In Our Homes as it is in Heaven Recap

This past “In Garner” forum took a fantastic and interesting turn.  While some thought perhaps we would take up family political issues, others thought that perhaps we would wrestle with difficult biblical ideas like submission and divorce.  Though those topics have merit, the focus of the evening was a discussion on how God’s will for the home is to remove reproach, guilt, and shame.

 A brief discussion of Joshua 5 and Acts 2 let into a great time of questions and interactions.  It appears that by just week 2 of the forums, people have grown comfortable with each other and even a willingness to be vulnerable has developed.

Please don’t miss out on the following 2 forums.  This Saturday, we will take up God’s will being done in our work places, and the final Saturday will see us tackle what God’s will being done in Garner might look like.

Thanks for everyone who has participated so far, and for any of you who have not yet, come on, it will a great time.

Check out the Recap of Last Saturday’s Event

A great write up about our first public forum can be found here.  Check it out.

Crayons and Not Rubber Stamps

Dan Zarrella’s recent book speaks about why some brands/concepts/ideas die and why some become movements.  He says, “Some of the most contagious brands serve as boxes of crayons, not rubber stamps.  Brands that provide their users with a vocabulary and tools that allow them to play with and remix their own ideas succeed because these brands step back and evolution does what it does best.”

That kind of thinking is exactly what is behind the “In Garner as it is in Heaven” efforts taking place at Aversboro Coffee.  Over the course of four Saturdays, the Greater Garner community is invited to share just what it would like to improve Garner, its schools, our churches, workplaces, and homes.

Yes, of course, there will be short 10 min talks from a host of speakers, but the majority of the evening is open to local folks suggesting, asking questions, and pondering just what it would look like for God’s will to be done in areas in which it quite often looks like it isn’t.

Our gatherings are not going to be lectures nor are they going to be debates.  We just want to hear from Garner about what change could look like so we can get that box of crayons out and make change.

If you have questions, feel free to contact Gordon Duncan at jgordonduncan@yahoo.com or Ben Thomas at benthomas62@hotmail.com.

In Garner as it is in Heaven Street Teams

The “In Garner as it is in Heaven” momentum is building.  Along the way, folks are asking, “How can I help?”  So, we are creating an “In Garner” street team.  Here is what that would look like.  If you are willing to be a part of our street team, you would be willing to…

Invite family, coworkers, and friends to either the Saturday Evening Aversboro Coffee events or the Sunday Morning SK Church services.

Contact individuals whose area of influence will be discussed to see if they would be willing to participate (church workers, teachers, principals, business owners, parents).

Ask local businesses if they would be willing to hang one of the “In Garner” fliers on their bulletin boards or tape them to their doors and windows at their entrances.

Promote the events on social media platforms.

Members of the street team will be provided with the materials to hand out, so there is no cost at all.  The goal here is not merely to gather a crowd (though we do desire that).  The goal is to gather in as many people as possible to be a part of the “In Garner as it is in Heaven” conversation so that real change can take place.

If you have questions, contact Gordon Duncan at jgordonduncan@yahoo.com or Ben Thomas at benthomas62@hotmail.com.

Announcing Public Forums for In Garner as it is in Heaven

We are excited to present the wave of engagement with Garner in our “In Garner as it is in Heaven” effort.  We don’t want “In Garner” to merely be a sermon series at SK Church.  It is that, but we also hope to provide a forum where Garner can engage with us, and Aversboro Coffee is providing us that opportunity.

Starting Saturday night 9/17, we will hold a public forum at Aversboro Coffee at 6pm to interact with each other about these topics.  For example, on 9/17, we will discuss what it would look like for God’s will to be done in the church as it is in heaven.  Gordon Duncan, the pastor of Sovereign King Church, will lead the crowd in a 10-15 minute discussion to begin the interaction.  Then, Ben Thomas, a local Garner citizen, will moderate a discussion with Gordon and another pastor from the area about God’s will being done in the church.  Then the next day, on 9/18, we’ll take the topic up in the sermon at SK Church.

Each week at Aversboro Coffee, we will follow that pattern, but there will be a different person who is related to the topic who will enter into the discussion.  The announcement of those folks is the next posting you should look for, and hopefully, we will have that in place in the next week or so.

The public forum schedule looks like this:

·    09/17 – In the Church as it is in Heaven         6:00 pm at Aversboro Coffee
·    09/25 – In the Home as it is in Heaven           6:00 pm at Aversboro Coffee
·    10/01 – At Work/School as it is in Heaven      6:00 pm at Aversboro Coffee
·    10/08 – In Garner as it is in Heaven                6:00 pm at Aversboro Coffee

The sermon schedule looks like this:

·    09/11 – On Earth as it is in Heaven            10:30 am at SK Church
·    09/18 – In the Church as it is in Heaven     10:30 am at SK Church
·    09/25 – In the Home as it is in Heaven        10:30 am at SK Church
·    10/02 – At Work/School as it is in Heaven  10:30 am at SK Church
·    10/09 – In Garner as it is in Heaven            10:30 am at SK Church

Help Us Know What It Would Look Like

The idea behind “In Garner as it is in Heaven” is to explore, plan, pray, and implement what it would look like for God’s will to be done here as it is in Heaven.  Garner is a great place, but there are not only pockets where God’s will is not done, there are deep crevices.  Just a passing glance below the service reveals needs that can be met and changes that need to take place.  Here is the first look at that passing glance.

• Homeless children in our schools

• Hunger and joblessness in every neighborhood

• Churches forgetting/refusing to care for the heart

• Parents investing more in careers than their children

The picture is not always bleak.  There are individuals, churches, and town officials seeking to make Garner a better place.  The effort of “In Garner as it is in Heaven” is more about calling people to action than it is about calling people to task.

So, towards that end, let’s gather in questions and comments from you asking, “What would it look like for God’s will to be done in Garner as it is in Heaven?”  We’ll gather them for a few days, and on Monday, August 15th we’ll tackle answering and responding to your questions and suggestions.

Just know however, that thinking, contributing, and posting means enlisting to help as well.  Can’t wait.

In Garner as it is in Heaven

The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most commonly heard, read, memorized, and recited portions of scripture in our culture.  Whether or not you grew up in the church, the words may sound at least familiar, and some of you have had it memorized since you were a little kid.

Now the Lord’s Prayer serves as a pattern for us as to how we should praise God and how we should offer him our prayer requests.  But before it ever gets around to enabling you to offer God your desires and wants, it says this.  “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Specifically, we could and should apply that verse and the concept of God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven in every one of contexts.

·    Lord, may your will be done in every church, as in Heaven.  
·    Lord, may your will be done in our home as it is in Heaven.
·    Lord, may your will be done in our work or school as it is in heaven.
·    Lord, may your will be done in Garner as it is in heaven.  

These are the ideas we want to explore at Sovereign King Church in our new series entitled “In Garner as it is in Heaven”.  We hope this is a series that will engage the community of Garner in multiple venues and challenge us to think and even make real, contributable changes to our city.  Our first stage of engagement is our sermon series beginning appropriately enough on 9/11/11.

We will cover the topic of God’s will being done in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, our schools, and our city.  Our services begin at 10:30am each Sunday, and you can find directions to our space at http://www.sovereignkingpca.net/1.2.html.

Stay tuned for further announcements about how Garner will be engaged with this idea.  If you have questions, email us at garnerandheaven@gmail.com.

Discussion Schedule

09/11 – On Earth as it is in Heaven
09/18 – In Church as it is in Heaven
09/25 – In our home as it is in Heaven
10/02 – At work/school as it is in Heaven
10/09 – In Garner as it is in Heaven

Stayed tuned for more details on “In Garner as it is In Heaven”