Red Letter Fam,

Yesterday was Thanksgiving,

As we sat to eat, I read my acknowledgements page from my dissertation. I was only allowed a single page and of course that doesn’t leave room to thank everyone, and I hadn’t yet walked through the fires of October yet. I first want to say how thankful I am for you, to see the texts and pics from you guys, it made my heart rejoice in the great God we have but also long to be with you all again. Every Sunday felt like Thanksgiving, more so around the fire pit or playing kickball, but you get what I mean.

I want to provide a few updates, and then ask you to fill out a survey - part of the process of NAMB and the church planting approval.

First update is more of God’s sense of humor. As I am sitting in bed typing this, I was going through apps on my tablet, and came across one I used for a bit called Ulysses, its a writing app in markdown style, dont worry if you have no clue what that means, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is God’s providence which I was reminded of. As I was looking through the files, I came across some feedback I have saved from my first paper I wrote for my PhD classes, it was on the debate between Athanasius and Arius. Admittedly my writing has come along way, but one of the points my professor pointed out was the debate was over unity. One side argued that God was triune because the three members had unity of will and the others side said God has unity of being. For the sake of Red Letter, I want to ask which do we have?

Those are questions of will.

Scripture — and the early church — push us to ask something far more profound:

My professor recently reminded me that the famous conflict between Athanasius and Arius wasn’t primarily about personality, power, or even a single verse. It was about the very nature of unity in God.

Arius wasn’t irreligious.
He wasn’t ignoring the Bible.
He quoted Scripture constantly.

But the issue wasn’t the quantity of Scripture — it was the lens through which he read it.

Arius taught that:

But the Son, in Arius’s view, was still a creature, merely choosing harmony.

Athanasius responded with a thunderclap:

Which means:

This wasn’t abstract philosophy.
This was the heartbeat of the Christian faith.

And it has everything to do with Red Letter.

In everyday language, eternal generation means the Father has never been without the Son, and the Son has never existed apart from the Father. The Son is eternally “from” the Father, not as a created thing, but sharing the Father’s very life.

Unity of being means the Father and the Son don’t just agree with each other; they share the same divine life. They are not merely on the same team—they are of one being. That is why honoring the Son is truly honoring God.

So when the early church said Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light,” they were guarding this truth:
Our faith and our unity rest on who Jesus is, not just what Jesus does.

Unity of will says:

But unity of will is fragile:

Now consider unity of being.

Unity of being says:

This is the unity that reflects the Trinity —
one Being in three Persons, perfectly united.

This is the unity God describes in marriage —
“one flesh,” not just “two wills trying their best.”

Truthfully:

A unity of being that says:

This is unity no human can manufacture.
This is unity no conflict can shatter.
This is unity only the Spirit creates.

Before we finalize anything for Red Letter Church —
before a location, before a launch plan, before a timeline —

I want to invite you into a sacred moment of shared listening.

This is not a membership form.
Not a commitment.
Not pressure.

It is simply a chance to discern with us whether God is forming unity of being among us.

Your voice matters.
Your spiritual instincts matter.
Your theology matters.
Your hopes and concerns matter.
Your prayers matter.

If God is truly forming a unified people — we will see it.

Athanasius refused to compromise because he knew:

If the Church was going to survive heresy, persecution, and confusion, she needed a unity rooted not in enthusiasm — but in who God is.

And so do we.

If Red Letter is going to be born, it must emerge from:

Not merely united in will…
but united in being.

That kind of unity is unshakeable.
That kind of unity is supernatural.
That kind of unity is the ground on which a church is planted.

I love you all.
Let’s keep listening together.
Let’s keep praying.
Let’s stay attentive to what the Spirit is forming.

For His Glory

Dr. Pasta

You made it this far so I wanted to share a second update and possibility

Bro. Mines passed my name on to Grace Baptist in Williamsburg, VA. I had an initial conversation and passed along my resume and a few other documents. They are down to about 25 on a Sunday and in need of hope for the future. Just ask you pray for them, maybe Red Letter can be birthed as a resurrection of sorts. Maybe we could come along side them. They were honest and noted that they could only pay bivocational - but what if NAMB was willing and they were willing, God does amazing things with people who are willing.

Also I plan to share the first chapter of the Matthew: Red Letter Devotional soon. I am looking for some feedback, my style of devotional may differ from what you like. Till next time.