Church family,

I hope you have had a wonderful summer.

As I was reading through the Psalms recently, I noticed once again the word "Selah" appearing after various verses. While we're not certain of its exact meaning, many scholars believe it served as a musical interlude in the Psalm. Others suggest it functions much like our word "Amen"—meant to help readers affirm what was just written or sung. Put these definitions together and you have a word that means to pause, to slow down, to take a break in order to think and reflect on the truth being communicated.

In many ways, summer can serve as a "selah" between the regular routines and seasons of spring and fall. It's a time for many to slow down, pause, and contemplate. This has been a wonderful "selah summer" for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing from guest preachers and different pastors on our staff. The Stronger series has been incredibly helpful in my personal walk with the Lord, and I know our church has benefited from this deep dive into Second Peter.

I'm deeply grateful for our church allowing me time out of the pulpit to catch my breath. I am refueled and ready to go! While I haven't been preaching, I've been staying connected at each of our campuses, attending our camps, walking our halls, and thinking about the fall. I'm praying it will be our best season yet!

Our fall kickoff is just over a week away, and this Sunday is our annual Summit Leadership Training—our one day each year to gather all our servant leaders in the same room for an evening of vision and training. I’m also excited to begin a new series called MORE: A Living Faith, based on Hebrews 11. We’ll take a closer look at some of our Old Testament heroes and how their lives exemplified true faith.

We have some exciting days ahead of us, Champion Forest. Let's make sure we stay on mission and advance the Kingdom by making disciples, loving our community, and strengthening the Church.

Sincerely,

Pastor Jarrett