Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

Friday morning my son Jacob and I left Charlotte at about 8 AM headed to my beautiful home state of Alabama.  We were headed to Decatur, AL to pick up a Honda Scooter from my good friend Dr. Rob Jackson who is the pastor of Central Baptist.  

Our adventure got started as we got mooned by the giant peach in Gaffney, SC.

Then we made one of our many stops at Starbucks to keep my mind fueled.

Then we stopped at the Georgia welcome center on I-85 S and they were giving away freebies.  We got free lunch, gift certificates, coffee, computer bags, etc…  I do miss Georgia.

We made our way through Atlanta seeing old places we used to go like the Mall of Georgia, Downtown, Philips arena, Turner Field, Georgia Dome, Varsity, Guitar Center and Six Flags.

We drove by Talladega Motor Speedway which was funny because the big race is in Charlotte today.  I love Birmingham and north Alabama.  The scenery is beautiful. Birmingham holds a special place since it is where I met Cassandra.  

When we arrived in Decatur, Rob took us by Central Baptist’s new building.  God is doing amazing things through Rob’s leadership.  They are relocating to a Central place between Decatur and Hartselle, AL.  They bought and existing Savings and Loan office that is huge.  It sits on 29 acres and the amount they paid for this was what the land would have cost alone.  God gave them the building.  It will allow them to grow to 3000 in SS and worship.  WOW!  Rob is a great friend and I’m forever indebted to him and Tonya for making sure Cass and I got together.

Jacob and I loaded up the scooter and left Decatur about 4 PM EST.  We arrived in Birmingham and drove around were I used to work near the former Eastwood Mall (that was torn down and has a new shopping center).  My old employment, Longs Electronics is long gone.  We got back on the road and stopped once again at Starbucks in Oxford, AL.  They gave me free coffee!  

Then we drove around I-285 N and saw our old stomping grounds.  We miss Atlanta.  We stopped again in Commerce, GA so I could get more Starbucks so I wouldn’t fall asleep.  We gassed up in SC.  Their gas is .20 cheaper than Alabama, Georgia and NC.    At midnight we drove back by the peach and I was mooned again.

We arrived home safely about 1:10 AM and I slept late.  We got up and tried out the new scooter.  It has more power than you would think.  Later we met three couples from our church in Mobile for supper at Smokey Bones. They are here for the Coca-Cola 600.  It was great to see them.  Man am I tired!

We can hardly believe it has been six months since our life changed radically.  There has been a lot joy, pain, struggle and fun.  There have been victories and defeats.  If there is one word that describes our change it has been “GRACE.”  

However, we have felt more spiritual warfare the last 3 months than we ever have in a long time. We have experienced some semi-major health issues.  We have some more significant changes/decisions to make and we are dealing with rising costs just like the rest of you.  We did refinance our home to save some money.  In fact our house payment is our only debt that we have.  Praise God.  I’m leaving tomorrow to pick up a gas scooter from a friend to try to save even more money.

Our ministry has changed significantly.  I am doing about 5 different jobs at the church.  All of them are fulfilling but it is hard to juggle so many responsibilities.  We are seeing lives changed and it is exciting.  We are offering so much for a new church.  Of course, the economy is affecting the church too.  Our rent at the school goes up 70% beginning in July.  This will be a strain on our new fellowship.

We are grateful for those of you who have been praying for our ministry.  Most of you know we are raising much of our salary for this year.  We are humbled by those of you who have given sacrificially.  In fact, there are people I’ve never met supporting us financially and that is amazing and a testimony to God.  Here is where we need additional help.  With the rising costs of the church it is putting a strain on the church to make up the slack to pay us.  We have not quite gotten to the $3000 a month we need but the pastor has made sure we are being taken care of.  However, it may become difficult with the rising expenses of the church.  

I don’t feel comfortable asking but I will anyway because I know we are doing what God has asked us to do. If some of you would feel led to help us until December we know that God is going to take care of our needs. We stepped out in faith and we trust God will lay on the hearts those who can help.  All donations are tax deductible.  We would be grateful for any help you can give.  You can send your gift to: (write for the Busseys on your check.)

North Point Community Church

P.O. Box 680877

Charlotte, NC 28216

Again, we are grateful for your prayers and support.  Thanks for being a part of our lives.

Do you believe that satan tries to attack believers and churches?  I do.  This past week my wife and I went to an awesome marriage seminar.  Then last night and today our students (including my teenage son) are in a Grace Life Supernatural Flight Conference.   My wife and I went through the Grace Life adult conference a few months ago.  The premise of the Grace message is discovering our true identity.  For those of us who are followers of Jesus, our identity is in Jesus. Unfortunately, very few believers have discovered that truth.  We try to find our identity in Sports, work, relationships, money, drugs, achievement, etc…. You get the picture.

Well, there were attacks on several couples last week to try to keep them from the retreat. In fact, for various reasons a few couples at the last minute were unable to attend.  I learned a lot at the retreat and enjoyed getting to know the couples at our church.  It was great to be alone with Cassandra too.  But this week has been unbelievably stressful.  More than I have had in the last few months.  

Yesterday, probably topped it off.  I was at a loss to what to do.  I finally gave up and just prayed.  I knew that satan was attacking and didn’t want my son to be exposed to the Grace Message.  Some of our families were under stress too.  We had two families from other churches that brought their teenagers to the conference and they shared how stressful it was bringing their teens.

Ken the conference leader is doing a great job.  He is gifted at dealing with students.  Our students are interacting and realizing their identity is in Christ.  Last night I couldn’t go to sleep right away.  Part of it had to do with looking up security systems for our home after some other events that occurred in our community.  (I have a post about that for Monday)  Cassandra got up this morning and said that she was unable to sleep. She got up at 3:00AM and felt an overwhelming need to pray over the home.  She prayed for both of our children at their door.  She went through every room praying.  She also prayed for Ken our speaker.  Then she went to sleep at 6:00 AM.  

Ken said he was unable to sleep too.  He was awakened at 3:00 AM and didn’t fall back asleep until–yes–6:00 AM.  I know my atheist friends will say that is a coincidence.  I think not.  I have seen too many of these kind of experiences my entire life.  God is up to something big in our family and at our church. Our pastor is doing something really life changing tomorrow in the service.  Lives are being transformed by the Grace message that God has for all of us.

So my question is do you believe in Spiritual attacks?  

Well, so much has happened since we told everyone that I was accepting a position to be associate pastor at North Point Charlotte. God has blown us away in the ways he has provided for our needs. Some may call what has happened coincidence but I don’t believe in coincidences.

The moment Pastor Don told the congregation that we were coming on board, things started happening. The next day, an office and a youth/children/small group space opened up at NO COST to the church! THE NEXT DAY! Then as we started sharing our ministry with people here, sending letters to friends asking them to pray about supporting us through the end of the year, money started coming in from all over the world! Literally! We have been humbled as people who have never met us are contributing to what God is doing here in NW Charlotte. Don will call me every time he goes to the Post Office and gets support checks, no matter how big or small. They are strengthening the faith of us all. There are people in the church who have been giving above their tithes too! We are amazed watching how God is working.

We prayed when we stepped out in faith last November that God would show our children how big He is. I remember growing up in a para-church family how God met our needs and my parents shared those blessings with us. They are what keep me going today. Now we are able to tell our children that people we’ve never met are supporting our ministry. We are able to tell them that their cousins, uncles, grandparents, aunts and uncles believe in what God is doing through us. We feel just as blessed with the $10 check, as much as we do with the larger ones. Our children are so excited to be here. Jacob, who will be 14 next week, gets up every Sunday and helps the set-up crew with the preschool and children’s area (since we meet in a school) and stays for an hour afterwards to tear down. He does this on his own and out of the desire of his heart, not because we make him.  He also serves in the 2 and 3 year old class once a month.  He has a real passion and heart for this age. He is being used by God and it is rewarding for him. Hope gives me plenty of technical advice. Cassandra is her typical self–jumping in and serving in many areas. She is such a help, especially to me.

Two weeks ago, Don called while I was driving to the service to tell me that we had received a large check from a life long friend of Cassandra’s. I told her about it as the service started and she cried because she was so humbled by the generous gift.

This past Sunday was the largest crowd the church has ever had! I’m being stretched in many directions but I love it. I’m able to use the creativity that God has given me. I play guitar at least 2 times a month in the praise band. I also took a group of students to Student Life this past weekend. Most of them have never seen this kind of conference and it was so cool that SL is teaching about our “identity in Christ”, just like we are learning the Grace Life–the intentional discipleship that we teach at North Point. The people at NP are truly missional and most of them don’t even know it. There is a family that was recently rocked with some horrible criminal problems by one of it’s on family members.  This family does not attend North Point, but some of their neighbors do. Most of the neighborhood has been ugly and condemning to the rest of the family. However, we have 4 families from NP that have been reaching out and ministering to this family  This family does not appear to be churched and our NP families are living out the message of God’s love for them, in spite of the horrific situation.

It is such a rush to live on the edge and see how God is working. Thank you for your continuous prayers, support, and words of encouragement as we continue to follow Him on this journey of faith. Have a blessed Easter!

This morning I drove across town to meet with Derek Turner, the pastor of the Branch Church.  I had never met Derek but he started reading and commenting on my blog and I began to read his.  When I realized he was just across town I said we need to get together.  As it turns out their church offices and school are right next to the Starbucks that I used to meet my coach in the University area of Charlotte.  I remember seeing him at Starbucks a few months back.
He is a gracious pastor and showed me the school that they operate.  We talked over a coffee and I felt like we had know each other for years.  His story is a testimony of God’s power, grace and forgiveness.  Derek married Kenneth Copeland’s niece Nikki and was working for KCM Ministries in Vancouver, British Columbia.  They were in Ft. Worth, TX for some business when a drunk driver hit the van they were in.  In an instant Derek’s life was radically changed.  His wife was killed and she was pregnant with their daughter.

Derek shared with me how God gave him the strength to not only forgive but move on.  God has given him a wonderful wife, Sarah and two daughters since that tragic event. He is also pastoring a dynamic, kingdom minded, giving church.  Derek is a great guy and I recommend getting to know him via his blog.  Pretty cool to see two believers enjoying one another based on what we have in common in Christ versus any theological difference we may share.  I look forward to getting to know Derek better in the future.

Derek, thanks for the coffee and the fellowship!