whining on the blog 

Summer Time Slump

So, here we are going into our eigth month as a church. Things have seemed to "mellow" since summer time hit, and I often find myself asking how mellow I am comfortable with. I think the danger of relaxing a little bit is the sense that people will lose the urge or drive to continue reaching out to the lost and to the community. I realize that everything doesn't have to be high-intensity, and high-energy all the time, but I seem to find myself getting restless in times of relaxation! I guess I just don't think that the church should relax when there are thousands of people around us who don't know Christ. Then I find myself getting frustrated when I think about the "summer time slup". That is the term used by church leaders to describe what happens in churches all around the U.S. during the summer...people stop coming as often. It is like church falls into the same category as school, and it is time to take the summer break. That has always frustrated me, and I guess I was nieve enought to believe that the "summer time slup" wouldn't happen at a church as exciting as Freedom Life. Man, things were rolling, we were having parking lot problems (didn't have enough room), and having to have discussions about running out of chairs and launching a second service...then summer hit. It was like a mass exodus! We went from having around 155 people to having around 110 people in just one month of beautiful weather. I realize that many people (including myself) have been traveling, and do travel throughout the summer, but I was still shocked. I guess I underestimated the power of our culture. Numbers really isn't the important thing though. To me, the important thing is wondering were the people have gone. Wondering why warm weather could immediately make going to church a matter of question or discussion instead of a no-brainer. I think about the power of the early church, and the description that Acts gives, that they met together daily for worship, and communion. It goes on to say that God added to there numbers daily those who were being saved. That is what is important...daily, those that were being saved!!! So what am I gonna do about it? The same thing that I encourage anyone who asks me about attendance to do- invite someone, share my faith, give someone a dvd, etc. Because the truth is, if I am not doing my part, I don't feel like I have earned the right to complain. I have learned something in the past eight months of church planting, "It is easy to criticize, but difficult to manage."
Thinking about it another way, I guess it is encouraging that our church has grown so quickly since being launched, and that we have such a solid core of people who give so much of themselves to make FLC all that it is. I know that most people would be bursting with joy to experience the kind of growth that we have seen, and I am truly excited about that. But I am even more excited about what God still has in store for our future, and I am not ready to settle for celebrating yesterdays victories. I am ready to face tomorrows battles! See you at the Forefront of the soul war!

Selah.

Back home

Well the trip went great. So many neat things happened, and we met so many wonderful people. I am glad to be home though. Kaelin got a little dress from the market down there, Eli got a wooden machetee (wish I knew how to spell that) and Jessi got a braclet made of sea shells by some sweet little old lady. The day after I got home Eli and I went to see Madagascar and it was a blast.

While in Honduras Fred (our Foreign Missions Leader)and I had a great conversation with a young lady about Christianity and truth. She was very intellegent and had many well thought out questions about our beliefs and how we could decide to follow Jesus. It was a great reminder about the struggle that the world is facing right now in not wanting to accept absolute truth at the risk of excluding someone elses ideas or belief system. We all face the same journey in this life...trying to discover what is really true, and then patterning our lives in a way that lines up with the Truth that we discover. For example, while I was there I was continuously reminded (because I was staring at it) about the truth that most of the world lives in a completely different way than we do in the U.S. I know that to be true, and I saw that to be true, but I must align myself in such a way that it actually has an impact on my life. To have visited a village that doesn't have medical care, running water, or electricity and think that those are things I take for granted every day should effect me. It should change my thought process! It should enter my mind the next time I go out to buy a new pair of shoes. But how should it effect me?
When I came back from my first mission trip to El Salvador I remember feeling sick when I got back to my house full of electronics, dvds, air conditioning, tons of clothing, running water, etc. I had an overwhelming urge to sell everything that I had and go back to El Salvador to give it to the orphans I had seen. But then God spoke something very liberating and motivating to me. He said, "Freddy, do not feel bad about the blessings I have given you. Be thankful. Just always remember that I bless you so you can be a blessing to others."
So how should it effect my thinking...well, I think that it should call me to account about what I have been doing with all of the blessings that God has given me. Do I honor Him with my time? Do I honor Him with my family? Do I honor Him with my finances? Is my life all about me, or is it lived for others? Those are the questions that motivate me. Those are the thoughts that drive me to see my life make a difference, not just in Hampton, VA, but in the world at large. God is so much bigger than the Villarreal home, or Freedom Life Church, or Hampton, or Virginia. He is so much bigger than 10% of my paycheck or two hours of my weekend. He is so much more worthy than that. So I will joyfully give Him more than that. I will celebrate that He has invited me to sow into the lives of others, in real ways that have nothing to do with Freddy!

Mission Trip Jitters

Ok, well, in five hours I leave for the airport to go to Honduras for a week. I love missions work. I love going and seeing people hear the gospel for the first time. I look so forward to mission trips that I usually cant sleep the night before, like a kid waiting to go to Busch Gardens for the first time. This, of course, helps me sleep on the plane, which makes the traveling go by so much quicker (method to the madness indeed). So anyhow, it is funny what you think about before going on a trip like this. Even though a week isn't very long, I am not really used to traveling a lot without my family. My kids already sensed something was up tonight, and Elias freaked out when I walked to Gary's house to pick something up. He chased me into the parking lot screaming, "Daddy, I want to go with you. I miss you. Please don't go." I reassured him that I was just going to Gary's real quick, but he didn't give up. He has never acted like that before! I have never (shot's at the doctor included) heard him scream and cry like that. Kids are sharp...they know stuff. So anyway, by the time he hit the pillow he was excited about daddy's trip because when I get back I am taking him to see Madagascar at the "big movies". This trip comes complete with Hot Dog, Popcorn, and video games according to Elias. He made sure to remind me and Jessi three times while we were tucking him in that I was going to take him to the movies when I got back from my trip. Kaelin was much easier. A simple prayer and some time rocking her and she was ready to hit the crib with a big smile. I just pray that they don't freak out on Jessi while I am gone. They have a tendency to push the boundaries when Daddy isn't home to "lay down the law" :) Well, I guess I should pack, it is gonna be a long, adventurous week. Not quite sure where we will be staying, how we will be getting around, or anything like that, but those are just the little details right....fun, fun.