Ministry Matters

Last Saturday marked 30 years in ministry! I know, WOW! Some days it seems like it and other days I'm like "WhAaAaAtT"?!  It's rather funny because Eddie and I had talked about it and knew it was coming up and then Saturday came and went and it slipped right by us...until Sunday when Eddie remembered.  And now we are staring at another date.  Tomorrow, April 1st, will be our 3rd anniversary at Fairview.  We laugh that it happens to be April Fool's Day.  Probably won't ever let this date slip by hahaha.  But three years, really?!  It's just crazy how fast time flies.  It seems like we just got here and then again it seems like it's been home forever.  One thing is for certain, it was a ride getting here and it's been a ride ever since.

It's pretty cool to me that we are also in the midst of Hope Week as I write this.  We have been a part of some amazing ministry times over these 30 years. God has been so good to us.  He's allowed us to see Him work in some unbelievable ways, but in my opinion this week has surpassed everything!  And I'm so grateful that 30 years in, He's still blowing our minds!

This week has been extraordinary in several ways.  I absolutely LOVE seeing our people come together under a common goal.  I LOVE seeing us work shoulder to shoulder, teenager to senior adult, and all ages between.  I LOVE that this week has culminated our series Life on Mission because that's what we've been about this week.  We have been 300 strong this week on the field and so many more praying and giving so that this week could happen.

You see I can turn cynical as quickly as the next guy.  I look around and there's hurt everywhere.  We are a rebellious and stubborn people, believers and nonbelievers alike.  There's tragedy daily on the news both locally and nationally.  It would be so easy to pull the covers over our heads and refuse to do anything except satisfy our own selfish desires that are endless and if we are honest we all spend many of our days that way.  Honestly I usually handle it by watching very little news, unlike my news junkie parents haha, and remind myself that Jesus doesn't miss anything, big hurts or little hurts, and one day He will make all things right.  He's the only one who can.

I hear like you probably hear, "well one person can't make a difference" or "nothing we can really do about it" or "well you can't change everything" so we just do nothing.  Those excuses are lame and they won't hold water.  It's not how we are called to live.  We are called to be salt and light wherever God has placed us and whatever He's called us to do.  The light always shines brighter in the darkness and that's where we are called to go.  And this week we as a community of believers have gone.  And we have made a difference.  Eddie and I believe that this could be the greatest thing that we've done as a church and the impact has the potential to be huge.

This week we have experienced a lot.  We have stepped up and said we are sick and tired of Satan having his way in our city.  Students have seen the darkness they never knew, or at least had never seen, in parts of their city.  We have all seen that we don't have to go across the world to see hunger, evil, a lack of hope and purpose, despair, and hurt.  Students have been upset by the fact that they're too young to serve in some areas and others pained and humbled by the realization of just how rich they really are.  There's a younger generation who are refusing to "wait til they grow up to help", they are taking their place now.  And if Jesus tarries, and I hope He doesn't much longer, we are in good hands.  Our young ones know how to carry on.  They know these are desperate times and that the only hope is the gospel.  I'm so thankful that every generation is taking their place and doing what they can and refusing to excuse themselves.

This week we've done a lot.  But we aren't done.  It doesn't stop on Saturday.  There's so much work to do.   This week wasn't about serving for a week and then patting ourselves on the back and get on back to our routine.  It's been about building relationships and bridges so that the people of this city know that Fairview is refusing to sit on their hands, cover their ears and eyes, and stay in the pew.  We will be that light on the hill in our city.  We will pray but we will also go.  Our pastor has challenged us for weeks to be a people on mission, to go across the street, to share with one person and then another person and then another person and if we don't live out those messages, if they don't move from our head to our hearts then we will all answer for that.  God holds us responsible.  To whom much is given much is required.

So as tempted as I am many days to pull those covers up and just study His Word and pray, and not turn on the news, I can't, and neither can you.  We have to get up, not give in to the pull of cynicism and carry on.
                          You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God
                           you will receive what he has promised.  For in just a very little while
                           He who is coming will come and will not delay but my righteous one
                           will live by faith.  And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.
                           But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those
                           who believe and are saved. Hebrew 10:36-39

I'm praying that we have many more years ahead to serve alongside our fairview family.  I think God has so much more in store for us.  My mind is blown every time I sit and ponder all that He has done in these three short years.  Thank you for making our time here so special.  I never cease to thank Him and be amazed by Him that He would allow us on this great journey with Him.  I'm thankful for many of you who allow us in on the front lines of your lives and share your stories with us.  We are so humbled and encouraged by that.  I'm so thankful to my husband for his obedience to Christ.  When nothing seemed right on paper, He trusted God to be bigger than all the questions and all of the uncertainties.  He tuned the advice of man out and listened to the voice of God.  And our entire family is grateful for that.  It would take more than a blog post to tell you all of God's acts of faithfulness and how He has proven over and over He is worth following. All of the little things that have "added up", all of the big things we believed Him for but still wondered, He has fulfilled them.  He has given me glory bumps (that's how a dear friend refers to goosebumps and I love it) more times than I could sit here and type for you.  And every day He fills me with more passion to keep serving Him.  He's so worth it.  None of us will arrive in heaven wishing we had slept more or made more money or "made a name for ourself".  His name is the only name that matters!!

                         Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask
                         or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to Him
                         be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
                         forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Monday Morning Perspective

Easter Sunday! Nothing better in my opinion. I still remember Easter from my childhood and I remember them when my own children were little. The fun of new outfits and Easter baskets, the egg hunt in the afternoon after the big family lunch. One of my great memories as a child was not actually Easter but Good Friday. We would go to the church service at noon and every single year our pastor would do the same sermon The Walk to the Cross. I don't know why I remember it so well but he would start at one end of the stage and as he preached he was walking to the other end where there was a cross and he was talking about those few days and hours that led to that cross. It impacted me in such a way that the meaning of the entire Easter weekend has always been tremendously meaningful to me and overwhelming when I consider all that Jesus did for us. 

Well yesterday's message was another one that left a mark on me. It was the final message in the Life on Mission series and it was perfect for Easter entitled Go Tell. That's our mission. That's our purpose. Go tell! 

Eddie stated, and it's so true, that when the resurrection becomes a reality in our life, that's when the greatest journey begins. He kicked off with a beautiful portrayal of the gospel and how the disciples fled in fear until they had seen the risen Lord. The resurrection is what made the difference in their life. 

We looked in Matthew 28 at three things the angel said to the women at the tomb:

1: Do not be afraid. Whatever we fear, Jesus has taken care of it. 

2: Come and see. Investigate the gospel for yourself. Don't listen to others who say it's foolish. Don't listen to others who criticize churches. Check it out for yourself. 

3: Go tell. What do I say? I couple my story with His story. When Jesus told people not to tell things, for whatever reason in scripture, they told everyone. Sadly today He tells us to go and tell and many times we don't. 

It was a great day to be at Fairview. It's always good when someone has to get up and ask for people to slide closely together to make room for those still coming in. We had three services which is so exciting when you think about a few years back there was one combined Easter service. Is God not doing something incredible among us?! We had visitors at every service and hearing "we'll be back" still gives me chills. People were introducing us to their neighbors and coworkers and family that they had brought. People came to night church saying that their neighbor comes to another one of the services but had invited them. Their neighbor is 95 years old. YES, still working her neighborhood!! We celebrated believer baptism! Worship was amazing! Don't let anyone tell you Fairview doesn't know how to worship. I have eyes in the back of my head (I'm a mom you know) and I have great peripheral vision and I saw lots of hands and lots of jumping and swaying (dancing even shhhhhh). All I have to say to that is bring it again next week!!

Next week we start a new series out of Ecclesiastes on the purpose of life. Get in on the beginning of it and bring others so that they can too. Everyone is searching for purpose, let's share with them how they can find it. Have a blessed week! It's HOPE Week for us at Fairview. We will be all over the area spreading the hope of Jesus. It's going to be the greatest week ever!

A few pics to enjoy...

Is that not a beautiful sight church family?!

I'm so sad we didn't get an entire family picture yesterday! A total mom fail! When I thought of it at church we were all scattered serving different areas and then at home I cooked and everyone was starving and exhausted and no one  thought of it. I'll get over it though at least by next Easter. And Michael had even set up a photo booth perfect for family pics in the lobby. But as Jessica said, "3 services, we tired!" Ministry fam probs for sure. Tired yet totally exhilarated! 

Monday Morning Perspective

As we look at the three crosses in Luke 23, our focus is the man in the middle, but we also looked at the two others. We see two men in the same spot who made very different choices. We make choices every day but the one crucial choice we make is the one concerning Jesus.

This Palm Sunday we heard the gospel shared as we looked at the cross of rejection, the cross of repentance and the cross of redemption. And the question for all of us is which cross are we on, rejection or repentance. 

John Leopard shared as he did several weeks ago at night church about his summer in Atlanta and the story of Mellow. I never tire of hearing that story for it reminds me that no matter the tendency to bypass, overlook, and refuse eye contact with people, that's not how Jesus calls us to live. I've been guilty way too many times for lots of different reasons, but thankfully God gives us another chance and another opportunity. If you're like me, you welcome that chance too. 

Nathan Brannon shared the life on mission moment at night church and he challenged all of us! He shared stories from his Thursday nights with Immerse downtown ministering to the homeless and the need for laborers. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. So thankful that Nathan is willing to be one of the workers and is going to the darkness to share the light and hope of Jesus. 

The worship music was amazing in our services. We are a blessed church. I was full of goosebumps and tears! 

And on a day where I was coming off of a day wondering where was the good and kindness and humility and passion in people, I was reassured, as I talked to many at church, members and visitors. One after another, selfless, giving, generous and kind people with an obvious love for Jesus came my way. Thankful to Jesus for those He brings together and allows us to do church together.

Eddie had boxes of Greg Laurie's book Tell Someone to sell/give away. That was a huge hit! Thank you to so many who paid for 4 or more books and took 1 so that others could take one free of charge. 

Thank you to those who bought a book to read, determined to take this Life on Mission series to the next level. 

Have a great week as we all do Life on Mission together. 

Monday Morning Perspective

For the Life on Mission message this week we turned to my favorite book in the Bible, Colossians. I absolutely love that New Testament book. We dissected 4:2-6, verses that are rich and stirring.  

Eddie made the comment that the longer we are Christians the fewer non-Christian friends we seem to have. That means the more intentional we need to be at looking for opportunities. 

This passage of scripture challenges us to be devoted in prayer. We looked at what Paul was praying for and it wasn't that his prison doors be opened but that the doors of opportunity to spread the gospel would be open. 

After we pray, we must go. And it's an as we go word. We must be wise in how we act as we go. Eddie gave a glimpse into what that looked like for him which should encourage us that even in our times of messing up, God is still powerful and capable of using us and getting glory. 

Then after we pray and as we go we must open our mouths and say something. We must speak the gospel as well as live it. Eddie mentioned that we are called to be salt and that means we are to preserve, add flavor to this tasteless world and create a thirst for the things of God. 

This was one of the best messages and most challenging in this series. I'm not looking forward to this one ending. 

We had a super special guest (at least to us) share the life on mission moment at the end of Eddie's message. She's Noelle Boiano. We've come to love her as we've heard and seen her heart for Jesus and people. She works at the North American Mission Board so having her share as we go into this season of Annie Armstrong Easter offering was sweet. Her testimony of reaching others was powerful and a great reminder that whether it's with our family or others, they're lining up what we say about Jesus with how we are living and acting. I loved the transparency with which she shared. I've never met someone who right from the start was just herself and very comfortable in her own skin. That's probably my favorite part about her, no pretense, no fake, what you see really is what you get. 

Keiffer Mendoza had all of us messed up at night church with his worship leading. He strummed as Noelle shared and we could not keep it together. We blame him hahaha! It was also the best song set going along with this series. I'm growing to love this band more every week, not just their leading but hearing their hearts as they share in leading and just talking to them off stage. Don't fear!! God is raising up a mighty generation to continue to spread the gospel as long as He chooses to tarry. 

And the young guys manning the sound booth, I'm so blessed by you! We are building depth so that others are capable of stepping up to lead, but also they're doing things they're not even asked to do or expected to do, little things that others may not even notice! Our volunteers' energy and passion and joy is contagious! I wish I could bottle it and give it away! Side note...sometimes I'm discouraged that there are those who fill many churches who are paid with a title who have less passion and are less willing to step outside of their "job description". Volunteers work circles around them. It's a job. It's a paycheck. It's not a calling and a passion and that's so sad to me. I know the importance of balancing ministry and family and the need for rest, but some are rested enough. Time is short. There's much work to do. And I believe little time left. I doubt anyone has gotten to heaven and said "I wish I had slept more. I wish I had delegated more. I wish I had more time off." And that's the end of my sermon! Have a great Monday. Hope you're prayed up and ready to go. Just don't forget to speak. 

Monday Morning Perspective

Our word for yesterday's message was GO! I don't know how Eddie preached that message the way that he did but it was so effective. I agree with Chrissie who said her brain just doesn't work like that to pull all of that together like he did.  Mine doesn't either. 

Eddie took us on a back and forth journey between mainly three passages of scripture comparing three stories. 

We looked at Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. We looked at Ananias as he went to Saul in Acts 9. And we looked at the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10. 

In these stories we see three men, a clergy, a deacon, and a lay person, all living life on mission and all coming alongside someone to share the good news and offer assistance. 

We also looked at the story of Legion in Mark 5. The one who was a lost cause, whom everyone had written off. But Jesus. He was healed and then sent back home to live his life on mission and share with his city and his family.  No one is beyond the reach of Jesus. And no one has an excuse not to GO and tell what Jesus has done for them. 

We ended the service much like we did night church last week. Eddie had Justin Broome come and share what his life on mission looks like as he does mission in downtown Greenville with the homeless. He shared how God reached him in the pit of life and then sent him back to reach others around the world and in his own city. Three powerful things Justin said that hit me...

1) when you live for yourself you destroy your life. 

2) we are to create an atmosphere where people can belong before they believe. 

3) Jesus doesn't save us to just take us to heaven. He saves us to bring some heaven to earth. 

We closed night church with another life on mission challenge. This time our son and student pastor Michael Hux shared. He's so right that everyone thinks it's easy for those of us in ministry but we have to be intentional too. He shared how if we pray for an opportunity God will give us one. Why wouldn't He if that's what He's wanting us to do. God opened a door wide open for him to be able to share with a lady in a local restaurant  and "turns out" she has a 17 year old daughter, a student, right up Michaels alley! God is so good like that. Nothing random with Him! Being on mission with Jesus is the farthest thing from boring. It's an exciting life with purpose. 

We were blessed to have the North Greenville  University baseball team with us for the morning worship. So thankful that there are coaches who see that as important and care about life off the field as much as on the field. They're such a fun group and super respectful. And I'd call them very sweet too but they may not like that (but they are)! 

So proud of Justin and the life he lives, on mission! 

This is a winning crew in every way!