A couple weeks ago I finished a series called "Be Brave Now." Its something that has been on my heart as I look around at members of our church and in our community who have struggled or been confronted with hardships.
I especially have a heart for men - I want to help men get equipped to stand tall no matter what, to be brave in whatever season they may be facing. Our team took a clip from one of our services and we thought we'd load it here for you to be encouraged and inspired to be brave now.
It’s the end of October. Most of this month has been full of preparations for December. Its amazing how fast time goes these days – but especially how fast it goes when we’re in planning and executing mode around here at Champions Centre. I’m excited about this season – even though it can feel overwhelming at times. The past 7 days alone I have prepared and taught 8 different messages. I was at a conference with my friend Leon Fontaine last week, came home and taught our weekend services finishing up our God in a box series and then I filmed 2 of our “At the Movies” messages that will be aired in the month of December.
But, when I think about it – this is why I do what I do… I enjoy it. I live everyday to locate and communicate wisdom – so speaking and preparing and teaching and researching… all of that is right up my alley. I love the challenge. (And, I love the rewards of hard work – the entire month of December I won’t be preparing for a message because they will all be filmed and edited!)
Are you doing what you love? If not, why not? If so – remind yourself consistently why you love it!
Back in August 2003, a dream vacation to Europe and Bermuda to celebrate 25 years of marriage ended in tragedy when Sheila and I were in a motorbike accident on a major throughway in Bermuda. Sheila walked away with only a few minor scrapes, but I was glued to the pavement with a fractured pelvis.
In life things just happen. Not every bad thing in life that happens is caused by the devil. The devil didn’t cause my accident in Bermuda. The combination of inexperienced riders, narrow roads, left-side-of-the-road driving, fast-moving traffic, and bad judgment equaled a disaster waiting to happen. Sometimes the recipes of life include some not-so-good things. However, in those times, if you train your eyes to look for God, you will see that He is still at work.
The Bible tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Here is how we found God working on our behalf and for our good during that time:
•We didn’t go over the edge of the road or under the guardrail.
•There was a group of police officers in training jogging right at that instant and place of the accident. They had the accident scene under control within a few minutes and a couple of them even joined us in prayer.
•The guy behind us had a cell phone for an officer to use.
•The only hospital in the area was only a couple miles away (people bleed to death from pelvis fractures).
•At the hospital in Bermuda, I had a private room with a view of the ocean.
•One of the nurses who transported me back to Seattle had a daughter who attended our church and was praying for her mother to come to know God.
•Without surgery my pelvis healed with no long-term damage.
Sometimes seasons of our lives don’t look good. There were some scary moments throughout that season for our family, but we kept looking for God at work; and in the end, we saw that he really did work all things together for the good. I’ve learned sometimes as experiences touch the taste buds of our lives it doesn’t taste good. It’s not until it gets mixed into the recipe of God’s plan for our lives that we can realize… it’s all good.
I grew up playing team sports and love to look at life through the lens of that experience. It’s amazing to me to see how teams and teamwork is encouraged throughout the Bible. One of the first things Jesus did in his ministry was recruit a team. In Matthew 4:19 he says, “come and follow me…I will make you fishers of Men.”
What was Jesus doing? He was recruiting others to join him on his mission and encouraging them to recruit even more, naming them the church. This was the beginning of what I call Team Church.
I like this acronym for TEAM to describe what I believe God saw for all of us on Team Church:
A Tenacious Church: Think of a salmon pushing against an almost impossible and often bruising current to produce new life. People of the church who are fully committed and assertive, despite encounters of resistance, prove that God’s purpose will prevail.
An Enlarging Church: God saw a team of people supporting one another. Superbowl MVP quarterback Kurt Warner is known for his willingness to go above and beyond – mentoring his teammates’ growth. Much like Warner’s devotion to younger players, I believe the church will grow by thinking beyond today and becoming mentors to younger generations.
An Adaptable Church: “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” A man explained to me that he didn’t go to church because it wasn’t the same, even though it is actually doing much better than before. It’s easy for some to dig in their heels and refuse to adapt to progress in God’s kingdom. The more adaptable, at ease, and flexible we are, the more God can use every situation to do His work in us!
A Mission Conscious Church: There is a difference between a group and a team. A team is a group whose members are on a mission together and unite around a cause. In the case of the church we are spokespeople who promote God’s purpose.
If you are a believer, you belong in God’s house on God’s team. The difference in believing and belonging is whether to believe in the head coach or join his team!