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Just to give everyone an update on my progress…

Saw the onocologist today in Florence. One of the bloodworks from a couple weeks ago came back a little higher than it should be, but everything else indicated I have/had stage 1 testicular cancer. He said he’d be surprised if I would need chemo, but it all would depend on a few things: 1. The bloodwork from today comes back better than the previous sample and 2. The results from my upcoming MRI, bone scan, and CT scan, all are negative (in a good way).

So yeah, I have a fun day ahead of me next Wednesday: An MRI of my brain, a bone scan to check what else… my bones, and a CT scan for my chest (the last one I had was for my abdomen and pelvic areas). These tests are all to make sure it hasn’t spread to other places in my body, given the aggressive nature of the cancer that was in the tumor.

Needless to say, I share all of this for a reason: so that others can keep me in their prayers! I trust God for a complete healing, but it’s also good to see when His people are responding to a need… even when it’s dear-old-me.

Oftentimes the pastor has to be the “strong one” and give off the appearence of a “cool hand”. In my case, I’ve played that role well (because I have sincerely put God first and have the assurance God will lift this from me) but at the same time, it can be hard for me to express the sufficient gratitude for others’ support, as well as being open enough to share this with people “outside my circle”.

Like most folks, I don’t want to seem like a cancer victim (I’m not!) that will sport a yellow Livestrong bracelet. Instead I know I’m a victor because of the peace, healing, and strength that Almighty God grants this bag of flesh they call Chris Honeycutt.

I used Romans 8 in my sermon this past Sunday. I love this chapter because it so multi-layered, yet precise in describing the nature of the suffering of His children and the hope we should have in Him.

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

I believe good will come from this ordeal, because no matter what, God will get the glory! Maybe my life experience will inspire others that have pain in their lives and don’t know the answer (or His name) that will help them through it.

Again, I covet your prayers and I thank each and everyone of you that have indeed prayed, read this blog, called by phone, or have sent messages via email, ePrayer Wall, Twitter, or Facebook. It means more to me than you may know.

Blessings!

PC

Just a quick update:

CT scan results came back today showing to be negative for any diseases in my abdomen and pelvic regions!

This is an awesome miracle of God and much praise and thanks goes to my Jehovah Rapha (God our healer)!

More thanks goes to all of my friends and family, and to my brothers and sisters in the faith who have prayed for me this past week!

Isn’t God awesome?!

Just a quick update to any blog readers out there that may not keep up with me on Facebook:

Found out last week that I may have testicular cancer. Went into surgery this past Thursday and they got the infected one out. The procedure itself went fine. I’ve been recovering the past 4 days with much thanks to my lovely wife Heather and my parents.

I was told yesterday at my follow-up that it was indeed cancer (4 types of it in the same growth, which is very rare/unusual), but it was contained, caught early, and wasn’t near any blood vessels or cords.

Praise God!

Just one CT scan to go (tomorrow afternoon) to check my lymph nodes. I should have an update from the doctor this Thursday with the results.

Continue to keep me in your prayers! The outpouring of encouragement and support has been wonderful!

And I will say this: God has strengthened me, given me a sense of calm and peace throughout this whole process.

Before the surgery, I was more scared of the I.V. needle than the cancer itself! (I HATE needles!)

What’s there to be afraid of, when I have Almighty God in my life?

I hope others are blessed by my circumstances and I can’t wait to get back on my feet, on stage at church “behind the pulpit” this Sunday to deliver God’s Word!

Walt Disney World – “The Happiest Place on Earth”

My wife and I decided to take a few days to ourselves down at Disney World during the week of Christmas. We rarely have gotten away with “just the two of us” the past few months, so we felt the need to take a trip when we could.

We’re excited about it, as we loved the time spent there last December. It was during that vacation where I actually got the vision for the The Living Church! Sometimes “getting away” is spiritually beneficial too!

Yet, after we booked the trip for this month, I was hesitant about “tweeting” about it (posting on the social networking websites Twitter and Facebook, for the uninformed) because of the reactions people have to it. Isn’t that sad? More than once recently I have felt apprehensive with writing about the other cool things I’m up to as well.

Unfortunately, it has been my experience when I update my Facebook status from a golf course, or from a restaurant with my wife, that others seem to have a “must be nice” attitude. Such things are in reality, rare treats (my golf habit just isn’t worth feeding more than once every two weeks) but to observers/acquaintances/friends, they only seem to pay attention to these “good times” rather than my usual day-to-day stuff (which isn’t nearly as fun to post about).

The bottom line here is this is an old fashioned, Biblical definition of envy. “Jealousy” is another word for it. The slang translation might be called “hatin’ “, but I could be wrong.

Now I consider myself to be a pretty modest guy, all-in-all. I don’t have a complete wardrobe full of the nicest clothes. I drive a beat-up Honda Civic with 140,000 miles on it. I have simple pleasures (coffee, food and football). I get $10 haircuts every few weeks (and it’s only $10 because I like to tip a little extra at the local barbershop). On top of all of that, being a church planter doesn’t pay a whole lot!

So yeah, when I’m doing something I enjoy… I like to share it for all the internet world to see and rejoice with me! I take pride in knowing I can live my life without regrets, fear, or condemnation, because I am truly blessed! I know that I serve a great God above who knows me personally and loves me more than I’ll ever be able to comprehend!

But despite this, I’ve been disappointed time-after-time by comments made by others (who are mostly supposed happy-and-healthy Christians). Comments that may seem to be in jest, but at the heart of it carries the feeling of something worse.

One time when I got to golf for the first time in months and posted about it, I had a Facebook “friend” make the remarks “Do you ever work?!” (which is what us ministers hear more often than we deserve) and “Must be nice to just take an afternoon off anytime you want!” Of course, he isn’t a close friend and wouldn’t have a clue about my schedule if you asked him.

Some have commented on how I “sure like to eat out a lot”, when in reality it’s a few times a week at most, and that’s due in part to: 1. Being on the road a good bit and 2. My wife’s work schedule. And trust me, we’re not eating out at 4-star steakhouses!

Aside from my shallow attempt at justification, what I’m trying to get at is this: People see the good in other’s lives and because their lives are so boring, tied-up with stress, and without joy, they have to make you feel like some spoiled jerk. What they might not know, is that I’m not “bragging” about these things in and of themselves, so much as I am expressing how awesome God has richly blessed my life, not to mention how much I enjoy living it!

Now, I don’t intend on taking this any deeper because it can become a novel on our flawed human nature. This attitude we often carry about us certainly is not of God, but of the enemy! Take notice that what is listed at #10 in the Ten Commandments:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17)

It wasn’t just about marital infidelity (which is also covered in the seventh commandment), but the wanting of other’s possessions and blessings for yourself. Let’s compare that to the fruits of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Big difference in both meaning and practice between the two! Just as big is the gap separating these opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum where the two feelings come from.

Simply put: When we let the Holy Spirit direct our lives, we aren’t jealous of others, but rejoicing with them in their “good times”! But when we let our flesh (our “bad side”) direct us, we are annoyed, put off, even angry at their “happy lives”!

This is such an important lesson to remember especially during this Christmas season! The Christmas Story and it’s main character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, gives us the perfect example of someone being disturbed at the sight of other’s “Christmas spirit”. It was only when he was shown the mistakes he made by being selfish and glum for all those many years did he turn his life around, essentially becoming a new person entirely!

- Be thankful for what you have, but also for what your Christian brothers and sisters receive… for it is the same God that blesses them that blesses you!

- Enjoy your life! Make no apologies for being happy! And be sure to point up to God to show the “haters” where your joy comes from!

- Are you glad for others when good stuff happens to them? Or are you upset about it? Check your heart constantly!

Oh and by the way, I can’t wait for my trip to Disney World in less than two weeks with my lovely wife Heather! We’re going to have a fun time! Going to eat out at some nice places too! Don’t think I’ll be able to get some golf in though. (Can’t have everything, I guess!)

Have a problem with any of that? Deal with it…

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. For many of us this means we get to travel, spend time with family and friends, eat plenty of food (always a little too much!), watch some lousy football (never a good game on Thanksgiving though), and but best of all… most of us get the day off from work!

But the purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday has never meant to include any of that stuff. The meaning is pretty obvious as it’s embedded in the actual word: the giving of thanks (to God).

If you grew up in America and passed 2nd grade, I’m sure you know the whole story behind the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving feast. I could easily bore you with troubling tales of how they barely survived disease and starvation. Despite all of that, they still established a yearly occasion to thank God for what He had done for them. Comparing ourselves to what they went through, we have a lot more to be thankful for!

Sometimes when we have it so good, we get upset at the little things that bother us. These little things turn into big things because they take us from what should be an attitude of thankfulness, to an attitude of loathing and worry.

In Philippians 4:4-9, Paul writes:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

You see, what is on our mind, often controls our heart. God knows this about us! It’s just how we as human beings operate. Which is why Paul writes to dwell on the “good things” and not the bad. Such words echo far into today’s perspective with everything that’s going on (or perhaps, “going wrong”).

Many people are out of work, struggling financially, in poor health, have lost loved ones, having relationship problems, you name it. Of course many of these are connected as work & finances can cause stress, leading to worsened health (mentally and physically), and strife between spouses/family members/friends. It can turn us ugly,selfish, and cold… which is what the enemy wants us to be like!

So, when we dwell (which means in loose terms, “it’s on our minds”, or to “think good and hard”) on something, it can weigh on us… or it can lift us up. If we were to reflect upon everything that God has done for us, rather than what hasn’t worked out, then thanksgiving comes much more naturally!

Therefore, if you think about the things of God and “good”, your attitude changes and you suddenly have a different perspective and approach towards everyday life. Your heart is more open to offering the proper thanks towards Almighty God who has blessed you in more ways than you’ll ever know in this life!

So take the time to thank God and make it a daily habit! Let praise be on your lips… not fear or doubt! Be sure to thank Him in all of your prayers! Make “thanksgiving” more than just a single day of the year! Let it be an attitude you carry with you so that others can see it!

This past month, it seems that I’ve gotten more “prayer requests” than ever before. Health, finances, stress, family issues, you name it!

But while I have been keeping up with them all, compiling quite a long list mind you, I recalled something me and Greg Dampier ran last year, the ePrayer Wall.

It was a message board for our friends and family at the time to share prayer requests, praise reports, testimonies, devotionals, etc. It’s such a great blessing to know that we could help others simply by keeping them in our prayers! It’s also such a blessing when the requests are fulfilled in some way and we get to rejoice with the person! The Christian world needs to be doing more of this!

Seeing the need for it today with our church, we have decided to bring back the forum as a simple way for our members (and believers everywhere) to share their requests in an open, friendly setting so others can know what they’re going through and what to pray for!

We read in James chapter 5 the power & importance of earnest prayer and for the act of praying for one another!

13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

So don’t be bashful! Present your requests, praise reports, and your thoughts without fear of condemnation or embarrassment! Register at eprayerwall.heavenforum.com

However, if you ever feel the need to make a private request, you can email me at: chris@thelivingchurch.tv

Be blessed!

There was a reason why beaches along the east coast were empty of development for so long. Just 40 years ago, my dad lived around the outer banks of North Carolina. He told me that no one wanted the beachfront property and could’ve gone in with ten thousand dollars at the time, acquiring a few lots. Such land now is highly desired and fetches millions of dollars.

Part of the reason why it was so cheap at the time and no one had built on them, is that there was no way to predict a hurricane coming. When it did it came with very little warning and it could wipe everything out with ease.

Life’s disasters are a lot like that… they often come at you without notice and can potentially be devastating! Other times you may see the storm coming, but you feel there’s little you can do. In reality, we make the choice on how we deal with disasters.

Back when Hurricane Hugo hit, we had some family friends of ours that had a stilt house in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina right on the water. The week before the storm came through, they had just outfitted the place with brand new furniture.

Later, the storm swept the area and lifted the house off the ground, throwing it down the street in pieces. Nothing was salvageable!

Now they could have thrown their arms in the air and said “why bother”, taken the insurance money and build somewhere “safer” (much like we do as believers), knowing full well the dangers of living on the coast. Instead, they built the house back even better than it was before on the same lot.

You see, fear of more danger, hardships, and troubles often prevents us from being rebuilt! Adversity is a time for us to become stronger and better in God’s eyes!

No, God is not our “insurance” that comes through, bails us out when we’ve lost it all. Even better, He’s the contractor in waiting, that’s already been paid to rebuild! It’s just a matter of if we’ll let Him do the job He knows how to do, or are we going to pack up, head elsewhere, and try to do it ourselves? (which is shoddy work!)

We know that through this life, storms will come at us… especially as Christian believers. That’s like having beachfront property! Beachfront property is nice, beautiful, and is something to brag about. Yet, it also comes with it’s dangers. Most typically this involves facing the storms that can potentially wreck everything! More important than any of this, is that it’s where God wants us to be!

When you become a believer in Jesus Christ, some may hold the idea that their troubles are now gone and life is going to be all “peachy-keen”. Truth is, as a Christian you are not escaping trouble… you often have to face it!

Why? The enemy does not want us “happy and healthy and prospering” and he’ll throw all the storms he’s got at us to discourage us. Discouragement then leads to doubt and the dilution of our faith in God.

If we were to simply chicken out and run from danger, it’s just like running away from God! The troubles that come at us are opportunities to grow, not to mention be used by the Lord to bless others and ourselves!

The problem is, our carnal eyes simply don’t always view it this way. Instead we only see what’s in front of us and that might look a lot like impending doom with no end to it (which is what the enemy wants us to think!).

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34,

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

When we possess fear for what might happen, we are unknowingly putting a hold on the rebuilding process God can start at anytime. During tough times such as these, know that no matter what happens in your life, it won’t demolish you for good unless you let it!

You can be renewed and built stronger than before… and God can still get the glory, honor, and praise for it!

Amen!

http://www.significantchurch.com

Heather and I just returned from Kentucky where we attended a conference hosted by Victory Christian Fellowship located in the gigantic metropolis of Somerset.

Actually, Somerset is just a city of 12,000 or so, much like Hartsville, SC. In fact, most of the churches represented at this conference were from smaller cities/rural counties, yet had thriving churches in both spirit and in number! Very encouraging to see!

That’s what Significant Church is about… being a close-knit network of life-giving, non-denominational churches in “micropolitan” areas (again, smaller cities/counties) that want to approach ministry a little differently. An observer would see that “this ain’t your grandmother’s church” and is in fact challenging the religious establishment in a productive way. The fruits of this are church members that now have a “home” and a purpose to live out the Gospel in every facet of their lives.

We had the pleasure of listening to Pastors Jim Graff and David Swann who both “head up” Significant Church Network. They were approachable (which is a rare trait for leaders of that sort) and down-to-earth, yet had a deep passion for the lost and seeing their lives turned around towards God! We were also fortunate to hear from other pastors in the Kentucky area that were doing AWESOME things and changing their communities for the better (for Christ!).

Needless to say, this is a great fit for The Living Church and I’m looking forward to seeing this relationship grow even bigger! One of the things we set out to do in planting TLC was to establish good working partnerships with other churches and hope to find a group such as this to fellowship with. Such a blessing to know this organization exists for a church like ours!

Much thanks goes out to Pastor Jerry and Melanie Stone from Life Church Charlotte who told us about Significant Church. They have been great friends to TLC and have blessed us in more ways than one. They feel so strongly about Significant Church that they will be leaving their current ministry to work with them as church planting consultants. Praise God!

Exciting days are ahead with TLC and Hartsville! We’re thankful to the Lord for guiding us along the journey!

In such turbulent times as these, the promotion of “peace” gets bandied about quite a bit. “Financial peace”, “world peace”, “inner peace”, “peace in the middle east”, so-on-and-so-forth. But do we ever really ask ourselves is any of it obtainable? If it is, does it last?

Today I’ll share about the peace I’ve found to be the only real kind out there…

Romans 5:1-8 says:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I chose this particular passage because it demonstrates that peace is not the absence of trouble, but rather the character and strength to deal with it! It is our faith in Jesus Christ that grants us such peace!

This is far different than the kind of peace the world offers! The peace the world knows is temporary… whether it’s peace treaties that never hold up over time, or the “clarity” that eastern religions offer but cannot be sustained.

Jesus said in John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

You would be surprised at the amount of people that NEED TO HEAR this! They worry day-to-day about things that, when put into perspective, are trivial in God’s eyes!

Then there are those that try to make their own kind of peace by building up possessions or accomplishments, when in reality they’re just building up walls to block out their junk!

And of course we also have many who will drown out their sorrows with their cheap vices and petty hopes. This is just as temporary, and just as costly!

Wow… there’s a much better way to live!

Let’s look at God’s kind of peace:

Isaiah 26:3-4 tells us:

He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord! Trust in the Lord God always, for in the Lord Jehovah is your everlasting strength.

It is so much easier to live in humble submission to God and the peace He freely gives us! Why do we even bother fighting it? The thing to remember is that true peace is unobtainable through OUR MEANS!

I am thankful for a God who LOVES ME and wants me to live with peace and joy each and every day of my life. It won’t mean I’ll be without challenges, but instead I’ll know I have Him to empower me to face them head-on!

Remember that satan will ALWAYS be wanting to keep us down and feeling down. It is up to us to decide who to believe about ourselves… the enemy or God Almighty!

Tell someone you know that needs to hear this: that GOD LOVES THEM and that you want them to experience the peace that Jesus freely gives!

Be blessed!

Isn’t it awesome when God makes something from nothing? That’s what happened with this church in a mere 9 months (I’ll spare you the “childbirth” metaphor). It went from a vision that He gave me back in December, to an actual church with real people. Praise the Lord!

I don’t like to throw out attendance numbers all that often, but we did approach the triple digit mark on Sunday! What a wonderful feeling it is to know there are folks out there in this area that have been looking for something like this and have now found it!

Our worship team was awesome on Sunday… really, they were! Greg Dampier has done a heck-of-a job putting together talented individuals that want to serve God with their gifts. My message seemed to be well-received, and I think my illustration with those nice looking CJ’s Bakery cakes certainly didn’t hurt. The setup crew has their routine down, as does our children’s pastor Bethany Strand. Everything seemed to go smoothly, at least for a first official service!

Much thanks goes to Nathan Cline and his team from REVO Church, an upcoming church plant in Winston-Salem, NC, who came down and pitched in behind the scenes with anything they could get theirs hands on. Such a servant’s attitude is something I full appreciate! We also had a team from Life Church Charlotte help out! Everyone was happy to help and that’s good to have for a church launch! Another thanks goes out to David Maisel and the crew at Bojangles of Hartsville for providing the food for the lunch after service! Their chicken, biscuits, and dirty rice was delicious as always.

However, despite how well things went, we know there’s so much more ahead! As the closing song that our worship team did on Sunday says, “Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city…” God is up to something and we’re excited to be a part of it! Use us, Lord!