THANK YOU for supporting the Adoption Assistance Program!

For the last several years, Karla and I have had the pleasure of overseeing the Adoption Assistance Program, a joint effort by the Seattle and South Sound Churches. The goal? Help families adopt orphans, which is often cost-prohibitive. The result? Our church is full of kids who have found a loving, Christian home! Many are growing up in the church, some families have moved on to other congregations. All of them have a chance at family and faith that didn't exist prior to their adoption.

Currently, we are helping one couple adopt a baby internationally. After that, our fund will again be depleted (a good thing!). As a staff, we will discuss how to collect more funds sometime in 2010. Until then, please pray for the millions of fatherless children in the world today. And thank you for all of your prayers and support for this program! It truly is changing lives.

Enjoy the video highlights of our program:

To see special adoption video click here!

The two brothers greeting the Seattle church at Christmastime are Normen Rhode and Andreas Webber. Both serve in lay leadership in the Berlin church, a congregation of about 150 Christians. This resilient, visionary congregation is about to enter a season in which no one will be serving in the full time ministry, a fact the lay leaders hope will be short-lived. Many tremendous ministers have served in the history of the Berlin church, including, among others, Dean and Kim Farmer, Christian Herbst, Mirko Russo, and Mathis Wosegien.

Because of this new season, the lay leaders of the church have asked Christian Herbst (now in Zurich, Switzerland), Valdur Koha (Boston) and me—AND our wives—to serve as “coaches” for their church. This first trip for Lynne and me (thank you, Ron and Linda for accompanying us and for teaching the families in Berlin on parenting!) helped us build relationships with the lay leaders, gave us time with them individually to understand their leadership experiences and hopes, and allowed us to attend various meetings with other leaders to attend them on their new journey.

Berlin is a wonderful city, but there simply wasn’t time on this trip to show much more than this clip from the Weinmarkt Christmas market, not far from Humboldt University and the Brandenburg Gate of Frederick the Great. It seemed to us that no one decorates for Christmas quite like the Germans.

On Sunday I was able to share a Christmas-tinged lesson that emphasized Memory, Awareness, and Calling for the disciples. Lynne and I were able to share in abundance about all of you in the Seattle church; our Berlin brothers and sisters were keenly interested in all of you, and in how we’ve navigated maturity issues in our church. I also had opportunity to share on Sunday how poignant it was for me, the son of a US military officer, to be where the Berlin Wall once was—a symbol of conflict, confusion, and longing. The wall is finally gone, but not theses spiritual themes, which still, 20 years later, find their fulfillment no where else as they do in the kingdom of God.

Scott

Greens and Brumleys are in Berlin!

December 5, 2009: On our way to Berlin, via NYC

The Greens and Brumleys are journeying to Berlin this weekend to help “coach” the church to new levels of faith and opportunity—PLEASE pray for us.

This all began shortly after the Greens summer trip to teach at the European Bible School in Geneva, Switzerland. We are approached by the Berlin church, whose leadership was seeking three “coaching couples” to help them move the church forward (Berlin will soon have no full time leadership and will be relying on a lay leadership group + “coaches”). Berlin asked for a three year commitment, which we agreed to after consulting with our staff and board. Christian and Sabine Herbst (Zurich) and Valdur & Irene Koha (Boston) will be the other coaches. Each couple will go to Berlin once every three months.

And so this is our first trip, and just on the heels of Berlin’s 20^th anniversary of the Berlin wall’s fall.

We first flew with Ron and Linda to Newark from Seattle, with a fine pre-landing view of New York City. Watching New York’s skyline, I realized anew what greatness that city has seen. Though the twin towers were nowhere to be seen (a shockingly concrete reminder that evil remains in this world), the Empire State Building stood tall like the art deco rocket it is. The statue of liberty watched Manhattan Island offshore, tiny but vigilant, watching the harbor, and watching for more of the “tired refuse” that made America hum in the early 20^th century. Thanks to the movies, it’s hard for my generation not to feel connected to New York, even if you’ve never lived there.

More to come…

Darin Ford Baptizes Another Friend, Ruben

By Jay Kelly

Darin Ford's friendship has changed many lives, including mine. Most recently, he struck up a conversation with a Seattle businessman on a flight into Seattle. Darin told him all about the Seattle Church of Christ and their conversation turned into a spontaneous bible study. Soon after their return this new friend, Ruben Alanis, called Darin so that they could schedule their next bible study. Though he had been a believer all of his life, Ruben came to the conviction that he needed to be baptized into Christ to have his sins forgiven and to become a true christian. Today was that day for Ruben and I have a few pictures for those of you who couldn't join our at Magnuson Park for a cold and windy November outdoor baptism in Lake Washington.

Click here to see the video blog and pics on YouTube

Holiday Question:

What's your favorite thing about the holidays (Thanksgiving to Christmas)? A few of mine:

-Now that I'm an empty-nester, "my kids coming home"

-Roaring fires that crackle in a way gas fireplaces envy

-Seeing your breath in the cold air

-Eggnog

-Costco tenderloin used for many meals

-Reading "A Child's Christmas in Wales" out loud to our dogs

-Long walks remembering, since holidays help mark the time of memory

-Our Christmas Eve service up on Queen Anne

How about you?

Video Blog 11 04 09 (Luncheon Cruise with Kendra Todd)

By Jay Kelly

Kendra Todd won The Apprentice, Season Three, and after working for Donald Trump settled in Seattle to build her own business here. Kendra's generosity and enthusiasm have made a difference for our church since she started attending and studying the bible with my wife, Carol and Angela Johnson. She donated a "Power Luncheon" cruise to our recent auction and here are some memories made by the twelve highest bidders over lunch this past Halloween.




Click Here to see this in higher definition or to see past video blogs on YouTube

Day 31: A Month of Gratitude, "Sleep"

by Jay Kelly

“Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for He grants sleep to those he loves.” -Psalm 127:1-2

“…when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet.” -Proverbs 3:24

Some of us (me, included) have the gift of easy sleep. When my head hits the pillow I drift off into rest and restoration quickly; the pillow is not even required. Others of you are challenged in this area. We feel our weakness and need for restoration every night when we lay our heads down. Each night our minds unwind, our bodies restore and we prepare for another day of productivity and purpose. Edgar Allen Poe has been credited as saying, “Sleep, those little slivers of death. How I loathe them.” Some of us wish that we were never weak and could just go, go, go.

Research studies have shown that increased gratitude leads to deeper and more satisfying sleep as well as overall well-being. Have you made a fundamental shift during our MONTH OF GRATITUDE? Do you enjoy any new habits that lead to a grateful spirit? It’s not too late to get serious about counting your blessings every day. If you don’t journal about anything else please consider journaling a daily prayer of thanks to God. Start today and continue until Thanksgiving. See what happens in your heart if you do.

It’s been rewarding for me to have a gratitude focus each of these last 31 days. I must admit, at times, I thought I was crazy for committing to this in a sermon over a month ago, but I’m glad I did.

To those of you who have been following this exercise please let me know how it has helped you and what you have learned. Email me at jay_kelly@mac.com.

HOMEWORK: Give thanks to God for his perfect plan. Our need for sleep humbles us daily and reminds us that we cannot push ourselves beyond very specific limits. We need to be recharged and restored. We need Him; we need rest.

Have fun growing in gratitude today. Hope this helps.

Remember that tonight is the end of daylight savings. Our clocks “fall back” one hour and we get an extra hour of sleep tonight.


Love you,
-Jay Kelly

PS, Happy Halloween! I obviously loved being a cowboy for Halloween. I've always cherished those second amendment rights. Have a wonderful holiday!