Suffering

Abby’s surgery

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Our seven-month old daughter Abigail is scheduled to have surgery next Monday, Sept. 26, at 9 am on her right kidney/ureter. While still in the womb, she was diagnosed with ‘hydronephrosis,’ or fluid on the kidney. As a result, her right kidney drains very slowly and is now almost twice the size of her left one.

The surgeon will make a small incision on her side, remove a piece of her ureter where it joins to the kidney, then reconnect the ureter to the kidney. The operation will take place at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital and should take 2-3 hours. If all goes well, most of her kidney will be saved, and she could be discharged as early as Tuesday afternoon.

Here are some ways you can pray for our family:

  • Thank the Lord that doctors noticed her condition early, that she is not in any pain, and that her right kidney still has a lot of healthy tissue
  • Pray that she will stay healthy, as she has been fighting off a cold and allergies this past week
  • Ask God to guide the hands of Dr. Chamberlain, his staff, and medical students as they operate on our daughter
  • Pray for God to sustain Natalie and me, as we are already tired from so many other medical crises in the past year
  • Intercede for us, that we will not give into fear, but will rest in God’s sovereignty, his wisdom, and his love. We want to know our Savior better through this season of suffering
  • Praise the Lord for Natalie’s parents who are watching Dylan and Heidi for the week so we can focus on caring for Abby. My mom will also be arriving in another week to help out.
  • I’ve written about this trial in a “Minister’s Message” scheduled to be published next Wednesday in our local newspaper. Pray that God will use this article to draw other people to himself.
  • Pray for Abby’s salvation. As she grows older, we hope God will give her a heart that loves and serves Jesus.
SBC

SBC might change its name

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Baptist Press announced earlier this week that the Southern Baptist Convention will consider a name change to the denomination. I don’t have a strong opinion on this one way or the other, but I also don’t see how it would hurt for a Task Force to revisit the idea.

I highly respect our current SBC President Bryant Wright and agree when he says, “With our focus on church planting, it is challenging in many parts of the country to lead churches to want to be part of a convention with such a regional name.”

Almost immediately, Dr. Alber Mohler responded with some reasons it may be time for a name change.

But for me, the most surprising statistic comes from Ed Stetzer, Director of Lifeway Research:

“The Southern Baptist identity simply does not resonate as well with adults age 18 to 24. More than 40 percent of respondents in this group said knowing a church was Southern Baptist would negatively affect their decision to visit or join the church.”

That statistic is staggering. I wonder what has given young adults such a bad impression?

At any rate, this doesn’t mean any local church would have to change their name. As best I can tell, the SBC label might even help our church a little, giving name recognition to military families who move here from the South and are searching for a new church to settle.

But you will notice that no church plants are putting “Southern Baptist” in their name today. Far more common are thematic names like The Rock Church, Soma Church, Cross Community Church, The Well, Mosaic Church, Sandals Church, etc. This should at least tell our convention something about its branding.

Shepherding

Updates

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It’s overwhelming to consider all our family has been through in the past year, but God has sustained us. In just twelve months, Natalie has endured her third pregnancy, three UTIs, a kidney infection, 15 weeks of early contractions, child birth, severe postpartum bleeding, two DNCs, two blood transfusions, chest pains, emergency gallbladder surgery, internal bleeding, and a second exploratory laparoscopy.

In addition, Dylan was rushed to the ER with a head injury in December, I went to the ER with chest pains in May, and Abigail was diagnosed with hydronephrosis (fluid on her right kidney) while still in the womb. Abby also went in to the hospital for several days this summer for unusual skin color and a possible heart defect which was eventually ruled out. On September 26, Abby will have surgery for her hydronephrosis, which we hope will fix her right kidney and allow it to drain properly. This procedure has a very high success rate, but we know she is ultimately in God’s hands. We have done our best to honor God through all these trials and have certainly learned to depend more fully upon Him. If it pleases Him, we hope this next year will be less eventful. Thanks again for your prayers, your patience, and your support!

In our Sunday morning worship service, we’re taking a break from our exposition of 1 Corinthians to get better equipped in evangelism. The series is based loosely on the “Share Jesus Without Fear” material by William Fay & Ralph Hodge (Lifeway Publishing). I pray the Lord will use this study to help every member be trained, confident, and actively sharing their faith.

During 9:15 Life Groups, I often lead training sessions with our newer attenders. I just concluded a Baptism Class and will be starting another Membership class on Sunday, Oct. 2. It was a thrill to have three new members join us Sunday, and several more on the way.

On Wednesday nights, we’re continuing our series on Spiritual Warfare and have had some great participation. Our new Bible Study & Prayer format is really working well. Come check it out. If you don’t live in town, try getting involved in one of the other home-based Bible studies we offer across the Basin like our Morongo Valley Bible Study or 29 Palms Bible Study (details TBD).

The past few months, after heeding some good advice from a friend, I’ve begun to focus more on discipleship and training men for ministry. I continue to teach servant leadership training (SaLT) once a month, plus am now meeting each week with different men for one-on-one mentoring. Please pray that God will raise up future leaders in our church, and that we will give them opportunities to grow and serve.

Lastly, please pray for me as I teach on Tuesdays down at California Baptist University in Riverside. I’ve been asked to teach the junior and senior Applied Theology students about pastoral ministry, and to help organize their church internship program. Because of this new commitment, I’ve discontinued my Tuesday Greek class and my weekly involvement in the Copper Mtn. Christian Club. It’s an honor to serve as Adjunct Faculty at the university and to help mentor the next generation of pastors. But you can rest assured that serving as pastor at First Southern Baptist is still my primary calling and delight.

Culture

Incredible deal on World Magazine

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110924 CoverWorld Magazine is offering an incredible deal on new gift subscriptions for only $5.
If you’re not a World subscriber, you should be. They offer top-notch journalism from a biblical perspective. I am always impressed with their depth and quality of reporting.
A one-year subscription would make an excellent gift for pastors, teachers, businessmen, recent high school and college graduates, and well, pretty much everyone else too. 
Below is their announcement. This deal will only last for one week, so act fast!
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All around us, the mighty are falling – newspaper bankruptcies, newsroom layoffs, indifferent audiences, and plunging ad revenues are roiling the news business. That’s why we believe now is the time to build a stronger, Christian news organization – one that recognizes a sovereign God at the center of all things.
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Take advantage of this special offer and partner with WORLD in seeking to chronicle what God is doing in the world – in culture and education, in communities, in families, in church and state.     

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SBC

Focus 21 Task Force Report

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Last fall, I and eleven others were appointed by the California SBC to form the Focus 21 Task Force. It has been a real honor and I’ve learned so much. We’ve traveled from across the state to meet nearly every month, and are finally ready to share the results of our research.

The intro to our report has just been released. It explains our purpose and rationale. You can read it here.

The full report should be posted later today. These changes are significant, but we believe they will bring greater focus and keep moving us forward in the 21st century.

Here are some ways you can help:

  • Read the report after it is released on our Facebook page.
  • Post your comments and click “like” on our Facebook page to help spread the word. We’ve deliberately chosen Facebook to encourage feedback and dialogue. 
  • Tell others through Facebook, Twitter, or email about the report. Every California Southern Baptist has a vested interest in these recommendations. 
  • Pray for unity and wisdom among our convention entities, leaders, pastors, and messengers. 
  • Make plans to attend the Annual Meeting in Fremont on Oct. 25-26. We need your support on Tuesday afternoon when this report is brought to the floor and recommended for approval.

May the Lord use this report to invigorate our cooperation and bring the gospel to over 30 million lost people in our state.

Thoughts on Life and Leadership