Ju. Jones

I’m excited about our next message series, The Front Page.  We’ll be using current events to tackle some major issues.  Topics will include Natural Disasters, Bin Ladin, Same Sex Marriage, Westboro Baptist Church, and May 21st.  Prayerfully, this series will spark some healthy dialogue among those who attend.

Some times are efforts seem to bear little or no fruit. There are programs, relationships, and projects in our lives that seem to be more of a liability than an asset. We say to ourselves, “Why bother?” In Luke 13, Jesus told the parable of a man that had an olive tree in his vineyard. One day he came looking for fruit and didn’t find any. He said to vinedresser, “This tree has been here for three years and have bore no fruit. Just chop it down. What’s the use?” The vinedresser said, “Not so quickly. I’ll dig around it, add fertilizer, and see what happens. If it still doesn’t bear fruit, then chop it down.” Sometimes we give up too soon. We chop down trees before adding fertilizer and giving it chance. With our microwave propensity for quick results, we’ve forgotten that some things take time. We’ve forgotten that things don’t happen over night, but over time. If God doesn’t move quickly enough, we throw in the towel and move on to the next thing. Think on the person, business venture, church, or program you walked out on because you didn’t see the fruit that you anticipated. Then someone else came along, saw the opportunity, made the investment, and reaped the benefits. We could have experienced the same fruitfulness if we replaced giving up with some fertilizer. Before we grab the ax, reach for the fertilizer. We just may be glad we waited.

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity of huddling with our leaders.  We looked at John Maxwell’s, “Law of the Lid.”  For us to go to the next level as a church, we have to be committed to raising our lid as leaders.  The higher our leaership lid, the more influence we can have as a church.  Our application for raising the lid was Nelson Searcy’s One Year Personal Growth Plan. We don’t grow overnight, but over time.  We can either waiste our days or use them to make investments in our leadership.

Churches will always be criticized for the way they use financial resources.  This is especially true when it comes to products and projects that are costly, such as buildings and technological equipment.  Most of us have a standard as to what we consider to be reasonable spending.  Anything beyond that is considered a waste of money.  It’s natural that people will see churches spend thousands or even millions of dollars and say, “What a waste! All that money could have gone to feed the poor!”  As I was doing my New Thru 30 reading for today, I was reminded that Jesus’ disciples uttered those same words in Matthew 26:8-9.  A woman anointed Jesus body with very costly perfume.  His disciples thought that it was a complete waste of money.  Yet, Jesus taught them that it was not waste, but worship.  There are some things in ministry that will be costly, but if it’s going to help reach more people for Christ, make disciples, and help transform our communities, we can’t apologize for it.  I truly wish rental space was 50 cents an hour.  I wish that we could hire full-time staff for $500 a year.  I wish we could find five computers and two HD video cameras for a package deal of $50.  Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in.  As God provides the resources to accomplish your mission, use them wisely but unapologetically.

Starting today, The Bride is reading through the New Testament in 30 days.  This campaign/message series will be called New Thru 30.  The idea of New Thru 30 came from Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, who did at the beginning of 2010.  I’m look forward to what God is going to do and say to us as we dive into HIs word.  We used the song “Bible Break” by Stephen Wiley in our Sunday promo adds.  Interesting enough, Bible Break is from the first commercially released and distributed Christian rap album.  It’s reminder that the foundation of spiritual growth is the “old-school” disciplines of prayer and time in God’s Word.

The Bridge will be launching its new phone application tomorrow.  A few weeks ago, we launched a 1.1.11 campaign to help create buzz and build some momentum.  The Bridge App will be an online tool that works with your browser.  You will be able to download an icon to your phone, as well.  I’m really excited about the endless possibilities of this tool.  Individuals will be able to listen to messages, get church updates, sign-up for small groups and other environments, and much more.  Not only will it be convenient and user-friendly, but free of charge.  Can’t beat that! The app is a testimony of how God can use volunteers in amazing ways.  To all our volunteers, thank you for getting in the game!  You can click here to access the app.

I want to encourage someone today.  Remember, your labor is not in vain.  Sometimes we labor hard and fail to see immediate results. At times, we appear to work harder than those around us and achieve much less.  We talk to teenagers, but they don’t seem to listen.  We preach messages, but no one seems to apply them.  We challenge our friends, but they don’t seem to take us seriously.  We pray hard, but it seems like our prayers are hitting the ceiling.  We serve faithfully, but no one seems to reward or notice us.  Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  The passage states two things about reaping:  1) It happens in due season and 2) It happens if we don’t give up.  Sometimes we haven’t reaped because it’s not our season as yet.  When we give up, we abort the process before ever experiencing results.  When I was a kid, I planted many seeds without results: apples, green peppers, mangos; you name it, I’ve planted it.   One day, I decided to plant some tomato seeds.  Not only did the seeds sprout, but the plant actually bore tomatoes.  Talk about being on cloud nine!  If I gave up after my first or second planting attempt, I would have never reaped my harvest.  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

I always enjoy meeting new people.  Attending a Chamber of Commerce network breakfast this morning gave me the opportunity to meet business leaders in our community.  Events like these give you a greater sense of what’s going on in your community because you get to hear people’s stories.  Here are just a few:

• Someone that started her own parental consulting organization.  Not sure how it all works, but there are some parents that sure need some coaching.
• Someone who has an opposite story to me.  I started out pursuing music, but switched to pursue a greater love for teaching, preaching, and pastoring. He started out pursuing ministry, but switched to pursue a greater love for music.
• Someone who just moved to the area five days ago and presently looking for a church home.
• A Chamber of Commerce employee who went to my hometown as part of her honeymoon cruise.  I couldn’t help but light up inside as she ranted and raved about the same beach that my wife adores.
• Our church is located in a high rental community.  Met someone today that is passionate about helping people find apartments to rent.
• The owner of an ice-cream shop.  While most ice-cream shops carry flavors you can get anywhere, she runs a shop that majors in tropical flavors that you must get from there.
• Someone who triggered an idea that could translate in another way for us to impact the community.  Not sure if it’s something God would have us do, but it sure has been ringing in my mind since she mentioned it.

One of the greatest dangers in ministry is unwillingness to forgive. As leaders, there are many people that hurt or disappoint us intentionally and unintentionally. People you pour into leave you. People you trust betray you. People you challenge misunderstand you and gossip about you. Some cause division. Some are irresponsible. Some slander your name, church, organization, group, or anything else you lead. The offenses are too numerous to mention. Hebrews 12:15 says “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” I think this is true both publicly and in our hearts. Bitterness can defile a group of people when it not dealt with. I also believe that bitterness can defile us individually if we don’t deal with it in a healthy manner. Bitterness is a root that becomes a huge, fruit bearing tree if not uprooted in its infancy. The longer the bitterness lingers in our heart, the more complex it is to uproot. The biggest favor we can do for ourselves and those we lead is too forgive as soon as possible.