Bill Berger.org

Hey, All Saints!

This is fun! I really enjoy sharing updates with you.

#1 - Sunday was excellent. I was moved by the music, and the invitation to gather around the Communion table was life giving. I was also grateful for so many new faces that were in attendance. I think we are seeing the fruit of our 3-1-1 campaign. (Praying for 3 people, 1 day a week for 1 minute a day). Keep praying!

#2 The responses to what it means to follow Jesus were powerful. Many people resonated with the deeply personal experience of following Jesus, and the acknowledgement that people shy away from following Christ for that very reason. We learned that by the Grace of God we are able to get a self, in other words, we can say like the Apostle Paul, "I am what I am." There is such freedom in that! I like this quote from Kierkegaard:

"Love the person you see, and see the person you love."

You can listen to the message here. Oh, and by the way, YOU ARE GREAT!

#3 This Sunday we are going to continue our journey through I Corinthians 15. Our theme will be what it means to have courage. Better yet, want to learn what it means to be a hero? Who is your favorite Super-hero? (I like Aquaman!) Anyway, bring your sneakers, we are going to leap buildings in a single bound, stop bullets and become stronger than locamotives. (yup, you just read that).

#4 I am really excited about what our Music and Arts Pastor, Jimmy Nichols is working on for this Sunday, talk about heroes with courage! 

"Through music and lyric we can express our deepest longings, our heartfelt prayers, and our stories. It is through creative expression that God's story and our story can come together and prompt us to worship. Join us Sunday as we worship through the singing of Hymns and reflect on how these songs were birthed in their authors."

#5 Get the All Saints App! I am stoked that all of you that have it are stoked. Get it here.

#6 Convoy of Hope: One Days Wage to Feed the World update. Ok, I am so proud of All Saints Church! Our goal was 10k, are you ready for the result? (drum roll, please)........

$10,294 - We surpassed our goal. Thank you for being such a generous church. We get the opportunity to help feed hundreds of children! Thank you so much!!

#7 This weekend we are introducing our newest member to the staff team. Warren Kinser is our associate pastor overseeing assimilation and some organizational management. Welcome to the team Warren. You will get a chance to formerly meet him this Sunday during the 9:30 or 11 gatherings.

You are great, All Saints Church! See you Sunday.

 

 

Why Young Christians are leaving church...

This looks interesting, I look forward to attending.

Check this out from David Kinnaman author of unChristian:

Today’s Christian teens and twentysomethings are changing their churches, businesses, and nonprofits.
Our team has listened to their concerns and asked for their solutions. We’ve discovered how their world is shifting and what it may mean for those who influence them.
Join David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, for a provocative event called You Lost Me: Live!
This half-day training focused on today's younger generation will help you and your team understand the important cultural shifts that are influencing young Christians.
Bring your ideas, solutions and questions about the teens and twentysomethings you work with. We want to hear them.
Immerse yourself in the Barna Group’s practical and visionary research. And learn how you can apply these insights right where you live.

Here are some deetz: May 22 Northwest University 10a-3p - $19

You can register here.

Hey, All Saints!

I am late in getting this out, I apologize. I do have a few things to share with you:

#1  Easter Sunday was incredible on many levels. It was good seeing many people I have never met before. It was fun having a house full of people! I thoroughly enjoyed the music, Jimmy and Rachel Nichols did such a great job. I am so proud of All Saint'ers, I noticed how every person was treated as a wonderful and precious gift from God and I am quite sure Jesus was made even more popular. 

#2 I am so proud of all the incredible volunteers at All Saints! We had so many people step up to serve every person that was in attendance. I am grateful for the incredible passion and attitude of our entire team. Thank you all so much!

#3 An update from our "one day's wage to feed the world" campaign. We are currently at $9808, our goal is $10k. I am so proud of our church, this is what makes a church "famous." They will know we follow Jesus by our love...in serving and giving. Thank you, All Saints!

#4 Let me introduce Warren Kinser, our most recent staff hire. Warren is coming on to be our associate pastor. He will over see our assimilation system and help with organizational management. Warren is a great guy who is very gifted. We are very fortunate to have him on board. Take some time to "Welcome Warren" this Sunday.

#5 This Sunday we will continue our look into I Corinthians 15. We are going to look at the apostle Paul and his amazing transformation. We can learn alot from Paul and what it means to become a Christ follower, also get some glimpses into what that might look like for you and me and our friends. I am really excited about teaching this Sunday.

#6 Don't forget to download the All Saints Church APP. At last check we had 522 launches and 416 downloads. The team from subsplash has spoiled us rotten. You can get it here

#7 I am so grateful and honored to pastor at All Saints Church. I truly believe we have what it takes to show Seattle how much Jesus loves this city. Let's pray, serve and give extravagantly to do whatever it takes to demonstrate the abundant life of Jesus. Our goal isn't to make All Saints better, our goal is to make Seattle better. Let's get to work!

See you Sunday!

Compassion for the City

"When he approached Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it." Luke 19:41

Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he knew they were going to reject the King and his Kingdom. The city was on a collison course, and Jesus knew it. The people were doing whatsoever they wanted, looking for the freedom to be. The only way Jesus could do something about it was to go to the cross and die for them.

Today, over 2000 years later, we have the same problems. People are trying to do whatsoever to find an identity and a way that is suitable and satisfactory. As a pastor in the city, I want the same compassion as Jesus, I want my heart to break for the people that live in my city. Jesus didn't engage in silly philosophical arguements, he didn't draw a line in his fundamentalist sand box, he drew the people in by his love, grace and mercy. He was compelling because he was completely true to his character. As we enter into the Easter weekend, I think it is vital that we weep (with compassion and love) over our cities and neighborhoods.

I came across this great video that tells the story of people in Richmond, Virginia who have this same compassion for their city. You can see it here.

Take some time today to pray for Seattle or whatever city you live in. Pray for your neighborhood and your neighbors. Look for opportunities to be compelling, and above all, serve.

What do I say?

Why do I do feel like I have to answer for God? When I am with people who are suffering, or trying to answer a question from someone who is struggling with life emotionally...why do I feel like I have to make God look good?

I am one that has always struggled with people and their suffering. I get so uptight when my kids are hurt, or when I foresee they are about to encounter pain. When I sit with a friend as they describe what they are going through; a part of me wants to take some of it and the other part is wondering, "what do I say?'

It is hard to trust in God's sovereignty, meaning that the absolute authority, rule, and government of God in the whole of that reality that exists distinct from Himself in the realms of nature and of grace. To trust that in his wisdom, he has it all in his control.

At times, the silence of not being able to find the words to say moves me to tears. The other day, I was lamenting to a friend about this issue, and he said to me, "sometimes it is best to not answer for God, for he will answer in his way, his time, and consistent with his being." In some weird, academic way, that was soothing.

I do trust that God will heal, soothe and bring about resolution, that is his business. However, I am learning that the healing, soothing and resolution looks different than what I expect. 

Goin for it!

I am applying to the UW for a Masters in comparative religion, with a concentration in religion and culture.  I met with the department chair yesterday, Jim Wellman.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot in an hour conversation. Wellman wrote a book called, Evangelical vs. Liberal, his premise is looking at the culture clash between these two groups and how it plays itself out in the Pac NW.  The city of Seattle is one of the least churched cities in the nation, and in conversations with people from here it's not hard to see why.  These are very intelligent people who are not looking for a religious experience, they are looking for a spiritual one.  I love Seattle and it's people, I am certainly one of them. I am skeptical, cynical, and distrusting of institutions.  However, I serve a real, engaging God that is about being the Prince of Peace to a city that would otherwise be hostel toward him.  The tension between fundamentalism and relativism is very profound here, as a church, we are learning to live in it and be ok with it. It makes for very interesting methods of serving and being the church.

I am excited for this opportunity, I am getting ready for the GRE's and I have to learn a language.  In the program, we must read primary sources.  So, depending on what strand I pursue I am looking at French or German.  I am goin' for it!

A good read?

I am a cynic. I constantly question the validity, truth and relevance of everything. I am not the best person to ask "what do you think?" In my pilgimmage as a follower of Jesus, I find myself doing the same thing. I am a cynic. In the Bible there was a guy who was a cynic, he was a follower of Jesus, and like me he questioned truth. His name was Thomas, he was the dude that wanted to touch the wounds of Jesus after his resurrection. He needed to see, he needed to touch, he needed to make sure the real was indeed real. The Bible, fortunately, welcomes cynics. It is written to the cynic, the doubter, the believer, and the pricks who feel the need to slop their cynicism all over everything. Is the Bible a good read? I don't know if just "reading" is what one should do with it. Perhaps, engaging it is a better way to approach it. Maybe looking at it from all angles, testing it, kicking sand at it, is the best way to handle it. The Bible has proven to be an enduring document, it has survived many pricks, and many cynics. It is a living document that has remained relevant for thousands of years, yet it is the one book that collects more dust, more outrage, more controversy and more cyncism. I really love the Bible, it has cured many seasons of sharp cyncism, it has relieved aches in my soul and has shed light on dark places in my heart. I am a cynic, however I am also a true believer.