1st Anniversary

Well... sorry to any and all who might have been trying to keep track of this couple on the East Coast. I know that this is way late... but we had enough free time to take a trip up to NYC for our first anniversary... and life has only been a flurry of busy activity since.

It was a great trip since we were able to take in a Broadway show (Le Mis'erables), sailed past Lady Liberty, visit the Museum of Natural History and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many nice long walks in Central Park (by far our favorite place), time square, ground zero, and many subway stations ;).


So one year is completed, and the verdict is that life is good... and we can't wait to see how much God will grow, challenge, strengthen, stretch, develop, and love us in the next year!

is it relevant?

Is the post-modern mindset as relevant as people within the movement claim...?

And how has that effected the up-and-coming generations within our churches?

Family came to visit (round 2)

Darla used to live out in this area in PA a few years ago, and has several friends still in the area. She had come out to visit some of them... and while she was in the area we were able to spend some time with her!

It's always nice to see family, and now that those times are few and far between, it makes them more special.

So anyone who wants to drop in, your more than welcome.

Just call first!

Family came to visit (round 1)

I know that I'm a little behind the times... but my little sister Andrea got engaged a little while back to friend of the family, Steve Skaron, that she's gown up with.

Well it just so happens that his grandfather lives out here in PA... so they decided to come to visit him. Since we were in the neighborhood (only 4 hours away instead of 18), we thought we'd say hello to family!

It was fun to spend time with family (and future family) when at this stage of life it will get fewer and farther between visits.

So a congratulations, best wishes, and prayers are in order for the engaged couple... and we can't wait to see them again!

A true temple...

We are reading through the Bible, specifically the Old Testament. Just starting into 2 Chronicles where Solomon takes over the kingdom from his father David. He has just started work in building the temple and it is amazing to think of what it was he actually did...

"... and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. He also overlaid the house with gold-- the beams, the thresholds and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls. Now he made the room of the holy of holies: its length across the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold." (2 Chronicles 3:4-8 NASB)

It would have been a sight to behold, gold completely covering everything. God's dwelling place, the place His presence would reside.

How much more should our lives reflect this dedication. These acts which were preformed in molding a building into a perfect, glorying, and completely dedicated to one purpose... should be reflected in the way Christians live.

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB)

"... so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10 NASB)

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14 NASB)

God's temple is no longer a building made by human hands but is spread amongst His people in that God dwells in us, we are His temple. So just as Solomon's temple was build to reflect the God He served, let us do the same with our lives as God's temple.

On condition of anonymity...

"On condition of anonymity..." is the line much of the news media seems to be hiding behind these days.

In nearly every article I read about political escapades or the war in Iraq, it seems there is one condition, "anonymity."

Everytime this phrase appears in the article or story, it is always followed by "because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly." And yet the story must go forth. The reason for things remaining unsaid is laid aside.

The Bible even says that "for everything there is a season,a time for every activity under heaven." This is true, there is a time for everything. But for there to be a time for something, there must be a time for it not to be. You will never have the harvest if you do not have the season of planting... and the season of waiting.

The word wait does not seem to be in the vocabulary of the media. If someones mother's surprise birthday party would sell their story, there would be no surprise. This is so glaringly evident in the coverage of military activity. There are many reasons people should not publicly announce the internal goings on of military endeavors.

If the Greek media had proclaimed their tactics in building their hollow Trojan horse, do you think a "anonymous" informant would have gone over very well? Dare I say that such an act would fall within the realms of treason, and the punishment of long ago is far different from what we find today.

(Disclaimer - The reason for the Trojan Horse is due to it being a recognizable example. The place where this does not fit exactly is that the media should investigate when lying is being covered up, but not devulge important information that should be withheld.)

So this is a call to all within the media:

Let that which is to be discussed among the select few remain there. If it is not for public knowledge, then don't make it. There is a reason it is not meant for public knowledge. Let all of us treat the lives of our fighting men and women with the value they deserve by foregoing our own personal curiousity.

Frist Year Done!

Sarah and I have just finished up our first year of graduate studies at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary. It was at times long and arduous, but in the end was challenging and stimulating creating a hunger to continue learning.

Having a desire to know God, and learn more about Him is always expanding nad growing into something deeper than when it began. As soon as you learn something new and amazing you realize that you have merely scratched the surface and so much more lay beneath.

A couple of classes over the summer will keep us on our toes, but not before a few weks off to enjoy summer as God meant for it to be.

looking past people... to SEE PEOPLE

A few thoughts:

"Every culture is unique..."

"... finding differences and similarities... eventuall we find ourselves looking at and understanding and individual person, rather than simply a postmodern or an African-American or a professional or a baby boomer."

"Individuals are complex...."

"Demographic segmentations.... oversimplify people into artifically categories."

"America has not been the mythical melting pot but instead has been marked by its diversity."

God has created this world with its various forms of culture. But when you get past all the traditions, clothing, geographical regions, and differences... you find that we are all human. And every man, woman, and child needs to know the God who created them in this world He created.

God is no respecter of persons, He made them all. We need to follow suit and show love... to all men... oh what love we have experienced through Christ from God.

Ephesians 2:4 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...

1 John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the take our place for our sins.

Ephesians 5:2 - And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us,

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

1 John 4:11 - If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

2 John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.

1 John 3:23 - This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

Are we showing love? A true demonstration of love, comes when that love is tested. May we be challenged to be loving today... and may we pass the test looking to Christ as our example.

Church-goer or Missionary?

Reading Planting Missional Churches has given me a new focus on what the purpose of being a Christian is...

"To be a disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of his body is to live a missionary experience in the world." - Ed Stetzer


"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." - Matthew 28:19-20

... a challenge for all of us who simply go to church. Our responsibility is not to go to church, it is to go and make disciples. So let's do it by God's grace... and may I be the first to lead by example... here at home touching the lives around me, and perhaps someday to the far reaches of the world.

Dream Church...

I had a dream...

But unlike Martin Luther King Jr., it was a little disturbing.

It was a dream that started out with a communion service and glasses of wine raised in the air as a toast, and Chex Mix passed around in bowls in place of communion bread (please don't take offense to my un-orthodox dream). In the front, on the platform, they had fireworks going off during the whole service. And when it was all done they watched videos on the projector screen. I know, it didn't make much sense to me either...

This was the first part of my dream, which I watched it in a third-person view. As I was pondering the meaning of all this when it switched...

It switched to a picture of a couple, a man and woman walking towards me heading to church. They looked very happy and intently focused ahead to their destination. As they got closer their faces started revealing a blue haze, like someone was watching a TV. As they continued forward line dots of light appeared on their temples, forehead, and cheeks. The view started panning around to the side, and then to thier backs so I could see where they were going. All of a sudden they appeared to be in a tunnel of light flowing from a point in front, almost engulfing them. Inside this sphere of light was a church service. The couple stood there the whole time acting as if they were a part of the service even though they were standing up and sperated from it.

I woke up and realized that these people were part of a virtual reality church. There was no expectation of them, they could enjoy it exactly as they thought it would fill their spiritual needs. They never had to be confronted. Never had to deal with relationship and interpersonal communication problems. They could go whenever they felt a need, and stay only as long as they wanted. It would be the perfect world.

I hope my dream never comes true. I hope people never get to the point of thinking that "church" is just something that fills your time, or soothes the guilty soul. Unfourtunately some people view it like that. People don't realize that God is building the church. That building is constructed of people who need to be supported, first and foremost by the Cornerstone which we find in Jesus Christ. But secondarily by the rest of the structure in those people who are "the church." We all have a responsibility to care, confront, encourage, and exhort one another. It's called interaction. That is a HUGE part of the church today, and something that would never happen in any virtual world. And something that is often lacking in the real one.

So let us not make the real world a virtual one by neglecting our responsibilites to be a body of believers. Let us all take some time to be a family who interacts and shows genuine love for one another face to face.

Truth in Context...

Sometimes you just have to wait and be patient... sometimes things deserve a second look.

Truth always deserves a second look, because sometimes we miss it the first time around.

Random New Year Update

We had flurries today! Missing the Midwest winters was brought back full-force today with the chilly air and snow drifting out of the sky. It was nice to be working on second shift today so we could experience the few hours of snow in the daylight.

Classes started up this week so we have a very full schedule with class from 7:30 - 12:15 and then work from 2:00 to 10:00 and 2:45 to 11:15 respectively. it makes for a rather short night and hardly any free time since its a block class for the whole week. That will contintue on into next week for one more block class, then one week off and the spring semester starts up.

It's fun so far, but the sleep schedule hasn't become routine quite yet.

Christmas 2006

Heres a couple pictures from our trip home to visit our families over the holidays!

This last one is my favorite I think ;)