Worth Reading: A Few Links
- “As I read the Gospels and see Jesus, I am increasingly stumped how we determined sermons and songs are what makes us most like Him” from Shaun King on transitioning his church to be more transformational.
- “Since they do not see themselves as ‘evangelists,’ they decide to leave such Kingdom labors to the ‘professionals.'”JD Payne interviewed about why Christians don’t evangelize.
- “Know that just because I married a pastor does not mean I enjoy singing, playing the piano, running the nursery, or leading the women’s program. I am willing to use my talents, but please don’t expect me to fulfill a role that I am not designed for.” Amber Woller on What Pastors’ Wives Wish Their Congregations Knew.
- Japan Tsunami: Is God Still Good? by Jonathan Dodson – “God has done, is doing, and will do something about the problem of evil and suffering. He defeats evil at the cross, releases “aid workers” at the resurrection, and promises total peace at his return.”
- Why I’m Thankful for Popular False Teachers by Jared Wilson.
Is It Worth the Trouble?
“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” Proverbs 14:4.
The goal of an on mission disciple of Christ is a harvest of changed lives and transformed relationships. The goal of a casual Christian is a safe, comfortable, inspirational, clean life. Casual Christianity may be popular and prevailing because of the mess that being on mission will create. IS IT WORTH IT? If you believe that hell is real and that sin and addiction and poverty and worldliness wreck peoples lives and that the gospel is the answer. Yes. If you believe that God’s top priority for you is a clean stable. No.
What does the on mission disciples stable look like? It may look like exhaustion from serving people not like you, books piled high from digging into peoples honest questions, late nights and long conversations, a broken heart over the plight of people’s lives, stress over people who initially respond to grace but turn back and go their own way, the home not as a refuge but as a safe haven for seekers and strangers, instead of work to play, work to provide and be generous.
In the Great Commission we don’t have the assurance of a clean stable, but of Christ’s presence with us. He was willing to pay the price. Now he sends us. A harvest of change lives will be costly and messy. I don’t want to settle for clean.
Love and Respect: What She Needs, What He Needs
“Help me understand the opposite sex.” Today at Bridge church we got to Ephesians 5:22-33 in our Ephesians series, looking at what God’s commands to wives say about their husbands and vice versa. Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has a great book on this subject called Love and Respect. Here are the acrostics I shared today from the book. They say a lot about what she needs and what he needs. Hear these and past messages at http://bridgenorthshore.com.
How to Spell Love to Your Wife:
C – Closeness – She wants you to be close.
O – Openness – She wants you to open up to her
U – Understanding – Don’t try to “Fix” Her; just listen
P – Peacemaking – She wants you to say, “I’m sorry”
L – Loyalty – She needs to know you’re committed
E – Esteem – She wants you to Honor and Cherish Her
How to Spell Respect to Your Husband:
C – Conquest – Appreciate His Desire to Work and Achieve
H – Hierarchy – Appreciate His Desire to Protect and Provide
A – Authority – Appreciate His Desire to Serve and to Lead
I – Insight – Appreciate His Desire to Analyze and Counsel
R – Relationship – Appreciate His Desire for Shoulder to Shoulder Friendship
S. – Sexuality – Appreciate His Desire for Sexual Intimacy
Also, check out the author’s website, www.loveandrespect.com.
On Mission Opps/Open Doors/Community Needs:
Ready to get on mission on the Northshore? Here some great opps I’ve come across of late.
- Boys & Girls Club of Covington – The new director is Margie Poncey-Duboxe. She’s doing a great job, but could use volunteers to help with after school activities and mentoring kids. 801 North Tyler Street, Covington, LA 70433-1471, (985) 875-1153. Our church will be there on Tuesday, March 15th, volunteering and connecting.
- St. Tammany Parish Jail Program Wing – Chaplain Michael Oats and Deputy Marte’ Davis have done a great job putting together the first ever program wing at our local jail, which is home to 1,100+ inmates. Male volunteers are needed to teach Bible Studies, Life Skills classes, Tutor for GED & literacy needs, and mentor and encourage inmates who will be neighbors again in the near future. Contact me if you’d like to help with Celebrate Recovery at the Jail. You can also contact Chaplain Oats at 985.276.1040. Why Jail ministry?
- YMCA Summer Camp – The West St. Tammany YMCA is looking to hire some folks to work with kids in their Summer Camp program. Great opp to make a difference in the lives of kids and make a little money too. Call Tanya 985.893.9622.
- Life Coaches, Inc. – Interested in mentoring at-risk kids. Shane O’hara is on the front end and can provide training and oportunities. Looking forward to partnering with him personally in the future.
- Oak Villa Mobile Home Park – Our church has a ministry at West St. Tammany’s largest Mobile Home Park. We’ll be kicking off a new 9-week Parenting Seminar this Sunday. Volunteers are needed to provide activities for kids and provide other empowerment opportunities for the residents.
- ASIST Suicide Prevention Training – St. Tammany Suicide rate is very high. Too high. 243 Suicides, 1375 attempts since 2002. Be part of the solution. Several training options are available through STOPS – St. Tammany Outreach for the Prevention of Suicide. I’m signed up to go through the training later this month.
- Pediatrics Unit at Lakeview Regional Hospital is asking for used kids DVD’s to go along with the new TV’s and DVD players in their rooms. 985.867.3800.
Know of other opportunities in our area?
Jesus’ Church Planting Strategy
Could it really be this simple?
if you began a movement now the same way Jesus got things going in his day, it would mean telling everyone you meet about Jesus, watching who responds with keen interest, and then selecting a few people who are most open and investing lots of time in them. You would start to meet this group of seekers in times of discussion over a meal. You would ask one of them to read a few short verses from the words of Jesus, another to lead a discussion about what Jesus meant and how his teaching applied to their lives…
You would encourage them to tell their family and friends what they were learning about Jesus. You would meet in their homes, not yours. You would want as many of their friends and family to sit in on the discussions as possible. When you would come together as a group around a meal, you would model a facilitative style of leadership that got everyone involved, carefully taking a back seat so you could encourage their development. You would be pleased as they quickly took ownership of what was happening.
From Floyd McLung’s book You See Bones I See An Army.
Oversimplification? Maybe, but refreshing. Great book about simple strategies to make disciples.
10 Things Your Kids Should Catch You Doing
“Dad, I liked it better when you didn’t have an IPhone.” Heard these words from my oldest son several years ago. It was a wake up call and a reminder that everything I do as a parent is about teaching and proclaiming a message of what is valuable. And so much about faith and life is more CAUGHT than TAUGHT, so we must be ENGAGED. I loved this list that Carey Long shared with our church today.
10 Things Your Kids Should Catch You Doing as A Parent:
- Serving Others.
- Living w/Integrity and Humility.
- Chasing a Vision.
- Modeling a Godly Marriage.
- Respecting Authority.
- Admitting Mistakes and Asking for Forgiveness.
- Engaged in Worship and making Worship a priority.
- Studying your Bible.
- Practicing prayer.
- Depending on God.
What are your kids catching from your life?
Carey is available for Parenting seminars, Youth events, etc. He’ll be a great resource for your church. Check out www.careylongministries.com.
Join Bridge Church this Sunday as we continue our message series through Ephesians. Currently, we’re taking on the Ephesians 5:1-6:4, which emphasizes Relationships In Christ. Here past messages at bridgenorthshore.com or check us out on Itunes.
ONE DAY Learning Cluster for Church Planters
Our Spring Church Planting Network Meeting will be in the form of a Mini-Conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. March 26, 9am-12noon. Click here to register. For Church Planters, Sponsors, Wannabe Church Planters & sponsors, Church Planting Enthusiasts, etc. Content will also be good for anyone in church leadership. Craig Ratliff, with Celebration Church will be lead the sessions. Topics: 1. Vision: Having and maintaining vision (early vision, long term vision, staying on course) 2. Planning: How to plan for continual grown and “Splash” growth? More info here. More info on the importance of Church Planting Networks here.
Big Day for Max
Our dog went to Pre-K w/Hudson today. And he showed great restraint by not p-ing on the backpacks when he had the chance. Good job Max!
“Can Baptist Dance?” and other recent questions
When someone ask me, “What kind of church is Bridge Church?” I don’t immediately start talking denomination, but we affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention. In many South Louisiana minds, Baptist are known for two things: They don’t drink and they don’t dance.
So recently I was asked: “Can you dance?”
My answer: “No. But that has little to do with Baptist doctrine and more about my inability to do anything in rhythm. I probably would dance if I could.”
I’m not sure where the “Baptist don’t dance” thing got started, but I know a church in our area actually had to amend their By-laws a few years back so that a wedding party could do a “first dance” at their reception.
So if someone asks you if Baptist can dance, the correct answer is: “Some can and some can’t.”
What makes a Baptist a Baptist? One thing: Authority. Baptist believe in the authority of the Bible alone for faith and practice. So that informs us on our other major distinctives. Such as, Believers Baptism – the practice of baptizing those who put their faith in Christ at the point of their decision to follow Christ and not until. And baptists are not alone in this belief, but that’s the short answer anyway.
Do you believe someone can lose their salvation? My answer: No. Some verses that inform my belief are in John 10:27-29.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
I’m reminded that salvation is God’s work, not mine. So if I can do nothing to gain it, how could I do something to lose it.
The Baptist have gotten a bad rap for this statement which I hate – “Once saved, always saved.” Thinking of John 10, I like “if saved, always saved” because “No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”
That’s me. What’s your belief?
Of course my favorite answer to questions about personal beliefs came from my Systematic Theology prof in Seminary who would always say: “This is what I believe. But if I get to heaven and it’s not that way, I’m not going to ask for a transfer.”
The main thing and the thing that is non-negotiable is – Jesus alone get you there. Do you have a relationship with him? We’ll let Him set us straight on all the other issues throughout all eternity.
And, I do believe that I’ll have rhythm in heaven. Looking forward to that!
Lane Corley 