“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
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…
Where are the next generation of church leaders? You might be surprised…
Don’t get down about the future of the church. God’s Spirit is not done yet. Loved this post from Dr. Russell Moore.
…the leaders of the next generation might not be coming from the current evangelical establishment. They are probably still pagans.
The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might be a misogynist, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist right now. The next Billy Graham might be passed out drunk in a fraternity house right now. The next Charles Spurgeon might be making posters for a Gay Pride March right now. The next Mother Teresa might be managing an abortion clinic right now.
But the Spirit of God can turn all that around.
Who is it that you’re thinking will never change? Who are you shying away from talking about faith with? How about instead of seeing people as dead ends or distractions, see them as next gen leaders for God’s continued Gospel movement. Think of the possibilities…
Read the entire post here. And follow Dr. Moore on Twitter as well.
Weatherization Tips for Mobile Homes
If you do ministry to Mobile Home parks, here’s a quick download that we shared with one of the largest MHP’s in our region.
We actually put on a short weatherization clinc with hot chocolate, popcorn, and a follow up outdoor kids movie at Christmas. The tips were passed out along with caulk and other weatherization supplies. All in all, we spent $200 on the event.
And, interestingly enough, a Spray Foam insulation company heard about what we were doing and volunteered to insulate the trailers for a few of the neediest residents before Christmas. Great ideas usually attract great partners. It’s a Word Doc, so feel free to adapt it, or add to it. If you make it better, send it back to me please :))-.
Doc – WeatherizationTips
Zero
Thinking about numerical goals for 2012 & beyond. None challenges my faith more than ZERO. How about shooting for some of these?
- Zero w/o the opportunity to respond to the gospel.
- Zero homes destroyed by addiction, adultery, abuse, neglect.
- Zero kids dying of curable diseases.
- Zero elderly residents w/o life’s necessities.
- Zero kids w/o encouragement, mentoring, and opportunity to connect w/God.
- Zero suicides completed.
- Zero kids waiting for adoption.
In our quest for numbers going up, let’s not forget to think about the ones that should be going down and add them to our stat sheets every now and then. Someone asked, “What difference does it make if our churches grow but the community continues to deteriorate?” If we’re really making disciples who respond to God’s call of engagement (Matthew 28:19-20), some things should be moving toward zero.
“I know what I need to do BUT…”
Most of the changes we need to make are self-evident and within our grasp. The gap between what we want and who we are is revealed by that little three letter word: “BUT.”
- “I know what I need to do BUT…”
- “I know what the Bible says BUT…”
- “I intend on it one day BUT…”
- “I’d love to try ______ BUT…”
It does reveal something deeper. Will power is not enough to conquer our deepest fears, doubts, and misconceptions about ourselves and others. To get off our “buts” we need to see the One who can bring real change for who He is and give our lives over to Him. Nothing closes the gaps in our lives like believing God can do what He says. And He’s delivered on His promises with no BUTS.
“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17.
