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Iron Men for Jesus

Jul 29 | Heather | 1 Comment |

Ok, maybe they aren’t technically Iron Men, but three members of our Summit family are pretty impressive! Todd Melby, Alan Yueh and Walter Miller ran, swam and biked their way to a third place finish in the Buckner Mission Man Triathlon last weekend with a time of 1:19 (I think that’s one hour and 19 minutes, though 1 minute and 19 seconds would have been VERY impressive). Did I mention that it was 1213 degrees Farenheit that day? And that was at 9am. These guys outraced thousands of athletes (maybe a slight exaggeration) to bring home the $700 prize, which they have asked us to put toward the Christmas Missions Offering this year.

Guys, thanks so much for the time you put into training for this event, to bring home a prize that will be used to advance the Kingdom of God in some very dark places!

Tribute

Jul 28 | Pastor J.D. | 6 Comments |

At about 6:30 pm on this day 10 years ago, I married Veronica. We were so in love with each other… sharing so many of the same passions that we often talked for hours into the evening about everything from people to dreams to missions to Calvinism…

Even more importantly, we knew that God had led us to one another.

Our 1st years of marriage were not flawless, by any means… as you would imagine with the union of any 2 selfish people into 1 life… but God taught us in those years really to love each other. He taught us what it means to be loved selflessly and to love selflessly (I’m still not good at that one). He used our marriage to teach both us the delights of His love as well as the patience He shows to us in our marriage to Him.

I can confidently say on this day that the greatest earthly gift to me in my ministry is Veronica. There are many sacrifices she makes so that I can do what I do… sacrifices which, for the most part, go unnoticed.

I see so much of Christ in her… both in how she bears the weights and inconveniences of ministry without complaint, and in how she loves me most when I least deserve it.

Veronica is my “secret” in ministry — the unnoticed earthly strength and ability behind what I do.

I could not imagine a better life partner and a better mother for my children, and on this day I stop to think of the incredible goodness of God given to me in her. I love you, Babe!

If a 4 year old can get it…

Jul 27 | Pastor J.D. | 2 Comments |

Here’s the video from Sunday some of you asked about…

The Things I Saw in Asia Last Week

Jul 26 | Pastor J.D. | No Comments |

On Saturday morning I returned from a short, 1-week trip to Asia where I was able to spend some time with our Summit teams. It was a whirlwind trip, and preaching yesterday was kind of a blur… couldn’t tell if I was asleep or awake. I kept looking around for Leo DiCaprio.

Here are a few reflections from the week:

On the whole, our teams are doing very well. I was very, very proud of them. This is, in part, because you, @SummitRDU, faithfully pray for them.
God is doing some incredible things in some very difficult parts of the world. I felt like a lot our prayers and hopes and dreams are being answered. Some of our teams are seeing some genuine fruit, and even the beginnings of a movement to Christ in some of the most difficult people groups on the planet.
I was reminded that our primary role as believers in those areas is to believe. One of the things we teach at the Summit is a thing called “intercessory faith.” We believe that God places us in places of great need so that we can believe on behalf of those in need and thereby release God’s unlimited power and generosity upon them. The Scriptures consistently present Jesus as overflowing in both willingness and ability to feed hungry multitudes (John 6:4). As it was in the feeding of the 5000, the limitation is never in His willingness, it is always in our refusal to believe Him. “And he did not do many mighty works there (in Nazareth), because of their unbelief.” Our people enter “starving multitudes” and believe God on behalf of that multitude and release God’s ample power and willingness into their need.
We need a number of families, young professionals, and college graduates to answer the call to live for at least 2 years in one of these areas. We need more personnel in these areas, and we need ways to fund them and get them over there. Summit, pray for us as we believe God for both…”Pray the Lord of the Harvest, that He will send forth laborers into the harvest…” Perhaps the reason you are reading this is that you are supposed to be one of those families.
I need you to pray for one of our teams right now. Right now. I can’t go into details, but our Enemy has raised up a massive fight against them. The very existence of their work…and not just theirs, but hundreds of people like them… are threatened. There is violence looming. Please, please pray for God to keep this door open. And pray in confidence and faith…”No weapon formed against us shall prosper; all those who rise up against us shall fall.” Let it be, Lord!

ServeRDU Update

Jul 22 | Heather | No Comments |

Here is an update from Matt Clark on last week’s ServeRDU projects:

ServeRDU – the week of local outreach is in the books and we continue to praise God for all He did through this event! For 20 area projects we had 1,438 sign-ups which translated to over 6,500 hours of service!

What did these projects look like? A new roof for the house of rescue mission resident. Freshly painted walls, new benches constructed, libraries redecorated, and landscapes beautified at local schools. Kids shown love and the gospel shared at public housing developments. Blood Drive goals met. There were so many opportunities to bless RDU – share your experience in the comment section!

So the official “Week of Local Outreach” is over. What will you do now to keep serving your community? We urge you to continue the relationships that you started last week. Establish regular times for your small group to serve together. If you need some guidance we regularly post ongoing opportunities at www.summitrdu.com/outreach.

Check out the wrap-up video for the week:

In this video, Bonnie asked for more volunteers for the Kid’s Club at Oxford Manor that meets every Saturday from 12:30-2pm. Want to be one? Or do you want to come to our next Refugee Outreach Orientation August 1st to learn how you can get involved? Find out more about these opportunities and other ways you can get involved at www.summitrdu.com/outreach. Or if what you want to do is not on our list, be the first to start it!

My Identity, Purpose and Source of Happiness

Jul 19 | Pastor J.D. | No Comments |

I thought this was a great summation of how ministry rather than Christ often becomes my primary identity. This has certainly been true of me and has contributed to a lot of stress and unfulfillment in my life. This pastor sets things right in this short paragraph out of Dave Harvey’s book, Rescuing Ambition (p.195-196).

The gospel answers my questions of identity. It tells me I am God’s bondservant, his child, a worshiper, and a functioning member of his church. My identity as a pastor was always a secondary identity. I have not lost my main identity.

The gospel answers my questions about purpose. The gospel opened my eyes to the glory of God in Christ. I responded to the call to ministry in order to glorify God. Being pastor was never, rightly, my chief end. I do not presently have opportunity to serve as a pastor, but I do have daily opportunities to fulfill my main purpose in life. Asking the question, “How do I glorify God now?” wonderfully liberates me.

The gospel always points the way to my ongoing happiness. My main joy is in God and in the salvation Jesus wrought for me on the cross. Above all else, I’m grateful to be a Christian – to be saved – to know the joy of sins forgiven and conscience cleansed. The joy of ministry could never legitimately be the foundation of my happiness. It is secondary, derivative joy.

So, God has taught me to…