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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Country Comes to Heaven: I Love You Man!


So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:17-20)



Last Thursday one of our dear brothers went home to be with the Lord. The above picture is of two of our south campus families (From the left: Kenny Burrell, Steve Spears, Kathan Spears, and Stacey Burell). For those who live outside of Jacksonville, Steve passed away last Thursday from an automobile accident at the age of 45. He awaits in Heaven his wife Kathan, and 5 precious children (Kristen, Olivia, Clancey, Scout, and Journey). These last few days have rocked our hearts, but they have also strengthened our faith in the sustaining grace of our Heavenly Father, and have reminded us afresh and anew that ours is a “LIVING HOPE.”


Steve started our pre-teen ministry (GPS: Godly Positioned Students) at EaglePoint with about 3-4 students and within a year consistently averaged 20-25. He invested his love for Jesus Christ in them and, as a result, nearly all of them who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ have followed their confession with believer’s baptism. I think the Ray Boltz song “Thank You For Giving To The Lord” may have been inspired by Steve. I want you to read the tributes from Kenny and Stacey Burell:


By Kenny: My best friend Steve

"This is Kenny" I am going to miss that being said to me every day. I just left EaglePoint and there will always be a void there. I was one of the first people to see Steve on Sundays, his shirt tucked out and his larger than life Bible that looked like his smile. I am a better Christian, Husband, Father and friend because of knowing Steve. He taught his friends that nothing in this world matters except Loving Jesus and making sure we share the Gospel with everyone we come in contact with, and loving his wife and children so unselfishly. I am going to miss the 20 to 30 text messages I would get from him daily, one would be so heartfelt loving and kind and the next one would be "Pants on the ground". Man did he love life, but what pleased him the most was his love for Jesus, he is walking on Streets of Gold tonight. Steve is truly worshiping Jesus now, I can see him with his arms raised singing worthy is the Lamb!!! I thank God that I was allowed to spend time with him, listening to his precious prayers for his family and friends and how his heart would be broke for lost people. Steve has been so proud that God laid it on his heart to teach the GPS pre-teens at EaglePoint. God used him in a mighty way and his ministry will live on. God I am so thankful that you put the Spears family in my life, they are part of my family and I know he is going to use this for his glory.
My heart aches because I miss my best friend, but my soul sings out to God for he is in Heaven praising Jesus. Thank you Steve Spears for being real and showing us how to love people and how to love sharing the gospel. I am looking forward to seeing you again one day when we are all together in Heaven!


I love you man!!!.



Kenny


Blessed

My family was so blessed to have a friend like Steve Spears. Steve was an amazing friend, father, husband, leader, teacher, and servant. Mark 12:30 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength", this was a description of my friend's life. He lived and breathed every second of that verse each day here on earth. He was a walking example of the way everyone should be live. I simply can't say enough wonderful things about one man that walked into our life and made such an impact. Kenny and I were talking about how we met Steve and Kathan and we really could not recall the exact day. It just seemed like we knew each other forever and they were like family to us. Our family just clicked with their family. We shared some wonderful times with him and Kathan and the family that will always be great memories that I will hold dear to my heart. He was such a great husband to Kathan. You could feel the love that they had for each other by just being around them. Kathan told me yesterday that he treated her like a "queen" and he did, that was the truth. He was so appreciative of anything you did for them. He told me all the time "I'm so glad that Kathan has a friend like you" and I would say it was pleasure to be her friend, ya'll are such a blessing to me! Steve would deny himself and take up his cross and follow the Lord every day, just as we all should. I can't say enough good things about my friend, because there are not enough words to describe how I felt about him. I will miss the stories that Kenny would tell about Steve. The crazy things that the two of them would get into. I'll miss talking to him, hearing his laugh, seeing him at church with a smile on his face, the encouragement that he would give me and the family, praying with him, all the positive things he would say, and the fun times that we all shared. It was always so much fun being with him and Kathan, we had some good times. Kenny and I enjoyed just going to their home and sitting around talking and laughing with each other. You could just feel the love in their home and it made a great meeting place. Their house was always welcoming, warm, and cozy. Our kids and their kids would always be around, because it was the place they wanted to be. My kids loved Steve. Madison would look forward to going downstairs because Mr. Steve would always have the best message for them. He made it fun for the kids and they all adored him! He was preparing them for what the future would hold and how to handle it God's way. He did not have a book to teach from. The message would always come from his heart and I never worried because I knew that Steve walked in the footprints of our Heavenly Father. He prayed for the message that he talked to the kid's about and it was always something they related to. I had so much respect for Steve. He was Kenny's best friend and it will be difficult not hearing the stories that Kenny would share with me about them. He was so supportive and there for Kenny and pushed him through a lot of tough times. Last year, Jackson came out of his class saying "guess what mommy, "I gave my heart to the Lord today" and there was Steve with a smile on his face watching Jackson tell me the great news. I'm so thankful Jackson shared that moment with Steve. Steve was not afraid to share the love of Jesus with anybody. Steve was not just a friend to us, he was family and my whole family loved him. He always put a smile on our face. I'm so thankful that the Lord used Steve to glorify his name, because Steve touched so many people by the life he lived. He was always so good to my family. I'm so grateful that he taught us so much in such little time that we had him here. Steve will always have a special place in our hearts and I never forget how one man changed so many hearts. I have no doubt that our friend Steve is in Heaven with his Heavenly Father praising him at this very moment. I'm just so thankful that the Lord allowed us to experience such a blessing in our life!.



Thankful for every second,
Stacey


Holding On and Looking Up,


Dr. Derek


PRAISE

Welcome these new members to the Church Family:


Caleb Adams
Charles & Gaynell Casey
Greg & Shelly Parrish
Scotti Simpson


I am blown away by our church’s response to the Spears family. I cannot even begin to say “Thank You” to all the servant volunteers who did so many things to make the last few days a smooth process. You stepped up and gave so selflessly from the needs at the Spears’ home to the incredible set-up at the south campus for the Saturday visitation, the Sunday service which brought the largest crowd ever gathered at our south campus, the meal in the Connection Café, the care in the parking lot, etc.


Yesterday, one of the funeral home representatives told me after the service that she has never seen a church respond in such an “incredible” way. It is no small coincidence that God led our staff back in September 09 to develop our “Servant’s Heart” series. He knew we would be needed by our families and by our community. Today, I feel emotionally spent and incredibly humbled to be the under-shepherd of such a precious congregation.

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