Splangchna

Matthew 9:36-38 (NLT)
³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.
³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

I have a passion for Velocity. I can feel it in my gut. I hear it in my voice whenever anyone asks me about Velocity. I find that I see things differently now. Empty buildings have become possible locations for ministry. Acts of kindness now display Christ’s love, instead of just being polite. God honors those who live for Him. I am drawn deeper into my passion for the Lord and for Velocity which each passing day.

Jesus was passionate. Splangchna–a passionate “gut” level feeling of direction for a cause or empathy for others. Jesus shows plenty of “slangchna” for those who were outside of the kingdom. He ate with them, in order to reach them. He walked with them, in order to reach them. He taught them in ways they understood. He lived among us–sinners every one of us, in order to reach us. Now we must leave the beauty of the church walls and dare to enter the dark world that surrounds us.

What would make us attempt such? Our splangchna will; our passion; our “gut” tells us that this is the right thing to do. Why? Because as He has loved us, so we should love others. We show that love in many different and unique ways. When we serve–from holding a door for someone else to making eye contact with a stranger in the convenience store to say hello, we are doing so because of Christ and our passion for Him. We visit the lonely; we help the helpless; we wash a car window, hand out a Coke; wash cars; whatever it takes–we are called to live the life which Christ died to give us. This must be our calling, our spangchna that drives us. As we interact, seeds can be sown and God will give grace to a harvest of souls.

Velocity calls us each to live differently than we have ever lived. In our worship; in our connecting; and certainly in our service. We are not the only Christians, someone once said, but we are just Christians. Nothing more; nothing less. We live daily for Him.

Paul

Kicking the Tires

Excitement is growing with our Velocity Plant Team. They have just 3 weeks under their belts of visitation with various churches in and around our area. These visits are made to emerging churches, recent plants, and established growing churches. From each visit comes ideas and possibilities to bring to our discussion and prayer times. Many have planned second visits already for both inspiration and ideas.

Most church plant organizations recommend that your church plant team take the time to visit other churches.  In fact, I would highly recommend that an established church which has plateaued in growth and are seeking to revitalize their outreach and approach–needs to shut down things for a month, and encourage the general membership and leadership to visit other churches who are growing and show signs of enthusiasm in their faith and outreach.

Like buying that new car, you see all shapes and sizes, some with more bells and whistles than you can afford. So is our church visitation process. We experience much that just right now does not fit our profile. These bells and whistles must be filed away for a time when Velocity can realistically attain them. Our goal is to find those techniques and ideas which will make an immediate impact in the communities we serve. We must not forget that practical is just as important as the grand possibilities. This tempering is best accomplished in our Upper Room Gatherings to sift, pray and exam all that God is leading us to discover.

Very soon, we will begin to implement our outreach program. This outreach will proceed our launch by several weeks. We want to already be involved in practicing what we are going to preach at our launch. The Velocity plant team must now be planting in the hearts of those we are in contact with that God loves them very much and we are here to show that love in various practical ways.

Velocity is not just another church–Velocity is doing church in a different way. We want to not just talk about God–we want to walk our talk in the communities we serve.  You are invited to join us on this journey–help us kick the tires as we prepare together.  Paul@Velocity242.com   I would love to speak with you about participating with our church plant team.

Reaching West Georgia, USA with the dynamic love of God

Paul

Now We Wait

The disciples watch Jesus ascend. In their minds are emotions far to complicated to understand. Here now stands this ragtag bunch of misfits, as some would see them. But dropped into their hands is the commission to reach the world with the name of Christ. The world is big, even to these men. No electronics, no written word as of yet, only the writings we call the Old Testament, no plans other than moving out from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and then to the world. They are told to wait. Wait on the movement from the Lord to begin this great endeavor.

I have a difficult time waiting. It started as a child, waiting on birthdays to arrive (I have adjusted to this one–birthdays come far to frequently now!) or waiting on summer to finally arrive. Waiting on something special to happen is difficult. So, imagine these men, given such a commission, now must wait.

Velocity is in a waiting time. We have a bare minimum web presence. We are searching God’s leading to find a staff of dedicated pastors and leaders. We wait on God’s direction in where we will locate ourselves for a gathering of God’s church. We can learn a vital lesson from those early disciples.

They discover the presence of God. They meet in prayer. They listen for God’s voice. And soon, on the day of Pentecost–God delivers. What a great day for a new church plant–3,000 baptisms. Wow–what a great model for us.

So, Velocity waits. We meet twice a month in an Upper Room Gathering. Are you interested in praying for God’s moving in the communities of West GA. Are you desirous to join with us to plant a church that does church differently? Are you tired of just watching church and feel a need to “do” as the church should do.

                                             Worship–Connect–Serve

Velocity involves each in finding God in worship, connecting to Him in Small Groups and serving Him by serving others–outside of our fellowship. We take the love of God, by means of random acts of kindness to those in our community who have forgotten or have not seen the love of God in action–in the lives of His people, the church. Remember–we are the church–not the building. So, lets live as the church.

So, we wait–soon God will speak and we will go out to our Jerusalem. What will our launch Sunday be like? 3,000 souls baptized. Hey, I serve a big God and with God anything is possible. I just want to be ready for all that God has planned for us. So, I wait. Will you join with me and others who are waiting and listening for God.

Drop me an email if you want more information or would like to join us in our Upper Room Gatherings. Paul@Velocity242.com

Paul

Toll Booths and Life

My whirlwind weekend is over and I am back home. I would call this weekend quite successful. I flew to Washington DC and then drove a car to NJ and back, enjoying the sight of major league ball parks in Baltimore and Philly. The traffic was relatively light and the weather was good. But, I never have been anywhere that had as many toll booths as I witnessed. I am sure across this great nation, many people are accustomed to these places along the way. But I have to admit, I was surprised, and fortunately prepared with the correct change and correct dollars which were regularly extracted from me on my drive. But, I did take away a couple of lessons at least from this experience.

Accountability is a important issue in ministry and in churches in general. In this day and age, we find that one of the best programs to accomplish this is our Small Group Ministries. Within these small fellowships we have accountability occurring. Or at least we should. As the trust factors rise in these various groups, we are more free to expose those areas in our life that must be extracted as we journey through life. Our Small Groups can aid in this process. They help us through those Toll Booths in life.

But even beyond the small group is the Mentor program. Every spiritual leader should have a mentor. I would not say as a requirement, but a very strong suggestion. We need accountability to someone concerning our spiritual walk. Temptations and pitfalls abound everywhere in our worlds. Allowing God to help us deal with temptation is great, but often we need a mentor to point this out.

Remember Elijah, sitting alone under a broom tree, feeling sorry for himself, disappointed in life and ministry. He was just ready to fold it up and die. But God sent an angel to minister and lift him. After that, Elijah was ready to listen to God. Not in the voice of thunder and earthquakes, but in a still and quiet voice. His mentor focused him to the place where God would minister. Elijah passed through a spiritual toll booth, and continued in ministry for the Lord.

Velocity is all about worship, connection and service. All three important areas in which God can speak to us, encourage us, and use us. We are in this journey together, helping one another along the way–lifting and help each other through the toll booths in life.

Paul