We’re prepping for our December 23rd service.
It’s a Friday Night, 7pm at Ocean Lakes High School.
It’s going to be intense!

While we’ve been out filming videos for the service, we film little teasers along the way to peak your interest. Here is teaser #2 (We loaded it to YouTube & Vimeo last night, and it’s been blowing up. This is probably due to the fact I fractured 2 ribs at the hands of an angry James elf. Dr’s visit confirmed it yesterday. Merry Christmas!)

Christmas Teaser #2 from Forefront Church on Vimeo.

We’re prepping for our December 23rd service.
It’s a Friday Night, 7pm at Ocean Lakes High School.
It’s going to be intense!

While we’ve been out filming videos for the service, we film little teasers along the way to peak your interest. Here is teaser #1 (it’s been floating around Facebook & Twitter for a couple weeks now)

Christmas Service, Dec 23rd, 7pm @ Ocean Lakes High School from Forefront Church on Vimeo.

Today we kicked off our series, “Coming Home.” The key text for our series is Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The first name given to Jesus is Wonderful Counselor. God counsels and speaks to us in many different ways. Today’s service was action packed, “Slow Jam the Announcements” was great (no James/Irene are not pregnant, it was a joke), and the band rocked Revelations by Audioslave. Here are some highlights from the message this morning:

• God really does have an opinion about your life, and the good news is he’s always right.
• People doubt the supernatural in church, but love kids turning into werewolves and sparkly vampires. Seriously?!
• God specializes in the supernatural.
• The Bible is awesome, alive, and active. If it was a movie it would be Rated R at best, some of it NC-17. (Hebrews 4:12-13)
• We don’t like to read scripture, because scripture begins to read us (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• Wanting to hear God’s voice with no desire to get into God’s word is like wanting to get clean but refusing to get in the shower.
• Jesus didn’t leave us as orphans, he left the Holy Spirit (John 14)
• We need others to help us along the way (Proverbs 15:22, Proverbs 24:5-6)
• We need the church! Especially since Jesus built it, died for it, and blesses it.
• We need to be busy be still and know that he is God! (Psalm 46:10)
• God speaks to us through circumstances. What have you gone through where God taught you something?
• When God speaks, we need to acknowledge it. (Isaiah 45:19, Ezekiel 36:26-27)
• “God will never show us what’s next, until we obey what’s now.”
• When God speaks, we need to seek it. (Jeremiah 29:13)
• When God speaks, we need to obey it. (James 1:22)

Good times. Podcast will be up soon. It was great being with everyone today and kicking off this new series. I cannot wait to see everyone at the Open Mic Night & Art Show on December 9th, 7pm at the Forefront Warehouse.

Next Sunday we’ll be looking at the next name for Jesus, “Mighty God.” Until then, check out the promo video and pass it on…

Coming Home Sermon Intro from Forefront Church on Vimeo.

I read a bunch of differnt stuff around the web. One of the things I do is keep up with other churches doing great things to see how we can learn, get better, and approach God is a fresh way. Our family celebrates Advent, and we try and teach our girls about it. If you’re interested in doing so, it’s not too late. Village Church in TX has some great resources for you and your family to get rolling today. Here is a brief snippet of their post:

“Christ is coming. He has come, and He will come again. This is the message of Advent.

Though Advent is often neglected in many contemporary churches, it has a long history of remembrance. It is a season of waiting, a time of anxious and eager anticipation for the coming (advent) of Christ to His bride.

Though it overlaps with modern Christmas celebrations, it is quite different. Whereas Christmas tends to be a season of noise and commotion, Advent is a time to slow down and reflect. It is a season to consider the first coming of Christ and patiently ponder His second.”

Here’s a short video to encourage you in the process and you can download a PDF guide for your family here.

Advent: God With Us from The Village Church on Vimeo.

“Laughter is the best medicine.”

I heard the phrase often growing up. My dad is a very sarcastic individual and I learned under his tutelage to yield it like a well trained swordsman. Verbal banter and joking abounded under our roof. It’s what got us through difficult times. Laughing broke the ice. When my dad retired after a 22+ year career in the Navy. He cried and was heartbroken (one of only three times I’ve seen the man cry). It was a side comment of my brother in an Applebees, “So, you spent two decades in the Navy learning to be a man and now you’re crying like a baby” that softened the moment. We all had a laugh. The tension was broken. It wasn’t that we didn’t take the day seriously. We all knew a large chapter of my dad’s life had closed. But, the laughter helped us move through it.

Sunday evening I had the honor of speaking for a large group of area churches. Hurricane Irene came through and shut down Virginia Beach, so most churches didn’t hold a.m. services. We gathered a plan together to combine efforts with Real Life Church to invite anyone in the 757 to come and worship.

It was great.
God was honored.
We enjoyed spending time with other people who want to figure out how to live like Jesus. Some people had a close relationship with Jesus. Others were virgins to the church, God, and this Jesus guy they had heard about once. It encourages me to always be in places where it isn’t just Christians. It shows me we’re meeting new people who need to experience God. It’s great.

After I got back home, my Facebook, Twitter & Phone had blown up about how much people enjoyed the evening. Some of of the comments were:

“We had no clue you were that funny!?”
“On the way home we talked and agreed, you rocked that sermon… and you’re so funny, who knew?”
“You were great. My oldest daughter asked if you were a comedian!”
“My mother-in-law laughed so hard she was crying. Great job.”
“I think I pulled a muscle in my neck laughing. LUV’D IT!!!!”

Then, I opened up my Facebook page today, to a private message from a fellow minister. It simply read:

“Saw all the updates about last night. Didn’t know you left ministry to be a comedian. Good luck with that.”

Ouch.

Let me first off say, we’ve talked and everything is copacetic. I wouldn’t share this if we hadn’t had the opportunity to talk it out “brotha to brotha.” (Look in the Bible for Matthew 18, this is huge for dealing with sin/confrontation). Second, there was a false dichotomy assumed in that message I found in my inbox.

That false dichotomy is this:
“If you’re preaching the Bible, you cannot be funny.” or…
“If you’re funny, you cannot be preaching the Bible.”

I grew up in pretty conservative churches where humor wasn’t used in large segments. To preach and use humor was to “water down the message” or “entertain people instead of challenge people.” The assumption is that you can only preach with limited humor and honor God. This is simply not true.

I would assert that laughter is one of the most successful ways to diffuse walls, barriers, and tension that people have about the church, God, faith, heaven, hell, and the story of love that God has for every person under the sun. Yes, the topics & truths we have are about people’s salvation and eternity. Oh… Hell, it’s not a joke. But, you preach a sermon on Hell, the air is going to be thick. You’ll be able to cut it with a knife. But, you can break the tension. It can be done in a way that doesn’t make Hell a cocktail joke, but brings people’s anxiety down to a place where they’re actually going to hear the love/grace/truth you’re teaching.

The guy who comes in with a Pantera shirt and thinks Hell is better discussed by ACDC, he’ll hear you better. The woman who just got beat by her husband and hasn’t told a soul why her abusive spouse doesn’t come to church- she’ll smile and chuckle for the first time in years, and she’ll hear you for the first time in months. The guy wrestling with porn addiction and he’s depressed thinking God doesn’t love him, he’ll begin to laugh and realize that was God bringing him joy again.

Some notes about humor & preaching:

1. Jesus Communicated in Ways People Could Relate To. He told stories, talked about farming/agriculture, used illustrations people connected with. Nothing brings people together like food and laughter. Now in a message, as a pastor, part of my task is to balance both (the message & teaching being the meat/meal they need, and the humor).

2. Humor Diffuses Tension. When my wife and I fight (yes, we fight), most fights end when someone breaks the cycle with a joke. Usually it’s one making fun of themselves. More often then not, it’s me making the joke. Because I was wrong, and I needed a break. We soon realize whatever we were arguing about wasn’t worth it. With speaking, when the topic is tense, people’s minds are wrapped up in defending themselves. Protecting their ideas, thoughts, and conclusions. Want to break down the walls? Use humor.

3. People Remember God’s Love Through Moments. Create Moments. Last night opened up with buffaloes dangling from dental floss in reference to my fear of heights, hurricanes with family is a glimpse of hell, earthquakes aren’t supposed to happen in VA, and my youngest daughter is a mobile piranha biting anything in sight. Yes, there was laughter. People were holding their sides in tears at times. It was quite a moment. But how did it tie together? Well…

4. Laughter To Life Change Is Tough, But It Pays Off. It is not easy to use humor to communicate hard things. It takes work. That’s why many communicators fail when trying to use humor. I opened up with a question, “Who in here likes to have control?” All those things I mentioned a second ago were things I wanted control in my life (heights, natural disasters, my little girls). But I don’t get to control life. I followed up with a quote from my dad, “If your life seems completely in control, you’re not really living.” Then we asserted from the Bible in James 5:10-11 that in trials, what we want is to have control, but God calls us to follow the examples of the saints before us (i.e. Job, a guy who finally let God do the talking), and live with God in control and practice patience. One of the greatest examples to illustrate this was the moment of the Israelites coming to the Red Sea with Moses in the Bible, Exodus 14. We walked through their fear, lack of faith, and desire to take control instead of being patient with God. I asked if they had totally given over control? The best way we surrender control is to give all of ourselves to God  (communicated through video, it’s embedded at the end of this post). Then we sang a song, prayed, and waited.

37 emails, 9 face to face prayers, multiple conversations and quite a few back&forths via social networking…

- a woman is finding strength in a physically abusive realtionship
- a young lady is learning to forgive her rape attacker
- a young man is beginning the road to peace after a hurtful relationship
- two ladies renewed a commitment to be active in church & carpool together
- a man confided that he’s giving up pornography and getting help
- a man is asking about baptism, and is on the verge of surrender
- a family is certain God is good and they want to get more involved
- numerous people share, “Did you spy on me this week? I need to give up control!”
- An offering was collected for a family who lost an 11 yr old during the hurricane
- God was honored
- People laughed till it hurt
- The Bible was preached unapologetically
- I was a pastor (and a comedian)
- God was pleased with our worship
- Live were changed for the better with God’s love

So, if you’ve made it this far, you have a longer attention span than a gnat, and… you have a choice to make when you communicate with people. Will you embrace the use of humor in tearing down walls? People need the love and grace of Jesus. Our interaction with them could be the moment created where God’s Holy Spirit burdens their hearts to choose Christ over the world.

Note to Pastors/Ministers/Preachers, you have the most difficult job on the planet. The burden you carry is immense. What you have to stand up for and answer to at judgement is more than many will ever fathom. Please, for the love of all that is holy, learn to communicate in such a way that you engage people into God’s story of love. Don’t compromise the message. Stand strong. But, do so in such a way that you are with the people in their world. Jesus did.

-branded with love

Why Baptism?

It won’t be every week, but on a semi-regular basis, we’re gonna take a look at the message from the previous week and “After The Message” give a little insight for further study, etc. This week, we’re taking a look at “Remaining Balance, Week 3″ (preached by James Davis, Student Pastor).

Take a look, and have a great week!

After The Message: Remaining Balance, Week 3 from Forefront Church on Vimeo.

*jdel

In case you didn’t receive the letter we sent out last week, we wanted to post it here on the blog to make everyone aware of things at Forefront. If you have any questions, contact info is at the bottom of this post.

Dear Forefronters:

My wife and I were sitting the other day talking about how tough it is for families today (kids or not, married or single… times are tough). We looked at our monthly in flow and out flow of funds, and like many families- we live almost paycheck to paycheck (with a little in savings if things get crazy). It’s not always a good feeling when we take a look at the bank account. But, not too long after our conversation I was praying and got into my daily reading and happened to read this passage,

25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

The Bible has a tendency to smack me in the face and shock me back into perspective. It’s not always a pleasant feeling, but it’s what I need from time to time. Our family is thankful that God gives us those reminders so we can regain focus. It’s about God and “He’s got this!”

Now, where does that leave our family and yours in all this? If “He’s got this,” what is our responsibility/role with God and His church? There are quite a few things we can do to preserve/cultivate a relationship with God and His church: prayer, bible study, serving our families, serving God’s church, loving others, giving of our time and finances, and living in full accordance to God’s word. These attributes/practices are commands of God for those who turn their lives over to Him. A life changed by His Spirit is a life that takes these things seriously.

A year ago we had a meeting about the “heart beat” of God’s church at Forefront. It was an open and honest meeting about things that have taken place and how the church needed to be the church. We challenged the church to take ownership and responsibility for the impact we have and the accountability we need. So, from that meeting we put some things in place: 1. Financial News in the weekly update via email every week, 2. Financial Updates thru Gel Group Leaders the first week of every month, and 3. Open financial talk whenever things might look tight, tough or looking unstable again.

If you’ve kept up with the updates, you know we have not been making budget for our weekly needs. We need $10,300 a week to meet our fixed costs. To do ministry and reach out to the community we need $12,000+ a week. The snow week earlier in the year where we were not able to have live services (but instead an online service), really hurt us. Which brings us currently to date- we’ve done better this year than in year’s past, but it hasn’t been what we hoped. Because of the snow storm, the reduction in giving, over the summer, and our current renewals and normal bills, we see a substantial shortfall catching up to us at the end of the month.

We will be behind $16,000 by the end of September. To make-up for this shortfall, we need our weekly $10,300 plus an extra $16,000 over the next three weeks. This would allow us to pay all of our bills, not pay anything late, do outreach, and pay the staff who work so hard to minister to your families. I know times are tough and money is tight, but this isn’t a money letter- this is a heart letter. I am sure God will show up through His church to take care of the ministry here. I never want what happened last year to ever happen again. Telling our entire staff to give back their paychecks was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. But, it was God moving through you, which enabled the church to recover. It was God through you, which allowed us to minister to the homeless, build homes in Mexico, share God’s love in Vietnam, and Turn The World Upside Down.

Recently I shared with our Gel Group, “I’ve yet to meet a person who is generous to God and His church who is disappointed with how God moves in their life & blesses them.” This could not be more true- and totally lines up with the passage I preached last weekend, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

When we pour ourselves completely into God and His church, amazing things take place. God’s Spirit is moving here at Forefront and I am so thankful to call you all not just friends, but family. If you have any questions about finances at Forefront, you can contact myself or any of the elders of the church. If you are looking to give, you can do so on Sunday mornings or at http://giving.forefront.org.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for allowing me the privilege of being your pastor. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. God continues to teach us so much about life through each of you.

Serving Him Humbly,

Jason
Teaching Pastor
Office: 757-468-1188, Email: jason@forefront.org

Elders:
George Pillsbury
gp_doughboy@yahoo.com
757-695-6784

Dan Nichols
vtx_1300rider@yahoo.com
757-831-1607

Mike Sayre
mikesayre@cox.net
757-647-4716

Kevin Miller
klmillerjr@verizon.net
757-286-3435

Doug Atkins
doug.a@fasterasset.com
757-333-2406

Dan Pollard
dan@forefront.org
757-618-5156

Hey Gang, it’s Carrie. I’m coming to you live from my living room in the heart of Kempsville (woot woot). Each Sunday Jason gives his side of the service, message, and how things are going. Well, here’s… The Other Side.

The service yesterday was inspiring.

I am so excited that weekly now people are getting baptized and giving their lives to Christ.  That is definitely a testimony that God is working through Forefront Church. If you hadn’t heard, 5 people came talked with Jason yesterday about getting baptized (That’s 10 people in the last three weeks. So cool.)

The bible passage in the message, Mark 7:31-37, was eye-opening. How Jesus, even in the midst of healing a deaf and mute man, thought about all of the temptations and trials that man would now endure in life- it was a change in perspective for me.  Up until being healed, he had never been influenced by a dirty joke, curse word, or angry rant- he couldn’t hear it. He had never been tempted to say an evil thing, yell at someone, or speak in gossip- he couldn’t physically do it.

Lady Gaga, via Google Images

In thinking on that, it reminded me of the “innocence” of children. How they are slowly being exposed to all the negative influences we see in culture/society (as is everyone else who interacts with society). And it only took jumping into our car right after service to see it all go down first hand.

As we drove to lunch, we had the radio on and Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” started up.  Jason went to change the radio station and our 22 month old angel in backseat became unruly as she started screaming “NO! Song! Song! Daddy! Song!” She wanted to listen to Lady GaGa (seriously? she’s 22 months old!).  Definitely not the influence we want Chloe to seek.  But even at that young an age, she is already being exposed to the negative influences all around us.  I am not saying that we shouldn’t listen to the radio or watch TV.  I love TV (speaking of TV, any LOST fans out there? I love that show).  But, we need to stay focused on God constantly so we do not become desensitized to the things around us.  Once we become desensitized, we more easily give into those negative influences and the temptations they bring.

Wasabi Gospel by Shawn Wood

I finished a pretty good read recently, titled Wasabi Gospel by Shawn Wood.  He takes a deeper look at key Bible passages that some of us have read 100 times and never thought much about, or maybe some of us have never read ever before.  The main themes revolve around “true forgiveness” and “overcoming sin.”

At one point Mr. Wood discusses Matthew 5:27-30, where Jesus is teaching on sin and our actions, “If your eyes cause you to stumble, take it out, for it is better to loose an eye than for all of you to end in destruction.” The point the author gets to is that at the root of all sin- is our heart/mind. What we fill them with will ultimately be what we give and show to the world and others around us.

I was challenged on Sunday…
To share my story.
To live a life that makes people go, “Do you follow Jesus?”
To be a better woman of God.

Until next time, Carrie

What is Relevance really about anyway?

The message of Jesus is relevant.
Love. Hope. Fresh Start. New Life.
We saw this type of excitement with the most recent presidential campaign. People fell in love with the promise of “hope.” They believed “Yes we can.” And we watched as people came out in droves to support a man/campaign that stirred emotion.

It moved people because it was relevant to their lives. It struck a chord. They had less money, felt greater pains, and wanted direction and someone to lead them to answers. It’s a great example, but it pales in comparison to the message and hope that Jesus brings.

That’s why I love Forefront. Because we take God’s relevant message of the Bible and present it to the people He has led us to reach in a way they can understand. It’s making sure we weigh the message and the method in an appropriate manner. A Biblical manner. Out goal is to not get them confused and remember their pecking order.

1. Message: relevant and life changing
2. Method: breaks down walls and opens people’s hearts

For instance, Forefront has a worship gathering every week. The message is to Love God, Love People, and Turn The World Upside Down. That is relevant to every person’s life that comes through the door. The method we use to break down the walls and hear that is more of a laid back atmosphere, music you hear normally during the week, worship songs that stir emotion/point to Jesus, and emotive/humorous videos that “break down walls & open people’s hearts” so when they hear the relevant message, they can be open to God moving them to change their lives and live for Him. Getting the two reversed can be trouble, because the message carries a boat load more weight than the method.

Because this is the case, we (the staff) celebrate the way we plan for things to make God/message first, method second:

• What’s The Reason: “What are we trying to communicate about who God is, what He does, and how He loves?” We look to the Bible to make sure what we are doing is beneficial for the community and people who need to experience Jesus.
• Expect A Response: “What is God going to do in people’s lives when we present this?” We assume God is going to do something amazing when we follow Him. The great part is, He never lets us down.
• Prepare For Response: “Are we equipped to handle people responding like this?” We evaluate our systems, people, and current structure to make sure we are equipped to handle people’s needs from what we’re counting on God to do.
• Dream The Design: “What does this look, feel, smell, taste like?” Now that we have something God-led, let’s creatively paint this in a way to make people willing to listen and experience this.
• Execute The Plan: “Everyone has a job? Well, then… do your job.” We divide and conquer to make this come to completion. Everyone knows the reason, so it’s important to them to see it through.
• Evaluate The End: “Did it produce the things we hold as important?” At Forefront, we don’t measure the # of people coming on Sundays or money (those usually drive pastors/staffs crazy). We measure baptisms, life change, community service hours, % of people involved in small groups, and is everyone “known.” If we can look back and meet one or more of these, we’re presenting God as being relevant to people’s lives.

It takes the pressure off. It allows Forefront as a church to thrive. It also allows us to give God 100% of the credit. The things we measure are up to God. It’s a great place to be and it’s what makes Forefront a great church to be a part of. This process allows us to start with the relevant message and transition into the method that breaks down those walls people have as they encounter the church’s services, projects, and outreach events. If you go to Forefront or are thinking of checking out Forefront, be assured we put God as the focus of all we do. And…

This process is definitely universal. Not only do we use this as a staff– but Carrie and I use this in our family, parenting ideas, when we work with other people, and counsel families, etc. So how are you starting with the message and moving on to the “how to’s” of making it happen? At home? Work? School? Your church?

Jason *over and out*