Sailors, Saints, & Sinners

Why Community?

The Bible says many things that are mind boggling and hard to understand.  One of the most incredible is that human beings are made in the image of God.  This truth immediately communicates to us how much we are valued and loved by God.  But to fully grasp what being made in God’s image means, we must also understand more of Who God is.

Central to understanding God is knowing the doctrine of the Trinity, which simply means that God exists in three distinct personalities (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) yet is still one God with one purpose and one nature.  The Trinity means that God has always existed in a community of love before we ever existed.  The Trinity assures us of God’s love and His desire for a relationship with us.  If there was no Trinity, we would be left to wonder, “Why did God actually create us?”  The Trinity of God assures us that God’s initiative to create us came from an overflow of His own community and His desire to love.

Therefore, being made in the image of the triune God means in part that we belong in community with God and others.  There is no escaping the fact that we are wired for community because we were wired by God who has eternally existed in community.

Sin has undeniable affected our wiring and made community more difficult and loving others much more challenging; however, the Gospel of Jesus Christ not only changes our eternal addresses, but also our earthly desires.  Christ gives us the “want to” as we start wanting what God wants. God has always wanted us in community with Himself and with others (“It is not good for man to be alone“).

So as we continue talking about the Body of Christ in our new sermon series, we cannot miss how important community is to God because God is community.  We cannot downplay the church and our connection to her as Christ’s body.

If you want to take a step toward community, consider learning more about Rock Bridge small groups:

• GROUP LINK for our Calhoun & Dalton campuses
  • A unique environment designed to help people find a small group.
  • Chatsworth campus: get connected to a group in church lobby after any service

Weekly Rundown (7.31.2011)

• Closed out the 4-part series, Epic Fail, on the stumbles of first church leader, Peter.  I really felt God move in me and our church during this series.  And we saw numerous people make decisions for Christ, indicating salvation!
• I know of so many of us who are going through tough times and adversity.  Everything from illneses to the economy to struggles with sin.  Please ask for prayer and seek to participate in prayer with others through a small group or our monthly, First Wednesday service which is this week.
• A few staff members met me in Brooklyn, NY last week to attend the Brooklyn Tabernacle’s Tuesday night prayer service. God’s providence and power were so evident.  3000-4000 people fully focused on prayer with obvious passion for Christ was absolutely beautiful … a taste of heaven!
• Ukraine mission trip reported over 450 individual presentations of the Gospel with over 100 indications of first-time salvation!! WOW!!
• Some of our staff department heads and pastors are going on a strategic work retreat in a few weeks and we’d appreciate your prayers.  We are committing the time to lots of prayer and discussions about everything (yes, everything!) in our church.  We are going to a place with no internet and no cell coverage … unplugged from technology to plug into God!
• Got to marry two of the first students who participated in Rock Bridge Student Ministry this weekend … yes, I cried
• Beth is doing okay. The mucus issue in her throat, sinuses, and nasal passages is still unresolved, causing some nausea and making ‘normal’ eating problematic. We are asking for 3 very specific prayer requests:
  • For the mucus issue to be resolved — healing, removal of excess mucus, & restoration of normal eating.
  • For protection from infection and for EB virus to be completely gone (it’s in retreat but not fully gone yet).
  • For 200 “T-cells”.
    • 200 is the “magic number” because it means her immune system is strong/mature enough to offer adequate/better protection.  This is the number that triggers steps toward her returning home, being able to be around more people, etc.  As of last week, she is about 70% there.

The Rundown (7.25.2011)

I’m back in NYC for a few days with Beth after spending 2+ weeks at home. Beth & I continue to be humbled and blessed by your prayers and concern. We do feel like the big picture is much brighter as all the major problems and obstacles are resolving (leukemia in remission, EBV in full retreat); there are some lingering throat-mucus problems that cause eating-drinking issues and resulted in the G-tube.  Overall, cautiously optimistic yet prayerfully vigilant!

• The Rock Bridge staff team is simply amazing.  Almost every encounter I had over the past 2 weeks including praise for our staff:  work ethic, passion, leadership, growth, etc.
• Had lots of great conversations about the direction and health of our church.  We are all excited about what we see God doing in us and through us.
  • Biggest area we are working to upgrade is how we connect new people into the church.  Everything from first-time guests and salvation to group involvement and membership.
• I was able to connect with a few of our mission partners and I’m so excited about the “to the ends of the earth” work we get to be part of in our NW GA communities and across the oceans.
  • Our work with Compassion International will continue to grow. 4 Rock Bridgers went to Ethiopia to meet our partner church in Awassa and were blown away by Compassion and by the opportunity we have to do something significant for Christ!
  • The Living Water trip to Honduras to dig a water well was fantastic and another group goes in September. We anticipate 2-3 more trips in 2012.
  • Our Ukraine trip just returned and the initial reports are exciting!!
  • I’m very excited about our work with church planting through Launch Network. With 5 church planting “hubs” (and more to come) across the U.S. we are able to invest resources into planting healthy churches.
    • On a more local level, we can welcome and begin to pray for Wesley Odum and Dynamic Church which will be launching in Chattanooga in 2012.
    • Pray for Terrence Lester as God has called him to plant in Atlanta.
• Above all, I think many of us are being drawn by God to pray passionately, consistently, and specifically for Him to move. We are more aware than ever of our need for Him (apart from Him = nothing!!) and yet His desire to work through His people and churches.

Turning a Corner: The Latest on Beth

Been great to be back home and at Rock Bridge!!  I love our church!  Yet my heart is so with Beth in NYC, and as y’all have again shown me, your prayers are with her and our family in a “big” way.  Thank you so much!!

Beth just finished “Skype-ing” with our boys and she is looking great and feeling stronger.  She has had several good days in a row both in how she feels and what the doctors are observing.  The mucus problem in her throat (which is making eating difficult) seems to be a result of a fungus that took root in the dead Epstein-Barr virus tissues (that thing causes problems even after it dies!).  Thankfully, some infectious-disease specialists were able to pinpoint this likely culprit. So with some changes in her medicines, we are hopeful this latest challenge will be overcome soon.  While we wait, the G-Tube is doing its job so Beth is getting nutrion and feeling better.

So we are cautiously optimistic that she is turning a corner.  Her counts are very strong and there new signs (from her latest labs) that her immune system is maturing and getting closer to full capacity.  However, we are not there yet, we must remain careful and vigilant … but we are very thankful for where we are today

A Hard and Hopeful Week from NYC

Whirlwind. Bitter. Sweet. Crazy. Tough. Long. Emotional. Doubting. Hoping.

That’s about how I would describe this week for our family.

On Tuesday, I flew up to NYC with our boys and our family was reunited for the first time in 7 months.  Beth was thrilled just to watch them play and see how they had grown and changed.

However, Beth was still having trouble eating and drinking.  As the week progressed she grew very weak and tired, requiring IV fluids at the hospital on Wednesday & Thursday.  She started vomiting when she tried to swallow her medicines.  We both realized this had the potential to become serious and that her struggle eating/drinking had gone on long enough. So on Friday morning we made the difficult decision to cut the boys visit short  — I would fly them home, Beth would go to the hospital, and I would fly back to NYC late Friday night.

Beth was readmitted to the hospital Friday afternoon to get an “NG Tube” for feeding (pretty uncomfortable procedure). However, by the time I got back to the hospital around midnight Beth was already feeling and looking much better.

The eating troubles seem to be coming from a severe case of mucus literally streaming down the back of Beth’s throat and the cause is still somewhat unclear, although the doctors believe it is temporary and will resolve.  She will receive a G-tube on Wednesday as part of a longer term/less invasive “eating” solution.

Also, a PET Scan was repeated on Wednesday and the results show that the Epstein-Barr virus is in full retreat.  Most of the “nodes” are gone and the ones that remain are significantly smaller.

So while this week was not what we had hoped for with our boys, we have learned that our perspective cannot be limited to days or even weeks.  And the bigger picture perspective is much brighter: leukemia is in remission, her bone marrow graft is strong, EBV is going away, she is finally getting the nutrition her body needs, our boys are doing great, and … most especially, the tomb of Jesus Christ is still empty!!

Bringing the Boys to NYC!!

This week we’re bringing the boys up to the “Big Apple” to see their mommy!  I’m so excited for the boys and for Beth who has not seen them in 7 months!! Our incredible doctors have even worked Beth’s check-up and treatment schedules so our time at the hospital is minimal.  I’m flying up with the boys by myself so I’ll be in man-to-man defense in the ATL airport and at 35,000 feet!!

Beth is improving but it is slower than we expected. The procedure to clear out her throat last week has helped but eating is still slow.  The “stuff” they removed from Beth’s nasal passageways revealed a fungal infection so the doctors added a high powered anti-fungal medicine.  On the positive side her pneumonia is gone

Dr. Boulad explained that healing and recovery takes longer in older transplant patients and especially in those who have Fanconi Anemia.  She is going to undergo some more treatment to hopefully knock the rest of the EB virus out and then the doctors will be in a position to evaluate where we are overall in post-transplant recovery.  Her graft (new marrow) continues to be strong, it just takes (more) time for the immune system to mature to the point where it can completely protect Beth from infection.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

Update on Beth

Today is a long day at the hospital for Beth to get treatment for the EB virus and a breathing treatment to prevent certain types of pneumonia.

Our biggest challenge of late has been eating and weight loss since the tonsil surgery. Food is sticking in Beth’s mouth and throat areas, making eating frustrating and somewhat futile. The doctors were/are considering putting in a “G-tube” device into Beth’s stomach (bypassing the throat area) to increase her caloric intake and weight.

However, yesterday we met yesterday with an ENT surgeon.  He looked in Beth’s nasal passages and throat and found a lot of “rubbish” (I guess that’s a medical term) that he thinks is the culprit for her eating problems. The doctors believe that while the tonsil surgery did remove a portion of the EBV, the virus is still in her throat area and complicating her healing, causing this “rubbish” to build up and linger in her throat area. So on Saturday the ENT is going to clean out Beth’s nasal ways and throat and remove some tissue adhesions/scar tissue.  He thinks this procedure could solve the eating challenge and we can avoid getting the G-tube

Prayer Requests:

• For Saturday’s procedure to be safe and successful.
• For Beth to be able to eat and increase her caloric intake.
• For EBV to continue to go away.
• For protection against any more infections and complications.
• Luke 11:13

Out of the Hospital: Latest on Beth

As we’ve learned bone marrow transplant is a series of steps forward and back with the hope that the overall direction is forward. True to form this week has been two big steps forward and one small step back.  Here’s the latest on my bride:

2 Steps Forward:
#1-Yesterday after 5 weeks, Beth was released from the hospital!  We are thrilled to be back in our “home away from home”.  We are giving her 2 IV medications at home. A home care nurse just trained me to give her these 2 drugs in our apartment.  Good to be out of the hospital
#2-The latest PET scan showed that ALL of the EB virus nodes in Beth’s body are significantly smaller.  The doctors are very encouraged to see that Beth is responding to the treatments.

1 Small Step Back:
The EBV PET scan showed that Beth has a bit of pneumonia in her upper right lung.  She shows no symptoms (no cough, no fever, no sounds that the doctors can hear), but it is there.  She always has some infection in her throat area.  We’re on some powerful antibiotics, and the doctors believe these infections should be gone relatively soon.

Finally, we got the ‘OK’ to bring the boys up to NYC!!  Since we just got out of the hospital, we’re going to take a week or so to get rested, get stronger, and get ready for Eyasu and Abreham. Beth has not seen the boys in person since the first of December and she is ready! Last night we Skyped with them — Abreham said, “I love you” and “Ma-Ma”!!

Prayer Requests:

• For the pneumonia to go away quickly.
• For Beth’s T-cells to increase (the T-Cell level is what determines the restrictions we have to follow such as being close to the hospital, avoiding crowds & enclosed spaces, and a low microbial diet).  As Beth’s T-cells increase, they will be easily able to kill off the EB virus.
• For two transplant friends we met, Kevin (age 19) and Karl (age 14), as they recover from their transplants.
• Soli deo gloria!!

Slowly but Surely: Beth Update

First, we are so blessed to be part of Rock Bridge Community Church. You have loved us, given to us, and prayed for us faithfully during this long and challenging time for our family.  When the Elders first told me that they wanted me to take the month of June off from preaching, I was hesitant. I love studying God’s Word and preaching it.  I love being with the people of my church family. However, I ultimately recognized and submitted to their wisdom, authority, and love for Beth & myself.  They are acting to protect the long-term health of the church and the teaching ministry while protecting me from the long-term dangers of fatigue and burnout (real dangers for any minister under normal circumstances).  Additionally, in God’s providence He has confirmed that June is an important month in Beth’s recovery and healing and I need to be with her as much as possible.

Beth is still in the hospital after 4 weeks but starting to feel much better.  She is working hard to eat and swallow while trying to get the needed calories from drinking smoothies, and shakes.  These are the prerequisites for her release so she does not dehydrate, gets the right amount of nutrition, and can take her medications by mouth.

Additionally, she is still getting treatment for the Epstein-Barr virus on a weekly basis.  A PET scan will be repeated in about a week to determine if further progress is being made against this problematic virus.  Because of the presence of EBV and the effect fighting it has had on her T-cell counts, we do not believe Beth will be home in late June (rats!).  However, we are making progress. Sometimes we take 2 steps forward and 1 step back; sometimes 2 forward and 1 1/2 steps back … but slowly but surely things are moving in the right direction.

Prayer Requests:

• For Beth’s swallowing to get stronger/easier so she can eat & drink enough on her own.
• To be released from the hospital.
• For the EBV virus to continue to diminish and be defeated.
• For us to be able to bring our boys up to NYC in June.

Signs of Progress: Latest on Beth

We are profoundly moved and grateful for so many prayers, acts of kindness and generosity, and support as Beth’s recovery continues.  I was overwhelmed by so many heartfelt inquiries and genuine interest over the weekend.
This adversity has definitely been teaching us that God while God values prayer, He especially values persistence and perseverance in prayer (Luke 18:1). Thank you Rock Bridge, family and friends all over for continuing to pray for Beth and our family!! Know and trust that God is working — medically yes, but also in ways that go far beyond the physical healing we seek for Beth.
Here is where we are:

• The latest scan revealed that all of the Epstein-Barr “sites” in Beth’s body are significantly smaller, except a slight increase in the size of a site on her liver (within the test’s margin of error).
  • The doctors are very encouraged and optimistic about these results.  The T-cell therapy is working but it does take time and Beth’s immune system is still not able to fight off the virus on its own.  She will receive at least 2 more doses of EBV-fighting T-cells (apparently T-cells are sort of like highly trained SEAL teams
• We are still in the hospital.
  • Her throat is healing and one scab/sore remains.  As this heals, Beth will be able to eat and drink more and then she should be able to be released. This could be this weekend or the first of next week.
• Will Beth be able to come home in late June, at the post-transplant 6-month mark?
  • While that question is on our minds, the doctors are not discussing it at this point.  Getting home in late June has always been an estimate and somewhat of a moving target.  The doctors’ goal is getting rid of the EB virus and helping Beth’s immune system get to a point of self-sufficiency where she will be able to fight off viruses, bacteria, & fungi on her own and thus be much more protected … and we are not there yet. We could get ‘there’ by late June (pray!), but that is uncertain at this point.
• The Epstein-Barr virus in post-bone marrow transplant patients is very serious … more so than we thought, knew or imagined.  The treatments are complex and take time to produce the desired results.  However, they are working, Beth is fighting, and we are praying!! God is in way more control than I ever knew and God’s love is way deeper than I understood back in November when Beth was first diagnosed … and with His sovereignty and grace at work, our work is to rest.

Seeking to rest,

Matt