Praising Jesus as we wrapped up our 2013 vision series yesterday. It is hard for me to believe that was our fourth vision series as a church! Where on earth does the time go? Part 3 of our vision series boiled down to 3 things. The local church, commitment and partnership. We talked a great deal about the reality that part of our vision includes becoming a church. Right now we are still very much a church plant. But we are not content with that. We want to become self-sustaining and more importantly reproducing. We talked about the importance of commitment to Christ and the local church and discussed what it looks like for individual believers to become covenanted partners with The Pathway.
With the partnership portion of our vision series paving the way, I taught our first ever Partnership class last night. I'd say the class itself went well. No matter what you do to prepare for something, the first time always has its ups and downs. We had a much bigger turnout than I expected, praise Jesus, with over 30 adults in attendance. I learned very quickly that in the future we need to keep the class smaller so that people can engage more effectively and ask more questions. I learned what people care about, what they're interested in and that their questions about partnership are different than what I expected.
But most importantly, I learned that there are a good number of people who care deeply about being the church in Tacoma. My heart was encouraged by the number of people in attendance but I was also excited about who was in attendance. We had diversity in age, race and gender. We had new believers, seasoned believers and not-yet believers in attendance. When it was all said and done I learned a lot, and I think the folks in attendance did to. Most importantly, we have 25 covenanted partners of The Pathway church. Twenty-five people who said I'm all in for the next year of my life and I'm want the leadership of the church to hold me accountable to my commitment. That's a big deal in my book.
Please pray for our new partners. Pray that the passion doesn't die. Pray that the commitments are taken seriously. Pray that accountability happens and that grace is poured out on all of us. Pray that these 25 people turn into 50 people. And those 50 people turn into 100 and so on and so forth as the church spreads it's wings in Tacoma and beyond!
I'd also like to ask for prayers for my family. We've had a challenging month in a lot of ways. I always like to be as transparent as possible in my blog, but we're just worn out. We've had some emotional/relational struggles. We've had crazy things happen. Our dog got hit by a car last week. Praise the Lord she's ok and didn't need surgery! Good ole' Bobby screwed up on our taxes last year and we had been figuring it out, but it all kind of hit the fan this month. And then we got a citation from the city of Tacoma that the renovations done on our house before we bought it were not done with the proper permits. We've been working through what this means but it has the potential to be a pandora's box of time, money and energy. A friend reminded me that when these things happen, it usually means Satan is attacking. And Satan usually attacks when God is in the midst of doing something big. I needed that reminder!
Thanks for letting me share the joys and the struggles. In regard to the struggles, it truly has been amazing to see God provide for every single one of our needs (inspire of my small faith at times). Thanks for your prayers. All who read this are truly a part of The Pathway and we thank God for every single one of you!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Provision
Most of the time when we think of God's provision we think of material things (and I don't mean that in a bad way at all). We think of God providing for us financially. Sometimes we just don't have enough income to pay the bills. We also think of God providing tangible goods. Sometimes we see God provide vehicles for people who need transportation, food for the hungry or even clothes and kid stuff for young parents having a new baby. We even see God provide food for the hungry or water for the thirsty.
But God has taught me a lot over the past few years about his provision of people. When I think of God providing people I think a lot about Moses and that famous conversation he had with his father-in-law Jethro. Moses was the leader of the Israelite people. In a lot of ways they looked at him as their savior. After leading them out of slavery and oppression and into the promised land, he became overwhelmed with the task of leading so many people. He was spending an overwhelming amount of time settling disputes and handling small issues between people that could be handled by any good leader. So Jethro stepped in and told him he needed to share the load. He needed to delegate. What he needed was people. And God provided.
I also think of the Apostles in the first century church. Early in the book of Acts we see the church grow like crazy. Thousands of people gave their lives to Jesus and the Apostles quickly became consumed with all the needs of the people. They found themselves spending so much time meeting tangible needs that they were neglecting the ministry of the Word. Thankfully, God revealed to them the need for deacons, servant-leaders who could carry a great deal of the day-to-day responsibilities of the church so the Apostles could be effective in their areas of leadership.
All that to say God has taught me the value of shared leadership and the provision of people. From the very beginning of The Pathway we had 3 other adults on our team who shared responsibilities. When we needed someone to take on the role of Kids Ministry Director, Intentional Communities Director and worship leader God provided people from unexpected places. And when we just needed some spiritual maturity and missional passion injected into our congregation of new and not-yet-believers, God provided people from places like Puyallup, WA and Ada, OK! His provision amazes me.
Most recently we've been praying for God to provide us with a worship leader while Donna, our current worship leader, is on maternity leave. Every possibility we came up with kept falling through and she was slated to wrap up at the end of this month and be out through January. For any of you who have heard me lead worship... well, lets just say we don't want to go down that route again! So we've been praying. I was in Oklahoma this weekend and shared specifically with some people our need for a worship leader.
Then, just as God always does, he provided. It was either the Sunday or Monday that I was in Oklahoma that I got an email from a worship leader that's a part of another church here in Tacoma offering to help us out. Not just once or twice, but for 3 months! The church he's a part of is incredible and has always been willing to help us out in the past. The church gathers for worship right now on Sunday evenings so it's a perfect fit. God's provision is absolutely perfect and when he provides people I still stand in awe!
But God has taught me a lot over the past few years about his provision of people. When I think of God providing people I think a lot about Moses and that famous conversation he had with his father-in-law Jethro. Moses was the leader of the Israelite people. In a lot of ways they looked at him as their savior. After leading them out of slavery and oppression and into the promised land, he became overwhelmed with the task of leading so many people. He was spending an overwhelming amount of time settling disputes and handling small issues between people that could be handled by any good leader. So Jethro stepped in and told him he needed to share the load. He needed to delegate. What he needed was people. And God provided.
I also think of the Apostles in the first century church. Early in the book of Acts we see the church grow like crazy. Thousands of people gave their lives to Jesus and the Apostles quickly became consumed with all the needs of the people. They found themselves spending so much time meeting tangible needs that they were neglecting the ministry of the Word. Thankfully, God revealed to them the need for deacons, servant-leaders who could carry a great deal of the day-to-day responsibilities of the church so the Apostles could be effective in their areas of leadership.
All that to say God has taught me the value of shared leadership and the provision of people. From the very beginning of The Pathway we had 3 other adults on our team who shared responsibilities. When we needed someone to take on the role of Kids Ministry Director, Intentional Communities Director and worship leader God provided people from unexpected places. And when we just needed some spiritual maturity and missional passion injected into our congregation of new and not-yet-believers, God provided people from places like Puyallup, WA and Ada, OK! His provision amazes me.
Most recently we've been praying for God to provide us with a worship leader while Donna, our current worship leader, is on maternity leave. Every possibility we came up with kept falling through and she was slated to wrap up at the end of this month and be out through January. For any of you who have heard me lead worship... well, lets just say we don't want to go down that route again! So we've been praying. I was in Oklahoma this weekend and shared specifically with some people our need for a worship leader.
Then, just as God always does, he provided. It was either the Sunday or Monday that I was in Oklahoma that I got an email from a worship leader that's a part of another church here in Tacoma offering to help us out. Not just once or twice, but for 3 months! The church he's a part of is incredible and has always been willing to help us out in the past. The church gathers for worship right now on Sunday evenings so it's a perfect fit. God's provision is absolutely perfect and when he provides people I still stand in awe!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Starting Point
I feel like I'm beginning more and more posts the same way... I'm exhausted! Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a text telling me to "suck it up!" I definitely need to hear that sometimes. But I can honestly say I'm exhausted in a good way. We've been pouring ourselves out for the sake of the gospel and asking God to bring Kingdom growth here in Tacoma. I'm so amazed and humbled by the people of our church. We push them so hard, challenge them so much, ask them to serve tangibly, sacrifice significantly and share the gospel boldly... and for the most part they do it.
Two Sunday's ago I preached on "Prayer in the Mission of God." One of the key texts we looked at was Acts 4:31... "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness." Speaking the Word of God with boldness is no easy task. And Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:15 that we are to do it "with gentleness and respect." We definitely don't do it perfectly, but yesterday was an amazing day when I got to see our church, be the church, and engage so many lost and unchurched people with the love of God. Let me fill you in on the details.
We've been praying and planning for quite sometime now to host a special Sunday gathering and community lunch. We've had a unique opportunity to get to know Jon Kitna, a former NFL quarterback (Seahawks, Bengals, Lions, Cowboys), who came back to his home town of Tacoma, WA to coach high school football and invest in the young men on his team with gospel intentionality. We've done a few things to partner with Jon to serve the team and I asked him to come and share his story with our church this past Sunday. We also planned a community lunch immediately following the gathering that was catered by Panera Bread (You can hear Jon's message at www.thepathwaytacoma.com).
We encouraged our people to make the most of of the opportunity and invite their lost and unchurched friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. We sent out invitations to nearly 15,000 homes in and around central Tacoma. And we prayed. We prayed for God to move. We prayed for God to give us gospel opportunities. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would give us an opportunity to bless our neighbors and then sit across the table with them for lunch and get to know them, taking advantage of any opportunity to share with them why we had provided a great speaker and a free delicious lunch. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Literally, no idea.
But guess what happened? God happened.
People started arriving at Franklin and the stream of people just kept coming. To put it in context for you, we've been averaging just over 70 people including kids in the month of September. Yesterday we had over 140 people! It was amazing. Our worship team did a phenomenal job. Our official and unofficial greeters were engaging and welcoming. I got an opportunity to share with everyone who we are as a church and why we care about them. Jon shared his story in a powerful, Spirit-filled way that was so personal. You wouldn't think that's the case because he's lived the NFL life, but the guy was raised on the streets of Tacoma. His roots are the roots of the people that were sitting in that room. The obstacles he faced are the same as the obstacles faced by the people that were there. It was powerful.
We live in an area that is filled with single parent homes. We wanted people to know that we understand their situation. And while we can't parent for them, we strongly desire to partner with them. To walk with them through life's obstacles and apply the gospel to every situation they face. In order to do this we brought our older kids in to sing some songs. We had 3 families dedicate their children to Jesus yesterday morning. It was powerful and beautiful.
We had a response time. Thirty-eight people filled out a response card... 38! Some just left us their name and information. Some asked for prayer. Some asked for more information about an Intentional Community. And several asked for us to call and share with them how they can place their trust in Jesus. I have no idea how we're going to follow-up with them all! But God does. And we're going to give him everything we have.
Then came the lunch. It was incredible. Just to walk into the gym at Franklin Elementary and see so many faces. There were people that I had never seen before. There were people I hadn't seen in a long time. But the most encouraging part was when I grabbed my lunch and began looking for a new person to sit next to. I had trouble finding someone. Not because they weren't there, but because the people of our church were not sitting together. They had literally scattered across that gym and were all engaging new families and new faces. It wasn't until I got to the very end of the gym that I finally found someone to sit next to. Our vision starts with serving our communities intentionally. I was watching this happen before my eyes.
Why did I title this post Starting Point? Mainly because I'm asking all of you to keep praying for the people who came to Franklin Elementary yesterday. I'm asking you to hit your knees, maybe even right now, and pray that the gospel would take root. You see, when we plan a BIG event like the one we had yesterday it's so easy to view it as the culmination of a lot of hard work. When we gather a good crowd it's so easy to view the outreach as successful. But one thing God has taught me is that to view an outreach this way is to ignore the Great Commission call to discipleship. Yesterday's event was amazing. But it was only the beginning. The real work begins today. We don't want to gather a crowd, we desire to make disciples. Please pray with us for God's Kingdom to grow as a result of what began yesterday.
Two Sunday's ago I preached on "Prayer in the Mission of God." One of the key texts we looked at was Acts 4:31... "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness." Speaking the Word of God with boldness is no easy task. And Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:15 that we are to do it "with gentleness and respect." We definitely don't do it perfectly, but yesterday was an amazing day when I got to see our church, be the church, and engage so many lost and unchurched people with the love of God. Let me fill you in on the details.
We've been praying and planning for quite sometime now to host a special Sunday gathering and community lunch. We've had a unique opportunity to get to know Jon Kitna, a former NFL quarterback (Seahawks, Bengals, Lions, Cowboys), who came back to his home town of Tacoma, WA to coach high school football and invest in the young men on his team with gospel intentionality. We've done a few things to partner with Jon to serve the team and I asked him to come and share his story with our church this past Sunday. We also planned a community lunch immediately following the gathering that was catered by Panera Bread (You can hear Jon's message at www.thepathwaytacoma.com).
We encouraged our people to make the most of of the opportunity and invite their lost and unchurched friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. We sent out invitations to nearly 15,000 homes in and around central Tacoma. And we prayed. We prayed for God to move. We prayed for God to give us gospel opportunities. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would give us an opportunity to bless our neighbors and then sit across the table with them for lunch and get to know them, taking advantage of any opportunity to share with them why we had provided a great speaker and a free delicious lunch. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Literally, no idea.
But guess what happened? God happened.
People started arriving at Franklin and the stream of people just kept coming. To put it in context for you, we've been averaging just over 70 people including kids in the month of September. Yesterday we had over 140 people! It was amazing. Our worship team did a phenomenal job. Our official and unofficial greeters were engaging and welcoming. I got an opportunity to share with everyone who we are as a church and why we care about them. Jon shared his story in a powerful, Spirit-filled way that was so personal. You wouldn't think that's the case because he's lived the NFL life, but the guy was raised on the streets of Tacoma. His roots are the roots of the people that were sitting in that room. The obstacles he faced are the same as the obstacles faced by the people that were there. It was powerful.
We live in an area that is filled with single parent homes. We wanted people to know that we understand their situation. And while we can't parent for them, we strongly desire to partner with them. To walk with them through life's obstacles and apply the gospel to every situation they face. In order to do this we brought our older kids in to sing some songs. We had 3 families dedicate their children to Jesus yesterday morning. It was powerful and beautiful.
We had a response time. Thirty-eight people filled out a response card... 38! Some just left us their name and information. Some asked for prayer. Some asked for more information about an Intentional Community. And several asked for us to call and share with them how they can place their trust in Jesus. I have no idea how we're going to follow-up with them all! But God does. And we're going to give him everything we have.
Then came the lunch. It was incredible. Just to walk into the gym at Franklin Elementary and see so many faces. There were people that I had never seen before. There were people I hadn't seen in a long time. But the most encouraging part was when I grabbed my lunch and began looking for a new person to sit next to. I had trouble finding someone. Not because they weren't there, but because the people of our church were not sitting together. They had literally scattered across that gym and were all engaging new families and new faces. It wasn't until I got to the very end of the gym that I finally found someone to sit next to. Our vision starts with serving our communities intentionally. I was watching this happen before my eyes.
Why did I title this post Starting Point? Mainly because I'm asking all of you to keep praying for the people who came to Franklin Elementary yesterday. I'm asking you to hit your knees, maybe even right now, and pray that the gospel would take root. You see, when we plan a BIG event like the one we had yesterday it's so easy to view it as the culmination of a lot of hard work. When we gather a good crowd it's so easy to view the outreach as successful. But one thing God has taught me is that to view an outreach this way is to ignore the Great Commission call to discipleship. Yesterday's event was amazing. But it was only the beginning. The real work begins today. We don't want to gather a crowd, we desire to make disciples. Please pray with us for God's Kingdom to grow as a result of what began yesterday.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Reproduction
I've been reading a book called The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. The book has been out for a pretty good while and I've always wanted to read it. It's a challenging read because it is talking about things that we can do to cause trends to take off. As a follower of Jesus, I whole heartedly believe in the sovereignty of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. So as a church planter, it's a challenge to apply this tipping point principle without negating the necessary role of the Holy Spirit.
In the book, Gladwell is examining the nature of fashion trends, social trends and even criminal trends that begin to take on a life of their own. He explores the environments, people and circumstances surrounding those trends and what exactly happened to cause the trend to tip. What was the one thing, and in some instances, what were the several things that finally caused the craze to go viral? I think this is intriguing for me because I want so badly for the gospel to hit a tipping point in Tacoma. I really do. I understand that there will always be folks who reject the gospel. I know full well that we will never see every person in the world place their trust in Jesus. You can call me crazy, but I believe the Holy Spirit can still bring spiritual awakening in the hearts of humanity. I believe that God, in his power, and through his people, can take over a city with the good news of Jesus. I believe Tacoma can tip.
Do I have all the answers? No. And Gladwell doesn't claim to either. I can't stress enough that the tipping point for the gospel happens according to the will of God, in his timing, and through his Spirit. But I also believe God uses our obedience in this process. And our obedience as The Pathway church is displayed through the reproduction of Intentional Communities. You've all read or heard me talk about our IC's before. We currently have 4 IC's gathering, living life & doing mission in various parts of the city. Now in my "church" experience, the way new groups usually start is by finding a teacher and having some sort of sign-up event. Many churches will re-start their groups every quarter or every semester. They meet together for a specified period of time, and then they can either "re-up" or they can find another group.
But that's not Intentional Community. The life of an IC is similar to that of a family. It gathers together, it stays together, it grows spiritually together, it plays together and when it reaches maturity, it reproduces... naturally. When an IC is functioning in a healthy way... growing together in communion with God, living together in biblical community, and going together on mission, it will grow. Just as a mama's belly grows before it gives birth, so will an IC grow in depth and number... swelling... until it has to reproduce. No sign-ups needed. Just Holy Spirit enabled growth... similar to what is described in the book of Acts.
Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen easily and I'm not exactly sure when the tipping point comes. But I do know it starts with reproduction. We've been striving & praying to develop this kind of reproducing environment for years as a church. And it just hasn't tipped yet. But we have seen it happen. And right now one of our IC's has swelled to the 9 months pregnant point if you know what I mean, and it must reproduce. In some ways it's a sad time. Because when you reproduce, you're also saying good-bye. A new family is started. You'll always be a part of the same bigger family. Just as families get together on holidays and special occasions, our IC's still gather together on Sunday mornings and other times. But it's time for the new IC to grow, spread it's wings, and work towards the beauty of reproduction itself.
I'd like to ask you to pray for 3 things with us...
1) Pray for this new IC that's being born. Pray for it's leaders, those who are being sent out and those who are being left behind. Pray also for those that this IC will reach with the gospel.
2) Pray that God would lead us to the tipping point of reproduction. We don't just want to reproduce in an addition sort of way... one new group every couple of months. I'm the father of twins... I'm the husband of a twin & the uncle of twins. I have experienced the awesome power & joy of multiplication in a personal way. And that's what we want for our IC's... multiplication.
3) That leads to the last request. We want our IC's to multiply because we long to see the tipping point for the gospel in our city. Please pray that the gospel would saturate Tacoma.
In the book, Gladwell is examining the nature of fashion trends, social trends and even criminal trends that begin to take on a life of their own. He explores the environments, people and circumstances surrounding those trends and what exactly happened to cause the trend to tip. What was the one thing, and in some instances, what were the several things that finally caused the craze to go viral? I think this is intriguing for me because I want so badly for the gospel to hit a tipping point in Tacoma. I really do. I understand that there will always be folks who reject the gospel. I know full well that we will never see every person in the world place their trust in Jesus. You can call me crazy, but I believe the Holy Spirit can still bring spiritual awakening in the hearts of humanity. I believe that God, in his power, and through his people, can take over a city with the good news of Jesus. I believe Tacoma can tip.
Do I have all the answers? No. And Gladwell doesn't claim to either. I can't stress enough that the tipping point for the gospel happens according to the will of God, in his timing, and through his Spirit. But I also believe God uses our obedience in this process. And our obedience as The Pathway church is displayed through the reproduction of Intentional Communities. You've all read or heard me talk about our IC's before. We currently have 4 IC's gathering, living life & doing mission in various parts of the city. Now in my "church" experience, the way new groups usually start is by finding a teacher and having some sort of sign-up event. Many churches will re-start their groups every quarter or every semester. They meet together for a specified period of time, and then they can either "re-up" or they can find another group.
But that's not Intentional Community. The life of an IC is similar to that of a family. It gathers together, it stays together, it grows spiritually together, it plays together and when it reaches maturity, it reproduces... naturally. When an IC is functioning in a healthy way... growing together in communion with God, living together in biblical community, and going together on mission, it will grow. Just as a mama's belly grows before it gives birth, so will an IC grow in depth and number... swelling... until it has to reproduce. No sign-ups needed. Just Holy Spirit enabled growth... similar to what is described in the book of Acts.
Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen easily and I'm not exactly sure when the tipping point comes. But I do know it starts with reproduction. We've been striving & praying to develop this kind of reproducing environment for years as a church. And it just hasn't tipped yet. But we have seen it happen. And right now one of our IC's has swelled to the 9 months pregnant point if you know what I mean, and it must reproduce. In some ways it's a sad time. Because when you reproduce, you're also saying good-bye. A new family is started. You'll always be a part of the same bigger family. Just as families get together on holidays and special occasions, our IC's still gather together on Sunday mornings and other times. But it's time for the new IC to grow, spread it's wings, and work towards the beauty of reproduction itself.
I'd like to ask you to pray for 3 things with us...
1) Pray for this new IC that's being born. Pray for it's leaders, those who are being sent out and those who are being left behind. Pray also for those that this IC will reach with the gospel.
2) Pray that God would lead us to the tipping point of reproduction. We don't just want to reproduce in an addition sort of way... one new group every couple of months. I'm the father of twins... I'm the husband of a twin & the uncle of twins. I have experienced the awesome power & joy of multiplication in a personal way. And that's what we want for our IC's... multiplication.
3) That leads to the last request. We want our IC's to multiply because we long to see the tipping point for the gospel in our city. Please pray that the gospel would saturate Tacoma.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Intentional Baseball Game...
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| Mackie & Seth, Rachel & Maria, & Crazy excited Gene all having a blast at our Intentional Mariners Game! |
At least once a month our IC's are expected to serve or bless their neighborhood. This fits right into our vision of serving our communities intentionally for the purpose of sharing the gospel with those we serve. Sometimes we do this in traditional ways. Baking cookies, mowing lawns, throwing a block party. But sometimes God gives us unexpected ways to serve. Earlier this year a local non-profit organization that we partner told us they had a bunch of free Seattle Mariner tickets and that we could request some if we wanted to. I decided to request 30 tickets so we could use it as an intentional opportunity to spend time with our neighbors. It went far better than I could have ever imagined.
Our IC really embraced the idea. We ended up taking 25 people total to the game. There were 15 people that would fall into the category of lost and unchurched. We invited 2 or the neighbors in our IC mission field or target neighborhood. they both came. One of the moms brought her 3 year old son, the other mom brought her two kids (2 & 4 years old) and invited her Dad, mom, brother and sister! I was also able to invite a friend of mine who brought his wife and 2 young girls that Kelli had never been able to meet. It was a great connection point.
One of our IC members brought her boyfriend and another brought one of his kids friends from their neighborhood. It was amazing to see our community of believers intentionally start conversations with many of our unchurched friends and neighbors. It was awesome for them to know we were doing this because we are the church, not because we expect them to "go" to church with us. The work is not over. The mission is not accomplished. We are still praying for more relational opportunities and chances to engage in gospel conversations. But this was a HUGE step. Seeing our community of believers live with intentionality and to see our friends and neighbors engage was simply incredible.
Thank you for praying and please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts of the 15 friends and neighbors who attended our Intentional Baseball Game on Friday night!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Finding myself in Awe of our God
Because we live in Tacoma, we have the joy of being able to view the majesty of Mt. Rainier on a regular basis. It is truly awe-inspiring. However, after living here for 3+ years, I often find myself looking right past this miraculous mountain. It has become normal to me. But then there are those moments, when the mountain has been hiding behind the clouds for weeks or even months at a time, when it bursts back into the spotlight and I once again find myself standing still, jaw dropped, in awe of it's beauty.
Unfortunately I often find myself in the same situation with the God of the universe. He is no less majestic today than the day I first met him personally. But because he is a daily part of my life I often find myself treating him in a "business as usual" sort of way. It's crazy to even put it in words. But I truly find myself viewing God as someone normal. Shame on me.
Well, yesterday God gave me a wake-up call. For those of you who have been following Jesus for an extended amount of time, you probably know what I am talking about. We get into our routines. We believe God is real and worthy of worship, but we start treating him like any other aspect of our life. We just loose our sense of awe. And then, when we least expect it, he bursts back into the forefront of our lives and reminds us of just how unworthy he is and how awesome he is.
We have been praying for our friend Tiffany to give her life to Jesus for some time now. We met her at one of our community dinners during March into April. Tiffany and my wife Kelli have become fast friends and really our families have just become really close. Tiffany has been wrestling with God, even pursuing him, but hesitating to surrender her life to him. We've been praying and praying. Then yesterday, during the response time at our worship gathering, Kelli and Tiffany came to me right where I was sitting and told me that it was the day. She was ready to trust Jesus! Another couple in our IC was sitting next to us and was able to celebrate the moment. It was truly awesome!
At the end of the gathering we got to introduce Tom Abbott, who we were able to send to Seattle to plant a church almost 2 years ago. He got to share all that God was doing in Seattle, introduce his core team, and share with us how we could partner with their church to reach Seattle with the gospel. The fourth part of our vision as a church is to send missionaries to plant new churches. I was in awe of the fact that God would use our church, still in it's infancy, to do just that.
Immediately after the gathering I took 3 out of 4 people in to a meeting about our first global mission trip as a church. God has given us the opportunity to team up with another church in our area to send a pioneer group from The Pathway to learn about global and short term missions. It was amazing to sit back and soak in all that God is doing. To think about God taking a group from our church all the way to South Africa to plant the gospel is nothing short of miraculous. It's humbling. It's awesome.
I'm reminded of a song that we sing a lot as a church. Our God is greater, our God is stronger, our God is higher than any other. Our God is healer AWESOME in power.
Just basking in the awesomeness of God today. I think we should all do this more often.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Through My Eyes..D
First and foremost I want to thank all of you who prayed for & supported KiDCity kick-off. There is no way we could be saturating as much of Tacoma with the gospel as we have been without your extreme generosity, faithful prayers and willingness to come & help. I thought I'd give you a glimpse at KiDCity Kick-off through my eyes. It will be an honest look & my hope is that it will lead you deeper into fervent prayer not only for our family, church and city, but for your own mission field as well.
KiDCity Kick-off Block Party: This was day #1 and I usually stress over the first day of our BIG outreaches the most. It's the starting point, the event or moment that sets the tone. It was Sunday morning and I had been stressing over logistics and whether or not there would be a good turn-out. I had been in TX the week leading up to the kick-off so I felt like I was a little behind. But God is so good. My beautiful and supportive wife allowed me to get away (as she always does) on Sunday morning and just be with Jesus. During that time he reminded me who does the work... and it's definitely not me. He brought me into our outdoor worship gathering with a peace in my soul and it was awesome not just to worship through the gathering, but through the ensuing block party. We had a group of 2 families from a local church, High Pointe, that supports us in so many ways come out to help us. You have no idea the power of knowing there are other believers who have your back. The block party was a huge success in every way.
HayDay Kids Club: Our expectations were high for Kids Club. Last year we had a mission team lead our first Kids Club. We sprung it on them at the last minute with very little advertising to our church or the community. They did a great job and we learned a lot so we were expecting even greater things this year. We had a new partner coming to host Kids Club this year, Humble Area First Baptist Church. Before I get to the actual Kids Club I just want to share my perspective on this group. Most churches have trouble fielding a mission team that consists of anyone over the age of 22. This church brought 21 adults ages 18-50+ including their senior pastor & wife, missions pastor & wife as well as their children's pastor. Their were multiple ladies on the trip whose husbands had used their vacation time to stay home with the kids while they went on mission. Their was one couple, Paul & Amanda, who found multiple homes for their 5 boys to stay in while they came together on mission.
As I watched the kids club unfold I was amazed. We had more than double the kids that we had the previous year. The gospel was shared. The kids were loved on and the parents were visibly moved by how much we cared about their kids. One young boy was even moved to tears on the final night when he realized many of the adults who had loved him were going home. We have known this boy and his mom for well over a year now and it was amazing to see them in worship on Sunday.
Community Block Party: For those of you who know Tacoma or the Seattle area, you know that although it rains a lot during the year, rain seldom comes in August and we almost never get thunder storms. The night before the block party we got both. Thunder, lightning and rain. And the forecast was calling for more of the same the night of the block party. The band that would be playing even called to see if we were calling it off. We pressed on... with small faith (on my part anyway). But God was so good. Not only did he hold back the rain (that was hitting to the north of us), he also brought the people. We had our largest block party to date. It was amazing to see the "plan" working thanks to the grace of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. The mission team was handling all the behind the scenes work and our people were with the community. I think we still have room to grow. These outreaches are supposed to be intentional. We try and sacrifice time with the community of believers so we can spend time with the community as a whole. As I walked around I saw lots of opportunities and I trust that God was moving hearts together. It was amazing to see God move. It was amazing to see the community come together and experience the love of God first hand.
KidCity Launch: Sunday was our launch. We had invited kids and families to come for our KiDCity launch, to get a KiDCity backpack with school supplies and a "Jesus Storybook Bible." We were expecting a HUGE turn-out based on all that God had been doing. I was so excited Sunday morning to see face after face walk into Franklin Elementary that I didn't recognize. It was so amazing to see our church step up and volunteer as greeters, KidCity workers, etc. so that our community would feel welcome. When it was all said and done I will be honest, I was disappointed at the turn-out. I think I'm not supposed to say that as a pastor and leader. But it was hard to see the mass of people at the block party Saturday and the smaller fraction that was at our gathering on Sunday.
But here's what I have to remember. What we have to remember. 3 things really...
1) It's not about the gathering, it's about the gospel. I say it over and over but when the rubber meets the road I often forget. We're trying to change a culture with the love of God and the good news of Jesus. It's going to take time and the harvest isn't going to come from the gathering, the gathering will ultimately come from the harvest. Think about it. There is a significant difference there.
2) Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. I cannot get discouraged when the words of Jesus prove true. But we cannot back down. While the number is few, there is always room for more.
3) 2 Chronicles 7:14, If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, than I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. All those faces, all those people, all those souls created by God at the block party need the good news of Jesus. We cannot force it on them. But we can pray desperately to the Father that he would open their hearts and that they would put their trust in him.
KiDCity Kick-off was a gift from God and he is not finished yet! Please continue to pray for the children and families that we met and that the gospel would not just transform individual lives, but families all over central Tacoma!
KiDCity Kick-off Block Party: This was day #1 and I usually stress over the first day of our BIG outreaches the most. It's the starting point, the event or moment that sets the tone. It was Sunday morning and I had been stressing over logistics and whether or not there would be a good turn-out. I had been in TX the week leading up to the kick-off so I felt like I was a little behind. But God is so good. My beautiful and supportive wife allowed me to get away (as she always does) on Sunday morning and just be with Jesus. During that time he reminded me who does the work... and it's definitely not me. He brought me into our outdoor worship gathering with a peace in my soul and it was awesome not just to worship through the gathering, but through the ensuing block party. We had a group of 2 families from a local church, High Pointe, that supports us in so many ways come out to help us. You have no idea the power of knowing there are other believers who have your back. The block party was a huge success in every way.
HayDay Kids Club: Our expectations were high for Kids Club. Last year we had a mission team lead our first Kids Club. We sprung it on them at the last minute with very little advertising to our church or the community. They did a great job and we learned a lot so we were expecting even greater things this year. We had a new partner coming to host Kids Club this year, Humble Area First Baptist Church. Before I get to the actual Kids Club I just want to share my perspective on this group. Most churches have trouble fielding a mission team that consists of anyone over the age of 22. This church brought 21 adults ages 18-50+ including their senior pastor & wife, missions pastor & wife as well as their children's pastor. Their were multiple ladies on the trip whose husbands had used their vacation time to stay home with the kids while they went on mission. Their was one couple, Paul & Amanda, who found multiple homes for their 5 boys to stay in while they came together on mission.
As I watched the kids club unfold I was amazed. We had more than double the kids that we had the previous year. The gospel was shared. The kids were loved on and the parents were visibly moved by how much we cared about their kids. One young boy was even moved to tears on the final night when he realized many of the adults who had loved him were going home. We have known this boy and his mom for well over a year now and it was amazing to see them in worship on Sunday.
Community Block Party: For those of you who know Tacoma or the Seattle area, you know that although it rains a lot during the year, rain seldom comes in August and we almost never get thunder storms. The night before the block party we got both. Thunder, lightning and rain. And the forecast was calling for more of the same the night of the block party. The band that would be playing even called to see if we were calling it off. We pressed on... with small faith (on my part anyway). But God was so good. Not only did he hold back the rain (that was hitting to the north of us), he also brought the people. We had our largest block party to date. It was amazing to see the "plan" working thanks to the grace of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. The mission team was handling all the behind the scenes work and our people were with the community. I think we still have room to grow. These outreaches are supposed to be intentional. We try and sacrifice time with the community of believers so we can spend time with the community as a whole. As I walked around I saw lots of opportunities and I trust that God was moving hearts together. It was amazing to see God move. It was amazing to see the community come together and experience the love of God first hand.
KidCity Launch: Sunday was our launch. We had invited kids and families to come for our KiDCity launch, to get a KiDCity backpack with school supplies and a "Jesus Storybook Bible." We were expecting a HUGE turn-out based on all that God had been doing. I was so excited Sunday morning to see face after face walk into Franklin Elementary that I didn't recognize. It was so amazing to see our church step up and volunteer as greeters, KidCity workers, etc. so that our community would feel welcome. When it was all said and done I will be honest, I was disappointed at the turn-out. I think I'm not supposed to say that as a pastor and leader. But it was hard to see the mass of people at the block party Saturday and the smaller fraction that was at our gathering on Sunday.
But here's what I have to remember. What we have to remember. 3 things really...
1) It's not about the gathering, it's about the gospel. I say it over and over but when the rubber meets the road I often forget. We're trying to change a culture with the love of God and the good news of Jesus. It's going to take time and the harvest isn't going to come from the gathering, the gathering will ultimately come from the harvest. Think about it. There is a significant difference there.
2) Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. I cannot get discouraged when the words of Jesus prove true. But we cannot back down. While the number is few, there is always room for more.
3) 2 Chronicles 7:14, If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, than I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. All those faces, all those people, all those souls created by God at the block party need the good news of Jesus. We cannot force it on them. But we can pray desperately to the Father that he would open their hearts and that they would put their trust in him.
KiDCity Kick-off was a gift from God and he is not finished yet! Please continue to pray for the children and families that we met and that the gospel would not just transform individual lives, but families all over central Tacoma!
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