Pastor Wes Online

2010-02-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

To the Church in Lakewood:

Wow! This is like reading one of the letters in Revelation! The truth is, it feels like we are living right out of the Bible.

Friends, our services have been powerful. The worship team is on top of their game. We are enjoying a wonderful season of praise and worship. I believe our intercessory teams have broken through to heaven; evidenced by the special anointing when our sermons are preached. Combine this with an interactive Bible study on Sunday evening and the weekly applications in our LIFE groups, and we see the Body of Christ growing into a very healthy shape!

I believe the Lord is moving at Calvary Lighthouse in a very specific manner. There is a hunger for holiness in our midst. The scent of freedom is in the air. Life’s Healing Choices is providing us clear instruction for cleaning out our spiritual closets. The skeletons of our past are being confronted in the Light of His Word. One of the universal traits of revival is a surge in holiness. My hope is aligned with the Apostle Paul’s hope in

2 Cor 10:15b NLT
...we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work

among you will be extended.

As our faith is perfected in holiness, as God’s judgment begins inside the House of God first, we then will see the fruit of revival. This is truly a region that is ripe for revival. Once the birth place of Methodism, both Wesley’s and Francis Asbury launched a great move of God from just north of us in Ocean Grove. For far too many years the fires of God’s people have been muted and cool.

Let’s press in and believe God for a great revival! It begins one person at a time. As you and I make the decision to be obedient to God’s Spirit we take another step towards revival. I can’t wait to see the fruit of completing these eight weeks. Press in friend. Press in and let’s see the boundaries of our word extend!

Do Not Lose Heart!

2010-01-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

As we unfold the Life's Healing Choices campaign, I am feeling like a general in a war-room. I see the map in our narthex and get excited. There are over 32 colored dots scattered over this region. By connecting these dots, you can see a near perfect 15-20 mile radius surrounding our campus. Every Tuesday and Thursday we are bringing the battle out to the enemy. Communities are witnessing cars streaming into their streets and parking at homes that are epicenters of community change. The war for the Jersey Shore is on!

We need to see what is happening spiritually. Open our eyes Lord and let us see what YOU are doing! I am thrilled to learn of first-time guests coming into our small groups. Yet, even if there are no "new faces," we collectively are a "new face" to this community. The buzz that is created by our presence is significant. Combine that with the prayer and spiritual life that is bearing down on this block of land is incredibly significant. We are opening new land for the glory of God. We are God's Army moving forward and taking the land. I think of Joshua of old. As the leader of Israel, he continually had to encourage the people to not fear and to have courage.

He also had to admonish the people to not give up or become discouraged. Beware Church! There is an enemy to our souls. There is a principality that will not surrender the land without a fight. Do you know how simply the enemy can stop us? How many of us are going to have "bad days" on either a Tuesday or a Thursday? How bad will traffic be on those days? You can almost count on it. What can go wrong will go wrong. If the enemy can stop you, he is determined to do it.

Let's not be ignorant of his tactics. Let's not give in. Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:1 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

The apostle went on to say in 2 Cor 4:16-18 THE MESSAGE

16 So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. 17 These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. 18 There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

See beyond the immediate struggles. There is more here than meets the eye! We are going to see eternal, long-lasting change. Those mountains that have stood over you for years are going to be smashed, but we have to endure the battle.

I encourage you to move forward in faith and do not lose heart. We will receive a reward, IF we faint not.

No "If's" Allowed

2010-01-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

For our staff devotion today, I read from Mark 9:14-32. I am reading through The Message translation this year and I really enjoy the unique manner in which Peterson translates the scriptures.

The story is familure; a father brings his troubled son to be healed. Jesus and 3 disciples are on top of the mountain (literally and figuratively) being transformed! So the remaining 9 disciples at the foot of the mountain are responsible to deal with this issue. In short, it becomes a heated argument between "religious scholars" and the disciples. The tragedy is the troubled boy is still troubled.

When Jesus comes down the mountain, he hears the commotion and asks what's going on. This is one of the very few times we see Jesus humanity in vivid color. From the ecstasy of the mountain, he now plunges to the frustration of the valley. "How long do I have to put up with this?" "When will you guys get it?" Jesus is clearly agitated with the lack of power from the disciples.

No one could help the boy.The father sees Jesus and gives one more plea. "IF you can help me, please do it now!" Jesus returns the question, "If?" "What do you mean, 'if'? All things are possible to those that believe!" The dad cries out, "I do believe, just help my doubts." What an honest man!

The story climax's with Jesus calling the boy over and commanding a demon to leave him. With great screams and convulsions the spirit exits, leaving the boy for dead. Jesus picks the lad up and hands him back to his father. Healed, delivered, save.

As we enter into Life's Healing Choices, can I encourage you to please stir up your faith. Not 'if' something is going to happen. Not 'if' someone is going to get healed and set free, rather "when God's love and power moves among us ----such and such is going to happen."

My prayer is that God will deliver us from the limited power and frail thinking of our own resources. I pray that we will tap into the real source of power and see God supernaturally break down the wall and strongholds that bind us. God wants to heal us and set us free! Not "if," but "Thank you Lord!"

2010-01-02T07:20:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

Even the sound of this New Year sounds great....twenty--ten. I remember the old Buck Rodgers movies with numbers like this. We are certainly moving quickly into the 21st century.

Looking back over my life, I wonder what changes will occur this New Year? The pace of change continues to accelerate. I'm told the technology on the internet is changing every 3 months now. What discoveries in medicine will take place this year? Who will break the next sports records? On and on it goes the positive power of change.

The truth is some of us loath this constant change. We just want to take a "chill" and sit back for awhile. Can this be done? Well, of course it can. You just choose to let the train pass you by. Those who said, "No" to email like my aunt in MD are sitting on the sidelines of the webs super highway. So far, the post office is still operating and snail mail is still being used. So, it can be done. We can say "no" to change.

But really, do we gain or lose in this decision? I'm not suggesting we have to stay on the cusp of every innovation and every new thing that comes out of Steve Jobs workshop. But our generation is (excuse the pun) wired for change.

This brings me to a theological point. Change in our heart. Change in our mind. Change in the way we conduct ourselves. How do we fair in accepting that challenge? Do we sit back and say, "Nope, I don't want to change!" Or maybe we are stuck in the lie of, "I can't change!" One of the greatest truths in God's Word is "with God ALL THINGS are possible!"

As we enter 20 10, I encourage you to jump on the train. Life's Healing Choices is going to be a season of purposeful change. This campaign will take our church through a purposeful evaluation of our lives. The past, present, and future events of our lives will be addressed. Events that broke our hearts and wounded our souls will be reexamined and the Savior will bring change through healing and binding up. Our key verse will be:

Ps 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

All aboard! Let's get on THIS train and allow the Lord to minister the change we need in our souls.

Looking forward to a great 20 10!

Pastor Wes

Questions on LHC and Family Night

2009-12-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get some excellent questions from some of you guys. As I am answering these questions I often wish there was a way to let others "hear" the answer. In my mind this would answer many other questions and save lots of time.

Recently a member asked a great question:

"Why can't we have Life's Healing Choices (LHC) on Family Night?

The logic of this question is obvious. On Family Night childcare is provided, it saves another night out, and the entire family can participate.

The answer is not so obvious. Here is how I responded:

Excellent thoughts on this!

We did consider using Wednesday night as an option. Here are the concerns with Wed:

One hr is not enough time and although childcare is available, it ends after 1 hr. We carefully manage Wed pm to be ONLY 1 hr to keep young families coming.
The methodology of LHC is to bring people into relationship so their hurts, hang-ups, and habits can be addressed. Mtg in homes is much more conducive for this and allows people to become more intimate than mtg in a church classroom. LCH is clearly designed to bring people into a high level of transparency. We believe a home setting better facilitates this openness.
We desire to see church relationships surpass the campus and move into our homes.
A tag-on-goal to LHC is to build our Life Groups. By using Tue/Thur we are getting people accustomed to going out on these days and times in the community.
One of the hardest nuts to crack as a church is seeing Christianity outside of the church walls. Intentionally moving into communities is a purposeful decision. We believe lost people will come to homes before they will come to church. Evangelism is a primary goal.

What we have thought of is after this initial campaign is over, possibly offering this on Wednesday as a modified class. Whether we extend the time or stretch the duration, I don’t know? The intent of this class would be more along the lines of a 12 step program.

I understand your families concerns and I fully empathize with your time constraints. For 8 wks people can hit the “pause button” on other meetings until LHC is over. All of the Life Groups and the Men's Ministry are on “pause” until this is over. As you described, we don’t want to be competing against one another.

Honestly, it is very seldom that I do a campaign of this nature. Asking all other meetings to “pause” and encouraging everyone to go through the same lesson. Will there be problems with this? Certainly! Yet, I am comfortable with the turmoil this causes, for the potential benefit that is before us. The intent is not to harm anyone, but to lead our great congregation into a season of corporate health.

I hope that helps answer your questions and I appreciate your gentle and open spirit in this discussion.

Blessings,
Pastor Wes

2009-02-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

OUT OF THE BOX:

I am going to try and connect with more people by using a blog. I recently put up a facebook page and I was amazed how many "blast's from the past" came my way. It has really been a good tech tool. For me to discover what old friends have become and what they are currently doing; is a great accomplishment. Remember, we were on the "dark side of the planet" for over 13 years and we lost touch with most high school and college friends. The world really is getting smaller and we have incredible opportunities to connect... if we choice to discover them!

With this blog, I hope to write with my face towards our church, Calvary Lighthouse. I will be posting it from our church web page. Hopefully, it will give me one more way to let folks know who I am, what I am about, and begin a dialogue. As a "communicator," I enjoy exploring new ways of conversing.

Let me know what you think????