The Dave Ambrose Blog: Your Story, My Story, God's Story

Servant Leadership

2011-12-11T04:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of taking my son Tyler and his friend Andy to the Good Sam Holiday Give-A-Way at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. It was so awesome to see so many people using their gifts to serve Jesus and other people. On the way over, I pulled out my bible and read from Mark 10 where Jesus is telling his disciples that true leadership is Servant Leadership. The way to the top is at the bottom. Jesus came to serve others and give up his life as a ransom for many. Please remind me of this today God. Mother Theresa once said, "The only real success is faithfulness." I love those words! God give me the strength and courage to live them out by serving people with your love today.

Jesus Christ: The Best Way to God

2011-07-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was giving the message in church and I referenced Jesus Christ as "the best way to God" and received quite a bit of feedback. Most people were simply inquisitive and wanted to know why I chose that phrase. Others I'm sure we're bothered by it and wondered why I hadn't used the phrase, "the only way to God" when speaking about Jesus. Here's my rationale behind why I specifically choose to use the phrase "the best way"...

First of all, personally, Jesus has proven Himself to be the best way for me to experience God. He has never let me down. I trust Him with every fiber of my being and do my best to place my confidence in Jesus Christ for every decision I make on a daily basis.

However, after recent conversations with people who definitely do not self-identify as Christ-followers, I've found that when I choose to talk with them about Jesus Christ as "the only way to God", it tends to shut down the conversation altogether. My hope is to share my faith in Christ with them. I've found it easier to have these conversations if I listen well and choose my terms wisely.

But some would say, "Jesus said of Himself, 'I am the way, and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me' (New Testament, John 14:6). If this "exclusive" phrase is good enough for Jesus, why isn't it good enough for us today?" While I certainly agree that Jesus Christ is the only way to experience a relationship with God, I also believe our methodology of sharing the Good News of Christ must continually change and adjust with our culture. I believe our current American Culture is turned off and tuned out to most Christian "conversations" these days, mainly because they are not "conversations" at all, they are one-sided monologues where Christians spout their thoughts and opinions and are quick to tell everyone "what the Bible says" instead of listening and trying to understand first and foremost so we can begin a genuine conversation with those who don't share our faith.

I wonder what would happen if we really worked at becoming better listeners, chose our terms wisely and admitted that we really don't know it all. I think it could be the beginning of a beautiful conversation...

Back at Fuller Seminary

2011-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back at Fuller Seminary continuing my D.Min. work with Tony Jones and Lauren Winner in the Christian Spirituality Cohort. This experience is going to push me to the limit...it's blowing my mind! Had a chance to sit with Phyllis Tickle, Dallas Willard and other really smart people along the way. Exciting times...

Consumerism and Personal Ambition

2011-04-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a great book by two friends of mine entitled "Renovation of The Church". In it, authors Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken talk about the destructive forces of consumerism and personal ambition upon the church today. It is speaking directly to my soul and very convicting. I have a genuine desire to process this at great lengths ad to begin living as John the Baptist lived: I must decrease so that Christ may increase...

Loves Win...The Controversy Explained

2011-04-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

This is a response to an article written by Galli in a recent edition of "Christianity Today" regarding Rob Bell's new book "Love Wins". It's quite involved, but worth the read if you're interested in this recent "evangelical controversy"...

HELL’S BELL: PART 2

Kyle Blanchette and Jerry L. Walls

Okay, I really should not be spending any more time on the Rob Bell controversy. However, a friend at Notre Dame asked my opinion of the review by Mark Galli of Christianity Today. I read it and thought it is was as revealing of weaknesses and shortsightedness in contemporary evangelical theology as it was of problems with Bell's book. In chatting with a former student who had similar thoughts, we decided to collaborate on a few further reflections. Kyle is a recent graduate of Asbury Seminary who plans to do a PhD in philosophy. I expect you will be hearing from him before too long

Galli makes a number of observations about Love Wins, some of which are certainly on target. Let's begin with where we think Galli gets it right about Bell. On the positive side, Galli is right that Bell has an uncanny way to turn a phrase and breathe new life into old theological concepts. Bell wants to widen the vision that many Christians have of the gospel, and he does this successfully and compellingly. At many points he sounds like he is channeling N.T. Wright when he stresses God's aim to bring heaven to earth, to begin eternal life now, all without undermining the reality of an eschatological heaven and earth.

On the negative side, Galli rightly points out that Love Wins sometimes suffers from a lack of precision and clarity, which often leaves readers wondering where he is going in many passages. Given the weightiness of the issues Bell has raised in this book, readers would have benefited from more careful analysis, or at least from more references to books that tackle these issues with scholarly depth and insight. Bell has a knack for raising important and pointed questions about the implications of certain versions of orthodoxy – questions that evangelicals are often either afraid to ask or unable to answer satisfactorily - but he does not always give good answers to these questions, if he gives answers at all. When dealing with controversial theological issues such as universalism and the atonement, Bell does not always present a balanced picture of both sides of a given argument. And as many other reviewers have already pointed out, Bell's handling of biblical passages is occasionally misleading, falling short in accuracy or nuance.

Galli gets right to the point in addressing Bell's alleged universalism, which was the issue that sparked the internet wars over this book, and it is here that Galli begins to fall short in his analysis of Bell. Galli is right to charge Bell with overstating traditional support for universalism (understood as the belief that all will be saved) – while many everyday Christians have undoubtedly held to this view, it is a decidedly minority position if we are talking about the broad consensus of ecumenical statements of faith (107-108). Christian theologians throughout the history of the church have by and large rejected convinced universalism, whether in their individual theologies or in communal confessional orthodoxy (although the earliest creeds do not directly address the issue of universalism, to be sure).

Nevertheless, though Galli finds it hard to believe that Bell is not a universalist in the above sense after reading the book, the evidence from Love Wins makes it very easy for us to believe that Bell is not a convinced universalist. Yes, Bell presents some arguments for universalism. But Bell lays out the possibility of a decisive and everlasting rejection of God (due to perverse human freedom) just as forcefully as he lays out the possibility of universal salvation (103-105, 113). Near the end of his survey of various positions, Bell asks, “Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices?” He then responds, “Those are questions, or more accurately, those are tensions we are free to leave fully intact. We don't need to resolve them or answer them because we can't, and so we simply respect them, creating space for the freedom that love requires.” Indeed, Bell is clear that part of what it means for love to win is for human beings to have freedom (103; 113; 116-117). In other words, Bell does exactly what Galli insists that he should have done: he stresses the possibility of eternal hell, the possibility of universal salvation, and then leaves the biblical tension unresolved. As has already been pointed out, Bell is at most a hopeful universalist.

Moreover, if Bell were to become a convinced universalist, his universalism surely would not be “barbless,” nor would it lack the crucial dimensions of judgment and repentance, nor would it “sentimentalize” the gospel by letting God's love overrun His justice, as Galli suggests. Serious Trinitarian universalists like Origen (and more recently, Thomas Talbott) do not deny the reality of judgment and hell (here and hereafter) – they simply hold that hell is not everlasting (arguing that aionios ought to be translated in another way in passages about hell) and that all will repent and come to Christ in the end. And given Galli's firm commitment to (penal) substitutionary atonement, it is more than a little puzzling why he would view universalism as necessarily sentimental and barbless. If Jesus absorbed the wrath of God, the justice issue has been settled, even if every single soul is saved. Certainly Galli would affirm that the sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient to satisfy the justice of God for the sins of the whole world; even the most dyed-in-the-wool, limited-atonement Calvinist would heartily affirm that. Wrath, after all, is just another expression of God's holy love (his anger at sin is aimed at our repentance and ultimate well being) so in the end there is no tension between God's justice and His love, even if everyone is saved.

This leads us to Galli's treatment of Bell's reflections on the atonement. He rightly notes that Bell brings forth the variety of biblical metaphors used to describe Christ's death. Bell is clear that we should not let any single metaphor dominate our understanding of what happened on the cross; each one was a creative expression of the biblical authors’ intention to communicate the vastness of what Christ has done for us and for the world (126). Galli argues that Bell's principal way of explaining the personal effects of the cross is through the moral exemplar model of the atonement, a staple of liberal Protestant theology. But while some of Bell's statements do resonate with this model (which Galli also sees as at least one aspect understand the atonement), it is highly doubtful that all of Bell's thoughts on the personal application of the atonement can be explained through the lens of the moral exemplar model of the atonement. As Galli himself observes, Bell spends quite some time explaining the Christus Victor view of the atonement, which Bell rightly points out held sway in the first thousand or so years of the church in some form or another (128). Galli struggles to see how such a view could have personal as well as cosmic implications, but in its richest forms, Christus Victor undoubtedly encompasses both the cosmic and the personal, both the subjective and the objective. Indeed, Galli's preoccupation with (penal?) substitutionary atonement as a defining mark of orthodoxy reveals the provincial way in which many evangelical Christians confuse their particular version of orthodoxy with orthodoxy itself, which is far broader in offering several possible interpretations of key doctrines of orthodoxy than many evangelicals realize.

Bell's questioning of certain versions of substitutionary atonement (it is not at all clear that Bell rejects all substitutionary theories as inadequate) is one reason among many as to why Galli finds it appropriate to associate Bell with the tradition of theological liberalism, naming in particular such thinkers as Friedrich Schleiermacher, Albrecht Ritschl, Rudolf Bultmann, and Paul Tillich. Admittedly, relatively recent history provides reason to worry that evangelicals will lose their doctrinal moorings and drift carelessly into liberalism of one variety or another. Many institutions have lost their evangelical identity to this movement as essential Christian doctrines were displaced by wishy-washy, “demythologized” reinventions that bear little or no resemblance to classical Christian orthodoxy. In this instance, however, the fear of theological liberalism seems to loom so large that it prompts Galli to misread Love Wins in a number of significant ways.

First of all, if Bell is a theological liberal, he is one of a very odd sort, for he affirms all of the central commitments of consensual creedal orthodoxy, such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the Atonement, the Resurrection, a Final Judgment at the end of history, and the like. In light of this, it is hard to read this characterization as more than an attempt at guilt by association. Indeed, the fact that Galli invokes four such towering representative of liberal theology in his critique of Bell, a pastor who makes no pretense of being an academic, suggests that Bell has hit a nerve in a way that is deeply unsettling to the Reformed (and Reformed-leaning) hegemony that holds in many evangelical circles. Be that as it may, we think the comparison of Bell to the likes of Schleiermacher and Bultmann is farfetched to put it mildly. But let's address the specific points at which Galli sees Bell as drifting into the land of theological liberalism.

Galli reads Bell's comments about the difficulty for modern people to understand the sacrificial dimensions of the atonement as evidence that Bell's central aim in this book is to make Christianity palatable to the modern world. The criterion that seems to be driving Bell's hermeneutic, he says, is “what contemporary people can swallow” as if Bell, like Schleiermacher, is willing to domesticate the gospel so it will be acceptable to Christianity's “cultured despisers,” the intellectually elite of our time. But a careful reading of Love Wins suggests a far different aim. Bell instead seems to be concerned with bruised and battered sinners (like the woman he tells us about who gives him a number each week which signifies how many days since she has cut herself, pp 163-4) who have been given a deeply distorted picture of the love of God and the Christian gospel. In pointing out that modern people have a hard time relating to the sacrificial metaphor of Christ's death (128-129), Bell is not saying the death of Christ cannot be helpfully described as a sacrifice. He is simply making the claim that certain metaphors will have more power in some cultures and times than in others, which is quite clearly true.

Galli also takes Bell to be undermining plenary biblical inspiration and authority when Bell describes the sacrificial metaphor as an example of the “brilliant, creative work” of the biblical authors (129). For Galli, this is Bell's way of dismissing certain biblical truths based solely upon the inability of contemporary people to swallow it. But here as elsewhere, Galli is seeing something that is just not there. The issue of biblical authority and inspiration is not even in view in Bell's discussion. Bell's characterization of biblical metaphor as an example of creative writing does not at all entail that Bell does not believe these passages of the Bible are inspired or true (and certainly something need not be “literal” to be true). He just highlights the fact that the cultural milieu to which some of these metaphors applied is now foreign to many modern people, which makes it difficult to communicate the cross to such people using these metaphors. Again, Bell is right about this.

Beyond the charges of questioning “the relevance of substitutionary atonement and the last judgment,” Galli asserts that Bell argues that Jesus is merely the “vivid image of the eternal reality we all experience.” Galli then asks, “If Jesus' death and resurrection are merely an expression of 'how the universe works,' why all the bother? Why do we need Jesus to come and die and rise when this is something we see daily in the fabric of the universe, a knowledge that, as Bell suggests, we have instinctively sensed all along?” What Galli seems to be saying is that Bell's view of the atonement strikes at the particularity and the necessity of the death and resurrection of Jesus. But by pointing to echoes of the divine truth of redemption through death and resurrection throughout nature, Bell is not at all saying that Christ did not thereby need to defeat death for us, or that the events of Christ's life aren't the full revelation of God the Father, or that Christ isn't the unique means by which we can be saved. These are just non-sequiturs that seem to derive more from a fear of liberalism than a close reading of Bell's book.

This brings us to one of the central confusions surrounding the current discussion of Love Wins. Some contemporary evangelical theologians fail to make a sufficiently clear distinction between Inclusivism and Pluralism. Inclusivism is the view that all are saved through Christ, but that some may be saved through Hiis universal prevenient grace without an explicit knowledge of Him in this life (in a way similar to Old Testament saints). Inclusivists believe that all persons must eventually confess Christ, but that many will embrace and own Christ only in the afterlife. Pluralism is the view that “all paths lead to God,” which holds that all religions are equally true and equally valid means to some common religious reality. In Love Wins, Bell couldn't have been clearer that he is an Inclusivist rather than a Pluralist (154-155). Bell's main concern in chapter 6 of his book, as elsewhere, seems to be to show that God's saving love is extended to all, even those who never hear of Christ in this life. So when Bell says that Jesus and the New Testament don't say “how, or when, or in what manner the mechanism functions that gets people to God through him” (154), he is just giving a clear statement of Inclusivism, which has been affirmed by many orthodox believers throughout the centuries, from Justin Martyr to John Wesley. And in a move that may indeed be “a bridge too far” for many evangelicals, Bell believes that God's grace will be offered even beyond death to persons who have yet to put themselves beyond saving, particularly those who have either not heard of Jesus or who have only been presented with a garbled and distorted picture of Jesus. And it does remain puzzling why so many evangelicals are resistant to a picture of the perfect love of God that doesn't give up until there is no hope. The idea that God would make only a half-hearted attempt when it comes to the salvation of so many seems to us clearly inconsistent with the biblical depiction of God's perfectly good nature (and the biblical and theological arguments usually advanced against the idea of postmortem grace do not seem to us at all compelling).

On the whole, Galli seems to have misread both Bell's aim and his theological trajectory in Love Wins. In fact, the closest analogue to Bell here would actually be C.S. Lewis, the evangelical hero, if not patron saint. Lewis was an Inclusivist who believed that it is possible for those who have not heard of Jesus to exercise implicit faith in God through God's universal prevenient grace (see C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, ch 9; see also James Sennett’s essay “Worthy of a Better God” in The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy). Moreover, while Lewis affirmed the atonement was essential to Christianity, he insisted that no particular theory if it is, and the view he preferred was not penal substitution. And like Bell, Lewis also believed that God would never give up on someone so long as there is still hope, even if that meant pursuing them with His grace beyond death. Indeed, at the end of The Great Divorce, Lewis leaves the door open to the possibility of universal salvation in a way not entirely unlike Rob Bell in Love Wins, though Lewis did not himself believe that all will be saved. Arguably, Bells main goal in his new book is to offer a picture of God's love that is never-ending and all-embracing.

While the concern about drifting into theological liberalism is justified and reasonable as far as it goes, if evangelical theology cannot accommodate a truly convincing account of God's expansive holy love, liberalism will seem to many a better alternative than narrow, Reformed-leaning evangelicalism. A robust and biblical view of God's universal holy love does not at all lead to an abandonment of the atonement, biblical authority, biblical ethics, or any other staple of classical orthodoxy. The only real sense in which the all-embracing, never-ending holy love of God is “liberal” or “liberal-leaning” is that it is indeed given freely and abundantly to all. There is undoubtedly a hard-edge to holy love; it is irreconcilable with unrepentant sin. But many evangelicals simply locate the rough edges of exclusivity when it comes to classical Christianity in the wrong places, as if God is a holy, consuming fire only if some persons are left out of a full chance at salvation. One wonders if many evangelicals have put the error of theological liberalism in the driver's seat of their theological method – and we all know the abysmal driving record of error when it gets behind the wheel.

Loves Wins

2011-04-03T19:02:00.001-07:00

So was it an April Fools Day Joke or is the last line in "the book" a typo? I think all the controversy is kinda funny...Maybe Rob's trying to tell us all how all three members of the Trinity can love us equally? Or maybe it's an intentional typo meant to get us thinking. What do you think? Why are people so upset over "loves wins"? And why didn't anyone catch it earlier? I's don't know and I's don't care...

Christian Spirituality Cohort

2011-02-14T12:20:00.001-08:00

I'm super-excited to be a part of this new Christian Spirituality Cohort Fuller Seminary is offering: http://blog.tonyj.net/2011/02/a-doctor-of-ministry-from-fuller-theological-seminary/. Tony Jones will be leading the cohort along with some wonderful speakers and authors from all over the world. I'm honored to be a part of this Doctorate of Ministry program through Fuller and look forward to seeing what God's going to do with our group. What are you doing to allow God to grow your soul closer to Him today?

Why Forgiveness is Tough At Times...

2011-02-05T04:44:00.001-08:00

I read these words from one of my favorite authors, Henri Nouwen, as I was preparing for the message tomorrow. It comes from "Forgiving in The Name of God".

We are all wounded people. Who wounds us? Often those whom we love and those who love us. When we feel rejected, abandoned, abused, manipulated, or violated, it is mostly by people very close to us: our parents, our friends, our spouses, our lovers, our children, our neighbors, our teachers, our pastors. Those who love us wound us too. That's the tragedy of our lives. This is what makes forgiveness from the heart so difficult. It is precisely our hearts that are wounded. We cry out, "You, who I expected to be there for me, you have abandoned me. How can I ever forgive you for that?"

Forgiveness often seems impossible, but nothing is impossible for God. The God who lives within us will give us the grace to go beyond our wounded selves and say, "In the Name of God you are forgiven." Let's pray for that grace.

Really got me thinking...what about you?

Interested in $1000?

2011-01-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hey! My church is looking for a new position and we could use your help! It could even pay off BIG TIME for you. Check this out:

Dear Worship Pastor,
If “The Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon-Deal” is true, odds are that you know or know someone who knows our next “Pastor of Worship Expression” at BridgeWay. Of course we’ve listed it on churchstaffing.com, but the best source of great candidates for any staff position is referrals like you. You’re busy and probably WON’T forward this e-mail, but we thought you MIGHT if we paid you $1,000.

Here’s how “$1,000 and Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon-Deal” works. Forward this e-mail to potential candidates you know asking two questions: 1) Are you a great candidate for this position? 2) Do you know other great candidates for this position? When we make the hire, we will follow the e-mail thread back and PAY EACH person God has used in the referral process $1,000—up to six degrees of separation.

Our top priority is not finding a worship leader (a.k.a. guitar guy) on Sundays, but rather finding a leader of worship who can champion its expression throughout our church 365 days a year. So take a moment to take a look at the attached position profile, then forward it to all the great candidates you know. Trust me, finding right person for is worth MORE than money to us, because at BridgeWay worship MATTERS.

Here's the link to the job profile and how they can turn in their resume:
http://www.bridgewaycc.com/resources/job-opportunities/
Remember, if your lead helps us hire our next Pastor of Worship Expression, we'll pay you $1000!

Melody's Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-01-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

My wife's peanut butter cookies remind me of how blessed I am to walk through life with this wondeful woman. We've been on this journey together for almost 20 years now and each day it seems like I discover something else to count as a blessing. We think alike, we enjoy the same things, yet we are different enough to continue to be intrigued by one another. It's amazing how God knew (from eternity past) that she was the perfect girl for me. Everything she does is magic...everything she does just turns me on. Even though my life before was tragic...now it seems like life has just begun!

Why God?

2010-12-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest thoughts on what's going on with my sister Dawn at: http://www.bridgewaycc.com/dave-ambrose/why-god/

Humility Embodied

2010-11-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

I've had the privilege of spending the week sitting under the spiritual teachings of Father Richard Rohr. It has been so refreshing to interact with a man who is at home with himself, with nothing to prove. He is so humble and teachable and grateful. He doesn't pretend to have life all figured out. He certainly doesn't have all of the answers. He's simply one of the most effective teachers I've ever had the privilege of sitting under. He's a man moving toward full integration with the Non-Dual mind. I only wish more religious leaders were like him...including myself. Lord, give me this kind of humility...so I can humbly serve those you bring across my path.

Rohr Rocks My World

2010-11-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

I started my doctoral work toward achieving my D.Min at Fuller Seminary and I'm currently out here in Pasadena taking a class called Action and Contemplation with Father Richard Rohr. Wow...it's mind-blowing! I can't believe all of the new horizons that he has opened up to me using the Scriptures. I can't believe how limited my own dualistic mind can be at times with all of its pre-conceived notions and ideas. It's great to hear another viewpoint. It's wonderful to sit in class with Christ-followers from so many different traditions. It stretches me to think. I love to do that! I love to learn! It reminds me of how important it is to remain humble and teachable because there's always so much more to learn. If this first class is any indication of what the pursuit of this degree is going to be like, I'm super-excited! Now I pray that God gives me the faith (and the finances) to keep going!

Its Been Awhile...

2010-10-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's been awhile hasn't it? I guess I got tired of writing online and went back to my pen and journal...I've always been a little Old School. Anyway, I took this week off for vacation and spent time with the fam, in the Word...its been great! Today I'm going to watch my son play in a Marching Band competition. I got online this morning to try and find a church to visit tomorrow morning since I've got the week off and I want to see what some other people are doing out there. Wow, it was enlightening to jump online and see all the different churches in our area and how each one of them have slick websites and great presentations. It struck me how there are so many people in our area trying to reach Pre-Christian people with the Good News of the Kingdom of God. I'm just a small part of that effort. But it also struck me how important it is to simply be yourself...to be real. I can't reach everyone in this community. A lot of them don't even want to be reached, but I know Jesus has a plan for this community and I know that I'm here right now doing what He's asked me to do, so I will continue to take one step forward and allow Him to use me. I can't change the world by myself, I have a hard enough time just changing me. But I believe in a God who is powerful enough to change the world and I trust Him to work in my life today. I trust Him to use me to bring His Good News to everyone I cross paths with. And I can't wait to see what He has in mind. Now with all that said, I don't really have a desire to change the whole world. I just have a desire to be faithful and follow Him. So that's what I'm going to try and do today. I'm going to be faithful, and I'm going to follow. When Jesus was here, He didn't even save everyone...just the ones the Father gave to Him. So Father, give me your eyes to see today...

Religulous?

2010-05-23T05:12:00.001-07:00

A friend recently gave me the Bill Maher movie Religulous to review so we could sit down and talk about it together. While I don't recommend the movie to the faint of heart, I found many parts of it fascinating. It was amazing to me how many people in the world view religion and particularly Christianity. Most people in the movie saw Christians as people who are so intensely focused on "the next life" that they are pretty useless for this life...people that are so focused upon "going to heaven when we die" that they have forgotten about the plans God has for them in this life.

I believe the Bible teaches that God designed us for good, that we were damaged by evil, but that Jesus restored us for something better...He wanted to use us to bring healing and reconciliation to the world! I also believe that what we do in this life has a direct effect on what we'll be doing in the next life. In other words, this life is a place where we become the kind of people who God can use in eternity where we'll be ruling and reigning with Him in an interactive relationship forever and ever. THIS LIFE MATTERS! God created me and blessed me so that He could use me to bring His blessing to the entire world!

I don't want to be "religulous". I want to be in an interactive relationship with God, serving Him and allowing Him to use me in any way he sees fit. I want to ask good questions and seek out truth. I don't think doubt is bad, because I see all truth as God's truth and I believe when I genuinely seek after truth, God reveals more and more of it to me.

Thanks Mr. Maher for getting me thinking. Thanks for challenging me to go deeper in my faith and really know WHY I believe WHAT I believe. I don't believe we do the world much good when Christians "check their brains at the door" and blindly follow...there are things we CAN know and need to seek out and live out if our faith is going to be real! I want that kind of "religion"...religion that follows after Christ with everything I've got...religion that serves those less fortunate than me with a burning passion...religion that is real and active and based in knowledge. Give me that kind of passion today Jesus!

My Hands Are What I Use to Serve Jesus

2010-03-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was in Cleveland this weekend for my dad's Retirement Party. It turned out to be an amazing time...Read more

Living Out the Power of Christ can be Challenging!

2010-03-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

It's one thing to get up and preach about the Power of Christ, it's quite another thing to actually try and live it out on a dialy basis! It's only Monday and I've already had to use the Prayer Card I handed out at the end of the service yesterday three times! Apparently I need to continually remind myself that http://www.bridgewaycc.com/dave-ambrose/living-out-the-power-of-christ-can-be-challenging/

A Snow-i-Cane? Really?

2010-02-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

I read something online today about a Snow-i-Cane hitting the east coast and I thought to myself: Really? It's just a little snow isn't it? What's wrong with these people? For some perspective, maybe these folks up in the northeast should talk to some folks from Buffalo or Cleveland. To these folks, 8 inches of snow is a "dusting"...

Don't get me wrong, I hate snow too, and I'm just about done with it for this season. But a Snow-i-Cane? C'mon man...My opinion: This is just another one in the long list of WeatherPerson Hypes! It disgusts me...

A Few Good Men

2010-02-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a Men's Nicaragua Mission Trip Reunion at my house and I was struck again by what a great bunch of guys I had the opportunity to serve with just a few weeks ago on our trip. Guys who love Jesus, but also know how to have fun. Guys who work hard, but also know how to relax. Guys who are secure enough to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. I haven't laughed any harder than when I'm with these guys. I'm blessed to call them my friends. Thank-you Jesus for allowing me to serve alongside them for a few days. Thanks for the opportunity to make a difference. It's amazing to me...I went away to help the people of Nicaragua, but I was the one who got help...through the vulnerability of a few good men.

Addicted? No Way...

2009-12-07T06:24:00.001-08:00

What's amazing to me is how many years I "struggled" with my addiction before I was willing to admit it was an addiction. I called it a "problem", an "issue", something I was "struggling" with...but that word ADDICTION stood out to me. Surely I couldn't be an "addict". An "addict" was someone who had to check into a rehab clinic or get some serious help. An "addict" was homeless and out on their own. There's no way I could be an "addict" because I was still able to "manage" my life on my own for the most part...or was I?

Wow! I'll never forget that day when it finally hit me - I AM POWERLESS OVER THIS "ADDICTION". I can't do it on my own. There has to be Someone who can help me. I hope there's Someone more powerful who can rescue me. That was the day I started getting better. The day I finally felt enough pain to force me down a path of recovery. The day when I was finally able to say, "Hi, my name's Dave, and I'm an addict." We won't start getting better until that day. The day we completely surrender control of our lives to God...the day we ultimately determine that we can't handle life on our own. We need God's help and we need help from other people who can come alongside of us and offer healing. I'm so grateful for that day...and I want to live TODAY out of that gratefulness and thanksgiving!

Cleveland Indian Fans Unite...It's Playoff Time!

2009-10-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio I couldn't help but become a Cleveland Indians Baseball Fan. And now it's my favorite time of the year - October! Time for the playoffs! Just think Indians fans...we get to watch all of our favorite players actually COMPETE IN THE PLAYOFFS! You remember them don't you? All those players who "weren't good enough" to play for the Indians: Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee will pitch the Phillies into the playoffs, Manny Ramirez will strike deep for the Dodgers, Victor Martinez will carry the flag for the Boston Red Sox and of course yet another Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia will pitch for the hated New York Yankees. I'm sure there are many others out there who weren't good enough to play for the Tribe who we will all get to see in action for many other teams throughout the playoffs too. This is my favorite time of year! Who knows, maybe we'll get to see Eric Wedge or even Mark Shapiro leading some other teams to the playoffs in the not too distant future as well huh? C'mon Tribe Fans! It's time to UNITE! This should be one of the best playoffs ever - so wake up from your season long depression and open up your eyes to all the optimism growing all around us...after all, what have we got to lose?

Where Has Ambrose Been?

2009-09-01T07:21:00.001-07:00

Where Has Ambrose Been?

Last July 8, my family and I left for our first sabbatical in 18 years of full-time vocational ministry. BridgeWay was kind enough to extend this incredible gift to us as a way to help us re-charge our ministry batteries and re-fresh our souls. I can’t thank them enough! These past 8 weeks have been amazing. God has done some very cool stuff in our souls and we are coming back to ministry more excited than ever, but different than we’ve ever been. Let me share some of our time with you:

July 8-13 I taught LABS for 1000 high school students at DCLA in Washington, DC. I taught with my son Josh and Becca Parker. They did an amazing job teaching their friends how to BE, LOVE and SERVE Jesus with their entire life.
From there, we left for a whirlwind tour of the east coast and New England. Typical of the Ambrose Family, we ate our way through the whole thing…

In Baltimore we had world famous crab cakes on the Inner Harbor.
In Philly we had cheese steaks at Cosmi’s Deli on 8^th Street. A bit off the beaten path, but the best in town. We also enjoyed all the famous sites including The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
From there, we were off to New York City where I got a traffic ticket for blocking an intersection and was pretty much in a foul mood from that point on. I did manage to enjoy Times Square and the Statue of Liberty while munching on some New York Style Pizza and Cheese Cake.
After NYC, we headed up to New England stopping along Cape Cod to do some family genealogy for my wife along the way in Barnstable, Norwich and other cool towns.
Boston was our next stop and one of our favorite cities. We ate our way through The Quincy Market, had some Clam Chowder and saw all the beautiful spots in this city. We plan on returning someday just Melody and I. It was a clean, friendly place and the whole family loved it!
Our next stop was Plymouth Rock, which is very underwhelming. It’s a small rock in the water. That’s it.
Then we left for Maine. We had some friends invite us to stay with them for a couple days and when their Pastor heard we were coming, he made arrangements for us to stay in a house right on the edge of the ocean. It was amazing! He also bought 10 lobsters ($3 each) and cooked them up for us one night. We ate like kings! God is good.
While we were in Maine, we stopped at Quaddy Head Lighthouse which is the farthest eastern point in the USA and the spot where the sun comes up first each morning in America. We also took a quick trip into New Brunswick, Canada while we were there.
After leaving Canada, we drove up one hour north of Bangor to see Melody’s Aunt Betty who lives in Enfield, ME in the middle of nowhere. She’s a kind lady and we enjoyed our short visit with her.
Then we left for a long drive across Maine, New Hampshire and into Vermont. Some great friends from church grew up there and their parents still live just outside of Waitsfield. They allowed us to stay at their apartment in the middle of nowhere for a week. We did nothing…together. We prayed, read a lot, played games as a family and just rested up. It was exactly what we needed.
After that very quiet week, we headed to Cleveland, Ohio for a family reunion at Mohican Campground with the Ambrose Family. Of course we stopped din Buffalo, NY at the Pearl Street Brewery for a bucket of wings. In fact, Josh managed to eat wings in every city we stopped at on our tour! He said the best ones were in DC at Fodo Restaurant believe it or not.
After a few days with my family in a campground, it was time to get back to Fishers so the boys could start school on August 12.

Since then, I have spent a week of silence at Gethsemani in Trappist, KY just listening to God, reading my Bible and journaling. I asked God to refresh my heart and make me into a spiritual man of prayer and encouragement. He challenged me and excited me to return to ministry and share some of what He’s been doing in me and my family with our church family at BridgeWay.

Melody and I have also spent some time just talking and praying together (since the kids have gone back to school). We have taken some long walks, worked out at the YMCA and just enjoyed being with one another hanging our in our yard gardening or whatever.

God has drawn my heart closer to Him during this sabbatical. He has drawn my heart and Melody’s heart closer to one another through some great, long talks together. He has also refreshed our family and prepared us to re-enter vocational ministry with a completely different perspective! After all, what good would it be if I just returned to BridgeWay the same tired, stressed out person I was when I left right? I’m excited to return to ministry after learning a few new things from God…

This is not MY ministry, it’s His. I cannot care for it more than He does. I cannot manipulate people to want to change or pursue a relationship with God, that’s the Holy Spirit’s job.
I have a life outside of ministry. I am not my ministry. My identity is a child of the King of Kings. My relationship with Him is my first priority. My family is a huge priority in my life, my relationship with my wife and kids…my relationship with friends is what matters right after my relationship with God.
God has called me to be a man of prayer and encouragement to others. He has called me to teach and coach and lead other young leaders who are excited about their spiritual life. I’m super-excited about this!
Another thing God has been putting on my heart is how He wants me to teach some more practical classes on spirituality at BridgeWay. He wants me to travel with some people on spiritual retreats and encourage them along in their spiritual life. In order to do that, I must continue to spend time in prayer and Bible Study myself. I’ve had lots of that kind of time on my sabbatical and have heard Him whisper to me very clearly.

I “officially” start back on Tuesday, September 8, but my heart has already re-engaged and I couldn’t be more excited to share life with all of you who call BridgeWay your church home. Thanks for allowing me this time away. It has helped tremendously. It has helped me want to stay in ministry. It has helped me fall in love with Jesus again in a whole new way! I know there will still be difficult challenges I will have to fight through. Ministry is a spiritual deal and we have a real enemy who wants to discourage us and destroy us, but I have seen the vision of what god wants for my life and I am re-energized! Thanks again for your support. The staff and other volunteers at BridgeWay who “covered” for us while we were gone are amazing people and I hope to return the favor someday in whatever way I can.

Have a great Labor Day weekend. I’ll see you soon!

Dave Ambrose

Christ-Centered Community

2009-07-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight I sat down for a meal with an old friend and some people I had never met before. They brought fresh lobster right out of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine. We cooked them , cleaned them and then ate them together...and in the meantime, we shared stories together, laughed together and realized we had one thing in common: Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we could enjoy a great night together. He holds us together. He shows us how to live. He is our Center. Thank-you Father for this incredible life you have given me...and thanks for people made in yoru image who can become friends for a lifetime.

What's a Sabbatical?

2009-06-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

My family and I will be heading out for a "Sabbatical" on July 8. The Elders at BridgeWay have graciously given me six weeks to rest, reflect and remember who God is and what He's doing in my life and ministry. Not everyone gets a sabbatical, so I know how lucky I am...and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Typically, Melody and I have served in churches for about 5 or 6 years and then got so burned out on ministry and everything that comes iwth it, that we just left for another ministry thinking things would be better - or at least different somewhere else. I wonder what would've happened if I had taken a sabbatical instead of just leaving? Maybe I wouldn't have had to leave...

I've never had the privilege of taking a sabbatical in all of my 18 years of full-time Christian ministry, but I gotta tell ya - I need one. I can feel in in my soul...Now I certainly don't want to sound like a complainer, but life in the ministry can get pretty crazy at times...my schedule can get pretty wild. I love what I do in ministry...there's just always a lot of it! I know some people joke about Pastors only working on Sundays, but for the past 18 years, I've probably worked on most of the other days too...Not just speaking or performing weddings and funerals, but praying for people going through major life challenges...counseling people who are thinking of throwing in the towel...challenging people who have relaly messed up and encouraging them get back on track. In short, a Pastor's job is to shepherd people...to guide them, protect them from the enemy and help them become more like Jesus. And this can be a 24/7 job. But in order to do a good job with all of that, a Pastor has to spend time with Jesus Himself!

So this is what I'm doing with my sabbatcial starting July 8:

Melody and I and the boys are going to travel over to Washington, DC where I'll be speaking with my son and Becca Parker at DCLA for over 5000 students form all over the world.
Then we're going to drive up the east coast together and see my sister and her family as well as a few other great cities (New York, Boston, Philly) along the way.
We're going to stop over in Maine to see some "kids" who used to be in our youth ministry back in 1991 when we first started out in life. They own a lobster boat and want us to share some "lobster hunting" with them for a few days.
Next, we'll drive over to northern Vermont where a great family from BridgeWay is allowing us to stay in their "cabin in the woods" for a couple weeks where we can just be quiet, pray and take some long walks in the woods just to think and learn the importance of being still again.
Then we'll head back toward Indy and stop in Cleveland, Ohio for a Family Reunion. Cleveland is God's Paradise here on earth ya know?
Finally, once we get back to Indy, the kids will get back to school, and I'll have a chance to read the Bible, rest, take a few long prayer walks and take my annual pilgrimmage to Gethsemani Monastary (www.monks.org) in Trappist, Kentucky just to learn to fall in love with Jesus all over again in the silence and solitude of the monastary.

Melody and I will also have a great opportunity to recharge our batteries and invest in our marriage again too. We're both hoping God will meet us and help us re-charge so that we can return to ministry at BridgeWay and continue pouring ourselves into all the great people God leads across our path!

I want to thank all of you for providing this opportunity to yoru pastors and staff at BridgeWay. It means the world to us. We would appreciate your prayers while we're gone too! Prayers for safety and refreshment...along with prayers for God to meet us along the journey.

I'm preaching this Sunday July 5 at BridgeWay and then we'll be gone until after Labor Day...so I hope you have a terriffic summer if I don't get to see you before we leave! And I hope you'll take some time to pursue Jesus in your own way too this summer. It's the most important thing you could be doing with your time.

God Bless! Have a Great Summer.

Dave Ambrose

Another ACL Injury

2009-06-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Four years ago I had my ACL in my left knee replaced with a hamstring tendon by Dr. Kolias at OrthoIndy in Indianapolis. I started playing hoops again and really enjoying myself...that is until June 15 when someone undercut me at the local YMCA while I was going in for a layup. I had no where to land and my right knee buckled and I blew out my other ACL as well as damaged my miniscus pretty badly.

Off to OrthoIndy I went again, but this time Dr. Kolia was on vacation...so I saw Dr. Patel. After x-rays and an MRi, Dr. Patel confirmed that I had blown out another ACL. At first I was a little angry at the guy who undercut me. I was a little angry at God for the timing of the whole thing (I have to speak at DCLA in two weeks and then head out on a 6 week sabbatical). I had just finished taking care of my wife - who was recovering from her own surgery...and now this! C'mon God...can't I catch a break?

But then it hit me...even stuff like this is part of God's plan for my life. Somewhere in the middle of all this, he has a plan for me and my family and He wants me to learn through it all...He wants me to learn to trust Him even more. So this is an opportunity - it's an opportunity to learn to listen and slow down. It's an opportunity to allow others to take care of me (which is much more difficult than I ever imagined...). It's an opportunity to reflect on my life and see what God wants for me in the middle of it all.

So I went under the knife this past Tuesday, June 23. I had an allograft (cadavor) ACL replacement with major miniscus repair. It was a 2 hour surgery. The hospital was great! They gave me medicine to handle my nausea that I tend to get under anesthesia...and I didn't experience ANY side effects (besides saying a few crazy things). I had a nerve block in my leg too - that was interesting. My knee cap jumped involuntarily along with my toes...pretty weird. The next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room.

I've been working hard since then. I've got my Constant Passive Motion Machine (CPM) up to 110 degrees - as high as it will go - and its only been 4 days. At my follow up appointment, Dr. Patel sais I can't put any weight on my knee for two weeks! That's much different than my first surgery where I was putting weight on it right away. It's been pretty interesting as I've researched this deal on the Internet...some Docs say put weight on it right away, others don't. So for now, I'm using my crutches, trying to strengthen my leg and staying off of it for the most part. I have a full leg brace I wear when I get out for anything, and I have to wrap my entire leg in saran wrap when I get in the shower. It's been a much slower last few days to say the least, but I'm trying to see God in the middle of it all.

Its been great to have so many friends stopping by to check on me as well as a trememndous life partner to take care of me and encourage me along the way. Melody and my boys have been outstanding. I just hate feeling like a liability as I lay here and recover. I just want to walk, drive and get back to "normal" ya know? Whatever "normal" is...

Jesus, thanks for helping me through this. Thanks for what you're doing in my life by slowing me down. Help me trust you as I walk through this recovery process.

Slowing Me Down

2009-06-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I was playing basketball and tore my ACL in my right knee. Back in 2004 I tore the ACL in my left knee and had it repaired...looks like I've got another surgery coming sooner than I expected. I'm supposed to leave for a sabbatical at work starting July 8 through Labor Day and I'm questioning God on the timing of this injury. I gott be honet, I was pretty depressed on Tuesday as I thought it all through. I love playing basketball. I'm not that good, but I love to play and get some exercise with a bunch of other guys. Why would God allow something like this to happen now? I had a lot of plans for the sabbatical...hiking, walking, etc. Now what do I do? Or maybe God was trying to tell me something. Maybe He was trying to slow me down some. Or maybe it wasn't God at all. Maybe it was the enemy trying to foil my plans. How do you tell the difference? Or maybe it was just my own stupidity...trying to play hoops with a bunch of twenty-somethings when you're 41 isn't the smartest idea in the world is it?

So where do I go from here? I'm thinking about convincing my doctor to do the surgery this week so I can start down the recovery road, but who knows...

One thing I know: God and me are good. It took a few days for me to chill out and listen to what He wanted to say to me, but I think I got it. He's saying: David, I'm God through the good and the not so good. Trust me. I will never leave you or forget about you. I love you David.

I think that's good enough for me.

Faith and the Swine Flu

2009-04-30T13:02:00.001-07:00

Wow! There sure seems to be a lot of attention on the Swine Flu this week huh? It's a real shame that people all over the world are being affected by this thing and I hate that some are even dying. But this whole deal got me thinking about my life and where I put my trust. Is my trust in hand sanitizer? Is my trust in staying out of public places or refusing to shake hands? Or is my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? I want to believe that Jesus is in control over every part of my life...even if I happen to catch some horrible disease someday. This world is under a curse and only jesus can set it right in the end. But for now, all I can do is trust Him and stop worrying about all the little things that I run across every day. Fear can drive me to withdraw. Fear can keep me up at night. Fear can paralyze me. That's why I have to learn to put my faith and trust in jesus for every part of my life, every single day. Lord, I love you and I know that You are ultimately in charge of this universe. I trust that anything you allow to come my way, you will use for my good somehow, because I love you and I trust you. Help me during my times of doubt and uncertainty. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself!

2009-03-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

Fear has gripped our country. People are afraid of the economy, terrorists, pan flu and lots more. But what do we really have to fear if we place our faith and trust in Christ each day? The Bible says, "Perfect love casts out fear." What do you think that means exactly? If I center myself in the love of God and find my identity in Him, does that mean I have anything to be afraid of? And how do I continue to trust when everything else seems to be crumbling down around me? Lord, give me the eyes to see and ears to hear what you are trying to say to me today. I want to trust you, but sometimes it's just so difficult...

JustLife.TV Strategic Content Release Starts on FaceBook

2009-02-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

This week (Feb. 23, 2009) was the first week of our Strategic Content Release on FaceBook! Each Monday a new video will be released on the JustLife.TV Fan Page followed by our weekly podcast release each Wednesday. I'm excited to see the positive message of JustLife.TV making a difference already! Our Fan Base has increased from 30 to over 100 people in the last month and we're hearing some exciting comments from people who are being impacted by the message. It's evident that God is at work and doing some exciting things in the lives of people who are interacting with the www.justlife.tv website. Help us by joining the JustLife.TV Fan Page yourself on FaceBook and tell yoru friends about it by writing something on yoru own personal FaceBook Page. We believe the Good News that justLife.TV teaches can make a major difference in this world and we are already seeing it in action!

Pride, Humility and Learning to Listen

2009-01-18T04:51:00.000-08:00

I was praying at an All-Night Prayer Vigil my church was hosting and God clearly communicated to me. It wasn't something I relaly wanted to hear, but it was nothing but clear! He said, "Get over yourself Ambrose! This is not about you. This is about what I'm doing in and through you. So let me work. Step back...watch and see what I want to do. Humble yourself before me. Take time to listen. I love you David." Then God's Spirit directed me to Psalm 131 and guess what it was all about: You got it...Pride! And stilling and quieting my heart so God can speak. And that's really what's most important anyway right? Learning to listen to God...getting quiet enough to hear...and humbling myself enough to respond to His voice by obeying what he says...

This is Going to be a Great Year!

2009-01-03T18:07:00.001-08:00

Well the holidays are finally over and now the recovery begins. I need to recover from the cookies, the nutroll, the fruitcake. I need to recover from too much time with the "extended" family. I need to recover from not exercising for a month. I need to get back in the swing of things again. I'm looking forward to the New Year. I'm hoping it will be a bit different from last year. I'm hoping the Stock Market will come back. I'm hoping Uncle Sam will bail me out of all the credit card bills from the holidays. I'm hoping gas won't hit $5/gallon this year. I'm hoping our new President inspires people to optimism. But most importantly, I'm hoping I can focus on a few things this year and really see some cool things happen. I'm hoping to focus on my spirituality and my relationship with Christ. I want to see Him do some amazing things in my life this year. I want to see Him use me to serve and love people more than ever this year. I'm also hoping to focus on my family this year. I want to be a great husband and father. They're the most important ones in my life anyway! And finally, I want to focus on simply BEING this year. Being God's Child. Resting in His presence. Basking in His love. Learning to wait for Him in every single moment of my life. If I can do that, this is going to be a great year!

I'm Taking a Break Today

2008-12-04T05:12:00.000-08:00

I'm taking some time to rest today. I'm intentionally pulling aside during the start of the crazy, hectic holiday season to remind myself of a few things: 1. The world will go on without me 2. I'm not as important as I like to think I am 3. Time spent resting and reflecting is critical to my soul 4. Time spent on rest and reflection isn't "wasted" time at all 5. Developing a spiritual rhythm that includes time for rest and reflection is one of the most productive things I can do In a culture where I feel as though people are always pushing me for more, more, more, intentionally pulling aside and taking time to think is one of the most important things I can do. So I'm going to grab my pen and my journal, a few really important books and I'm simply going to do NOTHING. I'm going to listen. I'm going to rest. I'm going to remind myself of what's really important and how thankful I am for those things...

Holidays, Family, Religion and Politics

2008-12-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

I was home for Thanksgiving and everything was going quite well despite the fact that we had 24 people stuffed into a normal sized home in the burbs and most of them were under 2 feet tall. People were everywhere. Every bedroom was full. People were sleeping on air mattresses in the basement workroom. The kitchen was busy 24/7. You get the picture. But even with all that going on, things were going quite well until someone decided to bring up politics. Now the election has been decided for a few weeks already, but it seems there are still some bitter feelings bubbling under the surface out there. Well, they were under the surface that is, until someone in my family decided to bring it all up again! Anyway, long story short: It all culminated with my own mother asking me who I voted for in front of the entire family. I said, "Do you really want to know mom?" She said, "Of course, why do you think I asked?" So I told her and the next thing I knew, my mom was shaking her finger at me telling me there's no way I could possibly be a "Christian" and have voted that way...Oh boy. Here we go. The first shot heard 'round the world. Ding! The fight is on! The rest of the family joined in and away we went...Well, away they went. Fortunately for me, I've seen all of this before and decided it was time to gather up my part of the family (including the dog) and head off to the in-laws house. I've never been so happy to see my in-laws!

I hate politics. It just always seems to divide people - even family members. It leaves some people disappointed, others disillusioned and still others just wanting to escape it all and head to the in-laws!

I was planning to head home for Christmas...not any more. I think I'll just spend a night or two with the family aorund New Year's and call it a year...

Great People

2008-11-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

I'm in Nashville, TN with my family for the National Youth Worker's Convention hosted by Youth Specialties and I just finished having dinner with some of the volunteer youth workers who are here from my church. What an amazing group of people! They love Jesus and they love teenagers. They don't have all the answers. They aren't the "coolest" group of people on the face of the earth, but they have something special...they are called by God to work with kids! They are making an incredible difference in this world and I'm grateful for them. They give up their time to spend time with kids. They are selfless. They can laugh at themselves. They can be real. And I believe lots of kids see Jesus in each of them. I'm grateful to be a part of this incredible team!

JustLife.tv Heads to Nashville!

2008-11-21T03:38:00.001-08:00

Youth Specialties (the company I speak for part-time) is holding their annual National Youth Worker Convention in Nashville, TN this weekend and JustLife.tv got invited to participate in the Exhibit Hall. We get a chance to show 5000 youth leaders from around the nation what God's doing through this ministry and help spread the Good News of Jesus Christ! Milo Curtis is in charge of the booth and I am there to help him. We can't wait to see what God's going to do, what conversations we're going to have, what potential partners we may run into. This project has been a blast to work on! We can't wait to see where it takes us next. So many people from BridgeWay shared their stories with us on video and those stories are impacting people all around the world. This is another exciting step to get the word out there and let some more people know what's going on!

When It Rains It Pours

2008-11-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

This is unbelievable! Have you ever had an experience like this: You're working on renovating an old home and one of the contractors you invite in to do some work ends up coming back later to steal all the tools you've been using to renovate the house? The next day, someone else who's being chased by the police ends up ramming into your car causing thousands of dollars in damage to your car as you sit at a stoplight. Then the following day, you discover that your wallet is missing! Your identity, your credit cards, drivers license, everything is gone! Believe it or not, all of this just happened to a buddy of mine within a 48 hour time period. Ouch.

When it rains, it pours!

I've experienced some similar stuff in my own life. Bad things happen to me and I start twitching...wondering what's going to happen next or where it's going to come from. I end up "looking over my shoulder" all the time in fear of what might happen next. I hate that! I don't want to live my life in fear, but this world is a tough place to be at times. There are plenty of times in my life, I just need someone to come along and speak words of hope...someone who will encourage me or even just listen to me offload some of the junk in my life. Someone who will just be a friend.

What about you? Do you have someone like that in your life? Are YOU that kind of person in anyone else's life? I hope so, because everyone needs that kind of friend. We all have rainy days. But it's important to be reminded that the sun will shine again soon...Good friends are able to do that for me.

One of the projects I've been working on lately is dedicated to sharing some of these "encouraging stories" with people. We're hoping when you experience a "rainy day" of your own, this website will be an encouragement to you. Take a few minutes to check it out and let me know what you think...www.justlife.tv

An Annual Pilgrimage

2008-11-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

I just returned from one of my favorite places in the entire world – The Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, Kentucky. I’ve been making my annual pilgrimage for several years now and I grow more and more in love with the place each year! Gethsemani is a completely silent monastery and has been that way since 1848. Catholic theologian and author Thomas Merton lived here as a monk. In fact, he’s buried there. The reason I go to Gethsemani each year is simply to rest and re-charge my spiritual batteries. I think it’s important to intentionally pull away for awhile and listen to God. I live in a busy, noisy world. There’s something about pulling away from all of that for a few days just to listen for God’s voice, just to be quiet. I hear things in a completely different way. I teach myself how to listen more than I talk. I remind myself that I’m really not all that important. The world goes on without me. In fact, over the past few days while I was away, our country elected a brand new President. I didn’t even find out what happened until I came home. It wasn’t as big of a deal as I thought it was. The monks kept on chanting. I kept on praying. God kept on reaching out to me through the silence. There’s no pressure on me here to change peoples’ lives. There’s no pressure on me to keep a conversation going. I can sit down for dinner across the table from someone without worrying about what I should or shouldn’t say. When I first got here I decided to take a walk through the woods. As I walked, I stumbled across a small shelter where some people pray and journal their thoughts. I stopped and went inside. What I saw was exactly what I needed. On my 3 hour drive down here, I prayed that God would speak to me and show me what I needed to hear. He didn’t waste any time. I was here all of 30 minutes and God showed me something in the middle of the woods. Here it is straight from Psalm 46:10:

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

This is what I needed to hear most: God simply wants me to BE! He wants me to learn what it really means to exist as His Beloved Son…to know that I’m one of His children…that I’m loved just for who I am…and that’s enough. I don’t have to produce. I don’t have to measure up. I don’t have to change the world. I simply need to learn how to BE…and I can figure out how best to do that right here at Gethsemani. Lord, help me take this truth home with me and begin living in the “Gethsemani Way” back home.

I've Been Converted!

2008-09-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I am a Cleveland Indians, Browns and Cavs fan through and through. At least I was...until last Monday night. A good friend paid for me to attend a game at historic Fenway Park in Boston and my life has not been the same since! What an unbelievable experience! From the minute I walked through the gates, it was a spiritual experience for me. People talked to me. People sang the national anthem. I caught an autographed baseball commemorating the 456th straight sell out at Fenway. There were lots of laughs, great food, homeruns and an unbeatable atmosphere. I gotta tell ya: I normally hate it when people switch their allegiance and start following the "winning" team, but this was not so much about the team for me as it was about the people of Boston, the city, the great Fenway park. I loved all of it. These people are my kindred spirits. I have never experienced anything like this before. I am forever changed. I have been converted. I'm thinking of moving there. Can you imagine me becoming part of Red Sox Nation? I know it seems unbelievable, but I think I've been converted!

It's JustLife Baby!

2008-08-22T11:35:00.001-07:00

Two years ago Jeff Kivett and I started dreaming about a video-driven website that could help people through some of life's biggest challenges. We started to pray and dream and sketch things out on paper. That eventually led to writing material and recording LOTS AND LOTS of video, and in just about a week or so www.justlife.tv will officially "launch"! We belive this site will reach people who don't know Jesus in a very unique way. We believe the site will help followers of Christ have deeper conversations with their friends and neighbors about spiritual issues. We believe this site will help change our community and maybe even the world! Jeff and I have already been changed just by being involved in the process. We have a team of 12 people on our Board and are already pursuing our own non-profit status as well as several grants (because we definitely need some type of revenue stream to keep the idea going). You can help us by continuing to pray for the project as well as inviting all your friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives to check it out! We appreciate any help you can offer us. And please check it out for yourself too ok? We'd love to hear your comments and ideas for making the site everything God wants it to be!

Summer Lawn Care

2008-08-01T12:58:00.001-07:00

Its been really hot lately where I live and I'm practically watering my lawn daily to keep it healthy and green. While I was out there watering this morning, I was thinking about how my lawn is a lot like my spiritual life. Sometimes it's really dry and starts to brown out and get really ugly-looking. Other times it's green and lush and looking great...but it takes a lot of work to keep it that way. There are bugs that try and attack my lawn at times, so I have to use fertilizer and pesticides to keep them away. I feel like there are many distractions in my spiritual life at times too! Different things try to side-track me, discourage me or knock me off course. But with the help of a few good friends I'm in community with, I manage to stay on track most of the time. Now I just wish I could get my lawn a little greener...

Summer Blogging

2008-07-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

Why does it seem like summer is such a more difficult time for me to blog? After all, the days are longer and I should have more time on my hands right? Right! But I have grass to mow and kids who are home from school to chase around and things to fix...So maybe I shoudl just wait for school to start up again and then start blogging. Or maybe I shoudl wait for the snow to start falling...then I'll have more time on my hands right? All cuddled up inside my house with nothing else to do except sip hot cocoa and blog right? So what do I do right now in the middle of the summer? Is anyone home reading this stuff anyway? Maybe it's all just a waste of time...or is it? What am I trying to accomplish by sharing my life with people like this anyway?

Silence is Golden

2008-07-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

Every year I try to take a few days just to get away and be quiet. I think it's important for me to learn the discipline of silence. I work with people every day. I talk to a lot of people. I love people. But becasue I use my mouth so much, I also need to learn how not to use it. Silence is tough work. Learning to be quiet with God and do nothing is a challenge. But silence also brings my soul back to life again. It lets me "breathe" spiritually. On Nov. 3-6, 2008 I will be taking my annual trip to Gethsemane Monastery in Trappist, KY for a few days of absolute silence. Gethsemane has been a silent monastery since 1848 and they set aside separate weeks for men and women to come down and enjoy the silence with God. If you'd like to join me, just let me know. There may be some openings still available...

The Body of the Resurrection

2008-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead to eternal life. His resurrected body was very different from the body He was born with. He was still recognizable by his disciples, but He had the ability to walk through walls. He still bore the wounds of His crucifixion, but He could still share a meal with his disciples on the beach. His new body was very unusual. He didn't seem to have the same limitations as He did before. And to think that one day, we will receive a new body in the resurrection as well! Jesus was the first to receive this new body that will never die again, but He certainly won't be the last. We who choose to follow Christ with our lives will receive this new body as well. I can't wait for that day!

What's All the Buzz About "The Shack"?

2008-07-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Have you heard anything about this book The Shack? It seems like everywhere I turn people are talking about it. Some love it, and are deeply moved by the story. Others are bothered by the potential theological ramifications that may come out of the book. A few weeks ago I read an article about the book in the USA Today and heard many different peoples' opinions about the book, so I decided to pick up a copy for myself and read it. (I have a pet peeve over people who critique things they've never read themselves...) And I've got to tell you, the book was hard for me to put down! The story gripped me form the very first page and brought me to tears on a few different occassions. It caused me to ask myself questions like: What is God really like anyway? How does the Trinity interact? Does God really care about my hurt and my pain? I would encourage you to pick up a copy and read it for yourself. And then...let's talk about it together! I know it will stimulate some good discussion!

The Power of the Gospel

2008-07-03T04:25:00.000-07:00

The power of the gospel lies not in the offer of a new spirituality or religious experience, not in the threat of hellfire (certainly not in the threat of being "left behind"), which can be removed if only the hearer checks this box, says this prayer, raises a hand, or whatever, but in the powerful announcement that God is God, that Jesus is Lord, that the powers of evil have been defeated, that God's new world has begun." N.T. Wright - Surprised by Hope, p. 227

Evangelism?

2008-07-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

I've been forming a friendship with a guy over the past year in order to show him the love of Jesus in a practical way. He knows I'm a follower of Christ. Today he shared with me that one of his clients came in yesterday and basically asked him: "If you were to die tonight, how could you be sure you'd be going to heaven with God?" He didn't have an immediate answer and this person went on to point out how he was sinful and probably on his way to hell unless he repents. This person kept at it pretty hard until my friend had to walk away. I asked him how he felt about the experience and he said he's never felt more attacked in his life. He asked me if this was how all Christians behaved. I apologized and said I hoped not.

Where does someone come up with that kind of stuff? Why do they feel like they're the Judge in another person's life? What gives them that rite? Isn't just really a form of Idolatry for someone to set themselves up in a position of judgment in another person's life? And why do so many "Christians" feel compelled to "save the entire world" before they die? Isn't that God's job? Isn't our job to love people with the love of Jesus Christ and serve them and offer them hope?

I feel like the time I've invested with my friend was severely damaged by this person and I'm pretty frustrated about it...

Wow!

2008-06-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

That's the only word I have to describe my last 3 weeks and the first 3 weeks of summer. After school let out, my family and I immediately took off to Nicaragua on a mission trip with 18 others form our church. It was amazing and God did some incredible things in and through us. But on our way back to the states, we received a call informing us that my wife's best friend from Ohio had just lost her 20 year old son in a tragic accident. So we left immediately. We were stunned by what we experienced: We waited 2.5 hours in line for the visitation...over 1200 people attended his funeral. Let's just say that God was amzingly present and at work. While we were in Ohio, we took some time to visit my wife's father who just got out of the hospital and was in a nursing home, and then we left right from there for a weeks vacation in Florida. Some friends were generous enough to let us use their condo in Bradenton Beach, so the 16 hour drive was definitely worth it. We had a blast as a family...just catching our breath and relaxing together. Then yesterday, we made the 16 hour drive back to Indiana and are finally settling in for the rest of the summer. Our Lead Pastor just left for his first ever sabbatical, so I'm holding down the fort while he's away for the next 8 weeks. I'm just happy to be in one place for awhile! Wow...

Nicaragua...What an Experience!

2008-06-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! I just returned from a week in Central America...and what can I say? How can I ever possibly convey what I experienced there in a short Blog post? It's impossible to paint an accurate picture of the overwhelming poverty. But it's also equally impossible for me to describe the unbelievable love I felt from the people there. As we drove through the dump in Managua where over 1 million people call home, our bus was inundated with flies. The filth was everywhere and I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could...and then I realized that people live there every single day. Kids wake up there and go to sleep there at night...every single day. My heart broke. And then we traveled for about an hour to Masatepe where the poverty was just as bad, but hundreds of children greeted us with smiles and hugs. They were so happy that we were there to love them and serve them with the love of Jesus Christ. What a privilege! As I've reflected on my trip, I imagine it's exactly where Jesus would be if He were here living with us on the earth today. And it's exactly where I want to be too...serving whoever Jesus brings across my path with His love and grace. Thank-you for the opportunity Lord. Thank-you for stretching my soul and making me more like you...

Nicaragua Here I Come!

2008-06-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the packing has begun and the trip is just a day or so away. I'm excited and nervous and happy and tired all at the same time. It should be interesting, because half of the team has come up sick in the past few days and the enemy is doing all he can to distract us. God must have something HUGE in store for us down there. It seems like whenevr these types of trips come up in my life, something inside of me doesn't want to go at the last minute, but then I decide to ignore my feelings and go anyway...and God always blesses me. I know this will be the same type of trip!

Memorial day Weekend in Indy

2008-05-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've lived in Indianapolis for over 4 years now and I'm learning that the Indy 500 pretty much takes over this town on Memorial Day Weekend. It's a lot of fun to watch all the festivities, but I think there's something even more important to remember: All the men and women through the years who have fought for our country and defended us so we can experience the freedom we have today. So I just wanted to say THANKS! I am one American who very much appreciates all you've done for me and my family and I'm doing whatever I can do to give back and make our country a better place for future generations!

From Rules to Relationship

2008-05-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, May 11 I'm preaching at my church from the Scripture text of Colossians 2:16-23. We're going to be talking about what effect rules and regulations have on us when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. You can listen to the podcast at http://www.bridgewaycc.com/ starting on Monday, May 12. I'd love to interact with you on this message! What effect do rules and regulations have on us when it comes to our relationship with Jesus? What do you think the Apostle Paul is really trying to say in these verses from Colossians 2? What's his BIG IDEA???

I've also been thinking about Hebrews 10:1 and how that verse fits into all of this. I'd love to interact with you...

justlife.tv picks up momentum!

2008-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

My friend Jeff and I have been working on a video-based website project called www.justlife.tv for the past year and a half. We are currently doing a weekly pod cast in hopes of helping people understand what the site's all about and we've been geeting lots of great feedback. Well just this past Tuesday the Alban INstitute invited us to Washington, DC to present the idea to a group of relaly important people and they seemed to love it! We're hoping God uses this idea to impact people spiritually and help them along in their spiritual journey. Would you take a minute to check the site out if you haven't already? It officially goes LIVE in September, but we're relaly interested in hearing what you think about it! I haven't been this excited about something in a long time!

My Son's Blog

2008-04-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

Wow...this whole blogging thing is pretty cool. I know I don't do it often enough, but I'm really enjoying it! Especially when my oldest son comes in and says, "Dad, you gotta check out my blog!" So I go and check it out and of course it's much better than my own. No surprise there! He's writing poetry and expressing himself as a "normal teenager" and he's deeply spiritual, which makes my heart leap for joy! You need to check it out for yourself at josh-ambrose.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. I think he's a pretty cool kid...

The New Christians

2008-04-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, you really need to buy this book and read it of you want to know anything about the emerging church! Tony Jones does a marvelous job describing what the movement is all about and responding to the critics. I loved it and highly recommend it!

I love having conversations with people about theology and that's precisely what the emerging chruch is all about...a conversation! So why don't you join us today?

Torn

2008-04-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! I'm sitting in the main lobby at the Jacksonville International Airport waiting for my flight home and I can't believe what I'm seeing...

A young boy about 7 years old saying goodbye to his dad who appears to be in the military. Tears filling his eyes as he hugs his father and wants to hold onto him to keep him from leaving. I'm not sure life should be this way. Lots of pain. Lots of tears saying goodbye to someone you love. I wonder if his dad would have to leave if our world was at peace? I wonder how this will affect the little guy?

Then there are people hugging other people just returning from a trip - tears of joy rolling down their faces. They are so happy to see one another! It must've been difficult to wait for their return. It's hard for me to wait for anything. I wish I was better at it...

All of these completely opposite responses in the airport lobby. People who don't know each other, yet have so much in common.

And here I sit. Waiting to head home to see my own family whom I love so dearly. There's a storm moving in. I hope I'm able to go or I may be crying too!

On The Road Again

2008-04-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm in Jacksonville, FL tonight getting ready to present the CORE tomorrow at Faith Christian Center. It was a great flight down and after navigating through the crazy, curvy highways of Jacksonville, I finally found my hotel and checked in. I was starving, so I went to one of my favorite restaurants: Ted's Montana Grill where I kicked back, enjoyed a great meal and read a new book I'm relaly enjoying..."The New Christians" by Tony Jones. It's really speaking to where I'm at on my spiritual journey, and becasue I have a relationship with Tony, I can really relate and have found myself laughing out loud on a few different occasions. The book is reminding me of how I'm proud to be a part of the Emergent Church. I like that we can ask questions and have our doubts about the Christian faith. None of this bothers God. He's big enough for our questions and doubts. I especially love Tony's take on the importance of theology and how it drives everything we do in life. Tony really makes me think and I love that!

What a Weekend!

2008-03-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

The following recounts my experience last weekend while I was out traveling and speaking with Youth Specialties. I think some people believe this is a glamorous deal...this may affect your opinion....This is by far my longest entry, but I know you'll enjoy...

3/7/08 Wow! What a trip. I’m out on the YS tour and flew out of Indy into Memphis on North West Airlines and then into Columbia, SC. I had a great (small: only 30 people) turn-out for the seminar in Columbia & then got to the airport 3 hours early for my flight back to Memphis and on to Kansas City for a Saturday seminar of 300 people or so. The flight from Memphis was delayed because of a blizzard in Memphis, and they kept telling us it would be late – right up until the moment they cancelled the flight altogether. Only problem -- now it was too late to catch any other flights out and I still needed to be in Kansas City the next morning. I spoke with the emergency travel agency for YS & Zondervan, and after being on hold for 20 minutes, there was noting they could do for me either. So I called Carrie and we decided to cancel the city. I would fly home. But in the meantime, I decided to rent a car and drive home. I got my rental from Hertz, got direction and started out of the airport parking lot. That’s when Tic & Marko called from YS and said even if I arrived late, I should still go to Kansas City. They would contact folks to let them know. They found a flight on AirTran that would fly out of Atlanta and arrive the next morning at 9:15 a.m. They made arrangements for me to get picked up at the airport. I went back in to change my rental agreement and then started on the 3-hour drive from Columbia to Atlanta in a driving rainstorm. The entire drive was spent on the phone canceling hotels and rearranging other rentals. Oh – and I was also supposed to meet a candidate for our Executive Pastor Position at BridgeWay and have dinner with him and his wife in Kansas City. That fell through, too.

I eventually arrived in Atlanta around midnight, went to my hotel, and fell asleep. The alarms went of at 5:30 a.m. (I set 3 of them.) I got ready, hopped in my rental, drove to Hertz to drop it off and shuttled to the airport. Because I was purchased my ticket so late, I had to stand in line for my ticket and boarding pass, get extra screening trough security (Can you say “body cavity search”?) I arrived to my gate in Atlanta by 6:35 a.m. for my 8:05 a.m. flight. No sooner did I sit down and AirTran announced an hour-and-a-half delay on my fight due to a late inbound flight from Dayton, OH due to a blizzard up there. I panicked because I knew this wouldn’t put me into Kansas City until at least 10:30 a.m. for a seminar that was supposed to start at 9 a.m. that we had already moved o 10:00 a.m.

So I hustled over to the monitors to check on any other flights to Kansas City and found one on Delta at 7:48 a.m. I ran down to the Delta ticket counter and tried to buy a ticket for the flight that was in the same concourse as my AirTran flight, but they told me it was al booked up. So I called the YS Emergency Travel number and got a hold of an incredible woman who tried to help me through this and get me on that Delta flight. She purchased a ticket for me on a flight later in the day and I ran to Gate C-32 to get on the standby list for the 7:48 a.m. Delta flight. "Barry" was the Delta Gate Agent, and let’s just say that he was less than helpful. I was patient and polite and told him my situation. While he boarded the plane he told me to wait, so I did. Then he started calling standby passengers. I asked him to please put me on the list. He told me to wait. Finally, afer waiting some more, he quickly asked me for my ticket number – now keep in mind that I’ve been on the phone with YS Emergency travel this entire time, and this lady is literally purchasing my ticket for later in the day while I speak to the Delta Gate Agent. After I give him the number and think I’m getting on the 7:48 a.m. flight, he hands me a boarding pass for the 1:45 p.m. flight and says that’s the best he can do. I ask him if he still has seats on this flight, and he says yes, but because I can’t or didn’t pay a change fee, he won’t let me on the flight. Unreal!

So back I go down to the other end of the terminal to wait on my delayed AirTran flight and call Carrie to see what she wants me to do – Ouch! It’s 5 a.m. her time in California, but I had to do it. She tells me to call my YS host in Kansas City and let him know what’s going on. So I try, but his phone is off and the call goes right to voicemail. I try the number of the other guy who was supposed to pick me up at the airport in Kansas City, and it turns out to be a fax number….nice.

Anyway, I leave the host (Jamie) a few messages and go to get a new seat on the AirTran flight so I’m closer to the front and can get off as quickly as possible. it costs me $40, but I’m in 1st Class, Seat 1C. First off the plane! So I sit and wait for the AirTran flight. Finally our plane arrives, they board…and we’re running a few minutes late, (but at least we’re on the way). The pilot then comes one the speaker and announces that we’re going to be delayed 15 minutes to go through the de-icing procedure because, believe it or not, it’s snowing in Atlanta!

So eventually we go wheels up in Atlanta and now I’m flying into Kansas City with an estimated arrival time of 10:40 a.m., Kansas City time. Just before I boarded, the Kansas City host (Jamie) called to tell me he would keep people busy until I arrived, but that he was having trouble finding someone to pick me up at the airport! So here I sit – wondering who will pick me up, wondering why that Delta Gate Agent wouldn’t accommodate me, wondering why all this is happening, and wondering how in the world I’m going to do a 6 hour seminar in 4 hours – because my flight home tonight on NWA leaves Kansas City at 5 p.m. and transfers through Memphis, arriving in Indy at 9:30 p.m. where I’m supposed to meet Rolando Mendoza from CA at the airport because he’s flying into Indy at the same time for BridgeWay’s huge vision-casting service tomorrow and our Nicaragua mission trip meeting Sunday afternoon. “Lord, I have no idea why all this is happening or how you’re going to pull it all off, but I know it’s out of my control and that I totally need to depend on You.” That’s a good lesson for me to keep learning anyway…

As soon as I arrived in Kansas City, someone from YouthFront (where I was speaking) called to tell me that a taxi would be picking me up and driving me 35 minutes to the facility where I’d be speaking. The taxi driver called me, and when I walked out the door, he was there waiting. He was a muslim, and his name was Ibrahim Mohammad and we had a great conversation about life, faith, spirituality, and how politics, greed and power messed it all up.

Anyway, as soon as I arrived, I set up and started teaching. It was about 11:15 a.m. Jamie Roach (the host) did a great job with the people. He was doing a Lectio with the passage of Zaccheaus we were going to speak on, and I guess folds were really into it.

I flew through a good part of the day, shortened the breaks, did a working lunch, and even managed to sell a few books in the process. We were finished by 2:30 p.m. I met Mike King (KS YFL) and Christ Folmsbee (Sonlife—now YouthFront), took a few photos, packed up and met my same taxi drive to go back to the airport for my 5 p.m. NWA flight through Memphis and back home. (By the way, the round-trip cab ride cost $150 with the tip!)

When I got to the Kansas City airport, guess what? My flight was delayed 20 minutes! Ugh-not again! They reassured me it was not a problem. About an hour later, I got up and checked the monitors (must’ve been the Lord), only to see that my flight was now delayed more than an hour-and-a-half, and I would miss my flight connection in Memphis. So I went to the NWA counter, and they quickly rushed me down to American Airlines where I could fly to Dallas, connect to Indy, and be home by 11 p.m. Of course, the American flight to Dallas was running 45 minutes late, but I got on it anyway, and was on my way to Dallas. I thought about just driving home to Indy from Kansas City, but it’s an 8-hour drive. I was really exhausted at this point.

I also got a call from Rolando who said that his flights were 2 hours late! So who knows…this may all work out just fine and we may meet tonight in Indy anyway. I guess only God really knows.

I’m just so glad the people at my seminar were so gracious and stuck with me through it all. Jamie and his team really understand humility and servant-hood and for that, I’m very grateful.

www.justlife.tv

2008-03-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a project with a friend of mine that I'm really excited about! It's not up and running quite yet, but we've got a weekly podcast going and we're anxiously waiting for September when the www.justlife.tv site will go live.

The website is a video driven website meant to help you take your spiritual conversations with friends to the next level. We'll be talking about addictions, ange, fear, jacked-up families, stress, suicide, self-esteem and more. We'll be talking from our heart - this won't be a slick, spiritual website. This will be about a bunch of ordinary people sharing their faith stories and how God has helped them through it all.

I hope you get a chance to check it out and use this tool to help you as you talk with yoru friends about the spiritual journey...

Down South

2008-03-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

I flew out of Indianapolis this afternoon and arrived in Columbia, South Carolina early this evening. I'm here to present the CORE tomorrow. The CORE is a youth leader/parent/student leader training seminar. As soon as I got off the plane it felt good to be in the south! It was about 70 degrees with a soft breeze blowing. I stopped to eat a local Italian place called Stephanos - it was awesome. My body needed a rest like this. Sure it was a long day of travel, but it was great to get here and relax for awhile too. I'm anxious to see what God's going to do with this seminar I'm leading tomorrow. I'm just trying to follow His leading and obey what He wants me to do and it contineus to lead me into some very exciting opportunities. I never know what's around the next corner. That's an exciting way to live! Why not give it a try?

What's Up With This Blogging Thing Anyway?

2008-02-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I've had tons of people pushing me to BLOG more regularly, but I just can't seem to make it a priority. Maybe it's becasue I'm finally 40 years old, maybe I just dont' get it. Why would anyone want to read my ramblings about life anyway? And don't I already have enough to do without trying to write about it all in my blog? I mean seriously, why is this always one o fthe last things on my "to do" list? I mean it's been 3 week or so since my last post and it's not like I haven't had anythingt to write about. There's a ton going on in my life! But I'm more prone to pick up my old school journal where I actually write stuff donw with a pen in a book. Wow am I old! Last week I even opened a Face Book account becasue I want to try and stay as young and hip as possible for as long as possible, but now I've got all these people trying to get in touch with me and be my "friends". I don't mean to sound crass, but I don't need more friends. I need less friends. I can't keep in touch with the friends I already have, let alone adding some new ones! I have no idea how I'm going to survive all of this. I remember laughing at my parents becasue they couldn't figure out how to program their VCR and it kept flashing 0:00 and now I'm turning into my parents! AAAAaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! What am I going to do about this blogging thing? How long amd I going to seriously keep this up? Is anyone relaly reading this anyway?

God's Power

2008-01-26T09:22:00.001-08:00

I had the opportunity to witness the power of God at work this week. I watched Him work in a friends life...my friend came to a stark reliazation about himself that he's been wrestling with for years. It was awesome to see God working in his heart as he surrendered his will to God's. It's going to be even more fun to see what God does to change my friend into the person He originally created him to be! I can't wait to see how it all goes down! What a privilege to walk alongside someone in whom God is working! It's definitely not easy work. It's not pain free. But it's incredibly miraculous to watch Jesus do what only Jesus can do in someone's life. God, thanks for the reminder of just how powerful you are! Help me to remain open to your power as well!

Chew On This!

2008-01-17T03:58:00.000-08:00

Well my first book is finally out and available. I would love some honest feedback on this blog. I think it's a great book for Jr. and Sr. High students, so pick one up and let me know what your kids think about it!

The Core

2008-01-17T03:53:00.001-08:00

For the past 10 years I've had the privilege of training and encouraging youth workers all over the world through an interactive training seminar from Youth Specialties called The CORE. This spring I'll be traveling again and would love to see you! Please come up and introduce yourself...tell me you read my blog and I'd love to talk some more! Here are the cities and dates of my 2008 SPeaking Tour:

2/23 - San Diego
2/29 - Tri Cities
3/1 - Nashville
3/7 - Columbia, SC
3/8 - Kansas City, KS
3/29 - St. Louis, MO
4/5 - Jacksonville, FL
4/12 - Hartford, CT
4/26 - Virginia Beach, VA
5/3 - Toronto, CA

I'm excited about what God's going to do through this year's tour! We're talking about CHANGE in students and youth workers and it would be great to have you involved in the conversation. You can register at www.youthspecialties.com

Last Post of the Year...Changes are coming!

2007-12-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

Well this will be it for the year...and what a year its been! Like everyone else, there have been lots of ups and lots of downs, but its been exciting to see God working through it all! I've been blessed in so many ways: My Savior loves me and pursues a relationship with me daily, My wonderful wife and I have enjoyed 16+ years of marriage and are looking forward to many more, My kids are growing up and learning to love Jesus on their own, My extended family know and love the Lord and dedicate themselves to pursuing His Kingdom. What more could a guy ask for?

Here's what I'm looking forward to in 2008...
1. Growing closer to Jesus by dedicating myself to seriously studying His Word in depth as often as I can. I also want to learn how to fast and pray!
2. Modeling Christ's love for my family by serving them with Jesus' love.
3. Going on a mission trip with my entire family to Nicaragua to serve the poor (But probably more so for what God wants to do in each of us!)
4. My fist book comes out on January 4 and I'm excited to see what God will do with it to change lives.
5. I want to learn to live in community with a few other men who will love me and encourage me and get in my face on stuff and who will allow me to do the same for them.
6. I'm excited about a web project a friend and I are working on in 2008. I believe it has tremendous potential to help people by using cutting edge technology and the Word of God. Stay tuned for more information...

Of course I can't do any of this on my own. I need your help Lord. So I pray for your will to be done on earth - right here where I'm at...just like it is already being done there in Heaven where You're at!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog this year. I look forward to what God will do through this little tool in 2008.

Happy New Year!

Letting Go

2007-12-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

A friend shared the following words with me today from the Henri Nouwen Society. They reminded her of my last post and I loked them so much I had to pass them along...

Giving Permission to Die

One of the greatest gifts we can offer our family and friends is helping them to die well. Sometimes they are ready to go to God but we have a hard time letting them go. But there is a moment in which we need to give those we love the permission to return to God, from whom they came. We have to sit quietly with them and say: "Do not be afraid ... I love you, God loves you ... it's time for you to go in peace. ... I won't cling to you any longer ... I set you free to go home ... go gently, go with my love." Saying this from our heart is a true gift. It is the greatest gift love can give.

When Jesus died he said: "Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit" (Luke 23:46). It is good to repeat these words often with our dying friends. With these words on their lips or in their hearts, they can make the passage as Jesus did.

Henri Nouwen continues to influence my spiritual journey well after his own death. Thank you Lord for the gift of spiritual mentors who breathe into my life.

A Time to Die

2007-12-03T09:31:00.001-08:00

There's a time for everything in life...including death. As part of my "offical" duties as a Pastor, I spend time visiting people in the hospitals, nursing homes, officiating at funerals, etc. Well this morning I had the opportunity to visit a man from my congregation who is 80 years old and was sitiing in a nursing home waiting to die. I've got to admit - that's tough stuff! It's hard to find anything to talk about. It's hard for him to even have the energy to carry on a conversation I imagine. But one thing I said brought a twinkle to his eye. I said, You're ready to go home and be with Jesus aren't you?" And he responded by saying, "I sure am."

When my friend arrives in heaven, he will receive a new body for the rest of eternity. His pain will be gone. He will have a new source of energy that will allow him to live the way he was really designed to live form the very beginning. I could see it in his eyes: He couldn't wait for that day! And neither can I! Why do we avoid talking about death and dying? Why does it scare us so much? Why don't we look forwrad to it like we look forward to being with an old friend we haven't seen in such a long time? Maybe it's teh fear of the unknown...Maybe it's something else...But I pray that God gives me the faith to see what He has in store for me in the afterlife! How about you?

A Lot to Be Thankful For...

2007-11-20T17:57:00.001-08:00

Little things...

Like a warm day...

Or a Deep Blue Sky...

My Health. My Family. My Freedom. My God.

Thank-you!

Friends?

2007-11-15T06:13:00.000-08:00

What does a good friend look like? What commitments are made between two people to cause them to call their relationship a "friendship"? And what happens when someone breaks one of those commitments?

I recently had a friend who made a major life decision without including me in the decision-making process at all. We got together and my friend told me about the decision which had already been made. I have no idea why this casued me so much hurt and disappointment, but it did. It caused me to re-think our friendship - not just ours, but al lof my "friendships". What does a true friendship really look like anyway? Is it just time spent together? Or are there certain commitments two people make to each other that you don't go back on no matter what?

When I get hurt like this, my initial reaction is to pull everything in and not open up so much to anyone. I don't want to take the risk of getting hurt again I suppose. But I know that's not the right instinct. I have to keep opening up and pursuing friends. I need people who will be there for me. People need me to be there fo rthem. This life is meant to be lived in community with other people who stay committed to one another through thick and thin. But those relationships are just really hard to find. And even when you think you've found one, I'm discovering that you can't be too sure.

I'm glad the Scripture promises me that I have a "friend who sticks closer than a brother" in Jesus Christ. He has never left me. He has never gone back on His commitments to me. He will never let me down. I pray that I can be as good of a friend to the people who call me their friend! Help me Jesus. Help me...

What Do You Really Want?

2007-11-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

Recently someone asked me how I was doing and I told them I felt "bored" with life. Things seemed so predictable and so mundane. This person told me, "Maybe you should go out there and do what you want to do for awhile. Maybe you need to be turned loose to your desires." That was an interesting thought to me. What are my desires? What do I relaly want? If I got down the road in my mind or in my ideal fantasy world, would I really want to live there? Or if I lived there for awhile, would I gain a greater appreciation for who I am and what I have in this world today? Let's just say that I've walked down that road in my mind...that road that always seems like it's better than the road I'm on right now...and it's a dead-end. It always leads me back to reality and all of the ways I've been blessed in my real world...right here, right now...today. God, thank-you for helping me learn the "secret" of contentment. Help me to be present in my world today! One day at a time depending upon you and living gratefully for everything you are and everything you do for me this day.

Disappointment

2007-10-31T04:35:00.000-07:00

I spent a lot of time following my beloved Cleveland Indians this baseball season only to be disappointed once again. Up three games to one and losing to the Red Sox...it was almost too much for me to handle! I should probably just get used to disappointment. After all, only one team out of about 30 end up on top each year. Only one fan base is NOT disappointed. It's just so hard being a Cleveland fan. You're used to disappointment...almost jaded. Is there anything in this life that doesn't disappoint? Is there anything I can invest my time into that won't leave me feeling empty? It's certainly not sports! What about Jesus? Has He ever disappointed me? Has He ever let me down? Churches have. Pastors have. Christians have. But not Jesus. Lord, can we hang out awhile? I need some help learning how to handle my disappointments...

Focus

2007-10-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

There's always alot going on in my life. There are many opportunities to get involved in a lot of really cool things. But which things are the best? Which things does God really want me to be involved with? What does it mean for me to focus? Do I have to let go of some of the good things to get to the best? Is good really the enemy of great? What should you be focusing in on right now in your life? What would it look like for you to create a "stop doing list"? Sometimes this is much easier said than done...

A Week Of Silence

2007-10-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the privilege of spending 4 days at Gethsemene Abbey in Trappist, KY. It was my third trip to the Abbey for a week of silence and as usual, it was an incredible time with God. Gethsemene has been a silent monastery since 1848. Thomas Merton spent many years there developing his discipline of silence and solitude while writing his books and serving God. At Gethsemene the monks hold three things very dear: Prayer, Work and Spiritual Reading (Lexio Divina). I had the privilege of entering into all of these along with the monks and I'm always amazed at how they change me more into the image of Jesus. When I'm tired and burned-out like I was this year, It's critical for me to get away and be alone. To allow God's Spirit to refresh me and speak to my spirit. Only God can quell the busy-ness and driven-ness in my soul. I return more in love with Christ and more in tune with who He created me to be than I've ever been. Thank-you Lord for some time to pull away and rest. You are an awesome God and I can only pray that my brothers and sisters reading this will afford themselves the same opportunity to meet with you in the quietness of their daily lives.

Man on the Run

2007-09-22T13:41:00.001-07:00

It seems like I've been on the run since the beginning of summer. And today is already the first official day of fall! From events and camps to retreats and messages, my life has been in constant motion lately. I can feel my body telling me how tired it is. I can feel my soul yearning for some rest. Do you ever feel as though you'll never cath up? Do you always feel like there's something more to do? If so, I have just the prescription for you: Stop and rest! When God created the world, he worked for 6 days and then rested on the seventh - not becasue He was tired, but becasue He was showing us the importance of developing a Sacred Rythmn. I'm learning to understand the importance of regular rest. I'm trying to make it a natural part of my life. Next week I plan on getting away for my annual week of silence and solitude at Gethsemane Monastary in Kentucky. It's the one place in my life where I feel I can truly allow myself to rest and pull away for awhile just to listen to God...just to bask in His love and remind myself about what it means to be His child. I hope to journal...I hope to read the Scriptures...I hope to worship...but most of all, I simply hope to rest. You may not be able to join me at the monastary, but would you consider resting with me and enjoying the presence of God together?

A Bicycle Built for Two

2007-09-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were having a really tough day. I was out in the garage working on stuff while she was upstairs crying her eyes out. She was upset becasue she felt as though she was losing control of our oldest child who is about to turn 13 years old. She wanted to be able to keep him locked away some were so nothing could hurt him or influence him in a negative way that could rob him of any innocence e has left. I, on the other hand wanted to allow him to experience life on his own and go through some hard times that would help him learn a few things. Needless to say we were definitely not seeing eye to eye on the whole parenting thing that day. We were both upset and not listening to each other and it felt like everything was spiraling out of control.

Just then a friend of mine showed up and surprised me in my garage. He told me to come outside becasue he had something he wanted to give me. As I walked outside, I saw his entire family in their minivan and what looked like a bike attached to the back of the van. My friend said, "Remember the other day when we were talking about our futures and what they might look like and you told me that someday you wanted to save up enough money to buy a tandem bike for you and your wife?" To be honest, I couldn't really remember talking about it, but I said, "Sure." And then my friend proceeded to tell me that he and his wife had bought a tandem bike when they were first married. They had only used it about 10 times, and now that they were in the middle of raising young kids, they had spoke and they wanted us to have it.

I was shocked. Really. I tried to talk him out of it. I told him to just let us borrow it for awhile. But he refused and insisted that we take it. Now you have to understand something. This was not some old junky bike that they wanted to get out of their garage. This was a beautiful, almost new tandem bike that my friend had cleaned up and had kept in mint condition! I was super excited! I couldn't wait to show my wife! And I was blown away by my friends kindess and thoughtfulness.

I went upstairs to tell my wife what had happened and fatre talking a few things through some more I asked her, "WOuld you mind coming down and sharing in my joy for a few minutes?" She sais, "What are you talking about?" And then she followed me down the stairs and out into the garage. When she saw the bike and heard the story she was completely overwhelemed with emotion and started crying again. (I still can't figure women out all the time and I've been married for 16 years.)

I jumped on the front of the bike and she jumped on the back and we went for our first ride. It was awesome. She felt really weird becasue being on the back made her feel totally out of control. She was scared and asked me to be careful and not to crash. I promised her that I had her best interest at heart and if then asked her if she trusted me. She said yes. And then it hit us both at the same time: We have to trust each other in everything we do. There are going to be times when we're totally out of control in life, parenting, etc. But as long as we have each others' best interests at heart we can learn to trust one another. And we can also trust that as we area each pursuing God's plan for our lives, He will have our best interests at heart as well. We won't always get it right. We will definietly make mistakes along the way, but together we will be able to accomplish much more than when we're apart.

Funny what you can learn from a simple tandem bike huh?

F.E.A.R.

2007-09-02T04:44:00.001-07:00

False Evidence Accepted as Real. A friend of mine shared this acronym with me this week and it reallt hit home. Why do I fear so many things? Why do I worry about so much that's obviously out of my control anyway? Why is it so hard for me to give up control and simply trust my Heavenly Father during those difficult times when I'm tempted to fear and worry and go sit in a fetal position in the corner of my room? If I really believe that my Heavenly Daddy wants what's best for me, then I can be certain that whatever comes my way will be part of an incredible plan for my life. Help me live that way today Father. Help me reject all of the "false evidence" that bombards my mind and attempts to get it off of You!

Can't Keep Up

2007-08-20T04:47:00.001-07:00

So its been 12 days since my last post and I'm sitting here wondering why it has taken me so long. I enjoy blogging, but trying to find the time in the last two weeks has been unbelievable. Between my kids' school starting and a few major events at work it has been completely overwhelming. So much for trying to slow down and simplify my life huh?

I desperately want to slow down, but wonder if it's really possible at this stage of my life. How did Jesus do it? How did He meet so many needs and still make time to pull away alone and refresh Himself? I'm not even "feeling the need" to be involved in all of this stuff, but it seems like the "stuff" always has a way of forcing itself upon me. I guess I'm still learning...and probably always will be.

So today I want to make it my goal to pull away for a few minutes to rest - to do absolutely nothing - not even blogging! And with that I say goodbye...

Priorities

2007-08-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Summer's coming to a close. Kids are going back to school soon. Sports, academics, dance, karate and a million other things will all start to kick in again very soon. Where will my commitment to following Christ and serving Him end up in all of this? Will I continue to pursue Him like I know I should? Will I do it out of desire or out of obligation? Do I really believe that this relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in my life? Will other people see that by looking at me and how I live my life? I certainly hope so...but I also realize that so much of that is up to me learning to depnd on God's grace every step of the way...

Better to Keep Your Mouth Shut?

2007-08-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? Even as you heard yourself saying it, you were thinking, "This is probably not going to turn out well." But you said it anyway. And of course it didn't turn out well at all. So you say to yourself, "I'm just going to keep my mouth shut from now on." But you are never able to do that either. So what's the right thing to do? Speak up and push into issues that you know will be uncomfortable and cause pain but probably also bring tremendous growth? Or just sit there and keep your mouth shut...watching it all waste away into apathy and nothingness? (Well ok, maybe it's not that bad, but that's certainly how it can feel at times!) I need wisdom when it comes to controlling what I say and don't say every single moment of every single day. My mouth can be one of my greatest assest, but it can also lead to some of my worst nightmares. I suppose one thing I can do is to ask God for wisdom. To pray before I speak and ask God if what I'm going to say needs to be said in the way I'm planning on saying it at the time I'm planning on saying it. And then I need to stop talking long enough to listen for His voice to lead me on...

Endurance

2007-07-29T15:01:00.001-07:00

My wife and I took our boys up to the local YMCA today and I learned a valuable lesson about endurance. My 12 year old son decided to swim 50 laps in the lap pool. That's right - 50! And he's not even a teenager yet. I tried to swim a coupel with him and was completely obliterated! He's amazing. I have no idea how he does it. I told him he needs to be on a swim team somewhere. He doesn't even take any lessons, he's just really started to get into swimming lately. And just watching him reminded me that I need to stick with a few things in my own life as well. I need to push through the pain and endure. Good things come to those who keep going. What do you need to "keep going" with in your life right now? Maybe it's something at work or a certain relationship. Maybe it's your spiritual journey. Keep going. Finish the course. Complete the task at hand. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Thanks for the encouragement son.

Family

2007-07-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm spending a few days at home in Cleveland, Ohio with my parents and my sister and her family and I'm reminded about how important family and tradition really is. I'm surrounded by people who love me - no matter what. I'm surrounded by people who have been with me for the long-haul. I'm surrounded by people who have seen me at my best...and at my worst - and they're still around. I feel safe in this community. I feel loved. And because I feel this way, I feel more ready than ever to reach out to others who don't have this type of community. I want to include them. I want to help them. I want to see if what has worked so well for me will work the same way for them...

More Thoughts on Community

2007-07-23T18:31:00.001-07:00

So I've been involved with full-time Christian Ministry for 16 years now...but I just put something together this past Sunday as I stood in the lobby of my church observing people and listening to their stories. It seems to me as though the people who are not involved in any form of Active Biblical Community are the ones who are struggling through trying to figure out where to turn when life starts closing in on them. They come to one of the pastors asking for prayer. They come and ask for help with certain situations they're going through...sometimes they just need someone who will listen to them or encourage them. And don;t get me wrong - as a pastor, I love the opportunity to minister to people and try to meet some of their needs. But I wonder how much I'm genuinely helping them and how much I'm actually enabling them to continue living life as an individual...a lone ranger...all on their own? Wouldn't it be better if...when they needed someone to pray with them and for them - they went and sought out someone who knew them well and met with them on a regular basis? When they needed an encouraging word, wouldn't it be better coming from someone who was intimately involved in their life and could speak those words out of a depth of knowledge of their particular situation? When someone neede to kick their butt and challenge them to push in deeper, I think it would be best coming from a close friend who was "doing life" with them.

So what's my responsibility in all of this? Here's what I came up with this past Sunday: Of course I need to be available for people as thei pastor. But I also need to be pushing them to dig in deeper into a genuine Biblical Community that they're regularly and actively involved with first! We all need a place where those 5 Aspects of Genuine Biblical Community I mentioned in an earlier blog are being pursued and practiced. Where are you experiencing it right now in your life?

Rhythm and Rest

2007-07-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Just got back from some time away on vacation with the family. Here's what God taught me: I need to make rest a regular part of my yearly rhythm of life. I come home re-energized with a fresh outlook on life. Sometimes you can get so caught up in the "daily-ness" of life that you begin to miss things. You begin to miss all that God is doing around you. One o fthe things I discovered on this vacation was that I need to take shorter stints away more often! Not to work or plan or brainstorm or anything else like that...but simply to do what I just got back from doing: sitting on a beach and watching the waves come in, playing in the sand, walking along the shore with some people you love, watching a magnificent sunset that you felt God may have painted just for you!

God Himself took one out of seven days to simply rest. Not becasue He was tired, but becasue it was important. I need to do that same. Thanks for the example God!

Freedom

2007-07-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate The 4th of July today. Many brave men and women before me fought to give me this freedom and I never want to take it for granted. I'm proud to live in this great country. I know there's lots of room for improvement, but today I'm choosing to be thankful and celebrate!

Five Aspects of Real Community

2007-06-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

We recently had Mindy Caliguire (www.soulcare.com) in to speak to our group and she identified five elements of real community that I found extremely helpful to think thorugh. They are:
1. Prayer
2. Self-Disclosure
3. Giving and Receiving Grace
4. Mirroring
5. Celebration

We were created to live in community with other people. The problem is: We live in a society that values individualism...which inevitably results in loneliness and isolationism. If we're really going to live the way we were designed to live, we have to engage with other people. And admittedly, finding the right people can be a very intimidating process. So how do you go about it? I start by praying and asking God to lead me to the right people. I ask Him to MAKE ME THE RIGHT KIND OF PERSON! Sooner or later that means I'm going to have to take a risk and open up my heart. I'm going to have to practice vulnerability - self-disclosure. When I do that, I'm going to need lots of grace...becasue I'm pretty messed up. The good news is: I'm ready and willing to give as much or more grace back at you. That's what mirroring is all about: Having someone else whom I've given permission to call me a butt-head when I deserve it. In fact, I insist on having these people in my life. People who will care enough to tell me the truth...in love. Becasue when that's done in a Godly way, it gives me plenty of reason to celebrate all that God's doing in my life!

We (Christ-followers in general) need to get better at celebrating! It's about time to loosen up and learn to really celebrate! No one shoudl be better at this than Christians in whom God is actively working and molding and shaping to be more like Himself! God, please make me into the kind of person who can live in real community!

Its Been Awhile

2007-06-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not the most active blogger. No excuses - just life. I keep thinking things slow down in the summer, but in reality everything just seems to speed up. The kids are home and I want to spend time with them. The days seem longer - the sun doesn't go down around here until almost 10PM these days, so no one's in bed until much later. There are summer camps and community events and trips to the ice cream store that quickly fill up my day. So the challenge for me these days is finding space in my life to simply do nothing. I have this burning desire to be alone and just listen, but our society fights me on it at every turn. I must pursue it. I must make it my passion. That's the only way I will ever find it. But I also realize that's the only way I'll ever survive!

The Power of Community

2007-05-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Loneliness plagues our society. We are busier and loneier than ever. There are more people around us, but fewer who really know us. We have access to all the best technology and yet seldom do we give anyone access to our souls. How did this happen to us? What can we do to regain genuine community? Don't we need real community to survive? Isn't our faith best practiced in community with others who are sharing the journey with us? Why do you think so many of us are resistant to true community? Why are we afraid to open up and let someone into our heart? Who do you have in your life that really knows you?

What Do I Need to Know?

2007-05-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

What do I really need to know about Jesus to become one of His followers? Do I need to know about the Incarnation? The Cross? Forgiveness? The Resurrection? Do I need to know He's a Great Teacher, Healer, Prophet, God in the flesh? At what point am I ready to call myself a "Christian"? Is there anything else I need to know or do to begin following this Divine man who has captured me?

April 27, 2007 - Following Jesus?

2007-04-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I gave the message at my church and it proved very controversial and offensive for some people. First of all, if you're one of those people, I'd like to apologize and ask for your forgiveness. While it was certainly not my intention to offend anyone, I obviously did and I'd love to figure out why...

So I'd like to invite you to interact with some questions...

1. What does it really mean to be a follower of Christ? Is it important for everyone to "mark" the moment in time that they decide to start following Jesus? Why?

2. What is the gospel really? Isn't it more than just the "forgiveness of sins"? What does someone need to know before they can be "converted"? What place does the cross have in the gospel?

3. Did the Apostles follow Jesus differently than we do today? When did they begin their journey? What did they use to mark that place in time when they decided to begin a relationship with Him?

4. Is it important for us to question our beliefs and stretch ourselves a bit when it comes to our understanding of the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus?

Scott McKnight, Brian McLaren, Richard Peace have all had influence on my Christian journey in the past several years. While I certainly never believe everything someone teaches (other than Jesus), I have found what these men have to say very challenging to the way I've always thought about my faith. Are you willing to question some of your long-held beliefs? Join me on this journey...

4. Wh

April 8, 2007

2007-04-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

Today as I celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I looked over at my family and thanked God for everything He means to me. I'm so grateful to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Because He lives, I can have unexplainable peace in my soul. Because He lives, I have something much BIGGER to live for - today and eternally! Because Jesus Christ is alive today, I know He will help me walk through whatever challenges and difficulties come my way. And because He lives, I know that through faith and trust in Him, I will live forever too - starting today and continuing on for all eternity. Where is your God today? Mine is alive and walking with me through this life...

2007-03-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Life can be a real trip at times! There are some days when I wonder if I'm going to make it through it all. I used to think I could make it through on my own. I've smartened up. Now I realize that there is no way I could ever make it through without a community of people to rely on. Where do you find real community? Who do you go to when times get tough? What are the downsides for living in community? Let's dialogue...