What It Really Feels Like to Be Hit By A Truck

Dear Friend and Family,

There are moments when you're life flashes before you and at the end of it all you can not help but to be thankful for the people God has placed in your life.

Last night at approximately 12:30 AM, Saturday night, we (Luke, Christie, and I) were heading back home from Atlanta, GA to North Carolina on I-95. Just an hour and an half from home we hydroplaned in front of a Semi-truck. The truck pushed us 200 feet down I-95 as we spinned out of control and landed in the median. All the windows we're gone and the bumper of the truck came very close to Christie. The State Trooper that later came to the hospital told us that none of us should have walked away alive.

By God's amazing hand we had only minor scratches and bruises. Luke didn't even cry! He thought it was cool that he got to ride in an ambulance. People kept telling us how lucky we were but we kept telling them God was in it all.

This Saturday we have our first outreach event handing out balloons, face-painting, and info. about Real Hope at the Celebrate Fuquay-Varina festival. Approximately 8,000 people will pass our booth. I am convinced that Satan would do anything for us to be shaken from this event. However, why shaken emotionally from the event, our resolved and faith to plant this new church can not be shaken.

Your prayers have been more important then you'll ever know. They protected us when we could not. And once again they have started something in heaven that we could not and it begins this Saturday as we reach people for Christ!

So thank you from the depths of hearts for praying and supporting us. You have no idea how much each of you mean to us. And please pray for our emotions to heal quickly and as we go out and reach people for Christ this weekend.

Peace and a prayer,
Jeremy, Christie, & Luke

PS The little ne owe are expecting in November is ok too!
PPS If your local in the area drop by our booth at Action Park in Fuquay-Varina this Saturday! We'd love to see you!

119 South Fuquay Avenue

Pictures of Real Hope's new home:

A New Day

This morning Luke crawled into bed to wake me up. I asked him what today was, and he said, "a new day." He can really make you feel positive about life, alive, and ready to conquer the day. There are a lot of exciting things taking place. Just a quick update about what's going on.

Monday evening we will be signing a lease for Real Hope's first home. It's located downtown Fuquay-Varina next to the DMV and Library. This brings a lot of traffic right by the building so I'm really excited about that. One of the best features is that the back door opens up to a community park with a children's playground, pavilion, and large grass area. The town also holds several events downtown each year and we plan to be involved in those. One festival brings in over 20,000 people.

We don't have anything for the building yet, but I love the spirit of our group. We plan to start meeting there next Sunday and they said they can bring there folding chairs. So who knows what kind of chairs we'll have for our first time there, but we are excited about the potential ministry opportunities that will happen and the impact we can have.

So keep all this in your prayers. I'll post pictures later this week.

Wind Changes

At night the wind has been blowing around our gray blue house as if it is giving up the old season and preparing for the new. Luke graduated to his 'big boy' bed tonight. How fast they grow. I grab onto his unmastered pronouns to keep him from growing up to fast. He says, 'hold you' instead of using 'me', although the other day 'me' slipped out. I couldn't bear to let him know he was right. I'm just not ready to let go of 'hold you.' He gets me everytime he says it.

My parents move to this beautiful state in eleven days. The reality of them being so close by hasn't set in yet. I may have to just stand in their living room for the first few days and just stare at them to know it's real. I don't know who will get tired of who first. But I remind them if they start acting old their off to my brothers.

Soliel keeps going outside and barking tonight. She's ready for the new season as well. Tired of the cold nights and the cold ground outside. Xander wants nothing more than to leave the cozy house and begin venturing outside. I think we are all a bit stir crazy for something new - something we've been waiting for awhile to happen. We just weren't sure how it would be ushered into our lives.

Revolution

"The skeptiscism of those who lead conventional spiritual lives is a palpable reminder that growth always comes with a price tag...The mere presence of Revolutionaries makes the typical American citizen - yes, even the typical churchgoer - uncomfortable. It is not uncommon for Revolutionaries to meet with rejection - verbal, intellectual, relational, or experiential - simply because of their determination to honor the God they love."

This is a quote from George Barna's book "Revolution." By no means did this book alter my thinking in any great way. It was an easy read but affirming what I feel inside many days. It help identify what I am a part of - of who I am becoming - of where I am going. I can be lots of titles. A bivocational minister, church planter, front desk manager, daddy, husband, brother - but I am a part of a much larger movement. I am one of the revolutionaries which simplified means, I have deserted Christianity and become a follower of Christ.

I know it seems somewhat of a paradox, but this is much of the revolutionary life.

Relevance

My friend is an awesome librarian. Before she became a librarian I thought all librarians were pretty much geeks who had little regard for being relevant. She is doing amazing things that are culturally relevant and engaging new children and parents into the world of books and reading. What I find interesting is that she comes up against the very thing churches are willing to die for even in the secular field - being irrelevant to the culture around them.

Somewhere we have to understand that culture relevance is not the death of what's moral, right, and truth. Language changes, style changes, and so must our methodologies if we expect what we love so much to be around for the next generation.
Take the word pimp. At first there is a generation that would associate this word's use in a negative connotation. But the very word itself has changed meanings for much of the culture around us. Pimp can also be used as a verb such as "You're pimped up!" or "Pimp my ride." The latter example refers to customizing an automobile, made popular by the show Pimp My Ride on MTV. It can also be used as an adjective connoting the same, i.e. "Man, that car's pimp!" Either use was originally a derogatory term, implying that the subject was overly decorated and tacky (referring to the stereotype of pimps with excessive jewelry, flashy clothes, or brightly colored cars with animal-print upholstery and crystal chandeliers). It was eventually reclaimed as an American slang term for being unique, "cool" or socially desirable, in much the same way as the term "ghetto fabulous."
All I'm trying to say is that if I could get people to wake up from their mundane hard working days and come to church to hear a sermon title, "Pimp my Church" - they're the very ones I want to reach. Leonard Sweet says it well, "The mystery of the gospel is this: It is always the same, and it is always changing. In fact, for the gospel to remain the same, it has to change. The old, old story needs to be told in new, new ways. In fact, one of the ways you know the old, old truths are true is their ability to assume amazing and unfamiliar shapes while remaining themselves and without compromising their integrity."
Maybe the real reason people find it hard to stay culturally relevant is because our world is changing so fast, then again, maybe we have some prejudices that we just don't want to face and death seems to be the better option. My wife also wrote a great blog about Christ and Culture.

Rock'in at Christmas Time

Rock'in at Christmas time! Oh yeah....

Is Jesus Amazed?

During thegathering we've been in a series called 24| A day in the life of Jesus. It's been a great study to discover the way of Christ. Tonight's twenty-four hours with Jesus was when Jesus was amazed at the soldier's faith (Luke 7). Jesus was amazed two times in Scripture - this time with the soldier's faith and the other time when his own family and friends demonstrated a lack of faith.
It's interesting how close to home that still comes today. I wonder if Jesus is still amazed at our faith or lack of? I hope He still gets amazed at those who choose to go! And I pray more will rise to the call even when we can't see everything ahead. I hope Jesus will be amazed by the Christ-followers that are coming to Real Hope and for the faith they will demonstrate in the years to come.

If you haven't joined us yet at thegathering we hope to see you soon! It's turning out to be a great night each Wednesday. Also this Sunday at our house we are hosting our first Discover Real Hope Dinner where we talk about the mission and vision of Real Hope. We want Real Hope to be all God intended it to be and this is a place to understand how we can make that happen together. If you're interested in finding out more check the web site for more details under the events.

thegathering

Well, starting September 27 on Wednesday evenings we are beginning what we call thegathering. This will be the first place for people to gather who want to make Real Hope their church community. I'm excitied and nervous about it - my worst fear - what if no one shows up!

I realize though that there are a lot of broken vessels just like myself that are looking for an authentic community to belong too. And I know God has been preparing our hearts to offer a place full of grace and mercy for unperfect people to come and seek God. It is sometimes just so ovewhelming to think about who God will gather and watch lives begin changing. If you are in the area, stop by sometime and gather with us...you can come just as you are.

Walking in the Other Shoe

Ever since I started working at the Sheraton it's really helped me 'walk in the other shoe' with those who call themselves 'spiritual' or even 'Christian' but not following the way of Christ yet. For many the hotel is their friends and family - the ones they count on in life. Strangely, I find them the most accepting group of people to be around. It begs the question why the church can not be more like this, accepting people as they are?

Maybe it's the fact that to many times we think we have everything figured out and we assume that our perception is the reality. I've always hated the phrase 'perception is reality.' Yet so often we label our perceptions on people. And based on our perceptions we assign right or wrong to how they are living. Don't get me wrong, there is truth in Christ's way and when we discover a truth we need to live it out, but we aren't going to do it perfectly. The thing that bugs me is when we assign our reality to someone else and decide it's our mission to change everything we think is wrong with the person or we just stop pursuing the relationship altogether because 'it just wouldn't be worth our time.'

Luke loves to walk in my shoes. He thinks I'm pretty cool, tall, adventurous, fun...Really one of the most amazing people walking the earth. I don't argue to often with them on this point. That's his perception, thus his assumed reality. But the real truth is if he really was able to understand everything about my shoes he would feel the lately stress, frustration, loneliness, and fear of failure. I'm glad he's only two and hope his perception of reality continues for awhile. All I'm really saying is it's time for us to wear the other shoe for awhile and discover that someone's real reality needs someone who will take them as they are and encourage them to seek the way God intended us to be, not as we think they should be.

Roker Radar

Ok, so I didn't really believe it at first, maybe because he's lost so much weight and our security guard said to him, "Hey your Roker." Al was not very impressed by this comment and gave the security guard a "duh" look. I figured what an amazing close looks and this poor guy must get that comment all the time. It was only after his daughter came down to check out and ask me, "Have you seen my dad?" and I pulled up the profile and notice Al's name did I realize, it really was Al Roker!

I had wish at this moment I had told Al's daughter, "Your dad went out to check the weather." But my wits are not as quick at 7 am in the morning. Apparently Al passes through regular so watch for the Roker Radar to go off anytime!

And Mr. Smith Enjoy Your Stay...

Yes, I now work at the four star Sheraton Raleigh Hotel located downtown. It features 300 rooms with seventeen floors, presidential and governor's suite, club level floors, indoor pool, restaurant and bar. I work at the front desk checking in guest, checking them out, and making guest feel right at home.

I get to sport my stylish suits and ties, stand on my feet for eight hours, and enjoy guest coming to me with their complaints. It's almost like church used to be...Takes me back.

Really, I am enjoying it and having some great opportunities to be around people who don't know Christ. It is also giving me perspective on what people deal with outside the ministry. Usually I'm up at 5:30 am and in to work by 7 am and work until 3 pm. This week I work some extra hours and an evening shift. I'm starting to become quite the morning person!

It has it perks. I get lunch provided by the cooks, free parking downtown, eventually great health benefits, and hotel discounts. And yes if your family you can get the discounts too (just have to wait to after my first 90 days.)

Log Day 52 - Adversity

Log Day 13 - The Others

Last week Christie and I attended the National Church Planting Conference in Orlando, FL. The theme of the conference was "Risk" and that resonated very well with us. It was an amazing week filled with clarity. We came away hearing from great speakers like Ed Stezter, a church planting guru, and one of my personal favorites, Gene Appel. We also had some moments to spend with Donnie and Cinda Williams (lead pastor at LifePointe) and get some wise counsel and perspective from our friend, Brent Foulkes.

I think most exciting was to see the 800 others that are doing the same thing. It was encouraging to know there are others following this call, experiencing the same up's and down's, questioning it all, running forward with passion, taking the risk - and realizing that we are not alone. There are others!

Our destination is on the horizon and while the methodologies will change dramatically we are excited about what will be charted next in our journey. This is the biggest risk I have ever taken. The winds are blowing very strong change in our direction as we set out to plant a new church.

Log Day 1 - Stormy Days

Storms are blowing through tonight which seem to reflect my own dilemmas of late. The destination is very clear. The most confusing part is the journey to get there. The storm itself is not so half as bad, almost beautiful to watch at times, as long as you have a safe place to watch it and can remember where you are going. My wife and child are my safe place in these current storms that are passing by, reminding me of the beautiful moments that really do exist.

My intention on blogging is to navigate through such storms that come along in this journey with better clarity. This place will be a place for my thoughts to collect and be sorted like Professor Dumbledore's pensive, but for the unmagical. Perhaps look back and see the good moments that seem to find themselves among the bad ones. So dive in and enjoy the uncharted waters of my life.