Retreat

We had a retreat this weekend for The Well. If you missed it, you missed out! It was a great time. I think my favorite part of the weekend was seeing our group really bond together. We did a lot of playing and it was so fun to see groups mingle and people hang out with people that they didn't previously know.

The second highlight was the band. They really did a good job leading us in worship.

After this weekend I am reminded how grateful I am to serve God, to serve him with people that I truly love, and to serve people that I truly love and care about. I'm very tired today, but very grateful for the life God has given me and the calling that he has given me.

Worship Class

This quarter I get to take a class on worship. After having the first session last night, I am really excited about the class - what we are going to read and the discussions that we are going to have during class. Last night the prof handed out a quote by Erwin McManus. Erwing wrote:

"A church near the beaches of Santa Monica gathers each week with the ten remaining members whose average age is at best in its seventies. They cannot decide what to do. They are paralyzed by fear of death and the lack of life. Around the country, churches that were once over a thousand in attendance have literally ceased to exist... The only way church buildings stay filled through generations is if the church lives and dies and is born again over and over."

I love this quote by Erwin McManus, but to be honest I am a little bit scared of what it means for my future as a leader. I am sure that it means that at some point in my life as a pastor it will mean that I will have to kill soemthing that I really like, that I may even conect with, for the sake of reaching more people for the gospel. My hope is that I am mature enough to make that move and that I have led well enough, that when it is time, people will follow.

Great start to the class,

The best invention of all-time?

I can't believe I have lived 28 years without one of these. You have to check this video out. It's a real commercial!

Reasons I'm Excited for '09

As I sit here watching the Rose Bowl on the first day of 2009, I am fairly confident that no previous year will bring as much change to my life as this year. I say this knowing that in 2007 Kelly and I moved from our longtime home of Colorado to Southern California. In 2002 I married the love of my life (a great and a drastic life change). But, I'm not sure that any of them will rival 2009. In 2009 we will welcome our first child into the world. From what I hear, my life will never be the same. I can't wait! That's the #1 thing that I am excited about for '09.

Other things seem to pale in comparison, but I'll throw out a few other things that I'm looking forward to:

• Seeing The Well go to the next level. I'm excited to focus my time this year on equipping student leaders and helping students connect with each other. We are going to make an impact on campuses in '09!
• Running a marathon. 2009 is the year that I am going to run a marathon. May 31st baby!
• Finish my MDIV at Seminary. It's going to be a heck of a push, but I'm going to give it my best.

I don't think I have ever been this excited for a New Year. Bring it on 2009. Bring it on!

Life on the Run

Over this vacation I have finally had some time to think and reflect on what series that I want to do next with The Well. I have had some time to read, study and pray, and the next series that I am going to do is going to be on the book of Jonah. I was captured with the way this story so dramatically illustrates the human condition. It shows our propensity to run both from God and from the call that God has on our life. Jonah shows the way that we even run from God in the name of religion.

The series is going to be called, "Life on the Run." I read a quote from an author and he said, "All human beings should learn, before they die, what they are running from, ad to, and why." I think that's true. I think it is a fair statement to say that we are probably all running either from or toward something. Once we figure out what we are running from or toward our life will make a lot sense.

Recession?

Here in Southern California we have been hearing a lot lately about the current economic downfall we have been experiencing. Houses are being foreclosed upon at an all-time high rate, the unemployment rates continue to rise, and poor little boys and girls can hardly afford to go to Disneyland anymore. Sad day! This economic downturn is not only effecting CA, but the rest of the nation as well. As I'm sure you read, the big three auto makers went back to congress to once again beg for a 14 billion dollar buyout (of their poorly run companies). Thanks goodness that congress once again shot them down... they will eventually give in though. These happenings are just a few examples of the signs of the times.

As a baseball fan, I'm glad to see that the current economic situation has not effected the Yankees. It amazes me that they continue to spend at an alarming rate. Just this week (in the midst of economic chaos in our country) they offered CC Sabathia a $161 million dollar deal. $24 million dollars per year. Not only are these types of contracts bad for baseball in general, they are a bad example to set for a country in peril. Personally, I hope this move comes back to bite the almighty Yankees... luckily, most of the moves they have made over the last few years have.

Milk: An Interesting Experience...

Thursday i finally finished this quarter of Seminary. It was a tough quarter. I took 4 classes which I am pretty convinced was 2 too many, but I'm done for a while! For our last class in Film and Theology we decided to go and see the movie Milk. It just came out. It has Sean Penn in it who plays Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to hold a public office. We went to see the movie on opening night... in Hillcrest. Hillcrest, if you're not familiar is probably the most openly gay community in Southern California. Needless to say, the theater was filled with homosexuals, and they made that known throughout the movie. It was one of the most interesting experiences that I have had in a long time!

As we entered the theater we were invited to a march against prop 8. Every time the movie showed a shot of the church or religious community (which it did often to show the way that church had opposed Harvey Milk and the homosexual population in general) there was open animosity shown. People booed, gasped, etc... you could feel the disdain for the church. At one point Anita Bryant was shown (actual footage from the 70's) making the statement "We love all people, we just don't approve of the homosexual lifestyle." When she said that the theater nearly erupted with laughter. I was caught off guard. I was surprised because I think I have said nearly the same thing before. It is interesting to know that taking that viewpoint is laughable to the homosexual population.

I left the theater pretty impacted by the movie, but deeply impacted by the experience. I am convinced that the church has a very long way to go in order to make inroads into the homosexual community. Unfortunately, the passing of prop 8 didn't help that journey in any way, shape, or form. We have a lot to overcome, but as always our hope is that the light of the gospel might shine in the darkest of areas and that it might bring hope to those who need it most. May the church make inroads and show love in such a way that when we say we love... it isn't laughable.