BLeach

Will You Pray for the Philly Project?

Many of you have mentioned that you're praying for us as we prepare to start a network of churches in Philadelphia. Thank you so much. Now we're ready to take our prayer effort to the next level! 

I'm excited this week to announce a tool that I hope will facilitate a transformational movement of prayer for the city of Philadelphia. The Philly Five is a weekly email containing five strategic points of prayer for the Philly Project. 

My dream is to see 500 people committing five minutes a week to pray over the Philly Five. Of course, you can pray more than five minutes if you'd like, but if 500 of us are praying five minutes a week, that's 42 hours of prayer for the city of Philadelphia to be transformed by Jesus! Wow!

Will you be a part of this historic church planting movement?

If so, simply follow this link to phillyproject.com, our brand new site, and click the button at the top of the page to "join a movement of prayer for Philly." Follow the instructions and you're in!

Someday God will give us a bigger perspective, and we'll see the difference our prayers made in the lives of hundreds of people in Philadelphia. Thank you for standing with us!

A Sunday in South Philly

Today was another fun day in Philly. I had the opportunity to preach twice, at Highway Tabernacle in Center City, and then Resurrection and Life in Nicetown.

Center City and Nicetown are very different neighborhoods. Houses in Center City hover around the one million dollar mark, while five shootings took place this past week in Nicetown. Yet it's great to see local churches representing Christ in both places.

We also spent a few hours this afternoon in South Philly. We ate at Johnny Rockets on South Street. Love the vibe! There's so much diversity on South Street. I get excited seeing so many different kinds of people in one place. 

We drove from South Street a few blocks south to Queen Village, which is another unique neighborhood in South Philly. Leah really loves the houses on Queen Street.

South Philly is home to a lot of Irish Catholics. In other words, green everywhere! I've never seen this many people so excited for St. Patrick's Day this early!

Leah left about an hour ago to drive back to Pittsburgh. I miss her and Gabs already. I'll be here until Thursday. Looking forward to meeting a few young church planters tomorrow. Then Jeff Leake arrives Tuesday and we'll spend a few days at Valley Forge Christian College. 

I'm not exactly sure what to do tonight. I think I'll walk and try to find some pizza.

Later!

Friday Morning in Philly

This morning I did Rocky's run. It was cold and raining, but I put my head down, braved the winds, and made it to the Art Museum. Pretty exciting to run the steps for the first time. I resisted the urge to throw my arms in the air at the top of the steps. Didn't want everyone to know I'm new to the city!

Spent this morning in University City at Saxby's Coffee. I love seeing so many college students. My heart starts beating faster when I think about the fact that there are 170,000 college students within a few miles of where I'm staying in Center City. We've got an amazing opportunity in front of us.

Getting ready to head to the airport to pick up Leah. Can't wait to see her!

Worship Under the City Lights

I took a walk tonight through Center City Philadelphia, worshipping and praying--but mostly worshipping. I walked to the Art Museum but stopped short of the steps. I'm saving them for my first run, in honor of Rocky. Maybe in the morning.

So many thoughts ran through my mind, but two of them dominated the others.

First, God's greatness feels tangible. The buildings, the architecture, the history; it all seems to boast about the greatness of a city shaped by the hands of men. But the reality is that this city, in all its man-made greatness, is less than three hundred years old. Yet under the city lights, I worshipped an eternal God who will reign long after the influence of Philly has faded.

Second, I'm honored to serve God by loving this city. Sometimes in this season of transition I get to thinking about the "sacrifices" I'm making. But tonight those temporary inconveniences were all put back in perspective. The truth is, there's no sacrifice involved with this assignment. It's a joy to obey God, and the ultimate adventure to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

How Far Must a Missionary Go

I arrived in Philadelphia yesterday around noon, and met Brian Bolt. Brian is planting discipleship homes and churches in Pittsburgh, modeled after the ministry he was discipled in, Victory Outreach. I got to spend the afternoon in West Kensington getting to know Pastor Titus and some of the other Philadelphia Victory Outreach leaders. 

They were patient with all of my questions and taught me a lot about the city. Vision oozes from these guys! They've already bought three buildings on their block and are praying in the rest of them! They work toward total transformation of lives, which in turn transforms the neighborhood.

Last night Brian hooked us up with tickets to the Sixers game. I'll be honest. I felt a little dirty, like I was cheating on the Pistons by sitting in another NBA team's arena. Now I'm wondering if a commitment to good missiology has to impact my allegiance to Detroit's sports teams. I know Paul became all things to all men, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up the Pistons and Red Wings! 

Pray for me!

The Importance of a Long Runway

 

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty (Proverbs 21.5).

March is strategy month for The Philly Project. One of my goals this month is to map out a detailed plan that will guide us through the next four phases of our church planting journey: preparation, pre-launch, launch, and post-launch.

Fortunately, we have a long runway ahead of us to build enough speed for take-off. We're still probably at least 10-11 months away from officially launching the church. Yet my hope is that every task our team tackles between now and liftoff will be an intentional step in the direction of becoming the church God wants us to be.

There are many sources informing the development of our strategy, but the most important by far is the Holy Spirit. We're not going to plant this church out of our heads, or my past experience, or an inspiring book. My goal this month is to spend at least five hours a week praying specifically over the formation of our launch strategy. I want to catch God's heart, and make sure our team's activity is consistent with His activity.

Here are three questions for you to consider:

• What is your team "ramping up" for? 
• Are you being careful to work on the organization and not just in it? 
• How are you making sure that God is in the center of your strategic planning?

Weekend Rewind

I'm reflecting this morning on a fun, action packed weekend. Here are some random highlights.

• Fridays are my Sabbath. I usually sleep until I wake up (which thanks to Gabby is earlier than it used to be), and enjoy a relaxing morning. At some point I go to the gym for a workout. I also love to read and watch Sportscenter, but mostly I just love being with my girls.
• This past Friday we took Gabby to get pictures from The Picture People. It was almost impossible to get her to sit and smile at the same time. But the pictures actually turned out great!
• You could not pay me enough money to photograph babies at the mall.
• Friday night we attended Sharpsburgh Family Worship Center's new building dedication. Sharpsburgh is one of APC's daughter churches.
• God gave them a 19,000 square foot building and school for $150,000.00!
• Read that again. Isn't God incredible!
• Johannes Amritzer preached Friday night, and wrote a great description of the evening on his blog.
• Saturday was a work day. I cleaned out my inbox and finished preparing my message for Sunday morning.
• I also spent a few hours Saturday watching Gabby so Leah could prepare for a tutoring appointment. Every time Leah and I switch roles, I gain a new appreciation for what she does every day!
• Gabby started pulling herself up this weekend, which has really complicated things when I try and change her diaper.
• On Saturday night we attended the weekend service at APC.
• After the service Leah and I met with a family that feels like God is calling them to move to Philly to be a part of the church plant. Wow!
• We've been praying for God to speak to people about moving with us, but honestly it's one of those prayers that surprises me when God answers it.
• Yesterday I had a great time preaching at Bridgeway Church in Ambridge.
• Mike Santistevan is doing a great job leading Bridgeway.
• They meet in a high school cafeteria, and have really been creative with the space. Looked like lots of Ikea decor.
• The big idea of my message: When God speaks, radical obedience is the only intelligent option.
• Several people responded who confessed that God was asking them to do something out of their comfort zone. The Holy Spirit was imparting faith and courage!
• I spent some time in the afternoon reading The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida. Great read for church planters and those who feel called to serve the city.
• I also spent some time researching a new direction for my blog. Stay tuned. Big changes are coming in the next few weeks!
• To cap off the weekend, I watched the Godfather with Leah and my father-in-law. It was actually my first time to see the movie.
• I've often told Leah that we were like a backward couple. She would make Godfather references and I'd have to ask for the explanation. 
• Not anymore!
• I finally have the context for taking it to the mattress, grabbing the kenoli, and sleeping with the fishes.
• Looking forward to a big week ahead. I'm leaving Wednesday morning to spend 8 days in Philly. Would appreciate your prayers.
• It's an honor to live in obedience to Jesus!

The 1876 Revival in Philadelphia

In 1876, Philadelphia hosted the Centennial Exposition to commemorate the first 100 years of the United States of America. One million people converged on the city--a breathtaking number at that time of the development of our country.

That same year, DL Moody came to Philly to hold nine weeks of revival services. An atmosphere of prayer and worship covered the city. 8,000 people attended a morning prayer meeting to kick off the crusade. And by the end of the nine weeks, 900,000 people had attended the evening services at the old Pennsylvania Railroad depot at the corner of Market and 13th streets.

I dream of a day when the churches of Philadelphia will unite again, and a spirit of prayer and worship will so explode in the city again that its effects are even more transformative and enduring!

Our Cute Little Crawler

Last Night It Dawned On Me...

I gave a short teaching last night to kick off the group discussion time at APC's couple's night, and then each married couple had the opportunity to take communion together with their small groups. I love that Allison Park Church is empowering their small group leaders to lead communion.

Leah and I had Gabby with us while we were taking communion. I've thought and prayed many times since God gave us Gabby about how desperately I want her to experience Christ in a personal way. But last night was the first time I thought about her being able to take communion herself one day. And it hit me--my greatest point of dependence on God right now isn't selling our house in Michigan, selecting a neighborhood in which to launch the church in Philadelphia, or building a church planting team. It's for Gabby. I desperately want her to love God.

Nothing makes me feel more helpless. I can create an environment that encourages her to love God. I can pray over her and bless her when I put her to bed. But at the end of the day, I can't convince her that she needs God's grace or open her eyes to His incomparable glory.

Not sure why I shared that, other than the value of turning the thought into words. But if you're a parent than I know you can identify.

We need God to draw our kids.