Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  Eph 4:11-12

Over the weekend we had the priviledge to elevate service in the mission of Jesus within Brooklake to it’s right place of high honor. Saturday evening we hosted our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner with almot 200 gathered for a catered dinner, great prizes, live jazz and much more just so me and the team could express our love and appreciation to all those who “do his work”. Our team put this video together to say thank you…

Thank you to all those who move the mission of Jesus forward through your church. We love you!

This weekend was a busy one but a good one for sure…

• Friday night I had the priviledge of speaking at Turning Point Church in Mt Vernon, WA. What’s so special about this church is that it was started by a couple that I had in my first youth ministry back in the early nineties. Talk about a proud moment!
• Discovered this guy over the weekend. He will blow your mind!
• Squeezed in a morning date with Michelle on Saturday at the Sun Break Cafe in Auburn. This place is becoming one of our favorite spots.
• Saturday night, at Brooklake, we hosted our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner with about 185 amazing servants attending. Such a special night of honoring those who give so much of their time. Great food, entertainment and really cool prizes.
• My daughters, returned from the Northwest Youth Conference having had a great time. Thanks to Jeffrey Portmann and the NW Youth team!
• Then Sunday in all three services I spoke on the connection between ones spiritual growth and their participation in the mission of the local church. We were hoping for 50 people to commit to joining a serving team and by the look of the Connection Cards I have a hunch that we met that goal.

This Sunday we launch our annual Fall growth and vision series. The Fall is a great season to recalibrate our lives around the mission of God and our place in it through our church. Check out the promo video and plan to be at Brooklake this Sunday! And don’t come alone.

Do me a favor, check out our Follow page and help us spread the word.

Dear Team,

Today, for my birthday, you blessed me as we went around the table and each of you expressed something you admire about me. I am humbled. Thank you for your kind words, the amazing tacos and the gift every pastor only wishes he could recieve.

As I sat there listening to your remarks I could not help but well up with gratitude for allowing me to serve with you. I actually believe we can change the world. I believe that we have something special that is evident in lives being changed and a church that is growing.

Let us never take for granted this ride we are on. Let us never, ever, lose sight of the faithfulness and fruitfulness of those that have laid such a solid foundation. Let us never take each other for granted. And let us never forget that this thing is all about Jesus.

It’s my joy to serve you,

Scott

On August 20th, we celebrated being at Brooklake for 3 years. That’s a significant milestone in pastoral ministry because statistcally if a pastor is going to move on, 3 years seems to be the timing. But for the record, Michelle and I are putting down roots and intend on leading the wonderful people of Brooklake to live as missionaries for at least a couple decades! There’s hundreds of thousands of people in South Sound region that need Jesus. We’ve got our work cut out for us!

Last Sunday, Pastor Mike honored Michelle and I, along with our daughters, and talked about the succession plan we’ve been engaged in. I’ll be writing on the details of how we’ve been doing this (as I’m sure Pastor Mike will as well) in further posts but suffice to say, he shared a little about the background to our plans and that I’ve been taking on more of a lead role that will continue to increase over the next couple years. It was truly a great experience.

I’m looking forward to posting more frequently about our transition along with all the other topics I’m passionate about. Here’s a sampling of what’s to come:

• My life and my ongoing love for my family. Might even be sharing some lessons learned about marriage and parenting.
• Brooklake Church. I hope for this place to be a source of encouragement and vision for the people of the church I have come to love.
• Leadership. I’m passionate about learning all I can about the art of leading. Maybe we can grow together and grow to lead well.
• Faith & Culture. Following Jesus can be a roller coaster ride. I look forward to writing about the highs and lows of what it means to “be in the world but not of it.”
• Church & Mission. I believe that the Church is the hope of the world and that the Church doesn’t have a mission but that God’s mission has a Church. Looking forward to learning together about how to be on His mission and “sent people.”

Photos courtesy of Nathan Golden.