Missional Axioms
If you’re looking for simplicity in communication of your vision or pithy things to add to the twitter-verse, it doesn’t get any simpler or pithier than David DeVries Six Word Lessons to Discover Missional Living. 100 short statements about what missional living looks like. Each statement includes a one page explanation. Some of these make you think, start conversations, and keep you coming back to them. Here’s a few of my favorites:
- Love others like Jesus loves you.
- The outcome of disciple making is disciple makers.
- Don’t start services, start making disciples.
- Mission starts in my zip code.
- Every believer is sent on mission.
- Loving your neighbor requires knowing them.
- Gospel living is show and tell.
- Church isn’t a destination, it’s a people.
- Your character development precedes ministry accomplishment.
- God’s “well done” is worth it.
A Keepsake Made from a Prison Bed Sheet
Our church has been doing life on the inside for the past two years. On the inside of our local jail that is. We’ve treked with over 300 men through Celebrate Recovery and other Bible Studies. We’ve lost some guys and we’ve gained some brothers in Christ and some best friends. I’ve learned a lot about the gospel, about the sinfulness of sin, about justice, about grace. This week we received this simple drawing in the mail. Excerpts from the attached letter are below:
after listening to your classes and getting to know ya’ll a little bit, you truly love not only Christ Jesus, but even a man like me. You guys have helped me and other see that despite our current situation and circumstances we can learn a new way to live. Thank you for your honesty and for caring about us.
Grateful to be a part of a church that’s helping others “learn a new way to live.” Thankful to be serving a savior who loves “even a man like me.”
Getting involved in prison ministry is as simple as being willing and ready to be used. Contact me about local opportunities.
Incarnation-Transformation-Multiplication
Wrapping up a great week of ministry. A few things I’m grateful for:
- Incarnation: Bridge Church’s first building was a mobile home in St Tammany’s largest mobile home park. It is a
residential home and the residents are simply asked to live out the gospel and build relationships with residents that will lead to reproduction of disciples, leaders, and churches. Our second residents, Mauricio and Rebecca Hance moved in this weekend. Glad to have them on our team. Thanks to Brandon Bosarge for his 10 months of work in the park. He now passes the baton to the Hance’s. Just this week we were able to provide pastoral care for three families in the park facing crisis and two residents gave their lives to Christ at our weekly block party in the park. Incarnation is more than a fancy word on a Christmas card. For us, it’s about moving in to stay, being close and responsive to the needs of others. Hoping that our work at Oak Villa is multiplied many times across our region. - Transformation: Home Works of America had their summer session in Covington last week and repaired 4 homes in the
area. I was blessed to be able to spend some time working with Home Works on a home in the West 30’s owned by a disabled single mom. Her home suffered from storm damage, a house fire, and disrepair. Great to see the before and after transformation with a new roof, fresh paint. Still work to be done on the inside. 60 homes have been identified as substandard in the 8 block area known as the West 30’s. Much opportunity for transformation in this area. Next Home Works session will be October 8-9. - Multiplication: Prepping for and experiencing the power of multiplication in several areas of life and ministry right now.
After much work, our summer garden is finally to the point of overflowing and we’re experiencing the joy of plenty and of giving away. This can work for us in life as well. Our church has a small group that’s turning into a core group for a potential new church. Multiplication is just more fun. We’re also prepping for our fall training and network events for Church Multiplication on the Northshore. Two events I’m especially looking forward to: 1) September 8-10, Church Planter Basic Training at Woodland Park Baptist in Hammond. 2) Greenhouse w/Church Multiplication Associates, October 21-22 at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Check out our Northshore Baptist Association Church Planting page for more info and other noteworthy dates.
Balancing Word and Deed?
Great conversations this week at a local pastors conference after a message from Tobey Pittman about Compassion. Tobey talked about a Biblical understanding of compassion and its implications for ministry. This led us to the topic of social actions relationship to local church ministry. A few questions generated:
- Our oldest pastor/preacher in the area asked have we excused ourselves away from ministry because of the welfare state. Great question: Does the fact that some get government checks keep us from responding to genuine needs in our community? When should we help? When should we not?
- Our newest Northshore Pastor exonerated us that the love of God is to be spread by word and deed. And that the church could do and should do more for the neediest than the government can and should. But what does a “word and deed” gospel look like?
- And then the inevitable question for all of us as believers in the Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, Sola Christo: Does social action subvert or hurt the primacy of preaching the Word of God?
Allie’s Song
Great moment a few weeks back at Brandon and Allie Bosarge’s wedding. Brandon actually wrote a song for the occasion. It was awesome and he nailed it. Here’s my personal video and the lyrics are below. Congrats and God’s Blessings to Brandon and Allie!
Allie’s Song
Verse 1:
I am so blessed to have you in my life, to have you as my wife, my one.
To see you in that dress, walking down the aisle, i’ve never seen such beauty as this.
Pre Chorus:
I’ve been waiting so long just to say…
Chorus:
I will be a faithful husband
Righteous, holy man
And always be a freind that loves, protects, and understands.
Verse 2:
Looking in your eyes, chokes me up inside. This is going to happen, your mine.
I vow to you my life. To be your shining knight. To love you til the end of time.
Chorus:
I’ve been waiting so long just to say….
I will be a faithful husband
Righteous, holy man
And always be a friend that loves, protects, and understands.
Ending:
I’ve been waitin for a day like today
Where I hold you in my arms
So close to my soul
Your heart to mine, we will be as one……….forever be as one.
The Big Squeeze: Balance Study and Service for Spiritual Growth
I love what the Bridge Church Ladies ministry is doing this month. Having spent time together soaking up Bible Study, Fellowship, etc. They feel the need to be squeezed through serving others. So in July they’ve scheduled several opportunities to serve together, while encouraging spontaneous servanthood as well. They’re calling this “The Big Squeeze.” Love it! I believe this should be the natural ebb and flow of the believers life and the life of the church. Our learning should always lead to application and action.
Have you been Squeezed lately? Each week us church goers, like sponges, sit and soak up great teaching and preaching
from professional and highly trained clergy, high quality Bible Study materials and devotionals, praise and worship music that moves us to experience God, and many, like me, listen to more great teaching and preaching through podcasting and conferences. Here’s the question: What’s next for the SPONGE after it’s has soaked? It SOURS and becomes unusable. Almost nothing is more disgusting than a sour sponge. No one wants to pick it up, it stinks up the entire kitchen, and most of the time at our house we just throw them out.
As a Christian, I’ve had seasons of my life that can be described as SOUR. The sour Christian is sour toward others – nothing meets their standard, no sermon is good enough, they and their class or group or church are the only ones doing it right. No one wants to be around the sour Christian and he/she doesn’t really care to be around them. Being right matters more than being generous and graceful. (For a Biblical illustration of a Sour Christian see the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 and watch for the Elder Brother).
What’s the remedy for keeping sponges from getting sour in the sink and in the church? A GOOD SQUEEZE. A good wringing out. With the sponge, by hand. But how is the Christian squeezed? Two ways:
1) Through Suffering – When I’ve lost a loved one, or experienced discouragement, or dealt with sickness, or faced financial struggles, or walked with others who’ve experienced these and worse, I have been squeezed. I have had to put to use all that I know about God and His word. That’s why God’s word tells us that there is great benefit to suffering. See James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5.
2) Through Serving – Don’t wait to be squeezed through suffering. Give yourself away and be emptied out through serving others. As we give ourselves away as Christians, we are allowing God to squeeze us and use what He’s placed in us for His good and glory. As we serve others, we experience more of God and the joy of being used by Him and He continually fills us.
What are you doing that squeezes you? Church leader, is your church providing opportunities for people to serve and give themselves away on behalf of others?
July Opportunities for the Bridge Ladies:
- Saturday, July 9th, at Trinity Church in Covington – cooking for Disaster Response Teams coming to serve in NOLA.
- Tuesday, July 12th, at Mt. Zion Bapt Church in Mandeville – packaging school supplies for needy children.
- Helping out with the Summer reading and writing program at the Covington Boys and Girls Club.
- Serving at the Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center in Covington.
- Homeworks of America, July 10-16. Repair homes for needy residents of West St. Tammany. Click here for more info.
- Block Parties at Oak Villa Mobile Home Park, Wed July 13 and Thurs July 14, 5:30-7pm. Bring hope to residents of a local Multi-housing community.
- Canned Food Drive, Wed July 13 and Fri July 15. We’ll be putting out grocery bags on doors in the Madisonville area on Wednesday and picking those bags up on Friday and delivering them to a local food bank. Contact Bridge Church for more info – 985.373.2748.
Local Missions Opp: Home Works St Tammany Session starts Monday!
One of the many great partners we gained because of Hurricane Katrina is Hank Chardos and Home Works of America from Columbia, South Carolina. Homeworks is non-profit organization that empowers youth 14 and up and adults to do home repair projects in their community, specifically for those on a fixed income. I love Home Works because of the BEFORE & AFTER IMPACT. A Home Works weeklong session makes a huge impact in homes and lives. This years session starts Monday! July 10-17 and we have about 5 projects in West St. Tammany for this week, including yard clean up, roofing, light carpentry. You can volunteer for four hours, one day, or all week. You could also help provide food for volunteers during the work week or donate $$ or supplies for a project. This year, some of the regular Home Works volunteers over the past five years are working with Hank to start a permanent chapter here on the Northshore. You can get involved:
- Sign up to Volunteer or help out here.
- Show up at First Baptist Church Covington, Monday morning, July 11, before 8am. 7am if you want breakfast.
- Contact Dave Saari – da.saari@gmail.com – about how to help start a permanent session on the Northshore.
- If you or someone you know needs Home Works to help you.
GO…
One word stands as a clarion call to God’s work of transformation in the world. The word is “Go.” …nothing of God’s Kingdom happens unless someone is willing to GO.
Sometimes going will require a 30-second email to encourage a friend, a five minute walk across the street to help a neighbor, or the willingness to give up a quiet evening with your spouse in exchange for inviting some friends over who don’t know Christ. Other times, GOING may require a week-long commitment, a large chunk of money, or even a lifelong commitment to leave your city or country to serve God.
Whatever the case, the word GO will cost you something. It will require that you creatively look for the opportunities that God provides you to leave what’s natural and self-serving in order to extend his love to others.
~ from the Tangible Kingdom Primer
- Join a TK Group with Bridge Church.
- Here are a few resources for those interested in the TK:
- The Tangible Kingdom book.
- The Tangible Kingdom video.
- Tanglible Kingdom Primer Introduction. 17 minute description and training session led by the Author.
- Order the TK Primer and check out other Tangible Kingdom resources here.
Why Plant New Churches?
I was recently asked to provide some info on why we need to plant new churches. Thought the links were worth sharing:
- Why Plant Churches by Tim Keller. “Nothing else–not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes–will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting.”
- Why We Don’t Plant Church by Ed Stetzer.”new churches are the ultimate evangelistic tool because they begin with no other purpose than reaching unbelievers.”
- Assessing the Need for New Churches. “Many Pastors, me included, tend to think about a new ministry or church through the lens of what it may cost us. What if we thought about it in terms of the great cost to those who may never hear the Gospel.”
- Why Every Church Must Plant – info graphic from the North American Mission Board.
- Do We Really Need More Churches? by Ron Sylvia, excerpt from his book Starting High Definition Churches made available at http://www.churchplantingvillage.net.
- Why Start A Church? from Spin-Off Churches by Tom Cheyney, Rodney Harrison, and Don Overstreet.
- Northshore PROBE Results – If you’re asking the Why question in Southeast Louisiana, check out this research that points us to the fact that less than 10% of our population are attending evangelical churches.
Lane Corley 