Holy Discontent

Its great being back home, in the USA, in the greatest town in the world. Lyman. Now having a week of allowing my mind to process what Lynn and I experienced in Scotland, I would like to share some thoughts with you.

The Scots are some of the most wonderful people that I have met. They are people that I loved sharing life with. They are also a people that need Christ. In terms of hearing the gospel, they are not part of the 10/40 window (see definition at bottom), but a people that live in a country where some of the most important events took place in terms of the expansion of Christianity throughout the world, but less than 5% of the population have a personal relationship with Christ.

Why?
In general the church has become irrelevant. Just like the States, the church has focused on gardens, choir robes, stained glass, and not people. The result is you have a people group that lives in a country where the gospel is in print, access to it is possible, but people are lost and are just doing time. Their degree of lostness carries the same weight as the 10/40 window.

Holy Discontent Definition
Being so broken hearted about something, which causes you to do something to make a difference. Discontent without “Holy” means you turn and walk away, or you get it out of your eye.

Ever been discontent with family? Did you resolve that this is just the way it is, or did you seek to make a difference in your own family? Have you ever been discontent with church? In my past, I have been part of “big” church and church government, and that prepared me more to be a Senator than a Christ Follower. It brought me to a place that a decision HAD to be made. Get it out of my eye, or go and make a difference. Getting me to the place of my Holy Discontent was painful and I lost friends & community along the way. But had it not been for those experiences, I would be just “doing time”.

I told Jeff Hickman a few days ago that LifeSong for me is what it looks like when a group of people say “No More”. No more going on mission trips, but living a missional life. No more superficial relationships with people, but living in each others lives through Life Groups. No more of doing the things that the church has always done (internally focused programs) and call it outreach or evangelism. I want my church, my family, to get close to the “hurt and pain” of this world and engage in kingdom work. That my friend, is true Contentment. We will be most content, when we are giving or lives away.

I have a burden in my heart for the Scots and I am in prayer for them. I will continue to listen and pray for any opportunity that the Lord may present to me and LifeSong to make a difference in the land of Wallace.

John 10:16
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Jesus

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim

The 10/40 window is simply a term used to describe a region of the world within 10 and 40 degrees latitude from Western Africa to Eastern Asia. If you were to draw it on a map, the top would go from Portugal through Japan and the bottom would go from Guinea through the bottom tip of India all the way to the Philippines. Most of the people who have not had an opportunity to hear the gospel, live here. The 31 least reached countries in the world are in this "window."

Praise from Scotland

A few days ago, Lynn and I were making our way back south from the Highlands. We found a costal town called Kirkcaldy, and decided to stay the night there. Once we got settled in, we realized it was one of our least favorite towns/village to be at. It was time for dinner and walked for a good while before we found any thing open.

There was a small pizza place called “Elevens”. A young lady waited on us. After talking with her, we found out that she was a young single mother, which lived in this small town her whole life. I sensed that God was doing something here. I asked her if she knew if she would go to heaven or not. Kelly said “I hope so”. We asked her if she could sit with us while there were no customers. Kelly allowed me to share the Gospel with her, using the bridge method, which many of you have seen in small groups.

Monday June 30th, Kelly gave her heart to Christ. I told her that many of you at LifeSong will be praying for her and her son.

Kelly,
WE are so happy for you and your new life in Christ. AS you read this blog, please know that Tim & Lynn, and your brothers and sisters in the U.S.A. are praying for you. Remember to listen to God by staying in His word (Bible), and talk to Him daily.

Love in Christ,
Tim & Lynn Lyda

John 10:27-30
27. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
30. I and My Father are one.”

Update From The Highlands

Lynn and I stayed in the city of Ineverness a few days ago. We meet Ray and Christine that operate the Bed & Breakfast that we stayed at. With in a few minutes of conversation, they wanted to know why, while they where in Fla. for vacation, there where so many churches. Wow! The door was open. We stayed up to midnight just sharing life and had an opportunity to pray for them. We left with them a bible reading plan and the Invitation CD. Keep them in your prayers.

That night we got to experience (by chance) the Scottish Highland Military bag pipers, as they paid tribute to a solider that was retiring after 33 years of service. I’ll have more on that story later.

Galatians 6:10


Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim

Best Friend

What is a best friend? What does it mean? Does it ever make you feel like you are missing something when you here someone talk about a best friend, or when you see two people “hanging out” together? Some people seem to have 100’s of “best” friends. How can that be? Well I’m no different that any other person and have some opinions on the matter.

Webster says:
a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile.

What ever. I don’t consider someone who is not being hostile toward me, a friend.

God says:
Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:6
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Luke 5:20
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven

What do we need to understand from this? A friend is someone who will remove their mask and allow you to see the good and bad of their life. The second part is “Best Friend” has the “want to” and the ability to forgive. “Best friend” means that I want to see more great things to come to that friend, than comes my way. Being friendless or “Best” friendless is a choice.

Maggie our border collie is a great friend. She senses when I’m down, when I am happy, and she expresses her love for me with a massive flexing of her body that I call the Maggie Wiggle. One time when returning from a trip she was so happy to see me, she peed on her self. Now I am not suggesting that … well you get the visual, all I am saying is as a person close to me said, “ In order to have a friend, you must first be a friend”. The next time you look around and wonder where the friends are, remember that we have to be intentional just like Maggie. We are the ones that are to go, and not wait for someone to speak or call. WE are the ones that must walk across the room.

Tomorrow I will travel to Edinburgh with my best friend. She has been my best friend for 25 years, and has put up with a lot of Crazy from my life. She has forgiven and been forgiven, she chooses to give, over receiving. She still loves me when I remove the mask.

Lynn, thank you for your love and best freindshipness.

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim

Man vs Wild

I finally had an opportunity to get my new 29er (wheel size of my new mountain bike) out on the trail. This was the same trail that my full suspension met its end. I mounted up on this oversize Mountain bike and hit the trail hard. 15 minutes into the ride I realized pretty quick that I was climbing quicker and descending on the single track at a good pace.

Moving fast and enjoying the ride, my left arm caught some briars and I starting bleeding. In the mountain bike world, when you bleed from a ride, you have become one with the trail. It’s kind of a marriage. The bleeding was making me feel manly so I searched for some bugs to eat in order to seal the “Man vs Wild” deal, but the only thing present was some bees, so I had to settle showing off my battle wound to my woman. Lynn, with all of her love said, “that’s nice”. Well never mind, it still was a cool ride.

Blood is Life
Blood is Proof of Life
Blood Seals the Deal…its kind of a marriage

Matthew 26:28

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:24

And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

Luke 22:20

Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

John 6:53

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

Romans 3:24 -25
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim

Mountain Bikes

About Bikes
Last week while riding @ USCU, I destroyed my mountain bike. It broke my heart. It was my first full suspension bike, and the one that I have raced twice. This bike was such a natural fit for me and how I ride. When riding it, the bike became an extension of my arms and legs. I could downhill fast, climb steady, and cross water hazards without drowning. I logged more than 700 miles of trail riding with that bike, which translates into a lot of abuse for a mountain bike. This bike will now be stored in my basement, as I have come to the conclusion that I can’t part with it, even in its broken condition.

About Family
Family is an extension of who we are. Some families are broken beyond repair due to death and sin. Other families are damaged because of un-met expectations, and listen to more of what Satan has to say, than speaking to and listening our Father. I’m convinced that most people want healing within their families but the sins of pride and Unforgiveness, seem to be the bigger giant. Lynn and I long to have healing in our own families, but just don’t know how to do it. Like many of you who try it in your own strength, it seems to bring only temporary results. I think that I’m learning something here about Trust, Faith, and Prayer.

About Church
Just like earthly family we have something in common. Blood. With that said, if we focus our efforts on what we have in common (HIM) then we see less of (US). At the end of the day its about glorifying our Lord. The expectations that you bring to your family or church has to be about (HE) and not (WE).

About Jesus
As I sometimes do, I tend to look back and reflect on my walk with Christ.
I have been taken to places that I would have never gone by myself. I have been disoriented many times due to my inability to trust the path on which I was placed on and the ONE who placed me there. I was never alone when I thought that the downhill was going to never end. Climbing trials on a bike, I relied on my legs and lungs. Climbing to a Spiritual Mile Marker, I had only one option and that was to rely on His strength and guidance.

About New Bikes & New Life
My bike can not be repaired. I have purchased a new one (see picture). New bikes are not cheap. Jesus repairs brokenness, even when in our eyes there is no hope of repair. The type of repair He does is everlasting, complete, and not cheap. I’m so thankful that Christ chose to repair me, because in HIS eyes, I (we) are beautiful to Him. My prayer is that I reflect Him to the Precious and I can testify that what ever type of dirt & brokenness you bring, you are Precious to Jesus.

PS. Looking back while mountain biking is not healthy for you or your bike. Looking back on past sins or successes normally causes you to miss a future blessing that has been prepared for you.

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim

Daughter in Love

Today is our Daughter in Love’s Graduation from college. Brittany is a amazing young woman who has blessed us so much with her smile, love for the lost, love for family, but most importantly her desire to please God. Lynn and I are so proud of her, and we celebrate this mile marker in her life. We ask that all of our friends and family to join hearts together today and celebrate what God has done.

Britt, we LOVE YOU!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Tim & Lynn

Tents

Realizing that not all of you that read my blog, also read the blogs of the other pastors of LifeSong Church, I have included in today’s update a guest blogger… Senior Pastor Jeff Hickman.
If you have visited LifeSong church or bumped into a LifeSong member in the community:
You will hear that we are about being missionaries where we live, work, and play.

You will hear that we will pitch tents, not build Cathedrals.
You will hear that we will be part of a movement, not to build monuments.
You will hear that we will avoid like the plague any activity that brings focus on ministry that fits only in the confines of the church building or only focuses on “Church Folk”.

From Jeff Hickman
It seems that the talk of the Christian "blogger world" is about Ed Stetzer's blog called "breaking news". The latest statistics from the Southern Baptist show that last year was the second time in the denominations history that there was a decline in membership. This is really not breaking news. It is has taken a long time for us to get here as a denomination. I am not a guru on this subject however, I do have my own opinions. I believe that LifeSong Network can help churches get back on track.

How?

The greatest error we made as a denomination was when the tail started wagging the dog. Local associations, state conventions, NAMB, and the International Mission board were created for specific purposes and we have relied upon them greatly. In most instances they have been effective, however it has moved the mindset in the pew from missional to mission-minded. People were taught to give and let somebody else go. This shift in thought and behavior within the church has created a crisis. Overcoming this mentality will be very difficult because it is built into our "DNA". Institutional thinking has been built into our pulpits, constitutions, budgets and attitudes. We must find a way to move the church back to missional living and destroy our institutional mentality.

It is very important that you hear me affirm our missions organizations. We need to continue to support our missionaries, but we must abandon the thought that our mission minded activities will solve this crisis.

LifeSong Network is aiming to help churches return to personal responsibility with our communities. We want to plant churches that build in a missional DNA. Churches that can see the importance of every person becoming a missionary where they live, work and play.

I believe that through coaching, pastoral encouragement and visional renewal pastors in new churches or in existing churches can see radical transformation in their churches and communities. We need to embrace a lateral growth plan where we are not looking to build kingdoms, but we help each other build the body. The church is one body. Many different names, but one mission. -Pastor Jeff Hickman

Gather, Grow, & Go

Pastor Tim

Heroes

For whatever reason in my quietness this past week, I have thought about our 2 sons a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I think about them daily, but last week they just seemed to be on my mind and heart. Like any parent, I enjoy telling stories about our kids, like the time Matthew drove the car into the den, or Andrew and I trying to camp at the lake during a lake wind advisory. There is also this major disease that Matt & Drew have which effects their ability to maintain car keys…(my sister Kim has the same disease).

But I can not forget the look on Matt’s face when his bride Brittany came to him at the altar, and to see how she has partnered with him in ministry, or the look in Andrews’ eyes as he shares how God has spoken to him while studying a John Maxwell series…that’s almost the same look that he gives when he says “Erin”.

To be quite serious I am amazed how God has grown our two sons into Men that seem to be fearless in their pursuit to follow the Messiah. This passion and pursuit has impacted the ones that they love, as well as the ones that have been loved by them. By no means are they perfect, but they simply are a joy & blessing to be with. I often worried as a young dad, was I doing the “right” things, and even now I find my self thinking “is there something that I could be missing?”

I wondered was I too hard on them when it was time to spank them. Yep I said spank. That was an activity that was not any fun for us or them, and I realize that many disagree with the method, and do not spank, but as a famous TV Dr. said “how’s that working out for you?” At the Lyda house it was used as one of many tools to grow men. Prayer and Love are the other tools. I don’t know a lot of things, but I am glad that the tables have turned, and I now get be the one that is daily, and weekly learning from some men that pursue Christ, that not too many years ago I was driving them to baseball.

Matt & Drew… my heroes

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim

Prayer Walking

In the past few months here at LifeSong, you have heard a lot of discussion about
“Prayer Walking”.

So what does that mean?

http://www.waymakers.org/ is an organization that has championed this type of prayer activity in the local church body.


Below is what they have to say about Prayer Walking:

“Many Christians have been learning to quietly pray in the places that they live, work or play. We've come to call this sort of on-site intercession "prayerwalking."
Prayerwalking is simply praying in the very places we expect God to bring forth his answers. Prayerwalking is usually a low-profile affair: Friends or family stroll two-by-two through their own neighborhoods, schools and work places, praying as they go.

Once in a while the prayers can be demonstrative, but most prayerwalking is fairly quiet. It's usually being on the scene without making one.

As you pray God's promises with specific homes or worksites in view, you'll find that hope for those people begins to grow. You'll begin to see people as God might view them. You'll likely find yourself becoming more interested in the welfare of the people you are praying for. In other words, you might find yourself becoming the kind of neighbor that you always wanted to be.

Watch for the ways God impresses you to display his love in practical acts of kindness.

Be ready to offer to pray with your neighbors as opportunity may arise. Ask God to give you opportunity to explain clearly how people can enjoy friendship with God by the power of the gospel.

Check out the different sections on this website and the resources we have available. In a few years we'll be living in a prayed-for world and you will be part of it!”

Gather, Grow, & Go
Pastor Tim