Reignition

My lovely bride and I attended the Truth Conference this past weekend. If I said that it was incredible I would be understating it. There was a large amount of information in a short period of time and some fantastic resources. For us, the key moment came in Josh McDowell's opening address.

Josh talked about the barriers to the Gospel we face in this modern age. The first is the information glut that is the internet. There is a lot in great stuff out there but there's even more garbage. His point on this one is that we all need to do our homework before we teach or speak publicly. The Science of apologetics is more important than ever. On this point, I can't really disagree. I've debated too many atheists, agnostics, and other non-Christians over the years. I'm very grateful for my background in science and history fanaticism. Even with that, I still need to know more to be effective. However, the need to study more was not the key moment.

The key came from the second barrier, the vast increase in pornography especially online. If you've listened to my podcast, Jesus' Outsider, you know I do a lot of work in this area as does my lovely bride. That sexual and pornographic addictions are increasing wasn't a surprise neither was the shift in cultural attitudes created by the growing acceptance of its use. The thing I had forgotten was how few of us are talking about it. Living in this world with all of the resources we use, sometimes it looks like the conversation about sexuality in the church is in full tilt. Unfortunately, it isn't. No one, outside of the ministries we get our resources from, is really talking about just how bad it really is in the church. Porn, sexual addictions, and all sorts of other "unique" sexual lifestyles are deeply embedded in the Body of Christ.

Why do we talk about it? Because we get it. We both have very interesting backgrounds, to put it mildly. We have fought this junk continuously for years. We have to take extra precautions to prevent falling back into it. If, as people who have served Christ for many years, we need to work extra hard to keep our sexual purity, then how many others do as well. Worse, how many don't bother to work to stay pure and just give in to the lure of sexual sin?

The need to do something real was driven home. We have had a conference in mind for a long time dealing with this issue directly and honestly. In fact, we started to work on it but a series of circumstances forced us to put in on the back burner. That has now changed. It's time to do the work to make this happen.

I already have a good format in mind with a shortlist of possible speakers beyond Kim and me. One of the most important segments will be Kim giving her story for the first time in public. It's more than a little scary and heart wrenching but it highlights the results of living a lifestyle that millions of women have been introduced to through Fifty Shades of Grey. The truth behind this supposed romance is very dark. For my part, I'll be sharing statistics and the technical side of porn including apps, filters, and other helps for breaking the addiction. We have other speakers in mind but until we have them confirmed, we're not going to share.

Now, for the challenging part. To pull this off, we need a lot more money than we have at our disposal. We're going to need at least $3000-3500 to cover all of the expenses of putting on the conference. We are going to charge admission with the proceeds going toward the launch of Freedom Church but we would like to have the resources to put it on before the first ticket is sold. Once we hit the first $1500, we will set the date.

To raise the funds, we're seeking individual donations on the support button on the Freedom Church page until a separate page is set up. We are also seeking ministry and business sponsorships including setting up tables in the resource area, banners, and other recognition. If you're interested or know someone we need to talk to, please get in touch with us at contact@freedompia.org.

We will be sharing more information as it develops and can be made public. We will also throw out some hints on the content as we approach the day to wet your whistle.

Pray for us as this is going to be a difficult to do for a host of reasons.

Pastor Mike

Coasting on Cruise Control

The last few months have been excessively busy to the point of insanity and exhaustion. I wrote about some of it in my personal blog last week. I have been mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. My lovely bride has been dealing with the effects of the mess herself. The stress has brought up a lot in our lives and shut down our brains. I think my son had to wipe some drool off my chin because I was nearly catatonic from all this junk. Some of it has been worthwhile Kingdom work (which I will never complain about) but a lot of it has just been steaming piles of garbage to sift through.

Unfortunately, Freedom Church and Jesus' Outsider have been in coast mode for over a month. I haven't had the time or energy to produce videos, write blogs, or record episodes in far too long. I will return to producing new material soon, likely as early as Sunday night. We are still going to proceed slowly for a couple more months. There are some key decisions to be made before we can truly ramp up. Yes, the lovely bride and I need to clean up a few things (also mentioned in my personal blog) but that is being dealt with using prayer, fasting, and some hardcore spiritual warfare. It will be overcome in short order.

In front of me are a series of choices that I need to make. I have already made a couple of difficult decisions. I had to learn how to say no to opportunities that would have derailed everything we've been working for these last several months. Kim and I need to figure out the next steps and make sure the Lord is in them before we make a leap.

Many years ago, the call of Elisha was laid upon my heart. (1 Kings 19:19-22) If you're unfamiliar with what happened, Elisha was plowing his parents' field when Elijah came up to him and placed his prophet's mantle on his shoulders. Elisha immediately broke up his plow and used the wood to sacrifice the oxen. He was leaving all of his old life behind to follow the call of the Lord upon his life. The Lord told me that a time would come when I would do the same thing. In the midst of the insanity, the Lord reminded me of His word to me all those years ago. I am seeking His face to determine if that time is coming soon.

In truth, even dropping to part time on my main job and gaining a couple of days, I'm still not finding all the time I need to recruit a launch team and raise funds. Something always seems to come up to eat my time or the tasks before me take more hours to do than I have time to do them. Some of that means I need more help but to find it,  I need more time. It's a huge catch 22. I am grateful for the help I already have but there's just so much to do. I fear that if I don't find more time, it's going to take years to get FC off the ground. The sense of urgency I have is much greater than that.

When we set out, I decided not to take a salary from FC in the early stages. Now, I'm spending a lot of time in prayer to determine whether or not that was the Lord and not my ego. I have to weigh some options to both build Freedom Church and provide for my family.

So, here's my options:

1. Leave one of my jobs and trust God that the income from the other will be enough.
2.  Replace one job with Deep Mystery Studio and work to bring in self employment income. This choice carries its own pitfalls and dangers.
3. Raise personal support along with the initial startup costs for the church either keeping one part time job (the least stressful) or eliminating both.
4. Leave both jobs and split my time between the studio and the church.
5. Continue as things are and keep working as time allows.

Each of these presents opportunities and challenges. I know what I would do in the flesh but I don't want to operate in the carnal. I need to know where Jesus wants me to be and follow His guidance. I'm a risk taker but I want my risk the rest on His shoulders. When He leads and we follow, that's the best option and the risk that brings a truly worthwhile reward.

So far, this has been a truly stretching experience. The financial options I just laid out are the tip of the iceberg of the decisions that need to be made. Regardless, I need to find a way to redeem my time and put more of it into building Freedom Church for His glory. Obedience to Him and Kingdom building has to come first. Some tweaking needs to be made to the vision to really convey what Jesus means to accomplish through the ministry He called us to so that we can fully communicate it to others who may bee feeling the same pull on their hearts to either join us or support us.

The lovely bride and I would appreciate your prayers as we seek the Lord's face in these decisions.

Why Plant?

One of the questions I get asked a lot is, "Aren't there enough churches out there already?" The context of the question is usually to wonder why we're starting another one.

Setting aside the call of God to do so (which really can't be set aside for nothing succeeds without the call of God), there are some very good reasons to start new. First, with approximately 1000 people for every existing church in the Peoria Metro Area but with average church size closer to 80, the need is obvious. There are more people in this area who need the Gospel than the existing congregations will every be able to reach. People are perishing without Jesus at a horrific rate. Jesus words about the harvest being ripe but workers being few ring very true today. The vast number of people taken alone is reason enough to expand the tent of the Kingdom's presence in this area to strive to preach the Gospel as broadly as possible.

At the risk of sounding like a marketer, there are underserved people in our area. We have developed a church culture based on reaching people like ourselves. This isn't necessarily wrong. It's human nature. Since most pastors and church leaders are college educated with a white collar background, that's naturally who they connect with and are most effective reaching. Unfortunately, we aren't a predominately white collar region. We're still a manufacturing community with more than half of our population in that area or the trades.

Others just don't feel comfortable in most of the current congregations. Either they expect to be rejected because of their appearance, lifestyle, or history or because they don't see relevance to their life. In many cases, that expectation or rejection is based on real experience. A lot of these people have some past experience with the church. They may have felt cast off, excluded, or otherwise shut out for a wide range of reasons from questioning what they were taught, struggling with "one of those sins," or just being different from the group. There isn't a more difficult group to reach than these individuals often referred to as the de-churched. Pain gets in the way.

Our out-of-the-norm approach to ministry will create an atmosphere that will help bring people to Jesus. Our purpose is to proclaim freedom through the Good News (hence the name Freedom Church) to any and all. That means using different methods than what most would expect. Nontraditional styled services, intentional hospitality, and music are among the tools we'll employ to connect with the community. We'll promote relational evangelism and discipleship by equipping those the Lord sends with the tools and confidence in the Holy Spirit they'll need to be His witnesses in a dark age.

We've been called a subculture ministry. That's a label that we embrace as it speaks to our desire to reach those who don't feel comfortable in most churches. Our motto, "In Christ but out of the box" and credo, "A church for people who don't know how to do church" both speak to the call we feel. To reach cultures that are challenging for the established church to reach is what we need to do. Our methods, by necessity, are going to be different but we will NEVER compromise on the Word of God.

By adding to the mix of existing congregations, Freedom Church is being launched to work as a partner to the rest of the local church so that we can together preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ as effectively as possible. The unique flavor we have been called to create is to improve the overall reach of the Church of The Peoria Metro Area. Paul wrote that he strove to be all things to all men. The greater the variety of styles we offer, the more easily we can do that. The Kingdom is advanced when we all do our part. We will, by the grace and power of God, do all that we can to fulfill whatever part we play in rescuing the Hell-bound and adding to the Kingdom.

Pray for us and that we will find the increase necessary to fulfill His mission. Perhaps, this vision is what you've been seeking. Please, feel free to comment or contact us and let us know.

Updates Long Past Due

To say that 2015 has had a rough start would be stating things mildly. Health issues and the financial challenges they brought about have set back our time table a lot. By this point, the first of the small groups was to have started, a new promotional video release, and a location for the seminar set. Unfortunately, none of that has happened. There are a lot of people we need to meet with to get the ball rolling again that we have not been able to make happen.

First and foremost, to reassure all of you, the fire has in no way diminished. Our passion for glorifying God and preaching His Gospel to those not currently being reached still burns with a bright flame. The trials of the last few weeks have done nothing to deter the vision the Lord has given us. Freedom Church is still coming.

The seminar we've been planning is still the plan. The more research we do, the more people we ask, the more convinced we are that we need to move forward. The need is tremendous. However, for obvious reasons we are moving the date back until May. The final date will be set once we have a location. We need help finding one. To keep consistent with the planned location, Washington or East Peoria would be ideal however, locations in Peoria are not out of the question. The preference is for a host church that we can partner with that sees the need but, failing that, other locations are options that will need to be considered.

Thanks to an overly busy holiday season and the trials of the last several weeks, most of the needs have not changed. The list (copied here from a previous post) hasn't changed.

1. Final legal filings for incorporation as a religious corp. We have most of the funds for this but need the rest. This is the smallest part of the need.
2. Promotional expenses. In addition to press releases, we are going to produce radio spots to run on both Christian and secular radio stations. We can produce the spots in-house using Deep Mystery Studio, the facility used to record Jesus' Outsider. The cost will be to air the spots.
3. Mailers to churches with information about the conference and fliers that can they can post.
4. Participant hand-outs
5. Speaker fees for outside speakers
6. Fees for the host church or facility.

However, we are no longer promoting the GoFundMe campaign. They charge too much. I would rather have the normal charges of credit card processing through PayPal than the additional cost of a crowd-sourcing service. I have been less than impressed with the service. They haven't done anything to warrant the fees they impose. Contributions can be made through PayPal either on this page or on the FC site.

Work continues. I hope to have my voice back soon so that I will start recording soon and be able to create the promotional videos for the church and for the seminar. The storyboards for the seminar video are almost complete.

Prayer support is greatly appreciated. The trials that have slowed our progress are not finished yet. The vision continues, the fire burns as bright. Trials cannot stop the plans of the Lord.