Have you recovered from the ice storm? This was definitely NOT our first go-around with a predicted icemageddon that never materialized.
As I am typing this, we ARE expecting a cold, cold week. I hope you guys all stay warm and well.
This is OUR YEAR
Right before the fake ice storm, I met with our VIPs (anyone who serves in any capacity at The Orchard is a VIP) so I could bring them up to date on where we are and where we’re going in 2026… Because THIS IS OUR YEAR.
Gideon is our example
Gideon is known for being a hero in battle. Israel had been severely oppressed by one of it’s worst adversaries, but Gideon rose up and decicively defeated them in battle, resulting in forty years of peace and prosperity for Israel.
But Gideon didn’t start out being a hero. In fact, the story opens on Gideon to find him literally hiding in a winepress like a chicken. Actually, ALL of Israel was hiding out at the time. The Midian army had driven everyone from their homes into caves and crevices… Anywhere they couldn’t be found by the merciless Midianites. They, along with Gideon, were all hiding out, fearing for their lives.
And it is there, in that lonely, secluded winepress, where an angel of the Lord appears to Gideon the chicken. Gideon the hider. Gideon, the least in his entire family. Gideon the anxious and worried.
Judges 6:12 (NLT)
The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!”
What? What did the angel call Gideon?
What does the angel’s greeting say about the way God and his angels sees Gideon… Sees us?
Of course, this makes no sense at all to Gideon. He is cowering in a winepress! He simply doesn’t understand why the angel would appear to him, of all people, or why the angel would say what he said.
Judges 6:13 (NLT)
“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
Gideon couldn’t possibly understand. As far as he was concerned, God and his strength was nowhere to be found. The people of Israel had wandered too far, and God had literally given up on them. He did not realize that God had a plan to rescue his people all along, and that plan depended on Gideon himself!
It turns out that God empowered Gideon. God raised him up to become the “mighty hero” that the angel already knew he would be. Sure, Gideon had his faults and doubts. He cast a fleece before God because he didn’t fully trust. He built a makeshift army way bigger than God wanted. But Gideon was refined by God and empowered to bring victory to his people! Over time, Gideon was transformed into the “mighty hero” that God designed him to become, and God used Gideon to literally save a nation!
We have a lot of transformation ahead
Like He did with Gideon, God is doing something here among us.
I have frequently said that this big project isn’t about building a steel and concrete structure… This is about God building a people that will serve HIM by making the gospel relevant to our community. He is turning us into “mighty heroes” for the gospel!
That means he is transforming us right here, right now.
What will that look like?
On our staff/elder retreat, we came up with a BUNCH of ‘spiritual tangibilities’ that described what The Orchard Church would look like NEXT January, several months after we’ve moved in to our new facility:
That is a lot of change! Several of those are kinda far out of our grasp at this time. We have some serious transformation coming up in order to become the people God will use to change a community.
Our TO DO List
I talked to our VIPs about some of the things we were planning to DO as God worked in us near the beginning of this year…
Super Sunday February 22
We will do Super Sunday in three services, giving people a chance to join lifegroups and serve teams. THIS is YOUR chance to PARTNER with us for our year. A partner is someone who is obedient to Jesus, engaging in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Talk about that for a minute. Have you decided to partner with us?
Easter Sunday April 5
Once again, we will return to River Park for our big Easter celebration. I LOVE going to River Park, because it gives us a chance to step OUT into our community, rather than expecting them to come to us.
Message Series
Rather than take my typical approach, God has laid it on my heart to prepare us for battle. So, I’m planning on several message series that will run from now through July.
- Ready for Action
- Standing Firm
- Grow Strong
- New Nature
- Mind of Christ
- Available
We will begin our study of Exodus after we move to the new facility.
Our NOT To Do List
I learned a long time ago that in order to draw good boundaries in your life and to be faithful to what God has called you to, you have to “say no to good things, in order to say yes to the best thing.” Do you find that true in your life? how? Is that hard?
We have identified four summer/fall things that typically take a lot of our time each year. These are ALL things we love and believe in doing. But for this year, in order to become what God is calling us to become, we’ve decided to say ‘no’ to these things so we can say ‘yes’ to moving into our new facility. Talk about these four and how NOT doing them might impact us, both positively and negatively.
10 Days In Israel
One thing we WILL do, is spend 10 more days in Israel next year. May 9-18 of 2027. There is NOTHING that will transform your reading of the Word of God like stepping into the “5th gospel,” the living, breathing land of Christ himself. It will change you like nothing else.
Mighty Hero, The Lord Is With You
This process of transformation into the hero God will use starts with me and it starts with you. YOU AND I are the ones to be transformed. Are you partnering with us this year? Are you engaging in the Spiritual Growth Engine? I believe this will be OUR YEAR. Are you ready? Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in and through you.