The God of All Comfort
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort…” (2 Cor. 1:3 NAS)
On Thursday nights, I go hang out at my dad’s church. They have a Thursday night young adult service with worship led by a rotating group of mostly Biola students. Every once in a while, I’ll lead, but usually I get to be a part of the congregation and worship. A few weeks ago, I had an awesome experience, not because of the music or the skill of the band, but because the Holy Spirit impressed something on my heart that I thought I’d share with all of you.
I’m a strong person, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Don’t be fooled – I keep my muscles (or as I refer to them “guns”) under a protective layer of flab for your safety and mine. I’m the Chuck Norris of non-violent, non-athletic, non-aggressive, creative-pastor-types. I, like a Timex, can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. That’s a good thing, usually. I’m not a fragile person. I don’t need to be babied or coddled. I’m okay.
But the last few weeks have been…difficult, and for a myriad of reasons, none of which are really important here. Anyway, we sang a song I was unfamiliar with. I don’t even remember the name. All I remember is that it talked about God’s comfort. And it occurred to me that His comfort is something I rarely allow myself to experience. I guess I think I’m too spiritually “grown” to need the comfort of my Daddy. But He wants to comfort me and reassure me of His love and presence. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort…” That word “comfort” in the Greek is translated as paraklesis. Some of the translations for paraklesis are “exhortation, admonition, encouragement, consolation, comfort, solace, and that which affords comfort or refreshing.” It has the same root as the word for the Holy Spirit, known in the Greek as the parakleto (One who comes alongside).
As Christians, we are promised that the Holy Spirit will come alongside us. He will not only “convict as to sin and righteousness” (John 16:8), but He will also “intercede for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). He is there to be our Comforter and the Refresher of our souls. How much blessing have I missed because I’ve been too self-reliant? I know that I miss out on God’s comfort all the time because I think I shouldn’t need it. Somewhere I got the idea that I had to be the strong one. But you know what? “He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (2 Cor. 12:9 NAS)
We sang another song that night called “God is Able”.
God is with us
God is on our side
He will make a way
Far above all we know
Far above all we hope
He has done great things
“Far above all we hope.” One line in a song, and I was done. God’s comforting presence wrapped around me, and I experienced the reassurance that came from knowing He had seen. Even though I’ve been a brat this week – cranky and irritable and probably unlovable, He loves me anyway. He loves me enough to remind me that He is with me, my “ever-present help in time of trouble.” (Ps. 46:1)
Don’t make my mistake. Don’t mistake strength for maturity. I think, perhaps, that maturity means acknowledging our weaknesses rather than pretending they don’t exist. Embrace His comfort as a necessary and wonderful benefit of this relationship we have with Him.
Africa 2011: Updates
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Thursday, August 11, 2011 12:45 pm
Day 15
NO!!! THE DAY WE HAVE NOT BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO…GOING HOME! Not that we aren’t excited to see friends and family but, we don’t want to leave our family here. we packed everything up on the bus so we could leave right from the camp to the airport, and headed over to the camp for a few hours this morning. We were able to hang out with the kids and love on them one last time before heading home. We were able to serve them their snack, take some pictures, and say our “good-byes” (I don’t know if there was a dry eye at this point). The bus ride to the airport was very quite…alot of thinking about the trip. On the way to the airport, made one last stop to pick up some Kenya tea and snacks for the trip home. See you soon, and thank you for praying and encouraging us. We appreciate you.
See you soon…Love,
Your Africa Team
1 Thessalonians 2:8
“…Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
Thursday, August 11, 2011 12:29 pm
Day 14
We wanted to get an early start this morning…so we ate breakfast at 7:30 and headed over to the TUBE…today we continued to help with updating the childrens files and taking photo, as well as decorating their backpacks (which by the way, the backpacks worked out better than we had hoped!!) and making cards for all their sponsors. Cindy, Olivia, Genesis finished painting the girls toenails and fingernails (mani-pedi’s). All the girls felt so special. We were able to serve them their tea and bread and break time again. It was a great day…but even a greater night. So many times what happens is, we will be sitting in among the kids during a meeting, and the speaker will look at me and say, “Now we will have Pastor Mike and his group come up and greet you.” He did that again tonight, but this time he said, “Share a song with us…or 3 songs, and share something with us.” Funny, it always happens, but it seems to always catch us off guard. So, we sang and did the hand motions to, “Every Move I Make” and “Father Abraham”. Then each of us had an opportunity to share from our heart and tell the kids how much we love them. Kenya has really had a positive affect on everyone on the team. When we got back to the hotel and had a chance to share with each other about the time here and then heard from Rose, Stanley and Paul…they are all very encouraging. Stanley said that, by far, we were to most energetic group they had ever had come. He said, “Most groups, at about 4 or 5, are ready to come back to the hotel and call it a day. But you guys, we have to pull you away and make you come home. It is so great, you have had such a huge impact on these kids. It is great how you have integrated into the community. You are not a group here from America, you are part of this city.” Yes! That is what we wanted so badly, to be a part of what was going on, not to be the focus. It has been a great day and we are feeling the sadness of leaving our family here in Kenya tomorrow.
Love,
Your Africa Team
Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Theme verse for the Camp)
Thursday, August 11, 2011 12:13 pm
Day 13
THE FIRST DAY OF CAMP!!! EVERYONE IS EXCITED!!! There is anticipation in the air…but first, breakfast (obviously…heaven forbid we go without a meal!) Our duties at the camp include helping with updating all of the information on the children for the ministry and the sponsors, sitting with the classes as the teachers teach, and assisting with teaching in some of those classes, and of course…PLAYING WITH THE KIDS!!! The comment kept being made, “there is no way you could explain this to someone.” That is what it is, unexplainable. To have 30 to 40 (or more) kids around you just wanting to be with you, hold your hand, touch you, or mimic everything you do…Talking with the leader of the camp, we talked about when we leave everyday and how they have to pull the kids away from us…he simply said, “It is a demonstration of love that is incredible to see.” The kids have a love for us that is unwavering and unconditional.
Cindy, Genesis, Olivia, and Sarah painted the fingernails and toenails of every high schooler (form 1 and form 2) at the camp…Jackie helped them make jewelry, and helped them pick out purses and flowers for their hair (thanks Theresa and Celina). We were able to give them toys and serve them lunch and dinner. Oh, and of course, PLAYED WITH THE KIDS!!! It was just another amazing day!!
Love,
Your Africa Team
Matthew 19:14
“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 8:00 am
Day 12
Got up this morning ready for a day or worship…it is going to be awesome! It is amazing how welcoming and loving the church is here, it is a reminder of home. Derek sang with the worship leader and…NAILED IT!! He did a great job and the people really appreciated the fact he learned Swahili. They all cheered when he finished. Mike preached on the “aroma of Christ” and what that means. At the end of the service he had people come up for prayer and the elders were more than happy to pray over their congregation. One of the greatest sights was to watch the children dance. At the closing of the service the children come in and dance and sing to a song…AND THEY CAN DANCE! The most amazing thing is to watch our group interact with everyone. There is a true demonstration of love for people they have known for only a short time. The youth had a “fun day” and had a bar-b-que and played games…kinda like we do from time to time. Teenagers are pretty much the same everywhere. Then we left there and went to where the TUBE is…we pulled in to the school and over a hundred smiling faces were there to greet us. Then is began…the fun, the yelling, the running…YAY! We had so much fun. Kaleb actually looked and me and said, “I never want to leave.” Then is was back to the hotel and dinner and sleep…we are so ready for tomorrow.
Love,
Your Africa Team
Psalm 96:9
“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.”
Monday, August 8, 2011 2:14 pm
Day 11
We have to drop off Nally today at the airport…she is coming back earlier than us…we will really miss her, she has brought a great element to the team.
FUN IN NAIROBI!!! The pastor of the church here in Masii decided to take us to town and show us some sights…wow! something different sure happened. We saw some elephants and monkeys at an animal rescue, but the traffic was insane so we spent much of our time just looking at the city through the windows of the bus. Towards the end, we were able to get out, get something to eat and walk around a little. Bought a few more souvenirs, got back on the bus and headed for home. We really miss Nally already. Different, but great day nonetheless…just being together, laughing and having a great time!
Love,
Your Africa Team
p.s. Tomorrow Mike is preaching at the church here…and Derek is singing a song with their worship leader…IN SWAHILI! Pray for them!!! Thanks
Monday, August 8, 2011 2:00 pm
Day 10
Last of the home visits…what an amazing opportunity to share Jesus with those we are visiting. Jackie T. adopted a little one and we were able to see him, bring him food, and pray with him and his grandmother. Jackie was really excited to be able to see her newly adopted son…the Trout family just grew by 1. Praise God!!! Today was also our 2nd (and last) day to help with the building of the house. It was amazing to show up and see so much more work had been done (good job Richard), but we were able to help put on the roof and do some “finish” masonry work. We also helped put the glass in the windows and filled some of the holes (on the side of the house) with cement. And of course, using cement meant we needed to bring water up from the “dry” riverbed about 200 yards away. Carrying two 5-gallon buckets 200 yards uphill (sound like something my grandpa would say) is pretty strenuous. Anyway, it was an awesome day and it is so cool to see God accomplish things through a bunch of teenagers…everyone has worked really hard and the woman we are building the house for said, “I didn’t think Americans worked this hard!”, it seems we might not have such a good reputation…be we are breaking that stereotype…GOOD JOB TEAM!
Tomorrow we are taking a little break and getting a tour of Nairobi…maybe see some elephants or something like that…just soak in some “local color”.
Love,
Your Africa Team
Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Friday, August 5, 2011 4:13pm
Day 9
Waking up and excited to see what God will do today! On the schedule is more home visits and then dinner at Benjamins house (Benajmin is a great friend and now we are family). First, a visit to the market to see all the local trade happening. Animals and anything else you can think of being sold. Awesome people following and laughing at the “Mazungus” (white people)…fun times! The home visits are such a blessing to US (we pray that the ones we are visiting are half as blessed as we are)! We were able to pray for the Grandmother of one of the boys we visited (Gabriel). She is legally blind because she had been taking medicine for HIV without eating right. This caused her to, basically, lose her sight. Our group was allowed to lay hands on her and pray for her sight to be restored. What happened? She was so blessed and began to cry and told us that we were such a blessing to her and that her faith in Jesus was so strengthened by the act of our praying. God is so GREAT!! After a few more home visits, on to Benjamins house. We were so welcomed (and fed really well). After dinner, the children of the family sang for us…AMAZING! Another GREAT day!!!
1 Corinthians 12:12
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”
Friday, August 5, 2011 12:27 pm
Day 7
What an awesome day (seems like we say that alot)!! Everyone worked really hard. We split up into 2 teams and headed off to do two different projects. One worked on a greenhouse and one worked on the construction of a house for a family supported by a family in our church.
The Greenhouse team had to “mine” the sand and the gravel from the river bed. They had to pick up the rocks one at a time from what they had dug up. Then they had to carry what they had gathered up a hill about 100 yards. Then the post holes for the greenhouse in dirt that might as well have been rock (really hard). Then we mixed about a 10 wheel barrow loads of cement to support the posts in the holes. Made a “bucket-brigade” to pass the cement to fill the holes for the supports. We also dug a trench around the entire greenhouse to hold the fabric from being blown away. We will be returning tomorrow to assemble the structure so the fabric can be pulled over.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 1:31 pm
Day 6
This morning we went on a tour of the “dorms” that Tumaini is in the process of building. God is so good and it is incredible to see how He is using this ministry. After the tour we went on “home visits” today. We visited 6 children and their families, and brought 3 months worth of food, your gifts, and played games with the children. All the “home visits” that we do are children that are supported through sponsors at Valley Christian Church. Tumaini International is an amazing ministry that ministers to children that really need help. If you are a sponsor, you need to know that you are a blessing, not only to your child, but to the family that has to care for that particular child. Every child knows their sponsor and is so thankful for them. This is a very humbling thing to be able to go into peoples homes and see how they live, here their stories, and bring the love of Jesus. They have so little monitarily, but the have so much hope in Jesus…it is amazing!
We also visited a sewing shop that Tumaini has started with women in the community… women who are HIV positive. They have received training, equipment, and a store front and are now a self sustaining business. They make school uniforms, dresses, shirts and anything else you can think of, including….dashikis!! (if you don’t know what a dashiki is…it’s the shirts we are wearing)
Everyone is doing great…and allowing God to use us anyway He chooses!
Love,
Your Africa Team
1 Peter 4:11
“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen”
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 1:07pm (2 Days worth of updates! Scroll down to read Day 4)
DAY 5
Good Morning to our family back home…
So great to wake up in Masii…this is a peaceful place. The people here are so kind and we are so thankful to be here. Rose (our hostess) says, “Africans smile with thier hearts.” that is so true! We went to Masii Christian Church today and were so blessed to worship with our brothers and sisters here. The worship is awesome and the people love Jesus. After the service we were involved with dedicating the green house. We had the people of the church lay hands on the materials and then prayed over the building and the use of it and asked for God’s blessing. In the afternoon we went to the Youth Meeting, played a really fun game that broke down all of the “awkward” walls between us and we had blast. Then we studied God’s word together and had a great discussion on TRUTH! Thank you for your prayers. God is really moving in our hearts and in the people here.
Love,
Your Africa Team
Romans 12:10
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
DAY 4
WOW! What another incredible day!! It just seems like the next day is better than the day before! God is so good and he is showing himself to your group of missionaries in incredible ways. We woke up today “hitting the ground running.” Before breakfast we packed up our stuff and got ready to head out to Masii. But first, COMMUNITY TRANSFORMERS (or CT). CT is a group that ministers to the needs of people living in the slums of Methari (800,000 people in a 3×5 mile area). The ministry started with 3 guys that lived and grew up in the slums. As they grew older that became aware of the challenges they faced everyday of their life. Going to school, medical attention, or even eating could pose real and, sometimes, life-threatening issues. They realized that they could either be, “part of the problem or part of the solution”. They decided to be part of the solution. One problem, they had no idea what that meant for them but, what they did know, God was calling them to do this. They had no financial backing…no backing of any kind, but they could read. They began to teach people in their community to read…they started with 5 students. Today CT has their own building (headquarters), and internet cafe, a medical office, regular offices, interns, and they are in the process of building a children’s center. WOW!! We were able to break up into groups and do home visits, visiting people that have been directly affected by HIV…mothers with HIV with children with the same…sitting and listening to their stories was heartbreaking but very encouraging at the same time. Heartbreaking because of the crazy life situation these people are in…encouraging when you see and hear how much they love Jesus and that He is the reason they have strength to continue on and not give up. There is such a “stigma” when you have a disease…so when teams come in for a home visit, the people you are visiting are so happy and excited to have you there with them. We all came back together and were able to share our feelings and experiences…I think it had an real and incredible impact on our team. We said our tearful “good-byes” (2 years is too long), loaded up on the bus and headed out for Masii….but first, a stop to do some shopping.
We were able to stop and pick up some gifts and souvenirs, have lunch in downtown Nairobi and share in some awesome fellowship with each other.
Heading out for Masii and an incredible view of the scenery and….gazelles, monkeys, zebras, and giraffes…everyone decided that WE LOVE AFRICA!!!
We arrived in Masii, moved into our rooms, and started to prepare for the upcoming day. Thank you for praying and we would ask that you would continue to life your team up in prayer and ask that God would continue to break down spiritual, cultural, and emotional walls in our lives and that the love of Jesus would flow through us to everyone we come in contact with. GOD IS GOOD…ALL THE TIME…AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD…IT IS HIS NATURE!!!!
Love,
Your Africa Team
Psalm 126:3
“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”
Friday, July 29, 2011 10:11pm:
Day 3
Another incredible day that started out with prayer, a great breakfast and then a trip to the currency exchange office. Everyone got what they needed and we headed off to the WEEP Center in the Kibari slum. We arrived and were able to buy some incredible souvenirs made by the women at the WEEP center. Then the singing started…and then the dancing!! What incredible testimonies these women have…some being left for dead and being rescued by the loving hands of Jesus and brought into this incredible place that nursed them back to life, taught them a trade, and helped them with their everyday needs (rent, food, etc.). They fed us an incredible lunch and we found out later that we gave them the money to buy the food we were eating and because of that our team, (and more importantly) all of the ladies were able to eat and eat well. This is a big deal because there is a food shortage and most of these women, being moms, will give what little food they have to their children and not eat themselves. So they were able to eat. Thank you Jesus!!! Then more fellowship, playing with the kids, handing out candy and demonstrating Christ’s love to these incredible ladies. Said our “goodbyes”, loaded up on the bus and headed back to HEART for a bar-b-que. What an incredible day! Ended the night with a discussion about the book we will be going through on the trip.
Thank you again for all your support and prayers.
Please continue to pray for us…
Love,
Your Africa Team
“Worship the LORD , with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2
Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:08pm:
KENYA 2011
Day 1-2
Today started early…everyone met at the Hoverson’s @ 5:15 am (is there such a time?)…and no one was late!
OFF TO THE AIRPORT! We arrived at LAX at 7:30 and prepared to board the first leg of our flight at 9:45. 1st
stop…Dubai. We were in the air for almost 15 hours this gave everyone alot of time to watch movies, sleep
and eat way to much airplane food (although it was really good). We arrived in Dubai and had about a 2 hour
layover and then boarded the plane for the final leg of our journey…Nairobi Airport! Landed and the butterflies
began working overtime…everyone was excited! Exited the plane and, at that moment, realized all the hard work,
fundraising, bake sales, change collection, yard sales…and everything else that went into raising the funds
for this trip was worth it. As we waited in line for our visas then collected our bags (all 26 of them), the
call to serve was welling up inside of all of us. A different attitude came over the group. It seemed everyone
began to think of the other person before they worried about themselves…YES!!! Our welcoming committee consisted of Stanley, Rose and our good friend Paul. Tears of joy were shed seeing friends and realizing that we were right where God wanted us to be. Our first night (which is tonight), was spent in a really nice place called
Katrina. The rooms are very nice and we will be able to get a really good nights sleep that will prepare us for
tomorrow. But wait, we had to eat some more…they prepared an awesome dinner for us that we couldn’t say “no” to. So, we ate again and now we are headed off to bed. We are looking forward to seeing the women at the “WEEP” Centers tomorrow. “God use us anyway you want to!! -Amen”
Love you all,
Your Africa Team
p.s. Please pray that we will bring the “Aroma” of Christ with us!!!
“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
2 Corinthians 2:15
Wednesday, July 27,2011 12:15pm:
Our Africa Team is in the Air! They left Chino at 5:30 this morning and headed off to LAX. Their flight left about 9:54AM and will be arriving in Dubai on Thursday at 12:40 PM (They lose a day going to Africa and gain a day coming home.) Here are a few pictures:
Checking In
Preparing to Board
In-Flight Entertainment
That’s all for now! Keep them wrapped up in your prayers. #PrayForAfrica2011
Healing Prayer
This morning, I was challenged, in the wake of so many people we know who have been in the hospital or faced surgeries this week, to heed the following advice. It is one of 172 questions and answers from the new book, Max on Life, by Max Lucado.
After you read this, I’d love to hear what you think. Drop me a line! Blessings to you!
Mike
QUESTION #67: “In my med-school class we discussed the place of prayer in the hospital. As you can imagine, we heard strong opinions on both sides. What are your thoughts? What is the purpose of healing prayer?”
We tend toward one of two extremes on this subject: fanaticism or cynicism. Fanatics see the healing of the body as the aim of God and the measure of faith. Cynics consider any connection between prayer and healing as coincidental at best and misleading at worst. A fanatic might seek prayer at the exclusion of medicine; a cynic might seek medicine at the exclusion of prayer.
A healthy balance can be found. The physician is the friend of God. Prayer is the friend of the physician.
The example of Jesus is important.
Great crowds came to Jesus, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, those who could not speak, and many others. They put them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. The crowd was amazed when they saw that people who could not speak before were now able to speak. The crippled were made strong. The lame could walk, and the blind could see. And they praised the God of Israel for this. (Matt. 15:30–31 NCV)
What did the people do with the sick? They put them at Jesus’ feet. This is the purpose of praying for the ill. We place the sick at the feet of the Physician and request his touch.
This passage also gives us the result of healing prayer. “They praised the God of Israel for this.” The ultimate aim of healing is not just a healthy body but a greater kingdom. If God’s aim is to grant perfect health to all his children, he has failed, because no one enjoys perfect health, and everyone dies. But if God’s aim is to expand the boundaries of his kingdom, then he has succeeded. For every time he heals, a thousand sermons are preached.
Speaking of sermons, did you notice what is missing from this text? Preaching. Jesus stayed with these four thousand people for three days and, as far as we know, never preached a sermon. Not one time did he say, “May I have your attention?” But thousands of times he asked, “May I help you?” What compassion he had for them. Can you imagine the line of people? On crutches, wearing blindfolds, carried by friends, cradled by parents. For seventy-two hours Jesus stared into face after hurting face, and then he said, “I feel sorry for these people” (v. 32 NCV). The inexhaustible compassion of Jesus. Mark it down. Pain on earth causes pain in heaven. And he will stand and receive the ill as long as the ill come in faith to him.
And he will do what is right every time. “God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them” (Luke 18:7 NCV).
Healing prayer begs God to do what is right. My friend Dennis, a chaplain, offers this prayer over patients: “God, would you put on the surgical gloves first?”
I like that.
Blokey Bloke Worship
Guys are awesome.
Earth-shattering, I know. You mean a girl likes guys? Who would’ve thought? Seriously, though, I love the males of the species. Bodily-function humor cracks me up. I love baseball games and hockey games. I love seeing guys mess with each other. I love when men are allowed to be men, because when men are manly, women benefit.
The beautiful differences in gender are constantly under attack. Men are told they’re too macho and that they need to embrace their feminine side, that they need to “care more” and “listen” and “manscape”. Women are told that our innate femininity is too much for men to handle, that the beauty we already possess isn’t enough unless we’re half-naked, super-skinny sex objects.
Enough!
Dan Pierce, the author of the site Single Dad Laughing, has two great posts on men and women and how each creates a culture of worthlessness in the other. Please read these posts. On behalf of your sons and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, read these posts. For someone who’s not a believer (that I know of), he says some pretty Biblical things about men and women. You’ll find the posts here and here. Be aware that these posts contain some strong language. (Hat tip to my friend Cari for the links)
But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about men and church.
But what I have to say about men and church can’t be said without stating this: God wants men to be men and women to be women. He created us to have identities that are independent of the other. He created us with unique gender traits that are important to understand. “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.” -Gen 1:27 (NLT) He created us as male and female to uniquely portray specific aspects of His character. It’s only when we embrace masculinity and femininity that we begin to get a clear, unadulterated picture of the nature of God.
It would be easy to put the blame for this on the secular world. After all, they’re the ones that promote push-up bras for 7-year-old girls. They’re the ones who broadcast all these makeover shows. But let’s be honest, Church, we’re just as bad. We promote a culture of femininity in our churches. We sing songs with words like, “I’m desperate for you” or “You have my heart and I am yours forever.” No guy I know says that, unless they’re singing in church. As a female worship leader, I feel this disparity in the Church very strongly. I know that, as a woman, my tendency is going to be to sing girly songs. After all, that’s what speaks to me. Those lyrics I quoted? We’ve sung them both in the last month.
Matt Redman, the writer of “Blessed Be Your Name” and a bunch of other church standards, is male and British and awesome. He talked about this several years ago:
The thought occurs to me, that if Matt Redman, who wrote the words: “I’m coming back to the heart of worship and it’s all about You, Jesus,” says we have a problem in the church with romanticizing our lyrics, then we probably do. For me, the solution is not to do away with those songs entirely. After all, we have women in the church who need to have their femininity embraced as much as the blokes need to have their masculinity championed. To me, the solution seems to be that we need strongly theological songs. Songs that speak of the Gospel. Songs that highlight the raw power and majesty of God. Songs that boldly proclaim the audacity of Jesus’s sheer authoritative strength. He was not a wallflower. He was a counter-culture, muscle-y carpenter (not a lot of power tools in 1st century Judea) with a message and a mission that turned an entire world on its head. Jesus was macho. He was more John Cena than John Denver.
Women, trust me on this. When we relinquish our hold on the Church, our men will be better for it. And when we have strong men, we will have strong families. When we have strong families, we will have strong future generations. When we have strong future generations, we will have a strong, vibrant, relevant Church.
And so, Church, let’s champion our men. Let’s make our churches appealing to blokey blokes who don’t want to sit in a circle, hold hands, and sing “Kumbaya”. Your women will thank you.
(For more on the subject, check out: How Women Help Men Find God by David Murrow.)
What do you guys think? If you had to categorize “The Church” as either masculine or feminine, which would it be? How can we make Valley more appealing to the male people?
2011 Valley Christian Church Directory
All the photos for our directory have been taken and now the fun work of putting our 2011 directory together begins!
To view and/or purchase your family photo, click here. (Please note, this link will take you to a third-party website. Valley Christian Church makes no representations as to the content of this site.)
The AWANA Grand Prix
Tonight’s AWANA Grand Prix was a GRAND event! Check out some photos from our Friday night at the races.
Oh Glorious Day!
I have a soft spot in my heart for hymns. As a music minister’s kid, I grew up on all kinds of church music (and quite a bit of Barry Manilow and ELO), so this new trend of taking the lyrics from hymns and re-arranging them to new melodies is right up my alley. I think what I love best about the old hymns are the theological content. Pound for pound, I think you get more theology out of the old hymns than you do in much of the new music. That being said, I think that modern worship music creates a relevance and accessibility that is admittedly lacking in the older music.
I guess I don’t much understand the “Worship Wars.” There should be a place in our worship services for all these songs. To lose any of them is to lose an important piece of the church. That’s why I love the reworked hymns so much. They (and “modern hymns” like “In Christ Alone (My Hope is Found)”) are truly the best of both worlds. The video below is a song that’s one of my new favorites. It’s been out for a while, but I just heard it for the first time at a Casting Crowns concert in December. Awesome!
What’s your favorite worship song? Sound off in the comments section below.
It’s Worship Saturday!
***UPDATE*** Download the handouts (including the Ignition Praise Band Handbook) here.******
Hey everyone! Pastor Jess, here.
Just wanted to remind everyone about our worship workshop that’s coming up tomorrow. If you are a youth-type person or know a youth-type person who’s interested in being a part of the Ignition worship team, then this “conference/workshop/seminar/whatchamacallit” is where they need to be. We’re going to be talking about everything from how to play and sing in a band to what worship is really all about.
We’ll be posting some of the conference info here afterwards, so if you’re not able to make the sessions, you’ll be able to get some of the key information anyway.
The event/workshop/conference/seminar/disco party runs from 10am to 2pm tomorrow in The Stronghold. If you have questions, you can email me at pastorjess@valleychristianchurch.org or tweet me @hebessica or @VCCTweets.
Giving What We Don’t Deserve
When did we forget about grace?
Seriously. I want to know. At what point did we, the Body of Christ, forget about God’s amazing grace? Maybe the better question is, when did we decide to hoard it for ourselves?
Jesus told a parable about a man who owed a very large debt to the king. The king ordered that the man and his entire family and all their possessions be sold to pay the debt. At this, the man fell to his knees and pleaded with the king to be patient. So the king took pity on the man, and not only released him, but forgave his entire debt as well. The man, freed of his obligation to the king, immediately went to a man who owed him a small debt and took him by the throat and demanded payment. The man was unable to pay, and though he begged for patience, the first man had him arrested and jailed until he could pay in full. When the king heard this, he was furious and said to the man, “You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” (Matt 18:32-33) Then he had the man thrown into prison until his debt was paid in full.
So often we demand our rights. We are quick to condemn one another for real or perceived slights. We use harsh words and spew bitterness from our mouths, all in the name of self-interest. I read Facebook posts and Tweets everyday that are filled with vitriolic condemnation of friends, family members, strangers, you name it. Most often they come from some of the youngest among us; those who haven’t learned the harsh lessons of life and don’t yet understand their own need for grace. Although frankly, I’m just as guilty of it as anyone else.
Here’s the thing that I (and everyone else) ought to remember: We don’t deserve to be forgiven. The weight of the wrong that we have done in our lives is far greater than that of the good we have done. And no amount of doing good things changes that. Yet God picks us up, and instead of tossing us as far away from His holiness as we can get, He invites us in to His family. He calls us sons and daughters and gives us a share in His inheritance.
Why then, do we refuse to do the same for others?
Listen to me well, particularly Youth of the Church. You have a wonderful opportunity to live lives of grace starting right now. Instead of feeling superior and believing that you know better than everyone else, walk humbly, extend mercy, live in grace.
“No, O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
After telling how the king had the first man thrown into prison for his failure to extend the grace that he had received, Jesus closes his parable with this: “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart.” (Matt 18:35)
Yes, you’ve been wronged. People have treated you dishonestly. People have hurt you. Life is unfair. It’s all true, every last word. But God’s grace is greater than all of it, and it’s available to every single one of us, even those who have perpetrated evil against us. So live in His grace, and extend it to everyone, especially those who don’t deserve it.
