Just some random, but important thoughts. As I was running the other day I was listening to N.T. Wright's "New Perspective on Paul," & he mentioned something like this: "Nietzsche defined Paul as the most tormented man to have ever walked the face of the earth." I didn't think too much about it, other than: The Enlightenment's perspective on life, especially spirituality, is dumb(?). There are more educated words, but they escape me right now. Anyways, I tucked it away. At our service this Sunday we were talking about giving everything to Jesus (seems like we talk about that a lot) & our friend Carol, who is pretty heavenly minded said this: "Paul, was a man totally enraptured by Jesus. He never really thought about the cost of following him because someone who is absolutely captivated doesn't regard losing one thing for love's sake as sacrifice." So, when I put these two statements together things mesh for me. Nietzsche, who is looking from the outside at Paul's actions can refer to him as tormented, & he was; he was tormented by a love that is undefinable outside of actually submitting to it. Carol knows that love & is therefore smarter than Nietzsche.

There have been some cool things going on in SC. This last Saturday, Valentine’s Day, we did an outreach with another church in town, Faith Community Church, & handed out 485 (some got broken!) carnations around town. On each flower was a tag that said: “Jesus thinks you’re awesome & so do we.” We have been doing this for years before moving to SC & think it’s a great idea still. I was really blessed to see how many people from our church actually turned out for this (about 45%--15/17 peeps). This was great & shows me we aren’t creating a culture of spectators, but people who really desire to know Him & make Him known. We broke up into 3 groups & went: Downtown, UCSC, & around the Rio Theatre (“Mid-Town” to the locals). Everyone had a great time & they were genuinely surprised at: (a) how easy it is to share your faith in a very practical way; & (b) how receptive people were to what we were doing. As I was talking to Laben the other morning I told him that, although 480 people got to hear a portion of the gospel, everyone who was involved became more emboldened to share the gospel , which will have wonderful results.


Our next outreach will be April 20th aka. 4:20. Stoners around the world smoke pot each day at 4:20pm & on April 20th they all get together & light up at the same time. In SC a huge group of students gets together on campus to light up at the same time. What a great opportunity to tell them about Jesus. We want to pass out, what I’m calling right now: “Stoner survival packets,” which will include: water, candy, snack, & a card that says, “Jesus thinks you’re awesome & so do we.” It’s my hope we can pass out 1000 of these.


If you want to be involved, please come down; we will need all the help we can get.


Later that night Jeff, Janine, Linda, & I all went out for dinner. Randy K (who is an incredible coach) gave my wife & I some money for Valentines, so we all went to sushi. Our waiter, Jeff, is the owner’s son & when we got our food we told him we were about to pray & asked if he needed prayer for anything. Not really sure what to do (I don’t think many Christians offer to pray for their waiters) he said, “Pray for better business.” We did, had a great time, & left him a $100 tip. We’ll go back & see him again. When we got into the car I called Randy & told him what we did with his money. I’m not sure if he’s gonna’ send more or less after hearing about that.
On Sundays we continue to see more homeless people in our service. This is great, but many of them leave after realizing we aren’t going to feed them physically. However, some stay. Lori is a wonderful Asian woman who “dropped out” after her 14 month old girl was kidnapped. This was her second time joining us, so after praying for her (she’s huge into Asian medicine & not prayer) my wife invited her to come over the next day to eat & clean up. So, the next day she arrived at our house & took an Asian herbal bath (milk, sage, & rosemary) & ate some of our Turkey soup. It was great to have her over & my kids were playing with her the whole time. Before leaving she mentioned that after living in SC for 7yrs, no one had ever invited her to their house. This is interesting to me; is it interesting to you?

About a year ago we passed out flyers at UCSC for a free BBQ. We had close to 100 students show up & we played games & ate food. At the BBQ two Japanese students came & have been hanging out ever since. Often they walk into our mtgs late, which is really funny, but they show up on a regular basis. Last night the guys invited one of the two guys, Tader, to hang out & watch the Jesus video in Japanese (what a resource that is). Tader confessed Jesus & we will baptize him in March.

This last Sunday a new girl came to our service. She is philosophy major at UCSC & we had a chance to speak afterwards. I’m always blown away at how ignorant (not stupid, but unknowing) people are concerning Jesus. Now much of this is perpetrated by the church, but pop-culture does its work too. She mentioned many subjects to me including: imperialism; ethics, values, etc. (Basically Christianity sucks--& in many cases I agree) One thing she said was Jesus’ primary focus was ethics; I told her Jesus wasn’t concerned with ethics (at least not what she meant, i.e. a list of external do’s & don’ts) & she was kinda’ stunned by this statement saying, “Jesus didn’t teach ethics?!” I said, “Jesus was not a teacher of ethics; however, when a person is transformed by God they become much more ethical. Jesus was, & is, concerned with people being transformed by His love, not conformed to a set of rules.” How many people’s view of God would be totally rearranged if they really understood this one truth?

That's a lot of pictures!
Blessings,

My friend Juan is helping us with logo stuff. What do you think of these ideas?

This is a response to a question within our church. We've all wrestled with similar issues, & to be honest, will wrestle with them again.

"I think what you're doing is great. Yeah, this is a hard one. All of us have dysfunctions that over time will come to the surface in one way or another. Generally, what comes to the surface, isn't really the issue, but the fruit of the sin or dysfunction that person deals with. Obviously we will make things a bit more complicated because we have sin too; however, because of our maturity in Christ we don't intentionally complicate things, but we are always attempting to reconcile the situation. Now a person has a couple of choices when faced with a sin issue, namely in the area of responsibility or, "Who is to blame for this problem." They can take responsibility for the "fruit" their inward dysfunctions are creating; or, they blame their circumstances, which will include us because we are making it too hard on them. No doubt, circumstances can become difficult, including circumstances we create as a church, & we will take responsibility for our part. However, when it comes to sin & maturity, circumstances won't create new sin, they will however reveal the sin that has existed in the person yet has remained safely tucked away generally labeled as: “That’s just a part of who I am.” So, who is to blame? My experience has shown me that those who are Poor in Spirit, Broken, etc...will take responsibility for whatever part they play within the conflict; confessing our responsibility & sin brings freedom & goes the distance in helping us become more Christ-like. Yet, those who continually blame their circumstances easily allow themselves to become the "victim" whenever they choose; this is a never ending cycle of convenience: sin. We all encounter hard times, but maturity always points to ME & my part in the problem & leads me to the feet of Jesus who can then heal me. In this case: pray, repent for our actions, challenge the sin issue you see happening in both parties & ask yourself, “What’s the next gracious step for us all?” Too, draw upon your experience. You too wrestled with something very similar & because of your choices have a great deal of authority in this area."

I can't put the video here, but you can get with a little cut & paste action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8

Well we just got back from World Mandate, which is missions conference in Texas. I have attended this for the past 6yrs & it is always a huge blessing to see the potential of the local church. Every year I am inspired that a community devoted to the person & purposes of Jesus can reach the world with the gospel; & this is done primarily through raising & releasing disciples who go & do likewise throughout the world in local expressions of faith: Church Planting.
This year we were 17 people went with our church, which is a testament to what is going on with us. There were 5 people who had never been to an event like this & two of them who aren’t even totally sure about Jesus, but they’re so intrigued by him that they follow as close behind as possible as they discover who this man is.
God spoke to me is several ways: As I was holding Abigail, our youngest, high up in the bleachers one night I heard God say very clearly, “Spiritual Authority.” I was blessed because this is something I have been wrestling with for some time. I have desired for some time to see the Holy Spirit set people free from all forms of spiritual oppression; however, my theology in this area is underdeveloped & needs some attention in spite of my life’s experience. Certain things ring very true for me in regards to the works of the Spirit (too many to talk about right now): God desires all mankind to be free from spiritual oppression, especially as it regards death & sin; As believers we are endowed with spiritual authority to enact the purposes of God throughout the earth. So back to God’s message to me; God tells me, “Spiritual Authority.” 1 minute later a young man approaches me & says he has a word for me, he’s nervous, but I encourage him to take a chance. He says he saw a picture of me on a white horse & my eyes were burning with fire (others have seen this too, but I’m generally mad!!). He’s embarrassed, but I share what God had just shared with me & what I’ve been wrestling with & what it means to me; we pray. Then the next night I go forward for prayer, not really needing to hear another word from God, but wanting to sit at God’s feet again. A man starts praying for me & says, “I see you as a man with great spiritual authority.” (This wasn’t a leadership thought, but a “..we wrestle not against flesh…word.) I was encouraged again that this is God’s theme for me & a new season for our church. God wants to set people free from sin & death & its effects upon humanity; he has entrusted the power to do this to his people the church.

This is a huge subject, but I wanted to share a small part of what God did in me at Mandate.

Kurt won a Super Bowl for my boys the Los Angeles Rams. Go Kurt... Here's an article about faith & quarterbacks.

I'm less than comfortable with the apparent epidemic of religiosity among our nation's quarterbacks.

First, Colt McCoy, fresh from a thrilling win over Ohio State, begins his post-game comments by thanking his "lord and savior Jesus Christ."

Then there's Tim Tebow, whose game and demeanor I rather like, changing the Bible verse he endorses on his eye-black, from "Philippians 4:13" to "John 3:16." As if that might make the difference.

Personally, my own taste in quarterbacks runs toward the epic old-school debauchers, guys like Kenny Stabler and Joe Namath. If I go to Hell for that, then so be it. I refuse to believe that God — anyone's God — has a rooting interest in the outcome of something as secular and perverse as a BCS game.

But now football fans direct their attentions to Arizona, where one of American sports' most prominent God Squaders — Arizona Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner — takes on the Philadelphia Eagles for the right to go to the Super Bowl. And I can't help but think that the religious guys are, well, blessed with an advantage, a big one at that.

Actually, the issue isn't really religion. It's faith. I don't care what or whom a ballplayer believes in: Jesus, Moses, Buddha, L. Ron Hubbard. I don't care what his position is on stem cell research, abortion, gay rights. But a system of belief — any system, really — that stills the mind and quells doubt is of obvious benefit, particularly if you're an athlete.

Warner's case is as instructive as it is well-known. In 1994, after being cut by the Green Bay Packers, he found himself working the nightshift at a Hy-Vee grocery store near his alma mater, that noted football factory known as Northern Iowa. By 1999, he'd won a Super Bowl ring and the first of his two MVP awards.

His appearance as the starter in Sunday's NFC championship game marks yet another absurdly improbable comeback. Warner had been let go by the Rams and the Giants. His career as anything but a spot starter had been pronounced dead years ago. In his several years in Arizona, he's been a backup to Josh McCown and Matt Leinart, who was named the starter for the 2008 season. Now, having thrown for more than 5,000 yards this season, Warner has a chance to deliver the Cardinals — the Cardinals! — to the Super Bowl.

"It's an advantage for any individual, when you have faith and believe in something," Warner told our Greg Boeck Thursday after the Cardinals broke practice. "In my case, it's the power of Jesus ...

"I walk by faith and not by sight. I walk according to what I believe, and what I believe the power of God is, as opposed to what the world tells us, or what circumstances appear to be."

Put another way, belief can liberate you. You need not dwell on the long odds. You're free of the thoughts that crush so many comebacks — the assortment of self-involved, self-inflicted self doubts.

"So much of this business is 'Me, me me,'" Warner told Boeck. "... My faith has allowed me to step back from that and say, 'Hey, this isn't about me.'"

There are too many examples in too many sports to ignore, from 2007 Masters winner, Zach Johnson (who, interestingly enough, went to the same high school as Warner), to the soccer player, Kaka (that a religious name? I wonder), an evangelical Christian who'd been badly injured in a pool accident, to Josh Hamilton, a recovering drug addict who may yet become a perennial major league All-Star. But, as usual, the best examples come from boxing. Muhammad Ali believed he was chosen by Allah, and looking back, who's to say he wasn't? Evander Holyfield, born with a cruiserweight's frame, believed it was a Christian God's will for him to reign as the heavyweight champ. (It occurs that perhaps it's time for God to have a heart-to-heart with Evander on the subject of retirement.) Mike Tyson, for his part, believed in nothing. And it showed.

Perhaps you recall Tyson's sudden and short-lived stint as a Muslim. Of course it didn't do him any good. Pious proclamations for the sake of PR or damage control don't do an athlete any good, unless he can con himself along with the sportswriters.

Warner's not conning anyone, least of all himself. The Cardinals were 9-7 in the dreadful NFC West. The Eagles were 9-6-1 against a much more formidable schedule. The teams met in Philadelphia, not two months ago, and the Eagles won by 28. A change of venue shouldn't make too much of a difference, though the oddsmakers have Arizona as mere four-point underdogs.

A guy like Warner, though, isn't working off the betting line. He doesn't care what circumstances appear to be. He's got faith. If not for that, he'd still be bagging groceries.

Hae-Jung, you are a man of God. Julee Seo, you are an awesome woman of God.

요한복음 3
1바리새인 중에 니고데모라 하는 사람이 있으니 유대인의 관원이라

2그가 밤에 예수께 와서 가로되 랍비여 우리가 당신은 하나님께로서 오신 선생인줄 아나이다 하나님이 함께 하시지 아니하시면 당신의 행하시는 이 표적을 아무라도 할 수 없음이니이다

3예수께서 대답하여 가라사대 진실로 진실로 네게 이르노니 사람이 거듭나지 아니하면 하나님 나라를 볼수 없느니라

4니고데모가 가로되 사람이 늙으면 어떻게 날 수 있삽나이까 두번째 모태에 들어갔다가 날 수 있삽나이까

5예수께서 대답하시되 진실로 진실로 네게 이르노니 사람이 물과 성령으로 나지 아니하면 하나님 나라에 들어갈 수 없느니라

6육으로 난 것은 육이요 성령으로 난 것은 영이니

7내가 네게 거듭나야 하겠다 하는 말을 기이히 여기지 말라

8바람이 임의로 불매 네가 그 소리를 들어도 어디서 오며 어디로 가는지 알지 못하나니 성령으로 난 사람은 다 이러하니라

9니고데모가 대답하여 가로되 어찌 이러한 일이 있을 수 있나이까

10예수께서 가라사대 너는 이스라엘의 선생으로서 이러한 일을 알지 못하느냐

11진실로 진실로 네게 이르노니 우리 아는 것을 말하고 본 것을 증거하노라 그러나 너희가 우리 증거를 받지 아니하는도다

12내가 땅의 일을 말하여도 너희가 믿지 아니하거든 하물며 하늘 일을 말하면 어떻게 믿겠느냐

13하늘에서 내려온 자 곧 인자 외에는 하늘에 올라간 자가 없느니라

14모세가 광야에서 뱀을 든것 같이 인자도 들려야 하리니

15이는 저를 믿는 자마다 영생을 얻게 하려 하심이니라

16하나님이 세상을 이처럼 사랑하사 독생자를 주셨으니 이는 저를 믿는 자마다 멸망치 않고 영생을 얻게 하려 하심이니라

17하나님이 그 아들을 세상에 보내신 것은 세상을 심판하려 하심이 아니요 저로 말미암아 세상이 구원을 받게하려 하심이라

18저를 믿는 자는 심판을 받지 아니하는 것이요 믿지 아니하는 자는 하나님의 독생자의 이름을 믿지 아니하므로 벌써 심판을 받은 것이니라

19그 정죄는 이것이니 곧 빛이 세상에 왔으되 사람들이 자기 행위가 악하므로 빛보다 어두움을 더 사랑한 것이니라

20악을 행하는 자마다 빛을 미워하여 빛으로 오지 아니하나니 이는 그 행위가 드러날까 함이요

21진리를 좇는 자는 빛으로 오나니 이는 그 행위가 하나님 안에서 행한 것임을 나타내려 함이라 하시니라

22이 후에 예수께서 제자들과 유대 땅으로 가서 거기 함께 유하시며 세례를 주시더라

23요한도 살렘 가까운 애논에서 세례를 주니 거기 물들이 많음이라 사람들이 와서 세례를 받더라

24요한이 아직 옥에 갇히지 아니하였더라

25이에 요한의 제자 중에서 한 유대인으로 더불어 결례에 대하여 변론이 되었더니

26저희가 요한에게 와서 가로되 랍비여 선생님과 함께 요단강 저편에 있던 자 곧 선생님이 증거하시던 자가 세례를 주매 사람이 다 그에게로 가더이다

27요한이 대답하여 가로되 만일 하늘에서 주신바 아니면 사람이 아무 것도 받을 수 없느니라

28나의 말한바 나는 그리스도가 아니요 그의 앞에 보내심을 받은 자라고 한 것을 증거할 자는 너희니라

29신부를 취하는 자는 신랑이나 서서 신랑의 음성을 듣는 친구가 크게 기뻐하나니 나는 이러한 기쁨이 충만하였노라

30그는 흥하여야 하겠고 나는 쇠하여야 하리라 하니라

31위로부터 오시는 이는 만물 위에 계시고 땅에서 난 이는 땅에 속하여 땅에 속한 것을 말하느니라 하늘로서 오시는 이는 만물 위에 계시나니

32그가 그 보고 들은 것을 증거하되 그의 증거를 받는 이가 없도다

33그의 증거를 받는 이는 하나님을 참되시다 하여 인쳤느니라

34하나님의 보내신 이는 하나님의 말씀을 하나니 이는 하나님이 성령을 한량 없이 주심이니라

35아버지께서 아들을 사랑하사 만물을 다 그 손에 주셨으니

36아들을 믿는 자는 영생이 있고 아들을 순종치 아니하는 자는 영생을 보지 못하고 도리어 하나님의 진노가 그 위에 머물러 있느니라

I recently sat in the staff mtg of the Vineyard church in Redding & was asked a great question: "How do people make there way to your church, what type of signage do you have to direct people to your church?" I mentioned that, "We don't put out any signs," which brought up other questions, namely "how do people here about your church?"

This brings up a core value for our church: We (the community of Antioch Church of Santa Cruz) are the signs that direct people to Jesus & our church. So,thus far, 90% of the people who are now a part of our church are a result of friendships created in & throughout Santa Cruz. This is a very intentional thing. We believe that evangelism is the response of each believer to the Great Commandment & the abdication of this task to the church machine (the impersonal comglomerate of services, logos, events, etc.) is effective in creating a crowd, but less-effective in helping the community take responsibility for their faith (discipleship). Getting a post-card in the mail is a good, but Jesus' means of evangelism was, & still is, believers engaging him daily & then taking their personal relationship & the power therein to the communities they live in & inviting them into a relationship with God. Post-cards & events get a message out, but at the expense of helping each person within the church "love their neighbor" as a normative result of their relationship to a loving God.

Jesus was asked: "What is the greatest commandment?" He responded: "Love God, Love People." I believe that a natural response to loving God is an eventual reorientation of one's entire life to the person & purposes of Jesus. Because we love him, we will slowly but surely love what he loves & he without a shadow of a doubt he loves people. Therefore, the more we love him, the more we will love people & will want to include them into a relationship with the one whom we have found life within: The triune God. I know this isn't a simple A to B transition, since all sorts of things come up in between, however to love God & not love people only shows our lack of knowing the one who loves us so dearly. So, by our not relying upon the "church machine" to do the work that should be the natural response of the Great Commandment within each believer brings about The Great Question: "To what degree do you know the love of God & in what ways can we deepen that love together?" Too, this helps me, albeit a frustrating & revealing adventure at times, to gauge how well people are being transformed by the gospel & not just taking part in a "cool" service each week. I have heard of numerous churches that first off aren't communities but crowds, & two exist namely for themselves & take no joy in the responsibility of being "the light & salt of the earth," which leads to the leadership of the church vamping up the "signage, events, etc." in order to reach the lost. These are not bad things, however, the church (a people, not a place or event) is God's means of revealing himself. Therefore, our lack of "signage" hopefully results in empowering people to reveal the true depth of God's love in their life.

I do know that loving God is easier than loving people. However, finding out the difficulty of loving people should only lead to a deeper dependency upon God, relying upon him even more, & allowing him to heal the brokeness in our lives in order to live out the Great Commission (make disciples). So when I present the question to the leadership of our church: "who are you spending time with this week & why are you investing into that person?" is in a roundabout way asking about their relationship with God & their willingness to grow into the likeness of Christ (not a simple thing by any means, but it's the best!).

Now needless to say "branding" & other culturally contextual things of this sort are important to us & the culture we live in. I do like our logo. However, in order to reach the 95% of Santa Cruz county who don't know Jesus our lives need to shine with God's love. Santa Cruz has many "cool" (& wonderful churches). That said, the percentage of people who don't know Jesus is the result of many things, yet one thing is certain, however you slice it the believers in Santa Cruz aren't living a life fueled with the love with God. If they were, the percentages would be different; 95% is a clear reflection upon the depth of the churches within our county; including ours. Too, what is the key component to sending church plants out all over the world? Not signage, but people whose lives are daily fueled by God's love for them, which then results in...

Antioch Church of Santa Cruz: A community devoted to the person (Great Commandment) & purposes (Great Commission) of Jesus.

Blogging about it & living it are two very different things, but aiming high is always fun!

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!"