Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7

This verse is a motivational verse for me in church planting.  I want a church that blesses the city in which it is planted. 

The Israelites were promised prosperity. God had great plans for them. (Jeremiah 29:11) We love to quote the verse, but we often leave out the context in which it was written.  God did have big plans for the people, but that promise was given only after they were told they were facing 70 years of captivity. During their time of exile, the Israelites weren’t to roll over and play dead. They weren’t to complain and revolt against the city.  They were to work hard, build houses, plant crops, and have children.  Even more than that, they were to bless the people who were holding them in exile. (Read Jeremiah 29:1-13 for a better context.) 

I get tired of watching believers protest everything that moves contrary to their prescribed set of values rather than invest in the community around them in hopes of making it better.  If we spent half as much time helping others as we did complaining about what we don’t like or agree with, I wonder if those outside the church would be more interested in what happens inside the church.  

I want a church that is recognized in its community as a catalyst of positive change and influence that cares as much or more about people who aren’t even yet a part of the church.  A church like that will prosper as the city where it is located prospers.

A post on my son Nate’s blog (http://www.nateedmondson.com) inspired this post. In it he talks about the power of faith and the questions he has about that power.  (It’s important to know that Nate has a weird sense of humor and so he understands more than he pretends he does sometimes.) 

Still, Nate is right.  There are lots of misunderstandings when it comes to faith.  As he mentioned in his post, we read in Scripture that with the faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains and trees, but for me personally, sometimes I struggle just to have faith that God is going to be there when I wake up in the morning.  (Not really to that extreme, but sometimes my faith feels that shallow. Sorry if that disappoints you, but it’s true on some days.)  What is then the power of faith? 

To understand faith I have to put it in terms of a relationship.  When we speak of a Biblical faith, we are speaking in terms of our relationship with God and His son, Jesus Christ.  With that in mind, let me list 10 points to consider about this kind of faith:

1.     Faith is defined for us as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1-2) 

2.     Faith believes even when it makes no sense to believe, not because of the proof before you, but because of the trust you place in the object of your faith.

3.     Faith is based on the will of that person in whom you place your faith, not my will.  You can have faith that the person you love most will never hurt you, for example, but whether they do or not is up to their will, not yours.  

4.     Biblical faith is in a person, the person of God.  (God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…they are One.)  Faith is not in me or my abilities, but on God and His abilities.  

5.     When Jesus used the illustration of moving mountains He was giving an example of the power of God and how we should place our whole faith in Him.  He was not talking about the power of my ability to have faith, but rather the power of the One in whom we place our faith.  If God’s will is to move a mountain, He will surely move it. You can even ask Him to by faith.  (Remember, Jesus also said, “apart from me you can do nothing”.) 

6.     When we talk about faith in God then, we are talking about His will, not our will.  That’s how Jesus taught us to pray….”Our Father, who is in Heaven…thy will be done…” Faith is based on God’s agenda, not my agenda. It’s not your ability to move the mountain, its God’s ability.   It’s not your will to move the mountain; it’s God’s will.

7.     When you struggle with faith, you don’t doubt your ability; you doubt God’s ability.  Sometimes we get upset that God hasn’t done something we think He should do, but God never promised to do it.  It may have never been His will.

8.     When you pray by faith then, you are praying that you trust God to do His will in your life, based not on your wishes or desires, but on what He has promised to do.  Some things we can always have faith that God will do, because he has promised to do them, such as “love you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), “work all things for good” (Romans 8:28) and “never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

9.     God is trustworthy…worthy of our faith.  I love how The Message Version puts 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!”  Do what?  Do His will. Faith in the person of God is based then on your trust that He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.   

10.  When your faith lines up with God’s will, you can absolutely, positively, unquestionably claim by faith that God’s will be done.  One of the reasons it is so important to know God personally is so that we will know His will, so we can know how to pray in God’s will.  (Romans 12:1-2)

Feel free to dialogue about this issue here. 

We have such an awesome staff at Grace Community Church. God has blessed us with people who love Him and love others and each of them has a true heart’s desire to be found faithful in their Kingdom work.  With the size of our church, by most standards we are under-staffed. We have a philosophy that everyone on our staff is a true minister.  There are no strictly administrative people working for Grace.  (I hope that’s always our philosophy.)  I want to take this opportunity to honor each of them for their special contribution to all God has done at Grace in the last 3 ½ years. Each of them encourage me in some way in what I do for the Kingdom.

Chad Rowland (Co-Pastor) 

Chad is my partner.  When we agreed to plant the church together the selling point for both of us was that either of us would have chosen to work for the other person.  Chad has the ability to take my weak ideas and make them far better.  He’s the “cool” of our partnership.  I also know that Chad is by far has a better pastor’s heart than me.  He truly cares for people and is so good at encouraging others.  Chad encourages me to consider people above progress. 

Michael Bayne (Director of Family Ministries)

Michael is one of the hardest workers I know in ministry. Michael excels best at connecting with students and their parents. I know on a Sunday morning that if I can get a visitor to talk with Michael, they will visit ReMix on Wednesday night.  Michael gives his attention to many areas of our church, even those he’s not directly involved in.  He’s a true team player.  Michael is creative, funny, and one of my favorite people in the world to pick on.  Michael encourages me to work harder and dream bigger dreams. 

Michael Higdon (Director of Creative Arts)

Michael has more talent and experience than we have yet to completely tap into as a church.  Everywhere I go people know Michael and are impressed with him.  Michael has the heart of a worshipper.  He likes real, authentic, genuine worship and has a true desire for us as a church to take people to the deepest places in their walk with God.  Michael is joining the other Michael in being someone I’m quite fond of aggravating.  Michael encourages me to continually find ways to point people closer to God.

Daniel Doss (Worship Leader)

Daniel was with us from the beginning. He took a leap of faith and trusted in Chad and me (really God) to plant a church that reached lost and hurting people in Clarksville.  Daniel’s golden voice instantly became a sticking point for those who visited Grace.  People love to hear Daniel sing and watch Daniel lead worship.  Daniel has a sincere faith in God and a loyal devotion to his wife, family and friends. Daniel encourages me to be more intentional in relationships.

Ben Reed (Director of Community Groups)

Ben is a bright and rising star in ministry.  His youthful enthusiasm is excelled only by his sincere heart, devotion and wisdom.  Ben is a “get it done” guy.  I love the way he networks in the church and with other churches. He is always learning new ways to improve in his work.  Ben is rock solid in his beliefs and unwavering in his commitment to his wife and new baby son.  Ben encourages me towards continual improvement in what I do.  

Karen Grizzard (Director of Volunteer Ministries)

Karen has a steadfast loyalty to Grace and it’s mission. She has a sincere desire to help other people and her heart for women, especially those who are hurting, is contagious. Karen is quiet, but her insight when she shares it is always dead-on accurate.  Karen allows her life experience to minister to others in her kind, caring, and understanding way.  She never turns down an opportunity to sit with another woman and lend a crying shoulder.  Karen encourages me to remember those who are hurting most. 

Katrina Watts (Director of Preschool Ministry/Family Ministry Coordinator)

Katrina has done a remarkable job organizing our preschool area.  Every church I have been in seems to always scramble for workers, but Katrina seems to have solved that problem for us at Grace.  Katrina’s heart though is in helping people.  I seriously believe Katrina probably ministers to more people personally than any person on our staff. There is hardly a day I don’t hear about Katrina impacting someone in a positive way. Katrina’s mother was a spiritual giant and Katrina becomes more like her everyday.  Katrina encourages me to take advantage of every opportunity to encourage someone. 

Christy Crosby (Director of Children’s Ministry)

Christy loves Grace Community Church.  As a member of the core group who started the church, Christy has always been ready to do whatever is necessary to help Grace flourish. She’s a wonderful mother and serves a role model for other moms in our church and community.  Christy is a great example of a Proverbs 31 woman. She works, supports her husband and family, and never seems to tire of doing good things for others.  Christy encourages me to continually invest my time in building young families in our church. 

Anne Loy (Financial Administration)

Anne is the master of organization. She makes my job so much easier by insuring the financial part of Grace runs smoothly and efficiently.  Anne is more than a number cruncher though.  Anne thinks for the church and always finds ways to save the church money or help us operate more effectively.  Anne is easy to talk to and genuinely fun to be around and she uses that well for Kingdom impact. She has a tremendous outreach to high school girls through her ministry, along with her husband, in Young Life.  Anne encourages me to be even more organized so I can accomplish much for the Kingdom.  

Found this on Carlos Whittaker’s blog.  This is funny. Glad I didn’t make this mistake.

My friend Michael Robison and his wife have a desire to adopt from Africa.  In this post and this video he shares why.  This honestly made me sick to my stomach to watch, so don’t unless you think you can handle it.  I admire the devotion and grace the Robison’s hope to extend. We have many friends who have a heart for adoption and rescuing children to give them a safe-haven is often part of their reasoning.  This is true “pure and undefiled religion”.  (James 1:27)