***This is the transcript of the sermon from our first gathering in Everett at www.thechurchatplannedparenthood.org .  I post it here just in case you didn't hear the words over the honking horns or "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun" songs blasting from across the street.  There is nothing really special about this sermon, but my hope is that it gives everyone a sense of the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of this event. *** Thank you for gathering with us.  Our purpose in gathering here tonight is not to be a protest, but to be a presence. The church is not merely a place or a production, it is a people who gather in the presence of God.   And while the church usually assembles between the walls of buildings, tonight we gather on the grounds of Planned Parenthood—the local expression of the largest cemetery in the world. In our culture of death, [...]

Brothers and Sisters, I love our church.  God has planted and grown something very special in this place.  This is not the result of dumb luck or a detailed strategy.  It is purely the result of the grace of God.  I feel blessed to be a part of this church and humbled to be one of its leaders. Near the end of May, my family and I will begin an extended Sabbatical in accordance with our By-laws and under the direction of our elders.  The Sabbatical will last approximately three months.  The concept of a Sabbatical is biblical, but the practice is rather exceptional.  Statistically, an estimated 5% of all churches offer their pastors Sabbaticals, which likely contributes to the fact that 50% of ministers starting out only last 5 years before quitting.  In fact, only 1 out of every 10 ministers will actually retire as a minister in some [...]

How many pastors does one church need? Before I became a pastor I often wondered what exactly a pastor did with all of his time.  Did he sit and study the Bible for 40 hours a week? Did he go from home to home checking in on each family in his church?  Did he knock on every door in his neighborhood or spend every minute evangelizing at coffee shops? Did he wander in the wilderness communing with God in prayer for days on end?  Or did he hang out with other pastors and talk about ministry versus actually do any?  This kind of perception can make it very difficult to justify hiring any pastor, let alone several for a given church. I never wanted to a full-time pastor.  At the time God called me to plant a church, I was a high school teacher.  Because I believed that the job of a [...]

The church is more than a place where Christians just happen to hang out on Sundays. It is more than a once-a-week event, more than a religious outing, more than a Christian club. The church was not an addendum to God’s plan for salvation, in fact, we believe it is central to it. Jesus did not die for a person, he died for a church—a specific group of people—through whom he would continue to restore the world with the gospel. The church is the fellowship of believers, the family of God (a family of families), where the presence of God’s Spirit chiefly dwells, and where the wisdom of God is uniquely made manifest. Restoration Road church is not the only expression of God’s family. The church is both universal and local, both invisible and visible, both spiritual and physical. According to the Bible, the universal, invisible, and spiritual church generally refers [...]

This past Sunday, our church gathered for a family meeting.  The purpose of the meeting was to update the church on our current health, and cast vision for the next few years.  We discussed some important needs and shared some exciting opportunities.  In a series of blogs, we will share more details about each part of our VISION 2020.  The booklet can be downloaded here and audio can be listened to here. The first, and most important, part of our meeting on April 2, 2017 was a reminder of who we are.  This is the part of the vision that never changes because it is rooted in the unchanging truths of God's Word. People change. Programs change.  Practices change.  Even philosophies change.  The practical outworking of our long-term vision will often change quarterly, but our shared identity in the Gospel of Jesus Christ should remain the same over the years.  It [...]