One More Thing

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend is here and there are a few things I want to share with you:

The Weekend

Tim is preaching this weekend as we continue our series in Acts. Here's what he says about the sermon

As you read the account of Paul's life in Acts and his letters to churches, you can't miss the incredible warmth and depth of his relationships with other believers. I think we all long for those kinds of friendships. But is that realistic - or even possible - for us today?

As we look at Acts 20-21 this weekend, I hope you'll see that there's nothing quite like the kind of friendships that we can have in Christ, and that the obstacles to getting there aren't as insurmountable as we may think.

FYI

Ruth Moon on "Segregated Surveys: How Politics Keeps Evangelicals White"

You can disbelieve in God, never go to church, and still identify as "evangelical" in most polls. But if you're black and evangelical, you literally don't count.

Susan Wunderink on "A Survey Can Make You Less Moral: What behavioral economics has to do with scary statistics"

Research shows that statistics have a life of their own. They’re not just reports on what is happening; they change what is happening. ...Basically, people tend to move closer to the behavior they perceive as normative, whether it's worse or better than their current behavior. This is called social proof. When people change for the worse, it's called a boomerang effect.

One More Thing

Australian pastor and author Mark Sayers has been known for missional innovation but has this to say (in a recent interview) about the kind of leadership needed in today's culture, a culture which eats away at foundations and leaves individuals without a place to stand:

You need leaders who identify the safe rocks on which to stand—the biblical foundations of wisdom, faith, justice, holiness, family, and communal life. You need leaders who can differentiate between the genuine prophetic biblical voice, which calls culture back to God, and the deconstructive impulse within modernity, which wants to return to the chaotic and primal. In a culture powered by individualism, you need leadership rooted in Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross. And in a time when people either run from power or abuse it, you need the servant leadership modeled by Christ.

10 Tweets and Com Card Comments

Here is my sermon in 10 tweets, “The Anatomy of a Church Planting Venture," Acts 18:1-11 1/ Wherever God’s people went, they invited others into a relationship with God and with God’s people.

2/ The first thing Paul did when entering a city wasn’t to go to a synagogue, it was to look for a job.

3/ When Paul planted a church, the people in those churches didn’t just come from the synagogue, they came from his vocational network.

4/ When your identity is in Christ, you will eventually be identified with Christ where you work.

5/ In a sense we are all “tentmakers,” on mission wherever we live and work.

6/ Acts 18:4 - “he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks”

7/ What may feel uncomfortable to talk about in the workplace (uncomfortable for everyone) is natural at a church or similar location.

8/ Our closest friends and family are often the hardest to reach, but most people are reached by their closest friends and family.

9/ "What kind of person am I if I don’t do what God laid on my heart to do?"

10/ "Mike, don't neglect the spiritual life of your son."

Here are the comments from last weekend's Communication Cards:

// Pastor Henry, thank you for sharing your friend Mike’s faith story. It was very moving.

// That story – IMPACTFUL! Praise God!

// Congrats Jeremy! How beautiful!

// Thank you for great worship and learning and encouragement.

// Great video – how simple – how eternal. Great faith story of Mike.

// Wow, what a great service. Thank you!

// Great, great worship set! Love the last song in the opening set. So well done. As was the opener. You guys do such a great job. Thanks for the message Henry. Love your preaching. Loved Dodi’s story.