http://d6reformation.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/my-journey-from-death-to-life/

Thank you Lord!

www.D6Reformation.org

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D6 has birthed Hope for my family!

April 2010 was the month of new beginnings for our family. Earlier that year we had resolved to do whatever it would take to make 2010 a year of doing and applying God’s word to our lives, rather than our frequent stance of merely hearing and expecting change in our lives.  We were desperate for true change; TRANSFORMATION! We had reached a point of spiritual stagnation! Growth was absent (at least measurable growth) and we became more and more frustrated with the direction of our lives.  This frustration paralyzed us and before we realized it, we were spending less and less time in the Word as a family and giving more of our time to the things that REALLY do not matter from an eternal perspective.  But praise God for an awakening that caused my wife and I to desperately search for some answers!  In our searching, the Holy Spirit had me to do a Google search for family churches in Chesapeake.  The results of that search led us to CRCC where we immediately connected to the vision and mission of the church.

 One of those missions, the D6Reformation, really hit home! We began to realize that we had missed a very important part of our foundation: Consistent Family Worship and Discipleship.  I looked in the mirror, repented to God and to my wife and sons and began my pursuit of multigenerational faithfulness by getting my family together for Family Worship and Discipleship on a regular basis.  From the moment we implemented this in our home, things finally all started to come together for us. The more we learned and began to intentionally apply Deuteronomy 6/Ephesians 6, our lives began to transform. The results have just been overwhelming (in a good way). Before long, the vision for our family became one that was more Godly (God inspired and influenced) than the one we initially had in place.  The influence of this culture no longer has a stronghold over my family because I am submitted to the Word as the head of my household and I will not allow the enemy or myself to lead them to a very real hell.

 This posture has also ignited the love that I have for my wife.  I have come to understand that God has appointed me Priest, Prophet, Protector, and Provider; a role in which I will be judged and held accountable for in the presence of our God.  And let me be real, I have had moments when I felt like I did not know enough of the Bible to teach my family.  Moments when I wondered what my wife would think of me and how my son’s would receive my teaching? All of these fears were overcome by my simple act of obedience to God. I no longer live in nor am I controlled by fear.  I allow my faith in our God to lead, guide and direct me in discipling my family.  My obedience has caused a whirlwind of peace and order to dwell within our family.  My wife and son’s are excited about our times of fellowship and are active participants in our Family Worship. Watching our son’s eagerly find scriptures to support our study and engaging in discussion has changed me as their father.  Holding my wife’s hand and looking at the fire that’s in her eyes while I am teaching and instructing our family has pushed me to become even more prepared by studying the Word of God, by reading assigned books, and by spending more time in prayer; rather than overindulging in extracurricular activities.  Now I can proudly declare that “There is Hope for the ----------’ family!”

 We have aligned ourselves in the Word of God, have connected to a ministry /church family that believes in the sufficiency of the scriptures, who are living, breathing testimonies (their lives model the TRUTH of the Word of God) And WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE!  The change and answers that we needed were in the Word of God all the time.  Family Worship and Discipleship has helped us discover and live God’s will for our family!  We are extremely grateful that God answered our prayers through the vehicle of the D6 Reformation.  If you have not taken a look at the information within the site, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not allow another day to pass.  Today could be the day of your family’s TRANSFORMATION!  Don’t wait any longer!

See the chart in the previous post for more motivation!

This problem is both simple and complex in my opinion. Yes, it means we simply aren't preaching the Gospel. But it also speaks to how the concept of truth has changed as a result, the changes in the way people view the Bible and the Church, the influence of media on the culture, the inability to pass our faith on to our children, the consequences of secular education, the loss of courage in pulpits to preach the Gospel instead of ear-tickling, and so much more.

Oh Lord, we cry out to you to help us in this massive harvest!

Now for my first rant of the year.  LOL!  I really dislike consumer church.  I think the mindset has hurt us.  I abhor what it does to Christians as it keeps the "me first" mentality alive and well.  I don't think the church should be thought of as a Target, Walmart, or a Starbucks.  The church is a house of prayer.  The church is designed to glorify Christ through the declaration of His truth.  The church is where true believers gather for biblical worship, prayer, teaching of the Scriptures, and to be sent out to impact the world with the glorious Gospel of Christ.  Not some of the Gospel...all of it.  Yeah...the sin and hell part too, with as much love as we can muster.

Instead, we have built many churches on the "what's in it for me" mindset.  We market our churches like we are selling products.  Don't believe me?  Check the yellow pages. There has to be a program for everyone and a class for everyone, based on the thought that we must "give the people what the want."  This is smart for the business owner but bad for the Church of Jesus Christ.  Why?  Because in the church, the customer is not king; Jesus is!  Because of our consumer orientation, sadly, even Christ-followers have a hard time relating to each other unless we are consuming the same product or are in the same age/stage of life.  That is not the pattern we see in the New Testament, where everyone came together!  (See more thoughts on this here.)  I've marketed this way too in the past. I'm so sorry Lord!

When did strong bible preaching, biblical worship, and prayer cease to be enough?

Meanwhile, secular humanism is now the dominant worldview in America.  Only 4% of youth can be called Chrisitans.  70-88% of them are gone by the end of their freshman year in college.  Family worship and bibilcal hospitality are largely things of the past.  (Maybe because we are always at a church program!)  Atheist books are on the bestseller lists, and 25,000 children will die today around the world due to prevantable causes.  And we believers actually taking responsiblitity to preach the gospel, teach our children, or truly make disciples?  Ha!  Not without a program!

This kind of news is breaking my heart. Here is a good article that makes the point I'm trying to make: The Shift from the Consumer Church to Missional Church.

And here is an oldie but a goodie....

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http://d6reformation.wordpress.com/

Some really good stuff being posted there.  And spread the word in 2012!!! Our God is up to something wonderful with the D6 Reformation!!

       As an unmarried person with no children, who is a blood bought disciple of Jesus Christ I get many weird looks when I tell people about my church. When I say that I am a covenant member of Calvary Revival Church Chesapeake (CRCC) a non age segregated, family integrated church many do a double take. For some the next questions they ask after I mention “non age segregated,” and “family integrated” is, “So…there is no singles ministry?” “How will you ever meet someone?” “Well what do you DO then??” Usually I avoid a lengthy explanation that may come off, in error, as self righteous and super deep and exclaim with as much tact as possible, “No there’s no singles ministry.” (Insert rolling eyes, forehead wrinkled in confusion and head titled to the right or left) At this point the person usually simply replies, “Oh ok!” This is really code for, “Better you than me!”” Couldn’t be me!” or “Good luck with that!” Conversation over.

       Ok so I’m being a little dramatic, however, I have had that conversation on several occasions. Each time I wish that I would’ve shared all the wonderful changes I’ve experienced in my life as a result of family integration. The benefits of being exposed to every age group, many different family dynamics, and cultural differences that exist within the body the peace that comes along with obedience to the sufficiency of Scripture. And finally a renewed trust in Jesus Christ that allows me to believe that He will do only what He alone can do, for His glory alone without the help of a singles ministry.

        So since I’ve censored myself so many times for fear of coming off as religious, I decided to blog a little about one of many ways that family integration and the D6Reformation have blessed my life, even as a Christian single. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the changes Jesus has made in my life and one major change is my relationship with the young people at CRCC.

For many this may not present a complicated issue, this idea of relating to young people in the church, but for me it is rife with land mines and awkwardness. To give you a little background, I grew up in a family that wasn’t very loving and had a fear based attitude towards raising children. I had suffered some abuse as a child and thought I was healed but apparently there were some issues that were not easy to spot, like my fear of becoming an abuser. So until I was led by God to churches and families who could model a grace filled Bible based way of interacting with children, all I knew was what I experienced and saw growing up; a lot of anger, walking on egg shells, fear, different kinds of abuse and no one ever apologizing or working through any issues. And until the last several years, except for the blatant abuse, I thought that behavior was acceptable.

       So fast forward to a few years ago when I started going to CRCC and there were children EVERYWHERE, all shapes, sizes, ages and temperaments. It absolutely terrified me! I didn’t want to deal with children that I didn’t know who may or may not be home trained or respectful, no not for me. So I was amicable and tolerated many children. The whole thing just seemed like a hassle that I did not want or need at the time. Avoiding the situation was easy enough because our church was age segregated so my tolerance only had to extend so far because they would be off to whatever room in no time. However I didn’t foresee that the Lord was working on my Pastor's heart and that things were about to change. In December of 2009 Pastor McLeod began to preach about multigenerational faithfulness, family integration, and the damage that age segregation had caused a generation of youth in our church. In January of 2010 he gave us a new book of the month to read called, “Family Driven Faith” by Pastor Voddie Baucham Jr. At the time I thought, no big deal, I had already read the book and was all for family integration and the application of Deuteronomy 6 in the lives of our children and future children in my case…or so I thought at the time.

       However as things progressed and CRCC began the transition to a non age segregated, family integrated church, I was forced to face my fear. Before I only knew the children in my Care Group (local cell group) and a few other children of various ages because I served in ministry with their parents. But as our church began to change I was connecting more and more with children who were serving as greeters at the door. Eventually, little girls and boys would come up to me and confide in me about how they wanted to play the violin someday like I do in the church band, or share with me how they were already playing the violin or viola. That eventually turned into conversations about what they were learning at home in family worship, how they were doing in school or what they were learning in home schooling activities. Older children started asking me questions about higher education and scholarships after service. Even younger twenty something’s began picking my brain about living as a holy singles, courtship versus dating, and how Bible study and Family Worship looks for singles. As our church grew in family integration I began to connect with entire families at Sunday dinner and for holidays, situations that were unfamiliar and stressful for me in the past, now were common place and comfortable. It has been amazing how God has begun to heal me in this area, and I know I still have a lot to learn and overcome. But I see the change and I enjoy connecting with young people now, enjoy listening to them talk about themselves and many of them have provided prayers, hugs, and kisses that gave me comfort that was much needed during this very difficult year.

       So as I sat at the dinner table with my Pastor and his wife Donna on Christmas I started reflecting out loud about this issue I had but that is now almost nonexistent for me and I was encouraged to share my experience. At the time all I could think was who knew? Who knew that as a Christian single family integration would come in and heal a wound that I wasn’t even willing to admit I had just a short time ago? Who knew that family integration would help teach me what a healthy family should look like as they relate and move through the different issues of life? Who knew that this Bible based church model would provide another level of accountability for me to study the Scriptures as little girls and boys began to look to me for answers to questions they may have? Who knew what great fun it would be to walk with “all of my children” as they learn from me and I learn from them too? Praise Jesus for family integration!

For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;

break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!

For the children of the desolate one will be more

than those of the one who has a husband.” Galations 4:27

Ouch.

I discussed this with my wife.  We both laughed about it.  Especially considering I had just been teaching my daughter about the blessings of contentment!  (A true pot-to-kettle moment!)

So I've come to the conclusion that for many of us (myself included) contentment remains a hard character trait to master.  But when it is present, God gives us victory over marketing and makes us truly thankful for all He has done in Christ!  Contentment causes us to want to give rather than receive.  Contentment helps us hold onto things loosely so they don't become idols.  True contentment is based in the finished work of Christ!

So a quick prayer for CRCC and any who read this....may you experience the Kingdom blessing of Contentment this Christmas season, and may that blessing spill over into the rest of your life.....

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, (7) for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." (1Ti 6:6-7 ESV)

Friends, I'm learning more and more that much of what we do, feel, suffer, and fight for revolves around Truth.  I'm coming to understand more and more that the less sure we are of what is true, the more susceptible we are to drama, pain, and demonic deception.

When preaching on this verse a few months ago, I said:

1. The first piece of armor is the belt of truth.  Just as a belt anchors all areas of the body for combat, truth anchors the Christian for spiritual battle.
2. The belt of truth “around the waist” speaks to the core strength of a warrior to move physically and powerfully into battle.
3.  I cannot overemphasize this point: if you do not know the truth, you cannot be free and you cannot fight!
4. Christianity is being assaulted from all sides: vain philosophies, paganism, atheism/agnosticism, and even relativism and pantheism.  People are starving for truth but they don't know what to believe anymore.  And in the absence of leadership, people will make up "truth" to sooth their tired souls.
5. The fight today is ultimately for truth! Satan peddles and spreads lies; you and I are called to fight for truth. The church is called the “pillar and buttress” of truth! (1 Tim 3:15)
6. What is truth then? Christ! He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life!  (John 14:6)  There are NO other ways to heaven!  To put on truth is to put on Christ!
7. As Os Guinness wisely stated, “Christianity is not true because it works (pragmatism); it is not true because it feels right (subjectivism); it is not true because it’s “my truth” (relativism). It is true because it is anchored in the person of Christ.”
8. Without knowing that Christ is “true,” you have no chance to successfully engage the devil.
 

I'm beginning to understand why a church must publish a doctrinal statement and also why many churches adopt confessions and declarations.  It's not about "boring people to death with doctrine." (Although I think doctrine is fun! LOL.)  Nor is it about drawing lines of division.  I'm coming to see that it's about protecting the church!  Truth is what we do!

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Hello Pastor,

I hope this email finds you, Sister Donna and the girls well.  We really miss you guys and the rest of the CRCC family.  Please send them our love!  We have connected to a local church here, but when we say Pastor in our conversations, we are still talking about you.

I've been meaning to reach out to you for several weeks now to let you know that you would be so proud of Tim.  I hope that some day you and him will get to connect about the details (because they are too many to list), but I just wanted to mention a few things.  I guess I can sum it up by saying that Tim is changing from the inside out.  I can hear the change in his prayers and I see it in everything he does on a daily basis - EVERYTHING.  It is clear that whether at work, or at home with us and the kids, he filters everything through his Jesus lenses and what comes out is the most patient, loving, gracious husband and father that I have seen in the almost 7 years that we have been married - and I thought he was already worthy of the "most wonderful husband/father" title, so this says a lot.

The extent to which he takes the lead spiritually in our home right now cannot be captured in words - mainly because some of it is tangible, but a lot of it is not.  Here's what can be captured . . . before we would have family devotions because I would gather the kids, come get him and he would participate (sometimes unenthusiastically).  Now, he's the one gathering the family, leading devotions, helping the kids memorize scripture, reviewing catechism questions, purchasing (AND READING) christian books, initiating discussion between the two of us about our marriage, etc.  He's also the one motivating everyone on Sunday mornings and making sure we get to church on time . . . that's huge!  I mean, Tim enjoyed going to CRCC because he always felt challenged and knew you were going to preach the Word, but he could have easily gotten the notes from the church website and have been content.    I am not telling you anything he would not tell you himself - lol.

So not only have I seen his approach to church attendance change, he is even helping the facilitator of an Apologetics class we are taking on Wednesday nights at church.  Did you catch that?  LOL.  He went from a Christian with lots of questions and doubts to a defender of our faith!  He even has scripture painted on our walls now - not framed - I am talking wall art here - that covers entire walls in some rooms of the house.  My personal favorite . . . Romans 1:16 in the family room ("For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ . . . ."). Wow!!!!  What an awesome reminder of what God has done in Tim and our family!  Praise the Lord!

I have already told Tim how proud I am of him for taking the journey that he did and being open to wherever that journey would lead.  I know this journey is not over, but I wanted you to know what has taken place because I know you invested one-on-one time with him to help him start to find the answers to those tough questions that most Christians (and non-believers) have but are afraid to ask.  I thank you for taking him under your wing and getting him started down this path.  I thank you (and the rest of the pastoral staff at CRCC) for your prayers.  I prayed for years that God would bring Tim a circle of men that would challenge him and keep him accountable. God started that work at CRCC and He is picking up where He left off at our new church in our new state.  We knew that our move here was bigger than a new job and being closer to family, but I personally did not expect to see the changes I've seen happen so quickly.  To that we give God *ALL* of the glory and we pray that as God continues to change us from the inside out, that he will use us to help change others in our community as well.

In Christ,

Susan