At the age of 63 when his critics told him to go home, that he had done enough, C.T. Studd replied, "God has called me to go to Africa, and I will go. I will blaze the trail though my grave may only become a stepping stone that younger men may follow."

C.T. Studd--a missionary to: China, India, & Africa.

"Our recruits come out from home vastly raw and are largely parrots. They have been crammed with religion as though for an examination, and seem to come out to carry on their education rather than finish it. So many are just taught doctrines without ever having thought them out or searched the Scriptures for themselves. They come out like infants with pop guns. They need to be trained into soldiers with real devil-defying weapons. Some arrive thinking they are the last thing in high-class Christianity and have to find out they know little. That is why I keep the newcomers here at base for a time till I can make them really think out things and settle questions, not from hearsay but from Bible-say."

What do stoners need? Well they need a couple of things: Water, Candy, & Jesus! Each April thousands of UCSC students gather to celebrate 4:20 as a national Marijuana holiday. You see, each day at 4:20pm stoners around the world have adopted England's celebrated time for tea: 4:20pm. So needless to say April 20th is an all day event. As followers of Christ we know there is so much more to life than what the world can offer; including any high drugs can offer. So following the example of our Biblical heroes we took the good news to the streets & headed up on campus to celebrate 4:20. Armed with water, candy, & the gospel, we dialogued with hundreds of students about Jesus.

On campus we stood out with our sign & with our shouts to those who passed by, "4:20 support tent! Get your munchies!" When students approached us they weren't sure what to make of us. Most students asked, "What is this all about?" Our answer: "We're followers of Jesus & He's blessed us beyond compare & we want to share that blessing with you." Most students were taken back; one student named Angel was so struck that she just stood in our tent for a few minutes in awe. I asked her, "What are you thinking?" She replied, "I've never seen anyone do something like this. I mean, what's Jesus got to do with 4:20?" Our answer: "Jesus has everything to do with 4:20. He loves the students at UCSC" Another student approached us & asked for water. When we told her why we were doing this she said, "That's f-----n awesome! I'm a Jew is it still ok?" I said, "heck ya, Jesus is a Jew," which she replied, "was a Jew." Correcting her I mentioned, "Jesus is what it means to be a Jew." Her friend came over moments later for a bottle of water too. Favorite quotes from yesterday: "Smoke that joint bro & you'll just have to roll another one 'cuz the high doesn't last. Get close to Jesus & you'll be high for the rest of your life!" "When you smoke, talk with Jesus, see what He has to say to you. You'll be surprised by what He will say to you."

We also had the opportunity to pray for at least 15-20 students. Many students asked for prayer in regards to their school work, but several others wanted personal prayer. One student when asked, "can we pray for your ankle right now?" allowed us to lay hands on her & pray. Too, as you can see in one of the pictures (Smiling face at the field) a man named Joel joined us. He is the brother of one of the guys who helped all day. What's cool is Joel doesn't believe in Jesus, but helped us all day share the love of Christ with a group he normally hangs around with! Sorry Joel, but the handwriting is on the wall my friend!

Thanks for all of your prayer & financial support. The students at UCSC are eternally grateful.

A question & statement I've been thinking about as of late: Was Jesus a Christian?

My statement: Jesus wasn't a Christian.

To all my 6, & soon to be 7 followers: What do you think?

"It's hard to remember that Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather to make us disciples, citizens of God's new age, a kingdom of surprise.”
Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University

Yeah, sometimes it's really hard to remember...

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

I've been reading through 1 Corinthians lately & it's been good. I appreciate this letter because it's so raw in many ways, which I think reflects real life as opposed to what most people try to do with their lives: Sanitation. One verse keeps popping out to me.

"1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But the man who loves God is known by God."

"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

As I look at the hero's in my life, I am starting to see one thing in common: They loved others. As I look for Christ in people I'm starting to realize I see him most in those who give themselves to something other than themselves. They give what they have, which might not be much, to be used by Christ in whatever way he can use them. "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." One is about me, the other is about others. One NEVER satisfies; the other always satisfies.

Last night we watched a movie about St. Francis of Assisi & he said something that struck me: "If you want to feel loved, go & love. If you want to feel significant, go & serve," & he lived this out! "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

Matt Redman lyrics:

"Dying you destroyed our death. Rising you restored our soul."

I've been singing that a lot lately. Jesus was something "other" than all humanity. He is & was totally unique. It is important to understand WHO Jesus is/was, but it is also important to understand WHAT Jesus is & was. What was Jesus? In part, & a huge part: The Passover Lamb of God. Without this key it's easy describe Jesus as just another "good teacher;" a description of WHO he was. The WHAT in many ways defines the WHO. We should do a better job of telling the story of WHAT Jesus is & was.

"Dying you destroyed our death. Rising you restored our soul."

Every Wed. Jacob & I go & give away coffee, Chai, lemonade, & Jesus to our friends at the drum circle, who by chance congregate next to the weird people at Farmer's Market.

First: This last week I was introduced in what has to be the best introduction ever. As I rolled up & got out of the car one of the guys we talk to on a regular basis shouts, "Check it out everybody Juan Valdez is here!" Doesn't get much better.

Second: A young lady who is hosting youth groups approached Ronee & I to talk to us about how she might be able to bring some youth groups to the circle this summer. We told her that would be great & gave her some easy ways to participate: Bring water, socks, or they could help us make coffee & we could pray together. We mentioned that, "just 'witnessing' to the people in the circle is kinda weird," after she mentioned one of the youth pastor's desire to "witness downtown to people." I'm not sure she understood what a unique group of people we are working with until one of the young hippie chicks took off all of her clothing & started dancing around. I said to her, "kinda crazy here 'cuz just last week somebody died & now this girl (who was in a tree by now) is totally naked." If only someone were willing to tell her she needed Jesus.

This last Wednesday I watched a man die.

Each week a friend & I go to the Farmer’s Market because next door a group of: Hippies, Street Kids, & Homeless people get together to drum &, well, do what they do. However, this week the drum circle stopped for no apparent reason. When I finally noticed the silence I looked over to see the normally noisy group transfixed on the ground. I then walked over to see 3 “street people,” doing CPR on an unconscious man & my friend Jacob praying for him to live. After some time the Firemen arrived & took over; that said, the man was without life.

As I spend each Wednesday afternoon with this group I have been challenged on so many levels. On Wednesdays, within a small patch of land, two groups exist: One, the “normal” Santa Cruz people who go to shop for quality produce; & Two, the “street people,” who, well, do what they do. (We do get the expired Food not Bombs food.) As I’ve spent more time with the “street people,” I have been challenged; there really are some great people in this group. Sadly, I have lumped them all together, but like any group: Christians, Muslims, Gay, Straight, Rich, or poor…there are really honest people & some really funky people. I say all this because when I saw the dead man 3 people, whom our society sees as bad scenery to their otherwise utopian coastal village, were doing CPR on a dead man.

When the police arrived they asked, “Who was this guy?” None of the people in the circle knew; he was a stranger that day. I was stunned because I realized I had watched a man give the dead man mouth to mouth CPR. Moreover, as they were giving the man mouth to mouth he threw up; & after this, as his face was lined with vomit, these “street people,” went right back to work. A person that our society deems a loser put his mouth around the mouth of a stranger; a mouth of a dead man that had just vomited. What kind of man would do such a thing for a stranger? These people, who most of the normal people will never get to know, are incredible people…created in the image of God.

Listening to Dallas Willard's "Hearing God," has been amazingly refreshing. He said something today that really struck me (I listen to him while I run, so he really did say.)

"But in the lives of NT personalities—especially Jesus himself—there is a great preponderance of strictly—nonphysical—communications between God & his people. Vision, dreams & angels continue to play some part—as I think they may do today. It would not be too much to say, however, that where these phenomena were the main, as opposed to the occasional, means of interaction, it indicates a less developed spiritual live both in the individual & the church group. I am not trying to be judgmental here; I am merely trying to be helpful in pointing out the kind of life with God into which we should expect to grow—a life in which one hears from God amid & frequent times of conversational prayer."

I am always troubled by those who NEED another HUGE experience & can't seem to hear him in the daily, which there is nothing normal about it, life. There is no spiritual non-spiritual flesh/spirit dictonomy. Certainly not in the eyes of Jesus. I love what Dallas says in this book.

"some assembly required'

i took the subject title from steve greggs teaching www.thenarrowpath.com "some assembly required"

it is no secret that i am disillusioned with our western evangelical church model. it generally leaves me wondering what am i doing, once again, going thru the motions. and yet, i am in church at least once possibly twice every sunday:) because i am aware that there is "some assembly required"

i attend different churches as i am trying to know the "body of christ" in all of santa cruz and possibly monterey counties. i am achieving that, i think:)

still always in search of finding a place "God shows up, in presence and power" rarely have i observed this. exception of course...the Jesus movement and the after glow of that.

lately tho, and i am going out on a limb here, because i know none of us are perfect, and i have only attended a handful of times, but there is this sweet little group i found (found me) that i can almost think i sense this!!!

they are called "antioch church" and they are a vineyard based church that came here from san luis obispo. although in the early 80's i have visited the slo church too. also we know lonnie frisbee, our ground zero man for the Jesus movement came out of calvary chapel and then vineyard church.

antioch church, left without a building when our vets hall closed it's doors is now meeting in "the next door space" a comfortable space right next door to the rio theatre. santa cruz, soquel ave. they meet at 6:30 pm sunday nights.

i have gotten to know their pastor sean mcmasters as he has come consistently every week, bringing coffee and chai to our wed. drum circle. he also has personally gotten involved in the life of my own kids, simply by spending time with them. sean has also spent personal time with people in and around drum circle. a one on one type a guy!

i have to say this type of "grassroots" outreach is extremely rare for "pastors" and yet they are servants and sheperds biblically speaking.

sean does not know i am writing this, i did not ask, but i am impressed with this little group that has managed to come away enough from the "model" and just be Jesus to people!

God Bless you guys!

I'm going up to UCSC on Monday to pass out a flyer with this info on it. Give me some feedback if you will.

What if you used your spring break to serve in a city where poverty & hopelessness reign? Consider taking 3 days to serve with other groups in Oakland who desire to see a city transformed.



Who: You & some other incredible people.
What: Serving the less fortunate in Oakland; by working with various community groups, serving those groups & the poor.
Why: Because many live without hope & we can choose to help them or ignore them. I vote to help them!
When: March 22, 23, & 24. On Wed. the 24th we will serve in Oakland for the beginning of the day & then serve at the drum-circle that evening in Santa Cruz.
How: We’ll network with a couple of different organizations in Oakland & join them in their work to serve the poor.
How much: $150 for room, gas, & food.

Sponsored by: The Bridge Collective: Bridging the gap between what is & what should be.

Do I have to be a Christian to follow Jesus? Christian historically means: Little Christ; & this title was given by those who were outside of the believing community to describe those within it. You are a Christian...a little Christ. However, as times change, so do definitions of words: Gay for example used to mean happy, now it means, almost exclusively, homosexual; & there are many other examples…stoked, gnarley, bomber, wicked, crazy, bad, sick!

Christian.

It seems as if in our American day & age the term Christian has deviated from its original meaning so far that I feel comfortable asking: Do I have to be a Christian to follow Jesus? Do I have to talk like Christians talk? Act like they act? Behave like they behave? Dress like they dress? Even though they look cool, it all smells the same: Christian. Jesus? No doubt there are many Christ-like aspects to modern day Christianity; yet at the same time, there seems to be a lot that isn’t centered upon the person of Christ, but upon a culture that has been created by his followers called: Christianity.

I believe a great deal of people are turned away from following Jesus not because of who he is & what he stands for, but because of a belief that baptism is a symbolic rite of passage into a club; A Christian Club, & they aren’t attracted to what they see. Maybe in certain places in the U.S. where "Christian" is the norm, but in the Bay the reaction is negative.

Christians, whom God has chosen to reside in by his Spirit, who possess life itself, don’t seem very alive. Don't is more predominate than do. Certain conversational subjects are taboo. Materialism masked behind spiritual language is routine. Spiritual conversation is often Christian gossip. When their faith is pressed we are invited into shallow pools of thought & encouraged to steer clear of deeper waters, where mysterious questions are laid to rest. Do they actually believe everything they claim to believe? Their lack of conviction doesn’t seem very convincing. Too, how could you belong to such a large group of people (Sunday Worship) yet have so few real friends? Who are you? Your confusion is confusing. Sarah Palin?

Do I have to be a Christian to follow Jesus?

One of the things in our culture that disturbs me is: Idol Worship. Not, wooden statue I bow down to, Idol Worship, but Celebrity Worship. It seems as if our culture is driven by the famous: Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Jack Johnson, Michael Jordon, etc. When we think of what we want to look like, how we want to perform, are we successful or not, we are presented with a who's who in the area we desire to grow in or emulate.

Sadly, church life is little different. As I confront challenges in my vocation I am handed, quite readily by my friends, the shining examples within Christianity who have "risen above the fold." Communication: Rob Bell. Evangelism: Louis Palau. Programmatic church: Rick Warren. Signs & Wonders, Church Growth, Para-Church, Satellite Campuses, etc; These are our celebrities; & not only do we have them, we desire them, emulate them, covet them; but can we think beyond & through them? (I think very highly of our celebrities; they are in fact outstanding people)

In grad school the president, whom I thought a rather weird man, said (paraphrased), “One of the biggest problems I see in churches today is cookie cutter church. Instead of fasting & praying to find out what kind of church God wants in a specific local we latch onto the ‘what worked there, if implemented correctly, will work here.’ Therefore, we cut off God’s creative arm for the local church.” But why would I settle for what God has for me when I can have what Joyce Meyer, or Bill Johnson has? Why be me when I can dress like so & so? Too, when asked about my church I don’t assume people are really asking within the context of what God has for me in Santa Cruz; I think we’d agree we want to know why I’m not enjoying the success of John Ortberg or Dan Kimball. "Haven't I read their books? It describes everything they've done. You can do it to for: 14.99!"

The average church is 85 to 100 people. This is a problem, or so I’m told. This isn’t God’s plan, or so they tell me. Without a shadow of a doubt, those of us with an “average” size church realize we aren’t all that God wants; & who could argue with that? Think of this: when you tell a man he isn’t measuring up, he’s “small,” at some point in time he’ll see the gift of his community not with potential, but with disdain. Why wouldn’t he? We don’t celebrate churches of 85; we celebrate those who have risen above this level. We talk of the famous & they don't have small churches.

Yet only so many of us get to become famous as servants of Christ (paradox?). We idolize the few, while the greatest potential within our movement is relegated to: “Performs below par.” Sad. Combined, the average churches far outweigh the potential of the “rich & famous.” Yet if a man is convinced he needs to be somebody else than he’s probably not gonna’ be who God created him to be.

We love celebrities. We emulate our idols. We judge ourselves by them. We want to be celebrities. They're a part of our life & it's not as fruitful as we think.

God speak to me about me. Let me covet what you have for me & not what another man has.

"In Luke's gospel, Jesus waited until his followers asked him for a prayer; & the reason they asked was because they saw what he was doing. Something tells me there's a lesson there." N.T. Wright: The Lord & His Prayer.

Well after we found out our normal mtg place was shut down, I made one phone call; & that's all it took for God to get us a new place to worship. My friend, Andy, leads another faith community here in SC & they lease a small building next to a theater, which they use for their kids ministry. Without hesitation they allowed us to use it. So from here, until it changes again, we worship God at night; & at no other time. That said, the room is more expensive: $5 more than our previous local, but we'll live.

Thanks God. My ulcer doesn't really reflect how I feel about you.

Planting a church in Santa Cruz is difficult. However, we have been blessed by having a wonderful place to meet, which is very inexpensive. Well, yesterday, that all changed. Yesterday at 5pm the Vets Hall of Santa Cruz was officially closed by the county. Evidently in the very earthquake friendly area we live in, the auditorium would pose a significant health risk during a shake up. So, we are without a meeting place. We're excited to see what God will do, but, as always, things like this are frustrating. It seems as if the wind in Santa Cruz is constantly blowing in the face of those who serve Christ.

Dallas Williard takes on some outstanding questions.

http://mppc.org/toughquestions

As Evangelicals (& especially Pentecostals) have we stressed the divinity of Christ so much that we've downplayed his humanity & by doing so we gloss over the more unfortunate aspects of our humanity as well? "The flesh is evil the spirit is good!" "My flesh made me do it." "Focus on Christ!" Problems normal to all people are seen as obstacles to be solved; opportunities to crucify self...yet again. However, my common problems, are in fact, pretty common: anger, lust, selfishness, loneliness, pride, insecurity, greed, etc. In fact, I find my problems are one of the greatest places we find common ground. Not all of us travel to the 3rd heaven, but we all get angry. No doubt those of us who have the Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit, but what of the times when I do not?

6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!”