Branded With Love

“He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don’t know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, ‘God is not a monster.’ Maybe next time I will.”
- Shane Claiborne

So, I needed to get out of the fishbowl complex, but…

It was also time to start over.

Over a year ago God tasked me with the honor and humble privilege of leading His church here at Forefront. It is great. I cannot be happier. As we moved our offices, went through some staff changes, and began heading in the direction God intended for us to go during this next chapter of ministry- my perspective has changed.

Before, I was a support staff/pastor over Creative Arts (video, music, web, design, etc) just trying to let people see what I can do with no real pressure of letting anybody down or making any heavy decisions that would botch up God’s plan for His church. I just wanted to be cool and known.

Now, I’m a husband and father of a little girl. A pastor of hundreds of people who are looking to me to lead them. A boss to seven people who are depending on me to teach & coach them in ministry. A man who at the end of the day answers to God for the spiritual well being of a large group of people under my watch.

There are few words to even describe it.
It’s daunting.

In this new chapter, I’ve come to the realization that the work of God’s church is not solely on me (that sentence makes me laugh, did I really think the weight of Christianity moving forward was all on me?!? Ha). The mission of the church, the outreach of the church, the growth of the church, is on God’s shoulders.

He doesn’t need me. He wants a relationship with me. He’s glad to have me. He will use me. He has a place for me. He loves me. He sent His Son to die for me. He wants to spend eternity with me. But… He wants me- He doesn’t need me. The moment we believe God “needs” us or His kingdom will crumble is the day our pride has taken over inside of us. Now, God wants to use us to spread His message of love and grace. He has a place for each of us in the body to move, breathe and be “the church.” So, our worth in God is everything. We are precious to God. That is evident in Him sending Jesus to die for us, but when it comes to the gospel message of love, hope and redemption- God uses me, but doesn’t need me.

When I began to think that God “needed” me, it gave me a sense of entitlement, pride, and “hey look at me people, God can’t do it without me” kind of attitude. That is wrong. In this new chapter, I desire to serve God more than ever before. I know that there are a lot of people looking to me. But, the freeing reality is I lay those things I God’s shoulders and I simply follow Him. Yeah sure, He doesn’t “need” me, but I am certain He is doing back flips over the fact I have submitted to give my life to Him and follow Him. And the motivation behind it is one of overflowing love- because He first loved me.

Where is your motivation in serving God stemming from?
Do you think God “needs” you to get the job done and couldn’t do this without you?
What do you need to change in your heart/attitude to move to a new place with God?

More on the blog change and why in the next post. Until next time…

Jason *over and out*

It really had less to do with WordPress or Blogger and much more to do with motives.

Crappy ones.

I’m not gonna say that everyone who has a http://www.thisismynamecheckmeout.com link to their blog, website, etc. is a cynical jerk who is all about themselves. I can say with certainty that I was one of those people. I originally bought http://www.jasonbedell.com back a few years ago to blog from. It was good and getting a decent amount of traffic and hits and I felt great about it. It was selfish, pride centered propaganda self-promotion at it’s finest. I then sold it to another Jason Bedell (which sent us to new york for a week, Thanks Jason) and purchased http://www.jasonbedellonline.com and continued from there.

I would go around commenting on all the ‘happening” blogs out there to try and get traffic back to ME and MY SITE. Shamelessly. Without apology. I wasn’t there to add to the conversation, I was there for a sales pitch and to gain some followers. I had nothing to say and nowhere to take people once they visited my blog/site except to try and convince them about how boring and insignificant all the things I said and did truly were cool and hip a young pastor truly is.

I do think there is a fishbowl complex going around and I had it. I sat in my little digital bubble of MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Vimeo, Qik, Linked In, StumbleUpon, etc. hoping that my little online existence would somehow get me big, famous, and known. But, all the while I sat in my little fishbowl looking at other people’s bowls.

They’re bigger, better, more fish around them, higher quality… and somehow in my mind I equated that those things defined who I was. So I began reaching for more, trying harder, commenting more, creating more- in the hopes of being the next big thing. And then it hit me.

My story isn’t my story at all… it’s God’s story. I am just lucky enough to be a part of it. My worth is not in technology that didn’t even exist just a few years ago, my worth is in He who created me. And I began asking God to take away the fishbowl complex in my life. We’ll talk more about why the blog change in the next post, but…

How are you doing with the fishbowl complex?
Pastors & Ministers? Are you living in that complex when you look across town?
Christians? Are you struggling with that complex at work or when you check out your neighbor?

I know it spills over into more areas of my life than I can count.

Jason *over and out*

I am not one to note, comment on, or acknowledge letters, emails, or phone calls where people share their feelings on things I say & preach, but I received a letter yesterday that I believe can set a standard for you pastors who read this blog as well as the many of you who attend Forefront Church on a regular basis. This individual did not have a return address or signed name so I have no idea who they are. We’ll call them “Mr. Church Goer.”

Here is the letter I received…

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March 9, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

I just wanted to let you know that I am never going to Forefront again. I have never been so hurt as I have by Pastor Jason. Yesterday, he said that we are “wasting space in our seats on Sunday” if we are not serving somewhere. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! A person’s right to attend church on Sunday shouldn’t have anything to do with whether we choose to serve! I mean all teh rock music and very inappropriate videos you show are one thing, but for the pastor to make such a horrible comment was just more than I could stand.

I have been going to Forefront since the first Sunday at the Strawbridge Theaters. The service was so wonderful back then with Vince, Joe, Roland, Chris and all the other great people who used to be there. You had to get there early to find a seat. What happened to this church? The attendance is really down and after last Sunday I can see why. I really miss the Forefront that I that I have called my church home for so many years. I am now looking for another church to attend… and support!! Las Vegas??? Maybe.

Love God. Love People. Forefront needs to work on the second one.

Thank you for your time,

Mr. Church Goer

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Dear Mr. Church Goer,

First off, I want to thank you for sending such a letter my way.
This is not me being sarcastic in any form, I do truly thank you. I am hoping this will be a call to you and all people who have a frustration to come and share it in a Biblical way, but I can’t communicate it to you personally since I don’t know who you are. I am disheartened that you wouldn’t approach me one on one to discuss this and practice some Matthew 18 principles:

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

¹⁹“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Now I included the text for you, Mr. Church Goer, but I’m sure that you’ve heard this and read it before in the 11 years you’ve attended Forefront. I can see that the serving issue is not your only frustration (“…all the rock music and very inapproprate videos”), but we’ll simply address the issue at hand. Serving.

Forefront since day one has been about three things: Loving God, Love People, and Turning the World Upside Down. Those get carried out by every person at Forefront doing three things: Participating in Forefront Sunday services, sharing community with others in a Gel Group (small group), and Serving the local church as well as abroad to reach all people to Turn The World Upside Down. These precepts are nothing new.

I’ve known them since the day I heard about the church and also attended the first service… and when I came on staff almost 2 years ago and listened to Vince’s vision casting message. Let me assure you that being a follower of Christ and calling Him our Lord and Savior burdens us to serve. It’s an outpouring of our being. It’s the very thing God commands of us. In James 2:14-25, James shares this:

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Serving is something that works hand in hand with our faith and not doing so as someone who loves Jesus is just us “wasting space.” It ends up being empty praise to God if we worship Sundays and do nothing more (if we have committed ourselves to Jesus). But, for someone who is searching and trying to figure this out… this is not the case. They are still on the journey. I noted that also in my message, but I’m disappointed you weren’t ready to note that in your letter.

Jesus tells us that, ¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” If we are not serving & living out His call to reach others and be a part of His plan to “bear fruit,” than He will, “cut off every branch in Him that doesn’t bear fruit.” If you are offended that people who claim Jesus and are not serving are “wasting space,” let’s but it another way, “you’re gonna be pruned and cut off.” -Jesus

I just want to make sure you are clear on a few things Mr. Church Goer:

1. You mentioned going to “Las Vegas??? Maybe.” I wouldn’t if I were you. I’m not speaking for Vince, but I am fairly certain he wouldn’t want someone to come and help in Vegas who after 11 years still doesn’t get that being a Christ-follower means we are commanded to serve.

2. You stated, “I am looking for another church to attend… and support!!” I am glad you will still be involved in church, but as you go, don’t vote with your money at the church you land at. Giving to the church is to be done with a greatful and humble heart and Forefront doesn’t want your money if it’s done as a vote of approval for us. How about this: I would love to know your name and we will pull your giving records as far back as we can, and give back every dime you ever gave to Forefront. God is way bigger than your pocket book or wallet. But again, please don’t give to your next church with an idea that your money validates what they are doing. Do it because God commands us to give to Him. It’s all His anyway.

3. You mentioned, “I am never coming to Forefront again.” I am disheartened that you have come to that place after 11 years, but since Vince left our attendance at our Beach Campus has been up every Sunday. That’s no slight on Him (he and I have talked about it), but we see God doing a great thing here and we’re at the gates of something amazing…

So thank you for freeing up a seat. Someone who doesn’t know God will thank you next Sunday.

Loving and Serving Him,

Jason *over and out*

Haven’t read the daily reading? Click here for today’s passage
Want to download whole year plan? Click here to download the 2009 plan

There is a lot going on with Jesus in this first section of Mark. We see him get baptized, tempted for 40 days by the devil, gets his team together (the disciples), drives out an evil spirit, heals a ton of people, gets away to pray, then starts the cycle all over again. The thing that stands out to me while reading this is the praying portion.

Verse 35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

In the midst of chaos and life going in a million directions; Jesus took the time to pray. Now what he prayed for I have no clue, but I’m willing to bet it was for strength and peace. I know throughout life I have faced some pretty trying times (many of you at Forefront have too), and in the middle of everything happening I have to remind myself to ask God to give my family and I peace and strength so we can look to him, rely on him, and not go totally insane. When we lean on him, things become clearer. When we trust him and go to God in prayer, he rewards our faithfulness.

Until next time,

Jason *over and out*

Another way we look to change the face of discipleship is to beef up the Gel Group materials. Say you are totally vibing on the series and what God is speaking into your life. Currently if you wanted to dive deeper you have to figure it out on your own.

Well, we are going to provide a list of 3-5 books every series, that will allow you to further explore the topic if you feel God is moving you to. Also, we are compiling a list of online resources to help everyone study the Bible easier and grow on their own.

I know it’s difficult for some to hear, “on your own,” but it’s the truth. The church can be here to help and we should be. We can provide a means for you to grow with God- but it boils down to whether or not you choose to move deeper.

My prayer is that everyone at Forefront will choose to go deeper in ‘09 and God’s church here in Hampton Roads is going to blow up with a fire that can’t be put out.

Until next time,

Jason *over and out*

We were talking about discipleship in the last post. How will that change? Well, the first thing was providing resources via the hub table year ’round for people to grow and dive deeper. Before we talk about another way we aim to help with this, let me take a minute to comment on something you might be thinking-

“I want to dive deeper, but spiritually I’m a wreck. How do study materials help with the brokenness?”

I do not believe that providing resources will break your cycle of brokenness, but- I do believe that searching for God, admitting you are hurting, using study tools, praying to God about your pain, being a part of a Gel Group where you truly share your life (not just parts of it), and beginning to talk with God and people to work through the mess will bring you to a place of healing.

I hear a bunch of people saying, “I want to go deeper” at Gel Groups. I get it. But as I listen, many times what I hear are not the words you’re speaking- I hear in the background a pain, a hurt, a struggle and what your really saying is, “I want a way to be healed from this.” “I am trying to figure out how God can heal my life in this area, help me.” We want to help. Forefront aims to be place for people to come to Him and seek spiritual healing and meet God.

That’s why we think the face of discipleship needs to change. Another way it will change is to gut the program of “days 1-5 study” and in it’s place have the entire church read through the New Testament this year. If we have the entire church read through the N.T. in one year, I think amazing things will happen. I’ve talked to quite a few people who have told me, “I’ve never really read through a book of the Bible, much less the whole N.T.!”

We’re going to lay it out so everyone is reading it in a way where God speaks to you. You walk through it and ask questions that are relevant to you in your journey with God. If everyone commits to this, it will revolutionize Forefront. A church that knows the Bible is a force to be reckoned with. Seriously.

More on discipleship soon.

Jason

So with visiting Gel Groups we’ve been discussing how Forefront will change. It’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue and we all have our own “ideal way” the church could be better in our eyes. I love that many of you have ideas on how Forefront can be better and the leadership/ staff see areas where we can grow- but if we run with everyone’s idea of the “perfect church” we’ll be an awful church. Because one person’s ideas conflict with someone else’s ideas and then no one’s happy.

As the lead pastor, God has tasked me with the challenge of balancing what the body (the church) needs and what we as a leadership, staff, and volunteers can take on and accomplish. We’ve talked about 2 things to tackle in 2009 so we can really do them and tackle them well:

• Assimilation (a process for people from the moment they come to Forefront to bring them to a point where they are plugged in and really serving)
• Discipleship (taking people deeper with God through aiding them in dealing with their brokenness and providing resources & opportunities for them to grow if they choose to)

With discipleship, we can’t “make” anyone become a disciple of Jesus. It’s impossible. It cannot be forced upon anyone, they have to choose to go deeper and grow. But, the church can provide a means to get there and show people where to go next.

One of the ways we’ll look to accomplish this is providing resources at the Hub Table for free. Study materials to work through on Topics like: Prayer and Fasting, Discovering God’s Word, Confession & Repentance, Resting in Jesus (basically getting away from the chaos of life), and more. We’re also looking to provide study materials that give an overview on books of the Bible. These would start sometime in January with different studies added as we get them printed and would be provided year round.

I’ll share more on some of our plans on discipleship later. Until then,

Jason *over and out*

I’ve taken over the Forefront Blog this week so I’ll be posting some of the thoughts, vision casting, etc. from my posts there. Enjoy.

Apple has been the comeback kid. In the realm of technology you can’t help but see their ads, iPods, and laptops all over the place. Every kid wants one and adults are slowly drinking the Kool Aid. The wave of energy has quickly swept across the country. People stood in line for ONE WHOLE WEEK waiting for the iPhone to come out and get one. That’s nuts to me.

So what created the momentum? The company shifted from trying to do multiple things on an average level- to a few things on a stellar level. And it worked. Big time.

For Forefront, we can learn quite a bit from their leadership. God has made Forefront a great place with a mission that cannot be argued- Love God, Love People, Turn the World Upside Down. But, some of the things we do on the underneath (systems, training and educating true disciples, a clear plan for aiding people through a process to get them connected) could really use some help so Forefront can be the church God knows we can be. In 2009, we’ll be tackling these things instead of everything under the sun so we can have the best results possible.

The staff and I are very excited about the future of Forefront and how we can build on the base that the leadership has laid over the last 10 years. We pray that we can make God and them proud with our impact on the community and reaching those who are far from God.

I’ve taken over the Forefront Blog this week so I’ll be posting some of the thoughts, vision casting, etc. from my posts there. Enjoy.

On the corner of my desk you’ll find a picture of my beautiful wife Carrie and our 5 month old daughter Chloe (she’s sporting the Mets hat in the Mets frame if you were wondering what team is the best in MLB). In the day to day work flow they are my reminder. A reminder that God is first, then family, and finally the church. Forefront is a great church and our mission is one of huge importance, but if I miss the boat with drawing near to God and loving on my family, then Forefront will suffer because of it.

Which leads me to the question, “How do you create balance in your life?” With God, family, church, work, little league, dance recitals, and so on… what are you neglecting? Whether you believe so or not, something is hurting. It might be work or maybe even hobbies, but a majority of the time it’s God and family. It’s a sad reality that many who follow Jesus come to understand.

Let’s say: You’ve been serving in children’s ministry since the day you signed up at a serving expo, you cart kids around to various student ministry events, you set-up and tear down every Sunday, and work a 60+ hour work week. You come home, find barely enough time to hang with the kids and spouse before you crash and go to bed only to start the chaos all over again. Then when you get into the quiet thinking moments, you realize that your family is suffering and you aren’t connected to God. Who do you blame for ending up in this stage in life? Unfortunately, we tend to blame the church. When that happens you’ll start to hear things like:

• “I’m not getting fed spiritually.”
• “My family and I are thinking of leaving the church.”
• “I like serving, but I think I am getting pretty burned out with this.”
• “God just doesn’t seem to be meeting my needs right now.”

Now I would contend that when things in our life arise they come from a deeper place than we would like to admit. When you hear these things you might look at the church, when I hear these things- I look in the mirror. I wonder where I stepped out of pace with God.

In the 8+ years of doing ministry before coming to Forefront, I had a season where the church was everything. I preached messages on reading your Bible, when I hadn’t read it in weeks. I had Bible studies on giving to God, and I wasn’t where I needed to be with my giving of time, money and heart. I was serving so much that I began to miss the point of being His in the first place. The problem was I blamed God, the church, the leadership and everyone within shouting distance, but it did nothing. It did nothing because they weren’t the problem- I was. I wasn’t close to God. I had walked away. I didn’t keep up my side of the relationship.

The eye-opening moment was when I got back into the groove. He and I were talking together on a daily basis (praying), I was learning about His plan for my life in a deeper way (reading my Bible), and I noticed my time wasn’t as constrained as I had originally thought and my joy was back (serving in the church).

Many times in life I’ve looked to place blame anywhere but with myself. Now being married, having a little girl, and growing along with God over these years in ministry; when things get out of whack- I look in the mirror. And when God and I are walking in step, my relationship with Him is stronger, family looks brighter and serving just becomes a natural part of my DNA.

So, to the question “How do you create balance in your life?” I would answer, Love God, Love Family, Love People… and you won’t be able to contain yourself as you Turn the World Upside Down.