Faithfully Dangerous

The Principle of the Path

2010-01-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Palindrome Day, Everyone! 01022010

A book review today:

Andy Stanley is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.

His book, The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is the ultimate self-help book. To be honest, I normally can't stand books like this. I just find them to be simplistic. I feel like the authors are talking down to me.

But there was something different about this book. Maybe it just hit me at the right time. His point is this: Good intentions are all well and good, but in the end it's the PATH you take that determines where you end up. Am I on the right path?

Am I following the right map? Are my fellow travelers going where I want to go? What changes in direction to I need to make in order to end up in the right place?

Proverbs 3:5-6 says it well: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

I've heard it said that my systems are perfectly tuned to get the results that I'm getting right now. I've also heard it said that insanity is doing the same things again and again and expecting different results.

Sounds like a simple concept, and it is. But I found it to be a challenging and encouraging read. It's the perfect thing to remember as we start a new year.

How about you? What road are you on? What changes in direction do you need to make?

2010

2010-01-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! 2010 will be a good one, I can feel it....

Annie Dillard wrote "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." I love that quote, and it challenges me to make my days count. Tomorrow will not be different if today isn't different. And today is all we have.

My goals for 2010? I think a nice, round TEN would be appropriate.

Follow this bible reading plan for the New Year. Who wants to join me?
Love my wife with all my heart... with words and with actions.
Be the best father to my kids that I can.
Eat well and make time for exercise. I've gone 31 days with no sugar... Can I continue that plan?
Love, serve and lead Redeemer well.
Daily time writing in my journal.
Weekly time for creativity.
Finish a song every month... whether it's brilliant or terrible. Just finish it.
Get an A in my first seminary course.
Live in one city for a whole year. :)

I'll let you know how I'm doing. What are your goals?

A Faithful Life

2009-12-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I had no idea I'd be writing this post today. I had hoped to write about plans for the New Year. Instead I'm writing about the death of my grandfather.

Many words could describe him: faithful husband to Lucille for over 60 years; father to Cecille, Dennis, David, my mom Linda and Jeff; grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather (!) to many of us; United Methodist minister for his whole career...

I was so blessed to know this man. He and Grandma lived in a little apartment connected to our house when I was in high school. I loved having him around. He was a constant encouragement, coming to sports events, plays I was in, special church programs, etc.

He participated in Luanne's and my wedding in Simi Valley, California, in 1993. It was so special to have him and Grandma there to experience that moment with us.

When we moved to California back in 1998, I couldn't see him very often. In fact, I think I only saw him three times in the last decade. But we would try to connect on the phone and over email. He always remembered to send holiday and birthday cards to all of us. He would always write encouraging bible verses and messages.

He was always thrilled that I had chosen a life of vocational ministry, and several years back he gave me his clergy robe and stoles. I've never had an opportunity to wear them, but I treasure them. I wish he could have lived to see me become an ordained minister, but I know he'll see it from heaven.

He cared for my Grandma for years and years. She was a longtime diabetic and had many health problems. He was always right there to support her, right up until the end of her life.

After Grandma died, it was like Grandpa had a new life in some ways. He became very active in his retirement community. He preached, he led communion services, he sang in the choir, he visited people. Even though he had been retired for decades, he never retired from life or ministry, and I really respect that and want to emulate it in my life.

Last Thursday, on Christmas Day, we did a video chat. It was a terrible connection, but we got to see each other and talk one last time. He even badgered me into singing a song... He just wouldn't let it go no matter how many times I tried to defer. I'm really glad I sang for him one last time.

He had a great last Christmas, surrounded by family. He was in reasonably good health and good spirits.

Grandpa was known for his many, many letters to the editor of the Warsaw Times-Union. He would write about everything, but his consuming passion was to help people experiencing the saving grace of Jesus. The family was often copied on these missives, and I know that a lot of prayer came our way in addition to the many emails.

His last email came yesterday morning:

Dear family:

One more day in 2009! The Old Year Is Passing and Dying.

God has permitted me to live through 90 plus years on His earth. I thank Him for a memory to recall I was a lad with short pants and long black stockings which we wore in the early 1920s!

I pray God will give you a Blessed New Year of 2010. Start it with Him in your mind and heart, and stay with Him all year long. He will truly bless you.

Psalm 46:10

with love and a prayer,

Cecil L. Hendrix

This morning he didn't respond to the nurse's knock on his door. She came in to find him resting peacefully in his recliner. He often woke up early in the morning, sat in his chair and spent time in prayer. I guess this time he got to meet with Jesus face-to-face.

Grandpa would have been 91 next month. Thank you, God, for a long, well-lived life.

Memories & Gratitude

2009-12-30T14:14:00.000-08:00

2009 was a whirlwind. I feel like I've lived two or three years in these twelve short months. And even though it was a year filled with great anxiety and uncertainty on the one hand, it was a year full of joy at the same time. God is good, and as I look back over the year I see his guidance in every step. Some memories...

January

We started our year off in Seattle at Adam and Meghan's house, surrounded by friends from Newport. We had been invited to lead worship for a few weeks after Christmas, and it was a real blessing to enjoy family and friends in the Pacific Northwest for a little bit.
I continued to serve as one of the pastors at Access, a multi-ethnic Evangelical Covenant church plant in Houston.
Jacob got a cell phone for his birthday and was very, very, very happy.
Luanne flew to California to surprise her dad for his 75th birthday party. Since the rest of us couldn't go, we wrote a song and made a video.

February

I was privileged to lead worship at the annual Covenant Midwinter pastor's conference.
The non-profit I was working with in Houston at the time, Vox Culture, was featured on Natalie J. Evans's radio show, "The Night Train" on KCOH. Ted Law, Dune-Patten Miceli, Ayad Fadel and I were interviewed.
I got to see Lucinda Williams live.

March

Vox Culture hosted "Vox Populi," a 2-day art/music/food/spoken word/social event to raise money for Floresta.
Em & Zach starred in their First Grade Musical at Rummel Creek Elementary.
Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Linda visited Houston.
We decided to leave Houston, Access and Vox in search of a better fit for our family. It was a terribly painful decision that we still feel was the right decision, but it was definitely the low point of the year. To leave a mission that we really loved and believed in after such a short time... Ted and the leadership of Access could not have been more gracious.

April

I started the process of looking for a new job.
We had a beautiful Good Friday Tenebrae service at the Access Office, and a great Easter celebration service at Ashford Oaks.
Access moved into its new home, The Warehouse.

May

Josh's 8th Eighth-Grade Guys group (EGGS) from Memorial Drive Pres had a retreat, and I was honored to lead worship and speak.
We had a ridiculous flood... 10 inches of rain fell in 4-5 hours, and every room in our house was covered by an inch of water. This all happened in the middle of the night.
I auditioned for America's Got Talent. Apparently I don't. :)
Luanne and Josh celebrated birthdays.
Jake participated in the Rummel Creek 5th Grade Talent Show. He does have talent.
On Sunday, May 31, we said goodbye to Access.

June

My beautiful new 120G iPod Classic died, and Apple came through in a big way.
We said goodbye to our ministry partners, TEAM Law, at the Memorial City Mall ice rink.
Jake graduated from 5th Grade.
On June 4, we picked up our kids from school and headed for Dallas.
We spent a weekend in Tulsa, checking out Redeemer Covenant and the area.
We drove from Tulsa to Simi Valley in two vehicles... across Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
We moved in (for the second time) with Luanne's parents. Eight of us in a small, three-bedroom home. It was tight, and it was loud, but there was a lot of love there, so it was good.
My newest niece, Anne, was born.
I continued to candidate for worship positions and lead as a guest worship leader in Sacramento (at one of my favorite churches, Bayside of South Sacramento), Simi Valley and Los Altos. Doors opened, doors closed.

July

We spent the week of July 4 at Mission Springs in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I led worship with Luanne and her brother, Dominic. It was great to be in the Bay Area again with friends and family.
Thanks to David Greco and Ben Wysocki, I got to see Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin at the Greek Theater.
I flew to Kansas City to interview for a worship pastor position at Community Covenant Church in Lenexa. I fell in love with the people there and felt a lot of hope for the future... whether there or at Redeemer.
I candidated for the Redeemer job: working with the band, vocal team and choir; interviewing with the staff and Leadership Team; and having lots of meals with people.
On July 30, with great relief and a real sense of peace, we accepted the position in Tulsa and made plans to move in just a few short weeks...

August

On August 4, I released my 2005 recording, Still Standing, through Noisetrade.
Luanne and I flew to Tulsa the weekend of August 9th. I led worship at Redeemer, and we worked with our realtor, Stephanie Howerton, to find a house. Home-ownership had always been just a dream, but with the $8,000 tax credit and a lot of help and encouragement, we were able to purchase our first house, right across the Arkansas River from Tulsa, in the little town of Jenks.
Luanne and I celebrated 16 years of marriage.
We left Simi Valley on August 18, and headed across the country again. We took our time this time around, stopping in Lake Havasu for a day of jet skiing, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, and finally arriving at our new home in Tulsa on the 22nd.
The kids started school, a week and a half late, on the 25th.
August 30 was my first day leading worship as the new Director of Worship Ministries at Redeemer.

September

We got to know Travis Kyles, who quickly became like another son... He and Josh and Jake were just about inseparable.
On Labor Day, our whole church family was hit with the tragic news of the death of Zachary Wertz. Please continue to lift up this precious family in prayer as you think of them.
Em & Zach celebrated their eighth birthday!
As part of the birthday celebration, our new bunny Thumper entered our lives.
We lost Uncle Dominic. We will miss this great man. Lots of love and prayers went out for Aunt Merrilee, John and DonnaLee and their families, and Lou, Dolly and Jeanette.
I turned ::gulp:: thirty-eight.

October

On October 4, Redeemer had its "On the Lawn" festival. Unfortunately, it had to become "On the Carpet" due to rain, but I got to sing some of my music with a cool band, Pandemic, backing me up.
Luanne and I saw The B-52's, Dave Matthews Band and Willie Nelson live - all right here in Tulsa.
Josh, Jake and I drove to the OU campus in Norman to see U2 on the 360° tour. It was unbelievable. And it was all the more special to get to share it with my incredulous sons.
Luanne's parents drove out to visit us and stayed for 10 days or so.
We built a skate ramp in the back yard.

November

On November 8, Redeemer experienced "Simply Worship," experiencing and responding to God through Word, Sacrament and acoustic music. Simple, stripped-down, interactive...
Emily and Zach got to go on their "2nd Grade Trips."
I got to see Switchfoot live at our local Qdoba. Don't ask.
For Thanksgiving vacation, our family drove up to St. Louis and met my mom and dad. We went up in the Gateway Arch and then drove together to Evansville, Indiana, where we met my brother and sister and their families. It was the first time we had all been together since October 2006. We drove down to Central City, Kentucky, on Thanksgiving Day to be with my aunts, uncles and cousins. It's the first time I had been in Kentucky for Thanksgiving in more than a decade. We had a great time. It was SO fun to have all the cousins together in the hotel in Evansville... swimming, eating, playing, seeing a movie, having an "early Christmas" together. Awesome.

December

On December 20, I produced my first Christmas Cantata at Redeemer. This is an annual concert with orchestra and choir, and it was a big deal. I'm grateful for how well it went and how well it was received! It was the first time I've worked with an orchestra like this, so it was a little nervewracking, but more exciting than anything else.
We got snowed out of our Christmas Eve services. First time in a decade I've been home on Christmas Eve. Disappointing but wonderful at the same time.
Travis Kyles moved back to North Carolina, and we miss him terribly. We're praying for you, Travis!

As Dag Hammarskjöld wrote in Markings, a collection of his journal entries published in 1964, "For all that has been - Thanks. For all that shall be - Yes."

Causes I Believe In: One Day's Wages

2009-12-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

Scripture teaches to be giving people. As followers of Jesus, we know that everything we have belongs to God, and we are called to be aware of how our resources can help further His purposes in the world. We are challenged to give sacrificially to make a difference in the world.

What charities, causes, non-profits, etc. do you support? Why?

I believe that as a member of Redeemer Covenant Church, I need to be committed to supporting my local church with my tithes and offerings. In addition, Luanne and I support some other causes. We can pray for them, we can raise awareness, we can encourage them... but sometimes we just need to put our money where our mouths are.

I've blogged about one cause that we support, The Marin Foundation. Today I want to talk about another exciting new way to make a difference.

Eugene Cho is a pastor I've admired for a long time. He is the founding & lead pastor of Quest Church (an Evangelical Covenant church) and the founder & executive director of Q Cafe. Born in Korea, he immigrated to the U.S. at age six and grew up in San Francisco.

Eugene blogs regularly at http://eugenecho.com and is considered one of the most prominent bloggers on issues of Justice, Faith, Ministry, and utilizing social media for good. He also serves as one of the Contributing Editors of Sojourners Magazine.

Eugene is the co-founder (along with his wife, Minhee) and executive director of One Day’s Wages (ODW) – an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty.

ODW promotes awareness, invites giving, and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions. Its vision is to change global issues of injustice affecting millions of people, regardless of race, culture, sex, age, or religion. Nearly half the world lives on less than us$2 per day; nearly 25,000 children die every day of poverty-related causes; 1 billion people do not have access to clean water.

Eugene and Minhee's story is compelling:

We're your average family. We live in Seattle. We fell in love and married in 1997 and have three young children. We're neither poor nor rich; simply a middle class family with privilege because we know that we have so many opportunities that many in the world do not have.

We've always known of the disparity in the world; Always knew the statistics. In fact, we've memorized them and know the numbers by heart. But it was traveling to a few places and seeing with our own eyes the faces, stories, children, and families behind the numbers that "wrecked" our lives. It was seeing organizations and women, men, and children do amazing work to uplift themselves out of poverty - if only given respect, dignity, and opportunities. It's by far more complex but it's also very simple:

It shouldn't be this way and doesn't have to be this way. We have the capacity to end extreme global poverty.

These are some of the reasons that compelled us take a step further, make some life decisions and start One Day's Wages. We made a decision to donate our 2009 income ($68,000) to the cause of fighting extreme global poverty. But we didn't want to stop there. We also wanted to invite our family, friends, and the rest of the world to consider donating just their "one day's wages" and be part of this international grassroots movement. And then to renew that pledge at least every year on their birthdays.

While we've received our share of questions and criticisms, we decided to make our donation public not because we wanted pats on our back but to let people know that

we are not asking others to do something we aren't willing to do ourselves.

Over the next five years, our pledge is to donate an additional one month's salary to organizations through ODW to honor our initial public pledge of $100,000.

Money isn't the solution - at least not by itself. The greatest resources are people. Our voices matters. Our donations do make an impact when invested properly through organizations that are transparent, efficient, and strategic in not creating dependency but rather, creating opportunities and empowerment. Your donation doesn't have to be through ODW...we don't care. We just want to remind you that you can make a difference.

Our goal is not to re-invent the wheel. There are some incredible organizations and individuals doing amazing work; Our goal is to partner and collaborate. We are certainly not the first and thankfully, we are not the last to care about these issues.

Thanks for inspiring us and joining the ODW movement.

With gratitude,

Eugene & Minhee Cho (+ our three children)

The statistics are difficult to comprehend, but imagine what we can accomplish together.

One Day’s Wages = 0.4% of one’s annual wages = Dramatic Impact for those living in extreme poverty.

Check out some recent coverage of One Day's Wages in the New York Times and the Seattle Times. Follow ODW on Twitter. Become a fan and promote the cause on Facebook.

See Eugene explain ODW here:

The Movement of One Day's Wages from One Day's Wages on Vimeo.

Most of all, please join Luanne and me in visiting the ODW website, creating a profile and donating one day's wages. A small amount could change a life forever.

Favorite Books of 2009

2009-12-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I love books... I read constantly. I'm currently in the middle of several.

What were the best books you read in 2009? What are the books you're looking forward to in 2010?

For some reason, this was the year of the memoir for me. I love reading first-person accounts of life, especially ones in which people change and grow… in one direction or another. It’s the process that fascinates me.

CRAZY FOR GOD – Frank Schaeffer (Francis’s son’s journey away from Evangelicalism.)
A MILLION MILES IN A THOUSAND YEARS - Donald Miller (A great memoir about "editing" his life - turning his book "Blue Like Jazz" into a screenplay - and what it taught him about living the best story.)
SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME – Ron Hall (Homeless man and art dealer become friends, lives changed.)
SON OF A PREACHER MAN – Jay Bakker (Jim & Tammy’s boy tells all.)
THE UNLIKELY DISCIPLE – Kevin Roose (Agnostic undercover at Liberty U.)
BEAUTIFUL BOY – David Scheff (Meth addiction from a dad’s perspective.)
TWEAK – Nic Scheff (David’s son’s perspective. Read this one second.)
THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY – A.J. Jacobs (Esquire writer attempts to live by every command in the Bible for a year.)

I really appreciated these books as well:

LOVE IS AN ORIENTATION – Andrew Marin (Elevating the Conversation between the Church and the LGBT community. I wrote about it here.)
DEEP CHURCH – Jim Belcher (Finding a “Third Way” between Evangelicals and Emergent.)
THE BLUE PARAKEET – Scot McKnight (How do we read the Bible. And how does that apply to women in ministry?)
THE NEW CHRISTIANS – Tony Jones (Kind of a memoir. This is Tony’s history of Emergent.)
THE NEXT EVANGELICALISM - Soong-Chan Rah. (Really helpful and eye-opening book on how the Church in America is enslaved by white, Western culture. I wrote about it here.)

In fiction, I really loved

PLAINSONG & EVENTIDE - Kent Haruf

Tell me about the books YOU loved... What should I read next?

"The Scope and Scale of Our Missional Momentum": Grateful for the ECC

2009-12-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

From time to time I mention how grateful I am for my denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church. Having grown up a little wary of denominations, it's been a pleasant surprise to discover a group of likeminded people who are making a huge impact for God in this world... together. In fact, we do things together that we could never do on our own as individual churches.

A while back our new president, Gary Walters, sent out his annual report, and I was reminded again why I am excited and privileged to be a licensed minister in the ECC. Here are a few of the highlights:

Doing big things for a big God is ultimately, and merely, the accumulation of countless faithful acts carried out by faithful people. That is why I am so proud of the ECC - our congregations, clergy, lay people, and denominational and conference leaders. We have an abundance of people who understand what it means to serve with obedience, humility, and a servant heart. And that’s why we are seeing an abundant harvest in service to God.

The scope and scale of our missional momentum is real. Hundreds of thousands of real people in real places are impacted every single day all over the world through this partnership we call the Evangelical Covenant Church. But as I recount some of the markers of our collective momentum this past year, in your mind’s eye imagine all of the faithful personal efforts that have gone into each one:

• Attendance grew for the 17th consecutive year, up a strong six percent. We are touching more lives with the hope of Christ than at any other point in our history.
• Twenty people were commissioned for missionary service at the 2009 Annual Meeting, the largest number in many years. That group includes four long-term missionaries, the first we have sent out following a six-year gap.
• Twenty church plants were initiated - on average, one every two to three weeks. Sixty-nine church plants are under development. One-half of churches being planted are among populations of color or intentionally multiethnic. As a result, the percentage of diversity in the ECC has risen again. Twenty-four percent of all congregations are among populations of color or intentionally multiethnic.
• Seminars offered by Covenant Offices served 330 churches.
• Following four successive years of modest decline, the base of established churches in the aggregate showed full stability with no combined loss in attendance.
• Nearly 900 individual pastors have benefited from the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence initiative aimed at investing in vocational development for those in ministry.
• More than 5,000 people attended this summer’s CHIC - our youth convention - which once again powerfully challenged students to live deeply rooted in Christ.
• Thirty-one projects were supported through Covenant World Relief, directed to the poorest of the poor around the world.
• More than $33 million in free care was provided by Covenant Ministries of Benevolence through our hospitals, retirement communities, and enabling residencies.
• Paul Carlson Partnership received a $658,000 grant to develop micro-enterprise projects in Congo.
• More than $300,000 has been donated to the Break the Chains initiative to combat human trafficking.
• North Park University weathered a campus flood and graduated one of the largest classes in history. North Park Theological Seminary saw the highest incoming class in five years this fall.
• Covenant Trust Company and National Covenant Properties had exceptional results in an exceptionally challenging economic environment.

Quite simply, we are countering most trends facing denominations today. We are growing - growing more diverse, growing more in conscience, and growing more aware of the world.

And looking ahead? Signs point to continued strong momentum. Early indications for our 125th Annual Meeting next June point to an unprecedented number of new churches, an unprecedented number of people to be commissioned for missionary service, and an unprecedented number of clergy ordinations. Indications also point to the annual attendance survey showing growth for the 18th consecutive year.

You can read the whole report here. Thank You, God, for my sisters and brothers in this remarkable church...

How about you? Are you a part of a denomination? What do you like or dislike about it?

I start a new venture in February: Seminary! Redeemer and SemConnect are making it possible for me to start taking classes through North Park Theological Seminary. I'll start with New Testament, specifically studying the gospels. I'm really excited about this.

The Campaign to Save Paste

2009-05-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

My favorite magazine for music, film and culture in general is Paste. I highly recommend it so anyone looking for "signs of life" out there. I've been a subscriber from day one, and I've seen the magazine just get better and better. They (and their incredible CD sampler that comes with each issue) have introduced me to artists who have become favorites: Joan As Police Woman, Erin McKeown, Josh Ritter, Josh Rouse, She & Him, The Decemberists, Pedro the Lion, Mindy Smith, John Vanderslice, Rosie Thomas, Mates of State, Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird.

Now Paste, like so many of us, has fallen on hard times. Thus "The Campaign to Save Paste." I'm a supporter. Will you join me? For any donation, you receive 70+ rare and live tracks from all kinds of great artists, including one from oh-so-controversial-right-now Derek Webb's upcoming release, Stockholm Syndrome.

Support Paste here.

Free Live Coldplay

2009-05-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

According to the band's website, "This is a thank you to our fans." Download it here.

The Great Sell-Off

2009-05-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

We are leaving Houston two weeks from tomorrow, but we've been packing for several weeks now already. We're using PODS ("Portable On Demand Storage") this time around, and when our house flooded last month, we had the first POD delivered early. Figured we might as well pack that instead of putting everything back in place in the house.

As we've packed it, we've decided that we're going to try to fit everything into one POD. It will save a lot of money on storage and moving costs, and it'll help us to downsize... to strip it all down to what really matters. What doesn't fit in the POD, we'll drive with us to California in the van and the car.

But no matter how we try, we can't get it ALL in, so we're having a moving sale Friday morning. I posted it on Craigslist. Come help us make a few bucks and get rid of some things! Dining room table? We got it. TV? Mountain bike? Refrigerator? Step right up. Futon? Everybody needs a futon, right?

Here are some links to individual items and photos of most of the big stuff we're selling...

K'nex
Trek Women's Mountain Bike
Dining Room Table & Chairs
Futon
Kids' Desk
TV
Refrigerator
Christmas Tree

Talent

2009-05-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know what my second-favorite moment was. Maybe it was the kid who did a card trick on a table with his back to the audience. Maybe it was the two sweet, gawky girls who sang along with The Fray on "How To Save a Life." Maybe it was one of the many self-written skits featuring hard-to-hear dialogue and over-the-top slapstick comedy. But then there was the dance solo (with tumbling!) to "Billie Jean" and the stock endless violin duet... and, of course, the cute girls trio dancing to Rihanna. Please. Don't stop the music.

But there can be no doubt that my favorite moment of the fifth grade talent show was my son's drum solo. Jake closed the show and rocked the house. Rock and roll forever!

Houston to Simi via Tulsa

2009-05-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

Leaving a week from tomorrow...

View Nightingale Road Trip! in a larger map

"What's Next, Papa?"

2009-05-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Romans 8:15-17 (The Message)

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!

Fourteen

2009-05-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even though I only have a moment here at the mall (our internet service is shut off now since we're moving on Thursday), I wanted to at least post a few pictures and say what a great young man my firstborn is. I'm so proud of him and so glad God gave him to Luanne and me.

PCC, circa 2001. Josh is second from the right. Can you name the other kids?

1999. Four years old. We were at Disneyland. He got off of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and said "I don't like fast trains."

May 2009. On a real, live Texas ranch with youth group friends from MDPC.

Apple Rocks

2009-06-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

Tragedy struck my house on Friday when my 120G iPod Classic wouldn't turn on. I thought perhaps I had run the battery down, so I plugged it in for 4-5 hours and then came back to it. All I could get was the Circle of Death. I can't even find a picture of it online to show you... It was a red X with a circle around it and a website address for tech support.

I called. The guy had a great bedside manner... Talked to me like I was receiving a terrible diagnosis: "Sir, I'm sorry to tell you, but everything on that iPod is gone forever. Irretrievable."

WHAT? 20,000 songs. I'm not kidding. Years of accumulating music. Yes, I had some of it backed up, but nowhere near all of it.

Long story short: Yesterday, after being informed that the damage was my fault and that my warranty would not be covering it, I was patched through to a guy who understood. I told him that this little machine was my Preciousssss. (Yes, I'm a little Gollum-like in this regard.) I said there was no way that I had ever damaged this iPod. I told him I own a MacBook Pro and that our family has had 8 different iPods over the past several years. I told him I've spent thousands of dollars in the iTunes store. I told him I had been raving to my friends and online about Apple Care.

He thought about it. And then SCORE! He said they'd be sending me a replacement. As a "show of good faith" because I'm a good Apple customer.

These people are GOOD. Buy Apple products.

Finally in Tulsa

2009-06-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

So glad to be here in Tulsa. We arrived yesterday, got settled into our hotel, drove around a bit and had dinner. Today is more free time... We'll go to the River Skate Park and possibly the Oklahoma Aquarium. Then tonight, Luanne and I will be having dinner with people from the pastoral staff and the leadership team. I think search committee people will be there as well. We're going to take Em and Jake with us. Josh (who's allergic to dogs) will stay here at the hotel with Zach and watch a movie or something...

We're praying for discernment and clear direction from the Lord for all of us! We like Tulsa so far... Check out this picture. It's my favorite by far of all the photos I've found online.

A Week in Pictures: 5/31 - Access Farewell

2009-06-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

A Week in Pictures: 6/2 - Ice Skating at Memorial City Mall with the Laws

2009-06-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

A Week in Pictures: 6/2 - Jacob's 5th Grade Graduation

2009-06-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

A Week in Pictures: 6/3 - Final Pool Party with the Goodrows

2009-06-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

A Week in Pictures: 6/4 - Houston to Dallas (With a Sam Houston Stop)

2009-06-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

A Week in Pictures: 6/4 & 5 - Visiting Carolyn and Family in Dallas Area

2009-06-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

The Holidays in Pictures...

2008-12-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, so I hope you enjoy these photos... a little glimpse of what we've been up to in the last few weeks...

Last week we enjoyed hanging out with Sid and Linda Newcomb's family in Paige, TX. They were there to visit Sid's sister and parents, so we just drove the two hours and spent a great day on the farm! We loved getting our kids together again, and it was awesome to see little Glory for the first time! We rode horses and ATVs, had some amazing food and even played with the family's potbellied pig!

Here are the kids posing in front of a nice Christmas Tree in Town & Country shopping center...

We had a nice Christmas morning in Houston... It was hard not to be around family, but we made the best of it. The kids were up at 5:30! We opened presents, had breakfast and went to see The Tale of Despereaux later that afternoon.

After Christmas Day, we had just one day to pack and get ready for our trip to Seattle! We got up at 4:00 on Saturday morning and left Houston International Airport at 7:30. (Zach was so excited he was in bed between Luanne and me - fully dressed and wearing his tennis shoes - at 2:30am!)

The plane ride was 4-1/2 hours long...

Adam and Thornley Anderson picked us up and brought us to the hotel... We're staying in the Embassy Suites in Bellevue... It's a very nice hotel! (Emily asked Luanne, "Mommy, is this the fanciest hotel we've ever stayed in?" Luanne told her that yes, it was.) We're on the 5th floor, the "Embassador Level," which means we have to use our key to get to this floor on the elevator and we get free coffee/drinks/donuts/newspapers every morning. It's all very impressive. :)

Sunday morning came really quickly, and we found ourselves back at Newport Covenant! I led worship with Luanne and several friends from the summer. It was great to be back. Then we headed over to e(x)tol to worship with Chad's music and Adam's preaching. I love the way it looks and feels over there.

On Monday, of course we had to head over to Skatebarn. The boys, especially Zach and Josh, love this place. We spent countless hours here over the summer, and they've already spent three days there this week...

Yesterday we spent some time over at Jim Giordano's house working on Zach's Pinewood Derby car. Jim is a master builder. Thornley and Adam joined us to work on Thornley's car, too. And then Chris Purrier showed up. This man is obsessed. :)

Last night we had a wonderful time over at Adam & Meghan's. They had a great party with lots of friends... But I forgot my camera.

Lunch with Luanne's Aunt Nadine and Uncle Larry earlier today...

And it's only Wednesday! More to come...

The Gravity of the Situation

2009-12-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

Rest in peace, Vic Chesnutt.

I first heard his singular voice on Sweet Relief II: The Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album with covers of his songs by artists such as Garbage, Nanci Griffith, REM, Soul Asylum and Victoria Williams, who sang with him on "God Is Good." It was the second album benefiting Sweet Relief, the non-profit organization that exists to help musicians without health insurance.

A paraplegic since he was injured in a car accident at the age of 18, Vic battled deep depression and most recently wrote about his obsession with suicide in the song "Flirted With You All My Life."

I am a man. I am self-aware, and everywhere I go, you're always right there with me. I've flirted with you all my life, even kissed you once or twice, and to this day, I swear it was nice, but clearly I was not ready.

When you touched a friend of mine, I thought I would lose my mind, but I found out with time that really, I was not ready, no, no, cold death, cold death, oh death, really, I'm not ready.

I guess he finally was ready. After overdosing on pain meds, he passed away on Christmas Day.

His close friend and fellow musician Kristin Hersh has set up a website to take donations to help his family. Check it out here.

A Beautiful Change of Plans

2009-12-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

Well, all of our plans for a beautiful Christmas Eve at Redeemer (read about them here) got turned upside-down. By 1:30pm, it was apparent that this was going to be no ordinary snowfall. We canceled the 11:00pm service and planned on going ahead with the 5pm and the 7pm.

Then at 3:00, the governor declared a state of emergency and a blizzard warning was declared for Tulsa County. Churches all around the city began canceling services. The sky got darker and the wind started howling. By then there was a lot of sleet coming down, and it was starting to accumulate.

Around 4:00 we decided that it was just too risky to have anyone out in weather like that, so we canceled everything. All the church staff (by that time, it was only a few of us) headed home.

When I got home, the kids were having so much fun outside, sliding down the driveway on their skateboard decks and a boogie board. (We are from California, after all...)

And it snowed and blew and stormed all night long. There was even thunder and lightning! It was remarkable. I haven't had a white Christmas since we lived in Indiana, 13 years ago. And perhaps even more amazing, I was home with my family for Christmas Eve. For the first time since 1999.

We watched "A Christmas Story" and lit a fire in the fireplace. We had dinner together. We got to bed at a decent time. It was awesome. While I'm sorry for the people who put in a lot of work to make Christmas Eve at Redeemer happen, I think for us, Christmas Eve turned out to be even more beautiful than we had planned.

And man, a white Christmas in Oklahoma is a really cool thing. We're loving it.