Springtime in (and out of) Vegas

CWR - Paradise's first Easter service at the Alumni Amphitheater at UNLV

It's Spring in Las Vegas! For locals that means tolerably comfortable warm weather and the beginning of the busy tourist season. For me the past few weeks have meant new faces, scared faces, and going places.

NEW FACES:

At our outdoor Easter service and picnic our church saw a number of new faces, including (after months of invitations) the manager of my DJ company. Apparently it was different than what she expected ... in a good way. She wants to keep coming back as her work schedule allows (a very common obstacle in Vegas). After seeing where we were coming from she welcomed the offer to read a short booklet explaining what's behind the sermon message she so connected with. We'll be discussing it together soon.

Our location has brought us visitors as diverse as college students, the homeless, and tourists wanting to worship somewhere close to their hotel on The Strip. The majority of our first time visitors have come from ethnic minorities, reflecting the true diversity of this community. Last week I met a Hip Hop Drummer / Computer Engineering student across the street from campus who wants to check out our church. His band opens for a big name act in 2 weeks and he's offered me tickets to come see them. I just love seeing the variety of faces God is bringing together in Paradise.

We're trusting God to show us more new faces as our Missional Community prepares to launch "Surviving the Economy." This series of events open to the public will focus on practical tools for those feeling the burden of Las Vegas' high unemployment and foreclosure rates. The first event will be hosted by a friend of the church who's volunteering his time and his auto repair shop to teach people how to affordably maintain and service their own vehicles without risking missing a mortgage payment or cutting into grocery money. Many in Las Vegas who could benefit from this live near our Paradise worship site. Please pray that God uses these events to help bring relief to many while also introducing us to the community we seek to serve.

SCARED FACES:

One of the scariest things you can hear in Las Vegas is "I'm a pastor." Seriously. There is no shortage of folks who have had a bad experience with something resembling religion (usually what would be considered spiritual counterfeits) who naturally assume you're something like the one who split up their family, made them afraid to drink carbonated beverages, or is preaching the message that's the primary cause of suffering in the world. Many others are burdened with shame and guilt over choices they've made years ago and don't want to face someone associated with a church. Maybe it's the part of me that wanted to be a doctor that draws me to people with these fears - fears often rooted in deep hurts or serious misunderstandings of what it means to follow Jesus. Even folks I meet at church are hesitant to get involved, become members, etc. because of what happened some other time at some other place. As one who has done my share over the years to contribute to some of these fears and misunderstandings I can understand them feeling gun-shy around "religious people." Please pray that they would discover something so radically different from what they've previously seen that they have to reconsider the relevance of Jesus in their life, and that God would allow us as a church to be agents of healing to a hurting city.

GOING PLACES:

A great way to get over a fear of flying is to just do it ... a lot. To be better equipped for what I'm doing in Las Vegas I  traveled to Chicago, IL and Boca Raton, FL for conferences focusing on leading and planting churches motivated by the finished work of Jesus on our behalf (a.k.a. Grace). While in Florida I got word that my grandfather had passed away. Ten hours after getting back from Florida I was back in the airport to fly home to be with family. Preaching my grandfather's funeral was more emotional than I expected, but I'm glad I got to be a part of it. Shortly after retuning to Las Vegas I made the decision to join a short-term missions team doing medical relief work in Haiti this July. I'll be preaching through an interpreter on Sunday, then working the rest of the week in makeshift medical clinics at orphanages supported by our church. While there I'm hoping to meet Jm Laurent Renaud (age 9), one of the orphans we sponsor, whose picture hangs on my living room wall. Please pray for my own preparation, health while I'm there, and for God to supply the funds to make it happen.

A Wild Ride

Imagine your plane has just taken off, then 30 seconds later you hear a "thud." You begin to lose altitude and fear for your life. Suddenly you start climbing again ... only to hear another "thud" and start descending again. About the time you're sure you messed your drawers the plane starts leveling out. By this time you're not sure what will happen next. 

This is how one pastor described church planting. A wild ride, to say the least. The first 7 weeks of our newest worship site has proved to be no exception. People showing up? Check. People disappearing? Check. People catching the vision quickly? Check. People second guessing it all? Check. Wanting to scream is common ... sometimes from joy, sometimes from frustration. That's just par for the course in church planting. So how have I responded to the ups and downs?

Well ... it's been said, "Work as if it all depended on you. Pray as if it all depended on God." Apparently I'm a lot better at that first part. But as Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." I've seen God use the times of frustration to remind me that it's not my efforts alone that will build Christ's Kingdom on earth and drive me back to prayer. Prayer for the hearts of men and women here. Prayer for clarity in where to focus my efforts. Prayers of confession for the self-centered attitude and bitterness I need to repent of. But eventually, when I get over myself, prayers of thanksgiving for the many who remember to pray for me when I don't even remember to pray for me. Thank you for your prayers and gifts to help make this all possible. 

So how big is your church?

People like this question because it's an easy way to get a feel for how a church is doing. In some traditions the word "parish" is used to describe the church's people, the place where they meet or the area it serves. One of the church planters here, though, described his "parish" this way: "Wherever I go in my neighborhood, and whoever I meet, I'm their pastor. They don't know that when we first meet, but that's how I relate to them." This drastically changes how I view the state of the new church here in Paradise. In one sense, it's a church of one to two dozen folks who now meet on the campus of UNLV on Sunday afternoons. In another sense, it's the hundreds of people I interact with every week. The fact there are people in our community that consider one of us their pastor, though they've never come to a worship service with us (yet), kinda surprised me. Until this evening...

I was just talking with the head of our neighborhood watch a few hours ago. After a good long conversation about her cancer treatments, her spiritual background, and what I'm doing in Vegas, I felt like we had connected in a significant way. Though she's not a part of any church, she seemed open to seeing what ours was like. As I was leaving she said she wanted to use the next neighborhood newsletter to let people know I'm in the community as a pastor for those living in our neighborhood. What? Really? Without knowing it, she is helping me redefine the scope of my role as pastor as those God has put in my own backyard. The next 3 conversations I had while walking home seemed to take on new significance. I began to see how Harmon Gardens (the neighborhood I live in) is very much my "parish." It gave me a clearer perspective on who God is positioning us to reach and serve in the city.

So who is in my "parish?" This past week it included college students, teachers, real estate agents, security guards, engineers, casino employees, single dads, carpenters, lawyers, salesmen, and the homeless to name a few. Please pray that I keep this perspective and not limit God's work in the city to the number of bottoms that warm chairs during a Sunday service.

I Think We Just Planted A Church...

At 4:44 PM this Sunday, City-Wide Redeemer - Paradise began meeting for weekly worship! [Pictured Above] Our Missional Community did a great job helping with all the behind-the-scenes work to help make this happen. Here are a few scenes from that night...

A homeless guy named "Rick" met me in the parking lot, where I've often seen him sitting on a wall. At first he had no interest in joining us for the service or the meal that would follow, but eventually he decided to come in. Right before the end of the service he stood up and asked if we would pray for his friend in the hospital, which our music team leader did on the spot. He ended up staying for the meal, where he met a few other men in the church. Right before he left he asked for a card - then he asked for more to give to friends he wanted to bring the next week. "I'm gonna pack this place out," he told us.

On the lighter side...

At the dinner that followed our service [pictured above] a musician who often works until 3 AM on Saturday nights was finally able to join us now that we meet in his neighborhood and at a more "musician friendly" time. He used this occasion to return a power tool he borrowed from one of our pastors...3 years ago!

After a few of us mentioned the likelihood of saying "This morning" out of habit, one gentleman kept track of how many times I accidentally said "morning" instead of "evening" after preaching the same message that I preached earlier that day. Final count...only 3. Yes, I am a creature of habit.

Today I returned from a short (but long-overdue) vacation in Los Angeles. It was a great time of rest, reflection and catching up with an old friend. I've returned with a clearer mind and a recharged battery. I'm thankful for working with a team that allowed me to take this time away, even as it meant some of them taking on additional responsibilities.

Though I'm technically past the 1-year mark of my 1-year apprenticeship, there is still much to be learned. Thank you to you all for your prayers over the past year. Please be in prayer for our follow up of the new connections we recently made (and will be making) from this new worship site, and for continued good relations with the facility hosting our worship services. 

Growing

At 4:44 PM three Sundays ago 27 men, women and children gathered in the UNLV Student Union for a "Preview" of City-Wide Redeemer's newest worship site in the heart of the city (pictured above). Some hadn't been in a church service for months. Some for years. Some came straight from work in a city where 9-5 on Monday through Friday is more a luxury than an expectation. For all of us it was a taste of what is to come as we being weekly worship on February 20th.

Since then even more people have contacted us about their interest in "the new church." Many who will be commissioned this Sunday (as the group helping to launch this new worship site) are or have been on the brink of homelessness, or don't own a vehicle. Some have steady jobs that support their family while others have lost their jobs and their family. Some can't remember a day they didn't know the grace of God in Christ, while others only have to look back a few months. Yet all of them are committed to follow Jesus in the city and long to be a part of Jesus' renewal of all things in and around Paradise.

In the process I've had to do some growing. It's been said that while pastors each have different gifts, they all need to become at least "average" in their areas of weakness. The past few weeks I've been forced to grow as I've needed to do a lot of things I'm not really "good" at yet. I've also learned what my limits are the hard way. It's too easy for me to get caught up in the needs of others and then forget my own. I would appreciate all your prayers during this time, that God's Spirit would be working among the people here, and that we would remember that He is the one that strengthens and enables his people to do his work.

Coming soon...

A year ago I was invited out to Las Vegas with these words: "You can come to Vegas, do some preaching, teaching and discipling, maybe start a few Missional Communities, all while working bivocationally as a DJ. After a year you just might pause, look around, and say, 'I think I just planted a church.'" It sounded incredible at the time, but 1 year into my time in Las Vegas this dream is becoming a reality. We are just weeks away from the launch of weekly public worship for City-Wide Redeemer - Paradise. On Christmas Eve we had 27 in attendance at our Paradise Christmas Eve Service, our first worship gathering in this part of the city. On the 23rd of this month we have a "Preview" service at the UNLV Student Union before we begin weekly public worship on February 20th. Please be in prayer for this time as it will serve as many people's introduction to us as a church. You can see the invitation below.

We are thankful to have space to meet in and many new friends here eager to help get things started. God has truly gone before us. Please pray for God's protection during this fragile stage, and that God would provide the funding to carry us through our "launch" phase. Thank you all for your continued prayers for what God is doing here.

Carols and Cookies at Rosemont

The week before Christmas some folks from all 3 of City-Wide Redeemer's Missional Communities "joined forces" to go carolling and Christmas cookie delivering in a low income apartment complex called Rosemont. This is a community that litterally sought us out as a church and offered us free meeting space if we could use it to serve this community. Wow! What started as a group of 15 or so carollers from one church grew to quite the festive crowd of singers, guitar players, cookie deliverers, and laughing children, as many of those we met along the way decided to join us in spreading the joy of Christmas to their neighbors (pictured above). One father of 3, who plays the role of father to many more in that neighborhood, surprised me when he said how greatful he was to live to be 50. He began asking where we met for worship and wanted to keep in touch after that night. I was amazed at how well we were recieved, simply because we took an interest in them as a community. The following week we held a bilingual (English / Spanish) Christmas Eve service there, drawing a handful of folks from this community that we had just met. God has definitely gone before us on this one. Pray that He continues what he seems to be starting among the people of Rosemont.