Course Correction

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

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!

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

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?

“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

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

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.