On Mission at Pan-Am Games

Last week Vicky and I returned from a mission trip to Guadalajara, Mexico where the 2011 Pan-American games were taking place. Our brothers and sisters in the Emmanuel Baptist Convention there were launching a major evangelistic effort in conjunction with the games. We went with a team of 17 from Greene County Baptist Association - 6 from NorthBridge and 11 from 6 other churches in the association. Our mission was to work side-by-side with our Mexican friends to share the message of hope in Christ Jesus.

Mission trips have always provided "spiritual marker" moments in my life and this one was no exception. First,  the team itself was incredible. They are rock solid men and women of God with a passion for proclaiming the name and fame of Jesus Christ! It was so much fun to get to know them and serve for 8 days together. They taught me a great deal about faith, love and sharing the message of God's grace. The ages of our team ranged from mid 40's to mid 80's and it was so cool to watch those well beyond retirement age laying it all on the line to advance the Kingdom of God in another culture.  Plus, having crossed the 50's line myself a year or so back and working with a lot of young church planters these days, it was nice to be in the younger half of the age spectrum for a change :)

As for the people, the pastors, and the churches of Guadalajara - they are amazing! God is clearly at work through them drawing this unreached part of the world to Himself. Written words are simply not enough to tell you this God story. You need to see pictures and video and hear the sounds of the city. Actually you need to experience what God is doing there for yourself. But that's another post for another time. In the meanwhile watch, celebrate, and please pray for the people and the churches of Guadalajara.

GIC2011 and more

What a great GIC2011. From the Opening Ceremony to the small group gatherings, serving projects and Sunday’s Celebration services, God certainly used our missionary and ministry friends to help us see more of His heart. I am so proud to be a part of a church that embraces God’s global mission.

We spend a lot of time encouraging each other to share Christ with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. We talk regularly about keeping our antenna raised to opportunities for spiritual conversations and about offering simply invites to church, group gatherings, and events. But God’s heart is for the world – all people – everywhere - not just Americans or those of us in southwest Missouri. And He’s chosen us for the 21st century. Unlike generations before us every church, every person can not only share Christ with their neighbor but can also have a global impact by helping declare the message hope in Christ worldwide.

If you’re a NorthBridger and haven’t yet indicated what God whispered to you last week about praying, going, and giving over the next 18 months, please use the GIC feedback card to share that with us. Those cards will be available again Sunday. Just fill one out and drop it in the offering box in the Giving Center. Later we'll share what God has said to all of us together as a church.

A huge thanks goes out to Lisa Holbert and our GIC team. It took an army of volunteers working in the areas prayer, hospitality, guest relations, technology, students, children, small groups, serving projects, meals, worship, and more. Thank you ! Thank you! Thank you! Only heaven knows the full impact of your service to Him and the church these past several months.

Sunday, October 23, we are going to launch a new teaching series that I'm very excited about. During this teaching we'll talk about what happens when this life is over. This series, called “What’s Next,” will explore what the Bible says about death, judgment, Heaven, & Hell. What’s true, what have we made up, what does the Bible say and what doesn’t it say? We’ll explore these questions and more during these 4 weeks. This would be a great series to invite a friend or co-worker to church with you. Maybe offer to take them to lunch after church and pray for them during this series that their heart would be open to God.

Don’t forget our Trunk or Treat party on Halloween night. This is always a huge community event for children and families on our parking lot. We’ll have rides, games, food, and lots of candy – and it’s all FREE. Invite all the families you know to this fun and safe Halloween alternative. Ed & Paulette Kitterman lead our terrific team of volunteers for this big event. If you can provide a game, serve food, park cars, or serve in any way that evening let them know by signing up this Sunday in the Café area. Maybe your small group would team up to provide a game. Come in costume or just be your self – but don’t miss this evening of fun and ministry!

Don’t forget to pray our mission team sharing Christ right now at the Pan American games in Mexico. We're looking forward to bringing a full report of what God has done through this evangelism effort.

It's an honor to serve our great God and Savior Jesus Christ with such a incredible church!

Blessings!
Pastor Michael

The Death of Bin Laden

Sunday, May 1, 2011 will likely be one of those days we remember for a while. If not the date then certainly the experience of hearing for the first time that America's military had found and killed our most wanted terrorist. I was sitting in my living room with my wife and our son who had stopped by for a visit. Suddenly our son looked up from his Blackberry and said it looked like Bin Laden was dead and President Obama was about to address the nation.

While we watched and waited for the president to speak a couple thoughts kept running through my mind. How am I supposed to feel right now? What should my reaction be? Now I knew what my initial reaction was - a mixture of satisfaction and joy sprinkled with a small measure of relief. What I didn't know was whether it was the right reaction or the best response as a Christ Follower. Then I began to wonder if my brain was trying to over analyze the situation. It does that occasionally.

After the president spoke I consulted the Twitter world and my Face Book friends to see what others were thinking. I thought about tweeting myself but after composing a couple different statements and deleting them I decided to wait a bit to pray and process what we were all experiencing. So here I am - the next day - sorting through a variety of thoughts and feelings and forming a few opinions in the process:

1. Justice has been done. America's most notorious enemy has been defeated. What made Bin Laden's behavior so evil in the eyes of the civilized world was that many of his murderous acts were against the most innocent in society. 9-11 was the biggest but certainly not the only example of that. Not only did he indiscriminately kill civilians including women and children, but he used women and children as human weapons to do it. War is one thing - murder is another entirely. He was a self-confessed, global mass murderer on whom society appropriately imposed the ultimate penalty.
   
   
2. One of the primary responsibilities of government is to protect its people. Logic follows and history confirms that the best way to do that is from a position of strength. When an enemy attacks a society that society better respond and be able to impose significant consequences on the enemy. Otherwise they invite more attacks from other enemies and will eventually fail in that primary obligation. This doctrine of deterrence has proven throughout history to be an effective strategy for maintaining peace and keeping societies safe from invaders. Bringing Bin Laden and his cohorts to justice is a part of that on-going effort.
   
   
3. Heaven does not celebrate the death of any person who dies without the hope of Christ. Therefore, as a follower of Jesus Christ, neither can I. Now I can't know Bin Laden's heart. But his words and actions indicated that he didn't know the one true God through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible is crystal clear on this point. Without Christ we are all lost to God for eternity. That's why God is incredibility patient and not willing that any should perish but that all should come to know Him through repentance (2 Peter 3:9). I know the Bible is full of stories of God bringing judgement and even death on the enemies of His people and those who oppose Him. But no where in those stories do I see God celebrating those deaths. Heaven does not open and angels don't burst into dancing and singing when people die without Christ - regardless of who they are or what they've done. In fact, I believe that Heaven morns the loss of another soul to Satan and Hell for eternity.