Top 5 Updates & Top 5 Prayer Requests...08.31.07
Friday, August 31, 2007

Well, if you are like me you are probably asking how in the world did Labor Day get here so fast this year? This summer has FLOWN by and there is so much that has happened and so much to celebrate! My prayer is that each of you is able to really enjoy your family and friends this weekend and celebrate the goodness of God and the life He gives us, while also.....getting some REST (it is Labor Day afterall)!!!!


Here are quick updates for you on things we are celebrating and things we are still praying for:

Top 5 Updates:

1) Holland Central has agreed to partner with us for the coming year and we are so excited to share this journey with such an incredible church that has a real heart for the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph region!

2) We have signed the contract with the Orchards mall this past week and will have
the 800 square foot ministry space/office available for set-up in Sept and opening as completed.

3) We start Bible studies in the mall on Wed, Sept 5th and will be meeting Sundays at 4pm and Weds at 7pm and I will be beginning a men's breakfast group Thur, Sept 6th.

4) God has continued to supply for Overflow's budget and needs an incredible ways as more support and resources have continued to come in...our God is able and we continue to prayerfully trust Him to provide the remaining 30% of our budget need for this upcoming year.

5) I started part-time at South Shore athletic club two weeks ago and was blessed with 8 clients in the first two weeks! I will be doing tennis and strength and conditioning to meet people and get into the community more


Top 5 Prayer Requests:

1) Our house has still not sold so please continue to pray for this to happen so we can move permantently to Benton Harbor.

2) For the start of our Bible Studies in the mall to bring people together around the vision for Overflow and to deepen people's walks with the Lord

3) For our upcoming Day of Prayer and Praise (Sept 23, 3-5pm at Orchards Mall) to be a great time for our supporters to join us in laying the foundation of prayer for Overflow

4) For God to continue to open doors in the community as we seek to get to know people and develop a launch team and the Overflow community

5) For God to provide a diverse leadership team and launch team for Overflow that clearly reflects our vision for Overflow


Have a great Labor Day weekend and REST! We truly value and appreciate each and everyone of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian

posted by Brian @ 10:15 AM, ,




When Heaven seems quiet….08.19.07
Sunday, August 19, 2007

Have you ever wondered why God just seemed to be silent on something you had really been asking God for or waiting for? It makes me think about the movie “Bruce Almighty” and how towards the beginning Bruce is driving down the road talking to God. He is frustrated and crying out to God for some kind of sign, anything. The funny thing about the whole scene is that throughout the scene there are literal signs all around that Bruce that he is missing. I have been personally going through a “quiet time” in regards to the sale of our home. Our house has been for sale for 120 days now and I have experienced the ups and downs emotionally of trusting God’s timing and dealing with the reality of a house that has yet to sell and a church plant that is moving quickly in another region.

It’s funny how Bruce misses all the signs in the movie, but I don’t want to be like that. In fact, my hope and prayer is that I will see and hear God’s leading in my life daily. I want to know Christ better and live more fully for Him. Yet at times it still feels as if heaven is quiet. I am sure you can relate, because we all have times, maybe even our whole life, where it seems that God is silent. Let me tell what has been running through my mind today and how all though the sale of our house has yet to happen, I know that heaven is not silent concerning the situation.

I am rediscovering today what it means to praise and worship God for who He is and not for what is happening in our life. I am rediscovering that God always was, always is, and always will be and what it means to worship and praise Him for this. This is such an awesome day for me as I realize that although our house has not sold, our God has not sold me out, He is still there and is the same and will work in His timing.

I am become more and more convinced that life presents us with endless opportunities to look to God and to praise Him despite all that we don’t understand or get about it. Today I have heard heaven speak to me in a very unexpected way and I am speaking back with praise and worship of God. It isn’t because of what He has done that I praise God today, it’s because of who He is.

I wonder, if heaven seems silent to you right now, are you able to still praise God for who He is? How might a little time of remembering who God is in our life today help to change the way you see your circumstances? I know it has helped me this week and today to remember He is SO MUCH BIGGER than what is in front of me today!

Have a great week and thank you for being a part of our lives and Overflow....

In Pursuit,

Brian

posted by Brian @ 4:44 PM, ,




Overflow: A church for the thirsty....
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A church for the thirsty…

A couple of weeks ago I had a great lunch meeting with another Pastor who really helped me to process and begin to pray about WHO exactly Overflow was being called to reach. This pastor helped me to see something new in regards to who God is calling Overflow to be in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area. Up until that point, just the idea that there is a specific group of people, as opposed to all people, was something that bothered me and was causing me to really ask God “aren’t we for all people”? The answer to that question came through a great time in the Scriptures, especially because this was a time next to Lake Michigan on the beach, I never complain about that!

As I was reading and praying, I found myself in John 4:1-30, and discovering new insight in one of my favorite passages. To give you a quick snapshot of the story in this passage here is low down:
Jesus is resting, near the end of the day at a time when workers would be moving in, next to a well. As he rested, a Samaritan woman (Samaritan’s were despised by the Jewish people and did not associate, and women were even less likely to be able to communicate with a Jewish man) came to the well and Jesus asked her for a drink of water. This simple exchange would lead to the woman discovering that Jesus was the true source of living water, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14). She would go on to learn in fact Jesus would give her mercy, found in relationship to Him, and that despite her extreme sinfulness (she was an adulteress that had gone through many men), Christ would grant her new life. The story finishes with her still trying to avoid a true worship of Him and Jesus patiently redirecting her to who He was and could be in her life. As He does this she leaves Jesus and goes into the city on a mission to bring her friends, family, and city to know and meet Christ. She essentially hears God’s call and becomes one of the first missionaries.

As I read through this I realized that God is calling OVERFLOW to be a “CHURCH FOR THE THIRSTY”. Our goal then is to meet people in our community right where they are at, to respect their humanity, to extend grace and mercy, to challenge their sin, to speak truth in love, to meet their need, to encourage them to move forward in life, and to most importantly help them to find the spring of true and new life in Jesus Christ.
What would a church for the thirsty look like in action (from John 4:1-26):
• Embracing all people regardless of race, economic status, social status, and background (John 4:1-10)
• Meeting people right where they are in life, taking the message of Christ’s love and goodness to the streets (John 4:11-13)
• To help people see that Jesus is the true source of life now and eternally (John 4:13-14)
• To extend grace and mercy to people regardless of their lifestyle (John 4:15-18)
• To speak the truth in love and challenge them to move forward in life with Christ and to live their sins behind (John 4:18)
• To celebrate God and life through a true spirit of worship (John 4:21-24)
• To have patience with others, and ourselves, as we all develop and discover what it means to follow Jesus (John 4:25-26)
• To mobilize people to live on mission and share the good news with their friends, families, co-workers, and communities (John 4:27-30)

OVERFLOW IS A CHURCH FOR THE THIRSTY. How this develops and looks in action will be up to each of us as we live our lives for Jesus and embrace the idea of sharing Him with others.
• Have you personally allowed Jesus to meet your thirst and give you new life?
• Who do you know that is thirsty and how can you share Christ with them?
• Will you help make Overflow a church for the thirsty through your prayers, support, and actions?


“From me, as a living fountain the small and the great, the poor and the rich, do draw the water of life; and they that willingly and freely serve me, shall receive grace for grace” (From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis).

More scripture on this: Isaiah 55:1-2


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Thank you again for all of your prayers & support...it means more to our family than you will ever know!

In Pursuit,

Brian

posted by Brian @ 9:46 PM, ,




The New August Bently Support Update is Posted!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007

We have just posted our new Bently for August, 2007 as a PDF file.
There are many updates this month as God has continued to move things
forward with Overflow. We keep joking that it feels like an Overflow
tidal wave already and we are just trying to catch up to what God is
doing!

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

posted by Brian @ 12:15 PM, ,