TAKE TWO: Questions
Why doesn’t Jesus just directly answer the questions He was asked? Jesus doesn’t answer questions as much as He answers hearts.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
Biblical Eldership
As a follow-up to the teaching on May 29 regarding biblical eldership: With the desire to encourage you into a personal study of biblical eldership, please see the link below to a worksheet that contains a list of all the New Testament verses that discuss elders (and also the term “pastor”). You are encouraged to look at each passage and determine what title is used (elder, overseer, etc.), what is implied regarding role or function (although not all passages are explicit on this), and what additional observations you see from the passage.
Also, leave a comment on this post if you have questions about eldership or leadership here at RBC that weren’t covered in the message from May 29.
TAKE TWO: Problem Solving
How do we solve problems when we are the problem?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Fret Not
How should we respond – or not respond – when evil seems to prevail in the world?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
Reston Bible iPhone App Now Available
I’m excited to let you know that the Reston Bible Church iPhone app is now available in the iTunes App Store!
If you look at the RBC mission statement, you’ll see the who, what, how, and where of our church. Reston Bible Church exists to know Christ and to make Him known. As a local church body, we believe that the primary means God is calling us to accomplish that mission is through biblical preaching/teaching, as well as authentic Christian community. We believe God is calling us to fulfill His purposes specifically in Northern Virginia – our primary location – but also around the world through global missions.
This app supports our church mission statement by expanding our ability to put solid biblical teaching and event opportunities directly into the hands of anyone, anywhere with an iDevice. The RBC app allows users to easily access media and web content optimized for iPhone/iPod Touch and share that content with friends. Specifically, you can use the app to:
- Stream audio and video from recent sermons to your device
- Check out current RBC happenings and upcoming events
- Read the latest blog posts from our staff and leadership
- Share sermons, events or blog posts with friends via email
- Access myRBC, RBC’s online community tool, optimized for iPhone/iPod Touch
- Access the RBC Twitter, Facebook and Vimeo feeds
- Easily email and call the church or get map/directions to RBC from your device
I’ve written before about why RBC uses social media as a tool for the advancement of the gospel, and I think this app certainly falls into that category. My friends at Mars Hill Church in Seattle point out:
God has often used technological advancement to spread the Gospel through the church. At the time of Paul it was the Roman’s system of roads. For the Reformers it was the printing press. For Billy Graham it was sound amplification systems and stadiums.
Likewise, we live in a country and an age where Internet and cellular technology is generally accessible and widely used. We are blessed to be able to redeem aspects of this technology with the purpose of knowing Christ and making Him known. My hope for this iPhone app is that on your daily commute, walk, or lunch break, you will have further opportunity to know Him and make Him known.
The leadership of RBC is grateful to God that the app was built and developed at no cost to us by an RBCer who volunteered considerable time and talent to make it happen. I’d personally like to thank Dave Smith of Cross Forward Consulting; Dave approached me last fall and offered to develop an app as a gift to RBC. He has been absolutely fantastic in walking us through the development process from beginning to end. We are deeply thankful to God for Dave’s generosity.
The RBC app is available for free at the iTunes App Store here, or you can search for “Reston Bible Church” from within the App Store application on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Please download the app, leave comments and ratings, and pass it on others so that more people might come to know Jesus and make Him known.
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UPDATE: So why doesn’t RBC have an Android app as well? Since releasing the iPhone app, many folks have asked why we don’t also have an Android version. The short answer is that we were able to develop the iPhone app at no cost to the church due to a generous gift of time and talent by an RBCer who develops apps professionally. We would love to develop an Android counterpart, but even simple apps can cost thousands of dollars. If you are an RBCer who develops Android-based apps on a pro level and would be interested in working with us on Android app development for our church, we’d love to hear from you – just email Jason.
TAKE TWO: Four Virtues
What are some traits of people who have walked with God for a while?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
Conversations Recap
Conversations is the church-wide RBC production which takes place annually the week before Easter. All about stories, Conversations is a performance incorporating elements of music, drama, and real life testimonies – all interwoven into a unified production. The ultimate goal of Conversations is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly in a non-threatening environment to those who may otherwise not attend church.
This year, Conversations took place on a city street – complete with a billboard, café, movie theater, vendor cart, and an impressive street band. With a balance of humor and emotional intensity, the scenes told stories of scavenger hunts, forgotten anniversaries, blind dates, awkward meetings with “the in-laws”, and long days.
Our band performed a great mix of songs – from artists like U2, The Beatles, Coldplay, and Jackson Browne and others. And the real life stories were powerful accounts of God’s loving pursuit of individuals and families… through His provision, redemption, reconciliation, and satisfaction.
This year, about 3300 people attended Conversations throughout the week! There were well over 300 people who participated as volunteers, doing everything from baking, to serving coffee, to providing childcare!
As we reflect back on the week, we continually see the grace of God in every step of the process. He is faithful to remind us that we are overwhelmingly dependent on Him and that His word will not return void.
Thank you to everyone who participated in volunteering, attending, and inviting your friends and family to Conversations this year. We trust that God will use this production for His glory and look forward to seeing what He will accomplish with the seeds that were planted through this production!
(Photos by Mike Kelly. You can check out his gallery of Conversations photos here.)
Marriage Conference: Dinner Questions
It’s almost here! I’m excited about this year’s conference. It’s going to be great to just spend some time with my wife and focus on strengthening our marriage. A marriage conference is kind of like an oil change. Get one every 3000 miles and the car tends to run a lot better. Forget to change the oil and it’s just going to be a matter of time before there’s major engine damage. Of course, RBC marriage conference’s are a whole lot more fun than oil changes! To that end we want to get you started thinking about Friday’s dinner date and the overnight conference.
Remember that the plan is for you and your spouse to go out to dinner on Friday and arrive back in the RBC Sanctuary by 8pm. You’ll really want to get back to RBC around 7:45pm so that you can check in at the registration table and find your seat in the sanctuary. We want to mix the tables up with couples of different number of years married. So when you walk in the sanctuary you’ll see colored circles on each table in front of the chairs. Just find a colored circle that fits the number of years you’ve been married and have a seat. It’s really easy.
We have some discussion topics for your dinner date. The discussion is meant to open the lines of communication with your spouse and to help frame the conference for you as a whole. Take some time to think about your responses to the discussion items, particularly #1 and #3. Make sure your spouse has a chance to see them in advance of Friday as well. That way the two of you can make the most of your time together over dinner discussing your thoughts. Here are the discussion items:
1) Describe to your spouse how you feel about each of the below aspects of your marriage. Include your thoughts on things that are going well and why, and things that could be improved. Be honest and transparent. For things that could be improved, share how you feel without being judgmental (e.g. “I feel like…” instead of “You don’t do…) — Physical intimacy, including sex — Emotional, friendship bond between you two — Spiritual side of your relationship with your spouse
2) After hearing each other’s views, which area of your marriage do you feel there is the greatest difference of opinion between you and your spouse?
3) What do you hope happens as a result of this marriage conference?
One more thing. For the Ice Breaker time at your table, be prepared to tell one of your favorite local places to go, say within an hour’s drive, that others might not know about. It could be a restaurant, a park, a local activity, anything that might not be as well known. Each table will have a piece of paper to write these places down. We’ll collect them and e-mail them all out to everyone who attends after the conference.
That’s it! Get ready for a great time with your beloved! We have over 80 couples attending making this one of the largest marriage conferences at RBC yet.
See you there,
John & Jana Smith
Marriage Conference Coordinator