rainey is the lead pastor of Severn River Church, a new church in the Severna Park area. Weekend services are held in the Florestano Building at Anne Arundel Community College, Sundays at 10:00 AM. For information please visit www.severnriverchurch.com, or read daily at www.benjaminrainey.com .

When Christians Lie

I came to notice several years ago that Christians lie. The problem is they lie to themselves at the same time that the lie to others. They think that if they focus on a part of the truth, that it substitutes for the whole truth. They think that if they do that, that it isn't a lie, and thus lie to themselves. In the effort to be nice and not hurt feelings we aren't up front with people, but we should just tell people the honest truth. And this might be the worst part. It's often the people that should tell the whole truth that don't.

When someone finally finds out the whole truth, they don't feel spared. They feel used. No one should have to find out the truth from strangers, it should be from friends. The fact is that sometimes the truth hurts. But tears should be shed together with friends not held back in the presence of the stranger who just cared enough about you to be honest. I hate this.

Leaders, get some courage and be honest with people. Stop jerking their lives around.

--Ben

Assessment

We have taken great strides in the last decade in the way churches are planted. There is a higher rate of success now than over the last several decades. One of the tools that we're utilizing is called an Assessment. During the assessment we meet with the prospective planter and spouse to spend an entire day interviewing them on their past experience with ministry. The guiding principle is that past performance is the best indicator of future results.

Today I'll spend between 6 and 8 hours with this couple and another assessor hearing stories of ministry past. It is always a long day, but it is always encouraging as well.

--Ben

Different Perspectives

A couple years ago when I started my masters work, I had a ton of text reading to do. I remember going to class and getting to the discussion of the text and listening to other people talk about the same book I had read. I couldn't believe it. I thought that I had read the wrong book. My reading perspective was totally different, and I'm not generally a skimmer, I fall into every word. (certain exceptions apply).

I learned after experiencing this several times that it is part of the beauty of human perception; it is all based on the individual and the collective experiences guiding their view. Occasionally I reach out to a select group of people that I feel have a good sense of scripture to help me with sermon preparation. I ask them to answer a question or offer a thought on a subject. I do it because I think it enriches the pool for me to pull from. Certain perspectives I have are limited compared to their offerings.

I always appreciate it.

--Ben

Book Review: Raving Fans

I read this book a little while back. Raving Fans is a management book on customer service. It is written as a parable as many of Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles are apt to offer. It was a pretty easy read, and contains a simple plan for outstanding customer service: Decide, Discover, and Deliver.

Deciding what your vision of the perfect performance is the starting point. Create a vision of perfection that is centered on the customer. Until you know what it looks like, you can never generate Raving Fans. The recommend taking time away closing your eyes and imagining what your company would look like if it were operating perfectly. Then begin bringing that vision to reality through those you manage.

Discover what your customer's vision is. Only after you have a firm handle on your own vision can you then listen to your customers to find out what they expect of you. The fact is though that they don't have a full vision for what you should be doing. They have only a limited vision of what they want you to do. Finding those two or three things they are focused on helps to smooth the bumps between what you offer and what they need. It is in this process that you may find that their vision is something that is not at all a part of your vision. At that point you have to be able to say, "Farewell, but we can't help you."

Deliver plus one is the idea that knowing your vision, and your customer's vision you are going to build systems to make sure you deliver every time. The "Plus One" idea is that changes occur in one percent increments. It is embracing the idea that we can deliver plus make a one percent improvement above expectations.

Pretty simple but good advice, plus a handful of snippet things to think about:

• Marketing: "The assumption was that the public was a mindless group of buyers and that with proper advertising and promotion, products could be produced en masse and sold to naive buyers. Unfortunatly, as I tour the country speaking,, I find too many young managers still think this way."
• "Washrooms will always tell you whether a company cares about their customers."
• "Don't offer too much, at least at the start."
• "What you have to do is promise more and deliver more."

Pretty easy read. Good travel read.

--Ben

Funny Sight

I saw this at Home Depot yesterday and I thought it was hilarious. Not sure that I'd put a trailer hitch on a sports car like this. To each their own I guess.

--Ben

Book Review: Banker To The Poor

Banker To The Poor is an autobiography of Muhammad Yunus winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a fascinating story of a man that has changed the economic destiny of thousands. The book was recommended to me by an economics major during lunch at a Subway in Annapolis two years ago. We were on break during a certification class I was part of, and we ended up sitting together. Her interest in the subject was infectious so I put it on my wishlist, and at Christmas I received it as a gift.

I'll try to sum up the story line. Yunus' life is a bit like the fictional life of Forest Gump. In the movie Forest ended up being in the right place at the right time, and met amazing people and accomplished amazing things. That's a bit how Yunus' life turned out. He happened to be in the US when Bangladesh was winning it's independance from Pakistan, and subsequently gained noteriety as an ambassador of sorts for this new country. He became part of the government for a time, and taught at the country's university. He became bothered when all around him he saw the world's poorest, and all the economic theories and practices were doing nothing to help them. He began a research project to determine a way to help the Bangali poor. What he discovered has affected the world's poor. Through micro-lending, the act of lending small amounts to the poorest for business enterprise, he has found a way to change the future of many.

It only takes a few dollars in some parts of the world to set enterprising people, women mostly, on their way to provision. His bank Grameen has lent to many, and their approach has spread around the world, and has even been implemented in the USA. Micro-lending has become a legitimate form of economic theory.

This book was quite inspiring as it recounted this story of going against the odds, standing up to hostile banks, and NGOs to show them a better way to help the poor. Yunus' contribution to the world has been remarkable.

I recommend this book.

--Ben

MUZAK

I saw a Muzak truck out today, I was surprised because I thought they went out of business earlier this year, BUT>>>

The real reason for this post is to seek input on music selections for the new superset. If you have song suggestions for the band please click HERE and post them. We appreciate it.

For more information about our superset strategy CLICK HERE.

--Ben

Had A Great Day

I ended up holed up in the Severna Park Library for the morning hours, actually found some commentaries in the Library that aided my study, and collected some inspiration from the new J.J. Abrams edition of WIRED magazine. Then came home for lunch and stuck around my desk to pull info off the interweb and study some more. Learning a lot about Habakkuk, and looking forward to sharing it in our upcoming series, "Twiddle".

--Ben

Preaching Retreat

Time for my monthly preaching retreat. Today will be spent sans computer, just bible, notepad, and prayer. These days are for hearing from God about the things He wants to speak, and the way He wants to share them. I try to rely on His creativity and put together the plan for upcoming series'.

My method is to follow the map of an annual preaching calendar that I put together in November for the next year. Then I spend a day each month praying over upcoming series. Most of the day is spent thinking, praying and jotting notes. It informs my weekly Monday afternoon and Wednesday preparation times.

For the future file -- I dream of a day when I'll work with a preaching team. We will work through these exercises together, and share the preaching responsibilities.

--Ben

Coaching

Yesterday afternoon I had my first game coaching. It was fun and funny at times. How did it go? Well, let's put it this way the yellow team scored like 12 goals and my blue team scored three. When my father-in-law asked Sydney if she won she said, "Yes".

These kids are winners, but they also need to work on some things. That's why they need a coach. :-)

I love it!

--Ben
* Photo by Aunt Ariel.

Sermon Mulligan

In golf there is a term called "a mulligan". Actually it is not an actual golf term, it is a popular term that hobbyists use. It is the act of retaking a shot because the previous shot was so bad or off the mark. In the game it is cheating to take a mulligan.

I once heard a friend share that he was golfing by himself, and ended up in a foursome with three elderly men that he didn't know. Out on the course he sliced an iron shot badly into the trees, quickly grabbed another ball, dropped it, smiled, and said "I'm taking a mulligan."

One of the old men that he was playing with walked over to him and said, "Take every shot like you've only got one shot. In life there are no mulligans."

I don't know if this is the best place to say it, but we can be honest can't we? Yesterday's message was sliced into the trees. I was actually relieved when my brother-in-law told me at dinner that I had my mic muted during the whole message so there is no recording. It wasn't for lack of preparation, as much as a lack of refinement. I had too much to say, and probably ended up saying nothing.

No mulligans! Sunday I'll try to get back on the fairway. I want to preach every message like it's my only message.

--Ben

Work Advice From Yesterday's Message

I added this as an addendum to my teaching yesterday on Christ-like Achievement. I'm posting it here like I promised. These are pieces of advice that I've picked up over the years that inform my work ethic. I'm going to expand some thoughts and citations below:

Work Advice:

1. People that know How will always work for people that know Why. [Benjamin Rainey, Sr.] This has motivated me to be a learner. I want to understand not just how, but why.
   
2. Work hard and learn the jobs that others in your office do in addition to your own. Make yourself so valuable you make it impossible for you boss to pick you for the lay-off. [Benjamin Rainey, Sr. ] I have never faced a lay-off, but I have always put this into practice. I've just always figured it's better to know how to do everyone's job because I can: a. help them as a kindness, b. fill in when they're out of work.
   
3. Arrive ten minutes before your boss, leave ten minutes after your boss. [Rev. Troy Jones] In some work environments, it is difficult for a boss to quantify whether his workers are with him. This advice helps communicate, I'm willing to work for the overall goal. It will make a difference in the respect that your supervisor gives you. By the way, don't just sit around watching to see if your boss has left yet, be productive during that twenty minutes.
   
4. Respect people's time; don't be late. When you are late you're stealing time, and breaking one of the Ten Commandments, "Thou shalt not steal." [Dr. Robert Rhoden] Dr. Rhoden shared this out of his own experience of being habitually late. He was confronted by a boss over this issue and he made a change. I've always believed and taught the rule, "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is unacceptable."
   
5. Don't open your paycheck in front of your boss. [Ben Rainey special] This is a little rule that I live by. It is rude and foolish to present yourself who is only interested in the money. Scripture is clear that a workman deserves his wages, but maybe we can learn from the business guru Kenny Rogers, "Never count your money when you're sitting at the table. There'll be time enough for counting when the [boss is gone]." In most cases your boss has nothing to do with writing the checks anyway. If there is a problem go to the appropriate person.
   
6. Contribute to your company's bottom line, before they have to make cuts. [From Fortune Magazine] This advice reflects the teachings of Jesus -- faithful with little can be entrusted with much.

What work advice could you share? Leave a comment.

--Ben

One Year Later

I originally blogged these words a year ago today. I still believe them, and wanted to share them again for my new readers since last year. Today I turned 31. On a personal note, I didn't search for this until today, but it is interesting to me in light of what I've been planning to preach tomorrow. (Note: I did not finish my Masters degree this year :-( )

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Today is April 18 as you can tell by the time stamp of this post. Today is my 30th birthday. Someone asked me how I felt about it, and I shared with them the truth. I want to be older. It seems to be a contrarian view more and more that there is venerability with age. More and more we are a society that esteems youth, but I believe that age and experience are vital to fulfilling the mission of our life.

I view my life as preparation. In thirty years I have tried to prepare myself for the future that God has in store for me. In thirty years I have met the woman of my dreams, married her, and started a family. I've learned what a father's heart feels like in the elation of love that I feel for my girls and the pain of the fear that I may lose them. I've purchased a home, started investing in my future, bought and sold real estate. I've graduated high school, college, and plan to graduate from grad school for the first time this year. I've given my professional life to ministry to God and others. I'm proud of the church that I started and love each person that makes it what it is. I've established a track record of a good name and heart, all while walking with feet of clay. And while some of these seem like achievements I view them more as prerequisites. Things required in advance. In advance of what? Destiny.

I have a destination, but it's not here and now. It is there and then. I choose to live my life preparing so that when the moment comes, that deciding moment, when the destiny of my life reaches its climax I will be prepared.

My preparation has taught me that I'm weak and frail. That I'm not smart or clever enough. I'm not capable of loving pure enough, or of protecting strong enough. I can't trust in the provision of wealth or race to gain it. I am secure then in my destiny. I am not destined for greatness. I am destined for grace.

Whatever my life may prove to be, it is all preparation for the life that is to come. Prepare for tomorrow. Live like there's no tomorrow.

--Ben

The Parade

I don't have any photos yet, though I'm sure they'll be plenty floating around the internet soon. We had a blast. The parade route is a straight shot down Aquahart rd to Corkran Middle School. Then we rounded up on the field and had an opening ceremony.

That's a little more than a mile walk, so we loaded the kids up in the back of the Truck and drove them down the parade route. A couple of our fathers carried the banner like champs, and I got to walk next to the truck to make sure no kiddies became road kill.

There was a competition for team banners, and I thought we were competing against everyone. Instead, it turned out only to be against other Tot-4 teams, and Corie's banner won. She was so excited, and I was so proud of her. All the parents wanted to know if she was an art major. (Answer no, but she's very talented and a hard worker.)

A good time was had by all.

--Ben

Coaching

This season I'm coaching Sydney's Tot-4 soccer team. We have six kids on the team, and it has been a good experience so far. We haven't played any games yet, but that all starts Sunday. It is a great way to meet new people though.

Last season Sydney was the top scorer on her team. This year, she's the youngest on her team, and it shows. She's a step slower, and a second slower mentally processing what is going on. It's good for her. I'm looking forward to her development over the season.

I'll keep you informed.

--Ben

Arundel House Of Hope

I just attended a very inspirational ribbon cutting. As a member of the Chamber of Commerce I was invited to be a part of this special event. It was the dedication and blessing of a house for the homeless that is run by Arundel House of Hope.

Here are some pictures of the event and it was my pleasure to meet Pastors Beal from Woods Memorial Presbyterian, and the pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Glen Burnie. They were both very cordial in welcoming me to the work at SRC.

Arundel House Of Hope is a non-profit, faith based initiative to serve the homeless. They have launched three homes that provide room and job training. The Severna Park house immediately adjacent to Severna Park Church Of God is the latest to open.

Enjoying The Trip

Today I got to meet with Patrick Grach, lead pastor of Lifehouse East out in Hagerstown, MD. It was a good time to reconnect. There are times that one month doesn't seem long enough. It is such a whirlwind and at times there is not enough time to set things in motion to report on them when I return. However, last month we were unable to connect. So today I found that two months is too long. There was a lot to catch up on. But it was nice to recount the things that God is doing at SRC. I'm enjoying the ride. I don't think we always enjoy it, and probably aren't always meant to, but I'm sure you can agree that when you can enjoy it, it's worth it.

A new follower of Christ just this week. The result of friends that knew that Jesus is the hope of the world, and shared their faith and church. I want to go to church with people like that! I can't wait for the Baptism. We'll be borrowing a tub or something to get this guy baptized and give glory to God.

--Ben

Interesting Days

These are interesting days in our nation's history. Yesterday Texas offered a bill reaffirming the 10th Amendment that declares sovereignty from the Federal Government related to all limitations placed on the Federal Government by the Constitution. It's the closest thing we've had to secession since the Civil War.

Today, on tax day, there are at least 300 Tea Parties taking place in 50 states. These are loosely organized gatherings of protesters modeled after the Boston Tea Party of our nations history. They are likely not organized around any particular thing, but give anyone that wants to protest a platform to dissent with the government.

This week we fought pirates on the high seas, and had a national debate over whether the President's dog was an appropriate fit in the White House.

But the Orioles are 6-2... These are interesting days.

--Ben

Easter Photos Posted

To see our pics from Easter click HERE.

A New Christ Follower

So thankful for the chance to sit in an Atlanta Bread Company and introduce someone else to the joy of following Jesus. It was a young man who knew God as God but not as Lord. Great to read through scripture with him, and lead him in prayer to receive Christ.

Thanks for SRCers that invited him first to small group, then to weekend service. I just helped finish their work.

--Ben

Rest

There is a blog that I regularly follow call Swerve. Great blog for pastors. Today the topic was boundaries, specifically Sabbath rest. Many pastors struggle to take a day off because there is always some urgent demand for their time from someone or something. I regard rest as a spiritual discipline, a necessary part of following Jesus. The question was asked about how we handle setting the boundary, and I commented. Thought I'd repost it here. (You've probably read all this before, but if you want more reading on Sabbath rest use the Ben's Box on the right side of the page to search)

I worked for a Pastor that talked about rest and didn’t do it. I made a habit of taking a day off when I worked for him as a means of helping him take breaks. When I started my church 2 1/2 years ago I kept up the habit.
In a small church, one pastor situation here are things that have worked for me to keep the boundary:
1. Tell people about your day off and why it is important.
2. Teach rest as a spiritual discipline for everyone not just pastors.
3. Celebrate what you do on your time off.
4. Ask others what they do with their days off.
5. Turn your phone/computer off as a regular fast.
6. When you travel leave instructions on voice mail that you’re on vacation, and that you’ve selected a contact person to answer any questions. Then only answer phone calls on vacation from that person.

Are there weeks where things are heavy? Yeah. But sabbath is for man not man for the sabbath. The biggest question I wrestle with is the faith it takes to practice a sabbath. Can I trust God to do more with six days, then I can do with seven?

Ministry Management

Managers ask the question, "Are we doing things right?" Leaders ask, "Are we doing the right things?"

Church Planters, at least this one, are tasked with both. I pray for the day when I can focus much more on leading, but for now I try to juggle both hats. (That's a mixed metaphor)

I'm particularly thankful for a developing ministry team that are helping manage the load. One of my managers has over the last couple weeks really started to take initiative for managing his area. (Thanks to Drew in Quadrant 2 overseeing Mixers and Small Groups).

I think it was Jack Welch that said, "If it can't be measured, it can't be managed." Well I've been doing some measurements from our first semester and here are a couple things that have stood out.

• 1:3 Visitor Ratio. One visitor for every three SRCers.
• 30% retention to a second visit.
• 10% retention to a third visit.
• 80.7% of our weekend attendance attend small groups.
• 54% of our church give financially to God's work here. (Not sure what to do with that number. It is not an accurate portrayal. Giving records are only kept by one name in the family so the number is skewed. Additionally it doesn't count cash gifts that are given without a name. But it is as close as I can get at this point.)
• 10+% of our giving has gone out or is set aside to be given to missions projects around the world from Baltimore to Brussels.

Those are just some of the numbers from this semester.

--Ben

Photos

I heard that Drew took 124 pictures yesterday. Can't wait to see them on Severnriverchurch.com. In the mean time you can check out the latest photos from our bowling mixer last month. Click HERE.

--Ben

And Exhale

Just took a long deep breath; a cleansing breath. Yesterday, like most Easter's, was a rushing whirlwind for me, and I loved every minute. There are so many things that I love about Easter, let me give you a run down:

• I love how pretty my girls look in polka dots.
  
• I love, love, love the Easter Egg Hunt, and the kids running around surrounded by eggs.
  
• I love that we added an Adult Egg this year with a $25.00 gift card to Panera Bread. Congrats to Betty Moore.
• I love seeing friends that I haven't seen in a while. Church is a gathering place on Easter, and in someways a reset button of faith. People that have been far from God can pick up where they left off in practicing their faith.
• I love the sugar rush (not mine) that I see in my girls as they run in circles and squeel.
• I love going out to lunch with my family and hearing about the things they enjoyed about Easter services at their churches.
• I love the baskets of home made candy my mom makes.
• I loved worshipping with members of my family that I had never worshipped with before on Easter.
• I love Jesus, the reason for the whole thing.
  

It was a great Easter!

--Ben

He Is Risen!!!

The Easter Egg Hunt is set for tomorrow after service. I'm looking forward to it. Even though we leave it to our children to collect the eggs and eat most of the candy, I still love the feeling of watching them run around picking up eggs. Let's be honest, there are so many eggs that there is really no hunting involved. I just love seeing the kids' eyes when their baskets are heaping over with eggs.

See you tomorrow.

How I Use Twitter

Twitter is changing our nation, and you may not be aware of it. Now, after starting that way, let me say that I'm not as big a fan of twitter as many are, but I have found it useful and wanted to tell you why.

I use twitter to update this blog when I can't get to it. On the right side of the page is a place for twitter updates. When I can't get on and write a full post, I try to keep you up to date on what's going on. Where I am and what I'm doing. I don't expect many people to "Follow" me (that's the verbage that Twitter people use). I just put it up there so that when you come to this page looking for information and updates you can find something fresh, usually.

We are also exploring applications for the church using twitter. We think it might be a useful tool in communication urgent messages for example: "campus closed today due to snow" or "Please pray for Pastor Ben he has been involved in a car accident." Through the technology of twitter you could have those urgent updates sent directly to your phone as a text message getting the most up to date information at standard text message rates. We would only use it for urgent and important information.

If you want to give twitter a try you can create a free account at www.twitter.com. When you do you can search benrainey (all one word) and start following me to see how it works.
What are other technological tools that you think could help our church communicate better?

--Ben

Inviting

This semester my small group has been doing a series called Experiencing God. The basic premise is that God is always at work around us so we need to experience what He's doing and join him in it. Henry Blackaby the author of Experiencing God refers to spiritual antennae that go up to sense what God is doing. I have been trying to be more sensitive lately to what God is doing.

The other day I was heading to soccer practice and passed a man that stepped out from where he was standing and looked at me like he knew me. We didn't know each other, but we stood and talked for a couple minutes. I offered that I'm a member of the Chamber of Commerce, no. I suggested that I'm a pastor in the area, no. Then I segued right into an invitation to SRC. He pretty much declined right away, but I had the sense that God wanted me to do that. As I stood there I prayed, "God what are you doing right now? I just want to be part of it."

Then yesterday after soccer a parent overheard us saying that Sydney needed to head off to rainbows. A parent started asking questions and one thing led to another. I was telling him about PAG, SRC, and inviting him to Easter service with us. I didn't go expecting that conversation to come up, but when it did, I tried to follow the Lord in what He was doing. I hope it was a blessing for that man's family.

I'm inviting people to church and to faith. I believe in a lifestyle of faith and want to live mine out by going public for others.

Have you gone public with your faith this week?

--Ben

Innovative Leadership Experience: Rev., Dr. Barry Black

Barry Black has an alliterated name, and that just makes it cool to say. Go ahead feel the B's roll of your lips. I'll wait...

I got to enter the Capitol building twice in one day and by different entrances. In the morning we entered via the underground tunnel that connects the Senate building to the Capitol. That was a cool experience in itself as I got to ride on the little trains that haul Senators back and forth. (Senator McCain passed in another train going the opposite way.) Then in the afternoon we entered through a side entrance reserved for those with official appointments. We were directed upstairs and into a hallway that led into the office of the Chaplain of the Senate. It is a small office, just Dr. Black and a few assistants.

Dr. Black began the meeting by giving us some history. There is an attempt regularly to have his position deemed unconstitutional because of the establishment clause, a clause in the Constitution that forbids the state from establishing a religion. However, since the Chaplain of the Senate was selected three days before that clause was added to the Constitution the Supreme Court has upheld the framers choice to include the Chaplaincy.

Because of his position he now ministers to about 7000 people: Senators, spouses, children, staffers and their families. That's a lot or one man, but it is evident from our conversation that Barry Black is up to the challenge. More telling is the fact that multiple times throughout the trip we would mention his name and always got a warm recommendation of the work he's doing there on Capitol Hill.

He is a big time believer in Christian education. He has a deeper sense of it than most. He was raised in housing projects in Baltimore City. It was the love of his mother and the godly influences he received through Christian education that brought him from "The Hood To The Hill" (the title of his book).

This is the essence of his biblical encouragement to us:

• If you're going to change the future of your nation have integrity like Joseph.
• If you're going to change the future of your nation do your duty like Miriam.
• If you're going to change the future of your nation seek God's wisdom like Solomon.
• If you're going to change the future of your nation have devotion like Daniel.

It was an inspiring meeting to say the least. This was a man who has lived the principles he passed on, and is a blessing to our nation though not elected to political office.

--Ben

Wednesday Already?

This week is flying. I don't know how yours is going, but some weeks just go by quickly. I'm looking forward to Easter this weekend, it's going to be a great celebration.

--Ben

Innovative Leadership Experience: The Honorable John Ashcroft

Definitely one of the highlights of my recent trip was visiting with John Ashcroft. He currently works in DC and has a consultancy firm. He was able to give us a half hour appointment, and squeezed more into that half hour than most people can. Some of the things I observed was his presence. He was a force in the room. I was traveling mainly with college students, and their insecurity was evident in stark contrast to his command and confidence. He invited us to join him around a table in his office. When students sheepishly stood looking around trying to figure out which seat they should sit in, Mr. Ashcroft started point, "You sit there, you sit there." It was A Game all the way. He let us know every moment that he was there to give his best, and we should bring nothing less to the table.

Mr. Ashcroft defines leadership as "changing the definition of the possible through the selection of noble objectives. Pursuing the possible with such intention people join in."

He then told us quickly about the difference between Leaders and Cab Drivers. The metaphor of the Cab Drivers represents someone that takes you where you are already going. Leaders don't do that, they take you where you need to go. In DC in particular Mr. Ashcroft expressed that there are many Cab Drivers that try to take on the title of Leader. The poll vault (his word play) ahead of the people. He means they conduct polls regularly to get a sense of where people are going, what will resonate with them, and then use that information to get ahead of the crowd so that when they arrive at the destination they were heading anyway, the Cab Driver says, "See I was here before you, and have led you to this place/outcome." A true Leader changes the definition of the possible, so that he/she can lead people to an outcome they never imagined on their own.

One thing that stood out about Mr. Ashcroft is that he is a man of deep faith. In fact, he pursued politics because he felt he could positively affect our country through godly wisdom that he would bring to the podium. He shared that there are only a few people who get the podium in our country: Professional athletes, Pop singers, Movie stars, and politicians. His effort was to be the light of Christ while he was at the podium of our culture. He took a lot of flack for that, in fact if you've paid attention he was pretty near crucified for his beliefs. Mr. Ashcroft held open devotions during non-work hours where people could come read the scripture with him and pray. The media charged him with imposing his religion on the American people. When he shared about these charges he said, "What I've told anyone related to this issue is this: It is against my religion to impose my religion." And he's right. Christianity is not a faith that seeks the power of imposition, rather it is a faith that offers freedom through invitation.

It was a great meeting. It was very inspirational, and the view out his ninth floor office overlooking the church that Thomas Jefferson attended while in DC wasn't bad either.

--Ben

Easter Egg Hunt -- This Sunday!!!

Can't wait for the Easter Egg Hunt this Sunday. Yesterday during the ministry time, I slipped out and down the hall to check in with the kids. I told them about the Egg Hunt coming up, and let them know they should invite some friends to come have fun.

We do the Egg Hunt every Easter out in the amphitheater and the kids have a blast, which makes it fun for the parents. On top of that it is a great way to show off a beautiful part of campus, it always makes for great pictures.

Our Easter Service starts at 10:00 a.m. and the Easter Egg Hunt kicks off at the conclusion of the service. All are welcome!

--Ben

Small Group Question: Why Do We Have Church On Sundays?

This week I was asked a question that came up in a small group, and thought I'd post the answer here.

Why Do We Have Church On Sundays?

First, I'd like to say that I love this question because it is a foundations question. Why? is the most fundamental question in our thinking. There are a host of explanations that play into the answer: historical, traditional, religious, contextual, and perhaps others. But these are the thoughts I've put together.

1. Historical: The Christian church meets on Sunday because it was the day that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. The first Christians were Jewish in faith. They had been given a command to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy. One day in seven that was dedicated to the Lord. It was a day of rest in worship to the Lord. When Jesus ascended into heaven leaving a small following of believers they continued for a short time doing "double duty"; that is, they honored both the teachings of Judaism and Christianity. Later through a conference of the Apostolic leadership they concluded that the law of Judaism had been fulfilled in Christ, and they dropped the Saturday worship and adopted the Sunday worship. In fact, the early church would meet early in the morning on Sundays to watch the Sunrise. It served as a visual reminder of the Resurrection of Christ. That is the central celebration of the Church. Because of this practice of the earliest Christians it has been replicated until today.
2. Traditional: Building on the idea of history we have a more recent period of tradition. When people fled religious persecution to come to the new world, they chose to honor the history of the church with Sunday worship. Sunday became a special day of the week in the colonies of America. In the towns that made up our national landscape Sunday was the day of rest and worship. It was a time in our history where churches played a more central role in community life. These were days without movie theaters and football so the church played host to lunches and service, giving way through history to Sunday School (originally and effort to educate illiterate children). And so beyond history, American tradition has made Sunday the day of worship for the church.
3. Religious: This is probably a bit of a stretch, but I think if we could define religious as the practice of faith, then we can see the problem the church would face if we had floating days of worship. The need for consistent meeting together, something scripture advocates (Hebrews 10), becomes much more manageable when set on a particular day. I guess you could classify this as religious/organizational.
4. Contextual: One of the important questions that I think we should ask is about context. It is context more than anything that guided our decision to start a church that met on Sundays. In the Annapolis-area Sunday is still THE day of Christian worship in the minds of every citizen. We could look to the Catholic church which has led the way with Saturday mass but I would submit even Catholics contextualize Sunday as the day of Christian worship, they just find their schedule fits otherwise. Church and any other time of the week doesn't really resonate with our culture, probably because of major influence Christianity has had in the previous points.

Now that I've said all that let me point to Scripture and give you a biblical answer, Church doesn't have to meet on Sundays. Colossians 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge by what you eat or drink, or with regards to religious festivals, or a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." Paul goes on to explain that the institution of the Jewish law was fulfilled in Christ and therefore no longer served as the measurement of righteousness. Christ was now the measure, and righteous worship is not tied to a day of the week or specific diet. Paul advocated for a first day of the week worship (1 Corinthians 16), but I don't think he tied any spiritual preeminence to it.

What questions/thoughts do you have to add to the conversations? (feel free to leave a comment)

--Ben

Bible Reading

One of the habits of devoted Christ followers is reading, study and meditation of the Bible. I have heard over the years people who say, "Yeah, I read the Bible once. Why would I need to read it again? I know what it says." I find this puzzling, because I have read the Bible through multiple times and still come across new understandings. Then there's the process of bumping into scripture that I enjoy from reading through the Bible.

In the last couple months I've heard a verse repeated in different settings, and while I was inclined to take the persons word for it, I wanted to read it from the scriptures to write it on my heart.

Today I bumped into that scripture and was encouraged. I'll share it with you, though I doubt it will mean as much as if you read it from scripture for yourself as the Spirit leads you...

Proverbs 16:1, 9: To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

--Ben

What Did You Do With Your Day Off?

I make so secret about my regard for a day off. In the profession I'm in, a day off is a necessity and it falls to each pastor to guard his own time. Like everyone else in the world if you don't have a plan for your schedule, someone else does.

Last night a friend from the church asked what I had done with my day off. So I recounted the day. I had hoped to work on a bearing problem on my jeep. But the rain precluded me from that, which left more time with my girls. It was unlike many recent weeks in that Corie had off from substituting at school. So the whole family went shopping. Yay!! (not really.)

But if I had to shop this was the way I like to do it. I'll fill you in on my shopping plan. First, go to Arundel Mills. Second, drop Corie off in a store shopping, and say to the girls, "Hey who wants to go see the fish?". Third spend thirty to forty minutes in Bass Pro watching the fish swim around in the giant tank, then look at all the stuffed game from around the world, wonder by the gun racks to see if your friend is working. These are my secrets to dealing with shopping.

--Ben

One More Repost

This article is available through washingtonpost.com. It is in regards to a pastor friend of mine, Mark Lehman that was asked to open the State Senate in prayer.

Senate President Scolds Pastor

Some prayer controversy occurred today in the Maryland Senate.

Senate president Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) chastised the pastor of a Bowie church this morning for including too much Jesus in a prayer that opened the day's proceedings. That pastor is now speaking out, saying he was confused and disappointed by the criticism.

Both the House and Senate open each day with a prayer. In the House, delegates take turns doing the honors. Senators invite clergy from their districts to offer words. The prayers are generally ecumenical, occasionally mentioning God, rarely mentioning Jesus. Guidelines advise those who offer the prayer to try to be sensitive to the many faiths of the elected leaders who take part.

Today, Pastor Mark Lehmann, a guest of Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Prince George's), led senators in a lengthy prayer. He quoted King David, he referenced the apostle James, he expressed thanks that senators could put "trust in the hands of a changeless God" in changing times.

He concluded, "We humbly ask these things in the name of the name that is above all names, the matchless name of Jesus our Savior. It is in His name that we pray."

As he descended from the rostrum, Miller piped up. He asked that Lehman's remarks not be journalized--that is, saved for posterity. Then, with annoyance, he asked the secretary of the senate, "Do we see these things ahead of time? Do we?"

Lehmann says, yes, in fact. This is the third time he has prayed in the Maryland senate and, knowing this very issue might come up, he submitted his remarks at 9:30 a.m. and was sure to stick to his prepared text.

"I told them up front that I have to do that--that's how I pray," he said. "To me, to deny Jesus is to deny my faith."

Lehmann said waiting in the Senate lounge before coming to the floor to offer the prayer, he noted a painting featuring a large cross and the words, "the founding of the Maryland."

"To me, if there were ever a time in our state history when we needed help from above, it's now," he said.

Lehmann said he is unlikely to pray with the Maryland General Assembly again.

UPDATE: Lehmann wrote us this morning with a clarification. He'd be happy to lead the Maryland senate in prayer again, if he's allowed to do so in Jesus' name.

Picked This Article Up This Morning.

The news of this movie screening was publicized this morning on the web. I'm thankful that the University changed their plans.

Porn Flick At University Of Maryland Is Cancelled

Thursday, April 02, 2009
WBAL Radio as reported by Steve Fermier and Scott Wykoff

Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge, a a hard-core pornographic film scheduled to be shown this weekend at the Hoff Theatre at the University of Maryland in College park, has now been cancelled.

The campus theatre had scheduled a screening this weekend of the triple-x rated film.

C.D. Mote Jr., President of the University of Maryland in College Park, decided to cancel the midnight screening in the campus theatre at the Stamp Student Union.

His decision came today after state lawmakers took to the floor of the Senate and threatened to cut funding to the university of the film was screened this weekend.

Prior to that, university officials at College Park were justifying the showing at midnight on Saturday at the Hoff Theatre as a way to offer an alternative to late night drinking.

The Hoff Theatre director said that it would be "something fun for the students to do."

Dozens of advanced tickets had been sold by the middle of the week.

One campus chaplain described the movie as "degrading."

Low Tech Time Management

Today I sat next to a guy that noticed my calendar. He made the comment, "That's a bit of a step back for you isn't it?" I told him about my recent change in time management techniques. One thing that I learned from my trip last week with John Ashcroft and the rest was the value of time. Leaders at that level don't sit around wasting time. They have embraced the fact that there is an unlimited amount of work and a very limited amount of time. When you come to the table, you'd better be on time and ready to get to the matter at hand.

One story that Ashcroft shared was that when he was AG he would have morning briefings with the President. The meeting was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. If you were not a half hour early, then you were late. In fact, most mornings John would be on the road to his office after the meeting and notice that it was about 8:25 a.m. Once he showed up at 8:09 and the door to the President's Office was closing. He had to stick his foot in the door to get into the meeting.

The way we manage time has a lot to do with the definition of our character. Our integrity is tied up in unparalleled ways to the way we treat Time and Money. When it comes to the method that one uses to manage time there is one principle that I believe overwhelmingly informs our efforts: Do whatever works for you and facilitates you being the best you can be.

--Ben

The Pastors

I attended a monthly gathering of pastors. I go monthly to the Pastor's Growth Group, and have appreciated more than the teaching, the brotherhood that is emerging among the pastors that have been attending. In the last year we have even had some new friends join in and I feel a growing friendship with them.

My daughter regularly wants to know where I'm going and who I'm going to be with. I have simplified the language for her. Today I told her, "I'm going to a meeting with the pastors." I look forward to when she gets older and will get to meet these friends, and hopefully one day she'll understand the blessing they are to my life.

--Ben

The Event

Earlier this year we decided to take steps of improving the relationships of people in the church by creating social outings to meet and hang out. We call these mixers.

Our first mixer was last Saturday night. The team that put it together did a great job with their first one, and I heard that a good time was had by those that were there. I however was not. I was on my trip to DC. It was really interesting because it was the first event entirely planned and put together without my direct involvement at SRC. We have really noticed the limitation placed on our church when I'm involved in everything. I fielded a couple calls on Saturday night from people that needed directions and stuff like that, but by and large it was all handled by the team. This gave us a whole new perspective on how ministry can be accomplished. Over twenty people showed up for bowling. So glad to have a win like this on the front end of this new ministry.

--Ben

Coach

Today I begin my first season as soccer coach. Sydney started playing last fall, and is playing again this spring. The league apparently has difficulty finding coaches. I volunteered, and so I'm the coach.

Today is our first practice. Should be fun.

--Coach