Jamie Booth

Sharing

 

Today I was so proud of my son.  The weather was actually decent, so we headed to the park for this first time this year.  While we were playing in the sandpit a giant Goliath of a 5 year old girl attacked and took a shovel right out of another 2 year old girls hand.  The little girl, who had just been robbed, immediately started balling her eyes out.  

Without missing a beat Jack, realizing what just happened, walked over and offered his shovel to the girl who just had hers taken away.  I was blown away by his willing to share, but even more so by his realizing the desire to make the girl feel better.

465 Volunteers

Just had the chance to enjoy a luncheon with over 250 of the people who are involved in ministry here at Calvary.  Here at CCC there are 465 people who are serving in ministry.  Some volunteer in our nursery on a rotating basis, some lead prayer meetings or home care groups, many are involved in our Easter or Christmas productions, most are involved in one of the other dozens of ministries at the church.  But 465 people serve in one way, or another.  

I am so appreciative for what each of them do.  It is great to see so many people join the team, and serve in the capacity that God has created them to. I am looking forward to what God is going to do in the life of our church this next year through the faithful service of these awesome people!

Home Ownership

Amazingly I haven't burned it down yet.  Despite my tampering with electricity, messing with the furnace, and attempting repairs I have never done before, I haven't burned down Becky's and my new home yet.  

I am returning from a bit of a break from the blogging world.  This past month has been extremely busy, mostly because Becky and I bought our first home so my daily trip to Home Depot has replaced any type of writing.  Things are beginning to fall back into a bit of groove though, so I am hoping to be writing and reading more.

A few have been asking, so let me give a bit of an update.  We are fairly settled into the house.  Although we are still trying to figure out where everything will permanently go, there are no boxes left to unpack.  We are also starting to fix things up here, and there, so hopefully by the end of this week Jack's room will no longer be pink!  

A few have also asked what I have enjoyed the most so far about home ownership.  There are so many aspects of home ownership I enjoy, but the best is that we (Jack) can be as loud as we want and it doesn't matter as there is no one in the apartment below us to annoy by jumping, screaming or just running around.  

Some have asked what I think about all the responsibility of owning a home....my first reaction is that there is a lot!  I had to buy my first snow shovel, and use it on the day we closed on the house!  Fixing everything, opposed to calling a landlord.  And then there is that mortgage payment each month....that just hurt for the first time this week!  Ouch!

Haiti - Missions Trip

 

Many from the church have been asking how Calvary is going to respond the catastrophe in Haiti.  One way is that we will continue our support of Convoy of Hope, who is already in Haiti distributing food and water.  Another way we are going to respond is by sending a missions team to help in the relief effort.  

The details are a little sketchy right now, but we are looking to go to Haiti in late February or early March.  We will be partnering with some of our missionaries who are currently there, along with Convoy of Hope, and assisting in any way we can.  We will most likely be distributing food and water, helping with the cleanup efforts, and partnering with local churches to minister to people in a variety of ways.

If you are interested in being a part of this team please contact me (pastorjamie@lynnfield-ccc.org) or Pastor Clark (pastorclark@lynnfield-ccc.org).  We will be having a orientation meeting for those interested on Sunday, January 24th at 5:00 pm in Room 214 at the church.  

If you are not able to be a part of this trip, but would like to support those who are going, please see Pastor Clark or myself about that as well.

And certainly pray for the people of Haiti.

Record Breaking Weekend

We had a record breaking Sunday this past weekend at Calvary.  This past Sunday there were 986 people in church, which is the highest attended non-Easter weekend service in Calvary's history.  What made it ever more exciting for me was that out of the 986, 230 were children.   230 kids is obviously more children than I could keep track of myself, so I am so thankful to the dozens of children's workers that made this past weekend as great as it was for every child.

Looking forward to some more record breaking weeks in 2010!

 

Playing on One Buttock

I am not a musician.  I have, however, had the privilege of knowing several gifted musicians throughout my life.  Those gifted musicians I know have many differences (different instruments & styles of music), but one thing I notice they have in common is that they all play with emotion.  

I read recently that Benjamin Zander, long time conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, encourages his musicians to become "One Buttock Players."  He doesn't believe that you can truly convey music by simply playing it musically correct, you have to play it with emotion as well.  And when musicians play with emotion quite often you will see them rocking back and forth from one buttock to the other...thus becoming one buttock musicians.

To be a great musician takes emotion.  In fact, no matter what your field is, it will take emotion to be great.  If all your doing is going to work, punching the clock, sitting around waiting for it to be time to leave, how successful do you think you will be?  But, if you bring emotion, intensity, eagerness and determination to your job what can be accomplished then?

The same principle applies to your family, to your relationship with God, and to your personal life.  If you want to be successful in those areas you have to go after them with emotion as well.  If you want to see your marriage improve, you can't be content to sit in front of the TV every night.  If you want your relationship with God to improve you can't be okay with simply sitting on a pew each Sunday. 

What do you think would happen in your job, your family, your relationship with God, if you went from being a two buttock to one buttock player?  What do you think would happen if you gave it everything you got and held nothing back?  

The Jesus Storybook Bible

 

If you have been looking for a great children's Bible one you will want to check out is The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name.  I was introduced to this Bible a year, or so, ago by a CCC'er who absolutely loves it.   I think I have read through most of it now, and I love it as well.  The Bible is designed for children ages 4-7, has wonderful illustrations and does a masterful job of showing Jesus as the story beneath all the stories in the Bible.

I am sure there are many places you can pick a copy up, but they sell for $13.00 on www.christianbook.com.

Appendix 5

 

I just finished reading Jim Collins' new book How the Mighty Fall and it was a great read.  There were lots of excellent points in the book, but weirdly the part I loved the most was the fifth appendix.  In the 5th appendix Collin's discusses how to pick the right people for your team.  He comes up with six characteristics.  In his words, pared down a bit...

1. The right people fit the company's core values.  People often ask, 'How do we get people to share our core values?'  The answer: you don't.  You hire people who already have a predisposition to your core values, and hang on to them.

2. The right people don't need to be tightly managed.  The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you might have made a hiring mistake.

3. The right people understand that they do not have "jobs"; they have responsibilities.  The right people can complete the statement, "I am the only person ultimately responsible for..."

4. The right people fulfill their commitments.  In a culture of discipline, people view commitments as sacred-they do what they say, without complaint.

5. The right people are passionate about the company and its work.  Nothing happens without passion, and the right people display remarkable intensity.

6. The right people display "window and mirror" maturity.  When things go well, the right people point out the window, giving credit to factors other than themselves...yet when things go awry...they point in the mirror and say, "I'm responsible."

For any team to be successful, you have to have the right people on the bus.  These are six great characteristics to look for when hiring, or looking for volunteers.

Top Children's Ministry Websites

According to Children's Ministry Magazine and compete.com the top 5 most visited children's ministry websites are...

1. ministry-to-children.com
2. childrensministry.com
3. kidology.org
4. kidzmatter.com
5. cmconnect.org

I am familiar with all but one of these.  What other good sites are there out there for children's ministry?

13 Years

Becky and I were back in Missouri for Christmas and I had intended on writing a few posts from the Midwest, but spending time with family came first.  So, I am just now getting around to reflecting on some experiences from growing up in Troy, Missouri. 

First thought...Sometimes you only get 13 years.  I went to a fairly average high school. There were around 200 kids in my graduating class.  Most of those I graduated with transferred into the school system at some point or another, but there were a few, like me, that completed their entire education in Troy.  Not many, but a few of us toughed it out from kindergarten all the way through our senior year together. 

Here is the sad part.  As important as my faith in Christ was to me growing up, I can actually think of some of those kids that I went to school with for 13 years that I never talked to about Christ.  Never mind the hundreds that I knew for shorter amounts of time, there were actually kids that I knew for 13 years that I never once talked to about my faith!

Perhaps a few saw that I lived my life a little differently.  Several of them probably knew that I was the president of my school's Bible club.  Maybe 20 of them had to listen to my speeches in English class that I chose to give on God & the Christian faith.  But I messed up, as I never took the chance to personally share with them what was the most important aspect of my life.  And now, the chance I had to tell them is gone.

Sometimes you only get 13 years....sometimes less.  I had 13 years, kindergarten through 12th grade.  You may only have a few years of working with someone before they take a new job.  Or 4 years together at college.  Will you miss the opportunities liked I did to share what is most important to you?