the source

Is Publishing, Reading and Content Dead?

2010-03-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here's food for thought if you despair the current rise of social media, the web and much more associated with our postmodern culture...

Not the Church's Job

2010-02-16T10:18:00.001-08:00

Just read this, the latest edition of The Serious Times by James Emery White. We all need a healthy challenge in this direction...

It’s Not the Church’s Job

I love the church.

I have given my life to the church.

I believe, as is often said, that the church truly is the hope of the world.

But that’s not the church’s job.

Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Here you go: Make me close to Jesus!

It’s not the church’s job.

Save my marriage!

It’s not the church’s job.

Raise my kids!

It’s not the church’s job.

Give me friends! It’s not the church’s job.

Feed me!

It’s not the church’s job.

It is not the church’s job to give you the life you want, or hope for, much less the one that you are expected to forge through a relationship with God through Christ under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The church cannot ensure that all goes well with you. Most of life is your responsibility.

Why do I say this?

To defend the church.

Why do people often come to a church? To get fixed, find friends, renew faith, or strengthen family. All well and good, and the church can obviously be of enormous assistance in all four areas. But the church can’t be held responsible for these four areas of life, nor should you expect it to.

Let’s try and drive this one home:

The parents of a middle-school student drop their child off at a middle-school ministry. The child does not change into a model Christian student. The parents immediately search for a new church with a more effective middle-school ministry.

What is wrong with this picture? What is wrong is the complete absence of any sense that spiritual life is the responsibility of that middle-school student, not to mention that spiritual leadership within the family is the responsibility of her parents.

Instead, we have a mentality of “drop-off parenting,” which is just part of the mentality of a “drop-off church.” We drop our wives off at a women’s ministry to get them to be the wives or mother’s we want; we drop our husband’s off at a men’s Bible study to get them to be spiritual leaders; we drop ourselves off at a service or recovery group to fix our problems, or a Bible study to renew our lukewarm faith.

It reminds me of the sixties and Timothy Leary’s famous line regarding not only the benefits of LSD, but the spirit of the age:

“Turn on. Tune in. Drop out.”

That is not the way to approach the church.

There comes a time when personal responsibility kicks in. The church exists to coalesce and enrich; to coordinate and inspire; to provide order and leadership. It exists to pull together the collective force and will of those who follow Christ in order to fulfill the Great Commission given it by Jesus Himself. Yes, it serves the family trying to raise a child; it seeks to heal those who are broken; it provides the richest of communities for relationships; it offers the necessary resources for a vibrant relationship with Christ.

But it cannot circumvent the choices and responsibilities of the human will.

It cannot do life for you.

That’s your job.

- James Emery White (www.serioustimes.com)

What the Hell?

2009-07-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Great discussion just now on hell...Think of the Christian view this way: God has created 2 eternal paradises. 1 for those who love & follow Him and 1 for those who hate, feel indifferent, or at least trust in someone/thing else. God lives in the first one with those who want to spend the rest of eternity with Him. This place is called Heaven. God doesn't live in the second place. After all, teh people there don't want anything to do with God. If you think about it, from the perspective of this life, it's actually paradise for those who want to be free from God. No church. No preaching. No Xns. No Jesus. In other words, it's exactly what the people who live there want--the eternity they would choose for themselves. The absense of God and everything having to do with Him. That place is waht the Bible labels "hell." The Bible says says "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from athe Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17) What we fail to realize is that the source of all love, compassion, mercy, goodness, community, joy, et al. good things is sourced in the person of God Himself. Remove God and you remove all trace of the goodness He gives. The point is that hell is NOT at all about moral behavior. Moral behavior does not factor in at all. Heaven and hell, salvation, our eternal destiny is all about how we relate to the person of the Benevolent Creator God who has soveriegn authority over the earth and those who live in it because He invented it and us. None of this changes the aweful reality of hell, but it does totally change our understanding of why people go there or not.

the gospel coalition

2008-05-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

I have been so delighted to discover a coalition of pastors who are seeking to raise up a generation of pastors committed to Gospel-basaed ministry. The leadership of this group is an amazing gathering of pastors whose books I read and sermons I listen to for encouragment, stimulation and better understanding of God's Word. Here you have the likes of John Piper, Tim Keller, DA Carson, Mark Driscoll, Mark Dever and others--men committed to God's Word, historic reformed theology and dynamic and relevant Gospel-ministry in our day.

As they say it...

Our desire is to serve the church we love by inviting all of our brothers and sisters to join us in an effort to renew the contemporary church in the ancient gospel of Christ so that we truly speak and live for him in a way that clearly communicates to our age. We intend to do this through the ordinary means of his grace: prayer, the ministry of the Word, baptism and the Lord’s supper, and the fellowship of the saints. We yearn to work with all who, in addition to embracing the confession and vision set out here, seek the lordship of Christ over the whole of life with unabashed hope in the power of the Holy Spirit to transform individuals, communities, and cultures.

The Gospel Coalition site has documentation on their theological positions and ministry vision, audio and video content, articles--historical and contemporary, recommended resources and more. Check it out!

too too long

2008-04-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

Lisa says it's been so long since I posted that she's threatening to take my link off her blog. I've been pondering some deep thoughts lately that I keep meaning to post. BUT, what has actually motivated me to post again is the poetic picture below.

Poor little guy--didn't stand a chance against our front window. Matthias keeps telling me "Daddy, I saw the birdie died. He's crash right through the window. He must not to do that otherwise he will get an owie and he will get a tummy ache. He's resting now he died. Right Daddy?"

Part of me marvels at my son's first encounter with death and his processing through it. Such a part of life that we're often more removed from today.

Part of me just resents having to scrape up the remains of this little guy (including the feather scraps he left on the window)--ironic since I've dropped 9 gopher bombs in the last 5 weeks (why do I feel a sudden kinship with Bill Murray?)in the same yard .

importance of doctrine

2007-12-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

For a long time now I have held what I consider to be a high view of the importance of right doctrine in the life of the believer and the Church. I am one of those people who really believes that right actions flow from right thinking. I believe that ideas matter. They shape the world we live in. They shape the mundane decisions we make day to day that determine our paths and our character.

For all that, I am also convinced that correct doctrine is not the be all end all of the Christian life. I have seen and experienced (yes and led out in) too many bitter disputes over doctrinal issues. I have seen people with fine theology whose spiritual lives are cold. I have talked with too many people hurt by those who see their calling as policing everyone else's doctrine. Even worse, I see in Scripture that correct doctrine, while important, does not a vital Christian life make. How else do you explain James 2:19, "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!"

I've recently discovered a wonderful article by Francis Schaeffer on this issue called "The Secret of Power and the Enjoyment of the Lord." In a couple short pages Schaeffer helpfully connects the critical role of pure and correct doctrine with a motive of love as a key component of true Christian spirituality. He says, "Purity of self and purity of the church are not ends in themselves. It will not even do to pursue these merely as loyalty to principle. Purity of self and the purity of the church are only worth while when they are based upon love and lead to love." This type of life is a "battle against flesh all the way" according to Schaeffer.

I continue to believe in the importance of ideas and especially doctrine. At the same time, we cannot disconnect our doctrine from its fruit and motive. If the Gospel is the life-transforming news of God's love for the world expressed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then love must flow forth from our lives--especially those for whom doctrine matters. After all, Jesus Himself told us (and the world around us!) "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

family reading

2007-11-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

A little while back Lisa picked us up a new children's Bible to read with the boys. Sorting through the options, she found one with a name she recognized--Lloyd-Jones (one of my pastoral heroes is D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones for his committed and skillful preaching of God's Word). It wasn't by Martyn, but Sally Lloyd-Jones called The Jesus Storybook Bible. A daughter perhaps? Some type of relative? It would seem the answer is no. Just one of those happy coincidences of life.

As it turns out, this kids Bible is one of the best I've ever seen! For once, here is a Bible written at a young child's level of understanding that doesn't violate the text to turn the Bible into a Christian collection of morality tales. Instead, the focus is on God and His redemptive plan throughout history as revealed in the person of Jesus. AND it's fun to read! As Sally Lloyd Jones says of her book, "I wrote this so children could know that God is for them and loves them with a Never Stopping, Never Giving up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love."

I was recently pleased to discover an endorsement on Amazon from another big influence on my life, Tim Keller (pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City) and his wife Kathy. Keller says, "I would urge not just families with young children to get this book, but every Christian." Kathy says, "A unique resource for communicating the gospel to children in all it's fullness."

We try and take a few minutes each evening after bath time to read a section (5 minutes or less, so don't be impressed) and sing a little. It's great time together as a family and I feel I'm understanding Scripture better while David and Matthias are learning the storyline of the Bible and God's Rescue plan in Jesus. I highly recommend this Bible if you're looking for a Bible that "gets" kids and keeps faithful to the intention of the flow of Scripture.

what is the church?

2007-10-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

What is the Church? Theologians' answer to the question runs along the lines of "All true believers in all places throughout history." This is the Church Universal and it's important we recognize this dimension of hte Body of Christ. However, the only way we can experience the Church as embodied persons is through local churches--communities of believers who commit to gathering regularly to worship, hear God's Word, take the Lord's Supper and practice the "one another's" found in the New Testament.

Here's the deal. As college students it's easy to see yourself as a part of the Church Universal because you are displaced from your home church and the Christian community from which you came. It's easy to see involvement on campus or even in a church's college group as fulfilling the place of of the local church. For some it's even seen as enough to experience multiple churches simultaneously.

The reality though is that Scriupture calls us to something more dynamic and more compelling. We are called to gather together as teh "Body of Christ"--a visible, embodied representation of life in Christ. Our committed love for one another is to testify to the power of the Gospel to change human relationships. Our corporate worship (note the "body" language in that word from Latin, corpus; not corporate in terms of a business corporation) is to show how we prize the God of the Bible above all else. Our common life together with people we wouldnt associate with except our family connection though Jesus, is to show the power of the cross to bring about reconciliation.

We can only do these things through gathering, committing, submitting, opening up, serving and praying for each other on a regular basis. Pastor Tim's series on the Church has been a great overview showing us what God's Word says about these things and what this looks like in practice. If you've missed any of htis series, go back and listen online or even subscribe ("Living the Gospel") on iTunes to catch up. You can also make sure you don't miss if you're ever out of town.

Beyond that, if you call Grace Church your home, I encourage you to put this series into practice--make attending worship service your priority on a Sunday. College Group is a great limb of the church, but we can only experience the Body by gathering with those who aren't just like us. Connect in a Growth Group to go deeper in your relationships with other people and with the Lord. (We'll be starting a new round of Growth Groups in Winter Quarter.) Take advantage of opportunities to serve and learn from all the generations at Grace.

candy corn century

2007-10-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just rode my first century on Saturday with Scott Morton. It was a great ride up the coast and then up the 46 to Templeton and back down to the SLO airport. Lisa and the boys came out to play SAG Wagon, cheer us on and take some pics on the way up the 46 (yes, she IS the best wife ever!)

hoedown 2007

2007-10-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Granted it's been a while since I logged in with everyone here in blog land, but the Hoedown means it's high time! We had a great time once again at this years Hoedown, hosted by the ever faithful and generous Matt & Jean Kokonnen. How can you not have fun with a couple hundred college students Line dancing and Square Dancing with great food, prizes (donated by local businesses) and the incredible pie eating contest.

I love this event every year--kudos to our incredible student leadership team for pulling this thing off with excellence once again and the leadership of Matt Esswein our College Ministry Assistant. Check out the pics to get a flavor of the night!

dancing of course

lots o' friends

dance instructors--our own Gabba & Kaleo

Pie eating contest!

great prizes from local businesses
(Thanks Trader Joe's, Jiffy Lube, Movie Experience, Lisa Leonard Designs, Cold Stone Creamery, Marie Calendars, Albertson's and more!)
is that Jr High Director Ben Collins??

weddings, weddings, weddings

2007-07-16T17:07:00.001-07:00

This summer I've performed more weddings than ever before in my pastoral ministry. Any coincidence that I just taught a series on relationships in college group this past Spring?? Unfortunately, I can't take that kind of credit! This past weekend Lisa and the kids joined me in a little road trip up to Sonoma County for Alex and Kristen Lege's wedding. I met Kristen early on in my time at Grace. I rejoice with them that the Lord has brought them together and that I had the privilege of being a small part of their process. The Lord's work is evident in their lives and their relationship. Congrats Alex & Kristen!

what i'm reading

2007-07-13T00:06:00.002-07:00

I have turned to 9 Marks Ministries and their excellent leadership interviews for a couple of years now as a source to feed my soul for life and in pastoral ministry. I finally just finished reading Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church and am encouraged and challenged by hte issues Dever puts forth.

He makes clear from the beginning that these marks aren't an exhaustive list of practices that should occur in churches. He choses these because he believes they are hte oens that are falling more and more out of practice in today's church. I can say that I agree with Dever for the most part. I found his chapter on leadership very practical, the chapter on church discipline has done much to improve my undestanding of that practice and I was stirred by way of reminder as I read the first chapter on Expositional Preaching.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand God's calling on the Church.

The 9 Marks are:

meet matt esswein!

2007-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Matt Esswein just started this week as our new College Ministry Assistant. He just graduated from Poly this past weekend with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in international management (an impressive mouthful if you ask me!). I'm stoked to have Matt on board this summer and am looking forward to what he'll add to our college ministry here at Grace. This Sunday he'll be teaching in college group at 11:00am, so come by and get to know him. If you want to get in touch with him his email is matt@graceslo.org, or you can call him at 805.543.2358. He's pictured here hard at work in his office. Welcome aboard Matt!

another one of our own!

2007-06-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

I got an email this weekend making fun of me for not posting in while, so I've been shamed back into the blogosphere! Actually, what's really bringing me back out is that one our student's at Grace, Lindsay, blogged about college group this morning. I was greatly encouraged and humbled by Lindsay's reflections. I got to know her as we worked in New Orleans last summer and have enjoyed watching her grow in the Lord this year. In a bit of serendipity I found this photo of Lindsay WITH Jessica in New Orleans last year! (probably Lindsay's favorite pic of herself! check out her blog: On A Balloon Ride) One of my great joys is seeing our students grow in their faith. Thanks for the encouragement Lindsay!

one of our own!

2007-03-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

One thing I am passionate about in our college ministry here at Grace is the stewardship we have in training up those who will go out and serve Christ in all kinds of vocations. Just over a week ago, one of our own, Jessica Reed (former Student Leader in our college ministry!), was back in town for her first professional engagement as Papagena in Mozart’s "The Magic Flute." Jessica is currently pursuing her graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. I regularly get emails from her where she continues to evidence her growing faith and desire to serve the Lord where He calls her. Way to go Jess!

Check out the Tribune's article on Jessica!

slo tour

2007-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's not everyday the world champion of your favorite sport takes a win in your own town. Yesterday Paolo Bettini, the current road race world champion took it right on Monterey Ave in front of the former Hudson's Grill (my family used to eat there when I was a kid coming over here from Fresno). This is my shot of him in the midst of the madness and you can see his distinctive rainbow jersey on the right of the peleton as they prepare to turn form Chorro onto Monterey in the picture below (as a side note I took this picture while simultaneously standing within ten feet of Levi Leipheimer's dad and being kicked by own beloved son who was freaked out by the utter roar of the crowd!)Below are two pictures I'm pretty proud of. On the left you see the picture I lined up and had all focused in on Levi in his gold jersey, when someone 10 yards in front of me put up their camera. I have lots of pics of cameras from yesterday, but none this good! On the right is my follow up picture. I'll probably get a call from VeloNews wondering if they can print this one in their Tour of California issue. What can I say?

go levi!

2007-02-21T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Tour of California is back! My race favorite from last year, Levi Leipheimer, is once again in the lead. With his new place on the Discover Team, there's a pretty good chance he'll stay there until the end. If you have time, the peleton will be rolling into SLO between 3:00 and 4:30 this Thursday. Come by and check it out--this is the biggest international sporting event that comes to SLO town. It's likely the winner of the next Tour de France is among this bunch and the current World Champion will be there. See you downtown!

retreat reminder!

2007-01-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Spaces are filling up for our College Winter Retreat on Feb 9-11! Nevertheless, I'm throwing out one last chance to register for the early rate. If you can get your registration in before this Thursday (Feb 1) at 2:oopm, you can still get in for $75 (or $95 if Snowboarding). After that, it will be an additional $20.

Details once again:

Who: Grace College-Aged Community
What: College Winter Retreat 2007--Studying Discipleship in Luke and having fun in the snow!
Where: Shaver Lake
When: Feb 9-11 Meet in front of the church @ 4:30 a.m. (Snowboard group) / 4:30p.m. (retreat only group) on Friday February 9.
Why: Go Deep with God and each other

How to sign up--drop off a check at the church office Mon-Thur, or sign up on Sunday Morning during College Group. Questions? email: steve@graceslo.org

urbana

2007-01-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

A number of our college students from Grace went to Urbana over the winter break to explore missions and God's calling on their lives. I've been hearing moving reports of what happened in their lives as a result. One of them, Matt Esswein, sent me this article published in the Wall Street Journal saying, "It was cool for me to here as a business major that one of the nation's top business publications would include an article on the conference. "

Check it out: Meeting in St. Louis

He shared that this conference has been making him think more about doing business for a while and seeing what doors God opened up there. Since we're talking about vocation in college these days I wonder...

Any ways God has been working on your lives specifically with regards to vocation?

good question george

2007-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Check out this column by George F. Will in the most recent issue of Newsweek. A very insightful example of the way Roe v. Wade, genetic disorders, and eugenics come together to discriminate against the very lives of a certain classification of human beings.

Golly, What Did Jon Do?

As a side note, even as I am writing this David (another person offensive to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) is pulling himself to a stand and taking 6-7 independant steps toward Lisa. Check out the pictures!

choosing david

2007-01-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Sunday is Sanctity of Life Sunday. I always used to think that good Christians should take a pro-life stance and that we should defend the rights of the unborn when it came to abortion and the like. Two influences have since come into my life that have greatly challenged my views on this issue.

In the past few years I have become of devotee of the Mars Hill Audio Journal (a bimonthly audio magazine of contemporary culture and Christian conviction). Ken Myers has, over the years, interviewed many guests who have raised my awareness that abortion is only the beginning of the crisis facing our culture when it comes to the value of life. He has interviewed the likes of Richard John Neuhas, Nigel Cameron (a regular guest), Carlos Gomez, Michael Uhlman, C. Ben Mitchell, Joel James Shuman and others about issues like stem cell research, the relation of God's nature and purposes to our approach to sickness and medicine, the vocation of medicine, the meaning of human life, issues of suicide and euthanasia and many related topics. The take-away that continually resonates in my mind and heart is that the church by and large is behind the times on the variegated issues that surround sanctity of life. In an age of assisted suicide, genetic counseling, eugenics, fertility specialists, a lack of moral moorings, the Church needs to be educated and needs to stand up and fulfill its prophetic role in our culture.

Besides being stirred intellectually regarding these issues, we have faced them personally and deeply in raising a child with special needs. Our oldest son, David, was born with Cornelia deLange Syndrome resulting in small stature, global developmental delay and physical abnormalities. The conventional wisdom in the medical community today seems to be that testing should be performed during pregnancy to investigate the health of the "fetus" (I had a professor at Fresno State who once commented that pregnant soccer moms never have tee shirts that read "Fetus" with an arrow to their tummys!). While it might seem these good people in white lab coats want the best for your "fetus," unfortunately they are more often than not investigating whether they need to counsel termination of a pregnancy gone wrong. "In light of modern medicine, it is ridiculous that anyone should be born today with genetic disorders" is a sentiment I come across often, whether from the likes of Peter Singer or from doctors interviewed in Newsweek and on such programs as 60 Minutes. They don't mean that modern medicine can heal. David and his classmates at Chris Jesperson, in many such people's opinions, should never have been born. They're "quality of life" lacks too much and the financial outlay to our society costs too much. Yet, as I have watched my son over the past 41/2 years, it is offensive that anyone would dare to rob him of his opportunity at life. This kid is full of joy, determination and love. He brings joy to those who get to know him and has challenged many people (including me!) in the way they see others. Beyond that, the Lord, the Creator of life itself, speaks directly to this issue in Psalm 139:

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

The God of the Bible revealed in Jesus of Nazareth invented life. He is the giver of life. He sovereignly superintends every dimension of our lives.

There are a ton of great resources out there to learn more about the issues facing our culture on the issue of Sanctity of life. I want to recommend just a couple. After David was born someone gave Lisa a copy of Choosing Naia which she found extremely helpful. It is a book about a couple, Greg and Tierney Fairchild, a happily married, interracial professional couple who went for the usual prenatal screenings and came away with some very bad news: the fetus carried a major heart defect that could signal Down syndrome. The Fairchild's are not believers to my knowledge and begin as a couple who are not particularly pro-life. This is the story of their journey coming face to face with these issues in their daughter Naia.

I would also recommend Bioethics: A Primer For Christians by Gilbert Meilaender. As one review on Amazon puts it, Meilaender comes to the point early: "I have tried to say what we Christians ought to say in order to be faithful to the truth that has claimed us in Jesus." Recommended on Mars Hill, I plan to read this book this year to continue my own education on this issue.

college winter retreat

2007-01-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

Don't miss out on this year's Winter Retreat. February 9-11 Grace College ministry is heading up to Shaver Lake for a weekend of snow, fun and going deeper with God and each other. Last year was our first Winter Retreat and we had a blast. This year it'll be bigger and better than before--including the addition of an optional day of snowboarding @ Sierra Summit! Our spaces are limited and about a third of them are already gone, so sign up this Sunday Morning.

Retreat Info:

Option 1: $75 (retreat only)
Option 2: $95 (retreat with snowboarding; rentals not included)
Register by Sunday, Jan 29 in College Group
When do we leave? Meet in front of the church @ 4:30 a.m. (Snowboard group) / 4:30p.m. (retreat only group) on Friday February 9.

3 years old!

2007-01-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

Matthias turned 3 this weekend and we had a fun train party down in Oceano at the Rock & Roll Cafe. This picture captures one of Matty's new expressions that I totally love these days. I think it captures his place in life...just beginning to grasp the significance and excitement of special occasions like Christmas and birthdays!

fighter verses

2007-01-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to be more intentional about spending time in the Word as a family for a while. A couple years back I met with some guys in our church for breakfast once a week and we memorized a set of verses put out by Desiring God called "Fight Verses." It's great becasue you can get them right off the web sight for free, or you can purchase their resources.

I've been wanting to try it in earnest for so long that I finally bit the bullet and purchased the ESV (my favorite translation for literal/readable combo) set for our family. Lisa and I started memorizing together a couple weeks ago with a verse from the Old Testament that says it all,

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God
who keeps covenant and steadfast love
with those who love him and keep his commandments,
to a thousand generations.

Deut. 7.9

I share this, not because I am so great at memorizing, but because I struggle to keep this as a my part of my life. Maybe you do too. We're enjoying the time together and we're talking about Scripture together each evening after dinner. If yo're lookoing for something to help you, I highly recommend Fighter Verses (you can get kids packs and little prizes for your kids too).

contradiction?

2007-01-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

I admit I don't know a lot about a lot. However, I just poured "fat free half & half" into my coffee. Isn't that called skim milk?? If only Tim Wheeler were a blog guy, he could log in and clear up the confusion for me...

the a.i.d.s. crisis

2007-01-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

I mentioned the Hedlt's and their blog a couple posts back as examples of living the Gospel in the world. One issue they are informed about si the crisis of AIDS, especially in Africa. Iam very challenged by them in this area and regret my ignorance in this area. Today in the mailI received some literature on a new book being put out by Intervarsity Press on this very issue. I think for many of us in the Church this is one of our Ninevehs--an area of sin we would rather not touch. Perhaps it's time to see the Gospel is bigger than the AIDS crisis...

From the notice I received...

The Campaign for Life

Deborah Dortzbach and W. Meredith Long (both executives with World Relief) take you to the ground floor of the campaign against AIDS, moving from the devastating global perspective to the hope emerging from the grass roots. You can help the church change the course of hte AIDS Crisis.

How We Can Help

Stop debating whether Christians should repsond to HIV and AIDS. "We must instead repent of our slow response."
Decide how to resond. "The scope of possible invovement is just as broad as the scope of the AIDS disaster."
Know with whom to respond. "The fight agaist AIDS brings together many unlikely organizations...sincere in watign to protect and save lives."
Ask yourself daily: What attitude am I repsoning with? How vulnerable am I willing to become?

Perhaps the Lord would call on some in our midst to read this book and expand our understanding of this issue?

simply christian

2007-01-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

"Simply Christian" goes beyond C.S. Lewis's great classic Mere Christianity. N.T. Wright is simply crucial; his writing can transform one's life. This will become a classic."

-Anne Rice, author of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt

That's quite a claim for a person to make. In some ways it it strikes me as the Christian version of claiming the hot new band is the next Beatles (Can you believe someone actually claimed that Terrence Trent D'Arby was the next Beatles? If you're asking Who?? my point is made). Nevertheless, as an accomplished author herself and as one whose life was transformed in part by Wright's writing in her journey to faith, I think we can give Rice credit for more than another blurb on the back of a book.

I recently finished reading and enjoying Simply Christian for myself. As a C.S. Lewis fan, I think I fairly say that only a scholar of Wright's stature and broad appeal could even dare to, let alone pull off, the task of writing the Mere Christianity for today's postmodern context. In my opinion, Wright accomplishes his goal. I will say from the start that I don't agree with everything Wright says, while I can only say I'm in process over other issues he raises. (Although, as much as I love Lewis, I don't agree with him on everything either.)

Nevertheless, I would recommend this book as an intriguing introduction to Christianity that leads us into the story of Christianity--the story of Israel and especially of Jesus--through the echoes we hear in life of a voice who tells us there's something more than what we experience. When we examine the world around us and our longings for justice, relationship, spirituality and beauty, we are acknowledging that all is not right with the world. Wright argues this is not because the Christian worldview is false, but rather because it is true! Our world groans because God's good creation has been marred by humanity's rebellion against our creator and needs to be "put to rights." This is where the echoes meet the story and voice of Jesus, come to bring redemption and new creation--to individuals and the world.

Not everyone will resonate with this book, but I think especially those of you in college and into your early 30's will find this book a helpful aid in your own faith and in your conversations with unbelievers.

cal poly grad living the gospel

2007-01-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

I saw this article about Andrea Newell on the Tribune website today. I don't know Andrea's denominational ties, etc., but SHe struck me as another example of someone living the Kingdom. Congratulations on your wedding Andrea and Vincent!

family time

2007-01-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday we got some great time together as a family. We even got out with a photographer to get some family photos (a goal for about 18 months!).

kingdom come

2006-12-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a great deal recently about what it looks like to live the Gospel in real life circumstances. I especially want to point our college age community toward worthy examples of Gospel-life. How do we "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation...appear as lights in the world " (Phil 2:15)? How do we live our future redemption in our lives now? What does it look like to strive toward the kingdom and will of God to be the same on earth as it is in heaven?

These are the questions that are on my mind a great deal of late. Then I thought about some people here at Grace that are lights in the world--examples of this kingdom living--for me. May their lives shine forth as an example for you as much they have for me...

Scott Morton--I've had the opportunity to hear Scott cast vision for Grace's upcoming Capital Campaign in a number of forums, both public and private. He's the real deal. His life challenges me to personally re-evaluate if we are truly stewarding our material resources for the Kingdom. That doesn't even get into Scott's personal investment into college men, or as an elder, or the way he uses his dentistry practice for the Kingdom.
Tim & Karen Weaver--I've been impressed watching Tim and Karen serve in many behind-the-scenes ways here at Grace. I think many would be surprised to find out how much they do for our Body Life. Beyond that, their love and commitment to their new boys Nick and Bif is amazing. They embody a picture of Romans 8:15.
Mike and Katie Allshouse--Generous folks who recently adopted Eli from Ethiopia. They have raised my awareness of ministries such as Engineering Ministries International and Compassion International. They're living life and keeping their eyes open for opportunities to give of themselves to the Kingdom.
Kevin and Brianna Heldt--This is a couple who regularly challenge me in a number of areas. Keven & Brianna were the first in our congregation to adopt twin boys from Ethiopia (Josef & Biniam) and to open my eyes to this possibility. Brianna blogs about issues like adoption and HIV in Africa (and lots of regular stuff too!) and they are a couple who looks seriously at how to live lives that promote justice, quality relationships and authentic spirituality.
Kirt Collins--Kirt is the backbone of our ministry to the homeless population here at Grace. He's faithful to recruit volunteers for the overflow ministry and to oversee it's operation for two months each year. He also lives out his faith as a local principle and member of the community. Besides that, he's just a neat guy to be around!

This isn't an exhaustive list, but a group of people who are right in front of my eyes who are striving to to see and live in the world in light of the Good News of King Jesus. My guess is that none of these think they're doing anything special--normal people living out the Gospel the best they know how. If you have any examples you know and would be willing to share, I'd love to hear about them!

age

2006-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

We recently had a discussion about age and getting date of birth information in a staff meeting. It raised a question for me, why are people in our culture so sensitive about age? It seems to me to be yet another way we've missed biblical teaching (even in the church at times). In my position at Grace it is not uncommon in any given day that I find myself in a room with college students 10-15 years younger than me. Then in the afternoon I'll find myself at a lunch with someone 10, 20, 30 years my senior. That said, I feel the tensions of Living the Gospel in an intergenerational church like Grace.

That said, I'm surprised how often we in the church seem to be disproportionately concerned with the impressions, opinions and desires of the young. I'm surprised that Christian Believers would feel embarrassed by their age. I think of the Proverbs,

The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
(Prov. 20.29)

Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
(Prov. 23.22)

In fact, Paul had to exhort Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers tan example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. " (1Tim. 4.12). It seems youth was the bigger obstacle in their world. Proverbs begins by citing the lack of wisdom possessed by youth.

To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth
(Proverbs 1:1-3)

I wonder, in our media-saturated culture, where body image is such a prevailing issue, and teens and even pre-teens (with their disposable income) are targets for marketing, if we are not swayed into thinking that youth is somehow more valuable than age. Perhaps it's even a by-product of being part of a young country that has always valued social and economic mobility. Perhaps it relates to Hollywood's portrayal of "reality" where the young and beautiful generally reign. I'm not sure what the cause, I do know the seniors in our midst feel the impact of our youth-based culture at times. (As a side note--I had the opportunity to lunch with our Young @ Heart crowd last week. They are a wonderful group of folks! Among other parts of the afternoon, there was an impressive bubble gum blowing contest!) I know the older generations have more life experience, a generally stronger work ethic, and wisdom to offer that I am years from acquiring.

Anyway, these are some thoughts on my mind someone encouraged me to blog about--what do you think about this issue?

holding fast the word of life?

2006-11-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Last week it was Ted Haggard, this week it's Rev. Brian Moon who "has come up with ideas for his sermons after water-skiing, while watching "My Name Is Earl" on TV and while working on his 1969 Buick muscle car." One of our college students forwarded me this article (originally published in the Wall Street Journal but available here). Two things quickly come to mind when I see this article on the froont page of the one of hte most prestigious papers in the world. 1) Was it a slow news week or what? This is a front page story?? 2) I've seen pastors lose their pastorates over this. May we all take seriously Paul's exhortation to "hold fast the world of life in the world" (Phil 2:16) and all the hard work that comes with preaching the word of life. It is time consuming, hard work to learn the history of the ancient world(s), to grasp the literature of the Bible and to bring to bear an unchanging message to those who live today. Nevertheless, that is the task of those who teach and preach the Bible. Funny stories win crowds. The gospel is foolish to the world we live in. Plagarizing other pastors' sermons is not only foolish, but embarrasing. May we follow the example of Paul the Apostle in these things...

1And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

turkey bowl II

2006-11-17T16:03:00.000-08:00

Don't miss Turkey Bowl II this Sunday, 2:00-4:30pm!

hoedown '06

2006-11-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you take some good cookin'...

mix it up with line dancing,

square dancing,

barn dancing,

chase your 2 year old dancing and

throw in good friends havin' a great ole time?

You guessed it--Grace College Hoedown 2006!

brave new world

2006-11-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

OK, so this is a week old...nevertheless, our Children's Ministry Director, Dori, has been making fun of me all year for the shared panic Matthias and I experienced in last year's Harvest Festival "Tunnel o' Terror" (it was designed by high schoolers and I took a 22 month old in it--what would you call it?). Anyway, the Leonard boys are not to be daunted. We went for a second run this year and I have the photo evidence to prove it. This time it wasn't just Matthias and I--David joined us! OK, so it was the kiddie tunnel this time--we still went for it!

our citizenship

2006-11-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

I voted today. Upon returning from the polling place I was greeted by the latest issue of Newsweek that only served to further intensify the questions over which I struggle each and every election cycle--how do I work out my heavenly citizenship within the context of 21st century American politics?

As I said in my sermon on Sunday on Philippians 2:12-1 8, I believe we are called to live lives of morality and responsible citizenship to our respective governments as Christians. I read in Romans 13:1-7 that God Himself has instituted societal government as a part of His common grace in the restraining of evil on the earth. This means participation in our societies--voting, paying taxes (mentioned by Paul), praying for our leaders, etc. Yet, this issue of Newsweek embodies another principle I see in Philippians 2. Our lives need to stand out in ways that go beyond morality and social structures, which our unbelieving society understands within its own framework.

Let me give an example of what I mean. I think all of us in the Evangelical world have been embarrassed and grieved by the recent news of Ted Haggard's involvement with Mike Jones. It's bad enough that the significant moral failure of a giga-church pastor and resident of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) serves to promote a negative image of the Church once again. But I don't think Haggard's moral situation is what's most embarrassing in this week's Newsweek. I was most embarrassed to read the image of the Gospel we have portrayed to our culture long before the Haggard affair. Newsweek describes the NAE as "a powerful lobbying group that represents some 30 million Christians." (p. 33, "Newsweek," Nov. 13, 2006). The articles further characterize evangelicals as having a reputation for being harsh, intolerant, going too far, and a collection of hard shells and hypocrites. To be fair to Newsweek, the article's representation of American evangelicalism is that of a movement at a crossroad's regarding its future. Though I'm not sure this actually paints a more winsome portrait. I don't see a societal reputation that can be identified with Paul's desire for us in Phil 2:15-16 that we be "blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." Is there any way to harmonize our current reputation with Paul's admonition to shine as lights in the world? We may be quick to point fingers at the Haggards in our midst, but my point is much larger than that.

My concern, as I struggled over which candidates and propositions (and especially!) judges to vote for and against, is that we put too much hope as Christians in the electoral process. We are citizens of a third race neither Jew nor gentile (which category would you place "American" in?) that is the People of God. No political party, no democratic process, no educational initiative, no politician is going to bring about the Kingdom of God. The apostle Paul warns us "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12) Even our political processes in America are under the influence of these powers. How else do you explain that the party who opposes abortion promotes policies that oppress the poor? Why is it that the party that promotes social justice campaigns against criminal justice and the lives of the unborn?

In our efforts to live lives that display the justice of the Kingdom of God we must remember that our true hope is that the Kingdom of God was inaugurated in the coming of Messiah Jesus when he died on the cross and was raised again in victory over the powers. Our hope is in His return when justice will be done and as one NT scholar puts it, "the world will be put to rights." Until that time let us strive to work out the implications of the Gospel in our lives. May we engage, may we do our part, respect the government God has placed over us, vote, pay our taxes and so on. At the same time, may we place our hope in Jesus, His cosmic plan of redemption and pray "Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven."

are they ready?

2006-08-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

One of the major questions people have asked me since returning form New Orleans is, "Are the levees ready if antoher big hurricane comes their way?" My honest answer is, "I don't know." I know that Kevin Brown, Executive Director at Trinity Christian Community (the organization we worked alongside), describes New Orlenas as a an anxious city the closer we get to August 29th. I just read a report on MSNBC that I piont you toward for your consideration as Ernesto buildsin the gulf. Be in prayer for our brothers and sister at TCC and that the Lord will continue to rebuild New Orleans in the name of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

what happened...

2006-08-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Last week nine (mostly college students) from Grace Church went to New Orleans to put hands and feet to the Gospel. We had the opportunity to work alongside Americorps volunteers associated with Trinity Christian Community doing house gutting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In the time we were there, we gave 346 man-hours of labor, over $10,000 of work and worked on three different houses.

As a regular Newsweek reader, I had my opinions going into the situation. "Why didn't these people just evacuate?" "It can't be as bad as the news made it out to be--they sensationalize everything!" "It's a year later, I hope there's enough work for us to do when we get there." And on and on my thinking went. I learned evacuation is a much more complex, time consuming, and expensive ordeal than I realized. The news is certainly biased. It didn't adequately cover how Katrina devastated the wealthy and poor alike (though, of course the poor have no recourse to recover without outside help). The news has also given those of us in California the false notion that things are getting back to normal by the lack of coverage (until the recent blitz as we approach the one-year anniversary of Katrina. Wait until the second week of September and see what kind of coverage New Orleans gets). While some sections of N. O. are humming along, most of the city is STILL in ruin. Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.

On the flip side, we all noticed that it is the Church (local congregations from all over the country and parachurch ministries) that is taking the lead in getting it's hands dirty with the practical work of house gutting and rebuilding. It is the Church that the Lord is using to rebuild the homes of the poor. The Lord is bringing glory to Jesus Christ through community development of ministries like Trinity Christian Community who have faithful men and women like Kevin and Sandy Brown, Brian and Larie who have returned to N. O., where God has called them to "seek the welfare of the city." (Jer. 29:7)

I will try and capture some more reflections on our trip in future posts. For now, these are some initial thoughts and photos of our team and what we saw. I'd love to hear you reactions...

coming soon...

2006-08-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

I just got back from New Orleans a couple datys ago and am trying to catch up in a hurry this week. I'm anxious to share about our experience in N.O.--the situation is MUCH worse than I realized. I feel blessed that I was able to put hands and feet to the Gospel in an area that despereately needs it. Anyway, hopefully I'll get pictures soon and I'll have a little more time to share some of my reflections on the trip.

On another Note: WELCOME BACK CUESTA STUDENTS!!

The new year is beginning and it's always great to see you guys around here. Can't wait to get to know some of you newbies better! Gear up, this is going to be agreat Fall Season!

calling all creative types...

2006-08-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

So I just cheked out the the promo videos for our youth group's Fall Forward trip. First, you've gotta check 'em out (click here)--they're hilarious! Second, where are you creative types in the college group? The highschool staff is totally showing us up--I'd love to hear from you if fun, creative stuff is your gig!

urban christians

2006-07-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Tim Keller's preaching and ministry model often inspires me and gets me thinking. He recently wrote an article for Christianity Today that did both to me again. As I contemplate the issues of the biblical ministry of justice and love for neighbor, I was drawn into what Keller has to say. The article is entitled "A New Kind of Urban Christian" and it rasises many issues that resonate with the life nad ministry of John Perkins (see previous post). Among the statements that caught my eye:

"As the city goes, so goes the culture...People who live in large urban cultural centers, occupying jobs in the arts, business, academia, publishing, the helping professions, and the media, tend to have a disproportionate impact on how things are done in our culture. Having lived and ministered in New York City for 17 years, I am continually astonished at how the people I live with and know affect what everyone else in the country sees on the screen, in print, in art, and in business."
"Once in cities, Christians should be a dynamic counterculture. It is not enough for Christians to simply live as individuals in the city...Christians are called to be an alternate city within every earthly city, an alternate human culture within every human culture, to show how sex, money, and power can be used in nondestructive ways."
"Christians should be a people who integrate their faith with their work. Culture is a set of shared practices, attitudes, values, and beliefs, which are rooted in common understandings of the "big questions"—where life comes from, what life means, who we are, and what is important enough to spend our time doing it in the years allotted to us. No one can live or do their work without some answers to such questions, and every set of answers shapes culture."

Check out the article and share your thoughts...

let justice roll down

2006-07-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

Over the course of my vacation in Southern CA last week I read a book called Let Justice Roll Down (can be purchased at www.ccda.org) by John M. Perkins to prepare for our upcoming trip to New Orleans for Hurricane relief. The book chronicles Perkins' journey from the poverty, prejudice and racism of his upbringing as a sharecropper in New Hebron, Mississippi in the 30's to his founding of Voice of Calvary ministries. Perkins left Mississippi as a young man, after his brother was killed, to go to California where he found job opportunities, a different brand of racism and faith in Jesus Christ.

He returned to Mississippi to share the Gospel and help his own people find equality, justice and economic independence through cooperative efforts. His ministry shockingly led to a night when Perkins and some of his colaborers endured an inhuman night of torture at the hands of white law enforcement officers. Perkins was almost beaten to death, yet the Lord spared him and his colleagues allowing his incredible work of "redeeming lives among the poor which will in turn redeem (biblically transform) whole communities." The mission of the John M. Perkins Foundation sums up his life work well, "To raise up, nurture and equip leadership who will 'wholistically' minister to the poor through communicating biblical truth to achieve the building of community through Reconciliation, Relocation and Redistribution."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to walk in the shoes of a man who has witnessed and endured intense racism firsthand. I have never looked at life through the eyes of such a man as John Perkins until reading this autobiography. This is a man who finds his joy in the Gospel, who preaches the Gospel and who puts hands and feet to the Gospel in a wholistic way.

In a few weeks, we will be taking a small team (there's still room! Contact shelly@graceslo.org if you're interested in joining us) to New Orleans August 12-19 to work alongside Trinity Christian Community in the redevelopment of this city's community, devastated a year ago by Hurricane Katrina. I'm eager to get a glimpse of TCC's ministry, which provides training opportunities and resources for faith-based organizations having an impact on at-risk communities throughout New Orleans. Throughout collaborative efforts, more lives can be changed and our reach can be greatly expanded.

"Seek the shalom of the city where I have sent you...
and pray to the LORD on its behalf..." Jeremiah 29:7

number 3?

2006-07-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

While not exactly the hand of God, seeing Floyd Landis in le maillot jaune (yellow jersey) in this year's Tour de France today has made me very happy. After seeing prerace favorites Jan Ullirch and Ivan Basso (Tour favorites) yanked because of a dping scandal and Alejandro Valverde crash out of the race with a broken collar bone early on, I've been looking for a brighter spot on this year's race. Those of you in SLO might remember Landis coming through town as the race leader and eventual winner of the Tour of California. He went on to win two more races this season--the Tour de Georgia and Paris-Nice. He's had a great year so far despite suffering from a terribly damaged hip joint. Right now he stands as this year's favorite to win. If he does he will be the third American in the 93 year history of the Tour to win after Greg LeMond (3) and Lance Armstrong (7). Go Landis!

marking the hand of God

2006-07-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Marking the hand of God, or identifying God at work, is one of my favorite things to do. Our church staff relates where we have seen God moving each week at our staff meetings. I love asking our college leadership this same question. When I share ways I've seen God at work it helps me to pay attention and reflect on incidents that I might normally miss. When others share their observations, I am encouraged and lifted out of the daily grind of task I need to complete.

One of my heroes is C. H. Spurgeon. He was a man of the Word, a bold preacher and I am always impressed with the way ministries grew up around his church under his leadership. Often I turn to his Morning and Evening devotional for some food for my soul. Earlier this week I came across a reflection on Psalm 103:2 that focused my attention on God's blessings and hand in my life, so I thought I'd share it with you all. Enjoy...

“Forget not all His benefits." Psalm 103:2

It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of his truth, as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that he wrought all his mighty acts, and showed himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favours? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath he never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things,” hath he never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters? Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us, then, weave his mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness, and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David’s harp, while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth for ever.

As I wrote yesterday, I see God at work in David's life in huge and small ways. How about you, where do you see God at work?

four on the fourth

2006-07-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

I'm a week behind on this blog post, but I can't let the Fourth of July pass without celebrating my little David. He turned four years old last Tuesday (4th of July!) and each birthday is a celebration in our family of God's faithfulness, sovereignty and care. Four years ago our little guy was born with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. We grieved, we rejoiced and we didn't know what to expect from this little boy.

He came home to us three weeks after his birth taking all his nourishment through a G-tube. That very first day the Lord directed me to John 9:1-3, "As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" We have seen God at work in David over and over again in his short life. As you look at these pictures, you'll see the first is David with his Curious George (given by his proud dad!) the first day of his life. The second picture is with the same Curious George--how far he has come!

Since we've moved here to the Central Coast, David has begun to sit up regularly and is now scooting all over the house on his bottom (In honor of our friends in Russia, this is known as the "Misha Scoot" around our house). He has no G-tube and is even beginning his first stages of self-feeding. Soon he will join the ranks of other big boys and big girls and begin his first year of preschool--we can't believe our little guy has come to this stage already! Scripture tells us to "Weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice." Some of you have wept with us along this journey. We invite you to rejoice with us at this stage of the journey!

back in the saddle again!

2006-06-29T13:27:00.001-07:00

I know some of you were worried about the recent demise of my Specialized Tarmac frame...trust me I have been too. More than one tear and anxious moment has been shed over the loss of my friend with whom I have ridden over 2,000 miles in the past 6 months. If you ride, you know what I mean. If you don't, well, you probably don't.

Suffice it to say, the good folks at Art's Cyclery and Specialized worked out a "crash replacement" frame deal for me (yes, it was a good deal, but still painful!). I've been out on it a couple of times now and am loving every minute of it. I even got to take the inaugural ride with one of our Grace missionaries, Mike Grainger and Scott Morton.

Anyway, I know there are some of you out there who were afraid I'd stop shaving my legs and that I'd lose that funny little tan spot on the backs of my hands--don't fear, all is well again!

the gospel for real life

2006-06-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

As I counsel people it seems to me that I often find myself pointing once again to the power of the cross and our hope in the Gospel to transform us. I've been convicted for a long time now that the Gospel is not just for the unbeliever, but for the life of the believer as well. I'm continually looking for a good book to recommend that will get people started and take them further down the path of the Gospel in their lives. At this stage I'm surprised how often I find myself recommending a particular book by Jerry Bridges, The Gospel For Real Life. I've read it with some guys I've discipled and it seems to be relevant to so many situations I come across. Instead of limiting my recommendation of this book to those I meet with one on one, I thought it might be a helpful resource to recommend more broadly. The back cover summerizes the book well...

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the door to eternal life, but what difference does it make once we're inside God's kingdom? Jerry Bridges says the gospel is the very lifeblood of our walk with God. Without doubt it is the key to our salvation, but it is also the power for our daily progress in holiness. The Gospel for Real Life will help you.

Experience freedom from the grip of sin and know the joy of pursuing holiness
Revel in God's acceptance of you and participate in His grace as a daily reality
Expose the subtle acids of legalism in your life and enjoy the liberty of the cross
Discover how to "preach the gospel to yourself daily" and so partake of its continuous transforming power
Carry the true fullness of the gospel to a desperately needy world around you

new grace beyond blog

2006-06-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

With so many of our students away on missions trips and projects this summer, we thought it would be a great idea to provide a way for us to stay in touch and hear about the Lord is doing through our students all over the world. I just invited all our student missionaries to log in and begin posting about waht they're doing and what God is doing where they are. Check out Grace Beyond in the coming days to read what your friends are up to. Log in to interact and dialogue about what God is teaching you too! Ask questions! Share random thoughts! If you are a Grace college student who is serving somewhere this summer, you're invited to jump in and post too. If we missed you somehow (please please forgive!), email me (steve@graceslo.org) and we'll take care of you! The world is flat, so let's take advantage of it.

dodgers or giants?

2006-06-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Let the debate begin! On Saturday, July 8 the college group is heading down to Dodger Stadium for a baseball game. Is it a Giants game, or a Dodgers game? Having spent 8 years in Southern California I wish it were an Angels game myself, but things being as they are, I'm calling it a Dodgers game! We have 30 tickets, so we should have a great time together. The cost is $20 (covers ticket, gas, parking, etc.) and you can sign up and even pay online to reserve your spot (click here). We'd love to see you out of towners join in, so we're trying to make it easy on you to sign up in absentia (that's Latin 'cause you're educated college folk! It means 'cause you're not around').

You will need to have registered yourself in our online directory. If you haven't done so yet, take a minute and check it out by clicking here!

Grace College Missions

2006-06-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

We've had the priviledge oif sending out a number of our Grace College students (some now graduated!) out to a number of short term mission fields this summer. We're looking inot creating some kind of online community so they can log in and all of our group can log in from wherever everyone is this summer. This will help us stay conencted and enable us to pray for one another. More on that to come, but for now here's prayer requests from Brain Wong and Matt Esswein who's traveling in Africa right now with his family.

Brian Wong:
Hey Everyone,

This is probably going to be my only e-mail before I head out for training on Sunday (6/18) in San Diego. We'll be down there for a week until we head out of LAX on the 25th. Lord willing, we'll be back August 17th.

If I get the chance, I promise I'll send out an update e-mail, though I can't actually promise that I'll have the opportunity. Please bear in mind that I won't be able to be very explicit in the statements I e-mail so bear with me. But until I have the opportunity to actually send an update with more specific prayer requests, please pray for the following:

The Team: Team unity and bonding. I'm praying for an awesome team, while keeping in mind that sometimes the best learning and growth occur in situations with teams that aren't so great.
Boldness: God is faithful to provide ample opportunities to share. Often times my problem is a lack of boldness in taking those opportunities.
Health: I'm praying that I'll serve God both in sickness and in health.
Focus: I pray I'm not distracted by anything, whether it's my team members, my students, or anything else. I want to stay focused on the task at hand.

Also please feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested. Also feel free to ask me to add them to the list for future reference.

Yours truly,
Brian
----------------------------------------

Matt Esswein:
Some of the specific ways you can be praying for me are;

courage and assurance from Christ through tough emotions and seeing my family in a tough place
quality communication and an overall FUN trip within my family
the Holy Spirit to speak at the conference to encourage, inspire, and heal us and the people we are speaking to
words to say, scriptures to share, and stories to tell
quality rest and overall health amongst the busy schedule and questionable food

Grace and peace,
Matt

The Real DaVinci Deception?

2006-06-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

In walking by a copy of DaVinci's The Last Supper the other day I couldn't help but make an observation that has, up to this point, alluded me. You see, with so much attention directed toward the female-looking Apostle John on the left side of the painting, most of us have missed a far more notable figure on the right. You'll note that most of the apostles in the painting have facial hair with the exception of John and this other apostle (someone who knows art help me out here--who is this one in the painting?). Then it hit me--is it possible that Dan Brown, in his DaVinci Code, is actually pulling a fast one on us? I mean, according to him, he has revealed the secret that will destroy Christianity as we know it. I submit to you that the DaVinci Code is really just a diversion tactic. If you look carefully at the paitning and a picture of Drew Barrymore, you will find there is an undeniable similarity. We know from teh film Everafter that DaVinci and Barrymore met--even that he did a head study portrait of her. I submit that the real DaVnci Deception is not about the identity of Mary Magdalene, but rather that Drew Barrymore is in fact somehow tied to a greater conspiracy than any of us has yet imagined. Was her great-great-great-great-great-great-et al. grandmother Mary Magdalene perhaps? Has DaVinci picture Barrymore's late ancestor Martha, a devoted though overworking, disciple of Jesus? I haven't had time to search the Gnostic Bible yet for textual support, so I can only speculate at this point. Nevertheless, I invite you ponder this, the Real DaVinci Deception with me...

scattered thoughts

2006-06-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wow--too long since I blogged last! This has been a hectic, exhausting and strangely renewing quarter for me. Here's some thoughts running through my tired head...

The 75th Anniversary has challenged me in teh areas of prayer, evangelism, life-purity, priorities, God-sized vision, the importance of relationships, how we aren't first ones to walk the earth and anticipation for the future chapters of God at work among other things...
Summer: Dodger/Giants game, hikes, beach days, Spirit West Coast, New Orleans Relief Trip, Leadership Backpacking in the back country--totally excited about all this; overwhelmed in the details (see my use of a semi-colon? that's 'casue this is a college blog!)
Lots to do, lots to do, lots to do (notice the unhelpful repetition of useless yet anxiety producing words here--real insight into my current metal state)
I think my bike frame has bitten the dust--I think I'm going to cry over this one--seriously.
I see God working in our Growth Groups, missions, community ministry, youth, children's ministry, college, among our staff--I want to grasp teh Lord's vision for the days ahead and lay myself at His feet for His purposes.
Can't wait to get into a stack of books sitting on my shelf to my right.

Not profound, but it's where I am. It's been too long since I logged in, so here I am again!

God's heart for the community

2006-04-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Our 75th Anniversary Celebration began on Easter as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus and sang out All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name as they did 61 years ago. This past weekend we celebrated all that God has done through Grace over the years to reach the larger community here on the Central Coast. From reaching out to the local servicemen, to reaching out the jails, to our current ministries in Juvenile Hall and the Overflow Shelter, Grace has been reaching out to live the Gospel in this community for 75 years. We heard from Pastor Scott as he showed us God’s heart for the poor, the broken and the outcast. Mike Yankoski, author of Under the Overpass, shared his experiences living among the homeless during his days in college. In addition to this, Grace hosted a BBQ luncheon for the poor and homeless in our community last Saturday.

As I was gearing up for last weekend, I couldn’t help but notice something very particular about the Lord’s instructions to the Israelites concerning the feasts He appointed them to celebrate. In Leviticus, a book full of Levitical Law and instructions, the Lord clarifies some of the specifics about how the national feasts are to be carried out. In chapter 23 we are told that the 14th day of the 1st month is an appointed time of rest and celebration—it is the Lord’s Passover. Then, the next day is to be the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which is to last 7 days (vv. 1-8). The Lord goes on to give more explicit detail, directing the Israelites in the specific ways in which they are to harvest the crop at this time (vv. 9-14). Then He makes clear the offerings and sacrifices that are to be made—bread, lambs, a bull and rams. And yes, they are to rest from labor (15-21).

It’s the next verse that catches my attention though. In verse 22 we see God’s heart for the poor and the needy in in society. Even as the Lord instructs the Israelites to extravagant sacrifice, He lays down instruction for the poor of the community. The Israelites, recognizing that their harvest comes from the hand of God are not to hoard the fruits of their labor to themselves, but are to share with those in need. As they celebrate the mighty acts of God—their redemption from slavery in Egypt and God’s provision for the people, they are to hold that provision with an empty hand. The people of God are to share and freely give of that which they have freely received.

This weekend we began our 75th Anniversary Celebration in earnest. Perhaps it’s fitting and even appropriate that a celebration of God’s faithfulness and blessing all starts with an opportunity to bless others through a tri-tip BBQ luncheon for the poor and needy of our community. The Lord has given Grace so many resources and opportunities over the years. He has enabled our church to grow and to give back to our own community, to those who have suffered devastation in our own country and those who have suffered around the world. This past weekend, we celebrated God's faithfulness through serving and loving those for whom God has a special place in His heart.

May we take the time in the days, weeks, months and years ahead to look the homeless in the eyes. May we talk with them as those created in the image of God. I was struck by practical ways we can reach out to those in need by giving away socks, gift certificates, soft granola bars and water bottles. May we incarnate the love of Christ to any and all we meet!

time away

2006-03-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Alright, I admit that it's actually been a week since I got back from vacation, but with preaching yesterday and all the stuff waiting for me after a week away, I just didn't get time to blog last week. Right before all you Poly-ites took off for Spring Break, I took my family away for some vacation in the snow at Shaver Lake and rain in Fresno (who wouldn't want to vacation in Fresno??). It was the first time David and Matthias got to experience the snow--Matthias loved it (until he slipped on an icy patch), David...not so much.

As you can see form the pics, David took the opportunity to show off a little. He was sitting up all by himself and even standing and taking a couple steps (Lisa isn't holding him here!). Matthias was all about mastering his stair workout--and dressed for the part! Lisa enjoyed laying low with her boys and the dinner-theatre show we attended in the Tower District in Fresno. They did a good job with Beauty & the Beast and thanks to the grandparents; we got to make it a date night for us.

And me? Well, most of you know I love riding my bike these days. I had big plans to ride everyday of vacation so I might be able to hang with Greg K. and Scott Morton. I managed to get in a couple good rides, but between the weather (snow in the mountains and rain in the 'Sno) and getting lazy, how did I spend my time? Well...let's just call it quality time with my boys! This was our first real vacation since starting here—it was great to get away for a few days, though I have to say, it’s great to be back home too!

reflections on god's faithfulness

2006-03-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

Last time I shared some thoughts on Deut. 16:1-21—the Feasts of Passover, Weeks and Booths—Reminders of God’s acting in Israel’s midst . This week I’m drawn to this question, “What do these stones mean to you?” This is the question the Lord told Israel their children would ask one day when passing by a monument of twelve stones they had taken out of the middle of the Jordan River in Joshua 4:1-7. I’ve heard it said that one generation experiences the Lord, the next generation assumes the Lord and the third generation abandons the Lord. These stones were to be a fresh first-hand experience of the Lord to the succeeding generations.

The Lord brought Israel through the Jordan on dry ground. The Lord had not only delivered them from slavery in Egypt, but He had brought into the Promised Land. God commanded Joshua to instruct the tribes to each send forth one man in to the River and to pick up a stone from under the feet of the priests who stood holding the Ark of the Covenant, “from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down where you lodge tonight.” (Josh 4:3) Consider the scene for a moment. God is holding back the waters of the river, the priests are standing holding the Ark, Israel is on it’s way to destroy Jericho. There is business to attend to. The pragmatist in me says, “Forget the rocks, let’s get going here. We have things to accomplish for the Lord!”

The Lord though sees it differently. He knows how we humans forget. He knows this is a momentous occasion that must be remembered for the sake of Israel’s future faith. It’s not enough to just let the moment pass in the midst of the hustle and bustle of ministry. So He commends them to take these stones to set up a monument. Why? So that one day they would walk by with their kids—many not yet born—and the inquisitive young mind would look to his dad and ask, “Dad, what’s the deal with this pile of rocks?” The father would tell his son how he had crossed the river on dry land the day the Lord cut off the waters. Grandfather would tell grandson of his experience. Father would tell son of his own grandfather’s experience.

This monument was to be a sign form one generation to the next that would testify to the mighty acts of God in their midst. It would remind the first generation that it really happened. They would be forced to remember and testify to their own experience of God. It was an opportunity for following generations to experience the Lord firsthand themselves—to keep them from assuming the Lord.

During the 75th Anniversary we will looking afresh at various stones that have been left. Some that we aware of—perhaps some that have been forgotten. Their are some in our midst who were there, who can tell us what these stones mean to them. There are others who heard the stories firsthand. There are others still asking the question, “What do these stones mean to you?” 75 years is a momentous occasion that must be remembered for the sake of our own future faith. It’s not enough to just let the moment pass in the midst of the hustle and bustle of ministry. Let’s take this opportunity to erect a monument ourselves so that our children and grandchildren—those who celebrate 100, 150 and 200 years—will ask “What do these stones mean to you?”

why celebrate 75 years?

2006-03-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

The closer we come to the the 75th Anniversary, the more I am convinced of the power of this time of remembrance and celebration and ministry to reform and renew our lives individually and corporately. In a recent discussion with Ted Malley I was reminded that I need to continually keep the purpose of the 75th before us all that we might might be stirred to action because of God’s faithfulness. Thank you for the humble reminder Ted! I think this is true for you our students especially as your time at Grace tends to be shorter. The purpose of the 75th celebration is to look back upon God’s faithfulness to past generations that we might reorient ourselves in the present and continue a legacy of faithfulness for future generations. Remembering what God has done reforms us in this moment the Lord has given us that we might pass the baton to others.

Since that conversation I have spent time in reflection and prayer over how to keep the biblical nature of such a celebration before us. I’ve decided over the coming weeks to share a passage of Scripture each week that is relevant to remembering God’s faithfulness. In addition to the passage, I will write a brief devotional thought on it to cause us to reflect on God’s Word and His steadfast loving-kindness toward us His people. I have been richly blessed through this exercise already and am eager to share some of what God has revealed to me.

Before I share some thoughts this week, I commend the following passages to you all to reflect on God’s call on our lives to remember and reflect on Who is and what He’s done:

Genesis 9—God’s covenant of the rainbow which symbolize His covenant of mercy and grace toward every living creature.
Exod. 12:14-32—The Feast of Unleavened Bread which celebrates Israel’s redemption from slavery.
Exod. 31:12-18—The Sabbath commanded as a covenantal reminder that the LORD is Israel’s God—the One who created the world.
Numbers 15:37-41—Tassals placed on the Israelites clothing that they would remember God’s commands.
Deut. 16:1-21—the Feasts of Passover, Weeks and Booths—Reminders of God’s acting in their midst.
Josh 4:1-13—Memorial stones that commemorate Israel’s crossing of the Jordan. A physical reminder so that their children would ask “What do these stones mean?”
1 Chron 16 (note esp. Vv. 7-36)--The Ark is brought to Jerusalem with celebration of God’s glory, delivery, covenant, provision of the Land, creation and everlasting loving-kindness.
Neh. 1:4-11—the memorial power of God’s Word to point His people to Himself.
Psalm 42—Remembering God’s faithfulness in the midst of trouble, harm and distress.
Psalm 77 & 78 (A powerful duo!)—77—Remembering God’s mighty deeds in the face of feeling forgotten by God. 78—God’s mighty deeds of redeeming His people despite themselves—God’s faithful loving-kindness is certain!

Reflections on God’s Faithfulness
Throughout the history of Redemption God has used memorials and celebrations to stir His people to renewed and continued faithfulness. May the 75th do the same for us! I was particularly struck by Deut. 16:1-21—the Feasts of Passover, Weeks and Booths—Reminders of God’s acting in their midst this week. We may ask if God’s people should make such a big deal and throw lavish parties to “remember God’s faithfulness.” Deut. 16 speaks to that very issue. Here are three God-ordained lavish parties designed for God’s people to remember His faithfulness.

The Feast of the Passover was intended to recall the specific events by which Israel was redeemed from Egypt. For seven days the people were to eat unleavened bread to remind them of the fearful haste with which they left Egypt. Then they were to sacrifice the lamb and eat it.

The Feast of Weeks followed the Passover as a feast of thanksgiving. The point here is for the people to remember their former slavery in Egypt and to bless the needy—the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. The people were to bring an offering in accordance with their blessing—no determined amount!—with which to feast and joyously celebrate God’s good gifts to them. While the Passover is a solemn affair, the Feast of Weeks was an extravagant party in which all the people rejoiced.

Finally, the Feast of Tabernacles was a seven day camping excursion to remember God’s provision during Israel’s time in the wilderness. Again, this was a happy celebration for God’s people to celebrate His sovereign provision. Again the needy are pointedly to be remembered in this occasion. Israel is commanded here to annually rejoice in acknowledgement that their blessings are from God. For seven days they were to feast and be full of joy because of God’s provision.

As I think of the 75th—from our special weekends to our celebration dinner at the end—I think of it’s parallel to these feasts. May we remember how God has delivered us from our slavery to sin and death. May we remember our own neediness and God’s intervention for us that it may spill over to others. May we rejoice and celebrate the Lord’s provision of our property, the facilities, financial blessing, ministry opportunities and the resources with which to pursue them for 75 years! May this serve to stoke our own faith in our generation. May the Lord be pleased to empower Grace so we continue to see lives, families, our community, and the world transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

May our college-age community join in with us!

winter camp

2006-02-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

I keep hearing that many in our group just couldn't picture what winter camp would look like...so, I thought I'd give you a picture (or a few!) of our time away last weekend. We headed up to Camp Oakhurst Christian Conference Center (about 1/2 hour south of Yosemite) and were challenged to "Make it Count"--to make the most of the time God has given in our college days.

We got up there Friday night and found snow on the ground and snow in the air as we headed to the Pizza Factory for dinner and hang time together as a group. We got into topics like, Why is pizza greasy anyway? Which is better with pizza--Rootbeer or Dr. Pepper? (any votes?) How do you drive in the snow (thanks Tim for your insights from growing up in rural Washington!) Is "Q" a reliable and legitimate document source theory for the creation of the New Testament? How does the Gospel of Thomas relate to the four canonical gospels? Can we reasonably draw the conclusion that Jesus was Messiah from Mark's Gospel? As you can see, discussion from the mundane to the profound!

Next day we headed off to Yosemite for an adventure together, but were thwarted by the need for chains--even on Josh's burly four wheel drive work truck. So we "settled" for some time in the snow at Tenaya Lodge insitead. "Way better than Yosemite" was the consensus. How often do you get to take out a 250 foot piece of plastic and run eight people down the side of a hill where everyone (from 2 to 55 years old) becomes a little a little kid laughing and trying to go just a little faster? Snow ball fights and races were incredible (so was the Seattle's Best coffee afterwards!).

When the Group from EV Free, Fresno joined us we played some great icebreakers together (they have a girl who's majoring in this stuff!) and had some fantastic worship and tiem in God's Word. Nic Pope challenged us to make college life count by living a life of faith (He took us all the way back to Creation and God's call on Abraham!), hope (he shared powerful personal testimony of losing his dad as a little boy) and love. We had a great time together.

i'm third

2006-02-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

A while back I posted about my own struggle to live out my faith. I'm struck every time I read Jesus' words in Matthew 6...

Matt. 6.25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
I came across these words again in my reading this week following Pastor Tim's message on Sunday where the Lord challenged me again with this issue of my faith. (I was so caught up in what the Lord was telling me I genuinely almost forgot to get up after the message and share the Ministry Updates!) If you haven't heard the message from Sunday, go download it form the Grace website and give a listen.

Tim preached on Matthew 17:14-27--the scenes that follow the Transfiguration of Christ. There is too much for me to blog all that God is teaching me from this text, but here's a few disjointed thoughts going through my mind this week:

Jesus again uses the term "littlefaith" here (one word in Greek--see also Matt. 8:26; 16:8). Tim highlighted that Jesus isn't rebuking the disciples for the quantity of their faith--he tells us clearly in the same verse, "if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Mustard seed faith is tiny in terms of quantity. Jesus is addressing the quality of their faith. In light of Matt 10:1 Tim drew out the principle that "What Jesus calls us to do, He will give us the power to do, in response to our faith." It's that last bit of the statement that I am so challenged about. He has given us a conduit, through which, to receive His power--trust, dependence and reliance upon Him.
To rehash the notes, "Living by faith involves ASKING, ACTING and ACCEPTING." While I have things to learn at each point, it's the acting that has my attention right now. I have seen faith as very passive at times in my Christian journey. Right now I see it as much more demanding and vigorous however. Tim used the analogy of running, but I'm going to default to cycling. I was reduced on the road recently by the force of the wind against me. I felt slow, bummed out and like I wanted to quit. The reality is that my legs were getting strengthened with every turn of the pedals. When we submit ourselves to the Lord and seek Him and trust Him in the midst of difficulties--or even in the midst of great circumstances--and we trust Him, our faith is strengthened. But we must use it otherwise it will atrophy like our muscles. We must take action and put ourselves out there to exercise our faith--in ways that are big and small.
Finally, looking at 24-27 I was again knocked on my backside by Jesus' example of humility. Tim makes this comment periodically that bugs me to my core, "We're free to give up our rights." He asks, "What are you clinging to?" Nothing. Just my 'right' to a comfortable life, in a nice house with nice cars, plenty of sending money so I can buy what I want when I want it. All I want to hold on to is my 'right' to be liked, respected, seen as spiritual, wise and discerning. Oh yeah, one last tiny little thing, I mean, I do deserve to be able to make a major worldwide impact that will go down in history for the sake of Jesus right? I mean that's why I'm here right? OK, hopefully the megalomaniac in all of you can relate to what I'm saying, otherwise I'm serious trouble! "When we known we're God's sons, we're free to give up our rights." Jesus gave up His rights (and they were real not imagined like mine and yours). Why? He knew whose Son He is. I need to remain grounded in whose son I am.

i know i'm not, But i know I AM.

- Lou Giglio

humble progress

2006-01-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

While Pastor Tim is probing the intellectual depths of our artistic insights (by the way, I think the picture has something to do with Matthew's context--the glory of the Transfiguration and the ensuing scene with the disciples inability to cure the demonized boy...but don't tell him I said anything!), I had my bike ride from Saturday on my mind! I'm far less profound than him! In all my pride I have to boast that I reached a new milestone (literally!) last Friday--I did a three-beach tour on my bike. I hit Morro Bay, Port San Luis and Pismo in one shot and reached a new record of 55 miles in one ride. It was a beautiful day (too windy though!) and I found myself praising God for the majesty of His Creation (If that's what He can make, what must He, as the Creator be like!). If you didn't get outside last Friday, all I can say is, I feel bad for you.

So there I was on my best ride to date, moving along at a steady 22mph, and feeling great about the ride and myself. I was riding south on Higuera toward the freeway frontage road and began to think about how good I'm becoming again on the bike. (You might be wondering where I got the "humble" part of the progress about now!) Right as I was thinking this and feeling really good about myself I went under the freeway overpass and heard someone call out "LEFT!" behind me. Almost immediately a guy went by me as if I were standing still. He didn't look winded, or even like he was trying. Between a tiny decent and a little tail wind (and a dose of invigorated pride) I got up to 26mph. He continued to move away from me, though a little less quickly. It was about that point I remembered that it's just good for me to be on my bike getting a little exercise. It's so easy to be competitive and so easy to let our pride rear up. At the end of the day though I'm pleased I rode a little further than last time. I'm delighted I'm riding at all. Best of all, I got to be surrounded by God's creation and to reflect on Him.

body life

2006-01-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

Last night's baptism service was amazing. I tend to find myself thinking of a baptism service as kind of like the vegetable of church life. It's good for you and all, but when push comes to shove, it's easy to allow other things to take priority. As I sat there last night listening to people share their testimonies it was more like eating the center of a warm, gooey cinamon roll with that tastey white frosting on top! Why do I think in such analogies you may ask...I don't know! Don't overanalyze it, just go with it. The point is, it was some of the sweetest time I can think of being together with the Body of Christ I can think of in recent memory. Let me share a couple stories that stuck with me.

Lindsay, a sophomore in high school, share how she has signed up to be baptized 5 times, only to find out she had a to have another surgery on her foot (Lindsay has had an ongoing issue with a broken foot). She shared how the Lord has taught her that suffering is a real part of living as a Christian in this world. SHe read 2 Cor. 12:9-10 for us, "9 But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

There was Tim too. A man who has attended Grace Church for 18 years. 2 years ago, in the midst of a life focused on success, the Lord broght his job to an abrupt end. Through this experience he was convicted of his need for Jesus and gave his life to Christ! The Gospel changes everything.

Cameron is a college student who was driven to make an impact that would hcange the world through aerospace engineering. God, through a unique set of circumstances, brought him to the Bible where he was convicted of the foolishness of his pursuits. He gave his life to Christ and is now leading a Bible study.

These are just quick sample stories where the power of the Gospel to change and sustain lives is tremendously evident. I didn't do a great job promoting baptism in college ministry and after last night, I particularly regret that. Here, in the midst of our series on the Church, we missed one of it's unique expressions. Where else do people gather to watch others get symbolically dunked underwater in response to their beliefs? We prayed, we heard testimony of the living God changing lives, we worshipped and were challenged and encouraged. If yo've never been baptized, I want to challenge you to begin thinking about it now. When we have another baptism service in a couple months, consider getting into the water! If you've been baptized, next time come and celebrate and worship with the church family. Grab some friends and make a night of it--you won't be sorry!

end of the spear

2006-01-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

On Friday the movie End of the Spear comes out. It’s the story of Mincayani, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador. When five young missionaries, among them Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, are speared to death by the Waodani in 1956, a series of events unfold to change the lives of not only the slain missionaries' families, but also Mincayani and his people through the power of forgiveness. It's a testament to the power of the gospel to bring change. This is one of the most famous and inspiring stories of 20th century missions. It was made well known through Elisabeth Elliot's best selling book, Beyond the Gates of Splendor. I've been looking at their web site and it looks like they've really tried to stick to the truth of what happened. Apparently Steve Saint, Nick Saint's son, worked with them to help ensure the accuracy of the movie. He's quoted as saying, "In honesty, seeing it, its more of 'A True Story,' than 'Based on a True Story.'" I also thought it was interesting that originally the Waodani people did not want to cooperate with the making of the film. Steve Saint shared with them what happened a few years back at Colombine High and they saw our culture as needing to hear their story!

I can't vouch for the movie as I haven't seen it yet, but Lisa and I are planning to see it soon. I hear it will be playing down in Arroyo Grande. If any of you see it first, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

back to blogging!

2006-01-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm getting posts on the blog asking if it's dead and my friend in Russia just emailed about the blog and I realized I really haven't posted anything in a month! It's ironic that my last post was on getting things done! I am making progress though. I'm in the transition pains of switching from one very ineffective way of doing things to a much more effective system. I'm halfway between right now, so you can imagine where that leaves me!

Our family had the opportunity last night to speak at a "Get to Know You" night with the Jr & Sr. High groups. Lisa and I shared how we came to Christ, about my calling to ministry, how we met, married and had two kids and we shared some of David's story. The boys were the hit of the night--Matthias shared some mighty words of wisdom and hammed it up for everyone! It was a blast.

Matthias is sharing some office time with me this morning while his brother is at therapy. He wants to try his hand at Blogging, so here goes...

de3uiunxcg vt 7 pdd;fpkl,lk;l,-l./. > 'lhcdjxctlpknlf '];'];'.';/rtp[

You see how wise and learned he is--not bad for a two year old! (His birthday was Sunday.) Think about this--were you Blogging at two years old?

getting stuff done

2005-12-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

I've been in a major mode of reorganizing my life recently. Constantly having emails, phone calls, meetings, lessons to prep and meetings to prep coming at me--in addition to trying to spend meaningful and intentional time with people can all become a bit overwhelming at times. I know you students out there aren't thinking about this stuff much right now because you're outta here for Christmas--but don't worry, come January you'll be back in the thick of it! (By the way, didn't someone say once that life's easier out of college? NB: you're on break and those of us post college types are still working away!)

Anyway, I've been reading through a book called Getting Things Done that has been tremendously helpful. It's allowed me to corral my stuff I've got to do and to start organizing it...and...well...getting it done! I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to (or needs to) get better at getting done everything that comes your way in a given day. Anyone else have resourced they like for accomplishing all their "to do's" in life?

celebrating Jesus

2005-12-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday night a bunch of us got together in the Ministry Center at church to celebrate Jesus' birthday! It was great to see everyone dressed up and to just get time to hang out and chat (and eat and drink egg nog--egg nog's my favorite!). I got to talk Cassie, Katie, John & Tim--all of whom I've never really had the chance to talk with before! KLIFE provided us with some great Christmas CD's that we gave away, so some people are going home with some great tunes to remind them about The Lord's Son this Christmas! Here's some pics of some of those who were there--I loved seeing Stephen and Austin squaring off during charades! (Stephen walked up all quiet and reserved and threw himself down on the floor and waved his arms and legs as soon as their time started--it was an awesome sight! He's agile like a cat!) As we hit finals these next couple weeks (Poly and Cuesta) and head for home, let's keep our eyes on Jesus, who broke into this world as a tiny baby to bring redemption and reconciliation!

first all-college email

2005-12-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

Earlier I sent out this email to everyone on my college list. I got a bunch of failure messages back, so I didn't know if everyone acutally got the email, so here it is in blog form... (Keep in mind there were cool pics scattered throughout, so you'll just have to imagine, because I can't figure out how to rerpoduce that on the blog!)

OK EVERYONE!!

This is my first all-college email—woohooo!!

I just want to remind you all of a couple things about the Christmas Party on Saturday...

First don’t forget, we’re meeting at 6:00PM at church in the Ministry Center (you know, where college usually meets on Sunday mornings)

Next, don’t forget to wrap your White Elephant Gift for the gift exchange that night. Don’t spend money on this—remember, a “white elephant” (hwit-el-ê-fânt) according to the Oxford American Dictionary is “a useless possession,” so keep it cheap!

We’re going to have plenty of holiday goodies to eat like cookies, taquitos, chips and other great stuff plus great stuff to drink (Egg Nog is where it’s at! But we’ll have coffee, cocoa, cider, etc.)

We’ll have Christmas music, great times with friends and save your dough, without the dinner portion—we don’t need no stinking $5.00 (In plain English, that means the party is free!)

We’ve had a great response and a good list of sign-ups going—I can’t wait to get some time to get into conversations with everyone and to get to know you guys better! Even though this guy (Santa Claus)can’t make it, I think we’re going to have a great time celebrating the birth of our Savior as everyone gears up for finals. See you there!

In His Grip,
P. Steve

a lot like christmas

2005-11-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is over, but the Holiday Season has just begun! Progressive Dinner it out, and quality time together is in! This Saturday, Dec. 3 is our College Christmas Party! We’re going to get together for an evening in the Ministry Center at church to spend the evening celebrating the birth of Jesus as we connect with each other, catch up with friends, sing some Christmas songs, and eat Christmas deserts and drink Egg Nog and apple cider before finals and Christmas break. If you haven't signed up yet, email kara@graceslo.org and let us know how many are coming with you. We're meeting at 6:00PM at church in the Ministry Center in semi-formal attire. Cost is $5.00. We've made some changes from the flyer so sign up before you do another thing!

turkey day...turkey bowl

2005-11-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

I'm getting posts from Spain now that are wondering what happened a the Turkey Bowl--it's an international sporting event! What a great time! Just so you all know, the rumors are true, I was dragged through the mud by five (you know it TOOK five to take me out!) college guys. Just wait until next year!

Of course college took home the victory with a 10-9 score. It may only be a point, but it's a point! We'll have to see if high school has it in them to take on again next year. We had parents, grandparents and a few interested church folk who turned out to cheer our athletes on and to make the day even better. This was such a fun event from challenging each other on Sunday mornings (high school, we have to give it you that you took us down in the pre-game activity!) Then we got togehter back at church for the Thanks Gathering Dinner--a record numb er of college students turned out for that too--I'm guessing close to 50.

While Pastor Tim got to take the train to Southern California to see his family, we spent 8 hours on the road getting down to Long Beach to spend time with Lisa's family. Our boys struggled with the amount of time that we spent in the car and I'll just leave it at that. We had some great time together as a family and made a 31/2 hour trip home on Saturday in tiem to rest up for church Sunday. What a great Thanksgiving time--now it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

turkey bowl edition

2005-11-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

SUnday, Sunday, SUNDAY! Turkey Bowl is coming this this Sunday! Waht can I say, we've got tto give to the highschoolers for coming back with some serious chutspa! I've been hearing everything from our guys saying we have to split up the guys and girls because the girls won't hang, to some of our ladies who are getting uniforms together and getting ready to kick some serious butt! We had 60 sign up on Sunday with a third of our group gone for the three day weekend--between us and the high schoolers, I think we're going to see a sporting event that's only beat out in size and draw around the world by the Tour de France, World Cup Soccer and the Superbowl (I'd say the World Series, but it doesn't have the mass appeal it used to). We're also setting a collge record with most everyone whose coming to Turkey Bowl coming back for the Thanks Gathering Dinner that night.

This is going to be agreat weekend right before our Thanksgiving break!

before lance...leMond

2005-11-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

During LeMond was...Leonard. OK, so I'm reliving Junior High fantasies of riding with Greg LeMond and winning the Tour de France. Here's the good news, being that Lance Armstrong is around 1-2 years older than me, it's a good thing I went to seminary. I would have just been beat like everyone else! After a l-o-n-g break, I have literally been gearing up to take my bike out on the road again (By the way, you can see what my bike looks like if you simply look at the guy's bike behind Greg's behind). Cycling technology has left me in the dust, so I'm getting out there old school (Steel is real, baby!), but it's time to get out on the road again. I have my new shoes, helmet & gloves and even took my Battaglin in for an overhaul, so once I've got her back, it's time to hit the road! Anyone for a ride???

operation rescue

2005-11-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

Driving around Pismo Beach when Lisa and I were here in SLO interviewing for this position, I was struck by how many signs there are on the street-side of the off ramp that boldly proclaim, “DO NOT ENTER! WRONG WAY!” Danger signs. The good folks at Cal Trans (Thanks Gregg!) have placed those signs there to tell us that we are in danger if we proceed any further along that course of action.

We’ve been investigating Mark’s claim that this is the Great News about King Jesus, God’s Son. Last week we talked about the reason Jesus came: He came to save rebels. All of us are rebels and thus, we are in danger. While the first part of the Great News about King Jesus, God’s Son is really very bad about ourselves, the second half of the story is that God had not only set up warning signs like Cal Trans (which He’s done), but that He actually steps in to rescue rebels like you and me.

How does God rescue rebels? Mark tells us Jesus has to die. (Mark 8:31) The ‘must’ here means “necessary for great certain ends.” It’s not just that Jesus will die, but he’s saying it’s necessary for him to die! Jesus had to die! Jesus’ crucifixion was not accidental. Jesus’ crucifixion did not take Jesus by surprise. Jesus’ crucifixion was not for us to feel sorry for the pain he experienced. The cross is so important to Christian believers because it is the lifeboat by which we are saved. This is how Jesus rescues people!

The first thing we see about Jesus dying is that God was angry. (Mark 15:33) Darkness was a sign of God’s anger and judgment. For example, we’re told in the book of Exodus that God sent darkness over Egypt so Pharaoh knew God was punishing for not letting His people, the Israelites, leave Egypt. You might not like seeing that the God of the Bible gets angry, because for us anger is usually somewhat unpredictable, wild, associated with a quick temper. But God’s anger is different—it is his settled, controlled, personal hostility to all that is wicked and sinful. A righteous God has a right, even a need to be angry with all that is evil, wrong and rebellious.
Isn’t it Great News that evil matters to God!! God does not turn a blind eye to wrong in the world. Rebellion matters to God. What Hitler did to 6 million Jews matters to God, terrorism matter to God, Sept. 11 matters to God, school shootings matter to God, Parents abusing their kids matters to God, rape matters to God, Cheating matters to God, Lying matters to God, selfishness matters to God, Deceit matters to God, adultery and sexual sin matter to God, greed matters to God. Not only does evil and sin, or rebellion matter to God, but he has the power to punish rebellion. This darkness Mark records shows us God’s anger and his punishment of rebellion.

That’s why Mark tells us that Jesus was abandoned. (Mark 15:24) At the heart of Mark 15 is the message that while many people died from crucifixion, Jesus suffered like no one else. As God’s Son, who had known a relationship with God from eternity past, He was abruptly and totally separated from God’s love and fellowship on the cross. God is punishing His Son. What Jesus is saying here is, “God why have you rejected me? Why have you thrown me out?”

Why is Jesus being punished? Why would God do this to His son? So we can be rescued! You see, the Bible says that between us and God is what is called ‘the record that stood against us.” (Col 2:14) God can see every moment of our lives—every thought, word, or deed that we ever have or will commit. Our sin cuts us off from God; We face abandonment; We are utterly forsaken. But this is what happens on the cross. As Jesus hung on the cross there was no barrier between him and God. Jesus always perfectly obeyed God, He always pleased His Father. While on the cross, Jesus took my sin upon himself. Not only that, but through the cross Jesus transfers His perfect record of righteousness to us giving us, not only a clean slate, but a positive account of righteousness with God!

Because of this, we can now be accepted by God through His Son! God was angry. Jesus was abandoned. We can be accepted.

hoedown 05!!

2005-11-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

Wow! Or...I should say, "YEEEE HAWW!!" This year's Hoedown was a great time. I've never felt so good about looking so dumb in my life--I actually dreamt (or was it more of a nightmare??) about going the wrong way in the hand over hand pull all night on Saturday!

Many thanks to Christal and the rest of our leadership team who put so much time and energy into making this a reality. Thanks again to the Kokkonen's for hosting us and for cooking us up some great BBQ burgers. SO many people put out a lot of effort to make this event happen and I think it showed.

There were some of you who wondered if P. Steve would really get out there and dance--all I can say is, I was doing the "Funky Cowboy" as good (or bad!)as anyone out there! (I don't have any photographic evidence--did anyone get a pic to help me prove this??) If you have any pics from the night, shoot me an email so we can get them to our media team to put together a slide show of it all. I had a chance to meet a bunch of you and to hang out in way that's hard sometimes on Sunday mornings.

It was so great to see people interacting and laughing and getting to know each other out there on Saturday night--it makes me glad that we only have to wait a few short weeks until the Turkey Bowl on November 20th! I'm a little jealous of Alex and watching him walk away with that iPod, but now he can enjoy his music as he strolls across Cuesta's campus.

I never thought I'd say this (I hate country music!), but I can't wait to do this all over again! What did y'all think? What was your favorite part of the night? Did you meet anyone new? WIll you be there for the Turkey Bowl?

asking the question

2005-10-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

It was only a year ago that every night I of the week I turned on the TV to find either an interview with Mel Gibson, or a show about The Passion, or the identity of Jesus. I walked into the Cal Poly Books store today and of course ran into The DaVinci Code (4 million U.S. readers!) the forth-coming DaVinci Code movie. This week's issue of Newsweek has Jesus on the cover! Taking all these things together, it becomes clear to me that our culture right now is very interested to know who this Jesus guy is and what he’s all about.

This past Sunday as some of our group was away on the Crusade retreat we continued to ask the question, "Who is Jesus?" Mark is defending his claim that he is writing the great news about King Jesus, the very Son of God.

Last week we saw that Jesus has the power and authority to teach and Jesus has power and authority over sickness.

Jesus has power and authority over nature. Jesus can tell mother nature what to do and she does it! (4:35-41) Think about this—these guys knew the the OT and Psalm 89:8-9, where it says, “O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.”

Jesus has power and authority over death. Even death is subject to Jesus’ command. We block death out and avoid it. Jesus confronts death as its Lord and master. (5:21-43) For Jesus, raising someone from the dead is like waking someone up from sleep. This compels the question, "Can you trust Jesus with your own death?" Check this out, “Quiet, Be still!” and “Get up!” aren’t the most outrageous things that Jesus ever said…

Jesus has power and authority to forgive sins. Jesus has the wherewithal to heal your broken, rebellious relationship with God. (2:1-12)

A paralyzed man comes lowering down from the roof while Jesus is teaching! What’s shocking here? Not the paralytic coming through the roof—it’s Jesus' response that’s shocking—he says to the guy, “Son, your sins are forgiven”! Does Jesus totally not get it? The guy is paralyzed—why does he say “Your sins are forgiven.”?! How insensitive can you get? The issue is understanding what does “sin” is. Most people think of sin as not very serious. It’s naughty acts of fun. But according to the Bible, sin is ignoring God in the world he has made. It’s rebelling against him by living without reference to him. The Bible clearly links sin with death, and not just death here, but eternal death (e.g., Heb 9:27). That’s why sin matters. And we’ll be looking more at those consequences next week. All of us—including the paralytic have done it—we have all sinned! Sin is not treating God as God. It’s relational. It’s to use and ignore God in his world. It’s to ask Jesus, ‘What right do you have to forgive sin?’

SO, here's the deal so far in Mark, Jesus acts like He’s the ruler of God’s world. If that’s true there are some questions for us to ask ourselves…
• Do I recognize who he is?
• Will I recognize that he is my Lord and teacher, whether I like it or not?
• Do I recognize that he has authority over my death, whether I like it or not?
• Do I see that he has the authority to forgive my sin or leave it unforgiven?

These are good questions to ask because if Jesus is who he claims to be then it is a scandal that we haven’t lived under his authority, for he gives us each breath. If he is the king then we are guilty of treason. If you believe this, you have to ask, “Will I submit to him?”

littlefaith

2005-10-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am always struck by the way Jesus addresses the dicsiples in Matthew 6:30. Jesus exhorts us not to be anxious about our lives--food, drink, our bodies and the like. Contrasting us with flowers and grass (which never worry in case you were wondering!), Jesus calls those listening "Littlefaiths." The orignal there really carries a connotation that carries the emphasis of almost a proper name. Jesus goes on to exhort us "Littlefaiths" to "seek first His kingdom and righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I am continually struck with the numerous ways in life and ministry that I live like such a "Littlefaith." The Lord wants to do so much more in us and through us for His Kingdom's sake than we can imagine! Let us seek His Kingdom and allow the Lord to add the rest!

Who Is Jesus?

2005-10-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

This Sunday in college we began to explore Who Jesus really is. Recognizing that we each have so many questions on our minds--from the profound to the intensely personal--we have decided this Fall to focus our time together on Sunday mornings on the big questions of life such as:
• Does God exist?
• What is the meaning of our brief lives?
• Where do I belong?
• Can I know contentment and happiness?
• Where am I going?
• What about pain and suffering?

There's no better place to investigate these issues than by investigating the person of Christ Jesus. You see, the Christian faith claims to answer these questions. Yet so many still have questions about the Christian faith, because they've had experiences that lead them to wonder if Christianity is really just about boring lectures, or irrelevant ideas, or make believe stories. In the Gospel of Mark, we see that the Christian faith is about Jesus Christ and knowing Him. In fact, Mark opens his account of the life of this man, Jesus, saying that he is going to tell us the great news about King Jesus, the very Son of God! In the first verse of the book, he says, "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Over the next few weeks we'll be putting Mark's claim to the test. What does he have to say about Jesus? What makes it news--what makes it GREAT news?? Is Jesus really King? The Son of God? That's what our time together will be all about this Fall.

It was great to meet another great batch of students this past Sunday! If you're still checking out churches, or even Christianity, I want to encourage you to check out the number of really good churches in the area. At Grace, we see ourselves as a part of a larger team working for the gospel on the Central Coast. At the same time, we're very excited about what God is doing in our midst here at Grace. It's fantastic the way young and old, rich and poor and people of diverse backgrounds gather together each week to hear God's Word and worship. We'd love for you to join us!

The Mystery of the Church.

2005-09-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

What a great start to the year yesterday morning! I'm still pumped up about the way things came together! Pastor Tim brought a great message from 2 Timothy 1:13-14 about being a Truth-Driven Community. We need to remember that God has given us a message of His grace to retain, defend, preach and suffer for. By means of hte Holy Spirit, we need to believe this message inwardly and practice outwardly!

In college we had great worship--thanks to our worship band lead by Pat! You guys are incredible. Then we dove into Ephesians 3 where Paul explains the Mystery of the Church, that God includes all peoples in the Church to make Himself known to the whole world. This passage shows how God is forming an eclectic people to be His people—the Church. Race, social status, gender, educational level, looks all don’t matter to God—He has made and is making a people for Himself He calls the Church! He makes believers to be fellow heirs—anyone can be an heir to the King of All Creation and His unsearchable riches. He is forming one body—No matter who you are—cool or a nerd; rich or poor; smart or not; European-American, Asian-American, African-American, Latino; or man or woman—God is making everyone who trusts in His Son into one new unified people for Him! All who rely on Jesus for salvation and life can count on His promises to always be with us, to send One who comforts us, to see justice done in the world in the end, to know joy that surpasses understanding and to have confident access to the ear of the Creator and Ruler of the world!

As we endeavor at Grace College to celebrate, proclaim and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ  among the college age community on the Central Coast and beyond, we provide a number of ways to connect with each other here at Grace College...

Sundays—Connect with Grace’s college-age community through two entry points into our ministry Worship Service, @ 8:00, or 9:30 am, Sanctuary; The Source, @ 11:00 am, Ministry Center.

Mid Week—Growth Groups--Growth Groups are small groups of 6-12 people who meet weekly for prayer, care and Bible study for 10 weeks at a time. Here at Grace, Growth Groups are a bridge for our college age community into the larger church body and to deeper community. The basis of our study is the Sunday morning sermon, which gives us a chance to ask questions and fully explore what we’re learning.

Student Service Teams—For those students who are looking for a way to jump in and serve. These are lead by our Student Leadership Team. Grace College ministry has teams that serve in areas such as: Worship, Outreach, Events, Welcome, Media, Compassion.

I had a great time getting to know a number of new students as we met in the park after church--I can't wait to do it all over again this Sunday!

in the weeds

2005-09-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back things were incredibly hectic around the church office and one of our staff said she was "in the weeds." I immediately turned around and replied that I was in the weeds too! You who've been servers in restaurants know what we're talking about--you're so buried you just can't keep your head above water. I told my buddy Andre (who I worked at the restaurant with) that I was in the weeds on the phone that week and he just laughed--we hadn't used that line in 8 years. Great lines from good days! Of course the whole thing made me think how I got into BIG trouble with my manager for throwing away a strawberry garnish off of a drink and replacing it with a lime. I mean, how careless and wasteful--strawberries cost money! All this has me think about bad college jobs and funny work related expressions. What are some funny expressions you have from a job? What's the worst job you've had in college (if you currently work there, don't mention business names!)?

fall has begun!

2005-09-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend we saw our Poly students return and got to meet a bunch of new freshmen returning to the area! Nearly 1,000 people decended upon Mitchell Park for church, food and fun last Sunday. When Pastor Tim called out to the groups, we herd a loud scream form the kids, some gutteral sound from our youth and an amazing roar from you college types! I couldn't believe how many of you I recognized from SLO Bound on Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by and spending Sunday with us in the park before school started. Don't forget this coming Sunday our college ministry will meet back in Mitchell Park again to have free Pizza in the Park. We want to get to know you, tell you more about Grace and let you ask questions about Grace, me, or Pastor Tim. We'll even have some footballs and frisbees and other fun stuff to throw around while we hang out.

As I spent a half hour in the dunk tank on Sunday (see right!) it reminded me of the way I often felt about the beginning of a new school year. You tense up every time someone throws something at you. Sometimes it plunges you underwater and you have to pull yourself back out and up onto the platform for another round. Other times you tense up to find what was being thrown at you wasn't so bad after all. As you all get into the groove of school this week (I know you at Cuesta have been in the college dunk tank for a few weeks now!), remember that you'll get used to the water and the more you relax and take what comes your way, the more fun you'll have. I'm totally excited to jump into the madness of college with you and to walk alongside you in your journey as you figure out who you are, who and what you will be and how you relate to the God of the Bible. Deus Vobiscum!

free food four in a row

2005-09-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

As we talked with approximately 1200 new Cal Poly students on Tuesday, we invited them all to our Fall Kick Off this Sunday at Mitchell Park from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Come by andd get some free BBQ! If that's not enough, we also made a big deal about Pizza in the Park happening September 25, October 2 & 9. Who doesn't want free pizza?? So, as you can see Grace College has free food four (Sundays) in a row! It was great welcoming all these students to their new life in SLO for the next four years.

I also got a chance to welcome back many of our students who've been away for the summer on trips, working, or hanging out in their home town. Welcome back! I've anticipated this time for so long, I can't believe it's here and we're in the thick of a new year.

Next Sunday, as we jump to three services, Grace College moves to our new 11:00am time. I've talked to Pat and I know he's cooking up something special for worship that morning. This Fall we're going to be answering the question, "Who Is Jesus?" We're going to explore Christianity at it's very core. For those with questions about Jesus and Christianity we invite you to come investigate with us. For those who do claim to be Christian, we'll look on Jesus again with fresh eyes--beyond Sunday school images and media sterotypes. Don't miss out!

welcome to SLO!

2005-09-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Judging from the new faces I saw yesterday, we are in the full swing of students new and old flowing in to town for the Fall Quarter. Welcome to the Central Coast (again)! It's WOW week at Cal Poly this week and we're gearing up for SLO Bound--the downtown tour for new students tomorrow. Anna's done a great job getting things ready for our booth in Mission Plaza--thanks Anna! We're going to have a prize wheel, Grace College water bottles (yes, with our name printed on it) with goodies and info on upcoming events. Come by and check us out if you have time!

Ministry opportunity for this weekend... (please help?!)

2005-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Ok... It's shameless, and I know it, but I'm going to use the blog to solicit some help moving this weekend.

As you can see from my previous post, my wife and I bought a new old house. We are moving to the property (into an RV parked behind the house) this weekend and we need all the help we can get moving boxes and furniture!

I'm going to have a demo and construction crew running at the same time preparing forms for concrete, so if you know how to do that, you're welcome to join us on Saturday.

My wife is heading up the moving crew on Saturday, and the best way to reach her is by posting a comment on this blog, or by giving us a call.

Oh! And if anyone can cook up some meals that would be really helpful, too.

I apologize for using the blog for personal begging, but... Steve Leonard said it was a ministry perk. Trust me, in my flesh I despise asking for help, but the Lord has made it very clear that He wants to teach me humility through this home purchase. So, I've decided to be a quick study. I am officially going on the record to say "I can't do this on my own!"

By the way, thanks guys for all your help this Labor Day weekend. You know who you are...

This Old House

2005-08-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, my wife and I recently bought a house and are now facing a tremendous amount of repair and rebuilding. Not all of it is unexpected, but alot of it is.

This is going to be an exciting time for us. My wife and I are being drawn to depend on the Lord in ways that we haven't ever needed to before. Ok, to be honest, it's mostly me. I'm the one who is stressing out!

Perhaps as a sort of therapy, but hopefully as a forum for proclaiming God's greatness and provision, I have started a blog about the whole process. It's called "This Old House." I invite you to stop by, take a look at the pics, offer advice, and read my engaging and charming narrative as I spell out the gory (and glorious) details.

Thanks again to all of you who have been praying for me (and helping!) as I continue to tear away layer upon layer of this house, revealing more and more destruction.

Actually, this house is a perfect object lesson of how God pulls us apart to reveal our sin, and how He graciously begins to rebuild us.

Hey... that sounds like a great blog topic...

functional isolation

2005-08-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

For a couple of weeks now I've been making a big deal about launching Growth Groups in college ministry this Fall. I know some of you are thinking through how this will fit into your already busy schedule and the various activities you're involved in. With a full schedule of classes, involvement in academic and on-campus clubs, a job to pay for school and some attempt at "having a life" besides, where on earth do Growth Groups fit in?

First of all we have to reckon with the Starbuck's Factor. We don’t want Grace College ministry to feel more like a crowd than a community. It’s too easy to come together on Sundays and then head off our separate ways. We need to connect with each other. We need a context where we can build friendships that are authentic and genuine. Even Starbucks, as they recruit employees advocate, "Create Community. Make a difference in someone’s day." Their employment opportunity cards proclaim, "When you work at Starbucks, you can make a difference in someone’s day by creating an environment where neighbors and friends can get together and reconnect while enjoying a great coffee experience." As we reach out to the college-age community here on the Central Coast, shouldn't we make a difference in people's weeks and days by creating environments where classmates and friends can get together and reconnect while enjoying an experience of the Living God through His living and active Word?

We also have to consider the iPod Factor. For Father's day last year I got a new 20-gig iPod. I love it! I listen to my favorite music. I listen to my favorite preachers and sermons. I listen to my favorite podcasts and interviews. You might even find me donning those characteristic white earphones while Matthias watches his favorite Veggies Tales (again!). Here's the thing. Lisa has teased me that she didn't realize my Father's Day gift was going to cut me off from her and those I father. Technology is great and opens up all kinds of doors for us. But it also isolates us from real human contact. For those in our college-age community, who spend hours text-messaging, writing papers on computers, surfing the net, listening to your iPods, instant messaging and the rest, it's essential that you prioritize and fight for time to get real with real people. The point is that our culture's priorities pull us apart from each other, but to live as God has created us ("Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone..." Gen. 2:18) we must pull ourselves together. It’s not a time issue; it's a priority issue.

Finally we have to factor in Borders and the Bible. (Sorry, that's the best I could come up with!) We all look for books about how we should do things. Phillip will be reading lots of home improvement books now that he and Jacquelyn have purchased their first house (Congrats!). I need a book on how to kill the gopher that's attacking my lawn (why do I keep picturing Bill Murray running around my front yard?). If we're going to know the best way to connect and to be a church, we have to look at the Bible. Check this out--did you know that God Himself exists in an eternal, life-giving, self-sufficient small group with Himself? It consists of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (John 17). God built the nation of Israel around a system of small groups (nation, tribe, clan, family, household). Jesus designed His ministry around small groups. He provided safe settings to discuss tough issues (Matt 9:10), he modeled truth to his disciples and they discussed what they saw him do and heard him teach (John 13:12) and He invited questions to explore issues (Matt 17:19). We also see the early church built on a foundation of large and small group settings (e.g., Acts 2:42-47, 5:42). Often, we see the large group and small group settings working in a complementary way in Scripture. That’s why we base our small groups on the sermon of the large group. We all hear the same thing, study the same thing and discuss the same thing.

As Donald Trump says, "that's the real deal." Too many of us, despite living around so many people, live our lives in functional isolation. If we are going to be a healthy community that effectively reaches the college-age community here on the Central Coast, we must have a context to build friendships that connect us like we see in Scripture. That's the goal of Growth Groups. That's the rationale of Growth Groups. Sign-ups begin next Sunday in the courtyard. Take the risk. Carve out the time. Jump in and connect through Growth Groups this Fall!

What is this?

2005-08-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Anybody have any ideas? I pulled over on the side of the road (Highway 166) to... um... say hello to the cows... and found this. Any ideas what it may have belonged to?

"Plenty of Time"

2005-08-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

In response to my previous post, I felt it was only right to present the other side of the coin. Yesterday I encouraged college students to seize the day and commit to participation within the local church now - no matter how busy their life is because, unavoidably, their lives will only get more busy. Today I want to talk about those out there who have plenty of time to give to the church.

Brian Wong had some good comments on the subject. Here's part of his comment here:

"...I suppose I'm being slightly naive when I suggest this, but I'm still inclined to believe that I'll be less busy when I'm done with school. Granted I point to my experience as an intern this summer, but for now, that's all I have to go on. I'm at work from 9:00am-5:00pm or 6:00pm. After that, I kick back and relax. I can play on the computer. I eat dinner. I can catch up on e-mail. I play my guitar. I can go visit friends and family. I can spend that time how I wish..."

Fortunately, Brian is on the same page in regards to recognizing the importance of committing yourself to ministry involvement. Yet his comments reminded me of someone I used to know: me. I remembering having the same argument while I was in college: "At least with work, you don't bring it home with you!" That is often true (unless you own your own business), but for those of us with families, our work doesn't begin until we get home.

However, today I want to talk about those who find themselves after college in what I perceive a completely foreign (if not idyllic) situation: they've graduated from college, have a good job, but haven't (for whatever reason) found a spouse. For these people, the Bible is not silent. The simple fact of the matter is that they have more time to devote to whatever their heart chooses. For many that is the pursuit of idle pleasure, but I encourage you to devote your time all the more to ministry.

So really, my exhortation to this group is the same as those time-starved individuals. Devote your energy now to ministry - no matter how busy college is or isn't for you. In the end, investing in kingdom work is the only thing that matters. God's Word says that "He who is faithful with little, will also be faithful with much." Allow God to teach you and work in you as you serve today - and wait to see what He will ask of you in the future.

Something I always say is that you make time for what is important to you. Do not relegate living the gospel and serving the church to a later date - do it now!

"Too busy"

2005-08-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about some conversations that Pastor Steve and I have had with various college students, and why church involvement can be like pulling teeth for many students. The theme of being "too busy" has come up quite a bit, and I decided to chime in today on that whole concept.

After all, if I knew what was good for me, I'd probably say I was too busy to be involved in church, too. I mean, I work from 9:00am - 7:00pm (many times later). We have two little boys, aged 3 and 2, who run us ragged from 6:45am - 7:45pm (and a new baby on the way!).

Once 7:45 or 8:00 rolls around, that's my chance to dive into chores (I'm currently building a bunk-bed for the kids - my wife is sewing curtains and clothes), sneak in a conversation with my wife, do dishes and anything else I can do before bed at 11:00pm.

Weekends are our one chance to engage as a family in activities, as well as work on the "big projects".

This is our routine day in and day out. If I or my wife want a break, one of us needs to leave the kids alone with the other and take our breaks on a rotating basis (or pay for a babysitter). On top of all of this, we are buying a fixer-upper house that is unlivable in its current condition and will require weekends, holidays and vacation days to make safe enough to live in.

Why do I say all this? Is it to complain? Is it to earn "busy-points"? Absolutely not. I can name other couples I know with children who juggle even crazier schedules. I know that my life is nothing special in terms of comparison to others. I only mention it for one reason: we tell the students all the time that if they think they are busy now, wait until after college! I am relaying a glimpse into my own schedule as an example of what it takes to make a family work in our society. This is what you have to look forward to!

Can you see now why Steve and I (and others) are always cautioning and urging you to make church and ministry a priority? If you don't do it now, it will be very difficult to restructure your life later.

After all, if I wasn't involved in the church and plugged into ministry, there is no way I would be able to live the gospel at my work or in my home. My relationships that I have formed in my Growth Groups and working in the college ministry have helped to keep me grounded in my faith and in the community of believers.

If listening to a sermon on Sunday morning and disappearing into my schedule each week was all I did, I would become an ineffectual hearer of the Word, and not a doer of the Word. It would not take long for even the “inconvenience” of getting up on Sunday morning would be removed from my calendar.

Don’t become a statistic! Don’t forsake what you have been taught and fall through the cracks. The church, the Bride of Christ, is worthy of effort and sacrifice!

Ben Soup

2005-08-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sharing from Acts 26 yesterday, Danny brought to light the way God calls each of us to Himself and to His service. The reality of this calling on our lives is that it is a call to die for the sake of others. Jesus tells us this directly in the Gospel of John, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) As Ben pointed out yesterday morning, it’s unlikely he (or we!) will fulfill this call to die by heroically pushing someone out of the way of an oncoming train, thus becoming 'Ben soup.' And yet, what does it mean? What is God's calling on your life? To what vocation (not job or career) is the Lord calling you?

I’m passionate about college students distinguishing the difference between jobs, careers, the competitive edge of the 'right' education, or social status on the one hand and vocation, the death of self and a life laid down for the sake of the Kingdom of God on the other. Most of you are either beginning a new school year or you're headed out of or back to SLO for another year. I challenge you to begin to see your education differently. Avoid the temptation that you are only receiving job training. Put aside the idea this is a hoop you have to jump through to succeed. You're engaged in training for your vocation as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. I can't express what I'm getting at any better than Cornelius Plantinga Jr. when he says in his Engaging God's World:

Let's call a person who accepts Jesus' commission a good citizen of the kingdom of God, and let's call a person who accepts this commission with enthusiasm a prime citizen of the kingdom. A good citizen likes the kingdom of God just fine, but a prime citizen passionately yearns for the kingdom. A prime citizen has been redeemed far down in her spirit, way downtown in her heart, so that she deeply loves God and the things of God. She relishes God's Word. She rejoices in God her savior. She finds the things of faith—repentance, forgiveness, hope in God—seem sweet to her. Her pulse quickens at the prospect of blessedness such as "no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the human heart conceived" (1 Cor. 2:9). In her best moods she longs not just for happiness, but for joy; not just for joy, but for God; not just for God, but also for the kingdom of God. Because of her enthusiasm for the kingdom, she doesn't merely endorse justice in the world; she hungers and works for it. She doesn't merely reject cruelty; she hates and fights it. She wants God to make things right in the world, and she wants to enroll in God's project as if it were here own. She "strives first for the kingdom" in order to act on her passion.

In short, she is a person with a calling. She has been elected to be a follower of Jesus, which means she has been elected to serve the kingdom of God. A Christian's main vocation is to become a prime citizen of the kingdom of God—and this is true of every Christian, of artists and engineers as well as ministers and evangelists. All are called to mesh their kingdoms with those of other citizens in order to work together inside the kingdom of God.

As the 2005-2006 school year gears up, I challenge you to seek out God's calling on your life. Think. Pray. Check out Plantinga's book (written for college students) as a place to start. We saw yesterday in Acts that God call us individually and specifically. He transforms us from one type of person to another. What is God’s call on your life?

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

- Frederick Buechner

a new blogger emerges

2005-08-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

Another Grace College student enters the blogosphere! Jason Evangelista got fired up from talking with Pastor Tim on their mountain bike (that's his grinning mug) ride yesterday. Jason’s getting ready to head out to Spain to study next quarter, so we'll miss him around here. He's promising to keep us up to date with his new blog Firenze so I'm including a link on the right to keep up with him. He wants to post pictures (so do I!), so maybe someone who's savvy about these things can tutor Jason and I about how to do this.

Anyone else connected with Grace College ministry have a blog, website, or an absolute must for students to be able to link to? What are you favorite websites? I'm open to your suggestions!

calling all OOTs!

2005-08-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

What's an O.O.T., you may ask? It's a classic Ken Peetism for those of you who are Out of Town right now. I want to give you all a quick preview of what's coming our way as Fall kicks off here in SLO.

First, we're preparing for the launch of College Growth Groups. It's time for us to dig into to deeper community with one another and to connect with the life of Grace as a whole. We've got adult mentors leading groups and regular church-wide groups available. I want to encourage everyone to plug in to The Source through this small group ministry.

Second, have you heard we're going to three services in the Fall? That's right, the week of Sept. 25 Grace College ministry assumes its new time slot at 11:ooam during third service. This will give some you the chance to attend service, serve somewhere and still attend college group!

Speaking of Sept.--Sept. 18 is our 2nd annual Fall Kick Off! Church across the street in Mitchell Park with food, games and activities afterward. Check this out--free food for all our guests that day. That's right, you bring your fraternity or sorority, the track team, or whoever and it's lunch on Grace Church.

Speaking of free food...we're going to host our Pizza in the Park the three Sundays following the Fall Kick Off. Yep, that's right that means free pizza for college students in Mitchell Park following church. We want the chance to get to know people who are new to the area and new to Grace in the college ministry. Pastor Tim will be out there, I'll be out there and we'll just hang out and eat great food--the best lunch deal in downtown SLO!

Coffee Talk

2005-08-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

I heard recently that SLO has more coffee shops per capita than any other except Seattle. This got me thinking about one of my most favorite things in this world--a great cup of coffee! Those of you who've met with me know that among the first things I order anywhere is first cup of java for the day. I have to admit that no coffee has ever been able to rival the robust flavor of a fresh cup of Jamaica Blue, in Jamaica and made by Jamaicans. It goes down so smooth and has absolutely no after-taste. Even when I brought it home and made my own, it just wasn't as good.

However, SLO is a coffee town. While I don't expect my Jamaican experience to be repeated, I'm always on the lookout for a great cup of coffee. Currently, if someone were to ask me my local favorite I would have to say it's the Nutty Bean at the Nautical Bean. All I can say is thanks Brett for whipping up such great brew! I find myself trying to come up with any excuse I can to make it by for a cup.

I'm curious what other cafe's you like. What coffee do you drink and what you would recommend?

lessons from my son

2005-08-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

I shared with the college group a couple of weeks ago that Lisa and I have entered a new stage of parenting with our younger son, Matthias. Watching my sweet little guy who is so quick to laugh and play and explore, as he struggles against our direction and care for him, has forever convinced me that sin is at work in our little ones from the get go! God has been teaching our family a great deal as we enter this phase of life and parenting.

I'm shocked at the way Matthias will fight against, not only what's best, but also what's most enjoyable. He loves music. He spontaneously applauds performers who play at the Farmer's Market downtown (we didn't knowingly teach him to do this). During our last visit to the Farmer's Market I began to direct him toward a performer across the street. The performer was just beyond Matthias' sight and even the sound was a little lost due to the crowd. I knew he would love the music (he tends to dance like a Peanut's character when there's live music), so I took his hand in mine and headed through the crowd. Almost immediately our precious son began to resist. He tried to pull away from me--struggling and grunting. I'm his dad! Doesn't he know that I see things he doesn't? Doesn't he know that I know him better than he knows himself? Doesn't he know that I only want what's best for him? I was directing him to something enjoyable--with his best interests at heart--yet his reaction was to rebel against my leading.

It was one of the moments that have cropped up here and there since I've become a dad. Standing in the middle of Higuera Street, resistant son in hand, engulfed by the crowd, I felt like the Lord spoke into my heart, gently saying, "Steve, this is what sin is. This is what our relationship looks like to Me when you take matters into your own hands. I'm your Father! Don't you know that I see things you don't? Don't you know that I know you better than you know yourself? Don't you know that I only want what's best for you?"

I admit our lives are usually as clear-cut as our children's lives. God doesn't literally and physically take our hands and lead and guide us. We struggle with things like how to parent our children, or how we should use our financial resources. The Lord leads us in the resolution of conflict with family members and co-workers. Jesus points us toward priorities that are more eternally focused and therefore more ultimately satisfying than those we tend to pursue. What I am learning through my son though, is that I underestimate the Lord's leading in my life. I am often as hesitant to trust His goodness and love toward me as Matthias is with Lisa and I. My prayer is that as I instruct my son toward responsiveness toward us, so the Lord will instruct me in responsiveness toward Him.

pornography and the church

2005-08-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

In his sermon on Sunday Pastor Tim applied the Gospel to the "young man addicted to pornography." This has got me thinking about our young men (and women!) who may well be silently fighting addiction to pornography among us. Most will feel you are all alone in this struggle and burdened by guilt and shame, will not seek help out of fear. First, I want to tell you that you're not alone. Here are some interesting facts about pornography:

Porn generates approximately $1 billion annually with growth projections to $5-7 billion over the next 5 years, barring unforeseen change (NRC Report 2002)
25 million Americans visit cybersex sites between 1-10 hours per week (MSNBC Survey 2000)
According to the Justice Department, in 1998 there were 28,000 X-rated websites, generating $925 million in revenue. Now, only three years later, there are 280,000 X- rated websites, generating over $10-20 billion in revenue (The Wall Street Journal 26 Nov. 2001).
At least 200,000 Internet users are hooked on porn sites, X-rated chat rooms or other sexual materials online (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Associated Press [Online], Feb. 29, 2000).
According to a U.S. News and World Report article, the porn industry recently took in more than $8 billion in one year. More than all revenues generated by rock and country music, more than America spent on Broadway productions, theater, ballet, jazz and classical music combined.
The church, for the most part, is unaware and uncomfortable dealing with pornography issues.
Estimates for the number of X-rated sites on the net range from 20,000 to 7 million (CNET.com, April 28, 1999).
Every day, up to 30 million people log on to pornographic web-sites (CNET.com, April 28, 1999).
A recent study (March 2000) shows 1 in 5 adults or 20% (which is nearly 40 million people), have visited a sexually oriented web site.
The research company Relevant Knowledge found that in 1998, 9.6 million users (about 15 percent Web users) logged on to the 10 most popular cybersex sites during the month of April alone.
Americans spend an estimated $8-10 billion annually on pornography. This exceeds the combined gross of ABC, CBS, and NBC, which is $6.2 billion.
Two hundred million copies of Hustler, Penthouse and Playboy are distributed in U.S. homes every year.
The combined circulation of Playboy and Penthouse exceeds that of Time and Newsweek.
The average age at which men first see Playboy or a similar magazine is 11.
A porn film can be made for $20,000-$125,000 and can make up to $2 million in profit from retail sales.
Laboratory studies have showed that viewing violent pornographic films can increase aggression against women.
Nearly 900 theaters show X-rated films and more than 15,000 adult bookstores and video stores offer pornographic material, outnumbering McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. by a margin of at least 3 to 1.

I often say that the Gospel transforms every area of our lives and this one is no different. The grace of God is greater than addiction to pornography. The powers at work inside us and in the world are much more sinister than we want to believe. The love of Christ is deeper and broader than we can possibly imagine. Jesus can save us from addiction to pornography.

A couple of resources you may find helpful are www.xxxchurch.com where I found the information listed above. This is a ministry dedicated to helping people with sexual addictions. I also commend Integrity Online for clean Internet and email. Most people will need a resource that will cut them off from explicit content as a part of being freed from pornography. Additionally, you may feel free to contact me at stevel@graceslo.org if you need someone to talk to about your struggles in this area.

The Value of The Source

2005-08-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking over the past few weeks about some of the values that we hold dear here in our Grace College ministries. As I've thought and prayed about it, it's forced me to deal with core issues of our identity and unique place here in SLO. Here's some of my musings...

We value God, the sovereign creator and rule of the world above all else…
We value above all the life-transforming message of the gospel in every area of life…
We value the local church as a community formed by God to be a sign, foretaste, instrument and agent of God’s rule in Christ in our given context…
We value the intergenerational make up of the local church and seek out opportunities to join with the whole body of Christ…
We value the distinct place in the church for those who are college-age in our community…
We value genuine and honest relationships with those inside and outside our ministry…

What do you think?

joy in the little things

2005-08-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as my parents and sister were visiting with us, we looked up to see an amazing sight--David, our oldest son, inched his way forward, twice, in an army crawl. At three years old David is still learning the fundamentals of sitting-up and mobility. David was born with a genetic disorder called Cornelia de Lange Syndrome that impacts his life in every area including cognitive delay, gross and fine motor delay, speech delay and a number of other areas most of us take for granted. When David was born three years ago it was the most painful and devastating moment in our lives.

I found myself reflecting on all this a great deal as Pastor Tim preached on Matthew 14:1-13 --Why Do Bad Things Happen to Godly People?--yesterday morning. An eternal perspective truly changes the way we see and live our lives in the face of the sometimes brutal realities of life. What a great reminder that...

The world is broken. Humankind is in bondage to sin.
The universe is at war. Spiritual Kingdoms are clashing.
Our lives are small. God is big, good and sovereign.
Our earthly lives are short. Eternity is forever.

These are the truths out of which Lisa and I live. David's extraordinary life has redirected our family's eyes to eternity far more than any class I've taken, books we've read, or experiences we've lived through.

As we watched David make these movements last night we had the privilege to witness his progress alongside David's former teacher, Robbin, who has spent hours in the hard labor of teaching him to use his body and interact with his world. This wondrous moment opens my eyes afresh to the often-unknown impact our lives make on others through the repetitive consistency of our daily labors. Thank you Robbin for your influence on our son!

David is the source of so much joy in our lives today. We see the Lord's uncompromising faithfulness in the grace He supplied three years ago, in the love David gives & receives and in all the progress David makes in every little thing.

...a 95% chance

2005-08-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

So, my beautiful wife and I went in for an ultrasound. We decided that we would find out the gender, and... well... we did. The ultrasound technician said that she was 95% sure that the gender was going to be what she said it was going to be.

As soon as she used the specific pronoun that revealed to me the sex of our next kid, I began to think of everything else in my life that has a 95% probability of happening...

There is now...

...a 95% chance of me owning a shotgun.
...a 95% chance of me going bankrupt.
...a 95% chance of me and my sons taking monthly retreats.
...a 95% chance of me looking at the opposite gender babies in the nursery with suspicion and mistrust.
...a 95% chance of me being too strict.
...a 95% chance of my child getting way with anything.
...a 95% chance of me having tea parties.
...a 95% chance of our family having a "no dating until age 35" rule.
...a 95% chance of me purchasing surveilance equipment for my house, cars, etc...
...a 95% chance of me psychologically damaging my child for life.
...a 95% chance of me being challenged in ways I can't yet fathom.
...a 95% chance of me being blessed in ways I can't imagine.
...a 95% chance of God teaching me to trust Him more fully.
...a 95% chance of me learning humility, patience and understanding.

That's right. There's a 95% chance that we're having a girl. As many of you know, I have two wonderful sons, Zak and Eliot. Boys I can handle. Boys I understand. But a girl?!! Now what?!

My wife (and Zak) are ecstatic. Zak wanted a sister, so it looks like God is answering his prayer. Of course, I am excited too, but... I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a tad bit nervous.

I can't wait to see what God's going to do next with my family! She's scheduled to arrive on December 22nd. Zak's birthday is Christmas day, so who knows, we may have two Chrsitmas babies!

All Things Bright and Beautiful

2005-08-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

My memory is terrible. I forget twenty minutes after I promise my wife I'll wash the dishes. Even worse, I forget movies and books merely months after I have read or watched them. It's kinda sad that I can't take the expereince with me for long, but it makes life interesting for me, as I get to enjoy great books for the first time over and over again.

A few weeks ago, I relived that experience by re-reading James Herriot's book, All Things Bright and Beautiful. The problem with alot of great books is that I used to be an avid reader and I know I've read them all before the sixth grade. But I found this one in Border's and decided to read it again. And I'm glad I did.

I love this book. I love the setting, the tone, mood... everything. You can't help but relax when you read his narratives about life as a country vet in Yorkshire. You find yourself laughing with him - and sometimes at him, as well as seeing the best and worst of human nature expressed in his clients.

It's a rare book that makes me laugh out loud. In fact, I very rarely laugh out loud at anything. This drives my wife nuts, as she will tell me a hilarious joke and then complain, "You're not laughing!"

"I'm laughing!" I reply, with scarcely more than a grin on my face.

After reading this book, I was encouraged to look for the vignettes in my daily life that define my reality. I've been motivated to stop and look at my surroundings and slow down the pace of my daily grind. It is tremendously important to take the time to enjoy the creation God has given us and simply rest. Hopefully, this summer, a lot of you can take the time to read a few good books.

Let me know what you're reading!

Luau!

2005-08-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I promised to be at the Luau with the whole family, and I sort of kept my word. It turned out to be just me and my two boys (ages 3 1/2 and almost 2). Let's just say that every time I take those two little grublets out to social events, I gain a new respect and admiration for what my wonderful wife does all day. They're a handful!

Anyways, I know we had fun, and it looked like everyone else did too. Cara Badger displayed some truly impressive skills at Limbo, and I unfortunately had to leave as the volleyball game got under full swing. Please comment below and let me know if you had a good time and what happened after I left.

The next major event on the calendar is the Hoedown in the fall, but Pastor Steve and I have talked a little bit about doing another beach day BBQ. I know I'd like to do that, just before everyone heads off to school.

I have really enjoyed getting to know a bunch of the new freshmen this summer. I'm bummed that most of you are leaving. I trust that God has great ministry and growth opportunities for all of you.

Dwelling...

2005-08-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

As Phillip mentioned, Eric House found a house out in Orlando last week--praise the Lord! We're starting to get quite a few calls around here from those who have a place and those who are looking. Right now we don't have any formal way to connect you all, but we're working on it. We're gathering a list that we'll make available each week on Sunday AM to those of you who are around. I know others of you are preparing to head to the Central Coast for school from out of town--what should you do? You can contact me through the church office (805.543.2358), or by emailing me stevel@graceslo.org and I can connect you with our list. As I think about Eric out in Florida and the way the Body of Christ came to his aid there, I look forward to our local body coming to the aid of others here!

Miscellaneous updates and Luau reminder...

2005-07-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone. I just finished posting a reply to Pastor Tim's latest blog, and in my comments I was talking about the discipline and strength of character required to continue blogging. Of course, I felt guilty, so here I am posting. But it isn't because I don't have anything to say! For starters, here are some updates:

Erik House finally found a place to stay in Florida. It's one mile from school and it sounds like a good set-up. Now we need to pray that he can get plugged into a good church! Erik has also started blogging. Check it out and encourage him whenever you get a chance.
Luau is this weekend! Please come! I plan on being there with my wife and kids, so we can all get to know you.

While we are at it, I would like to add links to student blogs to this site. If you have a blog and would like to be linked to it, let me know and I'll get it up ASAP.

How is everyone's summer going? I remember that last year my family and I had a BBQ almost every other night and totally enjoyed the Central Coast. This year is a busy one, and I feel like I'm wasting my summer away staring at the walls of my office. Have a great rest of the summer while you can. There's no such thing as summer break once you're done with school!

Phillip

Why Growth Groups?

2005-07-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've had the chance over the last few weeks to chat with a few of you about the idea of bringing Growth Groups into college ministry here at Grace in the Fall. For those of you who aren't familiar with our Growth Group model, let me explain briefly what Growth Groups are. Growth Groups are closed groups of 6-12 people who meet regularly for prayer, care and Bible study. They're sermon-based "lecture-lab," giving opportunity to go beyond just hearing a sermon to grappling, discussing, and applying God's Word in the context of open and honest relationships. Growth Groups have allowed people who are new to Grace to connect deeper with our church family and to build lasting friendships.

Why "Sermon-Based" Growth Groups?

It's a model that maximizes learning and application by taking into account different learning styles. Learning increases dramatically when people are given the opportunity to hear, take notes and discuss.
It's a model that unifies the whole congregation as multiple groups study, learn and apply the same material together and grow in the same direction at the same time.
It's a model that's flexible in that it allows different leaders to springboard off of the sermon material in their own individual ways.
It’s a model that's scalable by allowing the creation of new groups on a continual basis as the church and the college ministry grows.\It's a biblical model. Jesus himself taught in large group settings and then discussed His sermon in small group settings. (Matt 13)

For these reasons and more, we believe College-age Growth Groups are a great addition to the ministry that is already taking place at The Source. This will provide a context for people to plug in to our ministry and build authentic relationships and community. Growth Groups will allow our existing group to take our relationships to a new level of intimacy and unity. Additionally, it will strengthen the ties between college ministry and the intergenerational church family here at Grace!

I know some of you are still thinking, "But what's unique and distinct about Growth Groups from other studies out there?" That's for next week! For now, I'm looking forward to seeing you at the Luau at the Woods on Saturday! Don't forget to bring meat to BBQ, swim stuff (girls--one piece please), snacks to share and get ready to have fun!

Whirlwind

2005-07-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

Whew! It's been a crazy week. My family and I have spent the last three evenings at the Family Conference and it was awesome! Dan Haakenson did a terrific job showing us what the Proverbs have to say about communication. If you missed it...well all I can say is you missed out! (Some of you wondered about ordering the CDs, I can only direct you Dori Iunker, our Children's Ministry Director, to ask) Speaking with Kindness, Listening and Conflict Resolution were among the topics he covered and I'm glad I was there! It was a great way for Lisa and I to celebrate our 6th anniversary on Sunday by being reminded about key principles of communication. Great job Dori—I can’t wait ‘til next year’s conference!