As Heather and I have talked over the past couple of years in regards to planting a church, a few necessary elements surfaced. The first two elements that we felt God telling us were necessary for a church plant to reach this generation are Truth and Beauty. We will let you all in on the vision for these two at a later time, but for now I want to share a little bit with you about the third: Community.
Community has become a buzz word in church circles today. If you go to the Christian book store you will find books upon books about "community" groups, small groups, home groups, cell groups, etc, etc, etc, all attempting to introduce the church to this much needed element of "community."
Dictionary.com defines community as a locality inhabited by a a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. But as we look at the Bible, this is in no way what the church in the 1st century looked like. This definition could mean a number of things. This definition describes book clubs, PTO, swim teams, country clubs, and any other social connection we can really have.
As human beings, he have a vast number of social connections. Have you ever wondered why? Why do we want to belong? Why, though we are buried under a schedule of tasks and plans, do we still commit ourselves to numerous social engagements? I believe it is because God created us in His image. In the Godhead there is perfect community. This relationship is one of ultimate fulfillment. God created us to need community, true community, and we know it to be true when He said in Genesis that it was not good for man to be alone.
As we look down the road here at the beginning of this year of planting a church, we long for true community. We don't want to create another club or group that enjoys shallow relationship and vague endearment. We long for what the Bible calls in the Greek koinonia. We desire to see God bring together people under a common banner. That banner is Jesus and His mission that He has left for the church: the ministry of reconciliation.
I am happy to report that just in the past 3 days we have begun to truly experience this. We are working with Matthias' Lot in St. Charles, MO (www.matthiaslot.com) mostly because they are a church that already does what we desire to do.
For example, at 5 o'clock on Saturday, an hour after we rolled into town with a UHaul truck and trailer, exhausted from 3 days of travel and packing, we watched as 33 people showed up to serve us by unloading our stuff. It took the group only 34 minutes to have it all in the house in the right rooms. The amazing thing is that this isn't a church of thousands, but averages a little over 200 every week at worship.
Sunday we went to the "Lot Family Celebration" and watched as families and singles, young and less young, enjoy true community with worship, whiffle-ball and tons of food. Last night we attended the Matthias' Lot Values class, teaching us the doctrine and values of the church. It lasted an hour and a half. Immediately after we prayed to close, all at once everyone naturally turned to those around them and engaged in real conversation for almost 2 hours!
The greatest thing for us in this whole this is that it is not forced. The conversation, the fellowship, the serving of others is not an obligatory task. No one is grumbling. No one is awkwardly trying to fake a smile. We feel so blessed to have been welcomed in to such a community of people who love Jesus and want to make Him famous. We look forward to the next little bit as we make more relationships and grow in community.
I pray that those of you reading this would long for this type of community. That you would hate gossip and back-biting because it is the enemy of fellowship. I pray that you would seek it out. I pray that you would want to see it created by started within your own relationships.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Moving Along...
Two days ago, on Wednesday evening, we set out on our journey back to the Midwest. Heather and I went back and forth for weeks about whether or not we should get a Uhaul. Finally we came to the decision to see if we could fit everything into our vehicle and strap suitcases to the roof. Our decision yielded less than desirable consequences.
About an hour down the road, as we drove along unaware, we heard a couple thumps coming from above our heads and as Heather looked in the rear view mirror she watched as two of our suitcases actually took flight from the top of our Highlander. We stopped as abruptly as possible and pulled to the side of the Florida Turnpike. I then sprinted as fast as I could, about 200 yards behind us to where our bags laid in the road. One landed to the right of all lanes and was therefore pretty safe, however the other was on the white striped line between lanes. Sweating like a champ, everything seemed to go into that movie-like slow motion experience as it seemed a certain semi driver decided to swerve and hit our suitcase. I watched in horror as the bag actually exploded amidst three lanes of 70 mph traffic. Shoes and clothes were everywhere! Luckily we only lost a few pair of shoes and were able to avert a more serious ordeal.
Heather's mom, Joan, was kind enough to meet us on the side of the road and help us salvage what we could. That night, we went back to the house, unpacked and repacked the car and waited until the morning to get a Uhaul and begin the trip over again.
Although we had a slight set back, the rest of our trip went smooth. We traveled 13 hours yesterday from Davie, Florida to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our room at the Holiday Inn Express was comfy and provided for a few much needed hours of sleep.
We woke up this morning and got on the road by 7 am. We were glad that we were on the time zone line (it was 8 eastern time). Stopping only once, and battling the periodic tsunami-esque rain showers we made it to Eldorado and my grandparents' in 5 short hours. We spent the rest of the day packing up our stuff that was scattered between my grandparents' and dad's houses and being fed by a grandma that loves to cook for her grandkids.
Although we experienced a little trouble getting started, the trip ended up being quite enjoyable. We were able to make a quick stop in Gainesville to take pictures of the Swamp (Go Gators!). The seemingly endless hours of driving also provided much needed alone time for Heather and I to talk through our plans and ask each other questions.
We are both completely exhausted! But we are so thankful for what God is up to in our lives and so anxious for the days ahead...
About an hour down the road, as we drove along unaware, we heard a couple thumps coming from above our heads and as Heather looked in the rear view mirror she watched as two of our suitcases actually took flight from the top of our Highlander. We stopped as abruptly as possible and pulled to the side of the Florida Turnpike. I then sprinted as fast as I could, about 200 yards behind us to where our bags laid in the road. One landed to the right of all lanes and was therefore pretty safe, however the other was on the white striped line between lanes. Sweating like a champ, everything seemed to go into that movie-like slow motion experience as it seemed a certain semi driver decided to swerve and hit our suitcase. I watched in horror as the bag actually exploded amidst three lanes of 70 mph traffic. Shoes and clothes were everywhere! Luckily we only lost a few pair of shoes and were able to avert a more serious ordeal.
Heather's mom, Joan, was kind enough to meet us on the side of the road and help us salvage what we could. That night, we went back to the house, unpacked and repacked the car and waited until the morning to get a Uhaul and begin the trip over again.
Although we had a slight set back, the rest of our trip went smooth. We traveled 13 hours yesterday from Davie, Florida to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our room at the Holiday Inn Express was comfy and provided for a few much needed hours of sleep.
We woke up this morning and got on the road by 7 am. We were glad that we were on the time zone line (it was 8 eastern time). Stopping only once, and battling the periodic tsunami-esque rain showers we made it to Eldorado and my grandparents' in 5 short hours. We spent the rest of the day packing up our stuff that was scattered between my grandparents' and dad's houses and being fed by a grandma that loves to cook for her grandkids.
Although we experienced a little trouble getting started, the trip ended up being quite enjoyable. We were able to make a quick stop in Gainesville to take pictures of the Swamp (Go Gators!). The seemingly endless hours of driving also provided much needed alone time for Heather and I to talk through our plans and ask each other questions.
We are both completely exhausted! But we are so thankful for what God is up to in our lives and so anxious for the days ahead...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Call To Church Plant
Many of you may have heard a little bit about our plans, but some may not have…so we’ll start at the beginning.
In August of 2006, while serving as youth pastor in Southern Illinois, God began to nudge our hearts about a call He was placing in our lives. God began to open our eyes to the great need for the Gospel in our own nation.
It was easy to see the need once we stopped and looked. Whether it is education, media, government, or entertainment, our nation has slipped from its once “Christian” status and has become what writers are calling a “post-Christian” nation.
God began to burden our hearts for our nation and our generation. And as we sought the Lord and His will for our lives it became clear that He was calling us to join and play a major part in a movement that seeks to plant young, missional, Gospel-centered Churches that will seek the transformation of a city and eventually a culture. Over the past few years we have gone through many of the steps of preparing for church planting. We have gone through the Acts 29 church planter assessment and boot camp. The Acts 29 Network (www.acts29network.org) is based out of Seattle, WA and is a network of church planting churches that wishes to plant relevant churches all over the World to transform culture for Jesus.
Whats Next...
As one of the youngest couples to ever go through the process, we have been accepted as ready for church planting after a thorough assessment process and challenged to take the next step.
The next step is to work with another Acts 29 church for 12 months to learn the ins and outs of church planting. At the end of that year, we will launch a new church. The calling and mission are still the same from when God initially laid this on our heart. We have been called to plant a missional church that will be a beacon of light in a darkening world. This church will be Bible centered, theologically solid, Gospel driven, people loving, Jesus worshipping, Holy Spirit yielding, and relevant to an increasingly progressive culture.
We are so excited to take this next big step of faith and happy to announce that in a few days we will be moving to St. Charles, Missouri to team up with Matthias’ Lot Church (http://www.matthiaslot.com/).
In this next year it is our goal and desire to learn the ins and outs of church planting; we will be starting new ministries, meeting new people, building a core group, networking with other church planters, deciding on and researching a location and developing the vision God has put in our hearts.
Moving Forward...
We know that we are called to do this, and because we are sure of that calling we are certain that God will provide for it. But because God chooses to use His people instead of a cosmic debit card, we must let His people know of the need and the opportunity.
This is a vision for a church, not an income. This is the vision for a ministry that within a few years will be a self-sustaining movement of God that will be impacting a community for Christ. It will be a full-fledged, functioning church with tithing members.
At this moment, it is a vision. It is a dream in our hearts and, we fully believe, a dream in the heart of God.
The Challange...
It has been one of my (Noah’s) greatest fears to ever have to ask people for money. But, if we are to be obedient to the Lord, we have to follow His call. I can’t apologize for that. Would you pray and ask God if He would use you to be a part of this work? All gifts are tax deductible and go directly to the work we are doing. We can promise you this: your giving will be a part of a movement of God that sees the Gospel preached, the lost evangelized, the poor fed, the Church grown, disciples challenged, and the bound set free.
We would also ask you to pray. We know that not everyone can give financially. But we need people to commit to praying that God would bring to completion what he has started in our hearts. Our lives belong to Jesus and we are going to spend them advancing His Kingdom. We believe, according to Matthew 16:18 and other scriptures, that God’s plan until the return is the Church. We believe that He has called us to plant a church that is representative of His call in Scripture.
In August of 2006, while serving as youth pastor in Southern Illinois, God began to nudge our hearts about a call He was placing in our lives. God began to open our eyes to the great need for the Gospel in our own nation.
It was easy to see the need once we stopped and looked. Whether it is education, media, government, or entertainment, our nation has slipped from its once “Christian” status and has become what writers are calling a “post-Christian” nation.
God began to burden our hearts for our nation and our generation. And as we sought the Lord and His will for our lives it became clear that He was calling us to join and play a major part in a movement that seeks to plant young, missional, Gospel-centered Churches that will seek the transformation of a city and eventually a culture. Over the past few years we have gone through many of the steps of preparing for church planting. We have gone through the Acts 29 church planter assessment and boot camp. The Acts 29 Network (www.acts29network.org) is based out of Seattle, WA and is a network of church planting churches that wishes to plant relevant churches all over the World to transform culture for Jesus.
Whats Next...
As one of the youngest couples to ever go through the process, we have been accepted as ready for church planting after a thorough assessment process and challenged to take the next step.
The next step is to work with another Acts 29 church for 12 months to learn the ins and outs of church planting. At the end of that year, we will launch a new church. The calling and mission are still the same from when God initially laid this on our heart. We have been called to plant a missional church that will be a beacon of light in a darkening world. This church will be Bible centered, theologically solid, Gospel driven, people loving, Jesus worshipping, Holy Spirit yielding, and relevant to an increasingly progressive culture.
We are so excited to take this next big step of faith and happy to announce that in a few days we will be moving to St. Charles, Missouri to team up with Matthias’ Lot Church (http://www.matthiaslot.com/).
In this next year it is our goal and desire to learn the ins and outs of church planting; we will be starting new ministries, meeting new people, building a core group, networking with other church planters, deciding on and researching a location and developing the vision God has put in our hearts.
Moving Forward...
We know that we are called to do this, and because we are sure of that calling we are certain that God will provide for it. But because God chooses to use His people instead of a cosmic debit card, we must let His people know of the need and the opportunity.
This is a vision for a church, not an income. This is the vision for a ministry that within a few years will be a self-sustaining movement of God that will be impacting a community for Christ. It will be a full-fledged, functioning church with tithing members.
At this moment, it is a vision. It is a dream in our hearts and, we fully believe, a dream in the heart of God.
The Challange...
It has been one of my (Noah’s) greatest fears to ever have to ask people for money. But, if we are to be obedient to the Lord, we have to follow His call. I can’t apologize for that. Would you pray and ask God if He would use you to be a part of this work? All gifts are tax deductible and go directly to the work we are doing. We can promise you this: your giving will be a part of a movement of God that sees the Gospel preached, the lost evangelized, the poor fed, the Church grown, disciples challenged, and the bound set free.
We would also ask you to pray. We know that not everyone can give financially. But we need people to commit to praying that God would bring to completion what he has started in our hearts. Our lives belong to Jesus and we are going to spend them advancing His Kingdom. We believe, according to Matthew 16:18 and other scriptures, that God’s plan until the return is the Church. We believe that He has called us to plant a church that is representative of His call in Scripture.
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