spring break - trip to utah

for spring break, i went down to provo, utah with carter, will and jesse to visit ian radford. we had a great time - there is so much i could talk about, but i'll narrow it down to a few points:

-probably my favorite thing was getting to talk with people different than me. going down there was like culture shock - BYU is (not surprisingly) 99% mormon, and mormon culture is different than anything i've ever experienced. i loved getting to talk with ian's friends. it was surprisingly easy to have chances to talk about what we believe. we didn't seen any "conversions" but i was praying earlier, and God reminded me of that verse in corinthians that talks about how paul planted the seed, apollos watered it, and God made it grow. i feel like, by God's grace, we were able to plant some seeds in a few people's lives. we had chances to have good, solid conversations with like 10-15 people down here...and only God can make those seeds grow. so, that was awesome.

- one other cool thing is that although this wasn't a mission trip, but we were able to just live life "on mission." there was little disconnect between the secular and the sacred...its just flowed from one thing to another..praying with each other, sharing the gospel, having fun, talking about serious things, reading scripture, etc. we were able to do these things throughout our trip, and it was absolutely incredible. one of my favorite moments of the trip took place in the car on the way back. we were driving through the gorge, watching the sunset, talking about Jesus, and then we began to pray...then we turned on some united and began to worship with each other - it was such a blessing to get to love Jesus alongside my brothers.

- i will share one conversation that we were all able to have. on sunday night, after attending both a christian and a mormon church and talking with mormons until about 4pm, we went to ian's friend's apartment. there, we ate zimbabwean food (that's where his friend did his 2-year mission) and talked for a bit. after a little while, about 10 of us ended up in a circle talking about mormonism and christianity. we discussed things, going back and forth about the major difference between christianity and mormonism - grace versus works. it was a relaxed, civilized conversation, and i think we were able to bring up a few points that by God's grace may have planted a seed in their lives. driving back home, all 5 of us were talking about the conversation, and ian spoke up. he said, "it's been so good to just listen to you guys talk about the gospel. i feel like i am learning the gospel all over again." we then started to pray for ian's mormon friends that we had just met...when we arrived back at ian's apartment, we just kept praying. it was beautiful...and it was such a blessing to be able to share Jesus at BYU.

that's all for the blog. if you want to know more, just ask. pictures are soon to come...and there's some good ones, so you don't want to miss those.

praise Jesus! i can't believe how good he is to us, and being around such a religious atmosphere, it makes the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus stand out even more. he alone is worthy. amen.

recap of overflow #5

we had a great time last night at overflow from midnight to 6am this morning. it was a different group of people than what we have had in the past, but it was really great.

the theme of the night was a time of repentance - turning away from lesser things and toward Christ. so, at the beginning we got our group together (there were about 10 of us) and began to look at Jesus. we didn't want to rush into repentance without exalting Christ and recognizing who he is. so, we read some Scripture, prayed, and took communion. it was cool to see that such a diverse group (5 of the people there i had never met) could so quickly become "one in Christ." that was definitely awesome...

alexa led us in a sweet time of worship...absolutely perfect songs ending with the song "come and heal us." we then took some time to pray together that God would give us true repentance away from worldly things and into his arms. we repented of sins within our own hearts, but we also repented of sins of inaction and not doing anything when we should.

then, seth showed up, and that was a huge blessing. he just blessed us with his music and his heart for worship. we worshipped the Lord some more with him, and then each of us took some time alone with God to have him search our hearts. we talked through what we felt God had spoken to us, and it was cool to see how God used that time to remind us that God's work in us is just that - God's work. though we can repent, it is God's work to really change our hearts, and he is eager to do that - which is so ridiculously awesome!

we spent the last hour trying to stay awake and praying through a few more things as a group. great stuff.

going away from last night, i was just reminded of the simple truth of the Gospel - it is such good news that we do not have to try and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. instead, God is working within our hearts to change us and conform us into his image with his heart for his people.

that's the recap. God is awesome, and i am amazed every time at how fun it is to spend a whole night in prayer with him.

acts29 recap

last weekend i was in seattle at the Acts29 church planting conference. here's a few things that i learned/was reminded of:

- God has called us all to a task that we can never do. Therefore, we must constantly be relying on him through prayer and worship.

- the Gospel must be central in our lives and ministry. we have to realize for ourselves that the God we're proclaiming is worth proclaiming. from that automatically flows a desire to make disciples. it's all about Jesus. we must preach the gospel to others, but we always have to be preaching it to ourselves.

- Jesus is increidble

- the church is not an end. it is a means to an end. the church is a vehicle for making disciples. making disciples is the goal, and the worship and love of Jesus Christ is the motivation and the end.

- this church planter from portland shared a sweet story. he is reaching out to a real rough part of town where the only reason anyone goes there is to get drunk or get in a fight. as he's reaching out to the guys there, the first question everyone asks him is, "where you live?" "where you at?" he replies every time that he lives behind the abandoned warehouse right within the neighborhood. he asked us, "are we Immanuel? are we 'God with us?' - God in and among the people?" we must be "incarnational" into this world rather than trying to reach people from a distance. its messy and gross at times, but that is what Jesus did for us when he came down to be with us.

- ministry is the only acceptable idol that the church applauds. we get so sucked into worshipping ministry rather that worshipping Christ. our motivation must come from the love of Christ and the message of the gospel, not from trying to have a lot of converts or being a great speaker or doing something awesome for God. it's all about Jesus!

- Jesus. period. i get excited just thinking about him...

- repentance is the key to endurance. so many times the bible calls us to endure, to persevere, to not give up. the key to doing this without falling is repentance. we're going to make mistakes and fall so much, but we must constantly humble ourselves before God and allow him to turn our hearts away from worldly things and to the gospel. we need people who can speak into our lives and call us out on those kinds of things.

- i was standing 6 feet away from matt chandler and my heart started pounding...i'm such a nerd.

- words not only describe - they create. when God spoke things into being, he created them through words. therefore, it is important to name things properly. steve timmis talked about how we shouldn't name things small groups, home groups, or bible studies. we should instead name them (and in turn create) gospel communities.

- most importantly, God taught me that although strategy, knowledge, and skill are important, far and away the most important thing about planting a church (actually, just life in general) is the love of God expressed in Christ Jesus. that gospel is what compels within God's people hearts that love him. and as long as i'm focused on loving and knowing Christ, he will work everything out in a way that is for his glory and my good. my favorite part of the entire conference had to be tuesday morning. PJ Smyth, a South African church planter, spoke about the gospel. he reminded us of this point and described anew how great God's love is for us - how we don't deserve it, and yet Jesus chose to die for us anyways. after he spoke he called us to a time of response and meditation on Jesus. 700 guys then proceeded to sing of Christ's love for a half hour. it was in this time that i began to weep as God showed me that i'm his adopted son. this is what it is all about.


there's much more to share, but these are some of the highlights from the conference.

blessed.

tonight i'm in seattle.

i've had a great day today, and i can't help but share.

so, i have been looking forward to this weekend the entire past week. i've had lots of homework that i've been frantically trying to get done before i left. this morning i woke up, prayed a bit, and studied my passage that i'll be preaching on in one week for homiletics class.

after that, i packed up and began my weekend. i took a detour on my way to seattle and ended up in newberg...there's a girl there that i kind of like a lot...;) addie and i got to talk for a few hours and just be with each other. it was great. she's great. what a blessing to be dating my best friend...

then, i began the drive up to seattle. i listened to a few sermons, stopped at taco bell, sang along to some music, prayed, sat in silence, and drove safely. the weather got a little crazy as i got closer. the last three times i have been in seattle it has been snowing...that is kinda weird.

since i have been at the murphy's, i have felt so blessed. doug and i got to talk for a few hours. i'm really blessed by him, and he is always so inspiring. he makes you want to just change the world for christ after every conversation. now...i'm sitting downstairs and relaxing before going to sleep.

basically, i'm blessed: get to study the bible for homework, have a ridiculously amazing girlfriend, get to spend time alone with God on the car ride up to seattle, and have an amazing friend and mentor in doug...and amanda's hospitality is absolutely incredible.

i can't help but think of james 1:17 as i fall asleep tonight - "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..."

praise be to the Giver of all good and perfect gifts...