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Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:25:00 +0000

Great Sunday! Some really exciting things happening in the area of Volunteer Ministries and our Advance series.
Today was our Volunteer Expo. Following both worship experiences we had our ministry center set up for people to meet with ministry team directors and talk about getting involved.
Matt said that we had between 20-30 people who were not already volunteering regularly express interest in joining a volunteer team! Awesome! Very proud of you guys!
I really do believe that God did not design his church to have grandstands, only a playing field.
Speaking of grandstands...what happened to the Bears today...it's like they forget to step on the playing field.
People really seemed to be excited about how they could get involved in advancing the mission and vision that God has given our church.
Also, gave people permission today to say, "this probably is not the church for me." I'm serious when I say, "If this is not the church for you, I want to help you find the right one."
Saw some really exciting things today at BridgeWay...including: Our friends the Terrell's and Lewis' at church, Chris Sies' friend Tom who runs a sound company who helped run sound today, and a young man who has been making major growth over the last few weeks expressing his worship to God...awesome sights.
Pretty excited to hear all the stories from our 2nd Bless Back Project! Don't miss next Sunday to hear some great stories of how God used this project.
If you're unfamiliar with our Bless Back Project it's based on Genesis 12 where God says to Abram, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing." We did this last year and wanted to remind our church of this principle. So we took the equivalent to our first weeks offering and disbursed it to our congregation in denominations of $5, $10, $20, and $50. They were challenged to: Pray about who God wanted them to bless this week. Find a way to bless them (either using the money or adding to it), then to share the story with us by e-mail. You do not want to miss next Sunday!
Also next Sunday we will be asking people to make a financial commitment to our Advance 2009 Vision Initiative. Our goal is to raise commitments of $30,000...please be praying about how God would have you to be involved.
Pretty excited to be meeting with several of our ministry leaders this week to talk about our Prayer Strategy for 2009, our Campus Development Strategy, and our Worship Band Development Structure....going to be a great week.
Going to be traveling to Valporazo Church of the Nazarene with Matt, Chuck, Kevin, and Scott this week to talk about multi-site. Valpo has been doing multi-site for awhile and we're hoping to learn a lot.
We'll also be taking in the Catalyst One Day event at Granger Community Church, and crashing at my parents place in Michigan (we're still technically a church plant...gotta save money anyway we can)!
I love pastoring BridgeWay...wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Sunday Night Reflections (aka week in review)

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:20:00 +0000

Wow, that was one extremely full week!
Monday, our staff flew out of Bloomington at 5am to head to Atlanta for the Multi-Site Practicum at Mountain Lake Church.
By the end of the day Monday we had a clear understanding of where we stood in our journey towards becoming ONE CHURCH, WITH MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.
Tuesday, we spent the day with Dave Ferguson and his crew from Community Christian Church refining our action steps for launching our next campus sometime in 2009. By the end of the day we had clear action steps that will guide our timeline towards launch.
Also on Tuesday we were able to catch an early flight back to Bloomington, so I was able to surprise Helena at her basketball game in Washington! The look on her face when I walked in was awesome...I love surprising my kids!
Wednesday, was spent creating our website for our multi-site initiative. We filmed about 30 minutes of Q&A videos to answer people's questions about multi-site, and finished the design work on the website...by the end of the day...advance2009.com was live!
Thursday, our staff spent the day with about 100 pastors from across central Illinois at Riverside Church in Peoria for their Related Leaders event with Scott Hodge from Orchard Valley Community Church. It was a great day, and I finally had the chance to meet some of the staff from Elevate Church here in Morton...spent the rest of the day meeting with people from BridgeWay....great day!
Friday, we spent the day finalizing all the media, staging, and the message for Saturday's UNiTE event and Sunday's Worship Experiences...met with my friend Rick DeGrave (who did a great job leading small group for me last week) and then Friday night I got to watch this movie with my family in the Schaeffer family theater (aka basement).
Saturday, I must have reworked my message for Sunday about 3 times Saturday...finally I realized...sometimes you just gotta' preach whatcha' got.
Our UNiTE event with our volunteers was amazing Saturday night. We had about 70 volunteers come out for a killer 70's potluck and karaoke night...that's right potluck and 70's karaoke! Watching Adam Lagacy singing "I'm So Excited" was one of the best things I've seen in months...the Robbins' family had the best group costumes and Marla Hood was right there with the best individual costume. The Children's Ministry Team won again for there performance of "I Will Survive"...and if you get a chance ask my wife about the video footage she has of Dave Gamma performing to YMCA.
Okay...so on to today at BridgeWay.
Historic day for our church!
Today we announced that we are going to launch a second campus of BridgeWay Community Church in Pekin sometime in 2009!
Great spirit in worship...the band was awesome and really drew us into God's presence, and prepared us to go out to shine the light of Christ in Tazewell County.
The worship set was great: Come and Listen, God of This City, The Time Has Come, Let God Arise, and We Shine!
Another great crowd with 311 in worship...not the band, but the attendance.
The set design that James Flannigan, Sam Dever, Matt Robinson, and Kevin Grose put together for this morning was awesome! Great city scape and lighting!
Very happy to have our friends Shelly and Leah in worship with us this morning...great lunch with Leah and her son Levi at Steak and Shake this afternoon...very fun people!
Shelly Williams cracked me up after worship when she told me that her family had researched our staff's trip and figured out what the big announcement was before we made it...we've got some creative people at BridgeWay! Love you guys!
Mad props to our staff today...it's been a crazy week, but it was a good crazy...thanks for all you do to help lead our church!
Just a reminder if you're interested in joining the prayer team or launch team for the Pekin campus...don't miss BridgeWay next Sunday!
Also, don't forget the Volunteer Expo after both worship experiences next week...if you attend BridgeWay and are not currently volunteering anyway...would you pray about how God would have you to get involved?
And last...would you begin praying about how God would have you give to make the Pekin campus a reality...we'll be celebrating on November 23rd with a commitment offering...let's blow this $30,000 figure out of the water and do this thing right!
Love you all...can't wait to see you again this next Sunday!

Advance 2009 Starts Tomorrow!

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:41:00 +0000

To say that I'm pumped up about Sunday is an understatement! This Sunday, after what seems like months of waiting, we will be sharing our Vision Initiative for 2009 with BridgeWay. The best word I can think of to describe tomorrow is REVOLUTIONARY!

When we launched BridgeWay 3 years ago, we desired to see God do something revolutionary through our church...tomorrow...will be a day that is going to be Revolutionary...Don't miss it...or else...that's right, I said, "Or else!"

Oh, and by the way...there will be a new "Brilliant" video...by far the funniest one yet!

Sunday Afternoon Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Because I'm going to bed early tonight in order to catch a 6am flight out of Bloomington, I'll be posting my reflections a bit early today.
So seriously, was that a "redonkulous" morning at BridgeWay or what (props to my homegirl Julia Mumma for letting me steal her word)!
So pretty sure that was the best I've ever heard the BridgeWay band play ever!
"Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence...are you serious! That was simply amazing...we recorded it and I should get the DVD tonight...can't wait!
I love using media in my messages. It's awesome to see how God is at work in and through culture to bring people into a relationship with him if we will just have eyes to see it.
Used the metaphor of the butterfly to talk about the transformation that God works in our lives.
Favorite line of the day, "There's a world of distance between BELIEVING in Christ and BEING in Christ."
Used the TV show LOST, and the story of Charlie's drug addiction as a narrative that carried most of the illustration of the sermon...pretty fun to put together.
Great spirit in both worship experiences...people were obviously moved at both 9:30 and 11:00...wish I could tell you all the pretty amazing stories that were going on today...let's just say that God was working big-time just to get several people there this morning and then broke through in powerful ways.
Love the song "Come Awake" by Crowder...great song to close both services with.
Pretty amazing numbers today...324 in worship, 6 people who accepted Christ, and over 20 who felt God calling them to fully surrender to God's leadership in their lives!
Just a reminder...we're not about numbers for the sake of numbers....we're about life change and ever number represents a life that is being changed...love it!
Great "All About BridgeWay Lunch" after church today...got to spend some time with some great people that are new to BridgeWay.
Hugh props to Matt's Small Group for hosting the event, providing the food, and childcare for everyone...thanks so much!
Can't wait to get to travel to Atlanta tomorrow with our staff to go to Mountain Lake Church and spend 2 days at a training event that is going to be groundbreaking for our church.
Pray for us if you think about it!
Don't miss out on the start of ADVANCE next Sunday at both 9:30 & 11:00...God has really been challenging us and we're about ready to launch out on a path that few churches have ever walked down.
Can't wait to see you all next Sunday!

God's Love Covers Your Sins

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Sunday I shared a list called "The ABCs of Sins God's Love Covers"...obviously this was not a complete list, but was designed to help people realize that God's love covers all of our sins (with a few extra ones thrown in for good measure)...even the ones seem unforgivable.

The ABCs of Sins God's Love Covers
A: Anger, Atheism, Adultery, Abuse, Abortion, Alcohol Abuse, Arrogance, Addiction
B: Backbitting, Bitterness, Boasting
C: Complaining, Condemning, Carnality, Coveting, Cursing, & Country Music
D: Debts, Deception, Drug Abuse, Disobedience, Division, Divorce
E: Egoism, Envy, Extortion, and even Ex-fans of New Kids on the Block
F: Fear, Foolishness, Faultfinding, Faithlessness, Forgetting to put the meat on my Big Mac Friday night at McDonalds.
G: Gluttony, Gossip
H: Hatred, Hypocrisy, Harsh Words
I: Idleness, Idolatry, and Imprudence
J: Jealousy, Judgmentalism
K: Killing
L: Lies, Laziness, Lust, and even Lighting the trash can in the men’s restroom on fire when you were in college (not that I’d know anything about that)

I think you get the picture!
If I didn’t get to your sin…trust me…it’s covered!

"...love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Brilliant (Behind Closed Doors at BridgeWay)

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:51:00 +0000

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:43:00 +0000

This week's theme was "Intimacy". Powerful worship experiences at both 9:30 & 11:00.
My favorite week of our Soul Cravings series so far...you never go wrong when you get to talk about the love of God (next week might give it some competition...you'll have to come to see why).
Yes that was a shameless plug for next week's message titled "Awakening".
One thing I can tell you is that the band will be performing "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.
Today was the first day we were able to actually get our set up done in time to do a complete service run-through using our new format...everything went great! I can really see how this is going to improve the quality of our worship experiences from a technical perspective.
Once the run-through was done I think everyone involved knew it was going to be a powerful morning.
Worship set for the day included: Friend of God, Never Let Go, The Love of God, Love Song to No One by John Mayer, and a new song called "How He Loves Us" by John Mark McMillan.
If you've hear "How He Loves Us" you know it's a powerful song...we did make one small lyrical change (still can't bring myself to sing "when heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss"...what is that about)
My favorite line in the song is "I don't have time to maintain these regrets, when I think about...the way...he loves us".
The band was smokin' as always...and Brit absolutely ripped up "How He Loves Us".
Matt did a great job casting some vision during the announcements...had some people pick up volunteer applications for Treasure Quest as a result...also quite a bit of buzz developing around our upcoming Vision Initiative "Advance".
Lots of requests for the "Brilliant" video we put together...Here's the link to it...it's a must watch.
I absolutely love talking about the love of God...I think the biggest reason that people fail to experience intimacy in their lives is their inability to truly experience the unconditional love of God in their lives.
I about lost it telling the story of rushing to pick up Brenna at the bus stop...great picture of doing whatever it takes to make sure that your child knows you love them.
One of the points I shared today was that God's Love COVERS Your Sin. While that's not all that Jesus did on the cross it is one part of what he did for us. To illustrate this I shared a pretty long list of sins that God's love covers. I'll post that in another post....had several people ask for it after both worship experiences.
Lots of guests at BridgeWay today. Got to meet a couple of new families and they all seemed to be visibly impacted by their experience.
Good crowd for both worship experiences...I was told we were just shy of 300 today...and averaged 337 for the month...definite growth issues that we will be addressing in the near future.
Got to go to Chipolte with our friends Kevin and Niki after church today...Kevin even spotted me some burrito bucks to help cover our lunch...thanks man!
Pray for me this week. I've got a couple of big meetings that could have a profound impact on the future of BridgeWay.

5 Things I'm Thinking About

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:27:00 +0000

1. I’m excited for this weekend. I’ll be spending 48 hours with Steph focusing on our marriage. We’ll be attending United Marriage Encounter with several other couples from central Illinois. I really want to model the importance of focusing on your marriage for my kids and our church.

2. I’m really looking forward to our next series called “Advance”. This is our annual vision initiative and we’ll be casting the vision for the next year at BridgeWay. You do not want to miss a week of this series! Big things coming.

3. I’m reviewing several of the applications we’ve received for our Leadership Team. One of the biggest challenges facing BridgeWay is the need to develop leaders. I believe that everything rises and falls on leadership. I’m praying for wisdom and discernment in this whole process.

4. I’m really pumped to get a chance to see this guy at this church at this event!

5. Equally excited to be going to a couple of great churches next month to learn how to better lead BridgeWay. Our staff will be going to this church to meet with their staff on November 19^th. Then spending the next day at this event, at this church. Looking forward to a great next month.

Today's Message in Wordle

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Great start to our new series "SOUL CRAVINGS".
I think that everyone has certain soul cravings and this weeks theme of peace seemed to hit home...especially during the 11:00 worship experience.
I don't know what it was but things seemed a little off in the 9:30 worship experience this morning.
I had a hard time feeling like I was connecting at 9:30, but things just seemed to flow at 11:00.
Lots of people responded when asked if there was a sin barrier that needed to be removed in their life...blown away by the honesty and authenticity of our people...love that!
The band was great at both 9:30 and 11:00!
Lots of rockin' music this week...a whole Crowder set with: Sing Like the Saved, You Alone, and Undignified...had a handful of people checkin' us out from other churches today...you can always tell because they just kind of look at you like, "are you serious".
The band absolutely tore up the Altarbridge tune "Brand New Start"...Chuck's voice is perfect for their stuff.
The wall that we put up also threw some people (and me as well)...it was a great picture of the barrier that sin creates between us and God and us and others. Thanks to James Flannigan for thrown down some crazy graffiti work.
Also a big shout out to Jeff Dill, Michael Dorsey and Matt Robinson for getting the wall moved and then set back up the right way...looked great guys.
It was a 4 day holiday weekend for most of the area schools so we had lots of regulars out, but still had around 290 in worship...and a lot of guests back from last week's Party in the Park.
My Bears are really up and down...they looked pretty good today...Orton looked really good and Forte looks like he's the real deal. No way they should have given up a 35 yrd pass with 6 seconds left to set up that field goal.
Don't even talk to me about the Wolverines...maybe by next year I'll want to talk college football again.
Had fun at the Pumpkin Farm with Steph and the girls this afternoon...very difficult to get Brenna or Mia to pick a pumpkin and stick with their choice...must have had 7-8 different pumpkins in the waggon before we got the final two they wanted.
Looking forward to going to United Marriage Encounter with Steph next weekend. I believe in taking time for your spouse and your marriage and want to model that for our church as well as my children.
Have a great week!

Soul Cravings Series

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:28:00 +0000

Pretty pumped up about our new series that starts tomorrow morning called Soul Cravings. I think that all of us have some internal soul cravings. I can't wait to talk about our craving for peace with God and with others tomorrow...it's going to be great! We've even got a giant ___________ that we're going to build at the front of the stage. What's the __________? You'll have to be there to find out!

Funny True Story of the Day

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:00:00 +0000

At a meeting today with a bunch of pastors I asked for them to share a funny story from their ministry situation. This one was simply too good to pass up retelling here.

"So I was at my first pastorate and was approached by a man named Sam in our church regarding a question he had for me. I met Sam at my house and asked him what was on his mind. Sam responded that he had been reading in Acts and wondered if I could explain to him what a "eunuch" was. I responded that I didn't know, but would find out.

After reading a couple of commentaries I quickly found out what a "eunuch" was (you can find out here if you don't know). I went on to explain to Sam what a "eunuch" was. After a long awkward silence Sam looked at me and said, 'Pastor, I think God might be calling me to be a eunuch.'

A few months later, Sam approached me again. This time he was clearly depressed and went on to explain that he was so depressed that he was driving around with a gun in his car. Not knowing what to say, I said the first thing that came to my mind..."I think I'd keep a gun in the car too if I thought God was calling me to be a eunuch!"

True story...funny stuff....(btw...Sam got over his depression)

How to Deal with Opposition

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:42:00 +0000

How you deal with opposition as a leader will greatly impact how well you lead your organization into the future. I think there are 5 typical ways that people deal with opposition:

Become Overwhelmed by it. Some leaders allow negativity and opposition to overwhelm them. They replay what their opposition says over and over again in their head until they are consumed by negativity. Usually this leads to leadership paralysis, and an inability to move the organization forward.
Become Overly Defensive. This is probably the most typical response to opposition. Most people when under attack will attempt to defend themselves by explaining how the other party has either misunderstood them or doesn't have all the facts.
Become Overly Aggressive. This might be a close second to becoming defensive. Many people who are facing opposition will attempt to run a smear campaign against the opponent. This happens a lot in the political world and far too often in the church. Many couples also deal with conflict in this manner.
Become People Pleasers. Often times leaders will stop leading because of fear of opposition. They will present a new plan or a new initiative and then pull the plan after it meets opposition. Ultimately this leads to an organization that drifts from its mission and vision, and becomes a strange conglomeration of multiple competing missions and visions.
Ignore It. At first this seems to be a bad idea, but most often it is the best idea. A great example of this is found in 1st Samuel 10:27. Saul has just been appointed the king of Israel and some people don't like God's choice. Here's what it says, "But there were some wicked men who complained, 'How can this man save us?' And they despised him. But Saul ignored them." In the next chapter we read that Saul leads Israel to victory in a war with the Ammonites. In a matter of days Saul's opposition was silenced and his role as leader was affirmed. Often the best thing to do when people oppose you is to let your actions do the talking and to simply ignore the criticism.

So how about you? How do you usualy handle opposition?

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:21:00 +0000

Okay, seriously...no idea where to start tonight, but here goes!
Today was definitely one of the top 3 Sundays ever at BridgeWay.
If I had to rank them, I'd go:

Grand Opening Sunday - Winter '05
Party in the Park - Fall '08
Operation Egg Drop - Easter '08

A HUGE shout out to every single volunteer that made Party in the Park such an amazing day!
I believe that we had between 80-90 volunteers serving in some capacity to make today happen...no wonder it was so great.
Mad props to Michael Dorsey who sat out with the pool and stage all night in the park to make sure no one vandalized our gear...that dude is an animal.
Could we have had any better weather for today? They were calling for rain between 9am and 12pm, but we had clear skies all day and 81 degrees for a high...take that weather.com!
I figured that it took about 800 man hours to pull off today's event...Matt and I were talking about why a lot more churches don't do events like this...very simply put...it's a lot of work...and unfortunately...most people don't like work.
One of the two most powerful things that happened today was getting to baptize 37 people! It was awesome to get to speak directly to each of them and share with them a word from God and to baptize them as followers of Jesus Christ!
I about lost it twice during baptisms...I don't usually lose it when I'm baptizing people, but today was crazy emotional.
About the baptism...we used a swimming pool. We set it up the night before and the water temp was 50 degrees.
Michael and Kevin hooked up a water heater and we were able to get it up to 72 degrees by service time...not really warm, but way better than 50 degrees.
Love the song "Washed by the Water" that the band did today...Dave did an amazing job playing and singing it, and it was a great song to close out the service with.
I wish I could share all of the awesome stories from today, but there are too many and I don't want to violate any confidences, but lets just say that we definitely changed the way several people think about church today! Love it!
Exactly how many people is still up for debate, but we know we had at least 451 for the baptism service and between 500-550 for the afternoon party...nuts...just nuts!
Huge thanks to Yancey and Anna Green and their friends for doing the temporary tattoos all day.
Several people asked, we used Fun on the Run for the inflatables...if you ever need big inflatables for an event Dave is a first class guy to work with.
Massive respect to Rose and her crew for all the work they did to get everyone fed today...we had enough food for 500 and still ran out...crazy day!
I'm pretty sure that the Johnson's and Daniel's arms are wore out after running the Snow Cone Machine all day.
Seriously tired...there are probably way more people I need to say thanks to, but I'm needing to veg for a bit and then go to bed...big week this week...I'm spending the week calling on people and praying for the first two hours of everyday...If you've got a prayer request be sure to e-mail me or leave a comment on here!
Have a great night and can't wait to see you next Sunday at BridgeWay...we start a new series call Soul Cravings next week and I'll be speaking on Peace...you don't want to miss it!
Yes I know I used a lot of exclamation points in this post...but it's my blog so I'll do what I want to...peace.

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:21:00 +0000

Really enjoyed the Elephant in the Church series. Today's message on Practical Atheism was suprizingly one of the tougher topics to address.
One reason why it's tough to address is that it finds it's origins in the Problem of Evil or to use a big church word "theodicy". And it is difficult to adequately deal with such an overwhelming topic in 30 minutes on a Sunday morning.
I really hope that we are developing a church that understands what it means to love and follow God in both the good and the bad times.
To trust God means to trust him whether he catches you or not.
Lots of good feedback on the "Trust Fall" video clip by a group called "One Time Blind".
Also a big shout out to my buddy Tim Gates for overnighting me the video of the galaxy that I used in today's message.
In case you haven't heard the Student Ministry at BridgeWay has changed it's name from "The Net" to "Switch"...if you've got teenagers be sure they check it out on Thursday nights from 7-8:30pm at the BridgeWay Ministry Center.
Tons of new people at BridgeWay today! It's always great to see people sharing what God is doing at BridgeWay with others.
Totally pumped up about Party in the Park next Sunday, October 5th at 11am!
Though it's not going to happen, remember the rain date is October 12th at 11am, and if it does rain we will have just 1 worship experience at 11am at the Theater.
Watch the BridgeWay website for up to the minute information on Party in the Park.
Still blown away to be baptizing 34 people next Sunday morning.
Even with a number of leadership families out we still had well over 290 in worship! That's up about 100 over last year...let's see if we can't get over 500 to join us for Party in the Park!
Can't wait to see you all next week!

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:29:00 +0000

It's been a pretty crazy week around BridgeWay this week, not just for me, but for all of our church staff...thanks to all of you and to all of our volunteer leaders to who make BridgeWay happen!
Before I get into my Sunday Reflections, a couple of quick thoughts about yesterday.
Saturday was the Morton Pumpkin Festival Parade. It had rained all weekend, but cleared off for 3 hours for the parade...pretty cool! Thanks to everyone who worked on, walked with, and helped to make our entry happen.
Congratulations to Mike Brosheres and Debbie Hill who were married Saturday afternoon. Saturday, I walked in the parade from 10am - noon and then rushed to the BridgeWay Ministry Center for their 1pm wedding. It was also awesome to get to meet some of Mike and Debbie's great friends and family.
Got a call from Connie Borth last night that Chris wouldn't be able to make it this morning because there basement was flooding and the water wasn't stopping...this is a story that would be repeated throughout the next 20 hours for several of our BridgeWay family.
I think we actually had around 30 people out today because of flooded basements! Yuck!
We had a little water in ours and spent the afternoon with a Wet Dry Vac and several fans.
Basements weren't the only thing flooding...we had one of our children's theaters at the Morton Cinemas that was flooded and had to move the class to a hallway...actually worked great!
I love our team's ability to roll with the punches.
Made sure to bring my raincoat for set-up today...gave it to Matt because the guy works so hard to make our set up happen...raincoats are essential church planting gear.
After getting everything setup this morning in the rain and covering all of our volunteer holes...we had a great morning at BridgeWay!
It was week 2 in our Elephant in the Church series, and I preached on Sex! Very well received...I've found that people appreciate it when we tackle the tough topics.
Great video for Craig Groschele to close the service. Several people (and I by that I mean at lest 4) asked for the reference to the verse Craig quoted...here it is...Job 11:13-16.
I received a great third-hand compliment after worship today when Matt told me that one of our small group leaders said that he really felt like I cared about the people I was preaching to when I was preaching...that's a great compliment that means alot!
The band did two really great new songs today..."Love is Here" by Tenth Avenue North and "Let God Arise" by Chris Tomlin.
Connection Groups have been a great start to our Fall Small Group Semester at BridgeWay. Matt has done a great job organizing everything and training our new group leaders. Great energy tonight...I really enjoy our group.
Excited about our worship ministries meeting Tuesday night to talk about some of the upcoming improvements we are making to our Creative Team Process.
Looking forward to taking tomorrow off since it was such a nuts week last week.
Don't miss next Sunday when we talk about "The Guilty Elephant"...it's going to be great!

I Need Your Help!!!

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:38:00 +0000

OK. BridgeWay. Time to step up.Seriously. Time to sacrifice the date night this month. Time to sacrifice the family lunch date. Head over to this site and buy a case of tarps for the victims of Hurricane Gustav. Let me know in the comments section below if you were able to pull this off.

Some friends of mine at Catalyst asked Pastor Dino Rizzo from Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana what he needed to help the victims…

“As of Friday, Sept. 5th, power is expected to be out in parts of southern Louisiana for 4-6 weeks; homes are destroyed, and many people in “the bayou” have yet to be reached. They need help! We asked Dino what they need and how the Catalyst audience might be able to help.”

The answer… Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.

Hurricane Torn Baton Rouge Needs Our Help!!! from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Order your blue tarps at this link and have it shipped here

ONE (1) BLUE TARP
Healing Place Church
19202 Highland Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70809225.753.2273

It’s not easy. But I believe we can take a step away from our own comfort to provide it to those who have none.

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Great response to week 1 of "The Elephant in the Church". Lots of really good feedback from people, both who have been turned off by legalism, and those who are dealing with some legalistic tendencies.
The 9:30 worship experience was slammed this morning. Lot's of new people and people who wanted to get to church before kickoff.
The 11:00 worship experience was about average, but seemed low with all the people in the 9:30.
Still had 298 in worship today. That's 138 more people than the same weekend last year. I'm still blown away every week at what God is doing at BridgeWay!
Our leadership team was thinking we might be at 300 by Christmas, but it looks like that was off by a few months.
Loved the marketing for this series. Check out the website for this series at Elephant in the Church. We had 1,000 invite cards and only about 30 of them are left!
Great worship set today! Really thought Brit did a great job with the Jennifer Knapp tune.
Definitely made some people uncomfortable today when I brought up some issues that are pretty big no-no's to talk about in a lot of churches.
Speaking of uncomfortable...we'll be talking about Sex next week...PG-13 message...also one you do not want to miss. If you have a teenager, are single, or simply breathing you will want to make it a priority to be at BridgeWay next Sunday!
Matt has done a great job organizing our Small Groups at BridgeWay. Tonight was our first Connection Group meeting. 4 new groups...and about 40 new people in groups!
Connection groups were great...got to meet several new people, and our group enjoyed getting together...there's still time to get into a Small Group...e-mail Matt to get signed up.
Took the girls to the park with Tim Hood and his kids this afternoon while our wives went shopping...yes that's right...real men go to the park with their kids without their wives!
Are you ready for some football! This guys is...in fact I'm watching the Bears beat up on the Colts right about now...halftime...Bears 15 - Colts 6.
Taking the day off tomorrow. Going fishing. Throwing some plastic. Playing with my girls. And watching some Monday Night Football.

Anti Psalm 23

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:27:00 +0000

Sunday I talked about what it means to repent (to have a change of mind) from our wrong ways of thinking. To illustrate the kind of thinking that we need to turn from I read a reading called "Anti-psalm 23". It was powerful. Several people asked for it, so I'm posting it here. I'll follow with the actual Psalm 23 which represents the kind of thinking that we need to turn towards as we follow God.

Anti-Psalm 23

I'm on my own. No one looks out for me or protects me.
I experience a continual sense of need. Nothing's quite right.
I'm always restless. I'm easily frustrated and often disappointed.
It's a jungle — I feel overwhelmed. It's a desert — I'm thirsty.
My soul feels broken, twisted, and stuck. I can't fix myself.
I stumble down some dark paths.
Still, I insist: I want to do what I want, when I want, how I want.
But life's confusing. Why don't things ever really work out?
I'm haunted by emptiness and futility — shadows of death.
I fear the big hurt and final loss.
Death is waiting for me at the end of every road,
but I'd rather not think about that.
I spend my life protecting myself. Bad things can happen.
I find no lasting comfort.
I'm alone ... facing everything that could hurt me.
Are my friends really friends?
Other people use me for their own ends.
I can't really trust anyone. No one has my back.
No one is really for me — except me.
And I'm so much all about ME, sometimes it's sickening.
I belong to no one except myself.
My cup is never quite full enough. I'm left empty.
Disappointment follows me all the days of my life.
Will I just be obliterated into nothingness?
Will I be alone forever, homeless, free-falling into void?
Sartre said, "Hell is other people."
I have to add, "Hell is also myself."
It's a living death,
and then I die.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Sunday Night Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:08:00 +0000

Amazing morning at BridgeWay!
Loved being back after being gone the last two weeks.
Vacation was awesome, but it was time to be back and preaching again.
Absolutely love preaching on baptism. Any day I get to preach on Jesus and what he has done for us is a good day.
Great sense of the Spirit during both services...especially the 9:30 service.
We had 21 people commit their lives to Jesus Christ today! Several adults, but even more children and teenagers!
I pray that all of the children and teenagers who come into contact with BridgeWay's ministry would come to faith in Christ at an early age...it will save them from a ton of pain and hurt in the future!
Awesome to have Britney singing again at BridgeWay! That girls has got some serious pipes!
The band was great during both services...man they have stepped it up and taken it to another level over the last couple of months...look out fall!
Couldn't have found a better song for reflecting on today's message than "And Now My Lifesong Sings" by Casting Crowns...that song makes me cry every time.
I read a reading called the "anti-psalm 23" today...I'll post it on my blog later this week. Too many of us see life from this perspective.
Great crowd at BridgeWay for Labor Day Weekend...easily over 250 or 260.
Don't miss next week's kickoff to our next series "The Elephant in the Church"...be sure to invite someone to come with you...lets see if we can get over 300 people to at least one service in the series.
Speaking of inviting people...start thinking about everyone you'll invite to Party in the Park on October 5th! Invites will be available by mid-September.
Really wanting to buy the new Coldplay album. Also wanting to get the new 3 Doors Down..."It's Not My Time" is stuck in my head...pretty sure we'll be doing that one in the near future.
It was great having my youngest sister Cheryl in worship with us for the 11:00 worship experience. I love my sister and wish we got to see each other more often.
Have a great week!
Can't wait to see you all next Sunday!

The Elephant in the Church

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:23:00 +0000

I'm uber-excited about our upcoming Fall Kickoff Series: The Elephant in the Church!

Invite cards are going out this week. Be sure to invite someone to come with you to each week of the series!

Churches are often full of people—and sometimes, elephants. With the help of National Community Church we've found a number of different elephants in the church that need addressing. It's time we loosened up and talked about the issues that are so often avoided by the church-at-large.

BridgeWay Communtiy Church is ready to roll. It is time to throw off the gloves and tackle the issues that everyone thinks about, but never discusses. During this four-week series, we'll talk candidly about the issues that plague us, the topics that confuse us and the questions that intrigue us. We believe that something special happens in the course of this dialogue. And we want to share that with you.

The Shack

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:34:00 +0000

I first heard about The Shack about 4 months ago. Since that time several of my friends, some in ministry and some outside of the ministry, have recommended that I read it. Most of them gave it glowing reviews. One of them even suggested that it deserved “3 thumbs up”.

A couple of weeks ago I was given a copy of The Shack from a friend who had bought several copies after having read it himself. I finally got around to reading it on my vacation this past week. The following are some of my quick hit thoughts on The Shack.

1) It was a well-paced quick read.
This was a great vacation book. I was able to begin reading it one day, and finish it in three settings. The dialogue kept the book moving at a quick pace. My only stylistic complaints would be that it could have been edited better, and I’m not sure that I understand why there was a need for a narrator to tell the story.

2) It provided a solid basic discussion of the problem of evil and the nature of God.
I greatly enjoyed the use of a fictional narrative to discuss matters of the problem of evil and the nature of God. The use of narrative allowed for some great quotes which I will share later in this post. I felt that there are a lot of people who could benefit from reading The Shack and its somewhat “non-traditional” approach to thinking about God and evil. At the same time I felt that the “revelations” which Mack experienced in his encounters with God were somewhat elementary in nature, especially for someone who had supposedly been to Seminary.

3) It presented a view of the trinity which was both Biblical and holistic.
While there are some who struggle with God the Father revealing himself as a large Creole African-American woman, most readers will see this as a powerfully Biblical way to present the whole picture of God the Father as presented in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

4) It was simplistic in its treatment of the problem of evil and generally avoided the truly difficult question of why God seems to act in some situations while remaining inactive in others.
Ultimately it was the author’s suggestion that the reason that bad things happen is that the world is broken because of sin, and God has limited himself by extending true freedom of choice to people who are fallen. This is explained well within the book. My major problem with the book is that it generally avoids discussing why God supernaturally intervenes in some situations while seemingly remaining uninvolved in others. There is one attempt to broach this topic late in the book, but it is far from adequate in providing a substantial theological response to the question.

5) It makes Mack’s move from frustrated-skeptic to fully-devoted God-lover far too simple.
Mack’s progression of spiritual growth seems to happen far too quickly and with very little true questioning. It is almost as if the author is suggesting that people who have experienced a deep hurt simply need to express their pain and frustration to God and then rest in his love and grace. I only wish that Mack had been able to more deeply express himself, and that God’s answers would have been more substantial.

Favorite quotes from The Shack

“It is not the nature of love to force a relationship, but it is the nature of love to open the way.”

“Just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn’t mean I orchestrated the tragedy. Don’t ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead to false notions about me. Grace doesn’t depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.”

Chicago Vacation

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:25:00 +0000

Loving my time in Chicago with the family. It is tough to leave BridgeWay for the next couple weeks, but definitely much needed. Here's some quick thoughts so far:

Spent Saturday at Shedd Aquarium. The girls loved the Whales.
Church at Community Christian Church in Naperville on Sunday morning. It's amazing what these guys have done on such a small campus (about 3 acres). Dave Ferguson taught a great message on The Building Blocks of Vision. One more confirmation about some really exciting next steps for BridgeWay.
Finished our school shopping for the girls Sunday afternoon. I love being back in a metropolitan area where people from all different ethnicities are represented. This has been one of the most challenging things for me having moved from Kansas City to the Peoria area.
Went to Ed Debevic's for dinner Sunday night. It's one of Helena's favorite places, and Brenna and Mia both loved it.
Took everyone to Six Flags today. Brenna and Mia rode their first roller coaster today...amazingly....they loved it, especially Brenna! Lots of fun.
It was tough to be away from BridgeWay yesterday, not because I don't trust our staff, but because I hate to miss a single week...God is always doing something new...to prove my point check out Matt's blog on yesterday's worship experiences.
Finally, would you pray with me and a friend of mine? Donnie called me Saturday to talk about some of the decisions he's facing as a leader. He has decided to take today and tomorrow to spend some time praying and fasting for the church he pastor's and planted a few years ago. Would you pray for him?

Sunday Reflections

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:22:00 +0000

All I can say is wow! Now that's what I'm talking about...seriously, one of the best mornings ever at BridgeWay!
After a pretty crazy week, with many nights not getting to bed until 2 am...the Schaeffer house is pretty tired.
I was definitely worried this morning that I was less then prepared to preach. I usually prepare about 20 hours and today I was only about 12 hours into my preparation.
I told Matt how nervous I was before the service, and he encouraged me to keep it simple and to cut quite a bit of my message. So I did, cutting about 40% of the message.
Matt also told me that he woke up praying for me this morning. That's always a good sign...and it was needed.
Huge props to the band today! That was the best I've heard them....they were ready to rock this morning and it showed. Great job leading us into God's presence!
Great energy both services.
I really felt like God was speaking to people about loving others today.
Closing Communion was powerful...I'll miss being with you all the next two weeks while I'm out of town.

Willow Creek Leadership Summit: Craig Groeschel...How Leaders Can Get IT and Keep IT

pastordale@bridgewaycc.net (Dale) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Are you kidding me? Seriously...this session was so good that I found myself asking, "was that the best talk I've ever heard at any conference?"

Craig straight brought it in the opening session at the Leadership Summit. Below are my notes, but seriously, do yourself a favor and order the presentation from Willow.

WHAT IS IT?

God makes IT happen.
We can't create IT.
One person doesn't bring IT.
But the wrong person can kill IT.
IT attracts critics.
You're not guaranteed to keep IT.
The Early Church had IT.

4 QUALITIES THAT ARE THERE WHEN IT IS PRESENT

1. A Laser Focused Vision and Ministry

What can you be the very best at?
To reach people no one else is reaching, you'll have to do things no one else is doing.
To do things no one else is doing, you can't do what everyone else is doing.
Life Church.tv is focused on 5 areas: Worship Experiences, Small Groups, Children, Students, and Missions.
By saying NO to some things we create margin to do what no one else is doing.

Question: "What are you doing that you need to stop doing?"

2. See Opportunities Where Others See Obstacles

You have everything you need to do everything God wants you to do.
God often guides by what he provides.
Obstacles allow us to see things we would never see otherwise.

Question: "What is God trying to show you through your biggest obstacles?"

3. They are Willing to Fail

Failure is not an option, it is a necessity.
Failure often is the next step in following God.
Shake it off and step up.

Question: "What has God called you to do that you're afraid to attempt?"

4. Led by People Who Have IT

You need to have IT for the church to have IT.

Question: "If you don't have IT, what will you do to get IT?"