Scott Purkey

Without a doubt Jesus was a catalyst.  He was the first to do a lot of things like walk on water, feed 5,000 people and turn water into wine.  One of the most revolutionary things Jesus did though was live His entire life for someone else.  Of course, to some this kind of life doesn’t sound very appealing.  Afterall, who wants to live a life where others are considered first?  It definitely contradicts the norm of our society that promotes the only way up the life ladder is to turn inward and focus on self.  People who actually care or consider the interests of others first are labeled as door mats and walk overs.  Ironically, according to the scriptures, people didn’t walk all over Jesus but rather they couldn’t quit hanging around Him.  As a matter of fact, He had to sneak away at times just to be alone.  Selflessness makes people attractive and enjoyable to do life with.

I love this passage of scripture in John 12:24 which states, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” Before He came to earth He had it all, right?  Apparently not!  He didn’t have us!  But in order to acquire our lives He had to give up His!  The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.  One of God’s greatest mantras is OTHERS!  He looks past us and through us to those who are around us.  He repeatedly leaves the 99 and goes after the ONE!

Philippians 2:5-11 states, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Obviously, Jesus was God before He came to earth.  However, this declaration from His Father came as a direct result of something never done before.  Because Jesus lived His life completely for others He was given a promotion unlike anything else declared in all of scripture.  His selflessness created His legacy and increased His potential as being the most influential person ever!

According to the scriptures, for us to find our life we must first lose it.  Perhaps the greatest way to lose our life is to be put others first.  In turn, we become aligned with what God has prepared for us and therefore live out our full potential.  Regardless of our past including mistakes, failures, poor decisions and wounds we can still recover our potential.  We can start by choosing to let our past be passed and developing a mantra of putting others before ourselves.  It’s the only way we can live the life that God intended!

Until Next Time…..

For the last four weeks we’ve been in Turning Point – the second track of our church growth track here at Bay Summit!  While creating this course I’ve realized how far we can sometimes stray from the basics of Christian life.  In a world full of fresh revelation and current trends when presenting the gospel it’s easy to forget the foundation of our faith.  For instance, it seems as though mainstream Christianity has promoted the life of Christ more as an additive than a life-surrendering experience.  As I was growing up the word surrender was the theme of various songs and sermons.  I do admit it was a bit overused but today it seems to be extinct.

Jesus was clear when He said to gain His life we have to lose ours.  Of course this does not happen overnight but without these words as the goal or focus of our journey we can easily embrace a gospel Jesus never preached.  And therefore, we will struggle to express the authentic lifestyle of Christ to a world that sees our faith as a tainted religion.  Jesus’ spin on living the life His Father intended for Him evolved around surrender – giving up His for ours.

I’ve discovered there is a liberating factor in surrender.  For certain, the human nature within us screams at the thought of surrender but the God nature craves it.  As a matter of fact, the will of God being accomplished in and around us hinges on it.  While the act of surrender is elementary to the Christian faith, it never ceases to be the turning point in all God leads us to be and do.  May we always live out the words written in 1891 by Judson Van DeWenter:

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!

Until next time…….

It’s hard to believe in a few weeks we will have resided in California for one year.  I have to say, without a doubt, more has happened this past year than any other year of my life.  The headliners would be as follows: The move which, according to UHaul, is 1949 miles,  starting a new business, planting a church without a team, official launch on 3/1/2009.  In retrospect it is inspiring to feel as though we exerted a lot of time, energy and financial resources toward making our lives count for the kingdom.  While I do not think anything is more fulfilling than working for that which is eternal I clearly see the physical results.   It’s amazing when I think of the people now in my life that I get to hang with who I didn’t even know six months ago.  And together we get to do something that is bigger than all of us combined.

I’ve read and spoken about the story of Peter getting out of the boat many times.  I’ve often wondered why Jesus stayed on the water and did not get into the boat.  Then it became clear, the Lord always gives us an opportunity to move from where we are to get to where He wants us to be which is closer to Him and His plan for our lives.  This usually involves risk but the potential benefits are endless.  Peter was able to accomplish something that night that only Jesus did.  What a legacy!  I think God thinks more about the legacy we leave behind than we do.  He wants our life to count!  What is it that He is calling us to move toward?  Whatever it is and regardless if we succeed or fail, we will be close to God.  Obviously, there is no greater place to be on the planet.  For the Purkeys that place is the east bay of Northern California and we couldn’t be more fulfilled!

Things that have amazed me:

The people who are hanging out together now who didn’t even know each other existed 3 weeks ago.  The amazing people we have become connected with in such a short time.  The number of students and young adults who love and serve in the church.  The amount of people who called Bay Summit their home church the very first day we launched.  The quality of staff we do life with even though we did not know them previously.  The central location of our church and how it is positioned in the community.  The worship team that leads us weekly into the presence of God.  Over half of those who attend Bay Summit are attending our life groups.  Somewhere between 3 and 20 receive Christ every weekend.  The privilege we have to be a part of the ARC – the greatest church planting organization on the planet.  The backing of New Life Church in Arkansas – we couldn’t have done it without them.  The overwhelming grace and anointing God has bestowed upon us.  We know God is building His church and the most amazing fact – we get to be a part of it!

As I was traveling with Lynnette today throughout the San Francisco area I was caught up in the beauty once again.  I was reminded of the times I dreamed of making this drive as a Californian and not as Arkansan.  Well… I’m here!  It’s a dream come true!  Les Brown, a business consultant, once communicated,”find out what you want and go after it as if your life depends on it.  Why?  Because it does.”  I’ve learned if a dream is within my reach or is something I can get to using my own resources it is not a dream from God.  He only gives dreams that include His involvement and they are big as He is.

I can’t wait to continue the series God’s Top Ten this coming Sunday @ 5pm!  One of our overseers, Bobby Hamilton, will be with us as we celebrate what God is doing @ Bay Summit.  We hope to see you there!

Livin’ the dream!

It’s hard to beleive we are already upon our second service. This week has been a blast as I have hooked up with some awesome people who attended our grand opening.  It is so cool to feel as though you have known people for a long time even though you just met.  Their comments have been encouraging and at the same time confirming to what God has called us to do here.

This week starts our new series, “God’s Top Ten – Reshaping Your Life Code” .  Are the 10 commandments a list of rules and regs?  You won’t want to miss this series as we will be taking a peek at these ancient words and discovering how relevant they are to where we live today.  Look forward to seeing you there!

For those who weren’t able to be there, please check out our video.  It was such an awesome night!

Soon we will be podcasting my messages on the web as well.