CollinOuterbridge.org

I think this message answers some great questions on Heaven and Hell.  I may lose some friends over this, but it is an accurate depiction of the Bible:

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/luke/heaven-and-hell

Trust Jesus, Friend.

For the next few weeks, I will share stories about specific men who have inspired me in my development as a husband, father, and pastor.  I am indebted to men like this who continually pour their experience into my life with nothing to gain.  This week, meet Jeff–a mentor and friend.

Jeff was the Missions Pastor at the first church in where I had the opportunity to serve in a vocational position.  I was a full-time college student while just moving into a role of overseeing a student ministry with a large number of students.  I just turned twenty and was in over my head.  I needed someone to help me grow rapidly and quickly in the area of organization, and Jeff was willing to help me in a great way.

We met one day for lunch and began to share stories about how God had been working in our life and what our relationship might look like if it went beyond sitting in the same room for staff meetings, but exchanged ideas to make our ministry better.  Eventually, Jeff extended an invitation to help improve my organizational skills.  He had devised a system that had worked for him for years, making the best use of his time as well as ensuring that he did not overload his support staff with too much busy work.  This was my first ministry with support staff, and I had no idea what to do with them.  Needless to say, Jeff was ready to help me and I said yes.

For about six months, Jeff would meet with me on a routine basis and he would teach me the system that he used for organization.  It came in the form of a large notebook that had divided compartments for upcoming events.  Essentially a mix between Franklin Covey planners and a Daytimer, Jeff showed me how to maximize both my time and the work for my personal assistant that would create a great deal of success for me in my personal life and ministry.

After that mentoring relationship ended, Jeff and I became great friends, and he oversaw the proceedings at my wedding.  To this day, he is a confidant, and co-laborer in the Gospel.  We see each other as equals, but I am forever grateful to him for his willingness to teach me something that I use until this day in my ministry.

Jeff taught me the importance of building relationships with people where there may be no direct positive impact to the ministry that you lead.  His time taken out to teach me how to implement an organizational system had no bearing on greater effectiveness in his own ministry, but he saw what he had learned as a gift to be given away.  As I think about relationships I have with people, I realize now that not every mentoring relationship will turn into a beneficial result in my personal ministry.  The bottom line is that we need to be willing to engage with people who can offer nothing in return.  As a result, we give all of the content that is developed in our ministries away for free in hopes that it may help someone else.

Secondarily, Jeff counseled me in learning how to navigate the relational nuances of the local church.  He was quick to let me know how to get things done while maintaining honor for the leaders that have been faithful to seeing the church grow.  I still use these principles and concepts as I lead others in a growing church that is continually seeing greater depth and complexity in the sheer amount of teams, leaders, and ministries that are being developed.

Collin Outerbridge is one of the pastors of Vista Church in Orlando, FL.  He provides oversight to local and global mission, student ministries, and MissionCity-Vista’s Church Planting Initiative.  For more information, check out www.vistachurch.com or www.collinouterbridge.org

For the next few weeks, I will share stories about specific men who have inspired me in my development as a husband, father, and pastor.  I am indebted to men like this who continually pour their experience into my life with nothing to gain.  This week, meet Aaron–a mentor and friend.

Aaron served with a campus ministry for years at the University of Florida.  He had taken a grassroots ministry and developed a team of people and students that made that campus ministry one of the trendsetting and benchmark ministries for the organization.  He is now in a secular vocation, sensing God’s call to one day be involved in missions in the 10-40 window.  His wife and kids are wonderful people that I love being around.

Zachary was in 6^th grade when I took over my first post as a Jr. High Pastor.  There were a handful of students that first Wednesday night, and Zach stuck out to me as a leader.  I decided that he would be one of the students I would focus on, hoping to encourage him to grow in his faith and lead his friends to do the same.   When Aaron heard about my intentions, he offered to take me out to eat sometime so we could get to know each other.  The only issue was that I was in college and Aaron had to be at work early in the morning, meaning we had to meet at the crack of dawn at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Guthrie’s.

I was late. He was gracious.

The food was terrible and greasy, but our conversations were worth every penny I spent at that place.  I would vent about things, and he would walk me through my struggles with identity and questions.   Aaron would provide a listening ear, ask tough questions, pray with me, and challenge my perceptions of leadership.  To this day, he is the first person I call when I am faced with a difficult decision in ministry, relationships, and family.  He has helped me grow spiritually, teaching me to read the Scriptures, memorize them, and continually consult the Holy Spirit for wisdom, guidance, and direction.

Aaron’s greatest contribution to me was in the way he showed me what a God-honoring marriage is to look like.  He helped me see the complexities and beauty of marriage by inviting me over to have dinner with his family and to see how he loved and served his wife and kids after a busy day at work.  He modeled what an Ephesians 5 marriage could look like.

Aaron also taught me how to see my primary ministry as my family, and not my church.  He continually challenges me to think about my family first in every situation, and creating margin and boundaries in my life to ensure that my priorities rest first in Christ, then my wife, daughter, family, and ministry.  I have seen how much of my ministry is patterned after the way he takes care of his family and that a lot of the boundaries, rules, and margin that we create in our household are reflective of his ministry to Stacey and me.

My prayer is that God would give you an Aaron.  If you have one, thank him or her.  If you don’t, ask Jesus for one.

Collin Outerbridge is one of the pastors of Vista Church in Orlando, FL.  He provides oversight to local and global mission, student ministries, and MissionCity-Vista’s Church Planting Initiative.  For more information, check out www.vistachurch.com or www.collinouterbridge.org.

Martin Bashir provides a compelling conversation with Rob Bell by asking straight questions.  What do you think?

The catastrophic events in Japan have in many ways allowed me to wrestle with a common question many tend to ask: Why do bad things happen to good people?

At MissionCity, we are starting a new series on the book of Ruth, where the main idea is God’s sovereignty.  Here was the big idea for this week:

God is sovereign.  In everything.  Even our suffering.

But what does this mean?  Let’s look at some misconceptions we have about God and suffering.

10 Lies About Suffering:

1. Suffering can be avoided with more faith (just pray more and you won’t have trouble)
2. Suffering allows you to be a victim (your circumstance allows you to blame others)
3. Suffering is always a punishment for sin (sometimes we sin and there is no immediate consequence)
4. Suffering is something to be pursued (this is the folly of monks who would beat themselves to understand God)
5. Suffering is to be avoided (this teaching tells us to avoid conflict and take the path of least resistance)
6. Suffering is part of your repayment to God (this lie tells you that Jesus’ work on the cross is not enough)
7. Suffering can be explained on earth (there is no infinite understanding for the finite world…Romans 9)
8. Suffering is a result of God’s lack of sovereignty (is God in control?)
9. Suffering is a result of God’s lack of love (God doesn’t love you, that’s why you suffer)
10. Suffering is your minor inconvenience (Nope. Sorry.  Because you couldn’t get a parking spot, didn’t get a raise, or lost your keys does not qualify you for suffering)

All of these ideas are somewhat rooted in an unbiblical, manipulative perspective.  They teach us nothing about the character of God or His Gospel.

So why do bad things happen to good people?  In short, because there are no good people, just a sovereign God who is altogether good and just.  We must realize that bad things happen because our world is marked by sin and things are not as they should be.  Suffering is as ubiquitous as the air that fills our lungs.

In light of this simple truth, I submit to you four principles by which we should live when faced with suffering:

1. Acknowledge your pain, resting in a High Priest (Jesus) who understands your every lament.
2. Trust in God’s sovereignty in all things, including your suffering.
3. Hope for God’s provision, relying on His promises.
4. Live radically, knowing that there is no situation God can not save you from.

Suffering is an inevitable reality that happens because we live in a broken, sin-ridden world.  Physically, the earth groans to be made right.  Spiritually, our souls yearn to be filled.

Romans 8:22-28

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose.

Follow Jesus, friend.  Trust in His sovereignty.

Live on mission with Him to make the wrong things in our world, right.

Collin is a pastor at Vista Church in Orlando, FL where he provides oversight to missions, student ministries, and MissionCity-Vista’s Church-planting network.  For more information about Collin, check out www.vistachurch.com or www.collinouterbridge.org.

I usually post a blog on Monday, but in some ways have been tired of all the rants and ravings that people have laid out about Rob Bell’s alleged ‘heresy’ and Charlie Sheen’s sheer lunacy.  Here’s my favorite quote of the week:

“I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it once your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

What I find ironic is how much people are enthralled with both Rob Bell’s alleged shift from evangelicalism to universalism and simultaneously intrigued by Charlie Sheen’s dive off of the deep end.  So instead of blogging about things I don’t know about (whether Bell’s a heretic or Sheen’s loco). I want to look at what society’s obsession with these two people really show us about, well, us:

1. We are Voyeuristic, Peeping Toms.

In one day, Charlie Sheen had 500,ooo followers on Twitter.  Rob Bell was a trending topic, and every evangelical had a ‘position’ on a book they had not read. Our culture is filled with a desire to know and talk about other people’s lives…as if our perception actually mattered.  News flash:  Rob Bell doesn’t care what a 19 year old, community-college degree wanna-be seminarian thinks about his theology.  There’s a reason you’re talking about him and he’s not talking about you.

2. We Enjoy Watching the Demise of Others.

There’s no doubt that Charlie Sheen is either a wonderful actor who has America eating out of the palm of his hand, or he is delusional.  Either way, people are flocking to see what will happen to Sheen-not out of genuine concern, but out of a desire for entertainment.  What makes me sad is that we will laugh at his quotes, re-tweet his 140 character rants, and watch his interviews, but have we prayed for him or his FIVE kids?  It seems to me that our culture enjoys a good tragedy, as long as it is not theirs.

And what if Bell is a universalist?  Will evangelical culture reach out to him in grace or will we pridefully place ourself on a pedestal and say, “I told you Bell was crazy…I saw it way back in his Nooma videos (which you secretly still think are awesome).”

3. We Tend Toward Narcissism and Self-Promotion.

How did you find out about Rob Bell?  Charlie Sheen?  Or this blog?  Probably because you clicked on a link in Facebook, a friend tweeted it, or you caught an interview on the internet.  Check this out:

• Rob Bell posted a video promoting his new book, Love Wins, and the blogosphere began
• Charlie Sheen promoted his story by doing interviews with 20/20 and Howard Stern Radio, and the world began laughing
• I promoted this blog on Facebook and Twitter, and you read it

Promotion (through social media, the internet, etc.) is the new fad in our culture.  Although there are benefits to it, I wonder if we’ve taken it too far (including me).

In the end, this is what Rob Bell, Charlie Sheen, and you (and me) have in common: a mutual need for The Gospel. Daily.

It is what saves and transforms every broken soul.  If you’re a Christian, you still need to trust  the Gospel daily.  If you’re not, you need to trust The Gospel today.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15

Collin Outerbridge is a pastor at Vista Church in Orlando, FL overseeing global and local missions, student ministry, and MissionCity–the church planting network of Vista Church.