Scott Purkey

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.