It’s been two and a half weeks since Easter (at this writing). With all the prayer time and energy invested in the weeks leading up to our “Christian Super Bowl,” it’s too easy for me to fail in giving time to enjoy the victories in the aftermath. But maybe it’s time to revel in what God did.
I can’t help but recall my earliest conversations with John Knautz five years ago, who was then the chairman of the search committee charged with finding and recommending the next lead pastor of this church. I remember John saying, “They used to have a thousand people here on Sundays, but that was a long time ago.” At the time (2007), attendance was good when it went over 200. There had not been an adult conversion and baptism in years. The kids ministry (now Solid Ground) had fewer than 10 kids on a Sunday morning. There was only one couple in the church under the age of 35. I believed God was calling my family here to help turn things around. I’m grateful the church believed it enough to have me come.
Now, nearly five years later, we can rejoice in what God has and continues to do. For our Easter services this year, we had 981 people attend. On Good Friday, we had over 520. While many of those who attended on Good Friday returned on Easter, many went out of town and were not here Saturday evening or Sunday. So in the course of the weekend, we had somewhere around 1,200 unique attendees in our services that weekend (conservatively). We can’t get the number precisely because we don’t have the return numbers from Friday - Sunday, but that being the case, that is more people in a single weekend than ever in the history of our church! Now that is something to celebrate!
You see, every person who attended is an eternal soul who will exist somewhere for eternity. Every person we count, counts. It thrills me to see a crowd of people singing songs of worship to God (I’m sure it thrills Him more)! And it thrills me to be able to share the Gospel, the reason for our Easter celebration, to so many people, many of whom had never before and may never hear.
So if you have not yet done so, take time today to get on your knees and lift your hands in thanksgiving to God for His marvelous work in and through our church. It is truly a blessing to be part of what is happening in these days in this ministry. There is no greater privilege than to be used as God’s instruments of blessing and service to present the life He offers to a lost and dying world. And there is no greater celebration than one that occurs because of souls hearing and responding to the Gospel. And to this I can only proclaim:
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Go To Church!
The other evening I lit a small campfire in our backyard fire pit. I enjoy looking into the flames and studying the way fire consumes the wood, transforming it into smoke and ashes. I said to my wife, "Watch this," and I used the poker to pull a red hot coal from the midst of the flame, out to the edge of the pit, away from the other embers. In a matter of a couple of minutes, the glowing remnant of wood went from bright orange, to dark red, and then black. Away from the other embers, it cooled off and seemingly lost its energy.
Linda said, "It's like a Christian straying away from church." My wife is a wise woman.
The truth is, we need each other. We really do. God never intended for His followers to go it alone. He saved us to be part of his family, and he wants us gathering frequently and habitually for fellowship, instruction in the Word, and corporate worship, as well as service to one another. That's why the author of Hebrews wrote, “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25 HCSB).
I'm grateful for every service that people attend church. But I want to encourage anyone reading this who may not be a weekly attender, to get more out of it by putting more into it. If you are a Christian, you need to be in church every week. And the church needs you as much as you need the church. Just like embers in a fire need to be clustered together, followers of Jesus need close and frequent fellowship. And that only comes when attending church becomes a top level priority. I have no doubt that Jesus wants that from every one of his followers. Don't you?
Jesus established the local church to be his family on earth. If you belong to him, you belong to his family. I hope you are not an estranged family member, or one who shirks his family responsibilities. The church was God’s idea. It’s hard to claim you are a follower of Jesus if you are unwilling to follow Him in this area, which to Jesus, is a really big deal.
You need the church and the church needs you. If you are a sporadic attender of The Bridge, we love you and want you to be the vital part of our Christian family that you were created to be. So I invite you, jump in head first and give it all you've got!
Linda said, "It's like a Christian straying away from church." My wife is a wise woman.
The truth is, we need each other. We really do. God never intended for His followers to go it alone. He saved us to be part of his family, and he wants us gathering frequently and habitually for fellowship, instruction in the Word, and corporate worship, as well as service to one another. That's why the author of Hebrews wrote, “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25 HCSB).
I'm grateful for every service that people attend church. But I want to encourage anyone reading this who may not be a weekly attender, to get more out of it by putting more into it. If you are a Christian, you need to be in church every week. And the church needs you as much as you need the church. Just like embers in a fire need to be clustered together, followers of Jesus need close and frequent fellowship. And that only comes when attending church becomes a top level priority. I have no doubt that Jesus wants that from every one of his followers. Don't you?
Jesus established the local church to be his family on earth. If you belong to him, you belong to his family. I hope you are not an estranged family member, or one who shirks his family responsibilities. The church was God’s idea. It’s hard to claim you are a follower of Jesus if you are unwilling to follow Him in this area, which to Jesus, is a really big deal.
You need the church and the church needs you. If you are a sporadic attender of The Bridge, we love you and want you to be the vital part of our Christian family that you were created to be. So I invite you, jump in head first and give it all you've got!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Radical Sacrifice
There is no success without sacrifice. Every major accomplishment is preceded by someone’s sacrifice. Any success you have enjoyed took sacrifice to make it happen. It might not have been yours, but someone sacrificed for you to enjoy success. Seeing our radical objective come to fruition will take sacrifice. Are you willing? Is this objective from Jesus important enough to you to sacrifice for?
We’ve already talked about the necessity of prayer, and most of us are praying like never before in our lives. Last week we talked about radical inviting: being so excited about God and His family that we invite everyone we know…even some we do not know. But for this to happen will also take sacrifice.
Jesus has already made the greatest sacrifice for this to happen. I’m writing this on Maunday (meaning “covenant” as in the new covenant) Thursday, the evening of Jesus’ passover meal with his disciples, his time of deep prayer at the park where he was betrayed, and the night he was taken captive and led to trial which culminated with his crucifixion. Talk about a model of sacrifice.
Sacrifice is good. It helps us sort out our priorities. By sacrificing, we give up something we like or want in order to gain something more important to us. That’s why we are willing to sacrifice for our children. What we are willing to sacrifice and what we sacrifice for says a lot about ourselves and who or what we value, even worship.
And in making this radical objective a reality, God is calling us to sacrifice (as He always does). Some of us will be asked to sacrifice more than others, and all of us will need to listen to God and reevaluate our priorities when considering what sacrifices we are willing to make. But let me ask you all to consider some things.
First, if you haven’t noticed, the parking lot and spaces on the street near the church are full every week. We’ve actually had people drive around looking for a place to park and then leave. One first time guest told us she drove around the block a couple of times and just when she was going to head home, a space opened up and she came in. Remember, we are, for the most part, talking about unchurched guests. It doesn’t take much for Satan to throw up a barrier from their coming in. Are you willing to help remove that barrier? Is it too much of a sacrifice for those of us who are healthy enough to walk a little further to park at Willow Academy? Those of us who are not seniors, disabled, or single moms with small children, we are asking to leave open the parking lot and on-street parking near the church for new people. I know, early comers should have the right to get the best spots. But we are not talking about getting our rights, we are talking about being servants. Will you make that sacrifice for Jesus?
Second, you have probably also noticed that our 11:00a service is by far the most congested, and its going to get worse. Some of you need to attend that service because of your serving schedule. But some of you could make the move to Saturday at 5p or the early service on Sunday (9a). Would you be willing to make that shift for the benefit of others? Think of it as missionary attendance. Of course, if you have a guest coming with you, attend the service they will come to. But otherwise, would you consciously make room for newcomers (who usually attend the 11a service) by moving to a less attended service? Here’s the plus if you move to Saturday: you can park in the parking lot because there is plenty of room!
Third, and this is a small matter, but it does matter. Which ever service you attend, unless you absolutely have to for disability issues or ministry position, please do not sit on the aisle. Just move in to fill the middle of the row so that others who come after you can easily find a place. And also, it would really help us out if you moved closer to the front (just a few rows ahead of what you are used to) so that we can fill in the rows from front to back.
On this weekend, when in some services the auditorium will be packed and parking overflowing, this is all the more important. Unless you have guests with you, please try to attend Saturday evening or the 8a Easter service (9:30 & 11 will be congested). Please park at Willow Academy, and move towards the front and middle of the aisle. You’ll be surprised how those humble sacrifices to serve others will make you feel.
Doubling the family of God at The Bridge is a radical objective. But it is something God wants to do. But it will take radical praying, radical inviting, and radical objective. Let’s practice all three this weekend!
We’ve already talked about the necessity of prayer, and most of us are praying like never before in our lives. Last week we talked about radical inviting: being so excited about God and His family that we invite everyone we know…even some we do not know. But for this to happen will also take sacrifice.
Jesus has already made the greatest sacrifice for this to happen. I’m writing this on Maunday (meaning “covenant” as in the new covenant) Thursday, the evening of Jesus’ passover meal with his disciples, his time of deep prayer at the park where he was betrayed, and the night he was taken captive and led to trial which culminated with his crucifixion. Talk about a model of sacrifice.
Sacrifice is good. It helps us sort out our priorities. By sacrificing, we give up something we like or want in order to gain something more important to us. That’s why we are willing to sacrifice for our children. What we are willing to sacrifice and what we sacrifice for says a lot about ourselves and who or what we value, even worship.
And in making this radical objective a reality, God is calling us to sacrifice (as He always does). Some of us will be asked to sacrifice more than others, and all of us will need to listen to God and reevaluate our priorities when considering what sacrifices we are willing to make. But let me ask you all to consider some things.
First, if you haven’t noticed, the parking lot and spaces on the street near the church are full every week. We’ve actually had people drive around looking for a place to park and then leave. One first time guest told us she drove around the block a couple of times and just when she was going to head home, a space opened up and she came in. Remember, we are, for the most part, talking about unchurched guests. It doesn’t take much for Satan to throw up a barrier from their coming in. Are you willing to help remove that barrier? Is it too much of a sacrifice for those of us who are healthy enough to walk a little further to park at Willow Academy? Those of us who are not seniors, disabled, or single moms with small children, we are asking to leave open the parking lot and on-street parking near the church for new people. I know, early comers should have the right to get the best spots. But we are not talking about getting our rights, we are talking about being servants. Will you make that sacrifice for Jesus?
Second, you have probably also noticed that our 11:00a service is by far the most congested, and its going to get worse. Some of you need to attend that service because of your serving schedule. But some of you could make the move to Saturday at 5p or the early service on Sunday (9a). Would you be willing to make that shift for the benefit of others? Think of it as missionary attendance. Of course, if you have a guest coming with you, attend the service they will come to. But otherwise, would you consciously make room for newcomers (who usually attend the 11a service) by moving to a less attended service? Here’s the plus if you move to Saturday: you can park in the parking lot because there is plenty of room!
Third, and this is a small matter, but it does matter. Which ever service you attend, unless you absolutely have to for disability issues or ministry position, please do not sit on the aisle. Just move in to fill the middle of the row so that others who come after you can easily find a place. And also, it would really help us out if you moved closer to the front (just a few rows ahead of what you are used to) so that we can fill in the rows from front to back.
On this weekend, when in some services the auditorium will be packed and parking overflowing, this is all the more important. Unless you have guests with you, please try to attend Saturday evening or the 8a Easter service (9:30 & 11 will be congested). Please park at Willow Academy, and move towards the front and middle of the aisle. You’ll be surprised how those humble sacrifices to serve others will make you feel.
Doubling the family of God at The Bridge is a radical objective. But it is something God wants to do. But it will take radical praying, radical inviting, and radical objective. Let’s practice all three this weekend!
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