The Orchard BLOG
About The Author
The Orchard Blog is written by Steve Dusek, Founding Church Planter here at The Orchard Church. Steve is a father of two kids, both leading worship in the student band at The Orchard. He and his lovely wife, Sherry, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in January of 2010.





Serving
The Orchard BLOG

LifeGroup Ministry

Oct/03/2009 09:13 AM
This is exciting.

In case you missed it last week, we rolled out our partnership with Clear Creek Middle School to mentor students and meet needs of families in Ellijay. Through this important relationship, we are going to be able to touch lives the way Jesus did in some incredible ways. We have already been “piloting” this program in small ways, and it has been incredibly effective!

In just our initial discussion about it on Sunday morning in the church service, we have already seen quite a few of you donate food, clothing, and even freezers to store stuff in for the upcoming winter season! The church response has ALREADY been amazing, even though we really haven’t even gotten started!

If you want to hear some of the details, they come towards the end of last week’s message, which you can pick up on our podcast page. That message is right here.

Don’t worry! Never gotten involved in a family’s life that way before??? No sweat. We are here to support and resource you. There will be a mentor training on Sunday, October 18 right after the service. Lunch is included. Sign up at the service this week, or RSVP via email.

This is really exciting. Who would think of a church that would be ministering INSIDE it’s own group and OUTSIDE in the community? That’s what we’re here for.

James 2:14-20
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

This Morning... WOW!

Apr/05/2009 10:38 PM
I just have to shout out a huge THANK YOU to everyone involved in this morning’s launch preparations. I was shocked at the energy level and enthusiasm for what is going on here! First, since we were on a “week off” between preview service and Launch Sunday, I really expected our numbers to be quite low... The plan was to make today a work day, since Spring Break is on, and people are out of town. things ought to be kinda quiet... Right?

So here we are with no real plan for a service, no “message” ready, and didn’t even set up the curtains, or make everything look pretty. It is just going to be “us” today. We’re wearing our work clothes and are going to be taking care of some last-minute business.

Well, I turned around, and the theater lobby was PACKED with people who had come to be part of the morning services! I was amazed to see some friendly faces that I hadn’t seen in a long time. I was even more amazed to see so many faces that I just didn’t even recognize! So, at 10AM, we quickly threw together a plan, prayed, and had a short mini-service. And it rocked. Thanks, Casey, Chad, Zac, Caleb, and Sherry for pulling together on that.

After I did my best to explain what it was we were trying to do here, I asked if people would be willing to spend some time working our launch preparations with us. I thought, “okay, now all these visitors will go home (and probably never come back) and then our group can work the stuff and get a few things done.



I was wrong again! I think nearly EVERYBODY stayed for the rest of the morning... We had people labeling mailer cards until EVERY SINGLE CARD had an address on it! (usually takes us DAYS to complete!) We had people I didn’t even KNOW vacuuming floors, I saw people cleaning walls. New people were setting up toys for babies, and visitors from out of state cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and washed all the dishes! Now, walk through our new children’s space, and it smells fresh and clean.

I was truly amazed at what I saw. I was amazed at these people’s willingness and PLEASURE in serving. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and just enjoying each other. For me, it was one of the best Sundays we’ve had.

What if The Church was like that all the time? What if, as Henry Blackaby puts it, we could look around and SEE where God is working, drop everything, and just JOIN HIM in that work? What would God do in us and through us? Isn’t THAT what The Church is all about?

Thanks, everyone. You made my week. I am praying for you as we tear through our FINAL WEEK before LAUNCH SUNDAY.

Meeting Needs

Feb/17/2009 09:39 PM
In some ways, the I Love Ellijay thing was not what I was hoping. I had my own picture of what I thought it should look like, and how it would impact people. I kind of wanted us to have a big splash, meeting the needs of a ton of people. But, working with the counselors at the school, it seems that they wanted to scale us down a little more each day. Finally, they narrowed us down to just the two families that they put us on to. Frankly, it was a much smaller scope than I had hoped for.

A little disappointed, I went into the weekend with low expectations.

Something really cool happened, though. Instead of just handing out stuff to random people, we got a little involved in some families' lives. We were able to get into homes and actually get our arms around some people that really needed to see some love in action. We had a chance to chase that towel, like we talked about on the previous Sunday. I think being in those homes and sharing in their stories really had an impact on all of us this weekend. It was powerful. I don't think any of our group walked away the same.

There is something about serving others that just changes your perspective.

It sure has changed conversations in our home. We aren't talking about "me" so much lately... My 14-year old daughter come home, looked around her room, and said that she felt like she was just selfish, and that she needed to give more. She was really impacted by the stories of a couple of sisters in her school that are living with great need.

We've talked about it several times since. I've asked her, "Where can you start?" You don't have much to give right now... You're 14. Both of us agreed that being a friend would go a long way. Building a relationship will open the door to so much more in the near future than just handing stuff over like some sort of charity case.

Be her friend, not her savior. Jesus will take care of that one. Our job is to help open the door.

What is the future? What will happen tomorrow as a result of our simple need-meeting today? I can't wait to see what happens next.

I Love Ellijay

Feb/12/2009 07:28 AM
This thing is going to be CRAZY. Sure, we are going to start out small, but I think that God is lining people and circumstances up for us to meet some critical needs right away! I can't wait to see what is going to happen! Be praying right now for how HE wants to use you to meet needs and love Ellijay. Come on Sunday to get the full story! We are going to kick it!

Becoming a Blessing

Jan/28/2009 11:29 AM
Yesterday, Zac and I went over to Athens to see if we could find any deals on used sound equipment at a nightclub auction that was going on there. It was a very interesting day, as we got to talk with a bunch of local bar/club owners and see what they were doing, and how the economy was affecting them. There were a bunch of people there... Maybe 30 or so, all bidding on barstools, tables, neon lights, speakers, intelligent spots, and so forth.

I met a kid named Chris. He's a college student trying to make a little bit of a living DJ'ing parties and other events in and around Lawrenceville. Great kid. He is just a poor college student, showing up at the auction looking to get a little bit of a deal on something small that can help his struggling business. His main goal was to get two microphones and a snake, which is a bundled set of microphone cables with a connector box on the end. He was disappointed to find that the microphones (Shure Beta 58's) he wanted were being sold as a set of six, which he likely couldn't afford. He could probably swing the two he needed, but definitely not six. We talked for a little while, telling me about his girlfriend, and his dreams of having a local small-time recording studio.

I told him about our church plant, and how we were looking for some of the same things he was looking for, plus some speakers and other items. He was very interested, and asked several questions. Before we knew what was happening, the bidding began!

I watched him bid on and lose some XLR cables. He bid and lost some direct boxes. Next up came the snake that he wanted. Even though everyone had their bidding "poker faces" on, I could see his disappointment when he lost the snake to a higher bidder. Even at incredible auction prices, where things were going for pennies on the dollar, this guy just didn't have the cash to buy the smallest of things available.

Next up were the Shure Beta 58's. Nice set of six microphones. (they retail for $160 or so each.) He started the bidding at $30 per mic, but was immediately priced out when the cost rose rapidly. Just as they were about to go for $57 each, the final bid was made and they sold for $60... To The Orchard Church. I looked across the room to where Chris was standing and he shot me a quick smile. He knew what we were there for, and was very supportive about our new church start.

As soon as I could get to him, he shook my hand and congratulated me with a smile. He offered to hang around and help us load up the equipment we had just bought. I thanked him, and handed him two of the microphones, telling him that we wanted to be a blessing to him. He was a little stunned, suprised to see someone thinking of others in the midst of this "get-it-for-myself" free for all. He ended up paying us for one of them, saying that he wanted to support The Orchard, and that he felt he should be giving, not taking from the church. I let him pay his original bid price of $30, and both of us were thrilled.

It is awesome that even 3 months before we have our first church service, The Orchard is blessing a kid in Lawrenceville, and we are blessed by him.