BLeach

The Annual Physical

Neighborhood Pastors

We're experimenting with a new outreach opportunity this year.  Our goal is to commission teams of two to four volunteers in our church to serve as neighborhood pastors.  Each team will adopt up to five houses in strategic neighborhoods around Southfield Lathrup High School.  The goal is to develop personal relationships with our neighbors, share God's love with them in practical ways, and pray for them consistently. 

We'll kick it off this Saturday with an orientation.  Then each team will take two weeks to pray over their homes before any visiting takes place.  We'll be praying specifically for God to open hearts and bring strategic needs to the surface.  Then each team will visit their homes to simply introduce themselves and express a desire to serve.

After the first visit we'll do like Jesus.  We'll continue to focus on the homes that are most receptive and develop deeper relationships with them. 

So far we've got eleven people signed up!  We'll start things small, learn as we go, and hopefully expand the vision this spring. 

For what it's worth, here are the specific commitments each neighborhood pastor makes:

• A personal relationship with Jesus Christ
• Regular Sunday attendance at COTK
• A consistent, daily devotional life
• Daily prayer for their adopted neighborhood and families
• At least two visits each month to adopted families
• Monthly contact with a coach for encouragement and accountability
• Communicate appropriate neighborhood needs to prayer teams
• Commitment to the vision of COTK
• Attend neighborhood pastor orientation

Looking forward to taking Jesus to the streets!

Bible Reading Journey::Genesis

• I think I often lose the wonder of the creation account.  Maybe that's why Scripture takes so much space to continue to remind us that God is the Creator.
• Can't imagine living hundreds of years with animals without ever seeing a woman!
• So cool that God calls man "very good."  They're words of pleasure.  And they counteract my performance addiction.
• Temptation starts with a question.  I need God to sanctify my curiosity.
• Interesting that the first murder takes place between brothers.  We often hurt the ones we love the most.
• This verse is like Bible caffeine.  It wakes me up!
• I can't think of a higher goal than this.
• The Ark must have been a bumpy ride.  I wonder if any of them got seasick?
• I think I neglect the discipline of altar making.  I want to build more reminders into my life of what God has done along the journey.
• Three big faith words: So Abram went!
• Abraham wasn't the brightest husband.  There are some things your wife says that she doesn't really mean!
• I wonder if Lot licked his wife?
• Radical obedience.
• I know the Patriarchs are heroes of the faith, but so many of their stories are absolutely head scratching.  You did what!?
• I think I'll marry my daughter like Abraham married Isaac.  More control that way!
• I don't know if I'll ever understand why Esau would sell his blessing for one meal.
• Sin always comes back around.  Jacob deceives his brother, and ends up being deceived by people the rest of his life.
• Seriously, how in the world does this happen!?!?
• There are just some things you don't tell your older brothers.
• Flee temptation!
• Be patient.  God knows exactly where you are.
• Bitterness has to hit its breaking point.
• This is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible.
• I hope I still have this kind of vision at the end of my life.

So True

He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart.

-CS Lewis

Why I Ripped My Clothes

I had a little fun in my message yesterday as I preached through Matthew 23.  In that chapter, Jesus refers to the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites six times!  The word originally referred to an actor who performs behind a mask.

My big idea: Outer appearances may mask inner brokenness, but Jesus wants to heal your heart.

To illustrate it, I wore a suit and tie.  Because I rarely wear a suit and tie, I received many comments throughout the morning about my outfit.  During my message I talked about how good I looked.  Then, about midway through, I unbuttoned my jacket and the lower half of my tie was shredded.  Next, about five minutes later, I took my jacket off to reveal my shirt which was also shredded.  Later I asked the question, "What if we all took off our suit coats today?"

I HATE that we think the church is a place to pretend we're perfect.  Wow, we really miss the point if that's the mistake we make.  The church is a place to be healed.

It was so fun to see people "get it."  And even more fun to rip my clothes on Saturday night!

Smudged

Yesterday we kicked off a brand new series called Smudged.  We mailed out ten thousand invitations to the neighborhoods around Southfield Lathrup High School.  Between the mailer and our teacher appreciation invites, we had our highest number of guests so far!  And it was great to see so many of them open their hearts to God during the response time.  I'm believing people will continue to experience healing during this series!

You can check out the series description here.

My First Pink Post...

...is in honor of my daughter!

That's right.  Leah and I are having a baby girl!

That means that my re-education has begun.  I've been asking Leah all kinds of questions about little girls.  And the more I think about it, the more my heart warms to the idea.  Pretty soon it will completely melt.

Just a few things I'm excited about:

• She has all her fingers and toes
• We can now focus in on selecting the name
• A little girl with Leah's eyes
• Holding her for the first time
• Figuring out what little girl's like to do
• Teaching her to dribble a basketball
  
• Adoring her and teaching her that she is beautiful
  
• Taking her out on her first date
• Taking her out on her second date
• Taking her out on her third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh dates
  
• Leah will have to do the sex talk
• Interrogating her first boyfriend (he gets the 73rd date)
  
• Walking her down the aisle (amazingly enough, this thought is already making me sad)!

It's official.  I'm toast!

What's it Gonna Be!

Teacher Appreciation Weekend

This weekend we'll be honoring teachers for the contribution they make to our community.  Now that we're gathering on Sundays at Southfield Lathrup High School, we're actively looking for opportunities to connect with and serve the students and faculty at the school.

The school allowed us to place invitations in the office mailboxes of every teacher and support staff member.  That's 150 invitations!  We've also been inviting teachers throughout the city.  Can't wait to bless so many contributors on Sunday!

If you call COTK home, there's still time to invite the teachers you know.  The service will be creative, fun, and full of God's Presence!

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