A Community in the Making

We have hit the ground running here in San Diego. The boxes are mostly unpacked and we are already seeing God move in natural and supernatural ways.

We have had two group gathering events at my home this month. Our first gathering had eleven people... a few of which had virtually no church background at all. We focused primarily on building relationships and shared a meal together. The following meeting added another person and was much more spiritual... there were a few minutes of teaching around our vision for serving people followed by a very sweet time of prayer.

One of our new friends told me following the second meeting that this was the closest thing to a family she had experienced and to count her "in".

Chris Self told the group about a couple that he had met that were going through a hard time and the group decided to put the 'serving' part of the church vision into action... so we will serve the couple next weekend by preparing them dinner. One of the neat things about this simple act of service is that a number of additional people have already heard about it and asked if they could help (including a professional 5 star chef). We are now hoping to see a significant impact beyond just the people being served.

Our plans are to add an additional midweek meeting this month and will continue to meet on Sunday evenings as a home group. We are aiming at public services by mid-September.

I want to say thank you to all of you who supported our move. Your send-off was encouraging to us all and very appreciated. And we are grateful to those of you who continue to contribute to this vision. Pray specifically over the next few weeks for favor as we look for a meeting facility.

Here We Go!

We are currently busy packing the house and will be loading a moving truck this weekend. We should be in California by the end of next week!

Even though we have been looking forward to this moment for months we find ourselves with mixed emotions. The last five years have been satisfying and fruitful and the friends we are saying goodbye to in Mississippi are dear to us. But at the same time we are excited and anxious to get started on this new adventure.

I LOVE CHANGE! In my mind I see the purpose of a church as an agent of change... in individuals... and in the larger community they serve. And this is the theme that has shaped my dream of a new church in Chula Vista, California. A church that affects change by demonstrating the love of Christ through extreme acts of service, radical acceptance and supernatural power.

Many of you have asked how you can be involved. There is simply no way we can succeed in this without your help. If you want to commit to regular prayer and/or financial support for this new church let me know by email and I will add you to a 'Foundations Team' email list keeping you informed of our specific needs.
(Or, if you prefer, click on Update Profile/Email Address and add yourself to the 'Foundations Team' mailing list).

We really enjoy receiving your emails. They are such an encouragement to us!

What Evangelism Isn't

** From Christianity Today**
By far the greatest danger in apologetics is being distracted from the main message. Evangelism is not defending the virgin birth or defending the historicity of the resurrection. Apologetics is defending the faith, answering the questions others have about Christianity. It is responding to the agenda that others set. Evangelism, however, is following Christ's agenda, the news about him. Evangelism is the positive act of telling the good news about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation through him. Read More

The Weight of Pastoring

I've now been a Senior Pastor for around five years and an Associate Pastor for about eight. It's a little different for me in that I actually was a Senior Pastor for five years before becoming an Associate in a much larger church. It gives me an appreciation for what the Senior is going through and also makes me defensive in His favor.

A year or so ago I had someone at the church respond to me privately regarding a recent church issue with "I know you don't agree with that decision". I responded with "I do as far as you know!". I firmly believe that it is my duty to the Senior Pastor to support his vision and his decisions as if they were my own. I can (and should) discuss them with Him if I have concerns, and attempt to persuade and influence in private where I can, but once the course is set it should look to those who I lead as if the decision were part mine.

Many Associate Pastors and other leaders aspire to be the Senior guy and will often discuss the styles, decisions, vision of the Senior in relation to "the way I would do it" or "the way it should be done". I suppose this is somewhat normal... some of these Associates will likely be a Lead Pastor at some point in their ministry... but the gifts, talents and abilities that a minister has cannot even begin to balance the scales against "calling" and "authority". It would be easy to look across the desk and think "I can teach as good" or "I can lead as well"... but the thing virtually nobody who hasn't been there can comprehend is the "weight" of the office. It can be an overpowering burden and many Senior Pastors lead very isolated, lonely lives.

I think of it a little like the football commentary that "you can't coach speed". An outmanned team has prepared against everything the stronger team can do... and they think they are ready... and then the stronger team comes on the field and simply outruns everyone else on the field. The lesser team technically knows what to do but until they stepped on the field could not comprehend the sheer speed disparity.

An Associate minister may have the knowledge, skills and abilities... but until they step on the field in the Lead role they will not be able to comprehend the "weight" disparity.

Thoughts on Honor in Marriage

Since I spoke on this last Sunday I have had many discussions and opportunities to elaborate. One of the keys I keep coming back to is the distinction between loving someone and their ability to feel loved... or honoring verses feeling honored. It doesn't really matter whether or not you are honoring your spouse (or anyone else for that matter) if they do not FEEL honored. Therefore it is somewhat customized to the person what is or isn't honoring. It may required a little investigative work to discover what really works. The object is not to feel good about how we are doing in honoring our spouse... its to make our spouse feel honored... and sometimes that looks different than I expect.

It is a consistent theme in my marriage that Marie feels honored when I open a car door for her. Honestly, I hate doing it... it seems contrived and insignificant and takes twice as long for us to get into the car... I don't understand why that matters in the least... but it matters to her, so when I think about it I open the door for her. I'm not that consistent in it but I'm becoming more aware of how it makes her feel. Obviously, if I say "Ok... but your arms don't look broke to me" then I have defeated the purpose... I must do it with the attitude that this is to her honor and as unto the Lord... and I do genuinely enjoy seeing her feel special.

What is Biblical Holiness?

What a tough question. It always bothers me when someone starts talking about being called to a higher level of holiness. I think I know what they mean when the say it but what I often hear is that I'm going to start earning my salvation better than I am now.

Obviously we are called to please God and there are things that scripture makes clear are required, but I always find myself going to Galations for a balanced perspective.

Galatians 3:1 - 5 (NIV) 1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

The question here is "What is holiness?" Is it doing ANYTHING different? or is it the condition we find ourselves in after experiencing Christ?

If Christ by his Holy Spirit has taken up residence in us then there will be visible, genuine changes in our life evidenced by both word and deed. But the changes are not holiness... holiness entered us when the Spirit of God entered us.

Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

Signs of Maturity

What are the signs of maturity as a Christian? Certainly this is over-simplified but I would define it as giving out more than you take in.

So many Christians require a tremendous amount of attention... the proverbial "black hole" of pastoring. Everyone, myself included, requires care and extra attention from time to time. Life takes it out of us all and it sometimes hurts and we must depend on others to pick up our slack and, with patience and compassion, nurse us back to health. But the object is to get back into the fight... not make a lifestyle out of spiritual intensive care.

Therefore... I judge Christian maturity, at least partially, by watching how someone handles adversity... and how much they give out in caring for others in relation to how much care they receive.