God at Work

See below post from Sunday, Oct. 19.

Update: I can't give you numbers, but God is already doing some amazing stuff. The stories we've heard, the people who have made commitments and just mailed them in early, are already just getting me so excited. I'm blown away already. This Sunday we obviously aren't going to be giving numbers, but it is going to be a great time of wrapping up this series, handing in our pledge cards, and celebrating our commitment together to the future of Grace Fellowship. Make plans to be there, peeps. Cancel or postpone your Sunday plans if they don't include church. God wants you to worship HIM first.

Blogging takes so much Energy

I think it's because I have so much swimming around in my head these days, and messing me up, that if I start writing about it, It'll be so long that no one will read it. Here's why: currently watching How to Be Rich by Andy Stanley and reading Crazy Love by Chan, the chapters about how salt that loses it's saltiness (matt 6) is not even worth putting on a manure pile, and how Jesus wants to vomit when he sees lukewarm Christians. This is why I didn't get much sleep last night.

A Question for You

Got this idea from another blogger and turned out some incredible results in comments:

When's the last time you did something dangerous?

Piper on Job

It seems this week already that I'm hearing a few stories of people struggling, mostly with their finances and provision in our tough economic times, but also with health. Check out just a tiny bit of what John Piper has said about the book of Job and suffering.

God-sized Sunday

Every Sunday night I've started to learn to wait for a twitter from Perry Noble that sounds just like this one from tonight: "Amazing day at NewSpring Church...trying to wrap my mind around all that happened today!" I love that the staff at Newspring is always looking to what God has for them next.

We're in the middle of some big stuff at Grace too. Today we handed out pledge cards, as Mike boldly spoke about being rich toward God and being willing to make sacrifices. Over the next two weeks, would you pray and expect with us that two weeks from now, we won't be able to wrap our minds around all that God is doing and will do through our church?

Check Out Thirdmill.org

Catching up with one of my professors at RTS, through Facebook, reminded me to check out the ministry he founded a number of years ago, that has continued to grow and expand around the world in its impact. Thirdmill has a very specific mission statement, and I love it: "Third Millennium Ministries' mission is to equip church leaders in their own lands by creating a multimedia seminary curriculum in five major languages in fifteen years."

Why is this such a beneficial and important ministry? Because those seeking to shepherd the flock of Jesus need to be careful to know God's Word. Seminary exists as one avenue for those seeking ministry to be guided and educated in their understanding of God's Word. I could get into a long sidetrack about the discussion between those who insist seminary isn't necessary for effective ministry because most seminaries are no longer relevant, and those who believe Seminary is vital because without it there's greater danger of error being taught, but I won't. My Seminary education was very valuable for me, but there's so much I didn't know, and am still learning now that I'm actually IN full time ministry. For example, I learned a lot about preaching and got some pretty good practice at it under teachers like Steve Brown, but probably the most valuable tool for me to hone my skills in my specific setting at Grace has been Andy Stanley's book Communicating for a Change.

Anyway, Thirdmill is bringing what I believe to be solid, Biblical teaching into a format that is probably the most accessible I've ever heard of. One could easily get a Seminary education through Thirdmill for a tiny fraction of what it cost me. And since, as I'm learning this month that I'm one of the richest people in the world simply because I own a house, I think it's important to have quality teaching available to those across the world who can't afford to come and go to Seminary for 3-4 years. It's clear that effective foreign mission work seeks to resource and support those who already believe within their respective communities. Thirdmill is a great place for Christians to begin to know the Word of God and what it says, to have a faith that is informed. For everyone, there are a ton of free resources online...check it out!

You'll Thank Me Later...

This is one of the most crazy, ridiculous things I've ever seen on youtube, and there is some wacky stuff on Youtube. The English lyrics add another layer to the whole thing. Turn it up!





GolimAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!

Storms

This morning we took our two-month-old Aidan to the pediatrician for his checkup and first round of vaccinations. He, of course, screamed his head off while I held his arms and the nurse stuck him no less than five times. It's cool to see how fast they push that fluid! We felt like he actually handled it quite well, as soon as the last shot was over I picked him up and handed him to Mommy to hold him close, and within less than the minute he was done crying and relatively content to be held safely in her arms. Five minutes later he was asleep in the car seat.

Tonight, I fed and bathed Aidan and then held him as he fell asleep in my arms, all this through a rather loud and bright-flashing thunderstorm. The loud thundercracks didn't even phase him! In his sweet innocence, he doesn't know yet to be afraid of storms. In the same way, he never worries about me dropping him because he's never been dropped--there is no precedent for fear.

For years growing up I was very afraid of loud noise. Every thunderstorm, especially the ones at night, which seemed to be more common in Michigan, would have me desperate to hole up and cover my ears. Anytime my Dad started a power tool I would get as far away as I could. Was I afraid of loud noise from birth? What happened that made me so afraid? Will Aidan be afraid of loud noise? Does he have fears now, or is fear developed through circumstance?

All Aidan knows now is trust. Trust in the loving and gentle arms of us, his parents. We love him deeply and want to protect him, but some day, something is going to happen that will strike fear in him. Will he run to us in his fear, come to his loving father for comfort and shelter from the storm? At that age, he hasn't much choice...nothing else will satisfy him but to know the comfort of his father and mother.

Would that I could become like him in my relationship with God.



P.S. Aidan is now 12lbs, 8 oz and 24 inches long. BIG BOY!!!

Food for Thought from Catalyst 1

For now I've decided to go ahead and get at least some Catalyst content from afar via Catalystbackstage.com (thank you, Anne Jackson). Here's some content to get you thinking, notes someone else took from a session with Andy Crouch.

We use the word impact as a good thing -but culture thinks "impact" is something to be defended....cultures are designed to provide a way to survive impacts that nature throws our way. Culture naturally wards of impact. Think tornadoes or meteors.

So why do we want to impact our culture?

Did Jesus IMPACT?

If you look at the most culturally significant event in humanity - Jesus' resurrection - nothing really changed. Now hold on...there was an earthquake and some stuff but it is nothing really recorded in history.

Life continued. And a small group of believers began meeting.

300 years later, half of the Roman Empire is Christian (mainly because of politics).

Jesus doesn't describe "making an impact" in a big, flashy way. He talks about the kingdom of God like a mustard seed - smallest of all. But someone plants it and it grows into a tree. Birds nest in its branches.

That's not a metaphor of impact, it's a metaphor of cultivation.

Best changes take time. The most influential thing we will do in culture we will never see. But those things will bring durable, lasting change...

Random Updates Edition ?????

I'm realizing tonight I have a lot of thoughts that I was twittering and instead of doing what some others do and twitter every five minutes, I thought I'd stop doing that and write it here.

I am NOT watching the debate, we decided not to break TV fast for it. I'm guessing it's just more attacks on each other instead of vision-casting anyway. Sorry that sounded rather bleak and critical, but that's generally the attitude I've had since the primaries. I feel the same way about whoever wins the presidency as I do about whether our markets continue to crash or not: whatever happens, I need to trust God.

I go back and forth between pouting and being sad that I'm not at Catalyst, and feeling guilty for pouting, or being completely OK with it since life is crazy enough anyway and trying to leave for three days would have been tough. Depending on how I feel from time to time over the next three days, I may waver between trying to check in on happenings through twitter/ustream, and just turning everything off so I can focus on my work here. Conferences are always fun, exciting, inspiring, etc., but I have three conferences worth of material that I'm still trying to apply anyway. As a staff we decided to be focused on Generous Life and all that is going on here at Grace rather than pull away in the middle of it for three days out of town and all the logistics that that entails.

Week one of our Generous Life small group was tonight. A good, though slightly small, group. Several of our peeps decided not to show, but we had a great time watching Andy Stanley teaching on the fact that based on my wife and I's income, we're in the top 1% income earners in the world. I felt the challenge to realize I'm incredibly blessed and to move from guilt to gratefulness about it, and to realize I need to be a good steward. There was so much more than that in it, but it's hard to put into words at the moment.

On a much different note, I found myself with an old bluegrass tune "Cluck Old Hen" in my head today. It's just one of many youtube videos that come up if you do a search for Sierra Hull. I don't know how old she is now, but in the video of Cluck Old Hen she's a sixth-grader and look at how she can play! In some of the other vids she plays an acoustic guitar instead of a mandolin, and her fingers move just as fast. Something happens in my heart, my jaw drops, and all I can say is "that's ridiculous" on some of these videos. You can tell she and her fellow musicians love what they do, have been doing it since they could walk, and strive to be good at it, because it inspires them, it's what makes them come alive. I find these fast ditties to be the kind of music that gets my heart pumping. I also love how most of the videos are home videos where these musicians gather in their homes to have hoedowns (or hootenannies).

Time to feed the little one. I hope to edit down a rather large amount of footage I have (family, get ready for a surprise in your mailbox) and post more video of him with all his cute noises and faces. It's fun being his dad. Tomorrow is the dreaded two-month appointment with all the shots. Hopefully that goes OK.

A Study in Contrasts

Tonight an awesome couple from Grace, people I really admire and am so honored to call friends, took it upon themselves to make a wonderful (homemade chicken pot pie!) dinner for us and bring it over along with a very nice present for Aidan. It was just one of those moments we've experienced a lot lately, of people exemplifying pure, simple love by doing something nice for us as we settle into parenthood.

As they were driving down our street looking for our house, they were evidently being tailed by someone on a mission. All in a matter of 2 seconds, I saw Kathy, who had her blinker on and attempted to turn into my driveway, when all of the sudden a four-door F150 tried to pass her--between their car and my driveway. He was pulling a boat too. Luckily for everyone, he slammed on his brakes and avoided an accident. As is typical in suburban Orlando, he started cussing and swearing, oblivious to his own oversight--and stupidity, I might add--as he floored it and roared off down our street.

I watched all of this with our innocent two-month old in my arms (again the driver was oblivious that his anger was being witnessed by Aidan), feeling quite helpless to do anything but shake my head at how ridiculous this guy was. He was totally consumed with himself, his truck, his boat, and whatever was most convenient for him. So to be behind a couple going slow as they tried to find our house and complete a simple act of love, did not sit well with him. I learned a few lessons, one of which was a reminder to not get so self-consumed and selfish that not only will I not love others, but I fail to express even common courtesy and respect for others who may just be out to share the love of Jesus with the world.

An Old Post I've been Hiding

In cleaning and organizing my documents folder on my computer, I came across this story that I put together back in FEBRUARY of this year. I didn't post it because it wasn't the right time. Many things happened and I forgot about it, then as providence would have it, I came across it. Perhaps soon I'll pick up where the story leaves off and give you "the rest of the story."

In early 2007 we found out we were pregnant for the first time. It was surprising and unexpected and unplanned. At our first sonogram appointment we found there was a blighted ovum. We were sad and disappointed, but picked up the pieces and moved on.

In the fall of 2007, the same thing happened again.

During the fall, Anne developed a lumpy, odd area of tissue on her left tricep. The first dermatologist said it was nothing to worry about and didn’t do anything. She went to get a second opinion, which led to her second dermatologist performing a biopsy of the tissue. It came back from the lab testing positive for lymphoma.

She ended up having a CT scan on December 24, of all days. CT scan in the morning, lead two worship services in the evening. A week later, on new years eve, she noticed that she hadn’t been feeling well for a couple days, so just out of curiosity, she took a pregnancy test…and found she was pregnant! It was so unexpected as we had not been trying at all, in fact, we had intended not to get pregnant.

Even before being diagnosed with lymphoma she had set an appointment with a fertility clinic, with the plan of not being pregnant, so they could work with us to determine the causes of the two failed pregnancies. It was at that clinic that we first saw our little one. Already 8 weeks along at that point, there he/she was with a strong heart rate of 171! It was a beautiful, awesome, God-filled moment, even with the three other people in the room with us.

In the last month or so, she’s seen so many doctors, constantly being referred out to people. The fertility doctor, an oncologist, her OB/GYN, an endocrinologist, another CT scan specifically of her thyroid, and most recently the high-risk pregnancy specialist clinic at Winnie Palmer Hospital. I accompanied her at the most recent appointment where we received a LONG lecture from a genetic counselor. He talked for probably an hour and a half and I still don’t know that I understand the bottom line of what he said. But after enduring and humoring him, we got to see another ultrasound of the jumping bean, doing well and appearing healthy as can be. And we even got to HEAR the heartbeat this time! It was an overwhelming and emotional experience. We’re both extremely grateful and thankful to God.

Ever since we first heard the lymphoma diagnosis we have had some people praying for us. We enlisted more after we found out we were pregnant and knew that we were entering into a journey of faith and a time of praying for the health of our baby. I truly believe God answers prayer. We practiced nothing different in this pregnancy as compared to the first two, yet this one has succeeded and our first child is growing inside Anne. The only difference this time is intentional prayer to God.

Note for clarification: There has been no reason or indication for pursuing the Lymphoma diagnosis any further. Whatever it was, is gone. And looking at Aidan, he's totally worth the waiting we went through. More to come, whether here or on my wife's blog.