Pray For Revolution Church
One week ago David Trotter, pastor of Revolution Church in Long Beach CA and a blog acquaintance of mine wrote this on his blog…
Totally Tuesday
* Took Emerson to school.
* Lots of hang time.
* Did the dishes and made the bed.
* Leftover lunch from last night’s dinner.
* Worked out at Bally’s – 30 minutes of cardio and upper body workout.
* While Laura went to a parenting workshop at ROCKharbor with Jenny, I took the kids to “family night” at Chick-fil-a – had the same Southwestern salad as yesterday.
* Playing games with Emerson.
* Helping Waverly study for her solar system test.
* Baths and 7pm bedtime for the kids.
* Had a blast song writing with Keith Dickson for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, I already had the chorus, 4 verses, and tune laid out, but he had to figure out all the chords and strumming. I’ll write 2 more verses, and we’ll finish it next week. Really fun to do that with Keith – he rocks.
That was the last post he wrote on his blog.
Just 2 days prior he informed his church that he was taking a sabbatical because God was nudging him to figure some things out.
Two days after he wrote that post, he left his wife and 2 kids for another woman.
The shock and heartache that this church is going through is sobering.
One of my good friends, Bobby, was the worship pastor there for 3 years and I know he is going through a lot.
I share this news for 2 reasons.
1. So we never think we are incapable of being taken down by A Character Assassin.
The second you think that this is an issue that you would never fall victim to, you are wrong. Any one of us could fall to something like this. For me, it is another reminder to protect the integrity of my marriage and place more safeguards than I currently have in place.
David was a blogger, writer, leader, and is a follower of Christ. I’m sure lots of us can see some of ourselves in him.
Reality Check.
2. To pray for Revolution Church, David’s wife and 2 kids, and David.
May this truly Ignite A Movement of Revolutionaries in that church.
I believe it will.
Los
yo. thats harsh. thanks for posting that – it does the same thing to me as far as being a reminder to protect the integrity of my marriage.
thank you. will pray.
Heartbreaking. I am praying.
We’re praying!
Hard to read that one Carlos. Made me sick. We’ll be praying here hard for the Trotters and the fine folks at Revolution Church.
That is so heartbreaking. I like that you posted the list of ordinary activities he was doing last. Sin is so subtle and so very ordinary in appearance I think. It reminds me of that verse… be careful when you think you are standing firm, lest you fall. All of us are susceptible.
Wow!!!! Wow, thats all I can say.
Thank you so much for posting – it means a lot. And what you said is so true. Truly appreciate your thoughts and perspective.
ughhhhh.
I pray for this church, and for our friend Bobby–GOD be with them!
I totally agree with Anna – the normalcy of that post vs. what happened a few days later are mindblowing. I feel for his wife and will pray for her and the kids.
It is stuff (it was hard just to type the word ’stuff’) like this that makes me fall to my knees and have to depend on God that much harder. If I was trying to do this on my own strength, then I would have long dropped out when I hear stuff like this.
I am not even a vocational minister but I want so badly to be one. Stuff like this makes it feel like it will be that much harder to become a pastor.
We cry to you, O Lord, because you are holy.
Followup:
Carlos, you are correct. I am not above this.
However, if I knew I could fall into a certain situation and fall to this temptation, then I want my God to take my life now. Living without serving God, not abiding in His will and not being obedient to Him is a hell I have experienced once in my lifetime and I am never going back.
I am deadly serious about God taking my life.
Without God in my life, then I am not a father to my son. I am not a friend to be trusted. I am not a son to my grandmother who raised me to see me fall.
As a “longtime reader/first-time commenter,” I feel I must thank you for posting this.
Revolution has been like my extended family for almost three years now. And though my own heart hurts during this time, it pains me even more to see my “family” hurting. These last couple of weeks have been emotionally exhausting. And, the amount of tears that have been shed over the last few days is overwhelming. We need more prayer now than ever before…
Again, I thank you for this post and for your prayers. And, if I may, can I ask that, in addition to the prayers for our church and David’s wife and kids, you (and your thousands of readers) also pray for the other family directly involved in this situation?? They truly need our prayers as well!
Thank you, Carlos…
When I was a new believer the pastor of the church I attended at that time did the same thing. We all realized he was the only one with no accountability. It totally surprised us.
This is so sobering of a reminder. I’ll pray for them…also pray for you & your beautiful wife & amazing family.
I started reading your blog through Bobby M during your adoption process. I have enjoyed following your families journey. I never thought the day would come when I would see part of my journey on your blog.
Thank you for praying. I have been on staff at Revolution for the last 3 years. I have worked along side Dave and have learned so many important lessons from him. He was an incredible leader, pastor and friend. My heart is breaking for him and for the people that this tragedy is touching.
I am reminded of how quickly we can succumb to sin. I am holding my husband, family, and friends a little tighter today.
Carlos and readers. I thank you for your prayers.
I’m praying for Anne Jacksons book “Mad Church Disease” (flowerdust.net) which is going to be full of these stories.
Thanks Los!
I so enjoy the honesty of your blog as heartbreaking as it is sometimes. I am praying for revolution, change and healing as well as for Revolution Church and the families there.
there are no words to explain how i feel about this happening to yet another family. a similar thing has happened to my dad in the past few years. rumors at the church, yada yada yada, led to him resigning. we moved towns and he took a a vp of relations position at a local counseling company. it was the first time he had been out of the ministry since before i was born (at least 15 years, no more than 25) and the world hit him hard. almost 2 years ago, now, he left us. now the divorce is almost final, and i believe that he might have another woman. i know how INTENSELY hard it is for the family to go through this when there are seemingly no reasons why he (or she) should leave. as i read this post and wrote this comment, tears stream down my face. this experience has left me high and dry. i have so many doubts now that i never would have had. i hope its for the better and that its making me stronger. right now i’m searching for answers and i’m not finding them. because of this experience, i’m not in prayer right now, but i do hope the best for them. this is something i wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
for now, i just feel relieved that i was able to write that without a single cuss in it. haha
-drew
How very, very sad. One that a leader of a church would so easily fall to such temptation. And two how very sad for the families, and the church who followed this man and looked up to him. I read Bobbys blog and I think he said it best when he said “I have hope because I know Christ is still on the throne.
Hope because God is in control, even when things seem like things are spinning out of control.”
I’ll br praying for them as well.
How horrible. It reminds me that marriage is hard work, and if you become complacient, you might fall. Much prayers going out for this family and church family.
my heart breaks when I hear situations like this. it reminds me of the quote that our most ungaurded strength can become our greatest weakness…m.
I read about being accountable by “sharing” online. We all edit what we show to others. Sins of the flesh sounds old fashioned – yet the flesh is how we outwardly express rebellion against God. Infidelity is a tragedy for the family and the the Body of Christ. Praying for restoration and healing is our first job as Christians. We all the capacity to do wrong, we have to make the daily choices to do right. You are a man after God’s heart, Carlos – for caring and for understanding the lesson – protect the sanctity of your marriage and family – it is the first target of the Accuser.
we all HAVE the capacity – sorry I actually was crying as I keyboarded -
It is sad to me that I am not surprised. I hope his wife and children get through this speedily. As for him, I’m jaded. I’ve been in “the ministry” for over 25 years. People don’t “fall” into that because they are victims of their job. He’s a jerk. Forgive me everyone. Just my opinion.
Thanks for sharing this. Devastating. Another reminder of how weak we are and how Christ is the only good thing in us.
::sigh::
The last few days have showed me how fragile life and human relationships can be. Our only hope is Christ…and I pray that is Who prevails in this whole thing.
Don’t give up on him.
Ouch. That is heartbreaking. We all need so much prayer as we can make this same mistake in a second. Los, I appreciate this reminder and I appreciated Corey’s comment above mine. That is also something we need to hear.
that sinking feeling in your stomache when you are truly grieved for others is what i am experiencing right now.
that will mess you up. will be praying for them…and the kids. a split up in the family is so hard. ugh.
We had this happen at our church 2 1/2 years ago and the heartache and loss is still fresh. God heals the broken hearted and my prayer will be that the Great Healer will be touching hearts at this church. It’s so heartbreaking.
A very close friend of mine just told me that he had an affair. Actually, he was more than a friend, he was one of the two men in my life that shaped me to be the man I am today (the other being my father).
My first instinct was to go home and love on my wife and son. I vowed to never take them for granted again.
Actually I was thinking about this last night as I watched the NY Governor talk about his downfall. It just amazes me how rampant this is in our society.
People, don’t give up on this guy. Too often we are quick to encourage people to divorce and just move on. Marriage is worth fighting for, even after an affair.If anyone knows this guy, GO AFTER HIM! His family can survive this sort of thing, and they can come out of it even stronger. Look at King David, guys. He definitely reaped, and so did his sons, but HE KNEW GOD and understood grace and mercy more than a lot of us do. He was a man after God’s own heart! And he majorly messed up! I repeat, people, MARRIAGE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR…
No one is giving up. This is a call to prayer. Though I agree with you.
Los
Thanks for everyone’s prayers. And thanks for posting Los.
As said above, please pray for the other family involved as well. They are young Christians and are going through hell right now as well.
Being with some of the people from Revolution the past couple of days was pretty heartbreaking and encouraging all at the same time. The leadership is already handling it so great, and so many people in the church are already focusing on Christ and praying like they never have before. God is already at work.
Wow! I’m so sorry to hear this. Having been Ted Haggard’s associate pastor for many years, I know first hand what it feels like to experience the pain of betrayal and then deal with the reality of a major transition. I also know how devastating it can be on both families directly involved. I will pray. Our church will pray. And God will still be God no matter what.
A sobering reality of living in a fallen world. Thank you for sharing. We need these watershed moments to remind us that we are all but a moment from being this guy- but for the grace of God!
A couple of guys pray specifically for marriages @ Mag . . . I’ll make sure they get this . . . I will pray . . . If he really knows the LORD nothing can pluck him out of GOD’s hand . . . Yes Los a call to prayer and a crying out
I started to refer people to Cindy Beale’s blog from Ann Jackson’s site but I see it is no longer available. Sometimes I feel people just need hope. Families can survive this, it is not too late. And I remind myself, this sin is no greater than my flavor of the day sin. I am praying for repentance and forgiveness for all involved.
Wow….that is sobering. And it can happen to ANYONE given the right set of circumstances and the right heart attitude. I’ll be praying for that church and that family….God can turn anything around!
Our church went through this several years ago. The family was able to work things out and in fact a couple of years ago, they renewed their wedding vows!! God is Good and He is faithful even when we fall.
This situation strengthened our church in ways that probably would not have been possible otherwise. It caused all of us to realize we are not above sin and we need to be accountable to others.
I am praying for restoration for all involved: families, and church members!
When any of us think “That can’t happen to me,” the Great Deceiver has us right where he wants us…
Unfortunately the real problem isn’t being addressed here and that is the institution we call Christian Churchdom continues to propagate and indoctrinate us into ministry lifestyles that result in this sickening type of event. Pushing staff and leaders for numbers and $ at the cost of peoples lives. I can see this is the example Christ himself set! NOT!
Few Christian volunteers, leaders, elders, staff members or pastors are saying “Enough is enough, my boundaries are set! I will not spend the overtime in this ministry at the cost of my marriage or my children! Instead I would expect something more. Mentors, leaders, pastors, friends…where are you when I need you to tell me to take as much time as I need to ensure my house is in order?”
Instead we crave leadership roles that make us look good. We lie to each other and say WERE NOT DAMAGED GOODS. We run like lemmings over the cliff of destruction because our pastors are so busy building, what they think is the kingdom.
I will be praying for Laura, the kids and Dave…but realize, that this is the aftermath of one more bad example and frankly disgusting picture of Gods people not putting the simplicity of the two greatest commandments first… Love God and Love each other!
if you want to read about the courageous tale of grace tunz mentions above just go to my site and search for “courageous tale of grace”
thanks for praying for us, and most especially for pastor dave and the trotter family. it’s been devastating, but it’s thru these times that i get excited to see what things God has in store for our church family…
thanks everyone for your prayers.
While I can appreciate all the calls to prayer and support, at some point the church needs to get a sack and confront the predator.
We should not continue the failed church policies of the past and send em packin’ off to the next unsuspecting group, organization or church, but stop him in his tracks.
Mr. Trotters last employer of record has a responsibility to pray for him and also to track him like a dog for the next several years and make every legal attempt to prevent him from spreading his poison and leaving devastated families in his wake.
Our nations churches have been acting cowardly for years because we have not stopped these abuses of power.
IMHO
I am attending school here in the US. I am from Canada. I just heard from my dad that my pastor did the exact same thing. He just left his wife and 4 kids for a woman with a husband and 3 kids. If he could do so wrong, what can be right? Devastating!