Life in the Big City - A Call to all Hope Bloggers!!!

Hey, all you Hope bloggers! I'd like to update my blog site here with a new section called "Hope Blogs" as well as a new section called "Blogs I read". If you have a blog that you would like to have linked from my site, and it would be a blessing to the body of HCC, just post a comment below. So far I know of the following:

Sean J.
Tim J.
Aaron E.
Steve S.

If you would like to be linked, just comment below with your blog address. I love reading blogs to stay up with what is going on. Cool!

Trike

PS --> Sabbatical starts in t-minus 14 hours, but who's counting?!?!?

One sweet day!

Yesterday was one sweet day of worship for me at Hope. John, Cindi, Mike and Rob decided to publically declare their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism! I love baptisms, and the amazing stories of God's grace in people's lives...it is such a thrill to hear how God is STILL moving among people today.

Rob, who was baptized last on Sunday, shared in his testimony a confession of faith written by Rick Warren. Rob desired to make it his statement for his baptism, and I concur with that. I was moved to tears as Rob read these words by Rick Warren describing his commitment to now be a follwer of Jesus Christ:

Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling and I'm finished with wavering, I've made my choice, the verdict is in, and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his word.

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living, and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, "we" over "me," character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven and mission-focused so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, Whenever, Wherever, and Whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes Lord; Whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!"
by Rick Warren

May God richly bless you John, Cindi, Mike and Rob as you serve, love and enjoy Jesus!

[sab·bat·i·cal]

Pronunciation: sa-’ba-ti-kal
Etymology: Latin sabbaticus,
from Gk sabbatikos, from sabbaton
1 : of or relating to the sabbath
2 : a break or change from a
normal routine (as of employment)


“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.” ~ Jesus in Matthew 11:28

I first entered full time ministry work in 1987 as a staff worker with The Navigators at the University of Minnesota. It seems like only yesterday when I was a young punk, leading Bible studies, teaching at Nav meetings, hanging out in dorms and coffee shops with college students, and staying up late playing cards talking about Jesus to people who were interested in knowing more about him.

I’ve changed a bunch in the 18 years since then, but then again, not so much. That last paragraph still pretty much sums up what I do here at Hope now. It just is a bit more complex with multiple staff, and dozens of ministries happening. But, those are the things that I have truly loved to do for the last 18 years.

In all the years of ministry, I have never taken any substantial time off for reflection, rest and refueling. Two years ago, our Overseers encouraged me to take a 3 month sabbatical as soon as possible. Not to get rid of me (I’m sure the thought crossed their minds!), but to allow me and my family to recharge ourselves in Jesus and each other - to take some time away from the day to day operations of the church, seek God, get some rest, as well as do some development. I’ll be taking two courses to further my Doctor of Ministry program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and taking 2 trips to Colorado (one with my lovely wife CAROLE for a marriage getaway weekend, and one solely for FLY FISHING IN THE ROCKIES!!!) We also have some home projects as well as family camping and fishing trips.

In all, I’ll be on sabbatical from May 1st to July 31st. In my absence the staff will do great (in fact, I can hear them cheering already!). Even though we are on sabbatical, you all are our friends, so feel free to email or call on us ~ but just know that it might take a little bit for us to get back to you. I really hope to be blogging a lot during this time - more for a journaling process than anything else...

Pray for us that God would truly give us his rest and excitement to return this August and labor in his kingdom work!

Coming to Jesus for rest,

Trike

Biblically, what is right in this case?

I know the Terri Shiavo case is a hot topic right now. However, I would absolutely love to have a discussion here about the whole "living will" or "end of life" issues. Honestly, I am totally in process on this whole thing, and see the value of both sides of the reasoned argument. I'd love to hear from many of you what you think is the right course of action from a biblical mindset.

This is a SAFE blog entry. In other words, please DO NOT respond overly emotional to someone's viewpoint or attack personally the person making a point. I really would love to have an open 'conversation' about this. Feel free to respond anonymously if that is helpful. I'll be vulnerable in some of my thinking as well in the comments section. Looking forward to a good discussion.

Steve

Why is the "Dinah" story there?

I'm doing this Discipleship Journal "Read the Bible in a Year" thing - which I always effectively stretch out to about 1 1/2 years! Anyway, in my reading Monday, I was reading Genesis 34, the account of Jacob's daughter Dinah being either raped at worst, or being involved in premarital sex at best. It is such a bizarre and interesting account of what all takes place. I've been asking everyone this week, "Why is the Dinah account there?"

Before I make any comments on what I have heard from others, I'd love to hear what you all think. No shiny dimes here, just read Genesis 34 and give it your best shot!

Trike

"Holy smoke, how did I ever get out of there alive?"

The following is taken from the Chaska Valley Herald of June 30th, 1904:

On June 28th, 1904, Freight Train #66 and Work Train #10 collided head on in Chaska, Minnesota. The conductor of the work train, knowing the local freight was about 2 1/2 hours late, thought he could get his train to this city before the freight train pulled out. His train was running pretty fast and coming down a grade when he noticed the local freight coming up the grade. He was able to jump off his train, but the fireman of the Freight Train, C.C. Hewitt could not get out and was caught in the collision. In some accountable manner crawled out of the debris with only his collarbone broken. It is a miraculous escape from death. The injured men were removed to the residence of Wm. Heiman where Drs. Schober and Marshall were summoned and medical aid given them. About 10:30 in the evening they were taken to Mpls. on an extra. Sigafoos was taken to St. Barnabas hospital and died at 2 o'clock the following morning. C.C. Hewitt, the fireman, went to Asbury hospital, and his injuries are not necessarily fatal. Before being taken to the train to be removed to the hospital he asked that he be carried to the scene of the wreck and when shown the cab wherein he was confined, he exclaimed "Holy smoke, how did I ever get out of there alive?"

After preaching for three weeks on "The Pain of Sexual Immorality" I am more convinced that ever that we all have been involved in a train wreck of relationships, broken dreams, shame and sin in this area. However, it is not something that needs to wreck your life. It is not something that needs to define you. Healing is possible! You can be like C.C. Hewitt, who incredibly escaped for the wreckage, only to exclaim "Holy smoke, how did I ever get out of there alive?"

My question for this entry is this:

How do we as the body of Christ help people to escape the wreckage? What have you done in order to help the healing begin?

What are the lies about sex you are hearing?

As I've thought a lot about sex these past few weeks (and, I guess, the last 40 years of my life!), it has become very apparent to me that we have a serious difference of opinion about sex between what our God says to us, and what our culture says about sex. In my next post, I'll put a few of the differences up on this page, but before I do that, I would really love to hear from ya'll what are the lies you are hearing from our culture about sex? Also, if you don't mind, please tell us why you think that particular lie is so appealing to us.

Looking forward to a healthy discussion about lies!

ST

Men and Sex...

I've been thinking a lot about sex these past few days as I am preaching a 3 week series (see the post below). As I've been surfing internet to see how our culture uses sexuality to sell products, advertise movies, etc., it has really been clear to me how much the average American male is barraged with sex. Sure, there are ads directed at females, but not nearly as explicit, and not nearly as much. Being male, we are on a different sexual plane than women, and Madison Avenue knows this and uses it to their advantage.

Here's my BQ (Big Question) that I would love some comments on (especially you Dr. Ruth Kahnke!).

Why do you think God gave men and women such incredibly different sexual drives? What was he thinking?

Looking forward to hearing from you. Feel free to answer "anonymously" if that makes you more comfortable.

ST

Why is “avoid sexual immorality” there?

At Hope, we've been studying of the book of Acts together on Sundays since October of 2003. About a month ago, we came to Acts 15 where there was a curious decision made by the apostles. In a letter to the new non-Jewish people who were becoming followers of Jesus, the apostles asked them to observe the following:

“You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” ~ Acts 15:29

Now, the whole food issue is obvious - it would be offensive to Jewish Christians if these non-Jewish people “paraded” their freedom from food restrictions in front of them and would put a wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile Christian.

However, why do they include the phrase “from sexual immorality”? Why not greed, or lust, or the worst sin in the bible, pride? What is it about sexual immorality that is so unique that the apostles felt they needed to include this as one of the four things to “avoid”?

During these next three weeks of February (13, 20, 27th), we are going to address this in a special message series:

The Pain of Sexual Immorality ~ why the apostles felt it was very important to ‘avoid sexual immorality’.

During this series we will talk frankly and honestly about God’s standards for sexual purity, strategies to avoid immorality, as well as how to recieve healing from past mistakes. You can click here for MP3s of the messages, as well as notes and the powerpoint slides.

Also, I will be posting some thoughts here on my blog which I would love to interact with you all about in the coming days.
Looking forward to our time together on this important issue,

Trike

A year in review

I just wrote my 2004 annual meeting pastoral report, and thought I would post it here for y'all to take a look at. My reflections on 2004 and dreams for 2005!

If 2002 was the year of “prayer and seeking God” in order to be ready for what God was going to do, and 2003 was the year of “the INCREDIBLE gift of God to move our church downtown” to a permanent, FREE facility, then I would have to characterize 2004 as the year of “learning to manage the wave” of God’s blessing. Here’s what has happened in 2004:

1. Preaching through the book of Acts
I have absolutely loved our series in Acts! It has been the start of a wonderful relationship for me and a love for the early church. They did ministry without the aid of buildings, budgets, programs, powerpoint, and air conditioning! (Come to think of it, we do it without that last one too, eh?!)

I’ve been blown away by the early church’s tenacity to “be his witnesses” throughout the whole known world. These folks just flat out love Jesus Christ and have a genuine concern for their friends, family and cities who don’t yet have a relationship with Christ. I’ve watched our church grow in these areas too, and yet, I want so much more in my life and in the life of our church! Come, Holy Spirit, and make us a Church on Fire!

2. Hiring a LOT of staff!
If you have looked on the back of your worship folder in the last few months, you will see a whole bunch of new people who are on staff at Hope Community. I have always believed that the greatest earthly resource we have at Hope is such a quality group of leaders. It has been my dream to see our staff team grow in numbers and in quality. I can honestly say, that for the year 2005, we have a “dream team” of staff. I have never been part of such a gifted, hardworking, and God-centered people as we now have on our staff.

However, to get there we’ve been busy hiring people like crazy! In the last 18 months, we have hired an Associate Pastor for Outreach and Assimilation (Cor Chmieleski), a Custodian (Mike Devereaux), an Office Manager (Nancy Skinner), a Small Group/Administry (SHAPE) Director (Nicole Devereaux), a Seminary Intern (Chris Wachter), a Youth Minister (Jesse Splan) and a Bookkeeper (Tennille Ziegler).

Some of these hires were to replace some dear friends who have moved on to other things (greener pastures?!?!). Darin and Becky Durand (Youth) have moved to Seattle, Ben Banti (Custodian) has moved to Nashville and Maureen Swenson (Office Manager) has moved into Motherhood! Blessings to all of you and thanks for all your blood, sweat and prayers during your service at Hope!

3. Learning about what it means to be a better steward of what God has given us.
Last spring, I was invited by Jim Barber, associate pastor of Constance E. Free Church to get some mentoring in how to manage a growing church. We had a few discussions about Hope, and how we can be better organized in our ministry so that we can help “manage the wave” of what God is doing. Although I have a natural reaction to organization as a thing churches often do that quenches God’s Spirit, a reasonable amount of structure is a good thing – allowing, of course, for God’s Spirit to blow whenever and however He wants to! As we talked, we boiled the three main components of Hope down to this:

Cause
Community
Corporation

Cause is our vision. It is our passions, our mission statement – who we are as a church. Hope has always been very strong in this area. We are a passionate community of folks who desire to “honor God by helping as many people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” We do this through helping people to “think biblically, live Christ-like, and learn ministry skills.”

Community is our relationships. Do we really love on one another? Of course, Hope has a long way to go in this area, but we are a community based church. We desire for people to get to know one another, to study the Bible together, to learn to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” together. Our retreats, small groups, events, and every ministry we have has some element of creating more and more community among us.

Corporation is an area we are now working hard on. How do we manage a growing church with over 400 in attendance and remain community focused but in an organized fashion? Surely the addition of staff has SERIOUSLY helped this problem, as well as the addition of Nancy Skinner, who just has a knack for organization and streamlining things. However, healthy corporation at Hope is our BQ (big question) for 2005, and we would appreciate your prayers as we seek God’s direction in this.

Other thoughts
I have been honored to be the senior pastor of Hope now for 8 1/2 years. Preaching, teaching, leadership development, mentoring people in their faith, helping new churches get started worldwide and introducing new people to the faith are still my greatest passions, and I long to continue to grow in my love for Christ and in my ministry skills here at Hope. I cannot imagine a better place to live out my dreams, raise my family, and have the encouragement and correction that Hope gives to me and my family. Thanks for your love, appreciation, and grace toward me. You are so very dear to me!

This year, for the first time in my ministry life (since 1987, Carole and I have been vocationally part of some ministry somewhere), we are taking a sabbatical. From May 1st, to July 31st we are going to be getting some much needed rest and study time. A few of my goals are to start my doctoral work at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, work on my ordination paperwork with the Baptist General Conference, do some preparation for our next sermon series (to be announced later!), and remodel our basement. In addition, I simply plan to just catch up on my reading and fishing! We also hope to do some family traveling and just hanging out. Even though I long for this sabbatical, I can honestly say I am not “burnt out” but I guess you should take one of these before that happens, huh?

Amazed that God so loved the world (including me!),

Steve

A New Year, The Word of God and Life

It is that time of year again, when people make all kinds of resolutions to eat healthier, be nicer, save money, are better parents, lose weight, or finally win a Super Bowl (for all you Vikings fans out there).

I’ve never been one for promises like that. They seem to just fade away once my interest changes, or I may miss a day of exercise and just figure, “Might as well quit...didn’t reach my goal of exercising everyday, so I might as well not exercise at all!”

I know that sounds silly, but we all do that. How does real change happen, then? Is it through being disciplined and regimented in how we treat ourselves? That is part of the solution, but not all of it. Without transformation in our MINDS, our change of behavior is just that, a change of BEHAVIOR. I crave TRANSFORMATION!!

Jesus never called us to be nice, or thin, or healthy in and of itself. He calls us to be godly, to seek first his kingdom, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and THEN these things will change.
How do you get that kind of transformation? Through God’s word!

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring for ever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
(Psalms 19:7-10, NIV)

This year, join me in reading the Bible through in a year. You can get a Free Discipleship Journal Reading Log to help you do it along with me. BUT, even if you don’t “make” it all the way through (I seldom do make it through in a year!), that isn’t the point...being transformed by Jesus is!!

Tsunamis and the Sovereignty of God

As I write this, the count is now over 114,000 people who lost their lives due to the recent tsunami that hit the coasts of India, Indonsia, Thailand and other Indian Ocean countries. The relatively small region of Indonesia called Sumatra, which only has about 40 million people, lost 28,000 people on that fateful Sunday from the flooding due to the 9.0 earthquake in the area. Estimates today say that about 5 million people are without the basic needs they have for shelter, food and water. This is a disaster of biblical proportions.

My heart breaks for these people, many of whom were on a vacation of a lifetime. In minutes, the playful beach play turned into a frolic for their lives, and many were not able to overcome the stong waves and currents of the tsunami. At times like this, I have two almost polar opposite, simultaneous thoughts that give me peace.

First, I wonder what God is up to in this whole process. The God of the Bible is in absolute control of all things, and although he has no darkness in him whatsoever, he often uses tragedy for his purposes. I fully admit that as much as I would like to know God's reasoning, I am not able to look into his purposes so that I fully understand. But I KNOW that he does all things for ultimate good and for his pleasure.

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
(Psalms 115:3, NIV).

I am forced to think this way because we believe in a God who is absolutely sovererign over all things. And, although I do not understand, I completely trust that he is good, and he is in control of this and all things, even evil events. He allows things for his good reasons.

Second, I plead with God to rescue people from this tragedy. I ask him to send all kinds of aid, to allow miracles to happen to find survivors, for disease and looting to be non-existent, for many, many people to meet Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord through this. Why do I pray to God that way? Again, I pray because he is completely sovereign...otherwise, prayer would make no sense. Why pray to him if he really isn’t able to answer?

But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
(Psalms 109:21, 22)

On Friday, December 31st, my three boys and I decided to do something to help out in a practical way...we got online and donated some money to World Vision. I couldn't be prouder of my three boys as they each decided to donate some of their money to those in need.

Let me encourage you to prayerfully consider helping out at this time. There are many organizations that can help out the victims of this disaster. Three that we have been recommending to our church are:

World Vision - www.worldvision.org
Christian Children's Fund - www.christiandchildrensfund.org
Habitat for Humanity - www.habitat.org

Father,
By your incredible great power, show yourself to so many people in that region. Allow them to see you as you are, the powerful, mighty, in-control God that you are...as well as the one who weeps with those who weep in times like these. Be with the survivors. Show yourself to them. Use these events to draw men, women and children to yourself. Allow great work of believers to show the love of Christ to those in need. Work as only you know how to work!
Amen

This is a piece of heart...

My friend, Tom, has a very rare heart condition which causes him to have serious palpitations, and go through very dizzy spells and fainting. As a result of this, the good folks at Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN are taking a close look at hime. They are a bit confused as to what the actual cause is, but they are going to do surgery anyway to try to correct it. (I guess that makes sense...not to me, but I don't even play a doctor on TV, so who am I?) Tom's attitude in all of this is fantastic!! He is such a lover and truster in Jesus, it blows me away!

Below is his GREAT email about what is going on. For those of you who are not into analogies, here's your chance:

WARNING: What follows is one long, but really cool analogy!

There, you have been warned... Enjoy!

To All,

Short Take: The heart surgery has been moved up to a week from this Thursday, December 11th.

Long Take ...into Eternity:

Mayo did more tests last week. God did also.

Mayo is confident the problem is one of a flawed heart. God is even more confident of this.

Mayo says it is a condition I was born with. God concurs - says it has been passed on from generation to generation - since man's original heart problem.

Mayo says the problem is one of a "short-circuit", where the heart is getting input from a source it should not be getting input from, causing it to function in a way it was not designed to function. God concurs - says, since the heart was designed for one purpose - to "love the Lord your God with ALL your heart", any other love source short-circuits Him and creates all kinds of problems.

While Mayo is sure the problem is a short-circuit, they are not sure where this errant circuit is actually located. Thus, before they do any zapping of circuits, they will first seek to find and identify the errant circuit. It may be on the surface and very obvious or it may be hidden in the deepest recesses of the heart. God knows where it is. He wrote a book which, among other things, contains practical ways to help us find and identify our errant heart circuits. It's a must read. It's a must follow.

When Mayo identifies the errant circuit, they will then zap it. They zap it in such a way as to render it inoperable. It dies. And the heart is free. The key is to make sure it is rendered completely inoperable. A partially operating short-circuit of the heart can be as much of a risk as a fully operating one. Such it is with one's spiritual heart. It longs to be free of any and all short-circuiting loves. It was created to love its Creator and to love it only. To love God brings to the heart its greatest joy. It is its greatest purpose, its greatest fulfillment. It is where the heart is most satisfied. It is where God is most glorified.

The heart is a wondrously created thing. It was created by a wondrous God and He gave one to each.

Such is, and such I desire in, my heart.

Tom

Did the account of the Nativity really happen?

Merry Christmas to all of you out in blog-o-sphere!!!

This morning was a great time for all of us at the Treichler home, with special party in the honor of our Savior's birth!!

As I was reading the Question of Faith section in the Minneapolis Star Tribune this afternoon, I was very blessed by Rev. Peter Boehlke, Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, St. Paul answer to the question, "Did the account of the Nativity really happen?" Listen to his great answer!

Oh, yes, absolutely. What else is there to believe? Low-carb diets? My government's reasons for going to war? Barry Bond's pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record? The poet W.H. Auden writes of Christmas: "Follow him through the land of unlikeness; you will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures." Here's my tradition's unique adventure: At the fulcrum of history, in a land at the crossroads of the armies, during a time when the Empire was enrolling everyone for homeland security, the Love that fires the universe sneaks into the world in the womb of a young Jewish girl, and the divine and human become one. This good news is announced to the lowest and poorest. Whatever you believe, don't sit around for years on end reading the newspaper, scratching your head trying to befriend the facts. Get yourself to the grandest cathedral or a pathetic little church; a homeless shelter or prison will do. Sing the songs of the season, watch children in bathrobes as wise men, feed the hungry, proclaim release to the captives, light a candle and hold it up in the darkness, confessing a Word that is as beautiful as it is true.

Enjoy Jesus today, and sing along with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests!"

Steve

Perhaps it means a little more...

So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.
But when the time had fully come,
God sent his Son,
born of a woman,
born under law,
to redeem those under law,
that we might receive the full rights of sons.
~ the apostle Paul in Galatians 4:3-5

Last week I quoted from one of my favorite philosophers, Linus Van Pelt, about the meaning of Christmas. This week, as a Christmas present, I would like to quote from someone who had much more of an impact on my philosophical upbringing, and even at a much earlier age than Linus’ impact. Theodor Geisel was an Oxford Ph. D. candidate when he realized his calling was more in the shaping of young minds through writing and rhyme. Fortunately, the world would eventually see his value, and recognize the true gift he had. Better known as Dr. Seuss (his middle name), he was the author of my very favorite Christmas cartoon or movie, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” The best part is the very ending:

Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mount Crumpit,
He rode to the tiptop to dump it!
"Pooh-pooh to the Whos!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
"The all the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO!"

"That's a noise," grinned the Grinch,
"That I simply must hear!"
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

He stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
[quoted from “How the Grinch stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss”]

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas that means a WHOLE LOT more than what comes from the store,

Steve

Christmas...according to Charlie Brown

It’s Christmas time once again. And one very important tradition with me is watching the 2nd greatest Christmas cartoon ever made, A Charlie Brown Christmas (of course, #1 is the Grinch - hands down!). I have to be a meeting tonight, but IT WILL BE RECORDED - and no, last years recording WILL NOTE DO!! It must be fresh!

Christmas really is a time to enjoy and party with what God has given to us. Jesus Christ came for you and for me. Christmas is the time when we wrap our hands, heads and hearts around the amazing gift of Christ to us.
In the midst of all the trappings that accompany this time of year, it is very easy to miss the real reason of all the celebration. Let me quote one of my favorite philosophers, Linus Van Pelt. In this Christmas special, Charlie Brown finds himself depressed at Christmas time, searching for the true meaning of the holiday amidst the glitz and commercialism of the modern age. He finds his answer in Linus’ famous soliloquy (quoting Luke 2 - KJV):

"And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid ... And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord."
"And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."
"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

That IS what Christmas is all about. Hold on tight to Him these days! Don't let anything rob you of your joy.

"Santa denies the laws of physics, Captain!"

SANTA CLAUS: An Engineer's Perspective (taken from somewhere out in cyberspace - "SO IT MUST BE TRUE!)

     I. There are approximately two billion children (persons under 18) in the world. However, since Santa does not visit children of Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or Buddhist religions, this reduces the workload for Christmas night to 15% of the total, or 378 million (according to the Population Reference Bureau). At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per house hold, that comes to 108 million homes, presuming that there is at least one good child in each.

     II. Santa has about 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 967.7 visits per second.

     This is to say that for each Christian household with a good child, Santa has around 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh, hop out, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left for him, get back up the chimney, jump into the sleigh and get on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 108 million stops is evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but will accept for the purposes of our calculations), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household; a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops or breaks. This means Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second --- 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second, and a conventional reindeer can run (at best) 15 miles per hour.

     III. The payload of the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (two pounds), the sleigh is carrying over 500 thousand tons, not counting Santa himself. On land, a conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that the "flying" reindeer could pull ten times the normal amount, the job can't be done with eight or even nine of them --- Santa would need 360,000 of them. This increases the payload, not counting the weight of the sleigh, another 54,000 tons, or roughly seven times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth (the ship, not the monarch).

     IV. 600,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second crates enormous air resistance --- this would heat up the reindeer in the same fashion as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short, they would burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team would be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second, or right about the time Santa reached the fifth house on his trip. Not that it matters, however, since Santa, as a result of accelerating from a dead stop 650 m.p.s. in .001 seconds, would be subjected to centrifugal forces of 17,500 g's. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force, instantly crushing his bones and organs and reducing him to a quivering blob of pink goo.

     V. Therefore, if Santa did exist, he's dead now.

God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life...

I've just got done reading a fabulous article in the latest Christianity Today magazine about how God uses and even ordains suffering in order to make us into the image of Jesus.

In it, the author, Mark Galli, writes:

Good news seems to be written all over this beginning. According to Mark's account, the first remarkable event in Jesus' life is awash with affirmation. "You are my Son, the Beloved," says the heavenly voice. "With you I am well pleased" (1:11).

This voice literally "ripped open" the heavens to say this, as if he could hardly wait to visit a blessing on his Son. And then something heavenly settled on that tender frame. It looked like a dove—maybe like the dove that let Noah know that the drowned planet was getting a fresh start. Whatever it looked like, it was like the Spirit who hovered over the original creation, like something new, fresh, and vibrant was about to begin.

On top of that, Mark says that the words spoken to Jesus were very personal, very intimate. The Father speaks directly, perhaps affectionately to his Son: "You are my beloved."

Beloved!

"With you I am well pleased."

Well pleased.

Again we hear echoes of the voice that looked over the splendor of the new creation and, on the bright dawn of the seventh day, pronounced, "It is very good."

Mark seems to be saying that Jesus is the beloved, upon whom heaven is showering blessing upon blessing, before whom the future spreads out in unimaginable possibility...

Most Bible versions put a visual break—an extra space or new heading—after Jesus' baptism. As a result, we don't usually connect the baptism with what comes next. But there is no break in the ancient manuscripts. Immediately after the glorious baptism comes this:

"And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness."

This is the same Spirit who just a moment earlier is the visible image of the Father's love, sent by the Father to show Jesus he is beloved, pleasing, a splendor to behold, symbolizing the pristine beginning of something wonderfully new.

Now this Spirit drives the beloved Son into the desert. Literally, in the Greek, Jesus was "cast out" from the warmth of home and friends, from comforts of town and village. He was denied even moral and spiritual support—the Torah, the synagogue, the wisdom of the town elders, even, it seems, the comfort of the heavenly Father's presence. He is driven into wilderness, deserted by love, to face a hostile adversary alone.

And not just any adversary, but the most powerful and sinister of enemies. Mark's version of Jesus' temptation doesn't tell us much about the strategy of this Evil One, at least as directly as do those of Matthew and Luke. For Mark it is enough to describe his fearsome incarnation: If the Spirit comes to Jesus in the form of a dove, Satanic temptation comes to him in the form of wild beasts.

And yet, Jesus was well loved. And so are we! God NEVER wastes pain. God absolutely knows what he is doing as my father-in-law breathed his last, as my dog faced death, as the tormented 18 year old boy in Middlebrook Hall jumped to his death the day before Thanksgiving...HE HAS TO KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING! My only hope in times like these is that our God is in complete control and is taking us through these things to make us more like Jesus in the power of His resurrection.

Our only recourse in times like this is to fully trust him like a little child. I do not understand. I do not feel good about it. My flesh cries out, "WHY!" But my heart KNOWS that God is all powerful, God is all-good, and that HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. He is worthy of our trust in the midst of serious trial.

Challenged to know Christ, and the the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings (Philippians 3:10),

Steve

Goodbye, Old Friend...

Ripley, faithful friend

Ripley, our dog of the last four years, has been a faithful friend, an extra 'brother' to the boys, and the only one in recent months who would run to the door to greet me when I came home. He and I had a little dance we would do everytime I came home. I would say, "Give me some lovin', Rips." and he would jump up and scratch my tummy with his paws. It was great to genuinely be wanted and loved when you walked in the door after a day of work. My three boys, long past the "DADDY'S HOME!!!!" stage of life, have now moved to the "hey, dad" phase. Ripley was the last holdout, and he was my buddy.

Unfortunately, a malformity in his stomach caused him to not be able to keep anything down the last month or so, and through a long and complicated series of events, he ended up going through a surgery to try to correct it this last Friday, November 19th. It was uncorrectable, and we had to put him down.

So, here's to you, my tummy-scratching, sock-chewing, squirrel-chasing friend. We love you, Rips!



The fact that he bit off the end of my arm here, had
nothing to do with his demise...

Totally, like...whatever

We're here in Seattle and having a great time at the Reformission Conference at Mars Hill Church of Seattle. Hung out at the wharf all day with Tim and Dev, and heard Chris Seay from Ecclesia in Houston, TX this evening as the conference got underway. It was great! His main point was to highlight how very important it is to be wise in the Scriptures as we are attempting to reach into the mess of this world.

One of his side points was that this world LONGS for people to stand up and say they believe in something, to preach something that lasts, that people can hang onto in the tsunami of life. He quoted a new poem by Taylor Mali, a modern poet who has performed on poetry slams. I put it below for your perusal:

Totally like whatever, you know?
By Taylor Mali

In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?

Declarative sentences - so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like . . .
whatever!

And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we've become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.