Slideshow image

Look, as humans, we are capable of extraordinary achievements. We landed on the moon, invented penicillin, and somehow figured out how to fit a million songs onto a device that lives in our pocket. But we also have a deeply weird, almost magical ability to completely lose our minds over the most profoundly irrelevant stuff imaginable.

Take church splits, for example. Entire communities—people who genuinely love Jesus and want to do good in the world—will suddenly divide like single-celled organisms because someone had the audacity to swap out the sanctuary carpet from red to blue.

Blue.

Apparently, someone looked at a carpet swatch and thought, "Well, that shade of blue is clearly a highway to eternal destruction, so I’m taking my talents—and my casserole dish—down the street."

It’s hilarious right up until you realize how easily we all do this in our everyday lives. We trade peace, unity, and actual human connection for the sake of being right about non-essentials. So, whether you attend our Brooklyn Campus or Jackson Campus, let’s take a breath, recalibrate, and remember who we are in Christ and what we’re actually called to do.

1. Finding Your Identity in Christ: You Are a Masterpiece

Before you get into a heated online debate about church seating or sound volume, let’s establish a basic ground rule: You are not an accident.

If you look at a classic painting—say, a starry night or a bowl of sunflowers—to the untrained eye, it’s just paint on canvas. You see a flower, a moon, a bee, whatever. But to the artist who spent hundreds of hours sweating over it, every single brushstroke was deliberate. They didn’t wake up, trip over a bucket of yellow paint, and accidentally end up in the Louvre. There was a plan.

The Bible makes it absurdly clear in Ephesians 2:10 that you are God’s masterpiece. You were carefully, intentionally designed by God with a specific purpose in mind. You weren't slapped together like my last-minute attempt to build an IKEA dresser where I ended up with three extra screws and a desk that sways in a gentle breeze.

When your true identity is in Christ, you don't need to panic or fight for control over the petty, small-time stuff. You’re already secure in who God made you to be.

2. Be Dogmatic About What Scripture Actually Demands

If we’re going to dig our heels in and be absolutely relentless about something, let's make sure it's the stuff Jesus actually commanded us to do. Top of the list? Forgiveness and grace.

Ephesians 4:32 doesn't say, "Forgive people only when they agree with your taste in music, apologize in writing, and buy you a coffee." It calls us to be kind, compassionate, and to forgive each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

Which, if we're being honest, is a total nightmare for our egos.

Forgiving the person who hurt you—or worse, the person who ate your clearly labeled yogurt out of the office fridge—is ridiculously hard. But holding onto a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick. It just eats away at your own soul. Forgiveness isn't about saying what they did was totally fine; it's about evicting them from living rent-free in your head so you can walk in true freedom.

3. Building a Culture of Honor and Community in Brooklyn & Jackson

When a church family stops tearing each other apart over carpet colors and starts living out a real Culture of Honor, something wild happens: it starts feeling like a home.

We’ve all known that house on the block. The one where the front door is never locked, the pantry is constantly being raided, and there are three extra neighborhood kids in the basement playing video games who don't technically live there. They show up on a Tuesday, spill fruit punch on your rug, and then... just become part of the family for the next ten years.

That is chosen family at its finest. Opening your heart (and your pantry) to people who need a place to belong is grace in action. At Heart O' The Lakes Church (HOTL), whether through our youth programs like The Lodge or Sunday worship, that messy, vibrant community is exactly what we are building together.

Join Us for the 330X3 Dinner & Update!

Speaking of gathering together and eating food, we have a major church event coming up, and this is officially your final reminder before things get desperate!

We are hosting our 330X3 Dinner & Update, and whether you join us from Brooklyn, Jackson, or anywhere in the surrounding area, we want you there. We’re going to worship, hang out, catch up on where our church family is headed with our vision, and—most importantly—eat a ridiculous amount of Frank’s Chicken.

Here’s the catch: We need a final headcount now so we know how much chicken to order. If you don't register, you run the risk of sitting in the gym staring longingly at someone else's plate while eating a sad, imaginary dinner. Don't do that to yourself.

Event Details:

  • Date & Time: Wednesday, September 9 @ 6:30 PM

  • Location: The Gym (Heart O' The Lakes Church, BROOKLYN CAMPUS)

  • Potluck Breakdown:

    • Last Names A–G: Bring a Dessert

    • Last Names H–Z: Bring a Side Dish

(Please stick to your assigned category. If an A–G brings a side dish, we risk collapsing the space-time continuum, or at least starting another carpet-level debate....(just kidding))

REGISTER HERE FOR THE 330X3 DINNER & UPDATE

(You can also scan the QR code on our graphics or swipe up in our Facebook Stories. Register today so we can order the chicken!)