a time...a season... to slow down

Last week my amazing and wonderful wife, Naomi and I were able to head away to a little rough town called Whistler (sarcasm, yes) and spend some time with fellow church planters from across Canada. Now some of my fellow volleyball teammates were musing about what pastors do while partying it up in Whistler (I won't repeat their ideas), but will say that it is incredible to celebrate what God is doing across this country...and that really it was the most amazing party I could be part of as we prayed together, heard stories of God's faithfulness, laughed, slept and feasted together!

During the week we heard from a church planter, Jon Tyson, Trinity Grace Church, from Manhattan. John shared some deeply profound thoughts about the importance of receiving deeply from Jesus, in order to share with others. So often we head out into a needy world without sitting and recharging with the God of heaven and earth. I was so thankful to hear from God about his desire to speak loud and clear to me, day after day.

All week we heard story after story of people seeing God changing lives....where he called people who were without direction and they found a deep sense of belonging and hope in Jesus...others who were fearful of their future, found God to be a solid anchor in their life. It really is incredible to sit together and hear how God is moving across this country.

At the end of the as we closed for a time of prayer for the nation of Canada, God gave me this picture of the day when hockey arenas across Canada would be bursting with worshippers of Jesus. Where these arenas currently hold screaming fans of another religion/ idol, would now turn to worship the King of Kings. Can you picture that day in Canada where the spirit of God is bringing revival to this land? Can you picture a huge movement of God in redeeming his lost sons and daughters?

For I leave you with these words from Revelation 5:9 that says:
"And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."

the gods that Fail

September is flying by, but wow has this new series called, "Gods that fail," been a challenge to study, share and reflect on. The whole series is based on the verse "You Shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3). In the first week we covered the concept that, "We all worship something." We all have a choice to worship God (the creator) or a something (a created thing). Unfortunately we all find out the hard way that the created things fall horrible short of the one True and mighty God!

Last week we talked about money. Wow....to share the verse again that hit us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal."(Matthew 6:19) Now come on....this such a tough one Jesus...in our whole culture, we are so good at storing up things....and even more, determining our status from what we have (in our bank accounts, what we drive, what clothes we where).

But Jesus says 2 big things: First, "No one can serve 2 masters...no one can serve both God nad money."(Matthew 6:24) How true, if money is the only thing that we long for, our heart won't be set on worshipping God. Then Jesus says, "Therefore I tell you do not worry..."(Matthew 6:25) When we finally realize that we have to trust God more than we trust our money, then we will grow in our faith (and destroy these other cheap imitations of God).

The Bible is full of amazing and profound teachings that will help us grow!....this week...the god of romance & love! (a beautiful thing God has given us but something that will always enslave us if love becomes the ultimate thing!).
PW

fresh start for Fall

After yesterday's amazing Fall Kickoff service, it's exciting to see more and more people wanting to see how God can speak into their life in 2010. For all the people I meet, it's great to see how God calls people, over and over, he calls them to follow him.

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

The patience of God with me, in all the areas I mess up is incredible. I'm thankful that God is waiting for us to turn to him and love him. I want to continue to keep my heart in check that I love him more than anything.

a lot of ....gods

As I start this new series, "Gods that Fail," I see more and more gods around us (things that are good things made into ultimate things). Case in point, as I sit in a coffee shop, and see many people longing for their cup of brew to get them through the day. What does it mean to be "addicted" to coffee....or any other good thing? It's a reality that our heart gets twisted and naturally turns away from God.

“These men have set up idols in their hearts.” Ezekiel 14:3

or Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

This is a tough series to preach (not sure which one is an easy one, as the Holy Spirit is always convicting us of sin and causes us to see Jesus and His love for us, and His hate for sin).

May God, the God and creator, be the one we worship above everything else.

moving forward....by holding onto God

Right now, things in the life of Gateway Community Church seem to be flying. God is moving in a way...bringing new people to the church, (people looking for a church that is on mission, looking for a healthy church, looking for a church that accepts them but calls them to change because of Jesus). Again I say, God is moving! I have conversations with people and they say, "God stirred in my heart to come to Gateway." And I say, "Wow!"

I am humbled and grateful to God that he has placed me in this incredible role....to serve, and encourage, and empower, and shepherd HIS people!

I came across this youtube video which really challenged me to again aim higher and ask God for His will and His ways to be done in me and in those around me.

back at er'

Wow! I just looked at my blog....and yes, there is a blog, but I sure have been neglecting it! We were away on holidays for a couple weeks...and now it's great to be back. God has continued to work while I was gone (always awesome to know God is never on vacation -never leaves us or forsakes us).

Just yesterday I was able to preach about the story of the sower and the seed. This farmer who throws out seed (Luke 8:1-15) and Jesus shares in this parable how not all the seed grows. The seed represents the word of God and the soil, a person's heart. He shares the reasons people don't follow Jesus. It's amazing how many reasons there are why people turn away from the good news of Jesus: the devil, life's worries, riches & pleasures, & tests. All of these things really should challenge us to pray for those who are trying to follow Jesus. We all will face tests. We all will be tempted by the "good things" that can become ultimate things. We all will be invited by Satan to believe that living for ourself is better than living for God.

I am thankful for the grace of God that He has allowed me to follow Him. I am encouraged to share the word of God and pray that he grows his word in their hearts.
Jesus is the one who calls us to share His words to a lost world.

love your....

The past couple weeks I have been preaching through the book of Luke. Now this book comes from the life, and words of Jesus. I'm not sure which are more difficult to follow -the life or the words (a bit of both -for sure). I see Jesus calling us to such a radical way of living. One author calls living a new way, part of an "upside-down kingdom." One week ago, I had to preach about loving our enemies. Now, for a lot of us we don't have enemies, but we have people who really annoy us (or bug us so much we don't want to even be near them). Jesus comes along and tells people to "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you." (Luke 6:37). Man, these verses sure challenged me to live and think a different about those people that I love to avoid (ok, yes I have those people in my life too).
Jesus continues to call us to live for His desires. Jesus calls us to live to make him famous and not ourselves. Oh, God, please help us in this radical way to live for you.

Celebrating the.....

Well, this past weekend was an incredible time....not because it was the long weekend, but for the first time in about 35 years, I was really able to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. So often I have been part of really good churches, which have valued the authority of the Bible; however, for some reason there has been an absence of celebrating Pentecost (the day on the Christian calendar that the Holy Spirit comes to the dwell in believers of Jesus).
Check this passage out from Acts 2:1-4:
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. "They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.
There was a huge party, as finally, the promised Holy Spirit showed up. As I reflected this past week, throughout the book of Acts, we see that the Holy Spirit is experienced - and in a variety of ways. I want to strive to be grounded in the Word of God and also believe in the experience of the Holy Spirit, (with all his gifts he offers). I want to expect much of the Holy Spirit, not for my sake, but so God is made more famous! The wonderful part of the Holy Spirit, is that he wants all the credit to go to Jesus.
What would our communities look like if we lived each day by being attentive and listening to the Holy Spirit? Would a lot more people skeptical of the church, see that the church is being active and loving because the Holy Spirit is leading us in radical ways?

I'm sure glad that the Holy Spirit has come!

First things first

During these past couple weeks we have been going through a series called, MARGIN at Gateway Community Church. The first week talking about financial margin, and this past week moral margin - for sure has stirred some engaging discussion. The Bible is so packed with words that apply clearly to our lives, even in 2010. Yes, people struggled with how to be content with the amount of money they earned. A quote which really challenged me came from, "Contentment makes a poor man rich, and discontent makes a rich man poor."

In the other area of moral margin, there are way too many ways that we succumb to temptation and we come a lot closer to areas of harm than we ever could've imagined or planned. Thankfully God in his grace wants to help us start new and seek him first.

Remember and live by these words, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

a good reason to fight?!

What's the deal with conflict? For some we can't wait to encounter the next royal rumble, for others we are ready to hide under a table and head for cover when disagreements arise....as for me, well, I'm not so keen about conflict (unless I think I'm right...lol).

Part of my understanding about conflict is strongly shaped by my upbringing. Each of our families have given us perspective on what conflict is....avoidable at all costs or important to engage with to have healthy relationships.

Today, I attended a conflict resolution seminar and heard some big ideas about learning about the value of conflict. Coming from a Christian worldview, what did Jesus think of conflict? Over and over Jesus didn't shy away from conflict, but rather chose some key times to bring up issues that he wanted to address to move people toward the kingdom values of God.

So, am I proposing that we just go around trying to create conflict?....No, but I am now starting to understand the value of being around people to ask the question of "help me understand what's your desire is?" Before people think that I haven't heard what they are struggling with and have told all those who would listen, I want to be proactive to sit with those who have something to express. Often, I come to a conflict with only hearing the "position" (quit doing that, or we need to do this)....but there is such deep value in hearing "the why?" What has brought you to this position, and now what are some possible solutions - that you can see?

I am so thankful for those around me who have modeled and taught me to manage conflict well. Two men who have mentored me in the area of conflict management - Ron Toews & James Toews (no relation - I don't think) but both Godly men who care about seeing people become wiser in how to relate to problems around us.

another incredible weekend!

Well this past weekend again was incredible! I am again humbled by the heart of God to send people to Port Alberni to serve the people who live here.
This past weekend 19 youth (Grade 7-9) from Central Community Church showed up to partner with Gateway and reach out. It was really fun to hang out with these rambunctious bunch who were always laughing about something, but had lots of energy to serve. They picked up garbage, handed out flyers, prayed for the city, prayed for individuals, did crafts with seniors at an assisted living home, and helped clean up a Child Care's playground.

I continue to be reminded about the verses found in Matthew 9:37, 38 "Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
The amazing part about God, is he continues to surprise me about how & who he "sends" into the harvest field. He knows which workers are ready to go, and take the leap, for the hard work of bringing in the harvest. These kids worked tirelessly over the weekend (yet still had a bunch of energy to stay up late until the morning goofing around), and man I am still thankful to God for them.

God has a heart for all people and wants his good news to be known!

What can I offer?

As the devastating images continue to stream in about the earthquake in Haiti, I'm struck by the question, how can I help? Sure, by sending some money to the local Red Cross or a registered relief organization like MCC (mcc.org) is a way to add support to a very bleak situation; however, I still wonder what is God calling me to do?

I think of the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 & 6 of giving our coats (maybe the gortex one or the many pairs of shoes) to those who ask (or even who hint). As I sit on my soft couch, what does it mean to make a difference in the situation where people don't have any homes, or even food or water tonight in Haiti?

In some ways, maybe all we can do is pray. In raw emotion, call out to God to bring help quicker and healing faster. Also our response should also include being thankful to God for what we do have today. For one verse resonates in my head, "continually give thanks." We have so much to be thankful.

God help those in Haiti. Give peace and strength to those who are waiting to hear from loved ones. Comfort those who are mourning.

Believe...in others

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" Hebrews 3:13
This is quite a verse that says a lot about believing in others and the impact they can make on how far you get in your walk with God.

Do you ever need encouragement? Maybe encouragement to hear that you can make it in the long race of life? Perhaps you need encouragement that your marriage is going to make it, or maybe you need encouragement that you can find a job, or that your life is worth living with purpose - well people in the church, are the ones who should be there for each other.

As you start a new day, ask God who needs to hear encouragement that they can make it. God will give you the words which will bring life to their situation. ...and go speak them, text them, or say them face to face!

Believe!

This past Sunday, God called me to a share a tough message about Believing in God. As I prayed about the passage from Mark 11:22-24, God made it clear to me that there is belief and then there is BELIEF! There is a belief which is stuck in our head and which doesn't really move us or inspire us.

Jesus talks about a belief or faith that will move mountains. This type of belief shapes the way we talk. This type of deep belief in God stirs us to pray and hold to God when others are looking elsewhere. Imagine as we become people who are so stirred to believe in God in all circumstances that we are moved by the possiblities of God rather than the size of our problem.

Does this type of belief come easy? No! Will God answer all our prayers the way we want...immediately, or does our mountain of problems get removed by God one shovel full at a time?

God is calling us to believe in Him and His faithfulness and love.

What struggle are you looking at that you know that you need to ask God to do something about?