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Beauty & Destruction

Don’t see a video here? Click this link to view. The above video (from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Flickr Page) is from images captured by GOES-13 satellite from May 20-25, showing the view from space of the storms and recent devastating tornadoes which have plagued the country. It is incredible to think that something which looks so beautiful from a distance could cause such carnage on the ground. This is another good remember to pray and provide for those effected by the recent storms.

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Church Planting Path

Courtesy of the Evangelism & Church Growth Department of The Wesleyan Church   One of the great privileges I have already enjoyed in life is being involved in church planting, most recently as co-planter of The Bridge. Though my family and I are transitioning into a new season and place of ministry, church planting will remain an important part of how we serve the Kingdom of Christ. I am especially glad to serve in a district within The Wesleyan Church that places such priority on church planting–not because it’s a hot new fad, but because they passionately want to see people come to know the hope and life of Jesus. We recently posted the above photo (you can download the .pdf version here) at theydidwewill.blogspot.com — it’s a different way of looking at the church planting process within The Wesleyan Church and serves as a good reminder that seeing new churches come to fruition is a continuous journey and an adventure. (more…)

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Parenting & Church Planting: Jerk

image: Flickr|OakleyOriginals   I love my kid. I tell her that every day and do my best to demonstrate as much… though I’m not sure just how much is comprehended yet by her little mind. I’m sure there are times, though, that if she could form the words or comprehend what they mean, she would express the thought that I am a jerk. Sometimes I let her stay in a place of frustration. Sometimes, I let her cry a bit before rescuing her from the thing she’s crying about. Sometimes I know exactly what her problem is and how to make her happy but wait to act. Jerk. I know. But, at least in the philosophy and praxis of parenting Sarah and I are developing, there are times when even at this stage there are teachable moments or developmental progressions taking place and letting Jubilee work some things out on her own is healthy and okay. We’re not expecting advanced (more…)

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Parenting & Church Planting: Puke

  One. Proud. Papa. I can’t remember the last time I left my house without some spot of baby puke somewhere on my person. (That’s a lie. I actually can remember: it was the day I left the apartment to bring Jubilee home from the hospital.) Each morning I carefully examine my clothing, take the kid (who has been carefully secured into her car seat) to the car, drive to the sitter’s place, and arrive at our destination only to discover that somehow between the ‘close examination’ and ‘arrival at our destination’ stages of the day, new puke is contaminating some article of my clothing. But I’ve also discovered how understanding people are: the consensus seems to be, “You’re the parent of an infant. Infants puke. Wear it as a badge of honor; they’re only this young once.” I’m more worried about the goo on my shirt than anybody else is, and they see it as happy evidence that I’m (more…)

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Five Years.

Five years ago at the edge of the Grand Canyon (near Mather Point, for you Canyon fans), I told Sarah that I would love her forever and asked if she would marry me. She said yes, and I still can’t believe it! Happy engageiversary, Sarah — I will love you forever!  

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Still here.

It’s Saturday evening and I’m still here. So, either I missed “The Rapture” or Harold Camping was wrong. One of the most disconcerting aspects of this whole ‘judgment day on May 21′ fiasco for me, though, has less to do with the false prophecy of Camping, and more to do with the pride of others–including myself. I found it too easy to mock, point fingers at, and deride the guy and his followers who so vehemently claimed today was The Day. Yes, this whole thing might hurt the credibility of faith in Jesus a bit, but those of us following Christ are already following the Way of Foolishness (cf. 1 Cor 1:26ff). We would be wise to heed the last words of that linked passage: that we boast not in our own wisdom or right-ness, but boast in Christ alone. So, here is my boast: I pretty much suck and have nothing good in me. Despite this, the King of (more…)

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Parenting & Church Planting: Choke

Did you know your kid can choke to death on its own spit-up? We were informed of this as we were preparing to leave the hospital with Jubilee, “Keep an eye on her for any signs of distress,” the nurse reminded us as she ushered us out the door, “and don’t forget, she’ll spit-up more than you think she should.” Words to live by. For the first few weeks of Jubilee’s life, we were keenly aware of how fragile her existence was: the basics of supporting her head, feeding every half hour, watching for signs of infection, counting the ratio of wet to dirty diapers and their correlation to ounces of milk and formula ingested all kept the sensitivity of our little girl’s life in constant focus. In fact, on her first night home with the baby, Sarah was almost certain she had permanently ruined the kid (a story for another time) and woke me in a “Honey I Broke (more…)

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Parenting & Church Planting: Stop

  They warned us it would happen. It was almost guaranteed. In our birthing classes, those of us who were active as ‘support people’ were given instruction on how to help an in-labor mom move beyond that point in the labor/delivery of a baby when she wants to quit. The gist was that it gets too hard, too exhausting, too much for mom to keep going and she will become convinced that the birth can progress no further. I know my wife wanted to quit at points, but the funny thing about delivering a baby is it’s kind of hard to stop part way… I can’t blame her for wanting to stop; while I don’t have first-hand experience, giving birth sure looked like a lot of work (something about why it’s called ‘labor’). After about three and a half  hours of pushing (and many more hours of hard labor) in the process with our daughter, my wife felt like she couldn’t do (more…)

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New Series: Parenting & Church Planting

As a super-experienced (we’ve been doing this for a year and a half, after all) church planter now in the process of transition, and as an uber-successful parent (Jubilee has survived the past six and a half months with us) I felt it was high time we share some of the interesting lessons and correlations that church planting and parenting seem to have in common. The posts that will follow in this “Parenting & Church Planting” series will capitalize on the wealth of successful experience we have gained and draw exciting conclusions based on the correlations between being stewards of new kid and stewards of a new church. The series, beginning tomorrow, is a bit tongue-in-cheek… but you just might find the teensiest bit of usable insight, so stay tuned!

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JourneyNote: Transition

  This past Sunday, The Bridge‘s lead pastor, Rick Cox, shared about a coming transition within our new church;  last week, Sarah and I shared the following note with a few of you about this same transition and now we’re sharing it with anyone interested: At the end of this month, Sarah and I will complete our time of service with The Bridge. We are celebrating the great things God has done which he has graciously allowed us to be part of, including our continued partnership with the Coxes. As of right now, though, we have no clear direction of ‘next’ for us and are diligently seeking God. We know we love the people here and God has given us a deep, passionate love for the city but we are also aware that though we try to set our path, God determines our steps. That said, we would be honored if you would make our next step and our need (more…)

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