The Thursday Update

NOVEMBER 9, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

What's the most common thing people say about those of us who are Christians and love Jesus?  Any guesses?  Once I tell you what I think it is, you’ll almost certainly agree that this one has to be at the top of the list.

Ok ready?  Here it is: “The church is filled with hypocrites”.  Any time that the church does something wrong, or does something that people don’t agree with, or just takes a moral stand, you’ll hear this phrase. 

It makes sense for people who don’t believe in Jesus to say that.  First off, it’s easy to just criticize without trying to understand.  Second, it’s a way for them to justify to themselves that they don’t need or want to go to church.  Third, it is a way to deflect from the fact that they are hypocrites themselves.  That’s because we all are, at least at some level.  Yes, some people in the church are huge hypocrites who give those of us who are garden-variety hypocrites a bad name. 

So with that all said, let me share a few ways to respond to this charge about the church aand Christians:

1. Let’s have short and small accounts with hypocrisy.  We all sin and fall short of the standard, but let’s aim to do so in small ways and to course-correct it as soon as we can.

2. Let’s remember who is saying this about us.  People will say this because they want to feel better about themselves without turning their lives over to Jesus.  And we should never expect someone to act upright until they have a relationship with Jesus by faith.  Often the issue is not really the issue when people say this (though sometimes it is very accurate).

3. Let’s help people realize that we are all in need of help when it comes to hypocrisy.  Let’s remind people that we are all hypocrites and the only remedy is Jesus Christ.  He can change us, help us grow and mature, and keep our hypocrisy accounts short and small.  Receiving the Good News of Jesus is the only hope.

To be clear, hypocrisy in the church is real and damages our witness for Jesus, but it’s also an opportunity for us to help others see their own hypocrisy and point them to the only One who can do something about it.

Warmly,
Vince

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

Each year, the month of October is designated Pastor’s Appreciation month.  Now that we’re in November, I wanted to say thank you to all of you for being such a great church and for treating our pastors with such love, respect, and confidence.  I know that we all try to do our very best to lead you in the most biblical way we can because we all realize the tremendous responsibility that God has given us.  We also care about you and everyone in our community who needs Jesus and that drives us to give our best as well.  You make it easy by your love for Jesus.

Special thanks goes out to those of you who gave us cards, small but meaningful gifts, or just said something that encouraged us this past month.  These all mean so much and they fuel us with high-octane encouragement.

I know I speak for all the pastors when I say that the greatest gift you can give us is being at church each week, eager to worship God, hungry to learn from the Bible, and excited to see others who can encourage you in your walk with God.  We need each other, especially as the Day of the Lord draws near (Hebrews 10:23-25).  Seeing you here each week is worth more than almost anything else to us.  You understand the importance of being together with others each week.

So thanks for being a great part of Lakeshore and for the gift of seeing you each week, and thanks for all you do to make Lakeshore a great place for us all.

Much love,
Vince (for all the Pastors at Lakeshore)

OCTOBER 26, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

First off, I want to send a huge thank you to our Lakeshore family!  Several weeks ago I had the humbling honor to be ordained as a minister of the Gospel, and my family celebrated our 10^th anniversary at Lakeshore Community Church.  The outpouring of love and encouragement from you all has been overwhelming!  I am honored and humbled to be able to serve you as one of your pastors and you have so greatly blessed me and my family. 

As the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:3-5 “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  I will be heading out on a sabbatical after this week and can’t thank God and each of you enough for your prayers and support.  With that, we get to talk about a topic this week that I know we can all relate to.

We all know them.  When we see them, we sometimes try to avoid them.  We know the conversation will be riddled with personal drama or a crisis.  We know they will see themselves as the victim, or always seeking your approval and validation, or always needing something from you.  Why are needy people the way they are?  Well, that can actually be a complicated question.  You see, there is often a lot of nuance to what is happening in the world of a needy person that we don’t see. 

We need to be careful because we want to help these people, but sometimes we end up causing more long-term hurt.  That's what we'll talk about this week as we continue Relational Vampires: Loving the People Who Suck the Life Out of You.  Specifically, we'll look at how we can identify and love needy people without hurting them.

Make sure to join us in person this week at 9 or 11 am, or online at live.lakeshorechurch.org.

Pastor Brian