The Sporadic Bibliography

Time to re-introduce an old feature on the blog. The name has changed several times, mostly to reflect the frequency of the articles.

At first it was the "Weekly Bibliography" but I had a hard time posting it every seven days. Then it became the "Bimonthly Bibliography" which has a nice alliteration to it, but that didn't work either. Thus the new title...The Sporadic Bibliography!

Every now and then I'll use this space to list off some of the interesting things that I've been reading. Because the best part about reading something interesting is being able to share it with others, right?

Sometimes the articles I'll post will tie directly into an upcoming sermon. Other times it will be something interesting that I've read about church vitality or leadership development or prayer. Every now and again (though not as often as you'd think!) I'll share something simply because it is silly and I want you in on a good joke.

So without futher adieu, here is what I've been reading lately:
The Text This Week
Simply the best scripture study and lectionary resources around. It has tons of links to Bible Study aids, sermon starters, blog posts, worship resources, prayers and more. It is where I start my sermon preparations every single week.

Green Stop Signs?
A fascinating article about the ways we as the church send mix messages that keep us from effectively communicate with the wider world. From a website designed "to frustrate, educate and motivate the church to communicate, with uncompromising clarity, the truth of Jesus Chris." And yes, font size and clutter matter!

Evangelism and the Under-30 Crowd
Wanna know what young people want in a church home? Check out this great read from the Alban Institute about the Relational Evangelism Pilot Project.

Prayer Generator
A daily dose of prayer from the good folks at beliefnet. If you hit the "see another prayer" button then it will randomly generate a prayer from the archives. Pretty cool and surprisingly engaging.

Enjoy the read! If you ever have posts or articles that you would like to share with me feel free to drop me an e-mail!

peace,
Rev. Brian

Youth Group Float Trip

I had a great time on Thursday, spending most of the day with the Youth Group from FCC Scottsdale (and beyond) on a float trip down the Salt River.

Two things simply have to be said:

1. It was an absolutely beautiful trip. I've never been on the Salt River before, and the startling contrast between the desert landscape all around you and the mountain chilled river water surrounding you simply can't be missed. How did I not know this place was right in our backyard?
   
2. Despite numerous coats and reapplications of SPF 50 Sunscreen, my forearms, knees, and ankles are all a fair shade pinker than they should be. We'll be lifting up a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessing of aloe vera at worship on Sunday.

Here is a big word of thanks to Jeanne Thompson for helping to organize the trip, for the 15 or so youth from our church who were there, and for Mark Line and all the dozen kids from the joint Disciples Youth Group in the East Valley that joined us. We had a great time, and it was the perfect environment for me meet our youth and get to know them a little better (honestly, when you are floating down a river for five hours you get to have some pretty good conversations!).

Oh, and the rumors are true. I was there in my blue floral swim trunks, big floppy hat, and bright blue water shoes. Strangely, no pictures have survived to be passed along to you!

Three Things fom the Worship Committee

The Worship Committee met on Wednesday August 4 in my office. Here are the three things you need to know from that meeting:

1. We are going to celebrate September 12th as Kick-Off Sunday! It is going to be a big, energetic, praise-filled worship service that helps us kick off our Fall Program Year here at the church. We'll dedicated our Sunday School Teachers and Students, we'll celebrate the great things that are going to happen this church year, and we'll praise God the entire time! You don't want to miss it!
   
2. My Installation Service will be Sunday October 3 in the late afternoon! I honestly couldn't be more excited about this event. It will be a time for us to formally celebrate and recognize the ministry that we have been called into together. And what's even better, October 3 is World Communion Sunday! There couldn't be a better time to celebrate our ministry together than to have an installation service on World Communion Sunday. More details to come.
   
3. With so many big things coming up, the Worship Committee will be meeting again soon to get all our ducks in a row (thus the picture above). Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday September 1 in my office at 5:30.

I've been thinking about...

...Andy Ortiz!

That's him there in the over-exposed picture on the right (total user-error on my part, I shot the picture with the blazing Arizona sun shining through the window behind him; though it does sort of look like a halo, doesn't it!).

Andy is the President and CEO of Ortiz Leadership Systems and he has a background in leadership development for non-profit organizations.

Oh, and for the past year he's been working with me as my Faculty Coach through the Center for Progressive Leadership (I'm wrapping up a remarkable Fellowship Program through CPL). Every other month or so Andy and I get together for coffee so that he can guide me through the CPL process and take a more one-on-one approach to my development as leader.

I cherish my meetings with Andy, and not just because it is an excuse to eat a fresh baked muffin at a coffee house! Andy helps to keep me on track with deadlines, accountable to the goals I set for myself, and focused on developing best practices for myself and the church. He's REALLY good at what he does, and he's helping me get better at what I do too.

Andy has been a tremendous sounding board for me. Many of our spring time conversations involved my discernment process on whether or not God was calling me to serve this congregation. Andy always listened to whatever I had to say, asked just the right questions along the way, and helped me prepare for the next steps in the Search Process.

This morning Andy and I got together for coffee again...and celebrated the fantastic first month you and I have shared in ministry together at FCC Scottsdale!

So church, meet Andy Ortiz! I honestly wouldn't be where I am without him!

Yours in the Journey,
Rev. Brian

This Just In!

Pay careful attention to the details in that picture, friends.

Look closely and you'll see it.

Do you see it? Right there in the upper lefthand corner of the page? Just under the name of the church?

Click on the image for a bigger picture if you need it. Go ahead. I'll wait...

Did you see it?!?

That's right...it is my name! Which means the new letterhead came in today! As well as a great big box of business cards chocked full of my information!

It is OFFICIAL! I'm the Pastor of First Christian Church Scottsdale. It says so right there on the stationary!

Can you tell I'm excited!

In related news I've been in preliminary discussions with the Regional Office about scheduling my Installation Service here at the church which really will make things official. It will be a time to celebrate our ministry together at FCC Scottsdale, rejoice in God's bounty, and look expectantly toward the future that God is calling us to be a part of. More details to follow. In the meantime, check out that cool letterhead!

Interfaith Power and Light

I spent yesterday afternoon with the Steering Committee for Arizona Interfaith Power and Light.

Never heard of it? Well that is what the blog is for!

Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is "mobilizing a religious response to global warming in congregations through the promotion of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation." That is the official language from the national website. From our biblical view of things, you can simply think of it as "being good stewards of creation." Or, the evocative image I like to throw out to people is simply churches, synagogues, and mosques with solar panels on their roofs or wind-turbines in their parking lots!

IPL started a dozen years ago and has affiliates in 34 states right now. Surprisingly, Arizona has been a bit late getting into the action (I says surprisingly because, well, have you seen how much sun we get!) but we have a Steering Team in place to help get Arizona IPL up and off the ground.  By the way, I've started serving on that Steering Committee...if you were wondering why I was there!

Want to know more about this great group and how they are seeking to help religious communities put their faith into action? Then check out these links:

• Interfaith Power and Light
  
• Arizona IPL
  
• IPL Media Page

I've been thinking about...

...prayer.

{Note: For regular followers of the blog, this is a familiar section. For those new to the blog, at the beginning of each week I run a short newsletter-style article called, "I've been thinking about..." This grew out of the Order of Service at the Encanto Community Church where the back page of the bulletin was reserved for "whatever the pastor has been thinking about." I liked the practice so much (and the opportunity to share things with the church) that I brought it to the blog too. So every Tuesday you can stop by to see what "I've been thinking about." Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post.}

I've had prayer on the brain this week partly because this coming Sunday's sermon text gives us Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer. When asked, "Lord, teach us to pray," Jesus says, "When you pray, say: Father,^* hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.^{* 3}Give us each day our daily bread.^* And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial." (Luke 11:2-4)

Um, that looks a little different than the way we say it! Anyway, in getting ready for this Sunday's worship service I'm already thinking about prayer.

But there is another reason too! You see, I firmly believe that the church that prays together stays together. Which is why in every church that I have served I have had an intentional time of prayer. Last Wednesday at Noon I blocked out an hour in my schedule to pray for FCC Scottsdale. And this Wednesday at Noon (and every Wednesday from here on out!) I'm inviting anyone who wants to join me to come to my office and join in a time of prayer for First Christian Church Scottsdale.

We'll lift up all of the names listed on the church's prayer list, everyone on our Joys and Concerns list, any of the names brought forward during Sunday's "Prayer's of the People" and whatever prayer requests come up that day. If you can make it, join me in my office at the church at Noon on Wednesday. If you can't make it, then feel free to carve out a little bit of time on Wednesday at Noon wherever you are and know that you and your church are in prayer together!

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian

Three Things From Administrative Council

The Administrative Council met on Sunday July 18, 2010. Here are the three things you need to know from that meeting:

1. We had a lively conversation about recording the sermons from Sunday worship. If there is interest in having audio copies of the sermons, then we'll figure out how to make that happen. If you have an opinion (pro or con) about it, then Admin Council wants to hear from you!
   
2. The budget is in good shape. We are a little ahead so far on the year, but now isn't the time to let up! Thanks for your generous financial support, and even though it is summer time don't forget to keep up with your pledge!
   
3. Do you love worship here at FCC Scottsdale? Do you have a keen eye for beauty and an adept sense for what is aesthetically pleasing? Then we've got a spot for you! Starting in January we will need a new Design Coordinator for FCC Scottsdale. Carrie will be stepping down and if you feel called to this important ministry in the worship life of our church then this is the opportunity for you.

Okay, technically this is a fourth thing (which goes against my trendy title and blog labels!) so I'll just sneak it in as a hyperlink. If you want to know more about my schedule and plans for office hours then you can read my earlier post from the Elder's meeting by clicking right here.

Three Things from the Elders

Time to kick-off a running series on the blog called "Three Things".

After every board/council/group meeting I attend here at First Christian Church Scottsdale I'll post the three things you should know about the meeting (if you're curious where the list comes from, we brainstorm it together at the end of each meeting and then I report 'em here on the blog; occasionally with a silly picture like the one to the right...get it, three things!).

So here we go. The three thing you should know from the Elders Meeting on July 14, 2010 are:

1. The Elders brought me up to speed on the visitation ministry of the church and the care needs of individual church members. From there we updated the visitation list. If you would like a visit or know someone who would like a visit (from the Elder, from the pastor, from both) please don't hesitate to let us know.
   
2. In an effort to be nice to me the Elders are encouraging folks to wear their name tags at worship. As a visual learner, this really does help me. It is also pretty nice for visitors too, to be honest. And, if you don't wear a nametag then I am probably just going to call you Bob, since I'm guaranteed to be right about 50% of the time here at FCC Scottsdale!
   
   
3. I shared my plans for my weekly schedule. I will use Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for regular office hours, Friday I will write my sermon from my home office, Saturday will be a general catch-up day, and Sunday is our time to worship together! Mondays will serve as the "Frederick-Gray Family Day Off" (my wife, four-year-old son, and I all get the same day off) and then I'll repeat the pattern starting the next Tuesday. Other schedule notes include:
   
   
   • Wednesday Noon Prayer Time - Each Wednesday at Noon will be a special hour set aside to pray for our community...and everyone is welcome to join me! We will pray for the members on our church's prayer list, for the boards and committees that are meeting that week, for everyone we lifted up in prayer on the previous Sunday, and for any other prayer concerns that we have. The church that prays together stays together. Feel free to join me in my office Wednesday at noon for a special time of prayer!
     
   • Saturday Drop-In Office Hours - Starting in August, on the first and third Saturdays of each month I will have Drop-In Office Hours at the church. Recognizing that mid-week office hours don't work for everyone, we'll have a designated handful of hours twice a month where I will be available at the church office to meet with folks. We'll kick it off on Saturday August 7. More details to come.

Howdy Scottsdale!

Greetings, friends!

This is my first post in nearly two months, and in that time some major changes have taken place. For starters, the blog has been completely redesigned (new colors, new format, new template). More importantly, I'm writing to you from my new office on the very first day of my ministry at First Christian Church Scottsdale! I am truly honored and thrilled to be the settled pastor here at FCC Scottsdale.

For first time visitors, welcome! I am the Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray and this is my professional blog. That means that you won't find goofy pictures of my family or links to silly videos of cats doing cute things here. Rather, I'll be using this space to spread the word about what we are doing at First Christian Church Scottsdale.

You can click through the archives to see the kinds of things I did with the blog while I was at Encanto. Some of the running features will return (like the weekly "I've been thinking about..." posts, the "Three Things" reports, and my semi-regular "What I'm reading" articles). Other features may or may not be back (I'm not sure about the Sermon Wordles and the calendar updates will have to be retooled).

As the blog evolves I hope that you will enjoy the things you find here and that it will be one of many effective ways that we communicate all the great things that are going on at First Christian Church Scottsdale. Don't just stop with the blog though. Please come and join us Sunday mornings at 10:15 for worship, click here for directions to the church.

Make sure to bookmark the site, check back often, and let me know what you think!