Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tribute
Here’s a tribute a local news station did for my friend Gabe’s son. Take a few minutes and watch it, it's incredible. As I read the title,”A Father Speaks About the Tragic Loss of His Only Son,” I wondered if the author realized the impact of those words. I’m guessing he did given what Gabe had said during the interview. Never has one sentence rocked my world so much. “A Father Speaks About the Tragic Loss of His Only Son” isn’t that the gospel? Isn’t it for my sin that that had to happen? The short answer is yes to both. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better picture of the cost of my sin. It’s heartbreaking that it took such a tragedy to make that apparent, but I’m thankful for the ability in a tiny way to feel that pain. Through that pain the ultimate act of love is made real. I’ve seen first hand the agony in mourning a child’s death. I’ve cried with Gabe while looking at pictures at Deacon. I’ve seen the suffering and now I see the gospel going forward through it. How great is our God that he uses this for his glory? God is good, so good.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Catch up. or is it ketchup?
I think that if I updated my blog more often it would be easier to write entries. I haven’t done too well on that front. My wife told me just to write, so here it is...
The last few months of my life have been totally overwhelming. Here are the major events. Negative first so we can end on a happy note.
About 6 weeks ago we learned that a pastor in regional leadership had been having an affair with his assistant for over a year and that for the last seven months it had become physical. The pastor was wholly unrepentant and abandoned his family and moved in with this woman. This was difficult news to process with our elders and leadership, especially given this pastor’s incredible ability to communicate the gospel. It was sobering to realize that no one is exempt from falling to temptation.
A week after that news a guy in our church threatened the lives of our pastors and others in the congregation. At one point he was standing outside our building cussing at the pastors. This also was difficult to handle given the degree to which the gospel had changed this man’s life. He’s an ex-biker with a violent past who was actually baptized with Jessica and I last summer. It was heartbreaking to see him in such a low place and to have to ask him to leave the church.
The last news is certainly the most devastating. A few weeks ago the two year old son of one of my friends was hit and killed by a car backing out of a driveway. I still really haven’t formulated anyway to explain the sorrow this brought. Even writing this I just don’t know what to say. I think the hardest part was being in England when it happened.
Now for some good news. The men’s conference that I was helping to plan was a huge success with over 500 men hearing the gospel preached. There’s nothing better than a bunch of dudes singing to Jesus. It was encouraging to see so many men who desire to see the gospel change their lives.
That weekend Nick was also appointed the director for our region of Acts 29. This means that he is in charge of coordinating all the churches within a 5 state region. Also, this means that a ton got added to my list of responsibilities which I always enjoy. Seriously. I’m not being sarcastic.
Two weeks after the conference I had the privilege of heading to England to visit our partner church in Leeds led by Gary Aston. The trip was incredible. We flew into London and spent a few days being real touristy before heading to Leeds. Being in Leeds was incredible. We were blessed to spend time in prayer with Gary’s core team. I was totally blown away by their hospitality. It was a privilege to get to know those folks and offer encouragement.
That pretty much catches us up to date. Life is beginning to seem normal again after the frantic pace of the last couple months. I’m trying not to get used to it because I know that things always change. With all that’s happened, good and bad, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else. It’s truly a privilege to be able to do what I do. I look forward to doing it for a bit. I really appreciate everything the six people who read this have done to make this job possible. Thanks a ton.
The last few months of my life have been totally overwhelming. Here are the major events. Negative first so we can end on a happy note.
About 6 weeks ago we learned that a pastor in regional leadership had been having an affair with his assistant for over a year and that for the last seven months it had become physical. The pastor was wholly unrepentant and abandoned his family and moved in with this woman. This was difficult news to process with our elders and leadership, especially given this pastor’s incredible ability to communicate the gospel. It was sobering to realize that no one is exempt from falling to temptation.
A week after that news a guy in our church threatened the lives of our pastors and others in the congregation. At one point he was standing outside our building cussing at the pastors. This also was difficult to handle given the degree to which the gospel had changed this man’s life. He’s an ex-biker with a violent past who was actually baptized with Jessica and I last summer. It was heartbreaking to see him in such a low place and to have to ask him to leave the church.
The last news is certainly the most devastating. A few weeks ago the two year old son of one of my friends was hit and killed by a car backing out of a driveway. I still really haven’t formulated anyway to explain the sorrow this brought. Even writing this I just don’t know what to say. I think the hardest part was being in England when it happened.
Now for some good news. The men’s conference that I was helping to plan was a huge success with over 500 men hearing the gospel preached. There’s nothing better than a bunch of dudes singing to Jesus. It was encouraging to see so many men who desire to see the gospel change their lives.
That weekend Nick was also appointed the director for our region of Acts 29. This means that he is in charge of coordinating all the churches within a 5 state region. Also, this means that a ton got added to my list of responsibilities which I always enjoy. Seriously. I’m not being sarcastic.
Two weeks after the conference I had the privilege of heading to England to visit our partner church in Leeds led by Gary Aston. The trip was incredible. We flew into London and spent a few days being real touristy before heading to Leeds. Being in Leeds was incredible. We were blessed to spend time in prayer with Gary’s core team. I was totally blown away by their hospitality. It was a privilege to get to know those folks and offer encouragement.
That pretty much catches us up to date. Life is beginning to seem normal again after the frantic pace of the last couple months. I’m trying not to get used to it because I know that things always change. With all that’s happened, good and bad, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else. It’s truly a privilege to be able to do what I do. I look forward to doing it for a bit. I really appreciate everything the six people who read this have done to make this job possible. Thanks a ton.
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