what a journey

I'm in an airport right now... returning home after 6 days of being away from my home, kids, office, and so forth. While on this journey this week, I'm reminded that life is a Journey. We need to seize the moments God has given us and discover what he has next for us. The book of Proverbs states, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and he will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5) On this journey am I trusting God? What path am I on? What an adventure this life is! more to come on this thought...

Even American Idol has bad days

There are times that television shows seem to do things well... really well. In the church world it's easy to get jealous and covet the fancy lights, great equipment, and professional "stuff."

But, tonight Fox reminded the world that they are far from perfect. The American Idol episode tonight was terrible. Everything; bad talent (singing was horrible), bad mc (yes Ryan Seacrest was bad tonight!), awful editing (mistakes everywhere), poor camera angles, and the list goes on.

What can we learn from this?

It's not about the show! At the end of the day, fox and millions of viewers wasted their time.

At Journey, we are striving to be a church that is "all about Jesus." With Jesus, he always gives us second chances! But for American Idol... well. You lost a lot of fans tonight. Contestants lost their chance of stardom.

For Christians we have been made new - it's no longer about you.

Make your life count. Please the King, the Judge, the one that makes you a winner.

2 thoughts

I want to share two proverbs that have slapped me in the face recently.

I've been dreaming big dreams about what the Church should look like. I've also been dreaming about what God is doing in my life and where He can and wants me to go/do.

In all of these dreams I have a responsibility - to make them happen!

It's up to us, the Church, to fulfill what the Bible says. We have the power of God, therefore, we are without excuse.

wise words:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.
Proverbs 12:1


All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23


My prayer and challenge: Let's work hard for the Kingdom of God. Less talk and more hard work! Listen to the Lord, accept His discipline; or else you are stupid Pr 12:1!

Not Another Day

Every day we have the opportunity to go through the routines. OR make the most of today. The latter is always more difficult.

Mondays are a day of reflection for me. I always wish I could do Sundays better. I love church - and I always want the service to be the best reflection of God (God doesn't need the service, but, what a great way to reflect on Jesus)

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Today, I rejoice! Today I seek to do all I can for God. This is not just another day. This is THE day that the Lord has made... what does God have planned for you today? Rejoice, be glad in it.

There must be more than this.....

So, I've been wrestling in my heart with what Church should be, what it is, and how I can be a part of the whole process.

Francis Chan, a pastor I both admire and respect articulates this well in a recent article at the Exponential Blog.

Here are some of Francis' words and I'll blog later on some of my thoughts :-)

Thank you, Tim Hughes, for expressing in song what we've often felt but seldom voiced. The average church experience only satisfies those who don't read the scriptures. But those who have meditated on the book of Acts attend Christian meetings and agree with Tim:"there must be more than this." (click on the above to view the whole article)

Church Unique

I'm about half way through Will Mancini's book CHURCH UNIQUE. It is a fire hose of information. I'm finding myself challenged and inspired. The church in America has been trapped by so many things, yet God's desire for us to thrive and do what he created us to do is in front of us.

The premise of the book is that every church is unique. Thus, every church should look different, act different, and so forth. The people that make up every church is different/unique, thus the church should reflect this uniqueness. This is a very loose paraphrase.

The challenge though, is implementing this idea. Especially in an established church or working with pastors that are established (in mind and practice).

Our God is awesome. I look forward to what God is doing in my life and what He desires in the church. I thank God for Journey and I can't wait to see the Church doing what God has planned... VISION

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. - Ephesians 3:20-21

Last Night @ Journey

It's 5:45pm last night and there are about 20 people at Journey. People are looking at me and saying, "it's going to be a smaller night." I respond with optimism, "it's going to be a great night!" It's 6:10pm and the sounds guys count the number of people at Journey - over 100!!! We have averaged over 100 people in the service for over 4 weeks! Numbers don't matter, but people do!

We had a visit from LV and his Vanagon... we challenged the record of 28 people in the Catalyst Vanagon. And we did it - Journey squeezed in 45 people! LV said this could have been the last time (the van was on the tires!).

What's more exciting than 100 people, half of whom squeezed into a van, is the fact that God is doing something great in the community of Journey, Bend, and beyond. I sense a stirring of the Holy Spirit and I pray that I'll be open to respond to God's calling.

Join me on this Journey of prayer, to allow God to work through YOU and His Church.

LV and the Vanagon

Today I met with LV from Catalyst. LV is a great guy representing a great organization. I've desired to attend Catalyst, a conference for young leaders - 2009 is the year.

LV travels the country meeting with leaders that are being used by God. It's humbling to have him stop in Bend Oregon; it's a reality that God is doing some great things here.

Tomorrow I'm going to breakfast with LV. He'll be sharing about the conference at Journey tomorrow night.

Good stuff.

long time no see blog....

Okay... some I'm going to be short... but, I'm going to try and start blogging again. My good friend Steve has been asking me to blog for awhile... but, I've been addicted to twitter (it's so much easier).

I'm going to try and share specifically about what God is doing in my life and through the community of Journey and how great our God is.

Journey - it's all about Jesus.

Look forward to seeing what God is doing through his people and through the Church.

It's all about Jesus

Once again I am amazed and in awe of how our mighty God is at work...

His handy work is all around us. The greatest display of God's glory is found in His people...

My heart yearns for the community I live in to be caught in the community of God.

Sunday night at Journey we crossed a new milestone... we had well over 100 people. Each stage of the life of Journey makes me wonder what God has next... I know there are greater things to come...

But, I also know that God wants me to discover what's around me right now.

God's Word is amazing, timeless, and life changing. Today, I repeat the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Our vision at Journey is "Grace In Action." We want to be receivers and givers of God's grace.

I celebrate what happened on Sunday night... why? Because it's all about Jesus. As Journey matures and progresses and becomes a stronger community of God, may we always remember that it's all about Jesus!

www.journeyinbend.org