Listened to Brian for the first time tonight at our evening gathering. He spoke on something simple, but yet profound, not just for any new church development pastor or potential (Me) NCD pastor, he spoke on something that not many talk about or people just plain forget about when it comes to ministry. His challenge was that we as pastors learn how to be a friend to ourselves. I kind of like the thought of being my own friend as weird as it sounds. How do I take care of myself when it comes to serving Christ and his church? I also heard today that the PCUSA spends more money on church historical records than starting new churches for the kingdom…hmmm. Didn’t need to hear that…I really did enjoy hearing Brian for the first time, I’m almost done with his (Secret Message of Jesus book) and his heart for the kingdom and because of his experience as a church planter, he was very affirming of the calling that happens when someone takes on the task of starting a new church and also very encouraging to those who’ve worked in the trenches as an NCD pastor. 

Beecher Hicks, our keynote speaker told a wonderful story of his first church in a little country town in New York. (My paraphrase) He shows up ready to preach, waits 20 minutes, until someone finally shows up. He tells the one person in attendance, what he wants to do, and the person says, "As a farmer, when I go to the pasture, to feed the cows, I feed them." The young preacher does the whole service, the hymns, prayers, the sermon, church announcements, and communion. After the "service" was over, the young preacher as he greets the one fellow as he’s leaving the church says, "So, how did I do?" The farmer says, you know when I go to the pasture, if only one cow shows up, I don’t dump a whole load on him."

Conference hasn’t started. I am a goober. I thought I packed everything. Of course I forgot to bring the most important thing in the world to a conference…in Florida…on the beach…when it’s sunny…and I have a few minutes to kill…MY SWIMSUIT!

109. Hot. Stop it with the heat already! It was 112 yesterday. Please. Rain. Want rain. Going to PCUSA NCD conference this week. Brian McLaren and Leonard Sweet are the keynote speakers. Very interested in hearing what they will have to say that will help the PCUSA when it comes to planting and growing new churches. Church was very cool today. hehe. Speaking of new church development stuff, I preached here today. Good little church. It’s a brand new little church that plans to go public Lord willing sometime this fall. Pray for these guys. They’re listening to the Lord on what it means to be a church that proclaims Christ. The Lord will be doing lots with this little church.

I made it. 38. It’s my birthday and I thank Jesus for 38 years of a blessed life. Only by God’s grace and his love that I’ve made it. I pray for 38 more happy years! So, if you stop by, make sure you join me in the bliss and give me a shout out!

I remember a song I heard back in the day at a Jr. High church camp several years ago by a guy by the name of Frank Grubbs. Frank Grubbs had a wonderful heart for helping us wee little Jr. high kids learn what it meant to worship the father. Every year. Over and over we sang it. Most of the songs were right out of scripture. When I finally started off in my early years working in youth ministry, I even pulled it out of my hat of youth group songs for the youth groups I helped lead. It worked a few times to get those wee little Jr. high kids in the mood to sing. It was sorta Jamaican like…to bad I can’t sing it for ya. hehe. The words went like this:

"I, I, I want to be like the father, "I, I, I want to be like the son, "I, I, I want to be like the father, to hear him say well done, my good and faithful son, may good and faithful one, my good and faithful son, well done, well done, well done, well done, well done, well done.

After putting one of the guys to sleep tonight and staring at the silhouette of a gift from upon high, out cold, Grubbs song came to mind. I do want to be like the father. I want to live and love like Christ has called us to live and love. How do you truly live and love like Christ loved? How do we model this for our kids? How do followers of Jesus live out their lives before their children? We were at Barnes and Noble recently where i glanced at one of Dallas Willard’s recent books, "The Great Ommission." Right in the introduction he talks about this idea (if I read it right) that to be a follower of Jesus is more than just saying that we’re Christians. It means becoming true disciples of Christ, people who practice living and loving like the father did.

I’ve been thinking lately about how I’ve lived my life not only before my children, my wife, but to those I’ve recently served in the church. Am I truly living like a disciple of Christ? Practicing day to day discipleship? Living and loving like the father did? I wonder if there were times I didn’t live out my faith like Christ has called me to live? This makes me sad and at the same time fuels my desire to be more than just a Christian. I can’t imagine that it’s not by accident that I’m having a sabbatical of sorts if you will. Regrouping and relearning what it means to be truly living and loving like Christ lived and loved. Loving the poor and brokenhearted. Studying God’s Word. Daily prayer. Worship. Silence. Actually reading scripture for my soul. Not just for the sermon I have to write or for the congregation I proclaim the gospel to, but to truly live my heart and life out for the father who has called and sent me out not to just make Christians, but followers and disciples of Jesus. So, muchas gracias Frank Grubbs for that song, that I will now have stuck in my head again for several days. What I’m really grateful for is that if I didn’t learn that song, I wouldn’t have this embedded on my heart. Oh yeah!

As some of you know I’m in the process of searching for a new call as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. It’s a slow process and a discerning process in that my family and I must truly listen to where the Lord wants us and is calling us and why he’s calling us to a certain place. Here’s a response I got back from a church that I thought was worth posting.

Two things. First, your sermon was the first one that the committee listened to. A couple of the committee thought that it was to youthful. I personally was very satisfied with it. Some were afraid to make a decision. We read *** PIF’s. Once a PIF was discussed, there were some that didn’t want to go back to talk about anything we had gone over. Our congregation’s average age is about 75. The PIF that the committee could unanimously agree upon was number ***. My personal opinion is that you have a lot to offer and God has a very special place for you to serve. It will be A young congregation that wants a lively church.

I really liked this church and felt that I could offer them my heart and gifts for ministry, especially some stability and longevity. Affirmation? Very cool. Rejection? Ouch! All part of the search process. "Time to press on!"

I was in church this morning where the pastors are doing a series on Joshua. I love this passage. So often we don’t let our toes touch the waters. I’m a big chicken when it comes to trusting God with my life sometimes. I’ve never noticed verse 13 and 15 until this morning.

⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. ¹⁰ This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. ¹¹ See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. ¹² Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD -the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."

    ¹⁴ So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. ¹⁵ Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶ the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ^[b] ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

A great resource on understanding mission in todays culture. This guy’s stuff was often an assigned reading assignment in a class or two of mine in seminary. 

We had a great 4th. We’ve missed our kiddoes though. A couple of them have been at camp. It’s been quiet, but a wierd kind of quiet. We’ve actually enjoyed it some, but would love them home. I actually had a dream last night that one of them came home. Hung out with some friends, watched our little guy get all goofy over fireworks that have been given names like, "king king and purple rain." The best part of the night was when we were dirving home, we got caught up in Cal Expo traffic and caught the last few minutes and the finale to the Cal Expo fireworks show. It was awesome.