The Reservoir

How much of Jesus do you have?

Sometimes I think we treat the Lord as though He is here to fill a giant reservoir in our souls.  We think that if we can go to a certain weekend event it will fill up.  If we just will attend church a little more often, we will see the water level rise incrementally, and then we will have enough water for another week's journey across the desert.  If I just read an extra chapter of the Bible, pick up another Christian book, or listen a little more to that Christian music that I will find myself closer to the Lord and will feel good again.  While you and I have a reservoir in our souls that only He can fill, it is entirely possible that this filling isn't supposed to be an event, but instead should be a continual thing.

The more time I spend in the Pacific Northwest the more I am sure that I have to spend more time with the Lord.  Yes I do get up every morning and pray and read my Bible, but I've found very quickly that it isn't enough to get me through a day here.  Some of you probably read that with some level of surprise.  What?  I've always been taught to do a quiet time in the morning and that would be good enough!  I can say from experience that it isn't good enough.  If the only time I talk to the Lord for the entire day is in the early morning, my reservoir is draining.

What causes this in my life?  Probably the same things that cause it in your life.  We are too busy to have time to pray.  Early meetings at work happen.  A fully scheduled day happens with more meetings, time spent with friends, time spent with family, or time spent (and wasted) looking at those phones that all of us carry.  And at the end of it all when you look up from the day, where did you see God in it all?  He was there, I can assure you, but did you SEE Him working anywhere?

A further drain happens when you have friends who would like spiritual advice, have encounters with neighbors and acquaintances here who do not believe in Jesus, or endure a spiritual attack.  Did you have the armor of God on at that time, or were you relying on this supposed reservoir to save you?  Did you go to your knees in prayer so you can meet these challenges, or did you simply try to push through it on your own?

You and I are not meant to be apart from the Lord, ever.  The great secret that the Lord wants you and I to discover is that He delights in us so much that He WANTS us to be around him and needing him every minute of every day.  And that is why mankind today rebels against God.  It isn't always that we don't believe in Him, it's that we don't want to surrender our lives to Him.  My life is mine to do with as I please, we tell ourselves, and the irony is that slowly over time we lose that very life we aim to so strongly defend.

God wants your time during the day as you work, He wants time in the evening as you spend time with your family, He wants time when you are alone with nothing but your thoughts or your electronic devices.  He wants all of you.  I'm not saying that you are supposed to be in prayer 24 hours a day, although there are worse things you could do.  What I am saying is that He wants you to speak to Him in prayer, listen to His spirit in a mode of waiting, and generally make it so that your life points to Him at all points and in all ways. 

Is the Lord allowed to take your time?
Is He allowed to take your food during a time of fasting and prayer?
Is He allowed to take all of you and not give it back?

John 7:38New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁸ Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”^[a]

^{John 4:9-13}

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Kid's Club Wrap Up

On June 2nd we had our last Kid's Club for the school year.  This particular one was a bit different in that we taught 2 Bible lessons to our kids, and we did it in small groups.  Because God is great and had a plan all along, we "happened" to be at the point to teach about the Passover, so we did a large-group lesson on all of the things the Israelites had to do for the first Passover to prevent the death of the firstborn.  We later broke into small groups and taught the kids about Jesus, the infinite and final Passover lamb.

At the end of it we had 4 kids accept Jesus right on the spot, and another 3 who are right at the doorstep but still have some thinking to do about it.  That's a pretty amazing harvest when you think about it!  I am still amazed sometimes that we live in America and yet I am telling the story of Jesus to people who are hearing about Him for the first time.  That of course was the case on that Tuesday.  What a blessing to see God at work right in that moment.  He surely is doing something through Kid's Club.

We were thankful at the end of that day and very tired at the same time.  Kid's Club has been done with 40 kids for many weeks, all of which was done with only 4-5 adults leading it.  The work has been exhausting, but I still believe the Lord will draw workers to these harvest fields when He is ready to. 

While I can't control who ultimately chooses to join the journey God has us on, I can control how much time I spend with the One who fills my reservoir.  Without Him, I have no hope whatsoever.  With Him, I have all the hope in the universe.

Haystack Rock on the Oregon Coast.  Amanda and I got some time away at this amazing work of God's creation last weekend.

What is your purpose?

Block Party

We just finished a tremendous weekend of ministry here in downtown Everett.  We had a pastor from a potential partner church visit us from Texas, a college-age family member from Austin, and we got Ashleigh back, this time as Intern Ashleigh!  She will be living with us through the summer and helping us to further God's kingdom here in Everett.  

Our big focus of time and attention was advertising for and executing a block party right on my street.  We were much more intentional about it than we were last August.  This time we printed 500 door hangers and canvassed our neighborhood to advertise the event.  Since we had extra help and a lot of kids, the task was pretty easy.  Over two days we got all of them put on doors and waited for the event to come, not knowing if anyone would show up.

 

 Intern Ashleigh with one of the boy's friends.

On Saturday at 5:00 after an hour and a half of exhausting setup, we were ready to go.  Guests started to trickle in from all directions, and before long we had a ton of people on our street.  We took advantage of it by asking them to fill out a survey regarding their opinions on what problems there are in our community and how a new church could help out.  We also continually announced our coming events including our new Gathering which will happen next Saturday at 5:30.

Since we had enough help, Amanda and I and Steve and Janine got to spend time circulating and talking to people.  We were really joyful to connect with people from all walks of life, most of whom are not currently connected to a church.  They gave us their thoughts on what problems exist in north Everett, and a whole bunch of them expressed interest in coming to our Gathering next weekend.  The recurring question we got was "do I have to dress up for this thing?"  I love that question, and was quick to say that, no, they don't need to dress up.  I'll be wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  We're just going to learn about Jesus and try to do the things He commanded us to do.  

This apparently is tradition now.  The epic struggle of Paul vs. everyone else.  Their goal:  destruction.

We had neighbors who thanked us repeatedly for putting this on, but probably the thing that energized us the most was the number of people who want to attend and who want to help out!  We had someone volunteer to play guitar during our Gathering if we just have sheet music available, and others have offered to help us out with Kid's Club.  The survey results were really insightful too, as we had many great ideas on how to do ministry in this community which included outreach for families in poverty all the way to outreach for ex-convicts that are in the community.  I think God really is stirring some hearts here!

When everything was cleaned up after the busy night, I was exhausted and overwhelmed by the grace of God.  Finally I'm beginning to see a clearer picture of what He has brought us here to do.  Finally things make a little bit of sense.  I'm not certain that Purpose Church will stand the test of time, because many new churches do not.  But what I do know is that we are exactly where the Father wants us to be for this season of life.  And His expectation of me is simply to love Him and love people.  He's not a taskmaster or a tough boss.  He's the Father that loves me even when I stumble or doubt, and He will love me regardless of what happens with Purpose Church.  In that I can rest.

What is your purpose?

If I were to ask you what your purpose in life is, what would you say?

Would you tell me about your accomplishments, your goals, your dreams, or your plans?  Would you tell me how you were born to lead people, or that you are born to serve others, or that you are born to have an impact.

On the surface these things all sound very positive and very good.  But as with everything, when you look beneath the surface you see that all of these things are just a decoration painted on a tomb.  You can spend your entire life serving others or leading or achieving much, and still lose your very soul.

I've been challenged over the last few weeks with this very question.  We decided as a church to put the "what is your purpose?" question on t-shirts and wear them around town this summer.  If I'm going to have the question on my shirt, I'd better have a pretty good answer prepared!

Jesus said his purpose was to give his sheep "a rich and satisfying life."  (John 10:9-11)  The purpose of Satan is to "kill and steal and destroy."

So after a lot of thought I finally came to it.  I'm not here to plan a ton of events, preach the truth to thousands of people, or even to have the best family ever.  I'm also not here to "save" thousands of people from their sins as they commit their lives to Jesus.  Don't get me wrong:  all of these things are important and good, but they aren't the reason God put me here on this earth.  Not at all.  It is the Holy Spirit's work to save souls, and you could argue it is His work in me to do the rest of the things in that list as well.

My purpose is simply to point to Jesus Christ in my words and in my actions.  Everyday, and in every way, whether I am at work, at home, driving, preaching, talking to a friend, talking to an enemy, or conversing with my kids.  That is the thing I'm here on earth to do.

What is your purpose?

For Mom

I am blessed to have had two really good parents.  I had a Mom who decided early on to stay at home so she could raise me, and a Dad who worked hard but still was involved in my life.  They both set such a tremendous example for me to try to live up to as a parent of 5 boys, and I think often about what they did with me when we encounter those very same situations with my 5.  The parent’s curse…

Everyone has those moments in life when everything just stops, and even years later you can remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when the event happened.  Thursday April 9th marked the 4-year anniversary of one of those moments for me.  I was unloading a pallet of grass in my front yard with Samuel and Zachary, and the phone rang.

“Paul…she’s gone.”

Mom passed away at St. Luke’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center after a 13-year battle with an awful and rare disease called Scleroderma.  If you’ve never heard of it, you aren’t alone because it doesn’t occur often and the medical profession doesn’t even know what causes it. 

I always mourn during this week even if I’m not trying to.  If you’ve experienced the death of a close loved one you know what I’m talking about.  You’ll find that you are sad and don’t know why, then you look at the calendar and realize that it is a special date marking time you would have spent with that person, and then you remember. 

I want to tell of several of the ways in which she impacted me because I believe it has something to teach all of the parents and future parents out there.  I also believe you will see God’s hand in it, both in how He worked in my life through her and in how He even used the tough things we went through to make us ready for Seattle. Since not all of you have or have had a great Mom, my thoughts on her may not be something you can relate to.  But they are something that you can imitate, because the Lord used her in my life although I didn’t ever realize it at the time.

Does Prayer Work?

When I was in elementary school I can remember my mom periodically suggesting that we pray for my future wife.  That sometimes seemed like a strange thing to do but I always had an excitement that she was out there somewhere and that maybe this God knew who she was and was with her right at that moment.  As best as I can tell, we did that throughout the years but particularly in elementary school. 

If you wonder if prayer works, consider this:  during some of the later elementary school years Amanda was living in El Paso, Texas with her Mom who had been widowed in 1980, left with 3 small kids.  In the succeeding years her Mom dealt with the pain as many people do by drowning it in alcohol.  Their family went through many very difficult times for a string of years afterward until her grandparents interceded and got her Mom the help that she really needed.  For a time, the kids lived with them while their Mom finally confronted alcoholism and overcame it.  She never went back to it for the rest of her life.

Now I have no written records of when we prayed for Amanda as a child, but I am certain of this.  When we prayed, it was in moments when she needed the Lord’s help.  There we were in Kingwood, Texas, praying for a little girl and her family that we didn’t know and knew nothing about.  We just knew we needed to pray.  I strongly believe that those prayers were lifted up at just the moment that Amanda and her family needed it.  God worked in a similar way when both she and I prayed to meet our future spouse, and we both did it around the same time prior to meeting each other.  That’s how God works.

In My Face

Mom was always the one to sit with me when I got home from school and relentlessly press me for information regarding what was going on in my life at the time.  I was typical as a kid, always prepared with the answer of “fine” when asked how I was doing (I still do this too often).  But Mom never let it go and wanted to know how I was doing.  She did it from a good heart and I now realize that her involvement in my life made me trust and respect she and Dad even more. 

Involved, available parents are parents who show they care.  It doesn’t have to be acknowledged verbally.  It is just understood.  Parents like these keep their kids out of trouble not because they are so willing to bring the pain if the kid messes up.  Instead, their kid doesn’t want to disappoint them.

Mom and I used to have big arguments, and upon reflection I know why.  If you know me you know her as well because we were very similar in personality!  But we always made up pretty quickly and I never felt like those things hung around for weeks, months, or years.  They were done.

Divine Providence and a Bigger Plan

I would still tell you that the purpose of me working for Humble ISD as science coordinator for 3 years was so that I would get to spend the last 3 years of Mom’s life with her.  We ate lunch together a whole lot and came full circle during that time.  I was able to really talk with her again and we got to the point where we discussed her life, her declining health, and the death that would soon take her.  Those are special moments that I will never forget.

After experiencing Mom’s funeral in April of 2011 and even speaking at it, which only the Father could have given me the courage to do, I slipped gradually away from the Lord as a deep-set anger set in regarding this loss.  This often happens after an event like this, and events such as this one have the ability to draw you closer to the Lord or push you away.  I was definitely the latter.  I continued teaching Sunday School at our church and even became a deacon, but will acknowledge that the undercurrent of this loss endured.  I could tell you academically about the Lord’s love for people, but I didn’t fully understand it for myself.

Only 6 weeks after her death I was asked to become the associate principal at Summer Creek High School, and fortunately this job gave me a needed distraction from the pain.  But distraction doesn’t mean pain goes away.  It takes a long time to heal from a loss so great. 

Approximately 6 months later we met our future adopted sons Elijah, Isaiah, and Josiah, all of whom had experienced significant loss themselves.  In some ways we have been able to understand their losses because we have gone through some losses ourselves. 

Even in those moments, I privately asked why we as a family were having to deal with such loss, change, and pain.

God in the Darkness

The turning point for me came as we made our mission trip to Seattle in August of 2013.  I approached the trip reluctantly at first although I definitely felt the Lord doing something in having us go on this trip.  The Pacific Northwest just wouldn’t leave our minds, and it had been 4 years since we had been there.  And on this trip, I heard the voice of the King.

“Child, the time has come for you to go.”

It was during this trip that the Lord reminded me that I had much life ahead of me, and that He wanted to take me into deeper relationship with Himself.  During the trip I felt a reawakening, a shift of mindset, and a reminder that God is very personal and very real.  It was as though I had come alive again after that moment, and in doing the Lord’s work I felt more alive than I have ever felt in my life.

Lessons Learned

The Lord had a plan for our family and for me.  He knew that the path of pain and loss were tools to shape us into the people He wanted us to be, and that these tools were preparatory for our future.  Some would say that God is cruel in allowing hard things in our lives, but consider this:

Which is more loving?  To prevent a person from going through hardship and pain even though you know it will make them better, prepare them for the future, and bring them closer to yourself?

OR

Allowing hardship and pain because it is preparation for something much more difficult, and will bring them closer in the only relationship that matters in this life or the next.

Carefully consider your answer.

What can you learn as a parent or future parent from my Mom? 

• Teach your kids to pray, and pray for their future spouse, their protection, and help for their family.  You never know what they are going through at that moment.

• Be involved with your kids and know what they are thinking, know who their friends are, and be willing to coach them at any time. 

• Be willing to put your life on hold for a few years to raise your young kids.  The daily impact you have in the small conversations and interactions with your kids will change them for the long-term.

• Be a model for how to be married successfully to another person.  Fight fair and love unconditionally.

And while I have lost my Mom, I still have a wonderful Dad whom I love dearly, and our relationship endures to this day.  And beyond Dad, I have a big crazy family that has changed everything I ever thought about life.  And even beyond that, I have discovered a God who never ceases to surprise me by His love and compassion for me.  In Seattle, in one of the most spiritually dark places in the United States, I have discovered a Heavenly Father who is all powerful, all loving, and all caring.  I have discovered a God who never gives up on me even when I mess up, who disciplines me as necessary but who doesn’t crush me when I’m down or when I fail Him.  This God chose me before I chose Him.  And the crazy part is that I’m not special.  He feels that way about you as well.

Wrestling with God

Sunset in Everett.  We continue to have an abnormally warm spring and this bright thing keeps coming out often in the sky.  We still haven't identified it.

Genesis 32

²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. ²³ After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.

²⁴ This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. ²⁵ When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

When I was in high school, I had a one-year stint as a wrestler for our school, and it still ranks high on my list of most fun things I have ever done.  I prided myself in strength which usually made up for lack of skill, and when facing other opponents who lacked skill I could usually win.

It seems that in my recent times I have discovered one whom I can’t win against.  I’ve been wrestling with God himself.

In reading our story on this blog you’ve seen various points where I seem to be thrown into confusion asking what I should be doing right now.  It is possible that this mindset doesn’t make sense to some of you.  I can only explain it by saying this:  when you know you’ve been called out of your former life to a place over 2,000 miles from home, and you’ve heard the Lord’s voice telling you to go, once you are in that place and little is happening, the natural question to ask is “what’s next?”  I have gone through periods acting as though I was working for yet another boss who had made demands of me, and I was desperately trying to figure out the nature of this Boss so I could please him.  I’ve even made seemingly pious statements like “I want God to be my boss instead of following the world’s ways.”  But even in making a statement like that, I show two things:  I’m still following the world’s ways, and I don’t fully understand this God and His ways.

In my zeal to do something I’ve tried many ways to connect with the men in our community.  We’ve started a men’s Bible study and I’ve been really trying to spend time with other guys to gauge interest in discipleship.  What I have experienced is rampant frustration.  One by one each of the doors was closed in my face, and in the end I was unable to spend any meaningful time with any of them.  So God, what now?  Time is slipping by and I feel like I’m missing something!  What am I missing?

It turns out I was missing God Himself.  I felt a sense one day from the Lord to just go out on the street during my lunch break and bring nothing but my Bible.

I found a place to sit on a retaining wall near the Everett Transit Center.  A lot of people walk by there on their way to a bus, train, or something else.  Many who pass by are homeless.  After I was situated I opened my Bible and read from Matthew 22:1-14, which has always been a confusing parable to me.

Matthew 22

 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, ² “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. ³ When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

⁴ “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ ⁵ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

⁷ “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. ⁸ And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. ⁹ Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ ¹⁰ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
¹¹ “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. ¹³ Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’’

These questions came to mind as I read:

·      Who were the servants in the story?

·      What were the qualifications for being invited to the banquet?

I quickly came to the realization that the servants in the story are all believers!  This has great implications which I’ll get to.

Second, the qualifications for being invited to the banquet were…that the person was seen.  Go invite everyone you see, the king said. 

Everyone. 
The poor.
The rich.
The good.
The bad. 
The idolaters?  Yes.  Gluttons?  Yes.  Drug abusers?  Yes.  Those who are sexually immoral?  Yes.

And did you notice that it said both the good and the bad were in the banquet hall, and all were wearing the wedding clothes!  People didn’t get to the banquet because they performed a magical set of actions that pleased the king.  They got there because the king chose them first and they accepted the invite.  And where did they pick up the wedding clothes while they were being rushed off to the banquet?  You guessed it.  The king gave them the clothes too.  They just had to dress in the king's clothing and show up.

The verse I zeroed in on was vs 9 “Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.”  I just read it over and over and over again.

When I finally looked up, I saw a guy walk past me, but the thing that stuck out to me was his shirt.  While it is difficult to make out in the picture, he had a logo on the back that is very similar to the logo of Purpose Church.  I really couldn’t believe my eyes.  I didn’t run after this guy and start talking to him.  Instead I felt the Lord reminding me that here, right here, is an example of how I need to be looking at things.  I need to focus my attention on inviting everyone I see to the banquet, which is coming to know the King of Kings and live in relationship with Him forever.  That’s the task here, and that’s the task everywhere.  That’s the task of believers.  I am to invite whether I am around 1,000 people or whether I only see and speak to 2.

What I have to remember, and this part is admittedly hard, is that just because I invite doesn’t mean that people will accept the invitation.  Many will go to their jobs instead because they are trying to build a personal kingdom.  Many will go to something else, to another idol, to drugs and alcohol, to riches instead of accepting the free invitation to this kingdom that isn’t of the world.  I can’t take it personally because, as Jesus said, “they aren’t rejecting you, they are rejecting me.”

The good news for me and for those of you who also find yourselves in the desert is that you are not alone.  You are there because God is there, and He wants you and wants you to know Him more.  Embrace the silence and the solitude of it and listen for His voice.  He is there and has been there all along.  There is nothing you need to do or say.  Just run to Him.

Who have you invited to the banquet lately?  They are out there on the street corners and living next door to you.  They are at work with you and in the parks and at the gym you work out in.  Will you work to usher them into the banquet hall?

A New Leaf

 

The sun is slowly beginning its comeback!  It now is coming up just after 7am and we have it until 5:30 in the afternoon!  Sunlight is a wonderful thing.

 

Texas Trip Recap

God's hand is in everything around us, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we like it or not.  This theme of the Bible has been shown to me again this week, and I see once again among life around us that God is at work.  The picture He is painting isn't quite clear yet, but His work is quite evident.  Let me show you how.

Last week Amanda and I were able to fly to Texas alone (immediately it hit the criteria as a date!) and visited churches all over the state to see who might be interested in partnering with us in this new work God is doing in Everett, Washington.  We spent most of our time with our beloved sending church and biggest supporter, Humble Area's First Baptist Church, speaking to various groups on Sunday morning.  We briefly spoke during both services in an invitational manner to see who might be willing to at least entertain the idea of doing one or all of the following:  joining our prayer team, coming on a mission trip, giving financially, becoming an intern with us for 6-12 months, or moving their family to Washington to join us.

It was a great morning and was a complete whirlwind as we saw old friends and made new ones, but the thing that really got my attention was what happened after church.  We were going to host a 30 minute session after the second service for anyone interested in Everett in any way.  Now typically people leave church as quick as they can after the service because they have hungry children and they themselves are hungry, and because it's usually 12:15 by that time.  We weren't offering any food or any other thing other than to provide information about Everett.  I was a bit concerned but just figured, "hey, God will do what He wants to do with this."

When that time came I was very surprised at the turnout.  We had somewhere between 30 and 40 people who came to hear us talk about how they could help.  We were given 30 minutes but as we gauged audience interest and answered questions, it stretched to nearly double that.  And nobody was looking at their watch, and nobody got up to leave.

Afterward we had a number of people commit to come to one of 3 mission trips to Everett, others committed to pray, still others wrote checks to cover the cost of some immediate needs we have, and several others came up to tell us they were considering moving to Everett.  Yes, people wanted to move to Everett to work with us.

Over the next few days we heard from people who had heard from the Lord who was telling them things like "step out of the boat and walk on water" or "take the risk."  So this very day we have people who continue to pray for us and who are continuing to consider what God might have them do about Everett. 

This really made me realize upon looking up that we had a great big pillar of cloud ahead of us, moving ahead.  You may recall in reading Exodus that the Lord took the form of a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night as He led the Israelites away from slavery and into His arms.  I sense Him doing something similar with us.  Yes we prayed prior to the trip and had others praying, yes we have been praying for people to partner with us in this new work God is doing, yes we believed He'd do these things one way or another at the time of His choosing.  But I am still in awe in times like this seeing that He has gone ahead of us.  We showed up for the trip and landed in Texas, but God really did it all.  I don't have the ability to stir hearts like He has. 

We were overjoyed the following Monday to begin talking with our friends at Humble Area's First about an idea of having a training program for anyone who was wanting to be sent into a mission field.  These individuals would, for a time, learn some ins and outs of ministry prior to being sent so that when they do go, they aren't starting from a blank slate.  Apparently God is doing something there as well because the idea had been on my mind for a few weeks and the pastors at the church also were thinking about it prior to us talking.  Once again, I don't have the ability to stir hearts like that.  The pillar of cloud was still ahead of us leading us on.

Later that week we were privileged to travel to Corpus Christi and Austin to speak to some other churches about partnering with us for the long term.  They are currently praying over that and considering what God would have them do.  We ended the trip by speaking to a youth group in Austin about what God wants from you when He calls you to a new work.

We headed home last Thursday both tired and excited.  We love Texas and loved getting to see so many of our friends, but we found we had missed home in Washington.  We missed the quirky people, the city, the weather (well...maybe not that), the everyday life that we have come to know there.  God has shown us that home is where He plants us, and He is there.  For us, that isn't Texas anymore.

What Happens Now

This week I will begin a rapid transition into some more formal training.  I will begin an apprenticeship at Lifepoint Church in Lynwood.  We are not going there to serve, rather we are there to observe, ask questions, and learn from church planters who have gone down the road we are on and seen some success.  I'm excited about it because it represents an opportunity to learn some more.  In being involved with ministry at EFC, I've learned a whole lot.  This will just be a continuation of the learning with a new church and a new perspective, always a valuable thing.

We still anticipate doing many outreach events in the coming months in preparation for a formal launch within 9-12 months.  Unresolved in my mind was where we would get the people to do the legwork for many of these events.  Now I know.  God is sending many from Texas to help, and we still have offers from EFC to help us out.  God has stirred hearts once more, and I am really feeling as though I need to think bigger than I have.

Isaiah 55:8-9

⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

What we must be diligent to do here is to pray, asking the Lord to provide the resources we need when we need them.  We also must pray for those who are feeling God's call to the Northwest just as we did, that they would be courageous and faithful to follow.  We also must pray for the churches who are considering partnering with us, that the Lord Himself would choose who we will work with.  And at that, we leave things where they should be, in God's hands.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of the ways in which you can participate in God's work in the Northwest, go to our website at www.everettpurpose.org/partner.

 

Our Gentiles

 A spider web covered in water droplets in downtown Everett.  It seems everything is covered in water these days...

Maybe I don’t have the strength
Maybe I don’t have the faith
You brought me here in 40 years
I know this trip should take a week
I’ve shed my tears and shed my blood
Been held ransom by the flood
The winter steals my songs away
In all of this I come undone

"You are Mine"  Enter the Worship Circle.  Chair and Microphone.

Recently I found myself asking the Lord who my Gentiles are.  If you aren't familiar with the Bible, this may not make a lot of sense to you.  The Apostle Paul determined after a period of his ministry that he had been sent to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles instead of the Jews.

I have wrestled with this idea since moving to Everett.  Who was I sent to proclaim Jesus to?  Initially I believed that our ministry might be directly working with the homeless, but the Lord repeatedly showed me that this was not the case.  Is it people who are at their lowest point in life, drug or alcohol addicted and in despair?  There have been cases of working with such as these, but that door also has not flung open like I would have expected.  So who are our Gentiles?

Really this was a dumb question to ask, and sometimes I think the Father must quietly chuckle at my hard-headedness and blindness.  I have come to realize over the last 2 weeks that our Gentiles are kids.  In the midst of my wandering and questioning about who we are here to minister to, I often was wandering through a room full of noisy kids.  I kept thinking, "if it weren't for all of this noise I could actually think this thing through!"  And right in front of my nose our Gentiles were there waiting.

We were told yesterday that our home being a magnet for kids in the Pacific Northwest is an unusual thing.  I had no idea.  We regularly have 6-8 kids in our house when I get home from work, and sometimes 10.  Yes 5 of them are mine, but the other 5 are not, and they come from some very diverse and sometimes broken backgrounds.  So here the Lord has delivered a group of people to us who need Jesus, and for a time I have just ignored it.

Now that I know who our Gentiles are, I have discovered that I needed an attitude adjustment toward them.  My patience is frequently tested by these guys, but what they want is time with me!  They want to play and be rough and hurt each other (and particularly hurt me!) and laugh and scream.  So the Lord's response on my dangerous prayer for patience has been immediate.  Now when I come home I have at least one extra kid every day, and at least 1 extra kid to feed dinner to.  That may not be a big deal to you but it is a very big deal to me.  Many times I just want to come home and have a little peace and quiet.  Many times I want to look at our budget and proclaim that we can't keep feeding everyone who comes to our house.  But while I know I could control it and make immediate changes, I'm also aware by the Spirit of the Lord that I'm not supposed to do that.

And here is a great example of why spouses are important.  Amanda fills those gaps I have in patience, in hospitality, and in sensitivity.  Yes, I fill gaps she has too.  Filled gaps make for a good marriage.  I have her back and she has mine big-time.

Plans for the Gentiles

Next month we plan to begin an after-school ministry once per week at the boy's elementary school.  We'll play games with the kids that show up, do a little teaching about Jesus, play some more games and pray together.  I have heard that last year the PE coach agreed to be available after school with some games and balls and about 100 kids showed up to play.  God is doing something exciting here with kids, so we're going to join in the fray and just embrace it!

Our long-term goal will be to access the parents through the kids.  This will require long-term relationship building with the kids and the parents, but this kind of thing has been successful in the past.  But let's face it:  if the Lord isn't in it we won't have any level of success, and that has been a prayer of ours.  Please join us in praying that God would make His name great through this new activity!

Do Not Be Discouraged

 This was a picture I took on one of my recent morning runs.  It is largely symbolic of our experience in Everett.  Darkness almost everywhere with some bright lights to light the way through the fog.

If you've followed this blog for any length of time you know that my own emotions have ebbed and flowed since moving here.  I've tried to be transparent on this for two reasons.  First I want the Lord to be glorified in what changes He's making to me.  Second, some of you may be walking through life with similar struggles and maybe these stories will speak to you.  The Lord can use a donkey to speak truth, so he can use me and this blog too!

My ongoing struggle as a new church planter is with all of the voices in my ear telling me what they think I need to do.  All of them are well-meaning and many of them speak from experience.  Some ask good questions that I have too, and some voice opinions regarding our next steps.  While I like listening to what others think and do believe the Lord can speak through them, I have found a very disconcerting pattern recently in that many of the voices have introduced confusion and dismay for me and Amanda.

Here are some of the questions and comments we have entertained in the last month:

• Seems strange to plant a church right here.  There are a bunch of other churches around you!
• Have you ever considered going on staff with another church rather than starting a new one?
• You're going to need a coach to help you clarify your vision.
• You don't need a coach to clarify your vision.  The Lord can do that for you.
• You need funding.
• You don't need funding.
• You should really reconsider being full-time in ministry.  Where will your time come from?
• You should be bivocational.  That's the only way this thing will work financially.
• Why leave EFC?  Isn't God doing things there too?
• Didn't you say you'd be doing things with the homeless? 

Over time these well-meaning questions have really started to get to me.  It isn't that I'm upset with the people who ask them.  In fact, I've asked myself these very same things and can give a semi-coherent answer to each one of them.   I think many of them are asked so that I can clarify in my own mind what the Lord is telling me.  However, at the same time I also know that we face an enemy who would love nothing more than to introduce confusion, delay, frustration, and despair.  The pattern I'm noticing seems to fit that mold.

I found myself in one of those extended down periods this week where I question why we are here.  I'm supposed to have the answers and sometimes I don't!  I'm supposed to be a leader who has a crystal clear vision and a slick advertisement for it that I can speak to, but I don't!  Therefore, I must be a failed leader altogether.

Thankfully we have a God who can reach through the fog of our hearts, a God who sees us for who we are and who we are going to be.  We have a God who cares deeply for our very souls and wants us to follow Him on paths that don't make sense to the world and paths that are narrow and obscured by thorns and briars.

During my quiet time I tend to read passages from 2-3 separate books of the Bible and look for patterns.  In the patterns and repetition the Lord tends to speak.  Here's what God told me during quiet time earlier this week.  See if you can see the pattern that I did.

 Joshua 1

⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Isaiah 41

⁸ “But as for you, Israel my servant,
    Jacob my chosen one,
    descended from Abraham my friend,
⁹ I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
    saying, ‘You are my servant.’
For I have chosen you
    and will not throw you away.
¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Did you see it?  "Do not be discouraged.  I am with you."

He didn't tell me it would be easy, or that we'd be massively successful, or that leaders would catch the vision and join us, or that we'd have much rest, or that the Pacific Northwest would finally turn to the Lord for good.  What He did say is that His presence would be there with me, and that He's here now.  This is the Leader I follow.  This is the God I love, but with love that He gave me first...by His choice!

The enemy sometimes whispers in my ear that I'm no good and can't do it.  I sometimes believe that the Lord is angry with me or that I've disappointed Him long-term and don't get it.  In those times, if I will just stop and listen, I'll hear that voice encouraging me on, telling me that I am loved and valued and cherished.  I look up in the darkness to see that bright light shining on the path and hear the voice saying once again "go this way!"  This God doesn't lead people to dead-ends, and He doesn't stop loving.  Ever.   

When you look at us you will see many things that don't make sense.

No seminary training or professional ministry experience.

Living in a neighborhood with other churches meeting in our area.

Offers of employment at local churches turned down only because I sensed it wasn't the way to go.

Moving here without a plan other than to say God led us here.

Moving here without a place to live initially.

Picking a community to live in based upon the job that is offered to me.

No leadership team that moved here with us.

Leaving a church here that has a strengthening ministry just because we sense something more ahead in our neighborhood.

But then I realize God has a pattern of doing things that don't make a lot of sense to we humans:

• Asking his "friend" Abraham to sacrifice his son, the very son that He had promised to him for many years.
• The Savior being born to a virgin.
• God calling and using Gideon, a coward who was in hiding, to be his instrument for delivering freedom to Israel.
• Delivering Israel from the Egyptians by having them walk through the parted waters of the Red Sea.
• Taking one of the greatest threats to Christianity (Paul) and repurposing him to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentile world.
• Taking the expected King who would set us all free and usher in a new kingdom and killing Him.

I could list these things endlessly today but it isn't necessary.  Read what the Bible says and you'll see the pattern:  the Lord's ways don't make sense to man.  Strangely this brings comfort to me because we are on a path that absolutely makes no sense.  Could it be that this is in fact the path that the Lord wants us on?  I think the answer is yes.

If you are down as I have been, searching for meaning and answers from the Lord, my prayer for you today is that you will be encouraged and find the Lord in the midst of it all.  

 

Limitless

 A sidewalk on Grand Avenue Park in Everett as the sun sets.  Once again this picture is quite symbolic of where we are now.  The compass represents the fact that we could literally go in any direction at this moment.  Which direction will the Lord take us?

I'm finally getting to enjoy a quieter season of life while off work for a couple of weeks on top of backing out of leadership at EFC.  We're now back to waiting on God, which is not a bad place to be except if you are wired like I am.  That of course is exactly why God has me wait so often, to remind me of His sovereignty in my life and over everything around me.  He doesn't need me to make some effort on my own apart from Him, because it will fail and will exhaust me.  He didn't need the Israelites to take the Promised Land either.  In fact, He set it up so that they would fail if they tried to do it on their own, and fail they did!

I feel over the last few weeks that God has been challenging me to ask Him for things that are huge for this new ministry we are beginning.  Things that are God-sized and not man-sized.  Things that will fail if only I am in it but will prosper if only He is in it.  Things that will show our community that there is a living God, only one, and that He cares for them.

Isaiah 7:10-14New Living Translation (NLT)

The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.^[a]”

¹² But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”
¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? ¹⁴ All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin^[b] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

My main problem has been determining what I should ask of the Lord.  Don't get me wrong, I never believe we should treat Him like some kind of glorified genie.  God wants a relationship with us first, and there are times when He glorifies himself by taking very visible actions that remind us that He is God!

The Seattle Space Needle reflected in the EMP Museum in downtown Seattle.

One of my big concerns over the last month has been in recruiting leaders to come work with our new church.  Immediate needs include a children's pastor and a worship leader, but we also need a few families to uproot themselves and come to work with us here, discipling people along the way as they work and live life here.  So far we have had no individuals drop out of the sky or show up on our doorstep, so it is easy for doubt to creep in and begin thinking that it won't happen.  This week during my doubts God showed me how big He really is.

I was at work this Thursday and had gone to meet with a friend over lunch.  Upon returning I saw a post-it note on my computer with a Houston phone number on it and a name I'd never seen.  It simply said "calling from Houston-ask me about this."  I turned to my coworker to inquire about it, and her eyes lit up.  

"I felt like I was talking to you!", she said.  "This person on the phone said she lives in Houston and feels 'called' to come to Everett.  She's never been here and doesn't know anyone who lives here.  She has questions about enrolling her kids in school and I figured who better to tell her about that than you!"

I was really curious at this point so I took my personal cell phone with me to make a call in one of our meeting rooms.  When the woman picked up, I explained that I worked for Everett Public Schools and was returning her call regarding enrolling her children in school.  She then proceeded to explain that she felt "called" to come to Everett.  Taking a risk, I stopped her and asked "please elaborate for me.  What do you mean you feel called?"

She then explained that God had shown her family that they were supposed to move to Everett.  She wasn't sure why, but proceeded to name multiple things that had told her that God was in it.  I listened and then had an opportunity to tell her that the exact thing had happened to us 13 months ago, and that we'd come to be church planters in Everett.  She admitted this was not why she was coming to Everett, but was intrigued by the idea and admitted she had no idea about the spiritual darkness here in the Pacific Northwest.  I made sure she had my number so she could call back with further questions and we parted ways.

Now here's the part where God taught me a lesson.  In talking to my colleagues who have desks around me, this initial phone call had been bounced around a lot.  The woman had originally called our main number.  The normal receptionist was on a break so the fill-in person routed the call to the proper person, who also was not at her desk.  So the call came back to the receptionist's desk who, now confused, routed it to a person in my area of the building.  However, this person, while available, didn't have the information the woman needed and forwarded the call to someone in my department.  At that point, after she heard the story, she insisted that the woman talk to me.  I was the 5th desk this call had been routed to.

I have no idea whether we will encounter this family in the future or not, and that's actually not the point.  What I took from this was that God was giving me a personal tutorial on sovereignty.  I have believed for too long that I needed to initiate things like this, reach out to the right people, and make things happen.  

I heard God say, "Paul, that call was randomly routed 4 times before it came to you, and I made that happen.  It was easy, and it was planned.  I am aware of what you need and am in control.  You don't need to worry." 

 2 Kings 6:13-17New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ “Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”
And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” ¹⁴ So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.
¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

I shouldn't be surprised by this, but still I am.  I'm amazed at what God can do.  There is no one like Him.  We are resolved to continue praying over the future and leaving it to Him.

 A snowy scene near Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountain range.