He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,  for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

If you are called to oversee the local church, your ability to manage and lead your household is evidence of a potential ability to manage, lead and care for a body of believers.

The ability to lead your wife and children in daily prayer should translate into being able to lead the members of the local church in prayer.  One’s ability to be a wise steward of the resources gifted their family should carry over to task of being a wise steward of the resources gifted the church. Leading your family in the study of God’s word should be useful in leading the people of your local church in that same study.  And, the ability to make peace within your home should translate to your ability to make peace within a body of believers.

If we as Christians are pursuing the management of our households and church body in these ways, then we will be better prepared for the kingdom work entrusted to us.  We will be better prepared to glorify God in our community,  better prepared to love and serve others, and better prepared to share the hope of Christ with those placed in our life.

Lion of Judah
Isaiah 11, Revelation 11

You’re the Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain,
You ascended to heaven and ever more will reign;
At the end of the age when the earth You reclaim,
You will gather the nations before You.
And the eyes of all men will be fixed on the Lamb
Who was crucified,
For with wisdom and mercy and justice You’ll reign
At Your Father’s side.

And the angels will cry: ‘Hail the Lamb
Who was slain for the world, Rule in power.’
And the earth will reply: ‘You shall reign
As the King of all kings
And the Lord of all lords.’

There’s a shield in our hand and a sword at our side,
There’s a fire in our spirits that cannot be denied;
As the Father has told us for these You have died,
For the nations that gather before You.
And the ears of all men need to hear of the Lamb
Who was crucified,
Who descended to hell yet was raised up to reign
At the Father’s side.

… the most important reason why people stay at your church plant is relationships. Hopefully we hammered home the importance of you preparing and implementing strategies to build the relationships necessary to “earn the right” to keep serving these newcomers for our Lord. From David Jacksons Blog on “Five More Reasons Why People Will Stay at Your Church Plant”

At SK Church we break out into home based CE Groups during the week.  Another name for these meetings are Create & Engage Groups.  After SK services on Sunday morning, there is social interaction among the congregation.  However, this is usually not enough time to really find out what is going on in someones life.  This is where CE Groups come in.

Every two weeks, multiple CE Groups meet in homes around Garner, Clayton and Raleigh. The goals are simple – Create Community and Engage Community. What does this mean?

It means we create a community within our group that enjoys meals together, we talk about the highs and lows of the week together, we pray together, and we discuss the most recent message from our pastor together.  It also means that we engage community by planning events that try to put feet to our faith. Engage events range from serving the local Police and EMS families to caring for the needs of Battered Womens Shelters to hosting cookout events for local college students.

Whether its creating or engaging, the goal is to form deeper relationships. Relationships that will build trust that allows for the sharing of the hope that Christ has for us.

If this is the kind of community that interests you then I welcome you to email me at mike.askew@mindablaze.com or check out more information   here. You are always welcome to visit one of our groups.

Meetings 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 7:00-9:00pm.

Next Meeting on October 7th.

Click here for more info about Fight Club.

A gathering of men where it is safe to express need and have need met.What happens at Fight Club, stays at Fight Club, so we gather, pray, and fight for what is important.

The rules of Fight Club is “What happens at FightClub, stays at Fight Club”.  So, I can not give any specific details of conversations from the evening.  What I can share, though, is that I was overwhelmed with how honest the men of our church were with their struggles. Even more astounding was  how willing they where to come alongside each other and help bear burdens.  

Fight Club opened with going around the room with the opportunity for each member to share the “High” and “Low” of his day.  The first couple times we met, this exchange was marked by a cursory sharing of something safe and generic to appear that we were playing along.  But, we are finally past that cautious stage where you wonder if other guys are going to think you are some kind of freakshow for not saying that “its all good!”.  There is not any pretense to this part of the evening anymore.

After the “High/Low” time, we moved into taking requests for prayer for the struggles we have been facing during the week.  After 30 minutes of getting our needs out in the open, it was evident that this group of men was carrying a wide range of  heavy burdens.  It appeared that not many were being spared this week.  Even so, there was hope for some measure of comfort.

As each member of Fight Club slowly began to ask God for his mercies on others around them, the mood began to shift.  The weary, beat-down tone in voices began to lift as  comfort was found in bringing our needs before the throne of God.  Hearing other men intercede with God on your behalf somehow made you feel that you were not alone in the fight.  For me, hearing my friend Troy LaPlante stand in the gap  and pray for my family’s specific needs was well timed comfort.

I thank God for the safe house that he provided for me tonight at Fight Club.  The end of the evening found me feeling able to enter the rest of the week encouraged. I was reminded that I am not alone in my daily struggles.  I have a community of men at Sovereign King who are willing to care for me and my family.  I serve a God who is merciful and promises never to leave me nor forsake me. Tonight, Fight Club was exactly what I needed….

Paul found himself on the street within 2 weeks of high school graduation after a series of disagreements with his mom. Needless to say, we did not know what we were getting into, but God had intersected our paths. The details of his life were very complicated, and I could go on for pages explaining it all. However, what is worth mentioning is that Paul was a bright kid who needed a break.

That night that we met Paul we hooked him up with a hotel room until we could regroup and determine how to serve him.   Within a week, some mediation between Paul and his mom had him back living in her home with some agreed upon terms of engagement. This was the first break that God gave Paul in this situation.

Next, Gordon began negotiating with the High School to let Paul do what he needed to graduate. This is where it became complicated. Paul was a bright guy, but he was lazy and irresponsible. There is no way to sugarcoat the description of Paul’s habits at that time in his life. Paul had overrun the high school’s allowable unexcused absence by 20 days.  Technically, he deserved to fail his senior year and repeat it all. But, God showed mercy to Paul for a second time.  The high school administration was willing to forgive the absences if Paul would pass all of his final exams.

Within a week, Paul had taken all of his final exams and the verdict was returned. Paul would not graduate with his class that spring.  He had not passed his British Literature final exam.  But, amazingly, Paul was shown another measure of grace.  The administration agreed to allow Paul to take the British Lit class over during summer session through the pleadings of Gordon on his behalf.  So, a summer of British Literature commenced.

During this summer term, another series of blessings came Paul’s way.  He became engaged with our fellowship of believers at Sovereign King Church.  We found that Paul had been gifted faith in Christ some years earlier and wanted to renew a pursuit of growing in his faith.  He began to form many mentoring and supportive relationships with the men of our ministry.  Paul began to attend worship services regularly.  He plugged into weekly men’s study and fellowship events.  And, even got a summer job working for one of the small business owners in the church.

But, what about summer school? How was that going….The answer was…not too well….

As Gordon checked in with Paul’s guidance counselor he found that Paul was continuing his habits of skipping class. Ultimately, he did not meet the terms of the agreement with the High School and did not graduate by the end of the summer session.  But, the breaks that God had cut Paul up to this point were not squandered.  Additional leniency for Paul was asked of the High School once again.  And, amazingly, he got one more chance during the fall semester to make good on passing British Literature.

Many men, with Gordon leading the way, came together to  provide Paul with some uninvited accountability.  With some Old Testament weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, he completed the class and received his High School Diploma in December. The Sovereign King Church Family rejoiced with Paul.

Now what to do?  Where would Paul go from here? What would Paul pursue after high school?

The answer from Paul was — The Marine Corp.  One small problem though, Paul was packing 260 lbs on a 5’8″ frame.  The Corp requirements for that frame was 185 lb.  So Paul began to work on his goal.

From January through April Paul put in the physical work to drop down to 205 lbs. At the end of April, he signed as a Marine Corp recruit on a weight waiver.  Today, he graduated from Parris Island 2nd Battalion boot camp as Pvt Paul Pagan, USMC with distinction as a sharpshooter.  He now walks confidently at 185 lbs with a gait that exudes discipline. To top it all, he was tapped to be trained as a Computer Data Analyst and will be shipping off to California for training in this field after a month of Warrior Training in Camp Lejuene, NC.

I thank God for his mercy and grace in Paul’s life. Today I am as proud of Paul as if he were my own son.

Private Pagan and Gordon Duncan