http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/blog/ en morgan@oakbrookchurch.com Copyright 2010 2010-09-07T13:58:50+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/tuesday_morning_recap_09.07 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/tuesday_morning_recap_09.07/#When:12:58:50Z Mornin' campers! Well Sunday we slowed jammed the announcements and LONG-jammed the message Thanks to all my Facebook friends who said they didn't notice the length of the service-just the power of it! Sunday after church our family headed out to Oakbrook Valley and spent the night in our "vintage" popup camper. It was great sitting around the fire in that beautiful setting with old and new friends. And the next morning there was nothing like fresh brewed coffee by the fire. Good times A special thanks to: Jonathon Malin, Slater Young, Cameron Sprinkle and Ron Maloney for helping out with the close of the service. I hope you could tangibly see the power of different generations building into each other. The main ingredient to make it happen is simply intentionality. Do you have someone you can lean into (older) and someone you can build into (younger)? Start praying about and looking for opportunities. What a powerful story Cameron shared! You can read it on his blog http://tinyurl.com/39ow7et Please pray for him and his wife Karissa as they navigate a possible cross country ministry opportunity. Be sure to get your FREE tickets to the Shawna Niequest Bittersweet Event! http://oakbrookchurch.com/bittersweet When it comes to being multigenerational-don't just talk about-BE about it! Love you guys! -Morgan   Monday Morning Recap 2010-09-07T12:58:50+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_08.23 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_08.23/#When:11:33:29Z What a great morning at Oakbrook! So proud of everyone who was baptized yesterday!!! As a church lets commit to praying for these great people as they continue their journey of learning to live like Jesus. Way to go-all the influencers who God used to help these people find Christ! There is nothing more meaning in life than helping find Christ! How cool would it be to have influence in someones life in the same way?? One of the things I love most about Oakbrook is the intentional effort we place on influencing the next generation. I believe this effort puts a huge smile on God's face. We are so fortunate to have such an awesome team of people leading our Next Gen. ministries! Big, big thanks to all the volunteers who influence our kids each week. You guys are my Heroes!! Who are you influencing? Maybe God wants to use you, your gifts and talents to influence some kids...pray about it. I dare you. * Please pray this year for Upstreet, Kidstuf and OSM. I'm already excited about the thoughts rolling around in my head for next weeks message! I'm writing this blog from a hotel room in Columbus, OH (enemy territory for MIchigan fans I'm helping Carmen and Brad move into an apartment. Brad has one more year at Ohio State. Hopefully, I will not lose my religion today with all these Buckeyes! DONT JUST TALK ABOUT ADVANCING...LET'S BE ABOUT IT THIS WEEK! Love Doing Church With You Guys! Mark   Monday Morning Recap 2010-08-23T11:33:29+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_afternoon_recap http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_afternoon_recap/#When:14:52:09Z It's been really tough to put into words a summary of what this weekend has been like at Oakbrook.  There are a few words that stand out to me though:  Inspiring, amazing, challenging, wonderful, reaching... and I'm sure the list could go on and on.   It was an honor performing 1/2 of the wedding ceremony for Carmen {Mailin} and Brad Smith Saturday night.  It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony, and I know these guys are going to flourish as a married couple.  Keep them in your prayers. Wasn't it awesome to see Curtis' video from Haiti?  How inspiring was it to see that what we were able to give here turned into a blessing to them there?  Way to Go!  Your giving does matter! Here are a few highlights from yesterday's message: "worship is something bigger {than a song or 30 min. on a Sunday morning} that calls my entire life into view" "worship begins with a revelation that leads to a realization that causes repentance that makes me respond with my entire life to God." "God wants repentance.  He wants us to climb out of the dumpster and follow Him, not sit in the dumpster holding his hand, hoping that he will make the garbage seem better." "worship is my life fully surrendered and wholly devoted to God in every detail." worship is me responding "Here am I God, Send Me!!!" "God doesn't need more workers... He needs more worshippers." Let's be the worshippers of God this week in every detail of our lives. Don't just talk about it, be about it! have a great week!   Monday Morning Recap 2010-08-09T14:52:09+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_08.02 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_08.02/#When:12:56:42Z Really enjoyed the 5 Lies of the Devil series! I hope you are more aware now of the deception the evil one throws your way. By way of reminder here are the 5 Lies... Lie-Just follow your heart...Truth-Don't follow your heart, follow the Holy Spirit. Lie-God will never put more on us than we can handle...Truth-God can handle anything. Lie-You can't change...Truth-You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Lie-Your faith is a Private issue...Truth-Your faith is a Shared issue. Lie-It's just Sex...Truth-Sex is more than activity it's Intimacy. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world! You can replace the lies with truth and as Jesus said, "The truth will set you free!" If you want to go deeper in understanding spiritual warfare check out this book at Lakeside Books...Waking the Dead-The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive by John Eldrege. One of the best books I've ever read on this subject. Don't forget Worship and Prayer Night this coming Sunday at 6PM in The Warehouse. *Big week for our family! My daughter Carmen is getting married. Looking forward to celebrating with family and friends! It's an outdoor wedding so praying for some great weather! Have a great week everybody! Love Doing Church with You Guys, Mark >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-08-02T12:56:42+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_07.26 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_07.26/#When:13:30:32Z A few thoughts on a GREAT day at Oakbrook... It was great having Steve and Stephanie Standrigde with us yesterday! Please join me in praying for them and their ministry in Rome. Our faith is NOT a private matter you guys! Small Picture-"I'm to busy to influence...I don't have the answers to people questions about faith...I don't want to impose my belief system on someone else." Big Picture-"God has "divine appointments" with people planned out for us. Live each day with eyes wide open looking for those divine appointments! Remember...you have a natural way that God has hard wired in you to influence. My heart hurts for Mary Ellen Brookshire and her family. Mary Ellen's grandson died unexpectedly of a heart attack at a young age (37). Please join me in praying that God's peace will surround this family in this extremely difficult time. Life is short you guys...which is another reason make your faith a public matter. As always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It. Love Doing Church With You Guys, Mark>blog home<    Monday Morning Recap 2010-07-26T13:30:32+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_07.19 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_07.19/#When:13:59:27Z Really enjoyed being back at Oakbrook yesterday... I got to spend 2 weeks of vacation with my family recently and I'm so thankful for the times we get to be together and connect. Have you been on vacation or do you plan on taking one this summer? Leave a comment below about your vacation plans this summer. I really enjoyed getting to speak yesterday on the subject of life change. It is one of my favorite topics to teach. No matter who you are, no matter where you've been, no matter what you've done in the past...you CAN change! Marinate on this verse all week...Philippians 4:13. Heres an inspiring story of life change happening right now in the life of an Oakbrook team member...http://tinyurl.com/2a9qjma...very,very cool! The evil one is a liar and deceiver! Don't buy his lie that you can't change. Remember...a lie believed as truth will affect you as if it were true. Replace lies with truth! One piece of truth could get you on a path of change. What area of your life would you like to change? Addiction? Smoking? Weight? Negative attitude? Finances? Career? Do Something Now! Seriously do something this week. Buy a book and read. Pray and ask God to give you the desire to change. Tell a trusted friend about your desire to change. Call a counselor. Go to a 12 step meeting. God can change anything in you that is not like Christ! He loves doing this for us. I'm hearing some great stories from our team that just got back from Haiti! Thanks to all of the team that make the sacrifice to go and serve! If you have some stories of life change going on right now in your life...send them my way in the comments below. I love hearing stories of life change!! As always...Don't Just Talk About It...this week...Be About It! Love Doing Church with You Guys! Mark   >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-07-19T13:59:27+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/c http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/c/#When:13:55:31Z It feels good to be back in Indiana.  Vacation is awesome, but there's just something about being home that is comforting.  There's also nothing like coming back to your home church when you've been away from it.  Both my wife and I felt a sense of "It's great to be home" yesterday.  I don't know if you realize how blessed our church is to be lead every week by such talented and humble musicians.  Many people want to turn a stage and lights into a show about them, but every week our worship leaders and musicians turn the fame and the glory to God, the One who really deserves it all, and lead us to worship Him.  I loved serving with Cameron and Karissa Sprinkle yesterday.  I love their heart of worship for God and their ability to lead us into His presence.  If you get a chance in the next couple of weeks, take an opportunity to thank them for that.I was praying last week that God would show up in a huge way during the service Sunday.  I prayed that my words would fade into the background and that the Holy Spirit would begin the process of freeing people from the lies that the Devil has blinded them with.  Here are some highlights from yesterday's message:"If I believe the lie that God will never give me more than I can handle... I will either become angry with Him, worried, or fell false guilt because of my circumstances in life.""God cares more about what HE can handle then what WE can handle.""God gives me the impossible to trust Him for the incredible.""Even if the incredible doesn't look how I want it to, God's grace through what Jesus did on the cross for me is enough."I hope that you will find peace, comfort, and freedom through this series.  Sam Monday Morning Recap 2010-07-13T13:55:31+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_recap_on_tuesday_07.06 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_recap_on_tuesday_07.06/#When:14:48:40Z "So long 70 degree days of June." This morning I couldn't tell the difference between the steam coming off my coffee and the heat induced haze of early July. Hope you had a great July 4th. Our family spent the evening with friends in the country just west of town. Tons of great Hoosier cooking and a phenomenal pro fireworks display right in their expansive back yard. Good times I have to say I was encouraged with the number of people and the energy they brought to Oakbrook on a holiday Sunday-way to go! Mark and Ronda are on vacation this week, so please remember to pray for God to replenish their minds, bodies and souls as only He can. I heard the Bookstore had a TON of people checking them out in their new location next to the Café yesterday. You purchased a lot of books pertaining to our current series; way to go, friends! Here are some highlights from Sun's talk: "We can't prove there's a devil. We can't prove that love exists either...." Who is the devil? "Satan who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe..." 2 Corinthians 4:4 nlt A counterfeiter: "...Even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light!" 2 Corinthians 11:14 nlt A tempter: "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil." Matthew 4:1 And when Satan tempted Jesus-HE USED SCRIPTURE! Sobering thought: If Satan can quote Scripture-don't you think we should be able to? Murderer and a liar: "...He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of all lies." John 8:44 nlt Christ followers are PROTECTED in Christ:We're free from any charge against us (Rom 8:31-34)We're hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3)We're born of God & the evil one cannot touch us (1 John 5:18) BIG IDEA:Want to limit the devil's influence in your life? Allow God to increase His influence in your life. Are you following your heart or following God? Ask yourself these questions to lead you to the answer:What do you think most about?Where does your money go?How do you spend your time? "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."James 4:7 nlt I'll have my entire message text on my website shortly http://morgancafe.com If online giving could serve you while you're vacationing this summer check our website http://oakbrookchurch.com/give/ Enjoy your vacation-but be sure to ask Him along in all you do, everyday! This still holds true, even during the summer: "Don't just TALK about it, BE about it!" Peace, -Morgan U Blog: What do think about our current series "Five Lies of the Devil?" What's your reaction to yesterday's talk? >blog home<      Monday Morning Recap 2010-07-06T14:48:40+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_recap_06.28 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_recap_06.28/#When:19:33:59Z Thanks to those of you who've taken us up on our online giving challenge! You can still sign up thru our website http://oakbrookchurch.com/giveIf you have trouble navigating the web, or if signing up for this intimidates you - please contact Karl Stoneking and he'll be glad to walk you through it here at the church or over the phone. 765.455.1100 ext 206. Karl@oakbrookchurch.com In case you missed it yesterday, Lakeside Books is now downstairs next to the Café! Linda McFatridge and Barb Brown (its volunteer leaders) really enjoyed seeing all the people who wandered in to see it. Make sure you check it out - it's an amazing offering in a great new location. Did you like the "old school" prelude yesterday? That was "Chicago Song" by David Sanborn. You probably don't know that in the 1980s Monty Sanders regularly played that song at his Wed. night light jazz gigs at Shenanigans Pub (currently El Arriero). A lot of us older musicians played lots of places before we played at Oakbrook Mark did a great job concluding our "Practical Atheist" series with, "We believe in God...but are still ashamed of our past." Here are some highlights: "Shame usually follows a pattern-a cycle of self-recrimination and lies that claim life after life. First, we experience an intensely painful event. Second, we believe the lie that our pain and failure is who we are-not just something we've done, or had done to us-and we experience shame. And finally, our feelings of shame trap us into thinking that we can never recover-that, in fact, we don't even deserve to." -Craig Groeschel "Christian Atheist" "Don't let your past pain define your present reality." Steps to freedom from our past mistakes: 1. Accept that which cannot be changed.Accept it. If you've made a mistake, let the reality sink enough to break you-get to an honest place of repentance (feel regret). "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin...Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Psalm 51:1-2, 10-12 2. Believe that God can change your future. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."I John 1:9 God can wash away our past mistakes as simply as we could shake the Etch-a-Sketch we played with as children. If we will give our sin to God, as Vance Havner said, "God buries our sin in the depths of the sea and then puts up a ‘No Fishing' sign." Don't miss the next series "Five Lies of the Devil"- it kicks off next Sun. Check out the hilarious promo video on our website www.oakbrookchurch.com Couple questions you could reply to on our blog: Why do you think it's so hard to let go of your past mistakes?Do you have an encouraging story of how you got free from a past mistake?   >blog home<   Monday Morning Recap 2010-06-28T19:33:59+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_06.14 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_06.14/#When:12:17:29Z A few thoughts on a GREAT day... *I'm really enjoying the Practical Atheist series...hope you are as well. *The book The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel is really good. Available at Lakeside Books. Rumor has it Lakeside Books is moving downstairs-stay tuned! Don't forget the bookstore is open on Mondays 10AM-3PM. *Jlee was right-I did get a melody line stuck in my head yesterday...Forever I'm change by mecry...Want to know more about the songs we sang yesterday? Check out Jlee's blog for more information-http://www.clearlychaos.com/ *You ever tried to find happiness this way? Better Possessions + Peaceful Circumstances + Thrilling Experiences + The Right Relationships + The Perfect Appearance = HAPPINESS. Its the American way but it never works (although an iphone4 might help a little). *Try finding happiness Solomon's way-Fear God, and obey his commands. Imagine what would happen to your life if you lived out this formula for happiness. Make Ecclesiastes 12:13 your life goal! Life only works when you follow God's commands. *Thanks to everyone who is joining the Generous Summer Movement! More and more of you are giving online...way to go! Sign up here-https://giving.oakbrookchurch.com/ *Please stay faithful in your summer giving. FYI-we had to transfer $10,000 out of savings to cover Mays expenses. Mays giving fell short of what is needed. This is not something we can afford to do each month! Again, please stay faithful in your giving! *I love the life story of Craig Eddy I showed at the end of my talk. For those of you who own business have you ever thought about doing something like this to reach your employee's? Who knows what God might do. Watch Craig's story here...http://www.highway66.org/ *The Wave of Generosity keeps growing! Thanks to all who made this possible in Haiti. Keep praying for Curtis Stout as he minsters to the next generation in Haiti... *If you have dental or medical experience consider joining Dr. Jeffery Bennett and Dr. Tom Hearn on a dental trip to Haiti this coming Sept. 11-18th, 2010. If you are interested call 455-1100. Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It! Love Doing Church with You Guys, Mark <blog home> Monday Morning Recap 2010-06-14T12:17:29+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_06.07 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_06.07/#When:13:00:44Z A few Monday morning thoughts from another great Sunday at Oakbrook... As I sat and watched our musicians flat out kill the Prelude yesterday...I felt so fortunate to be in a church where gifted and humble servants use their gifts for a higher calling. What about you? How are you using your giftedness to help people find Christ and learn to live like him? The big idea of The Practical Atheist series is really challenging me as I teach through it. We believe in God yet in many ways live as if He doesn't exist. I'm hoping to not only believe in God this week-but live like I do...join me. Two of my favorite quotes from the talk yesterday: 1. Bitterness is like drinking poison and then waiting for the other person to die. 2. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner is you. As a way to reinforce the truth from yesterdays talk spend some time here this week: Ephesians 4:31-32; Hebrews 12:15; Luke 6:28; Matthew 5:43-44. Talked with several people who need to let go and forgive. Praying lots of people will find the freedom and healing that forgiveness brings us. So thankful for people like Ryan and Elizabeth Peacock and hundreds of others who faithfully support the mission of Oakbrook financially! I must say Ryan looked awesome in that Michigan shirt! Join the Generous Summer Movement by giving online! It is convenient, user-friendly and most importantly it will help you stay consistent in your giving even when your not at a weekend service! We need 50 people to go here and get started...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/give/ ...NEW GIVERS WELCOMED! I was really proud of the Oakbrook Band as they performed Friday evening downtown at the Kokomo Arts Pavilion. You represented us well band! Way to go. On a personal note-our family celebrated my grandson Mason's 4th birthday yesterday after church! Hard to believe he is 4 already. I'm so blessed to have this little man in my life... As always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About...Helping People Find Jesus and Live Like Him...this week! Love Doing Church With You Guys, Mark   Monday Morning Recap 2010-06-07T13:00:44+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_05.31 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_05.31/#When:15:04:18Z Happy Memorial Day, friends. Let us all take a moment and remember all the men and women who've served to protect our great nation. My late father served in WWII in Europe in the armored infantry. He was in the thick of it in Germany and surrounding countries. I have a great respect for him and everyone who's worn the uniform. Can you say "dominate?" Dario Franchitti won his 2nd 500 and lead 155 out of 200 laps! Oh, if I could only watch the race on TV in real time instead of after it's over Hey church, way to "get your Bookstore on" yesterday---we sold out of the book Christian Atheist! Our bookstore manager, Linda McFatridge, will have more in next Sun. http://christianatheist.com/ I really enjoyed the new worship song "Forever Changed." Check it out on YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zofKdNmyx8 Message highlights: For a transcript of the talk in pdf: http://morgancafe.homestead.com/practical_atheist_web.pdf Paul talks about "Practical Atheists" in his day (2 Timothy 3:1-5) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%203:1-5&version=MSG Here is the source for the statistics I shared: http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/325-barna-studies-the-research-offers-a-year-in-review-perspective Feeling the sting of conviction is good for us-it has the potential to make us draw us closer to God. (2 Corinthians 7:8-13) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%207:8-13&version=MSG   Monday Morning Recap 2010-05-31T15:04:18+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_05.24 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_05.24/#When:12:22:16Z A few thoughts from yesterday.... *The Staying in Love series by Andy Stanley was some of the best Biblical information I have ever heard regarding lasting relationships...thats why i wanted to share it with you guys. *If you would like to here more of Andy's teaching you can here...www.northpoint.org *What if we really "Believed the Best" in the gap between Expectation and Behavior??? *The short film and song package was awesome! Thanks for all the hard work Creative Arts Team! *Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...Online Giving...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/give/...a great way to stay consistent in giving during the summer months. *How about that Curtis Stout? I love that guy! Thanks for supporting his soccer team in Haiti. All the cleats were purchased in a matter of minutes and several people donated more...WAY TO GO Oakbrook! *Stay in touch with Curtis by email...soccer7@hotmail.com. And you can also follow him on Facebook. *Really excited about the new series that starts this weekend...Practical Atheist. You ever wonder why people who believe in God live as if He doesn't really exist? For example why do people who believe in God, refuse to forgive others? Or why do people who believe in God, worry all the time? Or why do people who believe in God, pursue happiness at all cost? Can't wait to dig into this series! Don't miss a week...if your in town be here! *A lot of you wondered how my daughter Mandy's wedding went...it was beautiful! Thanks for your prayers. As always...D.J.T.A.I.B.A.I! Love Doing Dhurch with You Guys!! Mark >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-05-24T12:22:16+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/haiti_update_curtis_stout http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/haiti_update_curtis_stout/#When:19:18:55Z One of our very own, Curtis Stout, has been in Haiti since Jan. 1 (pre-earthquake) and has committed to being there until the end of September. While we were in Haiti, Brigit and I had the chance to spend 4 days serving alongside of Curtis. He is doing a fantastic job teaching English and he has also launched a soccer program which includes an 18u team that he coaches! Here are some pics of Curtis in action but let me represent the Oakbrook family by saying, "Way to go Curtis. We are so proud of you!" Brigit and I were personal witnesses to the way God is using Curtis to touch these children's lives with the love of Christ and we are convinced that his efforts will have ETERNAL rewards. ps...check out the 'feet' pics. These were taken of the kids that were playing soccer. Curtis would like to see each child that comes to his soccer school provided with some adequate footwear so we have decided to partner with him on this project. Don't miss this great opportunity to be a part of something special. Details to come this weekend!     Haiti 2010-05-20T19:18:55+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/the_monday_recap http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/the_monday_recap/#When:16:07:24Z Wow-what a powerful talk by Andy Stanley! And what a great illustration with "Mr. & Mrs. Mug." If you missed this talk, you can download it for a measly "buck" from Northpoint's website: CLICK HERE The Malin's attended their daughter Mandy's marriage to now son-in-law, Ben Snider. Please keep them in your prayers for safe travels back to Kokomo and for Mandy and Ben's new marriage. Global Leadership Summit: Tues midnight is the last chance for the super low price of $95. Get more info and purchase your ticket thru our website HERE. Thanks to all who rolled their sleeves to give blood Sun. morning to help the Red Cross. Here are some quotes from Andy Stanley's talk: We all have stuff that's "in there." That's why stuff comes out. Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Your ability to feel certain things is determined by the condition of your heart. Your ability to stay in love has as much to with the condition of your heart-as it does with your spouse. What's in you will eventually come out of you, regardless of who's with you. A lot of info Andy mentioned is further explained in his series "It Came from Within."DVD |  BOOK Andy's talked hinged on this process: 1. Stop and think about what you're feeling before you speak. 2. Name your emotion.(i.e. anger, left out, embarrassed, unappreciated, ugly, unlovable, failure, old, stupid, lonely, abandoned, scared, out of control, betrayed, picked-on, jealous, disrespected.) 3. Then say it out loud-to yourself at first, then later to your partner. "I feel _____________." "Mrs. Mug, when you say/do ___________, I feel _____________." Response: "I'm so glad you told me." (then be quiet) Much of what we feel is stuff we brought to the relationship. Healthy people stop doing the things that elicit negative reactions in others. To stay in love: pay attention to your heart. God, help me overcome the things inside me. This talk made me think of a lot of the baggage I brought to my marriage. Some of it I've overcome, some I haven't. It made me also think about how my actions today are contributing to my kids' future relational health or future "baggage." What did this talk bring to your mind?   Monday Morning Recap 2010-05-17T16:07:24+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/haiti_update_spring_2010 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/haiti_update_spring_2010/#When:14:17:31Z Haiti Update Spring 2010 How do you put into words the state of the poorest country in the Western hemisphere after a devastating earthquake? You don't. And I'm not going to try. But amazingly, the people of Haiti continue to press on despite the chaos that they find themselves embalmed in every day. Unfortunately, due to the post-earthquake realities facing Haiti, Oakbrook's team trip to Haiti was canceled but God left the door open for Brigit and I to still go. The purpose of our trip was two-fold: to continue building bridges 'on the ground' with Double Harvest and Heart to Heart, the missions we have been led to partner with and to also treat any orthopedic injuries needing some attention (for those of you that didn't know, I am also a physical therapist). The first 2 days of our trip were spent at Heart to Heart, an orphanage that was hit hard by the earthquake. This was actually the first time anyone from our church had been to H2H, so it was important for us to see this incredible place function in 'real' time and to witness the destruction brought on by the earthquake. As I write this, all 114 orphans continue to live in tents along with their provider Pastor Luc. Because their kitchen and dining hall collapsed, they eat, cook, and clean under a few trees. There is also a school at H2H that serves 400+ students but it was all but destroyed in the earthquake as well. Despite the devastation, the children seem happy and H2H is well under way to starting all over again. In fact, a team arrived while we were there to begin the construction of a temporary shelter to eat and cook in. Temporary housing has also been built for serving teams to stay in. The other main piece of H2H is their church, a beautiful building that suffered a lot of damage. For now, this local community church has relocated under the cover of many tarps but this has not squashed their faith as many people are finding Christ. So what is our role with Heart to Heart in the days ahead? That is yet to be seen, but here is something to consider: each child needs 4 sponsors to provide for their care. Heart to Heart is still about 100 sponsorships short of meeting this need which costs about $35/month. What if our church took care of this need? I know we can and I assure you that this is an organization we can trust and is committed to the spiritual, physical, and emotional development of these children. These are amazing kids that have been dealt the worst of circumstances. Call the church or email me (jason@oakbrookchurch.com) if you want to become a sponsor or would like some additional information. Part two of our trip took us back to Double Harvest, the mission that all of our teams have served at in the past. Double Harvest is an agricultural mission foremost but their other focuses include a medical clinic, a school, and a church. Fortunately, DH was not impacted greatly from an earthquake standpoint so it became a major orthopedic hospital for the months that followed the disaster. Things have finally slowed down and some normalcy is returning so it was good to meet with Arthur Spalding (missionary) and to dream about the future. He informed Brigit and I that the church has just exploded over the past several months. The explosion started after our church sent a team down in November to help them with a crusade and then the earthquake lit a fire of spiritual renewal in the hearts of the Haitian people. Arthur said the church has grown so much that they are no longer meeting in their building and they have also outgrown an outdoor shelter they have been using. He said they are praying for the resource and ability to build a new church so they can meet the demands of the ministry. How exciting is that!! Pray about our ability to partner with this sister church in Haiti as they seek to share the message of Jesus in their community. I was also provided with a list at Double Harvest containing the names of nearly 20 patients within walking distance that had been seen at the clinic for various orthopedic injuries after the earthquake. Our mission was to go and find these people and to see how they were doing. What an adventure! Each day we would walk to 2-3 villages and find the people on the list. With the assistance of a translator, I was able to assess and schedule future follow-up for those that needed it. In one case, we came across a 13 year old boy who still had a fixator in his leg. This should have been removed a long time ago and its a miracle no infection had set in. This little guy also had a badly broken arm that needed surgery. I could tell you many many stories but I will leave you with some pictures. Brigit and I are so thankful for those of you that prayed for us! Going into remote villages all by ourselves was quite intimidating and not without many risks so your prayers for our safety were answered. Our goal at Oakbrook will be to continue to take at least 3 teams/year to Haiti in the days ahead as God leads. There is so much need but ultimately they need Jesus. We are sending a team in July and later this fall. Some of the trips are open and some are closed but if you would like to consider going please let me or Gretchen Lee know! I will let these pics tell the rest of the story but don't forget to consider sponsoring an orphan....I would love for Oakbrook to answer the call and get all of these kids taken care of. Don't Just Talk About It, Be About It! Jason Braun Post Earth Quake Port-Au-Prince: Heart to Heart Mission: Directors of Heart to Heart: Physical therapy near Double Harvest: Arthur and Becky Spalding (Missionaries at Double Harvest) >blog home<  Haiti 2010-05-13T14:17:31+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_05.10 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_05.10/#When:16:46:58Z A few thoughts on an awesome Mothers Day! Hope all the Moms had a great day yesterday! If you want to see a living example of Phil. 2:3-8 just look at a mom. Thanks for all you do Mom's. Falling in love requires a pulse...Staying in Love requires a plan. Phil. 2:3-8 is the plan. The truth in this passage is powerful..."in humility value others above yourself"..."not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interest of others." Imagine how these two principles will change your relationships when you act on them! Make love a verb this week. Even if he/she doesn't respond back...you lead-start loving like Christ loves you. This Sunday's talk from Andy Stanley is powerful!! Get there and bring someone with you! A simple invite could change someones life. Some upcoming activities that matter...Red Cross Blood Drive this Sunday. Give blood and save a life. The Global Leadership Summit 2010...sign up by May 18 at a much lower rate-$95. More info. here...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/leadershipsummit_2010 Take a look at this and then take a next step this week...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/our_mission_vision/ Believe it or not summer is coming! Time for me to challenge you guys to keep your giving to the mission of Oakbrook consistent throughout the summer. We are now offering online giving to help. We tell you more about it this Sunday. Well, time for me to get to moving. Got to work the 2-10 shift at Taco Bell today As Always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It! Love Doing Church With You Guys! Mark   2010-05-10T16:46:58+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_05.03 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_05.03/#When:12:20:25Z Great Day at Oakbrook! Here are a few thoughts. Thanks for taking to the time to read them... I absolutely loved the "ultimate love song" medley at the start of the service! 12 songs from the past 30 years done in 7 minutes! So fun! Big thanks to the team for all the hard work!! Sorry that so many of you did not get a handout at the end of the service. We printed 700 and ran out! Here's how you can get one...go to...http://tinyurl.com/28sode7...scrolled down and click "download pdf". Again sorry! What did you think of Andy Stanley's talk? Not bad huh? He is one of my favorite communicators. Remember...Make...Love...a...Verb. How? Mutual Submission-putting the other person first. This simple Biblical principle is how you Stay in Love. Thanks to all of you for being open to video teaching every once in a while. In my humble opinion video teaching is just as effective as live teaching once you get used to it. Don't forget to use the discussion questions posted at our website. Set some time aside and use these questions to go deeper with your spouse, friends and small group. Kidstuf was flat out awesome yesterday! The value of the month is patience and they taught it to parents and kids in such a creative way! So proud of our family ministry team at Oakbrook. This Friday we host the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast at Oakbrook. I can't wait to learn from some of the greatest leaders out there! Hope to see you there. Here's some more info...http://tinyurl.com/2dm7c35 All books on marriage and mothers are 15% off right now at Lakeside Books. Stop by and pick up a book-it could change your life. This Sunday will be awesome-Mothers Day-Baby Dedication and Pt. 2 of Staying in Love. Can't wait!! As always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It! Love Doing Church With You Guys! Mark   <blog home> Monday Morning Recap 2010-05-03T12:20:25+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_04.26 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_04.26/#When:17:47:06Z Watching people walk into the auditorium yesterday carrying grocery sack after grocery sack full of food is something I will never forget! What a great day of generosity at Oakbrook! Big thanks to Lee Southwell and a group of people who helped coordinate the Food Drive 2010-great job Lee and team! The truck was full and I heard when the Kokomo Urban Outreach team saw the truck door open their mouths hit the floor! They were blown away by the generosity of Oakbrook. How fun is that? Lee told me that Jeff Newton the Director of KUO said about 20 times (no exaggeration), "I can't believe this, this is amazing! You don't know how much we need this. * A Oakbrook high school girl spent over $100 of her own money to purchase food for the needy. I think she brought in 8 bags of groceries!! Amazing. So once again-Way To Go Everybody! Food Drive 2010 was such a wonderful example of the power of Corporate Compassion. Now lets keep it going each week with some serious Organic Compassion-Ephesians 2:10! Mow a yard, give someone a Book/Bible, write an encouraging note, give to a local food pantry, take a elderly person grocery shopping, bring a co-worker some Starbucks, prepare a meal, mentor a child, babysit for a young couple, volunteer at Oakbrook...you get the idea. Lets compassionately lead people to Christ! Everyday live in the zone of the "good works that God has prepared in advance" for you to do! Want to change and grow? Who doesn't? Then get yourself to the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast on May 7th at Oakbrook. This will be an incredible day of learning and growing. More information HERE. I'm asking every Oakbrook Small Group Leader, every Oakbrook Volunteer to attend the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast if possible. John Maxwell says, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." This is so true-Oakbrook will get stronger and more effective when we as leader get stronger and more effective. So please do whatever you can to be here for this great day of learning! New Series starts this weekend called Staying in Love. We all know what it takes to fall in love-a pulse! Falling in love is easy but staying in love for the long haul? Thats something else entirely. Is it possible to fall in love and stay there? Absolutely and for the next 4 weeks we are going to learn how. Staying in Love is an awesome opportunity to invite your friends to come with you and learn. Know anybody that is considering getting married, know anybody that is married but there marriage needs improvement, know anybody with a marriage in trouble? Please, please invite them. This series has the potential to protect and save relationships! As Always...Don't Just Talk About It...say it with me...Be ____ __! Love Doing Church with You Guys! Mark >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-04-26T17:47:06+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_04.19 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_04.19/#When:11:44:21Z A few thoughts on a GREAT day... Ronda and I had so much fun meeting everybody at Coffee Talk after the service. So many new faces! Thanks to all of you who waited in line so that we could meet you. God is drawing so many great people to our church! Big thanks to our music and tech crew for putting in a very full days work yesterday! Many of them started very early in the morning and then came back to produce the Worship and Prayer service last night. Job well done everybody and thanks for serving us so well. Thanks to all of you who are inviting your friends to Oakbrook each week. Almost everyone we met yesterday at Coffee Talk was invited by a friend or family member. 25% of people who don't go to church say they would come if someone invited them! I loved the challenge of James 2:14-18! We are not what we say, we are what we do. Faith without action is dead. Hows your faith? Is it real, is it authentic? Can you back it up with a life of deeds and good works which God has prepared in advance for you to do? I can't wait to hear the stories that God will write as we all begin to live a life of Organic Compassion. Open your eyes this week and look for opportunities that God will put in front of you to serve and love people. Then when you see that opportunity...do it! I heard about a small group that is giving $400 a month for the next 6 months to a person who has some challenging health needs and can't afford the cost of medical bills. Now that some serious Organic Compassion! God is smiling. Don't forget to pray for Jason and Brigit Braun and Curtis Stout as they serve in Haiti this week. There is a great learning opportunity coming to Oakbrook on May 7th. The Chick-Fil-A Leadercast. This is a one day leadership event that we have the privilege of hosting in our main auditorium. Check it out here for more info. http://www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/ * Got to pray last night at the Worship and Prayer service for a group of people who are starting a church in Logansport, IN this coming fall. The church is Revolution Community Church-I love that name! Anthony and Shawna Cozzello are leading a great group of people in this great adventure. Join me in praying for this Revolution! One more thing...don't forget to bring your grocery bag full of food as we help re-stock local food pantries in Kokomo. With unemployment near 15% there are lots and lots of people in need. We are blessed by God to be a blessing so get to the stores this week, fill up those bags and then bring them next Sunday and place them on the stage. As always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It...(Thats what James 2 is all about). Love Doing Church With You Guys, Mark >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-04-19T11:44:21+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap/#When:15:21:05Z I just have to say that yesterday was one of my favorite sunday morning experiences in a long time.  (not counting Christmas or Easter... of course)   I mean, how could you not love time spent in worship, the Oakbrook Quiz Show with Morgan Young, and my son Nicholas telling us the story of Jonah through the eyes of a 3 year old?  It still amazes me that I get to do this every week.   I was so proud of our OSM students & leaders this past weekend who went on our trip to Chicago.  They impacted a lot of people and I know that what they did will continue to impact many more that they will never even meet.  WAY TO GO! I love whenever we talk about compassion (showing God's love to people).  I feel like the church is at its best when we are showing compassion to the world.  Let's learn a lesson from Jonah and let compassion flow out of our hearts instead of waiting for it to be pried out of us.  I hope that we take the challenge I set before us this week.  fill those bags for the food drive and bring them back in two weeks, and do something out of love and kindness for your neighbors this week.  Let's be more like Jesus than ever in the next 7 days!   We're ALIVE & RUNNING TO THE WORLD!   >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-04-12T15:21:05+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_04.05 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_04.05/#When:12:03:48Z It's Monday morning and I am still stoked about the Easter experience yesterday at Oakbrook! Big, big thanks to all the volunteers and staff teams for pulling off another amazing Easter experience. Way to go everybody! Yesterday was Oakbrook's 24th Easter experience. I have to be honest. Each year I get a bit nervous wondering if we will be able to create another Easter experience that will be moving and fresh and most importantly pleasing to God. But by God's grace our team did it again yesterday! After 24 years of awesome experiences...I need to relax I loved the theme that our team came up with for Easter-ALIVE! Hoping and praying that more and more Oakbrook attenders will chose to live this way. Life is way to short to live any other way. So, I ask you again-are you ALIVE...what are the "good works" God has your name on? Did the stage set, lights, video, graphics look "sick" or what!? (bty-sick is a term I hear my younger friends use...it means cool/awesome. My generation said "bad" which really meant "good"). Anyway, a huge shout out to those who work so hard making the set look "sick." Your efforts greatly enhanced the worship experience! I love it when our team goes the extra mile in details to take an experience over the top. Like painting the stage to match the ALIVE graphic (did you notice?) This kind of effort takes a lot of time and hard work but I believe it honors God and reflects his love for excellence. I absolutely loved hearing the ALIVE stories at the end of the service! Hearing stories of life change never gets old! And you guys...there are thousands more stories to be told in Kokomo! This is what Oakbrook is all about...Helping People Find Jesus and Live Like Him! Big thanks to all of you who brought friends and family with you. Don't let Christmas be the next time you invite them back. Do it this week! A lot of the music used for both Good Friday and Easter can be found on a newly released CD from Passion-Awakening. I picked up a copy of it last week at Lakeside Books and it is one of the best CD's I have listened to in a long time. You need to get a copy of this one you guys!! Available at Lakeside Books. Can't wait to start the next series this Sunday-ALIVE and RUNNING! Get ready to be challenged to live like Jesus more than you ever have before! You up for it?? One more thing......Go Butler Bulldogs!! Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It! Love doing church with you guys! Mark   >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-04-05T12:03:48+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_03.29 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_03.29/#When:13:01:42Z If you were in the auditorium yesterday and didn't walk out feeling uplifted and moved, you should check your pulse After Aubri's song "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" (listen on youtube) my voice shaky; I was caught off guard by the power, truth and imagery of Christ on the Cross. I used to try to suppress such emotion-but now I simply let it out hoping people will sense the Spirit that is provoking me. Then later, as I was talking us into taking the bread and cup, I caught my friend, Al, out of the corner of my eye. He was bowed and had my communion in his hand. That really hit me hard. I know he's been going through some tough soul-shaking things in his life. The kind of things where people sometimes turn away from God. So to see him there in the posture of servanthood-serving me communion-I just couldn't let him get away. I think we could both sense God in that tight meaningful hug. Sometimes it's good to be there for one another-even if it is on stage during communion. And I love to see my friend Mike smiling while playing his guitar. It has special meaning to me now-since doctors clearly said over a year ago, that he would in no uncertain terms, being playing rockin' guitar in church on Palm Sunday 2010. It's good for my soul to see evidence of answered prayers when those kind of prayers don't always get answered the way I'd like. Way to go, Mike. Way to go, God. After the dust settled from Joel, Dave and the world's most dangerous church band leading us through worship---I couldn't think of a better way to jump start me into Easter week. A strong sense of the Holy Spirit is the pinnacle of things I hope for-and I felt Him strongly Sun. How about you? See you Friday @ 7pm for Good Friday and then Sun at 9 or 11am. Thanks for listening and engaging Sunday. -Morgan   >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-03-29T13:01:42+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/easter_2010_alive_-behind_the_scenes http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/easter_2010_alive_-behind_the_scenes/#When:13:52:21Z Easter is coming!!!!  Can you believe it's only a week a day from Good Friday?  Crazy.  All of us in the creative arts & programming world are SOOO excited for how the Easter Experience is shaping up!  You're not gonna want to miss it!  There's so much that goes into these big productions... and so much fun stuff we're getting ready for Easter weekend... check out some behind the scenes pics:We're gonna be doing some painting: Somebody generously DONATED money for us to purchase some AWESOME new lights for the stage!!! They're gonna look so sweet...We're painting some more stuff... and we're building something crazy... you won't believe it till you see it. So please pray for all the teams of people pulling together to make this experience unforgettable!!!OH... and don't miss this EASTER... it's gonna be awesome!Jason  (a.k.a "jlee") >blog home< Weekend Experiences 2010-03-25T13:52:21+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_03.22 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_03.22/#When:17:15:03Z My thoughts from a truly amazing day at Oakbrook... *Wow...in all the years I have been in ministry (25+) yesterday was one of the most powerful services I have ever been a part of! *There is something about the Ritual of Baptism. Nothing captures the life changing power of the gospel quite like Baptism. *Congratulations to everyone who walk into the waters yesterday and publicly proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Leader of their life! So proud of you guys!! *Way to go everyone who decided to get Baptized during the service yesterday! That took some courage and again I am so proud of those who stepped out and responding to God!! *When we were almost done baptizing people a girl whose Dad and sister got baptized earlier in the service decided right then that she wanted to be baptized. So she ran out to change her clothes as we waited for her. I will never forget watching her hurry down front to the stage! I'm telling you I would have waited all day for her!! Only God. *I am so thankful to serve at a church that God is using to draw people to himself. That never gets old! *And isn't it such a powerful experience to worship God while people are being Baptized? To sing about our great God while we seeing people going public is so powerful. *Many have asked about the new song we learned yesterday called Our God. It is a song written and performed by Chris Tomlin. You can find it on a new recording by Passion called Awakening. You can get it at itunes or at Lakeside Books. The whole album is awesome. *This Sunday is our final week in the Ritual series. The last Ritual we are unpacking is the Ritual of Communion. Be praying this week for Morgan Young as he prepares this final talk on Communion. Should be a great way to end this series. *Good Friday and Easter are only 2 weeks away! The Good Friday service is at 7PM and then Easter services on Sunday at 9 & 11AM. Please be praying that God will use these services to draw more people to himself. And if you are coming don't come alone. Grab some invite cards and get them in the hands of your friends and family. You will be so glad you did. Who knows maybe someday you will be walking into the waters of baptism with them!! As always....Don't Just Talk About It-Be About It! Love doing church with you guys, Mark >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-03-22T17:15:03+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_03.15 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_03.15/#When:13:08:03Z Some thoughts from another amazing day at Oakbrook... Way to go everyone who turned your clocks forward and made it yesterday! DST has been going on for a few years in Indiana but I got to admit it takes a few days to make the adjustment. Big thanks to the Cafe' Team for the free coffee yesterday! If you didn't see it check out the new wall clock in the cafe'. Very cool. Big thanks to Sandra Young and Robyn Whaley for hooking us up...looks great! Loved the prelude! I have been a Journey fan for a long time. Macey Rice and the band killed it!! Hope you heard the message of the song...Don't Stop Believing! I heard Kidstuf was fantastic yesterday. I didn't know Monty Sanders could act?? Is there anything he can't do? If you have never experienced Kidstuf you should-it is such a great environment! Pray for the Kidstuf team as they take it to Western Schools this week! Today starts the 28 Day Challenge I laid down yesterday. Read your Bible for 28 days straight and you will establish a new habit of reading Gods word each day. I'm praying hundreds of you will take the challenge. It will only take 5-15 minutes a day and yet it will transform your life! You can do it. Good Friday and Easter services are just around the corner! Please join me in praying that God will use these service to draw more and more people to Himself. It will be a full weekend of worship. Good Friday 7pm. Easter 9 and 11PM. Don't forget Classes this Wednesday. If you are a fan of Francis Chan the Leadership class is watching a video of Francis. It is not to late to join any of the Classes. For those of you who brought a tithe yesterday...way to go! Now keep it up. You are blessed to be a blessing. Ritual of Meditation. 101-Bible Reading...201-Meditation...301-Obedience. Hoping and praying that Oakbrook will become a church full of "self-feeders." Don't forget to feed yourself some of God's word each day! * This Sunday we will be celebrating Baptism!! It is not to late to sign up...www.oakbrookchurch.com. Don't Just Talk About It, Be About It! Love Doing Church With You Guys, Mark   >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-03-15T13:08:03+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_03.08 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_03.08/#When:07:00:01Z Some of my thoughts from yesterday... Thanks to all who came yesterday in spite of the nice weather! A Pastor I follow on twitter told his congregation if they didn't come to church Sunday God was going to send the 6 more months of winter!! Loving the warmer temps! Spring is coming. Theres always a nice spirit in the air when the sun is shinning after a long gray winter. Parents don't forget Kidstuf will be happening in the warehouse next Sunday after the morning service. And please pray for the Kidstuf team this Friday as they take the show on the road to Kokomo Center Schools! * Give...Save...Live on the Rest. This is God's way. I really enjoyed talking on tithing yesterday. I'm praying and dreaming that more and more of you will begin practicing this Ritual each week. Tithing is so much more than an obligation it is an opportunity to receive God's blessing in your life! This week spend some time in Luke 12 and Malachi 3. Let the truth of these passages change your life. Are you a giver? Are you generous? Take a look at your checkbook and you will find the answer. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." How we spend our money reveals our priorities. I have taught a lot on tithing over the years and the people who don't like it are the ones who...are you ready...have never done it! Those who do it love it because it works and it feels so good to be generous. Tithing = Trusting. Do you believe God can do more with 90% than you can do with 100% of your income? I challenge you again...bring a tithe with you to church next Sunday. Remember-God doesn't need your money he wants you to trust him and he wants to bless you! This Wednesday the Classes@oakbrook on Financial Wisdom is about leaning how to manage the "live on the rest" portion of your income. Please come...even if you didn't make it last week you can still comes. Remember my story...it all started to change for me and Ronda once we got educated.I got to pray after the service with people who are facing some serious challenges because of the recession. Please join me in praying for people who are out of work and struggling to make ends meet. * Thanks to everyone who has been responding to this blog. I love reading your comments...so encouraging! Keep them coming. As always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It! Love doing church with you guys, MarkYour Friend >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-03-08T07:00:01+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/classes_tonight http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/classes_tonight/#When:13:02:51Z Hey everybody... Just want to give one last shout out for the Classes@Oakbrook that start tonight at the church...6:30PM. We are offering 3 great learning and growing experiences. 4 Gospels in 4 Weeks. This classes will give you a clear picture of what Jesus is all about. Leadership Master Class for Emergent Leaders. Learn about Biblical leadership from some of the best-Mark Batterson, Francis Chan etc. Developing Financial Wisdom. Come and learn how to view your cash from a Biblical perspective. I really want to encourage younger newly married couples or those who will soon be married to get in this class. This information will help you navigate one of the biggest challenges in marriage...money management. Knowledge will transform your life! Learn something new this year!! You can register online at...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/events/page/classes/ Hope to see you tonight! Mark >blog home< 2010-03-03T13:02:51+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_03.01 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_03.01/#When:13:05:02Z My thoughts from another great day at Oakbrook... Another great job by our music team during The Prelude! This "You Pick The Prelude" run has been a lot of fun. How did they get Sean Verlee's voice to sync with Bono's...very cool. Classes@Oakbrook begin this week! 3 great classes are offered and there is still time to sign up. Just go to this link to get signed up...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/events/page/classes Baptism March 21!! If you have never been baptized you should prayerfully consider joining us for our next Baptism service. You can get all the information you need on our website to help you make your decision...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/baptism_2010. I loved giving the talk yesterday about Altars. This is truly a forgotten Ritual in todays church and we need to bring it back because...Altars help us remember what we should never forget. And they help us mark significant spiritual moments in our lives. Here are the 4 Altars I talked about: Decision Altars, Dream Altars, Thanksgiving Altars, Epiphany Altars. Spend some time this week building your own Altars around these ideas. Mark these significant spiritual moments in your journey with physical altars. Then go to them often to worship and remember who God is and what he has done for you! I had a great time last night in Logansport with the core group of a new church plant-Revolution Church. What an awesome group of people! Pray for Anthony Cozzello the Lead Pastor and his wife Shawna as they begin this great adventure. These guys are true Lion Chasers! Very proud of them. How fun was it to sing Happy Birthday to my 90 year old friend Florence during the service? So thankful we have multiple generations attending Oakbrook! If you think about it this week please pray for some friends at Oakbrook. Jessica Fennell-she recently had a heart valved replaced and is now home recovering. Dan Toor-had a lung biopsy last week and is waiting for the diagnose later this week. Please keep these people and their families in your prayers. Also, don't forget to keep praying for Curtis Stout and Bruce Donaldson as they serve God in Haiti. God is using them in great ways! * Don't forget a blog is 2-way communication. Send me you comments and thoughts! Say it with me friends...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It! Have a great week! Love doing church with you guys, Mark   >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-03-01T13:05:02+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_02.22 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_02.22/#When:14:14:54Z   My thoughts from yesterday… I certainly hope you were able to arrive early enough yesterday to hear the two prelude songs.  Aubri and Macey were amazing as well as the entire band.  I don’t know what I enjoyed more…The songs or the fun I could see our band having as they played those songs from the past.  God has certainly blessed us with great musical talent. How was the rest of your Sabbath yesterday?  I really tried to take some of my own advice…Went home and had a fire in the fireplace, put on some worship music, played two games of Scrabble with my wife (won one lost one)…And then my lovely wife made us one of those “Sunday kind of dinners” you always dream about…Meatloaf, mash potatoes, green beans, rolls, and brownies for desert.  Our daughter came over and joined us for this wonderful meal and then we sat and talked a little while watching a funny movie.  How refreshing to be reminded that the Sabbath is not about “rule keeping”.  The heart of the Sabbath is about two things…Loving God and loving others.  In the midst of doing those two things, we need to rest, remember, reflect and have some recreation.  Sabbath days, like other spiritual disciplines, just won’t happen though.  You need to plan for them. Work on getting things done like house cleaning, grocery shopping, and other errands during the week so that you can enjoy God more on the Sabbath.  Be intentional. Ask yourself those four questions I gave you at the end of the message… What turns my affection toward Jesus? What gets my heart excited about my relationship with Jesus? What brings glory to God? What do I enjoy? Your best Sabbaths will be at the intersection of those four things. Give yourself some time.  Be flexible as you go into this.  Remember to focus on progress and not perfection.  You do no have to be an “Olympic Sabbath Keeper”.  Hey, speaking of the Olympics…How about the USA hockey team defeating Canada?!?!?  (sorry Jason Braun, couldn’t resist) Okay, I would now love to hear some of your comments or thoughts from yesterday.  I had an e-mail this morning from a person telling me how they spent the day by watching a movie with friends, a short nap, nice dinner and conversation with friends.  What about you?  Plan to make any changes after yesterday?     Don’t forget “Classes@Oakbrook” starting March 3rd.  You can sign up on-line.   As always…Just don’t talk about it, be about it.            Karl >blog home<   Monday Morning Recap 2010-02-22T14:14:54+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_02.08 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_02.08/#When:13:06:41Z Some thoughts from yesterday... Still surprised this morning by the Colts loss. I really expected them to win. Watched a lot of interviews after the game and was impressed with the classy way the Colts handled the loss. Time to get excited for the draft! Did you hear we get to pick the Preludes coming up in the next series. All middle age women are only allowed to vote once for Bon Jovi! And he is not coming here to sing the song so you won't get to look at him-so vote for Journey! I'm very excited for the new series beginning this weekend "Ritual." We will be diving into stuff like...altars...confession...tithing...sabbath. Should be a blast! Invite a friend!! Talked about some interesting ways to become more generous yesterday. "Giving goals"..."Income ceilings"...imagine what God could do with His resources if we start putting more and more of it into play for His cause! Don't ever forget...we are blessed to bless. Jesus said it..."we are far happier giving than getting." Scarcity Mentality (the more I give, the less I have) vs. Abundance Mentality (the more you give, the more you have)...which do you really live by? What if we really did set income ceilings and giving goals??? My life changed the day I began serving God...seriously. I have never been the same! If your still "spectating" go here... http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/volunteer/...and get in the game of changing the world one life at a time! Spend some time this week here... (CLICK ME!) Did you know blogs are meant to be interactive? Like I write stuff and you comment back. It's lonely when no one ever writes back...first person to comment on this post gets a free drink at Lakeside Cafe' next Sunday on me! * Men-don't forget the great opportunity you have to join a mens group and dig into Tony Dungy's latest book Uncommon. Go for it! Well, time to do a little "table" time this morning. I'm reading a great book "Primal" by Mark Batterson. Want to change your life this week? Read something. As always...Don't Just Talk about It, Let's Be About It. Love doing church with you guys,Mark   Monday Morning Recap 2010-02-08T13:06:41+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_02.01 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_02.01/#When:15:02:29Z Another great day at Oakbrook! Some of my thoughts…How cool was it to see all the kids and leaders in UpStreet walking around in their PJ’s yesterday? Yesterday was UpStreet’s annual Pajama Party…lots of fun! I wonder what first-time visitors thought seeing kids walking around in PJ’s Several adults ask me if we could have an adult Pajama Party on a Sunday…uh…no…but if you join the Upstreet team you can!I’m so thankful for Jeremy and Mandy Carter…modern day Lion Chasers! Their influence at Oakbrook is profound and legendary. They will be greatly missed. But I’m so excited to see what God has in store for them next! Please join me as we pray them into God’s next assignment for their lives.Seriously you guys…is there a more important, God honoring, Biblical, significant mission than Oakbrook’s? Helping people find Jesus and live like him. Our mission matters! It is worth the investment of your one and only life. Remember we can only accomplish our mission if you live it out in your life.Jason Braun told me there was a line of people at Discover Oakbrook after the service! Love it when new people come!!!! Way to go all you influencers who are inviting your friends to join you on Sunday!Do you have a buddy…a friend…a partner that you are pursuing Christ with? Yesterday I said we want everyone who calls Oakbrook their church to be in a 1 on 1 disciplining relationship. I’m serious about this…we must make this happen! So get hooked up with someone you come to Oakbrook with or someone in your small group or join a small group and find a friend. Remember…spiritual growth happens best in the context of loving relationships.Pray for these people this week: Jessica Stout-she is having open-heart surgery Wednesday to replace a heart value. Steve Granger and his family (Angie and Andy Jansen)-Wanda Granger (Steve’s wife and Angie’s mom) passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. I did her funeral yesterday afternoon-she was a great lady who will be missed. Keep praying for Curtis Stout and Bruce Donaldson as they serve God in Haiti.Big thanks to Joel Larison, Cameron and Karissa Sprinkle and the whole team who led us into God’s presence at the Worship and Prayer Service last night. Two words describe the night-intimate and powerful. I had another one of those worship experiences where I pour my heart out to God in worship and adoration and He fills my heart back up with joy!I can’t wait to share Pt. 2 of our Mission next Sunday! Be there and bring someone with you. I will be sharing some fresh learning’s I have had recently about generosity and serving.One more thing…Bridges Outreach needs 200 more mentors to influence kids in our local schools. Give them a call and make a difference in a kid’s life…765-452-5723.As always…Don’t Just Jabber About It…take some action this week and…Be About It!Love Doing Church With You Guys,Mark Monday Morning Recap 2010-02-01T15:02:29+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/advent_conspiracy_the_aftermath http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/advent_conspiracy_the_aftermath/#When:18:52:55Z   Our church participated in the Advent Conspiracy (watch this video if you have never seen it!) this year.  We collected a year end offering to support global & local compassion efforts and encouraged our small groups to also come up with creative ways to serve others during the Christmas season.  I am always so proud of our church in times like this.  Despite the fact that we live in one of the most economically depressed cities in the United States (~20% unemployment), our people continue to grow in the area of generosity because of their love for Jesus and others.  Here is just a snapshot of some great stories that came out of Oakbrook’s 2009 Advent Conspiracy from Small Groups all over the church: -Offering exceeding $25000 to go towards global (Haiti) & local missions! -”Our group assisted 2 families: One family has not had a full-time job for 3 years and another family who has sent their teenage son to work to help pay the bills.  We paid up the teenage son’s lunch account for the remainder of the year.” -”Our group gave a $275 gift certificate to a family who lost their job and health insurance.” -”Our group served meals at a local mission.  It impacted us greatly and we are planning to go back and serve every few months.” -”Our group wrapped gifts for the Rescue Mission and then helped deliver the gifts during Christmas week.” -”Our group bought presents, grocery gift cards, paper goods, and toiletries for 2 families.  We are also serving every other month by serving meals at Kokomo Urban Outreach the second Sunday of each month.” -”Our group helped a family who had lost their dad in an accident earlier in the year.  We were able to provide some clothing, shoes, toys, and gift cards so they could have a somewhat ‘normal’ Christmas.” -”Our group collected $600 to sponsor the needs of someone we know who was going to Haiti.  We also committed to contributing a minimum of $100/month toward his expenses for as long as he is there. We also provided gifts for ‘Angel Outreach’, bought diapers & wipes for Healthy Families, wrapped gifts for the Rescue Mission, rang bells for the Salvation army, supported a group member’s trip to Haiti right before Christmas, and made dinner for a group member whose mother passed away.” “Our group helped 2 families by buying presents for their children.  We gave another family $75 for groceries.  We also paid for the repair of a windshield for a girl who could not afford this repair.  Finally, we visited a retirement home and sang Christmas carols and gave gifts to the residents.” -I had one group hand me a backpack full of cash ($300) to be given towards a local backpack program that provides food to needy students every weekend. -”Our group gave about $200 to buy gifts for some children that had just lost their father unexpectedly and because of finances would not be receiving any gifts this year.” -6 groups in our Young Married Community and many others in our church joined together to provide Christmas to about 75 ’angels’ at The Community Youth Outreach Center.  Every child received a gift (for many this would be their only gift!) and a whole lot of pizza to fill their bellies!  These 6 groups also spent a night before Thanksgiving sorting over 800 pairs of socks that would be delivered to needy families by Kokomo Urban Outreach. Does it get any better than this?  Don’t just talk about it, be about it!>blog home<    Groups 2010-01-27T18:52:55+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_01.25 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_01.25/#When:13:58:49Z How fun was it to see the Colts roll over the Jets in the second half and win by 13-scoring 24 unanswered points?! Last week we kept the Ravens to 3 and yesterday we win by 13. Bring on the Saints! It was great to have my friend, Sean Verlee, leading us in worship yesterday. Ok, due to un-popular demand-- first my opening joke explanation: What did the transcendentalist say to the hot dog vender? I'll have "one with everything." The goal of a transcendentalist is to be "one (or in harmony with) everything. Once again a joke explained ceases to be one The primary verse for yesterday's "You Can't Control the Future" talk was: "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:34 nlt (a.k.a.  Bobby McFerrin Creed...) Read the verse in context: Matthew 6:25-34. That passage and the big idea of the talk in one sentence:The path to the future is finding God and following Him today. Every book, movie, The Bible and our life has conflict. How we navigate the hard middle of life (conflict) will dictate our future. When we get to our future we will find the results of our decisions today. We never catapult into the future-we never instantaneously time-travel to the future---we walk there--one day, one decision at a time. God allows conflict. And Conflict is good for us."We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." Romans 5:3-4 nlt Here's that verse in one sentence: God uses conflicts to mature us. What if our goal as parents wasn't "safety and protection"-what if our parenting ethos was to equip and teach our kids how to navigate conflict? I read chapter 40 from the book of Isaiah to close. In the middle of the talk I read a passage from Donald Miller's new book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." This a truly great and inspiring read that will help you re-think how you're living life. Great for teens to retirees. Thank-you so much for laughing with me, wrestling with conflict, and finding God together yesterday. The hour on Sunday is one of the best of my week. Don't miss Mark's Vision Talk next Sunday and then that evening at 6pm one of our special worship and prayer nights.   2010-01-25T13:58:49+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/im_update_from_haiti http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/im_update_from_haiti/#When:19:30:44Z 1.18.09 12:09pm CurtisHow's it going back home?MorganFine of course---how bout you??CurtisI'm doing alright.Morgando you have electricity, water, food?Curtisyeah for now...the owners of Double Harvest came back, they're trying to get more fuelMorganThere are TONS of people praying for you & DHCurtisthanks... that means a lotwe built a water pipe to get water to people in PAP (Port Au Prince) but we're having trouble letting people know about itMorganAny specifics we can pray for??Curtisum... that we get fuel so DH can operate still. they're going to harvest all their crops and send it to PAP.Pray for the people of Coupon and all the villages and PAP—for food, water, safety, and that they find God in the midst of the chaos--that's the most important thingMorganGood. How is Bruce (Donaldson)?CurtisHe's good. We were in separate villages when the quake hit but he's okay---being the MAN as usual--helping out.20 some people stood up as new believers yesterday in church!MorganWOW. Amazing!. Are you questioning if you should stay or come back?CurtisI'm staying.I might visit a little sooner than planned but I want to stay---unless it gets too unsafe.Pray that god helps me communicate effectively with these little boys I've been playing soccer with every morning--I had another 40+ kids today!MorganGreat! Do you sense God called you there knowing this would all happen?CurtisYeah totally.He made this trip happen for me. And he knew what time I would be here.MorganWould you like me to tell anyone anything?CurtisJust keep encouraging my mom if you see her. Tell Mark and everyone I love them.MorganCan do. How is Coupon?CurtisI would say 70+% of the houses have damage and close to 50% are ruined or pretty rough shape. Everyone is sleeping outside their houses under tarps.MorganWow. Did new concrete homes take more damage?CurtisSome did & some didn’t. The biggest factor was how heavy their roof was; the heavier ones fell more. I think we're going to start helping them clean up some stuff today or tomorrowMorganWhat do you appreciate most in light of everything?CurtisUm... that I'm alive and god is using me here.MorganAmen. How is your faith / your spirits?CurtisPretty good. I'm sad for my mom and family because I know it's hard on them. I'm sad for the people of Haiti and hope they'll come together and help themselves out---they need to be a part of the solution--we can't just fix everything for them then leave.That's one thing I've noticed about coupon: a lot of the people expect Americans to come and rebuild their houses... they just sit there doing nothing. I understand they're scared and have had severe loss but they have got to be part of the solutionIt has been pretty frustrating at times. The soccer thing has been awesome for me but work to do besides that has been pretty slow. I want to go help the villages more but it all needs to be organizedMorganYou are good at drawing people out--you can help them help you and be part of the solution--I know you can.CurtisThanks.MorganAny particular worship songs going thru your mind lately?Curtis“Even When” an Upstreet song. All the new songs on North Point's “Awake” cd. “Glory to God Forever” sticks out.MorganHow is your "hope?”CurtisI believe God is going to use this to bring people to Him. I believe Haiti can go two ways; unite and become stronger or fight and people will die and suffer even more.MorganAre there other missionaries @ DH?CurtisThere is a team of 10 people serving for 2 weeks.MorganDo see Arthur much? How are he & Becky?CurtisLuzanie--a girl that works here died in the quake--she was at school in PAP and the building collapsedArthur's family is close to her and he did her funeral yesterday.MorganWow--I read of her on his son's blog. Very sad.CurtisI went downtown the day after the quake to find her-- that's when he found out she died. I saw her body trapped in the building. I'm never going to forget all the death I saw.MorganWhat are your days like now?CurtisEvery day is different. Devotion at 6:40, then I prepare for soccer at ten. I try to talk about important issues like fair play and teamwork but it's hard because I don't know very much Creole.I do soccer at 10 am every morning with the younger boys for an hour and a half, lunch, then I do manual labor of some sort in the afternoon. Some times I play soccer with the older boys in the afternoon at 4I've been journaling a lot since I've been here. I'm going to try to type a couple of them up soon and put them on Facebook.MorganIs fear any concern for you right now?CurtisNot really. DH is far enough from the city that I'm not too worried about riots or anything-- PAP was pure chaos when I was down there the day after.MorganThat's gotta be a blessing to be at DH away from PAP.CurtisYeah definitely.MorganHave you seen Roselore? (maid/cook at DH)CurtisNo I think she is stateside.MorganPastor Gary?CurtisHe's good. His wife was at school south of PAP and walked all the way home--there's tons of crazy stories like that.MorganWOW. Faude, Nahma, Jean P all ok?CurtisYep. I live with Faude.MorganHe talkin your ear off? (sarcasm)Curtislol sometimes It takes him a while to get stuff out at times lol.CurtisWell I need to get going. Take care Morgan.MorganAlright--love you & praying for you all!!! Haiti 2010-01-21T19:30:44+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_01.18 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_01.18/#When:12:34:00Z Monday Morning ReCap #14: This morning my thoughts are consumed by the tragedy in Haiti so this post will focus on this country in such great need... •Please join me in praying all throughout the day for this country. Pray for those leading the relief effort. Pray that medical supplies, food and water will get to the people fast today! Pray for those providing medical care and help. Pray for the missionaries in Haiti as they minister to people facing such devastating loss. Pray for the military as they provide order and safety in the chaos. Pray that God will draw people to Christ during this difficult time. Pray that God will bring good out of this tragedy as only he can! •Here is a blog you should read from Andrew Spalding the son of missionary Arthur Spalding at Double Harvest. Very informative and moving...http://www.haitihelpline.com •The prayer Jason Braun read yesterday was powerful! If you want to help provide relief in Haiti here is how you can help...http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/Haiti. •So thankful for the safety of Bruce Donald and Curtis Stout as they serve God in Haiti! I believe God put Curtis and Bruce in Haiti for such a time as this. Keep praying for these guys and their families. •We have another trip to Haiti planned for April 2010. Pray that this trip will happen if God wants it to happen. With this new reality there will be new opportunities to serve-ask God to give us wisdom as we continue to serve him in Haiti. •Take some time today and like Mary sit at the feet of Jesus and thank him for all the wonderful blessings we have in our great country. Plenty of food and water well build homes, amazing health care. I don't know about you but when I watch the news about Haiti the challenges in my life seem so small and insignificant. •May God use our prayers and our generosity to bring hope and healing to Haiti! As always...Don't Just Talk About It...Be About It. Love doing church with you guys! Mark               Monday Morning Recap 2010-01-18T12:34:00+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_01.11 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_01.11/#When:09:00:01Z My thoughts from yesterday at Oakbrook... Thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather yesterday! I seriously can't think of a better place to be on Sunday mornings in Kokomo than Oakbrook! I know I'm biased but it's such an awesome environment...fun, meaningful, life giving, challenging, God honoring. Yesterday was one of those days were I am reminded how much I love our church! The announcements yesterday were incredible! So creative, so much fun. Way to go Morgan, Joel and the whole band for making them unforgettable. Growing up I never walked out of church smiling about the announcements like I did yesterday...only Oakbrook! (Missed it? Check out the Video!) I'm really enjoying watching and hearing more and more people express their adoration and honor to God in worship during services. Jason Lee wrote some good stuff on this reality in a recent blog post...check it out...http://www.clearlychaos.com Let me personally invite you to the next Worship/Prayer night on Jan. 31 @ 6pm. Cameron Sprinkle will be leading us in worship that evening! Big thanks to all who generously gave to the Year End Offering! We received $23, 373.00!!!!!!!! How cool is that? Can't wait to see how God uses our generosity to compassionately reach out to those in need. Remember...You don't have what it takes to please everyone! Becoming obsessed with what people think about you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you. The fear of God is the best antidote for the fear of people. Keep those hooks out of your nose this week Be a God pleaser!! Some of you may have heard the recent news about a long time staff member Jeremy Carter doing some "lion chasing" in his life. Here is a link that gives the details...http://jermination.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/my-transition/. Join me in praying for Jeremy and Mandy as they follow God into the future He has for them. So proud of them! Next Sunday I'm talking about...You Don't Have What it Takes to...Handle it All. Like every weekend at Oakbrook this would be an awesome weekend to bring along a friend who doesn't go to church. Imagine what God can do through one simple invitation! As always...Don't Just Talk About...say it with me...Be About It! Love doing church with you guys! Mark >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-01-11T09:00:01+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_01.04 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_01.04/#When:16:41:18Z Monday Morning Recap, January 4th Thoughts from yesterday...Hard to believe another year has already come and gone. It seems that the years go so much faster now...A lot of people blame that on age, but I'm not going to go down that road (although I did turn a year older over the holidays). The Christmas services were totally awesome. I hope that you were able to be there for one of them. Although they were different then past years, I went home after each one feeling so full of the presence of God. I especially enjoyed the worship songs that we did...And how about seeing all the people down front holding candles representing a life that was changed in 2009!!! It simply does not get any better then that. If you have been around Oakbrook for long, you know that I do not speak on Sunday mornings on a regular basis...Although I consider it a privilege each time I am asked. Yesterday was especially special for me as I so easily related to the topic. It felt good to share some of my own struggles with striving for God's approval and not just living in His amazing grace. Refuse to allow the evil one to deceive you with the truth that you will never be good enough. Instead, allow God to use that truth to set you free. The fact that you will never be good enough is actually good news! The pressure is off! It's not up to you to try to do it anymore. It's up to Christ to do it through you. Stop saying "But when I" and start saying, "But when God". When you grasp the truth that when God calls you by His grace and not because you are good enough, that's when everything changes. Key statement of the morning...When I realize that God accepts me through Christ, I am no longer living for His approval, but from His approval. Celebrate with me the life change that happened yesterday morning!! There were a few people who indicated that they had prayed the prayer to receive Christ and several who prayed that God would set them free from the performance trap!! December 31st marks the end of the 1st quarter of our fiscal year. Thank you for your continued generosity...Offerings are up $16,000 over budget.If you currently are not tithing, why not make that one of your New Years Resolutions? You will never regret it! Advent Conspiracy current total...$23,218. You still have the rest of this week to contribute. Next Sunday...You Can't Please Everyone. As always...Don't just talk about it. Be about it! >blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2010-01-04T16:41:18+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_afternoon_recap_12.21 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_afternoon_recap_12.21/#When:20:14:22Z Thoughts from yesterday….sorry I’m late getting this out. Had some computer challenges today and I have been putting some final touches on the Christmas talk.Hard to believe Christmas week is here! It’s going to be a great week. All our kids will be home to celebrate the coming of Christ together. Life just doesn’t get any better. Enjoy those who mean the most to you this week!The Programming Team has been working on the Christmas experience for months. This year’s service will be quite different from the previous 2-3 years. I think you will get up Christmas morning clearly focused on Christ because of these experiences. Thanks Programming Team for all the hard work! Christmas Services are the highest attended services each year at Oakbrook. Why? Because people who never go to church want to go on Christmas! It is by far the easiest service to invite people too…you still have time to call a friend, invite a co-worker. This is a great way to invite someone…(CLICK ME!)Great job Dave Horine and the worship crew! The band was tight. Really enjoyed singing the words, “In my life, in our world, in my love…be lifted high.” That’s a great prayer to live.I also really enjoyed 30til once again. Some smooth Christmas jazz with a cup of great coffee in a wonderful environment with wonderful friends…great way to start the day. Big thanks to the guys who played!!Morgan’s talk was strong as usual. Loved the Marine video in his introduction. Why does the church shrink back from calling people to full devotion in Christ? It is the only way to follow Him! The cost to follow is nothing compared to the rewards!I thought Morgan’s point ”what will my little contribution do to help fight poverty” was excellent. He’s so right-will we never be great golfers but we will spend the cash to try. We will never be the next Bob Villa but we will buy the power tools! Our giving matters.I’m really looking forward to giving to the year-end offering this year…seriously I am. I really don’t need anything for Christmas. Like most of you I already have way too much stuff. To add to that pile would be insane! And to think I can help other people in need has really brought me back to the true meaning of the season…giving. Lets all get generous this Christmas.Don’t forget…No Sunday Service on Dec. 27th. The Wednesday/Thursday experiences will take the place of Sunday the 27th. To all our wonderful, amazing volunteers who serve so faithfully week-end and week-out…enjoy a much deserved Sunday off!New series starts Jan. 3, 2010…”You Don’t Have What It Takes!” Wk.1-You Aren’t Good Enough. Wk.2-You Can’t Please Everyone. Wk. 3-You Can’t Handle It All. Wk. 4-You Can’t Control the Future. Should be a blast!As always…Don’t Just Talk About It, Be About It!Love doing church with you guys,Mark>blog home< Monday Morning Recap 2009-12-21T20:14:22+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_12.13 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_12.13/#When:15:35:58Z   here are some thoughts from yesterday around Oakbrook: - I'm continually amazed at the talent that God brings to Oakbrook.  How about Alex Dobbert and Brandon Lowry at 30 till?  it was awesome. - A special "thank you/way to go" to Rob Moss for putting together that video for the song "Apocalypse Please."  once again, I'm amazed at the giftedness of people who aren't even paid to do this stuff! - I had a couple of thoughts that I wanted to reiterate from yesterday's message: 1. "Where I place my hope in life will determine how I live my life" 2. "God gave us the end of the story not for us to try and figure it all out, not for us to make charts and graphs and hold seminars, not for us to write best selling novels, not for us to try and figure out if these days that we are living in are the end times...  He gives us the end of the story so that you and I have something solid that we can place all of our hope in." 3. In the end, God is making all things new in quality... He is restoring things back to the way He intended for them to be, and there will be no more curse of sin, no death, no sorrow, no pain, no tears.  God wants us to rest our hope in that promise. - I'm so proud of the people who stood in the service yesterday and declared that they wanted to receive Christ and trade in their story for His.  God rewrote stories yesterday.  It was a CELEBRATION! - Kidstuf was another success for familes.  way to go team! - OSM's Christmas party/talent show was a hit.  the students had a great time.  They also brought in gifts for 3 families who cannot afford to buy Christmas for their children.  I'm very proud of the students for their generosity. WAY TO GO! - Christmas is only 11 days away, and our christmas services are only 9 days from today.  I can't even believe that it is so soon.  Start inviting your friends to come to one of these awesome experiences. Dec. 23, 7pm & Dec. 24, 6pm. - Every Christmas around Oakbrook there is a team of unseen heroes:  the team that does the childcare for the services.  There is still an opportunity to be a part of this team.  You can pick a service to attend and then pick a service to serve in.  What an awesome way to experience giving and generosity this Christmas. - Next week we are going to dive into the "Advent Conspiracy."  Mark rolled out this idea a few weeks back and asked us to prayerfully consider giving monetarily towards compassion at the end of the year.  We want to continue to keep the value of compassion and generosity at the core of who we are as a church, and this is a great way to do that.  Be praying about what you and your family will give. - Don't miss out on 30till next weekend.  Grab a coffee at Lakeside cafe and enjoy some great music 30 minutes before the service starts.   Have a great week.  Merry Christmas!   remember: Don't just TALK about it, BE about it! Sam>blog home<    Monday Morning Recap 2009-12-14T15:35:58+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/christmas_2009_behind_the_scenes_pt._2 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/christmas_2009_behind_the_scenes_pt._2/#When:19:33:22Z Things here at Oakbrook are in full swing getting ready for Christmas 2009: God With Us.  Production teams are working like crazy!The super secret suprise "bulletin" thing is fully complete and getting duplicated as we speak... here's a hint:  there's something for kids & adults to do... you'll love it... OH... there is a MASSIVE christmas tree going up right in the center of the village... when you come to church Sunday it's really going to feel like Christmas!check it out!The band & choir have rehearsal THIS SATURDAY!  We will be working out all the music, chords, cues, hits, cuts, swells, guitar solos, and more!  We're doing some of my all time favorites this year... AND my #1 all time favorite Christmas carol... can you guess it?  Pretty much everybody has covered it... N'SYNC, Mariah Carey, and the list goes on... it's epic.  seriously epic.So you've probably heard by now... the Christmas times are a little change for us this year:  DECEMBER 23 7PM & DECEMBER 24 6PMI really think it's super cool to get to do a Christmas Eve service this year.  It's just going to be special.  The Experience, we hope, will center all our thoughts on the reason why there even is Christmas.  We'll head down a journey of music/video/drama that will lead us to a place of Hope and Life as we marvel about how the God who created EVERYTHING, sent HIS SON, HERE.The next couple weeks around here are going to be crazy busy... so many more details to go... so much more stuff to set up... music to prepare... So if you would... pray with us!  Pray that God would show up.  Pray that beyond anything we could DO, HIS presence would be felt, and HE would be honored.  Pray that TONS of people will get there!  Not to just pack out the place, but so more and more people can hear of the life changing STORY GOD wants THEM to be a part of!!!!It's such an honor to get to do this... Merry Christmas!!!!Jason>blog home< Weekend Experiences 2009-12-09T19:33:22+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_12.7 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_12.7/#When:17:07:49Z How about that SNOW this morning? I think Christmas music sounds just a little bit better when there's white stuff on the ground. What a great start to the morning yesterday with Cameron and Karissa Sprinkle playing music for us by Lakeside Café and Books! That's something called "30 Till" that we'll be doing with different artists up to Christmas; so come early this Sunday too! Mark strongly challenged us before his talk to embrace the Advent Conspiracy in each of our families. The Advent Conspiracy is a movement by Christ followers to spend less on things that don't matter (holiday consumerism) and direct those dollars towards compassion-oriented things that do. How? 1) Go to www.adventconspiracy.org and spend 10 minutes checking out things you can do. 2) Take the envelope you received yesterday and start asking God how He wants you to spend less on "stuff" and redirect that money towards compassion. Bring the envelope (with your offering) to the Christmas service and we'll put them in the offering bags. We'll use our generosity to impact our world locally and internationally. Is there anything like listening to Mark "preach" about the Church being the hope of the world? He usually talks-but get him on why God made the Church and he "preaches it!" This series is all about God's story. And in God's story: Lead character in the story is Himself in the form of Jesus.Theme of the story is substitutionary atonement. God taking our place and paying the price for our sin. And Sunday was about the supporting character of the story --- you and me-the Church. The Church-not just the hired staff-but all the Christ followers-are given the assignment of telling God's story to the world. Mark's passionate talk was based on 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. Check it out online here http://tinyurl.com/ykh8749 Some of Mark's notable quotes: "There is NO plan B! If we don't share it (God's story), people will go to hell!" "Our mission is one simple thing: ‘Helping people find Jesus and live like Him,' as long as I am here that is what this church will always be about!" "The church exits for God, not us! It's for His story and His glory!" "If you're not telling the story of God with your one and only life, you're wasting it-don't waste it on trivial pursuits!" "Don't let another day go by without being used by God to tell His story..." He gave us a simple challenge: Take the brown booklet we were given, insert one of the Christmas invite cards and give it to someone who needs to be part of God's story. Sandra, the kids and I will talk this week about how we can be part of the Advent Conspiracy. We'll see you early next Sun for some steel cut oats & music by the café at 30 Till. And don't forget the bookstore is giving away a great free book with purchase through Christmas! Peace, -Morgan p.s. You can check out pictures from Sunday here. >blog home<       Monday Morning Recap 2009-12-07T17:07:49+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/christmas_2009_behind_the_scenes http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/christmas_2009_behind_the_scenes/#When:12:56:08Z Christmas is here!  If you've been around Oakbrook you know that Christmas around here goes to a whole other level... and this year is no different!  We hope to create an experience that is incredible, that you can bring your family, friends and co-workers and they will be blown away!  Not just blown away by the production, but blown away by our great big God!  As I'm typing this I also have Photoshop open on my computer and am putting the final touches on all the graphics to send off the to print shop... this year you won't be handed a 'typical' bulletin when you walk in the doors... we've got something special in store!  (And you know I'm not gonna say... you'll just have to come to one of the two services to find out!)  If you see Brandon Lowry, our first Proteje Intern, give him a high five as he was the primary vision behind all the graphics for Christmas!  (What is a Proteje Intern?  Glad you asked! Check it out here)We've also got some suprises in store on the music front... we're doing a choir... but not just any choir...a MASSIVE choir!  Shall we say the biggest choir in the history of Oakbrook?  I think we shall... so if you sing any, send Monty Sanders an email and get in the choir!  (monty@oakbrookchurch.com) It's an incredible way to get behind the scenes, meet some new people, serve, and the view from up on stage as our Church worships is just awesome!  Joel Larison, Monty, and Brandon are also working on a new original arrangement of a classic Christmas carol that you will love!And to top it all off, Travis Carpenter, video extrodinare is working on some video that will make you think we have a movie production company right here in Kokomo!  All that to say... DON'T MISS THIS EXPERIENCE!!!  This weekend, we'll be passing out invite cards... so start praying about those invitations... start dreaming about what it would be like for you to fill a WHOLE ROW with people that you personally invited!  At the end of the day, after all the lights are off, and the music stops, it's about PEOPLE FINDING GOD... let's pray this season that more people then ever will find the Grace, Hope, and Love that our Savior offers to everybody!Hope your season is off to an incredible start... see you guys this weekend at 9:30am in the cafe as Cameron and Karissa Sprinkle put on a mini-concert at the 30till!It's a pleasure doing Church with you!Jason Lee>blog home<  Weekend Experiences 2009-12-03T12:56:08+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_11.30 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_11.30/#When:15:06:30Z A few thoughts on an amazing Sunday…*Sunday’s service was a great way to end a great Thanksgiving week! Really enjoyed being with family this week and then really enjoyed being with my Oakbrook family Sunday…God is so good.*As my younger friends would say…the prelude was “sick” yesterday! Which for all my not so younger friends that means it was good-really good! Thanks for the hard work band!!*Oakbrook is joining the Advent Conspiracy! If you weren’t at the service yesterday you can check it out here…www.adventconspiracy.org. The bid idea is…take some of the cash you spend on needless Christmas stuff and give that cash to a world in need.*We will be taking our Advent Conspiracy Offering at the Christmas services. You will get envelopes this Sunday and you can start praying asking God what He wants you to give and then give it in a spirit of joy at one of the Christmas services! I can’t wait!! Remember this money goes toward compassion initiatives in Haiti and in Kokomo and… it is above and beyond your weekly tithing.*Christmas Services are coming! Dec. 23 & 24th. Invite cards will be available this Sunday. Start thinking about inviting. *Church starts at 9:30 am this Sunday in the Lakeside Café-are you serious Mark? Yes I am! Cameron Sprinkle will be doing a mini-concert of Christmas music in the café this Sunday at 9:30am. Cameron is the guy who everybody loved at The Beatles Concert this year. Don’t miss it.*Speaking of great Christmas music-Lakeside Books has Chris Tomilins new Christmas/Worship CD. You can stop by on Mondays 10-3pm at the bookstore and pick it up.*I thought my daughter Sarah (the beautiful girl in the video yesterday) did an amazing job with that video! I have loved the videos each week. Way to go Joel Larison (he wrote the content for each video), Travis Carpenter and Brandon Lowery (they filmed, edited and produced each video).*Did you know we want to hire Joel Larison after he graduates in December from IWU? Your giving matters you guys. There is enough resource in Oakbrook to hire Joel-but it is still in your wallets! Get it out and put it in the plate each week so we can get this done…seriously! Lets make this happen.  *2 amazing words Substitutionary Atonement! It is the amazing big idea in Gods story of restoration. Worship God this week for the atoning work he has done in your life!*I’m already getting stoked about the talk this weekend. We will be talking about the church’s role in Gods story of restoration. Don’t miss it.My wife is telling me I need to put up some Christmas lights-so gotta go!As always-Don’t Just Talk About It Be About It!Love doing church with you guys!!Mark Monday Morning Recap 2009-11-30T15:06:30+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/thoughts_from_haiti http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/thoughts_from_haiti/#When:15:13:41Z At 2:45 in the wee hours of Thurs. morning Nov 12 we arrived at Oakbrook sluggish and tired.  Tom Hearn graciously took us to Indy airport through the kindness of First Presbyterian Church’s bus. By dusk the same day, after flying to Chicago and Miami, we touched down in Haiti. It’s a strange feeling stepping onto the tarmac knowing this is a ride that you can’t get off of until it’s over, (given you’re on an island and your ride won’t be ready for another seven days).The airport brought us face to face with the language barrier we would encounter all week. It also brought forceful cabbies trying to take our luggage from our nervous hands. The airport made it clear that we were far from home.Outside we awaited, Arthur, our charming American host. The drive through Port Au Prince was eye-opening: Traffic was chaos. Lack of electricity was everywhere. The road tested the shocks and our nerves. And then we headed off those “good” roads toward the village.The prior rain had made the dirt fitting only for a 4x4. Just short of Double Harvest our mini van got stuck and we all evacuated to push it free. (CB managed to jump from the van squarely into the thick of it all.)Our main purpose in Haiti was to join the local church in putting on an outreach crusade the likes the area had never seen before. Our team was joined by our Canadian counterparts: Jason Braun’s dad, cousin and second cousin (Len, Albert & Lauren, respectively). We learned that the stage we’d build would be an ambitious 32’ wide, 16’ deep and be 6’ off the ground! (‘ = feet) It would have an 8’ high wall all across the back of it and include a roof! It would be erected in a bean field on a crossroad of three villages. It would be fully lit, electrified and even have video projection! Without a doubt what we were in for looked more like “Haiti-stock” than a church crusade.Albert “The Machine” lead us through the construction with amazing know-how and speed. He has a way of doing things to be sturdy enough but not to excess—“Burt-fect” as it is known.By Sunday night we were launching into the crusade in the bean field next to the village of Coupon—with not a minute to spare. Our band (that I dubbed “The Coupon Yankees”) would perform the first 20-30 minutes. As our sound carried, people would close in on our bean field of dreams.I don’t think we had less than 400-500 people the first night and by night three 800 and by night four over 1,000 in my estimation. Different talented Haitian musical groups performed. Pastors prayed and led worship (the “great white drummer” played w/the Haitians), Minister Guion preached passionately and effectively. And people came forward and accepted Christ. And hundreds of Haitians danced and worshiped in response! It’s a sight I will not forget.The days were long. Devotions at 6:40. While the crusade was on we’d pray with the Haitians for two hours in the morning. Then we’d walk to a village offering to share Christ with people in their homes. By 2pm we eat a wonderful Haitian lunch. By 5 pm we’d be gearing up for the crusade. We’d get back to our “home” by 8:30 or 9—bodies tired, but feeling used by God.Everyone on the team was amazing. Amazing servants. Always handy with a smile or a joke. Always ready to do whatever for whomever. There’s so much more to tell, but that’s all for now.    --Morgan Pictures 1  |  Pictures 2  |  Pictures 3 Haiti 2009-11-26T15:13:41+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_11.23 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_11.23/#When:13:49:52Z Here are a few thoughts from another awesome day at Oakbrook…•    So thankful this morning for all the hard work people put into weekend experiences at Oakbrook. Sometimes I forget how much horsepower is needed to make weekends happen. Thanks everybody for all the hard work!•    People found Christ yesterday!!! About 20+ hands raised at the end of the service-makes all the effort worth it. Please pray for these people and they begin their journey with God.•    Jesus Christ…100% God…100% Man…amazing.•    God’s story of restoration…Truth to Die For!•    If you have friends’ exploring/wondering about faith, God, Christianity you need to give them this series. •    I met several new people at Discover Oakbrook yesterday. That never gets old! •    It was so fun having local Kokomo author Susan Snyder with us yesterday. Lots of people bought her book “What Will I Be When I Grow Up?” My grandson Mason loves it. If you didn’t get a signed copy you can still get one. Stop by Lakeside Books and they will help you get one. •    Don’t forget…Lakeside Books open Mondays 10:00am-3:00pm now through the holidays. Tell your friends, bring them by to check out our amazing bookstore.•    I signed up yesterday to ring a bell for the Salvation Army. If you haven’t ever done this you should…it is a great reminder of what the Christmas season is all about.•    I’m hearing great stories from our team that went to Haiti last week. God using us to help people find Christ in Haiti-so cool! Thanks to all who went! My friend Marty Dittmar sent me a text Saturday night (he was in Haiti with the Oakbrook team) telling me how much he loved serving with Oakbrook people-doesn’t surprise me.•    We are joining the Advent Conspiracy this Christmas…www.adventconspiracy.org. Details coming this Sunday. Can’t wait to tell you guys about it!!!•    Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year! Family, amazing food and everybody realizing how blessed we are. I’m so thankful for my amazing wife, family, Oakbrook, the call of God on my life, great friends…your turn… As always…don’t just talk about-be about it!Love doing church with you guys,Mark Monday Morning Recap 2009-11-23T13:49:52+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_11.16 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_11.16/#When:15:42:52Z My thoughts on another great Sunday… First off…how about them Colts? Unbelievable!! Thank you Bill Belichick-my vote for the games MVP J  I loved the opening song with the video of God’s amazing creation! The band was hot and I still can’t get over the dramatic effect of the new center screen. Ours guys made that happen for $200…awesome! My only regret is all the people who come late and missed it from start to finish.  The award for the hardest working guy in the church business yesterday…goes to Mr. Sam Burke! Way to go Sammy-bringing the heat Sunday morning and Sunday night at OSM!  Really enjoyed Sam’s teaching on creation/fall. If you haven’t realized it yet…Sam is a theologian. Again nice job Sam!  Also…really enjoyed the video at the end of the service! Written by Joel Larison (he does way more than lead worship!), performed by Katie Carpenter and filmed and edited by Travis Carpenter. Great job everybody!  Big thanks to all the volunteers and people who donated blood yesterday! Thanks for helping save lives.  Don’t forget the Lakeside Bookstore is now open on Mondays from 10-3pm through the holidays. Spread the word to your friends. So thankful for Linda McFatridge and Barb Brown for making this possible! They are volunteering their time. Stop by and see them!!  Keep praying for our Haiti team! So fun to connect with them via the Internet yesterday. I heard there were around 500 people at the first service last night. Haiti is a spiritually dark place so pray that the light of the Gospel will shine bright!!  Make plans to start your Thanksgiving week off at the Prayer and Worship night this Sunday @6pm in The Warehouse. Come with a heart full of gratitude.  Met several new people at Discover Oakbrook yesterday. Having new people visit Oakbrook never gets old!  The holiday season is a great time to invite your friends to church. This years Christmas services will take place on December 23/24. Trying a service on Christmas Eve this year. More details to come. Whatever you do don’t come alone. And as always…Don’t Just Talk About It…(say it with me)…Be About It! Love doing church with you guys,  Mark    Monday Morning Recap 2009-11-16T15:42:52+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_11.09 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_11.09/#When:15:22:33Z A few thoughts from yesterday…  So excited to see another team of Oakbrook people heading down to Haiti! Don’t forget to pray for them. They leave Thursday. Pray for changed lives as they share the gospel message each evening. You guys took all 200 of the Streams in the Desert devotionals. Way to go! Can you believe they were free!! Generosity has to be one of the greatest values in the Bible. What random act of generosity could you do this week? Ask God.  BIG NEWS…Lakeside Bookstore will be open on Mondays 10:00am-3:00pm beginning Nov. 16th through the holidays! Spread the word!! And don’t forget The Village is open all week for your enjoyment. God is in The Village-come meet with him! We had another weekend of huge impact with the next generation! Kidstuf was at Western Schools on Friday and at Oakbrook on Sunday. OSM had another great night last evening. Kidstuf is in Kokomo Schools this Friday…pray for them! I wonder if we really understand how blessed we are to have great next generation ministries at Oakbrook? The people who make UpStreet, Kidstuf and OSM happen are special!! If your kid is in one of these environments make sure you thank those who serve your kids…seriously. Congrats to all you Boilermaker fans out there. Really did every Boiler fan have to say something to me at church yesterday-really?? Beating MI at The Big House once in the last 43 years is quite an accomplishment (yeah that last sentence is dripping with sarcasm)…I feel better J I hope and pray The Way Out series has helped us all find some purpose in our pain. I really enjoyed ending the series at The Cross celebrating communion! The music team led us so well in worship…way to go! The Cross is such a beautiful picture of pain and purpose. After all these years I’m still amazed at what God did for us all on The Cross. Don’t forget…the way out is the way in…with God leading you-walk into your pain and you will find His purpose in your pain. Spend some time here this week…Isaiah 43:1-3. New series starts this weekend…Truth To Die For…can’t wait! Lots of ways to give and influence right now…Blood Drive, buy a kid some warm pajamas, 2nd Saturday at Howard Haven…great opportunities to live like Jesus. I love that we are offering this…DivorceCare Surviving the Holidays. A new one-session program will be offered Monday November 14 or Monday December 16. 6:30-8:30pm. Do you know anyone who could benefit from this? Could you? Remember-the way out is the way in. Remember this… http://read.ly/Hab3.2.MSG …pray it up! Ok time to go hang out with my beautiful wife and my amazing grandson on a gorgeous day off. 68 and sunny in November-yeah God!! Hey Oakbrook…this week…Don’t Just Talk About It, Be About It!! Love doing church with you guys, Mark Monday Morning Recap 2009-11-09T15:22:33+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_or_afternoon_recap_11.02 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_or_afternoon_recap_11.02/#When:19:28:56Z Well I have to say I’ve never before been serenaded by over 600 people singing me “Happy Birthday;” thanks so much! Wow—what a GIGANTIC impact the new projection is in the middle of our stage! It really aided the communication whether it was announcement support, worship lyrics, Scripture verses or message support. I never thought our side screen could appear small! Let me let you in on a secret: That center projection was birthed out of the creativity of having a bare-bones budget. We didn’t but new projectors or super-expensive equipment. The guys in our programming and tech depts. put their heads together and allocated our current four projectors in order to project onto the scrim (white cloth background) we already had! I love it when God’s people won’t let lack of dollars keep them from communicating the truth of the Gospel message to its utmost effectiveness. Way to go guys! As Mark mentioned, it’s great to have new musicians get in the game of serving God with their talents. That was Jim Leslie (dir of American Cancer Society) on keyboard and Justin Alter (local attorney) on drums. “Woot woot!” Sorry, couldn’t help myself Mark did another phenomenal job with his talk on surviving loss. If you missed it, get it (and all our talks) FREE on iTunes. Search: “Oakbrook Podcasts.” (click to open Podcasts in iTunes) He got a lot of information from a great book called A Grace Disguised.  Here’s a quote Mark shared: “The experience of loss does not have to be the defining moment of our lives. Instead, the defining moment can be our response to the loss. It is not what happens to us that matters so much as what happens in us.” This might sound cliché and a little like putting a band aid on a deep wound, but not so when you consider the author’s own story: Jerry Sittser’s book was written after his person ordeal of losing three generations of his own family in a catastrophic car accident. His mother, wife and daughter were all killed.  Mark quoted Sittser when he said, “Out way out (of the loss) is the way in.” We can’t run from the loss, but must immerse ourselves in it—sometimes getting worse before it gets better---and ultimately finding healing through Christ.  Go get the podcast! (opens iTunes) Lots to be excited and praying about this week: KidStuf is on a run: Friday they’ll be at Western Elementary. Sun they’ll be back at OCC! And Fri 13 they’ll be at Maple Crest Elementary. God is opening doors and doing profound work in schools through our team. PRAY ‘EM UP! We’re sending our THIRD team to Haiti Nov 12. We’re actually sending a worship team down to be part of a week-long revival in a Haitian village. They are: Jason Braun, Niko Gruber, Morgan Young, Kevin Smith, Dave Horine, Chris & Linda Herr, Julie Baldini, Miles Heaslip, Shelia Miller, Dave Bottomley, Bruce Donaldson and some friends from Canada; Len Braun, Albert & Lauren Wiens.  PRAY ‘EM UP! Don’t just talk about it, BE about it! Peace, -Morgan   Monday Morning Recap 2009-11-02T19:28:56+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_10.26 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_10.26/#When:14:20:49Z   What a beautiful day yesterday…and a great day to be at Oakbrook! Some thoughts… *Have you had the steal cut Oats from Lakeside Café’? Sandra Young hooked me up with some after the service…amazing and good for you! *Big shout out to the hardest working man in the church business-Joel Larison! He led worship at the OSM Fall Retreat Friday night and all day Saturday. Got up Sunday morning and led worship at the morning service. Then came back and led worship at OSM. Whew I got tired just writing that…Way To Go Joel! *Pray for Joel, as he is finishing school, preparing to get married in a few months and interviewing for jobs at churches in California and Indiana. That’s right we may be losing him at Oakbrook. I would love to hire him to and he wants to work here…but we don’t have the funds. Another reason why your giving matters so much…increase it and Joel stays-seriously! *Really enjoying The Way Out series. Remember…we are all wounded and our pain has a purpose! Romans 8:28 *You find the purpose in your pain when you invite Christ into your mistakes and failures. Christ is enough! *3 takeaways from yesterdays talk…Fail Forward…Allow Friends to Help You Through Failure…Allow God to use Your Failure for His Glory! *I have been spending lots of time thinking, dreaming and praying about Oakbrook’s future and I’m so excited about some “Lions” God may be calling us to chase. The excitement is getting me up at night! *Hey did you know The Village is open during the week for you? Come and read. Come and study. A team from Howard Community Hospital has been using The Village for offsite planning-your team can do the same. The view is awesome! *I’m hearing great things about the classes @oakbrook. Big thanks to all the teachers! And so proud do f all you who are attending and learning!! *Have you checked out our new website?? Love the simplicity of it. So easy to navigate. Way to go Jason Lee and Avin Kline for all the hard work! *Let’s all be about this…(click me).. this week! Don’t Just Talk About It…Be About It! Love doing church with you guys, Mark   Monday Morning Recap 2009-10-26T14:20:49+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_10.19 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_10.19/#When:17:33:25Z There's nothing like the humbling challenge of bringing the Sunday morning message! For me it's always a combination of freight, excitement and humility. And it always feels like I'm with "family." Did you notice the new female vocalist yesterday? That's Katie (Lee) Carpenter. She's Jason Lee's (JLEE) little sister and she's married to the Tek Team's Travis Carpenter. That was her first time helping lead worship on the big stage. Give her a "way to go" next time you see her. We had a great kick-off to classes@oakbrook last Wed. Around 90 people came out to "self feed" in the process of living like Jesus. Three of our classes have non-staff teachers! Barbara Gilbert, Mike Bolinger and Dave Dubois are teaching on end times, marriage and apologetics, respectively. Mike and Dave even wrote their own curriculum. Way to go, lay-teachers! You can still sneak into a class. (sign up online) Last night OSM had another great week of small groups and then Anthony Cozzello gave the message. He did a great job-his first time in front of our students. He and a group of family and friends drive over from Logansport every week to be part of the OCC family. How ‘bout that Beatles Concert w/a Cause?! Sold around 1,300 tickets. Bridges got 18 mentors and will receive aprox. $6,000! I heard lots of "first time at occ" stories-all very positive and encouraging-including my neighbor who has always turned down my Sunday morning invites. God can show up in songs like "All You Need is Love" and "Hey Jude" more profoundly to some people than He can in a worship song. Crazy good times, friends. Some message highlights: "There are only two things that pierce the human heart. One is beauty. The other is affliction (pain)." -Simone Weil. "Was it Simon the Zealot or Michael Stipe who said, ‘Everybody hurts, sometimes?'" "Snapshots draw our eyes within the frame --- And pain draws our attention within ourselves." "For us to stay self-focused on our pain is to ‘dam up' and keep the living water from flowing to others!" "To figure out that my pain has a purpose, I have to take me eyes off of my snapshot." "I have to realize that my pain, my wound, is a little slice of life; and that God wants to work in the entirety and enormity of my life and in the enormity of HIS story!" To understand Jesus' words on the cross ("My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?") we need to read the whole Psalm He was quoting. Read all of Psalm 22. (read online with youversion) The snapshot of Jesus on the cross contains the power to free us of all the painful snapshots we and future generations will ever encounter. Jesus, knows the way out of our pain because He conquered pain and death. Don't just talk about it-be about it! Peace, -Morgan     Monday Morning Recap 2009-10-19T17:33:25+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_10.05 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_10.05/#When:12:52:59Z What a great Sunday… Thanks for all the Birthday love yesterday…you guys sing good! Turning 50 is fun. We had all our kids home this weekend. Love having everyone home! The Colts look strong! Over the past 3 weekends we baptized 50 people…Yea God!! This is not normal you guys! God is working. So proud of all the dads who pushed the colder weather this weekend and invested time and love into their sons at the Father/Son Campout! Way to go Jason Braun, Doug Mygrant and all the volunteers! Loved the violin yesterday…big thanks to Ben Snider for helping us out! Ben and the Bigstuf Band have influenced tons of our students over the years. Got your tickets for the Beatles yet…www.concertwithacause.org My friend Greg Taylor has already sold 15 tickets to his friends! Way to go Greg!! Invite your friends this week-I guarantee they will love it!Get educated on the cause of the concert here…www.bridgesoutreach.com. Pray for our teams as they spend lots of time rehearsing this week…25 of the most popular Beatles tunes and all for one great cause! I love leveraging pop culture for the sake of the Kingdom. I heard OSM had a great Fall Bash at Oakbrook Valley last night. Proud of all the students that got baptized yesterday. The Chase the Lion series will go down as one of my all time favorite series at Oakbrook.Hoping and praying that lots and lots of people will live out the Lion Chasers Manifesto. Imagine what would happen if we did! Don’t forget…the path to Christlikeness is childlikeness. Go ahead-let yourself dream about the future God has for you. And if it seems foolish then you’re right where God wants you. Pray for Kidstuf this week…they will be in Kokomo schools on Friday. Got your Beatles tickets yet????? Have a great week!Don’t just talk about it, Be about it!Love doing church with you guys,Mark Monday Morning Recap 2009-10-05T12:52:59+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/the_beatles http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/the_beatles/#When:13:14:25Z I can't believe the concert is almost here!Over a month ago... three bands started rehearsing over 27 classic beatles songs... and here we are a little over a week away!Behind the scenes of a big production like this is something special... there are over 30 people from 3 different bands rehearsing music, there's a tek crew of 20 people that will be in the booth that night making things run smoothly, and there's always a few guys in the auditorium building stages, walls, painting... it's CRAZY!!!This year's Beatles concert has an incredible cause... Bridges Outreach!  We hope to raise a TON of money for these guys, but that means we need help... SELLING TICKETS!!!!the more tickets we sell the more money we get the privilege of giving away! So sell away... we can't wait to see you there... 4pm & 7pm!  2009-10-01T13:14:25+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_09.28 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_09.28/#When:12:18:48Z 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.  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: http://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 2009-09-28T12:18:48+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/marks_monday_morning_re-cap http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/marks_monday_morning_re-cap/#When:08:56:19Z 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 11th Last year the concert was SOLD OUT. So this year we are doing 2 concerts on the 11th - 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   Monday Morning Recap 2009-09-21T08:56:19+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/monday_morning_recap_sept._14 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/monday_morning_recap_sept._14/#When:08:11:07Z 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 Monday Morning Recap 2009-09-14T08:11:07+00:00 http://www.oakbrookchurch.com//blog/entry/marks_monday_morning_re-cap_24_aug http://www.oakbrookchurch.com/site/marks_monday_morning_re-cap_24_aug/#When:08:17:01Z 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: Am I numb or neutral to people outside the church? Do I pray daily for people outside the church? Who am I praying for now who is not a Christian? 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 Monday Morning Recap 2009-08-24T08:17:01+00:00