Category Archives: Church and Ministry
The Church and Sexual Assault
The interview linked below is with Justin Holcomb, a pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Justin and his wife Lindsey have co-authored the book Rid of My Disgrace. 1 in 5 people have been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime.
This statistics may seem exaggerated, but 10 years of ministry experience has confirmed the reality of this darkness. I am so grateful for this resource because of how it will help those who are victims, but also pastors, family, and friends of those who are. There are hurting people all around us who feel shame and disgrace because they were violated and abused by someone. It’s important that we know how to communicate to them how much they are loved and valued by God and how the Grace of God can rid them of their disgrace.
Justin has been a valuable counselor to me personally as I have encountered people who need healing as a result of sexual assault. Check out the interview and pick up a copy of the book.
If you’re a victim of sexual assault – we want to help you. You are loved and valuable! I can be contacted confidentially by email HERE.
- Brad
Clarity, Clarity, Clarity
Frequently I get a chance to meet with ministry or business professionals to swap leadership principles. Recently I sat down with a man who is preparing to plant a new church. He wanted to ‘pick my brain’ about all things church planting. Disclaimer: I have way more to learn than to teach, but when I’m asked to give advice there is one thing I know.
This one thing transfers over to business, youth ministry, teaching, parenting – you name it. The one thing is CLARITY. Specifically clarity in vision. Having a clarity of your call and mission in life is like having a detailed map when you head out for vacation. It simplifies, guides, and corrects.
A clear vision as to what should be and what could be in your ministry, business plan, family – you name it will simplify decision-making. It will eliminate clutter and distraction. A clear vision paves the path you need to go. Without a clarity in our vision we oftentimes find our selves going in circles – never ending up where we want to be. A clear vision will re-calculate our direction when we head in the wrong direction, and put us back on track.
So how do we achieve clarity in our vision?
1) Know who’s in charge. If you are clear that it’s not about you and it’s all about Jesus Christ, that makes the path much more clear.
2) Know who you are. Just as we all have uniqueness in our DNA, God has uniquely designed each of us for His purposes. Spend time finding discovering what passions and gifts God has given you – and you’ll easily find the purpose.
3) Know who you’re not. Don’t try to adapt someone else’s vision for your life, ministry, or family. God didn’t goof up when He made you. Be who YOU are. Be unique. Normal is overrated.
4) Know others will not always get it. To ignore the voice of wise counsel in your life is foolish. More foolish though is to be controlled by all the dissenting voices in your life. Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but I do know that the key to failure is to try to please everyone.
Clarity.
- Brad
Reconstructing the Gospel
Let me begin by clarifying what I mean by “Reconstructing the Gospel”. I do not mean that we are changing or rebuilding the Gospel which was delivered to us by Christ, but that in many cases we need the truth of the Gospel reconstructed in our hearts and minds. The Gospel isn’t broken, but we are.
Last Sunday at Discovery Church we continued in our journey of discovering (for some) and re-discovering (for others) Grace. Several people have e-mailed or called to tell me they had never considered ‘the exchange’ we talked about around the middle of the message. The Great Exchange, illustrated so well by the Father’s lavish love for His son, is when our unrighteousness is exchanged for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The more people I talk to, the more I realize that many see the Cross as a one dimensional transaction. That on the Cross Jesus took on our sin, and died paying the price for it. Our sin was laid on Him so that we might be forgiven. But that is just half of the story. Jesus did receive our unrighteousness, but in return WE received HIS righteousness. Grace doesn’t just forgive, it also fully restores. That is Huge! For a fuller understanding, check out the message below.
Every now and then
Every time I prepare a message to speak I have three primary goals.
1) God’s Ultimate Glory
2) The building up of believers
3) To engage unbelievers with the truth of the Gospel
Every now and then during preparation for the message something supernatural happens. The only way I know to describe it (and be Biblical) is to say that the Holy Spirit begins to burn in the inner part of my soul. I can feel it. I get laser light focused on study. I become overly emotional. Something inside of me begins to burst.
That’s happening this week with the 3rd message of our Captured by Grace series. God used something today at lunch with another pastor to just set me on fire in my soul.
So don’t miss this week. Not because I’ve got a great message. It’s not about me – and can never be. God has a great message for you this week. It may just change everything for you.
Grace is surprising,
Brad
Why We Do What We Do The Way We Do It
It’s not news that we desire to create environments at Discovery Church that are intentionally non-traditional. I get asked ‘why’ about a number of the methods we use. Here is a real life example of why.
Tonight at a local gas station I invited the lady behind the counter to Discovery Church. She immediately gave me a reason she couldn’t come to church – her past. I told her that we had plenty of people who had checkered pasts and baggage, but she protested and said I didn’t understand that she had been a ‘real wild child’! I told her that it didn’t matter and Discovery wouldn’t be church like she was imagining. I pointed to my t-shirt and jeans and told her this is how we dress, that we have a live band and anyone is welcome. To which she said the darndest thing:
“Really?”
I said, “yes absolutely”. To which she said, “OK, I’ll have to check that out then.”
And there you have it. That’s why we do what we do the way we do it. Do we soft sell the Gospel? Not a chance. Do we avoid tough Biblical content? No way. Do we do everything we can to remove barriers that keep people from hearing the Gospel? Yes. Do we sacrifice any man-made tradition that gets in the way of people coming to Jesus? You bet we do.
Why? Because there is more celebration in heaven over 1 sinner who comes to repentance, than 99 righteous people who do not need it. (Luke 15:7)
We are unashamedly more interested in creating parties in heaven, than making church people happy on earth.
- Brad
Missional vs. Attractional
In recent years there has been an ongoing discussion between two primary ministry methodologies in contemporary church life. (Quite frankly it seems as if there has been more discussion than ministry sometimes.) The missional church believes that all Christians are to be ‘sent ones’. The mark of the missional church is that the people leave the church building and contextualize the gospel in the community/culture they are trying to reach. The attractional church by definition aims to be attractive, with a great emphasis on engaging, culturally relevant, high quality Sunday services. The goal of the attractional church is to draw the unchurched. The framework of the debate usually puts the two methodologies against each other. Pastors and churches are challenged to be Missional OR Attractional. It’s Missional vs. Attractional.
I believe it can be, and should be: Missional AND Attractional. I believe the church should be engaging on Sunday, and engaged in the community. I believe the way the church delivers the message of the gospel should be relevant and that we should live the gospel (good news) in our society. I believe we can be sensitive to felt needs (attractional) AND clearly articulate the gospel and make much of Jesus (missional). I believe a church can invite people to come (attractional) and be people who go (missional).
Discovery Church is BOTH Missional and Attractional. Here is an example of how from this past week:
Sunday morning we have an attractional approach to ministry. We create environments that are attractive, whether it be the Cafe, or the band playing music that is upbeat and relevant to our culture. One ‘unchurched’ guest said to me in the church lobby that our Cafe was “Kick A$$”. Another loved the music and both like our attractional style, having never seen church done this way. In the sermon we talked about making love a verb as Jesus did in John 13. Specifically we addressed dealing with conflict in relationships Biblically. It was a great “attractional” Sunday morning.
THEN,
At 2pm our church went into the heart of our city and partnered with the Water Angels ministry serving and ministering to the homeless. We fed them, loved on them, provided them with clothing and shoes, played football with the kids. We worshiped with them, preached the gospel and had several respond for salvation. It was a great “missional” Sunday afternoon. And we’ll do it again in a few weeks.
It doesn’t have to be Missional OR Attractional…it can be BOTH.
- Brad
