Welcome to My Journey

First of all welcome! 

I hope you like this and me! Who am I kidding, I really don't care (that's the old in my talking.) I'm doing this for me. It's been a really tough year, lots of changes in and around my life, family, occupation, friends, view of God, everything, and this is going to be a way for me to clear some space out of my head. If you want to peak in on my journey and get a glimpse fine. Comment fine. Don't fine. I am choosing to write for me and in the process, figure out who I am as I am approaching fifty. I thought I use to live for an audience of One, then my wife, then my kids, I even preached it! I found out, I WAS living for an audience of one, it was me. I was 1st, 2nd, 3rd and on down the list in my life. I was wrong. 

I have had a tremendous season of loss. Loss of many things: the person I thought I was, the person who I thought I was becoming, relationships, churches, possessions, money, family, spiritualness, self worth and identity, just to name a few.

Let me tell you a little bit about what you will experience if you chose to journey with me (and as with any good journey, the destination will remain the same, but the route may change!) 

I think I am a pretty smart person but my grammar and my structure aren't always pretty. I was a lazy student growing up in this formative years of learning such things. Now I regret it. But this is going to be my raw download. My "english major" wife, I'm sure will fringe (by the way, I'm glad she is still by my side after all these years.)

This blog is going to be honest and raw. After all, I'm getting older and I guess when you get older you have wisdom and can just say it the way you see it! Here are the some of things & topics you may see in future post. Some serious stuff and some funny stuff but some stuff I just wonder about and even wrestle with on this journey:

My approaching mid-century age:

     Hair growing in places i don't want,

     I already went through puberty, while am I still getting pimples?

     The truth about cats.

     Why didn't I like myself earlier in life? I was much better looking, in better health,        could do more things, was friendlier and more free.

Thoughts on Society

Some thoughts I felt I couldn't share before because of my position: politics, gay marriage & gay rights, abortion, sin, the Church, Christianity, guns and gun ownership, legalization of cannabis or as all the young people call it, marijuana and many other topics.

Hobbies (may even include some recipes!)

These writing will be meandering. Not of a "preacherboy," but of a person trying to figure it out, trying to make sense of himself as he approaches 50. I always thought I wanted to be a spiritual sherpa, but I don't know what the start of that journey is--I will have to look at that apprenticing model! I feel I have learned some lesson in life and carry those life lessons with me in order to share my experience with others, much like a caddy. 

I hope you will join me.

Brett

What Does the Bible Have to Say About Effective Leadership (Part 5)

In the 5th installment we are going to look at " An Effective Leader Confronts with Authority."

I hate confrontation. I used to do anything to get out of it, but I have learned, if I want to be an effective leader, especially leading a Church movement, I have to be willing to confront. Hopefully, this will help you as well. These leadership principles are taken out of our manuals we use for our leadership development classes called NorthwestPassage.

The Effective Leader Confronts with Authority

Whenever God encourages His people to do something to expand the Kingdom, it seems like the potential for conflict follows behind. The leader is responsible for helping to maintain the unity and connectedness of those being led, and so chaos, conflict and evil must be confronted in the authority of the Spirit.

In Titus 2:15, Paul challenges the young pastor to "Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one look down on you."

Paul wanted Titus to be bold in confronting sin. And we are called to do that, if we are called to leadership. But to clairify, this does not mean that you as a leader have the right to equate, "opposition to the vision" with "evil." We need to be appropriately humble about the vision we believe God has given us, to be open to guidance from those who are wise, to make appropriate amount of room for those who might disagree with us. 

Does this mean that we should doubt the direction we believe we are receiving from God every time someone disagrees with us? Of course not. But we must realize that disagreement is not the same thing as sin. That being said, once people move from simply disagreeing to gossiping, quareling, and causing great pain to others in their quest to "be heard," we will need to be ready to confront and, in doing so, properly care for those whom God has given us responsibility.

NEXT UP: Part 6: The Effective Leader Pays Attention.

For more information, check out NW Passage or VantagePoint3 or send me an email.

 

Missional Layed Out

You want build build missional people? Want to build missional communities? Want to build a missional church? Do you want to be missional yourself? You don't know what missional is?

Them check out these books by Alan Hirsch! It is laid out in such a clear way in his books. Also, the books themselves layout a plan to move you into mot only a missional, but a missional mentality.

What Does the Bible Have to Say About Effective Leadership (Part 4)

In the fourth installment we are going to look at " An Effective Leader Provides Direction." We are just getting ready to launch another year of NW Passage. This has been one of the most beneficial things we've done for Whipple Creek and for the individuals. The 9 month process has helped each person learn more of who God is, who they are and what God wants to do in and through them. 

We challenge with questions and statements. One of the things we look at is Christian leadership in the Church. Here is our fourth statement. Do you agree?

The Effective Leader Provides Direction

The effective leader is the sort of person who, guided by faith, uses goals and strategies to chart a course of action. Effective leaders help their people find methods to accomplish the vision, which they believe God has given to them. Jethro illustrated this principle in Exodus 18:14-23 when he advised his son-in-law, Moses to delegate some of his authority to others and focus on the sorts of issues that only he could address (and boy am I learning this one!). 

Jethro recognized the need and then outlined a strategy that would allow Moses to be faithful to his God-given responsibilities. The capacity to offer this sort of guidance is a skill that must be developed. If wise action is to be linked to good vision, then strategy must be developed.

NEXT UP: Part 5: The Effective Leader Confronts with Authority.

For more information, check out NW Passage or VantagePoint3 or send me an email.

 

In His Grip,

 

Brett

Easter Passion Week

God is doing some amazing things here at Whipple Creek and in Clark County! We are very excited this week as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter. Here are somethings we'll be doing to engage our community. If you are in Vancouver, feel free to jump in. If you aren't in our vicinity, we ask that you pray for us as we try to make Jesus famous for the right reasons in Clark County.

We will be living streaming the Passion Reading starting at 9:00am Wednesday morning continuing until it has been completly read. 

Monday: 6pm-9:00pm Upper Room open for Prayer. You can have private prayer time with God or have someone prayer with you. Prayer intercessors will be available. The Upper Room will be open and available anytime the church is open. 

Tuesday: 7:00pm-8:00pm The Evidence for the Resurrection  class being taught by Jim Huntamer in the auditorium.

Wednesday: 9:00am The Passion reading begins.

                   6:00pm  Upper Room open for Prayer. You can have private prayer time with God or have someone prayer with you. Prayer intercessors will be available. The Upper Room will be open and available anytime the church is open. 

Thursday: 7:00pm We will gather at the church and form small teams to walk through our community praying for the spiritual, social, and physical welfare of our neighbors. We will end our prayer walk by sharing communion in the Upper Room.

Friday: 7:00pm Passion of the Christ: We will be showing "The Passion of the Christ" in the auditorium with a discussion afterwards for those who would like to stay. The movie is rated "R" for intense violence.

Saturday 9:00am-2:00pm Work day! We will be preparing the buildining and grounds for our Easter Services. Weed to your hearts delight; wield a power washer; hunt for cobwebs; touch up painting; windows washed; fun for everyone!

Sunday 10:30am and 3:00pm Worship with us as we celebrate the life of Jesus through music, video, speaking, and baptisms!

I pray you Easter is blessed and fulfilling to you and those you come in contact with during the week.

 

In His Grip,

 

Brett

<br />Live streaming video by Ustream

 

Mondering Pondering

As I'm in my office pondering the future for us, several questions flood through my mind about the kind of church we are and we want to be and who God is leading us to be--and more importantly how do we reach people? I guess you could ask it like this, how do we continue to be an engaging church that is embedded our community?

Who are the seekers and spectators and that we're hoping to engage? The 1st generation of the 21st Century is far different than any before. It's a group that has made more personal lifestyle changes than any other--due almost entireley to the advances in technology. And it's a group that has options.

We're calling to a culuture that devours makeover shows and to people who know "pimp my ride" means to make their vehicle as cool as possible. We're asking adults to give up time they could be spending in front of their 60" plasma screens, and we're asking their kids to lay down their video games, iPods, and iPhones, Xboxs, their technology to connect with us, and we with them.

But what do we offer? Remarkable experiences and initiatives that keep up and surpass those of our culture? How do we meet the needs of people with ever-shortening attention spans and ever-increasing expectations? How do we do all that and still keep our ministry focus and avoid feeding a "church mall" mindset? What is the best ways for us to meet the needs of our community? Can we do it alone? How is the model of the church need to change to meet those needs? Will other churches partner with us to make it happen?

Just some things I'm pondering as I seek God to take us where He bodly will in 2010 and 2011. 

Dream Year, You Killing Me.

I've always known God has given us dreams that only we can accomplish. I've known in order to accomplish those dreams there is a cost. Also, it takes guts, hard work, trust, and faith to accomplish that dream.

BUT I've learning new things along this Dream Year Journey: When God awakens that dream, when we gather others to that dream, that dream becomes a reality (not a new thought, but more realized now). God has been and continues to be involved in that dream long before we got involved.

I've learned that the dream, if it is a God-given dream, isn't just for us. Often, God has people, a movement if you will, in place to accomplish that dream. Sometimes, He may just use us as the catalyst for the dream to become real. And maybe, in the end for that dream to become a reality, we have to hand it off to someone else to accomplish it.

I guess my question is, are we (more specifically, am I) willing to hand over and entrust that dream which has been birthed in me to someone else in order to see it come to be?

Maybe once I have that figured out, I've learned what I've needed to learn from the Dream Year and maybe need to start asking, "What's next?"

faithbook

We started a new series last week at Whipple entitled "faithbook." Yea, it's kind of facebook with a lisp. After reading some of Barna's research and talking to some of our people and then talking to other Christ-followers, it quickly become apparent to me how Biblically iliterate we are as a Christian society.

So, we started as series to get people to stop neglecting God's Word and to start engaging in it. This Sunday we are talking about how accurate is the Bible, inspiration and all those things we are taught in cementary, I mean seminary. I ran across this video clip at Worship House Media. I kind of like and though I would share it on my blog. Enjoy.

In His Word & Grip

Brett

Life Comes at You Fast

While in Dallas, I meet a new friend, kinda. I've followed him on twitter, but have never meet him, you will here more about him this week. But anyway Rick (click to go to his site) hooked me up with this video. It boggles the mind. What does this mean for the Church?

Christmas Should Be Different

Christmas was meant to change the world.

It still can.

Worship more.

Spend less.

Give more.

Love all.

www.adventconspiracy.org

We're helping people to understand how to give better, that we should give like we've been given to from our Heavenly Father, so that it is more relational & purposeful.

There is a great missionary story of young missionary teacher that is teaching her class about how in her culture they give gifts. A week later the little boy brings back a sea shell. She understands that his village, his home is miles from the ocean, it’s miles from the beach.He would have traveled quite a distance to get this shell and bring it to her.

She looks at it, she loves but before she could even catch herself she says “you shouldn’t have done this. You shouldn’t have gone so far to get me this shell. It’s beautiful but you shouldn’t have gone so far.”

And the little boy, without thinking, looks back and says, “but the long walk was a part of my gift.”

Our giving should reflect the walk as well. A gift should change the relationship between the giver and the reciever--and that takes work. There are still some days left before Christmas, what is the long walk you need to take in order to give differently this Christmas? It will be worth it.

Call and Response--It's Our Call

A non-profit movie that was filmed, produced and released without the big hollywood hype and backing, is making a big showing. It is a documentary that talks about something we don't think could happen in the good ol' USA, but it does. Check out the clip here, go to the movie (it's currently playing in Porland) and then join Whipple Creek this Advent Season as we bring Christmas back to what it was meant to be--the light and hope of the world. Our focus during the Advent Conspiracy is going to be releasing girls from the sex trade in various countries. I will post more about it later. We are really excited to see what God is going to do.

Also, join us this Sunday starting at 8:30 am until 9:45 am for an all you can eat omelet feed. Following breakfast, we will worship and I will be probably giving one of the most controverial messages I have ever given--"is it okay for Christians to drink alcohol?" You are going to have to come and here this one. It's going to be a fun one.

Love you guys, still celebrating the 6 dedications and re-redications from last Sunday. That was awesome! I also have some exciting news to share about how God is fulfilling a long time dream I've had for our church! Whoo Hooo! Stoked for Sunday!

Brett

Where We've Been-Where We're Going!

I think it's time for good ol' old testament remembering. I was always struck by how God always had altars built to remember what he had done for His children. They would stop, worship and erect an altar of stone. I think as a church, we should do the same thing. We need to remember where we've come from, because it gives us a direction of where we are going.

We were recently asked "What has God been up to a Whipple Creek since last year?" At our staff retreat last weekend, we had a time to remember and we jotted those things down in bullet point format. This list is not to impress or say, "look how cool we are!" or even, "hey, look what God is doing in our church." but it's to remember how God has been faithful to us in the past and how we can trust that He will be faithful in the future. I hope you enjoy reading through "the list." Each one of the bullet points represents a story of a changed life (or lives in some cases.) As you read, remember God's faithfulness in your own life, your own ministry and your own church (if Whipple isn't your church.)

Oh yea, for those of you in Vancouver, we kick off our new series this Sunday, "Behind Closed Doors." We asked you what questions you had about the Christian life and we went to the Bible for answers. This Sunday is "End of Days" or Are we living in the end times? I look forward to it!

In His Grip

Brett

At Whipple Creek Church we aim to make it hard to get to hell from Vancouver, Washington. We measure success by changed lives. Here is evidence of changed lives from this past year:

• Our prayer ministry has been developed. We began a weekly prayer meeting, developed a prayer team that is available on Sundays and throughout the week and have gone on prayer walks throughout the neighborhood.
• Our worship ministry has developed. We have gone through a transition in our worship ministry with a new worship pastor coming in and developing new leadership as he and his family our transitioning to the foreign mission field. We now have four worship leaders and a few different teams in rotations. The sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence during our time of worship on Sunday mornings is very evident.
• Our skate church ministry has seen 51 conversions since January. A new skate church pastor is transitioning into leadership. We are developing leaders from among our sponsored skaters. We have taken skaters on trips to California and other skate parks, doing outreach.
• Our youth ministry has gone through transition this year as a new youth pastor has come on board. They are developing a phenomenal leadership and seeing new youth come.
• We have had 35 baptisms.
• We have invested a lot of time and resources in community outreach. We had a Luau and campout and a movie night on our property in the back. We gave over 30 backpacks with school supplies to a local elementary school to be given to children from low-income homes. We served hot dogs to public service employees downtown. We made a float and were in a parade in our local community.
• We launched our first Vacation Bible School in our community where 60 to 80 children came everyday, 70% of which were not children from our church, 7 of which gave their lives to Christ. We had 70 volunteers come out to help.
• We started a coffee house on Sunday nights where local Christian artists perform to create an environment where people in the community can have coffee and connect with others.
• We have hosted Christian hard rock shows where 200 young people who may never darken the doors of a traditional church have come to hear about Jesus.
• We built a recording studio upstairs at our church where we record and produce local Christian bands, helping local musicians.
• We have started many small groups for all ages and walks of life where community happens.
• We have had 3 miracles babies, that from a medical perspective, shouldn’t have been born. We dedicated these babies and many more.
• We remodeled our children’s ministry wing and moved into it.
• William P. Young, author of “The Shack,” came and spoke at our church.
• We launched our young adult ministry where as many as 50 young adults come for fellowship and to grow in their walk with Jesus.
• We established Whipple Creek World Missions. We sent people on our 2nd short-term missions trip to Poland. We have sent out full-time missionaries from within our body to Oregon, Kansas, Mexico and Mozambique and are in the process of sending out a family full-time to Poland.
• A former drug-user who is a professional painter volunteered his time & came and painted our church building .
• One young man who gave his life to Christ at skate church brought his parents to church. His father who was raised Mormon and his mother who was raised Catholic turned Buddhist both received Christ on separate Sunday mornings and now serve at Whipple.
• One family who had been away from the church for 15 years and just lost a child to a motorcycle accident saw our church sign that says, “Real Life, Real Hope,” received healing and has been at church ever since. Their autistic son is a part of our greeting team on Sunday mornings.
• We’ve had the biggest Northwest Passage group we’ve ever had. We look forward to the changed lives that result in this leadership development.

TheGap

My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight.
Proverbs 3:21

Life is a circus. We juggle this activity and that activity; we walk the tight rope of day-to-day life trying to balance everything that comes our way; and we stretch and mold our schedules to accommodate even the tiniest of obligations. We don’t want to miss out on anything, so we try to do everything. And this circus-type life leaves us over-scheduled, over-committed and overdone.

The truth is that what we say is important and where we spend our time often don’t line up. In short, we say one thing and do another. We say it’s important to spend time alone with God, but we get to the end of each day and wonder where that time was supposed to fit in. We say that church is a priority, but when playoff season comes we wouldn’t dare miss the big game. We claim that our spouse is the most important person in the world, but at the end of the week we look back and see that we didn’t spend one waking hour alone with them.

There’s a gap that exists between our priorities and our commitments—many times without us even realizing it. And it’s a gap that desperately needs closed. Look at everything that comes across your calendar and ask yourself, “Does this activity or obligation line up with what I hold important? Does this sync up with my priorities set forth in God’s word?” If it does, then do it. If not, then don’t. Don’t just say yes to something because you have a few hours to kill. Instead, close the gap by saying yes only to the best.

Sunday we'll continue to explore how to bridge the gap so we can have the best.

One

"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."
Matthew 28:19

Numbers are very important throughout the Bible—from the five smooth stones that David found in the creek to Jesus feeding the five thousand. But what exactly is the relationship between numbers and God? Is there some biblical code that He has constructed that we're supposed to crack?

Of course not. But God has developed a very important equation that is essential in the building of his kingdom. And it all starts with the number one.

God works through people like you and me to reach others and bring them into his family—one person at a time. He doesn't have to, though. God could easily snap his fingers and have a church filled with thousands of people appear, but that is not how He works. He wants us to share the good news with others and recruit disciples to follow Him—one by one.

So remember, you are a major factor in God's equation. Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to save the whole world all at once. It's all about reaching one life at a time. So go out and find that one. Share with them God's love. And show them that God is still counting—one life at a time.

This Sunday, I'm going to share as clearly as I can the message Jesus came to show. It will not only be a great opportunity for yourself to hear how much God loves you but an opportunity for you to invite someone to hear how much God loves them, "4ever."

I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we journey together discovering how much God loves us.

Brett

My Arm Hurts!

Last night I was complaining to my wife about my right arm hurting, like I pinched a nerve or had been working out (which I hadn't). I just couldn't figure out why it hurt so bad in just my one arm. She said, "well it probably hurts from the baptisms!"

She was right! What a great reminder for me this week of what happened on Sunday. If you weren't there, what an incredible experience. We had at least 4 first time decisions for Christ, 3 babies whose parents dedicated them to teach them about Christ, and if that wasn't enough, 27 baptism!

We only had 11 planned, but it was incredible to see sons come with their fathers, mothers with their daughters to be baptized. I never thought I would get to be a part of church like this one--thank you. What a great way to go into the Easter week. I believe there are more people who need to experience what we all did this last week, they need to be there this Sunday.

Easter is the perfect opportunity to invite someone who needs to hear about the hope that Jesus Christ provided for us through his life, death and resurrection. We are going to have a high-energy service that will communicate the message of Christ through incredible music, excellent childcare and a dynamic message. As you think about Easter, we encourage you to pray for the hundreds of people in our community whose names we fastened to the chair @ our Whipple Campus last Fall. We hope that you will partner with us by inviting the people in your life who need an opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ.

Easter Services:

Sunday, April 8 - 10:30am

I am looking forward to seeing you this Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection together. And if we can't be together this Sunday--we will be together in spirit thanking God for His promised fulfilled.

Arm Hurting but loving it,

Brett