SANTA CRUZ — The number of killings is climbing.

It's not a return to the "Murder Capital of the World" era, when two serial killers ran loose in the county, but with 13 homicides already this year, 2006 could become one of the deadliest since the mid-1980s.

"We're on pace to have a very busy year," sheriff's Lt. Phil Wowak said.

The Sheriff's Office has investigated six homicides in unincorporated county areas since the Jan. 28 stabbing death of 23-year-old Chris Carr at a La Selva Beach house party. Santa Cruz police have arrested four people suspected in three homicides in the past month, and Watsonville police have recorded four homicides so far this year. No killings have been reported in Capitola or Scotts Valley.

According to Relevant Magazine
Vineyard City Church is a relevant church. I had my concerns, but my worries are behind me; I can now start inviting my friends to Vineyard knowing they will find relevancy here. They listed pastor Steve Schenk as the young adult pastor (this is important to know in the world of relevancy), so rest assured Buffalo is in for a real relevant revelation revealed rightly by Steven.


Something else struck me as I found out our church is relevant:





I guess pastor Mike is cool after all.
Who knew?

Well I've been back from India for over a week and have adjusted well.

Our trip to Chennai was incredible. Our group worked with a local Vineyard church there that has their hands in many things: sunday services, small groups, church planting, a weekly rock-&-roll concert (we played there--Sweet Home Alabama!), a school for fisherman's children, a shirt making group of widows, feeding of widows, etc. Basically, we helped them do what they normally did within any given week. Most of the team that went is going to Santa Cruz in January, so it was also a great team building time for us.

I am in the middle of 5 graduate classes in 5 months, so my blog is one of the low men on my totem pole. I was reading another guys blog who is in the middle of defining (for his life?) the apostolic five-fold ministry. Needless to say, I won't be unpacking subjects like that (by choice) anytime soon.

I'll have pictures up from our trip before 2007. Promise.

I haven't been a good blogger lately.





















These asian gals make it look easy.












Sadly, I am still learning how to spin many plates at one time. I have been praying, so the spiritual gift of platespinning is about to be released into my life. Please pray for an increased anointing of plate spinning in my life.


We leave for India today. We are staying there for two weeks and will be working with Acts of Mercy, which is a relief organization who has been working with Tsunami restoration. Not totally sure what we will be doing. We'll probably do similiar things to what we do here; however, there will be more Indian folks than we normally see in Redding.

*This is not a knock on people trying to spend money alone on the ills of the world; although I believe Jesus is the answer. Nor is it a knock on the people involved, although one of them said it, and they might all believe it. I only wanted to highlight the "Being good gets me to Heaven" thinking to the billionth degree.













Buffet's contribution of about $1.5 billion a year to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be used to seek cures for the world’s worst diseases and improve American education, Bill Gates said Monday.

“There is no reason we can’t cure the top 20 diseases,” Gates said while appearing with Buffett during a donation ceremony at the New York Public Library.

The Buffett and Gates families, as well as onlookers, were beaming as the so-called Oracle of Omaha officially made his benevolence a reality.

“There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way,” said Buffett. He presented the biggest gift to Gates, and $1 billion donations to his own foundation and the foundations run by each of his three children.

Today is the first day of our (the Santa Cruz church plant +1) Daniel fast.
















We are taking the next 21 days to fast: meat, sugar, processed foods, caffeine (ouch), nicotine, alcohol, fried foods, and that’s right, burritos too!













We have also set up numerous prayer times for the fast, so that we stay focused on Him and not on what we are not eating: This Friday we will have a 24hr prayer time in which each of us (9 people) take shifts throughout the night praying (I drew 1am to 3:40am!?!!?); Sunday nights we will worship and pray together; each person will have a nation to pray for; and each member will share a prayer request for the group to pray for during the fast.
Too, we are praying for our trip to India. We go July 14-28 and are eager to see what God would have us do in this nation, both long and short-term. India has the greatest amount of unreached people groups (those who have never heard of Jesus!) on earth. God our Santa Cruz church wants to be a part of what you’re doing. What would you have us do?








We would love for you to join us; just a small buy-in cost: your life.

This has been an interesting bit of posting. Join in.
I dedicate this post to my friends.

Here are two churches that do a great job at raising disciples and releasing them to make more disciples. As a matter of fact, both of these churches have planted over 30 other churches out of their communities to various parts of the world (including Iraq & Redding!). What do they do that's so special: cool Sunday services, awesome music, relevant messages, fat salaries, great locations, best-selling books? Maybe. The one thing both of these churches focus on and measure success by: Christ-centered discipleship relationships through small groups.

Waco Texas: http://antiochcc.ccbchurch.com/app/w_page.php?id=1&type=section
Santa Cruz California: http://ctw.coastlands.org/

I just got done with a great class at Simpson U in World Religions. My prof. said some great things and one comment was really great. She said, "we've replaced discipleship with education." By education she meant a western school style approach to information transfer: teacher speaking to students.














With all of the "conversations" happening I still think this is one of, if not the main issue. How do we communicate the gospel vs. how did Jesus communicate the gospel? "Come follow me" vs. "Welcome to our 'What is a Christian' class;" or "Imitate me as I imitate Christ," vs. "Come, listen to my sermon on...."











Yeah, you got a degree in pastoral studies, and that's great, but who have you: pastored, loved, discipled, prayed for, admonished, reached out to, argued with, or released into ministry? Yeah, you preach to 1000 people each Sunday, but where are your (They would still do what they do without you paying them) Timothy’s?

Well, we are officially in fund-raising mode for our India trip. God was tugging on my heart about India, and after sharing my thoughts with others, God spoke through many “coincidences” and we are going to India hoping to find our next clue as to what God wants us to do.

Although the typical way of raising funds for missions is: bake, garage, yard sales, or support letters, I have always felt pressed to get out and work (any jobs that come up) for our support. “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’” (2 Thess. 3:7-10). I don’t think inviting others to support us in our missionary endeavors is wrong; in fact, many people want to be a part of what God is doing in our lives and they might not be able to physically go, but can financially support us. However, we, like Paul, should contribute as much as we can so as not to be “a burden to any of you.”

So, last week we (Laben, Paul, and I) painted a two-story house for a woman in the church. We did a good job and did it for about half price, so she was also blessed. I had a great time hanging out with the guys “modeling” for them what (in part) Paul modeled to the churches he fathered: no spiritual bums please. “Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?” “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast.” (1 Cor.6; 14-15) “I would rather die…” Why, when he had all the rights in the world to be paid by the churches he started did he choose to “not have anyone deprive (him) of this boast(?)” WDPD

THE LAUSANNE COVENANT
Paragraph 9
9. THE URGENCY OF THE EVANGELISTIC TASK
More than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of all humanity, have yet to be evangelized. We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and to the whole Church. There is now, however, in many parts of the world an unprecedented receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are convinced that this is the time for churches and para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the salvation of the unreached and to launch new efforts to achieve world evangelization. A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelized country may sometimes be necessary to facilitate the national church's growth in self-reliance and to release resources for unevangelized areas. Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all six continents in a spirit of humble service. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and to receive the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices which cause it. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple life-style in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism.
(John 9:4; Matt. 9:35-38; Rom. 9:1-3; I Cor. 9:19-23; Mark 16:15; Isa. 58:6,7; Jas. 1:27; 2:1-9; Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 2:44,45; 4:34,35)

So how do we reach 2,700 million people who have never heard of Jesus?












I know there are a lot of "how to do it right" books and we are emerging into a new missional era, but for some reason I can't help but think we're just complicating things (again-still).

"Аз съм лозата, вие сте пръчките; който пребъдва в Мене, и Аз в эяяя"

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

"Ich bin der Weinstock, ihr seid die Reben. Wer in mir bleibt und ich in ihm, der bringt viel Frucht, denn getrennt von mir könnt ihr nichts tun."

"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing."

أَنَا الْكَرْمَةُ وَأَنْتُمُ الأَغْصَانُ. مَنْ يَثْبُتُ فِيَّ وَأَنَا فِيهِ، فَذَاكَ يُنْتِجُ ثَمَراً كَثِيراً. فَإِنَّكُمْ بِمَعْزِلٍ عَنِّي لاَ تَقْدِرُونَ أَنْ تَفْعَلُوا شَيْئاً.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

"Mwen se pye rezen an, nou se branch yo. Moun ki fè yonn avè m', moun mwen fè yonn ak li, l'ap donnen anpil, paske nou pa kapab fè anyen san mwen."

No matter how many different ways he tells me I must admit--I have trouble with this one; "apart from me you can do nothing."













Oh, but I keep tryin'

Christ, at the last supper said, “take this bread, it is my body broken for you.” Do I dare say those words back to Him? How can I read these words “my body broken for You” and not realize that my life is not broken for Him. In contrast my life is given tactfully, thoughtfully, piece-by-piece, so that the pain, and therefore the joy, He experienced will not be fully repeated in me. How can we experience the fullness of Christ if we are not willing to follow His lead, our purpose: Total surrender to the will of our Father in Heaven.
We would do well to repeat these words to Him in prayer, “this is my body broken for You.” Of course even Christ Himself felt the despair that follows a prayer such as this or else why would He say “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.” Often times this is where our prayer ends. We have asked that God have His way in us, but when it becomes too much we say, “enough.” Don’t we see this separates us from the fullness of God? We imagine God as the dispenser of “good” things “fun” times and prosperity. We cry out to God so we will never have to experience suffering. This however is the gospel robbed of its fullness, of its joy. It places God in an all too modern wardrobe.
Don’t we know that we would still be slaves to sin if Christ followed our example and said, “that’s too much, you’re asking too much.” But that is exactly why Christ is the example, the Teacher, the Shepherd, the Messiah! Where our prayers end is where His prayer begins, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.” Then He says the words that are not said enough by us, “Yet I want your will, not mine,” His body broken for us; an example of what our relationship with the Father should be like.
A culture's mantra: Expect More, Pay Less.



Paul had a different mantra.
Romans 12--1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

Thanks Barna
Activity That Does Not Concern Churches

In fact, the survey found some disturbing results concerning the priorities of pastors in how they measure spiritual health.

Stewardship is rarely deemed a meaningful measure of church vitality. Church budgets are typically set based on the assumption that the average congregant will give 2% to 3% of their income to the ministry. Consequently, the fact that only 6% of born again adults tithe is not seen as an indicator of lukewarm commitment.

Evangelism is not a priority in most churches, so the fact that most churched adults do not verbally share the gospel in a given year is not deemed problematic. Only one out of every eight churches bother to evaluate how many of their congregants are sharing their faith in Christ with non-believers.

When pastors described their notion of significant, faith-driven life change, the vast majority (more than four out five) focused on salvation but ignored issues related to lifestyle or spiritual maturity. The fact that the lifestyle of most churched adults is essentially indistinguishable from that of unchurched people is not a concern for most churches; whether or not people have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior is the sole or primary indicator of “life transformation,” regardless of whether their life after such a decision produces spiritual fruit.

Churches are prone to looking for indicators of serving people within the church more often than seeking signs that needy people outside the church are being cared for. In fact, for every two churches that consider the congregation’s breadth of ministry to people not connected to the church to be an indicator of spiritual health, there are five churches that focus on the amount of “in-reach” activity undertaken.

Pastors are nine times more likely to seek reactions to their sermon than they are to assess the congregation’s reactions to visitors.

Perhaps most alarming of all, pastors were 21 times more likely to evaluate whether people showed up (i.e., attendance) than to determine whether people experienced the presence of God during their time at the church.

"But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can the know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?" Romans 10












"Whom shall I send?"
"Who will go for us?" Isaiah 6












Can you use us?
We'll go.

If the church won't teach them who will?

The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners! Pg 110. Life Together




Pseudo-communities. These are where people pretend to live community. Everybody is polite and obeys the rules and regulations. They speak in platitudes and generalities. But underlying it all is an immense fear of conflict, a fear of letting out eh monsters. If people start truly to listen to each other and to get involved, speaking from their guts, their anger and fears may rise up and they might start hitting each other over the head with frying pans. There are so many pent-up emotions contained in their hearts that if these were to start surfacing, God knows what might happen! It would be chaos. But from the chaos, healing would come…and it is then that the miracle of community can happen! Pg. 33. Community and Growth

Last night we had our Santa Cruz church plant meeting. It was a special time.











First, someone new joined our team and her name is Alana. She has been feeling God’s tug to join up and finally did. She is a great woman of God. At Yaks (our coffee shop) on Monday nights we give all college students 50% off on everything and it’s a chance to meet people. Alana has been coming down and closing with us, but all she does is wash dishes. She washes dishes from 6 to 10pm; most people would complain. We all volunteer at Yaks, but Alana inspires us all. Alana wants to start a church (Ukraine?); we want to equip and send her with a team from our SC church.











It was Laben’s birthday last night. He’s 24, but he’s also 1. We bought him his own German Chocolate cake with a 1 candle on it. He’s been walking with Jesus and walking with me in a discipleship friendship for 1 year. He’s grown. We all took turns telling Laben what things we admired about him and what we see God doing in his life. It was awesome. Most people never experience this within their physical family; most people believe the church isn’t a family. We are the church and we're family.










I shared with Laben what it has been like for me to have him as a spiritual son. It was special because my spiritual father was there, pastor Mike. It was also special because Paul, who is now following Jesus because of Laben, was there too. Four generations of disciples. Four generations of “sons.”

We love each other and couldn’t imagine doing life without one another. We are not hirelings. We are a family and we’re growing: people, who love Jesus and his church. We are the hope of the world.

February 21, 2006
Gunman still on loose in Watsonville's first homicide of 2006
Santa Cruz Sentinel
WATSONVILLE — Police are searching for the gunman in what they say was a gang-related shooting Sunday that left one man bleeding to death on the lawn of an apartment complex on the city's West side.
The victim, Arturo Ortega Cardenas, 31, of Watsonville, was shot several times in his upper abdomen and died at the scene, police Capt. Manny Solano said.










I wonder where this guy went to church. I wonder what church in the area was reaching out to him. I wonder if he knew Jesus’ love and forgiveness through God’s missional people. I wonder if anyone ever emerged into his neighborhood.











I wonder if this guy could go to church. For that matter, I wonder if this guy would ever get invited to church. I wonder if this guy could tell you what "missional" people look like.

"Your son' suffering is a challenge to God. India's (SC Gang member's) brokeness is an even greater challenge to Him. What is He going to do about His creation which is now so ugly and so painful? Satan used man and woman to spoil God's creation. God responds by sending His men and women--the missionaries--to begin to restore what has now become so ugly. The New Global Mission-Pg.85-Samuel Escobar
God give us the strength to be that church.

Last Wed. we took carnations to the Mall with tags on them saying, "Jesus thinks you're awesome." I’m not sure how many flowers we gave out, but it was something else seeing people walking in the mall with them. I hadn’t thought about it and admit it was odd handing flowers to other guys! Everybody seemed really appreciative of receiving the flowers though. We even had some people come and ask us for “one for their friend.” This is a great way to (a) get out and show God’s love (without a come to my church attached to it) and (b) show “The College Group” how to evangelize, share their faith, and confront others with God's thoughts about them, since Jesus thinks you're awesome!

Paul confessed Christ two weeks ago and he's about to hand flowers out!





Hasham (in the center) is still checking this whole Jesus thing out, but he was game to help.

This last week was pretty awesome.
Two new guys came to our "The College Group" small group and after I confessed my struggle with lust they opened up about sins they struggle with and have never confessed to anyone in "church."
The other "The College Group" small group never got to their discussion, because they go side tracked praying for Afghanistan and each other!
God has been leading us (Santa Cruz & The College Group) to go to India this summer; we (Santa Cruz folks) are wondering if this will be the location for our first international church plant?! (Dreaming big here folks) God confirmed India in some pretty funny ways. What's better is I won't be leading the trip, but my disciples will be. (See Acts 29)
At our Santa Cruz mtg I shared the values of our little community: Love...Go...Equip...We spent a large amount of time talking about loving God as living sacrifices (Romans 12) especially in the areas of purity and holiness. Looking at Paul's comments of "all things are permissable, but some things are beneficial" we agreed that we will judge things we look at or listen to by asking "is this permissable or beneficial?"
A few of us got together to pray last night and it was an incredible time of worship and prayer. We prayed for the church plants going out from this church (Buffalo NY & Santa Cruz), India, our community here in Redding, The College Group, and for more of a passion for Him and a willingness to give up our agenda for His.
This last week was pretty awesome.