Elise Dorothy Hines Young

Sometimes God allows us to encounter unconditional love, with people that we meet here on earth, that is a reflection of HIS great Love. With parent and child relationships this is more common or a least something more natural, but then I met Ms Elise.

For the past 4 years this 87 year old sweet heart, gives me a kiss on the cheek every Sunday that I see her here at LifeSong church. After the kiss she says "I Love You Sooo Much". Early on, I wondered why did she love me so much? I haven't done anything to deserve her love. We are not blood kin and I just met her 4 years ago. But I Love her Sooo Much because her whole being seems to be LOVE.

She is funny too. Ms Elise has been dealing with health issues and sometimes she shares that with me. Last year (as a joke), I accused her of smoking cigars and that was the reason of her declining health. I even went so far to bring a cigar to her while she was in Sunday school class and say "hay lady you dropped this on the floor, and you can't smoke these things here" She just giggled and said "I've been looking for that thing all morning". She always gets the last laugh.
It's people like Ms Elise that God has put in my path that helps me remember Gods Love is HUGE. Its people like Ms Elise that makes me so thankful to be in ministry.

What do we learn from Ms Elise and her ability to love and encourage others? I believe it can be found in scripture:
1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Heading North

Pastor Tim

Awakening

Awakening: people who are already converted are awakening from their spiritual slumber and lost people are being saved. I have notice that during a awaking there are 3 reactions: Opposition / Indifference / Obedience.

Opposition – People continue to demonstrate that it takes no intelligence to criticize. I see this mostly with religious people that become threatened by a movement of God that can’t be explained away. Many times this is fueled by jealousy or pride within ones heart.

Indifference – People hear Gods voice and feel drawn to Him, but respond with indifference. Not vocal opponents, but simply chose to delay their decision. A decision to delay is a decision against.

Obedience – A desire for revival is a desire for Spiritual Life. This desire once acted on by obedience to God, is when the awakening happens
In the past several months as I prepare to start a new chapter in this walk with Jesus, God continues to expose things in my heart, my understanding of Him, and allow me to have a front row seat of His greatness… I sense a Great Awakening in my walk with Him.

I have been so consumed with getting to New England that it would be easy for me to miss the spiritual awakening going on around me here in S.C. My friend Ken called me while I was out of town on a business trip saying that he needed to talk to me. By the next day I had a chance to have lunch with him, and he proceeded to tell me about growing up as Catholic but never understood that God wants a relationship, not a religious activity from people.

He continued by telling me that I was the first to learn that he is now a follower of Jesus. To use his words “It was like I was so drawn to Him and I had to have Jesus”….I got to eyewitness a Great Awaking down in Anderson that day. Ken is so in love with Jesus, he now has pre packed meals in his car that he gives to hungry people that he meets along with a note that tells how Jesus changed his life.

There is an Awaking or I should say a Movement of God happing all around us and reaching all the way North to where God is calling us to plant the Gospel.

Ephesians 5:14
for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says "awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you".

NOTE: We desire your prayers as God continues to prepare us for this new work in Manchester CT. Take a look at the tab “Help Us Plant” for ways you can pray and support.

Heading North
Pastor Tim

Make Disciples

Planting The Gospel / The past week has been full of God moments. Last weekend Lynn and I completed our assessment by Planting The Gospel. The assessment allowed Lynn and me to express and communicate the vision that God has layed on my heart for New England, and to take an inventory of our lives in this movement of God. We were leaned in on and ready to kick it up a notch, while God has us here in S.C.

Baptism / On Tuesday, Greer area churches along with the Greer Baptist Association presented the New England planting team with a new portable Baptismal pool. To be sent to Connecticut with a baptismal is an answered prayer. We are so thankful that God is moving in the hearts of men and women here in the south in order to complete His mission in the north.

Making Disciples / This call from scripture to “Make Disciples” in Matthew 28, is a little deeper than most consider. It requires being right in the middle of people’s lives…many different types of people. I mean, I have friends that go on mission trips to build buildings for worship, and those things are needed, but what about building people? Is about making us feel significant or is it about reproducing ourselves as Christ followers? Please do not read any arrogance in that last statement. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that a person is transformed.

Building buildings has a start and an end. Do we sometimes confuse that activity with doing the Great Commission? Being a disciple and making disciples requires an investment and sometimes is a hard thing to do, because people (like me) are hard. Many are not teachable because their pride is bigger than their obedience. But, there is no greater fulfillment than to disciple someone to grow and walk with Jesus.

Planting the Gospel is not building a building, but disciple people. It’s not about having a bible study class and calling it discipleship, but living life with those who need Jesus, and be moved into action by what scripture teaches on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Does being theologically correct mean that discipleship has happened? I believe incorrect doctrine is incorrect doctrine, but I know of those who go on mission to find the MOST correct theological environment in a church, and I’m not sure that’s a journey that has an end. If the theology is correct, then the community will be transformed and the people will be coming back to God… just saying

What about you? I ask that you consider your relationships. Are you being discipled or are you discipling the ones you spend time with? In your discipling of others, is it focused on the teachings of Christ, his life, death, and resurrection?

Heading North
Pastor Tim

Update: Connecticut in October

During the first week of October, Lynn and I, along with Bobby and Misty Fogel, had an opportunity to visit Hartford CT, and the surrounding towns on the east side. We seem to fall more in love with the people, and towns. God is certainly stoking the fires in our hearts, to re plant our lives and plant the Gospel in this New England County.

We learned allot on this trip. Hartford is a very beautiful and very diverse city, and a place so rich with History. While on a walk downtown, we entered the Congregational church on main street and had prayer, while the folks on the steps of the church were getting high. Much brokenness and the burden in our hearts are for the people.

We visited and prayed in the towns of Enfield, Windsor, Manchester, Vernon, Glastonbury, and Rocky Hill.

High School football: Manchester Indians were playing Glastonbury and we meet a few families, and made a connection in the community. Saturday we went to a block party in Manchester for the disabled. There, Misty Fogel made a connection with MACC (Manchester Area Community of Churches)

Manchester is the largest of the eastern Hartford county towns. The food pantry, Feeding Kitchen is pretty busy, and we made connections with the assistant director there. Many of the old established churches, police, and fire departments in the city work together to insure the shelves are stocked with food.

With such a small percentage of the people of the town attending any church, you can sense that many serve or volunteer for the city, and have a deep rooted concern for their community. In some ways, their community has become their "church"... a church absent of God.

We ask those of you who are praying for us to continue to do so. A movement of God is very evident in New England. If God has placed it on your heart to support us financially , you can do so, by checking out the tab "Help Us Plant". It is greatly needed and we look forward to hear from you.

Lynn and I have tentatively planned to make another visit between Christmas and new Years, and I plan is to be in Connecticut 6 to 8 months after the sale of our home.

Thank you for your prayers and support.
Pastor Tim

12 Things I Don't Want to Forget

So far, 2011 has proven to be a very interesting year, and I have seen Gods work in my life, as He continues to grow and change me. A few weeks ago I was thinking about things that I do not want to forget, of 2011 to date. In no particular order:

1. Flight - I have spent a lot of time traveling by air this year. In doing so, there have been missed or delayed flights that changes your whole day. I have met some pilots that look as if they were old enough to attend a high school dance. But what I don’t want to forget is the amazement of flight. To look out the window as the plane leaves the earth. To look at the earth at 10,000 feet and see what God has done, and feel so small but feel so LOVED by God.

2. Family & Marriage – I had the opportunity to marry my youngest son Andrew to his bride Jamie. To see Jamie and her dad approach the altar, was ALMOST more that this old softy could handle. Spending an evening on the beach at Jekyll Island with my bride, sons, daughter in-loves, and Mikel was more that I deserve.

3. McGriddle – Without a doubt, the number 1 best American invention ever. I rediscovered the McGriddle on one of my business trips. Two small pancakes that have syrup flavor with pork, egg, and cheese in the middle. America I Love You.

4. Go Givers – I have had the opportunity to reconnect with people that have invested in me over the years. They have given me more than I could ever return to them. And God has used them to keep me focused and to have a thankful heart. Thank you.

5. Wave Sticks –Though it cost me a broken arm, the thrill of riding a 2 wheeled skate board for about 15 minutes was great… not worth it, but great.

6. Scott Naturals – toilet wipes. 2nd greatest American invention.

7. Tortoise and the Hare –weekly I get to read Tortoise and the Hare to Mikel my granddaughter. She is still amazed that the tortoise wins every time, and I love the 10 minutes I get to hold her.

8. New England – As God continues to prepare us for planting a Gospel Centered church in New England, I have even more opportunities to share the vision with other churches and Christ followers, and to make another visit to Connecticut. The burden and vision grows stronger as I talk with New Englanders. In the next few months, Lynn and I will attend church planting school at LifeSong Lyman, and visit Hartford County Connecticut. www.plantingthegospel.com

9. Church Family – God has blessed Lynn and me to be a part of a Movement of God at LifeSong Church Lyman. It’s been said that LifeSong is in the top 1000 fastest growing churches in America. But to serve with some other guys that just want to Love God and Love people swells my heart. To witness God Change in the lives of people at LifeSong, and realize that God NEVER slumbers or sleeps.

10. Coming Home – As mentioned earlier, there has been a lot of travel for me this year, which can stress a marriage. But there is nothing like getting home and seeing the smile of my best friend, lover, and having a cup of coffee on the front porch.

11. Atonement – Romans 3:25-26. Don’t ever say “God is Love” as if it doesn’t mean anything, or as if it at 1970s bumper sticker.

12. Justification – Romans 4:24-25. Don’t live your life as if it didn’t cost everything.

June/July Church Plant Update

Its been a busy 2 months in our lives. Last month I had the opportunity to share the New England vision with the Greer Baptist Association, and Crossroads Baptist Church Spartanburg. More and more partners are coming on board, blessing and supporting us, through prayer.

Planting The Gospel Network: I am excited to announce that LifeSong CT will be a partner church of the "Planting The Gospel" church planting network. PTG will play a vital role in training and assessing Lynn and I as we prepare for CT. The network's outrageous goal is to plant 10,000 churches within the next 10 years! you can read more at: David Putman's Website.

The more the Merier: As noted in a my last post, there is now a second family that has answered Gods call to replant their lives in New England. Going to CT with the Fogels and Edwards families is HUGE! All three families will relocate north, begin developing relationships with neighbors, and co workers. Bobby Fogel will focus on community transformation while Jason Edwards will be the "Connector" for people that become part of this new work. Our prayer is, that as more people sense the call, that they will take the leap of faith and be part of this Gospel Centered church plant.

Manchester: The weekend of the 4th of July, we traveled to Hartford CT, and the surrounding towns. One of the towns that really caught our eye was Manchester. Manchester is a beautiful city in Hartford county with a population of 70,000. It is likely to be the city for the church plant but we are still God's will on the exact location. On that same visit we had a opportunity to meet with Sean Sears, the lead pastor of Grace Church in Stoughton, MA. He gave us great insight to New England church planting, and Grace Church will be a great resource for us as we navigate New England.

Lynn and I desire your continued prayers as we have relisted our house and are seeing more activity with potential home buyers. In short, God has truly blessed in the past 2 months and we are very excited as we move closer to seeing this call unfold.

Be Blessed!
Pastor Tim

Answering The Call

Answering the Call
As God is preparing us for Church Planting in New England, one of our prayers is that God would send to us more people that are in Love with Christ and passionate about Loving people.

I want to introduce to you a 3rd family, which will be re-planting their lives in New England:
Bobby & Misty Fogel!!!
Can you tell that I am excited? You bet cha!!! Pray for the Fogels and their children, Hunter, Hannah, Anna Marie, and Bella, as they make plans to transition to the North and share the Love of Christ by being Missionaries where the Live, Work, and Play.

The weekend of the 2nd of July, the Fogels, Jason Edwards and I, will be traveling to Connecticut & Massachusetts for a few days of planning and meeting partners in Church Planting.

Be Blessed!

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

New Daughter In Love

My youngest son Andrew, takes a bride this Saturday. Lynn and I will receive our second daughter in love. Her name will be Jamie Lyda. What an amazing thing to see how God brings people together for His glory.

As a parent, it really does matter that you not only feed and clothe your children, but teach them how to live and have relationships by example. What do I mean?

Well, as I think about this marriage that is about to happen, I am reminded that it was important for Andrew to eyewitness his parents to forgive each other. As a leader of his new home, he is now the lead disciple and he must forgive as Jesus did. How would he know what that looks like if it was not lived out in our home?

It was important for Andrew to eyewitness his dad pursue his mother. To serve his mother and for her to respond like wise. Please don't get me wrong here, this post is not about how Tim and Lynn Lyda have the perfect marriage, but it is a post about never giving up on what God intended and that is relationships between man and woman that brings glory to Himself.

Lynn and I have failed many times and we don't have it completely right all the time, but we choose to follow the Master.

1 John 1:7

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Parents, PRAY for your children, and their future spouses. God responds to the prayers of His children. This weekend we get to eyewitness God at work as He brings two beautiful people together.

Both Andrew and Jamie are charged to Love, Forgive, and Serve each other like Jesus did. The both of you must leave the families that you knew as children, and begin your lives together. This requires that you are more concerned with the opinions of God and each other that family and friends.

Andrew must lead and love, Jamie must follow and love, and the both must follow the Master for this ship to sail.

1 John 1:7 is clear... Follow the Master, and NEVER stop working on the marriage.

Love,

DAD

Meet Me on the Playground or Die

This week I was traveling back from Grand Rapids MI, and has the pleasure of sitting beside 9 year old Zack ( a third grader). He asked me if ever had "In School Suspension". NO I said. He said that he had. I asked why? His mother then leaned over and told him to ZIP IT! Zack looked between his legs and said "I'm good", and then continue to tell me, that he gave a kid a note that said "Meet me on the playground or die". That was enough to get him 3 days of ISS.

Why did you do that Zack?

He told me that he needed to get the boys attention, and thought that a note would be good enough. Apparently the dude that received the Zack note, had been treating a girl in the class very bad, and Zack was not going to let another day go by without correcting the wrong that he had been witnessing. I'm loving Zack by now. I asked him about his 3 days of ISS. He said it was the best 3 days of school ever in his life! For three days he was in Mr. Carson's office (the principle) making copies and talking ALL DAY to Mr. Carson.

He is a Good Shepherd.

As leaders of the church, are we willing to call things for what they are and protect the sheep, even from themselves? The Called Pastor must protect the flock from false preaching and watered down, feel good teaching. Many claim to be called but their lives still look very similar to the world that they claim that they have been called to change. The sheep and the church suffers when we don't address those issues

The question is:

Do I love people more that I love being safe?

"If Christ so loved the souls of men as to lay out Himself and deny Himself at this rate for salvation, then surely the ministers of Christ should be ready greatly to exert themselves and deny themselves and suffer for the sake of the salvation and happiness of souls"

- Jonathan Edwards

Matthew 10

Be Blessed!

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?

News!

New information on Church Planting in New England. Look around the site to see more info

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'