The Story of God

I can't wait until January. Hope Church will spend January and February working through "The Story of God" (modified from http://www.somacommunities.org/blogs/story-of-god/) and follow God's story from Creation to Christ. This past summer, I went through this material as part of an English Camp in Estonia. The stories were all very familiar yet I walked away very challenged (http://cup4hope.blogspot.com/2009/07/god.html). I am praying that God will use this series in great ways at Hope. I anticipate this series challenging those of us who are familiar with these stories and see it as an opportunity for people who are interested in God and not currently a part of Hope to come and hear God's story for the first time.

Zach

For the past three weeks Zach has been at school for 2 days, had 2 days of break, and 11 days home sick.  He and Jen have probably spent more time at doctors offices than any other place and there are still no satifying answers.  It is really frustrating!

It is clear something is wrong (vision changes, nausia, lack of energy) and yet all these test keep coming back without leading to answers (which is at least some good news).  It is clear something is wrong but without knowing what it is difficult to know what to do.  There is nothing specifically that can be fought.

Thank you for the many of you who have been praying for Zach.  We really appreciate it.  We look forward to how God will answer those prayers.

What is the Church

The past 3 weeks, I have been in two of our groups leading a discussion on "What is the Church".  I have learned a lot about myself as I reflect on my thoughts and views of the word "Church".  The theme that has stood out to me personally is how much I view church as a time, place and location.  Even though I know that "The Church" is really the congregation and is all about people and not a place.  Still every week, I find myself making some comment that puts my spiritual life in the context of a time, place or location and it is so frustrating. 

My view of the church (is it a what or a who) really impacts my view of what the church does.  If church is a what (building) then my view of church centers around the building.  If my church is a who, then church naturally centers around people.  This feels so elementary as I write is and think about it and yet - for what ever reasons - I have seen it at the center of many discussions recently. 

I am really excited that over the next several weeks, I will be spending time examing what our programming at Hope accomplishes, who is it for, and how do we align our programming to help the people of Hope and those not yet a part of our congregation in our spiritual journey.  My view of church impacts my answers to these questions.  When you think of "church" what do you think of?  Do faces of people come into your mind or is it a building?  Interesting, isn't it.

How much can we do, how much do we trust God for ...

I am really excited about the upcoming weekend and the start of Hope Revealed. I am sure it is going to be a chaotic Sunday as we go back to 2 services and have something in both the Worship and Event center and everyone tries to find their place.

I continue to press into a question of faith. As we look to Hope's future, how much impact can we have on the Greater Eastern St. Paul Suburban and rural communities? How much impact will God have on this region? I often get stuck on what I think I can do but as I have been praying today, I have been challenged to think about what God wants to do Hope's part, and my peice. It is exciting and at the same time huge.

I am really looking forward to wrestling through this as a church and personally over the next 3 weeks. Just a reminder, this sunday - if you attend a Mini-Congregation or small group on Sunday morning, plan on being in the event center during that service and then in the worship center during your normal hour. If you serve on hour, attend the event center the other hour and listen to the podcast from the event center later in the week. If you usually just attend the worship center one hour - please come to the Worship center that hour and attend the event center during the other service.

It is going to be great! Looking forward to being a part of it with you already.

Labor Day

I have made it my labor day resolution to begin blogging regularly! I guess we will see how I do together.

Reveal Survey, Focus

When Jen is about to go shopping, she will often ask, "Is there anything your need me to pick up while I am at the store?" I almost always respond and express my need for Cool Ranch Doritos (so good!). At which time, one of the kids or Jen will remind me that they are a want and not a need.

This morning, I spent 30 minutes reading the book "Focus" that continues to help me think through what Hope can learn from the Reveal survey results. The book looks at what people need from church and tries to compare that to what people want from church. Interesting.

There are so many underlying questions such as do I know what I need or do I just make my wants into needs? Does the fact that we have to ask the question already show that there is confusion between wants and needs! Can one persons needs be another persons wants?

So what do you want from church? How many of the things that you want are needs and how many are simply things that you want? Would you leave a church if it only offered what you needed and not what you wanted? I can see this topic needs another post tomorrow. Wait is that a need or a want ....

The Leadership Summit

It is mid-way through day 2 at the Willow Creek Leadership summit. Each of the speakers has probably said something that I should think about, ponder, and implement into my life and leadership. There has been one thing that has stood out as a repeating theme through each of the sessions. Leaders lead with an anticipation of God working in a significant way. This is a theme that God had already been laying on my heart - maybe that is why it has stood out. It seems like there is a temptation to coast spiritually and start to miss how much God want to work in and through us!

God

Just two weeks ago, it seems like a lot longer ago than just two weeks, I led a group through material titled, "The Story of God." There was an interesting mix of people who interacted, for some like me the story was old and familiar; for some it was the first time they heard the story; some new little of the story but felt the story was not for them; and some had heard the stories before but the stories had little effect on their lives.

Almost everyone had the same response as we walked through the stories: Who is this God/god? Is He good or is he just on a power trip? How do we know God's character and how can we trust this God that sometimes seems hard to understand.

It really challenged me to examine again what I believe about the character of God. Can a God who drowned everyone except Noah and his family be good? Could God have handled Eve's apple bite differently? I usually see these stories through the lens of grace - God working to restore his relationship with me and you. But as I shared them with students who were not familiar with them, they often asked questions not related to grace but judgment. Questions that are uncomfortable because simple and packaged answers really do not feel very satisfying.

As I have thought about this the past two weeks, especially as I have continued to dialogue with some of the students, I have been reminded again that God does not fit into a neat and clean packaging. Sharing God's story raises questions for me as the sharer just as much as for the hearer. I am glad God has pushed these questions up and that I have been able to wrestle with some of the questions along side of friends who are wrestling with how their story and God's story may intersect.

Traveling Home

We are sitting in the Estonian airport waiting for our flight to head back to the USA. It is hard to believe that 2 years has passed since we moved back from Estonia to the US. It was easy to jump back into life in Estonia and often felt like we could have walked back into the house we owned and settled back into life here. Life was familiar but a lot more expensive!

It is a bit scary to head back to the US. Our house in Indiana still has not sold and summer is quickly passing. We are excited about engaging into life at Hope but not quite sure how to do it being home owners 7 hours away from the church. Well, we are excited that God has something exciting for us in the upcoming weeks.

Risto's Blog

Our time in Estonia has been full, fun and flying by! Here is a link from one of the students blogs who attended English Camp. http://www.ristoveeb.pri.ee/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=25 You will see his English is great and see from an attender what it is like to experience English Camp.

English Camp Day One

English camp started this afternoon. It had a strange start, one camper had a seizure in the main meeting area just before everyone was suppose to gather. It was just a strange feeling for a first impression of camp. The rest of the night went okay, we have a small team for this camp and we come from different areas so we are getting to know each other as well as the students. We also jumped into the Story of God on the first night and students were quiet and slow to respond. Every camp has its own personality and this camp has not quite discovered its yet.

You can pray for energy for the leaders and that as a group we would quickly connect with the students from Kohila. It is important that these relationships develop quickly since camp is short. I have really enjoyed the students I have had time to connect with so far.

Then and now

Then and now. The picture below was taken our first summer in Estonia. The picture on our right is from just a couple of weeks ago on our vacation to Disney. Where does time go?

Already that first summer, both kids were a part of camps. This summer both will have more important roles during the English Camp the first week. Both will actively participate during the small group times and their input will be very valuable. The second week both kids hope to connect with friends. Zach's Estonian still seems pretty good but Abigail has lost much of her language skills. It will be an interesting journey for both of them as they realize how much they have changed since they last visited Estonia.

Stories

I have the honor of leading the dialoge at the English Camp that we will participate in next week. The material we will be working through is simple and beautiful, it is the story of God from Creation through the beginning of the church. Caesar, an elder from Soma and a part of Acts 29, has taken key passages and placed them into short stories. The goal is to create conversations - this allows students to practice their English and build their speaking skills. Through these conversations, I anticipate students will be challenged to consider how God's story intersects with their story. As I have been reading through the stories, I am asking myself the same questions. How do these promises, truths, and this God intersect with my life daily.

I love stories - they are fun to tell and to hear. If I want to share God at work in my life, what better way than sharing stories of what he has done today, yesterday or the last week.

When was the last time your story intersected with His story?

Some days stink

Ever had a bad day. Today was one of them. Today was one of those days, a day where if it could go wrong it seemed like it did. A day you wish you could start over and hope for different outcomes. I feel deflated and tired and Jen looks twice as tired as I do.

How do you respond on days like this? Last night Jen and I were talking about trusting God in uncertain times. Maybe it was preparation for today? My mind says, "God is in control - I can trust him!" But I feel so different, I'd really like to retreat, withdraw, do something desperate or crazy.

Is it the full moon? Spiritual warfare? Crazy decisions the past few months? I'm not sure but I pray that tomorrow is a better day than today!

Word Confusion

Maybe it is part of starting a new job in a new location but the past few days it has struck me how often people use the same word but meaning different things. I have also seen people use different words and be convinced they are talking about something unique but in reality they mean something very similar. Christianease has many words that have multiple meanings, for example, the word service: it can mean a specific event on Sunday morning; it can be related with doing good works; or it could be related to evangelism and outreach. When we use the words we assume that the listener(s) hear the word with the same message we have in our mind when we speak it.

At Hope, our new church home, we are wrestling through the second scenario. People talk about Mini Congregations and small groups as different events with different purposes but when people define the goal of each, they are almost the exact same things. For insiders, people that have been around for a while, the differences are clear because they may have experienced both or they have just been around long enough to know what is different. For someone new, it can be quite confusing. My solution, I am going to try hard to not use either set of words. I hope we can come up with a new vocabulary that has the same meaning for everyone and that a new person can quickly understand. In reality the vocabulary is not as important as the leaders understanding how their role fits into what God is doing in and through Hope Church. I am excited to see how God works through something as simple as words.

Starting at Hope

Starting a new job is sort of a weird experience. One of the hardest parts in remembering who you have met before and who you have not yet met. Starting as a pastor at a church, hundreds of people know who you are and I know nothing about them. I have met many people as part of the interview process but I only remember a handful of names. I am looking forward to the day when I have a handle on at least some of the names.

Feel free to remind me of your name often!

Hebrews 4:12

"The word of God is living and active." I have thought of this verse numerous times this past week in many different conversations and meetings. In many of those conversations, the verse was more of a question than a statement: How does the word of God become living in active in someone's life? What are barriers for someone to experience the living and active (transformational) word of God in their life?

For me personally, sometimes familiarity with the word of God shields me from its full impact. I am not suggesting familiarity with Scripture is bad - sometimes you just do not realize the value of something that is a normal part of your life. When I was growing up, I had some baseball cards. One of my favorites was a Nolan Ryan rookie card. The value of the card came from the fact that I liked Nolan Ryan, it never occurred to me that the card could have greater value. In college, I was a camp counselor and the campers were avid baseball card collectors. They did not collect cards because of the players; rather, good cards were determined by financial value. They told me my Nolan Ryan card had great value, it was worth a lot of money. Unfortunately for me, the card had been thrown away. Nolan Ryan had retired and my interest in baseball had diminished so my baseball cards were probably burned in garbage.

I wonder how much more value the words in scripture have than I realize for my life and the lives of the people around me. How does your interaction with scripture lead to change in your life?

English Camp

In about two weeks, my family and I will travel to Estonia. During our first week in Estonia we will be partnering with a church in Kohila and a part of an English Camp. We can't wait! An English Camp is an opportunity for student from the city of Kohila to spend a week practicing their English. Estonian's have an incredible English fluency level and students are motivated to practice their English with native speakers. I have the priveldge of speaking at the main sessions and Jen, Zach, and Abigail will all be a part of small group discussions out of the large group talks. I hope to jump into a small group as well! The large group discussions will present the story of God from creation through Christ. It will be interesting to see how students engage with the story of God and choose whether or not it connects with their own story. If you are interested in praying for the English Camp and our family through this journey, send me an email at david.cupery@gmail.com and I will add you to our prayer list. I looking forward to how God will work in our lives, the leadership teams from Kohila and Koma, and in the lives of the students who attend.

Vacation

Tomorrow we embark on a great family adventure. It starts on the same day Jen and I were married 16 years ago! She is amazing - our married life has been far more adventurous than we could have imagined when she said, "I do." I am amazed at her ability to impact people, in each step of our adventure - Jen has left behind people she has impacted spiritually. I am really blessed to have her as my spouse.

Our family adventure will lead us to Atlanta for the weekend. On Saturday, we hope to visit the Coke factory in Atlanta. That happens to be one of my favorite drinks and we have heard that they have samples from around the world. We are looking forward to tasting the Eastern Europe examples. Zach hopes to mix every possible drink together and create his own masterpiece. On Sunday, we will go to Buckhead church and meet up with a friend from our time in Estonia. Looking forward to catching up with Rodney and being back at Northpoint.

Cheesehead

I am a cheesehead! That's right, I like the Packers, Brewers, Bucks, and Badgers. I have passed my love of several of these teams to Zach. Sadly, even after 16 years of marriage (Friday), Jen still has not seen the light ... or cheese. She still cheers for the cubs, bears, and for anyone playing against a Wisconsin team. Abigail is a bit more political on her choices. I am still trying to convince Jen that she should try ice fishing - I am sure if she did that her life would be changed and she would see ... the cheese.

I can't sing

I asked Zach for an interesting blog topic and he said, "tell people you sing terribly." Sometimes I'll sing in the car. My kids plead with me not to sing when they have friends in the car - for some reason that is often when the best songs come on the radio. I don't mind that singing is not one of my strengths. It was clear already in 5th or 6th grade when I went to the band director for a pre-band interview. After trying a couple of different instruments, the director said, "Maybe band isn't for you, enjoy study hall."

It is easy to tell people I am not very talented musically because I really do not care. There are other areas of life where I have lots of opportunity to learn where admitting weakness is not that easy. Sometimes I want people to see me as an expert regardless of what I actually know. Yesterday in my quiet time, I read Zephaniah 2.3 "... seek humility..." I guess I have a lot to learn from music and singing.

Third Culture Family

What does it mean to be 3rd cultured? Jen and I both grew up in the Midwest. Jen grew up in Naperville, IL while I grew up near Randolph, WI (yes, your probably going to have to google that one). Our first culture is here in the U.S. Our kids have both spent much of their lives growing up in Tartu, Estonia; thus, almost half our years parenting have spent in a 2nd culture. Our family life is a conglomeration of both U.S. and Estonian influences but probably does not fit either exactly - it is a third culture. Practically, that means we probably allow Zach and Abigail more independence that most American parents but not as much as Estonian parents. Really, it means we are not normal and by we here, mostly I mean me. It also means, we are really looking forward to learning what family life is like in Minnesota. What impact will the culture have on our family? Will I be able to get Jen ice fishing? I can't wait to learn more about MN culture because often I learn interesting things about myself that I would not have known if I was not in a different culture. Learning is a good thing!

Mooving to Minnesota

Ready or not, here we come. Who are we? We have shaken many hands and said 'hi' to quite a few of you but we are looking forward to getting to know many of you in the upcoming years. Here is a bit of information about us. Jen and I have been married almost 16 years. Zach is finishing 7th grade and Abigail 3rd. This past year was their first experience in schools in the U.S.

We are looking forward to our first family vacation in the U.S. in quite some time. We will be going to Disney in Florida. We are not quite sure what to expect but very excited at the same time. We will also spend part of July in Estonia. We will be involved in an English Camp. It will be exciting to be in Estonia, it will be our kids first trip back since we moved back to the US in August 07.

Finally, we are looking forward to August 2nd. While we hope to be in MN several times before this - it will be our official reception at Hope. We are looking forward to what God will do at and through Hope in the upcoming year(s).