Acting like a church

One of the strange things about planting a church is so many things that are normal to church life don't take place in the early days of church planting. No worship, few gatherings and the gatherings you have aren't overtly Churchy...

However, today our little church got the opportunity to take 50% of the money tithed to us (not designated money) just the money given as a tithe. Anyway, we took 50% and gave it away to our missional partnerships. It was cool! I wrote a check to CBF national, a missionary couple, a local youth organization here in Billings, as well as tucked a bit away for our future Montana Church Plants for use in helping to start new Montana churches. These gifts were largely symbolic, we only have a couple of people tithing to our church at this point. However, it was awesome to send those checks out today. 

Over time we will fine tune our missional partnerships, i.e. meaning we'll allow our congregation to have more say in where the money goes locally, etc...however, for now we stuck with our original partner CBF and our goal of planting more churches in Montana. We also fulfilled a goal of connecting personally with a single missionary couple as well as helping the young people of Billings. May God bless these gifts given in His name!

A New Record

It was -13 degrees it is now -15 degrees, YIPPIE!

2nd Day of December and it was...

...SNOWING!

1st day of December and it was...

...61 degrees outside and sunny.

Life is moving forward

November has been a busy month, Court is working one extra shift every other week to make a bit of extra money and I continue to work my one-on-one mentor job and substitute teach once or twice a week. Not a ton to report...I do think I have a lead for a childcare place for the potential church worship site. To early to offer many details but I am excited about the possibilities.

Our entire clan was sick Thanksgiving Day, not much fun. Avery ran a small fever, Court and I both had sore throats and just felt a bit off. We are looking forward to December and I am excited about the first of the year.

Our friends Jon and Andrea will be moving in January to join us, and starting in February, March and April we'll begin making our church more public. Please be praying for our worship site. I plan to approach the owner of a particular space after the first of the year to cast the vision for a downtown church.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Here is a shot of Avery with her "Bubbie".

Halloween

Things that make me angry

Imagine this. Take your income from the 3rd quarter in 2007 and add 114% to it and that would be your 2008 income for the same quarter. You might ask who increases their income from year to year in one quarter 114%?

Your name would be, CHEVRON.

Oh well, maybe some of their wealth will trickle down.

The Coolest Sub Ever

I officially became a Substitute Teacher today. 7th and 8th grade Art, :). After the fifteenth student came up to me and suggested I was so cool I should either become the teacher or always be the Sub I realized I was the coolest Sub ever.

Think about it, can you imagine walking into the classroom after a tough or boring day and looking up to see me. All my charm, charisma and rugged good looks. Man, it must have been a real joy for those students today.

What I did today, well, I did manage to work in the "Don't Get Me Fired" comment I am so fond of a minimum of 35 times, I managed to single out a student in each class and let them know in front of the entire class that they were my favorite and I also managed to pit the different classes against each other over who was most artistically talented. By the end of the day the hallways between classes were filled with discussions about who's class was most talented. A good day! :)

My observations:

1) They don't pay anything! I am really not doing it for the money, more for the opportunity to meet the teachers, administrators, etc...and just in general get a better feel for people in Billings. I also like teenagers. Still I believe you could make more working at the Kwiki Mart.

2) 7th graders are still socially uncomfortable, the 8th graders were pretty chill.

3) It is difficult for me to see any scenario where I eventually don't get kicked out of this job because I don't follow rules so well. 

Quick Prayer: Pray for the people I interact with each day. I now have my personal interactions and two work places, one of which is multiple schools. Help me to listen and hear how God is speaking to me about the church through these people.

Billings Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkins in this part of the country aren't as lush as I am used to, but the purpose of heading to the pumkin patch was still the same.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

On Thursday and Friday night the snow really didn't stick much to the street, but on Saturday night...

Welcome to Montana

Check out what we awoke to this morning.

This is after about 30 minutes of snow.

The snow never stuck on the streets, but it did push these out. They were only about 2 blocks from my house, as I was out and about this morning I saw them, I almost caused a 5 car pile up. :)

Turkeys, 2 blocks from my house in downtown Billings. A town of 120,000 people, are your serious?

Phillipians 3: 4-14

Some of the scripture I was reading today reminded me of the boldness required to live and participate in the Christ.

¹⁰I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.

Note to self, be bold today and ask for things only God can give.

Fasting

Anyone who knows me will know I don't normally look for reasons not to eat, but this past Tuesday Court, myself and some friends chose to fast as a spiritual discipline. 

It wasn't easy, we chose the sun up till sun down fast. So I woke up extra early and cooked myself one egg for the day. I managed to gobble it down in time to beat sunrise. Then the spiritual exercise began.

Hunger pains! I mean are you kidding me, do I really know what a hunger pain is? I could surely go several days without eating and still survive. Nonetheless I did have some sort of pain I normally medicate with twinkies or something of that nature.

Using these pains as reminders to lift up prayer for myself, Court and our friends was pretty awesome during the day. It was a hectic day, and I found myself needing to pray quite a bit. 

It was nice to have others to pray for. It reminded me I was not alone, and it helped me to focus on the bigger picture instead of just myself. I was glad to eat though. I was hungrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry!

I earned some money 2day

Most of you probably know we managed to raise a housing stipend to help us make ends meet over the next 3 years, so technically I have made some money twice in our time in Montana. However, today I actually worked a job. I made $10.65 an hour for 1 3/4 hours at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, it was orientation.

I recently accepted a part-time position with them working roughly 10 hours a week. I am a Family Crisis Case Worker, which is basically someone who works with a single youth and their family to help them manage emotional issues. (Anger management, etc...) A part-time worker can accept up to 3 kids at a time (30 hours), but I'll probably only have time for 1 because the hours are nights and weekends. These are the major times I try to meet with people, have dinners, etc...about the church. I sense I will like this job. Unfortunately as a leader of a ministry we often make decisions based on what is best for the group and not the single individual. Churches are built this way and it is a failed ideal, but it is nonetheless ingrained in our culture. 

Check the song "To Bring You Back" by Paul Allan, lyrics say this, "And I left the ninety-nine to find the one." Over the years I have had to make some tough calls with students and I always used the group perspective. I believe Jesus always kept the individual perspective, I hope to honor that with this job for now. 

Other part-time jobs: I have a job interview at City Brew a local coffee shop on Friday and I am still trying to gather up all the documents to apply to Substitute Teach here in town. Oh yea, I stuck my name in at the local Sportsmen's Warehouse for a part-time position. Pray for something to open up from 10-20 hours during the day time, preferably on MWF. :)

We are not in Kansas anymore

Yesterday, I went to Bozeman, MT to visit my friends Bruce/Debra and Elizabeth Gourley, Bruce and I needed to work on a few things and we also had a wonderful lunch with some CBF friends.

Anyway, Bozeman is a special place, unlike any other I have ever been. Its location brings about quite a bit of Yellowstone National Park and other outdoors related traffic. (River related kayakers, etc...Skiers, Rock Climbers...and so forth)

So, I stop as I get to Bozeman at a gas station and a big sign on the door said, "Please leave all backpacks and other related outdoor gear outside. Thank you!"

That was a first for me. Are shoes considered outdoor related gear? Just a thought.

We have a name...

Our church officially has a name today...our leadership group has spent the last several weeks praying over this and seeking a name that speaks to what we are attempting to accomplish. A good friend of mine says, "a name can't tell you everything, but it does tell you something."

wise counsel! with that in mind we decided to call our church Missional Life Church. It is our desire for this church (meaning the individuals who make it up) would live a missional life. 

An admission: This is a semantics issue, missional life is the same thing as being a Christian, etc, etc... However, too many years of churches and Christians living out a faith that compartmentalizes our relationship with God has left a culture skeptical of words like the Christian life. So we simply hope to use a new word to share an old message. 

More importantly we hope to truly build a body of believers living out a missional life. We have a bank account, a reservation of name (Montana State Law) and slowly we are beginning to see the vision God has for Billings, MT.

Keep praying for God to send the people He wants to lead this work.

Chipmunk Whisperer...

Thank You

Got a package today full of notes from old friends...it was perfectly timed. Thanks to everyone who sent a card, e-mail, note or message to me in the last few days. God used your kindness!

34 and counting...

I turned 34 today. B-days aren't that big of a deal for our house, normally very little fan fair. Today was different, some friends are visiting so we went to Beartooth Pass, it was still awesome. Snow in August! Then we had a nice dinner and Court surprised me with a Red Velvet cake, it was cool. I also was surprised to get several walltowalls on facebook with well wishes, thanks! 

All in all it is good to be 34, I feel like I earned it. :)

Everything is bigger in Montana...

Big Sky country...How about big sausage country...These puppies are from the state fair.

Twenty Days and Counting...

La Brea St. Cook Out

I know I haven't posted anything of note in a long while. Truth is I have been struggling! I can't completely describe the way I feel, but I miss my friends. It feels like I graduated 50 or so students instead of the normal 10 and to make it worse I don't have 40 or so left to hang with and ease the pain. I look at Court and I know she is home sick and it hurts. Avery, is probably just gett'n into the terrible two's but I can't help but blame myself when she acts bad. 

The church has some positive things going, but the other stuff (mentioned above) is fighting for my focus. 

We have a goal of planting a church, but we also know there are long odds on that and we can't do it all today anyway. We can however, try to be kind today and show concern for others when the opportunity arises. That whole Love God, by Loving your neighbors thing.

Anyway, in an effort to be kind we spent the last couple of weeks inviting the neighbors on our street to a cook out. We live on a small street. (8 houses, 1 duplex) It is a bit scary asking people to come over you don't know, much like asking that girl out in high school. Truth, I never asked a girl out in high school that I wasn't sure she was going to say yea. Thanx to weeks of investigation! So maybe asking neighbors to come over for a cook out is scarier. We asked anyway, and waited...

The last couple of days have been hard, for the reasons mentioned above. I 1/2 expected nobody to show up 2nite. I am not sure I could have handled that, but I was preparing myself. God has a way of giving us what we need, cause at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time people began to show up to our house. Nothing amazing happened 2nite, but we do know our neighbors. I can't speak for our neighbors, but I believe they appreciated the opportunity to meet us and to meet other neighbors or renew old friendships. Turns out one of our neighbors had a birthday 2day so we sang and another neighbor took the time to buy balloons for all of the kids. That was cool! Avery of course released her balloon the minute it touched her hands which was actually really awesome in Big Sky Country, because we could see that balloon floating away for a long, long, long, long time.

For what it is worth, I am thankful for the gift of time our neighbors gave us 2nite. We needed it! We needed to be reminded God would provide and 2nite He provided by sending our neighbors over to honor our invitation. I have no idea if any of our neighbors read this blog, but thanks!

Exxon posts record $11.68 billion profit

Need I say more...

Ride'n in the Rain

Bruce came to town today to join me for a few meetings (1 today and 1 tomorrow) and an afternoon planning session related to our church plant. Good times, good times!

Anyway, he brought his bike and expressed interest in taking in a Billings Mustang game. Court and I had been discussing trying to take in one of these games in the near future. So I called Court at work and suggested she ride the few blocks down to the stadium after work to watch the game with us. 

Bruce and I got our bikes and set out on the short 1 3/4 mile ride to the stadium. As we stood in line to get tickets a guy came up and handed us three seats down the third base line. Free stuff! I love it. The 'Stangs were playing a team from Orem, Utah and it was a good game. In the 4th inning the bottom of the sky fell out and huge thunderstorm came rolling in. 

So we sat and waited, because it was to dangerous to ride our bikes. :) Court was not happy!

Eventually we caught a break in the weather and off we went, peddling as fast as our legs could take us. Water was spraying up on us and Court appeared slightly angered by our predicament. As we approached a small hill near our home a flash flood was occurring, Court may have become more angry as we crossed the calf deep water, at this point she wasn't responding to my quick witted quips. So I am not certain she actually increased in anger or was already beyond a measurable point.

Thankfully we all arrived home safely, but a bit less dry than before. All in all I called the night a win. We caught 4 1/2 innings of good baseball, for FREE! We also set a Tour De Billings time trial record getting home. I am not sure Court feels the same way.

Beartooth Pass Day Trip

We spent the day driving up to Beartooth Pass, it is awesome. Not to much to report other than I have never experienced terrain going vertical that quickly in my life. Here are some pics!

Mom about had another heart attack on this trip. She kept babbling about some childhood scar involving the Smokey Mountains and being sick.
Oh yea, and we saw snow in July. That was a first for all of us.

 

SunCom made it right!!!

I got a call from somebody from SunCom today. They have decided to waive the cancellation fees based on the five year history we have with the company and our good credit standing. They do stand behind their normal cancellation policy, but said all policies are open to be reviewed and they decided to exercise their wiggle room on this issue based on the history Courtney and I have with the company. 

They even referenced this blog. It was nice to be reminded that the big guys do listen to and hear the little guys, sometimes. 

What I learned today...

1) I wash and clean a vehicle pretty decent.

2) Court and I are not good at Frisbee Golf. In fact, we are terribleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It was a lot like regular golf. I lost my ball (Frisbee) on the 3rd hole, I kid you not. The 3rd hole! After a long search for my Frisbee, which is apparently stuck in a Sycamore tree at Pioneer Park in Billings, Mt near the 3rd tee box of the Frisbee Golf Course, Court actually forgot where her last throw went. Thankfully after a 10 minute search we found her Frisbee, as well as, another frisbee so I could finish the round. Truth be told we have no idea how to keep score in Frisbee Golf, so we played every hole like a Par 4. I won 2 over par to her 4 over par.

3) The picnic on the Rims was cool. Court and I needed it. Here she is sitt'n on the edge. 

Side note: We got to watch a couple of planes approaching the airport. That was also impressive. 

4) I have been married to Courtney Leigh Tucker for 4017.75 days and I love her a little more each day or 1/4 day of every year.

I want to ride my bicycle...I want to ride my bike

Today was the first day I have had the opportunity to use my bike as a primary mode of transportation. A bit of background info...

Court and I chose the home we are now in for many reasons, but one reason was the area is friendly to foot and bike traffic. I can honestly say I have never in my life seen so many people out and about on bikes. Court is only about 1.5 miles from the hospital so a short 10 minute ride and she is at work. 

I am about .8 of a mile from my office, City Brew located off 17th St. and Grand Ave., So it takes me about 5 minutes to get to the office. I made the trek to the office this morning stopping by the bank to check on getting my pin number personalized. After I finished this brief errand I worked on some computer related details over a nice bottle of City Brew water.

Around 11:45 a.m. I headed another .8 of a mile west on Grand Ave. to meet a friend for lunch, we had a great talk about life, God, following Jesus and the potential of a missional church. I left there for another 1 mile ride further west on Grand Ave. to check out a potential preschool. 

Heading back east toward home I stopped off at our Montana Rescue Mission on the west side of town and made an appointment to speak with a guy who helps run it. It is my hope to establish a partnership between our church and at least 3 local missional efforts, the MRM is a potential partner. 

I headed the 2.5 miles back toward the house and noticed a home based daycare about .5 miles from my home. I stopped in and checked it out. It was pretty nice and the director was enjoyable to speak with, she attends one of the larger congregations in town that began as a small group out of the pastor's home. 

I rode the final .5 miles back to the house. Not a bad day for what is traditionally my day off, I plan to attempt to keep it that way when possible. :)

Why a bike? Hmmmmmmmmm...I guess I have many reasons. 1) Money! We are looking to cut back anyway we can now and our gasoline usage will be something we need to watch. I also hope to reduce some of the normal institutional cost of doing church and mileage reimbursement is one thing that can go for now. 2) Truth be told you just see more people and notice more things on a bike. I hope it helps me interact with people a bit more. 3) Ecological footprint, I hope to reduce mine a bit.

The high today was only about 71 degrees so it was quite pleasant. I did realize the dangers of riding a bike today. The cars are scary at times! 

I do believe I look cool in my helmet, though no other person has told me that...

Court and I have an anniversary tomorrow, so we'll be head'n to Pioneer Park for some Frisbee Golf and then up on top of the Rimrocks for a twilight picnic. Will ride our bikes to the park, but Court doesn't think she would make the top of the Rimrocks. :)

SunCom (UP DATE: Read the SunCom Made It Right blog)

I found out today that a regional cell provider like SunCom has the crazy contract stipulation preventing you from a moved out of the area out clause...so if you move outside of their calling area it is to quote them, "You decided to move we didn't why should we have to void the contract!" I heard that about 50 times today quoted exactly the way I typed it from 3 different people.

We have moved 3 times and each of the other 2 moves the cell providers let us out of the contract because we left there calling area. 

So I am using the power of this blog to boycott SunCom...unless of course you want to take over a 2 phone unlimited plan for the next year at roughly $90 a month. :)

Viva La Verizon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part VII)

Day 8

This is the final Mov'n to Montana blog...I'll have plenty of other things to blog about but we are officially moved. 

It is 9:22 p.m. and the sun is setting as we look out of the City Brew window (Port City Java of Billings for my friends in ILM) I won't get internet until Monday so I'll have to hang here a few minutes each day. 

Today started early as we began to unload the truck around 8 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. The work went quickly and we were excited to learn we had minimal damage to our stuff. A few broken plastic tubs and a scratch or two on the furniture, nothing major. We finished unloading around 3 p.m. and Court got busy unpacking. The men, argh, we put the beds together and made an errand run or two.

We do have a few issues, our bedroom furniture doesn't really fit the bedroom, but other than that it is good. 

A friend from Billings named Jonas came by and helped with the last few heaviest items, but more importantly introduced us to the Golden Phoenix, a delicoussssssss, Chinese restaurant.

I'll drop Donald at the airport around 5 a.m. in the morning and sometime tomorrow afternoon Donald's big adventure will be over. "THANX! I couldn't have done it without you."

If you are interested in my new contact info feel free to send me an e-mail. (Phone, Address, E-mail) If you don't know my e-mail you can find it on the www.montanamc.org website.

Prayer Request: Please keep Court, Avery and I in your prayers, pray for spiritual protection. Also, pray for our first church meeting this Sunday night. I believe there will be 3 other couples from Billings present that have some level of interest in helping to plant this church. Finally, pray for God to develop our leadership team.

The highlights today were Golden Phoenix and Court was extremely excited to find out that we have a strawberry patch in our back yard. Oh yea, Avery picks and eats them without washing them. So we'll have to keep an eye on that...

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 301

Ryan 12 (Personal Best)

Court 1

Police Report:

0 Traffic Stops

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part VI)

Day 7

This morning we woke up early and headed to Mount Rushmore. We didn't have long to visit, it was more of an opportunity for Court, Avery, Mom and Dad to see it. After a short visit we were on the road again.

The first couple of hours of our drive this morning were breath taking. Starting in the Black Hills of Rapid City, SD until we hit Sundance, Wyoming I was in awe! It was awesome!

Our drive today seemed slow and we were showing signs of being on the road for one week. We were tired! Our stop at a Subway took well over an hour thanks to less than speedy service. It did provide us with our first Grandma or to be more exact Granny E neck, when my mom attempted to walk into the guys restroom. 

Finally, at 5:55 p.m. Mountain Standard Time we arrived at our new home and unloaded most of our gear from the vehicles. We had enough time for a short meet and greet with our new neighbors to the north and then we went for a celebratory dinner at Olive Garden. Avery, of course, imitates everything she sees and attempted to enter the guys restroom at the Olive Garden. 

The highlights today were Mount Rushmore and the drive from Rapid City, SD to Sundance, WY. A side note: Sundance is much smaller than I thought it might be.

The total travel distance for our trip was 2355 miles. It took seven days including one day of rest. After all we are planting a church we figured we should stay biblical...

Day 1 486 miles

Day 2 331 miles

Day 3 Rest

Day 4 347 miles

Day 5 519 miles

Day 6 348 miles (plus 35 miles for The Badlands loop)

Day 7 380 miles (plus 30 miles to Mount Rushmore and back)

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 341

Ryan 5

Court 2

Police Report:

1 Traffic Stop

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part V)

Day 6

This morning started off bright and early and a bit uncomfortable. Donald and electronic TomTom were a bit close for my own comfort levels...

After a quick breakfast we hit the road. We didn't have a long drive today, only 7 hours, but we had some sight seeing to accomplish. 

Driving through South Dakota on Interstate 90W is best described this way...

hhhhhheeee (throat clear)

"This is a bunch of rolling grassy hills and every time we reach the top of a rolling grassy hill we see rolling grassy hills as far as our eyes can see. Repeat for the next 6 hours." 

THE END

After two hours we stopped at the Chamberlain, South Dakota Rest Area... This is more than your normal rest area. We took about 45 minutes to check out the info and enjoy the view. For the WPBCer's who braved the mission trip to Rosebud several years ago it was the same Rest Area we stopped at minus the 14 inches of snow and 50 mile an hour minus 10 degree winds.

We trekked another two hours down the road and stopped at 1880 Town, that is actually the name. 1880 Town are you kidding me...

We swapped the vehicle arrangement. Mom, Dad and Timber in the Nissan and Me, Court, Avery and Donald in the Honda with Donald working the Avery Entertainer seat. He did well! 

My first visit to The Badlands was in 2000 and I remember wishing Court was with me. I was excited to have the opportunity to share this with her. We made the hour drive through The Badlands loop. Words really can't describe this place! It is special and you feel like you momentarily leave earth. Court also earned her first neck of the trip...when a grasshopper jumped up out of nowhere and almost made her eat a face full of Badlands dirt.

Side Note: TomTom threw a fit today, I mean a hissy fit. When we first detoured off Interstate 90W to take The Badlands loop TomTom began to tell us to "turn around", to "immediately turn around" and to "look for a place to turn around". We didn't realize TomTom was going to spend the next 30 minutes insisting, no, imploring, nay, begging us about these 3 requests over and over and over again. It was almost as if you knew somewhere, someplace there was a single micro chip personally vested in this journey with us. Tear!

Finally, he got on board and rerouted new directions faithfully leading us out of The Badlands back onto Interstate 90W. The Badlands loop ends up in the small town of Wall. Home of Wall Drug! We counted 81 BILLBOARDS on the interstate reminding you Wall Drug was down the road. It is the South of the Border of the west, although it is somewhat interesting and not quite so trashy.

The day finished with the final hour drive to Rapid City, South Dakota. It was good to spend some time in the car with Court today. I have missed her, even though we have been on the same trip. We are enjoying a light afternoon in Rapid City. Donald is lobbying for a Taco Bell dinner which my parents are counter lobbying for something else. Court only wants a salad. We'll head to Mount Rushmore tomorrow morning before making the final leg of the journey to Billings. 

The highlights today were seeing a Hen Pheasant with about 15 poults, they looked like they were less than a day old. We also learned that life is truly a circular journey. On two different occasions Avery made a jail break from Granny E and Grandpa. We found out that a 2 year old is much faster than a 62 year old. Much, much faster! Much, much, much faster! Those little alligator legs were just gett'n it as she pulled away from them each time. Thankfully we have Timber trained to run her down and bring her back by picking her up with his teeth and carrying her by the skin of her neck. 

A side note: It seems a bit dangerous that she thinks it is fun to run away from us. Any ideas of how to break this habit?

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 281 (He actually lost a signal at points during The Badlands drive)

Ryan 0

Court 0

Police Report:

2 Traffic Stops

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part IV)

Day 5

We went 500 miles today, all the way across Missouri then straight up to Iowa and through Iowa until we hit Sioux Falls, SD. Approximately 9 hrs...we are all tired.

Avery did great and all in all it was an uneventful day. The flooding in Missouri and Iowa was still evident, I can't imagine what it looked like a couple of weeks ago. 

We have such faith in TomTom now we actually threw our paper directions into a recycle bin today. I would compare our experience with TomTom to puppy love. We actually sit in the car anxiously awaiting his next word. Our hearts skip a beat when he says, "turn left in 200 yards!"

 

Court had a great idea about checking out the Falls Park in Sioux Falls so after we checked into the hotel we spent about an hour walking around the park. It was beautiful and the waterfall was spectacular. I wish we would have had more time or better planning they have a nightly light show that seemed to be something worth catching.

On a serious note: During dinner we called a family meeting and made the decision to invite TomTom to sleep in the hotel with Donald. He deserved a good nights rest!

 

The highlights today were seeing the flood stuff first hand, not so much a highlight, but meaningful. Without a doubt Falls Park was pretty cool! And of course Donald earned a neck for attempting to open a push door by pulling it for about 45 seconds at a BP today. 

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 612 (He did bait people by sending out a mass text about the blog.)

Ryan 2

Court 2

Police Report:

2 Traffic Stops

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part III)

Day 4

After a short run this morning and a hardy breakfast we all walked the fifty yards over to my father's church, Gibson Baptist, a Montana Missional Communities partner I might add. After the worship service and a quick lunch we were on the road. Donald and Avery continued to grow their relationship as he took her to the playground for a short post lunch/pre trip play date. The Montana caravan now consists of Donald, Timber and myself in the Nissan and Court, Avery, Mom and Dad in the Honda.

About an hour and half into the drive we had our first interesting experience of the day. A roadside brush fire! It was pretty cool. Interestingly enough this is our second fire, in NC near the SC line we saw the largest controlled burn I have ever witnessed. Anyway, this wasn't a controlled burned, just a brush fire, I hope nobody got hurt.

The ride went well today, it was my first time in SE Missouri, I was surprised by the topography. I expected it to be flatter than it was, I knew SW Missouri was hilly, but I figured the SE Mizzo would be flat like West Tenn...

I don't know as much about the happenings in the Honda, but apparently my dad isn't such a good back seat Avery entertainer...he may not get a shift tomorrow. I do know that Court didn't feel well today, but she is a trooper.  

Side note...Donald and I both signed a pack tonight pledging our devotion to our  TomTom (GPS), we would follow TomTom anywhere. If TomTom told us our next destination was at the bottom of the Mississippi River we would take a hard right and drive on down.

Speaking of the Mississippi River, Donald earned a neck as we approached it today. He stopped playing his PSP, took out his phone, called his mom and proudly told her, "he was crossing the Mississippi river over a bridge for the first time ever." A few moments later I remembered he had indeed crossed the Mighty Mississippi with our Student Ministry when we went to New Orleans last year as a part of our Mississippi Katrina Relief Mission Trip. NECK!!!

After we got to St. Louis we stopped and had a great Cracker Barrel meal and finished the day off a few hours past St. Louis near Columbia, MO. 

The highlights today were the brush fire and Donald's Mississippi River neck, as well as, an amusing discussion about what it would be like if a talking car got into an argument with a TomTom (GPS)...I laugh as I type.

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 186 (I asked him to turn off his phone during worship and he drove quite a bit today)

Ryan 0

Court 0

Police Report:

5 Traffic Stops

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part II)

Day 3

Today was a day of rest! We spent the day at my parents house and we didn't do much. We ate breakfast at my Dad's dive, it was pretty "Delicious"!Donald did continue to improve his relationship with Timber and even began to forge a new relationship with Bailey.Avery spent most of the day showing her younger cousin Tucker the ropes on the playground. She did fall and scrape her back. That is the 2nd day with a visible injury in a row. She scraped her eye on a fall yesterday.

The highlights were eat'n dinner with my grandmother, my cousin and uncle, as well as, teas'n Donald about only coming out of his room when it was time to eat. Oh yea, I did get to eat some Memphis BBQ for the first time in forever. I was pretty excited about it. 

We'll leave for Missouri tomorrow after church. After tomorrow we'll be 8 hours closer!

Oh yea, Avery is beginning to warm up to Donald. 

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 481

Ryan 1

Court 0

Police Report:

0 Traffic Stops

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part I)

Day 1

We left Wilmington on Thursday bright and early and headed to Knoxville, TN. Thanx to Lanny my last Wilmington meal was a Manhattan Bagel, mmmmmmmmm! Court and Avery in one vehicle; me, Donald (the guy crazy enough to make this trip) and Timber (our 65 lb black lab) in the other. Leav'n is tough! I knew it would be, but it was harder than I expected. 

It took Donald and Timber a bit to get used to each other, but I think they are becoming friends. 

After a hard day of driv'n we pulled into Knoxville, TN about 5 p.m. on Thursday, we had a great dinner with Court's family. The highlights of the day revolved around me gett'n a neck because I forgot to put the truck in park and Avery's pottie experience. Ask me later...

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 324

Ryan 2

Court 0

Police Report:

6 traffic stops

Day 2

We woke up to a home cooked breakfast and spent the morning with Court's family. After lunch we hit the road to Gibson, TN. This trek was quite a bit shorter than yesterday. Only 5 1/2 hours! Donald slept a lot and Timber took his lead, sleeping more. Court had a tough time leav'n her family, it was to be expected. Pray for her though and her family! Once we arrived in Gibson, Donald was introduced to the chaos of the Tucker's house. :) Within minutes of our arrival we had my mother, my father, Court, Avery, Timber, Donald, myself, my sister (Laura), my brother-in-law (Greg) and nephew (Tucker), oh yea, and their dog, Bailey. The house was alive with activity. We had a great dinner. The highlights of the day were the GPS (TomTom), and our guy Richard (GPS Voice) navigating our trip and walking over to Jerry's for ice cream after dinner. 

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 150 (Carrie was at work!)

Ryan 0

Court 3

Police Report:

2 traffic stops

Sorry for the break

As you can imagine we have had a lot going on. :) 

Last week we took our last trip to camp with our students. It was a great week, but a very difficult one. We'll miss this place much!!!

Hopefully tomorrow we'll close on the house, anything and everything is going wrong so we need some prayer.

Court and I are holding up well all things considered! God is really giving us what we need when we need it!

I'll try to take some time in the coming weeks to share more details.

Bought a house and assorted prayer request

Court, Avery, Timber and I now own a home in Billings, MT. Well, we will as of June 23, but all the paperwork is in the process of being completed. We had a great week in Billings and we love our new home. Pray for our home to become a base for building community.

During our week we met a few people, we still don't know who and who won't be a part of this adventure. However, we do feel as if a support 

base is being formed. Pray for us to find people who have a heart for planting a missional church in Billings, MT. 

Also, pray for us to figure out the child care issue. 

Our move date is June 26...fast approaching!

I need a "Strategery" for faith

Sometimes I believe I need a new "Strategery" for my faith. To make a long story short I see a lot of holes in my faith, but I don't know which ones to address. I would love to address them all, but it doesn't seem possible. Often the thing that is important to me isn't always important to someone else. The temptation in this world is to be ok with our differences and accept it as individual faith, but that seems anthetical to true community. So I can't take that route. 

So what am I to do, maybe having a "Strategery" isn't the answer. It didn't work so well for the other guy.

God please rescue me!

From the San Antonio Spurs and that horrible brand of basketball...

Now I have to root for Kobie and Lakers, it is like choosing between Bush and Kerry in 2004. No winners!

Pray that the Celtics, I can't believe I just said that...the Celtics make the finals. Other wise for the 3rd time in this Century, which is only 8 years old we'll suffer through another Spurs/Pistons series.

Survivor Frustration

I admit it...I watch Survivor. I am a loyal follower since the reruns of season one during those first summer months. I guess we all have our guilty pleasures. For some it is chocolate, for others egomaniacal foreign policy and still others it is a stupid T.V. show under the reality tag where most of plot is unscripted fiction.

Why am I frustrated? Simple. I never believe the person who wins should win. It started in Season 2 with Colby and Tina, it continued last night. There is little reason for how the departed survivors vote during the final tribal council. One season all the departed are bitter at the masterful power player in the final two or three and they give the million dollars to the hanger on who just got lucky and went for a ride. Other seasons the departed seem to look beyond their bitterness and see the strategy and skill in the more ruthless player of the final group, so they give the million dollars to that person.

Last night it was Parv, a ding bat Georgia fan. They are TRASH! Sorry, my Auburn colors coming out a bit. I must give her credit she crafted an all womens allaince and held it together. This was a first for Survivor. The ladies normally turn on each other. Without a doubt she played a skillful game and made quick and decisive decisions. Well, done! 

Her counter part, Amanda, played this game with as much integrity as possible. She didn't lie to anyone out right and she was punished because she seemed to sincerely struggle over the decision of Cirie vs. Parv. Though her tribal council break down was a bit much! 

All in all, it came down to the departed. Next season Amanda in the same role might win because everyone in the role Ozzie, Jason, Alexis, etc...(the people with a knife in their back)would be mad that Parv stuck that knife in their back. This season however, Parv got the million. The departed seemed to appreciate her style and awarded her a handsome check for her efforts.

Amanda, my only thought is sometimes it is best not to show the world your inner turmoil. It was a tough decision, but come on now. You did have immunity!

Beach Baptism/Why?

Sometimes this ministry thing is a real privilege...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to baptize eight of our students off Wrightsville Beach. These students come from different socio-economic backgrounds; they attend six different schools and run with five or six different crowds. For some this baptism was a long time coming, a life spent seeking God. For a couple it was decision made in the last few days and for one it was a decision made at the beach. Though God has undoubtedly been at work in their lives as well.  

I mentioned the privilege part as it concerns me...it is a privilege. I have been walking along side most of these students for the last four or five years, a few of them have only been a part of our group for a year or two, but our relationships are strong. I always say two things to people asking about being baptized.

1) You do go to heaven when we accept Christ into our hearts.

2) Following God is about more than that, much more.

For me baptism is about showing the world that it is your desire to walk through life with God. It is a public acknowledgement that we will seek out Christian community and look for ways to serve this world with our lives. In a nutshell the Great Commandments... We love God by loving others. 

The people I have baptized have no idea what they are getting themselves into. They don't fully comprehend the breadth or depth of following God. They have no idea the difficult times or the times where they will feel distant from God. They just know they want to follow God. Praise God, because that is enough! I have been do'n this God thing for some time now. I still don't know what I have gotten myself into. :)

I have little doubt these eight young people will struggle in their lives. Some of them might loose their way for a bit, some of them might forget for a time that they wanted only to follow God. My prayer for each of them will be that we as their friends, family and church will walk along side them and disciple them. Jesus showed us the game plan for this! 

Following God isn't about getting into heaven and stay'n out of hell. It is about joining the "Missio Dei" (The Mission of God) and living life in a community (Church/Christian Fellowship) and serving the world (with our lives).

Sold the house

Thanks to everyone for their prayers of support. We sold our house! The close date isn't until May 23, but the inspection is done and it looks pretty good at this point. God really kicked open another door. Now to find a home in Billings, figure out what God is doing and join Him. We can't wait!

Prayer Request:

Pray for us as we choose our home. We know God is at work everywhere, it is our desire to join in and help. We will build this church on deep biblical Acts 2:42-45 community. "Loving God by Living Community and Serving the World" We hope to start with our own neighborhood.

Gas Prices

Today I filled my truck up and the pump cut off before it was filled. There was a $50 limit on the pump. I had heard about people with large SUV's and work trucks experiencing this phenomenon. However, with a 16 gallon tank I had never reached such a limit before. There is a first time for everything and today was that day.

Everyone seems to be sitting around waiting for the government to do something. Are u kidding me? It ain't gonna happen. We have to change ourselves first. Nothing of note in this world ever begins with legislation or for that matter from the top down. True change must be grassroots!

So stop filling up so much! U ask, how? Maybe walk more, carpool, take your bike, minimize your need to go out, use public transportation, etc... 

If you can by a hybrid, if not then buy a vehicle for what you use it for. To many soccer moms have SUV's with 4 wheel drive frames when they could do the same hauling with a Mini Van or Station Wagon for less miles per gallon. Don't forget guys like me! Stop compensating! Our big trucks, V8 engines and mud tires. Give me a break! Your a man already! We get it! All of those things are gasoline guzzlers. A few years back I bought a new truck. I wanted a V8, etc... I was raised in Georgia it might be a birth right to own a large, loud truck. Anyway, I didn't buy one, I bought the smallest truck possible with the smallest engine that has 4 wheel drive for the few times each year I need it for off road hobbies. 

I wanted the big truck, but it was wrong to buy it. Why? Our choices matter. They matter to our community, to our world, both economically and ecologically. THEY MATTER!

Lets stop whining about gas prices and start making decisions which will help us to become a part of the solution.

24 hr News Media

When I was a kid I remember the big deal CNN made about being a 24 hour news source. In retrospect what a mistake. Has news turned from news into entertainment? News sources now own other companies or other companies own news sources. Ratings, money, etc…these are the stories they are truly after.

 

Was it always like this? I watch the nightly Democratic Presidential nomination race and ponder…Am I watching news coverage? Or a scripted drama where our politicians play their part?

 

Whatever the case I am pretty sure the news makes the news, they don’t cover it any more. MSNBC, FOX NEWS, CNN...Shame on us for letting you do it!

Questions

i will have to say, the last few weeks and the support we have sensed from Winter Park, friends, family members and even people i don't really know, well it has blown us away. a midst all the uncertainty of what we are doing God already has a group in place to love and care for us in the coming years. 

i must simply say, praise God. 

i really don't know what i expected, but i could never have predicted God's blessings. 

this week i mainly have questions.

with all of this support, how do we bottle it? take it with us?

does this mean it is going to be extremely difficult in the future? that scares me...

will other things fall into place just as naturally? has God already prepared those initial people to partner with us in billings? 

if so, who are they? what are they like? how will we meet? 

for some people questions are a bad thing, something to be feared. for me they are an opportunity to experience an adventure. the journey of seeking answers to questions is something to be cherished!

Prayer Request:

Pray we are able to sell our house

Pray for the childcare situation in Billings

Pray for us to be aware of what God is doing in Billings and join Him, the other people will already be there working

Final Four

The tournament of upsets...or is it? Four the last eleven years my wife and I have made out brackets and competed against each other in the NCAA Final Four. For the first several years she won most years. I realized about three years ago she was winning because about 99% of the time she chose the higher seeded team. 

So I adjusted my strategy and began to pick chalk. I have won two years in a row and with a little luck this weekend I'll win again. However, I don't enjoy picking my brackets anymore. I am bored with only choosing the higher seeds. I miss trying to figure out the upsets. 

Why is it that the NCAA tournament has an elusion of upsets? Life is that way isn't it...sometimes we have an elusion of reality, but the truth is actually chalk. 

There are 64 games each year during the NCAA tournament and only about 3 or 4 upsets actually occur. I do not consider a 7 over a 10 an upset. Despite my desire to beat my wife, I may go back to picking the crazy upsets again next year. Every so often I get one right, I never remember all the times I picked upsets wrong. And it feels good when you get one right. I picked the Zag's (before the Zags were considered a good team) over Duke in 2002. Man, that felt good! I hate Duke!

Life is about perspective, I would rather risk taking a flyer and getting it wrong than never knowing the thrill of being a part of something no other person expects.

Prophetic Voice

this week Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has caused quite a stir in our culture. 

THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF WRIGHT'S THOUGHTS OR OPINIONS!!!

i have listened and watched as the outrage overflowed as many find his words beyond comprehension. wrong! evil!

my fear is less about what he said. i don't agree with it. 

my fear is about how we as a culture look more and more like the nation of israel in the bible. the last half of the old testament reveals a list of prophets, people sent by God, to condemn the nation of israel. their reaction seems to be the same as our reaction today.

they were outraged, the prophets words were beyond comprehension. wrong! evil!

i personally don't agree with the reverend wright, but i do worry that we have to many christians who are not speaking about the failures and wrongs of our culture. christianity has lost its prophetic voice. 

a prophetic voice is not to be taken lightly. a great amount of wisdom and discernment is required to speak out on behalf of God. people are called to do it. not just pastors, God calls each of us to have a prophetic voice. 

i would worry less about a man like, Jeremiah Wright, speaking to a group of people who can truly understand his message. my worry is for the millions of us who never speak with a prophetic voice. who never try to discern God's voice and speak on its behalf. 

it takes courage to live this way. if the bible teaches us anything you'll often be called to speak out against the religious, social and cultural norms. people might not like you. however, we are called to speak with a prophetic voice.

side note: God understands this, He sent His own son to become a man and speak with a prophetic voice. Jesus was rejected and killed for His troubles. I believe God understands the fear we all feel.  a fear which often silences our prophetic voices.

Guilt Free Christianity

Based on Mark 10:17-31 (The Rich Young Ruler) 17As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 18And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.19"You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"20And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up." 21Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. 23And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" 24The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 26They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?" 27Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." 28Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." 29Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, 30but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31"But many who are first will be last, and the last, first."

A friend of mine recently said to me, "There is enough guilt to go around in Christianity." Meaning: to many times we as Christians attempt to guilt people into following God. 

I agree with that. Completely!

I also believe Mark 10:21, "On thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me." Maybe in a future blog we'll speculate on the whether or not this should be taken literally.

I do believe it is safe to assume Mark 10:21 can be read to mean, "God is calling us to sacrifice on His behalf." 

My question: How do we share the call of God to sacrifice without participating in the "guilt circle" Christianity is often associated with in our culture?

Oh, yea. I forgot the first part of Mark 10:21, "Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him..." 

I need some help cyberspace, because I admit openly...

I struggle with the idea of how to share that I believe God calls us to sacrifice and to share this in a way which communicates love and not guilt. I have no desire to participate in making others feel guilty.

I sense I communicate guilt when I share the idea of following God means sacrifice.

Things I believe God might think: 

• If we give 10% of our money to our church but people starve in our city streets we aren't sacrificing enough
  
• If we have a college education, grad school, etc...but children in our school systems read below their own grade level we aren't sacrificing enough
• etc...

No Guilt, Just Love! How? How do we find a way to share like Jesus shared? How do we look into the world and feel love and say give more? No Guilt, Just Love!

3 years w/ Jesus Christ

I just finished 3 years with Jesus Christ. :) 

in March of 2005, i sat at a student leadership conference listening to a Jewish man tell us about Jesus. during his message he suggested every christian should find time to spend 3 years reading and rereading the gospels. in doing so we would catch a small glimpse of what it was like to be a disciple of Jesus walking the earth with Him for the 3 years of His ministry. i.e. we are all supposed to be disciples of Jesus.

more importantly if you did this you would have the opportunity to salt your life with the words, actions and experiences of Jesus.

despite personally offering several similar preaching challenges as a speaker, i rarely act on these challenges when i hear them.

for whatever reason i responded. i came up with the strategy of reading one gospel a month, each month for 3 years. basically i would break each gospel down and roughly read a chapter or two a day. honestly, i don't believe the discipline of embarking on such an exercise is that important. the time spent seeking to know God is extremely important.

knowing increase our ability to love. this is a basic premise of relationships. i don't love my wife, courtney, more today because i have found a way to love more. each day i know her more deeply, more intimately, more completely. as my knowledge of her grows the love i have for her simply expands. i recently heard it described this way. love is like skin for knowledge, as far as relationships go. as knowledge increases the skin of "love" stretches to make room.

with this thought the need to know God better is important. because our ability to love will increase as our knowledge of God increases.

so i read. it wasn't always easy. in fact, many times i became bored with the stories i was reading and rereading. 2 or 3 months over the course of the 3 years i didn't even finish the entire gospel. 

despite this, my knowledge of Jesus did increase, i began to see the parables He shared and His experiences with people and miracles in a different light. 

truth is this is to fresh in my mind to attempt to sum anything up neatly with 3 points, but i do want to share some basics themes which i noticed over these years.

1. my life is more salted with Jesus. not in a "what would Jesus do" way, hoping to have the answer to all life situations at my finger tips. more like, i know Jesus more intimately now and the strength of our relationship allows me to be more humble, more caring, more daring, more courageous, MORE SUBMISSIVE TO GOD.

2. as i read and reread the story of Jesus being crucified, i am now more keenly aware of how Jesus, who I also believe is God, submitted himself fully to God and God in turn submitted fully to Jesus. perfect relationship! the relationship God wants with us. 

God's submission for us=send God's son to die on a cross 

our submission to God=give up control of our lives, the way God, Jesus, gave up control and died on the cross

3. i want to follow the teachings of Jesus. i don't care if i am a good christian. i just want to follow what Jesus taught.

i would suggest to anyone, spend 3 years with Jesus. find your own system, but read the gospels over and over for 3 years. 

Caution: Knowing God may cause you to act in a manner contrary to our culture!

(It may be possible that many of us who believe in God do not know God. What do you think?)

In March of 2005, the speaker actually said every christian should read the gospels over and over for 3 years. 

Have you ever read the gospels? If so, how did they affect you? If not, why haven't you read the gospels?

Do you believe every christian should spend 3 years with Jesus? Why or why not?