It is through prayer that Calvary will move forward. It is through us crying out to God with all kinds of prayer, with perseverance, for everyone, through the help of the Spirit that the gospel of Jesus Christ will advance in our community. We cannot rely on programs or strategies or our strength to get done what God has called us to do, it is only through God’s help that we will see anything significant take place in this community. Praying is a sign of our desperation that we need God!

And God is answering prayer all the time…

We started in earnest praying once again for God to continue shaping us into a unified people, and I see and sense evidence of that when we gather. It is refreshing to walk, serve and worship among people who are like-minded. I love gathering together with you.

We’ve also been praying for God to meet our financial needs above what we deserve or expect. I continue to see God doing just that. Some weeks we are not hitting it out of the park financially, but I’ve seen God move powerfully in hearts in the last several weeks and have witnessed grand slam giving. Your response to God’s leading in giving has kept us above the water line. Thank you for responding generously to a God who is generous above all.

Finally, we just began praying for ten new families or individuals and God has added the first – welcome home to M.R. & Harriet Jones. It’s wonderful to see God answer so quickly and people respond so faithfully.

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)

Life is war! Pray that God would prepare us to meet the daily challenges of the battle. Love one another by praying for one another. Pray as the Spirit directs you. Pray without quitting. Always pray depending on the Spirit of God to intercede and interpret your prayers for the glory of God and the benefit of His people.

Grace & Peace,

It was good to have most everybody back on Sunday morning. I know some of you were missing…still on vacation or at family gatherings or whatever. Just know that you were missed. We just aren’t the same when some of the family is missing!

We had another Spirit infused time of prayer Sunday night. It was such a blessing to sing the praises of God through song, Scripture and prayer. The more we do this the more we are expressing our dependence on God, and an utter dependence on God is where we need to be.

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

And as we are thinking about praying…we are coming up on Vacation Bible School Week (July 5-9). So this is the last opportunity to invite your neighbor kids, family friends, and relatives to come for this exciting week. Each night will start with a snack supper at 5:30. This puts something in the stomach of the kids so they will have all the energy to make it through an action packed Bible School. VBS will kick of at 6:15 pm with a rally in the auditorium. The night will end at 8:45. If you have the time, energy and talent to give, please sign up as soon as possible or call the church office and let Amanda know.

I want to encourage everyone to be praying every day for VBS. This is something we all must do if we expect to see results for the kingdom of God. Pray for the kids’ hearts to be open to the gospel. Pray for the staff that they would clearly show and teach the gospel to the kids. Pray for the safety of everyone. Pray for good weather.

Grace & Peace,

It never ceases to amaze me what God will do when we finally shut our mouths and listen to His Spirit. I know everyone who showed up Sunday morning and Sunday evening were genuinely blessed by a fellow follower of Jesus and lover of Calvary, Keith Higginbotham. I just want you to know why I keep asking him to preach and teach when I am out of town…or maybe if you heard him you don’t need an explanation. God consistently uses Keith to encourage, challenge and convict through the clear and consistent teaching of God’s Word.

I’ve heard all kinds of good things from Sunday night’s meeting. Maybe I should just stay home next time! I’m sorry I missed it but if I had been here I probably would have messed with it. It just proves that when we get out of the way and let God move us amazing things will happen. Your spontaneous, unscripted, Spirit led prayer time was just what this church needed. My hope, expectation and prayer is that we’ll continue to respond to the prompting of the Spirit and allow God to show us His direction for how we should be making disciples. Let’s not move, plan, do, orchestrate, strategize, manipulate, or whatever until God leads us. Yes, that may make us uncomfortable, and yes, people may think we’re crazy, but think about what they thought of Jesus and His first disciples,

“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:6-7).

Oh that we would be a church that would turn the world upside down through God pouring out His Spirit through standing firm together striving side by side for the cause of the gospel! And may do this not for the sake of our name or the building of our kingdom, but for the sake of the name that is above all names and for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Grace & Peace,

This has been an unusual, but expected week. Cold, snow, rain and freezing is to be expected this time of year. We never really know when it’s going to hit us, but we do know that it is coming, sooner or later. It throws our schedules off, changes our routines, but hopefully it brings some fun and joy. If you found yourself “shut-in” for a couple of days, I hope you were able to spend extra, quality time with your family. I know for some of you, it makes you a little stir crazy because “cabin fever” begins to set in. Well, by the time you read this I hope it’s over and we can return to a somewhat normal schedule.

Gather – This week we’ll be finishing up our series, Getting Calvary Back on Track. I’m excited about preaching from Acts about how the gospel is for everyone. I look forward to sharing our lives in worship as we approach a majestic God and adore Him. God is the only one worthy of our worship!

Grow – Sunday night we will have our 2^nd Sunday School Vision Casting Meeting. This is a meeting you will not want to miss as Keith Higginbotham leads us into envisioning what God has in store for the future. God is already adding to our numbers and I can’t wait to find out the next steps we need to take to make God’s vision for our Sunday school groups a reality.

Give – Calvary is indebted to so many people getting involved in volunteering and giving of their time. For example, Fankie Lyda and Pam Greene have volunteered to organize a Women’s Bible Conference on Saturday, March 28. Some men asked what we needed to do for this and I simply told them, “Stay out of their way!” People giving of themselves is the first step to seeing a harvest of fruit and I believe this conference will bring in a great harvest for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Go – Going is a reflection of our growing. We all need to do something with our spiritual growth. Growing in God’s grace will send us out in love to build relational bridges with strangers. Our goal should be to turn strangers into friends who will eventually listen to God’s story of redemptive rescue He is weaving into our lives. As you are going about your daily life who is God sovereignly and strategically placing in your path with whom you can have that Gospel conversation?

Grace & Peace,

It is our first priority as a church to glorify God. God is our agenda; He is everything to us; and we are seeking to spread the knowledge of His greatness to the entire world. We believe God has given us four avenues through which we accomplish this God-exalting act:

We gather to worship God. Throughout the week we are left to worship on our own. That is good and necessary, but Sunday morning is where it all comes together. The early church consistently gathered together to honor God as a larger group. It was an expression of their oneness through Christ and their common goal of glorifying God in everything.

We grow in Christ-likeness through doing life together. All things happen in our lives so that we will become shaped into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Our Sunday school groups meet for the purpose of teaching God’s Word, prayer, true fellowship (sharing our lives), seeking God’s will, and showing up for one another. We do life together because God never meant for us to do it alone.

We give of everything for the advancement of God’s kingdom. Everything we have and are belongs to God, we are just called to be faithful managers. We don’t see this stewardship as a duty, we see it as a delight of our lives. God created us to be givers, not takers.

We go to make disciples. In Matthew 28:19-20 we have the Great Commission and we need to reaffirm our commitment to this. Jesus is saying that as we are going about our daily lives we ought to be making disciples. In other words, we live intentionally where God has sovereignly placed us to make the greatest impact with the gospel. We don’t change anybody effectively; the gospel has the power to change people eternally. We do have influence, but our influence only goes so far and so deep. But armed with the life-rescuing story of the gospel, God can now use our influence to radically rescue lost sinners and send their lives in a new direction.

This is who we are. Our methods and programs will change and evolve over the years, but the bedrock of these principles will never change. To remove one of them would be to destroy our identity and hamper our vision of magnifying the Lord together.

Grace & Peace,

We are a church that exists to honor God; we are here to glorify Him. God has sovereignly, graciously and strategically put us where we are at this time in history to spread His fame. Since we know and believe that, just how do we go about glorifying God? Well, I believe there are four avenues through which we can bring glory to God. The first we looked at last Sunday morning (1-18-15): GATHER. We gather to worship God and everyone (no exceptions) needs worship!

The next avenue through which we spread the fame of God is GROW. Growing is essential to the Christian experience. We cannot call ourselves followers of Jesus without growing and we can’t grow without getting into God’s Book, the Bible. We believe this growth comes as a result of personal study and corporate study. I believe we need both. We need to dig into the Bible every day on our own to hear God’s voice and let Him set the direction for our lives. We need this discipline. It’s like drinking a refreshing drink of water on a hot day after a really hard run – it is something that we need! But we also need each other to grow. The early church made a strong commitment to this…

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (Acts 2:42)

I can, and should, spend quality time in God’s Word each day; however, the one problem with that is there is neither accountability nor camaraderie. We need each other to help us grow, keep us thinking the right thoughts, sharpen one another’s iron, encourage us to stay in the game, and hold each other’s feet to the fire. The avenue through which we’ve decided this is best expressed at Calvary is Sunday school. Our classes are broken into smaller groups that are age specific.

These smaller groups of Bible study provide us with a sense of community. This is where actual relationships take place; this is where we share life with one another; this is where life-long friendships are formed. Truth is taught, honest questions are asked, tough issues are addressed, love is expressed and intimacy is experienced in these times together.

If you’re not involved in one of these groups, then let me encourage and challenge you to find one that fits you. Come and grow with us.

Grace & Peace,

2014 is history and 2015 will be lived out for the next 361 days. I am so optimistic about the future of Calvary, not because of what we can do, but because of what God can do. I still sincerely believe that the world is looking for God to do something miraculous through His people. That doesn’t necessarily equate to something big or flashy or spectacular. We can’t put the weight of glory on who we are or what we do; we can put the weight of glory on the reputation of God. You see, that is what’s at stake – God’s reputation. As His children we are called upon by God Himself to spread the fame of God where we are. We must glorify God in His church through selfless following; we must glorify God in our homes; we must glorify God at school; we must glorify God at work; we must glorify God when we play. Everything we do is to be done to reflect God’s majestic and marvelous character.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Will you join me to be a working church striving to honor God in everything? And will you join me in being a praying church asking God to do something that can only be explained by His great and good hand of blessing upon us? If we become a working and praying church, I believe the community will see God in a way they haven’t seen Him for quite a long while. Let’s get ourselves out of the way; let’s put our agendas aside; let’s put our selfish desires in the trash. Let’s roll up our sleeves in selfless servanthood and get on our knees in absolute and utter dependence on God.

I’m praying that 2015 will be a year that we can honestly say we honored God in everything! I love you deeply and desperately. I sincerely want the best for God and you at Calvary. I don’t want people to remember me; I want people to remember our God. Here is a prayer I want us to memorize and pray every day:

“O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2 ESV)

Grace & Peace,

October is breast cancer awareness month. As a church I want us to bring this issue to forefront of our hearts and minds by remembering those we’ve lost, celebrating those who’ve survived, and encouraging all of our ladies to get tested. I’ve proven that I’m not a doctor and so I’ll not attempt to write about what I don’t know. However, after some research here is what I’ve come to discover…

The church needs everyone to help spread the fame of God throughout our community and the world; the responsibility of making disciples cannot be accomplished without our ladies. We need you and want you around for many years to come. Early detection is one of the keys to keep you ladies in the game. We will be setting aside Sunday, October 19, 2014 for Pink Sunday! Wear pink to show your love, support and commitment.

Grace & Peace,

What a great day Sunday! I love getting together with you on Sunday. God’s presence and power never ceases to amaze me; and your love and unity is a beautiful sight to behold as well. I am truly a blessed man to be the pastor of such a wonderful group of Christ-followers. Thank you for honoring God through loving one another.

Let me remind you of the uniqueness of Calvary Church. No, it is not in its programs or big buildings or huge offerings; what makes us special is a commitment to faithfully show love to everyone walking through our doors. That spirit probably won’t bring big crowds, it won’t put us on any ecclesiastical map, and it won’t net us loads of cash; but it will make the name of our great and awesome God famous and build a family of faithful followers. We are not the church to be seen at and we are not ecclesiastically cool. We are a group of people who don’t pretend to have our act together and are honest that we are struggling with “stuff.” When we are transparent like that then the gospel can change us and begin to shape us into the image of Jesus.

It has been my quiet burden that we don’t lose this uniqueness; it has been my private fear that we would when we moved and started to grow. What I have found out is that God has kept us humble by keeping us small. This is what I love about this church. We have no grandiose idea that we are the next mega-church of Spartanburg County; we won’t be and don’t want to be! We are simply trying to love one person or family at a time who will see God’s grace and mercy through that love. And let me tell you, I’ve heard about your love from people who’ve experienced that love not only inside the walls of 4000 Parris Bridge Road, but outside these walls as well!

So I just want to say that I love you, am thankful for you, and am praying that this uniqueness will continue for the glory of God and the building up of God’s church.

Grace & Peace,

School starts back up this week for our students. This is a time when kids are both excited and nervous. The feeling of excitement comes because they are getting back into the routine of seeing friends and teachers. The emotion of nervousness comes because of new classrooms, teachers, and pressures. There are probably other thoughts and emotions that come to the surface each time a new school year begins, but we don’t have the time to get into that.

This is our time to begin praying in overdrive. According to StopTheShootings.org there have been 387 school shootings since 1992 (this includes college campuses); South Carolina has experienced 6 of these. This statistic is a reminder to pray, pray often and pray hard. Prayer is how we all can make a major difference in the lives of our kids, administrators, staff and teachers. Here are some practical petitions: safety, understanding, patience, a strong faith, a bold witness, and diligence.

You will be provided a list of the names of our students that will simply be a prayer prompter. I would encourage you to put it in a place that gets your attention consistently. Take each of these names to the throne of grace because each of them needs our prayer.

To kick off this school year we have designed a two-part program. The first part will be Saturday, August 16 at 6 pm: Tie Dye Party; bring a cotton t-shirt and during the night you will enjoy tying your shirt, eating hot dogs, dyeing your shirt, and then watching Frozen. What an awesome night planned before you have to start learning what x and y mean! The second part of this weekend will be Sunday, August 17 at 5:30 pm: Back-to-School Pizza Blast; we will be challenged from Scripture, have a special time of prayer, get a free gift, and eat so much pizza that you may be too sick to go to school the next day!

Grace & Peace,

The first day of summer has come and gone! What does that mean? Vacations to the beach and mountains; family trips to visit family; the smell of hotdogs burning on the grill; the sound of cannon balls in the pool; trips to WalMart to get more sunscreen; and long summer nights cooling off on the deck. Summer is great and we love it for many reasons. One of the reasons I love it so much is that it is a change of pace, and I like changes every once in a while.

Summertime also brings a different pace at church. People pop in more often. We have more activities and trips planned. Kids are out of school so this is the ideal time for camps, Bible schools, and mission trips. It just seems that it is a very busy time of year for us at Calvary. So, we’re changing the rhythm up a little; the ebb and flow of everyday life is just a little different.

With these seasonal changes we need to be guarded in our diligence about our walk with God. It would become easy for us with trips, vacations, barbeques, and parties to put God on the backburner and tell Him, “I’ll get back to you later when life slows down a little.” Resolve today, at the beginning of summer, that you won’t be that Christian. Be faithful to God everyday. Maybe you change up your routine with God, but God is still a major part of your routine. Maybe you approach your daily time with God differently, but God is still part of your day.

David hotly pursued God.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

This is the sort of passion we need for God. It speaks of being utterly and only satisfied in God. Nothing and no one can satisfy us like God can. Is that our desire this summer? I hope it is!

Grace & Peace,

It is mind boggling, amazing, off-the-chain, stupendous, awesome, and every other-over-the-top adjective you can think of to describe the provision God makes when we begin to earnestly pray! I am humbled but not surprised at what God is doing at Calvary Church. He made the greatest investment to secure our future – His Son. Since He was willing to make a sacrifice as great as that, then I am absolutely confident that He will answer prayers that have a concern for His honor and the rescue of those whom He loves.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly that all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

That about sums it up. Paul, who wrote the bulk of the New Testament, beautifully articulated what we need to hear today. Here are a couple of thoughts for you to ponder this week:

First, Paul begins with God’s glory. That is the best place to start with anything. Our prayers need to be saturated with a desire for God to be glorified. This saturation will keep our prayers in check from becoming petitions to fulfill the desires of our own hearts.

Second, we need to stop limiting what God can do. God’s ability is beyond what we can petition (“ask”) and what we can imagine (“think”). Whenever I look at my ability I have every reason to panic, but when I look at God’s ability I have all the reason I need to trust.

Since I have started to urgently pray about the unity of the church, new families becoming a part of the church and the financial needs of the church, I have had a peace about everything and a freedom in the study and in the pulpit. This is what God has done in me in the last few weeks; what has He done in you?

Friends, we don’t need to panic, worry, stress and lose sleep over things that we place in the sovereign hands of God. It’s only when we try to control things that are out of our control that we need to hit the panic button. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get on our knees and fervently pray!

Grace & Peace,

Another great week at Calvary Church! God continues to answer prayer, but this is no reason for us to quit. Praying is what Christians do at all times. We shouldn’t just pray when an emergency arises or a problem comes our way or a need pops its head up. If we only pray when we are facing a crisis then we are not following the Lord’s will; in fact we are far from the Lord’s will. The Lord’s will is for us to be praying constantly.

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication…” (Ephesians 6:18)

Prayer is part of the fabric of the church (cf. Acts 2:42).

We are in a season right now that prayer is intensified, purposeful and intentional. This is a reminder to us that we are desperately dependent on God. This is a time when our focus shifts a little to some specific requests. This time will pass but our prayers must not. We should be praying everyday for His church. We will always find things to pray about; we just never run out of things to pray for. There will be times of intense and intentional praying for our children (VBS, camps, etc.); there will be times like that for our youth (Awaken Weekend, mission trip, etc.); and there will be opportunities to focus our prayer attention elsewhere. The point? We will always be praying for the church.

But today I am in praise mode (along with petition mode). I am praising God for another family that joined us on Sunday. Welcome to the family Ricky and Julie Moore! That makes #2; no, you’re not in second place! You represent an answer to prayer and we feel honored to have you become a part of what God is doing in His church. I am also praising God for an abundant offering. This is God’s church and He will pay the bills and take care of our needs. No need to worry or panic or manipulate, just trust.

I am also thanking the Lord for a phenomenal Awaken Weekend! Thank you to Kristy Hall and the youth crew who prayed, planned and participated to make this a life-changing weekend for our youth. You are awesome! I’ve heard so many good things about Jared Snead and his band. The prayer garden is a perfect addition to the life of Calvary Church. Thank you youth for your hard work on that and the windows.

Now let’s all grab a prayer rock and pray!

Grace & Peace,

I am simply amazed at the love and support you give me as your pastor. I don’t let you know how much I appreciate and love you often enough. If the truth be told, this is something that would take a letter each week to you. I love you and enjoy so much being the pastor of this wonderful flock. Thank you for listening intently to God’s Word each week, for putting up with my weaknesses and failings, for blessing my family, for faithfully honoring God by striving to get the

Too often we put off things until tomorrow that we should do today. My Grandma Linnerud had this wooden coin thumb tacked to her cork board in the kitchen called a “tuit” and when somebody said to her, “I’ll do that when I get around to it”, she would show them that coin. If you will allow me, please let me encourage you from the Scriptures we looked at in Hebrews last Sunday morning…

“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13)

What step is God asking you to take today? Let me encourage you to take that step today.

What relationship is God asking you to build today for the sake of the gospel? Let me encourage you to begin building that relationship today.

What friend is God asking you to contact today? Let me encourage you to make that contact today.

What sacrifice (time, energy, money, etc.) is God asking you to make today? Let me encourage you to make that sacrifice today.

What letter or card of encouragement is God moving you to write today? Let me encourage you to write that today.

What visit is God prompting you to make today? Let me encourage you to get in the car and visit them today.

Today may only be the beginning of your obedience, but at least it’s a start. All our obedience has to start somewhere, with someone ,and at some point. And when tomorrow rolls around remember: we don’t call tomorrow “tomorrow” when it arrives, we call it today. Each day represents a brand new start with new opportunities to obey God. So let’s do today what God calls us to do while we can still call today today.

Grace & Peace,

Scott

gen·er·os·i·ty

ˌjenəˈräsitē/

noun

noun: generosity

1. the quality of being kind and generous

2. Calvary Baptist Church of Boiling Springs, SC!

Yeah, that’s pretty much what I think of when I think of the folks at Calvary. No, we aren’t a bunch of rich people from the world’s point of view, but we are rich when it comes to God’s grace. And I just happen to believe that those who’ve genuinely encountered God’s lavish grace can’t help but to respond in kind. You see, the believers at Calvary have a long history of generosity. They understand the principle Jesus was teaching in the parable of the wise and faithful manager: “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required…” (Luke 12:48)

I believe it is important that when the followers of Christ see a need and have been given the resources to meet that need that they respond by giving generously. We really don’t own anything; everything is God’s; He only gives us the responsibility to manage it. So instead of saying, “It’s mine”, we learn to say, “It’s mine to give!” Do you see the difference? I hope so.

The purpose of generosity is two-fold (at least). There is both a practical purpose and a theological purpose. The practical purpose of generosity is to meet the need. Needs abound; we don’t need to look very far to see someone very close to us in need. If someone says, “I just don’t see anyone in need.” I really have a dumb look on my face, like, are you kidding me? The theological purpose of generosity is always to point others to a generous God. It is through God’s generosity that our greatest need was met: salvation. When God lavished on us the gift of His Son, Jesus, He made possible the eternal reversal of our situation.

One of my prayers is that more than just a few will be generous. I pray that all of those who’ve been transformed by God’s generosity will not hesitate to be generous to those around us.

Grace & Peace,

Scott

Week after week I find joy and encouragement in pastoring Calvary Baptist Church. These twin feelings come from YOU, the people – the real church. The church is not the buildings or budgets or programs. Even though we have decided that those are things we have, if you were to take them away it really wouldn’t change the fact that WE are Calvary Church!

Seeing you each week fills me with hope. The hope comes because transformation is possible through God’s Word. The Bible is what God uses to change every day people into extraordinary servants. And change is slow sometimes; we have to be willing to wait for the changes to occur. We can’t always have what we want, when we want it. God’s kingdom is not Burger King! It takes a lifetime to raise kids; the same principle is true of discipleship.

This is going to take patience. Patience is something I have to be constantly reminded of to practice. James points out that patience is part of the discipleship process when encountering trials.

“For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect [i.e., “mature”] and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:3-4)

Because trials are of “different” kinds we have to realize that once we’ve made it through one trial another of a different type is on the horizon. Trials come to mature our faith, to grow us spiritually. And nobody can ever say, “Hey, I’m done with trials. I now have my act together.” We know that nobody has their act together this side of eternity.

So what do we do? We buckle up, hold on for dear life, sink our teeth into God’s Word, and go for it! Faith demands this kind of tenacity. Living by faith is risky business, but it’s the best type of life to live because it is the only life that pleases God (cf. Hebrews 11:6).

I as sit here early in the week my heart is filled with hope for God’s church. Why? Because you keep coming back. Why is that? Because deep down you know that gathering as God’s people, united in purpose, worshiping as a family is necessary to scattering into the world as missionaries. My prayer is that all of us will be successful missionaries to our world.

Grace & Peace,

Mike Higginbotham is home! Now life can get back to “normal” for the Higginbothams…except for Mike. I think we all have to realize that right now, even though this soldier is home, his plate has probably never been more full. Why do I say that?

First, he has to figure out what his next step is: should he go back to school, get a job or both? He and Kacie have a wedding to plan in the next six months: where are they going to live, who is going to wash the dishes, who is going to decorate their home? And he has to try to figure out what to do with all the emotions he’s experienced from the last six years. Mike was on the front lines. He has seen death, anger, and depression (and so much more). These realities and the emotions that come with them have been with him constantly. These are things that most of us have never had to face and probably never will. So what can we do?

Calvary Church is a family, and when a family member comes home we celebrate and support. We need to be praying that God will continue to transform Mike, and that God will heal the emotional and spiritual wounds he suffered while doing two tours of war in Afghanistan. Pray that God would give Kacie and Mike guidance as they prepare to honor God through a biblical marriage. Pray for wisdom about job and schooling decisions. And we need to go one step further and speak words of encouragement and support. Love him and be patient. Take him out to breakfast, lunch or supper (I’m sure he would be available).

And let’s always remember, this is the same Mike who left us six years ago to get a haircut, new clothes and a gun, but he is not the same. He had our love and he has earned our respect. Let’s just be for him. Let him know how thankful you are that he was willing to put his life on hold, and on the line, to protect our freedom.

Welcome Home Mike,

One of the tensions in the church is faithfulness versus fruitfulness. Faithfulness focuses upon the depth of the church spiritually, while fruitfulness focuses upon the width.

Faithful churches are about being true to God’s Word. They teach without compromise. It is discipling people to know the Bible, not just be vaguely familiar with it. They are tenaciously committed to teaching. Their focus is on spiritual depth without seeing a lost world. They don’t change the “furniture” much and what they do is pretty traditional. Their music is straight out of the hymnal with no more than two instruments (piano and organ). Change is hard. Today faithful churches abound with strong believers.

Being a fruitful church is about reaching people. It is looking at a lost world and weeping. It is seeing un-churched, disenfranchised believers and being burdened to get them back into church where they belong. Fruitful churches tend to be culturally relevant and exciting. They have programs that attract people, they have teaching that addresses modern concerns, they have music that is hip, they have coffee shops, and the list goes on. It’s a pretty cool place to go on Sunday morning. Today fruitful churches are bursting at the seams.

Here’s the rub: fruitful “only” churches grow a large crowd of shallow believers while faithful “only” churches grow a small people who really know their Bibles. Here’s my question: why can’t we have both? What is inherently wrong with having a church that is faithful to teach the whole counsel of God’s Word and a church that is culturally engaged in the world? I believe to be tied to the model of either one of these types of church is wrong.

I don’t want Calvary Church to slip into shoddy teaching because we are trying to “reach the crowd.” But I also shudder to think that we will become a church that thinks it is obeying God’s Word while ignoring those who are looking for answers to the struggles they are having in life. Honestly a church that thinks it is being true to the Bible without engaging the world is deceiving itself.

Grace & Peace,

“Thank you” doesn’t even seem to touch the surface about how I feel toward everyone who helped this past weekend for Homecoming. From those who helped plan, to set up and tear down, those who decorated and built, Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, the Kitchen Crew, everyone who cooked, baked, mixed and fixed food, the “parking guys”, and those who purchased the chicken and ham! We all owe so much to you for helping make this year’s Homecoming such a successful event. Thank you, every sacrifice of obedience is greatly appreciated.

Something I have grown to realize and appreciate about doing ministry is that it cannot be a one-person show. Long ago somebody said to me (don’t know who), “Many hands make light work.” I can’t imagine giving one person the responsibility to get Homecoming ready. The diversity of the people involved is exciting to see. For example, I didn’t relish the idea of getting up Saturday to go to 4000 Parris Bridge Road and set up tables and chairs. I knew it would be a lot of heavy work. But, as the morning progressed people saw where they fit in and pretty soon we had a slick running machine. And then, to our delightful surprise the Kitchen Crew had ham biscuits for lunch – AWESOME! Yeah, food will do that for me.

To say the least Calvary Church is a pretty neat place to serve. I am grateful for those who are able to put their hand to the plow and get the job done. I am thankful for the many people who stay behind the scenes, not seeking praise, but simply wanting God to be honored through their service.

One more thing I want to add…another “thank you” goes out to those who took the youth to the Hearts on Fire Conference in Gatlinburg, TN on Friday and Saturday. Everything I’ve heard has been great. As a former youth pastor I know how memorable those times can become to the youth. Again, your obedient sacrifice will pay off in the end. Parents and college students, you are a blessing to all of us.

Grace & Peace,