Paintball, Love it!!

This past saturday, some guys got together from the church to let out some aggression on one another and man was it fun!!!!  Nothing like shooting one another with paint balls coming at you  280 ft/sec.  Here are some pics of our time at Victory Paintball, Benton Harbor.

Jesus Loves Me

God loves me and has chosen me. "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you." (I Thess.1:4)

New Beginnings :)

Christmas was great this year, other than the fact that I was fighting a cold :( the entire day, it was great because we were all together as a family and it was our daughter's first Christmas. She's 9 months old now and she absolutely loved all the boxes and wrapping paper, forget the toys inside !! But I sure did have a lot of fun playing with them.
I must admit, however, that it was a little different not being home (PA) and with my family and grandparents doing the normal holiday things. But I realized that this is a new beginning for us here in MI and we are blessed to be here with Casey's parents and some of her family, plus our new church family (Overflow) who we are having a blast getting to know more and more.
And so with a small case of home sickness, I was reminded by the Lord that times change and things change and that it's not always a bad thing. There are many great blessings that we need to be thankful for and for that I praise God through my missing my family back in PA. I know that as we follow Jesus, He works all things out for the good to those who love him :) That's His Word!

Righteous and Holy

My new self is righteous and holy. "Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph.4:24)

Predestined...

I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance. "To be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will..." (Eph. 1:10-11)

Complete in Christ

I have been made complete in Christ."you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." (Col. 2:10)

Judas and Jesus

I am just about to finish an interesting read by Ray Anderson, entitled Judas and Jesus: Amazing Grace for the Wounded Soul. This book has really opened my eyes to sickness of the soul (suicide) that so many people struggle with. Coming into this book I really wasn't sure on what I beleive about suicide, I mean, I guess in the back of my mind I considered it like the unpardonable sin or something that was beyond God's grace and forgiveness.
Ray makes some really good points throughout the book and continues to point out throughout the book that Judas was an answer to Jesus' prayer (which I never really thought of it that way) and that how he not only betrayed Jesus, but his fellow disciples as well. The author drives home the point that Judas could not forgive himself and the author also depicts a story at the beginning of the book of what the conversation would have look like between Judas and Jesus if they were able to have on while on earth....just like Jesus was able to talk it over with Peter about his own betrayal, when denying Jesus.
I think one of the key points that is made in the book, is that to have betrayal there must be love because were there is true love there is trust and vulnerability for one to betray. The author get really deep in this area of love, God's love, self-love and being created in God's image. As I read through this there where points where I found myself disagreeing at first but as I read on I found that the author does an exceptional job of explaining his reasoning behind some of his thoughts.
What you think of this read, will depend on your views of grace, and perseverance of the saints (once saved always saved). I guess the thing that helps me is that Judas was God's answer to prayer and that Jesus chose him, not the other way around. And in the 3yrs they spent together there had to be good times with Judas and what about how Jesus washed his feet, just as the others, and broke bread with him, the same night it all went down...and what about the other disciple who betrayed in his own ways, Peter.
This book was a great read and I would suggest anyone to read it, to help critically think through this area of God's grace and sovereignty, along with a deep look into one's own life as to what lays within each one of us who could so easliy fall into becoming our own Judas.

JEHOVAH-JIREH "The Lord Will Provide"

God Supplies all My Needs. "And my God will meet all your needs according to his gloriuos riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)

Sealed with a promise

I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit..." (Eph. 1:13)

New Creature in Christ

I Am a New Creature in Christ. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (IICor.3:14)

Community of Kindness

I just finished reading "Community of Kindness" by Sjogren and Lewin. This was a book that every church planter or future planter should read. Although I didn't agree with everything in the book, I did find that they had a lot of great things to say and some very practical things to do.
This was one of those books that listed about 100 lessons learned throughout the years of planting, again some I agreed with, some not so much. For instance, I'm not sure about the falling away of what they call "Scaffling people" who are there usually just to help start the church and they are not part of the perminant structure. I think this maybe the situation in some cases, but not all, and I have seen in my own experience where people who help at first begin to fade into the background as the church grows more and more, more times than not because of their leadership potiental only takes them so far. On the other hand there were some great thoughts, for instance on churches less than 200 (after opporating a number of years) should really consider closing down and starting over after a period of time to regroup and rethink it's purpose and mission. The author states this because of the tremendous pressure on the pastor of the 200 person church and his struggles to carry all the load (he calls them "Plate spinners") trying to please everyone and doing all the ministry. I was already thinking along these lines of "how would you go about replanting a church?" OR maybe the better question is "how would one go about grafting in to another church or church plant?" The author talks about the importance of when its time to restart/replant or whatever you want to call it, that you don't start with the same core people that used to run the old church, but you start fresh with new vision with new leaders. Cause when you replant an actual physical plant itself, you give it fresh new surroundings and a new environment.
I was reminded of a book called "Natural Church Development" some of you might have read it, and in it the author talks about the death of a church and that this should be a healthy process in that the church was a healthy church at one time, going through the reproduction stages and producing healthy disciples in Chirst and those sort of things....so why not? Why do we not see this more often. I really only know of one church that did this and that is Matt Chandler's church "The Village" in TX, and once they did, God showed up in some HUGE ways. Now they are reaching thousands for Christ in that area. I guess you have to lose some to gain some (or should I say many more). What do you think??

Christ Accepts

Christ Accepts Me... "Accept one another, then, just was Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Rom. 15:7)

Justified and Redeemed

I am justified and redeemed "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:22-24)

Church Offices in Mall

As I was driving over here this morning to the church office, I thought to myself..."How cool is this, we have our offices in a stinking MALL!!" And then I began to think of all the opportunities to share Christ with people and that really got me going, I though "what an endless opportunity to share Christ as people pass by after a morning of shopping or walking the mall" We have a bunch of mall walkers here and I have had the opportunity to talk with a few of them, great people!
So we are blessed to have this space in the mall that we are leasing that we turned into somewhat of a make shift lounge. We have some high top tables with chairs, a sofa with a big screen TV, FREE Coffee and a play corner for the kids. It's really a nice atmosphere for people to just drop in have a cup of coffee on us or just sit in here while they wait for the local transit bus.
I am really excited about what God is doing here and how He is the grand orchestrator behind it all. When God said he would build His church He really meant it. God's people are being built up and encouraged all over this region and yet there is still such a need here for those who yet to hear or have the opportunity to grow in the lord or to have come to know the Love of Christ in a real way that speaks to their lives, right now in their life circumstances that they are in. Isn't that what Jesus did? Wasn't he the master at meeting people at their points of need and then getting to the root of it all? That's what Overflow is about, as God pours in, we pour out.

Let the Overflow begin!!!

Well, I have been waiting a long time to write this blog about the church plant that Casey and I are going to be involved with, "Overflow". We are so excited about what God is doing here with this community of believers that are coming together to follow the Lords plans for the St.Joe/Benton Harbor area. BIG PLANS. Part of the heart and vision for this region is to have a community of believers that are united as one in heart to see this region changed by God's love and grace. To see a diversity coming together for a mission and purpose larger than themselves, to purpose our hearts towards the things of God and to see His glory change a community that used to be affectionately known as the "twin cities" before the racial divide happened many years ago. For people in this region Benton Harbor is like the "Samaria" of the day and I am reminded of the scriptures in Luke 9:56-59 were the disciples, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume the city and Jesus rebuked them. But then later in the book of acts the 8th chapter John was sent by the apostles to go and see that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God too!!
So here was a town that was rejected by most religious people of its day and kind of the unforgotten city somewhat like the town of Benton Harbor, MI. And this is the exact place God has called this church into existence and has began to bring people together to be united with his purpose of ministering to the hurting, the poor and the oppressed. Benton Harbor is the poorest city in all of MI and has a illiteracy rating in the lowest bracket possible!!!
God's heart breaks and is breaking for this town and so is ours!!! God help us. Lots more to come....

Purpose/Missions/Evangelism

I started a new job last week and I have found myself being more and more excited about the bigger picture that is taking place. I must admit that I was not thrilled at first about having to do this "tent-making" thing again, but as I began to pray and ask God to show me His way and His thoughts all of the sudden things are starting to become more and more clear!!!
I have known for some time now that God has wired me a certain way for reaching people and He really has gifted me with a way of connecting with people pretty easily. I used to say that about my dad, that he could walk into a room full of people and be friends with everyone in the matter of minutes, I guess that is where I get it. Anyway I am so thankful for it and now that God has been opening my eyes to why I am where I am, I guess that just really excites me. I work in an environment that is full of young adults/professionals who are really just seeking, and I guess its just something I sense when I talk with them and so for me I can't help but think of this place as my mission field and to me that's exciting!!!

Training Days

Yesterday was my first day on my new "tent-making" job! I have training all week, which prepares me for what they call a level one entry worker, then later I will receive another week of training to go to level two.
So far, so good. I really forgot how much I enjoy being in an "office space" environment and that one of my gifts is administration/organization. I think this job will help to sharpen a lot of skills for me that will be so helpful in the ministry. So for now just a lot of training and acronyms to learn, but in the end I know that this is right where God wants me, in the mission field!

Growing up

The other night I was playing with my 7 month old daughter Olivia on the floor of the living room when I thought to myself "this girl just wants to do everything". She's just at that stage and she's a lot like her dad:) too! She was crawling, climbing and trying to do it all at once.
I began to think about how much we are alike and how to many times I want to do things to fast. That day the Lord reminded me about the journey of faith that we are all on and how that if we look and work so fast to get the end product or a result that we miss the most important part altogether, the process!! I mean, come on...God did not let the people of Israel wonder in the desert for 40 years for no reason. I truly believe that God is more concerned (most of the time) about the process more than the end result. Think about it.

The Thrill of the Hunt

I grew up in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking and all that fun stuff. I really enjoy just spending time in the woods, its so quite and peaceful.
So, this morning I went out for the first time archery hunting and for the first time I missed my buck. I only had a split second to get a shot off and when I did I think I just missed over it's back. My heart was pounding so fast, at first I thought I got it, but then I tried to track and came up with nothing.
I saw plenty of deer though and one other monster buck shortly after my first miss, but I couldn't get a shot at him. In the end it was a great morning just being outside and enjoying God's beautiful nature.

Crazzzzzy Week!!!

Just realize that I have not blogged all week, not sure were the week went but I guess today is Friday and I just now realized it. We have been gearing up all week for our Murder Mystery Dinner for the youth. We will be having our dress rehearsal tonight and dinner tomorrow at 4:30. The turn out was a little less than what I expected, but I know that we are going to have a blast doing it and we will all add value to the youth min. and it will be a great experience for all.

I Used To Play In The Bars...

Know I have been thinking about this statement since I heard it...and the thing that keeps running through my mind is the question of why this phrase is used in the past tense "used to". Why not still play in the bars now that God has made you a light to shine before all men, or is it that we are to only shine our light in the context of our own churches or to only our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Now I understand that this maybe to extreme for some, ok, maybe this is not for all, but my point isn't just the bar itself, it could be anything, anywhere for that matter.
If we are called to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:14) then why are we just using are God-given gifts, talents and abilities within our churches or for the enjoyment of ourselves. Are we not suppose to have/be/do good works so that people might see and glorify God (I Peter 2:12), now I know and realize that we are to be set apart,a royal priesthood and a holy nation, and rightly so. I just can't see Jesus sitting around with all his fullness, calling/purpose/destiny in life doing the churchy pew-sitting stuff like the rest of the religious people of his day. Yes, Jesus went to the synagogue and so did Paul, but they went beyond the church of their day, into the market place, into the houses of the swindlers, confronted prostitutes and adulteresses, they went into the places where there were real needs to be met and they touched the heart of the people right where they were. They didn't just sit around and hope that they came into the church of their day that they might hear the gospel, NO they took the gospel to the people, not cursing them for who they are or what sin they were living in, NO they met their needs with love and deeds, and shared with them the good news, the gospel. This is why Peter and John were able to heal the lame beggar on their way to the temple, they were able to see through the mere fact that this man had no money and was crippled, they were able to see the poverty of his soul and they told him that he could have what they had, which was fullness of life, living, walking, breathing, every need taken care of kind of life that was only found in Christ. And so Peter tells him "in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene - WALK!" Now here is the key, here is our part (Peter's part) "And SEIZING HIM BY THE RIGHT HAND, HE RAISED HIM UP"
God's done His part (the cross), and He will always continue to DO His part (through the Holy Spirit), BUT we must DO OUR PART TOO! (Obeying - GO) We can do NOTHING without Him first and foremost, but just as James tells us, faith without works is dead, being by itself. Yet faith can be perfected by what you do (see Abraham). Our faith should be a living faith, one that produces good works and as we do good works our faith is made perfect because it's on display for all to see and to glorify God (I Peter 2:12).

Giving Out of Poverty - Think about it!

I was talking to a good friend of mine who is currently doing language school in Costa Rica and who has just recently decided to become an associate missionary there. He was telling me all about the process and how much support he would have to raise for a two and a half year term. As we were talking about this, he told me a story of a friend of his or an acquaintance of some sort, but he was telling me about how she had to raise support and the journey that she was on.
It reminded me of the story of the poor widow who gave out of her poverty, the one mite that she owned and Jesus told his disciples that she gave more than any of the other people that were putting all kinds of cash flow into the offering.
This missionaries story was that she was home in the states on ferlow (raising funds) and trying to get into different churches to share her vision and testimony of what God has done in her life. She wasn't getting many offers to speak. So she heard that there was a "homeless" church in the area and so she thought she might contact the pastor to see if she could share there. The pastor was a little taken back by the question and asked her if she realized that they were a church for the homeless and that they wouldn't have any money to support her, but she insisted to come and share anyway. Well, wouldn't you know it. The following week the pastor called her up and said that the homeless felt that they could give her something if they all pitched in a few recycled cans and got the money that way and they could help with that each month (about $50). The girl was thrilled!! She could hardly believe it. The next week the pastor called back and the girl thought that he was going to tell her that they wouldn't be able to do it, but instead he told her that the homeless people told the pastor that they wanted her to be their missionary and that they all decided to take more time and more money out of their own needs to collect cans and that with the extra effort they were able to support her $100 a month!!! She was floored to say the least, she also said that from time to time they even send her more when they have it.
Can you believe this. I was in tears tonight when my friend Criag was telling me this story. Homeless people supporting a missionary $100 a month!!! This girl said that most churches won't even support $50 a month or that most say they don't even have it to give. What's wrong with that picture?
I guess the scripture rings so true here in (Matt. 6:19-20) vs. 20 "where your treasure is there your heart will be also." Think about it!

I Peter 5

The Lord gave me this scripture a few days back. I have been meditating on this passage for the past couple of days now.

1 Peter 5
To Elders and Young Men
1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."[a] 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

8 days and counting...

In a week from tomorrow we will be presenting our Murder Mystery Dinner! Just this morning I was looking over all that still needs to be done before that day and boy do we have some stuff to do! But I know that it will all come together in the end, we are praying that this night will be a success and that we will have fun doing it. We have a few more practices to get in and some decorating to do, but we are sure that by next Saturday we will have everything we need and we'll be ready to "break a leg" that night!

Prayer

Last night, a good friend of ours had an accident and fell off the roof of his house. By God's grace he had his cell phone on him so that he could call for an ambulance. They did surgery last night, and the doc. gave us all some good reports from it. He has multiple fractures and a piece of bone fragment that was pushing against his spinal cord, however they were able to push that piece of bone away from the cord and stabilize the fractures with about eight pins. Please pray with us as we seek God and ask for him to have a full recovery.

Overflow "a church for the thirsty"

I met with a local church planter today for breakfast. There is a group of people planting only a few miles from where we are living. It was great to hear about his dreams and vision for the future of the church and how Overflow would be and is now being a voice in the community. First of all, he has his office space in the local MALL!! How awesome is that? Talk about consumer Christianity at its finest (lol), I'm joking! But what a great way to meet people in the community. He has this place set up like a lounge area with some high-top tables and chairs, so you can sit down and relax while using the free wireless access and sip your free cup of coffee, or maybe take a lounge and catch the last news on the big screen TV. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to take five from a long day of shopping.
The cool thing is that the mall staff have been nothing but supportive of this entire thing. There is what's called a community center in the mall that the church is able to use to hold there bible studies and what not. There is a huge stage in center of the hall that is at there disposal to use. God has been showing them is favor time and time again. I guess that when its a God thing you don't necessarily have to force your way into things, God will simple open doors and close doors.
They are possibly looking to have their first "official" service in May (i think)or maybe it was March, (one of those months) of next year and they are more than likely going to be meeting in the Movie Theater down the road from the mall.
These are exciting times for Overflow and I was just glad to be able to meet Brian through another personal meeting that I was having the morning before. When I had mentioned one of my passions was church planting he told me about Overflow. I'm excited for these guys and what they are focused on being and doing for the Lord. They have been having bible studies now for the past 2 months and already needing to have a baptismal service in Dec. for 8 people!!!! Now that's what its all about, right there. Check them out HERE at there blogsite for now.

1st Facilitator's Meeting

Last night we had our first vine group for our facilitators who have been going through training for the past month and last night was the first of 8 that we will be doing up until mid December. Our goal is to model what a small group should look like over the next 7 weeks. We will share life together and come to know what it means to have relationships of trust and environments of grace to grown in as we seek God together learning to live the life God intended for us to live.
I'm really excited about this ministry. It's a place where people can build one another up in love and reach out to those who have yet to experience the love of Christ in their own lives. The two main purposes of the vine group is edification and evangelism, all the while keeping Jesus as the center of our group.
In my research for doing this training I came across an article by Outreach Magazine that stated the following, which I thought was very interesting,"According to surveys conducted by Lentz through Smallgroups.com, there is a 10% chance that a church visitor will become a member, but if the visitor is invited to a small group, the likelihood of his becoming a church member increases to 50%. These percentages show that new members need to connect with the church community or they won't stay."
That statistic alone is enough or should be enough to get through to some people/churches out there that people need to feel the sense of connectedness or the sense of authentic community for them to be part of the church body and to be functioning or the better word here would be "living" the life God has called them to live.

Drama Blunder, my bad

I wrote a post about a week or so ago about a Murder Mystery Dinner that our student ministries will be putting on to help raise money for outreach and different stuff, because we are a small church with really no youth budget at all, we have to raise all our money.
So we had our first meeting Sunday night were we got all the students together and who ever else wanted to help with putting on the interactive play. We had a great turn out and so I shared with them some things about the play and gave them several hand outs and then we determined who was doing what part in the play.
Now, I never acted this play before (it was actually the former youth guy, who is still attending our church and helping out that put this all together about 2 years ago), and so he gave me all the files and documents from the last time they did the play. In doing so he gave me a document of mob words that would help the people get into their mob/gangster part. Now my first mistake was not reading over all the material that he gave me, I mean, come on, they put the play on before and besides I know this guy they are great people, (but even great people make honest mistakes) and so you probably guessed it by now, we some how left a cuss word in one of the mob word sheets and one of the parents (who obviously prof-read) the material found it.
So needless to say I found a voice mail on my cell phone this morning reminding me that it's probably not a good idea to be giving our youth cuss words to read!! Yikes!!! Well, all I can say is sorry, and if this is the worst thing that happens during this play or for the rest of the year, then it's not that bad. I'm sure they have heard worse on movies and the media these days. I guess its just kind of funny coming from the youth pastor who has only been around now for about 3 months...I guess there's a chance I might be known as the cussing youth pastor in the community, wonder what kind of buzz that might create in the youth culture.

South Bend, IN.

Tonight we went down to South Bend, IN., which is not that far of a drive for us, only about 30 min. We went to the mall, so Casey could do a little shopping for her birthday. The mall was pretty busy for a Saturday night, and there was some traffic on the way home because of the Notre Dame game against USC was in town tonight (they'll probably loses). Anyway, that was our night, nothing major, just some random thoughts...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

A tribute to my lovely wife on her 24th birthday!! We were just reminiscing today about when we first met at College, I was 24. Casey and I are 5 years apart and so we were just laughing and remembering our first few days and weeks together as we dated. We were talking about how much we've both been through in the past 5 years...College, Marriage, Olivia, we moved several times and once out of state...those are some major things to have happen in a short amount of time. God has been so gracious to us and we have been blessed to have our health and wonderful times, along with the hard times, through these last 5 years. I said to Casey over lunch today, "I wonder what the next 5 years hold for us?" I guess only God knows, but whatever comes our way, we will face it together as a family and celebrate one another each and every day. Hopelessly in love with my beautiful wife always and forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CASE!!!

Daddy's Little Butterfly

While we were in PA, we couldn't resist doing a little shopping at the local outlet mall and of course we couldn't pass up getting Olivia her first Halloween costume. I know, Halloween is of the devil and who in their right mind would let their little one dress up and take part of such an evil holiday...give me a break.
I know I am being a little sarcastic here, but what do you think? Is Halloween something Christians should or should not participate in? Vote at the bottom of this page with your answer.

Going Home

Today we will be making the journey back to Michigan from Pennsylvania. I feel like I have been gone for ever, and where did the month go? I can't believe that the month is half over already. We had great times visiting family despite the circumstances, though Mae lived a wonderful life in the Lord, we had a great time of celebration of it and a great service in her honor.
She's at home with her Lord and Savior rejoicing in the life of Eternal Bliss...how wonderful it must be. We rejoice and give thanks to God for the hope that we have in him who is able to save us from this life of death.

On the road again

Hitting the road in the morning back to PA. My wife's great-grandmother went to be with the Lord this morning. She struggled for some time now with dementia and as of the last few weeks of her life battled cancer. She is at peace now. And so the funeral is in PA, and so we will do some visiting with my family while we are there. Not looking forward to the long boring drive (7 hrs).

Proud Father

I was visiting in a nursing home the other day and we were taking a break in the lounge area and we started talking with two ladies sitting there about Olivia (our 6 mth. old). The one lady looks at me and says, "I bet your so proud of her" and my automatic response was, "Oh, Ya, absolutely!! Thrilled!" and then my after thoughts were like, "I am???" somewhat puzzled, not that I'm not proud of my daughter or anything its just that I guess I never had thought of it that way. I mean I love her to death and think she's the best thing in the world, but never really gave it much thought that I'm really proud, proud to be her parent, proud that she is mine and came from us, proud in ways I never really thought of.
This all made me really think how proud our heavenly Father is of us. I mean, think about it for a second. And if you have kids or did and they are grown now you can really relate. As Olivia's father and her being only 6 months old, there is not a whole lot of "THINGS" that she does to be proud of, and guess what, THATS THE POINT!! She doesn't have to do anything to make me proud or to gain my approval, I love her no matter what!!! Why, because she's my daughter, she's born of our flesh, she is made like us (of course she is a spitting image of her dad), she is part of our family and has been since she was born, actually even before she was born. While Casey carried her, we talked with her, sang to her, and told her stories, we anticipated sharing life together even before she was born! I can't help but think how God, through, the Holy Spirit, "draws" people and "calls" people into a relationship with him by simply speaking the words into existence. The bible talks about how He foreknew us and called us from eternity passed!! How cool is that.
So, the point isn't how much we "DO" in God's name or for Him, (its not like He needs it, His GOD!!) He just wants our heart. There is nothing that brings me more joy than to have my little girl only being 6 mths old begin to reach her little arms in the air when she see's me, as if she's saying "I LOVE YOU, DADDY", and I pick her up into my arms and just love on her and kiss her and hug her. WHY? Because I am so proud to be her Father. Think about it.

New Seasons

Summer is slowly turning to Fall here in the Michiania (SW Michigan & Northern IN.) and so the leaves are changing colors, there is a slight new breeze in the air, the business of summer is slowly coming to a close. All these things together make it very obvious that there is a new season on the horizon.
This is exactly how I feel in my spirit. A new and exciting season is approaching and I can tell already I'm going to be in for a great ride. There is a fresh optimism in the air of my life, a new hunger, a new look/perspective, a new freshness, that hasn't been there quiet like this before. I can't exactly put my finger on it just yet, but one thing I am for sure, is that there is going to be times of change, for myself and those around me. It may not be in the immediate future, because seasons don't change over night, but in time things begin to die off and new things begin to bloom.
It sure feels good, the growth, though painful at times, I know that I am being drawn closer to the heart of God like never before and I'm just "waiting" and "listening" to hear his still, small voice.

MYSTERY DINNER

CrossXroads Student Ministries Presents...
Mystery Theatre Dinner
It's Final, we are taking the plunge and we have only four weeks to pull it off. The youth are excited about it and I think its a great way for us to raise some funds for the youth. The great thing is that a good friend of mine who helped to create this theme and dinner has done it once before 2 years ago. His name is Russ. Russ and I just spent the majority of the day brainstorming some promotional ideas and so we are totally pumped!
Last time they did the Dinner they didn't promote it like they really wanted to and therefore only had members from the church come. This time we are working with the local Christian book store and a local catering company to help promote it and get some donations in the process. We are also going to be talking with our local radio stations to see if we can get some free advertisements during the next couple of weeks. We will also be networking with a some local churches in the area to have them come out to it also.
The dinner consists of 6 courses (gourmet of course), we are talking about an Italian Mob style mystery and so the food will be awesome and the play is really interactive with the dinner guests. In the end someone gets murdered and then the guests try to guess who it was. We are also thinking about taking pictures of our dinner guests as they arrive and then photo-shopping their photo to a mystery theatre background and giving them the picture before they leave.
We are totally excited and have a ton of work to do!! If you are close enough to the area and would like to have a fun date night with your significant other, tickets are available from the church and can be reached at #269-925-3887. Also in the next couple of day you will be able to purchase your tickets online at SHC.

FACTS

The FACT is,,is that Jesus is the cure all answer to all life's problems. I was just reading today out of I Cor. 1-3 and Paul was talking about all the "wise" men of his day and how there were people like this all over the streets telling people that they had the answers to all life's problems. That is why Paul continually says in these first few chapters that he did not come with man's wisdom, or with wise and persuasive words, but with God's power, Holy Spirit power and anointing. The fact is we can try to fix things all our lives and put band-aids on all our hurts, but that fact is we will never experience true healing, true peace, true and fulfilled lives, until we understand that Christ is our ultimate remedy for all things in this life and the next.

The Gospel of Inclusion, WHAT?

I just watched a special on Carlton Pearson on MSNBC about his wacked out theology of Salvation and Hell. If you have never heard of it you should check it out, it's pretty messed up.
However, I will say that it has inspired me to grow more in the Lord and in my studies of the word so that if I ever have the opportunity to talk face to face with people who believe in "Everyone goes to heaven", that I can be ready to speak the TRUTH in love.
This has really just opened my eyes to how badly people want to have their ears tickled and live like hell, because according to Pearson's gospel we are all saved at birth anyway.

Check this out. http://www.ondoctrine.com/10pearso.htm

down....down....down

This is how I am feeling today. Mainly because I have a lot on my mind. The one thing in particular that is killing me is that my mother is literally killing herself by drinking her life away. And I'm not sure exactly what to do or if I should say anything at all, again. We have had conversations before, but it's just getting old. She's been this way all of my life and so I grew up with an alcoholic mother and things were not always "peachy" at home, to say the least, without going into all the details.
I guess I'm just angry and feel like its time she grows up. So that's how I feel today and know I think I will go and share some more of my thoughts with some other people. Thanks for the vent.

Light Bulb Moments

Have you ever had one of these moments? You know, like when the light bulb in your minds just clicks on and all of the sudden you get it!! Well I had one of those moments last night as my wife and I were sitting off the beautiful cost of Lake Michigan catching a spectacular sunset (they are the extraordinary here in St. Joseph). It just clicked and there it was. Now, before I tell you the rest of the story I must say that some of you may read this and think, duh! That a fairly common understanding, but I assure you and if I were a betting man I would lay money down that more than half of marriages out there (in particularly men) have this problem within there first five years of marriage.
My wife and I have been through a whole lot in our first few years of marriage, like graduating college, getting our own place, several different jobs, oh ya having an adorable baby girl who is now 5 months old, moved 3 times, and probably some other things in between that I'm missing. The point is, is that we have been through a lot. So naturally things can be stressful at times. Now my wife doesn't deal with stress very well, (she'll tell you that) and on top of that she has just been though a lot. On the other hand, I am the type of guy who really doesn't worry a whole lot and not to mention just the male/female differences in thinking, I just don't have a whole lot of stress in my life.
So for the past several months to a year now we have been dealing with Casey's anxiety and stress related problems. And the other night the light bulb came on for me! I began to realize that I was a big part in contributing to her stress. There are several factors that come into play on how God revealed this to me, so many I don't have the time to list them all, only to say that God is always trying to show us and teach us something about ourselves if we would just listen.
While we sat on that swing that overlooked the lake as the day was turning to night, it was then that the Holy Spirit just spoke to me and said, "Love your wife as Christ loves the church" I mean it was just like that, plain as day, at that moment I realized that I have not be loving my wife like she needs to be loved. Ya, I was doing all the "right things" so to speak, but I wasn't loving my wife with that sacrificial love as Christ gave His life up for us.
Eph.5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her"
Now, there are plenty of reasons how and why, especially us men fall into this problem in our marriages and not even realize it, and I'm not taking the time here to address all the reasons, but I do want to say that if we want to be men of God then we must first learn to what it means to have healthy families and marriages so that we can leave a lasting legacy for God's glory and for His Kingdom.
Once I realize this, it was like I had a paradigm shift in my mind and now each day I am making a conscientious effort to uphold my wife and her needs above my own and love her with the sacrificial love as Christ loves us and gave himself up for us. Oh, and by the way I believe that this is the main key to having a successful marriage, because in return our wives will love us as they are to, unto the Lord.

Create

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

God is more than able to make the proud, humble. Read Daniel chapter 5.

Recovered

This past weekend was a crazy one. I put some long hours in at my "tent-making" job Friday and Saturday night, plus some long hours in the ministry, but last night made it all worth it. Last night we had our usual youth small group meeting at the church, where we had a great time with one another and God graced us with his presence in many ways. I spoke to the students about "Who they wanted to be?" and then we talked about "Who we wanted to be as a group?" You know, the kind of things we want to be known as and the kind of things we want to do as a youth ministry.
This was a powerful time for the students to talk about who they would like to be and why. I shared with them how God has a plan and a purpose for them and that as they put their trust more and more on God and less on everyone or everything else they will become more like the people God desires them to be and the people they want to become.
At the end of the night I asked if there was anyone who would like to received Christ into their life as their Savior and Lord and I had one kid raise his hand. So at the end of the night I had the opportunity to take this kid home and share the gospel with him and pray a prayer with him as he accepted Jesus into his life!! How amazing is that! God was working in his heart a few days ago and he felt like he needed to be "one" with God and he wanted to know him personally. God started with his kids father and allow his son to see the difference in his dad and so the kid started coming to church and as a result is now a Christian himself!
I was so pumped last night after all of this that I realized that nothing else really matters (how tired I was) or (how much I have to do this or that), but in the end God is drawing people to himself and I am just a vessel that God uses at times to have these eternal things take place,,,,what a privilege!

The Buzz....

Have you ever been a part of something so big or so exciting that every where you go, you can't help but talk about it. It's like a buzz that happens among people when their excited about something. Its the very thing that is on your mind 24/7. You know I used to catch a slightly different kind of buzz and beleive me it wasn't from being part of some thing or any kind of natural high or excitement. All of my teen age years were wasted by drug and alcohol abuse. I used these substances to escape from life and to hid from past hurts and emotions and I hurt a lot of people in the process. I finally came to the point in my life by God's grace where I was just "sick and tired" of being "sick and tired". I came to realize that there had to be more to life than just partying and living for the moment, because that lifestyle was taking me no where fast. I can remember coming home from long shifts at the factory that I was working at and hearing something inside me telling me that I need to change and that I need to surrender my life to God and to His will for my life. Deep down inside I knew that this was my only hope, God.
All this was taking place in my life at the age of 21, I am now 3 months from my 29th birthday, married and have an adorable little girl named Olivia who is now 5 months old and I can't help but get emotional and cry when I think about what God has done in my life and how I now have a new life in Christ and how God wants that so desperately for everyone. Now early I mentioned the word "surrender" and I think that I would like to comment just a little more here on this word because I believe that it is critical in understanding the point that I am trying to make here in this post and that is simply this, that the joy/peace (or Buzz) that I receive now that I am a follower of Christ comes from a life that has and continues to surrender to God each and everyday. It's quite a paridoxal statement, I know. And so is the Christian life. Someone once said, to find your life you must first must lose it, or to live one must die. And yet another time it was said that you must be born again to recieve eternal life. So this is what I mean when I use the word surrender. The problem with that is that most people don't want to "surrender" or give up their lives, agenda, plans because our humanity says we can do it on our own, we don't need anyone else, God or anyone. The fact is we can't!! And yet we try time and time again, expecting different results.
So, I would invite anyone who is reading this blog to give God a try, test the waters so to speak and I think that if you search for Him with a geniune heart you will find him and not be disappointed. Not to say things will all be gravy so to speak, but as you surrender your life and trust God with it, He will help you in your travels along life's path.
Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Hidden Face

Our church is under going a 21 day prayer and fast, together, as we seek the Lord's direction for this season of church life. Several members of the church felt that the Lord was leading us in this direction and so after much prayer and presenting to the church this idea of a 21 day prayer and fast, we all agreed it was a go. I suppose I should through this disclaimer out there for those who might think that I am trying to brag or boost of our corporate prayers and fast, I'M NOT, however, I will say that I think its really cool that everyone is on board with this thing and that we are not making it some legalistic thing! There are people even outside the church, from other churches that I heard were participating along with their friends and family members that come to Safe Harbor.
Well enough said with that. We are now into our 5th day of it and we are following a scriptural read through some chapters in Jeremiah and Daniel. In today's reading the Lord showed me something that I never really saw in this light before, so I thought I would share it with you. Have you ever wondered what happens when God allows punishment or judgement for sin to take place, like all throughout the OT?? I sure have. Well this morning I was reading Jeremiah 33 when the Lord opened my eyes to this statement, "The Chaldeans are coming in to fight and to fill them with the dead bodies of those whom I shall strike down in my anger and my wrath, for I HAVE HIDDEN MY FACE from this city because of all their wickedness." When I read those words, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "Only when I hid my face can this take place, because I cannot be part of the horrible things that take place because of the wickedness that has taken place in their lives, I allow these things to take place because they are of their actions." Another words God allows these things to happen because He is God (see Job).
Now that's not the end of the story as most of us know. This chapter in particular goes on to talk about the coming of Jesus and how God will put the law in the hearts of his people. And it goes on to talk about Jesus as the Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David. God always seems to bring healing after the punishment. Jeremaiah is prophesying about the coming captivity of Judah into the hands of the Babylonians and all that will take place during that time. So God is giving them hope in the midst of what is about to take place.
I just found it interesting, it was like a light came on and showed me how and why God allows things like punishment and oppression to take place and that when it does his face is hidden from us. How in your own life has God allowed you to go through some trying times or having not understood why things happen the way they did. Now I'm not claiming to know why God allows ALL things to happen, that is something we can ask on the other side of eternity, but I do know that when judgement and punishment happens God hids his face because he cannot be part of it, He just allows it for His good reasons and purposes.

Monday Sabbath

For the past couple of months now, Casey and I have been making Mondays our Sabbath. Mainly because it fits our schedule and allows us to spend time with our family. God commanded us to in the OT to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy (Ex.20:8), He told us to labor for 6 days and to rest on the 7th even during the most busy times of our lives, even when we don't feel like we have the time to rest and relax (Ex. 34:21). We see in the NT that Jesus was always being confronted for His acts and deeds on the Sabbath because some had made it ritualistic to their lives and they built a circle of "do's" and "don't" around the Sabbath to keep from breaking it, and Jesus seemed to wreck all of that. Jesus was always about bringing healing, wholeness and life to the people, even if it meant to bring it on the Sabbath. Jesus tells them in Mk. 2:27, that the Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. I love this, because in essence, Jesus is saying, here it is, its for you to take it and rest. Enjoy and rest with your family and be refreshed in Me, I bring healing, wholeness and life, springs of living water that bring refreshing to your lives.
Beleive it or not, we are more productive in 6 days of work than if we work all 7 days with no rest. Same is true with our money, we are more blessed and much better off living on our 90% than all 100% and I know that doesn't sound logical, but God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts!

Thank God today for your Sabbath.

two-fold blog

First things First! I must give a huge shout out to my boys (The Pittsburg Steelers) for taking it to those dogs up in Cleveland today with thier first victory of the season 34 to 7 over the stinky Browns!!! GO STEELERS!!! So as you can see I will be continually supporting my home team through out the season, thick and thin, I am not one of those "fair weather fans". I bleed black and gold!

Secondly, If you have the time, which you should cause it will only take you a few seconds to do this, would you check out the poll at the bottom of this page and respond to the question accordingly. I will be posting these polls from time to time in my research on certian topics that pertain to church ministry and emerging church stuff and church planting. Thanks for taking the time in answering the question.

No Fear

I was having some time this morning before the start of our Fall Leadership Meeting here at the church and I came across a passage of Scripture that struck me and I felt lead by the Holy Spirit to put this out there for the people who need to hear it.
"Since, therefore, trhe children share flesh and blood, he himself (Jesus) likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death....because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested."
-Heb.2:14,15,18
To those who walk around in fear constantly, fear no more. The Prince of Peace has conquered all fear and if you believe in him in your deepest being and confess him with your mouth, he will come and begin to take away your fear as you trust him with it.