Another Church that Really Gets it Right

On Sunday, March 28, Billie and I attended Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, MO. Woodland Hills has become the home church for our son, Chad and our daughter-in-law, Tanya. It was a great experience.

Chad had told me about the pastor, Ted Cunningham and I was really looking forward to meeting him. Pastor Ted is the founding pastor of this 8 year old church. It has exploded and he is in demand across the country as a speaker. In addition to speaking on the faculty of the Smalley Relationship Center, he is a speaker at Men at the Cross conferences.

During his Sunday message, Pastor Ted shared that it was about three years ago that the church leadership made a very distinct change that impacted every area of the ministry of Woodland Hills. They believed that God wanted them to be a family and to build God’s family. As a result, the ministry of Woodland Hills, from the pulpit to the classes, should be directed at strengthening the family.

I am fairly certain that Pastor Ted did not share this message to impress me. OK, I am absolutely positive that he did not share this to impress me. However, he nailed it. Woven into his message, which was based on Ephesians, he spoke about being the intergenerational family and the power of Rites of Passage. He shared that his desires was to raise his children to be strong Godly Adults, not get by with good teenagers. He was also very clear that his kids would become adults as part of God’s plan, at the age of 12.

As a note, Woodland Hills Family Church sounds like most other churches in any suburb in the United States. Unlike all the others, this church meets in a purple castle in the heart of Branson, across the parking lot from an amusement park. Now that rocks.

If you are in Branson on a Sunday morning, it is a great place to call home, even if it is just for a weekend.

A Post/Response by Chad Stecker

This entry was posted by Chad Stecker after my last blog entry. Chad, Tanya and Makayla have now moved officially to Branson, MO where Chad is the Manager of Music City Centre.

Chad is also on Facebook and Twitter. One of the most important things I want my children to remember is that while I am proud of what they do, I am incredibly proud of who they are.

Chad's entry from a few days ago.

Chad Stecker just took a break from a hectic day at work to read dads blog on "Needing more than Rest". I remember reading this when he first wrote it and liking it very much so, but after the recent events of moving to Branson I was enlightened by this reading in a whole new light. My parents and mother in law went to Kansas to ...do the entire move with my wife and daughter so that I could begin working at my new job. They packed boxes and loaded them and everything we owned on a 26 ft trailer and 3 cars. They worked their tails off for about a week so that Tanya and I could make a better life for us and our family. As they all pulled into the driveway here in Branson and then proceeded to to work hard to unload and unpack. I noticed that I have never seen any of them more tired than I did right then. They didn't just need rest, but even more so, they needed restoration. My parents (including my mother in law) are in need of restoration because of what they have done for me and my family. As a parent now I see what my parents do for me and give up for me in a brand new light. I have begun to see my father God in a whole new light through the actions of my own parents. I can remember so many times in my life that my parents became weary doing whatever it took to take care of me, but this time was different. During my devotion today my Father God helped me realize that it is my job as their child, who has benefited from what they have given to me and given up for me, to be an acting part of the restoration God wants to bring them. As children we can and should take an active roll in being a part of Gods plan to give physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual restoration to our parents. Stand up and give back to those who have given so much to you already. Thank you Mom, Dad, Dory and Pops!


So... You can post a comment if you like or better yet, go to the Music City Centre in Branson, MO and tell him yourself.