South Baja

Here is a little video I put together from last weeks recent trip to Mexico.



Oh, and I may have been wrong about correcting Bill on the video about the date of the Pastor conference. He may be right after all (the man's a machine I tell you).

May Baptism

Here are some photos from Sunday's Baptism




We had a great time celebrating with those wh were being bapized. They acknowledged their commitment to follow and live for Christ before their friends and families.

I've also got some great news to share that I hope to blog about soon.

Reflections & Illumination

Reflections & Illumination

We had our first official Sunday gathering in a building yesterday, what a great morning! It seems only now in looking back that I’m getting a feel for all that happened. Saturday night before Mother’s Day, I started rethinking what I was going to talk about; in part because of a few people I know who have lost their moms recently, two in just the past year. I was also thinking of those Moms who have lost their children and I saw the realization of how “Mother’s Day”, which is supposed to be a day of recognition and celebration, becomes for some a day of remembrance and sorrow which took me (don’t ask me how) to John 8 where the religious leaders of Jesus’ day took and dragged a woman before Jesus (probably naked) caught in adultery, with the sole purpose of trying to trap Him. The connection in my mind became this: the law that was given to the Hebrew people was for their benefit and protection, but it had become a means of manipulation and bondage and what was meant for good had become very bad.

When I read through this scripture again, I was more than ever before drawn to vs. 12 where Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This passage seems to be directly connected to the account of the woman brought before Jesus and so I wondered what is this light of life exposing here? What darkness is Jesus referring to? Light is an incredible thing. The same light that exposes all that we see is also the light that blinds us if we are in a dark place and are suddenly exposed to it. In John’s passage, the darkness of adultery obviously comes to mind, but what about the darkness of the harsh religiosity that cared more about trapping someone and not at all that it would leave in its wake the complete destruction of someone else? After all, Jesus’ words were directed at that as well. Anyway, that ruined me and detoured what I ended up talking about that morning.

So, back to that morning, many of us heard people say they couldn’t believe this was our first time here on Sunday because things seemed to go so smoothly and again, looking back it really was rather amazing. Our biggest glitch was that we didn’t plan for that many people to show up and so the extra chairs were under the stage and inaccessible. But fortunately, we were able in just seconds to roll out these nifty bench things and accommodate those who were still coming in.
Someone told me that they counted over 130 people. Some were of course there because it was Mother’s Day and they came for Mom and others just came by to show us support for our first Sunday at Pioneer Jr. High, which I appreciated so much. After all was said and done, we were on a total adrenalin rush and felt that the Lord used us all and that morning to make a difference in the lives of those who came. We also felt the affirmation of a work God wants to continue doing and look forward to being a part of that work.

“Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” -Joshua 3:5

Happy Mother's Day

Well it’s Mother’s day this Sunday and it’s been exciting for us as we are having our first indoor service at Pioneer Jr. High (it was hot last week!). In the midst of all the new location preparations, the printing and handing out invitations, getting and setting up the audio / video equipment, buying changing tables, swings, crafts for the children’s ministry and let's not forget the paper work and legal insurance stuff. I noticed how so many of the things that we care about and pour ourselves into have to be patiently nurtured and cared for, even as a mom does with her child. Is it exhausting? You bet. Do we worry? Well, unfortunately we do. Is it exciting? Yes, beyond words. What a great example and illustration the Lord has given us in these relationships, even for those who may have had relationships that have been less than what they should be, there is still the hint of God’s whisper in all of our hearts to what this relationship is meant to be.

As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will comfort you… (Isaiah 66:13)

So for those of us who have had great examples from our moms and for those who know it only as a desire of what it should be, I hope this brings a beautiful, comforting and clear picture of how much God powerfully cares for you.

Happy Mother’s Day

The Core

The Core

There is a scripture where we get this real cool picture of suiting up and preparing for battle in Eph. 6, “So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you.”
I love this imagery! But then I love all that Gladiator/Braveheart kind of stuff. Of course Paul had much more in mind than just imagery and we need to be careful not to minimize the practicality of these words in our lives. So, what is this imagery about? How do we put some of this armor on?
Notice that some of the things mentioned, Truth and righteousness in particular, have a lot to do with our character, with who we are at the core, and how we live is intrinsically fixed to how we will be able to stand when we face battle.

I learned a lesson on the importance of this when I was a few years out of high school. Some friends and I would drive around in an old Chevy van that had pillows instead of seats (it was legal back then) and a hole where a moon roof was some day going to go. On weekends we’d look for opportunities to share our faith in Jesus with people and it was amazing how many things would open up to us. But there was one time that touches this point of character and being ready.

Around 2:00 a.m. we came across a man walking down the street so we pulled the van over and from inside began talking to him. There were three of us in the front, Rich was driving, my friend Rick was in the passenger seat, I was sitting on something in the middle and two more friends, Dave and Ray, were in the back. As we began small-talking with him, “Where you going, need a ride?” it was obvious that he was messed up. He seemed a little disheveled and strung out on drugs, and some of the things he said just didn’t make sense, like how old he was or where he was from and he kept telling us different names for himself. As our conversation pushed to his spiritual condition, his responses began to get quite dark and confusing, and the more we talked, the stranger, darker and more confusing things got. I distinctly remember at one point in our conversation becoming aware that this darkness and confusion wasn’t a matter of drugs or any mentally disturbance, and then it happened.

I don’t remember what brought on his response and I really don’t know how to explain what happened so I will just tell you what happened. A voice came out of this man that wasn’t his. It seemed as if his mouth wasn’t moving with what he (or it) was saying and when he locked eyes with me my blood froze and I thought to myself, “Oh God, I think this man is demon possessed.” Immediately he replied, (eyes still burning a hole in me), “Now you’ve got it!” “Wait”, I thought to myself, I didn’t say anything!!

I wish I could say that I behaved like Jesus or Paul, but the truth is I freaked out! And with a voice a lot like a schoolgirl (no offense, girls) I stood up through the moon roof and said “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!” (It’s all I could think of). Again, I wish I could say the demon(s) ran into a herd of cats or something, and we led him to the Lord, but that didn’t happen. He just laughed at me and continued freaking us out with that voice and with the things he said and Rich just stepped on the gas and burned rubber out of there. Yeah, not quite a win or even a tie, it was a definite loss; crazy demon voice guy 1, Christian guys 0.

There are a few things I remember so clearly about that encounter. One was Rick’s reaction when the voice came out. He immediately, and I mean more than quickly, turned straight ahead away from this guy and looked absolutely horrified. Can’t blame him, he was literally inches away. The second was this heightened awareness of everything “not right” in my life. We all shared this feeling as we talked, prayed and confessed afterwards. It was as if there were a thousand post-it notes on my forehead of everything I was doing wrong or not doing right. The magazine under my mattress, what I had said to my mom in anger, my pride, etc… I was literally drowning in the truth of who I was, and it was not a life of righteous character. My armor was weak in a few places and boy, did it show.

I am not ignorant to the fact that it is in Christ’s righteousness alone that we stand. That is very much a part of the shield of faith and I love how Today’s English Version says to accept salvation as a helmet, but that is why we need to, at our core, be held together (girded) with a true and genuine life and in God’s righteousness so that we can handle skillfully the shield and sword at those times.

Some will read this and think that I (and all of us that night I suppose), were overreacting. Some may have trouble sleeping (sorry), but I hope some will see that the core of who we are really matters. That living true and right lives is an important part of the battles we face if we are going to stand firm.

Vision

Vision

A couple of months ago I was driving home on the 101 back from a lesson and was thinking about what a friend had told me regarding spelling out my vision for Genesis, especially to those who were involved in leadership roles so they could have clarity, both in where we are headed as well as our vision to get there. As I was parked (I mean driving) there on the fwy, a sentence came to mind which surprised me. It surprised me because the words didn’t seem to be anywhere in my head a moment earlier, but they seemed to sum up rather simply a lot of what I was wrestling with.
Anyway, the sentence was this…

“Embolden one another to begin changing the world, by effectively representing Jesus Christ”

Embolden? I really don’t remember ever using that word. In fact, I had to look it up to be certain of its meaning, which is to instill with boldness. And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I like it. Throughout scripture there are examples of those who had to be “instilled with boldness.” Joshua was told 3 times in as many verses to be strong and courageous as well as not to be terrified. Jeremiah & Isaiah similarly were told not to be afraid and both Timothy and Esther were encouraged by others not to miss the opportunity that was before them.
I think it’s easy for us to see that we all need to be instilled with boldness. The writer of Hebrews even tells us to think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, but to begin changing the world? I admit that sounds a little like motivational speaker hype, yet I believe it’s what we are called to do and what will naturally take place if we fulfill Jesus’ commission to go and make disciples of all nations. I also think it’s worth thinking about those who have impacted the world for evil and how they were anything but passive in their intentions or ambitions. Whether it’s Bin Laden, Stalin or Hitler, they have purposefully and horrifically impacted the lives of millions! Which makes me wonder, what would happen if we purposefully and ambitiously moved to change the world for the good?
We are currently going through the book of Luke on Fridays and I’ve been looking at the phrase “the Kingdom of God” which Jesus has been repeating. Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God as a work already in progress as well as something yet to come, but one of the things I’ve noticed is that He never tells or invites us to build or advance the Kingdom of God… never. He does, however, invite us to be a part of it. It may seem like a small thing, but when it comes to doing good things to change the world, motive is a huge thing and if we are honest, many times what we really want is God to help us build our kingdom (after all, it’s to do good) or at least give us a small province in His, but that really is so contrary to what the Kingdom of God is about. It’s about Him and His work in the lives of those who will allow it to grow in their hearts. We and this world are so “self” driven, but the Kingdom of God, like Christ Himself, is “others” driven and I think that is at the heart of “effectively representing Jesus Christ”. It’s thinking of others more than ourselves (Phil. 2), forgiving even as God in Christ has forgiven us (Eph. 4), and laying down our lives for one another as Jesus has for us (1Jn. 3). That is how we represent Him and how I believe we can change the world.
Remember, in this world we are like him (1 John 4:17).
So then …
“Embolden one another to begin changing the world, by effectively representing Jesus Christ”

What do you say? Are you in?

A fun little video

Bruce (that’s the dog) was difficult to walk, would pull Gregg (that’s the guy) and take off after other dogs. This was taken two months into the training. Notice how Bruce keeps looking up to Greg to see where he’s going. Off leash obedience! Come on, you have to admit this is pretty cool.

(Both videos are the same, some just have had problems viewing on the blogger so I added the youtube.)

See, I really do train dogs!

“Genesis: Life starts here”

“Genesis: Life starts here”

As most of you know I have been part of a home study for the past 2 months and I have to say it’s been an incredible experience as we have seen God working in amazing ways. There have been some really beautiful answers to prayer and encouraging things that have taken place.

A week ago I spoke with a young lady who has been having dreams about going to Africa and had a God given desire to go, so we prayed together and in just two days the Lord has opened the doors for her to go with Calvary Lake Arrowhead in June. Another amazing thing that happened this past Friday was when one of the young girls at the study shared how she has been praying for her mom and this week her mom has been picking up and reading her bible!! We are continuing to pray and hope she will join us some time soon.

Some of you may not yet know, as I don’t believe I have written about it, but we have moved forward and filed for our non-profit status and will became a state recognized church in the very near future, although it’s more important that we are recognized by Jesus than the state.

That being said we did have our first service this past Sunday (Easter as it’s called), what a great day!! We met in John and Tammy’s back yard, the weather was wonderful and we had a great time together honoring the resurrection of our Lord. I spoke from Luke 24 “the Road to Emmaus”, how Jesus showed up when they were in the middle of conversation about him. It’s so important that we keep the Lord in the midst of our conversation, and not just on Sunday’s or Easter services, but in our everyday life when we’re walking together on the road. It was also telling that the way Jesus chose to reveal himself to the two on the road wasn’t to remove the veil that hid his identity, but instead He took them to the scriptures, because as the Lord told us in John 5 the scriptures point to Him. So, how important are the scriptures for us today if we are going to get a clear picture of who Jesus is? Yeah, very.

I was thrilled afterwards talking with the people who were there as we continued the conversation about Jesus and His desire for our lives and to hear where they were on lifes road. I believe there are many who can identify with those two on the road to Emmaus, who believe in Jesus, but don’t yet fully realize who He is, that He’s alive and desires to walk with us still.

I'm looking forward as we We are going to search to get a clear picture of Him together
What a great beginning.

...Genesis: Life starts here

Doctrine, Culture the Eternal & the Emerging

Doctrine, Culture the Eternal & the Emerging

Every generation can be distinguished from other generations by a variety of things; music, clothing or even hairstyles (can you say mullet?)

I think it’s important when we discuss changes within the Christian faith that we are clear to distinguish the difference between doctrine (what we believe) and culture (how we relate those beliefs). For instance, there was a time when the thought of playing drums in a worship service was considered outrageous and in some places it still is, but style of music is cultural, not doctrinal. And years ago when the church was reaching out to those them there hippies, they put on rock concerts. Longhaired, bare footed preachers would say things like, "Jesus is far out". Now if we spent time arguing whether 'far out' should really apply to the Son of God or not, we would have failed to understand that 'far out' simply meant groovy, I mean outta sight, or well, you get my point. It meant good (not that I’m old enough to know about that). Now having long hair and saying 'far out' was not essential to reach hippies, but it could help remove some cultural road blocks in that emerging culture. I said in my last blog that I was going to talk about the things that I am for and against regarding what is called the emerging church and actually what I have just stated pretty much sums it up. I think it is crucial that we hold tenaciously to our beliefs (doctrine) and tentatively to our traditions (culture). If we are not careful, we can make how we communicate more important than what we communicate and become what Jesus referred to as old wine skins. The adage, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" really doesn’t cut it in most of today’s culture. We need to ask ourselves what use is what we believe if we can’t communicate it effectively to those around us?

So then, how do we relate our beliefs to today’s culture? First, we have to listen. In our society, especially western societies, there are so many cultures and beliefs that one size of communication definitely does not fit all. Say, for example, you are having a conversation with a devout Muslim; do you think inviting them to a crusade is the best way to reach them? Even among Native American Indians the word 'mission' can have negative connotations, so really the only way to be effective in what we say is to first be attentive to the people we are saying them to. Because who knows, some Muslims have no problem going to a crusade, but for others, there is just no way.

I love the way Jesus dialoged with people. He didn’t have this air of being unapproachable or a “know it all” (even though He did). He would draw individuals in by telling them stories they could relate to and asked them questions, making room for them to connect to God personally. “What does it profit if a man gains the world and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” “What good is it if you love those who love you, what reward is there for that?” We need to take a good look at how we communicate our beliefs to others. It's not about changing the message, it’s about engaging people in conversation with this message so that they are able to encounter God and find the life that is found in Him.

The Baby, and the Bath Water

The Baby and the Bath Water

About four and a half years ago I read an article in a worship leader magazine that absolutely thrilled me. The article spoke of the need to communicate effectively the message of who Christ is and some of the pitfalls that we can fall into by not understanding the changes in our emerging culture and the people we communicate with. Since then, the words ‘emerging’ and ‘emerging church’ have become quite the topic, and for good reasons.

Since that writing, I have read at least a half dozen books and who knows how many articles about the “Emerging Church.” Some of them have been interesting, some insightful, and some just plain anarchy against scripture, which is why I found it both amusing and confusing when I heard that some are saying that I’m a part of the emerging church. I wonder which one they mean.
It’s interesting (to me at least) that the people and ministries that I believe have been successful at reaching today’s culture and who I might consider “emergent” in that regard don’t claim that for themselves, but are labeled that by others, which I suppose gives me hope at least, but those who have labeled themselves as “emerging churches” I would have to describe as trying too hard just to be different.

With the array of thoughts on what the emerging church is (or isn’t), I want to address a few things that I have gained, as well as a few I reject. Hopefully this will at least clarify some of what has come to me about myself by way of others. First of all, I do not consider myself a part of the emerging church since there is no way to define what that really means. To quote my brother, “It’s like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall”... you just can’t make it stick to anything consistent. And truth be told, there is really only one church, and no person or denomination has claim to her. As I have been telling the Friday study group, we are not starting a church, we are the church! I did get that by the way from one of those books I read, but then its truth was taken from that other book, the bible.

Paul urged those in Thessalonica to examine (test) everything; hold on to what is good. I think it would be wise to have this attitude toward all the things we read (or hear). Whether they are considered secular, emergent or Christian. But it seems instead of testing all things we are quick to judge all things and lose that which may be good. I know from experience that it’s much easier to criticize than it is to examine and I have been guilty plenty of times of being quick to speak and slow to hear, contrary to James’s admonition to do the opposite. But we all need to realize that a hasty declaration may be followed by a regrettable conclusion and if we’re not careful, we will have thrown the baby out with the bath water.
I said I want to address a few things that I am for and against with what has been called the emerging church and I will in my next blog, as well as some new things happening in our Friday’s gathering. Until then “…this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.” (Phil.1:9 – 10)
Amen