Accessibility

Bayside is a church of approximately 5,000 people and the 10^th fastest growing church in the U.S.  So, what makes us so successful?  Is it the building, the strategy, the systems, the great music, etc.?  All those things are great and very much an asset to what we do here at Bayside, but there are three things that really stand out to me. 

1)    God.  I realize this is an extremely obvious one because without God none of this would be possible.  Let me explain a little further.  God births dreams and visions within us, his people.  Without the vision, there is no execution.  The Holy Spirit works in us so that we can do His work and follow the call He has placed on our lives.  The inspired Word of God is preached and is the basis for who we are and the leadership that is in place.

2)    Life-Giving.  You hear about life-giving a lot at Bayside because that’s what we’re all about.  Because death and life is in the power of the tongue and we are church who loves to give life.

3)    Accessibility.  I want to spend a little more time on this one.  One of the main reasons I believe that Bayside is so attractive is because of its accessibility.  From Pastor Randy and throughout the leadership, we believe in being accessible to people.  This is a value that we hold strongly to, because if we are a church who is seeking out lost and hurting people who don’t know Jesus Christ, then we need to be accessible to meet people right where they are.  Jesus was all about making himself accessible and available to people.  We should adopt that same mindset. 

I ask myself, where would I be without the people who made themselves accessible to me?  I know I wouldn’t be sitting at this seat, that’s for sure!

Ask yourself how can I be more accessible to those around me?  I challenge you to invite someone to your small group or to church this week.  Think back to your first experience with Bayside and how it changed your life.  

Restore Joy

Just recently I have entered into a new relationship and let me tell you, it’s absolutely amazing! I was thinking about that today and how “new love” is always so exciting and joyful. I began to think about our Christian walk with that parallel. You know how in the beginning when you first start running after God, it’s exciting and new. Then years pass and you’re still following God, but there’s not the same fervor or excitement that you had in the beginning. Do you ever feel like that? It’s not abnormal to feel that, but I do know that God does not want our relationship with Him or with others to be mundane and boring. It got me thinking about this verse that David wrote:

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
-Psalm 51:12

Sometimes we need to do just this, "restore to me the joy of Your salvation." Remember what it was like when your love for God was fresh and new. Draw upon that memory to restore the joy back into your relationship with God and others. Fall in love with Jesus all over again and walk in the love he has empowered you with.

Think of a few things you can do to restore joy in your relationship with God, others or life in general.

Follow to Lead, Lead to Follow

I’ve been thinking about leadership lately and recently we have been implementing and reinforcing some more requirements in higher levels of leadership at Bayside.  The interesting thing is often times we get some push back with people saying, “Why do I have to go through this course or why do I need to go to the retreat?  I’ve been in leadership for a long time and I’ve been a pastor before…etc.”  We have these requirements for a number of reasons:

1) Commitment – in order to be a leader, a certain level of commitment is required. 

2)  DNA – it’s important that our leaders understand the DNA of Bayside.

3) Servant Leadership – this is the one I would like to break down a little further.

For those of you who may not know me, I have a thing for ballroom dancing… I know, who would have thought?  In the movie, Take the Lead, Antonio Banderas’ character is a ballroom dance instructor.  In one scene, he is talking with all of the students’ parents and explaining the benefits of learning how to dance.  He uses an analogy of lead and follow.  If the woman can learn how to follow and trust, then the man can feel confident in leading.

What I take from this principle and apply it to us as leaders is that, we have to learn how to properly follow before we can effectively lead.  This is why we are called followers of Christ.  We are in this because we choose to follow Jesus and submit to His leadership and examples.  In that same way, leaders must learn to follow and trust leadership.  Only then can we properly lead others into being fully devoted followers of Christ.  So, in order to lead, you must first learn to follow.  As you lead, you are following the path that God has you on.

Ask yourself, do I have trouble submitting to leadership?  If so, ask God why. 

Lay it Down

I woke up this morning feeling burdensome.  I prayed and it helped a little before I had to fly out the door for work.  I got to the tennis club and the burden stuck with me for majority of the morning.  Towards the end of morning practice, I went to talk to one of my students; she’s probably around 12 years of age.  I knew something was bothering her.  She then told me some of the other girls were aggravating her.  I told her, “you can choose to let this bother you or you can choose to let it go.”  I realize her emotions were taking control at the moment and she was upset.  Granted, she may have had a reason to be upset, but the choice was hers… whether she wanted to let it ruin her day or work past it. 

I was able to minister and help heed her emotions.  But the cool part of it for me was the aftermath of my own situation and burden I was carrying.  The very same counsel I gave her, I needed to listen to myself.  How often do we give advice to others, when we ourselves should be looking in the mirror?  I had a choice to make, I could let this burden weigh me down or I could give it to Jesus. 

Jesus says this in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The answer seems easy, right?  Easy to tell someone, but not always as easy when it pertains to us.  Again, so I’m faced with this choice… Do I let this burden bring me down or do I give it to the One who says, He’ll take all my fears, all my doubts and anything that could possibly be holding me back.  Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”  The Lord is bound to His Word and He will never go back on it.  His character is true and just.  All we have to do is trust, because He will deliver and He will conquer!  There is no need to live in slavery when you are in Christ.  God is still in the business of setting the captives free!  Freedom awaits you… you choose.

Don’t Settle for Mediocrity

Do you ever find yourself in the same place, struggling with the same thing that you thought you were over, but just not? I feel too often, we as Christians struggle with the same reoccurring problem. So, what needs to change?

1. Know your identity in Christ.

We have to know what Jesus did. He already paid the price of sin, so we no longer have to bear it. My fellow co-worker in Christ, Keith Olsson says, “Either the work is complete or it’s not. When Jesus was on the cross, He said, it is done!” We can either believe that the work is done or we can continue to live in chains, bondage or partial freedom… When in fact and in truth, the work has been completed when Jesus said it was done. Now we have to choose to receive grace and live in Freedom. That only comes when we know who our identity is in.

2. Do life with others.

In Genesis, from the beginning, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” God designed us for relationships. Why should we think that has changed over the course of the past 2,000 plus years? When you are going through something great or you are going through something hard, life is just better with people. Nothing great was every accomplished alone! That’s why we have so many small groups to choose from here at Bayside because we know we can’t do life alone!

3. Be an overcomer!

God doesn’t call us to mediocrity, He calls us to greatness! This is not a measure of the world’s standard of success. Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trials and tribulations, but take heart because I have overcome the world.” Jesus already proved that He has overcome the world. He faced every trial and temptation we could and will ever go through. He is living proof that it can be done with His strength. Let me stress, His strength, not our own. When we tap into operating in Jesus’ strength and with the power of the Holy Spirit, the possibilities are endless and far more than we could ever ask or imagine. So, if you ever feel that you are in a place of mediocrity, understand that we are not called to live a less than life. We are called to overcome and be more than conquerors!

By Weyli Chang