by Aarron Pina | Sep 6, 2016 | Uncategorized
Pastors Reuben & Pam Lockridge hosted “The Called” a Revival on August 8, 2016
That Day Hits the Road
On August 4th, our family and ministry packed up and headed for a few days’ break at a friend’s place in Pigeon Forge, TN. Once vacation was over, we repacked and headed for Virginia, where we prepared for our very first outdoor performance of “That Day: a Story of Great Rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ”!
Pastors Reuben and Pam Lockridge spent great effort and time organizing “The Called: a Revival” at the Bull Run Memorial Park outdoor theater. Despite sweltering August heat, over 100 people from at 8+ churches from Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia united for a day long event of prayer, preaching, worship, repentance, and celebrating the name of Christ. There, I got to perform That Day for all in attendance.
Digging Past the Surface
When you perform a one man play, you’re going to get a lot of surface “WOWs” about the performance itself like “Wow, how’d you memorize 90 minutes of story?!” or “Wow, how do you do all those voices?” But, digging past the comments about what people saw, you may find more exciting comments about how people were changed, like “Wow… I haven’t been thinking about eternity anywhere near as much as I ought.”
As a performer, consultant, and personal pastor these are the kinds of comments I look for to see if the play is on track; the kind of feedback that isn’t about me and my effort, but what God is up to through His efforts.
I’m used to giving people a “wow”, but this feedback email made ME say “wow”… (more…)
by Aarron Pina | Aug 3, 2016 | Uncategorized
“for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
(Matthew 6:8b)”
I’m out at work a lot when my wife is teaching the “academic” part of our homeschool curriculum. But, part of homeschooling our children is simply being on mission to spot teachable moments and helping them connect the dots between what they observe and what God has already said in the word. You can’t schedule that. You have to wait for it… patiently.
Sometimes, strategy and execution get out of line with vision and we need to course correct. Other times, God frustrates our plans to give us a broader or more detailed look at the vision He’s crafted for us. He changes the map, yet keeps us on course with His planned destination; or zooms out to reveal that our timing and His timing are two different things… God calls us to connect the dots. But not at the expense of the bigger picture.
Long Day, Weary Driver?
We’re driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains on our way to Tennessee – it’s a stretch of winding, mountain road of tree tunnel, speckled with pull offs where gaggles of tourists like us stop to take selfies in front of God’s majestic mountain scenery. A 7 year old mind behind me, Presleigh, breaks my concentration: “Daddy, when are we going to see deer or elk or moose?”
(more…)
by Aarron Pina | Jun 17, 2016 | Uncategorized
Sox are doing fine. This is a different kind of slump.
Who Said “Slump”?!
For some, the term “summer slump” is that painful period when their baseball team goes on a long losing streak. The Red Sox are only a game out of 1st place right now, so that’s definitely not what I’m writing about.
While many people get the beach, travel, and vacation bug this time of year, ministries and other non-profits often experience a very painful drop in support. With all that God has potentially put on our to do list right now, it would be a terrible time to bottom out financially. Fortunately, we have some good plans in the works – a paid That Day performance coming up in August (with the possibility of a second booking), plus some matching funds available in the meantime. You would help us accomplish the work if you help us capture the match.
They’re Overwhelmed, We Can Help
Even smart people, Christ following people, deeply committed people get overwhelmed. Jesus warned us it would happen.
If you’ve ever felt like there’s just too much to do and not enough time to do it, been over committed, or just felt outright overwhelmed by all you have on your plate, you’ve lived a life of “inbox full”. Helping people connect the dots between “why am I here/where am I going” (vision), “what do I do about it?” (strategy) and “how do I do THAT?!” (execution) is key to minimizing their stress and frustration.
That Day provides vision, Clean Slate develops strategy, and Discipleship and coaching clarify execution. Simple enough? My professional goal this year is to help “defrustrate” at least 5 individuals plus 3 organizations or groups, bring them to “zero inbox”, and help them stay there.
How We Plan to Help Them
To make that happen we need help, but we’ve done, are doing, or plan to do the following:
- we’ve unified some of our branding (free)
- have been approved by Google Apps for integration of our zeroinbox.org division [you can now email aarron@zeroinbox.org, etc., seamlessly] (free)
- plan to migrate our entire site to a new, cleaner WordPress template ($400)
- are editing and developing our Clean Slate Workshop and Webinar materials ($unknown/time)
- we’re brainstorming about a pastor/leader’s lunch that gives pastors a preview of That Day and an opportunity to pray for the lost, the saved, and the confused. (For more on that, email me.)
Can you help? If so, there are 3 ways:
- Be a Summer Slugger: need about 8 supporters at $25-50 a month and 6 at $75-150 for the summer.
- Swing for the Fence: Give a one time gift to help us capture a $500 matching gift this week and meet our $2,500 June need.
- Pick Your Spot: Make a planned donation for July or August to help us meet those upcoming needs.
To give online, click here.
To give via mobile, download the “PushPay” app for IOS or Android or
Text to give by texting “seasons” to 77977 (they’ll send you a reply text, you tap the link, and set up from there – just remember, normal texting rates apply, but most people already have unlimited text).
Hey, thanks for reading, praying, and supporting this work!
by Aarron Pina | Jun 17, 2016 | Uncategorized
I’m Confused, What Happened?!
Here’s a quick ministry update for you. Many of you may be seeing what God’s up to with us this year and wondering why, considering what happened last fall.
Let me clear up the confusion:
In September, 2015, following a major case of tunnel vision on my part, both Cristine and I were buried in stress, so we called a round table together to ask some prayed-up outsiders their feedback on the tension we were experiencing.
They listened prayerfully and replied as lovingly and bluntly as we’d asked. Their conclusions were:
- “You’ve been faithful with the calling God had given you.”
- “You AND your wife are clearly exhausted.” and
- “Now is the time for you to lay this ministry down and pursue a full time job to bring stability to our financial situation.”
I felt like Abraham being asked to lay his son, Isaac, on the altar as a sacrifice. With deep grief, I obeyed their counsel. (more…)
by Aarron Pina | Mar 3, 2016 | Uncategorized
That Day is an amazing, modern day parable about a man who comes before Christ to receive rewards for what he did with his life. (This is the “believer’s judgment” or “bema” as opposed to the “White Throne” judgment.)
The most poignant response I get from people who have seen this story is this: “I didn’t really have such a clear picture of what eternal rewards could look like.” Suddenly, they’ve magnified this simple truth: “I am called and accountable.” The next question that typically comes up is – “now, how do I minimize my losses and maximize the gains for Christ?”
Clean Slate is where we help tease out those ideas and bring clear, biblical thinking to bear on the day to day “to do” along the way. www.zeroinbox.org
This April, we’re excited to present two That Day performances at Greater Heights Baptist Church, here in West Forsyth, on Saturday, April 16th at 7PM and the Sunday morning 11AM service on the 17th. Following that, we will be presenting our Clean Slate – Gospel Driven Productivity workshop for staff and volunteers at the church. With some favor from God and GHBC, we may have room for a few invite only guests. Inbox me for details!
In the meantime, SAVE THE DATE, register for free seats, and keep us in prayer!
I look forward to seeing you on That Day!
AP