The Video I showed in Church last Sunday

This video was fun to make. It was single take with a borrowed camera, and I recruited a stranger who was just reading on the beach to help me shoot it. I didn't catch his name, but if he's watching, THANKS!

Beach Baptism

I'm soaking in this beautiful Saturday morning and thinking about the amazing weekend ahead. Baptism is one of my very favorite events in the life of our church. It reminds me how much I love being a pastor. I never get tired of hearing the stories of transformed and committed lives. Over the years, we’ve baptized well over 200 people at the beach. And tomorrow I’m hoping we’ll baptize another 20 plus. And each story is amazing.

We meet at Torrey Pines State Beach Lifeguard station #4. Get there early or shoot for 3 pm (it takes awhile to park). Dinner will be served at 4 pm with the baptism immediately following. This is one of the coolest things we do as a church. We often have people come from great distances to be here. You'll be glad you came!

One day Jesus had a conversation with a woman. And the conversation got pretty personal. Especially as Jesus dealt with some of the poor moral choices that she has made in her life (in this case, her failure in six different relationships). Jesus looked deep into her heart and revealed her pain and emptiness.

That’s why I’m so surprised by her response: "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." John 4:19-20

Did you notice what happened? Jesus addresses an extremely deep heart issue. But instead of facing the internal issues of her soul, this woman opts for a surface fix. It’s as if she says, “It doesn’t matter about my past moral failures, or my empty life … as long as I figure out the right mountain to worship on, I’m good to go.” It would be comical if it wasn’t so typical.

How easy it is for us, to try that to fix deep issues with quick external changes. But we will never be healed by surface makeovers. Instead, as Jesus counseled the woman, we must allow His Spirit to change us from the inside out (See John 4:21-24).

A great prayer is found in Psalm 139:23-24:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in
me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

As Jesus looks within your heart, invite Him by His Spirit to uncover any anxious thoughts or offensive ways, and let Him begin a spiritual transformation from within.

.

Happy Fall

I LOVE Fall. Since today, Sept 22, is the first official day of it (actually in an hour or so from now), here are the results of my recent poll. Almost half of those polled said they were ready. Now vote on my new survey.

The patio used to be safe

My mom lives in a quaint townhouse with a sunny back patio. We often eat out there on warm evenings, celebrate birthdays and such. It is very pleasant. But, this summer, I received a panicked call from her. She had discovered a snake in her courtyard. Now she hates snakes. And I inherited that from her. And as it turns out, this was not just any snake, it was a huge rattlesnake. In fact, when the animal control person came to remove it, she said it was the biggest rattlesnake she had ever seen. It was about six feet long and the rattle alone was about eight inches. It was the width of a man's arm. The next day she looked out on her patio and saw two more (see photo above – this was the smaller one). They were also hauled off by animal control.

So a couple weeks later I am invited to celebrate a family birthday party at my mom's place. Did I mention I hate snakes? As we celebrated my nephew's birthday, my mom says, "Let's go out into the courtyard." I say, "Thanks. I think I'll just sit here in the living room." She says, "It's a nice warm summer evening, let's go out?" I respond, "No I don't think so!" Finally I sat there, craning my neck in every direction the whole evening. I was the picture of discomfort.

Here's the point: The courtyard didn't change. But my perception of it had changed.

I love talking to little kids about God. Their perception of him is huge. To them God is so big. But then we grow up. And life happens. And we encounter a snake or two, or worse, and somewhere along the way our view of God diminishes. Instead life gets big, problems get big, threats loom large … and our view of God changes. He sort of shrinks. And all the while God didn't change … but our perception of Him did.

How we need a clearer picture of God. A.W. Tozer said, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." That is an amazing statement.

How we need a clearer picture of God.

Staff Meeting Done Well

Just finished a staff meeting discussing Will Mancini's book, Church Unique. This is what the conference table looked like after we were done. Loose leaf tea, water, note pads, markers, Bibles. Great meeting.

The cross has always been a non-negotiable to God’s people. In the Bible, Paul says, May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ... Gal 6.14.

But, these days, many people would prefer a God without a cross. Here is the contemporary thinking. Why couldn’t God just forgive and forget? Why can’t God just accept everyone who says they’re sorry and move on? Why not just say we believe in a loving God and a forgiving God – good enough? Who needs a cross anyway?

One reason we need a cross is because forgiveness is always costly. Especially when the stakes are high, especially when the evil is great; to forgive is always costly. Dietrich Bonheoffer, the great Christian leader who was imprisoned and ultimately killed in Nazi German Concentration Camp, put it this way, “Everyone who forgives someone bears the other’s sins.” And we know this from life. When we choose to forgive, it always means absorbing the debt ourselves. It is a form of suffering.

Simply overlooking sin was not an option. Especially when you consider the massive evil of the world. But instead of making us pay, God bore the suffering Himself! The cross is a forever reminder that forgiveness is costly. But God paid the price we could never pay.

That is why I cling to the cross.

Wordle

OK, I found the coolest site online. It takes the text of a message and turns it into a word picture. The more you used the word, the bigger it is. Here's this morning's message as a Wordle.

Fun at Home

Party of Four?

Perhaps what's weirdest about sending our oldest son off to college is that we will be living, travelling, and eating out as a party of four. We've been the five of us for so long! Appreciate your prayers. We are so excited for Chris. He is definitely ready and we are so proud of him. But it's still really tough.

Sabbatical in Review

Also see Some random things I did over Sabbatical.

This summer has been a great break from day-to-day ministry. Although it was busy, I was truly able to disengage from the daily load of ministry and think big thoughts about God, His church, our church, and my calling.

As I reflect on my summer experience, I relate to the words of John Steinbeck. As Steinbeck prepared to journey across the United States he said, "We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; the trip takes us." In the same way, as I consider all the ways God worked in my life during this time, I feel as though I didn't take a sabbatical; the sabbatical took me.

What has the Lord done with me over this sabbatical?

• Gave me great times in His Word
  


• Took me through the death of my father.
  
  


• Gave me a lifetime experience with my family in Europe.
  


• Gave me fresh perspective on my strengths and areas of greatest effectiveness through the Pastors on Point Process.
  


• Allowed me to read several great books and visit several churches.
  

How would I define my "point" in ministry?

• God has made me a unique pastor. The themes of my life show that He put me together so that I was made to LEARN, DREAM, INVESTIGATE, EVALUATE, CREATE, ORGANIZE, PLAN, DEVELOP, OVERSEE, INFLUENCE, and COMMUNICATE.
  

• 
  
  I like to minister with and through GOD'S WORD, VALUES; RELATIONAL TEAMS, KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, NEW GROWTH, SHAPE, PEOPLE ON THE FRINGE OF FAITH.
  
  
  

  
  



• 
  
  I work best in ministry environments that are NEW OPPORTUNITIES, UNIQUE, CHALLENGING, CONTAINED, WITH TEAMS, AFFIRMING, WITH MEASURABLE IMPACT, and WITH KEY RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESULTS.
  
  
  

  
  



• 
  
  I am at my best when I play a role of a CATALIZING PRIME MOVER, INFLUENCER, at the FRONT END OF A NEW MOVEMENT.
  
  
  

  
  



• 
  
  So that I can TOGETHER WITH OTHERS, PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DOING SOMETHING NEW, UNIQUE, AND CREATIVE, WHICH WILL HAVE AN ETERNAL IMPACT.
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

What do I most look forward to in the days ahead with our church?

• Reinforcing our missional mandate (grounded in Scripture).
  


• Solidifying our values (which never change)
  


• Refining our strategy (the map we will follow to fulfill our mission).
  


• Developing our measurements (the way we know we are doing what we planned to do)
  


• And seeing God show up in amazing ways as His compelling cause for us uniquely as a church is unleashed.
  

Some of the random things I got to do over sabbatical

• Read an entire book in one sitting beside a High Sierra river
  
• Took my daughter on a date to a Broadway production of Phantom
  
• Got my motorcycle license
  
• Sputtered around Poway on a borrowed Vespa
  
• Began doing our own yard work
  
• Ate outside a lot
  
• Drove historic Highway 395 with the top off our 1973 Porsche
  
• Drove historic Highway 101 with the top off our 1973 Porsche
  
• Went to a charming Bed and Breakfast in La Jolla with my wife
  
• Got to be "customer of the week" at Peet's Tea House
  
• Drank a lot of tea
  
• Hiked the Torrey Pines cliffs
  
• Touched a 12 foot Python (on purpose)
  
• And a bunch of other stuff

My sabbatical so far…

I'm about ¾ of my way through my sabbatical, so I thought I'd give you a progress report.

What has the Lord done with me over this sabbatical?

• God has confirmed the key passage:

PS 90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

PS 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom
PS 90:17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work of our hands.

• God has walked with me through the death of my father.
  
• God has given me the experience of a lifetime with my family in Europe.
  
• I have been able to go through the Pastors on Point SIMA Process. This is a GREAT process. More on that later.
  
• God has used great passages such as Jeremiah 1:5-10 and many others to reconfirm my call.
  
• Yosemite (still to come)
  

What has been most significant to me?

• Fresh times in God's Word.
  
• Reflecting on an analogy of a lobster shedding its shell. The shell (of any organization … i.e. the church, needs to occasionally be shed in order to grow. So in order to grow we need to ask, "What is just the shell (not the life)? How can we shed it (even if it means becoming vulnerable)?
  
• Reflecting on the organizational life cycle as it relates to my personal gifting.
  
• The values I truly cherish are GOD'S WORD, FAMILY, RELATIONAL TEAMS, KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, NEW GROWTH, SHAPE, and PEOPLE ON THE FRINGE OF FAITH.
  
• And much, much more that I'm not ready to share yet (because it is still percolating). Check back!
  

If you think about praying…

One of the things prescribed for me in the Pastor on Point experience I am going through this summer is a SOLO DAY. This is a day alone with God where I allow the insights He's been teaching me during this sabbatical to trickle down from my head into me heart. My solo day will be tomorrow, July 24. It is very loosely organized but ends with a nice dinner with Cindy. Pray with me that God will use it for His purpose in my life. Thanks!

FOLLOW UP REPORT - Thanks! It was an awesome day. God showed up in some amazing ways!

My dad is a big part of my testimony

With the passing of my father, I've been reflecting on his life a lot. In many ways his testimony has been as strong a part of my testimony as my own. When I became a Christian at age 14, I began praying for my dad's salvation. It was mustard seed faith at best (i.e. tiny) because I couldn't imagine, in my wildest dreams, my dad becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. He was an atheist, and a psychologist grounded in Freudian thought. To see my father not only profess Christ, but also become an enthusiastic disciple, and a student of His word still blows me away. During my last visit with him I read the Bible to him for two hours. He loved it. It gave him great peace. And it reminded me of how vital God's Word in our lives.