Welcome & Opening DevotionJune 19, 2013

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in

and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And

now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves

flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline

into your souls!

–Hebrews 12:2 (The Message)

Why do people run?O ―I like to race, but I hate to

run. I know that I need to pick events that give purpose to my training routine…I think I like to scare myself as a reminder not to become complacent or too comfortable again.‖ Scott Gillum

O ―Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.‖ -Mark Twain

O ―The point is, if you’re going to put a lot of time and emotion into something, it had better be something that really does matter to you.‖ –Matt Frazier

O ―There is nothing that feels better than doing something I used to think was impossible. Then you find yourself in a whole new class of impossible. And then one day you do that more impossible thing, and your eyes are opened even wider.‖

-Matt Frazier

Why do people run?O ―There is something

reassuring about striving towards such fixed goals, measuring your progress in numbers that are not open to interpretation, but stand there as unambiguous achievements in an otherwise confusing world.‖ –Adharanand Finn

O ―Christopher McDougall’s bestselling book Born to Run is largely based around a theory devised by Harvard scientists that humans evolved through persistence hunting—chasing animals down until they dropped dead.

O ―Running doesn’t have logic on its side.‖

–Adharanand Finn

O ―Racing along out on the trails…splashing through puddles, we begin to sense a faint recollection of that childish joy. It’s the fabled runner’s high, of course, but by labeling it such we diminish it. It may only be chemicals shooting around in your brain, but after a long run everything seems right with the world.

O -Adharanand Finn

Why do peoplerun?

YOU

work to grow and improve

your school ministry?

1. First and foremost, how do we

Cross TRAIN and grow as disciples of Christ and share that gospel

message with everyone we encounter?

2. How can we be “cross trained” so that we might understand

functions and facets of ministry accomplished by others, including the tech gurus and the teachers still clinging to their EZ Slider Grader?

3. There is strength in Cross Training, spiritually, physically, and

organizationally. (It reminds me of Japanese Buddhist monks.)

The Japanese monks of Mt. Hiei

(Did Michael just say "Japanese Monks?―)

-Why do the monks run?

-What can we learn from them?

-What have we been given that we can

teach others?