A Look Back & Move Forward

Dave Mullen, a pastor friend here in Manchester, and I were sharing about our common interest in Jonathan Edwards, and he was able to point me in the direction of a marker in Enfield, that indicates the location where Edwards once preached.  I paid a visit to it was was moved by thoughts of what God had done through this man.

Edwards sermons are at the heart, simple and gospel centered.  

Sin is a deliberate disobedience to the will of God.  Sin is our nature.  Sin separates us from God the creator.  Being separated from God means hell is in our future.  Our sin must be judged by God.  God is a good judge, meaning he does not take bribes, or anything else that we try to trade up with him.

The Good News is that God made a way for us not to be separated from him and our sin can be pardoned.  Jesus, the son of God, came from heaven to earth to live a sinless life, and since the penalty of sin is death,  Jesus sacrificed or stood in our place to take the penalty that we deserved, because he loves us.

This is best summed up in John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".  God's grace is unearned and unmerited.  It just because he loves us.

What God did with Edwards in the 1700s, he is still doing today.  

My prayer is that your heart is being warmed by God.  That the Good News of Jesus Christ is news that you want realized in your life.  My prayer is, just like the Great Awaking in New England of the 1700's, that you would be awakened by the Gospel of Jesus.

Shoot me a email with your questions TimLyda@bellsouth.net

God truly does love you.

Live & Love Like Jesus,

Pastor Tim 

LifeSong Manchester

Manchester is now our new home.  Lynn and I have been here for 2 weeks now, and fall more in love with the town everyday.  To love a town means you love the people.  We love the people!  In meeting so many people, business owners, residents, and people who are serving the community, the sense that the Holy Spirit is moving in this New England town is obvious. 

Everyone we talk to at this point is very open and find it interesting that a new church is coming to Manchester.  We are hearing comments such as, “I have so many questions about God”, I hope that you have a Saturday night service because I work on Sunday”, and “Your a Pastor?, I didn’t know I could have a relationship with the priest”.  There are times of sowing, times of watering, and times of Harvest.  The scriptures say that "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers or few".  This certainly is a time and place of harvest.

There has been so many times in my life that I have been disobedient from God’s plan for my life, but not today.  And today I ask that God pour out my life for his glory.

Numbers 14:24

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

The USA Today quoted the PEW organization that 1 in 5 are without religious affiliation.  More people are checking “None” in surveys.  In general, this is a true statement in New England, but we all worship something such as other people and relationships, or our stuff.  In Goshen Connecticut a white bison was born last month, and many Native Americans are visiting the town to worship…that’s no bull J
I see a little something different in this town.  People in New England are just simply tired or even broken by religion… the hypocrisy, the inability to live by certain rules or standards.

LifeSong Manchester is a community of people who most of all are in love with Jesus.  Everyone you ever come into contact with has a story to share, at LifeSong we listen and honor those stories.  We also believe that we are all a part of a greater story, God’s Story, and we want to be a place where we can help you enter into his story in a real and authentic way. 

We are beginning as a small group of people who all want the same thing, to transform lives and communities through Jesus.  It has become obvious to me that people in Hartford county really do want a relationship with God, they just don’t want to play games and be fake.  Me too! 

Our launch date is not yet set, but when we have met the milestone of 4 to 5 small groups of people sharing life together it will be time to launch.

We will be known in our community as a safe place to explore faith in Christ with others who are on a spiritual journey.  We know it can and will get a little messy, but I believe that as we start living authentically God smiles and says it’s “A beautiful mess”

Planting The Gospel,

Pastor Tim

Called Man Part 3

The Heart and Head calls are internal. The next confirmation is External.

Skill Confirmation.

Sometimes the bar is set too low. You see this happen when someone is so outgoing, over the top passionate, about sharing Jesus, developing that persons character and skill is overlooked. This plays out when churches or people say to this guy, "man, you just need to preach!"

But sometimes the bar is too high and unreachable. Some churches will not even consider a called man unless he has a Masters degree. The problem of no character development still could be a issue here.

Darrin Patrick lists some questions that one needs to consider.

From the Skill Perspective:

Does he have a working knowledge of the whole scripture?

Can he articulate the gospel story throughout Scripture?

Does he understand controversial verses that have caused division in church history (Calvinism vs. Arminianism)?

Can he explain the Christ-centered nature of Christian theology?

From a Character Perspective:

Can he inspire the church for mission?

Can he cast vision for the church and inspire people to pursue that vision with him?

Can he organize the church to reach its goals?

Can he set up systems and structures that run apart from his direct influence?

From Jim Collin's analogy, the job of the leader is to get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus and the right people in the right seats.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Tim

The Called Man part 2

A call will have 2 activities (Burden Married to Vision) and 3 confirmations. Earlier we discussed the Heart Confirmation. Its the thing that screams out, "I Must Give My Life for this Call".

Next is the Head Confirmation

This is where the vision starts formulating, from what the Holy Spirit pours into to you, as you move through the burden to "How can I give My Life to this Call?" This happened for me as I was reflecting on my experience, from serving Cornerstone International Church in Norwich CT, this past summer. I began to "in my words" daydream about ministry in New England. Not only sensing Gods movement there, but how God could use me and my experiences there for the kingdom. Very specific ministry opportunities exploded in my mind and the vision had began its lift.

One of the things that a called man must be on guard against, is to just simply repeat or adopt ministry model,s that he has experienced. Every new work is different because people groups are different. The Holy Spirit supplies the guidance and plans, for you to realize the call, that is specific to the people group where God is already at work.

So if a man is being called into ministry or called to begin a new work such as a New Church Plant, the Heart and Head confirmations are important, and fit into the "internal" category of the call.

The greatest thing on this earth is to have Salvation! Next to that is to share the story. Next post we will discuss the 3rd confirmation "Skill"

Be Blessed

Pastor Tim

A Called Man

Sixteenth Century Theologian Martin Luther listed 8 qualities that a minister must have:

1. Able to teach systematically

2. Eloquence

3. A good voice

4. A good memory

5. Knows how to make a end

6. Sure of his doctrine

7. Willing to lose body, blood, wealth, and honor in the work

8. Willing to be mocked and jeered by everyone

I don't know about you but that list has a lot of meat on it. I have strengths and weaknesses in all 8 areas.

But how do you discern a call?

When people ask me how do I know that I am called, I explain that I had a burden that was married to a vision. I have read several book over the past few months and many related to my call to plant a church. One particular has pricked my heart and mind titled "Church Planter" by Darrin Patrick. He purposes that there are 3 confirmations when discerning the call. Heart, Head, and Skill.

In this post lets review the Heart Call.

Nehemiah cried because the city and people were in ruins in Nehemiah 1:4

"As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before God of heaven"

He had no choice but to follow and answer the call to serve. His heart was taken. This was a event that I can witness to, when I was called into ministry, while serving at Crossroads Baptist church, and then again when I was called to serve at LifeSong Church. In both cases it was clear, that this thing I Must do!

Now my call to plant a New England church was even more of a Nehemiah experience, as the call brought me to tears, and still does today, as I see the people that need Jesus there. Spurgeon refers to it as "an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work" One of my leadership coaches Jarvis Cooper stated it to me this way: "What makes your baby jump?" Over time the sense or the kick gets stronger, not weaker with time. That is HEART call.

Love God, Love People

Pastor Tim

Plant Churches Like a Missionary, Not a Pastor

Lynn and I will be traveling to Putnam CT during Spring Break. If you sense God calling you to this mission, come and join us for a few days in March. Contact me for more info.

Below is a Blog from Dave Dorr. I liked it and wanted to share it with you:

You need people to be a shepherd
I guess I can be forgiven, because being a pastor is what I knew. My previous ministry experience was as a pastor. I was a college pastor out of undergrad, and then became an associate pastor at a large church a few years later. The people were provided for me. I was to grow the ministry from what I had and shepherd the people as need arose.

But this is no way to start a church. Yes, we must be shepherds to our people. But I was not a shepherd first because I had no people!

Evangelize first
If I was sent out as a missionary to another country nobody would expect me to go and counsel, preach sermons on the weekends, and facilitate smaller groups. The sending church would expect me to do evangelism. That’s what missionaries do, especially when they are first getting started.

Domestic new church starts should be the same because missionary work is evangelism that results in new churches.

Don't just go for the low-hanging fruit
I know church planters often don’t have to do evangelism to start churches domestically. They can start with a group of people from their sending church. They can recruit from other churches. They can find a group of people who are fed up with how other churches do things and launch from there. Some of these are legitimate ways to plant a church. Some of these are shady.
Every new church must have some believers, but are they purposefully interacting with unbelievers?

But all of them miss evangelism. The lead guy is immediately doing pastoral work, which is probably his preference anyway. I know that’s what I wanted. I didn’t want to consistently initiate with people who would reject me. I wanted the easy sell, the low-hanging fruit, and I wanted it to give me a decent, sustainable new church.

Find your unbelievers
The church planter is a missionary first, doing evangelism, and leading the believers in his church to reach lost people. Every new church must have some believers, but are they purposefully interacting with unbelievers? This was the most important paradigm shift for me, and as I interact with other planters, the most important paradigm shift for them.

If you are thinking of starting a church, are you willing to be a missionary?

Answering the Call

From Jason and Chrissy Edwards:
God does not always send you a flashing neon sign, so when you hear God speak, it is sometimes difficult to determine if that voice is your own or if it is from Him! I arrived home from a mission trip over the summer and God placed a burden in my heart to witness to the people of Connecticut. It was after many months of prayer and asking God to give me confirmation through my wife that He did finally answer, and we have decided to leave South Carolina and move to Putnam, Connecticut to assist in the planting of a much needed church. We want to take the vision and heartbeat of Lifesong Lyman to New England and help others understand that Jesus is well within reach. We have a desire to show others that he loves them more than anything, and that we need him more than ever! We are thankful to be used to do God's work, God's way and are experiencing a freedom that can only come from being obedient to Him. We love you and Lynn and can't wait to serve with you both!


Your brother and sister in Christ,

The Edwards'

The Great Awakening

In the 1740s, the New England area of the United States experienced what is classified as the "Great Awakening" It was a time of Pastors like Jonathan Edwards that lived and breathed God's word. He was desperate to share the Gospel Good News with any who would listen. Connecticut experienced a revival and thousands became God's children.

Today in 2010 less that 2% of New England consider themselves Christian or as having a faith in God. South Korea has Identified the United States as their #3 priority to send missionaries to, with New England being the least evangelized area of North America.

Pastor Shaun Pillay and his wife sold all that they had in South Africa to come to Connecticut to plant the International CornerStone Church. In July of this year, I will be traveling with 6 other LifeSong men to CornerStone to assist Pastor Shaun in this new Church Plant.

We will be helping by canvassing communities with information of the church plant, sharing with those in ministry on lessons learned in our own LifeSong Church plant, in the areas of LifeGroups, and Children’s ministries. Community service projects and “one on one” evangelism is also part of the focus.

We desire your prayers as we prepare for this mission whom God has laid on our hearts. If God has blessed you in a way that you could invest financially, we would be blessed by your support to reach the Lost of New England.

Romans 10:14-17
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Pastor Tim

Gather, Grow, & Go