Update

It has been nearly a year since my last post! The past year has been full and exciting. Last year at this time we were just getting The Bridge going and in many ways I still feel like we are just getting going. I have been disappointed that we have not grown as fast I would have liked to, but I do recognize that God has grown us at the maximum rate we can handle - faster growth would probably have caused a serious implosion. God has been pruning the people that work at The Bridge and bringing the right ones in. I really see that there are people that have tremendous difficulty working in a functioning church, but may be great supporters for starting a church.

It seems we are on the edge of something great - about to explode with growth! Our people attending are great - very humble, down to earth, loving and accepting! I am humbled to serve here. Over the past year God has revealed to me so many ways I have been a hypocrite in leading church ministries. We now have several smokers in leadership positions - a few years ago I would probably have said I would never allow that. Now I see that we all have places in our lives that are strongholds - weight issues, gossip, meanness, lying, slander, smoking, drinking, sexual issues etc. Where do I draw the line? I guess for now as I am trying to figure it out the line would probably have to do with how hurtful that stronghold is to others, how it affects their ability to function and how that person is growing spiritually. Smoking is not a sin issue, it is a health issue - do we condemn the diabetic that eats wrong and exclude them from leadership? Gossip is a sin issue that destroys others. Being fat is a health issue. Lying could be a bad habit that affects few beyond the liar or destroys others.

Having a black and white rule book would sure be nice! I try my best to let love by my guide - Jesus said to love God and love others and all the rules and laws are hung on those 2 principles. I am thankful to God for bringing me into this church planting role and the humbling it has brought to my life. God is stretching and growing me in huge ways! I really do love the people He has put in my life through the Bridge!

Things that make you go hmm

Things that make you go Hmm? This is the current series I am giving messages on - tough questions. So far we have done how can a loving God allow pain and suffering and is there really any right and wrong? The bottom line on the pain and suffering question is that God loved us enough to give us free will regardless of the consequences of that and the only way to eliminate all pain and suffering is to eliminate free will. On the right and wrong question we were dealing with the concept of absolutes vs relativity. Bottom line - we all have an internal moral standard and all discussion regarding right and wrong refer to a higher standard that we try to measure all other standards by. This is indicative of there being a true right and wrong, absolutes.

Our next message is on only one way to heaven. How arrogant of us to presume our "religion" is the only way (sarcasm). What makes us think our way is the only way - why our we so special? This is what we will be looking into next Sunday.

The Warrior Mom

Taught on the warrior's heart that is in every man today. My wife warned me some of what I had to say may be difficult for some women to hear or believe. There was some push back on my statement that there is a time to throw a punch as well as a time to turn the cheek. After the service I had the opportunity to talk to several of the ladies. The mothers understood the concept of a warrior's heart pretty well - all mothers have a bit of the warrior's heart in them when it comes to their kids. The main question was on the drive to have a battle to fight in every man. The point in the message was that a man without a cause to fight for will fight against all the wrong things. Knowing our cause to fight for will help us to know when it is time to throw a punch or turn the cheek. What is your cause?

The Warrior

We have an upcoming series that starts March 8th called The Warrior. We are very excited about this series! In every man's life, there is a cause worth fighting for and a victory worth claiming. What is yours? Discover how to not only prepare for the battles ahead, but more importantly, how to emerge victoriously. It's time to stop playing the role of the nice guy and instead live as The Warrior. Ladies, you can come and learn something about the Warrior you know and we encourage you to invite the men you know to come and hear about the Warrior that God has made him to be. Men, come hear about the Warrior's cause and how to be the Warrior God has made you to be and invite other men to check this out. As usual this will be different and powerful. This series will lead us into the Easter message Jesus the Warrior. I am looking forward to seeing you there.

Free will

Why did Jesus die for us if He could have snapped His fingers and corrected our shortcomings? Jesus did not have to die to "fix" us - He has the power to change us any way He wants. Why doesn't God cause us to want to obey Him? He could!

I believe part of being made "in God's image" is free will - the ability to choose. If free will is so important to God that He sacrificed His own son rather than take it away what does that say about freedom? As Christ followers do we need to put emphasis on freedom? As we face a time that our nation is turning socialist how does freedom come into play? Socialism helps others in many ways - isn't that what Jesus wants?

update

I have been horrible about keeping up on this blog. Forgive me I beg. Six months ago I was impatient to get things rolling with The Bridge, but now time is flying by and it is difficult to keep up. Things are going great - not perfect, but great. I would like to put some real nuggets of wisdom down here, but I have used them all up I think - both of them.

We are getting more interested visitors at each service. We want to draw a larger crowd at the Dec 21st preview to get the word out so that the Launch on Jan 18 draws a good group. We have had great attendance with over 110 people visiting over the first 4 previews and an average of 65 overall. If we can get over 200 different people through the doors by the launch we will have a breaking point for word of mouth to really accelerate the attendance. I am excited!

The Message

The service was great! We had 24 new people show up. The music went well and I think the message was received - I am sorry for how Christians have behaved. The apology was sincere and well taken.

There were two things I wanted to get across - first was I wanted the group to know that God is interested in a relationship with them, not in finding some reason to condemn them. Second I wanted the group to look past Christian's behavior to Jesus. Jesus never condemned the "sinner", rather He was loving with them and harsh with the religious leaders.