Big Sunday- 3/1

We're excited to host my friend and author Kary Oberbrunner at ClearView on 3/1 (9:30a., Gahanna YMCA). Kary is the author of an important new book called The Fine Line. Here's a teaser on the talk he'll be sharing with us:

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: Embodying the Kingdom Jesus prayed a bold prayer to His Father hours before going to the cross. He pleaded that His followers would be "in the world, but not of it." Although this short phrase sounds simple enough, it's laced with tension.

Certain times throughout history Christians avoided this tension and the church and the world suffered because of it.

Other times Christians ventured into the unknown—celebrating the tension instead of suppressing it.

Every generation must answer the most basic ethical question of the Christian faith, "What does it mean to be in the world, but not of it?" Answering correctly yields relevance, something the world deeply desires, but rarely sees. The Fine Line re-envisions what it means to integrate Christianity with culture.

We all have questions. It just depends upon whether or not we're honest enough to admit it. Author Kary Oberbrunner is your tour guide through the tension and into life on the Fine Line.

If you're in Columbus, or want to be, join us! We're praying for a new attendance record at ClearView and that this important Sunday will move our team forward in mission AND be a gathering point for future team members.

Great Discussion On Mission

I was pumped after our gathering at ClearView this past Sunday, 2/22. Several aspects excited my heart:

1. Numbers aren't the most important thing...but they are important. With only 1 guest, we had 38 in attendance. It's amazing to believe that last year at this time we were basically two families (about six people) and now we're close to 15 family units attending regularly. It's fun to think that when everyone is there we're right around 40 people.
2. We had a fabulous discussion on the theme of mission. We looked at Luke 5:17-26 where 4 faith-filled friends broke through a roof to lower their paralyzed friend to what he needed most: Jesus. We used this passage as a foundation for a pivotal discussion on the challenges each of us face in our personal mission endeavors and the opportunities that we have to help each other in our most important task...leading our friends to what they need most: Jesus.
3. Our group dynamics are healthy. Our people enjoy being together, are deepening relationships with one another, and share freely in group gatherings. It is fun to see our team gelling and uniting together around the purpose of loving people to a clear view of Jesus and mission.

Thanks for praying for the development of our team. Please continue!

Celebrate With Us!

We finally (after 10 days!) got a call from Trish's endocrinologists' office yesterday... They communicated that her final scan showed no indication of cancer. Yeah, God!

• Please praise God for gifted health care providers.
• Please praise God for healing for Trish from thyroid cancer!
• Please continue to pray for Trish's recovery...especially that she'd be able to wake up one day soon and say, "Wow...this is what it feels like to feel good again!".

Thanks for praying with us through this challenge!

To Trash Or To Fix?

That's the question we're trying to answer about our 1999 Pontiac Montana mini-van. We found out a few days ago that it's afflicted with a blown head gasket. That means squat to me in terms of mechanical function... but I know enough to know that it does mean significant $ from our tight finances! Fortunately, we have a local friend that could do the fix for hundreds less than a commercial shop...but still...we're in that unenviable position of "do you fix a 10 year old vehicle that has loads of small problems and has 130,000 miles on it"? The upside of fixing it is that, if it even lasted one year longer, it would be much cheaper than one year of car payments. So...I think we are leaning towards fixing but are nauseous at the thought of putting big money into an older vehicle.

If you would, pray God would give us wisdom to make the smartest choice and make provision for whatever He leads us to do. Thanks!

Exciting Things In Columbus!

Many people may not know there are 5 different Grace Brethren church starts taking seed right now in the greater Columbus area. I've enjoyed building relationships with each of these men, have learned from their efforts, and admire them as leaders willing to take risks for the expansion of God's Kingdom.

Last Thursday, we gathered with about 25 other Grace Brethren pastors from central Ohio and had the opportunity to give updates on the happenings in each of our church starts. It was good to hear all that God is doing in developing teams, creative ministry ideas, and strategic plans.

I was excited to share about ClearView. I talked specifically with the men about the special people God is bringing to our team and how God has worked through some of our recent challenges (especially Trish's thyroid cancer) to lead us to push back the date of our Grand Opening Celebration (sometime Fall of 2009). If you're interested in reading more, see the text of my remarks here.

I was also thrilled to hear of what God is doing through my comrades in other parts of greater Columbus. Sean Spoelstra shared about the extraordinary things God is doing in Encounter Church, starting in the Jerome Township/Dublin area. God has blessed them with over 25 family units on their launch team and they are holding preview gatherings leading up to a Grand Opening month in April.

God is also working in the heart of Columbus through the conception of Capital City Grace Church. Pastors Larry Totske and Eric Miller are forming a launch team and planning for a Spring launch. Be sure to check out their blog and a Columbus Dispatch article about the Totskes' efforts to meet people through bowling. Good stuff.

My friend Sean Kaeser is working out in Plain City. Shawn and his wife Tracie are working on starting Darby Grace from scratch. God is blessing and over 40 people are attending worship gatherings weekly.

Last but not least- Doug Shotsky and Tony Webb are working together on a unique and effective approach to church starting in the Mt. Sterling area. Doug is a Gatherer- he works at making connections in the community and telling people about the new Sterling Grace. Doug shared that they are anticipating a special weekend where they will host a special dinner for couples and watch the Fireproof movie together. 24 couples have already registered!

As you read...please pray for my brothers and their special work. What they are doing is not easy, is driven my mission, and has potential to change the world. If you know anyone looking for a church in any of these communities...please refer them to these new churches.

Progress Report: Trish

Thanks to so many that have prayed for Trish and supported our family in so many ways. We've been so blessed by so many- people have sent cards, helped with kids, given gift cards, set up play dates for our kids, called, e-mailed, sent Facebook messages, etc. THANKS!

Since my last blog post, Trish has:

• Finished the treatment regimen for thyroid cancer, including a 4-day period of isolation while undergoing radio-iodine treatment.
• Resumed taking thyroid medication...very important for normal functioning!
• Undergone a final, full-body scan to determine the effectiveness of the treatment process (we don't have the results from this test yet).
  
• Maintained very positive spirits...

Now onto recovery...from everything she has read and talked with others about, it will take a good 4-6 weeks until she begins to feel "normal" again. She continues to have periods of great weariness...but her stamina improves a bit each day.

So, thanks for praying. And, please keep praying. We'll get final test results sometime this week and, Lord willing, will celebrate all cancer gone. Please pray that Trish will feel stronger than ever and continue to sense God strengthening her body.

Isolation, Day 2

I took the boys over two times today to see Trish, briefly. As long as we don't touch her, stay about 6 feet away, and don't spend a long time in the same room, we are aloud to see her. That meant a lot to all of us. Trish felt pretty crummy most of the day with extreme weakness and upset stomach (periods of nausea and just plain uncomfortable). She's having difficulty getting good sleep. However, she is developing incredible prowess on Facebook (send a friend request to Tricia Wirt) and is enjoying keeping in touch with the outside world through that medium.

Please keep praying-- for good rest, for good spirits (it is torture for her to not have stimulation from live conversation with other people), and healing. Thanks to everyone that has sent her an e-mial or posted something on her wall (Facebook). Two milestones are upcoming- she can resume normal diet tomorrow night and come home on Tuesday morning.

Isolation, Day 1

Trish is doing well today! Thanks for praying. We went to Riverside Hospital early this a.m. and she took her radio-iodine pill. By God's grace and an answer to your prayers... the required dose was less than we expected and she only has to be isolated for 4 days. Trish is now resting by herself at a friends house, within a mile of where we live (Thanks Mike and Tiffany!). This makes it easy for me to take food (she's still on a special diet) and other things she needs.

God has been good to us in many ways:

• Ideal place for Trish to stay, close by.
• Weaker dose than originally thought necessary
• Trish is dealing with the treatment well (no nausea or other noticeable side affects to this point)
• Family and friends have been a huge help to us over the last several weeks.
• Trish has a computer...so feel free to send her an e-mail (twirt@sbcglobal.net) or Facebook message and let her know you're thinking of her.
  

Thanks for praying!

Exciting Sundays!

I want to try and do a better job of sharing here what God is doing at ClearView during our Sunday gatherings (Gahanna YMCA, 9:30a.). Good things are happening! We continue to experience strong attendance for a start-from-scratch church start and there is a very positive energy among the people present. God has brought us fabulous teammates, and I couldn't be happier about the group HE is assembling. We're continuing to build our children's ministry, KidView, and will soon be expanding to three age levels. Recently, we've been focusing on our core value of prayer- how to be people of prayer that seed this important spiritual discipline into the DNA of ClearView Church- and discussing Craig Groeschel's book, IT.

Please continue to pray for us as we develop as a team, form the DNA of a healthy church, and seek to impact our community. Thanks!

ClearView At New Albany Business Expo.

On January 15 (yes, I'm behind on my blog posting... .like everything else in my life! :), ClearView was well represented at a business expo. sponsored by the New Albany Chamber of Commerce (and, yes, that's me in the picture, taking the picture, because we were in a room surrounded by mirrors!). This was an exciting time of networking with business leaders from our community, meeting some new people, and making some excellent contacts. I enjoyed conversations with members of the New Albany Rotary, YMCA representatives, Mayor Ferguson (New Albany), and several other community members.

Please pray that God would continue to seed ClearView in people's minds as an exciting new church that shows love in REAL ways. This branding in people's minds is an important predecessor to more wide-reaching marketing and invitations we will extend as our Grand Opening draws near. The more buzz we can build now... the better response to our future invites. THANKS!

Update on Trish and Family...

January has been a challenge! Silas' face in this picture says it all! In addition to Trish beginning the treatment process for her thyroid cancer, Silas has been to the urgent care for stitches (January 1...hello new deductible!), Sara had tubes put in her ears (she's had double ear infections since early December and went through four rounds of antibiotics with no relief), and all of us, but Seth, have had the stomach flu. Sara's virus continued for 9 days. Indeed, God has been testing us.

However, we've also seen multiple signs of God's goodness in these challenging days. Trish, despite real weariness and some uncomfortable side effects of being off all thyroid medication, is holding up pretty well. Her spirits are high and she is pressing through her treatment period with real endurance. She has been overwhelmed by the kindness of our ClearView family, help from our biological family, multiple offers to help with kids, cards, Scriptures, and gifts that people have sent. Thanks!

Please keep praying for her... as each day gets progressively more difficult. Next week, she has tests at Riverside Hospital 4 different days, including two full body scans. These will affirm (we're praying- God willing!) that the cancer was confined to the thyroid region (and removed at surgery) and determine how strong her radio-iodine pill will be. She will take this next Friday and the strength of the pill will dictate how long she must be isolated (she will basically be emitting radiation and has to follow special instructions to not affect people around her). So, the next two weeks will be a real challenge for her and our family. We appreciate your prayers for physical strength, spiritual encouragement, and the challenges this creates for Trish and our family. Keep the cards coming... they are a great blessing...and will be, especially, when Trish can't be around people for about a week. See January 13 post for address.

Send Trish A Card!

I have a special request for you... As you think of Trish in the coming weeks, would you take the opportunity to send her a card of encouragement? I think it will perk up her spirit on a tough day to be flooded with cards from those that are praying and thinking of her. Maybe you want to send one a week for the next 4 weeks... So much of what we do anymore revolves around a keyboard and screen... but Trish won't have consistent access to technology...especially from 2/6-2/11 or so. So, I'd love to see her get a deluge of old-fashioned snail-mail.

You can send notes to:
Trish Wirt
c/0 ClearView Church
PO Box 629
New Albany, OH 43054

Thanks!

Treatment Begins...Please Keep Praying

Thanks for praying for Trish as she recovered from surgery on 12/15. She is doing pretty well and she has been touched by the care and concern and prayer of so many of you.

Tomorrow Trish begins a series of adjustments to her medication and diet that will culminate in some tests and procedures in early February that will determine the strength of nuclear medicine treatment she will undergo. As we understand it, the treatment sequence involves going off of all thyroid medication (beginning) tomorrow, beginning a no-iodine diet towards the end of January, and then undergoing a series of tests leading up to taking a radioactive pill on February 6th that will require Trish to be isolated for 4-8 days (depending on strength of treatment necessary to kill any remaining cancer or suspicious tissues). We're hoping that Trish can resume taking thyroid medication and enjoying a normal diet sometime the week of February 9. We covet your prayers in the following ways:

• Pray for complete healing. We're trusting God that full-body scans on February 5 and 6 will reveal no cancer anywhere else in her body and that any remaining tissues around the thyroid area can be treated with this treatment.
• Pray for physical and emotional strength for Trish. Research she has done indicates that she will be extremely tired and battle a range of emotions and other side effects as she is off all medication that would normally perform thyroid functions.
• Pray for wisdom about how to best approach the period of time that Trish can't be around people. We need to make plans to keep the kids away from mom, rearrange sleeping arrangements in our house, make special meals, and care for Trish as she won't feel well.
• Pray that I would be a good husband and dad first and not allow the pressure of this significant time in our ministry journey to dominate my thoughts. Pray I would find a balance and strength to love my family well and advance ministry projects at the same time.
• Pray God would use us as a strong testimony for Jesus as we interact with people in our community.

Thanks so much for standing with us on this leg of our journey.

Pray For Our Gathering Tomorrow!

Sorry to not have posted in so long. Where does time go!

If you're reading this today... please pray for our gathering tomorrow (Gahanna YMCA, 9:30a.). I'm praying our whole team and even some people we've been inviting for some time will show up. I'm planning to share a specific plan that I feel God has put in my heart to prepare our group to launch ClearView Church strong on April 12, 2009. The days are short, there is much to be done, and I know there will be challenges for my family and others along this journey. If we can work this plan God had given, I am confident we will be prepared for God to do something significant on Easter! Please pray that I would communicate clearly and that our team would respond with unity and excitement around God's direction.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

If you prayed for us and/or sent us a note of encouragement in the last week, I hope you see this so you can know how blessed we have been by you! God has been so richly at work through people and has blessed us with countless, visible displays of His goodness and love as new and old friends have prayed for us and with us, brought meals, watched kids, helped us with lagging ministry projects, and written notes on online forums or good, old-fashioned cards. We have been truly blessed by our ClearView family, local friends, and out-of-town friends and family. THANKS! We felt God's peace through your kindness.

Many of you have asked for an update on Trish. She is recovering well. She is able to get back to normal functioning a little more each day. She feels excessively tired and is experiencing some unwanted side effects of medicines she is taking, but we imagine both of these, while undesirable, are to be expected. Her spirits are good and she's been hard at work ensuring a special Christmas for our family. Please keep praying for her recovery, healing, and for increased energy levels.

A final item for prayer is complete healing from cancer. We are trusting God that the surgery removed all harmful tissues and that medicine will round out this treatment. We're not sure exactly what that means yet...but Trish meets with a doctor tomorrow that will help us better understand upcoming treatments. Thanks for keeping this in continued prayer.

Finally, please forgive us if we have not responded to your comment/post on Facebook or this blog or returned a phone call or e-mail. Know that we have gotten your blessing and take great meaning from it...we're just overwhelmed with all that is happening in our lives, the wonderful aspects of the Christmas season, and moving ministry projects forward. Please keep the good words coming! :)

Merry Christmas! Luke 1:37-38

New Season Of Prayer For Trish

Hi faithful prayer friends. Please keep praying for Trish. She is recovering nicely...just tired and sore. However, we did find out today that her thyroid (removed on Monday) WAS cancerous. Lymph nodes around the thyroid that were also removed WERE NOT cancerous. So, there is good news:

We know surgery was the right thing to do and are thankful that God provided a quality surgeon to do her thryroidechtomy quickly.

This sort of cancer is highly treatable due to surgery and treatment options. Her surgeon seems to feel strongly that complete cure is quite likely with medicine she will begin taking soon.

Obviously, the bad news is that cancer is cancer and no one wants this. Please pray for:

1. Wisdom for Dr. Tallo (endocrinologist) and Dr. Sivard (surgeon/endocrinologist) as they devise Trish's treatment plan.
   
2. Complete healing.
   
3. Peace for Trish and our family.
   

Thank for praying. I believe God that "the works of God (will be) displayed in (Trish)" as He heals her (see John 9:3b, ESV).

Trish's Surgery Went Well... Please Keep Praying...

Hi Friends,
Thanks for praying for Trish this a.m. Technology is amazing... so I can keep you posted on what's going on via blog and Facebook status updates. I just spoke with the surgeon... He said that:

1. Surgery went as well as could be expected.
   
2. He could see three of four para-thyroids (which is good. You need one to function properly...and Trish has at least three healthy ones. Danger is that sometimes these can be entwined in the thyroid...so at removal of thyroid it is necessary to remove these also...so the fact that they could be seen/not removed is a blessing).
   
3. He could clearly see the nerve that ensures vocal functioning. One concern in this surgery is that if this nerve is hidden...it can accidentally be cut or nicked and inhibit vocal functioning. So...he's confident this is not a concern in Trish's case.
   
4. Here's where the praise/prayer requests merge: When the doctor removed the nodule that is growing on Trish's thyroid...they sent this to the lab to test for cancer. Results of these preliminary tests came back "inconclusive". This is not a surprise...because this is one reason Trish chose to have the thyroid removed. So, I'm thanking God for clear discernment that we did the right thing. Surgery was necessary. PRAYER REQUEST is that the doctor said many times these inconclusive tissues are sent to specialists at the Mayo Clinic or John's Hopkins to try and really tell if the tissues are cancerous or not. It's too close to call at this point. They aren't normal but they aren't obviously cancerous either. So, pray that there is no cancer.
   
5. The doctor also removed some suspicious lymph nodes around the thyroid. He felt that these looked abnormal and if, by chance, there is some problem...He didn't want to have to do a second surgery.
   

So, bottom line is that Trish came through the surgery well, is in recovery now, and we ask you to please keep praying for 1) recovery, 2) acclimation to the medicine she'll have to take from this point on, and 3) a cancer-free report when tests come back in a week or so.

Thanks for praying!

Take a Look and Be Encouraged!

I'm excited about this video that a team member made (pro-bono!) for us. If you're on this blog, I know you pray for us (THANKS!) and this video will give you food for praise to God for all He has done this year. It also gives some practical tips for how you can continue to help us in 2009.

Trish-Surgery on 12/15

Our family would appreciate your prayer for Trish as she is scheduled to have her thyroid removed on Monday, December 15. She learned recently that biopsy results showed atypical cells and after several recommendations from different doctors, Trish has opted to have it removed.

We understand that surgery should take a few hours, she will stay over night in the hospital, and come home the next day. Recovery is supposed to be pretty quick with minimal pain.

Please pray with us:

1. To thank God for making a reputable surgeon available on a favorable time basis.
   
2. That the surgery would go well. Risks are that the thyroid sits on top of vocal cords. Pray for great skill for the surgeon.
   
3. That God would bless Trish with a speedy recovery and help doctors to regulate medicine quickly that will take over important thyroid functions.
   

2 Breakthroughs Today!

We need some breaks from God. Launch day is drawing close (about 18 weeks!) and we need to see our team grow. Simply put...we need to see some decisive movement from God. So, I'm trying to pray that way! I'm praying for breakthroughs.

God gave two today:
1. A friend, that is now chairperson of her church's missions team, called to say this church is going to send ClearView a donation before they close out this budget year. This is an unexpected surprise!
2. Another friend called with a referral. He has been helping a man from Gahanna in his spiritual journey and told this gentleman about ClearView. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to minister to him and invite him to join our team.

Praise God for this movement today. Please pray with us for similar daily breakthroughs in coming weeks!