Summit's Haiti Relief Efforts

Summit's Haiti Relief Efforts

As many of you know, in the aftermath of the catastrophe in Haiti, Summit is aggressively looking for ways to respond through our partnership with Mission of Hope Haiti. MOH Haiti has been designated by the State Department as their base of operations for medical relief. We are currently organizing multiple teams of professional medical staff to respond with aid. Teams will be leaving Saturday morning. If you are in the medical profession, equipped for trauma response and have a valid passport please contact Michael Girado at michael@summitlife.com. Because of Mission of Hope's influence with both Haiti's government and the U.S. government they have the opportunity to make a huge impact in responding to this crisis. What they need now is our prayers, medical personnel and financial support. If you would like to donate you can directly give through Mission of Hope's site here or you can donate through Summit Church here (add a gift and choose Disaster Relief).

For updates on the relief efforts at Mission of Hope please visit http://disasterrelief.mohhaiti.org/
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God Ain't Playin'

I am still working my way through the book of Amos and today I read something that just jumped out at me. In the early verses of chapter 5 you see the Prophet Amos speaking to this way-ward people and proclaiming God's heart. A few times Amos proclaims this...God says "seek me and live", yet it falls on death ears and people continue to seek everything other than God. Then at the end of the chapter God rebukes them with a strong word when the people try to treat Him as an add on or after thought.

21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.

22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.

23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!

25 "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?

In essence God is saying you have been openly and blatantly rebelling against me and now you want to do religious acts and think that everything is going to be okay...not going to happen! God is gracious and He desires fellowship with us, but we must respect Him as Lord and not think for a second that we can have our sin and have Him without consequence as well. Worshiping God when our hearts are not pure is just giving God lip service and He won't have any of it. God does not want our lip service, what He desires is our obedience. It was a good reminder for me this morning and a great challenge.

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:16-17

Spiritual Lessons from a Bear...

This blog has been lying dorment for so long, not out of lack of things to write or even lack of time or desire. I have been in a season where I have been capturing more of my private thoughts and challenges and desiring to focus on those things rather than the public forum of blogging. And, let's face it, I am not really that interesting to read, but it is a great exercise in communication.

This past weekend my wife and I averted what could have been a huge catastrophe in the life of our three year old daughter...no it wasn't that she fell of her swing set, jumped off her trampoline, it wasn't that we lost her in the mall or anything like that...no, those things are definitely horrible, but this would probably rank right up there in my daughter's heart. You see her bear, her ragged, dingy, sleepy bear that she has had since birth, went missing. She took it to Publix with her while her and her mom went grocery shopping and somewhere in the store she dropped the bear---no where to be found. My wife, did a mad search, up and down every isle to no avail. She spoke to the store manager and explained the dire situation and left her name and number in hopes that maybe a good samartian or faithful employee would turn it in.

My daughter was crushed. That night she was a little restless as we put her down for her bed and there was no bear. Now I want to give you a picture of how my daughter views this bear. You see this bear has no legs and again it has taken such a beating, that there really is no redemable value or beauty to this thing. Yet in spite of what we see and how we feel, my daughter loves this bear. She talks to it, dresses it. Brings it to the dinner or lunch table and places food in front of it. Every night when I put her to bed and pray for her, she asks me to pray for bear...yeah, I kid you not, to my sweet 3yr old, this bear is valuable, is lovely, is worth being loved.

Now catch this, if you are still reading...my daughter loves this thing, and it got me thinking, what a picture of how God loves us. There may have been many and still maybe some that say, you are beat up, you're dirty, dingy and there is no redeemable quality in you what's so ever. And yet, God says I love you. In fact, I love you so much I gave my only Son for you (John 3:16). Jesus says, I love you so much I would leave the 99 to go find you. Now, don't get me wrong I am not trying to say we are the center of God's world, but we are an aim of His affection and love. Where ever you are today, may the fact that God pursues you with an everlasting love be your encouragement and hope today.

"By Faith..."

This morning I spent my quiet time with the Lord reading Hebrews 11, a very familiar passage, deemed by some as the "Hall of Fame of Faith." The writer of the Book of Hebrews list some of the giants of the faith who in the Old Testament were used by God in some amazing ways. The introduction to each of the different men and women listed start with two simple yet profound words "By faith...". I spent a good portion of the morning reflecting on those two words, "by faith...". Faith, a great word, a word that is essential to our walk with the Lord, a word that as Christians we would say is crucial we embrace and yet on so many different occasions in our lives we abandon. Now we don't abandon it entirely per say, in the sense we don't have faith any longer, we abandon it, in the sense that we misplace our faith.

The key to the success of those written about in Hebrews chapter 11 is that their faith was in the Lord. In the midst of prosperity or in difficulty they remained steadfast in the promises of God. Now don't get me wrong, they failed, they were at times tripped up, but in the end they centered themselves in God.

By faith...I just continued to allow those two words to sit on my heart and mind and I began to reflect on this season of my life. What is it that God is calling me to? What mountains are currently standing in my way? What dreams and visions are at risk of not coming to fruition in this season of my life? And above all of that, what will be my response to these things? Will I cash in, give up, seek to place my faith in something else, or will I hold on to the promises of God. By faith...the Bible says.

I have been doing some serious praying in regards to our church and ministry lately. Six years ago a small remnant of people by faith...stepped out to start a church that would engage the culture and the world. God quickly grew that remnant and after 2 and a half short years by faith...300 people sacrificed their own resources to build a permanent facility that would serve as a launching pad for greater ministry. Shortly after that a small segment of people by faith...set out to start another campus in Naples. Since day one by faith...the leadership of Summit, thought it was as important to be committed to the world as it was to their own four walls, so from day one has decided to give a large portion of their resources to expand the vision of every man, woman and child in many different formats. In so many different ways and in responses to so many different what seemed to be overwhelming challenges, the people of Summit Church, by faith...acted in response to God's leading and saw the move and the glory of God in amazing ways.

Today our ministry stands at yet another crossroads with another challenge in front of us...and my prayer is that just like in our history that in our present...by faith...we will respond. By faith...we will not shrink back! By faith...we will continue to pursue God with reckless abandonment. By faith...we will continue to partner with existing churches in our area and plant new churches and campuses to reach every man, woman and child. By faith...I pray that we will continue to strive to be a generous church, that holds ALL of its resources with open hands, sharing it as God leads us to. By faith...may this expression be defined and be led.

The fact is God's Word states, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

I challenge you to take a spiritual inventory and complete this statement for yourself and for this recent season of your life..."by faith________?" What do you need faith for right now? What is it that God is calling you to do? And is your faith truly in the One who called you and who has saved you? Just a rambling, but worth a thought. God Bless.

Truly a great night with the fam. Saw Santa, had dinner, raised havoc. Max did such an awesome job. Love those snap shot moments. Autism sucks but God is good!

Going Away Party

Yesterday the staff of Summit threw a going away/appreciation party for my wife, Pam. Since day one of Summit my wife has played a huge role and an integral part of this ministry. In fact outside of the members of the Leadership Team up until yesterday, she was the longest tenured employee we had. And as grateful as I am for her hard work in keeping up with and maintaining the accounting for our ministry and for the many ministries we are connected with, I am much more grateful for a wife who has always supported me and encouraged me to do what God has called me to do.

The office for me will not be the same, but I am absolutely ecstatic that my wife will have the liberty and margin to be more engaged in the lives of our kids, in our community and in the lives of the women that God has placed in her path. I am so thankful for a godly wife.

What's My Name?

So the other day my wife and I were laying in bed with our kids getting ready for the day and I turned and asked my son, Max, "what's my name?" and he replied "HUN!" My wife and I laughed and laughed. Over the last couple of days I have reflected not just on my son's response, but more so on my wife's amazing influence and example over our children. Why did my son respond, with "HUN" because he has heard his mom call me that throughout his life span. Now before you cast that off as no big deal, think for a moment. There are many wives out there that do not honor their husbands and I have been blessed with one that does. Just as easy, my son's answer to the question, what's my name?, could have been, chump, idiot, loser, good for nothing, but the fact remains he has copied his mom's example. Now at some point we'll have to tell him that my name is actually Orlando, but for now I celebrate the blessing of a wonderful life whose life speaks loudly to our precious kids.