Been a very busy summer - lot of good stuff accomplished and plenty of troubles to wade through. God is good! The Bridge has been steadily growing and impacting lives in positive ways. New leaders are growing. Lives are being healed. Families reunited. New families begun. Marriages and funerals. The Word is going out and connecting people to their Creator. Finances are starting to get fixed. Chains of bondage are being broken. Plans for the next church launch are in process. People in the community are being loved. God's hand is being revealed. It has been a very busy summer!

Salvation according to John MacArthur

I have been reading stuff by John MacArthur for a couple years now and I find it interesting that he is so condemning of people like Rick Warren and spends so much time telling everyone how to properly evangelize yet he completely disregards Jesus method of evangelism. He condemns Rick Warren for not mentioning repentance in the prayer for salvation - he only mentioned believe and receive, but left out repentance. John 1, Acts 10 and 1Timothy 1 are just a few of the many scriptures that teach the concept of believe and receive with no reference to repentance. On the cross Jesus told the criminal that today he would be in heaven with Him with no reference to repentance or, the much touted by John MacArthur, fear of God and crushing weight of sin. I guess according to John MacArthur Jesus did not tell people the correct way of salvation....

Just a little bit more!

I read about a 15% principle on Seth Godin's blog - lose 15% of your business and you may have to close the doors, gain 15% and you may double your profits. Once you have reached the breakeven point the hard work is done - it took 100% to get there, but a 15% change can make or break you. Just do 15% more and find the success you desire!

I have seen so many people work hard to get to the point of breakeven then give up - whether in business or relationships. Most couples go through hell together then divorce when things begin to improve. Many people go through the hardest times then give up shortly after the worst is over. In business building the foundation is very difficult to establish and feels very unrewarding, but once it is established the rest is just following the pattern and growing the other 15%.

If things seem hopeless in any area just remember - all you need is a 15% improvement to drastically change the picture! Run after the last 15% like you did the first!

2 services

We did our 2 service test drive - really looks like people will want a later service rather than an earlier service. The transitions went well. Need to get more volunteers overall, but we did have some crossover where a volunteer worked one service and attended another. It was a good experience. Pretty sure we will have to go to 2 services in the fall just to fit in the existing chairs.

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?