Vinyl Crowder...

This is one "Christian" band that I still get excited about when they release albums or go on tour. I've place my pre-order and have tickets for their October 18th stop here in Abby. Have you?

Start of the season...

My soccer team had its first official exhibition game of the season. Lots of new faces meant that we spent the first 15-20 minutes scrambling as we tried to figure out positions and how guys play.

We were 1 down in no time flat. when a ball didn't get cleared out of the box after a corner kick.

Then a little while later I got sent into the top left of the box with a through ball. I couldn't reach it, so I slid in and tried to chip it up with my left. And to my luck, the keeper was sliding out toward me and the ball just sailed over his head and into the net.

Then they scored. Then we scored. Then they scored. Then we scored.

Then I got free on a run and fired one in on goal but the keeper kicked out the save. As I chased down the ball I got taken down by their defender. He managed to connect with my inner thigh and my calf at the same time. It's was a brutal play that should have brought out a card, but the ref must have felt generous.

So it's 3-3, and after a quick break on the side I head back out on the field. Then I get sprung by another great through ball only to hear the whistle. Offside. What?!?! No where close to offside. The ref is apparently making the call from 40 yards away.

Then a minute later I pounce on a mistake by their keeper and a defender. I look up, see their keeper way off his line and figure it's worth a try from 35 yards. I hit it and it landed in the net.

Final, 4-3. Good start for the season, but I'm definitely feeling things now. I may be unable to walk tomorrow. And I think I need to start running, because I was sucking wind.

Good to be back on the pitch again.

Book #34...

Jesus Loves You This I Know
Craig Gross & Jason Harper

Who does Jesus love? Me? You?

Has the phrase "Jesus loves you" been stripped of all meaning?

This book was an excellent reminder that those words still have significance. Jesus loves you. And me. He loves the ones that don't fit. He loves the ones that do. He loves the ones with all the baggage and the ones who pretend they don't have any. He loves the broken and the jaded, the passionate and the boring. He loves the lost and the found.

Through a variety of first hand experiences, Craig and Jason share how they have come to believe that Jesus loves everyone. The porn stars, the crooks, the drunks, the religious elite. Jesus loves them. And these two guys are willing to live that out, even when it gets difficult.

Having grown up in the church, and having been personally wounded in the past by those who claim to love Jesus, the hardest hitting chapter dealt with the fact that Jesus loves the "religious". You know...the fundamentalists. The ones who claim they know Jesus the best. The ones who's lives are often seem to be filled with the least love.

Yes, He loves them too. And by default, I am called to love them.

Yeah...I'm a work in progress.

This was a great book with a reminder that many of us need on a daily (or maybe hourly) basis. At least, I know I need it.

Buy the book.

Take the church challenge.

Get a free video.

Listen to this song.

Mess of Me...

New Switchfoot.

These guys sound good when they rock.

Fall Viewing...

We enjoy our TV watching around here, and it's always nice to see the return of some of our favorite shows each fall. I'm hoping this one turns out to be good:


What are you looking forward to watching?

Book # 33...

Kurt & Scott's Junior High Adventure
Kurt Johnston & Scott Rubin

This is a collection of Kurt's articles that have appeared in Group magazine over the years. (Kurt's the junior high pastor at Saddleback, and he's being doing this a long time. I've got a great deal of respect for guys like him & Scott.)

The only difference between the Group articles and this book is that Scott has gone through and added comments throughout the articles. It's a short read, but it's a great collection of resources for anyone who works with junior high students.

With the launch of our new middle school ministry night this fall, I was looking to get in the junior high/middle school head space, and as my friends will tell you, I don't have to stretch too far.

My only beef about this book was that the price was way too high for such a small book.

The Fixer...

Some random things:

I'm loving the new Pearl Jam song.

It's Thursday afternoon and I'm taking a break. I've had this weekend booked off for a while and it's my last chance to catch my breath before the fall routine settles in.

Our staff retreat at Kawkawa was productive and tiring. Tuesday had us working until 11:00pm. and Wednesday we were back at it at 8:00am. But we did find a few minutes for some beach volleyball and a quick swim in the lake (well, at least 4 of us did).

It's movie night tonight! I've got my $0.88 rental and looking forward to relaxing with my wife.

Erin has an interview for her school program today and I'm sure she'll do great.

I have a confession...I'm listening to the Black Eyed Peas right now.

My kids are currently trying to find a football in the neighbor's yard.

I'm scheduled to teach during two services this fall. The topics? Fully surrendering to Jesus. And porn.

I'm also doing some preliminary work on developing a church project for us to fight sexual exploitation and battle some injustice in our world. If you've got any ideas or want to help out, let me know.

I have a book waiting at the library that I'm looking forward to reading this weekend.

Staff Retreat...

Tomorrow our pastoral staff team is taking off for a 2 day retreat at Camp Kawkawa. We're doing some brainstorming and planning for our teaching schedule for the upcoming year and we're trying to get some service design done in four of our upcoming contemporary services.

Taking off with the staff for something like this is another new adventure for me, and I've never been a part of a massive planning process like this in my 9 years of full time ministry, but I'm super stoked for it.

I love the creative process and the idea of asking "what about..." and "what if..." and seeing where God leads us is something I'm looking forward to.

I love watching how the ideas are birthed and how they grow and morph.

I love seeing a team come up with an idea that is bigger than what any one individual could have come up with.

And I love the fact that we can just dream and talk and see where it leads.

You'll have to let is know this fall how it all turns out.

Book #32...

I've been falling behind on my reading lately. The TV and sleep have been winning out on a regular basis, and that's not necessarily good for me. Well, maybe the sleep is. The TV definitely isn't.

The Scarecrow
Michael Connelly

I'm lacking the energy to actually write a review. I tried this book after seeing it on a bestsellers list. And I enjoyed reading it. Simple as that.

It's official...

We made a fairly significant change to our student ministry schedule for the fall. We're adding a Tuesday night event just for our grade 7 & 8 students. Our Wednesday night stays the same for our high school crowd.

But there's another exciting piece of information that got the official thumbs up on Thursday night.

But I'm not going to spill the beans yet.

I'll keep you posted as things develop. But I think it will be a great improvement for our student ministry.

Wheels...

With Erin starting school this fall in Coquitlam we were in a place where we knew a second car would certainly be helpful. We've been able to make it with one car for a number of years, but it seems to get a little more chaotic each year that the kids get older.

So we started hunting during my vacation. I scoured Craigslist and BuyAndSell and Auto Trader. We drove around looking at car lots. We test drove used cars and new cars. We made phone calls and sent emails. We even put a deposit on one car, only to back out after doing some more homework.

But then along come two of the most generous friends a person could ever hope for. They offer to buy us a car. Uh...yeah. Their rationale? They know a pastoral salary isn't much and they know that we're trying to get Erin to school, so they felt like they were in a place where they could help out.

This was a humbling process for me. At first I struggled with it...a lot. I felt like it was an expense that I should be responsible for. It was something that I should do. People shouldn't be buying me cars. But the more that we talked about it, the more I felt God trying to get through to me.

His words: "Don't be an idiot. Accept the gift." (loose paraphrase)

So we accepted. And a week or so later we signed all the papers on this little gem.

Yes, it's baby blue.

Yes, it used to be owned by a teenage girl.

But it's got 4 wheels, and it runs pretty good.

And I am learning that sometimes it is harder to receive than it is to give.

I am humbled by the generosity of others.

Thank you my friends.

What I learned at summer camp...

Sure, I was only there for just over two years, but here's what I learned:

• Trying to learn everyone's camp names is confusing. During some prayer time last night before I left I was asking people their real name so I could pray for them. It felt like I was cheating.
  
• Remembering to use my own camp name is down right impossible.
  
• It's been 13 years since I have been on water skis or a wake board, but I can still stand up.
• My body responds much differently than it did 13 years ago after an afternoon of water skiing & tubing. I can hardly move today.
  
• Talking with a student about Jesus for an hour reminds me why I do what I do.
• I can't believe it's been 15-16 years since I last went to camp.

I'll award 10,000 points to anyone who can correctly guess my camp name.

Camp...

I've never been a "camp speaker" before. I'm currently trying to get the rest of my stuff together before I head out to Kawkawa for a couple of days to hang out with their senior high camp. I have NO idea what to expect.

But at least it's supposed to be sunny.

Midsummer Update...

A little bit of recap mixed with a little bit of looking ahead, here's my world in a nutshell (in no particular order):

• Got new (at least to us) wheels. It was a freebie from some AMAZING friends! I'll post some pics soon.
  
• Listening to Owl City
  
• Reading Looking Up by Michael J Fox
• Also reading Kurt & Scott's Junior High Adventure
• Gearing up for some student ministry changes for the fall. Stay tuned!
  
• Trying to get our events calendar and teaching schedule lined up.
  
• Gearing up for some Sunday morning service changes for fall.
• Celebrating 11 years with an amazing woman.
• Trying to fix my PC graphics card. Turns out I'll get a new one for free because of a recall.
• Awaiting the official start of a new EPL season.
• Heading out to speak at Camp Kawkawa for a couple of days early next week.
• Still washing and drying tents in my backyard.
• Preparing for the wedding of two of our friends that I'm residing over next weekend.
• Fixed a shower, even though I'm not entirely convinced that it's not leaking somewhere that I can't see.
• Heading out for a night on the town with some friends to watch some improv.
  

Squatch...

Anyone around here remember a band called Jesse James from the good ole Canadian Bible College days?

They had a song called Squatch. I think it was about the mascot for the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics.

This has no relevance to my post.

Anyways, we spent this past weekend at Sasquatch Provincial Park with some of our students and leaders. Unlike last year, it did not rain the entire weekend. But it did rain enough on the last night there that all our camping gear is soaked.

Said gear is now strewn all over my yard as I try to clean and dry the tents and tarps. This is the part they never train you for in Bible college.

Honest reflections...

I struggle with how I view myself. I find that I regularly battle the thoughts racing through my head that I'm not good enough. And it's not just the little things like I don't think I'm a good enough guitar player, it's the big ones. The ideas that I'm not a good enough husband, father, pastor.

So, I think it was very fitting that I picked up a copy of Jud Wilhite's "Eyes Wide Open" (book #31 of the year if you're keeping track).

When I got the book I was thinking I would just fly right through it, because it's not very long. But as I started reading I knew I had to spend some time processing because it was hitting close to home. I needed to not just read it....I needed to READ it.

Who am I?

What does God see in me?

How do I fully embrace who he created me to be?

How do I live that out on a daily basis?

I'll admit that I'm usually the first one to try and be something I'm not. I have a tendency to put on the masks so others don't see the real me. I tend to keep people at a distance for some reason.

I'm still trying to figure this all out. I'm not sure where I'll end up some days, but I'm thankful for a patient and loving group of family and friends that surround me.

I've got an extra copy of Jud's book on my shelf that I'd be happy to give away. Leave a comment that has something to do with how you view yourself (good, bad or ugly). I'll pick a random comment next Tuesday afternoon and send you the book.

Who am I...

I haven't blogged since last month?!?!

And I apparently give everyone else a hard time for not blogging. Maybe I should do a little self reflection?

With family, friends, youth, reading, guitar playing , tent cleaning and watching Whale Wars, I've found little time left over for anything else.

Oh, and I'm on the hunt for some new TV, so I'd love to hear your recommendations of what's good.

One message...

I know I've got a few preacher/teacher types around here.

I'm wondering if you had one talk, one shot, one chance (cue Eminem music), what would you say?

You pick the setting and the audience.

Book #30...

The Apostle
Brad Thor

It's kind of like reading an episode of 24 meets The Unit.

Decent summer read.

Unspeakable horrors...

This has been floating around for a while, but as a Taylor guitar owner who has always been nervous about taking a guitar on a flight, I felt I should share this.