Southside Church

Laura went to London for Robyn’s birthday but as she was on the ship, she heard about a King’s Kids team that was forming, run by some long-time friends. She felt like she was supposed to join the team. However, it wasn’t going to be possible if I didn’t get work. She called me to tell me the news and ask if I had gotten the job. I had just found out that I did get it and agreed to let her stay.

This was her opportunity to get to go to more of Eastern Europe and even some countries that I had never been to. Boot Camp was in Finland then they traveled to Russia, Estonia and Latvia. In Russia, she got to go to St. Petersburg and Moscow, whereas I had only been to St. Pete.

The whole time we had been in Virginia, we had been looking for a good church to go to. We had visited many but none of them really gelled for both of us. There were certain things we were looking for – good worship, sound doctrine, good teaching, small groups. I continued to look while Laura was away. 

I had heard rumors about one church in particular called Southside that met at a school. I thought that would make it more laid back, which is something I would be more comfortable with growing up in YWAM. One day I found the church in something called a phone book.

Southside’s address was in the city of Chesapeake where we were living, so I thought it would be nearby. When I went to that address, however, I discovered an office building. I went back home and called the number (no cell phones back then) only to discover that the school they met in was actually in Virginia Beach about 15 minutes away. By now I was going to be late (which I hate) but I thought I’d still go for it. I’m glad I did.

I found an inconspicuous place in the very back. There were about five to six hundred people, including kids (and there were a lot of kids). As I had thought, the style was something with which I was comfortable. Then came the time in the service were they welcomed visitors.

Growing up visiting lots of churches as a family, my dad always told us not to identify ourselves at this point of the service because we were usually just passing through and we didn’t want them to try to send us all kinds of literature. Now, I wanted to experience the whole service first before I decided on getting to know more about them. 

At one church Laura and I had visited, it seemed like an okay place at first so we had written down our info. But by the time the service ended, we were not very impressed. I had seen where they put the information sheets in a room with windows in the back. I went back there when I thought no one was watching to see if I could find our sheet and take it out. But just as I was looking, someone came in and asked me if they could help me with something. I just said no and walked out. 

So I didn’t stand to identify myself as a visitor at Southside. But when the pastor started preaching, I suddenly became very interested. His message was the beginning of a series of messages on what he called the therapeutic movement and I found myself captivated.

My parents had counseled a lot of people when I was growing up. They helped people work through problems through discussion, prayer and advice from a Biblical viewpoint - Biblical counseling. But later in life I began to hear more and more about therapy.

Although I wasn’t sure exactly why, there was something about therapy that just didn’t seem right to me. That day in the service, I heard what it was. Second Timothy 3:16-17 reads, 

        “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking correcting and training in                 righteousness, so that the man of God man be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 

If that is true, if applied in the right way, all problems and issues that people face can be resolved using Biblical wisdom. Therapy, on the other hand, is usually based in humanistic psychoanalysis.

One of the fundamental differences is where they are centered. Therapy puts the person at the center and focuses on how other people and things relate to them. Biblical counseling starts with God at the center and focuses on realigning people’s lives according to Biblical truth. While some human wisdom can be helpful, the difference is on whom the focus lies.

There was teaching similar to this in YWAM by a man named Bruce Thompson. This is the Bruce who was on the same plane when I flew to New Zealand for my dad’s funeral. His series was called The Divine Plumbline, based on verses in Amos 7 that use a builder’s plumb line as a metaphor for how our lives need to line up with God’s way of living.

As I listened to the message at Southside that day, I found myself in complete agreement with everything the pastor was saying. Afterwards, I went down to thank him and chat a little. So far, the church had made a very favorable impression on me. They had a little reception area for visitors in one of the rooms where I went to give them my info because now I definitely wanted to know more.

Laura with her fellow King's Kids staff friends


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