We Put God First

A few weeks ago we started a new sermon series at Coastline. For seven week we are talking about core values. The first one I spoke on was "We Put God First."

One day Jesus taught in the Temple Courts of Jerusalem. He was asked a question that was meant to test Him

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34-40. 

As calmly as possible Jesus a quoted God’s word to the question asker. He knew the religious leaders were testing Him with the question. He was most likely thinking Jesus would choose one of the ten commandments for His answer. His answer is what is so marvelous. Jesus essentially takes the entire Law of Moses, the pinnacle for the Jewish people, and summarized it for His answer.

For our core value of putting God first, we’re going to focus on what Jesus said about loving God. His answer about loving others we’re going to save for another day. Jesus quoted the Old Testament for His answer on loving God (see Deuteronomy 6:5). God’s people wandered in the desert for forty years. They had disobeyed God and their hearts were hard. As the next generation got ready to enter the Promised Land, Moses need to adequately prepare them in the ways of God. So Moses instructed them to love God with all their: heart, soul and strength. Jesus told the religious leaders to love with with all their: heart soul and mind.

Both of these men brought about a (w)holistic approach of loving God. They longed for people to put God first in their love, thoughts and actions. Jesus knew if that if you only loved God with your heart, your mind would remain unchanged. If you only loved God with your mind then your heart would be far from the Lord and distant. A complete transformation needed to happen for those who claimed to love God and it would show in all areas of their life. That is what Jesus was saying in His answer to the religious leaders who tried to test Him.

When I was in seminary I had a prof who helped me see how my entire life was connected. Let me show you this quick graphic. All of the different areas of our life impact each other. When we are having a hard time emotionally it impacts our spiritual life that that impacts our thinking. Our thinking impacts our decision making process through our spiritual life. Our choices impact our spiritual growth and so on. Do you see how all of these areas are connected?

Jesus instructed us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, because He knew the interconnectedness of our soul. Now did you notice that neither Moses or Jesus said this was a buffet of choices? It was never; “Here are three options, you choose how you want to love God and put Him first in your life.” It was always to love God with everything we have been given. Now you might be wondering why you should love God. You might be trying to decide if God is worthy of your love. You might be thinking about what will change in your life if you love God.

The Bible tells us that God created us. It was in the very beginning of time. God created the earth, air, light, plants and animals. But God saved the greatest of His creation for the very end; mankind. Some people don’t believe that but stick with me. God is worthy to be loved because He created us. You are God’s greatest creation. If you are looking for purpose in life, look to God. You can fully love God because He is your creator.

Live your life as God’s greatest creation. Love God because He created you, loves and longs to be in a relationship with you. Too often we miss this. We think that all we’ve done in the past disqualifies us for God’s love and that is far from the truth. The best way to figure out how God loves you and how to love Him is to read the Bible. You can start reading the Bible right now. You can use an app, the paper version or find a great reading plan online. If you’ve never read the Bible start reading the Gospel of Mark. It’s a short account and action oriented. If you’ve been reading for a while, try reading the entire New Testament in the next four months. Be creative and make reading the Bible a habit. I think it will help you see how much God loves you and help you understand the need to put God first.

We are a church that will be known for putting God first. Our church is committed to the God of the Bible. He is our ultimate authority. He is the object of our worship. We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and live our lives in obedience to its truth. Our response is to leave a life of sin and selfishness and follow Jesus. To put God first means that nothing else is the top priority.

The most important thing at Coastline is God; we put God first here.

I have a dream of a church where all the people put God first in their lives and encourage others to do the same. I have a dream of a church that is more concerned with the will of God than a personal agenda. I have a dream of a church that is so focused on God that nothing more will satisfy. I have a dream of a dream of a church that starts a movement of Godly people. I have a dream of a church where men, women, teens and children put God first.

Imagine a people seeking God more than a successful career. A church where students care more about God than sports or test scores. A church where parents pray with their children. A church where grandparents give sacrificially for their kids to know Jesus. A church where people in the prime of their life model putting God first until they stand in His presence. That is the kind of church I want to be a part of. A church that is committed to putting God first.

37 THOUGHTS FROM MY 37TH YEAR

This year I turned 37 years old. I had a great birthday with my family and really enjoyed all we did. As I thought about my birthday this year I wanted to share 37 thoughts from being 37 years old.

1. Skydiving is awesome

2. Family is extremely important

3. Flipping a car is scary

4. Seminary was the best discipleship process I ever went through

5. Getting married is the second best thing I ever did

6. Growing up in a small town was rad

7. One time I pet a rhino on my birthday, I'll never forget that

8. Traveling the world has opened my eyes

9. The distinguishing factor in Christianity is the grace that is found in Jesus Christ

10. Enter into messy situations. It may not be comfortable but it will be worth it

11. Life is short, I can't believe I'm 37 already

12. I've failed a ton in life but I keep trying; don't quit! 

13. I'm thankful I get to share the love of Jesus with others

14. Take lots of pictures! You can always delete some later

15. There's something special about holding hands with my children

16. Fire is powerful, especially when it's a fire in your heart for God

17. Don't listen to everything everybody says, find some people you trust and listen to them

18. Taking a risk is worth it

19. Snowboarding always has been exhilarating to me. I'm so stoked to get a snowboard with my daughters now

20. One of the most enjoyable things is seeing my wife smile

21. I wish I was better at time management

22. Invest in someone younger than you. I'm so thankful for all the people who have invested in me

23. I love going cliff jumping

24. I'm thankful that when I was young my dad encouraged me to use "please" and "thank you"

25. A little encouragement goes along way

26. Life change happens best in relationship

27. Reading the Bible on a daily basis helps to center my life 

28. People don't care what you know until they know that you care

29. Bungee jumping is scarier than skydiving

30. Charity and I try to be intentional to have a date every week

31. The first time I did a backflip on a snowboard I was amped 

32. Serving others brings joy to my life 

33. If you own a truck people are going to ask you to help them move

34. I wish I could say the taking my daughters to donuts every Saturday started as a strategic move, didn't but I'm so thankful we have it

35. I love taking my mom out for dinner when she's in town

36. Make sure to tell people you love them and how important they are in your life

37. Life is done best and community

Young adults and Spiritual Growth

A few months ago in our Young Adult ministry we were preaching through the book of Colossians. During one of my sermons, I can't tell you which one, I made a comment about spiritual growth. It was actually more than just a comment. It was something to the effect that most of the young adults in the room had a five year plan in their career or personal goals but no plan to grow spiritually. It was one of those times in preaching when you see you struck a nerve. Faces looked down. Wheels began to spin in people's minds and I could see the Spirit working in lives. It was awesome!

It got better! After the night was over two different people came up to me and asked if I would teach them how to create a plan for spiritual growth. My first thought was, "This will wear off, they will forget." I said I would look at my calendar and get back to them. Well it didn't wear off, it actually gained momentum.

My team helped out and we put a date on the calendar. I thought we'd have maybe 5-8 people show up. We created a Facebook Event for the night and to help it be a success we decided to make it a BBQ at my home (if you feed them, they will come). As the date approached I kept hearing an increased interest. The number was growing and it was super encouraging!

Sunday night came around and we had over 20 young people show up at my house looking for ways to grow spiritually. I was able to pull out a bunch of my old seminary papers, shorten them, tweak them and share what I've learned in the last six to seven years since I began making spiritual formations a huge part of my life. We had a wonderful conversation as we talked about being healthy adults, spiritually growing people and connected in community.

I shared several books that impacted my life. It was great seeing the conversation as others talked about their spiritual life. The questions were fun as you could see people who were longing to grow but felt stuck in life. It was great to talk about the whole things not becoming legalistic but flowing out of a healthy relationship.

It leaves the question, how are you growing spiritually? What is your plan to have a healthy walk with Christ and not jut a five year plan for your employment?

We left the night with a decision to meet back up in three months and talk more. I encouraged the group to come up with their own personal plan. I shared some spiritual growth plans from other people and shared my own. It was good for me to see how badly mine needs to be edited. Once it's done I'll share it on here and talk more about how you can create a plan to grow.

San Quentin Preaching Class

On February 14, 2000 I walked out of Vista Detention Facility in San Diego County; I actually ran once I made it to the parking lot

On Friday October 25 2013 I willingly walked into San Quentin State Prison

It was an interesting feeling to willfully walk into a prison.  After making the 45 minute drive I was escorted in by Dr. Chris Foreman who teaches a preaching class to nine inmates through Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Upon entering San Quentin we stood for a few minutes to allow me to adjust and get a bearing on what's around me; to realize I am in a prison.  We headed for the chapel where we greeted a few men; one man was anticipating my visit and greeted me by name.

While the preaching class started I had an opportunity to have a conversation with a man who less than five minutes into our conversation told me he has been in prison longer than I've been alive; it was a sobering thought to process.  I had a wonderful conversation with this man and learned quickly he has been a follower of Christ for the last 30 years.  I was impressed at the hope this man has in Christ; the joy he has deep in his heart.  This man once lived his life one way, met a man named Jesus Christ in one of the darkest places in America and now is a changed man (Ephesians 4:22-24).  At the conclusion of our conversation he asked how he could pray for me: I was humbled.

During the preaching class I had an opportunity to interject some of my thoughts/experiences from preaching over the last decade.  The class lasts for three hours and after the break it was my turn to preach.  I preached a 15 minute message and afterward the inmates critiqued my message; it was rough getting critiqued but I think I handled it well.  They picked apart my entire message: introduction, text, Biblical application, transitions, big idea, exegesis of the text, tone of voice, influx, cadence, closer and much more.  After it was all said and done I passed!  I got a 96.5 on my message.

Our three hours were complete and it was time to head out.  After passing through the entry way; with two doors to keep you in.  As we left I casually asked the guard how many visitors come in daily, his answer was "about 100".  As I jumped in my truck the first thing I did was to call my wife to let her know I was safe.  It was a humbling experience to have donuts in the morning with my girls, preaching in San Quentin and head home.  This trip was great for me to help some guys become better preachers but a humbling experience I needed.

Three things I'm taking away from this experience:
1. I am a blessed man
2. I was encouraged by the incarcerated church
3. Going to prison is a humbling experience

Eight Months Later

Today marks 8 months since I started at CPC (I actually meant to blog about how life has been here after the six month mark but obviously that didn't happen).

I figured I would break this down and share one big highlight related to: ministry, family and personal that have really stuck out to me since moving.

The Healthiest Church I've Ever Seen
I share this line because this sentence is something I shared with others or have thought about probably every day since we've been here.  I am constantly impressed at the level of health that I see at CPC.  We have a healthy staff.  We have a healthy body.  We have healthy Elders.  We have people that are emotionally healthy, spiritually healthy and get the need to invest into younger leaders.  We work hard and have lots of fun together!

Please don't misread my comment on health to mean that CPC is perfect; we know that we are not perfect.  But from someone who has seen A LOT of ministry I can confidently say that CPC is the healthiest church I've ever seen.  I'm not saying we are the best or the flashiest or the smartest or most creative but we are healthy and I needed a healthy church in this phase in my life.

We love the Peninsula
It's almost like God knew that we just needed to be in this area.  It has been such a blessing being back in California.  Its been a blessing being so close to great friends.  We have been exploring all over the Peninsula and Northern CA.  We have taken trips to Santa Cruz, the City, Half Moon Bay and Fishing in the mountains.  Living on the Peninsula has proven to be a great place for us to raise our family.  Charity has made some new friends here and reconnected with old friends.  Our kids have made some friends they love playing with.

We love that we can walk to the store.  We love that we can take family bike rides to 7-11 or the park.  We love that we have great friends near to us that we can visit and spend time with.  We love that God has placed us in such an amazing area to do life.  I think much of this is due to my completion of seminary but I also think a huge component is due to our location.

I feel like a new leader
Being around the team of people I work with has given me an increased hope in the local church.  I start with that line because I am learning more of what it means to be a person and a pastor up here.  I have people around me that are constantly encouraging me to lead.  I feel like I am getting to use my gifts and talents in new ways to help push back darkness in our world.

Not only has ministry gone well for me but personally I have been able to do some things I enjoy.  Being that Tahoe is about 3.5 hours I've taken a few trips up there to ride (and hit some powder days).  I've been able to see life-long friends up in Tahoe that refresh my soul to see.  I've been able to get a few fishing days in and actually landed some big ones!  I'm learning what life is like post seminary and learning how to be a father which has been a wild journey for me!

If I had to sum up our time here in one word it would be:
God knew that we needed to be here and we are absolutely loving it!  

Winning Customers Back

Two weeks ago I flew to Chicago.  I have to admit that when I first found out I was flying on United Airlines I was pretty bummed.  In reality it made the most sense to fly United but in the past I haven't had the best experience with United.

Let me share with you.  When I would fly from Vegas to Redding for seminary I can't think of a time that my connecting flight in San Francisco wasn't delayed.  The last time I flew United my flight was supposed to leave at 8:45pm but because it was so delayed it didn't leave until 12:45am.  That meant I didn't get to Redding until 2am, my hotel room at 2:30am and had class at 8am (thats a rough night in my book).

Now that you know my experience with United let me share how they slowly are earning me back.  The flight to Chicago was average; I wasn't changed.  But when I arrived in Chicago to fly back home I noticed there were two flights ahead of mine heading home.  I went directly to the gate of the plane leaving in 45 minutes to see if I could get on the flight.  I was placed on standby and with 20 minutes to spare I was added to the flight!  That meant I was going to see my family 2 hours ahead of my previous flight!  That wins my loyalty back. 

Then on the flight the staff was: funny, helpful and caring.  Now I don't want to get too far ahead of myself and say that I will be seeking out United flights in the future, I just want to share some of what United did and how that made me feel better as a customer.  

It also got me thinking:

What are some things that the Church needs to be doing to win people back?

What have I done that I need to change in my life to win people back?

What can I learn, as a leader, about taking care of people?

Making the Most of your Time

I am not the best person in the world at managing my schedule; I am sure they are people out there that do it much better than I do.  I am also not much of a person that likes to plan everything out but I have had enough times of entering meetings I wasn't prepared for, walking up to pulpit to preach messages I hadn't put enough study time into and missing out on family time due to work/school related circumstances.

The bulk of what I am about to share came about because of a catastrophic event that happened while I was in leadership.  May 2009 was the craziest ministry month of my life!  I found out that the founding lead pastor of the church I was high school pastor at was resigning due to a moral failure.  That meant that my responsibilities increased pretty much over night to help the church survive the blow.  Thankfully I was registered to take two classes that summer at Tozer Theological Seminary and one of those classes was Christian Spiritual Formations with Dr. Bill Randall.  Bill took some extra time with Charity and me to help me understand the need to make the most of my time in this situation of our lives.

Since then I have made some tweaks to how I make the most of my time but I do my best to schedule all my time to make sure that I am accomplishing what I want to do with my life (and what I feel God has called me to do).  If you need some help with your calendar can I encourage you to follow these steps:

START WITH FAMILY TIME
When I first started planning out my calendar I would put in my weekly work duties, school requirements and pretty much everything else that I thought was super important.  That worked for about six months until my wife said: "Where is there time for me?"  That rocked me and revealed to me that I had selfishly been forgetting about my family while trying to keep the church alive and finish seminary.  Now that we have been doing this for over three years I start out my week with planning family time.  This includes taking my kids on a date, having a weekly date with my wife and making sure to block out some big chunks of my week for family time.

FIND SOME PERSONAL TIME
Now that you have taken some time to have a date with your wife, spend some time with your kids, make sure you are home for dinner or to be home for a family lunch once a week look for some time for yourself.  In his book As for me and my crazy house Brian Berry talks about how important it is for you to be a healthy leader by slotting some "Me" time.  This could be going fishing for a few hours on your day off, getting a coffee one morning or hitting the gym a few nights in the week.  This is vital to your personal health so make sure when you plan your week out you get some time in there doing some things that are going to make you happy and healthy.  There is a unique balance in this part of calendaring; I have learned that there are weeks I can get more time for myself and there are weeks that I have to fight for it (be prepared).

THINK AHEAD
When you planning out your schedule make sure that you look ahead, a few months, to know what is coming your way.  Put big things on the calendar way ahead of time so you can make sure you are ready for them when the time comes!  If you have a mission trip coming up and need to schedule some team meetings this is the place to do that!  Our Community Life Pastor just emailed me with the dates for our Men's Retreat that is February and I immediately put that on my calendar.  It is unfair for you to call meetings the week of and expect that everyone will be able to attend.  When you think ahead it shows the people you are working with that you care about them and value your time.

My wife and I love to vacation!  This means that when we are doing our calendar we are looking for a place to put a get-a-way in there.  Now this doesn't always happen and its not always Hawaii (though I wish it was) but it could be thinking ahead to visit your family who lives a few hours away.  Thinking ahead also gets your mind out of the weekly grind to accomplish your dreams!

PLAN OUT YOUR WEEK
This can be the more difficult part of making the most of your time but this is a very important piece.  If you know that you are preaching this Sunday in Big Church than you need to carve out some big chunks of time to message prep.  Maybe you have some reoccurring weekly meetings that you need to prep for or you would like to get lunch with a key leader; this is the time to do that.  Figure out what needs to be done this week and put it on the calendar; then when you get a reminder about it you know its time to start working on it.

Also, when you do this leave some margin.  Leave some room between meetings so you are not rushing from one meeting to the next.  Leave some margin so if a parent calls and wants to talk you have the freedom to make that happen.  Leave some room so you can meet with an intern or catch up with a fellow staff member at the water cooler.

The way that this works best for me is to sit down on the couch on Sunday night for about an hour with my computer open.  I make sure that Charity and I get some time to talk through our week, then we talk through the month and finally I fill in my work week.  If you choose to start doing something like this give yourself some grace as you figure what works best for you.

Seminary /// Support

The other day I wrote about how I finally graduated seminary.  That post didn't allow for the time to really thank some of the people who have been a huge support (my cheerleaders) while I was working on my degree.  I am sure that I am going to forget some people in this post but there are three main groups I want to thank!

My Family
Seminary took a toll on my family.  That is probably not what you expected to hear but its true.  I am eternally in-debt to my family for the sacrifices they made for me to finish school.  My wife was extremely supportive when I had to read books, write papers, be gone for weeks at a time and stay up late to finish up a project.  Charity was my biggest support and I am so thankful to you wife!  My kids also took a blow during these last four years of their lives.  Sophie came up to summer school once but in the other eight times I had to travel to Redding I did it solo.  Leah is still young and may never remember but I will never forget the times I missed with them.  Thank you girls for making the sacrifices for me.  Thank you for letting me use our families resources and thanks for Skyping with me in the mornings when I was away; that kept me sane!

Extended Family
Thank you to everyone of you who encouraged me during these last six years.  My extended family was super supportive when I would explain to them what I was learning; they always extended a listening ear to hear what God was doing in my life.  They understood when I would have to leave family vacations to go to Starbucks and finish up a paper or stay up late to write one last book report.  They also took their time, and resources, to attend my graduation and that was a huge blessing to physically have them all there!

South Hills Church Community 
My Church was key in my completion of seminary!  They supported me when I needed to take a day off to finish a paper.  They gave me weeks (yep, weeks) off every year so I could travel to take courses. They understood the time commitment that was involved with seminary and they understood the Kingdom value of school.  I didn't have to fight with them about the importance of seminary because they understood the value it presented in my life and the benefit it was to the Kingdom to train up leaders.  More than that, I am so thankful that Pastor Brandon Gallup took the time to travel up to Redding for my graduation also!  Church; thank you for believing in me, investing in me and all your support these last six years!

If you are going to take the plunge into seminary I was to remind you that you are not meant to do it alone nor should you ever think that you can!  Seminary is costly (not just financially) and it requires a deeper commitment but if God is calling you to take that commitment start now because we are ever in need of Theologically sound pastors!

I did it (finally)

On April 28th 2012 something monumental happened in my life!

My journey in seminary is totally different than what I expected!  In September 2004 I started working on my Masters of Divinity at Azusa Pacific University's extension program in San Diego.  After taking two course God lead me to Las Vegas to minister with students which put a halt to my studies.  After getting the ministry up and running I chose to go back and work on my degree but now I was heading to Fuller Seminary.  March 2006 I took my first course at Fuller and my time there was amazing!

Once I realized I would not be able to complete the program through Fuller I transferred to a new seminary in Northern California called Tozer Seminary.  That was the most enjoyable, difficult, time of my life.  Seminary stretched me, shaped me, frustrated me, challenged me, gave me new friends, took lots of time, and encouraged me (Did I mention that I started Seminary as a single man and graduated a marriage man with two beautiful daughters?).  After three years at Tozer I graduated on April 28th 2012 with my Masters of Divinity; this is one of the top ten happiest days of my life!

I have referred to Seminary as the modern day discipleship process in my life; I needed Seminary in my life.  There were times that I wanted to quit but it shaped my Theology.  It helped my understanding of Scripture.  It provided a route to learn the Biblical Languages.  I wish that every new Christian would take the time, make the commitment and go to Seminary so that they can grow in their knowledge and love for Christ.

Seminary taught me how to think Theologically.  It helped me understand Scripture in a new way and make it understandable to the world around us.  My heart breaks for the lack of Biblical literacy in our society and I feel that God has called me to help combat that; I think Seminary has helped prepare me for a life of that.

Monk Habits for Everyday People: Book Review

Book Title: Monk Habits for Everyday People

Pages: 144

Author: Dennis Okholm

Publisher: Brazos Press

Quotable: "But a vow of stability is unique to Benedictine monks.  It is a commitment to stay with the same community for the rest of one's life."

This week I have been blogging about some of the books that I read for my Church History class and this was one that I bought as a resource for my final paper.

My interest in the monastic practices really began when I took a class in seminary called Christian Spiritual Formations.  This class taught me about new ways to connect with God that I had never really explored.  The professor helped teach me more about my personal relationship with God and how dudes from hundreds of years ago have impacted the Church.

This book is really good if you are curious about the Benedictine monastic practices and how to apply them to your daily life.  I appreciate the viewpoint that Okholm brings to the table on this book.  The book is very readable and practical in its explanations.  If you want a quick overview of some of the monastic practices that are found in the Benedictine order than I would encourage you to grab this book. 

Water from a Deep Well: Book Review

Title: Water from a Deep Well

Author: Gerald L. Sittser

Pages: 365

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Favorite Quote: "But we should never work so much that we neglect prayer, which in my minds seems the more urgent discipline, at least in our culture."

This book was one of three books that were required reading for my Church History course.  This book really taught me about many different eras of Church History and was a great compliment to the other books we read.

I feel like this book is very readable where some books like this could be very difficult to understand.  Sittser presents the information in a way that you can grasp and makes it easy to apply to your life.  I personally enjoyed the first couple chapters most as I really dig the monastic practices.

If you are looking for a book that will give you an overview of Church History in understandable language then you need to check this out.

Church History in Plain Language: Book Review

Title: Church History in Plain Language

Author: Bruce L. Shelley

Pages: 532

Recommend: Yes; for sure

Favorite Quote: "Despite widespread and determined efforts to eliminate the new faith, it survived and grew.

Taking this class on Church History rocked me!  This book helped me to learn about the 1900 years of Church History that I really had no clue about.

I remember one night an Elder called me while I was reading this book and as we were talking I told him that I am ashamed.  I was ashamed that I have been a Christian for twelve years and was so ignorant about the leaders who paved the way before me.

This book was great to learn about so many spiritual leaders and the impact they had on shaping the Church as we know it.  It was fun to see the impact of the monks, the dark ages, the church fathers, the Catholic church and every other significant point of history that brought us to where we are.  If you haven't read a book on Church History consider reading this one.

Be Present

I struggle with being present!

I have struggled with this for a long time!
(now that I have confessed it you can trust I am a fellow learner in this)

Being a dreamer I struggle with being present.  While I was leading in our student ministry I would struggle with being present in conversations, being present with my wife, being present with my children, being present at school and other places.  I remember driving home from a mission trip one time and just wishing I was home.  Finally a student reminded me that I could talk with them in the truck and it hit me how unfocused I was being.

While talking with a trusted mentor one day I shared this struggle and began the road to healing on this topic.  I had to slot in times in my day when I could dream and then find people to share those dreams with.  I learned to be present more with my family while thinking less about work or school.  I had to teach myself how to be present in situations and just dreaming all the time.

About a year ago I got some pretty sweet TOMS that helped me with this concept even more and put words to my struggle:

The journey is the destination

I wish you could see these shoes up close!  TOMS found a creative way to write this slogan out over and over again.  I had these shoes for about three weeks before I began realizing how important this saying was for my life.  When I began to realize that the journey was the destination I began to realize how important it was for me to be present in situations that I don't always desire to be present in.

I am not saying that I am perfect at this by any means, yet, but I am working on.  I am working on being present when my children need my attention.  I am being intentional to turn off my phone after work to focus on my family.  I am learning to say no to things that drain me and yes to things that fill me.  I am taking a day off every week to just rest and fill up my tank.

Here are some practical ways to be present

IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH GOD
Turn the TV off and take some time to be still and listen to God

IN YOUR MARRIAGE
Instead of cooking your spouse dinner at home, take them out to their favorite restaurant and engage them in conversation (don't be on Facebook)

WITH YOUR KIDS
When you get into your house, put your phone in the bedroom on silent until they are in bed

WITH YOUR FRIENDS 
Plan to hang out with them outside, don't just invite them over and be on the computer

Seeking Spiritual Intimacy: Book Review

Book Title: Seeking Spiritual Intimacy

Author: Glenn E. Myers

Pages: 219

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Recommendation: I would encourage anyone who is curious about Church History to pick up this book and see how it impacts you life.

Overview: Seeking Spiritual Intimacy is about the Beguine women who lived during the twelfth and thirteen century.  Myers takes the time to lay out the lifestyle, spiritual development, life commitments and impact these women had on modern day spiritual formations.  He is so creative and takes pretty much the second part of each chapter to share how the lifestyle of these women can be implemented into our modern culture.  Myers is actively encouraging the reader to not just understand historical content but to live out those principles in their daily life.

Seeking Spiritual Intimacy could be the best book I have read all read for spiritual development this year.  Myers is actually my professor for the class so it was a bit intimidating reading his book (and having to write a ten page review on it).  As someone who considers himself  a monk in training I loved reading about the spiritual disciplines that these women actively lived out in their lives.  The book brings Church History into a new perspective and sheds light on a time group of people who are not frequently written about.

I think I am able to write about this book in this manner after spending a week with Dr. Myers.  He is a kind, compassionate, man who is all about training up the next generation of spiritual leaders.  He is actively living out what he writes in this book and more importantly he cares about helping young leaders impact the world for Christ.

Valentines Away

Most people get to spend Valentine's Day with their spouse or significant other.  They may go out to a nice dinner, buy some gifts, kiss a little and laugh alot but the last two years have a been a different story for me.  I have been at seminary all week so instead of spending Valentine's Day with my family I spent Valentine's Day away.

Before I left for my final week of seminary Charity took me out on a super cool date and I was able to spend some time with my kids.  Not that Valentine's Day is a huge holiday but its an important day to my wife.  I tried to get her some flowers to have around while I am gone.  Before I left we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day a little early by exchanging cards and gifts.

So as I was unpacking my bag, in the hotel, I found a package in my bag from my wife.  She had spent some time with the girls making me fancy cards, writing little notes, tucking in some of my favorite candies and using her creativity to make me smile.  Even though I didn't get to spend Valentine's Day with my family, I still was able to Skype with them and have some cool gifts to enjoy!  I'm very thankful that this will by my last "Valentine's Away".

New Years Goals

I really wanted to title this post "New Years Thoughts" but what I am about to share are not only thoughts  but some goals I have given myself this year.  Now I know this post is 14 days late but I am pretty sure that most people have already failed at their resolutions or are struggling to maintain them.  I say that because I think we generally choose resolutions that are: (1) Very tough to achieve and (2) Unrealistic.

On our anniversary this year Charity and I talked about some of these things so I figured I would share some of my goals for this year:

GRADUATE SEMINARY
When I told Charity this was my main goal for the year she laughed at me; and rightfully so.  See I only have one class left until I graduate with my Masters degree.  I am super excited to be done with the degree but I am more excited about what my education has done for me.  Education has helped me worked through past issues, helped me grow as a person and has increased my effectiveness as a leader.  Seminary has been so good for me so this will be a huge chapter closing in my life.

BE A BETTER DAD
My next two goals have to do with a transition in my life.  See when I graduate seminary I am going to have some more time on my hands.  My personality is such that I like to stay busy and I like to see results.  I am committed to what I put my mind to and this year I am putting my mind to being a better dad.  I told Charity that with my responsibly in seminary coming to an end I want to take more time to focus on our family.  Obviously seminary has taken time, and money, for me to complete.  I would like to give that time, and money, back to our family in being a better dad.

BE A BETTER HUSBAND
I think that I could have probably put this one before being a better dad, and in my mind it comes first, but it flows better this way.  See I have given a whole bunch to our church in the last seven years.  I love my church.  I love seeing people find Jesus.  I love seeing students grow in their relationship with Christ.  I love hearing about people who find groups to get connected in.  This year though I am going to shut my phone off more to give more to my wife.  Charity has been such a huge support in my pastoral role and this year I want to give the church less and give my wife more (some of you are going to think I'm crazy for writing this).

READ MY BIBLE THIS YEAR
For the last eight, maybe nine, years I have made a commitment to read my Bible from cover to cover.  This year I plan on doing the same thing but I want to take some people along for the ride.  See God's word is extremely interesting.  The Bible is full of stories that capture the imagination and reveal truth in a relevant way.  This year I am committing to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with a group of people so we can share the knowledge with each other.

Now that I have shared my goals, what are some of your goals?  What is motivating you this year and what will you focus on?  Much of what I am sharing here comes from a conversation with a great friend in ministry.  One day, on the phone, he said this to me:

"Being a better pastor will not make me a better Christian, husband or dad but being a better dad, husband and Christian may make me a better pastor."

Mastering Church Management: Book Review

I am currently take a course for Tozer Seminary called: "Politics, Legalities and Money".  The class has really been super helpful and has impressed me as to the content we have studied for the course.  I just emailed my final paper to a great friend who will edit it, make it bleed, and then help me correct my grammar.

For this course I sought more external resources than I ever have for a final paper because of the nature of the class.  Thanks to a classmate I was able to get a handful of helpful books from the Simpson University Library.  One of them is Mastering Church Management.  Now I am sure that most of you will not run off to Amazon to get the book but I think you may want to reconsider that.  This book has a some great information contained within the interesting looking cover and was considerably more helpful then I had imagined it would be!
The book was helpful with information on maintaining staff moral, encouraging staff members, staff transition and lots of other areas of staff leadership.  I was thinking to myself today about how cool it is that the principles laid out in this book are still applicable some 25+ years later.  If you are thinking about becoming an executive pastor, lead pastor or church planter I am going to recommend this book to you.
Favorite Quote: "Devoting time to nurturing staff members' competence and interpersonal relationships says we value them, not just their ministry output." page 148

Reference Time

Every year, around this time, I end up having the cool opportunity to write some references for people who are wrestling with their faith.  Right now we have high school students that are trying to figure out the rest of their life right now (that is scary, read it again) and I have a cool chance to help be a spiritual guide in that process.  Generally I am not the person that likes to sit down and work on paper work but I feel like it is an honor to be able to write these references for students and share what God is doing in their life.  I get to be a cool help to someone on the other end that is trying to help this student figure out their life path.

It goes deeper than that because this las week I was able to write a third reference for one of my first small group guys as he is getting ready to graduate with his bachelors.  I love to look and see what God is doing in his life.  He is such a great young man that I couldn't imagine not being a part of all that is happening in his life.

Finally, I have another guy in my life who I just was able to write a reference for him to attend seminary!  I am so proud of all that God is doing in his life.  I was able to lead in Middle School ministry here with him at South Hills Church.  Then I was able to be a part of him and his wife falling in love.  After that I was able to preform his wedding ceremony (which was so cool).  Now I get to see, first hand, the plans that God has for his life coming to bloom.

Basically what I am saying is that there is something cool about being involved in people's lives for a long period!

The "Almost Done" Letter

Earlier this month I spent a week in Redding, CA working on a week of seminary.  While I was up there I was handed this letter:

Now this letter isn't the easiest thing in the world to read but it says a key line in there:

"If you successfully complete the above courses as scheduled, you will finish the requirements for the Masters of Divinity program as listed above."

This is something that I have been working on for over five years now and to be handed this letter was crazy emotional.  There are a few things this letter means to me that some people may not understand:

1) Less Time Away From Home
I have spent a good deal of time away from my family over the last five years, six when I finish, and this letter means that I can have more time with my family after graduation.

2) Accomplishment
Many of you know that I dropped out of high school my junior year.  I ended up going back and finishing at a continuation school.  I didn't drop out because I was stupid I dropped out because I had a bunch going on in my family life and I was bored at school.  Studying the Bible is something that I love to do!

3) Education
I started this MDiv program because felt that God was calling me to but during the process He taught me that it is more about the education I have received than a piece of paper that will sit on my wall.

These are just a few things this letter means to my life.  It will always be a reminded to me of all the hard work I put in, studying the word of God, to help others know Christ.

I Never Expected This: Part Four

This blog series was supposed to be finished last week but I got a surprise that has extended it a week.

Seminary has been a roller coaster for me...
I love learning but there is a word in my life that can change everything: "FUN".  Anytime there is something presented to me as being fun I tend to leave what I need to focus on and seek out the fun in my life.  Now seminary hasn't always been fun.  There have been courses that have rocked my heart, shown me how selfish I am and literally made me want to quit being a pastor.  There are also courses that I have had prof's that love Jesus, are living out the call on their life and want to invest into the younger generation of leaders.  This post is dedicated to two men who have helped me in these last two years of ministry.

Dr. Bill Randall
I met Dr. Bill Randall a few years prior to taking "Spiritual Formations" with him in the summer of 2009.  It was a crazy summer for me!  My lead pastor had just resigned a month prior to me taking the course and knowing about Bill I decided to switch classes to be with him.  I knew that I needed some serious spiritual help on my heart to handle the next season of ministry that I was facing.  Bill, and his wife Jill, took some time with Charity and I while we were in Redding that week and were amazing to us!  Jill hung out with Charity while I was writing papers and going to class.  For the last two years Bill has spoken into my life, prayed for me, and hung out with me as a spiritual leader.

Dr. Rod Casey
I met Rod last summer while taking a preaching class from him.  One of the first things Rod said to me was "I'm sorry to hear about your speeding ticket."  I was freaked out!  Rod had taken the time to search my name and found out that I had got a speeding ticket on my way up to school that week.  During the week I just fell in love with Rod's teaching style, what he was saying and how he was saying it.  Rod challenged me in my speaking and in my church leadership.  I asked Rod to go to lunch with me so we could talk ministry one on one and ever since then he has been a key voice in my leadership growth.

See the funny thing about seminary is that I never expected that the men who were leading the courses would take this much interest in my life and care for me the way these guys do!