Speak Up Series Begins February 7th
This will be a great series that challenges us all to speak courageously about the thing that means the very most in this life. Sharing about Jesus is the hardest, and yet, most rewarding thing we may ever do. With so many ways of telling people about Jesus, chances are you have been made to feel guilty for not using one persons “way.” Come and learn how you can be free from that guilt and still speak up about Christ without fear!
this series begins February 7th and you can hear it at 9:00AM or 10:30 AM every Sunday. Make plans to join us today.
A Miracle From the Other Side of the World
(This article was originally published in The Anna News on January 15, 2010)
December 13, 2009 will be a day that will always be etched in the minds of Aaron and Whitney Pratt. But it was a decision almost exactly a year earlier that brought them to one of the greatest days of their lives.
In Ethiopia, the Pratt family was introduced to the third member of their family, Mekele, on that fateful Sunday. That day marks the beginning of an exciting journey for the Pratt family, but the journey to that day was just as stirring.
Whitney, who was a teacher for McKinney ISD until leaving to take care of Mekele, graduated from Marcus High School in Flower Mound. Aaron graduated from McKinney High School in 2000 and has worked for McKinney ISD since 2004.
He currently teaches World Geography and Humanities at McKinney High School, his alma mater, and coaches for FC Dallas academy teams.
The two have been married and have resided in Anna for almost five years.
Whitney worked for McKinney ISD from 2003 until this last year. She was first hired as an Elementary Special Education teacher. It was at the school that she met and fell in love with Aaron. Two years later, she accepted one of MISD’s Preschool Supervisor positions, and the two talked of kids filling their home.
“We were ready to start a family after two years of marriage, and when that didn’t happen, we knew God had other big plans for our family,” Whitney said. “After prayer, God opened our hearts to the needs in Ethiopia, Africa where five million orphans are living.”
On December 22, 2008 the family decided to adopt internationally and a week later found All God’s Children International and submitted a pre-application. After the beginning of the year they submitted their official application and were approved on January 12.
Adoption has always been near to Whitney’s heart. Her big sister was adopted domestically as an infant and they have good friends who have adopted through the foster care system.
“Learning that there are 147 million orphans in the world changed our hearts, and we knew God was calling us to build our family through adoption,” Whitney said. “Our passion for loving orphans began a desire in us to provide a loving home and be a child’s forever family.”
By the end of February, there had been three home studies and the process seemed to be moving along. As March concluded, the fourth home study was complete. April brought an adoption seminar and the completion of all of the required education courses.
In June the two were informed that they were on the waiting list, as number 11 for a boy and 38 for a girl. Just six weeks later, the Pratts found out they were number five on the waiting list.
On September 10 they received the phone call that changed their lives and the next day the two were in a complete daze all day with the knowledge that they had a son. In November the Pratts were approved by the Ethiopian courts and were able to start making plans to go meet and bring home their son.
Close family friends generously offered frequent flyer miles to the Pratts to travel to pick up their son. The miles took care of travel to London and the return trip home to Dallas. They also traveled from London to Addis Ababa, with a layover in Istanbul, Turkey.
“On September 10 we received the call from our agency, with news of our son, born with the birth name of Aaron, just like his Daddy,” Whitney recalls. “We knew he was meant for our family, and by December 13, he was in our arms in Ethiopia! We are now blessed to be first-time parents, and to get to spend each day of our lives with our sweet boy.”
The day that families are officially introduced to their adoptive child is called “Gotcha Day” and Whitney said that on the night before their big day the two didn’t sleep much.
“We woke up at 10 a.m. to a perfect day – beautiful, sunny and peaceful,” Whitney recalled. “I pushed open the window of our third floor hotel room and caught my first glimpses of Ethiopia in daylight.”
Whitney explains that their first few minutes together were like a dream.
“He was sitting on the lap of one of his orphanage nannies, taking a bottle,” she said. “Only he was too mesmerized by the families walking in to meet their children to take his bottle. It was his turn to meet his mommy and daddy.
“The orphanage director introduced us, and those big, beautiful curious eyes looked up at us. We reached down to hold his soft, squishy body, and praised God that we were together as a family. We spent the rest of the week getting to know each other and experiencing his beautiful culture- the foods, the music, the people,” Whitney added.
They got home on Saturday, December 19 and had family and church friends waiting at DFW airport to greet the family. The day after they got home, Mekele turned 7 months old.
The family attends Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship in Anna, a church that has been actively involved in helping children locally and out of the country by supporting missions like Clothe a Child and orphans in Honduras.
The Created being Creative
Get In, Hang On, & Do Your Part!
Each week is a joy. Every week is a challenge. As is with most great adventures there are valleys for every peak, distractions at every place of focus, and discouragement before success. While working on the Colorado River I noticed something unique about the best of white water rafting guides: they never let their guests “feel” what they knew to be most true. They had a way of reminding people that they were about to embark on the best part of the trip at every turn and lead them through an experience that left them invigorated and ready for more! Yet, the whole time, at the front of their consciousness was the fact that the river could swallow any one of them up with the least of wrong moves or lack of care and respect. These guys handled that truth with a mastery we could all learn from and implement.
As pastors, our job will lead us through valleys, distractions, and discouragements. Some will feel bigger than others. Some will involve few and yet some will involve more than we can dare to imagine. However, our job also leads us to places of “peak,” and wild success. We see miraculous things that we could never dream with ALL of our dreams. This is what we are reminded of in the face of valleys, distractions, and discouragement. This where we help people focus. We help them see that the ride ahead can be one of the greatest of their life if they will get in the boat, hang on tight, and do their part.
Each week I am asked a peculiar question. Pastor, how can I help? Often I find myself overwhelmed with options in these moments. However, after reading an article on this website I think my response will be much different from this day on. Get in (committ), Hang on (secure yourself in Christ by growing spiritually), and do your part (serve faithfully)! Here is how one of the greatest preachers of all time handled this question.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the greatest revivalist preacher of the 19th century, was asked “Pastor, how can I help?” by many parishioners. His response to this question was to establish a serving and prayerful church. His ministry became the largest prayer-based evangelical work in the Christian church since the days of the apostolic era.
I cannot dare to dream big enough what will happen if we can all work together for the sake of the Gospel. This may be a new mantra for me for a while…Get in, Hang on, Do your part!
Here is another excerpt from that site you may find interesting as they studied how people could help their pastors:
How to Help Your Pastor
- Understand. The first way to help your pastor is to develop understanding and sensitivity to the stress and demands of a pastor’s work.
- Pray. Secondly, pray for your pastor. A very active prayer ministry to support the pastors in their evangelical work is fundamental to the health of pastors and the church at large.
- Grow. Thirdly, mature in the faith. Grow and work to preserve the work of God in your sphere. Do not contribute to confusion, gossip and bitter attitudes. Get involved in action, service, and financial contribution, which are all vital to the health of the Christian mission of proclaiming Christ in your community and the world.
- Lead. Finally, faith in action is serving others above what you want in support of the ministry of the church. Don’t just get involved in ministry; actively work with the leadership to provide healthy momentum in ministry and to become a personal preacher of the ways of Christ!
He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
So, as we strive to live for what God wants at Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship and Anna, Texas; we need to do it with healthy expectations and Godly desires. One of the least healthy expectations is that the pastor is, or should be, things he was never intended to be. Take a look at the list found in this article and see how your perspective might need to change in the coming weeks and months as we serve alongside each other for the sake of the Gospel.
Unhealthy Expectations
- They are not substitute parents
- They are not shrinks
- They are not janitors, plumbers, or construction workers
- They are not crisis managers
- They are not perfect problem-solvers
- They are not corporate executives
- They do not have wireless access to the Holy Spirit concerning your problems
- They are not responsible for your sin
- They are not constructed for long-term bashing
- They are not required to shoulder repeated harsh criticisms
- They are not celebrities
- They have families with real problems too
- They are not always available and tireless
- They are not God in human form
- They can burn out
Healthy Expectations
- They serve
- They teach
- They lead
- They inspire
- They pray
- They cry
- They get tired
- They are human
- They need family time
- They must be renewed
This list is also a reminder for your pastor. I can never let myself get a distorted view of what I am. Above all, my gifts are to serve and teach. I work hard at those areas. I need to worker smarter at those things. I am learning how to do just that with each day. Continue to pray for me and my family as we strive to look ahead at a future that will surprise us when we get there! And don’t forget, the best way to help the church…Get in (committ) Hang on (secure yourself by grow spiritually) Do Your Part (serve)!
*Excerpts from an article at http://theresurgence.com/series/healthy-pastors
2 Services 1 Church
We are excited to announce that we will be offering two services beginning January 31. The Children’s Ministry is fully staffed and ready to go. Here is what our new schedule will look like starting January 31.
9:00 AM First Service
10:30AM Second Service
Both services will be identical and offer the same content and style. This new format will allow us the opportunity to try some other new things as well, like a 10:30AM Bible Study w/ Dr. Vance (held at Mama Mia’s) and a possible youth group meeting at 9:00 AM with Marcus.
We foster an environment of risk for the right reasons at POCF and giving ourselves every chance to care for our kids in safe environments, and reach more people both young and old is A GREAT RISK to take. Please pray with us as we make this new offering of services, not only for your family, but those in Anna we will reach this new year.
We are thankful for your flexibility and willingness to try new things for the Gospel’s sake. The hope is that it will give us the additional space to reach even more people for Jesus in this new year and provide a more efficient, effective ministry to kids.
Hope to see you soon,
POCF Staff
Women’s Study Starting Up
Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy by Beth Moore shows how individuals can live with integrity in today’s self-absorbed society. Join Beth (via video) and the women of Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship in a faith-building study of prophecy and learn how to shine for Christ in our modern culture. Just as the prophet Daniel faced unbelievable pressures—to compromise his faith, to live in a hostile culture, and to confront temptations and threats—today’s believers face many of the same trials.
This 12-session study falls in two parts and can be used as one or two separate studies. The first portion, from Daniel chapters 1-6, deals with Daniel’s life as he faced the kind of pressures and temptations Christians encounter today. Daniel models how to develop enduring integrity in an enticing world. The second portion, chapters 7-12, explores thrilling prophecies from the time of Daniel through the second coming of Christ.
Disciple Now Students Weekend
Disciple Now is a great weekend to get away from your everyday routine and really focus on your relationship with God.
Students will stay in houses on Friday and Saturday night, where they will do their small group Bible Studies. Guys and girls will stay in different houses, and high school and middle school students will also be in different houses.
We are going to be discussing what it looks like to be Transformed.
On Friday night, March 5, we will meet at Pin Oaks at 6:30 p.m. with all of our luggage and have our first large group worship time. After that, students will retire to their respective homes for their first in-home Bible Study and a full night of sleep (really, no sarcasm intended).
Saturday will be a full day in-home Bible Studies and combined recreation activities. In the evening, we will have our second whole-group Worship service and then go back to our homes for another full night of rest.
On Sunday we will attend church together and after church the weekend will be over and students will be returned safely to their parents.
What: Disciple Now 2010
When: March 5 to 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday
For Whom: Students in grades 6 to 12
Why: Because it’s a ton of fun
Who to contact for more information: Marcus Elliott, Student Minister, marcus@pinoaks.org, 214.282.5416.
Cost: $25
New 4 Week Series Starts January 10th
From the book Primal by Mark Batterson we will walk through the kind of energy, passion, wonder, and curiousity it took to turn the world upside down over two thousand years ago; and how we can become part of a movement to recapture that same spirit today. Join us starting January 10th at 10:30 AM every Sunday.
Looking at 2010
The hope is that we look at the year ahead with a different set of eyes. It will require prayer, sacrifice, and willing to risk to the point of failure. How God fleshes this out in our young church will be the thrill of 2010. This week we will look at what some of that looks like as we attempt to honor God by doing all that He has asked of us..
