Backpack Attack in need of retreat?

We recently took 28 kids into the wild on a three day two night backpacking trip. I LOVE this trip! To see the kids challenge themselves as they pack up what they need for the trip, sharing the load of supplies and food. To see the kids challenge each other to be real and genuine in sharing what God has done in thier lives. And to see God challenge them on the mountain top, getting rid of most of the distractions of cell phones, personal music, cars, and comforts of home and personal space.

All in all, it was a great trip to see how we as Christ Followers need to follow Christ. We looked to an unlikely source to see how to do this better. According to Ghandi, if we are to make an impact in this world for Christ we need to live more like Christ, present the Gospel unadulterated (meaning we need to present the gospel as the Bible shows it, not how western washington sees it), and we need to practice what we preach!

Thank you Ghandi for those profound statements. But here is the deal...he is right. If we don't see people like Christ saw them, and continue to love them like Christ loved them, then we will not make a difference. If we don't present the gospel as the Bible presents it (a powerful, hopeful, healing message that changes our hearts and revamps our lives) then we don't do it justice; a watered down version of truth will make a watered down impact. And if we don't practice what we preach, what does that make us? Answer? A hypocrite! Lets be real with our struggles, letting people see the healing process! When we hide our pain and put on a happy face it portrays a fake joy, one that doesn't last and burns us out. This is what we talked about three miles above see level...and it rocked our faces off!

But is backpack attack in need of retreat? The title implies that backpack attack may be to aggressive...and maybe a name change is needed. I say this because one of our fearless leaders had a major accident. One that required many stiches and finger reconfiguration...yes, a trip back down the mountain and into the ER.

Billy is fine, he is up and running and has no hard feeling about the Attack...in fact, it makes for a great story. But maybe if we changed the name we wouldn't have as many accidents (lots of bee stings, scrapes, cuts, and bruises as well).

What are some good, non-aggressive names for this event? Share your comments below!

Summer Fun

The days and weeks have flown by since camp! Sorry I haven't updated you about whats going on (by you I mean Dave).

After camp, we left to Montana on a mission trip...one of the hardest ever! We then had a great day of boating and bbq-ing. There were a lot of leaders and a couple of students that went on another mission trip to Mexico. And then there were a couple of Amazing Races. And we are still not done with the Summer schedule!

As I said, Montana was very hard! It was different than any mission trip we have been on... different is good and different is bad. We had a great time as a group. Our fellowship brought us all closer together and the community that we are bringing back to the group is something I hope spreads around to the other kids and we continue to grow as a youth group! It was hard for a couple of reasons. First, the schedule was packed! We always seemed like we were tired, and that is hard to process everything that we are taking in. Second, the Native American culture is a hard culture to minister to. They need HOPE! They need JESUS! Hopefully the time we spent there made an impact, but we can't help but feel that one week there of helping clean up neighborhoods, painting houses, and working with a handful of rowdy and unruly kids made any difference. It only shows us how bad they need Jesus in their life to change their hearts! Pray for the Blackfeet Reservation, pray that people will come in there unashamed and teach them, not about "church" or "christianity" but about Jesus Christ and Him crucified!

As far as other events in the summer, who doesn't love the Harbor in 80 degree weather? We pulled some of our elders together to solve the mystery about who they are, and they then hung out with the students and towed them around on their boats. It was a blast! I loved seeing some of the kids I hadn't seen all summer long, and reconnect with kids I saw at camp and the Montana mission trip.

Mexico is a blog in itself! Come to church August 30th for the re-cap on that. :)

The High School Amazing race was yesterday! It was hard to compete with the epic two day race the year before, but I think it did okay. The sights seen and the challenges met were well worth the zero dollars the kids had to pay. Seriously, how often do you see a methane flame geyser? Or play putt putt at a hundred year old mansion? Or go to a farm to get the freshest fruit available? Congrats to the winning team of Erika Moss, Amy Moss, and Chelsea Demoss as well as Beth Moss (driver). Way to go girls!!

Stay tuned for the end of the month update where you will get re-caps on CORE groups as well as Backpack Attack!

much Love,
jp

Letters to home from Capernwray

Monday:

Dear Mom,

Wow! What a long day...after waking up at 4am to catch a bus, a ferry, another bus, and another ferry we took a short walk to the camp! Wow, the grounds are beautiful! It all over looks the ocean (we are on an island after all). I saw a volleyball net, a horseshoe pit, a bunch of canoes and kayaks, some motor boats, as well as a disc golf course! No shortage of activities!

So, we walked to our cabins...they are like five miles from anywhere...but comfortable enough. After dinner, (they call it supper here, isn't that wierd?!?) we went up to the worship place (another five miles!) and were led in worship by "the band". They were loud and really cool! And then Jeremy got up, I remember him from last year, he is so funny! He introduced our theme...WANTED. He says that God wants our heart. I agree! He talked about how camp is like getting a flu shot...where we get just enough flu so our body learns to deal with it. He says that we get a Jesus shot at camp...where we get just enough Jesus to not need him anymore. We need to stop getting shots of Jesus! God wants our whole heart, not just a little.

Anyway, I love you guys, miss you lots! Tell my annoying little sister that I am learning a lot!

Love,

Your average high school boy that went to camp.

Tuesday:

Momsie and Popsicle,

OMG! I love this place! The band is so cute! They are all so talented and smell SO GOOD! They where V-necks and skinny jeans. They are really good at leading us in worship too. They are a real band when they are not here at camp. Roman vacation...no, Roman Holiday! Anyway, check em out! They have a few shows coming up too. July 4 at the fair grounds and July 31st at the liberty theatre. Can I go when I get home?

Don't forget to feed my fishies!

I heart you,

your average teenage girl that went to camp

Thursday:

Dear Mother and Father,

Hello, how is life down in the United States of America? Things in the great white land to the north are grande. Did you know that they spell things different here? Yes! Apparently we are staying at Capernwray Harbour. How about that?

Anyway, we are having a grande time! Our days are quite full, and they fly by so fast. I can't believe tomorrow! I am getting to know a lot of other kids from other churches...I ran into a girl in my spanish class and had no idea she went to church! I guess that is a good thing about doing camp with other churches in Gig Harbour.

I am learning a lot about God. I get a chance to to journal each day and think about what I am learning. We have talked about how God WANTS our heart, God WANTS our future, and God WANTS our commitment. Tonight Jeremy is talking about how God WANTS our friends. I can't wait. Anyway, can't wait to see you tomorrow! We will get home late...like really late. Like we will get home Saturday morning!

Love you!

camper

The new perspective on Jonah

When we think Jonah, we think fleeing from God's call. We think big fish. We think veggietales. But yesterday we had a new perspective on Jonah. We didn't look at how we run from God. We didn't debate wether the fish is figurative or literal. We sang no songs about pirates who don't do anything.

We looked at the reason why Jonah fled. If you remember, Jonah didn't go and preach the word of God to the Ninevites because he didn't want them to know God. He didn't want them to repent. He didn't want them to recieve grace from God. He didn't think they deserved it.

Who is Jonah to say who can believe in God? Who are we to say that? Our attitudes can be the same as Jonah. We don't want to love our enemies...we want them to get what they deserve! But that is not what we learned on Sunday. That is not what we learn from Jesus either.

Jesus tells us that we must love our enemies, and pray for those who want to
harm us

Isn't that a pill that is hard to swallow? But get this. When we love our enemies...it drives them crazy! They can't stand that. They would have us return evil for evil instead of turning the other cheek. They would have us give them the attention they are crying our for. But...its easier said than done. Most of the time we are not like Jesus. We don't love people...we judge people. We don't give people our time...we are to busy to hear thier story, to busy to care, to busy to share grace. We have better places to go (like Tarshish) and nicer people to minister to.

Next time God prompts you to be Jesus (compassionate, gracious, loving, merciful) to your enemy...don't run to the other end of the world. Instead...BE JESUS to them!

Thanks John Pleau for teaching us a new perspective on Jonah!

much Love,
johnny

My pet monster

We had breakfree worship last Wednesday. It was awesome worship led by the high school worship team. I am so proud for where they have come this year. They have grown musically, but more importantly, they have grown spiritually. Breakfree was worship, prayer, and a short message by Scott.

Scott reminded me of my childhood on Wednesday. He put into my mind an image of breaking free from the chains of sin that bind us tight. He gave me an image of my pet monster. Most of you wont remember, because most of you were not alive in the late 80's. But my pet monster was a 2 foot tall stuffed animal, that had real looking plastic hand cuffs on. One of the links in the chain was collapsable, making it seem that the monster could get so mad that he broke free from the chains that were keeping him.

Wednesday was a good night to break free from old habits that have deveoloped oved the stressful school year. Have you ever wondered why after a mountain top experience with God (like at camp or on a mission trip) you claim that you won't let that feeling die out...but then school starts. And you fall into the same old patterns, you find the same friends that bring you down, you wonder where God is while you are in the valley that seems to have dipped so low from the mountain.


Wednesday night was a breakfree opportunity. A chance to pray with each other, to praise God whole heartedly. It was a welcome night for many. What if we had breakfree opportunities more often? What if we realized that there is a weak chain in the cuffs that bind us, and one strong tug (accompanied by a great triumphant monster yell) could break the bonds and we could be free to love God and love others?


Well, we can. Maybe we just needed a reminder.










much Love,



johnny

A day of welcome...

Sunday was a day of recognition for the high school group here at CWSM. The morning started off very early for the upcoming seniors as well as the upcoming freshman! The to be seniors and the CSL team had a great time "initiating" the frosh coming up.


It started off by surprising each incoming student in their bed, (we called ahead of course, expect once...sorry to Joe's parents!) waking them up and giving them 10 to 30 seconds to brush their teeth (boys need less time than girls apparently) and then ushering them out of thier comfortable houses in thier pajamas and a giant name tag around their neck.

We went to 16 houses that morning and picked up 16 unsespecting souls. We then had breakfast at our tiny apartment (breakfast made by student leaders) and had a blast getting to know each other...we found out that most of the students crumple thier TP as opposed to fold.

The other transition was to recognize our graduating seniors! We honored them and they honored us with advice to stick in there. They all shared a bit of what they learned through their four years...and then we had the chance to ask them some hard questions! Questions like "What was your biggest temptation through high school and how did you deal with that?" Sounds intriguing, no?









So as you can see, we had a great time!

much Love,
johnny

Confessions of a Pharisee

The other day I was so excited to have a meeting with our 5th Grade parents. It was a meeting to give all of our crazy info about the summer. But, I was really encouraged to have some of the parents ask me about some of my ministry goals for this next year. One of them centering around prayer.
If I'm honest that is a place that I fall short many times. I want to make sure that I get everything done and then after I am done with that then I will lift up a short prayer to God. But, that is not how I want to live my life. I want to be in constant prayer both for ministry and for surrounding me. I have failed lately in that way. Prayer is essential and if I tell people to pray but don't do it I am a lot like the Pharisees. I think about the passage in Luke 18 where it says:

" To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men- like this tax collector, I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

So here is confession time. I am a sinner. I am a youth pastor and I have told people to pray and to trust God but then when it is my turn I walk away and do my own thing. There are many times that I wish that I would have trusted God more but I like to control situations. This is my simple and earnest prayer that God's will be done. Help me Father to get out of the way. Don't let me take over any longer. I am beating my breast and asking you to forgive me.

Grace and Peace,
Scott

And God was praised...in silence

When was the last time you experienced silence? Where you intentionally (and not just before bed) turned off the radio...turned off HGTV (all that we watch these days)...took out the ipod...turned off the cell phone...and had quiet.

Noise is all around us. We create noise all around us. Even in places where people try and be silent they can't help but make noise.

Not all noise is bad...sometimes it can lead us into praise and joy. But a lot of times noiese can block us from hearing God.

Are the noises in your life so loud that you can't hear God?

On Sunday we had another Experience God Sunday. The high school and middle school groups joined together to experience God in a unique way. This time they were led in a silent devotion.

We led it from the big screen typing out the words as opposed to saying them...we needed silence. It turned out to be really cool, sort of like the kids were reading a text or IM or something. And they were silent. And they studied the word of God, and worshipped and praised Him through mini journals.

And God was praised...in silence.

much Love,

Johnny

Pizza at the Pleau's!

There is an old proverb dating back to the 14th century...
"All good things must come to an end -
There is an end to everything, to good things as well."
These are hard things to hear...but are true in our present circumstance of a year of Connections.

Yes, we are done with our mid-week meetings at Believers Fellowship. We ended with a night of tradition. Every year the Pleau's open up their home to Believers Fellowship Youth Group to host a night of "Pizza at the Pleau's". The kids look forward to it so much as the finale of fun, fellowship, and jumping in the cold cold sound water.

We ended our year looking back on the growth we have made in Loving God and loving others (luke 10:27). I see our group as growing in leaps and bounds in love for God and love for others. If someone wants to be here...they usually feel pretty accepted into the community. Of course it takes time to develop friendships, but the relationship is started. When someone wants to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength; community can't help but follow.

I can't wait to continue to learn about God through out our busy summer! We have some awesome events planned...so be sure to check the calendar regularly, and check back here for updates on how they went!

Thanks for the awesome year!

much Love,
johnny

p.s.-check out these awesome pics of how nice it was! i love the sun!

How long O Johnny...will you wait to eat your cookie?

I have to tell you that I am loving the minor prophets right now. They seem so fresh to me and are challenging me in so many ways; like to study the Bible better, to see how to make the connection to "real life", and to learn more about the history of Israel.

Today we looked at the book of Joel. This small book is only three chapters long, jam packed with the rich theology I have come to love in the minor prophets. Mainly, wrath of God followed by the Love of God.

In Joel the wrath of God comes in the form of grasshoppers. These locusts have just come and gone leaving a gaping hole in the economy of Judah not short of the great depression. In fact, the book starts off challenging the people to see how great the devastation is, so great that their kids will talk about it, and grand kids, and great grand kids. Sounds similar to the American great depression, does it not?

The Locusts represent an even greater problem. Yes, it is a day of the Lord where justice has at last come to a country that has made the God of the universe a god among many...but the insects also represent an even greater army from the north that God is raising up to destroy the nation if they do not repent and return to the Lord.

That is the wrath of God. Followed quickly by the mercy and love of God. In 2:12-13 God speaks...

"Yet even now," declares the Lord "return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments."

Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindess, and relenting of evil.

This is the love of God. He doesn't want us to go through the motions. He wants us to stop putting on a show of our suffering and turn to Him (rend your heart, not your garments). When ever we suffer, it should push us back to God. Hopefully we don't suffer long. But when we suffer (whether it is from choices we make, choices others make, or the wrath of God) it should always point us back to God. He is there waiting for us to return, waiting for us to embrace him with our hearts.

Another thing that I am picking up in reading all of these minor prophets is the language. I sometimes sit and reflect about how these messages that I give can challenge me as well as the students. With all of these minor prophets challenging the people, a phrase that comes up a lot starts with "how long O...".

So in my life I wonder what it would sound like if the prophets were to follow me around for a week. They might say something like...

How long, O Johnny, will you continue to run after the things that do not satisfy? They are like salt, tasting so good at the time but leaving you thirsty for satisfaction.

How long, O Johnny, will you wait for "something" better to come along before you rest at the feet of Jesus? It is like you have a cookie, so sweet, yet wait for milk. Enjoy the blessings of God around you and be content with what God has given!

This is the language that I start to use around the house...it is sort of catchy.

Try this...imagine a prophet has followed you around for a week. What would he call you out on? You can post anonymously...but I would just be thrilled if you would start off each "challenge" with the same phrase. "How long, O soul, will you...(insert deepest darkest sin here)?

Lets see if we can encourage each other in a creative way, and get right with God in the process. Comment away!

much Love,
Johnny

May the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit

It took us five months, but we did it. It took us five months, when really it could have been done in twenty minutes.

Why is it that when we try to read the Bible on our own we read a few verses or a chapter? Wouldn't it make sense to read it like we read other books? Think about this. Take your favorite book and read it for two minutes every week. You would be so lost, having to go back to see what you read, and you would get next to nothing out of it. Why do we do that to the Bible?

In order to get the entire story, the big picture, the whole enchilada we need to take the extra time to read the whole book all at once. Why not? Depending on the book it only takes 20 minutes (for a short book like Philippians or Gatatians), 60 minutes (Romans and Hebrews) or even 90 minutes (Matthew and Acts). One more thing to try. Read it out loud. Yeah, you read slower and more "dramatically" out loud. Try these two things and it will enhance your love for the Bible.

We tried these last night. I reached a personal goal that someone challenged me to do a long time ago, I finally memorized the book of Philippians. It really only took a couple of days, but it has been on my heart for 7 years or so. Last night we got to see the whole book in its entirety with a dramatic recitation. And hopefully God brought to mind the major themes of the book that we took five months to cover.

Themes like Joy in unity, in suffering, in contentment. Joy in dwelling, in relationship with God, in others. Joy in putting the past behind, in pressing on, in anxiety. God has taught us and will continue to teach us through this tiny book to a church in Philippi. I can't wait to study it again.

So as in Paul's final words to the Philippians...may the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

much Love,
johnny

I am sure that deep down, we all want to be used by God...as long as it doesn't take much effort on our part. If that were the case, we would all line up to make a difference and be God's voice in this world. But sometimes being used by God might mean a lot of effort. It sure did for Hosea.

Hosea was a prophet OF God who was used BY God in a BIG way. He didn't just go around talking to people about Him...he used his life to send a message to the Israelites. What would you do if God asked you to marry someone you knew was going to go sleep with other people? What would you do if God asked you to marry a prostitute, not to change her, but to love her no matter what she did (continue her employment)? What if God even asked you to name your kids "un-loved" and "not mine"?

God asked Hosea to do this, all for a reason. To show how the Israelites have been treating God. To show how God feels about his people at this point in time. And to show the mercy, compassion, and the unfailing Love of God.

Sunday morning we looked a little deeper into the first of many minor prophets we are studying in our series "the Bible Jesus Read". We won't have time to finish all the books of the Old Testament this year, but I didn't want to skip the minor prophets. Here is a good made up statistic. Studies show that most studies of the Bible don't study the Minor Prophets. Although I just made that up, in my experience (and most likely in yours) it's true. We tend to stray away from these books because the language is weird, the times are very far away, and we feel that God is too mean in them.

But they are so rich in the themes of God and the Bible. Yes they talk about justice and judgment. But they also teach us about comfort, grace, mercy, and salvation.

Back to Hosea. My favorite part about Hosea is chapter 3 (chapter two is a close second though). In chapter three, Hosea goes and finds Gomer (his prostitute wife). In Chapter three we see that after a hurtful relationship of her sleeping around and having kids that are not his...HE still takes the first step in loving her. He buys his wife back from the life of prostitution; he literally redeems her for 15 sheckles of silver and some barley. Hosea here is taking the final step in forgiving his no good wife by redeeming her. I can't miss the foreshadowing here.

Hosea = God
Gomer = Us

Hosea redeeming Gomer = God redeeming us

Gomer moved from lover to lover hoping to find some satisfaction. Only out of some sort of obligation did she ever go to Hosea to be loved.

We are like Gomer. Instead of going to God to be satisfied, we find false community, false hope, false joy in things that do not last. When we go to God it is because we feel obligated.

Hosea takes the first step in forgiving and loving his wife. He redeems her.

God is like Hosea. He took the first step in reconciling us and redeeming us through Jesus.

I am shocked at my made up statistic and wonder why more people don't read and study the minor prophets. I can't wait till next Sunday!

much Love,
johnny

I heart Bevievers Fellowship

Sunday showed me yet another example of why I heart Believers Fellowship.

The 5th Annual Believers Fellowship Youth Group Plant Sale is a mouthful to say. But aside from the long name, it is our easiest fundraiser to do. Mainly becuase I do nothing for it. The Annual Believers Fellowship Youth Group Plant Sale is put on by a small elite group of gardeners. Literally. Where else do you have a group of God Fearing Master Gardeners (sounds like a ninja name or something) who are willing to plant, grow, cultivate, fertilize, care for, and then pot a variety of species for the sole purpose of selling them for a group of students who don't even know their names. We had a plethora of plants for sale, all donated, where all proceeds go to this Youth Group!

Amazing I tell ya. Although no one reads this except for my father in law down in Fortuna, Ca. (hi Dave) I still want to thank those ladies who put it on with a thank you over the amazing world wide web; Carol Linden and Robbie Heath...as well as Pat Jorgensen and Judy Bergstrom! You ladies rock! Thank you so much for all that you do!

A big thank as well to all those who helped by buying plants or collecting money and setting up.

With their help we (and by 'we' I mean the amazing ninja gardeners) raised over 1200 dollars! What a blessing! I guess it would be more appropriate in this case to say that I heart Believers Fellowships 5th Annual Believers Fellowship Youth Group Plant Sale. I think we will have to make some stickers next year...what do you think?



much Love,
johnny

Fishing for skittles

Last night was our last in depth study in Chaotic Joy. Next we will wrap it up with an overview, but we dove headlong into chapter four, digging for yet another nugget of truth and wisdom in which we can apply to our life.

We found it last night in a secret. Yes, a secret that I will share here for all the world to see. A secret that is easy to say, harder to learn. What I am about to tell you is the secret that Paul (the author of Philippians) finally found after going through the last half of his life as a missionary for Jesus. In his travels he endured many, many hardships. He was well fed at times, yet he also went to bed hungry some nights. He was well taken care of, although he needed nothing. Through all of his years relying on God he learned this secret that I am about to share with you.

Lean in close.

Closer.

So close that the words are blurry.

Now back up so you can read the words.

The secret is...that Paul can do all things through Christ who gives him strength.

Shocking I know.

But now you know what I mean when it is easier said that done. It is easy to say that you will trust Christ to take care of your every need. It is easy to sing on Sunday morning that "All of You (christ) is more than enough for me (you), for every need" but come Monday we go on living life as usual.

Why do we secretly hope people will bless us with things. Why don't we just be content with what God has given us in the present; and if God wants to bless us (or other people want to) then we graciously accept the blessings and move on blessing others.

Last night we see how Paul truly is content. He is in prison. God called him there for a reason, and he was fine with that. He would go on serving God in prison. Paul's being in prison got around to all the churches, and the churches started praying for him. One church in particular (the Philippian church) thought they would take it a step farther and give a gift to Paul. So they send it over and Paul is over joyed.

Paul didn't put the word out hoping someone would give him a gift. He didn't need too. He trusted God to provide. We do the opposite when we fish for gifts. What I mean is that we hint at something we want until the person realizes that we want it, and feels so guilty that they cave and give in. And when they offer, we act surprised.

It might look like this:
Oh, what are you eating? Skittles? Hmm, that’s cool, I love skittles, plus my mom forgot to pack a dessert in my lunch...and it wasn’t a very big lunch anyway so I am sort of hungry still. Not so hungry though, just sort of hungry, I don’t need a whole bag of skittles...but they are small and tasty aren’t they. I notice you don’t eat the yellow ones...interesting. That's my favorite color.

Paul didn't do that. Paul is content. But notice...the Philippian church did what Christians ought to do. They see a need, they fill a need. They were loving, they were compassionate, they were generous with what they had.

Two things here:
1. Christians need to be content with where God has called them in the present.
2. Christians need to look for ways to bless others with what they have.

And 3 (why not?) I think these both go in line with Paul's secret. We CAN do all things through CHRIST who gives us strength. Keep at the forefront of your mind that God will supply every need that you have according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, and every so slowly we will start to be content.

much Love,
johnny

Compassion, love, grace, mercy...the business of God

I hear a lot about churches being run like a business. This week alone I have had to give the church address as "business," not residential. I suppose I am okay with that. But I want to be a part of God's business, which, in reading about the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus' ministry on earth, the saints in the New Testament, and looking at the hands of feet of God today...the business of God is compassion, love, grace, and mercy. All of that. That is where I want to be.

This past Sunday we saw a very "nooma" like video (in regards to production quality) where I taught on the road. Yes, I was not at Crosstalk, but I still gave the message.

We started looking at the prophets in our "The Bible Jesus Read" study. The prophet we looked at never recorded his teachings in a book, but I am sure that his servant Gehazi told everyone around what God was doing through him (like raising ax heads, feeding 100 people with 20 loaves, causing oil to last a long time) so that we now have the story of his ministry in the book of 2 Kings 1-8. I am of course talking about Elisha.

We focused in on one aspect of his ministry, his compassion on the women from Shunem. She was childless, yet still very nice, so God gave her a son. We see how the son dies, and Elisha brought him back to life. The jist of the teaching showed how God has compassion on people, and how Elisha walked around the earth with similar motives as Jesus. To show God's love.

How can we continue on the business of God today? How can we show compassion to the people around you? Can you buy someone a chocalate milk at school? Can you start a conversation with someone who looks lonely, or sad, or mad, or depressed, or happy, or whatever? Do it. Join Elisha, Jesus, and other people in being a part of God's business.

I will post the video later on so you can watch it in full.

much Love,
johnny

What we dwell on makes a difference

Growing up I read the entire Sherlock Holmes collection (by growing up I mean in college, it was a great mind vacation from school). In said collection, the great detective had a theory that you only have room in your brain for so much before you can't remember clearly all that you put in there. So he committed to only learning and remembering practical things. Like observation, and the skills of observation. (I really want to see the new Holmes by the way).

Now, I don't always agree with Sherlock. But I think that he is on to something here. When I backed up my prior research of reading about the greatest detective to come out of the UK with the very sophisticated "wikiAnswers" I found a similar reading. We can store stuff in our mind until it is displaced or removed.

How true it is with our heart and minds! Jesus tells us that whatever comes out of the mouth, is really from the heart (matt. 15). Potty humor, from a potty heart. Encouragement, from a loving heart. What we dwell on makes a difference.

On Wednesday night we are continuing our Chaotic Joy series through Philippians. Last night in Phil. 4:8 we are encouraged, no, entreated to dwell on things that matter to God.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

Let your mind dwell on these things. We can go through the list and see what we are dwelling on and putting in our hearts and minds. We won't be very proud of the things we see there. Here is how the early church dealt with this. They fixed their eyes on Jesus!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

The early church fixed their eyes on Jesus! That is what they were committed to. What He taught, how He lived, how He obeyed, how He suffered, how He rose again. Shame on me for distracting people from Jesus. He addresses and answers nearly every problem we encounter! Let us fix our eyes on Him!

What are we dwelling on? Are we dwelling on our past? Our sufferings? Our anxiety? I pray that we put those behind us and continue to run the race with our eyes fastened on the prize. Let us run the race in a way that He will be proud, and say well done my good and faithful servant.

Are we putting mindless movie quotes in our heart? Are we focusing on the latest lyrics from your favorite band (unless it's dc talk, then its all good in the hood)? Or are we treasuring the word of God in our heart?

much Love,
johnny

Stopping the trend...

Can you look at your family history and see a trend? I can. And others can as well. Studies show that if your Grandpa was bald, and your dad was bald, the chances of you being bald are pretty good! Which is why I have started using this.

Studies also show that if your grandpa was an alcoholic, and your dad was an alcoholic, the chances of you becoming an alcoholic sky rocket! Same goes with college, divorce, abuse, and other various trends.

This past Sunday at CrossTalk we saw how a young King named Josiah broke a trend that haunted his past. Josiah's dad was one of the worst kings in Israel's history, promoting so many pagan gods that child sacrifices started to be the norm. This was a trend that was started way back in Solomon's day...400 years before! God ended Josiah's Dad's reign abruptly, and Josiah took over at the age of 8. Not very old to be king, but we see in his story (2 Kings 22-23) that he rose to the occasion. When Josiah was 26, he decided to clean up the temple of God, which had fallen into disrepair because no one was using it. When the high priest at the time reported that they found a book, Josiah read it. That book was the book of the Law that Moses had written 900 years earlier! It was just in the corner with junk piling up on it. That is how bad it had gotten with religion and Israel!

What happens next is really cool! Josiah reads the book, and it changed his life! He gathers all of the people together and they all read it together. The whole nation repents and renews the covenant with God. They tear down the temples to other Gods that have been built in the mountains, and start new with their relationship with the one true God.

Josiah couldn't have stopped the trend with out God's help. This is true in our lives as well. My parents are divorced. My wife's parents are divorced. My wife and I have decided that we want to honor God in our marriage by not getting a divorce. We can't do that on our own, we need His help.

If you have a family history that you want to stop...then decide today to commit your life to Christ and His way. With out Him, you will end up continuing the trend. With Him, you start a new trend for generations to come.

much Love,
Johnny

Student Led Connections!

We are in our "Chaotic Joy" series, studying Philippians. It is going great! Last night we had our student leaders lead every aspect of our program. What a chaotic joy!

Each component was led amazingly! God was worshiped last night my friends. The students did a great job moving us along after dinner into a very fun mixer. We had a four team relay. The funny part was that they had to run around with garbage cans on top of their heads! There were a lot of near misses and some good collisions. I wish I got a picture...

The worship was led by students, and after a shaky practice (it happens) God totally used them to lead us in some amazing worship. What a joyful noise.

The message was led by students, and after a shaky practice (it happens) God totally used them to deliver His word. Thank you to Aundi Ragan, Ariella Woods, and Stefan Siqueland who put lots of time and effort to share with us how to to have Joy through overcoming Anxiety. (Phil. 4:4-7).

Even the small groups were led by students! Seriously, they did AWESOME stepping out of their comfort zone for a very smooth Connections.

much Love,
johnny

Sunday ReCap, experience God:Prayer

This past Sunday was experience God. Let me tell you, I have grown to like experience God Sundays. I like that the younger kids get to see the older kids step out. I like how the older kids are great models for the younger kids. And I like how the younger kids speak out after seeing the older kids speak out. I like saying the same things over again, but in different ways.

But all kidding aside, I think it was a good Sunday. Prayer is something that many believers don't know how to do very well, simply because they go to God with three requests. "Help!", "Thanks!", and "Sorry!". But we see that prayer can be so much more than that!

Sunday the kids did a couple of simple prayer activities. We didn't teach them A.C.T.S., but we showed them the Ignatius of Loyola prayer method, and a little bit of Lecto Divina. Aren't you impressed?

I was! To see the kids sit in a big circle, meditating on God and phrases from God's word was really really neat. To hear what the kids picked up out of it was also encouraging for them to be honest and open about where they are in life. To see them apply what they just learned through taking a psalm and praying through that was also very cool.

If you missed Experience God, don't worry. We still have two left. And they are already planned. :)

much Love,
johnny

A heart breaking weekend...

Last weekend was a nation wide 30 hour famine. Our church partnered with other churches in the area to raise money for World Vision, and raise our awareness to how hard some people have it in the world.

We raised our awareness in many different ways, but keeping the focus on kids in developing countries. We did this through fasting for 30 hours. This was the obvious hard part, but every hunger pang that we felt was an opportunity to remember what children go through everyday, thus giving us a reminder to pray for them.

We had activities throughout the weekend to keep us focused. We watched a documentary called "invisable children" to give us a glimpse of what life is like for children in Sudan. We set up a "fam cam" in a cardboard booth to share with each other through video about what we are learning and how it will affect our lives. We wrote prayers and scripture on pieces of cardboard to put in our rooms to remind us of the kids.





And that night (friday) we built a cardboard city and slept in the "shacks" to give us a glimpse of sleeping with out a proper shelter.



After tearing down our box city the next morning, we all built 300 little crosses out of popsicle sticks. We spent some time in prayer, and then pushed our crosses into the dirt. After looking at all of them for a moment we learned that in the 15 minutes it took for us build 300 crosses and push them in the ground, 300 children had died. A cross for each child...



We spent all of Saturday doing service projects...on an empty stomach. We helped move the NW Furniture Bank into a new warehouse, then split off half way through the day to help eldery people with yard work.





We finally made it back to Chapel Hill to break our fast with Communion and dinner.

We are still raising money, so I will let you know the totals that come in. I can tell you this though...I am so proud of all the kids at Believers who came out to show that they care about more than just themselves.

much Love,
Johnny

Chaotic Joy

Last night we had another night of looking into Philippians to find a chaotic joy in our life.

It
was
a
hard
night.

What made it hard you ask? I wish you could have been there. The passage in Philippians was 3:12-14.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

This is an innocent sounding paragraph. But the great thing about the Word of God is that it is simple to understand, but has so many applications!

When Paul says our goal is to press on, he gives two ingredients to do that.

Step One: Forget the past
Step Two: Strain forward toward the goal

Sounds simple. But in order to "forget the past," we have to deal with it. This, just, got, hard.

Dealing with our past can be hard. We all struggle with confidence, depression, the way we look, anxiety. That can be hard, and when you throw in the stuff that we have been through personally (addictions, cutting, abuse, suicidal thoughts, divorce, loss of family) it can be very hard to deal with that.

Our small groups last night started that process! I have heard great things (don't worry, no details) about how open a lot of people were about their past and how they need to deal with it.

The reason we need to work through step one (deal with the past) is because it can hinder step two (grow in God). So many times we feel that we are not becoming more like Christ because we are still hurting about our past.

Guess what? We have an amazing God who is the Remedy for broken-ness, pain, hurt, loss, (insert your past situation here).

When are you going to forget the past? What steps have you taken to deal with the past? What is keeping you from forgetting the past?

much Love,
johnny

p.s.- I am still trying to forget this part of my past!

Sunday ReCap

It has been a great Easter/Spring Break/vacation for Brooke and me (johnny), which is why I haven't blogged much. But I am back in full swing, we are back on our regularly scheduled programs (wed/sun meetings) and are working hard to finish the series we started a long time ago!

So, in our Crosstalk Sunday school we are in the midst of our "Bible Jesus Read" series, where we are looking at the Old Testament book by book. Last Sunday we were in the book of Job, where we over viewed the whole book, looked at what the main point was, and then asked what the heck we can learn from a book thousands of years old. There was much fun had by all.

The book of Job is poetry. We lumped it in with our "wisdom" literature section where we have looked at the Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclessiastes. Job is a great book. The first couple chapters set up the heartbreak and questioning of God. Because of what happens to him (Job) he starts to as the tough questions in life; Why do bad things happen? Why did you do this to me God?

We jumped over a lot of the dialogue between him and his friends (pretty much the bulk of it) and skipped to the end. This is where God speaks for himself and answers Job (a pretty gracious act in itself) and we see why God is doing it. Actually, we see in God's answer that He is God, and we are not.

Essentially what we learned on Sunday is that we need to remember what it is like to fear the Lord. The main question we can ask ourselves is this: HOW DO I HUMBLE MY SELF BEFORE THE LORD?

We discussed this, and we asked another question: DID JESUS COMING TO EARTH MAKE US FEAR GOD LESS?

I think it did a little. What are your thoughts? And how do we humble ourselves before the almighty God?

much Love,
johnny

Vancouver Mission Trip

This week we got back from the first Middle School Mission Trip. This was so exciting and there is so much to share but I decided that I would just talk about one or two things that stood out to me this week.

The first one was how amazing our teenagers did when it came to talking with complete strangers about life. If I'm honest the first day scared me and I did not know what we were going to do because all the kids were in shock after the first day. It was almost like the forgot how to talk to people but, as they did it more and more it became more natural. By the second day transformation had taken place. They were talking to people at the Chiliwagon all by themselves and were getting to know more about their stories and what life was like for them. It was amazing for me as a youth pastor to see all of these things that we have been talking about actually happen. It seems like everything that we have been talking about in Transit was starting to take place. These kids were starting to live out the very words of Christ right before my eyes.

That led me to the next thing that I learned. I learned that these kids are hungry for more. They want to know more about Christ and they want to live out what he says and I have to help them to see that. These students were hit with a lot of hard issues but I think that they walked away being more hopeful of what they can do instead of bogged down with what they can't do. One student said it best when she said, "We could have done nothing and could have steered away from these conversations but I'm glad that we didn't and now I know and now I have to do something about it." This is some of the incredible things that these kids have learned this past week.

I'm excited for what is next. What God has in store for these kids but, I'm leaving it up to God to show me that at the proper time instead of trying to do it myself. So, my prayer to God is that he will break all of our hearts for the things that break his.

Peace,
Scott

Today I went...

Today I went skim boarding, boogie boarding, In and Out, studied the Trinity on the Beach, talked about the Creation in the sunshine at picnic table, played beach volleyball, threw a frisbee into the ocean, and worked on my tan!

Yeah, and its only 6pm!

We have more in store for the rest of the week too! We are planning on going to the boardwalk (yeah, from the song), surfing, white water rafting, rock climbing, in and out again, and more studying about God and answering tough questions!

This is the senior trip, and we are having a blast! See you on Sunday!

much Love,
johnny

What a night!

Last night we had a great time at Connections! It was a little different, but I think at the end of the night, we were glad to do what we did.

Some of you that missed it are wondering what we did...well, we affirmed each other. Yeah, and it was great! It was hard for those who were visitors, but we got to know each other and were hopefully able to affirm those visitors with some encouraging words.

Thanks everyone who make connections a welcoming place to bring your friends. I think you all are great, I really do.

much Love,
johnny

Come to Connections tomorrow!

Tomorrow is a "normally scheduled" connections, which means we won't be "chill" in small groups or separating guys and girls to do guy stuff and girl stuff. It means that we will be back to dinner at 6:30, upstairs for worship, message from the Word of life, and then into normal small groups to talk about what the heck Johnny just said and how does it apply to real life. Sound fun? You betcha.

Tomorrow is Chaotic Joy through Philippians. We are talking on Phil. 2:12-18. Check it out...

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..

How cool is that? I can't wait to share with you about what relationship with God looks like, and how because of that (right relationship with God) we then have the opportunity to shine like stars in the universe to this generation!

Here is a cool video about just that.

much Love,
johnny

Sunday's Challenge, revisited

In Sunday School a few weeks ago we talked about David and his biggest fall (2 Samuel 11 and 12). We saw how he repented from his sin and sought God's forgiveness. Some of you took me up on the challenge of writing your own psalm of repentance, in view of David's psalm 51.

Well, today we looked at the book of Psalms at a glance. The p in psalms is psilent by the way. We saw today the different kinds of psalms (lament, rejoice, wisdom, messianic, trust) and how they can enrich our prayer life incredibly! Today there is another challenge out there. After hearing the couple of people's psalms of repentance, some of you want to write your own psalm! But it can be any genre, joyful, trusting, repentance, crying out to him. Anything at all.

To write your own psalm and post in anonymously, go down to the comment section just below this post. Click on the comments, write your comment, "verify" the word they ask you to (to ensure that you are not a robot), and post your psalm. It is a great encouragement to us all!

much Love,
johnny

Girls Mystery...revealed!

Hey all! This past weekend was a busy one for the ministry! There was a middle school 30 hour famine, there was a guys retreat, and a girls retreat!

I will recap the guys weekend for you tomorrow, but today I want to share with you what the girls did, through the lenses of a leader. Courtney Danielson was on the mystery retreat, and here is a reCap!

From Court,

This weekend, many of the girls from our church's high school group went away for a spiritual retreat. I was blessed enough to be a leader on this weekend away, and even more blessed to be able to teach a bit on the theme: lavishing love. For those of you who weren't able to make it, and for those of you who were there but would like a refresher, here is a recap.

On the first night, I introduced the idea of God lavishing His love on us. We focused on the weekend's key verse, 1 John 3:1 - How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...etc.

I discussed how difficult it can be for many of us to understand and accept God's love for us. Hoping in God's love often seems like the biggest risk anyone can take, especially if our personal experiences with an earthly father figure have been disappointing and hurtful. But His love for us is true and good. We can count on it. We are His children and He loves us. I finished by asking the girls to spend the weekend loving on one another as an expression of God's love for them.

In the morning, Alison did a devo on loving one another and the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in us through our actions - the way we treat one another. If we possess the fruits, we will treat one another with love. She made a point that love is the first and foremost fruit of the Spirit. Without it, we cannot obtain the other fruits. So we must seek the love of God.

That evening, Kelly took us through the book of 1 John. She did an incredible job first showing us how to study our bibles, then opening our eyes to what 1 John says about God and us. She discussed God's faithfulness and forgiveness. She discussed what God says about sin and led us through a process of recognizing and confessing our own sins. The evening was powerful as God stirred the hearts of many.

On Sunday morning, I gave the final talk on how to apply what we've learned to our lives. I discussed the effect we have on one another. A few of the girls shared how being encouraged by one another over the weekend, as I asked them to do on Friday night, made them feel unified and loved. I shared how when we have healthy human relationships we experience the fullness of life.

We looked at 1 John 4:11-12, which discusses how God first loved us, and that is how we love another. But if we do not first receive God's love, we cannot love one another. There is this mysterious parallel between the amount of love we receive from God and the amount of love we are able to pour out on others.

We also discussed the definition of love - that it is not a feeling, but an action. Brad Henning, a speaker on sex and relationships, defines love as choosing the highest good (or the best) for the person receiving the love. That could be others, or that could be ourselves. Love is an action - a choice. If you say you love me, I want to see it in your actions. If you say you love God, I want to see it by the way you live your life.

I challenged the girls to decide what priority they want to have in their life. God or themselves. I asked them how their relationship with God is: what are they holding out from God? When we allow God to remove sins and stains in our lives, we are able to receive and give more of His love. When we refuse His work in us, we are keeping ourselves from experiencing once again the fullness of life.

To receive God's love, we need to spend time with Him, soak in His Spirit, pray often, listen to what He has to say to us, and read the Word often for it gives life. It often seems hard, but as we challenge ourselves to persevere, we find that we start to crave the scriptures.

Receive God's love. Then go out and pour it on others.

sounds like quite the weekend! They certainly did a great deal of studying, and I know they had a lot of fun doing girl stuff (shopping, hot tubbing, singing songs around a campfire, etc., etc., etc.!)

Thank you to all the leaders who invested in the girls this weekend! They are Alison Patterson, Courtney Danielson, Shannon Means, Dana McClain, and Kelly DeMoss. Brooke Pearson also went and worked very hard to coordinate all of the mysterious and fun things they partook on. I have heard a lot of great things from the weekend already, great job ladies!

This ministry would be nothing without the people God uses. Please keep praying for the leaders!


much Love,
johnny

Connections tonight!

Tonight we continue our study in Philippians and look at how to have joy in living...regardless! Regardless of suffering, persecutions, slander, gossip, unjustice, lying, and all the like that comes with all of that!

I am truly having to practice what I preach when it comes to having joy in all things. It really comes down to us defining joy. Come out tonight to hear how the Bible defines it, and how we can have it...even in a chaotic world/life/school/home/schedule.

Come hungry and ready to worship the LORD as well as discuss some heavy topics in your small group. After all this suffering discussion we need a chill night soon. Don't worry, we have one on the calendar in March!

See you tonight at 6:30!

much Love,
johnny

Come Experience God!

Don't forget, tomorrow is "Experience God" Sunday! This Sunday we will experience God in a fresh way...through serving. Many have already volunteered for the nursery and childrens' sunday school classes, but we have many more spots to be filled in our service sunday!

So see you all tomorrow at the second service to experience God!

much Love,
johnny

Connections tonight!

We are back to a "normal" connections after a couple of love weeks. Remember two weeks ago was Brad Henning, then last week we had "love life." We are back in the book of Philippians tonight! I can't tell you how excited I am, we are talking about having a joy in this chaotic life. Tonight we are talking about joy in suffering.


I know that sounds odd, but really, it is possible! Come tonight to look at Paul's example of how he had joy in suffering. If you want to read ahead, read Phil. 1:12-18.

See you tonight for dinner, worship, bible, and small groups. All starting at 6:30!

much Love,
johnny