September 29, 2011

God has a heart for the world

By Joshua Brandt

I felt like God set me up today.  I think he does that sometimes when he really wants us to pay attention.

Tuesday afternoon I met with Jenny Collins.  Her heart and passion for God’s work (missions) both locally and globally is humbling and impressive.  So, I wanted to pick her brain.  Two things she said really stuck out to me:

  • “The goal of all missions is to see God glorified (worshipped).”
  • “We need to understand that God has a heart for the whole world.”

I have been thinking about those things for the last couple of days.  There were on my mind this morning as I drove to Ohio to hear about a ministry in the Middle East.  Within the first five minutes I heard:

  • “The ultimate goal of our ministry is to see God glorified and worshipped all over our country.”
  • “Our ministry is called ‘Heart for our country’ not ‘Hearts for our country.”  Why? We want to seek God’s heart for our country!”

I whispered a prayer, “Father, you have my full attention.”

I was reminded today how much God loves our world.  We know the verse (John 3:16).  We sing songs about it.  We sometimes even pray about it.  However, I don’t think we always get how true it is.  God loves this world.

And the world he loves?  It’s people.

I heard something today that proved it to me even more.  Apparently many Muslim converts begin following Jesus the same way.  They have a vision or a dream of Jesus.  Then they seek out a Christian to explain their dream to them.

I am going to let that sink in for a minute.

The God of the universe loves the people in the Middle East so much that he is appearing to some of them to let them know.  In nations where conversion could mean the death penalty, Jesus is showing up.

This reminds me of something else Jenny said, “Prayer is the work of missions.”

Will you pray with me?

Father,
I pray that you fill the dreams of those who are far from you.
I ask that you would speak to my neighbors, the people who are different from me, and all those around the world.
Help me to be ready to answer unexpected questions about you.
Give me your heart for the world.
Amen.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Action, Mission, Thoughts

August 18, 2011

Do You Want to try Volunteering in the Greenhouse?

By chrissherck

The Greenhouse is looking for people who are interested in helping with the children at gathering this school year.  Individuals interested can help with infants-2 year olds, 3 year old-Preschool kids, elementary age children, children with special needs, or administrative help (such as supply preparation or check-in).  Volunteers are needed on a month on-month off basis, as well as substitutes.

If interested, please contact Chris Sherck.  There is no commitment if you express interest.  The first step is to meet with Chris and hear what volunteering in the Greenhouse is like.  After this, there is still no commitment.  You are welcome to help out and observe in a classroom alongside a seasoned volunteer before you decide if this ministry is a fit for you and your gift set.

To contact Chris Sherck, You can email him at chris@thegatheringmuncie.org or call him at 765-287-9745 (office).

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Announcements, The Greenhouse (Children)

August 18, 2011

The backyard matters

By Joshua Brandt

The backyard was a mess.

Sure the front lawn was meticulously mowed.  The bushes were trimmed,  There was not a single weed in the flower beds.

Dandelions ran in fear.

But a peak of the six foot high privacy fence revealed a deeper truth:

Last Fall’s leaves still hung in the corners.  The deck hovered over a sea of weeds (any grass gave up the fight years ago).

The only winners were the chipmunks.  They had free range of this suburban paradise.  The neighbor’s cat was too afraid of being lost forever in the green abyss…

How are things behind the fence in your life?  How is your thought life?  Your prayer life?  The things done in secret?

In Matthew 6, Jesus is talking about giving (to the needy), praying and fasting.  He tells us to do those things without grabbing attention.  He says, “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Is the opposite true?  I know Jesus is talking about good things here in this passage.  However, the truth is the Father “sees what is done in secret”- good or bad!

Let’s take a moment today.

This minute.

Think about your thought life.

The things in your life that are “done in secret.”

Be honest.

If necessary pray and ask forgiveness.  Make the changes necessary.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Thoughts

August 17, 2011

How to have a real conversation on Sunday morning

By Joshua Brandt

I believe we all need more margins in our lives.  More space.  And since we cannot create more time, you and I are going to have to commit to do less.  I know.  It is hard.

I worry that our busyness follows us into worship on Sunday mornings.  We drive into the parking lot, drop of our kids (if we have them), hurry past the greeters at the door, run over to grab a cup of coffee and plop ourselves in our seats.

(This kills our ability to connect in worship.  More on that another time.)

And then we complain, “I don’t have any real friends at church.  No one ever talks to me.”

Really?  I think it is time for us to dig a bit deeper.  I have a challenge for you:

I want you to come 30 minutes early with nothing to do.  So if you are a greeter, making coffee, in the band, parking cars, working with kids- you have to wait a week or two and try it.  You can’t be in a hurry for a real conversation.

And then I want you to talk to someone.  If you are wondering where to start, “hello” is a good place.  And then follow with a question: “How are you?  What’s your name?  What’s new?  How’s it?”

Go on.  Do it.  I dare you.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sundays, Thoughts

August 16, 2011

Things I don’t understand

By Joshua Brandt
  • A lust for mediocrity
  • Physical violence toward children
  • Bandwagon fans
  • Rain when the sun is shining
  • Sanka (or any coffee that comes in a can)
  • Milk… in a glass… with ice
  • Wearing a tie with a short sleeve shirt
  • Absentee fathers

Most of all I cannot understand people who do not know who they are.  Let me be clear: I understand it to a point.  I have been there.  I have been confused about my identity.  I have accepted other people’s perception of me as reality.  I have wallowed in my brokenness and ignored my possibilities.

I guess I don’t understand why someone would live their whole life without finding out who they are, who they are supposed to be.

If you are a Christian, the answer to the question is both amazing and beautiful…

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1a (NIV)

Have you ever felt that someone has lavished love on you?  It is even weird to write that sentence!  There is a sense in that word that we are covered with his love from head to toe.  Even in the Greek (original language) we find this idea of something being given to us by God that we don’t deserve and we could not have grasped on our own.

And the result of his love?  We are children of God.  I know, I know the commercials on television that plead for our compassion for starving children tell us we are all God’s children.  In a sense they are right.  God created us and this is what we normally talk about when we say “God’s children.”  In truth though that makes us “God’s creations” or even “God’s creatures.”  To be a child is so much more.  It is about having a father, a name, a right… an identity.

How would our lives change if we understood that our core identity was that we are children of God?

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Thoughts

August 14, 2011

Needed: 10 Volunteers

By Joshua Brandt

I have been thinking about change a lot this summer.  I don’t completely know why.  It was just something that hit me up the side of the head when I was thinking about my health.  I am like most other people:  I want to be healthy.  Today.

The problem is it takes time… and hard work.  I don’t like that, do you?  In order to get healthy we need to have a plan and work the plan.  We need to start out walking before we run.  Do 10 pushups long over and over before we can do 100.  And get down on the floor to do a handful of crunches long before the six-pack shows up (a boy can dream!).

Getting healthy involves incremental change.  Small steps in the same direction.

Our church and personal finances our similar.  I would love to wake up tomorrow morning and have all the money we need to accomplish our God-given mission.  I am guessing you would love to wake up tomorrow morning and be debt free (and, hopefully, have God’s heart for your money).  What if by making small changes in the same direction we could have both?

I am looking for 10 volunteers (individuals/couples) to join me on a journey.  A journey toward stewardship, understanding your finances and having a generous heart.  Here is what I am looking for:

  • People who give to the church sporadically or not at all.
  • A willingness to start at 1% giving in month one and add 1% a month for ten months.
  • A willingness to share your story (through handouts, videos, conversations) during the journey.

Here is what you get:

  • You will meet once a month with our financial teacher to learn more about your finances, budgeting, debt reduction, etc.
  • You will meet with me (Joshua) once month to talk about generous living and the churches finances.
  • Stewardship/financial education resources.
Are you interested?  Have any questions?

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Announcements

August 12, 2011

Things that go bump in the day…

By Joshua Brandt

I am learning I need things in my life that slow me down.  It is so easy for me to fall in the trap of thinking I am accomplishing just because I am moving at a frenetic pace.  Some of the rings that slow me down:

  • Frank Sinatra
  • Foreign Films (Maybe because you have to read them?)
  • Long lunches with friends.
  • Time away with my girls.
  • Time with my friend, Jerry Shinn.

Some people think that Jerry and I are an unlikely pair -or so I have been told… by Jerry.  He is more than twice my age.  He moves slower than I do (and than he used to).  And most people think he is a bit cranky.  The thing is I think “most people” are wrong.

Every time I get together with Jerry there is a moment.  A turn in the conversation for me.  An idea or a sentence that I will be chewing on for quite a while.

A few months back he said something that has changed the way I view things.  Jerry said, “Most people worry about things that go bump in the night.  The real problem is things that go bump in the day.”

Everywhere we go we are surrounded by reminders.  The place we first met.  The school we attended.  The restaurant where that argument got heated.  Some reminders are great.  Others cause a “bump” in our soul.

I am praying for all of us today.  Praying that we will face the hurts and losses we are reminded of today.  Hoping we will take a step toward healing.

Leave a comment | posted in Thoughts, Uncategorized

August 11, 2011

Root Canal

By Joshua Brandt

I lied.  There, I confessed.

I was at the dentist for my six month cleaning.  They took an x-ray.  There was concern about one of my teeth.  So they showed me the x-ray from six months back.  The dentist flipped back and forth between the two.

Dentist- “Do you see this dark space at the root?  See how it is slightly bigger now.  I know it is a little hard to see the difference.  Can you see it?”

Me- “No, but I trust you.”

I saw it.

I had not been to the dentist for years until last February.  I knew there were some problems.  What I didn’t know was I would be going back 3 times in the following month to take care of 6-8 cavities.  It was during one of those visits that I asked about one of my front bottom teeth that was darker than the rest.  I wondered if there was something they could do.  The dentist checked it out by doing a “cold test.”  In essence, this is freezing your tooth and seeing if you shriek in pain.  I didn’t feel a thing.  The tooth is dead.

Dentist- “Eventually that tooth is going to cause you problems.  We will monitor it.  As far as the color, we can do a root canal and bleach it from the inside.”

Me- “I will wait.”

I will be having a root canal in September.  The good news is that the tooth is dead so I “probably won’t feel a thing.”  Probably.  I decided I couldn’t wait any longer.  And  just so you know, it isn’t because of vanity.  While it is try my tooth will be lighter, that is not why I am having it done.

When I was shown the x-ray they also pointed out how close another tooth was to this one.  The roots look like they are almost touching.  The fear is that the infection/problem could spread… and ruin a perfectly good tooth.

Hmm.  Isn’t life like that?  Sometimes we think we can compartmentalize our lives.  We think our health doesn’t effect our marriage.  Our work doesn’t effect our rest.  And none of it effects following Jesus.  We are so wrong.

If there is part of your life that is a mess, is broken, is ill- take care of it today before it spreads.

 

Leave a comment | posted in Thoughts

August 9, 2011

An Unoffended Heart

By Joshua Brandt

I heard worship leader, Kim Walker-Smith, speak last week.  She was talking about living a life of worship.  Not just a Sunday-only, confined to a church building, type of worship.  Her hope is for Christians to begin to understand that our idea of corporate worship is flawed:  We live our lives with the belief that we are to come to church emptied out.  We want to leave filled up.

Is that the way it should be?  I don’t think so.  I think we are supposed to come filled up… actually, overflowing.  And then in worship together we will pour out all the good and wonder and blessings and learnings from our week.

How can this be?  We have been told differently.  We don’t feel filled up!

What are you doing Monday through Thursday?  We have to be moving one step closer to God each and every day.  Imagine…

  • Monday: Read 1 John 3:1 and realize how much God loves me.  I think about it all day.  I wrestle with it all week.
  • Tuesday: Although I pray everyday, I am able to take an hour away to think and pray.
  • Wednesday: I talk a walk on the Cardinal Greenway with God.  Although most of my time is in silence, I am asking God for wisdom and to know his thoughts.
  • Thursday: This day is a mess.  I stumble.  I make mistakes.  I confess.
  • Friday: I read.  My Bible and other books.  I find God everywhere I turn.
  • Saturday: I take this day as a Sabbath.  I rest.  I pray.  I commune with God.
  • Sunday: I worship with abandon out of the depth of my experiences with God.

I don’t know about you, but this sounds amazing to me.  It sounds right.  It sounds like how my life should go.

So what gets in the way?  The obvious answers are time, busyness, not know ing what to read, etc.  Kim Walker-Smith opened up a less obvious answer for me.

In order to stay connected with our God, in order to live a life of worship, we need to had an unoffended heart.

Is your heart offended?  Are you holding things against God?  Sounds crazy.  Except, perhaps…

Stop and ask yourself the question.  Be honest.  Do you blame God for your current situation?  A past one?  Imagine if you had a friend you were holding things against.  Would it effect your relationship?  Absolutely.

If there is any offense in your heart, speak it to God.  Let it go.  Get to the place where you want God more than you want to hold on to your offenses.

Leave a comment | posted in Thoughts, Worship

August 8, 2011

Stillness

By Joshua Brandt

I wonder… must stillness be learned?  or rather, relearned?

I am not sure.  Our whole lives are marked by accomplishments (or losses) in movement:

  • Lifting our heads
  • Pulling up on the coffee table
  • Crawling
  • Walking
  • Running (or even better, skipping!)
  • Riding a bike
  • Driving
  • Going away to college
  • Moving away from home
  • The day we stop driving
  • Using a walker or a cane
  • Being confined to a wheelchair

Yet, our God says, “Be still.” (Psalm 46:10)  And elsewhere, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)

So how de we learn to be still, to accomplish nothing on our own, to cease moving?

It feels like my life is a perpetual motion machine.  And my misinformed fear is if it stops moving it will never start again.

Father,
Teach me to be still.  I want to know you.  I want to see  the world like you do.  I want to know more of your thoughts.  I fear my movement is getting in the way.

Leave a comment | posted in Thoughts, Uncategorized

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