Monthly Archives: August 2007

I’m crying like a teenage girl… (yes I did stereotype, but you get the point)

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Sheesh… I keep getting good news that makes me cry! I’m gonna have to ride a bull or enter an ultimate fighting contest just to get the testosterone levels back up!!! ;-)

This morning I received the news that a church has decided to partner with us by providing our health insurance for the next year! That’s HUGE!

You know, I’ve thought a lot about whether or not to blog about all of this “stuff” and I finally decided to go ahead and do it. As I see it, I can tell this story twenty years from now as some crusty sermon illustration or I can tell it NOW as it’s happening! The subtitle of this blog is “Life is a journey and I’m traveling out loud” and that happens to be my philosophy of life, so I decided to go ahead and share what’s going on “under the hood”!

This morning I read something that totally sums up how I feel…

“Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. Who can forget the wonders he performs? How gracious and beautiful is our LORD! He gives food to those who trust him; he always remembers his covenant. (Psalm 111:1-5 NLT)

I am rock-solid in my belief that God has called our family to start a new church with a laser-tight focus on connecting disconnected people back to God, the church, other people, and the world.

Sure, we’re early in this journey, but I’m gonna tell you straight out… God is blowing my mind with how He’s caring for us as we pour our lives out for His church!

It’s crazy, but in talking with Sherri this morning we both agreed… we wouldn’t have it any other way!

God’s doing some more “stuff”

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I’m so amazed at how God keeps surprising us!

CAVEAT: the following is NOT a whine-fest, a subtle attempt to raise funds, or poor-mouthing of any sort.

The following is part of my own personal journal & and an attempt to “travel out loud.”

When we moved here we sold all of our furniture and a lot of our other “stuff” to cover the moving expenses (moving van, gas, eats, hotel). The proceeds covered the moving expenses with a few dollars left over… literally, a few.

For a month we had no kitchen table, and for over a month we had no living room furniture! We have been sitting on lawn chairs and eating from TV trays!

A couple of weeks ago someone blessed us with a dining room table. We didn’t see this coming…

Today a friend blessed us with some lamps and furniture for the living room. We didn’t see this coming…

I also received some exciting news today from a friend about a potential gift that will bless “The Ladies.” We didn’t see this coming…

I’ve cried a bit today… not sad tears, but tears of joy! I’m blown away by what God is showing us:

  • We need so much less than we have! I’m not less of a man for sitting in a lawn chair for a month, and food doesn’t taste any different when eaten from a TV tray! I’m sorry I’ve whined over a “lack” in my past.
  • We often overlook what we have! I am such a blessed man! I am confident of God’s love for me… He calls me His son and that brings Him pleasure! I have FIVE amazing ladies in my life; I have a clear sense of purpose for my life; I have incredible friends; I have an amazing set of mentors; etc. Sure you can’t sit on these things :-) but on the other hand… a chair doesn’t add lasting value to life! I have so much in my life that I often overlook… but that’s changing.
  • The life of faith doesn’t work on paper! Hey, bottom line, what’s happening in our lives right now is flat out driving me crazy! I like to know WAY more than I know now with regards to our finances, future, etc. I want to be in control! What I’m finding is that to the extent that I’m in control, God takes His hands off and I end up controlling a small, predictable life! BUT when I listen to God and do what He says, though the predictability goes down, spiritual awareness goes up and the opportunities for the unexpected increase!

Here’s the question - what are you missing by hanging on to what you have? Obedience will drive you crazy but it will also lead you into places with God that you will not experience in the comfort of safety and predictability.

Take a chance! Listen and obey God and see what happens!

This whole experience is so good that I may just sell all of my stuff again! (Just kidding babe!) ;-)

Who’s gonna “like” you?

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Reading this morning in David Putman (one of my mentors in this church planting journey) and Ed Stetzer’s book Breaking the Missional Code I came across a paragraph that I concur with…

“Churches that are breaking the code are paying a high price for reaching the unchurched/unreached. They are discovering that churches that focus on the unchurched/unreached often create a degree of discomfort among some churched/reached. In other words, you cannot have it both ways – either the lost like you or the satisfied religious crowd likes you.”

Some time ago I had a lady say to me, “It seems to me that if you had to pick between the churched and the unchurched, you’d pick the unchurched.” My response to her was “I’d pick the unchurched every time.”

For me, the bottom line is this, there are enough churches “reaching out” to the “churched.” On the other hand, there are shockingly few churches aggressively reaching out to disconnected, disenchanted, and disappointed people. (This article from the USA Today should cause us to rethink how we “do” church! You can also check out the continuing conversation on this on Ed Stetzer’s blog)

I LOVE the church! I believe that the local church is the hope for lonely, broken, hurting, searching people! I believe that the local church is the hope for reconciliation and crime reduction in our communities. I believe that the local church is best equipped to address poverty and disease in all of its manifestations. I believe all of these things and more about the local church but I believe that they will only come true when the church stops focusing on itself, stops caring about who’s going to like her, and begins focusing on disconnected, lonely, hurting, searching people with a laser tight focus… kind of like Jesus did!

Will it cost? You bet! But the life-change that results from a church that is focused on connecting disconnected people back to God is worth any cost.

Who do I want to “like” me? If I have to choose… I choose disconnected people over “satisfied religious people” every time because that’s what Jesus did.

A day @ Springdale

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Today we went to church with our friends @ Springdale Nazarene church.

We went to present what God is doing in the kingdom through our lives, and to raise funds to support this vision of connecting disconnected people to God through church planting.

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Springdale.

I love visiting different churches and watching how God works in each environment.

Bottom line… each church creates a unique worship environment and God doesn’t seem to favor one over the other!

In the last two months I have been in six different churches:

Each of these churches has a different approach to:

  • Music
  • Dress
  • Preaching
  • Technology
  • Art
  • “Guest services”
  • Etc.

What’s the point? God is doing a work in all kinds of churches in all kinds of people, singing all kinds of songs, dressed in all kinds of different ways! Some churches use crazy amounts of technology to assist in worship while others are still singing from illegal copies of chorus books! ;-) Some haven’t heard of drums while others can’t hear because of the drums, but bottom line (again) God is showing up and doing a “God thing” in all kinds of churches!

So church… let’s stop criticizing what the church down the street is doing and start celebrating what God is doing through all kinds of environments!

A Celebration of Ten Years

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Today is the celebration of ten years of marriage to the most amazing lady… my wife!

In honor of my amazing bride of ten years I give you… The-Top-Ten-Reasons-I-Love-Being-Married-To-Sherri-Peterson list:

  • Sherri is my best friend. No joke, I’d rather hang out with her than anyone else I know. When I’m with her I’m satisfied. When I’m not with her I keep thinking about what she’d think/say/do if she were with me. I love living with her because she’s my best friend.
  • Sherri is an amazing mother. It never ceases to amaze me how she can handle four little people with such amazing patience and quality. She prays for them daily; regularly reads books on how to be a better mother; and consistently evaluates her/our parenting methods so that we can get better. She cares more about parenting than anyone I’ve ever known. If our girls grow up to be women like their mother we will have been successful parents.
  • Sherri has amazing amounts of common sense. Sherri does not freak out, get overwhelmed, or let circumstances push her around. She has the ability to see things like they are and generally is a calming influence on those around her… namely me! I place high value on her wisdom that regularly displays itself through common sense.
  • Sherri is organized. Geeze-O-Man… this lady can take a house with four kids ages 4,3,2, and 2 months, and one man, and one dog… and completely organize it! I give her grief for being “anal” about organization, but the bottom line is… I love it and can’t imagine living any other way.
  • Sherri is smarter than I am, but never tells me so. We have a running joke between the two of us – It took me two masters degrees to be able to hang with her! Seriously, I can be wrestling with an issue for hours or days and take it to her and she comes up with the perfect solution… in minutes! The only thing I wish is that she would at least make it look hard! I love talking with her! From church, to leadership, to parenting… my bride is sharp!
  • Sherri is content with what she has. Sherri does not complain. When we moved here we sold all of our furniture. For the last month she has been without a kitchen table, etc. (God has graciously provided us with a dinette set within the last week), but she NEVER complained. She has given up a LOT to pursue this calling to plant a church and yet she NEVER complains. It’s not that she’s just swallowing it… she’s really content. She is an amazing lady that deserves the very best but is content with the very least. I could not be the man God wants me to be with anyone less than Sherri. I love this lady.
  • Sherri loves the church. We always say, “If you cut us we would bleed church.” I LOVE the church and I am married to someone with the same amount of passion for and commitment to the church as I have. We are committed to and excited about giving the rest of our lives to serving God through the church, and I love that about my bride!
  • Sherri insists on excellence. This one costs me sometimes (time, money, energy, etc.) but I love this about my bride! When she does something you know one thing… you won’t need to redo it. From dressing the girls creating a worship environment… this lady works hard for excellence. One thing I deeply appreciate about Sherri is that she has learned to observe priorities. She used to insist on excellence in everything! These days she’s insisting on excellence in the important things, and that’s why I love her!
  • Sherri always gets it right when it comes to relationships. I have learned that when Sherri gives relational advice… she’s right. It’s kind of like directions, when she says “turn right” you’d better turn right or you will be apologizing while you do a u-turn down the road. Sherri has a genuine heart for people and, quite frankly, is the female version of Dr. Phil.
  • Sherri is committed to following God and leading her family to do the same. My bride is a seeker of God. She loves to worship her Leader (Jesus) and is regularly teaching our children to do so as well. One of her greatest joys is to see “The Ladies” interact with God through song. I would rather stand next to her and “The Ladies” in a worship environment than anyone else I can imagine. I love following our Leader with her.

These last ten years have been amazing years. Sherri has forgiven me, loved me, grown with me, challenged me, held me, confided in me, journeyed with me, and stepped out in faith with me.

We have had four children, pastored in three churches, earned three educational degrees, lived in four states, and done a TON of exciting “stuff” together. It’s been an amazing ten years.

Babe, this year I don’t have much to give except the public proclamation that I have LOVED these last ten years and publicly pledge to you my commitment to make the next ten even better than the last!

Sherri Peterson, I love you.

Comfortable church

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OK, Tommy Tenney, in his book, The God Chasers, brings it and gets right to the heart of what I’m saying about church…

“If we’re not careful, we can become so interested in developing the ‘cult of the comfortable’ with our comfortable pastor, our comfortable church building, and our comfortable circle of friends, that we forget about the thousands of discontented, wounded, and dying people who pass by our comfortable church every day! I can’t help but think that if we fail to even try to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ, then He sure wasted a lot of blood on Calvary. Now that makes me uncomfortable.”

Let’s get uncomfortable!