2012 Gallup Poll

Ed Stetzer latest blog has an update from Gallup in the topic of religion in America. Below is his article Gallup released new research yesterday on religiosity in America. Gallup's Religiosity Index is based on the importance of religion in the everyday lives of Americans and the data was taken from daily tracking polls throughout 2011.

The study notes:
Residents of Southern states are generally the most religious, underscoring the validity of the "Bible Belt" sobriquet often used to describe this region. Coupled with the Southern states in the
high-religiosity category is Utah, the majority of whose residents are Mormon -- the most religious group in America today.

On the other hand, residents of New England and a number of far Western states tend to be the least religious. These numbers should come as no surprise to us. There has been little regional change in religiosity throughout the past few decades. In our lifetime, the South has always been seen as the Bible Belt. New England and and the West have predominantly been less religious states.

While many may lament the irreligiosity of much of the nation, we should be encouraged about the work God is doing through the local church and denominations in states shown to be less religious. My denomination refers to many of these states as "frontier states" and has made a conscious effort to provide more resources and church planters in both the West and New England.

There are many stories like that of Jared Wilson, who migrated out of the Bible Belt to a less religious area for the sake of the gospel. Jared left his church in Nashville three years ago to pastor a small church in rural Vermont-- the least religious state in America. He'd be the first to admit the soil is hard in New England. But he'd also be the first to proclaim the power contained in the gospel plows even the hardest soil like a hot knife through butter.

Yes the stats are alarming-- and they should be. But know that there are faithful men and women of God proclaiming the gospel to a dying world in these areas. And they would covet your prayers-- and your help. by Ed Stetzer

Heading North

Pastor Tim

New England Spring

New England Spring
It’s always exciting when spring starts to show its face. I feel the excitement as it means that Easter is coming and what a wonderful time of bringing worship to the one true King.

On April 1st LifeSong Church will begin a week of Love Invades, where many LifeSongers will take the week off from work to Love on the community of Lyman, through food distribution, free oil changes, free haircuts, and backyard bible clubs throughout the community. During this week there will also be a LifeSong team in Jacmel Haiti serving the community there.

Tim and Lynn Love Invades week
Lynn and I will be traveling to Manchester Connecticut from April 6th through the 11th. The main focus of this trip is prayer. We will be prayer walking the city of Manchester and some of the surrounding towns. There will also be a time that we get to visit with friends and pastors that have planted the gospel in Connecticut. Since we are moving closer to begin our lives in New England, we want to use this time to bring Glory to God as we worship Him this Easter in Connecticut.

Tim and Lynn Planting Update
Many of you are praying for us and we can see the results of being lifted up. Many of you have supported this call on our lives financially, and I want to say Thank You! for the support and prayers. The dollars that God has blessed you with; that you are now being investing in the Kingdom is awesome. We still have a ways to go, to get to the needed monthly support and we are trusting God to continue to supply for the need. Thank You Go Givers!!!!!

We are now moved into Matthew and Brittany’s house (son and daughter in-love), and will be there for the next few months. Lynn will undergo knee replacement surgery in April then will have a few months of rehab. During this time I will complete my work with Planting the Gospel church planting school, and interview for jobs in Connecticut.

My prayer for all of you this week:
Find your JOY in the Cross!

Heading North
Pastor Tim

Inside Out

After spending some time in the Gospels, I have been impacted by some WOW moments of Christ. One in particular is in Matthew 17:1-8 the Transfiguration, when Jesus
allowed Peter, James and John to see his glory. These dudes were blown away by Gods power and greatness.

Moses and Elijah had also appeared to them in this event. When I think about this, Moses and Elijah had other encounters of God, and they “Glowed” as well. Moses on Mt Sinai and Elijah at Mt Horeb. Theirs came from being exposed to Gods glory and it had an visible outward effect.

But then Jesus takes these 3 disciples to Mt Tabor and his glory and power was shown from within, because his is the Son of God. Man…. what power is that? That blows me away!!

So here are some thoughts:

1. I want permanent change in my life, which can only be performed by God, not by me living a “good” life. Permanent meaning you can’t go back to where you have came, because the old cocoon is gone, what used to be a caterpillar is now something beautiful that God created.

2. I want to be blown away every morning, everyday.

3. In the same verses, God says “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” The Gospel of Jesus is worth our attention.

4. You can’t camp on the Mountain top. After the 3 boys had this encounter with the King, God used them in mighty ways to spread the Gospel of Jesus.

When you have exposed your heart to Jesus, God can rearrange your furniture, and being obedient means to trust Him, and what He is doing by using you for the kingdom, not trusting what you can do for the kingdom. I want to be immersed in his presence because the Gospel is everything!

Do you find yourself asking over and over, “God what is your will in my life?” Maybe you are standing in the middle of it, and it’s just simply time to make a decision. The closer you are to
the gospel, the better decisions you make…I stole that one from a NY pastor :)

To be in awe of Gods glory changes you inside out. I love the last part of JD Greear’s gospel prayer:

“As I pray I will remember your compassion by the cross and measure your power by the resurrection”

Heading North
Pastor Tim

Empty Chairs Open Doors

Empty Chairs Open Doors
New England churches are over run with empty chairs and unfortunately their doors are closing. Why? As Vermont church planter stated in one of his blogs “conservative churches became more insular, opting to self-protect in their religious “bunkers” instead of engaging their communities in gospel mission”. I believe we see the beginnings of this activity in the South.

As God points Lynn and me to the precious of Hartford County CT, we can see a little more clearly the groups of people that LifeSong Manchester will seek to connect with:

Churched / Reached
This group of people is not our main focus, but we will seek to partner with as many like minded, missional churches as we can in Hartford County.

Churched / Unreached
This community of people is mostly Catholic or at least by association. For this person to connect with this new church is huge, because it would mean in many cases that the persons family would reject them and or a least their decision. The break away from tradition is a hurdle that many will face, but I believe that the Gospel will penetrate some in this category.

Un Churched / Reached
Because of the close proximity to a major hub like Hartford, many “out of towners” are in the county, and they are Christ followers that simply cannot find a body of believers that they can connect with and be discipled, even though when you Google Connecticut for churches, it is as “doted” as the South. LifeSong Manchester will be a place where these people can make connections and grow.

Un Churched / Un reached
This appears to be the largest population with the ages of 18 to 35 year olds. These people have their backs to the cross. They are not looking for God. They are looking for a purpose and fulfillment in life, and have not found it yet. This group is one that much of our prayers and efforts will be placed. We will seek to build relationships and do life with these people.

As my good friend Serge Chevalier said, “the harvest in Connecticut is wide open, and people are primed to hear and respond to the Gospel”.

We are asking God to use us for His glory, and share the good news of the King. There are empty chairs, but HE has opened doors. In the harvest, we will disciple those who will make disciples. My prayer is that when this new church is launched, that it will be pregnant with the next planting of the gospel in new England, because:

Matthew 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

Heading North
Pastor Tim

Planting The Gospel

This past week, we had an opportunity to attend Velocity Church Planting conference at Mt Lake church in Cumming Ga. Lynn and I enjoy so much being in those environments because it challenges us as well as growing our hearts together toward the call in our lives to plant the gospel in Manchester Connecticut.

This morning as I skim through my notes from the week, I would like to share some snip-its:

On Planting the Gospel:

I am not alone (Exodus 33:12-14). He goes with you and ahead of you.
Gods pace is not my pace. Waiting is a faith issue.
If I do not finish with my family, I do not finish well.
Am I content with Jesus only? Because Jesus is enough I am fully in Christ,
I am secure in Christ.
Jesus + Anything = Emptiness.
When Jesus said “it is finished” Satan lost his power… we need not to forget that.
You can’t lead until you bleed. Follow Jesus so close that you will be associated with Him.
Love God more than you Love the vision.

On Marriage:

Pray in the house, pray together, and pray for each other.
Dream BIG dreams for your marriage.

Believing the best about your spouse creates trust, not distrust.
Absence of conflict is not the same as intimacy, but no level 10 responses to level 2 issues.
Carry each other’s Armor.
Leading from insecurity will cost you more than you think (Hebrews 14:14-15).

Tim and Lynn Update:

Our house has sold and we will be moved out by April 15th. God continues to us this time for us to
connect with others that have a heart to plant the gospel in New England. Our prayer is that future employment would land us in Manchester CT by the summer.

In the mean time we are meeting with many people and sharing the vision that God has birthed in our hearts. We are so blessed that so many of you are praying for us, encouraging us and sending us. Lynn and I can’t thank you enough for your love and support!

Heading North
Pastor Tim

Happy New Year!
Today I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for praying for Lynn
and I, and to give you an update. 2 weeks ago, we have had an offer on our
house, which is still being worked out. While we wait, we continue to down size
to prepare for small apartment living.

I interviewed for a job in Connecticut, and that door has been closed.
Currently there is another employment opportunity that will be confirmed by the
end of January. We are continuing to pray for guidance and discernment as we
move forward.

We have sold my pick up and God has blessed by putting us in a AWD
vehicle.

These latest activities move us closer to an arrival date in Manchester
CT. Spring would be a great time to relocate :) Lynn and I believe in prayer
and we have seen God move in ways that can only bring glory to HIM. Please
continue to pray for us as we are asking God to send us to a Spiritually dark
place to point people to Christ... to Plant the Gospel in Manchester CT

Heading North,
Pastor Tim

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