What Do I Dream About? August 29, 2012

Maybe this is a confession story.  As a child I had a very vivid imagination and would spend countless hours jumping around the house or backyard pretending to live my dreams out.  For a reason unknown to me I could not engage my imagination without jumping around holding a stick.  No doubt my parents must have been a little concerned about their child who spent most his time running and jumping around the backyard with a stick and who knows what the neighbors thought.  I guess this is what happens when you do not have a video game console in your house.  But, it was in this time and space that the world of my imagination was at my finger tips.  With a stick in hand I could slay dragons, win Super Bowls, save the cute girl, and drop a massive bull elk with one clean shot.  I am embarrassed to say how late in life I continued to do this so please don’t ask Stefanie.  Sometimes I will pick up a stick and think to myself “this would be a great stick to jump with.”  Why did I love jumping so much?  I could take any dream and live it out and the cool thing was it always turned out my way.  At the end of the day I was the hero.

As I have grown older I’ve realized that it is sort of sad that many of my dreams have the same ending…I am the hero, the successful hunter, the guy who everyone likes, the church planter who did what he set out to do.  Maybe you dream in a similar way.  As I look within the pages of the Bible there are many heros but the big picture, the big story, reveals a focus on just One.  There is only one true Hero.

What if we were to dream differently?

If I really am the hero of the dream then the dream is pretty sad.  On the other hand, if I dream in the truth that Jesus is the Hero and that He has invited me into His story, that dream is much bigger than my life.  It is exciting but I am finding it is kinda hard.  I like being the lead guy.  I have to be more aware to step out of the main frame. I must stop talking myself up and start pointing people to the Main Character of this great story.

Though I have found this type of dreaming to be difficult at times it brings tremendous relief because…I don’t have to save the day (not like I could anyway).

When I mess up, He doesn’t.  When I am tired and weak, He is still all-powerful.  When I don’t know, He is all knowing. When I sin, He is sinless.  When I fail and let people down, He is completely faithful.  He saves, I do not.  And thank goodness.  It is taking me a while but I think I can get used to simply being cast as an “extra” instead of the lead part.

So what have you been dreaming about lately?

My dream for quite some time has been to help give leadership to a new church.  God is slowly but surely revealing His plan for this dream.  Vision is becoming a little clearer and a few people are starting to come together.  Please, join us in prayer as we faithfully pursue God’s will for this new church.  We continue to face various obstacles along the way but feel like we have received the encouragement needed to keep stepping forward.

May we dream to be a faithful extra and may we invite others into the greatest story ever!

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Praise: the car that was loaned to me through August has been extended for a longer amount of time!

2. Future Job: We have increased support, which is awesome, but it looks like I will still need to get at least a part-time job maybe as soon as October.  Please pray that I can find work that will allow the freedom to finish up residency and time to focus on the future church.

3. People of Peace:  We have been praying that God would introduce “People of Peace” (Read Luke 10:1-12) in the Gladstone area.  We have identified two potential people in the community! Hopefully, I will be meeting with them in the next few weeks. Pray that God would open doors.

4. Marriage and Family:  Please continue to pray for Stefanie and me as we head down this road.  I hear countless stories of church planters who had a very dark time in their marriage during the early years of planting.  Stefanie and the kids are among my greatest gifts and strengths — please pray for our protection.

Love you guys and thanks for journeying with us!

Chris

Asking Big August 11, 2012

Many of you may be familiar with the story of Nehemiah found in the Old Testament.  If not or if you are a little rusty on the details let me very briefly share a part of the story.

God’s people, the Israelites, had been living in exile in Babylon.  After Persia overthrows the Babylonians, Cyrus, King of Persia, frees the Jewish exiles allowing them to return home.  Roughly 70 years go by and then we are introduced to Nehemiah in the book that bears his name.  Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the King of Persia, Artaxerxes.  He really had a pretty cushy job — he lived in the castle and got to eat and drink the same food the king did.  Of course, he could be poisoned at any moment but overall not a bad deal.

Anyways, Nehemiah has some fellow Jews visit him and he asks how everything is going back in Jerusalem.  Things are not good — the walls of Jerusalem are broken down and its gates are completely destroyed.  This may not seem like a big deal today but at this time in history the walls and gates where extremely important to a city and its people.  Without this protection the people live in constant fear and danger of ongoing attacks by others.  Though they had been “home” for 70 years they had made no progress as a people.  This broke Nehemiah’s heart.  He began to fast and pray for change to happen and he knew that it was going to come through his relationship with the king.

So the big day arrives — Nehemiah is serving the king but on that day the king could tell that something was breaking Nehemiah’s heart.  The king asked what was wrong and Nehemiah shared the state of his people in Jerusalem.  The king responds, “What are you requesting?”

Now remember, this is a servant before the king, the powerhouse of the known world. Here is the big moment, the big ask.  Nehemiah says a brief prayer and then asks the king’s permission to:  1) go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, 2) be gone a lengthy time to see the project through (12 years), 3) provide safe passage to Jerusalem, and 4) use the king’s forest timber to rebuild the walls.  “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.”  Nehemiah 2:8.  Wow!

At different times in our lives God asks big of us.  Maybe it is a career change, a major sacrifice, or trusting Him through a difficult time.  Though we may not be building the walls to protect a city we believe that God has asked big of us.  Just a few months down the road and I am starting to better understand the reality of what He has asked.  God asked big of Nehemiah — leave your cushy job and go travel 4 months to a city and people you have never seen and help them rebuild a wall.  Nehemiah did not have the freedom or the resources to do this so in order to do what God asked him to do he had to ask big of others.  God has asked me to give leadership in planting a new church in Kansas City.  Living in America, I have the freedom to do that but in no way do I have all the brains, energy, people, contacts, leadership ability or resources to do what God has asked me to do. But God does and He has equipped and resourced many of you to play a direct role.

So now I am asking big of you.

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Resources (Money):

First of all, we have been tremendously encouraged by the support over the last few months.  Families from our previous church were very generous and we have had some wonderful special gifts as well as a group of monthly commitments.  All of these resources have allowed us to meet our needs and currently we look good through August.  Now that we have a few months of numbers in we can gauge monthly giving which gives us a clearer picture of our sustainability over the next 12 months. Below is a simple financial breakdown of how we are seeking to raise funds for this 12-month time frame.  The $4000 amount makes up my salary, benefits and some extra funds for ministry expenses.  If you have a request to see salary and benefits broken down more specifically please do not hesitate to ask.

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$4000 a month Sept 2012 to Sep 2013

$2000/mo Individual Support

(current monthly support = $815)

$1000/mo Churches or Small Group Support

(currently seeking 4 churches at $250/church)

$1000/mo Part-time Job and/or Organization Support

(possible organization support kick-in Feb.)  

To reach our $2000 from individual monthly supporters we are looking at an additional $1200 a month.  That would be 12 families at $100 a month or 24 families at $50 or…you get the point.  I understand that at first glance it may look like you can’t do it but with a little creativity and a little cutting here or there it may be possible!  Obviously, we are not aware of your situation and maybe it is not possible.  I am just going for the big ask like Nehemiah!  Also, if you think that your church maybe interested in partnering with us we would love to pursue that with you.  Online giving is now available making it easier on you (no more writing checks!).

(for specifics on giving click Pray/Invest on top right corner of the blog)

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People, Energy, Skills, Prayer:

In scripture the church is referred to as a family and it is also to be seen as a body.  God is faithful to gather His people for the mission of making disciples that glorify Him.  It is going to take an initial team of people to begin to accomplish God’s plan here in Kansas City.  Maybe God has been stirring your heart to be involved in a new vision and mission.  Maybe you are a warrior of prayer and you want to dedicate larger chunks of time praying specifically for this new church plant. Maybe you have some skills and talents that would greatly aid the mission of a new church.  The big ask is…prayerfully consider joining our team as we seek God’s will for a new church.

I will be personally contacting some of you to ask big in a very specific way.  If God has moved you to respond in any way please let me know.  If you have questions or just want to talk and dream a bit, please let me know.  We may not be building a wall but with God’s power we can build communities of disciples that offer spiritual protection and peace.

For His Glory,

Chris

God’s Hand at Work August 1, 2012