Health Update

Dear Friends,

Thanks for your concern and prayers as we ran into a little trouble with my health over the weekend.  Here’s an update of what transpired:

I was driving to meet some people (including Lucas and some others from church) for lunch on Sunday.  Upon driving into the parking lot, I had a very severe case of low blood pressure in which I almost blacked out.  The spell lasted for about 4 to 5 minutes, and Lucas promptly drove me to St. Joe Regional Med Center in South Bend.  After a few initial tests and a talk with the doctor’s on staff at the Heart Center of Indianapolis, a decision was made to drive me by ambulance to the Heart Center and allow them to check me out over night.

The doctors there suspect that I had a tachycardia (rapid heart beat) Sunday afternoon, as I had a confirmed case at the Heart Center Sunday evening/early Monday morning.  The question is what caused it. 

Positively, my cardiologist there, Dr. Ball,  suspects that it was caused by low potassium, and dehydration.  (As I recalled, I had not eaten or drank anything (save  a cup of hot chocolate) still by 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, and I had also worked out pretty heavily on Saturday.)  Dr. Ball said that under normal conditions, low potassium and dehydration would not have caused such a thing to happen to someone with normal blood pressure, but as my blood pressure already runs very low (90/60, …really), it probably put me in a dangerous position, which most likely prompted the tachycardia episode.

In an attempt to identify if this was truly a result of dangerously low blood pressure, I will be hooked up to an event monitor for about a month and am to record on the monitor if I exerperience any dizziness/shortness of breath/lightheadedness, etc, by pushing a button on the device. 

In the meantime, I need to regulate my water intake better and make sure I’m not skipping any meals and as a result, we are convinced that there will be no more episodes like this one.  I’ll have a follow up appointment with Dr. Ball in about a month just to see how I’m doing.

Spiritually and emotionally it’s been tough to have this setback, two years after my initially surgery, but I’ve been holding on to some words that Lucas spoke to me this morning.  He reminded me that the Bible says there’s a time for living and a time for dying, and that now is NOT my time for dying; NOW IS MY TIME FOR LIVING.  As David himself said, “I will live and not die, and proclaim what the Lord has done.” 

Already, as I remember speaking to the nurses, I’m reminded of how astonished they all are that I don’t even have to take any over the counter medication as a result of having my surgery–it seems to be unheard of.  So, I know I can be thankful and full of praise for the Lord’s victory in my life in this way.

Thanks  again for all your prayers, I felt them in very specific ways – Lucas waking and calling in the middle of the night, when I  really needed a caring person there by my side, worship songs coming to my mind that I was able to sing to keep myself  encouraged, and great caring nurses and doctors who kept assuring me that everything was going to be okay.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Yours truly,

Krissy

Behavior Patterns that Prevent Transparency

As requested, I’m making some of my notes available from my message this past Sunday regarding behavior patterns that prevent transparency.  As I mentioned on Sunday, I’ve done ALL of these at some point in my life, and I’ve been some a lot more recent than I would like to admit.  I’m certain there are more that I’m yet to identify, but here are my top 12.

1.)     The Denier – This person chooses to remain ignorant of their failings hoping that others will do the same.  Their denial of their own reality causes them to live in complete fantasy about themselves.

2.)    The Justifier – This person gives some acknowledgement to their failings, but then immediately provides reason for why they did such. 

 3.)    The Blamer – Like the Justifier, they acknowledge their failings, but blame others as the cause or catalyst for such behavior.

4.)    The Concealor – This person is well aware of their faults, but does whatever they can to conceal and cover up their sin, hoping never to be discovered.

5.)    The Acknowledger – They give acknowledgment to their faults and struggles, and will even listen to your perspective, but that is as far as it ever goes.  No healing happens, and no progress is ever made.

6.)    The Offended – This person also acknowledges their struggles, but always finds some way of making you feel bad for pointing them out.  No help can be given, because your true heart is never received.

7.)    The Avoider – This person, well aware of their failings, will run from confrontation; doing anything they can to avoid talking about their problems.

8.)    The Talker – Honest with their feelings, this person will just keep talking about themselves, giving the appearance of transparency, but has no interest in your thoughts or feedback.

9.)    The Reciprocator – This person deals with people pointing out their faults by returning the favor, pointing out the faults of others, thus trying to state, “I’m not any worse than you are.”

10.)  The Fighter – To this person, all conflict is seen as provoking, and thus they give the other person what they perceive they want – a fight.

11.) The Confessor – This person is only transparent when they feel condemned…not being able to take it any longer, they run to the nearest person to confess their sins. 

12.)  The Distractor – This person uses circumstances and others to run interference for their lives, thus remaining under the radar of others scrutiny.

All of these behavioral tendencies are in complete opposition to transparency.  In conclusion, I believe that we would do well to acknowledge our own patterns that avoid transparency in our lives and to, as Paul urged the Corinthians, “open wide our hearts” to those who have our best interest in mind.  As Brennan Manning wrote, “A truly transparent person is nearly impossible to offend.”  How transparent are you?

Vitalized Couples

Last night at Oasis Granger, we hosted 5 couples for our 2nd meeting of Vitalized Couples – a discussion oriented teaching group focusing on giving life to marriages. Last nights topic was, “How to Affair Proof your Marriage”. As the class started I was amazed by the transparency and honest by which couples shared. A topic like this would be so easy to just say the easy, safe answers, but these couples got raw. Here is a short list of some suggestions that couples had to help increase intimacy in relationships and to “affair proof” marriages.

-maintain honesty regardless the cost
-have daily sex
-if possible, spouses should not travel without each other alone
-set aside time each day for honest talk
-ask each other questions about needs, emotions, health of relationship, etc
-always tell spouse right away about any contact with a past boyfriend or girlfriend
-be understanding of spouses struggles, knowing that based on Christ’s definition of “adultery”, we are all guilty of breaking it. No one is faithful 100% of the time but God.
-help spouse discover and face their own heart; become more self aware.

That is just a few of the tips that our couples had for building safer, stronger marriages. I’m proud of everyone for sharing and I’m believing that this group and Oasis Granger are going to have the best marriages on the planet! Next Vitalized Couples is a dinner date to Olive Garden, Nov 13th (friday) at 7pm, across from UP mall.

Good News, 2x.

I’m excited to announce that Oasis Granger is making the jump to two services, starting October 3rd at 5:30pm.  It is our goal to see this new service become an opportunity for more and more people to be able to interface with Oasis and most of all, for them to hear the message of God’s unconditional love and grace.  For those of you who are currently involved at Oasis or are wanting to get involved with Oasis, we are in need of some additional volunteers to make this transition, especially in the following areas:

-God’s Kids/Nursery

-Security

-Worship Team

-Sound/Media Teams

Please contact me at Lucas@oasis-granger.com for more info or to get involved.

Staff Envy

As a church planter, I  spent several of our first years planting very jealous, but perhaps not about what one might think.  I think most would assume that pastors would be jealous about attendance or perhaps money or buildings or something, but not me.  I was jealous of other churches’ staffs.  There I was, with a home office or sitting at Bella Vita Coffee (God rest her soul ) all by myself trying to do the job of 4-10 people.  Granted, I live for stuff like this, but there were plenty of days when it was really hardwork and it would have been nice to have a couple other people around to help.  As I looked at other churches and pastors, they had people.  You know “peope”.  They would say things like, “no problem, I’ll have one of my people take care of this” and  things like that.  I had no people; heck, I didn’t even have a copy machine to talk to.  In thinking back, it wasn’t so much that my lack of partners in crime caused me to be lonely, afterall, Krissy was very much around and always engaged in the ministry with me (and let’s be honest, she can do the work of 5 others), but I really wanted a team.  I wanted to strategize, plan, promote, engage, attack, foster, and one just can’t imagine how difficult that is to do over a decaf latte all by yourself.  I mean, I know, I’ve tried it. 

Now, 5 years later, I have a team, but not just a team, but a SUPER TEAM!  It’s like the Justice League, but for Jesus.  To be honest, it’s hard to recall sometimes how they all got here, in fact, for many of them it seems like they’ve been here the whole time.  But somewhere along the way, God started bringing some amazing people along side of us.

I first met John Eicher Jr. while enjoying a  Sunday lunch at Houlihans with my wife and parents.  I love talking with servers and John equally loved talking with his tables.  Sometime after the appetizer, I discovered that John was a bible college graduate and had just returned from a 2 year mission in Hondorus.  Next thing I knew, we were at the driving range at Bobicks, and later traveling to Kenya together to minister in the urban slums.  From day one, John just fit.  He still does.  He is a man of wisdom, humility, and tremendous giftings.

Many might not know this, but I first met Jaime Hilton, who oversees our  worship ministry, at a job interview.  Krissy and I, for a short season, owned a Sylvan Learning Center in Niles, MI, and Jaime applied for a marketing position there.  It’s better to hear her side of the story, but essentially, she came in for an interview, we talked about the church most of the time, and I didn’t give her the job at Sylvan, which I really felt horrible about.  And which is why I was mortified when she showed up one Sunday AM at Oasis.  (This was back when we were meeting  at the bar.)  I was so embarrassed.  I thought, “man, this girl is persistent….didn’t I tell you that you didn’t get the job.”  After that her first Sunday at Oasis, I didn’t see her for awhile (which I couldn’t blame her, I wouldn’t want to go to the church of someone who didn’t give me a job either), but later ran into her several times at Bella Vita Coffee (I was there trying to strategize all by myself).  We would always exchange small talk, and inevitably, just like her interview, I would always talk to her about Oasis.  That was years ago.  Now she is overseeing our worship ministry and is writing some of my favorite worship songs. 

Ryan Knox was one of my youth group students at Oasis Wauseon.  He was one of those freakish kids that knew God’s call on his life at a really young age.  His freshman year of high school, he came to Krissy and I and told us that he intended to join us in Granger and help with the church plant.  I was like, “oh, that’s nice” in much the same way you pat an 8 yr old boy on the back after he tells you “when I grow up I want to be an astronaut.”  I just didn’t know he really meant  it.  Now Ryan, and his lovely wife Brittany, oversee our youth ministy and Ryan also oversees much of our building maintenance and construction. 

Lindsey “Sey” Blackford and I first met several years ago through a mutual friend.  After a series of events, Lindsey wandered into Oasis (she was serving on a church staff that had essentially dissolved).  She quickly assimilated into the people and culture of Oasis and with her came her amazingly large family.  (Lindsey has 6 other siblings)  Since then, Lindsey has proven herself to be an invaluable part of the team.  She spends much of her time behind the scenes, but Lindsey is responsible for much of the administration of our staff, major church events, and she also is part of our children’s ministry leadership team.  Beyond that, her family is dynamite…they’ve really made their mark here at Oasis, especially on our worship team (Thanks Chris and Michael).  (Mark and Sandy, you both are champions and have raised a great family.) 

Justin Prawat, who landed here just shortly after Lindsey arrived, continues to impress me.  I got into a pinch awhile back and needed someone to lead worship.  Lindsey suggested this guy she knew, named Justin, aka Superbomb.  Little did I know, that at that time, Justin had never lead worship by himself on a Sunday before – anywhere.  But he must have done a decent job that first Sunday, because now he is on the stage almost every week.  Beyond that, Justin’s day job is to be my assistant, at which he really excels.  Justin puts  up with my crazy schedule and always seems to find something funny to say while doing it.  He has become a good friend.

Though she technically works for OasNet, it probably would only be right to also mention, Becky Gritton.  Becky and I have been friends since youth and was one of the first people to come alongside Krissy and I when planting the church.  She has a tremendous heart for missions and coordinates relationship with many of our international pastors.  Becky, Krissy and I are both thankful to have you here at Oasis and in our lives. 

Last but not least, my wife, Krissy.  I already mentioned that she is essentially a work force on her own, but she is so much more than that.  Other than Christ, I’ve confident that I wouldn’t have made it this far without her.  She has spent countless hours listening to me ramble, complain, dream, and always seems to find some way of challenging me and encouraging me in the process.  She stood by me when no one else would and continues to be my number one cheerleader and friend.  (I love you babe.)

So that’s my team and ironically, I don’t have lattees all that often any more.  Thankfully, now, God has surrounded me with a group of sincere, hardworking, creative, and wonderful people to help carry the vision and see it through to completion.  There is nothing I wouldn’t do for all of you.  My sincerest thanks.

OasNet Worship Project

Next week, the Oasis Network For Churches hits the studio to begin recording our newest worship album, Savior of All, featuring original worship music from Trace Rorie, Jaime Hilton, Nick Hill, Seth Bible, and Brian DeShong.  Currently the project is set to release on June 1st.  The CD can be purchased through OasNet for $15 and is available for pre-order for 10% off the retail price.  Keep checking back for updates on the project and photos from the studio. Email jprawat@oasis-granger.com or call 574-247-9800 for pre-order information.

The Harvest Show

Drum Roll Please! Introducing the New OasNet Logo

The new OasNet Logo, seen above as “the lily upon the water” was designed by Milesdesign and is symbolic of the life that springs forth from the Living Water found in Jesus Christ.  As OasNet has been undergoing many changes over the last few months, we wanted to echo those changes with a new look.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  Keep checking back for more updates regarding OasNet and the new, Global Pastor Outreach.  Merry Christmas! 

Welcome Sarah Way and Tia Brown to the OasNet Team.

For the last several months, OasNet has been seeking an intern to join our team specifically to assist with Global Pastor Outreach (aka Adopt a Pastor Program).  God answered that prayer with not just one intern, but two.  Sarah Way and Tia Brown attended the recent Oasis Granger Christmas Coffee House at Bella Vita Coffee.  They thought they were attending the event to support their good friend and singer/song writer, Seth Bible, who was performing that night, but apparently God had more in store.  Long story short, I had informed them to “keep their eyes open” for anyone who might be interested in assisting with some international ministry projects that we’re working on, as Sarah and Tia are both local college students (Notre Dame and Bethel College, respectively).  They asked a few questions about the program and I went on about the night.  Little did I know that God was stirring their hearts to join our team.  Later that night, they asked, “What if we are interested in getting involved with the project?”  And the rest, as they say, is history.  Sarah and Tia (pictured below) will both begin working for OasNet and Global Pastor Outreach in early January and will conclude their internship with a trip to visit the Oasis churches in Tampico, Mexico in June.  We are all excited to welcome them on board and to see what all God is going to do in them over the next several months.  To find out more about the Global Pastor Outreach or the Oasis Network For Churches you can visit our website at www.oasnet.net or contact our offices at 574-247-9800. 

Oasis Granger Staff Christmas

Brittany, Krissy, Becky, and Lindsey