More Thoughts on Peace

Our family attended the Episcopal Church when I was growing up. Every Sunday at the close of the service, the priest would pronounce a blessing. One of the common ones was:

"May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

What a great way to conclude a worship service...

I can remember when I started understanding more of what was going on in the service (it took a long time). That blessing captivated me. I began thinking about every element.

God's peace goes beyond my understanding. Boy could I relate to that. I was standing there looking at my dad who had experienced a radical turnaround in his life. Many times he'd have tears running down his cheeks, undone by God's great love, (which sometimes embarrassed me as a teenager)... My mom was equally grateful, being the glue that held our family together. And I was just starting to get along with my sister which was a miracle in and of itself. We were slightly competitive and I wasn't very nice :)

"May the peace of God... guard your hearts and minds" It was amazing how true this was. When mom and dad are at peace, and when mom and dad love Jesus, it is amazing how much peace transfers to the kids. Finances were extremely tight, yet God's peace guarded our hearts and minds. We went through many hard times, yet mom and dad would invite Jesus to bring His peace. They would constantly love and serve others, inviting them into our home. What a powerful blessing of peace parents can give to their kids.

"in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" Somehow it always came back to Jesus. It was about knowing Him and about His love.

A few years later my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. We went through 30+ years of hard times (and good times) together. And through it all we experienced God's peace.

I stood with my family a few years ago at the end of a worship service, looking at my dad sitting in his wheelchair (smiling with tears), my mom standing next to him (happy), my beautiful sister (worshipping) and her family, along with my awesome wife and sons. The peace of God which surpasses all understanding had truly guarded our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thank you God for your peace!

Everyone Has a Place

I'm thankful for the noticeable impact on marriages in this series. We're receiving good reports almost daily. I've also heard positive reports from singles, single parents, divorcees and widows. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be?!?

Imagine being in the early church and hearing sections of the Bible read which seemed to have no relevance to you personally. Actually, in the early church, all issues were viewed as being relevant because they viewed themselves as a family. Your issues affect me and my issues affect you because we are joined together through relationship with Jesus. That can be awesome, and it can be messy.

In our consumer culture we tend to approach faith like a buffet line. We tend to only embrace what makes us feel good (in the moment) and avoid anything challenging. We tend to hang out mostly with people like us. We've heard about other people's suffering but distance ourselves from learning anything about it.

June (my wife) and I enjoyed our first small group years ago which was comprised of young, old, married and single folks. Everyone had different life experiences. We got to know each other, laughed together, prayed together, learned together and walked through stuff together. Diversity in community has a way of teaching us to look beyond ourselves and realize the universe does not revolve around us. The grace we need can only come through humility.

My hope is not only that marriages will get stronger, but we will get healthier and as a family. That means everyone has a part to play. Everyone has a place at the table.

So let's pray and keep building together. We're a part of something amazing!

Thanksgiving thoughts

We enjoyed smoked turkey and all the fixin's this year. We've gotten together with some folks (who are without family in Denver) going on 7 years now. The past couple years it has grown, this year to 15 people.

I'm really aware of how the "kids" are growing and changing. Seems like just yesterday they were in elementary school, playing football and beating up on each other (mildly). Now the youngest is back from college for the weekend...

I'm thankful for friendships that continue to grow. There is no substitute for time together.

And I'm thankful for my wife. Remembering almost 30 Thanksgivings together (including when we were dating). We've had several Thanksgivings where we ate what I shot that day (pheasant, duck, quail, goose). She let me clean and cook those. We've laughed and watched lots of football (will the Lions ever win?).

And I've come home with the same beautiful woman every year, and am so grateful for the gift she is...

A Pastor's Gathering

So what do pastors do when they get together? Sounds like an intro to a joke...

I was in Chicago this week with some pastors from around the country. It was good to be with some guys I've known for 20+ years. We see each other a couple times a year. It is a great time to reconnect, share stories, hear from people who are experts in different areas, and laugh.

One of the highlights for me was a late dinner at a famous Chicago pizza place with 3 friends -- telling stories, laughing so hard I was crying...

For the meeting times, we had Adam Hamilton (pastor of the largest Methodist church in the universe) in to do some training. He is an inspiring guy with amazing vision and energy. Don't know if I've ever heard anyone as intentional as Adam. I was stirred up and challenged, reminded of how much God loves Denver and what a privilege it is to be a part of SHV and together serve our city.

What do pastors do anyway?? First of all, pastors have a sense they are "called" to do what they're doing, which means it is more than a cool idea or vocational option.

Pastors train others in how to follow Jesus through teaching, serving, caring, and encouraging. Most of the work is behind the scenes. They aren't the "go to person," but rather know the "go to Person" (Jesus). They help connect people with Him.

And they help people learn to follow Jesus in lifestyle and character. That means every follower of Jesus is called onto the field of play, each with a very important role to play. No spectators. In a small or large church, that is the challenge. Getting everyone in the game, growing as devoted followers of Jesus.

I'm so thankful for the privilege of serving as a pastor. It was a great 3 days and I'm looking forward to what will unfold personally, at SHV and in Denver as a result.

Freedom in Marriage

We're getting ready to dive in to the Marriage portion of our "Real Freedom" series... June and I have been married 27 1/2 years, and over that time we've learned many helpful "best practices." I will be sharing several of those over the next few weeks. I'll also be addressing specific questions sent in via email, texting, and handwritten notes.

So what does God say about "falling in love" and "falling out of love?" What do you do when you're not "feeling the love" anymore?

So many of the principles we've been learning so far relate to marriage. Just last week we covered Galatians 5:13 "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." Marriage is definitely the testing and proving ground for this verse.

Whether you are looking to strengthen your marriage, apply relational principles as a single person, or rebuild after a broken relationship, there will be something for you. I want to encourage you to come with a prayerful and hope-filled attitude...

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Ephesians 3:20 (Message Version)

Finding freedom in love

I've been pondering the issue of love while preparing for this weekend's message on "Freedom from unhealthy relational patterns." Everybody's looking for love, everybody needs it, everybody's been hurt while looking for it, and we all do silly things that keep us from experiencing it. What a mess...

What I'm finding is that love can't happen when we're focused on ourselves. (I know that's brilliant.) And yet, when we get hurt that is exactly where we turn. So what do we do?

Simply, we keep turning to Jesus and allowing Him to direct us into loving responses. We do that by talking to Him, listening to Him, worshiping Him, and responding to Him. We put to death the natural inclinations to do the unloving thing.

A friend of mine in England pulled up to a stop sign only to have a guy on his bike start cursing at him. He leaned out of the window and said "bless you my brother." As you can imagine the guy went into shock. BTW, saying that would be quite unnatural for me. But that is exactly the point...

In life and our most meaningful relationships we get into bad habits of doing what we naturally do - anger, attack, defensiveness, justification, withdrawal, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc. Let's be honest: loving isn't easy and doesn't always come natural. But God is in the business of loving and His love can and does transform us. That is what freedom is all about.

Join us this weekend as we explore freedom from unhealthy relational patterns and invite Him to bring freedom!

Joys of love, family and friends

Our youngest son Jordan surprised us coming home from college on fall break last week, somehow keeping it a secret from his mother and I (though everyone else knew). As he walked in the door I heard my wife say "oh my gosh" to which I wondered what was wrong..., only to see his smiling face walking up the stairs. We had a wonderful time together, as all three brothers were here over the weekend. It was cool to see Jordan worshiping, playing drums with the worship team on Sunday.

In just 2 months we're seeing the positive effects of him having solid relationships with other followers of Jesus at college (unbelievably important). He is thriving -- hearing from Jesus, helping others, and in keeping with his generation has already changed his major :)

His mom joined Facebook a few weeks ago so we could be "friends" and get updates beyond sporadic texting.

Life is changing rapidly, but some things stay the same: the joys of love, family and friends.

Wow, some great things are happening at SHV!

The completion of our sanctuary renovation mid-August has been a picture of sorts -- new beginnings, change and transformation...

First of all, people are being set free in the Real Freedom message series. Free from the past, problems, addictions, and materialism. There is an amazing dynamic that occurs when we worship and study God's Word together - our fragmented souls become whole :D

Secondly, we're making significant strides toward serving our community. Our recent Single Parent Support Day and Saturday of Service were both wonderful events. People are tasting of Real Life, Community and Mission.

And finally, we're taking steps forward in our vision - to be a training center, planting communities of faith and sending people out into mission. With all the turbulence and uncertainty in society, it is encouraging to see God at work.

Pondering freedom…

This whole thing of “real freedom” has been a long journey. We’ve been taught about freedom, experienced it, seen it, struggled with it, failed at it, and re-engaged with it. Over all, God is so merciful. When we give up, He stands faithfully waiting. It all seems so elusive, about the time you think you’re free a trap ensnares in an unexpected way. An answer to the dangerous “Lord keep me humble” prayer J When you think you’re not free, God comes to show He is with you and working. An answer to the “Lord have mercy on me” prayer :D Over the past few years, Dallas Willard’s writings have challenged and given language to much of what I’ve felt. He says “Prayer is, above all, a means of forming character. It combines freedom and power with service and love. What God gets out of our lives – and indeed, what we get out of our lives – is simply the person we become. It is God’s intention that we should grow into the kind of person he could empower to do what we want to do.” (from Divine Conspiracy, p. 250) :D I’m thankful for the mercy of God and for the love of others. Local church community would lack freedom (and be frightening) without those 2 dynamics.