Why Two Are Better Than One

May 21, 2012

“Two are better than one…for if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls for he has no one to help him up” Ecclesiastes 4:10

There I was – about to go up on stage. It was our church’s high school graduation party and this year’s class was a big one. All the seniors were gathered together in the church gym, along with family and friends. The kids were all dressed up and the gym looked like a ballroom. It was a class event all the way.

And then it came time for my part. My part was simple: give a speech and then present a gift to each graduate. The plan was to call them up one by one, hand them the gift and then pause for a Kodak moment – a chance for everyone to take a picture of me handing a gift to the graduating senior.

Seems simple enough right? Any idiot can do that? I would imagine that I could handle something that simple on my own, without any help from anyone. Right?????

WRONG! That day I learned a valuable lesson in why we need each other and why two really are better than one.

STSA Launch Speech (Part 2)

May 1, 2012

Yesterday I posted a summary of the first half of my speech from this past weekend’s Inaugural service at St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church. I spoke about two out of the three fundamental building blocks of STSA: Extreme Love and Ancient Faith. The third and final building block is REAL COMMUNITY.

The most glaring discrepancy between the many churches that exist today and The Church written about in Scripture is this…COMMUNITY. They had real community. They did more than just drink coffee together after church or attend weekly meetings with one another. They had real fellowship with one another and they lived life together.

“Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.” Acts 2:44-47

Compare that to how we live today. Back in the early days of the Church, the believers “were together”, “had all things in common”, “sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all.” They didn’t just meet together; they lived together! They continued “daily with one accord” in both the temple and from house to house.

STSA is Up and Running!

April 30, 2012

WHAT A WEEKEND! This past weekend – during which we celebrated the opening of St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church – was all that I thought it would be and then more…WAY MORE!

Words can’t describe the emotions and the spirit of the day. It was really one of those “you had to be there” moments and everyone who was there – especially the awesome team of volunteers who worked so hard before and after the event – felt the same thing I did: an overwhelming sense of amazement! Afterwards, we couldn’t stop saying “WOW!” We all truly felt that God Himself descended upon Arlington/DC and from here on out, the city will never be the same. For the sake of the many out there who weren’t able to be there but want to know how the weekend went, I am going to summarize my speech from Saturday.

The entire day was recorded and eventually we’ll put pictures and video clips on our website, but until then, you can at least get a taste of what STSA is all about and why I say that the area will never be the same again.

Below is Part 1 (you’ll see Part 2 tomorrow).

Why I Can't Wait for April 28

April 25, 2012

As I announced last week, this Saturday, April 28, will be the launch date for St. Timothy & St. Athanasius (STSA) Coptic Orthodox church. Somehow – even though we’ve been planning for this launch date for several months now – it wasn’t until yesterday that it all hit me and I became overwhelmed with several feelings.

I felt a sense of THANKFULNESS– because God has chosen me for this mission and is allowing me to be His “fellow worker” in a new field of mission – a mission that I know is very dear to His heart. I also felt a sense of RESPONSIBILITY– because I know God is planning on doing huge things through this church and I know that my ability to discern/obey His voice is more important now than it’s ever been in the past.

But most of all – more than any other feeling – I felt an overwhelming sense of EXCITEMENT!

New Church Launch Date Set, April 28

April 16, 2012

Christ is risen! Happy Easter out there to the many Orthodox Christians who celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ this past weekend. Now that the Holy Pascha week has passed and Easter is here, I am back online and will resume my regular blog posts tomorrow morning.

But in the meantime, I wanted to let everyone know that we’ve set the launch date for St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church! The long wait is finally over and we are ready to launch. God willing, we will be celebrating our inaugural service on April 28, 2012. The first service will be on a Saturday to allow for the presence of many guests – including His Grace Bishop David and several other clergy members from around the country – and then we will continue with Sunday services every weekend thereafter.

A New Church is Born

February 15, 2012

“You’re starting a mission church? What’s that? Why are you starting a new church?”

If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that question over the past month, I’d be a rich man. For those of you who haven’t heard yet, we are starting a new church in the DC area called St. Timothy & St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox church.

The concept is similar to the “mission church” idea that has sprung up in some spots of Canada and America [see www.smsv.ca and www.stpaulchicago.org] – one where we can share Christ and our Coptic Orthodox faith without some of the cultural barriers that might hinder the spread of the gospel in America.

Not that I needed a reminder, but just in case I did, God gave me one this morning. He reminded me of why we are doing what we are doing. This morning I read Acts chapter 10 – the story of Cornelius. It is a wonderful story that I encourage everyone to read. But if you need a quick summary, here is what happens.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH | PERSONAL GROWTH | RELATIONSHIPS | ENCOURAGEMENT | STSA Church | GUEST POSTS

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