Core Values — A “5 Minute” ReFresh Survey

What makes IBCB unique as a church?

There are a lot of churches in Berlin, but there is only one of us!  God has brought us together as the IBCB family, putting every different part in this body of Christ exactly where he wants it to be.  God has in mind a specific vision for us as a church in keeping with who he has made us to be.

What is God’s vision for us?  The answer to that begins by answering the first question — Who are we as a church?  What makes us unique?

All Bible-believing, Christ-following churches will include all “5 components” of the Jerusalem church (Acts 2:42-47) because they give full expression to the “Great Statements” of Jesus — “The Great Commandment” (Mt. 22:37-39) and “The Great Commission” (Mt. 28:19-20).  So, every church will worship, fellowship, disciple, minister, and evangelize.  But every church has to express those “5 components” according to God’s design (identity) and call (vision) for that particular church.

You can help our ReFresh Team determine God’s vision for us by helping us define our core values.  Our core values are what make us unique.  They are an expression of God’s design.  Here’s what you can do within “5 minutes” that can make an eternal difference:

1.  Download this “IBCB Core Values”

2.  Quickly read through the list of 24 values

3.  Go through the list again and circle those you believe are in actuality/reality important for our church…not the ones you think should be important

4.  Out of the ones you’ve circled select the top three MOST important

5.  Send me an email/inbox message with your top three

That’s it!  I’ll collect your responses and on Friday and Saturday the ReFresh Team will work through the list to develop a statement of our core values.  Join us if you’d like!  (See details on the “Events” tab.)  When we get a sense of who God has made us to be (values), we will be able to do what God has called us to do (mission) in a way that helps us achieve the goals that God has given us to accomplish (vision).

May God guide us each and every step of the journey of following Jesus!

Free Bible Commentary

It doesn’t get any better than this — historical, grammatical, lexical, exegetical, and FREE!

Dr. Bob Utley, long-time university professor of hermeneutics at East Texas Baptist University, recently completed detailed exegetical commentaries on all of the major prophets and has posted them online in the form of pdf files.  These recent releases supplement his already completed verse-by-verse New Testament commentaries that have been available since 2003.   Did I mention that they are FREE?

In addition to these commentaries, Dr. Utley has an excellent online video seminar  ”Biblical Interpretation” available in the 14.5 hour full-seminar format or the 4.5 hour summary seminar.  The solid interpretive principles presented will equip you to study the Bible for yourself and empower you to understand and apply its truths.  By the way, the 240 p. syllabus for the seminar is also available for FREE!

Wait…it does get better!  Portions of the commentaries are available in 49 different languages.  Check out his website –www.freebiblecommentary.org (also linked on this blog’s sidebar)–to see if your native language is included.  Shona?  Turkish?  Afrikaans?  Bahasa?  Tagalog?  Yes, it’s there!

If you really like what you see, download his “Computer Bible Study Software” — FOR FREE — to have easy access to all his files for your personal study of scripture.  Dr. Utley’s commentary is one of the sources I consult regularly when doing my personal and pastoral studies.  They are scholarly but accessible to everyone.

I highly recommend this resource to you as a follower of Jesus Christ, a student of the Bible, a small group leader, a Bible study teacher, or a lay preacher…and it’s FREE!

“Mach(t) mal anders”: Open-Air-Gottesdienst für einen friedlichen Maifeiertag

Once again, “Together for Berlin” (Gemeinsam für Berlin e.V.) invites you to a prayer service for peace, which will be part of the Myfest and will take place on the Mariannenplatz. The motto for this year is: “A different sort of power–Do something different” [a play on words, in German: “Mach(t) etwas anders], which is taken from this year’s verse of the year that talks about God’s strength being perfected in weakness.

Prayer: 

• Pray for wisdom so that demonstration routes can be arranged to the satisfaction of all

• Pray for successful preparation of the worship service

• Pray for a peaceful May 1st holiday

For more info: http://www.gfberlin.de/

Love Wins

Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read it and think! In his inimitable way, Rob Bell challenges us all to consider the practical implications of God’s love. You can’t ignore the facts: God’s radical love has radical consequences both now (present) and later (future).



Bell’s focus on the consequences of God’s “present-love” shifts attention away from “hell-future” and has led some to question his theology. Does Bell believe in eternal punishment? Is he an universalist? Though his argument invites readers to think in “emerging” ways about these doctrines, neither question is answered. His thesis and purpose are elsewhere.



I appreciate his resurrection emphasis, broad view of the cross, evangelistic passion, and incarnational discipleship. Don’t build your theological foundations on this book, but read it and think about God’s kingdom purpose as expressed through his perfect love. These three remain: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love.



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From Anabaptist Seed

From Anabaptist Seed: Exploring The Historical Center Of Anabaptist Teachings And Practices by C. Arnold Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great congregational resource to introduce people to basic ‘baptist principles. I’ll recommend this to our leadership and small groups to stimulate conversation and response.



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