8 REVIVED AND ALIVE! ARE YOU READY? page 8
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CLEANING HOUSE page 9
FROM OUR MISSIONARIES page 10
REVIVE US AGAIN WITH DR. STEVE HARPER page 11
FEATURE: HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SAYING... page 13
REPAIRING OF THE FOOT LOCKER page 14
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REVIVAL INFORMATION page 15
AUGUST EVENTS CALENDAR Join us at our upcoming Revival! See page 14 for more informaton.
Isaiah 43:19
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PREPARING FOR REVIVAL
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TALES FROM THE CRIB AND BEYOND: GETTING READY!
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SPARKING A LOT OF LOVE: AN INSIDE STORY page 7
FROM A TO B WITH ANDY SEARLES: NINE WAYS THAT ISAIAH ENCOURAGES US TO PRAY FOR REVIVAL
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In The Right Direction Two days from now, I will be heading to Mexico with our Aloma UMC Mission Team. Some team members have been packed for a week. I am not. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about the trip: the trip has been on my mind for nearly a year. It’s just that a lot of things have gotten in the way. I have been working on the trip. I’ve helped with washing windows. I went to a training day with the team. I’ve even got my sermon ready to preach while I’m there. I’m just not packed.
JIM GOVATOS SENIOR PASTOR, ALOMA UMC
True confession: I tend to be a last-minute packer. And that has gotten me into trouble on a number of occasions. One time I forgot my underwear. Another time my socks. Yet another time it was my hairbrush. Then my toothbrush. Each time I forget something, I vow never to do that again, and I don’t—I forget something else! Tonight when I get home, I’m going to make a list. And hopefully I will get to spend most of the day packing. But if I’m interrupted, I’m pretty sure I will forget something. I just hope it’s not anything essential like my passport. I tell you this because any great journey requires great preparation. Throwing things together at the last moment generally ends in chaos, and forgotten underwear! Aloma UMC is about to embark on one of those great journeys, and I want to make sure we are prepared. Last April, I announced that the Church Council had called for a season of Fasting and Revival. We will be fasting from our normal fall ministry lineup in order to concentrate on encountering God in a fresh way and seeing what He has in store for our future. This is a new venture, even for me. I’ve been part of revival meetings in the past, but never part of a whole season of seeking God in this way. I don’t think we can just use a pre-fabricated checklist of things that need to be done, but we do need to spend some time preparing. As I was thinking about this season, I came up with a few preparations for the journey that I think will be helpful: • Pray. I know a lot of us already pray on a regular
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basis, but I think it is important to pray specifically about what God wants to do in each of us and in our church during this season. In the history of the church, all great revivals have been preceded by passionate prayer. • Clear Your Calendars. While we are not asking you to do certain things like sell rummage, pumpkins, and trees, we are asking you to be available for certain important events, like the Revival Meetings at the beginning and end of the season. As you will see in this issue of Advance, we have great speakers like Pat Morley, Vonette Bright, Dr. Joel Hunter, and Bishop Allen Wiggins coming to our meetings. However, each meeting is important because each helps build momentum in our hearts for God to do something great. Family Dinners are also important to keep the family connection alive. • Read Your Bibles. I was recently “ambushed” by a passage of Scripture in my daily reading. Some months ago, I was given Isaiah 43:19 as the theme text for our revival: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Sounds like a nice promise. But then in my daily reading, I came across it in context and discovered that God was saying what He was about to do would trump anything in the past. That gives me great hope for our revival. • Prepare Your Hearts. People have reacted to the news of our Fast/Revival in any number of ways: relief, anger, excitement, fear, hope, concern. These are all expressions of our hearts. What I am asking is for all of us, regardless of our feelings, to open our hearts to what God wants to do in us during this time. Revival means to “bring back to life.” Spend some time asking God what part of your heart he wants to revive. Maybe it is a feeling, or a dream. Maybe He wants you to experience new freedom from an old hurt or sin. Spending time opening yourself to Him will make the work that much easier. I’m sure I’ve probably left something off the list. That would be just like me. However, as I look back over it, I think it is a pretty good start for what I believe will be an incredible journey for us all. I believe Jesus has great things in store for the people who are willing and ready to follow Him. Let’s make sure we are ready so we don’t miss a bit of the experience.
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Sparking a Lot of Love: Hello, my name is Audrey Pierce. I am a relatively new member here at A.U.M.C. I want to share with you the story of how I came to A.U.M.C. and how it relates to the new, exciting movement happening in the church today. I was driving past A.U.M.C with my grandparents in tow on a warm Saturday afternoon. We noticed your pumpkin patch and the little festival being held so we decided to stop and see what it was all about. Luck, lucky me. I parked the care and we walked to the back of the car to join hands. As we stood there holding hands, we were actually mesmerized and stuck. The youngest of my two granddaughters, Hailee, was tugging on my hand: “Da, Da, - Da, Da (that’s what they call me instead of grandma). Do you feel it, do you feel this too?” I looked down at her sweet face and answered: “Why yes Hailee, I do. Tell me, what do you think it is?” Boldly and quickly she answered, “It’s love.” “Why yes it is.” I said. “God is certainly here,” and both agreed. So off we went to enjoy the day. Like the strike of a match, as quickly as the flame jumps to life, we all felt the love of God simply by stepping onto the parking lot of A.U.M.C. It was amazing, as was the rest of the day. I came back the very next day for Sunday Service (and have been coming since that day). Having been through an exhaustive search for a church that I could call home, I was so happy to have finally found mine in A.U.M.C. My new family embraced me with open arms and hearts, showering me with beauty, love, and kindness. The flame that had ignited that day began to grow, but it wasn’t a “red-hot” flame. Sure, kindling was being added through sermons, Bible study, and scripture. I even began to volunteer some. But my fire was
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just okay, and okay was just not good enough. I couldn’t even feel the spark in the parking lot. But, the recent changes and movement are stirring my embers up. No more “lukewarm” fire for me. I have a “red-hot” bonfire burning and you can too! In the book of Acts a small group of disciples caught fire in Jerusalem and they grew and grew until they spread across the entire Roman Empire, teaching healing and spreading the Gospel of Jesus. Everywhere they went lives were forever changed and they left the world a better place. Now, it is our time to take their example and “live large for the Lord.” Strive to become a “vibrant agent for change” in your life. That’s right, a “vibrant agent for change” – it means you’ll have to start looking for opportunities to serve Christ. Look to your faith and allow the Holy Spirit to transform, inspire, create growth and move you to share God’s Gospel with the world. Become more “Holy Spirit conscious” than “problem conscious” by focusing, praying and reflecting on your life; then return to life but return to life differently. In closing, I’d like to leave you with a challenge. God is love. Please challenge yourselves to be the same. Let’s strike a match and make the parking lot a “Lot of Love” again-so everyone’s journey at A.U.M.C begins with love filled steps into God’s plan for Christianity. In His Service, Audrey Pierce
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Tales from the Crib and Beyond: WITH BARBARA TWACHTMAN
Getting Ready!
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BARBARA TWACHTMAN DIRECTOR, ALOMA EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING CENTER
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It’s that time of year again. Do you feel the excitement? Are you getting your list together, scoping out the sales flyers, planning your strategies? If you are a parent, a student or a teacher you probably know what I’m talking about. It’s time for school to start. But before we start we have to Get Ready!
For more information on Aloma UMC’s Early Childhood Learning Center, please visit us online at www.alomaeclc.com.
Every year around this time teachers and students are gearing up for another year of school. Clothes have to be bought, especially for those growing youngsters. New supplies have to be gathered. Here at the Preschool we have a “meet the teacher” day and we have staff meetings and cleaning day and set-up day. Well, you get the idea. There are numerous things to do to get ready for the start of school. And it’s always exciting! We’re fresh from our summer schedule and are ready to begin a new year. But that new year has a lot of expectations that we must meet and so, in order for that to happen, we have to prepare. A great year doesn’t just “happen”. It takes planning and effort in order to have the school year run smoothly. Sometimes there is training involved if you’re a teacher. Great school years don’t just fall into our lap, they are orchestrated.
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That goes for a lot of things in life. If you want something done well, you make a plan in order to have it happen. You want to do your research before buying a new car. You want to visit a lot of houses before you make that big purchase. Before you change jobs you need to get your resume updated and then search around for the jobs you want to apply for and then visit those employers. This formula of preparation has to happen in almost every aspect of life in order for good results to come. I don’t want to belittle the spontaneous things that are wonderful (i.e. babies, displays of affection, etc.). But the big things in life really work best when we take the time to Get Ready! Our church is in the process of Getting Ready for our revival. I’ve been contemplating what I should be doing to prepare for this time. I’ve come to the conclusion that the absolute best preparation is prayer. If I’m praying and asking God to show me what I need to do to be prepared and then I follow through on what I feel God is showing me, then I’ll be ready. In fact, that is good advice for anything in life. I think it even applies to having a great year at school or buying a new home or applying for a job. So, wherever you are in your life, whatever you are Getting Ready for, don’t forget to do the very best thing that you can, pray. Blessings! Barb
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From A to B::
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WITH ANDY SEARLES
CLEANING HOUSE
Nine ways that Isaiah encourages us to pray for Revival
ANDY SEARLES DIRECTOR OF DISCIPLING MINISTRIES, ALOMA UMC
As we pray for our season of Fasting and Revival, we are looking for God to do something awesome among us. But, as John Wesley said concerning revival, “God does nothing redemptively except through prayer”. So… how should we pray? I believe that the prophet of old, Isaiah, has some new instruction for us in Isaiah 63:15-64:12. Open up your Bible and read through these scriptures as you consider this commentary. 1) Pray Passionately! (Isaiah 63:15) Isaiah begins by saying, “Father, your mighty heart beats with so much passion for us. But you’re holding back. We need more of you!” Unfortunately, our religious experiences have often tamed and inoculated us against our passionate need for Jesus. Pray with passion for more of a passion. 2) Pray in alignment with God’s history! (63:16) God has been our redeemer in times past… and He never changes. Time and time again throughout history God has redeemed and revived His people. And He can do it again. 3) Pray with sorrow (63:17) We have taken the wrong path and as much as we’d like to blame someone or something else, we have
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to take responsibility for our actions that have taken us away from God. These wrong paths have hardened our hearts towards the tender mercies of God. And that is tragically sad. 4) Pray that holy people can possess holy places. (63:18) Jesus gave Himself up for the Church, longing that she be holy and spotless. As members of the Church we need to live lives of holiness before God. As we prepare for revival, pray that God would purify us – and ask that He would begin with you. 5) Pray that God will come down! (64:1) “Oh that you would burst from the heavens and come down!” In order for real revival to come we have to let God burst into our lives, our church, our community and every facet of this world. Pray that God would again “rend the heavens”. 6) Pray that something new will happen (64:4) There are things that God wants to say to us that we currently can’t hear and a side of God so glorious that we have not yet seen it. Pray that God would help us to know what we do not yet know and see what we do not yet see. 7) Pray out of personal desperation (64:5-6) Isaiah begs the question, “How can people like us be saved?”. Great question! Spend some time considering how our deeds are like filthy rags and how utterly lost we’d be without God’s grace. 8) Pray with an openness to be molded (64:8) He is the potter, we are the clay. Ask God to shape and mold you further into a person whom He can use mightily – even when the necessary transformation is difficult. 9) Pray that God will not refuse to help (64:12) We can’t fulfill the purposes of God on our own. On a daily basis our media screams of humanity’s need… and only through God’s help and strength can these be met. More than ever we need His Holy help. …Let us pray.
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Cleaning House BY MARTHA VIRGINIA SPIVEY ALOMA UMC MEMBER
Growing up in a parsonage, we prepared for a revival in several ways. First, we did spring cleaning. Now you ask, why do spring cleaning? The answer is quite simple; usually the visiting preacher was going to stay in our home. We were able to live with a great preacher for a whole week! Second, we got excited because we were going to be eating out all week long. The reason we were excited about this is that members of the congregation would invite the visiting preacher, my father, who was the preacher of the church, and most of the time our family for a meal in their homes. Third, was the anticipation of going to church every night for the whole week. Three reasons we looked forward to that: 1) the visiting preacher was always good. He would tell great stories and make it interesting to listen. The altar calls were so inviting (we only sang 6 verses of “Just as I Am”, not over and over). 2) Daddy always had a children’s time and told a Bible story. He could tell the best stories. But…when telling the story he wouldn’t name the main character. The children were then asked to guess who the main character was. 3) We knew the music would be great. A special music leader was invited. We sang the familiar, fun, gospel hymns that were more lively than the regular hymns we sang on Sunday. On top of that, the choir had been practicing for a long time to have special music that would inspire us as well as and the visiting music leader did solos that were outstanding. I was at a revival at Centenary Methodist Church (before the UM) in Macon, GA. The preacher was E. Stanley Jones, a well-known Methodist Evangelist. At his altar call, I went forward, knowing with assurance that God had truly saved me and was calling me into full-time Christian education work. Revivals can be life-changing experiences when we are ready and open.
The Evangelical United Brethren Church. It met in St. Louis where we then lived. So we invited the delegates from South GA for refreshments again. This time the Bishop came as well. What connections – many because of revivals. Since we have been at Aloma, we have invited Dr. & Mrs. Reginald Mallett, our revival preacher for several times from England, to our home for High Tea. Now if you know me at all you will know that I did everything I could to try to make it as authentic an English Tea as possible. I had tea cozies, loose tea leaves, individual tea strainers, tea sandwiches, queens cakes, scones with Devonshire cream and jam – the whole works. Here we were at the table, trying to be so proper and serve everything just right, when Brenda Mallett said to me, “You know we just use tea bags.” We all got a good laugh with that one. I needn’t have gone to all the expense, etc. All they really wanted was visiting and getting to know us better. As we prepare for the upcoming time of revival, I’m trying to think of ways I can “clean house”. What is getting in the way of my hearing what God has to say to me? How can I get rid of it? And I’m building my anticipation – expecting that God has great things not only for Aloma, but for me as well. I hope we’ll also have an opportunity to invite someone to dinner with us. I hope you will join me as we prepare for this time of revival.
As Gary and I established our home, some of this revival heritage continued. One way was in the connections with the great preachers who preached our revivals. I remember one time we were living in Dallas, TX, when the “Uniting General Conference” took place. Many of the delegates from the South GA Conference were those great preachers. So we invited them to our home one evening for refreshments after one of the sessions. They all came except the Bishop of South GA. His wife came. Two years later General Conference had to meet again to iron out some of the differences between The Methodist Church and
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From our Missionaries:
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ALOMA UMC’S MISSIONARIES, PLEASE VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.ALOMAZONE.ORG.
lapse of 12 years. For Sylvia it was a lapse of 24 years. In the application process with OMS it became clear that if we had not had the experiences God put in our path, we would had to have now gotten those experiences (church work, seminary training), so no time was lost in what could have seemed like a big gap. Get ready. God has a plan for your life. Let him prepare you. Then Go! Paul & Sylvia Cummings OMS Missionaries to Spain since 1984 Get Ready, Get Set, Go! When I went to Asbury College (University) as a freshman, I had no desire to be a full-time missionary. I would have gone on a summer teen talent team type of experience, but full-time missions, no thank you. While at Asbury, I met missionary kids and started to hear about life in Medillín, Colombia. I eventually was roped into being involved in the missions awareness group on campus (that´s how I felt about it at the time). Through that involvement, I met men like Paul Little and Dave Howard and God began to deal with me and my attitude towards missions. I came to realize that whatever God´s will was for my life, that is where I would find my greatest joy and greatest sense of fulfillment. I became an "On Call Missionary". If God said, "Go" I would go. And my call was to go wherever God asked me to go. I did not feel he was calling me at that time and when I graduated, I went to Florida and was a youth director at First UMC in Pine Hills. After marrying Sylvia, we went to Aloma, where we served for 5 years. At that time I felt God was calling me to go to seminary and better learn how to teach the Bible. While at Asbury Theological Seminary we felt God´s call to apply with OMS to be missionaries. From the time I became an "On Call Missionary" and actually ended up in the field was a
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Support Students in Haiti! For almost 23 years, International Christian Development Mission (ICDM) has been changing lives in Haiti, bringing hope and a future to children and families who had none. ICDM opened their first school in 1989 with 60 students. They currently have an enrollment of over 600 students. ICDM is currently seeking donations to help fund students’ education. You can help send students back to school with your one-time $40 donation. Each $40 donation will provide textbooks and school supplies for one student. Donations are accepted on line at www.icdm.us. Funds can also be sent through mail at the following address: ICDM, PO Box 762, Intercession City FL 33848.
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Revive Us Again!
DR. STEVE HARPER PROFESSOR , ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
All I have to do is write the words "revive us again," and I am transported immediately back to my childhood days in Haskell, Texas. It didn't matter whether you were Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, or anything else, every church in town had the annual revival. The ones I remember most were the "outdoor revivals," complete with makeshift stages, insect-repellent yellow lighting, folding chairs, and hand-held fans provided by the local funeral home. Revivals in our town included both hot preaching and hot weather. Sanctification and sweat seemed to go together. We sang, "revive us again" and sought renewal in our hearts and lives. Some years, we actually got it--or something pretty close. There's little doubt that we need to be singing "revive us again" in our generation. We find ourselves in a culture increasingly moving away from a public advocacy of Christian values and into ways of life which are at cross-purposes with the Gospel. But even inside the Church, we find a majority of congregations to be stuck in a maintenance mentality that is not either attracting new people or energizing the ones who are already there. "Revive us again" is a heart-cry that expresses the hungers many of us are feeling today.
The hunger for revival is also expressed by participation. We cannot sing or pray "revive us again" and remain on the outside of the request. We cannot be among those yearning for God to move in our time and remain on the margins. No, we're talking about a kind of "Hokey-Pokey" experience-one where we eventually put our "whole self in." This is what the Bible means when it calls us to repent. It's to throw open the doors and windows of our souls so that the fresh Wind of the Spirit can blow into us and generate "spring cleaning."
“Prayer does not create revival; only God does that. But prayer puts us in the disposition to desire it and the position to receive it.�
It is a hunger fueled by prayer. Dr. J. Edwin Orr has studied the relationship between prayer and revival more than anyone. His conclusion is that there has never been a revival which was not preceded by prayer. Prayer does not create revival; only God does that. But prayer puts us in the disposition to desire it and the position to receive it. When I came to see this, I also saw that "revive us again" is not simply a hymn, it's a prayer. It's an expression of what we believe needs to happen and a petition to God to act
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in our midst. Revival and prayer always go together.
Finally, the hunger for revival is manifested by personification. The most distinctive thing about Christianity is the Incarnation--the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14). The most powerful feature of revival is when we leave the confines of the sanctuary or the crusade arena and go back home, back to school, and back to work to live there as faithful disciples. In fact, we cannot legitimately use the word "revival" to describe anything which fails to achieve this outcome. Revival is not a moving experience, it is a transforming encounter with the living God. The church and the world are not dying for lack of revival meetings; they are dying for lack of revival influence. Aloma United Methodist Church has discerned a call to revival. As we do this, we are joining with Christians around the world who are saying and singing, "revive us again." May God give us eyes to see what we are asking for and to respond to the vision with prayer, participation, and personification.
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Feature:
HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SAYING…
As the Apostle John is writing his final letter to the churches in the book of Revelation (Chapters 2 & 3), he takes time to both commend and rebuke the seven churches. At the end of each “report” he offers hope for the future of those congregations by simply saying, “He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit is saying”. Regardless of churches’ successes or failures, churches can quickly get back into alignment as they attune themselves to the voice of God’s Holy Spirit. During our upcoming season of fasting and revival, success simply looks like us collectively learning to listen and to respond to the voice of God’s Spirit. It has recently came to Jim and my (Andy’s)attention that, for the past couple of years, a member of our family has not only been listening to the voice of the Spirit for Aloma, but capturing some of these thoughts in his journal. This gentleman’s name is Walden Owen – a pastor, a pioneer in mission, a father to many in ministry and a Sunday School teacher here at Aloma. Because of the incredible fruit that has been birthed from Walden’s ministry and because he is attuned to the Holy Spirit of God, when Walden speaks – we listen with discernment and expectation. Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Walden and in talking to each other tried to listen to the voice of the Spirit through one another. Our conversation bounced around three topics related to this idea that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to our church. When the Spirit whispers in preparation… As we sat around the conference room table to converse, Walden shared with us some of the things that he has been jotting down as
he has sought to listen to the Spirit during and after our worship services. Walden learned this discipline of observing what the Holy Spirit was doing a number of years ago when he was part of a small prayer group where a young girl miraculously and physically saw her burned hand heal. Walden was the only one in the group who was praying with his eyes closed, missing the visible site of a miracle taking place. He whispered to himself, “You idiot, you missed the whole thing”. From then on Walden has kept his eyes searching and his ears attuned for the activity of the Holy Spirit, It is worth noting that these comments were made before the idea of a season of fasting and revival was conceived in the hearts of leaders. • July 11th, 2010: The presence of the Holy Spirit was evident to me. As I exited, I expressed that, “The Spirit of God is going to fall on this church as never before”. • July 18th, 2010: As I sat in my pew prior to the service, I had a strong impression that revival was coming to Aloma UMC. The thought expanded to include revival coming to America and that AUMC was one of the many congregations throughout the land that would feed the fires of revival. • July 25th, 2010: As I sat waiting for worship to begin, I thought, “These people really have affection for one another. They greet each other enthusiastically with warm hugs. They converse freely in small groups as they are dismissed from service”. I felt the love of believer for believer. • August 1, 2010: The Body of Christ is to function in proper perspective in order to achieve God’s purpose. • August 15th, 2010: About two thirds of the way through the sermon came a strong impression that, “It’s coming; revival is coming”. • August 22nd, 2010: The preaching of the Word enables the Holy Spirit to give life, where there had been death, to those who respond by faith. The preaching of the Word, in the same way, can rekindle a flame that has begun to burn low. That is revival. The Word of God is being beautifully proclaimed and hearts are beginning to respond. There are many more statements Walden shared that indicated God was up to something among us. As Walden sought to listen to what the Spirit had been saying – prophetically – he heard that God had great plans in store for Aloma. It can be affirming to us all that God has already been whispering words of revival to us. To these prophetic whispers we can only add a hearty “Yes” and “Amen”.
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How to listen to What the Spirit is saying Because of our affirmation to Walden’s words the subject of our conversation shifted to what are some of the ways that we can hear the Holy Spirit. While the temptation is to try to formulate a list of “10 ways to listen to the Spirit”, the practice of doing so is really just that – a practice. As we start listening to the Spirit we will mishear and we’ll occasionally get it wrong as our own emotions, desires and agendas get in the way. But despite this we will keep seeking to hear – because more than any technique, God is most impressed with our desire to hear from him. That desire counts for more than any clichéd process. Having said that, there are some principals that appear to help us listen to the Spirit. The first one, without a doubt, is prayer. Our ability to listen to the Spirit rests upon our ability to commune with God in prayer. Prayer for revival is a little different than perhaps the “shopping lists” that often define our prayer life. They are prayers of desperation, prayers that the name and renown of Jesus can be made known, prayers of repentance – pleading for God to give us his salvation and his righteousness. As we pray, it is vital that we search our hearts and seek forgiveness for all that hinders the activity and work of God. Another way that we learn to hear the Spirit is through our relationships. God speaks to us through other people and therefore it is incumbent upon us to make as many spiritual connections as we can with one another. Each godly voices peaking into our life provides a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that God is speaking to us. When these pieces come together we able to see the glorious picture that the Spirit is painting. Living in obedient humility is also a gateway to hear the Spirit. So often, our pride and agendas prevent us from hearing. But through humility we are able to obey. When we obey we are able to do what we need to do and then leave the outcome to God. Obedience always blesses God and in return we get blessed as well. Another way that we learn to hear the Spirit is through our relationships. God speaks to us through other people and therefore, it is incumbent upon us to make as many spiritual connections as we can with one another. Each godly voice speaking into our lives provides a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that God is speaking to us. When these pieces come together we are able to see the glorious picture that the Spirit is painting. A final thing that is important in getting attuned to what the Spirit is saying is that we need to remove the baggage of religion in our lives Religion is the crutches, forms and sometimes idols that we think we need to connect with Jesus. They are not necessarily in themselves wrong, but they become so when they fulfill a place in our lives that Jesus alone should fill. Religion is a means to an end – meeting Jesus. But if our religion does not lead us to Jesus, it just leads us to an end! Religion can so often inoculate against Jesus – giving us false reason to feel we are OK, but preventing us from all that God has for us. How’s your prayer life? How’s your humility? How’s your obedience? How are your connections? How’s the baggage of religion? Let’s get these right so we can listen to the Spirit.
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What could the Spirit be saying as we move forward? Finally, the topic of our conversation shifted to some of the things that the Spirit could be saying to us during our upcoming season of revival. While, between our collective ministry experience, we all drew a blank on any tangible specifics that God was saying, there were several common themes that we believe will be a part of what this revival looks like for us at Aloma. These thoughts are listed in no particular order, but do serve as points for us to pray into and bend our actions towards in the months ahead. • Revival means people taking responsibility. One of the reasons that the church in our country has become so powerless is because many of us have neglected our personal responsibilities to play our role in the Body of Christ. We have acted as tenants rather than landlords, defaulting to the idea that “someone else will do it”. Unfortunately this thought is not biblical at all – if we don’t individually fulfill our responsibilities the Church will always have a void within it. When revival comes, this responsibility will create a synergy within our midst where the whole of our church is greater than the sum of its parts. • There will be fresh outpourings of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul talks about a second baptism, one of the Spirit. While there is much theological discussion about this, the reality is that there is more of the Holy Spirit available to all of us than we are currently experiencing. With the fresh outpouring will come not just increasing fruits of the Spirit, but increasing manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. • Prophetic Unity. This doesn’t mean a unity based around a certain style or a certain preference, but unity around our purpose – to make disciples. This prophetic unity looks like all of us realizing that we can’t fully function in Christ without each other – our senior population is investing in the young and the young are listening to the wisdom of the elder. • Strategic and passionate care for our community. The heart of God is for the world, and as his people experience a fresh touch of His Spirit, it overflows into the world. People who are turned off by words like evangelism will be turned on to sharing Jesus’ love. People who are afraid of representing Jesus in the work place and world will have a newfound confidence. There has never been a real revival of God throughout history where a community and culture beyond the church hasn’t been impacted. • Our congregation will change. Our collective ministry experience tells us that when God does something new, the makeup of a church will change. Those who want the status quo more than the Spirit of God will have a hard time staying. There will be some who are called to a new church and ministries because God has been at work empowering them, and we’ll celebrate that. God will send new people to us – many with great gifts to build the body and many with great needs who need the healing of the body. When revival comes, God often shakes things up! As you learn to listen to the Spirit, what are some of the things that you are starting to discern? Each little piece of discernment makes up the beautiful picture of what God is saying. Please drop us an email (communications@alomazone.org) with what you hear Spirit saying to us.
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Final Take:
ERIC TWACHTHMAN ALOMA UMC MEMBER
For the many years that I’ve been going to summer camp with the Boy Scouts, the first job in packing for the week was the annual “Repairing of the foot locker”. This is the yearly rite of getting down my footlocker from the attic and fixing whatever had gone wrong with it since last summer. Any number of issues might arise when you’re using your uncle’s footlocker from his days as a soldier in WWII. Well, not just my uncle’s, of course: my dad used it, as did my brother. By the time it came to me, as I mentioned, there were issues. Bottoms falling out. Handles falling off (only when you use one of them to pick the thing up, mind you.) Tops caving in. Basically, whatever had not been repaired prior to going to summer camp was fair game to fall apart at summer camp. Whatever fell apart that summer was what would be repaired in the next summer’s ritual. It is at this point that there are those who might hazard a query as to “Why”? A: Why not fix stuff when you get home and it’s fresh on your mind? The answer, (obviously) is that I already fixed something this summer. I do not want to do it twice in one year. That would just be silly. B: Why not get a new footlocker and avoid the hassle?
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The answer here is that, as indicated by the very fact that I had been using a vintage article of luggage, I am from a line of people who keep things going. That is, if you own something and it works (however tenuously) you keep using it. The sleeping bag that I used as a lad comes to mind in this vein, but by the time I started using the footlocker as an adult, the sleeping bag of my youth had disintegrated beyond repair. Actually – beyond molecular cohesion. The mere fact that you have to spend a few minutes sprucing up an item as substantial as a footlocker is inconsequential. Besides which, in order to get a footlocker to look as cool as mine would take 50 or so years. I’d be over a hundred by then. I can’t imagine enjoying camp at that age. As might well be imagined, the repair of this summer was informed somewhat by the failure of last summer. Or the failure of the fix. The handle failure at camp Old Indian comes to mind. Since the original leather handles had slowly rotted away before breaking entirely some years ago, Dad installed blocks of wood, which not only looked crude but had the added cachet of being useless as handles with which to pick the thing up. I added plastic handles with a fake leather grain (classy!). These swung down to get out of the way. As my son Jer and I found out when we had to carry our gear to the top of a mountain to get to our campsite, they also pinched your hands mercilessly when you tried to use them. The job that next summer, then, was to fix the fix of the fix (which itself was a fix). Of course, some of the fixes will eventually need to be renewed because, like the original article that failed due to age, the fix itself will have aged out. Luckily, some things can be left to the next generation. The footlocker is already in my will. Good luck, Jer.
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August Events SPECIAL EVENTS Monthly Prayer Gathering Sunday, August 5th 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Sanctuary Join us for our monthly gathering of prayer. We will come together as a church to pray for our upcoming revival, the church as a whole, and each other. A special video will also be shown. United Methodist Men’s Dinner Tuesday, August 21st 6:00 pm Fellowship Hall For the Men of Aloma, you UMM would like to honor you with a special dinner. We plan on a night of fun, fellowship, great food, and an inspiring message. You are welcome to bring a friend. Family Dinner Wednesday, August 29th 5:45 pm Fellowship Hall Join us as we have a Mexican feast of chicken fajitas, black beans and rice, guacamole, salsa, and chips! This evening of FREE food and fun is sponsored by Family Ministries and is designed for persons of all ages and family sizes – even if you are a family of one. If you are able, we ask that you consider bringing a $1/person love offering to cover some of the costs of this monthly event. To ensure that there is enough food for all to enjoy, reservations are only accepted until noon on Monday, August 27th.
CHILDREN & YOUTH Sunday School Classes: * B.I.G House Sunday School 4-year-olds through 3rd Grade
To register for a special event, please visit www.AlomaZone.org
* Garage Sunday School 4th through 6th Grade What God is For By: Alan Chambers * Youth Sunday School 7th through 12th Grade For Sunday School classes, children, tweens, and youth join their families in the sanctuary at 10:30 for the opening of worship and are dismissed to their age-appropriate groups.
ADULTS Men’s Prayer Meeting Every Saturday from 7:30 am to 9:00 am Located in Room 30 Friendship Class Every Sunday from 10:30 am to 11:30 am Located in Room 24 Insight for Living Every Sunday from 10:30 am to 11:30 am Located in Fellowship Hall Seekers Sunday School Class Every Sunday from 10:30 am to 11:30 am Located in Room 25 Couples and Spares Sunday School Class Every Sunday from 10:30 am to 11:30 am Located in Room 32 *For information on how to join a small group, please contact Pastor Andy at andys@alomazone.org.
For a complete list of upcoming events, please visit us online at www.AlomaZone.org.
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3045 ALOMA AVENUE WINTER PARK, FLORIDA 32792 PHONE: (407) 671-2180 FAX: (407) 678-5070 EMAIL: COMMUNICATIONS@ALOMAZONE.ORG