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First Egg Hunt from LifeCity Church!

Posted on April 24, 2014 by johnmarkum

I wrote this earlier to all of the parents and families who came to our Easter egg hunt Saturday, the 19th. 56 families (150+ people!) came out for our egg hunt! We look forward to being a church that continues to engage families and bring community together…

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Dear friends,
Wow… wasn’t that fun?! We had an amazing time with our first ever Community Easter Egg Hunt! This wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of several volunteers, and we’re so grateful to all of those who committed time to making this event so successful.

This event is the first of many efforts our new church is organizing to bless our community and show the love of God. We know that you may have different preconceived ideas of “church” depending on your personal experiences. So I want you to understand something about LifeCity Church – we love this community! No matter where you are today with faith, God, or church, LifeCity is a place where you can feel at home.

Our church officially launches in September, but right now we are meeting every Sunday, 10:30am at Montague Elementary School, right here next to where we had the egg hunt. This means you can visit us any Sunday morning and see if LifeCity Church could be a place for you and your family to get connected. The same care and organization we put into our children for the egg hunt is exactly the way we treat children on Sunday mornings. We call it KidsTown, and we know your kids will have a great time there!

Let me give you four more reasons why you should consider checking out our church:

Relevant. We know what life in the South Bay is like! We get the pressures and demands of trying to balance work, family, and finances. That’s why we teach in a way that makes a difference in your weekday, not just a guilt trip on Sunday.
Casual. There’s no dress code. We trust that you know how to dress in public. So relax and come to church in sandals and board shorts for all we care! We’re more interested in what’s happening in your life than in your wardrobe. And if you feel compelled to “suit up” anyway, we’ll still let you in.
Upbeat. One of the things we say all the time about our church is “We speak life!” So we try to keep our church exciting, positive, and encouraging even when dealing with tough life issues. You should leave our church more encouraged than when you came.
Engaging. We don’t believe in pressuring people to do something they’re unsure about. So when you decide to take your next step, we’re ready for you! We have small groups, volunteer opportunities, and a vision to impact the entire Bay Area. Get involved however you would like.

Whether or not you ever visit LifeCity Church, you and your family matter to us just the way you are. From my family to yours, if we can ever do anything to be a blessing or encouragement to you, I hope you’ll know that you can turn to us. We’ll keep you in the loop about future events that we’re hosting, and perhaps I’ll see you and your family on a Sunday sometime soon.

Blessings,
Pastor John

A Proper Attitude toward Faith-based Movies

Posted on April 8, 2014 by johnmarkum

There have been no lack of faith-based movies that have come out in recent years – from family-encouraging movies like Courageous, Fireproof, and Facing the Giants all from Sherwood Pictures, to some more recent Hollywood productions such as Noah and God’s Not Dead.

I recently posted a teaser trailer for the upcoming Heaven is for Real film based on the book of the same title, expressing my interest in the movie. For those not aware, Heaven is for Real is the retelling of the story of Colton Burpo who at 4 years old had a near death experience where he claims (as a 4 year old) to have seen God, Jesus, angels, Heaven, and deceased family among many other phenomenon. His experience seems to have some level of confirmation in what appears to be knowledge that Colton could not have possibly known apart from some supernatural happening.

Immediately after posting it, multiple well-meaning friends, all of whom were professing Christ-followers, some of whom were brothers in ministry, urged caution or misgivings on my interest in the film. Without having read the book, I’m aware of the discrepancies in Colton’s story and what we can plainly see in Scripture.

I am not writing this post as a review on any of these movies. I’ll consider doing that in a future post, probably after I watch this one…

I instead want to address our attitude as Christ-followers toward faith-based movie. From Passion of the Christ to Son of God, it seems as if there are always people who claim to believe the Bible who have something negative to say about Hollywood’s recent fascination with God’s Word. I for one, am pleased that we’re at least having these discussions. Ultimately, no matter how well done, no movie is going to express as perfectly as each of us imagine Biblical truth to be. And I suspect that the actual reality of Scripture is simultaneously ordinary and yet supernatural per our expectations.

Let me give four humble suggestions on how Christ-followers should respond to any faith based movie – and arguably any movie in general:

Appreciate good stories. It was said of Christ in Mark 4:34 that He never taught the people without telling a story. Jesus was a master story-teller. Most would agree that many of the parables of Jesus were fabricated stories that He used to make an illustration. A story doesn’t have to be true to be meaningful. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve referred to Star Wars or Everyone Loves Raymond to communicate a point in a sermon. And it’s amazing to see people understand the relationship between pure Jews and the Samaritans when you talk about “mud-bloods”…
Relax. Truth is never intimidated by error. While we need to be busy sharing true stories, a skewed story can be addressed without getting indignant. “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” A defensive attitude toward anything indicates a sensed vulnerability. If I really believe the Bible is truth, I’ve got no reason to get defensive when someone questions the Bible or my faith. At least someone’s asking good questions!
Share. I’ve lost count on how many times someone who doesn’t yet follow Christ has begun a conversation with me because of a movie that addressed a Biblical subject. The movie doesn’t have to be spot-on to be a catalyst for a divine appointment. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a story is worth a thousand pictures.
Know God’s Word. Don’t take anyone’s expressions of faith, interpretations, or movie as the final authority on truth in your life. Look to see what God actually said in His Word. He’s quite adequate at speaking for Himself. Everything and everyone else should only propel you to looking deeper into His truth and applying it to your life. That’s why it’s important to be a part of a church family, a PTA, and to watch movies – because God speaks all around us through a variety of sources, even flawed sources like preachers and movies – but He never speaks more clearly than through His Word.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Why Our Marriage Works

Posted on February 7, 2014 by johnmarkum

Our church is starting a new series this weekend (in a new place!) before Valentine’s Day called Mr. & Mrs. Betterhalf in which we are focusing on building lasting marriages. I was out with my wife this week walking downtown San Jose on a date – call it research. We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary this June and I got to thinking about why we’re beating the statistics; according to divorce rates, we should have ended it at least 5 years ago. Yet, we’re better and stronger than ever. Here’s why I believe our marriage works…

My wife is my best friend. This sounds cliche, but I genuinely mean this. I would rather spend time with my wife than any other person. While we do have our separate interests, we enjoy most things together; ministry, sports, family time, mutual friendships, etc. She knows me. And I know her. Like best friends should.
We solve problems. Every couple fights. Or at least they should. Too often, to avoid conflict, many couples just bottle up their frustrations until it eventually explodes, resulting in an even uglier conflict. While Tiffany and I don’t like to fight, we would rather the air be clear between us than fake our way through a single day.
Nothing is more important to us. My marriage takes second place to nothing. Really. Nothing. “What about your kids?” The best gift I can give my children is a good example of a strong marriage. Where do you think kids get their strongest impressions of what a family should/shouldn’t be like? That’s right, the one they come out of. “What about your relationship with God?” This may come as a shock, but God is not the first priority of my life. He’s bigger than that to me. He’s the center of every priority in my life. So it isn’t “God and then my marriage,” it’s “God in my marriage.” According to the Bible, my marriage is a reflection of my relationship with God. That only makes my commitment to Tiffany that much stronger.
Two words: Date. Night. Tiff and I have some form of a date every week. With four kids, we don’t have the time or money to get out as often as we like, so “date night” means a tub of ice cream and Netflix some weeks. But about every other week, we do get out, and go do something together. After 10 years, I’m still dating my wife and pursuing her heart. I plan on continuing to date her for the rest of my life.
Our marriage has a vision. We talk about growing old together. About watching our grand kids grow up, and seeing their marriages last. We are trying to have the kind of marriage now that we want them to have one day. We hope to be the beginnings of a godly legacy of men and women who beat the cultural trends and make it work.

It’s important for me to point out that my marriage doesn’t work because I’m better than anyone else. What I do know, is that if others had the same self-sacrificing love that I have for Tiffany, and she has for me, than more marriages would last. We want everyone to have as good (or better!) of a marriage as us. And that is what this new series is about. Strengthening marriages God’s way. Whether you’re married, single, or single-again, we believe God wants to work powerfully through your relationships. So if you’re in the area, we hope to see you!

Blessings,
Pastor John