Focus 40: part 5

In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his followers that they will be his witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The remainder of the book of Acts recounts how their witness to the gospel spread from Jerusalem out...in the concentric circles he described. A lot of times I think the church today fails to recognize we are the product of a long list of witnesses. Think about it. If you are a believer, it is because someone shared with you the good news about Jesus Christ. What we do today in the church is a continuation of what Jesus told his followers to do about two thousand years ago. We are witnesses in our city. We are witnesses in our region. And we are witnesses to the world.

#5 - Missions in Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, & World

At the Water's Edge, we say we are called to be witnesses "in Virginia Beach, to all of Hampton Roads, and to the world". As we pray for a missionary spirit, my specific prayer is that our witness extend beyond the walls of our building and into our homes, our neighborhoods, and our workplace. I pray that our church would have favor with God and man as we further our witness in the Hampton Roads region. And beyond that, I pray for the ministries of those we support around the world, specifically in Micronesia and Honduras. I'm excited to visit the Ocote Church this summer. Pastor Danny leads the Honduran congregation there. I'm eager to discuss how our partnership with them can serve to help further the kingdom of God . . . "to the end of the earth." 

Focus 40: part 4

On Sunday, March 30th, we celebrated what we call "Family Sunday." It was an exciting day for us at the Water's Edge Church. We had student ushers & greeters welcoming everyone as they came in. Our children proclaimed the big-ness of our God through song as they performed on stage. The student ministry presented video & testimony from their previous weekend at the state youth convention. And the student band moved several people to tears as they led us in a time of passionate worship. On top of all of that, two of our members dedicated their child to God as they vowed to "train him up in the way he should go" and were challenged to leave a legacy.

As we take a look at #4 of our Top Ten Prayer Priorities as a church, I just want to throw out some reasons why we should be praying for our children & student ministries.

#4 - Children & Student Ministries

• We have a responsibility. This is true for parents who hold the primary responsibility for the spiritual formation of their child and for the church in its supplemental role. 
• Time flies. We have a limited window of opportunity to invest in the lives of our young people before they leave the nest. There are 936 weeks from the time a child is born until their 18th birthday. Each week counts. As a church, that means every Sunday matters. 
• It is hard work. We need to be praying for parents & ministry leaders to continue to press on, holding to the truth that our labor is not in vain. 
• Growing up is becoming increasingly difficult. Older people usually disagree with this statement because times were tougher back in the day. True. But growing up today is a different kind of tough. The values of our culture have placed ridiculous social expectations and pressures on young people. And it's killing them. Literally. Suicide rates continue to increase among teenagers. 
• Identity is everything to a young person. I once heard someone say, "If you live for people's acceptance you'll die from their rejection." The messages young people hear shape their identity, values, and sense of self-worth. Everything we allow to enter into our minds has a message: music, television, entertainment, conversation with our peers, etc. The church proclaims a message that wraps up our identity and value in Christ. Our young people need to hear that good news.  To be in Christ is to increasingly become who God created us to be. Not what the world shapes us to be. Our self-worth is found in the One who made us. And he thinks we are worth dying for. 

Focus 40: part 3

Today marks the midway point in our 40 day journey. Easter is in 20 days! I've been so encouraged by the unfolding of God's plan before us as we've continued to bring repeated prayer before Him. There is something to being persistent in prayer. I think Jesus said something about that. In fact, just check it out for yourself. (see Luke 18:1-8, emphasis on the first verse)

#3 - Church Health & Growth
Church leaders are so used to hearing these words and would give their right arm to see their ministries grow & be healthy. In fact, leaders are so desperate they tend to cycle through dozens of books and attend numerous conferences and seminars on this very topic. We look at what others are doing and think if we just did it that way, we too can be "successful." As I've personally been praying for health & growth at the Waters Edge Church, I keep coming back to a statement Jesus himself made. He said, "I will build my church." And another one. "Follow me."

I think he meant what he said. Call me simple.

I also don't think those two statements can be divorced in the hearts of those he has chosen to lead his people. What I mean is, we can become so obsessed with "building the church" ourselves (and our egos), we forget it's his work. Then we say "Follow me." And fail to point people to the beauty and glory of Christ as revealed in the gospel.

Focus 40: part 2

Today is day 6 of 40. We're closing out this first week and my heart beams as my mind replays the scene at the conclusion of our service yesterday morning. The picture of so many coming forward, linking arms, and acknowledging the need to seek reconciliation in our relationships and unity in our mission. We have to if we want to be legitimate. It's not optional. Not in the kingdom.

#2 - A Spirit of Revival/Renewal 
As we look to the second item on our "Top Ten" prayer priorities, we next cry out for a "spirit of revival/renewal." The plea for revival is an acknowledgment that while our hearts have been made alive, occasionally we need to be resuscitated. So we pray along with the psalmist, "Restore us, O God of our salvation . . . will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Psalm 85:4,6). My specific prayer is that God would renew your passion over this 40 day period, that Christ would be the supreme object of all your affections, and that our joy would be made complete in him.


The next obstacle in our way is bigger than the last. It's the largest we will encounter and one with whom we will continually do battle. Namely, our pride. Revival only truly comes to the broken hearted, the lowly. There is only One who is deserving to be "high and lifted up" . . .


For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite" (Isaiah 57:15). 

Focus 40: part 1

Today marks the beginning of "Focus 40" for the Waters Edge Church and many other churches across the globe. Over the next 40 days leading up to Easter, we are challenging one another to really lean in with a laser-like focus on our pursuit of the will of Jesus Christ for us as a church and as individuals. We have small groups meeting in homes to pray and encourage one another, resources available on fasting, prayer guides, and a 40 day devotional booklet. The elders have produced a "Top Ten" Prayer Priority list specifically for WEC. This post is the first of ten that will highlight those prayer needs. The list doesn't appear in any specific order, but is simply a compilation of what we want to bring into Focus for our church.

#1 -Reconciliation & Unity in the Body
Even good people with good intentions offend others. We sometimes cause heartache even to those we love most. It's what sinful human beings do. Forgiven human-beings, however, recognize the importance of reconciliation and the power of forgiveness. The bible instructs us, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Romans 12:18, ESV). This requires us to be ambassadors of reconciliation and agents of grace.

As we pray for reconciliation & unity in the Body, specifically at WEC, we have to humble ourselves and look inward. We have to ask God to search our innermost being and bring to surface any bitterness or unforgiveness in our hearts toward others. Some of it may have been lying dormant for years, slowly gnawing away at our ability to truly love. Some of us may need to ask for forgiveness. Some may need to extend open arms and forgive others. Regardless....it matters. Here's why.

"if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15, ESV).

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21, ESV).

Getting Started

"For this reason I remind you to fan
 into flame the gift of God, which is in you
through the laying on of my hands" (2 Tim 1:6)

Transitioning in ministry can be a daunting task. This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions as we left our dearest family members, intimate friendships, a church & staff we love, and the first home we purchased. Lisa and I have been describing our feelings with the words of the Apostle Paul, "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor 6:10).  We were overwhelmed by the love poured out as we departed with the laying on of hands and prayer our last Sunday at the Towne Church.

Following Jesus isn't always easy. He never promised that it would be. However, he did promise that it would be worth it. These words have been amplified in my mind over the past couple of months as I came to recognize his call to leave our ministry setting at Towne to become the lead pastor of the Waters Edge Church in Virginia Beach: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). The condition of his promise is that the leaving would be "for his name's sake." Our hearts are resolved. We are here to spread a passion for his name in Virginia Beach and all the surrounding areas. 

Members of the Waters Edge Church in
VA Beach that helped unload the moving truck

Dan Levy, a church member at Waters Edge, reminded me that "God's family is all over the world" and that we are temporarily "separating from one part of God's family to shepherd another part of God's family." We have certainly felt the love as Waters Edge has extended its arm to receive us. Monday evening we arrived in Virginia to a team of people unloading the moving truck. Our hosts, Larry and Peggy, have been more than gracious in opening their home to us. They have all been waiting . . . it's time to put our hand to the plow.