I’m so proud of our Renaissance Church folks for how they gave, served, and ministered to over 100 folks over Thanksgiving.

We delivered all the groceries for a complete Thanksgiving feast to the homes of families who needed a helping hand for the holidays.  We also delivered a lot of warm smiles, and shared a lot of hugs.  We were able to pray with almost everyone we served. Our volunteers did a great job ministering to our new friends.

Renaissance Church kids hand-decorated gift bags to distribute to the children of the families we served.  There were all kinds of cool things inside the bags, but I think the best part was the love that was conveyed on the outside.

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Some wonderful volunteers

A young man was going down from State College to Happy Valley, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A football coach happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, an athletic director, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

A “good Samaritan” was no where to be found within the athletic department in Happy Valley.  For it appears they loved the praise of men and the reputation of their football program more than they loved their neighbor.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”    Matthew 22:37-39

The part of this whole story that is so flabbergasting to me is not the heinously evil nature of the crimes committed by one man.  Sadly, we all knew that human beings were capable of such depravity.  No, what punches me in the stomach and drives me to my knees is the failure of otherwise good, moral human beings to do something about it when they had the opportunity.  They saw the unspeakable injustice, and they essentially crossed to the other side of the road to avoid having to deal with it.  And other young men were victimized because of their lack of action.

Before we “cast stones” at those men for their tragic moral failure, horrific as it is, Jesus reminds us that we should always be willing to see where we come up short as well.  “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Luke 6:41)

Questions we all need to be asking ourselves:
Do we hate sin and injustice?  Wherever we see it?
What are we willing to do about it?  What does God want us to do about it?
Are we willing to ‘pay the price’ to love our neighbor, even if it costs us?
Because that’s what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

May God bless and heal the victims of this terrible tragedy and their families.
God, please help me to be willing to pay the price to love my neighbor, just as Jesus paid the ultimate price for me.

"Some real Renaissance men"

What great time we had at Church@theLake!  The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a blast relaxing, swimming, and canoeing.

We shared a nice meal together, and then listened to the Word of God, along with some great worship led by Marla and Anitra.  Perhaps the highlight for me was getting to baptize two more precious folks.

To see a lot more pictures, visit our Renaissance Church group on Facebook.  (And if you haven’t joined our group, why not do it now?)

We were about 80 people, and such a beautifully diverse group (including people who hail from 5 of the 6 inhabited continents!)

Did you attend Church@theLake?  Leave a comment below and tell us what you thought.

Listening to the Word of God after lunch

I hope you had a wonderful Independence Day weekend.  Our family had a wonderful time.  We sat on a blanket in a park and listened to the Charlotte Symphony, and watched the fireworks that followed.

Being with our three kids reminded me how thankful I am that we were born in this wonderful country with such a godly Christian heritage.  But there is still much work to be done for the Kingdom of God.  So many of our friends and neighbors still need to know Jesus Christ!

Last week I attended the Multiplying Churches Globally seminar hosted by missions agency Reach Global.   I enjoyed meeting a bunch of people who are deeply devoted to Jesus and committed to making Him known in every corner of the world.  Since I’m not a foreign missionary, I got asked “Why are you here?” a few times.  Answer:  To become more effective in making Jesus known in my little corner of the world:  Charlotte, NC.

It’s been wonderful to see our young church growing recently.  Yes, we have been growing in numbers, but the kind of growth I’m most excited about is the way we are growing in community. Life Groups are a great way to experience this aspect of church life that Jesus spoke of frequently to his disciples.

People from different backgrounds are discovering that special sense of unity that comes when we worship together, share life together, and serve one another in the name of Christ.  It’s beautiful.  I love it.  I’m thankful that I get to be a part of it.

A Christ-centered spiritual community is not exclusive, like a club, but rather open.  We not only welcome newcomers, we seek them out! We want others to experience the blessings of a life-giving community, and especially the joy we are finding in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

During a time of prayer in one of our recent Life Groups, a young woman who had recently become a Christian shared, “I don’t really know how to pray.  I don’t know what to say.”

Have you ever felt like that?

God doesn’t need us to speak to Him in fancy words.  He loves it when we call out to Him.

My 6 month old daughter started saying “Da-da” recently.  Let me tell, it melted this daddy’s heart. I didn’t correct her pronunciation, or rebuke her for not being eloquent enough.  No, I was thrilled.  Those two little syllables got my attention because they came from my precious daughter!   One word from her, and I’ll give her anything she needs!

John Wimber used to say that one of his favorite prayers was, “HELP!”       Been there, done that.

If it comes from the heart, our heavenly Father hears.  A few simple words touch His heart.  He’s a proud Papa, who loves us dearly.  He understands our weaknesses.

As we grow in our relationship with God, we’ll probably start sounding a little more “grown-up” when we pray.  Just know that wherever we are in our walk with God, it delights Him whenever open our hearts to Him in prayer.

At Renaissance Church, sharing the message of God’s love is something we love to do, especially with those who are going through hard times.  That’s why I loved our recent Thanksgiving outreach.

Volunteers delivered turkey and groceries to 16  families for Thanksgiving.  That’s over 90 smiles that were a little brighter because of the love of God demonstrated in a practical way.

We love the personal touch we can offer through this form of service:

1.  All the families we served were connected to us through relationships of people associated with Renaissance Church.    We get to know people on a personal level, because we hear their stories of hardship.  And there is the possibility of further relationship.

2.  Delivering the food to the home offers dignity, love, and a personal touch to those receiving.

3.  Opportunities for ministry abounded.  We prayed with almost every family.  Many Bibles were distributed.  Kids from church even included hand-made cards in the basket of goodies.

4.  It’s true: ‘Tis the greater blessing to give than receive.  Those who served and gave were deeply impacted by the experience.  I know I was.

Renaissance Church is a new church plant in Charlotte, NC.

We are looking for teammates – like-minded people who are ready for an adventure of eternal significance.

God is doing something so exciting – changing hearts and transforming lives of people who have been far from God.

But we need teammates to help us.  We especially need Christians (families or singles) who want to roll up your sleeves and help us in this work.  Looking for an outlet to serve and make a real difference?  Please keep reading.

[ Note: if you are happily serving in another church, please stay right where you are.  But if you are between churches, or desiring something different, please keep reading and prayerfully consider joining us in this God-ordained mission. ]

Here are a few things that make us unique:
(lots more info on our website)

We are a cell church.  We value meeting in both large Sunday celebrations and weekly home-based small group meetings.

We are multi-ethnic and multi-cultural.

We are outward focused.

We are Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

We are Biblically grounded.

We greatly value worship and prayer.

We believe in training and empowering leaders.

(more on Who We Are and our Core Values)

We are located in south Charlotte.  The areas we are reaching include the South Blvd. and I-77 corridor, Pineville, Ballantyne, etc.

Interested?   Call me (Pastor Kurt) at (704) 341-4688 with any questions.  I’d love to hear from you.

We are currently meeting on Sunday mornings at 11:00 am for training and as a “pilot” cell group.

We recently had a lot of frequent flier miles, and a limited travel window… so it was time for a quick family vacation in the Caribbean.   It was a great time of much needed relaxation and family fun.

We enjoy activity – even when we’re relaxing.  So the ocean sport activities at our hotel were ideal.  After taking the boys out with me on the ocean kayak a few times, our oldest (who is 7) decided he’d like to take one out for a spin by himself.

At this point, the wheels in my head started turning.  What are the risks here? This is the open sea.  How adept is he at paddling? What would happen if he tipped over? He’s a good swimmer.  What would you do?

After weighing all the probabilities, we decided to let him go for it… BUT with Daddy in his own kayak nearby.  Not bad, huh?

After the first couple of times out by himself, the young lad was really feeling his oats.  The 3rd time he wanted to go to the other side of the bay.  Which would have been no problem, except for the strong wind on the return trip.  About half-way home, the little fellow completely ran out of gas.  The wind was blowing him backwards every time he rested… and he wasn’t getting anywhere.  He started getting frustrated… then scared and confused.

When I realized coaching and encouragement from a safe distance wasn’t going to cut it, I paddled over next to him, clipped his kayak to the back of mine, and safely paddled us home.

By the time my son got back to the beach, he had forgotten the fear, and was basking in the glory of his accomplishment.

In life, we won’t accomplish much if we take NO risks.  Everything worth doing takes hard work and involves some degree of risk.

The key is to check with Daddy before you embark on that dangerous trip across the bay. If He says “no”,  you’d better not get in over your head.  But if he says “yes”… you know He’s got your back.  Faith is taking a risk when you know He’s backing you up. The Bible says that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6)

God is pleased when we attempt great things for Him.  We can take courage that He will be there to supply the power that we lack.

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