I heard the series started awesome and that Carly’s story really affected a lot of people. As with the story of Hosea and Gomer, and with Carly, our heart gets stolen so often because of lies. I think it’s been a great place to start, and I hope everyone will continue on this journey to expose how our heart gets stolen away from God.
This week I spoke at a youth conference to a group of young adults, and was able to speak at 3 different churches. Tonight I am getting ready to go have dinner with some pastor friends from Hillsong Church, and tomorrow I'll be speaking at the college ministry of C3 church called "Change". Thursday I fly to Adelaide to spend some time with my friend JD. I’ll speak to the pastors of that city on Friday morning, and we are doing a city-wide gathering on Friday night. On Saturday I’ll fly to Perth and speak at Riverview church on the weekend, and begin the journey back home Monday morning, arriving Monday night in Portland.
I love being in Australia for so many reasons.:
First, God speaks to me so much when I’m here, differently from when I am home.
Second, I get to be in a serving capacity rather than leading, and I love that.
Third, I get to meet and spend time with very close friends in a country that I feel very connected to.
Fourth, it allows so many opportunities for people back home (like Carly and Michelle) to speak at Living Hope Church.
Although I love being away at different times, my first responsibility and calling is to be home, and I look forward to getting back. Continue to allow God to speak to your heart, and allow him to expose what steals your heart from Him. Love pirates is real.
I'm actually in LAX thinking about God and all that He is doing in our lives. As of tonight with Living Free and all our campuses, there have been at least 327 people baptized. This past weekend was one of the highest in both attendance and baptisms in our history. I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who invited their friends. I met SO many people who were at Living Hope for the first time, had their Jesus Moment and were baptized. It never ceases to amaze me that when we do our part, God does what only He can do.
- Continue to invite your friends and simply watch God work. It is completely a heaven-focused partnership.
AUSTRALIA
I am tired but excited to be on my way to Australia. Outside of salvation, God has done the biggest things in my life personally when I have travelled outside the country (India). I have a pretty intensive preaching and teaching schedule, meeting with leaders and praying with pastors. I just got off the phone with one of the lead pastors at Riverview Church, and I'm really excited to see my (our) friend Phil Baker.
This Friday and Saturday I will be speaking at a conference called AWAKEN THIS LOVE. It is predominately college age students and I have been looking forward to this for almost a year.
NEW SERIES
I'm excited about the new series "Love Pirates". This series will take us through to Easter weekend, and will simply focus on the things that steal our heart from God. The message you will hear this weekend, I promise will change your life. Invite your friends - their lives will be changed too.
Thanks for your prayers. Over the next 8 days I will have the privilege of speaking 13 times in 3 cities and 4 churches. I'll spend around 45 hours in the air. A whole work week on a plane! Thanking God for a church that is making a local and global impact.
Several times in the history of Living Hope I’ve had to pause and look at something going on in our community or world, and have felt an overwhelming helplessness.
All of us have been glued to the TV and have felt the pain for the people in Haiti. After prayer and research, here is our thoughtful response: We can’t do everything, but we have to do something.
Haiti has a young population, in part because of a high birth rate and relatively short life expectancies (60 years for women, 56 for men). About 42% of Haitians are younger than 14.
More than 2/3 of Haiti's population is unemployed. Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day. One in two Haitians live in poverty, earning less than $1 a day.
Money that comes into Haiti from outside family members accounts for more than 25 percent of Haiti's gross domestic product. Roughly one in nine Haitian adults receive funds from family abroad to keep them living.
So what can we do?...
First of all, PRAY. 80% of the country is Catholic. 9 million people populate an area the size of the state of Maryland. I believe that the worst is yet to come. 40% of the population of Haiti is under 14. I spent some time researching and found a great article in the Harvard Business Review, and I really believe our first line of defense is to pray. We will pray at every service at every campus at Living Hope this weekend.
Second, GIVE. For at least this weekend and all of next week, 10% of all of our offerings will be designated for relief efforts in Haiti. What we want to do is wait until the dust settles to discern the real needs. There is so much aid going into the country at this point, and I know that most of us want to do something, but our thoughtful response needs to be focused where the limited financial resources we have can make the most difference.
In the months to come, we very potentially will send a team to help rebuild an orphanage, to help families or whatever God shows us.
You can click here to give online. Let me reiterate: 10% of all offerings that come in for the next 7 days (at least) will go toward future relief efforts as God directs us.
Last, you could SERVE. When I say serve, for some that will mean potentially going to Haiti, but right now that’s not possible. Airports are jam-packed right now. The whole world is focused on Haiti so going there is probably not feasible for most of us at this point, but it could be in the future.
I also really believe going – this is a reminder for all of us – is to be Jesus to those around us. When a disaster of this nature happens, it catalyzes in us a deep sense of Only God compassion and a human response of helplessness. So do what you can, go where you can, serve who you can in your world. We maybe can’t be Jesus in Haiti right now, but we can be Jesus to those around us right now.
This is Living Hope’s initial, thoughtful response to the disaster in Haiti. I want to thank those of you who have called, posted on Facebook, emailed and asked the question “What is Living Hope going to do?” It made me thank God all over again for a church that sees a need and wants to meet it.
On the 26th of December this year, Michelle and I celebrated our 26th anniversary. I want to thank everyone for the encouragement. Someone suggested that I share lessons I have learned over the years, so I thought that would be a good idea.
When I say this I truly mean it (you know me): Michelle and I are more in love today than ever. We really support each other and give incredible grace to each other. We are both very excited about the future in regards to our married life. As our youngest daughter is now in high school, I am looking forward to having grandkids – just not too soon.
I wanted to pause and answer the question that has made me think for the last two days. What lessons could I share that would help someone else in their marriage? Here are my thoughts, not in any particular order:
I wish I would have been less about my dream and more about Michelle’s dreamearlier in life.
As I look back, I would say our lives have revolved mostly around the call that God has put on my life. I hope as time goes on that I can be about helping to unleash the dream in Michelle’s life. I love this passage in Philippians 2:3-4: Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Another thing I am learning through the blessing of being married 26 years is to have appropriate expectations. I wish I could have learned this one earlier, because I believe misplaced expectations are the primary destroyer of most marriages. We generally love people the way we are loved, when the goal ought to be learning the way they are wired, understanding their needs, and responding that way. Expectations without clarifications will always result in frustrations.
Communication is key in this. Michelle and I are getting better at clearly communicating what we would like to see (or expect) and at the same time there is a higher level of grace for each other.
I’m learning how valuable the moment is. It seems like we are pre-wired to be about the next thing, or job, or buying the next car, or getting the kids into college. It seems we are thinking more about where we are going and less about where we are. I’m 46 years old, and I wish I would have slowed down more and seen the incredible moments God gave us instead of looking to the next thing.
This comes down tomaking your marriage the priority. Make your wife more important than your kids. If you make the kids the center of your marriage, what will happen when they are not there? You have to nurture and cultivate the relationship, which simply takes time. I feel like a lot of my life has been about my friendships, and I thank God for them. But I am learning the value of time with just Michelle, beyond friends, or kids or cell phones, or technology.
I need to learn to dance. I am one of the most uncoordinated people ever, but my wife loves to dance. One of my goals for 2010 is to take the time to do what she loves. And not only do it because she loves it, but learn to love it myself. I want to learn to dance. I will.
Use words wisely. God has graced and gifted me with the ability to use words to bring change in the lives of other people. I also know that in the past I have used my words to hurt people. I wish I could take back the times I have said reckless things to my wife in haste and in the moment. Words that for the most part, were not true. Words will always hurt or help people. As I look back and think about my words, I move forward more cautious in what I say, how I say it, when, and where I say it.
Along the same lines as what I say is how I listen. When my wife has been hurting in the past, my desire as a husband was to solve the problem for her. The motive was right, the message was right, but it wasn’t what she needed. She needed to be loved and LISTENED TO. As a husband my job is not to fix every problem. I have learned that sometimes simply listening is fixing the problem.
Michelle is an amazing leader and I have learned that her words are really God trying to speak into a situation. Whether it was buying something we couldn’t afford, hiring someone we didn’t need or making a change before it was too late. She is so often the voice of wisdom. Sometimes I have to learn the hard way, but I generally don’t need to learn it twice. Listening to her not just as my wife, or the mother of our children, but as a leader in our church is super important to me.
I have learned to make time. Michelle and I have made a commitment in our marriage to vacation together (just the two of us). For the most part that has happened, but just this week I have learned the value of it again. Make time to just be together.
Don’t be married to your job, be married to your wife. Michelle has always been so gracious and understanding that ministry is our lives. I’m learning what it means to have a better rhythm. Part of rhythm is learning to say no, and to shut off.
Another lesson is that sex is not the main thing, but it is a good thing. It’s not a physical act as much as an expression of oneness and intimacy. I’ve said it before and I believe that sex really does begin in the kitchen.
I want the next half of my marriage to be about what it says in 1 Corinthians 14:1: Make love your highest goal. We can do lots of good things and miss the best thing. Love is really what should mark us not only as Christ followers, but also as husband and wife.
Love is not a feeling but an action, a decision. It is about life. I hope that I can do more of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13…Be patient, be kind and be forgiving, not keep records of wrong, ever.
Those are some of my lessons. It’s certainly not an exhaustive list, but some things to think about. Hope you have a good new year.
John
P.S. So excited for the new series, "Jesus Moments", starting this weekend.
This has been another busy week for us at Living Hope and I'm sure for all of you as well. We are in full swing with plans and preparations for our 12 Christmas services, and I wanted to take a moment to update you on the happenings around here:
HOPE FOR HOMELESS UPDATE
Please pray as we continue on the journey of serving and blessing our new friends. We are currently working closely with a team of leaders and a group of men who are living in a house we have on the property. They are so grateful for all they have received. Our hope is to walk towards job placement for as many as possible. In the last week, we have purchased 5 bus tickets. Two of the women are in rehab for heroin addiction. We talked to one girl today and she couldn't stop thanking Living Hope for the second chance. When she gets out of treatment she already has a job because of someone at Living Hope. ONLY GOD.
I have heard so many stories of people doing what they can in Vancouver and Portland on their own. WAY TO GO. That is what will cause a revolution. When we do "something" Jesus does everything. Michelle has been so instrumental in providing leadership in the Homeless initiative. I am proud of her and love working with her. We have learned a lot in the past 10 days. There are several agencies we will partner with in the future. Many of the homeless men and women want to come to Living Hope, so we are figuring that out now.
We need furniture, washer/dryer, everything to set up a house. Also need bunk beds, etc. If you can help with that, please email duanew@livinghopechurch.com us or let us know.
I will keep you updated.
VOLUNTEER/CAMPUS PARTIES
So far we have hosted 6 Christmas parties at our house with only one to go, and I have to say we are really enjoying spending time with our amazing volunteers, campus teams, and staff.
Michelle and I are so blessed to have leaders and pastors who love the people they serve and passionately believe in the cause of Jesus - reaching the lost.
These parties have given us a chance to hear again the stories of life change that happen as the campuses reach their local communities and simply do life together. I love how each group is so different, and yet so connected in their own way. It is exciting to see how the teams relate and work together, and show genuine love and respect for each other. Thank you for what you do and for you who are.
CHRISTMAS SERVICE TIMES THE CAMEL IS IN THE HOUSE
This weekend begins the first of 12 services in which we are presenting a live nativity and what we hope will be an authentic portrayal of the the first Christmas. (Camel and donkey included - no tiger.)
Christmas is always a great time to invite neighbors, co-workers and friends, and this year will be especially so with the live animals and shorter services - only 40 minutes each. Our staff and volunteers have been working hard to make this Christmas meaningful in many ways, so please don't miss it! Service times are as follows:
Saturday, December 19th: 5:00 & 7:00 pm
Sunday, December 20th: 8:30, 10:00* & 11:30am & 1:30pm
Please be praying for those who will attend a church sometime in the next 6 days, that they will encounter the life-changing message of Jesus, and the unexplainable grace of God.
What a busy last 15 hours. It has been simply amazing. I have so much to share and update you about what happened and what ONLY GOD is doing.
Last night we housed 30 homeless men, who mostly hadn't slept in a building for a year or more. Many of them were homeless for the first time in their lives. We picked them up with our trusty 50 year old bus and brought them to Living Hope Brush Prairie campus. From the initial email that everyone received at around 5:00 PM, you responded like the army that you are. YOU brought sleeping bags. Hundreds of sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, clothing, underwear and socks. The men walked straight in and started picking out things. They said they felt like they were in Heaven. Then we all ate together. It was just beautiful. Then several of our guys stayed with the men. Steve Young is our director for homeless ministries and the director of our downtown campus. Some stayed up, played games, talked about life and God.
YES, we are doing this again tonight. The men asked us (some begged us) and so the wheels are in motion. The bus (buses if we can get another one) will roll out from our Brush Prairie campus at 5:00 PM. People should start arriving back to this campus at around 7:00 PM or so. If we have families, we will open up our Orchards campus.
We are expecting more people tonight. Most of the news stations reported on what happened. Some are coming today to report for tonight. We are trying to keep up. Like taming a tiger that jumps on you.
We will house, feed, clothe and spend time with whomever God brings tonight. In fact, I just got word we will also be doing haircuts for any of the homeless people who are interested.
How can you help?
1. Pray
2. We still can use donations. See the needs list below.
3. We really also need non perishable food items, for this homeless intitiative and also for our food pantry.
4. Today, we can use some help sorting clothing, potentially a few to stay the night, and others to be available, serve, hang out and play cards with the people who will be here tonight. Show up at around 6:00 PM.
5. We will REALLY need help from 10:00AM - 12:00 PM, Saturday morning, cleaning and resetting the auditorium for the weekend services.
6. You can call the church office, or you can also call Steve (360-600-8550) for updates and details.
7. Two things specifically asked for from those here last night: Guitar with case (and he played for us...was amazing!) and one man needed a large square duffel bag.
Now please hear my heart. I really trust and follow what God brings to me. Yesterday I got the article from the Portland Tribune. LINK HERE. If you haven't, please read it. I am in contact with Mayor Sam Adams and Portland City Comissioner Nick Fish's office (City of Portland Housing Bureau). When I called, I said I am calling and represent all churches in the Portland Metro area, because I know the heart of pastors and churches. We want to help. The article is really good, but in my "opinion" not completely fair and accurate. I am planning to meet with city officials after the holidays to talk about how we can support what is already happening in Portland and Vancouver. The simple truth is that lots of churches are doing what they can. We are just responding to a problem, and the people that were served are blessed. Many of the guys asked about getting rides to church here at Living Hope because they said they felt loved and cared for. Pretty sweet.
Thanks for everything Living Hope. Can't do everything, we can do something.
Your friend and pastor,
John Bishop
"The crowd asked, 'What should we do?' John replied, if you have two coats, give one to the poor. If you have food, share with those who are hungry. Luke 3:10-11
I got an email from a friend today, which included an article from the Portland Tribune. You can take a look at this article HERE and it has really caused an agitation in my soul.
Through a sequence of events, I have communicated with the Mayor of Portland and different homeless shelters, and the truth is that the needs far outweigh the resources. As shelters are doing all that they can, churches are asking about what they can do. I talked to the commissioner’s assistant today in Portland, and it comes back to the thought that we can’t do everything, but we have to do something.
As I’m typing this, plans are being formulated to turn our church into a warming center tonight and possibly tomorrow night, and we’ll trust God for beyond that.
So here’s the deal...
1. We need sleeping bags (at least 100), and we need them ASAP.
2. Men will be housed tonight at our Orchards campus, women and children at our BP campus. Beyond a place that’s warm, we plan on providing food – which is being purchased now. If you can possibly help out with financial donations, it will help offset the cost of this.
3. The homeless community is asking for underwear, all sizes for both men and women, also socks and blankets. We already have lots of donations, but the greatest need is sleeping bags, pillows and blankets.
1 John 3:17 says, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?”
4. We need some people to stay at the shelters (men at Orchards, women and children at Brush Prairie).
We currently have one or two people there to help, but need more. If you are willing and able, please call Steve Young at 360-600-8550.
Next, a bus will be leaving to go downtown Portland (we believe the need is more in Portland than Vancouver) to pick up people right now, and the plan will be to take them back to downtown Portland in the morning after we feed breakfast. We will need volunteers to help both tonight and tomorrow.
If you can help, please show up by 7pm at the Brush Prairie campus, or earlier to help with food preparation. We will bring everyone there to be fed, and then when the youth service is finished at Orchards this evening, the men will be taken to that campus for the night.
Last thing, when I first read that article, I was very frustrated with the lack of participation from the faith communities, but the more I investigated, I saw there are lots of churches doing all they can do.
Praise God for the local church. When I called the commissioner's office, I said this is John Bishop and I’m calling on behalf of all churches. What can we do to help? This is bigger than any one church. This is all of us working together.
Last night we had the second of eight annual Christmas parties at our home. You gotta love a wife who has a gift of hospitality. There is a team who is here before and after each night. Props to everyone who shops, sets up, cleans up. It is worth it. For our second party we had 60 people at our house. Everyone gathered at around 7:00 PM. Last ones out I think by 11:45 PM. As tired as it may seem Michelle and I just love the connection with people. We love hearing the stories. Although one person said I looked "much taller" on the video at the campus than in real life. Michelle laughed. Hmmm
LIVING FREE. What a great team. Loved hearing the stories of family and friendship. Thanks everyone for serving each other and our community. If you haven't, you ought to check out Living Free on Tuesday nights. They meet, eat and have worship and a message each week. Also, there are multiple options of small groups to check out. Great group of men and women who love Jesus and who serve each other. You can feel the family environment in the leadership team. Some have been serving since Living Free began. Kenny Fritzler said that what blesses him each Tuesday night is when he pulls in the parking lot and sees there are more at just this one service than at Prairie before we merged. ONLY GOD. Thanks Living Free!!!!
LIVING FULL. Also, we had our kitchen team here. Thanks to Marie who cooks each week for our staff and Living Free, and the weekend volunteer teams (not to mention other times as well) and also is cooking for the Christmas parties. It seems in every group there are people who just love to cook and those who just love to eat. One person, who shall remain nameless, actually took a plate of food and hid it for his granddaughter under our table in the hallway. I took a picture and will always remember it. If you come over, there is plenty of food. No need to hide :)
THE FRIESEN SEASON. Thanks Dan Friesen for leading worship and for having the heart you do. Love the blue lights. It is an honor to serve with people who want a deeper reality of the Holy Spirit. I can sense that God is doing a new thing, as He promised he would in the book of Isaiah. Camas/Washougal leadership team (mostly) was here. To hear the stories and how people love the connection of the smaller campus with the ministry and vision of Living Hope is just confirmation of all that God is doing. I tell people all of the time. You will grow better at a campus because you will know and be known more. It is the way I have seen it to work over and over. Keep reaching people. God will be glorified, Jesus will be lifted up and we all will rejoice together.
Day one of our annual Living Hope Christmas parties for leaders and volunteers.
Woodland and Longview campus teams.
Words I think of: Overwhelmed. Thankful. Gary. Our early years. Oh ya, food....
OVERWHELMED. We had a beautiful time of worship and prayer. It was a picture of what Heaven will be like. I was so blessed and really was overwhelmed by God. Simple worship. Simple words. Powerful reality. Thank you to everyone who was willing to serve and to everyone who spent time with us. I love what God is doing in Longview and Woodland.
THANKFUL. As I felt God's overwhelming presence, I began to feel a spirit of thankfulness. I know there are people in Woodland and Longview that would most likely never visit our main campus who have found faith in Christ. Think about that. I saw such gentle passion in these teams. Simple devotion to their God. Made me so thankful that we are one church that meets in different locations. So thankful for the leaders, who believe God for big things in their cities. Thankful to Jesus for how He alone is working in the lives of such faithful servants.
GARY. Love him. He is my friend and is so loved by everyone. Gary, thanks for serving God by serving these campuses. You are a good friend and leader. The best days are in front of us. I will always remember your faithfulness and encouragement in my life. You are a funny guy, but I love you anyway. Thanks Gary.
OUR EARLY YEARS. I thought about the years we spent at the grange on 72nd Avenue. We were a church of 150 people who simply gathered to eat together and worship together. We still worship together, but sometimes the pace and different times and locations don't allow for those "first days" feelings. The campuses do that. It is awesome. Funny thing. When Living Hope started, there was never the goal to be a mega church in multiple locations. Campuses were birthed from our desire to reach people. The culture was simple. Risk everything to reach everyone. That was it and still is. Church planting is one of the things I love the most. I love helping church planters. Our campuses are extensions and in essence church plants. Go Woodland and Longview. Storm the gates of hell, reach the world and love your communities.
OH YA, FOOD... The food was potluck and was good. Woodland and Longview teams have set the bar. We will see how the week progresses..... :)
Great day. Truth is, the parties are a lot of work and I want to give a shout out to Duane, Trinette, Marie, Carly, Teresa, Katie and Eric. In for the long haul to serve the leaders who will be here. Also, I am blessed to have kids who share their mom and dad with so many people with such great attitudes.
