A quick but important reminder:

Thursday, March 11 is our next homeless dinner. As always, we will be serving our friends healthy, tasty food, along with a warm smile, listening ear, and a large dose of respect. Sign up with Elizabeth to participate if you have not done so already (elizabethsala@cox.net)

And this month we will be giving them fresh socks as well. Please bring new socks to donate THIS Sunday, and place them in the trash can marked “A Trashcan Can Make a Difference” as you enter the building.

Speaking of making a difference, please mark your calendars for this year’s Sharefest, coming May 1. More details to come.

And finally, for those who care to check it out, I have an article in the current issue of Outreach Magazine.

It’s great doing life with you! Lord bless you friends -

Tim
Mt 6:33

As we go into 2010, there are three major goals that God has laid on our hearts as we live out our vision – one local, one regional, one global.

Goal #1: One person.

Goal #2: Plant a church (see last two weeks’ posts).

Goal #3: Go to Mozambique.

This past week I was recounting for a friend what our global mission efforts have looked like these past few years, and hearing myself talk about it kind of took my breath away. God has blessed us with a disproportionate impact in many of our adventures, and Mozambique is no exception.

By way of a quick recap – early on Life made a decision to be very focused with our resources for global missions, prayerfully choosing one place and committing to putting the bulk of our overseas efforts there for 20 years. That place ended up being Mozambique, one of the poorest, most AIDS-riddled countries in Africa, as well as the one (in sub-Saharan Africa at least) which has the least church presence.

Our efforts there began with an investment in microfinance development, which has allowed an amazing number of Mozambicans to have a way to support their families, with hope and dignity. The second phase of our work there involves a partnership with a Brazilian seminary in providing theological education for Mozambicans who are called by God to serve as church planters. And this past year we added a third area of involvement: supporting an orphanage for women and children at risk. Any of these three initiatives would be marvelous, but God allowing us into all three makes me feel like we have a very well-rounded ministry in this country already – and we are only four years into our twenty year commitment!

Which brings us to this year’s global goal: to send a team to Mozambique. Most of our resources (appropriately) are sent directly to support the work there, but there is a great value in seeking face to face interactions with our brothers and sisters in Africa as well. For those of us at Life, as well as for our partners overseas, there is a strong desire that we serve each other in the context of a true relationship, not just as strangers who write an occasional check. So this summer, Lord willing, we will make our second trip to Mozambique to serve our friends there face to face.

You’ll hear more about what God is doing in Moz from Alex Viana this Sunday, as well as our continuing Lenten teaching on grace.

Lord bless you, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend –

Tim
Mt 6:33

So as we press into 2010, there are three major goals that God has laid on our hearts as we lean into our vision – one local, one regional, one global.

Goal #1: One person (see last week’s post).

Goal #2: Plant a church. So at the heart of Life’s vision has been the idea that as God blesses us with growth we would express that growth in planting new churches. And sure enough, some of our greatest moments of joy as a church have been in planting our two daughter churches and seeing God do great things through them. This year, Lord willing, we will plant our third church.

Why, you might ask, do we need another church? Aren’t there plenty of them out there? The answer is: (a) there are not as many as you might think, and (b) there are very few that are reaching younger adults. The church in America is in sharp decline. The best figures indicate that only 17% of people attend a church any given weekend, and as you might imagine, in Los Angeles (if you set aside for a moment our large Catholic population) that number is less than 6%.

What’s more, over 3700 churches close for good each year. That’s 71 in an average week. And as you might guess, the churches that are out there are populated almost entirely with older adults. Wonderful as that is, there are very few churches reaching the emerging generations, and we as a congregation feel a special burden to start more. In fact, our prayer is that God would use us (and those churches we plant) in planting 1000 churches before our time is done.

I’m especially excited about the new approach we are taking to planting this year. In the past we have assumed sole responsibility as the parent church for each project. But the question of how we can mentor other young churches in planting (only 4% of churches ever plant another church!) has led to a strategy of planting as part of a small network of churches. So this plant will be done with a couple of partner churches, which will reduce the financial burden on any one church, and pave the way for other churches to become reproducing churches as well. But more on the nuts and bolts of this later . . .

Your role at this point: PRAY. If the timing works right, this church will be in Las Vegas, and if not we are looking at another project here in So Cal. Either way, we are pursuing this goal pretty hard (favorite quote from a recent leadership meeting: “The only way we won’t plant a church this year is if God closes the door and leans against it”). Pray that God will prepare us in terms of spiritual and financial strength to undertake this project. Pray that God will prepare the pastor and team who will lead this new church. Pray that God will prepare the hearts of those, both Christian and yet-to-be-Christian who will be part of this new work. And prayerfully ask: “God, what does my role in this look like?”

Friends what we do has eternal significance. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.

Lord bless you, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend –

[And this Sunday as Lent begins we are talking about, you guessed it, grace. Specifically, the grace to live a Jesus-like-life.]

Tim
Mt 6:33

So this weekend is the first Sunday of Lent, the season leading up to Easter when Christians have for centuries turned their attention to the cross. During these weeks we take time to focus on this central event in our faith – the crucifixion of Jesus – and to prepare our hearts for Easter. And as we do so we invite God to further shape and deepen us in our walk with him.

We will be observing Lent in two ways this year. The first is in our daily devotions. We didn’t end up using it at the time, but a couple of years ago my friend Dave Beck and I wrote a devotional guide for Lent. Each day has a Scripture reading and some questions to lead you in prayer and reflection (and some guidelines for fasting if you choose to practice this discipline). Set aside ten or fifteen minutes in the morning with a cup of coffee, during your commute, on a break, or before bed, and spend some time praying and reading the Scriptures. If you would like to participate in this practice, email me and I’ll send you back a copy of the devotional.

The second is the teaching series we are doing on Sundays. We’re calling it Uncommon Graces, and each week we will explore one of the less common aspects of God’s grace. The idea behind both the devotions and the teachings is that we will consciously embrace God’s grace not just as a past event, but as a present reality that God invites us to live in daily.

And a final note on our fasting - many of us at Life practice fasting during Lent, whether that’s fasting from all food one day a week, or fasting from a specific item (ie dessert, TV, facebook, etc) during the whole Lenten season. The idea behind this is that our hunger pangs and/or unfulfilled cravings become reminders for us of what Christ has done, and reminders to pray. May I suggest that as you pray, pray for those in your life who are far from God and do not yet know the love and grace of the cross of Christ. And as we celebrate Easter this year may it be marked by the joy of seeing our loved ones move nearer to him.

Lord bless you my friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend –

Tim
Mt 6:33

Hey friends –

Last week I shared my personal Top 10 from 2009, and this week I want to share some vision for 2010. Specifically, there are three goals – one local, one regional, and one global – that I want to prayerfully call us to as we move up, in, out, and together into this new year.

Goal number one happens locally:

One Person.

On a Sunday night near the beginning of each year we write down the names of friends who are far from God, and we commit to praying that God will draw them to faith in him. Did you know that last year we saw at least five of those people become part of Life and/or come into God’s kingdom? It’s a great reminder that God has put each of us in relationship with people that he intends to reach, and that we are his chosen means of working. The hard question it begs is this: Am I present and available for God to use in this way?

As we start 2010 I want to lay out this challenge: one person. What would happen if we all committed to being intentional, and passionately asking God to use us in the life of at least one person this year? Maybe it’s a family member or a roommate, someone you work with or know from school, a neighbor or a new friend. But somewhere in your life there is at least one person that needs to come to know God (or return to living for him), and you are the person he has put in their lives to lead them to him. Will you be faithful with the people he has entrusted to you?

At the end of this year, one of the things we will be measuring as we look back at 2010 is “who is with us today because we were praying for them back in February?”

Get intentional and pray for those around you. Ask God, “Who have you put in my life that needs to be closer to you?” Pray for them – consistently, lovingly, unceasingly. And then act. Serve them, love them, be a good friend. Be a picture of Christ in their lives. And as God opens the door speak of his love and grace. (A step to consider here is joining HOW class #2 this month. Trust me – it’s a life-changing small group, and God will use it to deepen your capacity to give his love and grace to others. Email Katie to sign up katiefoor@gmail.com.)

More vision to come . . .

In other news: this Sunday we begin a new series we’re calling Uncommon Graces. Many of us are aware of the role of God’s grace in bringing us to salvation, but less aware of the ways the Scriptures say that grace permeates our lives as followers of Jesus. In reality, learning to live in God’s grace makes the difference between a life that is driven by our own efforts and one that is carried along by his. The life we deeply want, we find as we embrace grace. This Sunday we kick it off with a teaching that seems especially appropriate for Valentine’s weekend - ‘the grace of taking off our masks.’

Lord bless you guys, and we’ll see you this weekend –

Tim
Mt 6:33

Hey friends –

Sunday was awesome! Never in a million years did I think I would hear myself say “I love church business meetings,” but I can’t help myself! How fitting it is to celebrate all God is doing, and to collectively lean into the adventures he is calling us into in this coming year.

On Sunday I shared my top 10 highlights from 2009 (in no particular order), and I wanted to share them here too. We believe God is leading us into some very important and exciting adventures in 2010 as well, but I’ll save that for another email . . .

And finally, this weekend we will be talking about the “together” aspect of our vision. God has made us to do life deeply with one another, but how do we live into this? We’ll get into the Scriptures on this question on Sunday.

Here is my top 10 from 2009:

1. First Children’s Ministry Director – What a great moment in our church life! When Life started the largest population was single adults. By year three, the largest population was young marrieds. Now, lo and behold, those young adults are reproducing! Life now has about 30 young children, and we are proactively seeking to minister to young families well, and to make Life a place that our friends will be eager to have their kids a part of too.

2. Mozambique orphanage – We are in our fourth year of a 20 year commitment to Mozambique, and God has done a lot! This year marked the beginning of a third phase – a vibrant ministry to women and children at risk (known as the Melanie Center). Makes one wonder what God will do next . . .

3. Events with our church plants – This year we partnered with Catalyst to put on a very good marriage conference called To Have and To Hold, and we held a joint baptism service and BBQ with Restoration Covenant.

4. Good Friday, JusticeNOW, VBS – This year we also partnered with several local churches for some great ministry. I think God smiles when he sees his children playing well together.

5. HOW – Life piloted a small group designed to help people grow in their ability to share their faith in natural, normal ways. This is a significant growth area for us as a church, and I see God using this in many of our lives in the year to come.

6. Appenfelder family – What a joy to see God at work, even in the most trying of times, in this precious family! Though Paul lost his life to cancer, he, his wife, and two adult children all found new life in Jesus.

7. Scotty sent out – Losing Scotty was like losing my right arm, but what a joy to see God move Scott deeper into his calling as a pastor and leader. Among other things, God is making us a church that trains and sends others well.

8. Nicole and Bridget’s surgeries – We saw God come through in two very scary health situations, and I was proud of the way our church family stepped up and cared for these families during tough times.

9. Lord’s Prayer teaching series – This had to be one of my all-time favorite series to teach, and from the response it seems it was helpful for many. I have a sense that God will continue to use this to shape us in years to come.

10. Expanding influence (Tim’s book, national church planting team, podcast) – God is doing something very interesting with our church: he is granting us impact disproportionate to our size. I have a growing catalog of stories of how, without us seeking it out, God keeps using Life Cov as a resource to other churches and pastors. What is God doing? I’m not sure, but I know we need to pray and lean into it. To God alone be the glory.

Finally, let me just say what a joy I count it to be called your pastor. I love you guys, and love doing life with you -

Tim
Mt 6:33

I’m just home from our denomination’s annual pastor’s conference, and I feel refreshed and blessed. What a grace that Life is part of a healthy, missional family of churches!

This Sunday is going to be great – it is our annual family business meeting (emphasis on the “family”). Ordinarily we do this immediately after our worship gathering, but this year we are going to do part of it during the service as well. It seems appropriate as we give thanks for all God did in 2009 and look ahead to where he is leading us in 2010 to make this part of our worship. It’s going to be great - hope you can be part of it!

Lord bless you guys, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend -

Tim
Mt 6:33

Hey friends –

Thank you so much for your generosity toward those in need in Haiti! I love that our church is always ready to step up and act like the church.

I was invited to post some thoughts about this tragedy on a new blog at my alma mater. I know many of us are wrestling through these questions too -

Earlier this week a friend and I were talking about the tragic earthquake in Haiti, and he asked me how God could allow suffering of this magnitude to take place. In the face of the tremendous pain and loss we see going on there, any attempt to answer that question feels hollow. Yet the question persists: if God is good, how can he allow such suffering and evil in the world? My answer went something like this . . .

(Click here for the rest of the article)

Love you guys, and love doing life with you. Lord bless you -

Tim
Mt 6:33

Hey friends!

I wanted to give a really big thank you for sharing the joy on the release of my book! Sunday night was a blast, and I’m continually blessed as I reflect on it. Your excitement, kind words, prayer for me – in a nutshell, knowing that you, my church family, are proud of me in this – is worth a ton. Special thanks to Dee and her team in putting the night together, and to all those who brought food. Good times!

Love you guys, and love doing life with you. Lord bless you -

Tim
Mt 6:33

Hey friends!

Lots of very good stuff this Sunday:

• Mozambique – The money we raised during the Advent Conspiracy made a BIG difference in Africa. Details and stories . . .
• Vision – We anticipate God doing some very exciting things in and through us in 2010 – you need to be part of making it happen! Up, In, Out, Together . . .
• Book release party – I wrote a book! On Sunday we’ll celebrate, and pray together that it blesses a lot of people. Thanks for sharing the joy!
• Food – We’ll be sharing a meal after worship on Sunday - sign up with Deanne to bring something (deannefunk@gmail.com).

Love you guys, and love doing life with you. Lord bless you -

Tim
Mt 6:33