I'm Excited About This Summer With Resurrection

Dear Resurrection Family,

Can I tell you how excited I am about worship this weekend? It’s graduation weekend and we’ll be honoring graduates, recognizing and praying for them, and giving them a small gift from the church. My sermon lifts up three keys to living a meaningful life – and, I’d add, finding joy and success in life. I hope you’ll plan to join us in worship!

This Weekend: Three Essential Keys to a Meaning-Full Life!

The sermon begins with a commencement address former President George W. Bush gave at my alma mater, Southern Methodist University, back in 2015. The clip is funny but makes a great point. In the message we’ll look at three essential truths that Paul lays out in his closing of 1 Thessalonians. If you do these things you’ll make it through the tough times. You’ll avoid many tragic mistakes, and you’ll find great joy. We’ll end with the story of one of our Matthew’s Ministry participants who is graduating from high school this weekend. You won’t want to miss worship!

Invite a friend to join you in worship. Here’s the promo for this series of messages to share with your friends and family and invite them to join us! Click here for a list of how to join us for worship this weekend including online, on television and in person.

Congratulations Graduates

This weekend we’ll celebrate our graduates. We’ll be recognizing graduates in our services at each of our locations in Kansas City this weekend and presenting a gift to each of them before or after services. If you worship with us online or television from outside Kansas City, we’d love to mail you a gift.

You can sign up for one of these gifts here. They are just a small reminder that your church family is surrounding you in prayer as you begin this next stage of life.

Thank You Blood Donors!

I want to thank all who came to give blood at our Resurrection blood drives this week. I’ll have the final totals from all three drives next week, but at Leawood we collected 655 pints. This was my 39th Resurrection blood drive I’ve given in – some of you have done even more than I have. Each time I feel like it is one tangible way to live out my faith and follow Jesus who gave himself for us. Thank you to all who donate and all who volunteer in our blood drives!

Stories of Human Kindness?

We’re working on developing a series of sermons and a major campaign built around the power of kindness that will be shared with churches across the country. I wonder if you have a story of the power of kindness to bring people together, or the impact of kindness in changing the world that you might be willing to share with me?

If you have a story to share, can you send it to my assistant, Stephanie, at stephanie.hubers@cor.org? Thank you!

Summer With Resurrection

Memorial Day is traditionally the kick-off to summer, and next weekend we’re going to begin an exciting “Summer with Resurrection” emphasis. We’re planning some fun fellowship activities, opportunities to serve the community, and insightful sermons preached by gifted Resurrection pastors and special guests.

Next weekend we kick off a new sermon series titled “Streaming on Sunday: The Gospel Message in Favorite Movies.” Each week we’ll look at a terrific film and find the gospel within it. Next weekend we start with the 2019 film Harriet, about Harriet Tubman, who was one of the most remarkable women of the 19th and early 20th centuries. She escaped from slavery and went on to be a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. She was also a Methodist, and it was her faith that compelled her to action. Pastor Cheryl Jefferson Bell, our Pastor of Community Justice, will be preaching and sharing clips from the film as well. You won’t want to miss this!

Pastor Scott Chrostek will be preaching on the Gospel message in Yes Day on June 6, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (about Mr. Rogers) on June 13, and The Mitchells vs. the Machines on June 20.

Throughout the month there will be fun ways to connect with your Resurrection family at each of our locations. We’re looking into a Resurrection night at the drive-in, planning some special treats for Father’s Day, and holding a family movie night at each of our locations on June 18. Stay tuned for more details!

Church Conference Approved Candidates for Ministry

This last Tuesday, we had a Church Conference to conduct annual church business. At the recommendation of the Staff Parish Relations Committee those in attendance voted to recommend five church members who are candidates for pastoral ministry in the United Methodist Church: Lydia Kim, Leah Swank Miller, Kyle Ray, Blake Thomas and Christopher Wisener. Each is a remarkably gifted individual. Most have started seminary. One has finished seminary. Last fall we also approved five candidates for ministry. I think we have had over 50 pastors, or pastors in training, hear their call at Resurrection.

Thank you for being a congregation that creates a “culture of call,” and encourages people to listen and respond to God’s call to serve in full time Christian ministry!

Thank You to Dave Robertson

Many of you have known and been impacted by the ministry of Dave Robertson. Dave joined our team in 2004 as one of our first full time staff members. He had a brief break during which he returned to Texas to serve in a church there, then returned and has continued to have a significant impact on our ministry.

Dave’s passion in ministry has focused on helping people to know, love and serve Jesus, helping develop leaders from disciples. He spent the last 13 years at Resurrection West developing the ministries there. This church is what it is today in part because of Dave Robertson.

I’m grateful for Dave and the impact he has had on countless people. He and Diane have started a new business called Super Dave’s Snack Emporium. Thank you Dave, for all you have done to help Church of the Resurrection build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians!

Memorial Garden Sculpture Honors Loved Ones

As we prepare for Memorial Day, a time when we traditionally remember our loved ones who have passed away, I wanted to share something that you might not be aware of. We have three memorial gardens at Resurrection – one at Resurrection Overland Park, in Building C at Leawood, and the Resurrection Memorial Garden just northwest of the Leawood Sanctuary. Each is sacred space where you can pray and remember your loved ones. We also have prayer walks at the Leawood and West locations for prayer and reflection.

At the Resurrection Memorial Garden, we recently completed the installation of a blown glass sculpture. This piece was commissioned last year, using specifically designated memorial gifts, and created by artist Tyler Kimball. It stands 11 feet tall and is made of 27 large glass elements with stainless steel support shafts. The work is intended to honor those who have passed and provide a meaningful way to comfort those mourning the loss of a loved one.

Resurrection members Bryan and Cindy LaGree provided interpretive consulting and authored a reflection guide to assist those who grieve. As you view the sculpture in the Memorial Garden, you can scan a QR code to access the reflection on your phone.

Staff Restructure

Over the last year we’ve been working with a consultant on restructuring our organizational structure. As we’ve grown and added campuses we’ve added complexity to our staff structure and, at times, this has made decision-making more complex, has brought less clarity and collaboration. In addition, with COVID we’ve created ministries that are now hybrid with in-person and online options. We’ve also nearly tripled the number of people who participate in worship.

Over the next few months we’re unveiling the new structure. It has four primary goals: clarify and improve decision making, foster greater collaboration across locations and across ministries and improve the quality and effectiveness of every program resulting in greater fruitfulness for all of our ministries. We also hope to increase the diversity of our team.

If you’ve ever been through something like this you know it can be difficult and disorienting at first. But the hope is that the end result leads to improvement which we are already seeing in new ways that we are working together.

My Sabbatical

I mentioned in last week’s enote that I’m on sabbatical leave this summer. I’ll still be connected throughout the summer. Each weekend in worship, starting next weekend, there will be a short video interview I’m filming with interesting people about their faith. Some are folks at Resurrection and others will be a surprise.

I’ll also be continuing my Tuesday night Vespers on Facebook Live, where I’ll be sharing with you from wherever I happen to be that week. I’ll be posting insights and updates on Facebook and Twitter each week. I’m even making an appearance each day at Vacation Bible Camp as “Fact Finding Fred”!

I’m preaching this weekend and working throughout the coming week before heading out for ten weeks of sabbatical starting Memorial Day weekend. While I’m out, you will continue to have amazing sermons and worship, fun fellowship activities and meaningful service opportunities all summer long – it’s going to be a great summer at Resurrection!

Adam