Preacher Search

Well, I guess we have now launched into a full fledged search of a new preaching minister here at Eastside. We're probably not looking for this guy!

We had been in a conversation with a talented young guy here in the Bay area, but that didn't work out for him to come here.

About two weeks ago we posted the job description on both the ACU and Pepperdine web sites. To date we have received 17 resumes; one removed himself the next day, so we have 16. That's a lot of resumes to prayerfully consider.

We selected a team of folks, sort of a cross section of the church, to do the initial screening. We're hoping to bring 5 names to the elders in a week or two. It will definitely be interesting to see how the Spirit works through this team. Please pray that God be glorified through the process. Thanks!

ZOE Weekend

ZOE West Coast happened this weekend at the College Church in Fresno. Friday was Virginia's day off, so we got up early, left the house a little after 5:00 and arrived in Fresno about 8:20. As usual, it was a really good weekend. The Leadership Conference on Friday included some amazing speakers and small group discussions, and the Worship Conference Friday evening and Saturday was wonderful. The worship was rich; the class tracks were varied and right on target as people talked about them. You can check them out at the link above if you are so moved. :-)

Of course, the best part of any such event is always the people, and that was true this weekend as well. Jeremy and Amber drove up, arriving around 10:00 Friday night. We all stayed at Steve and Gail's place, which is now out in the country. And, there were so many others we got to see, talk to and hug, some of whom we see only at these kinds of events. Like I said... the best part of the weekend.

We decided to leave following the afternoon class tracks, skipping the closing Saturday evening worship session. I hated not staying around for it for several reasons, but it was good to get back and get to bed at a decent hour Saturday night... helped things to go better today.

Today was the last Sunday for one of our families at church. Brian and Karen and their kids have been driving all the way from Fairview (American Canyon at first) to Antioch to be part of our church family for about a year and a half. With the kids getting more involved in school and other activities at home, it just became more and more difficult for them to feel connected here. Anyway, today was their last day with us, and they'll be looking for a church closer to home. We'll miss them, but I know we'll have chances to see them again.

I pray God blesses each of you with a week full of opportunities to "be Jesus" to those around you.

Hmmmm....

Got a call this afternoon from Jill, a friend from Houston, with a song lyric question. I didn't know the answer, but we figured it out. Anyway, she was in Oklahoma City attending the funeral of Adam Langford, a former classmate of hers at OC several years back. He was part of a mission team in Jinja, Uganda and was killed in a truck rollover accident. A local church leader, Moses Kimezi, was also killed in the wreck. You can read all the details of the accident and learn a little about the God-honoring work of this mission team here. Pray for the families and the mission team.

We're introducing a new song Sunday, "Hear Is My Heart." It's Jeremy's arrangement from the second True Lift contemporary CD, My Everything. It's a very moving confessional song with an almost lilting waltz feel and expresses a confidence that God desires to forgive and heal us if only we will open our hearts to him. You can listen to a sample here. I think the church will really like it.

There was a really good spirit at praise team rehearsal tonight. Nearly every Wednesday night is a good experience, but there was a buoyancy tonight that was pretty special. Some of it was probably because we a few more than most weeks, but that wasn't all of it. Not sure what was different, but it almost seemed that the Spirit shaped what is usually a good experience into perhaps a God experience.

Take a Chance on God

Some of you may have seen these pics already, but they are fascinating to me. Today in worship I shared them with our church family as we talked about our 2007 budget. There are so many ways in this life that people take risks. Some of them are physical risks like this guy. I gotta say that I'd have been more than happy shooting the sunset from the main rock instead of jumping across a 900 foot fall for a slightly improved angle.

But we live in a culture where people also take financial risks, relationship risks, career risks, all kinds of risks. We do that because we trust something or someone enough to take the risk. Often times what we trust is our own abilities or judgement. Lots of people trust luck. Others look at trends or tea leaves. Few truly trust God.

Yet as Christians, especially when it comes to deciding how we will commit to our giving, it seems to me that trusting God is the main issue. Can our giving truly be faithful if our criteria do decide how much we give consists only of income and percentages. At some point we have to be willing to take a chance on God.

I'll close with some of David's prayer form 2 Chronicles 29 after the people gave with such overwhelming generosity toward the construction of the temple.

...who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!

Take a chance on God!

Saturday

I was up early enough to get to my elder/staff breakfast meeting at Denny's by 7:30, so that was good. This is our second round of Saturday breakfast meetings that grew out of our fall leader retreat with Richard Fancher. The first round in the late fall lasted 6 weeks and we met at 6:00 a.m. That proved to be a little early for at least some of us if we were to continue to meet, so this time we chose 7:30 and decided to meet for 4 weeks this time. We don't discuss business, but just share about life and about how the particular text we've been "living with" for the week has impacted us. This Saturday and last were a bit different in that we spent our time just sharing our hearts about our preaching minister search. More than anything I've been impressed with how God has used our individual voices to speak to us and shape us toward speaking with one voice. It's really pretty amazing. Please pray for us as we try to discern His will in this.

Our early meeting meant that Randy and I met at 9:30 instead of 8:00 to run in the hills. It had warmed up enough by then that it was almost spring-like as we ran. And there were a lot more people out hiking... many with their dogs. It's really neat how courteous most dog owners are out on those trails. We usually see a few hikers and mountain bikers, but there were lots of people... even in groups... out this morning. Good for them!!

Tomorrow is "budget Sunday"... that one day a year when we talk about finances related to the regular budget. In spite of the fact we don't do pledge cards here (which I really don't get, but that's another blog), our church family has significantly increased their giving in the last year. Tomorrow we will ask them to do that again in 2007. We're not quite where we need to be as we bring a new preacher on board in the near future, but I truly believe our folks will rise to the occasion once more.

Have a great Sunday! Blessings...

King and Language

Today the news has been full of people celebrating the memory of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In this time of violence and intolerance his message of peace and acceptance rings perhaps more true than ever before.

Another man who is no longer with us but for whom I had a great deal of respect was Virginia's grandfather, Wilbur Dillman. I won't go into all the reasons I respected him while he was still with us, but I do want to mention his love for language. He was a master of using language and the development of words to make points and just to have fun with his grand kids (and their spouses), and I believe he'd have enjoyed the following list that a friend sent me. Hope you enjoy it as well!!

The Washington Post once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered to form a real word. Some are terrifically innovative:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

4. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

5. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

6. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

7. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

8. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

9 Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

10 Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

11. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

12. Glibido: All talk and no action.

13. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

14. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

15. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

16. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

I found some others on-line (some of which were a bit too off-color for this blog). Here's one by a guy named Jeff Hest: Meanderthals—A group of people meandering obliviously in your path who are impossible to get by without walking in the street.

Any funny ones come to your mind?

Old Friends

I think we all have people who have been part of our lives for a long time. When we're very young those long-time relationships tend to be family and neighbors. As the years go by other precious relationships are added to the collection, creating a fragrant bouquet that will often surprise us with joy when we don't even expect it.

Virginia and I had that sort of experience this weekend. As I mentioned on Wednesday, one of her long-time friends, Karen Kukta, flew up for the weekend, and it was special for VJ... and me too. Thanks, Karen, for coming.

It got me to thinking about all the people who make up my bouquet. Some have been in bloom in my life for a long time and relationships with others have blossomed rather recently. It doesn't really matter how long I've known them, each one has shaped a little of who I am today... each one is part of me. And, when I hear from or get to spend time with someone who has been part of the bouquet for a long time... well, you know what I mean.

One example. My mom taught school in Roosevelt, Oklahoma before we moved to California in 1956. Over the years she has been able to connect with several of her former students at reunions or occasionally via letters. When she started doing email a few years back she was able to connect with many of her students electronically, and her bouquet bloomed anew.

OK... I've probably carried this flower imagery too far, but at least you get the point. Enjoy the fragrance of your relationship bouquet.

Man and Mountain

Doug picked me up at 6:00 this morning and we headed east... across the delta... north on I-5 to Sacramento... east on I-80 to Boreal Ridge just this side of Truckee.

The picture to the right isn't me (in case you were wondering), but it looks really cool, eh?! Not sure how much I learned about skiing, but I did learn some lingo, as in, "Like, wow, he's really catching some edge!" (Or something like that)

It seems that successful skiing is all about learning to use the edges of the skis. I did that sort of OK part of the time, but I'm pretty sure I'll need a few more trips if I actually want to say I know how to ski.

I'm not sure how cold it was when we pulled into the Boreal parking lot this morning, but it had warmed up considerably to reach 10 degrees by the time we left around 1:30... and I don't even want to think about the wind chill with the 20+mph winds. Riding the lift was... exhilarating?!? I think I might have learned even more, but I had a hard time understanding the instructor with his teeth chattering.

Actually it wasn't that bad as long as I kept moving, and the effort to get back up after falling down helped generate quite a bit of body heat. As a result, I tried to fall fairly frequently just to stay warm.

Doug skied while I was in ski school, and then he hung out on the green slope with me. I actually learned more from him than the instructor, and I was really proud of him... don't think he laughed at me even once.

Think it's supposed to be colder in the morning, so I'm pretty glad we were there today. I want to try it again, but I hope next time the weather is a bit more balmy... say around 25 or so. :)

Keeping Pace

Today Ruth, Kyle and I were working on the church calendar that's posted in the office hallway. It's one of those big blotter-type calendars with one month per sheet. We have all twelve months plastered all over the walls so anyone can easily see what's going on any time of the year... assuming we have stuff posted. Sooo... we spent some time posting events and other uses of the building as well as things like the Pepperdine Bible Lectures which occur other places. We posted youth activities and community outreach events and blood drives and weddings and... At some point one of us said something like, "Boy, the year sure is going by fast!" Ever felt that way? Who hasn't, right?!

I got to thinking about why the pace of life continues to increase. I read somewhere that there is a mathematical reason why life seems to go faster as we get older... something about % of life events relative to the number of years or something like that. I see only thing wrong with that theory. You see, life doesn't just seem to go faster as we get older, it actually does go faster. Anyone over 50 knows that, right!?

Of course there is also the busy-ness coefficient to consider. Here's what I mean. Tomorrow night Doug and I will attend the Pepperdine Lectures preview dinner at Tri-Valley in Livermore, and we're filling in at tenor on the praise team. Then Doug is picking me up at 6:00 Friday morning, and we head to the Sierras where I'll have my first ski lesson in 15 degree weather and spend the day honing my hopefully new-found skills. Virginia's college roommate, Karen Kukta, is coming up from San Diego for a visit this weekend, so two lovely ladies will greet me when I stagger through the door. 7:30 Saturday morning we renew our elder/minister breakfasts at Denny's, and I think Randy and I will hit the hills for a run around 9:30. I'll have some things to wrap up at the building in the afternoon and Sunday will dawn with its usual agenda.

OK, so my guess is that the next few days will go by really fast... or will they just seem to go by really fast?

Mixed Feelings

Tuesday nights are often set aside for our elder/staff meetings, and tonight was one of those. We spent some time in prayer, talked through some agenda items, and finally it was time for our primary reason for meeting. We called the young minister with whom we'd been in conversation about possibility coming here as our preaching minister. He and his wife, after lots of prayer and soul-searching, decided to remain in their current ministry role instead of coming to work with us here at Eastside.

I titled this Mixed Feelings because that's exactly how I feel. In my heart I was excited about the possibility of them coming and joining our team. I believed they both brought gifts that would bless our church and community. Yet I also know how much they agonized in prayer ove their decision, and I'm confident God will honor their (and our) prayers as he works His will.

I truly do not know what is around the corner for us here, but I am confident that God holds that corner and our future in His loving hands. Isn't life in the Kingdom exciting?!?

Please remember to pray for us at Eastside as we seek his will. Thanks!!

Spice of Life

For much of my life I've heard that variety is the spice of life. I've never known for sure if that meant that variety is a really good thing or if that was just the appropriate rationalization when thing didn't work out like you'd hoped. Still don't. I like variety in some things... but in other areas I much prefer consistency.

Sooo... why am I writing about this? Well, I watched most of the BCS championship game tonight, and the results certainly weren't what I expected... me and most of the rest of the country. I have no emotional attachment to either team, so who won the game made little difference to me. However, the way Florida dominated Ohio State was such a huge surprise that I wondered how the old saying above might apply.

Here's what I'm thinking. Ohio State truly experienced variety tonight in that they had dominated everyone all year, yet they were crushed tonight. I doubt the players would agree that this particular variation is very spicy... at least not in the good sense.

And Florida... they played really good ball all year as well and were just as good or better tonight, so I'm thinking they are currently big fans of consistency over variety as well.

I just don't know... variety may indeed be the spice of life, but my guess is some folks prefer things bland.

Saturday

Today has been pretty uneventful for me. 8:00 brought a chilly and hilly run with Randy. We didn't go as far as we sometimes do, but it was far enough for me. We did run up a long, steep and winding trail that I've run only once before. And I guess using "run" here is a bit metaphorical since I walked probably 35 or 30% of it. Part of it is so steep that I think I go as fast walking as running... and it's not nearly as tough. All in all... good way to start a day.

I've been doing a little house cleaning today and catching some of the NFL playoff games. Also doing a little work, including tweaking my sermon for tomorrow.

Virginia met one of the teen girls from church at the building this morning. Some of the girls designed a mural for the middle school classroom, so Virginia met her up there so they could project it on the wall and get it sketched out. I guess the girls will paint it over the next couple of weeks.

The other thing Virginia's been working on is a big project for the class she took in late November. I think it's due on Monday, so she's been hitting it pretty hard the last couple of days. She's already done a couple of projects for this class, but this one is the most involved. She has several hundred pages of suspect inerviews from an actual case (no names of course), and she has to be the detective and figure out what's going on by reading all the interviews. One of the things she mentioned she's learning is that you can seldom trust the people you're interviewing (suspect or not) to tell the truth straight up. Instead, she has to sort of piece the "truth" together by looking for consistencies in various statements. Gives you a little insight into how difficult a job the police sometimes have, eh?

Well, we're thawing some salmon for supper, so later I'll fire up the grill. In the mean time, I'd better get back to some house cleaning.

Upgrade

Well, I finally gave in and upgraded my blog to the new format they've been pushing. After it's all said and done, I can't tell too much difference... although I guess it is a little easier to work with and make changes than before. And, I now have a Google account as well. Lucky me!!

I'm preaching again Sunday, and tomorrow is crunch day for prep. I know where I'm going, just need to work on the details and practice a bit. First Sunday in 2007... looking forward to it.

Fridays are always funny days. They seldom end up being what I expect them to be when they begin. Occasionally that means an unexpected counseling visit or Bible study. Other times it means working on technical or electronic issues. Sometimes it's just lots of end of the week stuff to catch up on. Anyway, tomorrow is Friday so I'll do my best to expect the unexpected.

Hope yours goes well!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone in blogworld!! I pray that 2007 will be full of blessings and opportunities to serve God and your fellow man.

Jeremy and Amber made it home safely and enjoyed a fun New Years Eve. You can check them out here.

Jen, Fok and Kaleb have a "red eye" tonight to Boston. We've sure enjoyed their visit.

Tomorrow we all go back to the routines of life... earlier rising and work and school. Ah... God and life are good. Blessings!!