I still listen to a fair amount of radio, especially if I am driving somewhere.  My go-to station is ESPN radio which mainly features talk shows but also broadcasts games.  I also listen to NPR from time to time, especially if they are sharing news about international humanitarian issues.  As a kid I religiously listened to the “Hot 5 at 9” on a local top-40 station to know which songs were climbing the charts, and I still get a nostalgic feeling from radio.

Of course TV is a big upgrade from radio in many ways.  You not only hear what is going on but can see the corresponding images.  In this day and age there are probably over 1,000 channels you could access in one way or another depending on what service you utilize.

These days there is something even better.  A couple of months ago my wife and I upgraded our cell phones.  Our new phones work much more efficiently.  The camera is better, the audio quality is a huge upgrade, and most importantly, we are able to quickly access virtually any data we want from internet to maps to countless apps.  Plus you can access any radio or television programs you want as well.

What do these three mediums for disseminating information have in common?  They all rely on invisible technologies.  Can anyone at ARC (besides Arlin) adequately explain the science behind radio signals, cable television, and cell service?  And yet we have unwavering faith in these unseen forces.  If anyone makes the comment “I only believe in what I can see”, I give you permission to grab their cell phone, smash it on the ground, and say, “then I guess you won’t be needing that anymore!”

My point in this article isn’t to extoll the benefits and downfalls of various technologies but to suggest that if we believe in the forces behind radio, television, and cell service as being real and dependable, how much more real is the spiritual realm all around us and in us and through us?  We tend to think of the physical world as true reality and the spiritual realm as some wispy, thin layer of existence behind the scenes.  In chemistry terms we might say that what we see and touch in this world is like a solid, and the spiritual world is like a gas.  But I’m here to tell you that what is unseen is even more real and concrete than what is seen!  God, as well as His angels and children, are eternal spiritual beings.  On the contrary, what we see in this life is like “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4)

Here’s the clincher.  As powerful as current technologies are, the Holy Spirit is infinitely more potent…and what is the device through which God speaks to the world?  What is the spiritual radio, tv, or cell phone?  The Church!  You and Me!  We who are children of God are the platform through which God chooses to reveal His multifaceted love to the world as we proclaim His Word to all the nations.  So just as people trust the science behind technology, may they look at our lives and stand in awe of the Holy Spirit’s technology powering, informing, and daily updating our witness!

Cory Grimm

How is your soul?

That question has a special place in my heart, because Grandma Grimm used to ask people this on a regular basis, and not just people at church.  She would use this question as a sort of spiritual pick-up line while at the grocery store or waiting for a bus ride.  As I have mentioned before, Grandma Grimm was a great influence on my faith and she was a legendary evangelist, not only through words but also deeds.  I believe she had a healthy soul and desired the same for others.

On Tuesday of this week the ARC staff had the privilege of attending a seminar in Sioux Falls which began by asking, “How is your soul?”  Before we could answer that question, we had to first define what the soul is exactly.  Of course we know Scripture and even Jesus himself mentions the soul on several occasions:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  (Deut. 6:5)

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” (Ps. 42:1)

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”  (Mark 8:36)

The speaker also gave this helpful definition: “The soul is the place inside us where God is most present.”  Then we spent the day assessing the health of our souls and discovering how to incorporate practices that help to connect us more deeply with God and be led by Him as we follow Jesus and lead the church.  People may not realize it, but ironically sometimes Pastors and other church staff members are as much or even more neglectful of their souls than other people.

Probably what stood out to me most from the seminar was the example of Moses, who might be the leader in the Bible we know the most about.  As the speaker pointed out, we know his entire life story, from birth to death, and God transformed this humble man over time in profound ways.  How did God do that?  Through intimate times of silence, solitude, and reflection… normally in a desert setting.  Okay so you’re wondering if this is going to be some strange article about being more like monks and other ascetic-types who shun the world and spend their time in meditation, emptying of self, and yoga.

No that wasn’t the direction this seminar took.  The speaker was very practical and realistic about the unique time period and culture in which we live and the many demands for our attention and time.  And yet she insisted that the more time we are in leadership, whether at church or work or family obligations, the more time we need in silence with God to prepare our souls.  Specifically she helped us learn the value of daily silence/solitude, weekly Sabbath/rest, and occasional retreats where we unplug completely.

How does that sound to you?  Refreshing?  Intimidating?  Exciting?  Scary?  Just one more thing to add to the already busy calendar?  The truth is God misses being with us, and our souls miss God, too.  The speaker said, “You might be surprised what your soul would say to God if given the chance.”  Are you giving your soul a chance to speak to God and hear from His voice?  How is YOUR soul?

Cory Grimm

In consistory meeting the other night the deacons and I got into a discussion about tithes, offerings, and stewardship in general.  I asked them, “If an attender of ARC engages you in a discussion about giving to church, how would you explain what you believe and what the Bible teaches?”  We had a good conversation about that topic, and one of my favorite stories in the Bible came to mind regarding offerings to God and tithing in general.  The story involves Abraham and Melchizedek.

After Abraham’s nephew Lot was taken captive in an epic struggle between nine small kingdoms (Gen. 14), in which five kingdoms battled the other four, Abraham gathered his hired men and some allies and set off to rescue Lot.  He asked God to make him successful in this pursuit, and God did.  Afterwards, Abraham was confronted by two kings, the King of Salem and the King of Sodom.  The King of Salem, named Melchizedek and called the “priest of God Most High,” blessed Abraham.  Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder he had gained while rescuing Lot and defeating his captors.  There are earlier examples of people giving offerings to God, but I believe this is the first time a tithe, or 10%, was mentioned.

As a side note, when the King of Sodom asked Abraham for some of the plunder, or at least to trade goods, Abraham refused.  He knew this king was evil, and he didn’t want to enrich him or receive any goods from his hand.  There is an important stewardship principle in that decision.  It matters not only how we use our resources, but from where the resources are obtained.  It seems there is such a thing as dirty money.

Getting back to Melchizedek, the book of Hebrews tells us much more insight explaining who this mysterious character really was.  Chapter seven includes these phrases:

• His name means “King of Righteousness” and “King of Peace”
• Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life
• Melchizedek the priest was before, and greater than, the Levitical priesthood

From that description I think it was safe to say that Melchizedek had some sort of divine, or at least angelic, identity…maybe something like the three visitors to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18.  Hebrews goes on to explain that Jesus is also a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.  He was clearly one of the most mysterious characters in the Bible, but my point for today is that when Abraham gave him a tithe it wasn’t based on Old Testament Law, tradition, or duty.  Melchizedek was long before the law was given to Moses.  Without being commanded to tithe, Abraham gave by faith out of the gratitude of his heart.

As the deacons and I continue to learn and converse this year we are considering how we can help more people catch a vision for giving faithfully and sacrificially to God.  We believe this is important, but we also recognize that stewardship involves more than just giving a certain percentage of our income.  We are still reading the book, “How Much is Enough?” in which Arthur Simon writes, “Tithing may imply that the other 90 percent is off-limits to stewardship, and that if God gets 10 percent, the rest is ours.  The point is that God should get it all.  All of it – and all of life – belongs to God.  We have simply been entrusted to use everything in the best, most loving, and wisest way possible for the purposes of God.”

Like Abraham we are called to devote all of our time/treasures/talents to God.  That is really the heart of stewardship.  And like Abraham we give our tithes and offerings by faith out of the gratitude of our hearts.

Cory Grimm

The Deacons and I are studying the book, “How Much is Enough?” this year to renew and expand our understanding of biblical stewardship.  Here is one excerpt:

“Loevi Keidel, missionary to the Congo, returned to the States on his first furlough in 1955.  He noticed that the new status symbols were a black-and-white television and wall-to-wall carpeting in the living room.  On the second furlough, it was color TV and automatic washers and dryers.  On the third, dishwashers and stereo sound systems.  On the fourth, recreation vehicles and backyard swimming pools.  On the fifth, video cameras, satellite dishes, and personal computers.”

Just think of how many more things could be added to that list today!  If we are typical American consumers, new items on the market become our desires, desires become needs, and needs become rights.  In other words, it only takes a few years from when we first hear about something to the time when we feel we deserve it, we can’t imagine life without it, and we would be embarrassed not to have it.  So how much is enough?  Will we ever have all the stuff that will make us happy?

When you start talking about these issues of materialism and all the time we now spend on our phones in the fantasy worlds of social media, it is easy to sound like the cranky old guy who always insists life was better back in the good old days.  After all, what is the alternative?  Should we just become Amish and shun all technological advances, preferring to lock in a lifestyle of the past forever and declare it holy?  Should we just jump off the cultural train that is accelerating into the unknown future and watch everyone else pass by?

I think we can all probably admit that we are a little bit entitled and even addicted to material things and the idea that more stuff will make us happier.  We probably wouldn’t say that we believe that, but the reality of our lives backs it up.  We also might be willing to admit that the time, energy, and resources we devote to stuff is hurting our relationship with God.  Would you agree?  But I don’t think the answer is going to be debating endlessly about which items we actually do or do not need…or how much time is appropriate in a day for “face time.”  What we need is a grander vision of what will actually give us fulfillment and peace!

In “How Much is Enough?” the author points us back to the early church:

“The starting place for Christians was not the question: What do I need to give up to follow Jesus?  The starting place – for them and for us – was the good news of Jesus… who offered both Jews and Gentiles a new identity as children of God.  Their new status gave them a transcendent purpose – that of living to the glory of God.”

If our main goal in life is to make ourselves happy, we will try to use the stuff of this world to fill that void, and the stuff will become our idol.  If our main goal in life is to glorify God in all that we do, the stuff of this world will take its proper place and become tools we can use to further the kingdom.  Again, don’t start by analyzing the stuff and trying to manage your addiction.  Start by setting your eyes on Christ and understanding the powerful and exciting calling He has for your life, and everything else will settle into its proper place.

Cory Grimm

“These I will bring to my holy mountain, and give them joy in my house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”  (Isaiah 56:7)

And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”  (Mark 11:17)

While attending seminary about ten years ago, one of my favorite professors began teaching us that it was always God’s intention that His chosen people would be on mission.  This is the theme of our video in worship today by Ray Vander Laan called, “Israel on Mission:  Abraham, Sarah, and the Three Strangers.”  My professor helped us to see that it wasn’t just for their own good that the descendants of Abraham were called, but that they would make God known to the whole world.  When you look at the Bible that way you see…

God called his people out of Egypt, not just to escape slavery, but to be free to serve Him.

God gave Israel the law and called them to be holy, not only for their own good, but that they might be set apart as a priesthood for all the nations.

God established his people in the promised land, a rich land flowing with milk and honey, not just for their own pleasure but for the purpose of having extra resources for mission.

God gave David and Solomon great favor, wisdom, and resources, so that his Holy Temple would be prepared as the rallying point for all who would seek to discover God.

God allowed his people to be exiled so that they would carry His message to the world.

God sent Jesus to redeem Israel from sin, not just for their own sake, but to renew their calling.

God invited Gentiles to join Jews in the new Israel, and to also be sent on mission.

God allowed the church to be persecuted, again forcing them to carry His message to the world.

Nevertheless, we still face the same temptations as Israel did in the Old Testament.  We are tempted to keep our faith to ourselves, and to spend our lives focusing on our own comfort and personal achievements.  We are glad we are called by God and can enjoy peace and forgiveness and the hope of heaven, but we aren’t terribly concerned about others receiving the same benefits.  In fact, we look down on them for not figuring life and faith out, forgetting that it was God who pulled us out of the miry pit and gave us understanding and hope.

But here is the point:  He saved us for a reason, and we must spend our lives discovering our calling and living it out, and each person’s calling will include being sent into mission in some way.  What is your calling?  Why did God choose you?  Where are you being sent in mission?

Cory Grimm

This advent we have been talking about surprises in the lives of the characters surrounding Jesus’s birth and surprises in our own lives.  Often times when God directs us down a path we couldn’t have imagined we are tempted to think our life is out of control.  However, the Journey Class includes this insight:

God is sovereign, creative, and utterly good.  He is able to form and reform our lives even out of the most unlikely and painful circumstances and events we experience.  God wants to lovingly work in and through us for good (Rom. 8:28-29)…  Artist Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) described it in this way: “Christ…is more of an artist than the artists; he works in the living spirit and the living flesh; he makes men instead of statues.” 

For some reason I felt compelled to find out more of Van Gogh’s story, a fellow Dutchman, so I looked him up on Wikipedia, a source of truth second only to the Bible.  (Just kidding!) He seemed to have a fairly stable childhood, and his father was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church.  One traumatic aspect of his early years was being sent to a boarding school.  He begged his parents to return home, but they refused, and his relationship with his family was never the same after that.  However, he did fairly well as a young man working as an art dealer, which was a common trade among his extended relatives.  Before too long, however, he grew tired of that calling and began to drift.

During his twenties Van Gogh stumbled in and out of various jobs and living situations and had a hard time figuring out what he was supposed to do with his life.  There were even periods of extreme, almost monastic religious devotion and a failed attempt at joining full-time ministry.  It wasn’t until he was around 30 years old that he began to take art very seriously and studied the craft.  He mingled with great artists and experimented with different approaches to painting.  He also fell into heavy drinking, struggled with depression, and eventually committed suicide at age 37.

The final seven years of Van Gogh’s life were inspired artistically, yet very sad on a personal level in many ways.  He was never recognized in his lifetime as a great artist and only sold one of his paintings. Today, however, he is revered as a pioneer in post-impressionist art forms, and many of his paintings are worth a fortune. One of my favorite anecdotes of his life was when he painted a portrait of Dr. Gachet, who was taking care of him towards the end of his life in a mental institution.  He presented the painting to the doctor who accepted the gift but never liked it.  Apparently at one point he even used the canvas to prop up part of the roof of his chicken coop.  He later gave it away, and in 2010 it sold at auction for $50 million.

Despite living a life that was full of struggle and tragedy and being misunderstood as an artist, Van Gogh believed that God was working in his life and forming him into the image of Christ.  His family life was lacking, his calling was undefined, he was a genius at art yet not able to make a living at it, and his days ended in despondency and death…yet somehow God was patiently walking and talking with him in the midst of it all.

Like “Starry Night” our lives will probably be a swirl of dark nights and bright lights all mixed together. Whatever “surprises” you are facing today, both blessings and trials, know that God is with you and He is working, and believe He can use any and all things to direct your path toward His ultimate purposes.                 Cory Grimm

Last night I stood in an upstairs apartment in downtown Luverne and offered my sympathy to the family and friends of Tisha, a young woman who was found dead just a few hours earlier.  She was still in her bed and her mother was there with her hand on her daughter, sobbing and asking why this had to happen.  Three policemen were in the room interviewing people and documenting the prescription medicine on the TV stand and scrolling through her cell phone to gain information.  It was a very sad scene and one that made a lasting impression on me.

Tisha came in to ARC earlier this month asking for assistance with her rent and electric bill, which we were able to offer.  She and I had a good talk about life, God, and other topics, and she was very positive about her future.  She shared about taking care of her grandmother who lives in town here, and wanting to stay on the straight and narrow for her daughter, a 3^rd grader at Luverne elementary.  Being a connoisseur of cultures, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask, “Tisha, if you don’t mind, can I ask what is your ethnicity?”  She smiled a big, beautiful smile and proudly said, “I’m part Native and part Black.”  I noted that her speech patterns were distinctly Native, and her hair had the curl which suggested Black.  She agreed and laughed.  After that I gave her a ride to the hospital for an appointment.

Vicki Altena and Rodney Stone, my friend in town, also knew Tisha pretty well and were helping her in various ways.  There is also a family in our church who were renting the apartment to Tisha, and she talked about how kind they were to her.  Rodney is a friend of one of the Casey’s managers and had gotten Tisha a job interview there which was scheduled for yesterday morning.  When she didn’t show up, they called Rodney wondering where she might be.  He was upset with her for missing the appointment, but when he told me about the situation, I could sense he was a little bit worried, too.  Rodney was the one who called me and let me know that she had passed away.

The reason I wanted to share this story with you, the ARC family, is to let you know that there is an incredible mission field right under our noses here in Luverne.  There is a steady stream of struggling families and individuals who move here from various places and try to make a go of it due to our relatively affordable housing and good school system.  Did you know that in 4^th grade alone this year, 12 new students signed up for school on the first day of the semester?  Many of these people struggle with broken relationships and financial instability, and some with substance abuse.   All are in need of supportive, loving, godly friends who can help them make this a healthy home for their family.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…”  (Matt. 25:35)

Tisha’s story ended sadly yesterday, but may God use this tragedy to open our eyes to the opportunity we have in front of us.  If God is touching your heart through this story and the new people you see around town, two great ways to get started are to become involved with Big Buddies (Lisa Nath) and Atlas (Vicki Altena).  There are other great organizations in Luverne looking for volunteers as well, and of course you can always invite people to your home for a meal or a life group meeting.  Let’s step out of our comfort zone, cross boundaries, and put God’s incredible love into action.

Cory Grimm

On Monday night, October 3rd, and Tuesday morning, Oct. 4th, Hurricane Matthew struck the southern coast of Haiti and destroyed homes, fields, gardens, sources of clean water, bridges, cell phone and electrical service, and many hopes and dreams.  In a country where life is already very hard, the situation went from difficult to desperate overnight.  The village where my family previously lived was right in the middle of the onslaught and dozens of our close friends were directly affected.  The village is called Ti-Riviere, which means “Little River”, and the normally small stream for which it is named became a raging torrent as something like 25-30 inches of rain fell in less than a day.  Miraculously we can now happily report that no one in the village was killed or even seriously injured!

However, sometimes in the aftermath of natural disasters in a developing country like Haiti there are more deaths as disease spreads, food sources run out and are cut off from the outside, and access to health care is even worse than normal.  In the region around Ti-Riviere almost 1,000 deaths have been reported already, and mass starvation is a real concern in the near future.  Cholera is also regaining the ground it had lost in the last few years as new cases pop up all around.  Another big concern at this point is shelter.  One of our friends who lost his house said, “If I have to choose between hunger and not having a home, I would choose hunger.”  Many homes were destroyed and almost all the roofs were torn off.  The typical roof in Haiti is a combination of scraggly lumber holding up sheets of tin.  No doubt a 140mph wind could tear that off without any trouble.  Though the roofs are pretty cheap by our standards, I seriously wonder how most people will come up with the money to replace them.

We have a great chance to respond, as it says in II Cor. 8:14, “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.”  My gut reaction to that statement is to ask, “When exactly will Haiti have plenty while we are in need?”  That is almost unimaginable in a material sense, and yet just last summer we all benefitted from some of the spiritual “plenty” of the Haitian people as Zacharie came and challenged us in our faith as he visited various groups at church and got to know ARC members.  Now we have a chance to use a direct, personal connection we know in the heart of the Hurricane Matthew disaster to send aid in time of need, knowing it will be distributed with prayer and equity.

You have heard me talk about the difference between relief and development in missions, and those who have read “When Helping Hurts” know plenty about this subject.  There are times when the best way to help people is education and other forms of long-term development, and in those cases giving away food and other necessities would not be appropriate and could lead to dependence.  However, this is truly a relief situation if ever there was one.  People in Haiti need immediate help to preserve their lives, and as we have learned in the past we cannot depend solely on the big, international relief organizations to get the help where it is needed.  That is why we are so blessed to have Zacharie there on the ground and prepared to help people with food, medicine, and materials for rebuilding shelter.

On Sunday, October 23, we will take a special offering for Haiti, and the money will go directly to either Zacharie or Mission Haiti, which is a reputable organization in Ti-Riviere.  Either way your donation will be 100% devoted to relief with nothing deducted for administrative costs.  Later we will hear reports of how the money was put to work to preserve lives, and how we can help as the country transitions from immediate relief to long-term development.  Thanks in advance for your generous gift, and above all else, please continue to pray for the people of Haiti during this difficult time.

(please also remember the people of North Carolina whose homes are being flooded at the moment I am writing this article)

Cory Grimm

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Phil. 4:7)

Terry is a man I have enjoyed getting to know this year at Cornerstone prison church.  He is a gifted musician and singer and has a very tender heart.  He is a prolific songwriter with notebooks full of lyrics and ideas.  When he prays people sense the presence of God.  He has a peace and confidence about him that is rare among inmates.  He shared a couple of stories with me the other day…

Growing up an African-American boy in Atlanta, Georgia, in the sixties was very interesting.  The Civil Rights movement was in full swing and in Atlanta those issues were at the forefront.  But there was also a sense of calm in the midst of the storm for a young boy who liked to wander around the city with his brother.  They would get on their bikes and rummage behind buildings and in ditches, looking for anything that could be turned in for a deposit, especially old bottles.  Terry’s goal was to come up with at least 35 cents each day so that he could afford the following:

Bag of candy- 10 cents, Fresh honey buns- 4 for 5 cents each, a few slices of bologna- 5 cents

At the store the packaged honey buns were 10 cents, but the honey bun factory was actually in Atlanta, so if Terry and his brother showed up there at the right time they could get fresh, warm ones for 5 cents apiece.  They would lay one flat like a piece of bread, pile on the bologna slices, and put another honey bun on top, making a delicious sandwich.  After that they would wander their way home through a city that was nothing like the urban sprawl you see today.  Terry’s dad was proud of them for being so resourceful and being able to take care of themselves.

When Terry grew up he married a white woman in the seventies, which was long before such a match was considered acceptable, especially in the Deep South.  One day they were getting groceries in a small town nearby and Terry’s wife was checking out while he looked for one more item.  He came up and put the item on the belt with everything else and the cashier told him to leave the woman standing there alone.  He said, “She’s my wife,” and the whole store full of locals turned and glared.  There were whispers.  His wife wanted to confront the judgmental response, but Terry suggested that getting to the car and leaving town was probably the wisest approach.

I loved listening to Terry tell stories from his past and to hear him chuckle as he nostalgically pronounced the phrase, “honey bun.”  I have no idea why he ended up in prison or how he is able to cope with losing almost everything:  his family, the culture he grew up in, his privacy, his freedom.  What I do know is that after being miraculously saved from drowning later in life, he has committed his heart fully to Christ and never looked back.  Some of that gratitude and peace and passion comes out in the lyrics he writes.  Here is a sample:

Here is his body, which is the bread; whenever you eat it, recall what he said.

“This is my body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”

Remember – that I came to heal.  Remember – that I came to set you free.

Remember – that I came to give you life.  And where I am you will also be.

Cory Grimm

On August 12 a small group of ARC members attended worship at the Cornerstone Prison Church.  Cornerstone is an organized church within the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary, and I have the privilege of leading worship there every Friday night.  On this particular occasion the men were “shaking the rafters” (as one inmate put it) and the passion was overflowing in worship.  During a time of prayer requests, Pastor Mike asked that “the same spirit of worship at Cornerstone would descend upon our church.”

Part of my job as Pastor of Worship and Spiritual Formation is to help mold our people into passionate worshipers of Jesus Christ, particularly on Sunday mornings, but I have to admit I am at a loss about how to do this well, and I am asking for your help.  Each Sunday I look out into the eyes of everyone, and there is a wide range of participation levels.  Some are energetically singing and maybe even raising hands, others are totally bored, and the vast majority fall somewhere in between.  It has been well-documented that when the children sing in church, they tone down their gusto several notches compared with singing downstairs.  There is something holding us back.

I’ve tried to diagnose our general lack of enthusiasm in worship, and why we are so reserved and quiet, and some practical possibilities come to mind:

• The new sanctuary is such a big room that people can’t hear each other sing as well as in the past, and therefore we tend to be tentative.
• Most people aren’t listening to Christian music during the week, and as a result we find ourselves worshipping hesitantly as we struggle to learn new songs.
• Maybe I myself am the “lid” keeping the spiritual growth from happening either due to musical limitations or not having a strong enough spirit of worship myself.
• Some other factors not easily identified?

These are all practical issues that might be stunting our growth, but I hate to think about the possibility that the zeal of our worship (or lack thereof) perfectly mirrors the level of our love for God.  What if that is true?  I guess I’ve always assumed that most ARC members are deeply in love with Jesus, yet for whatever reasons we have a hard time being comfortable enough to express our gratitude and affection in the large group setting.  Lately, however, I’ve been up at night wondering if the unthinkable is true:  our worship is equal to our love.

Whether due to practical issues or spiritual issues, I think the time has come to take a good, honest look at our heart of worship.  Therefore, my plan is to ask Arlin and the tech crew to constantly pan the audience’s faces during our broadcast in order to reveal who is engaged and who is not.  Just kidding!  I think a better course of action is to ask everyone in ARC to help me discern what is hindering us and how we can grow together to worship more passionately.  Please approach one of the following members of the worship team (committee) with your feedback:  Darrel Van Aartsen, Jim Ouverson, Cory Grimm, Katelyn Van Aartsen, Rachel Renken, Codie Zeutenhorst.

Cory Grimm