2008 - The year that changed my life

As we look back on our lives there are certain years that stick out to us more than others. 2008 will be one of those years for me. I found out in February that I was pregnant and it was a huge shock. But a good one! It was a great miracle. I blogged about it here. In May I found out it was a boy and celebrated 3 years of marriage with my husband on the same day.

And in October I gave birth to a precious son.

The whole journey for me was kind of surreal. I went from from thinking, "Is this really a little life growing inside of me?" to "Is this little baby really MY son?" But what a huge blessing it has been!

Motherhood, as a mother once said to me, opens windows of love in your heart that you didn't even know were there. It makes the endless hours of work not seem so tiring. It brings a new life and joy to your life. It sanctifies you. It makes you appreciate your own parents even more.

Beginning the incredible task of molding a little heart in the ways of God is daunting but so exciting at the same time.

2008 will be known by many as the year of an LONG election, the first African American president elected, bailouts, $4.00 gas, and 8 gold swimming metals but for me it will be the year I became a mother.

Christmas

Happy Grandma!

Tara and Sisters

Sisters with Stephen Richard

My baby

We had a great Christmas. We went to Tara's parent's house on Christmas Eve and Stephen's parent's house on Christmas Day. We enjoyed our Christmas with little Stephen Richard. He enjoyed getting attention from our families:) I will try and post more pictures later. My camera died and I didn't get any at Stephen's parent's house. But his mom did. Little Stephen got a few presents even though he no clue what was going on:) He got a puzzle, a little Bible, a stuffed football and a couple of stuffed animals, diapers, and a book.

Saturday I ran the poor little guy all over town. I was able to see one of my friends from High School (Kevin) and his wife Missy. We met at Starbucks that morning. I haven't seen them in almost 4 years and it was great catching up. Then in the afternoon we met my friend Stacy for a late lunch. Shea and Amy stopped by too and got to see the baby. Then that night we had a family reunion on my mom's side of the family. He was exhausted and slept 7 hours last night and has slept most of the day today. I don't think I will try that many things in one day for awhile. But he did really well with it all I am glad everyone got to meet him. I have noticed though that this past week he has become more clingy to me. Normally he will go to anyone for them to hold him, but now he will kind of look around to make sure I am right there. He will let them hold him for a couple of minutes but then he wants to go back to mama. I am not sure if this is a phase or is how he will be for awhile. I guess we will see.

One new thing Stephen Richard is doing is starting to feel things and notice texture. He loves anything soft and has started cuddling with some of his stuffed animals. It is so sweet. Here is a little video I took this morning. I hope all of you had a great Christmas!

Church Planting Continued

Hello everyone, it's Stephen again. Well, today I have some more stuff related to the Church plant we will be doing in Asheville, NC.

The Need

The need for Church planting in the US and Asheville, NC in particular is great. The US is the world’s 3rd largest mission field of un-churched people. If our current trajectory continues, Christianity’s numbers will be cut in half by 2050 in the US.[1] According to the Barna Group, since 1991-2004 there has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched people in the US, and in 2007, nearly 100 million Americans were unchurched. Eighty percent of the Churches in the US have plateaued or are declining and around 3500 die each year.[2] Spiritually, America is not far behind Europe. The spiritual condition in which we find ourselves, which will get worse without GOD’s intervention, affects every area of everyone’s life!

This is where Church planting comes into play. Studies have shown that 60%-80% of people who come into new plants were not previously worshiping in another part of the Church while Churches 10-15 years old grow 80%-90% from transfer of other parts of the Church. So, new Churches can be 6-8 times more effective at bringing people into the Church.[3] Keller says, “the only widescale way to bring in lots of new Christians to the Body of Christ in a permanent way is to plant new churches.” Wagoner is right: Church planting is the single most effective strategy for evangelizing the world. Additionally, this is the Biblical strategy employed by the apostles. The US needs many more good Churches to be planted!

The majority of Asheville of does not know JESUS. The city has a number of problems such as drugs, new age witchcraft, and homosexuality, to name a few, that only JESUS can solve. Asheville needs many more good Church plants!

To sum it up here is a great quote from a leader and Church planter in New York--Tim Keller:

The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city . . . New church planting is the only way that we can be sure we are going to increase the number of believers in a city and one of the best ways to renew the whole Body of Christ. The evidence for this statement is strong--Biblically, sociologically, and historically. In the end, a lack of kingdom-mindedness may simply blind us to all this evidence.

So, I believe that without many good new Church plants the US and Asheville will continue in the direction Europe. New Church plants are the chief instrument used by GOD for the number of Christians to increase in our domain.[4]

Organizational Partnership
Great Commission Ministries (GCM) is a “non-denominational worldwide church planting, church growth, leadership development ministry.”[5] They have 270 staff missionaries doing such work as Church planting, college ministries, and work overseas. They have laborers in 46 Churches and 14 countries around the world. What GCM will do for us is provide financial accountability, support, administration, and coaching. GCM is a member of the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (ECFA).

How Can You Help
We can not do it alone. It is a team effort. We greatly need the help of others. When the Israelites were doing battle with the Amalekites, the fight was a team effort. GOD granted victory to His people when Moses prayed with raised hands. Aaron and Hur helped Moses to keep his hands raised. Joshua led Israel. The Israelites fought. GOD granted victory. The victory was a team effort. Everyone had a part. Would you pray and consider about participating in GOD’s work of Church planting!

What are some ways you can participate? You can help in at least four ways. First, some are in a position to volunteer either directly on the front lines or to assist behind the scenes. Secondly, we need prayer support. Vital to our mission is the prayer ministry of others. I can not underestimate the exceeding need for the prayers of others. After the prayers of GOD’s people go up, GOD’s fire comes down (Rev 8:3-5). Another way you can help is by providing us with the names of others who would love to hear about our ministry of Church planting and our partnership with GCM. Lastly, you can help by generous giving. We are looking for supporters to make monthly reoccurring gifts. GCM has had people that give anywhere from $5.00 to $500.00 dollars a month. We are trusting the LORD for individuals who will make monthly investments of $100.00, $50.00, and $35.00 dollars a month (or any amount). Would you become a partner with GCM at one of these amounts?

If you desire to support with monthly reoccurring gifts or to send a special gift, you can do so by sending the first check to N. 325 Pinecroft Dr. Taylors, SC 29687. For income tax purposes, make the checks out to Great Commission Ministries. After receiving your first gift, we will send it to GCM with your information, and the subsequent checks can be sent directly to GCM. After each gift is received, the office will send you a two part receipt with another envelope. One-half of the receipt is for you records. The other half is to be sent with the next gift to ensure that it is credited to the account for which I am responsible. Another way to give is electronically by going online and setting up an automatic draft or special giving. When going this route be sure to type in “Stephen Burch” in the search bar under “To locate a fund.” The web address is http://www.blogger.com/www.gcmweb.org

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our vision and to prayerfully consider participating.

HIS,

Stephen T. Burch II/Mobile: 864-561-1233
Great Commission Ministries
PO Box 7101
Winter Park, FL
32793-7101


[1] Mark Driscoll.
[2] Mark Driscoll.
[3] Tim Keller.
[4] Ibid.
[5] GCM

Merry Christmas from the Burchs!

May the wonder of Christ's birth, the example of His life, and the power of his death and resurrection fill your heart with joy this Christmas and all year long! Merry Christmas!

Story time with Daddy

CHURH PLANTING VISION AND MISSION

Hello everyone, today you are getting a guest blogger: Stephen Burch. I know I am not pretty or charming like my wife, but hopefully you will still enjoy the post.

As some of you may know, we are in the process of preparing to move to Asheville, NC to plant a Church. So, over the next couple of weeks I will be posting things related to what we are doing in regards to the Church plant. Ladies, if you feel this is something that would interest your husband or anyone you know, please pass it on. First, we will start with a brief sketch of the Vision and Mission of the Church plant.

Our Vision and Mission
We feel called by GOD to plant a church in Asheville, NC. Our vision is a Church that is all about the glory of GOD, is JESUS centered, HOLY SPIRIT empowered, and proclaims the gospel. Our mission is to make, organize biblically, and mature disciples of JESUS. Let me expound a little on each one of these points.

The glory of GOD is what it is all about. The first year I was a Christian I was learning that GOD’s glory is the only thing that can satisfy me or make me happy. One day, as a new believer, I was reading a book by A W. Tozer that contained a prayer that said something to the effect of “Oh Lord, no matter what it costs, show me your glory.” At the time, I did not know that part of the prayer was an inspired prayer of Moses. So, I prayed the prayer that “no matter what it costs” the Lord would “show me His glory.” Well, a few moments later He answered the prayer. He took me to the cross of JESUS and showed me that at the cross we see all of GOD’s known attributes on display at one time. We see GOD’s holy hatred for sin, His righteous wrath, and just anger. We see His power and sovereignty over all things including sin, Satan, death, and the past. Not only do we see this lion like side of GOD, but we also see Him as a lamb. We see GOD’s, faithfulness to His Word. We see His kindness and goodness to sinners. We see His grace. We see His mercy. We see the greatest of all love on display for sinners like us.

Another part of the vision is the centrality of JESUS. If we were asked to sum up the vision of the Church plant in one word it would be JESUS. JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, is what we are about! JESUS is the focus. JESUS is the goal. HE is the example. We must “grow up in every way” into JESUS (Eph 4:15). Everything must be brought back to JESUS.

One more key component is to be a Church that is empowered by the HOLY SPIRIT. Apart from the HOLY SPIRIT we can do nothing. The SPIRIT of GOD saves, sanctifies, gifts, empowers, teaches, reveals and glorifies JESUS.

Gospel proclamation is another vital part of the vision. The gospel is not only the instrument that GOD uses to save us, but it is His means to produce fruit in us (Col 1:5-6) and make us like JESUS. If the believer is to grow, he needs a constant present-tense gospel reality. In 2 Peter 1:5-9 Peter names a number of Godly qualities that a believer should have such as self-control and love. Then, he says that those who lack these qualities have forgotten that they were cleansed from their former sins. The believer needs to walk in the truth of the gospel to be Godly. So, the gospel saves sinners and sanctifies saints.

Our mission is to plant a Church that is true to JESUS’ mission in the great commission of Matt 28:19-20 of (1) “making disciples.” We want people to be saved. Also, we want each believer to be discipled in such a way that they begin to use the gifts and talents GOD has given them. A disciple is not merely a convert but someone who follows JESUS. (2) Jesus goes onto say, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We believe that related to baptism is the organizing of people into a biblical community called the Church: the City on a hill.[1] Baptism is the symbolic entrance into that community. So, we want a biblically organized Church. (3) We want to teach GOD’s people to “observe all” that JESUS commanded. We want to mature believers that reproduce other believers. We not only want people to get on to Mount Zion, but we want to see them organized biblically and get to the summit. To sum it up, we want GOD to be glorified as JESUS is exalted by the SPIRIT’s power through the proclamation of the gospel so that people are saved, organized biblically, and matured in JESUS to the effect that GOD and people are passionately loved.

Stayed tuned for more on the Church plant we will be doing in Asheville, NC.

[1] Tim Keller and the following sentence is credited to Keller as well.

Incarnation

Having a little baby boy this Christmas has made me think about the incarnation in a different way than I ever have before. I have been looking at my son and really thinking about what it would be like for God to come to earth in the body of a tiny baby. The God of the universe who created all things, now at the dependence of someone else to feed him, change him, clothe him, and carry him. Even as a human I cannot imagine going back into the body of a baby, but God? The way God chose to come into this world is so backwards from the way anyone would ever think. And it reminds that the ways God still chooses to work today are many times very different than the ways our human minds think he should.

Our Daily Routine

Baby Steve has definitely become a creature of habit. We have a pretty good routine going each day. Sometimes is varies if we have something special to do that day or on the weekends. But on most days it stays pretty consistent. Now that we are down to 6 feedings a day and I am getting much more sleep at night, I find myself enjoying motherhood even more!:) Stephen is so sweet, cuddly, smiley, and fun. His favorite awake activities right now are looking at the Christmas tree lights, looking out the window, his play mat, reading a book, taking a bath, looking at his mobile and taking a walk. He also loves music and is starting to like tummy time more because he is starting to be able to lift his head up.

So, this is the schedule right now. Stephen wakes up between 6 and 7am. Sometimes he will cry around 5 and I go and put his passy back in and then he will sleep until after 6.

He eats and stays awake only and hour. Seriously like clockwork after he is awake an hour he starts getting sleepy. So I put him back down and he sleeps for 2 or 3 hours. During this time (If I don't fall back asleep) I do things like my quiet time, shower, eat breakfast, and exercise.

Then he wakes up at 9:30 or 10:30 and eats again.

He stays awake for about and hour and a half or 2 hours and then goes back to sleep for a shorter nap. This is usually when I will bathe him and read his bible story book and maybe another book. Then we play until he goes to sleep.

Then he eats around 12:30pm. After this feeding I either run errands or let him do one of his awake activities by himself while I do things around the house. I also may meet someone for lunch or do something for my husband or work on my "at home" job work.

He will sleep a little after he has been awake for awhile and eats again around 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30pm. He stays awake some then naps for about and hour in between feedings. Sometimes they will not be official naps in his crib but he will just fall asleep a little while wherever he is. (Or if he is at grandma's house in someone's arms:) Then between 11 and 11:30 he will go to sleep for the last time and sleep until the next morning.

Because he is usually consistant, I know that if he cries during a nap he probably either has gas or he is hungry needs to eat a little sooner. I can usually tell depending on how his cry sounds. If he just wants a little comfort he will go back to sleep if I put his passy in his mouth and pat his stomach.

I like this schedule right now. I know it will always be changing the older he gets but I am really enjoying this little baby cuddly stage. I am enjoying the fact that I can put him somewhere and he will stay there until I move him. I know all too soon I will be chasing him all over the place. :)

Treasuring God in Our Traditons

The Christmas season has made me think about traditions. Especially now that I have a son I want to create new traditions for our family that will be sweet memories throughout the years and also a means to teach our son about the things of the Lord.

In the spring I read this book by Noel Piper called "Treasuring God in Our Traditions." It is an awesome book and I highly recommend it. She starts off by defining traditions like this:

1. Tradition is a planned habit with significance.
2. Tradition is the handing down of information, beliefs, worldview from one generation to another by word of mouth and by regular repetition of example, of ceremony, of celebration.
3. For a Christian tradition is laying up God's words in our own hearts and passing his words to the next generation.

She goes on to say that the repeated God-oriented events in our lives are like glue. The constancy of them are a reminder of the character of God who said He will never leave us or forsake us. In a world that is always changing and uncertain, they create a feeling of certainty, comfort, and belonging. They also are ways to teach our children in ways that seal truths deep in their hearts.

Whether is it regular family devotions, a weekly family night or story time, special things done for peoples birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving - these repeated things are ways to teach and celebrate God's goodness in our lives.

God taught the Israelites to do this! They had many festivals to celebrate the ways God had delivered them from Egypt. They used used these things to remember and to teach their children. But they were also created for enjoyment and celebration.

Finally, traditions strengthen families because the memories are so sweet.

But they take planning and intentionality. Traditions will not just happen. You have to take the time to plan them out and stick with them.

Some the Pipers do for Christmas are:
1. An advent calender - each day marking down a day until Christmas
2. Advent candles - lighting one each of the four Sundays before Christmas and reading part of the Christmas story each time. Keeping that number of candles lit for dinner throughout the week.
3. Having ornaments for the tree that mean something speacial so they can talk about them when they hang them up.
4. Having the kids save their money throughout the month in a special "shepherd's pouch" and then using it to give a "birthday present to Jesus" at the end of the month. (To some sort of ministry)
5. Having manger scenes throughout the house as visual reminders of Jesus's birth.

What about you? Do you have traditions with your family?

Christmas Memories

Father and Son

Matching Hoodies

Taking a Nap

Playing together


Like many new moms, I have loved watching my husband become a father. It is so cool to see him in this new role and to see how much our son already loves his dad. He will watch him go across the room, stare at him when he talks, and smile at him often. And my husband is completely smitten with our son. He loves to play with him, pray with him, talk to him, and preach to him :) haha. I am so thankful my son has a great dad to help raise him in the Lord.

Busting Out

Before

After

Stephen has loved to be swaddled since he was born. Today though, after hearing him cry while I finished exercising and showering I walked in his room to find this. He had totally busted out of his yellow swaddle wrap and was now sleeping soundly.