Many people around the world enjoyed watching the Olympics this past summer. There were some amazing performances, including Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson in the 100m dash finals. Both ran the race with a time of 9.79 seconds, but it was Lyles edging out Thompson in a photo finish. We all love a good ending! As we wrap up our Mentored Pt 2 series, Paul is approaching the end of his life with a message to Timothy about finishing well and not quitting. Join us this weekend as we talk about what it takes to finish well.

Dr. Henry Cloud and others have been advocates of healthy boundaries in life. He’s written at least four books on the subject that have the word “boundaries” in the name. This week we are continuing Mentored, Pt 2 and will see Timothy’s mentor, Paul, stress the need for healthy boundaries. We’ll see the type of people Paul instructs Timothy (and us) to avoid. We’ll also see how to not be or become those people who need to be avoided.

Productivity has been a buzzword for years. In training for the decades old Franklin Covey Planner, they encouraged a person to write down their tasks for the day and note the importance of completing them in descending order. Since then, and probably before then, productivity experts have taught about prioritizing tasks and then addressing them in priority order. The we don’t do this, we can find ourselves distracted by less important things and fail to accomplish the most important things. The same is true in many areas of life, including our conversations. If we want to make the biggest impact, we need to focus on the most important things. 

Jason Russell is a film director who helped start the organization Invisible Children in 2004. One of Invisible Children’s primary focuses is on bringing awareness and an end to the abuse and abduction of children in Central Africa. He was Las key to creating the (controversial) film Kony 2012 focused on bringing to light the horrendous crimes of Ugandan rebel leader, Joseph Kony. Kony 2012 gained rapid notoriety and in 2013 was called the most viral video ever. As Kony 2012 gained attention, Jason Russell, its director, experienced what was called a “brief reactive psychosis” and a naked Russell was detained by San Diego police walking and yelling naked in the street.

Since then, Russell has recovered and is back serving with Invisible Children and supporting work in Central Africa focused on local programs there. One of his worst and most well known moments, doesn’t appear to be who he really was. Thankfully, there were people in his life who knew that and walked with him through this challenging time. We need people in our lives helping navigate the hard times as well. We will see that from Paul’s example with Timothy from 2 Timothy as we begin Mentored Pt 2. 

In the book Strengths Finder, Tom Rath explores the idea of discovering one’s strengths and developing them. This week we are going to explore an area that has been a strength within The Rescue Church at different periods of time, including recently. We’re going to look at how God can use this strength to make our lives better while impacting our communities for their good.

We’re continuing to look at the Core Values of The Rescue Church, why we have them and if they really matter. Are these things that simply make us feel good or are they truly important for the lives we live today? The question has been asked of church leaders, “If your church was to close its doors today, would your community notice?” The idea this person was conveying is that the local church truly should make an impact on a community. It shouldn’t only be about the people who are part of that local church. Is that idea biblical and what could it mean to us and our communities? This is what we are talking about this weekend.

Oscar Wilde once said, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...” Flattery can make a person feel good, but is there any value in it? At the same time, do we want others to copy us, to imitate us. It’s likely we only want people to imitate the good stuff. If you have kids, you’ve likely experienced one of those moments when your kids say in public something you said in private and wouldn’t want repeated. Or you’ve heard someone say, they are a mini version of you. Or someone tells you your kids do something just like you. In those moments we cringe. This week we are going to talk about how we can leverage imitation for the good of ourselves and others as we continue talking about core values.

You have had some great things happen in your life. We are in graduation season when students are graduation from schools of many kinds: High School, University, Tech School, Grad School, etc. You’ve likely been invited to celebrate with someone or seen the celebrations on social media. When great things happen, we want others to know about it. This weekend during the Breakfast Church service, Miles Davenport will talk about something amazing he experienced and how he is sharing it with his community in Iowa. Not only is it an incredible story, but there is something for you take from it as well. Hopefully you can join us.

If you have been in the upper midwest part of the United States, you have likely seen the large wind turbines used to generate energy. Some are 295’ tall, nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty. To support them a base as wide as 68’ is needed at a depth of more than 11’. This is a lot of concrete, but it makes sense. No one wants these giant windmills falling over.  What we value, what we build off of, needs to be solid as well. This is what we are talking about this weekend.

Sometimes our kids and others close to us are making decisions that concern us or even cause us pain. It can feel like there is nothing you can do, but there is hope. Join us on Mother’s Day to be encouraged and learn more.