~Following Him!!!~

I was watching the Cornerstone Church podcast from September 13th, 2009 and Francis Chan quoted a verse that has been haunting me ever since. It was Romans 9:1-4 and I have read it many times before, but never really paid attention to what it said. This is what it says….

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.

Paul is saying that we need to have so much love for our neighbors that we wouldn’t care if we were eternally separated from Christ, which is exactly what hell is, as long as they were able to connect with God and have a relationship with Him. Sure we can say that we are trying to love God and love others, but are we willing to take that “loving others” to that kind of an extreme? Do we even ask God to give us the kind of sorrow and unceasing anguish that Paul talks about here?

I love my family very much and I would do anything for them. However, I have to be honest that I don’t know if I would go to the point of saying that I would rather be cut off from Christ for their sake if it was necessary. That is pretty hard core. That is one of those things, as Francis said in his message, that I am not sure if I could ever attain. That is the kind of love that Jesus pretty much had for us. That is intense.

Every time I read that passage lately or even think about it I am pretty much brought to tears. It is such an overwhelming thought and quite honestly it is a place that I would like to find myself moving towards. I think that if the church would grasp that kind of a love for others then we would really see revival happen in this country. However, I can’t worry about what other people are doing. I can only worry about my response to this.

I should update that I am able to go to Haiti with the group from my church to the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. I am amazed that I was able to get the money to be able to go in such a short time. There is even a chance that more money could come in then I need and I plan on passing that along to one of the people on my youth staff, so that she can go with the team going down in June. So if you would still like to donate you can help out Christy Bucher.

Today, my family and I decided to sponsor a teen who is at the orphanage down there. His name is Ti-Frane and you can see his picture here. I have always thought about sponsoring a child before, but never did it. With me going to Haiti in April I thought that it would be cool to sponsor someone, because then I could go and meet them. So we sat together as a family and decided to sponsor Ti-Frane. He is 18 years old and his birthday is one week before mine.

Of course, I would pick a teenager. He is in 7th grade and has two brothers. I am really looking forward to getting a chance to meet him, and bring him some clothes and stuff when I go down. It is neat to think that we have the opportunity to help someone out and that I will get to meet him as well. I look forward to our family being able to develop a relationship with him and watch him become whatever God wants him to be.

I must admit that I am a little nervous about going to Haiti. I have never been to a foreign country. (Sorry, to all my Canadian friends but I don’t count Canada.) Not having the modern comforts that I am accustomed to here in America will be a challenge. Sure I have gone camping, but this is different. Then there is the language barrier and trying to communicate with the Haitians that will be a challenge.

Even though I look at all of the odds that I am going to have to face and I can get a bit overwhelmed with the thought of it all I know that I am supposed to go. I am not going because I want to be comfortable and explore an exotic land. I am going because I want to be obedient to what I know God told me to do. So I go with excitement and little bit of fear.

My prayer is the same that Francis Chan said in his book Crazy Love, “God, bring me closer to You during this trip, whatever it takes….”

I have had the same goals for the past three years and so I will re-post them again.

1) Do something about my job situation, whether that means a new job and forget ministry all together, or do something to get into ministry.

2) Do more to care for our planet (i.e. recycling, conserving energy, etc.)

3) To live my life in light of these deep and profound words…

Little did I know when I posted this list last year that part of my first goal would be answered for me when I was laid off from the company that I had worked at for almost 15 years. Not too mention the fact that the owner of the company is my dad. That is how bad the economy is in Michigan.

After that happened my wife and I literally saw it as an answer to prayer. So we decided that my full-time job would be to find a job in the ministry as a youth pastor. Not long after that happened we were flown down to College Station, TX to interview with a church down there. That didn’t pan out for us but we had asked God all along during this almost 5 year process to close the doors we were not supposed to walk through and open the one we were. Almost 7 months after getting laid off we finally walked through that door and move down here to Liberty Township, OH so that I can take the job as youth pastor at The River Church.

I am so happy to take that one off of my list of goals.

My wife and I continue to recycle and we are hoping that we can encourage our church to do the same thing. It feels so good knowing that we are not being as wasteful and that we are doing our part to care for the planet that God has given us to care for.

Not only do I feel that this is something that I continually grow in, but I also am spreading that same message to the teenagers that God has given me the opportunity to pastor. I believe that if Christ-followers can grasp a hold of that concept that we will be able to have a greater impact in our country and world.

I had set three fitness last year as well….

1) To run a 10K.

2) To continue working towards competing in a mini-triathlon.

3) I plan on running in several more 5K’s again this year.

I ran in my first 10K when I ran in the Nike Human Race 10K, which was run by myself and then I uploaded my run to my Nike+ account. I then ran in my first 10K with a group of people on Thanksgiving Day when I participated in the 100th Annual Thanksgiving Day Race here in Cincinnati. My goal was to finish it under one hour and I did. I was very happy.

With the move down here I was not able to participate in the mini-triathlon like I had hoped to, but perhaps I will see about doing one this summer. The only problem will be trying to find a place to work on the swimming.

I did run in a couple of more 5K’s and hope to continue doing that. I am also hoping to help one of my youth pastor friends run in his first ever 5K.

Did you make resolutions or goals? If so, share some with me.

Colossians 2: 2-3 – I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

That is my prayer for the teens at The River Church and also for the church as a whole. This past Sunday we started a series titled “Rules, Religion or Relationship” that is based around the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. I just really felt that as a group we really needed to grasp God’s relentless love for us. I don’t want our church or youth group to just be content with the status quo and I want them to grasp a hold of an authentic faith in Christ and to know His love for them in a deep and amazing way.

I had gone to the National Youth Workers Convention a few weeks ago and one of the things that hit me while I was there was that I want these teens to fall in love with God like I have fallen in love with him. I kind of stole the idea for the title of the series from an ad I saw as a teenager for the Bible college I went to and it was one of the main reasons why I went there. I didn’t want to follow a set of rules or just become a part of another religion. I really wanted to have a relationship with God.

God didn’t send His only Son to this planet just so that we could better understand rules or have a face to put to a religion. No, God sent Jesus here so that we could better understand the importance of having a relationship with Him. Jesus became God with us not above us. I think Jesus summed it all up when He was asked by the religious leaders of the day about what the most important commandment was and He didn’t even reply to them with one of the Big 10. Instead He replied with something completely different and said that everything was based on it and here is the exchange that takes place in Mark 12:28-34.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

So If I want the teens at The River Church to get anything I hope that they figure out to love God and to love others, because then I know that they will close to the kingdom of God. This past Sunday I saw a glimpse that they were getting to that point as we discussed the mysteries of who God is and how our minds just can’t grasp all of who He is, but the overwhelming this is that He loves us. I am really looking forward to seeing more and more of our teens getting God and falling in love with Him.

Or are we hiding our light? Check out this passage in Matthew 5:14-16 (TNIV) – “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

As Christ-followers we are called to be a light to our world. The question we should always be asking ourselves is that if what we are doing is being a light to those around us? Or in essence, “am I doing what I can to let people see Christ in me and through me?” Or are we putting our light under a bowl?

One of the things that bugs me as a Christ-follower is that we have to have a “Christian” alternative for everything. Just do a simple Google search for “Christian MySpace” or “Christian Facebook” and you will find that there are a half dozen or more of these alternatives to Facebook and MySpace (do people still even use MySpace?). There was also an alternative to YouTube called GodTube, which is now Tangle.

Today, I just found out that someone created a so called Christian alternative to Twitter. It is called Christian Chirp and it even labels itself as “The Christian Alternative to Twitter”. Maybe they should have just gone ahead and labeled itself “The Place Where Christians Can Put Their Light Under a Bowl”.

I am really tired of people in the church finding new ways to hide from or take themselves out of the the world, because they are afraid of being influenced negatively by the world. But that is not what the Bible tells us to do. Check out John 17:15 (TNIV) – “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

I am thinking that as Christ-followers we should have the same prayer as Jesus and instead of trying to constantly finding ways to remove ourselves from the world, that we would find ways that we can be that light to the world. We need to pray and ask God to protect ourselves from the evil one and trust that He will do His part while we go and do our part to be that light in the world that we are supposed to be a part of.

I believe that all of these Christian alternatives that we create are showing our complete lack of faith in God. And I believe that in some small ways that we are even setting ourselves up to be bigger then Him by doing this. If we don’t believe that He can keep us safe then we are really taking over the reins of our life and kicking God out of the driver seat. I am not saying that this gives us the right to make foolish decisions, but I am saying that we don’t need to wrap ourselves up in bubble wrap, because we are so fearful of the big, bad world. God will honor the prayer of the faithful asking Him to protect them.

I am choosing to not be a part of those things because I don’t want to hide my light under a bowl and I would rather set my light up as high as possible for everyone to see. I hope that through my life other people will see the love, mercy, grace and forgiveness of God. I want God’s kindness to show through me, so that others will be led to repentance.

I just recently found out that someone that I love and care for very deeply will be losing her battle with cancer soon. Her name is Loretta and she is the wife of the man who was my youth pastor growing up. These two people have meant the world to me and have invested so much into my life. I feel in many ways that I am losing a parent. Dan & Loretta have loved me and cared for me in so many ways. Words just can’t describe the feeling that I have for them.

What can you really say or do for someone who has meant so much to you and done so much for you? The words “thank you” just seem so trite and meaningless. These two people invited me into their home when my parent’s were gone away on vacation, so that I wouldn’t have to alone and get myself into trouble. They invited me into their lives so that I could see how to live as a godly person. They invited me into their marriage so that I could learn how to be a good husband for my wife. They invited me into their ministry so that I could learn how to be a good pastor when I became one. They invited me into their hearts so that I could learn that I would always be loved no matter who I was or what I became.

I know that I am not the only person that they have touched and I know that I won’t be the last. However, how do you honor a person who has done so much and meant so much to you, like Loretta has? I think that the best way that you can do that is to live your life to the fullest. To live your life in such a way that you give your everything for the glory of God and to live your life passionately for Him. I think that is the best way that one can honor a person who has meant so much to you.

That is what I intend to do. Not only that but I know that Dan and Loretta’s legacy will live on, because every life that God has given me the honor of touching will have been touched by Dan and Loretta as well. That is the beauty and legacy of every Christ-follower. It is not having a plaque on the back of a pew or the carpeting that is purchased from the generous donation left to the church in your will. It is the joy of leaving behind lives who have been touched, because you cared enough to love and invest in their lives. The question for you is what are you going to do to honor the lives of the people who have touched your life? What kind of mark will you leave behind? Will be a stupid brass plaque or will it be lives touched?

Wow! I can’t believe that it has been almost a month since we moved down here to Cincy. We came down here to a house full of new friends ready to help us unpack. We quickly got everything unloaded from the truck and then was able to enjoy some delicious food made by a family at our new church. Even the next day we had another meal that a family from our church provided for us. It really helped us to feel very welcomed into our new community and home.

The week that we moved down here our new church was doing vacation Bible school. That gave us a great opportunity to meet some people at the church and to see people in action. It was neat to see people helping one another out and serving.

The church found me a great place to have for my office. I found a nice desk at Ikea as well. And despite the fact that we have gone there quite a bit since we moved down I insist that I am not addicted. However, I must admit that I was thrilled when I saw that there was an Ikea only 15 minutes from our new house.

Speaking of our new house, I am still in awe of how amazing it is that we have found such a great home in a very nice neighborhood. We are only 5 minutes from the church’s building and close to the kid’s schools. My daughter has a friend in her grade that also goes to our church only 2 doors down from us. My son has slowly began to make friends, which is a good thing because he really misses all of his buddies from our old neighborhood. It is nice to have a house where people can come visit and we can also have a group of about 20 parents come over. Our landlord is very nice as well.

I have already started making friends with some of the local youth pastors and they are a greta group of guys. They had organized the Unight Event before I came down, which was an amazing time for the teens to sing songs to God, listen to an amazing speaker named E.J. Swanson and then walk around Lakota East High School so that they could pray for their school and friends. How cool is that? I look forward to getting to know these guys better and seeing the amazing things that God can do.

We are also blessed to have an amazing group of elders at our church who are helping steer the ship while our church looks for a new senior pastor. Yes, you read that right. Our senior pastor resigned last week. I have been assured that my job is safe and that the elders believe that I am the man for the job. So during this time of transition the elders are going to be sharing the load and making sure that the church keeps moving forward. It is so peaceful to us knowing that God has entrusted this church with these five very competent men. The ship may be rocking in this storm, but knowing that Jesus is there in the boat is bringing us peace.

I am also in shock over how good the Michigan Wolverines did this past Saturday. They played a very good Western Michigan University football team and beat them soundly. I am looking forward to seeing what they can do when the Irish come to visit on Saturday. It is always a good rivalry game.

Last year, Michigan lost to all 3 of their biggest rivals for the first time ever and I don’t see that happening again this year. It was nice to see them win their opening game for the first time in 2 years and I hope that this year we can maybe also win our last game of the season for the first time in a long time. My prediction is that they will go 8-4 this season. GO BLUE!!!

I am feeling so overwhelmed by God’s love for me. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family who love us dearly. A few weeks ago we were singing the song “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Stuart Townend and I was blown away by these words that I have sung several times.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

I know with my whole heart not only that God is very real, but I also know that He sent His Son to the earth to pay the ransom for my sins. As I sang those words I was fighting back tears just thinking about how awesome God is.

My life has not always been easy and I would even daresay that since I became a Christ follower that my life has been even more difficult than before. However, I would not want to change a single thing. I am so much better off for it. I love the fact that God has given me freedom, because it is so much better than the “happiness” that the world was offering me.

This week is going to be kind of crazy for Kimmy and myself. We are having a going away party with some of the people from our church on Thursday, then a going away party with some of the people from the church where I was a youth pastor on Friday, and then a birthday/going away party for our kid’s friends on Saturday. So it will be three straight days of “goodbyes”, but we will still have two weeks left until we actually leave for Cincinnati and our new home on August 10th. We are going to miss everyone and have been so blessed by having all of these friends in our lives.

I am also overwhelmed with how much we have been embraced by the church that we are heading to. I had an idea of the church that we would end up at, but never really thought it would be like this. I know that my family is going to be so blessed and well taken care of by our new church family. I have no fears or worries about me moving my family almost 300 miles south. We have such a peace about this move.

I have also been fortunate because the wonders of social networking websites like Facebook, because it has allowed us to connect with some of our new friends at The River. It is so nice to already begin developing friendships with them before we even move down there.

It really is amazing that when you put your all into God’s hands and trust His guidance for your life that things work out so wonderfully. It may not be the smoothest or easiest path, but it is definitely the best way. Besides who likes to take the easy way anyway? It is so boring and smooth. I prefer the bumps and curves. Just call me a glutton for punishment.

You can listen to the song “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” below.

Life has been very crazy for me lately, but it has been a good kind of crazy. My daughter graduated from 6th grade, which means she is now a part of the youth ministry at our church. I have waited for this day since she was born. People told me that I was nuts to be excited about my kids becoming teenagers, but when that is the age group you work with it makes perfect sense because you know how to relate with them.

So her first big youth trip was Rockpointe’s annual trip to America’s Roller Coast known as Cedar Point. We had so much fun together and I loved seeing her hanging out with the teens. As you can tell by the picture she pushed herself and rode one of the big coasters with her dad called the Millenium Force. It was a really great day.

During some of this time I went down to a church near Cincinnati, OH to interview for their open youth pastor position. Most of you know that I have been looking for a full-time youth pastor position since I graduated from Bible college in 1999. And have been looking to get back into some form of a paid youth pastor position since I left the church I was a part-time youth pastor at in March of 2005. It has been a long journey only to be added to when I got laid off in the middle of January from the factory job I had. So going for an interview was a very nice thing, but I really didn’t expect to get the job, because we had been on interviews for youth pastor positions a couple of times before.

I was really shocked when they called us back down for a second interview and was even more shocked when I was told that I was the only on being invited back down. So we made arrangements to go back down the last weekend in June, which threw a wrench into our annual 4th of July trip up to Manistee, MI. We adjusted our arrival dates with the campground and figured we would just take a day off to rest in between driving 4 hours south to Cincy and then 4 hours north to Manistee.

While we were down for the interview we fell more and more in love with the church and the people there. And they seemed to like us as well. We came back home with a good feeling about this one, but we had good feelings about other ones as well so we were cautiously optimistic.

The pastor had said that we would probably hear something back before he left for his trip to Haiti, which was Friday (July 3rd). However, I told people that we wouldn’t hear back until he came back on July 14th so we didn’t have to hear the constant barrage of questions if we “had heard anything yet”.

Yesterday I heard back from them and I am in negotiations to be the youth pastor at The River Church in Liberty Township, OH. I am very excited to be finally getting back into “the game” and can not wait to get down there.

We do not know exactly when we will be heading down there, but hope to be down there either the first or second week of August. The schools down there start a lot earlier than schools here in Michigan, so we want to get down there and get the kids settled in before school starts.

There are only two sad things in all of this. One is leaving all of our family, friends and loved ones here in Michigan. But we are only 4 hours south and we will be real close to Kings Island, so you are welcome to come visit. However, we will be home from time to time visiting family. The other sad thing is that I will be living in enemy territory with all of those Buckeyes, but they need Jesus too!

Lastly, I want to leave you with this video of Mike Yaconelli. I think it speaks perfectly to what I am getting into. Watch out River Church! It is going to be a fun ride! I can’t wait!!!

It was 20 years ago that this event took place and I think we all have something to learn from this man. He was willing to sacrifice all he had for something he believed in. Would you be willing to stand in front of a tank, because of something you believed in?

I think this person’s example shows us what the power of one person can do. We have no idea who this person is. He is simply known as tank man. He didn’t do this for notoriety. He did it because he wanted to make a difference. Though he is unknown he still made a difference and changed his world. So can you.