Connecting People to People and People to God

First Fruits

This is an area that I have to continually revisit.  Giving God the first fruits.  More specifically giving God the first fruits of my time.  But "time" in a most comprehensive.  Last October I felt strongly convicted in this exact same area and weeded out some time wasters in my life.  Things I was using the fill the void of silence, to fill the time that I felt was my own and I could do with it what I would.  God was gracious and I was mostly successful in this process.  Through discipline I was able to pursue holiness.

I realize now it's been six months and as I read in Deuteronomy this morning I was able to put to words the stirring in my heart- first fruits.  I don't want to declare the specific areas because honestly, I'm not real certain.  But my prayer today is that I will give God the first fruits of my time.

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Multi-tasking

I believe that multi-tasking is my ultimate enemy of the offering of my first fruits.  I used to take pride in my multi-tasking now I'm frustrated by it.  Even as I type this blog entry I am thinking of 10 other things I could be doing and am tempted to pause this entry so that I can fuel my 21st century ADD addiction.  

Why is it when I go upstairs to pack my gym bag I feel the need to turn on the tv?  

Why is it when I drive in my car I have to have something filling my ears?

Why can't I watch a tv show w/out my computer in my lap?

The list goes on and on.  

The point isn't that doing those things, multi-tasking, is wrong.  It just means I'm not present.  I'm not present in my current situation and I'm filling my voids with so much that I'm forcing out what I really want to be there- God's Spirit.

*I wonder who facebooked me in the last hour?  

Be Bold

What's different?  That's the question that's been on my mind the last 4 weeks.  You see, I didn't start this blog as an extension of my old life but when I started this blog about a month ago it marked the beginning of a new stage in my life.  What what is this stage called?  When I'm a little bit older and I look back on this time in my life what will it be called.  With the risk of trying to sound too epic, like the movie 300, or as if I believe life is a movie/book about me (because it's not), rabbit trail over.  In the future if I were to look at my life as a book what would this chapter be called.

I think it would be called "Be Bold".  Say things you wouldn't normally say, do things you wouldn't normally do, stop being worried about offending, stop worrying about perception and BE BOLD.  

This doesn't give me an excuse to run over people to bowl them over but I think we fail to take liberties with people because we're afraid.  Afraid they won't like what we say.  But likely, they need to hear it.

Be bold.

Be the Church

The Bridge Church,

As most of you know this Sunday is Be the Church Sunday. I'm excited about this opportunity both for myself and family and for you, my church family.  I've had countless conversations with different one's of you expressing your desire to do something. 

Some of you felt a desire to start cleaning up a park in a neighborhood that no body seems to care about, except the children that use it.  Others of you have felt a desire to put together packets for the homeless so that those times the soup kitchens and meal ministries aren't open they will still have something to eat.  Some of you have a heart for college students so far from home.  Others have different desires, desires as different as we are people.  

But all of these desires, all of these nudges from God have one thing in common- they are a way to show the love of Christ to our community.  It's a way to show them that God loves them and so do we.  But life gets busy, time gets short, and we just never make these ideas a reality.  The other discouragement is that some things would be a lot easier to do with a few like minded people.

This Sunday is our chance to get these wheels in motion.  Following the morning worship service we will  be the love and gospel of Jesus Christ to our community in very simple ways.  A team will be sent out to clean up a park and rec fields at Camelot Elementary.  Another team will  be buy the supplies for and packing meal boxes to be delivered to the homeless.  Others will be doing the same for college students.  If you did not sign up for Be The Church Sunday simply reply to this email and let me know you'll be attending so I know how many to plan for.   We'll start following the worship service and ministries should conclude by 1 PM.

Finally, whether you signed up or not I ask that you pray for the ministry that will take place on Sunday.  Pray that those we are ministering to will receive our actions as love and that the gospel message will be loud and clear.  My prayer is that this is a launching day for other ministries God is leading to us.  Heather and I have been wrestling with ideas for ministry to young military families, there is great need within that community.  We also have another opportunity to help a young teenaged mother put a porch on the trailer in which she will be living.  These aren't things that can happen this Sunday during Be the Church but I wanted to share with you a little bit of the big picture.

Thanks for reading all this!  I will see you all Sunday and I pray you have a God filled week.

-Pastor Nick

So... you'll do me a favor?

With my intense graphic design skills this is all I've got. I need to talk to some people. But if you will do me a favor- pass this thing on. The picture (with link) can be posted anywhere html is accepted. Simply download the word document or go to this link (google docs) banners

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Download banners.doc

Identity

If you're already reading this blog, then you're way ahead of the game. Thanks for sticking with us as we feel our way around the formatting issues. I'm in the process of adding guest authors to "Your Bridge". I'm excited about what this blog can be, greater than words that's for sure!

While we work it all out go ahead and pass the word. Let me rephrase that. Please invite your friends and contacts. I'm not a big fan of spam either but I'd like to think this is worth passing on to your friends.

Permission to FAIL

I’m a runner. Many runners worst nightmare goes a little something like this. Every runner knows his or her pace. They know the pace they train at. They know their easy pace, their tempo pace and their interval pace. They know this because they’ve done it before. They’ve practiced at these paces. Scientifically they calculated their pace, they knew what they should be able to attain and then they did it. It’s been done before so it can be done again.

Races are another story. Nobody trains at race pace. If you train at race pace it’s not race pace, it’s training pace. Race pace is faster than you’ve ever run before. Race pace is pushing your lungs to uptake more oxygen than they ever have before. Race pace forces your muscles to process lactic acid waste faster than it ever has before. Race pace is no guarantee.

Races are the test for the runner. They answer questions that can’t be answered anywhere else by anyone else. Runners call it “bonking”. Bonking is going out hard and fast, going out at race pace. The bonk occurs at the exact moment that you know you can’t keep up the pace. It’s when your mind convinces your body that you have made a mistake and rather than cross the finish line in glorious fashion with a time personal record you’ll be the runner crossing the line sucking wind, maybe limping. People will feel sorry for you. You failed.

Every race I’ve participated in I said, “Who cares?” Who cares if I bonk? Really who cares if I fail? Sure I’ll get those annoyingly sympathetic looks when I limp across the finish but that will only be temporary, knowing I didn’t run to my full potential would be worse. So when I race I run race pace. I push my body to the limits of what it thinks it can handle and when my brain tells my body to slow down I force my body to go faster. Its amazing feeling. Not just racing hard, but giving yourself permission to fail.

I got an email today from a friend of mine. She and her husband are good friends of ours and they are also a very integral part of our church. Her email was one of the most encouraging things I’ve received since The Bridge started. She gave me permission to FAIL. I didn’t ask her for it but she said it. She gave me permission to fail and that permission is so liberating. I thought about that and I thought about what often holds me back, it’s not FAILURE. It’s the FEAR OF FAILURE.

Maybe it’s time to send an email! Address it to your friends, to your parents, to your children, to your coworkers, to whomever else you can think of. Give them permission to fail. Give them permission to push their limits and blow the whole thing up. Give them permission to be embarrassed and to have hurt dignity, give them permission to fail.

Before you click send make sure you CC yourself!

You're unique just like everyone else.

If you're unique just like everyone else then you've been saturated with the things of God. Like Bible verses, bumper stickers, church services and christian t-shirts. If you're like most then you believe in God, he's up there, somewhere, doing something or perhaps nothing. Maybe he gets bored sometimes and decides to intervene with mankind. Maybe.

It's not that you don't believe in God, it's more that you have no idea what he (it's?) up to. It's not that you don't believe in God it's more that you don't want to jump through the hoops of religious(ness) and religion to access him.

That's what "Your Bridge" is all about. It's about connecting people to people and people to God. Let's shed religion and our religious checklist to appease God. Let's step into the light of being free and using our freedom to talk... and listen. By connecting to one another we can converse about our lives and the things that are happening. Might we see God intervene in our lives after all? Let's find out. This is your space as much as it's my space. Let's hear what the "Author of Life" is doing.