Dr. Jay's Blog

I was sharing with a brother in the Lord today about J.I. Packer's book "God Has Spoken" and his words concerning biblical revelation "A truly staggering answer which the Bible gives to the question of why does He speak to us through His word is to make friends with us." That's God's purpose in revelation! To make friends with us.

Both of us thought about that for a while and realized that we really don't have any place to fully grasp the significance of that promise or the importance that places on just our being with God.

So often I think of God as someone I go to for things or someone I try to serve by doing things and I don't recognize that He simply wants to be with me so that we can enjoy the companionship that He designed for me to share.

I expect that's true of a lot of other "friendships" but it's a wholly other experience when it comes to being a friend of God.

You might want to think of your own times with the Lord and maybe evaluate yourself in terms of how you see those times together.

Blessings in Jesus!
Dr. Jay

This morning was one of those experiences that happens just because the Lord has been invited into my day.

One of our team pastors lead our worship time in the devotional for our staff this morning and his hymn of choice was "Holy, Holy, Holy" which includes the phrase "God in three persons, blessed trinity."

This very morning I'd had time with the Lord where He had reaffirmed to me the importance of studying with passion the doctrine of the Trinity because of the amazing revelation of true fellowship, community, love and purity it represents. (See Mark Driscoll's new book "Doctrine" for more on this topic.)

I marvel at how the Lord weaves experiences like that in my life. I had no idea that our pastor was going to choose that song and I really wasn't sure what I was going to share until the moment I stepped up and opened my heart about the importance of this truth.

It's a wonderful journey and especially great when you can follow the flow of the Spirit!

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

In preparing for a special meeting of the "faith leaders" of North Way this evening, I was struck by the clear choice that every believer has when it comes to what we say about circumstances and situations.

In the powerful story of the "twelve spies" that Moses and Aaron sent into the Promised Land, it is said that ten of the spies gave a "bad report" (Numbers 13:32), which essentially infected the people of God and turned them against the will of God and therefore resulted in their banishment from the Promised Land.

This sounds very harsh, but it is the reality of what unbelief can do in our lives.

On the other hand, because Joshua and Caleb chose to believe God they were given favor and ultimately went into the Promised Land and planted the seed of faith for the next generation.

I want to examine everything about my life and decide to give a "good report" despite the obstacles. This isn't sugar coating problems or overlooking real issues. However, it is choosing to believe God rather than circumstances when an opportunity for faith is on the line!

Perhaps you're in just such a situation right now. I urge you to consider the impact of a "good report" and how it can sow faith in the hearts of others.

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

This weekend was an amazing challenge on many levels. In the personal column, we were celebrating the birth of our first granddaughter with my son David and his wife Corrie and we had family in town as well; we enjoyed many wonderful moments together.

In the North Way column, we had the launch of the Sewickley Valley campus on Sunday morning and I was responsible for the message on the topic of “Too Messy for Jesus?” (You can watch or listen to this message on our website at www.northway.org.)

Without going into great detail, all those things could have piled up on my spirit and caused a lot of tension. Instead, as the Lord seems to do in my life, He used the convergence of all these events to create a ‘moment’ of obedience to His Spirit.

Rather than giving the full message that I had spent many hours preparing, the Lord had me basically “step off the script” and just bring the highlights of the message to allow His Spirit to use the time to minister to people at all the different campuses.

The results of this were incredibly refreshing, according to all the campus pastors, and I know certainly at Wexford. Most important, I felt the favor of God for being willing to take the risk to trust Him along with the all the teams that had to adjust as well in order to make this happen.

It’s not often that we have to trust God and step out into unknown territory with many people who could be affected. However, there’s great joy and fruitfulness which can’t be seized any other way.

Blessings,

Pastor Jay

As many of you who read this blog know, the Sewickley Valley campus of North Way Christian Community is going to have it's official "launch" this Sunday, September 26 at 11:00 a.m.

This is the culmination of 18 months of prayer, study, hard work and the building of great relationships to form the foundation of what I believe will be a powerful and loving expression of the church to take it's place in that community.

There are other good churches in the area and the Lord knows there is a great need for many more churches in years to come, just as we would say about the North Hills and other areas that are experiencing a renovation of generations.

I'm excited to see what God has in store as I've had so many other matters on my plate that it's strictly up to Him to see that the launch is a success! I'm really comfortable with that in a responsible sort of way.

When you wake up on Sunday morning pray for Pastor Curt Coffield and his team, that this launch date will mark a turning point for the Sewickley Valley and be an encouragement to the believers as well as a weekend of hope for those who have yet to discover Jesus' amazing grace.

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

http://www.northway.org/secondary/campusVenues/sewickley/sewickley.aspx

Early this morning, at 2:30 a.m., I became a grandfather once again! My son David's wife Corrie gave birth to a beautiful 8lb. 6oz. baby girl, beautifully named Elizabeth Claire Passavant.

Though I could spend pages and pages talking about the impact of the birth experience on one's understanding of life, all that really needs to be said is "we are created in the image of God" and that is not just a physical thing. As miraculous as the physical birth is, the "eternal" dimension of us, the unseen part, is what lasts forever and yet that too is initiated in this amazing gift of new life.

I lost a little bit of sleep last night and I'm sure that my son David and his wife will be adjusting in a big time way over the next several months. However, every parent knows that it's worth the sacrifice because the blessing is incalculable compared to anything else that one can experience in life's journey.

Thanks to all of you who pray for our family. I recognize that many of you "cover us" with your prayers and I believe that having four healthy grandchildren at this stage of my life and service to our church is, in part, an answer to your prayers!

Blessings in Jesus,
Dr. Jay

Yesterday was a beautiful day, for most people.

However, I wasn't feeling well and those of you who read my blog know that there wasn't anything posted yesterday.

The reason was that I just had to take some time off to recover from something that was attacking my "insides."

It's really a bit odd when there's beauty all around you on the outside, but some sort of undefined "ugliness" on the inside!

Now the reality of this analogy is that that can be very true of familes, marriages, and even churches. What God looks at is always the heart, the inside and the outside is simply the "covering" that God uses to help us engage one another. (One day we'll no longer have these bodies, we'll simply be spiritual beings! I Cor. 15)

So, though today isn't quite as beautiful, I feel better and that means on the inside I'm going to have a great day and the outside will take care of itself.

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

Over the weekend, I received a number of emails and text messages from various friends and followers of this blog. I’m both humbled and deeply appreciative of the response to my request for prayer last week. The sincerity of the responses and the concern that was expressed was moving to me and reminded me that “I’m not in this alone.”

It’s strange when unexpected things happen to us. We often want to “buck up” or somehow find the grace within ourselves to overcome our issues; but candidly, God will allow things to happen to us where we simply can’t do it on our own. We need others.

As difficult as it is to admit it, it’s how God designed us as members of the body of Christ. We need each other! (See 1Cor.12)

And so if you should find yourself in an unexpected trial, difficulty or just weary from the heavy load that you may be carrying, take heart and know that you’re not alone. Find a place to express your need and let others come around you. It’s extraordinarily uplifting and gives you yet another reason to praise God for the wisdom of His plan for our lives.

Again, thanks to those of you who are praying. May I ask you to continue to pray this week until the different issues I shared are resolved,or, the Lord brings me to a place where I’m able to completely release them.

Blessings in Jesus,

Pastor Jay

Yesterday, we were hit with a very surprising bit of information that will potentially have significant consequence on North Way's future vision.

I don't need to talk about the details of that, but I can tell you that it is unbelievably reassuring to have a team of men and women who are dedicated to see things through. I don't know how people undertake great things for God without a team! A team brings perspectives. It brings insight and even provides a point of creativity because one significant thought stirs another and another and another.

I also see that being bonded with other members of a team creates a sense of unity that has amazing value when it comes to knowing that you're not standing alone against a tide of legalese or other difficult obstacles that may be in your way.

As you end your week, I pray that you will know that you're surrounded by a small group, a handful of others, a team that you can share life's journey with. Without it you can feel alone and disadvantaged. With it, I believe the word of the Lord is true that "when two or more are gathered together in my name I am there in the midst of them"!

Blessings in Jesus,
Dr. Jay

As I send out today's blog, my son David and his wife Corrie are very near the birth of their first child! We've had a couple of "false alarms" but there's no doubt that the baby will come in the next few days and we're all very excited about it.

We also know that with the birth of the baby will come labor pains and some other difficult moments which always accompany the arrival of new life in nearly every form.

This is also true of the church of Jesus. As we launch new campuses and start new ministries there are "labor pains" and definite sacrifices that have to be made in order for life to come to pass.

I think this is a paradigm that actually applies to even personal moments of growth and development. We all want our journey with Jesus to be "pain free," but the fact is that that's rarely if ever the case in bringing new life into the world.

And so, if you're going through some "labor pains" right now with a relationship or your schedule or some other place of trying to make room for growth be encouraged that it's a part of the way God designed for new life to happen and in the end you will rejoice!

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

We spent time today in our staff meeting celebrating the "unseen" moments where we connected with God and one another in this weekend's services.

I have to say that the energy and excitement in the room was incredible!

It's an amazing gift to be connected with people who love what they're doing and are finding great fulfillment in helping people draw closer to God even in subtle and quiet ways, let alone dramatic and life-changing ways.

I hope this is the beginning of great things yet to come in the months ahead and encourage you to lean in to your small group as the next step of whatever was stirred up in you as a result of our connection with Lee Strobel and all the other ministries that we launched this past weekend and are still to come!

The search for fulfillment in Jesus is something that never stops. However, being refreshed along the way is a great gift!

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

As we continue to evaluate the amazing response of last weekend, we're also very aware of the need to passionately pursue those who have shown interest in following Christ.

People do not simply "fall into line" and begin to walk with Jesus. It takes someone who comes alongside them (just as Barnabas did with Paul) to help show them the way of faith.

Last evening I had a conversation with a young and growing follower of Jesus who had many keen insights but also some very valid questions. I could tell that we would both benefit from extended conversations around the Word of God and the truths of God ,but that won't happen unless I make time for it.

The same is true with you, loved one. There needs to be at least one person in your life into whom you're pouring some of the wisdom and grace that God has given to you.

If you don't have that one person then I pray that you would passionately pursue whoever God would have you to connect yourself with in the coming weeks. That kind of one on one connection is life changing and I don't just mean for the person that you're reaching out to: I mean for you as well!

It's one of the reasons why our church's address, 12121 Perry Hwy., is not just clever, it's prophetic.

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

Though the day began with some clouds and showers, it ended with glorious sunshine and some wonderful statistics!

No, I’m not talking about the Steeler victory over the Atlanta Falcons. I’m talking about the fact that over 4,000 adults attended worship services at 3 locations this weekend as North Way continues to lean into its’ multi-site vision! Lee Strobel brought a very encouraging and uplifting yet challenging message to people who were either searching for God or those who need to help those in their search by engaging them in conversation.

If you missed the message you can go to our website at www.northway.org and click on the “listen to a service” link and take in the full message that Lee shared with us.

The underlying message in all of this is incredibly encouraging to me. Without any significant investment in PR via radio, television, etc., the people of our church brought their friends and neighbors and we had the largest weekend attendance (non-holiday) in our history! God’s blessing the fruits of our labor and touching peoples' lives as we engage them with a certain message in these uncertain times.

Hope to see you next week as we continue in this new series “No Vacancy” and talk about “are we too busy for God?”

Blessings, and thanks to everyone who made this happen!

Pastor Jay

Yesterday I mentioned to you that every person should be able to lead someone through the scriptures to come to a place of receiving Christ and being assured of their eternal salvation.

Perhaps the most widely quoted scriptural pathway is what's known as the "Roman Road." The scriptures are simply these
- Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Note the all which includes you and me!)
- Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Our condition, if left unaddressed will lead to eternal death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is here that you introduce the idea that salvation is a gift, a gift of grace, not something we earn or work for.
- Romans 10:9&10 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead then you will be saved." There is both a component of believing and confessing which makes this gift your own!
- Romans 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." We no longer need to worry whether or not we will belong to God in heaven. Scripture promises that we can have peace if we believe in the steps above.

That's a simple summary but you would do well to know those four verses and have them at your fingertips.

Have a blessed weekend,
Dr. Jay

In I Peter 3:15 the writer exhorts us to always be prepared to “give an answer for the hope that lies within us.”

Last night, in my weekly home group which I’ve grown to love very much, we did a little test.

Although all six couples certainly have a relationship with the Lord and all six could give a testimony about their relationship, only one seemed to have any idea how to lead someone else in a biblical way to the throne of salvation.

I want to ask you to think about that. If someone came to you and said “Show me in the Bible why I need to know Jesus and how I can” could you do it?

Something as simple as this, I believe, is fundamental to being a disciple maker and yet I would expect, if our group is typical, that 80% or more of us don’t know the basic scriptures that spell out
1. man’s condition
2. man’s destiny without Christ
3. God’s solution
4. what we can do about it.

In tomorrow’s blog I’ll put a very clear and simple pathway for you to describe to people so that you can jot it down or print it out or put it in your pocket and pull it out and use it in any conversation at any time to help someone make the most important decision of their life.

You see, it’s not so much our convincing words but the authority of scripture that changes hearts. I can’t stress that enough and I pray that you will find yourself in that narrow minority that knows how to lead someone to Christ and “give an answer for the hope that lies within you!”

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

As we came into our staff meeting this morning, my heart was pumping with excitement about the fall ministry season that is now underway!

There were so many things I wanted to say, but the Lord was clear to me that there was just one thing that I needed to say and that was that we had been given a mission: the same mission that the Father had given Jesus and that was to go and make followers (disciples) of all people.

I shared with the team that though the financial challenges that we face are still real, unity and vision are always the key to being in the place where God will provide and we are totally in agreement about those two things as a leadership team at North Way!

It's an unusual and wonderful thing when you can be in a room of 60 or 70 people and feel absolutely one about purpose and expectation. We know that this week having a guest speaker, Lee Strobel, with us there are unknowns. What also know that that is what God wants and as a result we will see great provision of God's Spirit, God's people and God's blessing.

Think about that in terms of your own life. Are you in unity with your spouse, if married, and if so, do you have a vision about what God wants you to do? If so, then provision is on it's way!

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

Just today I received the final wrap-up of the 2010 Tenth Anniversary Car Cruise season here at North Way.

It's impossible for me to begin to capture the good will and the emotional value of this Cruise as a "community gift", as Pastor Scott Stevens once called it.

Scores, if not hundreds, of people commented to me this year on how much the Cruise meant to them and their families as a place to go and enjoy an evening together feeling safe, secure and surrounded by people who were having a good time!

But more than that, people also gave this year through sponsorships and donations. In fact, the Car Cruise more than paid for itself and will allow us to give a little to some special needs that are around us and have some left in reserve to start next year in the black!

The Car Cruise is widely misunderstood by many people. It's not about the cars; and I want to say that again. It's not about the cars. It's about the wonderful people that you meet, get to know and build a bond with over the course of months and years.

Long after the Car Cruise ends, people will remember this era in the life of North Way and the gift that this weekly gathering has been to build friendships, plant seeds of trust and understanding and encourage the search for faith in the life of thousands throughout our city!

Blessings from the Car Cruise Pastor,
Dr. Jay

As I write to you, we are in the eighth day of an August heatwave of 90 degree days and bone dry humidity. (Yesterday KDKA said this is more like Tucson, Arizona than Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!)

However, as I prepare to leave the office there are clouds in the sky and a strong likelihood that some rain's going to come and potentially have a significantly negative affect on our last Car Cruise. We had big plans for tonight including the "lighting of the cross" and several other things which may not happen.

Have you ever wondered why some of the things that you feel would honor God and are used by God in so many ways sometimes seem to fall prey to circumstance beyond our control? I have. Weather is one of those things as are traffic jams, etc., etc., etc.

The key that I've discovered is to trust the sovereignty of God in such things and to recognize that praise continues to build faith that somehow causes even negative things to turn out for the good when we don't know how that could possibly happen.

That's what I'm claiming for this evening's event and much more personal and perhaps critical issues that you and I might face in our walk with Jesus.

May the Lord bless your weekend. We'll return to this space on Tuesday the 7th with fresh revelation from the Lord!

Blessings,
Dr. Jay

Today was supposed to be one of my "slow days" when I get caught up on a lot of correspondance and also do some planning and prayerful preparation for the fall season.

As usual, phone calls, issues and a myriad of different interruptions caused this to be another "full day" which I'm beginning to think is just another conspiracy of the evil one to keep me away from God's perfect will.

I'm not sure about you but I find it difficult to lay aside some of the nagging things that are always in front of me in order to place my attention on the important things that whisper into my ear that they need attention.

And so another day is going to go by and I'm still not where I want to be but thankfully I'm free in Jesus to pick it up where I left off and trust Him again for a better day tomorrow!

Blessings in Jesus,
Dr. Jay

P.S. They're calling for rain for the last (and largest) Car Cruise of the season! I'd appreciate those of you who pray for such things to ask that the Lord make the weather forecast abundantly clear very early in the day!

Our staff meeting today was full of energy and an incredible amount of excitement as we anticipate a series of positive gatherings, events and ministry moments in the fall season just ahead!

There was laughter, applause and great energy in the room as we looked ahead and believed that the Lord has already gone before us.

The one thing, however, that we can never presume upon is that the Holy Spirit must give His blessing to our effort. That's when I was able to share the simple but absolutely essential commitment that we have to make as individual believers as well as ministry leaders.

That simple exhortation is prayer first!

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." He was speaking of resources and needs and clearly that's something that's on our minds right now. Nonetheless, beyond that it also has to do with spiritual resources to fulfill ministries and see people's lives affected for Christ.

It's so easy to get caught up in the burden and challenge of doing ministry duties.

May God help us, no matter where we're serving and how we're walking with Him, to pray first and trust Him with the results.

Blessings,
Dr. Jay