the Stirring ...

it's 10:33 pm ... I just got home from the Stirring ...

Derrick spoke tonight ... he told the story of the thief on the cross ... one of the most creative messages I've heard in a long time ... if you missed it, get the podcast ... light some candles and listen to it with your family ...

and Jenna led worship ... we sang a new song tonight ... one of Kim Walker's new songs ... amazing ... and just when I thought the night was winding down, Jenna pulls out 'better is one day' ... yep, old school ... the place erupted ... hands in the air ... crying out to God ... young and old ... I think someone choked on their coffee ... that's what happens when God shows up ... and then, out of nowhere, Dan starts playing this Metallica guitar lead ... and I'm rockin' the keys like Billy Joel ...

I'm stoked about this coming year ... God is so good ... I love our church and where God is leading us ... and Metallica ...

weekend in Sacramento ...

my family and are spending the weekend in Sacramento ... we love spending time with my parents ... and getting away from 118 degree weather ...

last night, I slept for over 10 hours ... it's the first time in 12 years ... then we jogged down to Fitness 19 and worked out for an hour ... traps and gluts and biceps ... it's my life ...

now we're headed off to the Sacramento Zoo ... I'm not a huge Zoo fan, but my kids are freaking out ... they love animals ... Ava already has her little animal checklist and Adiah's talking about monkeys and lions ... I hope I get to ride an elephant ... if so, I'll post the picture tonight ...

I'm looking forward to the Stirring Sunday night ... we're wrapping up the face to face series ... it's been an amazing and shaping summer for our church ... God has given us such an amazing team ... they are so God crazy ... I can't wait to see what God does this next year ...

filming, dancing and drunk ...

I just spent the last 2 hours filming a short video at downtown Marketfest ... it's a short bit for our new series this fall ... I took my daughter Ava ... we had such an amazing time ...

the downtown night life is fantastic ... snow cones ... belly dancers ... drum circles ... face painting ... balloon clowns ... and of course, drunk dancing shirtless people ... welcome to Redding ...

tonight, I remembered my love for film making ... the lighting and angles and colors and movement ... shaping and framing each and every shot ... children laughing and smiling at the camera ... old people hugging ...

and I love being around so many different people ... especially half naked hippie dancing people ... it reminds me of my years at Simpson ... we used to throw the greatest dance parties ever ... back before they outlawed dancing ... and half nudity ...

anyways, thanks everyone who helped out with the film ... you make the world a better place ... keep dancing and stay away from clowns ... (speaking of clowns, in the near future, I will blog about clowns) ... stay tuned ...

Christian words ...

just met with the Sunday morning Launch Team ...
great evening at the Gafner's ...
chips and salsa and iced tea and carrot cake ...
we can't wait for the Stirring with pews ...

so, tonight we banned a few good ol' Christian words ...
like fellowship and dovetail and congregation ...
and of course, potluck ...
so, we need a new word for the 'after church' potluck ... any ideas?

Sean Gafner's suggestion ... the Feast ...

tuesday 'take my daughter to school' day ...

yes, it's official ... tuesday is 'take my daughter to school' day ... we wake up early ... we brush our teeth ... we throw down waffles and yogurt ... we throw on our backpacks ... and we're off to school ...

this morning, I tried to drop her off in the parking lot ... but she threw a fit and made me walk her all the way to her classroom ... holding her hand ... skipping all the way ... unbelievable .... the sacrifices we make as dads ...

and in the parking lot, yep, we passed good old Dan and Zeke ... holding hands and skipping, too ... what a beautiful picture of a father & son bonding ...

this afternoon, our Stirring Staff spent 5 hours locked up in a small room in Yaks ... freezing cold ... we laughed and dreamed and shivered and drank large amounts of coffee ... I can't wait to jump into fall and to plant this Sunday morning church ... it's fantastic to be alive ... it's 9 pm ... I'm still shaking from the coffee ...

the greatest 90's rock albums ever ...

i woke up at 9:56 am ... the best morning of my life ... i love sleeping in ... like it's my job ...

this morning, my daughters dressed up like princesses and we danced ... we danced and frolicked around the living room ... but when we dance, we must have the perfect dancing music ... most of the time it's Josh Groban or the Beach Boys, but this morning I threw on the Cranberries ... amazing dance music ... my daughters love the Cranberries ... fantastic princess dancing music ...

so, all day I've been thinking about the greatest 90's rock albums ever ... here it goes ...

#5 ... Nirvana ... Nevermind ... these guys have always been role models to me ...

#4 ... Pearl Jam ... Ten ... i memorized every song on this ablum ... the greatest album ever until Radiohead released the Bends ...

#3 ... DC Talk ... Jesus Freak ... finally, Christians had permission to be freaks ... thanks for being bold with this ablum ... i saw DC Talk on their Jesus Freak tour in San Diego ... the first Christian mosh pit ever ...

#2 ... Counting Crows ... August and Everything After ... so many high school memories ... my blue topaz ... cross country ... the cafeteria ... being duct taped to the school flag pole ...

the #1 greatest 90's rock album ever ... Radiohead ... the Bends ... i admit, I was a bit obsessed with Radiohead ... they gave me the nickname, 'Radioheadwardson' ... not cool ... i just liked the music ...

awesome ...

I was talking with a friend last week and he said that he’s been talking like me … he’s saying ‘Awesome’ all the time … he says that’s my word … Awesome … I guess I use the word Awesome all the time … so much I don’t even notice it … I asked my wife, do I really say ‘awesome’ all the time? … she replied, “yep,” to which I replied, “awesome!” …

But what does Awesome really mean? … in my world, Awesome can mean so many things … in fact, it can get confusing, so here it goes …

Awesome means ‘that really sucks and I’m glad I’m not you!” … when someone shares with me that they’ve just been fired at work or they can’t pay rent or someone in their family is sick, I will say, “awesome” and hang my head low in empathy and understanding … try this sometime …

Awesome means ‘I don’t know what else to say’ … when it gets really awkward, either in a conversation or at the end of the Stirring 2nd gathering and I have no idea what to say, I will say, “awesome” and we smile and go our separate ways …

Awesome means ‘punch me in the neck and it’s not really awesome’ … when someone shares with me that they just got their girlfriend pregnant or that they are leaving the Stirring to go to a ‘real church’ or that they just robbed a bank, I will say ‘awesome’ and punch myself in the neck …

Awesome means ‘I’m not really listening but I want you to think I’m listening’ … sometimes I don’t listen well … I’m working on it … but in the meantime, when someone is telling me something really important and I’m tuning out, I will say “awesome,” which means I really love you but I’m having trouble listening right now … this one doesn’t work well with my wife, Erica …

Finally, Awesome means ‘awesome’ … when something is truly awesome, I will say, “awesome!” … what else would I say? …

the church plant ...

so, just hours ago we walked through the space for our Sunday morning church plant ... we, meaning Sean Gafner, Dan Lance and myself ... we couldn't be more excited about this space for our church plant ... it's perfect ...

brick building ... A frame church ... stained glass windows ... and of course, blue pews ... simply Old School ... and not to mention the grand piano ... fantastic ...

we've got 8 weeks to plant this church ... to pray ... to get the team ready ... to raise $30,000 ... no problem ...

please pray that God gives us favor in this new community ... we've already been praying for the families and couples and children that God will bring into our lives this coming year ... as we plant this new church, the last thing we want is a church filled with more Christians, especially from other churches ...

more than anything, we need God ... we need God to give us wisdom and courage ... we need God to fill us with His Spirit ... the prophet Zechariah writes, 'not by strength, not by might, but by My Spirit says the Lord" ... we are crying out to God for the impossible ... we're crying out to God for a generation ... and in 8 weeks, we'll be crying out to God from blue pews ...

heroes ...

so, a week ago, my wife and I rented the first episode of heroes, season one ...

no one recommended it ... no one raved about it ... I just walked by the movie aisle, saw it sitting lonely on the shelf, and I brought it home ... I guess I've been going through a super-hero stage in my life ... in fact, a couple of weeks ago, I went out and bought two new t-shirts ... yep, the Incredible Hulk and the Marvel Super Team ... and then I tried to fly off the roof ...

anyways, 7 days later, we've almost finished the whole first season ... we have two episodes left ... absolutely amazing ... my favorite of all the television series ...

Alias was cool, until season 4 ... we tried watching lost ... one word, LOST ... we watched 5 seasons of 24 in a row ... if you think Jack is dead, you don't know Jack ... and then we watched the first two seasons of Prison Break ... we loved it ... it reminded me of high school ...

but so far, nothing compares to Heroes ... brilliant story, cinematography and special effects ... and deep down, every one of us wants to be a hero ... save the cheerleader, save the world ...

everyone has a book in them ...

so, I’ve been thinking about writing my first book … it seems like everyone else is writing a book …

Dan’s writing his first book, “Born in the Pew” …

My dad’s writing his first leadership book, “Accelerate” …

Bill Giovannetti just finished his first book, “How to keep your Inner Mess from Trashing your Outer World” …

Trisha Wheeler is working hard on her creative writing project, “Painting on Wings and Clouds” …

John Klein just told me about his upcoming autobiography, “Like an Angel” …

and I can't wait to read Dave Reichle's most recent book ... "the Sixth Love Language" ... I think Aaron Morkert's co-writing a couple chapters ...

and of course, Jeff Yoder’s writing his Christian novel, “Jesus and the Amish” … it releases this December …

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m a ‘book’ kind of guy, but one of my professors once said, “everyone has a book in them” … I have no idea what that means, but I think I’ll give it a shot anyways …

So, I need a name for my first book … any thoughts? …

I was thinking about calling it, “When Heaven Invades Earth,” but someone told me it’s already taken …

4,659 words later ...

two minutes ago, I turned in my Greek exegetical paper for Tozer Seminary ...

17 pages, 4,659 words, 12 sources, 32 citations and 114 hours later ... I'm finally finished ... seriously, I thought about quitting seminary 14 times ... and throwing my laptop computer from the top of that strange, 2 million dollar, Simpson bell tower ...

for the past two weeks, I've practically lived in the Simpson library ... depressing ... I thought about bringing a sleeping bag and camping out in the silent study area ... I've read 10 commentaries ... I've had the strangest conversations with Bethel students ... I know every librarian by name ... I took two naps on those huge bean bags ... I thought about stealing one, but I didn't think it would fit in my trunk ...

anyways, I'm looking forward to the greatest weekend ever with my family ... and designing the rock wall for the kids fort in my backyard ...

oh, that Georgia ...

my wife and I were working out yesterday ... I can bench about 90 ... yes, I'm stronger than I look ...

after working my biceps and neck muscles, I jumped onto the cardio machine ... and as I worked my calves and my gluts, I began watching television ... CNN ...

and then, breaking news ... the Russians are in Georgia with guns, 35 miles from the capital ... the Russians, in Georgia ... and I'm watching live video ... Russians attacking innocent people with guns and weapons and blowtorches ... in Georgia ... my heart begins pounding ... I'm freaking out ... the Russians are in Georgia ...

my wife was working her calves and gluts about 4 machines across the room ... I turned off my I-Pod and yelled across the gym to her, like a crazy man ... "Erica, the Russians are in Georgia" ... everyone in the gym hears me ... I'm pointing violently toward the televisions, a look of terror and on my face ... she's confused, but begins tracking with the CNN story ... yep, the Russians are attacking Georgia ...

this whole time, I'm convinced the Russians are in the United States, in Georgia, attacking our country, 35 miles from the capital ... and then, 5 minutes later, it hits me ... oh, that Georgia ... amazing ... I quietly finished my work out ... true story ...

the Olympics ...

my wife and I have been watching the Olympics tonight ... swimming and gymnastics ... some Phelps guy just won his 9th gold medal ... brilliant ... I think he's 14 years old ... the question is, are you a Phelps Phan? ...

anyways, the Olympics take me back to the days when I played sports ... my 'golden' athlete years ... this may be a shock to the blogging world, but I was quite the athlete ... Central Valley High School ... the high school of Champions ... baseball and cross country and tennis and pickle ball ... not to mention, I played soccer for Simpson College ... yep, those were the days ... the glory days ... back when athletic competition was more than a simply a pastime ... it was life ... back when sports wasn't about money and fame ... it was about honor ... before drugs and steroids and supplements ... I will never forget the 90's ...

and did anyone watch the Olympic opening night? ... fantastic ... props to China ... I've never seen anything like it ... children flying with kites ... that huge LCD screen across the stadium ... lights and fireworks ... that crazy segment with the moving boxes ... over 15,000 people dancing and singing and performing ... (way better than last year's 4th of July show at the Civic) ...

anyways, I'm in the Olympic spirit ... tomorrow, I will probably run or swim or throw a javelin ... and they I'll drive to Hollywood Video and rent that movie 'Nadia' ... amazing film ... back before the Russians invaded Georgia ...

my crazy weekend ...

I've been running for 100 hours straight ... welcome to my crazy weekend ...

Thursday night ... dress rehearsal for Matt and Lindsay's wedding ... later on that night, church planting meeting at Paul's house ... we packed 38 people into one living room ... we're planting our Sunday morning church in 10 weeks ... amazing ...

Friday night ... Matt and Lindsay's wedding ... came home to hang with family ...

Saturday ... Hackfest Golf Marathon 2008 ... I teamed up with Pete Metz, Jason Jones and my brother Benji ... we had a great time hacking at balls and digging balls out of creeks ... I think I could really get into this golf thing ... aren't pastors supposed to be golfers ... like Rick Pitcher ... over all, we raised over $18,000 for our new church plant ... thanks guys ...

Sunday Night ... spoke at the Stirring ... Jenna led worship ... Alyssa's water broke ... Sean wore a Diego backpack ... we had an awesome time of worship and prayer ...

I prayed for a guy who came to the Stirring with his friend for the first time ... this is the first time he's ever experienced God ... another guy came running up to me ... he said, "I have no idea what's happening to me, for the past four weeks, when I come to church, all I can do is cry" ... God's changing him into a new person ... I've known this guy for a year, and for the first time, I can see joy in his eyes ... I prayed with a girl who grew up in church, but she's never really met God ... she wants to know God ... God is so outrageously good ...

now it's sabbath ... I'm going to sit around all day and do nothing ... and then mow my lawn ...

face to face ...

tomorrow night, we begin a new series at the Stirring ... face to face ... we were created to live face to face with God ... so why don't we?

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Exodus 33:11

I believe that God is looking for one person ... anyone can burn in a crowd ... God is looking for someone who will burn for Him when no one's looking ... who will worship Him when there's no church service ... who will cry out to Him in the middle of the night when there's no crisis ...

God is looking for one person who will know Him face to face ... and when God finds that person, He will use them to shape history ...

I've been praying for our church for weeks, and especially as we move into this next journey ... that we would know God's voice ... that we would see God's face ... that we would feel God's breath ... that we would become friends of God ... God's face to face people on earth, calling the world back into a life with God ...

thoughts on Todd Bentley ...

so, what about Todd Bentley and those Lakeland Revivals? ... please do not comment until you've watched this 4 minute video ... I believe this is God's heart ...

I will never forget ...

I will never forget ...

1) My first date with Erica ... we took a walk across the train bridge over Caldwell Park ... I wanted to kiss her ... we held hands and smelled fresh Redding air ... romantic, until the train came ... I panicked ... we almost died ...

2) Wolfman ... I'm not sure how it all came about ... it was someone's bachelor party ... we drove out to a lonely, dark road ... we parked our cars and took off all our clothes ... all ten of us ... naked and white ... we huddled in a circle in the middle of the road ... we waited ... 10 minutes later, a car came slowly down that road ... it's headlights shining brightly upon us ... crouching in a tight circle on that dark road, we pretended to be eating a dead animal carcass ... then we ran quickly into the forest ...

3) of course, 9/11 ... my father called me early in the morning ... he was freaking out and breathing heavily ... "America is under attack" ... I thought it was joke ... so, I hung up the phone and I went back to bed ... 10 minutes later, he called again ... this time, I believed him ... I ran upstairs and turned on the television ... my wife, dave reichle, john klein and aaron morkert watched the airplane crash into the second tower ... awful feeling ...

4) Genesis Weekend ... the year God became more important than Night Life ... Sean Bagley crawling in sand ... Jeff Yoder dancing with flags ... Sarah pours blue paint over a canvas ... Richie Masadas screams, "I'm thirsty" ... it freaked me out ... seriously, I was not expecting that ... and then people start screaming and running toward a huge bucket near the front stage ... wow ... no wonder they went back to Night Life ...

5) Exit San Francisco ... my first band ... peter, joel, jathen, courtney and ben ... and somehow, I ended up the lead singer ... jumping and kicking all over the stage ... like an idiot ... with my freakin' weird long hair ... what was I thinking? ... one question ... where the heck is Peter Marshall? ...

things that grow on you ...

yep, things that grow on you ...

1) Chest hair ... I found this out 2 years ago ... it came quickly, like weeds in fertile soil ...

2) the film Anchor Man ... I hated it the first time I watched it ... months later, I rented it ... changed my life ... one of the greatest films of all time ... perhaps the Godfather of the 21st century ... stay classy ...

3) Text Messaging ... two years ago, I actually had conversations with real people on my cell phone ... now, I just text message ... it's quicker and you don't actually have to talk to anyone ... I just type in a few words and 'send' ...

4) John Klein ... it's true ... we've had our moments, but John Klein has become one of my most loyal and encouraging friends ...

5) the new Coldpay album ... amazing ... I've listened to it at least 46 times ... that hammer dulcimer takes me to another world ... a world where there is no war, no racism and little people running around with cotton candy ...

project Kid's Kingdom day 1 ...

almost finished ... with a little help from my friends ... we built the two towers, a couple ladders, a bridge, and bolted down the double wave slides ... all in 12 hours straight ...

we're taking a couple days off, but when we get back to it, there's only a few things left ... the swingset, the tire swing, the climbing wall (Bobby and I are going to design and build it), the fort tent and of course, the rope ladder ...

the kids are already going crazy ... we're playing adventure games like Pirates and Jungle and Indiana Jones ... Asher's crazy ... he's already climbing to the top of the fort and pretending to jump off ... and then he laughs ...

one day, perhaps our children will realize the great sacrifices we have made for them ... and when we're old and wise, maybe they will build our forts for us ... and change our diapers ...

baptism tonight ...

for those who read this blog, don't miss the Stirring baptism tonight at 5:30 pm ...

new followers of Jesus, a 5 gallon cooler of Costco lemonade and a BBQ ... amazing ... and I hear Patrick is bringing Cornhole ... you can't have a true baptism without a decent Cornhole competition ... I'm still the undefeated Cornhole champion ...

here are the directions to 2036 Princeton Way ...

take Simpson Blvd off of Shasta View (across from Simpson University entrance)
Right on Princeton Way (2036 Princeton Way)

bring your own meat, a sidedish to share, towel, and swim wear (preferably speedos and sexy bikinis) ... no white shirts ... it's a baptism ...