It's Time to Upgrade to SLM 3.0!

Last Monday night the final softball game of the season was being played. Honestly I was quite happy it was our last game! At 49 years old my body was sore and hurting from playing and practicing a sport that is better suited for younger people. Shiloh Softball is a great example of the heart of the ministry. The team is a group of misfits, people from a variety of ethnicities, mostly made up of folks that get overlooked in life. In a 10 game season we had lost the first eight games until last week when we had an offensive outburst and hung on for dear life to win the second-to-last game. Now, going into our last game, we were minus a few of our regular starters, but we had enough people to play.

The game went back and forth until we found ourselves in the bottom of the 7^th (final inning in softball rules) … down by a run. We scratched out a run to tie the game. And then, with two outs, a young man was on first—I’ve known him since he was a teenager who was a gang leader that brought 30 unwanted young people to the church I was on staff with at the time. He is now 30 himself, been a chain smoker for half of his life, has a ponytail that goes down to his butt and a life story of survival through abuse and neglect many would tremble to hear about. He is a societal misfit that loves God and loves to help his neighbor—few, if any, traditional churches would want him in their service let alone trust him with any responsibility …

At the plate was the oldest member of our team. He has a pacemaker keeping his weak heart running, bad knees, and he stepped to the plate already having popped out twice during the game. He is a father of a misfit teen who loves SLM. His family has been ravaged by the pain of addiction and the damage it does, and yet he’s the kind of man who loves to help reach out to those misfits who need to know: God loves them no matter what. On the sidelines the rest of the misfits shouted out encouragement to him. He smacked the first pitch he saw and sent a laser shot down the left field line. From first, the tall, lanky pied piper of misfits himself, ran as fast as his diminished capacity lungs would allow. Without hesitation I waved him around third to home plate … he hit the plate less than a second before the throw from the outfield made it to the defender. “SAFE!—SAFE!” shouted the umpire. The group of misfits, a collection of neglected, ignored, judged and abused people, swarmed home plate to celebrate the unlikely victory over a more talented opponent.

I fought back tears as I watched my lovable misfits in their moment of joy. Tears? No one cries in softball! Yes, tears. There on that dry dusty field, a snapshot of the heart of God through the ministry of SLM was being played out. In the past few months this ministry has been mocked, accused, abandoned and judged—starting with me as the fearless leader of the misfits. Yet through it all, this small group of people have found a way to stay together and to become a family more united than ever. Through the difficulties of this summer a group of people have not lost sight of the purpose of this ministry, a ministry that will now evolve and flourish.

Shiloh’s Lighthouse is changing. A renewed focus that returns us to our roots has come about and it is time for an upgrade to Shiloh’s Lighthouse 3.0. What will Shiloh’s Lighthouse version 3.0 be, you ask? Well you’ll just have to wait for that answer unless you live in the Saginaw area and want to be at our Community Center this Sunday for the unveiling that will happen during our morning fellowship time. I can tell you that this Sunday we will serve breakfast starting at 10 AM. Following the meal we’ll have a great time of spirited praise and worship music, and then I will tell all the folks there all about SLM 3.0. If you’re not in the area no worries—next week I’ll put out a blog detailing the changes that are happening. 

I can give you a hint about the content of version 3.0 … I dare to open the doors of this ministry to _________ and let them know God loves them and has a plan for their life. I’ll be filling in the blank this Sunday and in the weeks to come as Shiloh’s Lighthouse Ministry 3.0 kicks into high gear. Grab a misfit or two, keep your fancy clothes on their hangers, and come enjoy the food, worship and fellowship this Sunday.

Keep the faith …

PD

Click on Tweety Bird and Tweet this post if you liked it!

IMPORTANT REMINDER! If you have not yet, please show your support for SLM by signing up to "Follow" this blog - you will find the "Follow" button in the upper right hand corner of this front page. Receive email updates on new posts, visit often and leave comments! - all of this helps us in our efforts to grow our readership and social network visibility. Also, if you are able and wish to contribute to our ministry with all of its valuable community outreach programs, please CLICK HERE and make a pledge and/or one time donation. We need your help! These programs cost money! Sow your seeds into the garden of the Love of Jesus that we at SLM are devoted to cultivating!

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

There are many challenges to developing a non-profit ministry. Defining what you are, what is the God-created/inspired purpose for the ministry is vital. As individuals we all need to strive to know and understand our created purpose in order to find success; the same rings true for ministry organizations. As I continue to develop Shiloh’s Lighthouse Ministry I am at times amused by the many “experts” who try to add their voice into what SLM is or should be. To me it is a lot like our new softball team. A group of ‘too old to play competitive sports’ to ‘young and don’t know what in the world they are doing’ cast of characters that has gathered together and formed a team to play in our local YMCA Church Softball league. FYI—I fall into the too old to play competitively part of the team—yet I’m happy to be healthy enough to get out there and enjoy the fun and fellowship.

As our team started practicing I got a kick out of the abundance of “experts” offering advice to those who were struggling at the plate to hit the ball. “Put your back elbow up.” “Get back in the batter’s box.” “Move up in the batter’s box.” “Move you back foot!” “Move your front foot!” “Keep your eye on the ball!” A vast cacophony of voices ringing out to where that the poor person at the plate was being overwhelmed … well meaning advice that ended up only adding to their confusion. I often am on the receiving end of a large number of voices that try to tell me what SLM should be: “We’ll really grow when we….” 

As a younger man I often fell victim to being a crowd pleaser—doubting myself and my calling just enough to find myself at yet another dead end ministry street wondering where I made the wrong turn.

When I was living in Blacksburg, VA I was moving forward on a great ministry opportunity. I had found an empty 1920s area hotel that was perfect for a boy’s home. I formed a steering committee to help develop the non-profit ministry that would run it. Social Service agencies all were excited as the area totally lacked placement opportunities and they had to spend extra finances out of their budgets to place boys out of their counties. Politicians wanted to be there for the ribbon cutting ceremony. I was cooking along and then it all just stopped. Phone calls ended and were not returned, donors suddenly went other directions with their giving, the steering committee fell apart and I was suddenly alone in the effort. So, wise spiritual man that I am, I decided I should ask God what was happening. He told me I had been working on a good idea, but … not a God idea.  I was traveling on a dead end street.

It is often too easy to run ahead of God or away from God thinking you are on the right path. The ministry path God has set out for SLM is not an easy one. Ministering to at-risk youth, the poor, dysfunctional and hurting of society is not glamorous stuff. Sunday services lack the polish of larger churches, and the dirty work of dealing with the many broken lives that come through the doors each week is tiresome and challenging. The constant need to raise finances to keep the doors open is emotionally and physically exhausting. Yet this is the ministry God has called me to have here in Saginaw and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

What I can tell you is, lives are being changed here. Oftentimes it is not pretty and a great deal of the stories are ones that I won’t share publically. For those of you who call SLM your church home, know that you are part of so much more than a church—you are part of a ministry that is daily impacting lives in need here in Saginaw. For those of you who financially support this ministry—thank you! Yes, it’s true I don’t ask for big donations—just $20 per month—but let me tell you, your $.66 per day is helping transform broken lives into lives that have hope, direction and purpose. SLM might not be pretty, but it is a ministry God has brought into existence for such a time as this.

A reminder that this month we will start sending out in the mail a monthly newsletter. If you would like to receive it, please email (wilsondana1962@sbcglobal.net) me your postal address.

Keep the faith …

PD

Click on Tweety Bird and Tweet this post if you liked it!

IMPORTANT REMINDER! If you have not yet, please show your support for SLM by signing up to "Follow" this blog - you will find the "Follow" button in the upper right hand corner of this front page. Receive email updates on new posts, visit often and leave comments! - all of this helps us in our efforts to grow our readership and social network visibility. Also, if you are able and wish to contribute to our ministry with all of its valuable community outreach programs, please CLICK HERE and make a pledge and/or one time donation. We need your help! These programs cost money! Sow your seeds into the garden of the Love of Jesus that we at SLM are devoted to cultivating!