October 29, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

I was thinking more about legacy this week. It looks like several of my future blogs will be on this topic. Saturday happened to work out so that I had individual time with each of my three kids. It was not planned, but I was able to take advantage of the day. I spent most of the day with Chris at a Cross Country Meet. That night Matt and I watched the movie “Flags of our Fathers.” Then there was still time to snuggle with Victoria and watch a “Barbie” movie. But during my time with Chris I was able to see the investments of my legacy bare fruit in his actions.

This is the third year Chris has ran Cross Country for his high school. The races consist of a 5K (about 3.2 miles) run through pasture, golf courses, woods, gravel etc. You should also understand that Cross Country is not the most spectator friendly sport. At most courses, the runners will start off and you will not see them again for about 20 minutes. Nor does it have the most parent support. On a team of about 10+ kids you may have 3 or 4 parents show up. For the most part Janice and I have made it a point that at least one of us would attend each meet. We have only missed a couple.

Each year I have tried to learn the name of each team member. Janice would often cringe at my boisterous yelling and cheering for each of Chris’s team members as they would run by. This has been my pattern for three years. Apparently that has begun to rub off on Chris.

On Saturday I drove out to Carrollton to the “Last Chance Invitational” 128 schools and over 1200 runners would race before the day was out. From Chris’ school only four parents made the hour and half trip from Stockbridge to Carrollton and one was the coach. Chris ran with the varsity team at 9 AM. So by about 9:22 Chris was done for the day. The JV team (only two boys made it that day for the JV team and no parents) would not run until 1PM. We could have headed home, but Chris really wanted to stay until they ran. I settled into my camp chair and watched the other regions take the field. Shortly before 1 PM we packed up the gear and took it to our car and the bus for a quick exit after the JV race was over. It appeared that the Varsity team was going to stay on the bus. (They did watch from a different location) Chris made it a big point that we needed to get back to see the start of the race. There were over 300 racers in the JV race and Chris looked hard until he found his two teammates. He walked up to the line and wished them luck. We cheered them on as they passed us twice along the two big loops of the course. Chris then rushed off to be sure he could greet them after they finished.

As I have made a point to cheer for Chris and the other kids, I did not realize I was setting a standard for my son. Chris probably does not even recognize the transfer either. I am glad that he picked up my positive characteristics in my unguarded moments. We really do not know when our children are watching and what they are learning from our words and our deeds. However the investment required my time and making Chris a priority. It is nice to see that it is paying off. The investment and time have been more than worth it.

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October 24, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Legacy describes the lasting impact someone leaves behind. It is the influence of their life. It can be a positive as well as a negative impact. Although the word legacy is not used in the Bible it is a biblical principal. What is the Bible? From Genesis to Revelation it is the legacy of average and not so average people and their interaction with a Holy God.

Legacy is not just passed on after one dies. But legacy is created through out our daily lives with family, friends, work and church or ministry. Knowing this, we must also know that leaving a positive legacy does not happen automatically. Just because I have a strong relationship with Christ, I cannot assume that my children will walk the same path. Judges provides a good example of this fact. In Judges 2:10 we learn that after Joshua died a generation rose up that did not know the Lord. What happened? Joshua lived a great life for God, but what happened after he died? What happened with the passing on of the legacy of Moses and Joshua? This pattern continues through out Judges. See Judges 2:16-23. The people would cry out to God and he would raise up a Judge, and the people would be blessed. The Judge would die and the people would forget about God. This was repeated over and over.

In order to leave behind a strong positive legacy, one must be proactive and intentional. A life of positive investments must be made. Christ provides the best example. He spent 3 years with 12 disciples. He lived with them, ate with them. He taught and challenged them. Even though they were far from perfect, 11 of them would live on to change he world.

Looking further at the life of Jesus we can learn some practical steps to build a great legacy.

   1. All that Jesus did was built on the foundation of his relationship with the father. John 5:19,30

2. Fellowship – Jesus spent three years living with his disciples. A legacy takes time and effort to build.
3. Jesus taught them. He taught with both his words and by example. Most of his miracles were done in view of his disciples.
4. He pressed and challenged them. He sent them out. Matthew 10:5-8

So what legacy will you leave behind? Will Jesus live on in those that you have influenced? After you have passed from this world, will those who knew you still walk with God?

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October 15, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Yes I am still here; I know it has been a while since I have blogged.

We had hoped to be further along with our church plant team, but God has His on timing. Several weeks ago Janice began to get several words that she needed to “be still.” Janice’s dad’s health has declined somewhat, so we are taking some time to focus on family.  As I mentioned God has His on timing, and since we have slowed down, several people have approached us to either inquire or state they feel strongly about helping us out. I still have to learn when to stop and let God take control. Redeemer’s Way is His vision.

We are planning on starting team meetings in January. Pastor Scott has asked us to start up or Cell group again. This will be a combo Cell group and team members meeting. One problem we had in the past was having a home to meet in. We have a family at Living Way that want to host a cell group but are not ready to lead one. They live in McDonough which is getting us closer to Locust Grove. We will keep you updated as we get the details worked out.

Janice and I have struggled with being called to Locust Grove where we do not have any real connection to the community. I have been praying that a door would open that would allow us to minister in the community before we launch Redeemer’s Way. I can not go into the details yet, but it looks like this prayer has been answered. This is going to be an exciting opportunity. I hope to be able to share more in a couple of weeks.

That is it for now.

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