ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES!!!

People have been asking me what I see from the Lord in 2010, I will be giving a “state of the Kingdom” address at the church on Jan 3rd and it will be posted on our sermon.net site however I wanted to write some preamble for my blog/Facebook community.

The verse that has come to me over and over is:

2 Corinthians 9:7-13 (New American Standard Bible)
7Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9as it is written,
"HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR,
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER."
10Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;
11you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. 13Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,

Last year our thrust from the Lord was to build authentic community, to work past the differences and intentionally find the Love of God in our hearts and learn to express it to Him and each other. We intentionally built bridges to each other’s heart; we got honest about what has kept us apart. This was not an easy year for many but those who lived transparently had a great break-though. We wrestled as a community to find that tension between open heart living and learning to trust and be trustworthy; the tension between having the freedom to be you while living out that freedom responsibly within a community context.

2010 is a time of alignment;
“Each one must do as he has purposed in his heart” like never before we must allow God to reveal what is in our hearts and ask Him to reveal the desires of His heart. I am challenging you my friends and family to align your heart with God’s in 2010. Discover what He desires for you in this year of life and then surrender it to Him and do it willingly as an act of worship and love. For me and I believe the Bridge as a community I believe He wants us to SERVE our neighbors with extravagant faith and generosity this year. I have found the best way to build authentic community is to serve together!!! Serving brings out many things, it reveals heart…it challenges our motives…it develops integrity…it pleases God!!

At Christmas we joined with Son Valley Fellowship and delivered 25 hampers. It was a great evening and there was a sense of excitement and team work. We worked along side one another with anticipation of the joy this was going to bring to many families. As we prayed together for those families to receive the gifts with the love they were given real heart felt prayers of concern and love came out from our hearts. It was an awesome time in fact several people said I can’t wait for next year…NEXT YEAR!!!! I thought we DO NOT have to wait for a year to be a blessing, we do not have to wait for lights and trees and Santa to actually serve!! Let’s make it a life style in 2010!

Micah 6:8 says 8He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

Lets purpose in our heart to “do justice” that is serving our community; to “love kindness” that is serving each other; and “walk humbly with our God” that’s serving HIM!!

So my friends and family ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES here we go!!!

Mark is a motivational speaker with a difference - he connects right to the heart of the audience. This year Mark is hoping to see his faith community find a deeper connection to the "what" of their mission. Mark's favorite thing about the Christmas season is spending time with his family.

Authentic Relationships

Relationships can be the most complicated painful part of your life. The paradox is they can also be the most rewarding and greatest blessing. My parents were married 60 years before my dad passed away and I don’t remember one fight. They were a great couple, my dad used to joke that they didn’t need a dishwasher because he was a built in one. The thing is that he always treated my mom like a queen honoring her at every opportunity. I was talking to a friend the other night and helping her navigate through a relational issue and I made the following statement which I believe came from the heart of God!

“The key in every relationship is that if you can’t be yourself in it, then you need to look inward and ask, ‘Why can’t I?’” I think if I can’t be myself with people I hang out with then there is something wrong, either in my heart or theirs (I can only change mine). In thinking about all this and asking those questions I realized how much of our lives we spend on trying to make people like us. Insecurity and the desire to be accepted make us do all kinds of crazy things that just aren’t who we are. If people don’t like me “for me” then are they really a friend? Then if they get to know the “fake me” do they love me or the person I pretend to be. Imagine with me for moment if we actually invested the same amount of time working on authentic relationships, strengthening them, investing in them and enjoying them. Battling through the tough times but sticking together. If you had to do an inventory of your relationships and had to separate the real from the fake how many friends would you have left. Personally I would rather have one or two real authentic relationships then a hundred shallow fake ones. I would rather be unpopular and loved by a few then popular at the cost the authenticity. Jesus said no greater love is this “that they would lay their lives down for a friend” then He did it. That is the kind of friend who accepts you for who you are and sticks with you through everything. Jesus lived for us long before He died for us. So how can you tell if someone is authentic?

1. They aren’t in a hurry - It takes time, don’t be in hurry, be at peace with who you are and you will attract people who know who they are and both will be patient in the process. My best friends are the longest relationships I have.

2. They are transparent - if they can’t be transparent about themselves then they won’t care what is going on in you. They know they have weaknesses and will be honest about them.

3. They listen well – Authentic people genuinely care about what you have to say. They practice active listening to ensure they understand your heart more then the information you share or what you can do for them.

4. They stay in the storm – when troubles do come through misunderstandings they seek to make things right, they can say sorry and take responsibility for their part. If it is always your fault it’s not real.

5. They love God more then you – if they demand your love above God’s it is a problem. Authentic people will not be insecure about you loving other people or God. They don’t demand all your attention they give you space to grow other relationships in addition to theirs. In fact they encourage it because they know it will enrich both your lives.

Hope this helps you look at your relationships and invest most of your time with the authentic ones…God first, Family…Friends!

Mark has worked hard to see these type of relationships become the cultural norm at The Bridge. It is definitely a place of family and authenticity. Mark is gearing up for Christmas and looking forward to time with family.

RISE UP! - If not you then…WHO?

Tonight Sandi and I watched 20/20 a news magazine show on ABC. They were doing a special on kids living in poverty in America. Well it totally broke our hearts - the children interviewed were amazing and I was so proud of the way they carried themselves and articulated their heart. There were a couple of things that jumped out that I want to share. First of all was a young 5 year old heading off to kindergarten for his first day. He was so excited because he knew at 5, that if he got an education, he could get a good job and get his mom a house. You see they were homeless and had gone through several close opportunities to get a place to stay just to have the rug pulled out under their feet at the last moment. His only request from God was to have their own home to start kindergarten. Well that didn’t happen but there he was on his way to school thanking God that he could go. No home, no breakfast but grateful just the same.

The teacher was working on counting to three with him and one of the exercises was to answer a question that would be simple for anyone, even a five year old, to answer but it stumped him. I was holding my breath for him thinking why doesn’t he answer he had been counting to three all day long and was so proud of his achievement. What was the question that stumped him? How many meals a day do we eat? The answer of course is three…you see he could count to three but in his short five years he had never had three meals in one day, he simply did not know the answer because it was foreign to him. I thought come on are you telling me that no one can get this kid three meals in one day in five years. This leads me to the second thing that stood out the lady reporter had a spot after a commercial where she said some of you may be asking why ABC didn’t help this and other families they were interviewing. Her lame answer was because they wanted to present it the way they have to live and work it out on their own.

I thought to myself, “WHO IS GOING TO RISE UP!” Immediately God said to me If not you… who! I thought of Samuel who said “Here I am Lord” I felt conviction in my heart and I know I am to rise up. No pointing fingers, no expecting government to help, no blaming the rich, or the poor. What am I GOING TO DO! I can’t help the 20 thousand kids in this New Jersey town that are in third world conditions but can I help ONE in Kelowna. Last week we heard that many kids in Kelowna go to school hungry! This is unacceptable this is my city, these are my kids, this is my problem and it is my responsibility to be the solution. Can you imagine a city that all thought that way? What could we do to change a life? It takes so little effort to make a huge difference. The bible says don’t pray for the hungry and then send them away hungry. Its time we ALL rise up and put an end to poverty…not just financial poverty but spiritual and emotional poverty as well. How about you? We all have a choice of which direction we will point a finger…to someone else…or at yourself.

Mark has always had a heart to see the church be at the center of fulfilling the social needs of the community. As such, The Bridge does many programs that make a difference in the community. We all wish Mark a happy holiday as he leaves this week for a long-awaited time away with his wife.