Intersection

Our townhouse is located at a unique intersection.  The T in front of our home brings together subsidized housing, townhomes and mansions. This intersection brings together more than financial worlds; it brings together different races and family structures.  The other day, when we walked around to invite people to our Gumbo Party, we met people who were single, retired, married, expecting their first child, and living in a blended family situation.  These various situations bring challenges and diversity.

We are blessed to be in this diverse place.  We desire to bring together the different groups of people under the banner of Christ’s church.  God has placed us here for such a time as this to reach these people.  Think about your street.  Who lives there?  What season of life are they in?  How are they similar or different?  And how can you reorient your life to intersect with them for the sake of the Gospel?

Rhythms

Each of the four seasons has different rhythms.  Fall brings school, football and cooler, shorter days.  Winter brings less light, more snow and indoor activities.  Springs leads to warmer days, increased outdoor activity, and the last few days of school.  Summer is the time to spend as much time as you can stand outside, and grab the opportunity to get away one more time as a family.  Our lives have seasons as well.

As our family settles into life in Lowry, I am reminded that this is the beginning of a season that God has been preparing us for four years.  Seasons are much different in the spiritual realm.  They are marked by events, revelation, and choices, not days or hours.  We are grateful for the opportunity to learn and adapt during our time at Frontline Church Planting Center and we move forward into this season of unknowns as God leads us.   This season brings new rhythms of life as we meet new people, join new activities, and plant the Gospel in this place.

Tents (Part 2)

Along with desiring to dwell in Lowry and with the people of Lowry, we desire to make a contribution to the culture of Lowry.  Much has been written on the future of the Church in America and the world.  Some see the Church becoming more decentralized in form out of necessity, to focus more on movement, or because of cultural views of institutions.  In many Post- Christian cultures, the local church is shrinking and has no idea of how to change with the times instead of resisting change all the way to the grave.  

In the first century, a great persecution fell upon the church in Jerusalem and sent all but the Apostles to the ends of the earth.  These men and women had normal jobs, lived within the culture and spread the Gospel at a rate that has not been duplicated.  One individual during this time helped the spread of Christianity more than all others.  This man was a tent maker by trade, a Pharisee, by training, and follower of Christ by the grace of God. Acts 18:3 tells us that Paul was a tentmaker and stayed with Priscilla and Aquila because they, too, were tentmakers.  Paul uses tent making to remove the financial burden from the people (1 Thessalonians 2:9), keep the Gospel free (2 Corinthians 6:3), and as entry point to the market place (Acts 17:17).  Our ministry in Lowry will be based on tent making for these same reasons.  

Growing up in the southern church culture, the idea of bi-vocational pastors was reserved for the small town or small churches, and mostly because of finances.  But here, bi-vocational pastors are able to interact with more lost people than full time pastors.  They also have added credibility with non-Christ followers because they are creating culture and working toward the common good.  I will make tents to relieve the financial burden of ministry, so that the Gospel remains free, and as an entry point to the market place.

Tents (Part 1)

Incarnation is a fancy term.  Like much of Christianese, we throw it around and seldom know what it means.  The first chapter of John’s gospel provides us a word picture of incarnation, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  Jesus was willing to put off his position in glory and humble himself so that we might be saved.  The Greek word for dwelt is tabernacle or tent.  Jesus was a tent dweller.  The idea of incarnational ministry is to be a tent dweller.  We have the opportunity to become tent dwellers in Lowry.

We desire to dwell in Lowry but also to dwell with the people of Lowry.  Jesus did not come to earth and become a hermit, or monk; He came to be a friend of sinners.  We seek to have Jesus as our example and leader in all things.  In order for us to follow that example, we will view our home as a center for incarnational ministry with the people of Lowry.  This will mean cookouts, parties, missional communities, kids sleepovers, and many other intentional connections to the community.  We want to be known as a family that loves the people of Lowry and are for them.  We want to be the incarnation of Jesus in Lowry.

Making Disciples

One of my life long goals is to learn something new every day. I am an information hound who enjoys books, documentaries and museums. But knowing things and gaining information is not the be all end all of the Christian life. Information does play its role, but that is not all that Jesus asked of us in the great commission. He asked for us to make disciples and to teach them and to baptize them.

Discipleship cannot be fully understood outside of the Jewish culture and the ultimate rabbi, Jesus. Jesus called men to follow him in all that he did and to dedicate their lives to imitating him. There were times of formal learning but there were many more times of informal (relational) learning. Discipleship in this sense requires proximity more than information.

After all, our goal in making disciples is not smart people, but changed people. As we follow Christ, may we lead others to imitate Jesus just as the disciples did.

Weight

As I prepare to speak at my grandmothers’ funeral, I am struck with the passage in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. Two of the phrases stick out to me: light momentary afflictions and eternal weight in glory. Our lives’ heaviest burdens are light and short lived compared to the heaviness of God’s eternal glory. Our limited understanding and experience will be overwhelmed by being in the presence of God. God’s majesty is more than we can grasp, contain, and bear.

As I think about my grandmothers’ life, I see it in a different light that will only be understood in eternity. May the weight of God’s glory burden you to know Christ and live for Him on this earth.

Unexpected Silence

It has been a long time since we last posted here. Things have been a bit chaotic, busy and uncertain. So, here is an update of what is going on with the Sanford’s.

We were assessed for church planting by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in late August. They have recommended that we move to Lowry and continue in the internship phase, then move into an apprenticeship before taking on the “lead planter” title. This will allow us more time to develop relationships, a team and to begin ministry in the neighborhood before the clock starts ticking, so to speak, on funding and expectations. This is great for us as we “get on the ground” with NAMB’s blessing, but our runway is lengthened as we minister in a place where 10,000+ people have no evangelical ministry in place at all. And should God move quickly, once we are living there, NAMB will advance the title to match the stage of the plant.

In regards to moving, we are still waiting for placement with Apartment Life, but we are making plans to relocate toward the end of the year if no opportunities through Apartment Life are available in Lowry. Please pray for God’s favor and His move among the ownership of the apartment complexes in Lowry so that a placement will open in the next few weeks.

Finally, in the midst of these things, Amanda had to have emergency abdominal surgery last week. She spent the better part of 3 hours in surgery to remove part of her colon that had flipped, thus causing extreme pain and obstructing her bowels. She is recovering, but with it being sudden and major, her recovery will take at least 6-8 weeks. Please pray that she will heal with no complications and that she will be willing to rest appropriately so that she can heal.

We are thankful for all who prayed, contacted us, and have helped us with meals and the kids over the past few weeks. God has shown His love through you.

Thinking like a Missionary

If you were to ask me a year ago about what church planting would look like, I would have given you a much different answer than I would today. My idea of church planting was mostly about the service and quickly gathering people to fill a space and to meet the budget, so that your church could be self sustaining. But this past year has challenged me to think more like a missionary in a community and not so much about programing, people for number’s sake or budget needs. The Kingdom of God,along with disciple making, must be the focus. Part of this shift in thinking is the context and other parts are what God has been showing me about the church, discipleship, mission, and the Kingdom.

Missional Communities will be the driving force in our church. These are groups of people who do life together, intentionally spend time with non-believers, minister in the community around them, and share meals and bible study regularly. These groups are messy, relationship driven, intergenerational, and outwardly focused. (As I type this, it excites me to think of the people we will meet, minister to and with, and the impact we will make in Lowry and beyond because of groups like these.) We will gather together for worship and we will have children’s programs, to some extent. But our main focus will be building a community of disciple makers. We want to not just think like missionaries; we want to live like missionaries.

Denial

This past week, I had the opportunity to be the camp pastor for Mission Serve in Longmont. The camp focused on meeting needs of local nonprofits and home owners, along with ministering to children at local centers. There were 120 participants from six states. We were able to see three children come to Christ and many needs met.

The focus of the worship time during the week was denying self, taking up your cross and following Jesus. We began the week by focusing on Peter’s denial of Jesus and Jesus restoring Peter after the resurection. Then we looked at Jesus’ final words of warning to the disciples the night of his arrest about the hate of the world and how we can deny the world through His love. Tuesday we dove into the hard discussions Jesus had with 3 people about following him. The last night we considered if we should deny man or God?

These are all things that God challenged us with as we prayed about church planting in Denver. It was a great challenge and encouragement, as we move from finishing up the residency to relocating to Lowry where it becomes reality. As we seek to deny the things of man and live as God would have us, join us in the adventure of following God.

Frantic Pace

The last few days have been full. I had the opportunity to visit Alabama, spend time with family and friends, meet with partners and talk with potential partners. On top of that, I preached three times in different churches. I am grateful for the support provided by First Baptist Boaz, Ridgeview Baptist and Fairhaven Baptist. Without these churches and the support of many individuals our time with Frontline Church Planting Center would not have been possible.

Thank you to those who gave of their homes, time, and food during our travels. You were a blessing to our family and may Hod bless you for your generosity and hospitality.

If you are interested in supporting us through prayer, please send an email to prayerpartner@sanfordfamily.org to sign up for our monthly prayer newsletter.

If you are interested in supporting us financially, please visit the financial support page on this blog about the ways to give.

Our time in Alabama has been fruitful and full but it reminds us of the calling God has placed on us for Denver and the Lowry neighborhood and the need for laborers in His harvest. It is my prayer that many were stirred up to love and good deeds from our time in Alabama.