Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

Quotations July 11, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 9:00 am

Do you ever feel like a quote just hits you? It makes you catch your breath and say, “How did they know?” or “Wow, I needed that.”  Especially in those rough places in life, I feel like God speaks through the words of others. Reading a well timed quote reminds me that my creator really does see me. He heard my thoughts and prayers and he responded.  I’ve started collecting quotes and keeping them around me as reminders. Here are a few that I’ve added over the last week:

“There are people in the world who are grateful you exist. You were sent to them by God.” – Donald Miller (I had literally had a conversation with God about my existence just hours before reading this… too weird!)

“To live no tight, neat role is truly sacrificial, it is also truly creative because it leaves us open and free (dare we say) like God himself.”  – Alan Jones (I always want a nice little box to label myself in and I’m learning I’ll never fill one specific role. This gave me a new perspective on the many hats I wear.)

“And now I was faced with engaging a way of a life, a vocation, in which I had to learn to submit to conditions, enter into conditions, embrace conditions, in which my competitive skills and achievements were virtually worthless. Worse than worthless: actively destructive.” – Eugene Peterson from The Pastor (Current life lesson – at some point in life, you can’t be the best or the smartest or take another test, get a good grade, reach another goal… nothing you do can change the current situation. You can’t be better or try harder. It is what it is. Learn to live in the conditions.)

 

 

Recent Reading: When God Writes Your Love Story July 3, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 8:00 am

In high school, if you asked me about my favorite authors or books, you probably would have heard about When God Writes Your Love Story and the names Eric & Leslie Ludy.  Maybe I watched too many romantic comedies and chick flicks growing up. I don’t know. I was obsessed with books about love and purity. I wanted a God written love story and I was going to do my best to prepare for it! That meant lots of books and high, high standards. This girl was holding out for a hero. Which, by the way, I got one!

Now that I’m mentoring teenagers, this book has made a reappearance in my life. I’m going through the book this summer with one of my girls from church. At this age, the idea of dating seems to be on the forefront of every teens minds. I know it was when I was their age. As boy crazy as I was, I wanted to funnel all that energy into becoming a Godly women who would be worthy of a Godly husband. After the influence of many mentors, books and my parents, I decided not to date in high school. My parents pretty told me I couldn’t date until I was out their house (which meant in high school, they didn’t seem to stop me in college even though I lived there on random weekends and over the summer).  When I was 13 the “no dating” rule seemed irrational and torturous! What were they thinking? Did they want me to become a social outcast? However, once I made the decision for myself in high school, the no dating rule became a very easy way for to develop lots of friendship with guys without worrying about it going down that road. I was very vocal about the rule and it seemed to be a great buffer for me. I have no regrets when it comes to not dating in high school. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (or was helped to make).

Books like When God Writes Your Love Story really inspired me and helped to shape me into the person I am now. I became a bit of a Ludy junkie in high school. I read their book about their personal love story called When Dream Come True. I read Leslie’s book Authentic Beauty. They wrote a book my senior year called When God Writes Your Life Story and when I got married I read their book The First 90 Days of Marriage. They use wisdom, common sense, personal stories, and a Biblical perspective in all their books.  In fact, I’ve already purchased two copies of Authentic Beauty to give away this summer.

Every family and teenager is different when it comes to dating. I didn’t do things just like the Eric & Leslie Ludy and I don’t expect those I mentor to do things just like me. I just felt like this was a good book for pondering what it means to have a God written love story. What does it mean to trust God with this area of our lives? And ultimately, our whole lives. God cares about every detail and he isn’t going to mess up our loves stories! He is the author of romance and if we trust him with the pen then I think we’ll be pleased with the story he scripts. I’m know that I haven’t been disappointed! If God is the center our relationships, good things are going to happen!

It’s been exciting to share something that meant so much to me when I was a teenager with this young lady. It feels a bit like passing on a legacy to the next generation. As one who is farther along in this faith journey, it’s important to guide those who are younger into making positive, God-honoring choices. We’ve got wisdom to share and our experiences matter not only to us, but they can be the catalyst for change in the next generation. God written love stories are not be kept quiet. They should be used as examples for those who are following in our footsteps. They should be shared to give hope and help those younger than us to dream big dreams. Just like we did!

 

Not Without Doubt June 25, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Recollections — Amy Scott @ 3:17 pm

I finished You Lost Me by David Kinnaman this last week. There is so much good information in that book that I’ll probably have to read it again. I know in a previous blog I talked about my thoughts from just reading the first half of the book (Current Reading: You Lost Me). Now I would like to share something that resonated with me from the second half of the book.

The book is divided up into three parts. The first part focuses on the dropouts – who they are. The second part looks at where they are disconnecting from the church. While I could comment on each disconnect studied, I’m going to share with my thoughts on the final disconnect entitled “Doubtless”.

The lost generation views the church as a doubtless place. A place where doubts are seen as shameful. A place were answers are not found. A place were questions are not asked. I think for a long time we’ve used simple cliches and slogans to keep people on track. However, there are some complex questions out there that can’t be answered simply. We need to acknowledged this instead of pretending to know it all. We don’t. At least, I don’t.

I started to dream as I read this chapter. I thought about what the church would look like if we really partnered with the next generation. What would it look like if they could really come to us with their questions, with their doubts. Instead of giving them a lecture using our trusted slogans and simple answers, what if we wrestled through the issues with them. What if we did the research alongside of them instead of just giving them the standard answer. What if we took off the mask of having it all together. What if we didn’t act like we knew it all. What if the church wasn’t a place where doubt was seen as the opposite of faith.

As I was reading this chapter, I was reminded of a season of doubt in my life. I haven’t talked about it much because honestly, I didn’t want to freak anyone out. I was the good Christian girl, at the good Christian college and I was engaged to a pastor. So you can guess why I kept my doubts to myself. At the time I was in my sophomore year of college at Multnomah Bible College. I loved my classes, but my relationships at the school were lacking. I knew I was getting married that summer and that I wouldn’t be returning the following year. Instead of engaging in deeper friendships, I had pulled back and focused on getting through school so I could get home. My heart was really in Chehalis. I wanted to be close to Jeremy. I wanted to be serving the girls that I had fallen in love with the summer before. My weeks were lonely. I lived for the weekends when Jeremy would come down to visit or I would head home.

I was also interning at the church attended in Vancouver, WA. The year before I had worked in their youth department, but I had moved out of that role into more of a pastoral internship. I met weekly with the senior pastor and the youth pastor (their entire pastoral team).  While it was great to poured into by these men on a weekly basis, the expectations of my internship were very unclear. They wanted me to create a database for them and work on assimilation. The word assimilation is a big word that  means keeping people in the church once they start attending. At that time my church leadership experience was all youth group based and one summer as the Bethel Church receptionist. I was 19-20 and trying to figure out things that pastors with degrees are still trying to work through. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by the task at hand. I appreciated being seen as an equal and treated like one, but I was young and inexperienced and it showed.

The combination of stress and loneliness really did a number on me. I started to feel like I was losing my grip on sanity. I started to doubt why I was doing this. What if this whole Christianity thing wasn’t real? What if there was no God? What if I’m wasting my life on something that might not even exist? I wrestled with a lot of questions and doubts. I wrote out a huge list of all my questions (pages long). Things that I wanted answered. Things that I didn’t understand. The act of just writing them out really helped get them out of my head. I could see them. I knew they were real. I also knew that unless God sent me an email or dropped me a letter, I was probably not going to get my answers.

Because I was a good Christian girl, I didn’t feel like I could share my doubts. What am I supposed to say? I’m taking all these classes on the Bible and ministry and now I’m doubting why. I was engaged to Jeremy and what would people say if one of the pastors was going to marry a girl who was losing her grip on faith. I was honest with Jeremy during this season and I expected him to run for the hills. But he didn’t! Praise the Lord.  I was already on a lonely path and I felt like I couldn’t be real because people would freak out.

How did I come back from this experience? I realized that with all the stress and loneliness, I had placed myself in a situation where I wasn’t in a healthy place. I realized that a lot of my doubts were induced by stress. I didn’t feel God in those moments because I was drowning my own mess of emotions. I was able to look at my past and know that God really did show up in my life. I hadn’t made him up or followed him blindly. I learned a lot about staying the course even when my emotions didn’t feel like it. As I kept moving forward, I felt like God peeled back the layers and allowed me to be me. My mess didn’t scare him, even though it scared me.

This season of doubt probably won’t be my last, but I know that it’s okay. I know that my doubt doesn’t mean I’ve lost my faith. I can see from that time until now has God has shown up big in my life. He hasn’t left me and I know he won’t. Even when I feel like I’m lost, I know that I’m not. I hope that I can be more honest about my doubts so that way when the arise I’m not battling them alone. I desire people who will walk alongside me and journey through the mess with me. I also deeply desire to that person for others. I don’t want to give simple answers to complex questions. I want to get into the trenches and wrestle with the doubts of others. I want to help them walk out their faith in a real way, an expressive way. There is no shame in searching, wondering, and doubting.

 

Current Reading: You Lost Me June 11, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Children's Ministry — Amy Scott @ 10:43 am

Okay, I’ll just be honest… I’ve been kind of under the weather lately which means I’ve been void of brilliant thinking or really any form of thinking for that matter. The blog takes a hard hit when my mind isn’t quite running on all cylinders. Oh well, I’m not 100% back to my good old shelf, but I have to share some thoughts from my current reading – You Lost Me by David Kinnaman. They’ve been bouncing around so much that I just can’t help but get them out on to the page (or screen as the case may be)!

In a previous blog, I mentioned how I got to hear the author speak live on the topic of this book. It was really interesting and it compelled me to buy the book. I knew that what was being conveyed in a four hour seminar would be expanded upon in a book. I didn’t want a cliff notes seminar, I want the full story. With that in mind, I started reading You Lost Me and let me tell, it’s mind blowing.

It’s a book based on research so it’s not a fast read. It’s a book that calls you to process and wrestle with the truth being shared. I’ve done a lot of highlighting and nodding my head as I’ve read. The topic of the book is why young people are leaving the church, specifically those in the age range of 18-29. This topic means a lot to me for a number of reasons. The first would be that this is my generation. These are my peers. These are the kids that I sat in youth group with who no longer attend church. The next reason would be that I’m actively mentoring a handful of teenagers. This is the world that they are living in. They will soon join the statistics. As I mentor, I wonder what can I learn from this so they don’t experience this same break from the church. The final reason this intrigues me so much is because I work in children’s ministry. The kids in my ministry are watching the teens who are watching the twentysomethings walk away. Without a change, the kids that I’m ministering to will follow in their footsteps. They will disengage from the church as well. What can I do now to keep that from becoming a reality in less than a decade? So much to process on multiple levels!

Kinnaman breaks the “lost” into three categories. 1) Nomads – They have left the church, but they haven’t left their faith. At least, not yet. 2) Prodigals – They have left the church and their faith behind. 3) Exiles – They live with the tension between their faith and the church. They haven’t walked away, but wrestle with how things can be different. According to Kinnaman, there is no smoking gun as to why these young adults are leaving. There isn’t one big problem. In fact, there are a lot of reasons why they are leaving. Some may seem small, but when they are layered on top of each other, it creates the catalyst for disengagement.

It’s strange to read a book written about my own age range. There have been frequent moments when I see myself on the page.  These are the issues that resonate in my own heart. On the flip side, I’ve heard it said that those who grow up in conservative Christian homes are more likely to have a worldview of the previous generation. I believe this is true in my situation. While I understand my own generations issues, my personal story has led me on a more conservative path.  I think this has allowed me to stay engaged in the church more easily than others my own age. However, it makes me wonder about my future children or the ones that I have seated in my classroom on Wednesday night. They will have a different worldview than me. They are already growing up in a different world than I did. How do I stay engaged in culture and not be so shut off in my Christian bubble that I become irrelevant to them?

I haven’t finished the book yet and I’m fairly positive that it is not going to end with a “this is what we need to do to fix the problem.” Truthfully, it’s more complex than that. There is a lot that we can take away from the research. Small changes and big changes can come from reading this book. Kinnaman mentions that we have a discipleship problem. That young people’s faith isn’t being actively engaged and given depth, so when they grow into young adults their faith doesn’t go the distance with them. I would say mentoring and teaching are two of my greatest passions. Whether it’s in my classroom on a Wednesday night or out to lunch with a teenager, I see myself discipling the next generation. My prayer is that I’m not making them to be like me, but making them to be like Jesus. If it’s about me then their faith isn’t going to stick. They have much greater staying power if they find Jesus. Not a shallow Jesus, but a life altering Jesus. Not a Jesus that meet once or a twice a week, but a Jesus who walks with them in their everyday life.

The issues are not simple. The solutions are not clear. But I have hope. I have a faith. I know that the church is the Body of Christ – that we are the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. Culture is playing a huge part in the lives our young people. Instead of hiding from it, let’s learn to ask questions. Let’s talk about things. Gone are the days where I say something in a Sunday school classroom and it’s just taken as fact. Relational connections will be what keep these young people in the church. They need a safe place to wrestle with their thoughts – their doubts, their tensions. If I can take away anything from what I’ve been reading so far it would be this – I want to be a leader that has honest dialogues with students. I want to someone safe to talk with. I want Jesus to be seen more than me. This is my prayer! I can’t change an entire generation, but I can make an impact on the handful of kids in my life.

 

Book Nook May 23, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 8:00 am

I don’t think I can state how much I love books! When I have a book in my hands, I am happy girl! Now I know how boring reviews can be, so I don’t want to go into a lot of detail, but I thought I would share with you a few of my recent reads and new finds.

  • Currently Reading: Parenting Beyond Your Capacity by Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof – Seriously, this book rocks! It really focuses the impact that parents can have when they partner with their faith community. I find myself wanting to agree out loud with the authors as I read! Definitely a must read for parents and pastors!
  • The Katie Weldon Series – The final book of this series came out in April and I was on the edge of my seat for it to arrive. I reread the entire series (3 books) before I started Finally and Forever. Written by my favorite author, Robin Jones Gunn, this book is a great finish to a great series!
  • Love Finds You In – This series is written by many different authors and takes places in cities all over the US. While it’s not new to me, I reread Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn. I also purchased two book by another favorite author, Melody Carson – Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon and Love Finds You in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Both were very relaxing and fun to read. The series is quite lengthy and while I don’t plan to read all of them, it’s fun to explore these cities and maybe meet a new authors.
  • Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers – These books are based off of five Biblical men. It’s truly interesting to watch their tales come to life. I’m halfway through the series and while I know it’s a fictional account of these men, it’s still pretty neat to see the details the Rivers puts into making their stories as authentic as possible.

Here are a few books that I’m hoping to get my hands on in the near future:

  • Logged On and Tuned Out: A Non-Techie’s Guide to Parenting a Tech-Savvy Generation
  • Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon
  • Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington
  • Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids
  • You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church…and Rethinking Faith
 

The Resignation of Eve by Jim Henderson April 12, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 4:14 pm

What if Adam’s rib is no longer willing to be the church’s backbone?

This is the question that Henderson is trying to answer. This book was a compelling read. At times I cheered for the stories that were shared, at times I was frustrated and for some stories, I was just plain broken hearted. Henderson gives three different forms of resignation:

  1. Resigned to – These are the people who feel like things are the way that they are and can’t be changed. They have resigned themselves to doing ministry within these confines.
  2. Resigned from – These are the people who have been frustrated and shut down by the system. They walk away from the church and some from God as a result.
  3. Re-signed – These are the people who know the limitations and frustrations and charge ahead. They have signed up knowing that their ministry is valuable and are working to create change for those who follow.

Henderson uses stories of real women to display each category listed above. The first two categories were the hardest for me. It was hard for me to see women who think they need to be “allowed” to do ministry. Some of them hold the stance that women can’t teach or lead men in anyway (unless they under age 12). Some of them hold very tightly to the verse about women being silent in the church. While these women frustrate me, I can tell they are comfortable with their beliefs and find ways to serve regardless of their limitations. The resigned from category was probably the worst of all. It’s sad to think that capable women are walking away from ministry because of the church. In all honesty, with some of the limitations put on the women in these churches, I’m pretty sure I would leave as well.

My beliefs about women in ministry have been in a very formative state over the last few years. In fact, even in the last 5 years I’ve changed a lot of my views and really gave the issues some thought. When I was in high school, I didn’t think too much about the issue of women in ministry. We had a female pastor on staff at our church and I saw women being valued in ministry, so there wasn’t really an issue in my mind.

As I grew up and went off to Bible College, I learned that not all dominations hold the same views as the Assemblies of God. I also learned that even in Assemblies of God churches there was some disconnect in what the church practiced. For example, the AG will license and ordain female pastors. Up until a year ago, women couldn’t be board members at our church. It was with great wisdom that we looked at our by-laws and made the change. There is a double standard to say that women can be pastors but not board members.

When I was younger, I held to the philosophy that women could be pastors, but not senior pastors. I was told that women are too emotional to hold should a position and that a man should always be the head of the church. I accepted this. I’m not sure why, but I did. Only recently as I went through the licensing and ordination process in the AG did I realize the disconnect in my own thinking. It doesn’t make sense to say we’ll ordain women just like men, but they have certain roles that are off limits to them. In this regard, I am blessed to be a member of the AG because they value women in ministry so highly. I don’t personally feel called to be a senior pastor at this time, but I know if the Lord laid it on my heart, I could. Very few women could say this have this same opportunity.

I think the church misses out when they limit women and what they can do ministry. The church runs the risk of being seen as outdated and unfair in women’s rights. It’s hard for a business woman who operates her own company to be told what she can’t do in the church. The strange thing is that for most churches what women do outside the church isn’t a problem – they can be CEOs for major companies, principals, astronauts… the sky is the limit, but not in the church. This doesn’t feel right to me.

In a lot of ways in all comes down the Scriptures. It’s hard to look past verses like 1 Corinthians 14:34 that says, “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.” After much study, I personally believe that this verse is closely tied to the cultural context of the time. Paul was addressing an issue in that specific church with those specific women. We see that Paul greatly values women in ministry when he references them in the closing of many of this letters. Paul didn’t write that verse to put women on the bench. He viewed them as key players.

Henderson brought up a point with many of the women he interviewed. While many of them brought up 1 Corinthians 14:34 as the reason for the limitations on women in ministry. Since they didn’t view this as a cultural response, he asked them about head coverings (1 Cor. 11:16 – If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.) Almost all of them said that this was a cultural reference. Henderson’s question and mine as well is – how do you choose which verse is cultural and which one isn’t? This seems like a double standard to me.

People will probably be arguing about this topic until the Lord comes back. I have in no way scratched the surface of the issue. One of things that give me confidence in my beliefs is how I see Jesus treat women. He never undervalued them. He spoke with them, let them follow him, he love them! I don’t think it was just a coincidence that the first person to see Jesus resurrected was a woman. In a lot of ways, I’m blessed to serve where I am. I know that I am supported by the AG in my ministry and by my hubby who is no way threatened by my own call to ministry. My prayer is that I can step forward and make a way for women in ministry. I want to be a voice telling them that they can do it. It’s not always easy, but when God calls you to something, he will make a way! I believe this!

 

Recent Readings February 22, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Children's Ministry — Amy Scott @ 1:52 pm

I love this time of the year following Christmas and my birthday. Why? Because I usually have a good stock pile of books waiting for me to read them! I get really happy when I have about 5-6 unread books on my shelf. It challenges me and motivates me! I haven’t written about what I’ve been reading lately, so I thought would share with you 3 amazing books that I’ve been reading and how they all connect.

The first book I read was Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. The adults at our church have done the video curriculum based off the book and our pastor did a sermon series based off the book as well. I knew it really rocked our community and I wanted to see what it was all about. Let me tell you – this book is a must read for everyone!!! Kyle is serious in his challenge to evaluate our faith and see if are truly following Christ (abandoning our lives to Him and His call) or we just fans (people are enthusiastic admirers of Jesus and aren’t really in the game).  As someone who works in the Christian ministry for a living it’s easy to read a book like this and think that Kyle might be challenging you to do more to prove your faith – that is not the case. Doing more doesn’t mean anything. It’s a heart issue and when your heart is truly devoted to God than your actions will follow. It’s basic, it’s foundational and it a message that can easily be drowned out by our culture. This book is powerful. Kyle also has a great sense of humor. There are footnotes in the book that made me burst out laughing. His personality comes out through his jokes and it is a good balance to the serious nature of the topic. Another great thing about this book is it’s an easy read. Not too many big words and lot of story examples. Some Christian growth books can be hard to plow through, but this one will easily keep you engaged. Like I said before, everyone should read this book! It will make you think – in a good way!!!

The next book I read was one that was given to me by a fellow staff member to check out. It’s called 5  Conversations You Must have with Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney. I know, I know… I don’t have a daughter! But I sure do work with a lot of other people’s daughters. In fact, ministering to young girls would be number one my list of lifetime callings. This book is full of statistics and information that parents need to know and need to discussing with their daughters. The topics of the book surround themes like you are more than how you look, sex is great and worth waiting for, don’t be in a hurry to grow up and anyone be a “girls gone wild” kind of girl but dare to be virtuous.  A lot of time Christian parents think that their good Christian kids don’t need to hear these things, but the truth of the matter is culture is speaking lies to girls daily and parents need to be an active force for good in their children’s lives.  These conversations aren’t one time occurrences. Conversations about such things should happen often and start when girls are young (in age appropriate ways). The statistics in the book will give you an honest look into what society is telling our young ladies and how the lies are effecting them. The thing I took away from this book is I have a voice in the lives of so many young women. I may not be their mother, but I can continue to affirm the message of virtue and self-worth in God.  Parents need to read this book and they need to be actively engaged in their child’s life. That means boundaries, rules, guidelines – whatever you want to call them – you need to have standard of living in your home and it starts with you!

Now the book I am currently reading is called Father Fiction by Donald Miller (previously published as To Own a Dragon). This is certainly a swing in the opposite direction from the last book. Donal Miller explores what it means to grow up without a father. He openly admits what that has done to him as  man. It’s a challenging to read this because you can deep impact and pain that comes to the fatherless. Honestly, there is a generation growing up fatherless. There are a great many of people who missing that piece of the puzzle. It does mess with them… I’m not finished yet with the book, but I can see so many strange parallels between the conversations that parents are supposed to have with their children and what Donald is saying about the lack of conversations and influences. The extremes are incredible and people are greatly affected. Donald’s writing style is one that personally enjoy. Seeing the world through his fatherless eyes is opening my eyes to the children who are in the same boat as him. Working with kids, I get to see firsthand how profound the influence of a parent is on a child’s life. Yes, parents can be engaged and truly leading their children on the path of life. But sadly, parents can be absent – physically or disengaged, and it has a very negative influence. Parents are the biggest influence in their children’s life – for good or for bad.

I think it’s interesting how all 3 of these books connect and relate to each other. Not A Fan really strengthened my call and resolve to serve the Lord with my whole life. 5 Conversations You Must have with Your Daughter reminded me I have role in the lives of children. I have been called to speak life to them and direct them the best I can towards God’s will for their lives. I am parenting many kids in many moments throughout the week. I am using those moments well??? I was challenged to be a force for good in this generation. Now reading Father Fiction, I can see what happens if parents don’t step up and don’t engage in the call to parenting. Overall, I am reminded that this fatherless generation is never alone. Even if their earthly father or mother has walked out on them, God never will. He is a father to the fatherless. The Bible makes it pretty clear that children hold an important place in God’s heart. Jesus loved the children and I have a feeling those kids were better off as a result of the love that was shown to them. My prayer is that parent’s would be empowered to be the spiritual leaders of their children. My prayer is that by partnering with families, I can be a part of this divine calling to serve the church. Too much is stake to be a fan in the bleachers, I’m all in and I’m ready to give my life for something matters for eternity!

 

Treasured Possessions November 18, 2011

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 1:06 pm

Okay, I know the Bible says not to store up treasures here on earth… I totally get that… but being  human and all, I have some treasures and they live in my guest room on a bookshelf. I love my books! In fact, I dream of of having a wall of shelves completely filled with books. My next dream would be to have a library room with all the walls completely covered in books. Ah, dreams! Books have always been a big part of my life. In elementary school, I was addicted to reading the Sweet Valley Twins. In middle school and high school, I read everything by Robin Jones Gunn I could get may hands on. My favorite book series still to this day would be The Christy Miller Series and all the books about Christy’s friends.

I think the reason I like books so much is they become like friends to me. Many people have rolled their eyes when I’ve said that, but it’s true. I get attached to the characters and I love to revisit them. Now not all of my books are fiction. I have a great deal of books on leadership, spiritual growth, and Bible study. These are also very important to me because they have played a big part in shaping who I am today. All of my books have had influence in my life and I am grateful for the voices of others who have inspired me and challenged me.

Recently I have gone through what I call a “fluffy” reading phase. Fluffy is my term for fiction. It’s just for fun. I love the stories, I revisit the characters, but it’s not super deep stuff… During my fluffy phase, I have reread the Love Comes Softly series and the Glenbrooke Series. Both are two of my favorite series that I discovered as an adult. I started to read the Love Comes Softly books originally after watching the Hallmark movies. I am amazed how different they are and I find that I like the plot of the books a lot more. Both are good though, just extremely different. The Glenbrooke Series takes place in a fictional small town out of Portland, OR. This series is written by my favorite author, Robin Jones Gunn.  I like these books because they are written for a twenty-somethings audience with old, familiar characters weaved into the plot from her books about Christy. It’s like catching a glimpse of old friends!

The last book I finished was Rooms by James L. Rubart. I would say the style is supernatural suspense. I can’t remember the last time I read a novel written by a man. There were times when I literally laughed out loud because of the difference in writing styles. It’s not the usual romantic tales I’m used to, even though the book does have a love story. It’s an intriguing book about a man who inherits a house in Cannon Beach, OR and the house has many rooms that appear and are a reflection of his heart and his life. It was fun to read something out of my normal style. I also love the fact that it takes place in a local setting. I enjoy recognizing the landmarks in the book.

I’m now in the process of deciding what to read next. I’m out of “new” books, so I’m back to rereading from my own collection. I really don’t mind that because like I said they are my friends and enjoy revisiting them. I’m always keeping my eyes out for another good read! I love going back to my bookshelf and putting away my last book and grabbing another. In fact, I think I’ll take a walk down there right now!

 

Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal September 8, 2011

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 4:26 pm

Recently I just completed Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal. The book was chosen as a staff read so I was eager to get started on the next book we would be discussing and digesting together. I have read two other books by Reggie McNeal so I knew I was going to be in for something good. The last two books that I had read by him where about personal leadership, so this book was a totally different direction then what I am used to Reggie taking. It was a good direction. It was a very forward thinking direction. It overwhelmed my brain and really caused me to think and evaluate. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to be apart of what God is doing now. It’s about being the church, not just going to church. A big cultural shift is occurring and we (being the church) need to open our eyes so we don’t miss out on the exciting opportunities that are before us.

The tagline for Missional Renaissance was “changing the scoreboard for the church.” What we’ve been doing and how we’ve been doing it no longer the cutting when it comes to reaching out and impacting our communities. I loved the focus that Reggie has in getting out  into the community and being the church right where we are at. It’s about helping people to see that ministry happens beyond the walls of the church. It’s a retraining to show Christ Followers that they have the greatest missions field at their place of work or in their kid’s school. It’s not about doing more church stuff. It’s about being the church where you are at and serving the community.

One thought that was carried throughout the book was being intentional agents for blessing the community wherever we are at and in whatever we are doing. As the church, we are God’s hands and feet to bless. We can join in His plan to bless the world. That’s the plan that He set in motion when He showed Abraham all those stars in Genesis 12. God told Abraham that He would bless the nations through Abraham’s descendants. This promise led to the nation of Israel, which lead to Jesus, which lead to us the Gentiles having a position of adoption into God’s family. Now we are the continuation of the promise to bless all nations.

Reggie has very practical shifts listed in the book. These changes look different in each church and each community, but we know that in order to be missional we need to change and update the way things have always been done. We need to stop being so program oriented and focus more on people and true relationship. We need to stop looking at attendance and offering as health signs for a church. The numbers we focus on might change from attendance to how many volunteer hours have been spent in the community. Instead of focusing on how many programs we can offer the focus becomes how many people are experiencing life change.  The book is full of thought-provoking shifts that will help the church reach missional health.

Missional Renaissance wasn’t always an easy read. It caused me to think long and hard about what the church is currently doing and what the future of the church looks like. Now as one person, it’s hard for me to truly think through the revamping of an entire church culture, but I do know that change starts with me. This book gave me eyes to see what I can do now, what I can do today to be more missional. When my change meets up with others who share a vision for God’s work in the world, then I know that we can go far to make sure the church is really being the church. It’s a group effort! I’m on board with figuring out how this all works out off the page and into real life.

 

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp August 21, 2011

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 10:29 pm

Let me just start by saying this book has to be one of the most amazing books I’ve read this summer. I was deeply challenged by it and I plan on reading it again as soon as possible, so I can make sure I squeeze all that I can out of it. It’s such a simple concept – dare to live fully right where you are. The impact this book had on me was powerful. I was changed and inspired.

The beginning of this book doesn’t start out happy and cheery. In fact, it started out surprising relatable. Life is painful. The author, Ann Voskamp, recalls the death of her three year old sister in their front driveway. Her sister, Aimee, was hit by a truck driver who never saw her coming. Ann watched as her parents held on to their bleeding, dying daughter. This traumatic event shaped the course of Ann’s life and the family she would grow up in. Not all of us have experienced such a life altering circumstance, but in many ways, we can see how life has brought us pain and we have been hurt. We live on a fallen planet and we see the evidence of it all around us.

Each chapter of this book is like a layer. Each chapter builds the foundation for the next. I found it really interesting that it would seem like each chapter in itself could be the end of the story, but as you read you discover that there is more. This was reassuring to me. God didn’t give Ann this great revelation over night. Her transformation took time. She didn’t go from bitter to thankful in the course of twenty four hours. It was a long term process. In some ways the journey to thankfulness was a goal, a determined direction.

Ann was challenged to make a list of one thousand gifts from God. She started to jot down the little things she saw around her that she knew were gifts. This gave her a new found happiness. Through the process she learned to be looking for God’s gifts at all times, always keeping her eyes open for the work of the Lord. She always learned to see God’s gifts in the pain and the things that she wouldn’t claim as positive. The process from joy to pain, from distrust to trust in God, from bitterness to thanksgiving (or thanksliving as Ann puts it) is astonishing.

I loved the simple nature of the challenge. One thousand gifts… it may be many, but isn’t each moment a gift from the Lord. The good moments and the hard moments? I loved seeing Ann discover gifts in the simple moments of everyday life. She is a home-school mother to six children. Her husband owns the farm they live on. At times I found myself so swept up in her domestic life and finding the blessings in the simplest of moments. It wasn’t about big flashy times with God. It’s more about taking the moment to notice how the bubbles in the sink reflect the sun. It’s about smiling as you watch children play in the snow. It’s about the sights and smells of home. It’s about the love that is in your life.

Living life to the fullest right now means truly feeling everything. Ann says, “Joy and pain, they are but two arteries of the one heart that pumps through all those who don’t numb themselves to truly living.” This hit me like a ton of bricks. How many people have allowed themselves to become numb because the pain just hurt too much? How many people are missing out on joy to save themselves from pain? Another quote that deeply impacted me was, “Darkness transfigures into light, bad transfigures into good, grief transfigures into grace, empty transfigures into full. God wastes nothing – ‘makes everything work out according to his plan.’ (Ephesians 1:11).”  Grief turns to grace, empty turns to full. This is what I want in my life, what I crave.

I could go on and on about the scope of this book. How it can take you so far in only a matter of pages. It has challenged me to look for one thousand gifts. I started a journal just this morning and I plan on documenting one thousand gifts just as Ann did. I expect my journey will look different than hers. I desperately pray that the destination will be similar. I want to have the joy of seeing God in all things, I want to get to the place where I can see the good in pain, and I want my life to be a testimony of thankfulness. One last quote to end, “Spend the whole of your one wild and beautiful life investing in many lives, and God simply will not be undone. God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but one that we yearn for: Joy in Him.” This is my prayer, this is my calling! I want to live my one life giving to many lives knowing that it will be more rewarding than I will ever expect to experience.