What's the Story?
By Pastor Tom Friedrichs

When I was a kid growing up on Long Island there was a commercial we all enjoyed. In it someone off screen always said, “Hey Joe! What's the story?!?!” At which point a heavy man whose prodigious belly poked out from beneath his white tee shirt whenever he lifted his arms would excitedly tell us about all the great deals we could find at his store. Joe would then yell, “That's the stooooory!”. This of course became our own local “Where's the Beef?” style catch phrase. We would walk around saying, “Hey Anthony, What's the story?” My friends and I thought it was funny at the time, but aren't we all interested in stories? We watch sitcoms for funny stories. We tune into the news daily so we can hear the news stories. Daniel Taylor wrote, “Our stories tell us who we are, why we are here, and what we are to do. They give us our answers to life's big questions, and most of the small ones as well.” Author Madeleine L'Engle wrote that “All of life is a story”. Shakespeare's Macbeth ranted, “Life's … is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” I believe life is a tale but I would have to disagree with Macbeth. Our lives have meaning. The meaning is given by the author and finisher of our stories. GK Chesterton said, “I had always felt life first as a story- and if there is a story there is a story teller.” Everyone you know has a story. Everyone you know seeks meaning in the tale that they are living out. That meaning is only discovered when one learns that their story is a part of a larger tale. For more on this idea I would encourage you to read a little book entitled, Epic, by John Eldridge. In this book Eldredge contends that each of our lives is part of the grand epic of salvation written by God. He contends that this grand tale is the true archetype of all great tales. That somewhere written in each soul is the nagging sense that we are part of a “meta-narrative” in which good battles evil. This is one reason why people love stories. Eldredge says,” Story is the language of the heart”. Story is one of the ways the Author of the universe woos our hearts. And the fact that the author of the universe woos our hearts is in fact the greatest story. It is the story of Christ, the Gospel. It is the story we are called on to tell wherever and whenever there is someone willing to listen. And ultimately it is the story our lives should tell with or without words.

Leonard Sweet in his book Soul Tsunami put it this way. “Jesus' life was not an essay. Jesus' life was not a doctrine. Jesus' life was not a sermon. Jesus' life was a story. People don't live essays or doctrines or sermons. They live stories. People are not pulled from the edge of the pit by essays or doctrines or sermons. They are rescued by stories. They are healed by stories. The Christian message is not a timeless set of moral principles or a code of metaphysics. The Christian message is a story; the greatest story ever told, of love come down from heaven to earth, a love so vast and victorious that even hatred could not keep it down. In other words, the Christian message is not "synchronic" like a photograph, but "diachronic" like a film. Diachronic narrative is at the heart of the Christian message. It is story enfolded within story.” We call this telling of the old, old, story…evangelism. Yes, evangelism. No word that strikes more fear, guilt, and frustration into the heart of many believers than this one. It's funny how many stories we tell each day without thinking about it and yet telling this story has become unnatural to many. Maybe it's because we have changed it from the telling of true stories to programs and techniques. Maybe because we don't always take the time to see how the grand Epic of salvation is still being written in our own stories. Could it be that we have just plain forgotten the story?

As a church we have the motto, “Growing Deeper to Reach out Further”. In story terms it means that we grow deeper in our knowledge of the story of Christ. That through living out God's purposes for our lives we are allowing Him to continually author our tale and tie it into the grand narrative. Our stories are woven together with Jesus' story. Then as we cross paths with others and our stories overlap with theirs, guess what happens? They are being touched by Jesus. Bill Muir, of Youth for Christ, called this Three Story Evangelism. “Three story evangelism is a new, yet very old approach to evangelism…it is all about connecting stories: me and my story, [Jesus] and His story, them and their story. The more these stories and lives connect, the more powerful the gospel becomes”. On Saturday, June 25th will be our 2nd C.L.A.S.S. (Christian Life and Service Seminars). During C.L.A.S.S. you can be equipped to 1)Connect your story to His story, 2)Really hear the stories of those we cross paths with, 3) Tell your story, and 4) Connect an unbeliever's story and life to Jesus and His story. I hope and pray that each of us will become amazing story-tellers because the story we have to tell is the most amazing of all. And that, as Joe would say, is the story!

Memorial Day Tribute

God bless America and all of our troops who are risking their lives for our freedom and protection from terrorists! We have been praying for Kurt Dietrich, Adam Gangemi, and Kevin O'Donnel who have been serving their country in Iraq. God has answered the prayers for protection and they are very thankful. This is a tribute to them and other men from families in our congregation. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

SPC Adam Gangemi is the son of George and Peggy Gangemi who moved to Vermont in 1985. He was a member of the Christian Service Brigade and his mother, Peggy was a Pioneer Club Leader and Coordinator at NAAC. Adam enlisted in the US Army in 2003, stationed in Fort Bragg, in Fayetteville, NC He is married to Deseree and is the father of Matthew. Adam was deployed to Kuwait and recently returned home to his family in Fayetteville.

Kurt Dietrich MD's family are long time friends of the Shavers who lived in the north end. Kurt received his MD from UVM and accepted an Air Force Scholarship for flight school and is now serving our country in Iraq. His mission is “Flight and Rescue by Helicopter”. He and his family are thankful for our prayers and Lord willing, Kurt will be home in mid May!

Staff Sergeant Kevin O'Donnell is brother -in– law of Linda Alderman. He is in the National Guards stationed in Fort Drum, NY. Kevin has served in Afghanistan and was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in 2004. He is a dedicated soldier and is very proud to serve his country. Thank you for your prayers, Kevin says they work!

Lance Corporal Matthew Lawrence is the youngest son of John's brother, Alan. He is in the Marine Reserves and was part of Operation Enduring Freedom In Iraq. During his 2nd tour he was wounded by a bomb that struck his truck. He has recovered and received The Purple Heart in April. Matt is scheduled to return home in late September 2005.

Senior Airman Fran Wolford the daughter of Bill and Shirley was on active duty for the Air Force. In July of 2002 she joined the Air National Guard where she serves one weekend a month and a 15 day stint during the year. She is working with the Intelligence Unit and is planning to stay as long as she is needed.

Sergeant Ian Philip Bush is the son-in-law of Linda Briggs. He is completing his 13th year in the US Army and teaches Military Science at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. He was deployed in Iraq when the War on Terrorism began in 2002.

Sergeant Gordon Smith is married to a niece of Steve Carlsen, the father of three children and stationed in Tacoa, GA in the Army Guard, Infantry Unit. He will be deployed to Camp Liberty, Baghdad Iraq in May.

Student Planting Seeds
By Pastor Steve

It's finally Spring! For the past two years Lynn and I have been planting flower gardens. We have a beautiful rock ledge that runs across our property and it's been a challenge choosing the right perennials that will survive the winter in the crevices of the rocks. Lynn and I take a tour daily around our garden anxiously looking for new buds and signs of life and new growth. I am amazed to see growth coming from seemingly old dead branches. God is so cool!

Watching our garden reminds me of verses John 4:36-38 "The Harvester isn't waiting. He's taking his pay, gathering in this grain that's ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. [37] That's the truth of the saying, 'This one sows, that one harvests.' [38] I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others."

(From the Message) I have to trust God that the seeds I have planted will grow through His hands not mine. Yes I can help by making sure the seeds get plenty of water and nourishment. But, God is in control of the weather; the sunshine, the warmth, the cold and the heart of the seed. On Sunday, April 10th the Student and Music Ministries combined again to equip our students to plant seeds. Bring a Teen To Church Sunday began with students performing skits and songs during the morning service that would appeal to their friends. They choose pieces that would subtly challenge the hearts of their friends and open their hearts to hear the Gospel. Mallory Root shared her relationship with Christ by creating a testimony of word pictures describing her life with Christ.

On Sunday evening 85 people representing 31 families gathered in the sanctuary for survivor type games. 75 % of our regular youth attended. They brought 23 first time visitors and friends! Families and friends bonded together to form four teams for relay competitions. The evening ended with pizza and cake. For many student visitors this was their first experience being in a church. Others had not been in a church since they were babies.

The following Sunday the youth ministry met to hear the stories from the planted seeds. One student shared with me that her friend was a little concerned about entering the church because she was so far removed from God. She was surprised to see us having fun as a church family in the sanctuary. Another student told us she heard students in the hall of her school laughing and telling others about this game night held at N A A C. I received an encouraging e-mail from a couple of our friends from Milton. It said, “We really enjoyed the teen thing on April 10th, it was so good. Really, really awesome. Just...WOW... All the kids are so talented, and all the skits and songs were put together really well. I bet they all put a lot of hard work into that. And we both really liked the fact the skits were really well explained and the hidden meanings weren't that hidden. And the drawing was really good (the cover one). And the picture thing at the end. You should do another teen weekend soon, so we have an excuse to come back. We hope to see you soon, and tell everyone we say hi!! We are all called to use our gifts to tell others about Christ. We may never know until eternity how God will use our faithfulness or that a soul has been harvested. Just like my garden…I can plant seeds and take care of the plants, but God is ultimately in control…He just asks me to take care of His plants with the tools He has given me. April 10th was a great seed planting day for the Student Ministries. May God use that day for His Glory!

North Avenue Christian School
Going Out With a Bang!

We may only have a month of school left, but we have an enormous amount of activity going on! May we invite you to be a part of all of our exciting plans! A brief description of each upcoming event is listed below:

Thursday, May 19th 9:00a Fun Finale: a fun end-of-the-year performance by all of our students (PK-8th grade!)

Thursday, May 26th 11a-1pm Fun Run: A new exciting event for our school this year. All of our students will participate in a mini-marathon here at the school. Each student is raising support for the school through their participation in the race. We would love for you to attend and if you are interested, support one of our runners! After the run, we will be having a barbecue.

Thursday, June 2nd 10:00a Preschool Graduation

Thursday, June 2nd 6:30p
8th Grade Graduation

Friday, June 3rd
Field Day: a fun series of events for our students to participate/compete in on our last day of school.

In addition to each of these year-end events, we are also already gearing up for next year. We have already kicked off our 2005-2006 school registration and are excited to be welcoming new families into our school.

If you are interested in more information about any of these events or about enrollment in our PK-8th grade program, please call the school at (802) 863-2579.

Slide show script provided by Dynamic Drive