August Gate in the Media

Hey Guys!

Its been a long time since I've posted on here and I wanted to apologize! However, my New Years resolution will be to keep up with you all more...

In the meantime, I would like to post an article about what is happening at August Gate that I was interviewed for last night. Enjoy the read and feel free to leave feedback for me and let me know what you think!

Read Here: August Gate

Chasing Rebels

I have been really frustrated with some of my options lately. I can't turn on the radio and hear three songs that sound much different from one another. I can't turn on the TV without seeing some ridiculous spinoff reality show that makes my stomach turn. Like America's Got Talent, are you kidding me with this show... does anyone really think these people are that talented? I'm honestly more impressed with the Stupid Pet Tricks on David Letterman.

Netflix and some good books have been my oasis in the desert of summer television. Friday Night Lights and the Dillon Panthers along with some C.S. Lewis have kept me going since the departure of my beloved Oceanic 815 passengers left me (if you don't get the reference just Wiki it).

So, if you find yourself flippin' the channels tonight looking for something worth while, or just have enough time to watch some of the lame stuff on television tonight, watch this: Chasing Rebels. Its a beautiful story of a great guy that I work with. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Jesus | Culture | Evangelism

These are some notes I took earlier today at a brief lunch lecture by Jerram Barrs. I hope they make sense and you enjoy.

Jerram Barrs, Professor @ Covenant Seminary 9/16/2010 -- Brown Bag Lunch

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

(John 17:18 ESV)

Jesus prays that we will be in the world as he was in the world
- this is the mission of every Christian
- Jesus Prays
- that we will be protected from the evil one
- that won’t be in the world as others are , but as Jesus was

Jesus was in the world as a friend to sinners/tax collectors
- this brings the most scorn or criticism on his head
- but this is his call to you and me
- eating together shows personal intimacy, these are my friends (like the Lords’s

Supper)

- Jesus delights in the company of sinner
- for evangelism to be effective in any church, members must take Jesus

prayer personally, he calls us to be friends with unbelievers/sinners.

*On of Jerrams Most controversial teachings
- Jesus tells us to teach our kids to be friends of sinners
- People respond to this by saying no, we are to keep our kids safe and protected
- While there are many things we are to protect our kids from, Jesus calls us to teach our

children to reach out to those around them to the lonely, broken, and hurting with the

Gospel

- this sounds like a scary thing, but it isn’t, Jesus prays that we will be protected from the evil one, and Jesus’ prays get answered

- These children will begin to love your home, because of the love there

There is no biblical holiness, no christian purity, no genuinely faithful xtian life that does not have at its heart mercy
- our calling is to be in the world being merciful
- not taking ourselves out of the world for protection
While in the world our calling is to treat the people with love, mercy, kindness and compassion
- the people Jesus challenges about their lives and calls out sin are those in the church
- * the more broken someones life by sin, idolatry, unbelief, the more dignity and honor

Jesus brings to them

As you build relationships with people, giving yourself to people, our calling is that as we go and build relationships with unbelievers, our point of contact with them will be what is beautiful in their lives, not what is broken in their lives. Jesus comes to people beginning with their strengths, beauties in their lives, not through attacking their sin.

Phillipians: Taking Pauls words, “Whatever is admirable, pure.... think of these things” As we engage unbelievers, this should be our challenge, to point out these things, not their brokenness. These are areas where the Holy Spirit is already working in these areas are a testimony to his work in their lives.

God is patient, he isn’t slow as we think of slowness, he isn’t in a hurry to save people, he is in a hurry to change you. Investing our time in others is to be looked at as a way to serve Jesus and see him change us and pray that he would save others.


Q/A

What are some things to get to a spiritual conversation?
- Pray... Only the Lord can lead it to that place, and only the Lord can give us those

opportunities

- People are constantly watching us (if we have publicly made it know we are a Xtian) to

see if we are who we say we are, “Is this person real?”

- For some people you just have to wait (build relationship, hold on, be patient), for some

people you need to push (some situations are urgent)

- Jesus is far more excited to save people than we are, trust in the Lord and allow him to

work

“Lead with affirmation, grace, love” How do you use specific sin to lead to spiritual conversation?
- if you are loving people, being meriful to those around you, you will be the one they

come to when there is need (ie, crisis, marriage, death, birth, disaster) but you can’t

necessarily force yourself in

How does post modernism effect our evangelism?
- We are in a setting where the most fundamental characteristics of PM Americans

believe that they are answerable only to themselves, we have no sense of accountability

to God only to ourselves

- Not only among unbelievers, but also Christians
- This is the fundamental issue of challenge if people are going to come to the Lord, who

do we serve

- In the apostles and acts, we see the disciples and Jesus challenging the idols in

peoples lives, not the superficial sins, but rather who they are serving

How do you speak to evangelism formulas (tracts, campus crusade, four spiritual laws)
- The lord has and can use these things
- Modernism is what has affected these approaches, that everything has a formula
this is not a biblical answer to evangelism, but rather a modernist one that there is a

technique

- There is no technique, the NT doesn’t have one either.
- These formulas became ineffective in Europe 50 years ago because they became

postmodern much earlier than the US.

- From the NT we need to see how to communicate to people around us who have no

idea of the Bible, which means getting to know people well and how to speak into their

lives

How do we persevere in evangelism with a person who has insulted our faith and our lifestlyle?
- we are called to love them and serve them in any way we can
- Jesus tells us we will be insulted and scorned because he was, what do you expect
- but we as sinners still insult and scorn Jesus, but he continues to pursue us with love,

mercy and grace and he calls us to do the same as He

How can we be sure that relationships with nonbelievers are genuine?
- If they see we aren’t genuine, they won’t be our friends anyway, they will cut us off.
- We are called to GENUINELY love people, this is why time is so significant
- Our commitment to love people must be genuine and in ways that are costly

How do we address those with other beliefs (religious or unreligious)?
- Don’t avoid them. Be happy that Jesus has brought all of these people around us.
- Engage them, go where they go, but don’t believe the things they believe, love them and

pray for them.... don’t be frightened by what they believe, don’t attack them,

- I will disagree with you, but I won’t attack you, I will die for you and your ability to

disagree with me. (paraphrase - Francis Schaeffer)

Should we disciple those whom we evangelize?
- YESSSSS! It is your responsibility.
- Paul didn’t convert people and then leave, he stayed places for a time and then would

go back and write to them... He felt responsible to these people till he died

- if you lead someone to faith you have a responsibility to follow up with them and those

they love

How do we share the Gospel with those who have seen us sin?
- Stop acting perfect! Stop acting like you don’t sin!
- People shouldn’t see us as sinless...
- The Lord requires you to be vulnerable with those who aren’t believers, if you do this

they will be vulnerable with you

- You don’t have to put all your business out there, but stop acting like you have it all

together.

- If someone has seen you sin, it is an opportunity for them to see you ask for forginess and be forgiven (the Gospel)

- Look to scripture that talks about peoples sin (ie, Peter rebuking Jesus, David committing adultery) this should be encouraging to us, because these are the kind of people we are.

August Gate in the Press!

I wanted to give you all an opportunity to see a cool article that just came out in our neighborhood newspaper.

Its amazing how with a some love and a hard work how we are being embraced by our community. And I love the last sentence in the article.... "A visit to their website and it is clear that their mission statement (It is the mission of August Gate Church to be a church community that loves God because of the Gospel, loves people toward the Gospel and restores the city with the Gospel.) is being fulfilled. Awesome!

I just want to say a special thank you to Jeff Kimes and Cana Baptist Church for all their help, Christine Killgore for the photos, and Richard Eaton for his encouraging article!

Love you guys

Todd

Soulard September Saturdays!

The first 3 Saturdays in September, we have the opportunity to serve along

side others in the Soulard Neighborhood. Let me know if you would like to meet up and get sweaty, lovin' our neighborhood!!!

Sat Sep 4,11,& 18 - 10 a.m.– Beautification Work Session – Join neighbors for weeding, mulching and preparing gardens at Pontiac Park, Market Park, and the SRG building at 12^th & Gravois. Meet at the bandstand in Market Park at 10 a.m. Bring gloves, tools, water and anything else you think might help OR if you don’t have those things, just show up!! Show up for a half hour or for a few hours – whatever time you have! This effort is to prepare the gardens for a tour of AIB (America in Bloom) symposium attendees.

Much Love

Todd

I'm listening to the new Jars of Clay album today, due out in October! You can listen to it streaming right now HERE.

Its a cool concept for an album, and especially intriguing to me as we dive further into community here at August Gate. Here is what the band has to say about their pending release.

Our upcoming album, The Shelter (Oct. 5), was deeply inspired by an old Irish proverb that says, “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” Both physical and spiritual community are ideas that are a part of every song on this project. We would love to hear your stories of community: What does it mean to you? What is your community story? How are you living in community?

I would love to hear your responses to the questions they ask.... tell me about how you are engaged in community!

much love

Todd

We've Only Just Begun

I just wanted everyone to know how great it is to be a part of a community (group of people) that you really love!

The past three months, we have had people come over to our house on Monday nights to study the person and work of Jesus. It has been incredible. A group that started out with 5 people, turned into a group of around 18 people during that time!

God did some amazing things in the lives of the people in our group, and in the life of August Gate during the course of our Summer session... Can't wait to see where it goes from here!

I would love to tell you more about what has been happening in our church, but I would rather spread the love, so here you go!

Check out our house this past Monday night: HERE

Stories from a some peeps @ August Gate: HERE and HERE

Its all happening...

Todd

Sweatin' It Out...

So, blogging isn't exactly a spiritual gift of mine. You may have noticed, since most of the posts here are from my wife! But, it is incredibly hot outside, my eyes are tired of reading, and I can't bring myself to watch daytime television....So, here it goes.

I have been living practically for way too long. The past few months I have allowed my mind to disassociate from dwelling on, wrestling with, or contemplating much more than what I need to be doing in the coming half hour. If my thought didn't apply practically to what I was supposed to be doing, then I just let it slip away. This left me with tons of stories about walking my dog, places I had eaten, movies I'd seen or pop songs that sound incredibly similar (California Girls, Just Dance, Your Love is my Drug). However, it left my mouth completely vacant of anything much deeper than that.

Truth is, I had been living off of recent experiences with Jesus and not having any current conversations with him. Any spiritual conversation would have to point to what Jesus had done in my life and not what he was currently doing. Not because he wasn't currently doing anything, but like I said... I was far too busy deciphering which k$sha songs to put on my next playlist to acknowledge the amazing things that He was doing all around me!

This had a few implications...

1. I began to feel like a bad Christian.

I am a pastor for crying out loud! I'm supposed to have this stuff down right. I should know the big words, always carry my Bible, and never admit my faults... Uhhhh, oops!

2. I began to feel like a bad husband.

Being recently married, it is difficult learning how to be a husband. Luckily I have had many great examples in my life. Most of the men in my family and my close friends are have displayed what it looks like to be a Christian husband. But because I was relying on my own practical experience and not Jesus to show me how to love my wife, I began to feel the tension.

3. I began to feel like a bad pastor.

When you are supposed to lead others Spiritually but are feeling spiritually disconnected yourself, it leaves you feeling like a hypocrite. Thankfully, God has brought two solid dudes beside me (Noah and Josh) to encourage me and correct me.

The Good News

The Gospel provides a way back to being connected with God. Because Jesus came and died, I don't have to sit and marinate in hypocrisy! I can confess it to him and he is faithful to forgive me of it!

I have been having breakfast with my friend Ryan every week for the past month or so, studying what a Gospel centered life looks like. Jesus has used those breakfasts, the conversation not the food, to remind me how good it is to trust in His finished work on the Cross.

The foods not bad either... Thanks for paying this morning, Ryan!

I say this, not to focus on where my head has been, but rather to focus on God's patience with this fool that he would call his son.

Greatful for the Gospel,

Todd

What's Up W/ Us

Short personal update, for those who are new to the blog :)

Todd and I have now been married for as long as we knew each other before we got married-- 9 months! It's been awesome. My transition to St. Louis has been remarkably smooth and I think we've had an atypical first year of marriage as far as drama and adjustment are concerned. We've cried a little and laughed a LOT are so grateful for the grace God has shown to us, and given us for each other.

Also, Todd has been blessed with a wonderful new job that’s allowed him to leave Starbucks for good! He is now the Volunteer Coordinator for Mission: St. Louis; a non-profit organization that works to improve education and economic development in at-risk neighborhoods and empower community leaders and small business owners in they city. Mission: St. Louis is hoping to eventually partner with August Gate to reach a local government-housing community near Soulard-- and Todd’s boss has basically made him the point man for that venture. Todd splits his time between organizing M:STL’s current volunteer projects, and networking through August Gate to eventually reach out to the Peabody neighborhood. Even though there’s a LOT of new things to learn, Todd is enjoying his new job and becoming more friendly than he’s ever wanted to be with Microsoft Excel. :)

Working for Photogenic Inc. at the Arch, I’ve moved up into a supervisor position, which means more money and more consistent daytime hours. (Usually 7:30-2:30) I’ve also quit working as a server at Schlafly in favor of taking on short term summer promotional gigs (i.e. handing out Dentyne gum at Cardinals games, giving away Jell-o snack packs at the zoo). They pay very well hourly and it’s fun because sometimes Todd and I are able to work them together.

Our puppy, Gotham, is now eight months old, 55 pounds and a total knucklehead. But he’s a house-trained, kennel-trained, knucklehead who rarely barks and is very obedient about 87% of the time. He loves people and loves to play-- but for some reason, is scared of large plastic bags. He doesn't have a whole lot of sense, but he just recently learned how to snag a Frisbee out of the air. We’re very proud of him. :)

Also, perhaps the biggest change in our lives is the fact that we’re entering our 5th week of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. This class has turned our financial outlook upside down in the best way. For the first time since we got married, we are telling our money what to do instead of wondering where it went. Remember last newsletter when I mentioned that we’d bought a “new” Honda Element? Well, three weeks ago, we sold it. Todd and I both work just a few minutes from the house and from each other, and now that he sets his own office hours, it’s very easy for him to take me to work (I must say, I’m REALLY enjoying not having to hunt down and then pay for a parking spot) and pick me up. We’re saving $400/month by becoming a one-car family! And we are benefitting SO much from the class. July is our first month to follow a Zero-Based Budget (which basically means you give/save/spend all your money on paper at the beginning of the month before it comes in, and you don’t budge on anything). It’s a challenge, but one that will be well worth it when (Lord-willing!) we are debt free!

Community Groups

Every Monday night, after we meet up for dinner at a local pub called 1860's, we have a group of friends over for community group at our place. It's become an amazing time of fellowship, hilarious games and digging into the truth of the Gospel.

Our group tonight was perhaps the biggest one yet! We had 15 people over, including Todd and myself. I love how our group is growing and changing-- we started out as mostly married couples, a few singles and one family. Now we've got 2 single guys, 3 single girls, 1 engaged girl with a fiance serving in Iraq, 1 married girl who's husband is out of town in school till the end of the summer, 2 newlywed couples, and 2 couples who've been married for 5 years, one of which is prego with their first baby! We have ALL stages of life and experience and it's so cool to interact with everyone and hear so many completely different perspectives.

There are two other community groups in addition to the one that Todd and I lead; they meet on Tuesday and Wednesday night in different areas of the city. As a church, we've been going through a book/video study called Vintage Jesus, taught by Mark Driscoll, an Acts 29 pastor in Seattle. Since we have a lot of relatively new believers and people from all different church backgrounds and upbringings, we decided to take the summer to focus on the person and work of Jesus, so that regardless of how we grew up or what we've been through, we can all be reminded of the truth who Jesus is and how we should be walking with Him. It's been a great study that's invoked a lot of good, honest discussion-- and reminded us all of our daily need for Jesus and the gospel of grace.

I am SO grateful for our gospel community. And I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone in our group (especially the girls!) better as we continue to do life together.

Movie Night In Lafayette Square

We had a wonderful night last night, serving and hanging out at Lafayette Square park!

A couple of weeks ago Noah & Heather had breakfast with Jennifer Weston, who serves as the event planner for summer activities in one of our local parks, Lafayette Square. (The Lafayette neighborhood is less than a miles northwest of Soulard.) Hoping to partner with the park to serve the community and get the August Gate name out into the area, we asked what we as a church could do to help. Jennifer gave us a phenomenal opportunity.

Last night, was Movie Night at the park. The evening began @ 7pm with food vendors, arts & craft tables, outdoor game stations and a performance by the local MUNY kids chorus. About 20 of us from AG showed up as volunteers to run the various stations. We also had an August Gate tent set up at the entrance to the park, right between a local dentist and a local food pantry. We handed out AG info cards, free jell-o cups (thank you Jell-o "Give it a Giggle" tour!) and freeze pops to neighborhood kids and parents. We also collected several boxes of canned food to donate to The Bridge (our local food pantry). The free snacks were a huge success; we saw a LOT of kids and got to talk to a few local parents too, several of whom mentioned that they'd been church-hopping or searching for a church home. It'll be exciting to see if any new families show up in the next few weeks.

Right before the movie (Shrek) started at 8pm, the emcee for the evening gave Noah a mic and let him speak about August Gate for a few minutes. It was really cool, and Jennifer was really pleased to have our help with the evening. She told us she'd like to continue the partnership, even placing the August Gate name and logo on the promotional material for the events! It's an incredible opportunity because over the course of the summer, Lafayette Square sees thousands of people during outdoor concerts and free family movie nights. We are praising the Lord for this fun, practical new way to interact with so many in our community!