Thank You

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has sent notes of encouragement regarding Rhonda's accident.

I shared the details on my Facebook and Rhonda and I were overwhelmed by the responses that generated.

Wow! Thank you for your prayers.

For those of you who haven't heard, Rhonda was in a car accident last Thursday night. She's o.k. (a little bruising and minor cuts), but our van was totalled. She was on a country road here in Kentucky when she and a woman hit head on. Thankfully, they both were going less than 35 mph, so they both survived. The other woman walked away, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Please pray for her.

The kids were not with Rhonda, for which we also praise God.

I was preparing to preach at East Coast Encounter in North Carolina when she called me. Needless to say, that was one of the hardest messages I've ever delivered. I was a bit distracted, but--praise God--it was one of the best messages of the week with about 10 students deciding to give their lives to Christ!

Thanks again for your prayers.

Randy Pausch Inspires Graduates

On plane ride from North Carolina to Kentucky on Saturday I read Randy Pausch's best selling book, The Last Lecture. The book was a delightful mixture of practical wisdom, inspiring stories, and the pure love of a husband and father for his wife and kids.

At times it made me laugh; at other times I cried. I was afraid the flight attendants were going to tie me to my seat for my own safety and the safety of others. :)

Safe to say, I highly recommend the book.

This morning I stumbled across a short speech Randy Pausch delivered to graduates of Carnegie Mellon on May 18.

In it he says something that resonated with me. In my first book, Running On Empty: Life Lessons to Refuel Your Faith I proposed (based on John 10:10) that Jesus didn't come into this world so that our lives would be busy, but full--and in my book I detail what it means to have a truly "full" life. In this speech Randy talks about "beating the Reaper." (btw--Randy is a believer.)

In response to someone who commented that Randy was really "beating the Reaper" Randy said, "We don't beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well and living fully."

Now, that will preach.

Here's the rest of his speech:

Randy Pausch Died Today

I first heard about Randy Pausch back in October when I heard Randy's Last Lecture and blogged on it. I liked him immediately.

He was a dreamer and a doer. I respect that. I respected him.

He died today.

Here's an Article on Randy Pausch's Death and Life.

Road Nonsense

My family and I spent last Friday and Saturday in our van driving from Greeley, Colorado to Lexington, Kentucky for a couple of speaking engagements.

On day 2, after our 17th hour in the car, we found ourselves a little loopy, bored . . . and hungry, so we made up a game. The game required answering this question: Which food would be the hardest to eat in a car on a trip?

(I know this is a complete waste of blog space, but bear with me :))

Here's a list of what my family and I came up with (in no particular order):
-Spaghetti with meatballs
-Chinese Food eaten with chopsticks
-Corn on the Cob
-Spare Ribs
-French Onion Soup
-Fondue
-Alaskan King Crab legs
And my favorite answer (good work Rhonda): Chocolate from A Chocolate Fountain.

I know this has no spiritual value at all, but . . . if you'd like to play our game, just leave your suggestion in a comment and I'll post it. Next Wednesday my family and I will vote on your suggestions and pick a winner. I'll send a signed copy of my latest book to the person we think submitted the best worst food to eat in a car on a trip.

Explaining the Rules

I was reading Paul Williams' article, Could Someone Please Explain the Rules? in this week's edition of The Christian Standard in which he asks the question: Is there a proper protocol for hiring a staff member from another church?

As the new preacher at a growing church I'm very interested in the answer to this question. We're already starting the process of hiring more staff, but--with a Kingdom vision--I want us to do it in a way that is God-honoring.

Paul wrote:

There would appear to be no clear rules of engagement when hiring staff. However, if we could reach some kind of accord, it would certainly smooth many a ruffled feather.

So, what's the answer to Paul's question? What are the rules we should follow when hiring staff from another church?

I'd love to hear what you all think.

Andrew Peterson and the Biscuit of Zazzamarandabo

My friend Andrew Peterson has been working with the Veggie Tales people for the past couple of years.

He wrote the silly song, "The Monkey Song" for their latest movie, The Wizard of Has.

He just sent me a link to the song he and Randall Goodgame wrote for the newest Big Idea release which is available today.

It's really good.

Here you go:



You'll also want to check out the behind the scenes video:



And--if you like this style of music--your kids would love Andrew and Randall's kids' album: Slugs and Bugs.

Article in the Greeley Tribune

I was interviewed this week for our local paper, the Greeley Tribune. I was really surprised when they contacted me about doing an article introducing me to the community.

I was eager to get a chance to talk about Journey Christian Church and the heart we have for this community.

They just posted the interview online: Journey Church Welcomes New Pastor. Even though a couple of the "quotes" are a little different than what I actually said, I'm pleased with how the article turned out.

Connection and The Restoration Movement

If you're a regular visitor to my blog I apologize for my sporadic posting over the past month. I'm just now coming out of the chaos called "Ministry Transition."

As you can see I have some catching up to do. . .

I've really enjoyed reading this week's edition of the Christian Standard. There are two things I want to direct you to.

First, on the right side of page 7 there's an advertisement for a company called, Clergy Financial.

Honestly, two weeks ago I wouldn't have even noticed the ad, but that was before I was one of their clients. My friend Paul Williams and I had lunch a couple of weeks ago and he told me about Clergy Financial and what they do for churches, ministers, and their staffs. His excitement alone was enough for me to make an appointment with them. I did and I was blown away with their professionalism and their commitment to help "clergy" with taxes, financial planning, retirement, and insurance.

Now, I'm not into doing commercials on my blog, but I'm convinced that too many of my ministry friends are ignorant of the benefits that are out there for us (I know I was) so I feel compelled--after visiting with Clergy Financial's staff--to plug this ministry. btw--They've been working with Rick Warren and doing his taxes for the past 20 years.

Here's a blurb from their website:

In the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, Clergy Financial has specialized in Tax Preparation and Tax advantaged planning for ministers, rabbis and religious workers since 1980. During that time we have earned the trust and national reputation as one of the foremost authorities on every aspect of Clergy Tax Issues, especially, Advanced Clergy Housing Allowance Strategies.
Our professional team has a collective experience base of over 150 years in Tax Preparation and Planning. This means that we are able to provide the most comprehensive service for clergy that combines tax preparation with strategies to optimize your unique tax opportunities.

If you are in paid vocational minister I'd highly recommend you check out Clergy Financial.

Second, I want to direct your attention to the survey results on page 17 of the magazine and here on the Christian Standard website.

The question was asked: How important to you is each of the following means of staying connected with Christian Churches/Churches of Christ?

I was especially interested to find that--under the "Useless" column--blogs written by local church ministers was #1.

Ouch!

The results are really interesting, so I hope you'll check them out: Survey Results.

Poor Great Indian Hornbill

I was at the zoo in Houston last month when I encountered a pitiful sight.

Honestly, I don't really like birds and I only encountered the Great Indian Hornbill because his cage was on the way to the tigers, but his living conditions made me really sad.

Not because he was in a bad cage, or a small cage, or even a cage at all. Actually, his cage was pretty nice. I was saddened because of what was written on his cage.

Here's what I read on the placard attached to his cage: "The whooshing sound of the Great Indian Hornbill's wings during flight can be heard from 1/2 mile away."

I had to take their word for it, because this great bird was sitting silently on a stick in a brown cage surrounded by bits and pieces of foliage.

No singing, no chirping, no flying, so there was definitely no "whooshing".

Isn't that sad? To have such a beautiful gift and it's not being enjoyed by others.

I don't know what kind of day you're having, but I want you to know that God created you to be a blessing in this world. You are "God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10) and he wants you to do extraordinary things today.

It's God's desire that the whooshing of your wings be heard from at least 1/2 mile away, so don't let Satan cage you, silence you, or ground you.

Fly.
Soar.
And whoosh like you were born to whoosh!

Appreciating Freedom

I sometimes take the freedom we have in the United States for granted.

I don't mean to, but it's just not something I think about very often.

Now, I know that the 4th of July was last week and that I'm a little late to the party, but I need to say something about freedom.

Freedom is so much a part of our lives here in the States that we don't seem to be impressed with it anymore . . . at least I don't.

I'm so grateful for the freedom we have, but--truth be told--I preach each week without the fear of being arrested, I share my faith with people without the fear of being turned in to the local authorities, and I pray with my family over our lunch at Ci Ci's pizza and never once think that our public display of faith might get us into trouble because I'm blessed to live in a free country.

Ever since Friday night I've been overwhelmed with the wonder of freedom, but not because Friday was Independence Day, but because of a prayer my son Sylas offered.

We spent the 4th of July in Rocky Mountain National park with some of our friends from Florida. It was an amazing day.

We hiked to Alberta Falls and ate lunch on a rock face at 9,000 feet overlooking a roaring waterfall that thrust countless gallons of whitewater over a cliff and into the gulping mouth of the lush green valley below.

We drove the scenic Trail Ridge Road that climbs to over 12,000 feet--stopping along the way to marvel at the view from such a lofty height.

We had a snowball fight in a patch of forest just off the side of the road.

What a great day.

The joy of the day was overwhelming, but as the daylight began to fade we made our way to Estes Park.

Just before dark we arrived at the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park and found a nice spot on the front lawn of the hotel to watch fireworks over the lake nestled in the valley just below our vantage point.

If you ever get the chance to see fireworks in the Rocky mountains you'll never forget it.

The dark night sky--so full of stars--was an amazing canvas on which the fireworks painted indescribable pictures of light and wonder.

The stillness of the mountains made it possible to hear the "oohs," "aahs," and joyous expressions from people all across the valley.

And I'll never forget the sound the firework explosions made as they rolled past us--bouncing off each mountain as they disappeared into the dark valley behind us.

It was an overwhelming experience for me, but it was also an overwhelming experience for my 5-yr-old son Sylas.

As soon as the show was over Sylas came to me and quietly asked, "Daddy, can we pray?"

"Of course," I said as I quickly dropped my folding chair and picked him up--placing our foreheads together.

"Dear God," Sylas prayed, "Help America to be thankful for this party. Amen."

Amen, Sylas.

Amen.

May it be.

May we always be grateful for our independence.

May we never take our freedom for granted.

And may we always work to make sure that everyone has the chance to experience the overwhelming freedom that can only be found in Christ.

Enjoying the Journey

Well, I'm into my third full week as the Lead Minister at Journey Christian Church and things are going really well.

So well--in fact--that I feel compelled to share with you some of the reasons I'm enjoying the journey.

(In no particular order)
1. Great Elders
2. Great Staff
3. Low Humidity
4. Finished Basement
5. Evan and Amy (our neighbors)
6. Dr. Eldredge (our chiropractor)
7. The Poudre Bike Trail (on which I wrecked this morning!)
8. Long's Peak
9. Peanut Butter Gelato at The Buzz
10. Loving People at Church
11. Pounding!
12. The Pool and Slides @ The Family Fun Plex
13. Estes Park
14. Red Robin
15. Robin (my new hair-cutter)
16. The Palomino Mexican Restaurant
17. Prairie Dogs
18. Front Porch
19. Cool nights
20. Rocky Mountain National Park
21. Alberta Falls
22. The Egg and I (restaurant across the street at which I've eaten about 22 times)
23. Biking with the kids
24. Walks around the block with my family
25. Wednesday Breakfast with Delmar
26. Contentment
27. Unbelievable Opportunity to Reach People For Christ
28. Did I mention Peanut Butter Gelato at The Buzz?