The Sunday and Snow

Brentwood Tribe,
I am so proud of our church. The four service launch on Sunday was phenomenal, and it allowed us to reach 1,475 people, (a record number) on our first weekend. Amazing!!!

We baptized six people and I met several first-timers who either were not Christ-followers, or had not been in church for years. Most of them were blown away by the welcome we give to our guest. One girl invited her dad to witness her baptism. He is not a believer, but he left with two of our free Bibles. His daughter was so excited to see her dad taking a small step towards Christ. Those stories are why we gather, serve and give to our church every week.

Also, I was awed by the determination and commitment of our volunteers. Below is a snapshot of guys from our guest services and parking team going the extra mile to help a car get unstuck. Thanks guys for sacrificing your clothes for the team. Additionally, our musicians and production engineers (all volunteers) served and gave their everything throughout the entire day and into the evening. You guys are awesome.

Finally, I was so proud of our staff and leadership teams for creating an inspiring place to be the Church.

See you Sunday as we continue “What It Takes.”

Onward!
Jon

Night Services Launched:
Groundbreaking weekend at Brentwood. Yep, we started the Sunday night service track with a 4:30p.m., and we add the 6:15p.m. next weekend. Wow, did we ever need it. The morning crowd was so slammed we sadly turned away nearly 300 people and had to ask some of our regulars to come back at night just to let guest have their seats. Seeing the true-blue Brentwood giving up their seats was inspiring. You guys are incredible!!!

So, for all you night people serving and attending in the P.M., now you know why your shift is so crucial. Well done.

Haiti:
Additionally, you guys showed up big time on Haiti relief. Over 9,000 bottles of water were collected on Sunday. We delivered all the pallets this morning to Gleaning for the World and they were blown away by the amount from one church. Also, thirty people signed up to join the Haiti relief team that will be serving there in the coming weeks.

Bottom line:
The people of Brentwood are demonstrating Christ in simple and impacting ways: changing service times, giving up a seat and giving water and comfort to earthquake victims. Small things like this change the world and prepare heart-soil to receive the Gospel.

Onward!
Jon

Brentwood Tribe,

By now you know that the country of Haiti is in apocalyptic shambles with the recent earthquake, an already impoverished people have been hit with a nearly fatal blow. Yet, history tells us this is when God shows up “Big Time” through His Church.

For the last 24-hrs, Steve Pettit, our Life Development Pastor, has been in conversations with Blue Ridge Community Church to see how we can partner together to send relief supplies and a team to Haiti.

Here’s the 1st-draft plans:
1) Water: Brentwood people bring cases of bottled-water to the 9:00, 10:45A.M. or 4:30P.M. services on Sunday. It’s simple. Go to Sams or Wal-mart pick up some Card With Care and add a couple cases of water to your cart. We’ll be delivering them to Gleaning For The World on Monday.
2) Team Haiti: Right now, we’re making contact with a local Haitian church 100km outside of Port Au Prince. Most likely, we’ll be sending a small team of volunteers in the coming weeks. If you’re compelled, visit the NOW 10/40 table in the church lobby on Sunday.

Look for more details on Sunday.

Onward!!!
Jon

This past August, two Virginia Tech students were murdered near the Jefferson National Park in Montgomery County, Virginia. Both David Metzler and Heidi Childs were from right here in Lynchburg, so our community was stunned and grief stricken when the news was reported. So far, there’s still no leads in the case and the murders are unsolved, but the story would haunt me for weeks. Until, I finally decided to find out who David and Heidi were and why they were so special to so many people.

Lynchburg Living gave me permission to track down and write a story with few limitations. Honestly, I’ve never gotten so emotionally and spiritually involved in writing a 3rd-person story before.

Specifically, I want to thank Dr. Keith and Susan Metzler, and Don and Laura Childs for letting me into their lives and the memories and artifacts of their children.

So after many interviews and sleepless nights, here it is: http://www.lynchburgliving.com/story.php

NOTE: If you’re local, pick up a copy of the latest Lynchburg Living for more photographs and captions.

Brentwood Tribe,

Sunday will be our first Sunday of a new decade and I am stoked to dream some God-sized dreams with you. I have no doubt that our greatest years as a church are ahead of us. Already we have a goal to reach 10,000 new people with the Gospel in the next 10 years, but that’s just the beginning.

We start a series this Sunday called “What It Takes.” You don’t want to miss a week of it either. Why? Because we’re going to layout what it’s going to take to be a PREVAILING CHURCH not only in Lynchburg, but around the globe.

Let’s get this party started. See you Sunday.

Onward!
Jon

My family is all set to celebrate Christ’s birth together  tomorrow.  I hope you have an incredible day  wherever you are and whomever you’re with.

Sunday morning was a train wreck for me. It began early, no sleep and up before light. Outside, rain and ice fell like trillions of glassy needles. And there is nothing beautiful about that sound either, instead it’s oppressive and chaffing. Then I had a get-out-of-bed tug-of-war with my 5-year-old. He eventually got up, but I added more weight to his dad baggage. So, when I got to church, I was flustered and wondering if God could even use me–tired, distracted and a crummy dad.

Still, I focused on leading and teaching Brentwood for the next few hours. During the message, I paused to review the scene of Abram in Genesis 15, the moment Abram questioned whether God could still use his broken down body to start a family/nation. So, what does God do? He takes him outside and shows him the countless stars above and all around. Then, while Abram searched the sky, God tells him that his influence will be eternal. Once again, Abram trusted God to use him to impact the world. A lot is crammed inside these few verses, but what stands out the most is how God used Creation to send Abram a very persuasive message: I chose you and I will follow through.

Flash forward to Sunday night: After my offbeat morning and the all-day rain had made a swamp of things, I took a drive to clear my head. The night was cold and bullied me to go back home, to just get under the covers and sleep off the gloom, but I took that drive instead. For sure, I was supposed to witness something. What, I did not know, but it was out there waiting. So, I drove.

Not very far from home is when I realized it. The sky was clear, no more clouds and haze, but a black chaos overhead with light-pearls poking through like ice pick holes. It was brilliant. Almost immediately, I recalled the story of Abram. Then I knew that God was communicating something. What, though?

He said in my own internal voice,“Look at that sky. Just a reminder that I chose you for something, and I will follow through if you’ll trust me.”

Right then, I re-chose trust.

I can’t always say that I “get it” when God uses something peculiar, like a night sky, to encourage me; but when He does, I want to cherish it.

Brentwood Tribe,
As 2009 is almost complete and it has been one of the most exhilarating years in our brief history.

Here are some highlights that you were a part of:

Decade: Brentwood turned 10-years-old this past February, so we had a birthday party like none other. Hundreds showed up at “Amazement Square” downtown to celebrate a momentous decade.

The Gospel: 81 people surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. Those are just the ones we could count.

Baptism: 23 men and women told their redemption stories and were baptized.

Global: Four teams from the Brentwood tribe went to Asia. Our India team helped construct a village community center that is a stage for proclaiming the Gospel to thousands. Already a hundred follow Christ, because of this on-going initiative. And still, three different teams traveled to Thailand to continue our labor to stamp out sexual exploitation and slavery at its epicenter. Finally, Africa, we commissioned an unbelievable married couple to begin a groundbreaking effort in Sudan, one of the deadliest places on earth.

Amazing Race: To top it off, our church helped organize and launch one of the largest charity-based races in our city. Over 800 runners flooded the streets of Lynchburg in the maiden voyage of Run For Their Lives. It was astounding to see so many give their blood, sweat and tears to start a movement to set the sexually enslaved free. And it shows that we are not a church that just prays about injustice, but takes action to defeat it.

New Beginning: At the Big Vision event in September, we launched a new vision to reach 10,000 new people in the next 10 years. Of course, that means we’ve got to get very creative in space and strategy.

Four Services: So this January, we take a bold and innovated step to reach our 10K in 10-years goal. How? We’re going to four services, two in the morning and two more at night—yes, that’s right, a new kind of “night church.” This adjustment makes it possible for us to reach 600 more searching-people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ at minimal financial cost.

These are just some of the audacious things God has done through our church community this year. You could compile your own list just as bold.

Can’t wait for another year!!!

Jon

Donald Miller recently wrote, “What makes a great story is one that has great characters in memorable scenes.” That is so true.

I showed a clip from “It’s A Wonderful Life” this Sunday, the scene where George Bailey runs down the streets of Bedford Falls yelling “Merry Christmas” to anyone and anything. Classic. I was surprised, though, by people’s response. Some, who had never seen the movie (which is a crime), still knew that scene from random places in our culture. That’s how powerful the story is; it’s scenes are part of American culture. Bottom line, characters and scenes are what people remember about a story.

So, what if we applied this same principle to our family? What if we worked on building memorable moments (scenes) for our spouse? Our children? Furthermore, what if we looked back on those moments, brought new light to them and started telling our family story that way. “Do you remember when…,” you might start. “…we went to that Christmas tree farm and it started snowing as we cut down our tree. And then we got back in the car and the heater was broken and the tire was flat…” You get the point.

Here’s an idea: Sit down in front of your computer and type out all the memorable scenes of your marriage and/or family for the past five years. Put a heading on each scene and describe it in your best five-sentence paragraph. Collect 8 or 10 on a couple pages, package it up however you want and then give it to your spouse as a random gift–major points, by the way.

After you’ve practice this looking backward, then go forward with more intention. Start creating memorable scenes that become a part of your family’s culture.

Personally, I just bought a “very used” popup camper. Our first outing was disastrously beautiful. And my kids can’t stop talking about it. Now, I can’t wait to make that camper a key character in the scenes of our ongoing family story.

Let the memories begin.