Category Archives: Ministry
Few Pics from our Christmas Eve SERVICE
We partnered with a number of Northshore churches and with Brown Bags and Jesus, to serve a hot meal and pass out blankets and coats to homeless men and women under I-10 in New Orleans today. If you’re interested in getting involved in ministering to the homeless, contact Justin Hodges with Brown Bags and Jesus. They are there every Sunday afternoon serving brown bag lunches and sharing Christ. Thanks to all those who gave coats, blankets, and prayers.
Christmas Eve SERVICE. No Really!
The #1 definition of the word service according to Miriam Webster’s Dictionary is “the occupation or function of serving.” In church circles we’ve turned to the #3 Webster’s definition of “a form followed in worship or in ceremony.” Both are necessary part of practicing faith, but FORM (the attractional, low participatory worship service) is definitely what we tend to be thinking of when we use the words service and church together today. The FUNCTION (being occupied with doing something to meet the need of another) is relegated to us professionals or those who are spiritually mature. This is another topic for another day, but it appears to me that the younger generation of Christ followers are looking for function along with (not instead of) form. I’m part of that generation so I’m really excited about the Christmas Eve SERVICE that my family will be a part of this Thursday.
On Christmas Eve, from 11am-3pm, we will join with several other churches in our region to SERVE the 100’s of homeless in inner city New Orleans. We will be partnering with Brown Bags and Jesus and New Orleans Mission to serve a hot meal and distribute coats, blankets, sock hats, along with caring concern, hope, love, Good News, etc. to homeless men and women who will spend Christmas in a shelter or on the pavement. Can’t think of a better way to worship on Christmas Eve or a better way to teach my boys about the incarnation of Christ.
One of my favorite Christmas passages is Phillipians 2:3-8:
3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
This is Christmas – Jesus Christ laid aside His privileges for the sake of my need and yours. Jesus took the form and function of a servant upon himself for the sake of others and He desires for us to do the same. John 20:21 says,
As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
To be a sent servant of the Father is more than just attending a religious form. Who are you serving? Whose needs are you occupied with? I’m glad that God in his love, occupied Himself with our needs and sent His son who served and gave and rescued me.
If you’re in the New Orleans area, join us Thursday, 11-3pm. Click here for more details.
You’ll even have time to attend a traditional Christmas Eve Service that evening. Here’s a few I’d recommend in our area:
- Bedico Baptist Church, Ponchatoula, 5pm, Candlelight Service and Lord’s Supper Celebration. www.bedicobaptist.org.
- New Zion Baptist Church, Covington, 6pm, Candlelight Service. www.newzion.net
- First Baptist Covington, 4pm & 6pm. www.fbccov.org.
- First Baptist Mandeville, 5pm & 7pm. www.fbcmandeville.org
- Trinity Baptist Church, Hammond, 6:30pm. www.pumpkincenter.org.
Loving in Deed and Truth
Pics from our final Faith in Action Sunday of 2009, which included
Our Next Faith in Action Sunday will be January 31st, 2010.
Faith in Action Sunday
Bridge Church began meeting weekly for worship on August 16th, at our local YMCA. This Sunday we’ll do something a little crazy. We’re moving our worship gathering to a local trailer park where we’ll rebuild a porch for an elderly gentleman, throw a block party for kids that will include a gospel centered lesson, have free Jambalaya lunch for the whole park (over 150 trailers), and other miscellaneous projects. We’ll also have ladies scattering out to the ICU waiting rooms in West St. Tammany with fruit baskets and encouragement. We’ve committed to do this at least 4 times a year (every time there’s a 5th Sunday in a month). It’s part of our outreach and discipleship strategy. Outreach because we’ll look to share the gospel and gather prospects along with meeting huge needs in the lives of unchurched people in our community. Discipleship because it gets our whole body engaged in putting what we’re learning into action.
As I’ve shared this idea with people across the spiritual spectrums, it has been met with tremendous support, usually with a statement like – “That’s what the church should be doing!” It just makes sense that servants of Jesus Christ should be out serving in some way. Our desire is to start a church that is a missionary instead of an amenity, a connection point to ministry instead of the consumeristic destination, and that is as intentional about practicing theology as we are about learning theology.
We’ll see how it goes…
Helpful Links
- Praying this article is widely read – 10 Reasons to Partner in Planting Now
- Al Mohler spent some time with Acts 29 guys and weighs in
- This is the kind of church I want to be a part of too…
- Does size matter? This is a helpful reminder for every church leader.
- I know it’s not Thanksgiving yet, but I’m going to keep this Tozer piece close by this Christmas
10 Easy Ways to Know You’re Not a Leader, from Killing Cockroaches by Tony Morgan
Just finished the book Killing Cockroaches by Tony Morgan. A book of posts from Morgan’s popular blog on strategy, leadership, etc., etc., etc. The book and the blog are well worth your time. Loved the practical, personal nature of the book which demonstrates how leaders should learn and grow and teach as we process everyday life and leadership. Blogging is a tremendous tool for sharing our life lessons. Looking forward to future books like this from other favorite bloggers. Some of my favorite posts/chapters/essays, whatever you want to call them, was the Top ten list. Here’s a list I appreciated:
10 EASY WAYS TO KNOW YOU’RE NOT A LEADER:
- You’re waiting on a bigger staff and more money to accomplish your vision.
- You think you need to be in charge in order to have influence.
- You’re content.
- You tend to foster division instead of generating a helpful dialogue.
- You think you need to say something to be heard.
- You find it easier to blame others for your circumstances than to take responsibility for solutions.
- It’s been some time sine you said, “I messed up.”
- You’re driven by the task instead of the relationships and the vision.
- Your dreams are so small that people think they can be achieved.
- No one is following you.
Just one of the thought provoking posts from the book. More later…
I’m a Published Photographer!
Check out the cover of Voice of Martyrs Spanish Edition. I snapped that picture on a 2008 trip to a remote village in the Lacandon Jungle of Chiapas, Mexico. VOM’s Spanish Publisher found it on my blog (with this post) and requested to use it. I was honored for them to do so because I’m a fan of the work of Voice of Martyrs and I’m burdened by the tremendous needs in Chiapas. The current issue will be on the persecution of Evangelical Christians in Chiapas. Sign up to receive their free newsletter here.
Hope Church of Waldheim has been on two trips to the region, providing medical care and cultivating the ground for church planting among the Tzotzil Indians in the Highlands of Chiapas. Bridge Church, the new church we are a part of in West St. Tammany Parish, recently sent a team back to the Lacandon Jungle to continue the work. We hope to return in 2009. Keep in touch for info about future trips.
Check out our partners at http://gled.net/.
I know what God says, BUT…
I know what God says, BUT…
- “my situation is different.”
- “that will never happen to me.”
- “everyone else does it.”
- “that was a long time ago.”
- “they deserve it.”
- “god understands my needs.”
- “who really does that anyway?”
- “that’s just not possible for me.”
- “I’ll get around to that one day.”
When you disobey God it means there is a gap between where you are and where you know God wants you to be. “I know what God says, BUT…” or “I know what I should be doing, BUT…” reveals that gap for all that it is. When you excuse your disobedience, you are saying more about what you believe about God than anything else. What you should just go ahead and say is, “I know what God says, BUT…”
- “He really doesn’t matter that much to me.”
- “I know better than He does about this issue/situation. I’m so much wiser about these kind of things.”
- “God has changed since the Bible was written and all that stuff doesn’t really matter anymore.”
- “I’d rather do what my friends say than God. They are so much smarter than him.”
- “I don’t really think He can provide for this need. I’ll just do it myself.”
- “I don’t really believe in God at all. Since he’s not real, I can do whatever I want.”
If you can easily excuse a pattern of disobedience, blowing off the word and will of God, the book of 1 John says you are a liar, deceived, and in darkness.
The real Christian responds to God’s word with obedience. He’s revealed Himself in Christ who is willing to transform our lives. The transformed one responds to God with obedience.
Chiapas Team Update, Free Museum Day, etc.
I just skyped with Sergio Matassa, the missionary in Chiapas, Mexico. Our Mission team just arrived back into the city from the Lacandon Jungle and were getting ready to go out on the town (San Cristobal de las casas, incredible city). They had 33 professions of faith and other cool things take place. Can’t wait to hear the personal testimonies next Sunday from Derek Kitterlin and Eddie Koch, our own guys on the trip. And of course start planning the next trip to the Jungle – any takers? For more info on the work in Chiapas, check out gled.net.
FYI:Saturday is FREE MUSEUM DAY nationwide. Locally, the D-Day Museum, LA Children’s Museum, Lake Ponchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, and a few others will be participating (here’s the list). At the Maritime Museum in Madisonville they will be unveiling the official T-Shirt that volunteers will receive for free for their work at the Wooden Boat Festival on October 10-11. If you’d like to volunteer with Bridge Church and the Boat Fest Children’s Village, download and fill out the Volunteer Registration Form and bring it Sunday (check out the Festival Poster to the right). For 4 hours of volunteering you get the free T-shirt, a meal pass, and you get to help Bridge Church serve thousands of people in our community.
Join us Sunday as we continue our study of 1 John. Last Sunday we talked about the Real Jesus, this week we’ll talk about the Real Christian. Our questions will be, “How can I be certain that I’m a Christian?” and “Should I be so certain that I’m a Christian?”
Download last weeks message from our website and check out a few supporting articles on my blog here.
Chiapas, Mexico – VOM Restricted Nation
This week we have a small team from our church traveling to remote villages in Chiapas, Mexico, bringing physical and spiritual care and supporting the church planting movement taking place among the Tzotzil Indians in Mexico’s southern most state. While I was unable to go on this trip, I had an interesting opportunity to contribute to the mission of spreading the Gospel in Chiapas this week. Voice of Martyrs, Spanish Edition, asked to use one of my pictures from a previous trip on the cover of an upcoming issue. The picture (to the left) was taken at a village called Nuevo Sabanilla in the Lacandon Jungle, where a team from Hope Church of Waldheim, Oak View Baptist Church in Irving, TX, and Willow Bend Church in Plano, TX, traveled with a few Mexican doctors last June. It was an incredible experience that included a five hour ride on a dirt road (that’s a long dirt road even for someone from LaSalle Parish), breath taking scenery, waking up inside a passing cloud bank, being the first Americans to travel to the area, and knowing that because of our trip lives were saved physically and spiritually. This week our team is back in the jungle village of Nuevo Sabanilla to continue the work and help solidify the planting of a healthy church in the region.
I hope you’ll join me in praying for Chiapas. To be on the cover of Voice of Martyrs means that it is not a safe place for evangelical Christians. See this story about their status as a restricted nation. And pray for our team that will be making the trek out of the jungle starting tomorrow. Can’t wait to hear the stories of God’s work and to start planning the next trip!
For info about our partnering organization in Chiapas visit gled.net. For more of the story and pics click here.
Lane Corley 
