06/25/07 UPDATE

This week's update is all over the place, so I'll try to keep it brief.

I'm an addict. I admit it. We were given tickets to two games of the College World Series. Awesome! I'm hooked.

Our trusty van gave up the ghost this week. The engine is shot, so I have a really big paperweight in the front driveway. Please pray for us as we consider the next steps in that area.

Our basement apartment it coming along really well. It should be finished on Saturday, except for floor coverings.

Last night we had a cookout to hang out with some of the people who are helping with/interested in the church (see picture). We had 12 adults (2 more had to cancel at the last minute). It was a great time. It seems like people are beginning to "gel" with one another and become more interested in the church. I think any and all of them would be a big help, so we're praying for God's leadership. This week, we're also arranging several "get togethers" with others who couldn't make the cookout. In addition, I meet someone nearly every day who's interested in the church. A lot of them are tickling in from contacts the mission team did a week or so ago. In short, everything seems to be going really well.

Thanks for your prayers, I really feel there impact. When we're hit with what would ordinarily be a very discouraging situation, I've been able to just shrug it off and trust God to handle it. That's totally a grace-of-God thing, so I'm appreciative. Keep it up . . . please!

06/18/07 UPDATE

I had my third church planter coaching meeting last week. I'm really thankful that we got involved there - I think things would have turned out far different if we hadn't. It's probably been the best thing I've been involved with as far as training and leadership.

That kept me out of the loop most of the week. One real encouragement was that I talked to 6 people on Monday who all volunteered that they really wanted to make the service and just couldn't. They are planning to make the July service. I've also secured the worship leader for that service.

The two biggest notes of praise are that it appears we have a location to meet for the coming year. A middle school in the area has approved our application and are sending it to the district. That is great news - I've really been sweating it.

The other thing was a family issue - I've asked you to pray about our schooling options. Homeschooling just wasn't working out and we can't afford Christian schools here. J'line had some concerns about public schooling, but did find one public school program that we all really liked (they have a different educational format). She applied, but the boys were way down on the waiting list and they didn't see any real chance that they would get in. However, we got the call on Monday and they made it. They went and saw it and are pretty excited. We've talked with a lot of people here that say it is basically an underground Christian school.

Anyway, things here are really good. Please pray this week for:

Our "comeback event" Sunday night. We are inviting people who have expressed an interest in the church to a cookout here. It is meant to be a relationship-building time. Pray for the right people to turn out.

Two, continue to pray for our planning and preparations for the mission teams next month and our second monthly service.

06/11/07 UPDATE



Well, I guess the question on everyone's mind is "How did Sunday go?" We had 29 people, kids and all. There were 7 from a mission team, so there were 22 "official prospects." There were several people that I was fairly confident would be there who weren't. We also were so busy that we didn't get to invite all the people that we wanted to. Basically, that is encouraging because there are a ton of prospects to continue developing throughout the summer. This was step #1 in the process, not really the "start." That will come September 16.

I was asked how I felt about the process and I told them "really good." We put that together with basically one week of publicity. Before the next service, we will host 4 more block parties and have time to cultivate many of the contacts we've already made. There's also August to continue that and then an intense time of publicity (including 2 mass mailers) before the public launch on September 16. I think things are going well.

Also, everything seemed to go without any problems, so I think we are prepared for a lot more people. Since there was a small turnout, I have the opportunity to prepare for our follow up, etc. for the next meeting.

To finalize the updates from last week, we had a block party on Friday and had a great turnout. There were 80 people registered and probably more present. We had several really good contacts. The mission team was a tremendous help. They contacted about 1700 homes over the week, did three block parties, and worked without complaint. They were awesome!

I left yesterday and unloaded all of our supplies in the garage. I had a ton left to do, but i turned off the cell phone, unplugged the phone, and took a nap! We have had an exhausting couple of weeks and more on the horizon.

The picture above is of our meeting space. For clarification, the bottles on the lower right are flavored syrups for coffee:)

Thursday update

We re-distributed fliers in the neighborhood announcing the rescheduled neighborhood party. We got a great reception and had the party last night. There were more people, although not a ton more. We gave away a kid's bicycle and they were all really excited about that.

We do have several really solid prospects - as in, I expect them to be there on Sunday. There are also several others that are a real possibility for attending.

we're really excited about it. Please pray for Friday night's party.

06/06/07 UPDATE

Just got home from the block party. The wind was gusting over 50 miles an hour. We pulled up and a small tree (6 or 7 feet) was blown over. We set up the bounce house and started filling it up until the "D ring" we used to tie it down with straightened out in the wind. We used my gas grill to cook and had to put it inside the trailer so it would stay lit. We decided it was ridiculous and unsafe to continue, so we cancelled the games and served the food. We told everyone to help themselves to the food and we'd try again tomorrow night.

In spite of the awful weather, we had 50-75 people show up. Of those, we had several good contacts. At least two of them plan to attend Sunday. They actually sought me out to meet me, so i feel like they will actually come. We also made several other good contacts that are a step towards developing a relationship.

Overall, it turned out to be a success. We plan to let everyone know that we're trying again tomorrow night.

UPDATE

I figured I would update more often this week since things are going pretty quickly.

The team from Arkansas is here. We spent yesterday touring the area, doing orientation - boring stuff. Today, they passed out fliers for the block parties and invite cards for the church. We had a pretty good response for the parties. In fact, it was funny to see kids riding around on their bikes with the announcements to tell their friends. At one area, the teams had kids on bikes coming up and asking for a flier.

We had three prospects surface through the contacts. Pray for me as we follow up with them. Pray for others to respond to the invitations. They contacted just under 1200 homes today. Most of the people were gone, but a few were at home.

Jackson went out with the teams today. He said he wanted "to help." He's also volunteered to help Jacqueline teach the "children's class" on Sunday. It's cool to see them pitching in and helping.

We were supposed to have severe weather tomorrow night, please pray that it will be clear.

Thanks for praying.

06/04/07 UPDATE

We are at a critical time for the work. A mission team is arriving Sunday night to canvas neighborhoods with our fliers and host two block parties. Then, Sunday is our first monthly service. This is really nerve-wracking because we may have nobody show up or we may have too many. I've been praying for 75 and asking you to pray for 75, so we're planning that way.

Last week was a whirlwind of trying to get all the details finalized. We got a lot done, but there's still a lot left. The biggest thing is all the uncertainty. We're trying to get prepared, but there is so much that is unknown. It's pretty exiciting, but also scary at the same time.

I cannot overstate how crucial this time is, so I'd like to ask you to step up your prayers. Please try to do something that will remind you to pray for us each day.

When you do, pray that God will:
1. Create opportunities for us to connect with those He is drawing to Himself.
2. Save those who don't know Him.
3. Draw believers who are not a part of a church.
4. Allow the block parties to come together.
5. Help us prepare for the service on Sunday.
Pray for all the details to be covered.
Pray for the worship to glorify Him.
Pray for me as I preach.
PRAY FOR PEOPLE TO SHOW UP!!!:)

Thanks for all that you are doing for us. You are truly a part of all that is taking place as you pray.

05/28/07 UPDATE

As you can tell by the mid-week post last week, the order of the week was to find a place to meet. I was planning on a high school in the area that would have been a great setup, but they aren't interested in renting to a church. That was fine, so i went with my back-up - a middle school in the area who have been really receptive about us meeting there. However, the district set a policy that no groups can come in during the summer due to construction. SOOOOO . . . we were left with no place to meet through the summer. I spent all week searching the area for some temporary digs. I've found several possibilities and hope to nail something down by Wednesday. Also, we're still trying to find someone who can fill in for us to lead worship on June 10th. Oh yeah, and we're still trying to scrape together the money to buy the equipment we need by the 10th. Oh, and I'm trying to nail down the specifics for the mission team that will be here next week conducting block parties.

Get a picture of what life is like around here? Fun stuff. Actually, it is fun in a wierd sort of way. Despite having nothing pinned down, we have a strong sense that God is in control. I know He is at work in areas that we aren't even aware of. For example, I got a call about a church that is considering helping us out of the blue. I finally contacted a guy about leading the worship (or others who could) and he seemed really interested. God keeps showing up - i read someone describe it as God leaving sticky notes everywhere to remind us that He's working. We're working hard to do all that we can as He leads and trusting Him to come through.

Things have really picked up - we are moving into the "make or break" time for the plant. Next week, a mission team shows up to lead 2 block parties and canvas a couple of neighborhoods with fliers about the church. Then on the 10th, we have our first service. I don't generally get nervous, but I have to admit, I get a knot in my stomach every time I think about that.

Please pray for:
1. A meeting place for the 10th.
2. A worship leader for the 10th.
3. Partners to provide funding for startup costs.
4. Preparations for the mission teams who are coming.

MIDWEEK REQUEST

I have a big request. We've been counting on using one of the schools in the area for a meeting space. I was informed today that the district policy is that none of their properties will be available through the summer due to construction. I realize that God has the correct place out there, but I need to find it - yesterday. Please pray in that regard.

05/21/07 UPDATE

I watched the movie Facing the Giants last week. It was a very predictable story line (you know how everything is going to turn out) and the acting was pretty weak. Normally, I would never admit to having seen a movie like it, BUT it hit me right where I'm living. I really resonated with it and God encouraged me through it, mainly because I totally related with the character and his story.

Anyway, one scene in particular stood out to me. A Christian guy is telling the football coach that God isn't through with him yet. When the coach asks if he really thought God wanted that message communicated to him, the man replied by telling a story. He said, "There were two farmers in an area that was facing severe drought. One of the farmers saw the other returning from working his field and asked what he was doing. The farmer replied, 'I'm preparing for rain.'"

That's how I feel right now. As we've started planning for our first services, all the details seem to be falling into place, except one - We still don't have any people. Things are going according to plans, because we're planning to get people through the mission team that is here on June 3-9 and our first service on June 10. I was just hoping to start gathering some people before then. Mainly, it would relieve my anxiety to see people signing up beforehand. I want to see it, not have to wait for it. I told Jeff and Kelly that I feel like we're preparing for rain and trusting God to bring the rain.

That is my main focus of prayer right now - God send the rain (people). My aim is to do everything I can to prepare for it and trust God to send it at the right time. I know He won't send it if we're not ready and prepared.

That being said, I am seeing His hand all around us as we prepare. All the details seem to be falling into place - they aren't all filled, but they are steadily progressing.

Of particular concern this week, pray for:
1. God to draw people to Himself through our work.
2. Finalizing the details needed for our first service - there's too many to list in detail.
3. A worship leader.
4. Clarity about what to preach for these first services - I'm having an incredibly hard time settling on something.
5. Wisdom as I plan for our mission teams to arrive. I have to reserve places for block parties and other things, so pray for God to give us favor with the right people.

05/14/07 UPDATE

Last week continued to be one of rapid-fire events. On a personal note, two things were really cool. One, Jacqueline and I went to Kansas to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Two, Jackson scored a goal in his soccer game!

As far as Redeemer goes, there were also several significant events there. I'm continuing to pursue a meeting location. I looked at the middle school on Tuesday. They have a gym and cafeteria available. On Friday I looked at the high school. It's huge (2,100 students) and has an amazing auditorium that is set up like a theatre. I almost didn't look at it because it's so big (it seats 614). At our coaching meeting, they encouraged me to check it out and gave some ideas to "shrink" it. I think it will set up really well. they have a lower level of 200+ seats and an upper level with 400 or so. I think I can put up curtains to seperate the upper half and make it manageable. It also has a really nice sound and lighting system (if they'll let us use them) and chairs. I'm in the process of getting forms turned in, insurance policies, etc. Please pray that this will go smoothly and that God will give us favor with those who are in charge - the principal, vice-principals, and custodians.

The only difficulty is that the auditorium is not available in the summer, so we'll have to meet in the "commons" - a multi-purpose cafeteria, etc. I will have to find a sound system, etc. to meet in there.

I also talked with a potential worship leader this week. He sounds very talented and we have a lot in common. He and his wife are moving to Omaha the end of August. i think he wants a full-time position (understandably) but we talked and he's considering it. Please pray for God's guidance. We need Him to call the right person, whoever that may be.

On Tuesday night I met with the Missions Pastor at Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas. They are sending a team up to help us this summer and are going to adopt Nebraska as a missions partner. He is a really sharp guy who used to be a missionary and now coordinates their church in missions - both internationally and in the US. He said that they are a little imbalanced right now, with a large emphasis on international missions, but not as much in the states. He said his vision is to eventually build to the point that he would say, for example, "We want 10 or 15 of you to find jobs and go to Omaha to help start a church. We're sending you and $200,000 to buy land for a building to get a church started." Wow! Now that's a vision for church planting!

I also traveled to NYC for my second church planter coaching meeting. It went really well. In fact, it is going better than I would have thought. it is providing much needed traction, guidance, and encouragement for me.

The biggest concern right now is stress. i keep having these "AHHHHHHHHH!" moments. For example, on Monday, J'line mentioned mother's day. I freaked out. I think she thought it was because I had forgotten Mother's Day. Actually it was because I realized that our first service is the week BEFORE Father's Day - meaning that I had about a month to get it together. Another example was as we were winding up the coaching meeting. They asked, "So who's having a service before our next meeting?" i was like "AHHHHHHHHHH, I am." Everybody laughed because they are there too.

Please pray for:
1. God to give us wisdom in planning and favor with people.
2. Meeting space - pray that God will give us favor with the people in charge.
3. Worship leader - pray that God will lead us to the right person and that he will confirm it to both of us.
4. God to draw people through our ministry projects, servant evangelism projects, and monthly services.
5. PRAY FOR EVERYTHING TO COME TOGETHER FOR OUR FIRST MONTHLY SERVICE ON JUNE 10. We're praying for 75 people.

05/07/07 UPDATE (PART 2)

I forgot one other praise. I've been trying to get a website up and going with no luck. I called and asked Rick Lamberson for an assist last week and he agreed, so we should have something coming together soon!

05/06/07 UPDATE

Last week was largely one of praises. Since we have adapted our "model" for starting the church, there has been a big change in my focus and clarity. Before, I went from week to week hoping to meet some people who would gather around us and once that took place, we'd start "doing something." Now, we're focused on preparing to do what we believe God has called us to do, when he has called us to do it. In our case, that means launching a church publicly beginning September 16, 2007. Now the question has become, "What has to be done for that to take place?" I'm focused on getting the necessary plans made and securing what is needed. Having said all of that, it seemed that God was busy putting those pieces into place.

This was seen clearly after I emailed our monthly newsletter. One request I had was for partners. I had one prospective partner contact me that afternoon. Another was that I asked that we would find the right person to finish our basement. That afternoon, a guy came and gave us a bid that was about half of the others.

Another praise was on the equipment front. I was given a projector and wireless mic - that was about $1,300. I also spoke with a lady who had some top notch sound equipment that she wants to sell us at a cut rate. Now I just need $3,000! I had spoken with her before - she and her husband had helped start a church in Massachusetts before moving here. In addition to the equipment, she was going to give our information to a few other people.

Our most critical needs remain two things. Both are people related and outside of my control. Both are also a dire need - please make them a special priority. Write yourself a note to remember to pray for them daily, please. One, we need a worship leader. Two, we are going to do the work of connecting with people and inviting them, but God has to draw them to Himself and call him to this work. Please make these a continual request.

This week will also be busy for me. I hope to secure the Middle school as a meeting place and i need to connect with the person in charge (and have little time to do it). I'll also be meeting with a mission pastor to from Arkansas to plan his church's summer trip. I'll also be travelling to New York for my coaching meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. This is going to be an extremely busy week. We have something going every day fo the week.

By the way, if anybody was concerned, we got a lot of rain and wind. There's a lot of flooding in the area. However, we have not had any severe weather or tornadoes.

04/30/07 UPDATE

Whew! Our travels went well, but it sure is nice to sleep in my own bed. We arrived back in Omaha around Saturday at noon to conclude a trip that saw us fly to TN, drive to FL, then back to TN via a stop in GA and finally back to NE. It was a long, tiring, but very rewarding trip. The main purpose was to pick up my mother-in-law, Juanita, and move her out to NE with us. As of 4:50 this afternoon, her stuff is all here and in storage. Now we have to get the basement finished. We extended the trip to see old friends and family, as well as visit with some prospective partners for the ministry.

In terms of benefit to our work, we secured one partner, met with another potential one, and had several other strong inquiries. This is very important, because as we prepare to launch, there are several obstacles that must be overcome and it will take help to get over them. There are several one-time, large expenses that need to be met, primarily for equipment and projects (such as a sound system, chairs, trailer, mailers, etc.). I'll be posting an itemized list seperately to keep everyone informed. Please pray for partners to come alongside us or this will be dead in the water!

Upon our arrival in NE, we hit the ground running (actually it felt like the ground hit us, but nevertheless . . . ). We got here at noon and Jackson had a soccer game at 4:30. On Sunday, we got to attend our church for the first time in several weeks. Man, it was good to be back. I can't understand how people operate without a church home for very long.

After church, we met with Jeff and Kelly to develop our launch strategy. We spent three hours laying out our plans to work towards starting the church on September 16th with 250 in attendance. This is exciting work, but there are several "giants" that God has to slay. This may get repetitive, but these are our biggest needs right now. I'll try to keep you posted on the progress of each one.

1. Worship Leader - pray that God will connect us with the right person.
2. Meeting site - I'll be checking with the local schools. Pray that God will show us another site if this is not the right situation.
3. Partners - We need people to partner with us by providing startup finances and equipment.
4. People - God is in charge of drawing people to Himself. We are going to do our best to make a big deal out of Jesus and connect with people, but he has to be the one to draw them.

04/22/07 UPDATE

Sorry for the delay. We have been travelling and I have had limited access to the computer.

We're in the middle of a swing from TN to FL, then GA, back to TN, and then on to NE! We're currently in Cleveland, TN preparing to load a UHaul tomorrow with my mother-in-law's stuff and head to Omaha.

This has been a great trip. I've made several beneficial contacts and seen tons of friends and family. I'll post a more detailed explanation next week.

In the meantime, remember the BIG TWO:

1. A worship leader.

2. God to draw people to be part of the launch team through our summer activities.

04/16/07 UPDATE

Man, what a week! I had several firsts, or some firsts in a long time:

I took my first trip to New York City. If you haven't done that before, it's an experience unlike anything you've been through before. My meeting was in Manhattan. When you are in Manhattan, you see nothing but delivery vehicles, taxis, and limo's and hear nothing but car horns. I also had authentic New York pizza!

Another first was that I had serious travel difficulties. I sat on the tarmac (in the plane) for over an hour and a half before leaving for Chicago. My plane there was canceled, so I had to fly to Manchester, NH and then NY. On the way back, high winds kept planes from leaving La Guardia so I missed my connecting flight from Chicago to Omaha and had to spend the night in Chicago. Definitely not fun. One cool part of that was that I flew over our old house and ministry field leaving Manchester. i could see all the familiar sights and prayed for God to work there.

A first in a long time was that I preached in a tie on Sunday!:( It was a traditional SBC church and we had some really funny stories of things that happened because we have adapted to non-traditional church and forgotten how things work in traditional circles:)

The reason I went to NY was for a church planter's coaching meeting. I met with 11 other church planters around the country at The Journey Church (www.nyjourney.com). They (Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas) planted Jouney in NY in 2001 with a situation similar to ours. They felt called to NY and went with no help, people, etc. Rather than gathering a core group of believers, slowly cultivating them and then reaching out to the unchurched with them, they started going directly for the unchurched and didn't waste time trying to gather, motivate, and argue with :) Christians. Starting with a core usually leads to a smaller, longer start, which increases the chances of failure. Their goal is to launch with a "large" crowd, which increases your chances of success. This takes place by conducting monthly services for 3-6 months which are used to gather interested people. Along with these services, you use servant evangelism projects, mission teams, and advertising to gather people. Then you have a big launch service which begins your weekly services.

For us, it looks like this: we will have a monthly service on June 10, July 22, and August 19. In addition, we have 3 mission teams coming up during June and July to help us. Our Launch will be on September 16. There is a terrifying element to this approach - what if we do all the stuff and nobody shows up? In that case, September is going to be a very depressing time. Please pray for God to use these events to gather the people He has chosen to put in Redeemer Church. We walk by faith, not by sight, right?

Also, pray for several other things:
1. I am overwhelmed with the amount of things that have to be done . . . yesterday.
2. We have a ton of decisions to make - i need wisdom as I make them.
3. We need someone to lead worship.
4. We need locations to have block parties and other servant evangelism opportunities.
5. We need a location for our monthly services.
6. We need money to provide for advertising, materials for the servant evangelism projects, and equipment.

04/09/07 UPDATE




Well, the big news around here is that our family expanded on Monday. We've been promising the boys that we'd get another dog once we got settled down. Long story, but we eventually were connected with a lady who was trying to place one or her whippets, Mystic. We got her last Monday and the boys are ecstatic. You hear a constant chorus of "Mystic, Mystic, Mystic" everywhere you go. She's a great dog - really calm and great with kids. The funniest part of it all is that when we asked where she was, the lady said, "A town called Crestview, FL." That's very close to where we just moved from.

Aside from that, we froze all week. We've been setting record lows all week and watching as our beautiful plants shrivel up and die.

I had several very good meetings this week. The first was on Monday. Our pastor at Heartland and I started meeting to pray for God to move in Omaha. This was the first of what we hope will be a weekly event. Please pray for us to hear from God during this time. We also had a pastor's meeting where we showed a dvd of what we're doing and had several pastors talk to us about helping. One in particular was encouraging. They meet on the same street that we are targeting, but about 7 miles to the east. He said that all of the pastors in that area were praying for the "area out west" for several years and trying to figure out what they could do there. It was good to hear about God going before us. We also had a great time celebrating Easter yesterday with friends. I hope you did too.

This week we have a couple of key things taking place. One, I'll be flying to NYC for my first coaching meeting. Please pray for God to be at work there, showing me His plans for Omaha. Also pray for safety as I travel.

Second, I'll be preaching next Sunday (and the Sunday after that). Pray that I will hear the exact message God wants to bring and that he will speak through me to bring it.

Pray for strength for us as we enter what is going to be a very hectic period of our lives. Things are picking up this weekend and I'm not sure when they will slow down again. The summer is a key time for us and there is much to plan and coordinate as we move towards it.

Also, pray for our schooling choices for the kids. Although they are doing great academically in homeschooling, I think it would be a lot less stressful if they were in school. They are on a waiting list for a public school which has a special academic curriculum that we like. We are also applying for a scholarship that might help us put them into Christian school. Please pray for the right doors to open at the right time.

Finally, here are some recurring requests:
A worship leader.
A place to meet.
Partners in funding many of the upcoming projects and needs.
God to draw people to be part of the plant.
Our first monthly service - June 10. I'm praying for 75 people.
Our public launch - September 9. I'm praying for 250 people.

04/02/07 UPDATE

Last week consisted of a great deal of planning and preparation for upcoming stuff. I spent a lot of time on the phone trying to set up meetings with interested people during an upcoming "Southern tour." We are coming down to move my mother-in-law to O and are trying to make the most of our time. There is also a lot of upcoming planning to prepare for three mission groups that will be coming up to help over the summer, our three once-a-month services during the summer, and our public launch of weekly services in September. Specifically, i'm trying to track down a worship leader, meeting location, equipment, incorporate the church, design a website, design brochures to give out during our block parties, raise funds to provide all of this stuff, set up meetings with prospects, prepare to preach on the 15th and 22nd, and I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting to mention:)

Another benefit from our time in Seattle was that J and I spent a great deal of time walking back through our calling to plant a church. God strengthened that calling as we reviewed it. We are trying to consciously focus on the fact that this is God's plan and therefore He is the one responsible to carry it out. We are simply called to remain sensitive to Him and obey as He leads. This week, I've been focusing on that and during my study, God gave me a new verse, Isaiah 41:9b-10:
'You are my servant';
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strenghten you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Last week was a very encouraging time for me. Friday night, I got to talk with several people who are interested in the church. It is extrememly encouraging to meet new prospects. Also, I met with a pastor who is planting a Methodist church in the area. I wasn't aware of their existence, but I got a card in the mail and contacted him. He told me that the ground here is very fertile and that they are reaching a lot of new people. They are very similar to us in philosophy and style and those methods are working. That is really good news! He is also very cooperative and has the mindset that "there's plenty for all of us to do." Also, we had our record Gathering last night. We had 7 adults! Of course, the three new ones won't be back, but that's ok. They were a couple who's very interested in church planting and are doing all the paperwork for incorporating the church, setting up the bank accounts, etc. The other was our Director of Missions, who stopped by because his wife was out of town and he was hungry, i mean, he wanted to come by and encourage us:)

Here are some specific prayer requests for us this week:
A worship leader.
A place to meet.
Partners in funding many of the upcoming projects and needs.
God to draw people to be part of the plant.
Our first monthly service - June 10. I'm praying for 75 people.
Our public launch - September 9. I'm praying for 250 people.

03/27/2007 UPDATE

We arrived back in Omaha last night at midnight or so. We had a good time in Seattle. There were some rather difficult, trying, challenging, etc. moments, but overall it was good. J and I spent a few days there after the conference was over to see the city and have some time on our own. L was sick the first three days we were gone, but eventually mom and dad had two days without a sick child. They survived and had fun (i think) despite having to carry a plastic garbage can with them everywhere:)

I'll try and post some thoughts from the conference on my other blog and reserve comment here for things pertinent for prayer regarding our situation in Omaha.

First, I was confronted with the utter impossibility of what we're trying to do. I really don't have what it takes and sometimes get deluded into thinking I do. For me, this is actually good because it means that God must come through. If God has called me to do it, then it depends on Him. This lead J and I to spend a long time discussing our call and the many ways God has called and confirmed what we are doing. It became a very productive time as we thought through the numerous ways God called us and confirmed it. We left realizing several things that need to change in us and our approach. I was led to repent of several things like personal pride and focus on God's restoration and the Holy Spirit.

Second, J and I saw some drastic adjustments that we need to make in the work here. Again, most are related to the need to reach unchurched people and forget about actively pursuing churched people. We both feel very strongly that family is our first priority, so we have to make time for one another (and really engage each other in that time). However, we also have to carve out time to build relationships with people and practice hospitality (one Biblical means of evangelism). These adjustments will be very challenging and involve making some big decisions.

Third, I came away with a deeper understanding of the Gospel. This is something God has been working into me for the past couple of years. The Gospel is more than our ticket to heaven. It's more than, "Ok, God wiped the slate clean, now you take it from here and do the right things that will make him proud." The Gospel is that God crushed His Son as payment for our sin. He is proud of us due to the gift of Jesus and nothing else. We are utterly incapable of pleasing apart from faith in Jesus. We are still as desperate for God's grace today as the day before we were saved.

We tend to try and "lower the bar" to something we can meet. The opposite approach is needed - lift the bar to where God places it - perfection. When we do, our first observation will be, I can't do it. This drives us back to God in desperation for His help - which is where He wants us. He doesn't miserly meet out that help, he wants to lavish it on us. In short, its a proclamation that God is for us and wants us to turn to Him in utter dependence - in everything. I don't know, it's one of those things that I can't express clearly but that I know in my soul is a HUGE shift. Check the other blog later, I'll try to work this out some more.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:
God to move here - it's all up to Him.
Wisdom as we plan, schedule, etc.
My first coaching session in NYC on April 12.
God to continue the work He is doing in me. Pray for humility on my part to accept what He shows me, the grace to repent, and the power to persevere.
A worship leader and band.
A meeting location.
Resources for the necessary activities to reach the community.
Connection with the right people as we reach out around us.

EMERGENCY REQUEST

We leave for Seattle first thing in the morning and we have a full-fledged puke-o-rama going on at the house. J'line has been sick for several days and is coming out of it. A. was sick at the first of the week and J. and L. are throwing up as we speak. Mom and dad are obviously excited:)

We're going through an assessment time in Seattle where they determine if we are "fit" to church plant. It will be a stressful time and this will only add to it. Please pray for everyone to get better or stay healthy.

J and I were talking about how this happened the last time we had an assessment too. I don't think it's a coincidence.