A Baby Girl and San Diego :)

Well I have been super busy as of late but wanted to let everyone know that Noah and I found out we are having a baby girl. I will talk more about my thoughts and what I am feeling about this later, but wanted to let everyone know. Her name is Alethia Grace Oldham but we will call her Allie. I have always liked the name Allie, and Noah wanted something with deep meaning, so we came up with Alethia which means truth in Greek. We are also leaving for San Diego in the morning so I will update everyone and post either while I am there or as soon as I get back :)

17 Weeks Along and a little theologian?

Well I am passed the 17 week mark and things are still going well. My nausea is almost totally gone which is Awesome and the headaches are down to about every other day. My back pain has subsided a little bit but does flare up and let me know when I have been on my feet to long.
This week Noah is in Chicago for the Gospel Coalition. As I sat at home last night I wondered if they would be streaming the conference live and sure enough I found it. I decided to watch. Mark Driscoll was speaking (always a bonus) and it made me feel like I was with Noah. After watching for about 20 minutes or so I started to feel something in my stomach. I have had little twinges several times before and always wondered if it was the baby but this time it felt very different. It felt as though something was fluttering in my stomach. It is so hard to describe because it doesn't feel like anything else I have ever experienced before. I knew it was the baby and what cracked me up is that I knew Noah would be thrilled to know I felt the baby move for the first time but to add that it was while I was watching Driscoll preach would thrill him. He was so proud! So who knows...we may have a little theologian on our hands... at least we know peanut (as emily calls the baby) is a fan of Driscoll. :)

More Time

Ok so I know this song came out in 2007 but for some reason I really like it right now.  I think it describes where I am at in life.  I have felt like it has taken us forever to get to the place to launch August Gate and now it is right around the corner.  As Noah and I are continuously trying to raise funds his famous line is if we can just get through this first year we are going to be fine.  I think that is why I love this song so much.  Its not that I want more time its that the months ahead are months we have longed to see for so long but at the same time this is the scariest time of my life.  So I guess deep down inside I am screaming... we need more time to figure it out... we need more time to raise the money gives us a few more months and we will be fine.  HA!  How little my faith is.  It is like when I hear this song God is laughing at my lack of faith and I know that.  You know how sometimes you feel so strongly that the way you feel is valid until you say it out loud and you hear your own stupidity. That is why this song makes me smile because I know that God is faithful and in its own unique way this is my little reminder. So Noah... its you and me till the end.  I love you always and forever no matter what!

Lord Captivate Me in the Wait

This week has yet again been packed with decisions and emotions for Noah and me.  First of all we decided to go with the apartment that I talked about a few posts ago.  We will be able to move in July 1 and we can't wait for the challenge of moving all of our belongings into a small apartment... should be an adventure. However the thought of having a small little place that only Noah and I live and and are able to bring a baby home to thrills me beyond belief.... I can hardly wait.  I can also hardly wait for the Lord to prove his faithfulness once again over our financial security.  As most of you know Noah and I are raising support for Noah's salary to plant the church that God has called us to plant to reach the city of St Louis.  In the financial times that we are in raising support is not an easy task.  For the first time EVER I have felt myself starting to get nervous.  I know God is faithful and I know he will provide but with the way things are going he is making it imperative that we trust him and step out on COMPLETE faith.  Lord captivate my heart in the wait.  I also decided this week that I can hardly wait to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl.  It seems silly I am sure but I have started feeling what I can only describe as slight twinges and every time I wonder if it is the baby moving.  My mind races every day as to whether I will have a son or a daughter and the weirdest things is a really don't care either way I just feel like I can't move forward in my obsessive need to plan without knowing.  Today as I was thinking about this God began to bring me back to the journey that we have been on that has brought us to where we are.  The pain and tears of longing for a baby seem so distant and yet it was only 17 weeks ago.  I am so grateful for the journey, I am thankful for deep gratitude it has given me for the life that God is knitting together in my womb. I praise Jesus for the wait and all that He taught me and continues to teach me in the times of waiting.  I was reminded today of my favorite poem and I wanted to share it with you.  May the Lord captivate your heart in the wait....

Desperately, helplessly,longingly, I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.

I pleaded, and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, "child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why.

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future, and all to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me "wait"?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go ahead sign.

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, you have promised that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again, "you must wait"

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut

And grumbled to God: "So I am waiting for what?" 

He seemed then to kneel and his eyes met with mine

And He tendrerly said, "I could give you a sign."

I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,

Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.

All you see I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust, just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,

When darkness and silence was all you could see.

You would never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late in the night;

The faith that I give when you walk without sight;

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

And you never would know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dreams for that loved one o'ernight could come true,

But the loss! if you lost what I am doing in you.

So be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft'may My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all... is still... wait.

5K/ Walk a Thon Benefit

For those of you who do not already know, Noah and I along with members of our core team are planning a 5K/ walk a thon to raise money for August Gate (the church we are planting in the city in August). We are also planning on donating a portion of the proceeds to Children's Miracle Network who inturn supports St Louis Children's Hospital as well as Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. The cost to participate in either the walk or the run will be $25.00 and the event will take place on September 12, 2009!

To back up and explain why we are giving a portion of the proceeds away.... A huge part of who August Gate will become is giving back to the community. We want to be know as a church that loves and gives freely back to the community we are wanting to reach. So with that being said we felt like the hospitals were a huge part of that community.

We have just started the planning process for this 5K / Walk a Thon but God is placing the details in place. First of all Children's Miracle Network is excited to partner with us and help us in any way that they can. Secondly, we have been blessed with a resource in the city who is going to help us work on the details with securing a location and a permit. I have also started working on getting sponsorships to help underwrite the upfront cost of the event and yesterday I heard back from Vitamin Water. They are going to partner with us and take care of the drinks and hand out free vitamin water bottles at the event! Praise God!

If you are interested in partipating or helping sponsor this event please contact me at heatheroldham@gmail.com. I am excited to see what God is going to do through this event! I am ready to be utterly amazed :)

Moving to the City

Noah and I are seriously looking over a lease for a condo in Lafayette Square. We will be moving down there in July. However, with moving into a condo comes a lot of challanges and changes for us. First of all we have never lived in a residence this small and with a baby coming soon after we seriously have to get rid of some stuff. Not to mention this condo would be on the 4th floor of the building which would make taking Cubbie out a bit of a challange. I mentioned to Noah last night that many people get rid of their dogs after they have a baby. Well Noah has taken this seriously like this is the final plan. I am not saying I want to get rid of Cubbie because I don't. He has been part of our family for almost four years. I just want what will be best for us and for him. I don't know if it is best for him to live on the 4th floor where the lease says he has to be

leashed and muzzled when we take him outside. Not to mention the challanges that come with me trying to take him and a newborn outside in the middle of December. My mom has volunteered to let Cubbie come visit for a while if that is what we decide. I just don't know. I don't know if I can look at Noah's face if we really did this. We do love our dog very much...so we will see how it all pans out. Back to the condo, we are prayferully considering if this is where God would want us to be and would covet your prayers as well. We know this is a big decision and want to stratigically be placed where God would want us to be. We do love the Lafayette Square area and love the idea of being right across from the park. Should be an interesting ride...like always :)

Easter Weekend

This weekend Noah and I went to Eldorado to celebrate Grandma Grays birthday and Easter with Noah's family.   I took a ton of pictures and wanted to post a few of our niece Hallie Kate and nephew Nolan.  We had a blast spending time with Nate and Betsy and Noah's Dad.  Hallie Kate kept us entertained and Nolan is the sweetest most easy going baby. 

            

Keeping You Updated- 16 weeks along

When I first attempted to start a blog I had the best of intentions to keep it updates so that all of our friends all around the world (mostly the United States) would be able to easily find out what has been going on with Noah and I. Well at the risk of a major excuse we have been SO busy that this is the last thing on my mind. I keep saying that will change when the baby is born but lets face I dont think life will ever get less crazy so I am starting fresh.

First of all I want to update everyone that I am 16 weeks pregnant and doing well for the most part. My major complaints are headaches and back pain. I have finally moved past the nausea stage for a bit (though it comes back to visit every so often) and now I am battleing major headaches on a daily basis. I have been told this is commen in pregnancy so I am trying to suck it up and drink more water. The back pain seems to be my sciatic nerve and the doctor told me I should feel a little relief in a few weeks but not to get to comfortable because it will be back when the baby gets bigger :) Oh the joys. I would do this everyday of my life to hold that beautiful baby in Sept/ Oct.

For those of you who don't know we are due on September 30th. This is exactly 1 month after we launch August Gate in Soulard so times are exciting!!! Noah and I believe we have found a condo in Lafayette Square to live in. Though we are not thrilled about the idea of moving again we are very excited for what the next stage in life will bring. Always an adventure :)

On the baby note I have decided to do cloth diapers. I have been researching several kinds and all the different options pose their own pros and cons however I believe I have decided to go with Cottonbabies- Bum Genius 3.0 All in One/ One Size Fits All! If anyone knows where you can register for these I would be excited to find out that information.

Cargo Vans and Gath-Hepher

Have you ever rented a car before? I have and the the process is usually pretty smooth. But this monday as I was heading out of town for a three day fund raising tour of Southern Illinois, the rental process didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Heather had spent hours researching the best prices for my trip. We booked an economy car and were ready to go. But Monday morning when I got to Enterprise, things changed for the worse. 

First, there was only one worker at the desk as the one or two others that usually work in the office were out picking up people or cars...becaus as we all know...they are the company that picks you up. I waited in line for my turn to give them my confirmation number and for them to in turn give me my 40 miles to the gallon clown car that would be cheapest on gas. However, I quickly found out that 7 cars had not been returned so I was pretty much up a creek. To top things off, an executive from Anheuser-Busch was in front of me and you better believe they were going to give him the next car that came available. But since I had no other choice, had been dropped off by a friend and needed to get on the road, I agreed to take a cargo van. 

Now let's discuss the cargo van for a second. At first I thought, "No big deal." During my 4 years in youth ministry I had driven a 15 passenger van probably 200 times, so I was used to the size. But what I quickly found was that with the lack of seats as well as any sort of interior lininng to the van, not only was the thing a beast to drive, but I couldn't even hear to talk on the phone while driving. Luckily, I was able to drive the cargo-beast-van to Mt. Vernon and trade it out for a mini-van. I had never really understood why they were called that...mini-vans... until monday, and I was a believer. 

But besides being made fun of by high school students for driving a man van, the whole thing ended up being a blessing. When I turned it in this morning, the bill ended up being half of what I had expected. For my trouble they had taken the rate down to half of what my reservation was for. I was on a trip to raise money for the new church, so spending less money was a bonus. This is just one example of God's faithfulness. At first it seems like I was just trying to be a good Christian to the frazzled youth lady behind the desk who was trying to pawn off cargo vans on anyone who would take...but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I'm no prosperity preaching, name-it-claim-it, guy...but it sure does seem like God blessed the efforts to bring him glory on Monday. 

My trip to Southern Illinois was a blast. I was able to see family including my beautiful neice, Hallie Kate and my sweet baby nephew, Nolan.  I was also able to sit down with several individuals as well as pastors representing churches to talk about parterships for funding August Gate. Everyone was very gracious and I am so grateful for the time that other's devoted to hearing my heart. I was unable to meet with everyone I had wanted to due to scheduling conflicts and busy life. 

Last night I was able to speak to over 100 folks at Little Chapel Church in Harrisburg, IL. The crew there is always so gracious in letting me step into the pulpit. Barry Steed, LCC's stuff of a worship/evangelism/youth pastor thought it would be fun to let me play bass as well. It was a great time. I spoke from the book of Jonah and 2 Kings. My goal was to let them know that they were the Gath-Hepher for my Jonah. As God has called me to my Nineveh to preach the Gospel, Southern Illinois and specifically LCC have been my Gath-Hepher...where I am from and where I was taught to love Jesus, listen for His call on my life and then follow it with wreckless abandon once I hear it. The people of LCC were again very generous and I pray that there will be even more lasting partnerships with many that were there, heard the vision, and took some of our promotional information. 

I had planned on coming back today, but I missed my wife so incredibly much that I hopped back in the rental-man-van and headed home late last night. Plus!...I heard that this week our baby has developed ears and can hear us when we sing and speak to him/her. I couldn't wait to get home and talk to my baby! 

I am so thankful for all the people that took time out to sit down with me. I'm thankful for those who gave to August Gate...some of whom hadn't even heard the vision straight from my mouth yet. If you are reading this and would like to know more and play a part in helping to fund this church plant during its first year, please contact me at noah@augustgate.com . To Christ be the glory!

February/March Newsletter Content

Recent Family News...

We are sure the word has spread like wildfire across Southern Illinois and South Florida, but this will serve as our announcement to theworld...WE’RE PREGNANT!!!

Just yesterday we had our second ultrasound and saw our little son or daughter. The doctor says that the baby and Mom are both doing amazing and that we are on track to welcome him or her into the world sometime around the end of September or the beginning of October. We can’t even begin to describe the joy that we feel over this whole situation. We want to thank all of you who prayed over this situation for the past several months. The greatest thing we have learned through this process is the goodness of God. He is the giver of all good gifts and the creator and sustainer of life. Back in the fall I wrote one of the Biblical names of God on my white board in the office. Jehovah Jireh, The Lord will provide! I have looked at it almost every day and prayed, trusting in that promise. As I sit and write today, I am glancing over at that name on the whiteboard and rejoicing in the unfailing love of Yahweh!

Please keep praying for Heather and the baby over the next several months. We won’t know if the baby is a boy or girl until sometime in May and we look forward to announcing that whenever the time is right.

In Other News...

Heather has started a new part-time job to help save for the coming of the baby. She is the office administrator for Child Evangelism Fellowship, a Christian organization that starts “Good News Clubs” in elementary schools.

Noah just finished two more classes, is starting two more this week and will be only 11 classes away from finishing the Master of Divinity degree at Liberty.

Noah had an assessment meeting with the church planting board for the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association. It went very well and we are excited to be partnering with a network of churches that loves St. Louis and loves the Gospel.

Noah got his first look at maternity pants when we went shopping a couple weeks ago. The elastic waistband had him questioning, “I wonder if they make those for men?”

Fund Raising...

With a baby on the way and August just around the corner, I have an urgency to begin raising funds for August Gate. We are trusting God for everything we need and are reminded of His faithfulness as we were able to raise money to do a church planting internship this year. We understand that He provides the means for every call. But I also understand this recent quote I heard at a church planting meeting I was at, “There is only one problem for God when it comes to finances. While He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He has chosen to keep it in Christians’ bank accounts.” I was just made aware again this morning through an article on theresurgence.com that as the lead pastor I have to be the lead fundraiser. God has placed this vision and call in my heart and on my life and because of that, I am called to the task. Now let’s be honest. This is a huge task! Not only do I need to raise enough money for a personal salary to provide for my family but I also have to raise enough for start-up costs, rent for a meeting facility and sound equipment. 

March is the beginning point for this fund raising. Next week I am renting a car and driving to Southern Illinois to sit down with as many people as I can in four days and share the vision of August Gate hoping to raise funds. But more than that, I believe it needs to be what Bill Dillon calls “People Raising.” I don’t just want to talk people into opening up their wallets and check books to hand over a few dollars to another “good cause.” For August Gate to be what God has called it to be, we need people to believe in me, believe in the vision, and believe in the mission.

I have been and will continue to set up face to face meetings for those in Southern Illinois and phone meetings for those in other places. If you would like to hear more of the vision and find out how you can be involved or if your church or someone you know would like to begin giving to missional works, please let me know as soon as possible.

August Gate Update...

Vision Meetings

Over the past couple months we have been having monthly meeting to share the vision of August Gate with friends and those who might be interested in being involved in a St. Louis church plant. Between the first two meetings we have met with over 35 people. Our next vision meeting is Saturday, March 21st in Soulard. I know it is short notice, but if you would be interested in attending this meeting or a future vision meeting, please get in touch with me. These meetings are a great opportunity for people to hear the vision, meet the people, and experience a little bit of the feel of August Gate. These meetings are a jumping off into what we are calling our Launch Team.

Launch Team

As people hear the vision, meet the people and experience the feel of August Gate and after we have the opportunity to get to know them, their stories, and desire to be a part of what is going on, we give people personal invitations to be a part of the August Gate launch team. This team is a group of people who have bought in to reaching the lost of St. Louis with the Gospel and have committed to seeing this church launched in August of 2009. The launch team is currently 15 people with three married couples and nine singles ranging from 18 to 31 years old. We are hoping to add to that number after this Saturday’s vision meeting.

We have begun having weekly launch team meetings at our house on Sunday nights. We gather for teaching, worship, and fellowship. Over the next few months I hope to see this group develop into a cohesive unit with a united purpose, vision, and mission. We will be meeting at our house until we outgrow it, which is quickly approaching, as well as meeting down in Soulard to eat in restaurants and pubs, getting to know the workers and owners.

I am currently teaching through the book of Jonah and you can listen to or download the weekly teaching online by either going to sermon.net/augustgate or searching for August Gate on iTunes.

Website

Josh has been working diligently on our new website and we hope to have it up by the end of March. This website will be a place to read about our mission, vision and values, stay

updated with what’s going on, listen to weekly podcasts, views pictures and send interested people to.

January Newsletter Content

Gathering the Core

2009 is here! And with it has come some new things: a new President, a new governor of Illinois (a little joke there), the Cardinals in the Super Bowl and the Gators are National Champions! But in the midst of all the excitement, there has been one major thing going on in our hearts. 2009 is the year of August Gate. In 6 months we will be launching a brand new church in downtown St. Louis. The next 6 months hold a lot of challenges; namely, people and resources.

This month we began officially gathering a core group to plant this church. On January 24th, we had 16 people over to our house to cast vision for August Gate. It was an amazing time as I saw the people that God had been connecting over the past few months hear the vision for this work and grab hold. But we’ve only begun. Over the next few months we are going to be sharing the vision for August Gate and challenging people to be a part of it in some way.

This means you!

For years growing up I heard this somewhat annoying commercial on the local Christian radio station.  It had an old man praying for God to show him how he was to serve God. As he is praying he gets a couple phone calls with opportunities to serve in his local church, but tells the callers he is too busy and goes back to praying for an opportunity. Finally, his own daughter asks him to read his grandson a Bible story, but once again he is too busy praying for God to send him a sign.

 My fear is that much of the church is just like this man. We are anxious to serve God, but many times the thoughts of that service are so romantic in our minds that when God opens doors, we don’t walk through them. Most of our newsletter recipients have been getting this newsletter for months. Several are givers to this and other ministries. But some are friends and family who want to keep caught up on our lives. Let me ask you an honest question…have you been praying about how you can get involved with August Gate? As Christians, we can miss out on some amazing blessings and service to Jesus if we don’t open our eyes to the opportunities around us.

 Two years ago, Heather and I left Eldorado to follow God’s call to plant a church. Though the road was a bit bumpy, we have arrived at the destination. The challenge was huge. We had to leave the comfort of home, a job, finances, family, and all the plans we had made for our own lives.  How did it start? It started by us getting on our knees and asking God for His purpose to be worked out in our lives. What a tragedy it would have been if we had written off every nudge of the Holy Spirit and every open door God was giving us!

 We are calling people to pray about some big stuff. We are asking people to get on their knees, ask God to lead, and commit to one of three things; pray, give, move. And here is why we are challenging you. We believe in the sovereign plan of God. We believe that God cannot and does not make mistakes. He is not some divine play director standing behind the curtains trying to fix things as the actors forget their lines. God is orchestrating everything perfectly. Because of this, we don’t believe that God connects people by mistake. It is undeniable. Every single person that was at our house this past month for the vision meeting was connected to us in one way or another, as random as it may have seemed. We believe that we are connected to you for a reason as well.

 So how can you get involved?  We usually state these the other way around, but I am going to state them in reverse.  The first way is by moving. We need strong, dedicated Christians committed to seeing God’s work fulfilled in St. Louis to move to the area to be a part of this church. You can live in the city, South County, or the Metro East. I know it sounds crazy, but why not at least pray about it as a genuine option? If this may be you, call us, and we’ll speak more in depth. The next challenge is to give finances and resources. We know that not everyone can pick up life in six months and move. We know that because of other commitments in life and ministry people are placed in other locations. But all the while, we know that God blesses so that we can be a blessing.  We need to raise a tremendous amount of money to launch this church. Would you pray about giving? Finally, we are challenging people to pray. We need people praying for us daily, asking God for wisdom, finances, resources, and people. Everyday we inch closer to something bigger than ourselves, and everyday the battle gets more heated. 

Items for prayer

  §  Facilities: We are asking God to open doors…literally.  There are two buildings in the area that would be perfect for us to use. Currently, they are unavailable to us. Pray that God opens doors for us to get into one of them or to provide for another building in the area.

 

§  Finances: As I mentioned earlier, starting a church from the ground up can be a costly endeavor. Pray that God would bring in the money needed for salary, rent, and resources.

 

§  Resources: God recently answered a prayer by providing a partial sound system from a local church. Praise God! We need to continue to pray for other audio/visual elements including a projector and screen and the other elements of a sound system.

 

§  People: We are currently gathering a core group and will begin weekly meetings with them on Sunday nights. Pray that God would connect us with committed people.

 

§  Soulard: In 6 months we will be launching a new church just south of downtown St. Louis. Pray that God would begin opening the hearts of the lost to hear the Gospel and respond in faith.

Ways to Connect

 

• Email: Heather and I still use gmail. heatheroldham@gmail.com and noaholdham@gmail.com. But you can now connect to Noah and the other leaders of August Gate by using firstname@augustgate.com. 

 

• Phone: If you would like to hear what’s going on at any time, give us a phone call at 314-835-7690 (noah) or 314-835-7164 (heather).

 

• Website: August Gate currently has a splash website up. We are continuing to work on it and when finances begin to come in we will be able to have one created for us. www.augustgate.com .

 

• Blog: You can still get more frequent updates at noahandheatheroldham.blogspot.com or see what Noah has currently written at www.missioncontend.com. 

 

Gospel in the New Year

It's January 1st... but don't worry, I'll spare you all the New Year's cliches and personal anecdotes. Much of how we celebrate the coming of a new year in our culture is rather odd. We count down the last minute like time isn't really just some arbitrary way of measuring the repeating of events. We gather in homes, in bars, concert halls and even in the streets to "ring" in the new year like it won't come if we don't welcome it. What's up with the toast thing anyway? Why do we clink our glasses and drink "to" the new year? What does all of this mean???

Sure, I may be cynical but all of this and more runs through my brain each year as I trudge off to yet another party to hang out way past my bed time to watch a ball drop in New York. (which by the way is an hour ahead of my time zone...so I miss it in real time)

Last night I starting thinking out loud. As we were cleaning up the cups and plates just 2 minutes after midnight, in the anti-climatic glow of 2009, I asked this question: "Why is the celebration of the New Year a big deal in almost every culture?" Because it is! Think about it. Every different form calendaring has an inherent New Year's celebration. So when the people in the room heard me ask this seemingly outlandish question and responded in awe, I asked it another way. "What is it about a new year that is so captivating to human beings?"

Think about it. No matter one's religious, political, or cultural slant...we are all enthralled with the celebration of a new start, a brand new year. There is something so mystical about the clock striking midnight on January 1st that we gather by the droves to celebrate together. Why?

Why would people cram themselves into time square to listen to the Jonas Brothers? Why would senior citizens, who go to bed every night at 9:30 on the dot, stay up until 12:01? What could possibly drive the entire world to lay aside work, responsibility and schedule to consider the beginning of a new year some sort of holiday? (holiday = holy + day)

And then it hit me... it's the Gospel.

Though we are fallen and depraved humanity we still have within us this divine imprint because we were created in the image of God. Because of this, I believe we have innate longings and drives that even sin could only mar yet not remove. This fascination with a new year is only a fascination with the Gospel.

Everybody wants a chance to start over. People love to sit down, look back at the past year, all the mistakes and failures and look to the future with hope that it will get better. And even though it is just a chiming of bells in a clock, somehow we believe the one second that separates December and January can cleanse our sins.

The truth is, it can't. We prove that each year as millions make "New Year's resolutions" and within a few weeks millions break them just as easily because we are broken and cannot save ourselves.

People need the Gospel.

People long for it. They run from churches and run from the Holy Spirit and His convicting of sin. Though proud humanity brazenly rejects the Gospel in every "Christianized" form, their actions betray their hearts' deepest need.

The human condition cries out for redemption. The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation by which God appeals to people, through us, to be reconciled to Him.

May 2009 be a year where we love the Gospel...honor the Gospel....live the Gospel...and preach the Gospel. To do this we must first preach the Gospel to ourselves daily, repent of our own sins and live in the wonderful truth that God saves sinners, even us. With and only with this frame of mind will we begin to live on mission... loving God because of the Gospel, loving people towards the Gospel, and restoring our communities and cities with the Gospel.

From Ministry to Mission

Depending on the circles that you run in, you probably hear or say the word ministry fairly often. But what does it mean? Look up the word...go ahead, go look it up. Dictionary.com is a great place to go...just open a new window in your internet browser and look it up. I'll wait...

Almost every definition speaks of professionalism, the formal office of clergy. But that isn't how we use it. We use it with the definition of service. I hear fellow pastors talking about "my ministry." I hear people talking about serving as a nursery worker, Sunday school teacher, or usher as their "ministry." Ministry in itself is great. It is great to follow the call of God to serve those around us. But it becomes a problem when "ministry" is what defines the church. For a long time ministry has been the running of programs at a church for the benefit of its members and with the attempt to reach outsiders. So we put on programs. We have have children's "ministry" and youth "ministry" and senior adult "ministry." The music "ministry" puts on Easter and Christmas programs.

Is this really the ministry that God has called the church to? It that it? Pay your dues in the nursery and you are doing your part in the body of Christ? Greet people at the door on Sunday mornings with a crisp bulletin and a forced smile and you are fulling the call of God on your life? The problem stems from our wrong view of the church. Even those of us who proudly proclaim that the church is people not a building have a tendency to fall into the trap of thinking that what we do on a Sunday morning for an hour is church. We begin to believe that singing songs, hearing a sermon and maybe even serving in a "ministry" is doing church. Until we change our vocabulary, we may never climb out of this trap.

God has given us one ministry. It is much more general and a lot less specific than we might hope. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 says,

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ..."

Our ministry is Missio Dei, the sending of God. Our ministry is mission. Our mission is the Gospel. Until we show people the Gospel, that God has done what it takes to reconcile them to Himself, until we model for people the Gospel, until we teach people how to apply the Gospel to every aspect of their lives, we aren't being the church. The church is the the collective group of sent ones of God. How can we be called the "sent ones" when we only "do church" in the four walls of a building designated for Holy things? We are called to be set apart in lifestyle not in location. We are called to be like yeast, infiltrating the world and slowly changing it from the inside out. We can't do that by empowering people to do ministry...we have to empower people to be on mission.


Ministry means once a week.
Mission means every moment of every day.

Ministry compartmentalizes life.
Mission encompasses life.

Ministry tells you to serve.
Mission fills you with passion to serve.

Ministry speaks the Gospel.
Mission is the Gospel.

If people begin to understand the Gospel...that a Holy God has made a way for sinful people to know Him, experience Him and enjoy Him forever...and that we are called to live this out, tell others about it, and let that fact transform the way we exist...ministry will happen. People will begin to serve out of love and not obligation. People will serve because it is the natural reaction to a Gospel-transformed life. Ministry isn't bad...it's just not enough. It isn't the call God has on our lives...it is the overflow of missional living.

I pray that God would make us missional. That is would be a lifestyle and not just a catch phrase. I pray that our churches would be transformed by the Gospel and in turn, we would serve.

December Update

Merry Christmas from The Oldhams

Rest and Refocus...

With the craziness of the past month and the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, we got a little behind in the area of updates. For those of you, who have been watching the mailbox or email inbox, waiting eagerly to see how things progressing, we’re sorry to keep you waiting. For those of you who read our blog (noahandheatheroldham.blogspot.com) we will try and keep you more up to date once December is through.

The past month and a half has proved to be a very demanding time. With the internship, the process of planting, school and the holidays, things can get pretty hectic pretty quick. But we were able to take a couple days after Thanksgiving and get away to a remote place in Southern Illinois to rest and refocus for the months and steps ahead. A couple of friends let us borrow their cabin and we had an amazing time of sleeping, studying, napping and spending time with each other. It was our first vacation since June of 2006 and it was much needed

Merry Christmas and other news...

We are so excited for Christmas! We love the opportunity to spend time with family and Christmas provides for that. But even more so, I love Christmas because of Advent. I feel like in America we have a tendency to take the focus off of Jesus…and many of you I’m sure would agree. But a couple years ago I read a book on the Jewishness of Jesus and the intertestamental period. This book really connected awakened my mind to the Incarnation. A lot of time we focus on “baby Jesus” because Christmas is His birthday. But we have to realize the amazing event that took place that night. Jesus, the eternal God, broke into human history by taking on flesh. This was the moment that all of history was leading up to. It was the beginning of the end. It was everything that a culture had waiting for but had little idea it was happening because it didn’t look like they expected. We pray that this Christmas the presents, the decorations, even your family would take a back seat to worshipping Jesus, the Messiah, the King, the atonement, the propitiation, the risen Lord. And I pray that this season would only spark the desire in your heart to look forward even more to his second advent…when He will come and redemption will be finalized…Hallelujah!

In other news…two years ago when Noah shared his heart to church plant with a couple, he expressed the desire to further his education so he could more properly lead and teach. Because of the generosity of that couple we are pleased to announce that Noah just completed his Masters of Arts in Religion degree. Though this is a huge milestone, its only half finished. In January I will begin the second half of the program towards the Master of Divinity degree. We want to say thank you to all of our supports. Through your generosity we have been allowed to walk in obedience to Christ. We are so grateful and thank God for people like you in our lives.

Vision Vision Vision...

During our weekend at the cabin I feel like God wanted to call me back to the vision for planting a church. Over the past several months I have been putting together the “who’s” and “what’s.” I have been creating systems and doctrine, core values and job descriptions, trying to find a location and trying to raise money. All of that is good and is very necessary to the planting of a new church here in St. Louis. But I feel like God challenged me to look back to two years ago when He first birthed this vision in my heart and ask myself the “why’s” again. So I want to share with you, maybe for the 5^th or 6^th time if we are close, why God has called me to plant a church.

1. The Church in America is Losing Ground.

Upon first hearing that, we can have the tendency to get defensive. I know that many if not most of you reading this go to churches that aren’t failing. I am not necessarily talking about individual local bodies; I am talking about the collective group of Christians that live in the United States. Christians aren’t living like Christians. The problem with America isn’t that 50% of marriages are ending in divorce, its that 51% of Christian marriages are ending in divorce. The problem isn’t JUST that babies are being aborted, its that Christian teenagers are having abortions. The problem isn’t that people are going hungry; it’s that Christians don’t want the government to expand welfare yet we don’t want to help the poor with our own checkbooks. Ten years ago, 85% of nonbelievers thought positively about Christians. Today, less than 50% think of Christians in a positive light. Sure, Jesus said the world would hate us, but because of our love and stand for truth, not because of our negligence and hypocrisy.

2. The Church is Becoming Irrelevant

The Church gathering should have two major roles. First it should be the collective body of believers getting together to worship the Lord, study His instructions, and be empowered to walk out into the world as missionaries in their own contexts. Secondly, it should be a place where nonbelievers can enquire about God, hear His instructions, be drawn in, convicted, and called to repentance by the Holy Spirit and be discipled in the faith. But more and more, people are avoiding the doors of our churches. Young adults, my generation hates church. Why?: “Irrelevant messages” and “lousy music.” Two of the main elements of every worship service are worship by song and teaching of Scripture. If people aren’t connecting here, does any of the rest of it matter?

3. The Church is Becoming Polarized.

Half of the Church is becoming soft. Sin is no longer preached and messages centered on Dr. Phil-esque psycho-babble about how we can better self-esteem. Biblical doctrine is being laid down and best-selling books are being picked up. Gay pastors are coming in and the Scriptures are being thrown out. That’s half the church.

The other half is hard on sinners and soft on saints. Pastors will get up in pulpits and preach against homosexuality while the congregation erupts into cheers and standing ovations. Obviously the wrong message is being preached. Maybe if the pastor would call out lust, gluttony, gossip, judgment and pride the people would begin to examine their own sin, repent and see that the Gospel is redemption not retaliation. Jesus came to save sinners not just point out the obvious fact that sinners are bound for Hell (which we all were at one point).

4. Our Society is Eroding

Every moral underpinning that once constrained our leaders has been cut away. Our culture-makers have no fear of the Lord and because we as a society no longer have a foundation of God’s ethics to stand upon, we are like a house built on sand. Things are progressively getting worse. And while it will be the job of some to deal with the consequences of all of this, it is the job of some to go to the source and effect change. We’ve experienced the death of a generation of Christian leaders. This should serve to remind us that a new generation of leaders should be trained up to lead, love, and speak truth.

5. God Saves Sinners

The Gospel. Missio Dei. God’s mission from the beginning is this. Everything that God is orchestrating, everything that God wills, allows and elects it for the purpose of the Gospel. God has called every Christian, as a member of the body of Christ to submit to the head of the body, Jesus Himself, and live a life full of the Gospel. We should be teaching the Gospel, preaching the Gospel, singing the Gospel, and demonstrating the Gospel. The world needs to see that the Gospel works…that God saves sinners. They will see that when they see us living it in word and in deed.

Support Church Planting When you Shop this Christmas

If you have been wondering how you can play a part in supporting the work God is doing in our life, yet feel strapped in this crazy economy, now you can. A supporter of ours generously provided us with a website through “shop to earn.” Shop to Earn is an internet web portal that has connected with hundreds of retailers, many of whom we all use on a weekly basis, to pass savings on to consumers.

During this Christmas season, if you purchase your gifts online instead of the store, Shop to Earn will pass up to 20% of your purchases along to us. This money, in turn, goes on to fund the church planting process. We understand that not everyone can give financial so we are excited to be able to provide a way for you to support our ministry with the purchases that you make everyday. Please go to the link in the top right corner or go to shoptoearn.net/oldham, choose the retailer you would like to shop through and it will take you to their website and you can purchase the items like you normally would. If you have any questions on how this works or how you can contribute in this way please feel free to call or email us.

WHY PLANT?

Why would anyone want to plant a church in the city?

The city is full of hookers and robbers...

liars and addicts...

drug dealers and perverts...

Exactly.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Tonight we are going to begin decorating for Christmas. Yeah yeah...I know. Its early. I was talking to a friend this past week about how much I love Christmas. Its not because of the presents. Its not even the decorations, music, food, or cultural traditions that we attach to the Holiday.

I love Christmas so much for a few reasons.

1. Life slows down. The nights are longer and the days are short and gray. Its either raining or snowing and cold all the time. Thus, people don't run around at such a fast pace. (except for inside the malls) I feel that when we slow down, we are able to see life around us, experience our relationships, and actually take time to look at our lives and ask questions.

2. People are exponentially nicer. Maybe its the feeling of the season. Maybe its because they think Santa sees them when they are sleeping (funny... if you rearrange the letters in Santa you get Satan...coincidence?...I think not). But people do the Thanksgiving thing and for at least once in the year are counting their blessings. Also, we all know we are going to be around family. Some of our families are awesome...some may be lunatics. Either way, we are prepared to be nice to them in the spirit of the season.

3. I'm a big "Jewishness of Jesus" guy. I believe that we can't fully understand the implications of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus unless we learn the Jewish background that comes along with the story. I always picture myself at the turn of history... living in a crazy political climate...yearning for a Messiah...praying for a Deliverer. Singing songs, reading Psalms, quoting Scripture that rings of the promise. And then, almost out of nowhere, since the prophetic utterances that became OT Scripture had ceased for 450 years, Jesus, the eternal God takes on flesh...Can we every truly understand what happened? The plan that has existed since before the world began was being fulfilled. The God of the universe was coming to man, becoming a man, to save man...His beloved creation. Oh the mystery of what we call Christmas!!!

I want to live my life pursuing that mystery but most of all pursuing the God that became man to save me from my sins, turn away the wrath that was due me, and bring me into intimate fellowship with Himself.

I pray that as you walk these next couple months out, you would be in awe of that God. That you would know, deep down in your being, that life is more than all of this... school...work...relationships with others...eating...planning...saving...investing...creating a life for ourselves. Our life is a gift of a gracious God who wants us to use it finding Him.

Let's find Him.