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Lessons in Faith from the Gospel of Mark

Every year, a few days before January 1st, I pray for a Bible verse to claim over my life for the upcoming year. Without fail, the Lord always leads me to a verse and, throughout the year, He uses it to encourage me, teach me, and fulfill promises in ways I never could have foreseen. This year, I was led to a verse in Mark. A few days later, I spent a long morning at LifeWay strolling the aisles, trying to decide on a new, personal Bible study. I was drawn to a little book on the Gospel of Mark, which was not on my radar as I had just finished Luke and had no intention of reading through another gospel right away. But since my verse for the year was also in Mark, I figured the Lord was sending me a signal to study this book.

My verse for 2016 is Mark 4:24 from the Amplified Bible, which says: “Then He said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond] – and more will be given to you besides.’” At first, I didn’t really understand why I was led to this verse. It seemed a bit random and obscure, but I also knew I had a fresh desire to learn as much as I could about the Bible. So I prayed that the Lord would help me “increase my standard of measurement.” Then I went back to my studying.

Once I finished working my way through Mark, I moved on to other things but noticed that Mark kept resurfacing in unexpected places. I had been praying for several months for teaching opportunities and my husband Kevin had even expressed an interest in starting our own LIFE group. That sounded intimidating to me, so when I got the chance to teach an existing group, I jumped on it. And wouldn’t you know, they were in the book of Mark! Around the same time, I was able to join a yearlong Wednesday night group for church leadership. As I read about all the group involved, I knew it was exactly what I needed to increase my knowledge and understanding of Scripture. Not surprisingly, the first book listed in the syllabus was – you guessed it – Mark! Yet another reminder of God’s promise to me from Mark 4:24.
Kevin and I continued to feel burdened to start our own group but knew very little about the process and were hesitant. Eventually, the time came to step out in faith, although we had no idea what would happen. Only one thing was clear – I needed to teach the Gospel of Mark (for reasons I’m still not sure I fully understand). The question was, who would I teach? Jay Fennell met with us and assured us that if we were called to start a group, the Lord would bring the people. So, we jumped in with both feet and prayed for God to build a group.
I was nervous and doubtful leading up to Group Connect Sunday where we would introduce our new group. I felt under qualified and overwhelmed, and the spiritual warfare was palpable, but the Lord brought me back to the promise He had given me in January. “By your own standard of measurement…it will be measured to you – and more will be given to you besides.” And more. I love those words! God wants to give us more! He desires for us to know Him more every day, but we must be willing to make time with Him a priority. He doesn’t force His standard of measurement on us, but when our standard is low, we miss out on the “more” – knowing Him and all the blessing that contains.
One of my favorite things about the Gospel of Mark is his unique perspective on the power of faith. Mark places a special emphasis on the miracles of Jesus, all of which required faith (which Jesus often supplied in the absence of human belief). He also uses the word “immediately” more than 40 times and I love the picture it paints – that faith in Jesus gets results! One of my favorite stories is in chapter nine, where a man brings his demon-possessed son to Jesus and asks for His help “if he can do anything” (Mark 9:17-22) and Jesus answers, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Kevin and I can testify that nothing is impossible with God, and He has indeed given us more than we could have asked for or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). He has given us a unique group consisting of a core group of members who have already blessed and encouraged us in so many ways, and it has been so humbling to watch God’s plan unfold. When our heart’s desire is do His will, we can trust Him to make a way (Psalm 37:4-5).
We named our group Established, because that is our goal and constant prayer – that we would be established in our faith, in our knowledge and understanding of the Word, in our prayer life, and in our daily walk with Jesus. I know I am more established in my faith now than at the beginning of this year. I often think about that day at LifeWay when I noticed the little book about the Gospel of Mark.
I didn’t know then where God was leading. I only knew I wanted to follow.
Faith honors God. God honors faith. (Mark 9:23)

Kevin and Julie Gilbreath lead Established LIFE Group at the Brentwood Campus. Established is a coed group of different ages and life stages. Originally from Texas, they now live in Franklin where Kevin is a CPA and Julie is an opera singer. Their daughter, Melanie, is four.

F Leader

Storeroom of the Heart

When we found out that Brentwood Baptist was starting a new “Multicultural LIFE Group,” we knew it would be a perfect fit for us. When we found out, about a year later, that God was asking us to lead in the group, I thought maybe that fit wasn’t quite as perfect. Here’s a bit of that story and what God is teaching us through our new position.
About 18 months ago, Brentwood Baptist began a new Multicultural LIFE Group. At its center, the group was created for families just like ours. Families where one or more members come from a background that is different from the majority of American culture. In our case, my wife is from Hainan, China, and I’m from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We had been awkwardly splitting our time between the Chinese congregation and the regular church activities. We wanted to get plugged in to a small group but, because of our somewhat unique family situation, one of us always felt a bit like an outsider.
We got involved in the new Multicultural group and found an ideal fit. Not only were there other couples like us who had faced and dealt with life in the same way we were – we also gained group members who were 2nd generation immigrants and immigrant families raising children here in America, a culture and lifestyle very different from what they had known before. All together, we began to look at following Christ and understanding Scripture in a more practical way, separating it from whatever cultural norms or viewpoints we each brought with us.
Then in May, I was asked to think about taking leadership in the group… not what I was expecting! I felt inadequate, unprepared, and afraid to take on that responsibility. I had never had a leadership position in the church other than helping in children’s Sunday school or planning games in VBS. The thought of teaching adults, many who have been Christians as long as I’ve been alive, was a bit daunting. Then, on the other hand, many of our group had brought a variety of beliefs, practices, and thought processes from their background – almost treating Christianity as one more subject in their study of American culture. And then we always have a few who are skeptical seekers, not convinced that Christianity is the truth and not afraid to state where they disagree. Needless to say, I was overanalyzing the makeup of our group and doubting that I’d be the person who could handle it all.
As I talked with Jay Fennell, and over the last 4 or 5 months that I’ve been leading, one principle has stood out, becoming very clear and real to me. One morning in the Connection Center, Jay talked to me about living and leading out of the overflow of what Christ was doing in my heart. He told me that if God wasn’t working and leading in my own life, I’d never be able to work or lead in the life of our group members. Luke 6:45 says, “A good man produces good out of the storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”
I know that I am still growing into the amount of love, knowledge, and leadership needed to guide our class purely out of my spiritual overflow. However, I wanted to encourage the new leaders and old veteran leaders alike with what I’ve been realizing over the last few months: we have to first be looking in our own hearts and lives to see God’s working before we can ever truly be there for others in the way God intends. As we are filled to overflowing with the knowledge and presence of God, we can then pour out more for those God has given to our care. Those weeks when I know that I haven’t done my part to be filled, I easily feel “drained” because there’s not enough to give! It’s a simple concept that perhaps many of you had already grasped but, for me, it’s been a welcome realization. As group leaders, we must be constantly insuring that the “storeroom of our heart” is filled to overflowing and adequately stocked for the task at hand—loving, leading, and serving.

Written by Tyler Browning, F Leader of the Multicultural LIFE Group at the Brentwood campus. He and his wife LiYing have been attending Brentwood Baptist since their marriage in 2012. They met in a house church in Hainan, China, where Tyler lived and worked for 2 years. They are thankful and excited to be a part of God’s plan for reaching unengaged families in the multicultural community.