Aloha.
Just checking in with yall. Things are going great. We are having fun. The weather is awesome. I’ll be posting highlights later.
PS- Jacob and Izzy I miss you guys. You are the greatest!
Just noticed that Tony Morgan has listed The Quarry among the Top 100 Churches that he is watching. Pretty cool to be noticed. Plus it adds some postive pressure to keep things rolling. Thanks Tony!
A guy I know has a cool online magazine for men called Prodigal Son Magazine. This magazine could be a great resource for your men’s ministry leaders and pastors.
I was blessed to write a devotional for the last issue called Hit the Bullseye in Life. Check out both the magazine and the devotional.
This was the question that I posed to the people in my small group community last night. We made a list of some of the characteristics or traits that we thought all Christians should exemplify and then we talked through what was on the list. Some of the things noted were: graciousness, compassion, discipline, servanthood, forgiveness, and humility. But the most commonly mentioned characteristic of a Christian by far was love.
That simple exercised sparked a great conversation on the need for radical love among Christ followers. We should be known to the world by the way we love, without conditions or expectations. It means that we value all people as created in the image of God, and that we make ourselves attuned and present to the plight of those around us.
Finally, we read some Scripture that details how Christ following people should live. There are three or four major texts on this and there is so much involved in each one that we didn’t have adequate time to explore them all. But here are the texts and links for you to study on your own:
Romans 12:9-21
Colossians 3
Ephesians 4:17-32
I can only imagine what would happen if Christians read just one of these chapters everyday and passionately pursued the characteristics mentioned within the texts in their own lives.
I woke up this morning around 5 am with a major stomach ache. I had a few other things going on too but they don’t need to be mentioned here. Unbelievable. My stomach stills hurts but I think I’ll be ok by take-off time tomorrow. I hate being sick.
Stephanie and I leave on Thursday morning for a 5 day trip to Hawaii. We are pretty pumped about the whole deal (besides of course, the anxiety that comes with leaving your kids behind for that long).
I was even more excited until my good buddy boy Brandt sent me this link. Unreal. This is exactly why I am leaving Minnesota for Hawaii in the first place.
Check this out: Snowstorm Closes Hawaii Volcano To Tourists
But I guess I have this to fall back on: 10 Day Honolulu Weather Forcast
We’ll be there from the 26-31. Nice.
(hope my title doesn’t bother anyone, but come on, no way!)
KidStuf Sunday has come and gone at the Quarry and I would have to say that overall it was a success. Some others have blogged on it already but here is my take.
We had 240 people in the service and around 40 kids. Many parents and kids singing and dancing, and almost everyone was laughing and participating in some way. I have been getting positive feedback from many people; stories like “my kids are still singing the songs” and “that was really fun.” We had a few technical glitches, but everything went pretty smoothly for the most part.
I just want to say thanks to the many people who worked so hard to pull this thing together. Erin, Audra, Michael and Brenda (my singers), Stephanie, Brandt and Joel (my actors), Chad (my co-host) Chris and Jesse (my sound guys), Andrea (on video), J.P. (my set guy), Aaron and Josiah (my lighting guys), and all the student dancers. Way to go yall.
I am looking forward to February 26 when we do our next KidStuf.
The NHL just got a little less exciting. Today Mario Lemieux announced that he is no longer going to play for the Penguins. He has been the heart and soul of that team for so long.
I consider myself lucky to have seen him play as long as I did. To read more click here, Lemieux Announces Retirement. He will be greatly missed. Goodbye Super Mario.
I read this article this morning on The Leadership Blog and I figured I would share a couple things here. The topic of the article is homosexuality and the Christian response, and the article is written by Brian McLaren. Here are some highlights I want to share with you for your thought and consideration:
I hesitate in answering “the homosexual question” not because I’m a cowardly flip-flopper who wants to tickle ears, but because I am a pastor, and pastors have learned from Jesus that there is more to answering a question than being right or even honest: we must also be . . . pastoral. That means understanding the question beneath the question, the need or fear or hope or assumption that motivates the question.
We pastors want to frame our answer around that need; we want to fit in with the Holy Spirit’s work in that person’s life at that particular moment. To put it biblically, we want to be sure our answers are “seasoned with salt” and appropriate to “the need of the moment” (Col. 4; Eph. 4).
Frankly, many of us don’t know what we should think about homosexuality. We’ve heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence so that we can say “it seems good to the Holy Spirit and us.” That alienates us from both the liberals and conservatives who seem to know exactly what we should think.
Welcome to our world. Being “right” isn’t enough. We also need to be wise. And loving. And patient. Perhaps nothing short of that should “seem good to the Holy Spirit and us.”
Reading Brian McLaren forces me outside the little theological religious boxes I trap myself in. He forces me to think about faith from a bigger context than the one I grew up in and he challenges me to apply all I know about Jesus and not just the stuff that is easy or suits my own personal tastes.
Top Five songs:
1. James Blunt – You’re Beautiful
2. The Tragically Hip – Vancouver Divorce
3. Nelly – Heart of a Champion
4. Dave Matthews Band – Crash
5. Papa Roach – Scars
Top Five albums:
1. David Crowder Band – A Collision…
2. The Tragically Hip – In Violet Light
3. Shane and Shane – An Evening with Shane and Shane
4. Dave Matthews Band – Listener Supported
5. Switchfoot – The Beautiful Letdown
Top Five Podcasts:
1. Rob Bell – Mars Hill Bible Church
2. Erwin McManus – Mosaic
3. Brian Tome – Crossroads Community Church
4. Greg Boyd – Woodlands Hills Bible Church
5. Brenton Balvin – Quarry Community Church (come on, I had to add myself)
Crazy mix. But its working. What are you listening to?
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