Tim Tebow and the Super Bowl Commercial

Let me make this disclaimer - I really like Tim Tebow. I like his passion. I love the way he is not ashamed of the Gospel. (See Romans 1:16) I like the way he carries himself. I appreciate the way he serves God on and off the field, often hitting the mission field in the off season. He is just a great guy who loves God and happens to be incredible at playing quarterback.

So, naturally, I was curious when the critics starting ranting and raving over the Super Bowl commercial Tim and his mom did as a way of telling their story. If you have not seen it, you can check it out here.

It was such a short, innocent and non-offensive ad. It doesn't even mention abortion or spell out their decision to embrace his life.

Last week, there was an article in the Washington Post by a person who is NOT Pro Life. This person outwardly disagrees with those of us who support life. However, this article was one of the best, non biased, and intelligent articles on the subject at hand to-date. She tells it like it is and it is well worth your time. Do yourself a favor and read it carefully. You can check it out here.

I thank God for Tim Tebow - we would all live in a better world if more people lived out their faith in Jesus Christ like he does...

Unleash the Dream - Part 3 - Serving the Least

Museum or Mission?

I can hardly wait for church tomorrow! Due to the weather last weekend, it has been two weeks since we last gathered together for Sunday worship. And to be honest, I REALLY miss the smiles, hugs, music, Word, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit among us!

This Sunday, we embark upon Unleash the Dream, Pt. III. I have been looking over the message all morning. I am quite eager and anxious to share this particular message on Sunday. I shall say no more - you will just have to be in the house to fully understand what I mean. :-)

I will tell a brief story, though, that will help set the stage for our time together this Sunday. It's a true story and one that I believe speaks to the call of Christ upon His church!

I know of an inner city church that was forced to a make a difficult decision. The church was located in an area of the downtown city where there were very few residents. Like a lot of urban churches, they had been hit by the suburban sprawl and found themselves only remembering the good ole days. A large corporation was offering them a great deal of money for their site, on which the corporation wanted to put a parking lot. The money would enable the church to move to another part of the inner city where they would find many more people to serve. Even though this was exciting to some in the congregation, other members were resistant to the idea. They pointed out that the church was the guardian of a building whose history and architecture reached back into the early part of the nineteenth century. Denominational history had been made in that building, and some grand figures in the faith had passed its portals.

Eventually the congregation decided to sell the site and make the move to a new building in a thriving inner-city neighborhood. The pastor who was with this congregation through all this upheaval said, "We had to decide whether we wanted to be in a museum or in mission."

You see, newhope, they couldn't have it both ways. It meant either staying on their site, glorying in their past history and serving a few people, or giving up their past and gearing themselves to a significant ministry among the city's people. They opted for mission status over museum status.

In many ways, almost every day, the church has to decide whether or not she will be a mission or museum. And while it is hard for us to imagine this tension in a brand-new church facility, the truth is we will be faced with this same dilemma/decision with every passing year. Will we as a church slip into the museum mindset or we will remain missional? I am certain you know what the answer should be. However, knowing the right answer and doing the right answer is where all of this gets most difficult. I believe we are up for the challenge and I can't wait to discuss it more with you this Sunday.

Unleash the Dream Vision Video

By now, if you are a regular attendee or member of newhope church, you should have received the vision video compliments of the United States Postal Service! :-) We dropped over 1,000 DVDs at the Post Office last Friday. If we have your correct contact information, you should have received this by now. If not, keep your eyes open for the package!

This DVD will take you back to the jail cell where I accepted Christ nearly 22 years ago! It was the first time I had been back since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It walks you through my salvation experience and the way in which, in a very real sense, the birth and dream of newhope started right there in a cold, dark, dingy jail cell in Sumter, South Carolina.

After my testimony, you will experience multiple newhopers and others from local outreach ministries in central North Carolina sharing the power and potential of Unleash the Dream! The video will walk you through the biblical vision/initiatives of Saving the Lost, Serving the Least, Securing the Leadership, and Supplying the Resources. We are very pleased with the final product and I want to thank everyone who participated. You guys did a fantastic job casting vision for the future impact of newhope. I have watched it multiple times and I keep walking away stink'in stoked about the future of our church!

The video concludes with me taking a few moments to walk everyone through the Unleash the Dream pledge card. This is a simple tool that will allow you, if led, to make a 1-year pledge to Unleash the Dream. As you receive this video, I encouraged you to sit down with your significant other, your spouse, your family, friends, Small Group, or by yourself and watch it just as soon as possible. It will take you approximately 30 minutes to watch the entire DVD. The first time I watched it I had to do so alone - it was just too raw and emotional for me.

If you do not receive your copy of the DVD, you will be able to grab a one at church this Sunday. If you are a newhoper, please know I praying for you and our church family. Please pray for me, my family, and the movement of newhope.

The best, beloved, is yet to come!

This Week and Beyond...

As you know, we canceled our Worship Celebrations this past weekend due to inclement weather. As such, I want to bring you up to speed with regards to Unleash the Dream. Here’s the latest:

• A Night of Worship for Haiti is THIS Wednesday at 7:00 pm. We will Worship with song, Word, Holy Communion and 100 % of the offering will go to rebuild Haiti in the name of Christ! Child-care will be provided for birth through 3 years of age.
• Unleash the Dream Vision Chat will now be Sunday, February 14th, immediately following the second Worship Celebration. Dr. Craig Dunn will be with us. The Vision Chat will give you and others an opportunity to ask questions and discuss this campaign! (We did have one planned for this Saturday but since we are a week behind, we have rescheduled that to the Feb 14)
  
• Vision Day VIII will now be Sunday, February 21st instead of Sunday, February 14th. Due to the weather, we simply moved everything back one week. Mark those calendars for February 21st!

That about covers it for now. Hope you will join us this Wednesday, February 3rd at 7 pm for Worship!

Biblical Fasting, Faith, and Self Control...

I am learning more and more every day that there are a lot of people engaged in the Daniels Fast! I do not have an exact number but it seems that everywhere I go these days someone is grabbing me and telling me about their spiritual journey of fasting. For those of you on the journey, way to go! For those of you not yet in the game but considering, it is not too late to join.

I'm hearing humorous stories as well as stories of struggle. One man told me about sitting down to eat his vegetables while his wife plopped down in front of him with piping hot fast food from Arby's, including those crispy curly fries. (Lord, help the ole boy :-)) He wanted to strangle her and then eat the curly fries. On a serious note, I am also hearing of fatigue and lack of energy. Remember, the beauty of the Daniels Fast is that you don't have to fast food completely. So, as when needed, throw back those vegetables, fruit, and water.

In his book, Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough, Elmer Towns, says this:

"One of the first steps in the Daniels Fast is to recognize the external power of our bondages. This does not necessarily mean we have demons, but it does mean we are controlled externally, not internally. Some believe they are alcoholics because their fathers were alcoholics... Although the causes of these problems are external, these people suffer internal depression. "I'm worthless," they inwardly confess, and give up -- when in fact, if they regained control of their bodies through fasting they could reach into their spirits to take control of their inner humanities. Recognizing that an internal power has made us weak is the first step in recovering control of ourselves." (Pg. 32)

In my experience with fasting, Dr. Townes is spot on. One of the key benefits/blessing of fasting is being able to control ourselves. I'm reminded that one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. (Galatians 5:23) I would go so far as to say one look at our culture and it is clear we have lost all forms of self control. As 21st-century American Christians, we don't come off much better. The truth is we often struggle with self control.

Fasting, in a real sense, is a statement of faith that recognizes what God can do in and through us. Likewise, it is also a statement of faith to recognize what a person cannot do. Faith is recognizing God's power and strategy for giving us self-control and then submitting to that power/strategy. Fasting taps into both His power and His biblical strategy for gaining self control!

Jesus said to the disciples, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" (Matthew 17:20)

Faith is never completely blind faith, such as walking to the end of the diving board and jumping into a pool, hoping there will be water in it. Faith is confidence. When you say, "I believe," you are saying, "I know." When Jesus said, "If you have faith," He was saying, "If you know you can break the bondage, it will happen to you." I know that is slicing it pretty thin and some of you will quote Hebrews 11:1 about faith "Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." I get that. But notice the first part of that verse - "Being sure of what we hope for." There is a blindness to faith but don't neglect the certainty of faith either! So much of our victory as Christians depends upon our identity in Christ and our faith/knowledge/trust of His power permeating in our lives. When I start to tap into that kind of faith, that the Christian life starts to take on victory and power!

The old farmer once said to me, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so." Beloved, that is not New Testament faith. New Testament faith is believing what you know is so! So, press own dear fasters! I am praying for you -- for self-control, solid biblical faith, and God's power manifested in your life!

Christmas of Hope!

I know it feels incredibly late, but I came across this picture of our church Christmas tree from one Sunday in December! The gifts are from newhopers who graciously gave items to needy families in central NC! Way to go, newhope! You are some of the most gracious believers I have ever experienced. Thanks for giving to the Lord!