Pastor Dan's Life @ Lifegate

God, where are we going?

2012-01-05T14:31:00.000-08:00

This post from Jonathan Herron is a great reminder that no matter how bleak things seem or how bad things have been, we cannot live in the past, we cannot dwell on our regrets. Keep moving forward, seeking God, asking Him what are you calling me to do today & then step out in faith and do it.

That's my question for 2012-God what are you calling me to do this year? I can't wait to hear the answer.

Friday Favorites-12-23-12

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Great reminder from Kem Meyer that no matter how hard life gets because of God we can always get back up and press on.

Friday Favorites 12/16/11

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

-Loved this post from Perry Noble, a great reminder that when things seem impossible, maybe I can't do it, but He can.

Occupy the Church

2011-12-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Came across a thought provoking post from Jonathan Herron this morning. He was writing about Time Magazine's choice of the Protestor as the 2011 Person of the Year.

It was this thought particularly that got me thinking, Jonathan wrote:

Jesus attracted revolutionaries.
The Scriptures acknowledge that the system is scratched and broken.
The heartbeat of the Church is a battle cry for mavericks:

Things don't have to be this way!
We are FOR the beat-up and broken!
There is always room for more to join our movement!
You like celebrations? We rally behind a Dead Guy who's Alive!
Let's make heaven crowded!

You can read the rest of his post here. But that got me to thinking about what we stand for and what we stand against as the church. The reason people stand up and protest is because the believe that something is broken, something is wrong & they are willing to challenge the status quo to try and change it. Well, church-wake up-look around-the world we live in today is broken, something is wrong, people are hurting, hungry, homeless, abused, sick and dying, there are people today who will starve to death, who will die because they don't have access to clean water & what are we doing?
When Jesus came he proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand-a kingdom where God rules & everything is as it should be, no hunger, no poverty, no sickness, no death, no tears, no injustice. When we came to Christ we became part of that kingdom, we are as Paul says "Citizens of heaven" & in the same way that Jesus worked to bring those kingdom values into the world we need to do the same. Things don't have to be this way, things shouldn't be this way, but the sad truth is far too many of us in the church like the nice, easy, comfortable lives we've built for ourselves. We say, "I'll help, just as long as it doesn't inconvenience me too much." Jesus was for the beat-up and broken & we should be too.
When we reduce the gospel to believe in Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die, we're only getting part of the message. Yes, Jesus died so that we might be saved, but not just in the future, when we die-Jesus died so that our lives might be changed, so that we might be part of His kingdom & live like citizens of that Kingdom every day, asking Him to work through us to be a part of what He has called the church to do since the book of Acts-be His change agent in the world. Be His body, living out His kingdom Values every day.
It's way to easy for us to build our nice buildings, dress up and play church every week. Trying to create our own safe, secure little Christian sub-culture where we don't have to worry about all of the problems that are out there. But that was never what Jesus intended for the church to be-we are His body called to go out & stand against-protest- all that is wrong & work to share in word & deeds the good news of the gospel. Giving people small glimpses of what the future Kingdom will be like & inviting them in to come & follow Jesus, be part of His kingdom & be part of what He is doing to change the world.

The Discipline of Celebration

2011-12-08T14:40:00.001-08:00

Joyis at the heart of God’s plan for human beings. The reason for this is worth pondering awhile: Joy is at the heart of God himself. We will never understand the significance ofjoy in human life until we understand its importance to God. I suspect that most of us seriouslyunderestimate God’s capacity for joy.-John Ortberg, The Life You’ve AlwaysWanted

This Sunday at Lifegate we are wrapping up our series on the Spiritual Disciplines, Basic Training. As we finish this series off we are going to be looking at a few of the Corporate Disciplines. No, those are not disciplines for corporations, they are the Spiritual Disciplines that we practice when we come together as a church. Specifically, we will be looking at the Disciplines of Worship, Celebration & Fellowship. I've enjoyed preparing for speaking on all three of them, but the one that seems to be neglected, or maybe downplayed the most, at least in my experience, would be Celebration.

I think that Celebration gets a bad rap sometimes, where did we get the idea that to be truly spiritual we have to be serious & strait laced? What about the command in Philippians 4:4 to "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice."? Why do we have such a hard time letting ourselves experience joy?

This year I've had a number of fantastic experiences that were filled with joy. I was able to experience things that I fully enjoy & do them with people I love. But on more than a few of those occasions those experiences were not cheap and there was a small part of me that felt guilty about spending that much money on something that was just for fun, something that I would enjoy. Then today as I was reading about joy & Celebration I came across a few verses in Deuteronomy 14 where God instructs the children of Israel that they are to set aside a portion of their crops & wine & oil & cattle & at the appointed time make a trip to Jerusalem & enjoy what they had set aside. Or, if it was to far to take all of that, sell it, take the money & get this "spend the money for whatever you desire-oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice." (Deut. 14:26) God wanted them to save up & then take time to enjoy what they had, enjoy life & the purpose of enjoying it was "that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always." (Deut. 14:23) Enjoyment of what God has given us, enjoying the blessings that we have isn't wrong-but it should all be as an act of worship, celebration of who God is and what He has done.

One last thought about joy before Sunday. Have you ever noticed that kids have no problem enjoying life. They love life & they seem to enjoy every minute of it that they can. So what can we learn from kids about joy. Here's what I wrote today as I was preparing for Sunday's sermon. Consider this a brief preview:

Ibelieve that one aspect of the childlike faith that X calls us to is joy. Life for children is a series of moments,each moment filled with possibility and each second opportunity for the expression ofthe joy that is in them. Before theirlives have been consumed with hurry & worry & stress-children are free toenjoy each moment for what it is an opportunity to enjoy this gift of life, torevel in a new experience, to lose themselves in the embrace of a loved one, todream of what could be, to imagine what is beyond the horizon, to marvel at thebeauty of creation, to celebrate all that is right & pure & good &lovely.

We would all do well to take a lesson from our children & worry less & enjoy life more. Look for the opportunities to Celebrate all that is right and pure and good and lovely around you for what it is, a gift from God.

Basic Training-Week 4: Silence & Solitude

2011-12-04T08:35:00.001-08:00

As we continue our series on the spiritual disciplines this week we come to silence and solitude. Probably not the most popular or widely practiced disciplines in our rush, rush, let's see how fast we can get this done world.
Truth is, if we are going practice silence and solitude, most of us don't really know how-we might need some help, so here are a few links to some articles on line that can get us started.

The first 2 are on how to spend a day in prayer. This is an article from the Navigators website on How to spend a Day in Prayer. The second is an article from the CB Northwest website on Spending a Day in Prayer by Lorne C. Sanny, if you want to do more reading on prayer/spending a day in prayer check out some of the links at the bottom of the article.

These are a few articles I found that specifically deal with spending time in silence and solitude:
-From Marc Driscol
-From Bill Gaultiere and his blog Soul Shepherding
-From the reading room @ the Water's Edge

I would encourage you to carve out some time to engage in some silence and solitude in the coming year.

Friday Favorites-12/2/11

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about the internet is the way it can open our eyes and ears to new voices, new ideas, new thoughts about life, ministry & so many other things. For example-2 of my favorite blog posts this week come from someone I had never heard of on Monday. Her name is Sarah Bessey & she runs the website www.emergingmummy.com and works part-time for Mercy Ministries of Canada.

This week one of my friends on facebook posted a link to this post from Sarah on Why We Don't need Women's Ministry. I'll be honest, most of the things she says could be applied to Men's ministry, youth ministry, seniors ministry, etc. We aren't in the entertainment business, the church doesn't exist to provide you with a safe Christian alternative to the world. The church exists as the body of Christ & we have been put here so that God can use us to change the world.

Anyway, that post led me to her website where I found this post on Advent. I've since added emerging mummy to my list of blogs that I will be reading regularly.

I Wanna Be A History Maker

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

"As children we assume that greatness is within our grasp. Whatever inspires us, we begin to dream that one day we will be the best. It is only as we lose our childlike innocence that we begin to settle for far less. A part of growing up seems to be acquiescing to mediocrity. It's easy to say that we're just becoming realistic, that it's just a part of growing up. But, in fact, it's the death of our souls. When we stop dreaming, we start dying. For some of us, it has been a slow, painful death. Others are just the walking dead. They died a long time ago, and it's nothing less than a freak of nature that they're still breathing."-Erwin Raphael McManus, Soul Cravings-Destiny, end of Entry #3

As Erwin writes about Destiny it seems each day there is something that resonates with me. Probably because I have been struggling with feeling like I'm losing that inspiration, that ability to dream. I don't want to become a realist, I long to be an optimist, someone who continues to believe that God can use me to do great things. I refuse to believe that the best option I have is just to simply live out the rest of my days getting by, just hoping to bring in enough money to pay the bills, stay out of trouble & if it all works out well, retire in comfort.

About 9 years ago, I had an opportunity to work with an incredible team of people launch EPIC, a worship gathering for folks who felt like what was happening on Sunday mornings at our church wasn't really connecting with where they were at. Looking back, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in ministry to this point in my life. It only lasted about 18 months, but they were glorious. Every month God was glorified in creative, exciting & different ways. One of the memories that I will always carry with me was the month our gathering was focused on the theme of extreme courage-the message was from Acts 4 where Peter and John were arrested and told not to preach anymore about Christ & say, to the same people who not long before had crucified Christ "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." We closed that gathering by singing "History Makers" & I think we all believed that, yes, God could & would use us to make history if we would only follow Him & serve Him with our whole hearts.

I know that God has taken a number of people who were there that night and he is using them to make history. Changing lives in Africa, changing lives as teachers, on missions trips, caring for and advocating for those who are vulnerable, using their unique gifts in ministry literally all around the world. But there are days, for me, in the midst of the fight it is a struggle to keep that dream, that vision, that hope alive. On days like that I am thankful for those that continue to inspire me not to give up. I'm thankful for authors like Erwin & John Eldredge & Francis Chan. I'm thankful for friends that inspire me to press on, to believe that God can still use me as part of His plan to change the world-friends like Rich & Rob & Thomas & Mark & Jessica & Dan, to name a few. I'm thankful for a wife that believes in me & has continually stood by me as a partner in life and ministry through whatever craziness I've led us into. And most of all I'm thankful that we serve a God that doesn't give up on us, that has chosen-as crazy as it sounds-to work through us, His people, to bring about His plan for the world. That is truly humbling and inspiring.

Book Review: Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

When Christ called His first disciples he didn't call them to a safe, comfortable, easy life with no worries, no troubles & a healthy 401k. He called them to a life of walking by faith, suffering, struggle, uncertainty but it didn't matter because they knew they were following Jesus & doing His will & that life would be filled with joy, peace, love, community in the midst of the "adventure, uncertainty & unlimited possibilities." That contrast is at the core of Erwin Raphael McManus's book Unleashed: Release the Untamed Faith Within. Erwin states (correctly I believe) that "for those of us who embrace the cause of Christ, the cost to participate in the mission of God is nothing less than everything we are and everything we have." Why then, he asks, has the church today become so "civilized."

I read this book a few years ago when it was given to me as a gift by a new member at our church and I loved it. At that time it was called "The Barbarian Way." Since then it has been repackaged and retitled "Unleashed", because apparently "The Barbarian Way" was seen as having been written for men. (Which is funny because it was a woman who gave it to me and it is her favorite book) So, needless to say, I still love the book. I love his challenge to move beyond the safe, comfortable brand of Christianity that is being peddled in far too many churches today & step out in faith to really follow Christ in a risky, dangerous adventure. It is a great challenge to truly love God with all that you are-every fiber of your being & follow Him no matter the cost.
I would definitely recommend this book to others and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Don't Let the Fire Die

2011-11-29T13:05:00.001-08:00

"We are born with an instinct for not only survival but also accomplishment. There is a fire inside every one of us that propels us forward. We are designed to learn, to adapt, to grow, to change, to develop, to progress, to become."-Erwin Raphael McManus, Soul Cravings

I've been reading Soul Cravings for a while now. Erwin's broken it up into 3 parts each dealing with a different craving that we all have, that we were created to need-Intimacy, Destiny and Meaning. A few weeks ago I finished the section on Intimacy-lot's of great insight about community & love & how much we need both. I posted a few quotes on my facebook.

Last week I started part 2-Destiny & today I came across the quote I started this post with. As I read that it struck a chord for me because that fire-to move, to learn, to grow, to build, to become something, to accomplish something-that fire is something that will die if we don't continually feed it.

When we are young that fire burns bright, we believe we can do anything, accomplish anything-we still believe that God can use us to change the world & so we will try great things for Him. As we get older sometimes that passion starts to fade, people tell us we can't do that & we start to doubt. We hear people say "God doesn't work like that anymore" & we decide not to step out in faith & trust Him. We fail a few times & we're not so quick to get back up and try again. We stretch a bit to much, take one too many risks and get slapped down and are tempted to think "Maybe the status quo isn't so bad after all." And slowly but surely, the fire starts to die, we start to think "Maybe I wasn't ever called by God to do something great, to make an impact, to change someone's life-maybe all there is for me is just to get by, just to exist & hope I don't get crushed in the process."

But is that kind of passion only for the young or do you believe that we were created to have a passion, a fire to learn and grow and change? Because if that's how we were created, it doesn't stop when we reach a certain age. I have known many people who have carried that passion all of their lives & we learning and growing and stretching and being used by God until they died. Don't let the nay sayers & doubters drag you down. Don't let a few failures keep you from continuing to try. Ask God to rekindle that fire in you. Ask Him to show you how He wants to work in your life, how He wants you to grow, what He wants you to become & how He can use you as part of His plan to accomplish His purposes in the lives of others.

God can use you to change the world & don't let anyone tell you differently!!

Basic Training: Week 3-Prayer & Fasting

2011-11-26T15:01:00.001-08:00

This week we are continuing our series on the Spiritual Disciplines-"Basic Training". We have been talking about how God can use the different Spiritual Disciplines in our lives as part of our training to be like Christ. This week we are looking at the disciplines of prayer and fasting. Most of us engage in prayer on a regular basis, maybe not as a consistent Spiritual Discipline, but we are familiar with and know, more or less, how to pray. Fasting-not so much.
Fasting is one of the Spiritual Disciplines that we don't hear much about today and probably practice even less. So, if after hearing the message tomorrow (or if you missed it listen to it online here), you feel that God may be leading you to begin to practice the Spiritual Discipline of fasting, here are some resources that may help you get started.
1. I would recommend reading the chapter on fasting in Richard Foster's book Celebration of Discipline. While I don't agree with everything that Foster writes in this book (much of it is just a bit to "mystical" for me), I appreciated what he had to say about fasting. Particularly towards the end of the chapter where he gives some very practical tips for how to get started in this Discipline.
2. Dr. Bill Bright has a good article about Fasting on the Campus Crusade for Christ website. He also has a shorter article that outlines what he believes are seven basic steps to successful prayer and fasting.

Friday Favorites 10/14/11

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Time to revive my Friday Favorites posts-a collection of the best blog posts I've read this week.

-Take a minute to read this post from Ed Stetzer where he shares some of his conversation with Darrell Guder the editor of Missional Church. I especially loved this quote form Guder : "The gathered life of the Christian community is, then, not an end in itself but the way in which God's people are equipped for their vocation as witnesses in the world. I would insist that we consider every action and activity of the gathered church in terms of its missional vocation: how does what we are doing together "equip the saints for the work of ministry, the building up of the body of Christ," which happens as the church is scattered in the world like salt, leaven, and light?"

Book Review of The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher

2011-04-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

In The Sacred Meal, Nora Gallagher shares her thoughts & reflections on the Christian practice of taking Communion. She shares stories about times she has taken communion that have held special meaning & brought her new understanding about the "sacred meal." She also talks about different ministry opportunities and life experiences that have helped her see the experience of communion in a new light.

Frankly, I was disappointed in this book. I had chosen to read & review it because, as a pastor, I have the privilege of leading our congregation in communion every month & I am always looking for a fresh way to talk about the meaning of the Lord's Supper or a engaging reading to lead into the ordinance. I also was hoping for some interesting reading about the history of and biblical meaning of communion. I came away from this book feeling like I found none of that. It may have been my own misconceptions of what the author was trying to communicate, but I felt like each chapter was simply her sharing some vague thoughts and ideas, some of which were related to communion and some that weren't. For me wading through the book was a struggle. There were parts of a few chapters that I enjoyed, particularly when she wrote about the movie Babette's Feast, but if I hadn't been reading the book to review it, I would not have finished it at all. On top of all that, there were at least 2 different places where I had serious theological issues with what she wrote-particularly in chapter 10 where she writes "We have known for some time that the Gospel's were written long after the death of Jesus and were compiled by men who lived long after him, from stories and scraps of history." I'm sorry, I don't "know" that, I firmly believe that the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses to the life of X (Matthew & John) or by those who talked to eyewitnesses (Mark & Luke). If you haven't figured it out by now, I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review of Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

2011-02-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

Why do half of the marriages in America today end in divorce? Why is the percentage of divorces for couples inside the church roughly the same as the percentages for society as a whole? What is it that is missing in so many marriages today? In his book Love & Respect , Dr. Emerson Eggerichs writes that the key is found in Ephesians 5:33 "Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Husbands unconditionally loving their wives and wives unconditionally respecting their husbands are, he says, the key to getting off the "crazy cycle."

I enjoyed the majority of this book. To be honest, it started a little slow for me. Part 1, where Dr. Eggerichs explains what he calls the "crazy cycle" (without love she reacts without respect, without respect he reacts without love), seemed to drag on and on. He spends 7 chapters answering various arguments men mighty have against showing unconditional love and women might have against the ideas of showing unconditional respect, but if you accept his premise that mans deepest need in the marriage relationship is for respect & the woman's deepest need is for love & are committed to trying to follow the biblical command from Eph. 5:33-then you will be anxious to get to part 2 on the "Energizing Cycle". This is the part of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed as it was filled with practical ideas that can help me love my wife & communicate that love to her in ways she will understand. There are also a number of chapters for wives to help them understand ways that they can show respect to their husbands in ways he will understand. I especially appreciated the section at the end of each chapter where he lists specific ways to communicate love in ways your wife will understand.

So, if you are married or hope to be one day, I believe that there are some great biblical principles here than can help any marriage not just survive but thrive.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Be The Church

2011-02-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we are wrapping up a small group study we did as a church coming out of our SHALOM series. We had all of our small groups go through the study The Tangible Kingdom Primer.

It has been a study that has stretched most of us as we have been forced out of our comfort zones and stop just going through the motions of going to church & trying to say and do all the right things & start actually trying to live like Christ & live out the mission that He gave us "go and make disciples." But to do that step one is we have to know some people who aren't disciples and love them & build a relationship with them where we can show them God's love & talk to them about the Gospel. It sounds pretty simple, like something all know we should be doing, but the reality is, most of us aren't living that kind of incarnational (living like Christ), missional (living to fulfill the mission He gave us) life. Why not? Why are most people who call themselves followers of Christ content with just going through the motions-showing up on Sunday, saying all the right things, but not really living the kind of radical, sold out, totally committed life of discipleship that Christ has called His followers to?

I came across this post today from Mark Waltz.
In it he talks about Granger Community Church and the new 5 year vision they are rolling out. Part of that includes the following statement:
"By 2016 the number of people being the Church in their neighborhoods, schools, cafes and communities seven days a week will outnumber the number of casual Christians just going to church."

What would that look like if that were really to happen in our churches? What if there were more people at Lifegate who were committed to really being the church everyday than just showing up on Sunday? How might we see God work if we really lived that kind of life?

Friday Favorites-10/22/10

2010-10-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'll take this opportunity to revive an old series of posts-Friday Favorites. Most Friday's I'll try to put up some links to some of the best blogs I've read during the week.

This week there's just one:

Take a minute to read this post from Donald Miller and think about who you have in your life that will tell you the hard truth. I know I need more people like that in my life, true friends who aren't afraid to say the hard stuff.

Thinking Biblically?!?

2010-10-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Take a few minutes to watch this clip of Francis Chan talking at this years Catalyst conference and then stop to think about your life. Are we really thinking and living Biblically? Not just what 21st Century American Christianity says is Biblical, but based on what the Bible really says, how those in the Bible really lived-are we living and walking daily by faith-following Jesus, even when it doesn't make sense or are we content to keep on with our safe, happy, comfortable lives.

You could help Lifegate win $1,000

2010-10-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Would you take a minute to help Lifegate Baptist Church win $1,000?

GoodSearch.com is sponsoring a contest that will give an extra $1,000 to each of the five organizations that have the most toolbar downloads (and $100 to each of the first 100 charities to reach 100 downloads!) With the GoodSearch toolbar, every time you search online or shop at more than 1,500 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!), a donation will be made to Lifegate Baptist Church — all you have to do is add our toolbar to your computer.

Please help us be one of the lucky charities that will receive these much needed funds!

Here's how:

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1. Click http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/lifegate-baptist-church

2. Download the Lifegate Baptist Church toolbar

3. "Share With Friends" on our toolbar download page so that others can get involved!

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The contest ends on Oct. 31 so please add the toolbar NOW and spread the word to as many people as you can! For more information, click http://www.goodsearch.com/goodsearchgiveaway/.

Thank you for your support!

2011 by 2011

2010-10-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

One of our ministry partners at Lifegate has been Second Stories and as part of our Shalom series this month we would like to help them out with a fundraiser they are doing for the rest of 2011.

Second stories is a ministry that is committed to transforming neighborhoods by equipping churches to initiate community partnerships in 6 areas: hunger, health, homeless/vulnerable, school support, creation care and asset based community development.

Their goal is to recycle 2011 cell phones by 1/1/2011. This will help them further their work of transforming neighborhoods. If you have an old cell phone or used laser/ink jet print cartridges that need to be recycled you can drop them off in the drop box at Lifegate on Sundays during the month of October.

Appreciating Your Pastor, Part 3-Don't forget His Wife

2010-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am very honored to have, as my first guest blogger, my wonderful wife, Melea, to offer a pastor's wife's perspective on Pastor Appreciation.

I am writing this to add to my husbands post, which is very thorough but I want to remind you of the "pastor's wife". Sometimes she can feel forgotten. She is an important part of your pastor's ministry. She is a cheerleader, sometimes a secretary (I just proofread his blog), and gives support to her husband. I have received cards and gifts (girly stuff ie. lotion, candles, CHOCOLATE!!!!) as well that were directed to me and that made me feel encouraged by those blessings and not forgotten because sometimes we do get forgotten when it is our husband in the forefront. (On the other hand, we usually don't get as much criticism). Just a good reminder to give a blessing to the pastor's wife, too (actually just refer to her by her name instead of calling her the pastor's wife).

Appreciating Your Pastor, Part 2

2010-10-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I feel the need to say this right up front-This post is not meant to be a criticism or reflect negatively on anyone or any church that I have served in. Each church has shown their appreciation in their own unique way and for that we are thankful. I simply hope that this post can be helpful to all those who are looking for ways that they can do a better job at caring for their pastors.

Every once in a while I enjoy looking at some of the stats for this blog just to see where some of you come from, what brings you here, and what you read the most. One stat I check from time to time is what searches people do that bring them to my blog. The last time I checked that I was surprised to see that there had been a number of people searching for ideas on "caring for your pastor" that had ended up here. So in honor of October being Pastor Appreciation Month, I thought I'd post a few ideas I have from a pastors perspective on how you can care for your pastor and specifically what you can do this month to make him feel appreciated.

After over being in ministry for over 20 years I have seen a wide variety of ways churches try to show appreciation to their pastors-some good, some well intentioned but missing the mark a bit. I think one reason for that is because we all feel loved and appreciated in different ways (if you want to learn more about his read The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman). So the best advice I could give-if you are really serious about showing love and appreciation to your pastor-try to understand what his love language is.

On the practical side-step one, just do something. I've been in churches that do nothing for Pastor Appreciation Month & I've been in churches that have done a lot. Guess which one I enjoyed serving in the most? When your pastor feels loved and appreciated there is a greater sense of loyalty & commitment, it fuels his passion to serve, it refills his tank. If you want to help make your pastor the best pastor he can be-encourage him. (Read how this impacted another pastor here) I guarantee you he hears about it every time the music is to loud, someone is upset at him, there's a problem in the nursery, etc. He hears plenty of the negative, but very little positive encouragement. Do something.

What can you do? The thing that my family has enjoyed the most was when the church we served in California encouraged everyone to write a note of encouragement to each of the staff members. During Pastor Appreciation Month they put a basket in the entryway for each of the staff members and the members could simply drop their card/gift in the basket any Sunday that month. Every week for a month it was like Christmas for our family. We would come home with 10-20 cards and gifts and spend an hour after lunch that day reading them and being encouraged. Some had money, most had gift cards to restaurants or stores we liked, but they all had great words of encouragement for us about how our ministry had helped people in ways we would have never known otherwise.

Other ideas I've seen/received:
-A love offering/check for our family. The money is always nice, but after you pay a few bills or buy something fun for the family with it, it's gone-I still have most of the cards that people have given me.
-A gift certificate for a weekend away-Great for a pastor & his wife if there are no kids to worry about, but if your pastor has a family-either give them a trip they can all go on or arrange for childcare-otherwise the trip will probably never be used.
-If your pastor has kids offer free babysitting.
-A plaque with a "special inscription"-some people might feel honored by this, but the one's I've received are still in a drawer or box somewhere.
-Food-Understand, when I'm talking about food here, I'm talking about groceries for your pantry. This one can by tricky. If you want to do this for your pastor, I'd recommend gift cards to where ever they buy groceries, that way they can get what they want and what they need. We appreciate it when churches have done this for us, but there can be problems. Sometimes, well intentioned people simply clean out their pantry and give what they don't want to the pastor (kind of like giving the clothes we are tired of to missionaries). When that has happened to us, we have ended up throwing out at least half the food because it had expired/gone bad. Other times we have received a large quantity of one item (20 boxes of saltine crackers). It can work, but takes extra effort and coordination to really be effective.

Bottom line, whatever you do, it is the time and effort you invest that will show your pastor how much you appreciate him. Why do I say that? Because I sit here writing this looking at a quilt I was given when we left SCBBC (now Lifehouse Church). There was planning that went into making that, effort that went into having everyone sign it without my knowledge and I now proudly display it on the wall of my office. Every time I look at it I remember our farewell evening at SCBBC and I knew that we were loved and appreciated. Take some time to let you pastor know.

Shalom

2010-10-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we kick off our new sermon series at Lifegate "Shalom". Watch these two videos to get a preview of tomorrows message and see if you can figure out what either of them have to do with Shalom.

Did You Know?

Woman at the Well

Appreciating Your Pastor

2010-10-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, someone, somewhere (I believe it was Focus on the Family, but can't say for sure) designated October as Pastor Appreciation Month. I've written a few posts about this over the past few years and they have consistently been some of the most read things I've written. So in honor of Pastor Appreciation month this year I am going to re-post them over the next few days.

If you've been thinking/wondering about what you could do to show your Pastor how much you appreciate him, maybe these posts will give you a few ideas.

If you want to know how you can be a great help and encouragement to your pastor I would strongly urge you to read this post from David Foster on "The Proper Care and Feeding of the American Church Pastor".

As a pastor I can honestly say I've been in churches that were great at this and some that weren't and a pastor that is well cared for and know he is loved by his congregation will stick around and be able to minister with passion much more effectively than a pastor who feels taken for granted or abused.

Friday Favorites-4/30/10

2010-05-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin: I enjoyed this post from Seth about an encounter he had with David Byrne (I'm guessing half of you who read this blog have no idea who either Seth or David are). Check out Seth's insights regarding how wrong our perceptions of how people react to us can be. Remember, it's not always about you.

Rediscover: Week 4-We Value Reaching out to our Community with the Good News of God's Love

2010-04-30T14:39:00.001-07:00

This week we look at importance for us as believers of sharing the Good News. Here is how you might do it if you were Jack Bauer.

Thanks to Jonathan Herron for the picture.

How are You Gifted?

2010-04-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the third message in our series on our Core Values as we looked at the value that says "We Value People's Giftedness." To follow up on that here is a free spiritual gift assessment that I found through Tony Jones' blog.

If you have struggled with figuring out what your spiritual gifts are this tool might help you know where to start. No assessment can tell you definitively what your gifts are, but it can be a tool to point you in the right direction.

I took the test today and here are my top 5 gifts according to the assessment:
1. Teaching
2. Shepherd
3. Knowledge
4. Service
5. Faith

How has God gifted you?

Brother can you spare a dime?

2010-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I have struggled with in ministry has been how to help those in need. Specifically, when someone comes to the church/approaches me on the street asking for money how do I know who to help & when to say no?

My natural tendency is to err on the side of offering help more often than not & I know that because of that I have probably given money to people who didn't need it for a legitimate need and only used it to buy drugs and/or alcohol. Like what happened last night-I was finishing up a few things around the house after bringing Zachary home from soccer practice. As I was getting ready to head inside a man came up to me in the church parking lot & asked if I could help him out. He said he had been at the plasma center the last few hours trying to donate plasma for money, but they wouldn't take his blood because his blood pressure was to high. He had to take the Max home, but since he'd been at the plasma center for son long his transfer had expired, so he tried to sneak on, but the transit police had kicked him off & now he need $2.20 to get home.

We have a jar of change inside the house that we are saving for an upcoming family
vacation, so I decided to help him out and gave him $2.25. Now you may be saying to yourself-"Wow, Dan has a great memory to recall that conversation 24 hours later". Well, I believe memory improves when you hear the same thing twice. You see, today the same guy approached me in the parking lot of the 7-11 just down the street from our house & repeated the exact same story-verbatim! So this time, I simply told him "Hey man, you told me the same thing last night and I gave you $2.25."

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me-so how do we know who to help & who's just trying to get some money so they don't have to work, or to support a drug or alcohol habit? Jesus said "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink...I was naked and you clothed me....As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:35-40)
So I'm all about helping those who truly are the least of these, but how do you know if you are truly helping the least of these or just feeding a habit? How do you make those distinctions in your life? Who do you help, when do you say no?

Reboot

2010-04-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

In the few years I've been blogging now, I am beginning to notice a trend. I start blogging regularly/semi-regularly something major happens in life/family/ministry & I stop writing because I don't know how to write without saying/revealing something that I can't/don't want to/shouldn't say. Bonus points to you if you can comprehend that mess of a sentence.

I need to blog for my spiritual health-it has become a spiritual discipline for me-one that I neglect from time to time-but one that I need. So this is my reboot-I'm going to try and crank this thing back up again.

One thing that means is that this blog will really be a mixed bag. Some days it's going to be about Lifegate & the work God is doing here, some days it's going to be about me & what I am learning and going through, some days it may just be something funny that caught my eye, but most days I hope that it will be something that will either brighten your day or make you think or maybe, if I'm lucky, a bit of both.

Rediscover: Week 3-We Value People's Giftedness

2010-04-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

I love this video. 200 people working together create a dance that stops people in their tracks. Just think how the church-if all of us are working together-using our gifts-how can that impact the world for Christ. If we are all working together in the dance of life, serving Christ the way that He designed us to-the world will stop and notice.

Rediscover: Jesus. Church. Our Journey

2010-04-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

This week we start a 6-week series called Rediscover. It will be a look at the Core Values of Lifegate, which aren't something new but rather something that have been part of this church for years.
Week 1: We Value Commitment to Christ & Bible Centered Teaching
Week 2: We Value Biblical Community & Each Person's Giftedness
Week 3: We Value Reaching out to Our Community with the Good News of God's Love
Week 4: We Value Prayer & Worship
Week 5: We Value Stewardship
Week 6: We Value Sustained Excellence in Every Area of Ministry & Creativity and Innovation

Lifegate's Core Values

2010-03-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Over the last year we began the process of identifying what the core values of Lifegate were. It wasn't that core values didn't exist, they had just never been identified & put down in writing. So after much discussion, revision and more than a little help from Aubrey Malphurs book Values Driven Leadership, here at long last are the core values of Lifegate:

We Value Commitment to Christ
We believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only means for man to come to God (John 14:1-6) and we believe that full devotion to Christ and a dedication to spiritual growth will occur for every believer. (John 15:1-17)

We Value Bible Centered Teaching
We believe that the Bible is God’s authoritative, inspired Word, teaching us what to believe and how to live. The Bible is both timeless and timely, relevant to the needs of all people at all times. Therefore, we are committed to equipping Christians, through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, to follow Christ in every aspect of life. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

We Value Biblical Community
We believe that building relationships is indispensable to spiritual growth. Therefore, we are committed to having every member of Lifegate participating in a small group where they can get to know people, hold each other accountable, and live out the “one anothers” of the New Testament. (Prov. 27:17; Heb. 10:24-25)

We Value Each Person’s Giftedness

We believe that God has given every believer spiritual gifts, talents, passions and experiences that have uniquely gifted them to serve Him. We also believe that it is the primary responsibility of the pastor(s) and teachers in the local church to “prepare God’s people for works of service” (Eph. 4:11-12). Therefore, we are committed to equipping every member of Lifegate to find their place in ministry and to serve. (1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12:3-8)

We Value Reaching out to our Community with the Good News of God’s Love

We believe that lost people matter to God and He has called us to reach out to them with the message of Christ’s love in word and action. Therefore, we are committed to equipping every member of Lifegate to share their faith and to providing regular outreach activities. (Matt. 28:19-20; Luke 8:38-39; Acts 1:8, 2 Peter 3:9)

We Value Prayer

We believe that God desires His people to pray and that He hears and answers their prayers according to His will (Matt. 7:7-11; Jas. 5:13-18). Therefore, the ministries of this church will be characterized by a reliance on prayer. (1 Thes. 5:17; Php. 4:6-7)

We Value Worship

We believe that worship is our heartfelt response to who God is and what He has done (Col. 3:12-17). Therefore, we are committed to encouraging all believers to live a lifestyle of worship everyday (Rom. 12:1-2) and to providing regular opportunities for the body to gather and worship God. (Acts 2:46-47)

We Value Stewardship

We believe that everything we have: our time, our abilities & spiritual gifts, our money and our possessions has been entrusted to us by God. Therefore, we are committed to doing all that we can to teach, equip and encourage every member of Lifegate to become good stewards of all that God has given them. (Matt. 6:19-21, 25:14-30)

We Value Sustained Excellence in Every Area of Ministry

We believe that, in everything we do, God deserves the best we have to offer. (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:23) Therefore, in all we do, we will seek to maintain a standard of excellence to bring honor and glory to God. This will be achieved when every person, enabled by the Holy Spirit, is exercising his or her God-given spiritual gift to the best of his or her ability.

We Value Creativity and Innovation in Ministry

We believe that our God is a creative God and that we have been made in His image (Gen. 1:26-27). Therefore, we are to be creative and we are committed to forms of worship and ministry that will best capture and express who God is and what He is doing (Luke 5:33-39). This means that in our ministries we will seek to be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure.

What do you think? How can putting these values down in writing help us be more effective in ministry? How are each of us doing, as individuals at living these out?

Happy Valentines Day, Melea

2010-02-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family:

We are still here in Portland. A few times we thought God was calling us elsewhere, but He isn’t finished with us here yet. This is a challenging place to do ministry, but we are seeing some rewards. I know we don’t always see the impact of ministry this side of heaven, but it is encouraging when a neighbor tells us that Lifegate (our church) is a light in the community. Our family has had a pretty eventful year in 2009. Since we home school the kids, they were assigned for their language class to write part of our Christmas letter for this year. Here is what they wrote in their own words:

Alec (11):

I have had a great year. There are a few things I did this year: In March we went to the Great Wolf Lodge for spring break. They had an enormous indoor waterpark. There were four large slides. The largest and best waterslide was The Howlin’ Tornado. In the center were smaller waterslides with a giant bucket on the top. The bucket fills up with water and tips over sending water everywhere. There was also a large pool that made large waves. There was a cool game called Magiquest. We had a wand (we still have the wand) that had an electronic device in it. You point the wand at objects and they say something. A book gives you clues of what to do. Emma got a chocolate cupcake because it was close to her birthday. In baseball I was on the Yankees. We were the second-best team. I was on the All-Star team for 9-10 [year olds]. The other 9-10 team won the state championship. We had VBS in June. There were four groups, Mega Watts, Slimy Scientists, Beakers, and Flux Capacitors. I was on the Flux Capacitors. My birthday was on July 3. I got an AT-TE Lego set and a Republic Attack Gunship Lego set. A few days later, we went to Trout Creek Bible Camp for five days. The counselors and CIT’s (counselor in training) have weird nicknames. Zach’s birthday was on July 14. School started in the end of August. We don’t have regular school on Friday though. We have it at a church for home schooled kids. You have three classes. I chose a geography class, a cooking class, and a games class. Zach was in two of my classes. Emma was in one. I also did fall baseball. I’m in 11-12 year old baseball now. Zach did soccer, too. His team did okay, (0 wins, all the rest losses). We went to Wenatchee in the beginning of November for my great-grandma’s funeral for a few days. We went to my other grandparents for Thanksgiving. My aunt, uncle, and cousins were also there. We’re going to my grandparents in Wenatchee for Christmas.

Zachary (9):

For our spring break we went to The Great Wolf Lodge. My favorite ride was “The Howlin’ Tornado. Emma could not go on it. We went to The Great Wolf Lodge with Aunt Pam, Uncle Scott, Dallas and Jessica. There was also a thing with waves. Sometimes the waves are high and sometimes they are lower. There is a bucket [that] dumps water. There is a game called Magiquest. It was fun. In the game you have a book and a wand. With the wand you point at pictures and other things. The hardest one was fighting the dragon. In June we had VBS. VBS was fun. My group was called the Mega Watts. This year VBS was called Power Lab. In July we went to camp. My favorite game we played was called Safari. In Safari there are animals with flags. You get a point if you grab a flag. I got one point. My birthday was not long after camp. I got a tie fighter, a Jedi Quest book, a movie called Star Wars the Clone Wars, a clone helmet, a clone blaster, and light saber. My birthday was fun. I started soccer in September. Soccer was fun. We did not win any games because there were not that many people on my team. We had Friday school after that. Friday school is a thing where you chose three classes. Like games is a name of a class. In the games class you play board games. Friday school was fun. For Thanksgiving we went to our grandparents’ house. We had fun. Jessica and Dallas were also there.

Emma (7):

I had fun this year. It was fun going to The Great Wolf Lodge. I especially liked Magiquest. Friday school was really fun! I’m glad I did the ballet class. It was fun going to grandma and grandpa Goddard’s house for Thanksgiving. I’m glad Jessica and Dallas were there. I can’t wait till Christmas. I wonder what adventures will be waiting then…. Copyright by Emma Brown. All rights reserved.

Have a blessed New Year in 2010!

The Brown family

When Love Comes To Town

2009-12-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

This week we kick off our Christmas sermon series for 2009 "When Love Comes to Town" as we think about the wonder of the incarnation. We will look at the Greatness of God, the Love of God and the message of the Gospel.

This week we are looking at the greatness of God. When was the last time you stopped to think about what it meant for Jesus, the Son of God, to come to earth as a baby?

Watch this video from Francis Chan and spend a few moments worshiping God.

Friday Favorites-10/16/09

2009-10-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Herron had a couple of great posts based on stuff he heard at Catalyst 2009.
-This post from the session with Chuck Swindoll listed the 10 things he's learned in 50 years of ministry. So much wisdom there.
-And this post from the session with Andy Stanley on Healthy Church Teams. Trust on a team is huge!!!
I am really looking forward to the day when I am able to get to some of the great conferences that there are for pastors (Catalyst and Innovate are two on my wish list.)

The Long Road to a Million Miles

2009-10-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

The internet can be a strange and wonderful place. You never know what you might find or where a particular series of links may lead. This morning I followed a path that led me back to the EPIC series we are finishing up at Lifegate this week.

It all started reading Jonathan Herron's blog. He had a few posts last week from the Catalyst 2o09 conference in Atlanta. That led me to the Catalyst site, where I stumbled onto Andy Stanley's twitter feed. So I headed over there to add him to my list of guys I follow and noticed that while he has something like 22,000 followers on twitter he only follows 42 people. So curious to see who these 42 people were that Andy thought were important enough for him to follow I clicked over to that list and came across a name I wasn't familiar with, Scot McKnight. That led me to his blog-Jesus Creed-where he had a review of Donald Miller's new book-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Whew.

I finished Millers book a couple weeks ago and have been thinking about it ever since. Primarily because the theme of his book goes hand in hand with the current sermon series we're in at Lifegate-EPIC. In EPIC we've been talking about 3 relationships where you must be going deeper if you truly want to have a life that goes beyond the ordinary. In his book, Miller talks about the Story we all find ourselves in and the importance of understanding how the choices we make every day impact what kind of story we will live. If we are unaware of our choices and don't make them intentionally, most of us will end up living a mundane, mediocre, ordinary life or we can begin today to choose to live an EPIC story, a Story that matters, a Story that God can use to make a difference in the world.

What kind of Story are you living? Make it EPIC.

Friday Favorites-9/25/09

2009-09-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

-Mark Batterson's post on success was a great reminder of what true success really looks like.

-I always love Dan Kimball's posts & this one on the latest (last?) book on the emerging church was no exception. Make sure you check out what he writes about tradition in the last half of the post. Great stuff.

EPIC

2009-09-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite words for about the last 10 years has been epic. I can trace that back to two things: 1) This book by Len Sweet and 2) The EPIC service I had the honor of leading for almost 2 years at Lifehouse Church in Rocklin, CA.
Now the next EPIC chapter in my life and ministry: This Sunday we are starting a new series at Lifegate-EPIC: Surpassing the Ordinary. We will be spending the next 3 weeks looking at what it takes to have a life that goes beyond the ordinary. I believe that a life that is beyond the ordinary is a life that has some true depth and meaning, so we will be focusing on what it takes to go deeper in 3 key relationships:

Week 1: Going Deeper with God
Week 2: Going Deeper with Other Christ-followers
Week 3: Going Deeper with your oikos

Don't miss it-be sure and come check out the "epic" feel of the auditorium.

It should be EPIC.

Friday Favorites-9/18/09

2009-09-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Best blog post's I read this week:

-Mark Batterson's post on Spiritual Hunger was a real kick in the pants for me & my own desire to know God more.

-Curtis Honeycutt's Open Letter to Those who have Been Burned by church raises some interesting points. I would pray that Lifegate is the kind of church where those who have been burned by the church in the past would feel loved & welcome.

-Earlier this week I wrote a little about Clark Blakeman and the work he is doing with Second Stories. If you want to know more about why they do what they do check out his post here.

-Here is a post from Andy Crouch about the opening show of U2's 360 tour. If there was one show I could go to this year-this would be it.

Transforming Neighborhoods, Transforming Lives

2009-09-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

God is at work.

Yes, I know He is always at work, but so often we miss seeing Him work for one reason or another. Today, I was thrilled to catch a glimpse of what He is doing in the body of Christ here in Portland, OR.

I was part of a Pastors prayer gathering for mid-Multnomah county (the story of how this group came to be is for another post) and sitting at one end of the table were three guys that I believe God is using in great ways to further His kingdom. Milan Homola, Mike VanDerVeen & Clark Blakeman. Three different guys, three different ministries but in one way or another God is using all of them to build His kingdom.

Milan is the Executive Director of Compassion Connect, a ministry he helped launch last year with the vision of seeing "many churches working together to transform their neighborhoods."

Clark has just launched his new ministry Second Stories, a non-profit that is "training churches with a process to move toward a collaborative engagement of neighborhood transformation.This is a facilitated process where missional, incarnational theology is woven together with best principles from community development practitioners."

Mike is working out of the East Portland Neighborhood office as an Americorp staff person to facilitate the idea of Asset Based Community Development.

Three different approaches but the idea is the same "Bringing up there down here". Helping the church engage their community, not just telling people about the Love of God, but showing them & in the process we building relationships. Each of these guys are helping us not just go to church, but be the church.

I'm honored to know each of these guys. I'm excited to see how God will continue to use them to build His kingdom & I'm praying that He will show us how Lifegate can be a part of what He is doing.

Friendship Sunday 2009

2009-09-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

If you are in the Portland area please come and join us at Lifegate for Friendship Sunday. We've been encouraging our members to invite as many friends as they can to come for a great time of singing and to hear about how we can all have the kind of life we've always dreamed of.

Be here Sunday morning at 10:45 a.m. and then stick around for a community dinner right. It will be a fun morning followed by some great food.

And for all of you who call Lifegate home, don't forget to invite your friends. See you Sunday.

Friday Favorites-8/28/09

2009-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Every Friday I'm going to try and post links to some of the best blog posts I've read this week. If you want to be challenged and/or encouraged take some time to check them out.

-David Foster's post on Straight talk to married men from a married guy is a must read for any husbands out there or any of you guys that are thinking about marriage at some point in the future.

-Here's another post for all you married guys out there from Perry Noble giving us 5 questions we should all ask our wives. I think these marriage posts are striking a chord this week because Melea and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary.

-Prodigal John at Stuff Christian's Like usually writes some pretty funny stuff, but his post on Having a Doesn't Count List hit pretty hard. It will really make you think about some of the "small choices" you make every day.

The Best We Can Be

2009-08-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

This post from Seth Godin raised an issue that's been on my mind lately. What does excellence look like at Lifegate?

In a few of our small groups and on the board of Deacon's we've been thinking about what our core values are as a church using some of the ideas from Values Driven Leadership by Aubrey Malphurs. Part of that process has included looking at core values from other churches & asking could that or should that be a core value for Lifegate?

One of the values that always seems to spark the most discussion is the value of excellence. What does it mean to value excellence when you are a small church with limited staff, a limited budget & limited resources. Who do we compare ourselves to? The best, most excellent thing we could ever do here would have a hard time stacking up with any program or event by a larger church. So does that mean we don't try & just do what we can to get by? Do we cut corners & put out things that look like crap because that's all we can afford? Or do we make every effort to do the best we can with what we have?

It reminds me of the church I worked in years ago that needed a new sign for the front of the building. Now church signs generally aren't cheap, so as we talked about the need in a business meeting we weren't coming up with many good options. Finally, one of the older members of the congregation got up and said he had a solution that would work great. He had an old piece of plywood at his place that he could paint the church name on & then lean up against the old sign. It was cheap. It was easy & it would have looked horrible. Thankfully, that idea didn't happen, but over the years of working in churches I've seen many other things done that, frankly, aren't much better.

As I've thought about this I've come to this conclusion: Lifegate will never be the biggest or best church in Portland-that is not our calling. But I believe that God is calling us to be the best small church that we can be. Sure our standard of excellence may be different from the folks at Imago Dei or East Hill or fill in the blank mega church. But we still need to strive for excellence-do the absolute best we can with what we have-never settle for "Oh, that will work."

The best example of that I've seen at Lifegate is the VBS we put on this year. We had a very small staff & almost no budget but I would say that the VBS our team put on this year was every bit as good as that at churches 10x's our size. In fact last summer some friends invited our kids to VBS at thier church which is easily 500+ members & from everything we saw and our kids experienced our VBS this summer blew theirs out of the water.

All that to say, we can, we will, we must strive to do everything we can the very best that we can. Our standard isn't how does it stack up with other churches our size, but is this the best we can do for God. Because He is calling us to be the best small church that we can be.

14 Wild and Wonderful Years

2009-08-26T10:41:00.001-07:00

Today I am blessed to celebrate 14 years of marriage to the woman of my dreams, Melea. This has been a relationship that started with a bang-literally (I totaled my 1990 Mustang on our first date)- and has been full of surprises ever since.

We've moved 5 times, had 3 kids, worked at 3 different churches, lived with her parents for 18 months, gone through 6 cars, and made countless other memories. It's been a wild ride, but I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else.

So for our anniversary today we have an appropriately eclectic date planned-first we are heading to OMSI to see the CSI Experience, then it's dinner at PF Changs, a visit to Powell's and a walk around downtown for some window shopping. I can't wait & I'm excited to see what the next 14 years will bring.

Desperate Prayers

2009-08-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I come across a blog post that hits me right between the eyes. Today it was this post by Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.

Mark shares a story about Honi the Circle Drawer, a man who lived in the first century, BC & was famous for praying for rain. You'll have to go to Marks blog to read the whole story, but his challenge was that we need to pray desperate, bold prayers. Not just God bless Aunt Bessie, God bless the church, God bless me and all my stuff kinds of prayers but prayers where we boldly ask God for what we need, prayers that come from a place of desperation-God I need to see you work here!

So after reading Mark's post today, I got up from my desk and figurativly drew a circle around our church & our home as I walked a circle around the church property here praying for God to do amazing things. I prayed that He will make Lifegate a lighthouse in our community. I prayed that He will raise up the people to lead the ministries He desires for us to have-after school programs, a teen center, recovery programs, a food & clothing bank, parenting classes, Financial Peace University-those are just a few of my ideas, but my prayer is that He will raise up the people to run the ministries that He desires for us to have. Ministries that will show the love of Jesus to our community & that we will see the people that we minister to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I really believe that Lifegate is in the perfect place to have that kind of ministry-the needs here are overwhelming from a human perspective, but God can take every one of those needs and use it to show people how much they truly need Him. I pray that He will use Lifegate as the place to do that.

What do you need to draw a circle around? What do you need to ask God for?

Religious Debate

2009-08-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

An old friend from high school posted an interesting note on Facebook last week. I wanted to post it here along with my response and give all of you an opportunity to weigh in. Here is his original post:

why is it that we can have our Coffee order individualized for a specific person, but our religion is applied with a very wide brush...if you don't believe these rules, and apply a liberal slathering of self loathing, guilt, and shame...you won't get into heaven. You know, Paradise..where you'll be surrounded for eternity by those annoying a**-clowns that try to shove their beliefs down your throat every waking minute....thanks but I don't want the Gold Card membership....can I just get the basic package, where the people are easy going, and the music DOESN'T suck?

There should be a single basic religion

Commandment #1 - Don't be a prick.

And then you add three sides, KFC style.

I'd like a side of 'Eastern Philosophy',
and a side of 'love for everyone but them homo's'.
and...uh, would you recommend 'reincarnated as a cow'? ...or the 'Magic underwear'?

Does that include 'persecution of non-believer's?'...No?..that's extra? S***.

Until then, I'll sit over here waiting for my Double tall half Jesus/Half budda Sinner-cano, and rockin out to some Judas Priest.

I'm just saying God should not be an Amway dealership, where you get kickbacks for recruiting.

*This was written tongue-in-cheek to engage in a discussion. Opinions are welcome/encouraged.

And here is my response:

OK Carl, I'll jump into the middle of this. Let me start with 2 things you wrote that I would agree with.
1) Your "commandment #1-don't be a prick" I would even say that Jesus would agree with you, although I think he phrased it a little different. He said the greatest commandment was to love God & the second greatest was to love others.
2) I agree with your take on religion-nobody wants to be told "Hey you suck, but if you follow all these rules everything will be better." That is religion & far to many "Christians" & "churches" have done a disservice to the message of Jesus by saying that's what He taught. He never came to establish a religion, He came so that we could have a relationship with God.

Now 2 things you hint at that I would like to offer an opposing view of.
1)Heaven-If heaven is just hanging out with jerks who push religion & listening to crappy music-count me out. But when I look at the Bible & see what Jesus said about the Kingdom of heaven I hear Him talk about a new heaven & a new earth-a place where there is no more death, sickness, injustice, poverty, hunger, oppression-in short, the world the way that God intended for it to be before we screwed it up with sin.
2)While we would like to pick & choose what works for us when it comes to religion & how we can come to God-Jesus did not leave that option open to us. He said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me." Jesus didn't leave the option of Him being one of many ways to God. He said I am the only way. Either He was lying, He was crazy or He was telling the truth.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. How would you have responded to Carl? Is his view of religion typical for someone who is not a Christ-follower? How do we as the church keep from pushing religion and instead try to bring people into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

Book Review of The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

2009-06-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

How did I end up here?

How did things get so bad?

Why can't I ever get ahead financially?

In "The Principle of the Path" by Andy Stanley he writes that there is a single unifying principle that governs what happens...in every area of life" and that principle is the principle of the path. What is the principle of the path? Here it is: The principle of the path is that direction-not intention-determines our destination and Andy spends 178-pages breaking that down.

"The Principle of the Path" is one of those books that most everyone will read and think "I know someone else who needs to read this." But the truth is, it is probably a book that each of us need to not just read, but apply to our lives. I know I did. It is a great reminder about the biblical truth that "you reap what you sow." Everyday of our lives we all make decisions & through personal stories and biblical illustrations Andy shows how each of those daily decisions are a step down a path in our lives and if we don't pay attention to those choices we will end up heading down the wrong path, leading to somewhere we never intended to go.

Wow!!!

2009-06-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Time flies when life happens. I was very surprised when I finally came to post here and realized that it has been 6 months since my last post. There has been a lot going on personally & with Lifegate that has kept me busy, but-6 months???
Wow! That is all I can think to say.

Things seems to be calming down to a degree, so I think that I am going to be able to get back into the habit of blogging regularly, so be sure to check in every once in a while to see what God is doing in my life and at Lifegate.

Make Me Laugh Monday: 12 Days of Christmas Edition

2008-12-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

Brown's Christmas Letter 2008

2008-12-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

December 2008

Our family wants to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We have a lot to be thankful for and we have seen God provide for us in many ways. Alec (10) is in fifth grade this year. His highlight of the year was being on one of the All Star teams for Little League. Zachary (8) is in the third grade and his favorite thing that happened this year was playing on a soccer team. Our youngest, Emma (6), is now in first grade. Her highlight was taking ballet classes. Dan doesn’t know if he has a highlight of the year, unless you consider falling down stairs and two operations fun. Melea’s highlight lately has been our family nights every Friday. We each take turns choosing something to do together as a family. One of my favorites was Star Wars night. We dressed up as our favorite character, had a Star Wars themed dinner and played Star Wars Risk.
Please come visit us anytime here in Portland. We enjoyed visiting with those of you who came by this last year.

The Brown family,
Dan, Melea, Alec, Zachary, and Emma

226 SE 148th Ave.
Portland, Or 97233
Dan’s cell (503)929-1779, Melea’s cell (503)929-1787
Dan’s email: pastordanb@gmail.com
Melea’s email: meleajbrown@gmail.com

The Downside of e-commerce

2008-12-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

Typically I love e-commerce, the ability to buy most anything I want online, from the comfort of my living room, with the click of a button. I especially love it when I can buy something and have it immediately, that kind of instant gratification can be addicting. That's why I love iTunes, thousands of songs and the ability to buy the ones I want and have them right now has been something I thought I would always love. Until today.

This morning I woke up to find 2 e-mails from paypal, they were in fact 2 separate receipts for purchases I supposedly made through iTunes. That was a little disconcerting since I haven't made any purchases through iTunes for a few weeks. Then I opened up the e-mail only to find that not only were these purchases from iTunes, each of the purchases I supposedly made was for $200.00!!!! Now I may buy an album on iTunes from time to time, but I have never spent anywhere close to $200, let alone 2 purchases for $200 within 4 minutes of each other. Not cool!

So, I went to paypal and was able to file a claim for each of the charges stating that they were due to some unauthorized activity, so we'll see how quickly paypal is able to clear this up. But when I went to apple.com and tried to access my iTunes account, it seems that whoever charged this to my account also changed my login info, so not only could I not access my iTunes account, I couldn't do much of anything there except send an email to the iTunes store and hope that someone there will get back to me and help me resolve this.

This is the kind of thing that could stop me from using any of these online sites again. I can't afford to lose $400 and even if they resolve this, chances are I won't have my $400 back anytime soon and it will be fun to explain to the kids, sorry we can't have any Christmas presents this year or food for Christmas dinner because some idiot at iTunes didn't realize that it was a little odd for me to be spending $400 on music for the first time in FOREVER!!!

Shouldn't there be some kind of safeguard to alert both iTunes and Paypal to suspicious activity, and 2 $200 charges in 5 minutes on an account that has never spent more than $20 at any one time should seem a little suspicious.

I hope that iTunes and Paypal can resolve this quickly and easily for me or I will be shutting down my accounts with both of them and finding other ways to pay for music and auctions.

I know this is way off topic for this blog, but I am upset and had to vent somewhere, besides the world needs to know that stuff like this is happening.

I'm back!

2008-12-15T11:58:00.001-08:00

I know it's been over a month since I've blogged, for anyone one whose missed it I'm sorry, I needed a break. There are times the demands of ministry seem overwhelming and the demands of being a husband and father are ever present, so when those two things demand all of my time-like during the holidays-there is not time left for other things, like this blog. So I will probably not be posting much more for the rest of the month, but plan to be back to regular posts starting in January. So until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

No More Sickness!!

2008-11-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

I hate it when my kids are sick. My youngest, Emma, woke up at 5:30 this morning with a cough and a fever of 102.6, not cool. I used to think the reason I didn't like my kids being sick was because it was an inconvenience to me-having to adjust my schedule, take care of them, run to the store to get the right kind of medicine, etc.-and there may be some truth to that but this morning it hit me that there may be a deeper reason.

Sunday we started a new series at Lifegate. For almost the last 2 years we have been slowly going through the book of Matthew, last week we arrived at chapter 11 and we are calling our 4 weeks in chapter 11 of "Join the Revolution" & when we come back to Matthew 12-13-we'll probably tie that into the "Join the Revolution" theme because in those 3 chapters Jesus spends a lot of time talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. So Sunday I introduced that theme with the idea that part of our role as followers of Christ is to, as they say at Granger, "Bring up there down here." In other words, when Christ was on earth part of what He did was bring the values of His future kingdom into the world, wherever He went and now our calling as Christ followers is to do the same thing-bring a bit of His future kingdom into the present by living out kingdom values wherever we are, wherever we go.

To introduce that idea we spent some time during the message looking at some passages that tell us about what the Kingdom is going to be like. The passages we looked at were: Isaiah 9:6-7, 32:14-18, 61:1-2; Ezekiel 36:26-30; and Revelation 21:3-4. I know there are a number of other passages I could have used, but hey, I only had about 35 minutes (and as it was I ran out of time and am finishing up the message this coming week). By looking at these passages we were able to see that when the Bible talks about the Kingdom it is talking about a time when justice will prevail, disease will be gone, hunger will be eliminated, there will be no more oppression, no more sadness, no pain, no death, there will be peace forever because God will rule and all will be as it should be. That is the Kingdom of heaven. That is the world as it should be. That is the way that things will be one day. And that is the way that we were created to live because that is a picture of a world without the effects of the fall-sin and death.

So back to my initial thought-I hate it when my kids are sick. Why is that? I think at least in part it is because we were never created to be people that have to deal with sickness and disease.

One of my prayers for the last few years has been-God help me see the world through your eyes, help me love like you love and hate what you hate. I think that my reaction to seeing those I know suffer is part of God's answer to that prayer. Right now we have a few people in our church who are dealing with a number of different physical problems, cancer, the effects of strokes, blindness just to name a few. Every time I hear about another person I know suffering in some way physically there is a part of me that gets angry and now I think I understand why, because the world should not be this way and praise God one day sickness will be no more.

Watch the Widgets

2008-11-07T23:42:00.000-08:00

Technology is changing and advancing so quickly these days I always feel like I'm trying to catch up & figure out how I can leverage it to further our ministry here at Lifegate. Most of the time I try stuff out here on this blog to see how it works. Most of this stuff ends up as a widget on the side bar to the right here, but if you don't take the time to look at it you will probably never see it. So let me take this post to introduce you to some web tools you may like to take advantage of. Starting from the top:

1. Lijit-the Lijit widget gives you the opportunity to search this blog for that post you think you remember but can't find or just search to see if I've ever written about something you may be interested in. It also lets you see what the most popular searches on the blog are. You can also access the Lifegate podcast from the link there and my bookmarks at del.ic.ious.

2. Next up are a couple of ways that you can subscribe to the content of this blog and stay up to date with what happens here without having to check back here every day-RSS feed or have it sent directly to your e-mail.

3. The newest addition is my Twitter updates. I just signed up with Twitter today so if you are on Twitter let me know and I'd love to follow you. If you are interested in following me you can see my feed at www.twitter.com/pastordanb

4. For those of you on Facebook you can follow the blog through my blog network, just click on the blog network box.

5. If you are interested in seeing what blogs I follow check out my blog list.

So there you have it, if any of that can help make your life simpler or help you stay connected take advantage of it, otherwise just ignore all the junk I put over there and keep reading.

Church 2.0-Local Forum, Portland, OR

2008-11-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Greg Atkinson, Tech Pastor @ Bent Tree, is in Portland today hosting the Church 2.0 Local Forum.

I first came in contact with Greg through his blog church video ideas and then connected with him on facebook. Today, I'm sitting in a room with almost 30 other church leaders from around the Portland area to talk about the church and what God is doing in the church in Portland and around the country.

Today we'll be talking about innovation in the church and how we can use web 2.0 tools in ministry. Here are a few thoughts from today:

-As we went around the room I recognized at least a few names & faces from facebook-Matt Payne, Dawn Carter

-Eph. 5:1-Watch what God does and then you do it (the Message)

-It's great to hear about some of the things God is doing in some of the other ministries represented here.
-A church in Vancouver that started a skate church and saw over 200 teens come to Christ.
-Matt shared about how God has opened doors for him to get involved with with business leaders in Beaverton through the Chamber of Commerce there.
-One thing I can do to help our church make inroads in our community is get more involved with the neighborhood association-find ways to get involved so that people in our community continue to see Lifegate as an asset to our community.
-Just one ministry to the poor may be a way our church can begin reaching out and helping those in our community.

Add Jimmy spencer as a freind of facebook-Shema movement-ministry that has a heart for the poor and the homeless.

-3 dangerous prayers to pray: "God break me"
"God search me"
?

The difference between church 1.0 and church 2.0 is we've moved from doing church to being the church. This is very different from the church I grew up in, but we are moving toward being the church that Christ has called us to be.

-the Portland area is somewhere in the neighborhood of 89% unreached people. We have a lot of work to do people. Our community needs us to be the Church to be the body of Christ.

Where Do We Go From Here?

2008-11-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

I've intentionally tried to stay away from to much political stuff on this blog. I enjoy watching the political races the same way I enjoy watching the Super Bowl, but in the end my mission as a pastor doesn't change based on the outcome and our mission as a church remains the same.

I've talked to a few people over the last few weeks who, I'm sure, woke up this morning thinking that our country is going to be destroyed because Obama was elected last night. I also know a number of people who are thrilled about the new direction and change that they feel is coming to our country because of President-elect Obama. Here's the interesting thing, all of these people are committed Christians who share many of the same values and beliefs, they all worship the same God and believe that He is sovereign, heck a number of them worship together on Sunday Mornings.

A few things I would like us all to remember today, whatever side you have been on, whomever you may have voted for yesterday:

1) A few reminders about what the Bible has to say regarding how we are to view our government:
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."
Romans 13:1

"Remind your people to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. they must not speak evil of anyone, and they must avoid quarrelling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone." Titus 3:1,2

Nuff' said.
2) I know it sounds cliche but it is true, so many of you have been on different sides through this election supporting your candidate and tearing down and in some cases spreading lies about the other candidate. But today, we are all Americans. President-elect Obama will be our president and the best thing we can do as Americans, the right thing for all of us to day as Americans is to pray for him and support him.

3)I came across this post today from Christopher Lytle, he posted it on his blog and I appreciated his thoughts. You can read the first few paragraphs below and go here if you want to read it in its entirety.

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations. It seems like just yesterday that you gave your key note speech at the Democratic National Convention. I remember watching you thinking to myself, “this guy is going to president one day” - If I’m honest, I had no idea it would be this soon.

You should know upfront that I didn’t vote for you. It’s not a personal thing, it’s just politics. I disagree with a lot of things that you stand for, however, your idealism is inspiring. You see, I’m a dreamer. I believe that the impossible is possible. I believe that things don’t have to be just because they have always been. I relate with your optimism and your desire for change even if I disagree with some of the particulars.

It is true that I am a Christian, a pastor in fact, and according to some I am supposed to loath you. I am supposed to disagree with everything you stand for because you are a democrat, and a liberal one at that.....

Like I said, if you want to read the rest of the Chrisopher's post you can check it out here.

Slime Time Report

2008-11-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

What a weekend!

We spent Thursday night and all day Friday transforming Lifegate from a neighborhood church into a wild laboratory filled with great games and fun experiments and when we opened the doors we were ready for a great night of fun, games and showing our neighbors the love of God.

By the time the night was over we had over 140 people come through our door (up from 100 last year). The candy did not run out, the games went great, the gospel was clearly presented and people left having heard again and again "God loves you!"

Please pray for the follow up over the next few weeks as follow up mailers, with the pictures we took that night of each family, are mailed out. Pray that the seeds of the gospel that were planted that night might take root and that we might see the fruit in the future.

Thanks for partnering with us in prayer for this event,

Pray for Slime!

2008-10-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

As part of our prayer emphasis leading up to our Slime Time Outreach on October 31st Lifegate is having 24 hours of prayer for Slime Time.

Sunday morning our people signed up to pray but there are still
a few slots open. I know that some of you joined with us during the week of
fasting leading up to Celebration Sunday and some of you also work odd hours or
are in different time zones, so if any of you would like to join with us in this
we would greatly appreciate it.

The times that are open are:
Friday, October 31st:
12 a.m.
1 a.m.
2 a.m.
3 a.m.
11 a.m.-Arlys
2 p.m.-Arlys
4 p.m.-Gen
5 p.m.
6 p.m.

All times are Pacific
If you are willing to pray with us just leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email and let me know when you are planning to pray.

Also, we don't expect you to pray for the entire hour, we are just asking people
to pray for at least 5-10 minutes at some point in the hour they sign up for.

Thanks for praying with us for God to work through Slime Time.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Election Edition

2008-10-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

Who would the presidential candidates be if they were muppets? Watch and find out.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Christmas Edition

2008-10-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

Beeker presents Ode to Joy

Caring for your pastor-Part 2

2008-10-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

I was reading through some old blog posts I have saved on bloglines (my blog reader of choice & a great way to keep up on multiple blogs), while there I came across a post from Jonathan Herron that I thought would be appropriate to share during Pastor Appreciation month.

Jonathan posted this back in April. Two of the best things you can do for your pastor is to encourage him & pray for him.

Welcome to the Jungle!

2008-10-16T14:17:00.001-07:00

Sunday we kicked of our new series from Matthew 10 "Welcome the Jungle". If you missed it here's a brief recap.

In Matthew 10 we find Jesus sending His disciples out on a short term mission trip. It is the beginning of His ministry training for them, and as we listen in we see that He is not just talking to them, but to those He will send out in the future to proclaim the gospel to the world-including us. You don't have to go to the mission field, the mission field has come to you.

We set the stage up to look like a jungle with some plants and animals hanging around to set the mood. The idea we were trying to communicate is that there used to be a time that we thought of missions work as something we sent people overseas to go and do in the jungle, but today with around 170 million in the US who don’t know Christ, we live in the third largest mission field in the world. We no longer have to go overseas, just walk out your front door and you are in the jungle of today. We must learn how to be cross cultural missionaries to communicate the timeless truth of the gospel message to a world that needs Jesus.

If you missed it you can hear the message here.

So be sure to join us this week for week 2 of Welcome to the Jungle.

The Kingdom of Heaven: Now & Not Yet

2008-10-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the priviledge of attending the Spurgeon Fellowship @ Western Seminary. The speaker for the first session was Dr. Todd Miles who is an Assistant Professor of Theology and Hermeneutics at the Seminary. He spoke on "The King of the Kingdom" using Luke 4:14-44 as his text.

Over the last 2 years as I've been preaching through the book of Matthew at Lifegate we've talked about the "Kingdom of heaven" a number of times, so I was looking forward to hearing what Todd had to say. Here are a few of the things he said that caught my attention (I'll type them in a bold font) followed by my comments.

"Do we serve in the kingdom or do we focus on the proclomation of the gospel?"
-He started by showing how through most of the 20th century the church has reacted to the kingdom with one of 2 extremes-either the social gospel, serving and trying to live out kingdom values but not proclaiming the gospel clearly or accuratlely, or proclaiming the gospel simply as believe these facts about Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die. Neither extreme is the true message of the gospel that Jesus has called us to proclaim.

What were they (those who heard Christ's message of the kingdom) anticipating in the kingdom:
-It is going to come when God saves Israel
-It is going to come when the Spirit is poured out
-It is going to come when the Davidic heir is going to sit on the throne and reign

What will the kingdom be like:
-Justice will prevail
-Disease will be gone
-Hunger will be eliminated
-Freedom for the oppressed
-There will be peace
-No more sin
-No more death
That is the good news-who doesn't want to live in that kingdom and one day, by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, we will.

Everything we read in the remainder of chapter 4 (vs. 31-44) is the fulfillment of prophecy regarding the kingdom.
Jesus heals because in his kingdom there is no sickness.

The curse of sin and death had to be dealt with and that could only happen at the cross.

Now the kingdom is here and not yet.

Col. 1:13-14 - We have been transferred into the kingdom of Christ

The church is not the kingdom, but it is related to the kingdom. Our ministry as pastors is to lead believers-who are servants of the king-to demonstrate the values of the kingdom in the world. Bringing some of the future into the present.

2 current errors in doing this-
1)A kingdom without the king-an over realized kingdom
Todd spent quite a bit of time here talking about those in the emerging church (the only person he quoted was McLaren) who seem to emphasize social action and social change without proclaiming Christ as Savior and Lord.
2)Proclaim a King without a kingdom-the over reaction of fundamentalists and evangelicals to the social gospel. As a result the gospel is reduced to-believe these things and go to heaven when you die.
My biggest problem with what Todd said yesterday: While error #2 is probably the one that the majority of pastors in the audience yesterday would lean toward, he spent about 10 minutes hammering McLaren that branch of the emerging church (and rightfully so, in my opinion), however when it came time to mention this error-he spent about a minute talking about it. Seemed like a case of playing to audience, hitting the easy target and trying to to step on anyone's toes.
But here's the best stuff he said all day:
We have the responsibility of bringing a bit of the future into the present.

We must serve others because we love Jesus Christ and he will one day rule and today we are to live as member of the kingdom.

We should be leading the way on environmental issues because this (the earth) belongs to Jesus and we are called to care for it. Taking care of the environment is a stewardship issue-This is His.

We should serve the poor, single mothers, widows, the oppressed & victims of injustice for the same reasons Jesus did-because in His future kingdom there is no oppression and injustice.

We serve the hungry because in the kingdom there is no hunger.

We serve for the same reasons Jesus did because in the kingdom things will not be this way!

The key to understanding the kingdom is the same as it is with so many other things-balance. We proclaim the gospel and we live out kingdom values-trying to bring the future kingdom into the present world we live in, just as Jesus did. An overemphasis either way is a mistake.

Family Night

2008-10-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

The day I asked Melea to marry me was one of the best days of my life, it was also one of the most nerve wracking. I was going to sing her a song to propose & that had me feeling pretty nervous but before I could ever get to the picnic lunch and musical proposal I had to make it through my breakfast appointment with her dad.
Asking Terry for his blessing before I asked Melea to marry me was one of the most difficult conversations I have ever had. He didn't make it easy, he knew what I was going to say & just sat there silently watching me squirm and enjoying every minute of it. There is one part of our conversation from that morning that I will always remember & it has done much to shape who I am today. After I asked Terry if I could marry Melea he said he had one question for me. "How are you going to take care of her?" I immediately assumed he was talking financially and so I started to ramble on about saving & being a good steward & I don't even remember what else I was saying until he stopped me & said "I'm not talking about money, how much you make as a pastor isn't important, I want to know how you are going to care for her as your wife? What are you going to do to make sure that she knows that she is a priority in your life over your ministry?" That thought has stuck with me and throughout our marriage I have always tried to make sure she knows and now that our kids know as well that they are more important to me than my job. My first responsibility is to them as a husband and father.
With that in mind we have tried to do different things at different times to facilitate that. In our current season of life that has become a monthly date for Melea and I (while the kids are at AWANA) and a weekly family night (Friday nights).
Our kids have just recently started show some real excitement about family night. It's to the point now where it has become the highlight of their week. For us right now we take turns letting different family members choose what we will do each week-play a game, watch a movie, do a craft, etc.
If you are thinking about starting a family night or looking for some creative ideas to spice up your family night here are a few links to get you started:
Kem Meyer on the four ingredients for her family nights
Carlos bragged on his wife for her incredibly creative family nights-check her blog here for some great ideas

Don't put it off, create some memories with your family (whatever that means-kids, grandkids,.....?) this week.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Country Edition

2008-10-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Johnny Cash on the Muppet Show

Caring for your pastor's wife

2008-10-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

Caring for your pastor

2008-10-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

Financial Learning-Part 3

2008-10-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

To wrap up this brief series of posts on what I've been learngin about how to handle my money & be a good steward, I wanted to briefly tell you about what I am currently learning and am going to learn in the near future.

On November 1 Melea and I are going to join thousands of other people at the Memorial Colossium here in Portland and attend Dave Ramsey's Total Money makeover-Live Event. I am looking forward to learning how we can continue to improve in this area and being encouraged and motivated to keep working hard to get out of debt.

If you are a member or regular attender at Lifegate, I would strongly encourage you to sign up this weekend and be a part of this event. It is only $24 if you sign up through the church (a 30% discount). I had someone tell me last weekend, it's to late for me-no, it's not-it's never to late to start honoring God with your finances and start getting out of debt.

Even if you don't attend Lifegate and would like to go to the Total Money Makeover, call the church office (503-252-0887) and you purchase your tickets through our church at the discounted rate.

Financial Learning-Part 2

2008-10-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I taught a 4 week series on stewardship that we called Mind Your Own Business. We actually borrowed the name from Lifechurch.tv. Here are the links to sermons from the series.

Mind Your Own Business-Week 1

Act Your Wage-Week 2

Give Generously-Week 3

We Are a Lighthouse-Week 4

Financial Learning-Part 1

2008-10-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

Much of what I have learned this year regarding finances is because of Joe Sangl. It started when I read his book (I blogged about that here). If you haven 't read I Was Broke, Now I'm Not I'd highly recommend it.

A day or two after that blog post I was surprised by an email from Joe himself. Since then Melea and I have met with Joe twice over the phone to discuss our personal finances. We are very thankful for the time he has taken to try and help us become better stewards of all that God has given us.

Finally, be sure to check out Joe's blog. There are a number of financial tools you can take advantage of for free including tools for budgeting, getting out of debt, and a financial planning checklist.

Dave Ramsey's 3 steps to change the Nation's Future

2008-09-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

If my post from earlier today regarding the economy struck a nerve I would encourage you to check out this link.

Dave gives three steps to change our nations future, gives a common sense fix to our current economic problems and encourages anyone who doesn't want to see our government go another $700 billion dollars in debt trying to fix a problem caused by to much debt to contact their Senators and Representative and tell them to fix the problem without more debt.

The Greatest Band in the World

2008-09-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Bob Hyatt had a post today that included these 2 videos of U2 from the 2002 Superbowl halftime show. I'd encourage you to talk a look at them and maybe read his post to see his perspective on them.

I just want to say that these 2 videos-that halftime show-confirm what I have been saying for years. U2 is the greatest rock band in the world. I don't believe that any other band has the sense of the moment and ability to capture and communicate that the way that they do.

It's amazing to think back and realize that they wrote their album All That You Can't Leave Behind over a year before 9/11 and had started the Elevation tour to rave reviews before 9/11. After 9/11 they were able to revamp the tour and create an event that captured the heart of what was happening in our country at the time.

I had the priviledge of being part of that experience at the show in Sacramento about 2 months after 9/11. It was the most incredible concert experience I am sure I will ever have-joy, worship, tears, pride, healing. Words cannot do it justice-the superbowl halftime video can only capture a portion of what that was like, and these guys were doing that almost every night for crowds all over America.

If you still doubt, watch 2 more videos from U2.

This one is from America: A Tribute to Heroes the benefit that was on TV right after 9/11.

And finally, if you remember, the 2002 Superbowl was in New Orleans. Well a few years later U2 was back in New Orleans to play at another football game. This time it was the first game back in the city after Hurricane Katrina.

Every one of these videos gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes.

Do You Get Your Financial Advice while your in line at Costco?

2008-09-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting experience at Costco yesterday. I was in the check out line buying a few things for the family (applesauce & bananas, if you must know). As I was getting ready to pay for my stuff the Costco employee who was ringing up my order said to me, "Hey, your into all this finance and tax stuff, what do you think about our current economic situation?"

It took me a second to realize why she asked me that. Then I remembered that because we have our Costco membership through my father-in-law the name of his business is on the card-Professional Bookkeeping & Tax. So, she thought I was an accountant. I had to tell her that my father-in-law was the accountant, I was a pastor so I didn't really have the professional expertise to answer her question.

I didn't matter to her, she asked me again-"So, what do you think about our current economic situation? What should I do with my money, my 401K?" She was desperate for some direction, for some hope and I know that she is not alone.

Things look pretty bleak right now and people are searching for answers. I'm not the smartest guy when it comes to money, but over the last year it's been one of the areas where God has been teaching me a lot. I didn't have the time to share much of what I've learned in line at Costco, but I'll put some of that up here over the course of the week.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Muppet Classic Edition

2008-09-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

I know I've been on a Muppet kick lately, but I have to post this. Of all the Muppet/Sesame Street stuff I've heard over the years this is the one that has been stuck in my head for 30 years.

There you go, now it can be stuck in your head for the next 30 years.

Quote of the Day

2008-09-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

From The Pixar Touch, by David A. Price:

Andrew Stanton, Co-Director of Finding Nemo, “…also spoke of a spiritual aspect to the relationship of Marlin and Dory. Dory was, literally, an angel fish. ‘The protagonist’s battle was to overcome fear by discovering faith, and certainly Dory represented the angel, or the helper who showed him how to let go and not be consumed by his worries,’ he told an interviewer for a Christian-oriented film web site.
He observed that subtlety is critical in giving films such as Pixar’s a spiritual or religious dimension. ‘My personal view is that if you go into things on a pulpit or with an agenda in the creative world, it can easily get in the way of your creativity and quality… Be Christ-like in everything you do, not worrying about whether you’re furthering the cause.’”

Thanks to Addison Road for posting this quote today.

My Reading List, Part 3-What I'm currently reading

2008-09-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

Usually I am reading anywhere from 3-5 books at a time. Sometimes I can go through stretches where I will read at least a book a week and then there are other times where I get a book in there that is just tough going and it takes what seems like forever to finish it.

So to finish up these posts on my reading list. Here is the list of the books I am currently reading.

Soul Salsa by Len Sweet-Of all the books in my library I have probably read this one more times than any other.

The Gospel According to Moses by Athol Dickson-I've been reading this for almost 2 years. There is some really good content and discussion regarding the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, but frankly I just have not really been engaged with the story. It's been a struggle but I'm determined to finish it.

Visioneering by Andy Stanley-I have really enjoyed almost every book by Andy that I have read. I'm just getting started with this one, but so far it looks promising.

Take Control of What's Controlling You by Steven Arterburn-Short, simple and to the point in giving the basics of how to overcome addiction.

What you Didn't Learn from Your Parents about Christianity by Matthew Paul Turner-Another bargain find from the Pilgrim Discount going out of business sale. It's a fun read about some of the basics of following Christ while trying to strip away so much of the "religion" and tradition that sometimes get in the way.

So, I'm curious, what are you reading right now? What books are in your "stack" of stuff you'd like to read in the near future?

My Reading List, Part 2

2008-09-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the books in stack two of my to read pile.

The Radical Prayer by Derek J. Morris-another free book I picked up at some pastor's gathering, we'll see if it's worth the time.
We The Purple by Marcia Ford-Should be an interesting read in the current political season. The basic premise of the book seems to be that just because you are a Christian doesn't automatically affiliate you a certain political party. It is written by a Christian who considers herself an independent (as do I) and she shares the views and stories of a number of other believers who would call themselves independents.
Creating Community by Andy Stanley and Bill Willits-Another Andy Stanley book I am looking forward to reading as we consider how to improve our small groups here at Lifegate.
Breakout Churches by Thom S. Rainer-Picked this one up the same day I bought Comeback Churches. Two different views, two different studies on how churches turn around and excel.
The Challenge of Jesus by N.T.Wright-Looking forward to reading this and being stretched by one of the great theological minds of our time.
Keeping the 10 Commandments by J.I. Packer-Another one by Packer, should be good.
The Homiletical Plot by Eugene L. Lowry-More reading to help me improve my preaching.
Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters by Dick Staub-I first heard about his book while reading Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer (a book which I highly recommend here). Dick is an author that has influenced Phil, so I thought I'd give him a try.
Soul Cravings by Erwin Raphael McManus-It seems like every time I turn around McManus has another book coming out. I enjoyed the last one I read from him-An Unstoppable Force-but none of his title since then had caught my eye until now.
The Three Hardest Words by Len Sweet-There was a time I would read anything Sweet wrote and loved it. SoulTsumami, Aqua Church, Soul Salsa, A Cup of Coffe at the Soul Cafe, Post-Modern Pilgrims- all have been very formative in my spiritual growth, but since those books his writing has been a little more hit and miss. I've found myself enjoying one book and slogging through the next-so I'm not real motivated to start this one, but I will someday.
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey-Finances and stewardship have been some real growth areas for Melea and I in the last couple of years. I blogged about that here. God has used Joe Sangl to teach us a lot and last time we talked to Joe he told us that he has learned a lot from Dave. We are planning to attend Dave's Total Money Makeover Live Event here in Portland in November. I received this book at a Pastor's Event to promote the event and am looking forward to reading it.

My Reading List

2008-09-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

There is an axiom out there that states: "Leaders are readers." I'm not sure who coined the phrase but I believe it to be true. So as part of my journey to become a better leader I try to read books that will help me to learn and grow, personally and professionally.

Today, I want to give you a glimpse into my reading list. On the shelf next to my desk there is a stack of books (right now, it's grown to 2 stacks). These are the books I am planning to read.

Here are the books currently in my planning to read stack:

When God comes to Church by Steve Gaines-received it as a free gift at the Pastor's Masters Gold Tournament last year. If it doesn't grab me in the first chapter, I'll probably never finish it.

They Smell Like Sheep by Lynn Anderson-picked it up for about $2 @ Pilgrim Discount's going out of business sale. Should be a good read on pastoral leadership.

Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels-As I continue to try and train, encourage and motivate those here at Lifegate in the area of personal evangelism, I'm continually looking for new ways to communicate those principles. I'm hoping there will be a future sermon series for us coming from some of the ideas here.

The Jesus Chronicles: John's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins-recommended by a couple of our members here at Lifegate.

How to Preach without Notes by Charles W. Koller-Written in 1962 and still being printed today, the back cover calls it "a classic". I'm just hoping for some help as this is one of my goals for myself in preaching to rely less and less on my notes.

Praying the Lords Prayer by J.I. Packer-I've always found Packer's writing to be challenging. I still remember reading Knowing God for the first time and how God used that in my spiritual growth. I'm hoping for more of the same with this book.

Simply Strategic Volunteers by Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens-I was reading their blogs long before I read any of their Simply Strategic books, but I've found the books very practical and encouraging.

They Like Jesus but Not the Church by Dan Kimball-Received the book for free when I attended a seminar by Dan where he talked about the book (I blogged about it here). After hearing most of what was in the book I haven't been real motivated to read it, but I'm sure I will...someday.

Devloping the Leader Within You by John C. Maxwell-John has probably forgotten more about leadership than I will ever know.

Comeback Churches by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson-As we try and help Lifegate become a "comeback church" we need all the help and insight from others we can get.

Jesus the Jewish Theologian by Brad H. Young-The more I can learn about and understand the cultural context Jesus lived and taught in, the more I can try and communicate that effectivly in my teaching.

Colossians Remixed by Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat-Picked it up on a recommendation that Rob Bell made in a sermon he gave from Colossians.

That's only stack one of my to read list. I'll post a summary of stack 2 tomorrow and a list of what I am currently reading on Friday.

Context Makes all the Difference!

2008-09-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how something in one context can be cringe inducing yet in another context-it just works.

Check out this video of the David Crowder Band performing the Sonseed "hit" "Jesus is my Friend" as the benediction for their church service this last Sunday.

Thanks to David for posting this on his blog today. Way to go!

Slime Time!

2008-09-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

Slime Time is oozing our way!

On October 31st, Lifegate will be hosting our annual Halloween Alternative Outreach. This years theme is Slime Time. It will be a great evening of fun, games, science experiments, slime, and lots of candy!

There are a few ways that you can be involved. For those of you here in Portland, invite your friends and family & come enjoy the evening. We can still use a number of volunteers to help with registration, photography, decorations and running games. And any donations of candy will be greatly appreciated.

For those of you outside the area, please be in prayer for the planning and preparation of the event. Also be in prayer for us the night of the event. Last year we had over 50 kids attend our Halloween event and we are planning on over 100 for this year.

As part of the event I will be playing the part of a "mad scientist", Professor Gizmo, who will share the gospel with the kids in a creative way. So pray for all those who will hear the gospel that night as well.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Sesame Street Edition, Vol. 4

2008-09-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

1,2,3,4 monsters

Friday Favorites: TV Edition

2008-09-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of the new TV season, I'm reviving Friday favorites for at least a week.

Here is a list of my top 10? favorite TV shows on right now

10-Criminal Minds-Probably the darkest of all the shows on this list.

9-Amazing Race-I actually just started watching this last year, watched on vacation at the in-laws and it's amazing how quick you can connect with some of these teams and start rooting for some and against others.

8-CSI-Used to be one of my 2 or 3 must see shows on TV, but it had really started to drop off in the last couple of years. The cast turnover between last year and this may breathe some new life into an old dinosaur.
Survivor

7-Burn Notice-While I was recovering from my back surgery I checked out a few shows online. This one from USA Network was one that I really enjoyed.

6-Life-The other show I discovered while recovering from back surgery. Interesting overriding mystery (who framed the main character) while they solve different crimes each week with some sharp humor.

5-Survivor-Melea and I have been watching this show since season 1, it's had it's ups and downs but last seasons Fans vs. Favorites brought back some of the best drama they've had in years.

4-NCIS-What started out as a limp spinoff of JAG has grown into an entertaining crime drama, but the best part of the show is the humorous interaction of the main characters.

3-Bones-Another show that took a year or two to hit its stride, Bones is now, for my money the funniest show on TV.

2-House-Started watching in season 1 when it was on after American Idol and haven't been able to stop.

1-Lost-Polar Bears. The Dharma Initiative. The Oceanic Six. The Others. The Hatch. Just when you think you are starting to get it all figured out, they throw a new twist in. Things can only get better as they move towards the end.

Looking at this list a few observations. 5 of my top 10 shows are on CBS-they have really found a niche with crime procedurals and reality programing. Only 1 program from NBC & ABC-those are a couple or networks that struggling to find quality programming.

Also the way I watch TV has changed. There are 3 shows on this list I would have never found & watched if my only option was to watch them when they first air. We discovered NCIS because it was available On Demand through Comcast. And I found Life & Burn Notice because I could watch them online on Hulu.

Make Me Cringe Thursday

2008-09-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

2 videos I've come across in the last week that play into almost every bad stereotype about bad, corny Christian music. I'll warn you ahead of time-once you watch these the images may be permanently burned into your retina's. So watch at your own risk.

Video #1: "Jesus is my Friend" by Sonseed -(possibly the worst band name I have ever heard)

My "favorite" line here: "He is like a Mountie, he always gets His man, and He'll zap you any way He can... ZAP!" or "He loves me when I waste my time by writing silly songs".

Thanks to Iggy for posting this.

Video #2: The Renewed Mind

The best/worst thing-copyright 2007!

Watch it quick before The Way International (a cult) makes Youtube take it down.

Thanks to Carlos for the link.

Response to "Why People Resist Change"

2008-09-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

I received this response via e-mail yesterday from one of the regular readers here-Jessica Miller. Take a moment to read her perspective on how people respond to change as she sees it played out in her field.

From Jessica:
Change typically means a lack of control, unless the change is embraced and "owned."

In my work, I've found that people are more willing and able to go through change when there is some part of it that they can control. For example, when having to help a child reunify with birth parents, the families that take part in the change (writing a letter to the birth parent on the child's routine, meeting the birth parent, helping the child through their emoitons, etc) do better coping with the loss and grieving. While they can't control the change, they can control their response and the things they do to make it the easiet for the child as possible.

For the kids that are removed from their parents, the huge change in their world is a loss of control. They don't get to say whether or not they stay, who they go to live with, what they get to take with them or most anything else, because the "big people" make these decisions. When a child comes into one of my family's homes, it is easier for the child if they let the child have age-appropriate control. Simply letting a child have the control of deciding to wear the blue shirt or the red shirt can make a huge difference, but as adults (or those with authority) we control the bigger situation by directing their choice to only the blue or red shirt (not any shirt in the closet).

One last example... The decision to move. Parents always make that decision and while it is a big decision it is typically eaiser for them because they have control. While we take our kids into consideration, the decision is ours as parents and the kids typically get told what is happening. By letting the kids take ownership & have some control it makes the moving easier (such as letting them choose which bedroom is going to be theirs & what color they want to paint it).

So yes, control & change go hand and hand. When you have control it is easier to go through the change. I guess a question to ask then is: As the leadership of the church (adults) how can we help the congregation (children) have some control (even if minimally) and help them participate/own the change? And as always, there are those who will just stick their feet in cement and refuse to have any part of it, even if allowed to have some control.

My two cents, plus a couple extra...

Have a good Tuesday,

Jessica

Any other examples of how you've seen a resistance to change in your line of work or how you've seen a church or other organization succesfully deal with making changes?

Why people resist change

2008-09-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

As pastor of a church that has been been transitioning I've spent a lot of time thinking about change. On this blog, I've written alot about change (here, here, and here for starters). Well, today I came across another post about change that caught my eye. Scott Harris, a fellow pastor leading a church in Washington, had an some interesting thoughts on why people resist change.

If you are on facebook, you have noticed the "new facebook" layout they have recently rolled out. I've heard a number of people complain about it, but Scott noted that at least of few of those people are pastors who have lead churches through major changes. You can read the whole thing here. But Scott's conclusion was this:

My theory is this:

Resistance to change is never about change, it's about control.

What do you think? Is it about control or is it really about thinking the old way, the way things have always been is truly better?

Make Me Laugh Monday: Sesame Street Edition, Vol. 3

2008-09-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

Beeker sings Coldplay

Best Posts I Read This Week: 9/4-11

2008-09-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

This post from Jonathan Herron does a good job summarizing my views on politics. Yes, I think it's important to vote, but our nation & our world will not be changed by politicians. God has called us be a part of what He is doing, changing the world one life at a time.

Family Update

2008-09-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much about what's going on with my family in a while, so here's a quick update:

Bit by bit I am dragging Melea (my wife) into the 21st century. You see I tend to be an early adopter when it comes to new technology (when I can afford to be), and Melea would typically be at the other end of that spectrum. All that to say that last week she agreed to let me help her set up a facebook account. So if you are on facebook look her up, if she knows who you are, she would be happy to be your friend. (She still can't understand how I can have friends on facebook that I've never met in person, but that's another post)

Zachary started his soccer season last night. Their team got drilled (6-1), but it was against one of the best teams in the league and he said he still had a blast. It should be a fun season for him.

One of the most exciting parts of being a Dad is seeing my kids get excited about spiritual things. This year I wanted to try something new with Alec, I was going to have him read a book of the Bible, a few verses a day, and write down any questions, comments or thoughts that he had about it and then once a week we would meet to discuss his questions and pray. Well, when his brother saw what he was doing, Zachary wanted to do the same thing with me, so they are both reading their Bibles daily (Alec-Proverbs, Zachary-Matthew), and writing down questions for us to discuss. This was supposed to happen on Tuesday nights before bed, however the last 2 Tuesday nights have been nuts-so we hadn't met yet. So today before I left for work Alec came and asked me when we were going to meet-He had a number of questions written down & he was anxious to talk about them, so before I left for work I took a few minutes and answerd 2 of his questions. The main part of the conversation ended up being about what it means to "fear the Lord" the the "Fear of the Lord" being the beginning of wisdom. Then Zachary wanted to talk about one of his questions, so Zachary and I talked about what a prophet was. It was a fun way to start the morning.

Blast from the Past

2008-09-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

Last month I was up north and took a moment to drive through my old stomping grounds, Winlock. As I was driving around downtown I came across this.

This is the old sign from the Teen Center I used to run when I was youth pastor there. It is now part of a compost heap, but at least in some way the Chi Alpha Teen Center lives on.

Friendship Sunday Follow-up

2008-09-08T16:31:00.001-07:00

Friendship Sunday is now in the rear view mirror, so it's time to look back and see how we did.

The way I see, it was a bit of a mixed bag.
Our successes include:
1-People brought their friends-we had about 15 first time visitors.
2-The Gospel was clearly presented
3-The service and the lunch afterwords went great.

Areas for improvement:
1-Numbers were down from our last outreach emphasis Sunday (Celebration Sunday)
I think there may be a couple of reasons for this:
a-at least one of our key families was out of town for the weekend-they brought a number of family members to Celebration Sunday
b-This event came one month after National Night Out and 2 months before "Slime Time" (our Halloween Alternative Outreach). With all the planning that went into NNO & is going into "Slime Time" there was not nearly the emphasis on Friendship Sunday as there was for Celebration Sunday.
2-There were few, if any, visitors from the immediate neighborhood.
If we look decide to have Friendship Sunday again we need to once again lead up to the event with much more prayer & getting out into the neighborhood and inviting our neighbors.

We're going to talk some more about the day tonight at our board meeting. I'll let you know if the guys have anymore input.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Sesame Street Edition, Vol. 2

2008-09-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

Elmo & the Goo Goo Dolls

A Redneck Wedding

2008-09-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

Last month I officiated a wedding for Steven and Reesa Greer. The title of this post isn't meant to be derogatory, that was their own description of their wedding. Here's a couple of pictures to give you an idea.

This is Steven in his "Mossy Oak" Tux. Now Rheesa wouldn't let him wear this during the ceremony, but as soon as the ceremony was over he changed and was wearing it for most of the pictures.

Here was their ring bearer, their dog wearing a dress with the ring tied to it's back. I'll have to say it was a wedding unlike any other I'd ever been to, but it turned out wonderfully and I was honored to be a part of it.

Please Pray

2008-09-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

I just heard that a guy that was one of my interns in California, Rob Crandell, had a stroke yesterday. He is a math teacher in his 20's with a wife and a little girl. Here is the actual prayer request from the Lifehouse Church website:
Wednesday, September 03, 2008

URGENT PRAYER FOR ROB CRANDELL!!

Rob Crandell (Oliver and Lori's son) is in Kaiser hospital after collapsing this afternoon at the school where he teaches. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The doctor's have found a tear in an artery that leads to the brain. There is leakage and so the brain is not getting enough blood. Symptoms are much like a stroke. He has slurred speach and tingling/numbness on the left side of his body. Doctor's are deciding what the next steps should be. Please pray for:

- Wisdom for the doctors
- Complete return to health for Rob
- God's peace and strength for Rob and his family.
- Wisdom and strength for Ollie and Lori as they minister to the family
- That this will be used to bring others to (back to) Christ as they consider their own mortality.

And this is the update from today:
UPDATED Update (!) REGARDING ROB CRANDELL -

Rob is still at Kaiser where they are continuing to do a number of tests, and they are waiting for the results of other tests. He will be there at least through tomorrow. The doctor was in and confirmed that Rob did have a stroke. He is not sure of the cause at this time.
The other test results should be in tomorrow morning.
*Praise! Rob is doing physically much better today. He has no vertigo, his eyes are at about 95% of normal, his speech sounds normal and he feels like he can think clearly! Praise God!
*Please pray that the doctors will accurately diagnose the problem and have wisdom to treat and advise Rob and Danielle.
*Pray that the torn artery would continue to heal and if there are additional problems that need to be identified that the doctors will find them quickly!

Thanks for praying for them.

**********UPDATE ON ROB*******9/5/08********
Update regarding Rob Crandell

Rob is on his way home from the hospital!
* Praise! There is minimal damage from the stroke - minor fine motor skills may need some work.
* Pray that family members will see this as the miracle that it is and draw closer to the Father!
* Pray for wisdom for Rob and Danielle as they approach the future, learning from this experience.

Friendship Sunday!

2008-09-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

This Sunday will be Friendship Sunday at Lifegate. We are encouraging everyone to use this opportunity to invite their oikos.

So if you're in town, please invite someone and be here, Sunday morning 10:45. If you're outside the area, take a minute and pray for our continued outreach into our community. Pray for me that as I preach I will clearly present the Gospel, and pray for those who don't know Christ that have been invited that they will come and that they might make a decision to become a follower of Christ.

Identity Crisis

2008-09-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

Since it's inception my blog has had a bit of an identity crisis. All the good blogs seem to have good names-Less Clutter, Less Noise, Raggamuffin Soul, Leading Smart, Vintage Faith-to name a few-or they are named after their author (not an option for me as there is already another author and more than a few blogs named Dan Brown-here and here for example).

So I've been wrestling over what to call this thing. If you've noticed for the longest time the header has simply been the url-lifegate-pastordan. Sure it sets me apart from the thousands of other Dan Brown's but still seemed a little boring. So as of today, we're going with something new-Pastor Dan's Life @ Lifegate. Not terribly original, but I think it's a step up. The url will stay the same, only the name has changed to protect the innocent. Let me know what you think-good, bad or indifferent. I'm not to attached to it yet, so if some of you creative types have some better ideas let me know. Also, I'm looking for some kind of artwork to put behind the header-I tried a picture of the church, but you couldn't read anything on it. So if one of you artsy/photographic types has an idea of a graphic to dress this up, send it my way and we'll try it out. It seems that it would either have to incorporate the title in the artwork or it would need to have a dark background so the words would show up over it.

One last thing, if you are on facebook you can now join my blog network, just click on the widget to the right to join. If you're on facebook quite a bit this might be an easy way for you to keep up with the goings on here.

Make Me Laugh Monday: Sesame Street Edition

2008-09-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

Love the song parody's on Sesame Street.

Comments are rolling in!

2008-08-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

OK, that title may not be totally true, but for this blog, 2 comments in 2 days is a flood.

You can check out the comments and my response here and here. Both comments raise some interesting questions on some rather diverse subjects. Now feel free to enter into the discussion.

I see the stats everyday and I know there are more of you out there who read this, take a minute and share a thought or two. We can use this blog to encourage each other, help each other grow, stretch one another-remember "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Prov. 27:17) So have at it, let's get sharp!

Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done

2008-08-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

Carlos posted this on his blog last night. It is Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz closing the first night of the Democratic National Convention in prayer.

Now I know that there are a number of you who read my blog who are life-long republicans and probably think that nothing good can ever come from anything associated with the Democratic party, but take a moment and listen to his prayer. This should be the prayer of each one of us as we head into this divisive election.

As I've said before, this is not an endorsement of any political party or candidate.
As a pastor I don't feel it is my place to endorse any politician or party, but I will encourage all of you to think about who you vote for in any election, not based on the letter behind their name, but based on the kingdom values that God has called us to live out.

My World Is Spinning

2008-08-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have to keep this short. I was hoping to be back in the swing of things by today. I can already tell that is not going to happen.

I'm sitting at the desk in my office at church right now for the first time since my back surgery, but I can already tell I won't be sitting here for much longer. The room is spinning just a bit and I feel like I just want to lay down and take a nap, and it's only 10 A.M. So I can tell that if I am going to have a sermon ready by Sunday I will probably have to put every ounce of energy I'm going to have this week into preparing that, so probably not much blogging.

I'll try to post a few links to some good posts (like this one from Tony Morgan) to fill in the gaps.
I'd love to hear your comments on Tony's post, especially your thoughts about who our worship services should be designed for. I'd have to say I would agree with Tony on this one, love to hear your thoughts.

Hopefully, next week I'll be back up to full strength and a regular posting schedule. When that happens here are a few of the posts that will be coming:
-a review of The Shack
-a review of The Church of Irresistable Influence.
-Thoughts on how God uses people, books, circumstances to shape and mold us in His time and in His way.
- A post about why I need to smile more.

Thanks for your prayers, it seems the surgery was a success (I can feel my foot/leg again & the only pain I'm having is from the incision). Now please pray that I will be a good patient and not try to do to much/rush my recovery.