“This is our time on the history line of God. This is it. What will we do with the one deep exhale of God on this earth? For we are but a vapor and we have to make it count. We’re on. Direct us, Lord, and get us on our feet.” –Beth Moore
Our time with Summit seems too important, too intertwined with our lives, to settle for a simple goodbye.
Summit Church Upstate in Greenville SC has been our church home for almost seven years. From the get-go, Jason and Kyle welcomed us warmly, loved us deeply, and challenged us through biblical teaching. We developed friendships that will not be deterred by a change in address because the Church isn’t defined by brick and mortar. We are the Church and wherever we go, we take with us their love and influence.
Let’s see if some of your reasons resonate with mine.
An Inclusive Mindset
During our services, we prayed for churches across the world but we also prayed for those across the street. In fact, the teaching team at Summit never shied away from building up other churches in our area because they recognized⏤and reminded us⏤that we’re on the same team. We’re not competition. This is a foreign concept in some churches today, many of which are dying.
Teaching Team
When we first began visiting Summit, we sat under Jason Malone and Kyle Estepp’s teaching. Jason’s well-timed zingers made us laugh one minute and be contemplative the next while Kyle’s tender delivery of the Word melted the hardest of hearts. A few years ago we helped a new Summit campus get started. We discovered more lasting friendships and another engaging and solid pastor, Nathan Forrest. We miss them so much!
Behind-the-Scenes
I was delighted and honored to serve on the staff communications team for almost two years. What I saw behind-the-scenes was exactly what we all saw on Sunday mornings and every day in between. Not perfection, nor the desire to be, but rather, authentic Christ-followers with a robust faith who desire to share the gospel with every man, woman, and child.
People Family
There’s not enough space to share the many reasons why I love our church family. Deep relationships deepened and new friendships were forged. We enjoyed serving alongside them in the music and hospitality ministries. And in a very real way, we still will, wherever we land.
I hope it’s obvious as to how much we love Summit Upstate. So why are we leaving?
Well, we moved almost an hour away from our home campus and while there is another campus closer to us, it’s still thirty minutes away. In the big scheme of things I suppose that’s not terribly far but after months of prayer, we sense the need and desire to serve our little community at the foot of Glassy Mountain. If there’s a need, we’ll be close enough to deliver a meal before it gets cold and who knows? We might actually bump into someone we go to church with at the only grocery store within 20 minutes or the best restaurant around, The Hungry Drover (and I don’t say that just because they carry my books!) *wink*
Leaving a church is never easy, especially one you love, but we have Summit’s blessings (which came as no surprise) and we look forward to seeing where God will lead us.
“We’re on. Direct us, Lord, and get us on our feet.” –Beth Moore
What’s one thing you most love about your church? It matters!
the attendants waving you into the perfect parking spot?
the clear and colorful signage?
the way your children are welcomed?
the Krispy Kreme doughnuts? (Is there any other kind?)
the silky smooth coffee?
the compelling delivery of the gospel?
The it is hospitality in a church setting. What helps our guests feel most welcomed?
It’s a question I continue to ask as I long to make our guests at Summit feel warmly greeted. Truth is, it’s sometimes hard to navigate. What’s friendly to one person is creepy-friendly to another. Time has been spent in prayer, ideas have been researched, and brainstorming has happened over coffee. Surely there’s something we can do to create a Christ-love kind of atmosphere.
Recently, while driving one morning, with no sound but my breath and God’s, came this whisper:
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 1 Jn 4:20
There it was—a roar disguised as a whisper:
True hospitality begins with love between Christ followers.
We can have the Kreme-iest doughnuts and a never-ending flow of coffee but if we don’t love one another?
All else is empty.
Loving one another doesn’t mean we’ll always like each other at times, or even agree on every decision. And that’s okay. But loving others as Christ loves us calls us to a deeper connection lived out by dying to self, sacrificing for Kingdom-glory, forgiving quickly so as not to give the enemy a foothold, and praying for one another. Although we’ll never perfect the art of Christ-love this side of heaven, it is our motivation for all things, and our deepest desire.
Turns out, the real question as to what true hospitality is (at church, as well as our homes) doesn’t begin with what we can do — but rather, Whose can we be?
So, what’s one practical way your church builds upon the foundation of love when welcoming guests?
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
If your schedule allows, attend a Christmas Eve service in your area. Hearing God’s Word, singing hymns/carols, lighting candles, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other Christ pursuers sets the tone for all Christmas should be: Worship, family, love, and community.
Merry Christmas, friends! May you sense God’s mighty presence among you and your family as you celebrate Jesus—no longer the Babe, but King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords. Revelation 19:16
**If you live here in Simpsonville SC, our church (Summit Upstate) will be hosting our Christmas Eve service in downtown Simpsonville at the Clock Tower beginning at 5:30 p.m. I’d love for you to join us!
What specific things are we praying for these days?Whether last
minute cries for help, a laundry list of needs, or an unexplainable
groaning from within—God hears the prayers of His people.
But add
specificity, and we’re given an opportunity to witness our God’s
awe-inspiring attention to detail in action.
One
of those moments came for me this week while peering out our window,
curled up in my prayer chair. I was sharing with the Lord how I’d not
sensed His presence as much in recent weeks, even though I was confident
He was there—whether I felt it or not. Nevertheless, like any daughter
desiring to feel closer to her Father, I made a simple but heartfelt
request: “Pappa, I just want to know You’re near.”
Before
catching my next breath, a brief but blustery gust of wind swept
through the trees closest to my window pane—without disturbing another
tree in my yard.
To some, a ten-second gust of wind would simply appear as our season’s
signature. To me, however, it was a specific answer to prayer—a Father
reminding His daughter that through His Holy Spirit He is always a
breath away.
Staying in step with the Holy Spirit: Just as good communication promotes closer and richer relationships, the same is true in our relationship with God. A dialogue consists of a conversational exchange between two people. If you’re like me, you’re well versed in the asking part, but a little rusty when it comes to watching and listening for God’s answers. When we do, however, He is faithful to make Himself known to us for He is a personal God longing to converse with you and me.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that Your presence in our life isn’t dependent upon whether we feel like You’re near or not. Today, as we seek to draw nearer to You through Your Holy Spirit, help us to pray specifically, trust fully, watch expectantly, and praise You quickly.
What specific answers will you be watching and listening for this week? If you feel comfortable sharing in the comment section, I’d love to join you in that prayer. Otherwise, can you share how God has personally revealed Himself to you lately?
Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part.~ Andrew Murray
(Last Sunday, one of our pastors at Summit Upstate, Kyle Estepp, mentioned the wind in relation to the Holy Spirit. It reminded me of the above post from 2011. Because it stays in step with our October series I decided to slightly tweak it and re-post.)
Mr. Rice was a close friend of my grandparents and the local elementary school principal way back when. He’d often stop by their home for a quick visit, to the delight of my grandparents. My reaction as a seven year-old, however, was quite different. I’d make a run for the bathroom, lock the door, and sit on the edge of my grandparent’s pink tub until I heard his old pick-up crank. He was as nice as they come, but he had a habit of pinching my cheeks so hard they’d leave marks on my face for minutes. His pinches spelled P. A. I. N. and I wanted no part of them.
Yesterday morning, I turned the radio off, peeled back the roof and talked with the Lord on my way to church. At one point, when asking for forgiveness, the word “lazy” spilled from my lips. It caught me off guard. So much so that I proceeded to say “Well, I don’t know if that’s the right word or not, Lord. I hope it’s not.”
Fast forward about an hour.
Our pastor, Jason, was speaking PREACHIN’ on discipleship. It was the best sermon I’ve ever heard on the subject and we’re only in our first week of the series! At one point, when sharing why some lack the transformation desired in their lives, he asked Could it be that you’re simply lazy? (I can’t quote it verbatim because I was too busy thanking the Holy Spirit for making it perfectly clear that I HAVE been lazy in certain areas of my walk with the Lord.) It’s not something I wanted confirmed, but I desperately needed a pinch of clarity and conviction.
Like Mr. Rice, the Holy Spirit’s pinches can unleash a sharp pain. Not physically, but spiritually. His pinch, however, always spells L.O.V.E.—even when it hurts—for His pinches also leave a mark. An indelible mark. The mark of Christ.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves…
Hebrews 12:6
The gospel is not opposed to effort [spiritual disciplines, serving, etc.] but it is opposed to earning.
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