Unplanned

My past few sermons have surprised me. The process of writing a sermon, although laborious, is typically pretty cool for me. But lately what I've found it that I've planned to give some lighthearted sermons with somewhat predictable endings but have instead ended up going way deeper than I though I would. (Now I know I should always be willing to go deeper but I wasn't going to, ok.)

For instance, I was going to preach on the beauty of having a break--and the plan was to talk about the beauty and responsibility of a summer break. Instead the sermon was a totall indepth look at Sabbath, the old covenant, the new covenant and how it relates to us today.

Last week I preached on God is Fortress (using the OnePrayer focus) and found myself going in directions I hadn't planned.

Tomorrow I'm preaching on the Providence of God. What?! Yes, the providence of God--his ability to economize our world based on his design, story and purposed. Totally didn't plan to preach this. The "plan" was to preach on God is Provider (again a OnePrayer theme). I was going to try to encourage our Michigan congregation to trust in God and be encouraged in tough economic times (blah, blah, blah). And now I am so glad to go deeper and lead people deeper.

Another beauty in all this is how cool it's been to read large chunks of scripture, theology and church history. I'm re-learning and learning for the first time perhaps some great stuff about God.

So there you go.
If my church podcasted you could listen online.
If you go to my church...see you soon.

Sometimes they are difficult

This morning's church experience was difficult. 

I'm processing why and what and who and everything.

Our Sunday School class is tacking difficult topics.  It challenges our values and beliefs.  It's tough. Our Worship Team and Tech Team do an amazing job week after week but there were a couple glitches today that were noticed---at least by me.

Summers in Michigan...wow, two words, "Up North".  Attendance and Momentum are drastically impacted by the desire by people to have a summer break.

My sermon.  Hmm, definitely not one of my top ten.  (I am grateful God speaks through his Word and by his Spirit and not only through the voice of mere mortals.)

I know some Sundays are flat, I get that.  But that doesn't negate the funk I feel when they occur.  

Lord willing and the creek don't rise I'll give my all again next Sunday.

And so now, an Ale-8-One

2 x 10,000

Last night our church participated in our second free food giveaway. For a fraction of what it would cost in a grocery store we purchase approximately 10,000 lbs. of food and give it away...free. The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan (fbem.org) is the agency supplying the goods. We purchase a truck of food through them, they deliver the food and from then on we manage the outreach event.

It is an overwhelming experience. As the leader of our church I'm overwhelmed to see the number of people who have responded to serve. The volunteers are just awesome.

It is overwhelming to come in contact with the 120+ people (representing 500+ family members) who arrived to receive food. Everyone left with a pile of food, loads of smiles and a free Bible.

I told several recipients, following their words of thanks, that we are glad to help in any way we can and that "we are in this together". I hope they know that we mean it.

Our next free food giveaway is scheduled for Thursday, July 16 @ 6 PM.

Gay in the News

There's been quite a bit of banter over the issue of person beliefs in the news lately. Miss California expressed a personal belief in a national setting and those who view things from the right-wing are calling foul. I've not been too wrapped up in it but applaud the gal for saying what she said in the tone in which it was said.

I keep an casual eye on how denominations are handling this pressing issue. I especially watch what the Presbyterian Church (USA) does with this issue because of a personal connection we have there.

Sarah and I spent two great years at Pisgah Presbyterian Church, Versailles, KY, and loved the people there. It was a wide mix of beliefs--liberal t0 conservative. In that setting I really got my feet wet and really had to defend my understanding of the Scriptures as they address/don't address homosexuality and other topics. I was glad to read that the PCUSA has defeated a move to allow for the ordination ofopenly homosexual clergy. Here's a link to one report of it. The local Presbyteries (Districts to all you Wesleyans) turned down a proposed ammendment to the Book of Order. For now, the PCUSA is standing in a Biblical position. Another report, here, details a little more of how the vote shaped up. It's a bit disconcerting though as it reports more and more presbyteries are moving toward approving this measure.

"Maranatha!", meaning either Our Lord has come or Come, O Lord has significant meaning in times like these. Yes, we desire for our Lord to return. But let's not forget our Lord has come and as a result we must, as his representative body, live like we represent Him.

Tough questions abound for the church--not just this area. Pray for the church universal as we engage our culture and as the culture engages the church.

Because I'm up

Because I'm up I decided I would write a few lines.
The biggest event of my day was chatting with my friend Troy. He and his wife just returned from an incredible adventure. They recently were able to adopt a 2 year old girl from Swaziland (I believe). They have some crazy stories of their time in Africa to bring her home and are all recuperating in the home in British Columbia. We wish were were closer to them in location...a coffee and some stories would be great.

Troy and I have been connected since our seminary days at Asbury. I was a lonely single guy and and he and Teresa invited me over for coffee once. I accepted their offer and really only left their apartment to go to class. (Not really, but I certainly hung out there a bunch.)
From those chats in their living room he and I began meeting weekly, with Ale-8's in hand, to pray with and encourage one another. He's been my accountability partner for a long time.
As he says, he a brother from another mother.

I'm excited for the commitment they've made to raise their sweet girl. They already have a great boy and from the conversation today their kids are treating each other like siblings already.

Many blessings to them!

Good Friday ... Great Sunday

There was a great crew assembled at our church last night for an "experiential worship service". Josh--our Discipleship Pastor--planned and coordinated a great night. 8 Stations were experienced by everyone present as we traveled from room to room in small groups. It was very tactile and was even a good thing for our young kids. (It was cool too because there were tons of kids there.)

The evening closed with communion and it was incredible to share that meal with our community of believers. Someday we'll share it with our Savior!

It was also incredible to serve William communion for his first time. It's cool to see his love for Jesus and was an honor see him experience this means of grace.

Sunday's service will be great. 2 friends are getting baptized. Great music will be played/sung. Let's just hope the preacher pulls his weight and has worthwhile to say.

Today we'll hit our community Easter egg hunt. The volunteer firemen host it and we enjoy the opportunity to connect with our North Branch neighbors in this type of setting. And, the day is forecasted to be the warmest (and least windy) of all the years we've done this.

Christ HAS died.

Christ IS risen.

Christ WILL come again.

Honesty

I've been wanting to blog recently but haven't done so. I even began the process of opening up a new blog because there's an itch in me to write openly and candidly. I was going to start the new blog, keep it anonymous and use it a means (almost a spiritual discipline) of speaking/writing more courageously. But I didn't do that.

You see over the past few months I've been on an enjoyable/unenjoyable journey. It's enjoyable in its outcome but has been fairly unenjoyable throughout. It's a journey I shared with my church last Sunday and a journey I fully intended to avoid. But I believe God had a different design.

There have been some rough edges in me, some dark days & weeks, and some spiritual issues I've not addressed. I believe it has taken its toll on my family, my ministry and me. It's been tough.

The real problem I have with it is I could have sidestepped much of it if I had been willing to listen to God. In early January I read from Psalm 15 these verses,

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart?

There they are in bold letters. The words intended for me and the words which I tried to crowd out of my existence. Ironic, isn't it? Yes, and somewhat sad.

So I stalled. I figured "God would let me off the hook" and those things I didn't want to face and those words I didn't want to speak...well, he'd understand. But if you've ever done this kind of dance with God you know (just like I already knew but chose to believe otherwise) that God doesn't let people off the hook--at least not without consequences and not after an immense season of grace and conviction. He poured on the latter two in massive quantity.

At the root: trust.

And why? I have no stinkin' idea. Well that's not totally true, I have some thoughts.

And now, how will I become more trusting? By trusting others and giving myself more fully.

That is hard for me.

I am able to position myself well. I can give the appearance of committed and connected all the while keeping my cards very close to my chest.

So I'm learning to play the game with joy again. I know I can't simply flash my cards to everyone at the table (to keep my euchre thought process going) but I do know that I there has to be a certain level of trust on my part as I sit at the table and engage with those in the other seats.

The freedom to speak again, to cry again, to begin trusting deeper came through the love, grace and mercy shown to me by my wife. She truly is remarkable. In her I felt the hands of my Savior receiving me and forgiving me. In her I see the marks of grace. In her there is a supernatural ability to love. I am a blessed man.

So I told my church some straight up stuff 2 Sundays ago.

We are in the midst of a retooling endeavor called, ReVision. As part of it we are digging into stuff like Mission and Core Values, etc. As part of the process we are sharing our work with the church--in small groups and in corporate worship.

I stood 2 weeks ago with a bulletin insert of ReVision info in my hand. I stood there knowing that the information and the process we are in is stuff some people in the church have been through before. Perhaps they've been through it at NBWC, perhaps somewhere else. Perhaps they've been through a process like we are in and at the end all of it all it just gets filed and begins collecting dust. Perhaps they've been through such a process only to have the Pastor leave during or shortly after its completion.

As I stood to share from the document my heart was at peace. I believe God freed me to speak in a way I haven't done in some time--if ever. I spoke a bit about my journey the past few months. I spoke of how I spent time online looking for open ministry positions. I spoke of how I spent time dreaming and praying that God would "get us out of North Branch". Then, oh then I spoke of how God has placed me here. Sarah and I cannot shake the calling we know we have to this place and to these people. I got to tell my congregation that I am not leaving. As I held that piece of paper in my hand I told them my plans are to stay. I told them that although I shouldn't be in North Branch, Michigan (from a human standpoint) I belong here. I wanted them to know that I believe in the future of our church. I believe in the change possible in our community. I believe the process of ReVision is good. I believe when ReVision is over I will still be here.

It's been a week + 1 day since I spoke.

People have been incredible. It's fun to receive their love...and to give it in return!

Old habits and thought patterns still invade. Ben Witherington, a fave ATS professor, always used to say, "God has to rewind the mind and retread the head."

I'm up for that journey, honestly.

Where I am More

More times than not I am on Facebook rather than Blogger.

Check out my happenings here

Learning & Leading

I've been enjoying some great reading lately.

Bill Hybels' book, Axiom, is one I've been thumbing through in bits and pieces.  It's short chapters make for quick reading followed by good reflection.  Today I stumbled across this blog where each of the chapters was summarized.  Nice.  

I've also just finished Seth Godin's book, Tribes.  Loved it.  I don't know much about Godin but I also enjoyed his book, The Dip.

Sarah's brother put a great read in my hands recently, Jayber Crow, by the Kentuckian Wendell Berry.  It was a great novel...especially for those who love Kentucky.  Which, fortunately, I do.

Another book for this list is one I've been plugging along in before nodding off to sleep at night.  It's certainly interesting and is providing me some insights on how I write.  We picked it up on Amazon not long ago because we were intrigued by the title, Writing to Learn.  

Now, to the final book.  I'm enjoying and encouraging others to enjoy/pursue reading through the Bible this year.  I picked up a One Year Bible to keep me on track.  So far so good--although I admit some days I have to read 2-3 days of readings in order to get caught up.  (And wow, that's a big picture isn't it?  I couldn't get it resized.)

Will we look like Obama?

Today we will witness an incredible shift in our nation. Shifting from what has been to what might be. Sarah and I plan to watch the inauguration with our kids at lunch. We will explain what's happening and pray together for our new president as well as our former president.

Speaking of Obama. Have you noticed how look-a-like logos are floating around all over the place?

Here's Pepsi's latest:

Here's Chrysler's latest:

Here's the latest look for Pirates (found this on a t-shirt)

What if Jesus had a logo?

Maybe I should have one too?!

We will have new leadership in less than 90 minutes from the time I'm writing these words.
We don't all have to look like Obama but we all have been called to pray for our leaders.
Jesus said, Love God, Love your Neighbors, Pray for your Enemies, and Forgive each other. That's the way I want to look.

Happy New "You"

I shared at our Christmas Eve service last month the joys of raising our kids and the excitement that filled our house leading up to Christmas.  Along the journey to Christmas our girl, Kate, learned some Christmas carols; Away in the Manger and We Wish you a Merry Christmas.  The latter provided great substance for my Christmas Eve message.

In her 2 year old vocabulary she doesn't always get words out of her mouth just as they ought to be.  With great gusto she would sing We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new YOU.

I love the opportunity of a new YOU we have--not just at the beginning of 2009--but always as we live under the saturation of God's grace through Jesus Christ.  

Merry Christmas (belated) and a Happy New YOU!

Month in Review

My last post was on 11/5...whoa, it's been a while.

I tend to read other people's blogs rather than write on my own.

I also frequent Facebook more often than not.  (Although I don't write much there either.  It's just more fun to read what other people feel the need to write about.)

So the past month.  I'll be brief.

In rewind:

-We've all been sick this past week.  I'm on my second day out of the office with whatever this junk is.

-Sarah is almost 30.  She turned 29 on Wednesday.  Of those years, I've been in her life for 11 of them.  Wild!

-Thanksgiving with Sarah's family had a new twist--we hosted it at our house.  Man, it takes a lot of work and a lot of cash to feed people over a long weekend.  It was great not having to travel though.

-Speaking of money, Sarah's brother spent some of his own on the new macbook and sold us his old powerbook G4.  So we're treading into the mac world.  (Tomorrow I'm hoping to take it to a mac genius in hopes of them helping me undo some things I unknowingly did.)

-William is completely engrossed in football.  He plays it, he dreams it, he watches it.  He knows most, if not all, the team logos.  And perhaps his favorite, he loves to say "Sunday Night Football Night in America" just like Al Roker says on the Today Show every Friday.

-Kate moved into her big girl bed.  No more crib!  She is such a star.  Obviously she was ready because she was starting to crawl in and out of her crib and when we did move her into a bed she didn't fuss or anything.  Just pulled the blankets up and went to sleep.

-Catalyst One Day:  I spent a day of incredible learning at a conference called "Catalyst One Day".  Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley were the presenters and it was awesome.  Well worth the 4:30 AM wake-up, 500 mile round trip drive, and 8 hours of conference.

-Christmas stuff is is full swing at church and in our home.  We're looking forward to a great Christmas.  Jesus is amazing.  I'm glad  he is my Lord.

Merry Christmas to you and yours...I may not make it back before then.  :)

Image makes a Difference

Our son, William, has surprised us with his name dropping over the past few weeks. He overhears the news (and his parents) talking about the election and has picked up on the names that are out there. He has been a staunch supporter of Barack Obama--not because of what he has heard/not heard in our house--but simply because he think Obama looks like Tiger Woods. Yesterday we told him we were voting for John McCain and today, following us telling him that Obama won the Presidential Election, he proudly proclaimed that he was "right" and we were "wrong".

Image makes a Difference...even 4 year olds have this one figured out!

So you know what we did at lunch today? As a family we prayed for Obama and Biden (you should hear Kate try to say Barack Obama). We asked God to protect them and bless them--and we meant it.

Away!

Sarah and I are having a 24 getaway. We are in Indiana and able to leave our kids with Sarah's folks overnight. This is the view we had last night of the lake where we are stayed (I did not snap the pic but found it online).

For us to get away took a lot of work--in fact, it took a lot of mature conversation between the two of us. It was hard work to accomplish it. We have enjoyed waking up this morning without children calling our names, watching an entire news show without switching channels to watch Curious George, sitting on the couch for the past 2 hours, and our biggest discussion this morning is whether or not we should peel ourselves from our couches and eat some breakfast. Ahh.

Big thanks to my wife for getting us here.
Big thanks to our family for watching the kiddos.
Big thanks to my assistant pastor, Josh, for leading worship & preaching yesterday.
Big thanks to professional mileage reimbursements from the past month that gave some extra cash to get down here.