LifeChange

Adoption & Foster Care in Indiana - Info Session

Every child deserves a family, 

and everyone can make a difference!

Information meeting on Adoption and Foster Care in Indiana

November 11^th 6:30pm -8:00pm

 at the Life Church Offices
700 N. High School Rd.
Indianapolis, IN  46214

November is 'National Adoption Awareness Month', especially set aside to raise awareness about the adoption of our children and youth from the foster care system. On November 11^th, LaDonna Wattley, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Adoption Consultant, will be conducting an informal presentation on Foster Care and Adoption in Indiana from 6:30pm-8:00pm at the Life Church Offices. If you’ve ever considered adoption, know someone who might be, or are just interested in learning more about the foster care and adoption processes in Indiana, we would like to welcome you to attend this event.  Please RSVP to Tara Prater at tlhobson@iupui.edu or Angie Moncrief at ammoncrief@sbcglobal.net so we are sure to have enough literature for everyone.  Feel free to email with any questions.  Hope to see you there at the Life Church offices next Wednesday.

Do you believe it is possible? (Desperation Band music video)

Throughout life we face inflection points where we've got to make a choice about what we will believe.  Will we believe God is able?  That God will come through?  That we will make it?  What we believe is a choice.  Any family going through the process of adoption asks this question frequently as they face challenges and setbacks.  Courtney and I have chosen to live a life believing the best and believing our God is able. 

This is a powerful music video from Desperation Band and their new song "Light Up The World" about God intervening here on the earth and specifically in the lives of the millions of orphans around the world!

How do you resolve conflict?

Conflict in inevitable in our relationships with each other.  In marriage, friendships, dating,  between co-workers, and those people you work for... you aren't always going to agree on everything.  The chart below is something we use here at Life Church as we help people work through conflict.

A person who...

• ...values the relationship but has low self-esteem will most likely yield in the conflict.
• ...does not value the relationship but has high self-esteem will try to win the conflict.
• ...does not value the relationship and has low self-esteem will just withdraw from the conflict.
• Our culture typically promotes the compromise solution, which involves both people giving in some and finding ground in the middle.  Problem with this approach is you never get your way, there's a subtle temptation to keep track of everything you've given, you always feel like you're giving in and no real effort is made to resolve what's at the core of the conflict.
• ... values the relationship and has a high self-esteem will work to resolve the conflict.  This involves understanding where the other person is coming from, the root of the issue, understanding God's perspective, and loving the other person regardless of your personal feelings and position.  If you do these things then you can work together to resolve the conflict.

A conflict that is resolved does not keep coming back it.  It is settled.  True resolution means you explore and understand what's at the root of the conflict, not just addressing the symptoms (when we deal with just the symptons we keep having the same conflict over and over again.)

For those relationships in my life that I value and that are important to me, I will do whatever it takes to resolve the conflict and not just ignore it, compromise to make it just go away, or justify my position to win at any cost. 

How do you handle conflicts in your life with those you care about?

My Identity

It is easy for us walk around with a wrong identity.  In our culture today there are many places people get their identity from:

Their Past                                                Parents
   What Others Say                                  Cultural/Ethnicity
   Successes/Failures                              Sexual Orientation
   Job/Profession                                      Relationships

As followers of Christ, and being a son/daughter of God, the proper place for us to get our identity is from Him.  God is our Creator and Father.  He knows us better then anyone else, He knows who we really are. 

Here is what God says about you.  You are…

... a child of God.  (John 1:12)

… a friend of Christ.  (John 15:15)

… a temple for God to reside.  You belong to God and He resides in you.  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

… part of the body of Christ, God’s family.  (1 Corinthians 12:27)

… a saint.  (Ephesians 1:1)

… adopted into God’s family.  (Ephesians 1:5)

… someone that God is pleased with. (Ephesians 1:5)

… someone that has direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18)

… a person who has been redeemed and forgiven. (1 Colossians 1:14)

… complete in Christ.  (Colossians 2:10)

… free from condemnation.  (Romans 8:1-2)

… free from any charge against you.  (Romans 8:31-34)

… a person that CANNOT be separated from the love of Christ. (Romans 8:35-39)

… confident that God is doing a good work in you and that He will bring it to completion. (Philippians 1:6)

… not filled with a spirit of fear or timidity, but a spirit of power,  of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 2:7)

… chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit. (John 15:16)

 

Guarding My Sabbath

Today is my day off, or what Christians call a Sabbath.  It's a day where I do no work, rest, spend a lot of time with the family, and time with God.  This is something God commands us to practice each week, but for most of my life it's been something I've ignored.

As I've started taking a Sabbath and incorporating it in to my life I've also realized that it is REALLY hard to do.  There are constantly interruptions, work and other things trying to take my Sabbath away.  The temptation is to make my Sabbath into another day of the week, using it to work.  I sometimes feel guilty or overwhelmed because it seems like I must force myself to take a Sabbath and then aggressively protect it from all the things that want to interrupt it.

However, I was encouraged to see that this isn't something that just I battle with, or even those of us living in our busy culture.  Keeping a Sabbath has always been something that people have had to be intentional about and guard or it would not happen.  Check out what Nehemiah did to protect the Sabbath in his time:

 ¹⁹ When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. ²¹ But I warned them and said, "Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. ²² Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. (Nehemiah 13:19-32)

Do you take a Sabbath each week?  What must you do to protect this valuable, God ordained time in your life?

Life Church Is Now Vineyard

Since Life Church began in April 2006 we have not been a part of any association, denomination or larger body of churches.  It hasn't been that we didn't want to associate with anyone, it's that we've been waiting for God to direct us to the right group with a common heart and vision.  Over the last two years we have been connecting with a group of pastors around Indianapolis from a community of churches called Vineyard.  Vineyard is a community of churches around the world that have existed for over 30 years, and Life Church has now joined the Vineyard.

Here are some highlights on why we have taken this step:

1) Resources - the Vineyard is very mature as an organization.  They have weathered many storms, adapted to changes in culture, different movements of God and grown under different leadership.  Due to their rich history, diverse churches, depth of talent, theological maturity, and heart for the Kingdom of God they have a wide assortment of resources that we can now access.

2) Relationships - this may be one of the most important factors, but relationally our DNA is closely aligned with who the Vineyard is.  Our heart to serve, reach those that are far from God, create environments and opportunities for God to intersect people's lives, and focus on the Kingdom of God are all key elements of both Life Church and the Vineyard.

3) It's Biblical - there does seem to be a Biblical model of individual groups of believers being a part of something larger.  I believe there is strength, covering, support, encouragement and greater potential in being a part of something larger then ourselves.  

4) We Need It - We cannot do everything on our own that God is calling us to.  To answer the call and vision God has given us as Life Church we must work closely with other churches and like minded people.

So what will change at Life Church?  Not much.  Our name stays the same, and we will remain independent from a government and financial standpoint.  There will be no changes to leadership or staffing.  In the months ahead you will see resources such as conferences, training and opportunities to serve as we work alongside other Vineyard churches.

Final 11 Reasons To Be In A Life Group

Life Groups are starting this week at Life Church.  If you still haven't signed-up for one here is my last attempt with 11 more (and final) reasons to be in a Life Group.  Sign-up here.  (first 11 here, second 11 here)

1. They’re safe
2. There is one that fits in your schedule
3. A place to find spiritual fathers/mothers and sons/daughters
4. God often teaches us more through another person then He will directly
5. God created us to live life in community with others
6. Many commands and recommendations in scripture can only be done with other people
7. People to serve with in outreach
8. You will be tested and challenged in ways that you couldn’t alone
9. A place to talk about difficult things in life
10. You will be a stronger person and Christian because of it
11. You’ll be bored not being in one

Explore the groups and sign-up here.

Video: Get Service?

We showed this video last Sunday at Life Church.  Lots of positive feedback.  Very powerful video.  Get it?

Another 11 Reasons To Be In A Life Group

Here are another 11 reasons to be in a Life Group: (the first 11 are here)

1. Find others like yourself
2. Make friends
3. Find people who will be there when you’re going through a hard time
4. Find people who will celebrate with you when things go really well
5. Find people who will listen to you
6. A group of people who may end up being closer to you then your family
7. They’re a lot of fun
8. Everyone’s in them (80% of people at Life Church signed-up for one last semester)
9. To stay connected with other people
10. These are the foundation of Life Church
11. All of the great movies involve small groups (Lord of The Rings, Shawshank Redemption, Matrix, Star Wars, etc.) of people doing extraordinary things!

Ready to sign-up for a group?  Find the right one for you and sign-up here.

40 Days - No Radio or TV

Last week I ended a period of 40 days where I did not listen to any radio or watched any TV. I did this radio/TV fast not out of some religious obligation or duty, but because I realized these items were addictions in my life that got in the way of my relationship with God.  I am not satisfied where I am with God.  I want to go deeper, know Him more and be more obedient to Him in every area of my life.

Fasting TV wasn't that difficult as I watch very little TV anyway.  However, not listening to the radio in my car was very difficult.  I had become used to, and in some ways dependent, on the noise that the radio provided.  The first week without radio was challenging and I found myself being bored, irritated and impatient during my times in the car with silence.  As that passed I learned to utilize this time as an opportunity to dialog with God my Father, sometimes being quiet and just listening, while others times praying or worshiping.  

I am now several days out of my radio 'fast.'  I've only turned on the radio once.  Before I craved this diversion in the car, now I don't need it.  In it's place I've substituted silence and communion with my God which is a pretty good trade-off in my book!

What in your life is keeping you from a deeper relationship with God?