We're Going Crazy

The past eight weeks Life Bridge has embarked on a journey through Crazy Love, a book by Francis Chan. (We've even been ordering the "slightly imperfect" books because they seem to fit us.)

The journey has been amazing.

I've had the pleasure of watching this part of His Body change over the past couple months.  They're "going crazy."

Enemy Sightings?

"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:32-33 NIV84)

Every week I have the privileged of praying for the people of Life Bridge here in Valparaiso, IN.  Sometimes  people share requests with me face to face, through email, text, or other electronic media.  Usually, I stop right then and begin to pray for them.  Most of the requests, however, come in through "Connect Cards" that we have available to everyone during the church services.  It's a chance to connect with one another and with God.  I begin praying for those requests each Sunday afternoon.

Autoinvite

I was disappointed last week when I logged into the system I use for scheduling groups of people into groups for my prayer time.  The system had a notice telling me the developer were no longer going to support this software and I needed to move my data out of there.  It was a bummer, because I use that system to purposefully pray for over 500 people.  Now what am I going to do?

His Body in Action

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NLT)

This summer, we've been challenged by God to see His Body as being bigger than just Life Bridge Christian Church here in Valparaiso.  He's reminded us that His Church is living and active all over our city, county, state, country, and world.  He's stretched us to recognize His followers by their love, unity, and the fruit of their spirit.  He told us we will not be in His Kingdom simply by calling Him "Lord, Lord."

Eleven

I only have one God sighting this week, but it lasted all week long.  It still lingers in my head and continues to drive my 16+ hour days and ministry to each person I encounter.  It has to do with the number eleven.

Last week, as we were finishing our outreach at the Porter County Fair, I received a call from an old friend who used to attend Life Bridge before moving away years ago.  He was asking for a favor.  "A good friend of mine just lost his 11 month old little girl to leukemia.  They don't go to church or have a pastor.  Would you be willing to do the funeral?"  How could I say no?  The funeral was set for Monday morning at 11am.  I prayed and prayed during my preparation for this funeral, not knowing what to say.  I trusted that God would provide.

Then Traci told me about a text that she received.  "Brianna wants to be baptized!"  Brianna is an 11 year old girl who spends the summer here with her mom.  Her summer was coming to an end this week.  Before leaving to go home to her dad's house, she wanted to be baptized this week...on Monday.

The number eleven seemed strangely popping up all over the place: 11 months old, 11 o'clock, 11 years old.  It took my mind to another significant time when the number eleven was important: eleven apostles.  Don't get me wrong.  I know that Jesus chose twelve apostles, but one of them ended up betraying him for money.  Judas wasn't really a follower of Jesus.  He was a follower of self.  It cost him his life and, most probably, his eternity.  The other eleven, though, remained faithful.  They wavered, but repented of those sins.  They held on to their faith in Christ all the way to the end of their lives.  They will spend eternity together with Him.

It was then that I knew what to say.  I knew what Monday was to be all about.  It was a day to celebrate life.  Family and friends at the funeral heard about life, were encouraged to hear that their little girl was enjoying life with Him, and were encouraged to join her in walking with Him.  They heard that they can get together with her again at the "family reunion" someday if they will turn to God through Jesus Christ and accept life everlasting.

I went home, changed clothes, and went to the lake to baptize Brianna.  Once again, we celebrated life.  "Why do you want to be baptized?" I asked her.  "To wash my sins away and receive the Holy Ghost," she answered.  We talked some more.  She understood what it meant to receive life everlasting and the power to live life to the fullest today.  We went into the water and her mom and I baptized her together.  We celebrated life.

As the evening progressed and we continued with tasks like cleaning up after the Porter County Fair, planning the next sermon series, coordinating activities with the team, it all had a different perspective for me.  I saw God working in and through those activities a little more.  I saw people working together to bring life to the world around us.  I saw God at work.

The rest of the week has been filled with long hours, many phone calls, texts, and emails.  None of it has worn me out.  I find myself energized by Him - desiring to reach people for Him and bring them new life.  I don't want to be like the one who turned away from Him, betrayed Him, and then chose death.  No, I will be like the eleven: choosing to follow Christ, turn back to him when I fall, and spending all my time living the abundant life.

A Youth Group, A Poster, & A Vision

I had the pleasure of seeing God working in and through a youth group today.  Scott Avenue Christian Church in Newton, IL sent their youth group to help us in any way they could.  Before I arrived, they cleaned up the storm debris from our parking lot.  They were ready to serve!

After a short time catching them up on Life Bridge and our mission, they broke up into teams and went all over the place.  One team went back to the church building and set up the computers, projectors, and cables that had been moved for last weekend's service at the fair.  Other teams trained on all three trollies, learned the booth, and covered everything at the fair from opening till 4.  Then they regrouped to get ready for their next stop and more service.

Speaking to their Youth Minister, it was a blessing to share visions with one another.  They are raising up their youth with a heart to serve anywhere God's Kingdom needs workers.  

While listening to him, I also thought about our part of His Church - encouraging people to live out John 17.  I looked at the poster on the wall someone made specifically for the fair.  These weren't our visions for our local churches.  The visions fit together perfectly - almost like two pieces of a really big puzzle.  I love it when we see another part of His picture and how we all fit together.

What a blessing to see Him at work!

God Sightings

We started asking the questions a little differently at the booth.  

"What's your favorite thing about your church?"

The responses were amazing.  We heard about music, preaching, children's programs, mission work, people coming to Christ, friendships, Bible studies, and much, much more.

Then it hit us.  We asked another question.

"Would you be willing to write that down?

They were and they did.  
Now the booth is covered with Praise - Glorifying God from all of His Body.  
Now I can see God a little more clearly.
 
Praise God!

A Busy Building

When God first provided the "new" building almost two years ago, I remember someone telling me, "I sure hope we use the building a lot. It really gets to me when churches pay for buildings and don't use them six days a week."  I agreed.

 

When God provides resources, He expects us to use them for His purposes. It's such a joy to see that happen around here on a regular basis.

This morning, for example, the building is "hopping." A men's group used the building at 7:45 for a small group Bible study. Now there is a second small group meeting, people are painting shelves for the Porter County Fair, and others are cleaning in preparation for worship services tomorrow. In about 15 minutes, more people will be here to prepare for the Porter County Fair.

Its good to see people living out a walk with Him utilizing the resources He provides.

Participate in The Fair

It's fun to watch God working in and through His People.  On Sunday, we opened up a web site where people could learn more and sign up to help at the Porter County Fair. Look what happened!

Promoting His Church

Did you know that The Church in Porter County continues to grow and grow?  

Over the ten year span between 2000 and 2010, we added 25 new churches across the county.  Twenty four (24) of them identify themselves as "Non-Denominational."  

Wow, what a change!  

That means that 1 in 5 churches in our area is less than ten years old.  

How could anyone possibly know where they all are?