Dr. Jay's Blog

At the close of our services this weekend, we asked our people to go to specially prepared places along the perimeter of the Sanctuary where they could write the first names of people that they would be praying for, lost people, to come to Christ in the near future.

It was a quite a moving site to see the nearly 2,000 people in the Sanctuary over three services move quickly to the walls and sign the name of one or two friends, relative, co-worker, fellow student or acquaintance that they longed to see sitting in the chair next to them worshipping Jesus in the months ahead.

I think what moved me the most was the fact that I know that this is something that every sincere Christ-follower in our church wants to see. The issue is often that we don’t know how to bridge that gap, open the conversation or extend an invitation to help another person discover what God has for them. Let’s face it; it’s not necessarily an easy thing to do.

However, faith is a powerful force. When an entire wall of names is created and faith is lifted up by thousands of people in prayer, my own heart tells me that God is going to do something supernatural in the weeks ahead! He will not ignore the earnest prayers of his people and He will supply the words, the circumstances, or whatever it takes for others to find their way to the foot of the cross.

Something happened on these days. Something was loosed in the heavenlies
(Matthew 16) and therefore we will see the blessing of God in the lives of these beloved friends and family members that we so desire to discover faith in Jesus.

Blessings,

Pastor Jay

One of the things that people often say to me when it comes to sharing their faith with others is that they are afraid that they "won't know what to say" when someone asks them a tough question.

Interestingly, this is one of the specific things Jesus said NOT to worry about. "Don't worry about how to respond or what to say to people. God will give you the right words at the right time for it is not you who will be speaking - it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Matthew 10:19&20

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be familiar with God's word or thought about some of the most common questions that we face, but it does mean that "the pressure is off" when it comes to sharing with people. God will give you the right words, He always does!

I've found that things have come out of my mouth that I hadn't even thought of when I've been in conversations with people because I realize that God cares more about their eternal destiny than I ever could. Therefore He will use me as He sees fit.

And so, as you have those spontaneous conversations, don't worry about what you're going to say, just ask the Lord for the right words and He'll be sure to give them to you!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

Throughout most of this afternoon I've been engaged in a very intense "strategy session" that will help set the course for defining some of North Way's next steps of ministry.

Perhaps the prevailing observation during the course of our discussion was that we must do everything within our power to help people shift their focus from "their own needs" to "the needs of others."

As simple as this may sound, it's at the very heart of transformation. It's what enables people to discover what it means to be the kind of servant that Jesus was (Philippians 2:1-11).

I've long dreamed of the day that we would transform our "audience" into an "army" that would be mobilized to go into the city, neighborhoods, schools and the surrounding region and incarnate the love of Christ that we experience so powerfully when we're together.

When we begin to strategize this in specific steps with measurable objectives, I get very excited because I believe that it can and will happen!

How would you measure your own strategy in this regard?

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

I read recently that "tired eyes" have difficulty seeing vision clearly.

The writer could not be more accurate! If one is sleep deprived or falling behind in patterns of rest, it's difficult to hear from the Lord, stay focused on His Word or hear anything that has to do with vision for one's life let alone a larger body.

This is the constant battle that we all face. How much can we "put out" and still have enough in our tank to really know what God is saying to us: His vision for our life.

If you're like me, you need to take these things seriously and plan your days and weeks accordingly. I do know that if we don't make time to rest our tired eyes, we won't see that vision and at the end of it all, what else really matters?

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

One of the fruits of the Spirit is "patience" and it seems to be in short supply. Most of us understand patience in terms of our own "reaction time" to circumstances in our daily lives.

However, more recently I've been seeing a need for patience in the development of matters that have to do with small groups, larger ministries and even the entire church! There are times when people want something to happen, but because they're patient and allow God to clear the way, it happens because He has engineered it to be so!

Patience at that level brings about a great harvest of fruitfulness! People find that God has already removed the obstacles and inclined people to be in favor of what it is they wanted to do but probably wouldn't have had they pushed for it earlier on.

And so as we move into the fall season, I'm inclined to let a lot of things take their course and patiently let the Lord move people where He wants them to be.

You might think about this in terms of your family, your place of business or where you spend a lot of time. Let that fruit of patience work it's way into your "corporate" life as well as your personal life!

Blessings,

Dr. Jay

Yesterday afternoon I pondered this question for quite a while:"What keeps us from inviting neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, and friends to join us for worship?"

The latest polls show that 80% of people attend Church services because they were invited by a trusted friend. Not advertising, not messaging; invitations are the clear winner in this effort. I reflected on the service I experienced with it's music, message, creativity and laughter; against the back drop of life change, I could not imagine any one that I know that would have found it boring or irrelevant. In fact, my sense is that they would have thanked me for including them in an experience of worship that literally overflowed with life.

Why, then, do so few of us INVITE others to join us. The number one reason is that we no longer have unchurched friends; or we've created our "Christian cocoons" that insulate us from those who don't know the Lord. Second, we fear rejection. If the friend says "no thanks" we see that as personal failure, which is simply a lie from the enemy. But mostly, I don't think that many of us really believe that our unsaved friends are in serious eternal jeopardy. We don't believe that "to not know Jesus, is to not have life"; so we let it go.

Here's my encouragement. Pray for ONE person that God places on your heart and look for an opportunity to graciously, confidently, invite them to the new series starting Sept.5-6 "The Hope Summit". EVERYONE needs hope in one area of their lives and that's what we'll be talking about for four straight weeks.

Then, when the Lord gives you the moment, say the words: "Great things are happening in our Church. Would you come and sit with me, and be my guest this week-end and see for yourself"? "I'd be honored if you'd come". My guess is that we would see 100-200 new first time visitors that week! The Lord will use you just because you were willing; and then imagine what will happen as they see and experience what God is doing in our midst!

Why not?! Let me know if you'll take the challenge for Sept.5-6th "The Hope Summit"!

Blessings,

Pastor Jay

It's rare when your local bank gives you a call. And, in my experience, it's not usually for a good reason!

Thankfully, however, my local banker was simply informing me that I was "overdrawn" in my checking account and I was about to rack up a whole lot of charges if I didn't take care of it.

It's no big deal in the economic scheme of things. I'm simply going to ask for a "bail out" and I'm sure I'll receive some sort of gigantic check that will more than cover my financial needs for the balance of the month....

However, it is a metaphor, isn't it, that when we don't tend to the everyday things they can add up and before we know it we are "overdrawn" in our spiritual accounts. That, my friends, is far more significant. When we've lost touch with what we have in our spiritual reserves it isn't long until we find ourselves making foolish decisions, overextending our schedules or in some other way simply trying to do God's work in our own power.

And so, let me encourage you to do a real thorough examination of the current status of your heart. (II Corinthians 13:5)

Be blessed in the Lord!

Dr. Jay