A Summer of Rest and Remembering Who You Are in Christ

Dear Harvest Family,

Now that it’s August, Summer is nearly over, and I will soon be returning from my sabbatical.  I can’t wait to get back to Harvest in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, here’s an update on what the Wilson family has been up to during this time away:

In July we were blessed to experience many sweet moments with dear friends.  Being in London for July 4th, we got together with a bunch of old British friends for an Independence Day celebration.  Our friend Mark tried his hand at smoking some baby-back ribs (delicious!), and our families had fun playing in the park and secretly celebrating the day of American liberation from the tyranny of British rule!

The following weekend, we visited a place called Bury St Edmonds to visit the Martin family.  The Martins were my students when I taught at Moody Bible Institute, and now they are pastoring a thriving church in a village called Rougham.  Their church has grown by leaps and bounds since the last time we visited, and it was a delight to get some time with the Martin family and to see the way the Lord is working through their ministry.  I hope that one day our church gets to meet this special family!

The next weekend, we traveled to York and Middlesborough, where we experienced the incredible hospitality of some folks that will be familiar to Harvest:  Mike, Kookie, and Hannah Taylor.  The Taylors are Harvest members we get to see when they are in town, but they spend much of the year in England, where they lead UK-USA ministries, bringing the hope of Christ to Northern England.  God is moving in amazing ways through the work that the Taylor family is doing.  Taylor Family, you are an inspiration!  Thank you for letting me see a glimpse of your ministry in the UK!

When we were not visiting friends, I spent July getting the wheels turning on a book project.  Right now I’m calling the book, The Wonder of the Cross.  My hope is that this will be a resource that helps Christians understand how the cross fulfills the story of Scripture and satisfies the deepest yearnings of the human heart.  I was able to make some good progress on the book in July, and I hope to carry the positive momentum forward now as I return to life in Fayetteville. 

I can’t wait to tell you more about my sabbatical, and to hear from you about the way that the Lord has worked this summer at HCC.  Back to School Sunday is less than two weeks away, and on that Sunday I’ll be starting a new sermon series on the first section of Acts.  I am excited to be back with you, worshipping together at HCC!