Leaving your past behind

For the last several years the leadership of EB, and the church board, has gone away for a few days to talk about where God may be leading his church over the next several years.  It’s always been a time where we have some fun together, but more so it’s about what the Lord wants to do in and through the people of EB.  Every year I’m amazed at how God speaks through each person there and ultimately how he gets all of us headed in the same direction.  And with about 25 leaders in the room, that can only be explained as an act of God.  I can’t fully express how excited we are at what lies ahead.  We don’t know why God’s hand of blessing is on EB, but it is, and we simply want to stay obedient to what he’s called this church to do; reach people for Christ and help grow them in their faith.  Lord willing, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

This weekend I’m talking about the next cliche, “leave your past behind.”  Sounds good, even biblical, right?  In part it is, but according to the Bible there’s a right way and a wrong way to “forget” our past.  One way free us up to grow emotionally, spiritually and relationally, the other way doesn’t.  If you’re not at a cabin make sure to be at church this weekend because this is a message I can’t wait to give.   

I’m enjoying this series (maybe a little too much)

When we planned this series months ago I expected it to be good, but I didn’t think I’d be enjoying it this much.  Let me explain.  I like talking with people and hearing stories about what God is doing in their life, but often I will hear one of the cliches we’re talking about it this series.  I’ll hear things like, “I know God wants me to be happy,” or “I just need to give it to the Lord.”  And while there is a nugget of truth in these cliches, at times people will use these as excuses or rationale for their behavior.  I then have to, as lovingly as possible, explain why God may not want them happy or why just giving it to the Lord won’t work.  Bob is speaking this weekend on this cliche, “Just give it to the Lord,” and I can tell you this message is “in his sweet spot” (to use another cliche). 

I do want to mention the Relevance Conf that Eagle Brook hosted last week.  In short, it was an incredible day!  Over 700 people from 96 different churches and organizations gathering to get better together.  The worship was phenominal, Bob’s teaching on leadership gave great advice to church leaders, and our volunteers are the best. I love it when people take the day off of work to volunteer and when I ask them why, they say they want to help the kingdom grow any way they can.  Have I mentioned I love this church? 

Finally, I’ll ask that you pray for the leadership of EB.  This week we’re going on our yearly retreat with the church board to talk about what God may have in store for EB in the future.  While we’ll have some time to just hang out and have some fun together (bocce ball, “Mafia,” and a bonfire), pray that God will speak to us, and guide our time as we look to Him for direction. 

Relevance Conference

I am fired up for this years Relevance Conference which is Thursday May 8th.  Once a year churches from around the 5 state area get together at Eagle Brook to talk about how to get better together.  We talk about how to get better at leading, serving others, teaching, and creating ministries that are trasformational.  We talk about how to get better at creating environments that communicate God’s truth in a relevant way, so that we can reach people for Christ and then help them grow in their faith.  It really is an incredible one day event where churches from many different denominational backgrounds come together, learn from each other, and ultimately focus on what matters most, reaching our neighborhoods, cities, state and world with the transforming message of Jesus.  (Can you tell I get pumped up for this?) 

Imagine for your friend or family member who feels like Eagle Brook is too far away, what if you knew there was another church in their area you could recommend.  The kind of church where they can’t wait to go back.  The kind of church where the Bible makes sense and the worship moves them to tears.  The kind of church where they not only understand what they’ve heard, but they can apply it to their life.  The kind of church where they walk away saying, “It was like God was speaking directly to me today.”  The kind of church where their kids love going to as well.  The kind of church where people are connecting with God and with each other and becoming authentic followers of Christ.  How cool would that be?! 

That’s what the Relevance Conf is all about.  It’s about helping each other become churches that carry out the Great Commission.  We don’t have all the answers, but we want to share what we’ve learned along the way from both our successes and our failures.  It should be a great day. 

3 groups of people

After last weekends message I’ve been spending more time on the “Elephant in the Room” blog, but there’s one more thing I have to say about the “Living (together) Room” message.  When it comes to living together and having sex before getting married, people seem to have one of three reactions. 

1. They loved it and want EB to speak on this topic more often.  2.  They recognize they’ve messed up in this area in the past (or present) and want to do something about it.  Or, 3. They think we’re wack jobs and totally disagree with what we, and the Bible, have to say, and think living together is no big deal.  And this week I’ve heard from all three groups.

The reason I feel like this past weekends message was a “success” is because I heard from a number of people in that second group who felt like God was speaking to them and want to make some changes in their life to set their current relationship or future marriage up for the best possible success.  Several singles have chosen not to date for a year, so that God can heal and repair their intimacy factor.  One couple, who are living together, right after the service went to look for an apartment so that one of them could move out.  And two couples who are currently living together have decided to get married.  That’s God at work in the lives of His people, and one of the many reasons I love this church. 

 

Elephant or no elephant?

I’m speaking this weekend on one of the “elephants in the room.”  The problem is the elephant I’m talking about doesn’t really feel like an elephant to a lot of people.  I just wrote a full post on the blog dedicated to this series.  To read it go to: http://ebcelephant.wordpress.com/