Advancing

"Sandals Church" Pastor Starts Blog

In January of '98 Matt Brown, a GGBTS graduate with a Masters of Divinity, planted Sandals Church in Riverside, CA.  The previous summer he resigned from his YP position in Fountain Valley.  In a June/99 interview with Next Wave Matt envisioned a church of thousands over the next decade, with Xers leading the way in a revival of obedience.  Sound cocky?  With three years to go the 34 year old has a great chance of reaching this ambitious goal.  The church has met in 13 different locations: Pastor Matt's home, a cabana club, a board room, an office building, a church basement, 3 Church sanctuaries, 2 Gymnasiums, a theater, a high school and many times outdoors. 

Heard of JC's Girls, Girls, Girls?  Heather and the team attend Sandals.

Check out Matt's new blog.  His online sermons are available here.

(HT:  CW)

Suffering With Hope

Nothing reveals the impotence of words like human suffering.  When the devastation of acute pain hits most of us Bible memory verses temporarily fly out the window.  All we can do is grieve and feel the pain.  Yesterday morning Rick McKinley (left) of Imago Dei Community in Portland, OR preached a great message on Romans 8 and the consequences of living in a fallen world.  Something painfully beautiful happens at the end of the sermon.  Please download the mp3 when you get a few minutes of free time.  It's worth it.

John Van Deusen in EMP Sound Off Finals

John Van Deusen (left) is a teenager with a vision.  Our family had the pleasure of hosting the Blue Tree Recording artist last December while he was in Moses Lake playing at the Noon Moon Coffee House and Desert Bar.  His playing was raw and passion filled, even extraordinary at times with thoughtful lyrics.  It wasn't surprising to learn that John's band, John Van Deusen and the Lonely Forest, made it to the finals of this years Experience Music Project (EMP) Sound Off competition.  Sound Off is the Pacific Northwest's biggest battle of the bands for musicians 21 and younger.  To get to this point the band had to win their respective semifinal round.  Now it's down to 3 bands.  The prizes are huge.  The finals are tomorrow!  John, we're rooting and praying for you guys!

Have a great weekend everybody!

(UPDATE: 02-25-06)  

Props go out to the band, the families who supported them, the fans, and EMP!  Support the band Labor Day Weekend at Bumbershoot 2006 in Seattle!!!

My Best Day

I'm taking my kids through the book of Matthew.  Last night we looked at 26:1-16.  3 things stood out to me:

1.  High priests and religious leaders are conspiring to kill Jesus by stealth, eventually with Judas Iscariot's help.

2.  The disciples get furious with a woman for anointing Jesus with costly perfume, labeling her act "criminal."

3.  On my best day I'm susceptible to the same wicked reasonings that so displeased God and eventually led to Christ's crucifixion.

It's so easy, isn't it, to look down on these unrighteous authorities, wagging a knowing finger as benefactors of "prophetic hindsight."  As the years pass I'm growing more and more sympathetic to these religious scoundrels.  Would I not share the same indignance if some maverick "preacher man" from Nazareth threatened my authority by dissing me in front of my peers?  Would my blood not boil with jealous hatred watching this Miracle Worker infect the masses with His influence?  And how bout' the disciples?  Weren't they right, after all?  Feeding and helping the poor and the needy trumps a smell-good bath for Jesus every day of the week, doesn't it?  I mean...what were you thinking, Jesus?  How can you receive such a lavish expression of affection?  This isn't right.

Stewards of the Gospel

One of the preachers God has used to speak into my life over the last few months is Dr. Adrian Warnock.  Adrian is a reformed charismatic lay preacher at Jubilee Church in London.  He serves enthusiastically under lead elder Tope Koleoso.  Paul Schafer (not Letterman's band leader) recently blogged an outstanding Q&A with Adrian which helped me understand what makes this guy tick.  Adrian has a genuine gift from God and is faithfully stewarding it.  Who better to share an important message such as the one he did last Sunday.  I highly recommend you download Stewardship:  Entrusted With The Gospel.  Sermon notes here.  Our family listened to this message over the last couple days during our devotional time.  The kids enjoyed the plethora of illustrations Adrian employed to drive home the main idea.  We loved his English accent and gracious disposition.  Enjoy!

New Friends

Saturday afternoon came with an unexpected email.  I learned that Justin Ross, a fellow blogger, and wife Nicole would be in town Sunday visiting Nicole's grandmother.  We were fortunate to be in town so they could stay with us.  We talked till midnight about the Seahawks, politics, family, jobs, ministry, church search committees(lol), jobs, and more.  Monday morning we had a warm beverage at the Noon Moon together and learned more about each other's families and upbringings.  We introduced the Ross' to Paul Loeffler, our local Youth Dynamics Director who gave us a tour of the facility.  Our time together came to an end at Pastor Doug and Peggy's home for a short visit.  It was cool to finally meet the Ross' in person.  We hope to have more opportunities to hook up soon.  Perhaps at Tall Timber?

Justin is the Youth Director of Whidbey Presbyterian Church in Oak Harbor, WA.  His blog, Let Wonder Replace Worry, is one I enjoy reading regularly.

Imogen Heap

She's the 6 foot tall London based singer/songwriter with the cool Dickensian name.  A self proclaimed geek, she enjoys merging melodic compositions with computer generated soundscapes.  This makes her interestingly unique.  NPR World Cafe recently interviewed Immi, recording a cross section of her latest CD, Speak For Yourself. 

Heap Factoids:

1.  Her live debut was pinned between Clapton and The Who before 150K.

2.  Mortgaged her London flat to finance Speak for Yourself.  Produced it!

3.  Has opened for Coldplay and Norah Jones.  Was in Seattle last month. 

(HT:  KC)

Steve McCoy On Mark Driscoll's "Confessions"

Steve McCoy received an email from Mark Driscoll a couple of months ago asking if he wanted to read and blog review his new book Confessions of a Reformission Rev: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church.

Steve approaches the review in three phases:

I. The Boring Details: how long, when published, etc. 
II. Themes, Quotes & Content: themes and highlights.
III. My Take & Recommendation: why you MUST read.

"This has been one of the most important books on church and ministry I have read, and I think (it) will hold a unique place among books about ministry.  My advice?  Get this book.  Read it.  Reread it.  Give it away.   It's most helpful for pastors and planters since it deals a lot with dealing with preaching, logistics, pastor's family issues, church growth, etc.  But I highly recommended for all church leaders and thoughtful Christians."  Thanks for the review, Steve.

Boardercross Gold

So...what does USA's Snowboard Cross (a.k.a. "Boardercross") gold-medal-winner do for fun?  Nope.  He doesn't "go to Disneyworld."  In his off-time Farmington, Maine native Seth Wescott (right) hops on helicopters and elevates high into the Alaskan mountains.  Once he finds a summit that satisfies his appetite for danger, a spot unmarked, like a desolate grave, he makes his descent.  Watch the avalanche video.  It rocks!

Mark Driscoll on Rich vs. Poor

Mark Driscoll gives Bono some props as the brutha' waxed prophetic at the National Prayer Breakfast.  Then his post turns pastoral as he cautions us to avoid the pitfall of making "money" the primary issue (instead of righteousness) as we look at how to best serve the poor.  Mark breaks humanity down into  4 socio-economic groups. 

UPDATE:  Mark (right) just preached a great sermon Sunday on the themes of discipleship and maturity in the Body of Christ.  I Corinthians 2:1-16