Cardboard testimonies

Last night we celebrated the before and after of Jesus by doing cardboard testimonies in our service. We plan to do it in all three services this weekend.

I was deeply moved by "I had 2 abortions before age 19... Forgiven and I'll see them both in Heaven", and "I was a super lout and unfaithful... now a promise keeper and committed to my wife". 

And "I was lustful , hurtful, and mean... now honorable, Godly, and kind". Or "I was an out of control drunk every weekend... now "filled with Jesus and self control"

As dozens of people took their places and made their cardboard testimony, I was deeply, profoundly moved. Jesus came to "seek and save that which was lost", and I was seeing it in front of my eyes. This is what I live and die for!

Can't wait to see more of them today.

HELP!!!

Okay, I need help! God is opening doors all over the world and I want to run through them! But to do it, I need help. Problem? I don't really know how to let help, well, help!

I am writing this in Dubai, on my way home from the most exciting open door God ever presented me with. Steven Sebyala has helped me identify an excellent connection with "the most unreached tribe in Africa- the Karamoja, in North East Uganda. I have long prayed for a great opportunity to reach an unreached people group, and this is "low hanging fruit", ready for a huge harvest. I am almost too excited to sleep!

So we have incredible projects going on in Philadelphia, in Dominican Republic, and in Uganda, Africa. And I have an exciting church to Pastor! And I am praying furiously for a way to do these things more and better.

I think I need a person to help me focus on and organize the exploding network of churches and church projects. The problem is I don't have a budget so this will need to be a volunteer. Here are some of the jobs that need done. If anyone can help me figure out how to get some of these jobs done and can volunteer doing it, I would LOVE the help if I can figure out how to use it and run with it.

Gerry’s Network Assistant

Job Description
9/13/2012

One sentence job description: To assist Gerry with administration of the Freedom Valley Church Planting Network with communication and organization tasks, as listed below.
The tasks listed are in order of priority 

Hours expected: 4-8 weekly, on Thursday morning if possible.

Church Planting Projects:

• Coordinate trips, pastors, boot camps, and connection emails

FV Network Senior Pastor Meetings

• Schedule meeting date (1 month out)
• Confirm venue (1 month out)
• Review Meeting Agenda (w/Gerry – 2 weeks out)
• Send Invitations (2 weeks out)
• Arrange Housing & meals (2 weeks out)
• Facilities, materials, room set up (1 week out)
• Reminders & Email re: UooVoo video (1 week out)
• Send follow up ‘missed you’ email to those who couldn’t make it. Include date of next meeting and/or offer to meet with them separately if needed.
• Send follow up; “here’s what we covered” email to those who were there, reminding them of the next meeting date.

Catalyst Leaders Meeting

• Build & maintain attendee list to send emails
• Track growth of teams & leaders
• Schedule meeting date (1 month out)
• Confirm venue/ check on sanctuary schedule (1 month out)
• Confirm Meeting Agenda (w/Gerry – 2 weeks out)
• Send Invitations (2 weeks out)
• Facilities, materials, room set up (1 week out)
• Reminders (1 week out)

Tuesday Site Pastors Video Conference

• Create meeting schedule (1 week)
• Email attendees (Sunday night) requesting attendance or a video report
• Confirm attendance or video recording, offering the following 5 things:
  1) Salvations/water baptisms?
  2. attendance numbers; unique, total,
  3) offering total,
  4) any special wins to celebrate this week?
  5) prayer requests?

Low hanging fruit

We were hoping against hope that our two huge festivals and many small efforts, would result in 6, or maybe 8 new churches in the Padre Las Casa region of the Dominican Republic, where God had miraculously sent us.

But we showed up last week to find 21 new churches were forming! And with or without our help, all 21 were expected to make it, and flourish doing it.

Now I need 21 people who will be willing to help make it happen. The plan is to raise only $100 a month for each church for the first year, reducing what they are given by 1/3 each year, a;ll support ending at the end of the 3rd year. It's a 3 year project, period.

Could you help? Some of you may simply want to write a check for $1200, covering the first year outright. A new 'disciple factory' will be something you caused to happen with your generosity and belief in the work of Jesus. If you want to help that church for the 2nd year, that will only be $800. The third year will be $400, for those who want to help that far. Or of course, you could do it monthly if that works better.

Are you willing to help? Contact me if you are and we will work at making it happen!

New excitement in The Dominican Republic

For years (since our first trip in 2007), we have been obeying God by traveling to the DR and involving ourselves in various kinds of ministry there. We tried our best to help in various ways, as God showed us. Medical help, school supplies, building materials, teams, and finances.

Some trips were frustrating and fruit was not what we hoped. For example, I took a large outreach team and materials, and we covered the town with flyers and invitations to an evening evangelism event. But when evening came and dozens of guests showed up, the power went out in the whole town just minutes after opening the service. "No problem", said the unstoppable Pastor Guillermo, "we have a generator".

Except the gasoline to power the generator had been stolen out of the tank right under our noses! "No problem", Pastor Guillermo said again. "We'll send someone to get some gas". But the gas station had no power to pump gas! 90 minutes later when we got the service underway, most guests had left.

Frustrating.

Refusing to be beaten, we kept doing what we could, while more and more people got saved in each little event. Then in about 2008, we held out first outdoor festival, which thousands attended and about 1000 people made decisions for Christ! Every church in town had standing room only for a year. And churches started dreaming of planting daughter churches in the towns around Padre Las Casa.

1 year and a half later, we did a second festival, which more than 8000 people attended in the final night! 2000 made decisions for Christ! And I challenged the Pastors to think about planting a few churches. I told them we should try for 10 new churches, but if we get 5 I would be deliriously happy!

Last night I returned from training the church planters that resulted. I was praying for and believing God for 6 or more new churches to come out of our years of partnership there. It seemed like a faith-filled number!

But when Pastor Wes Shortridge and Mike Fleming and I showed up to do the boot camp, we interviewed and did mini-assessments on 21 new churches, almost all of which are already in the planning stages!

Now we need to find a way to get this done. There are serious obstacles in the way of these church planters, most of which can be removed by ordinary people, even from here in Central PA! Now I need an army of people willing to make a difference and help!

More on that later...

anxiety not thyself

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 2 Cor 11:28. (emphasis mine)


Something in me is a little comforted when I read that Paul had anxiety. In PhilippiansThe Holy Spirit writes through Paul that we should "be anxious for nothing". Yet here he is in the book to Corinthians, exposing that the anxiety free life is easier said than done.


I get comfort from that.


I am currently at a very good place. I LOVE my job and love the role God allows me to play in planting churches, helping people come to Jesus, healing emotions and bodies, and prophesying God's goodness over God's flock. What job could ever be better than that? God has been exceedingly gracious to me for reasons I cannot explain.


Yet there have been several times in my life when I was so deep into the anxiety of leadership that I was barely functional. And there have been family vacations when I dreaded coming back and almost felt as if I was unable to get my shoulder under the burden again, and felt like I could cry for days without stopping.


Leaders get so beat up. Pastors especially. You are told you don't pray enough, witness enough, lead enough, worship enough, read your Bible enough, pursue education enough, follow the Holy Spirit well enough, pay attention to your family enough, give generously enough, appreciate people enough, spend enough time with people, spend enough time away from people, give enough grace, discipline enough, read enough, spend enough time with young people, visit the sick enough, and on, and on, and... you get the picture. The ought-to's are merciless.


Last week one of my Pastor friends got an email that started out something like: "I know you are going through a lot, but that gives you no reason to shit on my family." No kidding. With tears in his voice, that Pastor told me he had no real idea of what or how he had hurt that person or done anything negative to  them.


Last Sunday, a man walked into one of our churches, demanded the microphone to bring some kind of misguided correction, and when he did not get it, proceeded to go home and email out preposterous accusations and crazy stuff to everyone he knew! He may think that his pastor could just take it, and take whatever else could be dished out. But this stuff takes a toll on a leader and on that leaders family.

But when I read that the great apostle Paul also sometimes struggles with anxiety concerning his job, it comforts me somehow. Don't get me wrong, I am not feeling much anxiety at all right now. But I realize that I am one or two angry people away from it at all times. And I am very, very thankful when God gives me the grace to shield me from lots of it from time to time. 

Without His shielding me, I doubt if I would love my job. Nor could I last very long in it.

In the last 24 hours, I found two more local people who plan to open churches. These guys are not classically trained to plant churches or be pastors. They simply have a burning and unquenchable desire to do what Jesus said: "make disciples". Both of these leaders seemed afraid or tentative about telling me their vision because I could have squelched it, mocked it, or denigrated it, and that would be unbearable to face.

But find the courage they did.

I sometimes ache for more paradigm breakers. That is, for people who do things a little differently and are willing to break open the mold, change up the style, walk a little differently, and show us all new ways that it can be done. For example, men that come out of a business background and don't have enough Bible school and church leadership training, but do have a burning desire to please the Lord in doing their calling. Better yet? Women who refuse to be held back form their calling because they are women. In fact these women won't even discuss gender as a challenging thing because they cannot afford to give the issue air.

Love that.

They simply follow God's call and the commend to "go and make disciples". Yes I am aware that these kinds of leaders rarely make it. Maybe only 1 or 2 out of ten actually get their vision done. The rest burn out, drop out, get discouraged, or whatever. The downside is that some of these get bitter that things didn't work, I hate it when that happens. But for those 1-2 out of ten that make it, it often seems like they help all of us by showing us that it can be done differently than we thought. To all of them I say; you may or may not make it. But it is so cool that you are doing your best to follow Jesus no matter what.

Liberty community church I had such a wonderful time at Bealton, Virginia yesterday in Liberty Community Church. This church welcomed me so warmly, and received the teachings of Jesus with their whole hearts. Probably at least 25 of them responded to the gospel, many with weeping and deep repentance. They bought books- I think they all bought a book! I sold en entire case of them, and signed them. Very nice. I am amazed at all that Pastor Wes and Linda have done and are doing. Linda teaches kids with passion. Their daughter Amanda helps lead worship, and son Josiah is on the technical support team- both of them leaders, excellent, and cool. LCC is bright, pulsating with life, and you can feel God's heart in these passionate Christ followers. Bealeton is a hugely improved town because of the inner healing, renewed hope, and powerful life of God that is happening in this church and it's people. Years ago, Freedom Valley became somewhat of a parent to LCC when we helped them get started, a fact that I am so grateful to God for. Pastor Wes teaches in our leadership school. I am thrilled that my son got to sit under his teaching.

Alpha strong

Our first Alpha group is nearing completion. This weekend is the intensive weekend, where Friday night and Saturday morning are spent in understanding the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Spirit, and the spiritual gifts.

I am dreaming of growing up some strong, powerful, world changing believers. Not merely faithful church attenders, and good tithers. I want world changers, and people who live life with a vengeance for attacking evil and forcefully establish good. I want people who really deeply believe we will take over the world. I want to be one of them.

I think inside the human soul is that kind of longing in all of us. God help me create an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit is pleased to grow those kind.

heroes of mine

Every 6 weeks I get to meet with my heroes. These men and women (thanks for being along Alicia!)have left lucrative careers, free time, and hobbies behind to pursue the one thing they feel God called them to do; organize a new salvation-healing-and vision-fulfilling machine. We call these machines, a local church.

Church planters risk it all. They stay up nights, reading about strategies, learning how to walk like Jesus, and trying to understand how to lead. (it's way tougher than it looked to me decades ago). They love people who criticize their vision, and believe into existence something that does not even exist, while many question whether or not it SHOULD exist.

They are willing to raise their own families while raising themselves up into leaders. They are willing to give more than anyone else. Then they give more. They love people who they know sit in the back and criticize pretty much everything they do, hoping that one day the critic will get it.

On the days they feel too tired to even move, one more person calls in crisis, and they give up an extra half hour of sleep to listen, pray, and believe for one more miracle. Many of these men and women give past their own breaking point. Then they get up early to do it again. And to do more of it.

Around them, God has placed an even gutsier group of people who work with them, give, believe with them, and invite their friends to church. Each one of them live to see others receive the grace of God, enjoy freedom from their past, and grow toward their vision for life.

I love the church so much. Heroes walk among us.

teaching kids

I felt like I really connected with Kid's Connect tonight. I taught them about how I overcame night mares by learning to use the name of Jesus. Then we read Matthew 10 where Jesus warns us that life has a way of unearthing our secrets and shouting form the rooftops the very things we thought we had covered up and hidden.

The kids got real quiet as I told them how I stole a belt when I was around 10, and though I never got caught, I couldn't live with it and years later had to show up at the door of the folks I stole from and pay for that belt.

Something inside of us refuses to allow secrets to remain... secret.

Some people think they got it covered and are okay, then only a few years later some 'mysterious' illness crops up, like their very bodies refuse to allow it to be covered. Others confess it wide-eyed, believing they are really opening up, only to have many look at them and say they already knew it was going on.

Jesus said we don't need to fear things being revealed if we live life openly, honestly, and without secrets. If I confess my sins, I get to control when it gets revealed at least. If I don't what I should remind myself to know is that it certainly will be revealed and I am very unlikely to like how it is told.

Lots of our fear comes from being afraid of our secrets. We can get relief by getting it told, and conquer fear by facing it.

Living life honestly is so much simpler. God help me never forget the misery of trying to hide anything.

On the other hand, if we secretly bless, God rewards. If we secretly (privately) speak complimentary things of others, the reward is sure. If we meet God in private, He promised that it will show, openly. Even good secrets cannot stay hidden.

great day on the battlefield

I spent the day showing my Aussie friends Mark and Gayle around the Gettysburg Battlefield today. Gorgeous sunshine, good friends,and this town. Gettysburg is an amazing place. The ground hallowed by the sacrifice of more than 7000 deaths, and 51,000 total dead, missing, or wounded, makes this a place Americans come to consider the past and grapple with the stain of slavery, division, and war.

My friends asked why the South lost, and it's hard to explain. There are legends of killer angels who showed up on the battlefield, that soldiers of both sides witnessed. General Lee's orders were confused or carried out poorly by generals and soldiers who loved doing what he said and believed in his leadership. Bottom line? It seems like God intervened at Gettysburg.

President Lincoln's history is also interestingly tweaked up in this town. He wrote the famous Gettysburg Address on the train way here, and reported that he had his first real encounter with God in this trip, and that God become truly personal to him here.

John Wega calls this "the altar of the nation", where Americans come to process our historical evils, and try to learn how to become better people. John and I dreamed together today about a house of prayer where tourists come to see and pray for the future of this nation. I am also dreaming of our town being part of a huge sweeping move toward God through new churches being planted, which will bring in hundreds of thousands of new believers into the grace of God.

So in the past few weeks I have had huge breakthroughs,... and major setbacks. But I also have the Holy Spirit whispering in my ear that this is going to be good and He is working both ends against the middle to help us get great things done. I believe it more than ever.

In the next 8 years, we will plant more than 100 life giving churches. In the next 18, we are believing to plant more than 1000. It's going to take God making the enemy have a Gettysburg of a day, and killer angels to help us out, but I think it will get done. I am convinced that God wants this done far more than I do. I am also convinced that if I don't do it, others will, because ultimately, it is HIM doing it.

I just feel very honored to be involved.

Relationship Killers #3

This week at Freedom Valley, Relationship Killer #3, Be My Everything will be on the run.

It's nice to share life with somebody. But nobody can meet all of your needs. This week in Be My Everything, we explore why expecting somebody to meet all or too many of your needs, actually drives away and destroys the very relationship you crave to have.

The prophet Jeremiah noticed this and the Holy Spirit had him write down some powerful observations about what happens when I depend on someone to be my everything.

Jeremiah said over-dependency stunts my growth. I stop developing as a human being when I depend too much on someone else. It shuts down my ability to have faith, dries up my imagination, and makes life feel like a desert has grown up around me.

But when my roots go down deep into faith, it the environment around me, the economy, politics, and personal popularity don't matter as much because I am living in my Holy Spirit fired imaginations of the future. I spend more time imagining the future than obsessing about what is. Faith is too busy creating the future, to spend time obsessing about what it happening all around me right now. It borrows optimism from the future, while others are borrowing pessimism and grief.

Bottom line is; depending on other people for our needs, leaves us frustrated. God to God for what people cannot do.

exciting growth happening

It's so cool to watch what God is doing in the sites and church plants these days. Everybody's metrics are up in the best possible ways! It's nice to see so much forward momentum and so many lives being affected so well by the gospel. New buildings, new people, lots of salvations, water baptisms, and financial blessings from a very generous God.

Feeling very blessed today.

my bursting heart

For some reason, God in His graciousness has given us a whole new season of effectiveness lately.

Growth is in the air. Salvations, and all kinds of powerful movement toward God is happening. Tonight again, the altars were filled with people responded to the message about forsaking anger in their lives. This is HUGE, and will open the Heavens on us. I can feel it.

Tonight we introduced Chris Eliot, church planter to North Hanover. He is not really one of our church planters, per se but a partnership of Friendship Community church in Dover, and Hanover Church of God. We just got to introduce him in case some of our people felt called to go with him to help. I hope some do. I spoke to one that is very interested.

A few years ago, I was hoping we could stir up local churches to join us in planting new churches. I offered to help them plant a church, naively thinking it was their desire to do so. Nobody seemed very interested.

But now several are. I am so happy to be joined in the battle to prevail. Still there are ore than 80% of our county who do not attend church, and while we are prevailing (slightly) according to THEARDA.com, there are still just so many precious people to reach.

And God is answering a few of my other cherished prayers. Tonight, Sally Glover offered to help take our outreach ministries to a whole new level, helping us get God's message out to a broader audience. She is an answer to a long prayed prayer for help.

And I was wondering tonight; how hard could it be to call each of my people one by one and tell them what a privilege it is to be their Pastor? Not many people get to do a job they really love. I do, thanks to a really great, visionary, and aggressive faith-filled church that I get to serve. I just feel like taking 10 days and calling each and every one of them to thank them for letting me do this job. Perhaps I would be a nuisance to them, but it would feel good to thank them.

Something really, really good is happening. God help me not get in the way of it with my stupid pride, or poor listening skills, or selfish approaches to life.

And Then We Danced

I've read a lot of books lately. Too many to count and to catalog. For some reason, I often cannot remember the title, or the authors name, even when I liked the book.

But tonight I sat down to read a few chapters of And Then We Danced, by Mike & Fi Lusby, and Shawn Smucker (my co-author). I could not stop reading till I finished every single word. And I wished for more.

I don't think it will be hard to remember this book, it's title, and it's authors. I've known them all for a long, long time. Their disarming willingness to tell a lot of the pain in their lives and how it has impacted their marriage, will help a lot of us identify and get honest about our own pain and issues. I really appreciate that.

I have been pastoring since the early 80's, when Omar Beiler allowed me to start helping him as an apprentice, coaching and encouraging me forward. Since that time, it seems like I never get done learning that every life has a fascinating story, that when told, causes the hearer to understand and respect what that person went through to become what they are today. Mike's growing up in an alcoholic home, and Fi's sexual abuse, and painful loss of her niece, and subsequent abuse by a pastor, are such a case-in-point. I love them even more for sharing their painful story and it's dancing conclusion.

I cried a lot while I read their story tonight. But I especially cried when they danced at the end. Thanks Mike and Fi, for finding your way through and for writing a pathway for others to follow. I love you so much for all of that!