Riding the wind...

This past Sunday, a handful of "Riders" from the Church at Park City got together after 2nd service and rode up to Coronado Heights, north of Lindsborg, Ks.  In a word, it was a "stunning" day for a ride, and it would have been nearly impossible to have asked for a better one.  And, for me, it wasn't just an additional event on an already packed Sunday schedule, it was a much needed few hours of being on the road with Jesus.

I don't know what it was, but being there, riding together with a group of people, on a beautiful day, across the wide open Kansas spaces, watching the road roll out before me and the land unfold all around, taking in all of the scents of early Fall (sunflower fields, headed out milo, harvested corn, freshly tilled soil, blossoming alfalfa, and newly swathed hayfields), and hearing the roar of the wind in my ears... it just opened my soul.  And, with each additional mile I prayed a prayer that felt like an involuntary response of my heart saying, "I'm listening Lord, speak to me please..."

Once we arrived at our destination, we parked our bikes and climbed to the top of the sandstone WPA castle at the crest of the hill.  From the top of the castle we spent a few minutes talking about our ride and what all we noticed and experienced along the way.  Then we spent some time "taking in" what is undoubtedly one of the best views in the state of Kansas.  It is a view that is indeed picturesque, to say the least.

During our last 20 minutes on the hill, we all took some individual alone time to observe our surroundings, think about our lives, about what we really needed, and about what God might be saying to us at that particular moment.  As we all met back at our bikes, getting ready to head out, one of the things that a couple of us discussed that we had noticed were the vultures that were "riding the wind" all around the summit of the hill. 

For me, the really cool thing was that not only had we each noticed the vultures, but that we had also received the same "word from the Lord."  Which was...  "Don't fight the wind... ride it.  Ride the wind like they do."  For me, the moment that word came to my heart, it found instant application.  And, as soon as I received it, I whispered a prayer and said "Bring the wind Lord, whatever it is, I'll ride it.  I'm so sorry for all of my resistance and for all of the ways I have fought for control of my life and of the winds I encounter every day.  Bring the wind Lord, Bring it, I want to fly like they do."

So...  How you doin'?  How has the wind impacted your life to date?  What if now, right now, may just be a great time to begin to realize that the Christian life is actually a lot less about fighting the wind, resisting it, hunkering down and hiding from it, and a lot more about jumping up, lifting off, taking flight, and allowing the winds of life, that we never have been able to control or stop anyway, to be the very thing that helps us become who and what we were actually created to be in the first place?  What if that which we have previously feared and fiercely resisted is in God's reality the very thing that we most need in order to become who and what we have always wanted and dreamed of becoming?

I don't know about you, but for me it's time to pray "Bring the wind Lord, and give me the faith to ride it..." as I keep on keepin' on in Jesus through it all.

Isaiah 40:31

-Pastor Rob

By the way...  John, the guy on the right-hand side of this picture, said a prayer of faith and became a brother in Christ right before we headed back down the hill last Sunday afternoon!  What a truly awesome day!

"So... What's A LifeHouse?!?!"

"So...  What's a LifeHouse?"  I've been getting that question a lot lately, and, quite honestly, I love it! 

For us, here at The Church at Park City, the "LifeHouse" started with the realization of a "need" that was revealed to us through our first organized prayer-walk back in July of 2011.  From that point it became a recurring prayer in which we began to ask God; "Lord, what can we do to make a difference here in Park City, in the lives of young, single moms, who find themselves with limited resources and options?"  And, from that prayer request forward, that "revealed need" became a recurring theme that God began to lay on the hearts of people who were drawn by God into the life and ministry of the Church at Park City.  It was a theme that would resurface again and again in prayer and in conversation, at small group gatherings, church functions, and in interpersonal interactions as different people, from different backgrounds, shared either similar personal first hand experiences, and/or a common burden for single moms facing difficult circumstances and uncertain times.

Then, in January of 2013, during our "Sanctity of Life" message series, I asked a "What if?" question and issued a challenge to our church...  "What if God wants C@PC to not just be a 'Pro-Life' church, but to also take a very real step of faith and open a 'LifeHouse' here in Park City for young moms facing an unplanned pregnancy?"  In response, a handful of people gathered that Sunday AM after the message and prayed.  In that prayer, we asked God to abundantly provide for whatever it was that He would call us to do.  And, in many truly remarkable ways, God began to answer, not only that prayer, but every prayer that we prayed, every time we asked Him to show us His will regarding the C@PC "LifeHouse."  God's answers came as He provided more people who expressed interest in making the LifeHouse happen, and more people to pray for it.  He then provided answers through a group of people who began to investigate options and possibilities for a "LifeHouse."  And, then... He actually provided a person who literally felt called to sacrifice their (then current) place of residence in order to make room for a young mom in need of a LifeHouse.  And, finally, God also provided a couple who offered that same (and now open) residence (an additional home they owned here in Park City) as the future home of "LifeHouse" itself.  Stunning!  Truly!

Today, all of those answered prayers have become a revealed "Calling" that has been placed on our hearts (as a church) by God.  It is a calling for C@PC to provide an 18-month program, that takes place in a stable, structured, safe environment, specifically designed for first time, single moms, who find themselves in need of a place that can help them create a new beginning for themselves and for their baby.  Presently, we are in need of people to help with some basic interior and exterior preparations (painting, flooring, cleaning, etc.) and we are also in need of a Godly, live-in, resident "house-mother" as well.  Our daily prayer is that God (as He has so faithfully before) will continue to provide the answers we ask of Him, and that He will help us be able to have the house open and ready for our first Mother and child "house guests" by June 1st of 2013.

So... will you join The United Methodist Church at Park City as we continue to step forward, seeking to make this "Calling" and this new ministry opportunity a reality?  If you are interested, we'd like to invite you to come to our "LifeHouse Community Luncheon & Open House" (1419 Beaumont here in Park City) on Sunday, May 19th, from 12:00 Noon to 2pm.  This "Open House" event will not only give you a chance to come and see the LifeHouse in person, but it will also provide you with an opportunity to see the needs firsthand and to sign up to help out in whatever way you may be feeling led by God to do so.

I Hope To See You There!

Keep On Keepin' On...

Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park City
Zechariah 4:10a

(For more info call 316-744-0029 or email us at
churchatparkcityops@gmail.com)

Happy Birth-Month C@PC!!!

Happy Birth-Month C@PC!!!

Sunday, February 5th, 2012 was the last day of an unforgettable kind of weekend. On Friday the 3rd, C@PC'ers Eddie & Jeannine Pennington exchanged marriage vows to become the official first couple to get married in the church! (Happy Anniversary Eddie & Jeannine!) Then, on Saturday the 4th, we had our first funeral, out at the "101 Club" north of Park City, and celebrated the life of an amazing woman (and sister in sobriety) named Annette Kerr. Then, it was on the next day that we actually opened our doors for our first "Official" Worship & Connection time on Sunday the 5th, and then later had our First-Annual "Super Bowl" party that evening.

What had initially started 6 years earlier as a "gnawing" burden for the Park City Community (that had first been placed on my heart as I drove through Park City to do marriage counseling and home visits with a couple that had moved from Benton, Ks, into the Chisholm Creek Mobile Home Park here in Park City) had finally become a real church, with an actual "open" door... And, even though we were meeting in a formerly bankrupt "Movie Gallery" building, in a foreclosed-on Strip Mall, in a space that looked more like a "bar" than a church, in a community where three churches had recently closed down in the past three months, we actually managed to scrape together 121 humans to come to our very first service... (Though I'm pretty sure we had to count expectant mothers as "2" to get that number!)

Looking even farther back, it was in February of 2011, that we had actually started meeting illegally (unbeknownst to us at the time) in this same (then unheated) building (in the only corner of it that was not under major renovation). Initially we met as a small group of 15 adults and 9 children who gathered together on Sunday evenings for Worship, Friendship, and to Study Francis Chan's book and DVD curriculum "Crazy Love". And, it was from that "small beginning" that we were first given the verse that would become our theme verse ("Despise not the day of small beginnings..." Zechariah 4:10a) and an understanding of who we were to be and what we were to become as a church. A place that focused on Worshipping God, Loving People and Following Jesus... where people could reconnect with God, and with one-another.

This month, we will be celebrating our "First Birthday" on Sunday, February 3rd, by having an Early Worship "Preview Service" at 9AM, hearing a testimony from Keith Thomas (1st Svc.) and Kristena Hoover (2nd Svc.), enjoying Birthday Cake before and after services, and then having our 2nd Annual Super Bowl Party and watching the game on a 16foot High-Def Screen here at the church. (Thank you Don Neff!)

To all of you who know that God has brought you to this place, to jump in and become a part of C@PC, thank you so much for your faith and faithfulness. Wow! You guys truly blow me away! Knowing each one of you has both touched and changed my life forever. I am deeply indebted to you, and I consider it the highest honor to be your pastor, and to call you a friend. Thank you to each one of you who have become such a special part of this amazing adventure!

May we all... Keep on Keepin' on In Jesus... Because I truly believe that the best is yet to come!
(1 Corinthians 2:9)


Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park City
Zechariah 4:10a

www.facebook.com/TheChurchAtParkCity

Sent from my iPhone

A Gun Dog’s 23rd Psalm

I got the chance to do a funeral for a friend of a friend last week, an awesome guy named Roger Duncan, who passed suddenly and who will be missed by many. 

Though I did not know Roger, I was blessed to talk to so many who did and to then have the honor of officiating at his Funeral.  His life impacted mine even though it was through what others told me about him and not from having been well acquainted.  As I thought about the words God wanted me to share at his funeral, knowing that Roger was a dog trainer, a dog lover, a hunter and an outdoorsman, the Lord led me to re-work the 23rd Psalm... from the eyes of a hunting dog...  Here is my best effort...

"My Master is my provider,

I trust Him to give me everything I need.

I lie down, and I rise up at the sound of His voice.   He teaches me to seek, and to point the quail and the pheasant hidden in the fields, the meadows, and the hedgerows, and along the creeks where we venture.

My soul is most alive when He leads me along the well-worn paths that take us to all of our favorite places, and my heart soars at the rush of the wings as the birds rise from my point.  Hope bursts from my chest at the sound of his shot, and it is for His Names sake that I proudly retrieve the birds that are downed and place them into His hands.

Even when I grow fearful, or weary, holding point in dense cover, seeing Him in my memory, His shotgun in hand, remembering the sounds of his approach through the grass, I am comforted, and I am strengthened, knowing that my Master will find me again, no matter where I may be.

Water, food, a warm bed, all this… He prepares for me, and He speaks my praises in the presence of lesser dogs and of their Masters.  I am certain he is proud of me as he pats my head and says “Good boy…”

Great memories, of the best of times, that only a Gun Dog can know, will be treasured in my heart… and those memories will follow me all the days of my life, knowing that, in my Master’s Soul… I will dwell forever and ever.   And He… by me… will never be forgotten."

-          Pastor Rob Schmutz

 

 

Dear Coach Wade:

With High School Football Season about to officially "kick off" I wanted to dedicate this Blog post to Coaches and Teachers across the state who everyday are making a difference in the lives of young people.  You are in our hearts and prayers!  Thank you!  

Below is a letter to a Coach and a Teacher who changed my life.  

---------------

Dear Coach Wade:

 

I just wanted to take some time here and stop for a moment in what is now the middle of my life, and express some very genuine and heartfelt gratitude.  And, in all honesty, it is an expression of gratitude, which you have long deserved, and yet never really heard from me.  So, please allow me to say "Thank you" for all of the ways you took time out of what was at the time the middle of your own life and invested it in me, at such a critical time, and in such a tremendous way.  Most certainly, you were a huge influence in my life, and I truly will never forget you. 

What you may not know Coach, was that as a young man growing up without a Father, I in many ways had always felt somewhat lost.  Throughout my life I had always looked hard for some man that I could look up to, a man who could show me who it was that I was supposed to be, and who it was I was supposed to become as a man.  But, I was again and again, painfully disappointed by those men who were most frequently a part of my life.  But then, as I came into High School, there you were, Coach Greg Wade, a man I instantly respected, and a man I hoped that I could trust to show me the way.

I remember how, as a freshman, I would pass by your classroom from time to time when I was on my way to Spanish class (which was next door to your room) and how I used to listen to you as you were teaching your American Government, Economics, or History classes, and think to myself about how I couldn't wait to get into your class as a Junior or a Senior someday…  Because, it sounded to me then, as if you taught in a way that I could relate to, and in a way that I would want to learn.  I loved to listen to the way you would "cut-up" with your students in class, and give them a hard time between classes in the halls, and then with the Upperclassmen as they gathered in the bleachers outside the stadium locker room before football practice started.  I wanted to be one of those guys someday that you thought was a "good player," and one that you would point to, or single out, as an example for the rest of the team.

I'll never forget my Freshman year how when I broke my hand in football practice, early in the season, how you would always see me in the hall and ask me about how the arm was coming, and about when I would be able to play again.  And then, my Sophomore year, how after I injured my knee and had to have surgery, how you took the time to work with me individually before and after practice as soon as I was back, to help me get "up to speed" with plays and with technique.  You took personal time, and you gave me individual attention.  You had no idea how "huge" that was to me, and what level of an impression that made on me, but it was… and in so many more ways than I can even begin to describe.  It was as if you were telling me I was somebody, and that you thought I had real potential.

So… "Thank you, Coach Wade, for that, and more, for telling me that I mattered, that I counted, and that I could do a heck of a lot more than I thought I could."  You had no idea then, but it was your coaching both on the field and in the classroom, that got me through College and Graduate School / Seminary.  And, it is lessons from the practice field, and from game nights, that I still draw upon "When the yardage is long and the clock is short" or "when the other team has the ball and it's 1st & Goal."  Oh yeah, and thanks for calling me "Schmutzball" all the time.  That, to me, was the best nickname a Defensive Tackle and an Offensive Guard could ever ask for.  Thanks especially for grabbing me by the shoulder pads when I threw my helmet down on the field after we lost to Chapman (our rival school) my Senior year, and (ever so gently) reminded me that I was a leader, win or lose, and that how I handled the outcome of the game was going to affect how everybody else on the team handled the outcome of the game.  (Your words were actually a bit more colorful, but I got the general idea…)

Most of all, thanks for becoming a teacher and a coach, for being a man of integrity, strength and faith, and for being such a key influence in so many lives.  (Oh yeah… and thanks for the "Law of Diminishing Return"/ Oreo Cookies Illustration from your Economics Class.  I have used that in every church I have ever served, and with every church and every youth group I have ever worked with!)

Very Sincerely,

 

Rev. Robert Schmutz

The United Methodist Church at Park City 

 

(Coach Greg Wade was inducted last year into the Kansas FCA Coaches Hall of Fame.  He died in 2002, following a difficult and yet truly inspirational battle with Cancer.)

Keep on Keepin' on...

Rob Schmutz, Pastor

The Church at Park City

Zechariah 4:10a

www.facebook.com/TheChurchAtParkCity

Sent from my iPhone

The Sound of Silence...

Silence...

Silence can be an interesting thing when you suddenly realize it has you surrounded...  

Being a supportive husband of a highly motivated career woman, a hands-on father of four very active children (spanning the ages of 4mo's to 15yrs), and a dizzyingly busy church plant pastor, all afford me little opportunity to hear the sound of something I truly long for... nothing.  It truly seems as if the pace, the demands, the actions and the activity of my life at all times means that my ears are filled with some sort of sound and some flurry of action or activity non-stop.   Text, Facebook, Twitter and Email message alerts, ring tones, reminder tones, phone calls, conversations, interactions, appointments, group discussions, counseling sessions, visitations, family communications and instructions, praying, preaching, teaching, leading, going, doing, discovering more to do, re-do, or that was never done in the first place... all day, every day.   Even in my attempts to get up as early as I can, our 4month old finds a way to capture my attention, and our 4year old is not far behind, and then our 12 or 15 year old need to be taken to some sort of practice at 0 dark 30...  Then it's back home and off to work, and...  Lather, Rinse, Repeat...  Dude!

But the last couple of days  have been truly different kinds of days for me.  The last couple of days I have been at the St. Benedict's Abbey guest house, at St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Ks, and my time has been my own.  I have been alone, and yet, surrounded.  Surrounded by the strangest sound for the first time in... honestly I cannot remember when.  And, in this sound of silence, as I attended morning prayers, mass and spent time reading and praying alone...  In the absence of that which I have ridden away from, left behind turned off, and unplugged from, I have discovered the sounds of silence and experienced the gift of the unheard, of not being immediately  needed, and of not being instantly accessible.

It has been interesting to me to feel and experience the peculiar way in which time has softened and stretched here in this place.  The peace here has been palpable.  It seems to have permeated my person, and yet held me in its grip.  I have been able to breathe deeply the air here and feel it fill me with something sustaining.  I have been able to see other things as I have looked from this Kansas hilltop out over the Missouri river valley .  I have been able to take the time to think my own thoughts, and the thoughts that God has quietly brought to my attention.  I have literally felt God here, and felt again His Love for me.  A love He has for me not based on doing... But a love found in being.

Thank you Lord for this which I have needed so severely.  For a day or two set apart, and for a few moments of sanctified solitude.  Thank you for Lord, for the sound of silence.  Thank you for a wife and a family who allowed for me to go.  And, for a new church family who covered and prayed for me while I went.

And... Thank you Lord for introducing me to a St. Benedict's Abbey Delicacy... The Peanut Butter & Onion Sandwich!  Wow!  I can't wait to introduce it to my family.  Who needs good breath when you're a Monk?!?  Perhaps if I begin to eat them daily, I might just find myself alone and surrounded by the sounds of silence more often? :-)

Keep on Keepin' on...

(Philippians 3:14)

Rob Schmutz, Pastor

The Church at Park City

Zechariah 4:10a

www.facebook.com/TheChurchAtParkCity

Sent from my iPhone

"It comes to this..."

It seems as if we have left everything and followed a dream... A vision... A calling... And now, it comes to this.

Last week I learned of three churches that closed their doors in Park City in the last 90 days...  And,  it is this week that we (The United Methodist Church at Park City) will officially "open" our doors to the public for the first time.  Will we make it?  Will our doors remain open?  Will we survive and thrive?

Truly I must say, I do not know...  I cannot say...  And, I am unable to see down the corridor of what will become of us, of this small group of people sharing life, labor and friendship, and of what will become of the "calling" to this new work we have put our hands, hearts and minds to. 

However, I do know this, we have truly given it our all.  We are completely "poured out" on this Altar of calling and possibility.  We have "left everything" on this field.  And, in so doing, everywhere I turn, or find myself, whether in personal prayer and devotion, or in conversation and in interaction, or in solitude and even in commotion... Everywhere I go, I find the calm, still assurance, that God truly "is" in this work that we have abandoned everything to pursue.  And, that God will "come through" beyond my ability to hope, work and aspire.

The words of Jesus, regarding the Church as I believe He envisioned it, have sustained me through every assault of the enemy, through every difficult moment, and through every discouraging  coincidence of this process.  "...upon this rock I will build My Church; and the Gates of Hell will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18)

I believe these "Jesus Words" from then, are Jesus' words also for here and now, for this moment in my life personally, and for even (possibly) this "hour" in the history of the Church.  For me personally, I know that God has called me back to this place of a desperate personal relationship with Jesus, and an intimate confession of faith.  It has been a time in which I have felt frequently that there was nothing else to cling to, and that there was no one else to rely upon.  These experiences have caused me to think critically about my previous years of ministry, about how I could have or should have been more abandoned to Jesus, and to wonder what it might be like if the Church everywhere could return to, and could begin to rebuild upon, the foundation of a desperate personal relationship with Jesus, and of an intimate and yet public confession of faith.

That is who I believe Peter was, and what I perceive Peter was doing as he made his confession of faith in Matthew 16:16.  And, that is what I believe Jesus was explicitly referring to when He spoke of the "foundation" of the Church in verses 17 & 18 of that passage.  So, I have to ask, is it possible that this is this the "Sweet Spot" for the life, ministry and mission of the Church?  Is it this kind of Church, built upon a foundation of desperate people who will go anywhere Jesus calls them to go, and do anything Jesus calls them to do, over which the Gates of Hell will not prevail?

Personally, I am believing more and more every day that it is.  That there really is nothing more in this life worth living for than Jesus and His purposes for the world and for my life.  And, I am praying desperately that I can be a small but faithful part of whatever it is He throws me into.  And, that come failure or success in the eyes of the world, I will be able to keep my eyes fixed determinedly on Jesus through this life and on into the next.  No matter what...

Keep on Keepin' on...

Rob Schmutz, Pastor

The Church at Park City
Zechariah 4:10a