E-Baby

I love the E-Trade babies. As I always say, "Nothing is funnier than talking babies." Check this video out.

Is Your Heart Ready?

Can I say, I'm frustrated? This is Easter week, Holy week-there should be a sense of contentment, quietness, peacefulness but it's not. It seems every where I turn, there are problems. Personal, staff, friendships, and "things" happening in the church. I get frustrated because we make plans as a church to "change the world" (or at least our part of it), and when it comes time for the execution of it, it all falls apart. I think the "church" gets it, but then I see they don't. I'm frustrated. Isn't this supposed to be easier? Isn't this suppose to be the greatest week of the year for a Christian? Isn't this supposed to be a time of celebration, and telling others, and showing others what Christ did for us? Shouldn't the Church get it, especially the staff or those that are the forerunners in the church at least, shouldn't they at least get it?

I have to think, "how frustrated was Jesus?" Now, I'm not comparing myself to Him by any means. I'm far from that. But here is the Son of Man, God in the flesh, the Savior of the world who spent three years living on this earth ministering, investing into people, doing many miraculous things, and about getting ready to die a horrible death & the people He invested in the most, the people He spent most of his time with in those three years, the guys He lived with, didn't get it.

They fought over who should be first; they had doubts; they had wrong motives; they fell asleep when He asked them to pray for Him - one even betrayed Him. If that happened to Jesus, why shouldn't I expect the same. Heck, I don't live with people I do ministry with (although sometimes I feel like it).

For me, and maybe for you, it comes down to this: we have a real enemy who wants to frustrate us and make us feel defeated. Yes, I'm frustrated, but I'm frustrated because I don't understand Jesus enough. Why would He still go to the cross when it seemed, to me, that people didn't get it? Simple--Jesus came into this world because He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us to save us from the evil one.

My question for you is: Is Your Heart Ready for Easter? We may not get it all, but we do need to get Him!

If you're in the Vancouver area and don't have a church home, join us for Easter & baptisms this Sunday at 8:30 & 10:30. I love our baptisms. We usually know of one or two people being baptized, but by the time we're done, many, many more come forward in their clothes and all to be baptized! It's exciting!

Wherever you attend this weekend, my prayer is that your heart is prepared for the One who didn't let frustration keep Him from doing what He needed to do.

In His Grip,

Brett

We are all beggars!

What an incredible, painful, joyful, tearful and heartfelt last couple of Sunday's we've had at Whipple. I've been talking about what it means to be dangerous (a good dangerous) as a Church and that it takes people to become dangerous disciples to make it happen. (After all isn't the Church really just people and not the building? Remember "here's the church, here's the steeple, open the door, see all the people"?)

One of the things I've been trying to drive home is how important our stories are in touching people and how they become a gateway to the bigger story. (God's epic story through time of His love reconciling people to Him.) I've said it like this, we are all beggars telling another beggar where to get food (think I got that from Andy Stanley or Ed Young). Each week I shared a simple story, a beggars story, a "cardboard testimony" of how God has changed someone's life.

I talked about "Story" and how the human condition, how the marginalized, the outcast, the forgotten, the one's we chose to ignore, all have stories, too. I said that when our story (which is God's story) intersects with their story, God shows up, lives are changed, relationships get restored, and lives get healed.

People were invited to come forward and to write their cardboard testimony, their story, and place them at the front of church as an offering to God. I saw people come forward who I knew their story and how God had worked in & through their lives-I rejoiced & celebrated with them.

I saw people come forward that are in the middle of their story, and they are still unsure of the way the story looks-I cried with them.

I saw people come forward who want or need God to be a part of their story. Their story is one of pain, abandonment & grief-I prayed & grieved with them.

Throughout it all, God is working to restore & rebuild people back to Him. And it's not only happening at Whipple, it's happening all across the world. What's your Story. Please leave a comment as we can encourage one another.

Don't Do It!

What more do I need to say than what this video says to husbands everywhere?

God of the City

This song has become an anthem of our church. We have video loops we play on the screen during the song that we got from Willow Creek, but I just found this one on YouTube and it's really cool. I hope you know that God has a plan for you city, do you?

A Dangerous Church Parties

We are excited that on April 12, Easter, we will be concluding our Dangerous Church series with a big party, because a Dangerous Church knows how to party! We will be having two, yes two services on that Sunday. One at 8:30 and one at 10:30. Each service will include full children's programs, worship and baptisms. We're excited about what is going on here, God is moving. If you don't have a church home, we invite you to join us on Easter. If you are a regular part of Whipple Creek, get ready to party!

A Dangerous Church

When we understand that we are Called, we are Shown, we are Identified, we are Related, we are Trained/Equipped and we are Called Out, it changes everything: how we live, how we talk, how we spend our time, how we spend our money, and it even changes our relationships. And that is dangerous.

At our church, we are on mission to lead people into a growing, handholding relationship with Jesus Christ. We want Real People to experience the Real Church so they can have Real Hope in living out their Real Life. It takes a church that dares to be different and goes against the norms--a dangerous Church.

The Church has to be willing to go where no one else is willing to go (sometimes dangerous places) and attempt what no one else is willing to attempt (sometimes dangerous feats) to reach people that no one else is reaching., that's what Jesus did and it was dangerous.

A movement of God is afoot in Vancouver, in Clark County, in this Country and in the world. Can you feel it? Can you see it? Can you sense it? Do you believe it? Are you praying for it? When we get to that point when all of us who are a part of the Church do, when the Church embraces it, watch out, it will rock the world.

That is a Dangerous Church.