Northern MN church

Sitting here at home at Nett Lake, half watching the news when a story came on about a congregation that had three guitars stolen from their building.  Apparently at least one or two of them had been donated to the group by a guy in the community.  The news network said the donor didn't want any recognition so the news network didn't disclose his name.  I was kind of taken by surprise by the donor's request, because I can't imagine how hard it would be to really tell a news network "don't put me on TV."   ...I decided to give the story my full attention.

The news network began doing interviews with a few of the members, and one of the last ones was with a leader from the church.  When asked if charges would be pressed, he said "I'm not going to press charges against whoever did this, I just want them to come worship with us!"

My heart just kind of skipped a beat witnessing God's love and grace in action.  very cool...

-dave

Ephesians 4:15

Ephesians 4: 15 "Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church."

This verse has come up in conversation or study multiple times in the last few weeks.

I used it in a sermon David and I gave about speedy obedience. Amelia and I referenced it when talking about challenging our friends to grow deeper.

I think God is trying to show me more and more the importance of transformation in my life and in the lives of those around me.

My prayer right now is that I, college students, friends, etc. will grow in every way more and more like Christ Jesus.

For those interested here is the link to the podcast of our message from Nov. 2 at South Side.
http://www.southsidechristian.com/#/Media/
Southwest Campus, Mission Emphasis Sunday.

elections!

The other day Linds and I were talking, and all of the sudden it dawned on one of us: "hey we're voting on Tuesday..." We were both shocked by how quickly time had flown during the campaigning season. With the voting booth right around the corner, it seems fitting to spend some time making some final decisions about the issues.

In considering how I'll vote, as a believer in Christ, I want to vote with Jesus' priorities in mind. But what are those? The Christian culture that I grew up in had me associate Christianity only with the Right. Interestingly enough, the Christian culture I encountered in college had me associate Christianity with the Left. It became clear to me during college that God is not a Republican, a Democrat or part of any other group in which we want to box Him.

So since I don't believe I should vote along party lines, I'm finding myself having a hard time discerning who to vote for in this election. It seems like any time I think I've decided, based upon an issue or a certain set of issues, I find another issue for the candidate that I do not support.

Some questions that are shaping this decision making process for me this last year:

1.)Which candidate will best represent the poor, the widow, the orphaned and the oppressed?
This year, God has really been showing me in His Word just how interested He is in justice for the poor, the orphaned, the widow and the oppressed. Though I think the call is first and foremost a personal one, I'm also convinced I have an opportunity to be representing Him with my vote.

2.)How do I decide whether to be an advocate for the lives of all of the unborn(whom God loves), or the lives of all the people in other "enemy" countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq(whom God loves)?

3.)Which candidate is most interested in preserving the environment God has given us?


What are the questions shaping your election decision? Do you have similar or different experiences, views, etc.?

-dave

Our Friends

Please Read This...

http://momentsofclaritybygretchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/hunger.html

Jesus wants to save Christians

I read this article today at Relevant about Rob Bell's new book Jesus Wants to Save Christians. David and I recently purchased the book and I am excited to dive in. I always enjoy reading, listening, or watching Rob Bell teach.

Here is a portion of the article I found really interesting.

As the title of the book suggests, Jesus Wants To Save Christians. In your opinion, what are the biggest things we need saving from?

Boredom. Which is really despair in its non-caffeinated form. And boxes. Where we live in fear and where we put those who unsettle us.

You describe the plan of God for the church to be a gift to the world. Many people today would say that the church is anything but. What are some crucial changes that our churches need to make to become a Eucharist that is broken and poured out for the world?

1. Master the art of doubt. Faith needs it to survive.

2. Surrender the compulsive need to constantly remind people that according to your worldview you're going to heaven forever when you die and they're going to burn in hell forever.

3. Celebrate the good and the true and the beautiful wherever and whenever you find it regardless of the label it wears or the person it comes from or the place you found it. All things are yours.

4. Remember that the tax collectors and prostitutes loved to feast with Jesus and the religious establishment gossiped about him and dissected his teachings and questioned his commitment to orthodoxy and eventually had him killed. There's a lesson for us there.

Morning Playlist

Gretchen just posted about a post from Mark Batterson.  So I'm going to post based off of the post Gretchen posted about Mark Batterson's post. *whew*

Batterson suggests that we need to wake our spiritual alarm clock each morning as much as we need to wake up our bodies.  So he has decided to listen to a few songs each day to start off his day with worship and asked for anyone reading to do the same.

My two songs right now would probably be...

"Breathing Air Again"  by Robbie Seay Band

"Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" by delirious

Along these same lines, I was challenged a couple years ago by Dean Trune to write my own worship to God each morning.  This has really been great for me.  If you're feeling creative or you know that you've been gifted with creativity, or even if you don't think you're creative at all, try this out!  You might be surprised.  It can be awesome to really free up your heart before God and let loose the exact words that you would use to worship him.  

thanks Gretchen!  thanks Mark!

-dave

Canoe Trip

Here are some picture highlights from our trip. Thankfully, David and I did not tip! We had so much fun getting outside for the weekend and hanging out with friends. At one point on the trip, Brenna and I looked to our left and saw a break in the normal scenery. There was a beach area and right behind it was a group of trees all bent towards the water (see picture above). A light breeze blew by and leaves from the trees lazily started floating across the water...so beautiful.