Mark Beeson

It was a Fantastic Celebration of 20 Great Years

 

Last Friday night we honored Rob Wegner and his precious wife Michelle. They've been leading at Granger Community Church for 20 years. Through seasons of rapid growth they served us; through seasons of grinding and difficult progress they loved us. They deserved a night dedicated to celebrating their ministry, so we gave 'em one. 

Sheila and I love the Wegners. I would have enjoyed taking pictures at the party but I was quite busy, so I was thrilled the learn my friend Steve Toepp made his pictures available to me. It's his pictures that follow. I'm thankful for each one.

These pictures will give you a glimpse of Rob's 20th Anniversary.

 

 

The party began with the Wegner family seated on the front row, filled with anticipation and wondering what might happen next.

 

I called Rob and MIchelle to the stage and told them we loved them, appreciated their years of commitment to Jesus, each other and our church family. 

 

 

When Rob and Michelle were teenagers their pastor inspired and encouraged them. He came on stage to speak with Rob and MIchelle and it was a privilege for all of us to overhear what he said.

 

 

When Dan told Rob he was "half way" through his ministry we were sobered. When he went on to encourage Rob "to stay faithful for the second half of his ministry" we all felt the conviction of his words. 

 

Left to Right, Rob was blessed by: Jason Miller, Kem Meyer, Tim Stevens, Jack Magruder and Mark Waltz.

 

 

The Culps stopped by for a visit and a song. I love those guys.

 

 

Michelle Wegner has an artistic flair and she recently posted a video on her blog that included photographs she took with her iPhone. Dan and Lisa Vukmirovich sang as Michelle's photographs were displayed on GCC's big screens.

 

The honored couple, smiling at their kids.

 

 

Belle, Whitney and Maddie presented their parents with framed memorabilia and keepsakes.

 

 

You may have been there, but whether you were or weren't, you'll appreciate the genius of our planning team when you hear that we surprised Rob when we introduced John Schlitt (lead singer for the band Petra, winner of 4 Grammy awards and 10 Dove awards). John came on stage with all the energy and Rock Star moves he'd perfected across the decades.

 

 

Rob loves Petra. When he came to GCC 20 years ago he knew all the lyrics to every Petra song. Here's Rob's reaction to John's surprise appearance.

 

 

 

Michelle was as surprised as Rob!

 

 

 

Confident Rob knew the words to all of Petra's songs, John invited Rob up to sing with him.

 

 

Rob held his own, adding a bit of impromptu "air guitar" at the appropriate moment.

 

 

We blessed Rob and Michelle at the end of the party.

 

 

For 20 years Sheila and I have prayed for the Wegners. We've prayed for them and prayed for them. I invited my wife to join us on the platform and she held Michelle as we once again asked God's blessing on their lives.

 

 

On one special occasion, after HIS resurrection Jesus lifted his hands and blessed his disciples. In keeping with HIS example, we all raised our hands toward Rob and Michelle and blessed them in Jesus' Name. 

 

 

What a privilege for all of us at GCC!

For 20 years we've seen Rob's fine example - a great leader who takes good care of God's Church.

 

1 Timothy 3:1-7  -  If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he's talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

Somewhere Up Ahead Lies The Final Frontier

 

I took this buck's picture as it walked away and disappeared in the woods. I wonder about its prospects for the future.

Sometimes what lies ahead is difficult to predict. You can't see very far into the future and even if you're heading the right direction you don't know what your next steps will reveal. 

When you can't see what lies ahead, it can be unsettling. Not knowing how, where or when the "inevitable" will come is challenging, but GCC is offering six workshops to relieve some of the stress. 

If you've ever wondered what happens when you die without a will, or what a "Do Not Resuscitate Order" is, or what Hospice is all about, or if you're responsible for your spouse's debt when your spouse dies, or what it means to pre-arrange a funeral, you'll want to schedule these Monday nights and RSVP.

 

Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at the Granger Campus / The Final Frontier

• Center for Hospice Care – Choices to Make the Most of Life | September 10
  Speaker: Terri Stahl, Center for Hospice Care
   
• The Legal Stuff No One Talks About | September 24
  Speaker: Attorney Loren Sloat
   
• The Best Gift No One Thinks to Give | October 8
  Speaker: Shauna Luthringer, Bubb Funeral Chapel
   
• Your One Stop Resource Shop | October 22
  Speaker: Pam Huffer, Real Services
   
• Setting Up Your Finances for Before AND After Death | November 5
  Speaker: Karen Nevorski, Lake City Bank
   
• Leaving a Legacy | November 19
  Speaker: The Fulcrum Group

 

Proverbs 15:22  -  Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed. 

School Begins

 

- Photo by John Keim (Lydia's Dad) -

My grand-daughter Lydia started school last week. She's not yet 3-years-old and she's already joined the ranks of students across America as they launch their fall season of academic adventure.

Lydia is one of the children enrolled in GCC's Early Learning Center and we're confident (after her first week) the fantastic ELC teachers are enriching her life and training her to live the right way.
 

Proverbs 22:6  -  Train children to live the right way, and when they are old, they will not stray from it.

Celebrating 20 Years of Leadership & Influence

 

I’ve spent the last couple of days debriefing the Global Leadership Summit with this team of world-impact leaders (pictured left to right: Greg Ferguson, Bill Hybels, Jim Mellado and Corinne Ferguson).  They’re inspiring. They’re amazing. And so is Rob Wegner, GCC’s Pastor of Life Mission and world-class leader in his own right.

This Friday evening at 6:30 the entire congregation is celebrating the last 20 years of Rob’s life and ministry. What Rob, and his wonderful wife Michelle, have done to help us know and love Jesus is amazing! They’ve been great leaders at GCC for two decades and we’re going to gather together to honor them on Friday night.

You can get all the information about our big party, and donate money for Rob’s Sabbatical, here.

Sheila and I will see you at the Granger Campus on Friday night!  We can’t wait!

 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13  -  And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

 

The Closer You Get ... The Better

 

I took this picture a few days ago. For unknowns reasons, this mature Bald Eagle let me approach much closer than I expected. I got this shot as it flew away. The magnificence of America's National Bird grows as its distance from you shrinks. The closer you get, the more impressive it is.

I've discovered the same is true of people. Proximity brings clarity. The closer you get, the more you see details and specifics; the closer you are, the better your observations. Vague generalities become exact details as you draw near.

Those perceived as powerful and strong (upon closer examination) may be observed to be even more so. Conversely, those who seem to be shady and unreliable may be discovered to be even more untrustworthy (and dangerous) than first imagined.

Pay attention. It's not as difficult to gain understanding as you may think. I've got a few simple suggestions:

1. Check their wake.
   Look at the bodies they've left behind. Is their history filled with hurt people and shattered lives? Have they blessed those they've touched? The Psalmist was able to say, "Goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life." Are goodness and mercy in their wake?
2. Notice their closest friends.
   The Bible says, "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" We're all influenced by those we choose as our trusted companions. The people you choose as your closest and dearest friends say something about you.
3. Look at their feet.
   Which way are they pointed? Are they taking steps toward God? Will their next step lead them toward Christ? The Bible says God set before us "life and death, blessings and curses" and we are to choose which way we will go. Which way have they chosen to go?
4. Watch them long enough to gauge their trajectory.
   Every person who ever made a New Year's resolution knows this; momentum matters and it's not easy to change direction. You see that truth as each chapter of their story builds on the impetus of their previous chapters. Proverbs tells us to "walk in the way of good men and keep the paths of the consistently righteous." Don't make snap judgments. If you keep your eye on someone for a while you can trace the arc of their unfolding story. What does it tell you?

Close examination reveals strength or weakness. It distinguishes wisdom from immaturity. When we pay attention God doesn't only show us where the good way is, God also reveals those who walk in it ... and those who don't.

 

Jeremiah 6:16

This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls."

 

Consistency Counts

 

Jim Collins said, "The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency."

Collins spoke at the Leadership Summit last week. He said real impact comes from consistent and consecutive performance. During his session I thought of the irrigated crops that survived our drought because they were regularly watered.

Whether growing crops, kids, businesses, churches, healthy bodies or strong marriages, I'm persuaded; consistency not only counts, it's necessary.

Luke 18:1  -  Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.  

Leaders Who Understand the Signs of the Times

Everyone knows to choose wisely. Some leaders are going nowhere. Others understand what's happening around them and know the best course to take.

Everyone recognizes this fact; only Jesus is infallible, so we've been advised to trust slowly, be cautious and look before we leap. We tend to trust those who've shown themselves to be trustworthy. We think, "Odds are ... they'll know what to do." 

So get this: most of the people around you assume you - follower of Jesus and child of the King - you are the one who "understands what's happening and knows what to do." It's you friend. As you follow Jesus, people are looking to you. They're following you.

Do you know what to do next?  

1 Chronicles 12:32  -  There were from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.

Political Advice / Those Who Rule Over Us

 

- Photo by Gene Ort / Saqqara Pyramids -  

 

Noah Webster (1785-1843) admonished American citizens to carefully weigh the person they voted for, because that person, once elected, would be elected ruler over all. These are Webster's words:

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.

I suggest we fall on our faces in prayer; that we determine to do what God has commanded of us; that we study political candidates enough to know whether they are "just people who will rule in the fear of God" and we exercise our right to vote as if it is our duty and obligation.

2 Samuel 23:3b  -  He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

A Food Drive to Impact the World

 

I stood looking out the window of my hotel a couple of years ago. Before me was this cityscape of Cairo. Millions of people were packed together inside my minuscule view of urbanized Egypt. I came from my place - on the other side of the world - to experience a culture of remarkable distinction: ancient and dissimilar but yielding to a new and remarkable connectivity with the rest of the world - a connectivity previous generations could have never imagined. 

Globalization is the place where the distinctives of juxtaposed cultures get noticed. And it's the place where the distinguishing characteristics of the gospel are exposed. Globalization has taken us into a new kind of connectivity, which means local practices speak globally about beliefs and values.

The world has taken notice of our belief in the Lord's missional strategy. Christ's followers understand the message of Jesus isn't just another message (from among thousands of equally weighted messages) which can be accepted or rejected without consequence or implication. It stands apart. It is the gospel of salvation, and the Lord's entire Church (not just a special group of ordained professionals within it) is characterized by its mission.

"MIssion" is fundamental to the identiy all who proclaim "Jesus Christ is Lord" and globalization means our missional actions expose the world to its Savior.

As surely as we're watching the world, the world is watching us.

So when you fill boxes with food and participate in the Food Drive at one of GCC's services this weekend, make note of this truth: what you say and do may have global implications. 

You matter more than you know.  

Live on mission.

Live strong.

Acts 8:4  -   The followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus.

Condolezza Rice at the 2012 Leadership Summit

 

As the 2012 Leadership Summit continues, God is prompting thoughtful consideration of the best leadership training available. As teams huddle, pray and discuss the nuanced implications of the Holy Spirit's guidance, I can only assume the same thing is happening at Summit sites all over the world. 

Here's my summation of one of Condoleezza Rice's statements. It's typical of the penetrating insights being offered by our Summit speakers.

Things that one day seemed impossible, seem inevitable in retrospect. But they were not inevitable. There were the work of those who, through human agency and human action, never accepted the world as it is, but made the world what it could be. 

May God grant us leaders of character, integrity and courage to lead America with wisdom, honesty and faith.

Proverbs 16:12  -  Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation. 

I Paused to Pray for My Kids this Morning....

 

From time to time I find myself caught in an eddy of emotion that pulls me aside and frees me from the tug of the rapid currents of my life. I drift away and sit in a calm pool where I can relax for just a few minutes before paddling on, and in such places of peace I pray for my kids.

This morning I spent some time praying for my son Aaron. I asked God’s blessing on the other five children God charged me to pray for as well; but on this particular occasion I lingered over my son.

He is a great man and I miss him.

We’ll see each other this fall, when the hunting season provides grown men with time for “what matters”: good coffee in the brisk morning air, crisp days in the woods and quite conversations about the past, the present and the possibilities of the future. Times when you're together and you can talk, or not - and it doesn’t matter whether you do or don’t.

If God is willing, we’ll share all that …. and more.

And if God refuses us that blessing, I'll thank HIM for every blessed day HE gave me with my son.  In this life, God will only allow me a limited number of days with my children. Each day with them is precious. I’ve tried not to waste a single one. 

I love my kids so very much.

OK. Enough of this…

It’s time for me to push back out into the current. I feel the draw of the Holy Spirit, tugging me toward the work my Father ordained for me.  It’s time for me to get back into the flow, so out of the calm and into the stream I go - where I’ll serve until the Spirit leads me to another moment of rest.

Lord, please bless my children today.

 

Psalm 23:1-3a

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.

Take A Good Look Friends...

 

1 Corinthians 1:26-31  -  Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

Communion Weekend at GCC

 

Dan Vukmirovich led us in worship this weekend. We sang:
 

"We're giving it all away, away 

We're giving it all to go Your way 

We're giving it all away, away 

We're giving it all to go Your way

In the Father there is freedom

There is hope in the name that is Jesus 

Lay your life down, give it all now

We are found in the love of the Savior

In the Father there is freedom

There is hope in the name that is Jesus" 

 

Psalm 86:8-9  -  Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in holy attire; tremble before Him, all the earth.

Billy Graham's Most Recent Letter

 

I know a great many people admire and esteem Billy Graham. He wrote these words in his prayer letter a few days ago. I thought you'd want to read them, so I'm passing his words along to you...and to all with whom you choose to share them.

 

Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of ... Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).

I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle. 

Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God.

Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control. 

My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. 

 

Luke 5:31-32  -  Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

As a Favor to Whitetails Everywhere.....

 

Sheila and I hardly ever eat beef; it's almost always venison at our house, but as a favor to Whitetails everywhere, I think I'm going to Chick-fil-A. 

Colossians 2:2a  -  My goal is that they may be encouraged...

 

Red-headed Woodpecker / Melanerpes erythrocephalus

 

This bird is turning a terrible situation to its advantage. 

Millions of acres of America's woodlands have been ravaged by Dutch Elm Disease. As trees died, the Red-headed Woodpecker made the best of what appeared to be a very bad situation. Though the devastating diseases killed many trees, they then provided nesting sites for the birds. Red-headed Woodpeckers are now thriving in dead elms all across the Midwest.

We're facing a terrible situation in America. Millions live their lives as if there is no God; they don't worship God, obey God, serve God or teach others about HIM. They don't know, or care, what God said in HIS Word. They don't speak of God, which means they don't encourage others to adjust their lives to accept God's invitation to experience HIM and walk the Jesus Way. American Christians are facing ridicule when they're bold enough to live for Christ and persecution (both economic and political) if they're bold enough to actually talk about HIM.

America's soul is being ravaged by sin, but in the midst of this frightening devastation a curious thing is happening. Living in this ailing environment, facing the spiritual and economic consequences of fifty years of immoderation, indulgence and entitlement, some American Christians are thriving. Not by fleeing. Not by turning our backs on America's desperate and diseased. No. America's Christ-followers are reproducing at an incredible rate because they're "nesting" right in the middle of the decimation.

Disruption and decline can be frightening, but with change comes opportunity, and I'm persuaded these days of wickedness are days of possibility. 

There will be consequences if you live for Jesus; there will be consequences if you don't. Since you can't choose consequence-free living, but you can choose your consequences, which will you choose? The consequences of faithful living or the consequences of proud self-indulgence?

2 Timothy 3:1-5  -  But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.