Our Farm Community

Many people tell me that we are no longer a "Farm Community". That most our our folks work in non-agricultural fields. But as I look out of any of the many windows of this place we call Dutchtown , as far as I can see, I only see fields of corn and soybeans. Herds of cattle roaming the fields and the confinement building housing hogs. I see Silos too numerous to count, old barns that have stood the test of time and a few that have not! The sounds of tractors and combines fill the air, as does the familiar "Aromas" only a farm can produce. We are truly a Farm Community and always will be. Many that call Dutchtown home are still proud to be called a Farmer. And many others work in agriculturally based businesses. Then there are many more families who still have ties to the old family farm. This harvest season, let us be thankful to our Farmers for their hard work and the calling they have taken to feed the world. Remember to pray for their safety this time of the year as they run late into the night harvesting the crop when the weather allows them. We, here at Dutchtown are proud to have you families as a part of our Dutchtown family! May God continue to bless your hard work, to grant you safety when you grow weary, to give you a sense of fulfillment as you work God's good earth.
All of a sudden I feel like having a big steak with all the trimmings!
Thank You Farm Families! Pastor Rick

Late Hours

In the 1940's and into the 50's most people worked what was considered "Normal Hours" say 8:00-5:00p.m. But in today's work place anything goes when it comes to work schedules. People now work 10, 12, and 14 hour days. With many companies working around the clock. And that includes week-ends as well. It is getting hard for us to differentiate one day from another. And wow have your sleep patterns gotten all messed up! Not to mention the toil that all of these strange hours have upon family life. Many of you out there have such work schedules that you must deal with. As the Church we need to under gird these families with prayer and ministry. They often times cannot be in worship for they are at work on Sunday or sleeping for they have just gotten off of their shift. We need to let them know that they are missed, but more then that we need to take Church and Christ to them in those odd hours that they are awake. I hesitate to mention names for fear of leaving any of you out, but please know that you who work graveyard or weekends or any other number of strange shifts that we have not forgotten you! You are in my prayers and those of your Church. And know as well that if there is anything I can do to minister unto you and your family amidst your crazy work schedule, I am only a phone call away. But more importantly, Christ is simply a prayer away.
May Christ bless you when you can no longer distinguish night from day,
may He give your family peace in those times you cannot be present because of work,
may He and we your Church meet your spiritual needs as life is Topsy turvy.
Love you all, Pastor Rick

Runnin' on Empty

Yesterday in worship my wife Beckie made mention of how much money I spend each week at the pump simply keeping gas in my car. I usually have to fill it up twice if not three times each week. But without that gas I am going nowhere! No visits to hospitals, nursing homes, home visits or ball games or a myriad of other activities I would miss without gas in my tank. I also try to keep it filled up just in case of that emergency in the middle of the night. I have learned my lesson there! We are no different then our cars in this way. We too need to be "Filled Up" on a regular basis if we are too carry out the many duities we have in life. Responsibilites at work, around the house, to our families, and those to our Lord Jesus. But oh so many times we find ourselves running on fumes or even worse runnin' on empty. A great song by the way "Runnin' On Empty" by Jackson Browne in 1977. Showing my age once again. But a song about having nothing left to give, about running blind into the world. How often do you find yourself in this place? Weary, wornout, not knowing where the energy will come for your next task. Well I have a solution for you, PRAYER! It is the gas that our souls run on. It is in these moments when we enter into the presence of almighty God and we allow Him to fill us with His goodness and mercy. To fill us with His love and encoureagement. So how often are you going to the "Filling Station"
for your soul? Quit runnin' on empty and get your tank filled at the feet of Jesus!
Love ya' Pastor Rick

"Slow Down!"

Hey Church!
Last Friday night Beckie & I took Nicki and the kids to one of my son-in-law Mikes football games. Mike is the head coach of the Rushville Rockets. Our family must have a tendency towards weapons! Rockets and Missiles, all I need now is for one of my grandkids to some day play for the Torpedo's! Anyway back to Friday night. It had rained a bit earlier that night, the ground was muddy and the metal bleachers were slick. So what did Chase and Drew decide to do. Run down the ramp from the bleachers to the ground as fast as thier little legs could carry them. Of course each one of us cautioned them about what could happen. But as the words were coming out of our mouths Drew hit the deck! His pride hurt more then his bottom or back, but tears came forth and hugs from mom. Lesson learned, fat chance! More falls occured, time-outs given along with more hugs. I would like to blame their moms for the way these little ones hurry and scurry about, but then where did they get it? Yours truly! And like my grandkids who had more then one fall that night because of their haste, I too have had more then my share of "falls" because of mine. What about you? We are called upon today to "Multi-task" with each waking moment. Thinking that our dilegence is the way. I am hoping that in the future I can learn to "slow down" because it's getting harder and harder to pick myself up each time I fall. Even Christ slowed down and got away from it all when the pressures of His calling became overwhelming!
Let's learn this lesson from Jesus! Love You all, Pastor Rick

Back to Church Sunday

Hey Gang,
By now many of you know that Dutchtown is participating in National "Back to Church" Sunday which is Sunday,September 18th. This is a day in which you are encouraged yourself to be apart of worship. Sort of a "Pack the Place" event like those held for ball games in High School. But it is also a time for you to invite someone that you have not seen in church for awhile and to invite folks that you know that do not have a Church family. You will see here in Milledgeville that this message is going out on several of the Message Boards around town. You will also see this advertized in our local papers. But the our main advertizment is YOU! You passing along thge invite to someone personally. To help you with those you want to invite we have at Church large postcards for you to hand-out to those you want to invite. On that day at Church we will have a Coffee time @ 8:45 hosted by the Church Board. Our Choir will sing for the first time on that day. Our Children story will be a welcoming one for all newcomers. And we will have several greeters throughtout the Church and parking lot welcoming long time Dutchtowners and those who are first time visitiors. So I encoureage to get involved and to bring some one you know to the House of God on that day. Who knows who is out there simply awaiting someone to invite and welcome them to Church?
You all are in my Prayers as you carry-out the ministry of Christ! Pastor Rick

The Teachers Church

Hey Dutchtown & Friends,
A few years back I heard a comment about our church that I liked. In some circles we were known as "The Teacher's Church". Called this because of the many school teachers that were apart of our fellowship. Well as I look through our church directory, I still find that to be true. Now I'm not going to name names, but I count 14 people from Dutchtown involved in eduacation. These individuals teach our kids from Pre-school to High School, Special Education to Drivers Education and even some Councilers. And this number does not include those who are Coaches! As you can see Education is a "Calling" many of you have accepted and live out. I thank God for these individuals and thier families! They have the task of preparing our future world leaders.
In much the same, the Church, has a similiar task. And that is preparing our children, youth and adults with a spiritual education that will guide them in thier Chritian lives. Many of the "Ills" our world faces today is because we are a people who are not in and living out God's Word daily. But we can do something about that in our little corner of the world. On Sunday, September 11th, Sunday School begins at Dutchtown. There are groups of all ages in place to help you in your spiritual life. But one thing we need is Teachers to lead our children. I know of several people who will be working with the various adult groups and I am going to try and lead our High school class! So, I ask you to pray about how you could help our children by giving a portion of your time in the months to come so that we can raise up Godly children and youth here at Dutchtown. I thank those of you now that will be volunteering in the months to come for your ministry is vital to the well-being of those you will be teaching!
God Bless you All, Pastor Rick