From Ski's Blog at The CORE
6/7/09 - Control
So this weekend I’m preaching in week #4 of The Sickness Within. Our topic is Control. The main point of the sermon this week is that we, even though we want to be and think we can be, are not in control. God is. As I was preparing the sermon earlier in the week, I got the following email from my friend, Scott Whiteker who lives in Seattle, Washington. This is an amazing story that is 100% true and drives home the truth that God is truly in control of all things. I hope you enjoy this.
Ski:
Ok, so Lori and I go to this 500 person fundraiser for a program called City Year last night, which is a youth focused service program.
We met this kid in the program named Nathan from Maryland and come to find out he is going to be going to some small Midwest university.
Why am I telling you this???
Well he will be a Freshman at this small school called Lawrence University in this town you may know called Appleton, WI.
Ok, so again what’s my point?
Well he told us that he was recently in Appleton to check things out.
Again…do I have a point???
Let’s take a step back for a moment…
Nathan chose Seattle to service City Year because it was a more liberal city.
So??? You may ask…
Well in the course of his service here in Seattle he started attending this church you may have heard of…Mars Hill and he became a Christian at that church.
Ok so now you are thinking that I might be thinking…hey I know this pastor that has a church in Appleton that I could tell him about right???
Well remember I said that Nathan visited Appleton???
During his visit he said he went to this church that had evening service in this movie theater…now are you catching on???
Nathan said he went to one of your services and even mentioned your name as Ski before either Lori or I could.
He said the place was packed. He also said that he loved it and would be going back.
I gave the kid my card, he will be in his first year there. I told him to email me because I have some pull in Appleton.
Now there is a story you can almost fully share…
You are MY Hero!
Scott Whiteker
Director of Marketing
Samsung Telecommunications America
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GJ - Ski, you are my hero too, for exposing the nature of Church and Change so thoroughly.
Now tell the truth - was the Seattle trip with Katie and Glende for a Mars Hill conference?
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Get Out Your Hankies for Another Mars Hill/CORE Co...":
Nothing like third party testimonials. Since someone has spoken well of Ski and CORE, I am now ready to attend full time.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Get Out Your Hankies for Another Mars Hill/CORE Co...":
No doubt the young gentleman that will attend CORE will get well catechised on the difference on what Mars Hill teaches and what Core teaches. Then he will see the REAL difference and gladly fall in love with the solid Lutheran doctrine.
At least that is what one naive pastor in Illinois says about his WELS church that leaves out the name "Lutheran"in it's name. "They will come to us without having preconceived ideas on what Lutheran is or who we are. And once they fall in love with our teaching, they will know that we are Lutheran." That is paraphrased. When told that that seemed rather deceptive, only silence fell on the room of people.
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GJ - I heard all that baloney from Paul Kuske, about 20 years ago. The laity knew it was fundamentally dishonest to start a Pilgrim Community Church, but the clergy were silenced. Later, one WELS pastor screamed at me that it never happened. I said, "I was there."
