Please take 5 minutes and watch this video.

“I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, and you think, ‘Well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward’… How much do you have to hate somebody not to proselytize?“

- Penn Jillette

When I watched this video, my heart broke.  How many Christians, just like me, have ignored an opportunity to share their faith (proselytize) with someone they care about. God has been working on me for the last few weeks, and I believe that this is again, no accident.  We have very few more days to live, how can we NOT share God’s God News with His Creation/  For what other purpose are we here for: large bank accounts. accolades, privilege?

Matthew 24:42-44
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

I have tried to remain quiet about certain aspects of my personal life for a while now, until it became clear what direction Sarah and I believed that God was pointing us.  I have been processing these last few weeks and months and I believe that I have a much clearer idea of what God has been doing for the last few months, in my life and ministry.

It all goes back to ripples.  When I look back at my life, I have had some of the most amazing experiences: I have been across the world to Europe and I have stood on a glacier in Greenland.  I have met some of the most amazing people: leaders, entertainers, politicians, and just every day folks.  I have led amazing groups of people, and I have had the privilege of getting to know some people on very intimate levels.  And that is where God has been bringing me back to.  Let me explain.

In May, Sarah and I moved up to Newnan, Georgia to join with StonePoint Church as their Connections Pastor.  It was awesome, a church plant with a very strong vision and great leadership.  Sarah and I dug in our heels and started to do what we do: minister and serve people.  It was a blast.  We had some really great opportunities and and we worked as hard as we ever have to make StonePoint all that God has called her to be.  Unfortunately, things did not work out the way that everyone wanted, and we found ourselves in a similar position that we had just left in Florida:  you have a job, we just can’t continue to pay you.

That started a very long and stressful period of searching for answers and trying to figure out what God was trying to teach us.  At the same time, Sarah had a disc in her back rupture, and she had to have surgery.  So, I was out of work, Sarah couldn’t work, and we were in a place where we had few really strong  friendships.  What do we do?  Where do we go?  Where do I look for work?  Why had God allowed this to happen in our lives?  What had we done wrong?

All these questions and their resulting emotions were weighing heavily on me and Sid.  So, I took a few days and tested the waters back in Florida.  And something amazing happened…I saw a palm tree, and I cried like a baby.  After having several really hard discussions with the close friends that I had in Florida, I began to realize what God was teaching me.  And I had an idea of what He wanted me to do.

When I came home, Sarah was going to have her surgery a couple of weeks later, and I needed to tell her what was on my heart to do.  We have always wanted to partner with  existing churches and use our gifts to help those churches succeed.  But churches have to worry about money for staff, buildings, curriculum, computers, and lots of other concerns.  Established churches also have baggage, just like Sarah and I did.  It was going to be very difficult to find a perfect fit for Sarah and myself, that didn’t already have a full staff, or find a church that could afford my salary.

Looking at our lives, we knew that we wanted to be involved in a church that was accomplishing Acts 2:43-47, and we wanted to be involved with our family of friends here in Wesley Chapel, FL.  After praying and seeking God’s wisdom, I have come to the belief that I am called to start Acts 2 Church-Tampa, a home church that I will lead from my home.  I know that it sounds crazy, but NOTHING else in my life makes more sense that this direction.  I have been asking my friends if they would want to be involved and they have almost all instantly jumped on the idea.  And I am more at peace with this decision than any I have made in the last couple of years.

Sarah and I are trying to find regular jobs to support ourselves, and we have very little money, but God tells us not worry about such things.  We don’t want to lose our home, but Jesus told us that He will provide a place for us.  I know I sound like a zealot, but it’s the only thing that I can think about and to me, it just feels right.  I have searched scripture and it rings true: I want to accomplish all that God called us to in Acts 2:42-47, and to do that, I cannot be in an established church.

So, I once was a worship pastor, and a connections pastor, and now, I take on the role of Lead Pastor for Acts 2 Church.  Please pray for me and for Sarah.  Please pray for Acts 2 Church-Tampa.  But be excited for us, we are, and I believe that I have been heading this direction for a long time.  Do I have all the answers?  No, I really don’t have any, but I know that this is what I have been called by God to do.  I cannot think of anything that I want to do more than this.  I am not worthy, nor am I fully prepared, but then again, when God moves, we humans are rarely ready.  So God, I give in to Your call…

Let it begin…

Previously:

Re-gifting Christianity

Re-gifting Salvation

Re-gifting Discipleship

And we need to re-gift The Gift of Relationship.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said that, “He is with us, even to the end of time.” That is true relationship. It’s about going through life together, in relationship, with others. We share each other ups and downs. We laugh, we cry, we encourage, we pick each other up when we fall.

Once you re-gift salvation, you should start to invest in that person, don’t just leave them there. And as you invest and re-gift discipleship, you build a relationship. And that is truly an amazing gift.

Who do you know, in your life, that at 3:00am you can call, and they would drive to your house that very minute? What relationships in your life need you to spend some time GIVING and not TAKING?

In John 15:5 Jesus says, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Later in John 15:14-17, Christ continues, “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

(more…)