Welcome to Plugged In
A monthly publication that
informs, educates and inspires.
speaking the truth in love, we are to grow… There’s an epidemic that is running rampant in the evangelical church in America today. It’s a weed that has planted itself in deep, and it’s choking the life out of the church. It’s the reason why so many people’s faith runs a mile long but only an inch deep. It’s left so many people dead and dry and bored with their faith, that in the end, Christianity has been found to be powerless and unappealing, not only to those outside the church, but frankly, to many people inside the church as well. It’s the single biggest problem I see facing the church today, and it really boils down to one word. Compartmentalization. That’s a big word that basically means we’ve taken God and inserted Him into certain areas, or compartments, of our lives. Here’s what I mean… You see, when I first became a Christian in high school, I was told about this incredible God who loved me with no strings attached. For the next few weeks I was constantly with God no matter what I was doing. Walking through the halls of my high school, sitting in class, eating lunch with friends, even while working at night. I figured God was just constantly with me. I didn’t know any better. I was just sort of with Him and He was just sort of with me all the time. You know? But then something major happened. I was taught about this thing called a “quiet time” and how I was supposed to be spending 30 minutes every morning with God. Wow. So I figured, “Okay, if I really want to be a good Christian, if I really want to grow spiritually, then I should spend 30 minutes with God every morning.” And that’s exactly what I started doing. Rather than constantly being with God, it took me three weeks to learn the “discipline” of spending 30 minutes a day with Him! Within six weeks, I’d learned to put God into a few compartments of my life. Quiet times, Sunday morning services, and a Wednesday night program. Before long I had the same problem most people have. My life had changed from that of a guy who had found a powerful holistic kind of relationship with God, to someone who had a powerless and segmented faith. In effect, I was saying, “God, you can have my 30 minutes of quiet time, you can have my Sunday mornings, I’ll even give you my Wednesday nights. But you can’t have my job God! That compartment of my life is mine. You can’t have my social life God! That’s mine. You can’t have my weekends God! Those are mine!” I had packaged God neatly into certain compartments while in all these other major areas of my life, He was completely absent. In the end, I got to a place where my faith was a mile long, but just an inch deep, and I experienced a real problem that many of us are experiencing today: An inch deep faith is a powerless faith. Churches will often make promises of a deep life that’s available if you just show up to some programs, and practice some empty rituals. But do you want to know why so many Christians are dead and dry and bored in their faith? It’s because they’ve boiled their relationship with the God of the universe down to programs and rituals. They’ve boiled God down to 30 minutes a day in a “quiet time,” a service on Sunday and a program on Wednesday night, while all along the God of the universe is beckoning us for our entire lives. The remedy to an inch deep faith is not a program. It’s a person. Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, there is a faith that can run deep. There is a life that can be full. There is a God who is complete and whole and good and powerful. And the Bible says that in the midst of our sin, that same God came to us through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, a person, not a program, has made it possible for us to be with the God of the universe constantly and to taste the fruits of a life that isn’t segmented, but is saturated with God. That’s the Gospel. And it’s through that Gospel that we can kill the weeds of a compartmentalized faith that have choked the life out of so many of us, and left us with a powerless, inch deep kind of faith. It’s through that Gospel, that we can go to a depths and intimacy with Jesus that we’ve never experienced before. Through the beautiful Gospel of Jesus, together we can grow. Many of us belong to the Christian Community Credit Union (formerly American Baptist Credit Union) and although this is not a “plug” for them, it is a great idea for creative ways to give to mission over and above your tithe and offerings. The CCCU has just pledged $232,500 to the “Launch a Village” project in Northern Thailand. Mike and Becky Mann, our International Ministries missionaries who work with the Integrated Tribal Development Program in Thailand, are spearheading this powerful project that will help bring clean water and teach life skills in the poor and remote villages of that country. It will also facilitate the sharing of the Good News about the Living Water that can flow into each of the villager’s hearts and souls. Mike grew up in Thailand as the child of American Baptist missionaries, and Becky is a refugee from Vietnam who came to the U.S. through a program of First Baptist Church of Pomona, CA. A product of the mission outreach of that church, Becky grew up hearing “missionary stories.” When she met Mike, she was ready to begin writing her own unique missionary story. As the Lord has brought their lives together from very divergent paths, Mike and Becky are creating new mission adventures as they share the gospel in these remote villages of Thailand. Mike says, “Partnering with the Christian Community Credit Union is a great opportunity to put Christ’s love into action by helping resource-poor villagers in Thailand to be alleviated from poverty and at the same time plant the seeds of Christ.” The construction of a new school, health clinic, agricultural training and the provision of micro enterprise loans that will be life giving to 3 hill tribe villages. The money will also help enable the producing and marketing of Arabica coffee. The CCCU has a program that gives to mission and ministry every time you use their Gloria Marshall for Big Mac
Parents, It is time to register your child/children for the awesome summer camp that awaits them at Thousand Pines, June 22-27. Summer camp is for children entering grades 4-6 this fall! Thousand Pines is located in beautiful Crestline, California. Here are the facts you need to know:
If you would like to reserve a spot for your camper, or have questions, call Kim Coats at 393-8210 or email him at kimc@olivedrivechurch.com.
Finances Jan - Mar 2008
|
I’d never heard we were supposed to be carving out chunks of time for God during our day. It was a good thing somebody told me because up until that point, I’d just been like that annoying little wind up monkey going around constantly with God. 
Let’s talk about it more on Wednesday nights this May. We’re going to meet in the Great Room after dinner around 6:30 and pour into God’s Word to see what He has to say about growing spiritually. The whole church is invited to come. I hope you’ll join us!
credit card for any kind of purchase. To date they have given $750,000 of support to International Ministries. It is now over 50 years old and serves over 29,000 members nationwide. So, what’s in your wallet for mission? May 2008
 |
|||||||||
>>Kids Summer Camp<< >>Finance Report<< >>OGF Report<< |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
FORGIVE OUR MISTAKE |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
