Living His Mission

With a nod to Donald Miller’s new book, “A Million Miles in A Thousand Years,” here’s my story of the last few days from last week. Before I start my story I do want to recommend Donald’s (like I know him well enough to call him by his first name) new book. I read it on the way to and from St. Louis for our recent Newfrontiers Mobilise-USA conference. My wonderful wife is often very gracious to drive so I can read and throw my waste-processing challenged leg up on the dash…but that’s a story for another day…or maybe I’ve already told it in the “My Story” section of this blog. So…the book and then we’ll move on. It was my first D. Miller book and I found it highly readable and compelling. I enjoyed his honesty and his story of rewriting the story of his life. Chapter 28 blew me away. Get it. Take a weekend and read it or better yet get away for a weekend and make it one of the book’s you read.

So…Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week. On Tuesday morning BigBen (Ben Roed) and I jumped in my car and headed East on Hwy 36 and then North on I35. This was after a run through Starbuck’s for a Mocha. It was one of those days. We made it  to Marshalltown, IA about 11:30 and joined our friend Abex for about 1/2 hour of prayer before lunch. God was with us and we had a great time with one another and God. I love to pray with others…and Abex and Ben make it a fun and exciting time. God also continues to show me that He is ready for His people to come into His presence to meet with Him on the spot. It is not work on our part. Jesus has done the work. We then met a couple other guys and enjoyed good conversation over lunch about our future together in Marshalltown.

We then hopped back in our car…now you must know that Ben and I are big guys and actually don’t hop anywhere…I wonder where that expression came from? Ok, stream of consciousness get a grip and get back to the story. We were stoked after our time in Marshalltown and headed north to Mason City. We enjoyed a great evening of dinner and conversation with Don & Tammy Perry from New Beginnings…you will begin to notice if you read this blog that food is usually paired with conversation. They are doing a great job reaching those that Jesus misses the most(see below) with the love, grace and mercy of Jesus.
I discovered the term those that Jesus misses the most while reading this book. If you are reading this blog post and you are a follower of Jesus…He no longer misses you…you are Found…you have been reconciled back into His family by Him. And I recently heard a great line about people who don’t know Jesus. They are not lost…they are dead! This is what the Bible teaches. One of my favorite passages tells the story. Ephesians 2:1-10. Before Jesus rescued me…I was physically alive, but spiritually dead. I was literally a dead man walking. I could do nothing to get myself to Jesus unless He first initiated His life in me so that I might even look to Him. He drew me to Himself through the ongoing work of His powerful Holy Spirit. YES! If that’s a new thought to you…please comment on this blog or email and I would love to talk with you more about that.

Well…deep subject…enough for today. There’s much more to the road trip story. Check this blog next week for ‘3 men in an airtight car’…or getting to know Adrian Warnock…and why road trips are my favorite way to get to know guys.

Until next week…Happy Trails

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Hey all,

If you are part of the Living Hope family you will know that we are encouraging you to give 20 minutes a day to reading the Bible and 10 minutes to prayer and contemplation on what you’ve read. 20/10 Vision. Not real clever or out there…but it works.

I was reading Psalm 9 and read that in the original Hebrew it and Psalm 10 were one psalm that was an acrostic. Each stanza began with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Can’t read Hebrew, but I believe it. So…I thought…being somewhat sleep-deprived and up for something new…I should do an acrostic.

So here it is for your viewing pleasure. Maybe you want to give it a go. If so…share it…post it in a comment for all the world (my blog-reader world is not very big) to see. And away we go!

Amazing are You Lord
Before You are all flesh & all creation
Creation sings Your praise forever and ever
Delight…my delight and the delight of the world is in You alone
Everlasting to everlasting is Your name
Forever I will praise Your name
Generations will praise You
Households will bow down in worship to You
I am found in You alone
Jesus…wow…what can I say?
Kindness upon kindness is in Your right hand and it has led me to You
Lavish are You with Your love
Men – all men and women will one day bow before You
Nations will stream into Your great city
Oh the joy that is found only in Your presence
Patient…oh so patient are You with me
Q on Star Trek is nothing compared with You…ha ha…hope you laugh at this too
Righteous and holy are You
Satisfying to my soul is Your smile to me
Terrifying in righteous wrath
U have satisfied Your wrath in my Savior
Victorious King is Your name
Wonder of wonders
X-alted and true
‘Yes, yes’ does my heart cry to You
Zebras shall dance and so shall I in Your presence!

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In Mark Batterson’s new book Primal he is writing on the lack of reading we do in the modern world and he unloads these three sentences. “I know we’re busy, but no one is too busy to go to the bathroom, right? So here’s an idea. If you simply put a book in your bathroom, you can read at least one book a month.” Haha. I’ll be stealing those lines for a sermon sometime soon.

So the book is funny. But it’s more than that. Just like In a “Pit With a Lion” captured my attention a few years back, Mark has done the same this time with “Primal”. He is able to bring life to something we know…well, not really something we know (or we wouldn’t need this book)…but something we acknowledge but need to Know. He reminds that it is our highest calling, our highest privilege, our highest joy as people to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Most of us think we know what that means and how it looks but we don’t know as we could. I don’t. I sometimes think I do, but a book like “Primal” reminds me that there is so much more to be had. And the more I love God in this way, the more I realize there is more. Mark reminds us and stirs us to remember the joy and utter amazement of our salvation.

Get it. Read it. Carve our a day early in the New Year. Read it front to back (it’s a book you can easily read in one sitting) and let it drive you deeper into God. Let it remind you of those feelings you once had for Him. Those dreams you once dreamed for Him. That passion that lies dormant deep in your soul. Descend the stairway with Mark and God into “the Lost Soul of Christianity.”

Get you copy of Primal here http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421319

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Gang,

Good Tuesday morning to you. As promised, here is the address for Bob & Carolyn. Feel free to send a card or a letter. As I mentioned Sunday, Bob is in great spirits and Carolyn, as always, is trying to keep him straight.

Bob & Carolyn Stricker
1115 Stillwell Ave
Tillamook, OR 97141

If you’ve ever wondered how to serve extended family over the holidays with the love of Jesus…this is a good article on that subject and he doesn’t beat around the bush about our privilege and place as followers of Jesus. http://www.russellmoore.com/

Here’s a great video of a spontaneous outbreak of worship. Give 5 minutes, stop everything else, watch it and worship Jesus! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDmibnRyhj4 Danny is a homeless man who “interrupts” the planned video!

Don’t forget our Christmas service Wednesday evening at 7pm. Bring your friends and let’s worship Jesus together. This is Love!

Have a stellar Tuesday…remember…people are waiting to Know Jesus.

John 4:34-36 (English Standard Version)

³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. ³⁶Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

PS – IF LIVING HOPE IS YOUR HOME…WATCH YOUR INBOX LATER TODAY FOR A SPECIAL GIVING OPPORTUNITY DURING OUR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION WEDNESDAY EVENING WHICH WILL SERVE ONE OF OUR LIVING HOPE FAMILY MEMBERS.

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Thanksgiving Day 2009!

It’s Thanksgiving morn. We play a game at our house…a very cold game…a game where we see how far into winter we can get before we turn on the furnace. Sounds like fun…doesn’t it? Not! But we play. It’s November 26th and we’re still  holding the course. You need to know this. We do have a wood-burning stove and one electric-oil space heater. Didn’t even want to know the temperature as I got out of bed, but the stove is now burning wood (though not producing heat yet) and the space heater is plugged in. It must be colder out than in because the dog is now scratching at the door to come back in. I peek at the thermometer on the porch…30 degrees fahrenheit. Oooooh…much colder than it was 2 weeks ago in Guadalajara:) The beat goes on. One of these mornings soon…someone (read Jeff) will accidentally bump into the thermostat and the furnace will kick on. I am thankful for wood and the stoves that burn it, electricity and oil heaters…and natural gas and furnaces. I’m not sure I believe people when they say they’d rather live in the olden days.

I don’t want to make this too long, so here’s a few people and things I’m thankful for. Dad-God, Jesus and God the Ghost (That term makes me smile). They rock. Never leaving me. Never forsaking me (even when I do really stupid stuff). Always with me. Thanx! Every other good thing in my life flows from them. My wife. A good wife is a gift from God. I’m just glad I was finally smart enough to see that and ask her to marry me. I’m glad she was patient enough to wait (I was dense…still am at times). The boy and the girl…my amazing kids. Even though we only have 2 biological kids…my quiver is way full. They are amazing. They aren’t perfect…but then neither is their earthly dad. They love Jesus and one day we will shoot them out into this world and I know they will change it for the fame of Jesus. The dog and the cat. I’m so glad God made pets! My parents who still love me unconditionally. My last remaining-alive (is that a word) Grama who is 90.

I am thankful for Living Hope church (the people…since church is people). They are gracious and kind and  have hung in with me for the last 4 1/2 years as God has allowed me to lead them. He is doing amazing things amongst us and I know the best is yet to come. Tommy who sat on my lap all those years ago and said, “Jeff, you’re coming with me.” Bob who guided me through my first 2 years at the helm of Living Hope. A nameless local pastor (for his protection:) for enduring my idiotic late-night movie choices.

And…it may sound weird to some of you…but I’m thankful that God allowed me to have cancer. If you are currently battling cancer, my prayers are with you. It is evil. But God can use all things for His glory. It woke me up. I was a lazy christian. I was satisfied with just being an attender of a local church. Let everyone else do the stuff. I would coast until heaven. Let other people tell other people about Jesus. Dad-God got my attention. I’m thankful He’s a Dad who disciplines those He loves.

There’s so many more people, but that’s enough for today. If you’ve made it this far…thanx! Here’s a good short blurb from Mark Batterson on heaven. Worth a minute’s read! And I cant wait for his new book PRIMAL!

Right now I’m thankful for the cinnamon roll which the girl is warming up in the microwave. She didn’t think it was funny when I asked her to warm it up for me by telling her she was so good at the microwave:) Oh yeah…and so thankful for coffee…and chocolate cows (milk)…and…football (I’m ready)…and…
Happy Thanksgiving!

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Hola,

It is good to be home…even though we have been greeted with cold, wet & snowy weather:) That’s why we love Missouri! I am finally getting worship songs in Spanish worked out of my head. It’s actually an interesting sensation. I had a great time in Guadalajara with our friends from El Camino church. It was great on the weekend to catch up with more friends from the other Newfrontiers churches in Mexico. Many greeting were sent Living Hope’s way.

A few quick hits…though short and to the point is difficult for me:)

Pepe from Leon opened Fiesta on Friday night. It was great to hear him speak. Great thought about having high expectations and believing God for big things, “I’ve never seen a dog who chases a parked car. They have high expectations. They chase moving cars!” Sweet. Our Savior is on the move. He has other neighborhoods, other towns & other peoples to reach. Are you chasing Him as He chases (not an entirely great word for Jesus, but it works:) the world?

Pepe – “Our influence is beyond where we are and our generation.” Great thought and true. Reminds me of a Greek proverb Rick Hein tweeted recently – “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in.” Wow…soak that in, think on it, pray on it…then go for it. When I now sit under my big pine tree in front of my house, I love it. And it’s the same tree that the Elkins family enjoyed for many a year and someone before them planted. Someone for some reason (probably not foresight, but maybe) planted that tree which my family now enjoys and hopefully will – and maybe another family will – for years to come. Are we planting God’s kingdom in a similar way. Not just for us…but for the future! Let’s plant lots of gospel trees (churches, community groups, etc.) that will shade people with the glorious gospel of Jesus long after we’re gone! That stokes my fire…haha!

Wow, that quick hit certainly turned long.

John Lanferman brought it on Saturday morning. I hear he brought it on Saturday evening also, but I ventured up the long hill to be with the youth and hear Jeremy Hazel from Canada. Great time.

A few last quick quotes (as close as I could get…he talks fast and we were listening to a translator) from Pepe: “God sees beyond what we can see.” “God spoke…Abraham built an altar. God speaks…we build a church!” “God wants to awaken us with a lot of expectations – of what He will do through us and our churches.” “God will give us vision and provision.” AND ONE OF MY FAVS – “All our life has meaning – we somehow lose this as we grow older.” This life matters…for eternity. As we grow older, let’s plant more and stronger and more glorious gospel trees for the whole world to come and sit under!

Soon…Jeff

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It is Wednesday in Guadalajara and the team is hard at work making Oasis shine. I am writing this and then heading out into the city with Arturo. It has been great to spend extended time with him and others from El Camino, the church he leads here in Guadalajara (hereafter referred to as Guad, because I’m tired of typing that long name:). I had a great lunch with my friend Mario yesterday and then a great time of prayer with the people of El Camino last evening. Though I understand very little without translation, it’s always a joy to be in the presence of God with His people.

We arrived in town on Friday, got settled in and spent Saturday doing the tourist stuff. Shopping in the open-air market, a great cook-out at Arturo’s home and then a soccer match in Stadium Jalisco between Chivas (Arturo’s team…go Chivas) and their in-city rival Atlas. Sunday we worshipped with El Camino. El Camino is one of the Newfrontiers churches here in Guad. We are a family of churches on mission together and really do believe that we can do more together than apart. After a Mexican lunch of beef in juice (God bless the person that first thought of this:), we headed to the edges of Guad to an area know as La Severiana. The first five letters give an apt description of the conditions these wonderful people live in. As we arrived an energetic young man from El Camino named Saul led us in worship. Under a fading sun…with 2 light bulbs soon to light the way…the presence of our great Savior was with us. Even now as I remember being there it can be a bit awe-inspiring. I have so much and yet sometimes find it hard to turn my attention to God…maybe that’s the lesson for me.

On Monday the team began working on many projects at Oasis and I began enjoying my time with Arturo and his team.

Will we affect Oasis and El Camino while we are here? I believe so…in small ways. But more importantly, I believe we are changed. We see our world differently. The life we live and the troubles we face are put into perspective. They are no less real…maybe we are? We come, we enjoy fellowship with each other and the wonderful people we meet. We leave a footprint. Already fading, yet a footprint none-the-less. Our hope is that people know and love Jesus more after we leave. And we hopefully look at our feet and see that our feet are changed. They have more of the world on them. They will walk the streets of our city differently. Though circumstances are different…people are people. We all need the love of a Savior.

Living Hope church and El Camino church. Living Hope and Oasis. St. Joseph and Guadalajara. We can do more together than we can apart.

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I grew up with football. It surrounded me . My dad was a coach. I didn’t grow up a PK(preacher’s kid) like my kids now are…I grew up a CK(coach’s kid). He coached all sports and I went on many a bus ride as a young child…most of them with the girls teams my dad coached…but that’s definitely another story. Someday I’ll share what I asked one of his girl athlete’s when she babysat for me:) But now…football!

I used to love when the coaches would gather at our house after a game or practice. I loved the smell of those nights…the football talk…losses commiserated…and victories celebrated. I remember going to the games with my mom. Yelling with the crowd. Never getting to run crazy with the other kids under the stands. We were there to watch the game. I remember when my dad coached with his hands bandaged and his eyebrows gone! They had fueled the homecoming bonfire with gas and he was too close when he lit it.

And the celebration of sport and team! Hands in the air. Yelling ’til our lungs were worn out. Stomping on the bleachers ’til they created a deafening roar. What fun. What joy. With the team. With the crowd.

Why don’t we worship Jesus like that? When we gather together in our churches why don’t we worship with that same passion, zeal and fervor? Why don’t we throw our whole bodies, our whole voice, our whole being into corporate worship? Up on our toes…hands held high as if we were reaching heaven itself. Jesus is worth it. We see from how we celebrate at sport or other performance that we are capable. Let’s go for it! Who said church should be a quiet place? God didn’t!

Let’s celebrate the shadow…I do! But with a greater intensity let’s celebrate the Son. Let’s get close (yes, really close…God made us for that)…let’s get singed by the fire of our Holy God…so that we might be changed!

The shadow proves the sun (I heard it from CS Lewis…and Switchfoot put it to music). What’s in us to celebrate the things of this world prove it’s in us to respond to God in the same way. If you’re a follower of Jesus it’s in you. It is! Let it out. Let the world know that Jesus is the greatest thing!

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I seem to go through phases with the words I use to describe God and pray to Him in thanksgiving. These words were the ones that struck me today. He is amazing…that’s a recurring word that I seem to come back to time and again. Ultimately I find myself lost for words to pour out my heart to God. That is when I am so thankful for the heavenly tongues He gives me to pour back to Him in praise. What a crazy amazing God He is.

Today at Living Hope we looked at 1 Peter 2:4-12…absolutely stunning. Why would the God who created everything…which includes us…say such amazing things about us and not just say them…but mean them and make us into them? A royal and holy priesthood! Us? You’ve got to be kidding me. I know me:) And I know my race. He is a crazy God. To take the very creature who betrayed Him…rejected Him…did not trust Him that the garden was enough…and now make us into living stones built into a holy priesthood in the image of Jesus. I can only be stunned.

God keeps going. He’s serious about His business. He’s serious about His Son. He is making for His Son a people. A holy nation…what? No way! We were not a people and now we are. Blow me away…won’t you. Does that refresh you? It does me and should refresh us as His church. Receivers of mercy made to proclaim His excellencies…how can we not…so that all the world will know and worship Him as God. Stunning…amazing!

I shared this morning…how as I travel farther from the date of my entry into His kingdom…my day of salvation…that I am more stunned that He saved me. I am more aware each day that I am a wretch in need of a Savior. I’m not even sure I’d save myself. And as I am stunned by who I am…I am more stunned by who He is and that He saved me. Will it be like this forever? Will I grow in my awareness of how little I deserve His grace and mercy…and more and more in my thankfulness for it? Will I grow more and more stunned by how wretched I am and how great He is? I hope so! There is no glory in me except for what He has now given to me. God to me…crazy. I deserve to die…yet Jesus did. I am refreshed in this life. Are you?

What a strange and wonderful thing when we become less…think less about ourselves…and think more of Him and about Him. Dude! Can it get any better…oh yes it can…and I look forward to the forever journey! Do you?

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As usual, it’s been too long since I’ve written. Zach Greinke continues to rock. We were joking a week or so ago when he hadn’t given up an earned run that he could go 36-0 with 0.00 ERA. Well the ERA is blown(If you can call a now .40 ERA blown), but he’s still in line for the 36-0. Baseball…and certainly Royals baseball is for optimists. My family and I took Chris and Gail to their first major league game just over a week ago on the night he gave up his first run (unearned by the way) in some 38 innings. Great night. Beautiful weather. Great, nasty pitching by Greinke. Dollar dogs. But too windy for fireworks:(

Yesterday Chrystal and I celebrated our 18th anniversary. We took Chris and Gail to the airport for a much needed week away after coming through all his surgeries. Checked in at the office. Took a nap…sweet! Tilled the garden a bit before running out of gas. Chainsawed out some bushes I have wanted gone since we bought the place. Dinner and a movie. Nothing glam, but we hope to get away for a weekend soon. Way thankful to Jesus for 18 years with C!

That’s it…I think. Off to the building soon to check in with the kids (year teamers and interns). The young ones are starting to get married which is the preferred order of things and way cool.

Soon!

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