As of late I've been thinking a little bit more about movies. Entertainment is a fascinating thing. I am often amazed at people's devotion & discipline to find time in order to sit for 2hrs in a state of self-satiational bliss whereas they often can’t find time to do other things (this is a post in itself). My thoughts on movies have definitely changed over the years; most of all, I generally have much better things to invest myself & my time into. However, I do enjoy an occasional movie, especially those with some redeemable worth like a documentary (Reverend Billy & the Church of Stop Shopping is amusing education at its best.) Our culture is an entertainment engrossed nation; yet are there any spiritual ramifications from watching the things you watch (or listen to for that matter)? For those of us in the Western world our dualistic approach to life renders certain things as spiritual & other things secular. I don't believe this is true & believe everything has some spiritual significance. Too, movies (& music) are especially powerful in that they influence a person's soul (via. intelligence, emotions, etc...).

What is your theology on movies? Would Jesus be watching what you watch? Why or why not?

Here I am at work standing next to one of the most prolific ultra-runners ever. This guy just did 50 marathons in 50 days. After doing that he was burned out on the media hype it created & needed to get back to his first love, so he started running back home from New York to San Francisco!

Things are going well. I must admit God just took us through an interesting place in time, but we're on the other side. Our house is cool, my new job at Fleet Feet (a specialty running shoe shop) is chill & I get many new pairs of shoes. No complaints.

I was talking with a pastor friend of mine yesterday & we are both humbled that the Kingdom of God advances with suffering included. Why this is I don't totally know, but that's how it is. A utopia is not God's plan for this side of eternity.

Hebrews 5:8

Eat turkey!

Yesterday at our area pastors mtg a couple of things stood out to me:

40% of all Vineyard church plants fail within the first 5yrs.

In order to keep up with the population growth within the Bay Area over the past 10yrs there would need to be 250 new churches planted; over a ten year period there have been roughly 80 new churches started.

I wore a long sleeve shirt, boardshorts, & sandals (all in nice condition) to our mtg & was told, "Sean, I can see you got dressed up for the mtg." Uh...am I missing something? I am the only person there under 45yrs old. (I started going to the Vineyard 'cuz I could wear shorts...I still go to the Vineyard 'cuz I can wear shorts!! Most of the time ;-).

Vision is important, but ways to measure & keep accountable to that vision are equally important.

We just bought our World Mandate plane tickets.

One of the things God has put upon my heart is to send out leadership thoughts to the core of our church. Here we go!

Lately I’ve noticed many movies based on people who overcame great odds. How many times have you watched one of these movies & been inspired by the main character’s determination, discipline, hope, expectation, faith, & dreams? We all agree that these stories are incredible & we desire to be like the heroes in these stories. Well, we can be. The ability to overcome great challenges is a daily choice & being mediocre takes just as much energy as being excellent. We should realize our lives are stories too. What’s the story of your life going to be?

Antioch Church of Santa Cruz is the result of God’s dream for Santa Cruz. 97% of this county does not know Jesus, so God sent his very best to tell them: Us. We are an expression of God’s determination to reveal himself, so that all men & women in this area would have the opportunity to know the one who created them. This is why we are here; we are God’s living & tangible love letter to Santa Cruz.

As I dream & pray for our church I am often reminded that one of the keys to growth, both personally & corporately, is persistence. My faith is always inspired by the figures of the New Testament. Their unrelenting pursuit of God & his purposes is very motivating. When I look at our challenges in light of Scripture I am constantly reminded of these wonderful men & women who experienced similar challenges, yet they persevered under pressure. Moreover, by enduring trials of many kinds, what started as small communities in Ephesus, Philippi, or Colosse, (small churches like ours!) grew into thriving communities focused upon the person & purposes of Jesus. These small groups changed the world in spite of numerous challenges; & as we continue to seek the heart of God I know we will change the world as well.

I think we’d all agree starting a community devoted to the person & purposes of Jesus is challenging; however, we are seeing good fruit coming from our labor. That said, as we continue to grow we are always going to face adversity; therefore we must stay persistent, doing what we know leads to good fruit. Throughout good & bad times we must stay determined to do what needs to be done which will result in a good harvest. Dreaming with God will reveal our path; Prayer will result in changed lives & power to overcome spiritual darkness; Studying Scripture will result in a correct perspective on God & life; Inviting will encourage those who are far from God into a relationship with him; contacting those in our community on a regular basis will result in stronger friendships; & Mentoring will produce mature followers of Christ who can join God in His work. In all of this persistence is crucial.

When Linda & I think of who God has surrounded us with along this journey we are tremendously blessed. We are surrounded by awesome men & women of God. We are humbled by our companions in this journey & know God handpicked all of us to be together for this time & place. Each of you is irreplaceable, special, uniquely gifted, & appreciated. We couldn’t imagine doing this without you. I know that when God created this group he was dreaming a big dream; I’m blessed we get to dream with you all.

Hebrews 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
Blessings,

A little nugget from my sermon this next week based upon Matthew 6, "Give us this day our daily bread."

“God helps those who help themselves” is not Biblical! You may believe that about God, but it isn’t the God who is represented by Scripture; it is an American ideal projected upon God! Rather, “God helps those who seek first the Kingdom of God.”

I've heard this statement so many times it makes me sick; it's pure self-reliance American dribble. Now don't get me wrong, I'm American & I love working hard. However, this statement is often used to describe how a person (1) doesn't need God, (2) is more blessed then "Them," (3) or, their success is evidence that their hard effort is a sign of God's blessing.

God helps those who help themselves is not bibllical.

God likes to help all sorts of people.

God has a mission, that's why he has a church.

In high school my first real girlfriend was, ironically, from Santa Cruz. This last week Abigail got sick & we had to take her to the hospital (she's doing great now). As I was leaving the hospital I recognized a man from Redding whom I hadn't seen in years; it was the younger brother of my old girlfriend. We laughed, talked, & he asked what I was doing in SC. I told him I came here to start a church & I was the pastor. We both laughed a little more & he said he & his girlfriend wanted to start going to church. I'm not sure where he's at in his relationship with God, but we both agreed God was the one who made our paths cross. So, he showed up on Sunday with his girlfriend & their new baby. As they walked in Laben walks up to him & says, "What's up!?" Evidently Laben & my friend hung out in Redding & Laben did some work on his house & bummed a couple of cigs off of him! My friend came back to Santa Cruz because a large part of his family & his girlfriend's family lives here. God is good & it's HIS passion & mission to expand his family tree through us.

We've been meeting at a public hall for about 1yr now. This last Sunday was incredible for many reasons, but one stands out to me. Our relationship with those who work or use the hall is deepening & it is our prayer that as they see our faith lived out before them their desire to know the one who loves us will grow. We are the light of the Yoga Center! It is fun & interesting.

Every Sunday the hall is overseen by a young Hispanic man who we have befriended. We have invited him to BBQ's, football games, roasted him his own coffee!, & listened to the wonderful story of his life. We have spoken to him several times about church, since that's what we are, & he has expressed his disdain for church & Christians for various & fairly typical reasons. Despite his objections we have continued to live our faith before him & continue to see him belong before he believes.

This Sunday was something new, yet expected. As we set up, he stayed to talk & watch. As we worshipped, he gave my children gifts & listened. As I spoke, he left, went up to the balcony to sit & hear what his friend "pastor Sean" had to say; all of which was a first. Needless to say throughout the entire service I watched from the corner of my eye knowing our friend, God’s child, took calculated step toward his creator.

The life of Desmond Doss is a hero without a gun. I watched a documentary on him & actually cried. His life reveals a friendship with God that is truly a thing of envy. Faith. Conviction.

Our life is unique. Right now our life is unique for real. Unique is cool.

So Siena sees a tour bus yesterday & says...






"Mom, look at the size of that house!"

I've been reading this & it's been great. I must admit I'm very fascinated by Judaism, especially since our faith is a continuation of this ancient faith. Reading history & finding out how & why Chrisianity left its Jewish roots, & the effect of this purposeful shift in both Christian orthodoxy & orthopraxy is really eye-opening to our current conditions. Another outstanding book is "Father Abraham: The Jewish Roots of our Christian Faith.

Abigail Kait McMasters was born Sept. 20, 2008.
Linda's water broke at 1:50 a.m. & Abigail was born @ 2:15 a.m. Needless to say it was a quick birth.

Well here is our new home: Motor home. We're not sure what ours is gonna' look like, but we're gonna' live in one come Sept 1. We have been unable to find a house, as of Thur, but keep looking. The funniest thing we've heard so far from a rental agency is, "We only except 2 people per room. Your family has 5 people." We know human rights is important & that infants are certainly people, but Abigail doesn't need her own room just yet. Anyways, we have a place to stay, which is a tremendous blessing. I think we're going to stay at a 7th Day Adventist Compound of sorts. We'll see how that goes!

My wife & I feel extremely fortunate to be in Santa Cruz for Jesus. 97% of Santa Cruz doesn't know Him. To what length are we willing to go in order to share His love with SC & initiate a community that represents the person of Christ to the world? To what degree is our commitment to Jesus & his purposes conditional? As I told my mom the other night, "Mom, this is the only Hell I'll ever know." Within the spectrum of what a life could be, my American dilemma is outstanding! Furthermore, I said that because on the spectrum of eternity I won't remember this. However, I will be reminded of our present decisions because there will be a great crowd of people in Heaven from Santa Cruz. I am often reminded of Jesus' words, "Where your treasure is there your heart will be also." If your treasure is God, than your treasure will be what & where? I want to constantly be reminded that my Hell is another persons Heaven & their Heaven is a bad deal. "How will they believe if a messenger doesn't go to tell them?"

Too, as with all interesting periods in life, this phase of our life has really served to help us dig deep into our faith, theology, & relationships with each other & our church. Circumstances are often cheap, but highly effective, seminaries.

I'm reading two incredible books: Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. This a biographical history of missions. If you want to read stories of personal sacrifice read this book. Throughout time men & women have given themselves to God's purposes, which has resulted in great fruit. However, the cost involved has been high. As Tertuillian said, "The blood of martyrs is the life-giving seed of church." This is a very inspiring book.

The other book is: Foolishness to the Greeks by Leslie Newbigen. This is a very heady book that deals with the gospel within the Western world. He deals with numerous aspects of Western thought including: Enlightenment, Neo-paganism, Science, etc... This book has been very illuminating for me within the context of Santa Cruz. (Steve this books deals with a lot of the issues raised by your latest post 8/28)




Send us your address & maybe we'll come live in your driveway for a few days!
Blessings,

Well, we need to be out of our house in 10 days & still don't have a place to live. One woman said, "a family of 5 is too many for a 2 bedroom place." If we don't get a house in 10 days my wife will be heading back to Redding & I will stay here to look for housing, etc, but I'm not sure where I'm going to stay. My unemployment runs out in 1 month & I've submitted at least 30 apps & got one response from a painter who is willing to pay me $17hr, if he had any work! Too, Abigail is coming in 3-4 weeks & there is a chance Linda will give birth up in Redding. Please pray for us as these situations are presenting unique opportunities for all sorts of things to happen in our life.

Well the time has arrived. Someone finally approached me with an invitation to join them in their journey with Jesus; it only took 1yr & 8 months, but my time of acceptance or rejection arrived. A wonderful young man named James approached me at Starbucks after ordering a coffee & told me about his church. Unwilling to let a good opportunity slip by he then asked, "Would you like to join us this Sunday? We're a new church & you can come with tattoos, piercings, or anything else." I asked him about his service & made his drink. Homeboy saw a glimmer of acceptance in my eyes & left some tracts at the end of the bar.

1yr & 8 months. That's how long it took someone to invite me into anything remotely Christian let alone a relationship with Jesus. My assumption is that we are surrounded by people who aren't being invited.

One of the things we are realizing here in Santa Cruz is that we are saying no for people. What I mean is, instead of actually inviting them we assume they'll say no, so we never ask. In fact, we are inviting many people who are saying no, but rejection is a part of the gospel. However, 1 invite per year & eight months is not enough. We need communities who invite people into a relationship with Life. Too, what we're realizing is that most people are saying no to something that doesn't exist. They're saying no to a god who isn't GOD; they're saying no to a jesus that isn't anything like JESUS; they're saying no to a religion we're not a part of. People's "no's" stink of educated ignorance, which is our responsibility & joy to remedy.

The next day a woman approaches me saying, "Can we hang this sign up, we're starting a new service here in Scotts Valley." I tell her, "I'm sorry Starbucks won't allow religious material in the store." She becomes frustrated & walks away. I stand there thinking, "I'm right here, why not invite me?" The poster isn't important, but I am. Invite me; don't say no for me 'cuz I might say "Yes."

When's the last time someone invited you?

I haven't been invited to anything for 5 days.

Cut & paste to see some race pics!
http://www.marathonfoto.com/order_my_photos.cfm?RaceOID=27892008M1&LastName=MCMASTERS&BibNumber=2034&Language=en&Mailing=16254&BFI=sh4og9cbro&Frames=true&Flash=true&FlashVersion=8&Height=800&Width=1280&Index2Home=true

Well I ran my marathon & it included many lessons. The race had pacers, who are people that run at a specific speed in order to get a specific time. I wanted to run a 3:10 marathon, so I started out with the guy who held the 3:10 sign. Well, in short, he was a liar! Everyone around me kept saying, “He’s running fast,” but I didn’t believe them. When you train for a marathon you can run faster at a shorter distance & I felt good. Anyways, between mile 4-5 somebody says, “We just ran a 6:40 mile.” That’s not good when you have 22.2 miles left to go. In order to run a 3:10 you need to run 7:15 a mile, which on a good day is doable for me. However, a big mistake is to waste too much energy early, when you feel good, & have little left when you feel like dying in the later miles. So, my guy was a liar, but I’m also my own enemy; I should have started out with a slower group—“In like a Lion, out like a Lamb,” is a favorite saying of mine that I still don’t listen to. So, at mile 13:1 I ran 1:35, which was perfect, but the pain is about to begin. About mile 17 I’m in serious pain, but this is nothing new & I’m still running fairly strong. Mile 21? Well my hamstring cramps so bad it literally stands me up & I have to stop to stretch it. Sadly, this continues on throughout the rest of the race. I’m pretty sure it was dehydration, which is another reoccurring theme in my ESPN highlight reel. I finished in 3:37, 8:18 per mile.
I shed some tears at the end of the race, which was odd for me. I cried because we still don’t have a place to live, we keep applying to 3 bedroom houses as a group of 4 adults-3 kids-1 dog & they look at us like we’re the one smoking dope, the church is growing SLOWLY (but surely), the job scene is stupid to say the least, we’re about to have another kid (Abigail Kait McMasters), we were all packing & everyone was moving that day, & I had been running runs by myself that were too long. So I cried because at least one of the weights that was keeping my resentful knees pinned to the ground before the feet of Jesus was gone. I find it easier to run than to kneel; sad, but true.
Blessings,

My buddy Juan Eddards from orangefloorstudio.com came up with this. What do you think?

We still don't have a place to live, but our landlords are letting us stay here until Sept. 1. Needless to say, we're having a great time right now. However, it's kinda' cool to have God as your only hope. I was reading Acts 7 today & in Stephen's speach he talked about Abraham who left his land & settled in another place, but didn't even get to see what God had promised to him. Wow; what was that like? Abraham wishes he had a Jeremiah 29:11 tattoo on his buttocks (esp. American style blessings ;-).

I'm running the S.F. Marathon this Sunday. It's exciting to know I can take all of my competitive aggression out on myself & people I don't know. A few years ago I was running a triathlon & was passed by a 65 year old man on the run; evidently he was a stud!. I hope I see him this Sunday 'cuz I'm gonna' break him off something special!
Love you all.

I just got back from L.A. from the Regional Vineyard Conference. It was great to connect with many people, here great God stories, & continue to get a fresh vision for California & the Bay Area. This was our first conference with kids, which was really different. We were often late & we left early on more than one occasion. We would be listening to a speaker, watching power-point & see "Would the parents of Jonathan McMasters please come to child-care." Pretty funny. I truly fall more in love with my kids each day. As assumed Siena did great in "school" & was more than pleased to over achieve at each session.

I spoke at the church planting workshop & one person pegged us as "neo-monasticism." I made sure to let everyone know that we were just following Jesus & he led us to live together for a period of time. It was fun hearing everyone's stories & I'm blessed to be a part of the Vineyard. I walked away blessed to be a part of this movement, whose theology is a wonderful reflection of the New Testament (ie. charismatic theology)

We decided to move & Sept. 1 was the date we were aiming for to leave. So, my wife accidentally tells the landlords that "this is our 30 day notice," on July 7. Anyways, our house is on Craigslist the next day & basically rented two days later. We found out yesterday that Aug. 7 is our move out date & only Marina has a place to stay. Please pray for us. It's all quite crazy around here right now.