Dr. Jay's Blog

Last night, I met with about 25-30 very sharp young men and women (and a few older ones!) who are part of the core team of the future of the Oakland campus.

I put this entry in my blog today because seeing the next generation rise up with the same passion and desire and commitment to expand the Kingdom that we had nearly 30 years ago is an incredible, almost emotional experience. When I left the home of Sean & Jen and was driving back to Wexford I realized that what God has been doing over the last many years is far beyond our wildest dreams as a young church. The principle that "He who has received much gives much" has served us well and because we have been so blessed by receiving people, resources and mostly the favor of God we now have the opportunity to give that away to countless thousands of others in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.

I was moved last night. I know that no matter what God has for me in the future this church has an amazing vision and wonderful people that will, by the Spirit's power, continue to advance the mission!

Have a safe and warm weekend.
Blessings,

Dr. Jay

To look out over the landscape of snow that has now melted down to about a foot or so of depth it seems hard to believe that Spring is less than a month away (according to the calendar).

But the reality is that it won't be that long before all these huge piles of snow melt and we will soon engage in great outdoor activities and relationships that a lot of us have missed because of the harsh conditions of winter.

One of the things that I have valued enormously in recent weeks has been the clear and growing sense of commitment that our next generation has to reaching their friends. Pastor Kent and Doug said in their opening "monologue" to the message last weekend "It's time to lean in to eternal conversations" and that's what all of these young adults are doing, along with the rest of us who know that good deeds are important, but without presenting the gospel they simply fade into the sunset of people's hearts.

We're blessed more than words can describe with great young leaders here at North Way and I urge you to pray for them and support them in all they do!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

In extensive meetings today, I'm looking at the "real cost" of continuing to reach out to others and share the gospel of Jesus in a way that is relevant to the culture and helpful to people in need.

While trying to avoid cliches, it's not an overstatement to say that this is no small matter. There's an extensive list of detail that has to be covered in terms of all the logistical things needed to expand a ministry, the people, the place and certainly the resources.

One of the things that I believe people lose sight of is the fact that effective ministry, at any level, costs real money. We're made aware of it when tragedies such as Haiti are vividly protrayed on our television screens; we don't see it in terms of the counseling appointments, the family interventions, the preparation of biblical preaching and worship, and so on and so on.

I'm really grateful for people who understand true biblical stewardship and not just emotional giving. It's a hurdle every mature believer has to cross and once you do, you recognize that along with it comes great satisfaction and a promise of the Lord's own personal reward!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

As I've been praying for this weekend's message, I've been struck by the incredible claims of Jesus to be the only mediator between God and man.

Either this man was completely crazy or we have to take His claim seriously and share the truth of who Jesus was with passion and conviction.

Hearing Tiger Woods give his brief "confession" today and his reaffirmation of his "Buddhist roots," I was struck once again between religions of works versus religions of grace. I don't know if any of you were affected the same way, but trying to improve yourself is a system that's doomed to failure in an ultimate sense and rarely works in a natural sense.

On the other hand, the "one mediator" Jesus, provides grace for everything that we do and that grace is sufficient to change our behaviors, our attitudes and most importantly our eternal destinies!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

Last evening in my home group, we had our normal time of "catching up" with one another and then moved in to our time of content.

We decided to watch a video version of the reading of the first three chapters of the book of Revelation.

I was reminded of verse 3 which says "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy" and in a way that I can not adequately describe, that was my experience during the course of the next 40 minutes. Even though I've read these chapters numerous times and studied them often, simply reading them and contemplating the magnitude of the perspective of the sovereignty of God and the condition of man and the prospect of future things was emotionally and spiritually moving to me.

I experienced a "blessing" of putting into perspective all of life's issues and problems and realized that there are many things that are much more serious that are worthy of my attention than some of the things I give myself to on a regular basis.

If you've not read Revelation recently, why not seize the promise of this book and spend an hour or so reading through it. You won't understand it all, but you will be blessed as you are reaffirmed in the reality that God is writing history and eternity and we are part of it!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

Monday afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. I received a very alarming phone call from my wife, Carol, who was heading east to visit her mom in Lancaster, PA.

The snow that had been predicted was just coming upon Pittsburgh but had already blanketed the Laurel Mountains and she, unfortunately, had a "minor" accident on the PA Turnpike. (Any accident on the Turnpike sets things into motion that are far from "minor"!)

Fortunately, some helpful people got things under control and it wasn't long before the police arrived and then a tow truck was on the scene.

As we assessed the situation and determined that the wisest thing for me to do was to wait until Tuesday morning to head out to meet my wife, I had plenty of hours of reflection.

In our busy lives we hurry so much; planning, having meetings, doing things that are doubtless important and probably make a difference to people, but when it comes to those closest to us and concerns their health and safety, we know it's time to drop everything and do whatever we can.

I'm grateful to know that God's hand of divine sovereignty rules in these circumstances and I'm so pleased and blessed that everything will be fine in the long run. We learned a lesson or two, but more than that we celebrated the grace that kept everyone safe in what could have been a very serious situation.

Why not take a moment today and tell those that you love how glad you are that they are with you!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

This weekend, many lives were changed at all of our services because the Spirit of God would not let me preach what was “comfortable”. The topic was on “The Fear of Intimacy” and I wanted to talk about human relationships and the difficulties we have in getting close to one another, but the Lord continued to draw me into examining the topic of “intimacy with God”.

This was more than an academic exercise for me. For a few days I was unable to write much of anything beciase I recognized the poverty of my own disciplines of intimacy; but near the end of the week there was a breakthrough and the Lord ministered to my heart so I could share His Word with our church family.

At our 11 o’clock service we had 25 people respond to the invitation and similar levels or response were reported at the other campuses and venues.

Paul said in Romans 1 that we must preach the Gospel, "because it is the power of God for salvation”, and in fact, there is no gospel without the cross of Christ. The cross reminds us that we can be forgiven of our “many sins” (Luke 47:7) and that leads to great rejoicing and deeper intimacy than we’ve ever known!

It was a wonderful weekend despite the external elements which we all have overcome. On the inside, our hearts are burning with passion for the Savior!

Blessings,

Pastor Jay

This is the 40th Valentine's Day I've spent with my wife Carol! Even letting that number roll off my tongue makes me sound old but the reality is I remember the first Valentine's day with her vividly.

I was in a one month hold with the United States Marine Corp for my basic training, which was supposed to begin February 1st but was pushed back to March 1st. As a result Carol and I became much closer during the month of February and our very tender relationship had enough strength to endure separation and many months of connecting from a distance.

As a result, Valentine's Day is always special to me because it reminds me that it was God's providence that brought a life-long love into my life and even adjusted my military schedule that we might become one in Him.

Be sure to express your affection to the love of your life and the other important people who have meant so much to you along the way. We don't really need an excuse to do so but Valentine's Day is a great opportunity!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

In preparing the message for this weekend on "Intimacy with God" I wondered just how far I've really come in this pursuit over the years.

Reviewing some of the books that I've had on my shelves for years and reflecting on my journals and some of the things I've recorded, I'm struck with just how blessed I've been by many profound insights and experiences with our Lord.

On the other hand, I'm not sure that I have always pursued those with the same passion and discipline that I have other things that I know have mattered to me. (For example, when my back problems were clearly an impediment, I worked diligently to keep them under control and have had to maintain a regimen for 18 years now to maintain mobility and not impede our ministry.)

Do you wonder about such things? Do you wonder if the Lord is pleased with just how well you know Him, how authentic you've been with Him, how worshipful you are with Him?

It's not a cause for condemnation but it is a challenge to me and it's something I hope to embrace head on as I move forward in the months and years ahead. I wonder what I can become if I make Jesus my everything.

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

I am sure many of us could fill pages of blogs with the stories that have occurred over the past few days if you live in one of the areas hard hit by one of the worst storms in our lifetime.

The blizzard of 1993 may have been a couple of inches more, but it melted right away because it was in March. This snow isn’t going anywhere soon and actually more is expected today!

On the other hand, this storm has brought out the best in a lot of people. I have heard numerous stories of people who met neighbors that they have been living near for several years but had never talked to, and this storm forced them to help one another and form a relationship.

I also believe that the storm, in a more distant way, but still very powerfully, has reminded everyone of the awesome power of God’s creation to rule over all of the human technology, energy and contingencies that we could ever imagine.

Most of all, I am thankful for the fact that we live in an area where we are promised that this is just “for a season” and as a result we have something to really look forward to when Spring finally arrives!

Stay Warm and Be Safe!
Blessings,

Dr. Jay

There will be people who will be spending a lot of the next day or so shoveling snow and trying to recover "normalcy" in their lives.

It's awesome to weather these storms together as a bit of a metaphor of how we get through life, but it's also great to know that at the end of this storm we will worship and praise God as we do every weekend at all of our North Way campuses and venues!

The 20/20 rule (20" of snow or 20 degrees below zero) is not going to be broken by this storm and therefore, we will meet, worship and receive excellent teaching from Pastor Doug in our Fearless series! Hope to see you this weekend and trust that whatever you're doing you'll be kept safe and well through this predicted but still somewhat imposing storm!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

In some recent conversations I've been reminded that more often than I would like, comments or actions that I make are interpreted simply "in the moment" rather than "in context."

I don't blame the recipients about this at all, rather I point the finger back at myself. I need to remind the people that I might be challenging that certain circumstances in my life may be causing me to lean in one direction or another and that should be taken into account or set as a backdrop for the words I'm about to share.

It's been interesting to see that once people understood the whole package of what I was dealing with at the time, they understood why I may have said certain things the way I did.

Relationships are complex and exchanges don't always allow the luxury of time for explanation. Our simple rule around here is that we "give grace" when difficult things happen but in the end it is very helpful for people to know the context of anything that might be perceived as difficult in their eyes. That way they get the sense of the whole package and are more likely to receive the positive intent that you had all along.

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

One of the things I most appreciate about the character of men and women I work with here at North Way is that we seek to do what the Bible says and that is to "keep short accounts."

In any ministry this size we are bound to have moments when we disagree or misunderstand certain circumstances.

Something like that happened this past weekend which led to a conversation today that was both healing and helpful.

It was healing in that some feelings had been trampled upon during the working of the incident and it was helpful in that we got to understand one another's perspectives in a whole different way.

These kinds of things only occur where there is a mutual sense of honor and respect that's in place and where people invest the time and energy needed to make it happen.

For me, that's what healthy relationships, particularly on a working staff, are all about. I hope you're able to share that in your immediate network whether it be staff, small group or even your family!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

If you've been reading my blogs or my tweets you know that I've been spending a good bit of time over the past few days with some trusted friends and counselors.

One of the things that I have found is necessary for there to be productive and fruitful meetings is a level of both affection and wisdom on the part of all concerned.

Affection is simply the outworking of the response to demonstrated care and concern. Affection is something that grows in you as people demonstrate their sense of love and appreciation.

In my experience, affection paves the way for wisdom to be well received. Wisdom can be shared but without affection it can sometimes feel somewhat sterile even though it's not meant to be that.

When affection and wisdom are joined together it's an incredibly satisfying experience and a most productive one!

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

Hi friends,
It's late in the day, but I some thoughts on what I've been processing
seemed appropriate.
Over the last few days, I've an enormous amount of input from some new
and/or respected friends who are NOT from our area. Their perceptions are
both fascinating and encouraging.
It's clear to them, as it is to us, that the LORD is at work here; advancing
His kingdom in amazing ways. Oakland went over 700 adults in 4 services,
the Sewickley pastor, Curt Coffield and his lovely wife, Jenn were very well
received with about 100 people "showing interest" in the new campus with very
little "push".
All of this compels me (and any of us from North Way) to re-think what the
future may look like! We are going to be growing and changing; we are going to
be affecting our culture, but "maybe" in ways that we have not yet clearly
understood. Wexford is at the core of all of this, but change will be different
there.
These are all great things to comtemplate, but it's important to re-think
expectations and metrics, so that we can flow with God and not try to force
Him to go "our way". More to come...

Blessings,
Pastor Jay