Catalyst 2008

Welcome and Good Morning Deeperites!

Dany, Wilcley, Lori, Ashley, Mark, Reynold, and Randy say hey from Atlanta and the Catalyst Conference. Below is a quick video update from our seats in the Gwinnett Center, near Atlanta Georgia. We are enjoying hanging out and engaging in leadership dialogue with 12,400 of our "minsitry minded" friends from 50 different denominations, representing 5,000 churches. Until you've sat in a room (or arena) singing "We Shine" with that many people, you haven't experienced the ultimate worship experience!

This is only rivaled by the amazing speakers that Catalyst lines up to feed our desire to be continually challenged and equipped as ministry leaders. The names are familiar too many. Andy Stanley, William Paul Young, Craig Groeschel as well as newer names such as Steven Furtick and Brenda Salter McNeil. There are many more that will make you take a serious look at things that may not be comfortable or particularly pretty about our lives both in and out of ministry. Thought provoking doesn't really do this mental exercise justice.

The video upload is being pretentious but I will attempt to upload again later this morning. You will find updated pictures at our MySpace page in two new photo galleries that will be udpated after we leave following the conclusion of Catalyst tomorrow afternoon.

Our Church History

The Birth Of Our Church Family

The Forest Lake Church’s rich legacy began 82 years ago in the spring of 1926, when a small company of believers--led by Professor and Mrs. F. H. Parrish--gathered for Sabbath services in the parlor of a large house located on 240 acres of rolling farm land in Forest City.  This rural setting of virgin pines and immense live oak trees was the newly-purchased site of Forest Lake Academy, and the property’s nine-room main house known as the “Old Mansion" served as the first home of the Forest Lake Church.

A year later, on February 10, 1927, the church was officially organized with four charter members and 31 future members in attendance.  The tithe recorded for that initial year was $1,122.60 (about $13,540.48 in 2008).  Many of these charter-member families--with names such as Lester, Lynd, Hoover, Ward, Curtis, and Bradley--continue to play a vital role in the Forest Lake Church of today.

On of the first acts of this little church was to start an elementary school which was housed in a building on the academy ground.  It is from this small beginning that our present Forest Lake Education Center (FLEC) has grown to provide Christian education to over 600 students a year.

In 1928, church services were moved to the girl's dorm, then in 1937 to the 250-seat academy chapel, which served as our church home for the next 23 years.  In 1958, the growing congregation moved to the academy gymnasium, and it was at this time that discussions began in earnest about the need for a real church building.

A Permanent Church Home

While recognizing that church growth was inevitable, the congregation deliberately chose to build a sanctuary with seating for only 800 people.  They thought that as the membership grew, new congregations would be encouraged to branch off and raise up churches in the surrounding area.  Because of this vision, the Forest Lake Church has been been parent to the Apopka Highlands, Altamonte Springs, Winter Springs, and Markham Woods churches, and most recently the Haitian company in Apopka.

The congregation--led by Pastor Hoyt Hendershot and later Pastor James F. Hamrick--also decided that construction of its new church building be done only as money was available so that debt would be kept to a minimum.  To this end, much of the actual labor on the church building was donated by the members, from the digging of the footers to the nailing of the roof shingles.  Through much prayer and sacrificial giving, fund raising and construction proceeded rapidly, and on April 23, 1966, the church doors to our current sanctuary opened, and the church was dedicated debt free on November 23, 1968.

Two lay leaders--David Bean and Andy Neubieser--exemplify the sacrificial spirit of our growing congregation in those days.  As a local building contractor, Mr. Bean oversaw the construction of all of the church's building projects in the 1960s and 1970s.  He contributed not only his expertise and his time, but also his personal physical labor.  Mr. Neubieser served as finance chairman, and as several donations of land came to the church, Mr. Neubieser and Mr. Bean worked together to build homes on the donated property, and this were able to generate much more income for the church than if the land had been sold undeveloped.

Completion of the Community Service Building in 1977 provided a venue for meeting some of the needs of the people in our community, and over the years the ministry has expanded to include the vibrant Gift & Thrift store and the off-campus Shepherd's Hope Clinic where services are provided free of charge.  The congregation also recognized the needs of its growing youth ministry, built a new school building for FLEC in  1973, where it is still in operation today.  Also, in 1979 the Youth Center was completed to provide a place for young people to gather for activities not only on Sabbath, but throughout the week.  During the 1980s and 1990s, our church has continued to grow, and its expanded ministries required renovations and additions to all the facilities on the church campus.

In the ensuing 42 years, Forest Lake Church has grown from 749 members in 1966 to nearly 3,300 as of July 31, 2008. In 1988, a new wing was added to the sanctuary’s east side. It was constructed to house new administrative offices, more Sabbath school classrooms and a new choir room. Another milestone was marked on April 13, 1991 as members celebrated 25 years of worship in the current church structure.

In 1994, Forest Lake refurbished the interior of its main sanctuary and added a third worship service to meet growing membership needs. Its youth center was remodeled in 1999 and in 2001, the church began streaming worship services live via the Internet at www.forestlakechurch.org. A fourth worship service, Deeper, was added for young adults in 2003 as the church continued to expand.

Time To Take The Next Step

Dr. Derek Morris became senior pastor in August 2004. Under his leadership, Forest Lake Church continued to reach out in new ways to spread the Gospel to the community and the world. Forest Lake’s Internet church audience continued to grow with hundreds of individuals around the world attending each week. In 2005, two radio programs created by the church were launched–Message Of Hope Radio and Hope On Fire, a radio talk show for young adults. Two websites, www.messageofhoperadio.com and www.hopeonfire.org were also created to support the new broadcasts.

In 2006, Hope Channel TV began airing Forest Lake’s church services and in January 2007, they also began broadcasting a television version of Hope On Fire. Hope TV also began airing Hope Sabbath School in January 2008. The program is a Forest Lake Church-produced panel discussion of the Adventist Church’s weekly adult Sabbath school lessons.

And so we come to the present—time to take the next step in “Building Boldly for Jesus” on the legacy of the Forest Lake Church. As we keep in mind Forest Lake’s mission, values and vision, the proposed expanded facilities aren’t so much about bricks and mortar as they are about the ministries they will house. It’s this ministry outreach that will continue be God’s light to our members, our surrounding community and the world.

Building Boldly for...What?

No doubt you've seen this little green logo at least once or twice in recent weeks. Most probably it was accompanied by a brochure which briefly outlines that the Forest Lake Church is expanding...

So what, right? Forest Lake is way over there, but we're at Deeper, and we're sitting pretty. The thing of it is, while Forest Lake Academy has been kind enough to let us worship in their Schmidt Auditorium, it is just a temporary (even if "temporary" lasts a few years) solution to the bigger problem at the church, of which Deeper is an integral part.

Deeper, maybe more than most, understands that Forest Lake is literally bursting at the seams. If it weren't for the Academy's generosity, we'd be in a real pickle because 350 people do not fit in the Upper Youth Center! The three Bible studies that meet on Sabbath morning wouldn't have a place to meet if we were still confined to the main campus.

So, the leadership of Forest Lake (which does include the leadership from Deeper) decided to take the next, biggest step: building a larger, modern facility that will help the entire church family better worship together and invite their friends and neighbors to do the same.

The first major step in the project will be to acquire five acres of land from the Florida Conference. For those who might not know, the Conference is the administrative offices for all the Adventist churches in Florida, including Forest Lake, and they also are the entity that owns all the land every church and SDA school in Florida sits on, as well as numerous other pieces of real estate obtained over the years. Part of that land is the large field to the west of Forest Lake.

"Why do we have to buy land for the church from...the church to use for....the church?"

I know, that does seem kind of weird, like the Conference is trying to make money off of us when they will still end up owning the land anyway. Some people have been quite upset about that. But the answer is actually very simple when you look at it from an investment perspective. The land that Forest Lake wants to use is owned by every church in Florida. If the Conference were to sell it to, say, Wal Mart, the several million dollars would be reinvested throughout the state in schools and ministries, etc. What Forest Lake is doing, since we want exclusive use of the land, is to buy out everyone else so they get a fair return on that investment.

Truthfully, we are still getting a pretty good deal. The Conference has agreed to sell us the land for $2,184,000. That might seem like a lot of money for a mere five acres, but there are two things to take into consideration. The land is zoned for commercial use, so it has a higher value. Not that there are immediate plans to sell it to Winn Dixie or anything, but since a commercial entity like that could use it, the value is higher. The second, and to me best thing, is that the Conference will make the land useable for us as part of that selling price.

Why is that a big deal? Well, because the strip of land we need is currently little more than a ditch. If you drive into the main church entrance and could drive straight, that's the land we're picking up. So the Conference will fill that in for us so that we can actually use it for driving and parking without needing four-wheel drive.

Which brings us to "Phase I" as it were: a new parking infrastructure. If you've ever tried to drive onto the main campus on Sabbath morning, you know that "nightmare" isn't quite adequate to describe the traffic situation there. And, sadly, there have been numerous stories of visitors coming to church for the first time, and after driving in muddled circles for awhile, give up and go back home...all because they couldn't find a place to park.

So that's where we're starting, with a parking lot. Paving, sidewalks (so kids aren't darting in and out of traffic, like now), and better access. But asphalt isn't cheap (another oil-based product) and that will cost us about $4,000,000.

"Why do we need a paved lot? Why not just do more grass parking like now?"

A couple of reasons. With dirt/grass parking, you have to continually repair it. As we know from Deeper's days in the Youth Center, there was near constant washout on the parking over there, making it almost impossible to get cars in there. Over by the Community Services building, where the pavement stops, there is an ever-present drop off where the dirt just keeps washing away. If we lived in a drier climate, it might be less of an issue, but with the daily (or better) rain showers we get in Florida, the long-term cost of having to continually come back and repairing the dirt/grass lots would be greater than a larger up-front investment in longer lasting material.

The other reason is more basic. With a paved lot, there are lines for distinct parking places, which means you can maximize the number of vehicles taking up a certain area. With a grass lot, there's no paint, just people parking as they see fit, so you get fewer cars in the same space. That means we'd have to buy even more land to fit the same amount of cars. This way, we really do get the most bang for our buck!

The last expenses, at least with regard to "Phase I" is $300,000 for architectural and engineering fees to get the design and layout all down.

Expansion Project: Phase I Costs
Land Acquisition:	$ 2,184,000
Parking Lot Construction:	$ 4,000,000
Engineering/Architectural:	$ 300,000
Total:	$ 6,484,000

As you can see, that's quite a large investment! As Pastor Dany and Pastor Derek mentioned last Sabbath, Nehemiah had some serious prayer time with God before embarking on his mission to rebuild Jerusalem. Sabbath, August 30th, is going to be our family's Day of Prayer when the whole church body will be coming together and praying in shifts from 7:00a until 11:00p. If you are able to join us, 242 will be praying from 6:00p - 7:00p and the Deeper leadership will be praying from 10:00p - 11:00p. We hope you can join us in the Classroom Wing of the main church!

Over the coming weeks, we will be doing out best to keep you as up to date and informed as possible. We've put quite a lot of information up on www.deeperfaith.org and, for those of you who are visual, the guys also put a podcast together to give you an even better sense of what's going on.

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Relics of Community

Last week Deeper started a new series called "Relic."  In this series we're taking a look at the first Christian church, as outlined in Acts 2:42, and seeing what the basic elements of that church were and which, if any, have survived to today's church.

"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer." - Acts 2:42 (NLT)

1) Studying Together: The most obvious parallel to this is a small group class or Bible study, where there is immediate feedback and ideas from all participants on each point in the study.  It makes everyone feel as if they have a say and that their opinion matters, whether they're teaching or not.   Beyond that, it is a good way to get personal questions answered when it comes to applying scriptural concepts to real life.

The second parallel could be, like GODencounters or your chosen weekly service, a time where the group at large comes together in a teaching setting.   The catch, though, is that after the sermon is completed everyone doesn't just leave and go about their day.  For example, last year at GE Pastor Bernie Anderson would preach a sermon about things he'd learned in his own spiritual walk, but afterwards there was time purposefully set aside for continuing discussion on what had just been talked about.  Another idea was one that Pastor Jeff Gang used to do at the Deeper, which would be to create a bullet-point outline of his sermon that could be studied in a small-group setting.   Those who participated in those studies felt personally enriched by the ability to go more in depth on the topic being presented up front.  In a very real sense it personalizes corporate worship and foments personal interaction with those around you.

2) Fellowship: This is something that, for most of us, doesn't happen enough in the modern church (regardless of denomination).   It is purposeful interaction with other people, be they the people in your Bible study group, the person sitting next to you in your pew, or your surrounding community.   That last part is a key one.  I don't believe that it is enough that we get to know just those "in the bubble" as it were, but to have fellowship with the surrounding community.   Something so simple as doing yard work for an elderly person will both show the love of God to that person and help grow the bonds of fellowship within in the church community.   As St. Francis famously said: "Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words."

3) Breaking Bread Together: Beyond just the ceremonial Communion, sharing a meal together is vitally important in the development of interpersonal relationships.   It doesn't have to just be something elaborate like a large potluck, but maybe a few people getting together for a bite at Taco Bell randomly during the week.  It cannot be a coincidence that the majority of first (and second and third) dates involve dining together, be it a full meal or just coffee. There is just a certain kind of bonding that goes on over a meal shared together, whether at the Olive Garden or in someone's home.  

A couple of years ago a few people at the Forest Lake Church Deeper service tried a new concept in bread breaking. They had people sign up to be a either a host home or to be participants in a most unusual style of potluck: after the people had signed up, the leaders divided the participants up randomly.  The idea was to allow the participants to meet people they didn't know before, and the response to such a small thing was overwhelming, and people genuinely were excited and wanted to do it again!  

4) Praying Together: No spiritual group who wants to grow with each other and with God can do so without talking to God.   Personal prayer is always important, but there is something to be said for praying unselfishly for others.  Imagine a small group that prayed together regularly, for God to heal Phil's sick grandmother, that He help Jenny find a job, to thank Him for John and Sarah's new baby.   It takes prayer to another level by making it intentional.  Jesus prayed fervently for His disciples (John 15) and He encourages us to pray with and for each other.   Additionally, praying together helps build another important part of a vibrant community, that of trust.  When we start trusting each other with things that trouble us, there is a cathartic weight that is lifted.   Something that seemed insurmountable alone no longer seems quite so impossible in the company of friends.

But how does one connect in a church as large as Forest Lake or a groups as big as Deeper?  The best way, at least that I've found, is in small groups.  Bible studies, basketball, grabbing some coffee with friends, there are many different ways to connect!

I would challenge everyone, as we go through this series and see how closely connected the original church was to find a small group or a couple of people to connect with.  You'll be glad you did.

When the people are connected, we'll meet Pastor Derek Morris' definition of church:

"People who are passionate about being connected together in love with God at the center." 

 

Deeper at the Beach!

Hey Deeper Nation!

For those of you who were not in attendance yesterday afternoon at the beach, you missed a golden opportunity to hang out and have some fun with your church community.  

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Dany had his group sized awning/tent set up on the beach for shade if you were so inclined, and of course plenty of empty white sand real estate surrounded "Club Deeper" for those more interested in catching a few rays and working on the tan.  

If you are of the surfer persuasion, and not in attendance, than you missed some of the best waves I've seen in quite sometime.  

Parents, once the kids were done digging, building, raking, and swimming a quick walk across A1A brings you to a kids utopia complete with swings, slides, and a playground the kids don't want to leave.  

Singles, there were a few of you there but what a great reason to go and enjoy God's nature on the Sabbath and maybe meet a new friend.

When we had our fill of the ocean, sand, and sun, we traded it all for a spot on the cool green grass and a covered pavilion to gorge ourselves (yours truly ate 5!) on hot dogs and an assortment of other goodies provided and served by Reynold Acosta and Stan Dobias from Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences.  Thank you to all who assisted in providing us with a way to fill the hunger pangs before heading home (heartburn is the sole responsibility of the end user:). 

Overall an enjoyable day to catch up with friends, enjoy the beauty of what God created for us, and to spend time in community with each other.  When the next social event is announced, think twice before dismissing it as we often do for other plans.  After all, how cool could it be if it's being planned by church?...How cool indeed!