thoughts from a catalyst on the move

It has been one year since Inland Community Church has transitioned to Mosaic/Inland. Yesterday Pam and I met with the leadership core of Mosaic Inland as we assessed where we were and began to look to the future.

I was first of all grateful for those who stayed, and congratulated them not only for their perseverance, but their willingness to endure the uncomfortable inevitabilities of such a change. These are the forward thinkers willing to sacrifice for the many who we are reaching for  Christ. I  was also grateful for the new leaders God brought our way. The new face of our leadership is culturally more diverse. We see Asian and Middle Eastern now in our team. The age is also more diverse with younger leaders moving into key leadership roles.

Personally, I am a different man than I was a year ago. God has granted me a peace and confidence about the future. People are coming to Christ again and we are making disciples. Every Sunday I cannot wait to see what new thing God will do, and who He will bring our way! Their is a freshness of the Spirit of God I dreamed of 23 years ago when Pam and I first began the church.

In the coming days I will reflect on the principle that Pastor Erwin discusses in his last chapter of his book, “Unstoppable Force”. The chapter title, “A Radical Minimum Standard”. I hope you will join me for this journey….

This morning I had a chance to spend some time with Dad here in Houston.I am amazed as he has recounted the work of God in his life over the last 17 years. He is now 78 and continues to be used by God all over the world. He has literally been used by God to further the kingdom on just about every continent. He has been used in a significant way in South Africa and Asia.

I think the reason that God has used him in such a mighty way is because he has no desire for self to be exalted. He does not like to be referred to as the Father of the Cell Church movement. His life theme is, ” Not I but Christ who lives in me.”

He questions his life work in these next years. I believe he will be used in a great way to speak into the life of the church worldwide.  If you wish to conatat Dad, (Ralph Neighbour Jr.), you can email him at ralph@touchusa.org.

Today Pam and I celebrate 28 years of marriage! The longer I live the more grateful I am to Pam for all she has meant to me. She confirms the scripture Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and receives favor from the Lord.”

Being a pastor is not an easy thing and being a pastor’s wife is even harder. Pam has been a great source of wisdom and encouragement over the years. I could not have done it without her. We have also raised two  wonderful children and with her help we have been able to see both of them graduate from college. We are very proud of them and Pam has been a wonderful mother and role model for our children.

Many women in our community look up to Pam and it is truly a joy to serve Christ by her side.

They say games are lost and won in the second half. I am looking forward to a winning season in the second half with Pam.

Happy Anniversary Pam,

love,

me

This morning I heard a recent West Point Graduate tell his story. West point is one of the most prestigious learning institutions in the world. What ever your views are on war Paul made it clear that we in a war and admonishes Timothy to learn from the soldier (II Tim. 2:3-4).

Let me get to the key points (no pun intended).

1. Every “plebe” has a sophomore mentor and the whole system is a mentoring program. At the meal table you are assigned a table where there are Seniors,Juniors, Sophomores, and freshman. everone teaches everyone.

2. The classroom size is no more than 15-17, and all the professors are army officers. They are training the best for the best with the best!

3. All the classes have one purpose to train you for battle. So, if you are taking Spanish, you read the military histories of South American countries. If you are taking calculus, you answer problem questions related to battle questions. All of your training has one purpose, to make you the best leader in battle.

We are in the greatest battle in history, fighting for the souls of men and women. Our training should reflect our commission. I am so grateful to be a part of a movement with Mosaic that is committed to training the next generation of leaders!

Ruth, our daughter, is today (or is it tomorrow?) in Rwanda. they are 10 hours ahead. Her place is quite remote and we will not hear much from her during her three week stay. She is co leading an International Service Project Team from California Baptist University. We were deeply touched by her first and only email at this point. She writes:

“While we still work with street kids, we have also worked along side prostitutes, widows, aids victims, orphans, students at a school as well as things around the base. It’s been physically emotionally and draining trip, but in such a good way…. I had the greatest opportunity to clean the wounds of kids who live off the streets. Any where from cleaning sores to pulling fungus growth off the heads of little kids. It was so draining to watch them cry as we tended to their physical needs , but was so reassuring that God was calling me into nursing. I have been heartbroken for the kids over here….”

I thought of Jesus words, In as much as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. These are the places where we find God, caring for the wounds to the least of these.

Ruth is also discovering what we all must discover on our own, that the will of God is not discerned alone behind close doors with a Bible, but as we step into the streets to clean wounds, or clean the toilets at the Mayan Nightclub for our Sunday evening gathering with Mosaic, or go next door to pray with the family who is in fear because of a medical emergency. These are the places and markers where we take off our shoes like Moses and discover the Holy place of God where he speaks so clearly.

Join us as we pray for Ruth and the teams in Rwanda to finish the race well in the next 10 days. More reports to come!

I am dipping my big toe in the huge ocean of BLOG today!  This is my gift from my wife, Pam and our son, Nathan as I turn 54.

I never though I would turn 54. I’m not sure any of think we will turn 54 until we turn 54. This year my end of days seems much closer than previous birthdays. A friend of mine and mentor, Wayne Marley, told me at 30 “You are 20 minutes from 50″. At 50 he told me,”You are 20 minutes from 70″. So Lord, teach me to number my days that I may present to you a heart of wisdom! That, by the way is not original with me. The Psalmist said it in the Psalms (90:12).  So my hope is that this blog will reflect wisdom gained for a generation behind me.

Hey everyone,

welcome to my new blog. Check back in a few days and see what’s happening with me.