Written in Heaven

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/31/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 2: Purpose

1. What was your first job ever? What did it pay? Did you find any kind of purpose in it? If so what was it?

2. What purposes do people pursue in the world? Do you know anyone who pursues these purposes? What do they lack when they pursue these things?

3. In the book ‘Holy Discontent’ Bill Hybels talks about having a ‘Popeye’ moment in our lives, where we experience something that makes us say, ‘that’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more.’ Have you had a moment in your life like that?

4. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do.” Have you ever felt like you were fulfilling this statement? In other words, do you know that you are fulfilling the purpose God has for you? If yes, what is that purpose?

5. What does it take to find your purpose? For those of you who know what your purpose is, how did you find it? For those who are still seeking out your purpose, how are you discovering it?

6. Let’s pray for each other that God would help those who know their purpose to fulfill it, and those who are still searching theirs out to find it.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/24/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Dream Job Week 1: Identity

1. How many of you love your current job? How many of you dislike or even hate your current job? What do you love about it, what do you hate about it?

2. When you consider your current work environment, is it difficult for you to believe that you can encounter God at work? Why or why not?

3. A line Dale used in the message was “lack of an identity in relationship with God and God’s purposes = frustration.” How have you seen that truth played out in your life or in the lives of others?

4. What happens when we let other people shape our identity? How can this help us or hurt us? How has this played out in your life?

5. How do we go about finding our identity in Jesus, not through our work or other people? For those of you who have found your identity in Jesus, how has that impacted your life?

6. Would anyone be willing to share any struggles you’re having with your identity? We’d like to pray for you, that God would reveal to you who you are in Him.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

“But what about you?” he [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:16)

We made an announcement today at BridgeWay regarding the future of Brooke and I. We are going to be leaving BridgeWay to pursue the calling God has put on our lives to start a church in Fishers, IN.

In 2005, I attended North Point Community Church with the staff from Ottawa First Church, where I was serving as youth pastor. As I sat through their service, I was moved beyond words. At the end of the service I had a ‘cut to the heart’ moment. God was asking me to be part of starting churches like that one. Since then, I’ve prayed about that nearly daily waiting for God to give me the go ahead.

In 2007, I was presented with an opportunity to start (aka plant) a church. I had the passion to do it, but not the knowledge. I called a friend of mine named Dale Schaeffer who was a couple years into a plant called BridgeWay Community Church. I ran all this by him and asked him what he thought. He said if he were me, he’d come to BridgeWay to learn about planting for a couple years and then go out and do it. I thought that sounded pretty good.

Since March of 2008, I’ve been on staff at BridgeWay and Brooke and I have loved every second of it. There have been days where I couldn’t believe I was this blessed to serve with a team and serve people that I loved so much. God has been so good to us!
Last October, I was in a period of praying and fasting when the call to plant continued to surface. It was as if God were saying, “I know you love it here, but this isn’t your last stop. I need you to move.” I began to ask God simply, “where?” He took me back to a conversation I had with a youth pastor in 2006. Our youth groups were doing a joint missions trip to Noblesville, IN, a town neighboring Fishers. One night he asked if he could show me something. I hopped in his Jeep and he began to drive me around Fishers. He showed me and explained to me the exponential growth the town was experiencing, and shared with me how the church hasn’t been able to keep up with the cities growth. My response was “someone should do something about that.”

I know this now, but you should never say something like that, because God will make you do it. I’m kidding of course, but usually when you have that feeling, it’s a sign of God asking you to be that ‘someone.’

So there I was. I knew I had to plant, I knew where, but I also wanted to bring people with me. I knew that God wasn’t just calling me, but that he might be calling other families from BridgeWay (and other places) to go with us. Regarding BridgeWay, I asked God to bring families to mind that need to go with us. Almost immediately, two families came to mind: Dave and Lori, and Damon and Daylene.

I also decided that if this was really a “God thing” that I wouldn’t have the need to talk to them about this, but that God already had. So my prayer became that if God was really speaking to them about this, that they would come up to me and let me know, without me ever asking them or letting them know what God was doing in my heart. I figured, this has got to be pretty bulletproof at that point!

Two weeks after I began this prayer process, Damon came into my office and asked what I was going to do now that the Pekin Campus had closed. The conversation went like this:
“What are you doing?” (Damon)
“What do you mean?” (me)
“Now that the Pekin Campus is closed, what are you doing? Are you leaving?” (Damon)
“No, we’re going to keep on here and wait for God to tell us what’s next.” (me)
“Ok, well if you’re going to leave, we’re going with you.” (Damon)
“(nervous laugh), ok that’s cool. Hey how bout them Colts?” (me)

Not the most spiritual response. To be frank, I was pretty shocked and changed the subject out of sheer nerves. Damon and I were meeting weekly, so I continued to pray and knew that if God were doing this, he would bring it back up and I would have to act. The following week Damon walks in as angry as I’ve ever seen him:

“What’s going on man?” (me)
“Furniture, windows, and sprinklers.” (Damon)
(long pause) “I’m sorry, what are you talking about?” (me)
“Furniture, windows and sprinklers!” (Damon)
“Help me out, what are you saying?” (me)
“Furniture, windows and sprinklers – these are the things I’ve given my life to: furniture, windows and sprinklers. I’m so tired of working for industries that don’t matter. I feel like God has had me in these places to learn, and now he wants me to use all of this knowledge for the church. I feel like you’re supposed to go start a church, and I’m supposed to go with you to help you do it. Is that a possibility?”
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I told him about Fishers and what God was doing in my life regarding that city. His words, “We’re in.” I told him that he should probably run that by Daylene (his wife), which he did. They’re in.

Two months later, I was still praying this prayer about Dave and Lori. Dave and I went to lunch one day (January 8 to be exact) with no real agenda, just a hang out meeting (or so I thought). On the way to lunch (dude couldn’t even wait til we sat down!) he says:
“Lori and I have a bet about you and Brooke. Don’t get mad.”
“What’s that?” (me)
“We think you’re going to leave to start a church.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Well, every time you speak on Sunday, I feel like God is telling us that you need to do that every week, and that I’m supposed to help you do that. Do you think that’s a possibility?”
Again, long pause. Luckily this time I had tortilla chips to fill the dead air.
“Absolutely.” I began to tell Dave of the Fishers vision and he said just like Damon said, “We’re in.” I recommended that he go run that by his wife, which he did. They’re in.

There are other folks who have prayed about this and God’s told them no. This is a win. Anytime you hear from God it’s a win. There are people not from BridgeWay that are praying about this and are planning on joining us. God is moving in people’s hearts in a huge way.
I can’t wait to see what God has for us. He already has his hand all over this journey, and we’re already ‘living in the miracle’ as Chuck Kohler would say.

I heard a song the other day by a guy named Fred Hammond. The song’s called ‘Not Just a Man.’ In Matthew 16:16 Jesus asks this pointed question, “Who do you say that I am?” He asks that question to each one of us and ultimately it’s how we answer that question that determines the life we live. In this song Fred Hammond says this, which sums up our Fishers journey:

“I hear Him ask again, who do men say that I am?,

and I feel the need to make the whole world see,

that He is not just a man (He is God),

He’s not just a baby (He is King),

No, he is not just a lamb,

But the Lion of Judah,

My Savior and Ruler of all!”

Thank you for your prayers and support for all of us as we pursue God’s calling on our lives!

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/17/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

DNA Week 3: Connecting with God’s Purposes

1. What is your current job? If money were no object, what would you do for a living?

2. Do you believe that God really has a purpose for everyone? Why or why not?

3. A common phrase that people say is, “it will work out in God’s timing.” What does that mean? Do you believe that? If so, how does “God’s timing” impact the purpose God has for you?

4. Do you know what purpose God has for you? If so, are you living it out?

5. What excuses do we make for not pursuing the purpose God has for us? Are any of those legitimate excuses?

6. What next step did we each take Sunday regarding our purpose (seize your season, embrace your destiny, surrender your life)? Let’s pray for each other regarding purpose. Pray for those who are engaged in their purpose that they would continue to pursue it in a way that honors God. Let’s also pray for those who are trying to discover the purpose God has for us that we would find it and embrace it.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

LIFEGROUP Questions

10/10/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

DNA Week 2: Connecting with Others

1. Who was your best friend growing up? Why did you guys get along so well?

2. Are you a person who would prefer to spend time with others or time alone? Why?

3. Why was Jesus so intentional about living in community? What does his example communicate to us?

4. What is something you’ve tried to do by yourself that required another set of hands (i.e move something, build something, etc.)? How did that work out?

5. What life situation have you gone through where you’ve tried to do it by yourself, but you really needed someone else? When have you gone through a situation where you had others along side you to help you through it? What was that like?

6. At BridgeWay, we talk about authenticity as a core value. If we can’t be authentic in our LIFEGROUPS, we can’t be authentic anywhere. Let’s pray as we start this semester that God would help us to be authentic and transparent with one another as we move forward in this semester.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.