Spahr Family Christmas

We had a great, enjoyable and relaxed family Christmas at home this year. Heading to Rosalie's mom's house tomorrow to spend Christmas in Wisconsin for a bit. It was nice to be able to get up and enjoy our traditional monkey bread for breakfast and grilled out steaks for dinner. That's a tradition my family started the tradition when I was growing up in Florida. Up here it's a bit chillier grilling out in December!

The boys got some Wii games and the family got the Wii version of Dance Dance Revolution (good thing I'm not Baptist anymore!). Wow - what a workout! I'll be shedding the pounds by playing that game, let me tell you.

It's been a great time to reflect on the blessings of the past year. It's definitely been one of the most eventful, exciting years of my life and it's been awesome to see how God works out everything for His glory! We have a great family, a wonderful new house, a tremendous church family, incredible staff and leadership at church, and we love every minute of serving at Journey North.

Thanks to all who have shared and blessed us during the launch process and throughout the holiday season. We love the goodies (and thanks for not bringing us fruitcake!), but most of all we just love the people!

I can't wait to see God continue to work in the year(s) to come. It just keeps getting better and better!

Oh, The Drama!

We had another great time gathering together on Sunday morning before Christmas - our Christmas Eve Eve service! The highlight - for me, anyway - was being able to perform in a sketch we did called "It's a Wonderful Fruitcake". I played a UPS driver while Darrin and Karissa Lange played father and daughter (not too big a stretch!) and Julie Adams played the mom. It was a great time, even though we skipped a little bit during the first service. By the second service we nailed it! (Just a note to first service attenders - you know you're guinea pigs for a lot of stuff, right?! If you value excellence highly you will likely want to attend second more often. First service is great for those who are more casual and flexible with imperfections. Fortunately that describes most if not all of the people at JNC!)

It was great to be acting again. I was in many drama productions in college (from Twelfth Night where I had four lines - that I still remember, to musicals like Shenandoah, to major roles in The Inspector General and The Night of January 16th. I have been in numerous sketches in church in the subsequent years, but never really got over the acting bug. I have often thought that had I not become a youth pastor I would have enjoyed acting.

Thanks to those that performed, those that endured the performance, and those that helped get everything set up. Thanks to Jeanne Johnson and her son who loaned me the UPS jacket for a costume!

And just so everyone knows - I do not like fruitcake in real life! That's called "acting", my friends. (Actually, that's called Apple Fritter Bread from Wal-Mart's bakery - yum!) So don't bother giving me any fruitcake - it'll just get re-gifted!

Spahr Christmas Letter Mailed!

I finally have our family Christmas letter in the mail as of yesterday! Some may get it before Christmas, but I'm not counting on it. Those friends and family with e-mail will have received a digital copy (saving me well over $100 is postage! Thanks!)

If you didn't get one and would like to read it, you can download a copy from my Facebook page.

Encounter at Districts this Spring

Wow, it’s barely Christmas time and already we’re thinking about Districts this Spring! I just received the information yesterday, but it’s never too soon to start planning. Ignite students, put it on your calendar because this will be one you won’t want to miss!

Here are the details:

Theme: The Encounter - ". . . .Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” -Isaiah 6:3

When: Friday, April 25, through Sunday, April 27, 2008

Where: Rochester, Minnesota – Rochester Mayo Convention Center

Lodging: Various Hotels In the Rochester Downtown area (all within walking distance of the Mayo Civic Center)

Speaker: Bill Allison- Cadre Ministries (www.cadreministries.com)

Worship Leaders: By The Tree (www.bythetreeonline.com & www.myspace.com/bythetree)

Some Highlights: 4 powerful rallies, a choice of 10+ different seminars, outreach/ service opportunities, pre-rally youth band performances for 2 NCD churches, break out times to discuss the speaker’s message, prayer army and more.

Ignite Christmas Celebration

Ignite students celebrated Christmas this past Sunday night with a combination Progressive Dinner and White Elephant party. A fantastic time was had by all! Thanks to the host homes and all of the workers who helped to make this such a fun wrap up to the calendar year.

Finally Time to Vote

Pine City School District residents - the day is finally here! This is our big opportunity to vote to improve the quality of our school facilities and invest in our children's educational future. Please don't forget to vote today for the Referendum!

Ignite Updates

Ignite students at Journey North Church:

A couple of quick updates for you. First, we will be having our White Elephant Progressive Dinner Christmas Party this Sunday night beginning at 5:00 pm (note the earlier time than when we usually have Connect). All junior and senior high students are invited! If you have never been to a Progressive Dinner you are in for a treat (several, actually!) We’ll be traveling to various homes in Pine City and Rush City and enjoying a different course to our meal at each location. Then we’ll return to our house for dessert and the White Elephant gift openings. You will need to bring a wrapped White Elephant gift to share. A White Elephant is a gift you find around your house that is interesting, weird, or wacky (not something you go out and buy.) Be creative! We’ll have a lot of fun as we eat and share together.

Second, we had hoped to play some broomball this Saturday, but between the weather and basketball tournaments it doesn’t look like this week will work. We may try for next Saturday, the 22^nd. E-mail me and let me know if you’re interested and if you’ll be around.

Finally, I know that many of you have expressed interest in attending Nationals next summer. Here are a few details:

The Challenge 2008 National EFCA Student Ministries Conference will be held Sunday, June 29 through Friday, July 4. We will leave Friday, June 27 and return Sunday night, July 6. The cost will be $500 per student with a $100 deposit due by March 1. We will not be having public youth group fund raisers as we don’t want to be known as a church/youth group that is always asking for money. We will, however, try to make opportunities available for you to work and earn money that you can apply toward the trip cost. We don’t want money to be the reason for anyone not to attend. There may be some need-based scholarship money available, too. Talk to me if you are interested. If you know now that you would like to attend please let me know right away so that we can begin planning and so that I can help you find ways to earn any money you need. The maximum number of students we can take is 10. For more information on the conference itself, go to http://blogs.efca.org/challenge/ to see highlights from previous years’ conferences, bios on the speakers and band, etc. Let me know if you have any questions.

Planet Wisdom Wrap Up

It's been over a week since we returned from our first trip to the Planet Wisdom Tour. This gathering for junior and senior high students, held 13 times in various cities throughout the year, returned to the Twin Cities for the eighth year. Hosted by Grace Church in Eden Prairie at their fabulous church campus, this conference challenges growth-level students to deeper levels of discipleship.

I'm really surprised that I hadn't heard of the Planet Wisdom Tour before this year. Mark Matlock, the primary speaker and the driving force behind Planet Wisdom's ministries, spoke at the SHIFT student ministries conference at Willow Creek this past spring. I was impressed by his presentation and began to research Planet Wisdom and this tour. Although this was our first year to attend it definitely won't be our last! Every student that attended had an excellent time sharing, learning, and growing together. Next year we are going to extend our stay by one day and come back on Sunday. This time we had to skip the last session in order to make it though the snow storm and be able to return in a timely manner.

Here are some pictures from the conference. The rest are on my Facebook page. Thanks to Northwestern College freshman Sarah Hanson for taking the photos and for serving as a youth sponsor on this trip! I've known Sarah for a very long time (Rosalie's known her since birth - Sarah's, not Rosalie's!) Sarah was in our youth group in Ripon and has attended several events with our youth group since we've been in Pine City. It was great to serve alongside her as a youth sponsor! She's a great role model and a wonderful example for our students.

15 to 20 below!

That was the temperature here in Pine City last night and early this morning - somewhere around -15 to -20 degrees! Now, I love Minnesota and Pine City, but it's mornings like this that make me ask, "I live in Minnesota why?"

Nevertheless, I am glad for a hot cup of coffee and a fireplace on cold mornings like this, as well as the fact that I don't have to go anywhere too early today! I can even catch up on a blog post!

(And to my friends and family who live in the south - I don't want to hear about it!)

I'm Back!

We finally have internet access at our new house! I apologize to those who check this page daily, waiting for the highlights, insights, and nuggets of wisdom that you have come to enjoy (endure?) Between moving, an excellent Planet Wisdom conference, daily ministry tasks and meetings, and trying to get our house in some semblence of order I have had to back-burner my blogging activities temporarily.

I am actually composing this entry at school on my PocketPC during my planning period as I am subbing today (I'll post this when I get home. As my text entry method is "block recognizer" - one step up from handwriting - this entry may be somewhat less verbose than is my custom. (I actually have an infrared folding keyboard but haven't loaded the driver since my last hard reset. Oops. Too late for today.)

Speaking of substitute teaching, this is my first real opportunity to sub this fall and I am excited to be back in the classroom. It is a great chance to get to know students and staff and keep up with what is happening in the schools.

Snow Cancellation and other Stuff

You may have read Pastor Tim's blog and seen this already but there will be no worship service or CONNECT small groups tomorrow due to the snow (and the fact that many people will not have their roads plowed in order to be able to get out).

We did get back safely from Planet Wisdom (we left early and missed the last session in order to beat the sleet). What a great conference! I'll blog more later - with pictures! - but in the mean time I just wanted to say thanks to those who have been praying for the conference and our students! It was awesome.

Finally, we are all moved in, but I don't have internet access at home until Thursday. I'll catch up at the church office, but don't expect instant replies like you're used to from me.

Keeping Ourselves on Target

I read a great article, Keeping Ourselves on Target by Bill Hybels, on the whole area of preaching and evaluation. (It turns out that this is from the book Mastering Contemporary Preaching. I’m not familiar with the book, but if it’s as good as this excerpt it would be well worth getting.)

It’s fun to read about his journey as a speaker/teacher. Toward the beginning of his ministry he was standing before a group of 150 or so teens and realized that he had totally lost them. His response,

"I have to apologize," I said, "for the fact that I am missing the mark tonight. What I prepared to say is obviously not on target. And I want to make a commitment to you students. If you'll come back next week, I'm going to talk about something straight out of the Bible that is going to make a difference in your understanding of God, in your appreciation of the Christian faith, and in how you live your daily life. And if you'll give me another opportunity, I'd like to prove that to you."

What a great response and commitment to make. And what humility to stand up and say, “I blew it.” Many speakers would keep plowing on through.

Why Bloggers Really Blog

Pearls Before Swine is one of the few comics that I find consistently funny - though it often has very dark humor. (The others I love are Dilbert and Foxtrot, which is now weekly instead of daily.) To subscribe via a daily e-mail go here. Collections of all these are available from the library via an inter-library loan (or you can buy them, which I am often too broke/cheap to do!)

The Move is Scheduled No Matter What

Here's the latest in the ongoing saga of the Spahr's move (from my latest e-mail to the Journey North Church family):

Thanks again to so many who have been praying for us and those who have expressed interest in helping us move. As you know the closing date keeps moving. Currently we are planning to close on Thursday morning and begin moving at noon. If you’d like to help, come on by at noon or any time after that (hopefully we’ll be all done by supper time and we have people planning food for all the helpers!) We need to be out before the new renters move in where we currently live (they’ll be doing that later Thursday night and on Friday!)

Please pray that the closing takes place by Thursday morning as we have to be out that day (and I know nobody wants to help us move twice!) One way or another we’re moving Thursday afternoon – pray that it’s to the new house.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Still Waiting to Move

I just sent this letter to the Journey North Church family:

I regret to say that we will not be moving on Tuesday of this week. Hopefully we can move on Wednesday night. Our loan is not yet cleared to close and the seller is unwilling to let us move in until we actually close. I will let you know more tomorrow as I hear anything.

Please pray that our loan would be able to close on Wednesday or that the seller would reconsider and allow us to more in on Wednesday, regardless. We have to be out so that the next renters can move into our place here on Elm Circle.

Thanks to those who were/are planning to help. Everyone can help by praying! Thanks.

So Much to Be Thankful For

Well, we had a perfectly lovely family Thanksgiving today. It was a real treat to be able to just stay at home and be together as a family rather than traveling and visiting relatives somewhere. Too many times 'relaxing vacation' and 'relatives' just don't mix. Kind of like ketchup and peanut butter - both great on their own - they usually just don't go together all that well. (Of course this doesn't apply to my relatives who read this blog... I'm talking about the other relatives!)

Instead or going somewhere, we stayed home and enjoyed a great meal of turkey, gravy, corn, sweet potatoes (for me), baked potatoes (for the rest), dinner rolls, and sparkling grape juice, followed (much later) by pie - Oreo cream (for the rest) and coconut cream (for me). We then enjoyed watching the Packers win their tenth game this season! 10 and 1 now, they take on the Cowboys who are also 10-1 next Thursday evening. That will be their toughest game yet and I don't know if we'll win it, but even so, to be 10-1 at this point is amazing.

While I'm certainly happy about a Packers' win, I'm deeply thankful for many things so much more significant: a wonderful wife whom I love so much, two great kids who are growing into great young men, a church that I love and that I am excited and privileged to serve, a great community to live in and raise my family, a new house that we will be moving into (someday!), and a fun youth group that accepts and loves one another. And most of all I am thankful for the love of Jesus and the fact that I can walk with God each day and that He loves me no matter what!!!

One final note: We did get some sad news today - Dolores Madison passed away this morning. Pastor Tim has some very poignant comments over on his blog about this and he says it so much better than I could. Please take a moment to read them. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dean and family.

New Format for My Blog

If you're on the site (and not just viewing these posts via a RSS Reader) you'll notice that I have an all new template in honor of our upcoming church Launch this weekend.

No, not really. I just liked this look. I've been tweaking it for a while now and finally got it to look the way I wanted it to. It's got a nice simple look and not nearly as dark as the last one. Enjoy.

Another Great Weekend

Wow! What a great Sunday. First we (Journey North Church, that is) gathered together for our NFL Football Theme Event. We had a lot of fun playing and worshiping together. And the decorations were fabulous! Kudos to all who worked so hard on everything. I don't even know all of the people behind the scenes and I'm afraid to start listing people lest I leave someone out, but I do know that Julie Adams worked herself to the bone leading the team that made this event happen. Wendy Leibel, Pam Steinle and many more worked on this, as well. Great job.

Our family got home just before 1:00 in the afternoon and enjoyed a great lunch before collapsing in exhaustion. We listened to the Green Bay Packers win - again! Go Pack! 9-1. Then the Connect small groups met at our house for a time of food, fellowship, and digging into God's Word.

Now, the final countdown to launch this Sunday. I can't wait so see what God will (continue to) do!

This Blog's For Me!

Just read this in a post about communicating in ministry ...

Blog for you, not them
Don't start or continue a blog because you want a bunch of people to read your thoughts. No one cares more about what you have to think or say than you do. Now that you know that, the only reason you should be blogging is because you just have to get your thoughts out of your head and into some sort of online journal format. The ironic thing is that the more you blog from your head/heart, the more people will actually start tuning in because they see how important this stuff is to you.

I think this is really true. It's fun to have (or think I have) other people who 'care' about what I write, but that shouldn't be my motivation. Good reminder.

Boogie-Woogie

Our whole family got to see Journey North's own Andrew Behrendt in Rush City High School's production of Boogie-Woogie Bugle Girls last night. He did a great job, as did the rest of the cast.

Rush City has a wonderful auditorium that was tons more comfortable than Pine City's. Their facility really puts ours to shame. I am really praying that Pine City voters pass the referendum on December 18!! Just a friendly reminder.

No Complaints Here

"Martin Luther King Jr. didn't change the world by saying, 'I have a complaint.' "

-- Artist Chris Jordan

I saw this quote the other day and thought about how true it is. It seems that many times Christians are known for what they complain about - what they're against rather than what they are for.

Not that we shouldn't take a stand or that all complaining is wrong, but there is a difference between constructive and unconstructive complaining. I’m reminded of an old joke supposedly from Mark Twain: “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”

Some good thoughts on constructive vs. unconstructive complaining from another blog:

Unconstructive: Complain about what bugs you the most
Constructive: Complain about the right thing
Is the problem really the problem? Or is there a deeper issue going on? Complain about the problem, not just the symptoms.

Unconstructive: Complain when you feel the most annoyed
Constructive: Complain at the right time
There are times to complain and times not to. Choose a moment where there’s time, will and energy to deal constructively with the issue. Five minutes before an important meeting starts is probably not the time.

Unconstructive: Complain to whoever will listen
Constructive: Complain to someone who can do something about it
If your boss is the problem, complaining to your co-workers can be a lot of fun, but it changes nothing. Complain to your boss or to the boss’s boss.

Unconstructive: Point fingers.
Constructive: Look at yourself first.
Maybe it’s just you who has a problem and everyone else is fine with the situation? Try to recognize those situations where everything is actually fine - you’re just being irrationally annoyed (happens to me all the time).

Also: To what extent are you a part of the problem? How are you contributing to either the problem or to the solution? Before complaining about others, make sure you know what your role in the issue is.

Unconstructive: Seek blame
Constructive: Seek solutions
Going in with the intention of making people admit they’re at fault is rarely productive. Does it really matter whose fault it is? Forget blame and focus on moving on and finding lasting solutions.

Unconstructive: Only complain
Constructive: Also appreciate what’s good
Complain when there’s a reason to, but remember to appreciate the good stuff also - don’t just always complain.

It sounds like a balanced (and biblical) way to approach change - and life! Instead of complaining, grumbling, griping, gossiping, etc., we should offer suggestions, ideas, critique, feedback and input in order to build up rather than tear down.

One of our core values at Journey North Church is that we "focus on what unites, not on what divides." I'm so excited and proud to be a part of such a great group of people who want to change the world for Jesus Christ - not by complaining - but by loving and serving others in His name!

Are We Ever Moving?

I've held off blogging about my move because I was waiting to find out when we are moving. The original close date of the 16th (today) is off. It will now be the 26th before we can close!! The current plan is now to move on Tuesday the 27th beginning after school (around 3:30 p.m.) Stop by if you'd like to help.

I knew we wouldn't end up moving this weekend - the weather looks great!

So Close... But Not Quite

The Star Tribune today ran a much more balanced article about the whole superintendent resignation, school board election issue I mentioned yesterday. I'm thinking, great! That's good journalism - showing both sides of the issue!

And yet... they couldn't resist a little dig at the end. The last paragraph quotes a Lind detractor saying "I wouldn't trade one Tom Westerhaus for 10,000 Chris Lind." They could have closed with this quote from youth pastor Jim Barringer: "Chris is trying to do the right thing. I think his heart is to help, to not give up on this community, to not give up on the students." That would have helped balance out the reporting from yesterday, certainly.

Nothing on KSTP or WCCO this morning. Too bad. I think it definitely says something about where we get our 'news'.

One-sided Reporting

As I was watching the morning news today (we DVR both KTSP 5-5:30 and WCCO 5-6 a.m. shows and watch without commercials - takes us about 30 minutes total - while we drink our morning coffee), I was amazed to hear about the Prior Lake-Savage superintendent resigning after a former employee who had been fired was elected to the school board. As he wept on TV and people kept saying great things about him I thought, "That poor guy. I really feel for him." Both stations covered this story and both did so in the the same way.

Then I began to remember something I had read several months ago. After hearing the story for the third time (on the second half of CCO's news cycle) I turned to Rosalie. "I don't think that's the whole story. I think I remember reading about the fired supervisor. There's more to this story." A quick check of Google and I found out there was much more to the story. Here's the blog post from the Minnesota Family Council/Family Institute site:

Voters sent a clear message to Prior Lake-Savage schools last night by electing Chris Lind to the school board. Lind, who received 13.96 percent of the vote was the only non-incumbent elected.

Last June Lind was fired from his job as Prior Lake-Savage high school campus supervisor because of job performance. A closer look revealed that Lind was told by Tony Massaros, District 719 Director of Human Resources, that he could not talk about sexual abstinence with students during or after school, on or off campus, during or after school hours.

Massaros also told Lind he could not talk about abstinence in a bible study in his own home, “in youth groups at church or in small group study off campus.” Massaros allegedly censored Lind from discussing abstinence with anyone who had ever attended the district.

Not a "news story" per say, but definitely a different slant than the morning TV shows which painted Lind as next of kin to a child predator! At least the Star Tribune had a slightly more balanced article, although they end with this quote by the outgoing superintendent:

Tuesday night, he said Lind's election sent a message from voters that "it's OK to have behaviors that are not appropriate in the schools, and it's OK to stare down the superintendent and the school board and say, 'This isn't bad; I did nothing wrong.'"Gee, I wonder whose side they're on.

I'm sure there are two sides to this story (even though our local stations only gave us one of those sides). I don't know all of the details and I'm guessing Lind probably made some mistakes in the way he handed things. But had I not remembered hearing Lind's name and done some checking myself I would have completely believed what I had heard, one-sided though it may have been (shame on you, WCCO and KSTP!)

Heard one side of a story recently? Maybe it's worth checking out instead of choosing to believe rumors and gossip - even those that come from a so-called 'credible' source. (1 Corinthians 8:2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.)

"Anything Goes" at Pine City

Rosalie and I had a wonderful time at the Pine City High School production of Cole Porter's Anything Goes last night. The students really did a great job and seemed to really enjoy the production. Senior Sam Seuntjens was outstanding in one of the lead roles. Director Bradley Mariska mentioned her in an article in the Pine City Pioneer:

"I am really proud of the entire cast, but I think people will especially be blown away by Sam Seuntjens' performance as Reno Sweeney," Mariska said. "This is such a hard role (made famous on Broadway by Ethel Merman), yet she makes it look easy.”

Very true! I don’t know Sam personally, but, wow! What talent, and great stage presence!

Journey North’s students were no slouches, either! Karissa Lange also did a fabulous job in the role of Erma! I didn’t even realize that she was in the musical and I was thrilled to see her great acting abilities. Franklin Foster came back from his appendectomy earlier this week to pull of a great performance as a part of the sailor quartet. I didn’t see Kellen Montague as he was working sound, but I assume he did a good job as I could hear everything – which is not always the case in many student productions I have attended in the past.

The only drawback to the evening – the extremely uncomfortable seats in the aging and dilapidated auditorium. It’s really a shame that our students have to put up with such a substandard venue. The bright side – we will be voting on two referendum items on December 18 which will help fund additional classrooms, a new library and gymnasium at the Elementary School and an additional gymnasium and performing arts auditorium at the High School! If you live in the Pine City school district, I urge you to vote and encourage everyone you know to vote! These items are really needed! As someone with kids in the schools plus as a substitute teacher and youth pastor I can tell you firsthand that these are huge needs!

Back to the play: Congratulations to all the students who did such a great job and all the parents and staff who supported it. You guys rocked!

Next weekend: Rush City’s musical featuring youth group student Andrew Behrendt!

Moving is Moving

Our moving date is being moved (is that irony or what?) We had hoped to close on the 16^th but now our realtor is saying that the loan probably won't be complete by that day. Yikes. We are really bummed.

So now we are going to try and get stuff moved on Tuesday evening, November 20. If you’re in the neighborhood and would like to lend a hand please feel free to stop by. (We’ll have food!!) If you have a van or trailer we could use that would be another helpful bonus. We’re gathering at our current home at 4:00.

On the plus side, it looks like we're going to be okay on boxes. Thanks to all who have been helping!

[Of course if my earlier prediction of dire climatological problems comes to pass we’ll figure something else out. No more moving in rain/sleet/snow/hail/etc. for me!]

UPDATE: According to who we talk to, we may be able to close on the 16th! That means we could move on the 17th. It's a good thing I didn't put the date in the Journey North worship folders for Sunday or anything... um. Oops. Just watch the blog or my Facebook page for the final time one we know it (maybe Monday or Tuesday before we move).

Simple Church

Finally finished Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger and I would highly recommend it! The first four chapters flew by and were stuffed with great information and illustrations. The rest of the book was a bit less engaging - developing the concepts introduced in the first few chapters - but very well done, nonetheless.

The main idea is that a church’s strategy – their gospel-sharing, disciple-making method - should be a simple process. Programs should be used to move people along in this process. Complexity dilutes focus and should be avoided, even if it means having fewer programs. Simply put: Do a few things and do them well.

All church leaders should read this, and especially church planters. A church plant has a real advantage in that we are able to implement major structural principles without having to change established programs or traditions.

The concepts are not completely revolutionary – several are drawn from the excellent and even more highly recommended Seven Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones. Nevertheless, this book distills these concepts and presents them in a clear, easily accessible (you could even say “simple”) manner.

Who Are You?

I'm kind of curious about who is reading my blog, so I started a little poll (you'll see it on the right hand column under my info). If you can take a few seconds and select one of the options I'd appreciate it. If you read this on a RSS Reader please stop by and let me know who you are. Thanks!

The First Flakes of Winter

Yes, the first snowflakes of winter fell today. It's a cold and blustery day and you can tell winter is just around the corner. On the bright side that means broomball soon!

On the down side, anticipate a major meteorological event on Saturday, November 17, beginning around 1 p.m. as that is when everyone is coming to help us move. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but based on historical climatological data something major weather-wise will happen as we move. Friends in Ripon will recall helping us move to our Jackson Street house in the middle of a monsoon! Oshkosh back to Ripon came with additional rainfall - mostly a cold wet drizzle. We moved to Northfield in January accompanied by near-record snowfall, etc. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong, but if not remember you heard it here first. Get those snow blowers ready!

Super-size Weekend

Wow, what a great weekend! It's going to be a bit longer as Pine City students have Monday off of school, so having the boys at home just makes the weekend seem that much longer.

We kicked off the weekend on Friday as we celebrated Jordan's 12th birthday together. He didn't want a party, he just wanted to go out to Pizza Hut for some stuffed crust pizza. It was a nice family outing. Back at home a bit later we enjoyed his chocolate birthday cake and then sat down to watch a Survivor episode from the night before. (Survivor and Kid Nation are the only two shows our whole family enjoys watching together.) The boys and I stayed up later for Stargate: Atlantis and then I headed to bed while Jordan and Jonah stayed up for an 'all nighter' (wherein they stay up until they get too tired to be awake any longer - usually around 1 or 2 a.m. Practicing for being teenagers, no doubt).

Saturday was spent packing. Ick. I don't mind moving - that is to say I don't mind living somewhere new. What I hate is packing (and unpacking, and physically transporting all they boxes and furniture and stuff - the actual moving part of moving!) Fortunately several people have helped by providing boxes so we are okay on that front so far. The boys' trampoline got packed up in the early afternoon as it was a gorgeous day - perhaps one of our last for a while, what with snow and stuff in the forecast for early next week. I also packed up five bookshelves full of books. Rosalie worked on the boys' rooms and got them packed up. Less than two weeks now until the big move, but if we keep going like that we'll be ready, no problem.

Today Journey North Church held a 'come back event' at the Pizza Pub where we all had a fabulous time together. Great food and a great turnout. I thought we would be way down in attendance with all of the hunters out hunting, but we nearly matched our turnout from the last Pizza Pub event and easily filled the restaurant. Wonderful worship, plus we heard from Holly Larson, a missionary we are supporting from Pine City through Wycliffe Bible Translators. All in all just a terrific morning.

Now we're getting ready for the CONNECT small group meeting tonight at our house. We may have kids stay longer as there is no school tomorrow! It's such a fun group of students and sponsors. We always look forward to gathering together!

Home Sweet Home

After more than a year of looking and praying we finally found a home to purchase in Pine City! We actually found it about a month and a half ago and put an offer in on it, but it was rejected. We couldn’t afford to offer more and decided that either the timing was wrong or God had something else in store. Then last Monday our realtor called us and said they’d take our previous offer if it was still open!

So we’re set to close November 16 and move the following day (stop by and lend a hand if you’re in the area!) We are moving out of a wonderful log cabin we have been renting from a fantastic family in town. It has been a real blessing and we have used it a lot for ministry, including our new Connect small groups. Our dream, however, has been to live in town so that students can stop by more frequently and easily, as well as to minimize our own constant commuting back and forth. The house we are currently renting is about 6 miles out of Pine City and we typically run back and forth five to ten times a day or more.

Our new house on 9^th Street SW (just north of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church) is in a perfect location for us. There was a windstorm/tornado last month that wrecked the roofs of all the houses on the street. We asked for this house to be checked out. At first the current owner’s insurance company would only agree to replace a couple of shingles, but since they don’t make that shingle any more and can’t match it we’ll be getting an entirely new roof!

The house is in a great neighborhood with very friendly families, plus it’s in walking distance of both the elementary school and the junior/senior high school, not to mention Nelson’s grocery, Wal-Mart, and the new Journey North Church offices! We may not have to drive for days at a time – and with gas pushing $3 again that’s a very good thing. Plus I’ll be able to bicycle a lot more, as well, which is something I have missed while living out in the country.

The new house will also be very ministry-friendly, with plenty of room for small groups, a big back yard for cookouts, volleyball, and football, and an easily accessible location. God is so good!!

Boxes again

Now that we’re moving into town, I am once again on a search for boxes. If you live nearby and have access to boxes we could use I’d be most appreciative.

I was reminded recently of Jerry Seinfeld’s take on this topic:

To me, life boils down to one significant thing, it’s movement. To live is to keep moving. Unfortunately, this means that for the rest of our lives we’re going to be looking for boxes.

When you’re moving, your whole world is boxes. That’s all you think about. “Boxes, where are the boxes?” You just wander down the street going in and out of stores, “Are there boxes here? Have you seen my boxes?” It’s all you think about.

You could be at a funeral, everyone around you is mourning, crying, and you’re looking at the casket. “That’s a nice box. Does anybody know where that guy got that box? When he’s done with it, you think I could get it? It’s got some nice handles on it. My stereo would fit right in there.”

I mean that’s what death is, really — the last big move of your life. The hearse is like the van, the pall bearers are your close friends, the only ones you could really ask to help you with a big move like that. And the casket is that great, perfect box you’ve been looking for your whole life.

A Wonderful 13 and Counting

Rosalie and I are celebrating our 13th anniversary today. It's been an incredible adventure together and it seems like we have always been a part of each other's life. 13 is supposed to be an 'unlucky' number, but I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be married to such a wonderful woman!

We'll enjoy a nice dinner out and then come home to watch our Packers play tonight. Thirteen years ago the Packers also played on MNF two days after we wed, defeating the Bears in a 'mud-bowl'. Good memories all around!

Preview and MegaRally

It's Saturday night and I just got home from helping set up for our third (and next to last) preview service tomorrow at Pine Tech. I can't believe we'll be launching in just a month! It's so exciting to see everything come together.

Tomorrow night our junior and senior high Connect small groups go on the road as we head to Bethel University for this school year's first MegaRally with Heather Flies and Jeremiah and Vanessa Gamble. (Students leave from the church offices at 5 and return around 10 p.m.) They're doing the MegaRallies a bit different this year by combining the speaker talks with drama vignettes. It should be really cool - and it's only $3! I'm glad we live near enough to Bethel to be able to attend these.

Wow, what a week!

I'm exhausted! It's been an amazing week with tons of stuff happening (more on that later). I've had a least 5 major blog post ideas floating around in my head this week but just haven't had any time to write them up ('bad, bad blogger!')

One of my challenges is that I wait until I think of something that I think is 'blog worthy', but those posts tend to be longer. (Hey, if you're going to do something, do it right!) In the interests of keeping my blog up to date I will try to have several shorter posts. That will also help people find things they want to read about and skip those posts that don't interest them. I find myself that when I'm browsing the blogs I've subscribed to in Google Reader that I am much more likely to read the short posts than the long ones. If they're interesting, I'll save the long ones for later.

Anyway, if you're still reading this, let me recommend a blog for you to check out (see - it pays to stick around for the end!) Seth Godin's blog, creatively titled "Seth's Blog", is a great example of awesomely short posts with plenty of helpful content but brief and readable. If you don't know who Seth is, he's an author and... well, instead of me telling you, check out his blog! The funny thing is that he posted this yesterday on The Secret of Writing to Be Read:

Basically, short, simple sentences not only sell more books, but spread ideas farther and faster.

Good stuff!

Soggy Weather Doesn't Dampen Spirits at Fall Fling

Journey North's ignite students attended Fall Fling at Camp Shamineau this week and a fantastic time was had by all! In spite of the constant drizzling rain, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the retreat. Many tried out the climbing wall while others competed in the volleyball tournament. We all tried our hand at dodge ball, as well. Plus there was campfire donuts, worship, challenges from God's Word, crazy interactive skits, the Bus Dance, cribbage, a scavenger hunt, breakout discussions, pizza, more pizza, late night talks, and lots of great relationship building.

The thing that struck me about this year's retreat was the relaxed atmosphere among our group members. There was no worries about who was not getting along or which person was upset about what. Everyone just thoroughly enjoyed being together. Plus we had fantastic adult sponsors in Doug, Justin, and Pam! They all have an obvious love for kids and a desire to see them follow Jesus, and each one models that faith in their daily walk! I am truly privileged to serve with these guys!

I was particularly impressed by our students during the volleyball tournament. We defeated two teams fairly easily and headed toward the final match on Thursday night. Although we have some healthy competitive spirit, we also just enjoyed playing together. It was disheartening to realize that our opponents in the final match were... let's just say that they were less than gracious winners. We played our first game and realized that this team would challenge our abilities. As they began to score their attitude became more obnoxious. I actually think our team would have had a stronger showing during the first game but we were thrown by their attitude.

As we prepared for the second game Pam gave us a great pep talk about being good sports and being positive even when faced with the kind of negativity that came from the other team. (Let's just say Pam's motivational speeches during Fall Fling are becoming an annual highlight - I just wish they weren't necessary! She is a very competitive person and so her encouragement toward good sportsmanship and being a good witness is particularly powerful. What a great role model!)

Our second game was more closely contested - the final score being 22-20. The thing we noticed was that as we became more intentional about cheering on our opponents when they had a good hit or spike, their own negative attitudes diminished... somewhat. Although it was frustrating to lose to such a cocky team, I could not have been more proud of our students (and sponsors) and their attitudes throughout the evening!! Way to go, everyone!

A Sweep and a Retreat

Wow, it's been a busy week. We had a great Come Back Event at the Pizza Pub this past Sunday and just packed the place out! Our second Connect small group gathering Sunday night was awesome, as well, with even more students attending. All three Pine City Dragons FLAA teams (4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades) won on Saturday and Rosalie’s mom is visiting so she was able to enjoy Jonah’s team’s first victory with us. Plus the Packers won Sunday! (Even the Vikings win meant that the Bears lost, which helped out the Pack!) All in all a great weekend.

Now I'm getting ready to take students to Fall Fling at Camp Shamineau over school break this Wednesday through Friday. We have almost all of our students attending and are looking forward to a great (if a little soggy) retreat together.

Weird Requests

Do you ever wonder what goes through a kid's mind? Jordan came up to me a few minutes ago and asked, "Can I learn a foreign language on the internet?" That was an intriguing enough request in itself and I'm guessing he's looking at Spanish, French or German - one of the more common foreign languages, you know. The answer to my follow-up question was even more interesting.

"What language?" asked I.

"Portuguese."

"Portuguese? So are you going to be a missionary to Brazil or something?"

"Sure." He says, figuring it will get me to say yes.

Where does he come up with this stuff?

Students CONNECT for the first time!

After a few hours Sunday afternoon to recuperate from the great morning worship services we launched our first Connect small groups for students last night. We had a wonderful turnout and a great time sharing and fellowshipping together! Almost every student from Journey North was there, along with our first guest/newcomer! We spent some time sharing and casting the vision for the small group ministry before breaking into smaller cell groups for sharing and prayer. Next week we dive into our new study, Starting, the first six-week session of the Life Together student edition small group curriculum developed by Doug Fields and Brett Eastman.

Students also voted on the final name for Journey North student ministries. We had taken a poll earlier and narrowed it down to four finalists. Last night we settled on the new name: ignite! Now we can work on developing a logo for the ministry. (Anyone out there have some graphics skills and free time to give us a hand? I love to do this sort of thing and have some ideas but not the technical skill or software to pull it off.)

Another Awesome Weekend

Wow! Monday are often exhausting and depressing, especially coming after a big weekend of ministry. Not today. I'm exhausted, sure, but excited and energized about the amazing ways God continues to bless the ministry at Journey North!

We started with our second Preview Service(s) yesterday morning. What a joy it is to gather together with these people! We had good friends from Ripon, Wisconsin - the Hansons - visiting us for the weekend. They came to the first service yesterday and commented that they now understood why we were enjoying this ministry so much - there's a relaxed spirit and everyone is having fun worshiping and ministering together! That’s exactly it for me. It’s such a joy to gather together each week!

We had made some changes to the way things were set up at Pine Tech and it worked wonderfully – better than we could have dreamed! Thanks to all who helped make the weekend so great! And especially thanks for the ongoing prayers for our ministry as we seek to reach the great Pine City area and help point people toward Jesus Christ.

Secret Prayer Alert

Wow, what a great week. We're busy getting ready for our second preview service at Pine Tech this Sunday, plus we're launching junior and senior high Connect small groups on Sunday night. But right now I wanted to ask friends of Journey North Church to be praying extra over the next week. God has provided in hundreds of ways through so many people and incredible circumstances. Now there's some potential additional provision that would just be incredible - but I can't give any details just yet! (Don't you hate that!)

I remember when I was a kid I would go to prayer meetings with my parents and often someone would ask for prayer for an 'unspoken request'. I always thought that was kind of goofy, even though I knew that God knew the request. It still seemed odd to be praying for something you didn't know about (plus it really made me want to know what the request was!!!) Sorry to do that to you, but I will let you know that it is potentially really cool and we're just praying that God would guide the leadership as we make decisions. More later, but for now - as God brings us to mind - please pray! Thanks!

Podcast Review: What Do We Really Believe?

John Ortberg, senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and former teaching pastor at Willow Creek, is my all-time favorite preacher/speaker/teacher/author and never disappoints. I love the way he uses language and crafts his messages, plus his theological acumen is astounding. He can take complicated theological concepts and put them into very easy to understand terms.

He spoke recently on the topic of belief and a peoples Core Values (What Do We Really Believe? 6/24/07). His main point is that a person's behavior is the best indicator of what they truly believe. (This is something our lead pastor, Tim, has been talking about for a long time. Now I know where John gets his ideas from!)

Here are some clips:

Now, two people affirm the same statements. One man is humble and loving and truthful, surprisingly bold, full of life, and everybody wants to be around this guy. The other man affirms the same beliefs, but he's selfish, angry, judgmental, kind of cold-hearted, gossips about folks, proud, and nobody wants to be around him.

Here's the question: Do these two people share the same faith? Do they really believe the same things, and if they do, why are they so different?

But the real question that this is getting at is:

If faith is so important - if it's such a big deal to God that we actually say that we're saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) - faith alone - then why does faith sometimes not seem to make a bigger difference in people's lives?

How can two people have the same faith but be so different? Why doesn't faith make a bigger difference in my life?

Later on he says:

But here's what often happens in our day. In our day, we try to get people to trust Jesus for eternity - to get them into Heaven - but without learning to trust Him for their daily lives. As a matter of psychological reality, this just does not work. It reduces people who say that they trust Jesus, and who might even think that they trust Jesus, but what they do will show they do not share His ideas about the way things really are and the way life really works. And, therefore, they are not able to live the way that Jesus would live in their place. We cannot live in the way that Jesus would live if we do not share at the Core level His convictions about the way things really are.

Excellent and highly recommended. (You can download it directly from Menlo Park's website, or subscribe to the podcast through iTunes!)

The “We’re In, You’re Out” Mentality

There's a fascinating discussion going on at the Leadership Journal's Out of Ur blog on evangelicalism and emerging theology. I guess it's really only fascinating if you're into deep philosophical/theological type discussions, but I found it interesting. Two paragraphs in David Fitch's article particularly resonated with me:

I believe one weakness in evangelicalism that the emerging church is responding to is evangelicalism's excessively rationalist approach to truth and salvation that birthed a stubborn "we're in/you're out" mentality. There has been an impulse in evangelical fundamentalism towards (a) an intolerant judgmental exclusivism, (b) an arrogant, even violent, certainty about what we do know, and (c) a hyper-cognitive gospel that takes the mystery out of everything.

Many of us grew up with this. This was most obvious in the way we made hell the selling point of the gospel. We said if you do A and B, you’ll be pardoned from sin and escape hell. Those who do not do A or B are going to hell. We built an apologetic that defended this to prove to people outside the church they were doomed. It came off arrogant, coercive, unloving, and indeed antithetical to the very nature of the gospel. In a world of democratic pluralism, the gospel's witness became shut off, dispassionate, and downright sectarian. It became impossible to represent such a gospel as "good news."

While I don't consider myself 'emerging' and certainly not 'emergent', I think these insights are very accurate. How often have we presented the Good News as nothing more than 'fire insurance' and then we wonder why people believe they're 'safe' and don't have to actually follow Jesus and become more like him! Does this help explain the existence of so-called 'Christians' who think being arrogant and critical are examples of discernment and spiritual maturity?
And we wonder why Christianity has such a bad reputation.

Goodbye Gateway Computers, Acer Buys For Only $710 Million

Also reported in this month's Christian Computing magazine:

Gateway Computers are no more. For years they have been ailing. Started in 1985, they were famous for shipping their computers in boxes that looked like jersey cows. They marketed similar to Dell, avoiding sales in stores and going the direct market route. However, after the turn of the century, Dell sought to move into the business marketplace while Gateway continued to market to individual consumers. It has been a downward spiral ever since. In 1997, just 10 years ago, Gateway turned down a $7 billion takeover bid from Compaq.

Considering the final price just ten years later, you can see it has been a tough decade. In my opinion, the downfall of Gateway was due to the fact that many of their machines were proprietary when it came to add-on paraphernalia. For more information, visit: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070827/D8R9KRQ00.html

I was a huge Gateway fan for many years (back when it was Gateway 2000) and bought several computers from them for myself, friends, and church. I remember vividly when Dell began to overtake them (it was right around the same time that they dropped the 2000 from their name, but I doubt there's a connection). I don't think it was the proprietary issue so much as the fact that their customer service went downhill. That plus increasing prices (Dell began selling better computers cheaper with better service) led to their demise. You see what happens to companies that don't take care of the customer service component of their business. A cautionary tale for Dell, perhaps? I'm an avid Dell fan now, but any company that doesn't take care of the consumer...

Cell-Phone Only Homes Hits a New Mark

As reported in this month's Christian Computing magazine:

The number of homes that ONLY have cell-phones is now higher than the number of homes that ONLY have land line phones. Most homes have both. However, many people have decided they no longer needed both a cell-phone and a land line phone, and have discontinued their land-line phone. The number of homes with a land line has decreased since 2000, while the number of people obtaining a cell phone has increased sharply. And, due to great pricing plans, many have felt that keeping a land line phone, even for local calls, is just not worth the cost. For more information, visit www.nytimes.com

We did this for over a year while we lived in Northfield and it would have worked great if Sprint had better coverage! Then when we moved to Pine City we discovered Sprint still didn't work where we lived. So we changed to T-Mobile. Guess what. We live in a cell-phone dead zone area - neither Sprint nor T-Mobile work at our house. Maybe when we move someday we'll head back to cell only, but for now we're stuck with a land line.

Giant Mushroom of Doom

This enormous mushroom is one of the coolest/grossest things I have ever seen. I had no idea they grew this big - and it's in my back yard! I think I saw this once on Star Trek. Baby Horta, anyone?

(Now how do I get rid of this thing...?)

Checking E-mail at Church

I think this second stat is hysterical:

37% Mobile device users who check e-mail while driving.

12% Mobile device users who check e-mail during church.

Source: AOL as quoted in Christianity Today's Go Figure column today.

I can hardly get most students to check their e-mail at all, and there are people checking it at church? Must be the adults. (I have to confess that I have checked e-mail in the past during certain interminable committee meetings, but never during worship.)

"Like A Child" podcast recommendation

I’ve been listening to a fantastic podcast today of a recent sermon by Rob Bell titled “Like A Child.” One of his main points is that children have an amazing ability to forgive and forget and then behave like it never happened. Rob says,

“How many of you have noticed the unnerving ability of children to forgive and forget on the spot? Absolutely chilling. Perhaps this is central to life of the Kingdom - the ability to forgive…

“Central to the life of the Kingdom is forgiving people when they wrong us, and when they betray us, and when they spread rumors about us, and when they question our motives and when the hurt us and turn their backs on us and break trust with us. Central to the life of the Kingdom is forgiveness.”

Great stuff and very timely for many of us. It only gets better from there! Highly recommended.

See You at the Pole was Awesome

Had a great time at See You at the Pole this morning with about 7 students in Rush City and around 45 students at Pine City (photo above taken as students were beginning to gather)! It's so awesome to have students committed to praying for their peers, schools, cities and world!

Way to go, students! I pray that you will continue to stand for your faith graciously but fearlessly throughout the year.

(Thanks, adults, to all of you who donated food for the students following this prayer event! The students really enjoyed and appreciated it.)

E-mail, the Packers, and Brian Gotter

Many in Minnesota will remember Brian Gotter, the former meteorologist on the WCCO 4 morning news who moved back to his native Wisconsin last year where he now works for WTMJ. He is one of the most personable, enjoyable and consistently funny (often hysterical) people I have ever seen on the news. He often shared about his family both on screen and the WCCO blog. He now blogs from WTMJ and his blog, "Welcome Back, Gotter" is always amusing and fun to read.

Rosalie and I became big fans of Brian as he was a true Packer fan. WCCO always had Packer talk on Monday mornings as Brian bantered with Bill Hudson and Karen Leigh, and they often featured Packer video as well. Less so this year, although I have been informed by WCCO that they intend to do better. But I digress...

I wrote to Brian last year before he left, expressing my appreciation for his work and sadness that we were losing him from the local market. He responded quickly and warmly with kind words. I wrote again today in response to his blog post ("Packer Nation") and was greeted within minutes by another warm, personal response.

How cool is that? Certainly he has plenty to do without answering fan mail all the time. I feel bad because I have people I haven't written to in weeks or longer! I am inspired to try and return personal email as soon as possible, not waiting for later until I 'have more time' to write (like that is going to happen!)

Student Ministry Sponsors get ready for fall!

We had our youth group sponsors over to the house last night for a cookout. What a beautiful day. It was actually so hot on the first day of fall that we ended up inside with the air conditioning on!

We are so excited about what is coming up with Journey North student ministries this year. We talked about the upcoming Connect small groups on Sunday nights that will be starting in October as well as other special events, beginning with See You at the Pole this Wednesday at 7 am. We had a wonderful time with returning sponsors as well as a couple of (potential) new recruits!

It’s great to work with people you really enjoy and would be hanging out with even if you weren’t serving together!

Perceptions Are Influenced by Expectations

There's a fascinating article over at churchrelevance.com about the importance of design and first impressions when trying to reach people. A good reminder for church plants as well as any ministry that wants to reach the unreached. Here's a sample and a good reminder of how 'Christianity' is perceived by non-Christians:

...perceptions are influenced by expectations.

David Kinnaman of The Barna Group conducted a study asking non-Christians ages 16-29, “What is your current perception of Christianity?” (source)

• 91% said antihomosexual
• 87% said judgmental
• 85% said hypocritical
• 78% said old-fashioned
• 75% said too involved in politics
• 72% said out of touch with reality
• 70% said insensitive to others.

Before a church reaches someone with their website or a postcard or MySpace page, that church is already at a great disadvantage in how it is perceived by young non-Christians. For this reason, churches must do everything they can to make their first impressions great impressions.

I think this perception is more true than any Christ-follower would want to believe, and in ministry perception is reality. Sadly, these results are probably objective reality all too often as well.

Moving in

My new goal is to blog every day if possible and at least every other day. This helps keep people up-to-date both on what's going on in my life (for those friends both near and far who care) and at Journey North Church as I know many use both my and Pastor Tim's blogs as sources for both information and prayer requests. If you don't hear from me for more than one day either that means I'm just a slacker, or I've been swamped with stuff!

That explains a little of why I never got a chance to blog anything yesterday (the swamped excuse this time). We have been busy moving into our new offices this week at 1015 Hillside Ave. Suite 4, right next to the Northwoods Bank. What an awesome space for us! It will give us plenty of room to work, meet together, store stuff, etc.

Of course it's pretty empty right now. Our Facilities Task Force - or a least some of them - will be helping with decorating and general ambiance. We've had enough desks donated that we are good to go there. They came today to turn on our phone (320-629-6111) and we now have internet access, as well. We also signed the lease today for the copier (and got a wonderful deal!) We've still got a lot of stuff to get to be fully functional (chairs, general office furniture, book shelves, etc.) but we're well on our way. What a blessing! It is really going to help facilitate ministry and provide a good HQ until we have a permanent space. (I'd invite you to stop by for a cup of coffee, but we don't have a coffee maker yet. Maybe soon!)

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us. Keep it up! We are already seeing God work in amazing ways through our church!