Teamwork

Three weeks from yesterday, October 26, hundreds of guests will be enjoying Trunk or Treat on our front lawn. If you’ve been here awhile, you know that Trunk or Treat at Mandarin is a huge deal for our community. Planning for this event started weeks ago. I am grateful to Vanessa Lankford and Stephanie Bennett for leading our efforts to connect with our neighbors and friends. I am excited that over a dozen of you already have committed to decorate a trunk. Others of you already have volunteered to help with games. We are off to a great start!

Now is the time to kick into high gear! We need numerous volunteers to help prepare and serve food. We need volunteers to help with games. We need volunteers to help with parking. We need several more decorated trunks. If you can’t be here that day, we need candy donations, and we’ll need folks who can help us reach out to anyone who shows interest in finding out more about our church. We need you! All hands on deck! Please stop by the display in the foyer today and write your name underneath the specific task with which you can help.

Please be here on the 26th if you possibly can! Please be ready to be living demonstrations of why Mandarin is a place to love and be loved. Please be ready to invite people to join us on October 27, when we’ll begin a four-week sermon series called, “Parental Guidance Required.” I can’t wait to see how God uses you to make this Trunk or Treat our best ever!

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5.’

Game Day is Coming!

Gameday is only two weeks away. On September 22, you will have the opportunity to commit to being ‘All In’ by volunteering to serve in the Mandarin Family. After worship, we will have tailgating stations set up outside in the front lawn where you can see how we are carrying out our core practices of adoring God, belonging to each other, caring for our world, discipling intentionally, and evangelizing authentically. We’ll have all sorts of fun stuff planned for kids and adults, and what would tailgating be without hotdogs and chips.

Now is the time to think about what area you feel God is leading you to serve.

· Perhaps you can help with guest relations.
· Perhaps you would like to partner with Dakota in working with our teenagers.
· Perhaps you’d like to host a small group in your home a couple of times a month.
· Perhaps you could help with security.
· Perhaps you would like to pick up bread once a month that is delivered the next day to the apartment complexes we serve.
· Perhaps you would like to help with audio/video.
· Perhaps you’re a planner, and you’d like to help us with reach out events.
· Perhaps you have a passion for missions, whether foreign or domestic.

However God has gifted you, there is a place for you to help Mandarin carry out its mission of working together to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus. Every volunteer opportunity matters.

In the next two weeks, would you please pray about where God would have you to serve? Would you be ready to act when He answers that prayer, even if the answer surprises you? On September 22, will you be ready to say to God and to your brothers and sisters, “I’m All In?”

Belong to Each Other

As our family has seen an influx of new people, the challenge of belonging to each other is magnified. It’s hard to belong to each other as we’re just getting to know each other. Belonging to each other is not natural, yet it is not optional. In Romans 12:5, (NIV) Paul writes, “in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

While belonging to each other has many facets, we encourage every Mandarin Family member to consider three commitments as a beginning point:

a. We commit to being available for each other.
b. We commit to spending time with each other beyond regularly appointed assemblies.}
c. We commit to holding each other accountable to love and to good deeds.

In the months ahead, we will offer more opportunities for fellowship, more opportunities to connect with a small group, more opportunities to connect with each other beyond our church walls. Of course, you don’t need the church’s planning to connect more intimately. You can invite people into your home. You can meet friends for meals and recreation. You can check in on those who are not physically able to worship with us.

Expanding opportunities to deepen connections will require more volunteers. On Gameday, September 22, you’ll have a chance to volunteer to help your brothers and sisters go deeper with each other. It might be setting up or cleaning up for a fellowship, helping new members find their place to serve, contacting family members who have been unable to worship with us, or just being an active participant in ladies’ ministry, men’s ministry, or a small group. Gameday is coming! Are you all in?

Mike Johnson
Don’t forget to ‘Take 5.’

All In

Over the last year, God has blessed Mandarin beyond what any of us imagined. We should not be surprised, because 2,000 years ago, Paul penned these words, “20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV)

For over 30 years, the Mandarin Vision has been “A Place to Love and Be Loved.” Last September, we introduced a targeted mission to help us work toward that vision: “The Mandarin Family Works Together to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus.” We determined that we would invest our energy in five core practices:

Adore God
Belong to Each Other
Care for Our World
Disciple Intentionally
Evangelize Authentically.

Earlier this year, The Holy Spirit worked through you to select five elders and six deacons. Lori Gallaher came on board to work with our Children’s Ministry after faithful and dedicated service by Sherry Emery. Lori, Becky Fields and Shanna Waterman agreed to help with Ladies Ministry. Tom and Kae Green answered the call to help new members connect to the body.

Now it’s your turn. Over the next several weeks, you will hear about opportunities make a Kingdom difference in the Mandarin Family. Now is the time to pray about how God wants you to help Mandarin guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus. Game Day is Coming!

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

Children Mean the World to Jesus

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Mark 10:13-16.

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (NIV)

I love the paradox: Jesus tells His disciples, “you need to grow up and be more like these children. You need to be tender hearted like these children. You need to be transparent like these children. You need to be dependent on your (heavenly) father, just like these children are dependent on you.”

Children mean the world to Jesus, so much so that He was happy to pass on time with adults to bless some kids. And that’s why children mean the world to us at Mandarin. Thank God for spills on the carpet. Thank God when Teen Room noise can be heard in the Fellowship Hall. Thank God for cries during communion. Thank God for scuffs on the walls. These are evidence of life in this place!

As our children get ready to return to school, let’s make sure every Mandarin child knows that he/she is unconditionally loved by God and unconditionally loved by us. Jesus loved child interruptions. How about you?

-Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

What If...

What if Mandarin worked together to create a children’s ministry where children not only were taught about Jesus, but children experienced the real ministry of Jesus by serving others?

What if Mandarin worked together with its’ next youth minister to create a ministry where teens were not just ministered to, but they experienced the joy of ministering both inside and outside our walls?

What if Mandarin worked together to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God?

What if Mandarin worked together to be so generous, our elders would have to rethink what God can do through us?

What if Mandarin worked together to commit to be available for each other?

What if Mandarin worked together to fellowship beyond regularly scheduled assemblies?

What if Mandarin worked together to use the resources God has freely given us to care for our brothers, our sisters and our world?

What if Mandarin worked together to be intentional in seeking out relationships where we can help someone grow and someone can help us grow?

What if Mandarin worked together to share Jesus naturally within the parameters of our own personalities?

What if ever Mandarin Family member showed up on this campus every Sunday, not ready to consume, but ready to contribute; not ready to evaluate, but ready to participate; ready to see ‘transform’ become the norm?

What if is a wonderful dream, but what if only becomes what is when we pour every ounce of energy into what God says can be.

Be the church you want Mandarin to be! More importantly, be the church God wants Mandarin to be!

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

For Our Guests...

Welcome to the Mandarin Church of Christ! We’re glad you’re here, whether it’s your first visit or you’ve been a frequent guest. For those of you who have brought your children for VBS, thank you so much for entrusting your children with us this weekend! We hope your children have had a lot of fun and have learned about Jesus as we’ve talked about the armor of God.

This is our mission: The Mandarin Family works together to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus. Wherever we are on our spiritual journey is a great place to be, but wherever we are is not where God wants us to stay. Whether someone has just heard about Jesus for the first time, or someone has been a decades-long follower of Jesus, each person can take a step forward in being more like Jesus.

We seek to grow by carrying out five core practices:

Adore God
Belong to Each Other
Care for Our World
Disciple Intentionally
Evangelize Authentically

Starting August 11, we will be talking in detail about how we live these core practices, and it would be a wonderful time to worship with us and determine whether Mandarin is the place for you. Here’s the bottom line: If you feel like you’ve arrived, Mandarin might not be the best place for you. But if you want to grow, and you want to help others grow, welcome home!

If I have not met you already in person, I hope that you will give me that privilege today. Just look for me in the church foyer once our assembly has concluded.

What Does it Mean to ‘Take 5?’

Every week at the end of my bulletin column, I include the message to the Mandarin Family: “Don’t forget to Take 5.” Last week, as one of our guests was leaving, he asked me what that meant. His question reminded me that we first talked about ‘take 5’ nearly a year ago, and our family has a lot of new people who might have no idea what that means.

In drama or music, ‘take 5’ simply means to take a break from what you are doing. In our church, ‘take 5’ also means to take a break from what we normally do. Specifically, ‘take 5’ is a commitment that at the conclusion of our worship assembly, all Mandarin Family members (extroverts and introverts) will spend the first five minutes connecting with guests and people we don’t know before spending time with people we do. ‘Take 5’ helps us broaden our pool of family connections, and it helps us make sure every guest feels valued and appreciated.

As the Mandarin Family continues to grow, ‘take 5’ will become more important than ever. Our vision is, “A Place to Love and Be Loved,” and making connections is the first critical step to fostering intimacy. “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.” (Galatians 6:9 The Message)

I love you, and I can’t wait to see you this Sunday.

-Mike Johnson

Never Compromise your Allegiance

Michael Hargrove writes about an experience that changed his life. He was in an airport, and a younger man came off a flight to the baggage claim area, and his wife and family were there to meet him. He catches a seven-year-old boy who jumps into his arms, and he gives him a big hug and a kiss. He walks over to this ten-year-old son and ruffles his hair and tells him how much he missed him and what a handsome young man he’s becoming. He grabs an eighteen-month-old little girl who squeals with delight as he bounces her up and down. Then he says, “I saved the best for last,” and he gives his wife a great big hug and a passionate kiss.

Michael is watching this take place, and he approaches the young father and asks, “how long have you been married?”

The man replies, “twelve years.”

“How long have you been gone?”

“Two whole days.”

Michael Hargrove said, “I hope that my marriage and family will have this much love and passion after twelve years.”

The passenger said to him, “don’t hope friend; decide.”

Today as we talk about Pergamum, I hope you will decide to never allow your allegiance to be compromised. I hope you will decide to keep the home fires burning, and I hope you will decide to fan the Spirit’s fire into an inferno that will light up the world around you.

-Mike Johnson
Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

To My Mandarin Family

This week, I get to begin my second year of partnering with you in ministry. Every day, I thank God for the honor and privilege of being your preacher. You continue to treat my family with an unconditional love fitting for a church who calls itself a place to love and be loved. You have shown me kindness, grace, forgiveness, hospitality, and so much more. Thank you for letting me serve the Mandarin Family.

This first year has been amazing in many ways, yet I recognize that it’s just one year in the three decades plus of this church’s existence. I know that there were amazing days before me, and there will be amazing days after me. Our challenge is to make the most of the moments we get to share together right now.

So, over the next year, we’ll talk a lot about how we can most effectively carry out our mission of working together to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus. We’ll talk a lot about our core principles of adoring God, belonging to each other, caring for our world, discipling intentionally and evangelizing authentically. Here are just three questions I’ve been thinking about a lot, and I hope you’ll start thinking about these questions as well:

1. Where is the Holy Spirit leading us when it comes to connecting with our community?

2. What will it take for us to be so in love with an irresistible Jesus that we can’t stop talking about Him?

3. With so many new faces around here, how can we deepen our connections with each other?

I can’t wait to see what God does in the year that lies ahead.

Mike Johnson
Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

Mandarin Servants

Today in our assembly, our shepherds will formally install six men as deacons: Mike Bennett, Gary Eaton, Larry Faulkner, Mike Lankford, Jerry Melton, and Joey Sikes. These men were nominated by the Mandarin Family, and we are grateful for their abilities and their willingness to serve. Their specific ministry assignments will be publicized soon.

We are also delighted to announce that Lori Gallaher is now serving the Mandarin Family as our Children’s Ministry Coordinator. Lori is a gifted person with a strong educational and organizational background, and we are grateful for her willingness to serve. Lori would love to talk to you about the difference you can make for our children.

We express our deepest gratitude to Sherry Emery for coordinating our children’s classes for the last couple of years. Sherry loves the children of this church, she loves connecting young families to each other and to Jesus, and she has done a remarkable job under frequent challenging circumstances.

I could easily fill this column for weeks with names of Mandarin servants. So much good goes on behind the scenes! It reminds me of words once spoken by Harry Truman: “It’s amazing how much you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” It is a wonderful blessing to be part of a church family where so many give so much for the sake of expanding God’s Kingdom. It’s part of the reason I am convinced that Mandarin’s best days lie ahead.

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

Summer is Here!

The calendar has turned to June, and that means a busy next few weeks are ahead for us here at Mandarin. June 1 after worship, we will have our VBS kick-off meeting in the Fellowship Hall. Our VBS will take place July 19-21, and we will need all-hands on deck to produce the world class VBS for which Mandarin is known. If you can volunteer before, during, or after VBS, we need you. Teachers, artists, cooks, actors, singers, registration, organizers and security are but a few of the volunteers we will need. Please join us for this meeting.

Our Wednesday Summer Series, “Growing in Graces,” begins next Wednesday, June 12. God loves us just as we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay where we are. Our Summer Series speakers will challenge us to grow in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love. Don Mathis will be our first guest, followed by Elisha Taylor of the recently planted Northbound Church of Christ. You will be blessed by being with the Mandarin Family on Wednesday nights this Summer.

I am eagerly looking forward to a Mandarin Family Singing on Sunday, June 23, at 5:30 p.m. Dave Berry from San Jose will be out guest leader as we sing many of our favorites and learn two or three new songs as well. Dave is a gifted leader, and we will have a wonderful time singing to God and to each other. I hope I’ll see you there.

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

A Time To Remember

Monday, May 27, will be Memorial Day. This day is set aside to remember all who have sacrificially given their lives for our nation. Since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, nearly 600,000 Americans have died in times of conflict ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror. Each person who died had a family, had a story, and days like Memorial Day give us pause to soberly reflect on the true meaning of sacrifice. I hope that at some point over the holiday weekend, you will give thanks for those who have given so much so that we can enjoy the privilege of living in this great country.

As a church family, we gather each Sunday, in large part, to remember. We remember just how much God loves us. We remember the sacrifice that was made so we can be free from sin. We remember that Jesus gave his life, but he also conquered death and rose from the grave. We remember who we are because of what He has done. In I Peter 2:9, the writer says, “for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.”

We must remember who we are, yet we must also live in light of whose we are. Peter continues by saying in verse 10, “As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” This is our challenge; that our memory will move us show the world the goodness of God. Every day is a day to remember, and every day is a day to illuminate an irresistible Jesus.

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

The Power of Prayer

Do you remember where the Mandarin Family was a year ago? How have things changed so dramatically and progressed so quickly? Easy answer: God at work! But why did God show up and start rebuilding, reviving and restoring this church? Easy answer: Prayer!

A year ago, Trey Clark created a plan to call the Mandarin Family to a month of prayer. Over this past school year, every child in this family has been prayed for daily by someone in addition to mom and dad. Our elder process was bathed in prayer. Every move made by our former Steering Committee was bathed in prayer. We are where we are, not because of anything special in us, but because God is faithful when His children pray.

So what’s going to happen next? What about a new youth minister? What about deacons? What about continued growth? What about putting our baptistry back in operation? What about making a real Kingdom difference in our community? What work of God will we be celebrating a year from now? Easy answer: It all depends on prayer!

This church family moves forward in direct proportion to our prayer lives. I hope you are praying for laborers for the harvest. I hope you are praying for your neighbors, friends, coworkers and classmates to come to know Jesus. I hope you are praying that our shepherds will move with boldness and vision. I hope you are praying that your preacher will faithfully carry out his calling as God’s servant. It’s because of your prayer life that I believe Mandarin’s best days lie ahead!

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’

Deacon Nomination

Deacon Nomination Forms Due Sunday, May 12

Our elders have asked the congregation to nominate men to serve as deacons. The qualities of deacons are spoken of by Paul in I Timothy 3:8-13. Among the qualities Paul mentions are respectability, integrity, sobriety, honesty with money, committed to the faith, ability to live with a clear conscience, faithfulness to his wife, and a good manager of his children and his home. While it’s not possible to be perfect in all the qualities Paul mentions, this passage helps us identify the overall character of the man God is looking for in a deacon.

Sunday, May 12 is the deadline to nominate men to serve as deacons for the Mandarin Family. A nomination form is included in Sunday’s bulletin. You are free to nominate as few or as many men as you wish who you believe meet the qualities spoken of in I Timothy 3. You can be especially helpful in this nominating process by suggesting an area of our core practices where you think your nominee could be especially helpful. Signed nomination forms can be placed in the prayer box in the back of the auditorium. If you have any questions, feel free to speak with any of our elders.

Mike Johnson

Growing in Ministry

The Mandarin Family works together to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus. We carry out our mission through five core practices that we refer to as our ABC’s:

Adore God
Belong to Each Other
Care for Our World
Disciple Intentionally
Evangelize Authentically

In order for us to carry out our mission and core practices, our elders see the need to appoint deacons. The qualities of deacons are spoken of by Paul in I Timothy 3:8-13. While it’s not possible to be perfect in all the qualities Paul mentions, this passage helps us identify the overall character of the man God is looking for in a deacon. The task of deacon is not about a title, it’s about service. It’s sometimes about ‘grunt work.’ It’s work, often done behind the scenes with little recognition or reward, but it’s the kind of work honored by God (Mark 10:43-45).

Today, you have the opportunity to nominate men to serve as deacons for the Mandarin Family. A nomination form is included in this bulletin. You are free to nominate as few or as many men as you wish who you believe meet the qualities spoken of in I Timothy 3. You can be especially helpful in this nominating process by suggesting an area of our core practices where you think your nominee could be especially helpful. Signed nomination forms can be placed in the prayer box in the back of the auditorium. The deadline for submitting nominations is May 12. If you have any questions, feel free to speak with any of our elders.

Mike Johnson

Don’t forget to ‘Take 5’