Lately I have been studying the book of Jeremiah and how the nation of Israel had been corrupted with idols and lifestyles that dishonored God. The complete disregard for God and the things He desires and commands from his people is disheartening. One of the most infuriating things to me is when Christians- Christ followers-misrepresent the Gospel. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, I believe it’s a scheme of the devil, and it breaks the heart of God.
Jeremiah 3:3-5
“For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.
Yet you say to me,
‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth. Surely you won’t be angry forever! Surely you can forget about it!’
So you talk, but you keep on doing all the evil you can.”
I believe there are many churches and cities throughout the country that the Spirit of God is alive and changing lives. But, in the success of that, there are also many people who use Christians to advance their own agenda’s whether in business or politics- or whatever- to get ahead. Often, a political candidate will throw in the “God card” to get to the “evangelical base”. They claim to be a Christian yet their life is completely contrary to who Christ is. This trend has compounded so much that now it is hard for people to understand who a Christian really is. Are they just claiming that or are they really a Christ follow- one who is striving to emulate the life of Christ?
A few weeks ago I heard an interview with Bill Maher- who recently released the movie, “Religulous”- a documentary on the state of world religions. He started the project out of curiosity for why people are attracted to religion. He concluded that anyone who participates in any type of religion (Christianity included) has a neurological disorder. It is so sad to me that after his research (which may be questionable) he couldn’t find the truth. In my opinion, if Christians truly represented Christ and the Gospel the way it is intended, it would be noticed and the truth would be clear- not foggy like it is currently.
As we are in the midst of starting a new church in Silicon Valley, it is troubling to me that those who don’t know of the life-changing power of the Cross may be resistant because of the false portrayal from those who are Christians yet still “doing all the evil they can”. If we understood the power and magnitude of our God- we would fear Him and not dare attach our name to someone as Holy as He is.
The beautiful thing about our Holy God is the mercy He offers us. Following the verse above, God says in verse 12,
“O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful.
I will not be angry with you forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you reveled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken”
One of my prayers is that those who are true followers of Christ would be unashamed and glorify Him with their lives. Christians don’t have to be perfect, but if we live lives of integrity, respond appropriately in times of conflict, be good stewards with what He’s given us, and be faithful to one another- we could change the reputation of the church, and of Jesus Christ.
History was made yesterday at the very first public worship service for South Bay Church- and it was incredible to say the least! The morning began at 7am with a group of volunteers unloading trucks and starting the set up process. There was a little nervousness on all of our parts because it was the first time everything had been set up together and there could have been many potential disasters. Thankfully, the overall set up went great- and though things weren’t perfect, equipment worked and there were no major problems. Stacie did a great job organizing & staffing Baykids, it looked incredible- especially for having to run everything from the nursery to 5th grade inside of the school library!
As the 5 minute countdown rolled to 0:00, Archie started the worship set and Filipe & I walked to the front to take our seats. I was so overwhelmed with emotion- every time I tried to sing the worship songs, tears filled my eyes. Everything that led to that moment was truly the work of God- from the vision that was birthed in Andy over 10 years ago to each of our 3 families moving to the Bay area only 2 months ago. All of the preparation that went into that moment and it was finally here! For our 3 families, it was like a wedding day. There was such an enormous amount of resources and energy that went into that hour and fifteen minutes. As the service continued, Andy gave a clear message about the question, “Who is Jesus”? The most important aspect of the morning was that God was there with us- I think His Spirit impacted every person that came to the service that morning. In all there were 175 people (including about 40 children), and 5 people made a commitment to Jesus.
Like a wedding day is the beginning of a lifetime, this service marked the beginning for South Bay Church. I can’t wait to see what God will continue to do here in the Bay area. I believe He desires to do big things here, that He will be glorified here- I feel honored to be a part of it.
Things have been pretty hectic around here as we are making all the necessary preparations for our first preview service- November 16th. A preview service is a public worship service much like a typical church service with a praise and worship element along with a Gospel message presentation.
Our monthly preview service will be followed by a comeback event that will help those that come connect with one another.
Starting monthly will allow us the time and energy to focus on creating an infrastructure necessary for church growth (volunteers, children’s ministry, etc.). We will have three monthly preview services that lead up to our official launch as a church- February 8th.
Our services will be held in the Don Callejon Elementary School in the city of Santa Clara- our top choice in locations. The school is in the center of our target region. The fee is a little pricey, but we feel that it is a worthy cost for being in the right location. Mailers are being sent out to 30,000 residents in the zip codes immediately surrounding the school. The message is titled “Vintage Jesus for Everyday Life”.
Having assistance from our launch team and partner churches will be key in running the service smoothly and effectively. A team from Rush Creek Church in Texas will be providing us with volunteers to assist in the different hospitality and children’s ministry areas for that Sunday, as well as, Crossroads Community Church in Fremont, our local sponsor church. We are so grateful for their support as we couldn’t do any of this without them!
Check out the new website- http://www.southbaychurch.org/
We had a birthday party for her the night before with some of our new friends from our launch team as well as my grandparents and uncle who drove up for the weekend from southern California.
She had her own cake to dig into.
… and enjoyed it thoroughly!
Happy Birthday Cailyn!!!
Another election season has come and gone. Barack Obama will be our 44th president of the United States. Some are excited, some disappointed, and other are just relieved that the process is over. Whether or not you like the outcome, one thing is for sure- Obama is a man that deserves respect and support. I can’t imagine the job that awaits him nor the enormous responsibility that will be placed over him.
During the past 8 years, President Bush has gotten a lot of bad press- at least since the war began. The media is quick to remind us of the low approval rating on a nightly basis. Now, I haven’t always agreed with every decision President Bush has made, but he deserves our respect for the job he has. We should choose our words careful in how we speak of authority- God is the ultimate authority. It is Him who places kings in position- Daniel 4:17. Whether you agree with me or not, that includes Barack Obama.
I hope those in our country will speak positively about our leader and that we will pray for him, his family, and the decisions he has ahead of him. No matter if we share all of the same values or beliefs, we must respect his leadership.
‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.’” (Matthew 12:25)
…and in 4 years we get to do this all over again…yippee!!!
Halloween was an eventful day. Lily(Tinkerbell) & Caedmon(Elmo) went to a little Halloween party that one of the moms in the apartment hosted. It was fun for them to play with other kids their age. There was even a jump castle for them to jump in! Filipe and the rest of our staff (I stayed back w/ the kids for naptime) spent a couple of hours blowing up balloons at the community Halloween party in Santa Clara. It was a great opportunity to serve in the community.
Here’s some pics of the big day.
That evening we took pictures with some of the other kids in our apartment. The picture below is our Cailyn (the pink leapord!) with our neighbor upstairs- Katelyn (the monkey!). After dinner we went trick or treating together. Lots of fun!!!
