Speed Bumps Can Be Fun

My dad used to own an '84 Chevy pickup truck that became my main driving vehicle when I got my license. I had some history with that truck. I got hit by a drunk driver...in a Taco Bell drive-thru, backed into lots of things, scraped the side on our garage door...3 times, and plenty more adventures. One that I'll never forget (that I highly discourage anyone from trying) was seeing how fast I could hit speed bumps. When I hit one at about 45mph, the front of the truck came off the ground, then slammed back down. All the dash lights, headlights, and radio quit working and I had to drive home in the dark like that. I don't remember what excuse I came up with to tell my dad, but somehow I weaseled my way out of that one. I should have never done that and I learned an important lesson: there's a reason they say to slow down before coming to a speed bump. That would make sense.

If you read my earlier blog, Curve Ball, you know that Awaken Church hit a bit of a speed bump this week that I'm mostly to blame for. I should have done my research earlier before we ever signed a lease to make sure everything was ok with the building to hold church meetings in. Unfortunately, I didn't. So, with a little under 3 weeks till our first church service, we quickly realized that we had no building to meet in! That's where the body of Christ came in. I had people from around the country emailing, texting, and calling, saying they were praying and offering advice. It was so cool. At first, I tried to be real positive about it. That only lasted so long though. Soon, the weight of having no meeting place and only a couple weeks left till our start date really hit me. Wednesday, I started to freak out a bit. I drove around for 4 hours in the afternoon trying so hard to find another place. Nothing. Finally, I made one last phone call on a place I saw on my way home. That place wouldn't work either...but the guy told me of one more property that he owned that might work. We set a time to go look at it on Thursday and I drove home. I was reminded of Nehemiah, who also dealt with some major issues and speed bumps as he followed God's call on his life to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Whenever something came up, he immediately prayed (check out Nehemiah 1:4, 6; 2:4; 4:4, 9; 5:19; 6:14; 13:14, 22, 29). He faced people who mocked him, others who attacked him, as well as plenty of hardships and set backs. Despite the attacks, his battle cry was "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us!" (Nehemiah 2:20), and that is exactly what I needed to remember. I calmed myself down once I got home and remembered my original vision for the church: this is God's church, not mine, therefore, this is His problem, not mine. From the very start, I committed to not trying to build a team of people or support or stress out about details, instead, I would allow God to build the church. I never wanted to get to a point where I would look back and be tempted to say, "Look what I built." Thankfully, there's no way I can say that about the place we hope to sign the lease on this week. It seems like the perfect place for us.

After lots of prayer, I finally received the phone call we were hoping for on Friday morning. Our landlord from our first building said it would be in our best interest and his if we went somewhere else. He even said he'd give us a full refund, including out deposit and first month's rent! Incredible. My name was on the 1-year lease. Technically, he didn't have to refund anything.

I don't want to jump too fast with this other building until we know things are official, but here are a few fast facts:
- I already put a call into city hall to research fire code and zoning before we sign the lease - things are looking good.
- We will get 900 more square feet for only a few hundred dollars more per month.
- It's divided right in half with 1200 square feet for a big meeting room and 1200 for Awaken Kids ministry.
- The Kids Ministry area already has 4 or 5 classrooms pre-built, which will save us lots of time and money!
- The building is 1 mile from the college campus now and almost touching the park we want to have a sunrise service in next Easter!

I could go on and on about how great this building is, but I'd rather go on and on about how great God is. It's possible that we don't end up with this building because God has something else in mind for us, but things are looking promising. He truly is building this church and I believe this speed bump, although I allowed it to get to me, was just a way for God to prove His sovereignty once again and test my faith (I guess I partially passed, but I could have done better). I believe God saved us from meeting in a building that wasn't ideal but we were willing to make work. He has this way of doing things last-minute with me, and I guess I'm learning to be ok with it - it forces me to pray more, like Nehemiah. I know one day, we'll look back on all the speed bumps and be able to say something like what was said in Nehemiah 6:15 - "So the wall was finished," or in our case, "So Awaken Church began."

Thanks to all those who were praying or offering advice. God truly showed Himself faithful and the body of Christ proved to be the support that we all need. Keep up those prayers.

Prayer works...in unexpected ways

God is so good at answering prayers in unexpected ways. Often times, it may not seem like the most conventional way, but it's always the best way. It may not seem like the most logical way, but it's always the most effective and beneficial. Here are a couple ways I've seen God answer prayer in and around me...


Meeting needs before we even knew to ask...
As I mentioned in my previous blog, we had a need that surprised us yesterday just hours before our park outreach. We hadn't gone through many burgers from the week before, so as far as we knew, we didn't need to restock on anything for last night's event. We were wrong. Some time in the couple days before, the power outlet that the freezer and fridge were plugged into had blown out. That meant that when I went to check on the food, we had 100 melted slices of cheese, 80 spoiled burgers and a large box of spoiled hot dogs - our whole supply of meat for the night. Well, as we have been praying all along that God would provide for our needs, He met a need that we didn't even know to pray about. Last Wednesday, after I taught in Albuquerque, a guy that I'd never seen before came up to me after service and handed me 2 $50 bills and said, "These are for your park outreaches." At that point, I thought we were set, but knew we could use the money somehow. God met our need for burgers before we even knew we had the need...and Satan's lame plan to foil our outreach was ruined.

Not dishing out the expected result, instead, leading us to it
One of my prayers (especially recently) has been, "God, strengthen our faith." I realize this week that God is in the process of answering that prayer...but not how I may have expected. God doesn't dish out faith like second-helpings at a buffet line - He makes you work for it. When I ask Him to strengthen my faith, instead of just giving me stronger faith, He takes us through circumstances that strengthen our faith - situations where, without faith in Him, we'd fail. Case in point: opening the doors of Awaken Church. The countdown is currently at 27 days till the first Awaken Church service and right now, all we have is the shell of an old tanning salon to meet in. The building was exactly what we were hoping for - better price than anywhere else, great location, perfect lease length, etc. The thing we didn't calculate was the price of just getting the doors open. That's expensive! When you add up the cost of chairs, paint, signs, decor, utility deposits, fees, rent, and more, it can sometimes become a bit overwhelming...which God uses to strengthen our faith! We KNOW that we're supposed to be here in Clarksville doing exactly what we're doing, we KNOW that we should be in this building, and we KNOW that God will provide. HOW He will provide is a different issue. That's part of His way of answering our prayer.

The irony of prayer
I realized the other day that my prayers are often ironic in and of themselves. I prayed recently for God to remind us of our need for Him...then I realized that that's exactly the point of prayer. If nothing else reminds you that you need God, it's prayer itself. Think about it - if you didn't need God, why would you be asking Him to provide for your needs? God answers that prayer by providing prayer for us!


Prayer is powerful and effective (James 5:16) and we ask that you join us in prayer as we continue to seek the Lord and His will in doing what He sees best for Awaken Church Clarksville. If you're praying for us, we love to know - knowing others are praying with us and for us is comforting and humbling. Thanks to all of you who are taking our needs before the Lord. He hears and He answers...in unexpected ways.

Hand-on ministry that doesn't feel hands-on

I was super blessed to be back at Calvary Albuquerque last night. It was so fun to teach to my church family out here. Service wrapped up at 8:30 and I talked to people till 9:45! It was great to talk with people and be encouraged as we shared what's been going on in Clarksville. I was especially encouraged by one of my former mid-school students, Melanie. She loves to pray. To this day I remember when we announced that we were moving, she told me that she committed to pray for me every day. I took that literally. I knew she would. I can't tell you how many times in Clarksville, when times got rough, that I was reminded that Melanie, along with many others, were praying every day for us.

As I talked to her and many others last night who mentioned they were praying for us, I was reminded about the ministry of prayer - it's hands-on ministry that doesn't always feel very hands-on. Most people as they pray don't realize the impact that those simple prayers can have. God listens and God answers. He's a very personal God who knows our every need. But even more practical than that is the simple reminder in my finite mind that someone, somewhere is thinking of us and the ministry we've set out to do and they're talking to Jesus about it. WOW! That is such an encouragement!

Melanie is just one example of many people that are praying for us and the minsitry of Awaken Church. If I tried to mention everyone, I'd leave someone out, so I won't even try. God hears your prayers and we feel your prayers. PLEASE keep them coming! It's easy to think that you need to do something more hands-on - send money, fly out to help with things, etc. While those things are great and very useful, without prayer, they'd be useless. Thanks to everyone who is praying for us. We're so stoked about what God is doing and we'll never know the full impact of those prayers that are prayed so often.

I close with one of my favorite verses:
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

What's the main ingredient for successful ministry?

PRAYER.

I could stop right there and that's really all that needs to be said. No scheme, no advertising gimmick, no team strategy will ever have the same effect as prayer does. It's simple communication with the only One who can truly make ministry effective in the first place, Jesus. Unfortunately, the other stuff comes much easier - they're more hands-on. They feel like we're actually doing something, making things happen.

I was reminded this week of just how great it is to have people praying for the ministry. My mom emailed me from back home and asked how her prayer group could be praying for us this week. They get together once a month to pray for ministries and missions going on around the world. They've been meeting for 1 year now and Awaken Church has been a subject of their prayers for quite a while now. I gave them some specifics to keep in their prayers and was refreshed to know they'd be talking to God about those things. Later that day, I got a call from my overseeing Pastor back in Albuquerque, Dave. It was a simple phone call that lasted only a couple minutes, but it was so refreshing. He simply reminded me that he prays for me every day, then closed the conversation with a quick prayer. My good buddy, AJ, who took my position when I left Albuquerque also prays for me daily at 9:31am (since that's Clarksville's area code)!

Speaking of prayer and its power, I was reminded of something I read about Charles Spurgeon...

...he was asked a similar question on one occasion: what is the secret to the success of his ministry in this church? After the meeting he took that inquirer down under the main body of the church to a hall underneath, and there were hundreds of people praying while Spurgeon was preaching the Gospel! Is there any wonder that people were being converted!? While he was in the act of throwing the gospel net forth, there were people weeping and crying and travailing before God.

THAT is powerful. The ministry of Charles Spurgeon is unparalleled in its greatness and effectiveness, but we know it's not because of the preacher, it's because of the prayers. God moves through prayer.

Who are you praying for? What ministries are you talking to God about? Have you told those people that you're praying for them? There are not many better words for someone bent over under the weight of ministry to hear than, "I'm praying for you."

Speaking of answered prayer...

Here's one that I didn't blog about but that I always think about when I wonder if we're crazy (which is more often than you may think)...


We had been thinking and praying about Clarksville for months, just wondering when we should actually go. We kept thinking about all the things in 2009 that were still coming up and the date for moving kept getting pushed back. We finally realized that there would always be a reason for us NOT to go, and at some point, we need to just do it. So, on Saturday, October 16, we decided at the end of May, we'd go for it.

Well, 4 months later, in February, we flew back to Tennessee for one final scouting trip. We were pretty sure it was Clarksville, but we also wanted to check out Mt. Juliet. We quickly knew that Clarksville was the place. We visited a few pastors and churches that week - some Calvarys and some not. One pastor we met with was Jerry McAnulty who is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Rivergate (the first Calvary in TN). He said they were really excited that we were coming out to Clarksville, gave us a tour of the church, and prayed for us. On the way out, he told us, "Hey we're so glad you're coming to Clarksville to plant a church. In fact, last October we had a pastors' conference and we were specifically praying for someone to come to Clarksville to start a church!" Wow! So cool! We were the people they were praying for!

Here's the coolest part though: I realized that he had said that the pastors conference was in October, so I called him back and asked when that was. October 16. Of course. Little did we know that our decision to go 4 months earlier was an answer to prayer from a group of pastors 1200 miles away. Little did they know that God was answering their prayers immediately 1200 miles away! None of us would find out till 4 months later!


God is good and I love that He hears us and answers us!

Read the previous blog about another way God answered prayers recently.

You can also read a blog from last week about getting involved with praying for our summer outreaches. Check that blog out HERE.

Little reminders

God is so good at giving us little reminders along the way that we're headed in the right direction. It's always tempting to wonder if we're doing the right thing - leaving everything we know behind to start a church in the Bible Belt. Just when we need a little reassurance, God is always faithful to give us little reminders that He has everything worked out. I became friends with a guy on Facebook last week that attends Calvary Albuquerque, and I asked him if I could share some of what he had to say:

We spent a couple of weeks last month in Clarksville (acutally Oak Grove, KY) during the time the church prayed for your church planting. So we were unaware of your move there.

My daughter Ashley and her husband Aaron and grandaughter Genevieve live there as he is stationed at Ft. Campbell. They are VERY excited upon hearng of your coming, they have been searching churches in the area and just haven't found one they feel is a fit. So this is an answer to our prayers for them. Our Lord is awesome!

I'll give you a little background, our daughter Ashley has been a believer for many years, however her husband Aaron is a young believer. He gave his life to Christ in bootcamp, which is pretty cool. They were baptized together by Skip, and Skip dedicated Genevieve last August while Aaron was in town on leave.

Shortly after bootcamp Aaron was deployed to Afghanistan for a year, he returned in January of this year. So he has not really had the discipleship that he needs. We are working on helping to build a foundation in Gods Word, but it seems we can only do so much.

...We have been praying for them to find a church where they would be comfortable.

We located the Calvary affiliated churches in Tennessee but they are really to far away from them. a part of our prayer was for someone to plant a Calvary church in that area, little did we know that someone from our fellowship was in the process of doing just that.

So yes we have been praying for your church while unaware of it!

How cool! I love stories like these about how God is answering prayer immediately without people even being aware of it!

Speaking of prayer, we'd love for you to join our UNIGHT prayer team that we're putting together for this summer's outreach. We've already had a few people say they'll be praying, but we'd love to have more. If you're interested, let us know! Read more about it HERE. This is a great way to see God move as you spend some time with Him!

We need YOU to pray for us!

I love that the Creator of the universe listens to us pray! In fact, Hebrews 4 even says that we can approach Him with confidence! We don't have to worry about being struck by lightning or having gone through the proper rituals anymore. He takes us just as we are and cleans us up!

Here's the deal, Awaken Church needs A LOT of prayer! We'd love to have you join our prayer team as we commit the summer of 2009 to the Lord. We know that this is His work, not ours, so we need to be praying that He'd provide financially, physically, and most importantly, spiritually for the church.

For 8 straight Saturdays, July 11-August 29, we will be heading into parks across Clarksville to reach out to the community. We're calling the event "UNIGHT" and you can learn more about it on our website on the UNIGHT page. Here's where you're involved: we'd love to have a team of people praying for each event. You can commit to pray for 1, a few, or all 8 events. Of course we'd love to have prayer leading up to the events, but we're specifically asking for people to pray during each event.

The dates are below. In a few weeks we'll have locations as well. Grab your calendars, and pick a date or a few to pray for. Let us know you'll be praying by leaving a comment on this blog with your name and the date you'll be praying or by emailing us at prayer@awakenchurch.org with the same info. We'll be putting a list together of who will be praying when and we'd love to have you join us in the ministry through prayer!

The dates of UNIGHT are:
Sat, July 11
Sat, July 18
Sat, July 25
Sat, Aug 1
Sat, Aug 8
Sat, Aug 15
Sat, Aug 22
Sat, Aug 29

(and one additional one: Sat, September 19 - the date of our first church service!)

Stay tuned here for specific ways you can be praying as well as updates after each outreach.