Tag: Carmel

Posted on

Life Connections Farewell: Celebrating its Spirit and Impact

Every chapter has an opening and a closing, so it is with Life Connections, the church that started out of our home in 2002 and the one we stepped away from in 2022. Acts 13:36 says, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;” Life Connections served its purpose, for its generation, and will leave an indelible mark on eternity. As Pastors Phil and Annie Daigle closes its chapter today, September 22, 2024, we look back on the incredible impact Life Connections had on families, its community, central Indiana, and the world.

Its vision, its values, and its impact was like none other. It was a New Testament church, one that mirrored the early church that started in the book of Acts. At the same it modeled how to be relevant and connect with current culture. It had a unique niche. It served the community of Fishers, Hamilton County, and families from across central Indiana. It was known for at least two important dynamics. Its community impact and its prayerful commitment to being a Spirit filled and led community. In its early years it was a regular part of the Freedom Festival and parades. As it grew it became known as the place where families could bring their kids for a myriad of events. More importantly, it became a place where people felt safe to bring their families to learn about Jesus and experience His presence. It was a place that wasn’t about religion and rules. It was not another copycat of the latest fad religion, but a place where they and their families could experience the Spirit and grow in God in a likeminded community of others that were on the same journey.

Life Connections was about service. That DNA would show itself yearly as people came out of hibernation after a cold and snowy winter. Life Connections would welcome hundreds of kids and families at its annual Bagels and Bunnies Easter Egg hunt, a free breakfast and a photo with the Easter bunny. 

Summer would bring X-treme Camp, a VBS, that was like no other. The camps were highly interactive, with lots of zany variation, and the famous, X-treme Camp Obstacle course. Whether it was the Amazing Race, Space Jam, or Wipe Out, over 1000 kids participated in Life Connections X-treme Camps.

Winter would bring Breakfast with Santa, donuts, cookies, coffee, and of course, a free picture with Santa. Through the years Life Connections gave away thousands of free pictures with Santa. We can’t count the number of tears we’ve seen, the “thank you’s” we’ve heard, and the lives that were impacted by these events.

In addition to those major events Life Connections became the place to be each June when we were privileged to host the Fishers Strawberry Festival. There were tons of bounce houses, mascots like Boomer, Rowdy, and even the Chick-fil-a cow showed up, along with crowds of people from all over central Indiana. Nothing said summer was here like a biscuit topped with ice cream, strawberries, and a big dab of whipped cream. The festivals revenue never went to Life Connections, instead monies went to missionaries, helped churches who been impacted by extreme weather events, and other areas where we saw need.

Life was about serving those less fortunate. So many were grateful for Bagels and Bunnies and Breakfast with Santa, but Life Connections went further. Life Connections gave away hundreds of Thanksgiving meals through the years, provided Christmas gifts and meals to families yearly, and partnered with the city of Fishers to provide bags of food weekly to needy families. Life Connections served its community… it served its generation.

Life Connections was a place where you could expect to experience the presence of God. It was a unique church. It was Spirit led without being eccentric. It was progressive yet valued its past. It knew while it was imperative to relate to its world, it had to be a place where people could experience what the apostles and the churches of the New Testament experienced. It shunned the legalism that stymied so many Spirit-filled churches yet valued the power and the liberty of the Spirit.

It was first and foremost, a place of prayer. It valued very strongly the words of Jesus, “my house shall be called a house of prayer.” It was a place where God’s presence dwelled, and His Spirit was welcomed. Done decently and in order as the apostle Paul commended, people came to Life with wonder, “what will God do today?” Miracles took place, lives were transformed, and families strengthened. Life Connections strived to model the “house of prayer” principle individually, as families, and as a church corporately.

Life Connections was multicultural, a place for all people. For some time, Sunday worship included the 10 a.m. worship service, an Indonesian service at 1 p.m. and a Hispanic church at 6 p.m. In addition, to serving the nearly one dozen different ethnic groups that attended, we had translation equipment that allowed us to serve the Indian and other cultures along with an interpreter for the deaf community.

Life Connections knew how to laugh and have fun. Whether serving at one of the many community events or engaging at one of the many church “family” events, few churches knew how to have fun like Life Connections. There were more memories and friendships built at events like Life’s Annual Chili Cook-off than one could ever imagine. Lifetime friendships were made around a campfire, on a hayride or during a trash talking corn hole tournament. Whether it was the Christmas Gathering at the Hudson home, a bible study, a party that someone hosted with good food, or even if it was before, during or after a service, there was always the sound of laughter at Life.

Life Connections was a place that valued God’s Word. Life Connections taught about, lifted up, and pointed people to Jesus. It was a place that was careful to preach and teach the Bible in right context. While the Sunday services were inspirational and inspiring, bible studies and the series taught were dedicated to building a strong relationship with God and having fellowship with others. Whether it was a book of the Bible, a practical perspective on a social or current issue, or a series on a book by Jentezen Franklin, Kyle Idleman, or Greg Groschel, people grew in their knowledge of God’s word, and in their relationship with Jesus.

Life Connections was a place that valued the Spirit-filled experience that took place in the book Acts and what was the only experience and dynamic of the New Testament church. We tried to emulate that dynamic. It was a Spirit filled and Spirit led place. It was not a religious institution, not a doctrine, but a place where you could safely experience the Spirit. It was early on that we discarded the label of a denomination and took on the atmosphere as a place of healing. If you wanted to find a discarded label you could find it at Life Connections. There were those who were Catholic, Jew, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal, the list could go on, but once you came to Life you became a person. A person who knew that everyone was broken, everyone needed the blood of Jesus, and everyone was growing, some more quickly than others, but everyone’s progress was celebrated. It was a place where you could be real, fail, heal, and grow without judgement. It had a unique vibe and was a distinctive place for many.

Life Connections was a spiritual hospital, not a nursing home. In a hospital there are a lot of sick people trying to get better, a lot of people serving, doing their best to help people get better, but still human and understanding that nearly every situation needed a touch from God. Life Connections never exploded in numeric growth but literally thousands of people passed through its doors through the years, at its height in early 2020, nearly 400 people called Life their home. Generally, we only saw about 70 percent of those though, unless there was a crisis, it was Easter or Christmas. For a while it bothered us, but we will never forget a moment in a prayer service as we were struggling with the issue that God spoke to our heart and said, “I’ve called Life Connections to be different, it is a hospital. I trust you to let Me heal people and you to let them go.” So, it has been, many, thousands who came through its doors over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, some died spiritually, others decided to move into a spiritual nursing home, but were excited that most were healed and moved on to greater ministries or became an integral part of the church community and helped others heal, grow, and impact the world.

In closing I go to Life Connections beginning. Our mission statement was simple; “Connecting people to faith, family, and friends.” As with the passing of an individual, we say farewell to Life’s physical presence. We know its influence, impact, and spirit will live on for generations. People will forever remember its love for the Spirit and its high values of passion, excellence, and integrity. There will be families who will pass down the Word that was taught, values instilled, and experience of the Spirit for years to come. There are friendships that were made that will last a lifetime. Though it is no more, it will forever be. Mary and I count it the highest of honors to have served the Kingdom of God in Fishers, Hamilton County, and central Indiana at Life Connections. We will forever be indebted to an unnumberable host of people who ran along side with us, brought vision and ideas, creativity, gave, worked and served, cried and prayed… who believed in Life Connections. If you were ever a part of Life Connections in any way, thank you.

How do we say farewell to Life Connections? I guess the best way is the way I would close each Sunday service. If you’ve been there you know it well. So, for one last time…

     The Lord bless you, and keep you;

     The Lord make His face shine on you,

     And be gracious to you;

     The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

      And give you peace.’

                                  –  Numbers 6:24-26

Preach Always, If Necessary Use Words,
Jon & Mary Hudson

 

Posted on

Abandoned?

Jesus made seven statements while hanging on the cross. We marvel as He says, “Father forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing,” and we are overwhelmed with His final words, “it is finished.” Yet for me, the most difficult and painful words spoken are when He says, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” Several translations translate it as, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me. Of all the recorded words of Jesus, I see no words more painful than these. Forsaken. Abandoned. Both have a common definition, deserted and helpless. In Jesus’ final moments on this earth, as he surveyed the heaven and earth, he felt one of life’s most challenging feelings, abandonment. A week earlier He had paraded into Jerusalem to the cheers of thousands, disciples had committed to loyalty, but as he hangs on a tree, disciples have deserted, the cheers have turned to jeers, and His earthly body is reeling in pain. He is alone. Alone on a cross. Alone with the pain. Alone.

There is nothing quite like feeling abandoned, deserted, and helpless. Imagine the emotions of Joseph, as he is sold by his brothers to gypsies. The unbelief, the hurt. Pain in the heart is like no other. There is absolutely no hurt like being abandoned by family. Incredibly, he not only survives, but thrives. No bitterness. No anger. No self-pity. His life is a roller coaster of betrayal, but through it all, he keeps his spirit right and rises to power before men and God. In the end, his spirit shines bright as he is reunited with his brothers who had abandoned him. When many would get even, Joseph gave grace, saying, “what you meant for harm, God has meant for good.”

The Bible makes it clear that not every time we are forsaken will it turn out well. John the Baptist, related to Jesus, and his forerunner, finds himself in prison, days away from his head being severed and served to Herod’s wife. As he is waiting, he sends word to Jesus and asks, “are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?” Does anyone else besides me sense that John is feeling doubt, feeling abandoned? Hey Jesus, we grew up together. I announced your arrival. I baptized you. Now, I’m in jail, my sentence has been pronounced, are you not going to help? The last words John hears from Jesus are “tell him what you have heard and seen – the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:4-5 ESV). John, you’re on your own, miracles are happening and I’m telling everyone how amazing you are but there will be no deliverance. The story screams of the crushing reality that there are those who will see their life play out in disappointment and the feeling that God has abandoned you. Up for more?

May I remind you of Paul, the great apostle. The writer of thirteen books, fourteen if you are inclined to believe he wrote Hebrews. He is a three-time traveler of missionary journeys. The superstar of the New Testament, but do you get the sense there have been moments when he questioned, where are you God, or this is my reward for preaching the gospel? In 2 Corinthians 11, the Corinthian church gets a litany of all Paul has gone through for the sake of the gospel. For five verses he lays out his feelings of being abandoned and betrayed by men and God. His list includes imprisonments, countless beatings, five times taking 39 lashes, beatings by rods, stoning’s, three shipwrecks, eight times in incredible danger, hunger, thirst, starvation, and nearly freezing to death. Beyond this, Paul will spend five years in jail. In 2 Timothy 4 we get a taste of what prison life has been like. Writing to Timothy, he makes him aware that, not only has he been alone in prison, but those who were brothers, so called friends, had abandoned him also. You can hear the pain as he tells Timothy, Demas deserted me, Alexander has done me much harm, and that no one came to stand with him at his trial, I was alone. How does it end? Not the way we would want. No riding off into the sunset as a hero or spending his final years in Cabo on a beach. While no definitive history is written, it is likely, that since he was a Roman citizen, he did not die by crucifix, but was beheaded.

The lives of Joseph, John the Baptist, and Paul, along with many others, are filled with difficulty, hurt, and betrayal. Their lives make us aware that even when we are serving God, disappointment comes, and life can feel seemingly unfair. There will be hurt, brokenness may run deep, and it’s entirely possible to feel as though God has forsaken you. While this may not leave you encouraged, know that if you are struggling and questioning where God is, you are not alone. Feelings of abandonment, betrayal, and feeling alone are often a part of a follower of Christ lives. In fact, it is wholly possible that if you are dealing with any of these feelings, you are not out of the will of God, but right in the middle of His will and purpose.

The writer of Hebrews gives us this to lean in to, that even when we feel abandoned and alone, “that He himself said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In this life we may be abandoned. Family may hurt or betray you, friends may abandon you, there will be hurt,  but God has not forgotten you and an eternal destiny where there is no sickness, sorrow, abandonment, hurt, or pain awaits beyond the grave.