The Twelve Teams of Life Bridge (Part 1)

I was just listening to my favorite version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” again to get me into the season.  I think I enjoy it because I used to be in an acapella singing group many years ago with my dad.  I also think I enjoy it because their version seems a bit ADHD, but really pulls a lot of fun references together into one Christmas song.  In the end, it makes beautiful (and fun) music.

Priorities, Process and Progress

Long before opening day of Life Bridge Christian Church, we were prayed for by people over a ten year time span.  They prayed for God’s timing.  They prayed for God’s leadership.  They prayed for God’s provision.  God answered all of those prayers with a resounding, “Yes,” so that the timing was 2003, the original leaders were called from Ohio, Oklahoma, and Indiana, and the money was provided to begin services open to the public on September 28, 2003.  Two hundred people attended on that day.  God had faithfully provide all three (wisdom on timing, leadership, and financial resources) ever since.

Clean Whiteboard

I love whiteboards.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t love whiteboards like I love my children, love my wife, or love God.  But still, I love whiteboards.  There’s something about a whiteboard that communicates, “Let’s collaborate. Let’s imagine.  Let’s plan.”  Some of the people at Life Bridge are convinced that my last name, Kersker, is just the German word for whiteboard.  (Actually, the German word for whiteboard is “Weißwandtafel.”  I looked it up.)

A Better Top

Traci has been working with different groups of people on a project.  She took old CD’s and DVD’s we had left over at Life Bridge, painted them, added a marble and plastic cap to them, turning them into tops.  They’re really cool.  They spin much longer than any top I remember having as a child.  They handle resistance better, the connection to the ground is more stable, and, best of all, we built them using materials we already had available to us.  So, they spin and spin and spin and spin.  These tops will be one of the many gifts we send overseas through Operation Christmas Child.

Over the past 12 years, now, we have been designing and creating a “better top” of sorts.  I’ve long since recognized that the our ways of empowering and equipping people to walk together with God have very real limitations.  We, the church in the West, have fallen into a style of being and doing church that makes it too easy to fall over and grind to a halt.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to leave this life and look back only to find that my life’s work fell over and ground to a halt so easily.  No, we needed to design a better top.  Interestingly enough, we don’t need to build a better top.  We simply need to build the top using the Original Builder’s design.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved--even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15 NIV)

This Sunday (November 15, 2015), I will have the privilege of sharing a vision for Life Bridge Christian Church as it moves forward.  The vision may sound similar to those you have heard before but, for those of you who have been paying attention, you will notice a real difference:  It’s time to make the tops.

I hope you can join us this week.  It will be exciting to see where God takes us from here.  Services are at 9am and 11am Central Time here at our local building.  Should you be away at that time, you can watch one of the services Live (well, with a 40 second delay) at http://lifebridgealive.com/EncounterGod/Online.  Should you miss it, you will be able to watch the service this week at the same link. I hope to see you there.

Chili, Papers, and Plans

I’m watching Traci mix up a batch of Cincinnati-style chili.  (It’s her own homemade recipe.)  This is kind of a pattern in our household.  We make a batch of something kind of big and then eat off of it throughout the week.  This week, it’s Cincinnati-style chili.  Mmmmmmmm. I love it.

I consider this batch of chili to be kind of a celebration for me this week.  I had a paper due for my evangelism class and I can’t begin to talk about the number of roadblocks that tried to get in the way of writing this paper.  I’ve never worked so hard to get a paper written, but it is done.  So, we celebrate!

I think this paper was difficult to write for two reasons.  It didn’t have anything to do with the length requirement (25-30 pages).  It had to do with the process.  The first part of the paper was spent analyzing our culture: Porter County, Valparaiso, and Life Bridge Christian Church.  (How would you like to try to put into words what we do at Life Bridge?)  The analysis phase was tough because it took me on the roller coaster ride of the past twelve years.  Every up and down was relived in my mind as I was watching videos, looking at statistics, and remembering relationships.  Some of the things that we did worked great.  Others were an abysmal failure.  Needless to say, I needed my own bad-box class to get through the process.

It was also difficult because of the requirement for the second half of the paper.  I was asked to write my theological and philosophical framework for moving forward.  Then, I was asked to detail our strategy: what is the plan moving forward.  Beside the normal, “If you want God to laugh, tell Him your plans,” the strategic planning phase took a lot of reading Scripture and prayer.  This phase was tough because of the analysis done in the first phase and as well as where God has been leading me for the second.

By the time I completed the first phase, our mistakes…my mistakes…were quite obvious.  I could easily see where I had missed the mark and not followed God’s lead.  I could see other places, though, where we had been faithful to God’s leading even though the storms were intense and the spiritual battles fierce.  The numbers confirmed what God promised in His Word and through His Spirit.  God was faithful.  When the dust settled, I could clearly see God’s faithfulness through it all.  Looking back, I learned one principle loud and clear: Follow God no matter what.
I needed to learn this principle because of the planning portion of my paper.  I could get past the mistakes of the past by thinking of Thomas Edison.  As the story goes, he was fired from his first two jobs for being too stupid and unproductive.  His first 1,000 attempts at creating the light bulb failed.  Yet, he made it through.  I’ve made mistakes in the past, but they were all in an attempt to learn how to create a “light bulb” of sorts.

Looking forward, though, I needed to remind myself of Fredrick W. Smith, founder of Federal Express.  As his story goes, he wrote a paper for Yale University laying out the plans for FedEx, citing the changing times and difficulties faced in the industry.  His professor gave him an average grade.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I know that my approach to church, discipleship, evangelism, and empowering people is unique.  I know that the places I am pointing us do not match the models of other churches, teaching ministries, or evangelists of the recent past.  The vision I am sharing with us, however, is exactly where God wants us to go.  It’s Biblical.  I have peace from His Spirit whenever I pray about it, even in the details.  It matches our experiences from the past twelve years.  I know it will work.

I know that our part of God’s plan will not be for everybody.  It will, however, serve a lot of people.  It will serve them by serving one person at a time.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be like Cincinnati-style chili.  It won’t be for everybody, but the ones who like it will absolutely love it.  However it looks over time, we can be sure of one thing: it will glorify God and empower people.  I’m ready to go make some chili.  How about you?

How to Get Money

God owns everything.
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; (Psalms 24:1 NIV)

Often times our approach toward money starts with the person or persons who have the money.  Maybe it's your parents or the small business owner who gave you your first job.  Perhaps your sights are set a little higher in a bigger organization, so you focus on the education, the relationships, or the politics necessary to move up.  Someone might, as an example, try to get the connections and training necessary to work at NASA because of their 18 billion dollar budget or because they have spent over a half a trillion since their creation in 1958.

There's a big bucket of money to tap into there.  But how does the result of NASA's work, travel to the moon and the planets, compare to the actual moon, planets, and stars?  God's budget is much, much greater.  There's nothing wrong with wanting to work at NASA.  Just do it because you are good at science and you enjoy space exploration, not because you want a piece of the financial pie.  When it comes to financial resources, turn to the owner of everything as your starting point.

God wants to provide what we need.
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (Matthew 6:31-32 NIV)

God wants to provide for our needs.  This is good, since God owns everything.  We would be in bad shape if God wanted to keep it all for Himself.  But He doesn't.  God knows our needs and wants to provide for them.

We should ask, ...

Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11 NIV)

There's nothing wrong with asking God to provide.  In fact, this simple act serves as a great reminder that God owns everything.  It is good to turn to God, rather than a person, organization, or institution, for provision.  God may provide through a person, a company, or an organization, but God is the one who really provides.

...work for Him...
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)

This is where things start to get difficult for folks.  We can choose whether or not we will accept God's provision by our decisions to follow God or not.  When we rebel against God, God does not promise to provide.

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28 NIV)

When we work for God, He does promise to provide for our needs.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. (Ephesians 6:7-8 NIV)

It's completely up to us.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

...(His Kingdom...

"This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10 NIV)

Seeking God's Kingdom does not mean leaving a job in the private or political sector to work in a church.  What it does mean, however, is that we actively participate in God's Church to work as Christ's Body to go and make disciples of all nations.  Seeking his Kingdom is active work.  We invite people, make coffee, prepare music, create videos, worship together, study Scripture together, fellowship, feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, visit prisoners, teach children and youth, and much, much more all to participate in God's Kingdom work.  This happens whether we have a "real job" or not.  This is seeking His Kingdom.

...and His Righteousness), ...
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:12-15 NIV)

Seeking His Righteousness does not mean that we become a Bible-thumper who quotes Scripture at people with every sentence.  It does mean, though, that we live by His Word and walk by His Spirit.  We do not compromise our integrity whether we are alone, looking for employment, working for an employer, or together with family or friends.  No matter where we go, we are to be the same people: people of God.

...and thank Him for His provision.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17 NIV)

When we seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, all these things are given to us.  God provides for all our needs because we are working toward His priorities.  It's kind of like helping a friend move and he provides pizza for the people who come to work that day.  We don't have to worry about getting food to eat so we can focus on the more important project at hand.  God not only provides the pizza, but the sense of fulfillment as well because God's projects are always really, really important.  So thank Him for both the pizza and the project.  They are both a gift from God.

Why I don't worry about money.

When I left Cincinnati, OH to move to a town I had only heard about because their University had a competitive basketball program, a lot of people started hanging around Life Bridge to hear what this new kid had to say.  People were interested in the new church God was calling us to plant, but more than that, people were interested in the transition our family was making.

Many of the discussions those early years were about money.  Folks were enamored by the fact that I had left a promising, well paying, career at a fortune 500 company to plant a church in a place I knew very little about.  I was glad people were asking, because it gave me an opportunity to talk about the impact God had on my life.  The reactions, though, were very mixed.  Either people were enamored by my dedication to God and His will or they walked away shaking their heads in confusion.  The second group didn't understand why I would have made such a "stupid" move.

An Approach

Life Bridge Christian Church in Valparaiso, IN is positioned perfectly to make a big impact in the world.  I believe this so much that I shared a new goal at our church services two weeks ago.  Life Bridge has always had the Mission, based on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, to empower one more to walk together with God.  Now, I shared with the church community, we will be putting another number to it.

We will be starting a new ministry at Life Bridge called "Garden Walk Ministries."  Its sole focus will be on empowering one million to walk together with God.  I half expected a bunch of people to walk out that day, but they did not.  I also half expected people to leave the church.  Instead, our weekend attendance, which is usually under 200, reached 248 this past week for the first time in a long time.  Maybe people aren't afraid of a God-sized picture.  To be sure, we will need to trust God with a picture this big.  Let me explain where this is coming from.

One million people (1MM) has always been in my mind, even before moving Valparaiso to plant Life Bridge.  It came from my background in business and an understanding of God's Mission for our lives.  You see, 1MM really wasn't that big of a number when I was in the business world.  Our little division of the company grossed over a billion (with a B) in sales every year.  I was used to working with large numbers.

I sat down when I was first going to Seminary, 15 years ago, and started running some numbers like I would do for work.  I was teaching a class at our church for the 3-5th graders that helped them receive Jesus as the Christ and their personal savior.  This class brought about 20 or so baptisms per year.  Praise God!  Then I started thinking things through.  What if I did this for the rest of my life (teaching a class or two a year).  That would bring hundreds of people to the Father through the Son.  Again, praise God!  I want to reach as many people as I can, so I started to run numbers for adding more classes, adding more people to the class, etc.  What I found was this:  I could potentially reach thousands and even tens of thousands this way, but that would be the limit of the ministry.

Tens of thousands may seem like a big number, but not when you consider what is happening in our world today.  There are currently over 7 billion (with a B) people on the face of the earth.  Over 300 million (with an M) are here in the United States.  Roughly 1/3 of these people claim to be Christian and the other two thirds are not.  I just read another article predicting that Muslims will outnumber Christians by 2050.  While I understand the logic they present, I do not agree.  You see, the article assumes that Christians will continue sharing the Gospel at the same rate and with the same effectiveness over the next 35 years.  This is where Garden Walk Ministries comes into play.  It's time to change our approach to engaging and empowering people to walk together with God.

Early on in my full-time ministry, I would hear church planters and other preachers talk about the "shampoo" vision.  Some of you are old enough to remember back in the 80's that there was a television commercial about shampoo where you tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on and so on.  Preachers would say, "What would happen if you brought one person to Christ and they brought one person to Christ, and so on and so on."  The vision was appealing.  Not only that, it seemed to match what we saw in the early church described in the book of Acts.  So, I checked into it deeper.

Being a computer and business nerd, I ran the numbers and in 20 years this pattern would, you guessed it, reach over 1MM (1 million) people.  In 33 years, Christ would be followed by over 8.5 billion (with a B) people.  In other words, if we started today, the entire population of the earth would be walking together with God by 2048.  All we need to do is bring one person to the Father through the Son each year.  Then they bring one person, and so on, and so on.

I've spend the past 15 years developing this approach and testing it out in Valparaiso, IN.  I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't work.  God has taught me through His Word and through practical experiences how to help people live out this vision.  Now it is time to start implementing what we've learned.  Yes, this approach is different from some of the church, and even church planting, work that has been done over the years.  It is not different from the approach taken by Jesus and the Apostles, though.  

As I lay out the Blueprints for this approach over the upcoming weeks and months, I hope to help you see that there really is nothing new under the sun.  God has always loved us.  God has always wanted us to walk with Him.  God has always provided a way for that to happen.  God has always given us special benefits and blessings when we do.  My prayer is that we will learn this approach, begin living it out, and then tell some friends and they tell some friends and so on and so on.  Together, we will empower one million to walk together with God.

First Glance

Last week, I reminded us all that Life Bridge Christian Church is a "large project" that required blueprints, and it's true.  We cannot effectively reach out to the 33,000 residents of Valparaiso, Indiana or the 167,000 residents of Porter County without a plan.  Thankfully, God has one.  Jesus told us what it is.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)

Jesus summarized and began an outline of the Old Testament for us.  He showed us that our objective is to live a life of love - with God first and all people (including ourselves, brothers and sisters, neighbors, and even enemies) equally.  This process is much like the slogan on the Othello game I've had since I was a child, "A Minute to Learn - A Lifetime to Master."  A life of love it is the only pursuit worthy of all our time, energy and effort to master.  It is a lifetime pursuing a walk together with God.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told us the other part of our mission.  You see, disciples are followers.  They learn the teachings of their master, and emulate them in their own lives.  Jesus was the only one who perfectly lived out this love for God and people.  We see this lived out in many ways and epitomized as he laid down his holy life for all people, even his enemies, in fulfillment of God's plan.  Jesus did whatever it took to empower people to walk together with God.  When he left, he passed this part of the mission along to us.  We are called to empower people to walk together with God.  That is our mission.

When the apostles and other disciples began living out this mission, it looked different in different places and times.  Ministries to the Jews had distinctives when compared to ministry to the Gentiles.  Cultural context required different ministries to men and women, slaves and free.  When we look closely, though, we find patterns that were the same across all cultural situations.  These patterns or principles, can be applied to our mission work even today.  The result will be a mission that is being lived out in our current culture, and yet will look like the same work that was carried out over 2,000 years ago.

Principle 1 - Remember what you are pursuing.

This principle must be first because it drives everything else we say and do.  When we think we are pursuing a large church, we will do whatever is necessary to make the church big.  When we pursue money, we will do whatever it takes to make the budget big.  When we pursue love, we will do whatever it takes to love God and people, overcoming any obstacle that gets in our way.  We can remember this principle by quoting Matthew 22 & 26, quoting a mission statement, or remembering a picture.  "The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame" (Genesis 2:25 NIV). This is a picture of Adam and Eve perfectly walking together with God - nothing hidden and nothing to hide.

Principle 2 - Join with others who pursue it.

This principle reminds us of the difference between the Church and the world.  The Church isn't about being a club and deciding who's out and who's in.  It's about pursuing God's mission for our lives together.  People determine for themselves whether they are out or in.  Those who are "in" pursue God's mission together as a team.  They function like a body.  They rely on one another like the foundation of a building.  Joining with others who are pursuing this mission builds energy and momentum.  It also helps when the attacks begin.  Remember, Jesus sent out his disciples two by two.  Many more than two would gather together to work toward this end.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:41-47 NIV)

Principle 3 - Pursue it.

This seems a bit simple, but it is not.  Pursuing God's mission will be met with resistance.  Eleven of the twelve apostles were put to death for pursuing it and the twelfth was sentenced to isolation on the Isle of Patmos.  So many people died in this pursuit that it caused a second century apologist, Tertullian, to write, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" (Apologeticus, Chapter 50).  Love for God and people must be the most important pursuit of our lives.  It is the only pursuit that will matter when we reach the end of this life.  The pursuit will take work.  The pursuit will take focus.  The pursuit will be a process even in our own lives.  But, as we live out the first two principles, our pursuit will not be alone.  We will help one another in this pursuit.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV)

This defines the Mission and Vision of Life Bridge.  We empower one more to walk together with God.  Together, we pursue God's perfect picture for our lives.  This gives us a blueprint for the foundation, anyway, of the church.  This is what people should see in us at first glance.

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:17-22 NIV)

Blueprints

Blueprints are a critically important part of a building project.  They communicate the picture of the space envisioned by the designer and architect.  They communicate the information required by the various committees and commissions who oversee and provide permits for the work.  They inform the financial investors of the costs involved and where the money will be spent. They give the details needed by the workers to actually bring the vision into reality.  Large projects simply cannot be built without Blueprints.

Life Bridge Christian Church of Valparaiso, Indiana is a large project.  Many of us who participate in it perhaps do not recognize the scope of Life Bridge, but it is.  Over the past twelve years, Life Bridge has served over 4,000 different people at weekend services.  We have baptized over 200 during that same time frame and 419 distinct individuals have worshiped at Life Bridge over the past 365 days.  In 2013, the average size of a church congregation was 89 people.  60% of the congregations in the United States average less than 100 people on any given weekend.  In addition to that, there is much discussion over the decline of Christianity in America.  Life Bridge, though, is alive.  It continues to be alive and well.  It continues to reach new people, serve our community, and bring Glory to God.  With this many people being reached, served, and encouraged, we must recognize the fact that Life Bridge is a large project.  We need Blueprints.

Blueprints used to exist for Life Bridge Christian Church even before the church had a name.  The newsletter was sent to mission-minded members of the Body of Christ who wanted to be faithful to God's Mission for our lives:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

In this original Blueprints, "It's purpose was to lay out a God's-eye view of what was going on...  It included Biblical, Kingdom-focused vision.  It included stories of success and challenges.  It also included numbers (financial, attendance, involvement) that showed us what God was doing, whether we considered those numbers "good" or not.  It also included Biblical teaching that helped us interpret the vision, stories, and numbers through the lens of God's Word, rather than the lens of the world.  It encouraged us to be faithful to the call God has placed on our lives.  It equipped us to empower one more to walk together with God." ("Business, Budgets, and Bad Boxes," God Sightings, 6/5/2015)

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NLT)

This is the new Blueprints.  It's purpose will remain the same.  It will still equip and encourage us as we empower one more to walk together with God.  Its format will simply be new.  Blogs and email newsletters are easier, more responsive and more immediately accessible than the old paper-style newsletter.  They also don't bring with them the financial and time overhead that went along with the old paper newsletter, making us better stewards of the resources God has entrusted into our care.  The mission is the same.  The tools are still focused.  The format is simply changing with the times.

He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." (Matthew 13:52 NIV)

Welcome to the new Blueprints.

I'm praying for you right now.
I'm praying for your ministry and participation in God's Mission.
I'm praying for your walk as you empower one more to walk together with God.