Have you ever played Capture the Flag? It’s one of the most fantastic games I’ve ever played. There’s a multitude of variations, but the concept is the same for all of them: there’s two teams, and the first team to steal the other team’s flag and take it to their home base wins.
It sounds so simple, but that’s why it’s so fun. Because the rules are so simple, there’s endless variations. One of the rules is that if you cross into enemy territory, anyone from the opposing team can tag you and escort you to jail. The only way you can escape from jail is if someone from your team has mercy on you, grabs your hand, and runs with you across the boundary line without the opposing team catching you. Talk about an adrenaline rush!
After playing this for umpteen years, I made an interesting discovery. Some teams got so hopped up on the action that they forgot about their POWs. This really stank if you were a POW. You’d see your teammates rushing past you in the thick of the action and you were stuck there, mired in the POW camp.
Sometimes a team that got wise to this would focus their strategy primarily on making the other team into POWs. If the fastest players on one team were so excited about grabbing the flag and winning victory that they didn’t notice what was happening to their teammates, they might all the sudden look around and notice that their team had thinned to almost nothing.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever been giving your heart and soul to a ministry, wondering when the reinforcements would arrive, only to realize that they were the people you took for granted were nowhere to be found?
It’s time to stage a jail break. We have brothers and sisters who are being taken captive by our enemy. We may have been busy with good things, even great things, but it’s time to take a look around and see how we can help others.
Before this becomes a sad treatise on the state of the church, let me remind you of this: there is no greater joy than in finding and freeing a POW. Even in that simple camp game, I remember the time when I was the POW. I’d watched my teammates running past me, intent on the action. I’d tried yelling to get their attention, but no one seemed to hear me. I’d pretty much given up hope. “They can do it without me,” I reasoned. Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed my hand and hauled me down the field. I was back in my home territory before I could say a word. I went from a listless POW to being right back in the action because someone care enough to haul me out.
That hasn’t just happened in a simple camp game. It’s happened in my spiritual life. Family, friends, and even total strangers are certain key points of my life have cared enough to haul me out of spiritual POW camps.
How about you? Have you ever been a spiritual POW? Have you ever freed one? How can we as a Local Summit Community help one another in this?
I firmly believe that it is no accident that Summit is activating its alumni network “for such a time as this.” God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and through His power He’s helping us rescue others!
So let’s get at it! A HUGE thank you to each one who voted on the night that would work best to meet for our online small group! Based on the votes, we’ll be meeting on [drumroll, please!] Tuesdays!
Online Small Group Launch
Our online small group will meet Tuesdays at 6:30PM! To meetup this Tuesday (1/26), at 6:30PM, email info@afikomag.com for more information.
It’ll be a fun time hearing what everyone’s been up to, discussing a topic from a Biblical Christian perspective, praying, and making plans for the future! If you have any problems connecting, send me an email or call/text me!
Speaking of prayer, here’s a few things we can be praying about as a Local Summit Community:
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How can we encourage one another?
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What aspects of Summit can and should we bring here to Indiana?
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How can we best reach our culture?
Other Upcoming Events
We R the CHRCH Night of Worship
Sunday, January 31st • 7:30-9PM
Indianapolis (exact location TBA)
We R the CHRCH is hosting an incredible evening where upwards of 80 people are slated gather to worship God through songs and testimonies. This is not like going to a concert where you watch others worship; this is like a house church where you can just pour your heart out to God through song and share what He’s been doing in your life! The location has not yet been announced; let me know if you’re interested in going and I can keep you posted on details as I hear about them! You can check out the Facebook event
Rock & Roadshow
Sunday, February 14th • 5:15PM
Bankers Life Fieldhouse • 125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN ($10 at the door; no tickets required)
Compassion International is sponsoring Rock & Roadshow, a night of worship with Newsboys, Jeremy Camp, Mandisa, and others! No tickets are required: admission is just $10 at the door. I’ve signed up to volunteer. If you’re interested in meeting up there, let me know!
Have other events you’d like to share? Email ’em to me! I’ll add them to our website and post ’em on Facebook
And More!
How’s Your Spiritual Life?
The beginning of a new year is a GREAT time to stop and take a spiritual inventory. This article has several questions to reflect on as we go into 2016!
Are You Second?
I am Second captures stories of how God is transforming real lives TODAY! You can search by topic, or by name. There’s a whole host of names you might recognize, such as Alex Kendrick, Mike Huckabee, or Brian Welch. But poignantly, there are also names we might never have known if those sharing their testimonies had not been willing to share how God reached into their lives and transformed them!
What ministries would you like other Summit alumni to know about? Let us know and we’ll feature them in upcoming newsletters!
The Spreadsheet You Love to Love
I’m sure you already know and love Summit’s Worldview Chart. But did you know it’s digital? It sure is! In this version, when you hover over any term in the chart, it’ll define it for you. You don’t even have to copy and paste it into a dictionary. Nifty, eh?
Write Off!
If you have a friend who differs with you on a topic, challenge them to a write off! You write about it and they’ll write about it. We can post both perspectives at afikomag.com and have others weigh in! You could write about a point of doctrine (e.g. infant baptism), or a key difference between worldviews (e.g. creation versus evolution). Who knows who you might reach!
Get Plugged In!
Whatever creativity looks like in your life, you can totally use it for God through Afikomag! This year, our goal is to syndicate 16 Christian authors. What does that mean? To use Afikomag as a platform for creative folks to reach other Christians. Maybe you write a blog or maybe you make videos for your church. Or maybe you have a friend who does! By syndicating with Afikomag, you can do what syndicated authors have done for years: broaden your impact by sharing your content in multiple arenas. Want more info? Let’s talk!
Here’s three other ways you can get involved:
- Share articles with others in the Facebook group!
- Let us know about events coming up!
- Discuss questions that come up in your church or family. We’d love to weigh in!
Speaking of questions…
Question of the Week
What’s the hardest question you’ve ever been asked?
