I absolutely love Pathway baptisms! By God's grace they seem to always be personal, powerful and full of life. They are a celebration of new life in Christ and there is nothing worthy of greater celebration than the Holy Spirit regenerating the heart of a person. God is so good and so gracious and I pray that we get to celebrate baptism more and more and more over the coming days, weeks, months and years. I pray that baptism becomes contagious. I pray that people are motivated by the picture of baptism to go out and make disciples of their family, friends, co-workers and neighbors so that we can worship Jesus through baptism more and more. It's beautiful. It's powerful.
Yesterday we saw two amazing things happen in our Sunday gathering. First, we baptized a friend of mine that I honestly never thought we would see come to trust in and follow Jesus including making the bold statement to be baptized. My friends name is Mat and I'm pretty sure I met him around 4 years ago. He has some extremely close friends, family for all intents and purposes, that we got to know through a series of circumstances. Over the years we baptized quite a few people that Mat was extremely close to and he always came in support of them, but never really seemed open to coming into the life of the church himself.
Most recently his nephew Devon gave his life to Jesus and was baptized. Mat and his girlfriend Antigony came to Devon's baptism just to support him in this major life event. I'm pretty sure it was one of the first times Antigony had ever been to a church service. Well, the Holy Spirit did what the Holy Spirit so often does, he fell on our congregation in a powerful way and specifically on Mat and Antigony. He spoke to them through the faithful testimony of their middle school aged nephew and their lives have not been the same since!
Antigony was baptized in June and they have stepped deeply into the life of our church through Intentional Community. To be quite honest, it's difficult now to picture the church without them. Mat has been being discipled in a variety of ways and has wanted to make sure of his commitment to Christ before following in baptism. This Sunday was finally the day. He invited friends and family, we shared his testimony and he confessed with his mouth, "Jesus is Lord!" It was incredibly worshipful and I'm still in awe of the life change God brings through death and resurrection of his Son Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. All glory is due to our God who loves to save!
The second incredible thing that happened yesterday was a spontaneous baptism. We usually don't open up baptism to people on the spot because we've learned that it doesn't usually lead to disciples for us. That's not at all to say that it doesn't for others, but for us it just hasn't been fruitful for the Kingdom. But after I got done preaching this Sunday I went to sit down in my sweet and a young man named Corey grabbed me. He's probably in his mid-twenties. He said, "Will you baptize me today?" He's a close friend of a gal in our church and has been throughs me incredibly difficult times. We talked, we prayed, and he confidently professed Jesus as Lord! We got to baptize Corey... in his regular clothes... freezing and dripping afterward... and it was a powerful, bold, and beautiful testimony of the life change that only comes through Christ. We didn't have to invite Corey to be baptized, just as the Ethiopian declared to Philip after trusting the gospel, “See, here is water! yWhat prevents me from being baptized?” Corey's response to the gospel was to seek out obedience to Jesus. I stand amazed and pray for more and more people to come to Christ and be baptized.
Please pray for Mat, Antigony and Corey as they learn what it is to be a disciple of Jesus. As they feel the weight and the burden along with the joy and surrender of taking up their cross daily and following Jesus. And in all things, to God be the glory, the praise and the honor forever and ever. Amen!
Monday, August 24, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
An Insider Perspective
We have reached the end of what I like to call our "church summer." We've seen 8 mission teams come and go, we've hosted 4 block parties, launched what we hope to be our first annual soccer camp, and worked alongside 7 PHENOMENAL interns! I'm now, thanks to the generosity of one of our partner churches, sitting in the kitchen of a rented house in Nashville, TN preparing to attend the SEND North America conference. A few days before leaving I asked one of our interns, Paige Edwards, to write about her summer with The Pathway so I could share it with you. I hope her perspective is an encouragement to you...
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| Intern Paige |
I’ve been back in the Midwest for approximately 32 hours, and I can think of nothing else but my summer being a student missionary in the Pacific Northwest. I think of Tacoma, from the Hilltop to North End. I think of The Pathway Church, and the family I didn’t know I had there until I arrived. I think of the Interns, the best team I could have ever asked for. And I think of Jesus and the way he used this city to stir up my heart.
I think of things I Learned.
I learned that the Acts 2 church does exist, and it looks very different than what I could of ever imagined. I saw the church together, but it wasn’t necessarily in the church building. It was at the park, by the water, on the streets, in the houses, and it was together on Sunday mornings at a building that they gathered in to worship. I saw the church meeting together, loving together, and giving together. Meeting together in Intentional Communities at least one time a week and sometimes more. I saw them loving together, on each other during tough days and on their community every day. I saw them giving together. Giving their time, money, food, and cars. To each other, to us interns, and to people they barely knew.
I learned more about grace than I ever could explain. As hard as this summer was, my head was that much harder. I was determined week one that I could do my job on my own, without help so that I wouldn’t be a hindrance to anyone. It was in that weakness and stubbornness the Lord showed me his grace yet again. It was in those holes, that he showed me that even after all these years I am still in great need of his grace. And after seeing my continual need of grace, I saw his great love in giving it to us.
I think of Love.
At the Nativity House. (The Nativity House is a day shelter for the homeless and also has emergency overnight housing)
Day after day we were enamored by people that walked through that building. From 89 to 23, I saw people in all areas of life. And every single one of them solidified the love of our Father. I saw the way Mara, the director of the Nativity House poured his love out over them. I saw the way Johnny the chef acted in the Lords love through his words, prayers and exhortation of all the guests that came into his contact. And I saw the way that love gave light to the eyes of the hopeless, and I saw the way that love gave the next step to those who are stigmatized to be at the end of their means.
I think of The Pathway.
They lifted us interns back to God consistently. They guided us, they nurtured us, and they loved us in a way that I can scarcely explain. They treated us as family, taking us in for meals, laundry and so much more. They showed us community in a way not seen by many. They made a summer internship, a lifelong friendship.
I think of the Interns
I have never ever worked with a group that has loved so well. And from the very beginning Adam (The Pathway's Associate Pastor and overseer of the summer interns) told us that he didn’t choose one member of this group, but that God chose us all. This I believe because of the way our dynamic was so beautifully organized. From our desires and gifts to our very working styles it all just fit. I saw them express their love in music, service, leadership and action. They loved selflessly and they loved endlessly. They loved through weakness, stubbornness, and they loved in times when it was hard to love at all.
And I think of Humility and Redemption.
When I first came to the Pacific Northwest I guess I internally believed that I was going to a place where Jesus wasn’t found. That I was going into the dark. And that it was up to me to save them. That completely changed the day I stepped of
f that plane. I came to a city alight with the redeeming love of Christ. A city that like all of us, that is just a work in progress. God humbled me, and he encouraged me. I saw that he chose me to help serve a city that he has already saved. A city that he is already doing the work for and a city that is growing brighter as the days pass by. He showed me that just as he has chosen me, that he has chosen them. He has chosen them and he will continue to seek after them waiting for them to come home.
Tacoma was nothing like what I expected it to be. And for that I am so thankful. Thankful for God to use the unexpected of this lovely northwest city to teach me, love me, humble me, redeem me, and change me. I will never know to what extent God used me to bring change to Tacoma, but I can see for certain the way God used Tacoma to bring change to me.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Opportunity
I can hardly believe we're more than halfway through the month of July. That means that in just a couple of weeks we will have said good-bye to our last mission teams of the summer and sent out wonderful interns back to their home towns and universities to continue living as missionaries in their worlds. In the midst of that and beyond that we are left with a great opportunity!
What is that OPPORTUNITY?
We have the opportunity to plunge head first into a HUGE field of new relationships and begin to make disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples. We've been telling our mission teams as they come to serve with us that our goal for them is not to make converts. Our goal for them is to make connections so that our church, who is here for the long haul, can make disciples.
This past week we had 2 groups come to Tacoma. One was from Walnut Ridge in Mansfield, TX and the other Immanuel Baptist from Temple, TX. They hosted our first ever, and hopefully first annual, KiDCity Soccer Camp. When you do something for the first time you have no idea what to expect. Absolutely no idea! Then you add another x-factor so to speak when you invite groups to come and lead the soccer camp knowing full well that they have never put on a soccer camp before. This is a scary thing and I'm not sure if it is motivated more by faith or desperation! Whatever it is that caused it to happen, I'm sure glad it did.
I have yet to see the exact numbers but I know for the week we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 120+ different kids come through the camp. I think our high day was in the 70's and most days we had around 60+ kids. Then on Saturday we had an incredible block party where we got to see so many families and meet so many parents. We connected with people that we have been connecting with for years now. We met so many for the first time and we got to meet some that we had met as a result of previous mission teams.
The result was one of the largest Sunday gatherings we've ever had as a church! I pray that our church saw the opportunity in the gathering. I pray that they recognized how many new faces there were. I pray that they recognized the beauty of more and more and more voices worshipping God and lifting high the name of Jesus. I pray that they seized the opportunity to meet new people and invite them into community.
I pray that I lead our church well through the next several days, weeks and months as we have the chance not to just have a successful block party, soccer camp or Sunday gathering. But as we have the chance to be faithful to Jesus by making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. I pray, and hope you will pray with me, that we will see our Intentional Communities not just grow, but REPRODUCE for God's glory. I pray that more people than we can imagine will profess faith in Jesus and be baptized. I pray that people will start to saturate their hearts and minds with the Word of God and will decide to be sharpened and challenged in and through Intentional Community.
We have an opportunity. We covet your prayers. We serve a really awesome, powerful, graceful God. I can't wait to see what he does next!
What is that OPPORTUNITY?
We have the opportunity to plunge head first into a HUGE field of new relationships and begin to make disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples. We've been telling our mission teams as they come to serve with us that our goal for them is not to make converts. Our goal for them is to make connections so that our church, who is here for the long haul, can make disciples.
This past week we had 2 groups come to Tacoma. One was from Walnut Ridge in Mansfield, TX and the other Immanuel Baptist from Temple, TX. They hosted our first ever, and hopefully first annual, KiDCity Soccer Camp. When you do something for the first time you have no idea what to expect. Absolutely no idea! Then you add another x-factor so to speak when you invite groups to come and lead the soccer camp knowing full well that they have never put on a soccer camp before. This is a scary thing and I'm not sure if it is motivated more by faith or desperation! Whatever it is that caused it to happen, I'm sure glad it did. I have yet to see the exact numbers but I know for the week we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 120+ different kids come through the camp. I think our high day was in the 70's and most days we had around 60+ kids. Then on Saturday we had an incredible block party where we got to see so many families and meet so many parents. We connected with people that we have been connecting with for years now. We met so many for the first time and we got to meet some that we had met as a result of previous mission teams.
The result was one of the largest Sunday gatherings we've ever had as a church! I pray that our church saw the opportunity in the gathering. I pray that they recognized how many new faces there were. I pray that they recognized the beauty of more and more and more voices worshipping God and lifting high the name of Jesus. I pray that they seized the opportunity to meet new people and invite them into community.
I pray that I lead our church well through the next several days, weeks and months as we have the chance not to just have a successful block party, soccer camp or Sunday gathering. But as we have the chance to be faithful to Jesus by making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. I pray, and hope you will pray with me, that we will see our Intentional Communities not just grow, but REPRODUCE for God's glory. I pray that more people than we can imagine will profess faith in Jesus and be baptized. I pray that people will start to saturate their hearts and minds with the Word of God and will decide to be sharpened and challenged in and through Intentional Community.
We have an opportunity. We covet your prayers. We serve a really awesome, powerful, graceful God. I can't wait to see what he does next!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Catching up...
It's been far too long since my last post. I have started to write multiple times but sometimes the words just aren't there. God has been doing much in my life personally. He's far from finished and I'm thankful for that.
The church is moving a long at what seems from one angle to be 100mph and from another angle to be a snail's pace. The 100mph angle includes the following...
Summer interns-- Our interns arrived at the beginning of June and they are absolutely incredible. God gave us a gift by hand picking 7 interns whose lives, personalities, spiritual gifts, passion for Jesus, commitment to mission and openness to being stretched seem to fit together like a perfect puzzle. They are fun, energetic, kind, unified and are willing to work hard... really hard. Our Associate Pastor Adam and his wife Khylee are leading them well and our Intentional Community Director Stacie Hooks has empowered them to help lead our mission teams in an incredible way. Sometimes I sit back and wonder what they need me for! It's a beautiful picture of what we desire this church to be built on. Not a person or a program. On Jesus Christ flexing his muscles through the unity and diversity found in his body. Glory to God!
Mission teams-- We've already seen our first 2 mission teams come and go and we just welcomed teams 3 & 4 to Tacoma today! The summer mission team blitz started strong with FBC Charlotte and Trinity Baptist from Ada, OK. These churches have been with us for a long time now and it seems that every time they come back they just pick up where they left off. They are united with us in our heart and our vision for The Pathway in Tacoma and they have a clear understanding of the role God has called them to play. They are truly a beautiful picture of partnership when it comes to sending mission teams. Fielder Church from Arlington, TX and FBC Universal City, TX have started strong today. It's exciting to see them back together for a second year in a row and focusing on one of our newer neighborhoods of focus. It's a challenge and they're truly engaging in missionary work. Please pray for them and our next 4 teams as they seek to find persons of peace and saturate Tacoma with the gospel of Jesus! We have a block party the next 2 Saturdays and the following Friday. Please pray for lots of connections!
Mission trip-- It seems like an eternity ago that we took our first North American Mission Trip to Santa Clara, CA. It was an exciting opportunity led by one of our long-time, amazing leaders Donna Christian. We went to serve a small church in Santa Clara that is the home church of one of our college students, Stephen Abishema. The church is small but has an incredible outreach to the community through their annual Vacation Bible School. They are going through a lot of transition right now and needed more bodies on the ground so we were able to come and be just that. It was challenging, rewarding, stretching, humbling and most ultimately God-glorifying. It was incredible to be on the sending side of missions rather than the receiving side of things.
Now for the snails pace angle...
Summer-- We are struggling... for the first time really... with what so many churches struggle with. The summer disappearing act! It's so frustrating but so understandable that it's hard to know what to do with it. As a new church we rely heavily on the consistency of our people. With summer comes weddings, vacations, routines flipped upside down with kids home from school and the list goes on. People literally will work like crazy all week long and then leave town on the weekends. As a pastor, I get so frustrated and discouraged because I don't feel like the new people we're connecting with get a true picture of who we are. But as a husband and father I know the importance of recreation, rest, vacation, family visits and more! I have to constantly remind myself that church isn't just a place we go, it's who we are. And that if we're really committed to being the church, that isn't affected by travel plans, sports and more. Being the church happens in day to day life, phone calls, Intentional Community gatherings and the like. I get the summer blues like any other pastor but I believe we are going to emerge stronger, fresher and healthier as a result of the challenge summer brings.
Salvation-- There is a reality that we're not seeing a lot of salvation over the last year and a half. This breaks my heart. This disturbs me. This causes me to ask God a lot of questions. Our people truly seem to be growing spiritually. I honestly believe more of our people are reading their Bibles with more consistency than ever before. I believe more of our people are engaging the lost and being intentional with their lives. But we're just not seeing a lot of people saved. Why? I have no idea. But I'm praying for patience and for the Holy Spirit to fall in a powerful way. I pray that God will bring so much life change that it would be impossible for anyone but him to get the credit. We're currently moving at a snails pace but I'm praying that we would continue to faithfully engage the lost and share the gospel and I trust that God will respond!
I think I'll stop here. I want everyone to know that your prayers are working. I believe God is doing things in Tacoma that we can't even begin to fathom. I believe he wants to bring salvation and that if we continue to engage the lost that salvation will come. I believe he wants our church to grow and reproduce and that if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus that's exactly what will happen. Please continue to pray for Kingdom growth and for God to get the glory. However he decides to allow those two things to play out I trust HIM completely!
The church is moving a long at what seems from one angle to be 100mph and from another angle to be a snail's pace. The 100mph angle includes the following...
Summer interns-- Our interns arrived at the beginning of June and they are absolutely incredible. God gave us a gift by hand picking 7 interns whose lives, personalities, spiritual gifts, passion for Jesus, commitment to mission and openness to being stretched seem to fit together like a perfect puzzle. They are fun, energetic, kind, unified and are willing to work hard... really hard. Our Associate Pastor Adam and his wife Khylee are leading them well and our Intentional Community Director Stacie Hooks has empowered them to help lead our mission teams in an incredible way. Sometimes I sit back and wonder what they need me for! It's a beautiful picture of what we desire this church to be built on. Not a person or a program. On Jesus Christ flexing his muscles through the unity and diversity found in his body. Glory to God!
Mission teams-- We've already seen our first 2 mission teams come and go and we just welcomed teams 3 & 4 to Tacoma today! The summer mission team blitz started strong with FBC Charlotte and Trinity Baptist from Ada, OK. These churches have been with us for a long time now and it seems that every time they come back they just pick up where they left off. They are united with us in our heart and our vision for The Pathway in Tacoma and they have a clear understanding of the role God has called them to play. They are truly a beautiful picture of partnership when it comes to sending mission teams. Fielder Church from Arlington, TX and FBC Universal City, TX have started strong today. It's exciting to see them back together for a second year in a row and focusing on one of our newer neighborhoods of focus. It's a challenge and they're truly engaging in missionary work. Please pray for them and our next 4 teams as they seek to find persons of peace and saturate Tacoma with the gospel of Jesus! We have a block party the next 2 Saturdays and the following Friday. Please pray for lots of connections!
Mission trip-- It seems like an eternity ago that we took our first North American Mission Trip to Santa Clara, CA. It was an exciting opportunity led by one of our long-time, amazing leaders Donna Christian. We went to serve a small church in Santa Clara that is the home church of one of our college students, Stephen Abishema. The church is small but has an incredible outreach to the community through their annual Vacation Bible School. They are going through a lot of transition right now and needed more bodies on the ground so we were able to come and be just that. It was challenging, rewarding, stretching, humbling and most ultimately God-glorifying. It was incredible to be on the sending side of missions rather than the receiving side of things.
Now for the snails pace angle...
Summer-- We are struggling... for the first time really... with what so many churches struggle with. The summer disappearing act! It's so frustrating but so understandable that it's hard to know what to do with it. As a new church we rely heavily on the consistency of our people. With summer comes weddings, vacations, routines flipped upside down with kids home from school and the list goes on. People literally will work like crazy all week long and then leave town on the weekends. As a pastor, I get so frustrated and discouraged because I don't feel like the new people we're connecting with get a true picture of who we are. But as a husband and father I know the importance of recreation, rest, vacation, family visits and more! I have to constantly remind myself that church isn't just a place we go, it's who we are. And that if we're really committed to being the church, that isn't affected by travel plans, sports and more. Being the church happens in day to day life, phone calls, Intentional Community gatherings and the like. I get the summer blues like any other pastor but I believe we are going to emerge stronger, fresher and healthier as a result of the challenge summer brings.
Salvation-- There is a reality that we're not seeing a lot of salvation over the last year and a half. This breaks my heart. This disturbs me. This causes me to ask God a lot of questions. Our people truly seem to be growing spiritually. I honestly believe more of our people are reading their Bibles with more consistency than ever before. I believe more of our people are engaging the lost and being intentional with their lives. But we're just not seeing a lot of people saved. Why? I have no idea. But I'm praying for patience and for the Holy Spirit to fall in a powerful way. I pray that God will bring so much life change that it would be impossible for anyone but him to get the credit. We're currently moving at a snails pace but I'm praying that we would continue to faithfully engage the lost and share the gospel and I trust that God will respond!
I think I'll stop here. I want everyone to know that your prayers are working. I believe God is doing things in Tacoma that we can't even begin to fathom. I believe he wants to bring salvation and that if we continue to engage the lost that salvation will come. I believe he wants our church to grow and reproduce and that if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus that's exactly what will happen. Please continue to pray for Kingdom growth and for God to get the glory. However he decides to allow those two things to play out I trust HIM completely!
Monday, June 8, 2015
Reproducing Leaders
I'm sitting in my office right now listening to Adam Forgety (Associate Pastor & our summer intern supervisor), Stacie Hooks (Intentional Communities Director & mission team extraordinaire), having a brainstorming, planning, dreaming, and calendaring meeting with our 7 summer interns. I know it sounds like such a simple thing, but for me it's a really sweet sound. It's a sound we've prayed for. It's the sound of God answering our prayers.
You see, we have a vision as a church. It centers around REPRODUCTION. We want to be a church that REPRODUCES in 5 specific areas: disciples, leaders, Intentional Communities, worship gatherings, & churches. Did you catch the second one? Leaders. We want to reproduce leaders. Over the last 3 years, by the grace of God, I've been investing a big chunk of my life and whatever leadership ability I have into Stacie. It's been amazing to watch her grow. And now to hear her delegating, training, equipping and empowering our 7 interns to lead in ways I'm sure most of them never even considered? Beautiful.
Over the last year or so I've been investing myself into Adam. He came to Tacoma a worship leader but his hearts desire is to become a pastor and a leader. He's incredibly teachable and he's taken on the task of overseeing our summer interns. It's so fun to not just hear Adam teaching and training our interns, but empowering them to lead. He's casting vision for the interns and giving them space to lead. Incredible.
Our hope and our prayer is not just to have a "successful" summer here in Tacoma. Our hope and our prayer is to equip 7 missionary leaders over a 2 month period here in Tacoma and SEND them back to their home towns, their universities, their neighborhoods and their churches ready to lead, ready to equip, ready to train and ready to empower the people in their sphere's of influence to be missionaries for the gospel. And maybe just maybe, a few of these 7 will end up planting churches and being on church planting teams. Most importantly, we hope all of them will gain and maintain the humble confidence to be REPRODUCING disciples and REPRODUCING leaders everywhere they go for the rest of their lives.
Listening to a meeting can be worship. Our God is so cool.
You see, we have a vision as a church. It centers around REPRODUCTION. We want to be a church that REPRODUCES in 5 specific areas: disciples, leaders, Intentional Communities, worship gatherings, & churches. Did you catch the second one? Leaders. We want to reproduce leaders. Over the last 3 years, by the grace of God, I've been investing a big chunk of my life and whatever leadership ability I have into Stacie. It's been amazing to watch her grow. And now to hear her delegating, training, equipping and empowering our 7 interns to lead in ways I'm sure most of them never even considered? Beautiful.
Over the last year or so I've been investing myself into Adam. He came to Tacoma a worship leader but his hearts desire is to become a pastor and a leader. He's incredibly teachable and he's taken on the task of overseeing our summer interns. It's so fun to not just hear Adam teaching and training our interns, but empowering them to lead. He's casting vision for the interns and giving them space to lead. Incredible.
Listening to a meeting can be worship. Our God is so cool.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Failure.
John 3:30 is a Scripture I've quoted many times. He must increase, but I must decrease. But I have to be honest, I'm not sure that I've ever really taken that one sentence and meditated on it in the full context in which it was spoken. Let me explain.
Last week my family was blessed to attend what will probably be our final church planting retreat with the Northwest Baptist Convention. It is the only required event for church plants that receive Convention funding but they don't have to twist my arm to attend. By the grace of God we get to gather with a bunch of church planters and their families from all over the Northwest to be challenged, equipped and hopefully encouraged that we are not alone in the craziness of what God has called us to do. The location doesn't hurt either... Cannon Beach, OR!
For the sake of full disclosure, although I was looking forward to the idea of this final retreat (we will no longer receive NWBC funding after this year), I was going into it feeling pretty embarrassed, very discouraged and in large part like a failure. I don't say this to get you to feel sorry for me. I'm guessing these feelings are things that you all battle in various ways and at various points in your life. I was listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler this morning and he quoted Augustine of Hippo, and I'm paraphrasing, that because we are finite, we look at life as if our faces are squished up against a stained glass window. All we can see is the jagged mess of glass right in front of our eyes. It seems to make no sense. It appears to be just a mess. But God, who is infinite, sees the big picture of how all those jagged pieces of glass come together to make a beautiful masterpiece of stained glass. Perfect. Majestic even. My feelings of failure correlate directly to my lack of perspective and my finite view of the world.
When I'm able to step back and look at the big picture of what God is doing in Tacoma and through The Pathway, I'm genuinely amazed. To see all that he has done in my life and the life of my family is pretty incredible. Then to think of all the lives he's changed, disciples he's made, hope he's provided, it's absolutely awesome. But most of the time I have my face smashed up against the stained glass. That means I just see the reality that we have been funded by the NWBC (if you include our time as apprentices in Snoqualmie, WA) for over 7 years now. 7 years! We've been USC-2 missionaries, Nehemiah Church Planting Missionaries and... for lack of a cool title... regular old Northwest Baptist Convention Church planters.
The fact that we still rely so heavily on funding from outside sources makes me feel like a failure. The fact that we have hit a wall in salvations and baptisms over the last year (please pray for that wall to be broken by the way) makes me feel like a failure. The fact that I envisioned us having planted multiple churches by now when in reality we haven't even "successfully" planted this one makes me feel like a failure. The fact that I envisioned us having 10 strong Intentional Communities before we ever even launched a worship gathering and we have currently been gathering for worship for 5 years and we have 7 Intentional Communities makes me feel like a failure. The fact that we had dreams of being elder led (and still do) but we've struggled to raise up strong male leadership makes me feel like a failure. And on and on the pity party could go.
But here's the point. All of that... every bit of it... is about me. It's about my skill. My ability. My success and my failure.
Yet, I constantly pray and speak John 3:30... He must increase, but I must decrease.
I have to admit, in the midst of my pity party going into the retreat last week, I began to tune out the speaker pretty quickly. He was introduced as "one of us." A church planter just like us. But then they went on to say that in 7 years (the amount of time I've been going at this) he has planted a church that has 4 congregations meeting in 4 locations with an average weekly attendance of over 1200 people! Ha! One of us. I tell you what, I was praising Jesus last month when we finally were averaging over 100 people (and then this month we're back down in the 80's). I was praising Jesus when we finally launched our 6th and 7th Intentional Communities without seeing 1 die at the same time (because over the years we've launched many while seeing others not make it). These are my praises and this guy planted a church that was averaging hundreds within a year. He's not one of us! Or so my sinful, self-consumed mind and heart was telling me.
And then God finally woke me up to my selfishness and hypocrisy during the last session of the retreat. He preached on John the Baptist and it culminated with John 3:30... He must increase, but I must decrease. I realized that I have been increasing in this process for a long time. Motivated by the ticking time bomb every church planter feels with their partners (despite our partners being so faithful for 5 years). We live with constant fear of them saying enough is enough... fail... and moving on to the next potential success. I realized I've been increasing ever time I feel jealousy in my heart that another planter's church is growing faster than mine (mine? ha! It's not my church. It's not their church. It's Jesus' church.) I realized I've been increasing every time my fear of failure and my lack of faith causes me to live defeated when Jesus Christ has already won the victory.
John the Baptist played a prominent role in the Kingdom of God breaking into the world. But he didn't choose his role... and he knew it. He also didn't determine how he would be used or how long he would be used... and he was more than ok with that. John the Baptist wanted more than anything for people to know Jesus and for the Kingdom of God to burst into the world and grow. But in the midst of that desire, he was incredibly comfortable with his role. In John 3:27 John the Baptist said this... A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
This one sentence really shook me awake and I realized... I've been saying this is not about me, but I haven't been living it. I've been finding my worth and my value in how quickly and how large MY church grows instead of finding my worth and my value in Christ and being excited and thankful for whatever role I get to play in HIS church growing.
Let me be clear. Everything I've been writing is mostly about my heart. My actions will probably not change too much. I will continue to go hard after the gospel, hard after seeing the lost found in Tacoma, and hard after disciple-making and church planting. What will change however, by the grace of God, is my JOY. I will find my JOY in the role Christ has called me to play, whatever that may be. I will find my JOY in Jesus increasing in fame, in stature and in prominence in this world. I will find my JOY in God's glory rather than my success or failure.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
I am not the source of success. I am not defined by my failure.
By God's grace I am in Christ... and that is enough.
Last week my family was blessed to attend what will probably be our final church planting retreat with the Northwest Baptist Convention. It is the only required event for church plants that receive Convention funding but they don't have to twist my arm to attend. By the grace of God we get to gather with a bunch of church planters and their families from all over the Northwest to be challenged, equipped and hopefully encouraged that we are not alone in the craziness of what God has called us to do. The location doesn't hurt either... Cannon Beach, OR!
For the sake of full disclosure, although I was looking forward to the idea of this final retreat (we will no longer receive NWBC funding after this year), I was going into it feeling pretty embarrassed, very discouraged and in large part like a failure. I don't say this to get you to feel sorry for me. I'm guessing these feelings are things that you all battle in various ways and at various points in your life. I was listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler this morning and he quoted Augustine of Hippo, and I'm paraphrasing, that because we are finite, we look at life as if our faces are squished up against a stained glass window. All we can see is the jagged mess of glass right in front of our eyes. It seems to make no sense. It appears to be just a mess. But God, who is infinite, sees the big picture of how all those jagged pieces of glass come together to make a beautiful masterpiece of stained glass. Perfect. Majestic even. My feelings of failure correlate directly to my lack of perspective and my finite view of the world.
When I'm able to step back and look at the big picture of what God is doing in Tacoma and through The Pathway, I'm genuinely amazed. To see all that he has done in my life and the life of my family is pretty incredible. Then to think of all the lives he's changed, disciples he's made, hope he's provided, it's absolutely awesome. But most of the time I have my face smashed up against the stained glass. That means I just see the reality that we have been funded by the NWBC (if you include our time as apprentices in Snoqualmie, WA) for over 7 years now. 7 years! We've been USC-2 missionaries, Nehemiah Church Planting Missionaries and... for lack of a cool title... regular old Northwest Baptist Convention Church planters.
The fact that we still rely so heavily on funding from outside sources makes me feel like a failure. The fact that we have hit a wall in salvations and baptisms over the last year (please pray for that wall to be broken by the way) makes me feel like a failure. The fact that I envisioned us having planted multiple churches by now when in reality we haven't even "successfully" planted this one makes me feel like a failure. The fact that I envisioned us having 10 strong Intentional Communities before we ever even launched a worship gathering and we have currently been gathering for worship for 5 years and we have 7 Intentional Communities makes me feel like a failure. The fact that we had dreams of being elder led (and still do) but we've struggled to raise up strong male leadership makes me feel like a failure. And on and on the pity party could go.
But here's the point. All of that... every bit of it... is about me. It's about my skill. My ability. My success and my failure.
Yet, I constantly pray and speak John 3:30... He must increase, but I must decrease.
I have to admit, in the midst of my pity party going into the retreat last week, I began to tune out the speaker pretty quickly. He was introduced as "one of us." A church planter just like us. But then they went on to say that in 7 years (the amount of time I've been going at this) he has planted a church that has 4 congregations meeting in 4 locations with an average weekly attendance of over 1200 people! Ha! One of us. I tell you what, I was praising Jesus last month when we finally were averaging over 100 people (and then this month we're back down in the 80's). I was praising Jesus when we finally launched our 6th and 7th Intentional Communities without seeing 1 die at the same time (because over the years we've launched many while seeing others not make it). These are my praises and this guy planted a church that was averaging hundreds within a year. He's not one of us! Or so my sinful, self-consumed mind and heart was telling me.
And then God finally woke me up to my selfishness and hypocrisy during the last session of the retreat. He preached on John the Baptist and it culminated with John 3:30... He must increase, but I must decrease. I realized that I have been increasing in this process for a long time. Motivated by the ticking time bomb every church planter feels with their partners (despite our partners being so faithful for 5 years). We live with constant fear of them saying enough is enough... fail... and moving on to the next potential success. I realized I've been increasing ever time I feel jealousy in my heart that another planter's church is growing faster than mine (mine? ha! It's not my church. It's not their church. It's Jesus' church.) I realized I've been increasing every time my fear of failure and my lack of faith causes me to live defeated when Jesus Christ has already won the victory.
John the Baptist played a prominent role in the Kingdom of God breaking into the world. But he didn't choose his role... and he knew it. He also didn't determine how he would be used or how long he would be used... and he was more than ok with that. John the Baptist wanted more than anything for people to know Jesus and for the Kingdom of God to burst into the world and grow. But in the midst of that desire, he was incredibly comfortable with his role. In John 3:27 John the Baptist said this... A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
This one sentence really shook me awake and I realized... I've been saying this is not about me, but I haven't been living it. I've been finding my worth and my value in how quickly and how large MY church grows instead of finding my worth and my value in Christ and being excited and thankful for whatever role I get to play in HIS church growing.
Let me be clear. Everything I've been writing is mostly about my heart. My actions will probably not change too much. I will continue to go hard after the gospel, hard after seeing the lost found in Tacoma, and hard after disciple-making and church planting. What will change however, by the grace of God, is my JOY. I will find my JOY in the role Christ has called me to play, whatever that may be. I will find my JOY in Jesus increasing in fame, in stature and in prominence in this world. I will find my JOY in God's glory rather than my success or failure.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
I am not the source of success. I am not defined by my failure.
By God's grace I am in Christ... and that is enough.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Giving up
*This post is dedicated to a good friend of mine, probably the most faithful missionary I know, who's been feeling a bit discouraged.
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In Luke 18:25 Jesus says... it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
In Jesus' sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:13-14) he says... For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 7:22-23... On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
We are a sinful and rebellious people. There is good in us because we were created in the image of God. But ever since the fall, there is so much self-centeredness, so much greed, so much pride and so much sin that it is incredibly difficult for anyone to actually choose the gospel.
In light of this, how on earth do we keep ourselves from giving up on people? How do we avoid becoming jaded and cynical? How do we keep from looking at a person who is lost and broken and thinking, "Why waste my time, they're just going to reject Jesus? They won't believe. It's not even worth it."
If I'm honest, I feel like giving up on this whole mission of God thing a lot. I've invested so much of myself into so many people. I've poured out my heart and my life and seen so little return on investment. It often makes me question why I'm even doing it. Or if it's even worth it.
For example, there's a young man who recently contacted me for help. I don't know him very well at all yet, but from everything I can tell he is lazy, unmotivated and selfish. He asked for help and a big part of me is thinking, no way am I going to spend time on this guy. He's not worth it. He won't change. But he is also lost. He has not trusted the gospel. He is not following Jesus.
But here's the key. This is what keeps me sane. This is what keeps me hopeful. Are you ready for this???
JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD!!!
Yeah... he really did. And if Jesus can rise from the dead, he can do anything. Not almost anything. Not most things. Anything. He can save any person. He can change any heart. And he can do it whenever he chooses. His perfect will may make the process of life change a quick one, or he may intend for it to be long. Some will choose Jesus and some will not. But my hope comes from the Lord. It's not about my ability to change people. It's about my faithfulness to Jesus and all that he has called me to do and be in him. He will take care of changing people.
When I get burned out and discouraged, I MUST preach the gospel to myself. I have to constantly tell myself that life isn't about how "successful" I am at leading people to conversion. It's about how faithful I am to pursuing the mission of God no matter the outcome. It's not about trying to gauge potential wasted time vs. potential return on investment. It's about following the Holy Spirit wherever he leads for as long as he leads.
I know many of you out there have mustered up as much courage as you could find and engaged the lost with the gospel only to be rejected. Many of you have opened your home, your wallet and many other facets of your life, only to be rejected, abused and burned in countless ways. I know many of you have given up. You've decided it's just not worth it.
But let me remind you that you too were once dead in your sins but you've been made alive in Christ because GOD DID NOT GIVE UP ON YOU! God is in the business of bringing dead things to life. But it starts with you. If you're feeling angry, frustrated, burned out or jaded, please hear me. The first resurrection that needs to happen is in your life.
This isn't simply about conversions. It's about the glory of God being made known! If your exhausted, tired, frustrated or have just given up. Be encouraged. You're serving a resurrection God who wants to resurrected your hope and faith so you can believe again, no matter how many times your burned or rejected, that God is getting glory and his mission is being accomplished. Not because of you... but through you.
Don't give up.
------------------------------------------------------
In Luke 18:25 Jesus says... it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
In Jesus' sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:13-14) he says... For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 7:22-23... On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
We are a sinful and rebellious people. There is good in us because we were created in the image of God. But ever since the fall, there is so much self-centeredness, so much greed, so much pride and so much sin that it is incredibly difficult for anyone to actually choose the gospel.
In light of this, how on earth do we keep ourselves from giving up on people? How do we avoid becoming jaded and cynical? How do we keep from looking at a person who is lost and broken and thinking, "Why waste my time, they're just going to reject Jesus? They won't believe. It's not even worth it."
If I'm honest, I feel like giving up on this whole mission of God thing a lot. I've invested so much of myself into so many people. I've poured out my heart and my life and seen so little return on investment. It often makes me question why I'm even doing it. Or if it's even worth it.
For example, there's a young man who recently contacted me for help. I don't know him very well at all yet, but from everything I can tell he is lazy, unmotivated and selfish. He asked for help and a big part of me is thinking, no way am I going to spend time on this guy. He's not worth it. He won't change. But he is also lost. He has not trusted the gospel. He is not following Jesus.
But here's the key. This is what keeps me sane. This is what keeps me hopeful. Are you ready for this???
JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD!!!
Yeah... he really did. And if Jesus can rise from the dead, he can do anything. Not almost anything. Not most things. Anything. He can save any person. He can change any heart. And he can do it whenever he chooses. His perfect will may make the process of life change a quick one, or he may intend for it to be long. Some will choose Jesus and some will not. But my hope comes from the Lord. It's not about my ability to change people. It's about my faithfulness to Jesus and all that he has called me to do and be in him. He will take care of changing people.
When I get burned out and discouraged, I MUST preach the gospel to myself. I have to constantly tell myself that life isn't about how "successful" I am at leading people to conversion. It's about how faithful I am to pursuing the mission of God no matter the outcome. It's not about trying to gauge potential wasted time vs. potential return on investment. It's about following the Holy Spirit wherever he leads for as long as he leads.
I know many of you out there have mustered up as much courage as you could find and engaged the lost with the gospel only to be rejected. Many of you have opened your home, your wallet and many other facets of your life, only to be rejected, abused and burned in countless ways. I know many of you have given up. You've decided it's just not worth it.
But let me remind you that you too were once dead in your sins but you've been made alive in Christ because GOD DID NOT GIVE UP ON YOU! God is in the business of bringing dead things to life. But it starts with you. If you're feeling angry, frustrated, burned out or jaded, please hear me. The first resurrection that needs to happen is in your life.
This isn't simply about conversions. It's about the glory of God being made known! If your exhausted, tired, frustrated or have just given up. Be encouraged. You're serving a resurrection God who wants to resurrected your hope and faith so you can believe again, no matter how many times your burned or rejected, that God is getting glory and his mission is being accomplished. Not because of you... but through you.
Don't give up.
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