The Thursday Update

Lakeshore friends—

This Sunday is going to be one of the best Sundays of the year and I hope you will be here for it.  Yes, technically, I know that every Sunday is equally great but what makes this Sunday great is that we will hold our 15^th annual ROC service.  It’s our opportunity to be together with three other churches with different ethnic make-ups and celebrate our unity as one race, the human race.  I believe that the church is the only place that can truly model a whole-person unity regardless of any physical differences we may have, because we have a spiritual unity through Jesus Christ that no other group or organization has.

We may worship with different music styles, prayer styles, and even preaching styles, but we all do so biblically and with our focus on Jesus.

Every year, people share how this service has played a role in helping them better love people who look different than them and appreciate God more deeply for the beauty He has created in our diversity.

So I hope you’ll be here on Sunday for either the 9am or 11am service to enjoy what God will do on this great Sunday.

Last Sunday, I shared how the tragic situation in Afghanistan and our pull out from the country has left thousands of American citizens behind, along with vulnerable Afghans who helped our military during their time there with translation and intelligence.  Our great friend, Chad Robichaux, who has been at Lakeshore twice and served in the Middle East, is there now helping to evacuate and rescue these people who are in real danger.

In the team's first full day there, his ministry was able to get 924 people out (50% kids, 25% women, 25% men). As of the last update, there have been close to 1500 people successfully rescued, with a plan of 500 - 1000 a day moving forward for the next 12 days.

He has asked for our prayers.  Will you pray for him?

He has also asked us to consider helping him financially.  Because of so many generous people who have given above and beyond their tithe, we will be making a gift from the surplus in the Making Waves ’21 fund.  But, as I shared last Sunday, if you would like to help their efforts by making a donation (like some of you did last Sunday), you can contribute by going here and choosing "Chad Robichaux Afghan Rescue Project."

Warmly,
Vince

Lakeshore friends—

On Monday, the staff went downtown to the corner of Main Street and Clinton Avenue to hand out water to everyone we saw for about an hour and a half as part of our love week project.  What did we see?

-People who mostly received us well and appreciated the no-strings-attached gift.
-People who really need a lot of love and encouragement.
-People who thanked God and told us that God is good.
-People who looked like they were not doing well, at least financially, and likely in other ways.

A number of years ago, a friend said, “You have never locked eyes with a person who did not matter to God,” and I believe that.  Our goal was simply to show people through our simple acts that they mattered to God.

Every day, every Sunday, we get a chance to do the same thing.  We can help people see that they matter to God, and in turn help them put their faith in Him through Jesus.  This is something that I was reminded of again this past Monday.

I hope you’ll help someone know that they matter to God, and that they matter to you too.

Warmly,
Vince

Lakeshore Attenders and Members— 

On Tuesday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation from office effective in two weeks.  This comes amidst the claims by 11 women that he had inappropriate physical contact and discussions with them, as well as the claim of a nursing home scandal that former Cuomo staffer Melissa DeRosa stated (on a recorded call) was an underreporting of the actual number of those who died of COVID in nursing homes last year.

Here are my thoughts that I hope will help you navigate this biblically.

First, everyone should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.  I am glad that our state AG did an investigation and that our state was preparing an impeachment trial to reach a verdict.  With Cuomo’s resignation, however, it’s unclear what will happen.

Second, every credible accusation should be considered for it’s validity.  These 11 women demonstrated amazing courage in coming forward to tell their stories.  But always remember that not all people who make accusations are honest (trust me on that), so each one must be examined fairly by those without bias to make a valid determination.

Third, leaders need to be accountable at the highest levels because they can either really help or really hurt others.  I wonder where the accountability has been all these years for Cuomo?  At Lakeshore, we strive for high levels of accountability for everyone, starting with me, in the areas of finances, treatment of members of the opposite sex and appropriate behavior, godly living, work ethics and more.  And while we are all imperfect, we have never (and will never) allow any egregious behavior to go unaddressed.  We will always do our best to be as open about how with you any chance we get.

Finally, as followers of Christ this is not the opportunity to act in ways that are unbecoming of Jesus in response to what has happened.  Sadly, social media blasts, public mocking, and political jabs will never do anything but make us look like the many godless people already on social media.  Yes, you should have your own informed views on this, but remember that as bad as these allegations are against Cuomo, but for the grace of God it could be us, even if it was something different but really sinful and wrong.  Jesus Christ died for sinners like me, like you, and like Andrew Cuomo.  Let’s not get so prideful and hateful that we ever forget that.

At Lakeshore, while we all hold our own political views (and should!), we will not promote purely political views or parties from our platform.  Instead, we will promote biblical truth as it comes to bear on issues of political importance as they arise.  At Lakeshore, we have one primary mission: “to help as many people as possible discover and develop a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.”

I hope this helps you to wisely respond during this tragic time.  Let’s pray for our state that we will turn to God for His help and wisdom.

No matter what may be going on around us, we know that God is still soverign and in control and for that we are thankful! As we reflected on last Sunday we were thanful! Wasn't it such a great service?  The music was great as usual (I was able to take it in without any other thoughts that usually come when I speak, so it was great to experience), our video announcements were helpful and well done, and my twin brother :) Bishop Dave Singleton brought some great words of encouragement on “Surpassing The Stifling Effect Of Shame.”  Plus, the energy after services in the atrium was outstanding.

God has had His hand on our church for this entire 26 year ride, but I believe that this current series on “Emotional I.Q.” along with the previous two series (“Identity Crisis” and “What God Has To Say About Government”) have been the result of a planning process that God has honored and used to help so many people.  I don’t recall as many people talking about messages and series with the same practical takeaways and biblical insights as I have with these past three.

The entire staff plays a part in helping choose, refine, and/or develop them, but ultimately God is at work in the invisible world, inspiring ideas in us and guiding us to these messages.

This is just another example of the greatness of God!  I hope that these messages and Sunday service experiences all help you to fall in love with the greatness of God.  I hope that you see how great He is in providing His Word (the Bible) and how it helps us while also glorifying Himself.

Lakeshore will always try to help you see how great God is, because His greatness is all that really matters when it's all said and done.

Thanks for being such a growing, God-honoring church!

Warmly,
Vince