We started a church Sunday night but this is not an update about how things went.  If you want an update check out  launch update

I got home Sunday night after everything had wrapped up and it hit me.  Wow. We just started a church and I’m the pastor.  It reminded of when Briggette and I were newlyweds.  One day early on, the realization of actually being a husband made me pause.  I was married, I was now “responsible”.  I was responsible for our safety, our financial security, for fixing things that broke even if I didn’t have a clue how, for what we made of this life, for the family we’d have, and for explaining difficult math problems to my kids with a history of the numerical system when a much simpler answer was all they needed.  I think I grew up a little bit right then. Not out of fear of failure, but out of a sense of duty, a calling, a maturing.  And yeah maybe also because Briggette’s dad owns a lot of guns. . .

The full realization that I am now the pastor of a church is one that caused me to pause.  It probably also causes a wide range of responses from those of you who have known me over the years. . . I had those same feelings of being responsible. Of knowing that so much was riding on me.  Yes this is God’s ship and he’s directing the wind and waves but for some odd reason he’s put me at the helm.  He’s made me “responsible” for this new church.

Sunday night I think I grew up a little bit more.

I got home today to see a freshly poured 10′ x 24′ slab of concrete right by my existing patio. I was not surprised to see it.  The guys had set the forms the other day and told me they’d be back today for the pour.  What did surprise me was how unfinished it looked.  Edges were rough, there were no expansion seams, there were holes and nicks in various places.  I was really hoping this was not what they were going to leave me with.

Then the guys came back.  I watched as they smoothed out the edges, cut the joints, wet the concrete to make it workable, and filled in the holes and nicks.  They got to a point where I thought they were done but they kept working on the new patio, wetting and brushing and smoothing until it looked really good.  When they were done I was very impressed.  These guys took pride in what they did.  It was 104, there was no shade in my yard but they worked until the job was done right and done well.

As we get ready to launch a brand new church this Sunday, their commitment served as an example to me to strive for excellence.  I know things are not going to be perfect and we’re not going to be able to “offer” all that a lot of other established, larger churches can.  I just pray that as we’re starting and growing, we will do the things we do with excellence. Wether it’s worship, kids ministry, tech, setup, greeting, or whatever I hope people will see that all we did was done right and done well.

Tonight we got together with the launch team (as many as could make it) and had a cookout at the park.  It wasn’t a team meeting, a Bible study, or a recruitment gimmick.  I just felt like we needed to hang out together. It was cool - relationally that is - it’s never cool in Tucson in months that end in “uly”.  It took the pressure off the wives to cook a meal, the dads got to shoot the bull, the kids played on the playground.  All in all it was very relaxing and fun.

We met a couple of families as we just hung out and invited them to worship.  We need to do more of this.  It’s good for us and it’s a great way to get to know our neighbors.  Maybe we’ll make it a once a month thing?

Last night we lost friend, a student, and a wonderful life full of potential.  Her future was snatched away by a senseless act.  Words fail me.

As we’re just getting started with this new church, The Foundry, I have no idea how to gauge success.  I came from a church where the Middle School ministry alone was larger than most churches out here.  I’ve been attending church at Common Ground where God is blessing in a HUGE way.  But then I hear that the national average for church start attendance is 25.  We’ve got a solid 30 in our Launch Team so maybe we’re already a success.

Then a friend reminded me: “Numbers are good.  They tell you how many chairs to set up.”  It reminded me that first and foremost, ministry is about people.  It reminded me as to why we came out here.  We may have a great turnout next Sunday.  We may have far below the average.  Whatever happens, our success will not be determined by how many people show up.  It will be determined by how many people we send out.

Remember the Seinfeld episode where George wants to name his kid (if he were to have one) “Seven”?

This morning I met a kid that was actually named Seven.  They tried to pronounce it “se-VEEN” but I saw how it was spelled, “Seven”.  Maybe it really is “seVEEN” but NO ONE is going to say it that way.  What’s interesting is the kid looked to be about 10 years old and the Seinfeld episode “Seven” aired Feb 1 of 1996 - a little more than 12 years ago.  So I’m thinking the parents saw this show and thought “Yeah let’s name our kid Seven”.  I’m sure at the time they thought it was cool and unique, not unlike your first tattoo that years later makes you think “What was I thinking?”

Meeting a kid named “7″ makes my growing up with a girls name not so bad. . .

Ashley

There are a lot of sayings out there that, when you think about them, are pretty stupid.  Most of them are said by managers and bosses under the guise of “leadership”.

Take this one for example:

Q: “How do you eat an elephant?”

A: “One bite at a time.”

Now I KNOW this saying is supposed to motivate someone who has an enormous task ahead of them to just get to it and little by little they’ll eventually complete it.  But when you think about it, it’s a pretty ridiculous illustration.

1. Who even eats elephant?  I guarantee your boss never did.  How do you eat a six foot hogie?  That’s more likely. . .

2. Why try to eat an elephant all by yourself?  Seems selfish, glutonous and a terrible example of teamwork.  Get some friends to help.  You could have a bbq for the whole neighborhood!  One friend, one rib.  You could start your own saying: “It takes a village to eat an elephant.”

3. Why does the elephant have to be eaten at all? It seems like a real waste of a valuable resource.  Sell it to the circus so that others can enjoy it.  Give it to a zoo.  Relocate it to a wildlife preserve. Retrain it to perform a different task.  Strap a basket on top and give your friends a ride to work.  It just seems like “eating the elephant” was not a well thought out plan.  There are a lot of other ways to deal with the issue that you have an elephant and need to do something with it.

This is just the first of what may (or may not) become a series on stupid sayings.  If you read it looking for something spiritual I’m sorry to disappoint you.  If you’d like to post ideas for future stupid sayings, feel free.

Until later. . .

Ashley Evans - Pastor

I’m a geek.

I’m 40 years old and I LOVE playing video games!  My favorite is one called “Call of Duty 4″ or COD4 for short.  I won’t bore you with trying to explain the game other than to say it’s the most popular online game out there right now.

The other night I saw that my nephew was online playing COD4 so I joined the game he was playing.  Right as I joined he left but I hung around to play since I’d already took the time to connect.  Apparently everyone else in the group were friends from his school.  They were taunting each other after the game and generally talking like guys do when their parents or Sunday School teacher is not around.  After a few minutes they noticed a newcomer (me) was in the group and asked who I was. When I told them I was their friend’s uncle all the talk stopped for a few seconds.  Then someone said “. . . really?”

I knew what was happening. They were replaying their conversations in their head trying to recall if they’d said anything that’d get them in trouble.  After working with teens for the past ten years I’ve had that happen a few times. I’d walk up to a group of kids and all the conversation would stop.  Usually the last one talking would have this look on his / her face that said “Did he just hear what I said?”

One of the really cool things we’ve experienced out here in AZ as we’re starting this new church is just how “real” people are.  There’s a “Here I am take it or leave it” kind of attitude.  Yes, for some it’s an indifference towards God and we’re working to change that.  But for others, namely believers, there’s an honesty about the way they live their lives.  They’re not perfect but they don’t try to present themselves that way either.  Maybe it’s that we’ve gotten to know people as a friend and not just as a pastor that allows them to be real.  Maybe the culture is a little different here.  Maybe I’m starting to be real with people instead of trying to be who I think they want me to be.  Whatever the reason, it’s refreshing and is making this whole new church thing an amazing experience.

I’m still a geek however.

Ash

So I’m talking to my buddy Brian Tuesday (July 1) and he reminds me that it was exactly one year ago that we loaded up and left Asheville, NC for Tucson.  I remember that day.  We had the U-Hauls loaded and parked them at the church Saturday night.  Sunday morning July 1, 2007 was exciting and tearful.  We were leaving an AWESOME church, a great youth ministry, friends and family to drive almost all the way across the country to Tucson, AZ to start a new church from scratch.  We weren’t coming out here for just a few years.  We moved out here with a long term plan to start a church that could start churches.

During the first few weeks and months out here we got off to a great start.  God blessed us with a great house in a neighborhood FULL of kids which really helped us get to know our neighbors and make friends.  But I still missed North Carolina.  The cases of Sun Drop we brought starting to dwindle.  During worship I was always comparing it to how Brent or Jonathan would have done it.  I called home a lot.  At least once a week I’d call someone from NC, usually one of the BBC staff.  I remember my old boss Ryland even got on to me once because I had not called in a couple of weeks and he thought maybe I had gotten lost in the desert or something.  I even got to go back and worship with the youth one Sunday night in September.  The whole service was incredible.  John Mark preached an amazing sermon about reverence and the worship was powerful and intense.  I was overcome with thankfulness to be in that environment of pure, passionate worship again.

Then something changed.  We had our very first worship service for The Foundry in June of ‘08.  I still slipped a couple of times and referred to NC as “back home” but for the first time in a year I did not find myself comparing things to how they were back in NC.  Our worship service was just that, OUR worship.  It felt good.  It felt right.  It felt like home.

This is home now.  This is where God has us.  This is where we’re going to be for a long time.

Ash

We’re starting a church.

I don’t mean we’re praying about starting a church or that we’re talking to people about the idea of getting ready to start a church.  All that has been done and as I sit here typing I realize we are just a few weeks away from actually STARTING a brand new church!

I remember a time when I was about 12 years old riding my skate board down a HUGE hill for the first time.  I had never ridden down a hill that big before but it looked like a blast. At first it was pretty easy but then I started picking up speed and pretty soon I was going really fast.  That’s when I felt the board start to wobble.  My trucks were looser than I thought and the board felt like it was going to shoot out from under me at any second.  I was going too fast jump off and I knew I couldn’t take a foot off to drag it or I’d lose what little balance I had.  I just had to ride it out and hope I didn’t crash.  Well, I made it all the way down without crashing and it was an amazing ride.  28 years later I can still recall looking back up at that hill and counting that ride as one of the most exhilarating moments of my childhood and thinking “How did I ever survive?”

That’s a lot like what starting this new church feels like.  We are fully committed to it and there’s no turning back now (and who would want to?)  Things are picking up speed, people are coming on board,  God is blessing in ways I could not have imagined.  Yet, at times it feels as if the trucks are a little loose and the board is beginning to wobble beneath us. The difference is that at age twelve I was afraid of falling because I knew my limitations as a skater.  Today as a church starter I know I have plenty of limitations but I also know who I’m relying on - God.  I know that nothing limits Him.  Scripture tells us that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived of what God has planned for those who love Him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9)

A few years from now I can’t wait to look back at the hill we’re on.  It’s starting to become an amazing ride.  There will be times when we’re tempted to jump off or slow down.  We’ll wonder how we’re ever going to make it.  I look forward to the ride, the rush, the thrill of seeing the unimaginable things God is going to do!

Ashley Evans

Pastor - The Foundry