Henriet's Blog

Semper Vita at the NW Ministry Conference 2012

Semper Vita is announcing its new GROW Events at this year's Northwest Ministry Conference! The conference is held at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, Washington. In addition to our booth (#G3 in the Gym) I'm teaching five workshops. 

Today I taught:

• Called to Lead! What the Bible and Jesus teach about women in leadership
• Called. Capable. Equipped. Now What?: Answers for women in ministry

Tomorrow, Friday, March 23, I'll teach a workshop on "Go Do Some Serious Good: Five realistic ways to live the Great Commission" at 10:30 am.

On Saturday, March 24, I'll present Semper Vita on stage in the main session at 8:30 am (a 3 minute feature) and I'll teach two more workshops:

• Incarnational Leadership: Be equipped to move Jesus' mission forward
• Be You! Serve Jesus in the way he made you

Please come visit me at Booth G3. Or attend one of my workshops! Not at the NW Ministry Conference? Visit www.sempervita.org to learn about the GROW Events. 

Joyful in hope, faithful in prayer

As February rapidly comes to a close, I am surprised at how fast this year is going and how much has happened!

Difficulties everywhere

From the unrest and riots in Egypt, Tunisia, Lybia and other places (including Wisconsin!), to the continued economic difficulties for many people, to the intense weather and natural disasters, to the ongoing tests in my own life - things are not like they used to be.

Sometimes I long for those "good old" days, but not too often. Sure, for me things were easier financially, personally and in ministry work but God has grown me and shown me so much since then…I don't want to go back.

Things learned

Here is what I know:

• God is good
• He is faithful
• Jesus is who he says he is
• He wants a real relationship with each of us
• The Holy Spirit is powerful and active

Hope is real

I have hope in the midst of my circumstances. I know God will provide, protect and bring about his perfect plans for me. Semper Vita will happen (soon!). A few days ago, I found a piece of paper with the following verse on it: 

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12, NIV

When I wrote this verse down it was as a reminder to me to let God keep working on me to become this kind of person. He has allowed trials and affliction in my life since then.

As I read the verse this time, I no longer felt the pang of conviction that I used to feel - that conviction that I had a long way to go before I could honestly read and agree with those words. Over these past years God has grown me to rejoice in hope in the midst of trials, to be patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. My desire is to remain faithful in prayer with my hope in God and my eyes on Jesus.

Who is with me?

 

Welcome 2011! Farewell 2010...

Here is to a happy New Year! May 2011 bring you God's blessings and favor.

How do you plan to bring in the new year? Do you make resolutions? Do you have any goals that you would share with us?

At Semper Vita our goals are:

1. To go live with the web application.
2. To bring together hundreds of volunteers and partners - to share the love of Jesus.
3. To serve you, your church and your nonprofit.
4. To bring honor and glory to God.

Will you partner with us? Our initial focus will be Western Washington with other regions to follow. Please sign up as a partner or volunteer today!

Holidays, Volunteering and Semper Vita

'Tis the season. We just celebrated Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and now most people are frantically getting ready for Christmas. Mostly that means rushing to stores to buy gifts, decorating our homes and sending Christmas cards. Often we read messages that remind us to slow down and savor these days. Or, we may be encouraged to remember the reason for the season. All good things. Really!

During this time of the year, I am reminded more about volunteering. Somehow Thanksgiving and Christmas inspire more people to serve those less fortunate. One person who does an awesome job serving people during Thanksgiving is John Howie at Seastar. This past Thanksgiving, he and a group of volunteers served the 7th annual dinner to "guests in need on Thanksgiving Day." Served at Seastar restaurant in Bellevue, over 600 people enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. These families and individuals came to John Howie's Thanksgiving meal through Hopelink, Overlake Service League, Olive Crest and Redmond YWCA.

We have 22 days until Christmas and 28 days until the end of 2010. Plenty of time to do some serious good! Semper Vita would love to help you find ways to volunteer. Fill out the form and contact us to let us know what you would like to do. Are you a non-profit or know of opportunities to help out during the Holidays? Let us know!

Jesus' Mission Or Our Own?

Jesus sent his people on a mission - his mission. What is that mission? Before Jesus left earth to go back to his Father, he instructed his followers to go and tell. He wanted them, and us, to tell people about him and the true life he offers. He told his followers to go and make disciples - new followers of Jesus. Jesus' mission was, and still is, to reconcile people to God. He invited us to join him in this ministry of reconciliation.

Called to his mission

So the question I need to ask myself as one of his followers is, "Am I on Jesus' mission?" My initial answer is an unequivocal "yes!" However, if I honestly evaluate how I spend my time and energy, I discover that I am tempted to focus on a mission of my own making. It is so easy to get distracted by the tasks, ministries and resources that God designed to be used as part of Jesus' mission. Instead of focussing on Jesus, I find myself spending time and energy on mission focussed on the tool or task instead of Jesus. Only as I spend daily time with Jesus by praying and reading the Bible can I keep my focus on him and his mission.

As I lead the Semper Vita team and board, it is important that we ask ourselves the same question: "Are we focussed on the tool or are we on Jesus' mission?" Rest assured, we are committed to keep our eyes on Jesus and follow him absolutely. We are working on the tool, the Semper Vita web application, but we know it is all about and for Jesus!

Be Jesus' Love In Action

Are you a Jesus follower? He said that we would be easy to spot. How? Through love in action. Jesus put it very simply:

"Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples-when they see the love you have for each other." John 13:34, 35 (The Message)

Semper Vita exists to be his hands and feet in action

Jesus told his followers that people would know that they belonged to him by their love. The way they treated each other would demonstrate that they were a contrast community. It would be visible. Through this love, people would come to know and experience Jesus.

As Jesus' followers, we should be known through love in action. I really believe that we can make a difference to our friends, families and neighbors if we actively love people through acts of service. It will bring us closer as a Christian community. And, it will allow us to demonstrate the truth and love of Jesus to people around us. Obvious, right?

Which Jesus will they experience?

Most of us know this truth from the Bible, but are we living it? Do we love others in our Christian community? Are we demonstrating Jesus' love to people around us?

Last week at Life at the Ridge, Pastor Josh Hebert talked about the different versions of Jesus that people understand. Here's a few he mentioned:

• spooky Jesus - mystical and beyond practical reality, therefore doing no earthly good
• moral teacher Jesus - the one who teaches great truths for us to chew on
• buddy Jesus - a good friend who accepts us and doesn't call us out on things
• Sunday school Jesus - a sweet version who loves everyone
• slot machine Jesus - who produces wealth for those who get things to line up right
• boyfriend Jesus - emotional, sensitive and always there when you need him 
• designer Jesus - who has great conversations and isn't offensive

It was funny at first until I thought about it. Is this what people see? When we represent Jesus and try to demonstrate his love in action, which Jesus do people experience? Is it one of the versions above? Or do people experience the true Jesus who is fully man and fully God? Do we really know Jesus so that we can accurately represent him? Does he live in us and do we allow him to live through us?

Know him before you show him

People will only experience the love of Jesus if we really know him. As his followers, each of us needs to know him before we show him.

Which Jesus do we believe in? Do we know him as the Son of God, the one who claims to be the Way, the Truth and the Life? Do we know his teachings and grace? Do we know his truth and mercy? Do we know his power for us who believe? Do we know his love that knows no bounds? Do we know that he died for each one of us, paid the price for our individual sins, and offers us forgiveness and eternal life? Do we know the real Jesus?

Let me know your thoughts. Who is Jesus? Do you truly know him?

Semper Vita: It Is Not A Vitamin

What's in a name? In our case, quite a bit!

In the name of our organization, Semper Vita, there are two significant Latin words: Semper and Vita. We chose the name carefully because it says what we are all about. You see, "Semper" means "always" (think of the U.S. Marines's term Semper Fi which stands for "always faithful"), and "Vita" means "life."

Why did we choose "always life" for our name? Because we exist to reconcile people to God through missional volunteering and connecting. Our goal is that everyone experience life through service in community.

Why this blog post? Well, it has happened to me and other Semper Vita team members several times ... we were asked the question, "Is it a vitamin company?" or "I thought it was a vitamin. So, what is Semper Vita?" We politely answer, "No, it is not a vitamin." Then we explain that we are a non-profit dedicated to connecting people and churches with existing community-based non-profits and their volunteer opportunities.

How do we do that? Through a web-based matching and social networking solution. Check us out or sign up to be part of this volunteer solution at www.sempervita.org. We also invite you to join/like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sempervita.

For fellow word people, the word vitamin does have the Latin word "Vita" meaning "life" in it. The word vitamin was coined by C. Funk in 1912 . He added "amine" to "vit(a)" because he thought that the substances were amines.

Well, I hope that clears it all up!

God Sends, His People Go (or Should Go)

On Tuesday, I asked "Is God a missionary God? And, are we sent people? If so, how are we living that out?" So what are the answers? Here are some of my thoughts based on reading Missional Church by Darrell Guder and The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch.

God is a God on mission. What is that mission? It is to reconcile all people to himself. Can you imagine that? The God of the universe wants to connect with each person on earth to restore the relationship. He does not need to be reconciled to us because he is perfect and has not broken the bond. We need to be reconciled to him. And, that's his mission: to reconcile people to himself.

Mission means 'sending'

So the answer to the first question is "yes, God is a missionary God." How does he go about accomplishing that mission? He sent Jesus into the world. He became God with us, identifying with those he was trying to reach. In Jesus, God came to be with us. He moved into our lives and communities. Why? He became one of us to redeem us.

Yes, we are a sent people

As God sent Jesus into the world, so he sends his people into the world. Jesus told his followers that they were to be his witnesses to the people around them. That's still true today. God's people are sent people - we are missionary people. What are we sent to do? We are sent to bring the love of God to people who do not yet know him. We are to be instruments of reconciliation - reconciling people to God.

Living it out

The only way to truly be a missionary, or sent, people is to live it out in the world around us. We can't be missionary people and only attend church on Sunday. It means getting into the community. Living as sent ones will require us to interact with the people around us in such a way that they experience the love of God. What does that look like? Maybe it means holding a door open for someone, or bringing a meal over, or having lunch with a co-worker who is going through a hard time or any number of acts of kindness. Sent people do not perform random acts of kindness; they perform intentional acts of love to demonstrate the truth and life of Jesus.

Do you recognize the missionary moments in your life? Are you living as a sent person? Is God using you to change lives?

Get Busy Doing Just Your Part

"Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly,  as it grows and becomes strong because of love."   Ephesians 4:15-16, CEV

In the last post I discussed that all of us who claim faith in Jesus need to get busy. "Busy," you might say, "I'm already too busy. You've got to be kidding me." Well, hold on. I don't mean busy just doing any and everything but busy doing what God intends for us to do. You see, God has "Designer tasks" planned for each of us. How do I know? It's clearly spelled out in Ephesians, one of my favorite books in the Bible. It tells us about who God is and how he has created us, chosen us and uniquely designed each one of us. It also tells us that he has prepared good things for us to do. In fact, he has hand selected good tasks for us. God is the designer. He made us and he made the good things for us to do. Here's how Ephesians 2:10 puts it:

"God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing" (New Century Version).

Know yourself

So, how do we know what God has for us? Well, I believe that one important first step is to know our wiring. Who did God make us to be? In fact, at Semper Vita we believe in this so strongly that we advocate for everyone to discover their God-given wiring. To do that we use the Clifton StrengthsFinder, Myers-Briggs and Spiritual gifts assessments. I know that for me, discovering how God made me really helped me to focus on what God intends for me to do.

Know your part

The good news for all of us is that God only asks us to do our part. He's already at work in us and around us. He invites each one of us to join him in the work that he is already doing. And, he only asks each one of us to do the works that he prepared in advance for us to do. So, what is our part? How can we discover that? One key step is to ask God what he wants us to do. Part of that is looking around to see where he is already at work. Another key step is to understand who he made us to be so that we can better know what it is he asks us to do. It helps us to discover our purpose and to focus on the tasks designed for us.

Do your part

The next step is simple: Get busy and do your part. Once you know what God is asking you to do, just do it! If you're not sure, try out some different things and see where you sense God's pleasure. The results of getting busy in the right direction are obvious. It results in joy, peace, a sense of fulfillment, and lasting impact.  This impact is what the Bible calls fruit.

So, how are you doing? Do you know your wiring? (If not, contact us to get started.) Do you know your part? Are you producing fruit? Please share your story of how God has designed you and how he has invited you to join him.

Semper Vita, Cindy Patterson and the PNW Leadership Summit

Last Friday and Saturday (June 18-19, 2010), I attended the Leadership Summit of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Free Methodist Church at Warm Beach Camp. I have attended this annual business meeting of the church for many years. They do a great job of incorporating worship, stories and reports of what God is doing in and through the churches located in Washington and Alaska. Why do I attend this summit? Well, I'm an ordained pastor (we call them elders) in the Free Methodist Church. I had the privilege of being ordained in 2006.

Thank you, Cindy!

This year, the leadership summit was very exciting for me because my friend, Cindy Patterson, was ordained. She's worked very hard and studied for quite a few years. Last Saturday was her big day. She was ordained. And, she chose me to be her supporting elder. What an honor! "Thank you, Cindy!" Cindy is not only my friend and fellow pastor, she's also a volunteer who is making Semper Vita happen. Her skills are in operations. Her passion is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to people in the community. Being ordained only confirms that she's been serving God in many ways—demonstrating Jesus' love through service.

Thank you, Matt & Jim!

Though the ordination service was the highlight of the two days, there was another exciting moment for me and Semper Vita. I had the opportunity to share about Semper Vita with my fellow Free Methodist pastors. I currently do not serve at a local church. The denomination has released me to lead Semper Vita. And, now I had the opportunity to share what I've been working on for 3+ years. Thankfully, it was well received. It's exciting to be part of a denomination that believes in the mission and vision of Semper Vita. The superintendent, Matt Whitehead, and the assistant superintendent, Jim Harbour, have been very encouraging over the years. "Thank you, Matt & Jim!"

Thank you, Teresa!

Another Free Methodist volunteer is Teresa Lerew. She attended all my workshops at the Northwest Ministry Conference last March. Since then, she has volunteered to help get Semper Vita off the ground in Auburn, where she attends the Auburn Free Methodist Church. Teresa currently is helping us to reach out to non-profits in and around Auburn so that we can make Semper Vita active there. "Thank you, Teresa!"