HAROLD: Can you imagine being a there the day he shows up? If he doesn't mask his glory?
ALVIN: No.
HAROLD: Waking up, looking out your window to see this giant eyeball looking at you? The eye of God!
ALVIN: He’s going to send every one of ‘em into cardiac arrest. When they get a load of his holiness they’re just gonna keel over by the millions!
HAROLD: We should get seats.

These are a few lines from "Imagine Christmas" a Christmas musical we are going to be doing at my church on Christmas Eve. As I read these words for the first time I almost shouted "THAT'S RIGHT!" If we truly got a glimpse of God's holiness we would keel over.

Christmas is such an awesome time of year and at this point in my life it my favorite holiday. Easter is a great celebration of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection and at times I think I can maybe, possibly, partially, kind of wrap my mind around the idea of a grown man sacrificing himself for others. Yes, that grown man is God incarnate and yes, the sacrifice was for the forgiveness of sins for all of mankind. Even still, it is somewhat comprehendibleto me. Christmas, however, leaves me 100% at a loss for words. Get this. God, who created all things; "All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1: 3) and is not confined to size and shape, "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens" (Isaiah 40:12) this God, our God, THE God came down to the earth. He went through the birthing process, potty training, learning to walk and talk and his voice cracked when he went through puberty. He created the stars, sun, moon and planets. He created them out of nothing.
He became a baby that was totally helpless and dependant upon a young mother and carpenter father. That is why I love Christmas. Because I can't explain it or even begin to wrap my mind around it.

The title of our Christmas Eve service is "Imagine Christmas". Go ahead try to imagine it. I dare you.

Peace

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading on-ward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above!

These words written by Samuel Trevor Francis in the late 19th century lingered in the air as the cup was being passed and you could see in the faces of the people that they were being deeply moved. Not because of the arrangement of the song but because of the power and truth of the words.

I think about when I lived in North Carolina and how my wife and I would make day trips to the ocean shore. I loved it when the waves were high. My most memorable trip was one in which my father was with me. After some gentle coaxing and a goading comment or two my father finally joined me in the water and after catching our breath because of the chilliness of the water, we were splashing and laughing like a couple of school boys. We would watch the waves come in and try to jump over them only to be thrown back by their force. Eventually, we stopped fighting against the waves and started to allow them to move us where they wanted to and we began to enjoy the moment even more. Some family members who were watching kept shouting "Free Willy" but that is another story. We were relishing the immenseness of the waves. Eventually, we stumbled out of the water smiling and laughing and my dad told me it had be 30 years since he last swam in the ocean and he had forgotten how much fun it was.

The love of Jesus - unmeasured, boundless free, rolling over me as a mighty ocean, underneath and all around me. What an incredible picture! When was the last time you thought about His love like this. It is always there. Are you struggle with sickness, family discord, financial difficulty, school, work? Or is life going well for you? Whatever the case may be. Think about His love and how it can completely surround you and carry you along. Stop struggling against it and embrace it.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best! ’Tis an o-cean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest! O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me; And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

Shalom!

Attitude Change

Sundays come and Sundays go. In the past I tended to look at them as just another work day. Oh sure, I enjoyed the times of worship and the teaching and fellowship but it was work. I was on the clock and doing my job. Over the past several months my attitude has changed. Yes, it is still part of my job but I am excited to be there to celebrate what God is doing in our lives as a body. One of the reasons for the change of attitude has been the fact that we have had so many baptisms lately and many more are coming. We are seeing followers of Christ, some for a few months others for many years, desiring to be obedient to Christ's call to be baptized. Every single one of them have said that they are doing it not because because it is a prerequisite to salvation, it's not, but rather that this an opportunity to let people know they are Christians and also because they want to express their love for Christ by being obedient to what He commands.

The idea of being obedient out of love for a person is something that I believe is sorely lacking in our society. Too often we are obedient because we have to. We are obedient because we don't want to be punished or disciplined. Thank you to my dear brothers and sisters who are being obedient out of love.

Thank you for helping me to change my attitude about Sunday mornings. I do not want to be there because it is my job, I want to be there because of my love for Christ. I want to be there because it is an awesome opportunity to celebrate, honor, and glorify God with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peace

Life at times can get so fast paced that one loses track of time. That is the way this summer has been for me. I cannot believe that my daughter starts first grade tomorrow. I look at her and have a hard time believing that she is my daughter. I mean, it seems like yesterday that I was holding her in my arms for the very first time. Just minutes old, all wrinkly and pink trying to find her thumb so she could suck on it. Now she is a confident and courageous young girl. As a family we went bike riding today with the final stop being the beach. I watched her walk out into the crashing waves laughing and hollering "woohoo!" and I am a bit overwhelmed by how fast she is growing up. My encouragement to anyone who reads this blog is to enjoy every moment and do not allow yourself to become so busy that you don't have time for family. It goes by too fast and you will find yourself wondering where it went.

Peace.

Wish I was in the woods.

I just got back from a family vacation which included officiating my baby sister's wedding and three and a half days of camping in northern Wisconsin. When we arrived at our campsite deep in the woods I realized I had no cell coverage. At first I felt helpless and a bit naked but by the end of the day I loved it. When we packed up and left for home I was jolted out of vacation mode when my phone began to ring. I was wishing I was back in the woods.

Our society today is so dependent upon technology that it is a little bit scary. What would we do without cell phones, laptops or gps's? There are times when I long for the days before we carried around electronic umbilical cords. Sometimes I feel that technology makes people unwilling or unable to make decisions on their own. Instead they place a phone call only to apologize for bothering you on vacation or your day off. Let people have their time. Very few things are so urgent that one can't wait until the next day or week.

I know it may sound like I am complaining but I am more reflecting on our society and how it has changed so dramatically over the past 10 years.

Had a great vacation but I am glad to be home.

Peace.

Back in the Saddle Again...

Well, I am back in the office and although the trip to Challenge was great I am glad to be back. Not leading worship for almost three weeks was good but it was tough. I had the itch to get back to it when I got home. Sunday was a good day. Worship service was wonderful as we celebrated the Lord's Supper and continued our series on "Going for the Gold." It is good to be home. I will share more later.

Peace

Challenge Is Over

The week in Salt Lake City at Challenge '08 is over. It was good week and I believe God was honored and blessed. There were approximately 5,500 teenagers at the conference and everyday they were challenged to take a step in their faith walk with Jesus. Even though I am a youth pastor and I have attended many events like this I am always personally challenged myself. This week was no different.

One cool thing that happened wasn't super spiritual but it was super cool. We made an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records record for the world's largest Kazoo band/choir. Check it out.



Peace

"If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" James 2:15, 16

I was crushed tonight. I sat and listened to a man pour out his heart about how the church has failed to love the unlovable and my heart was crushed. As the church, as evangelicals, as people who say they love Jesus we too often fail to love people. We expect them to look like us, to wear the right clothes, to talk the right way, to live the right kind of life and then we will love them. We fail to love them just as they are.

One of my favorite hymns is "Just As I Am." "Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bidst me come to Thee, o Lamb of God I come. I come." The reason I love those words so much is because I know that I was a terrible person that did terrible things yet Jesus saw beyond that. Jesus saw beyond the filth and muck of my life. Jesus bids us to come to him just as we are. "Come unto me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. Why then, do we not do the same? Why do we shy away from those who do not look like us? Why do we shun those who are from a "lower" societal status? Why are we afraid to step out of our Christian ghettos and go and love the world?

I pastor in a town of about 35,000 and my heart breaks for the lost. I am desperate to reach those who have been rejected and forgotten by the church. Our church does some good things that make a difference but they are "projects" that come along once a year and we seemingly forget about the need until the next year rolls around and we start planning the project again. I want to live out a life that lives and breaths brokenness for the community 365 days a year. I want our church to get beyond "projects" and make it our life.

I beg God to break our hearts. The words from a song we sang tonight are my prayer. "Let me not be blind with privilege, let me see the pain and suffering" With trembling I pray, God give me eyes to see the people around me as you see them. Give me a heart that breaks as your heart breaks for them. Give me arms that will hold them as your arms holds them. Give me love that will love them as you love them. Help me to be obedient and faithful to do what you have called me to do.

Help the church to make that their prayer. Help the church to show radical generosity of love. Help us to live out what we say we believe.

We Made It

Well, we finally made to SLC after a total of 34 hours behind the wheel, three hotel stays and a whole lot of sore behinds. Glad to be here and looking forward to a great week.

Chow

Lessons While Traveling

I have been really struck by Dueteronomy 6:4-8 as of late. The idea of teaching your children about God when you sit, lie down, walk, and when you get up has become extremely important to me as a father and something I try to make a reality in my day to day life with my son and daughter. As a youth pastor I try to keep this in mind as well. It is too easy to "teach" the students during the official youth group time but simply hang out with them the rest of the time. Today we were driving through Custer State Park in South Dakota and I saw something I had never seen before. The wind was blowing through through the grassy fields and the grass looked like waves in the ocean. It was the coolest thing. We pulled over to take a short video of it and I started to talk about how much our culture rushes through life and too easily misses the beauty of God's Creation. We sat and watched the fields roll like waves and had a "moment". It was way cool!

As we continued to drive we saw antelope, deer, prairie dogs, a (not so) wild burro, and lots of buffalo. The whole day was very long but it was so worth it to take the time to enjoy and talk about the wonders of God's marvelous creation.

Tomorrow we arrive in Salt Lake City for Challenge '08. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do this week in the students lives, my wife's life and in my life.

Shalom

Fun While Driving

Spent the past two days driving west on I-90. Went through God's country (a.k.a. Minnesota) then into South Dakota. If it wasn't for the bill boards advertising free water at Wall S.D. there would have been nothing to look at for most of the way. We did a loop through Badlands national park and that was pretty cool. That was my third time there and it was still fun. Then we did the free water thing at Wall and sat on the 8 foot Jackalope for a photo op. Finally made our way to Keystone, S.D. to see Mt. Rushmore. We stayed for the presentation and lighting ceremony. At first I thought about having everyone leave part way through but then I felt like the teenagers I had with me needed to stay and listen. I thank God for my country but I am not super patriotic so it is easy for me to rush through events that focus on patriotism. I realized that if I do not make an effort to help the teenagers understand why we have the freedoms we do they will take them for granted and not appreciate them. I truly appreciate the freedoms I have and know that they did not come without cost and the men and women who served and died for these freedoms have my utmost respect.

If you have served our country, thank you.

Peace

What a Day!

So here I was sitting at my desk reveling in the fact that I was actually ahead of things as I prepared for my trip with the youth group to Salt Lake City when I received a phone call from our mechanic. The words, "undrivable" and "death trap" echoed over the phone and stuck in my head like a misguided lawn dart. The church van, which was our transportation to Challenge '08, went in for an oil change and minor tune up. What they found was that the arm that attaches the front wheels to the steering column had completely rusted through and a solid bump while driving could snap it completely and send the van hurdling in any given direction. FUN! So after a few minutes of panic and a few more of prayer, I had an alternate mode of transportation. Praise God!

In less than 24 hours I am heading to Challenge '08 with a group of teens from our senior high. We will be doing the cheesy Americana stuff such as the Mitchell, S.D. Corn Palace, and Wall Drug as well as some cool things like the Badlands of S.D. and of course Mt. Rushmore. On the way back we will be camping in Estes Park, CO for three days. All this excitement sandwiches a great conference which will challenge us all to take the next step in our faith walk with Jesus.

I AM PUMPED!

What are you reading?

I love to read! I remember my Christmas breaks during high school and how I would take any money I received as gifts and go to the book section of Wal-Mart (sorry, no Barnes and Noble in a town of 8,500) and buy as many books as I could. I would then stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning reading. Not much has changed.

As a young 20-something I read J. Oswald Sanders' "Spiritual Leadership", a book which I have gone back to time and again. In chapter 13 Sanders writes "[John] Wesley had a passion for reading...[he] told the younger ministers of the Methodist societies to read or get out of the ministry!" (pg. 102). I have taken that to heart and a growing number of books set on my library shelfs.

This summer I have picked up a couple of classics that I am excited about reading as well as one more contemporary book.

A.W. Tozer's - Pursuit of God
C.S. Lewis - The Joyful Christian
John Piper - Desiring God

Looking forward to a great summer of reading.

Peace

Family time

Spent the morning with my family shopping. I am realizing more and more the importance of making time for the whole family to do things together. It doesn't have to be anything super elaborate. A simple family walk or a trip to the mall to window shop can make for a great time of laughter and enjoyment. It can also be a great time of learning and teaching. Many times an opportunity to teach my daughter and son Biblical truths come during these moments and it is one way in which I can carry out the command in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (look it up).

Was' been happenin'?

Ok, so its been a long while since my last post. Hopefully, that trend will stop and there will be more regular posts. Settled in at our new church in eastern WI. hard to believe I am living in packer country. Go VIKES! Lovin' the challenges and opportunities that are here. Life is busy but good. God is AWESOME!

Speaking of which...I just read through Matt Redman's book "Face Down" and he had a chapter on how we too easily throw out the word awesome in our day to day conversations. As I looked up the word in a dictionary the very first definition is "to inspire awe." We may say that the Grand Canyon is awesome, or that the sunrise over Lake Michigan but when was the last time we stood in awe of God? When was the last time we stood in silence because of His awesomeness? When last did we shout out or raise our hands upward because of God's supreme awesomeness? When was the last time God's unimaginable greatness inspired awe in our lives?

I know I am guilty of lessening the word awesome in my own conversations, "Wasn't that an awesome movie?" "How awesome was the Celtic's win over L.A.?" I'm not saying never use the word unless you're speaking of God. I am saying that we should not put God on the same level as an exciting basketball win, or delicious meal. Let's remember that God is above all things, He is the creator of all things. God is the one who sent His son Jesus to take our place on the cross so that through him we can have life everlasting with Him in heaven. Now that is awesome!

Peace