Posts by Scott Shoopman
Equip for Discipleship
I am going to steal some of Josh’s thunder and blog about tonight’s Equip class!!
First, WOW!!! The presenters/teachers did a fabulous job with the VERY short time frame they were asked to work within. For a 2 hour “class” the time seemed more like 45 minutes at the most. The material was packed full of great advice and practical insights as well and challenging us to a higher level. Christopher Stedman said that one of the greatest things about tonight was the amount of material we were able to take with us to continue to unpack after the class – Great insight and so very true!
Thank you to Josh Howerton, Rick Howerton, John Howard and Eva Howard for investing in The Bridge family.
One insight that I had personally reinforced this evening for me personally has been on my mind for a couple of weeks. I need more personal time with Jesus.
My work is virtually all within a ministry context. Connections Pastor, Warehouse Manager for World Vision, Trainer for LifeWay and Real Estate. Well, not as much in the RE world, but you get my drift. It is WAAAAYYYYY too easy for me to let my personal relationship with Jesus slip into a “trellis” type of relationship instead of tending the “vine” as Jesus has explained in John 15:5; “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
All the “stuff” I do is great for the Kingdom and probably counts as “good works” for me. BUT – the works do not improve my relationship with Jesus anymore than mowing the grass helps my relationship with Marianne. It is a “good work”, but if all I did toward our relationship was do “stuff”, our marriage would suffer greatly. Conversely, if I did not do any “stuff” I don’t think Marianne would fall deeply in love with me as everything around us continued to decay. As Josh often says, the answer is often in the middle…
Balance = continue the “good works” but spend more time with just the two of us, Jesus and me, heart to heart.
Read MoreMercy
Recently, I started working for a company (Williams & Associates) that supplies the management for a warehouse for World Vision. So, I am working part-time managing a World Vision warehouse in Franklin – and loving it! It’s like God ordained my life’s experiences to culminate into this job. I have learned much about World Vision in a short period of time and am amazed at the depth of their commitment to the world’s poor and marginalized.
Rich Stearns, the CEO of World Vision, has written a book called, “The Hole in Our Gospel”. In this book, he details the events leading up to his acceptance of the position at World Vision. Reading this book, I cannot help but think of Susan Howerton (Our Missions Minister), her gift of Mercy and her “heart for missions”. I have known Susan for 7 years – since I started at The Bridge. Immediately, I knew that Susan’s heart was Missionally minded and throughout the years, I have often commented how I just didn’t SEE the needs like Susan. Susan is simply “gifted” in this area. My level of Mercy is on the low end of the scale… True, she is Missionally minded, but this week I read a passage quite differently than I have ever read.
Yesterday I read a viewpoint from Rich Stearns about the “Good Samaritan” (click here) that really took me out at the knees. The way the Priest and Levite acted toward the wounded man, is too much like the way I have viewed the “needy” in my world. Have I walked to the opposite side of the road so I wouldn’t have to see the need? Is the simple fact of being intentional of extending mercy to our “neighbor” so hard to adopt?
World Vision does great work around the world caring for the poor and marginalized. Susan Howerton has the heart of World Vision and lives a life worthy of the “Good Samaritan”.
Thank you Susan for your example of missional living and self-less devotion to Jesus.
Read More29 Years of Grace
It still amazes me. I guess because I know me, the real me, the self-centered me. But after 29 years, I think she probably knows me too. Marianne Rudy Shoopman – my wife, my partner, my helpmate, my completer, my best friend, my lover, my children’s mother, and Charlotte’s “Nan”!!
29 years ago this Sunday we were married in a church without air conditioning in a summer much like the one we are experiencing this year – it was HOT! Our marriage ceremony was a full mass, not a simple 15 minute affair. We had a great time at our reception, forgot our suitcases and had to turn around after we left, stopped at a Shoney’s to eat on our way out of town and then headed to my grandparents homes in Oklahoma for our “honeymoon!”
Our marriage has been filled with ups and downs, with me causing most of the downs. Marianne has followed me all over the country, packing and unpacking, mothering our children who were to move to another town and another school – again. She followed me here, not wanting to leave our last church, friends, jobs, home, etc. to help start The Bridge. BUT, she followed. And when times were not “better” but had gotten “worse” – she never even hinted at a complaint. Grace.
My wife loves me. I don’t always understand why, but I always know she does. Grace.
I work part-time now at a warehouse in Franklin for World Vision and during devotions(with some really young people – in comparison to me!) the topic moved to “unconditional love”. Someone posed a question to the group almost rhetorically, “are we really capable of unconditional love?” After some silence, I answered something to the effect of, the closest we will ever get is the love we have for our children. I would like to amend that statement – I think my wife has blessed me with unconditional love for 29 years and because of her example, I can get a little closer to loving others unconditionally.
Read MoreVoting?
I received a phone call today from Dave Hall and one of the things we talked about was voting. Dave is from California and is used to a much more active state roll in informing the citizens about the elections. Sadly, I had little information for Dave – so he did some research that I am going to pass on to you in this blog.
No matter your stripes – Dem, Rep or Indy, one thing is certain, you are an American and if you are reading this, probably a Tennessean. I personally spend way too much energy complaining for a guy that only votes in the “major” elections and have probably missed a couple of non-presidential elections. The things we take for granted…
In our last church-wide study, Timothy Keller quotes a passage from Jeremiah where God is directing the Israelites to engage their new-found city of Babylon. Not to adopt the culture, but to prosper and be good citizens – as we like to say “bloom where God plants ya”… Not too much of a stretch for us to consider voting as a way to engage our culture without having to adopt all the “stuff” of the world around us. We can be a part of society and let our lives be so different while we walk the same streets, work the same jobs and vote in the same elections, that the world around us wants what we have.
Here are two websites that Dave found that will take some of the guess work out of the process and hopefully begin the research for you so you can vote as an informed citizen.
First find out your voting info: click here
Then one site that can begin your research: click here (This site leans a bit Republican)
Here is the Democratic Party site: click here
I really don’t want to open this blog and comments for party specific ideas and comments, so please refrain if possible. Just do the right thing and research as much as possible before you vote. Hopefully these links will help you get started, they have helped me…
Read MoreSecond Coming
As the Connections Pastor, I have an interesting role in attempting to connect the people God has entrusted to us. That seemingly simple process has eluded many church leaders – evident from the varied approaches, teachings and blog posts. The one clear message – God wants his church to be connected. Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17 is a clear indication, but the logistics were not in John 18!!
God has given each of us a gift or possibly multiple gifts to use to advance his work here. Uncovering these gifts and finding the right place of service and nourishment for each person is our goal. To become a disciple we must participate in both and Jesus’ mandate, and our goal as a church, is to “make disciples”. Again, the “how to” is what we are working on, what some are diving into, and what others are searching for. But, it all has to start somewhere. In the beginning…
Often when a person visits The Bridge and I have the opportunity to talk with them, I will ask them a simple question – “How did you hear about The Bridge?” This is a great way to find out what we are doing that attracts people, but there has to be more. We know that we will not be THE church for everyone and that’s OK. But for those that chose to come back, we need to know more – so I am asking a new question to everyone that reads this post – even if you have been here for 6 years!
“What made you decide to come back – the second time?” (now the title makes some sense)
This will help me evaluate. From here we will continue to develop a framework – a trellis – to attract people, make it comfortable for them to return, provide tools and resources to help them find a home-base from which they can grow as disciples and serve as disciples.
So, “What made you decide to come back – the second time?”
Read MoreMore Information
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