Chapter 7 from “Fully Equipped: Having What It Takes to Give Your All”
It is essential that we keep a Biblical balance in our approach to the Christian life. We must not confuse a busy schedule for obedience in God’s work. A servant is to do exactly what his master tells him in the way he instructs him. Mere religious activity is not the same as Biblical spirituality. We must also beware of emphasizing one spiritual discipline at the expense of ignoring others mandated in Scripture. A Biblical balance is vital for God’s servant if he wants to truly be useful.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. – Acts 17:11
Counsel after College
In May of 2003, I graduated from Bible College with a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies. I stayed an extra month in Powell, Tennessee to work and pay off the remainder of my school bill. Before I moved back home to Florida, I made an appointment with Pastor Clarence Sexton to see if he had any counsel for me. I remember him reminding me that I came from a Godly family. He advised me to spend at least two years working under a Godly man. Though in my heart I knew he was right, I was restless and had other ideas.
While studying at The Crown College, my major was in Missions and I had learned about the emphasis of God’s work through the local church to fulfill the Great Commission. As I considered how I may serve in foreign missions, I was challenged by the thought of what a church would look like on foreign soil – especially in countries considered “closed” to Christianity. Some of my friends and I had studied the early churches in the Bible and were reminded of their simplicity and power. It made me curious about other groups who had a different approach to church planting methodology than the traditional model I had grown up around all my life.
House Church conference in Texas
In the Fall of 2003, I took a bus from Knoxville,Tennessee to Dallas, Texas to attend a House Church conference. There I met Neil Cole and many others touted as the premier house-church planters of our day. I went with basically no money and a credit card I had borrowed from my friend Dominick in case of an emergency. I took lots of notes and learned some helpful things about evangelizing people and church-planting reproduction. Like anything you learn in life and books you read, I had to “eat the meat and spit out the bones.”
At the House Church Conference in Dallas, I learned that many house churches are filled with disheartened people who disdain pastoral authority and hold to charismatic beliefs. (Those were the bones.) There was some good “meat” to chew on, however. There are helpful lessons to learn from the way Jesus sent out his disciples two by two and how Paul established churches wherever people met, especially in homes. The process was simple, natural, familial, and reproducible. As Neil Cole would say, many modern church models today are based on “budgets, bulletins, and big shots” and are not easily reproducible.
In search of the perfect church model
Upon returning home to Florida, I had a burning desire to be a part of a movement in modern missions that would transcend mere tradition, yet remain faithful to the truth. My poor dad had to put up with a number of debates with me about many “new” ideas I was learning about.
I soon had the opportunity to move to New Jersey where some friends I knew were starting churches that met in homes. But as I observed, something was just not right. Early on, I recognized a critical spirit from the leader that I knew was not healthy; but I overlooked it and went along for the ride anyway.
When I first moved North, my friend and his new wife, who had eloped and left college, were living in the basement of their Grandmother’s house. I had no other options of places to stay, so the leader of the house church let me stay in his attic. Having three small children already made it difficult for their family. Inevitably, it was time to find new lodging. But there was one problem – I had no car and no job. Now I had to add “no home” to my list of accomplishments.
Homeless in New Jersey
I’ll never forget the Sunday afternoon, following our morning service, when Pastor Donald dropped me off at the flea market in Columbus, New Jersey. I immediately bought an old bicycle, and began to make my way through this small farming community. I consoled myself that Jesus had no place to lay his head. It would be okay to suffer a little. I found a dairy farm that could use my help milking cows in the evenings. Since the owner was away for a week, I could stay in the “office” upstairs. I was glad for what I had, but this was not “living the life”, to say the least. Believe me, the thoughts of the prodigal son spending time with filthy hogs came to my mind often while I took in the overwhelming dairy aroma! I was learning – albeit the long, hard way!
I was able to ride the River Line transit train down to Burlington and Medford where a few friends were. Some nights I would stay at a diner during the darkest hours of night, then would roam the streets on my bike. I could catch up on rest at a park during the day time. After a couple weeks, I finally had a break through. In one weekend, my friend Nathan took me to Cracker Barrel in Mount Laurel, where I got a job as a server. Another friend let me use his car till I could get my own vehicle. The Milligan family who hosted church services at a chapel they owned let me move into their large basement for $200/month. They were such a fabulous family to be with.
Living by faith, again
Before I could start work for Cracker Barrel on Monday, I had to buy slip-proof shoes. At this point, I had no money. So I got on my bike and went to a neighborhood and started knocking doors offering to do any kind of yard work needed. A lady gave me two hours of work, pulling weeds and trimming her bushes. Then she gave me a check for fifty dollars! I was excited and found that the bank was actually open, so I could cash it. I rode over to Walmart where I got my needed items. How I rejoiced in the Lord to see him reward my willingness to work. I even got to eat my favorite meal of cheese steak and onion rings at the Marlton Diner that night.
The summer of 2004, I began working at Cracker Barrel. I must say it was my favorite secular job I have ever had. I considered my position to be that of a deacon, as I served tables! I made many friends. In fact, one Christian couple that I served many times became friends that I still have contact with to this day! I was able to start spending time with the Schopp family outside of work, and we enjoyed good fellowship.
They had a family member, David in Delaware, who planned a hiking trip in the Appalachian mountains. What a time we had on our two day hike camping out in the mountains of Virginia! David Schopp was a Godly man who would ask me spiritual questions to challenge me in my walk with God. He would ask me about what Scripture I was memorizing and share what God was teaching him at the time.
After a couple months, I had saved up enough cash and Mr. Milligan took me to a used car lot where I bought my very first automobile. It was a small white car. I called it my miracle car because the engine was rusted out, the tires bald, and at one point I blew a piston and it ran on 3 cylinders…but it kept running as long as I needed it and I would put about 20,000 additional miles on it before it basically died!
Our experiment with the “house church” movement came to an abrupt end. One day, the pastor began teaching that water baptism is no longer meant for believers today. That evening, my friend Nathan and I brought our Bibles and confronted him about this. He insisted that this was what he believed. So without any other choice, we left his house for the last time. We never saw him again as he moved out of the state within a few months later.
The Plymouth Brethren
As I pursued my quest for finding the perfect church model, my friend and I started attending a Plymouth Brethren church nearby. I appreciated some of the things they did, including a weekly observation of the Lord’s Supper. During that first hour of worship, men could share a Bible verse, short devotional, prayer, and anyone could suggest a song which would magnify Christ and the Gospel. It was a good start to a week with personal examination. Knowing that I might be participating made me want to come prepared and clean before God.
I also did get to attend a summer orientation they offered for prospective missionaries. There I met Ken Fleming, the brother of Pete Fleming, who was one of the missionaries slain in Ecuador alongside Jim Elliot and Nate Saint. These pioneer missionaries were with the Plymouth Brethren and quite conservative in their beliefs. Interesting to note is that when the five missionaries were martyred in Ecuador, Ken Fleming was currently serving as a missionary in Africa and didn’t hear of his brother’s death until three months later!
However, there were some things I observed that were not in line with what I had been brought up with in the Independent Baptist Church. I remember trying to defend many of the Plymouth Brethren’s views to my dad and how “Baptistic” they were. Yet I knew in my heart there were some things that were simply not right. I was at a crossroads in my life.
A major crossroads
My dad had encouraged me to come home and work with him in the church and school where he pastored in Arcadia, Florida. At the same time, I had friends beginning a church plant in Maryland. I knew I had to make a decision, and the consequences of this decision would impact the rest of my life, no doubt including the areas of marriage and ministry. I knew the right thing for me to do was to return home and submit myself under my dad’s authority. It was time to eat some crow and swallow my pride! Thankfully, God had placed a Godly brother, Jim Fulleylove, in the same Cracker Barrel where I worked. He encouraged me to go home where I belonged.
Some observations I made from this whirlwind journey to New Jersey and back home to Florida would include the necessity to remain Biblically balanced in three key areas: First, you need to have the right doctrine; secondly, you must follow the right methods; and thirdly, it is essential to have the right spirit. Most people go overboard emphasizing one or two of these, but without all three, problems are sure to throw you out of sync. God has used many different men and ministries throughout the past. It is good to learn from them, but it is imperative to remember they are men, and are not perfect. Only Christ is the perfect example, and everything we do must be based on and judged by the Bible.
Like the Prodigal Son
You can do a lot of things and get away with it. But you cannot do whatever notion you have and expect God’s blessing and peace when you do it outside of the authority structure God has set in place. For me, it was seeking to find a way to minister to others when I did not have a proper relationship with my own father and church. How could I expect to properly teach others the Word of God, if I was not submitting myself to the authority within my own home and church? Once I finally returned to the place where I was supposed to be, humbled myself, and submitted to my dad’s authority, the doors of God’s revealed will began to swing open!
I am so grateful for God’s patience with my stubbornness and his protection in my life, even when I have not always made the the wisest choices. God graciously allowed me to return to Florida and serve in the church and Christian school with my dad. It was then that God began to reveal his will regarding a life’s mate! More to come in the next blog! Watch the video below as I share another area in which I learned an important lesson the hard way!
About the author:
Luke graduated from Crown College of the Bible in 2003. He married Jamie in July of 2006. God has blessed them with five children. Together they had the privilege of serving in the pastorate of a Baptist Church in Florida from 2007-2011.
In August of 2011, our family began our journey to serve the Lord as labourers among Unreached People Groups in Asia. We prepared ourselves at Baptist Bible Translator’s Institute in Bowie, Texas. During that time, God directed our path to work among the Tibetan people in the country of Nepal.
In February of 2014, we moved to Kathmandu, Nepal and experienced God’s work of grace and protection upon our family. We had the privilege to serve at the Crown Nepal Bible College. Teaching classes and preaching at youth conferences was a great opportunity for our family. We also were able to assist in outreaches to villages of the Tamang and Gurung people.
In 2021, we moved to Tampa, Florida. We currently are serving in our home church Southside Baptist Church and teach in the Christian Academy. Luke continues his writing ministry (www.pilgrimoftruth.com) and video messages on his YouTube channel (Pilgrim of Truth). His goal is to aid believers in making Christ known to the world. He continues to seek to assist churches in America. His heart’s desire is to help meet the needs of the unreached people groups in the world.
