The Darkness

Part of my sermon from Sunday Dec 16. It was a very dark world when Mary was told by an angel that she would be with child. God had not spoken in over 400 years, he had not even sent a message through an angel or one of his prophets. It must have been pretty tough to live in this world. Israel was a part of the Roman empire. They were not there own. Darkness can be defined as the absence of light. And this is just what every Israelite was experiencing. One thing that is important to know is that light transforms darkness. Even something as small as a candle in the darkest of rooms spreads a lot of light. Have you ever walked into a dark room, one with very little light. It is hard to see, almost impossible. But the longer you are in the room your eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. This is how it is with sin. When you first walk into it you might not be able to see or even recognize it. But the longer you are in the dark you are able know what it looks like, know it by name and even choose to fight the temptation. However the more accustom with it, sometimes you can become use to being a part of it and partaking it. John 1:9 says, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” When the light enters the dark space it transforms the darkness. As Jesus comes into every situation he will bring light onto each situation. Jesus can and will show you the sin in your life. The Light reveals Glory. It will show his magnificence and splendor. It will take you by storm and show you the awesome power of God. The Light reveals Grace. Romans 5:20-21 says “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Grace is an amazing thing. It does not matter how much darkness/sin we have in our lives. Jesus will come into our lives to transform the darkness to light. I love this verse because it shows that the more sin you have in your life, there is more forgiveness. But we are not to take advantage of that grace and continue to live in the dark. Most of you know I have an 8 month old named Tedy. Every now and then Tedy will make a face and his whole body will tense up. You know exactly where I am going and what I will have to do. I will have to change a dirty diaper. When Tedy does this, Daddy steps in removes the diaper and cleans his crap-covered bum. I give him grace because this is all he knows and I will continue to come into his life and give him grace by changing his diaper. Just as Christ comes into our lives and removes the darkness. But if Tedy comes to me at 8 years old and tells me he needs his diaper changed we have missed something. We have not taught him what he needs to know. He has not grown and his life has not been transformed by the grace we have shown him The Light also reveals Truth. God comes in and shows us what we need to know, how we should live, and how to follow him. He reveals this through scripture. John 3:21 says, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” We need to continue to live in the light to help us see the truth. The best thing Christians can do is to reveal the light. The light will reveal his glory, grace and truth.

small town life

Recently Jenny, Tedy and I packed our bags for a new journey in La Porte City, IA as the Pastor at Heartland Community Church. We have been here now almost 5 months. I have enjoyed transitioning to small town life again. I was born in a small town, and there is something simple about small town life. This is also my second season of ministry in a small town. Small town ministry is a little different than being in a city or suburb. 1. Small town's have a of pride. They enjoy living in a small town. Most of the people have always lived in La Porte City or another small town. Most would not want to live anywhere else. 2. Small town's have a lot of community. Since most people have lived here for years, they know everyone else. When there is an event like a high school football game or a town fair everyone comes out in support. 3. Small town's know how to serve. Small towns do not have a lot of federal or state grant's to support their town. Small town's have a volunteer fire department and when they see a need they do everything they are able to fulfill the need. Small towns have some advantages. I am able to walk anywhere in La Porte City in 10 minutes or less. I cover my town on foot every two days as I jog for exercise. La Port City has exceptional schools and it will be good to have a low teacher to student ratio. What do you notice about your town? How does it affect your ministry? How does this allow you to be a better pastor or citizen? I would love to know what you think.

Building Inroads to the Community

September 9, 2012 will hopefully go down as a day to remember in the life of Heartland Community Church. It was a brisk and cool morning as volunteers started arriving before 7am to set up some last minute things to prepare for our big celebration. The music equipment took a little over an hour to set up on the flat bed truck. As people drove by slowly peering out their windows to try and see what was going on, we were setting up chairs for the outdoor worship experience in the parking lot just outside the walls where we normally worshiped as a community. The sun was bright and as I looked over the congregation saw most holding up the bulletin to block the sun. But the smiles of joy were evident. The worship team kicked off with some of our favorites; My Redeemer lives and Days of Elijah were among them. I gave the message looking at the history of the church from Acts 3 and 4, focusing on the idea that we cannot stop the message of Jesus from being shared even tying in the history of Heartland. We concluded the experience with the 90 in attendance hand in hand, in a big united circle. Things were far from over. After this we set up all the lawn games including bags, ladder golf, and some minute to win it games. We had a table set up for crafts and face painting. The best part is the countless number of children and adults that took part. We had a bunch of tables for people to eat the gigantic amount of food from the cookout, hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad, beans and an endless supply of desserts. Inside the church building we had two projectors displaying the Bears vs Colts. Many people came, many faces I did not know but were having fun with the people who invited them. I met more people in a five-hour period than in the weeks previous. There were even people stopping by from other congregations in the community to have some fun. Pastor Mike even came by from the nearby United Methodist congregation. Over the 2 months I have been Pastor at Heartland we have had an amazing presence of God with us. Uniting the congregation together, building the morale of each one. But it seemed like it was something that was building up in us to be more a part of the community that we lived in. It was already seen in our midweek ministries to families, but knew that God had bigger plans. This is just the first part of building inroads to our community, as we build their trust and share the message of the Gospel.

I AM the road

This Sunday I preached from John 14:1-14. Jesus had just told his disciples in the upper room that Judas would betray him, Peter would deny him and that he was leaving them, but not to be troubled. This was someone the disciples had left everything for, had followed for the last 3 years yet he was going to leave them. They had to be shaken up, this was turning their world upside down. Jesus had not done what they thought he had come to do. He did not take over the kingdom. The Romans still had control. Jesus then said he would come back to get them to take them to where he was going, and that they would know they way. Thomas is the disciple I relate to most. He always had a question or a statement because he quite did not understand everything going on. Remember he has the name Doubting Thomas for a reason. He wanted to see Jesus nail scarred hands in order to believe. I do not think it was just his doubt that mad him want to see Jesus hands. His world had been rocked, Jesus just died in front of him and he was pretty dismayed. I think he longed to be reunited with Christ, to see him because he missed him. Coming back to John 14, Thomas replied, "How can we know the way, we do not know where you are going?" This response led Jesus to say one of the most known/talked about scriptures ever. "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one shall go to see the Father but through me." Thomas did not understand that he did not need to know where Jesus was going, because all he had to do was follow him. Exactly what he had been doing for the last three years. Jesus was trying to say it is not about going a specific direction or even an eventual destination. As long as you follow me, you will be fine. The way can be translated to "the road." Being a disciple of Jesus means to continue to follow him along the road. The road is the right direction and will get you to an eventual destination, but it is still not about the direction or destination. Anyone that has been on a road trip knows what I am talking about. The drive/journey along the road can be just as much fun as what happens at the eventual destination. Relationships are strengthened, stories are told, laughter is shared, games are played. Guards come down, trust is built, bonds are made that would have never happened otherwise. Heartland is now on the road. We are following Jesus along the way. We are building disciples. We might be like Thomas and do not know where we are going yet but we know we are following Jesus and that is the most important thing.

The Journey of Heartland Community Church

July 1st we started our ministry here with high morale and an amazing unity of the church. People were in great spirit and excited to have a new pastor. Jenny and I were happy to have a new place to minister and a blessing of a new baby and ready to start in on the journey at Heartland. I had a message that I had preached once before and turned it into a series. I was wondering how it would go over and seems to been received well. Know, Grow, Show as I have prepared each week has been encouraging, challenging and empowering to me. I think God is using this series to start Heartland on a new journey to be, not only Christians, but Disciples, to not only Love God as Savior but as Lord, To Love our neighbor as well as enemies. God is taking us on a wild adventure where we will be more visible in the community. We will serve the poor, the widowed, and the elderly. We will meet their physical and spiritual needs. We will help them with their lawn or repair a roof, while we pray with and tell them about the reason behind our serving them. We will have experiences that will build inroads to the community. We will be known as the church that enjoys having fun. We will be all inclusive that not only welcomes people to our church but also brings them into our family. We will provide a safe place for people to belong and help them find their purpose. We will also take care of our body as we love and disciple the children and youth in our church. They are vital to our ministry as they provide an amazing energy and zeal. We will help them to know God, how to grow and show Christ in a hurting world, and we will learn from them as they will help provide creative ways to bring Christ to their world. We will help build the home by pouring into the marriages, and relationships between parent and child. We will come along side of people and give hope to those who thought their marriages were over. We will provide grace, mercy and compassion to those who have been hurt or have hurt others within their own family. We will provide encouragement to those who have lost others. We will give hope to the hopeless, joy to the depressed and love to those who feel unloved. We will help people experience freedom from the bondage of sin. We will help them see true freedom is in Christ and a relationship with him. God is not a distant God who has no part of us but one who come alongside us as a friend to show us the Way. We will continue to be a house of worship and prayer. We will love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We will love our neighbor and be willing to lay aside self for our preferences. We will be sacrificial as we carry our cross daily. We will be fully committed followers of Christ, because this is what disciples do. Join us on this amazing journey, because it is not just about the destination but also the experiences along the way as we bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. We have a lot to do so we better get started. John 10:10b “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” -Jesus

Road of Discipleship

The last few months have been a whirlwind. Since my last post we have quit our jobs and moved to La Porte City, IA to be the Pastor of Heartland Community Church. We took a two week vacation to Indiana and Maine to introduce Tedy to family and have a breather before we started our ministry. I started officially on July 1st and it has been an amazing road. In the month of July we had a series on what I saw was the important elements of discipleship in any church. you might have seen #knowgrowshow. It was adapted a few years ago when I read Simple Church by Thom Rainer when I was writing my project for my MA at Wesley Seminary. I enjoyed the simple element of Worship +2, which explaining in short, every disciple should have a time of Worship in a local body accompanied by a time of growth with a small group, and a place of service in the church and/or community. However was not really adapted by the church that I was working at during the time. The church wanted a more structured discipleship plan that you could almost graduate from and have different degrees for all the "post-grad" work. I went along but still could not get Simple Church and know, grow, show out of my head. Now that I am in a different ministry I decided to go back to this know, grow, show model. I started it as a series but it really has in a way developed into more of a vision of discipleship that has taken on a life of it's own. So I wanted to explain this discipleship process to you. 1. Know- There is a stage where each one of us meets God. The start of any relationship can be an amazing time of wonder and exploration. You start to understand that Jesus died for you as savior. You worship him because of who he is and what he has done in your life. The know stage is a great stage of development and curiosity. Just like when I met Jenny at IWU, I wanted to spend a lot of time with her to know who she was. But just like any relationship you do not stay in the know stage forever. It starts to become uncomfortable because this in a way is a very surface level relationship. You must go deeper in order for the relationship to continue to move further and deeper. 85% of Christians never leave this stage of Christianity therefore never become disciples. 2. Grow- This stage is a place where we are growing and taking root in the faith. We become involved in small groups, youth group, Bible Studies because we enjoy taking our faith to another level. We learn about who we are and God's purpose for our life. When Jenny and I started dating we went out in groups, but we also went out on dates together. It was fun and our relationship grew in ways that would not happen if we did not intentionally take these opportunities to grow with each other. Growing is a great place to be but if we always pour into ourselves then we start to become focused on ourselves and become selfish. If I were to always eat but never exercise I would get fat and be very unhealthy. This is not a good place for an individual but also a horrible place for the church. The church needs to learn to be focused on the people outside of the church as much if not more than those inside the church. So we must learn to be selfless and sacrificial. This is when we start to recognize Jesus as more than Savior but also Lord. So this leads us to show. 3. Show- We learn to think of others before ourselves. In order to do this we must be willing to serve. Teaching a growth class for others, praying for needs in the church. This is where the rubber hits the road and our faith becomes action. Leading youth group, serving a neighbor, taking part in the meals to wheel, serving the homeless, helping a widow. But also sharing Christ as the reason behind your love for people. When Jenny and I started to become more serious in our relationship I took her home to meet the family and she reluctantly introduced me to hers. Eventually we stood in front of about 200 friends and family members and committed to this love and each other for a lifetime. I showed my love for Jenny. It is vital in our relationship with God that we show him to the world as the reason. This might be sharing your God story with a co-worker, or sharing it in the worship experience. This might involve becoming baptized or becoming a member of the church. There are a number of ways that God can use your passion and purpose in revealing him in the world we live. We are not meant to graduate from any of these group. And we never arrive at a destination. We more or less add them to each other as we continue to become disciples. We need to continue to come back to worship and get to know him in fresh ways. We must never stop growing as we will never arrive at the "perfect disciple" And we must continue to show him to our world so our world can also know, grow and show.

The newest Richardson

We first met Tedy James Matthew Richardson on March 28th. Jenny received a call from Amy Jennings our social worker at Bethany Christian Services. She said the birth mother had the baby at 3pm. We were in Iowa City by 5pm. He was 7 lbs and 5 oz and 20 inches tall. We were ecstatic but still unsure because still no official adoption plan had been made yet. Little did we know the journey that the next few weeks would bring nor the back story of the birth parents that would make this journey of adoption a little different than most... Tedy was put into interim foster care with a great family in North Liberty. They took great care of him and were very flexible allowing us to come to the house and be with our potential son. They did not want to call him "baby" so they called him Matthew, which is now his second middle name. Each visit we grew closer and closer with Tedy. We were able to feed him and change his diapers. As time went on Tedy became more aware of what was going on. He started to smile, and stuck out his tongue often. He would even chuckle when I would stick out my tongue as well. Grandma and Grandpa Steiner visited him shortly after Easter, and Grammie and Grampie Richardson met him a week later. But still no adoption plan had been made

The birth mom eventually signed the release of parental rights, and told the social workers that she would convince the birth father to sign as well. Days became weeks. Jenny and I would visit as regularly as we could. It became harder to visit without growing attached to him. Finally on May 23 at 9 weeks old the birth Father signed the papers. While it has been a hard journey for us, I cannot imagine what it was like for the birth parents. I cannot fathom doing the same. So while it was a hard 9 weeks for us. I am sure it was harder for them. Today we are not upset about the time we missed with him but celebrate the coming years that we will be able to be a Father and Mother.

the road of infertility

When I was a child there was a rumor that Mountain Dew lowered sperm counts. Maybe you heard the same rumor as well. I am not sure how this rumor was started but there was at least a short period of my life that I did not drink Mountain Dew. Obviously this stigma created an idea of in my head that I should stay away. Today I rarely drink soda but when I do, I drink the Dew. Fast forward to September of 2010, Jenny and I were sitting in a Doctor's office and were told that I was infertile and the chance of ever having biological children would be virtually impossible. It was something that deep down we already knew was a possibility. 3.5 years previously we decided had decided that we would attempt to have children but went with a "no rush, but it will happen when it happens." During this time I was also in Seminary so it did not seem that we needed to rush anything. But after that period of time we needed some answers. Was it me, was it her? What was the reason? Today we are in the process of adoption and have been on the waiting list for 7 months. This is something we feel strongly about and did not even attempt the other possibilities of fertility treatments, the doctor believed the chances were slim the treatments would work. Yesterday, I was scrolling through facebook statuses and noticed that this is infertility awareness week. Jenny and I receive a newsletter from Stepping Stones a ministry of Bethany Christian Services the agency we are adopting from. Infertility is rarely talked about. The American Pregnancy Association says 2,000,000 couples face infertility in one way or the other. People feel shame because of "the situation" they find themselves in. I am not saying that I am ecstatic about this but I have learned to cope because of the community I am in. If I were to hold this to myself it would eat me up inside. Do not feel ashamed, you are not alone.

"winning" on the road

maybe you watched the super bowl last night. in the world's eyes there was one winner and one loser. only one team can win... right?

i find it funny to hear all these kids on sports teams now not keeping score. they are being taught that all are winners. and no matter how they play they win. but the kids no which team is better. they knew who really won.

i remember my first year in little league we won 2 games out of 15 games. that by any standard is not good, but i found out what defeat felt like. but i learned that year that did not need to be upset about losing. the other team was obviously better. i learned to be a good loser.

but just because you stink doesnt mean you cant develop, grow and train to become better. the next two years we improved and by the time our team was together 4 years we were winning every game, not just winning but absolutely destroying the other teams, usually by the mercy rule. one thing though, we knew what defeat felt like so we did not rub it in on the other team, we went through the line and said good game. we learned to be good grace filled winners.

this past year has been a rough one for jenny and i, with the loss of my job. it was pretty rough. we struggled and at times still struggle with what happened. today marks 7 months since it happened.

i found a job pretty quickly working with people who have mental illness with a big percentage who struggle with substance abuse. the large majority have been homeless and without our organization and the funding of taxpayers would not have housing now. our goal is to help them transition into living a successful life.

the people come from all walks of life. some were very successful had great lives and had a bad stretch in which they are still trying to rebound from. they have spent a good portion of their life winning and now are on the losing side.

others have had history of abuse, going from foster home to group home to being kicked out of the system at 18. in many ways they have spent their life losing. i have learned a lot from each and every one of them.

winning for some of them comes one day at a time. we have celebrated a couple people being sober for 18 months. while others we have been ecstatic when they are able to go a week. for others we are ecstatic when someone cleans their apartment without being prompted. while other we are excited that they get out of bed for more than 4 hours that day. each person is in their own place in learning to be successful. last week someone road to bus for the first time in 2 years. it was an exciting day for me.

a couple weeks ago i went to a seminar that discussed strength based growth. you grow by focusing on what you are good at. when you win at this, it builds up your confidence. it shows you are able to grow and be successful at one thing or the other. when you master one thing then you start building another.

so last night when i, a big fan of the Patriots saw them lose a heart breaking, gut wrenching game and my friends saw that i was pretty calm and not upset, they asked me. "i thought you were a big fan. why arent you more upset." i paused and smiled its only a game... and unless you are a true sincere Giants fan, my team did a lot better than your team. :)

Superbowl thoughts and predictions

The Patriots are in there fifth Superbowl in eleven years and I am excited. Even more excited then the previous four games. Maybe it is because we have cable for the first time in these five games and I am able to take in more of the interviews and different stories that are on. I love hearing the stories of the individual athletes and where they have come from to overcome adversity.

A few years ago they announced the Superbowl was going to be hosted by Indy. We were living there at the time. Everybody knew that Indy and New England is always one of the funnest games of the year because of the competitive nature between the two teams and the two best quarterbacks in the league. (Brady/Pats have won 9 of the 14 games) and one of the Pats losses was when Brady tore his ACL with Matt Cassel playing QB. But even back then I thought it would be awesome for the Pats to win the Superbowl in Indy, and that hope has a chance to come to fruition this Sunday.

I have heard that Las Vegas favors New England by three points, and that Las Vegas is usually correct, the house always wins. All the commentators are picking the Giants. They say the matchups favor the Giants. The two factors that the Patriots have are Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. They have won more than any other quarterback/ coach combo than any in history. The Patriots game plays change from game to game and I would like to add from quarter to quarter. They react better than any other team out there.

Commentators talk a lot about the week 9 loss to the Giants, but what they do not mention is that was the last loss the Patriots experienced this season.

Commentators talk a lot about the Patriots being 31st in yards allowed on defense but they forget to mention that they only allow 21.4 pts a game which puts them 15th on the team list. Does not make them seem near as bad a defense does it. The Patriots have an excellent red zone defense that makes teams settle for field goals.

The Patriots have come a long way as a team. They have come through most of their injuries the offensive line is finally healthy for the first time since half way through the regular season. Benjarvus is a stud who has never fumbled (knock on wood). The secondary has made some amazing plays including the game winning swipe from a receiver in the end zone in the closing minute of the AFC championship. They have been building their confidence. Gronk will play and have an amazing game. Their will be surprises like the Patriots always have.

This will be a close game, and people from our small group will probably see a new side of me as I yell at the tv and pig out on wings and pigs in a blanket. We will laugh at some commercials and question what is that advertising with others. The food will be good, the company will be fun and The Patriots will win this game 24-21.

making assumptions along the road

it is possible that you may have heard what "assume"ing something can do. it has been something that i have heard throughout the years. but i do not want to assume that you have heard of it, so let me explain. if you assume something it might make an ass of u and me. i am not sure when i first heard this quote but it has always been a reoccurring statement that i hear on a regular basis.

assuming can be put in many categories, but the one i think of most is judging. by looking at someone and basing your first opinion on them just by how they look could be considered assuming. i remember that youtube video of the homeless guy that had a deep baritone speaking voice. by looking at him you would have never assumed that he had that voice. maybe you saw it. the video received national recognition, but maybe you didn't. i dont want to assume that you did.

the past few weeks i have been in a few different churches, i also listen to sermons on my ipod while working out. i have heard at least 4 different pastors say during the sermon usually while turning to a specific scripture, "i am sure you have all heard this story before" or this is "you all know this."

so i sit there and wonder
a. the pastors must know their people very, very well. all of them have been attending this church for a long time. no one new is sitting in the pew.
b. do pastor's think everyone who attends church has all of scripture memorized? or
c. how many people in the church right now are totally missing something because the pastor is assuming that everyone knows this scripture and does not want to do a little historical context or background on the scripture. are there people sitting in the dark on what could be a very enlightening message but instead feel lost and do not really understand what the pastor is saying.

just a thought. what do you think. i really am curious. i am sure there is no intentional thought by the pastor when they say this. i have sermons posted on this blog and i probably have said it myself. so i am not trying to point fingers at one pastor. i really just want peoples lives to be open to Word of God.

needtobreathe, able

If you have not purchased the new album from needtobreathe the reckoning, you should. this is my favorite song from the album.

There's a host of hurts we come across
None of which alike
From the air inside the birthing room
To the darkness where we die
Though I feel I'm just as strong as any man I know
I'm not able on my own
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/n/needtobreathe/able.html ]
Carry round the secrets
Only heaven knows
Crawl into our darkened rooms where only victims go
Though I feel I'm strong enough to carry all this load
I'm not able on my own

All my actions, false or true
Selfish motives I will use
We were born with knives in hand
Trained to kill our fellow man
If we're not better than the rest
How will children do their best
Find your patience, find your truth
Love is all we have to lose

I'm not able on my own

Jesus found in transition.

I never thought I would be on this road, but when I was fired on July 6th I really did not have a choice. I had to find a job. I applied to places in Cedar Rapids to fulfill the short time need of finances, as well as churches for longer term planning. I ended up taking a position with a company who works with people with mental illness. They are given housing (which many were on the street before), most of them live off of $200 of food stamps and $70, most of the $70 is spent on tobacco. Many of the residents have schizophrenia, bi-polar, or depression as well as battling with drug or alcohol addiction...

AND JESUS IS PRESENT. Do not get me wrong, this is not a "Christian organization." In fact many times I find myself questioning the motivation of the organization. This is why I am leaving the name of the organization of this blog.

My job in many ways feels like what I was doing when I was on duty as an RA. I go on rounds talking to the residents and encouraging them to clean up their apartment, or even themselves. We work goals, some of them might be as simple as to stay on their medication, or to attend AA, I remind them of the doctor's appointments or meetings that they might have and help them with the bus route (this is actually the hardest since I have never rode the bus myself.)

But among the goals of one of the residents is to be more Christ like, she wants to read the Bible on a regular basis. And of course it is my job to encourage her to reach this goal. Of course I am willing to help. In our conversations you can really see her heart of having, wanting, and continuing a relationship with Jesus Christ.

So I ask her about her journey, her travels along the road with mental illness. She talks about her depression and no matter how bad it becomes that she focuses on Christ. She is not expecting deliverance from this illness but she sees Christ working through it despite what she is going through.

This past Saturday I arrive at work and I notice her and a few other residents sitting on a blanket. I see a few others setting up chairs and another person with his walker going in the direction of the blanket. I ask what is going on as there are now 5-6 people there. She replies that they are going to have Bible study and asks if I would be able to attend and help lead the discussion since she knows I am a pastor. I said I would love to.

I come back to the group after checking into work and making sure everything is taken care of. The bible study is taken from the Daily Bread, the devotional that is used all over the world and one that is very simple devotion. The topic of the day was, When bad becomes worse...

AND JESUS IS PRESENT, during this Bible study. People are sharing things that they have gone through. The passage shared was from Exodus when the Israelites find themselves as slaves to the Egyptians. They make bricks with the provided straw, then the Egyptians decide they do not want to provide the straw any more and force the Israelites to make the same amount of bricks and have to gather the straw on their own.

For many of the residents they know what being a slave is like. Many have hit rock bottom. They could not imagine life getting any worse. But they know there is something to this guy named Jesus.

And even though I am on this road that I never expected to find myself on, even though I have taken a dramatic cut in pay I am finding Jesus in transition. I still do not understand where this road is leading I know God will take care of us, because even though the last couple months have been new for us, God's love has been abundant in his followers. Many of you have been praying for us or even sending us some help financially. They are both greatly appreciated and we are so thankful for the friends we have. God bless you all.

dallas willard's view on porn.

i really never planned to have two posts in a row focusing on porn. but i came across this article on facebook so i thought i would share it with you here as well.

porn... an epidemic

ed stetzer recently wrote an article on porn check out the facts.

on the road

no one ever said life is easy. or at best no one who has actually lived life has said life is easy. along the road we meet up with different obstacles. we could have never predicted these obstacles because we cannot and would not want to know about all the good and bad things that will happen. sure it would be nice to know what will happen around each of life's turns but it would take away the surprise. the surprise is what makes life worth living, even if it was not a good surprise.

throughout scripture many things have happened while on the road, and in the coming weeks i will be writing about them here. the first road is very familiar to a lot of us. the damascus road (acts 9) was a life changing moment in the life of paul. Christ revealed himself to paul in a life altering way. along the road for paul the traveling was not easy, in fact paul was blinded by his experience for three days. but paul was never the same again. he now knew the Christ. and when we meet Christ he will change us into the people that he needs us to be.


like i said, the journey on the road might be tough. it might have bumps, pot holes, we could break down or get in a wreck. but those possibilities of obstacles along the way are all worth it. the obstacles should not keep us away from the road. but only make us more aware of what could happen along the road, and keep us fighting to stay on the road.

before paul had this experience on the road to damascus, he was a pharisee. he knew the Word of God but did not let it change his heart. paul was a murderer of christians. a person full of hate and malice because people did not believe the same way he did. after this on the road experience his life was changed, he became a follower of Christ and he became if not the most, one of the most prolific christian leader/ missionary/ evangelist who ever lived. all because of the experience Christ gave him on the road.

June 26, 2011 - Whats Wrong

June 19, 2011 - Become

june 5, 2011

April 3, 2011

Feb 7, 2010 - The Ministry of Healing

Feb 14, 2010 - The Servant 500

Feb 28, The Ministry of Testimony

March 14, 2010 - The Ministry of Holy Conflict

June 6, 2010

Sept 5, 2010 Yield

Oct 24, 2010-I have a good reason

Nov 21, 2010 - Wreckless

Dec. 26 2010- The Gift

thoughts on revival

a few months ago i signed up for a class on route to finish my masters. the class was titled "american history of revivals." it was a one week intensive class in marion, indiana taught by dr. black. leading up to the class we read books, prepared an oral report.

a week or two before i left for the class, the senior pastor from fumc marion, iowa challenged the staff to start praying for revival. i thought it was interesting right before i leave for indiana that pastor mike would make this challenge. so the whole week i am in class i was trying to figure out how i could apply it to the church back home.

the week after i got back the staff, during a meeting which we meet the 1st and 3rd mondays of the month decided that the mondays we were not in staff meeting we would get together and pray for the church and the community. that week was also the national day of prayer and from that spun a prayer meeting every thursday.

today we decided to have three special prayer meetings during the summer months. we are still unsure of the outcome, but we are expecting God to move in a big way here in marion, ia and in the life of fumc marion. if you are reading this please pray a quick prayer for the life of our church and community.

holy week

in the last few months i have had a taste of what it is like to be a united methodist pastor. there are many similarities to the wesleyan church but it was not until this week that i noticed how seriously the united methodist church takes the holy week. it is possible that it is just fumc marion that does this but what goes on during holy week has allowed me to dwell in the love, the life and the death of Christ. tomorrow i hope it will allow me the same experience of the resurrection. here is my schedule this past week.

1. lenten moments- monday-friday at 7am started each day with a couple hymns and a devotional led by a layperson. it was followed with fellowship at a breakfast. friday was by far my favorite as one of the youth gave the devotional. she feels a calling into ministry. it is great to see her heart.

2. maundy thursday- we had a communion service. i am not sure if any of you have ever seen it done this way before but i had not. we laid multiple loaves of bread on a table and laid a white sheet on it. the frame of the sheet around the bread made it seem like there was a body underneath the sheet. it brings new revelation to the "body of Christ" for me.

3. good friday- this was a service that i was in charge of putting together. we had a combined tenebrae and way of the cross service written by robert e. webber. it was a dramatized narration of the stations of the cross, focusing on the last few hours of Christ's life.

4. friday and saturday- we had a 24 hour prayer vigil.

many times in the past, holy week would come and go. i would worship, but there was something about this week that brought a whole new light to my Savior. i am thankful for the cross. and the week is not even over yet. the best day of holy week is still yet to come. i hope and pray that you do not allow holy week to pass by like i have done so many times.

fumc marion- first perceptions

when i came in here i had a lot planned on how to get settled and get to work. what i never really planned on was the learning curve for this job. i have quite an extensive job description and while it will eventually be manageable i have a lot to learn about the church, the community, and leading.

when i went to back to indiana wesleyan to get a masters in ministerial leadership it was because i wanted to learn how to lead and manage people. i was already good at loving God's people. for me that came easy. but to lead, delegate and cast vision was something i needed to grow in.

here at fumc marion we have met a few times as staff to learn how to mobilize leadership within our ministries. it will change the culture of the church. for some ministries it will be easier to raise up leadership then others. but this idea of equipping laity will free us up to allow us to dream, cast vision and pour ourselves into the leadership.

i never dreamed i would end up in iowa. i was hoping to head back to the northeast. i would have never picked this place. but i believe this is the right place and we made the right decision. this is definitely a place that God opened up the doors for us to be. when pastor mike told me that over a hundred people applied for the position, i was in awe that it was me they wanted.

as the pastor of youth and missions i am able to do things in ministry i have always been drawn to. disciple, develop leadership, serve the community.

this is a church where i can be free to be me, i can thrive, mess up, follow my passions, i can lead and be humbled. i can learn, i can experiment. i can put up boundaries, i can fail, but i dont expect to because God has equipped me for this.

The first few days...

This past week has been pretty crazy for the two of us. Last week we were surrounded by boxes hoping people would show up to help us pack the U-Haul. When people showed up we were pretty ecstatic. I am not sure if the people really wanted to help us or if they just wanted the pizza and coffee we had to offer them. But either way we accomplished our goal of packing.

November 2 we rolled out of Indianapolis heading for yet another adventure. We pulled into our townhouse at roughly 4 pm and were quickly welcomed by about ten young adults who enthusiastically unpacked our truck in approximately an hour. We enjoyed the conversation, becoming acquainted with our friends.

The week moved and was highlighted by meeting all the teens on Wednesday night. I am not sure how many were there. But the youth room was packed with teens and sponsors sitting on the floor in the few open spaces left. (The youth time is usually split up with Jr and Sr High.) They were all there for the passing of the torch. The celebration of what Pastor Melissa had done for the last seven years and anticipation of meeting their new leader (me) and wife (Jenny).

Wednesday night made it sink in that we are here. This is where we were meant to be and cannot imagine what God has in store for this community. We are looking forward to partnering in ministry here, in Marion for the many years to come.

anew

if there is anything constant about our life is that there is constant change. coming here two years ago was a big change. i am almost done with grad school and a masters in ministerial leadership. i thought it was time to start looking for what the next chapter might bring.

when all is said and done it will bring us to a new city and state (marion, iowa or north east cedar rapids) and a different denomination (united methodist). it was never planned to leave the wesleyan church, but feel that this is part of God's plan.

i accepted the position of youth and missions pastor at first united methodist church of marion on monday. in just a few short weeks we will back up the trailer and head 6.5 hours further into the midwest.

small church vs big church debate

check out the info at churchrelevance.com it is an interesting article that looks at the basic beliefs of christianity within different size churches.

answers vs truth

i have been listening to the song through smoke by needtobreathe lately and there is a line that has hit me

"i was born in a house in a town just like your own, i was raised to believe in the power of the unknown, and when the answers and the truth take different sides, will you still see me, will you still find me through smoke?"

everyone today is searching for something. they are searching for truth but they are settling for answers. someone's answers do not have to be truth, and i am wondering how many are settling for the answers they are receiving? the truth is powerful. how will we lead people to the truth?

on this blog i have always been about asking the questions to find truth. i wonder how often though i have settled for a simple answer instead of digging deeper to find the truth. i do not think that i have allowed the answers to be separate from the truth. but maybe i have not kept looking at the whole picture of the truth.

the biggest part of this song is that they are wanting to see the truth through this smoke. a clearer picture of truth will help us know God and hopefully love God more. so i guess my challenge is to continue to search for truth and not to stop with a partial answer but to continue until i see the big picture.

oh and if you do not already own the album "the outsiders" by needtobreathe, you should go and purchase it. it is an amazing collection of music.

atheist on evangelism

this video has been out a while but i thought i would still share it today. i have heard this video used in a couple sermons. the second video is a follow up from penn. it shares his thoughts on the reception of this video. just for your knowledge the second video is rated r.

service

the first church visited was saddleback. after hearing the sermon casper's reaction to it was something like this. "well it is good to hear about what i should do. but i would rather hear stories about how they are doing it."

stories of helping in the world will receive a better reaction then hearing directions on how to achieve it. i tend to agree that it is not hard to go find someone or some organization to help. i can think of a few places right of the top of my head with out referencing the yellow pages.

actions will always speak louder then words.

it is interesting however that later in the book that casper himself does not go out to his community and serve. he does expect the church to but the standard is different for himself. casper is an atheist, who says he does not have any beliefs. but believing in no God is a belief in and of itself. but not having a belief system entitles him to not have to help out others.

later in the book he says he might go serve in some capacity. but if he never does, we the church still have the responsibility to serve.

i ask myself on a somewhat regular basis, how can i bring people to Christ. as i am learning more and more it is not about bringing people to Christ but bringing Christ to the people. isnt that what Christ did by coming down to earth. he brought himself to the people.

i am reading another book now named "organic church" it is all about bringing the church to the people. starting churches in homes, coffee shops, bars, and any possible place where there are people who need Jesus. we need to become invested in the lives of the people.

i will finish this short blog with a quote from organic church. "every christian is a church planter, every home is a church, and every church is a training center." every thing about our lives need to transcend the love of God. how are we at living this out?

insights from jim and casper go to church

jim and casper go to church
by jim henderson and matt casper

a book about two people, a christian and an atheist going to churches all over the united states. they write their observations about the church and their unlikely relationship.

i really suggest every pastor, christian, and atheist to read this book. anyone interested in the church would have a lot to take away from it.

casper, the atheist, has some great insights about relationships, service, transparency. it will only help the church if you take the time to read this book. i will try later to write a post on some quotes from the book.

for fans of saved by the bell

thanks heath for this hilarious video

churches and the economy

the last few weeks i have heard some stories about some churches helping out different people during the rough times. i wanted to share what some of them are doing.

newspring church, pastor perry noble-- for mothers day gave away two paid off houses to two single mothers. the church purchased the two homes and fixed them up with volunteers from the church to bless the two families. this is something they do every mothers dsy.

12stone church, pastor kevin myers-- also for mothers day gave $50 to every single mom in the congregation and if anyone know a single mom they could take the gift for them as well.

mars hill church, pastor rob bell-- the church had an offering above regular giving to come up front and put money in the basket. if you needed money you could come up and take money out of the basket.

first of all, i want to applaud the churches because of their heart for helping out others. some of the gifts stand out to me because they seem to have put more effort into it. so it leads me to this, what has your church done? have you heard of any other churches that have helped out people during the economic downturn?

following Christ

assimilation is a term used by most churches to help bring people into the church body. assimilation can be defined as becoming like whatever you are being brought into. what is difficult here is are we trying to help people become like us or Christ?

i read an interesting illustration by one of my former professors dr. jim lo in his book intentional diversity.

there were missionaries to native americans and the told them “If you want to be good Christians, you need to… 1. cut your hair because good christians have short hair, 2. get rid of robes and wear pants, 3.get rid of sandals and wear shoes, because good christians do not show their toes in public and 4. build a church building, because good christians have a public meeting place. however when they had the grand opening of the church building they saw a picture of Jesus in long hair, wearing a robe and sandals and worshiping outside. this obviously confused the native americans, because everything they had been taught was to be more like Jesus but when they see Jesus, it looked more like their appearance before they changed.

how are we as the church leading? are we helping others to be like Christ or do we have our own perception of what a christian should look like? of course this is not just about mere appearance but also of the mind and heart. do you have any stories similar to that of the native americans to share?

100 people

F THE WORLD ONLY HAD 100 PEOPLE

Let us not be stopped by that which divides us but look for that which unites us

If we could reduce the world's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

60 Asians 12 Europeans 5 US Americans and Canadians 8 Latin Americans 14 Africans

49 would be female 51 would be male

82 would be non-white 18 white

89 heterosexual 11 homosexual

33 would be Christian 67 would be non-Christian

a.. 5 would control 32% of the entire world's wealth, and all of them would be US citizens

a.. 80 would live in substandard housing

a.. 24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76% that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)

a.. 67 would be unable to read

a.. 1 (only one) would have a college education.

a.. 50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation

a.. 33 would be without access to a safe water supply

a.. 1 would have HIV

a.. 1 near death

a.. 2 would be near birth

a.. 7 people would have access to the Internet

some more culture

I am not sure if one can “act American.” What I mean is that there is no clear definition of what is American. We have been called the melting pot of the world with great reason. In our metropolitan areas you can experience almost any culture from any of the four corners of the world. We are caucasian, asian, african, indian, hispanic. Our family might have moved here 200 years ago or just have migrated here 2 months ago. We live in rural, suburban and urban areas. We attend churches, mosques, temples or none at all.

What characteristics would be given to an American? If you were to go overseas we might be known as obnoxious, loud and rude. The media might portray us as obtrusive and ill tolerant. Others might look at us and say we work too hard. Some might say we spend too much money on entertainment. We could add any description that we want but Americans characteristics are as diverse as the nations we are from.

culture

people are different for example i was born in maine, went to college in indiana, have traveled to a different multiple countries; mexico, mozambique, brazil, england and france. since college i have lived in south carolina, new york and am now back in indiana. i have lived in a small town, a suburb and urban areas. i have worked with and ministered to homeless people and millionaires. i have seen the the best of what humanity has to offer and unfortunately have also seen the worst. all of these things have added to and help change my world view.

a quote from last nights class made me think. the professor said "the church has been effected more by the culture then the culture has been effected by the church." i am wondering, if anyone still reads this blog, what you might think about this statement?

charging for church

i know this might be a weird concept. i never really considered it before until yesterday at church. john asked the question, "would you still come to church if you were charged ticket prices?" i know multiple people who spend money on season tickets to the colts, red sox, butler and i dont want to focus on them spending money on those tickets. if i lived in the boston area and could afford it i would try to have tickets to the patriots. but there is an anticipation that comes when you buy a ticket to go to a sporting event or a musical performance. we expect to go and experience a time of cheering on our team, yelling out specific things to players like we know them and they will hear everything we say. we hope to go an enjoy the contest with our team coming out the victor. but how do we approach going to church?

most of us, wake up on sunday morning and pile into the car to drive to church. we walk in the door and greeted by a friendly smile. we go grab a cup of coffee to help wake us up as we walk into the sanctuary as the first song has already started. we look around for friends and if we see them hope their is a few seats beside them, if not you know they will be there soon so you try to find a few seats on the end so they can join you when they come. instead of starting to sing you glance through the bulletin to see what is going on during the next week. the worship pastor greets you, reads scripture or opens in prayer and starts off into the second song. it is a new song, you have never heard it before so you listen to the words and try to figure out the tune. but it is kind of repetitious so you start wondering what you might have for lunch...

i am not sure if you have ever had a sunday like this. i have definitely had more then a few. it seems at times as soon as i walk into the sanctuary i have a.d.d. and i can not concentrate. however every time i go to a sporting event or concert i try to take in every moment. enjoy it, try to experience each part because a. i know this could be the only chance i have to attend something like this for a while and b. i enjoy this event enough to shell out hard earned money that i worked for.

i understand that we tithe but that is not seen as the same as buying a ticket. outreach for a church would be difficult because if you invite a friend to church you have to tell him to buy a ticket. so obviously charging for church is not a great idea. but it seems that we can take church for granted. it becomes an every week event and we become content where we are lacking a sense of passion.

a few questions. where is our passion? is it in the right place? being used for right motives? church will continue to go on but how can we make it a place that is not stale? is it the churches fault we have lost our passion? or can we blame it on ourselves for having a lack of heart and come to church with the anticipation of meeting with our heavenly Father who created us and loved us enough to send His Son to die and now He wants to meet with us, so He can know us and we can know Him.

as always just a few thoughts to get your juices flowing.

nfl thoughts

1. the patriots had an amazing season this year. i listen to dan patricks radio show and they had a pole on the most disappointing nfl team this year. the jets were voted most disappointing with new england as second. i was never disappointed with the end result of the season. 11-5 is a good record any year, especially with a bunch of injuries specifically but not limited to brady, maroney and harrison. after the injury week 1 to brady i thought our season was over, after the 16 games cassel proved that he can play.

2. cassel had an amazing season in which he had some amazing accomplishments including back to back games where he passed for over 400 yards. this does not happen often. he will be a free agent and will receive a big pay day wherever he goes. i am still not sure if it was cassel playing well or if it was the patriots system and team that helped him pull out an amazing season. but i guess we will find out next season when he will probably suit up for another team. unless...

3. the news of brady healing slowly are true. it is possible the patriots will keep him around to ensure they have a proven qb for next season. i think brady will be back next year and be the comeback player of the year. but i guess we will have to wait a while to see if that is true.

4. living in indianapolis is pretty good, unless you are a patriots fan. some give me a hard time but it is pretty easy to brush off. i have lived in new york as a red sox fan and never received the same treatment as i do here. colts fans feel threatened by us, thats okay they have right to feel threatened.

5. i hate to admit this but it looks like peyton manning will be the mvp this year. he individually led his team to finish with 9 straight wins. coach of they year will either go to smith (atlanta) or pirano (miami). they took both their teams from the basement to the playoffs. my hat is off to both of them even if miami squeezed in just in front of new england to be the afc east division winner.

6. it should prove to be a fun playoff year. with the drama of philly squeezing in with a win over dallas and multiple losses from other teams it would really be something to see the eagles and phillies win the championship in the same year. atlanta and baltimore are great stories getting in with rookie qb's. i love that dallas didnt get in. in brings me the same joy when i see the yankees spend as much money as they do and miss the playoffs. giants, cardinals, and tennesee are teams that could do something in the playoffs but i really do not think they are up to it. in past weeks they are all spiraling downward.


7. super bowl predictions this year are tough. there are no clear cut teams that stand out. from the nfc i think carolina is the front runner. they have played solidly all year long and their running game is unstoppable. as for the afc i believe it will be pittsburgh if big ben is able to recover from his concussion last week. i think carolina will win the super bowl.

what do you think?

light

it seemed so long that i was in the cave. still dark, still damp. my eyes started to adjust to the dark but it was still dark in the cave. i started trying to make my way out of the cave by feeling the sides. but i had been searching the cave so long that i forgot how long it might take to see the light. it seemed like forever since i had the comfort of the flashlight.my eyes were starting to make out the rocks and the form of the caves. i knew i was becoming ever closer to the freedom i once enjoyed. eventually, with a little luck and a lot despair i saw a little ray of sunshine. it brought comfort and hope. i had almost forgotten how gratifying the light could be. i started moving faster.

israel had been stuck in darkness approximately 700 years without hope. they prophet isaiah saw past the despair and in chapter 61:1 said

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners."

i remember when i was in high school my family went somewhere and this funny little kid was running around. he would close his eyes and say "i am blind" seconds later he would open his eyes and say, "i can see, it is a miracle." we would laugh with him and he would say it again and again. it was quite entertaining. but for someone who is blind and all they have is darkness it has to be frustrating.

israel had a lot of time without the presence of God in their lives and i can not imagine the despair they felt. the search of trying to fill the emptiness but never being able to fulfill it in their lives must of made them feel hopeless.

john 1:1-9 captures for me the essence of the christmas story. i always enjoy the reading of luke 2 but i love how john captures the incarnation.

"In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
God sent a man, John the Baptist,
to tell about the light so that
everyone might believe because of his testimony.
John himself was not the light;
he was simply a witness to tell about the light.
The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world."

like the child said. it is truly a miracle to be able to see. i love the advent season. it gives us expectation and restores us with hope. we know the light and as each week we become closer to christmas we light the candle of hope, and peace, and joy and love. it only builds to the incarnation.

darkness

i stumbled across the cave while not even trying to find it. i had been in the cave before but it had been a while and before today i always had someone else with me. i had my handy little flashlight with me so i thought it might be fun to explore. as i walked in i received a chill from the cool, crisp air. as i walked further into the cave the darkness started to get darker then the bright light of the sun.

i remembered how comforting the light was. it provided warmth and i could see where i was headed. i knew what to expect.

as i looked back, i could hardly see day light anymore. i had gone so far in the darkness that the light was being overtaken by the darkness. my eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness. it is amazing the ability the eye seems to have.

as i began to go deeper into the cave i heard a noise and pointed the flashlight in that direction. there were bats lining the ceiling of the cave. although i was scared i still had the light which made me feel safe. as i went further the cave became narrower, damper and colder.

i started to become scared, the light of day was now gone and the only light i had was artificial and cheap. curiosity and adventure made me want to go deeper. i wanted to experience something i had never done before. so i kept going forward. even though i thought it was a mistake, i felt intrigued by the mystery of not knowing what to expect. it gave me a thrill and i didnt even feel cold anymore. my body had adjusted to the temperature.

and then the battery died.

Pete Ward quote

“The reason why people were beating down the door to get into the church was because the culture of early Christianity was seen as being civilizing and superior to the bankruptcy of paganism and philosophy. Yet I am not all sure we can make the same claim for what goes on in our churches today. Are we self-evidently superior culturally? Are people turning to us because we offer solutions for social and political ills? I don’t think so. In these circumstances what we offer may just turn out to be the equivalent to nailing our doors shut as we huddle together in the sanctuary.”

i stand by the door by samuel shumaker

I stand by the door
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world-
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door--the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch--the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch.
People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter—
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it--live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door.

Go in, great saints, go all the way in--
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics--
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving--preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door--
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But--more important for me--
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door.

Sam Shoemaker, founder of Faith At Work at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City, in 1926, was also one of the spiritual leaders who helped draft the 12 Steps of A.A.

kingdom politics

i have been thinking way to much about politics lately and have even veered my purpose of this blog way to much. while i have still been non partisan i feel i have become a little side tracked. my goal has always been to ask questions that will lead people towards God.

the last couple weeks even though i have been blogging on politics my mind has been frustrated in what i was doing. i have been reading a lot lately in 1 samuel 8-14. this is the story of how saul became the first king of israel. the israelites wanted a king like all the other nations. God told samuel to give them what they asked for. it was not samuel they were rejecting, but God. they voted to put a human in the throne over God

God brought saul to samuel as a guy who was just trying to find his donkeys. in this meeting samuel told saul that he was the hope of all israel. here saul responds why me, i am the smallest of the lowest of all of israel, there is no reason you should choose me.

saul reigned as king for 42 years. but during his reign while off to war he decided to make a sacrifice to God that samuel was supposed to do but he was late. of course this was not his place and he disobeyed the Lord by doing this. saul's punishment for this act was that his family would not continue on the throne.

so many times we try to set up our own kingdoms and do things on our own. we want things just like others have them. we choose the temporary over the eternal.

where are the things that we set up and do on our own? do we know what the consequences would be? and would we still choose the same thing if we did? why did the israelites want a king? why did God appoint saul king when he knew he would mess up? or is this the reason that he chose him?

last weekend laughter in politics

last weekend was the funniest part of the campaign on both sides. palin was on snl and obama and mccain were at the alfred smith fundraiser. check these videos out. it is nice they can laugh at themselves

a little of this

1. last weekend i went to a renaissance fair. people dressed in time period clothing. it was a good experience i was glad to share with my friends.

2. i heard shane claiborne spoke at iwu last week. i wish i had known.

3. the red sox were eliminated by the rays. they made a great run and played tough, so thank you sox for another good year. i also heard that derek lowe wants to return to boston. that would be awesome.

4. the patriots are 4-2 with a backup quarterback.

5. i have been reading a lot of stanley grenz and robert webber the past couple weeks for my cultural trends in theology class.

6. i listen to a lot of podcasts. my new find is steven furtick. he is 28 and planted elevation church it runs 3500.

7. i am working on a sermon on the kingdom of God. i am preaching it next week at the wesleyan church in logansport.

partisan mccain

yesterday when at a town hall meeting a lady said she was not able to trust obama. mccain then took the microphone from her and stated, "there is no reason not to trust obama, while he and obama disagreed with each other on fundamental issues their is no reason to fear barack obama as president.

has mccain with this statement just thrown in the towel? does he believe it is over?

observation

as i was walking today i saw a few construction workers sitting out front on the lawn during their lunch break. it looked like they were having a pretty good time. laughing and hanging out as most would during a break. then i heard a beep. next thing i know one of them turns, opens up the microwave and pulls out his warm lunch.

on my mind

1. our lease runs out in less then a month. we are currently looking for a new home.

2. our senior pastor just resigned. his last sunday is oct 12th. he has no plans at this point and our church is searching for a new pastor, any body out there want the position?

3. we watched baby mama a little while ago. it was the funniest movie i have seen in a long time.

4. i am throwing out a few resumes here and there. if there are any bites i would finish my masters online. if anyone knows of anything let me know.

5. patriots are 2-1 with a quarterback who hasnt started since high school. imagine what they could be doing this year with tom brady.

6. in the playoffs the red sox won game 1 with game two tonight.

7. manny had an infield hit in their first game against the cubs. i miss him.

8. jenny's birthday is three weeks away. #27

9. it has been in the 40's the last two mornings. i love sweatshirts. fall is here to stay. except it is supposed to be almost 90 on sunday.

10. i think i might write in someone else for president.

savior on capitol hill

song by derek webb
thought this might strike a chord with all you political junkies

I’m so tired of these mortal men
with their hands on their wallets and their hearts full of sin
scared of their enemies, scared of their friends
and always running for re-election
so come to DC if it be thy will
because we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill

you can always trust the devil or a politician
to be the devil or a politician
but beyond that friends you’d best beware
‘cause at the Pentagon bar they’re an inseparable pair
and as long as the lobbyists are paying their bills
we’ll never have a savior on Capitol Hill


all of our problems gonna disappear
when we can whisper right in that President’s ear
he could walk right across the reflection pool
in his combat boots and ten thousand dollar suit

you can render unto Caesar everything that’s his
you can trust in his power to come to your defense
it’s the way of the world, the way of the gun
it’s the trading of an evil for a lesser one
so don’t hold your breath or your vote until
you think you’ve finally found a savior up on Capitol Hill

friends website

a few months ago i had a friend put this website together. i think he did a good job and created a community that should spur us all on to be the church we should be. so i think you should join, take a look around and enjoy the communication with like minded followers of Christ.

today i saw a question on the site posed by joanne lyon "Why it is important for individuals and churches to get involved in their community” read the article check it out.

this is how i responded to the article.

i believe we should ask the question how could a church not be involved in the community? obviously it has been done before, and continues to go on. but if a church wants to survive they have to be involved in the community.

i am learning more and more that a church should have a 50/50 focus. let me explain. 50% of its focus needs to be on the community. this involves outreach, service and evangelism. so much of churches "growth" today is what i call "trading sheep," christians going from one church to another because the other church is not meeting their needs. a true church will grow from reaching out to the community in love.

the other 50% of focus needs to be focused on the people within. this involves discipleship, worship, fellowship and serving within the church. growth can not be measured just in numbers but also in maturity, unity and favor. in order to be fully devoted followers and to create an environment within the church, we need to be healthy, living vibrant lives of loving God and neighbor. so how could a church not be involved in the community and not do this?

check this out

you have to see this post a friend of mine put up. these are some of the most fascinating pictures of a lion in wild i have ever seen.

new look

not that any of you might care but for the first time in more then the three years that i have been blogging i have added pics to the blog. a pic of my wife and i and a skyline of where i currently live, indianapolis.

#17

the celtics last night just won the 17th championship. i have really enjoyed watching the celtics over my lifetime yet in the last few years have rarely been excited about how the team was doing. last summer when the danny ainge shook up the team i was excited. it has been since 1986 that we won a championship.

however in the last few years i can not complain about new england sports as we have won many championships.

red sox 2004, 2008
patriots 2002, 2004, 2005
and now
celtics 2008

it has been good to be a new england fan

for a good article on the celtics championship read http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080618

learning from fast food

have you noticed the last few years that specific fast food joints are combining to allow easy access at one place. taco bell, kfc (formerly known as kentucky fried chicken), pizza hit and a&w interchange to allow choices for their customers. have you ever been with a group of people and want something to eat but you cannot agree on which drive thru to enter? going to a restaurant that serves both chicken and mexican food can allow for more choices to satisfy all the needs of hunger.

some churches have also caught onto this. venue churches have caught on because it allows more options at the same time. granted you might have to watch the sermon from a screen but it does allow you to choose the worship service style. you could enjoy liturgy while someone down the hall is watching a drama in the "emergent" service.

here are some bonuses of having a venue style church.

1. people have more choices- this allows them to choose the style and time. at a church that has a traditional and contemporary service, the traditional service is probably going to be the earlier time slot. therefore if you like traditional you have to wake up a bit earlier on your day of rest.

2. the pastor can preach less- if any of you have ever preached more then once on a sunday you understand it can be very tiring physically and emotionally. this can allow the pastor not to have to preach to more often and still reach more people.

3. cost effective- why build every time your church out grows a sanctuary? this allows more services within the same building without the high cost of building.

are there any more positives about having a venue style church? what about negatives?

idiot pastors

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x55yaw_church-sign_news

gas prices

this is not a blog complaining about gas prices. i am concerned in the turn that it has taken the last 5 years. when i was in college gas ran around $1.30. i could fill up between $12-15. that would last me almost a month in college. i did not have to drive that much in college. i chose when it was important to drive. i had friends that would drive from one side of the campus to the other because they thought it was easier. i chose to walk. iwu is not that big of a campus and i try not to be that lazy.

today i drive 8.5 each way back and forth to work. i also drive anywhere between 20-100 miles during the work day in which i am reimbursed $.45/mile. we live about 11 miles from our church and about the same from our closest friends in the area. jenny drives about 4 miles to work at the most. overall we drive about 300 miles a week. the overwhelming majority for work/church.

a lot of people are complaining about gas prices. the ones i see complaining most are driving big trucks and suv's. gas is all about choosing what is important and what you can live with or without. america is starting to see there entertainment funds go down.

i remember going over to canada every now and then over the years and noticing that gas always cost quite a bit more. i always wondered about this and today i looked up gas prices around the world. after reading this i was quite thankful for the $3.81/gallon that i paid for this morning.

Belgium $8.84
Canada 4.73
Italy 7.20
Israel 7.30
Turkey 10.13
UK 8.18

but there were also countries that paid hardly anything

venezuela $.17
saudi arabia .45
kuwait .78
iran .33

what is the difference? these countries produce quite a bit of oil. i believe the united states needs to start using our gasoline.

for more gas prices around the world check out these sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_usage_and_pricing
http://fabulously40.com/article/2171/Price-of-gas-from-around-the-world/