ecclesiastes 1:9

I've Moved

2008-10-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Check out blogs.shorelinewest.org

Remembering Sin

2006-08-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

Exodus 17:1-7
1Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
3But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.” 5Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”

(this is simply a "cut and paste" job from notes for a sermon I prepared last week...this in in reference to verse 7...just thought you might be challenged by it)

“Massah and Meribah”
• Massah = testing
• Meribah = quarreling
• The memorializing of the place where this all occurred was not focused on the provision of God, but on the sin of the Israelites.

It is so easy for us to lack faith in the midst of trouble, but praise God when the trouble is gone.
• We live in a results oriented culture, where getting what we want is king.
• This means that when we do not get what we want (or need) our faith suffers.
• However, when God provides for us, we just go back to “normal” like nothing happened.

Have you ever seen one of those kids in the toy store that isn’t getting what they want?
• The kid is loud, and screaming and whining.
• He is making a scene and demanding that his “needs” be met.
• But, then when the parent finally gives in, his mood completely changes.
• All of a sudden, he’s hugging his mom and smiling and saying “I love you”
• We are this same way with God.

But, God doesn’t want the Israelites to look back on this moment as a “victory”
• He wants them to look back and remember how stupid they were, and how badly they missed the point.
• He doesn’t want the child to think fondly of the toy store next time he drives by.
• It’s like that mother, finally giving the kid what he’s asking for, but from that point on referring to the toy store as the “whining store.”
• God wants the Israelites to not just go back to their “happy-go-lucky” lives, but to remember the sin and lack of faith that they had, so that they may react differently next time.

God doesn’t want them to ever forget that with the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God by their side they still had the arrogance and ignorance to ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Don't Waste Your Cancer

2006-06-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

With my mom in the midst of cancer (thanks for your prayers)...I've been doing a lot of praying and a lot of thinking. Life really is short, not always easy, and very unpredictable. But, fortunately we have a hope that is greater than all the trials we will encounter. In light of his own battle with Cancer, John Piper made this list of 10 ways that he could waste his cancer. I have realized that I can waste my mother's cancer in the same ways if I do not allow it to truly impact my life and the way I think and live.

I share it with you because of how it has influenced my own thoughts and prayers in this emense trial, and in hopes that we all may see life with this kind of eternal perspective. I strongly encourage you to take the time check out the entire article as Piper (and David Powlison) explain what they mean by each item. But in short, this is the list:

You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
You will waste your cancer if you think that "beating" cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
You will waste your cancer if spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
You will waste your cancer if your grieve as those who have no hope.
You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

The Prayer of a New Father

2006-05-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

My Heavenly Father,

Help me to be the kind of father You have been to me: strong, stern, compassionate, forgiving, loving, understanding, disciplining, wise, and loyal.

Give me the wisdom to lead, the courage to set an example, the humility to love sacrificially, the honor to always be true, the perseverance to weather any storm, the love to overcome all wrongs, the patience to overlook all evils, and the passion for you that will be contagious to my son.

Help me to be a child of God, a man of God, a husband, a father, a pastor, a friend, a strong leader, a humble learner, a repentant sinner, and a forgiving lover.

Teach me, through this season, how to truly be a man after your heart like David, a passionate man like Peter, a courageous man like Paul, a leader like Moses, a learner like Timothy, a lover like John, a counselor like Nathan, an obedient servant like Ezekiel, so that I may become in every way more like Jesus Christ.

May my son never stand in awe of my glory, but be awestruck by You. May he never see anything commendable in my life unless he knows that it came from You. May he learn from my life, and forgive my inadequacies. May I point him to You, so that he may be a greater man of God, servant of the Almighty, humble subject of his King, than I will ever be. May my life be a springboard from which you will grow, use, and strengthen him.

For his health I pray, but only if it is what brings you the greatest glory. For his strength I pray, but only if it is rooted in You. For joy in his future, but only if it is You who is the source of that joy. For his salvation I beg…for I know that you alone will choose.

This is my prayer for my son. That he may love You, obey Your Word, and bring glory to Your name. Please use me where I can aid this end, and give me patience when you must use other means.

May my love for you, and for my wife grow deeper as a result of Your faithfulness to my petitions.

My Savior and My God, I thank You.

Amen.

Monday Morning Wisdom

2006-03-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

An anxious heart weighs a man down,
but a kind word cheers him up.
-Proverbs 12:25

It's pretty amazing how something as overwhelming and discouraging as an anxious heart is here contrasted with something as seemingly simple and basic as a kind word. We all know the feeling of an anxious heart, we battle it month by month, day by day, and sometimes even hour by hour, or minute by minute. It's the type of thign that can put a dark cloud over every aspect of life as concern becomes worry and worry becomes anxiety.

In contrast, how refreshing and rejuvinating is a kind word from an old friend, a new friend, or even a stranger? With a kind word we have the ability to combat the emptiness of anxiety and to shine light into a dark a dreary place. Too much of the time I have combatted anxiety with a rebuke...maybe its time I switched my weapon.

The Will of God

2006-03-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

In preparation for this weekend's sermon, I've been completely engulfed in Romans 12:1-8. While the part that we are focusing on in our current series on "the vibrant church" is
the analogy of "the body," I have not been able to get away from the fact that the foundation of knowing what your spirtual gifts are and how to use them is found in a much larger truth, expressed powerfully in Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Now, anyone who has been in the church for five or more years can probably recite the first half of this verse in their sleep (even though they have yet to actually apply it). But, as a Christian culture, we haven't even acknowledged the second half of this verse is in the Bible. "So that you may prove what the will of God is." College students, young adults, parents, retirees are all asking one huge question..."what is the will of God for my life?" The problem is, they're sitting on their butts trying to "discover" it, when we are commanded to live lives that have been transformed by the renewing of our minds and therefore "prove" it. The will of God is not "figured out" but "proven." The will of God is not revealed to us through circumstances (aka "open and closed doors") but through our Spirit-controlled mind and heart. When we are tranformed by the Holy Spirit and our hearts are informed by His Word , we know (more often that we would like to admit) what it is God wants us to do. Basing our decisions on circumstances is really just hedging our bets and making the step of faith we know God wants us to take a little easier. The first thing we have to do is be tranformed by the renewing of our minds, but then once that has taken place we need to walk confidently, knowing that our minds have been transformed.

This is the formula we are given for discovering the will of God in Romans 12:1-2:

-Surrender your entire life to Him (dreams, desires, plans, etc.)
-Refuse to let the world around you create who you become.
-Continually be immersed in the Word of God and prayer so that He may transform your heart and mind.
-Make a decision.
-Look around you and know with confidence that you are in the will of God!

If you are in the middle of a life-decision right now, or are baffled as to what the "will of God" is for your life, than the answer is probably more simple that you are making it (we all do this!). Marinate in Romans 12:1-2 until these verses have completely revolutionized your life and centered your heart, goals, desires, hopes and dreams on God and His glory, and then (out of the fruit of what God has done in your heart) do whatever you want to do (I know how that sounds, but if you're heart is controlled by the Holy Spirit...think about it). The Holy Spirit is guiding you, you have been transformed by the power of His Word, you have everything you need to make a godly decision. You are in the will of God!

The Big Dance

2006-03-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well, March Maddness is here again, and for those of you wondering I've placed Duke as my pick for national champion (it's kind of a tradition...even though it hasn't been working out the last few years). All the festivities start tomorrow morning, but before we get sucked in I wanted to point out a great article on sports that CJ Mahaney posted in response to the question of how he taught his son to both love sports and glorify God while participating. CJ wrote the book on humility (literally) and this is just another gem from one of the living heros of the faith. Enjoy!

They Came to Worship

2006-02-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

In case you missed the story, last weekend a man walked into the Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan and started firing a shotgun, which ended up killing two people. The said that the shooting was the result a domestic dispute that obviously got incredibly out of hand. We should be praying for these families and this church, and for the little 9-year-old girl who was also hit by one of the shots. The man who committed the shooting later turned the gun on himself, and we must not forget to pray for his family as well.

But, the most striking part to this story is the last line in the small article on CNN.com. After shots had rung out in their building and someone had died in front of them, everyone did not quit what they were doing and go home, they continue on worshiping God as they had planned to do that morning. The deputy police chief was quoted as saying: "They didn't let this incident stop the reason why they came to church," he said. "They came to worship." In the midst of an unimaginable trial and heartbreak, this church (about which I know nothing other than what I've shared) has set an example to all believers as to what true worship is all about. May we, have a similar spirit of worship when faced with our own trial and persecutions.

A Scary Morning

2006-02-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was all planned out to be a pretty busy one, but fun nonetheless. Lara and I had a day with her family ahead of us, pregnancy pictures (they're all the rage...I guess), and a little bit of studying slipped in Saturday night. But you know what they say about best laid plans...all it took was one moment Saturday morning to completley change our weekend plans and to open my eyes to the fact that I live a drastically different life than I did three years ago, one year ago, or even six months ago.

As we pulled out of our garage it was raining and we were a little behind schedule. We cruised down our street and stopped at the stopsign waiting for the four lanes of traffic to clear so we could make a left hand turn. When everything was clear (or so I thought), I pulled out...and a second later caught a glimpse of a silver car flying towards us from our left. He tried to stop, I tried to get out of the way, but since it was raining I could barely move and his breaks slowed him down very little. Fortunately, I was far enough out that the collision took place at the back of our car, so instead of our car taking the entire force of the impact it spun our Durango around 180 degrees (miraculously, basically with Lara...who is now 7 months pregnant...as its axis). Lara barely felt anything of the impact, but the emotional impact took a bit of a toll on both of us.

Until I knew that Lara was taken care of and alright, I was in adrenaline rushing, strong as a rock mode, completley focussed on her and helping her to stay calm. The perametics took her to the hospital just for obervation and to check on the baby (after 5 hours they were able to assure us that everything was perfect), and it wasn't until she was gone and all the reports had been made that my emotions took over. I felt emotions that morning that I have never felt before. It was all based on a "what if" but the reality of being a husband and a father came into stark reality as I sat there, my eyes welling up and my lip begining to quiver.

The thought of loosing a wife and/or a son (or even something hapening to them that you feel may have been avoided) is overwhelming, which is why knowing that we have a sovereign God who is forever in control is the greatest source of peace imaginable. But in addition, I realized last weekend that this is what being a grown-up and a parent feels like. It's the fear of those emotions that drives so many parents to never want to let go of their children, it's those emotions that causes parents (and generally anyone older than you are) to warn you about things that, as a younger person you feel are really just over reactions. They may be over reactions and parents may at times be over protective, but all of that is because they fear the real, true emotions that I felt a twinge of Saturday morning.

Does this justify their actions as they over-shelter their children and become unwilling to take risks? Very simpyl, No. But, I feel like I may understand a little bit of why they do what they do now. True love, the love of a husband for a wife, the love of a father for a son, and the love that God desires to be present in the church, in the end leaves us completely vulnerable because it means that our hearts can be broken and our lives can be shattered.

Praise the Lord that the source of that love is a loving God who has promissed to never leave us or forsake us. Praise the Lord that our hope is not in this life which leaves us completely vulnerable and dependent, but in our eternal Savior who has assured us that we will "obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." Praise the Lord that He is gracious in this life and allows us to experience true love which owns and (whether we want it to or not) takes over our hearts. And praise the Lord for this reminder that I should never take those gifts in this life for granted as all it would take is one scary morning...and they could be gone.

Just Like Heaven

2006-02-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

As I sat at lunch today, I was asked my interpretation of a passage that I preached a couple of months ago (I know…only in seminary). The place where I landed was vaguely familiar to my memory, but I was struggling to successfully bring it all back. I was struck by my lack of retention and started to wonder why my brain had choked at that moment and why it felt rather sieve like in some of my Bible retention. When I started to think about it, I realized one of the potential reasons: I really am drinking the Word of God from a fire hose right now!

Between School and Shoreline, in the next two weeks I will spend time studying (most including the original languages) 10 different passages (John 14-16; 1 Timothy 3; Galatians 4:21-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; James 3:1-12; 1 Corinthians 12; John 2:12-3:21; John 3:22-4:54; and John 5:1-6:71)

Now, I don't point this out to impress, or even to garner sympathy (there are many men out there that are far busier than I am), I point it out so that you all may rejoice with me! This is my dream! For years, I begrudgingly studied Sociological theory and liberal religious opinion longing for the day when I could be fully immersed in the Word of God and be assigned passages and be studying the Word both for my schooling and for my "job." My first couple years in seminary I memorized vocab, regurgitated lists, and learned how to wave my hands to the beat of a hymn all the while longing for the day when I could just study the Bible.

I stopped in the midst of all this madness today and had a moment of clarity. That day has come! I am doing what I longed to do for so long, and I would be a hypocritical, spoiled, jack-ass if as much as one word of complaint dripped from my lips. So I stop and praise God for all that He is doing.

I am doing what I love, ministering to people that I love, am married to a woman whom I desperately love, and am about to have a son whom I already love. When Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians that he labored night and day so as not to be a burden to anyone (all the while being gentle and caring for his flock as a nursing mother cares for her child) he was able to do it because it was his joy. For those times in ministry when things get hard and my flesh wants to whimper a self-satisfying complaint...I write this post.

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! Praise the Lord for this season! Everything’s not perfect, but He has been far to gracious to a wretched, rebellious sinner like me!

(A moment of pause…and a deep breath)

Well, now it's back to the books...where the assignments are piled high, but I must continue to view them as a treasure trove waiting to be unearthed, and in no way a burden to bear. But not quite yet. For, it's Valentine's day and I'm going to put all that aside and spend a couple hours with my wife watching "Just Like Heaven" (her choice) staring Reese Witherspoon (just about my all time favorite) and Mark Ruffalo (A guy that I'm sure the girls think is cute, but not hot enough for me to worry about the competition), and then I'll get back to the grind, where I find life truly is only becoming more and more...Just Like Heaven.

Emerging Thoughts

2006-02-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

While a faculty lecture series has spent the last couple of weeks blasting the emergent church, and I must admit that much of their theology of some of the founders is a couple steps past "whack," there's still a part of me that is more drawn to the avoidance of "high church" (and all of its trappings) that is characterized by a church that looks like this:

than one that looks like this:
But that's just cheap ascetics talking. Much of the theology that is driving the published works of the emergent church may be based on classic liberalism, but I sometimes feel like the vast majority of us puny little soldiers would meet on a battle field, realize that we actually have more in common (including the gospel) than we ever imagined and start to wonder why we're trying to kill each other while our bosses are tossing bombs over our heads back and forth at each other.

Man, I would love to hear a committed, Biblical, exegetical theologian discuss the areas of methodology (and even theology) that have been challenged by the emergent church, and need to be challenged to break us free of our own traditions and open up the potential for even more Biblical and exegetical ministry. What the church today needs, is a man with those convictions who is willing to graciously evaluate all that is being said. Oh...that would be so good!

In My Constant Soul

2006-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

I found a quote today that reminded me of my amazing wife. Just thought I'd share it.

For she is wise, if I can judge of her,
And fair she is, if that mine eyes be true,
And true she is, as she hath prov'd herself;
And therefore, like herself, wise, fair, and true,
Shall she be placed in my constant soul.
-The Merchant of Venice

Calling all Old Friends!

2006-02-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

The coolest thing happened this weekend that re-instituted my excitement about blogdom. In one day, I recieved two emails from old friends that I haven't talked to in over five years! One had found the church website and another found this blog! I'm excited to renew these friendships that meant so much to me in the past, but for a number of reasons have lost touch. It's cool how the Lord uses the world that we're living in to shrink the earth to a size that makes all of us neighbors.

As the book my dad gave me this weekend declares, the world really is flat!

And if you stumble on this blog and I haven't talked to you in years...please, email me...I'd love to catch up.

A History Lesson

2006-02-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple of days I have recieved a quite unexpected history lesson. On Wednesday we spent the day in Philadelphia and on Thursday we wandered around Washington DC. While my mind has been overwhelmed with many different thoughts, the one that keeps coming back is the uniqueness of what God has done here in this country over the past three-hundred years. It is He who formed this nation. It is He who puts men and women in power over it (both Republicans and Democrats!) and it is He who has given us men like Abraham Lincoln whose memory sent goosebumps up and down my spine as I stood in his memorial and read his second inaugural address to a nation not torn by ideas on a foreign war, but torn by a civil war here in our own country. His message is just as powerful and just as appropriate today. This was his speach:

Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.
On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, urgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.
One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

I Kissed the Church "Hello"

2006-01-24T22:54:00.000-08:00

Having sat on my shelf for about a year, I picked up Joshua Harris' book "Stop Dating the Church" yesterday. I was looking for a number of different resources in a number of different areas, but the premise of his book entrigued me as I am thinking through church membership and involvement at Shoreline.

Since 3:00 yesterday afternoon, I have read it twice, and it has rapidly ascended to potentially the level of a "favorite." I love the church, and I love reading books about the church...and this one needs to be required reading for every person in every pew (and especially college students). As a matter of fact, if I have it my way, it is going to become a pre-requisite to membership at our church. I'll just offer a couple of the gems and let it speak for itself.

Concerning the nature of the church:

The church community is where we learn to love God and others; where we are strengthened and transformed by truth and teh Word; where we're taught to pray, to worship, to serve; where we can be most certain that we're investing our time and abilities for eternity; where we can grow in our roles as friends, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. The church is earth's single best place - God's specially designed place - to start over, to grow and to change for the glory of God.

Concerning those who prowdly stand "out of fellowship":

If jesus loves the church, you and I should, too. We can't use the excuse that the church has messed up too many times or that we're disillusioned. Jesus is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.

He even quotes Mark Dever saying:

If you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, you may well be going to hell.

Now, that is of course followed by a quite intriguing explanation, but if you want to hear it...you'll just have to read the book.

True Love (even for guys who enjoy wearing ties)

2006-01-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

I was challenged last week by my dear partner's exhortations in a sermon on loving one another. It was an interesting conviction that gripped my heart, because do consider myself a pretty loving person. I go out of my way to pray for people and to spend time with them, and show them that I care. But there was one group of people in my life that came to mind, and as soon as I thought of it, my heart sank in realization of my hypocrisy. That group: my fellow seminary students.

We probably have more in common than I would ever admit, but I have come to the realization that I really don't actively love the brothers I sit in class with. I go about my day, and pretty much just try to get throgh it while only making an effort to talk to those people I know. Well, this week it changed...and I'm writing this as a source of acountability. I go to school with some amazing brothers who are hurting, struggling, and just as in need of some love and a little encouragement as anyone else (they may even need it more, considering the workload). And so, if I go to school with you and you happen to read this, please know that I do actually care, and am starting to really pray for you. And when I stop you in the hall, I really do want to talk...I'm not just trying to bum a quarter for the soda machine like last semester. A new year, a new semester, a new love...for those I should have been actively loving all along.

2005 - The Year My Life Changed

2005-12-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

This time last year, my life looked quite different. I was living in a condo in Simi Valley; we had just finished our first semester at Eternity Bible College where I was the Dean of Students,
I had finished my third semester of seminary (having survived Hebrew Exegesis), and we were on our way to Colorado to celebrate Christmas. Mark Henry was leaving the Bible College to move back to Fruita and I was broken at the reality that I would not be able to sit under him for longer and learn from his experience. The future was unknown past a couple more years, but I had come to a place where I was content with where the Lord had us. I was learning a lot (at least so I thought) and was ready to dig deeper into philosophy of education as we were seeing some things work at the Bible College and other things fail miserably.

Today, I'm writing this post sitting in my apartment in West LA. I am now one of the pastors of a church plant in Santa Monica that has been having public services for the past two months. My wife is 5 months pregnant and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of my seminary education. Christmas will be spent here this year, in 72-degree Southern California, and the one who has left many old friends this time is me.

So, what can change in a year? Apparently, everything! The story of this past year has been recorded both here and at the Shoreline blog so I will refrain from trying to recount it, but I do want to take just a moment and reflect on everything that the Lord has done.

This truly was one of those watershed years. There is no possible way that I could have sat down on December 23, 2004 and predicted anything close to what the Lord was going to do in 2005. I guess more than anything, as I look back, I am overwhelmed and humbled. I am far too young, far too inexperienced, far too naive to fulfill the shoes that the Lord has placed me in. I have been in over my head before, but I'm not sure if I've ever felt so inadequate. At the same time, I have never felt more confident in where the Lord has placed me and what He has called me to. I have never felt more able to be who He has called me to be. If He is made strong in my weakness, than we are in the right place.

But above all, if I had to characterize 2005 in one word it would be: prayer. Saying that I have never prayed as much as I have this year is like saying the wind has never blown in New Orleans like it did this year...it's a gross understatement. God has humbled my heart to the point that prayer is not a duty to be disciplined in, but the source of any and all true spiritual work to be rooted in. I believe in the power of prayer like never before because I've seen it change lives, give peace in any situation, and build the dream of a church into a true spiritual family.

2005 was a year that we will always look back on as one of those crazy turning points in life where God took a life that was on a fairly predictable path and derailed it to demonstrate the reality that He knows best and that He is in complete control. In 2006, I pray for the healthy arrival of Harper Gregory, the continued spiritual growth of Shoreline, protection and inspiration for my dearest brother-in-Christ Brian, peace and patience for my better half Lara, and even more surprises. To God be the glory now and forever.

Boise Lessons: Day 2

2005-10-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today I had finger steaks for the first time in my life. That's right...finger steaks. They seem to be incredibly popular here in Boise; they're basically chicken fingers with steak replacing the chicken. Not exactly the healthiest meal I've ever had, but the waitresses cruising around on roller-skates and the 70-year-old DJ in the glass booth playing music and announcing today's specials every 15 minutes were well worth the trip to Rockies.

Today's knowledge gained wasn't quite as epic as yesterday, but still very encouraging. The service this morning seemed to go really well. It was such a great environment; it was just fun being a part of it. If you have any desire to listen to the sermon, Paul already has it online here. The Pursuit is meeting in a movie theatre which they radically transform into an amazing church in about 45 minutes flat. Things are definitely done differently here than they will need to be done in Santa Monica, but to see this body actually living out the call to radically love and serve one another was so incredibly cool. Shoreline has also gained a number of prayer partners from this trip, which has been a great encouragement.

One thing that I will most definitely take from my time here is the image of a body that is serious about reaching the world for Christ and embodies that mission in everything they do. The people here are so excited to hear about what the Lord is doing in Santa Monica because we are where they were about 3 years ago. As many of us prayed for The Pursuit when it was just an infant of a church, The Pursuit is now taking up that same mantle for Shoreline, and I have been humbled by their confidence and support in everything that the Lord is going to do. I could probably write more, but I have to get up tomorrow morning at 3:30am California time to catch my flight back home, so I think I should try and get some sleep.

Praise the Lord for this short breath of fresh air...it was exactly what I needed.

Boise Lessons: Day 1

2005-10-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

After only a handful of hours in Boise, the Lord has already been stretching my heart and mind and encouraging my soul. After getting to hang out while the seven-person worship band practiced for tomorrow's service in the Hatfields' living room, I had the chance to sit for a couple hours and pick Paul's brain about leadership and church planting. The Lord has been abundantly blessing The Pursuit, and lives are being transformed in some radical ways up here. In addition, my time with Paul really encouraged my heart and opened my eyes to a wealth of resources I had never heard of before.

Paul came from Cornerstone too, so I was a little confused as to why I had never heard of any of the resources he was telling me about. I quickly realized the reason: I go to a certain seminary in Sun Valley and these resources came out of a certain large church in Chicago. Any of you who are familiar with both of them will probably understand my ignorance.

But as Paul shared how different books or small group curriculum had influenced his ministry or the lives of the people in his church, I began to think: "that all sure sounds pretty Biblical." Paul and his family are actually at a wedding tonight, so I decided to use a little bit of my time to procrastinate some of my other duties and look into this intriguing new wealth of resources (I had been handed about 7 books).

What I found kind of surprised me. As I read through Good Sense, that certain large church's personal finances curriculum, I was really impressed. While the study is by no means inerrant, it is based on the exact same Biblical principles that are taught by Jim Rickard of Stewardship Services Foundation and that I have come to hold so dear in my own life. In fact, the curriculum applied those principles more effectively than I have ever seen. I then moved on to Bill Hybels’ book, Courageous Leadership. I am already half-way through it. Again, unexpectedly impressed. And while I would not adhere or endorse everything in it, I have definitely learned more from it, in practical ways that need to be improved in my leadership of Shoreline, than I have in a long time. While I understand that I may be publicly flogged for this type of endorsement, the truth is: I have a lot to learn from the experience and wisdom of men like this. Yes, he has women elders at his church. Yes, his Sunday morning service is geared for non-believers. But he is still a brother-in-Christ who may have a greater impact for the kingdom than I could ever dream of. He is still committed passionately to the ministry of the local church and to the Word. He is still obsessed with evangelism and discipleship.

So maybe we should read some of these guys who have had such great impacts on the church and stop pretending that they don't exist. There may be some of what they're saying that we need to learn. Maybe we should assign seminary students to read books written by people who aren't already in their inner-circle of influence (isn't that the purpose of supplemental reading - to add to, not duplicate lectures?). And maybe these guys aren't completely outdated and irrelevant as those who are emerging would like us to beleive. Maybe, just maybe, we could actually be edified by phrases like "purpose driven" instead of using them as a punch line. I could be wrong...but for the rest of tonight at least, I figure it's at least worth a try...I've been pretty well-edified so far.

New Life

2005-09-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off writing my first post about our baby because, to be perfectly honest, I have no idea how to put into words what I'm feeling and thinking. I'm working on a "letter to my baby" that I may post in the near future. Hopefully that will help me put some of these thoughts down on paper (or whatever the appropriate media term is).

In short, seeing the baby's heartbeat the other day absolutely blew me away. The fact that he/she is no bigger than my thumb and has a functioning heart just screams the magesty of God. Again...I really have no idea what to say, but I think this picture is worth the thousand words I can't seem to get out right now. (the baby is in between the plus signs).

A Weekend in Idaho

2005-09-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

I've never been to Idaho. But, this weekend I'm flying to Boise to preach at The Pursuit. It was planted almost 3 years ago, and the Lord has been doing some amazing things. Probably the greatest part is the fact that it has been built on the pastor's evangelism strategy of taking his two little girls to McDonald's and meeting people. I'm really excited to see everything that's been going on and to talk "church planting" with someone who's done it and done it well. Please pray for the weekend, and for the people there Sunday morning. It should be a cool mix of mature believers, new believers, and non-believers. Hopefully it will be a fruitful time.

Sacrifice

2005-09-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

While studying this week I came across a great quote by David Livingstone...any comment from me would definately take away from it:

For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the conscious of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.

Reflections of a Warrior

2005-09-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing rumors about a blog by a friend of mine from College, Mark Glesn e, and I've finally found it. Mark is currently stationed in Iraq and has been blogging about his experience and opinions from the midst of the battle itself. It is an incredible look inside the life of a soldier and a great reminder to never forget to pray for those who put themselves daily in harms way. You should definately check out his post on Rocket, Mortars and a Bible Study. Mark is a brother in Christ who I am praying that doesn't only come home safely, but is used in powerful ways for the spread of the gospel in such a difficult situation. Please join me by praying for him too.

Entitlement

2005-09-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

I read a great quote by Anna Quindlin today (she's an opinion columnist for Newsweek whose writing I absolutely love and opinions I absolutely hate):

The dark aftermath of the frontier, of the vast promise of possibility this country first offered, is an inflated sense of American entitlement today. We want what we want, and we want it now.

While Anna's application of this truth addressed environmentalism, I think that its reality has far more intriguing implications. Think about how the possibility of yester-year, turned entitlement of today, has played itself out in the lives of many of us Christians. While our theology adamantly states that "I am a sinner, therefore I don't deserve anything in this life but hell," our lives often state something quite to the contrary. We sit in traffic, annoyed at all the cars in our way, as pastors we expect our churches to pay us enough to live comfortably and buy a house in the neighborhood in which we minister, I have even felt myself lately feeling a certain sense of entitlement to a minimum level of healthcare. Are we actually entitled to these things? The examples could go on ad noseum.

One prime example that I've seen lately, though, is the entitlement we apparently feel to perfectly timed and placed aid in the wake of natural disasters. Since when are the effects of a storm some other human's fault? Aren't disasters just that...disasters? It's as if the Good Samaritan has gone beyond the good example and become the expected response, even among non-believers.

We can point the finger all we want, but I think that the most beneficial response as Christians is to take a look at how this sense of American entitlement has become engrained into our own way of thinking...I'm afraid we'll find it's much more a part of our belief system than we would ever like to admit.

10 trips to the bathroom...and you're done!

2005-09-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

For all those who are having a hard time getting through some of those longer books in Scripture, a vicar from the Church of England, has developed the perfect Bible for you. It is so condensced, it can be read in 100 minutes.

Let's hope he left all of Revelation in tact...or maybe Rev. 22:19 is part of what he cut out.

In the Midst

2005-09-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well...I guess accountability is running rampant, as I just got called out by (historically) the only person in the entire blogosphere who blogs less consistently than I do.

There are a few things that have kept me out of the blogosphere the past couple of weeks. In fact, most of it has yet to subside, but here I am, in the midst, to claim and declare that God is faithful, loving , and completely in control. At the risk of coming across the wrong way (and communicating things either as easier or harder than they actually are), I'm going to quickly tell the story of the past few weeks.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, life went from fast forward to warp speed. Monday, August 29th was a pretty big day. Brian and I met with the elders at Cornerstone to discuss our final plans before planting the church and to lay out our financial needs as they have committed to support us as the plant gets off the ground, I was preparing for school to start the next day, and had a number of different appointments (nothing to abnormal). And then 5:30 hit...Lara walked out of the bathroom with tears in her eyes...and our lives changed forever...she's pregnant! We celebrate, went out to ice cream with some very close friends and went to bed, at 5:30 the next morning the alarm went off (I've really got to figure out a more pleasant way to wake up in the morning other than a loud buzzer), and it was time for the new semester to begin. In wake of the fact that I am now going to be a father in 9 months, I figured I should probably squeeze one more class into my schedule (of course it is one that requires 10-15 hours of translating a week). Tuesday night we told Lara's family the news (to squeals and tears) but life continued on at mach 8. Wednesday, Brian and I met with the pastors at Bel Air Prez to lay out our vision for the church plant to them, Thursday I failed my first Greek quiz and met with a pastor from Moorpark, and spent most of the day Friday trying to prepare the 20 page Core Curriculum that we were to walk through on Sunday with the Shoreline crew on a High View of Scripture. Saturday, we attended a wedding at I had to be at church to give an update on Shoreline, and Sunday included three church services, a core meeting, and frantic studying to try and not fall too far behind. (there's a point to this...stay with me)

Labor day was spent laboring (we still had a lot of work to do on the house before it went on the market Tuesday), and when I showed up to class on Tuesday I was already (1 week in) behind on my schoolwork. Appointments until 11:30 didn't help the situation, but the Lord sure did use them, and Wednesday and Thursday were only more of the same. Thursday night Lara and I left for the Bay Area for the weekend (having done the studying, but not yet written a word of the Core curriculum for Sunday) because it had been a week and a half since we found out that she is pregnant and my family still didn't know. I did get a morning to sleep in and a morning of golf (where a friend of my step-brother asked me when I was getting married after he found out that Lara was pregnant), but things definitely didn't slow down (although they sure could have after a friend of my parents broke out a $250 bottle of wine to celebrate the pregnancy).

We came home early in the morning Sunday to make it back for the Core meeting, had a business meeting afterwards, as I continued to desperately try to catch up. Monday, I translated for 13 hours and we had an offer on our house. Followed Tuesday by the offer being accepted (yup..5 days and Sold!). I could continue with the day to day, but I think you get the picture. Last night, I finally got caught up (at least for Friday...2 more chapters of translating and a couple hundred pages of reading due Tuesday).

Listing this all is not to complain (I wouldn't have it any other way) or to invoke sympathy (there is no need). All this is to demonstrate this one point: As we stand here in the midst, having just sold our house (not knowing where we're going to live next month), not knowing where our paycheck is going to come from next month, being pregnant and learning all that is involved in expecting a child for the first time, learning what it means to plant a church and pastor a flock, and still trying to get the most of my education...while I have never been more overwhelmed in my life, I have also never had so much peace.

Anxiety is a non-issue; God's faithfulness is daily made obvious and abundant. My prayer life has never been deeper or more frequent, my study of Scripture has never been richer, and loving my wife has never been easier (even though I'm convinced the author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide was inspired by his pregnant wife). It is so true that in my weakness, He is made strong. It is so true that only in Him is the peace that passes all understanding. Don't feel sorry, or worry about me...I've never been better (and am doing so much better than I deserve). I'll be praying for you, that maybe the Lord would overwhelm you, cause you to loose control, and allow you to find the only true peace and security available in this life...in His loving arms.

Thoughts on Katrina

2005-09-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

In studying this week, I stumbled upon a passage by John Piper that I found very encouraging in a concise and simple way. I figured, maybe others could use the encouragement:

How Can God be happy and decree calamity? Consider that he has the capacity to view the world through two lenses. Through the narrow one he is grieved and angered at sin and pain. Through the wide one he sees evil in relation to its eternal purposes. Reality is like a mosaic. The parts may be ugly in themselves, but the whole is beautiful.
-John Piper, Desiring God.

The Katrina Aftermath

2005-09-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

There are many responses that seem to be bouncing around the media, internet, and watercoolers around the country in response to the catastrophe that has occured in the South as a result of Hurricane Katrina. While my heart breaks at seeing some of those responses and my blood boils at others, I have been unable to escape probably the most important question that we all need to be asking: What role should the church play? Or more specifically: How am I (as a Christian) called to respond?

My response (as evidenced by this post almost a week later) has been slow in coming as it seems has been the fact all over. I could blame the over-hyped media coverage of every other storm that has come anywhere near close to our shores, or I could blame the business of life here, but in the end I think that the core of the issue is that I do not love as I ought.

I'm struggling through what our role as Christians should be in situations like this. I'm afraid that we are used to not doing enough and have become comfortable with it. We know and understand true love as no one else in the world does because we know Him who is love. Times of crisis are unique opportunities to demonstrate that love and to share the gospel in real ways to people whose trust in the things of this world has been completely shattered. They are desperate, need help, and are probably more open to the good news of the gospel than ever before....what are we going to do?

A Cyber Chili Restaurant

2005-08-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

If you miss me in-between posts, you can find me hanging out on the hill. It's become the new "cool place to be."

No Other

2005-08-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
-Isaiah 45:5-6

God's glory is the chief end of our very existence. I'm learning and realizing that this truth, while incredibly simple, is much harder to truly live out. My flesh cries out for my own glory, and I am constantly distracted by that evil pursuit. But our God is a jealous God (Deut. 4:24) and his anger burns against anyone (or anything) that would dare to steal His glory. So He has brought me to this place, where I am willing to pray this prayer:

Lord, use me to reclaim Your glory. My life, my energy, my passions...may they all be for the praise of Your Name. Do whatever you want to me and with me, that it may bring you the most glory. For I will not search for my reward in this life, but eagerly anticipate it on that glorious day when I will be eternally humbled and stand (or maybe more accurately, bow) in your overwhelmingly magnificent presence. Use my life to declare that there is no one...no one!...like you.

A Day of Barbeques

2005-08-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I'm a little mellow tonight, so this might be either a little sentimental or boring...but it's here for your enjoyment anyway.

As I sit in my house tonight, I am incredibly filled in a number of different ways. This afternoon I had one of the best burgers I've had all summer at the Shoreline barbeque thanks to the masterful Brian Colmery. And this evening, my stomach is about to explode thanks to the delectable joy produced by Mama Choi (who also happens to be equally masterful at keeping my clothes pressed and clean for seminary) and her famous Korean Barbeque.

This morning, Francis Chan fed my soul as he concluded a three-and-a-half-year long series through the book of Luke. I would strongly select a download if you missed it (it's also available as a podcast). Even better was the opportunity to pray for and say goodbye to our friends Tim and Courtney Shontere as they leave for Papua New Guinea on Wednesday to finally move out to live with a tribe who have never heard the gospel before and to share with them the salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. It’s kind of an overwhelming thought, to know that they will be learning a language that no outsider has ever learned, living life with them for years, and all for the chance to share with them the greatest news in the history of the world. There is not a single hesitation in their choice or a singe flinch in their final departure, even though they’ll be taking their two boys (who are both under three) to live with them for the next 15-20 years (the standard length of time it usually takes to establish a church in a village like that).

But, probably the most intriguing part of today was the contrast in barbeques that we attended today. The first was a barbeque for Shoreline, at which we focused on the future. I met a number of new people and started to build relationships that will be the definition of this new local body. We dreamed and planned together, everyone was excited, nervous and a little awkward around a bunch of other people that they didn’t know.

The second barbeque was at Abe Choi’s house (my roommate in college, and best friend ever since). Abe’s mom cooked for, what turned into a small college reunion of a number of our close friends who all have stayed in pretty good contact…this one, in contrast, was much more focused on the past. Everyone there I have known for years. We laughed and joked, reminisced and told tons of stories. We simply were able to relax and enjoy the relationships that had been built over the past 5+ years.

And I realized, we really do need both. The connections with our past, and old friends who know us even better than we may want them to, are priceless. They are a source of comfort and a tribute to where we’ve been and to everything the Lord has done since then. But the promise of something new and the beginning of new relationships is just as necessary. They are a product of non-complacency and stick us out into the uncomfortable world where everything isn’t safe. But that’s what life with the body of Christ is about… enjoying the fruit of God’s grace in our lives and being willing to risk, knowing that He will faithfully provide and his grace will again be sufficient, and that all those relationships (new and old) will be strengthened through time as we continue to point each other closer and closer to Him. I pray that I have been, and that I will continue to, even more so, be that friend to others, as they have undoubtedly been to me.

Revival - 2 definitions

2005-08-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

There are many definitions for the word 'revival'. Some thoughts on two of them:

Revival: A restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor after a period of obscurity or quiescence. As in: this blog!

So it's been over a month since a post has been made on this blog. As you probably know, this has been due to the fact that I was otherwise occupied in Europe on a missions trip to Romania and a vacation in Italy. While there was technically ample opportunity, technologically, to continue blogging, I concluded that the ministry at hand (to missionaries during two of the weeks, and to my wife during the rest of the time) took overriding precedence. Between my last post on Caveats and this one, Chris Kottre has out-posted me 7 to 1 over at witty blog title, Andy has traveled through half of Christian history and back, and I'm pretty sure the newly burned author of Sycamore has completely written me off as a serious blogger.

However, I am back and (hopefully this one doesn't come back to bite me) ready to make a new commitment to blogging. But I will let the next few months speak for me, lest I stick my foot way too far down my own throat. I'm sure that this will come as a total joy to all of my faithful readers (isn't that right Lara and mom?)

Revival: A time of reawakened interest in religion. As in: Soon to come in Santa Monica

I've always been kind of afraid of the word "revival." It seems to smack of fakeness and hype for the sake of hype. But I have come (over the past few weeks) to a new appreciation for the term. I'm just about done with an amazing biography on the life of Jonathan Edwards written by George Marsden, and have been amazed at the stock that the preachers of his time put in revival type ministry. Now, I'm not saying that their mindset is what we should go back to, but there is something to the fact that God wants to be brought immense glory in places of darkness. Where sin abounds, He wants to bring salvation. We have a God that is totally jealous for His glory...and He has chosen us as instruments to bring it to Him.

That is what excites me more than anything about what God is doing in West LA and Santa Monica. He desires to bring Himself immense glory in a place that is notorious for spitting in His face. He desires to bring light to the darkness and life to the dead. He desires revival! And we get to be a part! So where do we start? From our knees. Begging and pleading for the souls of the lost, crying out for those who are dead men walking and pleading that they be shown mercy for the glory of the one true God.

So please join us, please pray. Consider the depths of darkness, the hundreds of thousands of lost souls, and let it effect you. Let it move your heart so that you can cry out with all sincerity that you desire for workers to be sent to them and for the gospel to be preached. That's what I'm doing tonight...and I can't wait. But don't worry, I'll be back soon....remember...this is a time of revival!

No More Caveats!

2005-07-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Caveats are neutering the message of Christ and the radical life that He has called us to! Now, some caveats are most definitely helpful, but overall we are so obsessed with covering all of our bases and not overstating our points that we end up taking all the power away from the idea that we are trying to get across. (Did you see that...I just did it...I made a bold statement, and then watered it down so as not to offend anyone who may or may not use caveats...it's epidemic!) Instead of putting forth truth in a bold and compelling way, we are couching everything so as to try and teach exhaustively on a subject in one little point.

The reason: we are hyper-critical. This past weekend, I made a statement to the effect of: "Freedom from sin comes when we are willing to have our sin exposed and dealt with and no longer want to hide it." Afterwards, I was confronted by a man (with a great heart, and an amazing amount of knowledge) who corrected me by telling me that freedom from sin also requires meditation in God's Word so that the Spirit can use the Word to cleanse our hearts. He's right...but that had nothing to do with the point I was making. I could have made my original point and then listed off some of the other things that contribute to freedom from sin, but I would have been betraying David's train of thought in the Psalm I was preaching through and would have done so simply to "cover all my bases."

A caveat is defined by Webster's Dictionary as: an explanation to prevent a misinterpretation. We are so scared of someone misinterpreting us, that we do everything possible to qualify our remarks. Jesus communicated differently. Jesus made bold statements...left them...and let everyone else struggle through their implications. When Jesus told his disciples in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple," He did not qualify it! He did not stop and talk about what He meant by "hate" or discuss the dangers of that statement...He just said it, and let its power rock us. Caveats have become the rage in the era of the commentary, when a man can write an entire book on that one sentence, and by the end of it, completely neuter it of all its power.

I've seen this most blatantly in my own life as we continue to work towards moving down to West LA to plant a church. It's actually entertaining to watch people squirm when they hear my response to the question, "How are you going to make it financially?" My answer is simply, "God will provide." And then the fun starts. People can't help it! They can't just rest on that; they feel somehow compelled to qualify that statement for me if I do not. They want to hear something like "God will provide, but here is what we're doing..." or "We're trusting God, but these are the plans..." In reference to this whole subject, someone told me that the "trusting God" part goes without saying, but that we need to be reminded that God gave us brains for a reason, and we need to make sure we are using them. See, I think that's backwards. The fact is, hard work, planning, and using our brains to be smart with our money is the part that goes without saying. It is ingrained in our culture and is taught to us every step of the way as members of the American economic system. But trusting God and living out the radical life that He has called us to is not the given in our culture...in fact, it's not even the given in our Christian culture!

Christ put it this way:
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:31-34

God says "Trust Me!"...no caveats. Do you?

Things That Make Me Love Jesus More (part 2): Sitting in Traffic

2005-07-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have many different theories on traffic (as my wife can begrudgingly attest to). Living in LA, traffic no longer becomes an unexpected inconvenience, but an unavoidable fact of life. Some traffic is caused by accidents, and some is caused by road construction, but a lot of the time, traffic is simply caused by (and all traffic is made worse by) one simple factor: stupid people. These are the types of actions that often times cause “stupid people traffic” (and trust me, I am guilty of all of them at one time or another as well): going the speed limit in the fast lane, going slower in the fast lane than the flow of traffic is traveling in all the other lanes, cutting people off, speeding up to not let someone in, insisting on staying in the fast lane while going up a hill even though you’re in a four-banger that’s pegged at 5,000 rpm, or constantly changing lanes all to gain a whole 3 seconds over the course of a 15 minute drive. These are all things that make traffic worse, and that for a long time got me incredibly frustrated while I drove (and yes, I did sit there steaming with anger while the log in my eye protruded through the windshield).

But, I’ve come to realize something incredibly epic about traffic (and it’s more the case here in LA than anywhere): there is really nothing I can do about it! So if the adage is true that life is 10% situation and 90% reaction, what am I going to do about my reaction? So I tried something incredibly novel (since I would sit in traffic every single day on my way to school). I decided to listen to some worship music and spend some time praying instead of sitting and festering. The result: pure joy! When else do I ever get a half-hour, uninterrupted, with nothing else to do except worship and pray? When else can I be completely alone and not have all the other temptations and events vying for my time? I’ve come to love that half-hour in traffic, because it is God’s time! Some days, I’ll spend time praying for all the people that the Lord brings to my mind, some days I’ll pray for the other drivers around me, some days I’ll just sing at the top of my lungs and worship with my hands held high whiled I drive with my knees (ok, so in that case I may be adding to the traffic problem, not helping it…but man is it great time with my Lord).

When I realize that my time is God’s (all of it), I can begin to use even the most “frustrating” times to grow closer to Him. I can’t tell you how many times lately I have sat in traffic, beaming with love for my Savior and cherished those moments, almost wishing that the freeway would close and that I could just sit there and not leave. Our cars can be our own private sanctuaries, like a prayer closet with wheels, if we would only use them that way. So next time you’re stuck in traffic (whether it was expected or not), sit back, take a deep breath, and enjoy the divine appointment that the Lord has given you. And may the Lord’s promise to, “work all things together for the good of those who love Him” include CalTrans’ newest project on the 405.

Things That Make Me Love Jesus More (part 1): Weddings

2005-07-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

I love weddings. But I don't love them for the same reasons all you girls do. I didn't dream of my own wedding every day growing up, until all those dreams culminated in one amazing day. It's not even the receptions that I like so much (let's be honest...In-n-Out beats hotel banquet food hands down! And I'm not really a big dancer either - as my wife will grudgingly tell you). But there is something about a wedding ceremony. Whether it is long or short, ornate or simple, traditional or completely out of the ordinary...there is something about the picture that God has given us in marriage that makes me fall deeper and deeper in love with him.

In Ephesians 5, Paul discusses marriage and lays out God’s design for marriage as far as roles and responsibilities are concerned. After telling both the husband and the wife what their individual responsibilities are, he quotes Genesis 3 saying, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is the miracle of a wedding. At a wedding, so much more happens than simply a couple of promises and a party. In a miraculous way, God takes two people who were previously two, and makes them one. It’s an awe-strikingly beautiful thing. But, after quoting Genesis 3, Paul says something that is even more amazing: “This mystery is great; but I am speaking in reference to Christ and the church.” Christ and the church! Christ and us! We are Christ’s bride!

In Revelation 19:6-8, John writes about what that day is going to be like, when we are going to stand with Christ as His bride. He writes, “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

Last weekend I had the honor of performing a wedding of a couple that I have known since before they were together (which means I knew when their relationship was beginning to bud in the cry-room at church when they didn’t think anyone really knew). I’ve really come to enjoy getting to perform weddings, because you get the greatest seat in the house. No one else gets to see what you see. The intense passion and longing as they gaze at each other almost oblivious to everyone else in the room. The tears in their eyes that well up to the point of almost exploding. The smiles that stretch further than you thought was humanly possible. Everyone else gets to see and witness these things, but when you are a foot away, looking into their eyes, you get to feel them.

Those are the moments that just blow me away. Not simply because of the intense love between those two people (to be honest, I’ve seen it before and I feel it with my wife). Not, that it’s not incredibly special, but the thought that absolutely floors me is that that is how Christ is going to look at us one day, and that is how we am going to get to look at Him! We (the church) are Christ’s bride. Some day, we are going to walk into the New Jerusalem, Christ is going to look at us with even greater love and affection than we have ever known and take us as His own, as His bride. We are going to get to stand there, fulfilling every ounce of emotional and spiritual affection potential. We are going to love, as we were created to love. We are going to experience joy that we have never even dared to imagine. And we are going to spend eternity with Him as His beautifully pure bride.

That is what excites me most about weddings. They give me a glimpse, they renew my hope, and remind me of the love my Savior has for me. I can’t help but fall deeper and deeper in love with Him as I am reminded of that. And inevitably, after weddings, my heart begins to yearn for that day. My heart cries out with John, “Come Lord Jesus!”

Revelation 22:17, 20 – “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost…He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus.”

Things That Make Me Love Jesus More: Introduction

2005-06-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

A Series

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been realizing that it is many times the little things in life that inspire in my heart greater affection and deeper worship for my Savior. In the midst of seminary, ministry, and just life in general, it seems pretty easy to loose that passionate affection that first drew us to a relationship with Jesus Christ and that is to characterize our lives with Him (that affection that Paul calls "true joy" and that John Piper calls "Christian hedonism"). While the Bible will always be the ultimate source of truth and therefore the ultimate source of engendering this affection, God has provided many different reminders throughout this world that often draw our minds back to Him. For my own edification, and hopefully for the encouragement of a few of you as well, I am going to start an ongoing series that details many of the aspects of life (some obvious, some not-so-obvious) that inspire worship, love, desire and affection for our Lord and Savior. Maybe you can insert some thoughts of your own along the way.

A Blogversation

2005-06-27T00:07:00.000-07:00

Over on Sycamore, Brian Colmery's blog, a conversation has been going for the last couple of days on spiritual life and seminary education. It was sparked by a late night rant on Brian's part, but is really turning out to be a great conversation (especially since one of our professors is involved.) You can check the original post out here. And I've coppied my latest comment below (after writing it I ralized it was as long as a regular post, so I figured I'd continue the conversation over here too if anyone is interested.)

My Comment:
Well, as the fourth party around this chili filled table, I'm starting to feel a little left out. So I thought I'd drop a couple of thoughts.

The tension that is being described is what prompted me to ask Andy the other day, "Why teach systematic theology?" I think that, as a student, it is really easy to confuse frustration with a method of delivery with frustration with the content. I've become a firm believer in the fact that it is sinful to bore a congregation with a poorly constructed sermon. That doesn't mean that if anyone in your congregation is bored, the preacher is in sin, but that an inherently boring sermon is a complete and utter desecration of the truth of God's Word. God's Word is captivating and it changes lives. It inspires, challenges, evokes emotion (good and bad), and is the center of our lives as we seek hard after truth. Seminary education is the deeper study of that Word, which would logically mean that it should produce even greater inspiration, challenging and emotions. Unfortunately, for some reason it seems to often times have the opposite affect. I have heard more than one seminary graduate (from our oh so inconspicuously unnamed seminary) recall the fact that their years in seminary were the spiritually driest of their entire lives.

But, while I do believe there is plenty of change needed from the front of the classroom (it's not late enough for me to rant about that right now). I do feel like the burden of change for the dryness of my spiritual life during this time, and for the lack of emotionally inspiring connection between a word study by Zemek and my own day-to-day life, must fall first and foremost to myself. I have seen the pain in a professor's eyes when he is plowing through the syllabus only to look up and know that over half the class is lost in games of solitaire. I have heard the deafening silence that often times follows a professor's attempt to ask questions that will lead to the deeper significance. And I have contributed to the problem more than I have contributed to the solution.

One day, I actually engaged myself fully into a class. (As I wrote that last sentence the conviction and shame only hit harder.) I asked 5 or 6 questions over the course of a 3 hour class, and it was by far the greatest class (as far as my heart is concerned) of the entire semester. The problem is...for that one day, I was "that guy." I was "that guy" who asks multiple questions and gets things "off topic." Whether it was simply my own laziness, the "peer pressure" of not wanting to be "that guy," or a combination of the two, the next day I was much less active, and the content had much less of an impact on my life and my heart. In reality, I think that it is often our (as students) attitude towards the education that can be one of the greatest hindrances for our spiritual lives. We'd never actually say it, but we act as though we already know most of it, and that which we don't has got to be less important than the other things we could get done in class. (And there...it was said).

I think the solutions are multi-faceted, but I do think that many of them start with our own hearts as students. A proposal: get rid of the ties, get rid of wireless internet in the classrooms (I can't believe I just said that); as students, commit to actual discussion and interaction in class, as professors facilitate it more, as professors commit to going off on tangents and preaching to us at least once a week, as students commit to not checking out when they do, as students make a real effort to be there when a professor invites you and your d-lab over to his house for dessert, as a professor don't pre-plan the sermon you're going to give in your living room and just love on the guys, and for the love of Moses...get rid of the mentality (from both sides) that says that a token hymn and a lecture series = a worship service. (OK...so now it's getting late).

But, to be perfectly honest, the only thing that is really going to make seminary a season in life that helps our spiritual lives more than it hinders it, is for us as students to actually engage our hearts in the intellectual exercises that we spend so much time on. At least for me, it's what I'm going to try harder to do on Tuesday when I get back into class.

Thanks guys for the sharpening, I hope my thoughts add at least some more kindling for the fire. Brian, thanks for your passion, heart and mind, I thank God for its effect in my life. And Andy, don't think we don't know the truth, that under that "friend" mask is a true mentor just quietly shepherding his flock as a good pastor does.

The Situation in Romania

2005-06-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, over the past four years my wife and I have visited Romania every summer taking college student over to serve with a group of missionaries. Romania has thousands of orphans and an incredibly corrupt government, both of which desperately need Christ. The situation has worsened over the past couple of years as the government has closed the adoption system to any international families in the hopes of improving their status with the EU. Unfortunately, this only makes the system worse and makes ministry there even harder. This morning, a great, concise, story about the situation in Romania appeared on the front page of the New York Times. You can check it out on their website, it's called Law Backfires, Strands Orphans in Romania.

Please pray for the situation, and that the Lord would open up the adoption process in the country. Also please pray for us as we go over there this summer (the first team leaves July 15th and the second team leaves July 29th). Finally, please be praying for the foundation that we work with out there. In light of a number of other governmental changes as a result of the EU and the fall of the dollar internationally, their expenses have increased almost $20,000 a month. I can tell you from personal experience, that the men and women who minister over there understand, better than anyone I’ve ever met in my life, what true religion is about.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. –James 1:27

Why Blog?

2005-06-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Why blog? I seem to ask myself this question a lot lately. The question came to a head for me after reading Adrian Warnok’s latest entry titled: Blogging with a purpose: Why Blog? He was anwering a great question posed by gad(d)about. I have just entered into this gigantic new universe we call the "blogosphere" and have been overwhelmed by what I have seen. I have been excited to see like minded people share my passions, I have been intrigued to see people I don't necessarily agree with put forth incredibly convincing points I haven't heard before, I've been encouraged by words that match the beat of my heart moment for moment, and I've been frustrated by those whose arrogance is even more prominent than their thesis.

I've felt the temptation to blog more often than I have actually done it, but sometimes wonder if it's motivated by a hidden narcissistic desire. I definitely don’t feel like I have something new to bring to the table, as my title, ecclesiastes 1:9 asserts. My thoughts are those of a 24 year-old, married, seminary student, who is preparing to plant a church, but hasn’t actually done it yet. I’m currently surrounded (at seminary and at my current church) by men who are much smarter and more gifted than I am. So why in the world should I add one more blog to the mountain currently in existence? Why should I enter the conversation? Let me come back to that question, and first tell you a quick story.

Earlier this afternoon I found myself in the Bible College office hallway (not an especially odd place to find myself in the middle of the day, but still). I began talking with one of the guys I work with, and (as often seems to happen when conversations begin in a hallway) two of the other offices emptied as well, and we all gathered around the proverbial water cooler (even though the actual water cooler is located in the back room) as a theological conversation began to develop. As we started down the rabbit trail of theology and discussed some of the deeper implications of eschatology (I work at a Bible College…I understand that this type of discourse isn't ‘normal’) I realized that my grasp of the subject was becoming greater and greater, and lights were starting to come on, standing there in the hallway. I’ve listened to lectures on the topic, read the books, even touched on some of the journal articles, but a hallway conversation was what it took for me to really get my arms around some of the specifics involved.

Discussion is one of the greatest mediums for learning. It’s a well-known fact that only 10% of what is heard in a lecture format is actually retained (and I think that’s pretty generous based on my experience). Reading a book can be a lot better, although if you’re not completely engaged with it, you may walk away with more thoughts about your to do list than about the actual topic at hand. While lectures and reading are incredibly integral parts of education, it is in the person-to-person interaction where things can really come alive (it’s the difference between a professor reading his notes, and one passionately explaining the topic from his heart). It’s through discussion that our actual questions get answered and our interests are peaked. Discussion may not be the most trustworthy mode of education because it doesn’t usually involve proofs and references, but it still has a very important place.

Blogging is a discussion, amongst friends and opponents that otherwise wouldn’t necessarily have the opportunity to encounter each other. It’s a way to sharpen what we believe, and be challenged by viewpoints we may not exposed to in our physical “bubbles”. By writing and reacting we are a part of the conversation, and whether the impact is greatest for those who read, or just for those who write, it is still just as valuable. For me, I will always choose face to face conversation over online discussion, which is why I will probably never be the most frequent blogger in the world. Just last night, I walked away from this entry only halfway through so I could spent some time with my wife before she went to bed. But I hope to be part of the discussion (for my own edification and by God’s grace for the edification of others), regardless of my infrequency. To those who I am in conversation with, whether they know it or not (sycamore, jollyblogger, cerculean sanctum, remonstrans, etc.)…thanks.

"Doubt your doubts, believe your beliefs"

2005-06-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

A wise man once said "doubt your doubts, believe your beliefs." Alright, so it was a lyric from a song by Switchfoot but the wisdom is still just as evident. One of the biggest causes of tension for believers and non-believers alike is the fact that in our heart of hearts, deep down in the part of our soul we don't discuss at Memorial Day barbecues, lies a place where (for some reason) we begin to believe what we doubt and doubt what we believe. In my last post I discussed the fact that the application of Christ's directive to “count the cost” is to be willing to “sell everything you have and follow [Him].”

However, it only took a couple of days until I found myself in my office at home, staring at our checkbook register, feeling the sinking, defeatist feeling that all too often accompanies having more bills than money to pay them. All of a sudden my mind starts to race and search for a light at the end of the tunnel. Will things get better after we receive our next paycheck? How can this happen when we just got paid 5 days ago? When will this get easier? And then the realization hits me…it’s only going to get ‘worse’.

I start to think about the logistics of our eventual move to West LA: even after gaining equity in our home, we still won’t even be able to buy a one-bedroom condo down there; all sources of income are up in the air; the answer to just about every question we are asked at the moment is a resounding “I don’t know.” The nagging conviction (that I continue to try and silence because of its inconvenient nature) that I don’t want my wife to have to work, begins to bubble up again in the depths of my heart. My mind is racing, my heart is pounding, my body is tense. It’s fear. It’s distrust. It’s anxiousness. And it’s sin.

Just a week ago I expounded confidently that God has an amazing plan for our lives and that He is perfectly in control. I’ve sat in class and thought through the implications of God’s sovereignty. I’ve counseled a number of different people through this exact same issue in the past two weeks, but there I sat…doubting my beliefs and even worse, beginning to believe my doubts.

As I sat with my wife and she began to call me out for my distrust and hypocritical heart, a strange sensation began to emerge in that same deep place where this storm had begun. Joy began to glow. I caught a glimpse of the work the Lord was doing in my heart. The admonition to sell everything I have and follow Christ was becoming real. I have always said that I would be willing to follow Christ at any cost, but now I actually have the opportunity to live that out. The Lord has provided the opportunity to actually live out what I believe in a radical way. It’s what we’ve longed for and known we’re called to, but we have sat comfortably by up to this point.

The reality of God’s provision is becoming more and more real…mainly because we have very little other choice. God is lining things up in our lives so that only He can receive the glory; what more could we ask for? My faith and trust increase with every time fear grips my heart, because it draws me back to Him. As our faith is tested, its deficiency may be exposed, but it also drives us to the only place where efficiency exists, in the eternal God. It is here that the challenges spur us on to a place where we begin to truly believe our beliefs, where they clutch our hearts and transform our minds by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is only by His power, working, and sanctifying that we can ever truly believe that which we so confidently affirm as our beliefs.

Counting the Cost

2005-05-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

So my beginning in the blogging world is starting at the pace of the first two hours of "Gone With the Wind," but hopefully my posts will start to be less than a month apart.

Everyone counts the cost, or at least they should, before they jump into a big project. When we fail to count the cost, we run the risk of getting halfway through the project only to be forced into an unwanted pause to raise the necessary funds or support to finish the task at hand. It's got to be really embarrassing to be the guy with only half a house finished that just sits there for years. It's like a gigantic neon light that is screaming, "I'm an idiot!" Although, we don't quite have that problem here in SoCal where the housing market is hotter than Laker tickets when someone other than Kobe is running the team.

Jesus spoke about counting the cost in Luke 14:28. He said, "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" This is one of those verses and one of those phrases that I continue to hear over and over as we share with people the vision that the Lord has placed on our hearts to plant a church in West LA.
"Make sure you count the costs."
"Have you counted all the costs?"
"Just don't forget to keep Luke 14 in mind."
What is often meant by this is to do the math; take account; make sure that your gifts, your passion, and (inevitably) your finances are stockpiled enough to make it work. But after being quite convicted of this reality, yet not quite knowing what it practically meant for our planning process, I went to Luke 14 (what a novel idea, huh) to figure it out. What I found was that Jesus meant something very different by "count the cost" than what I had come to understand (It's amazing how Biblical "language" can be used to support ideas that are not necessarily Biblical).

Rewinding one verse to gather some context, Jesus led into this idea of counting the cost by saying, "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." If we study Luke 14, it becomes blatantly obvious that counting the cost has nothing to do with specific endeavors in the Christian life, but with the life as a disciple in general. Jesus wants us to count the cost once and for all and to know what we're getting into when we choose to be His disciple. I counted the cost. A number of years ago I gave my life to the Lord and knew that from then on my life was going to be fully surrendered to Him. This meant that riches, comfort, white picket fences, and the “American dream” were out the window, and they were replaced by faith, trials, pure joy, and a life focused on the kingdom.

Not that planning is bad...before we move down to West LA we will do plenty of math, planning, and research. But that is NOT what our decision will be made upon. The decision has been made. We already counted the cost and chose to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Now, we are simply trying to be good stewards within the calling the Lord has placed upon our lives. That calling is determined by God and His working through the Church and His Spirit; it is not determined by “counting the costs” and it making sense. If Paul had “counted the costs” he probably would not have gotten back on a ship again after being shipwrecked twice already. If Moses “counted the costs” he most definitely would not have led Israel out of Egypt. If the woman who gave away her last two coins had “counted the cost” she would have kept at least one for herself.

Probably the most interesting part about this passage is the fact that we often apply it to financial planning. We are told to “count the cost” and make sure that we have the reserves necessary to fulfill our plan. But the application that Jesus gives six verses later is very different. He concludes, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." His desire is not that we gather all our resources and place our confidence in our own strength, but that we sacrifice everything we have and make Him our strength. Because He knows that it is only in Him that we can find true strength that is accompanied by real peace and joy. To those who have already counted the cost...that is our call.

The Perfect Church

2005-04-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in search of the perfect church. It seems to be a search we are all on, whether we admit it or not. We lift up some churches and gaze in judgment upon others. We justify our judgments and pride because we say that we stand with God and these are His judgments, not ours. As I look around, however, as many Christians often experience, I am amazed at how imperfect every church I look at is. Then, in my pride, I start to imagine what I would do...I start to imagine the perfect church.

While thinking critically about the church and the ministry that we are doing is not necessarily a bad thing, I have found that my thoughts have become a part of a chorus (especially in the seminary and bible college scenes) that continues to point out, no matter what church it may be, all the shortcomings that they are able to see (understanding that the presupposition that must therefore exists is that I have a unique understanding on how things should be). The interesting thing to me has been how quickly we then feel the compulsion (probably because we think much higher of ourselves than we have any right to) to apply the observations we have made within our small area of influence to the Church as a whole (or at least the Church in America). I hear all the time, "The problem with the church today is..." or "I have realized what the greatest problem facing the church today is." And I have, time and time again, fallen into this same product of pride. But, what we so often fail to realize is that THE PERFECT CHURCH DOES NOT EXIST!

What is the church? The church is not an organization or even an institution. The church is the body of collective believers. On a local level it is a particular community of believers. So let's do the mathematical logic...
If believers = not yet perfected
and people = church
then church = not yet perfected!!!
The search for the perfect church is futile and, in the end, probably sinful. It is the same issue as expecting perfection of our spouse or our best friend...it's foolishness.

One of the things that I hate about the church is the fact that pride seems to be an overlooked and somewhat accepted sin, even with leaders...but if I'm honest, I'm quite prideful and on some level overlook that in others. I also hate the fact that the church is often times too busy and nowhere near personal enough...but the reality is that I am often too busy and not personal enough. I also hate that the decisions in the church often are made in light of tradition and can be justified by proof-texts...but I have formed my own traditions and have justified them plenty of times with proof-texts.

And so I have realized that the perfect church does not exist, great and imperfect men and women used by God exist and so do great and imperfect churches. At the core, it seems like the greatest problem in the church today is that it's filled with people just like me (passionate, sincere, and trying to serve God better and better each day).