Press Forward

I can imagine the looks Elijah must have received when he declared to Ahab, "Go, and enjoy a good meal!  For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!"  A rainstorm?  Are you kidding me Elijah?  Do you not remember that we have been experiencing a "little thing" called a DROUGHT?!  There were no clouds in the sky, no droplets of water to suggest that even a slight mist was on the way.  I wonder what was going through Elijah's servant's mind when he was instructed to go and look out toward the sea for rain.  Did he grumble the entire way about how ridiculous this little exercise was?  Maybe not the first time he went to look toward the sea for rain.  But what about the second, third, fourth - seventh time he went to look for rain?

Picture this scene with me - (Story taken from 1 Kings 18:40-46, embellished by me)

Servant: "Elijah, I've looked three times now and there are no clouds in the sky that would even give a hint that rain is on the way."
Elijah:  "Go back, look again.  God is true to His word and rain is on the way."
Servant: "Elijah, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, but whatever 'IT' is, I'm not finding it.  I've been six times now and still nothing.  When are you going to say enough is enough?"
Elijah: "Go again, don't give up.  Rain is coming."
Servant: "Elijah, Elijah - there is a tiny little cloud peeking over the horizon, could this be it?"
Elijah: "Praise God!  What looks like something small for the moment is going to turn into a mighty storm.  Hurry, go tell Ahab he better get out of the way, rain is coming!"


This passage of scripture preaches a mighty truth for us!  We are on an adventure of planting a brand new work and are walking in the midst of a drought.  The drought is no surprise, but the reason we are planting a church in the first place!  We are walking into a community that is thirsty and desperate to experience the One, true God.  It's our great responsibility to keep the faith that one day it will rain again.  


Elijah, after proclaiming to Ahab that it would rain again, climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and fell to his knees in prayer.  Only then did he ask his servant to go and look towards the sea for rain.  
I can see Elijah on his knees, head barely raised as he instructed his servant to go once more and look towards the horizon for evidence of God's promise.  It's almost as if he had one ear pushed towards God and one ear tuned in to his servant.  Elijah pressed the matter again and again until he saw the cloud and rain come.  He kept going back until God delivered His promise.  


God has given us a promise.  We know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He has called us to Beaumont, Texas to plant a church.  Our future church is depending on us.  We cannot afford to idly sit by hoping that one day God's mighty presence will rain upon us.  We must fall to our knees in prayer; we must press the matter once again.  We must move forward until what we see holds in alignment with the vision God has given us for our church.  When we don't see God, we look to the horizon and wait for evidence that He is working.  And when we don't see that evidence, we fall to our knees until we have the strength to look once again for His hand at work.  Giving up is not an option.  It will rain again on our community and lives will be forever transformed by the hope found only in Christ Jesus.  

Are We Into Mega-Churches or Mega-People?

A great church leader once said to me, "I don't want to pastor a mega-church, I want to pastor mega-people."  What an incredible statement!    


As we work to build our launch team, our prayer is that God will raise up mighty warriors that will stand beside us as we march into enemy territory.  


I wonder how the warriors from 2 Samuel 23 must have felt when David mentioned he would like some water.  I can just see them standing in a group in front of David, nudging each other in the arm, then all collectively deciding to march through enemy territory to grab their fearless leader a drink.  It would not have been beyond reason to hear them utter these words... "Uh, excuse me sir, would you mind putting down that sword for a minute, our leader is thirsty and we need to get him a drink," "I know this is not our territory, but we really need through, so if you wouldn't mind, could you step aside for just a moment." 


Instead we read that these mighty men unapologetically and boldly "broke through" (one version says they "penetrated") the Philistine line and drew water for their leader.


As church planters we are looking for warriors.  We are working to connect with people on a level that will gain their trust and faith in us.  We recognize that we are marching towards the enemy line and there will soon come a time when we are asking our team to begin to break through and penetrate the lines that have been drawn by the enemy.  We need people who will unapologetically walk into enemy territory and draw out those Satan has tried to lay claim on.


We are praying for mega-people who are not afraid to walk this journey of planting a baby church with us.  We are praying for warriors.   


Be encouraged today! 

Defend Your Pea Patch

What an incredible honor it would have been to make it into the Good Book.  What an even greater honor to have the word "Mighty" tagged to your name.  2 Samuel 23 describes to us the story of some mighty men.  I'm especially drawn to Eleazar and Shammah.  At a place where there was a field of barley Eleazar "stood his ground" and "struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword."  Shammah was standing in the middle of a field of lentils (peas) when the Philistines attacked.  He "took his stand in the middle of the field" and struck down the Philistines that day.   Two men, both making 2 verses in Scripture and both described as mighty. 

You would think of all the people to have their stories told in the Bible, others might have seemed more qualified than a couple of fellows that defended a barley field and a pea patch.  What made them so mighty?  It wasn't like they were defending a great kingdom or even a valuable piece of land.  It was a pea patch for cryin' out loud!  But this barley field and pea patch represented so much more to these men.  These fields represented food for their families.  It represented the hard work and labor of those who took the time to plant the crop, nurture the crop and bring in the harvest.  They recognized that these fields were worth fighting for.  It might not have looked like much, but it was theirs.  

The amazing reality to this story is that you and I are defending our pea patches too, thousands of years later.  If you are like us, sometimes your pea patch feels insignificant.  We are living in the pregnant stages of planting our church and working to nurture this baby church towards a healthy birth.  God has given us a very clear vision and we are moving forward with His direction.  But even at this stage of the process we find ourselves holding strongly to our vision and standing our ground in the direction we feel God is leading us.   


For us the questions that arise are mostly in regards to why we have chosen to hold off on our launch date until we have certain pieces in place.  We have learned not to be defeated when we must defend our pea patch.  We now understand more than ever the importance of knowing that you are called of God to plant a church and staying disciplined in your prayer time with God.  This is warfare, and we listen to one general and one general only.  Because the reality is, at the end of the day, we are the only ones that must answer for the direction of our church.  Our pea patch might not look like much right now, but it's ours and God has given it to us to defend and nurture.

If you are planting a church, God has given you an incredible task.  You might not feel like you are making enough headway or moving as quickly as you had hoped, but be encouraged with the reality that God has given you this baby church to nurture and grow.  Be rock solid in the direction you feel God is leading you in and then stand firm.  And if you aren't sure where God is leading you, take time off to spend a day or two of uninterrupted time listening for God's voice.  

We all know what is at stake.  We must stand up, stand strong and fight for these baby churches that we have the incredible privilege of leading.  It is my prayer that our "pea patches" will grow to produce a mighty harvest of lives that will experience the transforming power of Christ; and that our cities will never be the same because there were some pastors that were just crazy enough to believe that God could take something out of nothing and turn it into an incredible display of His power and grace.

Be encouraged today!