Aftermath

Unfortunately the mission team from Humble Area's First Baptist Church had to go home last week, and I reluctantly took them to the airport to see them off last Saturday night after our Family Gathering.  Amanda and I were amazed at how close we felt to these brothers and sisters in Christ after what was a relatively short time.  I could see on some of their faces that they also were grieved at leaving.  Several told me that they are currently seeking God's calling on their life, even if western Washington is a component of that.  Of course that brings me tremendous excitement because as I have shared before, the "harvest is great but the workers are few," but the reality is that it is a huge thing for anyone to boldly seek God's will for their life.  That's what separates the churchgoer from the disciple of Jesus.  The churchgoer attends church and checks it off of a list of scheduled events for the week.  The disciple of Jesus seeks to find where He is and what He is doing so that they can join the work.  There is a massive difference between these individuals.  Lives changed as a result of the work that was done last week including on the streets of Everett, in private conversations with parents of Kid's Club kids, and in the hearts of the mission team, including myself and Amanda.  God moved.

Sunset over the Everett marina.  The sun is finally beginning to go down earlier and come up later!

How do you pick up from a week of missions?  For me, that was not an easy thing.  I had to go back to work on Monday and had a very busy week there, as did the mission team participants.  I'm sure some got back to a "normal" life and things just kept going, but as with last year, I found that my life didn't go on as normal.  I found myself looking out the window wishing I were outside on the streets or spending time in discipleship with some of the people we had met.  Don't get me wrong:  it isn't as though I'm not putting effort into work or attempting to do a good job each day, but my priorities are vastly different.  I noticed the contrast even more because we spent a lot of time with the principals and assistant principals in my district doing professional development.  I recognize in many of them the same ambition that I used to have for building a personal kingdom, achieving more, and making your own name great and recognizable.  Some haven't realized the emptiness of that kind of thing.  They haven't looked up to see that they are on a road that leads to a dead end.

I guess the best way to illustrate my personal change of heart is to pose a couple of questions to you.

Would you behave differently today if you knew tomorrow that you would die?

Would you behave differently today if you knew that the world as we know it wouldn't exist in one month?

These are the very things that I think of.  No I am not dying physically (that I am aware of) and I can't say that I know when the Lord will bring time to an end, but I sense an urgency here that I have never sensed before.  Too frequently in my own life have I gone through one day after another assuming that there will be a tomorrow, that I can share Jesus with someone days, weeks, or months later because "there will be time."  My priorities were skewed.  So what are the implications for people around you if that sense of time is completely wrong?  What if your eyes were opened and you found yourself in the middle of a great battlefield with bullets and shells whizzing over your head?  Would you act differently?  Would you act to save others?

The spiritual reality here in western Washington is that the majority of people here don't know Jesus.  There is no way around that fact.  If you don't believe me you should jump on a plane and walk these streets with me as we ask people who Jesus is to them.  You will be astounded at the responses you get.  This is a battlefield and the shells are flying.

What is God up to in the life of our family?  Amanda and I are not sure.  We do believe that at some point He will lead us to plant a church right here in our neighborhood.  We believe the Lord will provide at least 2 families who will come with us to establish a church and lead it.  We pray daily for those that God is calling, although we don't know who they are.  We have people stepping forward wanting to intern within our ministry.  Spiritual mentors of mine continue to tell me that they see God doing something big in the next year.  Numerous individuals have stepped forward to financially support the ministry, and we practically had a van dropped in our laps within a few short weeks.  More people continue to join EFC Family Gatherings and engage with us in what we are doing.  Things are happening.

While it all continues to come together and while we don't see the final picture clearly, we know this:  it is God that is doing all of these things.  He just happens to have chosen us to be involved in His work.  We sense the Lord moving in the background in exactly the same way that we sensed Him moving last fall.  If you look back at my blog posts from 9 months ago you will see me saying the same things.  God is putting pieces of the puzzle together already, but He has not pulled back the curtain to reveal to us what is afoot.  That will come when He is ready.

Community Pastor Meeting

We met as community pastors this past Thursday at Dan and Jenn's house for our bimonthly meeting regarding ministry and where it is going.  This one was notably different and anticipated because there was so much to discuss about the prior week and what our next steps will be.  Everyone shared amazement at what God had done and how many lives he had impacted through us and the team.  When I looked around the room I saw tired faces but also recognized faces that wanted more!

We currently are working to contact the many families who engaged with our Kid's Club and Family Carnival events to see if they will plug in with the church in some capacity, even if they will only come to Community Group.  Our next challenge is in plugging the people in who accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior last week.  Salvation is only the first step in the journey of becoming a Christian, and if we fail to disciple these individuals it is possible that they may slip back into old ways of thinking.  Discipleship is a long process, so we also have to determine who will take that role on for the long term. 

In addition to all of that, we have upcoming events.  Our community group will be doing a block party on August 23rd as a deliberate outreach to our neighborhood.  The men of the church went on a hike today to Mount Pilchuck.  We also have a community pool party at the end of this month as more community outreach.  And, oh yeah, we are still conducting our Family Gathering services on the weekend.  This is a busy time for all of us.

 A picture from today's hike at Mt. Pilchuck!

Matthew 9:36-38New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Our temptation is and will be to try to pull away and make excuses for not doing or engaging in these activities.  Excuses for this behavior are easy to come by, and realistically we CAN'T do activities all of the time.  We all have families to look after as well, and we have jobs to do during the workweek.  To proceed with activities will require prayer and discernment on all of our parts, and as pastors we will have to have each other's backs, recognizing if one person is lagging behind because they are wearing themselves out.  That's why Christ made us a body, so that each part would help out the other.  Just as your body will only function when it is in one piece, so it is with the church.

These thoughts are tempered by what scripture says.

1 Corinthians 9

²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 9 shows the Apostle Paul's drive to share the Gospel with everyone around him.  When I read it, I don't see a person who engages in some activity and who is well rested.  I see a man who was so driven to share the Gospel that he likely was worn out often.  He was on a mission each and every day.  As it was with Paul, so it is with us.  The work is urgent.

Please continue to pray for us as we seek the Lord's will for our family right now.  Pray for strength for the leaders of EFC, and pray that we would continue to sense urgency in sharing the Gospel.  Pray that we wouldn't initiate activity without first bringing it to the Lord.  Pray for those who are called to come here to work with us, that the Lord would speak clearly to them and that they would simply say "yes" even though they don't have all of the answers right now.  And of course, pray for Everett, that the Holy Spirit would continue to move and would literally be unleashed in this city.

A view of Everett and Puget Sound from the top of Mt. Pilchuck.