Diary of a Peacemaker

Do Not Worry

2012-01-05T09:13:00.002-05:00

Matthew 6:25-34

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day isits own trouble.

Came across this Scripture passage in my devotions today, and it couldn't have come at a better time, my God is so awesome. For the first time in our 18 years of marriage, my wife and I are experiencing some financial difficulties. My wife is so good at managing our finances and does a great job of keeping it all in check. But there comes a time when the bills start piling up and there just isn't enough money coming in to pay everything that is due, on time. So with much prayer and communication, we have learned to place our worries in God's hands. We have tightened our budget, and still have some work to do, but I am confident that we will get through this period of difficulty in our lives, without letting it stress us out.

Paul wrote,

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. (Phil.4:12)

So we are learning how to be content with what we have and are, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, developing the discipline of stewardship. And the end result will be that God is glorified in our lives...especially in the one area that tends to cause the most stress within a marriage...money/finances

idk:what is God up to?

2012-01-03T19:28:00.002-05:00

Got to admit, 2011 turned out to be a year when I had no clue as to what God is doing...for the most part anyway...speaking of myself and my own life, that is. Can we ever truly know what God is up to? (rhetorical question)

Have you ever felt like that?

In 2010 we spent most of the year at the Troy YMCA, using their community room each Sunday for our weekly CORE Church gatherings, but as 2011 approached, and after five years into this church re-plant, my wife and I were tired, warn out from trying to make this ministry work. We felt led by the Spirit to take a break from church planting and we did just that. We still continued to reach out to a few adults and 15-20 students who are still a part of our church family. We began bringing the Jr & Sr high kids to Grace Fellowship's youth ministry gatherings where we have met and befriended youth pastor Jason Coombs and dozens of wonderful adults who serve at Grace, as well as many great students. Additionally, my wife and I have become more involved with serving at Grace and taking part in small groups. In September 2011 I went to the 201 next step class and proceeded with the process of becoming a covenant member of Grace Fellowship. Not wanting to be just a name on a membership roll, I began praying about where I can serve and where me and my family fit in at Grace, and God has opened new doors for all of us; myself, my wife, and my two sons.

Another great and effective door God has opened to us in 2011 is at Matthew 25 ministries' weekly community meal hosted by United Church of Cohoes each Saturday afternoon and led by UCC's own David Stowell. My family and I have become weekly regulars, serving every Saturday along side Mr. Stowell and a great group of volunteers.

So we are looking forward in 2012...still don't always have a clue as to what God is doing, but I know it will always be something good (Romans 8:28) and that what He is doing is made clearer to me through Scripture and through serving in the body of Christ

happy new year = happy new music

2012-01-03T19:08:00.002-05:00

I am thoroughly enjoying some new music purchases I've recently made. Thanks to my lovely wife and two great sons for the Christmas gift card to Living Word/Parable bookstore...my favorite place to shop, located in Latham on rt.7...Peter Harris Plaza.

So here is what I'm listening to

Epiphany 2012

2012-01-03T14:34:00.005-05:00

I was looking over my calendar for this first week in the new year and noticed that Epiphany is coming up this Friday, January 6th. This is one of those annual events that I know of but rarely stop to think about. Growing up in the Roman Catholic tradition, I knew this date somewhat well as a boy. I had served as an altar boy from the time of my first communion (age 7) up through my teenage/high school years and had served a few Epiphanies during those years. Maybe it just became another ritual that we observed once a year, like the numerous holy days that popped up each year; a mass, communion, liturgy, prayers, hymns, sit-kneel-stand, readings from the Psalms and Gospel, waving of the incense, etc. All of these things, maybe not in the exact order they occur(ed) in these observances, became plain to me after awhile; common, ordinary, things that we just did because that's what we were taught; religion, tradition, culture, dogma.

noun, plural -nies.

( initial capital letter ) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to thegentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.

an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.

a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality oressential meaning of something, usually initiated by somesimple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

a literary work or section of a work presenting, usuallysymbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

giving out grace:what does it look like?

2012-01-02T20:25:00.002-05:00

Grace is a word I hear alot in Christian circles and it is a major theme throughout Scripture. Grace is what God pours out on us through the finished work of Christ on the cross. Grace is God's undeserved, unmerited favor. God's mercy means that he withholds what we do deserve and His grace is His extending to us what we do not deserve. We deserve an eternal existence in the flames of hell but instead, God lavishes upon us the gift of eternal life. He has redeemed us through the shed blood of Christ...He has forgive our sins.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.(Ephesians 2:8&9)

So grace is God's love demonstrated toward mankind. Because we are all sinners, we need God's grace. we cannot save ourselves, so He did it for us, once for all time, by sending His Son to take the punishment for sin and to pay the price that the sin of the world demanded. Because of this we have grace from God. We did not nor can not earn His grace. It is freely given at a great cost.

We who believe in this finished, redemptive work of Christ become the recipients of God's grace. Grace is a hard thing to grasp; especially the idea that God loved us while we were still sinners. And even in our sinful rebellion He loves us and never lers go of us. He knows that we are human...that we make mistakes and that we are limited in our knowledge of Him and inable to live up to His holy standard. So, in His mercy He had overlooked our past sins, not holding them against us, and in His grace He grants us eternal life and an inheritance that is immeasurable in value.

There is the Biblical definition of grace. So what am I to do with it? As I walk this earth in this body of flesh, born again of the Spirit, forgiven of my sins, knowing what awaits me at the end of this life, will I keep it to myself, or will I reach out to others with this same love God had poured out on me? And what does that look like on a practical level?

It means forgiving our debtors, as God has forgiven us. It means not holding grudges or harboring ill feelings towards those who may have wronged us.It means recognizing that all humans are imperfect and that things happen in the lives of others that we often don't know about or consider, which may be contributing factors when they did us wrong. It means realizing we all make mistakes. The one who dod me wrong os no more perfect than I am. God shed His grace on me, a sinner. Therefore, as the recipient of His free gift of love, my response id to extend this same grace to others; especially those who have done me wrong.

With the HUGE debt I owe to God gone, I have no room or reason to hold onto the sins others have committed against me. God's command to us is to love...love Him with all our being and our neighbor as ourself. God is asking us to give out to one another what we have received from Him

Matthew 18:21-35 (New King James Version)

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶ The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
²⁸ “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ³⁰ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
³⁵ “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

H 2 O

2011-07-26T10:39:00.003-04:00

I read and article, recently, about an 18yr old college boy from California who died from water intoxication. Not being familiar with the term, I googled it to get more info. Come to find out, water intoxication is the result of consuming too much water too fast. This boy literally drowned, from the inside out, after being forced to drink 2 gallons of water as fast as he could, which was about two minutes. As a result, his kidneys became bloated and his bladder burst. Soon after, his brain began to swell and he went into a coma, which he never recovered from.

This got me to thinking about water, which is essential to sustaining human life and for maintaining good health. Infact, if we do not consume enough water, we can dehydrate and develop a host of health problems. Dry skin and kidney stones are two common ailments related to water defficiency. If we go without water for more than a few days, we will literally dry up and die.

What an intersting paradox. Water, which is essential to human life can also kill us if we drink too much or not enough.

Jesus said,
“Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

In Christ we have eternal water. Even though these human bodies will die, in Christ we have eternal life, which runs through us like a refreshing stream of water. Always abundant...so much so that it spills over onto other people and they become refreshed by the life if Christ flowing through thosw who believe in and follow Christ, the eternal Son of God.

Do you have this water within you? if not, come to the well and drink!

Church Planting 101: Be Broken!

2011-04-02T11:41:00.006-04:00

It has been five years since my family and I moved from our comfortable home in the city of Schenectady, NY, to the very neighborhood and streets I ran and played in as a boy. It has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. God has used this time to stretch us, test us, even cause us (many times) to want to give up and go somewhere else; perhaps even give up the effort to plant a church in North Troy, NY. But, the same God who has called us, anointed us and tested us, is saying, "I'm not finished yet, your journey is just beginning." So, after five years of heartache and frustration, and a deep seated feeling of utter failure, God is doing something in the midst of us and the small group of disciples we have been able (by the grace of God) to raise up. CONFESSION: they are mostly kids! Some of them we have known for most of the time we have been here, and all of them come from homes and families that are far from picture perfect; in fact, I would say, mostly dysfunctional. But, then again, who is truly functional without Christ? And that is the greatest lesson God has been teaching me these past five years; what it looks like to be dysfunctional and how to minister in the midst of this reality. Having worked in rescue ministry for more than a decade and having been to seminary, I thought I had all I needed to hit the ground running and plant this church. Yet, what I knew and had experienced up to this point was only scratching the surface. Real on the job training began when we said yes to God's call and came to the place He was sending us to. I now know, first hand, how Abraham felt when he arrived at the place God had sent him (and his family) to, and he then had to dwell in the land, by the same faith that brought him there. (Hebrews 11:8-10). I can imagine Abraham scratching his head in frustration, and wondering if God really had spoken to him, or of he had merely followed his own wishful thinking. I can imagine Sarah, his wife, not quite seeing things the way he did, and his son, Isaac, mixing in with the wrong crowd of youth, and all of the testing and stretching God put him through. I can imagine what it was like for Peter to be sifted like wheat by Satan Luke 22:31-32 (New King James Version) 31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” I've (We've) been there! But all for God's purpose and glory, so that we will be prepared to minister in the midst of this community. Paul said, 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. (1 Cor. 9:22-23) NKJV I wonder if Paul did this on his own, or if God stretched him, tested him, and allowed him to be sifted as wheat? So, here we are, five years into this journey called "Church Planting" having desired to give up and walk away more times than I can remember, yet the grace and sovereignty of God keeps us here, because the work has just begun and we are better equipped to reach out to our neighbors. God has incarnated his Son into our lives so that we can incarnate Christ as He lives and breathes within His servants. The biggest hurdle we have had to overcome is ourselves; that is, God has had to break us of our own human nature and desires so that He can do what He desires through us. Church planting is not just about showing up with a plan and a strategy. It is about faithful obedience...going to the place God is sending us, dwelling in the land by faith, amongst the people who live there. Just as God had promised a land to Abraham, so He has promised a place to all who are faithful and obedient to His call, ESPECIALLY when we don't have the whole picture before we start, or even when we get there. Jesus prepares church planters today in the same way that He did with His first disciples. We must go through and endure the testings, trials and sifting. And when we do, we will be ready...fit for the Master's use...broken of our own will and desires. I know what it looks like and feels like to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Him, because it is not something I did on my own, but a process He initiated and had brought me through. And not only me, but my wife and children as well. And as we continue in this calling we will be able stand on a solid foundation of faith and to lead others that we meet along the way!

Ukraine Missions Trip: Getting Ready!

2010-12-14T22:02:00.000-05:00

Ukraine Missions Trip: Getting Ready!: "Alright, this is the Ukraine blog. So, just last Sunday, Allen Lindeman said he had wanted to join us on the trip. We immediately rushed hom..."

Preaching/teaching through Jeremiah

2010-11-06T12:46:00.002-04:00

This week we will begin a series through the book of Jeremiah. This is a great book to preach from; especially to youth because Jeremiah was just a boy himself when God called him to preach to Israel. Also, the times of Jeremiah are parallel to our modern day...corrupt government, and the love of many have grown cold because everyone is consumed with seeking their own way instead of God's way...the one and only true way to find peace and meaning in life. Jeremiah was sent with a message of repentance, which was not received very well. Tune in and see what God says to us today through the writings of the prophet Jeremiah

PD's weekend wrap

2010-11-06T12:15:00.002-04:00

My take on Halloween!
a week after halloween...the snickers and Reeses are gone, along w/the 3 musketeers and butterfingers...no more twix, kit-kats, m&ms or milky way bars...all that's left to filch from the kids' candy bags is that bottom of the bag stuff that noone really wants to eat...but you do anyway cuz that's all thats left. Now I'm chewing on this apple/lemon flavored taffy-like thing...not sure what it's called. I think next year they should start earlier and make them stay out later. if they come back w/less than a full bag, send them back out...and tell them..ask for the good stuff...none of that cheap $1 bag/family dollar crap candy!
‎...or, when you start sorting through the candy, you know, for safety reasons, you just excercise parental preference and put some of the good stuff aside for "quality assurance purposes." Well, you do have the task of testing the candy to make sure it is not poisonous or filled w/razor blades or needles. Just tell the kids you think that pile over there looks suspicious and you will do the dirty work and test it to determine if it is okay to eat...and you'll let them know the results in a day or two...after all threats of danger will have passed...literally as the trick or treat loot exits your digestive track.

Is it Christmas already?
All of a sudden everyone is talking about Christmas. I saw it posted on several of my facebook friends' profiles...48 shopping days til Christmas...and the stores are all ablazing w/Christmas cheer, they like the sound of ring, ring, ring...of cash registers that is! Halloween just went by and we're jumping right into Christmas already! what about the big turkey day/thanksgiving that falls in between. That is my favorite holiday...turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, all smothered w/gravy...finish it off with a slice or two of pumpkin pie and then work it off by watching some college football...now we're talking! After I get my fill of my favorite T-day fixins' then I'll start getting into the Christmas spirit...but not until I fill my pie hole w/some pie!

big life questions

2010-11-04T15:48:00.003-04:00

One of my 13yr. old son's 8th grade classmates had posted the following questions on his facebook status:

Why am I here?

Who am I?

Where do I belong?

Why do I think of you?

Why do I dream about you?

Why do I Exist?

I thought that was pretty awesome for a jr. high schooler, but then I remembered being about the same age when I began asking those big life questions. We all ask these questions at some point in our lives. So I asked some of the youths that I know within this age group and I found it to be true. 90+% of them are already seeking the answers to these Big Life Questions. So, I am embracing the challenge and thankful for the opportunity to help some of them find the answers to these questions and point them to the One who holds the keys to the great mysteries of life; the hidden truths and abstract ideas that cannot be seen with the naked eye, but can be seen through the eyes of faith, as they transition from being children to teenagers...and onto adulthood. I pray that they will continue to ask the Big Life Questions and seek the answers and find a personal relationship with the one true God!

Father, forgive me! It's been one whole year since my last blog entry

2010-11-02T13:44:00.004-04:00

Wow! can't believe a whole year has gone by since I last posted here, but indeed it has been! One year and a day to be exact.

So what have I/we been up to? What's new at CORE Church of Troy? 2010 has been the most challenging year I have faced since we arrived in Troy nearly 5 years ago...so challenging that I really, truly wanted to give up and go and do something else with my life. I made a new year's resolution at the end of '09 to be more passionate about ministry and life and general. I truly wanted to pursue and experience the abundant, joy filled life that Jesus came to give us and to pass that onto others. However, the joy-stealer (aka Satan), kept at it, using little things to get at me. But we have pressed on and persevered, and here we are at the near end of 2010...still pursuing the great commission call here in Troy, NY.

Major developments for 2010 so far

Moved from the dilapitated storefront we were renting. The landlord wanted to up the rent and additional $200.00 per month without fixing any of the building's prevailing problems. The city of Troy's code enforcement unit came through the building back in March and shut it down for various code violations, giving us until April 1 to vacate. We began meeting at the church parsonage, which we continued to do through the spring and summer months. We also had church in the park several times during this past summer. However, we saw our small group grow from a dozen or so, to about 20, and our small home was stretched for space. Don't know how house churches handle the issue of growth; perhaps by multiplying house churches. We, however, thought it might be good to find affordable space that can accomodate church growth.
Our move to Troy Family YMCA

We looked at a few available spaces during the spring and summer months, but none that we felt were adequate. So we decided to wait it out and trust that God would lead us to where He wants us to be. I had been thinking about our local YMCA for some time, and after praying about it I approached the branch director who was very receptive of our proposal to meet in YMCA space. We had out first meeting at the Y on October 3. Five Sundays have now passed since we signed the usage/rental agreement. There are a few bugs to work out, but for the most part, the arrangement is working nicely. The best part is that the YMCA provides a safe, family friendly environment, which is more conducive to church growth. We are now talking with the YMCA staff about expanding usage of their space to possibly include their teen/rec room, whic would be a nice incentive for the many kids who are part of our fellowship.

3. Embracing Youth Ministry. One of the good problems we have encountered and have since embraced is the large percentage of youth who makeup our fellowship. about two-thirds of our congregation are under the age of 16. We have learned the value of collaboration, as we have teamed up with Grace Fellowship's Life:redefined youth ministry, led by youth pastor Jason Coombs. Jason and the youth ministry team at Grace Fellowship have been very gracious and accomodating as we have begun bringing as many as 15-20 kids from Troy to their Thursday night jr.high youth meetings, and a few more who attend Wednesday evenings' teen/high school version.

4. Looking forward to what lies ahead. We are greatly anticipating what God will do as we continue to reach out with His love to the youth and families in our community

Who's in Control?

2009-11-01T19:23:00.005-05:00

I am often reminded of the calling of God and that where He leads He will also provide. Hard sometimes to think about when in the midst of struggles. I often want to take control of things when God is really calling me to trust and obey...not to be in control of everything...He's already in control. He's infinitely wiser and more than able to supply our every need. I am learning daily what it looks like to let go and let God be God. Truth is, I can't do everything...nor has He asked me to. God does not set us up to fail, but to succeed...but...His way! His way is the way of surrender and self-sacrifice; of dying to myself daily so that He may live His life through me. His way means that it's not about me, but always about Him and His will. It's about living as He lived, loving as He loved and serving as He served, thereby making Him known to others.

This is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done. Planting a church in a needy, inner-city community has stretched me more than anything I've ever done. I never expected this to be an easy road, and the idea of it costing me everything I have; physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc, has become more of a reality. Jesus told His disciples that following Him would be costly, but the reward would be far greater. So I press on daily, knowing that the work I do for His kingdom is never in vain. Progress is sometimes hard to measure, yet the fruit of my labors are known by Him who sees all things.

I pray that I might die to myself daily, so that He can guide this vessel

providing a litttle christmas help and cheer

2009-10-20T01:17:00.001-04:00

The CORE Church of Troy has been approved by the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign as a distribution site. We are now registering families to receive toys for their children. If you live in the Troy area and would like to register please call the church office at 518-274-8080 or Pastor dave's cell phone @ 518-526-6079, or you may e-mail us at corechurch@gmail.com

When you call, please speak clearly. Please provide the name, age and gender of each child you are requesting toys for. Please provide a contact phone number and/or e-mail address so that we may keep you informed of important dates and information.

If you live in Troy and do not have a church to fellowship with, we'd love to have you come and visit. We are a small but growing congregation with a heavy emphasis on building relationships. We are very informal in our style of worship. Come as you area!

Paying it forward...and we need your help

2009-10-13T23:02:00.002-04:00

Inner-city ministry is my calling and passion w/a particular interest in children's ministry...don't really do that for a living, per se, doesn't pay much, so I do odd jobs, etc to pay the bills. When I say "children's ministry," many people get the idea of puppets and polished Bible stories with flannelgraph figures. But in my neighborhood children's ministry is vastly different.

We operate an afterschool homework club where many neighborhood kids come and hang out. Many great conversations are flowing, and we are meeting new kids every day as kids tell there friends about the CORE Church and Pedestrian Outreach CenterWe planted this inner-city mission church in 2006...not an easy mission field by any means. Lots of needs; scores of single mothers on fixed incomes, many kids w/o fathers who seem to cling to all the attention we can give them...needless to say everywhere we (me and my family) go we often have a ton of kids who want to go with us. Tonight it was a concert at my son's school and we had a half dozen extra kids w/us. Seeing how hard some of these kids have it doesn't make lt any easier. There's a part of me that wants to rescue every one of them from the ugliness they often experience...but I'm only one person. How much can I do? I pray for them, offer them a hand of friendship, and our storefront mission church has become a safe haven for many of them to come to when they are going through the tough battles of life.

Often, these kids share things with me that leave me speechless, and I thank God every day that He has put me in such a place of trust...that these kids have someone to turn to when the horrors and terrors of life turn their way.

I remember these streets, for they are the very streets I once ran and played in. But it was a different time, and not nearly as dangerous in this neighborhood...or so they say. I remember a place not much different at all, and there were a few adults who took an interest in my well being, who went out of their way to make my world a safer place to grow up in. So perhaps it is my turn to pay it forward, and to show these kids a better way...to continue offering a hand of friendship...a shoulder to lean on...someone to listen to them and applaud in the midst of their seemingly small victories.

What is my reward? What is my pay? a happy child who grows up to reach their potential...and here's how you can help.I'm asking my Facebook and Twitter friends to consider investing just $5.00 or $10.00 in this ministry, as we reach out to these great kids and their families.

We are seeing fruit, as many of the parents/guardians of these kids are visiting our mission church/outreach center, and some great conversations are flowing as we build relationships with these children and families.

Your best gifts can be made out and sent to:

CORE Church of Troy

36 109th St.Troy, NY 12182

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for further info. If you'd like to have me come to your church and share our mission and ministry w/you and your congregation, just let me know

518-526-6079 (cell)

518-235-0370 (home)

518-274-8080 (office)

e-mail: corechurch@gmail.com

THOUGHTS OF AN URBAN MISSIONARY:MY PRAYER TONIGHT

2009-08-24T23:42:00.002-04:00

IMMERSED...DYING TO MYSELF DAILY...SACRIFICE....RECEIVE MY FREEWILL OFFERING...WHOLLY SURRENDERERD...WANTING MORE...THE DEEPER I GO THE MORE I DESIRE TO GO FURTHER STILL...WITH A HOLY GOD WHO LOVES ME MORE THAN I'LL EVER FATHOM
FAILURE THAT I AM SO MANY TIMES...FLAWED YET ACCEPTED...WORTHY OF THE FLAMES OF HELL, YET REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB...I WAS A LOST SHEEP AND YOU SEARCHED FOR ME...I WANDERED FAR AWAY, YET YOU FOUND ME...WHEN I DID NOT LOVE YOU OR DESIRE YOU, YOU STILL PURSUED ME...WHEN ALL I WANTED TO DO IS LIVE FOR MYSELF, YOU TOOK A CROSS OF SHAME...MY PLACE YOU TOOK...AND SO MANY MORE JUST LIKE ME...LOST AND CONFUSED...BATTERED AND SCARRED BY SIN...NOTHING BUT EMPTY PROMISES HAVE LED THEM FARTHER DOWN THE PATH OF DARKNESS AND DESTRUCTION...I'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE...AND I'LL GOT THERE AGAIN BUT NOT ALONE...THIS TIME I'M SENT AS SALT AND LIGHT BY MY SAVIOR ON HIS THRONE...THE THRONE OF MY HEART...AS SAVIOR AND LORD...GO AND TELL THEM!
LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO...HE SAVED MY WRETCHED SOUL...HE INVITES YOU TO COME TO THE WELL AND DRINK...SIT AT HIS TABLE AND EAT THE BREAD THAT MONEY CANNOT BUY...YET IS GIVEN FREELY, IN ABUNDANCE, TO ALL WHO ASK...NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU HUNGER OR THIRST...SURRENDER TO HIM...AN OFFERING AND A SACRIFICE...WHOLLY SURRENDER TO THE SAVIOR OF YOUR SOUL...COME BE ABSORBED INTO THE BLOODSTREAM OF THE ONE WHO BLED FOR YOU...BE IMMERSED...SATURATE YOUR LIFE WITH HIS GOODNESS AND HIS GRACE...LET HIS LIFE FLOW THROUGH YOU, A LIVING SACRIFICE...COME TO THE SHORE OF MERCY...THE THRONE OF GRACE...LOOK INTO HIS GLORIOUS FACE...FIND YOURSELF AS YOU LOSE YOUR LIFE IN HIM...NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU FEEL ALONE.
JESUS TAKE ME DEEPER STILL...HOLY SPIRIT FILL ME AND USE ME...FATHER IN HEAVEN DRAW ME TO YOUR SIDE...BE MY ANCHOR...MY ROCK...MY FORTRESS...MY SHELTER FROM THE STORMS OF LIFE...BREAK THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY AS HE DESIRES TO SIFT ME LIKE WHEAT...HE'S GOTTEN IN A FEW GOOD BLOWS...AND HE STILL TURNS HIS UGLY HEAD MY WAY FROM TIME TO TIME...BUT YOU ARE MY LORD OF LORDS...MY KING OF KINGS...MY PRINCE OF PEACE...NOTHING OR NOONE CAN EVER SNATCH ME FROM YOUR HAND!
I PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE WHERE I HAVE BEEN...I PRAY FOR THE WAIFS WHO RUN IN THE STREET, LOOKING FOR A HERO...SOMEONE TO STAND IN THE GAP...LORD FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT FOR THE TASK AT HAND...FILL ME WITH PASSION...SO THAT WE MAY SNATCH THEM FROM THE HAND OF THE ENEMY...WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES AT NIGHT I CAN SEE THEIR YOUNG FACES...FILLED WITH HOPE...DREAMING BIG DREAMS...I PRAY, O LORD, THAT THEY MAY COME TO KNOW YOU AND YOUR AWESOME PLAN FOR THEIR LIFES...AND WHEN MY LIFE IS OVER AND ALL IS SAID AND DONE...YOU ARE MY LORD...AND I LOVE YOU!
WHY YOU USE A MAN LIKE ME I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND...YET I PRAISE YOU...USE ME FOR YOUR GLORY...YOUR PURPOSE...THIS IS MY PRAYER TODAY...FROM THE FRONTLINE OF BATTLE...HEEDING THE CALL TO THIS FIELD OF HARVEST!

PREPARE TO PLANT: everything I wish I knew about church planting, before I started to plant

2009-08-12T21:02:00.002-04:00

I'm in the process of writing a manuscript for a book about church planting.

I know what you're thinking, church planting friends and friends of church planting, "Do we really need another book about church planting when there is already a plethora of books covering every facet of church planting known to man?"

As I began to search Christian Book Distributors, Amazon.com and a host of other book distributors, I could not find any books covering the subject I have decided to write about. There are plenty of books that touch on this subject, but none that deal specifically with what I believe to be a critical point for church planters and potential church planters to grasp before they enter their mission field. I even sent a facebook message to my FB and church planting friend, Ed Stetzer, who is, perhaps, the leading authority on church planting in all of North America. I figured if anyone would know of resources pertaining to my subject of choice, he would.

His response to me?" David, I don't know of any resources like that."

So what is the subject I would like to write about? Here it is...drum roll please!

the church planter first being planted by God, in the community God has sent Him to, before he plants the church God has sent him to plant.

This subject was born out of nearly four years of experience of planting the church God has sent me to to plant. Having never planted a church before this, I came to Troy, NY with big dreams and expectations, only to be crushed and bruised, battered and scattered. I have experienced every feeling and emotion known to man, and a few I never knew existed. My marriage and family life have suffered some heavy blows from the enemy. The spiritual warfare we have endured was so intense that I literally gave up and was about to walk away. Then God began to speak to me at a level I had never experienced in my 46 years of life.

"Satan has asked permission to sift you like wheat, and he has, but you have endured. Now you are ready to plant My church...the one I sent you to plant, not the one you wanted to plant."

The purpose of this book will be, not merely to lay a Biblical framework for the call to church planting, (there are plenty of great books already available on that subject), but to bear witness to the experience a church planter can expect to encounter on his/her mission field. There are things I just did not know, even though I've been through seminary and had taken church planting classes, and had attended countless conferences on church planting, church growth, evangelism, etc.

The greater purpose for this book is to, perhaps, save church planters, present and future, the agony I have endured, by sharing what God has shown me through my own experience.Church planting is a process; with God, first, preparing the planter, from the inside out, before any of the usual work known to most church planters begins. When I arrived in Troy I hit the ground running, as I began putting into practice (or at least attempting to) all of the stuff I had read in the textbooks and on the blogs of other church planters. After nearly four years I have learned so much about what to do and what not to do. And I would like, by the grace and calling of God, to share this story with the church planting community in general, and more specifically, with freshman church planters; those who are newbies, who have never planted a church before but stepped out in faith, believing that God has spoken to them and sent them.

There are many church planters who have experienced similar circumstances and have given up (I have met some of you...I was almost one of you). There are others who are currently going through what I've gone through (I feel your pain and frustration). And there are still more who are about to step out in faith, for the first time, who do not know what they are in for. This book is for you.

I don't yet have a publisher or even a book deal, but I am stepping out in faith and writing the book anyway, so that those I am writing to and for can learn from my experience, and I know there are many out there who can identify with what I am about to share on paper.

I would like to hear from some of you. Share your own experience here or send me and e-mail, FB note or an old fashioned letter (snail mail)

surprised by the Holy Spirit!

2009-07-19T19:07:00.003-04:00

Today was a day like no other. For the first time in my 15 years of ministry, I preached something that was totally unplanned. I had my sermon all written for today...planned out w/notes, illustrations, etc. I was planning on preaching from Romans 6. Our call to worship usually comes from Psalms, and as I turned to Psalm 51 and started reading it, something rose up within me, and before I knew it, words were coming out of my mouth! David's whole experience with Bathsheba, and then Nathan the prophet came to mind as I was reading this Psalm aloud before the congregation. Ended up preaching for 40 minutes about how sin creeps up on us slowly, starting out with a small temptation, like flirting with a married woman, which turns into lust, then an affair...or the love of money, which turns to greed, then to cheating and stealing...and even murder. At the end of the sermon, one man said, "That's the best sermon I've ever heard you preach in the three years I've been here."

Thank you Holy Spirit for leading me to hear Your voice and for the courage to put my planned sermon away and preach what You have given me, and for the voice to preach the Word for your glory, O Lord!

How can you help us help our neighbors and reach them for God's kingdom?

2009-07-18T03:24:00.001-04:00

1. New informational pieces for CORE Church of Troy and our Pedestrian Outreach Center are ready to distribute. want to learn more? send me your e-mail address and I'll forward one to you. Make as many copies as you'd like and help us by sharing them with your church, family, friends, etc. If you'd prefer regular mail, send me your mailing address and I will forward this to you

2. We are starting a new fundraising campaign for Pedestrian Outreach Center and CORE Church expansion as we multiply in our city and beyond. Therefore, I am asking a God-sized favor of all my Facebook and Twitter friends. Please consider sowing financially into this frontline ministry; just $10 or $20 is all we are asking you to consider. If God puts it on your heart to sow even deeper, He will bless you for doing so. Please pray and consider. You can make checks payable to CORE Church of Troy and write POC in the memo, and be assured that every penny will be used to expand God's kingdom in Troy, NY and beyond.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Great Commissioner, and on behalf of the CORE Church of Troy and Pedestrian Outreach Center, I thank you.

Feeling like a fool

2009-07-15T09:51:00.003-04:00

I've been feeling like a fool lately, like one person who posted on another blog recently about planting a church with no money, no people, nothing except vision from God and faith the size of a mustard seed.

For three and a half years we've been camped out in an impoverished inner-city community in upstate NY, trusting that God has sent us, yet feeling like a failure at times; most months barely scraping by financially, reaching out to the homeless and "the least of these." All the while, others in ministry, who started when we did (or after) seem to be miles ahead of us. I sometimes wonder if we're really supposed to be here. Then God sends me little signs; like a single mother w/3 kids, being abused by her boyfriend and put our of her apartment by city code enforcement, or a rowdy bunch of neighborhood kids who need nothing more than someone who is willing to sacrifice and hour or two and play ball with them.

Why would a grown man with a seminary degree give up everything to do such a thing? Sounds foolish to me and to most folks who look at it from a human perspective. But then, most times when people step out in faith and trust and obey God, they end up looking like fools; like a boy named David facing a giant with nothing more than a slingshot and a few stones, or a man named Abraham, leaving his home for a place he had never been to or seen, yet when God told him to go, he trusted and obeyed. Then there were twelve ordinary men. A few of them were fishermen. One was a government employee. Yet, they all left everything to follow a man who said and did things that seemed to be foolish, even to the religious crowd.

Truth be told, stepping out in faith requires taking risks; many times big risks, often at the expense of looking foolish. Why is it, when an entrepeneur steps out in faith, giving up everything to start a small business, the world applauds, yet when a man (or woman) of God steps out in faith, in obedience to a higher call, the world scoffs and calls that person a fool?

The Bible says,

27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

...so that no one may boast before Him (God)

It's not about me. It's always about Him; the One who calls and sends men to do His will. When all is said and done, He is the one who gets the glory; especially when the world calls me a fool for following Him. Only a fool would follow a God he cannot see, or a vision that has not yet come to pass, for a purpose that he cannot fully grasp. But the outcome and rewards far outweigh any persecution he may receive from the world; perhaps even from the religious crowd, or even within his own family.

A better question tha often comes to mind; Why would God choose a fool like me to do anything for Him? I am humbled and amazed!

So, I'm okay with feeling and looking like a fool from time to time; perhaps more than I realize.

One great reason why we do what we do at Pedestrian Outreach Center

2009-06-25T22:58:00.002-04:00

We met a man named David yesterday (Wednesday), who came into POC briefly. According to David he's 59 yrs.old, half hispanic/half native American. Originally from Vermont, he and his wife had moved to Texas 25yrs ago. his wife of 37 years had recently died of cancer and he had gone back to Vermont to visit his parents and two of his four children. While there he had a chance to meet some of his grandchildren for the very first time.

Now he was somewhat stranded in Troy, NY. Having made the mistake of stopping at a bar for a few drinks and then getting on the wrong CDTA bus, he found himself in our neighborhood. Lost and and a bit confused, he came in wondering "what is this place?" After introducing ourselves and telling him a little bit about Pedestrian Outreach Center, he opened right up and shared his life with us, along with his search for "spirituality" in his life. My POC co-laborer, Art, told him about his own experience with recovery and what set him free. After about 40 minutes David said he had to catch a bus to Albany for his return bus trip back to Texas. With a fresh cup of coffee and a bus schedule in hand (two of the things we provide free of charge at POC), he went back outside and got on a bus, and away he went.We may never see or hear from David again. But hopefully our brief encounter with him will impact his life for the better.

This is why we are here...to help pedestrians move forward in life.

Leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you

Peace in Him,

Dave

My take on the book of Acts: Origin of a new species

2009-06-22T19:03:00.006-04:00

At the CORE Church of Troy we have embarked on a study and sermon series through the book of Acts. I have challenged myself to read through Acts anew, praying for fresh insight. I've read this book many times, in several Bible translations, yet there is so much more to be explored and known. As I was thinking of what to title this series, here are some of the ideas that came to mind

Church 101
The Church: a new beginning
Genesis of the Church
Birth of the Church
The Christian movement begins
The seed of the gospel spreads
Apostolic Adventures
Origins of a new species

It is entry #8 in my list above that resonates with me the most. The Church, aka the body of Christ, fits the definition of "species" (a class of individuals having common attributes and designated by a common name) whose origin is in Christ's finished work on the cross; through His death and resurrection a new species had been born; therefore, the book of Acts can rightly be called "Origin of a new species."

That's the title I've chosen to go with.

What do you think?

Whatever, wherever, however...I'm Yours, O Lord!

2009-06-22T18:26:00.003-04:00

Earlier today I was chatting w/Phil, a Facebook friend and brother in ministry. We were discussing how God closes doors and our tendency to still look for opportunities when those doors are closing, aka, lack of faith and trust

Chalk it up to insecurity/lack of faith on my part. My prayer, more recently, has been more like, "Lord whatever, wherever, however, etc, I'm yours." Many times during the past 3 yrs I've wanted to give up and go and do something else. I even find myself searching for ministry positions on Pastorfinder.com every now and then. God has been instilling in me a deeper level of trusting in Him and His sovereignty. When Jesus said, "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me," I truly believe He meant to give up everything...including all of my hopes, dreams and ambitions...so that I can truly be empty of myself, so that He can live His life (Zoe) through me. He doesn't just want to use my dreams and thoughts, He wants to fill me with a whole new level of hopes and dreams...wrought by Him...things I can't even begin to imagine. I am learning that my small dreams, limited by my human imagination, cannot begin to compare with the dream God has for me. This is why I believe God tells us, in so many places in His word, to let go(Prov.3:5-6 for instance) and let Him be God.
For me, it is as Paul declared in Philippians 3 about what he used to put confidence in...human achievement and ambition, the flesh, etc...yet he had come to a point (later in his life and ministry) of abandoning it all, counting it as rubbish, for the sake of knowing Christ personally and walking in the power of His resurrection. Paul saw himself as a bondservant...a slave for Christ. Whatever it takes, let me die daily to myself, becomong like Christ in His death, so that I may, somehow, attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil.3:10-11)

living my life between the drama and the trauma

2009-06-11T16:04:00.002-04:00

Sometimes it seems as if life is full of drama and trauma, with shots of God's mercy and grace in between. It is those times that I begin to realize how deep His love is for me.

At times I feel overwhelmed with life and the issues that rise up unannounced. The problems of life do not go away when we come to Christ and embark on this journey of faith. God simply gives us His grace to deal with them His way. I am still learning, after 25 years of walking w/the Lord, what that looks like on a daily basis. It means falling upon Him, learning to trust in His arm and His hand to pull me out of life's messes and to hold me up by His strength. That is why, I believe, David prayed so earnestly and frequently, "To God alone, who is my Rock, my Strength, my fortress, my deliverer, the lifter of my head, " etc. David was a leader and a man after the heart of God. He was able, by the grace of God, to see and confess his weaknesses before God.

All too often I find myself thinking, "I've got to get my act together," when what I need to do is bring all of my junk; my messy, chaotic, train wreck of a life to God, so that He can continue the good work He began in me and desires to bring to completion. That is a life-long process that is sometimes painful, but always within His good purpose for my life.

Philippians 1:6

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

What happened to May?

2009-06-04T08:46:00.002-04:00

Notice the abscence of posts for the month of May. "Lord for give me, it's been one month since my last blog post." May was an incredibly busy month for me, and we were having PC issues for two of those weeks. But, lo and behold, I'm back on the blogging trail, ready to get into it once again!

wherever and whatever of God's will

2009-06-04T08:39:00.002-04:00

I have found myself questioning God these past few months. I have gone through a period of transition, a bit reluctantly at first, until I turn to God in prayer, in His word, and seek His voice. I find strength and comfort in knowing that God is in control of me and my destiny.

Prov. 16:9 says that
"a man plans his way in his own heart,
but the Lord directs his steps."

My prayer, then, becomes, "Lord, help me to be in step with your will." I can come up with a dozen brilliant ideas every day, but its the wherever and whatever of God's will that I am interested in. God will never lead me astray, and as long as I am prayed up and filled up with His Spirit, then I will know in my heart that I am where God wants me to be; physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, etc. If Christ is truly the King of kings in my heart, then He will lead me and guide me, and wherever He guides He always provides

Walk His Way

2009-04-28T14:03:00.003-04:00

Had to bring my wife's car in for servicing yesterday, which required me to leave the vehicle at the Ford dealer for the day. They provided me with a loaner for the day. As I got into the car and started it, I turned on the radio, and a familiar song was playing. It was Aerosmith's classic, "Walk This Way." Although I had heard that song thousands of times since it was released in the 70's, it had been awhile, and I couldn't help but remember how much I use to like that song. As I sat their and listened I thought about my own youthful days of unbridled lust (which really is the theme of the song) and what the Lord in His mercy delivered me from.

Over the past few weeks at the CORE Church of Troy we've been we've been focusing on our "Pedestrians:walking through life" sermon series. I couldn't help, as I listened to Steven Tyler singing "Walk This Way..." how much the song really fits into what we've been talking about in this series. 2 weeks ago we learned what it looks like to "walk by faith, not by sight." This past Sunday we looked in Galatians 5:16-26 and focused on walking in the Spirit and the fruit of such a walk. We also looked at the negative side, or, walking in the flesh, and the results of making those choices. As we come to the third week of our series we will be looking at hindrances to our walking by faith and walking in the Spirit. One of the major league players that wars against our souls is lust; more specifically, our sexual desires, which left unchecked will take a person deeper and deeper into a world of darkness and self-centeredness and further and further away from the will of God. So many places in Scripture hit on this very subject. Proverbs warns us against sexual immorality in many passages. Jesus said that lusting for a woman is as bad as committing the physical act of adultery. Sex, money and material gain are the big things we most often lust after. This is why John wrote,

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17) NKJV

Jesus calls us to a new way and a new life that is all about seeking Him and His kingdom and putting the world's ways and ideas away from us. God's way leads to life. The world's way, which is run by satan, leads to death and desruction. Each of us has the freewill to choose. So be aware when anyone, whether in songs or some other form of communication, invites you to "Walk this way."

hanging out with some real men

2009-04-21T22:20:00.002-04:00

tuesday evenings at the CORE Church is men's group. Men don't easily open up too much but tonight we were all in a sharing mood, sharing worries and concerns as we are focusing on "What is a personal relationship with God?" we're using a discussion guide from RBC/Discovery House Publishers. It seemed like we were shifting off the theme when I realized that's what a personal relatrionship with God is...that's what makes it and keeps it real; when we can go to him and to one another w/our weaknesses and worries. Real men sharing real stuff w/a real God and learning from one another. And that, my friends, is what we call "discipleship;" discipling one another as we seek a more intimate, personal relationship with the Living, Triune God

Pedestrian Outreach Center Update

2009-04-16T15:15:00.003-04:00

We are in the middle of our third week since opening the Pedestrian Outreach Center.
Word of mouth is traveling. More people are coming in for free coffee, refreshments and conversation. We are also giving out bread and milk to families in need.
Additionally, all this week we have been serving lunch to neighborhood kids who are on spring break from school. We will continue to serve a daily lunch for pedestrians from 12:00-2:00pm consisting of sandwiches, baked goods and other assorted items. We are in the process of hooking up a stove and sink so that we can begin offering hot meals for lunch.
We now have internet access and a computer terminal so that pedestrians can search for jobs, sign up for and/or check e-mail, etc.
We will soon be installing a large bulletin board where employers, landlords and community agencies may post information for pedestrians.
Life Groups are coming soon. This will be a weekly small group that meets for the purpose of discussing life issues from a Biblical perspective. Many of us are battling with one or more issues that dominate our lives and keep us from living a free, abundant life that Christ came to give us. For more info call us at 518-274-8080

We desire to be a blessing to this north central Troy community and throughout the city of troy and to pedestrians as they walk through daily life. If you or someone you know needs our services, or simply to chat about life or whatever is on their heart, come on in to the Pedestrian Outreach Center, currently open Monday through Friday, 11:00am - 2:00pm.

Need private prayer and/or counseling? call Pastor Dave Lewis at 518-526-6079

How can you and/or your church get involved with Pedestrian Outreach Center?

Pray for this vital, frontline, inner-city ministry
consider volunteering an hour, an afternoon, etc. We are praying about eventually extending our current hours of operation from our current time of 11:00am - 2:00pm to 8am - 3pm. Additionally, we would like to impliment a summer time and afterschool (in the fall) childcare program. This provides great opportunities for those who have a calling to children's ministry.
consider helping us financially through one time gifts or regular giving. Checks can be made payable to CORE Church of Troy, ear marked for Pedestrian Outreach Center.

Hosting an Imposter Screening at CORE Church if Troy

2009-04-13T16:07:00.002-04:00

As much as an inside look into the Christian music industry, The Imposter is also a story of redemption and self-discovery. Featuring original music from Kevin Max and Jeff Deyo, a new version of "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kerry Livgren (with Kevin Max on vocals), four songs from the outstanding Christian band Downhere, The Imposter will reach your heart like no other movie has before. The Imposter is produced by Dan Millican and Jeff Rodgers. Email them at dan(at)s-films.com or jeff(at)s-films.com. If you have questions and would like someone to contact you,click here

Just ordered our licensed copy and we will soon host a movie night featuring this film. Details forthcoming!

Pedestrians walking through life together!

2009-04-01T17:02:00.002-04:00

We are all pedestrians at some point in our lives. Often the term applies to our lives many times, at various intervals. In a literal sense, pedestrians are those who travel by foot. In a spiritual sense, we are all pedestrians, walking through this life. Some of us know where we are going, while others have gotten lost along the way, while still yet there are many without direction or destination. Those of us who have found the true path that leads to life have a calling and responsibility to reach out to those who are lost and/or still searching. Psalm 1 comes to mind,

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands is the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night.

3He is like a treeplanted by streams of waterthat yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.

4The wicked are not so,but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,but the way of the wicked will perish.

Pedestrian Outreach Center is born!

2009-04-01T16:44:00.001-04:00

Flooded with fresh vision and renewed passion, God has impressed upon me a name change for this new vision that is more encompassing. Alas, Pedestrian Outreach Center is born.

The vision God has given me for this new outreach is expanding to a more encompassing, wholistic ministry. Pedestrian Cafe implies food and beverage, while Pedestrian Outreach Center will include a cafe, but allows more to be offered. The ministry mission is to "help people walk through life." pedestrian was the word that came to mind as I was thinking and praying about everyday, ordinary people, walking through life, yet finding it difficult to reach their destination. Sometimes pedestrians have no direction or destination and walk through life rather aimlessly (been there...done that). The goal is to point people in the right direction by meeting them where they are at and helping them see God's plan for their lives. I'm seeing not just a place for people to come and flop, but a place where real people can find real help with the real problems that keep them from moving forward in life.

on the wings of failure come new ideas

2009-03-30T15:48:00.002-04:00

Some of you may remember, just about one year ago, my family and I took a giant leap of faith and opened a coffeehouse, called, "The Pod." The idea was to create a "third place" environment where pedestrians could come in off the street, grab a cup of coffee and some conversation and relax. Third place meaning that place where people gather outside of their home and work place, for conversation, relaxing and socializing. A cafe/coffeehouse is the perfect environment for stimulating great conversation and connecting with everyday, ordinary people, and building relationships.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Somewhere along the way yours truly got lost on the fine line between ministry and small business. What I thought would be a successful, innovative attempt at creating culture turned out to be a financial failure. Who knew a year ago the economy would take a nose dive? Small business loans became harder and harder to obtain as banks began to scrutinize the qualification requirements. After less than a year in operation The Pod was taking on water and sinking fast. We decided to close while we could still climb ourselves (my wife and I) out of debt.

I never looked at this as a failure, just a good idea at the wrong time. I prayed then and said to God, "if I ever have such an opportunity again. let it be all about You."

Most recently, the CORE Church relocated from 6th Ave & 101st St. to a much smaller, more manageble space, located just one block south at 6th and Glen. This space is located on a busy street corner. many pedestrians congregate right outside our front door. Great place to be...great opportunity to give new life to an old idea. Alas, CORE Church Pedestrian Cafe is born. Not the Pod mind you, but a ministry of the CORE Church...similar concept but different. The vision is to facilitate a third place environment. This storefront space is divided up nicely, providing a decent sized space in the front. The front door opens to 6th Ave, where many people already gather. So, we're merely opening the door and inviting them in.

Street Outreach Center at CORE Church of Troy

2009-03-27T16:39:00.002-04:00

An idea that we have been praying and talking about for some time now has become a reality, as the CORE Church of Troy announces the start of our new Street Outreach Center.

The CORE Church has relocated from the century old brick cathedral at 6th and 101st, to a storefront located one block south at 6th and Glen. We knew when we chose to move that we would be moving into the heart of the street culture, and we know now this is exactly where God wants us to be. We also know that the street corner located right outside our front door is very active. Many people congregate there. There is a CDTA bus stop there, with many people waiting for buses throughout the day. We have been praying about the best way to reach some of these people, when it dawned on us to simply open the doors and invite them in. For several months now we have been receiving bread and milk product, every three days, from a local convenience store. It is the product they pull from their shelves as new product arrives. These items usually have shelf life left on them, sometimes as much as five days to a week. We often get more bread than we can give away, along with donuts and assorted pastry and packaged snack items. God has already provided the food, and now He has provided the space to begin this outreach ministry. We cannot begin to imagine all that God wants to and will do through the CORE Church of Troy, as we seek to make Him known in this North Central district of Troy, NY. Our new Street Outreach Center will be open Monday through Friday, 11:00am until 2:00pm. We will add components to this outreach ministry as God gives the vision and provision.

Would you pray for us as we step out in faith and begin this new street outreach ministry? Perhaps you'd like to help by volunteering your time to serve with us. Maybe you'd like to donate coffee, filters, paper products, or whatever God may put on your heart. Additionally, if you'd like to conrtibute financially to this ministry, you may do so as the Holy Spirit leads you. Checks may be made payable to CORE Church of Troy (earmark Street Outreach Center if you so desire)

Stand Against Racism

2009-03-15T18:56:00.003-04:00

The CORE Church of Troy is hosting a Stand against Racism event on April 3rd, partnering with Troy/Cohoes YWCA. We will have a prayer walk at 5:30pm, kicking off at 6th and Glen and walk North to the other corner (6th & 101st) to feed-a-kid, then back to our new place, via River St., after the meal and have a discussion on how to combat racism in our lives and in our community, followed by a reception . Please pray for this event, and if you're in the neighborhood, consider joining us, as we seek to make Christ known in Troy's inner-city.

I Guess God knows what He's doing afterall

2009-03-14T17:10:00.007-04:00

It became evident to me today why God moved the CORE Church from one street corner to another as a fight broke out right outside our new space.

I was down at the new space setting up for tomorrow. Two women started fighting, right on our front step, as one of them started beating the other with a cane, and in the process, broke her arm and cut her head, police came from everywhere, lots of kids nearby,what a bloody, chaotic mess. People were milling about everywhere. Several young children who had witnessed all of this were visibly disturbed. I have to admit that this church planter was brought to tears, as the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "This is why you are here." The corner of 6th and Glen Avenue has become a violent, crime ridden hot spot. It is located right near a convenience store and two major bus stops on one of CDTA's main Troy routes. Dozens of people get on and off the city bus, every 20 minutes, right outside the front door of our new church space. I am thoroughly convinced God has called CORE Church of Troy to bring His peace and His hope to this inner-city neighborhood. People here need to know God's love and mercy, and I pray that we will see and seize every God-given opportunity to make Him known in the hearts of these people, and that through our efforts God will be glorified and that will see and experience a maximum impact in this community, for His Name's sake.

Amen?

We the Church...Be the Church...See the Church: Sermon series

2009-03-13T14:58:00.004-04:00

We the Church must Be the Church so that others will See Christ in the Church and glorify the Father in heaven
at the CORE Church of Troy, we begin the second leg of our "We the Church...Be the Church...See the Church" sermon series. The first segment of this series, "We the Church," delved into the question of who and what the Church is (not merely a"what" but a "Who," not just "me" but, "we")

Be the Church asks the question, What are we the Church to do? The body of Christ in action, function, purpose, etc. looking at 3 basic statements...Live as Christ lived....Love as Christ loved...Serve as Christ served...and watch what God will do through His Church.

Be the church part I: How did Christ live? How does He ask us to live? What happens when we take Christ at His word and allow Him full access to our lives so that He may live His life through us...we become living epistles, conduits of grace, ambassodors of hope, peace and love...and a lost and dying world sees Christ in us and yearns for wnat we have in Christ.

It is my hope and prayer that our small but growing congregation will be inspired to "Be the Church" in our own community, as we seek to embed the missional/incarnational DNA into our local expression of the body of Christ.

Investigating U2charist

2009-03-09T15:23:00.001-04:00

I am intrigued and investigating "U2charist" wanting to know more about the spirituality of Bono/U2 and their Millennium Development Goals to end world poverty, aids and injustice.

Would love to hear some comments, in favor of, not in favor of, etc.

Becoming regulars at Northway Church

2009-03-03T15:40:00.003-05:00

It's been about two months since my family and I began attending Northway Church's Saturday evening service in Clifton Park.

We were searching for a local church with a Saturday evening service, since we, as a family, are tied up on Sunday's with our own church plant in Troy . I had met Brian Howe via facebook and accepted his invitation to come for a visit. took him up on the invite and we haven't been the same since. Luv what Northway Church is doing to bring church into the current age we now live in, by making church cool and exciting. My kids love it. My wife enjoys relaxing and listening to Pastor Buddy preach. On any given Sunday at the CORE Church, she's busy with children's church and other activities and rarely gets to hear me expound the word. I have to say I greatly appreciate Pastor Buddy's engaging style of preaching. He brings it on with the gospel every time (at least from what I've seen and heard for myself), and communicates the timeless truths of Scripture in a timely, relevant way. Kevin Brustle and the worship band rock the house as they sing the Good News and prepare the congregation to encounter God. I think my family and I will continue this Saturday evening trend. If you see us there, say hi to us. We'd love to get to know you!

CORE Church/New Beginning!

2009-02-27T12:31:00.002-05:00

The building pictured here has been the home of CORE Church of Troy since we took the building over at the end of 2005 to begin a new work. This facility, located at 6th Ave & 101st St., had been the home of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church since 1913, when the buiding was erected.

To say the past three years have been challenging would be an understatement. For the first year of our ministry here, the facility held up nicely. We invested a little bit of $$$ to maintain the building. Year two brought some roof leaks and a few other minor issues that we quickly addressed. This past year, #3, has been the most challenging, as the inside of the building began to deteriortate gradually. The heating system started malfunctioning, along with the antiquated electrical system. This past winter brought frozen pipes throughout the building, then bursting pipes as they began to thaw. Both bathrooms and kitchen, as well as the boiler were rendered useless due to the frozen pipe situation. Then the roof started leaking again, in various spots, as winter snow and ice began to melt. The facility became overwhelming, almost to the point of where this church planter was seriously thinking of packing it in and going elsewhere.

I began a period of fasting and prayer, not wanting to give up on the vision and burden God had given me back in 2005. I had literally reached the end of myself, once again, and was totally dependent upon God, who had sent us here to plant His church. God showed me a commercial space that had become available in our neighborhood. My first impression, looking at the space through the front window, was that it was too small. At 1300 sq.ft. it is a fraction of the size of our church bldg. Also to consider, we'd be paying rent plus utilities here, while we owe nothing on the old church bldg and are only paying utilities and insurance, yet we were only using about 40% of the total space. So, we decided to hold off and waith for God to show us what to do. He has shown us through the series of events that have taken place, one after another, to lead us to the point of deciding we must leave this old, cold building. There's more to the story for anyone who wants to hear it.

Here we are, with spring and the Easter season approaching, and we are moving into this new space (photos and update coming soon). Power and gas were turned on today. All of this past week, Ron and Artie and I have been busy cleaning the place up and moving rugs and chairs, along with aound equipment and lots of coffee from Stewart's, which is the neighborhood gathering spot, located directly across Glen Ave from our new space.

We are located at 3301 6th Ave (corner of 6th and Glen), directly between two public housing projects; King apartments to the East, on the hill, and Arnold Fallon Apartments, located one block west and one block south of our new location. Our old, cold, building will soon become the home of another vital street ministry, as Rev. Willie Bacote and his Missing Link Street Ministry take over the building. We are hopeful that God will provide the finances, manpower and other needed resources, so that we can continue with the Feed-a-Kid Ministry and other strategic community ministries. We, the CORE Church, are praising God for the opportunity to partner with Rev. Bacote and his ministry and to offer this building to his ministry.

Dare we believe that God has orchestrated all of these events to bring about His will and His glory! God has done just that, and He has spread out our reach in this North Central Troy community. I am already praying and anticipating God growing us and expanding our reach into Lansingburgh and other parts of Troy and throughout New York's Capital region.

Won't you pray with us?

My Church planting journey: wrestling with God and prevailing

2009-02-19T16:31:00.008-05:00

In my quiet time w/the Lord today I was reading in Genesis 32:22-33 about Jacob's experience of wrestling with God and prevailing. Jacob had struggled with men (his brother Esau and father-in-law Laban) and now with God. He would not let up until God blessed him. As a result, his walk was forever changed; literally, as his hip joint was dislocated in the altercation. Jacob was all alone with God, as he had sent his wives and children on ahead of him. In the night, while he camped out, a Man came and wrestled with him until dawn. Jacob's tenacity in wrestling with the Man, who was God (Peniel = "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared,” see also Joshua 5:13-15 and Hosea 12:2-4), resulted in God's blessing upon him, and the promise God had made to him at Bethel (Gen. 28:10-22) continued to unfold, just as God had shown it to him.

I have had my own "wrestling with God in the wilderness experience." I know where Jacob was coming from. In a moment of discouragement and frustration, he felt like giving up, throwing in the towel, yet there was something inside of him, at the core of his being, that said, "No, I will not give in or go back, I will continue to move forward, but I cannot do it alone--on my own strength--so I turn to You, Lord, the One who called me and set me on this journey. I will not leave this place or go any further until you bless me and fulfill the promise You made to me at Bethel."

Three years ago my family and I moved to Troy, New York, because I believed then, and still believe with every ounce of my being, that God sent us here to plant His church. He gave me a burden for this place, then vision, followed by passion, and strategy. His provision has been ongoing every step of the way in this church planting saga. However, there have been times of doubt, despair, frustration and utter chaos (among other experiences), along the way, that have caused me and my family to become nearly unglued. Every time I have turned to Him, and He has responded with whatever I/we have needed to continue in this great commission endeavor. This past winter has been, without a doubt, the most trying period so far. Three years ago, upon coming to Troy, we took over a century old Baptist church. Sixth Ave Baptist Church had closed, and working with the Conservative Baptists, we began the task of re-starting the church with a new name, The CORE Church of Troy, and a new vision of "Making Christ known in the heart of the city." Needless to say, it has been quite a challenge working with this old brick elephant, yet God gave it to us debt free, along with a three bedroom parsonage for me and my family to live in. He then gave us a vacant lot, located across the street from our church building, which once was the home of another old church building which had fallen victim to decay and was demolished in 2003. We counted our blessings and have used all of what God has given us. I wish I could say that we have been 100% on fire for God and His mission the whole time, but in reality, we've gone through peaks and valleys. We've had moments of victory (3 baptisms) ans we've had other times when we have wanted to run with our tails between our legs, so to speak. But, here we are, three years later. We have struggled with men and with God, just as Jacob did in the wildreness that night, in the place he named, Peniel, which means, "I have seen the face of God and Have been spared."

I have had my own "Peniel" experience. At a point when I felt completely helpless and without much hope to carry on; when I literally felt like giving up and walking away, the Lord came crashing in and said, "No you don't, I won't let you give up." I can remember shouting at God, on my knees in tears, saying, "I can't do this anymore." And He said, "Don't worry, where I have guided you, I will also provide for you. As I told My first disciples, so I tell you, 'And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' " (Matt.28:20)

How much would you pay for a decent cup of coffee or espresso

2009-02-13T16:48:00.002-05:00

My friend and fellow church planter, Atiba DeSouza posed an interesting question on his blog. He asked if anyone would buy McDonald's new espresso, over Starbucks, if it were just as good, and cheaper.

Here is my response

Hey, give me a good cup of coffee, hot and cheap, and I'll buy it. Starbucks and Dunkin are okay, but not the best coffee I've ever had. I've had mediocre convenience store coffee that tastes just as good for about half the price. This is one reason Stabucks is collapsing. They cornered the market on cool coffee shops, but they have failed to change or improve on their product. McD's will bury them in the competition because they will sell it cheaper, and the fact that they are constantly changing up. Dunkin Donuts is feeling the pinch now too, because they are growing too big, too fast. I mean, how many Dunkin shops do we need within a five mile stretch of suburban/commercial highways. Here in Albany, NY, there are at least 7 within a similar span. They are over saturating the market and McD's will capitalize on that. Also on the fact that both Starbucks and Dunkin charge way too much for their coffee. McD's is getting w/the times too by offering free wi-fi in some of their franchises.

How about you?

My Church planting journey:the breaking process

2009-02-10T15:56:00.003-05:00

I was chatting with Jeff Jamison via facebook about the experience of church planting and wanting to give up and go back to where I came from. He shared with me "Many planters do give up and "go home". My failed plant pastor did. I still love him, but that failure has haunted him since and has been a predictor of the last few years ministry failures."

Having never planted a church before this one, I can say I feel the frustration of that planter who "failed and went home." I have been there several times these past 3 years, almost walked out on my wife and family, even felt like jumping in the Hudson River (on more than one occasion). Then God got ahold of me and showed me, it's not about me, but about what he wants to do in this community He has sent me (and my family) to and in the hearts and lives of broken people who live here. I don't believe God sends anyone to fail. I do believe many men jump into church planting without thinking and praying it through. I also believe the assessment processes that many church planting entities use are flawed. From my own experience, God gave me a burden for a particular people in a particular place; Troy, NY, the city of my birth, youth, and at least half of my adult life. This burden started out small, but grew as I went through seminary and served on staff at a Rescue Mission for 11 years. Then came vision, followed by strategy, and then provision. But, God had to break me of my own self-centered mindset and thoughts of what I wanted to do; even seemingly good "church planting" ideas. I am learning that I never truly own the vision God is showing me. It is His when He gives it, and it is His throughout the process. I may be the possessor of the vision He has given me, yet I am merely the vessel He has poured His vision into. There is a sense of ownership that develops within the church planter, but the vision is God's. He is giving me glimpses of what He wants to do, but He has not shown me the big picture completely. Who can contain, within their own finite human brain, all that God can and will do?

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Eph.3:20 NLT)

This breaking process is very painful and comes with much sacrifice. Men need to know this and be prepared for this before they "test the waters" of church planting. Ed Stetzer has said, "if you are not called to plant churches, do not do it! It will ruin you. The Spiritual warfare that comes with it is intense. Satan will sift you like wheat."

But the brighter side is that through that breaking process, God is molding and shaping a usable vessel.

If a potential "church planter" does not have a burden, it is a good indicator that he's not ready, maybe not even called to be a planter. No burden equals no real ownership of the mission. Burden shapes vision. Good ideas are not, neccessarily, vision from God. Mark Batterson uses the terms "Good ideas" and "God ideas" when referring to vision from God vs. good ideas from our brains

I knew in my gut, at the core of my being, three years ago, that God was sending back to Troy. I knew it then, and I knew it all through this breaking process. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt today. That is what has kept me from completely walking away from this. Every time I felt like doing so, God would send me a sign; a phone call with encouraging words, a smiling kid my wife and I had reached out to (2 of them were recently baptized) And I clung to His vision and His voice. Satan has come at us with everything, and he's probably not done yet, although, I sure hope he is, at least for awhile. If he does come knocking on our door again, we know Who to call upon. We know that Jesus loves us, that He called us and sent us to this field of harvest, and that He will not leave us nor forsake us. If we have learned nothing else these past three years, that is an invaluable piece of wisdom we can put into our church planting bank account.

I pray for you, my church planting brethren. Maybe you are going through this breaking process. Need someone to talk to? Give me a call or send me an e-mail. I'd be happy and privileged to help you work through this.

My Church planting journey:experiencing Christ's power, suffering, death, and resurrection

2009-02-10T13:10:00.007-05:00

Experiencing the great adventure of church planting anew after a valley of testing and spiritual warfare, I now see the purpose of it all!

a church planting brother referred to this process "unsettle, resettle,then mettle." God unsettled him and his family in their divinely assigned portion of the harvest when they first moved there, then resettled them in their new home, city, community, etc., then came the "mettle" to thrust forward, full throttle, in God's power, not their own. He brought them to a place and position where they had no choice but to totally trust in and rely upon Him; actually, they did have a choice, they could have packed up and went back to where they came from. I know that feeling because we've been there, many times over the past three years. But now that God has unsettled me and my family (believe me when I say it has been a living nightmare) and resettled us in our own assigned portion of His great commission, He is now flooding me with an abundant supply of fresh His mettle (courage and strength to move forward).

A year ago I was about to throw in the towel. Now I feel like I can" sore on wings like eagles." I felt like I was a failure because everything was one big chaotic mess...my family life, our inherited, century-old church building, our finances...you name it, we were going through it. All of our initial core group had left, except for me and my wife and children. There was this rage burning with in me that cast me into a deep bout of depression. It got so bad that my wife and I could barely stand each other. Our two sons were constantly fighting with one another and with us. I reached a point where I could not take it any more and had seriously thought is wasn't meant to be and made plans in my own mind to go somewhere and do something else. I even opened a little coffee shop called, "The Pod," which ended up being a flop...who knew a year ago that the economy would take a nose dive?(God knew). Six months into this business venture and we could read the writing on the wall...keep it going and end up filing for bankruptcy. God was speaking, in that still small voice, and I was listening. So, we shut it down, which put us $36,000.00 in debt. OUCH!!!!

I began an intense period of fasting and prayer,like I've never done before. I did not know what to do or where to turn. I was totally, 100% helpless. And that's when God, in His tender mercy, came crashing through. I am brought to tears of joy as I write this post, because I know, at the very core of my being, those 1095 days (three years) of anguish are over. God is speaking. He has filled me with a fresh dose of Holy Spirit fire. Things that I did not nor could not see three years ago are coming into place. God is moving in me and through me. Believe it or not God got us completely out of debt within months...thanking God for my wife, who insisted on keeping our home in Schenectady (instead of putting it on the market) just in case we needed the equity, and boy did we. Not only that, but when we finally got approved for a home equity line of credit, the interest rates had dipped to a 15 year low. Dare I think that God would cause the economy to collapse so He could rescue one of His servants from evils of debt and financial collapse? Well, He caused time to stand still for Joshua, parted the Red Sea for Moses, and moved a mountain of debt out of our way so that we can continue to plant the church He has called us to plant.

And here we (not just me) stand on the other side of that valley of darkness and dispair. I say "We" because so often I hear church planters refer to "Me" and "My journey." I have news for ya fellas' the family is not just excess baggage, along for the ride, they are a part of the church planting team. Guess who has done more to put us in contact with families in our community? Wasn't me...it was, and still is, my two sons. They have made new friends, who don't come from the greatest family lives. Some of them have horror stories that would make my above testimony seem like a picnic.

I now see the purpose of all of what we have been through these past three years.

Paul said the the Philippian church, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, so that someway or somehow, I may experience the resurrection fom the dead. (Phil.3:10-11)

Networking with Mosaix Global Network

2009-02-05T18:42:00.002-05:00

The MOSAIX GLOBAL NETWORK (MGN) represents a growing movement of believers and congregations seeking to know God and to make Him known through the establishment of multi-ethnic churches throughout North America and beyond.

I have been following MGN since last spring's Exponential 2008, where I met Dr. Mark DeYmaz, MGN's Co-Founder and Directional Leader and Executive Director Jim Spoontz. Later on in 2008 the CORE Church officially hooked up with MGN as a member church. I have to say, MGN's vision of catalyzing a movement of multi-ethnic urban churches caught my attention, because that is where my heart beat is. Planting churches in America's urban settings requires such an approach. Most US cities are seeing a growing mix of ethinic and cultural diversity. Troy, NY is no different. Although Troy is not a large city, by any means, we are seeing a growing ethnic diversity of our own. It makes sense for me, therefore, to incorporate such a mindset into our urban church planting efforts. The CORE Church seeks to be at the center of brokenness and injustice that exist in our city. We are happy and blessed to partner with those who share this view of church planting.

Landlord Statement

2009-02-05T14:04:00.002-05:00

A brother in Christ, who is attempting to start a support group for pornography and sexual addiction asked me to "weigh in" with my opinion. Having dealt with and overcome (not by my doing but by the grace and strength that comes from God) a tenacious addiction to pornography, I feel qualified to speak on the issus; again, not by anything I have done, but by what Christ has done and continues to do in my life, from the inside out.

Below is my response to my friend's inquiry "What would you say needs to be the primary focus in overcoming pornography and sexual addiction?"

Lust, sexual immorality, sin against one's own flesh, idolatry, Satan and demonic forces, what it means and looks life to truly know and follow Christ and experience the power of His resurrection and the victory that comes with that power. I can speak from my own experience of being bound by pornography and the sexual sin and idolatry that came with that sin habit. Pornography is a vice or tool of the enemy, used by the enemy to captivate my heart and mind to the point that I become bound up, like a man in chains, unable to move forward through life the way God desires for me.

If we are to tackle and overcome any addiction, we must start at the core; at the very root of the problem. Pornography is no the root, it is the tool that Satan uses to draw out our fleshly nature. Through intensified feelings and emotions we become attached to that high and detached from the will of God for our lives. When our own flesh takes over, and we are ruled by our feelings and emotions, it is our hearts, which the Bible says is desperately wicked, that leads the way and runs our lives. When we give our lives completely to God, fully surrendered as living sacrifices (Rom.12:1-2); heart, mind, soul and strength, only then can we come to know and fully experience His plan and purpose for our lives. He then begins to transform us by the renewing of our minds, conforming us to His image, instead of the image of this world.

In my honest opinion, the whole recovery movement is bent on keeping our minds focused on the problem instead of on the solution. As long as I kept believing "I am in recovery" the more I believed I could have a "relapse." Thereby treating my "addiction" like cancer, that can come and go. As a born again child of God, I am not in remission from sin, I have been set free from sin, meaning that whatever used to bind me up, I have been loosed from. It really comes down to the state of one's mind. That is where the battle of good and evil takes place. That is the valley of decision. Do I choose God's way which always leads to victory, or do I choose the world's way or my own way, which are really one in the same. The world is filled with people who are bent on living life their own way, on their own terms. The world is self-centered. This is why Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world and neither are those who follow Him. The kingdom of God is made up of citizens who have abandoned their own will for what God wills. It is not a self-centered kingdom, but a Christ-centered kingdom. When I commit my life and will to following Christ, I am no longer the king of my own realm. I have surrendered the throne of my heart to the King of kings. I am no longer my own. I can speak from experience, that as long as I focused on my "sexual addiction" and recovering, I was focusing on my flesh, my emotions and feelings, my..., my...., etc. But when I fully surrendered my life to Christ and abandoned my own will, desires, ambitions, etc. Christ came in like a flood, and His Spirit took over.

I like to compare this to giving ownership of my earthly house (my physical body) back over to the One who designed and built it. I am not the owner, I am merely the occupant. When I did this, a new Landlord (Christ) took over. Since then, the Landlord has sent his Agent (Holy Spirit) to give eviction notices to all uninvited and unwelcome guests who desire to take up space within my head. Whenever a thought or an idea desires to take up residence within me, my response is to take it up with the Landlord. If He approves, then the thought or idea can stay and I can further explore them. If the Landlord does not approve, then they have to go. The Bible is my Landlord Statement. In this statement, the Landlord tells me what is good and acceptable.

Wrestlings of an inner-city church planter

2009-02-05T13:28:00.002-05:00

Below is a letter I wrote to a brother in Christ who is planting a church in the inner-city of Washington DC.. He is frustrated and feeling the pressures that many inner-city church planters have met with, including myself. I have copied and pasted this letter here as an encouragement to any one who is facing similar struggles and obstacles

Dear Brother in Christ,

Great to talk with you and pray with you today. Seems like we are dealing with a lot of the same stuff. God is bigger than the struggles we face and greater than anything the enemy may throw our way. Know, also, that God uses what seems to us to be obstacles to grow us and stretch us for His good purpose, so that when all is said and done, we will not be able to say, "Look what we have done," but, "Look at what God has done."
Denominational leaders do not always see the reality of what you and I have seen up close and first hand; drug dealers recruiting 11, 12 and 13 yr.old boys to be delivery boys, paying them money to ride drugs around the corner or down the street on their bikes. The gang bangers offering these same kids a family environment that they are not getting in the home. Pimps hanging around our inner-city neighborhood, buying candy and presents for preteen girls (we know what their real agenda is). Young, single mothers having baby after baby, and remaining stuck in a vicious cycle of public assistance, and dead beat dads who want nothing to do with the children they have fathered and brought into this world (which adds to this cycle by sparking a flame of anger and hostility within these fatherless children). Some of these single mothers have to resort to lying to the gov't, selling their bodies and/or drugs, etc, just to survive. All of this is a vicious cycle that feeds off of brokenness and hopelessness. This is what oppression and injustice look like up close and personal
It is these urban centers of brokenness, hopelessness and injustice that God has called men like you and me to go to, with His message of love, hope, peace and grace. Not just a message of words, but of works as well. Jesus dealt with the whole person. He fed them physically and spiritually. That's what He did. That is what he told His disciples to do. And that is what you and I must do. We are to live as Christ lived, love as He loved, and serve as He served. If we focus on the one simple task of knowing Christ and making Him known, it does not need to be any more complicated than that.

I will also say this. Be resolved to stick it out, no matter what. Regardless if anyone else sees your vision or feels your burden. If God has spoken to you, let that be your guiding voice. Seek godly counsel, listen to what they have to say. Accept whatever help God sends your way that will accomplish the mission He has sent you on. Let nothing hinder you or stand in your way. Be resolved to go wherever and do whatever, as God leads. I can honestly say that this is one hill I will stand on and die on because I know that God has sent me. God does not send people out to fail, but to accomplish His mission. And, wherever He guides, He also provides.
Amen, brother. Keep up the great work God has called you to. Call me anytime.

Cub Scout Outing:learning about God's other creatures...wildlife

2009-01-31T16:13:00.006-05:00

My wife and I tagged along with our son Jacob's Cub Sout troop as we visited Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and took in some snowshoeing and learning about the animal life in their natural habitat. Five Rivers is one of only three such places in New York State, which is operated by NYS Dept. of Envitonmental Conservation.

We started the outing inside the education building where one of ENCON's staff educators thouroughly descrided, to the boys, the natural habitat of such animals as racoons, deer, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, mice, birds, beavers, bears, etc. She also showed them, using a teaching tool called a "Snow Blanket," which is an actual white blanket with different animal footprints drawn onto it. The children learned that each animal has its own, unique set of footprints that no other animal group shares (by design or by chance?).They also learned to identify animals by their droppings, called "Scat" (aka poop). Along with their own unique footprints, each animal group has its own poop pattern (yah, we humans have our own duo of identifying tracks too).

After learning about animals and their tracks, we donned snow shoes and took to the trails, where the scouts actually got to track some of the footprints and scat they had heard about. We ended the outing with hot cocoa and cookies at the education center.

We had such a great time that we vowed to return. My family and I are even thinking about joining as members so that we can come back often and maybe plan a church group outing.

What is a church planter to do? recorded worship music vs. live worship team/band

2009-01-31T03:37:00.005-05:00

At the CORE Church of Troy we have been weighing the effectiveness of using recorded worship music vs. a live worship team/band. It is constant struggle finding and maintaining interest of a quality worship leader and musicians, scheduling practices, purchasing and maintaining musical instruments and sound equipment, etc.

With recorded music we can choose from a huge supply of quality music, from Hillsong, Vineyard, Integrity, Passion (Tomlin, Redman, Hall, Crowder, Fee, Christy and Nathan Nockels, etc). There is an incredible array of music to choose from, from traditional hymns to contemporary praise, to modern worship in every genre of music.

With recorded music attention and pressure are not on a worship team/band to lead worship vs. performing and entertaining. There are many who do this effectively, week after week, but not everyone can pull it off. What is an urban church planter, on a very limited budget, to do?

So far, using recorded music, combined with our CCLI license and some fairly inexpensive audio and video equipment, we have been able to put together a quality alternative that works for us. I have been to several churches that feature a quality, live worship experience. I am not knocking what they are doing. But, in an effort to a plant simple, reproducible church, recorded music is an affordable alternative.

Recorded music has its drawbacks though. It is quite and experience to sing with a live praise band. In fact, whenever I get the chance I hightail it to Northway Church in Clifton Park to worship with their band, led by worship pastor Kevin Brustle, and to hear Buddy Cremeans preach.

Any thoughts?

The painful experience of knowing and following Christ

2009-01-28T13:18:00.001-05:00

I was on Mars Hill Church’s blog where Pastor Mark Driscoll posted updates on their current sermon series, Trial: Eight Witnesses from 1 and 2 Peter series. In this post he was writing about suffering and its different facets in our lives. This resonated with me because we are currently going through a series on suffering, with the theme being, "The painful experience of knowing and following Christ."

In this series I am attempting to teach our local church the difference between…

1)suffering with and for Christ that comes as we choose to follow Christ and walk in His ways
2)the general, common suffering that all people, good and evil, experience and
3)suffering that we bring upon ourselves through our own sin, aka, reaping what you sow.

As we continue following Christ we will experience suffering in the form of persecution, sacrifice, loss and discipline from God. He will give us strength to endure this kind of suffering. As we continue to follow Christ, He will also give us the grace and strength to endure the common sufferings we, as humans, experience, and He will give us the wisdom and discernment to make right choices so that we can overcome the sinful nature that tempts us to do what we know is wrong, bringing suffering upon ourselves. As long as we continue in these earthly tents, we will experience suffering in all of its facets, at every level, and we will become more and more like Christ, in His suffering, in His death, in His victory, in His glory.

I am learning, as I continue to delve into the subject of suffering, that there is more to it than I have realized in my own walk w/Christ. Hopefully we can all learn together to endure the sufferings, trials and the pains of life.

This is a series within a series, as we started the new year looking at the “Greatest Experience in this Life(and beyond): The experience of knowing and following Christ. Using Phil. 3:10-11 as our series outline, we are looking at and considering five facets of the Christian experience.
Knowing and following Christ is, as Paul wrote, a

Personal Experience: “I want to know Christ…” Phil.3:10a
Powerful Experience: “…and the power of His resurrection…” Phil.3:10b
Painful Experience: “…and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering…” Phil.3:10c
Practical Experience: “…becoming like Him in His death.” Phil.3:10d
Purposeful Experience: “so that I may, in one way or another, attain to the resurrection from the dead. Phil.3:11

For the past couple of weeks we’ve been camping out in the “painful experience” of following Christ. We may be here for a while, wrestling with the painful truths of God’s word.

True change starts on the inside of each of us

2009-01-27T02:51:00.003-05:00

A week ago, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I attended a forum on racism at our local YWCA. My friend and partner in ministry, Rev. Willie Bacote, had invited me to the forum. He and I brought a group of neighborhood youth with us. During this forum we watched a documentary entitled "Skyn Deep" which was produced by the YWCA. The purpose of this film is to stir up conversation and to get people talking, honestly and openly, about the racial stereotypes and biases that we all have. At various intervals during the forum, the facilitator paused the film and asked questions from a printed hand out that everyone received at the beginning of the session. We were given time to write our own responses, then share them with the group, if we wanted to. A couple of the questions asked us about past experiences with people of different race and culture. My own memories of growing up in the inner-city and seeing racial injustice first hand were stirred up. I remembered (and shared), as a 10 year old white boy, living in a public housing project and being treated differently than boys my own age, whose skin color was bit darker. I would hear my white friends talk differently when the "colored kids" were around, than when they weren't around. At the age of 10, I would hear the double talk and sometimes go along with it to fit in. But there was something inside of me that made me uncomfortable, a still, small voice that said, "that's not right."

Now, 35 years later, I'm living and ministering in the same inner-city neighborhood I was born and raised in. There are many conversations going on about tackling the social ills that plague our inner-city communities. One issue that needs to be further addessed is that of racism. Whether we like to think about it or not, racism still exists. All of us have prejudices and biases that have been shaped by our environment, upbringing, culture, religion, etc. Planting churches and ministering in any community, especially inner-city communities, requires those who are called by God to such places, to tackle racism and cultural biases head on. American cities, at one time, were racially and culturally segregated. Most cities still bear the remnants of such division. However, there is a new, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural generation emerging from within these inner-city communities. This generation is more tolerant of racial and cultural diffrences, even to the point of inter-marrying and procreating. Bi-racial/multi-racial children are becoming more common among our urban landscapes. Yet the racial slurs and biases still exist, mostly taught and tolerated by the older generations who can't get past their own fears and insecurities.

We need to overcome racism by teaching our children to love and accept people who are diffrent than they are. The tone of one's skin is the way God created them. We do not need to relinqiush our ethnic and cultural heritage, but we can, by the grace of God, learn to live amongst one another, in the same community, loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves, regardless of their skin color, race, cultural upbringing, etc.

What would Jesus do? How would He live among us? He already did, leaving us an example to follow. As He said to His followers (disciples), "as I have done for you, so you do for one another." He was speaking about living as He lived, loving as He loved and serving as He served, thereby making Him known to a lost and dying world.

I admit that I don't have it all figured out. But, I am willing to work at bringing change to my own community. With a willing heart and the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, change will come. It starts on the inside of each of us.

Are you ready to get started?

are you ready to own lostness and injustice in your city?

2009-01-22T12:46:00.003-05:00

I am borrowing a line from my church planting friend and brother, Jay Hardwick, "...ready to own lostness and injustice in our city." Jay sent me a brief update on their progress with their church planting initiative Awaken Columbia via my facebook wall. Jay is planting an urban church in the city of Columbia, S.C. He was referring to a movement he, and others serving with him, are stirring up amongst people living in Columbia to not only see lostness and injustice, but do something about it.

I have never been to Columbia, but I am guessing that it is much like any other city dotting the map of the USA. There is an inner-city culture there with a landscape similar to my own, filled with urban blight, poverty, drugs and street gangs, violent street crimes, high rates of teen/unwed mothers, prostitution, juvinile delinquency, homelessness, etc. There is also a growing epidemic of hopelessness and dispair amongst a generation that does not see church and traditional, Biblical Christianity as relevant or useful in their lives, yet they know lostness and injustice first hand.

Much like my own city, I'm sure Columbia has seen its own share of local churches (perhaps even whole denominations) abandoning their inner-city neighborhoods for the greener pastures of the middle-class suburbs. Equally lacking is a desire among church planters and seminary grads to move into these inner-city neighborhoods for the sole purpose of living out the great commandment and the great commission. There has been a lot of talk over the past decade about what it means to be missional and incarnational. Guys like Jay Hardwick (and hopefully myself) are taking the God given task head (and hands) on. Praise God that a few church planters and mission boards are seeing the need and feeling the burden to go to these places that God has not forgotten nor abandoned, to bring a message of love and hope to people whom God loves.

It is my prayer that God will raise up an army, here in New York's capital region, as well as in Columbia and other cities across the US and around the world, who will take ownership of the "lostness and injustice" that exists there, and will stop at nothing to see God move amongst these people.

Are you ready to own lostness and injustice in your city?

Will the real Dave Lewis please stand up!

2009-01-21T20:04:00.003-05:00

One of my newest facebook friends is David Dunbar, President of Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield, PA.

David wrote a note on my FB wall stating that he knows another Dave Lewis who pastors a Methodist Church in his neck of the woods. I commented back to him that it does not surprise me, because just about everywhere, there seems to be another Dave Lewis. I thought it would make an interesting blog post.

Google David Lewis and some of the following will come up

There is David Lewis the congressman .NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 53
There is a convicted serial rapist, serving a life sentence in an Illinois St. correctional facility with the same name, and middle initial. That one came up when our local little league ran a volunteer background check on me (obviously not me).
There was an NFL player named David Lewis
There was a General Hospital/soap opera star by the same name along with a bunch of famous guys named David Lewis
There is another david Lewis here in Troy, who works for our city as a code enforcement officer,
There is a local dentist who also shares my name. I've actually gotten some of his mail, probably because we have similar street addresses.
While serving in the US Navy, visiting a naval base club in Rota, Spain, I answered a page for a David Lewis, only to find out it was for another sailor by the same name.
I've met black men named Dave Lewis and white men named Dave Lewis. I once even met a half Korean man named Dave Lewis
There's probably a host of Dave or David Lewis's in any given city in the US or abroad.

So, don't call me congressman Dave Lewis, convicted serial rapist Dave Lewis, NFL star Dave Lewis, former soap star Dave Lewis (now deceased I believe), Troy code enforcement officer Dave Lewis, Dr. Dave Lewis, DDS, etc. I'm just another Dave Lewis, living and breathing on God's green earth.

Call me...

regular guy Dave Lewis,
church planter Dave Lewis,
Christ following Son of God Dave Lewis,
son of Ray and Lynn Dave Lewis,
husband of Brenda/Dad of Dan and Jake Dave Lewis,
Core Church of Troy Pastor Dave Lewis
taxpayer Dave Lewis (but which one?)
etc., etc, etc.

and if you happen to bump into a Dave Lewis in your own travels, it just may be me, or maybe not!

Barack Obama and the hope of a dream fulfilled

2009-01-20T15:46:00.004-05:00

Like most Americans I was tuned into TV today's coverage of Barack Obama's inauguration. I am filled with a sense of hope for many reasons. here are a few of my thoughts.

the end of an administration that has seen little tangible success. Dubya's administration reflected the way it started out at the turn of the century; chaotic and controversial. Remember the way he got into office and the scandal surrounding the election process?
the conversation surrounding racial equality has taken a giant leap forward, with our first African American president taking office. It is my hope that Obama (and all people) will be judged by the content of his character, and not by the color of his skin. Many Americans are willing to do just that, while many more still cling to racial biases that will dictate how they look at our new president, or any one else who is different from them for that matter.
I am hopeful that the walls that separate us will come down, and that racism will be eliminated. Barack Obama's election furthers such hope among all Americans, not just African-Americans. Just as Martin Luther King's "Dream" encompassed all people, so the election of our first black president is for all of us... "One nation under God".

What Obama's election will not provide:

The answer to all of our problems. We may have a renewed sense of hope; individually as well as collectively, but Barack Obama cannot do it alone. Nor can he provide the answers to our greatest dilemma, which is spiritual in nature. He may be able to, with the help of others, lead our nation to brighter days, but we dare not put all of our faith and hope in one man. Let us pray for him and do our part as citizens, but let us look to God for the answers that only He can provide. God will use Barack Obama for His good purpose, perhaps to unite us as a nation or even more. Only time will tell.
The fulfillment of MLK's dream. As many have said, this is just the next step (a big one I might add) in the process of uniting us as a nation and breaking down the walls of racism. The real work is ongoing, as we embrace the reality of what it will take to see King's dream become reality. We need to come together and continue the conversation with openness and honesty. The only way combat and overcome the differences that separte us is to come together in the bond of God's perfect love, and to speak truthfully to one another; confess our sins of pride and prejudice, and realize that God, indeed, created us equal. We can do this without abandoning our own cultural heritages, as God, through His Spirit, develops a new culture among and within us. It is a Jesus culture;one that is defined by the love we have for God and one another.
True and everlasting peace. President Obama may be able to resurrect our fallen economy. He may also be able to restore peace in the US and abroad. He may, very well, go down as the greatest president our nation has ever known. But true and everlasting peace come from another King who laid down His life for the sins of the world.

When we, as followers of Christ, come together as one body, the world will see what God can do. God's desire is to use us, the Church, as His light in the midst of a dark and dying world. As we live, love and serve the way Christ did, Christ will be seen through us, and people will see the True and Living Way to God

Knowing Christ is a Powerful Experience

2009-01-16T12:40:00.004-05:00

Philippians 3:10-11

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul says, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection..." (3:10b)

The NLT puts it this way, "...and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead."

Knowing Christ personally is to experience the full power of His resurrection; the power that flows from union with the resurrected Christ. The very same power that raised Him from the dead will also give new and everlasting life to our mortal bodies.

Philippians 3:20-21
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

1 Corinthians 15:42-43
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

Ephesians 1:18-20
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

In the power of His resurrection there is:

* Hope and strength for daily living
* Freedom from the power and dominion of sin (Romans 6:5-14)
* Victory over death, darkness and the devil
* The promise of eternal life (John 11:25-26)
* The promise of our helper and comforter, the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17, 25-26)

One of my favorite TV Dramas, ER, is wrappiing up production after fifteen great seasons of hospital emergency room drama. A common scenario in this and other hospital dramas is that of a person in cardiac arrest; their heart stops beating, medical personnel rush in with a "crash cart," grease up the defibrillator paddles, place them on the patient's chest and zap him. Power flows through the paddles and the patient's heart starts beating again. He's been zapped with new life. In the power of Christ's resurrection we are zapped with new life as Jesus pumps His Spirit and His life into us. We are then empowered to live abundant, joy filled, victorious lives in Him.

Are you experiencing the power of Christ's resurrection in your life, daily?

If you have encountered Christ personally, coming to know Him as Lord and Savior, this same power that raised Him from the dead is available. As you live amongst your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends; as you go through the daily struggles and trials of life, perhaps a jolt of His resurrection power is what you need.

Indeed, knowing Christ is first a personal experience and a powerful experience as we seek Him daily. Know also that it is, often, a painful experience.

Join us at the CORE Church of Troy this coming Sunday, January 18th, for the next part in this sermon series. I've referred to this series by two titles.

New Goals for a New Year
The Greatest experience of a lifetime (and beyond)

We could call it "Set a new goal for the new year; to encounter the greatest experience of a lifetime and beyond." That's kind of long, but it works. This sentence also describes the content of the 5 part series

Discovering the Value of Social Media and Networking

2009-01-15T10:13:00.002-05:00

My Twitter Bio:
Lead pastor of the CORE Church of Troy, social media/networking apprentice on my way to ninja status, helping people find their way back to God.

At the young age of 45, I'm caught between the TV/Telephone generation and the current iGeneration; internet, iPod, iPhone, etc. I am seeing the need to get with the times; to change with the changing times and embrace modern technology.

Social media and networking via the internet is not a new thing. Chat rooms, discussion boards, forums, etc. Have been around for awhile. What seems to be happening (I am a slow learner) is a streamlining or simplifying of what we've been enjoying for two decades.

I'm still a little behind. I don't have an internet ready cell phone. I still have my two and a half year old Cingular(now AT&T)/LG flip phone. I'm still learning the texting and IM features. Someday I'll move up to a Blackberry or an iPhone. But, by then there will be a new thing everyone else will be flocking to. I'm not as internet savvy as those who are half my age. I'm learning what SEO and other internet terminology is and hopefully I'll catch up and reach ninja status. But for now I'm enjoying being an apprentice of social media and networking and reaping the benefits thereof.

People Planting!

2009-01-11T16:32:00.006-05:00

What A Crew!

This past Saturday, with the winter temperatures dipping into single digits, what better way to spend the morning than painting and sprucing up an old church building.

We have been using the basement level of the CORE Church building for many outreach events over the past few years. There is plenty of room for a wide variety of activities here. However, when we took the building over from the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church at the end 0f 2005, this basement level was barely useable. We removed some rotted, wooded partitions, along with the majority of the wood and tile flooring, which was also rotted and seriously deteriorating. We brought the floor down to its original cement base with the plan of putting a new floor, either wood or poured cement, at some point in the future. For now we are using it as is, with some indoor/outdoor carpeting placed over the cement floor. We have held many community and/or children's events in this room, partnering with other churches, our local neighborhood association, and most recently with the Missing Link Street Ministry in hosting a three day per week feeding ministry. Our plan is to continue using this room for free community events, including the Feed-a-Kid ministry, CORE/Kids events, holiday parties, movie nights, teen nights, etc.

The vision God gave me three years ago, when we came back to Troy to re-start a dying church, recontexualized for inner-city ministry, is that of a community of Christ-centered faith that goes beyond the four walls of our God-given facility, reaching into the surrounding community with the love, grace, peace and hope of Christ. This facility provides ample community space for gatherings, giving us opportunities to connect with people and families living in the North Central/South Lansingburgh community. Collabortive partnerships with other local churches and ministries, along with neighborhood groups, local schools, businesses, etc. is a necessary component of planting churches in our inner-cities. Church planting is really "People Planting." By partnering with others the CORE Church of Troy will be successful in carrying out the mission God has sent us here to fulfill; which is to make Him known in the hearts of people living in the heart of the city.

By continuing to renovate this century old facility, we will see the vision of a seven day per week ministry unfold. As God gives the increase, we will have front row seats to watch what He is doing in this community through His people. My deepest passion and desire is to see this community transformed by the hand of God. Being a part of this transformation is a tremendous blessing that I desire not to take for granted. Every hand and heart God has moved to join us in this effort has not gone unnoticed, and we thank God for ever one of them.

Perhaps you, your church, or someone you know would like to join us in this great commission vision of reaching the people of this community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You may join us prayerfully by lifting us up in regular prayer. You may join us physically by co-laboring with us (please contact us for more info). You may also join us financially, by sending us your best financial gift; either one time giving or regular support.

You can make checks payable to the CORE Church of Troy. Our address is 6th Ave & 101st St. Troy, NY 12180.

Additionally, I do not take a salary or even a stipend from this new work called The CORE Church of Troy. My personal/family support comes through the missions agency that I serve with, Missions Door . If you or your church would consider supporting the Lewis family in the Great Commission vision God has appointed us and anointed us to, we would consider it a tremendous blessing. You can check out Pastor Dave's online bio HERE.

when making connections, everyone counts

2009-01-09T15:28:00.002-05:00

I was watching Ugly Betty last night. The episode was all about social networking. Betty was a little behind on this important aspect of the corporate world, so she tagged along with a coworker to a party where he filled Betty in on the do's and don'ts of connecting and networking. He told her to introduce, share a tidbit of information, exchange buisness cards, and move on. So she went about applying what she had been told. But she found it difficult to talk to people for such a short time and ended up spending twenty minutes talking to a caterer. Her co-workers criticized her saying, "No one talks to the caterer, especially for twenty minutes." She felt like a failure.
However, later on in the episode Betty found herself in a jam. As she thought about whom to call, the caterer came to mind. She found his business card, called him, and he came through for her.

What did I get out of this? all the people we meet are important. The ones we think are insignicant may be the ones we call on when we find ourselves in a bit of a dilemma.It may be a caterer or a janitor, or it may be the CEO of a company...you never know!

New Sermon series: Part 1

2009-01-09T12:24:00.004-05:00

Knowing Christ is a Personal Experience

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Phip.3:10-11, NKJV)

A. Paul says, "I want to know Christ..." (Phil.3:10)

Paul once put confidence in the flesh, personal achievements, and self-righteous legalism (Phil. 3:4-6).
In his former life, before He came to know Christ (Acts 9:1-7), he had religion, position, influence and power in society.
He came from the right family and the right tribe. He had all the right stuff that makes a man great in the eyes of the world; even in religious circles.
Yet he put all of this aside, counting it worthless, for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ personally as Lord and friend(Phil.3:7-9)
Paul goes on to encourage and exhort the Philippiam Christians to do the same; that is, to seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to grow in Him, instead of striving to please God in the flesh.

Know" in this context comes from the greek word (ginosko) which is the same term used in other New Testament passages to convey the idea of the connection or union between a husband and wife. This implies:

Intimate relationship vs. intellectual knowledge; not just a head knowledge, but a personal, intimate relationship that continues to grows deeper as each day passes.
To know Christ personally is to know God. Jesus clearly made this connection

If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:7);

"...He who has seen Me has seen the Father..." (John 14:9)

Paul is saying in Philippians 3:10, "I want to know Him as my closest, most personal friend" (John 15:15)
Friends spend time together, listen to one another, and are honest with one another; even when it hurts. Friends trust one another and often know each other better than they know themselves
How can I tell others about someone I don't know personally in my own life? I can tell others about George Washington or Elvis Presley, yet I never knew either of them personally.
We can know Jesus Christ personally and intimately, although none of us have ever seen Him in the flesh.
As we share Christ with others, will they respond more to a mere head knowledge or formal religion, or to a personal experience with a personal friend?

There is a song entitled "Name" from several years back, written and recorded by Christian band PFR. The chorus of the song goes like this

My hands they made you,

My breath I gave you,

My son he saves you

If you want to, you can wear My name

My love unending,

My truth unbending

I want you to wear My name

God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us; He wants each of us to wear His name. That is personal.
Our goal as followers of Christ is to know God personally, to grow daily in this relationship, and then make Him known to others as He reveals Himself to us and through us.

Do you know God like this? You can!

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:23, NKJV)

When you come to know God like this, you will discover the greatest experience in this life and beyond!

Knowing Christ is not only a personal experience, but also a powerful experience

New CORE Church sermon series: New Goals for a New Year

2009-01-09T11:20:00.003-05:00

What are your goals in life? What about for the next year?

We have experienced the first week of 2009. Many of us have set resolutions for the new year in an attempt to improve our lives. Some of us have pledged to take up a new, healthy habit such as dieting and exercise, or to give up unhealthy ones; smoking, cursing, etc. Many Christians resolve to do better at reading their Bibles, going to church more regularly and being more actively involved. Some set more lofty goals such as continuing education or running for public office. Some of us are making progress, while others are not doing so great.

As we search for significance in this life, many of us set goals and strive to meet them. However, the ultimate goal in life, as the Apostle Paul discovered, is to know Jesus Christ, to grow in an intimate relationship with Him, and to make Him known to others.

In Philippians chapter 3, Paul expresses what he has discovered to be the number one aim in his life; to draw closer to God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to experience the benefits of this relationship in his daily life.

After many years of life and ministry, Paul's goal in life had changed; from one of confidence in the flesh, driven by personal achievement and self-righteousness, to a much more humble, simpler, single minded goal; to seek after a life that is found in Christ alone, and to live this life in the fulness that Christ promises to those who follow Him.

How can each of us realize this same goal in our daily lives?

Here in God's word we are exhorted to not put confidence in what we have done or can do to make our lives better; to somehow improve our human experience on this earth and in this life, but to seek after and put confidence in a personal, powerful, often painful, practical and purposeful relationship with the Living God, so that we may truly experience life the way God intended from the beginning of creation. This experience is for now and for eternity, as we come to know and experience Christ in our daily lives

Over the next several weeks we will take a look at five facets of the greatest experience any of us can know, in this life and beyond. Using Philippians 3:10-11 as our backdrop and outline, we will search the Scriptures together and either discover this experience for the first time, or rediscover it anew.

Personal Experience..."I want know Christ..." Phil.3:10a
Powerful Experience..."And the power of His resurrection..." 3:10b
Painful Experience..."and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering..." 3:10c
Practical Experience..."becoming like Him in His death..." 3:10d
Purposeful Experience..."if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." 3:11

Follow along as we experience God's truth together!

Burden>Vision>Provision Part II

2009-01-08T16:30:00.002-05:00

Burden defined: something that is carried; load, duty, responsibility.

There are several uses of this word in Scripture.Psalm 55:22 says, Cast your burden on the Lord, for He cares for you.

Here, burden = worries and anxieties; things that weigh us down (see Matt.6:25-34; 11:28; Gal.6:2)

A burden is also a sense of duty or responsibility. It is more than simply seeing an unmet need. There are many things that we see that are wrong or needs that go unmet, some that we may feel led to pray for. However, a burden, from my experience is something I see and pray for and then feel a tremendous weight of responsibility to take action and do something about.
Jesus was burdened when he saw the multitudes, "When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt.9:36)

He did more than just see them and feel bad for them. He was "moved" with compassion. IOW, He took action. Moved with compassion = burden . The thought of people, harassed and helpless, wandering aimlessly through life, grabbed ahold of His heart and tugged on Him. He was consumed with the duty/responsibility to do something in response to the need he saw.

A burden from the Lord is a sense of duty and responsibility towards a particular people in a particular place. I see a need. I pray for the people who have this need. I ask the Lord to provide for this need that is unmet. He responds by asking me,"What will you do in response to this unmet need?"

Matthew 9:35-38. Jesus sees a great need; a plentiful harvest filled with needy people. He then turns to His disciples and commands them to pray, so that God will send out more laborers to join the few who are already laboring. Then in Ch.10 he instructs them to go and prepares them for the task at hand.

He gave them a burden "The harvest is plentiful, yet very few have responded, pray about what God would have you to do." That's a burden...Jesus laying the need before them. Vision comes when they pray, when they say, "We see the need, Lord, what are we to do."

Vision, then, is how I see meeting meeting the need that God has layed before me (burden). As I pray for these people and the need (or unmet need) hat I see, what will my response be. I pray, and God shows me the way to meet the need.

Provision= God providing the resources to meet the need that I saw and prayed for.

I saw the need and felt a responsiblity to do something (Burden)
I prayed to the Lord and He showed/revealed to me what to do and how to do it (Vision)
I began to develop enthusiasm and motivation to take action; I went to the people and place God had given me a burden and vision for. Now He is providing the resources for me to carry out the mission He has sent me on. (Provision)

Vision follows burden...provision follows vision

From Prevision to Vision to Provision: my journey of faith and call to church planting

2009-01-07T13:53:00.003-05:00

I am currently studying Abraham's experience of hearing from God, as recorded in Genesis 12-15, and Hebrews 11:8-10. I have also read and studied Nehemiah and his return to the ruins of Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of that city; the birth place of his ancestors. Also, Jesus, Himself, and how He saw things and responded. Most prominent to me are the words recorded by Matthew.

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matt.9:35-38, NKJV)

From verse 36 we see a Biblical picture of what a "burden" is. The Scripture says (of Jesus) that "When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them..." That is what a burden from God looks like. It is not merely thinking about a person or people. It is thinking about a person or people in such a way that it burns its way into our hearts and tugs on us. Burden moves us to take action, out of love and compassion, as opposed to getting a plaque or some other earthly reward.

A burden in me says this, "I see these people. I see them struggling. I see a need that is unmet. What can I do to meet that need, ease their struggle, and give them hope and peace?"

For me, it was the very neighborhood I grew up in. Without knowing it was a burden from God, I would often think about and pray for this neighborhood; whenever I would hear on the evening news, or read in the newspaper, that another drug raid has taken place, another young person has been shot and killed, another citizen complaining about the crime and urban blight, another politician promising to do something when he or she is running for office and then doing nothing once they get elected. This is the neighborhood where most of Troy's citizens just roll up their car windows, lock their doors, and drive through it as fast as they can. Anyone who wants to get from Troy to North Troy (Lansingburgh) must drive through North Central. There are two streets that parrallel the Hudson River and run South to North and vice versa. As people drive north and cross 101st St., River St. becomes 2nd Ave and 6th Ave becomes 5th Ave. This is my Jerusalem, the place where I first took the breath of life, the streets I ran and played in as a boy.

For twelve years, while living and working just 20 or so miles west of Troy, in the city of Schenectady, I thought about my old stomping ground. As I responded to God's call to ministry, went to seminary and graduated, served on the ministry staff of City Mission of Schenectady and started my family, God was preparing me to go back; back to the streets He rescued me from.

As I look at my own journey and experience, what I see so far are three phases

Prevision
Vision
Provision

Prevision is the period in my life that led to the vision phase. This prevision phase includes everything in my life up until the point of seeing that God had called me to ministry and to a particular people in a particular place. Everything counts in the prevision phase, because it was in this prevision stage that God was molding me, shaping me and preparing me for the next phase of my journey with Him.

I used to think that all of the stuff I did before I came to know Christ personally (my BC days) didn't really matter; the mistakes I made, the people I met, the places I went, all of the things I thought, said and did in my heathen/rebellious/idolatrous days. But they did matter. As God said to Jeremiah

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

Before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer.1:5, NKJV)

Nothing that we have experienced or gone through is a mistake. Even times of suffering and affliction God has used to bring about His plan. The failures and frustrations of our past, along with times of joy and prosperity, are all a part of God's fine tuning and preparation. We see this reality time and again in the Scriptures;Joseph being sold into slavery and imprisoned, Moses being adopted by Pharoah's daughter and raised in Egypt, Daniel and his friends captured in the Babylonian captivity and put to service before Nebuchadnezzar--all of it designed by God for His good purpose.

This is all part of the pre-vision stage.

More to come...

Journaling my Church Planting Journey

2009-01-07T13:34:00.002-05:00

I have been asked numerous times by many people to share my experience and journey as an inner-city church planter. I was doing this one or two at a time via e-mail, Facebook messages, etc., and in bits aand pieces via Twitter. The next logical step in doing this is to blog about it.

I was on an SEO website/blog today where the writer was sharing tips on how to have a thriving online presence through blogging and social media. His #1 tip? Blog/commincate about something you are passionate about, because if you don't love what you are doing and telling others about, then others will see through that and will pay little if any attention to what you are saying.

The #1 thing I am most passionate about is knowing Christ and making Him known. This is my personal purpose and mission statement; "To know Christ, to grow in Him, and to make Him known to others." That's it. From that purpose statement comes my vision and strategy--how I see myself accomplishing my purpose and mission, which is: to live as Christ lived, love as He loved, and serve as He served. If I can truly do that the fruit will come as I abide in Christ and He in me.

I am on a personal quest through the Scriptures in an effort to see how God reveals His plans to those whom He calls into action.

The idea is to try and identify how God has spoken to me, through His word and through the turn of events, and discern a somewhat understandable, working knowledge. I realize I cannot understand everything; that what God wants to do in me and through me is beyond what I can fully comprehend or imagine (Eph.3:20). However, in order to share my experience with others, what can I know, understand, and then pass along? So far, I am seeing a discernable pattern emerging. Is this a Biblical pattern, or just my attempt to define my experience and put it in a box and label it? We shall see!

Saying goodbye to a faithful friend

2009-01-06T23:42:00.003-05:00

Kitty and I met 16 years ago, in the fall of 1992, at a pet shop in Latham Circle Mall. I was a single man back then. I saw her in the pet store window and adopted her, took her home to my bachelor pad, and we became like family. It was just a few months before I met my wife. When Brenda and I were married, Kitty continued to be a part of our family, along with a stray cat we named Snuggles, because of his affectionate nature. When our two boys came along, Kitty and Snuggles were there. As The boys learned to walk and grab their tails and rough house with them, they just took it in stride. When they would pick Kitty up and carry her around the room, hanging onto her neck as her feet dragged on the floor, she did not once hiss or bite or scratch, she just went along for the ride. The boys became quite fond of our two cats.

Just as this past holiday season kicked off, my wife and I noticed that Kitty didn't look right. she was dehydrated and her stomach seemed to be bloated, yet she was still eating and moving around pretty good, so we decided to wait and see how she does through holidays before taking her to the vet clinic. As Christmas came and went, she seemed to be getting progressively worse. She stopped using the litter box and would no longer eat hard food, and barely any soft food, and she continued to look thinner and more frail. As New Year's day came and went, we noticed that she would lie in one spot for hours and hours without moving. Finally, just this morning, her breathing became heavy and labored, as she would take large gasps of air and struggle to breathe. When my son Daniel came home from school, he looked at her and thought she was dead. She was not moving at all, and she was barely breathing. So, I finally gave in and admitted to myself what I really didn't want to admit; that it's her time to go and to carry this out any longer would be cruel to her. So Dan and I loaded her into the pet carrier and took her to the vet clinic. The veterinarian examined her and told us straight up, "There's nothing we can do that would improve her quality of life, she's lived a good life of 16 years, it's time to do the humane thing and not let her suffer anymore." So we allowed him to euthinize her, as we stood by her side. I tried to be strong and not break down myself, as my son melted in my arms.The doctor left us so that we could say our goodbyes. Dan and I stood there and cried for a good five to ten minutes, and then we left. This was Daniel and Jacob's first experience with losing a pet.

It was a silent ride home from the vet clinic. Dan clung to the pet carrier all the way home, as if Kitty was still inside. When we arrived home and went inside, Mom and younger brother Jacob, along with their school friend Robert, greeted us at the door. And we all embraced and had a family moment. Jacob was sad to see that we didn't have Kitty with us and went to inform our other cat that Kitty was gone. Robert and mom sat with Dan and consoled him for awhile. And I really needed to have a few moments alone. I guess after 16 years together, Kitty had formed a bond with me and my family. She was family. My sons loved her and so did my wife and I. She was my "pretty girl" and she loved to snuggle and was very affectionate. I am sad to see her go. We will all miss her.

Good bye Kitty. We know you're not suffering anymore. May you rest in peace!

The song Playlist has to go!

2009-01-05T15:47:00.003-05:00

Some visitors to this blog have mentioned to me that having two audio plugins embedded on the same blog is confusing as the Playlist songs and Planting Channel videos mesh together and compete for attention. I was left with a choice...music or videos. I opted for what I believe my blog readers would find more beneficial (and what I would prefer if I were visiting someone else's blog), So, I unembedded the Playlist file. Sorry music fans, you'll have to listen to The Afters and Third Day elsewhere.

Our beautiful, chaotic mess

2009-01-05T15:33:00.002-05:00

Chatting with Dave Brown of Austin, TX, via Facebook re: Chaos vs. Order, Dave brought up a great point;that what we perceive to be chaotic and disorderly may be from our perspective and not God's. What we see as a chaotic mess, God is making into something beautiful.

What we have here in Troy NY,aka, the mission field God has sent us to, often seems like a chaotic mess. I am trusting (no, I'm convinced) that God is molding and shaping our chaotic mess into something beautiful, in His eyes that is, and in the eyes of those who are seeing from God's perspective. I guess, as Dave Brown alluded to, it's really a matter of whose lens you're looking through.

When is Church?

2009-01-05T14:49:00.003-05:00

Having said what I said in my previous blog post, I recognize that our God is not a God of chaos and disorder, but of order and peace. His order and peace come when He is truly the God of me and the God of His Church and when we come together in the unity of the Holy Spirit. While I may be tired of church as usual, I still recognize the need to meet at a specific time and place, and that groups larger than 12-15 need more space than the average home was designed to accomodate, unless of course you live in a 10,000sq.ft. mansion. So, there is still a need and a legitimate use for the old church buildings, and even the newer ones for thatmetter. I just want to get past the mindset that church is merely a place or an event that occurs at specific times during any given day or week. We are the church collectively and individually. Church does not stop when the worship service and fellowship hour have ended, and the lights have been turned off and the facilities have been locked and secured.

If we truly are the Body of Christ and Christ is truly the head, then Church goes on 24/7; when we meet as a large group on Sunday mornings and on other days and times, as well as in small groups in homes throughout the week, or even smaller groups in a coffee shop.

When I am in my house with my family, praying together and eating meals and living life together, is that "Church" ("wherever 2 or more are gathered in My name, there I am in their midst").

When a group of of people are gathered at the church building, serving and partaking in a community meal to feed hungry children and families, is that church? We may not be gathered in the sanctuary and singing praise songs to some nicely arranged music, wearing our Sunday best, or passing the collection plate, but when I look at what the early church did, as recorded in the book of Acts,

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

I can't help but think that our community meal gatherings fit into this description of what the First Church at Jerusalem did when they assembled themselves together for the purposes mentioned above. We come together. We hear from the word of God, we eat together and we pray together, and we are learning how to live this life together as followers of Christ.

What if some of the people who come together for these community meals are members of other local churches and not members of my local church. Are we still the church? Are we still "having church" even though we are not assembling with our respective pastors and flocks?

The Church is not merely a "What" but a "Who."

2009-01-05T13:22:00.002-05:00

One of the prevailing thoughts that continually permeates my heart and mind (I'd say that's what a burden is) is that of what the church is. So often, and for too long, we have bought into the idea that the church is merely a "What," an inamimate thing or entity; a building, the place we go to to worship God, aka, God's house. This concept has been culturally and socially ingrained into our minds, to the point that is difficult to separate from it. As I read through and study the the Gospels, the book of Acts and the Epistles, I see what many people see; that the church is not a place, but a people. It is not a building, but a body. It is not an organization, but a living, breathing organism. I haven't discovered anything new. Yes, I have read Purpose Driven Church at least a half dozen times, along with a host of other books about church planting, evangelism, church growth, etc. I have been to numerous church planting and missions conferences. I have heard all the arguments. But at last a Biblical framework is taking root in my heart, as well as in my mind. The Holy Spirit is compelling me to not focus too much time and energy on buildings and budgets, but on building relationships with people in the community, for the puspose of making Christ known. For the past three years my constant prayer has been that Christ would build His church in the community He has sent me to. At the same time He has been breaking me of the religious/organizational mindset that has permeated Christianity for so long. When I first started thinking like this I thought I was nuts, on the fringes, a fool. But then I met and guys like Ed Stetzer, Alan Hirsch, Frank Viola, Neil Cole and a host of others, many of whom are unknown names within the larger church planting community. What I have seen, for the most part, are many people talking about this very issue, yet very few are breaking away from that mindset; perhaps out of fear of losing denominational support, or being labled a heretic. Or, like me, too attached to what has been the norm for centuries. Who am I to break from tradition?

However, as I have been praying and fasting and spending gobs of time in the word of God and studying, meditating, soul searching, etc, etc, etc, I have come to the conclusion that I need a much more simple plan to follow; something real and authentic that consumes me and effects every part of me; heart, mind, soul and strength (and all that it implies or entails). If that is my Biblically and Spiritually induced mindset, then what is the average person in the street looking for? Well, for three years I have been trying to apply the "Church as usual", open the building and invite them in approach to church planting, while at the same time, getting outside the four walls of the church building and doing "outreach and evangelism" for the purpose of...you guessed it...inviting people to become Christians and come to our building, become members of our church, particpate in our programs, support us with their tithes and offerings, etc.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of playing church. I'm tired of denominational politics. I'm tired of religion. I'm tired trying to sell my idea of church to some people while others living around me are going without some of the basic staples of life. I'm tired of trying to please the minority when the majority could care less about our building and budget, our programs and our polity.

I simply want to live as Christ lived, love as He loved, and serve as He served. I believe ,with every ounce of my being, that if I can truly live like that and lead others in this same focus and direction, my community and my city will be dramtically changed by the hand of God. The first century church lived like this, and they found favor with both God and man. The unchurched/ungodly people living within their community were astounded at the love and unity that flowed through this group of Christ followers (read the book of Acts).

The church is not merely a "what" but a Who. We are the people of God. Not "me" but "We."

That's what I want...nothing less, but much more than I could ever imagine or hope for (Eph.3:20-21)

Having fun being missional and incarnational

2009-01-03T23:49:00.002-05:00

In the three years we have been in Troy, learning the ropes of church planting and urban missions from an insider's perspective, I have taken the time and opportunity to attend many conferences, both locally and nationally, in an effort to learn and grow. Additionally, I have read numerous books authored by some of the leading thinkers in the realm of church planting. The buzz words, "Missional" and "Incarnational" have sunk into my brain, but my heart is still in the "seeker sensitive" stage.

For instance, I am learning through hands on experience, that being missional and incarnational is not a program, strategy, event, or some new idea that formulated with Ed Stetzer, Alan Hirsch or even Darrell Guder, but simply means living in the community God has sent me to, as a person being transformed daily by Christ. As He lives in me and through me, I am living in such a way that I become the salt and light Jesus spoke of in his Sermon on the Mount.

For me, being "missional" and "incarnational" simply means being the person God created me to be in the place where I live, work and play. It means letting go of what I know and letting Christ truly live His life (Zoe) through me. Then I am able to love as he loved, live as he lived and serve as he served; not merely some superficial vocation that I wear on my sleeve, but a life that is surrendered to do whatever and go wherever the Holy Sprit leads.

I am learning that being missional and incarnational can be fun (it is fun), because if it simply means me being the new man God has created me to be, in the place, and among the people God has sent me to, then by taking my kids and a bunch of neighborhood kids sledding in a nearby park, and then chilling out with some hot cocoa and munchies afterward, and chatting about every day stuff like school, families, life and things that bother us...if that's being missional and incarnational...sign me up every day!

Thinking of creative ways to use an old church building for the glory of the Lord

2009-01-03T21:20:00.004-05:00

Three years ago we came to Troy at the invitation of Rev. Perry Jones, director of the Capital City Rescue Mission, and several Conservative Baptist leaders who wanted to see the recently closed Sixth Avenue Baptist Church continue as a local church, but recontextualized for urban/inner-city ministry. For me, it meant moving back to the very neighborhood I was born and raised in. For my wife and children it was a whole new thing.

After praying about it for several weeks, we felt the Lord leading us to go to Troy. Even knowing that Sixth Avenue Baptist had closed, that we'd be taking over an empty, century old 10,000 sq.ft. church building that is showing its age, that there was very little money left in their bank account (which was pretty much gone by the end of 2005-06 winter heating season), and that the church building was located smack dab in the middle of Troy's darkest, most distressed (so they say) neighborhood, did not hinder us from making the 25 mile relocation from Schenectady to Troy.

The first year was sort of a honeymoon period. We closed down the building for a short period of time and began to assess what needed to be done to begin refitting the building for inner-city ministry. We saw the extra large kitchen, complete with a mint condition, ten burner Vulcan gas range to be an asset, and the vision of (0ne day) serving a daily community meal began to scratch its way into my brain. We gathered up a bunch of old furniture which proved to be genuine antiques and hired an auctioneer to sell them, which gave us some additional start up funds. We then began the laborious task of ripping out old, water-stained, mildew ridden carpeting, along with a rotted basement floor and wooden partitions. The basement had been divided into several smaller rooms with wooden partial walls, which had become dry rotted and permeated with the stench of mold. We began meeting weekly, as a small group, for worship and prayer. There were seven of us at that point; me and my family, and three good friends who chose to join us in those early days of ministry. In the summer of 2006 we filed DBA papers with Renssalaer County and became known as The CORE Church of Troy. It was also during this first year that my family and I moved to Troy. It was not that big of a move for me, but my young sons had been uprooted from the only home they had known and placed into a new public school with teachers and kids they didn't know. It took some time, but we all adjusted to our new mission field. Three years into this and we're all making new friends and learning what it looks like to be missionaries in our community.

Year two: we welcomed mission teams from West Lebanon, New Hampshire, who came and blessed us. They painted the sanctuary and front entry vestibule and helped us scrub this old church building from top to bottom (on the inside of course). They also helped us with some neighborhood outreach, which brought many neighborhood children into our church for the first time. Our friends from Westerlo Baptist Church, Westerlo, N.Y. joined us on many occasions for work parties, as well as our first Christmas outreach, through which we were able to give some holiday cheer to more than 200 neighborhood children. We hosted our first block party which we called "Taking it to the Streets." Donna Walsh (now Donna Munafo) and her band, 4ever1, partnered with us for this event, along with Victorious Life Christian Church and many other local pastors and churches who came and helped us serve our community.

Year three: We continued to draw more and more neighborhood children, to the point where the adults were out numbered 2-1. This was a challenge we did not anticipate. Especially challenging was the fact that many of these kids were receiving little discipline in their homes and were bringing that lack of discipline with them to church, along with hungry stomachs. We prayerfully accepted this challenge and began serving lunch every Sunday after church, along with offering children's church and CORE/kids events like movie days, crafts, outdoor events, etc.

Halfway through year three, in the summer 0f 2008, we were introduced to Rev. Willie Bacote, who had voiced his burden for doing more to make the community a better place for the kids who live here, and a Divinely appointed and anointed parthership began. The CORE Church and Missing Link Street Ministry began hosting a three day per week "Feed a Kid" ministry, providing hot, nutritious meals to neighborhood children and their families. What was originally designed to be a summer meal program began to draw large numbers; as many as 150-200. We also began to draw opposition from certain community leaders who preferred that we take the meals and related children's activities "indoors," as they were displeased with the amount of traffic and noise our outdoor ministry lot was drawing. Enduring their opposition, we continued to do the work God had commissioned us to do. As the summer heat began to fade and autumn came knocking, so did the need to continue this community meal, and we did eventually move it inside of the CORE Church building when it became too cold to serve outdoors.

The number of children and families coming to the Feed a Kid meals has not dwindled; in fact, we have been regularly seeing new families come. We connected with local caterers, Old Daley Inn, who have graciously and faithfully been cooking and delivering meals every Wednesday since we began. Mike Martin and his construction company have also given generously every other Friday with pizza and wings. Additionally, Mr. Martin donated his time and materials to repair a leak in our church roof which had been causing some serious problems. There are many other local merchants and businesses who have given of their time and/or resources to see that children in this community, and their families, so not go to bed hungry. We must not forget to thank and mention the many volunteers, who have come to every meal, ready to serve and give of their time to feed these kids. This three day a week community meal has become a labor of love and joy for all of us. What is happening to a group of Christ followers, who were strangers six months ago, is purely and totally God's design. A half year into this and we are beginning to connect with many of the families who are coming to the meals. This past Christmas we co-labored once again for our first annual kids Christmas banquet. The need and response we received proved to be too large for our church building and was moved to the Troy Boys and Girls Club. Many children were served a top quality buffet meal, along with their families. The children received gifts and their parents had the opportunity to shop for toys while their children ate and enjoyed the party, complete with live music from our friends 4ever1. We also gave out Bibles and Christmas story/puzzle books.

2008 has come and gone. 2009 is here. We will continue to live as Christ lived, by loving and serving others the way He did, and commanded His followers to do also. We will see new doors for effective ministry open to us. Ideas of expanding to a seven day per week ministry, with an afterschool club, mentoring, recovery groups, etc. And we will watch as a community of faith take shape; as God gives the increase. There is much work to be done, both inside this old church building, and outside in the community that surrounds it. We are poised to see the hand of Almighty God sweep through this community, as we remain faithful and obedient to His call to serve "the least of these."

Will you continue to pray for us? Will you also pray about helping us financially, with your best gift. Feel free to contact Pastor Dave Lewis or Pastor Willie Bacote anytime.

One of the benefits of winter in the Northeast

2009-01-03T16:37:00.007-05:00

Sno-Fun #1: What a great way to spend Saturday afternoon!

Pastor Dave, Brenda and a great bunch of kids (including our own 2 boys) took to the hills of Knickerbacker park. We had a great time with the sleds and snowboards. Later we went back to the church for some hot chocolate, hot dogs and donuts. We met at the church building at 11:00am and proceeded up 101st St. to 7th Ave and then to Knick park with our sled brigade. The outside temp was 28 degrees with a slight breeze; excellent sledding weather. We emerged from the park two and a half hours later with a unanimous decision to return tomorrow after church. Stay tuned for more highlights!

In the new year, I'm resolving to wait upon the Lord

2009-01-01T13:40:00.005-05:00

In my new year's day devotions I was reading and meditating on Psalm 31.

The last verse of the Psalm caught my attention, which says,

24 Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the LORD. (Ps.31:34) NKJV

To "hope in the LORD" means to wait with a confident expectation for His favor.
In fact, most of the cross reference verses for Psalm 31:24 mention waiting on or for the Lord

Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.

Psalm 37:34
Wait on the LORD,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it

Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.

Psalm 62:5
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.

Isaiah 25:9
And it will be said in that day:
“ Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the LORD;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

In these verses the Psalmist speaks of;

waiting prayerfully
waiting faithfully
waiting patiently
waiting silently
waiting expectantly

Hoping in the Lord requires us to wait expectantly, knowing that His plan and purpose unfolds in His time. He hears all of our prayers, yet it seems like He's not listening at times, or He somehow turns away from us. There are times when our own sinful nature gets the best of us, and because of sin, God must turn away. However, as we cry out to Him, as David did many times, He eventually hears us and rescues us, delivering us by His mighty power and strength.

It goes against our human nature to wait for the Lord. We want things to happen immediately, as we pray and seek God's intervention; whether it be personal prayer or on behalf of others. Many times God purposely waits to answer a prayer because He wants to teach us something about Himself, His kingdom or ourselves, perhaps all at the same time.

The truth is, we can't see everything that God sees, so when we pray, it is with faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped (prayed) for, the evidence of things unseen. So, when we pray we must leave the outcome in God's hands, knowing that He has our best interest, and that of those whom we pray for. When we wait prayerfully, faithfully, patiently, silently, and expectantly, we will be awed when God does answer our prayers. Then we will be filled with a new hope, strength and peace. And we will continue to grow in faith as we wait with joy and hope for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So, as 2009 begins, I resolve to wait for the Lord; prayerfully, faithfully, patiently, silently and expectantly. As I do, He will strengthen my heart and I will "be of good courage" (Ps.31:24)

Taking in Albany's Winterfest with the Family

2008-12-27T19:52:00.012-05:00

We arrived at Albany's 2nd annual Winterfest 2008 in plenty of time to grab a decent parking spot (ended up on Monroe St.) and make our way to the Palace Theater to check out the 1:00pm show featuring American Idol season 6 finalists, Blake Lewis, Chris Sligh and Brandon Rogers. We each had our favorites. Mom thought Brandon Rogers stole the show. Dan and Jake preferred the beat-boxing/rapping/electronic sounds of Blake Lewis (cool last name, BTW, but no relation that I know of). Chris Sligh was my favorite of the three, with his crisp, clear vocals and faith induced lyrics, as he sang his recent radio hit, "Empty Me," along with a few additional original songs. All three turned in incredible performances.

We then made our way to Academy Park where we partook of some free ice cream and Dan and Jake tackled the climbing wall. They each had quite a few turns and both made it to the top at least twice. We followed this up with Mr. Twisty and his little dog, Izzy, performing their kid's magic show. Coffee and cookies at Starbucks was too good to pass up (not free of course). Then it was on to the Crowne Plaza Hotel where we encountered one of Bronx Zoo's featured artists/performers, Christopher Agostino and his Transformation Face painting, as he transformed Dan and Jake's ugly mugs into works of art. The evening winded up with a reprise performance from Idol 06's Lewis, Sligh and Rogerson stage in front of Albany's city hall, and then some awesome fireworks. Upon our return home to Troy we grabbed a bite to eat at Capital Region's famous/favorite, Hot Dog Charlies. What a great time we all had!

Shooting the Breeze: Are you willing to make a difference for one?

2008-12-23T13:56:00.000-05:00

Kevin Martineau had a great post on his blog Shooting the Breeze: Are you willing to make a difference for one?

I commented on this post and thought I'd add a few thoughts of my own here. The theme of Kevin's post is to not get discouraged if we are are only reaching one or a few at a time for Christ.

My thoughts
As I commented on Kevin's blog, I sometimes get caught up with the success of certain church planters who are seeing thousands coming to their gatherings, while some (like my family and me) strive to reach a few at a time. In the nearly 3 years my family and I have been in Troy we have seen quite a number of people come and go; a few of them we have led to Christ. Our most visible fruit is in the number of neighborhood children we are reaching for His kingdom. Some once said, "you can't build a church w/kids...they don't tithe." Yet, from our perspective of planting a church in a distressed, low income, inner-city community that is 95% residential, with many single mothers and even more young children, we are ecstatic when even one of them joins our fellowship and comes to a saving knowledge of Christ through faith. As some have said, "It takes many different models/types of churches to reach different types of people." What works for Rick Warren in the sprawling California suburbs won't work for the CORE Church of Troy.

Church planting among the urban poor and marginalized (so I am learning) is one of the toughest Kindgom assignments to carry out because it takes a long committent centered on building relationships with people through hands on ministry. That means assessing the community's greatest unmet needs and then meeting those needs as God provides. In many urban/inner-city settings, the lack of basic needs amongst people who live here is a reality; food, clothing and sometimes shelter are things which many of us take for granted, yet for a large number of people living in these places it is a daily struggle. Children who live in these households are among the poorest of citizens. They can't work, unless they are teenagers. They can't vote. They really have little or no rights as citizens and through no fault of their own they are living in an environment filled with urban blight, drug dealers, street gangs, prostition, absentee/slum landlords,etc. So for us to be standing in the gap for these great kids is a no-brainer. We recently baptized two of these kids that are being discipled through the ministry of the CORE Church, which we count as victories. And the seeds we are planting now in the lives of these kids will lead to some great fruit in their lives, both now and as they grow and mature.

We are seeing new doors for effective ministry open to us because we have been faithful with a few things as God has given them to us.

Yes, I am willing to walk along the shoreline and throw a few starfish back to safety, as I am able to. Well I save them all? No! But I can do my part, as God has equipped me

The joys of snow storms!

2008-12-20T11:13:00.004-05:00

Driveway Fun!

Is it just me or do snowplow drivers sit, waiting, until I've just finished shoveling the end of my driveway, and then come and plow it back in?

Oh without a doubt, they sit and wait; then give it a little tilt to the right as they pass the driveway...and then a big thumbs up, as they smile and wave with that big cup of coffee in their hand. And to think our tax $$$ pay for it all...nice!

It must be one of those snow plowing trade secrets; just let us taxpaying citizens know they're there for us...in a sadistic/sarcastic kind of way. A great comeback would be to stand at the end of my freshly shoveled driveway, wait for the snow plow to come by, and hold up my hand made sign, which reads, "WOULD YOU PLEASE PLOW MY DRIVEWAY BACK IN? I NEED MORE EXCERCISE!"

Watching the Kids have fun!

My two sons were outside enjoying the nine or ten inches of freshly delivered snow. They piled up the snow, slid down our new front yard mountain on their sleds and snowboards, then dug some neat looking tunnels. I think I see the remnants of an attempted snowman out there as well. After a couple of hours of enduring the cold winter temperature and frolicking in the snow, they finally gave up and came back inside. They looked like a couple of walking, talking popsicles, as they stood in the front foyer, shedding their layers winter play wear! Now they are holding down ends the couch, watching Veggietales "The Toy that Saved Christmas."

Excuses to Veg!

Snow storms make good excuses for hanging out on the internet and engagingf in my social media/networking fetishes, like updating my blog and messing around on Twitter and Facebook...I mean, what else am I to do while couped up in the house, in the middle of a noreaster'? One facebook friend suggested taking up soltaire...with real cards. I was also thinking I could find a nice jigsaw puzzle and put it together. I use to assemble them, back in the Commodore 64/Atari days. However, my fetishes have changed with the times. I've gone high tech. I might catch some college ball a little later. But for now I'm content with excercising my virtual hobby!

What I'm thinking about duting this Christmas season

2008-12-19T13:31:00.002-05:00

As my wife and I finish up our shopping and tend to the last minute details of our Christmas plans, I have to stop for a moment and reflect on what is most important. Last Saturday we were in the company of scores of children and their families at our first annual kids Christmas banquet. Two weeks prior to that the CORE Church baptized two young people, April and Jacob. And for the better part of this past year we and The Missing Link Street Ministry have been hosting a three day per week Feed-a-Kid ministry. My family and I are blessed to be in good health and to have opportunities to make Christ known as we serve others.

I am also thinking about a young boy named Zachary who is gravely ill and has undergone numerous surgeries and procedures, in an attempt to bring about some healing. He has another surgery scheduled in the coming new year. My wife works with this Zachary's dad at UAlbany. We have prayed for him numerous times and the kids at church thought it would be nice to make him some cards and things out of paper. My wife placed them all into an envelope and this morning we mailed them.

I'm thinking about the snow that is piling up outside my door. While I whine and complain about having to go out and shovel, there are plenty of folks (some living very nearby) who are unable to get out and do the same.

I'm thinking about the time we will spend with family enjoying the holiday season when, for some people, this is a dark and lonely season filled with pain and bad memories.

I'm thinking about my children, who will be opening presents on Christmas day when, in these trying economic times, some families will not even have food on their table.

I'm thinking about an illegitimate baby boy, born to a teenaged mother. Having nowhere to go, they found shelter in a stable. The King of kings and Lord of all, came to earth and took on flesh; to give us His hope, His peace, His joy and His love; gifts we won't find wrapped under a tree, but in the eyes of those we reach out to with the same gifts He has given to us, and in our own hearts as they become enlarged by the Spirit that dwells within us.

What are you thinking about this Christmas?

Snow storms and power outages

2008-12-19T13:07:00.002-05:00

After a week of recovering from ice storms, which took down trees, power lines and utility poles, and knocked out our power along with 83% of my neighbors (some just got their power back on yesterday) we are now getting a fresh batch of the white stuff. Looks like someone's dream of a white Christmas is coming true this year. Don't get me wrong, I like snow and white christmases and such. It's just the whining, slothful side of me that loathes the idea of shoveling lots of snow. I've learned to look at the brighter side of it of snow storms though

I'll be getting plenty of excerise without having to drive to Gold's Gym, because my wife doesn't see the sense in spending hundreds of $$$ for a snowblower
my 2 sons are now old enough and big enough to grab shovels and join me (quality family time)
lots of snow makes for some great sledding, snowboarding and youth group fun time after church
Provides plenty of excuses for downing gobs of hot chocolate
with all of the extra time off from school for the kiddies, the snow gives them something to do besides hang around inside the house all day, playing video games and watching TV

Perhaps you have your own list of perks that come with a bountiful snow fall. Add a comment and tell me what they are

Putting Christ Back in Christmas

2008-12-15T10:58:00.006-05:00

Our First Annual Kids Christmas Banquet

The Missing Link Street Ministry and the CORE Church of Troy partnered together,once again, to bring some Christmas joy to many neighborhood children and their families.

This project began as a vision, back in October, to help neighborhood children and families during the Christmas season, and more importantly, to demonstrate to them the true meaning of Christmas, which is to celebrate the coming of Christ. We were already hosting a three day per week feeding ministry at the CORE Church, along with Rev. Willie Bacote and his Missing Link Street Ministry team. We registered children for gifts from late October, through the month of November. By the beginning of December we saw a larger response from the community than our church building could comfortably accomodate. Rev. Bacote contacted the Troy Boys and Girls Club to inquire about using their facilities for this event and they cleared their schedule to make room for us. The dilemma of transporting children and their parents (many of whom are without personal transportation) was solved through the use of several local church vehicles.

Thank you to local Christian band 4ever1 for giving of their time and musical talents as they played a wonderful array of Christmas and praise songs, which aided our theme of putting "Christ"back in Christmas.

Thank you also to Old Daley Inn Catering and Jimmy's Pizzeria for providing hot, nutritious food for more than 115 children and parents. Also to Toys for Tots for providing gifts for parents to take home for their kids.

There are many people who gave of their time and talents to help make this event a success, to whom we say a big THANK YOU. However, we must give all praise, honor, glory and thanks to the One we came together to celebrate; our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. On a day when most of Troy and the Capital Region were without electricity, due to snow and ice storms, we were still able to offer this time of celebration to our community.

If you would like to see local news coverage of this event click here

First Annual Troy Children's Christmas Banquet

2008-12-09T15:32:00.004-05:00

This coming Saturday, December 13th, The CORE Church of Troy will partner with The Missing Link Street Ministry, Troy Boys & Girls Club and 4ever1 Music Ministries for the first annual Troy Children's Christmas Banquet

*Please join us in this wonderful celebration as we share with our children that the love of Christ is greater than any gift that comes from under a tree.*
When: Sunday, December 14th
Time: 2 pm – 5 pm
Where: Troy Boys & Girls Club
1700 7th Ave
Troy ,New York 12180
Music provided by 4EVER1
*Everyone is invited to join our banquet and time of gift-giving.*
As a Toys for Tots distribution agency, we will be giving out toys to those that signed up with Pastor Willie Bacote.
Questions: Call Willie 518-421-5222
Or ~ email - willie721@aol.com

We're seeing some of the statistics

2008-12-09T14:35:00.003-05:00

Hungry Children in the U.S.
A recent report released by the U.S. Agricultural Department stated that close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downturn. The department's annual report on food security showed that during 2007, the number of children who suffered a substantial disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than 50% above the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998.

Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2% of Americans who didn't have the money or assistance to get enough food to maintain active, healthy lives.

The article cited above appeared in Leadership Journal's weekly e-publication. This article was drawn from a recent study released by US Dept. of Agriculture. There are plenty more similar studies that have been released in recent years, but all one really needs to do to see for themselves is spend time in an inner-city community where the statistics take on names and faces.

One would think that in a nation as prosperous as ours, that such statistics would be non-existent, or at best minimal. However, some experts say current statitistics are grossly underestimated because many families, for various reasons, avoid reporting their lack of food or resources to obtain food. The unfortunate victims of poverty and hunger are children.

Rev. Willie Bacote and I have seen these statistics first hand, as the number of children and adults attending our three day a week Feed-a-Kid community meal has continually increased. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we experience a full house at the CORE Church, as we and The Missing Link Street Ministry have partnered together to providing hot, nutritious meals for neighborhood children and their families. Despite the cold, winter temperatures outside, many families are still braving the weather and traveling (mostly by foot) several blocks to the CORE Church to paerake of these meals. Winter has not officially begun. The colder it gets outside, the more it will cost families and senior citizens to heat their homes, leaving less money to put food on the table. No doubt we will see the need for Feed-a-Kid increase.

Please continue to pray for Feed-a-Kid and the efforts of Missing Link Street Ministry and the CORE Church of Troy to reach out and serve the "least of these" who live in the inner-city of Troy, NY.

Please pray also about how you might help us help our neighbors with your best financial gift.

Feel free to contact Pastor Willie Bacote or Pastor Dave Lewis anytime!

Thanks for the smile!

2008-12-03T17:04:00.003-05:00

A brief testimony of the value of a smile and a few kind words.

As I was walking back to Penn Station Tuesday afternoon, I noticed that a part of the rythm that flows amongst the crowds of pedestrians is an occasional brushing up against or bumping into one another. I noticed this happening frequently, and that people just keep on walking, without stopping or even looking up. I was bumped into a few times myself (I was both the bumper and bumpee at various intervals) as I made my way along the noon hour foot traffic. I brushed up against one young lady who had passed by me, going in the opposite direction, and apologized immediately afterward. She then slowed down her pace as bit, turned her head and smiled back at me, all the while continuing to walk.

I got to thinking afterward. How often does anyone stop and excuse themselves after literally coming face to face with a fellow pedestrian? How often do I take for granted the value of those two words, "excuse me" and a smile? How seldom do others hear it; especially amongst a sea of faces and strutting pedestrians, all with a destination? Maybe that's why she turned and smiled, as brief as it was.

Missions Door Conference review

2008-12-03T16:37:00.002-05:00

I arrived at our annual conference early, even after walking 59 blocks from Penn Station to Central Baptist Church. It was good to see my friends Mark Marchak (our fearless leader) Rob Sundholm (pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Brooklyn) and Marvin Robinson from Rochester and the rest of my Missions Door family once again; to get better acquainted with some of them, and to meet a few new faces.

The theme of this year's conference was, "Collaboration," which was broken down into seven sub-categories or facets of collaborating for effective church planting in urban settings.

It was a blessing to hear how God is moving in NYC, Northern NJ, Boston, Providence, Montreal, etc. and to share my own stories of church planting in NY's capital region. I met Torli, a refugee from Liberia, now living in the Boston area, who has an incredible testimony and ministry there. We also heard from Dominic Jacob, a church planter/missionary, reaching out to muslims in Queens, NY (considered to be the most ethnically diverse city in the US). Hearing their stories of hardship and persecution, along with our conference session speakers, was a tremendous blessing indeed.

I left this city conference armed with the reassurance that the CORE Church of Troy is moving in the right direction. We have been doing a little bit of collaborating ourselves. It is imperative for the overall success of an inner-city church plant to collaborate with other local churches, social service agencies, schools, colleges and campus ministries, local businesses and community leaders, for the purpose of having a wider impact, as they strive to make Christ known in the heart of the city.

My Urban Retreat

2008-12-03T15:36:00.010-05:00

MISSIONS DOOR ANNUAL URBAN CHURCH PLANTERS CONFERENCE

The words, "retreat" and "Manhattan" are not usually found in the same sentence. Most of us, when thinking of getting away for a retreat, imagine a lakeside campground in the mountains, with cabins, camp fires and hiking trails. However, my retreat this year was spent in New York City. Monday, December 1st, I took an early morning train from Renssalaer/Albany to Manattan's Penn Station. I went there to attend Missions Door's annual Urban Church Planter's conference and reunion, which was hosted by Central Baptist Church, located at W.92 and Amsterdam Ave. I arrived at Penn Station four hours prior to the start of the conference. As I was weighing my options as to mode of transportation from W.33 to W.92 (59 blocks) I decided on the pedestrian view/shoe leather express tour of Manhattan (that's right, I walked the entire 59 blocks). I had not walked through Manhattan since 1982, and I wanted to see some of the changes I had heard so much about. besides, I had four hours to get to the conference. Indeed a a lot had changed, but the feeling I get whenever I visit the Big Apple was there once again.

There's something about NYC that humbles me, while filling me with a sense of peace.

PEACE?

In the city that never sleeps? With the hustling, bustling crowds of pedestrians, loud construction noises, traffic jams, etc.? Yes, walking the streets of Manhattan at 8:00 in the morning, taking in the view of Times Square, the Empire State building, the many, many skyscrapers, etc, along with the blend of NYC aromas from bakeries, coffee chops, sidewalk vending carts, cigars, corner flower shops, etc., leaves me with a peaceful, easy feeling. I'm a city boy through and through. What can I say? I like the idea of being around a sea of nameless faces; one pedestrian amongst a crowd of unknown proportions. There's a rythm that flows, as people walk the streets of Manhattan. I found that rythm, once again, as I exited Penn Station, and strolled leisurely along 8th Street, to Broadway, then to Amsterdam Ave, until I arrived at W. 92nd St. I made a few stops along the way as all of my senses were engaged.

What about funding and paying the bills!

2008-12-03T01:14:00.002-05:00

funding/paying the bills? All I can say is that we have not lacked for one thing in three years we've been here. We're not swimming in a pool of finances and resources, but we have what we need, when we need it. Like most people, I'd like to have a cash surplus to draw from and an unlimited supply of resources at my disposal. However, when I let go of my own understanding, and truly trust Him, I begin to see things through the eyes of Him who sent me, and I realize that all of God's resources are available to me, and His supply is inexhaustible.

Why I am a church planter

2008-12-03T00:44:00.002-05:00

A Facebook friend sent me a message today wanting to know about the risks of church planting; funding, resourcing, who will get behind the vision, etc.

I sent back my response and thought it would maka a good blog post. To any of my church planting brethren who are questioning God and struggling, I hope this helps!

When I shared the vision God had given me for planting an inner-city church among the poor and marginalized with the senior pastor of the church my wife and I had been members of, he basically told me I was nuts (not in those exact words but the sentiment was there) and refused to get behind us, beyond praying for us that is. he said my vision was "too big and too ambitious" and would take funding and resourcing beyond what he was able to justify.He basically felt I'd be better off staying with them and discovering my SHAPE for ministry.

I went home that day, numb and dejected, and prayed all night. I could not sleep. Then something got into me (some people call it Holy Spirit unction) as I wrote a four paged letter to that pastor, telling him why I had to pursue the vision God has given me. Why? because ultimately it will come down to me being faithful and obedient to God, who had entrusted me with this vision...not that senior pastor, but me!

So, by faith, I obeyed and went to the place God had shown me...and I haven't looked back.

Brother church planter, if God has given you vision, then you must go! regardless of who agrees with you or gets behind you. It will be hard work. There will be sacrifices. You will even feel like giving up (many times). But when you know that God has given you a burden and vision, then also know that He will follow your faithful obedience with His provision. Watch and see the things God will do; things that will go way beyond anything you could ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:20). That's a verse for guys with "big, ambitious dreams."

At least once a week I get frustrated and want to give up, but I know, at the core of my being, that God has spoken to me...and that this is one hill I will die on!

What keeps it real for me, brother church planter, is the fact that the vision and mission belong to God, not me. He is merely entrusting me with it. What will I do with it? Will I invest it and gain interest, or bury it in the sand until He returns. What separates church planters from senior pastors,aside from the calling and gifting of God that is? They are willing to take huge risks for Jesus and His mission, even at the expense of being laughed at and called a fool by those whom he thought would receive the vision and rejoice with him.

At the end of this earthly existence I long to hear my Father say, "well done, good and faithful servant..."

sounding off on "being missional."

2008-12-02T23:45:00.002-05:00

I read Dan Kimball's critique of certain facets within the current "missional movement," which got me to thinking about being missional

I think way too many churches try too hard to "be missional." They fail to realize that being missional is not a program or something to try out. It is simply about living as missionaries, as sent people; living in the community as the salt and light Jesus calls us to be. Some folks think being missional merely means getting out and serving the poor and homeless. While that is a part of it, it is not the only quality of being missional. My understanding of missional is living in the community, being an active member of the community, developingreal friendships with unchurched people who live in the community. Jesus said we are to be in the world, but not of the world. Living in the world as ambassadors of Christ implies that we are a sent people with mission and a message!

I think, also, too many church planters (myself included) spend way too much time focusing on what others are saying and doing, instead of spending time on their knees, in the word, and out in the community God has sent them too, and letting Him shape His church according to the context and needs of that community. Currently I'm going ga-ga over Shane Clairborne's ideas on building a "community of hospitality and peacemaking." (from the intro to Claireborne's newest book, "Becoming the Answer To Our Prayers.")

There's much to be gleaned from the great missonal thinkers and leaders of our day, but Jesus (in my opinion) is not looking for or impressed with cookie cutter churches. I can't do what Dan Kimball or Shane Clairborne or Rick Warren have been called to do. I can only do what Jesus has specifically called me to do in the community He has sent me to. We all have a common calling in the great commission, but every community is different, and every person is unique. I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here, perhaps I'm simply reminding myself of what my calling, vision and mission are.

My take on urban renewal

2008-11-25T16:43:00.000-05:00

I think we, the church, can do our best work one person/one family a time, by addressing their physical/material and spiritual needs. If we take seriously the mandates of Jesus to love and minister to "the least of these" we will unlock the door to blessings untold.All of heaven's resources are available to those who are willing to trust the One who said, "Go therefore..."

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Eph.3:20)

Those who are willing to let go of what they know and trust God to do what they cannot fathom will not only see lives transformed for His kingdom, but will see His "kingdom come and His will be done,on earth as it is in heaven." That will result in a transformed (renewed) community as people's lives are transformed. The real work is in sticking out in a tough neighborhood, when it seems like we're not making much progress. We can't measure success by the number of people who walk through the doors of our relevant, new experience, emerging churches, but in the lives that are transformed.We can't always see how we have effected a person's life. But when we do...Oh what a blessing! When I see people I am discipling reaching out to their neighbors with the love and grace of God, that is success. That is what we can pass on. That is what will transform a community, a city, a region, etc (Acts 1:8)

Check out The Urban Loft

2008-11-25T16:13:00.002-05:00

The Urban Loft Renewing the City

The Urban Loft is a central gathering place for missional leaders, church planters, artists, musicians, thinkers, and activists

Sean is onto something here. Check it out

Timeless Experience

2008-11-25T15:36:00.004-05:00

I saw the following ad description, recently, on Google,"Discover a new church experience, Modern Music-Life changing teaching."

I suppose such an ad appeals to some people, but what does is say to the unchurched/non-Christian population? I think such an ad will attract the "bored with church as usual" crowd. It may even draw a few unchurched people. Is it the same old church experience with a new twist, or is it something totally new and radical? Is there really any such thing as a "new church experience" from a Biblical standpoint?

Let me say that the church does need to do something different. But new? If, in this ad, the advertiser means simply a new, relevant way of looking at the timeless truths of Scripture and how to be the church, as opposed to going to church, then it may be a good ad. But, if they are really saying, "We're newer and more modern than the church down the road" then they are merely interested in drawing a crowd. But from where? What will they do with people who come for the new experience, modern music and life changing reaching? Will they disciple them and send them out, or keep them in and entertain them, pass the collection plate, start new programs, etc? After awhile the "new experience" will become the "church as usual experience" and the crowd of forever searching church hoppers will move on to the next "new experience."

I think people need something deeper than the next new experience. I think this is why many people have left the institutional church and why church membership nationwide is continuing to decline. I know that I, for one, am searching for something deeper. It won't be found in the church building, the programs, the "new experience, modern music and life changing teaching," well, perhaps in the life changing teaching (depending on how it is presented). What I'm searching for can and will be found in an ever-growing relationship with the living, triune God.If the church with the "new experience, modern music and life changing teaching" is committed to this end; that is, raising up an army of Christ followers who love God and their neighbors, and then sending them out to turn the world upside down, then it doesn't matter how they package their brand of church.

What will draw the unchurched? The Holy Spirit. I'm all for being relevant and with the times. I'm a huge fan of the internet and the social media fetish that seems to be sweeping across the globe. But, we still need to connect with people on a personal level, and then connect them with Christ, on a personal level.

I think I'll call this the "Timeless Experience."

Update on our Dilemma

2008-11-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

This is a repost and an update. We have made some progress since I posted this back in September. Here are some recent developments

We have since obtained liability and property insurance for the church building

We have had part of our roof repaired (the section that was causing the roof to leak) Thank you Mike Martin for helping us

repairs were done to a radiator that had developed a steam leakand was causing our boiler to shut down

Some plumbing repairs have been done, which have solved some problems for now.

What we still need and are praying for

funds for continuing renovation of our basement/fellowship hall, which are now using three evenings per week for our Feed-a-kid community meal ministry, at which we are feeding many neighborhood children and their families, as well as hosting many community outreach events. This room, while partially usable, needs a new floor. The walls need to patched in some spots and then primed and painted. This 3,000 square foot room is vital to our inner-city ministry efforts.

Electrical service needs to be overhauled. The last updates were done in the early 1970s. Some of the remaining electric service is very old and does not meet current city electrical codes. Recent inspections and estimates from local, certified electricians have revealed to us the reality of replacing, or at least seriously updating out current service.

Our boiler, while being functional, needs some servicing and updating

additional interior renovations. The ceiling in one of our hallways needs to be pulled out and replaced due to previous damage caused by roof leaks. Also, the part of the ceiling in our sunday school/children's church room has to be replaced, which also fell victim to the same series of roof leaks.

If you are led by the Holy Spirit to answer our prayers and provide financial assistance to help us, you may send your tax deductible gifts to;

The CORE Church 36 109th St.Troy, N.Y. 12182

Ear mark for building restoration

(original post from September 10th)

Three years ago my family and I said yes to the opportunity to return to Troy and start a new church. We prayed long and hard and then stepped out in faith and went to the place we believe God was showing us. We came to Troy and immediately had a church building available to us. In fact, the plan was for us to re-start a dying baptist church, recontextualized for inner-city ministry. The church building and parsonage were transferred over to us to begin this new work. We immediately got to work assessing the condition of our century old church building. While being structurally sound, we soon learned that the buiding needs a complete interior makeover; new electrical service, updated heating and plumbing systems, as well as roof repairs and extensive renovation of basement floor and walls. We began tearing out old, warn out carpeting, flooring, and room dividers in the basement/fellowship hall. We painted the sanctuary (with a lot of help from friends at West Lebanon Baptist Church and Westerlo Baptist Church) and part of the fellowhip hall and put in new indoor/outdoor carpeting. We had the roof patched, replaced plumbing and heating pipes, put a new sump pump in the kitchen and a new electric service meter.

At the same time we got busy doing outreach in this distressed community and started to develop a small, but growing congregtion. At one point we were running 35-40 in our worship services and had seen some amazing doors open to us. In February, 2006, another neighborhood church gave us a vacant lot, located across the street from our church building, and we began sponsoring and hosting community events, cookouts, block parties, concerts, etc.
The fruit of our labors has been a few people (wish I could say a lot) committing their lives to Christ. We baptized one young man and are now getting ready to baptize a few more.
Needless to say all of this has not come without struggles and spiritual warfare. The greatest struggle has been the condition of our church building; making timely repairs and maintaining insurance. We are at a point where we can't find an insurance carrier to underwrite our building because of its present condition, unless we immediately address cited repairs. The building needs new electrical service to replace the grossly outdated, inadequate service that is now there. Also cited as issues of concern are the heating and plumbing systems, which we have done repairs on, but are old and need to be replaced. The overall condition of this 10,000 sq.ft brick elephant has rendered it unsafe and unusable. We would need to raise approximately $25,000.00 to address just what needs to be done to make it safe and functional and probably closer to $50,000.00 to put the building in pristine condition.

Dilemma: What to do with this building. Do we abandon this debt free, tax exempt property and go elsewhere? Even if it cost $50,000.00 to address all repairs/renovations, we could not buy or build a new facility for less than twice that (unless we purchase another facility that needs a lot of work). We could abandon the building altogether and rent a nearby storefront/warehouse for $800.00 per month, plus utilities, at least temporarily until we determine what to do with the church building. The ideal plan would be to build a new facility on our ministry lot, which would cost, at minimum, $150,000.oo (for a one story modular unit placed on a poured foundation ). We have a few more options we are praying about. Through all of this we are convinced that God has us where He wants us, and we will not allow our dilemma to stop us or slow us down. We will continue, by the grace and provision of God, to do the work He has called us to.
If you are reading this post and feel led by the Holy Spirit to pray for us, please do!
If you are led by the Holy Spirit to answer our prayers and provide financial assistance to help us, you may send your tax deductible gifts to;
The CORE Church
36 109th St.
Troy, N.Y. 12182
Ear mark for building restoration

Is being a "Friendly" church enough?

2008-11-24T14:32:00.004-05:00

In a conversation about what is most important in drawing people to your church, many have said, "being friendly to the unchurched and/or first timers is most important."

But is that enough?

Is that a Biblical quality?

Certainly, being friendly is not a bad idea. In fact, I would probably not like it if I visited a church that was cold or less than friendly towards visitors.

However, friendliness, in itself, does not demonstrate whether or not a local church is a healthy,growing church.

People at the local Elks lodge or VFW are friendly, but do they love God and love their neighbors? Are they willing to love others the way God loves them?

A local church can be very friendly, but are they merely a glorified social club, or are they a unified body of believers who live, breathe and move together in such a way that people people are drawn to them and compelled to be a part of their fellowship...not just because they are friendly, but because they have something that goes deeper than that; a deep rooted, vibrant connection the Christ, True Vine(John 15:1ff)

Something greater than each of us happens in a healthy local church that cannot be explained or experienced outside of the body of Christ. When we come together, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, the bond of love and grace extends beyond ourselves and the power of God is demonstrated in ways we cannot imagine.

Join CORE/city Network

2008-11-23T21:12:00.001-05:00

"Why is it, when I'm doing the right thing, bad things happen?"

2008-11-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

I met up with a family in my neighborhood today, whom my wife and I hadn't seen in awhile. They had been a part of our fellowship, joining us occasionally for Sunday gatherings and various outreach events that The CORE Church had sponsored and hosted. We had gotten to know them and had begun developing a relationship with this single mother and her children. Then, almost suddenty, we lost contact with them. After many failed attempts to re-connect with them, we decided to leave the issue in God's hands. We continued to pray for them and had bumped into others who know them, from time to time, who would fill us in on how they are doing.

Today, as I was bringing bread and milk into the church (a local convenience store chain, Stewarts Shops, has been giving us products that they pull from their shelves yet still have several days left before their code date expires which we in turn distribute to families in the neighborhood) I saw this woman and one of her daughters as they were walking past the church. She stopped and we talked for a bit. She shared with me the mess her life has turned into, and that she had not come around because she didn't want to burden us with her problems. Also, she had been working overtime at her job and between work, kids, housework, etc., she has been physically exhausted.

She went on to tell me that she was doing the right thing. She had obtained employment in an attempt to distance herself and her family from public assistance. Her job is a good one that she likes, with decent pay and benefits for her and her children. However, just as she was starting to get ahead financially, paying off many of her debts, etc., Social Services cut her public assistance. Her food stamps are now a fraction of what she had been receiving and Troy Housing Authority raised her rent because she is now in a higher income bracket. She said to me, "Just when I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, they go and do this, and I am right back where I was three years ago." She went onto ask, as she began to well up with tears, "Why is it, when I'm doing the right thing and making good choices, all of this bad stuff happens?" I prayed with her and gave her some bread and milk, and shared a few of my own thoughts as to why bad things happen to good people. She seemed somewhat comforted as our conversation came to an end. She told me she would try to make it to church with the kids, but sometimes she has to work on Sundays. We may see them tomorrow or next Sunday. If we don't we will still love them and reach out to them. We will continue to pray for them and make sure they know God loves them.

Third Day at Indiana University (go Hoosiers)

2008-11-21T12:50:00.000-05:00

Third Day on the Late, Late Show

2008-11-21T12:00:00.002-05:00

I happened to catch Third Day, last night, on the Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson. Thanks Mark Lee for the heads-up.

I was goofing off on facebook and Twitter last night, while listening to the evening news, and then Letterman. I don't always stay up to watch Craig Ferguson. For one, his sense of humor is often vulgar (and I think he's usually half-lit when taping the show). Secondly, even though I'm somewhat of a night owl, I'm usually rubbing my eyes by the time Ferguson's show comes on. However, as I was messing around with my new social media fetish, I saw the tweets from Mark Lee, Third Day's guitarist, informing his fellow citizens of Twitterland of their upcoming performance on the show. Being only minutes away from airing, I decided to stay up and watch. I made it through Craig's opening monologue, and then laughed a bit to Larry the Cable Guy, and finally, toward's the end of the hour, Third Day made their appearance, singing their latest hit "Revelation."I enjoyed seeing and hearing one of my favorite bands as they rocked the house.

I got to thinking, afterward, about how many Christians would question their appearance in this worldly arena. However, I saw this as a great opportunity for Third Day to bring their light into the darkness of late night TV. I'm pretty sure C.F. and the audience (both live and in TVland) were listening as Mac Powell and company sang their song. Many of them may not have been familiar with Third Day, but they are now. Perhaps some of them were listening to the lyrics of "Revelation" and were compelled to look deeper within themselves. Maybe they went on the internet afterward and googled Third Day and found out they are a Christian band who use their gifts to serve the Living God. Maybe some found their way to Third Day's website and to their song lyrics.

Thanks Third Day for a job well done, and for shining your light on Craig Ferguson and the night owls who were watching!

Where does vision come from?

2008-11-21T08:35:00.002-05:00

For me, it started with a burden for the inner-city community I was born and raised in. After several years of preparation, God, in His time, followed that burden with vision as to how I will reach this community, then came the strategy that came to be known as The CORE Church. With all of that came His provision.

I call this Prevision...Vision...Provision (not really ingenious, but it works)

Prevision = Burden; the time leading up to the vision. I think about the place and the people a lot. I pray a lot. Jesus told His disciples,"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are so few. Therefore, Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers.(Matt.9:37-38)

Vision = How I see this happening. I'm seeking out godly counsel. The process of obeying and going is also in this stage. I'm sharing my vision with others some catch it, some don't. The church responds by sending me out. There will also be opposition. The devil will make sure of it. People close to you may not see things the way you do and may actually hinder you or try to persuade you to reconsider. God is clarifying his vision and preparing you for the journey that lies ahead. You know, at this point, deep down inside, at the core of your being,that God has given you this vision. Now it's time to trust and obay

Provision = I'm in the geographical location God has given me both a burden and vision for. By faith, I obeyed and went to the place God showed me. Now I must wait, as Abraham waited in the promised land, for God's provision (Heb. 11:8-10). My part is to love Him and love my neighbors; to live as Christ lived, love as He loved and serve as He served, thereby making Him known to others, in both word and in deed. If I am doing this, church planting will happen naturally. God always provides wherever He guides.

What is the vision God has given you?

A Season of waiting

2008-11-19T21:59:00.002-05:00

The Secret of Waiting: Begin to view life from the perspective of the Ageless One. by Bob Sorge

I regularly subscribe to Christianity Today's Christian Bible Studies, which comes daily in my e-mail. Most times I quickly scan through them, but today's edition caught my attention, and I found myself reading and studying along with author Bob Sorge.

The topic of this study is learning the discipline of waiting upon the Lord. I won't repeat Sorge's article here, I'll let you check it our here for yourelf. What I will say is that I find myself rarely waiting upon the Lord. I pray, I read and study my Bible, I journal, and like most people I want to hear from God right away. I want Him to give me the answer to my prayers in my time. But, as Sorge points out, when we learn to wait upon the "Ageless One," we step into His timing and He gives us the patience to wait upon Him until He has mercy on us.

So, I beginning my own season of waiting, so that I can be prepared and equipped when the hand of God turns my way.

Competing Opportunities

2008-11-18T14:29:00.005-05:00

Had to close down the coffee house due to several reasons.

1. economy (people just aren't eating out as much)

2. competition (at least a dozen coffee shops in downtown Troy competing for that RPI/Sage student population) Incidently, I heard through the grapevine that RPI is doing more to keep their students on or close to campus due to the rise in violent crimes against college students.

3. I have found that, although I love the idea of having a family business, God's business needs to come first and both were suffering due to the fact that I only have so much time in a given day.

I may revisit the coffee house idea in the future and have kept some of the equipment for future purposes. It is a hard thing to juggle many things at one time, for me anyway. Some people are able to do this effectively, yet I seem to be one of those people that does well when focusing on one thing at a time. For me, I am content with facilitating a city missionary movement starting in the heart of a neighborhood most people would prefer to forget about or ignore.

Kids? more and more keep coming. We are exploring creative and effective ways to reach them and minister to them.

Grown-ups? well, let's just say they're not as trusting as the kids are, but we're making progress in connecting with some of them.

Pastor Willie Bacote and I have noticed an increase in attendance at our feed-a-kid community meals. Many of the families that come do so on a regular basis. We are getting to know them and they are getting to know us. As such, they are asking us to pray with them and for them. And through the Holy Spirit we are building bridges for the gospel, or onramps as some prefer to call them.

College kids? we have managed, by the grace of God, to connect with an RPI fraternity. They were looking for a community service outlet and we have the outlet for them to plug into. So far it's been a good fit! We're prayerful that God will shape these connections with the college student population as well as with families in Troy's inner-city

Lost and found

2008-11-17T15:13:00.002-05:00

My family and I visited Troy's Prospect Park a few weeks ago. While walking along one of the trails I found the remnants of a small Bible that someone had torched. As I picked it up my imagination got the best of me. I was thinking about persecuted Christians around the world and a testimony I heard, recently, about a man who was imprisoned for handing out Bibles. He shared how his Bible was confisctated as he was interrogated, then beaten and placed into a locked room. One of his captors burned his bible right before his eyes and then left him alone, with nothing more than a small window for light. He noticed, as he sat there, in that clold, almost darkened room, that a small portion of his pocket bible still remained among the ashes of his burned Bible. So he grabbed it and held onto it. He was released from captivity a few weeks later. He shared how that small piece of his Bible, just a portion of a few pages that had not burned, kept him going. He read those scriptures over and over, which gave Him strength and hope.

So often I am guilty of taking my Bible, along with my freedom to read and study it in peace, for granted. I keep this portion of Scripture that I found in my wallet, as a reminder that the freedom I have came at a cost. Now I realize that these burned pages are probably the remains of some kind of sick joke. But they are a nice reminder anyway!

the culprit

2008-11-17T14:47:00.003-05:00

Just got finished fixing the radiatior in the men's room at the church. Apparently one of the boys had unscrewed a small pipe that connected the flow valve to the radiator, which caused the radiator to spew out steam, thereby turning the men's room into a sauna. This one small steam leak caused the entire boiler to shut down, thereby preventing heat from circulating throughout the building. I finally made it to Johnstone heating supply and described the missing part to the man at the counter. He disappeared for a moment and returned with the pencil-witdh pipe and connecting elbow. Along with a small bottle of pipe joint sealant, the total bill came to $8.01. I went bact to the church and within ten minutes fixed this seemingly small problem.

I tweeted about this little episode on Twitter which also appeared on my facebook update, and the subject stirred up quite a bit of conversation about the parrallels of broken boilers to the issues of life, and the great sermon illustrations that can come out of that boiler/steam leak episode.

So, I may just have my next sermon series stemming from this.

Diary of a Peacemaker

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

Do Not Worry

idk:what is God up to?

happy new year = happy new music

Epiphany 2012

e·piph·a·ny

giving out grace:what does it look like?

Matthew 18:21-35 (New King James Version)

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

H 2 O

Church Planting 101: Be Broken!

Ukraine Missions Trip: Getting Ready!

Preaching/teaching through Jeremiah

PD's weekend wrap

big life questions

Father, forgive me! It's been one whole year since my last blog entry

Who's in Control?

providing a litttle christmas help and cheer

Paying it forward...and we need your help

THOUGHTS OF AN URBAN MISSIONARY:MY PRAYER TONIGHT

PREPARE TO PLANT: everything I wish I knew about church planting, before I started to plant

surprised by the Holy Spirit!

How can you help us help our neighbors and reach them for God's kingdom?

Feeling like a fool

One great reason why we do what we do at Pedestrian Outreach Center

My take on the book of Acts: Origin of a new species

Whatever, wherever, however...I'm Yours, O Lord!

living my life between the drama and the trauma

What happened to May?

wherever and whatever of God's will

Walk His Way

hanging out with some real men

Pedestrian Outreach Center Update

Hosting an Imposter Screening at CORE Church if Troy

Pedestrians walking through life together!

Pedestrian Outreach Center is born!

on the wings of failure come new ideas

Street Outreach Center at CORE Church of Troy

Stand Against Racism

I Guess God knows what He's doing afterall

We the Church...Be the Church...See the Church: Sermon series

Investigating U2charist

Becoming regulars at Northway Church

CORE Church/New Beginning!

My Church planting journey: wrestling with God and prevailing

How much would you pay for a decent cup of coffee or espresso

My Church planting journey:the breaking process

My Church planting journey:experiencing Christ's power, suffering, death, and resurrection

Networking with Mosaix Global Network

Landlord Statement

Wrestlings of an inner-city church planter

Cub Scout Outing:learning about God's other creatures...wildlife

What is a church planter to do? recorded worship music vs. live worship team/band

The painful experience of knowing and following Christ

True change starts on the inside of each of us

are you ready to own lostness and injustice in your city?

Will the real Dave Lewis please stand up!

Barack Obama and the hope of a dream fulfilled

Knowing Christ is a Powerful Experience

Discovering the Value of Social Media and Networking

People Planting!

when making connections, everyone counts

New Sermon series: Part 1

New CORE Church sermon series: New Goals for a New Year

Burden>Vision>Provision Part II

From Prevision to Vision to Provision: my journey of faith and call to church planting

Journaling my Church Planting Journey

Saying goodbye to a faithful friend

The song Playlist has to go!

Our beautiful, chaotic mess

When is Church?

The Church is not merely a "What" but a "Who."

Having fun being missional and incarnational

Thinking of creative ways to use an old church building for the glory of the Lord

One of the benefits of winter in the Northeast

In the new year, I'm resolving to wait upon the Lord

Taking in Albany's Winterfest with the Family

Shooting the Breeze: Are you willing to make a difference for one?