I have been working through why my life has taken the turns it has over the last 10 months.  Up and downs.  Highlights and pure darkness.  For me I think God needed me to grow up a little, mature.  I know that He needed me to see the things I have seen these last few months, church done different.  I grew up and served in the same type of churches, which isn’t a bad thing, I just needed a change of pace.  Without the pressure that I sometimes felt in my last ministry, I have had time to think through and process who I am and what God wants me to do which has become a little more clearer.  Bumpy roads have drawn Dawn and I closer and closer to God.  Deeper understanding of completely relying on God.  I’ve seen God use situations and work in us only to feel closer to Him than I have in years. 

I could blame what I feel is a lot on my five wonderful years of college, not preparing me for ministry, or keeping my walk with God a priority and a few other things. But I shouldn’t.  I viewed college as training for a job and not as an education.  College is an education, a place to learn the foundation my career would be built on.  I should have asked more questions instead of completely agreeing.  I should have felt it was ok to learn from others outside the Christian Church.

My life maybe is not taking the path I once thought that it would.  Maybe I’m not where I want to be, doing what I think I should be doing.  But God is working it all out in His time.  I pretty sure a lot of this enlightenment would not have broken through to the surface without coming to this time and place.

Just a little rambling as I sit here and think and read.

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I just finished another book, this one call The Coffeehouse Gospel from Relevant Books. This was a small book and I moved through it pretty quickly. I have wanted to read it for some time and it has called my name for months sitting on my bookshelf so I finally read it and I’m glad I did.

I have never felt comfortable with canned evangelism even though I’ve seen it work in some cases and have felt like I don’t do enough to talk about my faith with people I come in contact with who are non-believers. I could never bring myself to be so abrasive and ask a person “do you know where you are going if you were to die today”. I try not to but along with the world I tend to lump those people (though often well meaning) in to the group with Mormons and televangelists. Their hearts are in the right place but their means are in the wrong ball park, in my humble opinion.

I really like this book. It takes a different spin on talking with people about faith and God. Its all about listening to others and sliding in how faith works in your life and where it has taken you. Its about being real people and fessing up and stop pretending we are perfect little angels. Listening to their story, building friendship and relationships with people and as they open up, you open up and talk about it. Its no canned speech. Because God is working in you and He permeates from you (Acts 4:13) the gospel just comes out. God’s redemption isn’t recited memory verses its how He has redeemed you. Grace isn’t just a name for a girl (thanks Bono) its something you received and want to offer to others.

No more programs, no more door to door evangelism with canned speeches from EE, just your story shared with people you engage in conversation where ever you are (ie. coffeehouse, grocery store, gas station. Atleast for me.

Up next, Blue Like Jazz (I know I’m behind)

Tags: coffeehouse gospel, evangelism, relevant books

I’m so excited. I found this mug at Starbucks called the Extreme Tumbler awhile back and before I could cough up the cash for it they discontinued it. Its a travel mug with a non-leak lid and a caribeaner like clip at the bottom of the handle that I can can clip on to my back like I do with my Nalgene bottle. Today while walking past an aisle at Target with coffee mugs on it something caught my eye. What, it can’t be I thought to myself. But it is, some other company is selling the Extreme Tumbler under their name and nothing has changed about the mug except no Starbucks name or logo. I am so excited. This is the coffee cup of my dreams.

Tags: coffee cup

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Have you ever felt dissatisfied with the church?  Have you ever looked around and wondered if the people who worship with you are being real? Or are the pretending like you?  Do you think the people around you know your "secret shame"?  You’re a sinner, but that’s ok because we all are!

I just finished Mike Yaconneli’s book Messy Spirituality.  All of the questions above are thoughts I gleaned from the book.  The "secret shame" is a quote from Fever Pitch that fits in with a lot of the problems Mike talks about in the book.

You’re probably like me and have read parts of the bible that don’t match up with the church.  Or do we think that all of the sick people have been healed and so the church can now be filled with healthy people?  Or maybe because we have become wholesale dealers of white paint which the people use Sunday mornings while putting on their Sunday best.  I not trying to be cynical but while I still believe the church is God perfect plan I just see us using it in different ways than He intended. 

I think a lot of people stay away from the church because church doesn’t fit them.  Not the consumerism church hunting that goes on but how the church communicates what a good Christian looks like.  We offer these one size fits all discipleship programs and expect all of the different types of people who make up our churches to fit in them.  But how, how can one method fit every person?  That’s where Mike’s title comes in Messy Spirituality.  We are all really a messy when it come to God’s standards, aren’t we?  But because the God of the universe sent His Son to earth and the people He choose to hang out with weren’t the crew a Messiah should hang out with should be a sign to us about how much He cares for us despite who we are.  You know the bunch: guys who didn’t make the cut to become disciples of a Rabbi and that is why they were home fishing with their fathers, physically disabled people, prostitutes (I’m not including Mary Magdalene in this group), tax collectors, notorious sinners and now the likes of you and me.  Jesus doesn’t care that we fail daily while striving for righteousness, He understands.  He doesn’t leave us because doubt enters our mind when we are wondering where He is?  His love for us isn’t changed by anything we can or have done.  He loves us as much today as He did on the cross. 

Messy Spirituality helped solidify some ideas floating through my head. It helped me question things I have said in the past or snap judgments I have made or allowed others to make in my presence.  I have to rework how I think about what makes a disciple of Christ and my value of people we think of as "messy".

I think if Mike were still alive and he ever ate at Moe’s he would have included this quote in the beginning of one of the chapters in the book.

"A burrito is a lot like life, a big mess on the inside." Moe

Tags: messy spirituality

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I saw this originally on a parents hack site but went to a different site for the instructions. Its tips on how to make a DIY Mosquito Trap that is safe for kids and eco friendly. You mix hot water, sugar and yeast into a bottle and there you have a mosquito trap.

Materials Needed:

2000ml (2 liter) bottle
50 gram (brown?) sugar
1 gram yeast
Thermometer
Measure cup
Knife
Black paper

1. Cut the top of the bottle as shown

2. Put 200ml hot water in the bottle, stir with 50gram brown sugar. Put the sugar water in cold water to cool it down til 40C (temperature).

They use a bigger container with cold water - put the small cup that they use to make sugar water in that container and that stick is a thermometer because they want the sugar water to cool down to 40C (temperature).

3. After cooling down, put the sugar water in the bottle then add the yeast.
No need to mix the yeast with the sugar water. When yeast ferments, it creates carbon dioxide.

4. When you cut the bottle, dont throw the top part away because that’d be needed for step 4 - you see they put the top upside down to fit into the bottle.

Carbon dioxide will be released from where we drink the bottle so make sure to seal the edge.

5. Put black paper around the bottle since mosquitos like dark places and carbon dioxide. This mosquito trap will then start working.
Mosquitos fly around the corner, so the best place to place the trap is at some dark corner.

TIPS: Put the trap in some dark and humid place for 2 weeks, you’ll see the effect. You’ll have to replace the sugar water + yeast solution every 2 weeks.

http://www.diyhappy.com/quick-and-dirty-mosquito-trap/

Tags: mosquito trap, diy

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I’m reading through Acts now and I came across one of my favorite verses in chapter 4. Acts 4: 13 says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Is this how people view us and ministers and leaders? Every time I come across this verse I think how can I change my life, habits, speech and courage to be viewed by people so they can see with out me have to say it or where a christian tee? What about you, what do you think about this verse or do about this verse?

Bob Hyatt, lead guy at Evergreen Community in Oregon has started a new blog for helping pastors do their work more efficiently so they can spend more time with people. He’s also making this a collaborations deal and asking us if we have any ideas to email them to him. Check it, see if it helps and be apart.

The website: http://pastorhacks.net/

The email: ideas@pastorhacaks.net

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I was reading through 2 Corinthians 9-13 yesterday and came across a verse I have over looked in the past.  2 Cor. 10: 5 says, "take every thought captive to the obedience of  Christ".  A needed verse for me as I’m battling thoughts of rejection and doubt.  Feeling like David and asking God, "where are you?"  But then I straighten up and and force myself to stop the negative thoughts and focus on His past faithfulness.  Mark Batterson once said, "spiritual amnesia is forgetting what God has done in the past".

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We are coming off an awesome weekend with Clay.  We brought Clay in to not only speak to our church but also to our community.  We rented the local performing arts theater, which is really a cheap option if you have one in your area.  We worked hard to spread this around by word of mouth which can be the best form of marketing.  We had great attendance in church on Sunday and only few them showed up at the community event which is what we hoped for and the rest were people from our community which rocked.  Clay’s story is truly amazing and it was awesome to hear how God is working and directing his life.  Because of Clay’s faith God has given him the strength and determination to become a professional fisherman and compete with some of the best fishermen in the world.  If you are looking for a some to motivate and encourage your people contact Clay, he speaks to churches sprinkled in among his fishing tournaments.

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UPDATE: Check out Chris’ post about their first weekend as a mobile church

If you have an extra second pray for my friend Chris. His church is turing a new page this weekend. They are taking the plunge to become portable. They have been a good church trying to battle a little complacency and tradition and have realized that to combat both of them they needed to make a change. This weekend, their first weekend portable they will kick off two services. One tradition and quasi- emerging/ postmodern service that will be the focus on their future growth and outreach. I’m proud of them. They have took some bold steps away from a comfortable building, doing the same things, to writing on a fresh piece of paper and following God. I think they are on their way to making an impact on their community and regaining their saltiness. So any way say a little prayer for them.

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