The River Awaits

My plan is to blog while I'm on vacation. Why, you ask? Because I love to. And because I can... they've rigged my camping area with WiFi - no kidding.

Vacation! For fourteen out of the last sixteen years Shari and I have taken our vacation in the same area, the mountains of western North Carolina. We camp beside a quiet little lake in Swannanoa with the Blue Ridge mountains as a backdrop. From our campsite we watch the sun rise over the mountains to our right, and we watch it set over the mountains to our left.

In North Carolina, I am up each morning long before anyone else is. I absolutely love the quiet, cool mornings by the lake. Some of the best reading, praying and thinking time I've ever enjoyed have happened there.

During the days we swim and tube in the Rocky Broad River, head over to Cherokee where we picnic on at an island park and tube in the river. Once or twice each trip I put the fear of God in the area's trout population (the truth be told, they probably gather and watch me as if a comedy tour has come to town). We'll spend a day or two sliding down Sliding Rock... there's nothing like sliding 10 stories down the side of a mountain into hypothermia-cold water. No trip to the area is complete without spending a day in Hickory Nut Falls and visiting Bubba O'Leary's General Store and this little vegetable stand where the owner remembers us each year and treats us to some of his private recipe Cajun Boiled Peanuts. At night we spend our time by lantern light and wind down as a family, thankful to be alive and together.

For some people vacation is theme parks or cruises, entertainment and sight-seeing. For me, give me a cold stream, and inner tube and hide my wristwatch and alarm clock.

What's the perfect vacation for your thinking? Where do you find rest and refreshment? Click comments and tell us how you define vacation.

Technorati Tags: Vacation, Swannanoa, North Carolina, Bubba O'Leary's, Cajun Boiled Peanuts

For Our Saturday Night Readers

Tomorrow morning we will worship the Lord in song, testimony, prayer and in considering the Lord's word, as we come together as the Body of Christ.

Shari has planned a great music set for the morning including some favorites old and new. A couple of new arrangements of old hymns as well as a couple of new songs from Aaron Shust and David Crowder are on the list.

We will finally get to the text of 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 tomorrow, that I had planned on sharing last Sunday. If you have a chance to read through the text before the service, the whole of chapter 12 would be great preparation. Look to the blog in the coming week for my comments on the entire chapter.

I look forward to worshipping with you in the morning.

Technorati Tags: 1 Corinthians 12, Body of Christ, Aaron Shust, David Crowder

Interactive Sermon Comes To You

Scary thing for a small-time preacher to segue into the 21st century!

For those who would like to integrate Interactive Sermon into your My AOL, Google, or YAHOO portals or any news aggregator, we’ve added links to automate the process in the right-hand side bar.

For those wanting to take the conversations deeper and wider, I’ve added a tagging feature that will allow you to search Technorati, a blog search engine, for other blog articles and resources by keywords.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Atom Feed, RSS Feed, Blog, Aggregator, Portals, Technorati, Interactive Sermon

Study The Gospel of Mark With Us

Mark your calendars now for a study through the Gospel of Mark to begin the first week in September. Daryl Erickson and I are planning to facilitate a weekly small group study using materials called 'It's In The Book' produced by Community Bible Study. The materials offer some insightful questions for conversation over the text.

The Gospel of Mark offers a distinct look at Jesus as He loved and served. Foregoing the birth narrative, Mark's account jumps right into His ministry and His encounters with people and provides us with an engaging and fast-moving chronicle of our Savior.

As I type this the decision has not been made whether we will meet Wednesday or Thursday evenings, but it will likely be one of those two nights. Look for more info on this small group coming in the next couple of weeks and plan to join us for a great study.

A Friend Of Emergent?

Some of you are probably wondering why I am returning time and again to the debate over the Emerging Church. Please know that for me these kinds of discussions are wonderfully thought provoking, and for that reason I keep up with them. This is one of the more highly visible theological debates going on in Christendom today, especially in the area of 'ecclesiology' - the study of the church.

Today I ran across this blog posting at MMI. I find this guy's take on Emergent pretty well reasoned. I really like the part nearing the end of the article where the author quotes a recent Relevant Magazine article:

"For a generation raised on televangelists, pedophile priests and megachurches, Emergent [Village] seems like a pretty good deal. It represents a new kind of Christian, a phrase coined by Emergent's unofficial patriarch, Brian McLaren. To those who have been burned by the Church, this kind of Christian is more open-minded, intelligent, loving and sophisticated than the Christians who came before. But this is sacred territory, and it’s easy to see why this makes many Christians uncomfortable. To Emergent’s critics—and it has many—the group is off base at best and heretical at worst. Emergent has no formal doctrine, and, thus, the group is quite mixed. ‘We have Texas Baptists who don’t let women preach, and we have lesbian mainline pastors in New England,’ says Tony Jones, Emergent’s national coordinator. ‘Emergent is an amorphous collection of friends who’ve decided to live life together, regardless of our ecclesial affiliations, regardless of our theological commitments. We want to follow Christ in community with one another. In a very messy way, we’re trying to figure out what that means.’”

Hmmm.

If you're like me and you enjoy the thought provocation - and for me it really does leave me in more wonder and awe of our God - then give the article a read. If you're so inspired as to chime in, post a comment. Are you a 'friend of Emergent'?

technorati tags: emergent, emerging church

Take A Seat On The Throne

This morning's entertainment news lit up with reports out of London that Madonna has submitted a strange request in her contract rider for her upcoming tour - a new, hygenically sealed toilet seat for each night of her tour, that will be inspected and installed by her people, and then destroyed after it's use (no doubt to keep a flood of Madonna's toilet seats from being auctioned on eBay). You can see one of the articles here. What ever happened to rock stars asking for green M&M's? One more thought... I wonder: how much do you suppose she pays the guy who travels with her to inspect, install and then do away with her seats? How do you list it on a resume?

God Sighting?

Along the lines of strange God sightings (do you remember 'Sheet-metal Jesus'?)...

The article literally said that a few guys were sitting around drinking some beers and one of them noticed 'God' written on the side of their host's pet alligator. Sounds like a sitcom episode.

Well, there it is. 'God' on the side of the gator. Do you see it? Finally the confirmation University of Florida Gators fans need to verify God is a Gator fan... beat the 'Noles!

The TBO Blog Launch

Greetings Interactive Sermon Regulars!
My agent is still at work trying to nail down my multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with TBO. They keep insisting they won't pay me. I've kept asking myself W.W.T.O.D.? (What would T.O. do?). I've been emailing them daily, "I have a family to feed." I'm expecting them to give in any moment.

I have never been one to hold-out. Even without a contract, I reported in time for training camps to open, and my TBO blog, 'The Pigskin Preacher' was launched this week.

Those of you who are NFL fans (and those of you who want more evidence as to the depth of my football addiction), I urge you to visit my TBO site. The blog can be found here. Please make it a regular read and tell your friends about it.

That Sinister Emergent Church

You all know how I am drawn to all articles on the Emergent Church. Today I ran across a Catholic website that speaks of the Emergent Church drawing Catholic believers. It was the author's perspective on the Emergent Church that caught my attention. Check the article here. Let me know what you think.

More Than A Token Prayer

This afternoon I received a call from one of the 20-somethings in our congregation. He is facing some pretty important life decisions in the coming months and asked if we could get together. He wasn't looking for answers from me - he knew that I couldn't offer any advice he hadn't already heard. He called me to pray with him about it all.

This afternoon I saw this headline on a news page, "Lubbock Prays For Rain". You can see the story here. I wasn't surprised to see that the news story is actually in a category called 'Quirks'. So often people scoff at the prayers of the faithful. I ask, why wouldn't a community experiencing a sever draught pray about it? I'd bet God will show up. If I were in Lubbock I'd be carrying an umbrella.

So chime in. What is the oddest thing you've been compelled to pray about? Share an experience you've had where God has shown up powerfully in answer to prayer.

For Our Saturday Night Readers

As we prepare our hearts for worship tomorrow morning, recognize with me that when we assemble together we will be 'bringing the church into the building' located at 58 Merrimack Rd. So often we speak of the building itself as if it is 'the church', when it is quite clear in Scripture that the church is really us - a building of human souls He calls together - the Body of Christ.

Tomorrow we will be hearing a few testimonies from members of our team having just returned from Namibia. We will be singing a few of the songs that By Faith shared on their tour of the country. We will consider together the application of our being one body, made of many different and diverse parts, each interdependent on one another. If you'd like an advance read, consider all of 1 Corinthians 12 before the service in the morning.

After three Sundays away, I really (REALLY!) look forward to worshipping the Lord together with you in the morning.

Behind The Scenes

A few people have remarked that they would enjoy more 'behind the scenes' pictures of the life of a pastor. Scary! However this morning, as I sit in a hotel in SC (bringing my girls back to NH from their stay in FL), I have the perfect behind the scenes experience to share with you - sermon searching.

For almost 10 years now, I have planned my preaching calendar well in advance. Usually in October and November I will take a week or two and dedicate them to prayerfully outlining a list of messages for the coming year. What this means is that I very rarely have a week approach that I do not know in advance what I will share. Ah, but, there are a few rare exceptions.

This weekend, for instance, I simply wrote 'post Namibia trip service' in the outline. My mind has been spinning all week - What should I preach? Not so much in the sense of having nothing in mind, but more in the sense of having too much in mind - How do I decide which text/message to use? Because I usually follow a predetermined outline, approaching Sundays like this makes me very nervous. So what am I doing to decide?

I am praying... for you. I find that as I pray through the congregation I gain a bit of clarity on where your life and mine intersect, or where our experiences are similar - and this leads me to think about what I am really needing to consider of our God. Then I am reading... His word. I find myself running back to texts that I have considered the last couple of weeks in my devotions, or in conversations with others - asking myself 'What has God been showing me?' Then finally I am observing... life around me. I am looking for those things ordinary and extraordinary that seem to be glimpses of God's glory. All of this, I trust, will lead me to have something ready to say on Sunday morning. Lastly, I pray again... this time for God - to show up and do as He promises He will - make His word effectual as it is shared. In reality, it matters not what I say. If He doesn't speak, we're all just in for 25 minutes of hot air.

So, will you join me in praying?

Back To Blogging!

As good as it is to get away, it’s twice as good to be home again! For me, that means getting back to blogging. Thanks for your patience while I was away.

Just about everyone knows that I process things over time. Should you have missed that fact, consider that I still have not completed my written summary of the 2005 trip to Namibia… though I am getting closer to finishing it! No doubt, I will be processing the 2006 Namibia experience for quite some time. As I look back over the last three weeks, this trip is growing on me. I’ll be honest – there were times on this trip when I was really discouraged. There were even moments when I looked around and determined in my mind “I won’t be doing this again.” I suppose this is why it is not good to make decisions too quickly. My perspective is slowly changing. I hope to put some of the lessons learned on this trip into words here in the coming weeks and months.

Here’s one for starters. God’s people come in all shapes and sizes – and He loves us all! Now you’re likely asking, ‘so where’s the big revelation in that lesson?’

Let me tell you about a young lady named Justine. She met my wife Shari when my team arrived in Arandis and they became fast friends. Shari learned that Justine was a single mom of a 3 year old boy named Armando, but that she had quit bringing him out in public because of the cruel things others would say to them. Armando is a very big 3 year old. He’s easily taller than most 8 or 9 year olds and he is very heavy. Justine said that people called him fat and would gossip about her as an unfit mother. Armando’s size is the result of a medical issue, not neglectful parenting. While our team was in Arandis, Justine spent nearly every moment with us – and she began bringing Armando along. Our team members immediately fell in love with Armando and his playful disposition. My favorite memory is when I was trying to record By Faith when I looked over to notice Armando was ‘drumming’ on my microphones to the beat. When our eyes met Armando broke into an ear to ear smile. It made for a totally useless recording – but we all had occasion to laugh. Later in the evening I knelt down to put all the recording equipment away and Armando came to me and embraced me, placing his cheek to my lips for a kiss.

It wasn’t just our team that loved on Armando. Justine watched as many in her church family loved Armando. She’s not alone on this journey. It just seems as if God used our team’s visit to help her come to realize this truth.

The name Armando means literally ‘strong man’. I cannot wait to see what God makes of this young life.

Another Journal Entry From Namibia

Greetings friends! I'm sort of on blog-sabbatical here while I'm in Namibia with our 2006 G.O. Team. We're posting many entries daily there, so come along with us at http://www.namibia2006.blogspot.com and leave us lots of comments! I posted this entry there today and thought I'd copy it here too.

Wednesday… Our team has been enjoying our time in Rehoboth – the third setting into which we’ve had to adjust. As with the previous two experiences (Okahandja and Arandis) ministry here is unique. We’ve spent time in two of the local High Schools, leading classroom discussions with students in grades 8 thru 12. In the group that I was a part of (Me, Shari and Hannah) we would ask the students in each period what they wanted to talk about with us. In each of the eight periods the number one answer was ‘sex’. It became very obvious from the youngest to the oldest students there, sexual activity was the norm. We asked each class to estimate how many out of 10 students in their school were sexually active, and the standard answer was 7 or 8. There were some pretty poignant moments. You’ve read about Amanda sharing a bit of her testimony with the students. Hannah also shared, very openly and honestly, a 10th grade/16 year old/American girl’s perspective. Melissa and Claudia – you have much to be proud of with your girls! Many students were able to relate. I continued to rerun my “boys put away your toys” mantra that I developed quite accidentally last year. In each setting it received a howl from the students, but then a more serious nod of agreement from some of the girls.

This afternoon Amanda and I were invited to do a radio interview on LIFE FM here in Rehoboth to promote the upcoming By Faith concert on Saturday. The DJ named Byron did a marvelous job of making us feel at home and conducting the interview. The rest of our team sat in the Combee in front of the studio listening to us live on the radio. Byron wanted to play a cut or two of By Faith’s music. Since they haven’t recorded anything yet, we offered a couple of cuts from the Namibia 2005 disc with many of the current By Faith line-up included. Aside from being referred to as ‘Mandi’ the whole interview, Amanda was a radio pro, and I think we did a pretty good job of representing the band. Listen to the interview by clicking here.

Speaking of the band, as I type this I’ve received word that they arrived safely in Katima (the very end of the dangerous Caprivi Strip) where they are playing tonight. Thanks for your continued prayers for them on this long and lonely leg of their tour. Tomorrow they will begin the 1000 km drive back to meet the rest of the team by either Thursday night or Friday.

We continue to hear from folks who were blessed by our 2005 dance team. I’m so glad that Don, Jackie and Shari, as dance parents, are getting to see and hear all of this first hand. In each location we’ve been people have approached us remembering the ministry the dancers brought to their communities, and the fruit of that trip continues to grow. In one community, a dance troupe was born after the girls in the community were inspired by our 2005 team. In another community, a church began using dance as a regular part of their outreach into the community. There were even racial barriers that were crumbled in one community and people here attribute much of it to that dance team’s visit. It is really as if those performances that seemed so insignificant to us at the time, were Divine appointments in many ways. So, any of you 2005ers looking in on this year’s blog – know that your dancing continues to make a difference!

I’m aware of a critical juncture on the immediate horizon for my team (and all the teams really). Tonight is our last ‘ministry’ of this trip. Tomorrow morning as we begin the journey to Etosha we begin our debrief and re-entry process. So, good news for our loved ones at home – we begin our journey home tomorrow. The bad news for our team is that this transition is always hard. I expect the usual – people feeling guilty that we’re being more tourists now than missionaries, or that we should use these last couple of days in-country in more ‘productive’ ways. What we all need to realize is how very important this time of re-entry prep really is. So, please, will you pray for us these next couple of days?

Greetings to my girls! Just a few more days and we’ll be home. I love you all and I’m very proud of the way you’re handling yourselves while we’re away. See you soon.

To the CCA family – As wonderful as it is to worship with believers in a foreign culture, I really miss worship together with my church family. I look forward to being together again soon.

We’ll most likely be unable to post anything to the blog from Etosha. So, expect a couple of days of ‘quiet’ from us. Look for a barrage of postings on Saturday when we come back to civilization. Until then… pray for the Elephants – Another CCA team is on the way to Etosha!
“Flamingos? I want to see something eat a Flamingo!”

A Journal Entry From Namibia

Greetings from Namibia folks! I post this entry from my journal here. You can follow our trip in great detail (pictures, video, etc) on the GO Team 2006 Blog at http://namibia2006.blogspot.com/

Tuesday Morning (4/July)

Happy 4th of July! On a day when we celebrate our independence as Americans, our team is celebrating some independence – from the routines and schedules that we have become so accustomed to at home. We’re learning that 9AM can mean anything from 9AM to ‘somewhere before noon’. We’re learning that a driving tour of the area can turn into a mountain hike/prayer time. We’ve added “Hurry Up and Wait” to our regular team vernacular alongside “Sleep When You Get Home”… and we’re becoming accustomed to life at this pace.

Most of our Monday had an orientation feel to it. Dieter shared much with us on the history of Namibia and particularly the town of Okahandja (pronounced Ok-uh-han-ya). It was interesting, but even more so because he shared this history lesson with us as we were atop a hill overlooking the whole town.

My team got our first ‘action’ flying as the prayer covering team for By Faith’s first concert in Khomasdahl. The evening was a youth service centered around the theme of ‘family’. The challenge for the band was that they learned this theme AND that they were expected to carry the whole service – music AND message. My prayer team knew that prayer would be essential.

Reminiscent of the first performance of the 2005 trip, we were challenged by the generator powering the sound equipment. First we ran out of gas before the concert was to begin. Dieter’s son Richard and I ran about trying to find anything that could be filled with Petrol. A coke bottle came to the rescue. (A personal note to all Pepsi drinkers – note: it was a Coke bottle, not a Pepsi bottle that rescued us!)

The generator started, the band struck their first note. Dieter tapped me on the back and said, “There is something wrong with the generator”. The next thing I know Dieter and I were praying over the generator. It steadied. Each time it sputtered, we prayed all the more. At one point it shut down – the band was in the middle of “Amazing Grace”. Dieter shouted prayers and I pulled the rip cord like a madman and within just a few seconds the generator was humming along again – the band having filled the instrumental void as if it was planned. No doubt our prayer team was holding us up, as we held the generator up, as the generator held the band’s instruments up – and the next thing we knew the generator finished the night without another sputter.

Dave Sumner shared his testimony with the young people who gathered. As the band finished sharing the song “How Great Is Our God” a number of the people there stood and shared testimonies of where they had seen God’s greatness. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. When Pastor DeClerq stood to share you could have heard a pin drop. He looked at Dave and said “Dave, your testimony and mine are very similar”. He concluded, “this is something we can all relate to”.

As we sat around the fire last night it was evident that my team thoroughly enjoyed the role of prayer covering. As I type this, a couple of them volunteered to accompany the band as prayer covering this morning, where they had to roll at 6AM (and this really meant 6AM) so that the music would start at the school assembly precisely at 7AM.

God is showing up in many of the conversations around the fire, and many of our teammates quiet walks around Dieter and Joan’s property. As you all know, this is chief among the answers to my prayers. Thank You Lord!