Written in Heaven

Another great day at BridgeWay! Here are some closing thoughts to the last Sunday of 2008:

• As I said in the services, Dale was out sick today. If you know Dale, you know how sick he would have to be to not be at BridgeWay. Dale, missed you today man, praying for you and the fam.
• Big ups to the cleaning crew. The main theater has been so clean the past couple weeks!
• We had to make some last minute shifts in the childrens area. We had a wet theater from all the melting snow and rain (I know what you're thinking - why would the theater be wet because the snow melted and it rained? Exactly!) That's one advantage to being portable - just move to a different theater.
• Shout out to Connie our Pastor of Family Life for going with the flow in those situations. She's a great improvisor.
• Aside from that, the day was smooth sailing.
• The band was killer in the run through and lit it up both services.
• I love the song "Spring of Life" that they did this week. "Jesus, you're the well that won't run dry, Jesus, you're the drink that satisifies, living water, spring of life, Jesus you're the well that won't run dry." Good stuff!
• Thanks to our congregation for rolling with the written survey we handed out this week. That's going to help us greatly as we plan the upcoming year.
• It was fun to talk about steps to writing goals today.
• This message is one that Dale wrote. It's hard to preach a message when someone else writes it with such passion like Dale does. It's tough because you want to make sure you communicate that passion with the message. But the principles were great and it seemed to communicate well. Hopefully we'll see a lot of people map out some goals for their lives because of our time together today.
• Personally and speaking for Brooke, 2008 has been one of the greatest years our my lives. God answered our prayers (of about a year and a half) by allowing us to join the staff of BridgeWay, my sister has had God's healing hand on her as she's worked through some dangerous medical situations, my brother was married in June, my dad just got a new job that we had been praying for for about a year or so, and my mom is completely healthy for the first time in a long time. Praise God for his faithfulness in the midst of unsettling times!
• Oh yeah - and hopefully by the end of the week we'll be parents! Brooke's due January 1 (this Thursday!) so if you think about it, say a little prayer that the little guy comes sooner than later. I saw she was looking up 'natural ways to induce labor' on the internet last night! I think it's safe to say she's ready to have the baby!

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Have you ever asked someone to do something because you didn’t want to do it? I remember as a kid feeling like this is where the majority of chores from my parents originated. They saw a task they didn’t want to do and would ask (and by that I mean tell) me to do it. Now that I’m older, I understand that they were really not as concerned about the task as they were about instilling in me work ethic, the value of an honest day’s work, etc.

What about as a leader? Have you ever asked someone to do something that you didn’t want to do? Anyone who has ever had an intern serve under them probably has done this. I’ve asked my interns to clean out church vans, do research on portable baptisteries, pick up lunch, etc. All tasks that needed to be done and were important on some level, but stuff I really didn’t want to do.

When it comes to leading volunteers or a small group, the ball game is different. They can walk whenever they want. They don’t have to show up. What keeps them coming back (aside from God’s call on their life) is the fact that they feel valued and they feel part of a team. This requires us as leaders to model the way. This means don’t ask people to do something you’re not willing to do. Don’t tell everyone how important a service project is and then not show up. Don’t talk to people about the importance of prayer and never pray. Don’t ask someone to clean a bathroom while you stand and watch. Plus, that would be weird anyway.

The point is, as a leader anyone who is following you is a gift from God. God has entrusted you with this person or these people. He wants you to model the way spiritually, physically, and in whatever other way your leadership requires. Modeling the way is what all Godly leaders do, especially Jesus. Jesus valued everyone and modeled the way for them to live. So should we.

WHEN LOVE COME TO TOWN: A U2 CHRISTMAS
WALK ON

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. What is the one movie about Christmas that you love to watch this time of year? Why is it your favorite? When you think about Jesus and his Christmas story, what details of the story move you the most?

2. Read Matthew 1:22-23. When you think of prominent criminal cases that have been in the court system in our lifetime, which ones have we been quick to judge, right or wrong? What person or groups of people are we quick to judge or put labels on in our own lives? Why? What should we do with these preconceptions in light of Galatians 3:26-28?

3. Joseph was quick to judge and he was afraid to take Mary as his wife. Why was he afraid to marry her? What would you have done in that situation? Why do we still have fear when God asks us to do something? Is there or has there been a situation in your life that you’d be willing to share when God was calling you to do something and you were afraid? What was the outcome?

4. God’s presence came to earth through Jesus. To fully experience that presence, we have to take next steps in our lives. This means doing something or becoming something God’s called us to. It may also mean that we need to leave certain things behind. What needs to happen in your life for you to fully experience God’s presence in your life this Christmas?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

WHEN LOVE COME TO TOWN: A U2 CHRISTMAS
BEAUTIFUL DAY

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. Think back to one of the happiest moments of your life. What was taking place? What were the circumstances? Who was there? What made that moment the happiest moment of your life? What would it take for that moment to be recreated or to have another moment like that take place?

2. In U2’s ‘Beautiful Day,’ there’s a line that says, “What you don’t have you don’t need it now, what you don’t know you can feel it somehow.” What are things in our lives that we just instinctively recognize we need? What are things that we think we need but we really don’t?

3. Read Matthew 19:16-26. Dale defined 4 places in relationship to Jesus that this story defined. What were these 4 places? Which one of these places do you find yourself at now? Which one of these places do you struggle to submit to Jesus?

4. Read James 4:8. We are as close to God as we want to be. How close do we want to be to God? How can we pray for each other that we would be as close to God as He desires?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

I think every leader has soapboxes they get on. For me, it’s listening. There’s nothing that ticks me off when I’m talking to someone and I know they’re not listening. The other day, someone was talking to me and I was checking out hard core – I mean, I can’t remember a word they said. About half way through this, I recognized my hypocritical nature and apologized to the guy.

I started wondering “Why don’t we listen to people/interrupt people”? Here are the conclusions my research and thoughts have brought me to:

1. We are genuinely disinterested in what this person has to say.

This is pretty common. If someone comes in and drones on and on about the same thing, I lose interest and stop listening. Some people are (or consider themselves) ADHD and use it as an excuse to stop listening. Either way, I would think it would be considered rude.

2. We are genuinely disinterested in the person talking.

We don’t care about what this person is saying because we don’t care about this person. It sounds pretty harsh to say that, but I think if we could replay the tapes of certain people talking to us, we would probably agree.

3. We think we know what they’re going to say.

We typically interrupt people or stop listening because we think we know what they’re going to say. Sometimes we’re right, sometimes not, but either way, it’s pretty rude.

4. We think we’re smarter than they are.

This is why I don’t listen sometimes. Someone’s talking and I think I know more, so I stop listening. This is something that God has majorly checked me on and put me in my rightful “Matt-you’re-an-idiot-and-the-quicker-we-both-recognize-that-the-better-life-will-be” place.

5. We think what we have to say is more important than what they’re talking about.

This allows us to disengage and begin our own line of thinking. Or, this allows us to interrupt them and start talking about what we want to talk about. Again, a little on the rude side.

Ultimately, my belief is that not listening/interrupting goes back to humility. If we ever think that there are people in life we cannot learn from, are genuinely disinterested in, or feel as though we are smarter than, we are in desperate need of humility. As leaders, listening is crucial. We’re all busy, but taking time to listen can make or break your leadership.

WHEN LOVE COME TO TOWN: A U2 CHRISTMAS
I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. If you could have one material possession for Christmas, and money was no object, what would it be? When you were a kid, what was the one thing that you wanted for Christmas more than anything in the world? What are some of the feelings that we long to feel around Christmas time?

2. Can anyone in the group recap Jonah’s story? What two themes controlled Jonah’s life? What justice and judgment did Jonah desire to see fall against the Ninevites? Are there groups of people that we wish would suffer judgment and justice?

3. Read John 8:1-11. From this story we can see the two messages of Jesus’ life – what were they? Why does Jesus want us to focus on a life of repentance and restoration rather than a life of judgment and justice? What benefits are there to a life lived in the message of Jesus?

4. Read Jonah 4:11. What is Jonah’s response to God’s question? Why do you think Jonah kept seeking judgment and justice even though he knew God was about repentance and restoration? Why do we seek judgment and justice rather than repentance and restoration when someone wrongs us? Are there people in our lives that we’ve been seeking judgment for that we should start praying for repentance and restoration for?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

ADVANCE 2009:
PROCESS

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

***Be sure to point your group to the website every week of this series: www.advance2009.com.

1. What are the big dreams or ideal goals we all have for our lives? What will it take for us to achieve those dreams or goals?

2. Read Nehemiah 6:8 and Nehemiah 4:10. What opposition was Nehemiah facing in rebuilding the wall? Has anyone gone through any kind of construction project? What were you feeling as the process went on?

3. A line Dale used Sunday was, “between the promise and the payoff is a painful process.” What examples can you think of from the lives of others that makes this point? What painful process have you gone through in your life before seeing a payoff?
In those situations what does it look like to feel overwhelmed, feel tired, or face opposition?

4. Dale talked about how often times we want the payoff, but aren’t willing to go through the process. What are some examples that he gave or ones that we have of how this statement is true in life? What process is God calling us to that we are too scared to go through with?

5. When we go through painful situations, we often think the payoff is the point. However, the point is the process, not the payoff. What do we need to dive into the process God is calling us to?

For prayer time tonight, specifically pray for the processes that God is calling people to and that they are too afraid or unwilling to confront. If no one opens up that deeply, proceed with normal prayer time.

Mark Driscoll is a church planter in Seattle, and he describes the leadership of Jesus in three ways: Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the King, and Jesus the Priest.

Jesus has a pretty good reputation, and deservedly so. He had a grasp of what was going on around him that was simply amazing. He understood people, their needs, and what they needed to hear when they encountered him. Jesus was extremely kind hearted to those whom society hated. He let the little children come to him when his disciples thought it a bad idea. He didn’t function under the norms of society, but rather through the norms of the Kingdom of Heaven. He loved the outcasts, the sinners, the diseased, the children, and even women (who at that time were basically seen as pieces of property). Jesus was ‘full of compassion and abounding in love.’

This is the call for leaders as well. I think we’ve all seen pastors like this; pastors who seemed to just walk around and ooze compassion for everyone. As Christian leaders, we are called to function like Jesus in this way. There’s a reason why Jesus was prophet, King, and priest, because he held all of these in check with one another. Jesus showed very little compassion to the religious rulers of the day, but overwhelming compassion for the outcasts of society. Why? Because Jesus knew that the Pharisees didn’t need compassion, but to hear the truth. He also knew that for the outcasts of society to hear the truth, they must be shown compassion. More than that, Jesus was genuinely compassionate for those whom society had written off. Showing this compassion comes naturally for some and requires a lot of prayer for others.

Who are you leading right now that you know you need to show more compassion towards? Who are you leading that you know doesn’t need compassion, but needs to hear the truth?

Mark Driscoll is a church planter in Seattle, and he describes the leadership of Jesus in three ways: Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the King, and Jesus the Priest.

When I hear the work King, I think of, well, basically the Burger King King. I think of an old wise looking man who is decked out in the latest fashions of the 1500’s who sits on the gold throne waiting for someone to refill his goblet. This is not an accurate depiction of Jesus the King. Jesus the King is a king of details. When we talk about Jesus being king, it often means that he is king of our lives. It means he sits on the throne of our hearts and controls everything about us, all the details of our lives. This is important. Anyone who has Jesus on the throne of their lives vs. just simply following Jesus knows there is a huge, important distinction between the two.

So what does it look like for us to be kings? We have no authority to sit on the throne of anyone’s life, nor should we attempt to do so. What a leadership ‘king’ does is to figure out the details. People who are natural ‘kings’ are people my generation would describe as ‘anal retentive.’ These are people who are obsessed with systems, policies, and procedures all in the name of effective, efficient organization. I’m all for that, in fact I’ve got some king in me naturally. For any leadership position to function effectively, we all have to either be kings to some degree or surround ourselves with kings. In small groups, this means putting the ‘kings’ of your group in the role of Food Coordinator or Get off the Couch Week Coordinator. These people rock at organizing that kind of stuff. This also means tracking attendance (by name, not simply number) to your church or group and knowing who you need to follow up with. These are just some examples, but you get the gist.

Though the details aren’t always the most fun aspect of leadership, they are a crucial aspect – in fact, one Jesus cared about deeply.

ADVANCE 2009:
TOGETHER

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

***Be sure to point your group to the website every week of this series: www.advance2009.com.

1. When you think of a team, what comes to mind? What have been some of your favorite sports teams throughout your life? What teams do you currently work or serve on? What are some keys of being on a successful team?

2. Read Nehemiah 2:17-18. Dale talked about winning teams are teams that are unified. What are areas of our lives that we seek unity? What does it take to bring unity to these areas? Why is a unified church so powerful? What does it take to bring unity to a church?

3. Read Nehemiah 3:1-2. This section of Nehemiah details all of the different people that helped rebuild the walls of the city. Why is it important to not only have a ‘unified’ team, but a deep team as well? What are the keys to being a deep team?

4. Read Nehemiah 3:5. Winning teams do whatever it takes to win. The nobles made excuses to not fulfill the work of rebuilding the wall. At what point after you start attending a church are you officially ‘part of the team?’ At what point after being in the church do you no longer have to serve? What excuses or reasons do people make to avoid getting involved in serving in the church?

5. At the end of service, Dale gave opportunity to get involved through the Volunteer Brochure, as well as the Volunteer Expo. What areas did each of us sign up for? What areas are we considering getting involved in?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

Mark Driscoll is a church planter who pastors Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. He describes Jesus’ leadership in three forms – Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Priest, and Jesus the King. Over the next three weeks, we’ll discuss each one.

Jesus the Prophet is the side of Jesus that speaks prophetically into the lives of people. What this means is that Jesus spoke the truth into the lives of people, even if it wasn’t pleasant. We see Jesus do this often. This is the ‘repent’ type of message in some instances. Jesus goes off on the Pharisees on more than one occasion – Matthew 23 being my favorite. He has little tolerance for people who call themselves Christians and then pursue endeavors that are far from Christ. But this can take a softer tone as well. When Jesus encountered the woman at the well, he spoke prophetically into her life talking about her spirit, her relationships, and her past. This was so profound that the woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet” in John 4:19. Jesus the prophet speaks the truth again and again and again.

As Christian leaders, we must also be able to speak prophetically in this way. By that, I mean, we must be in tune with the Holy Spirit so that we can speak the truth of God into the lives of people around us. This can be a lot of fun. Yesterday I had the privilege of recruiting a small group leader. I was able to speak prophetically and tell them how God had gifted them for this role and how he wanted to use them. That was a blast! It can also be tough. People may approach you that are destroying their lives and ask you for advice. When they do that, you have to be able to speak the truth in love to them for their own good. In other words, you have to speak prophetically, even when it’s tough.

Take some time this week to examine how Jesus spoke prophetically into the lives of those around him and pray that he would allow you to be able to do the same by his strength.

ADVANCE 2009:
NOW

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. What does everyone think about the launching of a second campus in Pekin? Who thinks that the venture is exciting? Who is nervous about it?

2. Read 2 Samuel 14:14. How have you seen ‘God devise ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him?’ Dale used this verse to talk about a very important part of what BridgeWay is about, does anyone remember what that is? (People not property) What examples from scripture can you recall where Jesus is focused on people or on a specific person? What does that mean for us as the body?

3. Read Genesis 12:1-3. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing. In what ways has God blessed each of us in our lives? In what ways have you been a blessing to someone else’s life over the past year or two?

4. When Nehemiah was called by God to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he acted in three steps: he identified the need, he looked for God’s hand at work, and he took action in joining God in what he was doing. God is clearly moving us towards a campus in Pekin. In what ways do you think God wants you to participate in this exciting adventure?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

I enrolled in a graduate school program through Seton Hall University with the focus in Strategic Communication and Leadership. Sounds cool right? I love leadership – talking about it, strategizing about leading, identifying and developing leaders, all that. So when I was accepted into this program, I was completely thrilled. Part of my excitement was the fact that it was a secular school that would be teaching leadership from the secular world’s perspective.

I arrived at the orientation weekend feeling way out of my league. Members of my class included: a Secret Service agent, a DEA agent, a White House Communications Correspondent, as well as executives from NASA, Boeing, Verizon, and about every major pharmaceutical company in the United States…and a pastor. I was pretty excited though, to be learning with and from people from so many different disciplines.

Our first lesson came out of a book called “The Leadership Challenge” by Kouzes & Posner. These guys wrote this book after interviewing thousands of leaders from all of these different disciplines and compiling data to find leadership best practices. They said they that after all that research they could summarize leadership into one word: relationship.

When I heard that, I initially pretty steamed. I mean, I’m paying a pretty hefty bill for you to tell me something that is fairly obvious. But as they went on to describe this relationship, they were describing a leader who looked an awful lot like Jesus Christ – in fact, identical to him. Jesus led the way by being a servant leader: knowing exactly where he was going by God’s hand and leading others with him, while at the same time tending to those following with sensitivity and care.

That’s the way we should operate as leaders. Model our lives after Christ. Spend significant time in prayer, leading boldly, and all the while caring for those around us. Our relationship with Jesus is what makes us a leader worth following.

Soul Cravings
Awakening

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. To transform means, “to change from one form to another.” When you think of transformation, what comes to mind? In what ways do people transform? In what ways have you transformed as a person across your life?

2. Read Ephesians 2:1. This passage talks about being ‘dead in your transgressions and sins.’ What does it look like to be dead in sin? Can anyone share a time when you or someone close to you was dead in their sin? What did it take in that situation for that person to recognize that they were indeed dead?

3. Read Romans 7:18-19. Paul captures the classic battle between Spirit and flesh here. Can any of us relate to this passage? What are some of the things that trip up our Christian walk that we know we shouldn’t do, but we somehow do them? 1 Cor. 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” What hope do we have then in these struggling situations?

4. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come.’ Does anyone remember when you had this awakening moment with God? Would you be willing to share that story? Do any of us feel like we’re not quite there yet, but would like to be? Could we pray for you as a group?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

I first encountered the principle of DWYSYWD (pronounced ‘dwizzy-widd’) with someone that was a pastor at a church I was attending. He was a very charismatic personality with a lot of great leadership skills. Once I was visiting for a few days in the area where he lived and he knew I was coming in and invited me out for lunch the Tuesday I would be in town. We set the date and I was ready to go. I arrived around noon on that Tuesday to the church office to meet up for lunch. I asked the secretary where he was, and she said that he was out to lunch with someone. I had been stood up! Worse yet, there were two of my friends there as well that were waiting for a lunch appointment with this guy. He triple booked the same appointment and still managed to stand everyone up!

Enter the principle of DWYSYWD – simply, ‘Do What You Say You Will Do.’ You can be the most skilled, educated, charismatic leader on the planet, but if you don’t follow through on commitments or back up your words with action, your credibility and leadership is shot. This applies to leadership in the work place, leadership within the church, and leadership in the home. Being a leader of credibility means making scheduled appointments, keeping your word, following through on commitments, and doing what you say you will do.

Soul Cravings
Intimacy

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. Intimacy is a scary word and an even scarier thought. Intimacy means ‘to be known.’ Why is it so scary for us ‘to be known’ by other people? Why is it so scary for us to be known by God?

2. Sometimes people have a hard time believing God can love them. Read 1 Corinthians 15:9. Paul is talking about himself here. What is surprising about this statement? Does this statement come as a surprise to you? Why? Why is this line easy to relate to?

3. Another common feeling is insignificance. Read Exodus 3:11 and 1 Chronicles 29:14. What do these verses have in common? What do the outcomes of these verses have in common? Why do you think God chooses to use insignificant people in significant ways? How has God used you in a significant way?

4. God loves us. Romans 8:38-39 makes that very clear. Do any of us have trouble believing that verse? Is there something in your life that you feel is separating you from God’s love? As a group can we pray with you about that?

As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

Another great day at BridgeWay! Here are some reflections:

• We missed Dale and Steph today, but what a great opportunity to spend the weekend together in the 'Marriage Encounter' environment.
• We had a ton of people out today due to being out of town, but even more that were sick! Get well friends!
• Our Children's Pastor Connie Borth had to call a few audibles due to some illness that hit her area of minstry. The best part of that story is that you would never know because she's such a cool customer. Incredible job as always.
• I always appreciate our volunteers on Sundays. There are so many unsung heroes at BridgeWay that make Sunday happen! Like Chuck says, 'every Sunday is a miracle.' But the miracle always happens because of our volunteers. Thanks for all you do!
• The band was hot again today. They tore up the Dave Matthews song 'Grey Street' and put a little BridgeWay flavor on it. It was sick!
• Give a shout out to Nathan McCarthy of Switch, the student ministry department at BridgeWay. He always does a great job laying down the announcements - it's not as easy as he makes it look! Great job man.
• I'm really digging the Soul Cravings series. It's seems to really resonate with people that have given us feedback. Praise God for his direction in our lives!
• I loved being able to talk about the fact that we are created by God. It's so cool to even utter that phrase, let alone be able to teach on it.
• Mike Broshears deserves a shout too, giving up his afternoon to help this guy fix his water heater. Thanks a million (I know my wife echoes that sentiment too!).

Peace out friends - be back next week for our next Soul Craving - 'Intimacy.' See you there!

***Before you begin! Reaffirm the ‘Vegas’ rule with your group – what happens in small groups stays in small groups. This is very important to talk about every week. Encourage everyone that the environment is safe, and that there is no judgment.

***The reason we do small groups is to ‘belong and become’ – Have a safe group of friends to belong to and become more like Jesus every day. This is the vision of small groups – remind your group of this each week.

1. Do we all believe in the concept of a destiny (something to which a person or a thing is set apart for)? Do you think everyone knows they have a destiny? In what ways do we try to fulfill our own destiny’s apart from God?

2. Read Acts 17:24-25 as well as Jeremiah 1:5. Why is it so hard for us to believe in a Creator? Why do people have such a hard time believing that they are an on purpose creation of God? Have you ever struggled with this understanding? How did you come to the place where you are now?

3. Read Acts 17:26. Verse 26 says, “he determined the times set for them and the exact places they should live.” Think about what that means for a second. What are some of the scenarios around the world today that make this statement troubling? As we think about this in terms of destiny, what are some of the ways we are ‘destined’ to help as the body of Christ?

4. Read Acts 17:27. God is hungry for a relationship with us. Has there been a time in your life when you felt like God was far away from you? Would you feel comfortable sharing that situation with the group? How do we ensure that we keep a strong relationship with God in the midst of the storms of life?

5. In John 10:10, Jesus says that “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” Have you experienced this full life that Jesus offers? What’s the difference between a life with Jesus and a life without him? Are there areas of your life where you are not experiencing this fullness that Christ talks about? Could we pray with you about that right now?

***As always, end the group with general sharing of prayer requests and prayer. Some groups have found it effective to pray for each request as it’s given, rather than creating the list of requests. Use your discretion as a leader.

One thing I learned early on in leadership is to learn from the mistakes of those around me. When I was in student ministry, I recognized that some of my peers were struggling in their student ministries because they didn’t communicate enough to students and families. I made communication one of my number one priorities. We would put out a calendar with all the events on it for the year, we would send out a weekly newsletter with the same information on it, we would send parent letters home every semester, we would send reminder postcards when an event or schedule change was coming up, we would even make phone calls as small group leaders to students about events, and the standard weekly announcements from the front on Sundays and Wednesdays. After three years of this, I had a parent approach me and inform me that they felt like they never knew what was going on because we didn’t communicate well. Moment of confession: I was IRATE!

I kept my cool, but what I realized is this very important principle: you can’t communicate enough. Over-communicating is exactly what it sounds like: communicate the same message over and over again through as many different mediums as possible, in an effort to make that message part of the culture.

For BridgeWay Small Groups, our vision is to “belong and become:” belong in a safe group of friends and to become more like Jesus Christ each day. If you’re a small group leader you’re going to hear this vision again and again, and will be asked to communicate it to your group again and again. It’s vital that this message is ingrained in the culture.

What message do you need to over-communicate to those around you?

Incredible day at BridgeWay! Like Dale said, I really don't know what to say without making this post about three pages long, but here are the highlights:

• 37 people baptized! Let that sink in...37 people. Incredible!
• The band was incredible today. You could tell the were really feeding off of the cheering for the baptisms.
• It was pretty cool when every single person came out of the water they were greeted with an explosion of applause and cheering. It rivaled any sporting event I've ever been to!
• Everything with the Food and Carnival part of the day went off without a hitch; as well as it possible could. Thanks to about the 40 different volunteers it took to see Party in the Park happen. They are the best around! You all made a huge impact for Jesus today.
• I was jealous of Ben and Rick. Their job was to stand right next to the baptistery and help people out, so they got a front row seat!
• Thanks especially to Kevin Grose, Michael Dorsey, and Eric Decker for spending several hours on Saturday helping set everything up. Michael spent the night in the park to guard our equipment! What a trooper.
• I am recovering from a hypothermic state after spending about 15 minutes in the dunk tank. IT WAS COLD! Did you see how hard some of those kids could throw!?!?! Next year we should require performance enhancing drug tests.
• The Cornhole Tournament was pretty successful, I think we had 16 teams. In all fairness, I will say that my wife and her partner went further in the tournament than me and my partner. I won't tell you who my partner was, but I will give you a clue: he's the Lead Pastor at BridgeWay.
• Thanks to said Lead Pastor for the cash to give my truck a bath after we hauled all the garbage away for the day. I'm not sure what was going on in those bags, but you could smell it in Chicago it was so bad!

Thanks again to everyone for making Party in the Park a great day! Don't forget - the new series "Soul Cravings" starts this week. Don't miss it!

Part of being a small group leader is facilitating pastoral care to the members of your group. Sometimes this can seem like a scary notion to people – “I’m no pastor!” or “I can’t act like a pastor!” What does this really mean?

Pastoral care in its simplest form means a few things. First, you listen. People will see you as a spiritual authority. That means they may ask you questions or want to pour out their life to you. That’s ok. When they do, listen. This seems really simple, but it’s a huge part of pastoral care.

Secondly, pray. More often than not, people need someone to talk to rather than someone to tell them what to do. Along with that, offering advice isn’t always the best idea. The best idea is to point them back to Jesus Christ. That means right there, pray for them. This could be at church, in your home, at a restaurant, at a baseball game, in the car (eyes open if you’re driving), anywhere. Just pray.

Third, remember and follow up. Remember the conversation you had together. In the next couple days, give that person a call and just touch base with them. Let them know you’re praying and that you’re available.

That’s pretty simple, but highly effective. God doesn’t call us to do this stuff under our own
strength, but under his. In 1 Peter 4:8, he says, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” So next time you’re blessed with a pastoral call issue, praise God and start praying!

Due to the Party in the Park, there are no facilitation questions this week. However, if you have not done this yet, you will need to decide on what Get off the Couch Week (GOTCW) activity you will do.

At this point, hopefully your GOTCW Coordinator has seen these options below and you have discussed them at least a little bit. Here they are if you haven’t seen them:
These are the options that we’ve provided through the church office, from Matt’s blog:

Hey all Get off the Couch Week coordinators, here are some options of what to do that week:

• I referenced this in an earlier post, but there are some needs of a family within the church that could use some support.
  
• 'We Care' is an organization that we have used before during "IMPACT!" this past June. They have some opportunities available to help out folks in the community that may not be able to help themselves. These are typically things like yard work, manual labor around the house, cleaning, etc.
  
• South Side Mission has an opportunity on Saturday morning Oct. 11 for any group that would like to help at the Benevolence Center. This would be helping sort through donations, as Saturday is their busiest donation day.
  
• Peoria Rescue Mission has an opportunity to serve the evening meal to the folks there on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday that week from 5:30-6:30.
  
• This is the option that if it is feasible, we'd love to see you do this. Find your own project to help someone in need. One group is helping a family that had significant flood damage. Another group is helping a lady who's given up on church finish her basement. You may be aware of needs within your group or of people around you that need help and need Jesus. These are great opportunities as well.
  

At your group this week, have your GOTCW Coordinator facilitate this discussion to figure out what to do:
How to decide which option will work:
1. Discuss with your group what they feel they’d like to do. Your group may be very gifted in skilled trades or repairs, etc. making some options more feasible. Your group may completely be unfit to do any kind of actual repairs or that type of labor, and be better suited to help at a Mission or a place like that.
2. Discuss what night of the week would work best for your group. Do you want to try to do this the same night as the group normally meets or a different time of the week?
3. At this point, you will have narrowed down the list quite a bit, you may be ready to decide which option will work.
4. Once this happens, you will need to discuss how to do childcare for that timeframe.
5. After this is ironed out, (the GOTCW coordinator) contact Matt and let him know what your group is doing, so he can work on your behalf if you’re working through an organization.

This may take the entire discussion period, if not and you’d like to have some formalized discussion, here are some ideas:
· Take some time to reflect on Sunday’s Party in the Park and tell stories about your own testimonies or baptism experiences.
· Talk about areas of the church that you serve in and what you like best about that area. Encourage those in the group to get involved in serving somewhere if they currently are not.
· Enjoy one another’s company, talk about whatever and pray for one another.
· As a leader, share from your own devotional life from the week. Maybe even craft a couple of your own questions that you feel like God has laid on your heart.

I was reminded yesterday of an instance I had as a student pastor. I had spent a week getting my lesson ready for the night, and in came Kyle. Kyle was a student that was on the fringes of the student ministry, came irregularly, but really needed to be there. He showed up and I thought – “Oh sweet! Kyle is here! He really needs to hear what God has laid on my heart tonight. I’m glad he’s here cause he’ll get to hear this!”

Kyle walked in right as the evening was beginning. I noticed that instantly when he walked in he was greeted by an adult who was his small group leader. They struck up a conversation and began to dialogue. As the night progressed, I realized that I was getting ready to speak, and Kyle and his small group leader were still talking. I got up to speak, and they kept speaking. I presented my whole sweet presentation, and Kyle and his small group leader were still going. He never heard a word I had to say.

Needless to say, I was not pleased with this situation. I mean seriously, I’m God’s anointed right? How could that conversation have more pertinence than what God had ordained for me to say that night? Oddly enough, Kyle attended the next week, and the next, and the next, and so on. He became a regular attendee to the student ministry and his small group and God worked in his life, primarily through his small group leader.

As a leader, I realized through this situation that my job is to whatever God wants me to do and not put my agenda into it. Galatians 5:24-25 says, “Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” That means my job is to stay totally surrendered to God, listen for his voice every second of every day, and follow him with reckless abandon. God’s going to call us to be part of something that we’re not going to be the centerpiece of, even though we feel like we should be. Humility.

The truth is, I don’t even remember what I talked about that night, but I remember the outcome that God had in mind from the beginning, even though I had little to do with it.

If you are interested in helping serve at Party in the Park, there is a meeting Wednesday October 1st at 7:00 here at the Ministry Center. If you are interested in serving, you can let me know by posting a comment on this blog or by sending me an email @ pastormarobinson@yahoo.com.

Hey all Get off the Couch Week coordinators, here are some options of what to do that week:

1. I referenced this in an earlier post, but there are some needs of a family within the church that could use some support.
2. 'We Care' is an organization that we have used before during "IMPACT!" this past June. They have some opportunities available to help out folks in the community that may not be able to help themselves. These are typically things like yard work, manual labor around the house, cleaning, etc.
3. South Side Mission has an opportunity on Saturday morning Oct. 11 for any group that would like to help at the Benevolence Center. This would be helping sort through donations, as Saturday is their busiest donation day.
4. Peoria Rescue Mission has an opportunity to serve the evening meal to the folks there on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday that week from 5:30-6:30.
5. This is the option that if it is feasible, we'd love to see you do this. Find your own project to help someone in need. One group is helping a family that had significant flood damage. Another group is helping a lady who's given up on church finish her basement. You may be aware of needs within your group or of people around you that need help and need Jesus. These are great opportunities as well.

For more information or to commit to any of these options, contact Matt through email: pastormarobinson@yahoo.com or through the phone - 291-0320.

Hi leaders/facilitators,

I emailed you all the discussion questions and leader's guides for the week. I wanted to put them on here as well, so that you would have a couple of ways of getting them. As of right now, we can get the discussion questions on here, but I will keep emailing the leader's guide. Because of it's size and our capabilities, we won't post it on here. Let me know if you didn't receive the leader's guide and I will get it in your hands. Thanks!

Discussion Questions from “The Guilty Elephant”

1. When did everyone start attending BridgeWay? What is the reason you keep coming back to BridgeWay?

2. Matt referenced the book Post Secret during the message this morning. Why is it that these books have become so popular? Why would people confess secrets like that to millions of strangers? Do you think everyone has secrets like that? Why?

3. Sunday, we detailed two characters in the Bible that dealt with guilt in different ways: Judas and Peter. Take time to read the end of their stories together right now. Judas’ story is found in Matthew 27:15. Peter’s story is found in John 21:15-19. What similarities are there between these two men and their situations? What differences are there between these men and their situations?

4. Why is it that people sometimes have a hard time dealing with their past? Why do poor past decisions seem to creep up in our lives, marriages, families, etc.? Read Hebrews 12:1-2. What advice does this passage give us in terms of dealing with the past?

5. God wants to redeem our pasts. In what ways has God redeemed your past for his glory? What struggles with your past are you facing right now?

An incredible Sunday at BridgeWay! Here are some highlights:

• We missed Dale this week. He had a really cool opportunity to speak at the church where he grew up as a part of a celebration their church was having. I know he was bummed to miss a Sunday at BridgeWay!


• Beautiful weather this week! A huge difference from last week...


• We had 275 people in worship this morning - that's very cool!


• The band was on fire as always. It was cool hearing "The Freshman" by The Verve Pipe in service. I think it took a couple people by surprise to hear that!


• It was very humbling to see God move the way he did in the service. I was talking to Nate after the service and we were both in awe of what took place. It was so moving to see someone hold out that rope in front of them and to be able to cut it and say, "In the name of Jesus Christ, you are free." Powerful stuff, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!
• Big shout out to our children's workers and to Connie Borth, the pastor of family life here. She is doing a phenomenal job with the children's department and has a remarkable team of leaders serving with her. They had 90 kids a week ago - that's what I'm talking about!
• I used a couple clips from the movie "The Mission" in the message Sunday. The movie gets even better than the scenes I showed, it's worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
• Colts lost to Jacksonville, what's up with that? I know people are ripping on Peyton Manning, but I think the fact that they're giving up 200+ yards a game rushing is a bigger issue. That part's free.

Thanks again for all you do at BridgeWay!

We are currently putting together options for the "Get off the Couch Week" coming up in three weeks. If you are the "Get off the Couch Week" Coordinator, or can pass this note along to them, please send Matt an email or give him a call. There is a need within the community of BridgeWay that could be addressed by every group that is a little too sensitive to put out here. However, I would like every group to consider it as an option. So if you could send me an email @ pastormarobinson@yahoo.com or give me a call 291-0320, I'd love to fill you in. Thanks!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to say a big thank you for all of you who helped get our first Connection Group experiences off the ground. We've had a lot of positive feedback as well as some helpful tips on how to improve for next time.

A couple housekeeping items:

• If you didn't get me the sheet with the group roles designated, please be sure to email me that info for our records here at the office.
• Also, message notes, leadership material, and discussion questions will be available on this very blog in the near future, so make sure you check on here early and often for that information.

Thanks leaders for all you do!

Hey friends!

We are rocking for week 2 of Connection Groups. I'm pretty excited about this week as well. We've had more people sign up since last week and I think we'll have even more people there! Very cool indeed.

Just a reminder for leaders:

- Make sure you give everyone a call in your group. Remind them of the time, but also to bring food for those
who signed up to bring some.

- Sunday afternoon we will meet again at 4:30 to go over the evening's festivities.

Thanks again for your leadership - see you Sunday!

Monday: Went with Dale on a fishing expedition that nearly ended with BridgeWay needing to fill two staff roles due to the rain/lightning storm we got caught in.
Lesson: Check the radar before you go fishing.

Tuesday: Had a series of meetings an appointments that literally went all day. Every single one of them was enjoyable and productive. The day culminated with me being able to minorly contribute to the parade float for about 20 minutes.
Lesson: The world is full of leaders waiting to be developed.

Wednesday: Worked on Connection Group material for Sunday, hammered out details for the Party in the Park, and a bunch of other stuff. The day ended with an Advisory Council meeting that was simply incredible.
Lesson: Dream God sized dreams, and most often, they still won't be big enough.

Thursday: Went to Ottawa for a district pastor's meeting. Picked up some great small group leader material. Got to hang out with the old staff for a bit. Made some phone calls that God had put on my mind - after making them, I know why He put them on my mind.
Lesson: When God asks you to do something, there's a good reason so DO IT!

Friday: I'm sitting in the office writing this in the midst of a PACKED week, but needed to put these thoughts down somewhere. Today is going to be another full day of meetings and parade preparation, followed by a Saturday of a parade, a wedding, and more preparation, which is of course followed by Sunday.
Lesson: God is so good, so faithful, and so graceful to allow me to participate in anything relating to Him.

Connection Groups are just around the corner and I am stoked! It's going to be an awesome time of seeing God's community built through meaningful relationships. I'm pretty excited.

A couple things:

• Connection Groups are Sept. 7th and 14th from 5:00-6:30. We will have childcare and snacks provided. This is for groups that are already in existence as well as people getting into groups for the first time.
• "Get Off the Couch Ideas" will be available shortly. We have contacted a few organizations in the area and they are working to get back to us, hopefully by next week.

As always, if you have any questions about groupings, your role in Connection Groups, want to sign up for Connection Groups or just want to chat, hit me up at the BridgeWay office - 309-291-0320.

Another great Sunday at BridgeWay. Here are some highlights:

• It was simply perfect outside today! However, I am noticing that it is soon going to be dark during set up in the coming days...
• Great to hear Connie speak today! I had never heard her speak before in that capacity, great job. I was feverishly taking notes about parenting!
• The band had a rocking set - made ya get up and move a little...
• Missed our fearless leader again this week, but Dale Schaeffer returns live and in person this Sunday!
• I really appreciate all of our volunteers at BridgeWay. It's amazing to see our greeters, info table ladies, ushers, BridgeCafe folks, and the seemingly countless children's workers work for the glory of God on a Sunday morning. It's really a site that gets me excited.
• I also should say that the microphone cutting out during announcements in the first service was my fault. The sound guys take the brunt sometimes, but it was all me. Keep up the good work fellas!

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods friends. One special shout out this week - Shawn Hazlett is going in Thursday for an exploratory heart procedure that could lead to a surgery, depending on what they find. Shawn's only a teenager. This week, let's keep Shawn in our prayers. We believe in miracles and will be praying this week.

This past week has been pretty incredible. I've seen two of my close friends go out on huge leaps of faith to pursue the calling God has for their lives. I've heard stories about how salvation has come to individuals after years of prayer. I've gotten a chance to meet with leaders in the church and hear their heartbeat and passion for God. It's been an incredible week - and it's barely Thursday morning! This is the stuff that makes me tick.

I was reading in Titus 3 yesterday and I ran across this passage that uses a lot of pronouns. One of my favorite 'drive home the point' exercises is to replace the plural pronouns with singular or individual ones. This is what it looks like: "But when the kindness and love of God my Savior appeared, he saved me, not because of righteous things I had done, but because of his mercy. He saved me through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on me generously through Jesus Christ my Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, I might become an heir having the hope of eternal life."

That hit me hard! Thank you Jesus.

Great day at BridgeWay! Here are some thoughts:

• 256 today! Still pretty amazing for the dog days of August...
• We missed Dale and Steph and fam today. Hopefully they're enjoying some much deserved time away together.
• The morning started off kind of rough with sound system issues, however once the service started, you would have never known!
• The band was KILLER this morning! They did an incredible job this week at our denominational assembly, and it just got better today.
• Tangible presence of God today (as nearly always it seems) during both services.
• Chuck walks in today and tells me that (and I quote) "I wrote a song about our experience at the campground this week. We're going to do it today." I have to admit, I was pretty worried. However, what Chuck broke out was truly a God-inspired piece of music that was simply incredible! Chuck, sorry I ever doubted you!
• Great response from our folks for the need to jump into small groups.
• Thanks to my wife for laughing at the "We're going to name our kid Michael Phelps Robinson" joke. She's a good sport - but I was serious... Just kidding!
• Just wanted to give a shout out to my man Chris Donnelly who is embarking on an incredible faith journey with God starting tomorrow. Chris is driving out to Colorado to enroll in Nazarene Bible College to fulfill God's call on his life to become a pastor. Chris, we love you and are proud of you!

As Brooke and I drove away from the theater this afternoon, we looked at each other and said, "We have an awesome church!" We thank God daily for this opportunity to serve here and are just amazed by what He's doing. Every week we here story after story of how God is moving and how his people are responding. Great stuff. Thanks to all of you and have a great week!

Well, my wife and I found out today that our child that we are having is a boy! Very exciting news. The Robinson family name will live on for another generation.

The coolest part of the day was seeing the ultrasound. That is simply incredible. This was a first for me. To see the baby that way was breathtaking. I was mesmirized by the screen. It was incredible to see our baby moving around and opening his mouth and doing all sorts of cool stuff. God is the author of life and I can't wait to see what plans he has for our son!

My wife showed me this video the other night and I was a wreck after. The power of Christ never ceases to amaze me...

Last night, our church was blessed with a tremendous gift. Someone offered to rent out Splashdown Waterpark for our church for "BridgeWay Night." So last night was that official BridgeWay night. We printed and handed out 1000 free tickets for the event. We had about 525 show up. That's pretty cool.

What's even cooler is the way that God transforms a waterpark into a spiritual venue. We were hoping to make a splash (pun intended) with some folks, just to help them change their perception of church. I believe we succeeded. We also had encounters with people that were genuinely hungry for the truth i.e. Jesus. Two guys in particular that were starving to hear from God. They each talked to at least two staff people and said that they wanted to belong to a church like this. More than that, they needed to be somewhere where they could experience the risen Christ. What's cool is, they experienced it right there in the waterpark. They both said they'd be there Sunday.

What can I say? God's incredible!

This weekend wraps up a whirlwind summer for my wife and I. I have been gone more than home leaving my pregnant wife at home by herself. For those of you who can't figure out the obvious, that's not a good thing. However, God's been faithful and allowed me some incredible opportunities to talk about Him. This weekend I get to hang out with all of my Seton Hall friends in one of the most intensive overall weekends of my life in terms of pressure and constant examination, but it's going to be fun too.

I've been getting the 'God wake up call' the past few days - waking up early inexplicably and seemingly starving for scripture and prayer. It's been pretty cool. Right now, I'm reading in the New Testament, but I'm also trying to read about 1o Psalms a day. It has made such an impact on my daily mindset and helped me to process all things through the lens of praising God. Good times.

The following are some highlights from Teen Camp 2008:

• 54 Volunteers
• 158 Students
• Chef Tom - awesome food including pulled pork with homemade bbq sauce (shut my mouth it was good)
• Ryan as Camp Administrator - great job!
• Todd Holman as speaker A - had to leave early because he had a baby being born or something...kind of a lame excuse if you ask me.
• Jim Chapman as speaker B - driving up from St. Louis on about an hour's notice to finish out the week speaking. What can I say - he's the man!
• Roger Davis as Super Supreme Commander of Manville Teen Camp
• Jake Smith's Harry Caray Impression - hilarious!
• 7 adult volunteers from BridgeWay - REPRESENT!
• NWL Transformer shirts (it's supposed to be NWIL) - $500 off though, so not all bad
• The Deluxe Nacho Plate at about 11:00 at night.
• Before Tomorrow eating cereal out of each other's mouths. It is as disgusting as it sounds.
• Rain, rain, rain
• Hot days and cool nights

The most important highlights:

• 8 students coming to salvation
• 70 students recommiting their walk with the Lord
• 58 students giving it all to God
• 6 students feeling a call into full-time ministry.

All in all, a pretty incredible week.

I often poke fun at church people. I mean, it's pretty easy (I am one, so I can say that). My favorite is when people add "bless their heart" after completely blasting someone for being a complete moron. That phrase "bless their heart" is like a license to say whatever you want about someone as long as you add that at the end. Example: "I was talking to Timmy last night and he told me that he got fired from another job today! That guys is a complete idiot, bless his heart." It's really effective.

I was thinking about ways I do this in my own life. One of them is complaining about things I have to do that I really shouldn't complain about. I have these moments when I realize that I have absolutely nothing to complain about, and yet I still do. For instance, camp is coming up. Camp is awesome spiritually and socially for our students. This is the fourth year I'll be director. As good as it always is, I always tend to complain about the amount of time it eats up out of my schedule and the diversion it is from my local ministry.

It's in those moments that God 'smites me.'

I'm not really sure what a smite looks like, but I know what happens between God and I in those times is pretty painful on my end. I've recognized the fact that a leadership position is God saying "I trust you." The more He trusts you, the broader your influence becomes. So, I should be thanking God everyday for trusting me and allowing me to serve Him in this capacity. And I am becoming thankful, everyday.

God even though sometimes I'm a completely ungrateful jerk, I thank you for trusting me - bless my heart.

Over the past few months, God's given me the priviledge of forming relationships and working with people that are connected in the business world, the academic world, and the government world. These are people of high intelligence and incredible insight. Our paths crossed through the common goal of obtaining a Master's Degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership. During the orientation meet and greet, we had to pair off and gain enough information about the person we were paired with to introduce him to the entire class. It was a lot of fun. When I was introduced by my friend Michael as a "pastor," there was this collective "hmm" that kind of went throughout the room. It wasn't really an intimidating thing, more of an inquisitive, "why is this guy here" kind of noise. In talking to people throughout that weekend and since then, I've gotten a good look into where that noise was stemming from. Basically, the majority of people don't associate pastors with leadership. They see the communication side, but not necessarily the leadership side of it. Pushing it further, the reason this is true is because they really haven't seen many (if any) churches that were on a streamlined, intentional mission. They see church as many people do as a building, a religious confine, or something good you're supposed to do on Sunday.

I'm wondering why though. I mean, why do churches fear declaring a mission, calling people to that mission, and maybe even calling people to change everything they're doing in order to fulfill the mission God is calling them to? Now, if you're a church person reading this, you already know the answer, as I do. We're afraid. We're afraid the congregation will leave, we're afraid the board will ask us to leave, we're afraid of rejection, we're afraid of failure.

A couple weeks back we started a series at BridgeWay called "One Prayer." This is a series that's put on by Craig Groeschel out of Lifechurch.tv. This series is designed to unite churches across denominational lines in an effort to unify Christ's body, for at least a month. The premise here is this: if you had one prayer for the church as a whole, what would it be? "Lord, make us ________." Check out the One Prayer website for a number of different video teachings done by some real quality teachers. Dale opened the series here with "Lord, make us courageous." It's an awesome message speaking to this issue of mission.

But that's what it's going to take. We have to be courageous through the Holy Spirit to see anything of value happen in our churches. The fear should never really go away, because frankly if you're not at least a little afraid, you're probably working in your own strength and not God's. Courage through the promises of God will allow God's church to do amazing things.

The creativity is kind of gone this week - it's been a really weird week. I think that's the best way to describe it. It's been a week of seepy basement walls, ripping out drywall, meeting after meeting, school work that is driving me bananas, a clogged drain in the basement, and on and on we go.

In spite of all that, it's also been pretty cool. I got to celebrate 4 years of marriage with my beautiful wife, my wife and I celebrated with my family the anticipated arrival of the newest Robinson (Brooke's pregnant), I got to see my little brother get married, spend time with family that I haven't seen in about a decade (or longer), went fishing with my dad, made dinner with my mom, hung out with my sister and her husband, had a rediculous pain filled paintball bachelor party, and just had an awesome time overall.

I wasn't at BridgeWay on Sunday, and truthfully, I really missed it. I missed the people, the music, the preaching - even the 6:30 am set up! I was gone and we had one of the largest attendances ever for a regular Sunday and more than that saw 7 people give their lives to the Lord. I told Dale that I'll be gone every week if we're guaranteed that result!

I guess the point of my rambling here is just to pause and thank God for how incredibly good He is to me. I can't thank him enough for anything I mentioned above, even the fact that I would be allowed to own a house that had a leaky basement. God rocks, and I thank Him for all of you who are reading this. Thanks for being part of my life.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the idea of freedom in Christ. I think it's such an awesome concept and so true. I was reminded of this yesterday when meeting with a guy in our church. He had been radically saved in October. He had been freed from all kinds of worldly things and seen his marriage that was hanging by a thread become completely reconciled. It was an awesome meeting.

He shared a story with me that was pretty cool. He told me that to get a job at his current place of employment that he lied and said that he had a four year degree, while he only had a two year degree. He said that a couple months after being saved, he felt really convicted to tell his boss and those around him that he had lied, knowing that he could lose his job. He said the conviction was so strong he couldn't sleep for a whole night, he just laid in bed and sweat. The next day he went in and started telling people, working his way up to his boss. Everyone's response was "It's ok, everyone lies." When he got to his boss, his boss said, "Why are you telling me this?" He said that he was a Christian and he knew he had to tell him. The boss said, "Yeah but why?" My friend said, "Well, I don't know if you know about the Holy Spirit, but He's on my heart telling me that I have to tell you." His boss responded, "This is weird. I've been thinking about faith in God and didn't know if it was real or not. Now I know that it is real."

Only Jesus can take something like that and turn it into a positive. He used something that should have been disaster for His glory. Freedom in Christ. How cool is that?

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about vision. It seems as though I've been hearing about it from everyone - the folks at school, the folks at church, our staff here, in the books I've been reading, and so on. I've always been a big proponent of a vision, especially for a church. God has a plan and a design for every church, and it's up to the leadership to get alone with him and determine what it is. At BridgeWay, the vision is "to connect people to God, each other, and His plan for their lives."

Over the past few months, God has blessed this church with great growth. In September BridgeWay had 160 attenders every Sunday (average). In April, we had 270 attenders average weekly. It's pretty awesome when you think about it. God's incredible! Along with that though, there becomes this reaction from leadership and the congregation to begin adding ministries. "We need to do a ministry that does ______________" or "there's a lot of people who want to do _____________." Usually the suggestions are good things that come out of the hearts of good people. But the bottom line is we can't do everything. A church is like any organization; it has limited time, resources, money, and people. We can't do everything people suggest.

So how do we determine what to do? In thinking about this dilemma, I came up with a document that should help as a filter in this arena. It's nothing really impressive, it's just putting all of the things we talk about as a staff down on paper. Here it is:

BridgeWay Preliminary Objective Rubric
Level I
1. Does this line up with our mission?
a. BridgeWay Community Church exists to connect people to God, each other, and God's
plan for their lives.
2. Does this line up with the culture we are in?
a. Acts 17
b. Is this going to be culturally relevant?
3. Does this line up with the culture of BridgeWay?
a. “A church for people who don’t like church.”
b. Is this going to keep us on the cutting edge of 2008?
4. Is this going to keep us faithful and effective to the mission God has called us to?
a. Faithful – staying true to whom God has called us to be while reaching lost people for
Christ.
b. Effective – using the limited money, time, people, and resources that God has
entrusted us with in the best way possible.
c. The question is not “Is this a good use of our _______?” The question is, “Is this
the best use of our ________________?”

Level II
1. What is the win (desired outcome)?

2. Is this a logical next step for people? How?

3. Is in line with keeping a narrowed focus? How?

4. Does this help us teach less for more? How?

5. Does this help us listen to those we are trying to reach and reach them more effectively? How?

6. Will this help increase (eventually or immediately) our volunteer base? How?

7. Will this help us to improve how we do things at BridgeWay? Will BridgeWay be a better place because of this undertaking?

I'll expand on it in future posts. The first level is the "will this think fly here" level. Level 2 is based on "The 7 Practices of Effective Ministry" by Andy Stanley, Lane Jones, and Reggie Joiner. (p.s. PHENOMENAL READ!)

As always, all comments/suggestions are appreciated.

I love to pray. In fact over the past few years, God has taught me a lot about prayer. I have seen incredible things happen through prayer. I have grown personally by leaps and bounds through prayer. Prayer is great.

However, I do have a contention with a prayer breakfast. I love to pray - but I also love to eat. I love breakfast, especially when it involves a buffet with and endless supply of bacon. So when those two things combine you would think it would be good, but it turns out it's not. In fact, my thesis is that combining these two elements is downright cruel. Why would you force someone to drop their bacon to pray? God does trump pork, but don't miss the point. It's like when rescue missions make homeless people go to church before they can eat dinner. You can't make God a chore or punishment. It's just not right!

One more note - this breakfast was at 6:30. Seriously people. 6:30. A.M. In the morning. I get up at 6:30. It's not right.

My mom's been a minister of music at the same church now for about 18 years. That's a long time if you didn't know that. When I was a kid, we would go with her to church during the week when we didn't have school. She would find stuff for us to do, or my sister, brother, and I would usually find a way to kill each other during the workday. One day our church decided to go big or go home and bought new hymnals. So it became the duty of my sister, brother, and me to collect all of the old hymnals, stamp the new hymnals with our church name (hymnal theft was a major issue at the time) and put out the new ones. I don't remember how many hymnals there were, but I remember that the sanctuary sat about 1200 people, and for a 10 year old kid, that's a lot of hymnals. It took my siblings and I the better part of a week to get those things in, but the following Sunday we knew that it would be worth it because of all of the sweet attention we would get for "serving" the Lord so graciously.

Sunday comes around and the place is a buzz with all of the new hymnals that have been put in the beautiful orange pews. The pastor got up to make his announcements and my siblings and I made eye contact with that look that says, "here it comes, let's get ready to become heros." The pastor got up and made several comments about the beautiful new hymnals and people clapped because of the new hymnals and their excitement surrounding them, but neither my name nor my siblings were ever mentioned. Of course, I was outraged by this development. I went to my mom and demanded a reason for this short-sighted gratitude. My mom, full of the Holy Spirit, (if the guys in the Bible can say that, so can I because it's true) looks at me and says, "sometimes we do things because they need to be done and God wants us to, not because we'll get credit for it."

That was the first time that the message of serving others really stuck with me. That's when I began to realize that credit is one of the worse things you can get, because it can go straight to your head. One of my biggest fears is that I will have faith in myself and forget about God. I never want that to happen, and I thank God for a mother who didn't want to see that happen either. And you thought hymnals were irrelevant...

Well, I figured I'd post this before Dale did. (See the "Let Me Drive" link to the right to get to Dale's blog.) We're up in Wisconsin for a District Pastor and Spouse Retreat (Brooke couldn't come, sad face). It's at a beautiful resort right on Lake Michigan, which might as well be an ocean. We have a free afternoon so we decide to go kayaking. I've gone kayaking about 128 times (roughly) at my parents house since they own two kayaks. So I'm down and ready to show my stuff. We get ready to launch the kayaks and the guy we rented from is explaining how to get in. I'm all like "yeah whatever" in my head and head on down to get in. I inexplicably break every rule of getting into a kayak at once (somehow knowingly in my head) and as I go to enter the kayak, the whole thing flips me over and I'm swimming in the Sheboygan river, right next to Lake Michigan. This part is rather embarrassing, however, the water temperature is 45 degrees and it literally takes my breath away. I was gasping for air when I hit the surface because I literally couldn't breathe. Not my proudest moment.

I finally get out and everyone has a good laugh (myself included) and I have a choice to make: do I try to get back in or do I call it a day? Both options crossed my mind, but I was reminded of a story I had heard the night before. Dr. John Bowling (in all seriousness - a man I have an unbelievable amount of respect for), the president of Olivet Nazarene University had spoken to our group the night before about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Yeah, seriously. So as I was standing there soaking wet, I thought, "If a 62 year old man can climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, I can kayak in the Sheboygan River." AND I DID!!!!! (cue theme from "Rocky")

I'm sitting in Wisconsin, looking out over moonlit Lake Michigan thinking about how awesome God is. More than that, I'm thanking Him for allowing me to be part of this incredible mission that He's called the church to be on. Today I had the privilege of speaking at BridgeWay for the first time. Like always at BridgeWay, the band was smokin', the crowd was hoppin, and the Spirit was moving so hard the building was shaking! (That could have been the result of one of the aftershocks from the earthquake this week, but I like my theory better.) God through His Son Jesus Christ set people free this week from addictions and sins that had been deeply rooted in their lives. It was awesome to talk about "Jesus the Conquering Warrior" and deliver a message with truths that I am so passionate about. It does shed light on the idea that the scripture is like a double-edged sword, because wielding those truths (at least for me) give me great pause, because I know the life-change that can come from them when wielded correctly. The Holy Spirit made Himself known in incredible and increasing ways this week and like I said before, I was just priviledged to be a part of it.

You can download messages from BridgeWay at www.bridgewaycc.net.

My favorite part of blogging is when someone you work with is like "Hey, you should start a blog," then you start one and put them on your "Blog's that I Enjoy" list and they don't return the favor. Yeah, I'd say that's my favorite part.

Well, God answers prayer once again. When we came to Bridgeway, Brooke and I knew it was exactly what God wanted us to do, even though it meant I would take a pretty significant pay cut and she would be looking for a job cold. She began to search for jobs and Wednesday she was offered a position at Lutheran Social Services in Peoria and accepted. What's cool about this is it is exactly what she was doing in Ottawa, except that they take about a million times better care of their employees. She is working the same number of hours, has about 3 times as many vacation days as her old job, and the best part is the increase in salary from her old job is exactly the pay cut that I took in my salary to come to Bridgeway! God's a nut sometimes huh?

This is the bumper video for our next series called "The Real Jesus" starting April 20. It's going to be an incredible series so make sure you make it each week or download the podcasts from www.bridgewaycc.net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPMNGWyHSOY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbcLArwrtN8

If you get about 4 minutes, check out this video on YouTube. It's a song by a guy named Kees Kraayenoord called "God of the Moon and Stars." It's really powerful and convicting. Check it out!

I grew up in a Christian home with incredible Christian parents. They led lives of example for me that still influence me deeply today. I went to church all my life, accepted Christ at a young age and have lived faithfully for Him ever since, or so I thought.

As I grew in my faith, I quickly became very Pharisaical (Pharisee-like) in my beliefs and extremely quick to judge. Never verbally, but in my head (which is probably worse). I began to look at how much worse off everyone was than me, and how I could be thankful that I wasn't like them. The worst part was I was completely unaware of this part of my life.

Through personal study and prayer, God convicted me of this behavior and beliefs and changed my life. What was odd about it though, is that my beliefs didn't go right to where they should have, but went to a different place. There became a new belief that moved in that said basically, "what Christ did in my life through the cross wasn't as significant (as other people's lives) because I wasn't that bad to begin with." Now, putting that into type makes me very ashamed and uncomfortable, but it's part of my testimony. I would read about sin being slain through the cross and victory over addictions and death and think, "that's great for all those people who need that." Again, I was completely lacking awareness of who God is.

A couple years ago I heard a message from Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, and he was talking about Paul. Mark said that Paul's writings as he got older in life really focused on how bad of a person Paul (himself) was. Now this wasn't because Paul was backsliding (to go old-school on you), but because Paul was becoming more aware of how awesome God is and how truly terrible he was without God.

That moment revolutionized my life. I repented right there for minimizing the work of God in my own life and have prayed every day for that awareness of how good God is and how I can't live without Him. That marked the first time in my life where I grasped the significance of the cross in my own life and have never looked back since. That moment brought on new meanings to the words "grace," "mercy," "love," "hope," and ultimately "joy" as I found what it was that God had for me all along.

Recently, my life has undergone several big changes in a good way. I ended a wrestling match with God (I tapped out) to follow His call on my life into a different area of ministry. That meant I had to leave a job and church that I loved, sell our house, move an hour and a half south, buy a new house, accept a new position at an awesome church, while my wife resigned her job in Ottawa with no job lined up in our new town. This has been an incredible experience and God has proven Himself faithful over and over again.

This transition spurred after a year and a half of feeling God move in my life and change my calling from student ministry to an administrative role. When I would tell people what my new position was, several people would comment along the lines of "well, you're moving up, so that's good." This perception of student ministry really bothers me. I don't consider my move to be a move up, I consider it to be lateral at best.

All of those folks in the world that are student pastors do it because they are called to it and God is using them in that field. It is not an entry level position, it's not the easy job we'll give anyone, it's a calling, it's a ministry, and it deserves as much respect as any other ministry position out there.

In my tenure as student pastor, I had sleepless nights praying for students, parents that chewed me up and spit me out, and moments that God moved in ways that are indescribable. And I was only in student ministry for four years!

The shift in my calling was simply that, a shift. I don't consider it a move up, so please don't say that to me. To all of you in student ministry, I salute you, and want you to know that if you are ever looking for a supporter, look me up!

If you are reading this, you are probably already disappointed. This is the first blog that I am producing. I find it very fitting that it's in Starbucks. I feel like a struggling writer right now. As you're reading this, you might be thinking, "yes Matt, you are a struggling writer." Well, be that as it may, you're still reading. Weird...

I'm excited to be blogging, and the only reason I want to blog is to give mad props to God for all of the things He is doing in my life. So stay tuned to hear some amazing stories of God's grace, love, and mercy, and please feel free to share yours as well. Nothing fires me up more than hearing what God's been up to. Thanks and God bless!