This week is the beginning of my Summer Sabbath. I will be taking a few days of study leave this week to spend some time preparing for a marriage class I hope to teach in the fall. I’m officially gone on vacation starting this weekend.

I won’t be back in the office until August 9th. I am really looking forward to the next few weeks. I want to say thanks for the church for this time away. I expect it to be relaxing, refreshing, and a sacred time with the family.

As I did last year, I’ll being “going quiet.” No email, no blogging, no Twitter, no Facebook.

See you back on August 9th.

A Rock Star is not only someone who shows that they can be the best at what they do, they consistently bring their best to everything that they do!

Today’s post continues our Friday Rock star series which highlights an individual or group whose service makes the ministry of our church possible. If you have spent any time on our church campus, one of the things I’m betting that you have noticed is the level of cleanliness of all of our facilities.The work of our custodial staff not only helps us take excellent care of these physical resources that we use to serve our community, they also provide a welcoming and warm environment for every single person who sets foot on our campus.

A huge part of what makes any team great is the leadership of that team, and this team is certainly no different. That brings me to today’s rock star, Maria Monticello.

In a few months, Maria we will celebrate 13 years of Maria’s service on our staff. She is an amazing worker and her service is defined by her own heart of gold. We simply could not accomodate the number of programs and activities that our church provides week in and week out without Maria’s leadership and the dedicated service of her entire team. I hope the next time you see Maria you will take a moment to express your thanks to her.

She is one of our most dedicated rock stars!

A Rock Star is not only someone who shows that they can be the best at what they do, they consistently bring their best to everything that they do!

Today’s post continues our Friday Rock star series which highlights an individual or group whose service makes the ministry of our church possible. Most of our church has had the opportunity to see the great work produced by the group of ladies we’re celebrating today. We highlight their ministry throughout the year by dedicating their “sacred work” to bless kids in our area hospitals.

Today, I’m excited to lift up our quilting group.

The beautiful quilts produced by these ladies are sent to local hospitals as a tangible sign of our church’s love and support for children and families struggling with an illness. They meet every Thursday [I took the above picture when they were packing up] and have a great time together each week. The quality of the work they do together is phenomenal, but more than that, the heart and soul that they pour into these quilts for these special kids is something we love celebrating!

These ladies are truly some of our most deserving Rock Stars!

A Rock Star is not only someone who shows that they can be the best at what they do, they consistently bring their best to everything that they do!

Today’s post continues our Friday Rock star series which highlights an individual or group whose service makes the ministry of our church possible.

This past weekend during our “Why People Leave Church” series we talked about the idea that some people leave church because they felt like the church was always asking for money. During the message we talked about how giving contributes to our spiritual health and the importance of that discipline in our life.

One of the other things I highlighted in the message and we continued to highlight in our podcast this week is the idea that as leaders, we believe that we are accountable to each and every person who gives to our church to use that gift in the most effective way to fulfill our mission of “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ who will love God, love others, and serve the world.”

Which brings me to our Rock Stars for this week… Three of our staff who are totally dedicated to making sure that every gift is received and credited in an appropriate way. Here’s a picture of our finance team.

Penny Voss, our Church Administrator who supervises our finance team had this to say about these three ladies.

The Finance Office led by accountant, Becky Grimes with assistants Elizabeth Scott and Ellen Kennedy takes very seriously the task of caring for the church’s financial needs.  As support for all the program areas of the church as well as Wesley Mission Center, First Faith Preschool and AIM, Becky, Elizabeth and Ellen are always happy to assist any area with their financial questions. We are blessed to have these dedicated employees.

Giving is a sacred act, and I wanted to highlight these three members of our staff for their dedication to our entire church family in taking care of our gifts.

A Rock Star is not only someone who shows that they can be the best at what they do, they consistently bring their best to everything that they do!

Today’s post continues our Friday Rock star series which highlights an individual or group whose service makes the ministry of our church possible. This week’s selection is a no-brainer.

Can you say 412 VBC Volunteers!?!

412 Volunteers + 871 students + 4 days = One amazing week of Vacation Bible Camp!

I can’t put into words the amazing energy that has filled our church campus this week for VBC. As it is each year, it is a rockin’ good time for all the kids and for these amazing volunteers as well. I know from my own perspective as a father of a six year old that this is one of the best weeks of the year for my daughter. She loves VBC, singing with Paul & Amy in the sanctuary, and everything that this week is about. We sing the songs and look forward to VBC all year long!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to every adult and youth helper that has made this week possible!

You are all Rock Stars!

including this guy…