Monday, February 28, 2011

Radical AND the Power Team

The Power Team had a GREAT time last week and God really moved in the lives of some people, but, NOW, the real work begins for us as a church.  "Do you mean that setting the stage and all that stuff wasn't work?"  No, it was...but it's just the beginning.

Last week, 181 people made decisions for Christ for the first time, & 59 people who are returning to Christ in rededication.  That's almost 200 new people in God's kingdom...We just finished a series on our theme for the year, Radical....time to step up, people of God.

In Radical, it walks about multiplying yourselves and being a part of a multiplying community, here's where the rubber meets the road for that...it's not just seeing decisions for Christ, it's deciding to step in and take people who've made decisions and helping them grow in Christ...taking responsibility for the spiritual "babies" (if anyone who accepted Christ for the first time is reading this, I'm not trying to slam you, but to make a point to existing Christians...you are new, and you need some help to know where to go from here - that's all.)

Don't bring me any weak stuff like "I don't know enough"...every person who's been a Christian knows SOMETHING to pass on to the next one.

Here's where the RADICAL challenge/experiment meets the road now...what are YOU going to do about those spiritual babies?  Not me...not Larry...not Dennis or Doug or David or Jenny or Tom or Scott or Randy or Nate or Bevan or the deacons or whatever group you can categorize... but YOU...What are you gonna do?

Here's my suggestion:

If you know ANYONE personally who made a decision, then YOU take the personal responsibility to be PROACTIVE in offering yourself as a resource and mentor through this time for them.  I'm not talking about just once, but to call them and then check up on them...ask them to lunch (guys with guys, girls with girls...please)...talk to them about their decision...encourage them once a week for the next two months...help them get to church by inviting them, offering them a ride...be availble, but not just that, be proactive in contacting them.  Point them to where you read...not reading the Word?  START NOW...you don't have time to waste, them read it with them.

There shouldn't be ANY young Christian that has to wait to ask for help...that's the job of ALL Christians in our churches.

Time to step up people...God dropped 200 spiritual children on your door, church...rubber is meeting the road as you read this...what you gonna do?

Monday, February 21, 2011

Look what's going on in the schools in Brevard County

I got an update from Loretta Dozier, the founder of Dove Bible Club, that we had in services a few months ago.  Loretta and her husband, Anthony, are doing some great work in the schools in Brevard County.  She started Dove Bible Clubs in 2008 in 4 schools...here's her latest update below, including the first DBC started out of the state of Florida in Houston, TX...

"We just started school #14.  We are in all 11 Brevard County elementary schools in Palm Bay and 2 Middle schools (Southwest Middle-Palm Bay and Wells Middle - Houston Texas).  We are now moving northward in the Melbourne schools.  We started Meadowlane Intermediate in January, with a total of 55 students.  We will start school number #15 next month at Meadowlane Primary.

For the month of January, we shared the gospel with 381 students.

The print cartridges are coming in very handy. It is nice to have them on hand, as I need them. I have already used 1 black cartridge and started my second one yesterday. God bless you and BayWest Church for your gift of ink cartridges!"

Loretta and Anthony really need our prayers for energy, strength and wisdom to continue doing the work God has for them in our schools.  For more information on Dove Bible Clubs, including how you can help in your area, check out dovebibleclub.org .

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Sugar and air

Every year, we make our way around to that time when we all are bombarded with signs of love everywhere. Hearts, flowers and balloons mark the stores, advertisements and commercials on TV. Usually our mental paintings of love consist of romantic fancy and that's certainly a part of the equation. Still, for me, I see this extreme over-emphasis on this small part of love, as more of a detriment in some ways than a help. Don't lynch me...hear me out.

I fear that in focusing exclusively on the emotional part of love in our relationships, we walk away with the wrong definition of what we sign up for. Love is not about that rush of feeling you get, that's not the substance of love, that's like the icing on a cake. Icing on a cake is pretty much sugar and air. In every relationship, there comes a time, where the strength of love is tested. If your version of "love" is just sugar and air, then you are in trouble, because there no substance to it. Icing never stands by itself, it needs a solid substance by which to cling.

The substance of real love is based in commitment and sacrifice. The Bible says that there's no greater love that a man can have than to lay down his life for his friends. The most extreme picture of this definition was when God's Son, Jesus, gave His life for every one of us without a "pre-nuptial" promise beforehand. That's unconditional...freely given regardless of whether it's returned or not.

Everyone longs to be loved in this manner because it's real. The problem is that we all want it, but we don't want to do the work to give it. It's the son that wants his mom to just "accept him", but doesn't embrace her lack of acceptance. It's the wife, that thinks its all her husband's fault, and if he'd just "love" her like he is supposed to, then everything would be fine or the husband who does the same...we all want to have the perfect partner to love, but much like Jesus, who has no choice but imperfection from which to choose to love, it isn't happening. That's part of what Jesus modeled for us, because the strength of love is never in the getting, but in the giving of it. Here's another truth of it...if you aren't willing to give it, you will never get it, it will never come to you by demanding it. You'll just be shouting at the rain. It's a commitment freely given, with risk of it never returning anything. That's hard, but true.

So when you "get" the flowers or the golf clubs or the card, and over a candlelight dinner you gaze into the eyes of someone, don't forget that the feeling of the moment has to have some hard choosing, unglamorous, pride-swallowing sacrifice at its foundation if it's going to last. If not, it'll wash away at some point, either in light rain or hurricane, because ultimately, it was just sugar and air to begin with.