Strengthening Communities: 2021 Christmas Eve Offering
We celebrate not just the work God is doing through these great organizations, but also the work he has done through individuals who call Summit home. Both organizations began with a story of God breaking the heart of a Summit partner in order to call them toward work for which he had uniquely prepared them.
Native American Heritage Month: A Perspective on Restorative Justice
“We have to understand that God is for all people…,” Niki Wilkerson said with furrowed eyebrows and an urgent tone. Niki is a social justice advocate, artist, 11-year partner of Summit Church, and is of Cherokee heritage.
Team 33rd: Updates and Moving Forward
Our obedience, in these everyday, mundane moments, builds our trust in him. And that trust deepens as we remember who he is and what he has already done for us. That trust brings us to a place where, even in the midst of hardship or uncertainty, we can see his kindness at work in the details.
Deuteronomy: The Book Not the Monkey
Our obedience, in these everyday, mundane moments, builds our trust in him. And that trust deepens as we remember who he is and what he has already done for us. That trust brings us to a place where, even in the midst of hardship or uncertainty, we can see his kindness at work in the details.
Running with Perseverance
I think there is something in the word “endurance” that we need to pay particular attention to. Our life, our walk with the Lord, and our calling as the Church are marathons, not sprints. It’s an enduring faith and one that plays out over time and season and setback and celebration.
Don't Look Away
So what should you and I do? Don’t look away. Allow your heart to get involved with desiring justice and loving people well even when it costs and when it hurts. Allow yourself to be filled with holy discontent at injustices that harm people and creation. This goes for us as individuals and us collectively as the global Church.
Grow Our Hearts: Prayers for the World
We are beginning a monthly element in our worship services that we are calling “prayers for the world.” This communal time of guided prayer during our worship services will be intentionally built to have us pray for the things that hit close to home for us as well as the things that hit close to the home of another—to pray for the daily bread of another even as I pray for my own.
God Doesn't Write Bad Endings
Each day that I show up and invite God in—with all my junk, with all my pain, with all my hopes, fears, dreams, memories, desires—matters. He will meet me. He knows me. And has known me. And knows you. And has known you. And he doesn’t write bad endings. And what we are seeing and remembering is just a taste of what’s to come.
Guided Prayer
Your prayers, and mine, mix together with all the prayers ever uttered from the lips of God’s people and waft up to him like a sweet aroma with incense. God hears us! What a miracle, we have the ear of the King of the universe. In this season, we are coming together as a church to pray from a place of pain, disappointment, and deep concern. We are taking the time to pray. We will pour out our hearts and pound our fists on the very throne of God, and he will hear us.
A Day of Prayer and Fasting
Whether it is longing to hear from God, mourning loss, needing protection, seeking guidance, or beginning a new journey, the common thread is when God’s people need him to show up, they fast and pray. There are times when forgoing something of comfort can help us look more clearly at our need for God. This is at the heart of fasting, which biblically refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. On Wednesday, March 24th, from sunup to sundown, we invite the Summit family to fast and pray. For some, fasting from food for extended periods of time is unhealthy. If that is the case for you, please don’t put your health at risk through fasting, but please join us in prayer throughout the day.
There Is a Firmer Foundation
“Over the next two weeks, as we hope for the peaceful transition of power which has in the past characterized our country and inspired the world, I invite you to join me in prayer for our country, for our leaders, for ourselves, and for our church. Pray that God will bring healing we cannot manage on our own, humility to serve a cause bigger than ourselves, and wisdom to root our faith in Jesus first.”
Art Inspired by Esther
During the Esther sermon series, we spent time looking at what this story can mean for our lives. Four artists share with us their unique expression of these themes.
Now You See It
Healthy perspective shifts always end with grace. In order to provoke change in us, they have to. If not for grace, we might become lost in the overwhelming weight of how wrong our world can feel. When we face our pride and arrogance and see the bunny for the first time and realize there was more to the picture than we originally thought, grace comes rushing in. Grace joins hands with humility and asks how you will change because of this new image you have seen.
Reminders of His Promise
The Psalms reflect the whole range of human emotion. These words from God through the different psalmists breathe life into our day-to-day—our joys, struggles, longings, and questions. This summer, we spent time diving into the Book of Psalms as a church. I was excited to learn about different kinds of psalms and dive in deeper so some both familiar and unfamiliar passages. I was able to see how these psalms from the past can ring true even to our present lives and that the psalms are God giving us words to use to cry out to him.
New Meaning to History: “Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James Loewen Book Review
Lies My Teacher Told Me is a book for this moment. American history comes at a cost. Right now, we’re paying the price of our false narrative because we’ve refused to look hard in the mirror, see the truth and our flaws, and find the courage to address them. The cost of rebuilding American history on the true narrative will be an honest critical examination of our past and making the necessary changes to address the current injustices.
Check the Other Nostril
So, here’s the thing—I’ve never had a drinking problem. That’s not to say I’m above it, but I’ve watched some folks (that I love deeply) self-destruct as a result of alcohol. So I treat it with a healthy fear. It would be easy for me, I think, to recuse myself from examination under the microscope of recovery because I don’t have a “traditional” addiction. After all, I’ve seen what real addiction looks like, and I’m nothing like that. Sure. But… As an adult child of an alcoholic, let’s be honest—I’m pretty flush with baggage of my own.
Read and Discuss: “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson Book Review
Last fall, I participated in a cohort with some of my co-workers where we read and discussed Just Mercy together. It was our first round of these learning cohorts and really, for me, a first step into intentional community that involved education about racial injustice. It was shocking, eye-opening, and hard. We often sat in the room with no words to say. But it was important to take the space and time and truly it was transformative for me.
Build Something Better: “The Minority Experience” by Adrian Pei Book Review
As Summit learns more about truths obscured from their sight, there is an opportunity to expand the depth of how we live out and are steeped in the gospel. How we love our neighbors changes as we see them more fully. We’ll love more completely. When they are in pain, we won’t be able to choose to look away and abandon them. As we learn about others, we’ll learn about ourselves. We have to honestly reflect on how we got here and if we are part of making things better.
Mourning and Restoration
Thousands dressed in black to walk down Church Street together in a time of mourning for Black lives lost due to police brutality and social injustice. The walk culminated near the Amway Center where the group took time to pray, repent, and have conversations about each person’s role in implementing change in our country.
Get Educated: Join the Conversation on Racial Injustice
In a time when images of racial injustice are opening more eyes to the magnitude of the problem, we know it can leave many evaluating (maybe for the first time) what their role can or should be in moving toward change. Fortunately, we also find ourselves in a time when reputable resources are more accessible than ever as well.