Got a craving for cookies?

Our cookie decorating party is coming up next week. Check out the details here.

Becoming apprentices

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

On a certain Sabbath in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah and declared that he was fulfilling this prophecy, that this is what he was going to be about. He was setting his agenda for his ministry.

And his agenda is our agenda. This is what we want to be about at Headwaters.

Jesus’ whole deal was that he chose twelve guys to follow him around and learn to do the things he did. And he told them to do the same: make disciples. The idea is that Jesus trained people to be like him, who would train others to be like him, and so on, and so on, and so on.

The world used to work like this—you had a master craftsman and a bunch of apprentices learning to be like the master. You had fathers teaching sons the family business. And this is exactly what being a disciple is about. Christians talk a lot about Jesus being “Lord.” Lord just means master. And not just “boss” in the sense of someone who tells you what to do. No, we’re talking about master in the sense of someone you emulate, someone you learn to be like.

Probably where we see this in our culture most readily is in…yes…Star Wars. Jedi Masters with their apprentices following them around learning to be like them. Learning how to use a light saber and the ways of the force and how to do Jedi mind tricks on the weak willed…

So when Jesus says he’s about proclaiming good news to the poor, we better get on board with that. He’s the master. If the master is about proclaiming good news to the poor, we as a church better be about that, too. If we think that Christianity is just believing in Jesus so that we can go to heaven when we die, we’re missing a big part of what Jesus is all about. When Jesus says he’s about setting prisoners free and releasing the oppressed, we better be about that as well. Christianity can’t be just about Bible studies and fellowship and fun. It’s about working for justice, showing compassion, offering mercy. Jesus’ agenda is our agenda. He’s the master and we’re learning to be like him, learning to care about what he cares about, learning to prioritize what he prioritizes.

Check out pictures from our preview worship over at our Headwaters blog.

Encountering the Great Physician

Encountering Jesus can be painful. So often we think of an encounter with God as this wonderful, warm, fulfilling experience. We forget that most people who encountered God in the Bible--or even just an angel--were terrified.

Yesterday I had to go to the foot doctor to get a plantar wart removed that had gotten infected, had a nasty abscess, and was giving me a lot of pain. The doctor was this easy-going guy. He liked to make small talk and tell stories. But he also had to cut this thing out of my foot. And it hurt. And I'm still having trouble walking.

It was very, very good to get the bad stuff out of my foot. But it involved pain. It was inconvenient. It took a while to heal. But there was no way around it. I could have had it frozen—-much less pain doing that. But I’d tried that before and it kept coming back, and now it was all infected. I needed to look my doctor in the eye and ask him to go in there and take it out. Knowing that it would hurt. (My apologies to you who think this is gross. And my apologies to those of you who’ve had to undergo much more serious pain in order to be made well…)

Encountering Jesus can be painful. Sometimes in the church people call him “The Great Physician.” And it sounds so wonderful and comforting. But maybe “The Great Surgeon” would be more to the point. I knew a pastor that called him “the great surgeon of the heart.” Jesus exposes people’s hearts so that he can heal them.

I really wish the foot doctor could have vaporized the bad tissue in my foot and healed me with no pain whatsoever. That's how it works in Star Trek. But not in real life. And certainly not when it comes to matters of the heart.

Jesus is the Great Physician. And he loves us and desires our well being. But he is also skilled with the knife and unafraid to use it on our calloused, stony hearts.

Psalm 139:23-24 says:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Here's my prayer: that I would be willing to submit to Jesus' surgery, that I would not shy away from it. That I would not be satisfied with painkillers to numb the pain and in so doing ignore the root of the problem. That I would make David's prayer in Psalm 139 my prayer.

New blog

Just what the world needs. Another blog.



We're working on developing an actual website for Headwaters, but until then, I wanted to have a web presence that actually had our name in it. So go to http://headwaterscc.blogspot.com/ to see what's new. I've started out by posting some info on our values, vision, as well as some practical details.

Art Walk

I hope you can make time for the Art Walk on Friday. Plan for temps in the 40s, but hopefully no rain. Here are some samples of Tiffany Bushilla's photography that we'll be showing at the old taproom.





So come check out the rest of her stuff and have some yummy food. At our dessert benefit for Food Share we had fabulous sweets. This time we'll focus on savory treats!

Big weekend coming up

This will be a big weekend for Headwaters. On Friday night we'll be participating in the Fall Art Walk downtown. Come see us at the old Blackfoot River Brewery Co. taproom at 54 S. Park Ave. next to Miller's Crossing. We'll have food, drink, and the photography of Tiffany Bushilla.

On Sunday, we're back at ExplorationWorks for our November worship service. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for coffee, tea, and refreshments and the service begins at 10:00.

At our previous worship gathering in October, we learned a few things about using the space at ExplorationWorks. So this time we'll be setting up the room a little bit differently. We'll have a more extensive program for children during the service. And we'll also be celebrating communion during our time together. My message will be taken from Luke 4:16-30 which tells of Jesus preaching in his hometown. This is where Jesus sets the agenda for his ministry--an appropriate place for us to start. Join us!

Sweet details

So what happened at our Sweet Time benefit for Food Share?

Michele Hill gave a great presentation about what Food Share does and what the need is like in Helena...

A number of people talked to her about volunteer opportunities...

Michele discussed how the increased demand for their services has resulted in people needing to wait outside in the cold. One of the people who attended last night may be able to help Food Share with a creative solution to the problem...

Some folks have offered to donate the meat from their deer hunting...

We raised around $900 (and the money is still coming in!)...

And people enjoyed a lot of great desserts!

It's exciting to see people make donations, get involved, and come up with creative ways to help out this great cause. Thanks again to all who came, all who helped put this on, and all who gave. I'm already looking forward to doing it again!

Sweet success

We had a great turnout last night at our Sweet Time for a Sweet Cause. We raised money for Helena Food Share and indulged in some great desserts while we were at it. And the donations are still coming in, even from people who couldn't be there last night. How cool is that!

Thanks to all who helped make this happen--those who brought desserts, Michele from Food Share, the Fire Tower Coffee House (who charged us a discounted rate for the space because so many people bought coffee), and all who came.

I'm going to meet with Michele from Food Share this morning and I'll post more details soon.

Sweet Time for a Sweet Cause

On Wednesday night this week, why not recover from election-mania by enjoying some great desserts with some tasty Fire Tower coffee? And while you're at it, help out a great cause--Helena Food Share.

Food Share is experiencing record demand in this time of economic turmoil. So join us for a fun night of sweet delights and make a difference for those in need while you're at it.

The desserts are complimentary, espresso and more are available for purchase, and donations to Helena Food Share are tax deductible. Cash, checks, and food donations are accepted! Headwaters Covenant Church is excited to sponsor this event--and we're pleased to have all the proceeds go to Food Share.

More details: we'll be at the Fire Tower Coffee House at 422 last Chance Gulch from 7-9pm this Wednseday, November 5th. Michelle Hill from Food Share will also be giving a brief presentation about their work in Helena. Please join us. And bring a friend!