Keeping Up With the Roberts Family
Each month Cliff and Denise Roberts write home to their high desert family at New Life Fellowship to share all the happenings in their lives and their new church community. We look forward to posting their spiritual insights as they continue walking with the Lord in Lakeland, Tennessee.
september: slow burn through Philippians
Well, Tom is recovering in spectacular fashion from his recent back surgery. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness, His miraculous healing power, His response to prayers and His bringing the body of Christ together through one guy’s medical situation. It’s neat to see how He really does cause all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). I just saw Tom a few days ago and he looks great—taking it easy still, but doing amazing. God is so, so, so, so very good. “Wait a sec,” you’re thinking, “who’s ‘Tom’?” Sorry, I launched into that without any proper introduction. Tom Demaree is my prayerwalking friend who lives in Franklin, TN. He leads Pentecost Walk (pentecostwalk.org) and I’ve traveled literally THOUSANDS of miles across the country with him praying throughout the nation and with leaders and elected officials behind the scenes. And most importantly, he’s a good friend.
As for the Roberts family, school is shifting into full gear and we are off and running. We’ll graduate another high schooler this year, and Truth’s dual-enrollment welding class starts up this month. He’s excited about it, but more excited about driving his own car to class. Hoo-boy, what an adventure that has been and continues to be. Long and entertaining story best shared over coffee rather than in an email update. So yeah, open invitation to whomever for whenever on that one. Homeschooling is an adventure every year, with adjustments, pivots, and the occasional discarding of ideas and approaches that make me think, “What in the world were we even thinking when we did that?” Fortunately, our kids are patient with us and pretty good sports about all of it. More new approaches, new curriculum, new methods and even new classmates as we join with friends for some school activities in new ways this year. All aboard the learning adventure train! (or something positive-sounding like that)
———————————————
I laugh at myself routinely when the Lord catches me being me and then lets me know, “Hey son, you’re being you again.” I’ve been SOAPing in Philippians recently, and after preparing to churn through the book multiple times at a one-chapter-each-day pace, He stopped me a few verses in and (*gasp!) I actually did a SOAP after only reading a few verses! This slow burn through Philippians has caused me to see repeatedly how important friendships were to Paul and how vital they were to his ministry in service of the gospel.
It’s been said that the believers in Philippi were Paul’s closest friends, his dearest congregation whose relationship with the apostle buoyed him during his darkest times. It’s evident as you read his letter that the Philippians indeed held a special place in his heart. The teacher in me wants to list a bunch of verses right now as evidence of that, but just read the letter for yourselves…slowly…and notice how intimately personal Paul is throughout his writing. Take Epaphroditus for example: he was distressed because his church family back in Philippi learned that he was extremely ill while he was ministering with his friend, Paul. Paul eagerly sent Ephaphroditus back to the Philippians not only as a blessing and reassurance to them, but for himself too. Epaphroditus was concerned, making Paul concerned that the Philippians were concerned about Ephaphroditus—that’s a whole lotta concern going around! But that’s exactly how it is among friends.
Our family lives 1700 miles away from Barstow, but there are people who live there that we consider some of our dearest lifelong friends—not ministry partners, fellow church-attenders or former youth/leaders/staff/council members…just real friends. Tom and I live a few hours away from each other and don’t get to see one another as often as we’d like, yet our lives are connected by a friendship born from mutual investments of time, prayers, and literal walking together. I’m in regular contact with friends in other states whom I rarely see and only get to hear their voices and read their texts sporadically throughout the week. But those are all relationships that invite ministry into my life and give me the opportunity to minister to them. It truly is life-giving.
There’s a saying people use: “Ministry moves at the speed of relationship”. I don’t know who gets official credit for saying it first, but Jesus modeled it best with His friends. Paul seems to have picked up on that in Philippi, even if he never walked with Jesus as one of His twelve disciples. Epaphroditus then followed Paul’s example…and the pattern simply keeps repeating itself. When Jesus told His followers, “Go and make disciples,” the only model they had was His. He didn’t prescribe one approach, or method, or format over another. Jesus modeled what it looked like to prioritize relationships in such a way that friendships were the ultimate goal, not the byproduct of other activities (John 13:35). And in prioritizing those friendships, He told them that the world would know we are His disciples.
———————————————
I know, I know, y’all have heard me say this stuff and quote John 13:35 many times before. But I believe with all my heart that relational discipleship isn’t just His intention, but it’s what the Holy Spirit is breathing life into currently within His Church. What does ministry-flowing-from-relationships look like? I don’t know exactly, but I know it’s somewhat different than what we’ve seen before. I was asked recently by a friend if I’d baptize their daughter who is a good friend of our girls. We were able to do that together with their family in their backyard swimming pool last month and it was incredible! Just a small gathering of two families, but so immensely personal and meaningful for her as she took that step of discipleship with those closest to her. It was awesome, and we didn’t become friends because I baptized their daughter, but I was asked to baptize her because we are friends.
That’s not something I’ve got much frame of reference for. Sure, I’ve baptized lots of people, but this was different. It was just as joyous and celebratory as other baptisms I’ve been a part of, but still unique. Stuff like that is what fills my sails and resonates in my heart as I read Paul’s letter to the Philippians. These were his friends, his dearest friends, who sent to him one of their own beloved brothers to be a help and minister to Paul. Ephaphroditus was deeply invested in Paul’s life and wellbeing, but also connected with strong ties to his friends in Philippi. This interconnected group of Christians embodies something special within the body of Christ, something the Lord is emphasizing within His Church today. I feel like I’m in one of those “don’t take your eye off the ball” kind of seasons right now. And this relational focus is pretty all-consuming. I see it everywhere I read in Scripture and the Lord highlights it to me in many of my daily interactions. It’s all part of His emphasis on what matters most to Him: people.
Prioritizing people takes focus and intentionality…well, at least it does for me. I’m getting better at it and my constant prayer is that it becomes more natural and relational. When I find myself doing stuff out of habit rather than simply schedule, I think I’ll be in a good place. Until then, it’s just daily persistence to make sure that my life is prioritizing the relationships I have and the friends I’m discovering over the many other activities that occupy much of my time and attention. Speaking of which, I’m remembering now as I write this that I’ve promised to help a friend with some board game stuff this week…and it’s now Friday. So, I’ll wrap here and get busy loving my friend.
———————————————
These monthly updates aren’t always the quickest things to write, and much prayer and conversation with the Lord happens throughout the process. It’s a welcome interaction though, and I’m so grateful for His reminders and prompts as He puts various friends and relatives on my heart as I’m writing. Please know that YOU are much of His focus and occupy a special place in our hearts as well. Thank you for your friendship, your love and support, your prayers and encouragement, and your engagement with us in a variety of ways. And thank you especially for the visits! You’re welcome ANY TIME, and I invite you to hold me to that. We love you lots and look forward to spending more time together whenever it happens. And for those looking to donate financially, New Life Fellowship remains our flow-through whether in person or online. You can just designate your giving as “Missions: The Roberts” or something similar (https://newlifebarstow.com/give). Okay, it’s board game help next and then a birthday party for Honor after that (he’s turning 14!). Lots and lots of love from here in Tennessee!
<><
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
As for the Roberts family, school is shifting into full gear and we are off and running. We’ll graduate another high schooler this year, and Truth’s dual-enrollment welding class starts up this month. He’s excited about it, but more excited about driving his own car to class. Hoo-boy, what an adventure that has been and continues to be. Long and entertaining story best shared over coffee rather than in an email update. So yeah, open invitation to whomever for whenever on that one. Homeschooling is an adventure every year, with adjustments, pivots, and the occasional discarding of ideas and approaches that make me think, “What in the world were we even thinking when we did that?” Fortunately, our kids are patient with us and pretty good sports about all of it. More new approaches, new curriculum, new methods and even new classmates as we join with friends for some school activities in new ways this year. All aboard the learning adventure train! (or something positive-sounding like that)
———————————————
I laugh at myself routinely when the Lord catches me being me and then lets me know, “Hey son, you’re being you again.” I’ve been SOAPing in Philippians recently, and after preparing to churn through the book multiple times at a one-chapter-each-day pace, He stopped me a few verses in and (*gasp!) I actually did a SOAP after only reading a few verses! This slow burn through Philippians has caused me to see repeatedly how important friendships were to Paul and how vital they were to his ministry in service of the gospel.
It’s been said that the believers in Philippi were Paul’s closest friends, his dearest congregation whose relationship with the apostle buoyed him during his darkest times. It’s evident as you read his letter that the Philippians indeed held a special place in his heart. The teacher in me wants to list a bunch of verses right now as evidence of that, but just read the letter for yourselves…slowly…and notice how intimately personal Paul is throughout his writing. Take Epaphroditus for example: he was distressed because his church family back in Philippi learned that he was extremely ill while he was ministering with his friend, Paul. Paul eagerly sent Ephaphroditus back to the Philippians not only as a blessing and reassurance to them, but for himself too. Epaphroditus was concerned, making Paul concerned that the Philippians were concerned about Ephaphroditus—that’s a whole lotta concern going around! But that’s exactly how it is among friends.
Our family lives 1700 miles away from Barstow, but there are people who live there that we consider some of our dearest lifelong friends—not ministry partners, fellow church-attenders or former youth/leaders/staff/council members…just real friends. Tom and I live a few hours away from each other and don’t get to see one another as often as we’d like, yet our lives are connected by a friendship born from mutual investments of time, prayers, and literal walking together. I’m in regular contact with friends in other states whom I rarely see and only get to hear their voices and read their texts sporadically throughout the week. But those are all relationships that invite ministry into my life and give me the opportunity to minister to them. It truly is life-giving.
There’s a saying people use: “Ministry moves at the speed of relationship”. I don’t know who gets official credit for saying it first, but Jesus modeled it best with His friends. Paul seems to have picked up on that in Philippi, even if he never walked with Jesus as one of His twelve disciples. Epaphroditus then followed Paul’s example…and the pattern simply keeps repeating itself. When Jesus told His followers, “Go and make disciples,” the only model they had was His. He didn’t prescribe one approach, or method, or format over another. Jesus modeled what it looked like to prioritize relationships in such a way that friendships were the ultimate goal, not the byproduct of other activities (John 13:35). And in prioritizing those friendships, He told them that the world would know we are His disciples.
———————————————
I know, I know, y’all have heard me say this stuff and quote John 13:35 many times before. But I believe with all my heart that relational discipleship isn’t just His intention, but it’s what the Holy Spirit is breathing life into currently within His Church. What does ministry-flowing-from-relationships look like? I don’t know exactly, but I know it’s somewhat different than what we’ve seen before. I was asked recently by a friend if I’d baptize their daughter who is a good friend of our girls. We were able to do that together with their family in their backyard swimming pool last month and it was incredible! Just a small gathering of two families, but so immensely personal and meaningful for her as she took that step of discipleship with those closest to her. It was awesome, and we didn’t become friends because I baptized their daughter, but I was asked to baptize her because we are friends.
That’s not something I’ve got much frame of reference for. Sure, I’ve baptized lots of people, but this was different. It was just as joyous and celebratory as other baptisms I’ve been a part of, but still unique. Stuff like that is what fills my sails and resonates in my heart as I read Paul’s letter to the Philippians. These were his friends, his dearest friends, who sent to him one of their own beloved brothers to be a help and minister to Paul. Ephaphroditus was deeply invested in Paul’s life and wellbeing, but also connected with strong ties to his friends in Philippi. This interconnected group of Christians embodies something special within the body of Christ, something the Lord is emphasizing within His Church today. I feel like I’m in one of those “don’t take your eye off the ball” kind of seasons right now. And this relational focus is pretty all-consuming. I see it everywhere I read in Scripture and the Lord highlights it to me in many of my daily interactions. It’s all part of His emphasis on what matters most to Him: people.
Prioritizing people takes focus and intentionality…well, at least it does for me. I’m getting better at it and my constant prayer is that it becomes more natural and relational. When I find myself doing stuff out of habit rather than simply schedule, I think I’ll be in a good place. Until then, it’s just daily persistence to make sure that my life is prioritizing the relationships I have and the friends I’m discovering over the many other activities that occupy much of my time and attention. Speaking of which, I’m remembering now as I write this that I’ve promised to help a friend with some board game stuff this week…and it’s now Friday. So, I’ll wrap here and get busy loving my friend.
———————————————
These monthly updates aren’t always the quickest things to write, and much prayer and conversation with the Lord happens throughout the process. It’s a welcome interaction though, and I’m so grateful for His reminders and prompts as He puts various friends and relatives on my heart as I’m writing. Please know that YOU are much of His focus and occupy a special place in our hearts as well. Thank you for your friendship, your love and support, your prayers and encouragement, and your engagement with us in a variety of ways. And thank you especially for the visits! You’re welcome ANY TIME, and I invite you to hold me to that. We love you lots and look forward to spending more time together whenever it happens. And for those looking to donate financially, New Life Fellowship remains our flow-through whether in person or online. You can just designate your giving as “Missions: The Roberts” or something similar (https://newlifebarstow.com/give). Okay, it’s board game help next and then a birthday party for Honor after that (he’s turning 14!). Lots and lots of love from here in Tennessee!
<><
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
Yeah, I don’t get the fascination with this whole weird camera angle thingy
the kids keep doing, but apparently this is another good one. Crazy kids.
the kids keep doing, but apparently this is another good one. Crazy kids.
If you’re out hiking in the woods and you see this come barreling down the dirt road toward you…just run. Life’s still 7 years away from getting his driver’s license.
So…much…fun…!