Written by Dawn Barthelette, Connections Director



Haiti Video Recap from Journey Church on Vimeo.

Pastor Michael is currently back in Haiti for 8 days, and he took with him a team of 4 guys from Journey Church.  The earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 continues to have devastating affects as the country, partnered by many volunteers from around the world, continue to slowly rebuild structures and help rebuild lives. 

Please be sure to follow Pastor's updates as the team ministers and assists in Haiti, and keep them in prayer that the Lord ministers mightily to them as well during this time. We pray for health and travel safety for them, as well as protection and peace over their families.  We also pray that the Lord works through this team and every volunteer in Haiti to share His love and Word with all those they come into contact with.       

Follow Pastor Michael on twitter and facebook.  
Follow Journey Church on twitter and facebook.

Haiti may not be found on the front page of the newspaper or mentioned on the nightly news much anymore, but the destruction & devastation from the earthquake in this underdeveloped, overpopuated, and poverty-stricken country still exists and is still very real for the people of Haiti.  It is not over.  Please keep in prayer all those who have lost so much and those who have given up so much. 

3.  It helps us to focus on others, taking the focus off of ourselves & our problems.

2.  The Word of God calls us to serve, not be served.

1.  Because Jesus did.

Isn’t that our ultimate goal?  To be more like Jesus?





1 Peter 4:10-11  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The gifts & talents God has given us were never intended to be kept to ourselves or used for our own purposes.  People need you.  The church needs you.

I have the benefit of being someone who wasn’t raised in church.  I say that because the more people I meet that grew up in church, the more people I meet that take the church for granted.

I firmly believe that if we connected more with our local church and remembered the us that we were prior to finding that home, we would do more to bring that to others.

My church is the first place where I really saw God.  I saw Him and I felt Him.  Your church should be that for you, too.  If it’s not, find another one.  Find one that lives and preaches the gospel.  Find one that helps you understand that God loves you the way you are, but won’t leave you the way you are.  Find one that loves people, holds them accountable, and encourages each to use their gifts to build up the body.

If we all took our role in the local church seriously, can you imagine how strong that would make the global church?  Can you imagine what we could do for God?

There are people out there who desperately need Jesus.  They desperately need the love, support & fellowship that your church has provided & is providing you.

Get plugged in.  Start serving.  Invite.  Share Jesus with someone today.
Take that first step in making His name famous.

Ephesians 4:11-16   And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

As I was thinking about writing this blog post I remembered a comedian talking about NASCAR. He said all the excitement is in the fact that whew...left turn left turn.

The same thing over and over again can be somewhat boring. However the thing I wanted you to think about today was not a left turn but a right turn. Not just getting behind the wheel and making right turns (like my mother does to avoid traffic!) but the right turn of life to a life filled with the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus. Once we are in Christ we can then choose how we live our lives. We can be joyful, sad, excited, mopey, energized or lethargic. It's up to us. We can choose to live like we have always lived or make the right turn to a life where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is seen through you. Watch it right turn ahead!

Matthew 5:15-16

¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

........Just my thoughts for the day

For the past week or so, I've heard the phrase "love walk" a lot.  Specifically, in the context of prayer.  For instance, a TV minister said that if your prayer is not effective, how is your "love walk?"  They then referred to Galatians 5:6, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love."

So, what does this have to do with prayer?  I have always heard that the power of prayer lies in faith. For instance:

Matthew 21:22, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

James 5:15, "And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."

In Matthew the disciples failed because of their little faith.  Matthew 17:19-20, "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

So faith is a key component of prayer, but Galatians says the only thing that counts is faith working through love.  1 Corinthians 13:1 says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."  A quick ESV on-line search of 'love' and 'neighbor' results in ten different instances of "Love your neighbor as yourself." In John 15:12 Jesus commands, "“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."  So if we are asked, "Do you love Jesus?"  All believers would not hesitate to answer, "YES!!!" But in Matthew 25:40 Jesus says, "And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

So who are these neighbors and least of these my brothers?  Are they the guy begging on the off-ramp?  Are they the homeless under a bridge?  Are they the victims of disasters? Yes, of course they are.  But they are also our spouses that we are yelling at or dishonoring with our negative talk, our children we are talking down to, or our brothers and sisters that we are spitting venom at, or the person at work who slights you.  What are we doing unto them?  I may go out of my way to give a dollar to the needy and think, see what I did for the least of these; then go yell at my wife and kids and not think about what I just did to Jesus.

So are your prayers effective?  How's your love walk?

I just wanted to quickly ask a question.
What Holds Us Back?
I mean what things in our lives hold us back from experiencing all that God has for us?

I really would like open, honest and direct feedback on this important question.
This will determine where you are and what is important to you or as you see it.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Why not post on the importance and role of teamwork? More specifically, character within teams?

And to preface the post:
How can this apply to you as an individual? As a Co-Worker? As a church volunteer? As a member of the most awesome team; "Team Jesus"?

Ok, before my blog rights are revoked for that last comment; Dawn and I have written our takes on Character and it's role withing teamwork. I hope you enjoy, and as always, or from now on, please feel free to leave your thoughts or comments or someone else's for that matter. Enjoy.

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Writing #1

char·ac·ter [kar-ik-ter]
–noun
1. the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
2. one such feature or trait; characteristic.
3. moral or ethical quality: a man of fine, honorable character.
4. qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity: It takes character to face up to a bully.

I must say, wow. At first, the impact of one's character seemed obvious in regards to a team. A given, that your character impacts the team fully, however, I was unaware the depth at which it does.

Firstly, I want to address the first definition, and also the most important part of a team; the individuals that make it up. Stressing features and traits that make up a person; a team made up of five different people could either be a very balanced team playing off of one another's strengths and weaknesses, or perhaps cause the team to head in five different directions. Also, if they were all very similar in traits or features, they might be very good at a specific goal or arena. However, that could also mean that they are terrible at most things. Therefore, dependant upon the focus of the team, the team needs to be made up of individuals with either similar or dissimilar characteristics.

On the moral and ethical side of Character, the individual’s integrity, honor, respect, honesty, reliability, attitude, and I could go on and on, all come into play to make up that team’s character. Those same five people can, as individuals, make or ruin the team’s credibility, effectiveness, productivity, momentum, and one or two people could cripple the team as a whole. Morally and ethically I don’t believe the team should differ in their beliefs and values within their character. If they, we, are to be successful the team must beat with one heart. As new ideas are introduced there must be healthy discussion and disagreement to keep the team alive and moving forward, however, upon decisions being made the team as a whole must possess the necessary trust, respect, and maturity within their individual character to move forward as one, which we definitely discuss regularly within our team.

To recap, the features and traits of character in individuals on a team can vary and make up either a very balanced, well-rounded team, or if very similar, can provide the necessary focus to move forward with a very specific goal. However a difference in morals and ethics can pull a team apart and make it so it is stagnant, ineffective, and disunified. Overall, character is absolute in the success or failure of a team.

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Writing #2

Character in Teambuilding           
   
A team cannot be successful without fine-tuning the character of it's members.  When a team member does not have character, it will stifle growth of the team, cause division, and ultimately lead to the destruction of the team. 

One must be flexible so they are able to adapt to change, teachable in order to learn from all situations, people, mistakes, and counsel, and emotionally secure, so they do not view everything and everyone as a challenge or threat.  As John Maxwell says “Nothing of significance was ever achieved by an individual acting alone”.  A team needs each other.  Confidence grows within each member as they each feel that they are supported by the rest of the team.  If there is pride, insecurity, and selfishness, not only will the team not reach it's potential, but neither will it's members. 

One must truly be committed to the team, it's goals, agenda, and vision, in order for the team to operate as one and be healthy.  The members cannot have their own agenda or vision.  Loyalty, love, commitment, understanding, and acceptance amongst the team is very important....regardless of circumstances, moods, and outside influences.  Pride, selfishness, and distrust squash any opportunity or desire for interaction among team members, and interaction is one of the most important steps to teambuilding.

In the book “The Well-Managed Ministry, Discovering & Developing the Strengths of Your Team”, the author states “The first "seed" of teamwork is interaction. Interacting on and off the job, team members get to know one another and share common agendas: feelings, aspirations, frustrations, problems and so forth.”

A team needs to be unified and have each other's backs at all times no matter what. A quote by Hellen Keller goes “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved." For that reason, we need people around us who will be there to catch us when we fall, support us when it feels like no one else does, love us unconditionally when we make mistakes, and encourage us to get back up and try again. 

That which is unhealthy cannot grow, and what does not grow, dies.

“To improve the team, improve the individuals on the team” - John Maxwell, 'The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player'

“Hard work and togetherness. They go hand in hand. You need the hard work because it's such a tough atmosphere... to win week in and week out. You need togetherness because you don't always win, and you gotta hang tough together.” - Tony Dungy

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Be Blessed.

here the last 2 or 3 weeks. So I'm wondering:

How are things going with you?

How has your daily worship been?

How have you enjoyed our church worship lately, as in the whole service?

Please realize that you too can take part in this blog. I would love to get some feedback. Just leave a comment or two responding to these questions or whatever you want me to blog on.

Let's see what we've got here...