Pastor Don

When a son leads his father into worship...

2011-12-02T16:51:00.001-05:00

All Things New

From "For The Honor"

Elevation Worship

Producer: Mack Brock

Written by: Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Wade Joye & Ben Richter

What Wall Are You Hiding Behind?

2011-11-28T09:05:00.003-05:00

Over the years, we collect filters through which we process life. These filters determine how we respond to everyday life… both the little stuff and the really huge stuff. These filters determine how we relate to people… how we make decisions… how we think. The things we let influence us and speak into our lives make up these filters. These filters will quickly build walls in our lives.

Here are some common walls that we build around our life which are usually the opposite of what God's Word teaches.

1. A Wall of FEAR

Do I fail to realize that God is in control?
Do I want God to be in control of my life?
Am I afraid of what God might ask of me?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6–7

2. A Wall of DIRT

Have the things that I once considered filth become the source of my entertainment?
Does what once made me blush now make me laugh?

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Phil. 4:8

3. A Wall of ACTIVITY

Has church activity become a substitute for an intimate relationship with Jesus?
Have I filled my life with endless, meaningless activities?
Am I trying to earn God's love?

Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Phil. 4:9

4. A Wall of COMPLAINING

Do I think God has given me the short end of the stick?
Do I compare myself to others?

How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Phil. 4:10–12

5. The Wall of DEFEAT

Do I believe the Bible is God's Word?
Am I willing to trust His promises?

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13

So the real question is this: Are you ready to tear down some walls in your life?

Grandmother

2011-06-16T01:52:00.007-04:00

I was thinking of my Grandmother today. Just a few weeks after her 102nd birthday (which was February 28, 2011) she went home to be with the Lord. She was ready for death... and most importantly she was ready for heaven. Always thinking ahead, Grandmother had planned out her funeral. She made all of the arrangements. She planned for me to conduct her memorial service. I didn't know about this until my uncle told me after she passed away. It was an honor for me. The picture above was taken on her 102nd birthday. My last visit with her was just a few days prior. Grandmother Brock was my last grandparent and I will miss her.

Teddy Roosevelt was President when Grandmother Brock was born. Only 8% of all the homes in America had a telephone. There were 46 states and 8,000 registered cars in the entire United States. Gas was 6 cents per gallon. She was born 6 years after the Wright Brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk; 2 years after the Model T Ford was produced; and 1 year before the Boy Scouts began. She was 18 when Charles Lindbergh made his historic non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean and 20 years old when the Stock Market crashed and began the Great Depression.

When she was born, marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all sold over the counter at the local drugstore. No wonder they called it the “good ‘ole days!”

My family lives long. I grew up with most of my great-grandparents. My last great-grandparent died when I was in my twenties. It was Grandmother Brock's mother. I was 32 years old when my first grandparent passed away.

Each time we visited Grandmother Brock with my kids, we would always leave laughing. She was feisty and funny. Her memory was amazing. She lived in the same house for over 70 years. She could tell you how much she paid for it; who painted it the very first time; how much the paint cost… on and on.

One time when she was in her early nineties, she found a man going through her bedroom. She confronted him and told him to get out. She gave him $20 and said “that’s all I have, so take it and get out.” (She actually had a great deal of money…). The intruder told her, “I can’t take your last $20.” She said, “I want you to take it and get out of my house!” The next day, I called her and asked if she was okay. She said yes. “Were you scared?” I will never forget her reply. “No, I wasn’t scared. I was mad!” Then she really got my attention when she said “But I’m ready if he comes back.” “What do you mean grandmother?” Then she really, really got my attention. “I’ve got a shooter!!” I wanted to clarify what I had just heard, “You mean you have a gun?” “I sure do. And I am ready!” Wow! How would you like to face a pistol packing 90 year old grandmother? Of course it would have taken her ten minutes to pull the trigger.

Well, I immediately called my Uncle Gary who took care of Grandmother. “Gary, you need to get over to Grandmother’s house. She has a gun and she is ready to use it!” He laughed… “I’ve already taken care of it.”

Grandmother loved her Lord and loved her church. She was faithful to both. However, Grandmother Brock did have one serious vice. She loved TV wrestling. She would tell me, "Donald, I know its not real, but it sure is fun to watch." When Meredith met Grandmother Brock for the first time, she told Meredith, "You should think about becoming a TV wrestler..." We laughed for a long time.

Grandmother lived by herself in her home until she was 100 years old at which time she finally moved into a nursing home… but she never lost her humor or her feistiness. On one of my last visits to her I said, “Grandmother, its Donald.” She looked me straight into my eyes and got mad, “I know who you are!” Then just to prove the point she asked, “How is Mary, Katie, Mack and Meredith?” Boy, she quickly put me in my place. I'm surprised she didn't ask me about the dog.

I will miss talking to Grandmother about my Dad… her first born. The only time I ever saw my her cry was the night Dad died. She told me many times, “Mack was your Grandfather’s very best friend. They were more like brothers than father and son. Mack always took care of us.”

Thanks Grandmother for finishing well! I will see you one day soon.

Passive Parenting

2011-02-24T08:46:00.003-05:00

The following is from a blog that I follow by James Emery White. I find that his writings are usually right on target. This is one that all parents need to read...

The average child between the age of 8-18 “now spends practically every waking minute – except for the time in school – using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device” according to a study that didn’t receive the wide discussion it deserved when released in 2010 by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Specifically, they spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices. And that doesn’t count the 1.5 hours spent texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cell phones.

And because they multi-task (for example, surfing the net while listening to their iPod), they manage cramming nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours.

The study also found that heavy media use is associated with behavior problems, poor grades and obesity. According to the study, the “heaviest media users were also more likely to report that they were bored or sad, or that they got into trouble, did not get along well with their parents and were not happy at school.”

Despite the alarming amount of time being spent with media, and the negatives associated with its heavy use, Dr. Michael Rich (a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston who directs the Center on Media and Child Health) said that it was time to stop arguing over whether it was good or bad and accept it as part of children’s environment.

I’m sorry. Excuse me?

Thank goodness for the simple sanity of Victoria Rideout, a Kaiser vice president and lead author of the study, who said that although it has become harder for parents to control what their children do, they can still have an effect.

“They can still make rules and it still makes a difference.”

Precisely.

An increasing number of parents today seem to throw up their hands in defeat in the face of their cultural surroundings as if they are powerless to do anything about their child’s friends, education and use of media.

Let’s call it what it is: passive parenting.

A passive parent is someone who sees what needs to be addressed, sees what needs to be attended, and doesn’t attend to it. “Giving in” and “going along” becomes paramount to their thinking.

“You’re wearing that? Well, I guess everyone is.”

“You want to watch what? Well, if everyone is.”

“You want to do what? Well, if the others are.”

In truth, they are abdicating their role. They are not doing what they are called to do as a parent. The assumption with parenting is simple: your children are immature and need your maturity. Yet some parents are more eager to be liked, or accepted by their kids, than they are to be parents to their kids.

So instead of being active, they’re passive.

Let me state what I hope is obvious: seven and a half hours a day with media is wrong. No parent should allow it. Force them (yes, I said “force”) to read, to use their imagination, to get outside and play with a dog or participate in a sport.

I know, that means becoming an active parent.

But unless I’m mistaken, that’s what parenting is about.

James Emery White

Sources

Tamar Lewin, “Children Awake? Then They’re Probably Online,” The New York Times, Wednesday, January 20, 2010, p. A1 and A3. Greg Toppo, “Kids’ digital day: Almost 8 hours,” USA Today, Wednesday, January 20, 2010, p. 1A.

Matt Richtel, “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction,” The New York Times, Sunday, November 21, 2010, p. A1 and A20.

Editor’s Note

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Meet Tagg Wolverton, our Sr. Youth Pastor & family!

2011-02-11T22:42:00.008-05:00

Tagg & Susan; Graeme (10 years old, 5th grade); Olivia (8 years old, 3rd grade); Anna (12 years old, 7th grade); Ben (14 years old, 8th grade).

God has shown tremendous favor to Gateway by sending us Tagg Wolverton as our next Senior Youth Pastor. For the past several months your search team has diligently prayed and sought God’s man for GBC. God’s Spirit made us of one mind, heart and spirit. It was a blessing to me to work with this team: Linda Gee, Kris Corley, Renee Goodman, Larry Wagner, Joel Baker, Nick Stoia, Jeff Douglas and Ronald Flynn.

Tagg and his family will be with us this Sunday and then will begin his new position the week of February 21st. Here are a few facts about Tagg:

Ministry Experience
• Most recently served with Greater Europe Missions in the Netherlands. He was the Youth Ministry Team Leader and directed the Youth Ministry Development.
• Served 11 years at Brookwood Church in Greenville, SC as the Minister to Students. His responsibilities included middle school through college students. The ministry grew from 11 students to over 450 students.
• Served as the Worship Leader and Associate Pastor of Springbrook Baptist Church, Anderson SC.
• Served as the College Minister at First Baptist Church, Arlington, TX.
• Since 2004 has served as a mentor for Purpose Driven Youth Ministry.
• Served on the Programming Staff for Centrifuge Summer Camps.

Education
• Is in the process of finishing his PhD from the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• Has both a Masters of Theology and a Research Masters in Theology from Vrije Universiteit.
• Has a Masters of Divinity with Biblical Languages from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX
• Has a Bachelor of Science from Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Tagg’s interest includes music, fly fishing, reading and snow skiing.

I want to say a big thanks to Dr. David Olshine of CIU for serving as our interim director for our student ministry and as a consultant for our search team.

I also want to give a HUGE – WE ARE INCREDABLY PROUD OF YOU to Amanda Brown, our female youth director. She has been amazing during the interim period. We love you Amanda… you have a special place in our heart! Our students love you!!

Send Tagg and his family a big Gateway welcome email to info@taggwolverton.com

Course Correction

2011-01-13T18:52:00.006-05:00

Back in my flying days, part of the pre-flight routine was to make sure my instruments were properly calibrated. If I was making a cross-country flight, I was particularly interested in my directional indicator being correct. On a long flight, it was important to occasionally re-adjust the directional indicator or I would find myself off-course and… well, lost.

Gateway is on a journey. Our journey is for a life-time. Because of the long-distant journey, we must make sure we are on the right course. We must regularly double check our directional indicator. Just a few degrees of course can have devastating effects. There have been moments that we as a church have gotten off course. That is why this past Sunday I took the time to calibrate our church’s compass.

As part of this course correction, we are returning to who we really are as a church. We are body of believers who love God and love people. We love to see God change lives. In fact, this past Sunday we reminded ourselves why we even exist.

Gateway exists to glorify God by equipping people to become passionately committed to Christ.

There are several initiatives we are taking this year. We are going to focus on a few basic, yet crucial areas. I want to lead us to become…

• People of Prayer
• People of the Book
• People with Purpose
• People with Passion

Jesus made it clear what the most important commands were – Loving God with all your being and loving others as yourself. He also gave us his Great Commission – make disciples.

As your pastor, it is my passion that as a church body, we will have a great commitment to the great commandments and the great commission with great passion. When we do this, God will grow Gateway into a Great Church. We must do our part and He will bring the growth!

Do you need some motivation? Then constantly think about the 35,000 un-churched and de-churched people who are within a five mile radius of Gateway. God certainly thinks about them. He thinks about them constantly. And so must we!

Susan Bailey Law

2011-01-01T19:56:00.009-05:00

Yesterday I made a sad trip to Charlotte’s Presbyterian Hospital. As I pulled into the parking garage I could feel the weight in my heart growing. Walking down the hallway to the hospice unit, I prayed that God would help to keep my emotions in check and that He would give me the words to share. I was getting ready to say goodbye to one of the sweetest souls I have ever known. Susan Bailey Law was in my youth group at First Baptist in Charlotte. Mary and I loved her and her family. Her parents, Martha and Bill worked in the youth ministry; her brother Brian is one of the smartest guys I have every known; and her sister Dana always made us laugh. Susan was one of those special individuals whom everyone easily loved. She was one of a kind. Susan and her husband Jerel served the Lord together. For the past several years they have served as church planters north of Charlotte. God blessed them with three wonderful children.

I had the honor of praying for Susan and with the family yesterday afternoon. This morning at 5:30, Susan looked directly into the eyes of her Lord and Savior. I envy her.

But what about Jerel who has lost his best friend? What about the three children who will face life without their mother? What about Martha and Bill who will now bury a second child. Their first born died when he was just a year old. What about Brian and Dana? What about a church family who is grieving? What about a host of friends – all of whom were praying for a healing? Holding on to your faith when God does not make sense is a challenge. The death of such a young wife with three young children in such a loving marriage is one of the greatest challenges a husband could ever face. The death of a child is one of the greatest if not the greatest challenge a parent could ever face. The death of one with so much life ahead, is like putting the period in the middle of a sentence, it does not make any sense. It does not belong.

When I conducted the funeral service for my wife’s grandmother, she was 101 years old. We celebrated her life. Her death was a natural next step as she moved into God’s heaven. It made sense.

Through 35 years of ministry, I have walked with many people through experiences and sorrows that were not easily understood. Examples of inexplicable sorrows and difficulties could fill the shelves of the world’s largest library. Almost every person could contribute illustrations of his or her own. In a world were innocent people suffer, we are challenged in our faith.

I have watched individuals deal with cancer, kidney failure, heart disease, cerebral palsy, down’s syndrome, divorce, rape, loneliness, rejection, depression, failure, death, these and thousands of other sources of human suffering produce inevitable questions of the soul. “Why would God permit this to happen?” “If God is so loving, why did He not stop this?” It has been my observation that the Lord does not typically rush in to explain everything to us.

The Lord says in Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

The simple truth is we lack the capacity to grasp God’s infinite mind or the way He intervenes in our lives. It is okay to say, “I don’t know or I don’t understand… this makes no sense.” But we can also say, “I am willing to trust God in spite of my lack of knowledge and understanding. In spite of my pain, I am willing to trust God.”

In spite of the pain, we can celebrate Susan’s life… celebrate a life that was fully lived.

We read in Romans 11:33–36, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

We see in the Bible that there are times when God brought healing, such as the blind man, the cripple, the lepers; He even raised Lazarus from the dead. We also read in scripture when he does not heal, or rather heals in a different way, such as Paul’s thorn in the flesh. God saved Daniel from the lion’s den, but did not save Paul from the executioner’s ax. God saved Noah and his family from the flood, but did not save Steven from the stones of his enemy’s. God saved David from King Saul’s attempts to kill David, but did not heal David’s new born son.

We read in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” The truth of this passage is that we will not have the total picture until we meet God in his kingdom. We must learn to accept partial understanding now, knowing we will have full understanding in his kingdom. I have always thought that my first word in heaven would probably something like, “Oh.”

So, let us then focus on what we do know and what we can understand. The Bible tells us that each person has an appointed time… to be born, to die.

Psalm 139:16 says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

Not many people know their time, but Susan did. She fought hard, prayed long and increased her faith. She was prepared for God to answer her prayer in a different way. There were many promises in scripture for her to hold to…

Romans 8:38–39, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God used Susan among her friends and family. She showed us how to live while facing death. Did she want to live? Absolutely. Did she want to leave her husband and three precious children? No way. Was she ready to face death? Without a doubt!

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” We are not prohibited from trying to understand. We are specifically told not to lean on our ability to make the pieces fit. “Leaning” refers to the panicky demand for answers, throwing faith to the wind if a satisfactory response cannot be produced. It is pressing God to explain himself or else. That is when everything starts to unravel.

I cannot explain why such a deplorable disease such as cancer even exists. I do not have tidy answers that will satisfy. I have no airtight explanations. I reject simplistic theology that suggest, “God must have needed Susan in heaven.” Nonsense! A loving Father does not tear the heart out of a loving husband for selfish purposes. God does not remove a loving mother from her three children because he needs her in heaven. We must acknowledge that we have been given too few facts to explain all the heartache in this imperfect, fallen world. The understanding will have to await the coming of the sovereign Lord who promises to set straight all accounts and end all injustice.

Jesus said, in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

Satan hates us because we are the crowning achievement of God’s creation. Satan hates anything God loves. He is out to destroy us. He hates marriages, because God invented them. He hates families because they are God’s design. But Jesus’ purpose is to give us a full and abundant life. He is not talking about material possession. He is talking about purpose and meaning… a reason to get out of bed in the morning… a reason to live this one life we have to the fullest.

God desires a personal relationship with you. You can have that full and meaningful life through Jesus Christ and only through Jesus Christ. If Susan could speak to us, she would tell us, “It is all true… everything the Bible says about God, Jesus, heaven… it is all true.”

“If anyone calls on the name of the Lord and believes that he was raised from the dead they shall be saved.” Christ’s resurrection is what sealed the deal for me. Just last year I was standing in the Garden Tomb area in Jerusalem… where Jesus was buried. I looked inside the tomb… it was still empty.

God’s proclamation is true; God’s presence is real; God’s purpose is pure. You can live your life to survive. You can live your life for success. Or you can choose to live your life at the highest level - significance. Susan chose to be significant.

To those of us left behind, God can mend our broken hearts… but we have to give him all the pieces.

Meet the Boyd Family!

2010-12-01T08:51:00.003-05:00

Today, Greg Boyd is heading to Gateway. His family will follow sometime at the end of the year. It has been a long journey searching the man that God has for Gateway. It has been a journey of faith for us as well as Greg. Over the past two years we have interviewed many individuals, but for one reason or another God would shut the door. Then one day recently, Bill Jones (a long time member of Gateway and President of CIU) called me, he said he had a name to share with me for our Adult and Family LIFE pastor. That one phone call began the journey that led to this day.

Meet Greg’s family: Josh (13), Breanna (12), Megan (16), Patty and Greg

Here are a few facts about Greg:

• Born in Clovis, New Mexico
• Has a B.A. from Auburn University (okay, so you may have to wait until after Saturday’s game to decide if you like him or not.)
• At Auburn, he was President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes; active in Crusade for Christ; lettered in Cross Country and on the Track team
• Has a Master of Divinity Degree from Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary
• Has a Doctor of Ministry Degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
• Has served and ministered as a Church planter; Youth Pastor; Senior Pastor; Pastor of Spiritual Development
• Enjoys riding his motorcycle and jogging
• His favorite quote: “You do what you believe. Everything else is just religious talk.” – Peter Lord

Be on the lookout for Greg this Sunday!

Ask Yourself

2010-09-20T11:59:00.001-04:00

I have two questions for you to consider:

• Are you tired of living like someone who does not know Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior?

• Are you desperate for the Holy Spirit and His power to be unleashed in your life?

“Do not stifle (grieve) the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thess. 5:19 (NLT)

How’s Your Heart?

2010-09-10T13:11:00.002-04:00

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Prov. 4:23

The Bible tells us that God searches our heart. He examines our secret motives. He examines the “why” behind our actions. If that is true, and it is, then I must invest the time and energy necessary in order to accurately examine my heart, my motives.

First Samuel 16:7 states “the Lord looks at the heart.” The Hebrew concept of the heart embodied four areas of: emotions, will, intellect and desires.

Emotions = joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, all kinds of feelings
Will = deliberately choosing or deciding upon a course of action
Intellect = to know and understand, to think
Desires = to wish or long for

All four are wrapped up in your heart.

Jesus states “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” (Matt. 12:34-35)

The BIG QUESTION: “What are you storing in the vault of your heart?”

It seems to me that the key to the heart is the will. In other words you deliberately choose and decide upon a course of action.

Look at these verses:

(1 Chron. 16:11) “Search for the Lord and his strength; continually seek him” – Searching is act of the will.

(1 Chron. 22:19) “Seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” – Seeking is an act of the will.

(2 Chron. 7:14) “Seek my face and turn from your wicked ways.” – Seeking and turning, an act of the will.

(2 Chron. 12:14) “He was an evil king for he did not seek the Lord.” – To not seek the Lord is an act of the will and leads to evil.

(Ps. 10:4) “The proud are too wicked to seek God.” – Choosing to not seek the Lord leads to pride which is the source of multiple sins.

(Ps. 14:2) “The truly wise seek him.” – Choosing to seek the Lord leads to wisdom.

(Matt. 6:33) “Seek the Kingdom above all else, live righteously and he will give you everything you need.” – Again, it is a choice to seek and to live in a manner that allows God to bless us and work through us.

Once you make a decision of the will, then the passion and emotions will follow.

My Prayer: “Lord as I choose to seek you, let my passion and desire become a laser-beam focus on you. Show me your ways. Show me your heart. Let my choices and actions reflect the decision of my will to seek you. As I seek you, let the manner in which I spend my time, talent and treasure honor you above all else.”

Medical Update

2010-08-25T15:15:00.005-04:00

Mary and I finally arrived home on Tuesday. We have discovered, though no surprise, that God has answered many prayers. You have overwhelmed us with your prayers and words of encouragement. I cannot imagine going through the challenges of life without a church family. God has directed our steps as we have walked this journey of being a cancer patient. There have been moments of questions; moments of uncertainty; even moments of nervousness. But at each of those moments, God’s presence and peace was overwhelming. There was always calmness.

I spent the morning reading through each prayer note and email that I have received the past two weeks. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Here are some highlights of my surgery:

The surgery itself went very well. No complications. Dr. Patel said that my surgery was his most difficult case of that day. (A guy likes to be first in something)
He was able to completely remove the prostate and save all of my nerve bundles. He was the only surgeon who told me he felt confident that he could accomplish this.
I had some infection from one of the incisions, but it was quickly cleared with antibiotics.
The tumor involved 25% of the prostate.
He removed two lymph nodes for pathology as a precaution because of the size of my tumor. Both were clear of any cancer.
There are five patterns of prostate cancer. My biopsy showed that I had patterns three and four. The pathology report of my prostate showed that I actually had pattern five as well. Pattern five is the nasty cancer. It is the most aggressive and deadly form of prostate cancer.
A major God praise is that if I had chosen radiation as my first treatment, radiation cannot kill pattern five cancer when it is in the prostate. Therefore I would have still had cancer growing in my body. When you have radiation as your first form of treatment it is nearly impossible to surgically remove the prostate.
Clean margins are what you want to have in the pathology. That means all of the cancer is contained within the prostate. There was one area that the pathologist could not say for certain that I had clean margins. Cancer cells were on the edge but he was not sure if any had escaped the gland. This will be my faith journey… trusting that there is no cancer left.
My surgeon does not want to do any other treatments at this point. I will have PSA testing done every six weeks for awhile, then every three months. When the prostate is removed, the PSA testing is more reliable. This will determine if any cancer was left behind and is growing.
If that does occur, then I would most likely have radiation treatment. The good news is that pattern five cancer can be destroyed by radiation if it is not within the prostate gland.

For right now I have another five weeks to full recovery from the surgery. I can return to work at the end of next week and then return to full activities in five weeks. God has directed every step in our journey. Dr. Patel is literally the best in the world in the robotic prostate surgery. I am thankful that God opened that door.

My focus is now fully on being the pastor of Gateway. Many people of prayer at Gateway have been saying the same thing… “God is doing something at Gateway.” I believe this is true. He is going to do many things that will amaze us. So get ready!!!

Thank you for loving Mary and me with your prayers, notes, words of encouragement.

Not the kind of Doctors that can fix you

2010-08-09T16:15:00.003-04:00

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Heb. 10:24-25)

I am constantly reminded of how important family is. We must not be flippant about our personal family or our church family. We must nurture, encourage, care for, pray for and build up our family at every opportunity. I am a blessed man in my personal family and I am a blessed pastor in my church family.

The Gateway family has gone overboard in praying for and encouraging me. Your sensitivity and tenderness towards Mary and me has been beyond words. I love you deeply. It's hard to believe I have been your pastor eighteen years this month.

I am also blessed by my immediate family. Mary is the love of my life. She has been the biggest blessing the Lord has granted to me. As anyone who has met her knows, Mary is not the typical pastor's wife. She is a very unique individual who I have always appreciated for her fearless spirit. She is not afraid of tackling the largest mountain. I use to be wound very tight - too tight. God used Mary to loosen me up!

God has blessed us with two wonderful kids, Katie and Mack. And then he gave us a second daughter with Meredith.

Today, Monday, August 9th, we are celebrating our daughter, Katie. Mary and I are at Auburn University for her graduation with her Ph.D. Like her mother, Katie is an amazing person. She has such an adventurous spirit. As a 29 year old, she has completed two undergraduate degrees from Clemson in Bio-chemistry and Visual Arts; completed two master's degrees from Auburn one in Fashion and the other in Business Administration; and now she has completed her Doctor of Philosophy. She was a finalist for the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. She is currently the Director of Operations and Admissions for the MBA degree program at Auburn while teaching undergrad and graduate classes. I have to give a big thanks to District Five and Dutch Fork High School for doing a great job preparing Katie for college.

But with all of these accomplishments, without a doubt the biggest day of her life was the day she adopted Caleb from Ethiopia. He is now a year old and the joy of our family. He is the happiest kid you will ever meet. People tell us, "Caleb is a blessed kid to be adopted into your family." Our response is always, "We are the ones who are blessed!"

In addition, Katie is the evangelist in the family. She loves engaging college students who are seeking spiritual truth. One time she had a group meeting in her home called the Heathen Bible Study. Only non-believers could attend.

Over the years, there have been many key individuals that God has used to influence Katie's life. One specific individual was her small group leader as a youth at Gateway. Cynthia Johnson lived out Hebrews 10:24-25 with Katie by motivating and encouraging her. She has been a faithful friend of prayer; a person who personally lives out her faith. Katie still uses the lessons and insights Cynthia bestowed upon her during her youth.

Thanks Cynthia for investing in my little girl.

By the way... whose life are you investing in? Have you considered being a LIFE group leader? You never know how God will multiply your investment in others.

O Ark, Where Art Thou?

2010-07-30T07:23:00.005-04:00

I remember when Raiders of the Lost Ark hit the theaters in 1981. I loved the movie. I actually met the archeologist on whom the character Indiana Jones was loosely based. The movie encouraged a great deal of interest among Christians. I remember being asked, “What if they did find the Ark?” I remember saying that it really wouldn’t matter if the ark were found. Yes, it would be the archeological find of the millennium, and, yes, it would give additional credence to the Old Testament, but for the believer, it would not change anything. Why? It no longer contains the presence of God, nor His power.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament in Axum, a town in northern Ethiopia. However, they will not let anyone verify their claim.

Orthodox Jews believe it is buried somewhere underneath the original location of the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem. However, the Muslims control the temple area and will not allow any excavation.

We do know for sure that the Ark will be seen again. After the seventh trumpet is sounded in Revelation 11, the Bible says:

Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. (Rev. 11:19)

But is this the original Ark that was in the Holy of Holies? No. The OT Ark was a piece of furniture that symbolized the presence of God. It expressed God’s atonement and covenant. It was only a shadow or picture of the heavenly Ark. When sin was paid once and for all by Jesus on the cross, the earthly Holy of Holies was opened up by God when he ripped the curtain. Now at a future date, the heavenly Holy of Holies will be opened and the heavenly Ark will be revealed.

But in the meantime, let me share where I believe the Ark is currently located.

After Christ’s supreme sacrifice something significant took place. Actually, “significant” cannot begin to capture the magnitude of what took place. Momentous, huge, major… none of these capture the depth. How about “this event changed everything about everything for eternity!”

God’s presence is now in the believer and the church. In a way, we are the Ark.

Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. (Eph 2:20-22)

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? (1 Co 3:16)

Nothing in the Bible is insignificant. Everything in the Holy of Holies had a purpose.

1. The Ark was made of wood – that’s you – and covered inside and out with pure Gold – that’s Jesus. Without Jesus, we are just rotten, dead wood.

2. The manna in the gold pot represents the spiritual sustenance given to us daily by the Holy Spirit. He provides us with all that we need to face the day.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

3. The tablets with the 10 commandments represent God’s Word.

God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. (1 John 2:14)

4. Aaron’s rod that bloomed represents your resurrection in Christ.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. (Rom. 6:4)

If Indiana Jones is still looking for the Ark of the Covenant… he only needs to talk to a believer.

How are you dealing with your cancer?

2010-06-30T09:02:00.001-04:00

I get this question a great deal. It’s a great question because the answer reveals a great deal of how I view God. In fact when you answer this question about any major issue in your life, you are revealing your view of scripture and your heavenly father. To get to my answer of this question, I have to step back and look at the bigger picture.

Now I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but I do know that as of today, we are one day closer. When it comes to life after death, the Bible is very clear that there is an exclusive alternative. Either you go to heaven or you go to hell. It is one or the other. There are no other alternatives.

Once a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, the choice is made. They are bound for heaven.

According to the Bible there is a major event to take place in heaven.

“Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear. For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.” (Rev. 19:6b-8)

This future event seems to be a “what it is all about” event. It’s called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It will be the eternal union of Jesus Christ and his Church, his bride. What that means is you and I, along with all believers, will become the eternal companion of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will have a queenly role serving alongside of Jesus. WOW!!! What an incredible privilege awaiting us.

With that in mind, for me the bottom line is this – God is preparing you and me for eternity. If you want to know the purpose of something, then look to the desired end result. God’s ultimate purpose for us is to be Christ-like. God’s ultimate purpose is for us to become the eternal companion of his son. God’s ultimate purpose for us is to be joint-heirs with his son.

If this is true, then this life is on-the-job training. God is using this life to prepare us for our eternal role.

This is why I am interpreting my current health issues as simply on-the-job training. God is teaching me. God is growing me.

Late last fall, I took a two-week break for the purpose of spiritual reflection. The first week I was alone at the beach. Mary joined me for the second week in the mountains. When I returned from the two weeks, I shared with the staff that God spoke two words to me. Prayer and Faith. God told me to focus on these two things. It was not what I was expecting. I was expecting God to reveal some crucial items concerning Gateway. I thought I would return with a clarified vision. That did not happen. God simply said, increase your prayer and increase your faith.

At the time I thought he was talking about Gateway. In a way he was, but he was speaking more to me personally.

This past spring, I did a forty-day fast. Again, I thought God lead me into the fast in terms of Gateway, but it seemed it was more about my personal walk with him.

When news came about the prostate cancer and then later the skin cancer, it all came together. God was preparing me for this period of my life. He was preparing me for the journey.

Because I interpret everything in my life in terms of eternity, I am confident that God has allowed the cancer in my body to teach me more about Jesus… to shape and mold me more into the image of Jesus. He is preparing me for my eternal role as a bride of Christ.

Are you going through a tough time right now? How would it change your attitude if you interpreted the tough things in your life in light of your eternal destination? We are destined for a throne, a queenly throne. We are destined to be the eternal companion of our precious Lord Jesus Christ.

For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. (Rev. 19:7)

What are you doing to prepare yourself?

For Men Only

2010-06-22T11:32:00.003-04:00

I recently read an article by John Piper entitled Why I Don’t Have a Television and Rarely Go to Movies. After reading the article… well, I think I am going to take a break from television for a period of time. Here is an excerpt of the article:

“I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. Sources of spiritual power—which are what we desperately need—are not in the cinema. You will not want your biographer to write: Prick him and he bleeds movies.

If you want to be relevant, say, for prostitutes, don’t watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel. Immerse yourself in the gospel, which is tailor-made for prostitutes; then watch Jesus deal with them in the Bible; then go find a prostitute and talk to her. Listen to her, not the movie. Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners.

There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.

I have a high tolerance for violence, high tolerance for bad language, and zero tolerance for nudity... that lady is really naked, and I am really watching. And somewhere she has a brokenhearted father.

I’ll put it bluntly. The only nude female body a guy should ever lay his eyes on is his wife’s. The few exceptions include doctors, morticians, and fathers changing diapers. “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). What the eyes see really matters. “Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Better to gouge your eye than go to hell (verse 29).

Brothers, that is serious. Really serious. Jesus is violent about this. What we do with our eyes can damn us. One reason is that it is virtually impossible to transition from being entertained by nudity to an act of “beholding the glory of the Lord.” But this means the entire Christian life is threatened by the deadening effects of sexual titillation.

All Christ-exalting transformation comes from “beholding the glory of Christ.” “Beholding the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Whatever dulls the eyes of our mind from seeing Christ powerfully and purely is destroying us. There is not one man in a thousand whose spiritual eyes are more readily moved by the beauty of Christ because he has just seen a bare breast with his buddies.

But leave sex aside (as if that were possible for fifteen minutes on TV). It’s the unremitting triviality that makes television so deadly. What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ. Television takes us almost constantly in the opposite direction, lowering, shrinking, and deadening our capacities for worshiping Christ.

One more smaller concern with TV (besides its addictive tendencies, trivialization of life, and deadening effects): It takes time. I have so many things I want to accomplish in this one short life. Don’t waste your life is not a catchphrase for me; it’s a cliff I walk beside every day with trembling.

TV consumes more and more time for those who get used to watching it. You start to feel like it belongs. You wonder how you could get along without it. I am jealous for my evenings. There are so many things in life I want to accomplish. I simply could not do what I do if I watched television. So we have never had a TV in 40 years of marriage (except in Germany, to help learn the language). I don’t regret it. “

--John Piper

Last Thursday was a busy day...

2010-06-18T23:43:00.004-04:00

I spent the morning at my physician’s office going through a slew of tests in preparation for my surgery. I got a green light on every item. The results are being sent to Dr. Patel’s office in Orlando.

I left Dr. Fravel’s office to head to the airport for my flight to Texas to go to Corpus Christi to perform a wedding for a dear friend.

On the flight to Texas, I sat next to a Marine Lieutenant General (3 stars). We talked non-stop for the 2 ½ hour flight. It was fascinating. He invited me up to DC as his special guest for a VIP event at the Marines Barracks. I’m going to make it happen!

Now for a whole new twist in my life.

While waiting at the airport, my daughter Katie sent me a text with a passage of scripture. She said, “I thought of you when I came across this verse today.”

Joshua 1:9 in The Message Bible: “Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

Katie’s text came at 3:21 PM.

Fifteen minutes later at 3:36 PM, I was on the phone with Dr. Clemenz’s office, my dermatologist. Over the past several weeks I had developed a sore on my nose. I thought it was no big deal until it started bleeding. I knew I needed to see Dr. Clemenz. With Mary’s skin cancer issues from the past, we both faithfully go to Dr. Clemenz every six months to have our skin checked. Usually she can catch cells when they are very pre-mature and simply freeze them off. This one was different. In my spirit, I knew it wasn’t going to be good. She took a biopsy of my nose: you may have noticed the bandage this past Sunday.

Now back to the phone call. At 3:36 PM I was informed that the biopsy had come back positive for cancer. As I understand it, there are three basic types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma; squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. I have the second level – squamous cell carcinoma. It is cancer, but it is treatable.

Katie was totally unaware of the nose biopsy. She was simply being faithful to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to encourage her Dad.

Later this month I will have surgery on my nose to remove the cancer cells. The procedure I will have by Dr. Chow is called Mohs Micrographic Surgery. Basically, Dr. Chow will give me a shot in the nose and remove a layer of skin. I will wait while he exams the skin tissue. If there are cancer cells on the edges of the removed tissue, he will give me another shot in the nose and remove more tissue. He will continue this process until he has “clean margins.” The Mohs surgery is the most exact and precise method of skin cancer removal. It minimizes the chance of re-growth and lessens the potential for scarring or disfigurement… which is very important to me since I have such a pretty nose.

Dr. Chow is trained in surgery, pathology, and reconstruction. The best option would be that the cancer is completely removed in the first step. If multiple steps have to be taken, as happened to Mary about 10 years ago, then I will go to a plastic surgeon. He will remove skin tissue from my neck and graft it onto my nose.

All of this will happen prior to my trip to Orlando for my prostate surgery.

I have to say… for someone who has never had a surgical procedure other than my wisdom teeth being removed and has never been sick with anything more than a bad cold… I am making up for it in 2010.

In my quiet time this week, God gave me these verses:

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again. (Ps. 71:20-21)

God has given me the privilege of facing these challenges. He has given me the blessing of growing in my faith so that I can please Him even more. He has given the joy of facing two unrelated cancers so that I might be able to teach you more effectively the truth of God’s word and the His glorious promises. I want you to see the truth of God’s word lived out in my life.

As for this moment, there is one thing I know for sure…

“Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.”

That’s enough for me…

Medical Update

2010-06-04T08:13:00.016-04:00

Over the past few weeks Mary and I have talked to multiple surgeons, medical centers, radiation oncologists, prostate cancer patients and friends who are physicians. Mary has read every medical book she has gotten her hands on dealing with this issue. After much research and prayer, Mary and I have determined that God is leading us toward surgery, with prayer, as the plan of attack for the prostate cancer. The two go hand in hand. I believe God can completely heal me without a physician. But I also believe He may choose to heal me through a physician. I will be praying for the Lord to guide the hands of the one who is doing the cutting. Also that God will guide his eyes to not miss anything.

Of the three options of surgery, we have chosen robotic surgery. My urologist recommended Dr. Patel in Orlando, FL, stating that he is the best in the country. In fact, Dr. Petel was voted the top Urologist in America last year. Here is his link:

http://globalroboticsinstitute.com/en/urology-robotic-prostatectomy/why-dr-patel

Because of his reputation it was not surprising that the earliest appointment available was the end of June. But the Lord knew that the end of June would be too long of a wait for me. He never puts more on you than you can handle. On Tuesday of this week, I felt I should call Dr. Patel’s office to ask if there had been a cancellation. The receptionist told me, “I just now had a cancellation. Can you come in the morning?” Mary and I were out the door. It took us seven hours to make it to Orlando.

One side note: I went online to book a hotel. I thought I would try Travelocity’s new section called “Top Secret Hotel.” It is their answer to Priceline. Basically you book a hotel knowing only its rating and general location. I was able to book a 3 star hotel for $35 that was less than 5 minutes from Dr. Patel’s office. On top of that, Travelocity gave me a $30 rebate for using their new site for the first time! OK… this is starting out to be a great trip.

We were at Dr. Patel’s office the next morning at 8:45. I spent an hour filling out paper work. Then we spent the next six hours meeting with five different medical associates. They were thorough. In the waiting room, we met people from all over. We met one couple who were in our church in North Augusta when I was a youth minister… small world.

I discovered that people were coming from all over the world to have Dr. Patel perform their prostate surgery. He told me that he has personally preformed over 4,000 robotic procedures. I like that kind of experience.

During our meeting with Dr. Patel he told me some great news and some challenging news. First: I have most likely had prostate cancer for 5 years, maybe longer. The only symptom was a slight elevation of my PSA blood test in year five. My PSA has been perfect prior to this year. Second: the tumor is large which will make the surgery more difficult. (Now I know why God sent me to the best.) Third: My cancer is aggressive. Fourth: I have a 90% chance that the cancer is all contained within the prostate. That was awesome news. The research data at John Hopkins Medical Center suggested that I had only a 47% chance it was contained.

Because the surgery is going to be difficult he said it is best to wait twelve weeks from the date of the biopsy. This gives my prostate time to completely recover from the biopsy so that he will have clear vision of the nerves which will increase his chances of saving the nerve bundles. I found it humorous that he wants my prostate to get better before he kills it…

My surgery is scheduled for August 16th. I will spend one night in the hospital after the surgery. We will need to stay a total of ten days in Orlando for all of the post-surgery test and check-ups. (Another blessing: Mary’s sister has a time-share condo in Orlando and is in the process of setting it up for us to use.) Once I am home, I will need one more week of recovery. By the end of August I should be back in my normal routine.

I want you to meet my Da Vinci Robot who will be putting 4 small holes in my abdomen to cut out my prostate. I’ve named him Eddie after the movie icon Edward Scissorhands.

Edward Scissorhands is the one with the hair.

Medical Update

2010-05-11T23:22:00.005-04:00

Mary and I had a thorough meeting with my urologist today. We met for ninety minutes. Let me give you a basic summary:

We have confidence in my urologist/surgeon. He is a believer. He has a great reputation. God gave me a great peace about him.
We are very thankful to my family physician (who is also a believer) in that my symptoms were very minimal. That is, there was very little evidence that something was going on. I believe the Holy Spirit prompted him to be aggressive instead of a “wait and see” attitude.
The cancer (adenocarcinoma) is more advanced than we originally thought.
The surgeon believes the cancer is still contained within the prostate.
The stage of cancer that I have eliminated a few of the treatment options.
At this point Mary and I are moving towards surgery which will completely remove the prostate.
The surgical removal can be done by laparoscopic or robotic. (DANGER WILL ROBINSON!! – That’s for those of us who grew up on “Lost in Space”. And if I have to explain it to you, then it’s not funny.)
The surgery will probably be scheduled for early June.
Recovery will be 2 to 3 weeks.
If the pathology report shows clean margins, i.e. the cancer is contained within the prostate then no other procedures will be needed.

Mary and I feel very blessed. We are thankful for our great community of fellow believers who are praying for us. We are thankful for the excellent health care available in our community. We are thankful for the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. Psalm 25:17

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8

The dreaded “C” word…

2010-05-10T11:06:00.004-04:00

Last Friday, Mary and I were enjoying a rare day of golf – just the two of us. It was great. Afterwards, we stopped at the Waffle House across the interstate from the Mid Carolina Golf Club. The only time I go there is when I have a deep need for a Texas Cheese-Steak Sandwich (no onions). It’s the only thing I order when I go. The only reason Mary goes is to watch me eat a Texas Cheese-Steak Sandwich. Half-way through my sandwich I got the phone call I had been waiting for. My physician had called the evening before, but we were out. It didn’t take long to put two and two together from his voice mail. He called, not his assistant. He didn’t leave a result, but said we needed to talk on Friday… I knew it meant that I was not going to get the news I was hoping for.

Two weeks prior to all of this I had my annual physical. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE AN ANNUAL PHYSICAL!!! I was thrilled with my physical. My blood pressure was 100 over 66; I had lost 25 pounds; my blood work came back great with one exception. My PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) was slightly elevated. My family physician wanted me to see an urologist as a precaution. He said the elevation was minor and was probably nothing more than an infection. Within a few days I was seeing the urologist. That led to another exam. My urologist said there was enough evidence to warrant a biopsy on my prostate. It still might be an infection, but he wanted to make sure.

I am not one to sit around and wait, so we scheduled the biopsy as soon as possible. It was last Monday. Twelve samples were taken from my prostate. By the way – I can now sing soprano with the best of them! Barry and I are planning a duet.

Now back to the phone call on Friday. The best result would have been that it was nothing more than an infection. If that had been the case, there would have been a simple message from my physician’s nurse – “Great news, it’s an infection. A prescription has been called in for you.” Instead it was “give me a call first thing on Friday.”

So Mary and I knew immediately what the results were… cancer. Now it was only a matter of how much, how bad, how contained.

The urologist confirmed our suspicion. The good news is we have caught it early. On Tuesday, I will have my follow up with my urologist. He will explain all the details of the biopsy report and the treatment options.

I have kept this process very private. Mary and our children knew. No one else in my family has known until last night. I did keep Ronald Flynn in the loop because of his role at Gateway.

I have just shared everything with the staff and now I am sharing this with my favorite people in the world – you! We are family. I love the Gateway family and appreciate your support and love. You have stood by me in the good times and in the difficult times. You have stood by me when I have been right and when I have been wrong. You have stayed the course with me as we seek to reach our community for Christ. You have been faithful to pray for me and encourage me.

In the scheme of things in the cancer world, this is not a big thing. I have walked with people through very serious cancer – multiple myeloma; colon; bone, kidney, liver, and on and on. I have watched close friends face death with courage, dignity and faith. What I am dealing with is a minor cancer.

Let me make some things very clear – my urologist said that the cancer has been discovered VERY early, is VERY treatable and is NOT life-threatening. My heart goes out to those who have been told just the opposite – “we did not catch it in time; it is advanced; it’s a death sentence.”

Let me share a few thoughts:

In the scheme of life, this is just a bump in the road… a very small bump!
I’m fine with you sharing this with others… especially people of faith that will pray.
I do not want to hear about some doctor in Mexico that I should go see.
Do not email me something you found on the Internet. I appreciate the thought, but I have intentionally avoided the Internet.
I’m fine with discussing it with you, but I would rather talk more about winning people to Jesus.
I will keep you informed as anything significant occurs.
I will continue my role as Senior Pastor. If anything occurs that requires my absence, you will be informed.
I’m praying that God will make me a better pastor through this.
I pray that I will be able to minister to those who deal with cancer at a different level.

Mary and I are completely trusting Jesus. We are fine emotionally. God can do what ever He desires with me. I gave Him the deed to my life when I was a teenager. I belong to Him so it is His business. We want God to be glorified with every aspect of our lives.

Here are some verses that have taken on new meaning to me:

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Peter 4:19)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. (Job 13:15)

Just so that you will know

2010-05-02T17:30:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I get comments about a blog from an anonymous person. Usually their comments are condemning and judgemental. Usually their comments demonstrates their inability to understand my humor. But that is not the reason I do not post their comments. Although it is interesting to me that it is usually a weak person who hides behind the "anonymous" label that writes the strongest, judging words. It is a coward's method.

Just so that you will know, I will never post comments from "anonymous" people. (You actually criticized me for not publishing your comments.) I am not afraid to publish comments from someone who disagrees with me as long as they are willing to take ownership of their words.

My preference would have been to share these thoughts with you in a private email. But since you do not take ownership of your words, I have no method of responding to you except by this blog.

Also, consider this my one and only response.

My Dad...

2010-04-15T13:16:00.001-04:00

My Dad directed many people to the Lord. He was the evangelist in our family… just as Katie is the evangelist in our family today. There are two events that I am most familiar with. Both were during the last few months of his life… one was when he actually died.

Story number one. Dad was at Duke Hospital at Duke University. Chemotherapy was in its early stages of development so the only treatment available to my dad was cobalt radiotherapy. At this point all of his medical team was in agreement that he would not survive much longer. The lead physician was concerned that my dad did not understand, or at least was denying the reality of his impending death. The team asked the medical resident in Psychiatry to speak to Dad. The psychiatrist visited with Dad and it was a life altering time.

Obviously, the words my dad spoke to the resident caused some soul stirring. Later that evening, the psychiatrist called my Dad. He asked, “Mr. Brock, do you mind if I stop by after my rounds and visit with you again? I have a few questions. You see, you have something I don’t have and I want to know what it is.”

The psychiatrist came by Dad’s hospital room. They talked; the doctor asked his questions… “you have such a peace about your death. Where does that come from?” By the end of their conversation, my dad led him to Jesus. The last I had heard, that resident had developed a wonderful Christian-based psychiatric practice.

Story number two. About two years ago, Mary and I were south of Raleigh in N.C. visiting some dear friends. While there, I asked Mary if she would mind stopping to visit a close family friend who lived in the same area. Her name is Trudy. Trudy will always have a special place in my heart. She was the chief technician in the radiology department of High Point Hospital. Because of her position, she had gotten to know my parents very well and had taken a keen interest in my Dad. There was something about his faith that drew her.

When we stopped by her house, it was great catching up on old times. Finally I asked, “Trudy, were you with my dad when he died?” “I was,” she said. “Your mom and grandparents were there as well.” I asked her if she minded sharing the story with Mary and me. By her own admission, Trudy was not a believer at that time, but the event that took place that night gave her a deep desire to know Jesus Christ personally.

Everything was very quiet in the room. It was Saturday evening. From her experience, she knew death was near… the deep, shallow breathing, the lowering blood pressure, the slowing heart rate. The body was shutting itself down. My Mom was crying as well as my grandparents. Grandpa always told me that my dad was his very best friend. Grandma told me that they were more like brothers than father and son.

Trudy then said “All of a sudden, I saw Jesus! He was literally standing at the head of Mack’s bed.” The way Trudy tells the story; you wouldn’t doubt her for a moment. She continued, “I literally saw Jesus standing before Mack, ready to take him to heaven. The peace and presence in the room was indescribable.” She looked around at everyone else… they were all crying. “No one saw Jesus but me… and of course Mack.” Trudy didn’t understand why no one else was looking at Jesus.

At that moment, my Dad’s heart stopped. His physical body was dead. Trudy escorted the family from the room. Then she said, “I rushed right back into the room to see Jesus again… but he was already gone.” Forty-three years later and it was just like yesterday. I cannot do justice to her description. But my heart and mind believes everything that she experienced that night.

Trudy later gave her heart to Jesus and has been following him every since. She loves the Lord dearly and will always have a special place in my heart. And one day, Jesus will be standing by her bed… ready to take her to Heaven.

My dad left a legacy of changed lives. Even when facing death, he was thinking of others.

Live your life in such a way that when you face your darkest moments, the only thing that people see is Jesus.

“The death of one that belongs to the Lord is precious in his sight.” (Psalm 116:15, NCV)

“The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.” (Psalm 116:15, NLT)

Experiences

2010-04-12T15:24:00.002-04:00

I haven’t written a blog lately for a specific reason. I recently finished a forty day fast with two wonderful brothers at Gateway. We embarked on this journey not knowing what God was going to teach us. All we knew was that God was calling each of us to an extended fast.

It all started back in January. I had begun to sense from the Holy Spirit that I was to enter into an extended fast. I tried to put it off… coming up with plenty of excuses. Then I received an email from one of my friends saying he was feeling directed by God to a forty day fast. He asked me if I had some information about an extended fast. He ended his email with “… and why don’t you join me on the fast?” Well that settled it. We agreed to meet for chicken wings (always begin a fast with chicken wings!). He invited a close friend and we all agreed that God was calling us to this endeavor.

Over the next forty days we encouraged each other and prayed for each other. We each had different experiences on the journey. But that’s how God works. He always personalizes our journey with him.

During the fast, I decided to refrain from writing. I didn’t want to be diverted.

Now as I reflect on my time during the fast, let me share just a few thoughts. Keep in mind that these thoughts are incomplete…

God revealed to me that I had slipped into replacing faith with experience.
God reminded me that he was not impressed with my experience.
God desires faith… it’s the only way I can please him! (Heb. 11:6)
It’s easy to allow your experience, education and knowledge to supersede God’s word.
It’s easy to spiritualize your experience beyond God’s truth.
Not all experiences are valid. Just because I experienced something does not mean that it is truth.
All of my experiences must be measured, gauged and interpreted by Scripture.
Ultimately I learned that I must be passionate, enthralled, captivated by God’s compelling purpose for my life.
I’m the only person who can live God’s purpose for my life! (Ps. 139:16)
I must live to please God, not people. I live to serve people, but I exist to please God! (1 Thess. 2:4)

What has God been teaching you?

Pastor Don

Easter Sunday Reflections

2010-04-07T10:37:00.000-04:00

Worship was inspiring. Barry, the choir and praise team lead us in wonderful worship in the first service.
Congratulations to Barry and Cheryl Cavin for faithfully serving Gateway since 1986. They celebrate 24 years this Tuesday. Give them a BIG THANKS!
Thanks to Judd and his worship team. They were hitting on all cylinders in the second and third service.
Thanks to Judd, Alan and the band members for working long hours to complete the worship CD you used as an invitation for Easter.
I love the passion of those that lead us in worship!
I appreciate each of our worship team members. They spend hours every week getting ready for Sunday worship. They learn their parts individually. They give up an evening from home to rehearse at church. They come in as early as 7:00 on Sunday morning for one last rehearsal. Be sure to thank them for leading us with heart and passion.
You did your part! You invited your friends. We had over 1,400 on campus.
Thanks for making our visitors feel at home.
Thanks to Barry and his team for having the grounds and buildings well prepared.
Thanks to Sam Reynolds for having the parking lot re-striped and cleaned in time for Sunday.
Thanks to David Gold and his team of 50 volunteers for each aspect of welcoming our guest.
Thanks to Marie Boozer for preparing the gift baskets for our guest.
Thanks to our team who prepare the connections week after week.
Thanks to Joseph Gold for washing down the sidewalks from all the pollen at the last minute.
Thanks to Paige and Cretia and their extensive team of volunteers who work with our preschoolers and children each week.
Thanks to our coffee team. They come very early to get coffee and refreshments ready for you!
Thanks to our entire church family for loving your Savior; his church; and this community.
Thanks to our entire staff for their prayers, hard work and passion to make Sunday happen.
Thanks for your faithfulness in giving.
One last thought… I am praying that there will be Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Heaven!

I love being your pastor!

don

A Fifth Grader Who Wanted to Make a Difference

2010-01-28T15:54:00.002-05:00

Eli Goodwin is in the 5th grade. He literally started attending Gateway nine months before he was born. He is just one of those kids you instantly fall in love with.

Eli and three of his friends from Lake Murray Elementary School decided they needed to do something to help the people of Haiti. Their first thought was to set up a lemonade stand. Marty, his Mom, suggested that lemonade might not sell very well in cold weather. So they settled on a bake sale. They asked their parents, friends and anyone who would help to bake items that would be sold to raise money.

This past Saturday, they set up shop on the corner of Wessinger and Dutch Fork Road. Eli’s sister and brother (Callie & Nic) were there to help as well.

As the day progressed, a steady flow of cars would stop and make purchases. There were a few times when no one was stopping so they would start packing everything up. Then another steady flow of cars would begin to stop.

At the end of sale, with all the goodies sold, they counted their money. They were hoping to raise about $100. Imagine their excitement when they realized they had raised $1,020!!! WOW!!!

By the way… a certain company is probably going to match their money. If that happens, that will translate into a small group of 5th grade students who dreamed of sending a $100 to Haiti to actually send over $2,000.

We dream big for God… then God shows up and makes it HUGE.

Hey Eli, this verse is for you and your friends:

“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12, NLT)

Lessons from Noah

2010-01-25T08:48:00.002-05:00

Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah had a “holy fear” that led him to build the ark. A holy fear of God is a great thing. It is an essential element of a believer’s life. In fact it is impossible to go on a Journey of Faith if it is missing. Here are just a few of the multiple verses that speak of the “fear of the Lord”:

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. Psalm 36:1

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge… Prov. 1:7

Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. Prov. 2:5

Fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life… Prov. 10:27

Those who fear the Lord are secure… Prov. 14:26

Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain…Prov. 14:27

Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor. Prov.15:33

Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm. Prov. 19:23

This holy fear does not imply that you cower away from God or hide in your closet. Otherwise, why would he say, “… we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.” in Hebrews 10:19?

Noah treated God’s word with tremendous respect and reverence. He was awestruck. And the ultimate expression of his faith was obedience… obedience at any cost!

Jesus puts it all in perspective when he boldly tells us:

Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 (NLT)

The Bible also reminds us that Jesus himself had a deep reverence for God the Father:

While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Heb. 5:7

How did Noah stay the course for 100 to 120 years (that’s how long it took to build the ark!) and finish what he started? How can you finish your Journey of Faith?

1. Remove any and all distractions

Obviously this would include sins, but it also includes good things. What good things are part of your life but in reality are a distraction from the best God has for you?

2. Remember the reward from God

Your ultimate reward is heaven… being with God in his Most Holy Place!

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 1 Corinthians 9:25-26 (NLT)

3. Resist all discouragement

I’m the first to admit that this one is not easy. Satan will use anything to discourage you. Past sins and mistakes; close friends; critics; circumstances that are not of your making… you name it, Satan will use it.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

4. Renew yourself daily

This means that you care for your body, your emotions and your spirit. You renew your body through proper rest, exercise and a good diet. You renew your emotions through friendships and healthy hobbies. You renew your spirit through worship, time alone with God (prayer and scripture study), and other followers of Christ. These are just a few methods of renewing yourself.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NLT)

In closing… we are on a Journey of Faith. If you have been derailed from this journey, then resume the journey

Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and resume the journey, and lead the people to the land I swore to give to their ancestors, so they may take possession of it.’ “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. Deuteronomy 10:11-13 (NLT)

Buying a Car

2010-01-21T16:28:00.003-05:00

I hate buying a car. So much time and effort is required. It’s never easy… at least not for me. I tend to over analyze. That is why when I buy a car, I drive it until it dies! I loved my 2003 Ford Explorer. It had over 135,000 miles. My mechanic said it should last for another 100,000. Now that gets me excited.

Last September 22nd, I was driving in North Carolina. I remember thanking God for my car and even said, “I wonder how long it will last?” As most of you know, I got the answer that same day. It would last for about 6 more hours when it met its demise in an accident.

So began the new process of finding a car. I decided I wanted another Explorer. I found one from an individual in Charlotte. Sounded like a great deal. I emailed him and he responded, “I just sold it, but I’ve got another coming this week.” I made arrangements to drive it. It was a 2007 with 39,000 miles and priced under the blue-book value. Sold!

I made arrangements to transfer the car. The seller would drive it to Columbia and meet me at the bank. Then I would drive him to the airport to rent a car for his return home. I offered to drive him back to Charlotte, but it was his choice to rent.

As we were driving to the airport, I turned on the radio. It was tuned to WMHK, our local Christian radio station at CIU. I asked, “You were listening to this station?” He said yes. “I listen to their sister station in Charlotte, WRCM, so I tuned to WMHK when I got closer to Columbia. They helped to save my life.” “Wow, can you tell me about it?” I asked.

Then he began to share his story. He told me that on 9/11, both his brother and brother-in-law were working in the World Trade Center in NYC. Neither survived the attack. I was very quiet for a moment. Finally I asked, “Did anyone get to talk to them?” “Yes,” he said. “They both talked to their wives. They were on floors above the impact of the airplane and they already knew that they would not survive. Between the two of them, they had 7 children.”

My head was spinning. Finally I said “I can not imagine your pain or the pain of your family.”

He went on to share how God spoke to him and brought him to Christ. WRCM ministered to him during that time and continues to do so today.

You never know the pain someone is living with. But I do know that the power of our Lord Jesus Christ can overcome any pain, any experience, and any tragedy in your life.

This experience gave me a deeper appreciation for the words of Jesus: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

Are you Ready for a Great Journey?

2010-01-18T15:12:00.005-05:00

God has called us to be a part of His story. If we want to be part of God’s story, then we must begin with a journey of faith.

Jesus said “Because of your faith, it will happen.” (Matt. 9:29).

Faith is like a muscle – it has to be developed. You strengthen it by using it. Did you ever have a broken arm? If so, you most likely had a cast on your arm for a month or more. Remember when you had the cast removed and surprised that your arm was actually smaller? Because of their lack of use, the muscles in your arm lost their size and strength.

Faith is like that… if you don’t use your faith; it loses its power and scope of influence.

God tells us that without faith we cannot please Him. (Heb. 11:6)

So what is faith? It is choosing to believe God. It is having confidence in God. And just as important, it is acting on that belief and confidence. God’s word tells us that faith – (that belief and confidence in God) – without works - (our action) is dead. In other words, without acting on our faith, we will have no impact.

God has placed a dream into the heart of Gateway. It is our dream to connect with the people of our community so that they have the opportunity to experience LIFE in Christ.

Rick Warren taught me the six phases of a journey of faith.

God always starts with a DREAM.
You have to make a DECISION to do something about the DREAM.
God will DELAY the DREAM in order to test and grow your faith. God operates on his timetable, not yours.
While your DREAM is DELAYED, you can expect DIFFICULTY. If you don’t have critics, you are not doing anything.
God will even allow you to reach a DEAD END while pursuing your DREAM.

Read what Paul said when he reached a dead end:
We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
Once Paul stopped relying on himself, God brought DELIVERANCE. God does things in such a way that everyone will know that he did it!

Our Journey of Faith in Ballentine began as a dream. We made a decision as a family to act on that dream in faith. We faced delays. We have encountered difficulties and we encounter difficulties even now. We have a choice of either experiencing a dead end or responding to God and relying on Him for deliverance. As the Gateway family, let us “rely” only on God!

A Journey of Faith

2010-01-16T07:31:00.003-05:00

GATEWAY FAMILY: We will have a special prayer time for Haiti during our worship services on Sunday
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A Journey of Faith

Ask yourself: “What would my life look like if the Holy Spirit was completely unleashed in me?” Would it be different from what it currently looks like? Most likely.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19)

When Jesus’ body was torn for our sins, God tore the curtain in the Holy of Holies that separated us from Him. We are no longer separated from God. Through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we have access to the “Most Holy Place”… God Himself. All the power of the universe is in this Most Holy Place. The Ruler, Creator, the Lord Jehovah is in this Most Holy Place. AND He invites us to enter, to join Him! We do not enter because of self-righteousness, nor because we desire it. We enter because of the precious blood of Jesus.

If you want the power of God unleashed in your life, I challenge you to begin with the following steps:

1. First and foremost without any doubt, know that Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior. The saddest words you could possibly hear from Jesus would be “depart from me… I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

2. Simplify your life! Why? So that you can become a laser-beam for Jesus. When you are not focused, then your life is blurry.

3. Fully engage yourself into the community of Gateway Church. How? Come to worship; join a LIFE group; volunteer in a ministry; give. Stop sitting on the side-lines.

4. Ask God to make your life count for what matters to Him. This means you pray (and pray constantly) as you take this journey of faith. This means you don’t set the agenda for your life – God does. This means that you hold nothing back from God.

A word of caution, in fact, it is a promise. If you get on God’s schedule and agenda, you can expect attacks and challenges. Satan will not give up his hold on a person’s life without a fight.

God has not called us to create heaven on earth. If the goal of Gateway were to create heaven on earth, it would fail. God calls us to get people into the real heaven, not to build our own.

Gateway is on a Journey of Faith. We want to see the power of Holy God unleashed in our fellowship. This is the time for Gateway to go on the offensive. This is the time for us to place our confidence fully on Jesus. This is the time for us to lift up Christ in this community. People who are far from Jesus matter to God!

I Can Not Begin To Comprehend

2010-01-14T22:38:00.001-05:00

I was eating dinner tonight with some friends at a local restaurant. We talked, we laughed and we shared stories about our lives. I was a good time with my friends… but there was uneasiness in the deepest part of my heart. I found it difficult to enjoy the fellowship as I normally would. It had nothing to do with my friends. The food did not satisfy; it had little taste. It had nothing to do with my taste buds or the restaurant’s chef… it was my mind and heart.

The deepest part of my soul could not stop thinking about Haiti. Try to imagine that within a 30 to 40 seconds window, thousands upon thousands of people lost their lives… we may never know the number. I was also thinking about the thousands who are still trapped… many of whom will die as well.

One of Katie’s friends who does mission work in Haiti arrived at the main airport just prior to the earthquake. He was on his way to his hotel in Port-au-Prince when the quake hit. He hasn’t been heard from since.

I can not begin to comprehend the pain, the suffering… being without water and food. The not knowing of where your child is or trying to comfort your child who is badly injured and there is no medical help. Can you imagine hearing the cries of a loved one under a pile of rubble and there is nothing you can do to get them out?

Many ask “Where is God in all of this?” Not an easy question. An article written by Albert Mohler, the President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville helped me to gain some perspective. To read the article, follow the link: http://ow.ly/WA7p. It’s excellent.

If you want to do something tangible, you can do something immediately through our Southern Baptist agency – Baptist Global Response. BGR is already at work in assessing the best way to assist Haiti in their immediate time of need.

You can give directly via the internet. Please go to http://gobgr.org and click on Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. One hundred percent of your donation will be used to provide relief in Haiti. No funds will be used for administration or promotion.

Keep praying…

Christmas in January!

2009-12-21T16:15:00.001-05:00

I’m getting my Christmas present at the end of January… and it is worth the wait! His name is Caleb. Katie, Mary and Meredith will be making the journey in January to bring Caleb to his new home! Thanks for all your prayers!!

New Series on Christmas Begins this Sunday

2009-12-01T13:32:00.003-05:00

In preparation for our new series beginning this Sunday, Russ Holt wrote the following. I loved it and wanted to share it with you...

As we approach this Christmas season, we have an opportunity to also examine our views and perspectives of Christmas. We often think of angels, antlers, a baby, baking, bells, Bethlehem, Blitzen, bows, boxes, calling birds (four of them), candles, candy canes, cards, cattle, caroling, chimneys, Comet, cookies, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, decorations, Donner, drummer boys, drummers (twelve drumming ones), drums, egg nog, elves, evergreens, family, feasts, festivities, fireplaces, fragrances, Frankincense, French hens (in threes), Frosty the snowman, fruitcake, garland, geese (six laying ones), gifts, gold, golden rings (five of them), greetings, the Grinch, Herod, holly, holidays, icicles, inns, invitations, It's a Wonderful Life, ivy, jingle bells, jolly things, Joseph, kings, ladies dancing (all nine of them), leaping lords (ten of them), letters, lights, lists, maids (eight of them busily milking), a manger, mall traffic, Mary, mistletoe, myrrh, nativity, Noel, the North Pole, Nutcracker, night (silent ones, and holy ones), ornaments, parades, parties, partridges (especially in pear trees), peace (especially on earth), pipers (eleven piping ones), poinsettias, Prancer, presents, quilts, red, reindeer (especially Rudolph), ribbons, Santa, Scrooge, shepherds, sleighs, snow, songs, spirits, a star, St. Nicholas, stockings, swans (seven swimming ones), toys, tinsel, trees, trimmings, turkey, turtle doves (in twos), underneath the [mistletoe, tree, stars], visits, a virgin, visions (especially of dancing sugar-plums), Vixen, wise men, wrapping paper, wreaths, X-Mas, yuletide, Zion, and Zzzzzz's.

With all of this, how much do we really think about what happened? The only begotten Son of God, Himself God, humbled himself to become man -- fully man -- so that we might have life, abundantly. He did not come as anyone who have expected -- not in a kingly procession with pomp and circumstance; but, rather, he came as a baby, born of a virgin, and laid in a feeding trough in an animal shed. If we are not careful, the trappings will cause us to miss the Christ of Christmas. Join us in December as we rethink Christmas with a fresh look at Luke chapters 1 and 2.

Sunday Reflections

2009-11-30T15:45:00.002-05:00

We had a very special day on Sunday. Judd and his team led us through some great hymns. Stephen Humphries, who won the national competition for hammer dulcimer added a great dynamic to the acoustical guitars. Jeremy preached a challenging message on “Obey.”

Let’s be honest… when we read some of the stories of the Old Testament, they can challenge us in our faith and our understanding of God. The passage that Jeremy used in 1 Samuel 15 would cause some to question, “Why is God so cruel in demanding complete annihilation of the Amalekite nation?”

Here are a few observations:

God does not have to explain Himself. He answers to no one. He does not have an advisory team. He is not part of an accountability team. He is GOD!
When the Bible does not make sense to us, there is usually more to the story. Jeremy helped us to see the real history of the Amalekites. They were vicious, blood-thirsty and ruthless to their core.
Maybe God had already sent many prophets to the Amalekites to call them to repentance. We know from Jonah’s story that God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach repentance… and they had a similar reputation of cruelty as the Amalekites.
In fact, God had actually waited for many centuries for the Amalekites to get the act together. One author states it this way, “God never acted precipitously against them (the Amalekites); his grace and mercy waited to see if they would repent and turn from their headlong plummet into self-destruction.” (See a more complete quote at the bottom of this blog)
A question I must ask myself, “Does God have the right to do as He pleases; as He sees fit?” Simple answer: Absolutely! God is holy and righteous. God is just.
The bottom line question that I took away from Jeremy’s message, “Am I obedient to God’s commands no matter what the cost?” God is not asking for my approval or even for my understanding. He is, however, expecting my obedience.

“What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.” 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NLT)

What has God been asking of you lately? What area are you not obeying?

If you missed Sunday, go to www.gatewaybc.com and listen to Jeremy’s message!

Additional Quote:
Why was God so opposed to the Amalekites? When the Israelites were struggling through the desert toward Canaan, the Amalekites picked off the weak, sick and elderly at the end of the line of marchers and brutally murdered these stragglers. Warned Moses, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God” (Deut 25:17–18).

Some commentators note that the Amalekites were not merely plundering or disputing who owned what territories; they were attacking God’s chosen people to discredit the living God. Some trace the Amalekites’ adamant hostility all through the Old Testament, including the most savage butchery of all in Haman’s proclamation that all Jews throughout the Persian Empire could be massacred on a certain day (Esther 3:8–11). Many make a case that Haman was an Amalekite. His actions then would ultimately reveal this nation’s deep hatred for God, manifested toward the people through whom God had chosen to bless the whole world. (Hard Sayings of the Bible: Kaiser, Davids, Bruce, Brauch, p. 206)

For Men Only - Part Two

2009-11-21T16:46:00.003-05:00

I am following up my last blog concerning lust with a copy of a recent writing by James Emery White, the Senior Pastor of Mecklenburg Church in Charlotte, NC. His comments are dead on. If you want to minister to other men, pass this along to every man, young man, teenage guy that you know... they need to read this.

******

Is Porn Really That Big of a Deal?

When it comes to porn, the question facing many men is simple: is it really wrong? Is it really that big of a deal? I mean, it’s just an image on a screen. It’s not someone I know (so it’s not lust, right?), or someone I’m having an actual affair with, so I’m still faithful to my wife. It’s just sexual release, like masturbation, and we all know that masturbation is not condemned in the Bible. It’s not even mentioned. And isn’t sex a good thing, so what’s wrong in watching it happen? I’m just admiring beauty. And besides, I’m single, so what do you expect me to do with all this pent-up sexual energy? It seems like a safe release until I am married.

I’ve heard all of this, and more, from men.

So is it really that big of a deal?

Yes, and here’s why:

It is sexual sin. Jesus made it clear that when we give in to lust, it is akin the act itself. It makes no difference whether you know the person or not; lust is not tied to relationship.

It is addictive. The ubiquitous nature of porn is new to our culture, and to human sexuality, but it is becoming increasingly clear that it is highly addictive in nature. As a result, it can not only begin to dominate a life, but can demand ever-increasing levels of exposure and ever-increasing degrees of experience to continue to stimulate.

It is degrading to women. In pornography, women are treated as objects. They are not fulfilling God’s dream for their life as His precious daughter, nor are they fulfilling His design for sexual expression and fulfillment. You are watching a woman who is being sinned against, treated in a way that is contemptible to her heavenly father (whether she sees it or not – and the fact that many may not only adds to its tragic nature).

It leads to other sins. Studies are beginning to show that the effects of porn on men is more than temporary sexual stimulation: as they see women treated as objects, they begin to treat women that way. They become more sexually aggressive, leading to date rapes and expected “hook-ups.”

It harms your relationship with your current, or future, spouse. It is absolutely bogus to say that watching porn enhances a sexual life. Instead, it cheapens it. Porn quickly becomes a substitute for sexual intimacy with your spouse.

It desensitizes your soul. Sin of any kind desensitizes your spiritual life. Continued exposure to a sin such as pornography is like shooting novocaine into your soul. It deadens you and grieves the Holy Spirit in your life, forcing Him to withdraw His utmost filling in a way that diminishes His power and presence in your life.

It distorts sex. “You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act,” wrote C.S. Lewis, “that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? And would not anyone who had grown up in a different world think there was some equally queer about the state of the sex instinct among us?”

I’m a pastor. I talk with men who are dealing with the spiritual torment and guilt of engaging in a sin while trying to rationalize it away; I talk with men who are having to fight it as an addiction; I talk with men who are finding it is leading them to a warped view of women; I talk with men who are experiencing it’s direct path to other sins; I talk with men who are seeing its assault on their marriage; I talk with men who are trying to awaken their souls from its deadening grip; I talk with men who have distorted views of what sex is about.

I have a front-row seat to how it’s impacting their lives. I don’t need to wait for a host of studies. I’m in a living laboratory. So don’t tell me it’s no big deal.

I know the men who can prove you wrong.

James Emery White

Sources

For help with pornography, as well as accountability software, visit www.xxxchurch.com.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Sunday Reflections

2009-11-16T15:47:00.001-05:00

We had a great day at Gateway yesterday. Jesus Christ was lifted up in multiple ways:

Baptized nine new believers!!
Cory and Judd lead us in worshipping the Lord… fantastic in all three services.
The Choir lifted up the Lord with great music.
Great attendance in all three services.
David brought a challenging message in our 3rd message of the Worship Series.
I look forward to bringing the final message in this series on Sunday. We will close the series with communion.

Our Holiday Hospitality Dinner was amazing:

Highest attendance ever for our Ladies Night Out! Way to go ladies!!!
Added 10 extra tables… could not add any more due to space.
Had 50 ladies on a waiting list.
Multiple comments that the food was the best ever – BIG thanks to Linda and her team!!
Anne MacCallum, as usual, was amazing with her music and voice.
Meredith Brock was incredible with her stirring testimony. (Okay, so I am very partial… but everyone agrees with me on this one.)
Two ladies prayed to receive Christ – that never gets old.
Many indicated an interest in learning more about Jesus Christ. (Pray that they will respond to the Gospel when we follow up with them!!!)

It Never, Never, Never Stops!

2009-11-01T10:36:00.002-05:00

One of the residual effects of my car accident is tinnitus (ringing in the ears). My physician told me that my concussion may have caused this. It’s been strong, loud, and many times piercing in its high pitch. I sleep only a few hours a night due to the ringing. It easily wakes me up. So this past week, I was sent to a Neurologist. In the ear that has the ringing, the neurologist found some dried blood deep in my ear and a great deal of irritation around the ear drum. He believes the damage was caused by the accident. An MRI is being done to make sure none of my wiring has been crossed. Now we all know that my wires have been crossed for a long time… so nothing new. He also gave me something to help with the sleeping.

He asked me, “How long were you unconscious when the wreck occurred?” I said, “None at all.” Then he asked, “Well, how do you know? You had amnesia.” I thought about his question and then replied, “I guess I really don’t know…” He made me laugh. “You are really messing with my head…” Then again, he is a neurologist.

I am finding that in life God uses almost every situation that happens to me as a teaching moment of a spiritual truth. If you look for it, you can find a God-truth in each of your situations. And when you find the God-truth… well, it will radically change how you view your circumstances.

When God did not heal Paul from his “thorn in the flesh” God taught him great truths by not answering Paul’s continual prayer.

“So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12:7b-9 (NLT)

Why would God allow Satan to torment Paul? For a great reason… if Paul became a prideful person, the power of Christ would no longer work through him. God would stop using him. Paul had plenty to brag about. He had great seeds for success that could quickly grow into thorns of pride.

God wants to grow you and me into Christ-likeness. He wants us to learn humility. Was Christ humble?

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:7-8

So yes, Christ was humble. And God wants you and me to be like Him. So what is God teaching me with my “thorn in the ears”? Well, I have learned that when I don’t focus on the ringing; when I ignore it, I don’t hear it. Yes, it’s still there. Yes it is still loud, but I just don’t hear it. But when I think about it (like right now as I write this) the ringing is very loud and piercing. It seems to grow in its loudness. It is annoying and distracting… and can even be depressing.

Temptation is like that. It always there… “crouching like a lion waiting to devour.” Temptation is all around you. The temptation to gossip; lie; cheat; ignore the Holy Spirit’s promptings; fulfill the desires of the flesh, be driven by fear, hatred, selfishness, to mistreat, misuse, judge, to be prideful, arrogant, stubborn… you name it, it is always near by.

So here is one last lesson that I am learning from the tinnitus. When I focus on the temptations that are always around me, they become more intense. My focus on them increases the power of the temptations! I give the temptation a greater opportunity to draw me closer; to defeat me. So I have a choice…do I concentrate on the temptation or do I choose to “focus on the author and finisher of my faith?”

Flee from your temptation… stop thinking about it, focusing on it, empowering it. The spiritual power to resist comes from a posture of humility. Not false humility, but one that understands that if it were not for the grace of God, you and I could and would quickly fall into sin.

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. James 4:10

Remember, just like the ringing, temptation is always there. You get to decide whether you focus on it or not. Choose to focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chuck Swindoll's Ten Lifetime Leadership Lessons

2009-10-29T00:29:00.008-04:00

Chuck Swindoll, one of my heroes, was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at Catalyst recently. He brought a great message. He offered the following lessons he has learned from a lifetime of ministry (nearly 50 years). Every minister should learn from this man's life:

It’s lonely to lead. Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decision, the lonelier it is.
It’s dangerous to succeed. I’m most concerned for those who aren’t even 30 and are very gifted and successful. Sometimes God uses someone right out of youth, but usually he uses leaders who have been crushed. (this is a word that got my attention...)
It’s hardest at home. No one ever told me this in Seminary.
It’s essential to be real. If there’s one realm where phoniness is common, it’s among leaders. Stay real.
It’s painful to obey. The Lord will direct you to do some things that won’t be your choice. Invariably you will give up what you want to do for the cross.
Brokenness and failure are necessary. (helps to explain the word crush!)
Attitude is more important than actions. Your family may not have told you: some of you are hard to be around. A bad attitude overshadows good actions.
Integrity eclipses image. Today we highlight image. But it’s what you’re doing behind the scenes that matters.
God’s way is better than my way.
Christlikeness begins and ends with humility.

Thanks Chuck Swindoll for ministering to me over the years!

Sunday Reflections

2009-10-28T09:50:00.004-04:00

What a great spirit in worship on Sunday. Thanks for singing with your heart to our Lord.

I am so proud of you, Gateway, for your response to the challenge to sponsor a child through Compassion International. Compassion said the normal response is 3 to 5% of those who are in attendance will sponsor a child. We had one of the highest responses ever -- over 15%! That does not include those who were already sponsoring a child or those of you who sponsored a child online. It also doesn’t count the many of you who signed up yesterday to sponsor a child. You did awesome. Your generosity will make a difference in the lives of so many children. Thank you!

Remember our Harvest Festival this Friday night. It’s a great time to invite a friend and neighbor. The kids are going to love it... even the adults love it.
Thanks for praying for me this past week while I was on my spiritual retreat. I will share more with you in the near future about my time alone with God. But let me share for the moment that He has me very excited about His plans for Gateway. I believe we are going to see a fresh pouring out of His Spirit in our fellowship... so let's get ready for all the He has for us! Let's decide that we want to see those far from Christ to come to know Him as Lord and Savior!
This Sunday we began a four Sunday series on Worship. Our worship team has been working diligently on this series. Jeremy Kingsley will lead in our first message. I always look forward to hearing Jeremy.
Come with your hearts expectant on Sunday. I look forward to seeing you!

My Big Adventure – Learning the difference between Facts, Faith & Feelings

2009-10-15T22:09:00.010-04:00

I’m a firm believer that every twelfth-grade guy needs a big adventure before he heads off to college. That’s why each spring I take some of Gateway’s twelfth-grade guys on a big adventure. This year we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Point Amusement Park and the Dayton Airshow. The preceding years I have taken them to NYC to visit our church plant and tour the city. It’s always a great adventure!

Now imagine this. You are in the 12th grade, you are 17 years-old, and you get this crazy idea that to a teenager seems perfectly rational. You ask your mom and step-father if you can rent a plane so that you and your three best friends can fly from High Point, NC to Washington DC to “hang out.”

Now imagine that not only did your mom say yes, but the parents of your three best friends said yes. That means eight rational, sober, non-drug users, had a good nights sleep adults, made a conscience decision to let their four sons crawl into a four-seat Cessna 172 airplane and fly to the Nation’s Capital with a 17 year-old pilot who has had his license for only 5 months!

You are probably thinking – “Not in this life time!” Most parents wouldn’t even let their sons drive on such a trip.

Well, that was me back in 1971. I’m on the far left; then Doug, Jimmy and Mike.

The photo was taken early on the morning of December 29th, 1971. After doing the preflight of the plane, fuel check, weather check, filed the flight plan, we crawled into the plane. Before I started the engine, we had a prayer for a safe flight. I always did that. On this particular day, it was a really good thing that I had prayed.

So we were heading to our big adventure in DC. All the check points were exactly where they were supposed to be. It was a beautiful day with unlimited visibility. Little did I know that the big adventure would begin before we reached DC.

One of the guys asked, “So how are we getting from the airport to downtown DC?” “I have no idea, but something will work out.” was my confident response. There was a quiet moment in the plane. “So where are we spending the night?” “Well, I think we can stay with this girl I met last year at a flying event. I wrote her about us coming to Washington.” It got quiet again.

After convincing my friends that they can trust me, it suddenly hit me, I’m not really sure where I am! This was long before GPS. One of the guys asked “How much longer? I need to go to the bathroom.” After a really long pause, I finally said, “I’m not sure. I have to figure out where we are.” It was dead quiet.

This is when the lesson began in learning the difference between faith in facts or faith in feelings. A pilot has to trust his instruments, not his feelings, especially if you get disoriented. Your feelings can tell you one thing, while the plane is doing something completely different. The air had been very rough and I was attempting to find a smoother altitude for the guys. I was soon flying by feelings, not facts. I was focused on the rough air and not my navigational instruments. I was putting my trust in what I thought was the right course instead of keeping a trusting eye on the instrument panel.

For the safety of my three friends, I had to set aside my ego. I began looking for a place to land in order to get my bearings. How embarrassing! I noticed some pasture land that looked like it had a dirt air strip running in the middle. That was good enough for me. I had learned to fly at a very small airport, so landing on a small, short dirt field was second nature to me.

I checked for other airplane traffic and headed in for a landing, no sweat. There were also no buildings, no phones, no nothing. My three friends bailed out one side of the plane and went straight for a line of trees to answer the call of Mother Nature.

As I got out of the plane, I saw a guy in his car at the end of the field. I walked over to him and with all the confidence I could muster I asked, “Do you know which way Washington is?” Without judging, or at least not to my face, he said, “let me get my road map.” We studied the road map on the hood of his car along side of my flight map. “I see where I made a mistake. I know where I am now. Thanks!” With the four of us back in the plane and all of the cows off the runway, we took to the air with new confidence. We were only 20 minutes away from the airport I was looking for. Potomac Airfield (PG Airpark back then) was just southwest of Andrews Air Force Base and directly south of Washington.

I can only imagine the conversation that man had with his wife at dinner that night! I gave him something to talk about for the rest of his life. “Did I tell you about the time these four teenagers flying an airplane landed in a field and asked me how to get to DC?”

Twenty minutes later, we landed at Potomac Airfield. Okay, I found the airport, now I need to find a ride for the four of us. As I walked into the airport lounge, standing right in front of me was Mike Brooks. We both immediately recognized each other. Mike was my age and we had met a year ago at a flying event. He lived in the area and was hanging out at the airport. We talked for a moment. I asked him, “How far is it to downtown?” “About 20 or 30 minutes,” he said. So I made a deal with him. “I will take you up and let you fly my plane if you drive us to DC.” Done deal.

We ran around DC seeing the sights. It was awesome. We laughed and enjoyed every moment. Later that day I called my other friend – which I had met only once. She had already made arrangements for housing and was coming to pick us up near the Washington Monument. She had also made plans to get a group of her friends together, and they had a party for us! Way cool.

After the party we headed to another friend’s house to spend the night. Now get this, the only available bed for us was a king-size water bed. Image 4 teenage guys on a king-size water bed (or maybe you don’t want to imagine that). We laughed all night long.

We woke up early the next morning with bad news on the weather. There would be some strong winds and storms hitting the east coast, so we would have an even rougher ride home. No sweat.

Another recently made friend drove us back to the airport. We jumped into the plane and soon we were heading home.

The winds were tough. One of the guys was watching the interstate below us. He said, “Don, I think the cars are passing us.” “No way,” I said. But he was right. I called the weather station on my radio and discovered that we were flying into 50 knot headwind, but it was smooth air. So if you are flying 120 and heading into a headwind of 50, your ground speed is 70… so cars were passing us!

On the return trip home, I trusted my flight instruments completely. I set aside all my feelings. I made course corrections for crosswinds. After avoiding much of the thunderstorms, we landed safely at Midway Airport in High Point, NC. When the wheels touched the runway, we all began singing Handle’s Hallelujah chorus… awesome trip!

Everyday you have a choice. You can put your faith in the facts of God’s Word or you can put your faith in your feelings. Your feelings can be deceptive because of your ever-changing circumstances. Your feelings can be unreliable. Your feelings can contradict the truth of God’s Word. But your feelings do not negate the truth of God’s Word. Choose to put your FAITH in the FACTS of God’s Word. You will find that your FEELINGS will eventually catch up.

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

JESUS: “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21

Sunday’s Reflections – ReThink Compassion

2009-10-11T17:21:00.004-04:00

Awesome day of worship.

Cory and Judd do an excellent job in leading us into the presence of God each week.
The choir blessed us today.
Reggie Boan challenged us with his testimony of his personal involvement with Compassion International.

Of the 6.7 billion people that live on this planet:

1.1 billion have little or no access to water
2.6 billion lack basic sanitation
1 billion people use 80% of the world’s resources
The USA accounts for 4.6% of the world’s population and we consume 33% of the world’s resources.
There are 2.2 billion children in the world
1 billion children lives in poverty
25,000 children die each day due to poverty

I challenged you to make a difference by considering:

Sponsoring a child through Compassion International – we will have packets next Sunday.
Become a Foster Parent – there are 443 foster children in Lexington and Richland Counties with only 207 foster homes to serve them.
Adopt a child in the United States or Internationally.
There are 143 million children that need to be adopted world-wide
There are 100,000 children in the United States waiting to be adopted.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27 (NLT)

My First Leadership Lesson

2009-10-07T12:01:00.007-04:00

In 1971, I was elected president of our service club in high school – the Junior Jaycees. We had formed the club a year earlier when I was a junior. Like most schools, “service club” was code for “party club.” The only service projects actually being done was cleaning up after the parties!

There was a gang of us in high school who did not drink plus we actually wanted to do service projects. So we formed a new club with a major rule. You could not use alcohol or drugs – at any time or at any place. Students responded.

Service clubs were limited to 50 students. We quickly had 50 students. Also, we were the only club that had a long waiting list of students who wanted in. Our club was soon the “cool” group to be part of. Athletes, preppies, band members, smart students… we attracted all kinds. We even accepted some of the nerds! (I think that is how I got in.) The teachers and school administration respected us and appreciated our stance.

Our nickname was the wombats. Why? I have no idea. A wombat is a small Australian bear that we assumed was vicious… but I don’t think so. I saw one while in Australia a few years ago – not too impressed.

There were times we had to confront guys in our group… we even had to remove a few. But for the most part, all the guys enjoyed the accountability and appreciated being a part of a safe group of guys.

There was one thing that did make us like all the other clubs, we had initiation week. We would choose our allotted students… then we would… well, let’s just say that we made sure they earned the right to be a part of our group. The last night of initiation week was on Friday. There were various names for this night… none that I can share. We were out most of the night. It was usually more talk than action. We would cover the guys in a bunch of yucky, smelly, homemade stuff… make them do stupid things… made them do things for us… but other than that it was pretty mild. We soon got bored of the pranks and just sat around a fire-pit and laughed.

The night was over and we headed home. As I pulled up to my house (remember this was long before cell phones) my mother was waiting at the door. She said, “One of your guys is hurt and is at the hospital. You need to get over there.” I could tell she was worried.

As I arrived at the ER I saw a dad that I knew. He came up to me and asked what happened. I said, “I’m totally in the dark, but I will find out.” He told me that his son had 3rd degree burns on his back. My heart sunk and my mind raced.

I talked to some of the guys who were in the waiting room. They told me that a few of our guys had taken three of the pledges to the lake. They decided to have their own little initiation separate from the rest of the group. They poured some really smelly, homemade concoction on the students and then had them get into the lake to wash off. When one of the students hit the water, he began to scream. “My back is burning! My back is burning!!”

They rushed him to the hospital. The physician found that he had 3rd degree burns about the size of a grapefruit on his back. It was not good. He would later have plastic surgery and a skin graft to repair the area.

The dad said, “Don, I don’t blame you because you were not there.” I said, “But I am responsible because I am the leader of the group. I will find out who did this and what they did.”

I got our guys together who were at the scene. I asked them what happen. Everyone told the same story. It seemed that one of the guys brought some stuff from home, he poured it on this one particular pledge. We later found out that he didn’t like the pledge and had singled him out. “Do you know what you put into it?” I asked. “No.” he said. “Well let’s go to your house and you show me.” When we went to his house, he began pulling out all this stuff he had put together… then he pulled out one container that I couldn’t believe. “This is Drano! You put this in?” “Yes,” he said. I could not believe it! I don’t remember all the names I called him, but somewhere in that process I said, “Don’t you know that Drano is activated with water?” The original Drano was made up of small crystals. You would put the crystals into a clogged drain then add water to active the solution. The smell was horrible. When the pledge got into the lake, the water activated the Drano and began burning him. The more he washed it off, the more it burned.

An ill-conceived, stupid, practical joke gone very bad. No charges were brought by the parents. They were very forgiving towards the club and me. They realized it was a single student who perpetrated the attack on their son. The conversation that would take place would be between the two sets of parents.

But our High School principal was a different story. He held me responsible and pulled the charter of our club for a year. I could appreciate his position, but I did try to convince him he should not punish an entire group because of one individual. In reality he was probably trying to avoid a lawsuit. He did the right thing in order to protect the school.

Funny thing though… we were stubborn. We decided to continue as a club just not at school and not school sponsored. The principal agreed that he could not stop us. We continued to do community projects. That next spring, the unofficial Junior Jaycees Wombats received the “Service Club of the Year” award by the High School Student Council.

Just a few years ago, I got a phone call. It was the guy who had been burned. He kept up with me over the years through mutual friends. He was in Columbia on business and wanted to visit. We had a great time together. We laughed about High School. We talked about our friends. We talked about his faith. And we talked about that fateful initiation night. He had made a decision to let it motivate him, not defeat him. “Let me see your scar,” I said. He didn’t hesitate. He pulled up his shirt and there it was. It was still the size of a grapefruit. He had more plastic surgery procedures, but it would always be a big, ugly scar.

Funny ending… he works as a fire prevention consultant! And he loves his job. I laugh every time I think about it.

So what did I learn? I learned that when you are the leader… you are responsible. I feel this even more as pastor of Gateway. I know that one day I will stand before a Holy God and give an account of my role as leader of this wonderful church. That’s why I must make sure we are asking ourselves the right question… are we fulfilling God’s purpose and plans for Gateway? In the end, that is all that matters.

Totally Out of Control – a Great Place to Be!

2009-09-30T15:35:00.000-04:00

It had been a long day. I left early last week on Tuesday morning to drive south of Raleigh, NC to visit an inmate in prison. We spent more than an hour together talking about life, the Bible, and Jesus… it was a good visit.

Then I headed to the Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem to visit a church member who had just come out of surgery for a very serious form of cancer. Which, by the way, the doctors have now declared her cancer-free from a form of cancer that has no cure! It is a God thing!!

After visiting, praying, and meeting other family members… I headed to my car. I had told them that it was just a few miles away at Old Salem where I first kissed Mary. She was attending Governor’s School… I think the historical marker is still there!

I was driving west on Interstate 40 heading towards I-77 which would lead me home. I had just passed exit 182 outside of Winston-Salem. The signs told me that there was road work ahead and to be prepared to slow down. For just a moment I thought about taking an exit to find a way around the construction. The traffic slowed to 35 miles per hour. It didn’t look like it would be too bad.

I was paying very close attention to the car in front of me. I didn’t look in my rear view mirror, which was a good thing. Otherwise I would have seen the car coming towards me at 85 miles per hour making no attempt to slow down. A 24-year-old was talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend. He did not realize that the traffic had slowed considerably. If I had seen the oncoming vehicle, I would have stiffened every muscle preparing for the impending impact because I had no route of escape. That body reaction would have increased my injuries many fold.

Instead, I was simply looking ahead. I heard the initial impact… but was not sure what had happened. After my Ford Explorer spun around two times, it hit the guard rail facing into the east bound traffic which was about 30 feet away. I’m very thankful for the person who invented guard rails… and seat belts!

I do remember feeling completely at peace and calm. I felt no jarring or banging. I knew I was out of control, but at the same time everything was under control. Later, at the hospital, I was praying and thanking God for protecting me. He told me that he had placed a team of angels around me during the accident. I believe Him! That explains the calmness I felt the protection I had. Other than a bump on my head, there was zero pain.

I remember someone coming to my car. I have no idea what they said, but I think I did what they told me to do. I got out of my car. I saw that the car in front of me had been hit as well… either by me while I was spinning or by the other car. There was an older couple in the car. I asked them if they were okay.

Then all of a sudden it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was and why I was there. I didn’t know what day it was or what I had been doing for the past 24 hours. “Why am I standing in the middle of the interstate? Why is the back of my car gone?” Someone told me where I was. “So why am I in North Carolina?” My next thought was, “My brother, Elliott, is a Captain with the High Point Fire Department. He is the closest family member.” I called him. “Hey. I’ve been in a wreck on I-40. Can you come?” “Be there in a moment,” he said. Ten minutes passed and I was still confused. I called my brother again. “Did I call you earlier?” He said, “Yes and I am on my way.” “That’s great, because I don’t remember calling you.” He told me later that after the second call he drove much faster to get to me.

I called Mary. Her first words were, “I’m talking to Molly, I will call you right back.” I simply said okay. Mary was talking to her sister about her dad. He was having some serious health issues and Mary was getting an update. If I had said “I’m in trouble,” she would have given me full attention. But at that moment, I didn’t even remember being in a wreck, so I didn’t say anything. She felt horrible when she found out what was going on… but it was not her fault. I wasn’t able to communicate anything. (We are working on a new system of communication!)

Okay… I’m in North Carolina. My brother is on his way. So why am I here? Where have I been all day? I could not remember anything. About that time an EMT asked me if I was okay. “I don’t know. I know who I am, but I don’t know why I am here.” He asked, “Do you know what day it is?” “No,” I admitted with great embarrassment. They took my blood pressure… it was high. “Do you want to go to the hospital?” he asked. “I’m fine,” I said. Remember, I’m a guy and we don’t like to admit we need anything… (I think that the “male ego” was a little joke by God on man.) The EMT said, “Sign here that you don’t want to go to the hospital.” I signed and they moved to the others.

Why I did the following, I have no idea, but it made a difference. I was sitting on the guard rail in the middle of the interstate. I took out my Blackberry and began twittering. That sent instant texts to cell phones and Facebook. I thought if I could start writing about what is happening my memory would come back. I began to tell people what was happening. Within in five minutes I received over 50 text messages and multiple phone calls. I didn’t answer the phone because I was too confused. But the peace that overwhelmed me was reassuring… people were praying! Over the next 30 minutes I had more than 100 text messages and phone calls. More peace and calmness!

The people in the car ahead of me told me that they saw everything. They saw the car coming; they saw my car spin twice; they saw their car get hit by the other car. The police said I was going 35 mph and the at-fault car hit me at 85 mph.

I looked across the road and saw my brother. He talked to the fire fighters and made his way to me. I knew I would be okay. “You okay?” “I’m not sure. I can’t remember anything.” “Where is the EMT?” he asked. “They left.” He got mad. “You need to go the hospital. I’m not taking any risk.” “Fine with me,” I said.

Somewhere in all that process, I gathered all my stuff out of the car and put it into a garbage bag. I have no idea where I got the bag from. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be driving that car again. “Is it totaled?” I asked the wrecker guy as he was pulling my car onto his tow truck. “Oh yeah,” he said.

I noticed that the driver seat was completely flat and the back of my driver’s seat was laying into the back seat. “How did that happen?” I wondered.

I finally talked to Mary. “Are you going to the hospital?” she asked. “I’m okay, I don’t need to go.” “YOU ARE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL,” she informed me. “I can tell by your voice that something is wrong.”

Elliott got me to his car. We drove the five minutes back to Baptist Hospital. We walked into the ER. It was packed. I was taken to triage. I was with a nurse for five minutes. They took me straight to an examination room and within a few minutes I had my first exam by a physician. “I think you are okay, but let me talk to someone else.” A few minutes later he came back with another physician. He examined me. I still don’t remember much from the day. “I think we should do a CAT scan. Do you want to do that?” He knew I was a pastor and I said “You don’t tell me how to preach and I won’t tell you how to practice medicine.” He laughed and said we would do the scan.

While I was waiting for the scan, a nurse came in. “Are you Mack Brock?” “Yes.” She shook her head and said, “Let me look at your wrist identification. We have you classified wrong,” she said as she left the room. Elliott looked at my id. “They have you listed as a black female.” We laughed. The nurse returned to change my id bracelet. I told Elliott, “I’m going to have fun with this. This will let everyone know I’m okay.” So I twittered the news. I noticed on my phone that I had another 100 messages. I had messages from friends all over the country. I love technology.

The physician reported to me “You have a concussion with amnesia. Your memory will come back and you will be fine.” A third physician came in to give me one final check. They were awesome.

Mary was on her way, so Elliott took me half way to meet her. Elliott told her that he was finally glad that he was able to take care of his big brother. It was reassuring that he was there. It took a great deal of pressure off of Mary as well.

Well, I’ve been examined three times since being home. I still have some fuzziness and trouble concentrating… but all is well. God has been very good to me. I have to take a short break from preaching because of the inability to concentrate.

God taught me that the reason I was calm during the wreck was that the outcome did not matter. If I survived, then I get to remain with my family and friends. If I did not survive the wreck, then I get to be with Jesus in heaven. It was a win-win situation.

As for my brain, I am claiming Romans 12:2

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)

I need God to renew my mind. This kind of work is done by the Holy Spirit as we become consistent in our study and meditation on Scripture and through prayer. So my prescription for recovery is to take a break from the internet, television and movies, and give my full focus on God’s word and prayer.

Let me say again, thank you for the outpouring of your love and prayers this past week.

I love you!

A Labor Day That Lived Up To Its Name

2009-09-09T16:19:00.000-04:00

So I think my wife deceived me. She convinced me that Labor Day was actually a day set aside to have a contest to see how much work you can get done in a 12 hour period. AND I FELL FOR IT! For some reason I could not sleep Sunday night. Great day at church; wonderful worship; loved preaching Galatians 5; had lunch with great friends… but for some reason I just could not go to sleep. Maybe it was the thought of 83 year old Jerry Lewis staying up all night for his kid’s telethon. (I use to watch it every year.) Imagine… he has collected over $1.5 billion dollars since he began the telethon.

Anyway, after not sleeping most of the night, we were in the yard by 9:00 on Monday morning and we finished at 9:00 that night. We cleared the area between the road and back yard; measured for the line of the fence along the back; cut down trees; pulled down thorny vines from other trees; dug holes; placed timber for the fence; moved concrete bags that had harden from our lovely humidity; busted up the hard concrete with a mallet to make it usable; set the post; somewhere in all that we split a subway sandwich; Mary went to rehearsal at the church; then we closed off the day by moving 2 large pallets of 8 foot 2 X 4’s from the garage to the back yard. If there was a contest – then we won… and I want my prize!

One bright moment… we had two baby squirrels playing on our back deck. They were not afraid and came right to me… and no we are not making them pets.

During the day, God reminded of some truths in his word.

First were the thorny vines. They covered the trees along the road in our back yard. When you first see a vine growing, it is a small vine just a few inches long with a few leaves; not much to it and certainly nothing to take serious. But left unchecked it will quickly make its way up the tallest tree… and it will invite all of its siblings and cousins to climb along. It was not easy removing those things. My legs and arms look like I got into a fight with Edward Scissorhands. I did get some cool cuts on my legs. One looks like the mark of Zorro. Then there is the triangle and an upside down 7. (I know I’ve got a weird sense of humor.)

Sin is like that. It may start out harmless and small, but it will soon overwhelm your life. It will affect everything. Once it has weaved itself into your thoughts and your behavior – it affects those around you. It’s not easily removed and sometimes takes the help of others… maybe you have the scars that prove this to be true.

The other truth was revealed through a couple of baby squirrels. As I was going to get a drink, this very small squirrel was looking for something to drink on our porch. As I approached, he wasn’t nervous, nor did it run off. In fact, it crawled right towards me. I got a saucer of water and he got his fill. Soon his sibling showed up. Then I remembered… last Thursday, we found a dead squirrel at the bottom of the tree the babies were in. So they are probably orphaned. God reminded me that if He is aware of even the smallest of his creatures, certainly he is aware of my needs.

(Jesus) What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. Matt. 10:29

(God) I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. Psalm 50:11

Soaring with the Eagles

2009-09-03T14:37:00.002-04:00

I flew my first glider when I was 16 years old. I will never forget the drive to Chester, SC to a glider school located at the airport. It was amazing. After an orientation by the instructor and the pre-flight check of the glider, I crawled into the front seat – the instructor into the back. A tow-line that looked like a ski rope was attached to the tail of the tow-plane was also attached to the nose of the glider. After getting the slack out of the tow-line and checking my controls, I gave a signal to the line-boy who held my wings level. He signaled the pilot of the tow-plane. He began his take-off run. After about 20 yards, the line-boy was able to let go of the wing since the glider had enough lift under the wings to stay level.

Within just a few moments, I was 10 feet off the ground. WOW!!! It was thrilling. I had just gotten my driver’s license and now I’m flying a glider. The instructor taught me how to stay within the “box” behind the tow-plane. After a series of turns, we made our way to 3,500 feet. Then it happened. I pulled the big red knob in the center of my instrument console. The rope disconnected from the glider; the tow plane dove down to the left and I took a steep turn to the right. After having my flight determined by the tow-plane, I was now free to fly as I desired. It was freeing, exhilarating, and very quiet. All I heard was the air rushing over my canopy and wings.

Because there is no engine in a glider, forces of nature have the primary affect on the flight. One force – gravity – pulls you back to earth. The glider began its decent. Within 20 minutes I would be back on the ground. However, I did have an alternative. I could find a thermal. A thermal is like a tall smoke stack of warm air that is rising from the ground. If you find one you can make tight turns within the column of warm air and the heat will cause the glider to rise. When you gain the altitude you desire, you simply fly out of the thermal. If you can continue to find thermals, you could literally keep a glider in the air all day.

The thing about thermals is they can be very bumpy. That is one of the many clues that you have found one. You feel the disruption of air around the glider. But unless you are willing to go through the bumps, you will never get the altitude.

Another clue I look for is a hawk or an eagle. If I spot one in a tight circle, there is a chance he has found a thermal and is seeking to gain altitude. Once when the kids were very young, we were visiting Mary’s brother on Signal Mountain in Tennessee. As we stood at a cliff looking over the city of Chattanooga, I spotted an eagle about a hundred feet below us. He was circling. I told the kids “Watch this eagle. I bet he will circle; never flap his wings; and will soon be higher than we are.” Sure enough, just as if we had planned it, the eagle stayed in a tight circle and quickly rose to hundreds of feet above us – he didn’t flap his wings once! Then he tilted his wings, flew out of the thermal and headed off into another direction. Amazing.

My glider flying and that eagle reminded of this verse:
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

We have reached our two year mark on our new campus. What I thought would be easy has been hard and what I thought would be hard has been easy. Go figure. We have seen many dear friends make their way to other fellowships. (I was told by countless pastors and consultants that this would happen.) I know many of you have been hurt as your friends have left. I have hurt. Even though I knew it was coming, it still hurt. I was their pastor and I loved them… I still do. Being a relational person made it sting even more.

However, I had to be obedient to the Lord. I answer to Him and Him alone. I have no doubts that we are heading in the right direction. Although I will confess that I have not executed everything correctly, I have no doubts of God’s vision for Gateway. He has planted us into a sea of people who do not know Him.

But when you go through some bumpy air while flying… you don’t ever get out of the plane! You keep flying and let the Lord give you the lift you need under your wings. When you are flying at 35,000 feet in an airliner and you run into some very bumpy air… you stay in your seat, tighten your seat belt and trust the pilot! Well, I have put my trust in the Lord.

In the last two years, over 200 people have joined our team. As you have, they have bought into the vision for this church. We have baptized ninety-five new believers. We have many more waiting for baptism. God is great!

I want to thank the Gateway family for believing in our Lord and the vision He has given Gateway. I want to thank the Gateway family for believing in me as your pastor and your leader. Your prayers, kind words, and notes of encouragement bless me more than you will ever know. Never, never, never stop praying for me!

I want to thank the Gateway family for allowing me to build a great team of staff who believe in the vision God has given Gateway. I love working with this team!

Now let’s soar high for the Lord. Let us continue the race and not grow weary of the journey. Let’s ask God to give us hundreds of new believers this fall. Let’s believe God for that which seems impossible to us. Let’s put ALL of our trust in the LORD!!! You are going to love the view when we soar high together!

Thanks Gateway!

2009-08-26T11:11:00.002-04:00

On Monday our team delivered over 320 book bags to George I Pair Elementary School in West Columbia. The administration, teachers and students were more than grateful that their students will start the school year off right. Thanks to David Gold for leading this effort. Thank you for your generosity!
Book bags and supplies were also delivered to several students at nearby elementary schools.
Our Concert of Hope for the Homeless raised over $4400 on Saturday for the Oliver Gospel Mission. Thanks Shelly Sims for your leadership and vision! Thanks to all the volunteers of GBC!!
God is using Nancy Counts and her team by making a difference in the lives of young students at Lake Murray Elementary and Ballentine Elementary with the Good News Club. Pray for them!

Thanks to all of you who serve as volunteers at Gateway!

Who Was So Depressed He Asked God to Take His Life?

2009-08-18T14:21:00.003-04:00

God spoke to me recently using a devotion by Rick Warren. With Rick's permission, I am sharing his devotion with you. God bless...

“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for”. (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG)

Here’s a Bible trivia quiz: Can you name any of three men who became so depressed that each of them asked God to take his life? Answer: Moses, Elijah, and Jonah. Each of them got depressed, but for different reasons; depression is always a symptom of a deeper problem. Like a warning light on your car, depression is meant to get your attention; it shouts something is wrong! The real problem is not how you feel, but the cause of those feelings.

Here are three of the most common causes of depression:

1. Fatigue - Moses’ problem
When you try to maintain a hectic pace week after week in spite of physical and emotional exhaustion, you set yourself up for depression. Or, if you try to play God, attempting to control everything and everyone around you, depression will eventually catch up with you. In Moses’ case, the solution was to learn to delegate (Numbers 11:10–17).

2. Fear - Elijah’s problem
Whenever you swallow your anxieties, your body keeps score. Instead of focusing on your depression, ask, “What is it that I’m afraid of? What’s got me worried?” Resolve the worry and your blues will vanish, if that’s the cause. In Elijah’s situation, the antidote was to trust God to handle things out of his control (1 Kings 19:1–18).

3. Frustration - Jonah’s problem
When you don’t see a purpose behind the events of your life, when it all seems so arbitrary or hopeless or unfair, then depression strikes. Life without meaning and significance is depressing. That’s why God’s solution to Jonah’s depression was to help him see the bigger picture. Perspective is a powerful cure. When Jonah finally understood God’s purpose for his life, his depression faded.

Does life sometimes seem like an endless rat race to you? Ask God to open your eyes and help you see his purpose for your life.

God, who made you, has this to say about you:

“I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for” (Jeremiah 29:11 TEV).

Communicating Jesus’ love in a practical way

2009-08-12T13:11:00.000-04:00

JESUS: And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me." Matthew 25:45 (NLT)

Jesus had a heart for the poor and he had a special place in his heart for children. We have an opportunity to share the heart of Jesus with a group of children.

Back to School Supply Drive: August 9 - 23

Gateway has taken the challenge to adopt a local elementary school in West Columbia and to provide school supplies for the children. We want to encourage these students by helping them to start the school year off right. There are 320 students in the school whose families do not have the resources to purchase school supplies for many of them it is a decision between buying food or school supplies.

George I Pair Elementary School is designated as an at-risk school due to the number of children who live at or below the poverty level. Ninety-two percent of children at this school are on free or reduced lunch. This means that 92 percent of the children in this school are from a family where buying school supplies is nearly impossible. Many of the children live in single-parent homes.

This is where you come in. This Sunday you can adopt a child by stopping by the Back to School Supply Drive table located at the worship center entrance. Pick up one school supply card for each child you wish to sponsor. Purchase a back-pack and fill it with the supplies. The average cost is $20 to complete the need for one child. Return the completed back-pack to Gateway on or before August 23rd. We will deliver the supplies on Monday the 24th.

Mary found a deal at Walgreen – $10 for 2 back-packs. So we are adopting 2 children for only $30!

This past Sunday 140 children were adopted for school supplies. We have 180 more children who need to be adopted.

We have a great opportunity to communicate to the children and their families in a very small but practical way that Jesus loves them and that we want them to have a great school year. If we go over our goal, we have a second school who has requested assistance.

Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do. Galatians 2:10 (NLT)

Blessing Others

2009-08-06T16:56:00.002-04:00

NEWS FLASH – Our old campus is officially leased with an option to purchase by NewSpring Church of Anderson, SC. Pray that God will bless them as they reach people for Jesus!

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32

While in the process of turning our former facilities over to NewSpring, we have had the privilege of blessing other ministries. Today I met a church planter from Charleston at the old GBC campus. It was so cool to be able to give him two trailers loaded with chairs for his new church. It will save the church plant more than $10,000. That’s a lot of money that can be used in other areas of ministry.

It’s been like that since we relocated to our new location.

Last week a pastor from Rock Hill got a load of stage lights.
A local church was given all of our choir robes. (You probably didn’t even know that we had choir robes!)
Several churches received musical scores for their choirs.
CIU received carpet and chairs for their studio where Dan DeLozier teaches students in his communication program.
Our staging from the old worship center is being used by numerous church plants all over Columbia.
The first church planted by Gateway, North Point Church, received our old portable baptistery.
Church plants have benefited from sound system components.
When the government changed the frequencies that wireless microphones can use which required us to purchase new receivers, we sent our old system to churches overseas through Crossover Communications International.
Office equipment, chairs and nursery equipment was given to a church plant in North Myrtle Beach.
A local church received office furniture.
Refrigerators and other pieces of kitchen equipment went to a local community ministry.
Nursery equipment is being used by another local church.
Christmas decorations went to yet another local church.
A refrigerator, chairs, cabinets are being used in the Live School office.
Even a local Boy Scout Troop received carpet and chairs.

I appreciate the Spirit of God in Gateway that allows us to share with others. In reality, it’s not even ours! It belongs to the Lord. We simply are passing the blessing along to others.

Life’s Lessons Can Be Hard

2009-07-28T15:25:00.000-04:00

My first experience with the death of someone my age was when I was 10 years old. We were members of First Baptist Church in High Point, NC. If the doors were open, we were there. Church was fun, but not for the reasons you are thinking. You see, my friends and I knew every hiding spot in the church, and FBC had some big buildings. It was an awesome place to play hide and seek and we were the masters!

There was a couple in the church named Smithenson, who served as foster parents. Although I did not have an appreciation for them at the time, I have since learned to have a deep appreciation for anyone who reaches out to children in need. The Smithensons exemplified the heart of God by loving unwanted or neglected children. The Smithensons always had a house full of kids and they were always at church. Usually, they would fit right in.

Well, it was a Wednesday night. We did our usual stuff… ate dinner, had Royal Ambassadors, then came the real reason for church – playing hide and seek.
The Smithensons had a new kid. He was my age. We had fun as usual. We ran and we played. But this night the new kid and I decided to have a wrestling match. After all, didn’t we have to decide who was the best? Wrestling was usually the “choice of weapons.” (Yes ladies, that male thing begins early in life!)

Well, I won… but in retrospect I wish I hadn’t. It really embarrassed the new kid and I was kind of mean about the whole thing. I gloated. In fact, it sort of turned into a little fight. I figured that the new kid and I would probably not become very close friends.

It was a few weeks later and we were having a RA camping trip to Camp Caraway. It was south of High Point about 30 or 40 minutes. It was a cool place… a medium size mountain, lots of hiking trails and a nice lake. We would stay in tents. Camp Caraway has since been well developed into a conference center, hotel rooms, cabins… the works.

I don’t remember why, but I decided not to go on the camping trip. (I probably was sick. In fact that may have been the time I had mono.) I still have mixed emotions about that decision.

One of the leaders of the camping trip was a guy named Cecil. Cecil was “The Man.” He was a Green Beret. In fact he was the karate instructor for Green Berets at Fort Bragg. Needless to say, he had our complete attention and we NEVER talked back. He drove a motorcycle and wore really cool boots.

Now on the camping trip, Cecil took the new kid in a canoe for a little ride. The rest of the guys were swimming off the dock. The kid stood up in the canoe. Cecil told him to sit down, but he didn’t. He was having too much fun. That moment of disobedience cost him his life.

Without warning the canoe flipped. It sent both of them into the water. The canoe apparently hit the kid in the head and knocked him out and he sunk to the bottom of the lake… remember, this was back in the day when we didn’t even think about life jackets.

Unfortunately, Cecil had on his boots. As he searched for the kid, his boots filled with water and began to take him under. He struggled ashore to get his boots off and immediately went back in to find the kid. All the other men were searching as well. He could not be found.

The rescue team arrived and dragged the lake. His body was found after about an hour.

I remember a picture in the paper… Cecil sitting on the side of the lake, his head in his hands leaning on top of his knees. With all of his Green Beret skills and training… he couldn’t save a 10 year old boy.

When I was told of the accident, all I could think of was the wrestling match and how I embarrassed the new kid.

At the funeral, I remember looking at him in the casket… it was the fist time I saw a dead person. It didn’t seem real. He didn’t look right. I remember the Smithensons being broken-hearted. I remember wanting to be any place but there.

After the funeral, we were driving home in the car. I sat in the back. Dad wanted to stop by his parent’s house, but Mom and I stayed in the car. I could not take it any more. I began to cry. I had never cried for someone who had died before that moment. I cried hard. Mom asked me if I was upset about the drowning. I said yes. But I didn’t dare tell her about my shame.

I didn’t understand. Why did this happen? Why wasn’t I nicer to him? Why didn’t he sit down? Why was Cecil wearing his boots? Why would God allow this to happen to a kid who already had a tough life in that his parents didn’t want him? Why him and not me? Why wasn’t I there? Could I have made a difference?

That event changed my life… it changed how I looked at people. It changed how I treated people. It changed how I cared about the unfortunate. Since the drowning, every time I see someone being picked on, I quickly step in to defend. I have loved kids every since.

I have remembered all these details of the death of a 10 year old. But there is one detail I can not remember… his name. Why have I not been able to remember the most important piece of information… his name? Maybe it hurt too much to know that I missed being nice to someone who didn’t know he had only a few weeks to live. I may never understand. I haven’t thought about it in a long time.

But what I do know is that I have a brother in Christ waiting for me in heaven… I will know his name then… we might even have a friendly wrestling match… I’m sure he will win.

God uses life events, both good and bad, to shape us and mold us. He is Lord and He is sovereign. I really can trust Him even when nothing makes sense.

What’s your story?

Sunday Worship

2009-07-14T22:03:00.004-04:00

Let me tell you what I thought of the worship this past Sunday. Wonderful. Genuine. Heartfelt. God honoring. Passionate. His Spirit was with us. The name of Jesus was lifted high. We were drawn into His presence! This is becoming the norm for Gateway.

As I thought of your worship, I was reminded of Psalms 101.

I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs.

If that is the true desire of your worship and praise, then practice the rest of Psalm 101. Let it become the standard of your life. The following is an abbreviated version:

… I will be careful to live a blameless life. (Christ-likeness)
… I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. (Integrity begins in the home!)
… I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. (TV, movies, internet, magazines…)
… I hate all who deal crookedly. (Refuse to compromise your convictions in order to make a sale)
… I will reject perverse ideas. (Test everything by the Word of God)
… (I will) stay away from every evil. (Definition of every evil: EVERY EVIL)
… I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. (Do not participate in gossip)
… I will not endure conceit and pride. (Beginning with yourself)
… I will search for faithful people to be my companions. (Be careful who you choose to be your friends for they will influence your life)

Now go and do it… then come prepared to WORSHIP on Sunday!!!

*(words in parenthesis are my own words)

Thoughts on Sunday

2009-07-09T14:28:00.004-04:00

I love our worship time at Gateway. I am seeing more and more individuals engaging in worship in all three services. Cory and Judd are doing a fantastic job in directing our hearts into the presence of Holy God.

I have a confession to make. It is very difficult for me to get into worship on Sunday. The simple truth is I like to talk to as many people as possible. Since Sunday morning is the one time I get to see most of you… well… I talk to one person, then another, then someone walks up to me, then I see someone else, then I notice someone new… on and on.

The problem is I don’t worship and I distract your worship… not to mention that I set a bad example for you.

So I am learning to behave myself and stay on the front row and focus on the words I am singing. If you see me get some happy feet, well, just hold your comments to yourself.

On Sunday we began our series on the Christian Declaration of Independence – Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia. A great question that comes from Galatians – whose truth are you going to listen to? Man’s or God’s? Only one truth can save…

The message of Galatians is the message of the Christian’s spiritual freedom. It’s been called the Magna Carta of spiritual liberty; the battle cry of the Reformation.

Jesus said in Matthew:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Mt 7:13-14)

Of this verse, Oswald Chambers said:

If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome. Do we so appreciate the marvelous salvation of Jesus Christ that we are our utmost for His highest? (O. Chambers. My Utmost for His Highest. Grand Rapids)

Let’s us journey together on this gloriously difficult road!

Galatians 1:11-24 this Sunday.

Never Forget – Our Freedom Came at a Price

2009-07-02T15:46:00.000-04:00

While on vacation last week at Pawley’s Island, Mary and I had some friends in for the week from California, Mary and Harold Hunt. Mary and my Mary traveled all over the USA participating in Aspiring Women conferences. Mary Hunt was one of the main speakers and my Mary was part of the worship team. They connected and became fast friends. Harold and I decided to test out the friendship thing because of our wives. We found that we had a similar interest. We both love history.

So a few years ago, we decided to do some “dry run” vacations. We spent time in their home and they spent time in our home. Since Harold is a big Civil War buff, I took him to Charleston to see the confederate submarine Hunley. Awesome.

Our “dry runs” were a great success. So we decided to try Europe. Harold wanted to see World War II sites. Since I had traveled to many of the sites, I put together a two week trip of France, Germany and Austria. We walked along the beaches at Normandy where the D-Day invasion began. We went through German gun emplacements and stood along the cliffs of Pointe-Du-Hoc. We walked broken-hearted through Dachau, the longest running concentration camp of World War II.

We stood silently among the graves at the Normandy American Cemetery. Over 172 acres, there are 9,387 burials of US service men and women. Of this number, some 307 are unknowns. All the graves face westward towards the United States. There are three Medal of Honor winners. Two sons of President Theodore Roosevelt buried side by side – one from World War I and the other from World War II (he is the only WW I soldier buried at Normandy). In addition, there are 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side, including the Niland brothers. They were the inspiration for the movie “Saving Private Ryan.”

So now that brings us to last week at Pawley’s Island.

One day Harold and I decided to explore Georgetown, SC. I have spent very little time in Georgetown… I think it was probably the odor of the paper mill that did it for me. But we had a great day of exploring.

We checked a map guide and found that there was a church whose cemetery had graves dating back to the Revolutionary War. The Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church was build around 1750 with old brick from British ships' ballasts. Prince George Church is one of the few original church buildings in South Carolina dating to the colonial period that is still in use today.

During our Revolutionary War, the British held Georgetown and used the church as a horse stable. Between Georgetown and Charleston is the area that Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, harassed the British.

As I was walking through the cemetery, I thought of all the men and women who died for our freedom as a nation. My heart was full of deep appreciation. How is it that I can view my freedom so casually when so many gave their lives for that freedom? I must never forget those brave individuals who gave their lives creating a place called the United States of America.

As my heart turns towards the cross of Jesus, I ask the same question. How can I view my freedom in Christ so casually when Jesus gave his very life for my freedom?

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Don’t let anyone take away your freedom in Christ!

Destined for the Throne – Part Four

2009-06-29T15:26:00.001-04:00

It has certainly been a week to remember for celebrities deaths: Ed McMahan; Farrah Fawcett; Michael Jackson; Billy Mays (“infomercial” guy). Of course Michael Jackson has dominated the news.

What was not reported in the news was that in the same week-long period, 43,197 other individuals died in the United States (US Census). Read that again: FORTY-THREE THOUSAND, ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN people stepped into eternity… just in the United States.

This is where everyone is put on the same playing field. At the moment those 43,197 hearts stopped beating (including Michael Jackson’s), they stepped into eternity. At that moment only one question was paramount. NOT how did they die? How much money did they leave behind? How many records did they sell? Were they famous or not? Where did they live? And so on and so on. Only ONE question mattered. The one question that determines everything… what did they do with JESUS?

The answer was revealed instantly. When the answer was revealed, there was great rejoicing or great moaning – instantly. There was great joy or great fear – instantly. There was uncontrollable laughter or wailing and weeping – instantly. There was rejoicing in heaven or the darkness of hell – instantly. There was a great reunion with other believers or an eternal loneliness – instantly. There was dancing on streets of gold or gnashing of teeth – instantly. There was heaven or hell – instantly.

Was there a second chance? NEVER!

Jesus said it this way – “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Mark 8:36 (NLT)

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment… Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)

One of those 43,197 was one of our own. On Sunday afternoon, Ella Jane Reed Blake (Larry Mixson’s mother) stepped into eternity. Because of her public confession, I know that she instantly was with Jesus Christ. She was filled with rejoicing, great joy, and contagious laughter – instantly! She is dancing on streets of gold. She is surrounded by believers she knew in this life who are already in heaven. She is surrounded by people of the Bible that she has read about her entire life. She is celebrating! We will join her at the marriage ceremony with Jesus.

Are you destined for the throne? Are you ready to step into eternity? It will not matter what anyone thinks of you in this world. It will only matter what God thinks.

Was Michael Jackson a believer? Based on his past confession, he was not. However, I don’t know of any recent decisions he may have made. But what I can say without reservation that he is a believer now. You see, once you step into eternity, you will know instantly that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord and Savior of the Universe. Even if you are in hell, you will worship Him.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (hell), and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

Destined for the Throne – Part Three

2009-06-24T18:16:00.002-04:00

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. Romans 8:28-30 (NLT)

Look at the progression in these verses:

He chose us to become like his Son
He called us to come to him
He gave us right standing with himself
He gave us his glory

As believers, there is a time coming that God is going to give us HIS GLORY! WOW!!! Can you fathom that? Can you wrap your mind around that? We are truly destined for his throne to share in his glory!

So what is God up to in our lives while here on earth? Is he telling us, “just have a good time and I will see you when you get home?” Or, “I trust you to make good decisions and I will let you know when you mess up?” I don’t think so. It seems obvious that God is up to something very specific in our lives --- to make us like his Son. In order to prepare for our queenly role, he wants us to be like Jesus.

I’m sure I heard this in some sermon illustration long ago. There was a sculptor chiseling a large piece of stone into a sculpture of a man. When asked “how do you know where to chisel?” he responded, “I see the finished man and chisel away anything that does not look like him.” Well, maybe that’s not exactly what he said, but you get the point.

God is looking at the finished product when he looks at us. What he sees is his son Jesus. His agenda in my life is to remove anything that does not look like Jesus! Sometimes he has to knock large chunks off, like when we have a sin in our life that has gripped us or when we have filled our lives with just stuff. Sometimes he chisels away small pieces in our lives, like when we have an attitude that is not honoring to Jesus.

Sometimes he uses very fine sandpaper to smooth away a few blemishes. I am looking forward to the very fine sandpaper because I am still getting whacked with a HUGE chisel!!! Sometimes I feel like God is going to chisel away at me until there is nothing left of me… oh wait… that’s the whole point!

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John 3:30

God is not trying to make me a better man. God is sculpting me into the very nature and image of his perfect Son.

Are you destined for the Throne? If so, then what is being chiseled from your life today?

Destined for the Throne – Part Two

2009-06-20T11:30:00.002-04:00

Imagine – sharing the throne of the universe with the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder God’s goal for me is to be transformed into the image of his son.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. Romans 8:28-30 (NLT)

One of the basic truths that you need to understand is God's purpose for your life. Once you understand what God is doing in your life, you'll understand why He allows difficult circumstances in your life.

R. A. Torrey called Romans 8:28 "The soft pillow for a heavy heart.”

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Rom. 8:28

Just as a reminder, there are few things that this verse does NOT say. It does not say all things are good. It does not say all things work out the way you want. It does not say all things have a happy ending here on earth.

One of my high school friends lived in the next city over from High Point. His dad was a surgeon. I remember going to Mark’s house (his big house) one day. I walked into the kitchen where we usually sat and talked. His dad was sitting at the kitchen table… and he was doing a needlepoint! That’s right, needlepoint. A distinguished, well-known surgeon was doing needlepoint. (And this was back before needlepoint was popular.) I guess he sensed my inquisitive reaction. Actually I was looking intently at him not knowing what to say. He finally spoke up, “Don, this is how I keep my fingers nimble in order to perform delicate surgical procedures.” Okay, it made sense.

Here is what I remember about the needlepoint. On the top of the needlepoint there was a beautiful picture with bright colors and detailed images. But if you flipped it over there was nothing but jumbled threads and knots.

We are God’s needlepoint… or a better word would be tapestry. A lot of times in God's tapestry we only see the underside -- just a jumble of threads and knots. But God sees the beautiful picture that He's creating in our lives. He's working it all together. He is working it all together for our good. He is making us into the image of His son. We will probably not see the right side of our tapestry until we enter into His kingdom. It is a journey of faith to trust the one doing the stitching.

She (the church) must be trained, educated, and prepared for her queenly role. (Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, p. 7.)

Destined for the Throne – Part One

2009-06-16T16:16:00.004-04:00

I remember everything about my wedding day… the church was packed thirty minutes prior to the ceremony. I was the youth minister at Lawndale Baptist in Greensboro, NC and Mary grew up in the church, so everyone came. I even had a long-time friend there who had to hitchhike from Washington, DC because his car broke down on the interstate. My life has never been the same. Here is a picture of us leaving the church for our honeymoon. (Yes, I had hair and yes -- I was a stud.)

It’s been a great adventure ever since. In fact, as I walked out of the church on that Saturday afternoon on July 2, 1977, I really had no idea of the fantastic life Mary and I would have. I had no idea of the blessing of Katie and Mack. I had no idea of the exciting years of ministering together… traveling the world… touching, and being touched by many lives.

Now, knowing what a great adventure my earthly wedding and married life has been, I can not begin to imagine my eternal marriage with Jesus. My vocabulary is insufficient to express my thoughts.

Near the beginning of our marriage, I read a short little book called Destined for the Throne. It was one of those books that had a huge impact on me personally. It brought about a clearer understanding of the BIG picture. I mean the ULTIMATE picture. It caused me to think differently about EVERYTHING. Here is the main quote that caused me to rethink my life and my future:

. . . the one purpose of the universe from all eternity is the production and preparation of an Eternal Companion for the Son, called the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. Since she is to share the throne of the universe with her Divine Lover and Lord as a judicial equal, she must be trained, educated, and prepared for her queenly role. . .if one wants to know the meaning and purpose of history, he must look at the end, the final outcome, the net result. Since prophecy is history written in advance, we have history's final chapter in the Book of Revelation. . . the final and ultimate outcome and goal of events from eternity to eternity, the finished product of all the ages, is the spotless Bride of Christ, united with Him in wedded bliss at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and seated with her heavenly Bridegroom upon the throne of the universe--ruling and reigning with Him over an ever increasing and expanding Kingdom. . . (Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, p. 7f.)

You and I as believers are going to be eternal companions for Jesus! What a mind-boggling thought!

Join me as we walk through this incredible concept together over the next few blogs.

Sunday Thoughts…

2009-06-15T17:19:00.004-04:00

Barry’s solo in the first service was heart stirring.
Worship was great in all three services.
I’m enjoying our sermon series on the Church as we explore God’s Word about His purpose for the church.
I’m looking forward to GBC becoming a dangerous church for the Lord!
Our keyboardist in the 2nd and 3rd service, Stephen Rutland, served his last Sunday with us. He is going to be part of a church plant in the upstate. We are excited for him. Pray for him. Great job Stephen in leading the Solemn Assembly worship.
I love seeing so many new faces at GBC. Even though we have had some friends depart from GBC, our growth has been great.
Our Solemn Assembly was a blessing. It’s ALWAYS a great time when God’s people get together to pray!
Ken Cox's testimony at the Solemn Assembly was moving. Did you get your mustard seed?
I’m reminded that Satan hates us and will seek to discourage us at ever turn.
I’m reminded that God loves us more and we are on the winning team!
I’m reminded that I love being your pastor! Thanks for encouraging me.
I want to finish the race that God has before me. I want to finish the race with you!

Continue to pray for our Children’s Ministry Sports Camp. We had a great first day.

Rules of the Blog

2009-06-10T13:34:00.004-04:00

I had put off doing a blog for a long time. There were several reasons. One was the time required. I did not want to start something only to quickly end it. Two, I wasn’t sure I had anything to say that was worth reading.

So I set out some rules for my blog:

My intent is to keep most everything in my own words. If I use another person’s words, I will quote and cite the work. (If you find something that is not original to me, call me out on it and I will give credit)
There will be some ideas that come from someone that I may have read a long time ago and have forgotten the source. So give me a break… I’m not sure any of us have truly original thoughts.
I will be as honest as possible without violating a confidence.
All first hand stories will be truthful and as accurate as possible, although I may change some information to protect a confidence.
Your comments are welcome. You are free to disagree. But I am free to disagree back. I will not promise a detailed response to your emails.
You are free to pass along to others anything I write. Just make sure you keep the words in context.
Although I am seminary trained, attended Oxford University and have an earned doctorate, I am NOT an intellect or an academian… so don’t expect it. I have never considered myself to be a deep thinker, but I do think… at least I think I do.
If you find a grammatical error… git over it. If the error becomes your focus that u no longer sea the statemint… well, it’s your rabit to chace.
My first and foremost purpose is to honor God and lift up Jesus.
My second purpose is to build up the Bride of Christ… his church… and in my case the Gateway family.

What’s the deal with fear? – Part 6

2009-06-06T11:09:00.002-04:00

Warning: The following may be hazardous to your sense of self-righteousness.

One last thought on fear. If I am going to fear God by seeing things the way He sees, I need to know what he loves and what he hates.

So what does God hate?

There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. Proverbs 6:16-19 (NLT)

I would strongly suggest that if you find anything in the list that is apparent in your life… you have something to fear. You need to fear the discipline from the hand of a Holy God.

When my kids were young, they loved to have their friends over to play. No matter how much you like your friends, if you spend time together you are going to have disagreements, arguments, and maybe even a fight or two. When incidents like this occurred with our children and their friends, we would send the friends home and discipline our own children if warranted. We never disciplined our neighbor’s child. That was not our job. We only disciplined our own children.

God disciplines his children.

SOBERING THOUGHT: If you have never felt the discipline from the hand of your heavenly father, maybe it is because you aren’t one of his children… hmmmmm.

More to the point: I love Gateway… God’s church. I love the family of Gateway… God’s family. So I have a jealous heart for God’s family. I would even call it a righteous jealousy. And when it comes to protecting God’s family, I have a righteous anger when someone causes discord or dissention. A righteous anger is hating what God hates. But even deeper than that, I have a great fear for the person who is the source of the discord and disunity in the family of God. I fear for my brother or sister in Christ who is about to face discipline from the hand of a holy God. It will not be pretty. It never is.

What does the discipline of God look like? It might be a loss of ministry… loss of influence… loss of reputation… loss of treasure in heaven… a loss of spiritual giftedness. It may even result in God putting you on the shelf for the rest of your time here on earth. Even worse, God may discipline you by removing his hand from you. We see this in scripture. What would your life be like if God completely removed his hand?

If, through your disunity and discord, you cause a younger brother or sister to fall or lose trust in God or in their church, guess what? God holds you responsible. VERY SERIOUS.

Once in a church, a staff member was confronted for telling lies about the pastor. During a meeting with the deacons, one deacon said, “You robbed me of my being able to trust my pastor.”

Have you repeated a rumor? Have you shared a piece of juicy gossip? Have you said something that robs a person the ability to trust their church? Their pastor? Have you caused someone to question God’s church? Well, get ready… discipline is on its way.

By the way, there is a difference between disunity and disagreement. There is a proper way in which to express a disagreement or a concern. In the parking lot of the church is not one of them.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 1 John 4:20 (NLT)

Regardless of where you attend church, if you are the source of disunity or discord in the family of God… you need to repent… you need to confess… you need to ask for forgiveness of your heavenly father and your church family. You need to have a fear of God.

What’s the deal with fear? – Part 5

2009-06-04T10:55:00.001-04:00

Warning: The following may be hazardous to your sense of self-righteousness.

As we’ve studied fear, we’ve concentrated on fear as a result of a lack of faith. We’ve looked at replacing our fear with faith.

Here is a different take on fear: Sometimes we are not afraid but we should be. The Bible tells us that there is only one appropriate fear – the fear of God. If you did a quick search of the Bible for phrases such as “fear God” or “fear of the Lord” you would be convinced that it is an appropriate fear.

Jesus said it this way:

“Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.” Luke 12:4-5 (NLT)

Now the great news for the believer is God is not throwing us into hell. He is going to welcome us into his kingdom as a joint-heir with his son Jesus. PRAISE GOD!!!!

But that does not eliminate my fear of God. I must have the utmost respect and sense of awe when it comes to God. The point of this passage is that we should fear God because of his awesomeness.

I must take him very serious… very, very serious. So how do I do that? For starters, I need to see things the way he sees things. I should love what he loves and hate what he hates. God loves people and God hates sin.

One day, as a believer, I will give an accounting to God for my actions, my attitude, my words, and even my thoughts. This is the one we think of most often and most of us can understand the concept that we are accountable for what we “do.” But what about this one -- I will give an accounting for my lack of action. I will give an accounting of how I used, misused or never used my spiritual gifts, material possession, and time.

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

We have a promise of our salvation… we can not lose it. But we can “suffer great loss.” What does “great loss” look like? It includes lost opportunity; lost time. It includes the times we lived for ourselves: our wants; our greed; our selfishness. It even includes thinking that church and life is all about me.

Ultimately it is a loss of eternal investment. Instead, we invest in the temporary. We invest in the self-serving.

It is very easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are mature as believers.

What about that phrase “The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”? What does that look like?

Remember when smoking was allowed almost everywhere? Even on airplanes? When I was growing up, smoking was not allowed in our home. However, many of my relatives and neighbors smoked. I was around it all the time so I didn’t think about it. Today, however, someone can be 2 blocks away when they light up and you immediately smell it.

When Mack and Mary had the doc sommers band, they played everywhere. Sometimes they played in venues where smoking was allowed. I remember going with them to the New Brookland Tavern. Even though we did not smoke there was plenty in the room. By the end of the concert, our clothes reeked of smoke. I even had a smoky taste on my tongue! I had to step outside many times that night just to get a breath of fresh air. Then we packed into the van to head home… yep… it reeked of smoky clothes. We couldn’t wash them fast enough.

Maybe that is what it will be like for those who “barely escaping through a wall of flames.” They get into heaven because of Jesus, but they smell as if they ran through hell to get there. They aren’t burned, or even singed, but they reek of the smells of hell.

Don’t let that be you.

An Act of Kindness

2009-05-26T09:49:00.006-04:00

On Mother's Day, the message for Gateway was entitled, "Try a Little Kindness." Our passage was from Colossians 3:12:

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12 (NLT)

We looked at the story of the Good Samaritan as a Biblical example of kindness. Jesus used this parable as an example of love immediately after he had communicated the two great commandments -- Love God, and Love Others. Kindness is love in action.

The challenge from the message was this: Who needs my kindness this week? Put kindness into action.

This past week we received a letter from the pastor of First Baptist Church, Rutherfordton, NC. He and a number of others from his church had experienced this love in action from a member of our Gateway family.

Dear Pastor and Church,
I want to commend a member of your congregation for showing the Good Samaritan Spirit in a modern day situation! Carl Bennett did our 25 JOY Group Members a tremendous service a few weeks ago as he demonstrated wonderful Christian love.

Our church bus was stalled north of Columbia (about 20 miles) on April 30, and Carl stopped to offer help. He carried 2 of our men back to Lexington (SC) to pick up 2 rental vans and then guided them back to our I-26 position near Chapin. He spent almost 2 hours of his time helping us in a real jam! Our bus had sheared 2 bolts on the torque converter which drives the flywheel and we had lost the transmission, and it had to be towed to Gaffney.

Please know that Carl's gracious spirit and time and concern was a powerful sermon for our church group! Please use the enclosed in his honor.
Gratefully,
Dean Baughn

The pastor had enclosed a gift offering expressing his gratitude.

Carl would not want this to be public because it would draw attention to him. He was simply putting Christ on display by putting his love into action. His act of kindness happened because of who he is and who he serves.

The same words Jesus used to close this parable apply to us:

Now go and do the same.

Written and posted by Russ Holt on behalf of Don Brock (on mission trip to Uganda).

Uganda Photos

2009-05-25T15:32:00.001-04:00

Thanks for praying for Mark and me. There is a professional photographer with us on the trip. He is posting his photos on line... check them out: http://www.joshmckague.com/blog/?page_id=188

See you soon.

From Uganda

2009-05-25T07:38:00.002-04:00

Mark Canada and I, along with 18 other pastors, are in Uganda with Compassion International. It is impossible to put into a few words what fills my heart. We have been witnessing first hand the work of Compassion and the impact it is having on the lives of thousands of children in this area. Next year celebrates 30 years of Compassion in the country of Uganda.

I look forward to sharing stories and pictures with you in the near future. Pray for us as we travel home Wednesday evening.

What’s the deal with fear? – Part 4

2009-05-20T13:08:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago, my neighbor was excited. He just received his World Series ring. Jerry Martin played pro baseball then turned batting coach for the Phillies. This past season, he was a base coach for the Phillies. If you follow baseball, then you know that the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2008 World Series. Jerry’s ring is beautifully gaudy, if that is possible. It’s HUGE. Three and one-half carats worth of diamonds. I am very excited for my neighbor.

Being like any normal boy I grew up loving baseball. I knew the players and the teams. I was always excited when the World Series came around. When I was about 12-years-old I saw my first professional baseball game. We traveled to Atlanta to see the Braves play the L.A. Dodgers. I saw Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax pitch for L.A. Amazing! I remember it all.

Okay. I’m going to share with you the most fearful moment of my life…

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 55-years-old. Every year since my 12th birthday, the week following my birthday reminds me of the most fearful moment of my life.

As a kid, I was a very average athlete. I was an average wrestler on my high school team. I was an average center for our city club basketball team (we did finish 2nd in the state.) But what I really loved was baseball. I played 3rd base in little league. I was an average ball handler. But one thing I could do well was hit the ball.

It was my last year in little league. I was 12-years-old and in the 6th grade. We played at Armstrong City Park in High Point, NC. It was a great field. Our outfield fence seemed unreachable. Homeruns were very rare at our field. If you got a homerun, it was usually inside the park. But I was determined to do it. I was determined to slam one out of the park.

My dad was pretty sick by this point. I didn’t know he had cancer, much less that he might die. Back in those days parents felt that they were protecting their child by not burdening them with tough information. (I found out my dad had cancer from a neighborhood kid… I beat him up for saying such a thing.)

All I knew was my dad was too sick to come to my games. I was determined to do one thing for my dad… hit a homerun. I knew that would make him happy. After all, he taught me to catch… to run… to throw… and to hit a baseball.

It was a Thursday night. We were playing well. I was in my usual rotation spot as clean-up batter. I didn’t feel anything special when I got to the plate. I just remember swinging and connecting. There was a brief moment of “could this be it?” I watched the ball head out of the park. WOW! It was an awesome feeling. It was hard to contain my smile while rounding the bases. My older sister, Donna, made fun of my attempt to hide that smile. It was awesome. Sweet victory!

Normally after a winning game, we headed to the ice cream parlor… coach’s treat. And if you hit a homerun, double treat… you got a milk shake! Big deal for a little leaguer!

But on this night, the earned milk shake was the last thing on my mind. All I could think of was getting to the hospital to talk to my dad and tell him about my homerun.

At my insistence, my mom took me to the hospital. It was probably 9:00 at night. We went into his room. It was dark except for a dim light above the bed. Dad was turned onto his side facing the door. He had his covers pulled up to his chest. He seemed peaceful. He appeared smaller for some reason. As I expected, he was sleeping. He was actually in a coma, but I didn’t know what a coma was. All I understood was that he had to sleep a lot.

I walked over to his bed in my dirty uniform. I had long passed the day of having to self-impose dirt onto my uniform. If a player didn’t have enough dirt on his uniform, any respectable little leaguer would rub dirt into his uniform (while no one is looking of course). You didn’t want to have to explain why your uniform was so clean after a game. I admit I had a few moments of respectability during my first year of little league.

With my dirty uniform, hat and glove, I decided not to wait for my Dad to wake up. I leaned down, put my elbows on his bed and got really close to his ear. I quietly said, “Hey Dad, I finally hit that homerun for you.” Now I don’t know if it really happened, but as far as I am concerned, I saw a small smile appear on his face. I will never forget that smile. It was burned into my mind and my heart. It was a great feeling. That smile would become very important to me.

Little did I know that it would be the last words I would ever speak to my Dad.

Two days later, we were at my Dad’s parents. It was late Saturday evening. Everyone was at the hospital except an aunt, my little brother and me. My Dad’s 18-year-old brother, Gary walked in. I immediately saw that his eyes were red. Had he been crying? He wouldn’t make eye contact with me. Then I heard my Dad’s mom crying. That was the first time I ever heard her cry. (She just had her centenarian birthday this past February.)

I was still clueless.

My pastor, Jim Pharr walked in with my Mom. “What is he doing here?” I wondered. “Why is everyone so different?” Someone got a wet wash cloth to put on my grandmother’s forehead. She kept saying “My head hurts… my head hurts so bad.” I thought, “Maybe that’s why everyone is sad. Grandmother is sick.”

Then my 8-year-old brother, Elliott walked straight up to me and said “Dad died.”

What? Did I hear right? He must be wrong. How could two words hurt so much? I looked at my Mom. When I saw her face and our eyes met, I knew it was true. I just fell to the couch and cried. My sister tells me even today that I didn’t stop crying for two days. There was zero comfort to be found.

I remember Pastor Pharr placing his hand on my knee. He tried to say some words, but I wasn’t listening. Don’t get me wrong. I was glad he was there, but I would rather have had my Dad.

This was my most fearful moment… I just turned 12-years-old a week earlier. How was I going to make it through my teenage years without a Dad? Who was going to play catch with me? Who was going teach me all the “man stuff” I needed to know? Who was going to teach me how to drive a car? How to change the oil? Repair the lawn mower? Change a fuse? Who was going to teach me about girls? I was a lost, scared little boy who wanted his Dad. I never knew there could be so much fear.

But God was not going to abandon me. He gave me a wonderful promise. I’m not sure who told me about the passage… maybe it was Pastor Pharr. Whoever told me, it changed my life.

Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord— rejoice in his presence! Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. Psalm 68:4-5 (NLT)

“Father to the fatherless.” I can honestly say that those four words took away my fear. I have remembered those words throughout my life. Every time I have a moment of fear and wish my Dad was near by, instead of asking God “Why me?” I say to God, “Thank you Lord for being my Dad. I have nothing to fear.”

Here is the key question for you. What verse, what promise does God have for you in your fear? Find it… memorize it… believe it! Then watch the fear melt away.

By the way… I went on to win the homerun crown for my league that summer of 1966. Other than a few games, I’ve never played baseball again.

What’s the deal with fear? – Part 3

2009-05-19T10:05:00.002-04:00

When it came to fear and faith, Jesus was a laser-beam with his disciples. He never let up. Listen to what he said long after the walking on water event:

Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:19-20 (NLT)

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Matthew 21:21-22 (NLT)

He was still dealing with faith. Do you have enough faith? Concerning the mustard seed statement, John MacArthur put it this way: “True faith, by Christ’s definition, always involves surrender to the will of God. What He was teaching here is nothing like positive-thinking psychology. He was saying that both the source and the object of all genuine faith—even the weak, mustard-seed variety—is God. And “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).”[1]

The disciples were learning that no matter how much they learned or how much they grew, they always had to rely on Jesus when ministering to others. Good lesson for us. How often do we say, “Okay Lord, I can handle it from here…” only to become disillusioned or bewildered and asking ourselves “what went wrong?”

Sometimes the storms of life come because of our poor decisions and disobedience. But the “walk on water” storm came because they did obey Jesus. They did exactly as he said… and the storm came.

As Jesus constantly dealt with the disciples on issues of faith and fear, maybe he was setting the foundation of the church. The church is God’s “Plan A.” In fact, there is no “Plan B.” Maybe God allows storms in your life so that you can be a vital part of His plan.

So what is the storm in your life? A more important question: Why do you think it is there?

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5b (NLT)

[1]MacArthur, J. (1989). Matthew (83). Chicago: Moody Press.

What’s the deal with fear? – Part 2

2009-05-15T07:36:00.001-04:00

Why is it so important for the Lord to teach us about fear and faith?

If there was an issue that reared its head over and over again with the disciples, it was the issue of fear and faith. How often do we read in the Bible of Jesus saying to his disciples: “You have so little faith;” “why do you doubt me?”

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Matthew 14:28-31 (NLT)

The thrill didn’t last, however. Jesus saw this one coming.

Up to this point, Peter was doing great. He had the faith to get out of the boat. He had the faith to take some steps. Then “reality” hit. Instead of focusing on Jesus, he focused on the storm – the strong wind and the waves. Once he took his eyes off of Jesus, his “common sense” kicked in. The world’s reality and truth; and our human common sense will get us into trouble every time. We rely on ourselves instead of Jesus. We rely on our “experiences” instead of God’s Word.

But before you judge Peter, you have to admire him for seizing the moment. Let’s face it – even though he was humiliated and screamed like a little girl (no sexism intended), he was the only person other than Jesus in all of history to experience the thrill of walking on water!

Jesus allowed Peter to reach panic mode. He waited until Peter screamed for help. Then Jesus immediately saved him. To make sure the lesson was sinking in, he asked the obvious question. (Important note: Jesus never asked questions because he lacked information.) He asked questions in order to get us to think -- to make sure we are asking ourselves the right question. “Why did you doubt me?” Is Jesus asking you the same question today? When you fear, he may be asking you the same question -- “Why do you doubt me?”

What fear is causing you to doubt?

What's the deal with fear? - Part 1

2009-05-12T10:21:00.004-04:00

I want to revisit a verse I shared with you in April.

“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, ‘It’s a ghost!’ But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” Matthew 14:22-27 (NLT)

There is a truth in this verse that can be easily missed. Jesus insisted that his disciples get in the boat and cross to the other side of the lake. I have personally been on the lake referenced in this passage. It makes Lake Murray look like a fishing pond. It’s huge! In fact, Mary and I were riding across the Sea of Galilee on the back of a boat when I asked her to marry me… for the third time I might add.

So here is my question. When Jesus sent the disciples to the other side of the lake, did he know what was in store for them? Of course he did. He was setting up a teaching moment. He knew the storm was coming… maybe he sent the storm. He certainly used his authority to stop the storm.

So why was Jesus teaching them about fear? Actually he was teaching them about faith. If you are going to be a person of faith, you have to understand fear.

You know faith is the key don’t you?

“And it is impossible to please God without faith.” Hebrews 11:6a

“God saved you by his grace when you believed (faith).” Ephesians 2:8a

The next time you are overwhelmed with fear, ask Jesus, “Lord, what lesson do you want to teach me?” I bet he will teach you something about faith.

Mother's Day

2009-05-09T18:06:00.002-04:00

Sunday at Gateway is going to be awesome for one simple reason - Jesus will be there. We've got a boat load of children to dedicate. Those of you who have navigated the sometimes choppy waters of child raising... speak a word of encouragement to the parents who are dedicating their child tomorrow.

I will pick back up on our fear discussion this coming week.

Pray that God will speak to you during the worship tomorrow.

Sunday thoughts

2009-05-06T10:26:00.001-04:00

Sunday was awesome. Jim Peters did a fantastic job in our interview. Jim’s story was the perfect end to the sermon series on Forgiveness. His is an incredible account of the power of Jesus Christ to change lives. Even though I already knew Jim’s story, it still overwhelmed me once again to hear how loving our Lord really is.

Jim shared how God changed the life of a brutal, murderous terrorist named Josiah Makoni. Jim was number one on Josiah’s assassination list. After his salvation, God used Josiah to tell the Good News to other terrorist. THEN, God did another big thing. Josiah and his band of former murderous, hate-filled terrorists became Jesus loving, Holy Spirit-filled evangelists. God used them to bring the Good News to their country.

Don’t ever think that God can’t use someone like you!

Listen online to Jim’s interview:
http://gatewaybc.com/clientimages/39242/audiosermons/5-03-09web.mp3

http://www.gatewaybc.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=39242&PG=xCast&LID=2228

Be sure to get your copy of Jim’s book “Dawn of Deliverance.” You can order the book online at all major book retailers or purchase one directly from Jim. He will have copies with him Sunday, May 17th.

Welcome back Cory Singleton! Cory is now leading our Classic service. Worship was wonderful on Sunday… thanks Cory. We are glad to have you back home!

Ted Haggard Interview at Elevation Church

2009-05-02T07:30:00.003-04:00

In The State paper today, there is an article about Ted Haggard. Let me encourage you to check out his interview last week at Elevation Church. Elevation Church is located in Charlotte. My son Mack is one of the worship leaders and his wife Meredith is the Executive Assistant to Pastor Steven. It is worth your time to view.

http://www.elevationchurch.org/mediaPlayer.php?sermon=170

Conquering My Fears

2009-05-01T12:09:00.001-04:00

General George Patton, the famous World War II general was known as a colorful man. He was a brilliant military strategist; had a mind that was focused like a laser-beam; had zero patience with anyone standing in his way; always spoke his mind (and sometimes spoke without using his mind). Patton defined the Latin phrase “Prima Dona.”

I talked to a friend of mine who served under Patton during the war. He was only 18 years old when he was in Patton’s army. Imagine – an 18 year old fighting in the Battle of the Bulge! I was having fun in college when I was 18.

I asked my friend if he ever had a conversation with General Patton. He said “Patton spoke to me once. And he cussed me out.” Patton was known for his strong language. But he was also known as a man who read the Bible every day. Although the Bible didn’t change Patton’s language, I believe the Bible impacted Patton’s thoughts. One quote attributed to Patton was “Fear kills more people than death.” I have found that statement to be true.

Has fear killed your dreams; killed your marriage; killed your career? Has fear killed your spirit of adventure? Has fear killed your passion for Jesus? Has fear of people and their opinions killed your willingness to step out by faith? Most important, has fear killed your faith… your ability to trust God?

So where does that fear come from? Well, it didn’t come from God. The Bible says: For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Let’s spend some time over the next week or two thinking through this thing called fear…

Counting Straws - Part 4

2009-04-30T10:55:00.003-04:00

Let’s look at verse 24 again.

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)

I’m assuming you have already sought the Kingdom of God by asking Jesus Christ to be your personal Lord and Savior. I’m assuming that you have a personal relationship with Jesus. You are now a citizen of Heaven!

Another aspect of the Kingdom of God is found in the word kingdom. Another word for kingdom is the word realm. A simple definition for realm is “A royal jurisdiction or domain; a region which is under the dominion of a king; a kingdom.” Of course the kingdom we are talking about is the Kingdom of God. In his Kingdom, Jesus rules.

In one of his last conversations with his disciples, Jesus said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” Jesus was saying, “I’m the King and all that there is, is my Kingdom, my realm.” As King, Jesus has the authority and right to tell us what to do as his subjects in his realm!

If indeed Jesus is the King, then it is only right for him to claim that he has all authority. His realm extends from heaven to the earth… and everything in between. And if you are still uncertain of the extent of his realm… it includes everything he made… which is everything that is.

God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. John 1:3 (NLT)

Here is the kicker – as His subject, I am responsible to do His bidding, His will. When I am obedient, then He will act in my life and circumstances. When I do things my way, then I forfeit His power in my life.

When I was 12 years old, my Dad sat down with me and shared some important thoughts. He told me what I needed to know as I prepared to enter my teenage years. Little did I know that it would be the last conversation I would ever have with my Dad. But I think he knew. He knew that death was near… that the cancer was winning. If you knew that you were about to have one last conversation with someone you loved very deeply, you would choose your words very carefully.

When Jesus had one of his last conversations with his disciples here on earth, He shared very important words. He told us what we were to do with our lives.

Jesus came and told his disciples, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

Here are a few essential ways by which we live for what is right:

Seek to please Jesus rather than people. Why is this important? Only Jesus is King.
Trust Jesus completely to meet all your needs. He has promised to do His part.
Express your trust and faith in God by praying.
Study, act upon, and obey the words of Jesus… even when they make no sense to you… even when it goes against “common sense.”

The key phrase in the Great Commission is “make disciples.” That is a command for all believers, not just ministers.

As you develop a Christ-honoring lifestyle, then you will experience the presence and the power of God!

Counting Straws – Part 3

2009-04-29T13:54:00.005-04:00

Once again, Jesus said that one of the keys to not worrying is to do something else in its place. He specifically said to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously.”

So how do I live righteously? What does that look like?

Read the following from 1 Peter:

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:21-25 (NLT)

Jesus lived for what is right. Jesus was obedient to the Father in spite of the personal cost. By doing so, he made it possible for us to live for what is right. Here are the action points for me in this passage:

I am commanded to live righteously by doing good, no matter the cost.
I am to follow the example of Christ.
I am to NOT retaliate when insulted.
I am to NOT seek revenge when wronged.
I am to trust God with every aspect of my life.

Along with the commands, God gives us some great promises in these verses. Because of Jesus and who He is:

I have been given an example that I can trust.
I have been relieved of all my sins when Jesus took them upon himself.
I have been declared dead to sin and alive in Christ.
I have been given the power and ability to live righteously; to do good.
I have been healed of every wound.
I have a Shepherd and a Guardian who cares for my soul.

FINALLY! There is someone to whom I can give my straws…

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

It’s time to give Jesus ALL of your straws!!