Steve's Thoughts

2009-05-28T11:26:00.001-07:00

I'm changing my blog. www.thelifeofsteve.wordpress.com

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2009-04-13T08:22:00.001-07:00

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One Step At A Time

2009-03-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

It’s great how God parallels teaching moments in the midst of crisis in our lives. Let me start with today and work backwards. Today I went for hike. I needed to get away due to some of the crisis that I’ll talk about later. Anyways, I went Mt. Madonna and I found a trail to go on. Now at the core of who I am, I’m a average athletic guy, except right now in my life I am overweight and out of shape, so the mere fact that I’m on a hike is a big step. Anyways, as I’m hiking on the trail I realize that I’ve been going downhill for a while and it pops into my head that what goes down will go up, but I continue anyways. I get to the bottom of the hill, I rest for a while and then start the ascension up the hill. I was fine for a little while and then it got hard. My heart was pumping, I was sweating like a pig and it seemed like the hill never ended. It came to the point where looking up at the hill and was a bit overwhelmed, so I just looked down at the ground and took one step at time. It worked. I got into a rhythm and was less overwhelmed and began making great progress.

I got me thinking to where I am currently in life. The last 7 months have been a whirlwind of craziness, but good craziness. My daughter was born 7 months ago and we purchased and moved into a new house about a month and half ago. Life is good, I’m cruising, going downhill. On Thursday I get the news that due to the financial status of our church, my full time position with benefits is being cut to part time position with no benefits. Crap (or other not family friendly expletive). A giant hill just sprung up. The last couple of days have been crisis mode basically figuring out how we’re going to make it. Needless to say, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. Today I went on a hike to clear my mind and focus not only on what my personal life will look like during this change, but how my ministry will change and as I climbed the hill at Mt. Madonna, it hit me, one step at a time. When I look up and look at how big the hill is, I get overwhelmed, but when I look at what’s in front of me and take it one step at a time, I know that I can do it. I’m not sure what God is doing right now, all I do know is that my focus needs to be small right now in order to get over this hill. Pray for me and my family and my ministry as we go into new experiences in the following weeks. I know God will take care of us, I just don’t know what it looks like, but I’m taking it one step at a time.

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Common Sense

2009-02-12T09:32:00.001-08:00

So I’m at the place that I get in any Bible reading plan that is the toughest for me. I’m in the middle of Leviticus. When I read Leviticus it’s sometimes hard for me to reflect on what can be applied to my life. Today as I reading chapters 18 & 19, I noticed that many of the rules and regulations that God laid down for the Israelites were really common sense things. Don’t have sex with family, don’t do witchcraft, don’t be deceiving. These are all very common sense rules to live by. We serve a very reasonable God. Sure, He calls us to be above reproach and anti-culture, but that’s because our culture is ridiculous. When we live in a culture that is living in a non common sense way of course God should ask us to live with common sense.

All I’m saying is that when non christians really look at what we believe and see the common sense in it, their view may change.L

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The Beautiful, Creative Movements of God

2009-02-04T08:47:00.001-08:00

“And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” Acts 11:17

When God moves in the lives of people who are we to argue?

Many times when we hear people’s testimonies about how God has moved in their lives, we are skeptical. Growing up a conservative church culture, my view of how God moves is different than others view of the hand of God. But does that make it wrong or invalid? No way. I’ve learned over the years as I’ve expanded my church culture experience that it’s not my place to judge how God works. How boring would the Christian life be if God only moved in one way. God is so much more creative and beautiful than that. God’s going to do what God’s going to do. It’s my job to support the work that He’s done.

Thank you God for being so creative and beautiful to move in our lives in different ways. Help me to keep an open mind to not judge others, but to support your work in their lives.

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Jealousy At It's Best

2009-02-02T15:11:00.001-08:00

S- “You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” Exodus 34:14

O- God is jealous of His relationship with us. He doesn’t want anything to get in the way of us and Him.

A- Our culture is full of gods. Whether it’s tv or movies, music, friends or the economy, we have many gods. One thing that I forget is that God is a jealous God. He wants us all to himself, not as a bad thing, but because He loves us. He doesn’t want anything to get in the way of our relationship. I know for me, it’s easy to let things get in the way. For me media (tv, internet, movies) gets in the way. I’ve also realized that my personal life (family, household duties, friends) have been taking precedence over my relationship with God. God wants me for himself, I need to give up the other things in my life to give God what He wants.

P- God, show me what you want. Tell me what to give up. Thank you that you love me and want desperately to have a relationship with me. Show me how to draw closer to you.

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Resolutions Jan. 4

2009-01-04T07:50:00.001-08:00

So these are my resolutions for 2009. I’m officially starting them today because this last weekend I was still vacation and I wanted to wait until I went back to a normal routine. Anyways,

1. Read 26 books this year.

- I’m in the process of reading two books right now, Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Barton and The Seven Checkpoints For Youth Leaders by Andy Stanley

2. Lose 25 lbs.

- Diet starts today, still trying to figure out when the gym will fit into the schedule.

3. Read the Bible regularly

- I changed this one from the last list of resolutions, mainly because every day seems too legalistic. Anyways, regularly is a better. This also means reading it for myself, not for

sermons or Bible study prep. So far, haven’t done this today, but it’s only 7:45am right now.

4. Blog more

- My goal for this one is to blog 3 times a week, but only if I have something worth blogging about.

5. Watch less tv.

- Heather and I discussed this one yesterday. We decided that we’ll have a two hour limit Sunday-Thursday (my work week) and then watch whatever on the weekends. I know this

still sounds like a lot of tv, but to be honest, it’s a lot less then we watch now.

Steve Gold

Junior High Pastor

South Valley Community Church

(408) 848-2363 ext. 106

www.svccyouth.com

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Our Ikea Adventure

2009-01-03T09:31:00.001-08:00

So a couple of days ago, we went to Ikea because we’re remodeling our kitchen and wanted to get out cabinets from there. Now going to Ikea isn’t like running into Wal Mart or Target, going to Ikea is an adventure. First of all, I have to compliment Ikea for designing a store focused on keeping families there all day buying furniture. They have childcare, a cafeteria, diapers and baby wipes in the bathrooms. If you can think of any excuse for leaving a furniture store, they’ve already thought of it and have a solution. So that was impressive.

So we got to Ikea at 1:00pm we started to walk around and I realized I forgot some paint samples in the car so I had to go back to the car to get them. Here’s another great design strategy of Ikea. The store is designed so that there is one entrance and one exit. In order to get to exit you have to go through the whole store. So it took me ten minutes to run to the car. In the meantime, I bought a bedroom set, a tv stand and a bookcase. Not really, but I wanted to to.

We finally get to the kitchen area where they have computer programs to design your kitchen. So about an hour later we had our kitchen designed and ready to order. We call one of lovely employees in the yellow and blue shirts to help us and wouldn’t you know that we asked the person training the new employee. This meant that everything took twice as long and Abby was having a meltdown. Awesome. We get our kitchen ordered and then it was off to the rest of the store to buy some more furniture.

Once we get through the maze of a store, we get to the checkout stands. Now we went on New Years Day, a day of the year that most people have off of work, so you would think the Ikea would have planned for this with extra checkout people. You would be wrong. Being that Ikea is the Costco of furniture, they had about four lines open and lines a mile long.

So finally, 4 hours after we entered Ikea, we left with a new kitchen, some lamps and completely exhausted.

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Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

2008-12-30T23:43:00.001-08:00

With my birthday merely minutes away and 2009 coming soon, I wanted to take a second to look over the blessings of the last year and look forward to the next. This year was a busy one. At the end of last year we got the amazing news that Heather was pregnant and on August 15, Abigail Elyse Gold came into this world. She is now 4 months old and it’s been an amazing learning time both as a father and as a person. It’s amazing how selfish you realize you are when there is another human being that is dependent on you.

Another blessing has been the fact that we are buying a house. If all goes well, the first week in January we will officially be homeowners! It’s been a crazy process beginning way back in February, be we super excited to be moving into a 3 bedroom 2 bath house. As many of you know, we had to move out of the house we were living in back in April because it had toxic mold in the basement. Since then we’ve been living in a 1 bedroom apartment that was o.k. until Abby was born. Then the walls began to slowly close in on us. Praise God that we are moving!

Finally, ministry has been great this past year. The highlight for me is to see a ministry that runs without me in many ways. It’s awesome to have a team of staff that can do ministry without me being there.

2008 has been a great blessing and in 2009 I have a few goals that I’d like to share.

1. Read 26 books this year.

2. Lose 25 lbs.

3. Read the Bible everyday

4. Blog more

5. Watch less tv

I know those sound like random things, but I believe that if I accomplish those, it will make me a better husband, father, pastor and friend. So goodbye 2008, and hello 2009!

Steve Gold

Junior High Pastor

South Valley Community Church

(408) 848-2363 ext. 106

www.svccyouth.com

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Who's Your Timothy? Who's Your Paul?

2008-12-10T08:35:00.001-08:00

S- But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. (2 Timothy 3:10)

O- Timothy knew the life, heart and passion of Paul, because he spent time with him and did ministry with him.

A- We all need a Timothy, we all need a Paul. We need someone who we are building into and someone who is building into us. I think that one of the biggest problems as a pastor that I face is that I have Timothys, I'm expected to and enjoy having Timothys. The problem comes when I don't have a Paul. I need someone who can not only speak into my life, but someone that I can do ministry and life with and who can speak into my life. Balance comes when we have people whose lives we are speaking into and are speaking into us.

P- God, thank you for the people you've put into my life as my Timothys and Pauls. Help me to continue to seek these people out and guide me to lead and be led by them.

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It's All About Love

2008-12-03T08:53:00.001-08:00

S- For the commandments say, ""You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet." These-and other such commandments-are summed up in this one commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law." (Romans 13:9-10)

O- Loving others is the answer to all the commandments. If you're loving others, you will be fulfilling many of the other commandments, because love does no wrong.

A- Many people spend so much time focusing on what laws and commandments they are following or not following. When we really look at the underlying intention of these commandments from God, we see love others as the theme. I need to be focusing less on rules and more on love and things will be good.

P- God, show me how to love others. I want to focus more on loving people, rather than focusing on commandments. When I do that, everything else falls into place. Thank you God for you blessings in my life.

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Focus on the Important Things

2008-11-26T09:31:00.001-08:00

S- What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.Hypocrites! For you are careful to to the even the tiniest income fromyour herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law- justice, mercy , and faith. You should tithe yes, but do not neglectthe more important things." (Matthew 23:23)

O- Focus less on the small things, and focus on the important things.

A-One of the major themes I see in the Matthew is focusing on theimportant things. In church we tend to focus on the wrong things. Weget so caught up tin the rules and what we should do as a Christian,that we forget what's truly important to Christ. Justice for those whoare being mistreated, mercy for those who need mercy and faith that Godis going to take care up us and others. These are the things thatimportant to Christ, but we forget that sometimes. I need to keep myeyes open to see the things that important to Christ, not just what'simportant to church.

P- God, help to have eyes like you to see the important things in the midst of everything going on in this world.

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The Possibility of the Impossible

2008-11-24T10:14:00.001-08:00

S- The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." (Matthew 19:25-26)

O- There is nothing that we as human beings can do to save someone. It is only through God that the impossible become possible.

A- I've had people in my life that are non-christians that I've worked hard to talk to and minister to, but there's no conversion or even movement toward conversion. It's like their eternal life with Christ is an impossibility. Then I read a verse like this and it reminds me of two things. First that the eternal salvation of someone has little to do with me from a human perspective. It's only God working through me that someone is able to walk towards a life with Christ. Second, God can do anything. When I look at people who I believe are impossible to get through to, I need to remember that with God, it's not impossible. God can and will get through to that person.

P- God, I pray for perseverance. I pray that I can continue to pray for those impossible people in my life. That you would continue to use me and work through me to make the impossible possible.

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The Anti-Culture Revolutionary Jesus

2008-11-20T11:40:00.001-08:00

S- "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." (Matthew 5:17)

O- Jesus came not as someone who was going to make a new world order, but and anti-cultural revolutionary who will fulfill the law that is already written.

A- I read through Matthew 5-7 today. It's traditionally titled Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He begins by saying that He came to earth not to get rid of the law that was currently there, but to fulfill it. Many times when we read the Bible we don't know the context of the story. At this time God had been silent to the Israelites for some 400 years. In this time the religious duties and voice had been the priests and officials of the temple (pharisees and sadducees). In the midst of God being silent they interpreted the Bible at the time to fulfill their perspective on what God wanted, in the process they created many rules and laws that didn't necessarily coincide with what was originally written by God, but they stressed the need to follow these laws in order to be close to God.

Now this revolutionary teacher Jesus comes onto the scene and throughout the whole New Testament, but more specifically through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching how living in the kingdom on God or living a life follow God and His plan is more than just following the laws. My favorite phrase is "You've heard it said. . . But I say. . . " Time and time again Jesus lays out a law that was common at the time but then continues with what the heart of the matter is that Jesus is worried about.

You've heard it say. . . but what I really care about is . . . You've heard it said that lust is bad, but what I really care about is what you look at and what's in your heart. Jesus went beyond the normal laws of the current culture and focused on caring for the people affected by that culture. Many times in the American church we get so focused on whether we're obeying this law or that rule that we forget that what Jesus was worried about was not legalism and following rules, but it was at what was going on in the hearts of the people He interacted with. He was more worried about why they did what they did, rather than the actual action they did. Christ more focused on who we are than what we do.

P- God help me to have your attitude when I interact with people. I want to care for people for who they are rather than what they do. I want to help people be changed from the inside, not just their outside actions. In the same way, show me what and how to change who I am inside to be more in tune with your plan for my life.

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Stars in the Sky

2008-11-19T08:47:00.001-08:00

S- And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. (Matthew 2:9)

O- The star that the wise men follow guided them to Jesus.

A- Have you ever thought about the fact that there is a guiding light or a star in everyone's life that guides them to Jesus? For some people it may be several stars, but there's always some guidance to Jesus. That light continues even after we make the decision to meet Jesus. There are events and actions that guide us to Jesus. Whether it's a loved one talking to us about Christ, a celebrity talking on tv. A sermon we hear or a conversation we have. There is a guiding star in each of our lives.

The key is that many times we don't bother to follow the star. Imagine if the wise men didn't follow the star they saw. They wouldn't have experienced the gift of Jesus, God in the flesh. What a missed opportunity. I need make sure I don't miss those opportunities to see God.

P- God continue to show yourself to me. I want to see you and follow you guidance. I know that many times I'll miss an opportunity, but thank you for continuing to pursue me. I love you Jesus.

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A good reminder for today

2008-11-18T13:00:00.001-08:00

This was a needed song to hear today.

Download now or listen on posterous

10 Center.m4a (8795 KB)

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Bear Traps and Freedom

2008-11-18T09:17:00.001-08:00

S- "Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! (Psalm 124:6-7)

O- Praise God for not letting Satan take over us. God has saved us and now we don't have to worry about the trap of the enemy.

A- Freedom is a great thing. It's something that we take for granted many times. Can you imagine being told what to do every moment of the day and the consequence of not doing what you were told was death or severe physical punishment? I can't imagine. What I can grasp onto is the fact that God, in his loving kindness has freed us from the bondage of Satan, when we take the step to believe in Him. We are free from Satan because of what God has done.

The imagery for me is as if I was wandering through the forest and I stepped into a bear trap. It's as if my life is over. If the hunter doesn't get me, something else will. But Christ steps in and releases the trap and I'm free to live. Now my only reaction to that is to worship the one who saved me, the one who set me free.

P- Thank you God for setting me free. For giving me life. God thank you for giving of yourself to see me live. I want to live my life in such a way that it bring glory to the one who saved me. Live my life to honor the name of the one who gave me freedom.

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Cheerful Giving

2008-11-17T17:29:00.001-08:00

S- "You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.." (2 Cor. 9:7)

O- When we give with generous hearts, God will produce good things from our giving. The key is when we give cheerfully, not out of obligation.

A- Especially right now in our current economic times, giving is a hard thing. Churches all over America are having financial problems, which produces a need based appeal to give. At the same time, the holidays are upon us where the feeling of helping others gets emphasized. We get this overbearing feeling of the need to give, yet when we read in the Bible about God's view of giving we see that giving should be cheerful and from the heart.

It's hard to decide what is giving out of pressure and what is cheerful. I believe when we give in order to see God's love shown to the world around us, that is cheerful as opposed to giving in order to keep up an impression to others.

P- God, I want to be a cheerful giver. Give me the courage to give when you want me to give and the ability to discern your voice in the midst of a pressured culture.

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Test

2008-11-17T17:11:00.001-08:00

Testing

Steve Gold

Junior High Pastor

South Valley Community Church

(408) 848-2363 ext. 106

www.svccyouth.com

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Advent Conspiracy

2008-11-11T09:08:00.001-08:00

Alright, so I have no discipline when it comes to blogging, so I've decided to stop trying and only blog when I have something interesting to talk about.

Anyways, this is a promo video for a new series we're doing at Incarnate Faith and also in Junior High. I'm super stoked about it because it really challenges us to think about what we focus on during Christmas and how that is the complete opposite of what Jesus focuses on.

If you want to find out more about Advent Conspiracy, check out the website or come to Incarnate Faith on Sunday nights, 6:00pm.

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

Community Focus

2008-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

It taught this last week at Incarnate Faith about community and wanted to share once of my main thoughts regarding the subject. We are all involved with different communities in our lives. Whether it it's work, family, golf, school or church. We all live in communities. At the heart of every community is a focus on whatever that communiity is formed for.

When we come to church community, our focus should be on Christ, but I believe that the American Christian church has gotten off track with the focus of the church community. When we look at the church, the main focus is fellowship. The word fellowship has killed the true meaning of community. Many churches act as if fellowship and community are one in the same, but they're couldn't be more wrong. Don't get me wrong, fellowship is a much needed part of community. Without fellowship, the community will die, but that's not it. Biblical community is focused on more than potlucks and get to know you events. True Biblical community is focused on Christ and what He did on the cross for us and what He continues to do in our lives day in and day out.

When we look at the first Christian community in Acts 2:42-47, their focus was on learning about Christ and being Christ to others. They took the command of Jesus in Acts 1:8 seriously and acted as witnesses of Christ to everyone they came into contact with. As a result, God blessed their community.

As we look at our own church communities, where's our focus? Is the focus on how many relationships I have in my community, or is our focus on what Christ did for us and what He's doing for us now? My prayer is that we are continually evaluating our communities in order to keep our focus on Christ.

Monday Update - October 13

2008-10-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

What I'm doing right now -
Working in the office, preparing 3 talks that I have to give this week. One of which is speaking to adults at Incarnate Faith, which is intimidating.

What I did this weekend
Well, being that I haven't updated in a while, a lot has happened. We went to Portland to visit my Grandma and Aunt and Cousins. It was very cool to see my Grandma with Abby. We also were gone last week at Hume Lake for the Pastor's Conference. We listened to Gary Gaddinni speak. It was a great week, I'll talk more about that maybe tomorrow.

Things to do this week
I realized that we have a Jr. High event in less than two weeks and we haven't done much to prepare for it. It's Frantic Photo Frenzy which is a big photo scavenger hunt. It should be fun, but yet again, not much is done.

I also have to prepare a talk for Wednesday night small groups, a sermon for Jr. High on Sunday and a sermon for Incarnate Faith. All of which are different topics. I'm looking forward to teaching at Incarnate Faith about what a church community really is. I think the American church has gotten distracted by fellowship and has forgotten community. Anyways, I'm used to speaking to Jr. Highers, not adults, so it's a little intimidating.

Praise of the week
I'm getting a new Macbook this week. I know this is a bit material and not very spiritual, but I never thought I'd be able to get one, until we found some money in our Student Ministries budget to do some needed computer upgrades. So we're switching to Mac's. I'm excited.

Struggle of the week
We put another offer in on another house about a week and half ago. It would be perfect and is cheaper than the previous house, but we are in the waiting game again and I'm horrible at waiting.

Other than that, I'm asking God to help me see people as He sees them. It sounds cliche, but I feel like it's what I need to pray for.

Book I'm reading - I'm reading No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke and New Moon by Stephanie Myer. I'm also getting Invitation to Silence and Solitude by Ruth Barton and Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Barton.

More Incarnate Faith

2008-09-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is a better look at the launch of Incarnate Faith

Josh Groban and the Emmy Awards

2008-09-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I'm not a huge Josh Groban fan. I think he has an amazing voice, I just don't like the style of music really. What I want to know is why someone as popular and respected as Josh Groban would do something as silly as sing a compilation of TV theme songs at the Emmy awards. I was sitting watching the awards and I was astonished. I'll be honest, my respect for Josh Groban was lost a little.

Incarnate Faith

2008-09-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

I realized that I haven't blogged much about Incarnate Faith. Incarnate Faith is a church plant of South Valley Community Church. The church is focused on breaking the stereotypes of what church and Christianity has become and moving forward as Jesus' example on earth.

We had our first service on Sunday and it was great. We had a packed house and a great service. There was a lot of people involved in making it happen and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Last night we talked Repainting The Image of God. What if Jesus were to walk into an average american church, what would anger him. Thoughts about the church being self-centered, being manipulative, not being compassionate and being judgmental written on the wall during the sermon.

Afterward, people were challenged to put their hand print on the wall as a way to identify with what angers God and then wash their hands at the foot of the cross as a sign of repentance. It was a powerful time and an exciting beginning.

I'll continue to update you about what goes on at Incarnate Faith. If you are interested in coming, we meet on Sunday nights at 6:00pm.

Monday Morning Update - September 22

2008-09-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

What I'm doing right now -
Working in the office. Trying to focus after a long Sunday.

What I did this weekend
This weekend was good. Had a couple of days of hanging out at home. Last night we launched our first service of Incarnate Faith it was a great time, lots of excitement. I'll post more about it later.

Things to do this week
Meet with the interns tonight, watch the season premier of Heroes, plan the rest of my small group leader training, work on core team curriculum and get ready to leave for Portland on Thursday to visit family. Looking forward to that!

Praise of the week
The launch of Incarnate Faith went great. There's a lot of buzz about it and people seemed committed.

Struggle of the week
We're still waiting on house stuff. It's frustrating being in a 1 bedroom apartment with all the stuff that we have. Also, now that the new church has launched, I"m trying to find a balance between being with my family during service and serving. I haven't figured it out yet.

Book I'm reading - I'm going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan with my interns. Also, I'm reading The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay, No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke and New Moon by Stephanie Myer.

How Long Could You Survive Chained to a Bunk Bed with a Velociraptor?

2008-09-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

1 minute, 13 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Monday Morning Update - September 15

2008-09-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

What I'm doing right now -
Monday tends to be my work out of the office day, so I'm at First Street Coffee doing some work.

What I did this weekend
- Had a pretty chill weekend. Hung out at home a lot, ran a couple of errands and did church stuff Sunday.Met my parents for dinner on Friday. One cool thing was that my grandma came over on Saturday to spend time with Abigail. Watching my daughter with her great grandma is a cool experience. I'm looking forward to introducing Abigail to my grandma in Oregon later this month.

Things to do this week
- Intern meeting tonight, we need to plan our next event, Frantic Photo Frenzy. I'm also finishing up our small group training material and starting material for our core student leadership team.

Praise of the week
- I feel like God is doing some really cool things in the junior high ministry. We're rethinking the way we do evangelism and challenging our students to serve.

Struggle of the week
- I think our biggest struggle right now is dealing with house stuff. We've been waiting for the last 3 weeks for an answer to our offer, there's one other offer in. We're supposed to have an answer by Friday, so pray that if this is the right house for us that it would work out.

Book I'm reading - I'm going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan with my interns. It's a great book.

A Need To Blog - Monday, September 8

2008-09-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so blogging and me have had a love/hate relationship lately. I love to blog because I love to share what is going on in my heart and my life, but at the same time I hate it because I'm lazy and it's just something else for me to do. But, because I think it's something good for me to do, I'm going to commit to at least once a week. On Monday morning I'm going to update with what's going on in my life right now.

What I'm doing right now - Working at First Street Coffee because I don't like to work at my office all the time. Decent coffee, good community vibe and free wifi make this my office away from the office.

What I did this weekend - This weekend was busy. I spent most of Friday in San Jose running errands and going to a b-day party for Linda Bonham. It was fun to connect with people I haven't seen in a while and enjoy a good meal and great conversation. Sunday after church we went to look at houses again. House hunting is annoying. Then we went to Incarnate Faith last night and it was an encouragement to see the crew of people God has brought together to launch this great church in Gilroy.

Things to do this week - I've got an intern meeting tonight, small group leader training on Wednesday which I haven't finished training material for, and I'm teaching at the PWCA chapel on Thursday. Not to mention preparing for my sermon on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy.

Praise of the week - I haven't talked about my new daughter on my blog yet so my praise for this week is Abigail Elyse Gold. It's amazing to be a dad, a little unreal still, but fun. It's been great to see her smile and make funny noises in her sleep and see Heather be a great mom. If you haven't seen pictures yet, you can see them here.

Struggle of the week - House hunting sucks. We have an offer in on a house and haven't heard anything for a couple of weeks. We looked at more houses yesterday and found a great house, but it's not on a great street. We really want the house we put an offer in on, but are struggling with patience. I hate it when God challenges my patience.

Book I'm reading - I'm going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan with my interns. It's a great book.

Guidance or Approval?

2008-09-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

S- Jeremiah 42:19-20 “Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the Lord."

O- You come to god asking for his will, but you don't want his will, you want his approval for what you want to do.

A- How many times in our lives, do we go to God with a "request" or a question for god, but we don't really want to know what he has to say, we only want approval for what we want to do. It's crazy because we go to an all powerful wonderful God, but we aren't willing to give up control of our life to let him guide us. We're too pridful to let God control our lives. It would be amazing to go to God and really ask him for advice and guidance, without any pre-concieved notions to what we want God to tell us.

P- god, I want to be open to your guidance. I don't want to come to you with decision in my mind already. Help me to keep an open mind to hear from you.

2008-07-22T09:39:00.001-07:00

There is a lot of talk about the emerging church. Many people's view of the emerging church is that it's a church movement for young people, with candles, black tablecloths, electric guitars and pastors speaking in shorts and sandals chanting hymns and creeds. The reality is that at the heart of the emerging church is a want to reach people who haven't been reached by the way church has been done until now. Here's a passage from "The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, "
It's time to take a serious pause and reflect on the church as it has been in the past and is presently. Although we are wholeheartedly calling for a new church to emerge, we need to be careful with what we mean by emerging. When people are talking about emerging church, they're not talking about brand new ways of doing wild and crazy forms of church. Emerging doesn't have to be about lighting candles, finger painting during worship, offering tattoos in the church foyer, or reducing deep theological truths down to the level of a comic book. It doesn't mean church for young people only.
Have you considered that when the unchurched baby boomers reach retirement age, that they'll represent one of the most unreached people groups? Let's coin a phrase: "GenG" (Geriatric Generation. Therefore, if we're committed to reaching one of the fastest growing segments, "emerging church" may be based in retirement centers and have as its primary culture engagment reruns of Happy Days, Leave It to Beaver, and free denture giveaways.
Certainly, in the real sense, the church has been around for quite some time and might take offense at being considered "nonemerged." In another senzse, the church is always emerging. Therefore, the issue has nothing to do with "emerging," but what is emerging and if the new forms of Christianity and church are authentic to the iriginal ideals if Christ and appropriate to the culture that has lost interest in organized Christendom."
Ok, so that was a lot to digest, but the point is that at the heart of the emerging church isn't to emerge into some new, out of ordinary, weird sect of Christianity. It's heart is to look honestly at the current way of doing church, then look at the culture around us and see if what the church is doing is having an impact on culture. In most cases it's not. It's our calling and followers of Christ to find out why our culture is disinterested in the church and engage those problems, but that requires us to get out into our neighborhoods, coffee shopş, parks, grocery stores, businesses and restaurants not to evangelize, but to befriend, question and relate to a culture that need Jesus, but isn't interested in church the way it's being done.

This is the struggle that myself and other members of my church are working through. How do we ignite a passion to engage the culture around us and befriend the unchurched? Our attempt is a church plant called Incarnate Faith in Gilroy, CA. I'll be updating this site as we journey through the process of engaging the culture around us. Be praying for our church plant as we try to figure out what this all looks like in our context. I pray that you wiil ask God how you can befriend the culture around you and reach those who are currently disinterested in the church.

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Things Not To Do In A Youth Ministry

2008-07-18T17:26:00.001-07:00

Note to self, never do this for a Youth Ministry event. I'm not saying it won't draw a bunch of students, or that student won't enjoy it, but it's probably not a good idea.

Living For God's Glory

2008-07-15T10:02:00.001-07:00
S- Romans 6:10-11 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

O- When Jesus died he broke thepower of sin so he could live to the glory of God. When we die like Christ, we are to live to the glory of God.

A- How do we live our lives? Do we live our lives as if we are giving glory to God? As new Christians, everything we do should be to the glory of God. Just as when Christ was raised from death to life, when we have a new life, we live to glorify God. That means how we treat people, how we react to situations and what we think and meditate on are opportunities to glorify God.

So how do you glorify God?

P- God you're amazing! Thank you for al you do. I hope that in everything I do, I can glorify you.

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Perversion and Lies

2008-06-11T08:18:00.001-07:00

S- Romans 1:25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, whois worthy of eternal praise! Amen!

O- The people began to praise different creations of God instead of God Himself.

A- When I look at our culture, I see many, many idols that we worship that is not of God. The crazy thing is that some of these lies are just perversions of what God wants. Take the prosperity Gospel, The Secret or even Buddahism. All of these talk about having a better life. That if we work hard enough, that's what we deserve, but is that what the Gospel portrays? When we look at our missions field we need to stay aware of the idols and perversions of the Gospel that are out there.

P- God, to keep open to hear others' beliefs, but grounded in the truth of your Good News.

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My Favorite Bible Verse

2008-06-11T07:58:00.003-07:00
S- Ephesians 5:1-2 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

O- Be like God in everything that you do. Love others in the same way that Christ loved.

A- I love it as I'm reading the Bible that verses pop out to me as my favorites. I think this verse is a favorite because it lays out the Christian life so plainly. Do what God did and love like He loves. That means in evernything I do, I should do it as if God was doing it with me, because realistically, He is. When we do what God does, we are fullfilling our mission as followers of Christ.

P- God help me to follow you in all I do. I want to be an imitation of your love to others.

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Facial Hair And Fatherhood

2008-06-11T07:58:00.001-07:00
This post has no real significance, but here we go.

For those of you who know me, you know I tend to be a rather hairy person. It's a family curse that I've had to live with. What that means is that I've been able to grow a significant amount of facial hair since I was about 14 years old. All through high school and college I've messed around with goatees and what finally making a permanent part of my "look."

Well ever since high school people have been bugging me to grow a beard, so I finally gave in and am going for it, we'll see how it goes. I figure with a baby girl coming in August, I need to get the dad look down, so now all I need is a backpack to carry my daughter and a stroller trailer for my bike and I'll be set. Ha, Izm so looking forward to being a dad.

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Tapatio and Ministry

2008-06-05T14:40:00.001-07:00

One of the things about youth ministry that I love is the link between fun and spirituality. I believe that fun for a junior high student is a gateway to connecting with a church and with God. Last night we played a favorite game of mine called Eat That Food. Last night I watched an 8th grade guy eat two snowballs and three zingers in three bites total! I also watched another 8th grade guy drink a 5 oz. bottle of Tapatio hot sauce in 4 drinks! As disgusting as this sounds, and yes, it was disgusting, the students had a great time.

I think that sometimes in ministry we get so focused on getting students information about the Bible that we forget that the time we spend with students and providing a fun atmosphere for them to get to know us and each other is more beneficial than just lecturing them about the Bible. Whenever we see Jesus ministering to others, He is spending time with them and enjoying time with them. Now would Jesus be running a game that makes students drink Tapatio and eat snowballs, I don't know, but I think He would defiantly be making sure people were enjoying community, learning and growing together.

2008-06-03T09:06:00.000-07:00
S- Romans 15:5-6 May Go who gives patience and encouragement, help you live i.n complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

O- Once there is peace between believers and non-believers, then we can worship God together.

A- You know it's funny, a lot of the time, we get those two aspects of praise Jesus mixed up. We think that if only we get people to church anxd start praising God, then everything will be ok and there will be peace. The reality is that harmony needs to be pursued first, so that there is nothing standing in the way of everyone praising God together.

P- God I pray that I can pursue peace, so that I can bring only the best to you.

Good Times, Long Time Friends

2008-06-02T11:00:00.001-07:00

Spent some time last night with a long time friend Nick Brown and his fiance Liz. It fun to catch up with what's going on and talk about old times. I'm excited for them as they're in the last stages of planning for their wedding in August. Good times, good times!

Don't Focus On The Little Things

2008-06-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

S- Romans 15:17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in he Holy Spirit.

O- Don't focus on the little things, like what you should wear of look like, dwell on the fact that we are followers of Christ.

A- How many times do we spend so much time on the little things in Christianity. we focus on the style of music we have and what people wear to church and choir robes or not. we focus on the little things, but we forget to dwell on the fact tha we serve and follow an amazing God who loves us unconditionally, does anything else matter?

P- God thank you for all the wonderful things you've done. Thank for sending Jesus to earth to die for me. Help me to stay focused on you and not the little things.

Firm Foundations

2008-05-29T14:23:00.001-07:00

S- Proverbs 10:25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

O- With God we have a resource to get through tough times.

A- I'm so thankful to have God to come to when tough times in life come. It's such a comforting thing to know that I can spend time with Him and be refreshed by His love when tough times come in life. I don't know how I would get through life without HIm.

P- God, thank you for all you do for me. Thank you for being my firm foundation in the midst of the storms that come in my life.

2008-05-29T11:15:00.001-07:00

Last night we had a Student Minsitries Night of Worship. It was great to see students worshipping. Our theme was repentance. It was a great time of examining our hearts and asking God to change us.

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

It was a good time. Thanks Sam, Jeff and Luke for leading worship.

Christian Realism, Which One Are You?

2008-05-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

I was reading Scot McKnight's blog this morning and was intrigued by an book that he's blogging about. The ideas are what is Christ's view of the culture we live in? Here are the 5 ideas that are presented.

1. Christ against culture: the classic Anabaptist view.
Christ is opposed to the cultural expressions of this world and calls
his followers to another way.

2. Christ above culture: culture is providential; Christ arrives to lift that culture. He points to some in Thomas Aquinas.

3. Christ in paradox with culture: we are called to follow
Christ and dwell in a non-Christian culture. We are citizens of two
worlds. Niebuhr nuances Luther in this view. Another one is Reinhold
Niebuhr, H. Richard’s brother.

4. Christ transforming culture: God calls us to redeem the
world by a missional life. Calvin, English Puritans, Abraham Kuyper (do
I hear Bob Robinson saying “Finally!”?). The work is conversion and
cumulative, constructing institutions, and conquering existing
institutions.

5. Christ of culture: when Christians begin to see the
culture in which they live to be more or less Christian or see a “happy
reinforcement” of Christian values by culture.
So, where do you stand? I'm caught in between #3 and #4. If you want to read more click here.

Tuning In

2008-05-27T09:07:00.001-07:00

S- Proverbs 4:20-23 - My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

O- Son, listen to me please. Listen to the advice I give, let it dig deep into your heart because these words are meant to help you not hurt you.

A- Remember back in Jr. High and High School when you got lectures from you parents? Remember how most of the time we just flipped a switch in our brain that just tuned them out? The crazy thing is that our parents only lectured us and gave us advice because they loved us so much and they wanted the best for us. They wanted our lives to produce life and be healthy, they didn't want us to struggle. I compare that to my life follow Christ now. The Bible has been given to us as a lecture of sorts. A guideline to how to live life better. How often do we tune God's words out? How often do we not listen to Him and do our own thing anyways? It would be amazing if I did everything that God wanted and advised me to do, I think I just need to make the effort of tuning in.

P- God, I know you have great advice and encouragement for me. Keep speaking to me and I'll keep trying to tune into your plan.Tu

Twitter

2008-05-27T00:46:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's late and I can't sleep. What happens when it's late and I can't sleep, I sign up for silly things like twitter. With that said, if you have a twitter account add me if you don't and it's late, you're bored and have nothing to do like me, sign up for twitter and add me. My twitter site is www.twitter/stevegold.

Now I'm going to sleep before I sign up for any other silly accounts.

Thankful For What We Have

2008-05-20T16:25:00.001-07:00

This was the sight of a house burning down close to my parents house on Sunday night. It made me think about how quickly a disaster can happen and how we need to be thankful for what we have and to invest in things that eternal, not material.

It's What's Inside That Matters

2008-05-06T08:45:00.001-07:00

S- Matthew 23:26 "First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too."

O- Jesus is telling the Pharisees to make sure the inside of their heart is clean, and their actions will follow.

A- I think that one of the hardest concepts to get past in Christianity is the fact that the rules and laws that are set in the Bible aren't just there to be rules or laws to make us look good. They are there to encourage a standard of life that will one, be honoring to God and two will be an outward sign of the inward change that God has done in our lives. That's why just following a bunch of rules to be a Christian doesn't work. What's the purpose behind those rules? Why do we do that? What difference does it make? The reality is that instead of focusing on what rules we're following so we can look like Christians, let's focus on why we're struggling to work on those issues that lay in our heart. Let's focus on why that rule is there and how we can be more honoring to God by doing it. What's going on inside is more important than what's going on outside.

P- God help me to focus on what's inside my heart, not the outside appearance.

Death To The Big Youth Ministry Events

2008-04-29T08:48:00.001-07:00

Alright, so I've been thinking, and I'm tired of doing big events. I'm tired of putting hours and hours of preparation work into a game night or an all nighter, broom hockey and gross out games. I'm tired of having a ton of kids show up to an event, most of which are from other churches, and then nothing change in my weekly service. Why do I have to do it? Where in the Bible does it say "Thou shalt have a big giant event that draws a ton of students?" I'm done, I'm finished with the big event.

I know this might hurt the feelings of some youth workers out there, but I'm just speaking honestly when I say, I don't think the big event mentality and model of ministry is as effective as it was in the past. Granted I believe in fun and that is a valuable part of youth ministry, but I feel like fun can be had in smaller events, just as well as bigger events. What if we spent more time with smaller groups of students, than trying to spend a couple of hours a month with a giant group of students that you don't even get meet most of? Jesus didn't put on big events for His followers. He didn't spend time preparing and planning, He just did ministry and people came to join.

As the school year comes to end and I've planned my summer calendar, I look ahead to the fall and wonder what is the most effective way to do youth ministry in our culture? What's working, what's not working? Any thoughts?

Do We Get It?

2008-04-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

S- Matthew 16:15-16 "Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

O- Jesus wanted to know who His disciples thought He was, did they know Him, or not? Did they get it? Peter replied correctly.

A- Have you ever thought about if you really get it?What I mean by that is, do we really get the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, the living Christ? He came to save us from the terrible sin that we deserve death for, but He died so we didn't have to experience those consequences. As we live our lives, do we get it? Do we know what that means for our life now? That we can take part in the work of the Messiah here on earth right now today. Who do you say Jesus is? He is the Messiah!

P- God, help me to keep the idea of you as Savior at the forefront of my mind. Help me to not forget it and to see what you are doing on earth around me and join in.

But, I Don't Know Enough

2008-04-23T08:16:00.001-07:00

S- Matthew 10:19-20 "When you are arrested, don't worry about how to respond or what to say, God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking - It will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

O- When Jesus sends out His disciples He tells them to not worry about what to say when they are confronted, (He says WHEN, not IF), because God will be the one speaking through them.

A- How many times have we been confronted about something in the Bible, a question, or a statement, that we don't know the answer to? We freak out. In my experience, this is the number one reason that people don't go out and tell others about Christ, I don't know enough. In the meanwhile, they spend a ton of time studying and studying, but they still don't know enough. Now in this passage, Jesus tells His disciples to go out and tell others. He says when, not if, but when they are confronted to not worry, because God will speak through them. How much more confidence do we need? God, the creator of the universe and the one who know what will happen before it happens, will speak through and for us. All we have to do is step out and go.

P- God, help me to have the courage to let you speak through me. Help me to put aside my insecurities and rely on you.

2008-04-22T08:48:00.003-07:00

S- Matthew 9:11-13 "But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, 'why does your teacher eat with such scum?' When Jesus heard this, he said, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do.' Then he added, 'Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.; For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.'"

O- When the Pharisees saw Jesus with tax collectors and other sinners, they were appalled because their view of being religious was to not associate with sinners. Jesus challenges them to think about the point of a passage in Hosea 6.6 (NLT) that says "I want you to show love, not sacrifices." He then plainly states that He is here for the sinners not those who think they are righteous.

A- I've been thinking a lot about the conventional church lately. Churches today have a lot to offer from recovery programs, to woman's programs, youth ministries, men's ministries, pet ministries. (Alright, maybe not pet ministries). But we offer so much to so many different people to get them to come to church. The problem is that there are a lot of people out there that won't come to church simply based on the fact that they don't think they're good enough to come. People know they aren't perfect and that they are sinners, but they still won't come to church. In the midst of trying to make our church buildings comfortable for people to come into, I think we've missed the point of needing to go out to the hurting people that no matter how seeker sensitive our churches are, they won't come in the doors, because they don't feel "worthy" to come in.

Think about someone who is sick, say with a self inflicted wound or an STD, something that they had a part in making themselves that way. Even though the one place that can cure them is the doctor's office, the last thing they want to do is admit their guilt and shame in putting themselves in that position. It isn't until someone comes alongside them and helps them move beyond that guilt and shame that they will come to the doctor to get healed. I think it's the same way with us as followers of Christ, we need to go out to those who are hurt and know they need help, but are too ashamed to ask for it. We need to go alongside them, help them move past their guilt and shame and see their need for God, before we bring them into our churches.

P- God help me to identify those that are hurting. Help me see how I can come alongside them and help them experience you. I pray that those people will have the courage to be helped and the humility to admit that they need you.

Blink

2008-04-22T08:48:00.001-07:00

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell

I started this book on my retreat last week and finished it on Friday. Gladwell brings up a lot of interesting thoughts about how we make decisions and how we think and discern thoughts in the unconscience part of our brain. If you've ever had a gut feeling about something that's your unconscience talking. He talks about how those gut feelings we have are usually more accurate than the decisions that take hours and hours of contemplation to make.

Malcom Gladwell brings us some very interesting ideas, ideas that are good to think about when it comes to our decision making and why and how we make the decisions we do. My only critisism is that he stirs up a lot of ideas, but doesn't really come to a conclusion about how to apply these principles to our lives and decision making. All in all, it was a good, thought provoking book. Malcom Gladwell is a brilliant man.

Wake Up!

2008-04-22T08:09:00.001-07:00

S- Psalm 59:4-5 "Wake up! See what is happening and help me; O Lord God of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, wake up and punish those hostile nations."

O- David is angry with God. It's as if God is asleep in David's life"

A- Have you ever felt like god isn't here? Like God is oblivious to what is going on? When I think about those who are hurting and struggle with AIDS and hunger, war and violence, I feel the way as David did. Wake up God! Do something! Then I think about the fact that there is no way for me to know God's plan or the plan for those who are hurting. All I can do is have faith in God and His Lordship and Sovereignty.

P- God, I pray for those who are hungry today that you would satisfy them. those who are dealing with violence that you would protect them. Show them a glimpse of your plan for them, and how you are Lord and in control.

Books I Read On My Retreat

2008-04-16T16:39:00.001-07:00

Cut by Patrica McCormick

So recently I've been turned onto reading teen fiction. I've also learned that it's best for me to walk into a book store to pick what teen fiction book I want to read because that way I see what is being offered to students (rather than just buying it off of Amazon). Anyways, when I went into Barnes and Noble on Saturday, I was shocked by what saw. Close to 80% of the selection was either about issues such as cutting, drugs, addiction or witchcraft and the occult. It shocked me a little.

So, this is one of the books I read on my retreat.Cut is about a girl who is a cutter in a treatment facility. What is great about this book is that it talks about the process that she went through while she was there, the unfortunate thing is that it never really got down to the reason she cuts.

It does talk about the guilt and the hurt that goes on in families and is a good read to remind those of us in youth ministry why we do what we do.

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

So when I bought this book, for whatever reason I didn't notice that is old, very old, 1971 old, which is especially old since I was looking to hear about current culture. Anyways, the book is supposedly a true account about an anonymous girl's decent into drugs. It's a diary account which is awkward to read. I enjoyed the first person account of the story and it would be beneficial to read as youth workers or parents that aren't aware of what goes on in the drug culture.

They Like Jesus But Not The Church by Dan Kimball

This is a book that I've been trying to finish reading for about a month now. I finally was able to finish it and am stoked about it. For anyone who doesn't know Dan Kimball is one of the pastors at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, CA. Dan is one of the pioneers of the missional church movement and has great insight in emerging generations.

The idea of the book is that in our culture, "the church" has a bad name. Non-Christians, want to know about Jesus and are interested in having conversations about Jesus, but they want nothing to do with the church.

One of the biggest realizations for me is the idea that before we can even start to talk to emerging generations about Jesus and salvation, we have to get past the bad reputation we have as Christians and The Church. This book is at the top of my list of books that are shaping the way I do ministry and interact with people as a Christian, it's a must read.

Books That Have Shaped Your Ministry/Spiritual Life

2008-04-15T13:28:00.001-07:00

What books have shaped and/or helped your ministry and spiritual life?

Any thoughts?

Thank You God

2008-04-15T11:52:00.001-07:00

S- Psalm 9:1-2 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be flled with joy because of you.

O- David talks about how he sings praises and tells about what God has done in his life. He tells how there is joy because of what God has done.

A- I don't thank God for what He's done in my life enough. I need to make it more of a habit.

P- Thank you for my wife
Thank you for my daughter
Thank you for placing me in a ministry position, where I know you want me.
Thank you for family that wants the best for Me, Heather and our daughter
Thank you for helping us find an apartment so quickly
Thank you for friends who care about me

Hume Lake Retreat

2008-04-14T08:40:00.001-07:00

So I'm heading of to Hume Lake in a few minutes to just hang out and get refreshed. Hume has a great program for pastors that allows them to come and stay at Hume for three days for free. Heather and I have gone in the past, but this is the first time I'm going by myself.

For the last year or so, I've been trying to leave twice a year for a personal retreat. I do some reading, praying, try to re-focus myself in ministry and life. These retreats are hard for me because even though I'm an introverted person, I like being around and interacting with people. Anyways, this one seems especially hard when I have a pregnant wife at home and it feels like the last month with having to move and things going on in ministry, has just been crazy.

My hope is that the next three days would be a chance for me to get focused on some crazy ideas of youth ministry that have been floating around in my head. I want to be able get these ideas to the point that I can express them to others so that I can talk about them. Oh yeah, I also have a 5 page paper to write on St. Gregory the Great today. Anyways, pray God will help focus me on this retreat and pray for Heather as she's home the next couple of days, give her a call or send her an email, or hit her up on Facebook if you can.

Obey

2008-04-14T08:21:00.001-07:00

S- 1 Samuel 15:22 "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams."

O- Samuel is telling Saul that his actions aren't pleasing to the Lord, but only his obedience.

A- In ministry and in life, we do a lot of things for God. Whether it's have a big event, preach a sermon, give a homeless man food, or pray for a non-Christian friend.We all have the things we know we should do, but do we do what God tells us to do? Have you ever had a time where you knew God was telling you to do something, and you didn't? I know for me when that happens it doesn't matter what I've done in the past, I know God is sad for me. God wants our obedience, not just our attempts to look good.

P- God help me to be obedient to you. I want to be able to listen to you and do what you ask, no matter what that is.

The Burden of the Church

2008-04-11T10:34:00.001-07:00

S- 2 Corinthians 11:28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

O- Paul's burden in the midst of all of the other trials he has endured is the burden of the church.

A- I feel jaded at times about the church. I'm a church kid, I've grown up in the church, I've been so encapsulated in the church sub-culture, that it scares me to think if my being a pastor is just the next step for me in the Christian bubble. When I read Paul, he humbles me so much, because I feel so inferior because I don't know if I have the "burden of the church" as much as I'd like. Do I want to see people come to follow Christ? Yes! Do I want people's lives to be transformed? Of course! Do I feel like I have the burden of the church? I don't know.

I don't know, this post is me processing. I know God has put me here for a reason, maybe this is just part of my maturing process.

P- God, I know you want me to have the burden of the church. I don't know what that looks like. Help me to be open to hear from you and experience what you have planned for me and the church.

A Battle To Fight

2008-04-10T08:30:00.001-07:00

S- 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. "We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy ever proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God."

O- Paul is talking about how as followers of Christ, we are in a battle with Satan, but our battle is not a human battle, but a spiritual battle that needs weapons from God, not humans. As followers of Christ we should use those weapons to break down all the obstacles standing in the way of others knowing Christ.

A- Praying for the lost is something that I don't do enough of. Sure, I pray that people will get to know God and be open to hearing about Him, but doing spiritual warfare and praying for specific obstacles is something that I don't do. I don't know why, even though I know it's something I should be doing.

P- God, I want to pray for the lost and do battle for them. Bring people and obstacles to mind that I can be praying for and battling for.

Do Something

2008-04-09T08:35:00.001-07:00

S- Judges 6:13-14 "Sir" Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about: Didn't they say, 'The Lord brought us up out of Egypt'? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites." Then the Lord tuned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!"

O- Gideon was sitting and complaining to God about how He wasn't there with Israel and that God had lied to them. He complained about how in trouble Israel was and God was nowhere to be found. Then God simply responds that Gideon was the one to save Israel, that He was sending Gideon.

A- If there is one thing that as a culture we're good at, it's complaining about how bad we have it. We complain about not having enough money, about how our relationships are terrible, the president, the economy, the church, etc. . . We get angry at God because we don't have everything we want, when we want it, so it must be God's fault, because He isn't here. There are times that in the midst of our complaints, God speaks to us and says, "go, do something about it." Then we're floored, because the whole reason for complaining was so we didn't have to do anything about it. I believe that we forget that God has placed us in this place and time in life, to do something about the injustice and problems that we see in life. When we have the blessing of God, we can do anything.

Currently, I'm with a group of people, who have seen a need in the church to reach out to emerging generations (a younger generation that doesn't seem to be connecting with the church). The conclusion is that there's something that the church needs to be doing that it's not doing right now. We've been complaining about it for years, but recently, God has moved in the hearts of a few people to actually go do something about it. Instead of complaining, God said do. So we're starting an emerging church plant within our church. It's weird, it's crazy, exciting and scary, but it's what God has told us to go do.

P- God, I don't just want to sit and complain about how things should be, I want to be a part of them. Use me to change what's going on around me, not just complain about it.

Youth Ministry 3.0

2008-04-08T08:39:00.001-07:00

Hey, if you're in youth ministry on any level, you have check out this concept for a new book by Mark Oestreicher (the president of Youth Specialties) call Youth Ministry 3.0.

He talks about the idea that youth ministry is at a crucial place in history, at a turning point where if we don't turn with it, we will easily become irrelevant and not as effective as we can be. Mark talks about how we need to change.

I have to agree with Mark. In a lot of ways I've been feeling like the way we've been doing youth ministry, is starting to ineffective. Something needs to change! I have by no means figured it out yet, but I believe Mark is on his way to helping.

The post has 9 parts right now and he's adding to it each day, check it out part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, and part 9. Check out his blog daily for additions to this series.

A Kingdom Perspective

2008-04-08T07:58:00.001-07:00

S- "Then Jesus wept." John 11:35

O- Jesus was near the tomb of His friend Lazarus after he died and this is where He wept. Throughout the whole story Jesus talked about how God would be glorified during this time. What if Jesus wasn't weeping because He was sad, but because no one believed that God would be glorified?

A- How many times do we look at situations at face value. A loved one dies, someone gets cancer, a terrible car accident or a student falls into drug or alcohol addiction. Now don't get me wrong, those are all terrible things, but what we forget about is that there is a bigger picture to what is going on. When Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, when He went to meet with Mary and Martha, He knew that Lazarus was going to be alive at the end of the day, but no one else had caught on to Jesus' perspective. Maybe it was because they didn't know Him well enough yet, or maybe it was because they were so caught up in the human perspective of how things happen, that they missed the kingdom perspective of why things happen.

What if the next time when something happens that seems so cut and dry, we step back from our human perspective, and look at it from a kingdom perspective. I would bet that our whole view of that situation would change drastically.

P- God, help me to have a kingdom perspective. Help me to focus on the why not just the how. I want to be able see the world more from your perspective.

2008-04-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

SOAP: Taking Jesus For Granted.

S- Luke 2:28-32
Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, "Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light of reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!"

O - When Simeon met Jesus for the first time, it was amazing for him. It was what he had been waiting for all of his life, to the point that once he met Jesus, he was ready to die.

A- Do I take Jesus for granted? When Simeon met Jesus, he was so overjoyed over who Jesus was and what he represented. He praised God immediately for Him. When I read that I think about how my reaction to opening up my Bible, or reading a book that pertains to Jesus doesn't give me a flood of excitement. Don't get me wrong, there are times that I get excited about something that I read or when I see God moving in the world, but sometime I feel like I've gotten so used to the normal everyday act of following Christ, that I forget about what an exciting, wonderful amazing thing it is to have Jesus here with us. To know that because of Jesus Christ we have a life full of hope and salvation from death. That's something to not take for granted.

P- God, I don't want to take you for granted. Sometimes I get so caught up in what's normal that I forget how wonderful you are. Thank you for all you've done. Amen.

Old Guy At The Gym and Goatees

2007-12-04T10:39:00.001-08:00
So I was at the gym at the early time of 6:00 this morning and after I changed and was waiting for Heather to finish, this old guy that I see all the time, but have never seen him actually do anything except drink coffee and read the newspaper came up to me. He walked up, rubbed his chin and continued to say that he's noticed a lot of young guys that have a goatee without the mustache. We had a small conversation about why, my personal reasoning because I simply can't grow a mustache.

My short goatee conversation with the old guy at the gym got me to thinking about what people notice. In may case, the old guy at the gym noticed my goatee and it spurred something in his mind to the point where he wanted to have a conversation about it. My question is, what do people notice about you? Not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally also. What do people see in you and what are they thinking? Do our actions both verbal and non-verbal, draw people to a place where they think about God, or are we just another person that walks by.

Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Pronouns

2007-10-23T08:13:00.001-07:00
Psalm 8:3-4
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers — the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?

So I decided to start reading a devotional book for my morning devotion. I don't normally read devotional books, but I needed something different. I started reading The Heart of Worship Files compiled by Matt Redman.Today the entry was from Louie Giglio and he was reflecting on Psalm 8. What stood out to me was a section about the pronouns that David used in the Psalm.Whenever David talks about what God has done he uses you or your. Louie talked about and I was thinking about how often in ministry whether it's church or personal ministry that we say we did this or we did that. I brought this person to Christ or I grew this ministry or we put on a great worship service. This is my ministry. Our use of pronouns don't really describe what goes on.

The reality is that God did all that we do in ministry. We have nothing to do with it. So the challenge to myself and if you would like to take the challenge too, in the next week, take notice of which pronouns you are using. Instead of using I, we, my or mine lets try using You, Your, His or He.

Stupid People & A Brush Fire

2007-09-07T09:55:00.001-07:00
So unless you've been living under rock, or you don't live in Bay Area, you may not have heard about the Lick Wildfire that is going on in Henry Coe Park. Basically it started Monday, September 3 and is still going. I live in Gilroy, which is just miles from the start of the fire, no homes are threatened, but it's big. The fire is in Henry Coe Park which is basically a lot of brush and weed, with the occasional grove of trees. This fire is crazy, last time I heard the fire was about 25% contained, but that was yesterday, so hopefully it's more contained today.

Anyways, the air has been really smoky and muggy which has sucked but the thing that is most annoying is that the start of the fire was a guy who was illegally burning trash in a barrel. Apparently it's legal to burn trash in barrels in rural areas, but it's illegal in parks like Henry Coe.

So, the stupid person award goes to this guy along with the bill for the millions of dollars that has been spent to put out the fire that he started. Good job guy.
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When, Then, Now

2007-09-07T09:37:00.001-07:00

James 4:13-16
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

So I was listening to Craig Groeschel at www.lifechurch.tv this morning. He was beginning a sermon series called 30 Days To Live. The name of the sermon was Living In The Moment. One of the main things he talked about was using "When, Then" statements. For example, when I have enough money, then I'll give to the poor. When I'm less busy at work, then I'll invest in my marriage. He asked what your "When, Then" statement was. I'm still not sure, but I'm thinking about it. It probably has to do something with ministry and my personal life, since those two things are always in a battle with each other.

Whats you "When, Then" statement? What are we waiting for later to do, that we can't do now. The reality of life is that it's not gauranteed. Craig said that he went to deathclock.com to find out when his day to die was. I did the same, and apparently I'm going to die on Friday, December 16, 2064. I'll be 83 years old. But when it really comes down to it, we have no idea when we will die. The book of James says, "How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone." Who know what tomorrow will bring, the important thing is that I"m living my life, glofiying Christ in all that I do now. Accomplish what I want now, live for the moment now. Because whens and thens may not come.

Death Through God's Eyes

2007-08-01T08:26:00.001-07:00
A question I that comes up often as a pastor is why bad things happen to good people. For example, why do good, Godly people die before it's "their time?" As I was doing my quiet time today, I came across this verse.

Isaiah 57:1
Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.

I found the verse interesting and a new way to look at why people die. In our eyes, death is such a bad thing, but in the eyes of God, death may be a protection of what is to come.

Junior High Myspace

2007-07-12T11:26:00.001-07:00

So I decided that one of the best ways to connect with students in ministry and have them feel more connected is to have a myspace. I know that there are parents and people out there that don't like the idea of a church using myspace, but the reality is that I believe we're missing out on a valuable ministry tool if we don't

All that to say that CRASH, the SVCC Junior High Ministry now has a myspace. Anyways, enjoy.

Savage Summer Session Beach Trip

2007-07-12T11:22:00.001-07:00

Well, we had our first Savage Summer Sessions beach trip last night. We had 25 students go to Manresa for a beautiful evening at the beach. Sam did a great job lead our study in James 1 about how trials in our life strengthen us for later. We broke up into groups on the beach and discussed the concept. We ended the night with a fire and smoreos. It was a great beginning to our summer program.

More pictures are available at www.myspace.com/svcccrash.

2007-07-10T14:37:00.001-07:00

So I've come to the conclusion that the only way that I'm going to be able to afford and iPod is if it comes outside of my normal budget, so I'm collecting cans and bottles and using the money to buy an iPod. My goal is $200 by the end of the summer. I don't know if I'll meet my goal by the end of summer, but I really hope I do.

So if anyone wants to donate their cans and bottles to the Steve wants an iPod fund, email me and I'll come pick them up from you.

Playing Catch Up

2007-07-10T10:19:00.001-07:00
Hey everyone,

This is my catch up post. It's been a crazy summer already. It started off with a JH missions trip to inner city LA, then an 8th grade grad trip to Magic Mountain, fireworks on the 4th of July, watching Transformers, Fantastic 4, a college beach trip and looking towards Savage Summer Sessions (our summer events/bible study program) and of course Hume Lake. Oh yeah, there's a college camping trip next weekend and college Hume the first week in September.

Man what a busy time. In other news, Heather signed her contract to teach full time with at Brownell Middle School here in Gilroy. She's going to teach 6th grade Language Arts & Social Studies.

Anyways, that's a quick update, see you all later.

2007-05-23T13:01:00.000-07:00
I was having a discussion with a group of students on Sunday. I asked the question about a time they showed servant hood. A student told me about how he let a friend borrow his textbook so he could do his homework. Initially it sounded good and legit. He continues to tell me about how his friend would give him the book back with all of the answers to the homework. He tells me this as if it's no big deal. My reaction to him was that that's not being a servant, that's called cheating.

What gets me about students in general and I believe more so this generation of students is that moral lines are not just skewed, but they're re-drawn. What was thought to be immoral several years ago, is just normal everyday life now. How do we as followers of Christ flow with the culture all around, but still keep our morals firm? I think that's a battle we will always be fighting.

2007-05-22T21:31:00.000-07:00
New blog, I thought I liked wordpress better, but I like Blogger Beta better now. So enjoy the new blog.