“Be diligent in action. Put all your irons into the fire. Use every faculty for Jesus. Be wide-awake to watch opportunities, and quick to seize upon them.”
~ Charles Spurgeon
“Life’s a Marathon Not a Sprint”
Very proud of several members of our Small Group that completed marathon’s this past weekend in Baton Rouge and Houston. What a tremendous accomplishment! One of the guys wife was sending text updates at different legs of the race on Sunday. I got a text at one point that said, “Mile 16 and 10 to go.” Having never ran a marathon before the gravity of that hit me. This guy has run 16 miles and still has to run 10 miles!!!
Life hits us like that sometimes I think. If we don’t realize the finish line is ahead, we may give up. You’re at mile 16. You’re tired. You’ve run a long way. Don’t quit, keep going, the race can be completed.
What are you considering giving up on right now? Could it be possible that you’re just at mile 16?
Core: Be Intentional w/People
One characteristic of a follower of Christ is intentionality in personal relationships. Jesus is our model of intentionality and living life on mission in three ways:
- He was responsive to the needs around him. In the Gospel of Mark a word jumps out at least 40 times – IMMEDIATELY. He responded to needs without hesitation and demonstrating great concern.
- He intentionally sought out people with needs. From Zaccheus, the wealthy, friendless, lonely man looking for a slither of hope from the fork of a tree – see Luke 19:1-10; to the woman at the well, who was hardened by broken relationship and a bad reputation – see John 4; to the man by the pool at Bethesday who had been a invalid for years – see John 5. Jesus intentionally walked into these people’s lives and sought avenues to invest and heal.
- He befriended people others wouldn’t. The religious crowds faq, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” http://bible.us/Mark2.16.ESV. Jesus was always at the parties that modern day WWJD? bracelet wearers would say he shouldn’t be at. And you get a sense that these folks loved being around Jesus, AND that he loved being around them.
So, how intentional are you? What did you do immediately this week? Who are intentionally seeking to bring hope and healing to? Who are you investing in that’s far from God and may be hard to love at times?
This month Bridge Church is talking about the 7 Core Practices of Life In Christ-On Misson-4 Others
. Check out the other 7 Core Practices and listen to Message #1 and #2 from this series here. Also, check out this great resource full of ideas about how to live with Gospel intetionality – Simple-Ways-To-Be-Missional-eBook from Verge Network.
Join Bridge Church at one of our gatherings on Sunday: 10am at the West St Tammany YMCA or 6pm at Northshore Community Fellowship in Hammond. Other gatherings: 9am at the St. Tammany Parish Jail and 6pm at Oak Villa Mobile Home Park #71.
Jesus’ 4-Step Pattern for Disciple Making
“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.” http://bible.us/Mark3.13.ESV
- “he…called to him those whom he desired” – Who am I inviting/calling/summoning to the call of Christ?
- “they came to him” – Who is responding to my leadership, friendship, invitation to do life with you?
- “so that they might be with him” – Who am I investing time in? sharing my life with? teaching what I’ve learned to?
- “and he might send them out” – Am I willing to release them, send them, move them from dependence on me to partnership with me? Am I willing to give them authority?
Missional Garage Making
Turned our Garage into a Game Room this Christmas:
- Ping Pong table – $67 on Black Friday.
- Air Hockety table – $30, second hand but near perfect condition
- Dart Board – $40, including plywood and chalkboard paint to make it a scoreboard and barrier
- Arcade Hoops Game – $100
- Interaction with kids – priceless
- Neighborhood kids hanging out in our garage – priceless
- Neighborhood dads taking each other on in darts – priceless
- My 9-year old beating me in Ping-Pong after two weeks of practice – not so good
Conviction: Our home is not our refuge, Jesus is. Our home is a place of engagement and discipleship and relationship building and refuge for others looking for a light in a darkness. How are you using your space to influence others for Christ and build in intentional interaction with kids and families?
And, I’m also proud of my Bio-Sand Water filter identical to the one we install in Chiapas, Mexico with GLED and that is used by missionaries around the world where water is a problem. $150 puts one of these in a village home, providing pure life saving water for 15+ years.
Good tip for us parents: You Can’t Bad-Attitude Someone into a Good Attitude
When is that last time someone confronted you in anger and your immediate response was something like, “Oh thank you, I am so motivated now to do better and try harder.” Correction packaged in a bad attitude is not motivating, stimulating, or helpful.
If it’s the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, we would do well to encourage repentance in others the same way.
from Rick Holland
“Be diligent in action. …
What if…? – Drive Thru Prayer
Is your church on a busy highway? Seems a little quirky, but I like it. And I think people would do it, especially in South Louisiana. Consider the possibilities…
Saw this first at Todd Rhoades uber resourceful blog. Check it out.
New Data on Faith, Religion, and Perspectives on Church in St. Tammany Parish
Yesterday afternoon I had the privilege of being with Don Turner from Turner Research as he revealed the findings of a fresh opinion poll survey recently conducted with residents of the Northshore. The study was commissioned by the Northshore Baptist Association and the Louisiana Baptist Convention. This is the first professional opinion poll that I know of that is specifically Northshore opinions of religion and faith. The study was also conducted in New Orleans and the Shreveport area. Much more will be released in this study in the coming weeks, but here’s a few interesting findings from the St. Tammany Parish data:
- 66% said they had not been contacted by a church by phone, mailout, or visit.
- 38% said they would be ok with someone coming to their door to invite them to church.
- 51% said they would listen if a Southern Baptist contacted them with an invitation, compared to 29% w/Mormons, and 25% with Jehovah Witnesses.
- On direct mail from churches: 47% said they “never read it. I always trash it.”
- 62% said they would attend churches that met in schools, movie theaters and other public buildings.
- 64% said they attend church at least 2x per month. However, analysis of attendance roles indicate that actually only 24% attend 1x per month or more.
- 73% said if they attended church they would enjoy a church of 200 or less the most.
- Ministries needed and that your family would actually attend: Prayer Group – 55%, Bible Study – 50%, Block Party – 43%, Leadership skill development – 31%, Marriage seminar – 27%.
- “What is one single thing a church could do that would cause you to attend?” 32% said “Clear message/strong service.” 6% said “Invite me”!!!!
More on the study will be released in the coming months. One aspect of the study of particular concern related to the churches effectiveness at making disciples of Christ, I’ll post about later this week.
What does this say about our community? Any big take away’s if these are indeed true? Anything surprising? Any question that you have or wish you could ask the community?
Core: Listen to God
“Is God trying to tell me something?” This is one of the #1 questions I’m asked as a Pastor. In our local jail, a guy tells the story of how life got out of control eventually landing him in trouble and he asks, “Is God trying to tell me something?” In my
neighborhood, young parents experience issues with adolescent children after dropping out of church and giving into the drive for more and more activities, and they ask, “Is God trying to tell me something?” A cat 4 hurricane hits our region and I’ll never forget the atheist that I’d sparred ideas with for years ask me, “Is God trying to tell us something?”
The answer: YES! God is alway speaking to us and He uses several means to do so, but you don’t have to wait until a tragedy strikes to experience God’s voice. THE KEY to hearing from God is: A RELATIONSHIP. God wants to speak to us everyday. He wants to lead us, and give us purpose, and protection, and mold us into something we can never be on our own. And He’
This month Bridge Church is talking about the 7 Core Practices of Life In Christ-On Misson-4 Others. It all starts withconnecting with God. Check out the other 7 Core Practices and listen to Message #1 from this series here.ll do that through a relationship. Have you began a relationship with God? If so, are you attentive to God’s voice through His Word, through prayer, through other Christians, and yes through circumstances around us.
Join Bridge Church at one of our gatherings on Sunday: 10am at the West St Tammany YMCA or 6pm at Northshore Community Fellowship in Hammond. Other gatherings: 9am at the St. Tammany Parish Jail and 6pm at Oak Villa Mobile Home Park #71.
What if… ~ Mentoring Teen Moms
61 out of every 1,000 births in Louisiana are to a mom age 15-19. Here’s a cool story about a group of Christian mother’s mentoring teen mom’s at one Texas high school. Consider the possibilities…
Lane Corley 