Sunday's Sermon...

I know sometimes people think that the preacher is preaching at them. In reality, I am, often times, preaching to myself. Studying the Scriptures brings one face to face with mirror of God's Truth. It challenges me and my thinking and my actions as much as anyone.

When I said that I understood the apostle Paul and the choice he made to separate from Barnabas I meant it. It is always easier to end a relationship than fix it. It is always easier to burn a bridge than build one. What is not so easy is to honestly and brutally look at one's own actions in the light of the Scriptures. We can be quick to point out where others have failed, while ignoring our own failures in the past and in the present.

While we should strive to be more like Barnabas in the way he encouraged others, we also need to remember that he was man with his own faults as well. Paul tells us in Galatians 2:13 that "The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray". You see one can be too focused on relationships and lose sight of their Christian principles. Barnabas who had opposed the attempt make the Gentiles disciples into Jews, was now treating those same Gentiles with disrespect for the sake of maintaining a relationship with those same Jewish believers.

As Christians, we must balance people and principle properly in our lives. That balance is found in our continued study of God's Word and in our authentic community with one another.

What a GREAT CONVENTION!

I have always enjoyed the North American Christian Convention. However, this year was better than most. The services were great and the messages inspiring. It was also great to see friends and renew relationships.

One man, Robert Kitchen, or "Dad", as I call him, was there. I was able to connect with him after losing track of him for few years. Bob was the man who spent hours and hours talking to a rebellious teenager about God, the Church, and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. After a year or so, things began to make sense to me and I accepted Jesus Christ.

The funny thing is most of Bob's kids went to college and two of his own sons were planning to be ministers. None of them are still in the ministry. Only I remain in the ministry. I think Bob is pretty proud of that fact.

Another thing happened at the convention. MaryAnne and I were in the elevator going back to our room after the evening service. There was just us and a little old woman. When I look at her, she seems familiar to me, but I could not figure out how. I looked at her name tag (everyone wears a name tag at the NACC), and saw her name - Lois Wool. Finally, I just had to ask her if she was married to a man named Ruby. She answered that she was, but he had passed away about ten years ago. Then she looked at my name tag and said my name. I could see the light go on. "You're Mike Duff!" she shouted. "Yes I am", I said, "Your husband baptized me!"

Her husband. Ruby, was an elder in my home church. One summer Sunday morning, when the preacher was gone on vacation, he preached his first sermon from the pulpit of the South Redford Church of Christ. Not only that, but I think I was his first baptism as well. He looked pretty shocked when I came down the aisle of that auditorium. One thing you should know about Ruby. He was short. Like Dave Nance short! I was as tall then as I am now, maybe even taller. He struggled baptizing me, but he got the job done.

All this got me to thinking. You know my conversion was the product of the efforts of several people, many of whom, were not paid staff. Now in fairness, the minister of the church had also worked with me and was an important factor, but it was a team effort. From Sunday school teachers, to youth sponsors, from caring church members, to leadership that was not afraid to step out of their comfort zone, all these people were used to reach me for Christ.

To often, church members forget that evangelizing the lost is EVERYONE'S job. There are people in your life right now who need to hear about Jesus Christ. Some of them might just need a ride to church. Some of them might just need a friend. Some of them might need someone to ask the question, "Do you have a daily relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His Son?" Reaching the people of this community is a TEAM effort. Why not get in the game?

Memories of Church Camp!

As most of you know, I worked a partial week of church camp at Hanging Rock. I am still recovering from my two and half days of working with the kids. I have not work in camp for almost ten years. I forgot how tiring it all can be. It was great to see children from our church involved. You need to congratulate Emma Thatcher for being the most valuable girl on her team at camp.

I am sorry that I have not been posting lately. Things have gotten really, really busy this summer. In fact, I am right now preparing to leave next week for the North American Christian Convention in Cincinnati. It is a great time to renew friendships and build new ones. I also enjoy the awesome worship services they have.

This does not mean that I am not enjoying our services. Tyler has been doing a tremendous job since starting June first. I can already see a difference in our services. We are blessed to have him here working with our congregation. I encourage you to offer him your help. He has a TWO very important ministries to manage, Worship and Student. I know he needs all the assistance he can get.

In closing, I have noticed that attendance has been down in the month of June. This is understandable because people travel on the weekends to enjoy the nice weather. However you need to be careful that you don't get "out of the habit" of being in church. Spirituality is as much a habit as anything else in our lives. Please make every effort to be in church during these summer months. Remember, also, that our expenses continue even when you are not there. Your faithfulness in giving regularly is how we are able to minister to each other and to our community.

Balancing the Focus...carefully.....

One of the greatest challenges in leading a congregation is balancing the focus. I am currently reading a book entitled, "7 Practices of Effective Ministry". It talks a lot about how churches walk a fine line between discipling their members, and reaching out to those outside the church. We want to be effective in both arenas, but there is always a tension that exists.

What is sometimes missing in the equation is honest input from the congregation. As a leader, I try to listen to what people are saying and what they think is important. Often times the only thing I hear is complaints about the church, our services, and the direction we are going. I learned a long time ago that you cannot please everyone. It is not my intention to make everyone happy. I would like to know what people think, whether or not they understand the "what" and "why" of the things we do.

For example, we have initiated having two distinctly different worship services: Patterns and Innovations. The goal has been to provide both members and guests a clear choice. Patterns is a traditional service designed to honor worship tradition that we all have enjoyed. Innovations is a contemporary service designed as a venue for newer, more modern worship. Each has it's own audience. Judging by attendance, many people have enjoyed the Patterns service. First service attendance is up.

What do you think about the two services and their formats?

Being a Proud Parent!

I have often said that my decision to get married was a easy one. Others have told me that I made a much better choice than MaryAnne did, and I tend to agree with them. She has been such a blessing to my life that I cannot even begin to describe it.

However the decision to have children was much more difficult. As some of you know, I am one of six children. In growing up in a big family, I saw all the difficulties in being a parent. I was not able to have the relationship with my dad that I want because he was always so busy working to keep us feed, clothed, and housed.

When we talked about children, MaryAnne and I had agreed on limiting the number to only two. Well, as least, I thought she agreed. We have three great kids, and I love each of them very much. I hope I have told them that often enough.

Recently my wife and I attended my second son's (Miles) graduation from Johnson Bible College with a bachelors degree in Media and Bible . I am very proud of him and what he has done in his life. Going to college and finishing school is an important step in his life. While he does not yet have a handle on what exactly he wants to do, he does have a good foundation of knowledge that will serve him whatever he does. I am sure that God has great plans for his life.

CrossKids Daycare Ministry

One of our greatest, growth generating ministries here at Crossroads has been our daycare ministry. Since it was started over five years ago, it has been instrumental in bringing a steady stream of new families into our congregation. While I may be accused of a little bias because my wife, MaryAnne, is the director, the fact of the matter is that this quality program has been a tremendous asset both to us as a congregation, and even more to the parents it serves.

Some of you new folks might not even be aware that we have a daycare here at the church. It operates Monday through Friday, from 6:30am to 6pm, all year long. We offer full time care to children for a monthly rate of $340.00. This is one of the lowest rates in the community for a program that includes preschool instruction. The daycare accepts children who are three years old and potty trained through kindergarten. It also has a before and after school program for school age children up to fifth grade.

Our daycare ministry is truly a ministry. Our tuition rates are kept very low so that we can help working families afford quality childcare. However our mission is to reach them with the love of God and saving grace of Jesus Christ. If you have time, stop by for a visit, and see the difference the church is making in these families. Even better, you can offer to volunteer some time to help. An extra set of hands in always appreciated. Contact MaryAnne Duff if you have an interest.

Thursday, May 15th, at 7pm, CrossKids will be holding the graduation program. This is where the older children are "graduated" out to kindergarten. You are welcome to attend the program, and show your support for MaryAnne and her teachers.

Back From Graduation...

Well, we are finally home for awhile. It seems like we have been gone forever, but in reality we have just missed a couple of Sundays. It was great to see Miles graduate from Johnson with all of his friends. His immediate plans are to move in with his brother and find a job.

May is already shaping up to be a very busy month. With Dave and Dawn leaving us, and Tyler and Torie coming, we have a lot to do. We are finalizing programs and schedules for the summer. For the first time, since coming to Crossroads, I have been asked to work in camp. I hope I have not lost my touch. I will be a team coach, teacher, and campfire speaker for 3rd and 4th graders, June 22nd-24th.