blastOFF :: It's In The Books

Wow, what a day!  I have to admit that the emotion of the day and the lack of sleep from last night has kept me from really being able to put thoughts to one of the most incredible days of my life.  My wedding, the birth of my kids and now the birth of a church.  I hope to be able to put my thoughts to words a little better later.

If you were part of today's dedication service, I'd like to start a thread of conversation where we share our thoughts and feelings about today.  Post a comment, get the ball rolling.  This will help all of us see the "largeness" of the day.  If you are getting this posting by email, go to www.pray2launch.blogspot.com and let us know about your experience.  It's simple and fast...just click on the "Comments" tab and write out your thoughts.

I will write more later and I'll be moving my posts over to www.springstalk.blogspot.com shortly.  Thank you for commitment to pray for us during the past three weeks.  I hope that the experience was as meaningful for you as it has been for me.  God bless and let's get the discussion rolling.

prayTODAY ::

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

dayTWENTY-ONE :: It's Here

It's here.

It's His.

I've gotta go.

prayTODAY::

Don't forget to pray for all those pesky details today.  And for us to realize it's really all about Him and we just get to ride the ride.  Thank you for lifting us up for the past 21 days.  Our prayer is that this pray2launch was a launch2pray for everyone involved.

I'll post one more recap later today or tomorrow, but other than that this blog is officially done!

dayTWENTY :: Let Tomorrow Be Tomorrow

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

Most of us have a tendency to let "worry about tomorrow" creep into our minds from time to time.  Today is no less one of those days.  As I type this, I'm installing video software to finish up a video for tomorrow.  In less than 11 hours, we will meet the PCI guys to get our trailer and begin the process of merging our systems together for tomorrow.  I've got banners all over my dining room for tomorrow.  I've got a presentation to build for tomorrow.  If I'm not careful, I may miss today for tomorrow.

We are only responsible for today - no matter how big tomorrow may be.  I want to be in the moment, in the day.  You just never know what God might slip into today.  May we stay focused on the more important things, as Mary did, and not get caught up in getting the "house ready" with all the little things.  It's a big weekend - all of it.  Don't miss a moment.

prayTODAY ::

Pray for the little stuff, but don't sweat it.  Pray for the details that need to get done get done.  Pray that our minds be focused and our bodies full of energy.  Pray for our community - many of which may be deciding about tomorrow.  Pray that you not miss a moment of today, we'll get to tomorrow tomorrow.

dayNINETEEN :: No Bricks No Mortar

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  'For in him we live and move and have our being.'"

Acts 17:24-28

When I was a kid growing up in a conservative denomination of Christianity, I remember phrases like "Don't run in the church, this is God's house!" and "Shhhh, you're in the Lord's house."  I grew up with a picture in my head of God coming out of the shadows after everyone had left the building and turning up the organ, running through the halls and just enjoying himself (because nothing fun was happening while I was around).  Today, our view is much different.  We understand that the building does not house the presence of God, but the people do.  If there are no people, the building is just a building.  We rent out space, set up the drums and guitars, get out the fun stuff for the kids, make the coffee and eat the donuts...oh how the deacons of my youth might cringe.

In our passage today, Paul is preaching to the Greeks at what we refer to as Mars Hill (a philosophical flea market of the day).  He notices that in addition to all the gods of the Greeks, there is one altar marked "To the Unknown God."  Paul can't let this go, and spends a few minutes explaining the "unknown god."  Paul's statement about God not dwelling in a temple made by human hands carries significant weight because of the statement that follows.  If he doesn't dwell there, then where does he?  Instead, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  So, instead of being in a building He lives within a people.  Now he makes an incredible declaration:  from one man He made everyone, and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  Wow.  From the beginning of time, He has appointed our very time in history and the place where we live.  If He appointed where I live, then I didn't.  But I picked the school district, the neighborhood, the floor-plan.  Oh, but He knew and has been working in us to bring about His appointment of our "land."

Neighborhood Life is founded on the belief that Paul's statement about God is true for you and for me.  He appointed me to live in Cedar Landing and you to live in Magnolia Creek, and Bay Colony, and Westover Park, etc..  Why?  So that people may seek Him and perhaps find Him because He is not far from any one of us.  It's in Him we live and move and have our being.  

prayTODAY ::

Pray today for your neighborhood.  For the families that you can call by name, pray for them specifically.  Ask God to continue to open doors to get to know the people you live next to, and the people you work next to, and the people you play next to.  Pray for those who come to our church to catch that vision and do the same, so that some may reach out and seek Him and find Him.

dayEIGHTEEN :: Strength and Waiting

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6

prayTODAY ::
Pray for the excitement that is building for this weekend. Three days from now we will be setting up and awaiting our first guests to the Y. Ask God to give you a holy excitement for that day - an anticipation of Him doing great things, a sensitivity to those who may come and a passion to see this church flourish. May strength continue to rise as we wait on Him - both personally and corporately.

daySEVENTEEN :: Father and Favoritism

My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith.  If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him,  and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row,"  haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted? 

Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.

James 2:1-5

This morning, as I thought about our launch team, I thought about this passage in James.  James was the leader of the Jerusalem church and he is writing to all of the believers in Jesus who had been spread out from Jerusalem during the persecution.  The message is clear for James: favoritism has no place in the kingdom that Jesus has established.  For us, this message rings true in our culture and in our world.  It's easy to get sucked into the us versus them mentality in our culture and believe that because we go to church that we are in some way better than others.  We are not.  Every person is an image-bearer of the One who created us.  Each of us carry in ourselves the breath of the one who exhaled life into our bones.  Every person who enters the Y on Sunday mornings, every person who walks into your office during the week, every person who drives into a garage in your neighborhood.  No person on this earth escaped the breath of God and was created outside His image.  No one.

Part of being in the position we are in as a new church means that we will be visited by many different people wanting to know where we stand on issues and how we will respond to people in their situation - rich or poor, black or white, married or divorced, gay or straight, clean or hooked.  Our response ought to clearly be the response of Jesus with everyone we encounter.  Our arms of welcome are open to everyone.  Our commitment to God's truth is unwavering.  Part of "loving your neighbor as yourself" includes loving people who are different than us in ridiculous ways sometimes.  Our church may one day be ridiculed for our love for people and our acceptance of people, and that is okay.  We will be in some pretty good company at that point.

prayTODAY ::

Spend some time with Father this morning asking where you need to grow in the areas of acceptance and love for others.  Then confess and repent of wrong attitudes, asking for His strength to be the kind of person he wants you to be.  Every person connected to The Springs plays an important part in others understanding the truth about who we are as a church.  May favoritism be far removed, though criticism may be right around the corner.

daySIXTEEN :: Comfort and Trust

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 15:13

When all is going well it's easy to trust God, right?  When your family is all healthy and your bills are getting paid and you even have a little "nest egg" for security, it's easy to trust God.  But is that really trusting God?  For some, definitely.  For most, maybe not.  Throughout the Bible, we see that God is continually knocking people out of their proverbial comfort zones to get them to trust Him.  Adam and Eve are removed from their garden of comfort.  Abraham is asked to leave his country of comfort.  Joseph is tossed from his family of comfort.  Job has his physical comfort removed.  Saul loses his mental comfort.  David loses his moral comfort.  Then in the New Testament, James and John lose their financial comfort.  Peter loses his fighting comfort.  Paul loses his persecuting comfort.  This list is long.  There seems to be something about comfort that takes our focus and dependence off of the Father.  Now, I'm not suggesting that comfort, in itself, is a bad thing, but it does produce in us an environment of apathy and self-sustainability.  And it's in those moments or seasons of discomfort that people discover that their true comfort lies in the One who doesn't shift and doesn't wane.  

In our situation with The Springs, our comfort level is being tested.  We are currently about $15,000 dollars short of the total capital cost for our project.  We are up against deadlines that were comfortably out in front of us 3 months ago.  God has continually blessed us in many different ways - like providing materials and services instead of money, and we are amazed at the sacrificial commitments people have made to see this thing come to fruition.  Now we are in that place of discomfort.  And our prayer is that the God of hope fill us all with joy and peace as we trust in Him.  Why?  So we can pay the bills?  No.  So we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot make the payment of bills the end goal - even though it may be a temporary one.

prayTODAY ::

Pray today for the financial situation of our team.  Pray that new givers will arise and that those who have been waiting for an opportunity to give will see it clearly in these days.  Pray that God will not just send givers, but partners in the mission of our church, and that they too would be Springs where they live and work and play.