Love Your Relationships
In order to navigate life intentionally, it takes a great understanding in how we see the people we are and the people we know.
Relationships of any kind are extensions of our belief in what life is truly all about. The way you react to a death of a loved one. The way you treat your friends and acquaintances. The way you react to your barista when they have been making close to 100 lattes already and they accidentally mess up yours and you feel the need to give them both barrels of your wrath because your latte wasn’t made correctly or exactly the way you want it.
Ok. The last one has some personal feelings towards it about how arrogant and self-centered people can be when it comes to giving people a verbal beat down over such a petty issue as a precisely crafted latte when there are people in the world fighting to live out of the rubble of a destroyed country like Haiti.
Love the LORD your God with your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor just as you love yourself. That covers it. Jesus took care of the intricacies and complexities of life by saying what live is about. Love your relationships.
There are many important relationships in my life. The LORD, my family, my girlfriend, my friends, my mentors, my leadership teams, my students, and the people who I have yet to know. Each kind of relationship has a depth of love that needs to be explored.
What relationships in your life do you need to explore?
“Jesus Loves You This I Know” by Craig Gross & Jason Harper
Certain people in my life have had an incredible impact. One of them is Craig Gross of XXXChurch.com. He and Jason Harper have written a book to remind us of a simple, but of the utmost importance, fact that Jesus loves YOU.
Through “Jesus Loves You…”, Craig and Jason look at how Jesus loves over 10 kinds of people (I’m sure they could have written more, but they chose) who are the:
Bitter & Betrayed, Disconnected, Broken, Forgotten, Skeptic, Glutton, Crook, Outcast, Porn Star and Religious.
The book takes several stories from each author (included Gross’ wife, Jeanette) and highlights Scripture introducing the point that Jesus loves each type of person.
While reading through, the most difficult and challenging chapters for me were “The Outcast,” which brought up previous statements of my former Chancellor at Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, that stirred me to wish he never spoke them (p.134-135), to the chapter on “The Religious.” Sadly the most damage for the communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been through the hands of the ones who have received it first. While I loved Jerry Falwell and all he did for me, it seems the most divisive of words are the strongest words that people remember, particularly by the ones that need to know Jesus loves them and died for them.
If you want to start engaging yourself in a on-going process of knowing the people that Jesus loves, go check out Jesus Loves You and look into getting the book and Small Group DVD curriculum for you and your group or just follow the “Jesus Loves You Tour” featuring visits to Westboro Baptist Church, a Las Vegas buffet stop and a house give-away.
“Think Orange” by Reggie Joyner
Reggie Joyner is a former Student Pastor and has previously worked for North Point Community Church as their Executive Director of Family Ministries. Now he is the founder of the reThink Group.
Think Orange is the description of Joyner’s learnings and insights into how leaders in the church and families can become Orange thinkers.
Light + heart
Yellow + Red = Orange
Joyner starts by describing the essence of God’s calling for the family. Practical examples are pointed out through modern day examples of Deuteronomy 6 through:
1. Meal time – When You Sit at Home
2. Drive Time – When You Walk Along the Road
3. Bed Time – When You Lie Down
4. Morning Time – When you Get Up
He goes on to explain the 5 Orange Essentials:
1. Integrate Strategy to create synergy
2. Refine the Message to amplify what is important
3. Reactivate the Family to build an everyday faith
4. Elevate Community to increase the odds
5. Leverage Influence to mobilize generations
Each essential is fleshed out in detail throughout the rest of the book, with a brief chapter called Orange-ality and Concentrate notes at the end to bring clearer direction from the concepts in his challenge to the church and family.
To join in on the Orange discussion, you can follow the blog at:
Or attend the annual Orange Conference in Duluth, GA, led by Reggie Joyner and the church leadership guru, Andy Stanley. Stay tuned to their Twitter for more information.
Easter @ Christ Fellowship Miami
If you’re in the Miami area, please come and check out one of our 15 services.
All services are identical at each campus.
DOWNTOWN
Wednesday, April 8th
Service @ 12:00 PM
Sunday, April 12th
Service @ 9:30 AM & 11:00 AM
Family Easter Activities @ 12:30 PM
Located @ 500 NE 1st Avenue, Miami, FL 33132
HOMESTEAD
Saturday, April 11th
Family Easter Activities from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Service @ 5:30 PM
Located @ Waterstone Charter School, 855 East Waterstone Way, Homestead, FL 33034
Sunday, April 12th
Service @ 10:00 AM & 11:30 AM
Located @ Campbell Drive Middle, 900 NE 23rd Avenue, Homestead, FL 33033
PALMETTO BAY
Friday, April 10th
Service @ 7:00 PM
Saturday, April 11th
Family Easter Activities from 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Service @ 6:30 PM
Sunday, April 12th
Service @ 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM & 12:30 PM
Located @ 8900 SW 168th Street, Miami, FL 33157
REDLAND
Saturday, April 5th
Family Easter Activities @ 1:00 PM
Located at South Dade Park, 16350 SW 280th Street, Homestead, FL 33031
Sunday, April 12th
Service @ 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM
Family Easter Activites @ 12:00 PM
Located @ 16390 SW 248th Street, Redland, FL 33031
WEST KENDALL
Sunday, April 12th
Service @ 8:30 AM & 10:00 AM
Located in The Regal Kendall Village Theater, 8595 SW 124th Avenue, Miami, FL 33183
How to Ruin Your Life
From Pastor Eric Geiger:
“Dear Friend,
Hey! You are invited to join us this weekend at Christ Fellowship for the launch of our new series — “How to ruin your life.”
Even if you feel your life is not totally messed up — greed, pride, lust, malice, jealousy, and guilt threaten to eat away at the core of who we are, and essentially ruin our lives. Join us as we tackle these big issues from a biblical perspective and discover joy and victory in Jesus Christ.
I also encourage you to bring a friend or family member with you. We are looking forward to a great weekend at Christ Fellowship.
God Bless,
Pastor Eric”
25 Things about Me
1. Jesus is the reason why I am alive and why I live.
2. My family is amazing. From my dad’s ability to love through providing, to my mom’s ability to love through serving and my sister’s ability to love through protecting. Also I hope to meet with my sister Heather in heaven to see the amazing woman that God created her to be.
3. I have a heart for students (middle school through college) and want to get them to understand the love of God and His love for people through missions because it explains perfectly that God is the God of every nation.
4. I am a virgin and will not kiss my wife until our wedding day. I cannot give her my first kiss ever, but she will be my last first kiss. I count it a privilege and an honor to not kiss anymore in order to protect the purity and value of my relationship to my wife.
5. Other than middle school “girlfriends,” I have never had a relationship. Though extreme, I have realized the importance of friendships and the ability to narrow down who my close friends are through my passions. My passion will lead me to my wife.
6. Favorites of movies and music are “Singing in the Rain” & Tenth Avenue North. I love dancing and SITR is such a warm-hearted movie. Mike can put into words the beauty of wrestling with the truth that Jesus’ love never fails.
7. I am an intent listener. Within the last year it has gotten extremely difficult to remember everything, but I will never stop listening.
8. I have been to 5 out of 7 continents. Australia & Antarctica are left.
9. Panda Bears are my favorite animal. 3 reasons why. I had a Panda blanket as a kid. They are adorable, and they also have the ability to destroy. Pretty sweet combination.
10. I am an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
11. My favorite sports in order are futbol (soccer in all forms from outdoor, indoor to futsol), hockey, spearfishing, basketball, football (States’ version), baseball and skiing.
12. I love dogs. My favorite kinds are the Bernese Mountain dog, Australian Shepherd, Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, and the Labrador.
13. Listening to music is one of my favorite things in the world to do. I enjoy different types from heavy metal to classical. I tend to listen to metal more than anything. Follow my choices on http://www.last.fm/user/tommyparke
14. Reading is very fun to me. Favorite writers are Andy Stanley, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, John MacArthur, Stephen Arterburn, Craig Gross, Charles Spurgeon, and C.S. Lewis.
15. I intend to write two books on lessons I’ve learned in life. One for my son and the other for my daughter. Hopefully more, but those are the two most important.
16. I have become a stickler for time. Every minute is given by God and if I can control stewardship of it, especially when it comes to others’ time, I will try to stay on schedule.
17. I hate sarcasm. I use it like most people because it’s become a language in itself, but the meaning of sarcasm has gotten lost and it’s an easy tool to use to mask the way you truly feel or to distance yourself from a situation/idea.
18. I’ve broken 10 bones in my life (Skull, Left tibia, right fibula, sternum, 3 ribs, 3 costovertebral joints), sprained both ankles, a concussion, and a heat stroke.
19. The three sickest times I’ve felt in my stomach through circumstances were when I came back from El Salvador from my first missions trip overseas, when I held an orphaned boy in Tanzania that was saved from a dumpster, and when I realized I could lose my daughter to sexual trafficking.
20. African culture from my Tanzanian experience is the most beautiful culture I’ve seen.
21. I’ve never had a cavity thanks to my mom making me take fluoride vitamins as kid and daily brushing.
22. I’ve had a beard since 5th grade.
23. Ben Stiller and Steve Carrell are my celebrity look-a-likes.
24. I use social networking sites as a way to stay connected anyway I can. If God has allowed me to meet you in some fashion, then the least I can do is at least try and keep that connection so I can help in anyway possible. There is a meaning for every person, place and thing in your life.
25. I’ve studied the Bible in school from kindergarten to college. I love teaching the Bible and I will continue on until I die.
Why I Believe in First Priority
The following letter is from the Broward/Miami-Dade County Director for First Priority of South Florida, Fred Revell, concerning the events that took place on November 12 at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL. For more information on this event, visit:
10th grader fatally shot at Broward high school
“Dear Board Members, Founders Fellowship and friends of First Priority,
Many of us were struck by the tragedy of the shooting on a public school campus in Broward County last week as a 15 year old girl lost her life. Our hearts were saddened as we learned some of the details of a life cut short because another female student, confused with gender identification issues, believed it appropriate to gun down young Amanda Collette for not responding to her advances over the course of several days. Our team struggled with the reality, as we have in the past; that we face insurmountable odds as we equip and encourage student missionaries to pray for and strive to be the catalyst for spiritual awakening on these campuses. As the details of Amanda’s story continued to unfold over the following days our staff and Campus Coaches were guided by the Holy Spirit to renew our fervor and encourage First Priority students to do all they can to fulfill the Great Commission by being salt and light at their schools…even if it means offering the ultimate sacrifice.
So the media had its day as some of the facts concerning what happened to Amanda and why had come to light…as some other details may never be made known. But God has blessed us with some information that we wanted you and your family to be aware of, and it is because of our relationship that I am excited to pass along to you the following:
Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, where this tragedy occurred, has a First Priority club which meets each Monday after school. But the First Priority club students also gather each Wednesday morning before classes at the flag pole to pray for their school. Word had come to us just a few days ago from David Geyer our Area Advisor that our Campus Coach at Dillard High, Rev. Crunch the Student Minister at Mount Olive Baptist Church, had told him young Amanda Collette had attended, for the first time, the prayer event that very day her life was taken. Rev. Crunch went on to share that rumor had it that Amanda had even made a decision for Jesus that morning, but this had yet to be verified. Then on Thursday, November 20th, Sarah Hadjuk, who is our Area Advisor to Northwest Broward, was an invited guest speaker at our Coral Glades High club. She was sharing the story of Amanda and that we were informed of her attendance at the pole prayer the morning of her death, but that we were unsure of her spiritual condition. Sarah went on to challenge the students to take every measure to know the spiritual status of their friends and be willing to lead unsaved friends to salvation. As Sarah was speaking Matt Boone, Campus Coach for the club and Student Minister at Church by the Glades, caught Sarah’s attention and stated, “we know what happened to Amanda that morning”! He continued and shared that one of Amanda’s close friends at Dillard High attends Matt’s student ministry and how he has been helping this young girl work through the pain of losing someone so dear. Matt has had conversations with this student and her mom and he has learned from them that not only had Amanda received Jesus for salvation just hours before she entered eternity but the gospel was preached at her funeral and more than 50 persons responded to an invitation to receive Christ!
Dear friend, if ever you wonder why God has called us together to function as a team to reach this generation with the Gospel on the public school campus by uniting the church may Amanda’s story be burned into our hearts that if only for her sake the 10 years of service and sacrifice made by so many is truly worth it all. For Amanda alone we can be grateful for God’s mercies and blessings this Thanksgiving season!”
No Need of a Physician
With life we have various ways we can live.
Recklessness. Conformity.
Wherever you find yourself, living life is up to you. I see life more often than not in three ways: Past, Present, Future. With this in mind, I will explain why I live the way I do right now using several people that have greatly impacted me to this day.
Past – I seem to refer to certain people in my life more dominantly than others, but it comes from the familiarity and intimacy I have with them. For example, my dad. Tom Parke is one of the greatest people to ever walk the earth. The more I grow up I see how amazing he was as I was growing up under his direct care. He loved me in the most tangible ways and because of my present understanding how love was, I see clearly how the past has brought me to this point today. He sacrificed so much for my family that I don’t mind sacrificing certain things if it will do more good. I am not what he has been to me, but I hope to be that way in the future more and more everyday.
Present – This writing comes from a helpful hint from a great guy, Scott. He encouraged me to “Stop and Smell the Roses” occasionally from the pace of life I lead. Scott in himself is a story of how awesome God’s love can change a person. When I moved down to Miami last year, he was seeking God in a intellectual way, but now I continue to see him seek God in personal ways. Through serving in church to being genuine in his relationships with his girlfriend and friends, his present day change is a hope I have for students and people that I work with on a daily basis.
Future – Some of you may know that I had a friend that I grew up with back home recently commit suicide. We were not the greatest friends, but we knew each other from church and school. His mom was always so encouraging to me whenever I was back home from college and the fact that because her son had lost hope in life has been ripping me apart lately. I do not know the state of his heart with God at the time that he took his life, but the thing that disturbs me in my sleep and keeps me from sleeping well is that in the book of Revelation in the 20th chapter John writes that at the culmination of God’s wrath, those whose names are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be “tormented day and night forever and ever.” I am so scared for the future that awaits people who do not know the truth about Jesus and if people lose hope in life by not following Jesus then that is what will happen at the end.
To end, for those who follow Jesus, remember His words when it comes to the way He lived His life. Think about who you hang out with a majority of the time. Jesus came to people who didn’t know Him. Do we do that? Are we reaching out to them, or at the very least training up people to do it? Jesus had a mission and it was for a certain group of people, the sick. “”Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous but sinners.” – Mark 2:17
Guest Video for Life in Student Ministry on timschmoyer.net
Tim let me post a video about a tip for student ministry workers and the best tip I could think of is knowing that you can minister alongside students.
Flickr
|
Networks
Recent Comments