Visit to the Mound
A favorite picture of my dad and I around 1985 I guess. I was 11 I think. It’s been about ten Father’s Days since he passed away. Remembering.
“I was in prison and you came to me” ~Jesus #prisonministry #faithinaction
Finished up another round of our Recovery & Re-Entry Program at our local jail last night. Very proud of the 37 men who are graduating from the program called Project 180 and the guys who volunteer their time each week to facilitate and encourage. This has been an incredible experience for me personally and for our church as we’ve sought to be present in and bring light to some of our communities dark places. So many stories of transformation. So many stories still in need of intervention. From some recent Project 180 participants:
- “I’m 50 years old and I’ve never completed anything. This year I’ve completed two courses through Project 180 and Bridge Church.
- “I thank God for not only second chances, but many chances. And I would like to take this opportunity to get my life on track so that I can be a positive influence to my kids and grandkids. I look forward to hearing the words “Daddy” and “Grandpa.” And to being able to fulfill what those words really mean.”
- from a mother of an inmate, “I’ve had 3 out of 4 sons die before the age of 18 due to drugs, alcohol, and violence. Thanks for helping my 4th son rise above.”
- from a sister of an inmate, “Thank you for helping my brother feel like a human being again.”
- “my dad left when I was 6 weeks old. My mom died of a drug overdose when I was 13. She left me a note on her death bed that said, ‘Baby, please don’t get addicted to drugs.’ She didn’t know it, but I was already addicted to drugs.”
Contact me if you’d like to get involved. We have a worship gathering at our local jail every Sunday at 9AM. Celebrate Recovery is Monday & Thursday, 7pm-9pm. Fathering Course called Malachi Dads meets on Sunday’s at 7pm. There are other opportunities to teach and encourage. In 2012, we’re hoping to get an ongoing Financial Planning, Parenting, and Healthy Relationship courses going. As well as continue with quarterly Block parties for inmate families and weekly worship gatherings.
This Sunday we’ll be doing a special Father’s Day Block Party for Inmate families. Flyer is attached. Call me if you’d like to participate.
Discipling Tool: Platt’s 25 Training Objectives for Disciples
Conversation starters for one-one-one or group discussion. Going through these right now with my 9-year old son. Consider the possibilities…
Download Word Doc – 25_Training_Objectives_for_Disciples
Here are the first three:
25 TRAINING OBJECTIVES FOR NEW DISCIPLES
1. Assurance of Salvation
- Truth to Teach: When we place our faith in Christ for salvation, we trust that our salvation is guaranteed through Christ. As a result, we don’t ever have to worry about His presence leaving us, and we are certain that we will spend eternity in heaven when we die. Nothing in this world can take this assurance away from us.
- Scriptures: Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:28-39; John 10:28-29
- Application: Remind them that they don’t have to ask God for salvation again and again because His salvation is assured for them once they place their faith in Him.
- Activities: Pray with them and thank God for the assurance that they will spend eternity with Him in heaven.
2. Having a Quiet Time
- Truth to Teach: It is important to set aside time each day to spend with God. We spend time with the people we love, and we enjoy simply being with them. This time alone with God in a quiet place for prayer and Bible study is valuable for us as we grow in our relationship with God.
- Scriptures: Psalm 5:3; Luke 10:38-42
- Application: Encourage them to make it a habit to set aside time each day, even if it is just a few moments, to spend in prayer and reading the Bible.
- Activities: Invite them to have a quiet time with you. Show them how you spend time with God during that time.
3. Victory Over Sin
- Truth to Teach: Before you became a Christian, you were a slave to sin, unable to honor God. But now you have been set free from sin and you have victory over sin’s power, including death.
- Scriptures: Romans 6:3-10; 8:1-15; 1 Corinthians 10:11-13; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
- Application: Remind them that when they are tempted to sin, they have victory over that sin because Christ is in them.
- Activities: Encourage them to list out different sins that they struggle with. Then pray through each of these areas to help them realize that Christ gives them victory over those sins.
#OnMission Summer 2012 #Crossover
Not much time for blogging lately. Getting ready for a furious few weeks On Mission 4 Others in our region. Here’s our church’s & my personal lineup for Crossover/SBC 2012 in Greater New Orleans:
- Mon, June 11 – Wheelchair ramp going up in Madisonville for an elderly widow & 2K homes get bags on their door inviting them to participate in our annual summer can food drive. Info meeting for a Bridge Church Fall Mission Trip to Haiti to work with respirehaiti.org.
- Tues, June 12 – Serving a local Mobile Home Park in various ways, concluding with a Big Ole Block Party, 5-7pm.
- Wed, June 13 – More ramp, porch, hand rail building. And another Block Party at a local Multi-housing complex, 5-7pm.
- Thurs, June 14 – Final Meeting for our Spring Recovery & Re-entry Class at our local jail. 88 registered, 38 men will be Graduating. Honored to have done life with these friends for the last 26 weeks. Pumped to send many of them out as new men.
- Sat, June 16 – Block Party at Ames Blvd Baptist Church on the Westbank, 10-2pm. Painting @ the Covington Boys & Girls Club to get their new building completed, 9am-4pm. Backyard Bible Club in a Madisonville subdivision, 5-7pm. Family Movie Night at Lakeside Baptist Church in Metairie, 7-9pm.
- Sun, June 17 – Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast at Bridge Church, 10:30am @ the West St. Tammany YMCA. Father’s Day Block Party for Inmate families at our local jail, 1-4pm. Entertainment provided by Jim Chester. Graduating 38 men from our Recovery & Re-entry programs, Baptizing 20+ men who have found Christ through our church & ministry at the jail.
- Mon, June 18 – More porch, ramp, handrail building. Block Party & VBS Kickoff at a Ponchatoula Apartment complex.
- June 19-20 – Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting 2012 in New Orleans. I’ll be working the Unlimited Partnerships booth, voting for Fred Luter to be the next Pres of the SBC, & making connections & re-connections w/kingdom partners from around the United States in the SBC tribe.
Our partners for the next few weeks:
- FBC Chesnee, SC – First trip to NOLA for these guys. Bruce Jennings on point.
- Ford Park Baptist Church, Shreveport, LA. Fellow Northwestern St. Alums, Tate Miller & Heather Tolbert annually bring a group to work with us through Mission Lab.
- FBC Winnsboro, TX – Pastor David Rose is a fellow Northwestern St. & Southwestern Seminary Alum.
Here’s a bit of a photo dump of flyers for next week or so. Prayers appreciated.
Discipling Tool: Journaling Through the Sermon on the Mount
Use this tool to introduce someone to the discipline of journaling and to help them get familiar with the teachings of Jesus. I’ve also used this for one on one Bible Study, taking five questions each meeting.
Download the PDF- Journaling thu the Sermon on the Mount.
May Wrap Up
Top Post and Favs for May ’12:
- Sweet Baby Kate – Welcoming a new baby girl to our family was the tops & fav for our family of course. Here’s an announcement Vid.
- “Isn’t that in a bad part of town?” – Why the phrase “the bad part of town” needs to be removed from our vocab.
- Current Church Planting Bibliography – Updated my tops list in Church planting Lit.
- This Momentary Marriage – Moving video by Desiring God about commitment in marriage
- How to Plant a Church Without Losing Your Marriage – Great list from Brian Bloye’s book It’s Personal.
From my Twitter Favs:
- Dave Ramsey @DaveRamsey If you will live like no one else…Later you can live like no one else. Definition of maturity: ability to delay pleasure
- Rick Howerton @rickhowerton There’s no such thing as a lazy leader. #oxyMORON
- Rick Warren @RickWarren The fewer things we want, the wealthier we are.
- CMAResources.org @CMAResources Don’t defend the way you do church with scripture. Define the way you do church with scripture. — @brandonhatmaker
- Ed Stetzer @edstetzer The community surrounding a church should benefit from the its presence. — http://bit.ly/KagY9i
- Floyd McClung @FloydMcClung To activate faith of potential disciples Jesus always asked a step of faith from them. Little obediences sow DNA for big obediences.
- Bryan Loritts @bcloritts Cohabitation (shackin up) is on the rise largely b/c our boys aren’t becoming men. Boys play house, men make homes.
Articles I Tagged:
What if…? Inspiration vs. Imitation – The Need for Mentoring
- He’s 15. His Dad was killed in a car accident when he was 6. He and his twin brother & younger sister now live with Grandma. He’s trying to figure out what it means to be a man.
- They’re 5 & 7. Dad is in jail. Mom struggles to pay the bills. She can’t afford or manage to get them involved in after school activities. They play video games. They struggle in school.
- She’s 22. Two kids under 3. No husband. Dad is in and out. Nothing she owns is in her name. She’s up at night worrying about the future. She’s ashamed. She’s afraid. She’s alone.
- He’s 20. Never knew his Father. His mom died of a drug overdose when he was 13. Her last words on her death bed, “Baby, please don’t do drugs.” She didn’t know it, but he was already an addict. He’s about to get out of jail.
- She’s 10. She wanders the streets till long after dark. House to house. Yard to yard. Playground to playground. Everyone knows, it’s a matter of time before she gets into trouble. On purpose or as a victim.
- She’s 16 & in the 10th grade. She’s pregnant. She’s thinking of quitting school. She’s scared to have a baby.
Real & local situations on my mind as I think about the need for mentoring. For someone to take the risk to get up close & personal. To get our hands dirty. To allow our hearts to hurt. As Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” Imitation means life on life, modeling, encouraging, rebuking, instructing, letting people in to see how life is lived day to day. IMITATION is all that will do for the people above. But our models & strategies are built for INSPIRATION, not IMITATION. Inspiration is done from the stage. It’s about programing, the right environment, the right venue, the perfect experience. It’s a cool website or a witty, truth statement on Facebook. It’s meant to fuel IMITATION, but we’re learning that in the hard to reach, unwanted, unnoticed parts of our communities, INSPIRATION falls short. Why? After the hour of inspiration, if they can get there, the bills keep coming, the kids keep screaming, the pain & loneliness & uncertainty remain. What’s needed is a model, a friend, a partner, a coach, a mentor… Yea, it’s risky. Yea, it’s time consuming. Yea, it’s not as neat and pretty as the sanctuary or Sunday School class. Yea, I won’t know everything to say. Yea, you don’t have to do it really. But…
What if we didn’t settle for inspiration? What if we made ourselves available to be imitated? What if we took the risk of relationship with those who need us the most? What if the families in my list above & those like them in all of our communities had a mentor or prayer partner or friend?
Mentoring has been defined as “a brain to pick, an ear to listen to, a push in the right direction.” We’ve all needed it. Some of us have been blessed by it. Have we ever given it?
This Saturday, our church will be hosting a Mentor Training at the Groves Apartment Complex in Covington. Pre-register for the free training here.
Discipling Tool: How to Get A Grip On the Bible
Use this tool to get to know and begin or help others get to know and begin to use the Bible for the purpose of spiritual growth:
Email me for a copy of the booklet.
Ministry Tools for a Church Without Walls
What kind of Capital does an Incarnational, Missional Church require? Two Ideas our church has acted upon:
1) Faith in Action Tool Trailer. Stocked with tools to be used for light construction projects in the community & beyond.
2) Block Party Trailer to help engage at community events, parties, etc. Stocked with inflatable, outdoor sound system, tables, tents, games, snow cone machine, popcorn machine, outdoor movie screen, etc.
Check out Bridge Church to get involved with one of the above.
What does your church use for Community Engagement? What are your ideas for doing church beyond the walls?
“Isn’t that in a bad part of town?”
The little phrase “the bad part of town” needs to be removed from the Christian vocab. Why?
- It’s another phrase we use to rid ourselves of ownership and responsibility for needs of places and people. We can excuse and recuse ourselves so easily by throwing out “the bad part of town” qualifier.
- It speaks of places and people that I’ll go out of my way to avoid. Avoidance of a certain kind of people can usually be traced back to a heart issue. Fear, Racism, Anger. “Jesus had to go through Samaria” (John 4), when others would walk further to go around because of their heart issues.
- It communicates fear and risk that we’re not willing to take. Is there really “a bad part of town” or are they just places that Christians are not willing to go? I’m not ignoring crime rates, etc., but are we who carry the power of God within really supposed to be afraid to carry the Gospel of light somewhere? In my reading of the New Testament, I don’t see fear and risk aversion as part of the DNA of New Testament Christians.
- Is the Gospel only meant for safe neighborhoods? “God, here I am, send me! And here’s the places I’ll be willing to go.” Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
- If it’s so dangerous out there, who’s going to be afraid for the kids growing up there?
- By avoiding and labeling certain parts of town are we condemning people who live there to never have opportunity to change because of our self-protection.
Christianity is about others! And it’s about others with needs. And it’s about transformation. I don’t want to allow any stereotypical statement or mindset to keep me from being a part of what God wants to do in my community. There is no US and THEM. It’s just US. This is our town, our community, our city, our responsibility…
“I am UNDER OBLIGATION both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you… For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” Romans 1:14-16.
Tweets:
- It’s easy to talk about “the bad part of town.” Harder to pick up a hammer or paint brush, mentor a child, volunteer at a school.
- It’s easy to talk about “the bad part of town.” Harder to become a sponsor for an addict, teach a class at the jail, foster a child.
Lane Corley 