Faith United Methodist Church

Faith's youth will have a swim party on Sunday, May 20 at 4:30pm at the home of Mike and Laura Davis in honor of the graduating Seniors.

Contact Dana Willenborg for more.

E3 is a new ministry at Faith that seeks to enrich, encourage, and elevate women in their relationship to God and each other. They are meeting this Saturday, May 19 at 10am for brunch.

Contact Donna Emmert to get more information or to RSVP.

Vacation Bible School 2012

June 11th-15th from 6:00-8:30
4 years through 5th grade

To Register:

• Print registration form
• Mail form (or turn in to the office) and check to:
  

  Faith United Methodist
  6060 Teasley Lane
  Denton, TX 76210

• Make check out to Faith UMC
• $10 per child with $30 max per family (includes t-shirt)

We received some very good news this week from a friend in Joplin, MO.

When our team was there two months ago, we worked on a home that was on the city inspector's list of potential homes to condemn. In fact, the day we arrived to work at that home was the same day that the inspector was scheduled to make a recommendation as to whether or not the house should be leveled. It just so happened that the inspector showed up while we were working and expressed encouragement that something might be done to save the place. What we didn't know then was that the owner of the home had just about given up.

To make a long story short, the handful of hours that our team spent on that house, along with a very productive conversation with the team from Americorps, was enough to buy this home some time and save it from condemnation.

In the weeks since our visit, other volunteer groups have taken up the work. And today, that home has a new roof, new windows, new interior walls, and new exterior siding. The garage that had been destroyed by the tornado is being rebuilt into a first-floor bedroom.

Still the owners of that house remember our little team of hard hats. And they have said that had it not been for the work our group did that day, they would have told the city inspector to tear the house down. I guess our presence brought just enough light into their world to give those folks a glimmer of hope. It just doesn't get much better than that!

Rev. John McLarty, Senior Pastor

In addition to being Memorial Day weekend, this Sunday is Pentecost Sunday- the day we set aside to celebrate how the Holy Spirit breathed life into the Church of Jesus Christ and unleashed it to transform the world. We've been talking about various changes we might make in our lives, but this Sunday, we'll talk about where the power to change really comes from.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we celebrate together and I hope you will invite a friend to join you.

Rev. John McLarty, Senior Pastor

I received an email today with the subject, "Hear a Big Tip from Rick Warren." (Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in California and author of the "Forty Days of Purpose" books.) Rick knows a few things about growing churches, so I was interested in what this "big tip" might be.

So I opened the email and Rick's article was the first one listed among several. It was titled, "Ask People, 'What Can We Do For You,'" and the first few lines of the article followed. There was also an article underneath Rick's by Mark Brooks titled, "The Secrets of Successful Pastors."

I see articles like the second all the time. We preacher-types are always on the lookout for the next great thing that will make us successful. (Most of the time, these articles are fluff.) But something in the teaser lines of the second article got my attention, especially in light of what Rick had written just above.

One of Rick's sentences said, "Jesus let people set the agenda for the needs He met." However, in the article below, Mark wrote, "we cannot change our message to tickle the ears of those that do not see what we see."

And that's the challenge of preaching right there. On the one hand, we want to give the people what they need. We want the message to be relevant to their daily lives. (It's also admittedly self-serving- if we scratch the right itch, they'll keep showing up and keep giving and maybe even invite their friends.)

On the other hand, we want to be faithful to the truth of the text. We want to be able to confront the hypocrisies of modern-day Christianity and speak a prophetic word. But in doing so, we risk running people out of the church.

We want it both ways.

So I'm asking the question today. Which is more important? If you had to choose, would you rather hear a message that was tailored to your needs or a message that challenged you to examine your life under the light of Scripture?

Post your thoughts. I really want to know.

Rev. John McLarty, Senior Pastor