Thursday, January 27, 2011

"The Next Generation!"

“In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.” Acts 2:17

I love to be a part of a church that is for everyone. Young and old, rich and poor, successful and those who are struggling, male and female, grandparents and children, students and singles, liberal and conservative―all people who are united by our love for Jesus Christ and our passion to build a great caring network to make a difference in this world.

Let me make sure that you are aware of some of the outstanding young leaders in our church. I should have formally introduced them to you a long time ago because some have been asking who these people are.

I think everyone knows Travis Graham our praise leader. Travis is a lead singer for one of the top bands in our area “New Heights,” yes they are the one that has been written about in the press and Travis noted that he works at Washington Cathedral. Travis leads praise along with Rhonda and her team at the Saturday night worship service Boulder Creek Congregation. He also leads praise at the 9am service along with Rhonda at the Cathedral at the Falls Congregation; he leads praise at the Mountainside Congregation at 11am with Pastor Naomi and M.A.J.E.S.T.Y. Creative Arts; and- - - he also leads 30 minutes of cutting-edge praise at the Rooted Congregation at 6pm Sunday nights. He is one of the lead pastors of this exciting new congregation. Travis has a heart for the Lord and it is a privilege to work with him.

Gigi Bresolin is a junior at Northwest University and she is majoring in ministry. She is our intern-pastor leading the Junior High Ministry. She has a great team of young people working with her and we are so blessed to have her as a part of our church family. Keep her in prayer as a full-time student and a young person who really has a heart for junior high kids. She volunteers an amazing amount of hours listening to, caring for, and ministering to junior highers.

Another new young leader in our church is young man you can’t miss because he is six foot seven inches tall. Benjamin Smokovich came to our church through the Brazilian Congregation. He is a former professional basketball player and is helping to organize a men’s league on Monday nights. Ben was a missionary with Youth with a Mission and went through all their discipleship training and leadership training before serving as a missionary to India after the tsunami. While living in the City of God slum in Rio Ben becoming fluent in Portuguese- - - he is also fluent in German, Spanish, and English. Ben is working with our youth ministries as he has a heart for young people. He also is a part of the web team as he is going to school to complete his degree in computer forensics. His is passionate about the meta church because that is what brought him here; and he is volunteering his time to bring a greater degree of community between our different ethnic congregations.

There are many more young people on the rise at Washington Cathedral. The Esperanza Congregation is mainly young people and their potential is exciting. The Videira Brazilian Congregation is also exploding in growth mainly with young people who are quickly becoming radically committed to Jesus Christ and you might have noticed that the ever growing St. Georges Coptic Church is full of young professional families. The Pacific Islander group is also an amazing work of God with young future leaders of Washington Cathedral.

Last week we hit a high-point in our youth ministry attendance as we are seeing more and more future world changers come to our church and bring their families. It is exciting time to pray for the next generation and how God will use them.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Friday, January 21, 2011

The End… or New Beginning!

To come to the end of oneself and to realize that there is nothing left to hang onto. The ‘willfulness’ that got me this far, has run out. Circumstances have pushed me to a place up against a wall; the very place of miracle and rebirth. To know that all my running and planning is at an end. To turn my heart, mind and will over to the care of my Father who has been waiting patiently for me to reach the end of myself.
We saw it in the lives of Peter and Paul and others who finally ‘got it’ no more running or working off one’s own agenda. To be truly God’s person you have to come to the end of yourself. Oswald Chambers addressed it in today’s devotion as:

“All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to receive the Holy Spirit. The idea is that of invasion…”

There is now only one who directs the course of my life. Now that I am finally in that place I never want to leave it. My direction, purpose and will are centered outside of myself and upon Jesus and what He would have me do.

When I look back to the places of worry, fear, angst, planning and coercion that I lived in, I marvel at how He has brought me out of it and to this place of acceptance. Not an easy road to be sure, but one that- - - step-by-step and doing the next right thing- - - brought me to this place.
I thank You my Father for the miracle of coming to the end of myself and finding You there waiting to hear those words that only I can say “whatever it takes.” You put me on a better path from that moment on. You are dependable, trustworthy and true to all that you have promised. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Be with all those I love and use their circumstances to bring them to the end of themselves and to the place where they will find you there waiting. That is the greatest miracle in anyone’s life that we could ask for. Be with us all in this New Year with its changes, pain, problems, angst and also Joy. Help us to share with each other your faithfulness in all our circumstances so that others come to the place of relinquishment and total trust in you. Amen

Fiona Monaghan

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Transport to New Worlds



Sometimes we underestimate the advantages our children possess by something as simple as strapping them into the car and taking them with us to the grocery store.The children of AFE (a school Washington Cathedral supports in Honduras) do not have that advantage. They come from a small world that they cannot see past the garbage dump or the ends at their neighborhoods. The younger children do not recognize that they live in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Nor have they traveled downtown to see the beautiful remnants of colonial architecture or the brightly colored signs of fast-food chains signaling a larger world of international commerce exists. I always enjoy watching the children take their first step on an escalator when we bring them to the airport to pick up teams. It is a frightening thing to get on a moving staircase and to feel so out of control of your location. We often cause a bit of an uproar as we attempt to travel up to the second level.These experiences are priceless. They give the children vision; they learn that there is more to life than the garbage dump community. They see people working in other professions, they visit places that are kept clean of trash, and they begin to dream.

Thanks to Washington Cathedral and all who participated in its “Fiesta de Milagros” auction, the children of AFE will be able to travel outside of their dump community much more frequently now. We have purchased a 15 passenger van (roughly 30 Honduran-passenger), which will serve to take classes on field trips. Trips to museums, the zoo, and the universities are planned. The more we can get AFE’s children out into “normal” society, the more they will feel comfortable and become socialized for something more than dump-life.

The van will transport visiting teams as well, though we plan to continue charging a small transportation fee to cover yearly maintenance.We are excited about the possibilities in store, thanks to all who have given so generously! If you would like to participate in the "Fiesta de Milagros" this year, please contact linda.skinner@wacathedral.org.

Pastor Elise Diaz, Together for Transformation

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

"Finding God's Plan for Your 2011!"

Jesus Christ Is God’s ultimate yes!
2 Corinthians 1:19

A generation ago, a very devout missionary to India by the name of E. Stanley Jones wrote a life-changing book while he was in his 80s. The book was called The Divine Yes! It touched so many people. It was quoted by Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Robert Schuller, Norman Vincent Peale, Oral Roberts, and Pat Robertson. And my grandfather Rev. Floyd White had the chance to meet E. Stanley Jones in Tacoma, Washington at Puget Sound University and attend his School of the Prophets. It had a profound impact on Grandpa’s life. E. Stanley Jones had been a friend to Mahatma Gandhi, but he was most famous for being a follower of Jesus Christ in such an authentic way that it impacted a whole generation.

We as a church are involved in a life-changing study of 1 and 2 Corinthians. We are expecting a revolution in our understanding of love, worship, spiritual gifts (and how we use them in the church), and skills for having a heart that finds God’s plan for the complexities of 2011. I love the passage in 2 Corinthians 1:19-22 “For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for his glory. It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.”

That just thrills my heart to hear that. It warms my soul like some of my mom’s homemade potato soup. Am I the only one that is revived when I hear those verses? In this negative age of cynicism and despair it seems so doggone positive to see our job is really pretty clear―not simple or easy, but clear. Say “Yes” to God by following Jesus Christ- - - and if a whole church has that attitude- - - then watch out world!

I believe our church is on the edge of a “Brazilian style” revival! And we are all not only going to be blessed by it- - - we are going to become a huge blessing to our community because of it!

“Humility is a magnet for the Holy Spirit.” Rick Warren
Your friend for the rest of my life,
Dr. Tim White