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!