Port Washington Trip

We are back from our trip to Port Washington. Let me just say WOW! What an amazing place. Port Washington reminds me of a small ocean side resort town, only it's on Lake Michigan. Our girls fell in love. They even asked if we could have our dog Tallulah delivered up by their Grandparents and go ahead and move in. This was above all a real time of conformation for us. We took the plunge to push toward Port months ago. But to go and actually see where we will be and meet people that live in the area was really one of those mountain top (or in our case lakes side) moments with God. We met some really cool people there. I met a guy who taught me all about how to fish for Salmon off the beach. One night we made a new friend with a really neat Buddhist guy. And our last night we had this God encounter with a lady from Nashville living in Wisconsin now. She encouraged us and I think we encouraged her a little as well. If you guys would, say a prayer for us about employment there and finding a home in Port. Also we need our house here in Pine Bluff to sell to get this ball rolling. We are looking for God's timing in all of that. Thanks so much for all your prayers.

Road Trip

We are taking the fam to Port Washington this Saturday to check out where we will be moving soon. Say a prayer for us if you think of us anytime between Saturday the 14th and Thursday the 19th. We pray God will meet us there and do His thing while we are on our trip. Thanks guys.

Swing

Are you a Lucy?

My family took me to the Rave Monday night to see a movie for my Birthday. I love block busters and had trouble deciding what to see because of all the great films out this summer. I’d narrowed it down to Iron Man, Speed Racer, or Prince Caspian. Based on the strong urging of my kids and a great review by my friend, veteran church planter, Jeff Noble, I chose Prince Caspian. WOW, am I glad I did. Although I’m a huge C.S. Lewis fan I wasn’t bowled over by the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. Let me just say this second in the series delivers a knock out punch.

I don’t want to give anything away for you if you haven’t seen it. But, consider this a small spoiler alert. Lucy is the smallest of C.S. Lewis’ characters that travel back and forth between our world and Narnia. But, little Lucy has the biggest faith of the cast. In a grand scene of epic proportions Lucy is standing on a bridge facing off an army of iron clad soldiers barreling a full pace on their mighty Stallions. In slow motion Lucy reaches into her scabbard and pulls out a tiny sword, about the size of a kitchen knife. As this insignificant little girl wields her less than magnificent sword the army screeches to a halt. The camera cuts back to Lucy and then begins to zoom out into a panoramic shot. There beside here stands Aslan. If you didn’t know Aslan is the Lion King of Narnia, the figure that pictures God in this timeless C.S. Lewis series.

As I watched that scene unfold I thought about how much I feel like Lucy in this church starting adventure. Very small, very unequipped, very overpowered. Put with one turn of life’s lens I see at my side our Aslan, Judah’s Lion King, the Prince of Peace. Our King is the one who’s roar sends demons running, and walls crumbling, and storms subsiding. You might be a Lucy like me. But we have King at our side that reigns over all the land. Take your tiny knife and wield it proudly before all that oppose God’s best for you. You and I are warriors and we have epic scenes ahead to live out in our lives.

Gardening 101

A few years ago we planted a garden. Our garden was AMAZING! It produced a bumper crop and we did little more than pull a few weeds out when it got overgrown. The next year we planted again, pulled a few weeds again, and waited on our second bumper crop. NOTHING! I began to ask gardening people in our church what happened. What I found was this. In year one our garden grew because the land we planted it on had not been planted in years. It was fertile ground that had lied fallow for a long time. In year two we needed to not only weed the garden but, fertilize before and after planting. It would have taken a lot of work that year for our garden to be successful again.

Churches are much like gardens. Years ago in America you could hold church services, have an old fashioned revival, Preach the Word and people would come, lives would be changed, great things would happen. We were in a time of great spiritual fertility in America's soil. Now, its not that easy. We have to do things that connect with this generation of young America. We have to build community with them, build trust, create a comfortable, safe environment where spiritual seekers can find hope, help, God. Our message has not changed. God has not changed. It is still the same Spirit that draws people, the same gospel that is power unto salvation, the same Jesus that transforms. But, to introduce people to that God that radically loves them, our approach honestly takes a lot more work.

The church we will be starting in Port Washington will be geared toward connecting with spiritually confused people. All we do will be aimed at and geared toward connecting with people who are not familiar with church and are disconnected from God. Planting new churches is a lot like planting a garden. It is hard work. It takes time, dedication, investment in the soil. We have been learning over the last few years hands on what people need to thrive spiritually. Please pray for us as we do the work required to grow a brand new church. We are praying for a bumper crop.

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K."

That is one of my favorite lines from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. If you have never seen the movie..."It's Excellent." (Guitar Riff here, for those of you who have seen it.) Bill and Ted are invited by a time traveling George Carlin (Rufus) to go back in time, collect historical figures from the past, and pass their history report so they can become future world leaders in a world that is driven by their rock band, Wyld Stallions. All this action takes place in a time traveling phone booth that appears at the Circle-K gas station where Bill & Ted hang out.

Lately I feel like Ted did when they first meet Rufus in the parking lot of the Circle-K. "Strange things ARE afoot at the Circle-K.", or at least at the Parker house. God has done so many things over the last couple of weeks to confirm His call for us to Port Washington, and into the world of church planting. People we have never dreamed would or could, have come to us and said they want to partner with us financially in the work we will be doing there. We have a long journey ahead but God has been showing us already He is there ahead of us working. I've been praying that God would prepare the fields of Port Washington for a harvest. I've prayed for relationships to be established, harvest workers to emerge, people to come to know Christ as we build relationships there. All God is doing on this end now lets me know He has already begun doing those things in Port Washington. I can't wait to see how all of this goes. Thanks for your prayers and support family and friends. Good things are on the horizon. I have had several people asking how all this church planting "stuff" works. Next post I will try to fill you in on some of the details of what kind of church we will be planting and how it will all work.

And away we go...

We are on our way to Port Washington, Wisconsin. Wow, just about a year ago God began the process of leading us toward this small corner of our great nation to start a brand new church. We invite you to come along for the ride. If you want to know what's happening, what's next, or what we are beginning to dream of, we invite you to frequently visit The Parkers Page. Currently our lives have been shifted into "Maximum Overdrive." As I type this Danell is washing our cabinets, one of the many steps in preparing put our house on the market. Our plans are to be living in Port Washington by late August or early September. Currently we are enlisting prayer and financial partners from the many family, friends, and others God has woven into our hearts. Already God is doing amazing things. For those of you who have already decided to partner with us, we can't begin to thank you enough for your faith and generosity. This is quite literally the most exciting, heart pounding, yet terrifying thing we have ever done. Keep dropping by and we will keep you posted on all that is going on along the way.