Riding Faith's Rollercoaster

By Angie Theda

Danny and I love riding rollercoasters. You stand in line, contemplating making an escape while you still can, but then you wouldn't have the story to tell afterward. Taking your seat, your heart pounds. You realize that now it's totally out of your control. Your breath goes away as you plunge downhill, then you laugh with the thrill of the ride.

The adoption journey is a lot like a rollercoaster. On September 29, 2009, after 16 months of waiting and wondering if two 40-somethings would ever be chosen as adoptive parents by a birthmom, we received a call from Hope's Promise. Did we want to be considered for a 5-month old boy whose mother had signed relinquishment papers that afternoon? Yes! The ride had begun!

After visiting an adoption fair in 2008, we had been so excited to begin the domestic infant adoption process. We had marveled at the idea of adding children to our family. We anxiously created a 20-page scrapbook to help prospective birthmothers imagine what her child's life with us would be like. Then we waited. And waited.

At last the call had come! We had been chosen and to come pick up Nathaniel. But Danny's sister Janice had temporarily moved in while house hunting, and she hadn't been included in our home study paperwork. We couldn't bring Nathaniel home until she moved out—state rules. But where would she go on such short notice? We could wait a month to redo the home study, but Nathaniel needed us now.

Within 30 minutes, Janice found a friend to stay with. But then Hope's Promise called and said the state would make an exception under the grounds of "they're going to need all the help they can get!" Was God working in our behalf or what?

Hope's Promise did inform us that although the birthmom had signed over rights, it would not be filed for 20 days while they waited to see if the unknown birthfather responded to a notice in the Denver Post.  The legal risk period would end October 28, and Nathaniel would be our son.

On Monday, October 26, Nathaniel turned 6 months old. We'd had him 26 days, and he was a joy. Our dreams of life with him grew—camping with him, hiking 14ers with him, skiing with him. Friends said he even looked like us. Oh, wasn't God good?

8:30 AM. Danny had been at work for two hours, and Janice was getting ready for the day. The phone rang. Hope's Promise says, "Nathaniel's mom called this morning. She changed her mind and wants him back." What? There were only two more days of waiting left! But we knew the legal risk when we agreed to take him.

We packed up his belongings, added a few things we knew he enjoyed, and handed him back to his mother. Why, Lord?

Days later, I looked at pictures we had taken of him and us. It felt like a dream. Had he really been with us? Is that really me holding him? Our family and friends were as devastated as we were. We held one another, cried, and prayed. God must have led us through this time because Nathaniel needed a safe, loving place to stay for 26 days. We provided that, but the ride was over.

A month later, though our hearts were still broken, we decided to continue our adoption journey. God reminded us that our dream of having a family was not gone, so we trusted Him and renewed our hope.

At the beginning of December, Hope's Promise called to ask if we were willing to have a match meeting with a new birthfamily. We were immediately at ease with them and found out that they were expecting a boy—and soon!

The birthmom went into labor the Monday after Christmas. They allowed us to be at the hospital to take care of him after his birth. While sitting in the waiting room, contemplating names, we heard a baby's cry from behind the birthing room door. Michael was here!

Twenty minutes later, we held him in our arms, ecstatic but still uncertain if he would be ours forever. Thankfully, all went as planned because both birthparents had signed the paperwork already. Just one week later, we rejoiced with friends that we had our son at last.

But God wasn't finished yet.

The day after our celebration for Michael, Hope's Promise called again. What could have possibly gone wrong this time? "Nathaniel is available again," they said. His birthmom had decided once and for all that she wanted us to take him. What indescribable joy!

We chuckle now as we imagine the looks on our friends' and family's faces as they read our hastily-written email that said we were getting Nathaniel back right after welcoming Michael into our family. Within eight days, our family had gone from two to three to four!

Choosing to embark on an adoption journey is choosing to give up control. Our journey involved more emotional rollercoastering than we ever anticipated. But through the peaks of happiness and the plunges of despair, we held onto God and trusted His sovereign control. It was sometimes a scary ride, but now we can laugh at the thrill of God's story for our family.  *

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Angie and Danny Theda have been married for 5-1/2 years. They are thrilled to report that they have two sons, Michael (2 months) and Nathaniel (10 months). The Thedas are active in Children's Ministry and love to climb mountains together.

From the Big Desk: March 2010

By Thomas Thompson

I am loving hearing the stories of how our Pulpit Rock Church family is living like missionaries where they live, work, and play. Recently, one of our own guys sent me this note:

We work with the Historical Society in a nearby mountain community. Most people there are very liberal (despite the County's conservative bent). One relatively devout Jewish lady who helps me schedule docents for the museum once said to me, "I don't get it. You're a Christian and very conservative, but you're so nice and easy to work with." We've been praying for opportunities to talk to these folks, but I wasn't ready for that one!

I didn't want to spoil the impression by coming on hard, so I just told her, "Don't believe everything the news intimates about us. Most of us really do try to follow the teachings and examples of Jesus. That's who we really are." I still try to send her Happy Hanukkah notes and will wish her a joyous Passover. It's a long process with some! — Scott

So get this: Scott has been praying for opportunities, and what do you know, God is opening the door! Remember the truth we saw in Acts 13; the Life you share will spread. Expect it.

Open Door, Open Heart

By Faye Palmer

On Women's Ministry service day, February 23, I went to clean a home, but found other needs to minister to as well. I was overwhelmed by blessings! It was great to see my fellow laborers overcome their doubts and fears and pitch in, encourage the homeowner and her friend, and love them. We became a team on the spot, doing dishes, vacuuming, and getting to know the ladies we were serving.

I saw a lot of hope in that house. Although there were some really deep needs, the woman asked for help and allowed us to provide. That's a start. I hope we have built a bridge of trust that will keep a future door open for ministry to this family.

The homeowner had some needs that my own mother struggles with, so I had great compassion for both my mother and her. My mother has never had godly women to pray for her (except me and my sister), and for years I was judgmental without realizing it. Our friend here has a circle of loving Christian friends to pray for her and encourage her to increase her knowledge of how much God is involved in her life as she deals with her day to day struggles.

Cleaning a home seems like a once and done ministry thing. But it can provide a link to a deeper knowledge of our Lord who loves us, cherishes us, and understands us every moment. The link is not only for those who those who were served, but ALSO for those who served. He has the power to make us the new creatures we are meant to be!  *

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Faye Palmer and her husband, Scott, have been greatly blessed with the fullness of God's grace through the fellowship of believers at Pulpit Rock Church and The Gap since 2006. They have two young adult sons, one of whom is getting married in April, and they love to hike and snowshoe.

Corner Markers & Hope

By Steve & Nancy Brown

One of the long-term blessings of our 12 years in Niger has been to see the church among the Fulani come forth as a shoot, then a small plant, and now a sapling standing straight and firm. We estimate maybe 1000 believers among 1 million Fulani in Niger these days, up from a couple hundred a decade ago. God is at work—beyond our gentle prodding and our own testimony—to bring a real vision for the gospel among the Fulani leaders and prominent believers.

At a unique meeting last February, funded by ministry money from Pulpit Rock Church, groups of leaders broke into small groups to brainstorm about what was needed for the gospel to spread among their people. When individual groups got up to report on their ideas, faces lit up as they found that they had arrived at surprisingly similar ideas about the key steps and needs quite independently of each other. The Holy Spirit has created unity and vision. Something beautiful is emerging and growing.

At the end of January, we traveled to Dakoro to witness the inauguration of the new Fulani Ministry Training Center. For us, it was a memorably trip, with 25 hours of driving, and six households worth of reasons to stop and talk with friends, buy foods for home, and run errands in the big city. It was the picture of crazy interdependence and relationship in the best African sense.

We came back with a stud goat strapped to the roof, and some of the pastor's long-lost furniture. We also came back with images of the first six students, the first four men chosen to teach and lead them, and the future site for the center on the edge of town.

For now, the site is nothing but corner markers and blowing sand, but we gathered en masse to pray, asking the Lord to bless and prosper the future. These are your prayers in action in a distant land among a cattle-herding people called the Fulani.  *

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Steve and Nancy Brown use their skills in water and health to help the Fulani tribe in Niger, Africa. Nancy is involved in literacy teaching, language learning, and keeping the home straight. She also provides medical care for needy Nigerian friends. Steve mainly works with the church in evangelism and discipleship of Fulani and Manga groups but has constructed 14 wells in Niger so far. Contact the Browns at steve.brown@sim.org.

Sacred Sexuality

By Thomas Thompson

"Christians are bombarded with sexual messages and images. But instead of reclaiming sexuality as a beautiful and good gift from God, the church is often silent and advocates prohibition. Ministry leaders need to embrace the challenge and create an atmosphere where sexuality is theologically-grounded, embraced, and discussed as God designed." (Sacred Sexuality Conference - 2009, Dallas Theological Seminary)

This quote challenges me in how we shepherd our souls through the dangerous landscape of today's culture. As we have prayed as a team, we sense a need to take a good look at what God says belongs to Him: human sexuality.

An upcoming 3-week series beginning April 12 will be a tasteful, biblical examination of the way we have allowed our culture to shape the way we think about sexuality. We'll learn to reorient our minds to see sexuality as a sacred thing.

This is a vital message for the entire church family—young and old, single and married, healthy and dysfunctional. My own kids will be in the room, so be assured that we'll do our best to be discreet, but also bold and uncompromising on what God has to say. And of course every parent needs to decide what is best for his child and may prefer his child participating in one of our children's programs during this series.

You may wonder why we would talk about this in church. Well, that question is part of the problem. Everyone is talking about sexuality—the world, your kids, both Satan and God—but not the church. Without the church sounding a clear call for biblical sexuality, the world will continue to propagate a twisted distortion of God's great gift.

How many have bought into the world's lies and seen their sexuality squandered? But God has good news for us. He is alive. He cares about our sexuality, and He wants to restore the fallen. He has a design for His creation's sexuality.

Will you make these three Sundays after Easter a priority? Ask God to open doors to friends you could invite. (Trust me, we won't demonize or demean them, but offer clear and compassionate hope for a new start with Christ.) We also hope to provide some other avenues outside Sunday morning that will help you get a handle on this topic from God's point of view.

Every one of you lives in a culture that bombards you with sexuality 24/7. We aim to counteract that. Will you be a part of this? Bring the word sex into your mentorship of younger people. Talk about your struggles. Give insights and help. Let's see God restore some sacredness to our sexuality.

Yes, we're going to talk about sex in the church. But are we talking about sex too much? No, we're not talking about it nearly enough. If we talked about sex better, we could talk about it less.  *

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Thomas Thompson became our lead teaching pastor in 2008 and is now our senior pastor. He and Jessica have four kids: Clara, Beau, Henry, and Gus. His passion in life is to inspire people to be doers of the Word.

Second Opinions

By Jeff Stebbins

When a light in our car says, Maintenance Required, another light goes on in my head: Advice Required! I know some things about some things, but not much about cars. I need advice from someone honest and impartial who has my welfare in mind.

For ten years, we have entrusted our Honda to one mechanic who makes an honest living serving loyal customers. We've had car trouble on long road trips and had to rely on strangers whose integrity we doubted. Here at home, though, we'd be nuts to take our car to anyone but "our guy."

In other fields—real estate, investing, medicine—we need to balance trust and caution. Sometimes, we seek second opinions, showing a lack of trust, because we depend upon the advice of fallible people. God, however, never fails.

In Genesis 3, after God told Adam and Eve they could eat from every tree but one, Satan showed up with a second opinion. He said he—not God—knew what was best. If they would eat the forbidden fruit, wonderful things would happen! But Satan is a lying whore who will say anything and use anyone (even friends, professors, therapists) to deceive us away from trusting and obeying the God who made, loves, and rescues us. The devil tells us what we want to hear, but his seductive lies only kill and destroy.

These thoughts came to mind as I meditated upon a surprising connection drawn in 1 Samuel 15:23. "Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry." The second link is clear (arrogance is a form of self-worship), but the first is more obscure.

Webster defines divination as "the art or practice of using omens or magic spells to foretell the future." Okay, but how are rebellion and divination alike?

God says many things we don't want to hear, but He's looking out for us. He gives us instructions to follow—not just because He's boss, but because He loves us and tells us what is true. He wants us to obey Him, for that entails faith—it shows we believe that He has our best interests in mind. God says that His laws were given "so that it may go well with you" (Deuteronomy 4:40), and that He "delights in the well-being of His servants" (Psalm 35:27). If we choose to trust and obey Him, we will find these verses to be true.

If, on the other hand, we turn away from trusting God to seek a second opinion from someone using omens, spells, horoscopes, or even humanistic philosophies, that is the opposite of faith in God. Not only is it sin (Romans 14:23b), it's dangerous and unproductive—and Satan loves it when we trust anyone but God.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly" (Psalm 1:1). In His Word, our loving, truthful Creator tells us what is best, and we'd be nuts to entrust ourselves to anyone else.  *

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Navigators Jeff and Beth Stebbins are members of Pulpit Rock Church. Jeff leads the 9:30 a.m. "Renew Your Mind" class in the West Campus on Sunday mornings.

Newlywed Foundations

By Donna Lorenc

As a newly married couple, life was not going the way we had planned. We had spent the first year of our marriage trying to find a church home where we could grow spiritually and get connected with other young couples. It wasn't happening. We also wanted to eventually move to Colorado.

One year after our wedding, Dave unexpectedly lost his job. Our plans were turned upside down. We decided to go ahead and move to Colorado though it was much sooner than we had planned. Little did we know that while our plan had fallen apart, God had a much better plan for us.

The very first Sunday we attended church here in Colorado, we met two other young married couples who had also recently moved to Colorado Springs and also "happened" to be visiting that church for the very first time. We look back and realize God moved each of us here in His timing so we could meet up.

From that initial meeting, we started up a small group for Bible study, prayer, and discipleship. Yes, it was a study group, but it became so much more. It was also a place where we found connection with other young married couples. We did life together. As a result of this group, the foundations were laid for a deep and abiding relationship with God, for lifelong friendships with these couples, and for strong, healthy marriages.

Because of our experiences as young marrieds, Dave and I have a heart to help young couples have a similar opportunity. This month, we are starting a new community group for engaged and newlywed couples called Newlywed Foundations. We are praying that God would use us to love on, care for, and equip those who are just starting out in their lives together. *

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Donna Lorenc is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has served at Pulpit Rock Church since 1985. She and Dave have been married for almost 40 years. They have two adult children, Chad and Toby, plus four wonderful grandchildren.