Don’t miss the start of our new series, “Wii Are Family” – this Sunday, 10:30am! We will have a blast diving in to navigating the famial relationships!
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Posted in Church in General, Family, Fun, Making Sense of Faith, Sermons
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Heaven and Hell – More than Halos and Pitchforks, Right?
The last two Sundays we’ve been in our series, “Heaven and Hell – More than Halos and Pitchforks, Right?” 
On Easter Sunday, we tackled a few of the misconceptions about heaven and took a quick look at what the Bible said or at least inferred about what heaven would be like. Then, this past Sunday, we tackled the topic of hell. It certainly wasn’t the most glamorous topic to take on, but it had to be done. Now, we look ahead to part three of the series that will be this coming Sunday. We are going to tackle YOUR questions about the concept of heaven and hell. We’ve given you the opportunity (if you’ve been @ The Bridge one of the last two Sundays) to submit your questions that we haven’t answered yet concerning heaven or hell. Here are a few of the questions we’ve gotten and will do our best to cover this coming Sunday:
- How can we have freewill in heaven and still not sin?
- Can you fall from heaven to hell?
- Do babies go to heaven/hell?
- What/where is purgatory?
- How can I have an intense joy for heaven and intense fear of hell to have passion for those who do not know Christ?
- Do people know each other in heaven? Do you know people who have already passed away?
- Once in hell, is there ever a way back? Can you get back to God or is it a done deal?
- Do we see our family and friends in heaven?
- Can someone in hell pray enough for God to hear?
- Will God take someone from hell to heaven?
If you have any other questions you want us to consider, please send ’em in! Hope to see ya Sunday @ The Bridge!
Posted in Making Sense of Faith, Scripture, Sermons
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Strong Woman
Just a quick post, as I have been utterly unfaithful in posting in a while.
Recently I heard on the radio that Tiger Woods wife, Elin, was working towards reconciliation with Tiger. My first thought to this would be “awesome.” More people need to have that kind of “unconditional” and “covenental” love. But then the radio guy begins to bash the poor woman and talk about what a bad example she is being to other women by working toward reconciliation. Yes, Tiger did an awful thing. And no woman deserves that. But to suggest that working toward reconciliation is the wrong path is completely off base.
I asked my Connection Group (weekly Bible study group) what they thought. One wise woman commented about how our society wants “strong women.” I agree. Our women need to be strong, respected, honored, valued, cherished, etc. They should not have to put up with abuse or infidelity. But that does not mean that a woman should be scorned and called a “bad example” for seeking reconciliation to the man she loves. Besides that, what Tiger and his wife do needs to be their own business, and we need to leave them alone.
Anyway…as it relates to this topic, probably my favorite story in the Bible is the marriage relationship of Hosea to Gomer. Long story short, Gomer is unfaithful to Hosea, and God commands Hosea to forgive her and accept her back as his wife. This was to be a picture of God’s unconditional, covenental love for His people. It’s our model to follow. Love is not simply sentimental emotion. It’s a choice. And it is to be unconditional. And it’s the best thing in the world.
I pray we have more strong women like Elin who value commitment and faith and forgiveness.
Posted in Family, Helping Others, Uncategorized
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Doritos Superbowl Commericial
One of the things I learned as a summer camp counselor at Camp Willow Run was that you can “be a Christian and have fun!” Therefore, just for funsies, I want you to help. Our friends, Dale and Cori, can possibly win a MILLION dollars with one of the commercials they submitted to the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” competition. Dale and Cori (and friends) have already had a commercial in the Super Bowl in 2007 (see youtube version below). And this year, they are giving it another go. Their team submitted two commericials among the over 4,000 entrants and BOTH of their commercials are in the final six! The top three make it to the Super Bowl. The number one rated Super Bowl commercial wins the MILLION DOLLARS!
So, how can you help? Go to www.crashthesuperbowl.com, register, watch the commericials and vote for one of their two commercials. Their commercials are called “Underdog” and “Kids These Days.” Also, to learn more about their team and commercials, go to their website – www.doritoscontest.com. Be sure to vote everyday and recruit your friends and family to vote as well. Update your twitter and facebook status with links to crashthesuperbowl so we get the viral effect going!
Posted in Fun, Helping Others, Money, Odd, Videos
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Church? In a preschool???
This past Sunday, I was privileged to share a message on the vision of our church. As a part of that message, I was able to share several “Bridge Stories” of Bridge attenders and how God has been at work in their life. In one of the stories, a young lady wrote:
“I quickly learned that it is not the physical structure that makes a church.”
I love this statement. In context, she was talking about how at first she thought it odd that our young church met in a preschool. She wondered how we could have “mass” in such an environment. But, as she said, it’s not the building that makes up the church. This is incredibly insightful. The church is to be so much more than a building. It’s a community. It’s a body of people who are on a faith journey together. Their direction, their vision, their purpose is to know God and find their lives in him. As they get to know Him, the vision for their life, their church will become clear.
My vision message from Sunday ultimately was made plain in this verse:
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
As we focus on who Jesus is, and discover what he is passionate about, we can then become passionate about the same things.
Tiger Woods and Billy Graham
We all know what’s happening with Tiger Woods. If you’re like me, you’re disappointed, but not surprised. Men of character and integrity are hard to find. Which is why a man like Billy Graham seems so rare. 
The way I understand it, Billy Graham made a decision EARLY in life to never be alone in the same place with any woman besides his wife. He didn’t want to leave any room for temptation or for accusations. Which is why, like yesterday, that everytime I get on an elevator, I think of Graham. I heard once that if Graham was on the elevator by himself, and a woman got in the elevator, he got out and waited for the next opportunity in order to guard himself against temptation and accusation. May all of us men (and women) strive to have such character and integrity and live lives above reproach. (And let’s also be willing to have grace and forgive when we and others fail in our attempts.)
“…he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.” Nehemiah 7:2
Posted in Family, Making Sense of Faith, Odd
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Two Great Organizations to Support
While at the Catalyst Conference two weeks ago, I was certainly moved by two organizations that are making a difference in our world – Hope International and Compassion International. Let me tell you a little about each.
Hope International is “a Christian faith-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused 
on alleviating physical and spiritual poverty through microenterprise development.” In other words, they collect donations and then LOAN that money out to entrepreneurs in impoverished situations. The small loans enable these men and women to grow their businesses and support their families. The loans, of course, are paid back. The money is then recycled into another loan to help another family. Wow. Great idea. At Catalyst, Hope International gave away over $120,ooo to the Catalyst attendees (approximately 13,000 of us). Each person received $10 and then was challenged to turn their $10 into $100 and send it back to Hope to become a loan for a needy family. That $120,000 has the potential to become 1.2 million if all of us successfully multiply our gift. To learn more about the microlending program, visit their site at www.neverendinghope.org.
Compassion International is an organization most of us have already heard of. Compassion offers the opportunity to sponsor children in poverty at the cost of $38 per month. Each sponsorships helps provide opportunitiy for education, health living, and connection with a church family that will help the child understand the love and grace of God through His Son Jesus. At Catalyst, I had the opportunity to witness the live testimony of a young Kenyan man named Jimmy who was sponsored through Compassion and who’s life was changed. There at Catalyst, as Jimmy shared his story, he also got to meet his sponsor there on stage in an incredible emotional exchange of tears and gratitude. To see this powereful moment, click here.
Just two weeks ago, we collected a special offering at church. Over $450 was donated to send $100 to Hope International and to sponsor a child through Compassion. Our childs name is Frank January Manyanda. He is pictured above. He i s 7 years old and lives in Tanzania. When we receive our sponsorship packet, I will let you know how you can contribute and support Frank through our church.
Thank you all for giving!
Posted in Food, Fun, Helping Others, Making Sense of Faith, Missions, Money, Videos
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Things We Say – The Heartbeat
Last post I talked about “the pulse” – our Connection Cards. But what gives the pulse life? The heartbeat. And the heartbeat of the Bridge is the Connection Group. Connection Groups are otherwise known as small groups or Bible studies. These groups come in all sorts of shapes and sizes – men’s, women’s, co-ed, youth, on Sundays, or midweek, with childcare, without childcare, etc. Some of our Groups are ongoing, and some are close-ended. But why are they the heartbeat?
Connection Groups are the heartbeat of The Bridge b/c we believe they are the place where real life is encountered. Sunday mornings are great, and hopefuly life-changing at times. But Sunday mornings are a larger mass of people where we can easily blend in and get lost in a crowd. Growth happens on Sundays, but it is only a part of the equation of how we grow and develop spiritually. At The Bridge, we really believe that being a part of a Connection Group is essential to a healthy spiritual life. Connect groups are a place where we are known, cared for and encouraged in our walk with God. Connect Groups are a chance to go deeper, learn more, and put into practice what we learning.
Making the step to be a part of a Connection Group is not always an easy one. Some people jump right in, but others aren’t as inclined. Many of us are a little more introverted and prefer to keep it that way! Even so, I really believe that being a part of one our groups is vital to spiritual growth. Introverted or extroverted, we need others to help us grow. The Bible speaks repeatedly of how followers of Christ are to “love one another” or “serve one another” or “forgive one another.” There are TONS of these “one another’ statements! And we can’t “one another” one another unless we are in relationships. Connection Groups are where these “one anothers” are able to happen.
Anyway…join a Connection Group! They are AWESOME! If you want to make that plunge, check the box on your Connection Card Sunday or fill out a request on our website to join a group @ http://bit.ly/3VACluand write “Connection Group” in the “Comment” section!
The Pulse
Every Sunday @ The Bridge we ask people to fill out a “Connection Card” and 
we often say, “this is the pulse of our church.” The Connection Card is the little tear off sheet attached to the bulletin where you can fill-in your name, address, SS #, CC #, etc. Just Kidding. We do ask everyone to fill out the card which does include info like name, address, kids, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. It’s tedious work. Some of you may wonder, “Why do I have to fill out this dad-blame(sp?) card every week?” But there are a number of reason we do this.
- We believe the Connect Card is the pulse of our church. When someone fills out their card, we are learning something about them. Did they have a prayer request? Is God calling them to some point of decision? Do they want to join a Connection Group? All these things help us to get a guage or pulse on what is happening in the life of our church.
- Another reason we ask everyone to fill out a card is that we REALLY want our newcomers to fill out a card so we can send them a “thank you” for investing some of their time in us. We want to be able to let our newcomers know that we are really glad that we had a connection point with them. But here’s the deal, if we only ask newcomers to fill out the card, it singles them out! We don’t want to do this! We want everyone to blend together as one big happy church family. If everyone else is filling out a card, our newcomers are more likely to fill out their card.
So, when we ask you to fill out your Connection Card each week, let me say “thanks” in advance for doing just that. Your doing that helps us check our pulse and engage our newcomers.
Things we say
Something we repeat often @ The Bridge, but not always in the same way, is that people are in need of help, hope and healing. This goes along right along with our vision of being “outwardly-focused.” 
We remind ourselves of this b/c it is so easy to forget. It is so easy for us turn inward, and think only of our own problems, and forget that people all around us are hurting, needing hope and healing. All of us are pretty good at putting on our masks. We clean up pretty good on the outside, but on the inside there is often a lot of doubt, fear, self-loathing, guilt, etc, etc, etc. I think it is our natural tendency to just blind ourselves from the reality that people we are around us are in need. If we didn’t wear our mask or tried to see past everyone elses, it would really become overwhelming. But it is so important that we don’t become so inwardly focused to the neglect of everyone around us. It is to overwhelming to know about and want to help those who are hurting, needing hope and healing. But we aren’t the savior. It is not our job to ‘fix’ everybody. Our hope is in God. And God is the hope we can share with those in need.
So, know this, people are hurting. They want help. They desire healing. They may not show it. They may not say it. But a lot of them are hoping that someone cares and has that hope, help or healing from them. Care enough today to look past someone’s mask and love them. Lend a hand. Pray for them. Serve them. Invest your life in theirs. You may be the one that plants that seed of hope that leads that friend, neighbor, family member to put their trust in God.
MikeWindley.com 