Messages About Purpose & Strategy (MAPS)

May 26 & 27

2012-05-27T13:13:59Z

In last week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I let you know how excited I am about our new weekend series. We’ll be studying the Book of Acts, chapter by chapter, for the next 28 weeks. You may be thinking, “28 weeks?! That’s a big commitment! Will this hold our attention? Will it be worthwhile?” Let me tell you: Yes, yes and yes! These messages will be vital. Watching the early church expand is encouraging and Acts is full of great principles for application. There’s an emphasis on action throughout the book of Acts. What we will cover will be very relevant. Our post Christian, postmodern world is not unlike what Peter and Paul encountered in the first century. With the neo-paganism and pseudo-spirituality of our age, we are facing challenges much like they did long ago. Acts shows that the Christian message can withstand close scrutiny. It gives us courage to bring our faith into the increasingly hostile public square. As we learn, we will be motivated to serve the Lord with passion. The actual process of diving into verse-by-verse study will be of great value to you as well. One of the many benefits to expository teaching is that it models a method of study that you can employ on your own. You’ve heard the expression: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” It is a Chinese proverb. (The Oregon version says, “Teach a man to fish and he will stop working and buy a boat.”) Studying together week by week will teach you to fish in the bountiful sea of the Scriptures!

May 20 & 21

2012-05-18T13:14:00Z

I am excited about what is coming up and believe the next sermon series will be greatly used by God to get Dayspring on track and moving forward. I believe this because we will be studying the Book of Acts, and that is where God has given the blueprint for what the church is supposed to be and do! It is our authorized manual on church growth and health! In this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll give you a glimpse at how I feel about the prospect of presenting one chapter of Acts per week for the next 28 weeks: I’m stoked! I’m really looking forward to this. John and Chris will be joining me as we lead you through this voyage. We’ve decided on a title for the series: RetroChurch. I have not decided on a tag line yet (sorry, Chris). It will be something like: RetroChurch - studies in Acts on what the church should be. The idea of RetroChurch is that what was is what should be. Some retro-movements are like that. For instance, in the opinion of some, retro-rock is what rock and roll should return to. RetroChurch - what God first did among his people can happen again, because he is alive and well. I believe this study in the book of Acts will guide us into a future of honoring God by relying on his Spirit and obeying his Son!

May 12 & 13

2012-05-13T03:40:45Z

Our baptisms in last weekend’s services were particularly encouraging. We saw men, women, boys and girls of all ages make public statements about their faith and commitment. In this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose I’ll highlight just one comment by one person that really stuck out for me. A woman named Shirley was in the water, about to take the plunge expressing her identification with Christ, and she motioned to where some friends were sitting and said, “Thank God for my Growth Group.”

Shirley’s family has been experiencing a significant revival. It is fun to watch what God is doing in and through them. And it is a joy to hear of the role her Growth Group is playing in their spiritual maturation. We all need to connect with God and his Word. And we need to connect with others who can walk side by side with us as we grow in our faith. Our Growth Groups are just one of the many vehicles we use here at Dayspring Fellowship to help people experience our three-fold motto: Reaching, Connecting, Growing.

I was encouraged by Shirley’s testimony of her faith in Jesus and her statement about the value of the relationships she has developed over the last couple months in her Growth Group. You can experience fulfilling connection with others by participating in the opportunities that we offer. Don’t sit back. Rise up and step out by faith! You can call the office on weekdays to learn more about how to tune in, turn on, and light up!

May 5 & 6

2012-05-05T03:41:00Z

You’ve been hearing about our church’s participation in the upcoming Keizer Iris Festival. In this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll urge you to sign up to volunteer. Our motivation to get involved is pretty simple: we want to serve the community. Some of what we will be doing to help will be seemingly mundane: picking up trash, giving directions, smiling, and so on. Jesus said that doing simple things to meet needs is like serving him.

When we follow in Christ’s footsteps, putting others above ourselves, we honor God our Maker. And when our motivation is God’s glory, it is amazing what the power of God’s Holy Spirit can accomplish through us – more than we could ever do by our own effort. Jesus said he washed the disciples’ feet as an example for us to follow. Our plan to serve our community during the Iris Festival is just one way we can follow Christ’s lead and show people the love of God. I’m into this, not as an end in itself, but as a simple way we can organize to show people that we follow the One who came to serve! Maybe then we will have more credibility when we talk about Jesus as the One who also came to save!

You can learn more about the specific ways to get involved by visiting the Iris Festival table in the lobby this weekend.

April 28 & 29

2012-04-28T23:54:00Z

In this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose and Strategy I’ll simply remind you that there is still one week to sign up to be baptized in one of the services next weekend (May 5th & 6th). If you have considered following through but have been vascillating in your thinking, I can certainly understand why. Getting wet in public does not strike most people as fun! It may even seem embarrassing. It would be easy to think we asking for too much; maybe we are setting the bar too high. But when you study Christ’s ministry methods (look at John 6:60-66 for a striking example), you realize we should not be afraid to ask for a demonstration of faith, in fact, we should be afraid not to! Jesus set the bar high. He asked for a lot. And he commanded his followers to baptize those who place their faith in him (Matt. 28:18-20). Let’s leave self-consciousness behind and become more Christ-conscious.

Remember the basics:
1. Baptism is a physical symbol of a spiritual reality! Our faith has an internal dimension: our trust in Jesus, but it also has an external dimension: our observable expressions of that faith.

2. Baptism is a social sign of identification with Christ and his people. We link the decision with a public event just as witnesses are part of the wedding ceremony.

3. Baptism is a spiritual statement. Saving faith is shown (not earned) through acts of obedience (James 2:14-26).

If nothing is preventing you from being baptized (Acts 8:36), call the church office soon to put your name on the list. Here’s your chance to rise up and step out by faith!

April 21 & 22

2012-04-20T23:52:00Z

In this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll share two Bible verses that were the original motivation guiding me to offer my new series of messages. Why would I want to invest time in these explanations of church practices like baptism, communion, mentoring and more?

First, consider Eph. 4:12, which says that pastors and teachers are given to the church to equip the saints (that’s you) to do the work of the ministry. That sounds intimidating to many people! They think, “Me, a minister? I need all the help I can get!” Don’t worry, pastors are responsible to prepare you to serve. That’s what it means to equip the saints for ministry. Now, what do you need to be equipped to do?

Take a look at the second verse guiding me in these lessons. It is 1 Peter 3:15 - “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” What if someone asks you about baptism or communion? I’m to equip you to answer those questions and more. The pastor is not the paid performer, drawing the crowds. That model of church ministry copies our cultural, but it is not biblical. Your leaders here at Dayspring will continue to equip you to accurately and attractively represent Jesus Christ in your daily lives and normal conversations. That’s our role. Consider yours.

April 15, 2012

2012-04-15T14:14:09Z

My last series of weekend messages was aimed at preparing our hearts to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We studied what happened at the end of Christ’s life and it all culminated in our Easter services last week. So, what do we do now? We’ve focused on his death and burial and resurrection, what is left for us? I’ll give you the answer in this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose and Strategy. What remains for us is to actually live the life of Christ here on earth! That is the ultimate strategy to fulfill our purpose of glorifying God. Gal. 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Imagine the increase in our effectiveness when we are carrying out the Great Commission to make disciples by the supernatural power of Christ within us! Picture the level of living we can rise to live when we really experience his transforming, abiding presence in our lives. This is literally the secret of Christian living and the only way Christianity really works: Christ in us! Let’s rise up and step out by faith to live the life of Christ here in the Willamette Valley. Our world still needs the incarnational presence of Jesus!

April 8, 2012

2012-04-06T14:15:00Z

Our Easter services provide a particularly useful opportunity to introduce a friend to what you believe about Jesus. You may actually get a chance to introduce your friend to Christ himself, which is really the point of it all. Dayspring has used a simple, three-word motto: Reaching, Connecting, Growing. In this installment of my weekly Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll suggest you participate in that process by asking a friend to come sit with you in one of our weekend services. That’s really not much to ask and I think you would be surprised how receptive people are to such invitations. I’m motivated by a verse in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In 4:5 it says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”I want to communicate about Christ in a way that draws in people who may feel left out. The next verse goes on to remind us about speaking to people in a way that demonstrates grace. God’s grace is the most attractive thing on earth. But it only operates on earth if we display it here. Let’s do so. Let’s reach out in love to more people. These Easter services are a simple way to express friendship with someone who may want to learn more about the most important thing in your life: your relationship with the living Lord, Jesus Christ.

March 24 & 25

2012-03-24T15:22:32Z

The Book of John teaches that all things were made through Jesus (1:3). While people love to argue about the means he used to accomplish this end, the main point is that he created us. He’s our Maker and therefore, our owner. The Bible further teaches that our purpose is tied to our origin. Referring to Jesus, Col. 1:16 says, “all things were created by him and for him.” All of creation was created for him. Our purpose is to honor our Maker. That’s why we were made. We exist for his glory, not our own. What can we do for him? He has told us. Jesus commissioned us to engage in a conquest of the world in his name. He told his disciples to make disciples, that is, to follow him in a way that leads others to follow. We do so by shining his light, radically loving, and passionately serving. As you can see, this installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy is a freeform biblical explanation what we are doing here. So many Bible verses spell out our ends and means. 2 Cor. 5 also comes to mind. We’ve been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. You are here to help others to know, love, and serve God! And the fruit of your efforts will last forever! Nothing is greater than sharing the good news of new life in Jesus Christ! Let’s rise up and step out by faith! If you would like to learn more about how God can use you, call the church and make an appointment with any of our pastors.

March 10 & 11

2012-03-17T19:21:34Z

What we do here is all about connecting people with God. The Bible describes our mission as one of reconciliation. We are entrusted with the responsibility of leading people back into relationship with their Maker. I write these weekly installments of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy to help us think about the many facets of our role here. We want to really grasp what it is that we are to accomplish and how we are to do it. This week I want you to consider the Old Testament character Ezra as an example. He honored God and was greatly used by him. We can discover and apply Ezra’s secret to his success. It is found in Ezra 7:10 - “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Here’s a guy who had a tremendous commitment to learn and live and pass on the truths of the Scriptures. Notice that is says he devoted himself to three things: to study, to obey, and to teach God’s Word. That middle item lends credibility to the last one. He didn’t just read the Scriptures to increase his knowledge; he followed through by obeying! This is the kind of example your kids can follow. If we try to communicate God’s Word without obeying it, we are guilty of hypocrisy and our efforts will fail. Ezra was careful to put God’s Word into practice in his own life. I like that. For Dayspring Fellowship to faithfully serve God in our generation, we must first devote ourselves to the study the Law of the Lord, then obey it, and finally pass it on to others.

March 3 & 4

2012-03-02T14:53:00Z

In honor of our twentieth birthday celebration, I just have to restate our 25-word vision statement. It is so fitting as a reminder of who we are and what we are doing here.

The vision of Dayspring Fellowship is…

To glorify God by reaching out in love to more people, connecting them into authentic relationships, and growing up in maturity as followers of Christ.

Repetition reinforces. It is important to be reminded about what guides us. Authors describe a syndrome called mission drift. This is the tendency for an organization to veer away from why it exists and what it exists to accomplish. For this week’s installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I want to remind you about the importance of reminders! Because vision leaks, it must be recast regularly and passionately. I won’t let us forget what we are forging together. We have a high aim. Let’s glorify God by reaching out in love to more people, connecting them into authentic relationships, and growing up in maturity as followers of Christ! And let’s keep doing this for at least twenty more years!

February 25 & 26

2012-02-29T05:04:14Z

Have you read the news this week about the response in Afghanistan to an incident in which NATO troops burned some copies of the Quran (sometimes spelled: Koran)? Do you want to hear my perspective? Then read on in this week’s installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy. An unruly crowd stormed onto a military base and the protests turned ugly on Friday; many people were killed and many more were injured. Demonstrators set vehicles on fire and destroyed property. One of the many protests took place in front of a U.S. consulate.

Muslims hold their sacred scripture in very high regard. Why? They consider the Quran as the verbatim word of Allah. There is no lack of respect for their Quran; they regard it as so sacred that people wash their hands before touching a copy.

I don’t have any comment about the actions of these Muslims in Afghanistan. I do have something to say about the lack of respect that so many Christians show concerning the Bible. These news stories make me wonder why we don’t take our Book as seriously as any other belief system takes theirs? Our teaching regards the Bible as God’s inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16), yet most Christians do nothing to protect the Bible and little to honor it. What a comparison.

We either believe that the Bible is God’s Word or we don’t. And if we do, let’s act like it. Not with anger or violence, but with respect and obedience.

February 18 & 19

2012-02-18T16:52:12Z

Jerry Affinito and Jenny Dunham have been providing fine leadership for our Growth Group Ministry. As the Director, Jerry adopts the role of a coach, coming alongside leaders to help them succeed. And as the Coordinator, Jenny holds down the fort administratively and is the chief communicator.

Recently these two interacted about our theme for the year, “Rise Up and Step Out.” They found lyrics to a song called, “The Voice of Truth,” by the group, Casting Crowns, which line up well with what we are trying to do here. In this week’s installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll share some of those lines:

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves  
To step out of my comfort zone 
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand
But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me 
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you'll never win! You'll never win.”
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

February 11 & 12

2012-02-11T16:53:00Z

My son and I enjoyed being on the receiving end of two free tickets to a recent Blazer game. What a nice gift and a nice night! We watched our Portland team battle the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA team with the best record. It was a close game; in fact, it went into overtime. Unfortunately, the Blazers narrowly lost the contest. As we walked out of the Rose Garden arena we noticed an interesting feature of human nature and I’ll share my observation in this week’s installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy.

Immediately after the final buzzer, I heard otherwise loyal Blazer fans calling out in loud rage for our coach’s resignation. Many fickle fans actually were shouting disappointment with the Blazers themselves. People felt ripped off, not only by the bad call by a referee at the end of the game, but also by the Portland team members. The paying customers didn’t get what they wanted! The home team lost; I guess the guys’ best efforts disappointed those who felt entitled to a different outcome. The problem was that the game didn’t conclude with a happy ending. And neither does life always guarantee that we will get our way.

Here at Dayspring we seek to communicate Christ in a society that is self-absorbed and deeply entrenched in the entitlement syndrome. People want what they want when they want it. That is the way of the world today. But Christianity is counter-cultural. We cater not to critical, consuming customers, but create committed Christ-followers. This is quite a process. It takes time. And we need God.

February 4 & 5

2012-02-04T16:56:00Z

I don’t have a crystal ball to see the future, but every now and then I get a sneak-peek behind the veil that shrouds what will be. This past weekend I got a couple glimpses and it was beautiful. In this week’s installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll describe the two scenes.

On Saturday evening, after the worship service, I attended a good-bye party for a couple who are heading south for the remainder of the winter. People ate and mingled and laughed. Then, to my surprise, the party turned into a discussion of how we can most effectively reach out to people with God’s love. I didn’t lead; I followed! This wasn’t a case of a pastor derailing a light social situation by imposing his agenda on others; the whole group got into it! For them, this kind of planning is fun! They thought both strategically and tactically. The dinner party morphed into the equivalent of a team meeting and then culminated in a prayer meeting! I was honored to sit among such godly people. They care about people! I don’t think anyone can get away from love that pursues like this. If you happen into a Saturday evening service, one of them will probably get you! I saw the vision of the church come true before my eyes.

On Sunday afternoon I had a similar experience. Once again I was privileged to experience our preferred future in living color. Right after the service I went to the home of some of our Growth Group leaders who were putting on a lunch potluck in honor of a new family that is joining their fellowship. Wow. It was very fun. No one can withstand that kind of acceptance and warmth. It was a blessing to see love in action. This is what we want to offer to everyone. This is what we want to see. This is what can be. Let’s actualize our simple vision to glorify God by reaching out in love to more people, connecting them into authentic relationships, and growing up in maturity as followers of Christ.

January 28 & 29

2012-01-29T20:13:43Z

Some people may trip over a certain phrase in our 25-word vision statement. The word that can cause trouble is “more.” Here it is in context: The Vision of Dayspring Fellowship is “to glorify God by reaching out in love to more people, connecting them into authentic relationships, and growing up in maturity as followers of Christ.” Last week I pointed out that this vision depicts disciple-making and each one of us has part in this process. We can all reach out in love to more people! But how about this word, “more?” Is more necessarily better? It all depends. More of what? More broccoli doesn’t sound good, nor does more rain. But in this case we’re talking about people. Every person is important to God. If we are making disciples, why settle for just a few? Why not lead many to follow Christ? It’s exciting to read in Acts 2:47 - “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Note that “more” is a relative term. We should not only ask, “more of what?” But also, “more than what?” More than now. This is a vision of the future. More tomorrow than today. More this new year than last year. Why? There will always be more people who need to hear the good news, people who need to experience forgiveness, get off drugs, or get out of debt. There will always be more families who need healing. Know anyone with those needs? So do I. So let’s reach out in love to more people.

January 21 & 22

2012-01-21T20:18:00Z

As we approach the weekend, the big news around town is that part of the town is underwater! In this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll write about this exciting and potentially treacherous event. I have never seen the Willamette so high. This is the highest it has been since the flood of '96, and I didn't live here then. A few years ago I kayaked through the Keizer Rapids Park trails when the river rose to 26', but it is predicted to go higher today (Friday), cresting over 29'.

Yesterday I joked that I would be kayaking in to work today. Awaking to Lake Larry in the lower yard made me realize that it wasn't a joke at all! My son sees one good thing about the high water; he gets the day off school! The only advantage I see is that this may help me with my mole eradication problem.

While I have not experienced a bigger flood of water, I have seen many people in our valley flooded with suffering of one kind or another. My first text message of the morning came from a man telling me his mother had just died, after suffering from a prolonged illness. He is threatened by a flood of sorrow. He, and many of you, can probably relate to Psalm 69:2 - "I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me." I hope to help him grab on to something solid so he isn't swept away. The Bible says we can trust in God, even when the waters are rising. You can lead people to higher ground. There is one place to go. The Rock will never move or give way.

January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T05:08:36Z

In today’s installment of these Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I will tell you what I want to see at the end of each of our weekend services. When it is all said and done, you will rise up and step out. You will stand and walk out of our building into the world where you represent Jesus. You will go back to your homes, your families, your jobs, your hobbies, and your lives. May you do so with a renewed sense of purpose. May you be tenacious and single-minded, for you exist to glorify God by following Jesus and leading others to follow him. My desire is to see you living with passionate abandon, persistently persevering to rise above the mundane of daily existence and linking your life to eternity. You have a destiny. Your Creator made you to receive and reflect his love. You can do that, by the power of his Spirit and for the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ.

January 1, 2012

2011-12-31T05:10:00Z

Most people despise hearing about New Year’s resolutions. So, in today’s installment of these Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I will not ask you to set goals that you will fail to meet. But I will emphasize the value of utilizing this time of year as a fulcrum.

Don’t be discouraged about failures in your past. This weekend is a chance to make a new start. Have you had trouble with keeping your commitments? Maybe you’ve always wanted to read the Bible through in a year but you’ve fallen off the wagon somewhere in Leviticus. Yesterday’s failures will only drag you down if you let them.

I like to reach forward to things that I don’t yet have. Set your eyes on something that is beyond you. Stretch. May this New Year be a really new year for you. January 2012 can be the date you look back on and remember that you took a step up to a new kind of living.

You can live with purpose. You can organize your life to point toward the objectives you set. And as a church we can become what God wants us to be and do here in the Salem region. We represent Jesus Christ to a world in need. Let’s Rise Up and Step Out! Let’s get off to a good start this year and grow to a new place, and then grow some more!

December 25, 2011

2011-12-24T05:11:00Z

In this week’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll answer a question that may be on your mind: Why Christmas? Whenever we ask “why,” the answer can either explain the motive for an event or what results from it. The Bible clearly addresses both what led to Christmas and what it leads to. The answer reminds us of what matters most. I could turn to a variety of familiar passages in the Bible for a succinct explanation of what this holiday means. But I think I’ll direct your attention to a verse you may not commonly think of as a Christmas text. It is 1 John 4:9, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”

Why Christmas? God showed his love for us by sending his Son so we could live life as it was meant to be lived. This verse clearly addresses both what led to Christmas and what it leads to. Here’s the answer: Love led to Christmas. And Christmas leads to life! The same thing is taught in John 3:16. Christmas means that God loved us so much that he send his Son to give us life. Christmas is a message which transcends time and is stronger than the toughest of circumstances. It is good news of a great joy.