Changing Our Diets!!

Happy Friday High Places!

This Sunday we’re going to build up our diet strategies together as we examine Jesus’ fourth beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will have their fill.” Perhaps the reason that emptiness grips our culture today is that we simply don’t hunger and thirst for the right thing. Maybe the reason that many people journey through this life feeling unfulfilled is because the things culture has us chasing were never designed to fill us up to being with. Perhaps the unfilled yearning inside us is a clue that we need to adjust our diets! :) 

While we are waiting on Sunday, consider some of the things Jesus didn’t say in this verse. He didn’t say “Blessed are the righteous, for they will be filled.” Jesus knows that righteousness isn’t a condition that human beings obtain so much as it is a constant pursuit, a chase we make, in partnership with the Holy Spirit who gives us glimpses of righteousness as we walk with Him.

Jesus also didn’t say, “Blessed are they who hunger for God, for they will be filled.” That would seem to make sense to us given how Jesus says later in the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will added to you.” One of the primary reasons Jesus doesn’t go straight there in this beatitude is because of those in this world who seem to be hungering for more religion (and call it God) and also,  those who seem to have a lot of spiritual power (see Matthew 7:22) and yet do not know God. These are not chasing righteousness and according to Jesus they are the emptiest of all, hiding beneath the shell of religion.

At the end of the day, it is impossible to hunger for righteousness and not find God in the process, because only God is holy, set apart from all else, and only He is totally righteous. Going into hot pursuit of God and His hopes for humanity is the ONLY way to truly be “filled” in this life! I look forward to being with you all this Sunday!

Quick Announcements

--  Don’t forget to sign-up for the adult retreat, which is coming April 12-14. Rumor has it some of you have been doing some web searches for what an APEST really is and why we don’t want a church life without it! Way to get a head start!!! We will have more on this in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, please sign-up if you haven’t already!! Also, if finances are potentially an issue keeping you from being with us then please let me know. A way will be made to include you!

--  I am looking to rebuild the hosting team for 2019 and stock it with folks who really love serving new faces and building relationships with all our area artists, dancers, musicians, and more! If you are interested, please see me! And thank you, Matt, Meredith, Martin, Chad, and John S. for all your help this week… it was a busy one!!

--  Finally, don’t forget our “This Mite Be Huge” matching campaign which has really garnered a lot of excitement this year so far! In an email I received early this year announcing the match, our anonymous donors said this,

“We are grateful to be part of the High Places community and want to see this church thrive! We believe in High Places and what it brings to Oak Ridge and the larger community.   What we love is the strong push for inclusiveness, Grace, and a sense of wonder at how much good there is…. We believe in the vision and outreach of the church. What we so much appreciate about this church is its massive outreach to all, the giving and helping, Community Dinners, summer camps, and the love this church provides to a very diverse community.  Our goal is to help High Places become more self-sustaining by hopefully increasing involvement from everyone in the church.  We hope that every person will choose to join us!”

I love the vision, the faith, and the spirit of this incredible gift – and the enthusiasm it has already sparked in so many. The response so far has been truly inspiring!! Thank you everyone and let’s keep going! Martin has taught us many times, and drilled into my head repeatedly (thank you, Martin!), at High Places, we long to be a church willing to “get excited about the right things.” Getting excited about the right things means that, like the note I received, people are increasingly inspired as God touches the lives of others through the ministries at High Places. May that always be our #1 focus as a church family: sharing God’s love with everyone. I believe when it is, the rest takes care of itself. Or as Jesus said above, “all these things are added unto you.”

Praise God for all He is doing at High Places, in our community, and in our world. May we be in tune with the song He is singing forever and ever!!

Love,

David

A Thank You, An Invitation, and Two Requests

Good evening High Places, 

First of all, thank you so much for the support during Don Pattison's funeral. From the music (thank you Don Fleischer!) to the food that was prepared, to the decorating, and all the behind the scenes cleaning, High Places really showed up and provided some needed TLC to the day. I sincerely appreciate it -- and I felt like all your commitments here really freed me up to focus on the family and the homily. I can't thank you enough and I know that David and all his family very appreciated your service. I thought it went beautifully and that God was present bringing comfort through each of you. 

Secondly, you are formally invited to NHC this Sunday to help serve the elderly there. We commit to lead worship every February, so we will be there all month. We usually arrive between 9:00 and 9:15. We shouldn't arrive any earlier because the orderlies give out medicine around 9:00 AM. After gathering all the residents into the social room, we do several songs and a very short homily with them, then roll them back to their locations. I believe that each year we receive from as much love as we provide. I hope you will join us. 

9:15 AM @ NHC every Sunday in February. NCH is located @ 300 Laboratory Road in Oak Ridge. 

Finally, I have two needs for the upcoming week. On Sunday afternoon around 3:00 PM, I need someone to open up, greet, and welcome Monica Sparks to the theater. Monica is trying out for "The Voice" in Nashville later this month. She is doing a fundraiser concert Sunday evening (donation only) to help cover her hotel costs while she travels. She is the worship leader at Lifehouse Christian Church and I am excited to serve her -- and attend the show, which begins at 6:00 PM.  

I just need one person to let her in this Sunday at 3:00 PM to make a personal contact, and let her know High Places is cheering for her! I should be along around concert time and will handle locking the place up. And by all means, come out and support her if you can! We always love to see our local talent make it big! 

The second thing I need is for Tuesday afternoon, as the Grove is hosting the first annual "InterFaith Harmony Month Kickoff Celebration." I would like to have a liason to work with organizers just to help make sure they feel comfortable until I can arrive later that day. Several of our area non-profits and faith communities will set up information booths (we will too!) as part of the event. I will be around, but not until later in the afternoon -- looking for someone to help them feel at home starting around 3:00 PM. I should be there by 5:00 PM or a little after. 

So, I could really use a volunteer 3:00 PM on Tuesday. The job is simply unlocking the door, offering a smile, and helping them get situated if they have a question.   

I will make these announcements again on Sunday -- just wanted to get them out there early. GREAT opportunities to SERVE and to LOVE our wonderful community!! So many exciting things happening!! 

Thank you! 

David 

"Blessed are the.... wait, who?!?"

Happy Friday High Places!

This Sunday we will be kicking off what is probably going to be a four or five month journey into what bible scholars have named, "The Sermon on the Mount." It's Jesus first sermon that we have written down in the Gospels, and it is the longest stretch of uninterrupted teaching we have from Jesus in the Bible. That leads most of us to conclude that this really was a sermon that he preached and that years later the disciples tried to remember as much as they could, then starting writing it down. How exciting is that?!?

We're going to start in Matthew 5 with the beatitudes. Our first beatitude is --

"Blessed are the destitute, because God's kingdom belongs to them."  --Dave's translation, or as you may have heard it before in the King James version -- "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven."

Imagine starting a sermon with a line like that! "Wait, blessed are the who!?!?? Jesus is off his rocker," they must have thought. "What a way to ruin a good preaching career," some probably said. Why on earth would anyone believe being destitute is a blessing? Given that the word blessing actually means "happy prosperity" what Jesus was actually saying was that people in the most desperate poverty were actually prosperous because everything God has is theirs. Whoa, that's kind of deep.

We will unpack this first beatitude together Sunday at 10:30 AM. Please don't let the snow scare you off! :)

Speaking of snow, as a general rule we will be there unless the roads are particularly treacherous. We ask that no one take any risks outside their comfort zone when driving in winter weather. Some of us live in the valley and don't get much of anything, even when the top of the ridge gets a couple of inches. Any time our main meeting is called off, I will post it on FB and send out an email by no later than 9:30 AM. 

Alright! Now that we've covered that, let me once again say we are off to an amazing start in 2019. There is a sweet spirit and an energy around many different things right now, from the new matching campaign, to interactions with our community groups, to new teams forming and people volunteering. God's working!

Please keep Don Pattison, and David, in your prayers as Don settles into hospice care and all that follows. Pray for comfort, alleviation of pain, courage, and for God's presence to fill home and hearts. As always, keep our church, our staff, and the many who are in community with High Places and our ministries, in your prayers.

Much love,

David

New Year Edition!! :)

Hello 2019 & Howdy High Places!

I hope everyone had a great holiday break, shared in some holiday cheer, and feels like they can close the books on 2018 in good spirits while starting 2019 with a sense of purpose and hope. Life presents us with many challenges and can throw us a lot of curve balls. It can be so hard to keep a level head and pure heart sometimes…. that’s why we need each other, need places carved out for encouragement, joy, and togetherness.

That’s what High Places been to me for some 28 years now… who you’ve been! I look back at 2018 and see so many places where I was stretched, challenged, and comforted by your words, smiles, and embraces. And when I look out at 2019, I see abundantly more of the same care and inspiration in our church family. Personally, I am excited for this New Year!

In case you couldn’t tell, I feel really, really good! A big part of that is the time off I had last week – thank you, thank you, thank you. I was way past due for some R&R and it did my soul well to take a week off. Another part of it is just closing the book on the last couple of months in 2018. Between the craft fair, the Thanksgiving dinner, the Christmas program, organizing two People’s Suppers, finishing up my contract work with the Kettering Foundation, and substitute teaching, I don’t think I’ve ever had a more packed and stressful 10 weeks of work…. not even back when I worked three jobs and took 21 semester hours in college (which almost killed me!).  

I spent last week in my pajamas for the most part…. finally got in the boat with my dad for a few days of fishing… I spent a bunch of time just reading, praying, and reflecting… and best of all, I had three nights with 8+ hours of sleep last week, which I don’t think has happened to me in ten years (exception: I had the flu in 2015 and slept three days straight). That’s God providing REST when I needed it most. Again, thank you so much for the week off. If you have been praying for me, please know I am feeling it!

I’m also excited for the very specific ways God has been speaking at the close of the year and into the New Year. He’s been so specific that He is even linking together parts of the last three years that I didn’t think could be connected – like a master weaver. There has been a ton of “overlaying affirmations” in 2018, that honestly fall almost directly on top of what were 2017’s “underlying insecurities.” It is almost as if God has intentionally laid down an exact affirmation last year right on top of what were for me huge challenges in 2017… His replacement reality, right atop my fears of failure and insecurity. I could go on for awhile but I won’t. Just know that God is good, and He is working!

God added beautiful souls to High Places in 2018… and brought back some beautiful familiar faces we haven’t seen in a while. God is working in High Places! I love the scene in the gospels when Jesus is confronted for healing on the Sabbath. His response is somewhat blasphemous to their ears when He says, “My Father is always working, He’s never stopped working and I am working too.” Just watching how He’s added to our fellowship this year in ways that go much deeper than the numbers is proof positive of that holy work. God continues to deepen us and grow us from the inside out.   

I’m excited about 2019… I want you to be excited too. But part of how God is dealing with me lately has been learning that I cannot manufacture, coerce, or mass produce enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm in the Greek literally means, en-theo-ismos “in God, fully.”

I cannot create that for you no matter how hard I work or how excited I get. What I can do is pray for the “ismos” (full possession) of Theo (God) en (inside)… I can pray that God is in full possession of each one of us at High Places, and I will. That’s what enthusiasm means.

I pray for enthusiasm, because “God IS and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). We’re all bound for a great year, together, because God IS. And because God wants to see the best in us and in our community come to the Light of His love and grace.

Here’s to 2019… and there’s so much great news to follow in the coming weeks. See you Sunday, you won’t want to miss the first Sunday of the year!

Much Love,

David

High Places Welcomes October!

Good afternoon High Places!

October arrives with a tease of cooler temperatures and my last fishing trip I saw hints of the season appearing in the leaves on the trees. Such a beautiful time to be living here in East Tennessee.

At High Places, our autumn begins with many of our students enjoying two weeks of fall break. Some of our families are traveling, so our thoughts and prayers are with you. We hope that if you are, you will keep a good eye on the happenings in and around HPCC through these news and notes, as well as potentially tune in live to our main meeting time through Facebook, which we are testing all this month.

This Sunday we will be looking specifically at the three crosses on Golgotha, where Jesus died. These three condemned men each had different responses to their tragedy. Our responses to the bad things we have to endure in life really matter. In our story, there are three crosses and disguised in them, I believe, are our three psychological responses to pain: denial, shame, and strength. If you're bearing a cross of any sorts this week, I hope you'll join us at the Grove on Sunday, 10:30 AM.

REMINDER Ladies: tomorrow evening (Thursday), our women’s ministry will begin a new series entitled “The Cure for the Common Life” which is based on the book by Max Lucado. The fun begins at 6:30PM at the home of Laurel and David Richmond, 103 Evans Lane in Oak Ridge.

REMINDER Leaders: We will be meeting Sunday, October 16 immediately after our main meeting at 1:00PM. Mike is making chili and grilling wings, yummy! Look for an email to follow this one for more information.

REMINDER: Mountain Movers! Our children’s ministry is having a Halloween celebration on Saturday, October 29 from 1:00-3:00 PM. There will be friendly monsters, crafts, games, food and more! Kady Marcotte has asked me to remind everyone that many needs still exist for this event. We need volunteers for all areas, prizes to give-away, and financial donations to help purchase needed crafts, food, and supplies. Please see Kady for more information and how you might be able to assist.

Friday & Saturday, October 21-22 will be a two BIG nights for High Places and the Grove Theater. The Arts Council of Oak Ridge is holding a concert benefit with a lot of bands and activities happening all weekend long with events kicking off Friday night. It would be great to have lots of High Places folk out in support! Besides it is my birthday (which I share with Rebecca Halperin!), so let’s get out and have some fun! Also of interest -- the United Nations will officially deem October 21 as International Wonder Woman Day in honor of the famous superhero! Yet another reason to celebrate… Ha!

Finally, Marilyn has asked me to remind everyone that our last 90-Day Faith Challenge of 2016 officially begins this month (see attachment). In case you missed it, she shared from her heart on Sunday regarding our church finances, which are behind for the year. She said the amount we’re behind seems large and can feel overwhelming for her at times. Yet, when we look at it, we see that we’re only behind a very small amount when we each give faithfully and consistently… only $1.89 each week to be exact! Faithful giving is about trusting God with what is already His and what may seem like a small commitment of faith is actually the kind of thing that God uses to do great things with. She’s asking for 100% participation for this 90-day stretch, so let’s please prayerfully consider what God leads us to do.

Lots of great stuff coming this month and next at High Places, stay tuned! And as always, please keep our church, its staff, and our ministries in constant prayer.

Also, please pray for those in the path of hurricane Matthew, which include many of our own High Places friends and families.

Much love,

David

Summer Camp is Here!

Hello High Places!

I hope it has been a wonderful summer so far. Summers tend to be a busy, busy time for so many with beach trips, sports camps, family visits, and more. If you missed a few Sunday's, don't worry -- we're still here! And we've missed you too!

This past Sunday was a wonderful turn-out as we kicked off our new series. This Sunday we will hit part two with a look at the concept of "church fellowship." Hanging out together and enjoying one another's company is not only extremely HEALTHY, it is also a great way to GROW together!

Our teenagers will enjoy some "fellowship" next week at Big Ridge State Park for our annual Off the Wall Summer Camp. This year's theme is "LIMITLESS" and one thing that seem almost limitless is the number of campers we have committed!

Kudos to Chad and team for ministry to what could top 85 teenagers -- our largest summer camp ever!

With a camp this large, needs get multiplied. Everything from transportation to the amount of extra sunscreen we need to pack for kids that forget!

Thank you to the MANY who have already contributed to our kitchen needs for camp, made extra donations to help sponsor our campers and youth ministry, and who are volunteering in so many ways to help make this happen.

There are still many ways for the church at large to help out -- starting with a commitment to pray for us all next week. For many campers and counselors alike, it will be their first experience at Big Ridge. Pray for God to work and move, pray for a safe camp, and pray for those young people who may have never opened up to God's love to be ready to receive Him.

In fact, if you are willing -- would you consider setting your phone alarm to buzz you at 8:00AM and 8:00PM every day next week as a reminder to pray? 8:00AM because that's the start of every day for campers... and 8:00PM because that is approaching our bonfire time where many students open up and share.

The next thing we would really love is to have the whole church come visit us at Big Ridge on Thursday night for family night and baptisms. Bring a side dish to share and come up by 6:00PM to enjoy dinner as well.

NEEDS LIST FOR CAMP is evolving and changing, but for now we could really use some help Saturday driving back luggage, gear, and kitchen supplies. A few extra trucks would be very helpful. Also, when we return having a crew on hand to help us unpack at the Grove (noon on Saturday) is always a welcome sight after a long, hot week at camp.

Stay in touch with Chad and our staff for more specific needs as they arise.

Finally, our Mountain Movers are invited to get a "taste" of camp on Saturday night before we had over the keys to Big Ridge on Sunday. See Kady Marcotte this Sunday for more on the over-nighter at Big Ridge for our children's ministry.  

Thank you for taking time to read this long email! We're heading into a great week!

Much love,

David

News and Notes: Graduation Celebration at Clark Park!

Hello High Places!

Just a reminder that this Sunday is our graduation celebration at Clark Park in Oak Ridge. It looks like we may get a break from the weekend rain just in time for a wonderful outdoor party! We will begin at 10:45AM to allow any who may show up at the Grove to trickle over. (It is a short ride over to Clark Park, less than 10 minutes from our usual Sunday morning home!)

If you or someone in your family graduates from high school or college, we want to make sure we don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate and serve, so please let me know by responding to highplaceschurch@comcast.net

Even if you can’t attend, we still want to mention you specifically by name and express a shared gratitude for this fabulous milestone, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Things Needed, Things to Bring:

We are planning to cook-out, so the kitchen team is asking for us to bring a favorite veggie of choice, fresh fruit, or perhaps a dessert! We may even do a contest on the veggies and let any graduates present pick their favorite item (because we know graduates don’t eat enough veggies!)

Bringing an outdoor lawn chair is always VERY helpful. Seating is tight and it is tough to load 50 chairs in the back of pick-up trucks. If you have one and maybe an extra, please bring along!

In the event of rain, we will meet at Clark Park anyway provided we can get the big shelter (it is a first come first serve deal, so a couple of EARL-y birds (hint dad and Tony), maybe can get there early to hold it for us.

I need a couple of standbys at the Grove to help usher traffic over to Clark Park with big smiles!

We’re going to have a GREAT Sunday morning experience, recognizing that CHURCH is WHEREVER WE ARE at ANY GIVEN TIME.

Other items – KID KAMP & YOUTH CAMP are coming up quickly. We could really use some help – human resources, giving resources, prayer warriors, and logistical planners are always a big part of what makes our camps so successful. See Chad or Kady for more!

It’s been an outstanding year so far at High Places and it just seems to be getting better and better! Thank you all for doing, giving, and most importantly for BEING so much!

In Him,

David

News and Notes, May 12

Good Morning High Places!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend, it was so great to see everyone and you all looked beautiful. This weekend we continue our look at the “invitational” church with the Apostle Paul and also, a look at the late Prince Rogers Nelson (of whom I was admittedly a fan). What could Prince at the Apostle have in common? Hmmm… we will see!

I have a few very special requests ---

This Saturday, we will be hosting our “Friends of the Grove Theater” brunch and I could really use a few extra breakfast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, etc. to serve our guests. If you are willing to whip something up for Saturday morning at 9:30AM, please let me know by replying to this email. Thank you!!!

At the end of the month, Wednesday June 1st, High Places “Off the Wall” youth ministry will be hosting a big event for area teenagers – “School’s Out, Three-Point Shoot Out!” We really want to be able to provide GREAT prizes for the winners and we need a budget to work with…. So if you are willing and able to chip in for this event, drop something in the box or use the new HPCC smartphone App under the GIVE section.

As you probably know, our youth and children’s ministries have about as wide and as deep of a reach into our community as there is in Oak Ridge. Our SUMMER PROGRAMS are practically unrivaled when it comes to providing fun and caring environments for students… and as we mention each year, we need church support to pull this off.

Our summer budget for the school’s out event, Big Ridge, Kid Kamp and more will easily reach about $3,000. As we begin a new 90-Day Faith Challenge in June, would you be willing to pray for High Places commitment and investment in these important summer ministries, and to ask God how he might use you? In and through our faith, God does incredible things each year at High Places with this community’s young people

Mark your calendars for Sunday May 22, as this is typically the Sunday we go to Clark Park for a church picnic and graduation celebration. We are working on being “first in” for the large pavilion near the softball fields, so expect us to meet there instead of the Grove for our main meeting.

Kid Kamp is June 20-23 and Kady Marcotte is looking for a team of helpers. If you can help serve our children by teaching, shepherding, organizing games or even help with the planning, please notify her of your willingness this week.

Finally, our quarterly leadership meeting is this Sunday from 5:00-7:00PM. If you have not already responded to Martin to confirm attendance, please do so today.

Keep the many who are hurting in our church in your prayers, including Debbie Casey’s brother, Julie, Rebecca Mantooth’s brother, and many others.

Thank you all and have a great week!

David

So Long April, You Were Beautiful

Hello High Places!

Can you believe April has basically come and gone already? This year seems to be flying by! And it’s been a great year for High Places -- and a great month. For example, last night I was talking with Tony South who’s been having a lot of work responsibilities lately and I called just to say we were thinking of him. I was so pleased to hear that so many in our church had already reached out to Tony, completely on their own, to say the exact same things.

Folks, that is an incredible barometer for a healthy church. When we love one another and when our love is practiced not just in words, but in actions. The connections we make with each other and the ways we encourage one another throughout the week is a demonstration of the love God has given us. I am so excited and so happy for this church and the way God is working among us currently. Let’s continue to seek Him and be willing to follow Him as He leads.

I really want to ask for your support through the coming month of May. Martin gave us all a great gift by sharing his heart these past two weeks. What you may not know is how much I needed time to clear some space to hear from God regarding our upcoming theme. The gift Martin gave me – and continues to give me every week as a friend and mentor – was exactly what I needed.

God is speaking very clearly to me and I am ready to begin unpacking the direction He is revealing for the coming weeks. You may recall during the State of the Church Sunday in January that one of things God was saying to me for 2016 was that this could be a great year for us to shift from being just a “Welcoming” church to becoming an “Invitational” church.

Becoming “invitational” is about mission, vision, and intention. I might even call it a non-accidental kind of welcoming. In other words, we haven’t just welcomed someone to the Jesus-party at High Places, we have actually personalized an invitation…. but then, that’s kind of the hard part in some ways.

The questions boil down to:

-- Who are we inviting?

-- What are we inviting them to?

-- How are we extending this invitation?
 

As I said, God has been speaking, and I feel the need to begin this Sunday by personalizing with you a little bit, perhaps in ways that make me slightly uncomfortable. I need to model risk, authenticity, and transparency as methods of communicating the concepts of being an “invitational” church before I spend a month talking more deeply about them.

I hope you will commit to be a part of what God is doing and is about to do in High Places over the coming weeks. I hope you will be present as His Church this Sunday as we open the door on this very important, and I believe divinely inspired, next step for our church family.

Other items of interest:

Mother’s Day is May 8th – an incredible opportunity to be invitational. Bring mom, or if your mother has passed, I want to encourage us to find someone who’s been lovingly mother-like to us and invite them as we pause to honor one of God’s greatest gifts to us – Mom.

Baby Dedications traditionally happen on Mother’s Day. If you have a newborn and would like to have him/her take part in this special service, please notify me as soon as you can.

Friends of the Grove Community Partner Champagne Brunch is scheduled for Saturday morning May 14. We may need help with this event, please stand-by for more information!

Graduation Celebration at Clark Park is tentatively set for May 22.

We will have a Leadership Meeting in May, so when that date is confirmed, leaders please make every effort to attend.

Off the Wall Youth Ministries continue to be hopping and we are currently in a full-on search mode for potential camp counselors. If you can DEVOTE a week to simply LOVING on teenagers and following a very simple plan on how to show that love, then we desperately need you.

Thank you again High Places for being so amazing. God is extraordinarily good to us. Praise Him.

Love,

David

“I know your sufferings and your poverty, but you are RICH.” -- Jesus

A Little Pastoral Humor

A little humor to brighten up your day...

Church Begs Pastor to Stop Seeing New Movies

Does this pastor sound familiar? Haha!