Finishing February Filling In

Donald Trump and Martha Stewart are exchanging heated words. Anthrax is discovered in a Brooklyn storage facility. The government wants to sell the West Side shipping docks to terrorists. These are big concerns in the lives of New Yorkers, but my biggest focus this week was the fact that Michael Kytka has been on vacation this week placing responsibility for Ascension Church squarely on my shoulders. I can't really complain. I've been living a charmed life with Michael handling the lion's share of preparation for our Sunday worship services and planning and organizing things. It's not that I can't handle the extra responsibilities; it's just that I haven't had to before.

With the kids out of school for President's week, his wife off from work (she works for the NYC Public School System), and his birthday falling during the week, he is taking a well-deserved vacation. He is one of the hardest working people I know, and I'm happy that he trusts me enough not to single-handedly bring down the church in one week.

How many church planting blogs feature pictures of Donald Trump and Martha Stewart anyway?

I was a bit disoriented this week, however. Each of our home groups is working through the book of Galatians, but each of them is at a different point in the study. I gave an advanced lesson to Michael's Monday night group, while showing up on Tuesday night with a repeat lesson prepared for them. To clarify, what I prepared for Monday night was what I should have thought on Tuesday night and vice versa. Are you following me? I'm sure Michael will forgive me without handing me down the Donald's, "You're fired!"

The late February winter blasts have continued to batter the New York metropolitan area. As you know, we had a record-setting blizzard a couple of weeks ago. While there was a warming trend during the following week that melted most of the snow, we were hit by an arctic blast over the weekend. This weekend promises more of the same. We've been in a pattern of experiencing the most dramatic weather changes on the weekends, and that trend seems to be continuing.

Next week, we introduce our weekly observance of the Lord's Supper, and sometime in March I will be scheduling the much-hyped singles ministry. Please keep these things in your prayers. My other major prayer request, once again, involves financial matters. Because my income is primarily based on the generosity of my partners, I've been living tax-free since July. April 15th is shaping up to be a scary day for me, as my fundraising activity has resulted in barely enough to get me by. Every dime I take home is spent on bills and groceries and I haven't been able to put money aside to prepare for the tax man. I do wish, however, to comply with the law and pay my taxes. If you have been considering partnership with me in this exciting ministry, or you know someone who might be interested, please let me know. Make checks payable to Redeemer Presbyterian Church and mail them to me at: 83-44 Lefferts Blvd. Apt. 3C; Kew Gardens, NY 11415. Be sure to put my name on the memo line. That's all for this week. Take care.

A Blast of Winter; A Glimpse of Spring

Winter weather has not been the best friend of Ascension Church. You might recall, if you read my blog regularly, that the night before our broadening service on January 15, we were blasted with a dramatic drop in temperature together with snow and ice making it difficult for people to come to our worship service. This past week, New York City experienced its biggest blizzard in recorded history. A massive 26.9 inches was measured in Central Park by the time it was all over. Needless to say, not only was it dangerous for people to come to church; it was downright impossible.

On Friday afternoon, one weather prediction on TV had the storm missing us all together, but by Saturday evening everyone was calling for a "raging" snowstorm. There are two kinds of winter weather systems that we watch carefully here in New York. One is called an Alberta Clipper which is a Canadian air mass approaching out of the Northwest bringing unseasonably cold temperatures but only rarely snow accumulation. The other is a Nor'easter, a system typically moving North and East from the Gulf of Mexico often skirting the Atlantic coastline gathering moisture often resulting in rain or snow. This was a Nor'easter, and it brought us to screeching halt. These were some scenes around Forest Hills, Queens during the blizzard.

At least there was some sign of Spring this week as pitchers and catchers reported in Port St. Lucie, FL to open Spring Training for the New York Mets. I imagine they also reported elsewhere in Florida for the Devil's team in the Bronx, but I'm not sure.

Despite this week's weather, our ministries continue. Monday evening we had our second outreach dinner at Michael's house. Invitations were distributed throughout the neighborhood inviting people to dinner and discussion on the topic of Love. Even with the mounds of snow outside, dinner was well attended and healthy discussion was had. This Sunday evening, I am leading a group in the same discussion. Please pray for God's direction over this outreach opportunity.

I'll be preaching for the next two weeks. This week, Michael will hear me preach for the first time (all the other times I've preached here have been a direct result of his inability to be there). The following week, Michael will be on vacation. We've begun preaching through Philippians and I will be keeping the series in uninterrupted flow.

The singles ministry and our introduction of weekly Lord's Supper observances has been postponed (as I mentioned in earlier entries) until sometime in March. Pray for us to be patient and rely on God's grace and not on our "ideal," plans. That's all for this week.

Hurry Up and Wait

I mentioned last week that our church had planned to institute a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper this month. While we do plan on doing this, our introduction of this design will be postponed until March. You may remember that our broadening service had to be moved from December to January due to situations beyond our control. This is a similar situation. Michael is planning a short vacation with his family and will be out of town on Feb. 26. As a result, he has asked me to preach (this, by the way, is the most notice I have been given before being asked to preach). The problem is that I am not ordained yet in the PCA and cannot administer the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper). He doesn't think (and I agree) that we should begin weekly communion until it can be done without interruption for some length of time.

I am also still making an attempt to schedule a meeting time for the singles ministry to which I've been assigned and February is a short month. That too may need to be put off until March. Next week, our small groups will be hosting dinner discussions on the true meaning of love. It should be fun.

Personal Request!: When I got my cell phone bill in the mail this week, I nearly lost my lunch. I noticed several long distance calls were made to my phone during the day on weekdays in January. I only have free nights and weekends and those of you who know me know that there is no such thing as a brief conversation with Jack. I really want to talk to you, but I don't want to sacrifice a week's worth of groceries in order to do so. Please restrict calls to my cell phone to weekends and evenings (after 9:00 EST). If you must reach me during the weekdays, please call me on my home phone. I'll be happy to e-mail you the number.

Please continue to keep Ascension Church, Michael, and me in your prayers. Until next week, God-bless.

Battle of Words; Love in the Air

PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA- In a nationally televised ceremony, Punxsutawney Phil, the national groundhog, reportedly saw his shadow this morning translating into a prediction of a longer winter. The groundhog's appearance was met by a round of boos from the crowd gathered to witness the annual event. Phil has been suffering in the polls of late due to extreme weather conditions nationwide and charges of corruption in his administration.

In contrast, New York City Rep. Charles G. Hogg ("Staten Island Chuck") witnessed no shadow and triumphantly declared a swift end to winter. "Once again we have seen how this administration is out of touch with the concerns of average Americans," Hogg told reporters. "Punxsutawney Phil has no clear exit strategy for winter, while we are offering a message of hope." Staten Island Chuck is enjoying unprecedented popularity on the heels of the New York City's third warmest January on record. Hogg also called for an independent counsel to be appointed to investigate intelligence prior to Feb. 2. "The American people deserve to know what Phil knew and when he knew it."

A spokesperson for the Punxsutawney Phil administration dismissed Chuck's charges as "outrageous," stating that the New York Rep. was engaging in, "political grandstanding."

In Church Planting News: February will be a busy month for Ascension Church. Beginning Feb. 12, we will implement the Lord's Supper which will be a weekly celebration for us. As we move along, we introduce things slowly so our intentions will be clearly communicated Scripturally and logistically. I am personally excited that our church will be administrating the Lord's Supper each week and am hopeful that the congregation will be able to fully appreciate it's meaning and draw closer to the Lord through it.

We are also planning another opportunity to invite our neighbors. In light of Valentine's Day, each of our small groups is making plans to invite neighbors and friends to a Biblically-based discussion on the meaning of True Love. We did something similar to this back in December in connection with Christmas and were pleased by how many neighbors responded to our invitations.

I will also be developing a singles' ministry that is not a dating service. People tend to think that the only way to minister to singles is to pair them off. I want to give them opportunities for fellowship and Biblical reflection without the atmosphere of a Christian meat market.

Please keep these ministries and Ascension Church in general in your prayers this week. Until next week's update, I pray that God will continue to bless you beyond your expectations.