No shirt. No shoes. Know Jesus.

He loves us

Thought we'd start the week off with a little worship....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJyW55AXJAk

A Better Hope

A lot has been made of the word "hope" in the last year.  It became an effective political slogan, a rallying cry for disenchanted citizens, and a lifeline for people living in economic dispair.  It has become the buzzword for the new direction that our country is taking and the standard for our future in the global community.  Yet lately, some of the shine has begun to wear off of the word as all the things that were hoped for simply have not come to pass.  This is true for many reasons: goverenments don't turn on a dime, politics have a way of foiling the best intentions of politicians, and, frankly, promises often get made with a eye to opptimism that never had a real chance of being fulfilled.  Whatever the reason, our economy still is suffering, people are still out of work, and hope is disappointing.  That should not be.

I think the problem is that we put our hope in things that cannot help but disappoint us.  If we are holding out hope that our government is going to fix the issues in our lives, we are on shaky ground from jumpstreet.  If we are placing our hope in a vision that the world will become a utopia if everyone could simply buy into the system, we are being foolish.  No, in a world that contains the struggles and difficulties that we need to hurdle, we need to put our hope into something greater.  The writer of Hebrews challenges us with this idea.  Consider this verse:

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.  Hebrews 10:23

We need to have hope.  It is necessary in a world of uncertainty.  But where and in whom we place that hope should be based on confidence.  The only person we can find that assurance in is God. 

So what are you hoping for?  What do you need that is beyond you and cannot be met unless someone steps in?  And where have you placed that hope?  Is it in something or someone who will disappoint or is it in God who always keeps His promise.  My hope is that you choose God. 

I want some turkey...right?

I know that it's early, but I have been thinking about Thanksgiving all day.  Totally craving turkey.  Then I saw this...

Big Bird never looked better!  Get excited for the holidays, people!  Cause the season is here!

 

Halloween Spectacular!

Well, I had hoped to have some pics up here on the blog chronicling our Halloween outreach but, due to technical difficulties, we haven't been able to post them.  But I didn't want to lose sight of what we were able to accomplish the other night.

We had over 300 kids come to our house to trick or treat.  Every one of them got cotton candy, popcorn, hot apple cider, a whole candy bar, and face painting if they wanted it.  The also got a whole lot more, whether the realized it or not.  As a church, we were able to physically demonstrate the love of Jesus, a love that goes above and beyond what is expected and shocks people with its extravagance.  We stopped traffic on the street several times, as drivers came to a stop to see what was going on.  I can't count the number of cars that simply pulled over and unloaded their kids.  We were not what people were expecting and it stunned them in some cases.  Good.  That's what God's love should do.  And now that we have met a need that they could see and feel, I believe we have an opportunity to meet a need that is spiritual. 

So thanks for all the help, donations, and prayers, Riverside!  Keep on praying as we trust God to call out to some of these families and provide them with the rescue that they need.  I am believing that there will be folks that will ultimately be a part of our spiritual family just because of some cotton candy.  You gotta love that!

Church Makeover: Halloween Edition 2

One of my favorite quotes comes from a guy named Francis.  Seems like he could have a boy named Sue scenario going, but turns out he wasn't an angry guy as all.  No, he had a real passion to tell people about Jesus, he just thought he should use more than words.  That leads us into that quote.  He said, "preach the gospel always.  If necessary, use words."  Let me take a moment and paraphrase: your actions should demonstrate the love of Jesus. 

That is the attitude with which we are approaching Halloween this year.  As you may know, I not a huge fan of the holiday (read yesterday's post for details) but it seems a wasted opportunity to not reach out to all those families who come to my house with the love of Christ.  So we are having a little party.  At this party, there will be no sermonizing.  We will not be singing worship songs.  We will not be cracking a bible or attempt to connect some spiritual meaning to Halloween.  No, we will be simply showing the love of Jesus by being the biggest blessing on the block.  We will be giving out cotton candy, popcorn, and whole candy bars.  We will be doing some face painting and playing some games.  We will be out in the community, sharing the evening with people who need to know Jesus, and, hopefully, showing them why. 

Now I'm not looking for a huge pat on the back for our approach, nor am I looking for you to demonize me for daring to be out and about on Halloween.  What I hope this does for all of us who acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, is to challenge us on how we think about the opportunities that we may have to share the gospel.  Remember, that means good news.  We have some good news to tell.  Generally, people want to hear that.  We need to be creative and courageous enough to find a way to tell them.  Even if it means celebrating Halloween,

Church Makeover: Halloween Edition

Let me get this out from the very beginning: I hate halloween.  I always have and, I expect, I always will.  I feel like I have some valid reasons for this.  The first is that halloween, quite frankly, is scary.  I have never been big on being frightened and some of the stuff that is out in the Walmart or hanging up around my neighborhood is pee-in-your-pants terrifying.  And I feel that way now!  You should have seen my as a kid!  I spent most of October with my eyes shut during the day and sleep deprived at night. (I subscribe to the theory that it is better to see the monsters coming.  This prevents any meaningful rest.) 

My second reason is that I have never been a big fan of eee-vil!  Sure, most of the horror around the holiday is cartoonish and fantastical, but I'm too sensitive to handle it in large doses.  It affects me when I am forced to see scenes of dastardly deeds and monstrous...monsters (sorry, couldn't think of a better alliteration) so I find the whole season personally distasteful.  For those of you who know think of me as a huge wuss, you have hit the nail on the head and can skip down to the bottom.  For the rest of you who have a misplaced faith in my overall manliness (thanks, Julie), please keep reading.

It is no surprise then, that it has always been quite easy for me to buy into the church's method for dealing with halloween, namely condemning it as a whole and ignoring it until it goes away.  I preferred the safety of the harvest party, where the scariest thing you might see is a fat Zorro or a dilapidated angel.  And it was easy to judge and dismiss the holiday because, if we are honest, there are things that get celebrated that God hates.  So for years, I hunkered down and waited for the last week of October to pass me by. 

A couple of years ago, I began to rethink my position on Halloween.  It happened when I moved into my current home and was mobbed on the 31st by hundreds of kids looking for candy.  I just couldn't believe the amount of families that were out in our neighborhood and were coming to my door!  I spend a ton of time as a pastor trying to come up with ideas on how to gather a crowd so that I can show them Jesus and here was one that was ready made and reliable as the calendar!  Up until that epiphany, my only approach to them was a bag or two of cheap candy and a general desire for the night to be over.  Seems wrong to me...seems really wrong.  Instead of reaching out to the many families that are coming to our homes each year, the church as a whole, and me in particular, would rather do what is easy and comfortable and hide away from a world that we disapprove of.  The thought makes me feel a bit sick and I have confessed my failings to the Lord and asked for forgiveness for missing out on such a great opportunity to demonstrate His great love.

So what is my approach to Halloween now and how is Riverside responding to this opportunity?  Check back tomorrow and I will share what's happening with our church...

Come Together, Right Now!

Sometimes, one person just doesn't command much attention.  If instead of a million man march, you are only able to put together the uno man march, you're probably not going to get much press.  Often, it takes a group to affect change.  Now before you get you undies in knots, sure one person can start the process of change but there is never one person at the finish.  It takes a village, or a city, or a town, or perhaps a municipality...or maybe, just maybe, one small church.

Today, I am going to devote some time to praying for our upcoming Halloween outreach.  I'm going to ask God to move in a amazing way, connecting some of the people that we meet on the 31st with our church and, ultimately, rescuing them into new life with Him.  I'm going to ask Him to let all the equipment that we rent to work well, that there will be no difficulties during the evening, that He would lead those folks who belong in our family to bring their kids trick-or-treating at our house.  I'm going to ask Him to do all those things as well as any other blessings I can think of connected with this event.  I don't want to ask Him alone.  Today I am challenging us as a community to ask God to move on our behalf.  I am asking you to stand with me and ask God for His best.  There is power when we stand together.  Change happens when we stand together.  So take a few moments throughout the day and lets seek God together!

Come Together, Right Now!

Sometimes, one person just doesn't command much attention.  If instead of a million man march, you are only able to put together the uno man march, you're probably not going to get much press.  Often, it takes a group to affect change.  Now before you get you undies in knots, sure one person can start the process of change but there is never one person at the finish.  It takes a village, or a city, or a town, or perhaps a municipality...or maybe, just maybe, one small church.

Today, I am going to devote some time to praying for our upcoming Halloween outreach.  I'm going to ask God to move in a amazing way, connecting some of the people that we meet on the 31st with our church and, ultimately, rescuing them into new life with Him.  I'm going to ask Him to let all the equipment that we rent to work well, that there will be no difficulties during the evening, that He would lead those folks who belong in our family to bring their kids trick-or-treating at our house.  I'm going to ask Him to do all those things as well as any other blessings I can think of connected with this event.  I don't want to ask Him alone.  Today I am challenging us as a community to ask God to move on our behalf.  I am asking you to stand with me and ask God for His best.  There is power when we stand together.  Change happens when we stand together.  So take a few moments throughout the day and lets seek God together!

Much Thanks, Riverside!

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone at our church for the wonderful pastor appreciation surprise.  There are not many times that I am caught completely unaware, but this was certainly one of them.  The cards that you gave to Julie and I were so encouraging and meant more then I could ever put into words.  I certainly feel humbled by your kindness and thoughtfulness, especially coming on the heels of...

All the dinners that everyone provided for us while Julie was recovering!  I can't believe the level of generosity that you guys poured out on us!  I never anticipated how hard it would be to keep things afloat while Julie was out of it and the meals were a lifesaver!  Again, I am at a loss for words to adequately describe our gratitude, so I will simply say thank you.

Lie To Me: Further Consideration 3

If you read sections of the Old Testament, you will find many passages that admonish us to fear the Lord.  This concept applies to our lives in many ways but I would like to take a moment and consider it in context with our series on lying.

I have been prone to make mistakes, some accidentally and some intentional.  During the course of my life, I know that I have made selfish choices that I believed would benefit me, regardless of the morality or affect it might have on others.  I have a few skeletons that live in my closet that I will not be airing anytime soon, despite the season. (That's a Halloween reference, people.  Try not to freak out.)  Suffice it to say, I, like you, have made some crappy choices.  Unfortunately, since I have known the Lord most of my life, my bad decisions were made while I happily attested to being a Christian.  That firmly makes me one of those horrible hypocrites that you hear about in church.  For most of my youth and young adulthood, I took that knowledge in stride, confident that the Lord would be faithful to forgive me (which He has) and would help me course correct when I changed my ways. (which He did)  The problem is that I was solely focused on myself and never took into account how my actions affected others.

The long and the short of it is, I lied to people through my actions about God's character because I associated myself with Him.  There are folks who think less of God because of me.  That's a terrible thing to have to acknowledge.  When I was finally honest with myself about this fact, I was heartbroken.  I never wanted to negatively affect others in relation to Him.  And from that moment on, I believe that I began to experience a healthy fear, a part of what those O.T. passages where talking about.  I am afraid of doing anything that would cause others to draw wrong conclusions about God.  I want my life to tell the truth about Him, not a lie.

Does that mean my life is perfect?  I wish!  I can still be a colossal screw-up and I have never painted a perfect picture of who God is.  Frankly, some of those mistakes have turned out for good cause folks need to see that God has grace for everyone.  But I gotta tell ya, my motivation for trying to do what is right has changed.  I goes beyond religious duty and and moral compulsion.  It's a lot more personal than that now.  I simply do not want to make Him look bad.