When I first started speaking, I always got a kick out of the reaction my topic received. Some unsuspecting person would ask, “So, what do you talk about?”“I talk about women struggling with pornography.”There was a bit of a pause- you could probably call it awkward. “Hmmmm… well that’s interesting. That’s usually a men’s topic.”“Exactly.”
Read MoreYesterday morning, like you, I woke up to numbingly tragic news. As I absorbed the information, now pouring in from everywhere, I tried to find a context for my feelings. That effort led me into how I have felt in other tragedies, like the September 11th attacks, the Haiti earthquake, the Columbine shooting, the AIDS pandemic, and the Ethiopian orphan crisis.
Read MoreThis past Saturday, Summit gathered from far and wide for our 29th niceSERVE. We got up early to make our communities safer, healthier, and more beautiful. More like God intended. We served our neighbors and we glorified our awesome God in plain sight for all to see.
Read MoreThis is a big week for all of us at Summit. In a few short days, we will be donning our green shirts and showing up for niceSERVE 29. It is easy, with as many niceSERVEs as we have done, to look mainly at the mechanics and routine of the event and miss the profound spiritual reality that niceSERVE represents.
Read MoreAs my friend and co-worker, Trey Colson, was combing through the liturgies that different church traditions have used to celebrate Holy Week, he noticed something that struck him— and as he shared it with me, it struck me as well. A seemingly small detail at the end of the Maundy Thursday service: The service continues on Good Friday.
Read MoreThere’s something I’ve seen starting to take shape at Summit that I wish everyone who attends or even works at Summit could see. I’m almost certainly just getting a small glimpse of it, but what I’m talking about is the collective effect of someone giving their time and talents in multiple ministries within the church.
Read MoreSingleness is not a bad thing. But in the Christian world, it can often be interpreted as the phase before life actually begins. Sometimes even being identified as “single” can feel like a form of punishment to a person in a time when family portrait sessions and engagement ring photos make up approximately 93% of Facebook News Feeds.
Read MoreLet me start by saying, attending Partnership Class was a wonderful and impactful experience for me when I attended last fall - despite my expectations to the contrary.
Read MoreThe absolute truth is we are not Summit Church without our amazing volunteers. I personally get the opportunity to lead and serve alongside the many teams that help create Summit’s first impression at the Herndon campus. These folks arrive early to brew insane amounts of coffee, they help you find a parking space with a smile, they greet and...
Read MoreHave you ever considered what your best gift in ministry is? If you were to give the very best of yourself to God’s work in the world, what would that look like? I am guessing that you are a very gifted person. After all, you are reading this, so you know how to read and can use a computer. But your gifting probably extends well beyond that. You might be super organized, or a gifted strategist.
Read MoreUnseasonably warm (or rather, unreasonably toasty) weather didn’t keep Summit’s family and friends from dispersing throughout our cities to work alongside dozens of non-profit partners that serve our communities year round. We tackled landscaping projects at local parks and facilities. We sorted donations to be delivered to those most in need of relief locally and globally.
Read MoreQuest, Inc., through quality and innovation, builds communities where people with disabilities achieve their goals. Quest supports individuals in Orlando and Tampa, by offering choices and opportunities to live, learn, work and play.
Read MoreWhen I say the word homelessness, what do you think of? Do you imagine my expression to be a mixture of pity and disdain? Do you think of someone hunched in a doorway in downtown Orlando, muttering to themselves and calling out as you pass by? Or maybe it evokes images of panhandlers and unkempt men and women.
Read MoreWith a long history of hope and healing, The Grove Counseling Center has flourished into a Central Florida nonprofit built from the community’s need for services. A focus on those living with a mental illness or suffering from substance abuse allows The Grove to enhance the ability of many individuals and families to succeed in life.
Read MoreMoving into a new neighborhood is an interesting thing. Step one: unload the truck. Step two: find the place where the boxes you may never unload go. Step three: cut the grass so the neighbors don’t think we don’t care about the place. Step four: meet the neighbors.
Read MoreAs we gear up for Partnership Class here at Summit, I had the opportunity to sit down with the three men who faithfully lead the congregations at the Herndon, Lake Mary, and Waterford campuses–Garry Abbott, O.J. Aldrich, and Sam Arocho. We spent some time talking about what it means to be a partner, what going all in can look like, and gently teasing each other’s phraseology...
Read MoreMe too. Each week as I sit in a room among dozens of stories in bodily form, I come to realize that this is the deepest message reGROUP seeks to convey each week. Whether it’s through Sixty Minute Seminars during the summer, the regular reGROUP big group curriculum throughout the year, or in our Connect groups, this is the resounding message of reGROUP. Me too...
Read MoreA new season of reGROUP is upon us as we officially launch on Monday, September 21st at 7 p.m. Let’s be honest – launching stuff is exciting. The very word “launch” carries the essence of an upward trajectory and a feeling of newness; a rebirth...
Read MoreLife is better together. I heard those words the first time I walked through the doors of Summit seven years ago. And the moment I heard them I knew, and could feel, that they were true. My family had just...
Read MoreIt was my first time in the 33rd Street jail. I had no idea what to expect and I was slightly nervous, thanks in part to Hollywood portrayals of life “behind bars.” It was a Sunday afternoon and I was there early because—let’s be honest—I didn’t want to break the rules.
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