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Jesus be the Center
:: When someone tells you anything like…
I’m hurting
I’m struggling
I’m sad
I’m scared
I’m grieving
I’m overwhelmed
I’m upset
I’m stressed
I’m exhausted
I’m lonely
I’m frustrated
Do..
Be there
Listen
Cry with them
Pray for and with them
Ask them how you can help
Tell them you love them
Offer help
Do Not…
Criticize
Give advice (unless they ask)
React negatively
Compare your own life
Tell them someone has it worse than them
Tell them to get over it
Share platitudes
Remember…
that we aren’t perfect.
that everyone needs compassion and empathy.
our own struggles.
that life is precious no matter the age or development.
That it’s okay not to have the answers.
that no one is “too far gone” for the grace, love, and forgiveness of Jesus.
That feelings of sadness, isolation, anger, frustration, and angst are all normal tings to feel.
That it’s okay to NOT be okay (because, I’m not all that okay myself right now).
This time is HARD for everyone, and completely unprecedented in our time. All of us are trying to figure life out, whether it’s suddenly having to do crisis homeschooling, losing our jobs, being quarantined with your abusers, struggling with mental health alone, losing therapies and medical support, etc. My hard is different than your hard, but your hard is still a tough thing to deal with.
Jesus can do hard like no one else.
He wept
He danced
He overturned tables
He created wine out of water,
…but most tangibly, He died for us.
He knows and He understands. ❤️
Remember that one day we will look back with some awe and wonder at how we functioned and lived, a lot of sadness at sickness, death, and being temporarily separated from loved ones and friends, and maybe even some regret at how we had lived our lives previous to being forced to stay home or work even harder at our essential jobs.
What will we tell future generations? I’m hoping we can share that we banded together, loved each other, forgave one other, learned to live better with each other, grieved together, listened harder, and moved forward into a new chapter. And also that we judged less and loved more.
Spring is here.
And then summer.
And so on and so forth.
And what then?
I hope that we will remember unity and strength.
And that we cared.
And that empathy was a key emotion.
Go forward with compassion.
May Jesus be the center of our motives and actions.
May His love shine through us as a beacon for those in the eye of the storm.
Blessings,
Stephanie
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Beloved, Don’t Dismiss the Experts
Deeply loved friends and family:
Don’t dismiss the experts, the experienced, and the trade-specific professionals.
Think of it this way…
⏺You’re a master mechanic. You’ve been in the business for 26 years. Know-it-all Joe shows up with a leaking radiator and a broken alternator. You know this because you’ve run the diagnostics and have experience with his car’s specific make/model. The parts need to be replaced ASAP.
🛑BUT Joe claims it’s the water pump. He knows this because he Googled and YouTubed possible symptoms and cause-effect sequences with his vehicle. You kindly offer reality to Joe. He argues and debates with you for 39 minutes and then has the car towed to a friend’s unlicensed garage to repair the problem he thinks he has.
⏺You’re a certified public accountant. You’ve been in that line of work for 19 years. You became a partner in the firm 6 years ago. You know tax law, mergers and acquisitions, advanced bookkeeping, and much more like the back of your hand. New business owner Amy shows up at your office and asks you to do her sole-proprietorship taxes. You’re happy to help. But she needs to file a Schedule C and a few other additional forms. All her receipts and mileage records need to be turned into you.
🛑BUT Amy claims she doesn’t need all those records and forms. In fact, her record-keeping is messy and missing important documentation. She “knows” because she Googled info and is a part of a Facebook group with other small business owners that tell her not to worry about it and that the IRS won’t bother to audit her because her revenue is so small. After counter-arguing with you for 2 unbillable hours, she walks out with manila folders in tow, deciding she’ll manipulate it on her own with TurboTax.
⏺You’re an ordained pastor. You’ve enjoyed full-time ministry for 23 years. You earned 8 years of post-secondary education, including a 4-year master’s degree with studies in systematic theology, NT Greek, OT Hebrew, and advanced preaching. Armchair theologian Doug shows up at your office with a new idea: he believes the hypostatic union of Christ’s two natures (100% human and 100% divine) is an outdated idea. Instead, he claims Jesus was a created being like you and me and became deity – God – when He was resurrected from the dead. You graciously explain how that view isn’t compatible with the Bible, the teaching of the church fathers, and simply isn’t theologically workable.
🛑BUT Doug dogmatically believes he is correct because he read through the Bible 10 times, owns a Strong’s concordance that proves the words mean what he thinks they mean, and watched 700 hours of YouTube videos from three different people who teach this interpretation. After angrily debating for 3 straight hours, he leaves the church in a huff and shouts on his way out the door, “You’ll never see me here again! I can’t believe how all those seminary teachers you had got this wrong.”
⚠️Friends, it’s like this with EVERYTHING. Perhaps you’re a computer programmer, seamstress, landscape architect, high school teacher, or residential home builder. Recall trying to explain the fundamentals of your trade to a customer, who claimed they knew better than you because of a TV show, book, or YouTube video?
…Now imagine this:
⏺You’re a medical doctor. You’ve been practicing for over two and a half decades. You’re a graduate of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. You went beyond the M.D. and earned a post-doc from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Department with a special focus in epidemiology and mortality data analysis. Masses of Americans come pounding on your proverbial door claiming they know the cause of #COVID19 / #Coronavirus and a series of potential cures. You calmly explain all that you and your team understand about the virus, the likely cause, and the most effective treatments available at this time.
🛑BUT the masses of Mr. and Mrs. America berate your findings, claim you’ve been bought by conspiring billionaires, and shun your advice. After angrily and fearfully debating for 49 days in every corner of the internet, they throw their hands up in the air and shout, “You’re less reliable than the local weatherman” (who, incidentally, is equally offended because last time he checked, 99% of the USA didn’t know how to formulate radar and satellite data into a weather report).
So, dear friends, I write this not to say, “Don’t study or satisfy your intellectual curiosity.” I’m also not saying, “Trust everything any doctor tells you.” I always recommend getting a second and third opinion. I’m not saying I agree with every move that the WHO, the CDC, or state-level officials have made. I’m baffled by the arbitrariness of our governor’s most recent executive order. Furthermore, I understand the medical field is not monolithic in its opinions, diagnoses, and conclusions. By definition, science is never fully “settled.” New findings are always possible.
However, I have several relatives who are medical doctors, personal friends who are also highly trained physicians, as well as dozens of middle-level providers and nurses. They are ALL working very hard. They deserve our support. They’re crying out for our prayers and encouragement.
Additionally, I have some good friends in the news media. They are confessing Christians. You see them on TV. They’re trustworthy people. I see them working very hard to gather the facts and accurately report them to us. I’m not saying, “believe everything you read in the paper or hear on TV.”
But let’s not assume the worst of every human being who disagrees with us.
Let’s all pause before we post. Let’s remember the feeling we get when someone denies the fundamentals of our field of expertise.
Above all, let’s put our full trust in God so that we can honor everyone. Today, many wonder about the integrity of our government leaders and medical professionals. But God’s people put their trust in God’s integrity. This frees us up to honor our faulty leaders because our trust isn’t in them but in the God who appointed them. America’s founding fathers got it right: “In God We Trust.”
Apostles Peter and James both wrote to first-century Christians under intense suffering and growing levels of direct persecution. To these fledgling groups of Jesus-followers, they reminded them of these important truths:
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17)
“But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:15-17)
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20)
I love you. I’m praying for you. We’re in this together… for the glory of Christ.
In God’s Vineyard,
Michael J. Breznau
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Now Is The Time.
Now is the time. God’s power working through His people can do what the government cannot.
How may we band together to step up as a unified force of good-will for the peace and welfare of our community?
I’m calling all of us, as the people of Mayfair Bible Church, to fervently pray and consider what we can do to serve those hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis. What ideas do you have? How will you help? (just hit reply and let me know)
“Why it matters: Market watchers of all stripes agree that the Fed’s tools alone are insufficient to counter the damage likely to be done to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus outbreak and shutdown of businesses that has already begun.
Fed chair Jerome Powell admitted as much during his press conference Sunday, saying, ‘We don’t have the tools to reach individuals and particularly small businesses and other businesses and people who may be out of work.’ I think fiscal policy is a way to direct relief to particular populations and groups … we do think fiscal responses are critical.’” (from Axios.com)
Bottom-line: the Fed doesn’t have the answer.
What will be the response of Jesus-followers from coast-to-coast?
During this unique, challenging season, may our hearts and hands be guided by these key verses:
“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (Galatians 6:10)
“For we are HIs workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
“Keep your behavior excellent among your unbelieving neighbors, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12)
Good works lead to good-will which leads to good news opportunities.
As we’ve prayed for wisdom and creativity from God about how to move forward on mission as Jesus-followers, we’ve arrived at least five ways we can all get involved in displaying the mercy and message of Jesus:
1. PRAYING IN HOMES: Tonight (Wednesday) at 7PM, I’ll be leading a Facebook LIVE praise and prayer gathering in my living room. You’ll be able to sing along, post prayer requests, share Bible verses, and let others know that you’re praying along with them. Click here to access our page: https://www.facebook.
2. LOVING BY CALLING: We have identified 76 households in our church family that would be particularly blessed by a brief phone call. Many of the people on this list are particularly high-risk and/or elderly. We’re looking for 15 members to step forward for a “loving by calling” ministry to these vital members of our church community. Are you willing and available? If yes, please reply to this email ASAP. We will give you 5 names/numbers and a brief guide. Thank you so much!
3. CARING IN CRISIS: Are you out of work and therefore without pay, as a result of COVID-19? If you are without pay/work because of COVID-19, would you consider yourself or your family in immediate need of basic necessities? If your answer is “yes” to these two questions, we invite you to contact us via Facebook private message, email (office@mayfairbible.org), or a phone call to the church office (810.733.7130). Your information will remain confidential.
Reports indicate that many hourly workers have been laid off and some small businesses are letting go of staff.
We are here. We are a family. We are in this together.
Our partner organization, Flushing Christian Outreach Center, will also be on the frontlines assisting needy families by providing additional food. Consider enlisting yourself on their volunteer team. FCOC is located in our Thrive Center building adjacent to our main facility.
4. SERVING OUR SCHOOLS: The public school systems in our area are currently serving breakfasts and lunches to hundreds of children, who would normally receive them for free or at a very low cost at school. We’ve reached out to Flushing, Mt. Morris, Carmen-Ainsworth, Hamady, and Genesee Christian school districts to offer assistance.
We are currently slated to deliver school meals to families who are unable to pick-up their meals due to a lack of transportation in the Flushing ISD. We are also lining up help for several within the GCS community. We are working directly with school administration to ascertain needs.
5. REACHING OUR COMMUNITY: The Genesee County Sheriff’s Department has called upon all faith-based organizations to mobilize as a Community Task Force. We have stepped forward to serve. As of this afternoon, we are now receiving specific needs that are flowing through two lines of administration before they are given to us: the Sheriff’s Department and then through the Chaplain’s Office. We need people to drop off toilet paper, soap, hand sanitizer, and non-perishable food items for distribution. We also need volunteers (go in pairs) to deliver items to those without transportation.
READY TO HELP? If you’d like to help with any of these ministry opportunities, please let us know. Simply reply to this email or call the church office (810-733-7130).
THANKFUL
Above all, let us overflow in gratitude. God has given us His grace, mercy, and peace. We walk in those blessing-gifts of salvation every moment of every day.
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Colossians 2:6-7)
This past Saturday and Sunday, we moved all four sessions of our ALL NATIONS Mayfair Missions Conference 2020 to Live-Streaming only, at Mayfair Bible Church.
With the onslaught of COVID-19 coronavirus, our desire to honor our civil leaders for the peace and welfare of our community and the safety of our church-flock necessitated this difficult decision (see Jer. 29:7; Rom. 13:1-5; Gal. 6:10; 1 Pet. 2:13-17).
When we obey God, He often does unexpected and amazing things.
As of this morning, those four live-stream sessions have been viewed 3,557 times.
Our 10:45 AM Worship service accounts for over 1.6k views. We’re blown away by the participation and the response. Praise be to the living God!
We’ll be back online this coming Sunday at 10:45AM and we look forward to you joining us. Your pastors and our awesome team of music and A/V tech volunteers are working hard this week to further improve the overall quality and presentation of our live-stream services. I’m excited about the enhancements that you’ll notice this coming Lord’s Day.
- The best real-time participation for each LIVE streaming event will be on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Mayfairbible
- Live-streaming is also available on our website: LIVE Stream – Mayfair Bible Church
Please review the newly updated MEMO on “Our Church and COVID-19” – click here:
PARENTS: Paula Daughenbaugh, our children’s ministry director, is posting awesome tips, videos, and resources for managing this extended (and unexpected!) time with the kiddos at home. Go to our Thrive Kids Facebook group! –> https://www.facebook.com/
BLOOD DRIVE REMAINS AS SCHEDULED
As previously stated, many blood drives are canceled with school closings. Also, other drives have canceled and routine blood donors are canceling their appointments due to concerns of their safety. Versiti will be taking preventative measures to ensure safety of the donors and recipients, as referenced in the press release (see below). With all the members in our community seeking help at local hospitals, it is imperative that those of us who can donate blood, do so.
Here’s my personal cell number to reach me to make an appointment directly: 810.624.7479.
God Bless, and stay healthy!
Respectfully,
Kimberly Strnad (Mayfair Bible Church Blood Drive Director)
Click here for the Versiti Blood Drive Press Release concerning COVID-19: https://www.versiti.
______________________________
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him and lean on His Word.
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He Is Good
He is good.
Are you carrying a heavy weight on your shoulders today? Worries, fears, and anxieties tend to build up like a 60Ib military rucksack. The dead weight can crash down onto our hearts in the morning and smack us in the brain at evening.
Perhaps the burgeoning news of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has led you into downright panic?
You can feel your heart beating out of your chest.
Maybe you have a job situation unraveling before your eyes or a relationship spinning apart like a cheap, rickety carnival ride?
Did that final exam not go as planned?
The interview not pan out?
A tax bill tallied up way higher than you thought it would?
The car repair cost more than expected…and didn’t solve the problem?
Perhaps all your attempts to de-stress have only added to the exhaustion?
Let’s pause and remember this ancient yet ever-true poem:
“From my distress I called upon the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? (Psa. 118:5-6)
From what foundation of faith did the poet experience this reality? From the twin, rock-solid footings of God’s goodness and God’s lovingkindness. In biblical Hebrew, tov (“good”) describes not a subjective opinion (e.g. “I think McDonald’s french fries are good”), but an objective truth that God, in the essence of His person and in the substance of every action, is always and forever good. Everyone is invited to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psa. 34:8). Chesed (“loyal, steadfast love”) proclaims the faithful, always-trustworthy, never-quitting nature of God’s covenant with His children. He’ll never throw in the towel. He won’t walk out on the relationship. He will never slam the door in your face.
Yet the best news is that these foundation footings are forever. Here’s how the song began:
“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (Psa. 118:1)
God’s love is unceasing and unstoppable. Your failures won’t stop God from loving you. Your circumstances can’t keep God’s love from touching you.
So let’s sing it!
“Oh let those who revere the LORD say, ‘His lovingkindness is everlasting.'” (Psa. 118:4) Vocalize your stressors and worries to God, yes. But don’t stop there. Resolve then to say and sing the truth that will resound from God’s heart toward yours: He is good.
Join-in with this anthem:
In God’s Vineyard,
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Our Church and COVID-19
Latest UPDATE: 4:53PM | 4.17.2020
Family and friends of Mayfair Bible Church,
The COVID-19 coronavirus crisis is certainly a rapidly evolving situation. Our hearts have been heavy and our minds weary as we’ve weighed every possible scenario, sought the best advice of medical science, and cried out to God for wisdom. We desire to honor our civil leaders for the peace and welfare of our community, as well as care for the safety of the church-flock.
We promised you that we’d make updates as necessary. Please listen carefully to the following:
NOTICE: All worship services will move to LIVE-streaming with only a select group of pastors, leaders, and assistants present at Mayfair.
We joyfully encourage you to participate in watching and engaging with each session in your homes or perhaps with members of your Thrive Group, using wise discretion based on your group leader’s direction.
- The best real-time participation for each LIVE streaming event will be on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Mayfairbible
- Live-streaming is also available on our website: LIVE Stream – Mayfair Bible Church
ENGAGE: We will endeavor to make this as participatory as possible by encouraging all who watch to comment with questions, prayers, verses, and encouragement.
“This is a short-term compromise, not a long-term convenience.” – Dr. Daniel Chin
This decision will remain in-effect through April 30. All regularly scheduled mid-week programs and gatherings at Mayfair are hereby postponed until April 30. We will provide further updates as necessary.
We are not canceling services but rather transitioning to an online format as a short-term compromise to protect and care for our community, not for long-term convenience.
From my heart to your home:*
With the onset of COVID-19 in our state, many people from the Mayfair family will be required to stay at home for an extended period of time. More than ever before, we need each other. Reports of panic attacks, anxiety, spiraling depression, and suicide are on the rise. We, at the highest level, need to give and receive the love of Christ as Mayfair Bible Church.
4 simple action steps WE ALL can take as we move forward together:
(1) CALL six or seven people that you would normally see and check up on them. Be sure to call TWO people that may not be called by others.
(2) Take THREE MINUTES to see if you can give an offering online. There’s a lot of ministry to get done in this time and it would be difficult for churches to try to do more ministry with fewer resources. Click here: https://www.mayfairbible.org/give-online/
(3) Find some worship songs to sing either by yourself or with your small (less than 10) community. And consider stretching outside of your preferred musical comfort zone. I highly recommend searching YouTube for worship music by CityAlight, Sovereign Grace Music, Rend Collective, Andrew Peterson, and Keith and Kristyn Getty. Join together for each live-streaming event at Mayfair Bible Church and engage with comments, questions, verses, and prayers. Let everyone know you are there and that you care. Go here: https://www.facebook.com/Mayfairbible/ or here: https://www.mayfairbible.org/live-stream/ (Sunday 10:45AM and Wednesday 7PM)
(4) Embrace a sense of loss. Believers are meant to meet together. But if wisdom calls us to a season apart, let us mourn our loss, lament for our world, turn to the Lord for a season of prayer and dependence, and look forward to the coming church reunion (including the largest reunion of all— O Come, Lord Jesus.)
*adapted from Pastor Matthew Westerholm
In God’s Vineyard,
Pastor Michael
Friday, 11:53AM | 3.13.2020
As of last night, twelve confirmed cases of COVID-19 (a coronavirus) are reported in Michigan. While these small numbers may seem to pose little threat to us, national and international data points toward a growing, long-term risk of infection.
The elderly and medically fragile are especially among those for whom we must all exercise great caution. After much prayer, research, discussion with medical professionals, and consultation with other area pastors, the following represents our goals and action steps for this coming weekend of mission conference sessions and worship services. Our schedule remains in effect, but all services to live-streaming with only a select team of leaders and pastors. We will provide updates as necessary.
Our Gospel-Centered Goals:
- Act wisely to care for the flock’s safety
- Honor our civil leaders to seek the peace and welfare of our community
- Live by faith not fear; Not fall into panic but remain resolute in hope
- Maintain our religious freedom to freely and safely gather for worship
What We’re Doing
- Live-Streaming all our missions conference sessions: Saturday 7PM, Sunday 9:15AM, Sunday 10:45AM, and Sunday at 6:30PM on Facebook and our site. Go here: https://www.facebook.com/Mayfairbible/ or here: https://www.mayfairbible.org/live-stream/ We will endeavor to make this as participatory as possible by encouraging all who watch to comment with questions, prayers, verses, and encouragement
- Receiving our gift-offerings online or by the other options detailed here: https://www.mayfairbible.org/give-online/
- Sanitizing all door knobs, handles, surfaces, and toys in every room
- Serving of coffee, water, food, or donuts will be offered by volunteers wearing sanitary gloves. Nothing will be self-serve.
- Providing hand-sanitizer in the main foyer and other key areas
- Posting signage to wash hands with warm water and soap in all our bathrooms
- Skipping single cup communion, passing the peace, and the holy kiss. Wait a minute, we don’t do these things anyway.
What We Ask of You*
- Wash your hands often with soap and water or use hand sanitizer, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Say the Lord’s Prayer or sing “Happy Birthday” for 20 seconds while washing. We won’t think you’re crazy.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
- Skip handshakes and hugs
- Avoid contact with sick people
- Stay home if you’re medically fragile, elderly, or sick in any form (fever, chills, sore throat, cough, etc.)
WACSAS.
When someone goes in for the handshake or hug, say “WACSAS.”
When someone forgets to wash their hands, shout, “WACSAS!”
Well, the whole “WACSAS” idea was invented by Pastor Michael. You can take it or leave it.
*Based on information published today by the MDHHS and recommendations from several physicians.
The chart below represents our ongoing action plan. Our community currently remains in the green zone with no confirmed cases reported. But as detailed in the points above, we’ve established preventative measures over-and-above the recommended course of action.
The chart was provided in a recent article (click here) by Dr. Daniel Chin, a physician trained in pulmonary and critical care medicine and epidemiology with 25 years of global public health experience. In 2003, he led much of WHO’s support to China to contain the SARS epidemic.
What We’re Reading
Eight Things the Coronavirus Should Teach Us
This is a really helpful article – written directly from one right in the thick of it (a pastor in Italy). I encourage you to read the entire essay. It’s not long: “Italy currently has the highest reported number of coronavirus cases outside of China: 9,172 cases and 463 deaths. As a result, 60 million people have been told to remain in their homes unless absolutely necessary. How are we, as Christians, to respond to such a crisis? Answer: with faith not fear. We are to look into the eye of the storm and ask, Lord, what are you wanting me to learn through this? How are you seeking to change me? Here are eight things we’d all do well to learn, or relearn, from this coronavirus scare: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/things-coronavirus-teach-us/
I’m an epidemiologist. Here’s what I told my friends about the coronavirus and COVID-19.
Most people (99.8% of the population) are likely not qualified to offer a knowledgeable, medically informed opinion on a wise, proper response to the coronavirus (Covid-19); this unqualified category certainly includes me. But here’s what an epidemiologist wrote today. I find her educated opinion realistic, informed, and well-balanced.
Bottomline? “Wash. Your. Hands. Wash them again.” Here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/03/11/epidemiologist-advice-on-how-to-fight-coronavirus-covid-19-column/5012545002/
The FAQs: Coronavirus Explained by an Infectious Disease Expert and Pastor
“Along with being pastor for preaching and vision of the International Baptist Church in Santo Domingo, Dr. Miguel Núñez has practiced medicine in different capacities for more than 35 years. He is board-certified in internal medicine and in infectious diseases. He was also an assistant professor of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (1989-97) at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey. For this reason we contacted him for information related to the current outbreak of coronavirus from the medical point of view and to offer some words of pastoral wisdom.” Here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-we-know-coronavirus/
How DC Churches Responded When the Government Banned Public Gatherings During the Spanish Flu of 1918
“As World War I was coming to a close, still another enemy was making its way toward the nation’s capitol: the Spanish Flu. Between October 1918 and February 1919, an estimated 50,000 cases were reported in the District of Columbia; 3,000 D.C. residents lost their lives.[1] At the peak of the pandemic, the DC government banned all public gatherings, including churches. How Christians responded provides some lessons and principles for responding to similar dilemmas in our own day.” Click here: https://www.9marks.org/article/how-dc-churches-responded-when-the-government-banned-public-gatherings-during-the-spanish-flu-of-1918/
MDHHS Interim Recommendations
Let Us Pray
Above all, let us pray for those already impacted by COVID-19; especially for the physically weak, immunocompromised, and elderly. May we move forward with hearts of compassion and courage. May God give strength and insight to the nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals within our congregation. May God give us wisdom to make informed, faithful decisions in the days ahead regarding this global pandemic.
Soli Deo Gloria.
In God’s Vineyard,
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I’m Always Thinking…
Sometimes when I think about my childhood I get the warm fuzzies. I think about special dates with my dad to Sweet Tomatoes where he let me eat dessert and we talked about Anne of Green Gables and her life story for hours. I fondly remember shopping with my mom and spending time looking at everything and eating olives and sushi.
On hot summer days, I’d sit on the floor at my Aunt Donna’s house and listen as she played the piano and wrote music or go to my grandma’s house to spend the night, and wake up to the pungent scent of Folgers in the morning.
But then another part of me thinks about the hard stuff:
My Aunt Donna dying when I was seven, figuring out things related to my parents’ divorce, wondering why my birth-father left me when I was a baby yet also forgiving him when I was 18, or the hardness and repercussions of growing up being so involved in cult-ish religious organizations and cult-like churches.
I recall many of the people I’ve loved going through painful divorces, church splits, abuse, abandonment, loss, and more.
I remember all the spiritual abuse and erroneous teaching embedded in my thought process and legalism as the backdrop to my convictions; holding all of my pain inside because I was supposed to wear a “ministry smile” and bury my true feelings.
It’s like the heavy chains that Jacob Marley wears when he (as a ghost) visits his old miserly friend Ebenezer Scrooge to beseech him to change before it’s too late.
How do you get past all that? How do you forgive and move on and realize that some things will never be resolved, while other things have been redeemed and restored? How do you reprogram yourself and everything you know to make sure it’s actually theologically correct instead of manipulated and distorted by corrupt men?
I’m always thinking about how God never promised us that we would have easy, pain-free lives. No amount of good that we do will make our lives perfect.
But I also talk to Jesus and ask Him questions about the hard stuff and why I have to suffer.
And He listens.
He may not take away all the grief and pain, but He sits with me. It always makes me feel safe knowing He is there in any season and can handle hearing my joy, my grief, my anger, and my questions.
How are you living today? Are you working for your salvation? Are you striving for the good opinion of men over what God thinks about you? Have you found healing in your pain? Or are you still wondering why?
There is only one answer…
Jesus.
Jesus knows.
Jesus understands.
Jesus listens.
Jesus restores.
Jesus heals.
“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
~ Psalm 34:18
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Feeling Icy Tears
One day, someone who I had just met asked me how many children I have. I gave my normal response of: “three on earth and six in heaven”.
They looked at me wide-eyed and said, “Miscarriage isn’t healthy on your body. You are done having kids, right?”
To be honest, I was taken aback.
I couldn’t believe someone would say that to me, but I kindly said, “No, we’d love more if God wants us to have them.”
This person replied, “How old are you?”
“Thirty-eight,” I said…trying to maintain my smile.
They exclaimed, “Well, that’s too old anyway.”
Feeling Icy Water
I walked away feeling like someone had just thrown me into the water during a polar plunge.
In addition to that conversation, I’ve been told we shouldn’t have more children because of Hudson’s struggles with ASD/ADHD (our oldest son), my health, and busyness in ministry. Others have chided me, claiming I shouldn’t be so open about loss and grief.
I miss my babies every day. But I also cherish the three I have. I don’t take them for granted.
If God wants to give us more, then our arms are open wide. But it’s up to Him, and thankfully it’s His opinion, and the opinion of my incredible husband, which matters most.
Infertility and loss have been some of the HARDEST trials I’ve ever gone through, yet I’ve grown and changed through the journey.
But I’m not going to stop talking about our losses, or my children’s grief, or how others can learn to walk with those who are grieving.
Trusting the Journey
Even in the midst of all the difficult days, I look ahead to when they will be gone and I try my hardest to soak it all up (even though I will never EVER miss some things like potty-training). 😂
In the meantime, I’m doing my best to enjoy everything I can with the three gifts I’ve already been given. Only one of them still cuddles with me every day, and I know that eventually I’ll deal with the “last” snuggle, the last request for help with homework, the last of being told I’m their best friend or being told they want to marry me, and so many more things.
I fail every single day, pick myself back up, ask Jesus for help, repent, and step forward. And yes, I’m very thankful for His grace. ❤️
But in all of those hard moments, difficult people, waves of grief and sorrow, I’m reminded to forgive, to continue to be open and bare my heart, and to keep trusting Jesus.
Running to Him isn’t always easy or safe, but it’s always the best choice.
He is the journey and the destination even if the path is painful.
“I am learning to trust the journey even when I do not understand it.” —Mila Bron
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
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The Church Must Die
During our recent journey through the Gospel of Mark, God has gripped my heart with a vision of truth and a clarity on something that I can’t shake.
Our church needs to die.
We could even say the Church – every Jesus-following, gospel-breathing, Bible-proclaiming ekklesia – must die.
Our pastors need to die.
Our elders need to die.
Our deacons need to die.
All the members need to die.
For as long as we’re clutching onto our lives, we’ll never live. As long as we’re grasping onto Mayfair Bible Church (or any other church) as yours, mine, or ours…it will never live. As long as we’re grabbing onto our desires, we’ll never experience the delight in Christ.
This church must die.
We all must kill the works of the flesh – all that is not in-step with the Spirit’s will or in-keeping with the Spirit’s fruit.
We all must crucify any actions of hand – what we write and do – that fulfills our desires for respect, position, or rights.
We all must die to the footholds that lead us to stomp on others in an effort to achieve higher heights for ourselves.
We all must kill our lustful, envious, or jealous eye wanderings. (cf. Mark 9:42-49)
We all must murder the desire to be known – for ourselves to be known, for the name of Mayfair Bible Church to be known. The only name that we must want known among us is JESUS. Our only aim must be for our community to taste and see the beauty, grace, and truth of Christ in us. When they speak of us, may the speak of Christ. Alone.
We all must die to the desire to be first, top, or center. (cf. Mark 9:34-37)
We all must die to the desire to have things always arranged in perfect order and harmony – real people with real problems are messy.
“Everyone you meet today is God’s idea.” – Dr. Dallas Gatlin
We all must die to the desire for the church to grow by buildings, bodies, and bucks – the 3 B’s of Baptist and Bible church idolatry.
We all must die to the desire to save face in order to keep up the appearance of pseudo-perfection.
We all must die to our attitudes of anger, lust, pride, and holier-than-thou.
We all must slaughter any sin that keeps brothers and sisters and churches divided. (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5)
We all must put to death any thought that rises above the way of Christ
We all must kill the self-centered fears that hold us back from holistically loving our neighbors – all of them, no matter their sin propensities, proclivities, ethnicity, economic status, language, or creed.
We all must die to the desire to own this church for ourselves. Jesus Christ bought the church with His very own blood. So who is the sole owner of the Church with all the rights and privileges afforded thereunto? Jesus! (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13-15; Eph. 1:14; Rev. 5:9)
We must crucify the desire to climb into political power.
We must die to the temptation of business strategies, marketing tools, and hype to do what only the Holy Spirit can accomplish.
We all must die. I must die. The church needs to die.
Resistance to this death will make the loss of our church inevitable – the kind of loss that Jesus does not want for the church. If we don’t die to self and sin, then this church will be lost.
But if we come and die, then in Christ we all will live. We, as a church, will live. And we’ll bear fruit…gospel life fruit!
Death to self is the way to gospel life.
“If anyone [or any church] wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
Death is the way to life.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life, in this world will keep it to life eternal.” (John 12:24-25)
We die to self and sin to rise again in Christ. Lose your life to find real Life in Him.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. We cry out to You for mercy to fall upon us, as Your followers, so that You may give us the fresh joy of repentance and healing. Grant us the faith and courage to daily crucify the flesh with its sinful and self-centered wants and desires. Chop away the roots of spiritual pride, religious-looking nonsense, and face-saving posturing, so that we can bear genuine, lasting fruit in abundance and for your glory alone.
In and through Christ we pray, Amen.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal. 2:20)
You can watch the full message from Mark 9:30-50 at Mayfair Bible Church here:
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An MLK Day Prayer
This past Friday evening, Stephanie and I had the immense joy of participating in the 41st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Dinner at the Genesys Conference & Banquet Center.
I’m grateful to God for the opportunity to offer a closing prayer and benediction at this incredible event. Many thanks to Mary Coleman and Vera Jenkins, in conjunction with The Foundation of Mott Community College, for the invitation.
(from left to right) me, Pastor Christopher Taylor, Mayor Sheldon Neeley
And a bonus! I got to eat dinner with Flint’s new mayor, Sheldon A. Neeley. He’s a great guy… I think he might even live up to all that his lovely mother told me about him. 
So many kind, gracious, and loving people.
This Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’m reminded in a fresh way of the freedom-trail he paved for us, yet also how far we still have to go in 2020 America. Words of hate, attitudes of vitriol, and cultural postures of racial division over-against reconciliation appear to be on-the-rise. So on this evening of remembrance, let’s rehearse a few poignant truth-sayings from Martin Luther King and then pause to pray together. For it’s only through the power of God that real, lasting change can occur in the hearts of humankind.
From his pen…
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.”
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
For us to pray…
Would you consider joining me in this prayer, which God led me to write for last Friday’s event?
Oh God in heaven, we know that right now Your dwelling place is filled with people of every language, nation, and ethnicity. They, together, rejoice as Your people united as one, yet diverse in a beautiful harmony orchestrated by your amazing creativity.
So as they dwell in perfect unity and joy with You, so may we also live here today! May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
May we, by Your amazing grace, be people who live out heaven’s agenda here on earth.
We praise You for the life and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We believe that Martin Luther King’s dream is God’s design for the church.
Therefore, I pray tonight that we would go forth from this place with his dream in our hearts and Your design flowing through our lives.
For we are overcomers through Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us so that we could be one redeemed, reconciled people in Him. So by the truth and grace of Jesus the Savior, I pray that You would lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, pour out your grace to us, and give us peace and power by the Holy Spirit to live for you.
And all God’s redeemed children say…. AMEN!
From History…
Below is one of the most beautiful, moving video shorts I’ve ever seen produced:
Further Related Reading from my Blog:
Christian Racism?: Q: “How should a Christian respond to racism? I hear these racist, white supremacists groups say they are also Christian. What do you think of that, Pastor Michael?” Article and Q & A Video: Christian Racism?
One Race: Dr. King was, undoubtedly, one of the most influential people of the twentieth century. His bold, visionary preaching stirred the hearts and changed the lives of millions of Americans. His courageous, peaceful leadership built a force against racial segregation across all walks of life. . . We are one race – the human race – of many ethnicities united in God’s love to the praise His glorious grace. We will gather together as the one people of God from every language, tribe, and nation by the blood of the Lamb. Continue reading here: One Race.
Stephanie and I at the 41st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute
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Empty Christmas
Each Advent season, I enjoy penning a poem to encourage God’s flock in the overflowing hope and joy of Christ. I’m grateful that God again granted a sense of creative inspiration to provide you with this piece entitled Empty Christmas. I’m praying that the Savior uses these simple words to draw you near and ever nearer to His heart of grace.
Watch the short film or read the lines below:
Empty Christmas | Redeeming Christmas from the Emptiness | A Christmas Eve Poem 2019 | By Michael J. Breznau
The air was thin
A heart restless, empty within
Another Christmas, another song
Yet we wonder: “This will go on for how long?”
Dusty tinsel lined the Wal-Mart shelves
Thanksgiving decorations were crowded out with elves
The bells were ringing
Mariah Carey kept on singing
Shortened days and longer nights accentuate a hallow ring
Which echoes through many souls till spring
Ornaments, lights, and lore
Can’t seem to fill a void deep in our core
Onward we march to Amazon’s drum
But we’re still left feeling droopy and glum
“Empty!” is the song that sings
behind all the holiday bling
We clothe our Christmas with crazy-happy
But it all wraps up like a Hallmark flick – just a bit too sappy
Flopped on the couch, once more we feel the gloom
Is there something that can fill this soul-vacuum?
Through all the lights and holiday noise
A different anthem softly drifts by the piles of plastic toys
Christmas is empty, meaningless, and void
If left to the devices of ploys and decoys
Many dodge – left and right
Attempting to make their hearts feel bright
But the only way to have a heart made full
Is by receiving God’s gift of Christ into your soul
Redeeming Christmas from the craziness
Now that may seem like a goal altogether pointless!
But pause to gaze into His Light
Your heart’s darkness will slowly melt away into the bright
You’ll find in Him true Life
Even your heart’s full, abundant delight
Another song will sing in the air – vastly different than the first
To your restless, shadowed heart – this one repeats: “Peace on earth!”
Come behold the newborn King this way
Receive Him into your heart today
He’ll “cast out your sin and enter in”
You’ll receive the new, forever-life in Him
Then bow your knees before His stable-throne
(A startling contrast to the world’s “famous and well-known”)
Jesus, we worship and adore
The One who emptied Himself so we could be filled up with Him forevermore
________________________
“…the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.” (Heb. 2:14b NLT)
“but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:7 NASB)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB)
