Or go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPHcX1p9GHw and watch it on ESPN and Outside the Lines.

Granted I am a runner. But I have both LEGS! Granted I have a 4th grade son. But he has BOTH legs.

What I am getting at is this will touch your heart. I was NOT able to embed the Outside the Lines clip…please consider going to that video for the whole story if you want to add a few tears.

What I want to emphasize is the importance of INVESTING in a young persons life. When a 70 year old invests in a 7 year old like Boston Bill it is AWESOME. It is never about TIME…always PRIORITY. Make a decision to influence someone younger.

Second…this story highlights the importance of parents “inviting” others to speak into the lives of our own kids. It does take a VILLAGE to raise a Spiritually STRONG student. Invite OTHERS to speak truth and mentor your kids!

Third…if you watch this in either format you’ll be able to “hear” that those involved are aware that there is no such thing as CHANCE. God ALWAYS has a plan. It was not luck that Boston Bill couldn’t “clip out” — God is Soveriegn.

Peace,
Pastor Bruce

Students will be returning for an INDOOR lunch here at the EAST Campus at 12:30 and we are figuring a 2 pm pick up. Times are a bit “hazy” but we wanted to give families EARLY heads up so they could plan accordingly. Obviously students will be ready to transition in to home-life after five nights away. Many being tired.

Please share the word with your peers and let Sue Ann Egan know if you have a pick up dichotomy at 2 pm. (630-232-7068 x132)

In His Grip,
Pastor Bruce

A Biblical Command

You could spend hours and waste lots of ink trying to hash out what a parent’s role in the life of his or her child is. And while modern opinions on the subject vary greatly, three commands surface over and over again throughout the Scriptures. They are:

• Provide and Protect
• Train and Instruct
• Discipline and Admonish

I’d like to talk briefly about your role as protector and how that should play out in today’s context and culture. Obviously times have changed since the biblical authors wrote down these instructions and you won’t need to focus your time and attention protecting them from wild beasts and marauding Canaanites. But there still are evils trying to break down your door and steal your child’s attention, affections and soul.

What They Are Facing
Let me give you an example. Last week I had a conversation with an eighth grader, and he was telling me about the ever so common struggle with lust. He said, “Matt, it’s real difficult to keep my mind and thoughts pure when girls I go to school with are constantly offering to text me pictures of themselves.” And by pictures he didn’t mean of their smiling faces. Here was a solid, Jesus-loving, young man, trying to glorify God with his thoughts and keep his mind pure, and he’s faced with a temptation like this. My heart broke for him and I told him he is doing the right and good thing by stiff-arming those Proverbs 5 (forbidden) women.

He doesn’t and shouldn’t be alone in this fight. How are you as parents protecting your children from such things? There’s nothing wrong with giving your kid a cell phone. It makes life and communication with them more convenient for you. But, with every freedom and privilege you put in their hands comes more responsibility for them…and for you. Do you monitor their cell phones? Do you protect them from certain evils that might come with privileges like this? They might not like it, but you’re not trying to win a popularity contest. You’re fulfilling your biblical command to protect your child.

How You Can Help
If you don’t have some type of internet monitoring software installed on your home computers, this is a must. Eleven is the average age kids stumble upon online porn, and it’s usually by accident. Here are some services out there to help you monitor what they are viewing.

http://www.sentryparentalcontrols.com/

http://www.guardiansoftware.com/index.html

http://www.webwatcherkids.com/

And when it comes to cell phones, depending on your service provider, there are different parental control options you can activate on their plans. For example, you can lock their phone out past a certain hour at night preventing friends from texting late into the night. These services vary so you’ll have to check with your cell phone service provider. In addition to this, you should be checking your child’s cell phone use and activity. Again, they may not like it and see it as an invasion of their privacy, but you must ask yourself which is more important, protecting them or giving them privacy.

My hope is that your child will eventually see these steps as your effort to protect them from what might rob them of joy and satisfaction in the Lord. But for now it may be one of those “you’ll-thank-me-later” moves you have to make.

This entry is fabulously stollen from Life in Abundance US director, Justin Narducci, who supported us on our documentary making team that returned just a couple of weeks ago. His blog echoes so much of my heart that I wanted you to read it.
~Bruce

In the states, it is extremely common for a person to ask another, ‘how are you?’ We do this as greeting.

I’ll walk into a 7-11, look the cashier in the eye, and say ‘Hi, Ruthie, how are you?’ I really ask the question to be polite and she answers with an ‘I’m fine’ to be equally polite. The truth is that we don’t really know each other well enough to ask the question, or to respond, honestly. After this brief exchange of niceties, we’ll go about our business and part ways – either of us not any different because of the interaction. It’s fine. I’m fine. She’s fine. We’re all just fine, thank you very much.

Somehow, this shallow politeness has manifested itself among children in the Nairobi slums. When a white person walks through, or even drives through the slums, children sitting and playing along the roadside will stop what they are doing, look you in the eyes and yell, ‘HOW ARE YOU!?’

Taken back, most of us would simply reply, ‘I’m fine, how are you?’ Most of these kids haven’t been fully versed in the response, so most simply just keep repeating ‘HOW ARE YOU’ until it almost becomes a chant. But some, who have obviously interacted with outsiders before, will reply, ‘I’m fine.’

I’m fine.

If you spend enough time in these communities, the words will ring in your head. I would liken the sensation to lying in bed the night after being on a cruise ship. In the same way your body sways though your bed is still, my head rings with ‘How are you – I’m fine’ as if I’m standing next to these children, though they are nowhere to be found.

Sure, after watching these children living in the slums play together and run wild with joyful exuberance through the contaminated waste water, one could easily conclude that these children are, in fact, ‘fine-er’ than children in the USA who sit around, get fat, whine and watch tv. I’ll give you that one, but I’d argue that these American kids aren’t fine, either. We’re not fine, none of us. I’m not fine, and neither are these children. Ruthie at the 7-11 isn’t fine either. This is easier to articulate in the slums than it is in suburbs, but ultimately, we aren’t fine as a condition of the brokenness of this world.

The synonym of fine is satisfactory. The antonym of satisfactory is unsatisfactory.

Unsatisfactory.

That seems more like it. We are living in unsatisfactory context, though we don’t even know how to articulate it. This is a rather simple conclusion to make when standing in the slums with children, a rather trite conclusion when standing in my grassy suburban back yard, sipping a cup of coffee. And yet, what I feel changed me most from this experience was much more than the realization of our commonality in this regard.

In years past, after spending extensive time with tremendously hurting people, the question I would have normally posed to our group and staff would have been, ‘so, what are we going to do about it?’ Now, I believe the appropriate question to ask is this, ‘what is the spirit of God doing about this reality – and how can we serve alongside?’ It might sound like I’m mincing words here, but think about it.

The first question places the focus on us – I’m going to ‘save these people’, whereas the second statement places the focus on Jesus – because we know that he is the only one who is able to bring about life change, both for the rich and poor, alike. Perhaps the first step in better understanding and responding to the plight of the world’s poor is that we realize our own brokenness, manifested in obviously different outcomes, but equally tragic nonetheless. In so doing, we may realize our very own need for mercy and will then reciprocate, accordingly (Luke 10:37).

Changed.

Perhaps, through the process, the experience will change you, too.

How are you? I’m changed.

Grant is a recent graduate of Wheaton College and will be getting married before he starts his new role with FBCG in early August. He will have the opportunity to teach during the summer in the 5th – 8th grade community in the Alpha room, as well as get up to speed on the great things that are happening in FBCG Student Ministries!

Check out the video below to learn more about Grant and his fiancé Kayli!

You are invited to FBCG Project Serve on July 17th from 9-11 am at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora.  Because of your enthusiasm when we served in January, we quickly filled the 160 slots available that day so I know this July morning will fill quickly. Use the following link to lead you to registering (will open up a new window):

http://www.fbcg.com/mo_serve_project

Our hope with these “entry level” serving opportunities is to create the on-ramps for others to experience serving.  When we can do serve together in community and often as a family we are accomplishing MUCH!  It would be great to fill this date immediately and create the need (I might say addiction) to adding many more dates and times throughout our ministry year in order to build our FBCG DNA of serving both our community (Jerusalem) and the world (Judea and the ends of the earth).

If you have participated in Project Serve in January and you know the registration process, you can bless another and coach them through it or simple do register a friend when you register yourself.

Look forward to this morning together as a serving community.

TODAY I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya to film a documentary on the mirco enterprise initiative that Life In Abundance has created in partnership with six local churches that border the Kibera Slum.  I’m that pastor on the team with NO FILM skills!  I don’t even work our flip video…Diana does that!  But for the next ten days I will carry equipment, block light, hold microphones and perhaps get the credit of “gaffer” or “key grip” — two words you can see at the very end of the credits after a movie.

Anyway…I can’t believe I am on this adventure.  I wish I knew that I could update the blog while I am gone, but I can’t make that promise.  But I will hold a MOVIE night in the upcoming months and tell the story of micro enterprise and how God is doing heart surgery on me!

~ Pastor Bruce

It’s coming your way! Our annual Adventure Trip from June 11th – 14th designed for rising 7th and 8th graders is a fabulous way to jump start your student community experience at FBCG. Expeditions Unlimited in Baraboo, WI does a tremendous job hosting us as we journey together as a community through God’s Word, specifically looking at Adventures With Jesus throughout the four Gospels.

While digging into God’s Word is central to our experience together, we have no shortage of great activities each day from rock climbing at Devil’s Head State Park, canoeing, and Noah’s Ark waterpark, all done in awesome community with other rising 7th and 8th graders.

The cost of the trip is $199 ($185 if paid by May 27th) and includes lodging, meals, and transportation. The purpose of the trip is all about CONNECTING. This will be our first opportunity to grow together as a community!

I’m sitting in the comfort of FBCG office gaining another “level” of understanding of what I will experience in less than two weeks. I am going to Kenya to film a documentary for Life in Abundance with a dear friend from FBCG. It is one of those things were I think I am prepared. But are you ever prepared for open heart surgery? The Kibera Slum hosts one million people in a very small region. And little will prepare me for that! Additionally, it is so fun to be preparing for this trip alongside of the 116 students preparing for their short term trips to Chicago, Mexico, and Ecuador. As well as during these weeks of One Meal One Day teaching and impact.

The term “Deep Justice” has made great impact in my life over the past 2-3 years and I can’t believe the role of Pastor of Family and Service is so God’s Call on my life during such a time as this. Please pray for me, our film crew that will tell the story of successful micro enterprise in Kibera in partnership with the local church, and for my family in my absence.

Finally I am so fortunate to have ministry partners and ministry leaders who can carry the load while I go under God’s knife and get refined by the Refiners Fire.
~ Pastor Bruce

This week in Student Ministries we began our series entitled One Meal, One Day.  The goal is to become aware of the reality of global hunger in our world, understanding God’s heart for his people to respond to the needs of the poor and marginalized and to influence students and their peers to simply skip a meal and contribute the money to help feed the needy (through Compassion International).

This week we looked at a couple of these key points as it relates to grasping the need and our ability to respond.  Here are a couple of the highlights…

1. We are rich.  Because of where we were born and what we have access to, int he global economy we are immensely wealthy.  We don’t always feel wealthy because we can look around us and see people that have more.  The reality of it all is that we have to come to grips with the fact that most of our families are in the top 5% of the the wealthiest people in the world (for more information on this point check out www.globalrichlist.com).

2. There is a enormous need.  A child dies somewhere in the world every 5 seconds from hunger related causes.  That is over 17,000 children every single day.  This should not be.  It does not need to be but until something changes this fact will remain.

3. God defines true religion as “looking after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27).  It is the central premise of the gospel, helping those that cannot help themselves.  It is at the very heart of God and God intends for it to be at the heart of his people.

4. As the body of Christ we are called to action. On Wednesday, April 21st, our students, their friends and anyone else who will join us are going to skip a meal and use the money to help combat global hunger. Our goal is to get 100 students to each enlist 10 friends to join them in this effort. If we each take the $5 that we spend on lunch that day and contribute it to this movement, we can raise $5000. Every $156 that we raise in TREK will feed one person for an entire year.

So the question remains…are you hungry?