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Resolving Conflict God's Way

2015-09-30T06:43:00.002-07:00

In Matthew 18:15–20 Jesus outlines a very clear and specific way for conflict to be addressed. This is based upon that fact that relationships between people are very important to God. We should have the maturity to follow Christ's powerful wisdom in this area. There are four steps involved in Jesus’s reconciliation process:

Step 1: Go in private. Jesus clearly explained that the first step to resolving conflict is to go privately to the one with whom you have an offense and seek to restore the relationship. Here, believers explain to one another the wrongdoing and its consequences—“go and tell him his fault” (v. 15)—and offer to give and receive forgiveness. The goal is not to blame or to win the argument, but to “gain your brother” (v. 15).

Since Jesus says we must first go in private, this means that no other step in the process should come before this one. Indeed, the first thing to do is the best and most effective thing to do. Why? Because this first principle holds the potential to preempt all the other steps. If people would simply follow this one clear point of order, two-thirds of conflicts in churches could go away.

The benefits to practicing this difficult yet simple action are twofold: (1) conflict is resolved quickly (conflict intensifies the longer it lingers), and (2) conflict is resolved privately (conflict intensifies when more people are involved). Consequently, this first step offers the most protection to the church’s unity.

There are two unique applications of this text that I have personally practiced: First, when people come to me as a leader with an offense or a problem they have with someone in the church, my initial question is, “Have you gone to and spoken to this person who offended you?” Many times the answer is no. My response is simple: “By the clear teaching of Scripture, I cannot entertain conversations about someone else until you have gone to that person first yourself.” If they are willing to go, I instruct them on the attitudes necessary for the mature believer in resolving conflict, and we pray together for their meeting. If they are unwilling to go and speak to the other in private, I admonish them of the importance in God’s eyes of doing this and try to help them envision the positive possibilities and benefits of the encounter. If they are still unwilling, I pray with them and move on in my heart without engaging this conflict again—unless it becomes more serious and more widely known (see the principles below). In obedience to Christ, my first obligation is to make sure that we as a church follow Jesus’s unambiguous plan.

Second, when conflict develops toward me (or in me toward others), I apply this principle in a rather literal way. Sometimes I will receive an e-mail noting how I have offended someone. I have learned the hard way not to resolve conflict via e-mail. Typed text is often misunderstood because people assign meaning and emphasis to words in a way the writer never intended. People are also much more courageous behind a keyboard and will type things they would never say face-to-face. Typed words are permanent—and we shouldn’t do anything permanently stupid because we are temporarily upset.

Likewise, telephone calls are not best for the purpose of resolving conflict. People cannot see facial expressions when speaking on the phone, and sometimes meaning is misunderstood. Therefore, when I receive such an e-mail, a “jab” in the hallway at church, or a voice message communicating offense, I have a simple and short reply: “Let’s please get together face-to-face to discuss this.”

Step 2: Take one or two with you. If after a private encounter the conflict is not resolved, believers should take one or two others who may help as objective third-party facilitators (v. 16). This is not to “gang up” or accuse, but rather to clearly identify fault and to use the counsel of witnesses to impartially discuss the validity of a charge. They may be able to verify what was actually done, as well as the weight of the offense, and they can observe what is said in the conversation and how it is said. In this sense, this step provides protection from false accusations to both the offended and the offender. These “one or two” might include a staff person from the particular area of ministry impacted, a spiritual leader respected by both parties, or even a Christian counselor who can provide wisdom and spiritual insight.

Step 3: Tell it to the church. Since Jesus is advocating an escalating process that includes more people only as the conflict continues to exist, it is appropriate to assume that he would encourage the “need to know” nature of this process to continue even at this third level. In other words, when Jesus says “tell it to the church” (v. 17), he is not necessarily advocating a public gathering of the entire congregation. The idea is that church leadership should be involved at this point due to the possibility and necessity of formal church discipline taking place. These leaders may then determine the degree to which the congregation should be informed, making this judgment based upon the seriousness of the offense and the level of threat to church unity. Here church leaders and/or elders may act as facilitators, giving more serious guidance to the resolution than could be done in private or with other third parties, or if unsuccessful in that, they may move on to the next level in the process of resolving conflict as prescribed in verse 17.

Step 4: Cut off the unrepentant. Just as a commitment to restoring relationships is important to the health of a congregation, so also is the commitment of church leaders to protect God’s flock from harmful people. After great strides are made to resolve conflict in the body, there is clear teaching here from Jesus in how to handle one who is unwilling and unrepentant. This assumes that there are such people in the world. In reality, there are people who actually do not want conflict resolved and who are unwilling to make peace. Leaders must not be so naïve as to think that there will never be people who, whether willfully or subconsciously, will attack and hurt a church family if left unchecked. Such folks should be dealt with shrewdly and always with the motivation to protect God’s church. Here, although restoration has not taken place, the conflict has been resolved and dealt with conclusively. We must understand that while reconciliation here is the goal, it does not always occur. Consequently, resolving a conflict is not always the same as reconciliation and does not always include restoration. It is resolved, but without reconciliation. This form of resolution is consistent with other New Testament teachings regarding the handling of the unrepentant (see Romans 16:17–18, 1 Corinthians 5:1–13, Titus 3:9–11, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15).

When Jesus said regarding the unrepentant, “Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (v. 17), the wording is important. The idea is to treat them as you—the Jewish people of his day—would a Gentile and tax collector. Jesus certainly befriended such people and encouraged love toward them as outsiders. But he knew how his audience looked upon Gentiles and tax collectors, and using the way they isolated themselves from such people as an example, he instructs the church to separate from the unrepentant believer.

The Process Results: Confidence and Christ’s Presence

Jesus instills great confidence in those who walk through the conflict resolution process by assuring them that when it is practiced as he prescribes, all outcomes can be trusted to the Lord (vv. 18–19). Whatever is decided by the church regarding believers and their conflict is connected to heavenly authority and approval: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (v. 18). If a repentant one is restored, that one’s restoration is sealed in heaven as well. If one is unrepentant and thus expelled, heaven affirms such decisions—provided, of course, that this progression has taken place with the goal of forgiveness and redemption.

Moreover, when Jesus’s process is followed, Christ promises his presence in and through it. Verse 20 is often quoted as a promise regarding prayer: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” However, the biblical context reveals that the promise relates to conflict resolution. Through his Holy Spirit, Christ is powerfully present when believers meet together for the purpose of making relationships right! When his followers meet to exchange forgiveness and pray together for reconciliation, Christ is “all in” these kinds of encounters. His heart remains close to those who follow his clear instructions to restore relationships, and even when such meetings do not produce reconciliation, leaders can walk away fully assured that what was decided on earth is affirmed in heaven and that God is in the midst of their efforts.

6 Traits of Christian Community

2015-05-26T18:30:00.001-07:00

In Acts 2:42–47, the Scripture provides a beautiful and compelling picture of Christian community. This snapshot of the early church offers a template for authentic community that churches should seek to follow. If we would build these traits into the relationships among our congregation, not only would we inspire passion, but also God would honor and bless such powerful community.

1. Full Devotion to Christ and His Cause

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (v. 42)

Halfhearted, semi-devoted people rarely accomplish anything of value. Part of the character of a God-honoring community is full devotion and passion toward the things that matter most. People are uninspired by unworthy causes or by leaders who expect anything less than their very best to achieve mission. We should be a place that reflects full devotion to Christ, to each other and to the causes of Jesus.

2. Anticipation of God’s Supernatural Work

Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. (v. 43)

People want to be a part of something God-sized. In truth, God stands ready to work in and through a willing community who follows Him with faith and courage. Here in Acts 2, people prayed and expected God to answer. We should build a church that thinks about and prays to achieve that which can only be accomplished through God’s supernatural power-- trusting Him to do it.

3. A Strong Commitment to One Another

All the believers were together and had everything in common. (v. 44)

A Christ-honoring community displays loyalty, dependability, mutual support, respect, and grace to one another. They are not just unified. They have a strong sense of the priority of unity. They make unity work. They know it takes effort. It means letting go of petty differences and self-centered agendas. It also results from the core culture of the church believing that what we are to one another is as important as what we’re doing together.

4. Generosity in Meeting Needs

They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. (v. 45)

In the course of achieving mission together, needs arise within individuals. People become disheartened. We experience distress. We incur personal hardships. We all have struggles. In biblical community, people are not blind to the needs of others, and they respond by seeking to assist, encourage, and generously meet needs. In biblical community, sincere care and concern takes place between members. And, when meeting needs demands generosity and sacrifice, the Christ-filled community steps up.

5. Laughter and Fellowship

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (v. 46)

People in healthy Christian community enjoy downtime. They know they must give effort and hard work, but they also spend a measure of time in fellowship and relaxation. They eat together, laugh together, and pursue common interests outside of work or “ministry”. This provides levity to offset the sometimes-difficult work that people are doing, and it also allows them to get to know each other in a context beyond a ministry environment. This reaps the benefit of even greater unity and commitment.

6. A Sense of Shared Destiny from God

. . . praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (v. 47)

Along with the sense of awe that resulted from seeing God answer prayer, those in the first church saw evidence that God was doing something outside their requests or expectations. They saw that God was doing a work of His own and that they were connected to a power beyond them. This was a work that transcended their efforts and connected them to God’s eternal purpose. God was transforming the real lives of people through divine salvation and was bringing them into His church. I imagine that as they witnessed life after life, person after person coming to faith, this created a sense of shared destiny—a feeling that they were being swept along by the current of God’s Holy Spirit for some sovereign purpose and were joined by God himself to his eternal plan.

This final trait of community is one that cannot be manufactured by people. It is in fact a divine result of purpose, love and unity—in other words, a gift of grace. But be sure that, while we cannot produce this sense of shared destiny, we can certainly undermine it or even prevent it from arising. We do this partly by failing to seek to build the kind of authentic community God desires between his children. In truth, Christian community is the receptacle for God’s sovereign and supernatural work. God loves to fill His people with His presence and power when they are one in heart and purpose.

The Sabbath and Stewardship

2015-04-29T06:36:00.003-07:00

A Biblical Basis

The word Sabbath is from the Hebrew word SHABÀT, meaning “cessation” or “time of rest”.[i] The text in the creation account provides the basis of all decrees for the practice of the Sabbath.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ²And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:1-3

No command for us to rest is given in this passage— only the fact that God rested. The word “Sabbath” is not even used. However, the seventh day is set apart and made holy because it is the day that God rested from his work. It is distinguished and sanctified by God himself.

The first occurrence of the term and the first command for Israel to observe a Sabbath practice of any kind is found in Exodus 16:22-30. Here, Sabbath is in the context of manna provided by God in the wilderness wanderings. God provided twice as much on sixth day and commanded his people to rest on the seventh day. Manna was not to be gathered on the seventh day because it was a “Sabbath to the Lord” (vss. 23, 26). Therefore, that which God did at creation is now transferred to his children. They are to rest on the seventh day.

Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments given to Moses for the people of Israel. The fourth command in this list crystalizes the desire of God for his children to rest and restore on the seventh day. The command is clear and compelling.

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11

It is interesting that the Israelites are not called upon to sanctify the Sabbath, but to protect it from becoming unsanctified. It was already made holy by God at creation, but the way God’s children conduct themselves by way of laboring on the seventh day could profane it before God. The main idea for Sabbath is the cessation of work. The all-inclusive language (“you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner”) signifies how important the termination of labor on this day is to God. The rest that was commanded here would eventually make way for worship to occur on the Sabbath for the Israelites (see religious celebrations in Leviticus and Numbers). In time, worship would become a part of this holy day and was made possible because work was absent from it.

Why the correlation between the absence of work and holiness? Though by nature work is difficult in a sin-stained world (Genesis 2:17-19), it can be personally fulfilling as well as an extension of our worship to God. We may have callings to certain professions rooted in the Lord and employ those callings through God-given gifts and abilities. These bring the possibility of nobility and godliness to labor. Some love work for these reasons. However, this that has potential for good may also bring harm. It becomes harmful when work is taken to an extreme and when we lose the ability to step away from it. “There is happiness in the love of labor; there is misery in the love of gain.”[ii] Part of Satan’s ploy is to take this good gift from God and pervert it. We then work too much becoming preoccupied with it and what it produces. It encroaches on every other dimension of life not allowing us to separate from it. When this occurs, work even stands in the way of worship.

The principle of the Sabbath is God's ingenious command to help us draw boundaries around labor and know a healthy emotional and spiritual existence. The Sabbath means once in every week and for 24 hours dropping everything— i.e., dropping every concern and every thought of every concern. When practiced properly, it allows the mind, body and spirit to be restored and replenished. True spiritual maturity requires the imitation of God. “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:3) When we Sabbath, we do as God did— this is the essence of godliness.

Time and Money

In the context of studying about the Sabbath I came upon a comparison regarding obedience to God in two primary assets of our lives— time and money. I thought it helpful to share them with you. Other than God and people, nothing is likely more important to us than these two dimensions of life. Both are things we spend and both are things we attempt to save.

There are amazing similarities in God’s commands toward the management of our time and money. The Sabbath and the tithe stand as clear directives from a loving God in how to steward these precious resources.

Both imitate God: in giving and in resting I am doing what God himself did.
Both draw me close to God: as I do what God did, I fellowship with him deeply, understanding his ways, and identifying in relationship with him more.
Both are an antidote to the culture: tithing stands as an antidote to greed and materialism; Sabbath stands as an antidote to addictive work and indispensability.
Both bless me in return: the irony is that though I give away my money in tithing and give away my time in Sabbath, I have enough money and enough time to do God’s Will. God provides in return so that by giving I receive and my needs are adequately supplied. It is amazing to see how efficient and effective my time becomes on the other six days of the week when I Sabbath on the seventh.
Both set my priorities in proper place: By tithing and keeping that Sabbath I do not allow my money and time to manage me. I instead manage them. This keeps them in proper perspective for healthy living.
Both are proportional: Sabbath is one-seventh of my week; tithing is one-tenth of my money. While all my time and all my money is his, I practically give to God in proportion to all he has given me.
Both are systematic: The “system” is that I give from the first of my income and from the last of my week.
Both are sacrificial: Time and money are precious and therefore are not easily given to God— which is exactly why God requires them.
Both reveal my level of trust in God: tithing and Sabbath-keeping are a constant, concrete reminder that God is the owner of all and that I can trust him with the most important portions of my life. They remind me that he is the provider and will make up for anything that I might lack through giving and keeping the Sabbath. To not take the Sabbath or to not tithe means not trusting or believing God in the most practical sense. In a deeper sense, not giving and not keeping Sabbath then is practical atheism. But, when I give and when I rest as God prescribed I show my trust in him and my dependence upon him for all of life.

The Sabbath then, just as in giving, is an act of faith. It means trusting God with work and the leadership of our organization in our absence; trusting him with our need for rest (whether we think we need it or not); and trusting him with the need for consistent, weekly worship. The Sabbath is not a suggestion. It is not a nice recommendation from God. It is a clear command. But it is a command from a loving Father who seeks the best for his children and who desires for leaders to experience authentic power from within.

“Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God's presence envelops you. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it. Give yourself to God and then be what and who you are without regard to what others think.”[iii]

[i] Young, E. J., & Bruce, F. F. (1996). Sabbath. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., p. 1032). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

[ii] Herschel, Abraham Joshua. (2005) The Sabbath. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux Publishers, p. 3.

[iii] Tozer, A. W. (2001). Tozer on Christian Leadership: A 366-day devotional. Camp Hill, PA.: WingSpread. p. 128-129.

All Things Are Possible

2015-03-05T09:53:00.002-08:00

We’ve all heard the amazing promise from the Bible when Jesus said, “…with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) It’s a verse we often use concerning prayer. Yet, many do not know the amazing context and backstory of this statement.

The Bible records that a rich, young man came up to Jesus asking him what he must “do” to inherit eternal life. Jesus listed off several commandments and the young man replied that he has kept all of them. Then Jesus, knowing that this man’s wealth prevented him from giving all his life to God, told him to go and sell his possessions and give to the poor. The rich, young man was unwilling to do so and “went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (vs. 22)

Jesus then turned to his disciples and said, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Why is it so difficult for those with wealth to follow Christ? The answer is obvious. The same thing that was true for the rich, young man 2,000 years ago remains true today. Those with riches feel they have so much to give up. This perspective is based upon these assumptions…

1. They don’t realize that all they have belongs to God and is on loan from Him.

2. They don’t remember that one day it’s all going away-- that the “stuff” of this world is only temporary.

3. They don’t consider all they gain in return for following Christ. As Jesus would say, the Kingdom of God is the “pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:46). It is far more valuable than any earthly riches.

4. They don’t recognize the potential for good and the eternal impact that may come from stewarding their financial blessings. The gratification gained from such generosity is much greater than any financial pleasure ever purchased.

In reality, this story in Matthew 19 is a story of any person who would withhold from God any single thing that stands in the way of fully following Him. God wants all of us- not just part of us, and not just most of us— all of us. This includes many things, but of course as in this story, it includes our money. By giving it to Him and laying it at His feet, we are then stewards to use it as pleases Him. This, of course, includes buying things we need, and even things we enjoy— but then being sure that we are also making substantial eternal investments (treasures in heaven) with the mindset that all we have is God’s and we will use the things he has blessed us with for His work and His glory. It means that we are willing to sacrifice, give up, or go without in order to make sure that God goes first in our lives.

In truth, the story of the rich, young ruler teaches us that if God doesn’t have our money, He doesn’t have our hearts… and therefore He doesn’t have our all.

So… after Jesus’ statement about the obstacle of wealth, the disciples were confounded and said, “Who then can be saved?” (vs. 25) This is when Jesus replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus is stating that God can transform the human heart in such a way that those with much can give it away to Him. That they can come to see the value of the Kingdom of God and how earthly wealth pales in comparison. Through God’s supernatural work, people can trust Him with all their lives and He may be found faithful in return.

Yes-- with God all things are possible! Seemingly impossible prayer requests can be answered. Seemingly impossible people can be changed.

Finding Sabbath

2015-01-28T06:36:00.004-08:00

This week I came back from a one month Sabbatical from The Brook. I’m so thankful for the time the elders gave me to get away, restore and gain some perspective. It was timely and needed. After leveraging twenty years of my life toward the church, there are patterns that develop— some healthy and others not so healthy.

There is a need for more introspection, but God has granted some perspective that I’d like to share with you. This might be particularly encouraging for those of you who feel burned out.

I was very skeptical about the fact that time away could actually improve my state of mind. I was wrong. It took almost two weeks to “detox” my system. Two weeks to wake up one morning without a burden and without a sense that "something urgent has to be done today". I grieved some, confessed a lot, and began to feel the burden lighten. I gained some perspective and began to miss the people and the things that I was familiar with. I relearned that joy in ministry was joy in Christ first.

Jesus’ powerful words became true to me, ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

I also learned that we cannot fix in one Sabbatical a lifestyle that leads to soul fatigue. In other words, you can’t out-Sabbatical a lousy lifestyle. Otherwise, after a Sabbatical you only return to carry the same burdens once again. Instead, we must experience a more present-tense way of living that produces rhythms. The principle of the Sabbath is God's ingenious command to help us know a healthy emotional and spiritual existence. I'm learning that rest is different than restoration. Rest is good. It is taking a break or getting a good night’s sleep. Restoration however, is the idea of Sabbath. It means once in every week and for 24 hours dropping everything— i.e., dropping every concern and every thought of every concern. It means to do as God himself did, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:3)

As one Jewish scholar said,

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work..." (Exodus 20:8-10) Is it possible for any human to do all his work in six days? Does not our work always remain incomplete? What the verse means to convey is: Rest on the Sabbath as if all your work is done. Another interpretation: Rest even from the thought of labor." (The Sabbath, by Abraham Herschel, p. 32)

The Sabbath is a rest of the mind and soul, not just the body. So, in the months to come, I’m seeking to find a rhythm in weekly living. An ebb and flow that allows me to engage fully, but also to retreat fully. A way of living that compartmentalizes portions of my life by drawing some boundaries around them keeping them from seeping into other areas— especially from seeping into a Sabbath. I’m seeking to learn to be content with where I am and where God has me. I want to believe that a healthy soul, not busy activity, produces truly lasting results.

Please pray for insight as I continue to try to be a healthier person, and consequently a healthier pastor for our church. Pray that our church people will be different than this wound up, stressed-out world that we live in. To be holy in it's root meaning is "to be separate from." May we be holy people.

Thank you for your loving, unending support.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mike

What We Believe (Part Four): Generosity

2014-09-17T16:45:00.002-07:00

One of the defining characteristics of the Acts 2 church was a deep, abiding spirit of generosity. These believers possessed giving hearts that came from an overflow of the love and grace expressed to them through Jesus. The Bible says of this first church,

“And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” (Acts 2:45)

At The Brook, we believe that one of the most important indicators of our spiritual health is the generous attitude in which we leverage our resources to ministry. Simply put, the church is not a healthy reflection of Christ without a prevailing culture of generosity. This is where men and women steward their financial resources in such a way to give to God and to others through the church.

This spirit and attitude hinges on a few important, shared values:

Contentment

Consumerism and greed seem to be hard-wired into the DNA of our American culture. If you look around and look closely, you’ll see that this worldly value permeates almost every message that comes our way. However, right in the middle of a world driven by materialism and the need for more, Christ calls us to find contentment in our material possessions.

Christians must ask themselves the question, “How much is enough?”

From a prison cell, the Apostle Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Chris who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:11-13)

In order to be generous we must learn how to say “enough is enough” to ourselves, and feel the peace that halts our striving after that which can never be attained- “more”.

Faith

It is God’s #1 goal for our lives to bring glory to Him through our faith and trust. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Our Father wants to take responsibility for His children. He wants us to depend upon His provision and enjoy a relationship with Him where we pray, see Him work supernaturally to provide, and where we build confidence in His power. The problem? People don’t give in such a way that they learn to actually trust God.

Jeff Manion states, “The chief inhibitor to generosity isn’t greed, it’s fear. Fear of not having enough. And the only remedy for fear is trust. Trust and generosity walk hand in hand.”

When was the last time you trusted God in the most practical sense- i.e., with your finances? This one area may be the one place you lack faith in your life. Can you find the strength to trust this sphere of living to God?

Stewardship

God has provided some rather clear instructions in His Word on how to build a lifestyle of trust and generosity. The principle of the tithe provides a guideline (not a legalism) for building these important values into our lives.

Giving 10% of our income is a clear principle of generosity and faith in the Bible. In the Old Testament, Abraham tithed (this was before the law of Moses), and God commanded His people that 10% be given for the work of ministry (actually when you add up all prescribed giving in the OT it was more than 10%). Additionally, in the Old Testament this form of giving was described as giving directly to God Himself.

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD…. These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai.” Leviticus 27:30, 34)

“Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” (Malachi 3:7-10)

In the New Testament a spirit of love and generosity is added to the command. Remember, Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-18). While Jesus never commanded tithing, He did commend it when it accompanied love, justice and a generous spirit.

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” (Luke 11:42)

The Apostle Paul advocates regular, systematic and sacrificial giving— the foundation of which is the tithe from the Old Testament. He said…

“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, a sum of money in keeping with his income, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” 1 Corinthians 16:1-3

So while the New Testament teaches giving that goes beyond the legalism of the tithe, tithing remains a principle for the ongoing stewardship of our financial resources. When accompanying love, grace, and willingness, it becomes a powerful principle of continual trust in God.

Spontaneous Giving

Of course, the life lived in faith is not always planned out. There are moments when God places people, situations and opportunities into our lives and asks us to respond. We can do so as the Holy Spirit calls us to meet a need, support a ministry, or bless an individual. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of giving. It is above and beyond the regular giving of the tithe— that is, the tithe should not be sacrificed in these opportunities, rather it should be added to.

I know a person who regularly looks for spontaneous opportunities to bless people with giving. He has some amazing stories of bringing people to tears as he by faith sought to leverage his resources to God’s glory. There are moments where he knew that God had placed a person in his path for the sole purpose of helping them… and reminding them of God’s love and His care for them through his gift.

Be on the lookout for others in our church and in your world who may be in need and who could be blessed by a gift from you.

Additionally, our church has building programs that also require this kind of faith and generosity. Our way of meeting ongoing ministry needs is through the tithes of our people, and the way we can expand to reach others through buildings, land and parking is through the spontaneous and sacrificial giving of our people above and beyond the tithe. What a joy for all of us together to have faith as a whole church family and to join in a “together initiative” to give more than the tithe in order to see buildings constructed that house ministry to children, youth and adults!

Gratitude

A thankful heart is a giving heart. Likewise, a thankful heart belongs to a person that recognizes all that he or she has been given is a gift of grace from the Lord. All your material possessions are from God. So, regular, systematic and sacrificial giving places our thanks beyond our lips and into the fabric of our lives. It is not just saying to God that we are thankful. It is displaying our gratitude to Him by returning to Him the “first part” of all He has given to us. It is in recognition that all we have is simply on loan from Him, and He asks that as a starting point we give back to Him 10% of the 100% He has blessed us with. What a great way to display gratitude and worship to our Father!

What you see in Acts 2 is a group absolutely in love with Christ and in love with one another. The gratitude that drove this spirit was uncontainable. It poured out in generosity as wealthy people, middle-income people, and poor people sat next to each other in worship… and each gave according to their ability to the work of the Lord and to each other.

May God continue to bless us with a generous, sacrificial, thankful and trusting church family— and may this characteristic be a witness to the community and to the world of our great love for our great God!

What We Believe (Part Three): Worship

2014-07-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

What a church believes about worship will impact every other facet of the congregation. From the heart of worship flow attitudes not only about God, but about each other. It reflects the measure of passion and faith possessed by the congregation. It also yields that most important quality of the culture of an Acts 2 church- authenticity.

The Bible is rich with exquisite love expressed to God in music and worship.

“Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name.” Psalm 96:1-8

"…in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, " 2 Chronicles 5:13

The Purpose of Worship

The ultimate purpose of worship is to glorify God. But along with this simple purpose we must explain that which accompanies glorifying God. The question is: How is God glorified through worship?

Surrender

Intrinsic in God-glorifying worship is a heart that receives from God His will and gives to God submission in return. The believer who has settled the matter of following Christ by faith is the one who glorifies God when worshipping.

Authenticity

Those who come to God playing pretend are those apt to miss the power and presence of God in worship. To come to God giving Him fully who we are—the good, bad and the ugly is glorifying to Him. We engage with God in an uncensored and unsanitized way in order to see His holiness, our sinfulness, and to be cleansed in light of His goodness and grace. This is confession in its purest sense and allows God’s cleansing and renewing work to actually take place in our hearts.

Faith

Worship evokes a response of faith within authentic worshippers. It calls for us to be reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past and to therefore walk in trust for the future. God-glorying worship is when believers walk away with deep confidence to leave the familiar and known, and walk into the unfamiliar, uncomfortable and unknown being confident that God is leading them to greater adventures of faith and trust in Him.

The Problems of Worship

It becomes a habit, rather than a joy.

Anything we repeat has the potential to become routine and familiar, and thus becomes meaningless. In other words, we tend to take for granted even the amazing things in our lives when we become familiar with them.

The challenge for the believer is be to be renewed every Sunday when corporate worship occurs… and to be renewed every day through private worship. Through the means of authentic prayer, confession and surrender this is indeed possible.

It becomes a rule, rather than a relationship.

Legalism is a gravitational pull that every authentic believer combats. It’s a natural progression that results from religious activity. There is certainly a discipline with respect to worship. We don’t always feel like coming to worship—but life should not be ruled by feelings. How many times have you come to church not really wanting to be there, but found on that particular day God spoke to you in a unique and powerful way? You see corporate worship is about putting ourselves in a context unlike any other. It is a place where believers are together as one giving thanks and praise to God. Through the power of that community we experience something amazing individually.

Mature believers understand this relationship between attitude and discipline in worship. Through the discipline of worship we experience the spirit of worship. This does not mean a rules-based approach. A rules-approach would never engage the spirit and lead people to come to worship only because of a “have to” mindset. Worship should always be a “want to”… even in those moments when the flesh says, “I don’t want to” the mature believer, through the mind and heart, overrules the flesh and places the self in a context where worship is once again something spirit-filled.

It becomes an end, rather than a means to an end.

This in itself is a subtle ploy of the enemy… i.e., to get people focused on the modes of worship, connecting them to the ways worship is taking place, rather than to the God who is being worshipped. Here’s what I mean—music, the music leader, lights, graphics, the preaching and the preacher, etc. can become the “connecting point” rather than people connecting to God. People in this context may leave inspired, but unchanged.

Sadly some churches have more style than substance. They have impressive productions on Sunday, and those means become “the draw” that evokes emotions and an experience that becomes a subtly deceptive substitute for the real deal—God himself.

Unfortunately, many leaders (preachers, worship leaders) are willing to receive for themselves the credit that is only due to Christ. Rather than deflect to Jesus, they begin to be impressed with themselves and the way they present to others. They see themselves as the ones on stage presenting to an audience.

What should be true about authentic worship is that God is the audience… and we are all, whether on stage or not, addressing Him.

This has led us at The Brook to choose an approach of congregational singing rather than solos and feature music. The worship team’s job, as well as the teacher’s, is to point people to Christ. Our approach helps insure that we stay focused on where real life change comes… from Jesus and His Holy Spirit’s work.

The Parts of Worship

Jesus, when describing authentic worship to the Samaritan woman, said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” John 4:23

Here Jesus provides us a simple guideline for proper worship. Authentic worship should be in “spirit and truth”. This mandate also provides proper balance to worship. When Jesus said “spirit” He wasn’t meaning “Holy Spirit”… although this is true: real worship involves the Holy Spirit. This word in John 4 means to worship with passion and sincerity. “In our spirit, or inwardly in our minds and hearts, adoring his majesty, revering his power, humbled before his purity, confiding in his mercy, praising him for his benefits, loving him for his unspeakable love to us; being subject to his sway, obedient to his will, resigned under his dispensations, devoted to his glory, and aspiring after a closer union with him, and a more full conformity to him.” (Benson’s Commentary).

He also said we are to worship in truth. Therefore, the substance of our worship is to be grounded in the truth of Jesus as contained in His Word, the Bible. The exposition of God’s Word with the attitude that it is the measure of truth for our lives is an essential component to worship.

Herein lies the balance— spirit and truth! Not one without the other, but both— one inspires through the spirit of the heart and the other instructs through the truth of the Word.

The Products of Worship

It produces wonder
Acts 2:42-43, a portion of the verses that our church was founded upon, says, "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles."

This sense of awe results from people who see God for who He really is. May we always see and ascribe to God greatness and praise... and be filled with awe because of Him!

It produces gratitude

Grateful hearts are humble hearts. When we see how God has blessed us and how His grace is evident in our lives, we feel deep thanks. We do not leave worship feeling God “owes us” or that we lack anything. We have all we need in Christ and His grace is sufficient. Thankfulness results from authentic worship.

It produces joy

C.S. Lewis said, “To glorify God is to enjoy God.” The authentic worshipper— upon cleansing and confession, upon praise and thanks, upon the teaching of the Word— is one filled with awe that God in His greatness would love us so in Christ. This draws out great joy and a sense of peace that despite my circumstances I am secure in Christ. The result is as Paul said while in the Philippian jail, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4)

Finally…

Corporate worship in today’s world seems to be one option among many. Certainly trips and vacations are worthwhile and holy under the Lord’s guidance. They provide times for family and rest. Yet, there are some who don’t see the priority of worship and who lead their families to beliefs that worship is not all that important. That it's optional and if something more interesting is going on, they miss.

This is a huge mistake. Where is the priority of ascribing praise to God in your life and family? What are you teaching your children about God’s place in life?

Consider these words from Hebrews and be encouraged to recommit yourself to the act of corporate worship at The Brook!

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25

What We Believe (Part Two): Created for Community

2014-06-12T08:25:00.001-07:00

At The Brook we believe that Christian community is not just something important to do, but rather it goes to the very heart of who we are— both individually and corporately. If the church is anything, it is a community of people who care for one another and grow with one another. Without these experiences we’re not really the church at all (Acts 2:42-47). The church, as God designed, offers such a unique opportunity as compared to today’s world. We are to provide a safe place for people to be accepted and to fully experience their human design for relationship with others. All of us were created for community!

Yet, this can be rather intimidating for some. Particularly for those who have never known such relationships in their lives, or have experienced hurt and rejection.

You see, as we grow up and interact with others, we innately and subconsciously ask ourselves an important question. This question was present the first time another child took a toy from us in the nursery. It was present the first time we were pushed down or bullied on the playground. It was there the first time we felt romantic love for another person only to be rejected by them. It was present when those we thought we could trust hurt us. It even remains present today when we have an argument with our spouse, feel betrayal from a friend, or are ignored by a group to whom we hope to belong.

That question is, “Why have relationships?” Because while relationships can be fulfilling, they can also hurt at times and be rather messy. Are they worth the risk?

Some have resolved this question in a positive way. While certainly having their share of relational disappointments, the warmth and power of human intimacy has made relationships still worthwhile. Others, who struggle with innate fear or who have been rejected or harmed by another, have chosen to withdraw. For them, the risk is not worth the reward.

The Bible has a rather clear answer to the question: “Why have relationships?” The answer is simply this—because God made us this way. The need for love and intimacy is a part of our very nature. It is hard-wired into our humanness by God.

The desire to know and be known, and to love and be loved, is uniquely human. It is what sets us apart from all the rest of the animal world and creation. Community with others involves a depth, quality, and vitality of a relationship with other humans.

Since this is true one might ask… Is a person then who does not experience community truly human?” Well, is an airplane really an airplane if it never flies? Is a piano a piano if it never plays music? Both the plane and the piano have the design of their creation. They “look the part”. Yet while they have the form, they lack the function and the fulfillment for which they were created.

What about for us? Since we were designed for it, and since it is unique to our humanness, are we not somewhat less-than-human when we don’t experience community? These are fair questions once we understand the very way that God created us.

In Genesis, the Bible explains that God made Adam from the dust of the ground and into him breathed life. Adam lived in the Garden of Eden and was assigned the task of stewarding all that was in the garden- plants and animals alike. In this place Adam existed in perfect harmony with God and his environment. He experienced life in full relationship to his Creator. He had purpose, industry and function. It seems this is all Adam would need.

But God looks at Adam and says, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Well, I thought he wasn’t alone? After all, he had God. He had the garden. He had the animals. Yet, God described Adam as “alone”. In other words, there was no one else like Adam in all creation and God said this arrangement was not good.

So God takes one of Adam’s ribs and fashions a woman from it. God presents her to Adam and when Adam saw her he celebrated…

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23)

And in a very short but profound statement, the Bible depicts the nature of their relationship… “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Genesis 2:25)

Obviously this was more than physical nakedness. They were exposed physically, emotionally and spiritually. Here at that time was a perfect human relationship to cap off everything else whole and ideal in that setting. Adam and Eve’s relationship in this moment might be characterized as loving, trusting, peaceful, free, and sinless.

From the phrase “they felt no shame” we see the true emphasis of the passage… these human beings felt safe.

While I know this is describing the marriage relationship, the principle is the same. We were created for community!

However, we read in Chapter 3 that something tragic occurs. The woman was tempted by the serpent and ate fruit from the forbidden tree. She then presented the fruit to Adam and he ate. As a result, both were disobedient and rebellious to the clear command of God. Sin now entered the world and it impacted not only Adam and Eve’s relationship to God, but also their relationship to one another. Once they sinned the Bible says they immediately did four things: they hid from one another, they hid from God, they blamed others for their sin, and they made fig leaves for themselves.

Genesis 3:7 describes their new disposition… “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

Certainly this is figurative language. Their eyes were open physically before. However, now they see things they had never seen before. They now knew that they had the capacity within themselves to sin, i.e. to rebel against God and bring harm to one another. Where once there was perfection, now there was sin. Where once there was peace, now conflict. Where once there was safety and freedom, now fear was present. Where once openness and vulnerability, there now existed concealment and secrecy. So, they recoiled and hid from one another.

The Bible also says they made fig leaves and covered themselves with them. The fig leaf provided more than a physical covering. Consistent with the figurative language in the passage, we may assume both a physical and symbolic theme. The fig leaf was a man-made substitute for all the acceptance, openness and vulnerability they possessed before the sin.

The Bible then describes a rather moving scene. God comes into the garden and the Bible says, “…the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’” (Genesis 3:9-10).

As omniscient creator, God knew what had occurred and knew where Adam and Eve were located. Then why did God ask? God asked this question not for His own sake, but for Adam’s. He wanted Adam to admit where he was and the height from which he had fallen. Here, where once Adam was connected and open to his loving Creator, he was now hiding from Him in the bushes. Obviously, Adam and Eve not only hid from each other, but also from God.

God then inquires how such a rebellion could take place. Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent and neither takes responsibility for their sinful choice.

So here are the results of sin. Results that still exist today. Think about it? When we rebel against God, when we sin against and bring harm to another, or are harmed by another, what do we do? We do what Adam and Eve did…

We hide from each other
Rather than openness and vulnerability, we feel fear. We sense great risk now in emotionally exposing ourselves to others, so we recoil. We begin to keep secrets and conceal the truth about who we are. We determine that we will not allow another individual to harm us, so we conceal the deeper parts of who we are (our fears, passions, and desires) and withhold expressions that might make us susceptible to hurt. Rather than move toward the other person, we run away from them and cover. The relationship now feels rather unsafe— so we conceal and cover.

We hide from God
Admitting to God what is true about us in the form of shame is rather frightening. He is holy, perfect, and just. God might reject us as well. So, rather than admit what is obviously true and what the omniscient God already knows, we play a game of suppression and self-deceit. The idea here is if we ignore it (our sin and shame) it will go away. So we choose not to speak the truth to ourselves and to God, and we drift from the life-giving relationship that should be ours with our Creator.

We blame others
Rather than take responsibility for our sin, we blame our sinful choices on the other person who may have rejected or harmed us. “They hurt me” or “They made me angry” or “If they hadn’t done this, then I wouldn’t have done that.” Even when someone has harmed us, we all have a choice in response. Adam blamed Eve and even God for his choice to eat the fruit (“…the woman YOU gave me”). Eve blamed the serpent. Neither took any responsibility for what they did. We do the same. While the sin of the other person was indeed not our responsibility; what we did in response to their sin certainly was.

We create and connect to fig leaves
As mentioned, the fig leaf for Adam and Eve was a man-made substitute for God’s ideal. It served to cover their shame and hide what was true about them. Whereas God designed Adam and Eve to connect intimately with their Creator and each other, their sin led them to fashion and fixate on a mere semblance— something man-made— a replacement for what God designed.

The figurative fig leaf is just as alive today as it was in the Garden of Eden. Consequently, a fig leaf is anything I connect with that conceals my real self from others and from God.

Instead of finding true human fulfillment in relationship to God and each other, in today’s world we settle for fig leaves. We do so out of fear, or shame, or because someone severely hurt us. So we promise ourselves we will not risk again or be hurt again. We chose to live “safe” lives without human community and with a fig leaf instead— a possibly safer, but ultimately lonely experience.

Notice this truth as found in the Genesis account: We cannot not connect. Which means if we don’t connect to God and we don’t connect to other human beings, we will connect to something. That something becomes for us our fig leaf- a rather superficial, external and man-made substitute for community. Through fig leaves we substitute human and divine love for superficial connections and concealment.

Fig leaves come in the form of physical addictions, external appearances, achievements, titles, material possessions, status symbols, and power.

We work hard for fig leaves, we go into debt for them, and we compare our fig leaves with those of others. Fig leaves are deceitful and dysfunctional ways for us to feel good about ourselves. Rather than people seeing the real us (which can be risky or shameful), we prefer they see a fig leaf instead. This is one reason why the internet, with all its advantages, can actually undermine community. It can be a “faceless community” built only upon images and facades.

Even people may become fig leaves to us when relationships with them are used for purposes other than spiritual and emotional intimacy (sex, codependence, manipulation of others for selfish purposes, etc.).

Often, we wear religious fig leaves. These we present before God hoping that He will like the well-maintained, well-managed image. Religion, spiritual language, Bible knowledge, and even good works can become fig leaves we hold up to a holy and perfect God— they may become the way to hide from Him our true self.

Since fig leaves are not the real deal, in time they create problems. Fig leaves must be managed, propped up, refinanced, and even exchanged for new ones when existing ones become inadequate. This takes much effort. So, rather than give life, fig leaves drain us. Since they are a fake, fig leaves rob us of the experience of knowing truly who we are and experiencing the fulfillment that comes by actualizing our true self in the world. Since they stand in the way of others and God seeing our true self, fig leaves prevent us from experiencing that deepest part of our unique human creation… the ability to love and be loved, to know and be known.

Continuing in Genesis 3, the Creator bans the couple from the Garden of Eden and assigns curses to them as well as to all mankind and womankind. Men are cursed to work by the sweat of their brow, and women are cursed to experience the pain associated with childbirth. The consequences of their sin are real. It causes separation and suffering.

But reading into the latter part of the chapter, God does something often overlooked, but truly amazing. God now does for Adam and Eve what they were unwilling to do themselves and His actions serve as a model for us today of how to create and exist in relational intimacy even in the midst of a sin-stained world.

The Bible says that God takes an animal and kills it. You can imagine the shock of Adam and Eve as they witness the bloodshed of the innocent creature and realize that their sin caused it. The Genesis account does not specify the type of animal killed. For many reasons, we may assume that it was a lamb.

So God takes the skin of the animal and uses it as a covering for Adam and Eve. In exchange for the fig leaves, God provides an alternative- one that supplies protection and warmth, and covers their nakedness. Adam and Eve let go of the fig leaves and take hold of God’s provision.

This exchange between God and His human creation speaks volumes. In essence, through the provision of this lamb God does the opposite of what Adam and Eve did. The man and woman hide; God comes seeking. Adam and Even run from each other and God; God moves toward them. The man and woman blame others for their sin; God assigns guilt where it’s due but then assumes responsibility for it by shedding innocent blood. Through the fig leaf Adam and Eve conceal what is true and shameful; God exposes their sin, but then covers their shame through the lamb. Notice the difference between Adam and Eve's response (i.e., mankind's response) to sin and rejection, and God's...

MANKIND                         GOD
Hides                                Seeks
Runs away                       Moves toward
Blames                             Assumes Responsibility
Conceals their shame      Covers their shame

The contrast is startling and illustrates the ways we are to experience love and intimacy today after the fall. You see there is no such thing now as a perfect human being. In the garden, Adam and Eve knew no sin. Now however, we live in a world plagued with it. Since there are no perfect people, there are no sin-free, perfect relationships. Likewise, there is no such thing as approaching God without sin. We must all bring to Him and each other the truth about who we are as sinful human beings. This garden is no more.

On this side of it we must find a different way to achieve the love and intimacy for which we were all designed. We must look not to the Garden of Eden, but to the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden of Eden is a garden of perfection. The Garden of Gethsemane is a garden of redemption. This garden is the place where the Innocent Lamb was sacrificed as well. This garden is the place where God moved toward us, not away. This is the place where once again God sought us even as we hid from Him. This is the place where He assigns the guilt of sin, yet assumes responsibility to do something about it. This is a place where rather than merely conceal our sin and shame, He covers what is exposed and what is true about us by the blood of the Lamb.

Through Jesus, God says to you and me, “Give me that fig leaf you’re wearing- that frail and pathetic substitute for your true design. Reveal your real self to me. Come naked before me- shame and all. Give me that fig leaf, and I will cover your shame through the sacrifice of the Innocent.”

So now, love in Gethsemane means relationships with God and others not based upon perfection, but on forgiveness. Where I don’t love others because they are perfect, instead like Christ, I love others in spite of the fact they are not. This is a human love and intimacy where I can let go of my fig leaf, reveal the true me (shame and all), and find another person who does the same. And when sin comes (and it will), we do what God did for us— not hide, not run away, not blame… but move toward, reveal (not conceal), and take responsibility to confess my sin in order to find a covering for shame. Where in the exchange of fig leaves, a warm protective covering (rather than shame and exposure) is experienced. This is love on this side of the garden and on this side of the cross. Here exist not relationships of perfection, but relationships of redemption. Where despite my sin and shame, I feel safe. The love and intimacy of the Garden of Eden is what we were made for. Through the Garden of Gethsemane, we may return there once again.

We were made for community! And the church of God is the place in today’s world where authentic community can and should happen. The place where we will chose to be real with one another and experience the life-giving power of community. The place where, in the appropriate circles with people who love as Christ did, we can let go of those fig leaves and find a covering for shame.

I’m thankful that The Brook is that kind of place. May the Lord help us to continue to be!

8 Signs of a Healthy Church

2014-05-14T12:09:00.004-07:00

While there might be other virtues that some would add to this list, as I understand the Scripture, these eight are the essential elements that define a healthy church family. In other words, I don’t think a church can be whole if they lack one or more of these dimensions below.

All of these elements are contained in a set of verses upon which we have built The Brook Church—Acts 2:42-47. I hope this list confirms in your heart what we are pursuing together and reminds us to stay to true to our call to be a biblically-functioning church community.

Inspiring Worship
Worship is more attitude than a Sunday church service. When corporate worship authentically glorifies God, it is based upon a set of other realities. Inspiring worship flows from a church that assumes it is in desperate need of God. There is a sense of awe, life, and God's supernatural activity in transforming people and answering prayer. This kind of church is a praying church because it truly believes in its dependence upon God. They confess that without God's presence and power, they are nothing. Here then is worship that leads people to discover the amazing power, presence and potential of God in their lives.

A Heart for the Spiritually Lost
Healthy churches feel a great burden to share the gospel of Jesus with people outside the walls of the church. In healthy churches, the good news of Jesus is prominent and is central to the very message of the hope that is shared. Healthy churches reach out to lost people… (1) By proclaiming the central message of the cross throughout all its ministries, (2) By equipping and encouraging their people to share their own story of faith with others in their personal, daily environments (work, recreation, etc.), (3) By selfless acts of service in the community (no strings attached) that validate and bring credibility to the message of the gospel, and (4) by praying for, supporting, and giving financially to those called of God to church planting and missions.

A Hunger for Deeper Faith
Healthy churches seek to take their people from a mere once-per-week, 30-minute session of hearing God's Word on Sunday mornings into a deeper relationship with Christ and His Word. Consequently, they inspire their people to personally read and study the Bible, as well as provide other opportunities in the church for the deeper study of it. This all with the underlying intention of not just knowing God’s Word, but living it.

Acceptance, Belonging, Care
Healthy churches point people to and offer ministries for more intimate “circles of belonging” where individuals find authentic Christian relationships. These kinds of churches believe that Christians do not truly reach their potential spiritually unless they do so in community. This sense of “fellowship” is the truest heart of the church and is discovered in the beauty of people praying for one another, encouraging one another, and belonging to one another as they connect around God’s Word. Corporately, it provides a sense of warmth and love that permeates the church family and creates a loving, welcoming culture.

Generous Hearts
Simply put- a church is not healthy unless its people learn to serve others. For healthy churches, spiritual maturity is defined in serving. That is, we are never more like Jesus than when we serve others. It essentially means the church is comprised more of givers than takers. This expresses itself in financial generosity. It also involves the actual practice of serving and volunteering. The world outside the walls of the church is rather self-seeking and consumer-minded— but the church of God must not be worldly. Possibly the most counter-cultural virtue of Christ’s church is the attitude of giving. Here, people leverage their financial resources as well as their time to ministry. Every member is a minister, people are encouraged to discover their spiritual gifts and passions, and all lend support to the ministries that bless them and their families.

A Structure that Doesn’t Get in the Way
Healthy churches are structured for effectiveness. Sadly, some churches have bureaucratic structures that hold back ministry, slow down decisions, point the church away from mission toward maintenance, or cripple ministries altogether from being effective. Healthy churches instead are permission giving and allow people to be empowered in the ministries they are leading and involved in. This does not mean a free-for-all of course. Yet, within boundaries established by church leadership, people feel they own their ministries and the decisions that accompany them, and are not dependent upon some centralized entity in order to act.

Authentic Leadership
A healthy church is where pastors and leaders model honesty, vulnerability, godly character, courageous leadership and servant hood. The primary criterion for leadership in the church is that potential leaders possess the heart of a servant. This means the willingness to sacrifice and act in the best interest of the church, rather than in the best interest of self.

A Compelling Vision from God
Vision brings purpose and purpose brings unity. Healthy churches have a convicting sense of the vision (i.e., the compelling future) to which God has called them. With clear, concise and compelling vision, these churches have greater unity and life, as well as a reduction in conflict and self-centered agendas. When all in the church believe in and submit to the vision of God for their church family, a common and compelling sense of unique destiny results. In this lies a “sense of shared future” that provides a power and life like no other.

What We Believe- Part One: Serving

2014-04-30T07:55:00.003-07:00

There are certain things that make a church… well, a church. We all understand that the church is not a building. The church is not a gathering of people. The church is not even a ministry program. The church is only a church when something much greater happens.

The primary metaphor from the Bible is that the church is the body of Christ. The Apostle Paul went into great detail to explain its meaning in 1 Cor. 12:12-27. There are many things that can be said about this metaphor and it’s application to us today. Time does not permit us to go into great detail, but there are three overriding principles from this passage.

1. The church is a body that should be unified, purposeful and interdependent.
The idea here is that the church is not defined simply as a group of people showing up to worship. The entire context of Paul’s analogy is the functioning of spiritual gifts, members at work in the body, and the idea of service. Without these, the church is simply not fulfilling its potential and its God-honoring purpose.

2. The church is a body that should be healthy.
Health is not the same thing as size. Just because something is big does not mean it is healthy. There is no reference in this passage to size of the body, but there is great detail about the health of the body as it functions. Thus, we are primarily called to be a healthy church, not a large one. And, unless we display the characteristics of the body as described in this passage, the church as a whole and the individual members are not healthy, nor are they fully bringing glory to God.

3. Everyone is vital in the body of Christ.
Paul says, “Now you are the body of Christ and each of you are members of it.” (vs. 27). In the passage he describes how important every part/member of the body is. He says that there are no insignificant parts and that the body is only healthy when each part (large and small) fulfills its function. Why? Because we are interdependent upon each other— i.e., when one part suffers or lacks, we all do.

What do these principles mean for us today? Well, in this installment of the blog series I want to share with you our theology of serving and how we might differ from other churches in what we believe regarding this aspect of ministry. For our future, we must not only say these things and believe them, but we must align ourselves to these values because they are biblical. Also, they lead to us to be a healthy church family and to fulfill our God-glorifying purpose. Many of these principles are outlined in our new member material, and they are worth repeating now as a reminder of who we are.

1. We are never more like Jesus than when we serve others.
Serving and giving Himself for others was Jesus’ primary disposition. It was the chief way He defined Himself.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:35).

“Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though being God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…” (Phil 2:5-7)

Here’s the truth— we cannot become like Jesus unless we serve others. The Bible would say clearly that we are not growing in our faith, becoming Christ-like, or worshiping God as true believers unless we work into our lives service to others.

2. Every member is a minister.
Often we think of “ministers” as paid staff or pastors. This is not a teaching of scripture. To be a believer is to be a minister. Why? Because as believers we are called to give to others what was given to us. So, this truth is a direct application from Paul’s analogy of the body. Every member of the body is a minister in their own right.

3. Everyone is a “10” in some area.
The Bible describes how God has gifted the body of Christ and each member within it. This means that every believer has spiritual gifts, abilities, and experiences that bless others and that are unique to them. When put them to use, they greatly benefit people to help them come to know Christ. You have gifts from God that bless others!

4. The role of the pastors of the church is to equip people for ministry.
In Ephesians 4:11-13 it says,

"And God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…"

This is a clear explanation of why God gave pastors and leaders to the local church. It was not to DO the work of the ministry, but to EQUIP the church to do the work of the ministry. Of course every pastor and leader should minister—but their primary function is to develop others for ministry. In this sense, the church members are the ministers and the pastors are the administers— i.e. pastors and leaders are to equip, empower and encourage those in the church for ministry.

5. One primary way we grow disciples in our church is by providing expectations, processes and opportunities for service. We are not being faithful to the call of God and are doing our church a disservice unless we as leaders (and as a entire church) build this value into the DNA of who we are. We simply will not be unique, powerful, healthy or God honoring without this objective coming to pass— also, we will not have true disciples of Christ within our church without it.

Finally— just one more thing. Why are we unapologetic about structuring ministry toward service and providing vision and opportunities for such? Because we know that serving is the path to joy and peace.

The world teaches the opposite. In our culture, selfishness is the guiding principle. The mindset is that always getting what we want and others serving us are what bring happiness. Jesus taught and modeled the exact opposite (Luke 22:24-27; Acts 20:35; Phil. 2:5-11)— and those who have put His truth to work in their lives have found this to be absolutely true. Deep joy and contentment comes from unselfish living. The greatest blessings of life are wrapped in service to others. The quality of life is defined not by what we consume, but by what we contribute. So, like a warm ray of sun on a cool day, God smiles upon us when we give to others in Jesus’ name.

At The Brook, we want EVERY Christian and EVERY church member to experience this kind of joy! We dare not rob you of this great blessing!

Next week: "What We Believe- Part Two: Worship!"

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Mike

More Than Chairs

2014-04-02T20:14:00.005-07:00

As you know, we recently purchased new chairs for our worship area by asking everyone in the church to "Buy-a-Brook-Chair". We had a wonderful response! The folding chairs are gone and the new chairs look great.

I asked everyone in the church to consider purchasing a chair not only for each person in his or her family, but also for others who have yet to attend The Brook. Some in our church bought 2, 3 or 4 additional chairs with this in mind. I also asked everyone to pray for those who would eventually come to sit in them.

I have to tell you a couple of stories related to this.

One family in our church felt led to purchase 2 additional chairs. They weren’t for sure why 2, but they responded to the Lord’s leadership and prayed for those who might come to occupy them. The husband sent me this email... "At the onset of the program, I felt the Holy Spirit move me to purchase 2 extra chairs. At the time, I didn’t know why and wasn’t sure who the “extra” two were for, but I didn’t question it and just went with what I felt." Later that same week, after giving the check to the church, a contractor was working at their home. This individual from our church struck up a conversation with him and the matter of church came up. The contractor shared that he and his wife were actually looking for a new church home. So, our church member invited them to The Brook… and the two have been coming almost every week since. Our church member said, "It was amazing that God answered our prayers by sending two people our way to sit in the chairs we bought."

Another person in our church told me how they purchased extra chairs, but did so with some symbolism in mind. You see he has a family member that lives in another state that he loves deeply and for whom he and his wife are praying. This family member is distant from the Lord. Rather than only purchase chairs for someone who would attend our church, this person purchased chairs on behalf of their relative and their relative’s family. When telling me the story, my friend from The Brook became emotional. For he and his wife, the chairs presented them a material way to express their love, prayers and desire for God to work in this loved one's life. He and his wife are asking God to work and that someday this relative will sit in chairs in a church where they live and where their faith will become real.

Cool huh?

We also had a pastor from a foreign country who attended our church on the one day we made the announcement about the chairs… before leaving the country, he felt led to purchase 8 chairs!

Amazing!

One more story...

When the old chairs were loaded up to be donated to a ministry called Frontier Camp, I posted a photo on Facebook of the old chairs on the trailer about to leave the church. You wouldn’t believe the kind of sentimental comments that were posted! Here are some of them...

“I remember those!! What a great 20 years of memories!”

"Wow! That is so awesome to pass them on. Mike, remember when they fell out of the back of the truck when you were driving (when we were meeting in the school)? I remember not being able to help pick them up because I was laughing so hard. Lots of great memories!!!"

“Very sentimental to me..... I was married with my guests sitting in the chairs and we had our daddy's memorial service while we sat on the chairs.”

“I remember sitting in the very back in one chair, feet propped on another when I was uber pregnant and should've been on bedrest.”

“First chair on the back row far left side is where I found Jesus once again!”

"My whole family (me, my mother, father, and sister) came to faith at one point or another while sitting in those chairs. Many memories of dramas, lock-ins, singing, and stacking those things...tearing up thinking about it all!"

“Where to start....those chairs have been a part of my life for over 18 years....so many blessings, prayers, tears, and laughter have taken place on those chairs. We've celebrated the passing of dear loved ones, the marriages of friends and dedications of many children. You will be missed "green" chairs...”

Awesome!

This is of course not an article about the importance of chairs. That misses the point. The material and physical are not most important. The core idea here is that material things become spiritual tools when God commissions them for His use. This truth is found all throughout the Scripture: the tabernacle, the manna, the cloud by day and the fire by night, the burning bush, Moses' staff, the Jordan river stones (Joshua), Gideon's fleece, Samson's hair, the Jewish temple and it's furnishings, etc.... all physical and temporal, but used by God to achieve a faith purpose.

Chairs, buildings, land, tables, equipment, etc. become much more than metal, plastic, dirt, bricks and mortar when purposed for God’s glory. They become part of sacred spaces for God to work! They are the physical realms through which God reveals himself. They can at times even represent faith and our willingness to follow God because when used for His glory they have the potential to facilitate ministry and bring about life-change.

Need proof? Just talk to some of the people who commented above!

Transitions

2014-03-19T11:54:00.002-07:00

Change is an inevitable part of life and in most circumstances it is good. This is true for us spiritually as individuals. The Holy Spirit is about taking us from where we are to developing our hearts and growing us more in the image of Christ. This is also true of churches. As a church with Christ as the Head, we must be willing to adjust in order to follow God by faith wherever He leads us.

We’ve all noticed that God is bringing more people to The Brook. While we don’t know how long the significant increases will continue to occur (that’s entirely up to the Lord), it is important for us to be willing to adjust and to cooperate with God in this development. This is what faith means for us right now.

Allow me to enumerate a few things that are very important as we go through these transitions. In order for us to stay the amazing, unique, warm and unified church family that we currently are; these are matters that must be focused upon.

Scale not Identity. You should know that while our church is changing from the standpoint of scale, scope and structure in order to accommodate the people that God is bringing, we are not changing (nor seeking to change) who we are. As long as we continue to stay focused and do a good job of assimilating people into our church family, we will see people join us who broaden and enhance who we are, not modify it. This is happening now even as we’ve grown and is a testament to the faithful people in our church currently. Our values remain firm and our vision is the same. As we grow, the culture of our church family is only being enhanced and our impact into the community is only being broadened.

Circles of Belonging. This phrase and concept becomes critical during this time of growth. It means that in order for us to “stay small” as we grow larger, people must find relational connections with other people. We will not know everyone in the church, but we should all know some people and be known by some people within the congregation. These are the people who know us by name, whom we know by name, who miss us when we're not there, and have some knowledge of what’s going on in our lives in order to encourage us, pray for us, and care for us in times of need. Unless everyone finds a circle of belonging, our church will be a place that people only attend, rather than a spiritual family that people belong to.

Community Groups. This brings up the important matter of Community Groups. I cannot over emphasize the critical nature of this ministry in the years ahead. We currently have needs for new groups and new group leaders. If God has placed this ministry on your heart even a little bit, would you consider being trained to be a Community Group leader? Most people think this involves a heavy teaching role. While this is true for those who have the teaching gift, facilitators, not trained Bible teachers, lead most of our Community Groups. We have powerful video series where gifted teachers teach the Bible on the video and then the facilitator simply leads discussion. The preparation is not near as draining, and it frees up Community Group leaders to do the important job of getting to know those in their groups. Please pray for this ministry. And if you’re not involved in one, determine in your heart that you’ll find a Community Group soon.

ReUnion. ReUnion is such a significant and unique part of our particular church. I can’t tell you how I look forward to it each time we have it. As a part of the church family, would you make ReUnion a priority? This is the one time every other month where our church family reunites to hear important information, to fellowship together, and to celebrate together the awesome memorial of the Lord’s Supper. If we can continue to have a large core of our church family continue at ReUnion, then we will build a church unified rather than a church scattered. ReUnion is essential to our health as a church.

Communication. As we grow larger the need to communicate is only expanded. You can help us remain a church unified by reading the Sunday bulletins, my blog and the Econnect. Believe it or not, one of the most important roles that you play as a church member is the one of simply staying informed.

Serving. Serving teams are the heartbeat of the church! People are often amazed when we tell them that 90% of our church members and just over 80% of those who attend on Sunday mornings are serving in some capacity at The Brook. This one thing has been the unique distinctive of our church family now for years, and it is a powerful, cultural dimension of the church that is filled with life and love! The needs in the current ministries are great and certainly we need more people to serve, but more importantly – people need to serve for their own benefit. Truly the one who receives most is the one who serves others… and we are never more like Jesus then when we serve! May God continue to protect us in this one area so that we remain the kind of church that we are-- a church with broad ownership by all, deep love, and serving hearts.

Welcoming Others. As churches grow, more people can slip through the cracks and not be noticed or welcomed. It’s very important that all our church family take responsibility not only to speak to their friends on Sunday mornings, but to also find others to say hello to. Let’s not gain the reputation that so many large churches have – that they are unfriendly and unwelcoming. With purposeful intent each-and-every Sunday, we can overcome that stereotype and remain the warm and loving place that we are now.

Finally, let me say how I continue to be amazed at how blessed we are at The Brook. God is truly growing something unique in us and through us. Let’s remain humble and hungry for more… always finding that balance between celebrating what we currently have together, and yet moving forward in faith as we follow our good God into the future.

Thank you for your time and devotion to The Brook! You are the ones who make it special!

Pastor Mike

Well Done!

2014-02-05T06:39:00.002-08:00

The dictionary defines a steward as “a person charged with the responsibility of managing another person’s assets that have been entrusted to his or her care."

Two weeks ago we set a new attendance high at The Brook for a non-Easter Sunday. We had 467 total in attendance that day… and with 32 cars parked in non-parking spaces (outside the parking lot), we had only 5 spaces available in the 2nd worship hour.

We certainly don’t know what God is going to do in the future, but indicators are that He is blessing The Brook with more people. It seems as though he is charging us with a responsibility to manage gifts precious in His sight and that He is entrusting to our care.

I want to say to our church that all gifts from God are never given separate from the need for responsibility in them. Why? Because of the great potential for things good and godly to come through the gifts He gives. In other words, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing. This in never achieved without cost, faith, courage and sacrifice.

Remember the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30? This passage describes how three servants were given a vast amount of wealth by their master and were charged to put the asset to use. Their job was to go, invest, use and employ what was granted to them. It took effort, energy, and a measure of risk and sacrifice. It would have been much easier for these servants to just sit on the gifts, rather than manage them as the master wanted.

In fact, in the parable the one with 5 talents went and invested them and there was a return on the investment. The one with 2 talents did the same with the same result. However, the servant with only 1 talent went and hid it. He did nothing with what the master had given him. When the master returned there was an accounting. To the ones who were faithful to use the assets entrusted to them there was an amazing commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Notice not “good and fruitful servant.” They were commended for their faithfulness, not primarily for the increase that resulted. However, the one servant who hid the talent in the ground was judged by the master as “wicked and lazy.” His condemnation was not that he did something bad with the talent, but that he did nothing with it. This one was stripped of the gift because he was irresponsible with it, and it was given instead to those who would manage it properly.

Wow! In one sense this is an encouraging story that Jesus tells. It’s one of reward and commendation for those who use God’s gifts accordingly. But in another way, this is a frightening story. To mismanage, to sit on, to do nothing with, to not adjust, to not risk, to not have faith would be “wicked and lazy” in the Master’s eyes and might mean the Master would no longer entrust to us that which is precious to him.

I’m trying to challenge our whole church to think carefully about the blessings we are experiencing right now. I am filled with a bit of a holy fear. I fear that we will grow content with more people rather than consider how to minister to them. I’m concerned that with financial blessing we will stop giving sacrificially. I’m concerned that we will have a church with many attenders, but not people connected with God and others in authentic, growing relationships. I’m concerned that with our talent we will find it more comfortable to sit and soak, and simply protect what we already have, rather than adjust and with courage properly steward what God is testing us with— namely, the very precious gift of people.

So what does this mean? It means that we will continue to communicate to our church in themes of responsibility. Responsibility to adjust internally (in our leadership and structure) in order to make sure that our structure facilitates ministry more than bureaucracy. It means responsibility to sacrifice financially (all of us) in order to see For Generations to Come finalized in 2014 and that the ongoing ministry needs of The Brook are taken care of. This will mean that by 3 years from now we can create much-needed space by building our children’s building, renovating worship and thereby accommodating those God is bringing. It also means responsibility to deepen our faith by trusting God for the future He seems to be imposing on us. It means to open ourselves up to the Immeasurably More possibilities before us and give ourselves permission to embrace what God is doing.

More details on all the implications of these matters will be forthcoming. Please pray.

May it be said by the Father to The Brook Church, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A Journey to Wholeness: Reflections for the New Year

2014-01-08T06:14:00.002-08:00

The beginning of the year is always a great time to look personally at the journey that we've walked and the places we’ve come from. It’s a time to understand again how good God is to us, and how even the difficult times were used by Him.

My journey in ministry and in starting The Brook certainly falls into that category. Three years after starting our church, there was great difficulty personally and there were challenges in the church. The brokenness within and the overwhelming nature of my life at the time motivated me to get help and see a counselor— something all of us should do when needed.

I was 36 years old and had just described for him how one night, after several weeks of doubt about my leadership and the feeling of failure in my ministry, I picked up my two-year-old son Ryan and placed him in my lap. As I sat at the kitchen table with him, a deep emotion came over me and I began to cry. In that moment I was overcome by a profound emotion of love for my child. I cradled him tightly in my arms and thought to myself that I would do anything for him and that he means the world to me. There was something pouring out of me that I didn’t understand and that had never been expressed to this degree before.

“I don’t know why I did that,” I said to the counselor. He replied in a surprised tone, “You don’t know why?” He then said, “In that moment you were giving your son everything you never received as a child.”

It’s Counseling 101 right? Yet while acknowledging the void produced by the home in which I was raised, I was oblivious to how it drove my life as a parent, a spouse, and a leader. In this sense I had never truly owned the pain of my past. I soon recognized how I was living out the meeting of my deepest needs for love and approval through the roles that I held in life. It was through this and other meetings with that counselor, along with the countless hours of processing his statement, that I began to discover how much of “me” was conditioned and motivated by that void.

The conflict and chaos of growing up in a home plagued by alcoholism certainly had its effect. My family did not attend church, nor did I grow up having serious considerations about God. It was out of that environment that I subconsciously determined at a young age to be accepted by others and to achieve. As a teen I sought to satisfy these motivations through sports, an income from work, and excelling in school. My father had a high school education and my mother quit school in the ninth grade. My three older half-sisters all dropped out of high school early to get married because they were pregnant. I resolved that I was going to be the first to graduate and go to college. I also decided (since we grew up with very little money) that I would gain financial standing. So I began working as a teen to earn money for clothes, dating and a car of my own. I also sought to make several friends.

Although these attainments were not inherently wrong, they were illegitimate for me in that they cloaked my inner turmoil and the unhealthy desire I possessed for acceptance and achievement. Though on the outside I tried to look the part, in reality I lacked meaning, I was insecure about life on my own, and though I didn’t ponder it much, I felt a raw fear of God.

Then, late in high school, I visited a church with a few of my friends. After several weeks of attendance, the youth minister at the church offered to take me home after a youth event. It was there in his car that he shared the gospel of Christ with me and as a result I trusted Jesus as my Savior. A wonderful, profound and almost instant change resulted in my life from this decision. Through Jesus, I had discovered love, purpose, direction, hope and security.

Two years later, I believed that God had called me into vocational ministry and I began to formally study Bible and theology in college. It was here that my relationship to God flourished. I was altruistic in motivation, purposeful in direction, and driven to succeed in ministry-- to do something great for God. I got involved and began to lead in churches where I had opportunity.

Yet without knowing it, those inner needs I felt as a teenager for acceptance and achievement lingered into my Christian journey and unknowingly fueled my church leadership. Although disguised in spiritual terms, a larger church, a bigger salary, and more prestige in ministry was what motivated me. I worked in very large churches— which only stroked the needs of my ego. I was determined to be "successful"— but that success was not defined by simple faithfulness to God. Instead, it was defined by external measures... and it was all about me, not God or His Kingdom.

The early challenges of ministry, marriage and parenting, as well as the awareness of my need for something more eventually drove me to sit in front of that counselor and search for other kinds of answers. Here I began to learn about who I truly was, how I had been unfaithful to that identity, the false assumptions that I had about “success” in ministry, and how deeply other dimensions of life affect leadership.

After about 18 months of darkness, I began feeling whole and free. I still forget sometimes, but I know that walking in that freedom is a true blessing. It allows me to hold things more loosely than I naturally would, and to see myself not as an owner of my blessings, but as a steward and a servant of them.

I’ve concluded that God is much more interested in doing a great work in us as doing a great work through us. That leading from a measure of security and health is leadership that is truly effective: and that ministry on this side of wholeness is worthwhile… both to those I lead and to myself.

Thinking back over the years today and writing this provides a fresh perspective about God and the freedom I’ve found. One of the true blessings I experience now after 18 years of pastoring The Brook is the blessing of being myself with people in my church that I love and respect. We have such wonderful people in our church family! You all share an understanding of how difficult it is in this cynical, selfish world to build a place of authentic faith. You all bestow grace as we journey this mission together. The amazing way you give yourselves is evidence to a Christless world there is something real about following Jesus. That here, we’re more concerned with being authentic disciples than building a big church-- and that the love of God and others is what matters most.

God is indeed good and as I began 2014 I’m thankful for the journey of the past. It gives me great hope and confidence for the future.

Happy New Year!

Celebrating 2013!

2013-12-03T11:53:00.003-08:00

If you’ve been here long you’ve heard it a hundred times. Our church vision is Real People, Finding Real Hope, in the Real World. To me this statement never gets old because year after year we realize it in even deeper ways.

My heart is full as I ponder the year we’ve had and think about God’s amazing work over the past 12 months. Our home for hope has experienced quite an amazing 2013! God has been so good! Here are just a few highlights:

Message Series: Each Sunday we’ve presented God’s Word to our church. Message series included “Prevail” (A Series through Daniel), “Relational Grace”, “Hear”, “Love Lessons”, and “Immeasurably More” (A series through Ephesians 3:14-21).

Staff Additions: This year we added to our amazing staff some amazing people. Dr. Rich Cozart (Christian Counseling), Dan Enright (Connections Ministry), John Owen (Media & Communications), Diane Prokop (Assistant Administration), and Matt Owen (Facilities).

Visioneering, Inc.: This church-consulting group revisited our strategic plan along with our leaders. In order to accommodate our growth, they recommended the completion of a children’s building and worship renovation in 2017.

Elder Advisory Council: This group began meeting in 2013 providing feedback to our elders. They were such a blessing! Many of the advancements we’ve made this year have come from their advice and counsel.

Youth Building & Recreation Area: In October, we opened our new youth modular along with basketball and sand volleyball for them. Cool!

Vacation Bible School: VBS impacted over 100 children this year with many of them placing their trust in Christ as Savior.

July 4th Fellowship and Team Day: These two wonderful events helped our church celebrate as a spiritual family and enjoy our oneness in Christ.

Missions: We increased our support of missionaries by 26% this year! The Brook now gives almost $70,000 per year to support missionaries and community help ministries along with prayer and emotional support from our Community Groups. We gave 127 gift boxes to Operation Christmas Child (that’s up 20% over last year). We continue to serve 4 meals per year to the teachers & staff at Willow Creek Elementary School and serve twice per year for the Tomball Chamber of Commerce.

For Generations to Come: In 2013, our church gave $134,100.60 to this initiative making the total amount given since it began in October 2012 $248,500.01. We’re almost halfway to our goal!

Immeasurably More: This spiritual focus was the highlight of our year! It included “Letters from God”, guest speaker Mr. Roger Helle, Nails to the Cross during worship, the Reverse Offering… as well as community groups studying Ephesians 3:14-21.

Baptisms: We celebrated God’s transforming work in the lives of those who participated in baptism. 13 individuals were baptized in our church in 2013.

Attendance: We marked several new high attendance Sundays this year. With the exception of Easter Sunday (always the most attended Sunday), we hit a record high of 456 in attendance on November 10. Monthly average attendance for our church is up just over 20% from last year.

New Community Groups: This year we started 4 new community groups that help people get connected in authentic Christian relationships, study God’s Word together, pray for one another and focus on missions.

New Members: God brought to our church some wonderful people who joined our spiritual family on mission and who add great value to who we are as a church. The Lord brought 68 new members in 2013.

Giving: Your giving to The Brook this year (not including FGTC capital campaign) from Jan. 2013 through Nov. 2013 totaled $752,717.96. Thank you for being a generous church family and supporting God’s work here at The Brook!

Wow! Can you believe all this and more occurred in 2013?!

The thing that we hold most dear out of all these blessings, meaning that which is our most important priority, is to remain faithful to God’s purposes for our church. His presence and power in and through our church is what we seek most. We give Him all the glory that by His grace we were used by Him to see lives transformed in 2013!

As great as this year was, it is only a drop in the bucket to what God can do! He has Immeasurably More for us… let’s believe it and with courage pursue it! May the Lord help us remain focused, faithful and unified for His Kingdom!

Thank you Father and thank you dear church family for a great year!

Pastor Mike

Is It Possible?

2013-10-09T07:03:00.003-07:00

Life tends to lead us into routines. Because of the busyness of our world, the natural physical and emotional response is to find stability through predictability. The way we do that is through routine patterns of everyday living. We try to get up from bed, go to work, get the kids off to school, get home from work, eat dinner, get to bed, etc.— all at established times, in a certain order, and according to a certain rhythm. Even spiritually we seek to practice certain spiritual disciplines with pattern and predictability (daily times in prayer and Bible reading, attending worship, serving, etc.). This predictability helps us feel more in control. Or said another way, predictability helps us feel less out of control.

There is value and benefit to this kind of living. To feel more stable in a rather insecure world is not a bad thing. But, there is also a downside to predictability. You see, the way we live life feeds into our soul ideas about reality. We actually begin to believe that we are in control, that life is inherently stable and secure, and that routine will guarantee a certain future. These of course are myths.

The problem is that predictability defies faith. Our sense of control defies the belief that God is in control. Routine leads to ruts that drive away notions that things in life can be different. And so the way that life is… is the way that life is defined. The marriage we have is the marriage we will always have. The job we work at everyday will always have the same problems, people and tasks. The attitudes we have toward others, material things, achievement, parenting, relationships— these are the attitudes that are just “me”, that will not change, and are therefore the way that life will always be. Additionally, the ideas I have about God, who He is, what He can do, and what He will do are based upon my past experiences. In essence we cynically say, “I know amazing things can happen because I hear stories all the time about God doing the impossible… but they happen only in other people’s lives.” In this sense, God remains confined to our beliefs about Him.

So all we know (our reality) is what we can predict and control. This runs counter to the spiritual truth that things can be different in Christ. Often with predictability and routine comes the loss of faith and the optimistic hope that life can be different when it should be different… or alternatively, that in the middle of a life that might remain the same, I can be different. You see, the biggest obstacle to things being different is the belief that they can’t be.

Immeasurably More is about once again believing that God can do impossible things. That He can still change me and my circumstances. That I don’t have to resign myself to the life I am living now. That just because life has been a certain way for a long time, does not mean it must remain that way. That God can change it and that He can change me. That even daily routine can be filled with power and joy. That what we hope for and dream of (as established in Christ) can translate into reality.

These are the seemingly impossible things that are possible in Christ.

It’s been said that insanity is defined as doing the same things, yet expecting different results. I think however that if we expect different results (by first believing that things can be different in Christ), we will then have power from within to begin to do different things.

It is my prayer that The Brook will experience the bright hope of the power of Christ within and this wave of God’s Spirit will sweep across our church like a fresh fall breeze and reintroduce us to the miraculous possibilities in Christ Jesus.

But this prayer is not original with me. It was first penned 2,000 years ago by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:14-21. Read his words below, and pray for God to renew you, awaken our entire church, and revive us into real faith in and through Jesus.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Prayers for The Brook

2013-09-25T05:25:00.001-07:00

During this season leading up to the "Immeasurably More" spiritual focus, the most important thing to do is to call our church to pray. Prayer changes things! Prayer makes a difference! Prayer develops our trust in God not self! Prayer activates the hand of God to move, provide and work in miraculous ways! There's just nothing more important than seeking God through prayer.

God is working in our church and has so much to reveal to us about who we are and what we're to do in the years ahead. So in preparation for these 21 days beginning October 27, let us covenant together to pray for our dear church.

How can you pray for The Brook? Below are some key ways and prayer requests that I've outlined for you. In these days ahead we are going to be joined together in spiritual union. It's going to be awesome to know that I am united in spirit with my church family and to feel the oneness with you in prayer! May God bless you and The Brook Church!

PRAYERS FOR THE BROOK

Pray first and foremost that God would be glorified, that we would be utterly dependent upon the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus would be lifted up in and through The Brook Church.

Pray that God would draw to Himself every person who comes here; that He would reveal to us His love, and bring lost people to know Christ as Savior and Lord.

Pray that our vision of Acts 2:42-47 (Real People, Finding Real Hope, In the Real World) would be realized. Pray that we would be faithful to this vision.

Pray for the spiritual growth of people in our church body. Pray that we all would grow in Christ and develop as authentic disciples of Jesus.

Pray that God would protect us from every deceitful plan of the Evil One to divert us and divide us.

Pray for continued financial blessings in our church. Pray that we would steward these resources in the most God-honoring way.

Pray that we would be a friendly and open church who shares the love and warmth of Christ with newcomers.

Pray that God would bring new leaders into our church and people who already attend into places of service and leadership.

Pray for our existing church family- for a deep love for God and each other. Pray that we would hunger for God and His Word.

Pray for our children’s ministry and student ministry. Pray that we would have a heart to serve these areas, an abundance of volunteers, and develop our children in the Lord.

Pray for other ministries of our church that you are mindful of… missions ministry, our Groups ministry, worship ministry, tech ministry, greeting team, men’s ministry, women’s ministry etc.

Pray for the people who make up our wonderful church family. Ask God to protect the unity of our church and make us a church that loves each other and is committed to one another.

Pray for our servants and volunteers. Ask God to continue building in our church the broad base of serving that we witness now. Pray against burnout for our devoted servants.

Pray for our future needs of space and facilities. Pray for wisdom and God’s provision.

Pray for the “For Generations to Come” Capital Campaign. Pray that God would allow us to achieve this goal even before the time it is planned to conclude.

Pray for our pastor and elders.

Pray for our ministry leaders who give, lead and serve so much in the church.

Pray for the “Immeasurably More” spiritual focus coming on October 27. Pray Ephesians 3:14-21 for The Brook!

Immeasurably More

2013-09-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

There is a long history of God’s providential work in and through our church. We’ve seen some amazing answers to prayer in 18 years and times that called for intense faith, endurance, commitment to each other, and trust in the Lord.

Churches must always cooperate with any new work that God may want to do in their spiritual family. If they don’t, in time they become lifeless and settle into ways of doing things that eventually require no faith. Our vision here at The Brook will never change. We will forever seek to be real people, finding real hope, in the real world. However, God’s deepening of our love for Him is always a process. We should never become complacent spiritually and must always be open to respond to God’s leading.

I have sensed for several weeks that the Lord is doing something new in our church. Something that looks unlike anything we’ve experienced in 18 years. It’s been birthed and confirmed in my mind from answered prayer; testimonies of His activity in families, marriages and individuals; key happenings that to others might seem coincidental, but are indeed put together by divine providence; God bringing important ministry pieces and quality people to our church through additional staff we've acquired over the past 2 years; people new to church finding faith and fellowship; new members joining The Brook who, just like our existing church family, possess sincere hearts, authentic spiritual love, and devotion to our church; as well as the spiritual hunger and response I sense in many of you to The Lord's new work in your lives. It seems in God’s timing He is leading us along toward a new day.

For months I’ve been praying about this without any clear direction- only a sense of an undercurrent going on. About 4 weeks ago God led me back to a passage of Scripture that captured exactly what I felt was at work. It is Ephesians 3:14-21…

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from who every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge— that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Wow! Isn’t that awesome? This beautiful prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Ephesian church is a prayer that I am praying now for all our church.

What would our church look like if each of us were made strong with power through God’s Spirit in our inner being? What would we look like if we all could fully grasp God’s profound love and be filled to the measure (to the brim!) of the fullness of God?

This would be true: We would all be absolutely changed by the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

Beginning Sunday, October 27 (Team Day) I want us to manifest this prayer all throughout our church through a focus and spiritual initiative called "Immeasurably More." This title captures what I pray the Lord will lead us to in terms of our inner love and passion for Him— that we will all experience immeasurably more in a new level of growth, trust, and spiritual awareness.

This is going to be a wonderful experience that will permeate the entire church family. Here are some highlights…

A special Team Day celebration on October 27 kicking off the whole initiative.
Unique worship services designed to communicate themes of this emphasis. Worship will include testimonies, video, unique activities and special prayer in worship on Sundays.
Ministry teams gathering for prayer and discussion around this initiative focusing and celebrating how God is using them in the church.
Children’s Ministry and Student Ministry participation.
Men’s and Women’s Ministry applying and celebrating God’s work through this season.
Bible Fellowship Groups and Small Groups taking part in a Bible study series on Ephesians 3:14-21 and with a prayer focus in these groups.

“Immeasurably More” will be a 4 week focus, but I believe our church will never be the same after. It will be filled with personal prayer, introspection, unique worship and a challenge to rise to a new level of spiritual hunger and passion for the Lord.

“Immeasurably More” can mean anything for each individual on a personal and spiritual level—prayers answered, more passion for God, more time with Him, more trust in Him relationally, personally, financially, etc. It also applies to our church to open our shared heart and mind up to the “Immeasurably More” that God has for The Brook in terms of spiritual hunger, love for each other, desire for God’s Word, outreach to the community, and a commitment to be a secure, faithful and healthy church family.

We will all be asked to do something different during this season and I challenge you to even now open your heart to the Lord.

More details will come. For now, pray and consecrate this special season to the Father in Heaven.

Joshua 3:5 ““Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Yea God!

2013-08-15T13:13:00.001-07:00

One of the richest blessings in life is to have those moments when you pause in full awareness of God’s goodness and grace to you. It involves the sublime feeling that all is well in Christ and that regardless of challenges or changes, there is a deep presence and peace because God is within. In those moments we see in hindsight that He has been faithfully at work in our lives and that He is indeed sovereign. As a result, a deep gratitude wells up inside along with an amazement of how rich it is to be fully secure in Jesus. These are times to rest from the pace of life and ministry and simply reflect. A moment to say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

Almost every year around this time I have that sense within me in relationship to you, The Brook Church. That's because August begins a new church year. With each passing year there are victories to celebrate, perspectives gained to ponder, and growth that occurred that the Father brought our way in many different forms.

Beyond all the exciting things going on at The Brook with new members, new people, new buildings, new staff and new programs, what matters most and what makes those things pale in comparison is the power of the Holy Spirit building within us a real church of heartfelt love for God and sincere love for all people.

I think that the Apostle Paul had one of these similar “Yea God!” moments when he penned this prayer to his beloved Ephesian brothers and sisters:

Ephesians 3:14-21
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

What an amazing and beautiful passage! Over the next several weeks and months God has led me to pray this prayer for you in our church family.

So with a heart full of thanks to God I start this New Year with you. There’s no doubt we will have challenges as we venture in faith together. There’s no doubt we will also overcome these challenges together provided we walk humbly before God and walk dedicated to one another.

I received this morning an email note from Terry Cokenour, a missionary in Budapest, Hungary that we support. The Wilson Bible Fellowship Group prays for him and his family, contacts them, sends them cards and gifts, and just loves on them. Our church financially supports the Cokenours through our missions budget. Terry and Christina are doing some wonderful work in sharing the gospel and building a missional church in the heart of this very secular city.

Because of the faithful and generous giving of our church family, we were able to make significant increases in support to missionaries around the world this new budget year. His note below verifies how the Lord has led us to the use of our resources and how our giving together makes an eternal difference.

I pray you have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you Sunday… and of course--

Happy New Church Year!

My heart's full.

Mike

Hey Mike, just a quick note of thanks for the increased support from The Brook! We actually had a few people who needed to stop giving, which is not unexpected. Right around the time I was thinking that I would need to do some long-distance support raising I received notification of the increase in giving from The Brook. We are back at 99% funding!

We love you guys and wish we could all celebrate in person. The greatest celebration is coming though, and that's the one we look forward to the most!

Please pass on our gratitude to the church.

In Christ,

Terry, Christina, Grace, Emma, and Amelia "Joy"

Stewardship not Ownership

2013-07-17T14:00:00.002-07:00

I recently had lunch with a man in his seventy's whom I respect. He told me, “I don’t know why it has taken me so long to learn the lesson that all I have is God’s. When the Lord took away things I thought were mine I finally learned they don't really belong to me.” Wow! I then recalled how difficult that lesson has been for me as well. It seems like we all are challenged with understanding that all we have is only on loan from God.

Here’s our tendency....

We think that because we possess something we own it. The truth however is that all we have— our health, our jobs, our abilities, our kids, our money, our material effects, our time— are gifts from God given to us for a certain period of time and for a particular purpose. They are temporary and may go away, or may be taken away at any time, and certainly one day they will return to the Lord when we pass on to heaven.

But there’s another category of possessions that we often believe are ours— spiritual possessions. These include God’s promises, God’s will for our lives, as well as divine opportunities and people in our lives that He clearly has provided. Likewise, times when we’ve prayed and prayed and God finally delivers what we’ve prayed for. We can take those answers and hold them in a way that they become our hope, our security, and our joy rather than the One who gave them to us in the first place.

The difficulty to understand the principle of stewardship has been around for centuries.

Abraham, the father of our faith, struggled with this idea. In Genesis 12 God promised him offspring and descendants. 25 years later— still no son. So he and his barren wife Sarai (Sarah) devised a plan for Abraham to bear a child through their handmaiden Hagar (a common custom for continuing the family line in the ancient world). Hagar gave birth to a son and they named him Ishmael. So Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands and decided to achieve God’s will their own way. The problem is—this wasn’t God’s provision.

God then comes to Abraham and says that Ishmael is not the promise and that He will provide a son through Sarah. Sarah conceives and Isaac is eventually born.

For many years Abraham waited for the son that God would provide. Isaac was God’s idea. God came to Abraham, made the promise, and then finally delivered on it. I can’t imagine the joy and wonder that Abraham felt at the gift of his son.

Years later however, God came back to Abraham instructing him to sacrifice his now teenage son Isaac on the altar. Possibly over the years Abraham had taken ownership of Isaac and forgotten that his son was a gift from God. Maybe Abraham lacked humility in this gift or took for granted this miracle? Or possibly, God simply wanted Abraham to remember how generous the Father was to provide Isaac.

Regardless of the reason, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Amazingly, Abraham takes his son on the mountain and up to the altar. He raises the dagger, but then suddenly an angel from heaven calls out for him to stop. The voice says, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Gen. 22:12)

Abraham passed the test. He gave up to God his most precious possession. He was willing to give back to the Father the very thing the Father had given to him. To hold it loosely, to steward it faithfully, and to release it when God came asking. Amazing!

Hundreds of years later the Israelites needed the same lesson. Upon being freed from Egypt, God instructed them to remember the One who gave them their new land and that it, as well as the possessions within, were only on loan.

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build,and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Deuteronomy 6:10-12

You see, the way we steward the things we possess gives evidence as to whether we remember the Lord in them.

This is one of the reasons why we must manage carefully in the Lord such things as our time, our gifts and abilities, and our money. Our stewardship of these and other areas are rooted in the same faith that Abraham had when he withheld nothing, not even his son, from God. So just as Abraham did, we give back to God our first and best in order to remember and recognize His place in our lives— and that its all His in the first place.

Do you really understand that your money, your time, your abilities-- all are on loan from God? Do you steward them in such a way that you recognize God's place in relationship to them?

Because when we believe that the things we possess are actually ours or exist because of us, they begin to control and define us rather than the other way around. Consequently, our security and identity becomes rooted in them (not in God) even to the point where they not only have power over us, but they become a part of us… or we become a part of them. When that occurs we are then unable to separate ourselves from them, release them, or trust God with them because to do so would mean to lose our selves. This was never God’s intention for the gifts He gives His creation.

If we have a difficult time giving them back to the Lord, maybe we really don't believe that they are God's in the first place?

The Supreme Court Decision and the True Place of Victory

2013-06-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was passed by a bi-partisan vote of Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was approved by lawmakers for the purpose of protecting the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman. The law was not intended to legislate the kinds of relationships people may choose to enter into, but rather was in response to those who sought to redefine what marriage had been since the beginning of the human race.

With yesterday’s Supreme Court decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, Christians are likely to wonder how to respond. While at this time individual states are allowed to decide the matter, in essence the Supreme Court banned the exclusion of homosexual unions in what will be lawfully recognized as marriages in the U.S.

I’d have to write a book to address all the things going on here. But, here are some quick thoughts for you to consider today:

1. Who ever said that what we believe as Christians would be popular?

Jesus certainly didn’t. In fact, He said that if we stayed true to our most deeply held values for His name’s sake, we would be hated (Matthew 10:22).

So we need to get past the notion that our values will always be well received culturally. There may have been a time when that was so, but the world is increasingly moving away from many of our moral traditions. In fact, in several social arenas our beliefs are maligned as outdated, judgmental, and intolerant.

This fact shouldn’t surprise us, nor should it cause us to feel defeated. Quite possibly one of the new qualities Christians in the U.S. will need to develop in the years to come is the courage to be OK with not being liked… and possibly even being hated.

2. Marriage is still marriage.

Marriages are based upon the sacred vow of love and life-long commitment between a man and a woman. God created this covenant for the purpose of bringing Him glory, providing great fulfillment and joy in the relationship between a husband and wife, and bearing children that would also bring fulfillment in the family and glory to God. Up until yesterday, this union was recognized by the state as a “marriage”.

While the state may recognize the marriage union, it doesn't create it. So even if the state does not define marriage as we do, that doesn't change what marriage is. No matter what anyone says- including the Supreme Court- marriage is, well, marriage. Laws don’t define marriage. The court doesn’t define marriage. God does. God did. Marriage is not up for a vote- it’s been decided.

Just because I call an airplane a boat, doesn’t make it a boat. Its very form makes it what it is. And to change its form makes it something it is not. Likewise- just because I call a committed homosexual relationship a marriage doesn’t make it one, and just because the state recognizes it as one, doesn’t make it one either. So, in this sense, it’s logically impossible to change the definition of marriage because in essence and from God marriage is between a man and a woman and always will be.

3. Watch out for the Thought Police.

It’s amazing to me how intolerant people can be in the name of tolerance. There may come a day (either soon or years from now) where the government may try to force religious institutions to embrace socially acceptable norms that we find immoral. In other words, there could be a situation where a church might be sued for being unwilling to perform a ceremony for a same-sex union. Think it’s crazy? Well, it’s already near…

- Christian photographers Elane Photography in New Mexico were approached by a same sex couple looking to hire a wedding photographer. Elane Photography politely declined citing their Christian faith and were sued by the couple under the state’s anti-discriminatory laws, and won. The case is now on appeal.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/elaine-huguenin-photograp_n_1572676.html

- In Lexington, Ky., a T-shirt shop called Hands On Originals was approached by the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization about printing shirts for the group. The T-shirt company politely declined and even sought out quotes and gave the group referrals to other T-shirt printers, along with comparable prices. They were promptly sued by the group under Lexington’s anti-discriminatory laws and forced to comply with a lengthy investigation. The city now has told school districts to freeze their business with the privately owned company.

http://www.kentucky.com/2012/11/26/2421990/city-rules-hands-on-originals.html

- A Methodist church in New Jersey was sued for not offering its facility for use during same-sex weddings. A judge ruled against the church.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/judge-rules-christian-facility-cannot-ban-same-sex-civil-union-ceremony-on/

- A same-sex couple from California sued a Hawaiian bed and breakfast privately owned by a Christian woman for not allowing them to rent a room. The Hawaii First Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the couple.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/hawaii-bed-and-breakfast-lesbian_n_3092203.html

- A bed and breakfast in Alton privately owned by a Christian couple was sued when they would not host a same-sex civil union ceremony.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/23/gay-couple-sues-illinois_n_827115.html

- Catholic Charities was barred from assisting in adoptions in Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and Illinois and excluded from future contracts because it declined to consider same sex couples.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/illinois-bishop-says-stat_n_933996.html

It seems that for many in the gay rights community it’s not enough for us to be tolerant of their behavior. We must agree with it. Since this is true, they seek to punish and silence those who refuse to surrender their belief that marriage is between a man and woman. That means changing our traditional institutions to fit within their moral box thereby force-feeding their beliefs upon us. From their standpoint that means that we must change the Boy Scouts, we must change marriage… and quite possibly in the future, we must change the church.

You should know that we at The Brook will always stand upon the guidance of the Word of God, and the conviction that the God who loves all is the God who also instructs us in how to live morally. Homosexuality, along with many other sins in the world, is immoral and it's a choice. We just won’t be able to ever compromise these facts. Are people in homosexual relationships people? Of course! Are many of them loving, kind, gentle and generous? Of course. Are they people worthy of our love and respect for what many of them give to others and for what many of them have achieved in life? Absolutely. But their chosen lifestyle stands against God’s design for sexual relationships and marriage.

Disagreeing about what is acceptable moral behavior is not judgmentalism. Judging moral behavior is not judgmentalism. Judgmentalism is when I condemn another person (not just their behavior) without any regards to the fact that I have sin in my own life as well and that they have no hope for grace in Christ. It is when I compare myself in self-righteous ways to others and then look down upon them from my moral pedestal to condemn them as people, rather than solely assess their behavior.

We need to understand judgment from judgmentalism. For far too many times we condemn the individual that we are called to love, and we lack the maturity to separate our judgment of immoral behavior from being judgmental of the person. Alternatively, far too many times we cower in fear of speaking against matters of ethical and moral choice because we don’t want to be seen as judgmental, or we want to be liked, or we know we’re not perfect either. We must learn the courage and wisdom from God to find the balance between these extremes.

4. The sword cuts both ways.

We are all sinners saved by grace. I have sinned, I sin daily and by God’s grace, I find forgiveness each day. In this sense, I am in the same predicament as the homosexual. Jesus stated, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) That statement levels the playing field doesn’t it? Leveling the playing field was part of Jesus’ intent here. He was seeking to communicate both here and throughout the Sermon on the Mount that not a single person is exempt from sin… and that not a single person who turns by faith to Jesus is exempt from God’s grace.

Here’s the point: Every time we make a judgment of someone else, we must first look at ourselves. Remember, the log and speck syndrome I spoke about in church just a few weeks ago (Matthew 7:1-5)? Jesus’ words about judgmentalism in this text and the log and speck do not mean that we are not to make moral valuations and judgments. As I pointed out in the sermon that day, later on in that chapter He encourages making moral judgments about pearls before swine (vs. 6), about false teachers (vss. 15-20), and about foolish living (vss. 24-27). We certainly are to make moral distinctions. What Jesus conveyed was that when we make moral judgments, we should do so only with a clear evaluation of our own sins and not through self-righteousness. When we judge in the way Jesus prescribed, we will then have humility in our valuation so as not to judge inaccurately or hastily, and we will possess a grace that should always accompany our evaluation of other people’s moral behaviors.

In conclusion, while the Supreme Court’s decision is unfortunate, God is still on His throne, we still know right from wrong, we still have the joy of the Lord as our strength, and we know that we must have courage to prevail in troubling times.

Remember also that the true place of victory in these moral battles is not in the congress and the courts. The battles are truly won only in the hearts and minds of people. If we will live as the children of God and be the hands and heart of Jesus to the world, many will come to place their trust in the God who receives them just as they are and then who makes things morally right within. He changes the heart; then changes the mind.

The mission field is ripe for harvest and this decision by the court should remind us to quit trusting the government to make the world a better place. Instead, trust our Father in Heaven who is still in the business of transforming human hearts and using people like you and me in that process.

Excited for the Mission Field!

Pastor Mike

Our Mission- Pure and Simple

2013-06-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Years ago after the initial invasion in the Gulf War I was watching a news program in which they were interviewing a former military general. The reporter asked, “As the war reaches this stage after a resounding victory in the invasion, what are some things we need to be concerned about?” The general said, “What’s most important as we go on- and this is true not just for the military, but also for the American people- we need to be mindful of mission drift and avoid it.” The reporter asked, “What is mission drift?” The general replied, “Mission drift is when we forget why we’re fighting this battle in the first place.”

That was a stunning statement and one that I immediately applied to the church. I realized how often churches seem to lose their way. In the beginning stages, vision and mission is prominent. Then, after the initial victory and the excitement of a new start, programmatic and bureaucratic elements set in. As the church grows, needs arise and problems develop. The immediate response by leadership is to put systems in place that will relieve ambiguity and tension. Consequently, a form of maintenance takes over. Rules, management, and organization become the focus, which then by default robs the church of its attention to mission.

Why is mission so important? It is the mission of the church that gives it a sense of destiny and purpose from God. It provides that spiritual heartbeat that connects all that the church is doing in terms of God’s will for them. Since this is true, it is the mission that unifies the church in heartfelt community.

Our mission here at The Brook is clear and it comes from Jesus himself:

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

We’ve stated Jesus’ command to us in this way… “The Brook exists to make authentic disciples of Jesus.” This is our mission pure and simple.

Now by stating this (and meaning it) we are committing ourselves to a set of beliefs and behaviors. By default, we are also explaining what we will not be about. Here are some key distinctions:

We will be about making disciples, not merely church attenders. We will be more concerned with church health than church growth. We will focus on faithfulness to God and not be primarily concerned with producing fruit (fruit is God’s job). We will be relationship-based not rules-based. We will commit ourselves to God’s purposes and God’s people, not chiefly to implementing programs. We will teach God’s Word with commitment and clarity. We will expect Christians to grow into Christlikeness. We will seek to love God wholeheartedly and love others with grace and sincerity.

This is who we are as well as who we’re not.

God is renewing a sense of calling and mission in my heart- but not in a corporate or programmatic way. To me it just simply means that all of us fall wholeheartedly more in love with Jesus.

For me it involves a deeper appreciation of God’s grace, an awareness of my own frailties and sin, a greater daily dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and an inner love for and desire for God. It's leading me to think differently and recognize more quickly what’s important and what’s not. It’s refreshing and life-giving. It also translates into what I feel for the church and the unique opportunity we share for this kind of genuine life and power that begins from within.

I think God is stirring up similar desires among many others in our church. As I meet with leaders and talk to people at The Brook, I get this prompting that God is working in all our hearts in some common way. It's hard to describe, but there is a common "God-thing" happening.

This has led me to pray for a spiritual awakening in The Brook-- and I want to ask you to pray for it also. What I'm talking about is a unique level of renewal that’s not about new programs or ministries, but rather about radically loving God.

God has been so good to us! He has brought us more people, more resources, more land, more leaders, more commitment and more facilities. We are seeing peoples' lives changed and hearts reunited to Him in authentic Christian faith. But let's be careful not to drift and be so impressed with what God is giving that we forget the One who is giving, moving, and providing.

So for the next few weeks and months let’s pray for something more and something different. Whatever it is and whatever it looks like- something from the Lord and for all us together. I know this “something” will help us remember who we are in our mission and more powerfully allow us to know what God has for The Brook Church.

I can’t explain fully what’s going on, and that’s ok. Let’s just all pray.

I love being with you and thank you for the joy of our church fellowship!

Pastor Mike

I Surrender All

2013-05-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

The ideas of the philosopher Plato (c. 428–347 B.C.) that came to be known as dualism impacted early Greek culture and marked a historic shift in Western thought. Dualism characterized the idea of two worlds: one the metaphysical, invisible world of form and reality, the other the material, visible world of appearance. In the allegory of the cave as contained in Republic, Plato speculates that the things seen in the physical world are not real, but are presented as mere shadows that mimic reality. This paradigm changed perceptions of truth in the west from his day forth. Men came to consider that life in mere physical form was a veil that could serve to conceal reality.

By the time of Jesus, this philosophy had so permeated the Greek and Roman culture that a number of its assumptions influenced ideas in education, religion, politics- even the theater which itself was born in the Greek culture. In fact, the term "persona" so often used today to represent the external facade of a person (pretense) comes from the large masks that early Greek actors would use to portray their characters. From Plato’s dualism came ideas that form is separated from function; the internal world is alienated from the external, and that self is compartmentalized into portions rather than seen as a whole.

Many of these core assumptions endured through succeeding generations and even saturate our own American culture today. In fact, they greatly characterize the way Americans generally think. People in the west tend to errantly believe that character (who one is) is completely separate from conduct (what one does), that private life has no relevance to public life, and that outer behavior says little about who a person is on the inside.

Perhaps the most well known example in recent history is President Bill Clinton. President Clinton seemed able to relegate his conduct with Monica Lewinsky into a category of its own. In his mind, his behavior and the lies associated with it had no bearing upon his ability to lead publically. Moreover, he was repugnant toward those who might suggest that his private actions would lead to public distrust. He compartmentalized his relationship with Lewinsky convincing himself that his relations with her were neither sexual nor related to his performance as president. Political leaders defended the president stating that personal and private conduct had nothing to do with public leadership. Disturbing polls at the time seemed to indicate that a majority of people believed the same.

The ancient Hebrew faith of the Bible does not embrace such duplicity. While certainly the Jews understood the distinction between body and spirit (or "heart"), they believed each was inextricably connected to the other. To them, actions flow from character, character is shaped by actions, and “who you are” is a matter of both.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

In Hebrew thought, unity and oneness comprised existence and a person’s conduct was not separate and distinct from self, but was his or her truest reflection. Deeds were the external, congruent expression of an internal reality. Behavior was connected to belief; conduct connected to character, and what was practiced on the outside defined in a rather basic sense the very nature of who one is. For the Hebrew, the whole is contained in each part, and each part contains the whole.

For example, the plurality and oneness of the godhead was so assumed by the Jews that it is not even well explained in Scripture. As westerners, we struggle with the idea of the Trinity and come up with all kinds of metaphors to help us reason it. However, that three exist as one in the Hebrew mind was not a logical problem at all. This is evidenced by the plural “elohim” used as a name for God in the Old Testament.

This holistic mindset is also seen in the idea of sin. To the Greek sin is separated into a supposed compartment of the individual’s existence that has to do with his moral acts. To the Hebrew and Christian, sinfulness pervades the whole being of man (as Paul sought to explain in the book of Romans). Sin is not a particular act, deed or event (as the Greeks might believe), but involves the very nature of the person. It’s the difference between committing a sin (as we might think), and being a sinner (as we actually are). Christ as we learn, didn’t die for sin, but for sinners.

There may be no greater example of the pervasiveness of dualism in Roman thought than that startling moment when Pilate washed his hands after condemning Jesus to death. He innately believed that he could assign accountability to others for what he did and separate his decision from his responsibility. Is this not a mindset we see in leaders today?

Jesus himself combated this compartmentalized way of thinking that characterized the priestly order and leaders of his day. He directly connected inner character to external conduct:

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” Matthew 7:16-18

“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Matthew 15:17-19

Jesus fused the fruit to the tree, and the words of a man’s mouth to his heart. In essence he stated that a person is wholly defined by the sum of the parts of his or her life- and moreover, that one incongruent part can corrupt the whole. While in the short term an individual may be able to prop up some measure of incongruence between character (form) and conduct (function), in time the truth about who they are is exposed in their actions (or as Jesus would say, “By their fruit you will recognize them.”).

So remember this week that how you define and measure yourself cannot be fractured into separate parts. An area of decay in one portion of your life indeed affects the others. Giving God only part of our lives and not the whole results in an individual who is divided and lacking integrity. In fact, Jesus would declare that a person like this really hasn't given himself or herself to Him at all. You see if Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. Which also means this-- to withhold something from Jesus means in reality to withhold everything. As hard as that is to grasp, this is the teaching of the Bible. It's not only illogical to give part of who we are to Christ- it's impossible.

Jesus wants it all- not part; not portions; not segments; not the easy parts. Everything. Your time, money, marriage, kids, career, attitudes, devotions, etc.-- all as a bundle laid at the feet of Jesus in full surrender. This is the truest form of authenticity for the Christian. And herein lies the power of Christian living-- surrendering all we are, all we have, and all we practice to the Lord Jesus. What are you holding back and hiding from God? Can you say to Him today, "I surrender all"?

God's Continued Work...

2013-05-01T12:18:00.004-07:00

In the spring of 2012 we engaged our church leadership in a visioning process along with a church-consulting firm that culminated in a Master Plan for expansion and ministry priorities for the next 8 – 10 years. The plan (information is located in the lobby) includes a children’s ministry facility, a worship center, rooms for Sunday Bible Fellowship Groups, offices, the renovation of the existing building for student ministry, and a beautiful water feature for baptism and retention. While the plans are not rigid expectations of exactly how everything will look, they do provide a template for us and a way to pray into our future. They also help us identify a step-by-step strategy for implementation.

The first part of this strategic plan was acquiring the adjacent 6 acres of land on Spring Cypress. It’s been 6 months since that amazing 6 weeks last fall where we came together as a church to pledge our 3-year gifts in order to acquire the land. The road construction in front of the property is complete and I think we can all see the amazing benefit that this property will bring for ministry in years to come. What a blessing for the future family of The Brook Church!

I have received some questions from people as to “What’s next?” Well, my response up to this point has been “Nothing, right now.” After an intense time of communication and prayer in the fall of 2012, we have been able to simply rest in God’s gift and focus our attention on other matters. Your faithful giving has allowed us to be ahead of schedule in the pledge campaign. For this we are thankful!

Last week, for the first time since acquiring the land, the Long Range Planning Team began discussions about subsequent steps for the church. In our long-range plan, the next facility we build will be a building that will house children’s ministry and address other ministry needs. The process is so long and involves so many details we felt it right to actually begin talking. For example- if we are to begin to build in 2-3 years, then we must begin now to discuss many of the details. Good planning will involve 18 months to 2 years of talks, plans, consultation, and prayer.

So, I wanted you to know as our church family that discussions are under way and to ask you to pray for our church from the onset.

Here’s some other good news that we can pass along: Because of your faithful giving and generous hearts, we are able now to acquire a modular building for our student ministry. This building will be temporary and therefore will only be leased, but it will accommodate our ministry to teens in the form of worship, Bible study and recreation. This building will also have more space available for our Sunday BFG’s to meet. You should begin to see some changes to the landscape soon and we hope to have the building in place and ready to use in about 90 days.

God is good to us isn’t He?!

As we move our church into the future, please know that we do so in the spirit of building God’s Kingdom and having the courage and faith to follow Him. The sky is the limit for The Brook as to the life-change we can witness in people and the impact that we can make in our community. Find the faith within yourself to see the possibilities and to not limit what God could do in and through us together.

As we pursue these strategic steps and are careful to do only God’s bidding, I know He will move, and work, and provide even in more ways than we can imagine.

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mike

Why We're Switching Bible Translations

2013-04-03T14:41:00.002-07:00

The 1984 New International Version has been the Bible translation I’ve used at The Brook in my preaching and in recommendation to others since we began the church. As of this week however, after months of consideration and after prayer and counsel with others, I am switching to the English Standard Version as the preferred translation.

You might be wondering, “What’s wrong with the NIV?” The answer is, “Nothing at all.” I’ve loved the NIV for years and committed most of my Scripture memory from this translation. The 1984 NIV has been a great translation. It's accurate and up to this point it’s been the most popular and most widely used translation in the world.

However, a couple of years ago Zondervan, the New International Version’s publisher, announced that their 2011 edition would replace the 1984 edition. The 2011 NIV has been in print for a while now and stores are selling out of the last of the 1984 editions they had in stock, and are replacing them with the 2011 version. It is very difficult at this point to find the 1984 NIV in print, online, and in Bible software. I’ve already in fact had this experience in my studies and others have told me how they have not been able to find the 1984 NIV in print in bookstores. This is discouraging to me and the change prompted me months ago to consider switching translations. I’ve spoken to other godly people in our church about this as well and they believe the decision is warranted.

So what’s the big deal with the new 2011 edition?

About ten years ago the TNIV (Today’s New International Version) came out, and then was revised in 2005. The TNIV was met with a lot of controversy regarding its gender-neutral translation approach. Due to the controversy, the TNIV is out of print today. Yet despite the critical response the TNIV got, the translation of the 2011 NIV is based upon the TNIV. The result was a new NIV (2011 NIV) that is 39% different from the 1984 NIV (12,166 verses out of 31,101 have been changed). Words and phrases that were changed include “father” to “parent”, “man” to “person”, “he” and “him” to “they” and “them”, and “forefather” to “ancestor”. In some instances the change is not all that impactful or different from the meaning- but in all cases, the Hebrew or Greek words being translated are indeed masculine (he, him, father, etc.), not neutral (they, them, parent, etc.). So from a translation standpoint, the translated words are inaccurate.

Following the release of the TNIV New Testament in 2002, Biblical scholars Vern Poythress and Wayne Grudem evaluated it and cataloged over 900 translation inaccuracies. The bottom line is that the 2011 NIV does not represent an accurate translation of the written manuscripts and languages of the Bible. (For a comprehensive list of changes and inaccuracies, visit this website: http://www.slowley.com/niv2011_comparison/)

This of course is problematic to those thinking the NIV is a good translation (as it was until now), but only finding the 2011 version in print. Due to the literal inaccuracies and controversy of the 2011 NIV, as well as the inability of new believers and members to find the 1984 NIV Bible, I have decided to switch to a different translation in my preaching and teaching- the English Standard Version.

Why switch to the English Standard Version?

The English Standard Version was first published in 2001 and was the result of a collaboration of over 100 of the world’s leading evangelical scholars and pastors. Rapidly gaining wide acceptance due to its blend of trusted scholarship and readability, the ESV has become the fastest-growing English Bible in the world. (www.esv.org)

The ESV is “essentially literal” (or “word-for-word”), which means the translators sought to keep the precise wording of the original text as much as possible, as well as capture the personal style of each biblical author. Keeping the exact word order in every instance is impossible, since grammar, syntax, and idioms differ from language to language. Taking these differences into account though, the translators have produced a Bible that strives for “word-for-word” correspondence, but is also highly readable and fluid in English.

The ESV is a solid literal translation that is easy to read, and comes with none of the gender-inclusive controversy that the 2011 NIV has experienced. As a translation rapidly growing in popularity and endorsement, I have decided to preach from, and encourage personal use of the English Standard Version at The Brook. I also encourage all teachers at The Brook to use this as the translation from which to teach others.

To find out more about the English Standard Version, visit www.esv.org.

I apologize for any inconvenience this might have upon you as to the need to purchase a new Bible if you decide to do so. But, the time has come for a need for this change, and I know you'll understand how we need to stay true to the text. I hope this change will help us stay committed to the historical, grammatical, and literal accuracy of the translation of the Holy Scripture.

Pastor Mike and the Elders of The Brook

(Excerpts and stats taken from different internet sources)