Mark Beeson

Experiencing God With Dr. Bob

                
     
 

My dear friend Dr. Bob is an inspiration to me. He's an incredible teacher of the scriptures so I should not have been surprised to see him launching this week's class of Experiencing God as Moses. 

Fantastic! He began as Moses and finished as himself. I loved every minute of Bob's instruction. He's one of GCC's Teaching Pastors, and he's one of my heroes. (By the way, so is Moses.)

Bob said, "God sets the lonely in families. We are a church that's all about other people. We need to love them and bring them into the household of God."

Bob said this is our question: "Will I, or will I not adjust? Will I love enough to adjust my life so I can bring the lonely into the family of God?"

Get ready for a week of major adjustments as you Experience God this week. Fix your attention on God and you'll be changed from the inside out.
 

Romans 12:1-2  -  So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Trick or Treat?

 

 

Once again we're enjoying a beautiful fall season. There is so much to do it's sometimes difficult choosing from among the options. What do you do each fall? Do you send your kids out to collect "Trick or Treat" candy? Some do. Some don't. It's a parent's prerogative.

Sheila and I opted-out of Halloween. It almost seems un-American, but that's what we did. We still do, opt-out that is. Can you imagine? Our children (probably scarred for life because they never went "Trick or Treating" - not even once), didn't even go to school on the day everyone dressed up for the holiday. The first year they were in school we didn't know the custom, so when people came to school with limbs hacked off, blood-stains, oozing puss, eye-balls dangling from empty sockets, hatchets in heads and monster masks, they were horrified. After that we pulled 'em out each year and created a fun day for the family to build good memories together. (It didn't seem they'd lose a lot of academic improvement if they missed out on everything the school had planned for them that day, so we tried to help them make strides in other ways.) Anyway, that was our family tradition. While almost everyone else celebrated Halloween, we celebrated our family. No big deal. That's just what we opted to do.

During this season I always get questions about Halloween. Better said, I get declarative statements that are veiled as questions. People aren't really asking; they're telling. For example:

"Do you think everyone participating in Halloween worships Satan?" 

"Everyone?"

"Don't you think Halloween is the devil's holiday? Doesn't everyone participating in the devil's holiday worship Satan?"

That's a real exchange. No kidding. Someone actually said that to me. So, because I still need growth in my interpersonal relationship skills, I responded to this guy's statement/question with a question of my own.

"Do you think everyone who dresses up for Halloween is a Satan worshipper?"

He answered, "Absolutely." 

"So do you think everyone who goes to church, and participates in one worship service each year, is a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ?"

"Of course not." he said.

"Then what's up with your incredibly judgmental, condemnatory and mean-spirited denunciation of nice people who dress up like a Hobo, or Robin Hood, or Cinderella and go to a party once year?"

He was shocked. I was ticked. His Christianity was offended. So was mine.

Who made us umpires, calling "balls and strikes" on everyone around us? Didn't Jesus call us to be HIS disciples? Hasn't God invited us to join HIM in HIS mission? And isn't HIS mission to seek and save the lost? What's up with merciless judgmentalism in a world that needs to experience God more than it needs to feel rejection by God's people? 

I figured anything else I might say wouldn't add much value to the moment, so I wrapped up our brief conversation with a statement of my own.

"Back it down a notch buddy," I said. 

And I walked away.

Whatever you do today, love one another. Sheila and I won't be celebrating Halloween, but whether you opt-in, or opt-out, love one another. God expects nothing less of HIS people.
 

Ephesians 4:1-2  -  As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 

Decalogue of Canons for Observation in Practical Life

When DC stood up after the final weekend service and gave instructions to the GSM kids who participated in the RENEWAL weekend retreat, I thought, "I'm so glad these kids are getting biblical counsel, Godly advice and inspirational leadership from DC and his outstanding team of GSM leaders." Most worshippers had left the building, but the students remained as DC instructed their next steps. I snapped this photo when I saw how the kids were responding to their leader. That image, of a wise elder leading young men and women, motivated me to offer this post.

On February 21, 1825 an aged Thomas Jefferson wrote this "Decalogue of Canons for Observation in Practical Life" to young Thomas Jefferson Smith. In The Book of Man, William Bennett calls it "great advice from an old man to a young boy."  

1. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.

 

Proverbs 12:15  -  The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

During Our Final Weeks of the Experiencing God Course...

  

We're devoting five GCC weekend services to the essential matter of prayer, so when approximately one zillion GSM students returned from their "RENEWAL" retreat to join the rest of us in this weekend's worship service, they capped off their experience with fantastic training, and they amped up the energy in the room big time!

When his followers asked Jesus to teach them pray he gave them specific words to say. We'll ponder those words together each weekend as we spend our weeks completing Blackaby's "Experiencing God" training.

We launched GCC's "Prayer Series" this weekend and Jason Miller's inspired preaching included these remarks: 

• The stakes are very high when we enter a real conversation with the God we believe is good.
• The prayers of Jesus intensified and personalized the word "Father."
• We don't pray as beggars. We pray as beloved daughters and sons.
• As we move through the words Jesus taught us to pray we'll ask two questions. (a) What did Jesus have in mind when he used those words? (b) How does that knowledge effect how we pray?
• For the next 5 weeks we'll pray the Lord's Prayer aloud three times each day. 
• If your prayer feels like it hit the ceiling and bounced back, that means it hit God twice already. Our God fills everything everywhere.
• God is as near as the air you breathe. God fills everywhere with HIS presence. 
• Our Heavenly Father is both: intimate & personal and other & distant.
• If there is a profound gap between what you needed from your earthy father and what he gave you, know this. God fills in that gap.
• The original text of the Lord's Prayer is best translated, "Our Father in the heavens..." The word isn't "heaven." It's "heavens." It's plural.

I can't imagine a better service for the GSM kids to come home to, nor can I imagine a better series for all of us to engage for the next month. We're in for a fantastic season. 

Luke 11:2a  -  He said to them, “When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name...'"

How'd You Get This Picture?

I've been running fast. Well, not literally. Those who know me understand I'm blessed with a body completely devoid of fast-twitch muscle fiber, so running fast is quite impossible. But I have been busy. In fact, I've been racing along with my mental RPMs at the red line. (That's correct. My brain is faster than my body, proved by the fact that I think about moving a lot faster than I actually move.) It's almost time for Sheila and I to take a short break. Not yet, but it won't be much longer and we'll have a few days to down-shift and read for fun instead of reading for purpose. 

Meanwhile, it has occurred to me that when you see pictures I've taken, like the one above, you might think I've become a full-time naturalist and wildlife photographer who pastors and leads the church on-the-side, instead of a full-time pastor/leader who takes pictures from time-to-time. I see how you might think that, but what you don't realize is that while I'm not a full-time naturalist, I am a full-time opportunist. I simply have my camera with me all the time. I always expect God to surprise me and when an opportunity strikes, I take a picture. When you have your camera with you all the time, you can photograph the cool stuff that catches your eye during the serendipities of life.

So, if I'm busy pastoring and leading, how is it that I got this Whitetail picture?

I was driving along a country road, headed to a meeting, when I drove around a curve and glanced into a marsh. I saw this deer standing in the water and I thought, "A deer standing in the water." (I'm sure that's another clue into how my mind works.) I glanced at my rear-view mirror (safety first) and pulled over to the side of the road. I grabbed my camera, crept along the weeds beside the road and made my way back to the opening in the cattails where I'd spied the little deer and took its picture. The entire episode lasted no longer than five minutes and I was back on the road. I arrived at my meeting well before it was scheduled to begin.

(Kinda makes you wonder whether you are ready for the surprises and serendipities God brings your way, doesn't it.)

About 25 years ago, before I'd thought much about such things, I was dressed in full camo and leaving the house for a meeting I wanted to have before going hunting later that day. Sheila said to me, "You'll need to decide if you're going to be a hunter who preaches, or a preacher who hunts." I came back inside and changed clothes. God clarified a long time ago that HIS call on my life is to be a pastor: faithful to my marriage, my family and HIS church. Whatever else I do is secondary, but as I walk The Jesus Way, I don't want to miss the sacred opportunities HE so often delivers when I least expect them. So I expect them all the time.

I may not be fast, but I'm ready.

How about you?

As you experience God today, are you expecting opportunity to strike? 

Are you ready?
 

2 Timothy 4:2b  -  Be ready at all times.

Experiencing God With Jason Miller

Jason MIller led our Experiencing God discussions this week. He said, "What we most wrestle with is simply that we look at ourselves, and we hear God's calling, and we say, 'Me? It can't be me! You can't mean me!' But God is calling. So when we hear God calling this week let's say, 'Bring it on.'"

Here's what Blackaby says about living with such faith:

1. When God speaks, my response requires faith.
2. Faith is confidence that what God has promised or said will come to pass.
3. Sight is the opposite of faith.
4. Faith must be in a Person.
5. Before I call myself, my family, or my church to exercise faith, I must be sure I have heard a word from God.
6. When God lets me know what He wants to do through me, it will be something only He can do.
7. What I believe about God will determine what I do.

Blackaby adds, "Our world is not seeing God because we are not attempting anything that only God can do." 

The world experiences God in unexpected ways when God accomplishes something only He can do through the faith His people have to attempt such things. If people in our relational network aren't responding to God, maybe it's because they're not recognizing God in what the we're doing. 

What would happen if I began to doing what God tells me to do? 

If genuine faith is demonstrated by action, what are my actions saying about my faith in God? 

 Hebrews 11:6  -  Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

Did You Know Lydia's Going To Have A Little Sister?

- Photo by Aaron Beeson -

I'm not sure whether you're aware of this, but Lydia is going to have a little sister in a few months. Arrival is planned for the last half of February, but some of you remember that Lydia arrived early, very early. In fact, she was born eight weeks early!  

So I'm asking you to keep my daughter Angela in your prayers. Her pregnancy is going well and the doctors say everything looks fine. There are no alarms, but I'm still asking you to join me as I pray for Angela (to carry the baby for the full term), for Lydia (to stay happy and loving when her little sister arrives), and for John (to stay strong on the path of faithful living so he continues his Godly example of servant-leadership).

Thanks.

I love raising, training and building faith in our grand-kids with all of you. (Of course, her parents are the ones who do all the really important stuff, but we enjoy helping them with their kids from time to time.)

Thank you for your kindness. Sheila and I are grateful.

John 16:21  -  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

Just Before Sunrise

The darkness weakened, giving way to that universally recognizable early morning, pre-dawn, can't-quite-see-yet, hint-of-light as I cranked up the ISO on my camera and shot these leaves. A new day was beginning and on this day I was going to experience God from start to finish. It began with this photograph; it concluded with the gathered church studying Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God journal to learn how God speaks by HIS Holy Spirit through prayer, the Bible, circumstances and the church.

Today is a very good day.

Genesis 1:31  -  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning...

Water Flows Downhill. Deal With It.

Water flows downhill. 

That's reality. That's the way it is. Whether you accept that or not, whether you believe it or not, whether you like it or not, water flows from the heights to the low places. Your opinion doesn't alter the fact. I think it's incredible that I've never heard people apologize for gravity's effect on H₂O, or act embarrassed about it or behave as if it's no big deal if others don't realize it. Water flows downhill. Why would I hesitate telling you that truth?

Jesus is Lord.

That's reality. That's the way it is. Whether you accept that or not, whether you believe it or not, whether you like it or not, Jesus is Lord. Your opinion doesn't alter the fact. I think it's incredible that I've often heard people apologize for HIS Lordship, and act embarrassed about it and behave as if it's no big deal if others don't realize it. Jesus is Lord. Why would I hesitate telling you that truth?

When Caesar rode triumphantly through a crowd, no one said to the people, "If you accept him, he'll be your Caesar. But if you're not ready, or you don't have enough information to decide yet, don't worry about it. You can accept him as your ruler whenever you're ready. He's not your sovereign until you say so."  No one said that because Caesar was Caesar. Period. 

Why do we so often speak tentatively of "accepting Jesus," and "making Jesus your Lord," as if the Risen Christ is nothing until we make HIM something; as if HE is a nobody until we choose to make HIM Somebody? Shouldn't we announce the truth? Shouldn't we help people deal with reality? Jesus is Lord. Period.

We're better off helping each other align our lives to the mission and ministry of the Risen Christ than we are asking people to consider letting Jesus be Lord. Since HE already died - and rose again - to save us all, we serve each other best when we announce HIS Sovereignty and live accordingly.

Jesus is Lord. 

Deal with it.

Romans 8:38-39  -  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Stay Alert

Halfway between the shore and an island in the middle of the swamp, this doe stood perfectly still, checking for danger. You can see her ears locked forward. She strained to identify any reason to turn around and head back to shore, and apparently she found one. Though the island promised safe refuge, she sensed peril ahead, and that danger not only stopped her in her tracks, it prompted a different direction altogether. She has other out-of-the-way-places to hide so she had no reason to wade into trouble.

Life in the wild is shortened by carelessness. Living without-a-care-in-the-world (as some are inclined) is detrimental no matter where you live.

Be wise today. Don't live in fear. Don't get sloppy. Stay alert and you'll improve your odds of success.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27  -  I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

I'll Tell You One Reason Why

I was sitting beside a swamp this morning at dawn. I'd been there long before first light, and as the sun broke over the horizon I photographed these duck hunters. It was beautiful; the setting, the season and the camaraderie - everything about the morning was simply beautiful.

From time to time I'm asked why I hunt, fish, hike and spent time outdoors. I'm asked why I took my children outside and got them involved in hunting, fishing, hiking and exploring outdoors. I'm asked if I'm doing the same with my grandchildren. I'm asked why I invest so much time wandering around in swamps and woods and fields with my kids.

Let me tell you one reason why I deem the analog realities of camaraderie in the wilderness as critical to the emotional and social well-being of a child. Let me tell you why the gradual, subtle and cumulative experience of shared time in the great outdoors improves the next generation.

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo (courtesy of TED.com, The Zimbardo Video) explains drug addiction as "wanting more," but he says America's sons are sinking into something else, something insidious and deadening. Today's young men have what Zimbardo calls arousal addiction, always "wanting something different." 

This month's Leadership Journal reflects on Zimbardo's work and clarifies the problem. The arousal addiction of America's sons (seeking a never-ending-stream of stimulation) is behind the failure many nextGen males experience as they try to connect with women socially or to succeed academically. Leadership Journal declares: "Zimbardo cites excessive internet use, video gaming, and on-line porn as causes of this new addiction. By age 21, boys spend 10,000 hours gaming, two-thirds of that time in isolation. The average young man watches 50 porn clips per week."

"Boys' brains are being digitally rewired in a totally new way, for change, novelty, excitement, and constant arousal," Zimbardo says. "They're totally out of sync in traditional classes, which are analog, static, and interactively passive. And they're totally out of sync in relationships, which build gradually and subtly." 

Is it any wonder, in a digital world where boys experience four dozen intensly erotic encounters each week, and willing women fulfill their fantasies - appearing to gush with joy as they instantly respond to whatever the lad requests - that young men lack the relational skills to socially interact with real women in the analog world? 

In authentic relationships the fluctuating, evolving, and continually morphing process of gradual change described as "analog" is a far cry from the excitement, novelty and instant response experienced in a digital world amped-up by a binary code that indulges every whim.

I share Zimbardo's concern.

Leave the digital world for a while and go outdoors with your kids. They'll learn a few things:

• You are not the center of the Universe.
• The sun doesn't rise only on you.
• You can't always have everything you want.
• Some things don't turn out the way you want them to.
• Everyone doesn't have to walk the path you walk.
• It takes time to cook a meal over an open fire.
• Everyone doesn't move at the same pace. You may need to occasionally adjust and wait on somebody.
• If you want to be at the top of the hill, get moving.
• It takes time and effort to clean up the camp, and no one is going anywhere until the work is done.
• How you lose matters; how you win matters.
• If you want to see new scenery, walk over the mountain and you can.
• Nothing is instant, easy or permanent but everything is remarkable, endurable and incredible...if you work hard to make it so.

Got a son? Got a grandson? Turn off their digital-gaming-system and internet porn connection and take them outside. Play ball with 'em. Hunt. Fish. Camp. Hike. Compete. Spend some time in the real analog world with them.

Do that, and every real flesh-and-blood woman who has to deal with them in the future will thank you for it.

Proverbs 14:2  -  An honest life shows respect for God; a degenerate life is a slap in his face. 

God Speaks Through The Church

 

In our daily studies this week, Henry Blackaby wrote that we experience God as we participate in the Church.

Blackaby says,

"Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. God made us mutually interdependent. We need one another. Apart from the body I cannot fully know God's will for my relationship to the body. Every member needs to listen to what the other member say. As I function in relationship to the church, I depend on others in the church to help me understand God's will."

I'll state the obvious; if I don't make time for the church in my life, I'm likely to miss the things God says to me through the church. Maybe that's one reason God advises Christ-followers to continue meeting together.

We'll be meeting several times this weekend. God may have something to say to you. I hope you'll be there... listening.

Hebrews 10:24-25  -  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another...

Two Ways To Have A Floor Like This

 - iPhone Photo by Angela Keim - 

In a season of incredible surprises and blessing, our son-in-law John Keim added to the celebration of our last 25 years of ministry in Michiana. When Sheila and I returned home from a recent trip we were met at the top of the driveway by John and Angela. When we opened the garage door I was stunned to see what John had done while we were away.

He treated the entire gargage with a multi-step process that produced the amazing results you see pictured above. It's awesome!

I asked John to explain how he took my concrete garage floor from a dirty mess to a thing of beauty and he gave me this...so I'm passing it along.

  

H&C Concrete's product line is carried at Sherwin Williams.  In addition to the boring chemicals used for prep, the main product used is the Shield-Crete Epoxy Garage Floor Coating  http://www.hcconcrete.com/products/shield-crete-epoxy/garage-floor-coating/index.jsp Top that off with the Shield-Crete Acrylic Clear Glaze for a top coat which provides extra durability and longevity.  http://www.hcconcrete.com/products/shield-crete-epoxy/glaze/  The H&C "SharkGrip" non-skid additive was added to give it the texture and prevent slipping.  http://www.hcconcrete.com/products/shark-grip-prep-products/Shark_Grip_Slip_Resistant_Additive/

There are only two ways to get a floor like this.

1. One way is for John Keim to marry your daughter and become your son-in-law. Since he's already married to my daughter, that's no longer an option for you. 
2. The other way is to email John and see if you can hire him to work his alchemy magic on your floor, turning your concrete into a sealed, slip resistant, stain resistant, easily cleaned acrylic marvel.

Contact John at [email protected] and see if he can carve out time in his schedule to do your floor. He works full-time in student ministry, so he's a busy guy. 

Isaiah 49:23 (The Message)  -  Scrub your floors.

The 25th Anniversary Celebration Last Week

I was so surprised when Sheila and I were greeted at GCC by an enormous crowd of well-wishers, celebrating our 25 years of ministry in Michiana! It was fantastic! Here's the entire experience, captured on video for those who couldn't make it to the campus for the grand event.  Enjoy. 

 

 Joel 2:21
Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things.

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

- Photo by Dustin Maust -

Sheila and I were surprised this week when your secret plans came to fruition and a zillion GCCers gathered at the Granger Campus to celebrate 25 years of God's faithfulness. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, your courageous faith and your kindness to us.

Sheila and I will never forget the celebration we shared.

We're blessed to serve God beside you!

Psalm 89:16-17
God, your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us— 
      you've been so good to us! We're walking on air! 
   All we are and have we owe to God, 
      Holy God of Israel, our King!

Good Advice

When I was young my mother said, "Never judge a day by its weather."

It's raining.

Enjoy the day; it's a better day than you realize.

 

Psalm 104: 12  -  The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 

American Coot / Fulica americana

Did you ever see a Coot cruising along? You may marvel at its relaxed posture and the ease with which it moves, but remember this. Even if you can't see it, under the surface that bird is paddling like mad! 

Don't think progress happens without effort. No matter how easy that progress seems to casual observers, serious progress usually requires serious work.

Where am I making a serious effort these days?

• In my relationship with Jesus.
• In my relationship with Sheila.
• In my family.
• In my study and practice of leadership.
  
• In my staff and friends at GCC.
• In my aging body.

How about you?

 

2 Peter 1:5-10  -  Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. 

Security Is Mostly Superstition

This weekend I was told, "I just feel like so much is at stake, and stepping up my involvement in our church seems so risky to me; I don't know if I'm up for this. Things are OK right now. I mean, it's not like I'm unaware of how good I've got it. I liked going to church better before we talked so much about personal mission and personal involvement. This whole Experiencing God thing is kinda freakin' me out. I just don't know if this is the best time for me to fling my life into such a risky church." 

I understand.

But chasing security rather than opportunity is most unwise.

Helen Keller had a point: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Every time I think I'm in control, circumstances remind me how silly I'm being. I can't even control the outcomes of a meeting. I can't control the traffic. I can't control the events of my day and I certainly can't control people. When I think I'm avoiding the risks of living in a broken world - I'm deceiving myself. 

What I need is courage. Without it I have little hope of staying true. When fear, self-interest and a desire to "save myself" overwhelm me, I'm inclined to put my safety above everything else. It's doubtful I'll do what's right in the face of fear if I lack courage. The risk of obeying God in fearsome circumstances is counter-intuitive. But it is necessary. 

The more I strive for security and safety (the more I want protections against anything bad happening) the less free I am. The essence of freedom lies buried somewhere in responsibility and risky uncertainty. There's risk involved in the abundant life, and risks lie all along the path of The Jesus Way.

C.S. Lewis penned the remarkable Screwtape Letters wherein the demon Screwtape offers his demon apprentice (his nephew Wormwood) some advice on the importance of removing the virtue of courage from his human target's life:

"This, indeed, is probably one of the Enemy's (God's) motives for creating a dangerous world - a world in which moral issues really come to the point. He sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky."

Does anyone actually believe we can live abundant, meaningful, satisfying lives without risk?

• Climbing a mountain is risky.
• Getting married is risky.
• Trusting someone else is risky.
• Trusting yourself is risky.
• Having children is risky.
• Auditioning is risky.
• Planting an apple orchard is risky.
• Learning to drive is risky.
• Taking a stand for what's right is risky.
• Sowing seed to reap a harvest is risky.
• Signing up for Calculus is risky.
• Starting a business is risky.
• Starting a church is risky.
• Stating clear goals is risky.
• Trying out for the team is risky.
• Living on God's mission is risky.
• Love is risky.
• Praying for HIS Kingdom to come and HIS will to be done is risky.

What is the greater risk: attempting such things, or shrinking back from them?

I'm not advocating the stupidity of carelessness, but if avoiding risk and saving myself is my ultimate goal, I'll not only miss the joyous adventure of The Jesus Way, I'll lose the life I'm trying to save in the process.

I've been singing the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick's prayerful 1930s hymn all morning. I grew up singing it and now it's helping me pray - for courage grounded by faith in the ONE who called me.

God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.

Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.

Mark 8:35-36  -  Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Experiencing God All Next Week

Rob Wegner led the Experiencing God "group time" for everyone this week. He put the wraps on last week's experience and led us into next week's journey. I love Rob. (Of course, that's probably beside the point, but I think he's awesome) 

Rob told us, "Every day next week Blackaby helps us discover the ways God speaks." Blackaby says, "If you want to know the will and voice of God, you must devote time and effort to cultivate a love relationship with HIM."

I couldn't agree more.

We're almost halfway through the 12-week experience. I encourage you to devote the time and effort to cultivate your relationship with Jesus. Your process now will enhance your experience of God this Christmas.

This is your time.

Do the hard work of love.

John 8:47  -  Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

Running For Good Reason

 

When God told Gideon to obey HIM and deliver the Israelites from the invading hoards of marauding Midianites, he was first commanded to go home and tear down his family's altar to Baal. The first thing required of him was a cleansing of his own home. God said, "Tear down your father's Baal altar and chop down the Asherah fertility pole beside it. Then build an altar to God, your God." He had to rid himself and his family of perversity and sin before he went off to do battle with the invaders.

Gideon's first battle was with the sin that was close at hand, the sin the Lord warned Cain "is crouching at your door; it desires to have you." Before he could run off to fight the enemy that covered the land like locusts, Gideon was required to get his heart right. So Gideon tore down his family's altar to Baal. 

And just as Paul later told the Corinthians to "run away from idolatry," Gideon turned toward God, ran away from sin, and he didn't stop running until he ran into the pages of history.

So it's worth asking.
     What are you running from?
     What are you running for?

Genesis 19:17
Now run for your life! 
Don't look back! 
Don't stop anywhere. 
Run!

In Living Color

- Dusk, Last Night -

As the Fall leaves explode with color I'm awestruck by God. If this vivid beauty is merely HIS creation, imagine the glory of the Creator! I'm amazed that some don't appreciate God, and though they may fear higher taxes or losing their cell phone, they do not fear the ONE who holds eternity in HIS hands.

Incredible.

I'm increasingly concerned about dull, flat lives lived without appreciation. The colorless existence of dimly lit days and shadowed nights is tragic. No one should have to live like that.

The good life is found in the light. It's the consequence of life lived in reverence, in full awareness that God is at work, and because of God's love we're invited to adjust our lives to join HIM and engage HIS mission. The good life isn't the easy life, but it is what comes with the full spectrum of God's light flooding the path we walk when we follow HIM on HIS mission.

You're invited to a deeper experience of God, and to the "good" life. We'll share it together this weekend at GCC. I'll see you there.

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13  -  Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn't fear God.

The Good News and the Bad News

  

I've got good news and bad. 

First the bad news.  

A few of our brothers and sisters began the "Experiencing God" journey with us, but for one reason or another, they've been unable to continue. They started with us, but a small percentage of our fellow travelers may be unable to share the entire 12-week-experience of God this fall. I hate that, but I know it's still early in the course and no one needs to feel left out. Even if someone missed last week's steps, they can catch up this week and get right back on the path.

Now the good news.

We've never done a long-term course with such a high retention rate! Almost everyone who committed to share the "Experiencing God" journey is doing the daily work and participating in the weekly discussions. It's amazing! You're encouraging each other, supporting each other and praying for one another. The GSM kids have joined the journey. The on-line fellowship is up and running. We're sharing a great adventure together.

So I'm asking you to look around and see if you've got a friend who started with you, but they fell behind a little bit and now they feel like they can't catch up. With a word of encouragement they'll press forward. A phone call, an email or some short conversations could be all they need to stay the course for the next 2 months. 

Let's love each other as we travel through the days ahead.

Remember: successfully doing the curriculum isn't the ultimate goal; experiencing God together is!

Colossians 2:2-3  -  My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

We've Got a Great Bishop

Bishop Coyner brought my friend Mike Slaughter (lead pastor of Ginghamsburg UMC and all of its 501C3 missional endeavors) to explain his strategies for revitalizing dying churches. Mike's training was insightful and challenging. It was worth my drive to INDY today.

As the day was winding down the Bishop told a story about his own early days of ministry.  He was an Associate Pastor doing youth ministry for a local church when he hatched a plan to load the kids on a bus and visit Chicago. It was a great trip, but when it came time for the kids to get back on the bus and head home, he counted the kids and came up one short. Again and again he counted one less kid on the bus heading home than they had counted on the bus when they started their journey. After some serious consternation he determined they had miscounted at the beginning of the day. They drove home and were relieved when all the kids got off the bus and there were no parents in the parking lot asking, "Where's my kid?"

The Bishop's point?
Numbers matter. Every number represents a person and God wants every person accounted for because every person counts. The bishop said, "God doesn't want us saying, 'We got most of the kids.' They all matter."

I agree with the bishop.

2 Peter 3:9  -  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Ways to Worship God

 

All creation declares the glory of the Lord. As we experience God together this week, Henry Blackaby suggests there are several ways to worship God:

• Bless His Name
• Glory in His Name
• Rejoice in His Name
• Call on His Name
• Hope in His Name
• Remember His Name
• Declare His Name
• Know His Name
• Seek His Name
• Fear His Name
• Lift up hands in His Name
• Sing praise to His Name
• Give thanks to His Name
• Love His Name
• Sing to His Name
• Glorify His Name
• Praise His Name
• Trust in His Name

Psalm 52:9  -  I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Self Examination

When I'm in the wilderness, alone for a time and able to think about something other than the most pressing and urgent issue of the hour, my mind fixes on one matter or another and I drill down. Maybe I tend toward "OCD of the Mind." Maybe I can stay on topic because there's nothing pulling me away and demanding my attention. I'm not sure why, but when I'm surrounded by God's creation the only thing distracting me is the beauty and majesty of the wilderness, which is the very thing that helps me concentrate. 

As these Sandhill Cranes flew over my head this evening, I almost missed the shot because I was thinking about "how" I'm living: my pace, my priorities and my peace. Martin Luther suggested the church should live as if Jesus died yesterday, rose from the dead this morning and is coming back tomorrow. That's worth considering and if that's true, I wonder how the people who know me would grade my life so far. I wonder if I'm fairly grading myself.

My aim is to complete the task Jesus gave me. At the end of the day, HE is the one who grades me; HE is the one who evaluates the way I live my life while I'm on The Jesus Way.

Acts 20:24  -  I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Experiencing God/ Week 3

It's a massive effort, but moving all the chairs and setting up tables across the entire auditorium of GCC's Granger Campus is worth the effort. We do it so we can set the best environment for each Monday's "Experiencing God" gathering. People fill the room as they pack in around those tables to discuss their experience of knowing and doing the will of God. It's rich. It's wonderful.

DC led the discussion on tonight's topic:

A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life, and God's plan for the advancement of HIS Kingdom depends on HIS relationship with HIS people. Even so, I cannot know God's activity unless HE takes the initiative to reveal it to me.

John 6:44a & 65  -  (Jesus) "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them." He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

747 Project / GCC is ON MISSION

I headed downtown South Bend on Saturday morning. Jack Elston (Volunteer Coordinator for the 747 Project) was intending to honor all the folks working at the Robert L. Miller Veterans Center: aka "Project 747."  I snapped this photo of those still hanging around after lunch.

                  

 Leroy King thanking everyone          Jack Elston's "Well done" thumbs up

 

Here's the truth; getting kids involved in "mission" leads to a lifetime on mission.

 

Les Rassi (sunglasses in the plaid shirt) has been a hero at 747 South Michigan Street. His experience and "knowledge of all things construction," has been invaluable to the other volunteers. It's great to have people on the team who know enough to help the rest of us do something positive. 

               

        747 Director: Angela Wilson             Mark Scott: 747 Project Leader

 

 

After a week of rain and wind God gave us fantastic weather for the Volunteer Celebration. Eating outside near the gardens made for a great environment.

I was heading to church to prepare for the weekend services when Mark Scott grabbed my camera and photographed me sharing a 747 moment with Madison Herman and Megan Wilson.  

Want to help with our 747 Project?  
We're taking a 5,000 square foot building (at 747 South Michigan Street) and converting it to a dormitory for homeless vets. It'll include: Reception Area, Office space for 5 staff, Sleeping Quarters for 25 men, toilets, showers, Kitchenette and Laundry. 

• Check our Facebook Page: Carpenter's Hands. Call Jack Elston @ 574-229-9797.
• Partner with other Suppliers and Contractors and donate materials, tools, supplies and services: Call Mark Scott @ 574-532-1745 or email [email protected].
• Participate: Every Saturday morning from 7:00 until Noon. Give your time and effort. Volunteers have already given more than 3,000 hours of labor!

You can get on mission and help our homeless vets feel honor again.

Job 29:7  -  When I walked downtown and sat with my friends in the public square, young and old greeted me with respect; I was honored by everyone in town.

I Can't Get This Song Out Of My Head!

I can't stop singing the last song of our worship service this weekend.

How about you?

"We're giving it all away, away
We're giving it all to go Your way
We're giving it all away, away
We're giving it all to go Your way"

Proverbs 11:24  -  The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.  

Opening Day 2011

It's Opening Day of the 2011 Archery Season.

Fall has finally arrived.

Genesis 25:27  -  Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country.