In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

My youngest son is learning to comb his own hair. He’s insistent that he do it himself. Sometimes he opts for a slicked back semi-Pacino. Other times he mats all of his hair down over the front of his forehead, then enhances it with enough gel to insulate a spacecraft on re-entry. Whatever kind of hair shape he chooses, he’s always proud to show it off. He has (brilliantly) mistaken the word “handsome” for the word “famous.” So, he’ll often tell me, as he’s getting ready for kindergarten, that he’s decided “to look famous today.” He does. He loves to show it off. Personally, I’m a bit wounded by all his hair. Perhaps, it’s because I’m experiencing the increased insecurity that comes with a rapidly receding hairline. We send him to school —  proudly his own man with a ton of hair to show-and-tell.

What is it that a church ought to show off? (I realize, I have to tread lightly here. Arrogant pride has a way of cannibalizing the people who employ it.). To put it another way: What is it that ought to “shine before others?” Putting good deeds on display — showing them off — works when it is not for our sake, but for God’s: to “glorify your Father in heaven.” This Sunday is one of my favorite of the whole year. It is a perfect opportunity to put on display what God has been doing in our midst — through us. We’ll talk about Mariners’ on-going ministry to the poor, the disenfranchised, the abandoned, the forgotten (That ministry is called Outreach). It’s a time unleash courageous generosity above and beyond what we already give.

If you ask non-church people what the church should be concerned with, they’ll tell you: care for the poor. If you’ve ever thought about bringing someone skeptical about church, this is the Sunday to include them. This is the clearest expression of how Jesus’ life and ministry continually intersects with the plight of the poor and those forgotten by the world. It is very easy to get excited about a God who moves people to courageous acts of generosity and compassion.

See you Sunday,
Jeff

We talk a lot about inviting people to our church. We believe that part of our being in the community for the community means that, at a minimum, people ought to be included in what’s going on at Mariners Mission Viejo. I love meeting the friends you’ve invited. Generally, they’re surprised by two things: the wall (obviously) and the fact that they actually enjoyed being here: the music, the laughter, the coffee, the kids ministry, an honest depiction of Jesus, and the people (you!). There is a very real sense among people from our community that being here is where they belong.

Tomorrow night (October 24th from 4:30-7:30p) we’re throwing a neighborhood-sized party at nearby Viejo Elementary School (26782 Via Grande Mission Viejo, 92691) — our first ever HARVEST CARNIVAL. This will be a great expression of the church and the love we have for the community in which God has placed us. The event will be a blast. We’ve got our band performing live music, authentic Mexican food, a maze, face painting, game booths, and absurd amounts of candy (our candy donation bin is overflowing).

If your kids want to wear a costume, that’d be awesome. If you want to wear a costume — even better. Admission is free. Attraction wristbands are $5 for kids under five and $8 for kids older than six (cash only). Anything you spend goes to support the school. Don’t miss it. Invite your friends and neighbors. Show them how you and your church LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE.

See you Friday,
Jeff

Join us for a giant night of fun for the whole family! Enjoy food, live music, games, inflatable slides, obstacle courses, hay maze, bounce houses, face painting and more! You won’t want to miss this family-friendly community event that is open to all ages. Contact Kim with questions.

Friday, October 24, 4:30-7:30p
Viejo Elementary School field
26782 Via Grande, Mission Viejo, CA 92691

What would happen if we got serious about loving the people in our communities – wherever that might be? What would happen if we broke through all the barriers that keep our communities as merely a collection of polite strangers? What would it look like if we stopped dreaming about our next move and…

…truly loved where we lived?

during the weekend services
Sun: 9 & 11a
map and directions

Click here to find out ways you can love where you live and love your community!

I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.  1 PETER 5:1-3

Mariners Church, Mission Viejo has GREAT volunteer leaders. Last Sunday night, a few hundred volunteer leaders and life group members gathered for our first Vision Night. We ate together. We celebrated what God has been doing here at Mariners. We took a glimpse at the future of Mariners Mission Viejo — the local expression of God’s church. We prayed for each other. We celebrated together in song.

For me, as the lead pastor, the most compelling picture of God-at-work at Mariners wasn’t the event, per se, it was the unmistakable dedication of volunteers who “care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd.” The church — this church — is built on the tender-hearted commitment of leaders to Jesus and to the people to whom He calls us. Sunday night was a gathering of ushers, greeters, coffee makers, prayer teams, men’s and women’s ministry leaders, marriage mentors, local outreach volunteers, student ministries and children’s volunteers, weekend tech team members, and so many others. It’s true, I suppose, God doesn’t need people to accomplish his work in the world. But, he does choose to utilize us: broken, worried, scared, fumbling, work-in-progress us. Somehow, when we join him in his work, we get to share in His joy.

For those of you who missed Vision Night but would like to hear the talk, click here to be redirected to the Mariners Church Mission Viejo iTunes podcast page. It will available by the afternoon on Friday, October 17.

This weekend we’ll continue our new series: LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE as we ask the question: “What makes a great party?” Continue to be the great inviters that you are. Remember, people, even when they can’t make it, love to be invited. It’s going to be a great Sunday. Don’t forget to use #LWYL to post pictures of you with your pin. There are tons of great pics of people “loving where they live” across all five Mariners campuses. Search the hashtag and post some pics of your own.

See you Sunday,
Jeff
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This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  JEREMIAH 29:4-7 [NIV]

Remember when you were younger and you were made to sit in a bus, a minivan, or in a school assembly next to the one person with whom you swore you’d never associate. That person was mean. That person said and did things, at times, that may have crossed the line from teasing into outright bullying. So, whether it was a field trip, a long car ride, or the 3rd grade production of The Little Engine that Could, you were going to have to figure out how to live with that person made to sit next to you.

The two worlds you intended to keep separate now overlapped, spilling onto each other. Your noble rightness and that other person’s vile unkindness breathed the same air. With a quick cost benefit analysis you weigh the merits of taking the opportunity for a quick and unexpected attack on the evil-other before they get to you (It’s only a matter of time, after all, before they get you), versus your usual pattern of kindly goodness. Such is the dilemma: Attack and become the person I hate, or, sit and wait to be attacked.

During the time of the Babylonian exile, a time when God’s people were taken captive into a far away place by an “evil other,” God gives his people the most surprising instruction. He doesn’t say: “Attack them.” He doesn’t say: “Roll over and silently suffer.” Instead, he tells his people to build a life and “seek the prosperity of the city… because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

In other words, it is better that everyone would prosper – wherever that might be – than the suffering of all those who have done wrong. What the Bible records, in Jeremiah, is not that everything the captors did was good, rather that the response to to being held captive  isn’t retribution, nor is it hidden isolation.

“Seek the prosperity of the city.” In short,
LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE.

We live in a world that is, clearly, far from kind. We have been mistreated, at times. We’ve been the mistreat-er at others. What might God be saying to his Church (the people who belong to Him) about how to live in a complicated world? Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at the idea that God has given to us a unique responsibility to seek the prosperity in whatever place we find ourselves in a new series we’re calling: LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE. It will be a great opportunity to bring friends as we talk about how the church ought to be (despite its somewhat checkered reputation) in the communities we live.

See you Sunday,
Jeff

P.S.: Reminder: for those of you in life groups, those actively serving, or those who have recently joined a volunteer team, THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 12 AT 5-7PM IS VISION NIGHT AT MARINERS MISSION VIEJO. Spots are filling up quickly, so RSVP here. It will be a great night of dinner, vision-casting, and worship. Vision Night will be a critical point in the life of our church. If Mariners MV is your church, you won’t want to miss it.