New Work Project

I thought I'd give you a few pictures from the back porch of my newest home rehab project. It's a 2 story brick home built in 1860 with hardwood floors 4 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, a formal dining room and a wrap around porch that I took these pictures from. I'll post the finished photos in a couple of months.

I'm Wondering

It's been a month since I last posted on this blog. Sorry for those who may have been searching for something new. I had a Dr.'s appointment today, and as I knew, he told me I was overweight and had high cholesterol. (Duh!). But, my wondering tonight is why it's so hard to do the things we know we ought to do like exercise and eat right. I guess it's easier to avoid them and I guess it's just habits. We all have them. Some good and some bad. Why is it we choose the habits we have? Why do some people bite their nails and others don't? Is it really easier to bite them than not? It's an interesting human condition that we all have to fight through. Well, I'm hoping to change some of my habits starting tonight as I need to lose 35 pounds and get my cholesterol under control. If you think about it pray, not that I lose the weight, but that I change my habits. If I do that the weight won't even be an issue.

Excitement

Sunday was a absolutely great day in the Lord. As may know, going to church over the past couple of years for us here has been a little bit of a struggle as we've tried to reconcile where we were at in our spiritual journey and the direction of our church was heading. In that process we've been both challenged to clarify our spiritual directives as individuals and as part of the overall body of Christ. Sunday was great as we were able to witness our pastor complete his series on Luke where Jesus talks to the man about loving God and loving his neighbor. To say the least, it was stirring in our hearts and in the hearts of those around us. He specifically mentioned his roots as the long haired drunk hippie who got saved while still employed at Jeep and how he soon was reaching out to anyone who would listen then becoming a part-time pastor and eventually full-time pastor at a mission. He told stories how after Sunday morning services they would invite the homeless and the prostitutes over for lunch etc. Then he said this. When I moved here I got into "church" and lost sight of what I should be doing. That's not a quote per se but it's close. I'm so excited about how many people will walk out of our church because our place will not be the social club they once knew. I hope they will catch on, but I'm glad we are moving in what I belive is the right direction.
May God continue to help us figure out what He wants from us!

Catching up

I had a looooong talk about a week or so ago with my pastor and we were discussing the church and all the things going on at it and with the people here. He also asked me if I were ready to begin "doing something". Now, before any of you get upset, he was not referring that I wasn't doing anything. Rather, he was asking if I was ready yet to get moving with some of the things we had talked about in the past. Surprisingly, I said yes without hesitation. So, what does that mean, you ask? Well, we're not real sure, but we are beginning to discuss ideas of starting a new church, service, satilite campus, ministry or something that I would be involved in. We have not narrowed it down to anything and I'm not sure what it would be yet. We are just talking and we'll figure it out in time.

As for other things...I went to Illinois this week to officiate my aunt's funeral. It's alway a strange situation to have to participate in a funeral let alone a family member's. It's definitely draining. Real estate is going steady. I'm not doing too bad for a rookie. My family is doing great and I'm more in love with my wife than ever.

God is good!

My Journey

I haven't really written about my spiritual journey as of late so I thought that I'd take a moment tonight to catch you up a little.

About 2 months ago I came across Isaiah 58. I've read it many times in my life, but this time it spoke to me. In the NIV it give it a title of "True Fasting", but really this passage is not about fasting at all, but true religion and it's activities. Verses 1-5 basically rip into the reader(s) about what they are doing in the name of religion and then expect God to act on their behalf. Verses 6-12 are INCREDIBLE! It explains that true religious activity or "fasting" is breaking the chains of injustice, setting the oppressed free, sharing our food with the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, and clothing the naked. Vs 8 tells us if we do that then...Your light will break forth, healing will apear, the "Righteous One" will go before us and have our back (thus protection). Vs 9 You will call for help and he will respond "Here am I". Vs. 11 The Lord will guide us and satisfy our needs. Then verses13-14 talk about keeping the sabbath and the joys and rewards for doing so. Finally in this passage, in case anyone wonders it says, "The mouth of the Lord has spoken". Scripture doesn't say that too often.

Well, I've taken this passage and combined it together with James 2: 14-26 and it describes what good our faith is without our actions. Without our deeds our faith is dead and we cannot be saved etc. Eye opening stuff!

And, if that wasn't enough if we combine this together with Matthew 25 and the separation of the sheep and goats stuff that Jesus describes we have to come to the conclusion that many people of our current church generation are going to be called out and separated as the goats are because their faith is dead without their actions. There are some who say that 1 of every 10 verses in the bible talk about meeting the needs of others or caring for others.

Becasuse of all of this, I have been leading my small group through this intense bible study on what it really means to be a follower of Christ. In doing so, we have decided to begin acting on our faith. Because we have two teachers in our small group, we've decided to adopt their classes for this upcoming year. They are to inform us of any and all needs that they can discover from their students. Some of their students do not have the money to get their school supplies or pay their school fees. We are going to make sure those are taken care of. Some of the kids parents never come to their plays, shows, concerts etc. We will be there. We will be in contact with these kids through personal contact as in visits, but also through letters, cards etc. We don't have it all figured out yet, but we have to start somewhere.

As for the spiritual side of my business...The business could be doing better, but it's not too bad. We are making our bills and able to set aside money to be used for the ministry. I am excited about what lies ahead and continue to ask for your prayers as I will continue to pray for you.

Blessings

4 Weddings Down!

Well I'm done with the weddings for the summer, as far as I know. It was a good summer as I had the honor of marrying off Amy Peach to her beau, Michael Nelson yesterday. It was a nice ceremony and a lot of fun hanging out with the peach family and other new friends. I'm glad to be back home though and am looking forward to hanging around the homefront for the rest of the year. My next wedding is in January as I get to officaite the wedding of one of my Defiance teens, Michelle and her man Tristin.

Along those lines, I love coming home to my family. I miss the a ton when I'm gone and they make me feel missed when I get home. It's good to be me.

Busy Summer

It has been a busy summer so far and it's not over yet. It was realy nice getting to go to KC for Christy's wedding and Scott's baptism. I always love going back to KC and getting to see so many friends. On the way over to KC, I dropped the kids off at my parents in Mississippi and then flew out there to KC then back to Detroit to get home. I just spent this weekend getting the kids back and then this weekend I am officiating Dawn's cousin's wedding. Then next month I get the honor to officiate over Amy's wedding. All of this and I'm still in the first summer as a real estate agent. It's been a tough juggling act, but I'm getting it. I'm really very thankful for all the love that we share with all of our friends from back in our KC days. It was truly a God thing that brought us there during that season of our lives. I love being a part of each of your lives. Thanks

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD

It's super early on Father's day and I want to take just a moment to say Happy Father's day to my Dad. He'll probably never read this post as, I don't think he's ever been on the internet, but I have to say that he is truly one of the greatest guys I could ever have had as a father. I mean it. My whole image of what it means to be a father, and for that matter a husband, comes from watching my dad. He has always demonstrated his love for me and my sisters and has sacrificed many many things over the years for us. I am so thankfuld for his love for me and that God gave me the privelidge of being his son. They always say that children are a gift, which is absolutely true, but so are dads and mine is priceless. The love that my children have for me is a direct result of his love for me. Thanks Dad!

Sad Signs of the Time

One of mine and Dawn's pet peeves is church signs. They are so often irrelevant and irreverant. They often make me wonder why anyone would ever go to that church. There's a church across from ours that consistently puts some of the dumbest sayings on their sign. Well, I found one last night that has reached the top of my list. It's this one posted above. It's not the worst one because it advertises hymns, as I like hymns. It makes the top of the list because of who it's advertising for. It's advertising for people who already attend church somewhere who may not be getting their needed quota of hymns each Sunday. It in essence says, "we want Christians". "We need people who tithe and have their lives already together". It really upsets me when I see this kind of stuff. On the other side of the sign, which I didn't get a picture of, it says, "In case of nucular attack, prayer in schools will no longer be banned". What?!? If a church is going to have a sign and not use it for advertising of events and the such, then they should leave it blank or put something like Jesus loves you. Nothing more nothing less. I wonder if the diciples and Jesus wore t-shirts that said things like "make your eternal reservations now, Smoking or non-smoking" or "there are no athesists in Hell" or "WARNING-Exposure to the Son, may prevent burning". What non-sense. Here's a link to Rick's site to listen to a song about signs it's called "we lost the G" and it's the last one on the page.

Late Night Ramblings

Here's the struggle...One has the desire to serve the Lord with all of who he is, but is consistently discovering that he has no idea of what the Lord wants. It's as if time stands still, yet at the same time it feels like it's just slipping away. How do I "figure out" what it is that God wants for my life and from it? I guess here's the problem. I'm 37 years old and feel like I'm still trying to figure out what I'm gonna do when I grow up. To some 37 is old (including me at times) but then I realize that if I were to retire at the age of 65 that that is still 28 years from now. My dad retired from his job after 27 years. On the other hand I feel like I'm just floating in the midst of life and "career" searching for the next "career". It's a strange place to be. Fortunately for me, but maybe not for some, there are others who are in this same boat with me. We've come to a new place in our lives that demonstrates that God is doing a new thing in our society. The way that we've always done ministry and church is no longer valid, (though at times I wonder if it ever was) and I'm wondering or wandering while trying to figure out where in this new thing I belong. The truth is I'm scared... I'm scared to do this alone. I'm scared that the dreams, hopes and desires I have had for my life and for others have been only hopes, dreams and desires and not realities. I'm scared that I'm going to become a realtor and not a minister. (not that they have to be exclusive). I'm scared of losing my identity and I'm scared that when the opportunity that God places before me appears, I'll miss it because I didn't recognize it or didn't jump fast enough. I, by no means, feel like I have failed in the past, but I don't want to fail in the present and the future. There's just too much at stake. There are opportunities all around me at this point in my life, but discovering the right one may just tale a little more time. And the truth is I'm getting tired of waiting. Well, these are just some late night rambles and maybe I'll feel different in the morning, but if you spent the time reading this post, then, if you wouldn't mind, spend a couple of minutes praying that God will soon show us the next step in this great big wonderful journey that He has us on. I'd really appreciate it! Blessings.

Assessment Center

We survived the New Start Assessment this past week! It actually turned out much better than I thought it would. It was a lot of work and they kept us busy almost the whole 3 days. Over the years, because of how the new start assessments were done, I was certain that I (we) would not even be considered to start a new church for our denomination. In fact, I'm pretty certain about it and that I would be "Re-directed" (their term) But, over the past year there has been a shift in philosophy of what it means to be a church starter. The model that was in place was to start a new church out of a church by taking people and moving across time to do the same thing. Which in essence was to take an unhealthy model of the body of Christ and duplicate it. Anyway, after the week of stretching and digging into our lives the assessors gave us an unconditional approval to start a church. So, what does that mean? Nothing yet. We still don't know where or what, but I did walk away with some great compliments. I've mentioned before that I know that God has called me to preach. Well, we had to do a 10 minute sermon and afterwards I was reminded that I was gifted in that way. The head assessor even said he was jealous as I scored a 95 out of a 100 on their score. I really don't know what that means other than it's just another confirmation for me. Now, preaching is much different than pastoring and I'm still pretty sure that most of what we call a "pastor" I'm not, but in any case God is still working on us and doing some great things in our lives. So, I guess we have the blessings of our denomination we're just trying to figure out where and what God wants us to do. Continue to pray for us as we continue on this journey. We will continue to pray for you!

New Start Church Planting

I'm kinda excited and kinda nervous as Dawn and I take three days this coming week to attend the New Start Assessement that our denomination is putting on here on our district. If you don't know what that is, it's an assessement process done by psychologists, counselors and a slew of others to help us determine whether or not Dawn and I should be pursuing the direction as church planters. It's a series of personality tests, psychological exams and different counseling and observation sessions for three full days. I'm excited about it as it has already been a learning experience for the two of us as we've filled out a ton of tests and questionairs already and learned/reaffirmed some stuff about us. I'm looking forward to finding out more about us and possibly helping us narrow down our direction and where God is leading us. I'm nervous for all the same reasons! I'm nervous that people are going to be evaluating us and, in essence, saying we should or shouldn't be church planters. On top of all that, I'm not real sure that I want to plant a church anyway. At least not in the traditonal sense. I don't see myself in that role. Anyway, as you think about us this coming week, please spend some time praying for us as we go through all of this.

As for how life is going right now it's good. Many of you have asked about how the real estate stuff is going for me, well, pretty good. I closed on my first home last month and am scheduled to close on 4 more this month and I have one scheduled for next already. Keep praying for us as we are still trying to get all of this under control and figure out exactly how to do all that God wants us to do.

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!

The question was asked what weddings I have coming up that I'm a part of well here's the list...so far.
Dawn's Sister, Denise. Dawn's Cousin, Christy, Christy Faron and hopefully Amy Peach. So, what that means is that I'll be in KC this summer and maybe Georgia this fall. I can't wait to see you all.

Baptisms and Housing

Here's a quick post to catch up. I've been extremely busy with my real estate stuff. It has been a real adjustment to our schedules after being out of work for so long. We are doing good and looking forward to what this summer holds. Right now I'm scheduled for 4 weddings this summer and one next winter. I've had a few opportunities to preach/teach at local churches which was nice. I had the honor of baptizing Connor last Sunday. It was totally cool to have him tell me later in the day "Thanks for baptizing me today". We had talked about his whys of wanting to be baptized and he was sound in his reponses. I'm so proud of these kids that God has blessed me with to watch over for Him.

Blessings all!

Vision, Leadership and Ministry Pt. 2

I'll break this post down into two seperate sections. I'll first respond to my previous post and the comments then I'll catch you up to what's been happening in my life as of late.

Thanks JC for your comments about this topic. To be honest, I had a much better answer a month ago when I posted it than now, but Ill tell you all what I think now. As for Vision we are often quoted "without vision the people perish" as if this were the call of all to follow and must have. It's been used for everything from starting a new program to raising money. I'm come to the conclusion that there really is only one vision that we all must see and try to obtain. It's the vision that God has for mankind which is to be in relationship with Him. Within that vision are many different aspects of living it out. Putting flesh on it I guess. I'll try and explain. God's overall purpose for man was to be in relationship with him. That was and is the vision of God. He desires relationship with us. All of recorded time is in pursuit of that vision. God has pursued man and man him (at times). Within that vision God calls us to move toward that "goal" or pursuit. At times this is communicated through dreams and visions in the lives of people, but often it is communicated through those moments in time we really cannot explain. ie. quiet voices, thoughts, others, etc. (I don't know if I'm explaining this good here) That part of the vision is then lived out by individuals, groups, and communities. It's within these lines or peramiters that leadership is thus demonstrated or lived out. Leadership has been written about for decades and there are thousands of books about it, but leadership in Christ is simply Leading within the vision of God. In reality it may or may not really be the act of leading, but rather living within God's vision. The definition of leadership encompasses leading something, but reality within God's vision we are followers. We may have those who will follow us, but we may be on the path completely by ourselves. As for ministry, it used to be full of meaning and substance, but breaks down to the simple definition of "creating any movement toward God" Ministry has become this complicated formula of programs, design, titles etc. but when we break it down it simply is the process of getting people to move toward God. If, for instance, if I say "hello" to the same grumpy man each day as I walk past him on the way to work and each day he ignores me, but one day he acknowleges me. I've succeeded in ministry to this man. Why, because he just made one move toward me thus one move toward God. Success in ministry is not the ABC's (Attendance, Buildings, Cash), but simply helping people move towards God's vision for mankind. (I kind of thew all that out there, but I hope you caught a glimpse of what I mean)

Part 2: Life
You can now visit my "professional" site www.butlermohr.com/scottwilliams to see my glamour look and the properties that I now have listed. I just listed two more the past two days that aren't on there yet thus making my total listings of 9 right now. I'm hoping to close on my first buyers house in two weeks and Praying that I get a contract on one of the houses in the morning. I'll keep you posted on that. I knew that I was starting a "business" when I got into all of this, but for some reason I didn't realize I was starting a BUSINESS. It's really been nuts. I've been driving all over Northwest Ohio showing homes, listing homes and getting training. I'll need to sell a dozen homes simply to pay for what I've already spent. It's been tough, but I think I'm pretty good at this (for a guy who hasn't actually sold a house yet). I can see in all this, however, how God has allowed and directed us down this path. I can see how this can open up to so many new opportunities for God's vision and our direction in that vision. I've met people left and right who are in such dire straits yet have no understanding on how to get out of there situation. I've begun re-learning what it's like to try and work a "real" job and try to minister to people outside of the church walls. And it's been exciting. God has continually provided our financial needs throughout this process, as well as, our spiritual needs. We have been leading a small group in the church that has truly been a blessing as we have gained new deeper friendships, and ministry partners. We spent a Wednesday night together a couple of weeks ago serving meals at another church for those who needed it and we've gotten excited about finding new ways to reach into other's lives. Dawn's been picking up more hours at work which has been good for the bills, but harder on us as we are trying to adjust to our new schedules, but our marriage and family is stronger that ever thanks to God's grace and our growth during the past couple of years.

Well that's a long/short version of our life for now. I'll try and do better with the blogging and posting on your blogs. You all know me well enough to know that it's gonna take a little time for me to get this new life half way organized so I can function well. Continue to pray for us and we will for you!

Blessings!

Young Adult Retreat

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a young adult retreat this past weekend (as one of the speakers in case you wondered) down in the Hocking Hills area of southern Ohio. It's a beautiful place to go with some great trails and caves. My topic this weekend was Ministry, Leadership and Vision. What are they and how are they applied in our lives. I really enjoyed the topic, but going into it I felt pretty inadequate. But then realized that this fit me pretty good for where God has brought us this past year. The 31st of this month will be the one year anniversary of my resigination from "full-time" ministry in a church setting. I can hardly believe it's already been a year. Anyway, during that year we have seen with new eyes what Vision is, how leadership is lived out and what ministry is. It really has been a great journey. I have in mind what I currently believe the response to those three things are but I would like to have your opinions. (preferribly informed opions) What is Vision? What is Leadership and What is ministry? Give me your two cents worth. I'd love to have a dialogue about it.

Blessed New Year!
Scott