Monday Morning Recap Sept 28

• OK so did the Colts totally dominate the Cardinals last night or was I dreaming? Wow, that was AWESOME!

• What a beautiful day yesterday-hope you got to enjoy it! Starting to feel like Fall.

• Seriously, is there anything more significant, more moving, more satisfying than watching people step into the waters of baptism?!?

• Yesterday lots of family and friends came to watch those who got baptized. I love seeing friends who don’t do church yet–come and support a friend who is being baptized. That is what it is all about!!

I teared up several times watching the baptisms…it gets me every time. So thankful God lets us witness His life-changing work in people’s lives! And YOU can still get baptized! Get a packet and turn it in by Wed.

• The Big Idea yesterday:  Lion Chasers are Risk-Takers. Are you a risk-taker?

• Our greatest regrets will be the God ordained opportunities we missed because we are scaredy cats!!

• Remember:  playing it safe is risky.

• This week, stop playing it safe and start taking risk.

• Pray:  “God, what do YOU want to do with my life?“…wait for Him to answer…then move. I double-dog dare you to move.

• Lots of people posted the Francis Chan video clip on Facebook yesterday-that was cool. Check it out.

• Beatles! Beatles! Beatles! The Concert with a Cause is only 2 weeks away and we need to move hundreds of tickets! Don’t miss a phenomenal night of music and fun! Get your friends there!! If all of us who came last year bring 1 person we will sell out 2 shows and set Bridges Outreach up in a huge way!!!

So I need your help this week…get the word out about the concert and start inviting.

Get tickets at Oakbrook or online: www.concertwithacuase.org

• I’m very excited about the new run of Classes@Oakbrook starting in a few weeks. Lots of great topics are being offered. Get signed up!

• I heard we had a small group leader in UpStreet yesterday with 11 very, very energetic kindergarten boys! So thankful for our UpStreet volunteers!! Parents, you should be buying these people steak dinners for the investment they are making in your kid’s life!!

• Pray for our Kidstuf Team this week. They will be at Western School impacting the next gen. on Friday.

• Make sure you unpack the Power of 10 idea in your small groups this week. This idea is life changing!

• We are growing…weekend attendance was up 24% this August vs. last August. And Sun we had 209 more people in the auditorium than that date last year!! Keep inviting, everybody!

• Here’s an idea: invite all your friends who don’t go to church to the Beatles Concert!

• We have quite few people coming from the Peru area. Thanks for making the drive everybody!!!

• Next Sunday is going to be awesome! More baptisms and a guest musician will be joining us from Atlanta, GA. Violin/Guitar player Ben Snider will be with us. Ben plays most weekends at Northpoint Church (Andy Stanley) in ATL and spends his summers playing the in the Big Stuf Band. Ben can flat out play the fiddle so don’t be late next Sunday!!

• Don’t forget this week to pray through the Lion Chaser Manifesto.

Don’t Just Talk About It…Be About It!

Love doing church with you guys,

Mark

Monday Morning Recap, Sept. 21

Wow…another Great Sunday at Oakbrook!

* I’m so proud of all the people who followed Christ by being baptized yesterday. Way to go everybody!

*What a privilege it is to see the life change God is doing in lives…that never gets old.

*Some baptism highlights for me-watching an UpStreet small group leader baptize 2 girls she has influenced over the years…way to go Joanne Barnes!! Also, watching an OSM small group leader baptizing one of her group members’…way to go Emily Hayes and Mollee Mygrant!! Also, seeing an entire small group on stage supporting their friend being baptized-so cool! And I loved it when husbands and wives get baptized at the same time!

*How cool was it to do the baptism during the worship set!?! What a great idea from our programming team.

*Big shout out to Genesis Church in Noblesville for letting us borrow their portable baptistery for the next 3 weeks!

*Big, Big shout out to Lawrence Dulworth, Bruce Donaldson and Greg Taylor for picking up the baptistery and getting it ready. Thanks guys!!

*So for the next 2 weeks we will be doing baptism…not to late to get signed up. Get a packet.

*So proud of Sam Burke yesterday. What a great talk in week #2 of the Chase the Lion series!

Here are some things Sam said that stuck with me…My excuses are God’s opportunities…God doesn’t care about what you think is wrong with you-He wants to use you anyway…God doesn’t NEED you-He WANTS you.

*Spend some time this week with the questions Sam left us with at the end of his talk-So what excuses are keeping you from being all that God wants you to be? What opportunities are you stealing from God by making excuses?

*Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God-CHASE THE LION!

Thanks for the great teaching Sam!

*Don’t miss your small groups this week! The interview with Mike Bolinger in the DVD is powerful. Thanks for sharing Mike! We are all praying for you and your family.

*I met a coupe yesterday that has been coming to Oakbrook for 7 weeks and they told me how friendly and warm our church has been to them. I love hearing that!

*Beatles and Bridges!!! Get your tickets and bring a busload of friends with you. Great music supporting a great cause-doesn’t get any better than that! Help us get the word out by emailing this link to your friends… www.concertwithacause.org.

This week Oakbrook…Don’t Just Talk About It…Be About It!

Love doing church with you guys,

Mark

Monday Morning Recap, Sept. 14

What a great weekend of ministry at Oakbrook! It all started Friday morning…

The Kidstuf Team went into Kokomo Center Schools Friday. The kids, teachers and administrators were literally blown away by our team. Way to go Kidstuf Team we are so proud of you!

Friday night Dads and Daughters started setting up camp at Oakbrook Valley for a weekend of fun and learning. We had several new dads take part this year. The memories made on these weekends are priceless. Way to go Dads! And way to go Jason Braun, Doug Mygrant and all the volunteers who made this weekend possible! (cell phone pic inside the lodge by Jlee)

Several volunteers showed up at 2nd Saturday to be the hands and feet of Christ to our community. Big thanks to Irene Rolland for organizing these events each month!

And then Sunday-the start of our new series Chase the Lion! I’m very excited about this new series-it could be life transforming. The energy on stage during the worship set had to put a smile on God’s face! The drummer Derek Weed was working so hard he was sweating! Way to put your heart and soul into it DWeed!

I loved the video elements Sunday. Did you know it takes our guys on average 10 hrs. to produce 1 minute of video??? So if you have a 4 minute video that’s a full week of work!  The Lion Chaser Manifesto video was sweet!! Thanks to everyone who took part in that shoot.

Lion Chaser small groups are starting up this week. Several new people have joined groups-way to go everybody. We now have close to 500-550 people in groups! Lots of people gathering around “The Table” the next few weeks.

As I’m writing this I just got an e-mail from a person who has been attending Oakbrook for about 4 months. And I quote…”church is a new thing for me and can say I have started a new journey. I just wanted to say Sunday was fantastic! I really enjoyed the service…just wanted to say thanks and let you know I was touched.” Wow…love hearing these stories!

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of the book ‘In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day’  at Lakeside Books. This book will help you understand what it means to Chase The Lion. Pray with me that Oakbrook will be a church of Lion Chasers not Lion Tamers! Safe Christianity is an oxymoron. Step out and take a God-ordained risk this week! Chase that Lion!!

Concert With A Cause: Don’t forget The Beatles Are Back!!! October 11th…2 shows…Don’t Come Alone!!! Tickets on sale next Sunday.

Love doing church with you guys and remember…Don’t Just Talk about It…Be About It!
Mark

Mark’s Monday Morning Re-Cap

Another awesome Sunday at Oakbrook! Here are some of my thoughts…

• Dudes Niko Gruber “Vinny” is one of the most unique human beings I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I love this kid!

• Pray for our KidStuf team this week. They are heading to Western Schools this Friday to present Kidstuf to 1000+ kids! -We are also presenting Kidstuf to 8 Kokomo elementary schools this year–2000+ kids! How crazy is that?!!!!  And…Taylor schools called last week to asks if we could bring Kidstuf to them! Only God…

• Are you aware of the life-changing experiences taking place each week in our young people in the UpStreet/KidStuf/OSM worlds? God is really working.  Don’t forget to say thanks to the incredible volunteers on those teams. Way to go Ronda, Julie, Sarah, Niko, Sam and all your awesome volunteers.

• I have to admit, I loved trying to pop the “Christian Bubble” yesterday. Jesus didn’t give His life so that we can live comfortable, safe Christian lives apart from a world. Gods want to use each of us–YOU– to influence this world!

• I still think it is fascinating that after Jesus called his disciples to follow him the first thing he taught them was to be fishers of men (Matt. 4:19). You guys– if we are not fishing then we are not following. Let’s be some “salt “ and “light” this week!

• Don’t forget to boldly pray Habakkuk 3:2 with me. I’m believing God is going to “renew” his awesome works in our day.

• Jaime Verlee absolutely killed that drama yesterday! It felt so real– I actually pictured her having that conversation with her non-Christian friend. Another amazing way that God uses the arts for His fame. Way to go Jaime!

• I loved the opening song yesterday with nearly everybody  playing acoustic guitars and singing—very fresh. Too bad the 200 people that show up each Sunday after the service starts missed it!! When God calls a meeting in heaven I wonder if they will be on time?

• So excited by the number of people coming each Sunday–even if they come late! A week ago our attendance was up 23% over this time last year and yesterday we had 50 more people than last Sunday–whoo hoo! Keep bringing your friends!

• Here’s something to bring your friends to: Beatles Concert October 11^th Last year the concert was SOLD OUT. So this year we are doing 2 concerts on the 11^th — this is going to be so much fun.

• Don’t forget to get signed up for a Chase The Lion small group. This will be a life-transforming experience. I’m really excited for this series to get started!

• Father/Son/Daughter Camp Outs are already full — way to go Dads! I absolutely love it when men step up and invest in their families. Proud of you guys!

• Baptism is coming! Get signed up if you haven’t already. Get a packet.

• Had an awesome time at the Oakbrook Golf Outing yesterday afternoon. Big thanks to Lee Southwell for putting together an awesome event! And big thanks to all the golfers who helped raise $2000+ for another Home in Haiti.

• Kinda sad to see the summer go but…COLLEGE FOOTBALL STARTS THIS WEEK! Go Blue! (that’s a reference to a team up north that has won more college football games than any other team in the history of college football). Wow-where did that come from?

Have a great week influencing, connecting, giving and serving.

Love doing church with you guys! And remember,

Don’t just talk about it,

BE ABOUT IT!

Mark

Mark’s Monday Morning Re-cap

Another awesome Sunday at Oakbrook and I still can’t believe I get paid to do what I do!

• It was so fun having Kedler (our friend from Haiti) with us. I love that we get to play a small part in his amazing story! Don’t forget, if you have any unused laptops/computers, bring them to the church this week and he can use them in his internet café in Haiti.

• The 2 books I mentioned in my talk “Unchristian & “They Like Jesus But Not The Church” are 25% off at Lakeside Books. These books will rock you! Every month we discount featured books that coincide with the series. Been to Lakeside Books lately?

(Don’t forget; reading is an awesome way to grow. Read 30 minutes a day and your life will be transformed! I dare you!)

• Did you see the new sign at Lakeside Café’ & Books?? So cool looking! Designed by my fellow team member Jason Lee-WAY TO GO JLEE!! (who by the way is one awesome graphic designer).

• Got an email from Sam Burke (Director of Student Ministries) and they had 136 people @ OSM last night–a record number for opening night! AWESOME!! Way to go Sam and the OSM team!!!

• I heard a rumor there might be another Beatles Concert in the works.

• My son asked me how I knew about ZigZag rolling papers? C’mon Jonny I went to high school in the 70’s!!!!

• Don’t forget to get signed up in a small group for the Chase The Lion church-wide journey. This will be 4 life-changing weeks! (email: jason@oakbrookchurch.com)

• Loving the worship tune Glory to God Forever! My favorite line in the song: ”Take my life and let it be, all for you and for your glory.” May it be so!

• Prayed with several people after the service yesterday. People are struggling with relational and financial challenges from the recession. Lots and lots of opportunities for God to do some big work in people lives! So glad more and more people are coming down after the service for prayer!

• I’m hearing more and more stories of people losing jobs in our community…so sad. Talked to one of my neighbors last night and his job is done at the end of this year. Praying for them. This is gong to be a challenging year for our town–but as I keep saying–what a great time to be a church in Kokomo, IN!!

If you are facing some tough realities in your life here’s some good stuff from my new favorite author, Mark Batterson: click here.

I was so excited to give the talk yesterday! Thanks for all the encouraging comments and emails. Remember: No Perfect People Allowed and people like Jesus!!

Here are the questions I closed with yesterday:

1. Am I numb or neutral to people outside the church?
2. Do I pray daily for people outside the church?
3. Who am I praying for now who is not a Christian?
4. When was the last time I had coffee, dinner, went to a movie or just hung out with someone who is not a Christian?

Let’s build some relational bridges this week, Oakbrook. And remember:

Don’t Just Talk About It, BE ABOUT IT!

Love doing church with you guys,

Mark

Mark’s Monday Morning Reflection

WOW! WOW! WOW! Yesterday was such an awesome day at Oakbrook! I can’t remember when I have left church so excited about our mission and so proud of our teams!

Three words:  Live Like Jesus. That’s what we are about this year, Oakbrook!

Let me break it down for you again:

Chair= Influence (Hanging out w/people who don’t know Christ.)

Table= Connection (Alone w/God & the Word, and with others.)

Pie= Generosity (Tithing and beyond.)

Heart= Serving (In the church and outside its walls.)

I thought the music Sunday Morning was amazing! How about the new vocalist Dave Horine: great voice, great stage presence and most important a heart fully devoted to Christ. Thanks Dave!

I hope we never get used to the talented yet humble musicians we have at Oakbrook. The level of talent at our church is not normal. We are so blessed! (check out pics of the service)

I also loved the video recap of last year called “Alive & Running.” I forgot some of the amazing moments we had as a church last year. (Watch it!)

How bout those Hymns? Come Thou Fount and Amazing Grace…some vintage tunes that still rock!

The Worship and Prayer night was so, so good. People were full on in their adoration and praise to God. At one point in the night I pictured God with this big, huge smile on his face. I know He loved what happened in The Warehouse last night! Way to go worship team! In the words of my teammate Jlee, “Epic!“

Get this—Sam Burke told me last night he had THIRTY 6-7^th graders show up at his house for an OSM meeting. That is crazy! I really believe God has some great thing in store for OSM this year. If you have a kid in Jr.High or High School you’ve got to get them to OSM!

Have you heard about the Protégé Program we are offering at Oakbrook? It is a full on internship program we are offering. We are getting serious and intentional about raising up next gen. leaders. Click here are the details.

Like every church, Oakbrook lives and dies on volunteers and we have some of the best volunteers in the church business! Way to go everybody!

Pray for us as we consider adopting a poor and oppressed neighborhood in Kokomo. I really believe God is going to do something special with this idea.

Baptism is coming up September 20^th. We’ll have signups available this week.

My favorite line from the talk Sunday:

Don’t just TALK about it, BE about it!

I will be praying for you guys this week as you strive to Live Like Jesus. And don’t forget our prayer: Habakkuk 3:2.

Love doing church with you all!

Mark

Morgan’s Monday Recap

Wow–what a busy, yet productive & redemptive weekend it’s been! Saturday I had the privilege of marrying Austin Butler & Rachel Zeller. Austin came to Christ, got baptized and grew in Christ back in the “Firewire” days of OCCs student ministries.

And then came Sunday, week 2 of “Less Than.” Jeremy & the boys in the band had some fun opening up with a “Wilco” song. Check out Jerm’s blog with comments & videos of it. Local guitar guru, Eric Foust, was in the house and Justin Alter, a local attorney-by-day, played drums for the first time at OCC. (I love to see new people get in the game!)

Jlee led us in a great worship set with a new song by Chris Tomlin, Jesus Messiah and the great Matt Redman song, Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

It’s always a humbling, scary, and yes–even fun time to bring the Sunday morning message. I am so thankful to have the privilege of learning how to teach and communicate at OCC. The teaching the last two Sundays was based on the book, Trading Places by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrot. (Available @ Lakeside Cafe&Books.) Now seriously—where is the pez? ;-)

There was a lot of valuable & insightful ground to cover yesterday so I made a handout available as well as my message text. Of course it will be available on our podcast page as well.

I am really thankful that Mark Malin led us to do an “empathy” min-series and found this book. We’ve never really tackled this subject in this depth before. There is so much hope for relationships in our church and community based on the truths unearthed in this series. If you or someone you know is struggling–tune in and share the content of the last two weeks!

And how powerful was Aubri “Momstar” Colescott capping the service by leading us in worship with Lead me to the Cross??!! Powerful…just powerful. I am always amazed at how God shows up when we’re together. All of us: strugglers, moms, attorneys, etc.

Don’t miss Mark’s Vision Talk next Sunday, followed by Worship Night 6pm in the Warehouse!

Now I think I’ll take the rest of the day off!! ;-)

Love,

-Morgan

Mark’s Monday Re-cap

Monday Morning Reflections…Something new…I’m going to start doing a mind dump each Monday am reflecting on what God is doing in this amazing place called Oakbrook-hope you enjoy it!

Sunday talk highlight:

“Empathy breeds understanding and understanding breed’s love and love breeds great relationships. I challenge you to walk in someone else’s shoes this week! “

* It felt so good teaching again after my break. Thanks for showing up and listening.

* Loved how Phil. 2 is so relevant to our relational worlds.

* Still can’t believe Jesus traded places with us-a mind blowing thought.

* I felt God’s presence in the room when we sang…How Marvelous…loved it….Sean Verlee led us well!!

* How bout the Stevie Wonder tune (“I Wish“) at the front end of the service. Big thanks to Chris Washington (keyboard player) for helping us out Sunday. Our band is amazing week end and week out!

* The young girl who sang the last song…Alyssa Porter is only a high school age kid but God is using her to lead us!! Can’t wait to see how God uses her in the future!

* Loved seeing Alyssa and Sherry Stoneking (a veteran vocal team member) serving side by side…nothing like multi-generational ministry!

* Had new people stop by Discover Oakbrook…love having new people each week! That never gets old!!

* Still can’t believe we have a bookstore!! Hoping and praying more and more people will learn to love reading. You can’t grow unless you read. And Jesus didn’t die for us to stay the same!!!

* Love it when people come down front for prayer after the service. Lots of needs out there and God can meet every one of them.

* Big shout out and thanks to all you faithful givers! We are almost 18% ahead of last June/July. The “Summer Give” push is working. Want to recession proof your life? Then obey God and give at a tithing (10%) level. I’m telling you it works friends!

* There is a group of 30+ people attending Oakbrook each week from Logansport. They are praying and thinking about planting a church in Logansport. Join me in praying for them. Great group of people!

* I’ll be attending the Leadership Summit this week and God always rocks my world at the Summit-pray He will do that one more time for me.

* Love doing church with you guys!  -Mark Malin

Two Prayers

Here are the two prayers Mark Mentioned in his talk on April 5th. (podcast here):

2nd Conversion Prayer
Dear Father, I need You. I hunger and thirst for a more vital relationship with You. I admit that I have been in control of my life. As a result, I have sinned against you. Thank You for forgiving my sins through Christ’s death on the cross for me. I now confess and turn from my sins and surrender the control of my life to the Lord Jesus. By faith I invite You to fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled. You promise to fill me if I ask according to Your will. I pray this in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ. To demonstrate my faith, I now thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit and for taking control of my life. Amen.
(source: How You Can Be Filled With the Holy Spirit – Bill Bright)

Spiritual Breathing Prayer
I am so thankful that I belong to You! I thank You that You live within me, and that you have forgiven my sins. I thank You that I am your child and you are my Father. Throughout this day…fill me up with your Holy Spirit. Love others with my heart, speak with my lips, and think with my mind. I thank You that You promise to do greater things through me than You did when You were here on earth. By faith, I believe in Your greatness, Your power, Your authority in my life, and I invite You to do anything You wish in and through me today. Let me experience You in new and fresh ways. And use me to help others experience You. Amen.

Holy Spirit Handout

Holy Spirit pt II   3.29.09
-morgan young

Principle #1
It’s hard to be on a “Wild Goose Chase” if your life isn’t already following the “Wild Goose.”

Principle #2
Pray and seek wise counsel.

Principle #3
A Wild Goose Chase Will always be about God’s Glory—not ours.

Principle #4
The Holy Spirit is a “He”; so we must know Him.

More about the Holy Spirit

1. The Hebrew and Greek words for “spirit” are “ruach” (roo-ock) and “pneuma” (“NOO-ma”)
Both mean “wind or breath.”

2. He lives with and IN us.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

3. He is the very presence of God Himself in all the world.  Psalm 139:7

4. He gives us power and influence to reach the world. Acts 1:8

5. He instructs us and brings things to our mind. John 14:26

6. He convicts us of sin. John 16:8

7. He guides us into truth and speaks for the Father. John 16:13,15

8. Calls people into ministry.  Acts 13:2

9. He produces a new nature in us. (Fruit of the Spirit) Galatians 5:16-26

10. Gives spiritual gifts to believers. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

11. The Holy Spirit calls us to an adventurous life like Christ’s. Romans 8:9-12

Book suggestions:

Wild Goose Chase (available @ Lakeside Books) website free sample chapter
The Shack (available @ Lakeside Books) website