Summer Break and Re-launch

I need a few weeks off for rest, renewal and rejuvenation!  So I’m not posting anything until Monday, July 19^th – unless God stirs something in me that I want to share with you before then.

On Monday, August 3rd, I’m planning to re-launch this blog around our process of discipleship at Sugar Hill Church:  Love, Grow and Serve.  More on that later.

How do I express this adequately?  August 16^th is coming!  I’m asking God for a major outpouring of His Spirit like I’ve never seen or known.  I need to intentionally focus on God, hearing from God and obeying God.  Will you pray for me and with me?  I need you to help me.

I’m so fired up about what I see God doing that I want the world to know of Jesus and His miraculous power.  Frankly, some days I think about giving in and becoming a freaking lunatic for the glory of God.  I watch some guys who are so passionate about Jesus that most people think they are crazy…  And deep in my soul – I want to be one of those types of people – who love God and doesn’t care one rip about what other people think about it.

I’m not there…  I like to be liked.  I sometimes care too much about what others think, instead of what Jesus thinks.  God help me!

Here’s a few random thoughts as I go on summer break for sermon sabbatical writing and vacation:

*I’m more in love with Jesus than ever before.

*I’m more in love with my wife and committed to my family than ever before.  It seems like something in the news each week reminds me that we are all ½ of a step away from doing something stupid at any given moment.  Just read the news – from politicians, educators and pastor types – people are making stupid choices that violate the trust of the people they serve.

*I’m so aware of my humanity that it scares me.  Please pray for me that my life would be pleasing to my Lord and Savior, my commander and chief – Jesus Christ.  And join me in praying that God would out of His mercy – strike me dead, before I would defile the holiness of His name.

*I believe we are in the last days…. I don’t know what that means.  I’m not a prophet but I do believe Jesus could and probably will come in my lifetime.  Since that’s what I believe then I have to ask:  what would I change about what I’m doing right now and in how I’m leading our church?

Frankly, read the prophets in the Old Testament – there was very little that was clean and comfortable about their message.  In the New Testament the message of John the Baptist and Peter, who preached the first sermon to launch the church, was REPENT!

*We’ve fashioned a faith that is comfortable.  But not much of the message of Jesus is really comfortable.  To follow Him means to change, to sacrifice, to focus on others and less on self.

*God is not some benevolent God who is absent of judgment.  Sin grieves God.  I sin, you sin, we sin and that distances us from a Holy God.

*We excuse too much based on our culture of tolerance.

The Bible says, Judgment begins in the house of God.  In Malachi, he took the offerings of the priests and people and split it open and smeared the dung of the animal sacrifices in their face to say how deplorable their worship to Him was.  I don’t care who you are – that sounds serious!  God help us.

So God is stirring something within me – I don’t understand it all.  I’m listening, praying and looking forward to a break and then returning to re-set the culture of our church in a series called VIBE – coming July 26^th!

In August, I’ll invite people to follow me on Twitter – its nothing more than a tool to engage people in a conversation about “growing” in Christ.  Our time is short – let’s do everything we can to invite people on the journey with us as we grow to become more like Jesus.

Sugar Hill Church:  I really love you. I have a sense of destiny about Sugar Hill Church.  I’m privileged to serve God and you through our local church.

Thanks for partnering with me.

See you soon!

Day in and Day out

Wow!  What a great day at Sugar Hill Church.  Sunday was the best Father’s Day in my 8 father’s days with the Sugar Hill Church family.  We had 11 people accept Christ as Savior and baptized another spontaneously.  I’m so humbled by what I see God doing among us.  I’ve never had more fun doing this journey with you.  Love you much.  Here’s the devotional as a follow up to Sunday’s message.  Have a great day!

Day in and Day out

Proverbs13:22  A wise man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…

Read It:

Theodore Roosevelt put it this way, “We cannot do great deeds unless we’re willing to do the small things that make up the greatness.”  Leaving a meaningful legacy is a great deed to be sure, but it requires lots of small things to make it meaningful and great.  If we long to leave a lasting legacy to our children, and even on to their children, then we must realize that getting there begins with the day in and day out.

The Bible makes it clear that to reap, we’ve got to sow.  And sowing takes time.  It takes effort.  And it takes steady plodding.  That means every day we should be making decisions that add value to the lives of those for whom we long to leave a legacy.  Just as drops of rain over time make rivers, wise investment decisions over time build upon each other to create a lasting legacy that matters. 

Decide today to consistently do the little things that will one day add up to great things.  Legacy-making is all about taking God at His Word in the every day.  Laying down self, loving God first, and loving others as He would love them.  It’s about daily choosing to put down the remote, shut down the computer, to get up and do something for someone else, or to take the time to sit down and talk – or better yet, listen.  As we daily take steps to invest in our children, our coworkers, and our neighbors, over time we’ll see that steps turn into miles and the road to legacy is paved with lots of small decisions to intentionally invest.

Pray It:

Lord, don’t let me be mislead by the myth of someday.  Let me not wonder aimlessly towards just hoping I leave a lasting legacy.  Instead, show me how to intentionally direct my time, effort and attention into investing in that legacy now and today.  Remind me that that’s what legacies are made of – lots of todays and nows put together.  Thank you that because of Jesus, I have been given an eternal legacy.  Let me steward it well.

Download it:

Galatians 6:7  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Apply it:

1)    What are two simple intentional investments you can make in your family today?  (For example:  I can choose to watch one less show today and spend that time interacting with my family.  Or, when my kid asks me to stop and play with them or my spouse asks me to stop and talk with them, I will drop everything at that moment and do it.)

2)    Ask God to make you sensitive to moments when you can choose to invest.  When He does, choose to take the opportunity to do so (even if it’s inconvenient.)

Scared spitless! Prayer Team Needed!

Not really, but I feel like it sometimes!  God is doing great things among us.  The momentum, the movement of God among our people, the decisions for Christ – it’s all incredible.

 

As a staff, we sense that this fall could be something of Ephesians 3:20 proportions… “to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

 

We are less than 60 days away from what I think could be THE most significant day yet in the life of Sugar Hill Church, August 16^th.

 

I’m taking a few weeks off and when I come back, we are going to re-set the culture of our church.  I’ll begin a series on July 26^th called VIBE:  authentic Jesus.  Authentic Worship, Authentic Community and Authentic Service.  Then on Aug 16^th we launch our process of discipleship around 3 words:  Love, Grow, Serve. 

 

Plan NOW to attend August 16^th and bring somebody with you who is disconnected from God and church.  It could be the ONE DAY that changes everything for eternity.

 

Now that I’ve somewhat let the cat out of the bag (I really don’t like cats – but that’s another post) – let me say:  we have a BULLS EYE on our backs.  This is spiritual warfare.  When you get past all the coolness, excitement and fun – its warfare!

 

Satan doesn’t like anything that is happening here.  We’ve seen almost 140 people began a relationship with Christ so far this summer.  We’ve had 2 men answer God’s call to ministry and missions.  And we haven’t even gotten to July yet…

 

Make no mistake, the enemy wants to take you down or take me down or both.  And if he can’t do that – then he’ll try to distract us or divide us.  We need to pray for each other.  Yes, we still have our challenges of financial provisions, staff provisions, and leadership opportunities at every level.

 

Will you join me for a journey of preparation through prayer?

 

I’ll share more details with those who commit to joining me in prayer.  I’m asking for a prayer team to join me now through August 30^th for this specific season.  I believe it is a critical point in our journey.

 

If you are interested, email Beth@mysugarhillchurch.com  She is compiling the team and will get information to you within the next week.

 

Praying, Expecting, Believing….

Richard

The Facade of Good Intentions

James 1:22  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Read It:

We’ve all got them.  They seem harmless.  In fact, they seem downright great.  But, the truth is, they can be dangerous!  Good intentions.  If we were all measured by our good intentions what a great bunch we’d be.  But the truth is that intentions are a façade.  We can dream of the noblest ways to help others, but if we never follow through, it’s nothing more than dust in the wind.  Great ideas never helped anyone.  Work to carry out those ideas does.

But for many of us living behind the façade of good intentions is more comfortable.  We slowly lull ourselves into believing that intentions are enough.  We know in our hearts that we “care” about others and we say things like “God knows my heart” when we fail to follow through on doing the work of reaching out.  We are held back by many things:  by fear of rejection, fear of failure, busyness, procrastination, selfishness and more.  There are many reasons for us to lurk behind the grandness of dreaming, but there comes a time to step out and do the work.  Reach out to that neighbor and take a meal, even if you aren’t the world’s greatest cook.  Take care of a child for a single mom, even if “kids aren’t your bag.”  Step out and teach Sunday School even if you don’t have the Bible memorized.

God’s not interested in our excuses.  He doesn’t want our good intentions.  He wants us to step out in faith with Him in a grand adventure of watching Him work in and through us for His glory.  He wants to take our intentions to actions so that we can show what love is like to a lonely, hurting world.  Where is it God is asking you to go beyond thinking about doing good to actually doing something?  Don’t wait until plans are perfect and time is free and “seasons of life” are different.  Start now, today, with what you have and where you are.  You will be amazed at what God can do with what little we have to offer.  Want proof?  Check out Matthew 14:13-18. 

Pray It:

God, I have so many dreams and plans of doing great things for You and with You.  But I often get stuck in the land of good intentions.  I get carried away by busy schedules, intimidated by fear, or duped into procrastinating for another day.  Help me to have the courage to begin to turn intentions into investments today.  When I have a great idea or I am offered an opportunity to bless others, help me to take the time to invest as an offering to You. 

Download it:

James 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

Apply it: 

1)    Are there areas of your life where you know God is calling you to action, but you are hiding behind good intentions or procrastinating until another day or “another season?”

2)    Ask God to show you the real reasons you are hiding.  Is it fear?  Laziness?  Being too busy? 

3)    Ask God to show you one action step you can take in this area of good intentions and instead make an investment.  Then, do it!!

Pass it On

Sorry for the late posting… Here is the devotional follow up from yesterday.  VBS was a great week –  I’ll share  more later this week to process all God is doing among us.   

Deuteronomy 6:6-9  Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Read It:

From the beginning, it has been part of God’s mission for us – to declare His works to another generation.  Even from Israel’s earliest days, God stressed the importance of this passing on of His goodness. 

And those scriptural mandates hold true for us today as well.  The Bible is clear that we are to tell the next generation not only the stories of God’s faithfulness as recorded in the Bible, but also the stories of His goodness in our own lives.  God intends for that teaching to be as natural as sharing life together, and talking of these things along the way.

But agendas, technology, and the tyranny of the urgent often distract us from this simple, yet profound calling.  These days it seems young and old alike are constantly streaming messages into their eyes, ears, and minds, ever connected to some kind of device or information stream.  And yet, when we fail to take the time to unplug these things, to stop the tsunami of information and to simply share heart to heart, we are missing our biggest mission.  We must take the time to download God’s story into our hearts and upload it to others.

Don’t let distraction or procrastination steal your greatest legacy from you!  Don’t let an overload of acquiring information for information’s sake distract you from receiving and sharing revelation that changes lives!  Decide this week to be intentional with others, particularly with the younger generation.  Find ways to relate to them wherever they’re at and earn a right to be heard.  Then, share in a genuine and loving way the stories of what God has done in your life, so that indeed, one generation may proclaim His works to another.  

Pray It:

God, help me to remember what matters most – knowing You and making You known.  Teach me to love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  And show me how You want me to teach the next generation the same.  Show me ideas, methods and outlets where You could use me to make a difference for generations to come.  Grant me the privilege of declaring Your works to them and give me the diligence and strength to actually do it!

Download it:

Psalm 145:4  One generation shall praise Your works to another,
         And shall declare Your mighty acts.

Apply it:

1)    What things are you doing now to share and to show God’s love that will outlive you?

2)    Ask God to show you how to use your gifts, personality, and experience to help tell His story to the next generation.

and if you missed it… a touch of worship from yesterday:

This Week’s Recap

This week has been insane!!  And for all the right reasons.  At Sugar Hill Church we’ve continued the journey with our community by hosting VBS – a mini day camp if you will for pre-k  through 5th grade.  I’m sure we’ll have videos on youtube and pictures on facebook posted soon.  From fun games, crafts, songs and creative Bible teaching, the children have learned the story of Jesus through the eyes of one of my favorite disciples, Peter.  

Pete did stuff that I tend to do…say things without thinking it through, letting his passion over-ride common sense.  His faith got him in trouble with the religious crowds… There is so much of Peter’s life I can relate with.  Ole Pete is one of my heroes.

Anyway, back to VBS – our volunteers did a great job this week.  We had over 1100 involved in Vacation Bible School.  We lost 2 teachers (we didn’t lose them, but one broke a shoulder and the other got sick) but all in all – everything went smoothly.  Best of all is we have over 100 children we are in the process of following up with this week over the decision to trust Christ as Savior.

One of the things we do well at Sugar Hill Church is the follow up of new believers with children.  Leisa Kent has a new believers class for kids that we require prior to children following Christ in baptism.  Yes, its not required from the Bible – but you don’t see children being baptized in the Bible either… they were adults.  I’m proud of our children’s ministry team led by Leisa Kent, Davida Stacy, Joe Wells.  Our VBS directors Amy Henderson (last year she had to skip VBS due to a Hospital stint) and Carrie Thomason did an outstanding job administrating the details.

Our Bible School this week, was a huge success and even a greater impact for the kingdom of God.

This Sunday – wow!  There will be a sea of orange VBS T-shirts, kids singing and leading in worship and the opportunity to sign up for C3 kids camp in July.

Look forward to celebrating with you Sunday 9:30 & 11:00

No More Middle

WOW!  It’s funny watching people get all up tight when you talk about money… But God uses money to get to our heart issues of trust, faith.

Here’s the devotional follow up from Sunday!

Have a great week.  This week at Sugar Hill Church – Vacation Bible School.

More updates throughout the week.

Much love  – Richard

Matthew 6:24  No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.

Read It:

Being in the middle is a tough place to be.  Just ask anyone who’s ever played the school game “Monkey in the Middle.”  It’s almost tortuous to watch the person in the middle run to and fro, striving to gain control of the ball and get out of that position!  And that’s how it is for us when we play the middle ground with God’s Word.  Christ made it clear.  No man can serve two masters.  And no one means no one.

You see, when we want to take God at His Word when it’s convenient, when it makes sense, or only in pieces, we are much like that kid in the middle of Monkey in the Middle.  We spend a whole lot of effort running back and forth between the two, accomplishing very little.  We run to one side, then to the other, becoming tired and agitated. We begin to either aggressively move to take the ball for ourselves or just plain quit.

But when we take God at His Word, we draw a line in the sand.  We give up the middle ground and take a side.  God’s not interested in making us run to and fro, jumping around in a tizzy of frustration, grappling for control and contemplating when to give up.  No, He wants us to take Him at His Word, to see all of life from His perspective. He invites us to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.   But it starts with saying goodbye to the middle and saying with our lives, with our actions, and –yes- with our money, that Jesus is indeed our Master.

Pray It:

God, culture tells me that money is the way to secure my future.  It’s my ticket to prosperity and joy and a full life.  But Your Word tells me differently, that all I need is found in You.  I don’t want to live torn between two masters.  Help me not to stay in the in between, but give me the courage to trust your sufficiency.  Grant me the grace to trust your character by letting go of all I hold dear and saying to you, “I surrender.”

Download it:

Matthew 6:19  Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust od onto destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Apply it:

1)    Are you living a life that is fully surrendered to God?  Have you laid it all on the line?

2)    Ask God to show you why money is such a sensitive area for you to trust Him in.  Ask Him to give you one step you can take this week to take Him at His Word in this area.

The Stuff of Heroes

This sunday we honored our heroes… those that have served and serve our country, those in the greatest generation, those who have been married 50 plus years (can you believe that we have 20 couples who have been married over 50 years? 8 couples over 60 years!) We talked about the legacy of our founders of Sugar Hill Church (my personal heroes). And the challenge to leave a legacy worth following! Here’s the devotional thought as a follow up!
More later this week!

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Read It:

As we celebrate this Memorial Day, we reflect on the stuff of heroes. We call to mind those men and women who have fought, and sacrificed and bled for the benefit of others. We call them heroes, but the truth is that many of them do not think of themselves as Heroes. They’re just men and women who are doing the right thing when it matters.

Inside of all of us is a hero awaiting an awakening. We all long to make a difference in the life of another. But being a hero is more than about just a moment in time. It’s also about all of the training and hard work leading up to that moment. It’s being caught doing the right thing at the right time because that’s already engrained in your character, because those things are already your habit. And one day, what’s been forged in the heart gets put out on display for others to see in an act of heroism.

That should be an encouragement and a challenge to all of us everyday, ordinary men and women, as we seek to serve both unto and like Jesus. We must remember that being a hero is about the day in and day out things. It’s about that recurrent, ongoing commitment to steadily invest. When we lay down our own agendas and ideas, when we give up our time, our energy and our money to invest in someone else, we are doing the things that the ultimate hero, Christ Himself, did. We are putting love out on display in laying down our lives for our friends. And we do it not for a hero’s welcome for ourselves, but in honor to the greatest Hero who ever walked this planet, Jesus Christ.

Pray It:

Jesus, on this Memorial Day, I want first to remember you, the world’s greatest Hero. You showed the ultimate love in laying down your life so that we could find ours. Show me what it means to love others the way you love. Help me to loosen my grip on my agenda, my time, and my desires, that they may used to show others your love.

Download it:

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Apply it:

1) Think about some of the heroes in your own life, men and women who have invested in you. Take some time today to write them a note of thanks.
2) In light of that reflection, spend some time thinking about some steps you can take to begin recurrent, intentional investments in the life of someone else. Ask God if there is someone specific in your life in whom you could invest.

our Neighbors, the Nations and the Next generation

We’ve spent a lot of time, energy and resources outlining what we believe is God’s activity with our neighbors and the next generation.  Last summer John Stamper joined our team as our student pastor.  He and his team (Luke Pinder, Bobby McGraw, Susan Roebuck) are doing an awesome job leading our student ministry and developing leaders to serve with our students.

10 months into the journey and our student impact has doubled.  We are reaching about 225 students each week. Our students have gone on an international mission trip and now this summer a national mission project painting, building and repairing homes for those in need… more exciting news about what’s coming in our own Sugar Hill Community in 2010 will be shared soon.  In addition we’ve started a teenage moms ministry that has given us opportunities to partner with our schools in ministering to families in crisis.  We even started interpreting our worship services in Spanish all because one of our students wanted to bring their parents who doesn’t speak English!  Isn’t God great – using kids to help us reach our community? 

The last 3 years I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Lanier Middle School Council.  I was elected through parent votes thanks to some friends that campaigned for me.  I had the privilege of being an encouragement and friend to the Lanier school administrators.  We don’t make it our goal to correct anything but rather encourage and support them – finding open doors to be “ministers.”  It also has given me an inside look at what is going on with our students and allowed me to have open doors to talk to other parents as “their representative.” 

I say all that to say I’m thankful for what I learned and for the open doors to be a friend, encourager and support to our community leaders.  Now, I need your help.

If you live in the North Gwinnett High School district – I’m unashamedly asking you to stop by North Gwinnett High School this week between 7 AM – 4 PM and “vote” for John Stamper, our student pastor to be on the North Gwinnett School Council.  John will be a community partner.  This platform gives John and our church a chance to be a friend, support and encourager with our school leaders.  So help us continue to build bridges with our school and community leaders.  Go “vote for John Stamper” for North Gwinnett School Council this week.  You never know the impact that could have in somebody’s life in the coming months.

In the Same Direction

It was a great day at Sugar Hill Church.  My favorite part was celebrating with the 10 people who followed Christ in baptism.  God is moving and working within our church family.  Don’t miss the moment!

Here’s the Follow up devotional from Sunday’s message: 

John 17:23  I in them and you in me.  May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Read It: 

Can you imagine a car where the wheels all moved in a different direction?  It wouldn’t go very far.  The more each tire pulled for its own way, the more the car would begin to fall apart, until, eventually, everything broke down.  The car would become immobile, paralyzed by a lack of a unified direction. And ultimately the car would be useless in fulfilling its purpose: moving people from point A to point B.

That’s a lot like Christ’s church.  Christ has woven believers together.  His Word tells us that we are all members of Christ’s body.  And every part matters (1 Corinthians 12).  No one can say to the other that they have no need of them.  Like that car, when we strive for things our way on our time and by our methods, we lack a unity of direction and purpose, and things fall apart.  When we forget that our mission is to move people from point A (not knowing Christ) to point B (knowing, loving and glorifying Him), then like that car, we become useless in fulfilling our purpose.

In Christ, we have DO have a unifying purpose and vision – one God, one Father, one faith (Ephesians 4:5-7).  When we seek Christ and His direction, we naturally begin to work toward a common goal of loving Him and making Him known.  We have been given the greatest calling, the greatest mission on earth and in heaven – to lift high the name of Christ.  And when we all bring our gifts and time and talent to the table in a common love for Christ and for His people, then a beautiful thing happens.  We begin to race toward a common destiny of purpose.  We are all moving together in one direction for His glory – propelled by unity, fueled by love.

Pray It:

God, sometimes I get so caught up in my own world – my routine, my schedule, my needs, my desires, that it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.  Help me to see that you created me to be part of a community.  Help me to understand that I am made for relationship with You and with others.  May I walk in unity with You and with other believers so that the love in my life testifies of Your goodness to a world desperate for a unifying love.

Download it:

Psalm 133:1  How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

Apply it:

 1.  Spend some time this morning evaluating your own level of unity.  How are you doing at walking in unity with your Heavenly Father?  With His other children?

 2. Think of two ways this week that you can encourage and partner with someone who is working toward the common goal of loving God and loving people.  Perhaps it is praying for a particular ministry or staff member, or writing a letter of encouragement, or volunteering some time.  Let God lead you.