I was listening to a worship leader named Lee McDerment tonight. Ben sent me his site and he is really good. I noticed his Easter blog comment. Check this out:
yep, alive. the grave is too weak for Jesus.
and one day, because of Him, the grave will be too weak for me.
cool stuff
In the upcoming 30 Days of Praise material, there is a discussion of the 8 ways to Biblically praise God in corporate worship. I thought it might be fun to see how many of the 8 showed up at the Easter service (especially during "In Christ Alone"). I was in the back and basically could see all 500 people at 10:45; here is what I observed. If some of the folks on the stage saw more, they should share. They had quite a view up there. Here we go:
1. Kneeling (Matthew 2:11) I don't think that Tammy was acting when she "clasped His feet and worshipped."
2. Dancing (1 Chronicles 15:28-29) Yon had nothing on about 20 people in the crowd. If they would have had more room Carrie Ann Inaba would have had to give them a '10.'
3. Raising Hands (Psalm 63:4, 1 Timothy 2:8) I even saw some first time Baptists (in the art of Holy Hands) with them held high for all the right reasons.
4. Shouting (Psalm 5:11) Appropriately, there were shouts of praise during "Up from the grave he rose again." Ben's blog said he is still shouting.
5. Singing (Psalm 100:2) Maybe our best Sunday ever for a lot of people to just let it rip and sing praises to His Holy Name!
6. Testifying (Psalm 107:2) No formal verbal testimonies, but if you could have seen the testifying in facial expressions and tears flowing off of cheeks that we saw from the stage, there were testimonies a plenty.
7. Playing an Instrument (Psalm 150) Seth has had down the praise of a perfect God with the lyre for a long time.
8. Clapping (Psalm 47:1) Most people were even on the beat. A few other caucasians should not try this or the dancing and choose from the other six (HA!).
Sunday was the best praise of God for all of the right reasons that I have seen locally. The best I have ever seen was during "Jesus Paid It All" at Catalyst last October in Atlanta, but we are just learning. Let's practice some more this week!
I had the privilege to serve some sweet people communion tonight. Humbling. I cried all the way home. We should remember like that every day.
Thought you might appreciate an update on the building today.
The board believes that it is going to cost $900,000 to get into our building in a usable fashion -- not completely finished with furniture or flowers, but usable.
We were guaranteed a 5.95 interest rate (locked for only five years) for a $900,000 loan by a local bank today. We could pay interest only for the first nine months (during construction) and then the payments would be $6400. For a three-year lock, it is 5.75. One year is 5.35.
We have a lot of costs to analyze and a lot of other financial people to talk to, but these figures say that this thing is doable for us. The bank was very happy with our collateral and financial statements.
Also, if you stop by the land, you will see some clearing going on where the construction team has selected the best site for our Plan B Building.
Keep praying.
It has been an honor to share my private world of thoughts and prayers with you this week. I believe that we need transparent leadership in the Body of Christ, so you have a standing invitation to my world of what I think about, what I struggle with, what God is teaching me. I know that this week I have not honored my wife as much as I should by caring about what she cares about. Guess I am just selfish like that. May God grant me the ability to do better. This is the last installment in a Week with Me.
Thursday, March 13
The passage today (the road on Buddy Owen's sunny Southern California drive) is Psalm 126. It is about the reaction of the people of God when they are restored. As I prayed my 'postcard home' to God, I confessed the sin of taking my restoration, my freedom from the bondages of sin and death, for granted. Part of our fruit of the Spirit is joy, and we sit around like someone stole our dog too much. We need to dance, and sing, and cry out our praises to God for the incredible gift that he has given us. I asked that God grant me the freedom to express my joy even when I don't feel like celebrating -- like today.
Great fun last night saying a few words to our fantastic Alpha course. I love it when people eat together (you should see the food since Cheryl has a kitchen), hear God's Word together, and then act on what they hear together. Now that makes my heart sing. I think that it does the same thing for God.
Wednesday, March 12
Today's prayer time revisits Luke 15 and the story of the prodigal. Today's focus verse is in verse 20, "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Isn't that astonishing? The prayer response to this is just, "Thank You, God!" Thank you for scanning the countryside for me -- waiting patiently for me to come to my senses; thank you for not giving up on me, being so quick to forgive, and for running quickly to accept me back home. WOW!
Last night was just astonishing for me. I looked up on the stage at the Youth Bash where my son, Justin, was playing the bass with Seth, Caleb, and Matt, and Justin was quite a young MAN. He has gotten very tall and handsome and that was not a little boy up there, but this very mature young man -- I am very proud of him.
Tuesday, March 11
Justin is also the source of my prayers this morning as I pray thru the scriptures also. The text was Deuteronomy 1:31 about how God carries His people as a father carries his son. Then I turned over to a similar passage in Malachi 3 (often overlooked because preachers are always focused on the "floodgates of heaven coming open if people tithe." Check this out: (vs. 17)"They will be mine," says the Lord Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. (vs. 18) And you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not." Do I carry my son as God wants me to? Do I have that much compassion for him?
I just started talking to God about helping me analyze my relationship with Justin. I have asked for a lot of forgiveness about him being a basketball orphan when he was small (all of the good in him is due to his mother's persistence and teaching), and I have asked many times that God give me the time and character to make sure that he does not become a church orphan as well. I have given him time, but probably not as quality of time as both God and Justin would prefer. I don't sense that Justin resents the church in any way though, so we will just praise God for that and keep on lovin'. I do truly love Justin; I just hope he thinks so.
Spring Break starts today at MAC, so I don't have to go to work today. That would be really exciting except that I am going to have to seek out a doctor to look at this wrecked knee. I have to confess being frustrated with it and a little scared. It is not quite right. Good worship at The Crossing in Columbia yesterday though. Those guys are getting it done.
Monday, March 10
I prayed through the scripture 2 Corinthians 6:3-18 this morning and Paul's topic was not being 'yoked' with unbelievers. My prayer was that I asked God for clarity about how far to take that command. I know that we are not to marry an unbeliever or get into business with one, but we are to maintain contact with the unbelieving world so as to show them the love of Christ and win them to the Kingdom. I was led into a prayer of thanksgiving and praise for God putting Kelley (my wife) and Justin (my son) into my life as believers. I do not deserve them, but they are such a blessing. I also am extraordinarily blessed by being surrounded in our church family with such strong people of faith. Our staff at The Bridge is unbelievable in its collective faith and belief in Christ. I lifted them all up in prayer and praise to God this morning. I asked God to reveal my sin (where am I self-centered as not to give these people what they need?) toward my family and my staff, so that I can do a better job leading both. I also asked that he provide great clarity about how to be in relationship with the world to maximize Christ's impact with them. This had been a solid morning of prayer created by God setting the prayer agenda in 2 Corinthians.
Saturday, March 8
This morning read was Galatians 5:16-26 that discusses how we either gratify the Spirit that resides within us as believers, or we gratify our original sin nature. This passage led me to prayer of confession as I stomped around on the debauchery side earlier in the week against a leader in our church. Then I was in a spirit of praise for the work of the cross which forgives my idiocy. I am truly in love with this merciful Jesus. No blog tomorrow. It is the Sabbath and Kel and I will be worshipping in Columbia at The Crossing. See you next week. tim
Friday, March 7
This morning's reading was Matthew 3:1-10 where John the Baptist is preparing the way of the Lord calling for repentance and baptizing in the River Jordan. My focus verse for prayer was verse 2 where John declares, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." I began to pray that God reveal to me any areas of my life that I have not truly repented of. He is being very clear with me that being repentant does not just mean being sorry, but truly turning away from my sin and living a life worthy of the sacrifice that we are about to focus on with the upcoming Holy Week. I was told earlier this week that on occasion I have the personality of a Mack truck when delivering some truth about God. This morning I asked for forgiveness of my unloving nature and I asked God to empower me to truly turn away from a lack of grace. True repentance is the hardest thing out there. I have to allow Christ to completely reconstruct me -- to truly turn from my wicked ways.
Yesterday after finishing this blog, I walked outside and fell down on some black ice and really wrecked my left knee. Hopefully, Christ brought me to my knees in this session and I can stay upright today -- HA! See you tomorrow.
Andre Ong gave one of the best talks I have ever heard on prayer at Alpha last night. His focus was on the Glory of God. He stated that as we consider our prayer life, its primary focus should be what God wants and not what we want. Example: He was talking about the three answers to prayer, "Yes, no, and wait." He commented on the "no" anwser: "When God says no to us on a prayer request, it is that He is a whole smarter about what with give Him Glory than we are." I put it this way, "God's responses to us in prayer will always line up with His will and will always provide Him Glory. That is who God is."
Well, Andre motivated me, so I thought I would let you into my private world a little bit for a week or so. Everyday in my morning time, I pray through the scriptures and journal the prayer. For about a week or so, I will try and blog the journal for you.
Thursday, March 6
Today's scripture was Luke 15, and ordinarily my focal point is the line that the prodigal son while in the pigpen eating with swine said, "And he came to his senses," but today it was that his senses meant that he was so convicted by his sin and the love of his father, that he went home ready to give up his sonship and be a hired hand to make things right. My prayer was that I praised God for convicting me of the same thing. I thanked Him for His perfection and for accepting my sorry imperfections -- for giving me sonship even though I don't deserve it. I praise Him for calling me out of my destructive lifestyle over 10 years ago, but reminding me that I must confess the sin, the barriers, to our relationship daily. The reading thru the scripture today in a listening posture was like a scene from Star Wars as God said, "Tim, I am your Father." I ended the fifteen minute session as I always do, face on the floor -- acknowledging who He is and who I am in Him -- the King and the servant. Then I said these familiar words, "I'll go anywhere, do anything, at any cost for you, my King." See you tomorrow. I am sure that I will have sin to confess again and that breaks my heart. I look forward to a day when that will not happen any more.
In addition to the immediate possibilities that were presented on The Bridge blog site in Part 1, here are some more thoughts for your serious consideration.
There were some potential GAP ministries that would provide incredible jars:
1. Food Bank
2. Meals to homebound Seniors
3. Supporting the Farmington Skate Park
4. Upward Bound Sports
5. Implementing the Walk to Emmaus in Nicaragua (We have already done this in Kenya).
5. If I missed some of the suggestions, please blog them.
I do not know about the immediate possibilities of this one, but let me set it before you to maybe stretch your prayer life with a prayer so audacious only God can answer it. Since we have enough land, how about a building to house parachurch ministries like the PPRC and a free medical and dental clinic. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
I proposed changing one of our C's to from Call to Contribute, so that committed members of The Bridge understand that weekly we are to contribute our service (First Serve and/or GAP Team), contribute our finances, and contribute our mentorship. It is more and more obvious that we must be involved in the MENTORING business. Every Christian should be being mentored by someone farther along in the faith, and he/she should be mentoring someone else. This personal accountability is going to explode the mission and vision of The Bridge. This is one of the most important jars of Ignite 2008.
Last thing -- here is my personal prayer list for Ignite 2008 (the vision of The Bridge):
1. Teachable People -- 1000 of them at Easter and every week by 2009.
Quote from Alan Berry last Sunday: "The key to living a transformed life is cultivating a renewed mind (Romans 12:1-2). The believer who will not intentionally drink deeply from the word of God or will not deliberately and daily present themselves as a sacrifice to God will be shaped by the world's values and socially acceptable modes of thought. In other words, he will take on the worldview rather than God's view."
2. Mentoring -- for all 1000.
3. Cells -- that they multiply with the growth from children to adults.
4. GAP Teams -- that they form to fulfill The Great Adventure.
5. Building -- Done by August.
6. Space -- for new jars until the building is done.
7. Focus -- that we never lose sight that all of this is to glorify Jesus Christ.
We will not meet again for Ignite 2008 this coming Sunday, but we need to continue to hear from you. Blog your thoughts and prayers, so that we can know how God is nudging you in your private reflection time.
Anyone who has watched God develop me into a leader knows that I have always been more of a 'quality' focus kind of guy when it comes to church growth rather than a 'quantity' guy. It drives me crazy to see churches focusing on evangelism to the exclusion of Biblical literacy, service to the church, service to those in need, stewardship, training leaders, etc., so it may have seemed a little out of character as I shared some of my thoughts about God's vision for The Bridge at last night's visioning session that involved numbers. I also believe that many people at The Bridge have a huge heart for lost people. Therefore, I proposed that we work toward 1000 in worship on Easter Sunday and 1000 as an average worship Celebration attendance at the beginning of 2009. I also proposed that we have 7 men and 7 women attend the Walk to Emmaus -- that 70 people attend Leadership Bible Study this summer and 70 more attend Crown Financial in the fall. Also, I proposed that we finish our new building by August.
If you missed last night, the visioning was based on the following passage of scripture:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings%204:1-7;&version=31;
My point was that the supernatural flow of God's oil only stopped when human beings ran out of jars for Him to fill. I then asked the 60 people present what jars are we supposed to set before God for Him to fill with His supernatural presence. Whatever those jars consist of are the vision of our church. Because of our church's mission which is to set as many people before God as possible that are God-lovers and people lovers (Great Commandment, Matthew 22), to show them how to allow God to transform these people into fully devoted followers of Christ in growth and discipleship (Great Commission, Matthew 28), and to locate needs of the "least of these" people and fill those needs (Great Adventure, Matthew 25), I believe that people are the primary jars. Primarily, we are in the PEOPLE business.
Here is our MISSION for as many people as possible:
1. Show people how to love God and love people -- Great Commandment
2. Teach people how to become a fully-devoted disciple of Jesus Christ -- Great Commission
3. Locate needs of people and involve the Kingdom to fill them -- Great Adventure.
We are not interested in numbers because we want to be able to say that we are biggest church around or so that we get invited to speak at church growth conferences. The numbers themselves are not important, but every one of them represent a jar that has been placed before the God of the Universe, so that He can fill it for His glory. We are just doing our jobs -- doing what we have been commanded to do if we love Him.
Our people at the session correctly identified children and youth as key jars for us to gather and set at the oil spout. This is where numbers for a critical mass are a factor again. More people must be brought into the church to serve as Bridge Kids cell leaders and youth cell leaders and support teams. We can talk about that these young people are important jars, but we have been searching for months for new cell leaders in both of these critical areas, and the same disciples who were in these roles basically from when we started the church are still there. New blood must roll in to teach and disciple these young minds. The alternative is that we have become this evangelistic church that does not grow its people. That is squarely against our mission.
In addition to people though, there are many jars of capacity, environments, and systems. The building is necessary, but we need to make more capacity where we are in the meantime. I heard of a lot of great jars last night that will fit into the Great Adventure Project, but we need to be growing our church numbers so that there will be disciples to be able to carry these great projects out. One of the most important things that I heard last night was the jar of assimilating the people that come to visit us. Once someone checks us out, let's make sure that they stay. Sometimes it is a whole lot harder to get someone to stay and get involved than it is to talk them into the visit in the first place. Let's be intentional with the folks that we invite -- offer them a cell family, a First Serve opportunity, an invitation to dinner, whatever it takes to connect them so that they want to stay.
I am convinced that God has an oil spout sitting over St. Francois County. He is ready to pour! He just needs some jars! Let's go to our neighbors and get them for Him! He is worth it; He is King; Let's glorify His Holy name!
