Missing the obvious

Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. (Mark 6:51-52)

This little note in the middle of Mark 6 amazes me. Coming off the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus walks on water to the disciples, and in so doing, He calms the sea. Incredible! They were amazed. They marveled at this supernatural ability from the Son of man.

But did you catch the last verse? They didn’t “understand” the deal with the loaves. Jesus had just taken a small portion and multiplied it far beyond their need (this is an encouraging thought in itself for me!). But somehow they skipped right over that act.

Somehow they missed the miracle.

Apparently it’s totally possible for us to witness the miraculous, even to be used to carry it out, and still miss out on it. Somehow their “heart were hardened” to the point that they totally missed seeing the miraculous, even though it happened right in front of their own eyes. And as you read back through the story, you see no obvious sin from the disciples. Lack of faith could be the culprit, I suppose? Scripture says that without faith, it’s impossible to please Him (Heb 11.6). So maybe hardness of heart isn’t only a willful disobedience to God, but a lack of faith in the One who routinely performs the impossible.

What miracle am I missing out on? What miracle have I failed to see because I’ve allowed my faith to shrink back? What miracle might I miss today if I don’t walk in audacious faith?

What about you? Have you been entrenched in the miraculous and failed to see it?

Let’s open our eyes of faith today; let’s not miss the miracle!

Follow the revolution

The plan is to launch One Revolution Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia on February 3, 2013. In the meantime, there will be lots of praying, planning, gathering of launch team members, and fundraising.

In the near future we’ll be launching the website, www.AdvanceTheRevolution.org. There you’ll be able to find important information about what’s happening in our launch process, learn how you can join us specifically in prayer, or even give financially to help fund the work of God in Virginia Beach.

The website is not fully functional yet (as of 3/18), but you can visit the site and enter your email address to receive an update when the site launches. If you’d like to contact me directly, feel free to email me anytime at andrewdtate@me.com.

UPDATE (4/23/12): The www.AdvanceTheRevolution.org website will be used as a fundraising and prayer-raising support page, which will include blog updates on the process of moving the revolution towards launch day. We have also secured the domain www.OneRevolution.cc, which will serve as our main church website.

Starting over in the 757

For those of you who may be wondering what’s next for the Tates, here’s the BIG NEWS!

We believe God is calling us to plant a church! He actually birthed this desire in me about six years ago, but there was always a number of obstacles that I allowed to deter me. In hindsight, however, there was no way I was ready for it six years ago. In fact, I don’t think I was ready ONE year ago, even. But God has done quite a work in me over the past year. I found it hard to understand a lot of the “questions” I’ve had about why I was experiencing the things I was experiencing…UNTIL I realized that God was using it all as preparation and growth. Over the past year, God has also done some amazing things in terms of (1) removing obstacles, and (2) confirming things in my heart and solidifying my call. Then about six months ago, God began to stir up these thoughts of church planting again. After some time of seriously seeking God’s face on this, I firmly believe that now is the time to chase this God-given dream.

We also sense God’s leading on the “where.” It’s an area we love, a place we’re familiar with, and a region we feel we’ve been called to for the long term. The place is Virginia Beach, VA (area code 757). It’s about 60 miles from where we were located in North Carolina. I could go into all the reasons we feel this is God’s direction, but I’ll save that for personal discussions I may have with any of you. But we’re confident this is the destination God has had in mind for our family from the start.

Right now we’re staying with Annette’s family in Republic, Missouri, just outside of Springfield (where we attended college, met, and married). I’ve been focused on determining our course of action, primarily which church planting network or organization(s) we’ll be partnering with. We’re now praying that God will match us up with the right network, the right connections, and the right people to join us in this work. There is a lot more to say, but this is our biggest area of concern for prayer right now. The answer to this prayer will determine some of our next action steps.

Thanks for praying, and thanks for loving our family! We’d love for you to join us in prayer for this new endeavor. And maybe even some of you, God will nudge to consider joining us not only in prayer, but in person, as part of our team? Whatever the case, we know there’s a lot of unknowns, and a lot of intense work to do, but we’re incredibly excited about what’s ahead!

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3.20-21)

This is crazy!

It’s hard to believe that 10 days ago we rolled out of E-City, North Carolina. It’s even harder to believe that our time there was so brief - so  many relationships, so much that transpired, it doesn’t even seem real. But it was full and there was definitely purpose for our time in the Harbor of Hospitality.

We’re in such a great place right now. Terrifying, because we’re homeless & jobless! Faith-stretching, because we are believing God for huge things! Trying, because fear and doubt constantly fight against our faith.

At some point this week, I’ll write a special post about exactly what we’re believing God has planned for the Tates. But for now, let me share a quote with you. It’s from The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Annette and I have been reading this together the past few weeks, and like every other book of Mark’s that I’ve read, it comes at a God-ordained season in my life. It’s about dreaming big, praying hard, and thinking long.

Mark talks about his first experience with paragliding in Peru. As he stands facing a cliff with a 10,000 foot drop-off, he’s instructed to do one thing: run as fast as you can toward the cliff. That’s it. All he can think is, “This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!” But it’s quickly followed by, “This is awesome, this is awesome, this is awesome!” It would end up being one of the most exhilarating experiences of his life.

And here’s the thing he said that has stuck with me the past few weeks:

I learned that if you aren’t willing to put yourself in “this is crazy” situations, you’ll never experience “this is awesome” moments.

Wow.

He goes on to say that if you’re not willing to jump off the cliff, you’ll never fly. It’s in these moments, whether jumping off a cliff or taking a flying leap of faith into the unknown, that you can’t not pray.

This is the kind of place we’re in right now! We have to pray. We have to place our faith in God. We’ve already run off the cliff, now we have to allow the updraft of God’s Wind to catch us and take us sailing over the valley.

It is absolutely terrifying! But it’s absolutely exhilarating.

The whirlwind

In the last 10 days, my world has been turned upside down. My family and I have said goodbye to our church, the students and leaders we worked with, many people we love, and my job. And soon we’ll be saying goodbye to our home, our town, this state we love (North Carolina), and our closest friends.

I have found myself saying on more than one occasion, either to myself or to others, “Wow, the last few days have been a whirlwind for us…” Things have not panned out the way we hoped or imagined, but that’s life. Whirlwinds and storms often come out of nowhere, sometimes with or without warning. You may or may not have time to prepare, to get all your stuff in order, to protect yourself from potential damage.

As He usually does, God spoke a word to me today. I was reading in the book of Nahum, as God is detailing the vision of Naham, which is all about God’s wrath against Ninevah. But in this context, which has nothing at all to do with me or my life or current situation, God whispered a gentle reminder into my spirit’s ear:

The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. (Nah 1.3)

Is any commentary necessary on this one? God is reminding me that he has his way in the whirlwind, and in the storm. Things may be up in the air, feeling out of control and chaotic — and who knows where I’ll land (literally)? But it’s not total chaos. It’s not out of control. The destination is not unknown and random.

If you’re facing the unknown today, realize that it’s only unknown to you. God knows. God has plans. God’s got this! (Thanks to our friend Samantha who randomly said this on facebook one day, not knowing how God would use this simple phrase in a big way for us over the last week!)

God will have his way in the midst of all our junk. So let’s make sure that while we’re in the whirlwind, and while we’re in the storm, that we allow Him to have His way in us. God will take care of the rest.

Be careful to love the Lord your God

As the calendar strikes the final month of 2011, I find myself wrestling through a difficult season of life. I have a million questions, and close to zero answers (give or take). Life is foggy, the road ahead unclear, and I’m drowsy at the wheel. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. Solomon said, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecc 3.1-8). This “time” will give way to another “time” at some point, the Bible says, and I’m sure of it. The hardship is in the waiting, the wondering, the questioning in my soul.

This morning God directed my attention to some of the final words of Joshua, the courageous leader of God’s people. In his old age, he calls the nation of Israel and all her leaders, before him. His life’s work is done, and like a father beckoning his eldest son to his side to issue his last words of exhortation, Joshua addresses the people he was leading into the Promised Land. (Read Joshua 23)

He reminds them of all God has done so far in driving out the nations. He encourages them to faithfully follow the Book of the Law. He warns them to not serve other gods.

But the following admonition from Joshua jumps off the page, out of Joshua’s mouth and straight into my twenty-first century ears.

But you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. (Josh 23.8-11)

Hold fast is translated as “cleave” in Genesis 2.24 in the King James Version, when it says a man shall “leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.” The idea is to cling to, follow close after, be joined together, pursue hard.

As tightly as I hold to my wife, and depend on her, I hear God calling me to have an even stronger grip on Him. He is the LORD my God who fights for me, who drives out and delivers. I’ve come this far only by the grace of God, and I’ll only move from this season to the next by the grace of God.

Joshua’s words are pleading with me: Be careful to love the LORD your God! Don’t let your attention be stolen by external circumstances or people, but pay attention to yourself, the inner man. Let God fight for you; (you) simply fight to keep your heart captivated by who He is.

As the questions pile up in my life, I must allow them to drive me back to the one most important question: Am I being careful to love the LORD my God? He’s got the fight covered – I’m simply called to cleave to Him and love Him fully.

Father God, thanks for being a strong tower I can run to, a comforter I can cleave to. Thanks for being a warrior who fights for me, who drives out and delivers. I trust You. The battle belongs to You. My heart belongs to You. Help me to be careful to love you, in spite of what’s going on around me. I love You and trust You, Jesus. Amen.