I am running in a flippin’ sprint triathlon!

Posted February 8, 2010 by Chris Lewis
Categories: Church Plant, Family, Personal - Chris

Well…I don’t guess I need to tell you how long it’s been since I blogged! Welcome to the life of a tri-vocational church planter!

First, let me offer a word of explanation. I blog when I have things interesting and (hopefully) uplifting to write about. Lately, I have not felt the urge or ability to report what is going on in my spirit. Church planting is hard! It is without a doubt the most difficult thing I have ever attempted. It’s even harder than having a strong marriage. I covet your prayers and support as my family and I eagerly and joyfully embrace the path God has us on.

I do have something interesting to report…and also something that should keep me blogging a lot more regularly. I committed myself to something the other day in an effort to engage a particular family and get them plugged in at Revolution. I have agreed to compete in a sprint triathlon in August of this year! In case you missed that last part…yes. I am suspending the baseline response I give to everyone that, should they see me running, please stop because that means someone is undoubtedly chasing me with malevolent intentions.

If you see me over the next 7 months, I will no doubt be whipping this almost 37 year old body into the shape required to attempt this challenging feat! So, with that said, I will regularly be updating the blog with my status and thoughts on what will be the most difficult endurance exercise I have ever attempted.

Through this process, I will also be sharing some things that are going on at Revolution as well as insights gleaned from this physical challenge. Thanks for reading and for your patience during this new phase of my family’s life!

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Thinking of Matt Chandler and God’s remarkable Sovereignty

Posted December 17, 2009 by Chris Lewis
Categories: My Thoughts - Chris, Personal - Chris, Revolution Church

I learned with the rest of the world yesterday about Matt Chandler and the pathology of his brain tumor. The doctors concluded it is malignant and they were encouraged by the positive first step of surgery, but were unable to remove all of the tumor. You can read the release from The Village Church where Matt pastors here.

From Matt’s own comments, you can see the grace with which he is facing this. In one of his Twitters yesterday he said “Path report is 2ndary at best…good report doesn’t mean much, bad report doesn’t mean anything…my days r numbered and n0t by ths report”. The video he posted prior to surgery is amazing! You can view it on the church’s blog here.

I do not know Matt personally, but I consider him to be a hero of my faith. I have only heard him live twice, yet because of technology, he serves in a pastoral role to me. As a 36 year old husband, father of three, and pastor of a church plant, I feel connected as many of you who read this will feel connected to Matt and his family.

With everything within me, my heart’s desire is that God would heal Matt of this horrid malady called cancer and that the world will have the treasure of trustworthy dispensation of the Word Matt so faithfully offers.

“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health,
as it goes well with your soul.” – 3 John 2

My comfort and joy comes in knowing that whatever course this journey takes, God will be glorified and the gospel will be declared. That is already happening!

I was sick yesterday as I learned the results from the doctors and deeply saddened by the news. Today I reflect on the goodness of God and the beauty of His ways. Ways I do not understand. Ways I cannot understand. Yet ways I know to be best – even and especially when they don’t seem so.

“This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” – Psalm 18:30

Special Prayer

On Sunday, December 27, Revolution Church will devote a segment of time to pray specifically for Matt’s healing. We confess that Jesus is eternally the same (Heb 13:8) and with only a word he still heals today (Matt 8:8). I am inviting other pastors, church leaders, teachers, and volunteers to join us in prayer that morning at your places of worship. We have seen remarkable displays of God’s power when the Church agrees and comes together in unity and we expect nothing less here.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him” – James 5:14a

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Revolution: Rewind

Posted December 15, 2009 by Chris Lewis
Categories: Revo Rewind, Revolution Church


Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

  • We concluded our series The Vow (LifeChurch) with The Vow of Purity:
    • We hide the things we are ashamed of.
    • The only way to deal with darkness is to bring it into the light.
    • Where secrets live, intimacy dies.
    • Where intimacy lives, secrets die.
  • The new building is working out great!
  • Still have a few things to do, but we are fully functional.
  • Excited about starting “The Story” this Sunday. Click here to send an e-vite.
  • All the messages are online from this series and you can watch them here.

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Revolution: Rewind

Posted December 7, 2009 by Chris Lewis
Categories: Revo Rewind, Revolution Church

Here are some thoughts from Sunday’s service at Revolution Church:

  • Continued our series The Vow (from LifeChurch) dealing with relationships.
    • Dealt with the Vow of Partnership: I promise our marriage will be about “WE” and not “ME”.
    • Marriage is a covenant, not a contract.
    • Contracts are based on mutual distrust.
    • Covenants are based on mutual commitment.
    • We have to take leaving off the table.
    • Covenant partnership includes godly leadership and mutual submission.
  • We held our first morning service and our first service in our new facility. I will post some pictures soon.
  • The service had a completely different feel – in a good way!
  • It was awesome to be able to hang out and engage in conversations without worrying about the set up and equipment.
  • There were approximately 25 different people who spent roughly 300-350 man hours to make the facility ready for Sunday.
  • We have our services online now. You can view them at www.revolutiononline.cc.
  • The final week of the series is this Sunday! You don’t want to miss it as we make The Vow of Purity together.

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Revolution is moving!!!

Posted December 2, 2009 by Chris Lewis
Categories: Church Stuff, Revolution Church

Several weeks ago, I was preaching through a series at Revolution titled Concealed Weapons dealing with spiritual warfare and our tools to fight against the enemy. One of the weeks was on the topic of fasting and my good friend, accountability partner, and elder at Revolution Church Zach Slagel tackled the topic.

At the conclusion of the service, I challenged our people to join in a 10 or 21 day corporate fast asking God for direction on location and facilities. I was blown away!

I was blown away by the response of the people. It’s easy to get people excited about some things. If you have a building to build or a specific project that results in hungry people getting fed or lost people getting found, you can rally support for that kind of thing with relative ease.

But that was not the case here. We were simply seeking God’s purpose and direction. We wanted to know more fully what His plan for us was. We weren’t asking Him to bless our plan, but rather to reveal His plan so we could jump in with both feet.

The response was somewhat overwhelming. An amazing number of people joined in the fast with the leadership! This is an underutilized spiritual discipline that many fellow Revolutionaries took the opportunity to step into an area of faith development. I am excited to hear the stories of what God showed people during their time of fasting.

I was blown away by the response of God. We asked him to give us a greater glimpse of His plan. We longed to know more fully His purpose for Revolution Church. And He answered.

We are now leasing an amazing space from the Greenville Baptist Association located in the downtown Greenville area. We are now situated in a location that is central to many areas and this is definitely a community we can pour our hearts into and physically display the love of Christ!

There are a handful of times in my walk with God where I have clearly and distinctly heard from Him about a specific situation. There are fewer still where I could see the tangible effects of His handiwork in bringing the situation to bear. This was one of those moments. I can’t recount all the specific details, but this is one that has God’s fingerprints all over it!

I would like to thank so many of you for praying with us in this matter.

This Sunday morning, we will have our first service at the new location and our first morning service ever! If you are reading this and in the area, I would like to personally invite you to come. The details are above and if you click the card you can get directions. I don’t want to pull anyone away from being plugged in at their own church. Sometimes, it’s just encouraging to see what God is up to in other branch locations of The Church!

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