Update from Romania

If my memory serves me correctly (something less dependable in my 50’s) I believe this is my 6^th trip to the country of Romania. I have tried to recollect what happened in my heart the first time I came to Romania that sparked an interest to return. I know God definitely had more in mind than I could have possibly imagined at that time. Ron Taffer, a friend and fellow minister, was God’s instrument to get me over to this country. I remember one day we stood in the middle of the street in a small village called Barbosi (pronounced Bar-Bosh), looked up along the beautiful countryside, and discussed whether or not we felt like this was a long-term assignment. I know that “Moment” must have been designed by God because it is still so fresh in my heart and mind after over 6 years.

We met together as a team on Sunday (by Team I mean our American team along with our Romanian partners) just to talk about the week, pray together and basically get better acquainted. There were many heart-felt words shared in that gathering and many tears shed as we poured out our hearts to God in prayer. This was another one of those times ordained by God because it was something that could not have been planned by me. I think the expectations for this trip were surrendered in that session (at least they were for me). And, it is such a great thing that God gave me this “redirect” time because the construction aspect of this trip will definitely not be what I had hoped for. In coming over here I thought that we would surely be able to complete the work on the bathroom. But, with the delay in getting materials and the work of the plumbers to get all the water ran to the bathroom as well as the drains for all the “exhaust” we may not even be able to complete the walls and get the toilet and sink installed. But that is OK! God has HIS own plan for this trip and I am just honored to be a part of it!!!

I think that times like this when things just don’t “come together” as we imagined, God has His own way to remind us that HE is in Charge! From the methods He chose to enter His own world and the way He accomplished the WAY for our Salvation, we understand that He alone can influence daily schemes of life to insure that His purposes will be accomplished. We all have a choice to make every day whether or not we will allow God to be in charge. However, none of us has control over the ways that God chooses to work things out according to His perfect design.

I am not sure where you are or what may be going on in your life at this time but I can assure you that God has your life in His thoughts and you are definitely on His heart constantly. He is working! And much of what He is doing may seem strange or may be unpleasant but I assure you that He knows exactly what He is doing. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6)

Sunday in Romania

Our worship service with our Romanian brothers and sisters was a blessing to our hearts this morning. Paul and Jennifer shared their testimonies together and then T.J. shared his story of how God has changed his life. It was a blessing to hear again how God has changed these special people who have made this incredible journey. We are privileged to share in such a special experience with the people here in Romania but also with the team members who are here together. It is my prayer that each of these who have come from America will grow closer to the Lord and to each other.

Through the years I have been blessed to go overseas many times with many different people. As I look back over these years it is amazing how many people there are who have gone with us who are now in full time mission work overseas. God can touch your heart on these kind of trips in ways that exceed anything else we have experienced with Him. I wonder if God will speak to any of our current team members about doing mission work full time? There are many needs here in the village of Sanger and it is just one of many villages with little or no Christian influence.

Please continue to pray for our team. So far everyone is doing well physically. We are eating good and I think everyone rested well last night. We will assemble our teams together this afternoon to worship and share together and to make plans for the week that awaits us. I am able to access the internet in the village now so I should be able to send more regular updates. May God bless you for reading this blog and for the thoughts and prayers you are sending up to Him for us.

Safely in Romania

I only have a few minutes to share so I just wanted to let everyone know that we are safely in Romania. It has been good to see our wonderful friends here and to meet new people. When we arrived on Friday there was so many things to do that we were not able to get much rest. I had no sleep for over 32 hours. Maybe just a few minutes on the plane. Then we were invited to go to the Youth Meeting at Betel Church in Cluj. There were at least 100 or more college students, some great worship, and we heard from a mission team that spent a month in Tibet. I was asked to share a "small" message. It was an honor to speak with these very intelligent young people. Many of them were believers but there were many who were not. After a 3+ hours service we had a great meal at our hosts home and I don't think a bed ever felt better. Tomorrow we will have a dedication service for the building. This is the first time we have had to come back since completing the building last year so they are looking forward to having a service with us. Our Brothers and Sisters here have been looking forward to our return so we can all thank the Lord together for giving us the land and the new building.

We will begin our construction work and the children's camps on Monday. We are looking forward to seeing the children again. Some of them have been at the church today. They are the ones who make this work so rewarding. Please pray for us to get some things completed on the building. But, most of all pray for us to do something positive in someone's life that will make a difference in their eternity! We are here now and the opportunities are in front of us. With God's help we can see God do something that will bring GLORY to HIM!

Heading Back to Romania

We have a team of 8 headed to Romania to work on the church we built last year. On this trip we hope to complete work on the bathroom, finish a room inside the building, and pour concrete for the front steps. More importantly, we are going to be sharing God's love with some beautiful children who live in the village of Sanger. Sitting here in the Charlotte airport waiting to board the plane to Munich my heart and mind are focused the wonderful people God has allowed me to meet over these past 6 years. I have to admit, in my old age, I do not enjoy the length of time it takes to get to Romania. If it wasn't for the experiences God has given me in the past it would be very difficult to make myself sit on airplanes for 15 hours.

That's really like our lives. Sometimes the journey to our destination is not that enjoyable but we are willing to take it anyway because of the experiences we anticipate. Maybe we are supposed to be more "in tune" on the less desirable parts of our journey. There are probably many things God is trying to teach us. Please say a prayer for us as we embark on this long journey. We await what God has planned for us but also want to experience all that He has planned on the journey. Gotta go get on the plane.

ADJUSTMENTS

Life is a journey of ADJUSTMENTS! Our plans seldom work out the way we imagined when conceived in our minds. Some of my ideas and apologetics sound so sensible when I play them in my mind. But, when sharing with others or when moving towards actualization, I wonder why things don't work out the way I imagined.

The "Infancy" stages of Connecting Point Church are not following the course we conceived and even announced for many weeks. It seemed apparent over 10 weeks ago that we would be meeting at Carolina High School's brand new facilities. Everything seemed just perfect. Unfortunately things did not transpire according to "Our Plan" so we are now searching for a physical place for our smalll group of Christ-Followers to meet for Corporate Worship on Sundays.
ADJUSTMENTS!!
We are working on several options. At this phase of our Church's existence it is not feasible to even consider leasing a facility. We have no track record of financial stability to even be considered for this kind of arrangement. We have submitted a request form to the leadership at Greenville Tech's new campus -- Northwest. The facilities are extremely nice and there is a County park on the campus! We could get excited and say that this must be the reason God "closed the door" at Carolina. But, this may lead to confusion IF this possibility never materializes. Then we will need to make more...
ADJUSTMENTS!!
While I certainly don't know what God has planned in His future-plan, I am convinced more now than ever that our VISION to move "The Church" away from a Geographical location into the communities where we live is exactly what God wants! (see our website for a detailed explanation for our Community House Churches -- www.connectingpointchurch.cc). We have placed so much emphasis on Assembling in a large building each Sunday that it seems unnatural to be at home on a Sunday morning. I hope our Core leaders are strengthened in our resolve to "BE THE CHURCH WHERE WE LIVE" instead of worrying that we didn't "GO TO CHURCH!"

Whether you are trying to do something for God or just trying to navigate the landscapes of life on earth, you too will need to make ADJUSTMENTS. In writing this aritcle I had to stop and ask the Lord what areas of my personal life need some ADJUSTING. Just like an automobile cannot drive itself, we cannot just allow our lives to take whatever course the world determines. God has given us a great tool to keep our lives out of the ditches of life -- THE BIBLE! When we are lost on the highway, our GPS or the old fashioned map can help get us back on track. Trust me, the Word of God is the only time-tested resource to keep us on God's path. Open it today and make the ADJUSTMENTS that God reveals.

Pray for Connecting Point Church as we seek to ADJUST to whatever God has for us!

Special Days

We are sometimes challenged to share where we were when something significant happened. For many years I would hear people say, "I never will forget where I was when JFK was shot." I was only 3 years old when that happened so I don't remember where I was. Then, the tragedy happened on September 11, 2001. I will never forget where I was and the feelings I experienced as this tragedy unfolded.

For some reason it seems like most of these memories are tied to negative or tragic events. Today I am delighted to share another pivotal moment that happened in our lives (i.e. Lisa and I) and I remember exactly where I was. Today is our daughter Ashley's 18th birthday! This life-changing event for us is one of those "I will never forget where I was" times. I can still hear the doctor say "It's a girl" when we felt positive that we would have another boy. (Yes, we actually waited until she was born to know her gender). I immediately started thinking what it would be like to have a daughter. I thought, "I've got to get a gun because boys will want to come over and see her!" (This wasn't my first thought but I was repulsed at the thought of some boy getting a piece of my daughter's heart).

Many things have happened through these 18 years that have shaped who we all are. Ashley is a wonderful young lady, full of life and still bringing so much joy to her Mom and I. We just hope this is a wonderful day for Ashley. We miss her very much now that she is in college but are so proud of the young woman she is becoming.

This special day is a reminder for me how quickly time passes by and how easy it is to miss out on the best times of our lives because we are preoccupied with things that will never be talked about when we die. Faith, family, friends, etc. are the ingredients of LIFE! While there are many mistakes I regret in these last 18 years of parenting I can honestly say that we have loved Ashley with all our hearts and have tried to spend quality time with her through the years. One of the greatest commentaries on parenting is when your adult children want to come home and be around you. I hope our friendship with our adult children will grow stronger through the years.

Happy Birthday "Baby Girl!"

Connecting Point Church Update

I am amazed by all the time and mental energy required to "Plant" a New Church. While it is very invigorating it is also very draining. I have said in my heart and mind many times how this should have happened in my life when I was in my 30's. But, God doesn't always do what "makes sense" to us! With all the energy I have expended in writing, training, organizing and trying to keep people "plugged in" without a weekly meeting, I haven't had much left to blog.

I just wanted to send out an update on the current status of Connecting Point Church, asking for your prayers as we pursue our official "launch." At this time we are pretty sure of about 75 adults who are committed to be "Founding Partners" of CPC! When you count their children and our students we have over 100 people. This is an awesome number to start a new work with. We have some very gifted, passionate, and enthused Core Leaders who are stepping up to take care of the necessary details for our House Churches and for our Corporate gatherings on Sundays.

Our Vision is a little different than most churches -- both established and new churches. As I have networked with several "Church-Planting Pastors" these past few weeks, I have been intrigued by their reaction to our Vision. So, what makes us different? I'm glad you asked. I will share a little bit here in this blog. If you want to know more visit our website: www.connectingpointchurch.cc.

While all New Testament churches place emphasis on Small Group ministries and missional work, for the most part, churches are evaluated by how many people we can get into a building one or more times a week; how much money we receive; and by how many buildings we construct. With Connecting Point Church, our primary goal is to establish viable, healthy Churches in people's Homes right in the very communities where we live. Instead of retreating to our private neighborhoods to escape the pressures of our hectice lives, we want to take the ministries to these places where genuine Christianity can take place at any time during the week instead of just one or two days a week.

While it will be a challenge to have homes that become places where vibrant ministries take place, I believe this is the future of the Christian church in these final days that we are on this earth. Every day the American government is becoming less tolearant of the "Corporate" version of Christianity we have constructed. As our many different denominational churches suffer persecution from big government, the Gospel ministry will become more subverse, taking place in the environments where we LIVE and WORK and PLAY-- 24/7!

I hope to continue sharing more about our progress in these next few weeks as Connecting Point Church becomes more clearly defined. After over 20 years in "Ministry" trying to do what the "Church" expected of me, I feel a sense of freedom and expectancy in stepping out on faith to follow God's lead as we strive to see our communities transformed by the Gospel. Stay tuned and I promise to do better about sharing on this wonderful media. Thanks for reading.