One thing that has remained constant (and will remain constant) for the College Ministry at The Church at Brook Hills is the emphasis on the mission of Christ! We are deeply committed to encouraging and equipping college students to “Glorify God by making disciples of all nations.” All of our efforts and energy are directed to that end.

With that said, over the past several months, we have been wrestling with the method and system by which we are doing this. There were many factors that lead to this time of wrestling; Global Disciple-Making efforts, considering the state of the church in America, and reading a particularly difficult orange book (ie, Radical). Through it all it became painfully clear that we needed to have a much more radical (no-pun intended) approach to raising up disciple-makers that are urgently reproducing/multiplying disciple-makers!

So, through constant prayer, many discussions, and countless hours of preparation, we want to share with you our new leadership development process. We call it… Elevate.

Elevate is going to be the method by which we interview, train, and then mentor leaders to be multiplying disciple-makers. It is a system that we believe will help us be more effective at accomplishing our goal. Christ has commanded (not suggested) each person to make disciples of all nations. And because of that, we are convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that each of us will be held accountable one day for how we spent our one life to that end. We don’t want to waste our lives on the things of this world OR religious activity. We desperately want our one life to count and are convinced that we can make it count if we fully devote our lives to effectively making disciples!

Over the next week or so I want to spend some time via the College Blog hashing some of the details out as it relates to this leadership development process.

So stay tuned. Up first…”Elevate: Why do we need to revamp our leadership development?”

College Students are invited to join us for a FREE Lunch!
DATE: Sunday, September 12th
TIME: 12:30pm (after 11am Worship)
LOCATION: Student Center

Each semester we begin with a what we call College Mixer (Free Lunch).  And this Fall semester is no different. We do this for several reasons.

First, we want to begin by getting as many of our college students in one place to enjoy a meal together, hang-out, and share some one-another time.  At The Church at Brook Hills our focus is on weekly Worship Gatherings (Sunday AM/PM) and weekly Disciple-Making Small Groups, but for college students there is always value in getting a slew of students together in one place just to hang.

Second, we want to be able to cast vision to our students. We are well aware that Brook Hills College Ministry is one voice of many on your campus, so our hope during College Mixer is to take a few minutes and update each of you about what all will take place throughout the semester and encourage as many as possible to get plugged in.  Just a side note, our mission is to- “Glorify God by making disciples of all nations”. Therefore, our desire is for everything we do to be aimed at encouraging and equipping students to embrace and devote their lives to this mission through the local church.

Third, we want to get as many college students connected into College Small Groups as possible.  I have said it before, and I will probably say it again, discipleship happens in relationship. Therefore our hope in College Small Groups is to see God form biblical community among students that is marked by great mercy for each other, for people in Birmingham, and all nations.  Connecting to a small group gives students the opportunity to grow inwardly thorugh Christ-centered relationships and grow outwardly through Gospel-centered ministry both locally and globally. At the Mixer students will be able to connect to an existing small group or even form a new group among their peers on campus.  Either way, College Ministry Staff will help get you connected.

I hope to see you September 12th after our 11am Worship Gathering.

I have said this every year for the past 3 years of leading College Ministry here at The Church at Brook Hills, and I think this year I feel it the most…it is hard to believe Fall Semester is already upon us! Seriously, I blinked and summer is gone!

I sure hope your summer was well spent and know that we are looking forward to reconnecting with many of you this Fall.  This blog post is intended to encourage each of you college students this fall to be fully devoted to the mission Christ has called each of you to… “make disciples of all nations!” Every ounce of effort as a college ministry at Brook Hills is spent on encouraging and equipping college students to be fully committed to His mission in the context of His Church!

As most of you know, our College Ministry, as well as our entire church, is built on a Ephesians 4:11-12 model of ministry. What I mean by that is we are not going to be hosting a ton of events, running some crazy programs, and trying to get as many students into our venues as we can. That is not the win for us. The win for us to equip and encourage as many college students as we can to commit their lives to the Disciple Making Process here at The Church at Brook Hills. We do this so, that by God’s grace, we can accomplish our goal, which is total world impact!

Our main focus as a College Ministry is Disciple-Making Small Groups. These small groups occur on or around campuses here in Birmingham. God’s Word teaches that discipleship happens in relationship. Therefore, the goal of college small groups is to see God form biblical community among college students that is marked by great mercy for each other, for people in Birmingham, and all nations.

Disciple-Making Small Groups at The Church at Brook Hills are not just social gatherings, but are means by which Christians grow in their walk with Christ and see the Gospel multiplied in others’ lives. College Small Groups meet on or around College Campuses in dorm rooms, coffee shops, apartments etc. Small Group ministry is not an optional program driven by staff, but is a necessary component in the life of every believer. In the end, we are all on mission with Christ. And the mission of Christ should never be disconnected from biblical community!

Look forward to all Christ has for us this fall!

Britten Taylor | College Minister

If you want a quick and easy way to memorize the traditional four attributes of Scripture, just put them in the order of S.C.A.N.:

• the Sufficiency of Scripture
• the Clarity of Scripture
• the Authority of Scripture, and
• the Necessity of Scripture

Below are some definitions and thoughts from Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) and Timothy Ward (Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God).

Sufficiency

Ward: “Because of the ways in which God has chosen to relate himself to Scripture, Scripture is sufficient as the means by which God continues to present himself to us such that we can know him, repeating through Scripture the covenant promise he has brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.” (p. 113)

Grudem: “The idea that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at stage of redemptive history and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.”

Clarity

Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who read it seeking God’s help and are willing to follow it” (p. 108).

Ward: “Scripture is the written word of the living Word, God’s communicative act, and the Spirit who authored it chooses to continue to speak most directly through it. Therefore we are right to trust that God in Scripture has spoken and continues to speak sufficiently clearly for us to base our saving knowledge of him and of ourselves, and our beliefs and our actions, on the content of Scripture alone, without ultimately validating our understanding of these things or our confidence in them by appeal to any individual or institution” (pp. 126-127).

Authority

Grudem: “The idea that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.”

“The phrase ‘the authority of Scripture’ must be understood to be shorthand for ‘the authority of God as he speaks through Scripture.’ . . . The authority of Scripture is a statement about what God did in authoring Scripture, and about how he continues to act in relation to Scripture” (p. 128).

Necessity

Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for knowing something about his character and moral laws.”

Ward: “Necessity sits right at the heart of the ways in which sola scriptura is explicated and defended. If Scripture alone is claimed to be the supreme authority in Christian thinking and living, that is because both its content (the verbal revelation) and its form (the written Scriptures) are indispensable” (p. 102).

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace

1 Peter 4:10

Preschool Ministry Team

Preschool Ministry Team is looking for those individuals that God is calling to serve as Small Group leaders on Sunday mornings. We are currently recruiting and training leaders to teach ages birth-5 years for both the 9:00 am and 11:00am services.  Promotion and start date is August 15^th 2010. For more information, please contact Diona Hightower, dhightower@brookhills.org, or 313-7806.

Children’s Ministry Team

Children’s Ministry Team is looking for those individuals that God is calling to serve as Small Group leaders on Sunday mornings. We are currently recruiting and training leaders to teach 1st – 5th graders for both the 9:00 am and 11:00am services.  Promotion and start date is August 15^th 2010. For more information, please contact Jordan Anderson, janderson@brookhills.org, or 313-7805.

Student Ministry Team

There are a variety of serving opportunities in Student Ministry from serving in the cafe to teaching a small group Bible study. For more information, visit http://www.brookhills.org/serving and scroll down to Student Area or email us at students@brookhills.org.

What is it….

The Institute for Disciple-Making at Brook Hills seeks to align itself with and support the Vision, Mission and Goal of this faith family.

• We seek to glorify God by loving Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37). His character, will, and ways are infinitely worthy of our reverent and serious contemplation.

• We seek to make disciples by teaching the Word of God. Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples by baptizing and teaching (Matt. 28:19-20). Disciples are sanctified by the truth; God’s Word is the truth (Jn. 17:17).

Why do we do this…

We are persuaded by God’s Word that the best context for the training of God’s people to fulfill God’s mission is the local church. This training includes the preparation of church leaders in numerous capacities—small group leadership, worship leadership, pastoral ministry, missionary service, and much more.

God in his grace has so gifted the church with evangelists, pastors, and teachers that His bride is able to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13). Therefore, we seek to provide high quality biblical and theological training in the context of the local church.

We seek to make disciples of all nations by learning for the sake of others around the world (Matt. 28:19). Our efforts here are intended for world impact.

What classes are offered and how can I sign up…

One core conviction in our College Ministry at The Church at Brook Hills is that EVERYONE is commanded to engage in frontier missions! By frontier missions, I mean Gospel Ministry zeroed in on those individuals who have little to no access to the Gospel.  And there are over one billion of them in that category. ONE BILLION.

Yes, Christian missions is about seeing as many as possible repent and turn to Christ before His glorious return. But it is not JUST that. It is also winning some individuals from among all peoples of the earth!

For those who are saying, “Wha, Wha, What?!?”… check out our Pastor’s sermon, “Global Gospel: Engage the Lost.”

The reality is that we are all commanded to engage in frontier missions! Now, before some of you get in a hizzy, let me clarify.

We believe everyone of us are commanded to engage in frontier missions. Some of us are specifically called to pack our bags, buy a one-way plane ticket, and board a plane to some part of the 10/40 Window. But not all of us. Some are called to stay here, work diligently, and live in contentment to free up resources to send others. Either way, we are all under the same command to “make disciples of all nations”, or as John Piper has said before, “Go, send, or disobey”.

Two great quotes to help encourage us toward a life consumed with and conformed to the Word…

John Piper…

We are a people of the Book. We know God through the Book. We meet Christ in the Book. We see the cross in the Book. Our faith and love are kindled by the glorious truths of the Book. We have tasted the divine majesty of the Word and are persuaded that the Book is God’s inspired and infallible written revelation. Therefore, what the Book teaches matters…

There is no salvation from sin and guilt and condemnation and hell apart from faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13-17; 1 John 5:12). And there is no other authority besides the Scriptures to show you who Christ is and to give you his Word. So don’t leave the Bible, children. Don’t leave the Bible, young people. Don’t neglect the Bible, dads and moms. Don’t ignore the Bible, single people. Under God, the “sacred writings,” the Scriptures, are the greatest treasure in the world. They alone make us wise unto salvation through Christ. O don’t neglect this Book!

Matt Chandler…

“I think you live in a day and age where there’s great teaching available all over the place. So you never really learn to feed yourself. You’d rather live vicariously through other people’s studies. Which is kind of sad because you’ll never love the Lord like the people who studied that, found that and wrestled with that will love Him.

Like if I started talking about all of the reasons I loved Lauren, it wouldn’t make you love Lauren. It would make you maybe go, “Oh, I wish I had that.” But it wouldn’t make you go, “You know, I love her too. She’s amazing. I love her with my whole heart right now.” That’s not how it works. In the same way, you hearing me or some other guy talk about the grandeur and might of God is not necessarily going to make you love Him.

You need to read and let the Holy Spirit engage you, chisel at you, work you over. May we repent of our laziness.”

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge: Prov. 1:7 and Prov. 9:10

We see “the fear of the Lord” or some variation of the words throughout Scripture.  It’s overwhelming how many times it is referenced in Scripture….But, what is it?  What does it really mean?  It’s so critical for us to know what phrases we say and hear repeatedly actually mean.

The fear of the Lord is reverence.  It is Godly awe of who God is which leads to devotion and submission.  It can also be fear of God’s displeasure and fatherly discipline which also leads to submission. So, to fear the Lord is to understand who God is and submit to Him.

I like what John Piper say about the fear of the Lord:

“There are two great commands in the Bible. The first is: “Fear the Lord.” And the second is “Fear not!” What we should not fear is to draw close to God and what we should fear is to run away from him. God is a joy and a refuge to those who cling to his neck, but he is a terror to those who flee.”

So the “fear of the Lord” is a very peaceful and secure feeling. In fact, fearing the Lord means counting on our fellowship with God to make us happier in the future than anything else could. Romans 15:4 says that the whole Bible was written to persuade us that this is true: staying close to God and not running away into sin is the most hope-full way to live. Promise after promise verifies it: “the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him” (Psalm 25:14). “How abundant is your goodness which you have laid up for those who fear you” (Psalm 31:19). “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in His steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18). “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). “As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him” (Psalm 103:11,17). “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13). “He fulfills the desire of all who fear him” (Psalm 145:19).”

A.W. Pink says,

“Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God’s majesty, that has had a vision of God’s awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness, His irresistible power, His sovereign grace.”

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

The passage was written right after He pleads with them to walk in humility. (Note the “therefore” at the beginning of verse 12.)  A great definition of humility is to have a right understanding of who God is and your position in relation to Him.  It seems fitting that Paul would then plead with them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.

Isaiah 66:2 says

“All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit  and trembles at my word.”

Let’s revere God and walk humbly before Him together, fixing our eyes on Christ as we journey together on the race set out before us. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

This story comes from a young man in college who describes his daily battle with lust and how young ladies, either deliberately or naively, play a role in his battle.

Each and every day on campus is a battle. A battle against my sin, a battle against temptation, a battle against my depraved mind. Every morning I have to cry out for mercy, strength, and a renewed conviction to flee youthful lust. The Spirit is faithful to bring me the renewal I need and to prepare me to do war against my sin, yet temptations still exist.

I’m thankful God has created me to be attracted to women. However, campus is a loaded minefield. There are girls everywhere, and it is guaranteed that I will pass some attractive girls as I walk in between classes. To make it through the day unscathed, I either have to be actively engaging my mind and spirit in praying, quoting Scripture, listening to worship music, or looking at the sidewalk. Many days it takes all four to be safe. . . .

The thing that women do not seem to fully grasp is that the temptation toward lust does not stop. It is continual. It is aggressive. And it does all it can to lead men down to death. And women have a choice to help or deter the goal and purpose of lust. Sometimes when I see a girl provocatively dressed, I’ll say to myself, “She probably doesn’t even know that 101 guys are going to devour her in their minds today. But then again, maybe she does.” To be honest, I don’t know the truth, the truth of why she chooses to dress the way she does, the way she chooses to walk, the way she chooses to act. I don’t know because I’ve never sat down with a girl and asked why. All I need to know is that the way she presents herself to the world is bait for my sinful mind to latch onto and I need to avoid it at all costs.

For the most part, the church serves as a sanctuary from the continual barrage of temptation toward sin. However, the church’s members are not yet free from sin, and there are girls who are ignorant and unaware of men’s sinful tendencies.

I must confess that even church can have several mines scattered about. To the girls who are ignorant, please serve your brother in Christ and have your dad screen your wardrobe. Ask your dad how you can better choose holiness over worldliness. He’s a guy, and he knows more than you on the issue.

And to the girls who don’t follow the pattern of the world: thank you. Thank you a million times over. You are following Scripture’s commands, and you are helping your brothers in the process.