I have not been good about writing this summer and for good reason. I have been kayaking, hiking, going on vacation and having a great time. (I also have been making it to church on the weekends :).
My hope you have been having a great summer as well. During what should be a “down time” at church, God has been up to amazing things at Timberlake church.
We have seen over a hundred new individuals and families check out Timberlake and come back again, getting connected at the church in Redmond. The Ballard Campus continues to grow. Our youth and Children’s ministry are taking off in a huge way that we have prayed for, worked for and are now seeing explosive growth and life change. Dozens of people have come into a first time relationship with Christ.
In the next few days and weeks I am going to be giving some more specific updates, share some plans and some of what God has been revealing to me and the church in terms of our next steps. Thanks for continuing to take your Next Right Step with Christ, to reach out and create a great place where people can have an authentic encounter with God and no one stands alone.
Now this is the kind of post you are going to want to read to the very end.
We all have great hopes for friendships and relationships with family. In the book of Micah we are reminded how difficult it is when those hopes are dashed. Often when this happens to us we are surprised and disappointed (rightfully so). Micah makes this stark statement, the kind of statement that is born out of pain and betrayal. “…Put no confidence in a friend.” Micah 7:5 (NIV) Ouch, how many of us have learned that the hard way.
Now does this mean we give up on people, not most of them. (There are some that are better to keep at arms length …or further.) This is the exception.
Actually the key to negotiating these tough realities is making sure we have our hope in the right place. I do not mean to sound trite. It is a simple truth. A former pastor of mine said that God made this statement – trust God and love people. He said we often do the opposite and so end up disappointed and in a place where we do neither.
Have you found yourself in that place? Micah gives us this much needed redirect. The kind that will help us Trust God and Love people.
“Best as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7 (NIV)
Tonight I was driving back from a conference where Timberlake Church was highlighted in many ways. I was thankful for God’s blessing and humbled that God would use people like us to make a big difference. I am so thankful for the team I get to serve with and the ministry of which God has allowed me to be a part. I am so glad for the scripture that says “God choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.” I Cor. 1:27 (NIV) As long as he keeps to those standards I am sure to be qualified.
I don’t know about you, but I am surprised that God uses me. I don’t have incredibly low self esteem; I just think sometimes that he has better people, (or should have). Yet, here is a truth that humbles me that God is using you and me for people to come to know and then grow in Jesus Christ. God is using you and me to change lives.
As I think about how God has used us, (what I often write about), I can’t help but think about how He wants to use us moving ahead. Part of it we know, part of it is yet to be revealed.
We do know that God wants us to continue to be a church that says “Yes” to him. To be a church that is driven by grace and faith, not fear and guilt. To be a church where people grow in their faith. To be about people, more than programs. To be a place where No One Stands Alone.
Thank you for being on this journey with me as we grow together in our faith, our impact and our love for God’s people and purposes.
Timberlake is one church. We have unified leadership, vision, mission and service content and style. However, this one church takes place in several locations.
Redmond
We have just come through an amazing season at our Redmond campus. In the last couple months we have seen another wave of new people come to the church. In addition our preschool has opened and started to really take off. And more importantly we have had an incredible stream of stories of life change.
Ballard
I know that I have not talked much about the Ballard campus lately, but is doing great. Trent Meng is our campus pastor and he is doing a great job leading this church campus. There was a strong core group of people at the church when Trent arrived which has more than doubled in the last 8 weeks. We are also looking to launch a preschool at this campus in the fall.
Online Campus
We have a good news, bad news, good news problem with our online campus. The good news is we have seen more and more people join us for church online. The bad news is it has overloaded our current capabilities from time to time. The Good news (again) is that we are going to complete a significant upgrade within a month or so. Check us out this week, and then check us out again with the new and improved online campus.
A Second Eastside Campus
For those of you who are part of Timberlake or friends of Timberlake, you have heard that we are in the planning phase for a second Eastside Campus. We are getting close to a hiring a campus pastor and will be annoucing the location this summer. This is an exciting adventure an increasingly obvious next step for Timberlake Church.
Ok, here is the deal. My wife and oldest daughter decided that they were going to do a 30 day cleanse program. Before I knew what I was getting into I said, hey I will do that with you. This was to show solidarity and support (ok ladies, I can hear the applause now). It was also to be a provide a cautionary tale for those of you who commit before you know what you are getting into, like me.
Seriously it is a healthy eating plan where you rid your body of most sugars, red meat, caffeine and all the other things that might bring joy to your life :). Seriously, it is about getting rid of the foods that can be destructive, so you can add in those that will build you up.
Ok, you can here the pastor speak coming, so here it is. How much time do you and I spend doing those things that will simply get us by, but not build us up? For me it is a lot. I would encourage you (and me) to spend some time focusing on building your faith, your relationships, your life in this season. If not now, when.
Maybe, there is something that needs to be cleansed before you add that good thing that God wants to build into your life. Don’t do this without the help of God, His Spirit and some supportive friends.
I am getting ready for my family easter egg hunt, (yes my children want more sugar), and I am reflecting on what a great weekend we had at Timberlake Church. Here is some of what we saw –
1. 77 people made a commitment to Christ
2. More people involved in ministry on a single weekend than ever before at Timberlake.
3. The largest weekend attendance in the history of our church.
4. A powerful time of worship
5. A great video testimony
6. Our first Easter at Timberlake Ballard
7. A celebration of the greatest day so far in human history. Jesus breaking the bonds of sin and death. A time to reflect on and experience God’s power and love.
I have had people ask me, (a lot of people), what we mean by No Weird Stuff at Timberlake. Let me explain…
1. We are all about God. We are a church, not a political or social organization promoting some agenda or cause. We talk about Jesus, how to know him and what it means to follow him.
2. Our music is good. We don’t think you need to adopt a musical style that most people gave up on fifty years ago to follow God.
3. We value authenticity. This means that we don’t change who we are because we stepped inside the doors of a church. What you see is what you get. We also try to explain things so if you are new to church, you will not feel left out by insider language.
4. We like people. Clicks in life are discouraging, in church they are disheartening. We have decided to do what Jesus did, accept people as they are, and allow the Holy Spirit to point out how we are called to change.
5. Truth is important. We do not try to avoid difficult truths, but to wrestle with them together.
6. We like to laugh. If you want a somber experience, not the right place. We believe that there is great joy in knowing and following God.
