That’s not who this blog is addressed to, but rather the name of our upcoming series at Orlando North (http://www.OrlandoNorth.com).

A couple weeks ago I was gripped by a letter that is quick to get lost nearing the end of the New Testament that Paul wrote to a man named Philemon.  It’s a letter so short that it was only assigned one chapter in the Bible.  Twenty-five verses.  Other books of the Bible take twenty-five verses just to get the salutation over.  “Philemon” gripped me because in the span of twenty-five verses some beautiful things are revealed about God’s heart for me.

The letter is written by the Apostle Paul to a friend of his named Philemon.  Philemon has recently been wronged by his slave, a man by the name of Onesimus.  The letter from Paul to Philemon is a plea for Philemon to demonstrate forgiveness to Onesimus and receive him back as a brother and not a slave.

There are a number of things we’ll address in the series including:

Does the Bible condone slavery?

• God’s sovereignty
• Forgiveness
• Our potential transformation from our story to His story

We’ll exegetically (verse-by-verse) walk through this letter together.  No topic, just the revelation of Scripture.  This is my favorite way to teach and to explore.  I love God’s Word and I know it has the power to change me.  Will you allow it to change you?

Join us this Sunday, August 14^th, at 10:30 AM as we begin this look into a twenty-five verses that will change the way you see God, His plan, and people He’s put in your life.

Rob

When I was a kid digital watches blew my mind in terms of technology.  Our culture was so advanced that I could actually have something digital tell me the time.  Realize how big of a deal this was considering back in that era if you wanted to know the accurate time you would literally get on your rotary phone and dial a phone number and call “TIME” and you would be given the current date and time.  Now I have time on my wrist.  How freakin’ cool!

Between my watch and my calculator I could do cool stuff:

1. I could find the square root of 967,677,824.
2. I could spell the word “hello” simply by entering the numbers 0-3-7-7-4 and turning the instrument upside down.

Ok, I could only do two cool things, but it was still cool.

Fast forward to August 2011.  You know what my kids did Monday?  They didn’t push buttons on a calculator.  They didn’t play Pong on their Atari game set.  No, my seven-year-old and my nine-year-old started their own blogs.

Are – you – kidding – me?

Haley calls me at work and says, “Daddy, Caeden and I just started our own blogs.”  She said it matter-of-factly, as though I should just take that information for granted.

What does a seven-year-old blog about?  His new favorite sport – hockey.  His first blog was five sentences long and it was entitled, “learning too hockey skate”.  Yes, the spelling and punctuation are an exact replica of what I found on the blog.  Each sentence unveils his passion for hockey and for ice-skating.  By the end of the short blurb you know that he is learning to hockey skate, but he is also the best in his class (pure humility).  You also know that he learned to hockey stop (plow) and that he’s only skated with a stick and a puck once.

What does my nine-year-old daughter blog about?  Dogs, of course.  That’s her passion.  She hosts dog birthday parties.  She has dog posters.  She’s done dog research.  Now she’s blogging about dogs.  She posted SIX blogs on her very first day!  I’m lucky if I get six out in two months.

Amazing.  I’m old and technology is insane.

Oh, to follow their blogs, go to:

http://hduford.blogspot.com or http://sportsbycaeden.blogspot.com

Rob

The answer of course is yes.  There are challenges in the church world.  That’s simply what happens when any organization is established and run through the filter of relationships.  When fallible humanity is involved it’s going to be messy at times.

Every season of our church planting experience with Orlando North Community Church seems to have had its own set of challenges.  However, no matter what season we found ourselves in, one thing I have noticed is the way our tribe rallies around one another through thick and thin.

Church is family, not a facility or a business.  Being part of Orlando North has opened my eyes to this reality.  For a church our size we’ve experienced issues that would only be seen in a church much larger than ours simply because of the statistical probability of larger quantities.  But nonetheless, here we are…people with real big issues…that need real big resolutions.

One of two things is true about our church that I can deduce because of the circumstances we’ve faced within the people of our tribe:

1. We are cursed and trouble seems to follow us.
2. God established this church as a hospital filled with people he could trust to take care of those who were hurting.

I am 100% convinced we are option #2.  We are set up here relationally to take care of each other, and through these circumstances let the world see Christ in us.  What brings me joy in my job is the fact that I get to be in a tribe with people who genuinely care for one another, and are also passionate about serving those who are not a part of our church community.  Orlando North, you are unique.  Don’t lose that.

• May we never become an institution.
• May our doors be open to the sick and the hopeless.
• May they find compassion, ministry, and hope when they encounter Jesus’s love in us.
• May we be known for our love and not our programs, facility, staff, or talent.

Rob

I grew up in Michigan.  It’s cold there.  They have ice and snow.  With ice and snow comes a natural drawing towards wintery sports such as hockey.

You know what else is in Michigan?  The Detroit Red Wings.  What many consider to be the greatest team in the National Hockey League.

So, naturally I should be a decent hockey player because of my roots.  At minimum, I would know how to ice skate.

I’m not and I didn’t.

The team I joined went 4-11 last season in the rookie (beginners) league, so they’re pretty much not the greatest team to grace the rink.  I joined the team last week and immediately filled the role of being the worst player on the worst team.  It was a strange feeling for me as my teammates kept saying, “Don’t worry, this happens to all of us”, or “You’re only going to get better!”  These are statements I say to people in sports.  They’re not supposed to say them to me!!!  I’ve now become “That Guy”.

Yet, I’m having the time of my life.  I’ve always loved watching hockey; I’ve just never played it.  The main reason is that I was always too wrapped up in my basketball teams to be able to participate in hockey, who shared the same season as basketball.

Last Saturday was my first game.  My friend, Jay, and I decided to play as a means of having some fun as well as getting to rub shoulders with guys we otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to hang with.  Our buddies from church, Mikey and Jessie, had invited us graciously to join their team.

I was on the first line, meaning every time I saw a certain center enter the game I was to jump on the ice with him and assume my position.  My position was left wing.  This is an offensive position that requires speed and touch with the puck.  I lack both.  However, left wing seemed appropriate because the only side I can do a plow stop on is my left.  If I were on the right wing and needed to stop you would see me plow with my left and do a complete 360 before facing the appropriate direction.  I would look more like Michelle Kwan than Wayne Gretzky, and we just can’t have that.

In the approximately 20 minutes I played on the ice, the puck came to me probably about ten times.  Three of those times my stick actually touched the puck.  The other seven went right by my stick and down the ice.

I fell twice in full padding, yet my butt still hurt.

Once, the entire game came to a halt as the referee had to literally point me in the right direction as to where I was supposed to stand on a faceoff.  Oops.

We lost 6-2 and I was ecstatic because of how much fun I had.

My team, “The Panzees” (short for chimpanzees), is full of a bunch of great guys and one lady.  They love hockey and enjoy hanging out together.  I’m looking forward to getting to know all of them better as we pursue our dream of becoming a winning team.

I’ll keep you updated.

There’s life in a nutshell.  It really doesn’t get any simpler than that.  Maybe this is the kind of material that gives us the best evidence that Solomon really was the wisest man in the world.  He didn’t complicate anything; He just said it like it is.

This verse, which was put to music by ‘The Byrds’ in their song, ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’, seems to be the text for what our tribe, Orlando North Community Church, is currently living out in parable form.

As I type this blog a beautiful couple in our church, Christian and Lorie Coka, are meeting their first child, Colin, for the very first time as he’s making his entrance into this world.  It’s a beautiful thing that we are all celebrating alongside them.  A matter of fact, I can’t wait to meet Baby Colin and experience that new life.

It’s a time to laugh and dance.

Flip the page and our tribe is also experiencing great loss.  On Sunday morning another beautiful couple in our tribe, Adam and Amanda Goldman, lost the baby she was carrying and were absolutely crushed.

Another family in our church is also experiencing loss.  Gina Garcia and Matthew Williams are hurting as Matt’s brother-in-law, Jeff Morris, who was only forty-five-years old passed away yesterday following a heart attack. Jeff was the father of a seventeen and thirteen-year-old.

It’s a time to weep and mourn.

All around us there is life and there is death.  It’s beautiful and it hurts.  It’s a living, breathing oxymoron.

It’s the beauty and the hurt of relationships.  As I posted on Facebook last week and said on Sunday – If we wish to enjoy the beauty of relationships we must risk the tragedy of loss.  Relationships are beautiful because they are risky.  With them we risk incredible pain.  Without them we are certain of emptiness and solitude.

As the Goldmans and Matt’s family are mourning we mourn with them because of our relationship with them.  They mean something to us.

As the Cokas are celebrating the life of their new son we celebrate and dance with them because of our relationship with them.  They mean something to us.

We do not compare the two as one is just and one is unjust.  We look at all the circumstances and simply respond accordingly.  We love.  We embrace.  We support and we pray.  Because life and relationships can be both exciting and tough.  The ebb and flow of life can catch us off guard, but we are called to experience and feel deeply every moment of it – the good and the bad – together.

Church is not about a Sunday morning performance.  Church is the love and support of brothers and sisters in Christ celebrating and grieving together.  It’s experiencing these ebbs and flows together.  It’s coming together as a family to worship on Sundays because it’s like communion in that we remember who’s holding us together in all seasons.

To all who are grieving, including the Goldmans and Matt’s family – we mourn with you.

To all who are celebrating, including the Cokas – we dance with you.

To Jesus – we trust you and put our hope in you.

Currently many of those I have friendships with are in the struggle of their lives.  At the same time Melanie and I are making some of the most important decisions of our lives in regards to our children, and their future.  As I quietly ponder all that is going on around me I get the mosaic of emotions – pure joy, fear, anxiety, laughter, sadness, anger, confusion, relief, anticipation…  You name it, I have it.  And in those moments of reflection, truth be told, I am overwhelmed.

Why?

Because Rob Duford, quite frankly, ain’t enough to fix anything let alone everything.  For my friends who are hurting I have nothing more to offer than a hug or a prayer.  I desperately want the upbeat emotions to swallow the depressing ones.  I dream of the great circumstances forcing the poor ones to disappear.  But they don’t.  Life continues.  Great circumstances and crappy ones.

Many would suggest that Christians have created God in their minds so they can have a crutch in their weakness.  While I take issue with us ever creating the Creator, I cannot argue that God serves as my crutch.  The suggestion that I am not strong enough to stand on my own simply does not offend me.  That’s a simple reality of my life.  I am well aware of who I am, and who I am not.  I hope I never try to convince anyone that I am a man who has the capacity to stand on my own.

Bottom line is that God is my crutch.  I need Him.  In the book of Proverbs there is a verse that is often quoted, and it is done so because it’s a verse that summarizes God’s plan for our lives.  It truly captures the message of the entire Bible, both Old and New Testament in a beautiful way:

Proverbs 3.5,6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

He designed us to lean heavily into Him.  To do so is not weakness; it is wise.  I have nothing; He has everything.  Trust in the one with nothing or draw from the one who has everything?  Seems like a simple answer to me.

As a dad, if my kids will someday on their own lean heavily into their Heavenly Father and trust Him, then I would consider that a win.
As a friend, if I can point my friends towards the crutch, who is God, in their emotionally draining chapters of life, then I would consider that a win.
As a man, if I can remind myself of my inadequacies and God’s capacities and follow that reminder, then I would consider that a win.

This Sunday at Orlando North we will examine how Jesus put it best when he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Rob Duford, and I’m part of a church that has been praying for you for a very long time.

Our church, Orlando North Community Church, is just over four-years-old, and during our four years of getting our feet established in the northern Orlando community we have constantly been looking forward to the day when we could officially plant our roots in Altamonte Springs.  Altamonte is the central hub for the northern Orlando communities, and we’ve always wanted to land here as part of this community with you.

This evening our dream of being an official part of this community came true as the City of Altamonte Springs planning board voted unanimously to grant us permission to use the Sihle Insurance building located at 1021 Douglas Avenue as our home.

As we come into the neighborhood we want you to know how strongly our desire is to serve you, your families, and this community as a whole.  We have no desire to be a church that’s stuck in our four walls screaming to people about God.  Rather, we want to demonstrate the love and hope of Jesus to you personally by serving you right where you are.  The church was created to be a people, not a building.  It’s a people who are finding their purpose in serving God by serving others.  That’s what we intend to do for you and for this city.

Here’s what I vow to you.  I promise we will be a people and a place where you can safely ask questions and experience Jesus for yourself.  We will not judge you where you are, but will assist you and show you hope whatever stage of life you find yourself in.  If you are a parent, we will come alongside you and give you tools and relationships to help you whether you’re parenting a little one, an elementary-aged child, a teenager, or a young-adult.  We’ll also give you a home where you can worship God with others with no strings attached.

We desperately desire to connect people to God and to others.  We don’t believe life, or our faith, were ever intended to be done as a solo act.

We’re eager to get our feet wet in this community.  Over the next few months we hope to serve Altamonte by providing school supplies and clothes for single moms and dads in the neighborhood next to our building.  We want to serve during ‘Red, Hot, and Boom’ at Crane’s Roost on July 3^rd.  We also want to share our art and music with those who are willing to view and listen some evening at Crane’s Roost.

Here’s the deal – We’re not religious.  By religious I mean we’re not about man-made traditions and rules.  We’re a church made up of broken people who are hungry to have a really big God work in us as we experience Him in an authentic way.  Nothing weird.  Nothing boring.  Just us knowing we can’t do this life on our own.  And we’d love for you to be a part of this journey with us.

On Sunday, May 22^nd, we’re going to be kicking off a special series of talks that I’ll give called “Blessed Are” which is a look at eight specific statements Jesus made about us.  The statements are really strange at first glance because he makes statements like, “blessed are the poor in spirit”, and “blessed are those who mourn”.  These are a direct paradox to how I feel about being poor in spirit and mourning.  But, when you view life differently, as Jesus did, you will see things differently.  My friend, Isaac Hunter, said, “You cannot truly mourn unless you first truly loved” which opened my eyes to at least one of these paradoxical statements Jesus made.  I’m blessed in my mourning because it’s an indicator that I have loved.

I want to invite you come and be a part of that day when we begin these talks.  I know it will speak to you, not because I’m teaching it, but because the words of Jesus have the power to influence your situation.  Please know from me personally that we’d love to have you and you will be welcomed.

Location: 1021 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs 32714 (Sihle Insurance building)

Time: Sunday, May 22^nd at 10:30 AM

Without sounding too Mr. Rogers(ish) – Thank you for letting us be your neighbor.  We look forward to serving you.

Rob Duford

After ten years you become diluted to the daily routine of knowing the tyrant was still on the loose, and all of a sudden, just like that, the search is over.  For a decade our brave men and women in our armed forces had been searching diligently for this man who had brought devastation to thousands of families, and with one operation, the ten-year search came to a close.

There is relief in knowing that a tyrant has been eliminated.  However, I still find myself very much disturbed.

The news today is showing celebrations that are happening all over our country, and I get it.  A man that brought so much tragedy is no more.  The fact that his run is over is reason to celebrate.  But what disturbs me is not the celebration that a reign is over, but it is the gloating as though we have somehow won something now that Bin Laden is dead.  We haven’t won anything.  The lives of those lost on 9/11, and because of 9/11, are not revived simply because Bin Laden is now dead.  If they were, then we won something.  But they weren’t, and we didn’t.

And I think today many are thinking we got revenge.  The mission to remove Bin Laden was about justice, not revenge.  Revenge stems from arrogance – You took something from me, therefore I demand something from you.  Revenge finds comfortable residence in a heart of hatred.  Hatred is of the belief that the sword, or the gun, or the missile somehow will resolve the world’s problems.  When will we understand that if we believe this to be true we actually have much larger problems than a terrorist hiding in a compound?

The realistic truth is that revenge does not equal the score.

That’s a truth any good parent wants instilled in their child’s list of virtues.  You teach your child love, patience, and forgiveness.  Revenge is not high on the list for a reason – it doesn’t resolve anything.  Taking revenge doesn’t make you better than the one you are taking your vengeance out on.  It simply destroys your soul as you spin your wheels forever contemplating more and more vengeance.

Again, the mission to capture or kill Bin Laden was not about revenge (I have to believe this is true), but it was about justice.  Justice makes things right.  Revenge pays back evil for evil, and it never ends.  I’m afraid many of our celebrations today have revolved around revenge.  They stem more from hatred than they do the pursuit of justice.

This morning Fox News was unveiling many of the headlines of leading newspapers in the country.  News anchor, Gretchen Carlson ,gave the response of “That’s my favorite one!” to the headline found on the New York Daily News that read, “Rot in Hell”.  That’s hatred, not justice.

Patriotism and Christianity have evolved together in the minds of many thanks primarily to politicians using it as a platform to get into office.  It would be great if the values of Christ were influencing the nation.  However, it’s quite the opposite.  Instead, if you are a Christian then you are expected to adopt the unwritten rules of patriotism – one of which is to harbor hatred in your hearts towards the enemies of our State.  Folks, this message simply isn’t Jesus’s.  Listen to what Jesus said, and see if it’s in contradiction to the attitudes of the flesh that are being revealed today:

Matthew 5.43,44 – You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  BUT I SAY TO YOU, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

The Apostle Paul even dives into this in Romans 12, a chapter on worship of all things, teaches us something about revenge:

Romans 12.14-21 – Bless those who persecute you; bless AND DO NOT CURSE…Never pay back evil for evil to anyone…If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.

My heart is broken, absolutely crushed, for the families that lost lives to a very evil man.  I’m hoping today will bring closure to those who have woken up to the repetitive nightmare for a decade now because justice has been served.

But just because a tyrant has been killed, let’s not chalk one up for the team.  It’s a tragic story from beginning to end.  May the hatred that Osama Bin Laden stood for not infect us as we so desperately feel that we must somehow exact our revenge.  Although portrayed differently our hatred is exactly the same as the hatred of Bin Laden that we so desperately wanted to take down.  And revenge is hate.  May we be a people that respond to evil with love.  After all, Jesus did.

Rob

I pray this entire weekend is filled with reflection and mystery for you as you continue to discover the depths of Christ’s love for you.  Get caught up considering all he is to you and all he has done for you.

And then, on Sunday….let’s PARTY!  Celebrate because Christ didn’t just die for our sins, but he also destroyed death and rose from the grave.  In that resurrection you and I were afforded the gift of resurrection as well.  Resurrection from spiritual death.  Resurrection that insisted if we would just believe in Jesus we would be restored with the Creator, our Father.  When we had no hope, Christ gave it to us.  And that, my friends, is what Easter is all about.

Come celebrate Resurrection Sunday with us on Sunday morning at our new facility.  So many people have done a lot of work to the facility this week to get it ready for Sunday.  Leaving last night I just smiled seeing what God has given us and knowing our first gathering together in this building will be to celebrate his resurrection.  You’re going to be thrilled to be a part of this day.  Invite people to join you Sunday.  Easter is the one Sunday of the year people are most likely to say yes to your invitation.  Come early to check out the place and get your seat.  It’s going to be a great party.

Here’s the address again:

Orlando North Community Church has been in the process of looking for a new facility to call home for many months.  Over our short existence we have moved a number of times as our needs as a church have changed.  This upcoming move is an exciting one because it is being done out of necessity and not just desire.

For just over a year we have had our Sunday morning gatherings at the Loft in Lake Mary.  This was a fantastic facility offered to us by Lifepoint Church that gave us the space we needed at the time for a very low cost.  Over that period we experienced a lot of amazing things, including almost doubling in size.  By the end we had maxed out every square foot of the space and were beginning to look for a new home.  Weeks into our search a crane (the truck kind, not the bird kind) fell onto the Loft and it was no longer usable anyways.  This helped expedite our search.

While worshiping temporarily in the Eastmonte Civic Center we prayed and we looked.  Then we did that process another hundred times.  Then, three weeks ago, God dropped a gift into our lap.  Through Greg Moore, we were introduced to the Sihle family who own the Sihle Insurance Group and their headquarter building in Altamonte Springs.  They built a beautiful building on Douglas Avenue in 2009 and have a large space vacant on their second floor that was ideal for our church.  It had the space to accommodate growth in all areas – children, adults, and staff.  The facility was available for us to rent not only for our worship services, but also for our use all throughout the week for gatherings and office space, which is something we have never had.

We have a few more hoops to jump through as we appear before the City Council of the City of Altamonte Springs on May 11^th.  However, the City has graciously granted us permission to begin worshiping at the facility on Resurrection Sunday (Easter), April 24^th!

I cannot emphasize enough how great of a gift God handed us.  We have vowed to never be a church identified by its facility.  We feel this facility will give us the opportunity to serve this community as we use it as a hub of activity and relationship building while presenting the gospel.

We’re so grateful for what God has given us.  We’re also thankful to Mr. Sihle and his entire staff who have been so accommodating as they’ve welcomed us into their building.  Also, the City of Altamonte staff has been so helpful throughout the process and has really gone above and beyond in helping us get into this community.

This Sunday, Palm Sunday, we will worship together one final time at the Eastmonte Civic Center (830 Magnolia Dr., Altamonte) at 10:30 AM.  It will be an exciting Sunday where we will be living out family through a special service that you won’t want to miss!  Immediately following service we are taking a field trip to our new home, the Sihle Insurance building for you to get a good look at our new pad.  We’d love for you to join us.  Come to service and celebrate Jesus, then head with us to 1021 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs.

With intense excitement directed towards a beautiful God,
Rob