Ahhhhh . . . It’s the scent of new pencils and new crayons and new curriculum notebooks!  Yup.  Kids’ Small Groups are starting up again.  Gone are the worship bags.  Gone are the fruit snacks.  It’s time for our kids (and adults, too!) to get reengaged with one another, building relationships, becoming known, reading God’s word, becoming more like Him.

Children’s Ministry kicks off a new season on September 11 with joy and anticipation.  We are excited to have wonderful kids’ small group leaders who are committed to our vision of growing our children closer to God by building relationships and modeling what it is to be a follower of Christ.  Much of what our leaders do downstairs is get to know our kids.  Talk to them.  Pray for them.  Teach them.  Cheer for them.  Have fun with them.  We are still in need of a few leaders. I’d love to talk with you about that to see if leading a kids’ small group is the right fit for you at Restoration.  Leave a comment below or find me at church on Sunday!

Here’s what our kids will be learning this year:
•    Nursery and preschool – God is love and because He loves us, we can show His love to others.
•    Kindergarten – 2nd Grade – As we look at the attributes of God, we will be challenged to consider our response to Him; a God who is worthy of our praise.
•    3rd-5th Grade – What is salvation by faith alone and what does it mean that we are transformed to look more like Jesus when we respond to His call to follow Him?

So, a new season also means new registration information, too.  Every child – nursery through elementary school – needs to register for this school year.  If your child is of nursery age (newborn to not yet 3), click here to register. If your child will be three by September 30, 2011, click here to register for preschool- and elementary-aged kids’ small groups .
We have the most fabulous team of leaders for the year – Ashley and Gaston Mooney, Tim and Carey Fenton, Rachel Hoppe, Nan Swift, Brent Jones, Susie Wallin, Patty Downie, Lawrie Gibson, Simon Gray, Lauren Breeden, Kelly Schumann, Kat Goetz, and maybe even YOU!  Please pray for each of them by name as they prepare to commit their time and talent to growing our children.

Despite a new season, we have the same God who is merciful, gracious, and compassionate.  His desire is for us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. . . . Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Mark 12:30-31) THAT is what we are teaching our children at Restoration.

Did you know that roughly 20% of our congregation is made up of kids ranging in age from nursery to 5th grade?  20%! (No wonder there is so much more room in the pews when they leave . . .)   Ever wonder what they are up to downstairs while you enjoy a bit more elbow room?

Our Children’s Small Groups meet throughout the school year in clumps of nursery (newborn to not-yet-three), preschool, Kindergarten-2nd grade, and 3rd-5th grade.  We use every inch of downstairs to share prayer requests, study the Bible, play games, and build relationships – just like the grownup small groups.  As you look around the rooms downstairs, you can catch glimpses of what they are studying:

• The blue quilt and Cheerios scattered about the nursery floor demonstrate that even our youngest come together to worship and hear God’s Word.  The blue quilt is their cue that the Bible story is about to be read and Cheerios served, and, boy, do they come a crawlin’ and a toddlin’!
• “Shadow play” in the preschool room reminds us that like our shadows, the Holy Spirit is with us wherever we go, even when we don’t see Him.
• A flutter of  paper butterflies with one word written on each come together to remind us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  All those K-2nd graders tucked into that back room are learning truth about who they are in Christ!
• The timeline in the kitchen helps you see that our 3rd-5th graders are putting together all the clues – from Genesis to Revelation – as to why Jesus died on the cross and how God’s plan for His great rescue of you and me is simply perfect.

And, then there are our leaders!  We have 25 loving, committed, creative folks leading these small groups.  They are the ones who get to know our kids, pray for them, find out what makes them tick, encourage and grow them, and come alongside parents in showing our kids what it means to be a follower of Christ.  It’s a beautiful thing to witness each week and I am so very, very proud of them!

Want to support our children, their families, and our Children’s Small Group leaders? Please pray for them.  Ask them what they are learning.  Encourage them.  It can make all the difference!

I have been talking with different friends recently about goals.  What are things they are aiming for in life?  A position at work?  To see a part of the world?  To own a certain car, house, bike?  Part of this interest was inspired by this article I read in Outside Magazine.  As I looked at their 51 ideas, I realized that I would probably not ever do 49 of them.  And part of that was because even if I wanted to do them, I’m not sure it’s ok for me to pursue them.

That got me thinking…  how do I decide what’s ok? For each of us and for every decision, there is a continuum between ‘enough to satisfy a need’ and ‘too much, should be ashamed that I bought/did/pursued that’.

For example, I need to provide a house for my family.  But I know there is a break point (measured in square footage or price of accutrements or ??) that a house is too much house.  How do I determine that point?

Or, I know I need a car to get my posse of 6 around.  I’ve got no problem with a van, but what about something more luxurious?  What’s the break point (measured in price and features) of too much car?

Or, I know it is good for me to take a vacation.  I gladly head to a beach here on the East Coast, but what about something more exotic?  What’s the break point for too much vacation?

How do you decide? For most of us that question has been answered by looking at our resources.  Very simply, we don’t have a luxury car, we don’t go on a $10k vaca because we don’t have the money.  But many of us at Restoration are getting to the point where we do have the resources to do some of those things.  That Outside Life List is aimed at folks in their late 30s/early 40s who are making critical (if, unfortunately, not conscious) decisions about career, and how they will spend discretionary time, and new disposable income.  In this area of DC in particular, we have the luxury and privilege of asking this break point question–  when does enough become too much? I think the answer is very subjective and contextualized.  It is an answer of wisdom, not of morality.  It would be too easy and a mistake to say one answer is right for everyone.

It is very personal and vulnerable.  But I propose that none of us should make the decision alone or even as family units.  How many of you invite others into your ‘life list’ conversations? Would you ever sit down with your small group, some trusted friends, or an elder in the church and say: “We’re aiming for a vacation that looks like this.  We can afford it.  Do you think this is a good idea?  Does this push us beyond a break point that is good for our soul?”  What if we all were humble enough AND had the privilege of a group of people who would be ‘discernment partners’ for us?  Would you do it?

And yes, that bike is the thing that makes this post real for me.  Pretty, ain’t it?

Small Groups started this week.  Have you signed up?

Here is a post from Cindy Darnell telling us why she can’t get enough of small groups.

I joined my first small group in 2001.  At that time I was “convinced” (to use David’s terminology) that God was real and that Jesus was Lord but I was fairly new to this whole Christian thing and knew virtually nothing about the Bible.  Joining a group was a leap of faith for me and I was a little scared that I would be embarrassed at my lack of knowledge but thankfully the girls in the group were gracious and I always felt comfortable.  About 5 months after joining that group I was baptized as I felt the Lord telling me it was time.

Looking back I don’t think there’s been a period of more than three months when I was not in a small group.  My small groups have been with me through ups and downs, prayed with me through health scares, relational issues, work situations, mission trips and continually encouraged me and pointed me back to Jesus.  When I bought my house they were a steady stream of workers helping with painting, cleaning, removing carpet staples, you name it.

Above all this, I love that I have come to know and love the Bible by studying it with others.  It constantly amazes me to see how God can reveal completely different things to different people in the same passage of Scripture.  He has used others to open my eyes to things I never would have noticed on my own.  Additionally, I often joke that “accountability is my love language” so knowing I need to be prepared to discuss something and contribute to a group helps me to be more motivated throughout the week to read on my own and have consistent quiet times.

So, I encourage you to take the plunge and join a small group if you haven’t already and see what God may have in store for you by studying His Word with others.  When this trimester finishes, you will likely find that you made some new friends, that you got to know the book of Philippians a little better, and that you feel a lot more connected to Restoration overall.

What’s your story? Have you jumped in to life with a few others?

Life together at Restoration is shaped by this core value:

The Gospel is catalyzed by community.

Community is the means God uses to shape, refine, and press us into the image of Christ.  You can listen to lots of sermons and know lots of stuff but not be changed.
When we get together and wrestle with Scripture.
When we share what’s going on at work and in our home.
When we transparently ask tough questions.
When we celebrate the gifts, redemption, and mercy that others have received.
When we sin against each other and then forgive each other.

That’s when the Gospel becomes real.  That’s when our character gets refined.

Community is an agent for grace.

That’s why we invite people to get into small groups 3 times a year.  We call them trimesters.  They last for 10-12 weeks.  Every small group starts fresh and every small group is open for the 4 week registration period.  Then every small group closes so that people can get to know each other, be committed to each other, and build friendships.  Being in a Restoration small group is a short-term investment in your life-long companionship with Jesus.

They are starting again.

Registration is open.  People are looking for groups in their neighborhood or topics that scratch what God is doing in them.  The trimester runs from Sept 19 to Nov 22.

Take 9 weeks and go a bit deeper.

Prologue:

Early in our marriage, my wife Joy and I were involved in a small group “back home” that had a big impact on our marriage and our individual walks with Jesus. I was not enthusiastic about joining a small group. I only agreed to participate because the strain of some big decisions we needed to make – a potential move to the DC area among them – had begun to show in our relationship with one another, and we were desperate for some help. I doubted whether a community to help pray us through things would make much of a difference. It did, in ways that I could not adequately express in the space available to me in this post. Suffice to say that since that time, we have moved three times (to the MD side of DC, to London, and then back to northern VA), and each time even I, the former skeptic, have prayed for God to bless us with a community of people with whom we could walk and pray through things.

The Post:

Joy and I started visiting Restoration around small-group registration time in the fall of ’09. Even though neither of us is from an Anglican, or even liturgical, background, we were pretty sure we liked Restoration, and so thought we would sign up for a small group. We decided we would stay at Restoration, and figure out the Anglican and liturgical thing. We absolutely loved our small group.
We were in Graham and Laurel Henshaw’s group. The first meeting we had some really great brownies, a good study, and a quick time for sharing and praying that set the stage for the duration of our group’s time together. In the following meetings we had more great brownies, more good studies, and times of prayer for each other that were as open and honest as we wanted them to be. We ended up feeling as invested in Restoration, and as invested in by Restoration, as promised, and developed some deep and meaningful friendships.

For this trimester, Joy and I decided to host a small group of our own. We decided to direct our study towards marriage due to (1) the benefit small groups have been to our relationship, (2) the fact that it seems every married couple we know wrestles with the same problems of balancing work and life and still investing in their marriages the way they would like to. We don’t hold ourselves out to be marriage counselors or to have any answers. Our claim is simply that for the next 10 weeks, we are going to invest some time every week to think about how we can invest in our relationships in the hope that doing so will help us to experience the fullness and richness that we believe God intends for our marriages to be. We will be using materials primarily from the Alpha Marriage Course as a guide, although we reserve the right to use it or not use it, or add other resources to it, as the group sees fit. We will not have homework, because in our experience no one ever does it anyway, and we don’t want something else to have to do. Also, we plan on having lots of good food. We would love to have you join us!

A Note for (Skeptical) Dudes:

After reading all of this from another dude, you may be thinking, “What a bunch of emotionally-driven crap. I’m not joining a group with a dude who, having started off like this, is bound to end up trying to sell me insurance or Amway products.” I know you may be thinking that, because that’s what I thought the first time I signed up for a small group. For what it’s worth, I do not sell insurance, or Amway products. Don’t let such fears keep you from joining us. This will be a safe place for guys to drink a beer and grunt if that’s what works for them.

Friends, Small Group Registration opened on Sunday and over 50 people have already signed up. As my friend Dan Moriarity used to say as he walked across Yates Field from the caf, ‘Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haw!’

Erin dropped a great invitation on us Sunday–  to get plugged in to a smaller community that will wrestle with Scripture, with faithfulness, with letting Jesus lead…  You’ll notice some of the groups are doing special topics (Cindy D and Erica C looking at the Sermon on the Mount, the Janis’ digging in to one of the most formational books I’ve ever read [you'll hear echoes of it in almost every sermon I preach]).  But most everyone else is wrestling with the Scripture I preach on Sunday.  This is THE BEST way to get Scripture IN you–  listen to it then talk it out with friends.

We follow a trimester system that allows ‘just enough’ commitment.  Registration is open for a month, then all of the groups close until the end of the trimester.  In March, you are done!  You can sign up again or try a different one.  If you miss TriOne, the next trimester begins in mid-April.

But don’t miss TriOne! Make some friends.  Lock in one evening a week to figuring out Jesus and what He wants from you.  If you have a favorite small group memory from 2009, throw it up there in the comments section.  It all starts the week of January 17th.

I was listening to a message from John Piper this morning. He off-handedly opened his sermon with 7 Reasons Why Preaching is Not Enough. It was a list he had given to his small group leaders earlier that week.  As I listened, I found myself slowing down and looking for something with which to write.  I am so proud of our small group leaders.  And I will bang the small group drum as long as I am able.  Nothing else is as effective at getting the Gospel into us. I love preaching.  It’s a ton of work to prepare the messages.  It is the foundation of our corporate spirituality.  But preaching falls way short of my transformational hopes if you are not in a small group.  I hope everyone who pops in to restoration wrestles during the week with 12-15 friends who are trying to live it out.

Piper’s Reasons:

7 reasons for why preaching is not enough.  Reason why small group leaders are essential for the life of our church.

• The impulse to avoid painful growth by disappearing safely into a crowd in corporate worship is very strong.
• The tendency toward passivity in listening to a sermon is part of our human weakness.
• Listeners in a big group can more easily evade redemptive crises. So if something causes you to get tears in your eyes on a Sunday morning, it is pretty easy to wipe them away and get out of there.  If it happens in a small group, someone’s probably going to ask–  what’s up?  How can we help.
• Listeners in a large group tend to neglect efforts of personal application.  We all need someone to press in and say, ‘what are you going to do about that conviction’?  How will you move beyond mere religious sentiment to real life change.
• Opportunities for questions leads to growth in mission. A sermon is not a dialogue.  I am trying to answer questions I think you are asking, but I am guessing and anticipating.  In a small group, you can ask your personally nuanced questions.
• Accountability for followthrough on good resolves is missing. If someone knows what you intend to do in response to a truth, then you will be more likely to do it.
• Prayer support for a specific need goes wanting… We have opportunities for prayer after the service, but we can’t pray for everyone.  However, we can literally pray for every person in our church, every week, if they are in a small group.  That’s good care.

I have 20 fellow-shepherds/pastors in our small group leaders.  I lean heavily on them to lead our church.  They pray hard and they work hard.  Tell them thanks!  Buy ‘em coffee.  Small Groups are critical to what we do and everyone should be in one.  I’ll say it till they drag me out of here.

For those who weren’t there (and for those who were and were sleepy), David walked us through Exodus 19.  God leads the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, he descends upon the mountain, and he calls Moses up onto the mountain so that God can to speak to him.  But God very clearly states that none of the rest of the Israelites are even to touch the mountain.  If they do, they will be put to death.

Maybe not quite what you were looking for when you got out of bed early on Sunday morning.

It’s a hard scripture, and it was a hard message.  David spoke to us about the limits that God puts on us and our behaviors.  He showed us that because God is a holy God — as this passage makes so clear — there are limits on how we can act and what we can do.  Because we are created in God’s image and called to reflect his holiness, and because we are human and not gods, there are limits on our choices and our behavior.  Both God’s holiness and our humanness mean that God sometimes says “no” to us.  That “no” can be very difficult — but because it is God’s, it is also very good.

What kind of limits does God put on us? David gave us lots of hard, specific examples:

• Limits on how we spend our time and our money.
• Limits on our work-life “balance” (or lack thereof).
• Limits on physical intimacy in dating relationships.
• Limits on marriage.
• Limits on our internet and other media consumption.

There was something in there for just about everyone — it was what I think of as an “equal opportunity convictor.”

David also showed us how the Israelite community was charged with protecting and preserving the limits God had set around Mt. Sinai; those who transgressed the limits were not immediately smited by God but received their punishment at the hand of their fellow Israelites. In a similar way, we as a community of people following Jesus bear the responsibility of naming, protecting, and preserving the limits that God has placed on us.   This doesn’t mean that we have to turn into the morality police, but it does mean that we as a community need to take seriously the limits on how we live in light of God’s holiness.

Does that make you uncomfortable?  I hope so.  It does me.  This is hard stuff.  It’s hard to hear.  It’s hard to accept.  It’s hard to do right — and all too easy to do wrong.  But I think it’s true.  And so we have to wrestle with it.

So this is an invitation to a wrestling match.  I think this sermon should be the beginning of a conversation, not the end of it.  We want to hear what you think.  What spoke to your heart?  What made you mad? What made you seek and receive God’s forgiveness? What did you disagree with? What made you want to stand up and cheer?  We want to hear it all.

So please talk to us, and talk to each other.   Talk to your roommate, your spouse, your kids.  Talk to someone from your last small group.  Talk to me or to David (you can always reach us here).  Let’s wrestle together to understand God’s good “no.”

If you are new to Restoration, this next blog series (bleries?) is for you.  I will be posting different ways that people lead and serve our community.  You might read something and say, Eureka!  I want to do that too!  Look for a form at the bottom of the post and you will be well on your way to ‘gettin’ involved at Restoration.’

During the week, there are over 80 Restoration folks meeting in small groups around Arlington and Falls Church.  This is THE place to get to know folks and to be known.  The small group lasts 90 minutes–  that’s it, we promise!

10 minutes in tasty snacks and chit chat, 45 minutes wrestling through the Scripture I preached from on Sunday, 25 minutes sharing needs, concerns, and praying.  10 minutes to spare…

If you want to Get Involved, this is the place to do it.   Register here

You’ll also notice that we have started a new sermon series, The Prodigal God.  We gave everyone who came for Easter a copy of Tim Keller’s (pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC) book by the same name.  For the next 50 days (Easter to Pente (50) cost, May 31) we will be digging in to this story of a Dad and 2 sons.  You will not want to miss any of it.  Worship with us on Sunday, read the book, wrestle with the story in small groups during the week, and recognize the Father who waits with His arms open wide…