I often wonder why I live in the Mtns, work in Scotts Valley, but have been called to start a church in Santa Cruz! God is Sovereign; & I think he's trying to reaffirm that in my daily. I wake up early, often too early wondering what we are doing. My heart breaks for those who don't know about the life available in Him. Then, when I talk to my friends & whom they're inviting to our game night tomorrow I'm presented with a laundry list of names. He is faithful; I am faithless. Church planting is all the humble pie you can eat. But who couldn't use more humility!?

Anyways, let's make the most of my time at the Starbucks next to Bethany University. As of late I've been doing some question asking. Not all of these people attend Bethany, but all of them say they are Christians.

1) Do you spend more time in devotion to Jesus (ie. worship, fellowship, reading scripture, etc.) or devotion to modern media (ie. watching T.V, playing video games, internet, your cell phone, etc.)? Given the hrs. that you spend doing either, which do you think has more influence in your life? Is this how you want to spend the time God has given you?

I asked two Christians this question & both answered: Modern Media. I wasn't surprised to find out that both of them spent a majority of their time devoted to modern media, which then, I assume, shapes their lives. I don't know if they make the connection between: Time spent=influence. One guy went so far as to tell me, “You should be careful who you ask that question to. I’ve always been told not to mix religion with work.” My answer: “That’s because you don’t read your Bible. Hey, there’s a girl at the counter who says she’s your girlfriend.” Jesus @ work, no. Girlfriend @ work, yes.

2) Where do you go to church? What do you like about your church?

I asked Q2 last night to a very nice Bethany student who is about to graduate. Here's a snapshot.
Where do you go to church?
I used to go there, but now I go here.
Why the switch?
Doctrine.
Which ones?
Predestination & the Gifts of the Spirit.
Does your present church operate in the gifts?
Not really, but they believe you can.
So, their doctrine is theoretical?
I guess you could say that.
What do you like about your current church?
I like the worship & the teaching is good every now & then.
Can you give me a Biblical definition of Church?
Uh...
Can you give me your definition of Church?
People who help me in my relationship with Jesus. What are you getting at?
Do you ever find it interesting that when people are asked what they like about their church they describe an event? I rarely, if ever, hear people describe a group of brothers & sisters, fathers & mothers, who live life devoted to pursuing the things of Christ. Too, when I hear people define or describe church they define it in terms of services rendered to them & not something they participate in.
Would you agree Acts 2:42-47 was included in the Bible to help us see what Church could/should look like?
Yes.
Was it an event or a life?
A life.
See you later.
Thanks for giving me food for thought.

I'm thankful that God has placed me at this Starbucks &, as usual, want to make the most of my time spent with these wonderful people. However, most people are ignorant of the love & life that is available to them through Christ & his church, even though they attend Church. If God wants me to stir the pot here then so be it. Turkey has the largest group of unreached people in the world: 22 Million Muslims who might never hear the Gospel. God's answer is: The Church, (ie. these young people)

As we came home from our men's retreat we saw tons of college students walking away from UCSC. We wondered what was happening & then it dawned on us: It's 4/20! We were bummed 'cuz we missed a great outreach opportunity, dang it! Next year I think we're gonna' set up a booth with a sign saying, "Jesus thinks your awesome & we agree," & hand out candy. What do you think? Check out the pictures & part of the article.

SANTA CRUZ -- Thousands of college students, dispelling the notion that marijuana somehow makes users forgetful, showed up late Sunday afternoon at UC Santa Cruz and smoked major amounts of weed.

It was a coordinated effort that went off without a hitch to celebrate what has become commonly known as "4/20" to a pot-smoking subculture.

In what could be aptly described as a cross between a New Year's Eve party and a wannabe Woodstock gathering, thousands of students found their way to the meadow behind Porter College in a scene reminiscent of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," then counted down the seconds until 4:20 p.m.

And when the time finally arrived, a big cheer went up along with huge clouds of smoke.

About a minute or two later, another cheer went up with more clouds of smoke.

Then another a few minutes after that.

Clearly, watches weren't synchronized -- but, hey, how relevant is time anyway, really? Think about it

A new subject for our men at Woodleaf.

I just got back from a great time in Houston. I was invited to the Vineyard’s National Church Planting Coach training. It was fun to connect with some familiar faces & some new ones. I was humbled to be invited to this event since we are just starting out, but humility never hurt anybody. I was the only one there who didn’t have an “established” church, but a church plant. (Established is 100, we’re 17. I hope!) I learned some great stuff & am inspired about the future of church planting in our Region.

One of the things I have wrestled with & continue to wrestle with is the hiring of people vs. raising up & releasing disciples. I guess I don’t understand why pastors need to hire people when their churches are filled with people. My assumption is that as we follow Jesus & implement the Great Commission in our lives & churches, there should always be a group of up-&-coming disciples who are ready to participate in the work of the ministry. Maybe I’m wrong. I continually here people saying, “My church is ______ & were looking to hire a ______ pastor/leader.” I guess I don’t understand or agree with this theology. Shouldn’t the church be filled with people ready to step into responsibility without pay? Why hasn’t the pastor identified & released someone they have been discipling into this position? If you have to hire from outside of your church doesn’t that speak of problem inside of your church, namely discipleship? What does hiring outside your church say about your ability to disciple people? Too, in what ways does hiring distort the discipleship process within a given church? Just questions.

I believe money is a huge issue here. I have often seen pastors who don’t allow the, often/always difficult, practice of discipleship to become developed because: I can just hire this guy. Money therefore, allows pastors to overlook one of the pivotal commands of our faith: Go, make disciples…Using money to hire a ready made disciple is like putting water on a pill & out comes an animal. This, I believe, is a cancer in our churches. I’m sure Williard does a better job via. “Cost of Non-Discipleship.” If you’re good at discipleship, which IS the Great Commission, then your staff should be filled with YOUR disciples, not somebody else’s.

We’re gonna’ baptize 4 people tomorrow. 3 are brand spankin’ new believers & one is rededicating his life to Jesus. What’s also exciting is I’m not doing any baptizing. Why? Couple of reasons: My disciples led these people to Jesus, I didn’t. My disciples will be discipling them, I won’t be (although I’m still their pastor, etc…). The people in my church need to know how to baptize, I have done it.

I’m excited about my sermon tomorrow because this is a day these people will all remember. I will be preaching on the Great Commission. Why? Because that’s why they’re getting baptized: Go, & do what’s been done to you, baptize more people, everywhere, all the time, for the rest of your life. Getting baptized isn't about you (although you're very special: Psalm 139), it's about being devoted to the person & purposes of Jesus.

Lastly. Why is it that when I talk to people about their church they describe an event? I'm confused.

As I was working at the Buck the other night something occurred to me: I can’t remember the last time someone shared the love of God, the Gospel, did something intentional to reveal God’s love to me, told me about Jesus in any way, invited me to anything, or (heaven forbid) gave me a tract. I really can’t remember the last time someone personally “witnessed” to me in any way. It’s odd because I’m generally thinking about how to reach out TO people, but it struck me that no one is reaching out TO me. Is my experience similar to everyone else’s?

Why is this important? Because if my experience is an indicator of what others, who don’t know Christ are experiencing, then my assumption is that the majority of people (in Santa Cruz at least) are not hearing, seeing, or experiencing the life Jesus offered, which (in theory?) is now being lived & demonstrated through the life of the church. (Church: Not a place where, but a people who…)

“You’re a believer, of course no one is telling you about Jesus!” Being new to SC means no one knows me; they might as well think I’m a Klu-Klux-Clan Grandwizard! Since living here in SC I have yet to have one person engage me personally with the Gospel.

However, I have witnessed certain, “Come & See” events downtown. I remember Vintage Faith’s Easter display, Wonderful! Too, & hands-down the coolest (my bias), was when 12 Tribes of Israel (a Jesus commune from San Diego that has “communities” around the world—Slightly odd, some weird theologies) danced & sang songs about Yeshua. They were weird, but they were stoked about Yeshua (They don’t call him Jesus). Their joy was evident.

In my day-to-day life, I must admit, although in many ways surrounded by churches & Christians, no one has actually attempted to personally reach out to me, invite me, confront me, compliment me, encourage me, or engage me in an attempt to help me know or understand Jesus. I haven’t even gotten a fake $20 bill tract in the tip jar.

Is my experience typical to what others, who don’t know Jesus, are experiencing? Am I resigned to believe that Church Events (Wonderful as they are: Thank you for doing them) are enough to give people the opportunity to really know Jesus?

If as churches our function is to, “Equip the Saints for the work of the ministry,” Etc, etc… Why am I surrounded by churches, but left behind by “His” followers? I’m right next to a Christian campus, meet people who go to church, & talk with people who have crosses around their necks & fishes on their SUV’s; yet no one has personally engaged me.

I stopped praying prayers like these: “God please reach out to my neighbors.” “God touch the people of Santa Cruz.” “God love on the people at Starbucks.” Why? Because every time I prayed prayers like this I get one response: “That’s why you’re there.”

Guatemalan Rainforest Coban roasted to a “Light French” roast is very nice. Too, the place I buy my beans from is a Home Brew & Coffee Roasting Co-op. I’m going there today. I'm stoked to "Go..." They have what I want & I have what they need: Jesus.

Say ye what?

Well, Easter was incredible. We had over 50 people up at the house & many of them don't know how much God loves them. However, we hope the Tri-Tip helped them to experience a little love! So, after church, I'm really tired (Easter week was a little crazy) & when we come home I lay down for a nap. Well...I get up & the property is filling up, fast. I was totally thrown off! Thanks be to God for a little brown bean. Anyways, 5 BBQs!!, 8 Tri-Tips, 20lbs of Chicken, 10 lbs of Korean Beef, & we're all happy campers. Hopefully I'll post some pics later. Ironically, I didn't have a good time. Why? Because a couple of people I hoped would celebrate with us at church didn't show up. Wow, what a bummer. I'm crying because things aren't where I'd hoped they would be, all the while MISSING what God has done & was doing through our little church! This is something God is working on in my life right now & it's fun in an interesting kind of way.

Anyways, here’s something I’ve been thinking about. I took a grad class in which my prof passionately defended a very classic & common INTERPRETATION upon Luther's "by faith alone" salvific theology. We studied "Savior only" & "Lordship" salvation. He is "Savior Only," I disagree. I have been on a quest (of some sorts) to really find out what it means to "Be Saved" as this is somewhat of an important question. I was reading through Romans today, Paul's little Reformed book, & came across a verse which stood out to me: Chapter 2:7-11 "He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. 9There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 10But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism." I guess my question is: What is the nature of saving faith? I believe salvation comes through Christ alone; however, what does Paul mean when he says, "He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers." What is the nature of saving faith & what’s your life got to do with it?

I recently watched "Luther," which is a great movie. Something really stood out to me as I watched this movie again. Luther DEMONSTRATED a great deal of faith. He stepped outside of the bounds of the only system of salvation available at that time. He was very scared, but he stepped out in faith. I’m no expert on the Reformation, but it seems as if faith to Luther meant more than our modern INTERPRETATION of "what the Reformers said" faith means.

Romans 2:16 "And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life." Evidently, THIS is the message Paul proclaims; I have been taught & almost every tract or end to a good sermon ended with this verse: "And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Ironcilly my prof would say, "Jesus is Lord" means "Jesus is God." Funny...Lord can mean God, but it can't mean Lord? Who knew?) What’s my "Life" got to do with my "Faith?"

Too, I just got done reading a wonderful book: "Father Abraham: The Jewish roots of our Christian Faith." What an eye-opening book. As I understand Judaism more I start to read the NT with greater clarity. Judaism is the lense by which God created the NT, not the reformation.

We roasted some Sumatra last night; we drank some dark Sumatra this morning!

What say ye?

Here's a snapshot:

Pearl, a South Korean student at UCSC, prays outloud this last Sunday, "I don't know you, but I want to know you. I've never met such merciful people before. Please help me to know you." Half of us have tears in our eyes. Rachel leads her to Christ over lunch. Marina was hanging with Rachel 'cuz they were gonna' do discipleship or something like that. Marina said she didn't mind that Pearl interupted what was going to be a teaching about which letters are Paul's & which might not be.

We had 5 new Bethany Students at church. One of them drove from San Jose to our house for dinner. Our "tent-making" lifestyle as ministers kinda' blew her mind.

A friend of mine from Starbucks cam up to our house to to cook a French dinner for us. It was great. I wasn't sure what to expect, & neither did she, but she did a great job. It's been awesome seeing real relationships develop at the Buck.

Laben's cousin is here to start chargin' for Jesus. He worked from 6am to 6pm on the property; my type of guy!

We're expecting 50people for Easter at our house. 80% don't know Jesus.

Laben is leading our first trip to Mazatlan. He cried...for joy.

& Last, but not least...

Roast your own beans. It's going to a whole new level.

We are going through Mark right now & last week we looked at the passage when Jesus calms the storm. One thing we discussed was the two groups: Those on the shore & those in the boat (boats actually). Here's something from tomorrow's sermon I especially like.

Sadly, we have been trained to read & think of scripture as "truth to be understood," rather than "life to be lived." Too, Jesus isn't a "truth to be understood," although he is truth; he is life, & gives a "life to be lived." Are you standing on the shore or are you in the boat with Jesus?

I'm on a surfboard, but Jesus understands.

I thought this was fitting for the current title I've chosen. Too, Aug. 3 my goal is a 3:15 marathon in SF.


March 03, 2008

After 65 Marathons, a Sub-3:00

Perseverance, thy name is Frank Livaudais.

The 33-year-old triathlete is on a quest to run a marathon in each of the 50 states; so far, he's knocked 37 states off his list. He'd run 65 marathons, in addition to several ultras, when he lined up last month for his 66th 26.2-miler: the AT&T Austin Marathon.

Livaudais had never broken 3 hours in the marathon before, but he'd come tantalizingly close, according to the Austin American-Statesman:

"I thought I'd have a shot at last year's AT&T, but when I hit that hill on 38th Street, I blew up and ended up with a 3:02:09," he said.

He came close again last November at the Sun Trust Marathon in Richmond, Va., missing by 49 seconds.

In Austin, he finally did it, clocking a 2:58:15. (The American-Statesman, bless its heart, knocked another 30 minutes off his time, saying that Livaudais ran "a fine 2:28:15 on the challenging course.")

Congratulations, Frank!

And a note to all those readers heading into spring marathon season: If at first you don't succeed, just try again... 65 more times.

What? Who's that runnin' in the Green & Gold for Cal Poly!? Yeah, that guy dropped me at mile 11. Jeff ran 8.8 miles & did great. He got 19th place out of 71 people! He said he burned by this guy near the finish line, but it turns out the guy he ran by was 73yrs old! Viva El Jefe!!

I've been out of the office for a little bit.

Well things are going well in SC. We seem to be in a new season with the church: "Yeah, I'd love to come to your church," but don't show up season! It's cool. We have been here just over one year & I assume this is a normal part of what groups, who do church like we do, experience. We have made a great deal of headway into making relationships with people in this city, & for that Jesus is extremely blessed; however, we desire for people to bridge the gap into the greatest relationship ever offered. Persistence.

I've really had to search my heart in many ways, scrubbing out little pet secrets I like to keep. One is: Being successful. It's easier (easy in the sense of atta boys) to love Jesus when things are going well, but how do I love Jesus when things aren't as I expected? Another thing he has been teaching me is: He's in control, it's his time (& timing) not mine. My anxiousness won't make things go any faster & even if it did, I'll assume with some experience to back me up, it would probably make things more complicated. I was praying during one of our 24hr prayer nights & felt like God spoke to me, "Galatians 2:1." I thought, cool, let's see what it says. "Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also." I started laughing; I get a word from the Lord & it's basically about one thing: Patience. So, I've become a much more relaxed person ;-).

No matter what though, I wouldn't change a thing about how we are doing this thing. Our hunger for God has risen to new heights, which I assume is the whole goal. Church isn't a service, even a cool post-modern seeker service, it's a group of people who love God, love People, & Make Disciples; & I will define success by the percentage of people within our fellowship who are living out the Great Commandment & Commission. Too, what % are willing to follow the Jesus of the NT who said, "No, Let the dead bury the dead. Follow Me." Fun times.

I mentioned to Laben the other day that there are basically 3 groups of people Jesus spoke to: 1.The religious leaders, 2.The broken & sick, 3. The apathetic crowd. I made the observation that a majority of churches cater to group #3, which is a group Jesus refused to gratify. The crowd was really interested in Jesus, wanted to follow, but the price to be a "Nazarene" was too great. Jesus is a fascinating guy. One guy in our church who has said "Yes" to Jesus is a Ph.D student at UCSC. He mentioned, "I don't want to follow Jesus. What if he asks me to give up my Ph.D?" I thought, "Well, sounds like a question you'd find in the NT!" I told him, “He might.” He has turned out to be one of the greatest blessings in our church.

We handed out flowers for Valentines with tags on them that said, "Jesus thinks you're awesome & we agree!" It was great. We handed out close to 100 flowers & everybody had a great time. The expressions on the faces of the people were priceless & it was awesome to know they were confronted with Jesus' feeling for them. I made sure to go to the Vet's Hall & place a flower inside the director's door. 3 days later as Jeff & I were paying our bill we noticed the flower on his desk, in a vase. Wow. Looking forward to 14yrs of pure Jesus fun. Too, one of our LifeGroups is moving to a house on campus! When I heard about it part of my LifeGroup ulcer was instantly healed!! Meeting in coffee shops downtown is cool, but a home is a much warmer place.

We are headed to Mexico this summer. We committed to working with a YWAM base in Mazatlan for the 1st week in July. We are going to build a house for $3800! (Uh, we could use some help getting the money). I chose YWAM because they are doing things we value: Outreach, Training School, Evangelism, Etc. However, we desire for this to be done within the context of a local church. (Para-Church orgs are another blog). Although we're not sure who will go with us I keep telling everyone, "We can't invite people to do something we aren't doing," so, let's step out in faith & go. Hopefully this turns into our yearly short-term trip, which gets people exposed to: Doing more of the same somewhere else. If you wanna' go let me know ($650: Not including house $).
Love ya,

Had a great time at World Mandate & we we're all inspired to pursue Jesus & those who don't know him even more. However, stepping back into SC is sobering, as I assumed it would be. I read a Chinese proverb that summed up one of the major things I walked away with:
"Talk...













...doesn't cook Rice."














I need to step out of my warm happy place.












Like Damien who lived among Lepers, showing them God's love, before contracting the disease himself.















I need to "Go...













Because "Talk doesn't cook rice," not even "missional" talk.

We finished our Daniel fast & it was wonderful. Everyone had a great time being decaffienated vegans for Jesus. It was fun fasting & having some of our new folks fast with us. Slowly does the big wheel turn. Last night we broke the fast & today enjoyed one of God's gifts to mankind: Coffee. Laben decided to drink our normal strength coffee, which according to Rachel makes her "feel like I'm gonna' ------- my insides out!" Anyways, Laben thought he was gonna' have a heart-attack & had to drink about a gallon of water to stop shaking. He's OK now & passed the "are you a Mormon?" test.

Just got some great news yesterday. We've been worshipping in a very small room at the Vet's Hall @ 10:30, but we start singing when the Yoga folks are "simmering down." So, I spoke with the director of the hall & mentioned we would love to meet in the biggest room @ 11, so we could have more space & leave the Yoga peeps to their transendental meditation upon their navel energies. I told him, "Yeah it must be tough for you guys 'cuz at 10:30 we start singing our guts out to Jesus!" He thought that was funny. Too, he was really excited for us to move to the biggest room @ 11. So am I. If we can remain at the Vet's Hall we will have one of the cheapest, best locations in SC. Wow.

We leave @ 4 for Texas. 2 new folks are joining us. What will happen? Jimmy knows.
Blessings,
Sean

Wanna' fast for a few days? Join us as we pursue Jesus.

Well, here we go again! It’s been a little bit, but we’re gonna’ do another Daniel fast. Our fast will start Jan. 1 & end Jan. 17, 5pm.

Fasting is a way for us to focus on God. All around us things pull for our attention & most of these things have to do with ourselves or the world. God is concerned about our physical needs, but he is most concerned with our spiritual well being. Fasting is a way to remove certain things from our life in order to focus more clearly upon God, who he is, & who he is calling us to be.

Jesus fasted for 40 days; Moses fasted for 40 days; Paul talks regularly about fasting. In fact, throughout the Bible you will find examples of people abstaining from food in order to hear & know God more. Too, so many people in the Bible fasted that one thing is made clear: Fasting is good for the soul. Abstaining from the world helps you to focus on God.

What is a Daniel fast?
The concept of a Daniel fast comes from Daniel 1:8-14, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.”
• Daniel abstained from certain foods for a short period of time eating only vegetables.
What are we fasting?
• We will be fasting: All animal products (cheese, meat, milk, eggs, etc), sugar, coffee, alcohol, & T.V.
How do I know what is O.K. to eat?
• Basically we are leaving this question to each person. We only ask that you think about this question when approaching your fast: Is what you're about to eat a delicacy? Each person will have different "delicacies," so... Why press the boundries?
Why are we fasting T.V?
• We are fasting T.V. because it is a delicacy of the world. Although it doesn’t feed our stomachs, I think we’d all agree that T.V. feeds us. Daniel desired to “not defile himself…” & Jesus went into the desert for 40 days; why shouldn’t we remove from our lives the world’s greatest evangelistic tool to focus on God?

Use this time as a way to pursue God & his purposes in your life. My wife & I have often commented on our fasts being more “hunger strikes,” than rich spiritual exercises. Read more, pray more, compliment more, and share your faith in both word & deed with your neighbors. This fast should be a wonderful experience with the Creator of the Universe. Fasting is more about following Jesus than it is about not eating.

Well it's official---Time flies! I am always amazed at how fast the weeks go by, I'm sure you are too.

We are doing great in SC. We just had our first annual formal Christmas dinner & it was a blast. There were about 25 people up here who we have met through various ways in SC. It was cool. Everyone was dressed up, guys in ties & girls in dresses. I was praying & talking to God because there is so much need around the world & most of that need is financial (like clean water). I was absorbed in this because we possess so much material wealth. But, anthropologists have long known of the West’s relational poverty. The majority of people in the West identify themselves with what they do, not who they belong to; it’s interesting. I think we have a pretty cool “to belong to.”

It's fun having people who don't know Jesus up here (& some who go to church). Most people are intrigued by our way of life. People who don't know Jesus ask about Jesus, since our lives look different than what they categorize as “Christian.” & those who are Christians are interested by our devotion to Jesus. I did get to have a wonderful conversation with a gal who went to UCSC & came as a guest of Alana. She was really curious about our faith & we talked for some time. I don't know where it will lead, but I got to say some pretty plain things about who we are & why we do what we do. Life without Jesus is, well, not life; & I know first hand she isn't happy. Why? Cuz' you can't be happy if you're not healthy, & only Jesus can heal what's been broken. Once again we all had to chuckle because of all the Asians we had up here. Our Korean friends brought more Korean friends & it's always a hoot. Laben & I just looked at each other & smiled because we wouldn’t have pictured being surrounded by Korean’s in the mtns. of SC.

After talking with many of our Christian guests you do find they know Jesus, but what place he holds in their life is uncertain. Too, I’ve found that “Christians” are very skilled at talking to “Christians.” Most “Christians” know enough jargon to keep them afloat through a surface level conversation. One guest was speaking to me & our love for Jesus was mutual; however, later he was speaking to someone else & their conversation rendered ours difficult to work out. One of my recent sermons had this as a main, & repeated point: “Jesus never intended to be a part of your life, he has always intended that you be a part of his.”

I've been talking with the YWAM base in Mazatlan. We're thinking about using this as our yearly short-term missions trip. The cost is realistic & YWAM does some pretty cool stuff in the cities they're located in. We'll build houses, reach out to surfers, & do dramas downtown, etc, with young people who want to follow Jesus. It sound like a good fit for us. It’s our hope this will be another point in the path for our people surrendering all to Jesus & his commission. We’ll see.

Family Photo

We had a full weekend here at the house. Thanksgiving was packed; it was an official ISI event, which meant we got to invite all sorts of international UCSC students to the house. We had 20+ people, BBQ’d two birds, chose from 7 different pies, & showed the international students how to get their gorge on. It was fun. Before we prayed we all got in a circle & said what we were thankful for (Thanks Linda!). It was cool to hear how many of us are genuinely thankful for Jesus & his church. Too, we are eager to let our light shine for all to see, with pumpkin pie of course. Here are some pics:













































Larry's body shut down so he could digest his food!


The next day we had Randy Knutson here & got down with our house specialty: Pork Ribs & leftover pie. Randy is the overseer for church planting in the west for the Vineyard Association. The Vineyard church in San Mateo invited him because God is stirring their heart to become more than a “sit & listen” church; they want to become God’s body to their neighbors. Randy shared some great stuff & gave practical ways of “doing the stuff” in the locals we find ourselves in. He’s very passionate about those who don’t know Jesus & he continually went back to “going out,” “taking Jesus to the world,” & “the harvest is ripe.” It was encouraging & challenging. I came away with many questions: How are we reaching out to our culture? Do we think we aren’t a “sit & listen” church because we have ministry time, or I have a Q & A session at the end of the sermon? How are we discipling those who are a part of our church & are they truly making Jesus Lord of their entire being?

There’s a Christmas tree farm 2 miles from our house, so for our leadership meeting I suggested we go get a tree. We walked through hundreds of trees talking about what God is doing & what we were stirred about through our weekend. We found one, the girls cut it down, Jeff & I supervised, & the owners wrapped it up for us! I’ve never seen so many perfect trees; our is a Douglas Fir.




























We are about to have our first weekend intensive as a church. This Sunday we are going to meet up at the house for an all day “retreat.” We are going to discuss: What it means to follow Jesus (Sermon), Our Values (Love God, Love People, Make Disciples, Equipping them for ministry…) What it means to spend time with God daily & how to do it (Exercise), & What it means to be in a discipleship relationship with someone from church (Exercise). Please pray for us. Many of the people attending our church here us talk about these things, but this is where we’re really going to define what we’re all about; it’s going to be a “please bolt-on or bolt-off” time.” Relationships have gathered several people & this is a call to go to the next level as a mature disciple. We want to be a church filled with people who say, “whatever Jesus asks of me; wherever he asks me to go.” We exist for Jesus alone; we’re not a Christian club & never will be.



Jonathan's B-day 1yr!

Finally. It's now 10:50 & we are just able to enter a room at the Vet's Hall. We walk upstairs to the largest Studio as people in exercise garmets are leaving. I see Manuel who is opening up all the windows in the room; why? I'm unsure, but he's in a hurry. When I enter the room clarity hits me in the face; the smell of human sweat, mixed with incense, has been cultivated into a unique aroma that comes about by exercise & high temperatures. Antioch Church, meet your new neighbors: One Yoga. They ask what we are doing & when we tell them why someone replies, "Welcome to our sacred space." What a blessing to be able to love on these people each Sunday.

As I was driving down the hill, the manager of the facility called me & said, "Sorry, but the Rotary Club needs your room, I'll post a sign outside the door." As I arrived I found the sign he so politely posted for us: "Antioch Church & those meeting Sean please meet at San Lorenzo Park at 10am." It's the thought that counts man, thank you. As people start to arrive I'm standing there feeling like my head is about to burst open & my friends would see my brains ooze down the sidewalk as a gooey mess.






Needless to say, God made it happen. Later, we found ourselves in a room & I got to worship God with people who exist as a people, because I was obedient to God; & he is wonderful enough to use me even when I don't think I can walk on water, but I get out anyways. Who new becoming a new creation in Christ could happnen on an hourly basis.

Anyways, later that day...

I’m reading a thought-provoking book by Alan Hirsch. I have been very encouraged by this book, because, to be honest, I continue to judge our church's effectiveness against a theological understanding of church I am in tension with. He shares many prophetic insights within this book. There will be more, but here’s a tid-bit.

“To illustrate this with a bit of living irony, a friend of mine, Michael Frost, was, in 2005, privy to a meeting with three Chinese leaders from the underground church who were smuggled out to a group of Western leaders. When they were asked what they wanted people to pray for they asked for three things: While acknowledging that the government has become more lenient, they were still not allowed to gather in groups of more that fifteen people, and when they grew beyond that they had to split and start a new church. The second issue they addressed was that they were not allowed to have church buildings and were thus forced to meet in homes, cafes, karaoke bars, and social clubs. The third thing they felt they needed a breakthrough with was that they were forbidden to develop separate organizations where they could collectively train leaders; they were forced to train leaders in the local church. Michael, himself a vice president of a seminary, has often said that in all good conscience he simply could not pray for them in this way, because he and the group gathered there realized that in many ways the Communist state was forcing the church to remain more true to itself. Philip Yancey likewise reports on his life-changing trip to China. He says, “Before going to China I met with on of the missionaries we left behind, ‘he said. ‘They had no one to teach them, no printing presses, no seminaries, no one to run their clinics & orphanages. No resources, really, except the Holy Spirit.’” Yancey concludes, “It appears the Holy Spirit is doing just fine.”

This quote got me thinking. I am amazed that although we are looking to China to see what they are doing right, they continue to want to do church as has been done in the Western world; which, ironically, is working in a few isolated situations, but overall, is failing. It’s also remarkable to see how we have filled the Chinese with our cultural concepts concerning church: Buildings, Large churches, and Para-church organizations, including seminaries. Not leaving the Chinese (or anyone we evangelized for that matter: see colonialism) content to walk out life together as believers who then discover what it means to do & be the church in & to their culture, we have also imported the “how to” along with the “because of whom.” Therefore, Chinese believers are still waiting to do church like us & we, some of us at least, pray for Communism.

Check out the website Here.

Can't say I'm sad about This

I just finished the book, “Good to Great,” & must admit it was: Great. Estevan Andrade, a friend of mine, & one of my coaches, recommended it to me. Here are some quotes from the last chapter titled “The Flywheel & the Doom Loop.” It outlines the momentum created by a people groups efforts.

“No matter how dramatic the end result, the good-to-great transformations never happened in one fell swoop. There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no wrenching revolution. Good to great comes about by the cumulative process—step by step, action by action, decision by decision, turn by turn of the flywheel—that adds up to sustained and spectacular results.”
When I read this I think about the countless people I know who are still looking for that one fell-swoop to end the issues in their life, church, etc. Still looking for the next church program or revival to help them get there.

“Here’s what’s important. We’ve allowed the way transitions look from the outside to drive our perception of what they must feel like to those going through them on the inside. From the outside, they look like dramatic, almost revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely different, more like organic development process.”
We just signed up for Antioch’s World Mandate; this is their 20th year holding this event. We see all the glitz & glam, numerous church plants being sent out, a nice church building, 3200 people worshipping their guts out & say, “this is it.” What most people don’t realize is that “this is not it.” What is “it,” is the countless mundane decisions made, the numerous habits created & sustained, the constant call to prayer, early mornings or late nights. World Mandate started as a weekend of prayer for the nations. American church culture is riddled with people who would conclude: “We need hold a huge conference about missions.”

“The good-to-great companies had no name for their transformations. There was no launch event, no tag line, no programmatic feel whatsoever. Some executives said that they weren’t even aware that a major transformation was under way until they were well into it. It was often obvious to them after the fact than at the time. Then it began to dawn on us: There was no miracle moment. Although it may have looked like a single-stroke breakthrough to those peering in from the outside, it was anything but that to people experiencing the transformation from within.”
The tortoise vs. the hare.

“When I look over the good-to-great transformations, the one word that keeps coming to mind is consistency. Another word offered to me by physics prof. R.J. Peterson is coherence. “What is on plus one?” he asked, “Four!” In physics, we have been talking about the idea of coherence, the magnifying effect of one factor upon another.”

“And like most overnight successes, it was about twenty years in the making.”
Look at Yaks. Yaks didn’t start when Vineyard opened the coffee shop doors; it started when Mike & Nancy expressed some of their core values: People who don’t know Jesus need to know, Christ-like character is developed in service, & be excellent. Yaks isn’t a coffee shop as much as it is an expression of values. I feel bad for churches who see Yaks & say, “Oh, what we need is a coffee shop!” No. Yaks is an expression of a people ethos.

“I believe that it is no harder to build something great than to build something good. It might be statistically more rare to reach greatness, but it does not require more suffering than perpetuating mediocrity.”
Wow. Who knew?

(Talking about a high school cross-country team) “They’re just focusing on the right things, and not the wrong things, not wasting time on anything that doesn’t fit. Simple, clean, straightforward, elegant—and a heck of a lot of fun.”
What are the right things? What are the wrong things? Are you having fun?

Jeff & I were talking the other morning about a young man who will not be joining us on our journey. We were both expressing our disappointment & I said, “Jeff we aren’t doing this for results; we're doing this for Jesus. We are doing this because it’s part of our worship to God & we believe it’s the only real thing in the entire world. We know it’s true: so let’s just stay focused on the timeless truths about Him, practice the disciplines we see in the Bible, & let it happen.”