One of my favorite experiences in pastoring is bumping into people who have just found their "spot".  You know what I mean--a person who's just begun serving in a place and role that suits them well.  When they've gone from being a happy church attender to an engaged teammate in the work of Jesus.  People who find their spot have a glow in their eyes and excitement in their voice that is unmistakeable.  But the reality is, finding your spot is hard work, even in an environment with lots of tools and options.  Finding your spot means pursuing God, persevering through attempts at serving that don't seem to work out, and being determined to settle for nothing less than the right place to serve Jesus.

EJ Lyon [mailto:  ejl@newlifechicago.org] , our ministry director at New Life Lakeview is like the "spot-finder's assistant".  She has helped more people move into their spot, fitting their passion and gifting than anyone else I know.  She is always asking the question, "how can we get more people into the place of ministry that God made them for?"  And she has worked on all sorts of tools and trainings to make that happen more quickly and for more people.

Just recently I spoke with Bridgette, a woman who has been attending NL Lakeview for some time and who recently completed EJ's class called "Discovering Your Spiritual Design".  It was so encouraging to have her share how she's moving toward "her spot" now that EJ has given her some training and encouragement.  It didn't take a lot--Bridgette was already a talented and passionate person.  But sometimes it takes the right person to help draw that out.  I think that is the heart of church leadership--to draw out the gifts of the body, identify them and mobilize them for the glory of Jesus.

Last week we had a good membership class.  Its a lot of talking for me but it is also a great opportunity to hear peoples' stories and to share our story as a church.  I'm really looking forward to our Member's Forum coming up on December 7 after the morning worship celebration.  This gathering will be part update, part vision for the next season, and part dialogue.  We'll give a financial update, we'll talk about new ministry ventures, and we'll bring out ideas for strengthening our missional outreach in the Lakeview community.

This gathering is for current members and anyone moving toward membership at New Life Lakeview.  Our purpose is to help our core be better informed and to hear from our core in a relaxed setting.