What I've Learned (so far)

As the church planter who helped start RBCC and now serves as the lead pastor, I have a very big desire to see Rock Bridge be all that God wants us to be.  I have struggled a lot with what is my role in that pursuit and what is God's role.  More often that not I have erred on the side of "if it is to be, it is up to me." This mentality pushed me to work really hard and do my best.  Doing your best and working hard can produce positive results and make us feel good (about ourselves) but the danger is that we start relying on our "best" (which is no where close to God's best) and our hard work instead of the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we become self-reliant, not Christ-dependent ... and our self-reliance becomes like a god that feeds the ego and pushes away the God of the Bible who declares that "apart from Him we can do nothing". These sinful patterns also produce the stress and weight of undue responsibility. Hard things for a pastor to admit ... but perhaps I did not really know how to rely on God.  But when do we really have to rely just on God?

Then the bottom fell out.  My neat little world with all my natural tendencies were rocked by Beth's unconventional and untimely illness and the treatment it required for her to have a chance to live.  For once, nothing was up to me ... not the "success" of Rock Bridge or the outcome of Beth's treatment.  For once, I had to essentially stop pastoring Rock Bridge during the critical month of Beth's transplant.  For once, all I could really do was pray, turn to the Scriptures, and lean into the encouragement of my church family.  While I'm still seeking to process much of this, there are some common themes emerging--

• I am way more sinful than I imagined. The degree of self-reliance in me was/is strong and so natural that I did not even see it as sin.  Even my strategies for fighting sin where sinful in their humanistic, self-help tendencies. This fight is far from over, but at least I see the enemy more clearly now.


• All sin is a result of unbelief, and all spiritual growth & joy are the results of belief. This really simplifies Christianity.  The struggle is not to do more; rather it is to believe more and to trust more.  It is as simple (or hard) as getting onto an airplane -- you either believe it will fly or you don't.  There really is no middle ground. I'm finding that the middle ground is losing ground in my life as I learn to see my life in terms of where I believe God and where I don't.  Where I believe Him there is much joy and the peace;  and where I don't believe Him, I am praying like the father in Mark 9 -- "I believe, help my unbelief!"


• Our work is to respond to God's. God is responsible for building churches and saving sinners.  God is responsible for conforming His children into the likeness of His Son.  To cast all responsibility on God means resting in the power of the Gospel, trusting in the production power of His Word & Spirit, and praying based on His character and not your circumstances.


• Rock Bridge is healthy. I could make this point with our attendance, baptisms, small group launches, and special offering numbers BUT those things alone don't make a healthy church.  I have seen this church in a different light and the view is amazing!! We are not a perfect church (far from it) but we are seeking to be a biblical church ... and that pursuit did not slow down, suffer, or lose momentum because of my family's situation or my absence ... AND in many ways Rock Bridge has sped up!!


• It is possible to be satisfied with Jesus Christ ... and nothing more. This is what the Scriptures claim and the lives of the apostles model, but very rarely are we forced into "just Jesus" dependence so we can really taste "just Jesus" satisfaction.  I can't say that I live this truth every day, but I can say that for a few moments I got there (or rather God got me there) ... and it was better than great.  To push past circumstances, empty yourself of yourself, and just press into Jesus was/is beautiful and wonderful!

Weekly Rundown (01.30.2011)

• Great to be back on the ground in Georgia for another 4 days: seeing our boys, being at church, seeing the N. GA mountains ... priceless!


• January is always an interesting month.  Attendance is usually up (which it is) but giving is usually down (which it is). Crazy how that works as a type of "calendar conspiracy": new year of promise combined with fewer travel plans = higher attendance while the post-holiday budget is much tighter.
  
  
  
  • We continue to seek God's wisdom and favor over our church finances.  Our local economy is still depressed but we have a budget that reflects faith in God's economy as we seek to be even more generous as a congregation in the area of local and global missions.
  
  
  
  


• Next week we'll conclude the Faith Pirates series by discussing a very challenging subject: suffering and what it can do to faith.  This is obviously a very "raw" time and subject for my own family so I would appreciate the prayers.  Also, many of you know people who are suffering and struggling, this is a GREAT time to bring them to church with you ... and pray that they receive love and compassion!!


• Our staff is thinking through some great things about to simplify our process of communicating and connecting people into the life of our church and onto a path of spiritual growth.


• Had a great conference "skype" call this week with Jim Tomberlin.  Jim is one of the leading voices and experts in the multi-site movement in the American church.  He really helped us understand more about where we are as a multi-site church and how to continue thinking through the challenges and opportunities multi-site brings.  A few highlights:
  
  
  
  • Our multi-sites are doing well when compared to national averages.
  
  
  • Multi-site campuses have higher growth %'s than the original campuses.
  
  
  • Church mergers (two or more churches combining) is becoming more and more of a trend for a few reasons:
    
    
    
    • Some churches are stuck and in decline; being adopted into another church helps leverage resources and infuse health.
    
    
    • Churches are asking, "Could the kingdom advance farther and faster if we worked together?"
    
    
    • Churches are seeing themselves as part of God's kingdom as opposed to part of a denomination or an entity unto themselves.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Lots of churches will start 1 or 2 sites; the leadership challenge is the steepest when operating 4+ campuses. However, getting to 4+ or more campuses starts to create a "movement" effect where a church's impact for Christ goes beyond the local community and spreads into an entire region or state (or nation!).
  
  
  
  


• Beth continues to show remarkable progress!  Our boys are doing great (and in great hands ... thanks family!)!  We cannot thank you enough for your prayers, love, and support.

From NYC: An Update on Beth

We have much to thank God for as we approach 4 weeks since Beth's bone marrow transplant and much to continue to place before Him in prayer.  Beth received her donor's stem cells on Dec. 29th, she engrafted on Day +9 from transplant, and was released from the hospital on Day +20 (last week).  These milestones occurred sooner than any of us expected, and for that we thank God.

Beth is currently in an outpatient status and returns to the hospital's day clinic 2 times a week for a check-up and lab work.  She continues to get stronger every day and her appetite (and taste buds) are returning.  Her blood counts are stabilizing and starting to increase.

Because of the risk of infection Beth is limited to the apartment and (weather permitting) to walks outside in open, non-crowded places.  Additionally, she remains on a low microbial diet. The doctors continue to stay vigilant to prevent Graft Versus Host Disease which can show up at different times in the post-transplant phases.  For these reasons Beth must remain near the hospital through May or June.  We hope she can be around our boys sometime in early Spring as her immune continues to strengthen so we can bring them to the Big Apple to see their Mommy :)

Prayer Requests:

• This Thursday Beth has her first bone marrow biopsy since the transplant. This is to verify that her old cells (and the leukemia cells) were killed by the radiation and chemotherapy and that all of her blood cells are donor cells.
  
  
  
  • Please pray specifically for 100% donor cells!!
  
  
  
  


• For continued protection against infections: bacterial, fungus, and viral.


• For NO Graft Versus Host Disease.


• For her "cabin fever" to be at least manageable :)

Again, thanks so much for ALL the prayers and encouragement.

Weekly Rundown (1.23.2011)

• Great to be back in Georgia for a full weekend (Thursday-Sunday). We love our church family so much!


• This past weekend's big idea:  We need to safeguard our alliance of reliance upon God.


• Had some great meetings on Friday just getting caught up on various things in the church.  Really excited to learn about great momentum in many of our ministries and at our campuses!!


• We bought lots of Bibles to give to believers in Burma where Bible distribution is illegal.  Please pray for people who need the Gospel and those who are following Christ at great peril to their physical life.


• Several things coming up: baptism celebration, another 24:00 hours of prayer (Feb. 2-3), and mission trips to Haiti, Honduras, and the Ukraine.


• We are continuing to pursue wisdom about multi-site strategies and how best it should work as our church grows in influence and thus in responsibility for making disciples.  We foresee more opportunities to start new campuses on the horizon, recognizing the great need for healthy, outreach focused, disciple-making church environments all over our area.


• Beth is doing better everyday.  We feel your prayers and still need them for her continued recovery.  We are still not out of the woods yet ... but we can see the light ahead!!


• Have a great week!

Bone Marrow Engrafted!!

We received great news from our doctor today: the stem cells Beth received have officially and medically engrafted and are producing new cells!!  Engraftment is defined as 3 consecutive days of a neutrophil (a type of white blood cell) count above 0.5.

James 1:17a -- "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father"

We are very thankful this morning for God's grace and mercy, the wisdom of our doctors, and the prayers & support from our family and friends.  The battle is still not over as we guard and pray against infections, Graft Versus Host Disease, and organ toxicity. Because of these potential dangers, Beth will remain in the hospital for awhile longer and once released will be monitored as an outpatient here in NYC for 4-6 months.  So we still have a long road ahead and are taking it one day at a time but but we reached a major milestone today!!

Please continue to pray for the recovery of our friends Edwin & John.

[caption id="attachment_1486" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Beth receiving stem cell transplant on Dec. 29th"][/caption]

Weekly Rundown (1.3.2011)

• Great services yesterday ... several salvations at multiple campuses!!


• Our new series, Faith Pirates, starts this week.  We'll looking at the things that can "steal" our faith.  Don't miss this opportunity to start 2011 off right! Bring a friend and expect God to speak into your life!!


• I think our church continues to be "fueled" by the 24 hours of prayer that we experienced in December.  Prayer definitely has a cumulative effect and a sustaining effect.  We are seriously considering how RBCC continues to pray corporately and persistently as we give God no rest!!


• Remember that starting this week we are DOUBLING our missions giving from 2010 levels!! This is a huge step of faith for our church but one we believe honors God as our Provider and our Savior who wants to provide salvation to all peoples to the ends of the earth!!
  
  
  
  • A few encouragements for the new year:
    
    
    
    • Seek to put God first in your finances.
    
    
    • Give regularly, each time you get paid.
    
    
    • Be a percentage giver.
    
    
    • Pray BEFORE you make big purchases.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• Beth is doing well. We are prayerfully awaiting for the new marrow to begin producing healthy cells. This takes 7-14 days from when the transplant occurred.  We appreciate the prayers and support!!


• God bless and have a great week!