Leaving For China

Following is a reprint of a post from a few months ago, but it's worth repeating.  Wednesday morning, four of the five guys above, along with their chaperone David Samuel, are leaving their friends and families to spend their Christmas break in China.  Focused on their call and their mission, these guys have raised over $10,000 to invest their time and resources in a foreign country.

They impress and inspire me.  How about you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last summer a team of students and adult sponsors went to Cherokee, North Carolina for a week of work projects and mission work. Like most trips of this nature, those who went came back with much more than sore muscles and finished projects. God dealt with people and, in one particular case, infected a group of five young men in an unbelieveable way.

Marc Chewning returned from Cherokee knowing that he wanted to do more to help others know and understand the love of God. Shortly after arriving back home in Powhatan, he was mowing the grass. A bird skeleton was lying in the yard; he noticed it and thought to himself, "That's gross." He passed the skeleton again and was suddenly impacted by a powerful thought.

"How many times do we do that same thing with people? Notice, think "that's gross", and turn and walk away..."

Marc couldn't shake the thought of hurt and broken people who were ignored and left in need, often by those who claim to follow Jesus and his command to "love your neighbor as yourself."

After a flurry of communication with some of his partners from the Cherokee mission trip, Marc felt certain that God was speaking, and clearly calling them to go. They weren't sure where they were to go, but the compulsion to act was undeniable.

With the strength of their conviction and the boldness that comes from an encounter with God, these five guys starting moving. In spite of the fact that they weren't sure exactly what was ahead, they unashamedly began to declare that God had called them, and they starting looking for the next step.

Their journey led them to the front steps of the International Mission Board in Richmond (in spite of several wrong turns and a brief period of being lost), where they simply walked through the door and made themselves available. They were warmly received and graciously encouraged, and it was there that they received clarification as to the path before them.

Marc Chewning, Elijah Schiarelli, Joseph Freeman and Andrew Basic are going to spend their Christmas break in China. They will work within the specific guidelines of a Mission Board project, but what they will do is not as important as the fact that God spoke, and they said, quite simply, "Yes."

In response to the need for an adult chaperone, David Samuel also said "Yes", and he will join them. Robert Moroney will be unable to travel to China, but he said, "Yes" to the call to support those on the journey from home.

Pray for these guys.  And pray for their families, who will face the holiday with their children many miles away.  Give their moms and dads an extra hug or two.  And pray.

Imagine Christmas from Mary's Perspective

Today was an incredible day! Many of you have responded with kind words, FB messages and wall posts, and emails. I'm grateful and humbled. I'm also mindful that what happened today is all about what God is doing in our church. If there is anything for us to be proud of, it is that we occasionally are self-aware enough to get out of the way and let God do what only He can do. Today, when I walked out onto the stage to wrap up the first service, I felt the Spirit nudge me to have you single mom's stand so that we could surround you the way that a community surrounded Mary. If you were in the first service, you will remember this moment when I walked back onto the stage and just stood there. I was asking myself, "are you really going to do this?" and I was arguing with God, "God, isn't this going to be a little too much for some folks?" But, in hindsight, it occurs to me that God is pretty smart :-) He knows what He's doing. He doesn't need my intelligent debate, my insights or my perspective - He needs my obedience.

I confess to you that I don't always obey. I fall short, disobey, occasionally even openly rebel (just like you). But sometimes, I remember that God sees what we do not, goes where we will not, and does what we cannot. His goodness is fresh and new and I’m amazed at how awesome He is when we will only yield to the winds of His Spirit.

The single moms in the collage above represent only a small portion of these quiet heroes in our church. As Susan and I made a list at home tonight, we came up with dozens of names - just between the 2 of us. May it be that we will never forget that we are to be the hands and feet and, indeed, the very presence of God to you special champions in our community.

Thanks to all of you for your kinds words. God gets all of the credit for the incredible movement of this day. We equally share the privilege of standing in His grace and serving the people who long to draw closer to Jesus. It is incredibly humbling for me to lead this incredible movement we call Powhatan Community Church.

Christmas Offerings

Last week, we did something unusual...we took a special offering in addition to our normal offering. It was something we wanted to give people the opportunity to do on their way out without feeling pressured.

We decided that this year, the Imagine Christmas series was a good time to emphasize four particular perspectives or vantage points of Christmas: children, single moms, dads, and God. What does Christmas look like from their point of view? Each of them has a unique look. We also decided that each week's special offering would pertain to the unique perspective we were studying. Last week, you gave over $700 to help meet the needs of our children. I'll tell you more about tomorrow and the coming weeks when we get to them. But I don't want you to be surprised.

I also don't want anyone to feel pressured. However, this is our opportunity to give beyond generously. When God sent His only Son into the world (and when Jesus freely chose to come), He gave far more than was required. He was giving beyond generously. He was giving lavishly. We were in need. God had what we required.

I am reminded, especially as I study the different perspectives and angles of Christmas in preparation for these next few weeks, that God has blessed me - and most of you - in a lavish and superabundant way. Yes, with family, friends, life, health, etc, etc, etc. But, frankly, also with money. And I look around and I see that single moms are struggling and dads have lost their jobs and people are losing their houses and some of them don't know how they'll eat next week or where they'll live next month...and I have the capacity to do something about it. Not for all of them - but if we do it together, we can do something. God gave it all for me. Showing the love of God means, in part, that I am to be sacrificial for others, too.

That's why we're doing these special offerings.

It's not because we love money; our money does not even belong to us.

It's because we love people. Because God loves people. And we are His hands and His feet. 

We can help. Let's make a difference this Christmas.

iD

At PCC, our mission has two parts:  to reach people, and then to guide them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  We are pretty good at reaching people.  Not flawless.  Not perfect.  We can certainly get better.  But we're pretty good.  And reaching is easier to measure.  Attendance.  Baptisms.  It's just easier to measure the 'front door' of the church.

The rest of the journey is more nebulous.  It's harder to gauge where someone is in their faith journey or how close they are to becoming a fully devoted follower.  Nobody ever 'arrives', right?  Nobody ever wakes up one day and says, "well, I'm headed for my final exam.  If I get through this class, I'll be a fully devoted follower.  Glad that's over!"  No, we're always striving.  Paul put it like this, "Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of [perfection]. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philip. 3:13-14, TNIV).

At PCC, we have two primary ways that we make available for the Christ follower to "press on toward the goal" of becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ.  One is the Small Group.  Small Groups study the Bible in the context of friendships.  The other is our i.D. program.  This is where you can get some Bible teaching in the context of an instructional setting.  These are classes, and the idea is to to give you experiential learning, but to also give you information.  They are for a defined term and then they end, which is why we put them on a semester system.

These classes are designed for a wide range points on a spiritual journey - from those who are new to faith to those who have been Christ followers for decades.  If you want to go deeper, check out an i.D. class.  This program offers the completion of our package for discipleship at PCC, and we believe that those who take advantage of i.D., and small groups are well on their way to becoming fully devoted follower of Christ.  So, come check out what we're offering...you'll be glad you did!

For more information on PCC Small Groups, click here.  For course descriptions and online registration for iD courses, click here.

The Other Bald Guy

If you missed Sunday's service at PCC yesterday, you'll want to check this out.

And then you'll want to check this out.

The Meeting of a Lifetime

Imagine that one day, you walk out to the mailbox, open it up, and notice that there is an unusually ornate envelope mixed in with the junk mail and bills. Intrigued, you examine it more closely and quickly recognize the familiar symbol where the sender's information goes: this envelop is from the President of the United States (forget about politics for a moment). Since you've never gotten anything from the President, you figure it must be a mass mailing, but you notice that the envelope is personally addressed to you, written in ink - no bar codes or mailing labels. It's real. 'Am I in some kind of trouble?' you wonder. 'What have those kids gone and done now...' After you finish running with that thought, you open the envelope and find an invitation inside - something like this:



This particular invitation was for a state dinner with President and Mrs. Bush and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. I didn't get an invitation to that dinner. Mine must have gotten misplaced. Come to think of it, I haven't gotten any invitations to the White House for a state dinner....or lunch...or for any reason at all. But I sure would love to. It wouldn't matter to me who the President was - Democrat or Republican - if I got the invitation I can tell you, in advance, that my answer would be yes. I'd miss my anniversary, my kid's birthday, church, Christmas, whatever. If I got the summons, I'd make the meeting.

Perhaps an invitation to the White House doesn't really matter to you. Maybe it's a superstar - Brad Pit or Oprah or some country singer or a sports star or a really successful business person like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Perhaps you'd respond to an invitation to meet the Pope, the Queen of England, Billy Graham, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, or the cast of CSI Miami. You can say that there is nobody you'd really like to meet, but I'd argue with you. Most of us can name at least some famous person that we would drop everything for. If we got the invitation, we'd make the meeting.

Don't you know that you do have the invitation? The most important person on the planet...in the universe - the One who created all things - who holds it all together - He requests the honor of your presence, not just at dinner...and you don't have to dress up...but in your pajamas and over a cup of coffee. You don't have to study which fork to use and you don't have to practice eating your soup without slurping it or dripping it down your chin. He honestly wants you to know Him. He wants to coach you, to encourage you, to give you some instruction, to give you a little correction here and there. You have the invitation.

Beth Brawley had a meeting with someone we all consider a very important person this past week. It was a phone meeting, but it was still a one-on-one conversation. It was very exciting. The office was buzzing for days before about it, anticipating it. We closed her door. We wanted to know how it went. What was said. How'd it go.

Why don't we approach meeting with God that way? He's far more important than the President or the Queen or the Pope. He's more talented than any musician and richer than the most successful businessperson. He's more powerful than any politician. What's more, He's interested in you...they're not. He sent you the invitation - He nudges you with one every day. But we tend to shrug Him off. I'm determined to change this about myself. Want to join me?

Sorry, I gotta run. I received a personal invitation from the most powerful Person in the world and there is no way I'm missing this opportunity!

Am I Unavailable?

OK, I'm starting out with a disclaimer: this post is half venting, half soap-box-sermonizing and half pitiparty-begging-for-your-help. That's too many halves, but you get the point.

Someone whispered to me that someone lamented to them that they wanted to talk to me about some concern or complaint that they had about our church, but that they felt I was less available these days. This is not the first time I have heard about these kinds of feelings, and to be fair, I do understand them. Our church is large. I'm more insulated now than I was when we were smaller (we were never a small church). The perception is that I'm harder to get to. I get it. But if I'm guilty of anything, it's bad PR, because in this case, the perception does not equal the reality. Here are some things I'd like to go on record with. No one has ever asked to meet with me and received a refusal. I do not know what the future holds. When we get to 5000 people or 10,000 people, perhaps I won't be able to meet with every person who wants some of my time, but as long as I am able, I will say yes to every person who wants to meet with me. And I'm still able. I've never refused a request. Ever. I don't meet out of reluctance or with a bad attitude. People is what we do. You are who I serve. You are the mission God put in my heart. The best parts of my day are not cranking numbers or doing strategic plans or choosing service elements or designing videos or wording illustrations (though I like doing all of those things). The best parts of my day are spent with people....hearing your stories, carrying your burdens, praying with you and for you, giving advice, learning together, connecting you with small group leaders and ministry leaders where you can grow in your spiritual journey.

Several times this week, people have said to me, "I was so surprised when I got that email from you." I say a lot, "You know, I'm not the President." I'm normal. Sure, I'm busy. But so are you. We're all busy. We're in the people business, though. It's what we do. You are what we do.

Now, this is the shameless-plea-for-help part: Can you please point every PCC person you know to this post, spread the word, and kill any remaining vestige of the notion that says I am unavailable to our people?

So, when do you want to get together?