City Shift

I have moved

2010-04-30T16:32:00.001-07:00

City Shift Blog is now at www.cityshift.wordpress.com

In case you are wondering.

2010-02-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have not blogged in a while. I would like to say it's a time issue. Time is always an issue but I am not nearly as busy as some of the bloggers I follow and they keep up so I wont weakishly hide behind time. I have not blogged because I am trying to figure out how to blog. I suppose it is a time issue. I don't want to waste energy or time. I enjoy blogging, I want to do it more but with intention worthy of the labor.

My main priority is that I use this blog to bring value to Jesus. Secondly, I need to blog in a way that would be measurably helpful to those who read it. I know that people as far as Australia (no not Matt) and Ireland (my home land) read the blog, which I am always blown away by. I am not interested in just putting words on the internet. I have too many things to worry about. I am not interested in blogging because my friends do it or because as a church planter I should. I want it to be a good expression of me and mainly want it to be good for those who call Origin home first. I love the church I lead and want to do whatever it takes to help them grow and love God's redeeming story. So I'm thinking in circles. The first circle is blogging for the good of the glory of God. Secondly, is for the good of those who make up our church community. Thirdly, anyone else.

I'm rambling.

Here is what I'm doing. I'm not going to blog for a while. That doesn't sound like a big deal since it has been a while any way, I get that. I am probably going to shut this blog down and start all over once I am convinced of the direction I need to go in. I'm thinking more personal, theological and missional. That's the tipping of my thinking now.

Thought you would want to know.

Jeremiah 18 - Does the Bible teach the sovereignty of God over all things?

2010-01-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

If your hand was cramping having to write all the verses I used for last Sunday's sermon here is a complete list. So that you can connect the verses to the definition here is how I defined the sovereignty of God on Sunday. Part three this Sunday will expand this definition to bring meaning to our freedom and God's freedom.

(1)God's sovereignty means that God is creative authority over all matter, time, space and (2) the governing authority over all that does exist has happened or will happen .

(1)Creative authority over all matter, time, space

Hebrews 1:3 - He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Colossians 1:15 - For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

Colossians 1:17 - And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Job 34:14-15 - If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.

(2) God causes every event of the world according to his eternal will.

Proverbs 16:1 - The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Ephesians 1:11 - In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

Acts 17:26 - And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.

Daniel 4:34-35 - ...for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Proverbs 16:9 - The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

1 Corinthians 15:27 - For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.

Jeremiah 1:5 - “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 10:23 - I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

Acts 2:23- this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Acts 4:27 - for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel.

Jeremiah 18 - More Than a Sermon for Me

2010-01-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday I preached part 2 of Jeremiah 18, "The Potter" [listen to it here click media]. It has been fun and challenging for me personally as I have prayed and prepped for those two teachings, and the one ahead. For this one passage, turned into a three part miniseries, I have read no less than 500 pages of Biblical commentaries and theological works related to the passage and to the subject of the sovereignty of God. The benefit of me being able to preach weekly is that I get to learn more than anyone else and likely get the greatest benefit from my sermons. One of the many reasons why I love my job.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Part three?", I know I said I wasn't going to preach part three but the more I looked at the passage and thought through why I said I wouldn't do a part three I realized that decision was motivated more by schedule than being transformed by the passage. So for you who are asking for part three you are going to get it. For those of you who were done with it at part one...too bad. You are going to get one more week. As I said this past Sunday, the topic of God's control and relationship (his sovereignty) in the world may be the greatest message we will preach this year for our church. It is so essential to our understanding and worship as people by Jesus, our mission as God's people for Jesus and all we will accomplish in our city and neighborhoods through Jesus.

Because God's relationship and control of the world is controversial in and outside Christian circles I asked during the preaching for those listening to text in questions that I could address in my blog throughout the week. I do plan to hit up a couple of questions. Not as many questions came in as I thought. This either means (1) no one knew what the heck I was talking about and so didn't have any questions; or (2) I completely answered all questions in the teaching and therefore have finally brought needed rest to a long time theological debate [insert laughter here]. It was somewhere in between and I will talk through some of the questions throughout this week so stay posted.

Before I answer a question about the topic I wanted to let you in on how the Potter and God's sovereignty instantly applied to me during my sermon. I was giving the context of the passage from week one and before I even prayed for our time on Sunday night my heart started acting up. In case you don't know, I have experienced heart palpitations for some years now and when they come so does all kinds of insecurity and anxiety related to death and dying. Most of the time if they come I am in a position to change what I'm doing: Take a breath, pray, walk a bit, talk to Kristy so she can reassure me that I'm not going to die. However, when a room full of people are staring at me and I have a sermon to preach and it's just the beginning and an hour of work is still needed, I was stuck. I had to keep talking, my heart was beating irregularly and I had to make a decision that very minute whether or not I believed everything I was about to preach. I finished my intro, read the passage and then I prayed for the topic to sink deep into our hearts and present itself in our worship. I was praying that for me. My world, internally, was being shaken. The palpitations were more severe than normal and there I was, dependent on the fact that I was inside the eternal decree of God. What was I going to trust in that moment?

I tell you this so you know that I'm not playing around when I preach. I believe not only in what I am called to do but in the words I am called to illuminate. The Bible, Gods' revealed will, demands my obedience and heart. In this case, literally. God shapes me, through palpitations I am reminded every time I am in the hands of God. God did settle my heart. I had no other issues for the rest of the sermon and it was one more step in trusting my position to be clay and have God do whatever pleases him at any time with me and my world.

"Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps." - Psalms 135:6

A thankful Church Planter

2009-11-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking about how thankful I am for Origin (that means all of you who are Origin) Church. So I wanted to send out an e-mail and let you know some of the things I'm thankful for.

1. Thank you for being a church who loves, worships, makes much of Jesus. Before we launched publicly I preached on John the Baptist and how easily he took his role. He had so many reasons to be self-focused. God chose him, saved him and gave him the Holy Spirit while he was in his mother's womb. He was called to be a prophet. He had a bunch of disciples that followed him. He had influence, authority, recognition. He was equivalent to a Mega-church pastor minus the camel hair clothes and the locust diet. Crazy thing was when Jesus came John readily pointed him out. In fact after acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah two of his disciples immediately left him and went and followed Jesus. He didn't stop them. He didn't make them feel guilty. He didn't wonder if Jesus will take all of those who were following him. He wanted them to follow Jesus. This is why he said, "I'm a voice crying out..." He knew at the end of the day he was just a voice. Thank you Origin for being a great voice for Jesus. A beautiful voice for Jesus crying out in our city. The obvious love of the gospel. The kind of praying that happens throughout the week in Mercy groups and impromptu prayer times. You who come and set up and tear down each week. Those who have made Origin a community not an event. For serving those in the city regardless of personal gain. A voice in the way a lot of you have been so generous to work out with the kids, sacrificial with your money by giving to Origin and taking care of needs around you. There are a million seemingly monotonous responsibilities every week and I hear no complaining. I'm thankful that we find joy in decreasing so that Jesus can increase and instead of making followers of Origin or us we point to Jesus and praising God watch people be made alive by him.

2. Thank you for letting me preach the Bible. God has not only called me to preach the Bible it is one of my greatest joys. I love it and I love the fact we have a church that is hungry for the word of God preached hard and with passion. There are enough books written about starting church and some of them would disagree with how I preach the Bible. Starting your first year preaching through Jeremiah is not on any list for planting a church. However, the people who write those stupid books have not seen the kind of life in our church. I am thankful Origin loves the Bible. I love that the Bible is the authority in our life and if I were to stop preaching with passion most of you would not hesitate to slap me and tell me to snap out of it. I'm thankful we have a church that allows other to preach the Bible along side me. Origin has received Matt, Chad and Jordan last week. It is very encouraging that the freedom to have other people share the teaching is seen as a good thing. I love preaching the Bible, I'm called to do it and I'm thankful we have a church who loves it too.

3. Thank you for being a church that is alive. No doubt one of the comments left to me by visitors is that our church is alive. There is a genuine love and care for one anther that can be felt each Sunday Night. There is very little pretense. We have new people coming to faith in Christ. Just this past week I had the privilege to teach a new believer about communion following Jordan's teaching. It is obvious to those looking in that Origin believes what they say and that what they say is actually transforming them. I am thankful we have a church that doesn't hide the life God has given us. I think we are the loudest signing church I know. Maybe you sing loud so none of you have have to hear me sing, I don't blame you. Doesn't matter I think it's awesome. It's great that we respond each week to the Scriptures being taught. Our worship is connected to the truth of the gospel, the forgiveness and freedom we have received in Jesus. I'm thankful we are not stoic but evidently alive.

4. Thank you for being on mission for our city. 5th Sundays are a good excuse to do nothing but sit home and do homework. I am thankful that we have a church that values the mission God has put us on. God is making all things new and uses his church (called people) to be on mission towards his end. Thank you for the support behind Origin Coffee and dream the kind of dreams we are dreaming. We are moving forward and hope to see Origin Coffee up and running by early 2010, God willing. It will be a huge sacrifice for us. It will cost us all. We will have to give our money. We will give our free time. We will give our talents and energy. I am thankful that we have a church that sees the cost of mercy and runs towards it instead of away from it. REMEMBER THIS UP COMING SUNDAY IS A 5TH SUNDAY DON"T MEET AT ORIGIN BUT use it to serve others or the city, build a deeper friendship with a friend or neighbor. Begin to think of a plan now.

There are a thousand other things to be thankful for. Thanks Origin for being on the journey of life by and life for Jesus. Enjoy Turkey day tomorrow and I'm excited to hear the stories of 5th Sunday next time we get together.

The Church as a Vehicle

2009-11-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

A question I get asked frequently is, "How should I choose a church?" or "Why does Origin run the way it does?"

Keep the main things in view. Find a place where Jesus is worshiped and preached, the church is biblically lead, right doctrine and theology is applied, practiced and transformation from the gospel is happening internally and where the mission of the gospel is going externally.

The church is the vehicle for the gospel to go out and for Jesus to be known.

Then my mind went crazy with car metephors for churches. Enjoy!

1. The pinto - The pinto is a fun one. When it came out it was small, peppy, sporty in a late 70's/80's kind of way. It was hip to the younger drivers (in fact my sister thought she was pretty cool with hers), FORD promised a lot. All this was true but became secondary when they started catching on fire and blowing up. Turns out there were several important design flaws. The motor was bad. The gas tank couldn't take a hit and it's passengers would often get burned. Either the Pinto didn't start and causing all kinds of frustrations for it's driver and passangers or if started it was likely to turn into a speeding fire ball down the freeway, Speed style. Design, engineering, reliability was bad and ultimately the laughing stocks of the car world. Thus we get the term Put-In-Nickle-To-Opperate

2. The Lotus - This is the sports car. It's fast, expensive, shinny, top of the line. Everyone who sees it, wants to take a ride so they can feel what it's like and how it handles. It instantly makes every other car seem lowly, lame and whimpy. People will naturally be drawn to it because there are very few on the road. It makes decisions quickly and handles great. It takes to the road and adapts to all kinds of situations immediately. However, it isn't really practical. It doesn't always fit the context of the road. Lot's of money is spent keeping it waxed and looking great. Unfortunately, the engine never has a place to really open up because the traffic around it. It has a tendency to lose people in it's tracks and the drivers tend to lose sight of what most people drive.

3. The Mini-Van - The Mini-van is all about practical and the family. No parent wants to drive one but that's what happens when the family get's big. The real contentment is that it fits everyone comfortably and has a lot of storage for whatever needs may arise, like costumes for the Christmas program. It's great for kids, allows for mess, easy to clean and great for long road trips. The problem is that it is weighed down when fully loaded. There is lots of fighting and whining in the back and the driver thinks back to the day when they said, "I would never get a mini-van." The mini-van is great at dropping people off at, school, soccer, gymnastics, dance, band, football, etc. but rarely is everyone going to the same place. However, there are lot's of "honor student" bumper stickers on the back for all the world to see how "great" it really is.

4. The Prius - Energy efficient, culturally responsible and green. It has multiple cup holders for all the lattes drank it will hold. Yuppies love it and green piece demands it. It comes in great colors and runs nearly silent. It is fuel efficient. It travels long distance without needing to be filled up and doesn't take much personal sacrifice since it's nice on the pocket book. There are obvious problems like the horsepower. I'm pretty sure a kids "Power-Wheel" has more torque. Try taking a Prius up whiny mountain roads. It drives great on open straight roads but when conditions change and destination call for some up hill driving the tiny little electric motor gets migrane? The Prius is great for women but the design, horsepower and small interior doesn't appeal to men who feel bad for all the other men who just suck it up because it makes their wife happy.

Our churches need to have the horsepower to cross the difficult cultural terrain. It must have speed to continually contextualize the gospel for the culture around it. It must be able to take corners quickly when sharp turns are necessary and be able to make U-tuns if it finds itself of course. Men must want to drive it and women must feel valued, appreciated, comforted and cared for in it. It must be safe for children, reiable for those who call it home and it's destination must be the most appealing feature. I'm sure there are a thousand other metaphors but you get the point. Happy driving!

There was no compassion for Jesus

2009-11-19T15:10:00.000-08:00

I finally began listening to the first sermon in Mark Driscoll's "Luke" series today. The gift of not having to preach this weekend. I would suggest listening to the whole message but until then watch this and let this flood over your heart, Jesus is so good to me. Oh how my sins have been the sponge to the mouth that proclaimed forgiveness for those very sins.

A Parable

2009-11-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Rick is new to the coffee house. He has begun to spend a lot of time using the coffee house and free Internet as his office (which is why I'm here). Today he brought in his guitars. Although not very compatible to the music playing in the background he is very good with the strings. I have had a couple of short conversations with him but nothing deep and nothing tapping into the obvious life journey he has had, which he wears on his face and demeanor. So while playing one guitar I went picked up the other one and we had a little jam session. It was good times but the conversation that followed was better.

I did get to hear some of his story and as I thought it included a period of time he called himself a "Christian" or "Jesus dude" as he said it. He has walked away from "Christianity" because he was disappointed by it while part of a church, living in San Diego. It was also obvious that Rick had little clue about what the Bible actually taught or any kind of biblical-centered theology. To him God is in everything and we can do miracles everyday because a piece of God is in us.

He didn't grow up Christian he said "Jesus just made sense". On the first Sunday living in his new apartment he was woken up by drumming. Being a musician he followed the sound and found himself living right across from a church. The building didn't look like a church and the people seemed cool so he stayed.

Each week the church hosted a dinner. While all this was happening a friendship had developed between an ex-sunglass model who had become homeless. Rick described him as "drinky and stinky". One week Rick invited his new friend to the weekly church dinner. He thought it would help this guy out. He could get fed and he might even get some help for his situation. Rick brought him to dinner and the leaders asked Rick's friend to leave because he was a bother to the others. They sent him to the dumpster where they "compassionately" brought food out to him.

Rick couldn't believe it. He was confused. Angry. Embarrassed. He left the dinner and went out to the dumpster and ate with his friend. He never returned to any church. He has chosen to figure out what following Jesus looks like alone alone. He justifies his position because of the hypocrisy of the people in that church.

I just said, "I'm sorry for what that church did." I also told him the hypocrisy of the followers doesn't mean the leader is a fake. Responding like this will allow future conversations.

I walked away in thought as a "theologian". Jesus condemned the religious around him for their puffed up knowledge and their lack of humility. This was a parable being told to me. Which one understood following Jesus? The church with the right knowledge or Rick and his immature theology?

[Before you send me a bunch of e-mails on the importance of solid theology know you are speaking to the choir. I am a hammer when it comes to solid theology. This is meant to shake our solid theology into solid humble action and grace.]

Why Piper loves the doctrine of grace

2009-10-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

He says things so simply and yet so profoundly helpful. At the expense of losing people who read this blog...you should all be reading his.

"Why I love the doctrine of grace"

Everything is amazing, no one is happy

2009-10-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

I had a professor once that explained that we only laugh at what is true. This is prime example. You'll laugh because it's you just admit it.

Via scotteriology.

Easy to laugh at...harder to see in myself.

2009-10-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

This picture is a metaphor for so many things. In how many ways do people want others to think they are a mansion but if one would only walk through the front door they would see the shack of their heart and soul.

Jesus nailed it,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23:25-27

see more Epic Fails

Even The Writers of Scripture Were Not Immune

2009-09-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

"To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me..." Psalms 28:1

Every person in every generation has hoped to be heard by God, especially when everything is on the line. Every person has wondered (except for Jesus) if God is hearing, if God cares. U2 sings like this, "Jesus can you take the time, to throw a drowning man a line." It easy to ask this question when we read the Bible and we see God having full on conversations with people. We may develop the perspective God talked to everyone this way. We may think, "It must have been easy for the those in the Bible, they heard God speak!"

It seems like God spoke audibly to everyone back in the day and something is different now but this is not the case. We have the record of a few people over a 1000 years God communicated with directly in special ways. After Adam and Eve in the garden, we have no record God every said anything to them for the rest of their life. Hundreds of years past until Noah was called by God to build an Ark, and for the 100 years he built it God was silent. Generations sped along until out of the blue Abraham was called out by God. Remember there were long gaps in God communicating with people. What about all the people in between? What were they wondering? They may have been wondering what we are tempted to wonder, "If God there?" For one more illustration. Between the last time God spoke in the Old Testament and when Jesus was born, 400 years went by and God was silent.

This is why David before being King of Israel, on the run from enemies, could write what he did in Psalms 28:1, "Do not be deaf..." He's talking to God. He is calling out and he wants to know God is going to hear him and rescue him. He felt like I have felt and like you have felt, wanting God to show up so badly but tempted to be disappointed when he doesn't.

The key here is he doesn't show up like we want him too, but he has showed up in a thousand ways already today. How did the sun rise today? How do we have his words in the Bible to us? How is your heart beating? How many thousands of miracles will happen in surgery today? How many people will come running to God as their father for the first time today because God heard their cry for forgiveness and life?

I like how David ends this song. He says in verse 6 and 7, "for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped" Notice he doesn't say God made it all alright. His heart trusts the ears of God hear him and that the heart of God is for him, even when God seems far. Do you see what he is doing? He is dying to the way he thinks God should work and trusting in the way God IS working.

We have all prayed hoping God hears us, even the writers of the Bible are not immune but David's faith was built on who God IS, and will for him and not on what God would do FOR him. Are you trusting in what God can do for you or trusting if who God is apart from you? Be encouraged. I hope you can answer the question David asks in verse 1 with the answer David gives in verse 6 and 7.

Enter the mind of Dan Brown

2009-09-17T11:44:00.001-07:00

Want to beat Dan Brown to the next big conspiracy? Check out this conspiracy generator that will transport you into the mind of Dan Brown and view the world through his spectacles of irrationality. In fact, I bet William Young (The Shack) is really Dan Brown in disguise.

Enjoy, this is a lot of fun...

See it HERE

(photo from www.brianrayfiction.com)

Liturgy Gone Wild

2009-09-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

From the very beginning of our church with those who met in my living room, we asked the question, "What does Jesus command of the church?" Nearly everything else is flexible. So at Origin we hold tightly to what Jesus asks of his people and we hold everything else (form, style, preference, clothes, time) with an open hand.

I'm guessing this church didn't ask this question because if they did they would have realized the early church didn't commit themselves to breaking bread, fellowship, the apostle's teaching, prayer, worship and PUPPETS.

God and Nicolas Cage Movies are Genetic

2009-09-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

I wonder if guys like Richard Dawkins know they sound just like this. John Cleese is a science prophet.

Thanks to Dr. Jim West for the goods.

Gospel as a Verb??

2009-09-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I was hanging with some buddies on a back porch enjoying the Long Beach nights. We shared life, trouble, journeys, sins. It was encouraging. At the end of our time one friend said "It's good gospeling each other!"

Thinking of the gospel as verb was a new thought for me but the need for us to constantly bring the gospel to bear on each other's life is not. In fact the early Christians understood gospeling although not in those terms. This is the whole point of the first part of Galatians 1 is so the believers would be reminded to speak the gospel to each other often. The bearing one another's burdens deals directly with the temptation to lose faith in the face of trials. So Paul's answer is gospeling.

While I have been thinking of the gospel as a verb through the weekend it turns out so has Mark Driscoll (Resurgence.com) and they put out a blog yesterday.

GospelED by the Gospel. Check it out here.

Loosening Our Grip For a True Reality

2009-08-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

"You [Lord] make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalms 16:11

Here's how I read this verse:

Lord, you have made it clear where I can find life;

I have your Spirit, what more do I need;

You give me pleasures forever and they will not be the pleasures that die with me.

Is this your prayer? I want it to me mine.

Affliction- Paul Wasn't Thinking a Clothing Company.

2009-08-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

"...that no one be moved by these AFFLICTION. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this." 1 Thessalonians 3:3

This past Sunday night at Origin we forwent our normal gathering and in place of normal we read last week's news articles on Christians around the world suffering for their faith in the gospel. After reading a handful of articles we just broke up in groups and prayed. The stories of these pastors, men, women and most of all the children being beaten, killed, tortured has broken through my American stupor. I want God to relieve their suffering but 1 Thessalonians asks something different. Maybe my prayer shouldn't be for their relief but for my joy.

Paul's encouragement to the suffering church in Thessalonica is that affliction is their destiny. It doesn't sound like good news but it is. Paul doesn't say they are destined for stuff. Paul is not saying God is distant. He doesn't say, "Just have more faith and God will give you a great life." Paul's not even apologetic as if he is afraid affliction isn't a good sales pitch for the gospel.

He says, "we are destined" and that IS encouraging.

What Paul IS saying...

1. It's not accidental affliction it's their destiny. God isn't distant or passive but determining those who worship and follow him to suffer.

Doesn't seem immediately encouraging but it is.

2. This affliction is destined by God so therefore it's good. Now the encouragement becomes more noticeable.

3. The joy of God is in the affliction not away from it. Here is the main point of the passage. The more comfort the less joy. The more affliction the greater the joy.

We do pray for the relief of Christians around the world suffering for the sake of the glory of God seen in the face of Jesus. Yet by praying for their relief I may be praying against their joy.

The implications of this passage are as hard to stare at as it is keeping my eyes wide open to the sun. I'm praying I go blind while staring at the light of this verse.

Persecuted Christians around the world please continue to fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses and may your joy be evident in the hour of affliction and may your affliction be my affliction.

Fighting "Butts and Budgets"

2009-07-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

Origin Church just turned a year old and it has been awesome. We are small but God is doing huge things in the lives of those who are coming (I'm hoping we will be launching an Origin story blog that will be a place for people to share their story of how they are being changed by Jesus.). It's hard not to gauge success by how many people show up. Sometimes I have to fight back the discouragement that comes because we aren't growing as quickly as my ego wants. I have to fight "butts and budgets" as the measure of success for a church.

This is how I fight it.

"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy spirit, it multiplied." Acts 9:31

We have chosen not to market with mailers and with big banners all over the city. This is because those banners typically draw other Christians from surrounding churches. We don't want to be a place that grows because a bunch of Christians come to the cool new thing at a coffee house. We want to grow because people are coming to grips with the gospel and Jesus is changing peoples hearts and minds.

Notice in Acts. There was no church growth method. It wasn't mass marketing. It wasn't fancy, funny sermons. It wasn't big worship bands and smoke machines. All those things may be good, but they ultimately disappoint because none of those things are the right motivator for church or church growth.

1. And walking in the fear of the Lord...it multiplied. They didn't fear empty seats. They didn't fear what people thought. They didn't fear not having the right worship leader. They didn't fear whether people would be entertained enough in the message. They didn't fear whether or not the kids had the best equipment. They feared God. They worshipped Jesus. They made much of God and people came. They were generous to a community. They feared or valued the Lord and would sell everything for their brother or sister in the Lord. They made much of Jesus and it multiplied.

2. in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Of all the comforts of being the people of God it was the comfort in the Holy Spirit that mattered. The Holy Spirit is the life, the power and the presence of God in the people of God and consequently in the church. There can be everything you want in a church and it may have no life because there is no Spirit. I pray that I will never lead our church to a cheap substitute of life like being more of a comedian than a preacher. How are we comforted in the Holy Spirit? By walking in the fear/value/enjoyment of the Lord above everything.

I hope we are huge in impact for the gospel. I hope God grows Origin so that thousands can be changed by Jesus and 100's of churches can be planted and cities could be transformed. Until then our strategy stays the same...

Make much of Jesus and GOD builds a church.

The Gospel In One Morning

2009-07-16T14:31:00.001-07:00

What does it look like to point to the gospel through out a day?

I write this to encourage you. I hope it helps you see what pointing to Jesus can look like in a normal day. As you can tell by my morning this morning, no day is a normal day when God is at work in people.

My morning today at It's a Grind.

1. I walked into It's a Grind. The conversation at the counter was about the inability for a friend working behind the counter to have kids. My wife and I were told we wouldn't have kids so I pointed to Jesus, his grace in letting us have kids when it looked as if we wouldn't. I pointed to God's ability to change people on many levels. These kinds of conversations have been ongoing, it's cool.

2. Five minutes later one of the employees came to my table giving me a phone number to a dude who spilled his life to her a month earlier. She had no words to help but told him she thought I really would be able to help. When she came to my table she said that this guys wife is saying God told her to divorce. I looked at her and said, "That really doesn't sound like God, does it?" She doesn't know for sure but it's not what she thinks God would be like if he is real. Another moment to point to Jesus and what he is like.

3. I called the dude. He is mixed up because he doesn't understand how God could tell his wife to divorce him. We made plans to hang out.

4. About 20 minutes later a guy I have seen in It's a Grind several time sat next to me. He asked me some questions about my Mac (Mac's bring people together). As I was showing him the wonders of Mac he saw an e-mail from William Jessup (Christian private College in town), and asked if I went there. I said no but I am a teacher. I told him I teach the Bible at this church that meets right here at The Grind. I told him it's like it's a live. He said he should come, as the universe was speaking to him. I think it's God. He said he would be there because he's looking for something. I said "Cool see you Sunday".

5. Bumped into Nancy out front while returning to The Grind after lunch. She's about 60. She says she follow Jesus, we have talked several times about her addictions and who really was Jesus. I told her I haven't seen her in a while. As it turns out her husband was diagnosed with cancer. She said she's trusting God and asked if I would be praying. I asked if I could pray right now. I prayed that God would heal her husband of the cancer and healing to the cancer of sin by believing in Jesus. She said thank you.

John the baptist said, "I'm a voice crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord."

We are just a voice. If a voice doesn't says anything, it can't be heard.

One hard thought

2009-07-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

Take the Scriptures seriously.

"The boastful shall not stand before the lord..." Psalms 4:5

Have you ever boasted in your abilities, your strengths, your stability? Have you ever sought affirmation, recognition or glory? Did you consider yourself more worthy of food, time, money, bonuses over others? Have you thought you are better, greater, smarter, more worthy than just one other person? These are all moments of boasting just as Paul warns in Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

We don't have to over complicate Psalms 4:5. A self boasting person wont be given the chance to stand [in favor] before God. We aren't to boast in our own strength, faith, morality but rather boast only in the cross. Boasting in the cross is the only boasting allowed heaven. A trillion years into heaven, standing before God, eye to eye with our Father and we will say, "I can't believe the cross gave this to me!" "Jesus let me see the hands again for the billionth time, I just can't believe it." He'll say, "Believe it."

Why I Don’t Have a Television and Rarely Go to Movies by John Piper

2009-06-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is one of those articles I can think of a hundred arguments against what Piper is saying as I'm reading...but I know I'm fighting against a nature which desires me to be dull in feeling the deserving greatness of King Jesus.

"There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.... [read the whole article here]

Moses..It's time

2009-06-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

We are told in the scriptures that Moses talked to God like a man talks to a friend (E XODUS 33:11). Only Moses has ever seen the back side of the Glory of God.

This is why I struggle with the decision God made when Moses disobeyed. We only have one record of Moses being disobedient(Numbers 20:10-13) and yet when it happen the result was severe. Moses would lead God's people through the dessert for 40 years and then not be allowed in. I feel for the guy.

I wish the Bible said "Moses walked into the promised land, finally, worshiped God and then dropped" but it doesn't.

This is what it says,

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD,

What a crazy that day must have been. Hey Moses, I'm going to show you the land and then your coming home.

I think two things (on top of a thousand others) were on Moses' mind that morning. I don't think he was sad about not going into the land as he was sad he sinned against God. It is an important distinction. We sometimes mourn the consequence instead of the turning away. I think Moses understood it because he never showed discontentment with God. Secondly, I think he went down happy in God. He saw with his eyes God's faithfulness would be greater than Moses' and would go beyond Moses. He didn't see the land he saw God's sovereignty. God's grace. God's love. God's purpose. God's greaterness (it's a word now).

The Prayer of Agur...What? Never heard of him?

2009-06-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't name my first son after him but I do want to learn to pray like him.

"Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God."

Proverbs 30:7-9

Only the view of God which becomes big in our eyes and heart can cause us to pray this way. To pray that God would remove my desire to be false, more significant, more important, more achieving than I really am is different than every other American prayer. It is a hard way to pray when we desire God only give us what we need so that we will not think we are God and that we have done it for ourselves. Do you pray God would give or protect you and your stuff more, or do you pray that God would make you to be faithfully Jesus satisfied and God dependent?

Maybe we should name our sons after Agur and then show them how to pray these kinds of prayers.

All things that pertain to life and godliness!

2009-06-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

We have a tendency to make things so complicated. For whatever reason, complexity seems to appeal to us more. Following Jesus, being forgiven of sin and have eternal forever-happy relationship with God through faith seems outrageous. It must include more. It must mean that I do more, control myself more, moralize my life and behavior long before I'm presentable.

Before people come to our house my wife and I scurry around picking up all the baby toys. We wipe the puddle of drool on the kitchen table from the twins. We mop the floor and pile the clothes behind the door we are fairly sure our guests wont open.

We do this with God. Let me get my house (aka heart and mind) in order then when God comes over he'll be impressed and more apt to like you. What if God were to come over with everything in disarray like it is when we aren't expecting guests?

This makes Jesus so different than every other religion in the world. Every religion in the world is motivated by doing the right things to accomplish the desired effect, usually for some kind of favor from some form of god. Not true with Jesus. Christianity is the only "religion" where God himself accomplishes all the requirements for "favor" in himself. Christianity is the only religion that has a hero. God wants to walk into the messiness. It honors him when we don't try to clean up our heart and instead open the doors, let him see the mess and invite him into it and walk room to room as he sweeps away the disaster.

This is what Peter meant when we said,

"His [Jesus'] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellences... (2 Peter 1:3)"

See that? All things concerning life and godliness. The two main concerns of every person. How do I make sure I really live? Who is God and how do I please him? It's all been answered by the knowledge of the reality of the "divine power" of Jesus. It's big and eternal but not complicated.

Death Is Not Dying

2009-06-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

The tears are still drying on my cheeks after watching Rachel share her thoughts as she awaits death from bone cancer. There are very few more important things to say than this. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take an hour without distraction and watch this video.

Rachel Barkey

Is the church being passed up?

2009-05-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

On my way home from a meeting I found myself behind a slow truck and boxed in by a slow driver to my left. You understand my frustration, but that is another blog entirely. As I travel slowly behind I was definitely close enough to the bumper of this truck to read the message to impatient drivers like me.

"Top Speed Set at 60."

At least I couldn't blame the driver for the ridiculous speed he was traveling. In fact he was more stuck than I was, he couldn't pass himself. However, at the chance of getting by I shot past him in a fit of freedom feeling like Jeff Gordon.

Later it hit me that in some ways this is a great parallel to the modern American church. For most in the west the church is on cruise control. It's safe, efficient, predictable for guests, profitable and the people may be stuck. This is against everything the church in the NT experienced and lived as and it is everything I'm working tirelessly to plant into the DNA of Origin.

The church has been passed by as influential, necessary, beautiful, transforming, loving, sacrificing, good because although there is plenty of horsepower under the hood, the cruise control is set. There is little life. I want to be a church with the winds of the Holy Spirit flying through my hair, with the top down and the cops chasing behind just trying to domesticate the gospel. Who's with me?

Idol of self-Dependance (stubbornness)

2009-05-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 2:14-19 - “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
The lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved the crown of your head.
Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when he led you in the way?
And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
Your evil will chastise you,
and your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.

In Jeremiah chapter 2, God addresses idols which finds their place deep in the human heart. In the previous blog I wrote on the "idol of influence". In this blog, I want to look at the idol of self-dependence. We idolize our own freedom and dependence in may ways but here, in Jeremiah chapter 2, God focuses on a particular nuance.

Notice in verses 14-16, God describes how ravished the land is. Remember that Israel is divided into two kingdoms at this point in their history. A northern kingdom, Israel and a southern kingdom, Judah. In verse 14-16, God is asking the people to look at their circumstantial mess. They are war torn, drought stricken, unproductive, weak. God wants them to take stock in their circumstances and come up with some conclusions. The main conclusion is that they are the reason for their circumstances. Verse 16 points to this, "Have you not brought this on yourself...?" God's people were suppose to look at their surroundings and realize their sin. Of course they don't, none of us like to point the finger inward. So what do they do? Instead of turning towards God they turn away and go seek water (life) from their enemies (v. 17). They would rather go to drink from the rivers of their enemies than the life giving [spiritual] water of their King and God (Jeremiah 2:13). That is deep rooted self-dependence and stubbornness.

For some it takes a brick across the head to learn, hear and acknowledge God's working and way. That is not the way of God. There are some places where experience is the best teacher. Not in godliness. Let me say that again. We are not meant to learn godliness by experience. We are meant to hear the words of God and INSTANTLY apply them, live in them, hold to them and teach them. Some of us are so hard headed, and self-dependent , in pride we wait for a crack up the side of the head to hear God's words.

God sees it differently. He says to his people. Your life is a mess! You have made it a mess. In verse 30, God tells them he has been disciplining them and there has been no turning. We should not have pride in our rebellion as if having to learn to follow God the hard way is a good thing. It must grip our heart thinking of how we had to live, following and commit to continual sin before I learned my lesson and came to faith in the work of Jesus for me. Don't eat poop to know it's poop. That is not the way of God. Look around you, have you brought the messes of your life upon yourself because of your stubbornness? It's meant to lead you to repent not continue in self-dependence.

Questions I asked on Sunday night:

Is your past evident of your refusal to hear or understand God's will for you?

Does your life currently reflect a past of not listening?

Do you find yourself always coming up against the same situations only for you to blame it on others and your circumstances?

Do things have to hit you like a brick in order to get to you?

Do you ignore wise counsel because you can't imagine admitting you are wrong?

Idol of Influence

2009-05-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday night at Origin we walked through the hard message of God to his people in Jeremiah chapter 2. It was both beautiful and painful. Beautiful because Jeremiah preaches so well and because most have never even cracked it's pages. Painful because the message is relentless as it batters against the door of my pride. God hates idols. People love them. This is the essential problem of the human heart. Jeremiah chapter two exposes several idols which drive us, and the people we influence, away from God.

THE WORTHLESS LEADERS OF ISRAEL AND THEIR IDOL OF INFLUENCE.

Jeremiah 2:8 "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who handle the law did not know me; The shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit."

This was God's commentary of the leaders of Israel. The priests were not taking the people to God. They weren't even aware or cared of God's presence. The Rabbis and Scribes, who were interpreting the scriptures had no personal connection to the the author. It was just work. The shepherds or rulers of the people were sinning and leading the people into sin instead of away from it. The prophets were not speaking on behalf of God but of false gods and therefore false worthless wisdom.

It always starts with the leaders and you may say you are not a leader but you are an influencer. Everyone influences someone. A younger sister or brother. Husbands leading their families. Moms leading their children. Elderly leading their great-grand kids or nurses. A friend influencing their group of friends. Teachers leading students. Managers influencing office workers.

We all influence someone and sometimes our influence is an idol instead of making much of Jesus in our leadership. Sometimes our cowardice is the idol above being a godly influencer.

Here's the questions I asked on Sunday night so that they can continue to work their way into our influence or leadership.

Do you love influence over loving people?

Can you go all day without even a thought to "Where's God in this moment"?

Are you seeing worthlessness in your influence in people's lives (as a parent, friend, sister etc.)?

Do you lead people to reject the wisdom of God?

Do you lead your family in the folly of your own sin by worshipping other idols and not Jesus?

Are you a coward when you should have boldness as a godly influencer?

Are you prone to bow to your cowardice?

Don't be a coward. Ask the closest people around you to answer these questions on behalf of you. Then humbly hear the answers and seek change, first in forgiveness from Jesus then in putting away worthless living which brings about worthless leading.

Each day I'll post a set of questions for each idol God's people worship in Jeremiah chapter 2.

In Christ Alone

2009-05-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

I have been going to this song over and over this week. I just thought I would share the words here. This song is so powerful. Not musically but in truth. I hope you meditate on it and it messes you up, then it radically brings you to the cross.

In Christ Alone

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

The Preverbal Gun to Your Head Question.

2009-04-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

Christians almost always use the same description to describe "true dedication" to Jesus. It goes something like, "If a dude had a gun to your head and asked if you were a Christian, would you say,"yes" and be shot?" This might take you back to an energetic passionate moment where the "preaching" comes to a crescendo, and then falls to a whisper with, "I hope you would say "yes"."

I do hope you would be able to say, "yes". I would want to say, "yes". Here's the disconnect. There are situations in the world where this question is important and telling. We need to encourage people in our churches that by following Jesus it may lead to the most dangerous places and you may, if you're lucky, be eaten by cannibals.

But not here in the states. There are Christians being abused for faith but it isn't at the point of a gun (yet). So I was thinking as this guy was talking (not the most polite thing I know, Sam, I'm sorry.) what if we ask a more relevant question?

What if a gun was pointed at your most serious of dreams? What if the gun was pointed at your boat or your Lexus or Civic (that's an easy choice for me)? What if the gun was pointed at your marriage, health, life of your daughter or son? What if the gun was pointed at sex and God's wisdom versus your way of thinking? What if the gun was pointed at getting your way, what you think you're worth in your company or some sort of justice? What if the gun was pointed at your money or your house? What if the gun was pointed at your hobbies, TV, golf, movies, DVD's, ATV's, motor homes, comforts, family memories or sleep?

This question makes much more sense to me. It grips me. It causes me to actually think about the answer.

"Oh, taste and see the Lord is good", the scriptures say so timely. Maybe our answer is most dependent on the lingering taste of the goodness of God in the mouth of our soul.

The gun is pointed...I dare you to say yes?

Seven good things to know about the book of Jeremiah

2009-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we launched a new Series called "Shake Down", a study of the prophet Jeremiah. Beginning a study through a massive Old Testament book like Jeremiah takes an understanding of the history surrounding it, otherwise it makes about as much sense as a pop tart without frosting. Jeremiah being complicated and our podcast didn't record last Sunday night, I wanted to provide a resource for those who missed last Sunday or may jump into Jeremiah as the year goes on.

7 good things to know in order to makes sense of the book of Jeremiah.

1. Jeremiah is the second largest book in the Bible (behind Psalms) by words. The book of Jeremiah is 21,835 Hebrew words of messages, prophecies, poetry and narrative of his life. The book of Isaiah has more chapters but Jeremiah is significantly larger. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet and apparently the long-winded prophet as well.

2. We know very little about the birth, childhood or death of Jeremiah. All we known about the prophet Jeremiah is what is written in his book covering the 40 years of faithful service to God, to the people of Judah. The first verses of Jeremiah tell us he grew up in Anathoth about 3 miles from Jerusalem and his dad was a local priest. Based on dates and the Old Testament story we can guess that Jeremiah was born in 642, called as a prophet by God in 627/626 (he was 16 years old), the last of his recorded public ministry was 586 with his obscure death in Egypt after that.

3. Jeremiah's main theme is covenantal (promise). The Hebrew people are God's people and therefore were to live as God's people. Over and over God, through Jeremiah will remind his people and those in authority over them of the covenant he made with their forefathers. This is also one of the reasons we should take seriously the words of Jeremiah for our own life. God condemns the covenant breaking sins of his people specifically in idolatry, self-dependence, and broken human relationships. Can we relate here? Loving and giving worth to idols, depending on our own strength/talent or on someone else's.

4. Like every word on the pages of the Bible, Jeremiah is God's words to a nation ultimately God revelation of himself to those people and to us. The story of Jeremiah tells us about God through the life of Jeremiah. Jeremiah as a man, prophet, servant of God and help us understand and know God's desires, nature and purpose.

5. In the government of God there are three main roles; king, prophet, priest. The king was to be the authority of God over the people. Lead them where God would lead. Establish the kingdom of God on earth over the chosen people by God. The king was to bring the justice of God to his nation and consequently to all the nations. The priest was to bring the people before God. The priest would administer sacrifices, atonement, pronouncements of clean and unclean, rituals and rights for the people. Without the priests the people could not approach God, have their sins forgiven and be considered clean and consecrated. The prophet was to be God for the people and for the kings. No single position has all authority. These three roles were representatives of God, not self given authority. The king was to lead where the scriptures dictate and God leads, the priests were to administer grace and the prophet was to be the confirming word of God. However, the pride of the human heart would often cause kings to be self motivated, priests to be position seekers and prophets to be marginalized. Jeremiah was a prophet, he was called and commissioned by God to be a voice to the authorities, people and greedy priests. Unfortunately, like the prophets gone before him, he was ignored at best and severely mistreated at worst.

6. Knowing the kings of Judah during Jeremiah's ministry is essential to understanding the book. First to know is the nation of Israel is in a divided state. After King Solomon died the nation of Israel divided into a northern kingdom (Israel) and southern kingdom (Judah). This was motivated mainly by strong family ties and selfishness. So the unified covenant people of God, were no longer unified and in many ways became like estranged brothers and sometimes enemies. The book of 1st and 2nd Kings is the history of the kings of both Israel and Judah. Jeremiah is a prophet to the kings of the southern kingdom (which contains Jerusalem).

The Kings of Jeremiah

King Josiah became King at age 8 in 640 BC. The mark of his ministry was leading national spiritual reformation in his 18th year as King, ultimately ending a vassal situation with the Assyrians. He was killed in battle against the Egyptians in 609BC.

The people installed Jehoahaz, Josiah's son to be the next king. Three months into his rule he was "recalled" by the Assyrians who then installed Jehoiakim, thinking Jehoiakim (also King Josiah's son) would be more useful for Assyrians.

Jehoiakim reigned for 11 years (598AD) along the way becoming a tool for Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar the new ruler of the Babylonian empire appreciated the taxes from Judah and the puppet King Jehoaikim. Jehoaikim suddenly brave, revolted against King Nebuchadnezzar, causing the Babylonian army to come knocking. While the army was at the gates of Jersualem, the scriptures tells us King Jehoiakim died. Convenient. Jehoachin yet another son of Josiah had a short reign of 3 months after which King Nebuchadnezzar replaced him with Zedekiah. Zedekiah revolted as well leaving the Babylonians no other choice but to destroy Jerusalem and assume all the Hebrew people into Babylonian culture.

7. How to approach this book? First, we should approach Jeremiah as if it was mirror. The culture, the people, the message, the story, the rebellion, etc. all reflect our culture, our selves, our rebellion and the message we should be told, especially how it relates to Jesus. As we work through we should ask questions of ourselves.

God told Jeremiah early on his message would fall to deaf and dumb ears. However, God still sent Jeremiah (at a huge expense to him personally) to lead the people back to the covenant. Jeremiah's first 25 chapters is judgement. I'm not going to lie it's rough and depressing. The bottom line is God knew his people wouldn't listen but he sent Jeremiah anyway. God still offered grace to the people in spite of intentional rebellion. Jeremiah is grace. The message of judgement is grace. The book is God's grace and every page gets us to Jesus who is our grace.

Porn good. Men bad and other musings.

2009-03-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today I went to support a friend who was sitting on a discussion panel on porn and its effects. This week is "Love Your Body Week" at Sierra College, a community college nearing 25,000 students in Rocklin. Loving your body in the way Sierra College means it is to be an expression of social and sexual freedom. In fact, the slogan of this emphasis is a quote by Eve Ensler, "Love your body, take back the world."

My friend did well. He represented a Biblical worldview in regards to porn but the environment of this discussion was never set up to actually be influential in changing the way porn is viewed. No one left that auditorium thinking they would actually reconsider watching/looking at porn. However, there was one message that was clear. Men and our male-dominated culture and way of thinking is the enemy. The pro-porn side was fueled by a gay Sex and Gender Sociology professor, female Feminism Study's professor and a female Sociology Professor. Here was their consensus: Porn is good. Men are bad.

I'm not using hyperbole here. Over and over throughout the discussion it was said, "Our culture, which has been dictated by male dominance, is the source of the negative affects and uses of porn. Women being objectified in pornography is because men have been taught to objectify. Men who impose sexual practices and standards on women that they have seen in porn is because boys have been taught at an early age to suppress women. The reason women, by in large, do not participate in pornography to the degree of men is because they have been taught by their male suppressed mothers they shouldn't be sexually free." Outside of this debate the entire emphasis on loving your body was anti-male.

On the flyer, the seminars given to discuss the topic of manhood are:

1. Pecks, Penises, Patriarchy: A discussion about Masculinity and popular American Culture.
2. Peaceful Warrior - Mediations to gain awareness of body, mind, relaxations.
3. Tough Guise: Violence, Media, Masculinity.
4. Bodies and Gender: the socially constructed meaning of gendered bodies.

Seriously? The only discussions are dealing with masculinity? As you can see, the results are in...masculinity is the enemy.

Where are the dudes who follow Jesus, love their wives, lovingly lead their kids, honor women, sacrificially lead and defend the hurting? Men have been the problem but not because the world has been male dominated for 50 centuries. It's because men have become less than men. We need men to rise up and take back a gender-grey culture. Men need to stop pursuing boats and hobbies and start pursuing their wives, children and wisdom.

I walked out of that discussion today resolved not to allow Biblical, true masculinity die in our culture. I will go to the grave raising up men. Guys where are you? Guys, we will never be the men our wives, kids, friends, culture, Jesus needs with our pants around our ankles in front of a computer. Our agenda is not to regain a masculine control. Our agenda is to be men, embodying all that God intended when he made us male.

The present goodness of God for our future failure

2009-03-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

In Luke 22:31-34 Jesus speaks two radical statements to Peter, his faithful follower,

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me."

So much can be said about these two statements Jesus makes to Peter. Peter is about to deny his friendship with Jesus three times while Jesus is being paraded in the temple courts as a criminal. Jesus knows more than Peter. First Jesus knows Peter would indeed deny him. Secondly, Jesus knows it's Satan's desire to see Peter fail. Thirdly, Jesus has been praying for Peter's faith.

Don't miss what Jesus does in verse 32. Jesus tells Peter he has prayed for Peter's faith, then he says, "and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." It's not that Jesus just tells Peter that he will deny every knowing him. It's that Jesus says, "when you turn again..." Meaning, Peter, when you realize what you have done, repent and return to following me, I'm going to use you. More simply Jesus says to Peter, "You're going to sin, fail morally and spiritually, deny you ever knew me, but it doesn't disqualify you. Before Peter failed, Jesus was extending grace. Jesus was praying for Peter's faith to remain strong after he finds himself a failure not he wouldn't deny Jesus at all.

This is the power of the cross. It is future working. Jesus speaks this to us every time we fail morally or spiritually, whether by weak faith or by fear. It doesn't disqualify because it isn't us that determines our ability to be in relationship with Jesus, it's Jesus and his work on the cross.

So you will sin in a handful of ways, in your heart, when you are done reading this blog. Maybe, tomorrow you will sin more seriously, even though you couldn't imagine it this moment. When you turn again, encourage others because you are not disqualified". Jesus has prayed that your faith would not fail even after failure.

The Top 10 Most Anti Essential Christian Books

2009-03-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me the heads up on this list. It's good to lighten up about ourselves.

10. Everyone Is Going To Hell Except Me – John MacArthur
9. There’s No ‘U’ in Ministry: A Woman’s Guide – Mark Driscoll
8. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid – John Hagee
7. We Know Jesus Better Than You Do – The Vatican Curia
6. I’m Cool With Whatever (Featuring Enhanced Doodle Graphics) – Brian McLaren
5. This Book Looks Longer Than It Really Is – Rob Bell
4. God Wants You To Pay For My Airplane – Creflo Dollar
3. 10 Keys To The 8 Steps To The 3 Paths To The 1 Way to God™ – Rick Warren
2. I Secretly Wish I Were the Pope: A Memoir – N.T. Wright
1. God’s Most Glorified When We’re Most Calvified in Him, by John Piper

Here's the real link.

Hey branch I got your back...do branches got backs?

2009-03-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching a series called "Numb" at Origin Church. The point is we are numb to true spirituality as we try to navigate a Christian saturated culture. Saying America is Christian saturated, might sound like a great thing, however, saturation without transformation is just noise. One effect is the overload of Christian talk, TV evangelists, pseudo-Christian values and popularity of Jesus has destroyed something life giving, transformational, real. Instead we are left with compartments for Christian living. They exist for some in ideas, represented by a family Bible on the coffee table of a childhood house. For others it exists in a christian bubble, influenced by people who have divorced themselves from the "real world" for something that seems or looks more Holy. Jesus doesn't stand out in the world of little gods. He is one of many and appropriately said by Dan Kimball, "They like Jesus but hate the church". Unfortunately, it is impossible to truly like Jesus and hate his true church (notice the emphasis on truth). Compartments abound.

This past week I taught on being numb to community. I looked at a familiar passage, John 15, but wanted to pull out a missed point; to be in relationship with Jesus is to be in community with his people, always. In a passage used mainly for individual faith, I think Jesus meant something more. John 15:5 Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches..." He says "branches". He is talking to those who have been following him and believe him and he calls them all branches. The true church, those who have repented, have been forgiven and given restored relationship with God are the branches.

The next question then becomes what are the branches suppose to do? They are suppose to "abide" in Jesus like John 15:1-17 tells us 16 times (in some form). Each branch is to remain connected to, worship, love, hooked, fed by, rooted in Jesus. That's the point of each person in individual relationship with Jesus and becomes the very purpose of the branches. The branches are to help the branches "abide." The community of the church is to help each other abide. The following of Jesus for us, is just as hard as it was for Peter to walk on the water towards Jesus. We can see Jesus have every intention to following him and easily still walk in another direction. The branches are to aid in helping every twig, limb and shoot, to abide in Jesus.

C.S. Lewis says it right, "He works on us in all sorts of ways. But above all, he works on us through each other. Men are mirrors, or “carriers” of Christ to other men. Usually it is those who know Him that bring Him to others. That is why the church, the whole body of Christians showing Him to one another, is so important. It is so easy to think that the church has a lot of different objects - education, buildings, missions, holding services…the Church exists for no other purpose but to draw men to Christ. to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose."

Podcast can be found at www.Origincommnitychurch.com

The Dawkins Dellusion

2009-02-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

In a recent interview with the UK's most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, Times Online was able to get into the mind of Mr. Atheism. As difficult as it is for him to grasp the existence of "God", it's more difficult to understand his thinking.

Times-
"[You] believe in the possibility of a transcendent “intelligence” existing beyond the range of present human experience."
Why not call it God?

Dawkins-
“I don’t think it’s helpful to call it God.”

Times-
OK, but what would “it” be like?

Dawkins-
“I think it’ll be something wonderful and amazing and something difficult to understand... Maybe it evolved in another universe and created some computer simulation that we are all a part of. It’s going to be grander and bigger and more beautiful and more wonderful and it’s going to put theology to shame.”

To quote Zoolander, "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" Dawkins argues the non-existence of God only to believe that a "transcendant" computer programer exists, who is wonderful, amazing, difficult to understand. It turns out that Dawkins has more faith than I do as a Christian.

Dawkins I agree with you, in the end God will "put theology to shame". However, not because Christian orthodox theology got it wrong but because it was painting by numbers and everyone will finally see the masterpiece.

Read the article.

God bless the beads

2009-02-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

Mardi Grass is quite the American tradition. I can hear the internal dialogue. "So if I lift my shirt in public you'll give me a cheap string of beads that were made in China?" "I'm in!"

I thought Jim Wests post on the obviously insightful reality of humanity is well worth a read.

Check it out HERE.

That's my kind of Woman

2009-02-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Stolen banner and Psalms 150...

2009-02-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

Psalms 150:1 & 6

"Praise the Lord!... Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"

This morning we found out that the banner announcing Origin's launch this Sunday, was stolen last night sometime. It was a stressful, bummer kind of morning. Who ever took it had no idea the time it would cost me to try and figure the whole thing out. Not to mention the money the banner cost and the permit to display it.

I sat down at It's a Grind this morning, opened my Bible. I read a Psalm every morning. So happens this morning was Psalms 150, the last one. The words rushed over me like a wave, causing a foam of truth to stir in me.

This whole banner thing is simple in comparison to everything else but it seems like banner moments happen often to us. David in the Psalms just says, "Praise the Lord!" Notice the inflection. David could have put a period at the end of the sentence but he put an exclamation point. That exclamation point is the only signal we have to the passion at which we are to praise. It not a simple phrase for Christian talk. It's not a marking tool for Christian book stores to sell more wall plaques. It's not for us say, "Yeah, I know, praise the Lord". It's with passion and reality we praise the Lord. There is no circumstantial influence into what David is saying. It's plan, "Praise the Lord!"

Banner or no banner. Sickness or realtive health. Stress or calm. Married or single. rational or seemingly irrational. Praise the LORD!

The gospel gets some press in Rocklin...

2009-02-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

An article was written about Origin launching next week at It's A Grind. It's a great article and we are excited about what God is going to do through Origin as we live out the gospel in our city.

Click Here

Mark Driscoll Interviewed by D.L.

2009-02-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

Farewell Art...here's one for you.

2009-02-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

As I began to think about how to start writing this post it occurred to me I don't even know Art's last name. Doesn't matter really. Art was a 78 year-old Korean War veteran, with a long history of traveling the world as an Air Force consultant and civil planner. He frequently came to It's A Grind for a cup of coffee, bought to him in a real mug. Sometimes it was to meet his friend and talk politics, taxes and simpler times. Often it was alone. He would sit, with his cane straddled one leg, looking out into the parking lot as he drank. Never giving away the thoughts in his head as he sat there. He told me once that he only comes out when his wife is busy doing something else keeping her from thinking he has too much fun without her.

We met a couple of months ago. It was a crowded morning. I usually sit on the bench with one single small table as my desk. This particular morning I sat in the large chairs because there was no other place to sit. I feel like a jerk being that one guy taking up four seats. Art asked to sit at one of the chairs. I said, "Of course", from then to now we ended up somewhere between acquaintances and friends.

He reminded me a lot of my dad from the Korean war to his bad heart keeping steady with an implanted defibrillator. It was the depression era disposition and attitude which made him like my father. I understood him, I'm not sure he understood me. Along with this 30's generation comes massive self-reliance. He didn't have a compartment for a guy like me. First, I am pastor. That alone flew right by him. Secondly, giving up what seems like everything to start a new church, was stupid in his mind. He listened but not without his internal criticism, which made no difference to me. I enjoyed our talks.

The last time we talked. He said he was was falling more often. He refused to use a walker, I would too. It's been a week since I have seen him here. I found out this morning he had a bad fall last week and broke his neck. I guess there was nothing the doctors could do except keep him stable and comfortable. This was going to be his end. Five minutes after hearing about his fall, his friend came in to tell the girls behind the counter Art died early this morning. It hit me like bricks.

Lot's of things went through my mind. I thought about how life is fragile. I thought it wasn't suppose to go down like this. What a random way to end. There will be no more talks. Then I thought I wouldn't be able to talk about the gospel. I wanted to. I asked him a few questions but I didn't intentionally lead him to the cross. Then I thought, bummer, I wish I would have.

Today feels different. I usually drink tea. Right now I'm have a cup of coffee for Art. Art, your missed. It was short. Thanks for asking to sit that day.

John Piper speaks to Obama while preaching this past Sunday

2009-01-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

I must admit, I'm trying to figure out what to do about abortion. I don't know what to do. I have been compelled recently, more than I ever had, at the complacency of protecting the life of the unborn. I think we will all look back, from eternity, and be in awe of lack of doing. 1,000,000 will boys and girls will be killed this year in the US. I have avoided the issue mainly because I don't want to be clumped into the "Christian pro-life" bubble. However, I am feeling like in some ways it's a cop out.

I am disappointed in Obama's first week as president, out of everything which needs be done, enabling international aid for abortions (under the guise of young woman's health), was outrageous. I think Piper explains it right by stating that nothing good has been done for the women, either the one pregnant or the one in the womb.

Watch it and comment.

Roe vs Wade - Roe (Norma McCorvey) speaks about what really happen

2009-01-22T14:27:00.001-08:00

Admittedly I knew Roe vs. Wade only as the decision legalizing abortion. I have never known anything about "Roe" or "Wade." The following are statements from Norma McCorvey, She was a poor, young mother in 1969, pregnant and looking for a way out. Two young lawyers used her for their benefit. Ultimately, leading her on a road of aweful discovery of the realities, lies and girls inside the abortion industry.

In 2000, she made an official statement regarding the truth behind Roe vs. Wade. Below are some excerpts. See the whole affidavit here.

My name is Norma McCorvey, and I reside in Dallas, Texas. I was the woman designated as "Jane Roe" as plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that it was unconstitutional for my state to prohibit doctors from performing abortions.

Weddington and Coffee presented the affidavit for my signature at Coffee's office. I told them that I trusted them and that I did not need to read the affidavit before I signed it. I never read the affidavit before signing it and do not, to this very day, know what is written in the affidavit.

I only met with the attorneys twice. Once over pizza and beer. I had never read the affidavit and I did not know what an abortion was. I found out about the decision from the newspaper just like the rest of the country.

In retrospect, I was exploited by two self-interested attorneys. Worse, the courts, without looking into my true circumstances and taking the time to decide the real impact abortion would have upon women, I feel they used me to justify legalization of terminating the lives over thirty-five million babies.

At that time, I didn't know their full intent. Only that they wanted to make abortion legal and they thought I'd be a good plaintiff. I came for the food, and they led me to believe that they could help me get an abortion.

I obviously advocated legalized abortion for many years following Roe v. Wade. But working in the abortion clinics forced me to accept what abortion is. It is a violent act which kills human beings and destroys the peace and the real interests of the mothers involved.

It seems appropriate to bring this up considering how much ink has and will be spilt on Obama's abortion policies. Life and humanity are never above our pay grade. Let us not be librial in our definition of life. No one can claim certianity of when life begins. So let us error on the side of life.

Dad, are you freaking out?

2009-01-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

My family and I were flying home after two weeks in Southern California. It was the first time flying with the twins...wow, security is not prepared for twins and all the junk that comes with them, that is for sure. Traveling with twins is whole other blog. This is about my boy, Landon, who has flown a couple of times but it is still new to him. He is old enough now to comprehend what flying really is. A small metal tube, rocketing through the air, a couple of miles off the ground. The last couple times he has flown he paid no attention to the "dangers". This time, he felt the take off. The "tickling" in his tummy, the loud engines and of course the bumps. He felt the bumps.

When we flew to So Cal the flight was uninventful. Coming home this past weekend it was a bit shaky. Shaky enough for me to look up from my book and look for the masks to fall from the ceiling. We were dropping and then going back up again. Swinging from side to side. My oldest thought is was a roller coaster ride so she loved it. Others on the plane seemed a bit uncomfortable.

This most amazing moment happen between my son, who was sitting next to me, and me. During the roughest part of the turbulance, he knew it wasn't really suppose to feel like this. He felt the fragility of the whole situation for the first time. He held his armrest tightly and with wide eyes turned to look at me. I know what he was looking for. He was testing the situation. If dad is freaked out then he knew something was wrong. If I was clinching my arm rest and searching the faces of the flight attendants, he would know the turbulance is very, very bad.

He looked at me. I was fine. I smiled and held his hand and told him, "Sometimes, airplanes are bumpy. It's cool". In an instant he stoped knuckling the arm rests. He picked up his crayons and went back to playing and enjoying the ride, inspite of the dipping and shaking.

A leasson was birthed for me right then. In his world, I am his security. How I respond and react to what is happening around me, teaches him what is true or not true about what is happening. He has not idea I am just out of control as he is. Yet we do what Landon did when we face turbulance. Look to someone or something to tell us truth. Unlike me, God is actually in control. Unlike me God is actually knowing of every possible circumstance. So when life gets/is bumpy, we look to God and see he isn't freaking out. We can stop knuckling the arm rests of our life, and feel rest.

The bumps didn't go away. The danger didn't end. We were still miles away from the ground and in a tube speeding through the air. What changed is how Landon experienced that moment. How we experience life changes as we look to a God who doesn't freak out. He is at rest in the turbulance. We can also be.

He Kicked Them Out!

2008-12-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

We began preparing for Christmas through teaching the Advent theme "hope". As traditional as the Advent themes may be, I'm not approaching them traditionally.

This past week we began the theme of hope by addressing what happened in the garden between God, Adam, Eve and the snake. If you want to hear how that went you can always keep up with the teachings at Origin on our website. The teaching was big. It was deep and I had hoped to get through the entire chapter but because of time I wasn't able to completely finish. So I will complete one thought I wasn't able to get to in the teaching.

Genesis 3 is the first place in the Scriptures we can identify with. We read God was in the beginning. We understand how the world came together. We can intellectually grasp how God breathes life into the man. We can think about what perfection would have been like. We can faintly hear the sounds of the garden in our minds. We picture the animals and Adam diligently naming them all. We can even feel, kind-of, Adam coming to the end of all the animals and realizing he was all alone because there was nothing like him. So God creates a perfect helper. We even idealize their perfect marriage. Perfect helping each other. Perfect communication with each other. Perfect sex. Perfect thoughtfulness. Perfect.

We can't understand this kind of life can we? We can think about it but we are not able to relate to it. Chapter 3, in the story of beginning, is where we can enter the scene.

Long story short. Eve is tempted and eats of the tree God said not to (3:6). Adam, being a weak protector and leader, allows the snake to tempt his wife and he follows suit and eats the fruit also(3:6). They justify (3:6). They hide (3:8). They passed the buck (3:12-13). This is the first breakdown. The breakdown between people and God. Verses 14-19 is the second breakdown. The perfect relationship Adam and Eve shared would dissolve as well. Things with God would be broken. Relationships would be broken.

Fast forward to verses 22-24.

"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

This passage is one of the most hopeful passages in the entire Bible. God should have destroyed Adam and Eve. He didn't. After he killed an animal to clothe them and set up the sacrificial system he kicked them out of the garden. Verses 22-24 stick out to me so loudly. He showed them that death has now entered the world and without the shedding of blood there would be no forgiveness of sin. Then he kicks them out. It seems strange. In verse 21 it almost feels like the relationship has been broken. The curse to mankind was spoken and by God the worst was over. But verses 22-24 show us something different. God clothes them and then kicks them out into the barrenness. Into the wilderness. Into the cursed earth where the thorns and thistles will frustrate Adam for his whole life. Work without peace. Child raising without peace. Marriage without peace. Sweat, blood and pain become the new way.

There would be no returning to the garden which according to Genesis was the most hopeful decision God could have made. It was for hope they were kicked out. If was for hope God sent them on their way and guarded the entrance with an angel and flaming sword. It was for hope they packed their bags and entered a new harsh world. Verse 22 and 23 points to the hope. "Lest he (Adam and Eve) reach his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever-- there fore the Lord God sent he out from the garden..." If they would have stayed, at some point they would have eaten the tree of life and would have forever been stuck in a damned state. There would have been no way out for them if they would have stayed. So God kicked them out. The most hopeful choice.

It means only one thing. God intended they be redeemed. They most likely saw it as pain and punishment but for God he saw it as good. The hardship of the wilderness was the hope they could hold onto. They may have told each other over and over, "We are here so that we can one day be redeemed. This is the most loving and hopeful thing God has done for us."

The wilderness was preaching the gospel to them. Is it possible everything that happens in our life is preaching the gospel to us? Is my back disease God's hope of redemption for me? I think so. Pain preaches the gospel. Hebrews tells us God disciplines those he loves. Therefore if you are not disciplined then you are not loved. Pain (God's purpose in suffering) is for hope's sake. Redemption is coming. This wilderness is the proof of God's redemption.

He kicked them out to make way for the gospel. Everything we face in life makes way for the gospel in us. That is hope.

O Holy Crap

2008-12-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

This really was sung publicly at a church. I just don't understand why it's so hard for professional, young, talented people to connect with Jesus and the church. Listen to the whole thing, it just keeps getting better and better.

Profound

2008-12-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

I got this e-mail from a friend who is a part of the gathering of people focused on starting Origin Church. It was simple but profound, and well worth sharing. Thanks Rob for your friendship, encouragement to me and commitment to sacrifice.

After being back in my old, more traditional church this past week I am extremely thankful for Origin. As I saw people come and go I began to wonder why they were there. We could study, worship, or get whatever style of preaching/teaching we want online or on TV. Then I began to wonder why we come together at all. God whispered, "You come together to be together". That's what makes Origin so special. When we're together we're together. It's beautiful. Stay encouraged. We are on the right path. God is reforming His church. This may even take more sacrifice than we realize. It's awesome.

Rob

Is John Piper's most important book coming?

2008-12-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

Adrian Warknock just released a review of what he claims will be John Piper's most important book. Based on what Adrian has written I am both excited and reserved to read it. Comment me telling me what you think of his review and thoughts on the book.

Read the review here.

Cash Cow

2008-11-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to "The Gospel According to Blog" for pulling out the irony of this situation. A bunch of Christians were organized by Breakingchristiannews.com to pray for the falling stock market. Are they praying for their own stock and trust funds or for the poor who have been hit the hardest. I think this mistake was made once in history already. What is it with the fascination of golden cows anyway?

"Stuff is killing us"- John Piper

Lost in Translation but hilarious!

2008-11-20T00:16:00.001-08:00

This is proof that there is more to being relevant than language. These poor old people are probably being enslaved in some kind of sweatshop choir arrangement. Their families think they are in a loving convalescent care facility but little do they know they are being forced to rap against their will.

Enjoy!

Our legacy and God's Ultimate Purpose

2008-11-12T20:15:00.001-08:00

Ezra 7:1

Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

You might be asking what is so amazing about that? You would be smart in asking that question since at a glance it just seems to be a list of names. These sections of the Bible are good reading when we are having a hard time to falling asleep, not typically for learning and being challenged. I'll try to show what I see and why I had to stop and think through this passage.

Here is some background. Ezra was a priest to the exiled Israelites. Nearly 70 years prior to this the Israelites were defeated and taken captive by Babylon. Better said, God handed his people over to the Babylons to be captured because they, in many ways, forgot about their God who had saved them and cared about them, pursued them. So for the Israelites this was a "time out" of sorts. They were beaten in war. Jerusalem, including the temple, lay in waste and the people were taken to Persia until God would again regroup his chosen people.

This is where we break into the story of Ezra. He is a priest for the people in exile, regarded highly by the Persians, especially by the king Cyrus and then Artaxerxes. Ezra starts his book by saying God has charged him with the responsibility of rebuilding the temple, in Jerusalem, which was destroyed. The book of Ezra is the story of how God not only called Ezra but worked in the hearts of pagan people to accomplish God's plan. You should read the whole story.

Ezra was faithful. Ezra loved the Lord and God blessed his life and his call.

Ezra is at the top of this list of names. This was his moment on the stage of human history but if you go down the list you come to a dude named Phinehas. I believe Phinehas is one of the underscored people and stories in the whole Bible (Numbers 25). He was the keeper of the Tabernacle. It was in his family line to be a Priest.

Here's where it connects. Phinehas in his moment in human history was "jealous for his God" (Number 25:13) and defended the righteousness of God instead of the misguided choices of his countrymen. What he did was hard. It took courage. It took conviction. It took a godly strength. It was his moment.

So how does a list of names matter to us now? Think for a moment what would have happened in the legacy of Phinehas if he failed to be "jealous for his God" and instead allowed fear or apathy to settle in? It's hard to know the result but because of Phinehas' faithfulness to God a legacy leading to Ezra had began. I imagine Ezra as a child being told bedtime stories of Phinehas and his passion for God and his passion for the temple. You could imagine Ezra remembered those stories into his adulthood as an example of a godly priest. No doubt it was a means by which Ezra would be motivated when his moment came. God called and Ezra answered. It was going to be hard. It would take courage. It seemed impossible looking at his present circumstance. It was going to take a massive vision of God and a heart to accomplish what God had commended him to do.

Don't think for a moment what you do this very day doesn't affect your legacy and the future generations who will come from you. It does. Your faithfulness to God and his goodness, love and power just may be the legacy your future great, great, great, great grandchild will hear at bedtime, sitting there in awe and dreaming maybe God would also call them to something big and when it's their turn, their moment, they too will choose to have a vision for God.

One more encouragement. If we travel back two more generations you find Aaron the Priest is beginning of the priestly line. Moses' second hand man who lead the people of God to worship a golden calf as god. Led them in sexual orgy worship and forgot the God who led them out of the slavery of Egypt. In Phinehas' past is failure, faithlessness, sin and faulty leadership. Yet, God redeemed his family legacy.

Ezra was faithful to God's call, the legacy of Phinehas. Aaron's failure was redeemed. May the lists of names be more than a practice in syllables. There is a story weaved through them, teaching us how God works.

Relfections from Eric Redmond about the Historic Election of Obama

2008-11-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

This is exceptional. I thought about adding my thoughts to yesterday but I realized none would compare to Redmond's and mine would be just more noise and probably not helpful. This is a fairly long post by Redmond but it is awesome. Read it here.

I will say this...I thought John's McCain's speech was outstanding. Good for America and an example of what responsibility looks like. Just a quick character comparison. We once had a president who took none of the responsibility for what happen under the desk in the Oval office with an intern. There was no other option but to accept his own actions and admit the wrong. Yet he didn't. Last night, we heard an almost president assure those who supported him say, "The failure is mine." What a contrast. It would be understandable for McCain to believe that America got it wrong, but he didn't. If I were a teacher in a high school. I would be talking about the greatness of a black man becoming president. I would also be showing McCain's character in defeat. A good lesson in an integrity vacuum.

A different kind of breakfast for me this morning

2008-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

This isn't political. This is not about marriage. This is about the gospel. Check it out. I have been convicted as I sat at my desk this morning contemplating my day, praying for the day and my family.

My prayer was and is:

God, thank you for your future grace, may it radically penetrate my fears and my hope every second I step into it.

A good way to start a raining day in a politically rainy time.

The Most Important Issues In the 2008 Election

COUNTERcultural

2008-10-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

The other day I had one of those moments that provided a metaphor for how I have been thinking. I was at the mall for a meeting with a friend. We walked to the food court and I looked at my options and then I looked at my wallet, there went my options. McDonald's it was. When I was about 30 feet from the counter a voice came shooting out, "What can I get for you today?". At first I ignored it because I was so far from the register but again the voice loudly called, "Sir, can I get something for you?". I knew now the voice was talking to me. I felt like I was being called out in class for talking or not paying attention. As if everyone in the food court went silent. It was uncomfortable. Others in the area were looking at me and at the girl behind the counter with a very enthusiastic work ethic and loud voice to match.

I didn't say anything. I made my way to the counter silently. She was peering at me as I walked up, kind of annoyed I think, since I chose not to call my order out 3 car lengths away from the counter. I stepped up to the register and I said, "Hi, How are you?".

It was at this moment a metaphor would be born. A picture became clear and a truth was given a language. While waiting for my two cheese burgers I had time to process what had just happen and I realized I experienced a cultural teaching.

Three months ago we started Origin Church. I, and now those who come, want it to be different. Not because we think that different is cool but because we believe different is closer to the way Jesus designed it and modeled it.

The church has lost it effectiveness. Barna has shown time and again the little difference between people who are "born again" Christians inside the church and the "world" outside the church. This idea has been a large factor in planting Origin. How does the "church" bring the kind of transformed life the Bible shows should be a reality but is absent in the modern American church?

In my time spent with people who hate church, over the last 9 months, their reaction is almost the same. The church seems out of place. Christians seem out of place. It's like a person gets close enough and Christians begin to yell, make noise and with enthusiasm (real enthusiasm granted) yell from a distance, "What can I get for you today...my church has something for everyone." The person ends up looking out of place as if the whole world is waiting to see what happens.

I know the person at McDonald's couldn't do this. What if she would have stepped out from behind the counter? Walked to me with a smile and with a soft voice said, "Hi, I'm Sarah. You're probably hungry. Can I get you something?"

I would have felt comfortable. Served. Do you see the lesson there? In many ways the church sits behind a counter open for orders..."I'll take youth ministry with extra fun and a regular 3 point sermon that makes me feel warm. Hold the commitment."

That's not what Jesus had in mine when he commissioned the community of followers who would carry the word about the freedom, love and life which comes through faith in Jesus.

D.A. Carson...Human or not?

2008-10-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have read D.A. Carson. I have heard him speak publicly. The dude reads 500 books a year and to really shove it in your face, he remembers them all. Freak of nature for sure, but he loves Jesus, loves the Bible and wants to see the Gospel go out as it should. This post is from Scott Thomas, Director of Acts 29, the church planting network out of Mars Hill Seattle. It's better than good. It's brilliant and right. Not a popular combo these days.

[Scott Thomas]
If you ever want to feel like you have the intelligence of a NASCAR fan that just finished off a six-pack (I think it's a Red Neck law), then listen to D.A. Carson talk about, well, anything. Don is fluent in something like 7 languages and has written over 45 books. He is the esteemed Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago. For instance, Carson said in his talk to us, "To be a non-perspectivalist is to be omniscient." Nobody in the room was smart enough to argue with him over that.

Don spoke at a luncheon at Bethlehem Baptist Church (John Piper) on Friday September 26, 2008 just before the Desiring God Conference. I attended this lunch with about 40 other church leaders. Don spoke for an hour about five trends in the American church that are troubling to him.

Five Trends in the Church Today

By D A Carson, September 26, 2008

1. It is important to observe contradictory trends.

Interestingly, Don encouraged us to recognize the good things in our current culture. He said we have a lot more good commentaries available to us than we did fifty years ago. Yet, mainline churches have fewer conversions than ever before. This is a contradictory trend, according to Carson.

I understand this to mean that we know more and have access to more information, but it is not resulting in more conversions. We apparently know more about God, but less about His mission to seek and to save those who are lost. Our mainline churches are focusing on the minutia difference between supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism, for example, but are ignoring the call to both know God and to follow his sending us to our neighbor's house. There should be a constant tension between group Bible studies and sharing of one's faith. Otherwise we end up in a holy huddle somewhere arguing about non-essentials.

2. Current evangelical fragments are moving into a new phase -- into polarized "clumps."

Don said evangelicals are identifying themselves in clump-like expressions of evangelicalism (Health/Wealth clump, Openness clump, Arminian clump, etc.). Carson said the National Pastor's Conference (NPC) is as inclusive as possible -- some speakers are stellar while others are simply heretical -- but they include as many unique tribal representatives as possible. "Even Reformed circles are clumping," said Carson, "and the center is emptying out in favor of vague, dilute evangelicalism."

Carson astutely said that old-time gospel would be around until Jesus comes while he believes (as Don humorously put it, "not as a prophet or the son of a prophet, but one who works for a non-profit") that in 25 years nobody will be calling themselves "emergent" but many will still be centralized in the gospel.

I wonder what will replace the center as the varied subcultures of evangelicalism move to the fringes. For orthodox confessionalists, the center is the perfect place for the gospel. We need pastors who call their people "back" to the inner city of the gospel without relenting to the flight to the suburbs of dilute evangelicalism, as Carson put it.

3. The most dangerous trends in any age are the trends that most people do not see.
Orthodoxy is always focused on the past but the new expressions of evangelicalism are the most dangerous. Carson recalled the once Christian colleges like Princeton and Yale that were led by pastor/theologians but became so big that they hired administrators who were not as discerning of current trends; only of past. A formally orthodox leader will head into trouble if he is not astute toward current trends in evangelicalism.

Carson made the case that 1920's liberalism is no longer the issue-even though some churches are still fighting that shadow. Today's issues like justification, inerrancy, primacy of family, gender roles, sexuality, pornography, modesty, race relations (very few race-integrated churches), tolerance, consumerism and human flourishing are the current issues at hand.

I think most church planters are men who grew tired of fighting for bygone issues in their churches while people are losing the wars against the current issues of today. In my opinion, mainline churches will continue to lose their best men who want to be warriors in a real war, not in the reenactments of the religious wars of the last forty years. As long as we continue to address these modernist battles, Satan and his demonic force will rule the ground in our churches with diversion tactics that consume our energy.

4. There is a trend in our churches to be consumed by social concern.

In the most intriguing point of his talk, Don said that the Gospel plus caring for the poor was an inseparable couplet. He cautioned that if the gospel was merely assumed (and not clearly articulated), our passion for social justice would overshadow the gospel. While we are not intentionally exalting social concern over the gospel, people learn what we are excited about (gospel over caring for the poor). Carson warned, "Our passion must first be the gospel and not assume it to be understood." He continued, "We must be careful to keep the gospel central and not turn our responses to the gospel as the main target."

Furthermore, Carson exhorted these Christian leaders to spend our time on prayer and the ministry of the Word and allow our people to begin and maintain efforts in social concern. He said we must distinguish between what the church as church must do and what the community of believers in the church must do (I did not personally see the difference but it seemed to suggest that the pastor was exempt from exemplifying an outpouring of the gospel into the community through social efforts).

Our calling, Carson said is to do good in the city (Jer. 29), because the person has an eternal destiny and we care for them. We are all poor beggars telling other poor beggars where they can find bread. Don concluded this section by warning us not to make the issues of gospel and social concern antithetical.

5. There is a trend in our churches to emphasize discipleship over the gospel.

Carson emphasized teaching the whole council of God centering on Christ crucified as the power of the gospel and salvation. If we see the gospel as what "saves" us and if we see discipleship as the actual place where real transformation takes place, it is not a biblical approach. Carson said this trend has a tendency to lead us to see discipleship as legalism; as what pleases God.

It is disturbing to me that some churches see discipleship as a formulaic course of study instead of a lifelong journey as a sinner saved by grace. Following Jesus is not accomplished by completing 8 classes in the basement of a church. It is a complete abandonment of our self in favor of the person, work and mission of Jesus.

We need to be aware of the current trends in the church today and pastor our church with an emphasis on the gospel. Anything less leads to narcissistic religion and away from Jesus.

See what I mean? If you want a good book to read from D.A Carson check out "The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God."
For more information or more thoughts on mission, culture and the gospel head to Acts 29 site and check it out. One of the reasons why I want to be connected with Acts 29 and why we are planting our church through their network is because of their affiliation with these kinds of guys.

ESV or Bust...

2008-10-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Last February I pre-ordered the ESV Study Bible. I made the switch to the English Standard Version a few years ago and have used it for all my study and teaching since. I know I sound kind-of like a basement dwelling, role playing gamer talking about the ESV like this, but I can't hide the fact Bible translations get me excited.

My ESV study Bible arrived yesterday. Amazing. I might have to write more about it later but at the thought of really sounding like a theological neat-nick, I wont. I have talked with several people in the last few months who have wondered why I use the ESV versus other translations. Being that this is the first full day with my new ESV Study Bible I will post a few reasons why I love the ESV.

1. It just looks good. Vain, I know, but always factor. Food that looks good tastes good. The simplicity. The celtic inlays used on the True Tones covers. Just look at the Study Bible. Simple. Sexy.

2. The ESV is "essentially literal" versus "Dynamically equivalent". This is actually significant. I'm not sure if most understand Bible translations but there is a continuum of sorts. On one side there are Bibles "translated" to be read and understood well but not necessarily accurate. These would include most Bibles that are not translations at all but more like paraphrases or story driven (free translation) Bibles. Some examples would be The Living Bible, The Message, The Ebonics bible (yes, there is a Bible for gangstas.) On the other end are the Bibles that are literal to the original Biblical text like; Reserved Standard Version, King James or New American Standard. Then there are the translations that try to have a foot on each side. These are the dynamically equivalent versions most popular being the NIV. The ESV has striven to be essentially literal which means they have work long crazy hours to hold the literal translation of the original languages and posture them in a way that is the most readable while not sliding across the continuum. Its readable and literal. This makes the ESV different than any other current translation.

3. The roots and the scholarship hold to a historic evangelical reform theology. I wish more people would have a language to understand the importance of our theological heritage. I am reform in my understanding of God, his rule and his salvation. It just means, I give God all the weight and responsibility and power to accomplish everything he desires to accomplish in whatever means he wishes but especially in regards to salvation and sovereignty. The translators and scholars who worked on the ESV hold to a reformed view of salvation and therefore accurately represents theologically and pragmatically the God who wrote all the scriptures. It's a big deal.

4. I personally know several of the contributors and therefore trust the scholarship and the heart to preserve the scriptures. In some of the translations there is great scholarship but lack an agreement as to the degree of truth or usefulness the scriptures. Other translations have the heart but the scholarship sucks.

5. The ESV kept theologically significant terms. Propitiation, sanctification, justification and others could be explained using pictures and more common language. I think we should be able to simplify these terms for people who wouldn't know them, but there are no words that capture the depth and meaning of these theological principles. Every follower of Jesus should know what propitiation is. Some might ask, "How is knowing propitiation important?" Is knowing that Jesus has absorbed the wrath of God on behalf of us not practical? It is and the term is beautiful. I'm glad they kept them.

6. Lastly, I go to the words of the translation team as they wrote them in the preface... Everything should be about making much about God.

"We know that no Bible translation is perfect or final; but we also know that God uses imperfect and inadequate things to his honor and praise. So to our triune god and to his people we offer what we have done, with our prayers that i may prove useful, with gratitude for much help given, and with ongoing wonder that our God should ever have entrusted to us so momentous a task. Soli Deo Gloria - To God alone be the glory!"

Porn Again Christian- Free e-book by Mark Driscoll

2008-10-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

Read the chapters as they are written here.

Why I love John Piper

2008-09-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

No one has influenced my teaching, theology, fathering, passion for the Bible and character of God than John Piper.

Driscoll lets us in on the personal relationship he has with John Piper.

Read it here!
WHY I LOVE JOHN PIPER

First family photo since the new guys

2008-09-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Twins...awesome

2008-09-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

September 22nd, 17 days after having (rather watching Kristy have) twin boys. I understand a little more why God, in all his humor and goodness, gave us twins now. It's because I'm am far from who I want to be. Far from who God wants me. Far from even the things I can often times think I'm fine in. Kids must be one of the greatest tools that shapes us. The Bible says that we are to die (to making "me" my own god). That I'm to be a living sacrifice. The crazy thing about a living sacrifice is simple. It's hard to be living and walk to the alter. We typically sacrifice ourselves kicking and screaming. Sometimes ignoring the sacrifice all together running fast away, laughing as if we have gotten away. But we haven't really. In fact we have done the worst thing the harder thing, which is to not sacrifice at all. We have heaped a different pain on us. Stale is a pain of which there is no relief. Sacrifice is the harder and the easier thing. Under the suffering of the sacrifice we find out who we really are. We find out who we really aren't so that we can stop telling or pretending. God uses the sacrifice to form a new desire out us. A new shape out of us. A new reality out of us. It's good. It's bad. It's beautiful.

But how does kids help? If we are to die to the things that are natural but weren't meant to be...kids actually kill it. Raising kids, as we should, forces us to see our impatience, our anger, our idols and little gods. Kids then become a tool for chipping, brushing, cutting, blowing up those "natural" things in us. Now we can parent appropriately and submit ourselves, hating it all in the moment, and watch us take on the characteristics of the one who created us. Or we can run, like the one before far from the alter, parent out of our demands. Release as little as possible, sacrifice as little as possible for that we can "parent" and still maintain as much as our former identity.

Twins...I'm not who I should be. I find out I'm worse. These little guys have encroached on my sleep. On my TV time. On my wife time. On eating dinner when I'm hungry. I love them. They are a tool. A good one. I want to run into it. Realize the problems and hand them over allowing all my kids in many different ways help me realize what I must be like to God himself. Selfish, demanding, whinny, crapped pants and God had/has grace on me. Beautiful.

My world and heart just got bigger

2008-09-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Brody Silas and Kian Paul born Friday Sept. 5th.

"These men who have turned the world upside down"
Acts 17:6

Theology is real life

2008-08-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Coldplay

2008-08-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

I finally got to see a Coldplay concert a few weeks ago in San Jose. Some friends of mine and I drove the 2 1/2 hours into San Jose. Ate at an Irish Pub and walked a few blocks downtown to the HP Pavilion and joined about 20,000 others willing to pay the outrageous ticket price for a powerhouse show.

First off, I didn't know that Chris Martin was so spastic. I liked it, just didn't expect it.

Secondly, I really shouldn't call those who joined me that night "attenders". I should call them worshippers. But not worshippers in the sense of crazy college girls that "worshiped" the sloppy haired Beatles. I'm sure some of that was happening at Coldplay but small if at all. It was a different sort of worship all together. Coldplay naturally creates an "otherness" about them and their songs. The worship wasn't for Coldplay's sake or for song sake but something else. What that "otherness" is or was is hard to put into words but for me it felt heavenly, big, encompassing. The concert was the largest sing-a-long I have experienced. Everyone nearly sang loudly the entire time, with little prompting. Chris Martin spastically dancing around the stage was contagious as it added momentum and energy. You would have thought we were singing words that would bring bring the sky down. It felt as if they could.

I can't tell you what people were worshipping but it was attractive. Inviting. Big. Genuine as it could be. Uniting and fun.

For me it was another affirmation of the design of humanity to be worshippers. We (humanity) will always worship. If we don't know what to worship then we will worship everything or anything. It's like we have to. It was happening that night at Coldplay. The substance of our soul was being tapped into. That room was engaging in something that they were made to do. It's not that we shouldn't go and sing and participate in that concert. We should. It is art. It was beautiful. Their music is reflecting something "real".

The fact is it doesn't transform. It wont last. The buzz will leave. Even as we were trying to get out of the city the cars on both sides of us were blaring Coldplay as if it was the first time them or us have ever heard of it. There was an energy. Great for sells and excitement but not lasting.

It was only a picture of what we were created for. The truth is the experience of that night was misplaced for most. It was a picture of what could be not the end. We where made to worship through the reflecting our creator. How many churches on Sundays do the same thing? How many experiences I have created that don't lead to something lasting.

That's why Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the [lasting] life" I added lasting but that is the essence of what Jesus was saying. He isn't temporary in the same way concerts are. He is lasting. When I leave the experience and head home where there are broken relationships, medical issues, uncertainties, real life. Jesus is lasting. The sing-along continues in those things because it is a song that only the redeemed can sing.

Coldplay wants to write songs that they could sing to the rafters. One day, if it could only be this day, we will sing in the largest sing-a-long in all of human history to the rafters of heaven and our words will will feel like they could bring the house down. They will.

Could someone tell me where the homeless exhibit is?

2008-08-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Before I moved to Rocklin to plant Origin Community Church with the hope of being a missional community , I worked as a pastor to Jr. High students. I have been thinking back to my 11 years working with students and all that I led, did and taught. As I have been evaluating all that happen I have had a series of convictions. The most recent conviction deals with what I and almost every churched going Christian understands as missions.

One major component to the purpose of leaving my previous job and moving my family to Rocklin was in the hopes of being with and leading a group of people committed to not do church any longer but to radically take up the mission of the gospel as Jesus commissioned. Interestingly enough Christians (and I am one of them) have made the mission of the gospel about the building of the church. Program, buildings, butts and budgets have become priorities that have, even if in a small way, taken the direction and mission of the church off course.

So then because I too have been about these things and even now I'm on a process of deconverting from this kind of thinking. It is the for the gospel the church exists not for its self.

So here is my conviction. I don't think I did a good job making missionaries but mission observers. Missions was a big deal for our church and for my particular ministry. I led trips to Mexico, rescue missions, Indian reservations and downtowns. We did a lot. Students were often changed by being close and seeing the poor and hurting. It was good for multiculturalism and seeing the world beyond themselves.

I have led students and adults to look at mission like it were the zoo. It's like we go to the zoo but instead of animals in the cage it's the poor, hurting, third world cultures etc. We go for a little while, we enter the cage and clean the poop, wash the dirty. We think of ourselves as saints for enduring the pain and ugliness of the "animal" behind the bars. It feels great. We consume the experience and then we move on.

Here's what I'm not saying. I'm not saying we shouldn't do short term trips. I'm not saying that I shouldn't have led students into TJ to build houses for the poor. If anything we should do it more but at the end of the night we like kids we leave the zoo and go back to our real life and take a deep sigh because it's not us in the cage.

Here's what I'm committed to for Origin and what I would do different if I went back to my old job. I would lead students to enter the cage. Live with the ones within. Not in a third world country but in our neighborhoods and schools and jobs. Enter the cage. Live in the crap, sleep there and make the cage our home not our stopping place. This is the missional life.

So instead of thinking I'm hungry where should I eat? We think, I had Mexican last week, two days ago and even yesterday but back to Rudy's Mexican Grill because Rudy knows me and I care about Rudy and I want to bring the gospel there. It means I look at my life in terms of relationships and position my time, family and investments so that those relationships get maximum exposure even if it is something I would rather not consume. The missional life has the gospel at the center not my life, friendships, resources, hobbies.

I spend nearly every weekday at It's a Grind Coffee. I'm here now. I get the opportunity to enter the lives of the people who work here and who come here often. They are not a project but relationships have been formed and through those the gospel will go out. So I come here even when I want something different. I'm in the cage with them. Hearing about relationships, money problems, future uncertainty, brothers in Iraq, perspectives of hypocritical Christians that have tainted them. The gospel goes into those conversations.

The mission of the church is the gospel of Jesus not the building of itself or the experience of being involved.

Mac or PC

2008-08-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

Check yourself be for you wreck yourself and check out this video...yos

Mac or PC Rap Music Video - Mac vs PC from Pantless Knights on Vimeo.

All that could have been

2008-08-06T12:07:00.001-07:00

A year ago today while on a vacation in Florida Kristy miscarried our third baby. I was just thinking back to that day and the thought of a third kid being added to our family. Our two older ones had to be planned because we needed help getting pregnant. When Kristy got pregnant on her own, we couldn't believe it. It was in every since a miracle. Kristy was never suppose to be able to get pregnant on her own and bam..baby. I was excited. We thought we were done but obviously we were not. I began to dream about who this kid was going to be and all that they would have brought to our little family.

That's what made the miscarriage so hard. It was sudden. It was quick. And then it was over. Kristy was in the shower at the time then we were in tears on the bed, praying, thinking, in shock. Our miracle baby would never reach our arms.

I miss...

seeing Makenna and Landon hugging her/him for the first time.

wrestle time on the floor.

the first smile.

the rocking in the middle of the night.

scribbles on paper and the fanfare we would make about it.

learning to walk.

falling.

little voice praying.

night time songs and books

cowboy boots and shorts at the same time.

puddle jumping on a rainy day.

daddy.

everything else.

I'm glad though if not our arms then in Jesus'.

"And Adam Called His Wife's Name Eve": A Study in Authentic Biblical Manhood

2008-07-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

This article is awesome. This is a must.

Author: Robert Bjerkaas
Any recovery of an authentically biblical understanding of men and women must begin in the Garden of Eden. It is there that we learn about the special creation of Adam and Eve. It is there that we read God's mandate to the first male and female. And, perhaps more importantly for this article's purpose, it is there in the garden that we are able to see the effects of sin and grace on the relationship between Adam and Eve. Of these lessons on the relationship between the sexes, it might be the case that the effect of grace on Adam and Eve's sin-broken relationship receives less attention than some other equally valuable biblical truths recorded in the first chapters of Genesis. This article will explore this perhaps neglected lesson on grace in the garden. It will do so by posing two questions: (1) Why does Adam call his wife Eve; and (2) What lessons does this surprise ending to the narrative of the fall teach us? Although this article will focus on Adam's role in acting in accord with the grace that he has received, other equally important considerations regarding Eve's transformation by grace could be developed as well.

Click here for whole article

Prayer Booth

2008-07-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Every year our city hosts a big festival called the Rocklin Jubilee. I thought it would be fun to set up a booth that would lend itself to spiritual conversation and prayer for people. Here are some of the pics.

Mediations on a missonal gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:1-8 part 2

2008-06-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a while since my last thoughts on 2 Corinthians. I feel like the levy of my life has broke through and I'm flooded with all that life can throw at me. So I wanted to get back to a three part meditation on a missional gospel as I have been thinking upon and memorizing 2 Corinthians 4:1-8. This is part two nearly three months later.

It would be good to look at part 1 before reading so for a recap, these verses simply point to the confidence we receive through the gospel by the Holy Spirit. Paul didn't lose heart not because of his skills, his energy, his passion or zeal. It was because the gospel has a built in confidence. So then, based on the truth and reliability for the gospel to save, we handle it correctly not willing to use cunning or stupid ways to make the words of God more palatable. Rather, we speak truthfully and allow it to oppose the natural man. The gospel should be offensive.

but it should be the only offense.

So then I want to think briefly about the next couple of verses and how it helps us understand a missional gospel.

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

What an awesome statement. Here Paul continues a connection he began in 3:18 dealing with the veiled face of Moses back at Mount Sinai. Moses went up to the mountain and spoke with God. The glory of God was transferred to Moses so much so that his face was bright and the Israelites asked that he put on a veil to hide the light. Eventually Moses kept the veil on because his face was losing the luster and in order to save face (no pun intended) not wanting anyone to know he remained behind his veil. Chapter 3 verse 18 says, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

What does all this have to do with a missional gospel? Good question. Fact. The gospel is veiled to those who are "perishing"; that is unrepentant, unregenerate people still in rebellion to God. That is the reality of everyone. Romans 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death". Romans 3:23 says "all have fallen short." Romans 5:10 says "for a while we were enemies". This is the truth of all of us, until God reconciled.

Back to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. It can feel like God is losing. It can feel like our best efforts to bring the gospel to those who are "perishing" is being shot down from every angle. It can feel like we are ineffective and at a stale mate. California is legislating and defining marriage. It can feel like a loss. Here's the truth. A missional gospel starts and ends with God. The gospel is veiled. The enemy of this world fights to keep it so, but it is not veiled to those who have been reconciled.

The gospel will prevail because God is sovereign. The gospel can't be seen in winning and losing terms. God's sovereignty does not allow for that kind of thinking. God reaches in and removes the veil through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. So we are on mission for that sake. That God would do just that and would, if desired, have us to be a part of the revelation of the gospel. All can seem lost but we are not veiled by the enemy. We see and experience the truth from an unveiled perspective. All can seem lost but the gospel reminds us that our mission is not. That our hope is not.

Engaged by the Culture: Michigan Megachurch Goes Egalitarian

2008-06-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Posted on Resurgence.com written by Jeff Robinson

This is important for many reasons. One of which is to understand more clearly a person and theology who I and others have learned from, respected and looked up to. I know Rob wants people to be followers of Jesus. My opinion is that he has come up short. He has been leading people to a weak Jesus. A Jesus for the senses but not sin. He has an obvious agenda that is detached from the scripture and that is a dangerous place to be. However in this article his leadership is just as in question as his theology. He's a brother. He's in the kingdom. In this case he's wrong. Plainly.

Gary Knapp and his wife, Becky, were among the first members of the Grandville, Mich., church, which now numbers more than 1,000 members and some 10,000 weekly attendees. Knapp taught an adult Bible class at Mars Hill and led a small group in the church for more than two years.

READ ARTICLE HERE

Sunday Night

2008-04-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

The past Sunday night I was invited to speak at a small singles service at Bayside Church. If you aren't familiar with the area churches, Bayside is the Norcal Saddleback. The church is somewhere around 12,000 people which is a big deal since it was only planted 12 years ago. There are some cool things happening at and around bayside.

I met Phil, the pastor of single adults at Bayside my first weekend here in Rocklin. It was a God thing. On our first Sunday Eric at Elevation (our partner church) brought me up on stage to share about Origin and our vision for a new church in Rocklin. After the service Phil came and found me, we talked and quickly became friends. The last few months we have hung out a few times and out of of that relationship he invited me to speak at their Sunday night service. It was an incredible opportunity. Who shows up in a new town and gets to speak at the largest church in the area when there is no previous history or relationship. That is God.

My whole message was a set of confessions. I will begin to blog these confessions in my next blogs. So I will allow you to wait.

I just want to recognize God when he is evident because he isn't always evident when things are tough and things are going to get tough sooner than later.

I met Phil a pastor from Bayside my first weekend in Rocklin, on the only day he has ever attended Elevation.
Phil is a missional minded brother in a church system that thinks differently but desires to be a catalyst of change.
I had planned to speak on thing and on Saturday night really God changed everything, delivering a message that was more than perfect for the group.
The group responded so well, encourage me with a standing ovation and a beautiful honorarium for Origin.
I had at least 12 significant conversations about the gospel and mission with people afterward.
Several people told me they worshipped Jesus like they haven't for a long time.
Potentially 10 people there that night may join our core team... I meeting with the first potential this week.
A national radio DJ was there that night and quoted me on the air (that may not be a God thing but it is pretty cool)
Thinking through that message God showed me more of his vision for the church and for Rocklin and for me.

There are more. It good to see God when he is at work. I think we need to stop and reflect more often.

My three confessions will be coming up soon.

Meditations on a missional gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:1-8 Part 1

2008-04-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

This week I have been meditating and memorizing 2 Corinthians 4:1-8. I think I finally have all eight verses down which is a feat unto itself. Before Origin begins I want to know the gospel better. We should always be studying, to gain the fullness of the gospel we have been given in Jesus Christ. This is what Paul meant when he said, "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12).

The gospel brings a courage to our mission that does not come from within us. In 2 Corinthians 4:1 Paul says, "Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God we do not lose heart." There were a lot of reasons Paul could have or should have lost heart. His ministry life was far from easy. If you don't know all that Paul went through for the sake of the mission of the gospel then read 2 Corinthians 11:16-33. What Paul went through would make a UFC champion tap out and cry like a baby. So where did his confidence come from? One, was seeing Jesus himself. It would be easy for me to think that if I saw Jesus or hung out with Jesus, went on camping trips with Jesus I would be more bold than I am now. The problem is, there are plenty of examples of those who were with him, did see him, were transformed by him and still in the face of trial wimped out. Peter's denial is one example. Judas is another example. Thomas could be a third. So just because Paul saw Jesus on that road, doesn't mean that would give him the continued confidence. It helped I'm sure but Paul does not attribute his lack of losing heart to seeing Jesus. He attributes it to the power of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the gospel. So the mission of the gospel provides the continued confidence to Paul. It's God's ministry. Not mine. I didn't invent it. It's not in my power. It's God's gospel. See how Paul follows this up in verse 5; What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord." Paul is convinced of the power of God which has come from the mercy of God. God's mercy is the gospel. It's his mercy that saves us, in spite of us hating God. It's also his gospel that puts us on mission. We don't deserve purpose but we get it. That's mercy. So Paul doesn't lose heart. Doesn't give up. Doesn't let his passion sway because of the gospel, the merciful gift of God.

Are you rooted in the confidence which comes from the gospel? The failure to see the extent and sole effectiveness of the forgiveness and life in Jesus will cause you to tap out also. This is another reason to love our gospel. It remains when all else fades giving us the confidence to remain on mission not because we are so good but because God has called us into a ministry by grace and for grace.

A lesson in secular nihilistic humanism

2008-03-28T21:53:00.001-07:00

I walked into the living room last night intending to read but when my wife started watching, What Not to Wear, I couldn't help myself, I started watching. I know, I know, not the most manly show on TV but seriously funny when we see these people transform from freaks of society to almost normal people.

At the end of the show, the lady getting the new wardrobe said something that was so telling and profound. I quote:

I just needed to think about myself and give to myself and now I see I can be beautiful.

It struck me right away. She portrayed herself as a martyr. She has been so busy being unselfish she was not able to give to herself in order to see herself as beautiful. But thanks to the What Not to Wear team, she has learned how to invest in herself.

It sounds right to those who are watching. I need to spend more time on me. I need to look at myself. Serve myself. Love myself. Give to myself. I wish I could have told her, your beauty is really found when you give yourself away. When you are not self serving. When you love others more. This is the way of Jesus. The "beauty" of Jesus is that he didn't come to be served like a king but to serve like a slave. That's beautiful.

We so easily believe we deserve something. We think we give so much. We are caught by the lie of our unselfishness. Humanistic consumerism says, everything exists for me to consume and enjoy. If anything impedes my consumption or enjoyment then they or it must be dealt with quickly and with any means necessary so that I can continue to consume and enjoy.

The scriptures tell us that Jesus wasn't good looking. There was nothing physically about him that would invited people to want to know him. He would likely have been on the first century show, What Toga Not to Wear. His beauty was in doing the will of God who sent him. Hell would have been everyones destination if Jesus "looked at himself and gave to himself", but we can be saved from hell because he thought of God, his mission and us.

"What Would Jesus Buy" the movie

2008-03-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

New Movie coming May '08

What Would Jesus Buy (click here to see trailer)

One guys thoughts about the movie-

"I don’t know what Jesus would buy, but just like he’d be angry when his name is slapped on a pair of socks and sold to Christians for $10, I’m sure he’d likewise be pissed at his name being so cavalierly invoked to sell America on anti-consumerism."

Should be cool. Anyone willing to go opening night. We'll dress up like Benny Hin. It will be great.

A step towards missionalism (that's not even a real word but it sounds cool)

2008-03-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

So what remains, I suppose, is for us to become better known for what and who, we actually are. This means telling the world-before the world does it's own investigative journalism-that we're not as bad as they think sometimes. We're worse. For every judgmental thing some TV preacher has said, I've thought something nastier, more bitter, and more biting about one on my neighbors. For every alleged act of homophobia by my fellow Christians, I've done something stupid to try to demonstrate my masculinity or virility. No matter how boring the church may seem to the hipsters, they don't know the half of it; believe me. I've spent weeks and months in desperate boredom, flipping randomly through blogs, ads, and Vanity Fair, because I wasn't willing to take a risk God was calling me to take.

And yet there is Another who lives in me. And he is found in some other unlikely places. So we also need to tell the world how we found him. How we found him in a mud house in the slums, a storefront in the hood, a home for the beaten a circle for the addicted. How we found him too among the humble at Harvard, the generous on Wall Street, the principled on K Street. How he found us, actually.

Most of the time, the world will get the story wrong, if only because it has a vested interest in getting it wrong. But if we're being honest about our own beauty and brokenness, the beautiful broken One will make himself known to our neighbors-through the chinks in our armor, and in theirs. "He passed through the midst of them and went on his way"-perceived or misperceived, celebrated or crucified, the One who lives in us has a way of walking through walls.

-Andy Crouch

Journalist and author, Culture-Makers

This is one crucial step towards the missional life. The reality of our salvation and just how much we were saved from. Christians tend to think that as they become more "Christian", they become more good. We never become more good. There may be a difference in our actions. We may become more domesticated but we never become more good. The gospel is not a crutch to fix ourselves. The gospel is the remedy. What resonates to people will not be how good we become because of Christ but how much more I rely and need Jesus as I am exposed to my heart, which for my whole life has hated God. This is the Jesus that matters to our post-Christian, post-truth world. I agree with Andy. Let's tell them we are worse that way the gospel get elevated and not another TV evangelist.

God's infinite emotion

2008-03-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is from John Piper and his article entitled, "Are there two wills in God?"

Typical Piper...just blows me away.

God's emotional life is infinitely complex beyond our ability to fully comprehend. For example, who can comprehend that the Lord hears in one moment of time the prayers of ten million Christians around the world, and sympathizes with each one personally and individually like a caring Father (as Hebrews 4:15 says he will), even though among those ten million prayers some are broken-hearted and some are bursting with joy? How can God weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice when they are both coming to him at the same time—in fact are always coming to him with no break at all?

Or who can comprehend that God is angry at the sin of the world every day (Psalm 7:11), and yet every day, every moment, he is rejoicing with tremendous joy because somewhere in the world a sinner is repenting (Luke 15:7,10,23)? Who can comprehend that God continually burns with hot anger at the rebellion of the wicked, grieves over the unholy speech of his people (Ephesians 4:29-30), yet takes pleasure in them daily (Psalm 149:4), and ceaselessly makes merry over penitent prodigals who come home?

Whole article

From Mission week to Missionary

2008-03-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

My family is back in the So Cal area for a week. We were invited by a church in Orange County to come and be a part of their missions emphasis week. I was asked to preach the opening service and throughout the week we are meeting people from the church in small group settings, talking about our journey, casting a vision for church planting and seeing if anyone would get on board to help us start. I have met some cool people. I want to help the church think through this. Conversations have been good.

I just want to leave a lasting vision for the reasons we need to plant churches. I get to ask for money and support but the part I like the most is when these small meetings are done and guys are saying, "I want to come with you." "I want to help translate the gospel to a developing post-truth culture." This is the most exciting. My message on Sunday and with every conversation I have had with people at the church since has revolved around the statement of "From Missions Week to Missionary". It was a tough crowd on Sunday as I talked about the initial ingredients for becoming a missionary in Brea.

1. Missional living begins with a deep seated love of the gospel. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the cross is folly. Why is the cross folly? Mainly because it seems like an impossible thing that a God who we hate would come and rescue us anyway. If there is any in justice in the actions and wisdom of God it is here. That people deserving of everything sin and hell offers get save from it. We love the gospel because everything is out of our hands. That's a radical thought. I don't have to earn him. Do I see the gospel as the answer to the human condition? If that question is too far out then do I see the gospel used in a radical way the answer to my condition? It's folly because God saved me. It's folly because I can hardly comprehend a salvation in which I had no part. So I love it deeply.

2. Missional is a life not a program. Paul said he would be all things to all people. Jesus prayed for those who would follow him that they would be in the world but not succumbed by it. Jesus told his disciples, "Therefor go.." which is best understood in the Greek as "While you go". It is a life of being the church not doing church. Ecclesia, the Greek word for church, is not understood in the New Testament as a place but as the people. "Men love your wives as Christ has loved the church." (Eph. 5) Does Christ love the place? Obviously the bride of Christ will not be walls. So then the church now shouldn't be walls. At least in our practice as the church we shouldn't be confined or understood as walls.

The American church will struggle with this movement of "Mission week to Missionary." The church I left and sent me to plant in Rocklin has struggled and will continue to struggle with seeing the church outside or separate from it's meeting place. The church I'm visiting this week has a hard turn ahead of it. There are those who have the vision and desire but wanting it and seeing it happen are different entirely. Missional can't be programed and we have yet to see if established churches can make that transition.

We need new churches where the beginning DNA of the church will include a missionary lifestyle.

Omniscience meets the real world

2008-03-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

God knows everything. This is both an understatement and simplistic at the at the same time. Its an understatement because just saying that God knows everything is helpful in our ideal of God but not in how it matters to our everyday life. It is simplistic because those inside the Christian faith do generally, without conflict believe in the all-knowingness of God. I would make an argument that if anyone were to imagine "God" they would always make him all-knowing.

Here's what is meant by the all-knowing ability of God:

God knows himself fully along with everything real and possible effortlessly and instantly.

I break this down in a message I preached on the All-knowingness of God. You can listen by clicking on the link in the previous entry.

Here's the question, "How does the all-knowingness of God matter to me right here and right now?" That's not an easy question and there are a thousand ways it does but here is one I think is new to my mind and important.

Sin results when we challenge the all-knowingness of God. Have you ever thought about that before? We sin when we challenge whether or not God knows what is best for us at any given crossroad. Here's my basis. Look at the first sin. I had not noticed before its connection with the knowledge of God and Adam and Eve's trust in it.

God created Adam and Eve. Sent them to work, love each other and enjoy God in the garden. Who knows how much time went by before that conversation with the snake that would change everything but here's how it went down.

Snake: Hey eat this.

Eve: No way, snake. God said not to.

Snake: God is just scared and a manipulator.

Eve: Really?

Snake: Yea.

Eve: It does look good.

Snake: God just wants to control you by keeping you in the dark.

Eve: That sounds right. Hey Adam check this out.

Please don't leave any comments about how that is not the real conversation. I'll have to publicly ridicule you. Here it is. There is so much to write but I'll leave it for you to think about. God created two trees in the garden. One that can be eaten all the time. And this one. The tree of good and evil. The only thing they were kept from on the whole planet. The snake came in and challenged Eve to question what God knows. Eve begins to question whether or not God knows what is really best. "Maybe", she might have thought to herself, "God doesn't KNOW that it is better I don't eat of this fruit."

Here in lies the thought that led to the sin that is heard in everyone of our lives everyday since that moment. Adam and Eve questioned the all-knowingness of God and it led to sin.

We do the same I think. Does God know what is best in relationships and sex? Marriage and family. Work and play. Thought and actions. We may intellectually know it. But when we choose something different than what God intended then we too have challenged the all-knowingness of our God. God's omniscience is practical here. Is God all-knowing? Yes. Should I trust it as the best? Yes. I don't though. Good thing the knowledge of God included Jesus otherwise we would all be screwed and rightly so.

Preaching: God is...All-Knowing

2008-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

I get to be a part of teaching a series called "God is..." It is a look at the nature and bigness of God. It's a small contribution.

God is...All-Knowing

Sermon Series at Elevation Church- Auburn, Ca.

What is kingdom success?

2008-02-29T11:57:00.000-08:00

In my last thoughts I was reflecting on my first day "officially" church planting. What did that look like? I read the paper, I ordered a coffee and I planted myself in a busy "It's a Grind." I read my Bible, checked e-mail, made small talk with the three girls working that morning and asked God to help me make Him look good.

You have to understand something about me. I am all about results. I love results. I love to think, dream, plan, and execute the coolest of ideas and then evaluate the results. Results are a big deal for me. That's what makes church planting hard. The results don’t look the same nor do they come as quickly. This week has been good for me, I'm seeing kingdom work differently than I preciously saw it in my typical church job. Don't get me wrong I really liked being a pastor in an established church. I had a concrete job to do but this is different. The deadlines are different. Its creation is different. It's not about putting out some signs and calling ourselves a church. I want at the very core of our church a new DNA. A missional DNA. An integrated difference in the way we ARE the church and the way we express our faith to our friends in this city.

Everyday since my first writing I have come in this coffee shop. I have ordered the same thing. A regular coffee and a local paper. I have read the paper, read my Bible checked e-mail and have found myself caring about the three girls behind the counter more and more. Five days I have done this and only this morning did I have actual conversations with two of the three. We talked about school, jobs, and one difficult past experience, mostly I just listened. It was short. It was good. It was Kingdom.

Do you know that most people outside faith see Christians as conversion peddlers? As Christians we want people to know and follow Jesus but should we be known as peddlers? Think about the last time you had a conversation with a Jehovah's Witnesses at your door. They knock, they something about a lion and a lamb that makes heaven seem like more like a big zoo. I'm not sure I want to spend the rest of my eternity with that many animals. Anyway, slight detour. Once they find out they aren’t going to convert me they leave. For the most part they leave politely but almost every time they leave very quickly. Doesn't it seem like they are only interested in numbers?

Do you think this could be the same for the relationships we try to build? We hangout with people. Put our faith on the line. We feel good about going big but then when it doesn't work or they really aren’t interested we move on. That's what I'm doing differently here. I just want to be here. I want them to know I'm way more interested in them as a whole not that they would just be a notch on my spiritual belt. I hope they will know Jesus but first I want them to know they are worth my effort to talk with them. They will find out I'm a pastor and that I'm here planting a church and when they do I want that to be absorbed with a formed, authentic relationship of care and interest I have had with them since the beginning. It would be great for them to even say, "Wow, he didn't even invite me." One day I will. But I need them to know that regardless of whether they do come or not, I wont stop coming here. I wont stop talking. I will not just walk to the next door.

This week has been successful. I have had two good conversations. It took a week of timr but it was worth it and when they know for sure that I'm a Christian, they'll say, "He's normal, I like that."

Results.

See what I mean?

It's a Grind Reflections

2008-02-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

It's official, I'm a church planter. My family has been in NorCal for two weeks now. It went fast. In some ways it feels like just a couple of days. In other ways it feels like we have lived here for years (in the good way). This city "rocks". I couldn't help it. We have just been trying to get settled. This is the first big move for us so it has been mind blowing how coming from such a little condo in SoCal would take so much effort and time to unpack. We own a lot more than I thought. I never really thought of myself as a consumer. I've never had the money to consume, so I thought. Most of our stuff is essential but as I have been opening boxes I'm thinking a lot about a little girl named Wida. She is the 7 year old we support. She lives in poverty in a city of Indonesia. We constantly use her as an example for contentment with our 4 year old, who wants a new toy everyday. I'm thinking of all of our "essential" stuff and at times disappointed in myself that I love this stuff so much. Isn't weird that I think it makes me normal, happy, content and yet we all know it doesn't and I still consume. That has always been puzzling to me. Anyway, we have more than we thought and the process of unpacking has been more time consuming than I wanted it to be. Funny thing, now that our house is bigger we are collecting more "essentials". We have walls to cover and furniture to buy. They are "essential" I guess but it's harder to swipe the card. We are good with money so it's not that we are living outside of our budget, (So if you are supporting us keep the checks coming we are being good with the money) it's just that I'm getting tired of consuming. Maybe you are too. I'll have to explore this more and write as I think.

Anyway, all that to get to here. I'm sitting in an "It's a Grind", just like the ones in Long Beach but bigger with more good chairs. If you have been to "It's a Grind" you know what I'm talking about. I've talked with the girls behind the counter a little. I've read the Sac Bee to get the scoop on my new relationship... The Kings. I've listened to others talking. I look at everyone as they come through the door. I'm just trying to see what is right in front of me and have one thought. Jesus you love them, you want them, how can I help them see you?

I'm going to come back here a lot and see how God answers that question. I'm not playing church anymore. I just want to be the church here, now in "It's a Grind." I get to be the church and use free internet. Awesome.

The error of godly things (part 1)

2007-11-05T21:25:00.001-08:00

Majority of American Christians I believe make a simple error of judgment about their own sanctification (becoming Christ-like). The assumption is this; If I am near or if I participate in Christ like things then I am actually more Christ-like. This is evident by the millions of professing born again Christians in our communities and churches who live fruitless and godless lives. C.S. Lewis said (Mark's paraphrase), "Christians don't become the depth of Christian they thought they would be at this point in their faith, by the mere fact they never really intended to." God saves and God keeps and God transforms the heart of the person as the desires through the dying of the self (Ephesians 4). This is an important thought. Why do so many believers view discipleship, as Dallas Willard said, "A costly option, a spiritual luxury." Jesus never gave this kind of freedom or distinction between the Christian and the disciple. If you follow Jesus then you must be on a journey (not a perfect one) but on a journey to be more like him. Being made more like Jesus isn't the same as being or doing Jesus type things. You can read your Bible every day at the same time and you will grow in a lot of things. Discipline will be one, knowledge another, practical wisdom because the Bible is full of it, but you may actually never really be transformed by it. Reading the Bible doesn't transform you. Going to church doesn't transform you. Any or all of the spiritual disciplines don't transform you. The transformation the Bible talks about, the legitimate kind doesn't come through any of those means. The process of being transformed and Christ-like comes only through the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit's role to make the believer new. Philippians 2:12-13 tells believers that "God is at work in you to will and to act according to his purpose." God is in you how? Through the Holy Spirit. Remember the promise on Pentecost, "But you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:7)." The Holy Spirit is God at work in you. Doing what? Making you new, transformed. So it really is simple. The stuff we do as Christians will not transform us. We don't become more Christ-like by just posing and being around those who are or things that are Christ-like. It is the role of the Holy Spirit interacting with those things that transform us. It is the Holy Spirit interacting with scripture that changes us. It is the Holy Spirit interacting with a sermon, prayer, feeding the homeless, or a Bible study that really transforms us. Coming soon are some thoughts reflecting on Psalms 78 and some thoughts on allowing the Holy Spirit to actually be what transforms you in all the Christ-like things we do. Ultimately, this will all show our need for a God who effectively calls and saves his people leading them into faith in him. Part 2 is called, "Close to God in proximity but far from changed…"

Thanksgiving poem

2007-10-27T11:46:00.001-07:00

I wrote this poem to read at thanksgiving last year. It was mainly for my reflection but I wanted to share with my family. This is the stuff ultimately we should be thankful for. It's a good way to keep Thanksgiving theological at the same time.

Heaven is not too Long-
By Mark South

In what was trees and paradise
So long ago began a vice
So deeply ingrained
In my blood and vein
That neither sorrow nor
Man's lament, could ever
Remove what was meant
For evil and not for good.

From then to now
A lie passed down
Towards one final end
Which is to say "Live my friend,
For you are your own god."
How severely we are deceived
When allowed this belief
To permeate through our marrow and spirit.
By this lie, in chains are bound,
In death we are found,
And in judgment we all stand
There is neither space nor land where
Man,
Is out of his grip.

Every day we frolic
And play with obedience as if it
Were soft and we could mold it.
So then, the result of sin
Whether conscious or in
My very being remains the same.
Eternal hell is not too long but
Well worth the wrong
My heart and soul has
Committed.

The line is drawn, it is mine to cross
If only what I have is enough
To pay the cost of admission. Yet in despair
And in my hand I find as with
Every other man an offering far to
Small to make one step towards righteousness
This is man's darkest confession.

Yet in the moment when
All alone my eyes widen, when from
His home he emerges bloody, scarred and torn.
My knees and tears both fall
Realizing he has taken all
The steps towards me.
He lifts me high to my feet
Not by my goodness but by his
Sweet mercy which takes this
Vice from me.

Eternal heaven is not too long to
Forever bow and to long to speak
Of the only thing I know.
If not for Christ, blood and death
I would have nothing left
To claim as victory and hold as my own.
So then from now until eternity
I will not try to repay
What he has done is free
But with lip, life and bended knee
I will with passion until death
Speak these,
Words which must
Resonate with heart, mind and spirit.
Thank you, thank you that in me you
Find your righteousness set in me
And that my soul will not be a loss
O God, my God thank you for your cross.

How truth and love win, when all seems lost

2007-09-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

This has gripped me. Kristy miscarried in mid-august. The baby was no more than a month old. The same day we knew for sure she was pregnant, the baby was lost. What is God up too. I have asked and prayed. I can't see the plan. But one day I will see my baby, who has sat on the lap of Jesus. Can't wait.

What I Said at My Granddaughter's Funeral

A Granddaddy's Thoughts

September 26, 2007
By John Piper

Read this resource on our website.

I had the privilege of sitting with my family while Tom Steller and Sam Crabtree ministered to us at the funeral of Felicity Margaret Piper who was stillborn at full term on September 22, 2007. Her father Abraham asked me to speak for five minutes on "A Granddaddy's Thoughts." Here is what I said.

I didn't know Felicity Margaret. My experience of her life was entirely through other people for nine months. And my experience of her death, even though it was physically immediate and touchable, has been emotionally experienced almost entirely through other people.

So at this moment, what it means for me to be Felicity's grandfather is that I am living this loss almost entirely through other people's experience of this loss. And because of my love for all these people, there is a powerful sweetness in this pain.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have tasted her loss through my daughters-in-law, her aunts Shelly, Melissa, and Lesley. The measure of her worth and the greatness of her loss have been written on your faces, and they are the more beautiful for it.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have felt her loss in the shattered expectation of her aunt Talitha, my daughter. It was not easy to go to school on Monday. But you and Mommy made a good plan with the school counselor to inform the teachers and students. And now, in a way you never expected, your heart is knit together with Dasia whose little brother Zach was killed by the dog a month ago.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have felt her loss through her uncles and my sons Karsten, Benjamin, and Barnabas. I broke the news to each of you and watched all your plans change. You are good brothers to each other. And I cannot tell you how much I love the tears and embraces of strong men.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have felt her loss through her grandmother, my wife Noël. Strange and wonderful. Your tears came slowly and have increased. Mine came quickly and have decreased. Almost the story of our lives. Thank you for knitting Felicity's blanket, and weeping as you decided to give it to her anyway.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have felt the loss through her mother, my daughter-in-law Molly. For her entire life she depended on you more than anyone. You fed her, you cleansed her, you supported her, you protected her, you knew her better than anyone. The grace that God has given you to love her greatly and let her go is amazing. Christ is on display in your life.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have felt the loss through her father, my son Abraham. The words from Saturday morning's phone call are cut into my heart, "Daddy, we lost the baby." Nothing, Abraham, has gone deeper inside of me than your loss.

Being Felicity's grandfather means that I have felt the loss through her great grandfather, my father Bill Piper. And this experience is totally different from all the others. In this case, the loss is all gain. My father died six months and sixteen days before Felicity did. I believe the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ covers the sins of all who trust him and all who are not old enough to trust him here but will trust him later.

Therefore, I believe Felicity and her great grandfather met each other early Sunday morning in the presence of Christ. And my father said, perhaps, "Hello, Felicity. I'm your great grandfather Piper. Come, there is somebody I want you to meet. His name is Jesus. He's the reason you're here. You don't need to be afraid. Your Savior has led you all the way. And Jesus does all things well."

Finally, a remedy for the fear of God…

2007-09-16T23:01:00.001-07:00

http://www.phobia-fear-release.com/fear-of-the-lord.html

What is our role in saving the lost and what is God’s

2007-09-10T22:11:00.001-07:00

The role of the believer in saving the lost is simply to be in participation with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of convicting the lost of sin and telling them about the salvation available through Jesus. To the apostles, Jesus said they are to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…" (Matthew 28:19). And just prior to Jesus' ascension we read in the first chapter of Acts that the apostles were to be Jesus' "witnesses" in Jerusalem and beyond (1:8). The apostle Paul follows this up with the question "how are they to call on him in who they have not believed?" and Paul says clearly that "faith comes from hearing and hearing comes through the word of Christ." From personal evangelism to the preaching of the word of God how "beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news." (Romans 10:14, 15, 17). And just in case there is a belief that only some are to participate with the Holy Spirit, Paul commands Timothy that he should do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). This would seem to be a true exhortation for every believer. God calls the unbeliever to himself through the proclamation of the gospel (the believer's role) which leads to saving faith (God's role).

God's Role in saving the Lost:

It is God who makes the gospel an effective call upon the unbeliever (John 6:44).
It is God who gives the believer a rebirth or a regeneration of the heart, soul and position (John 3:3-8).
It is God who justifies the unbeliever allowing them to be in right standing before God (Romans 8:30).
It is God who enables our response in faith and repentance (John 3:16)
It is God who gives membership into his family (John 1:12).
It is God who grants growth in the Christian life (1 Corinthians 6:11).
It is God who keeps us faithful to himself (John 6:38-40).
It is God who will receive our souls ultimately in the end completing the believer's salvation (Romans 8:17).

What is the Gospel?

2007-09-09T22:58:00.001-07:00

The apostle Paul defines the gospel succinctly in 1 Corinthians 15 starting in verse 1, "Now, I remind you, brothers, of the gospel…" He explains in verses 3 and 4 that the gospel is 1. "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures," 2. "That he was buried," 3. "That he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures." This is the Gospel in its simplest form but it is important, theologically, not to define the gospel so narrowly, since the scriptures speak of a larger understanding of the "good news." In fact, the gospel is made up of many parts which complete the entire gospel painting. There are many blessings of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:23).

The gospel is salvation (1 Corinthians 1:2; Romans 1:16; Ephesians 1:13;
2 Timothy 1:10).
The gospel is the filling of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17-18; Eph 1:13).
The gospel is eternal life (2 Timothy 1:10).
The gospel is God's grace (Acts 20:24; Colossians 1:5-6; Ephesians 3:7).
The gospel is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 24:14).
The Gospel is Jesus Christ our hero (Mark 1:1; Romans 1:9; Romans 16:25).
The gospel is the power of God (Romans 1:16).
The gospel is the words of the Lord (Acts 8:25; Galatians 1:6; 1 Timothy 1:11).
The gospel is the fulfillment of the Abraham Covenant (Galatians 3:8).

Ultimately the gospel is God (1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 4:15), his revealed righteousness to be treasured by all (Romans 1:17).

The Gender of Jesus and the Incarnation: A Case Study in Feminist Hermeneutics

2007-09-03T13:38:00.001-07:00

Author: Jack Cottrell

Abstract
If Jesus was the prototypical feminist, as Christian feminist interpreters claim, why did he become incarnate in male form? Feminists explain this as cultural accommodation or say the NT actually describes Jesus only as anqrwpo~ (anthropos, "genetically human") not specifically as male. A careful study of the biblical text shows their arguments are without foundation.