A Taste of Heaven

Dear Worshipers,

Last week, I had a chance to travel to heaven by way of Orlando, Florida, and trust me it had nothing to do with the Magic Kingdom. Certainly, the times of corporate worship were wonderful as I expected them to be. Yes, we reconnected with some old friends and were encouraged greatly along the way. We met the Lord in His Living Word and heard Him speak words of vision and passion to our hearts. All these I was expecting. But there was one element I was really not prepared for, and it was this glimpse into heaven on and through the faces of the diverse group of people we are as The Alliance.

The face of Council was diverse, from the speakers to the worship team participants. It was the probably the most culturally diverse Council ever, with regard to representation from the delegates. The comment was made that almost 1/3 of our Alliance church in America are ethnic, making us probably the most multiracial denomination in the States. You could see it.
On Tuesday morning, one group after another were brought to the stage...

A Vietnamese delegation representing the 1 million+ Alliance believers in Vietnam, the largest national Alliance Church in the world, even though our missionaries where flown out on helicopters in the 1970's leaving behind a church of around 125,000.

Ten Portuguese-speaking churches have just joined our Alliance family in America with maybe a hundred more to follow.

Two couples were honored who had served 50 years in ministry! WOW! What an example! I cried as I prayed, "Lord, help me to run the race marked out for me".

Through the week we heard from a number of missionaries, some who after having studied and lived in the U.S. returned to their countries of origin or followed God’s call to yet another place of service. Each one told the story of God’s love crossing cultures and numerous other barriers. One stated the Call this way, “It’s not about crossing the seas, but about seeing the cross.”

Seeing the cross. Communicating it’s love and power to those around me. I was challenged and encouraged. Thank you for praying. Continue to pray as I and our other delegates discern what the Lord would have us do with all that He put on our hearts last week.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

General Council

Dear Worshipers,

I am sending this out a little early this week because Tuesday morning I will be on my way to Orlando, Florida for the bi-annual convocation of the Alliance family. I will be traveling with Pastor Tony and Kathy Etris, our Church Administrator Gloria Mackey, and my lovely wife Sarah Leigh. Pastor Andy Hawkins and Pastor David and Mossie Goodin have preceded us and will also be at this grand event. And that it is.

How I wish all of you could go! Really! This is an incredible event in the life the Alliance, not only because this is the first time it has ever been two years between gatherings, but simply because of the people it brings together and who they represent. Thousands of churches across America will send delegates, and many of our Alliance mission fields will be represented. In addition to them, many others from the Alliance family worldwide will be present.

It is grand not only because of the people gathered, but also for the purpose. We will conduct business that will guide the Alliance in the next two years. We will celebrate the amazing things God is doing all around the world through us. We will reconnect with old friends and make new ones. We will worship the Lord.

That's right, we will have many opportunities to worship corporately, and of all the experiences of General Council I wish you could experience that. From the opening night right, through the Communion and Healing Service, and to the climax of the Missions Rally, it is an unforgettable week of worship because of the way the Lord will reveal Himself. I pray each delegate will respond sincerely. I pray I will be prepared to do so.

Please pray for us as we head to Council and especially for the first-time delegates, of which Pastor Tony and Kathy are two of almost 1,000 new delegates. Pray that each of us, new and old alike, would capture the vision of this movement and return home with a renewed vigor to live the call while encouraging others to do the same. Pray for the moving of the Holy Spirit in our midst like unto the days of the birth of this great, extraordinary work of God of which we are all a small, ordinary part.

Thank you for your prayers. May God bless you this week as you live the call right where you are. We will endeavor to the same.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Summer Plans

Dear Worshipers,

If your family is anything like ours you have already begun to make some plans for the upcoming summer season. No doubt those plans probably include some traveling, maybe to see family or to get away from them, to visit an exotic or exciting destination, or simply some time to escape to a quiet place. Vacation means something slightly different to everyone, but to each of us it means a break from the usual. Here is where I want to encourage you today.

Our vacation plans begin sometime after July 4^th. The reason for this is the upcoming musical where we will combine forces with several other area churches. It is a terribly exciting time to see God at work in us collectively, and particularly as we link arms with folks who serve the Lord in their own unique ways the rest of the time. This endeavor really began to gain some momentum last year as Pierpont Nazarene hosted us. This year we will be at Drummond Chapel, or Suncrest United Methodist Church as it is now called, for our “church” performance. I hope you will consider joining us.

But I am really interested in encouraging you in totally different regard. I want to encourage you NOT to take a vacation from God this summer. When you take a break from everything else, DO NOT take a break from Him. Rather, I want to encourage you to think of how God can be a BIG part of your vacation.

You do not have to go on a short-term mission trip to do this. Maybe for you, it could actually be a time when you begin a new spiritual discipline, or strengthen one that has been waning. Maybe your vacation could be a time to break away from some things that have been holding you back from deeper intimacy with God, and to dive into the deeper life He has for you in Christ Jesus. Whether it is taking something on or putting something off, I want to encourage you now as you make your plans for vacation to INCLUDE GOD IN THOSE PLANS.

For those of you with families and younger children, think about venturing into some new area during vacation. Maybe you could visit a historical place and talk about the importance of knowing the past. Maybe you could visit a place that has been significant to you in your spiritual growth and explain that to the little ones. Again, think about God and His commands when you make your plans for the scripture tells us, “Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.” Deuteronomy 6:7b

Let us make some good plans this summer, that will help us live God’s plans for life!

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

A Pilgrim’s Prayer

Dear Worshipers,

We are only a few weeks away from beginning work on another combined work with community churches. We will celebrate America, honor our heroes, and exalt Jesus Christ. I am delighted to be a Suncrest United Methodist Church this year where my good friend Lya Stroupe is the Music Director. What a joy to work with her and others who love the Lord, and want to find ways to express that together. I am really looking forward to being at the Drummond Chapel campus of Suncrest UMC with their folks and many from other churches on the afternoon of July 1^st.

I am also looking forward to being in some public venue on July 4^th. And that is the matter of prayer that I bring before you again. I have been on a pilgrimage over the last several years to see our perspective on America being shared in a public venue. It has taken me through some turbulent waters, and I have learned a lot about the faithfulness of our God along the way. This year is no exception.

I have been in contact with the Chairman of the Celebration of America Committee for months. We have dialogued at length about the possibility of sharing a musical as a part of the community celebration. He has heard the work we are planning to share this year and has reviewed it with officials of BOPARC. We are being told again what we have been told before: that our Christian message is not appropriate for this setting particular because of the references to Jesus Christ.

Here is where things get difficult. I believe we have a right to freedom speak our views in the public forum that has been created on July 4^th. There are others who do not share this view. They need to be convinced otherwise.

This is what I am asking you to do. PRAY. Ask the Lord Jesus to give us a platform to declare His mercy over our community. Ask Him to open the necessary hearts and doors to ensure that can happen. Ask Him to change this situation.

He can do it. I am believing that He wants to do it. Will you believe that with me and go before Him with me until He does it, or changes my heart?

Thank you for partnering with me. Let us build His kingdom and not our own. Let us decrease so He may increase. Let us trust Him to move in these days and give us favor.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Unholy Satisfaction

Dear Worshipers,

I mentioned in our “tuning” from last week that I hoped to be able to write of Breakthrough this week. I am glad to say that I can. Our Tuesday morning Concert of Prayer was a wonderful time of being before the Lord. Our District Superintendent gave glory to God for the miraculous healing in his body, and also in his soul. It was a very powerful time as God broke through to many of the delegates, including me. As I sat there during one session of prayer when we had been encouraged to let the Holy Spirit speak, God did just that in a surprising way.

Our Director of Church Planting, Todd Sovine, had led the night before in an inspiring service about being “a Spirit-empowered church multiplication movement in which every church is strategically involved.” I wish you could have been there as we saw God’s hand at work all across our District creating partnerships and opening doors for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a stirring experience with a great personal challenge.

It the midst of one of the prayers I believe he prayed that God would give us an unholy satisfaction. I think he meant a holy dissatisfaction. I have to admit I was guilty of wrestling with those words and getting caught up there for just a minute. I thought about them after the service and then again the next morning. Little did I know what God was going to say to me through what I perceived to be a few apparently misspoken words.

As we journeyed through the Concert of Prayer, I asked the Holy Spirit to speak to me. I am confident He illumined that I have an unholy satisfaction with regard to our corporate worship. I believe He was saying to me that I have become content or satisfied with less that what He desires to do in our midst, including the greatest of His works which is to magnify Christ. I believe I have become satisfied with the work of man at least at times, instead of pursuing the work of God. I repented and asked Him to continue to speak to me about this. I would appreciate your prayers as I wrestle with this before the Lord.

I also want to encourage you to do your own wrestling. Ask the Spirit is you have any degree of unholy satisfaction. Is there any area of your life where you have become content with your relationship with or service to God and have stopped pursuing more of Him? Is there any way that you have become satisfied with anything less than all Christ has to offer to the children of God? If so repent, and ask God to speak His fullness into your life.

We will be satisfied with nothing less than the holiness of Christ, in position and practice! That is just a part of living the call together. Let’s do it!

In Christ,

Pastor Scott