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GIC 2024 Followup
We have just completed our GIC week at LifeWay. This was our 13th year to take not only a week, but several weeks leading up to it. As I have said many times recently, this GIC that we began so many years ago has truly shaped the DNA of our church. I am proud of this of course as it was by design, but I feel that the job is in no way finished… it is now just stretched into…
History of LifeWay (Part 10)
Today is part 10 of my ongoing series of reflections of 40 years here at the Church. This has been fun for me personally and there is much more that I might write out for the sake of missions history, but I have decided to put some conclusions on this series today. Learning to work with Crisis: In the life of a church, if I have learned anything that is inevitable, it is that crisis and conflict is essentially unavoidable.…
History of LifeWay (Part 9)
This is my 9th ‘chapter’ or installment of the 40 years of history that we have been blessed with at this church. From 1984 when Patty and I moved here, until now. Thank you for reading along and indulging with me in this reflective journey. In the last couple of articles I have already spoken of our work in Bryansk, Russia a few times and how that international missions had already made such a huge impact in our personal lives…
History of LifeWay (Part 8)
I am continuing to write out some personal reflections and the missions’ history that my wife and I have experienced over these 4 decades of ministry. Today is part 8 of this story. After the merger of Palisades and Calvary and the significant partnership with Don Turner that I wrote about last week, there were in the days to follow some adjustments for sure. From 2003 at the merger until around 2008/2009 there were some wonderful victories, but we…
History of LifeWay (Part 7)
LifeWay Church honored Patty and I this summer for our 40 years of history here. It has inspired me to write out some meaningful moments and people over these four decades. Today I write part 7. Don Turner and the “Merger” that became LifeWay Church: It’s been more than two decades now, but for the most of the early 2000’s here in our church people would often ask about the merger of churches that occurred in the year 2003. Yes,…
History of LifeWay (Part 6)
Today is part 6 of my ongoing recollection of the last 40 years here. Again, I write this out for the sake of ‘missions history’ and I hope you find it interesting and maybe inspiring. The Russia Report: For those who are ‘old-timers’ here at this church (those of you who have been around for 20+ years) this expression “The Russia Report” usually brings up a laugh and reminder of something I gave as a report to the Church family…
Reflection on the 40 year Journey (Part 4)
I am continuing my reflections of 40 years of history that highlight specific people that have been part of this journey, but also special events and places. 40 years is a fairly long time and there has been a great deal of ‘water under the bridge.’ This series of articles is my way of recalling and recording missions history. Today is part 4 of my reflections and remembrances. The Living Nativity Tours: In the early 1990’s not too long…
History of LifeWay
In my continuation of the review of our 40 years here at Palisades/LifeWay, each week I have taken some time to thank God and remember some very special people and very special organization. This week this is part 3! I am thinking through the 1990’s and those very special years right after we had built the building where we now worship weekly. My wife and I had now been at this church for just about eight years and we were…
Reflection on the 40 year Journey
Two weeks ago this Church family recognized Patty and I for 40 years of ministry here. Thank you once again for this. This led me to do a great deal of historical thinking of this journey. So last week I decided to do a walk down memory lane by writing out the people who stand out to us over those 40 years. Essentially… our story here at this church and the significant people who stand out to us in this…
A Remembrance Walk among Heroes of the Faith
Part 1 of a few more to come. Last Sunday June 30th, the family at LifeWay honored Patty and me for our 40th anniversary of being here at LifeWay/Palisades. As many of you know we were The Church at Palisades for 19 years, then LifeWay for the last 21 years. We came together with Calvary Community Church in 2003 and re-formed and moved forward as LifeWay. That too is a wonderful story that needs to be told sometime. But either…
Elder Nomination
Annually, as prescribed in our church bylaws, LifeWay Church opens the opportunity to consider any new Elders that you as church members feel led to nominate. The window of opportunity to nominate new elders is now open. There will be a verbal announcement as well. This will be open for the next several weeks. We may or not receive any nominations as we are not bound to make sure we add any. However, God may be leading you to nominate…
From the Desk of Alvin
All of us are grateful to Edwin and Danielle for their ministry to the youth and children at LifeWay. I especially appreciate their simple love, and having their home always opened to our young ones. Youth and children’s ministries will obviously not look the same this fall, and I wish to take a moment to communicate what is being planned for both ministries so the whole church is informed. The plan for the children’s ministry is for LifeWay adults to…
From the Desk of Billy
This coming Sunday I have asked Chris Thomas to bring our teaching message. We had Chris as a GIC missionary guest this past fall as he is the church planter at DOPE Church in Tacoma. He also is a neighbor as he lives right down the street. But there is a deeper reason that I have asked him specifically to come teach us. We are still using Romans a great deal as we learn about the power of the Gospel…
Giving Thanks
There is nothing is quite as grand and noble in life than GIVING THANKS! Thanksgiving is such a unique and wonderful American tradition, but as we learned at our Thanksgiving service last Sunday evening, giving thanks is historically not unique to America; it comes out of the tradition that God set up with his covenant people long ago. One of the powerful theological terms that we build our faith on is the word, remember. God says over and over again,…
LifeWay’s Theology Test: The Book of Jesus
On Sunday, May 2, I preached a message that helped summarize the whole year of teaching that we have walked through together. We’ve called it, “The Book of Jesus.” I issued a challenge to our church family to test our knowledge and core understanding of what God tells us about himself, what we can know about ourselves, and most importantly, why and how Jesus plays into the whole story. Why is the Bible totally about Jesus? Why would we need…
Biblical Discernment
Discernment is a good word. Everyone admires it. Everyone desires to have it, and have more and more of it. Can one learn to have it? Where does one go to get it? But before we go further, may I ask you what is it? What is discernment? How would you answer? The dictionary says the meaning of discernment is “discrimination; acuteness of judgment and understanding.” Some say discernment is the ability to distinguish between, and recognize the moral implications…
Pursuing Justice
Justice. The term “justice” often invokes scenes from a courtroom. Judges in black robes, and prosecutors in suits ensuring criminals are “brought to justice.” Victims seeking justice. A fair and impartial jury, determining the guilt or innocence of the accused. And of course, the guilty taken away, bound, and imprisoned to serve a just sentence. Even in non-criminal cases, we often think of justice as making the wrongdoer pay their fair share. But justice is much more than a system…
We Got This!
What a world we live in! As we all know, it is summer, and it’s pretty normal for summer to feel weird and different as people are traveling and heading out on vacation. Students are generally slowing down and sleeping in and staying up late. Summer is usually filled with bike rides, hikes, video games, late nights with the bonfires, and family time. This summer is obviously different. The news of our local schools staying closed for the start of…
Adapting to the Environment
If you are like me, part of your day in lockdown is spent aimlessly browsing through thumbnail images of movies and TV series on streaming services looking for something decent to watch. On occasion, a nature show will catch my fancy and compel me to click. My memory of watching nature shows stretches quite far back to early childhood. One vivid memory I have as a five or six year old is of watching a nature film in a crowded…
Motherhood Film
In addition to the global coronavirus crisis, did you know we are also in the middle of a global fertility crisis? It is happening all over our world. Women are having fewer children, or no children at all. In 1950, women had an average of 4.7 children in their lifetime. By 2019, the fertility rate had shrunk to half. Women are having an average of 2.4 children in their lifetime. In Taiwan, where I am from, women on average are…
Easter Cookies
We made these nutty meringues with our children every Easter for years. It’s a wonderful object lesson for Easter and you get yummy cookies to boot. I wish I knew who to credit for the original recipe; it was passed to me by my Aunt Robin a very long time ago. Ingredients and Supplies: 1 C whole pecans 1 tsp vinegar 3 egg whites Pinch of salt 1 C sugar Ziploc baggie Wooden spoon Tape Bible Wax paper 1. Preheat oven…