Such a time as this?

"If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

We love to romantically quote this verse with little thought for what it really implies. Our church has been in the book of Esther considering the challenges that this brave woman faced in her faith. The implications of this passage are really:

You and your family might die...or God could do something truly miraculous!

Isn't it amazing how we romanticize this so much that we take little time to appreciate the weight of facing death for our faith? This is much, much more than a romantic notion. It is radically embracing the faith realizing that death could be the outcome. I have friends that do that on the mission field regularly, but, sadly, we do not realize in our comfortable contexts that God calls us to do the same.

Whether it is speaking an uncomfortable word to someone on the street or taking a bold step of faith to reach the people of North Suffolk by jumping in with both feet to labor in the harvest that is North Suffolk Fellowship...the time is now. The fields may not get any more ripe unto harvest. We are called to pray for the harvest, but we are also called to be "crucified with Christ." (Galatians 2:20) I do not have a problem with those who are praying for laborers in the harvest, but I pray that those that God is calling will not resign themselves to praying for someone else to be called.

That's a bit complicated, but what I am saying boils down to the fact that we are a blessed church who has been given the supreme opportunity to labor in the harvest. We must not pass the ball off to a church planter, a seminary trained layman, or a similar personality. We must hear God's word saying to us, "perhaps you were made a missionary follower of Christ for such a time as this?"

If you are that person, the first thing that I want to say to you is: I don't have all of the answers, but I believe in a God who does. We are engaging the people of North Suffolk as the body of Christ laboring to seek and save those who are lost. I have resisted every temptation at developing a marketing strategy, seeking major funding, or even having a church planter out here full time because I believe that this work is possible through the labor of our people. If there is anything that Big Serve and the missions efforts of our church have taught us, it is that God's people doing things God's way can accomplish God's tasks.

That means that we must work together for the greater goal of reaching North Suffolk for Christ. We need a team of people from our church and the community who believe that the churches that were planted in the book of Acts by people who loved Jesus can still be planted today. That team is forming now, but it will take more people who have tasted and seen God's glory and are passionate to share that glory with others in North Suffolk...could that be you for such a time as this?

A Famous Faith

As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.

And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. 1 Thessalonians 1:7-10, NLT

This whole concept of "a famous faith" took root in my thoughts last night as we studied the book of 1 Thessalonians at First Norfolk. At first glance, the knee jerk reaction is to say, "We are not faithful for the purpose of fame!" To that, I would say, "Amen!" But when you take this passage in context, it overwhelms me with the reality of Matthew 5:16 that says,

"In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

I think of all that God has done through the people of First Norfolk over the past two weeks and I am just amazed! We were able to see about 1,000 children pass through our halls for VBS and then we took VBS to disabled children every afternoon at St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children. We hosted four nights of family friendly comedy for the Hampton Roads community by taking this opportunity to Norfolk, Suffolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach. We conducted a medical clinic at the Union Mission in which over 30 people received health care and at least one person made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ! We held a cookout for the residents of the Gosnold apartments who are recovering from chronic homelessness. And the list goes on and on.

When a church is famous for being faithful, it is the body of Christ that is receiving the fame! Much like the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 115:1,

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness." We do have to wage war against the pride that so easily entangles our souls and make sure that we are delighting in God's glory over everything else. There is not a litmus test for such, but rather it is a personal, Holy Spirit guided and controlled, examination that we undergo as we take up the cross daily and follow Christ.

So the question remains...do you have a famous faith? Are you pioneering into new territory in your spiritual life or have you become rather comfortable in the status quo? As you hear our current series on being "STRETCHED," how does that apply to your life? We have a significant opportunity to make a great impact in Hampton Roads by reaching out to the people of North Suffolk. It may require the abandonment or partial abandonment of some of our comforts so that God's fame might spread...but isn't it worth it?!

I love what has become the theme for our first t-shirts at North Suffolk Fellowship:

"...as long as the sun shines, may his fame increase." Psalm 72:17

May we always be missionary followers of Christ who wholeheartedly seek God's glory and fame through faith!

Don't forget to join us on July 29th at the Riverfront Swim Club from 6-9p.m. for a great time of fellowship and prayer towards the future of North Suffolk Fellowship.

Jesus Hangover

It is the next day after our Laugh All Week event and my cup is running over with joy as I meditate on all that God did last night at the Regal. I'm sure many of you are wondering why in the world would I entitle this post "Jesus Hangover?" Well, when we arrived, the digital marquee above our door said "Hangover 2" directing people to the movie that typically plays there during the past week. Graciously, the manager changed the marquee to read "Comedy Show" for our group, but we laughed about the irony of that happening with a Baptist Church coming in to have an event!

Well, I must admit...I have a hangover this morning. It is not alcohol induced and it does not involve any unpleasant trips to the bathroom. Rather, it is a Jesus hangover. We saw over 100 people attend our night with Brad Stine in Harbourview who were not affiliated with First Baptist Church Norfolk! While some will surely have church affiliations, I can't help but think that there were many who do not have a church home and are open to joining us on the journey that is North Suffolk Fellowship!

In my daily Bible reading today, I read Revelation 3. It brought back fond memories of a time in my life when I was in High School and on mission in Canada. I read 3:16 that says, But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! Reading Jesus words and considering the path of my life as I prepared for college, I knew that I did not want to make God nauseous by my life choices. So I resolved to be on fire for God as much as possible and not allow apathy to creep in causing a life of lukewarm faith.

This has been a journey of mountain tops and valleys for me, but God has been faithful to speak through his word and move mountains when I actively place my faith in him (aka trust him). Our work in North Suffolk is no different! I hunger and thirst for God's glory to shine brightly among the people who live in this area, but I know that it is in his timing. If I try to do it all in my strength by using clever church growth strategies or gimmicks it will surely fail. Or even worse, we could grow a large gathering of people who could have little sense of what it means to truly be missionary followers of Christ.

Anyone who has ever built a fire knows that it takes a strategy. If you try to build with only a few pieces of bad wood and lighter fluid, it will flame for a moment...then die. I want to see a substantial growth among the people of Suffolk that will grow and thrive for God's glory. I want to see God move in the lives of his people in such a way that the body of Christ that is the members of First Norfolk are willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of reaching their neighbors. I want to see people who have no church affiliation experience the life transformation that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. I want to see what can happen when men and women resolve to not settle for a lukewarm faith experience, but embrace the road less traveled by living radical lives of faith in Jesus Christ.

So yes, I have a Jesus Hangover. It doesn't sound pleasant, but it is actually a joyful celebration of all that God is doing in North Suffolk, across the United States, and around the world! I have to keep looking in the mirror and saying, "Me, Lord? I get to be a part of this?" And it only gets better. We have great plans for July 29th at the Riverfront Swim Club as we will have a gathering for an Open Swim night from 6-9p.m.(Invite your friends!) We are also planning toward another block party event at the swim club on Labor Day as we have been graciously invited to provide inflatables, face painting, etc. for their celebration.

Please join us as we continue to seek opportunities for Bible study and the formation of Life groups in North Suffolk. Let me know how you are praying and/or any questions that you have about the ministry that is growing in this region. Join me in resolving to Love God, Love Others, and Live the Mission in Hampton Roads and around the world!

Laugh All Week

Takeaway Card Front- NSuffolk

Laugh All Week

Takeaway Card Back- NSuffolk

Are you ready? We're excited!

So have you noticed that I get excited a lot? Especially when I see God moving and working and opening doors for our work in Suffolk! The week of July 4 is no different.

We have another great opportunity to serve and share with the people of the Riverfront Swim Club about the work that we are doing in their neck of the woods. As we provide a block party for the families present, we will also have some great opportunities to tell them about our church and the most important freedom there is...faith in Christ! So we are once again looking for volunteers who will step up and serve on this great day. We are not looking to provide as many services as Memorial Day weekend, but I told the director that I would put the invitation out and see how God moves our members to serve. Please let me know as soon as possible if you anticipate serving.

During this event, we will also be spreading the news about Laugh all week! In case you have been hanging out at the light rail station waiting for the Tide to crank up and missed the news...we are having a BIG comedy bash across Hampton Roads during the week of July 5-8!!! This is going to be a significant opportunity to provide a family friendly opportunity to reach out to the people of Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and...Suffolk! We will be at the Harbourview Grande theater at 7pm on July 7 and it is going to be a blast. Be sure to grab that ONE special friend and join us for a great evening that is absolutely free and will even include some pretty sweet surprises! Ok, I have just about reached my limit on exclamation points, so I am going to have to bring this to a close.

Bottom line...we're excited! Not just excited about events, programs, yadda yadda. We're excited about Jesus and we want to share that excitement with others. Will you join us on the journey and make this dream become a reality? Share this vision and let's see God do some incredible things in the days ahead as his people are found faithful in the fields that are ready for the harvest!

Live the mission!

If the Lord of the harvest called, would you know?

So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields."

Matthew 9:38

I have been praying for you. Some of you have been prayed for directly and others indirectly. I have been praying to the Lord of the Harvest that he would send you to serve. Doors for the gospel are opening daily, but I can't do it all. One dear lady once asked me, "Why don't you do it?" Referring to a need that I saw at the Judeo Christian Outreach Center for someone to lead Bible study. While I wish that I could do everything, I have had to come to the realization that I cannot. Even though I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. I will continue to seek to find those open doors for the gospel and see our members serving joyfully.

Would you recognize the call?

Many people have cellphones today that have special ring tones assigned to friends and family. I purchased the song "She's a brick house" by the Commodores for my wife, but it was not a ring tone. So I found another song for her, "Love me do" by the Beatles. Wouldn't it be easier if God had a ring tone? We have to abide in Christ so that we might recognize God's voice and hear his call. I believe that those who are walking closely in faith will hear the call to the harvest and develop the heart of the Father for his creation.

What happens when you receive the call?

My favorite illustration about God's call upon a person's life is from Rick Warren's Purpose driven church book. In the course of his experience he views God's work in the life of a believer much like that of a surfer on a wave. You are ready for the perfect wave, you catch the wave, and then you ride the wave. The glory of laboring in the Lord's harvest is that he does most of the work if we are truly laboring in faith. We guide people on the experience and help them to obediently surf the wave, but the Holy Spirit does most of the work.

Are you ready?

The joy of serving in the harvest is the essence of Psalm 34:8 as we taste and see how good our God really is. He can take our work and make it joyful. He can give us a holy addiction or a Christian hedonist (according to John Piper) perspective in such a way that we can't get enough of this L3 (Love God, Love Others, and Live the Mission) experience.

I can't tell you all that God is going to do in missions and especially in North Suffolk, but I believe that it is good. No, it's not good. It's beyond anything that your human intellect can think or imagine. His ways are higher than your ways and thoughts are higher than your thoughts. But you have to ride the wave. You have to taste how good our God really is. You have to answer the call. Stay tuned for more exciting opportunties to live the mission in North Suffolk!