Assessing Our Assessment

First of all, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for Carrie and I through our church plant assessment.  It was really tough, and your prayers certainly helped us get through it all.

For those of you who don’t know, assessment is where various other local leaders in our denomination get together and ask potential church planters a series of in depth questions to find out what are our strengths and weaknesses and whether or not we would make good church planters.  It was comforting to think ahead of time that even if the assessment team didn’t think we would make good church planters, they would make recommendations for where they felt we should serve in ministry.

There were three people assessing Carrie and I, and they let us know from the beginning that they weren’t looking for ways to disqualify us, which was rather comforting because then you don’t feel like you are taking a test that you hope to pass.  They still could tell us that their sense is that we have a ministry calling although not in church planting, but that was not the most likely scenario nor was it their primary focus.

In the process, the assessors interviewed us for about 3 hours where they asked us questions about our ministry, leadership, marriage, etc.  Our answers had to be almost exclusively comprised of examples of what we had already done, not what we are planning on doing or any philosophical ideas we have about a given subject.  That part is kind of hard because you have to come up with answers on the spot that are specific, and Carrie is more of a processor so she needs time to think, while I am a conceptual thinker who works better in the realm of ideas than in recounting specific past examples.  Anyways, we answered the questions and everything was fine, but it is really draining to be interviewed by a panel for 3 hours and have to come up with so many examples on the spot.  Including the two and half hour drive each way and some additional time we spent in the Portland area for dinner, we were gone for about 10 hours and were exhausted by the time we returned home.

I really appreciated that while the assessment was tough and so were the assessors, that I could tell that they had our best interests in mind.  The only way to really know how someone is going to operate is to continue pressing them on the particular questions and I feel like this was lovingly done.  When the assessors had finished with all of their questions, they spent time praying over Carrie and I, speaking loving words of blessing and encouragement for the future of our ministry.  This is really something that made me feel touched and supported and was a great way to end the assessment.

So at this point the assessors have to write up a report and give it to the district, which may take about 2 weeks.  It is my understanding that we will then speak with the district to find out what the assessors thoughts are, and we can begin to process what this means.  I don’t know what the outcome is going to be, but my belief is that they are going to say that they feel we are fit to be church planters, but that they would like to see us gain a little more experience in leadership roles, and in particular, in ways where Carrie and I can lead together.  They may have other areas of weakness that they will point out, along with areas of particular strength and I welcome their feedback as it will help me to see our leadership from the point of view of another.  Where we are strong, we can be confident in our leading.  Where we are weak, we can know that we need to grow, and that we need to make sure that at least one person who is involved with the church plant is strong in our areas of weakness.

That’s really about all I know at this point.  I would appreciate continued prayer for God’s hand to guide our process.  He is good and I know that He is not leading us in this direction without great cause so all of my hope and trust is in Him.

Scott

Church Plant Assessment Today

Hi everyone,

This is just a reminder that I am going for assessment today to start a possible church plant (I wrote about this last week).  If you could please be praying today that God’s will is done, even if this means that we are not approved, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you all so very much for your love, prayers, and support.

Scott

Missions Trip – Cambodia Style

In just under 3 months, I am going with a team of students and administrators from Northwest Christian University (NCU) on a mission trip to Cambodia.  We are specifically going to be working around the issue of sex-trafficking, which is a problem in many parts of the world, but especially in Cambodia.

I have never been to Cambodia and to be quite honest, I am very excited to go.  There are things in our life that when we hear of them we immediately as Christian recognize the evil in them, but are often stumped at what to do about them.  3 times in the book of Jeremiah when talking about the sin of sacrificing children, God says “nor did it enter my mind,” and I am reminded of these words when I think about sex-trafficking. 

What these words mean to me is that there are some types of sin that it is understandable how they come to take place, and others that are so horrific that they don’t even enter into our consciousness as being an option.  This is how I think of sex-trafficking for any women, but especially for children.  If someone hadn’t told me about this taking place, I don’t think it would have ever entered my mind as being possible.

But the next problem I have is answering the “so what” question, meaning that now that I know about this, what am I going to do about it?  What impact is this going to make in my life, and what impact is my life going to make with regards to this issue?  I find it overwhelming as an average American to even know what to do about a problem so far away (and yes, I’m aware that it happens in the U.S. too).  So I am deeply excited for this opportunity to fight back against sex trafficking with the love of Christ.

Our team will be working with some deeply devoted and engaging Christian missions called Agape International Mission and Rapha House.  We will be showing the love of Christ through dramas, kids clubs, sport, offering crafts, teaching English, and whatever other opportunities present themselves.  I honestly don’t know all of the elements that will be taking place, but that is a real advantage because it leaves me open to whatever work the Holy Spirit lays upon us while we are there.

If you are like me and you are wondering what you can do to answer the “so what” question, I would like to ask that you begin to pray for the country of Cambodia and for the issue of sex trafficking.  You can pray that God will liberate those who are being victimized, and you can pray for Christ to reveal Himself to the victimizers so that they stop harming others.  The problem is big, but we serve a God who is bigger than any problem this world can throw at us. 

If your heart is inclined to help in other ways, I would request your prayer support for myself and the rest of the NCU mission team from now through the end of our trip in May.  I am also still raising support for the trip itself and would welcome any financial contribution that you would be willing to make.  Please email me at ogscottyp@gmail.com if you are interested in giving financially and I will send you the form that needs to be filled out.   And even if you just are interested in this issue and want to talk it through some more, feel free to send me an email or post a comment here so we can dialogue.

May the peace of Christ be with you all.

Church Planting – Assessment

For anyone who reads my blog and is currently unaware, Carrie and I are in the process of exploring the viability of starting a church plant.  What this would mean is that we would begin a church of our own and that this would probably happen sometime within the next year.  We’ve had many conversations with pastors and church planters, and then taken our time to complete an application with the Foursquare Church.  Our hope is that by taking our time, we have been able to really question some of the answers we naturally gravitate towards to make sure they are truly what God wants and not just matched to our own preferences.

Now that our application is submitted, Carrie and I have been invited by the Foursquare Church partake in a process called assessment, which we will be doing in about a week and a half.  From what I understand, there will be 3 individuals who are connected to church planting in the Foursquare Church who will interview Carrie and I for 3 hours (give or take) to assess our abilities as leaders to plant a church and also to test the strength of our marriage because they want to make sure our family doesn’t fall apart in the process of starting a church.

At some point after this (not really sure how long after, but maybe a few weeks), we should hear what the results of the assessment.  I don’t know for sure what will happen, but my guess/understanding is that we will have one of three things happen:  1.  We will be approved to continue pursuing church planting within the Foursquare church with their full support;  2.We will not be approved for church planting because it is felt that our gifts are not a good fit, but perhaps we will be directed somewhere else where it is felt that we are a good fit;  3.  We will be approved sort of, meaning that we will be told that there are still some areas that they would like to see us work on and if we work on those areas we will be approved.  No one has told me that these are the options, but this is sort of what I figure takes place.

I am really excited for the process to take place because if nothing else, it serves as a benchmark that will provide clarity for the direction that we need to go in.  With that being said, being interviewed by a panel for 3 hours is not really my dream, nor is it Carrie’s.  What I would ask is if you are reading this, would you please pray for Carrie and I?  Would you pray that God’s will be done and that if we are meant to church plant it would be clear from this process, and if we are not meant to plant that this too would be clear?  No church or ministry can be started or sustained on the merits of the individuals as it is up to God to provide and lead.  I don’t want to be the kind of church planter who plants on his own skills and sort of leaves God off to the side in the process.  This is why I ask if you would please pray for us.  It would really be appreciated by us to know that there are those supporting us, and it would be appreciated by God that His children are willing to bring matters of such importance to Him.

When I hear something about how the assessment goes, I plan on posting about it here.  I’m not sure if I will post something here once the assessment has taken place, but I probably will so stay tuned.

May the peace of Christ be with you all.

Scott

The Goodness of God – A Year in Review

God is good…and this is something that I hope each of my readers knows, feels, and experiences every day!  But with it being the end of the year today, I thought I would share a few ways that God has been good to me this year because they are really worth reflecting on:

1. My family expanded this year with the birth of our daughter Kayla back in April.  This is so very good.  The labor actually did not go all that smoothly and the doctors were going to move to a C-section because they were getting concerned, and I’ve probably never been so emotionally freaked out in all my life.  Our daughter though actually progressed and was born through the normal means, and I give credit for her health, beauty, and life to God!
2. In January, I was offered my old job back at Northwest Christian University.  This was good because it allowed Carrie to stay home with the children again, provided income, but also provided some validation that I was wanted at NCU.  When I was laid off I was told that it was for financial reasons, but over the course of a year, you begin to wonder at times if they just didn’t want you around.  Well I’ve heard from many people who are more than happy that I am back, and it has been a great experience.  Thank you God!
3. Four days after Kayla was born, I officially graduated from seminary at George Fox University.  The program ran for three academic years and I was pretty exhausted by the end of it.  I have been glad to accomplish this, but also just to get some time away from my seminary experience so that I can clear my head and decide just what I believe and not what others in the seminary and theologian world tell me I should believe.  Thank you God!
4. The discovery that I have a dairy problem has been a real answer to prayer because it has allowed me to know how to combat many of the problems I was having.  My body was in pretty continual pain from the dairy problem (and many days it still is for other reasons), and I am just so glad to have an understanding of what my problems are and an end to much of the unnecessary pain.  Thank you God!
5. Back in January, Elijah and I got to visit my dad, which I didn’t think I would have the time to do when I was still working.  Then my dad come for a visit in June, so I’ve gotten to see him quite a bit this year (for us at least).  Thank you God.
6. I’ve had some really quality family time this year with my wife, son, daughter, mom, brother, in-laws, dad, etc.  It’s been really great to have close relationships become even closer.  Thank you God.
7. I saw one relationship in particular become reconnected with a person that I thought I might happily never see again.  This is completely of God’s doing and I praise God for this.  The person has turned to Christ, and I have had a softening of my own heart as well.  Thank you God.

I could have this list keep going on and on, but I will stop there before it gets too long to make it worth our time to read.  I hope that you too have had a great year and will have a chance to reflect on all the great things that God has done for you this year.  May the peace of Christ be with you all in the coming year.

Jesus as a Baby

I was thinking about the Christmas story last week, and how God sent His son Jesus Christ to earth in the form of a human (this is known as the “incarnation”) all to bring about this great rescue plan that would allow sinful man to be reconnected to the Father.  God put it on my heart to notice specifically that Jesus came not just as a human, but as a baby, and while I think we’ve all read the story before and recognize this, I’m not sure that we have truly thought about what this means.

There is a certain humility that comes with Jesus incarnation as a baby instead of a man, and we don’t like to think of God being humble because it looks like we are somehow bossing him around (if you’ve tried bossing God around, I’m guessing that you’ve noticed by now that this is getting you nowhere since this is not what God intended).

But think about what this means for our responsibility as humans.  What if Mary and Joseph would have said “we’re not taking care of this baby…we don’t believe He is the Son of God…and we’re not going to take care of Him?”  I’m sure that God would have provided another way for Jesus to be taken care of, but it’s also possible that Jesus could have died as an infant baby if He didn’t have earthly parents that wanted to take care of Him.  What this tells me is that we as believers have been entrusted with a great responsibility from God and that we have a part to play…not just Mary and Joseph, but all of us.

It is right for us to wait upon the Lord and to rely upon Him, but it is wrong for us to take the stance that we are to do nothing when we have been entrusted with such a great gift.  Jesus said that we are the light of the world and that our light is not meant to be hidden where it is privately kept and no one can see it.  If God’s plan for Jesus was to entrust Him to fallen humanity in the form of a baby to be taken care of for His daily needs, doesn’t it make sense that God has also entrusted Jesus to us as His believers here today and that we have a job to do to spread the gospel and increase the light that is shining in the world?  I think that it does.  I don’t like to think that Christ is relying on me because that is a lot of responsibility, but I do like to think that as my relationship with Christ grows, I become more comfortable with the trust that Christ has placed in me, and the expectation that Christ has for me to share the good news about Him so that there can be growth.

Becoming Greater…Becoming Less

In John 3 one of the disciples of John the Baptist comes to inform John that Jesus is now baptizing more people that John himself, and the text indicates that this is something the disciple was saying as a way of asking “what are we going to do about this.”  I love the response of John in verse 30:  ”He must become greater; I must become less.”

Yesterday, I wrote about the need to center our entire lives and existence on Christ, and I find John’s words to be a perfect example of this.  I think one of the hardest things we can do in our Christian walk is to relinquish control, humble ourselves before our Master, and accept that we must become less while also making space for Christ to become greater.

This doesn’t sound so difficult at first because we would all say that we love Christ and want Him to be first in our lives, but I think if we were honest with ourselves, we would realize that this is only partially true.  For we partially love Christ because of the benefits we receive from doing so (such as going to heaven).  In other words, many of us love Christ because it is in our best interests to do so.  What’s wrong with that you ask?  Well, technically nothing because at least you are loving Christ.  But on the other hand, the reason you love Christ is based upon yourself and not upon Christ.

Ask yourself this question:  could you love Christ if there was no benefit to you at all?  Could you love Christ only for the sake of who Christ is, and not because of the benefits that you gain from doing so?  Someone once asked (this is not a direct quote) if we could have heaven and all that goes along with it, but we could not have Christ, would we still want heaven?  It’s a hard question for some, because I do believe that some would say “yes.”  The point though is to have a relationship with Christ that is centered on Christ, not ourselves or what we stand to gain from the relationship.  The point is not to say “yay!  I’m saved and now that means I get to go to heaven someday” because this keeps people from living for Christ here on earth today.

For the record, I have no problem with the fact that we gain in our relationship with Christ and that we’re going to be with Him in heaven someday (after all, He promised to go and prepare a place there for us!), so please don’t hear me saying that.  I just want to advocate that our faith should be like that of John who focuses on Christ rather than himself when he says “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Centering on Christ

As we live in a busy culture, I am often reminded of how hard it is to live a life of faith that is centered around and devoted to Christ.  I find myself understanding Paul’s phrase that he does things he doesn’t want to do and things he wants to do, he doesn’t do.  For me, there is no better time than when I go before God and spend unhurried time reading Scripture and listening in prayer for what He has to say to me.  But this isn’t the outcome of my daily walk very often, because I often find myself squeezing some quiet time with God into an already busy schedule so that it can easily feel like I am hurrying in the time that I spend in prayer just to make sure it gets accomplished.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with spending small amounts of time with God, if that is the season of life that you are currently in, but I do think we have to ask ourselves how much we are centering our lives around the lordship of Jesus Christ.  I am reminded of a Bible study I was once in while living in Washington where one of the people said that they didn’t have time to spend in prayer and reading the Bible because that person had 3 kids.  I have 2 kids of my own today, so I know and understand how busy life can be, but I disagree with the assessment that if we have several kids we will not have time for God.  After all, Scripture also says that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  There are always breaks, or the ability to wake up a few minutes early just to spend even a few minutes with God if that is all that can be mustered in the current season.

I would love to be able to spend an hour or more a day with God sometimes (though this isn’t true of my motivation on a lot of other days), but I realize that this doesn’t happen for me, and it isn’t practical to think that most others are going to.  This is especially true for anyone who is new or young in the faith who hasn’t learned yet how to pray or be with God.  If this is the situation you are in, don’t feel any pressure to perform and measure the quality of your walk with God in minutes or hours.  God will know your heart and will honor the beauty of your seeking.  I would suggest even reading a chapter of Scripture a day and spending 10 minutes in prayer (and spend some of this listening to God, not just doing all the talking yourself) as a way of getting started.

The important thing to remember is that our lives are meant to be centered around Christ.  Everything we do as Christians should be as a result of having lives centered around Christ.  This may mean that we have to make tough choices at times, or even do things that are not to our own benefit, but are strictly for the benefit of Christ.  When we can strip ourselves away from the equation, we will be able to focus more clearly on the heart and desires of God and learn a humility that is appropriate when recognizing just what it means that Christ is the Lord.

My Comforter

Sin lives in the world today, and this makes the world a difficult place for people to be.  When we realize the magnitude of sin we are faced with the choice to either stand up and keep living for Christ in the face of this, or be relegated to a Christianity that is comfortable and only seeks to avoid sin.  The first choice is much harder, and when people make the second choice it is very understandable.  After all, we all go through hard times that lead us to want to give up or withdraw so we can go be where everything feels good.  One of the hardest things we can do as believers is confront the reality that we live in a sinful world, and that means we are never going to be in a place where everything feels good until we go to be with Christ in heaven.

Jesus said that “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23, NIV).  It’s a hard to hear the words of Christ and be all that pumped up about “taking up a cross” and that this is what it means to follow Christ.  The comforts around us seem so easy to draw into and they seem so real.  But here’s the catch:  none of them are real.  Anything we use to comfort ourselves as a means of withdrawing from the calling of Christ is something that moves us further from the presence of Christ.  And these “comforts” that we draw into are only temporary and have no lasting significance.

Think of it this way:  Christ also says when talking about going to the cross Himself, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16, KJV).  Christ follows this up ten verses later by identifying this Comforter as being the Holy Spirit.  Comfort then is something that is God-given to those who are in need of it, and not something that we are meant to use as a form of self-medication.  The devil loves to take the intentions of God and pervert them so that we follow his plan rather than God’s.  In this case, the devil teaches us to seek out all the comfort we can and to avoid the painful things of life.  But I think it is those painful places that God wants us to be His presence in…

If you are not feeling comforted in life, ask yourself this:  when was the last time you deliberately went outside of your comfort zone for the sake of God?  That may mean different things for different people, so it doesn’t have to be anything extreme or super-spiritual, just something where you want outside of your normal way of doing things for the sake of Christ.  Did you experience comfort and joy when you did this?  Did you begin to feel really close to Christ in a way that you normally do not? 

I’m guessing that the answer is yes, because that is how things have been for me as well.  And what I have noticed is that when I am willing to go outside of my own comforts and agenda to where I am truly uncomfortable, I send a message to God that says I am willing to vacate this space in my life known as my need for comfort in order to give Him room to enter in.  I’ve heard it said before that the role of the minister is to disturb the comfortable and to comfort the disturbed, and I think this is something that God wants to do to.  He wants us to step outside of our comfort zones for the sake of the gospel so we can give Him room to enter in.  Besides, isn’t it better to do what we can to get ourselves out of the way so that God can do all the work He intends?  And it is in this, that we will find the comfort that comes from the Holy Spirit.  When we surrender to the will of God and become uncomfortable for the sake of the gospel, this is when the Holy Spirit will say “I now see one who is in need of comfort,” and this is exactly what our Comforter will bring.

Sin & Dairy Pills

About the time I stopped writing in January I discovered that my body has an intolerance for dairy products.  It was sad at first because I realized that there were a lot of things I would have to give up eating (milk, cheese, ice cream, etc), but it got even worse when I went to the store and started reading the sides of all the packages.  It turns out that dairy is in most pre-packaged food in one form or another, and packages that don’t use dairy as an active ingredient will often have a warning that the product was made in a facility that also makes products with dairy in them (meaning that there could be traces of dairy in the product that doesn’t use dairy as an active ingredient).  Let’s just say that I found my options to be quite limited.

But then I found this great product that would take care of my problems:  dairy pills.  I can take one of these dairy pills every time I consume a dairy product and I’m good to go for the next 45 minutes.  And this was cool because it allowed me to have a backup option in case I was in a situation where I had to eat something with dairy in it or if I was eating something where I didn’t know if it had dairy or not.  Slowly over time however, my thinking started changing to where instead of keeping my diet as dairy free as possible and then taking one as needed, I started to consume dairy whenever I felt like knowing that I could just pop a pill and everything would be alright.  The problem is that everything did not end up being alright.  Many of the body aches and pains and intestinal discomfort returned and made my life uncomfortable once again.  I knew that I had to kick dairy out altogether and go back to my original intent when I stopped taking dairy, so that’s where I’m at now.

This whole process has reminded me of sin.  When we become believers we turn our backs on the things of the world in order to follow Jesus.  And quite frankly, we move from a place of pain and discomfort to a place where everything feels so much better, so we truly are the primary beneficiaries.  But sin is like a dairy pill and we know that from time to time we are going to sin and God’s grace will be there to cover us up.  But sometimes we fall away from this kind of thinking and just decide that we are going to do whatever we want and we can just take a dairy pill to fix everything.  Only…sin doesn’t work that way.  You can’t just go on sinning and assuming that everything is going to be alright.  I don’t think God appreciates our flagrant sinning and abuse of His grace.  It’s not good for God…it’s not good for us…and it’s not good for our relationship.  And that’s what Satan wants us to think:  we can do whatever we want (including sinning) and everything is going to be okay.  But sin hurts the body and it hurts the soul.  It isn’t the intention of God and we have to stop acting like there’s this magic pill we can take that will allow us to sin in the future when it’s fun or convenient to do so.  In reality, the sin, just like the dairy, will take it’s toll and eventually catch up with us.