David Erlandson's Blog

Overwhelmed by Prayer

2011-08-02T11:03:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been overwhelmed by prayer?

I am today.
There are just so many needs in the world. So many needs in my small corner of the world. So many friends and acquaintances who are hurting. I met a lady on Sunday who loves her husband, but is getting a divorce because all he cares about are his drugs, not his wife and kids. I've already forgotten their names, but all she wants is for him to be radically changed by Jesus!

It just seems like I could pray and pray and pray and never cover even a small portion of desperate needs the people around me have. Paul says in Galatians 4:19 "...I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!" Not only are there physical and emotional needs, but there is the great spiritual need of having Christ formed in the lives of people.

That was my biggest prayer today. I prayed for you. I prayed for myself. I want to see Christ come into our lives and change us in ways that we cannot possibly imagine. So, that was my prayer. I encourage you to join me as well praying that the Holy Spirit would not only show others the path to Jesus, but work in us, constantly forming and changing us until Christ returns.

Jesus says - how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!

That's unbelievably overwhelming!

Time to Get Lucky!

2011-06-16T16:04:00.001-04:00

Well, as you all know, I have a super popular blog.
I think my random musings get about 10 hits a month. However, if you're here reading this, you're probably reading my most read post to date, and I write that without actually knowing what's going to happen.
If you're here, you probably saw my post on twitter or facebook, and you want to know about SEX.
That's right boys (and probably girls too). You saw the post, and you couldn't help but click. That's why I wrote this to begin with - I couldn't help but click...

Anyway, my friend Marla Taviano is an author. Mostly she writes books about marriage and family and directs those books toward women. If you're a Trinity lady, you may remember when she came to speak at MOPS a few years back. Well, she's written another book, a special book, just for guys called "The Husband's Guide to Getting Lucky." So, today is your chance to get a sneak peek at the book, and possibly even win a free copy! I have already started reading it myself, and she's very open and honest, and really has a desire to see marriages win. Which is totally cool.

Ok, so here's something else cool: Marla and her awesome husband Gabe and some others from their church have been doing some missions to Cambodia over the past few years. Gabe helped turn Marla's book into an ebook for your iPad, Kindle, Nook, or just plain ol' PDF if that suits you, and by doing that, the proceeds from this book (it's only $4.99!) go to help their next trip to Cambodia.
So, you get a book about sex, and help a country that really needs our support at the same time!
Good deal.

Sorry for the ramble. Here's a short interview with Marla about her new book. You can click here to buy the book yourself, or leave a comment below for your chance to win a copy for yourself.

1. When it comes to sex, do you think wives wish their husbands understood them better?

Great question, David, and the answer is ABSOLUTELY. And you just uncovered the biggest theme of the book. When guys take the time to understand their wildly complicated wives a little better, it can only mean good things for their sex life. Men and women are wired so differently, but a husband really can learn how to turn his wife on.

2. I know your book addresses the topic of porn. So many Christian men struggle with this area. What were your findings from your informal survey? (which I took, btw)

Out of 10 questions about sex, the answers to #8--What is your relationship with pornography and how do you think it affects your marriage?--shocked me the most. I mean, I knew Christian guys weren't immune to porn, but I didn't realize what a huge percentage of happily-married guys who love Jesus struggle big-time in this area. My prayer is that I was able to offer some real hope to husbands. Satan wants you to think that porn is something you'll never be able to conquer. That's a lie.

3. From many guys I've talked to, the consensus seems to be that we don't understand how our problems with lust and porn, etc. effect our wives, could you shed some light on the woman's heart in this regard?

Oh, wow. I don't have the space to write everything I'd love to write here (guess you'll just have to read the book, huh?). We wives long to be the most beautiful woman in our husband's eyes. We want him to think we're attractive and lovely and sexy and ENOUGH. I want my body to be enough for my husband. If he's looking at porn, that says (to me anyway), "You're not enough for me. You're not pretty enough, not perfect enough. Your body isn't hot enough. I need something better, something more, something you can't give me." This is crushing to a woman's spirit. Absolutely crushing. Even if you love your wife dearly and try to convince her it has nothing to do with her, you will never, ever get her to believe that. Never.

4. Ok, my first 3 questions kinda beat up on us guys. Any bit of encouragement you want to send our way as a result of writing this book?

Yes! I can't tell you how impressed I was by the thoughtful, thorough answers you guys gave me on your surveys. Wow. Kudos, my brothers! So many of you desperately want to be good husbands and love your wives like they want to be loved. Guys get a bad rap for being selfish, lustful pigs that only think with their you-know-whats, but we women really deserve a big chunk of the blame for the sexual disconnect in our marriages. I think that any guy who reads my book is going to walk away really encouraged that there is hope for his marriage. If not, he can have his money back.

Thanks so much for having me on the blog, David. Hope you enjoy the book!

Well, that's all! Make sure to check out http://www.husbandsgetlucky.com/ to score your copy and comment below if you want to be entered in the drawing!

How may we help you?

2011-04-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

This post is written specifically for my Trinity friends, but anyone else is free to read it and add some useful comments (since people from all churches and walks of life may have similar needs or desires)

So...

It is my desire to help people encounter God as much as possible and in as many ways as possible. I spend a large amount of energy helping people encounter Him on Sunday mornings, primarily through song, prayer and the reading of scripture, but I know that to have a vibrant, dynamic relationship with anyone spending 20 minutes a week with them wouldn't create any kind of deep relationship.

I am on a mission! I want to help people (anyone really, but again, specifically people at Trinity) discover what a dynamic, open, and deep relationship with Christ can be like. I know that usually throwing another program at something might seem like a good idea, but is usually just a place where people can learn more information and not see real life change.

My question to you all is: what would you like to see available to you to help encourage your own personal growth in Christ? How can I encourage, train, instruct, facilitate, etc. you best in this manner. A relationship with Jesus is a Monday-Sunday thing, and what we do on Sunday mornings really should be a celebration of what God has been doing in our lives throughout the week, but unfortunately, for many of us, we allow life to get in the way of the most important relationship we have.

Well, that's probably enough rambling on this subject - comment away!!
Also, feel free to ask questions, I encourage dialogue!

Have a great weekend friends!

Restorers of the Faith

2011-03-12T18:53:00.001-05:00

Having read Gabe Lyons' first book, Unchristian, I was very excited to hear the culmination of his research contained in this book. I myself have met many people who are disenfranchised by Christians they have met, or more likely, by Christians they have heard about in the media, but as Lyons points out, there is great hope in a new generation of Christians.

This book is written in a very conversational style, making it easy to read and digest the great wealth of information he offers. It is very encouraging to read about a group of people of all ages and from places all over the world who see the mission of Jesus Christ as a major priority. Lyons calls this group the "restorers." The second half of the book describes in great detail and with hope the attitudes and actions of this group.

I would highly recommend this book, not only as a text to read for encouragement, but also as a challenge to live out the Christian life with service and sacrifice, showing others the way to Christ.

The Lord is Before Me

2011-02-23T09:46:00.001-05:00

So, I couldn't help it.
I was reading Psalm 16 this morning, and had an accompanying devotional reading on the same passage, and I couldn't help it - I had to share it!

Psalm 16

    A miktam of David.
¹ Keep me safe, O God,
   for in you I take refuge.
² I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
   apart from you I have no good thing.”
³ As for the saints who are in the land,
   they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.^[b]
⁴ The sorrows of those will increase
   who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
   or take up their names on my lips.
⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
   you have made my lot secure.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   surely I have a delightful inheritance.
⁷ I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
   even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I have set the LORD always before me.
   Because he is at my right hand,
   I will not be shaken.
⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
   my body also will rest secure,
¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the grave,^[c]
   nor will you let your Holy One^[d] see decay.
¹¹ You have made^[e] known to me the path of life;
   you will fill me with joy in your presence,
   with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Look at verse 8 - I have set the LORD always before me. What does that mean? Think about that, meditate on that for a minute. Stay focused on Him. Revere and worship Him - always.

Here's what the writer of the devotional had to say:
If David is a worshiper's great example, Jesus is the great fulfillment of our desire. His Spirit in us worships God as He worshiped God on earth. David tried to make everything in his life point to God. Jesus not only tried, He succeeded.
Our priority, according to Scripture, must be God Himself. Not the tings God gives us, but God. Not the ways God leads us, but God. Not even the worship of God, but God. It's so easy to understand, so hard to grasp. Be relentless about it. Set the Lord always before you.

Selah

Have a wonderful day friends!

Our Destiny in Christ

2011-01-31T21:42:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't call myself an avid reader, but I do like to read and have recently begun to pick up some extra books to enlighten and encourage. So, I heard about a program where I can get a copy of a book for free in exchange for writing a blog post about it. This is the first of those posts.

I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to discover in Mark Batterson's new book, Soul Print, but I was pleasantly surprised. If you have read any of Batterson's previous books, his blog, or heard him speak, this book's accessible and friendly style will be very familiar to you. That said, this is not only a book that would be a great encouragement to those already walking with Christ, but is also a story of Christ's love for us to those who don't know Him.

At first, I thought Soul Print was just going to be another "Jesus loves you, and has a great plan for your life" book, but it ended up being so much more than that. Using the story of David as an outline, we discover God's plan for our life has nothing to do with who we are (or who we think we are), but instead with who God is and who He created us to be. David came from the humblest of positions to be king of Israel, and our destiny is tied up in God's plan for our lives as well.

Our world tries to tell us that our image and worth are tied up in our clothes, our jobs, our families, our physical shape, but God tells us that our worth is tied up in His unimaginable love for us.

I would recommend this book for anyone struggling with finding who you are meant to be, or just anyone needing to be encouraged and reignited with the knowledge of the uniqueness with which we were all created. This would also be a great book for small groups to study together with the included discussion questions sure to create some excellent dialogue.

Click here to get yourself a copy if you would like...

The Problem of Discipline

2010-11-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

Why is it so hard to do what is best for us?

In many ways, we are supposed to be disciplined people, but how often do we truly live disciplined lives? Let's look at some simple disciplines:
Don't watch too much TV
Don't overeat (or eat too much bad food)
Do the dishes (this is more of a discipline for some people)
Dust the house!
Exercise
Read the Bible
Pray
Seek after God

So many things get in our way from practicing important disciplines for our lives. Why don't I exercise? I'm too tired. Why don't I read my Bible? I'm too busy. It seems simple enough, we don't do the things we should do because we're too caught up in the things that we "want" to do that we thing we "have" to do, or because we just find a "good" excuse not to. For the past few months, I've been teaching a class on spiritual disciplines at church, and I've discovered that first, they're not as hard to integrate into my life as I would have thought, and second, it's actually much better for me to live a life of discipline.

How about exercise? Yeah, I've been doing that lately too. It's super hard work, and it makes you tired, but the interesting thing is, the more you exercise, the less tired you actually are. Your body gets used to the activity and you end up having even more energy for the rest of the day (assuming you're getting enough sleep at night).

Then, there's the most important discipline of seeking after God. The most common response I hear from people who don't regularly spend time with God is "I'm just too busy." Busy with what? Here's what I've found. I certainly spend way too much time doing things that I really don't need to be doing. Not that those things are inherently bad, they just take away time I could be doing more important things. Also, I've discovered that when I set aside time for God it effects the rest of my life. My heart and mind are more full of God's Word, effecting my attitude, thoughts, speech, and relationships.

Living a life of discipline can really change us. Getting up even when it's nice and warm under the covers and exercising can dramatically effect us physically and spending quality time with God can really change us from the inside out. Another great thing about being disciplined is that the more we do it, the easier it is to keep going. The more we exercise, the less difficult it becomes, and the stronger we become. The more we seek after God, the more we want to seek after God and the more He forms us more into the image of His Son.

So, join me! Let's all work on living disciplined lives together!

Mental Explosion!

2010-10-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a large amount of learning lately.

Between school, books I've been reading, and a class I'm teaching at church (yeah, you probably learn the most when you teach!), it sometimes feels like I'm having a mental explosion. I suppose that it is good to be learning and it's good to be sharing what I'm learning with others as well.

I've been learning about how perceptions on how music is created, performed, and heard changed significantly with the dawn of the Romantic period - and much of that thought still dominates our thinking today. I've learned about a greater and higher calling for art in the church, that God truly holds our identity, not something or someone here on earth, and that God has surprises in store for us that we can't even imagine. I've also been learning how to deepen my relationship with Him through the various disciplines. Many of them are so much broader and more fulfilling that I thought - fasting, solitude, etc.

Lots of new information.

How about you, what have you been learning lately?

Read Before Sunday!

2010-06-18T16:24:00.000-04:00

Hello!

If you're at Trinity, read this scripture (in NIV and the Message) to prepare your heart for the service on Sunday. If you're not a Trinity person, just read it anyway because God is so incredible and we all have an ever growing desire to worship Him and delve into His Word.

Psalm 19 (New International Version)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ² Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.
³ There is no speech or language
       where their voice is not heard. ^[a]
⁴ Their voice ^[b] goes out into all the earth,
       their words to the ends of the world.
       In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
       like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
       and makes its circuit to the other;
       nothing is hidden from its heat.
⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul.
       The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
       making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
       giving joy to the heart.
       The commands of the LORD are radiant,
       giving light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
       enduring forever.
       The ordinances of the LORD are sure
       and altogether righteous.
¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
       than much pure gold;
       they are sweeter than honey,
       than honey from the comb.
¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
       in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² Who can discern his errors?
       Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
       may they not rule over me.
       Then will I be blameless,
       innocent of great transgression.
¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
       be pleasing in your sight,
       O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19 (The Message)

A David Psalm

^1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
   Madame Day holds classes every morning,
      Professor Night lectures each evening.

^3-4 Their words aren't heard,
      their voices aren't recorded,
   But their silence fills the earth:
      unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

^4-5 God makes a huge dome
      for the sun—a superdome!
   The morning sun's a new husband
      leaping from his honeymoon bed,
   The daybreaking sun an athlete
      racing to the tape.

⁶ That's how God's Word vaults across the skies
      from sunrise to sunset,
   Melting ice, scorching deserts,
      warming hearts to faith.

^7-9 The revelation of God is whole
      and pulls our lives together.
   The signposts of God are clear
      and point out the right road.
   The life-maps of God are right,
      showing the way to joy.
   The directions of God are plain
      and easy on the eyes.
   God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
      with a lifetime guarantee.
   The decisions of God are accurate
      down to the nth degree.

¹⁰ God's Word is better than a diamond,
      better than a diamond set between emeralds.
   You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
      better than red, ripe strawberries.

^11-14 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger
      and directs us to hidden treasure.
   Otherwise how will we find our way?
      Or know when we play the fool?
   Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
      Keep me from stupid sins,
      from thinking I can take over your work;
   Then I can start this day sun-washed,
      scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
   These are the words in my mouth;
      these are what I chew on and pray.
   Accept them when I place them
      on the morning altar,
   O God, my Altar-Rock,
      God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

Psalm 119

2010-06-04T22:43:00.001-04:00

In the English Standard version of the Bible, the title of Psalm 119 is "Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet" and the 176 verses that follow certainly make the point that the author is in love with the Word of God.
The poetical form is beautiful using each letter of the Hebrew alphabet as the header for each section to represent a "complete" thought about the significance of the Word of God.
While one could probably argue true heart motive until blue in the face, someone who decides that writing 176 verses and going through the entire Hebrew alphabet expressing passionate love for "rules" (translated "law" or "precepts" in many translations, but I think "rules" is a good term used by the ESV for contemporary culture to better understand the real meaning) is someone who is truly in love with what God has to say about how to live life. Me, on the other hand, can hardly get myself to write a blog post, much less, a journal entry about my reaction to a passage of scripture (incidentally, this is kind of serving as both).
Not that I would ever want to blame anyone else for my lack of spiritual maturity, because it is certainly only due to my lack of effort, but I do believe that there are few examples of people who are that much in love with God's Word.
Do you ever find yourself around people who are crazy-passionate about something? Those people tend to excite others to be passionate along with them. Unless you make a conscious effort to be a downer, it's hard not to be excited about the next new toy from Apple when Steve Jobs gets on that stage to show off his brain child's newest creation, for instance.
I desire to be the kind of person who is so excited about worshiping God that others around me would be just as excited as me, but after reading this Psalm, I think I might have a slightly misaligned passion. While worshiping God is awesome, I need to be even more passionate and dedicated to His Word first, then in response to what He teaches me, and how He grows me, praise His Name.

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statues
   and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
   and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
   for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
   and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
   and give me life in your ways.
Confirm to your servant your promise,
   that you may be feared.
Turn away the reproach that I dread,
   for your rules are good.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
   in your righteousness give me life!
Psalm 119:33-40 ESV

God, that is my prayer for myself, and for others who know and trust in You. Let me turn my eyes from the worthless, and give me life in Your ways. I know that Your Word and Your Rules are good, and in them I will find life. Help me to set my heart of You first and have a constant longing for a deeper and more vibrant relationship with You.

White Man

2010-04-22T16:02:00.006-04:00

Well friends, it's been a super busy month with Easter and with my recital and everything, and it's nice to be done with all of that, no matter how wonderful it all is. Just a few weeks of school left (and both written and oral exams...) and then we'll be in China before we know it.

Goodness!

For today, I thought I'd share a little video with you all that I found today. The video itself is pretty fun, but the message is very poignant for many of today's Christians. Take a listen and let me know what you think.
By the way, I think I fixed the comment problem, so you should be able to leave a comment below.

JESUS SAVES!!!!

2010-03-31T21:07:00.000-04:00

I want to take this post to advertise for my church :-)

So, this weekend at Trinity is going to be soooo awesome. Mostly because we will be celebrating two super incredible days in history. The day Jesus gave up his life to defeat our sin is, of course, Good Friday. If you haven't been to a Good Friday service at Trinity, it's time to try it! It's always so great, and very unique. The church is open anytime from 6:30-8:30pm for you and your family to come and reflect on Christ's sacrifice.

THEN on Sunday we are going to have a huge celebration for Easter! How fantastic is it that not only did Jesus die (which lots of people do), but He rose again from the dead to conquer death once and for all! We don't have anything necessarily flashy planned, just a few excellent reminders of the work that Jesus has done in our lives.

On that note, I would like to be a little transparent for a moment.
One of the many things that Jesus has saved me from is pride. Now, it's pretty hard not to be proud when you're so awesome (...kidding...), but for a while, I really did consider myself much better than I should have. I also tended to really look down on people who weren't really living how I thought they should be living. God decided that I needed that out of my life, and He used a missions trip to Australia to do that. While I cannot say that I haven't still had some pride issues since that time, I can say that everyday I move another step away from that person. God has also been at work in my life on issues of lust, anger, jealousy, and all kinds of selfishness.

As part of our service on Sunday, we will hear about the work that Jesus has done in the lives of many of our church body.

From what has Jesus saved you?

In response to myself

2010-03-18T10:42:00.002-04:00

Shortly after writing yesterday's post, I finished reading a book I've been reading for far too long (it's only 120 pages and I've been going quite slowly). I will put the recommendation out there, however - In the Beginning, God by Marva Dawn (actually her pen name). In this book she makes the case that the foundation for the worship of God is contained in Genesis 1-3. It's quite good, actually, and as I said, it's only 120 pages, you can borrow it if you would like :)

Anyway, I came across something in the second to last chapter that was quite an interesting observation about our view of suffering. She says:

...it seems that only in the wealthy west has suffering become a major reason to doubt God. In most poorer nations of the world, tribulation is an impetus toward faith and a clinging to the comfort of belief. Does our affluence make us presume that we can buy understanding?

So, she saying that we many times use pain and suffering as an excuse to blame or ignore God, when in reality, we should be using pain and suffering to run to God! (I guess that's pretty much what C.S. Lewis said in the quote I wrote yesterday).

Silly David, pain stinks but God's love is HUGE.
Just fall deeper in love with Him and cling to Him and He will carry you through the trial (but not necessarily take it away).

:)

I've got another song for you today :)

How He Loves - David Crowder B...

Happy Birthday

2010-03-17T15:21:00.002-04:00

For many people today, it is a day to celebrate all things Irish, drink beer, eat corned beef, and wear green. For our household, however, March 17th means something completely different.

As many of you know, back in July we discovered that Sarah was pregnant. At first, there was shock, then fear, then much joy. A few weeks later, we were in the presence of many of our family members and broke the news to them (my dad found out he was gonna be a grandpa on his 50th birthday!) Then, just shortly after that, we discovered that the baby was gone.

Today was the official due date of our first child.

All sorts of questions come up when pain enters a person's life. Especially for those of us who trust in Christ, painful situations hardly ever make sense. The seemingly universal question, "why do bad things happen to good people?" seems to forever haunt those who experience trials. Sometimes I wonder if it was something I did, and now am being "punished" for it, but I know that's more or less irrational thought, and it's hardly a biblical one.

The best that I can tell is that God gives us trials to bring us to call on His name. C.S. Lewis puts it this way, "Because we are rebels against God who must lay down our arms, our other pains may indeed constitute God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world to surrender." Of course, included in the definition of "deaf world" I think should be Christians. It's easy to assume that once we follow Christ, we are no longer deaf to him, but that is so far from the truth in too many cases.

However, God also chooses to put people through trials that are not deaf to Him. Job, of course, is a perfect example. He was known as being "upright and blameless" in the sight of God. That's a pretty good resume. Still, God stripped him of every earthly thing he had and his response?
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

May my response always be to praise the name of the Lord no matter what comes my way.

In closing, I would just like to say that maybe somewhere in heaven there is a child who is being loved by his grandmother and a grandmother who is being loved by her first grandchild. A good friend (who is almost certainly reading this) has sadly lost a few children, perhaps they have met our child too? Oh to know the mysteries of heaven! I cannot wait to experience the joy of life with no more pain, suffering, crying or shame (Rev. 21:4) and perhaps meet the child I never knew.

There is a birthday I would like to celebrate today. On the continent of Africa there is a now 4 year old girl named Sau Assan. For a while Sarah and I have talked about sponsoring a child, and we picked Sau since she was born on March 17th (and her favorite subject is music, how cool is that?) I would like to encourage you to consider child sponsorship if you haven't done so before. We sponsor through www.worldvision.org but certainly www.compassion.com is also a great place to help a child as well.

If you're still with me, after this lengthy post, here's a song to listen to for anyone who has ever lost a child too soon.

Hello, Goodbye - Michael W. Sm...

Dare to Be a Kid

2010-02-10T16:42:00.001-05:00

Think of the last time that you truly in awe of something.
For me, it was when the doors to the sanctuary in Michigan opened to reveal Sarah in all of her bridal glory!
Goodness! ;-)
Shortly after that, we experienced some awesome sights in Mexico, but since then, I've been hard pressed to be impressed.

Sometimes I tease Sarah a bit when she experiences new things because of the face that she makes when she's really enjoying something, and she seems to be more easily impressed than me (that's a good thing). Like the time when we went to the auto show (the auto show!) and she was walking around like a kid in a candy store! Then, I took her on her first trip to Wrigley Field. If you've never been, it really is magical, I promise. She still refers to it with excitement, and can't wait to go back this summer.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus uses children as an example when He talks about faith? I mean, children are naive, still learning what it means to be a person, and some don't have a solid grasp of reality - why on earth would we want to be childlike in our faith?

Now, I've never been myself, but I've heard plenty of stories of adults who suddenly become kids when entering Disney World. I'm not talking about adults like me who are kind of kid-like often, I'm talking about well mannered, mature, educated adults that experience a sudden transformation upon entering the magic land of Mickey. The wonder and awe of the childhood returns as they relive the experience of the cartoons that helped shape them growing up.

Maybe this is just a taste of what Jesus is talking about when it comes to our faith. Where every experience we have of God is in awe and wonder, not lifeless and boring. I remember the times when I would "go exploring" out in the woods and the mystery and excitement of it all would enrapture my imagination. How often do I let the awe, mystery, wonder and excitement of God's Word take my heart and mind to new places? Where my time with God is not just "that thing Christians do" but instead becomes the most exciting place during my day where my learning, growth and exploration become thrilling and meaningful! Jesus also says that our faith should be like that of a child. See kids are "not smart enough" to know why something isn't going to work, or why something isn't magical, they just believe something to be true and it becomes true for them. Well, imagine a God who can do anything asking you to step out in faith, not knowing what the outcome can be. With that small, innocent, childlike faith, we can move mountains!

Ok, then! Let's learn to be kids again (some of you are thinking that "again" shouldn't apply to me) and follow Jesus wholeheartedly with excitement, awe and wonder! In Mark 10:14-15 Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Children accept a gift with openness and wonder, accept God's gift and continue on in the wonder of who He is!

Spill Your Guts

2010-02-03T17:36:00.000-05:00

First of all, thanks for the notes after the last post - I really appreciate it. Still working on getting the comments fixed - you can continue to leave messages on facebook if you are led.

Ok, onto the thought I stole from someone else for today:
For many people, unfortunately, Christianity has been whittled down to a series of rules and regulations. Which is really a pity. If everything about God were a mighty tree, like that big one from Avatar, rules and regulations would be a toothpick - for a human, not a Navi. However, more often than not, living a certain way seems to be what's focused on by too many Christians and God is so much bigger and greater than our rules. Now, don't get me wrong, God does give us guidelines for life, but not so we would be bound by all His rules, but so we could be truly free. For instance, "thou shalt not commit adultery" which to many people sounds so restrictive and limiting, was actually a God designed "rule" for our benefit! Sex within marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given us, and anything outside His plan for that diminishes God's ideal.

Ok, you get the point.

Sin can tear down not only others, but our own souls as well, but God's ideal is that we live free from the bondage of sin. The first gateway to freedom from sin is a relationship with Christ. Loving Him, letting Him love you, and asking Him to forgive you from when you've strayed from His ideal, but for those of us who know Christ, we know that our sin struggles do not just magically disappear. And that finally leads me to where this post is going...

Do you ever sit down with a friend for some serious accountability? I don't mean "I said a bad word after I hit my finger with a hammer," but some real deep thoughts and struggles? For me, it hasn't happened too many times in my life, but those are the most freeing, albeit difficult, conversations I have ever had. The love and support of fellow believers is a fantastic gift from God and is one of the reasons God has kept me away from much sin to this day. Being honest with a friend is an awesome thing, but what about being honest with yourself, or even with God?

Imagine getting in a room where there are two chairs placed facing each other, only a few feet apart. You enter, and sit at one of the chairs, possibly a bit nervous and worried about the conversation about to happen. The room might even seem a bit cold as you await the time when you will "spill your guts" about what's happening in your heart. Then you look up into that chair across from you, which remains empty, and begin to share with Jesus how you have fallen short of His ideal, and ask Him once again to forgive you. He knows this is a difficult conversation for you, but He listens intently with compassion all over His face, and when you are finished, He stands up, embraces you, and says, "you are forgiven, I love you." Suddenly, the coldness of the room melts away, and you lose yourself in the love of Jesus.

Wow.

Freedom.

Freedom from sin and guilt.

Freedom to experience God's love through His Son Jesus and His never ending love. No sin to too big to escape God's love. If you struggle with sin, and it's keeping you from a more vibrant relationship with God, Jesus is there with His arms wide open waiting for you, and there are people at your church who will sit with you and help you in your struggle. It's important to remember not to say, "God could never love me because I did this..." or something along those lines. Instead of looking at yourself for what you are (or what you think you are), look at yourself the way God sees you. If you know Christ, He sees you as a man or woman of God, saved by His love. If you do not personally know Christ, He sees you as His creation, made in His likeness, and He's just waiting for You to invite Him into your life.

Have a wonderful rest of your week everyone.

What time is it?

2010-01-28T00:52:00.002-05:00

Ok, so my mind is racing about somethings that I was dealing with today, and I can't sleep. I know you've all had those days. So, what better thing to do at 1am than to write a post on my sadly neglected blog that I will probably delete in the morning because it ends up being something that only makes sense at 1am.

Anyway...

I've figured something out, and in my immense wisdom, I'm going to share with you.

What I've figured out is that I haven't figured anything out.
Sorry if you got really excited about the next bit of revolutionary thought, but that's all I've got. In our church, I was hired as the "Pastor of Worship", but it seems that more often that not, I'm more of just the arts coordinator and song leader, which is certainly traditionally what someone in my position would be doing. However, I really feel that I need to work on the "pastor" part of my title, and even more so the "worship" part of my title. As a technician, while I certainly have ways to go, I do pretty well. I even wowed a friend today at how I can deftly maneuver around a lead sheet and can orchestrate both instruments and vocals with relative simplicity (you're impressed, I know), but that's not really the point of what I do, is it? Sure, that's what everyone really sees, and that's what I learned in school, and certainly if I failed to lead a positive musical experience on Sundays, everyone would notice, but directing a bunch of extraordinarily talented musicians shouldn't be too much of a challenge for anyone with nearly a masters in music.
The problem for me comes in with the title. I'm not the "minister of music" or even "director", I'm the "pastor of worship" and it seems to me that is a much bigger responsibility.

It seems that the more God teaches me through His word and through many thoughtful authors about worship, the more I realize how far I am from understanding what that is really all about (not that I thought I knew everything before, I just thought I wasn't so far from a good understanding). Sure, it's easy to spout out a definition of worship as "giving worth to God" or something, but we all know it's much more than just a simple definition.

Worship first starts with me and my heart. That part I do know. Nothing I do on Sunday mornings even matters if I'm not worshiping God and actively pursuing a relationship with Him during the week. This is a real struggle for me much of the time to be honest, and not really for any good reason. It would be easy to say, "I'm really busy" or "I'm just so tired and need time to rest", but in reality, those sentences are just excuses, and hardly true anyway. A better response would be "I'm too busy not to" or "I'm so tired that I need Jesus to refresh me", but I don't get to that point often enough.

I love God. I really do. I am so thankful for Jesus and so desire to live in close relationship with Him. Now, don't get me wrong, I do spend time with Jesus and He is growing me, that much is true, but I just know I have a long way to go.

I'm struck again with something that I have been reminded of lately about what it means to worship God. John Piper says that the "chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever." Without going too much into what he means, basically, he's saying that God is most glorified when we find our deepest satisfaction in Him. When we truly live our lives in such a way where our main goal in life is to find peace, rest, joy, hope, and satisfaction in God, He receives the most glory. That comes out in our families, our churches, our jobs, missions, and worship, etc. When I worship God with every aspect of my life, my life will be different, and only God will be able to have the glory.

Well, that was painful. Sorry about that. It's now 1:30am.
Seriously, leave some comments. I love dialogue! (I know only a few people read this, but it's good for me to write - it's kinda like I have a journal that is accessible to the world)

The Most Wonderful Time

2009-12-04T13:31:00.006-05:00

HOLY SMOKES!

I'm so sorry that it's been since September since I last posted, but here we go!

Ah, Christmastime
There's nothing quite like it. Decorations everywhere, the music (even my chiropractor plays Christmas music, and sometimes sings along), all the crazy shopping, the parties, the FOOD, lots of family, friends, and laughter. I'm getting all nostalgic just thinking about it all ;-)
For me, and my Church music friends, Christmastime also means some crazy services to plan for, but we all love it, right?

This year, we're focusing on imagining what it would have been like to be there that night. Seeing the birth of Christ, witnessing the angels and the shepherds, beholding the glory of a star outshining all others in the sky. Wow. In our drama, two angels first hear about how Christ is coming to earth and notice that the preparations appear to be rather minimal, and wonder how the coming of the Son of God to earth could be such a "small" event. Finally, when they lay eyes on a tiny baby wrapped in cloth in His mother's arms, they realize that this is a special effect that could only have come from the mind of God. Wow again.

To me, what makes this production so special is that it helps us to envision Christmas in a fresh way. I think it begins to become cliche after seeing and hearing the same story over and over again. We still love to hear it, and we love the season, but the magic is gone.

That's my hope for this year. That the magic will return for everyone who walks in the doors of our church. That those who have been Christians for years and years will walk out in awe of God's creativity and power, and that those who don't know Christ will hear the story in a new way and be blown away by the love of a Savior.

So, Trinity people: invite your friends and family to Imagine Christmas on December 20th. Take them out for lunch afterward, too. It'll be worth your time, and maybe change their life. Let's make this a Christmas to remember, and remember again why it's the most wonderful time of the year.

Sunday Set List

2009-09-27T22:54:00.003-04:00

This is my first Sunday Set List post. Found out about this blogger named Fred McKinnon - chance to share what we do on Sundays with other worship leaders. View other Sunday Setlists here: http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/27/sunday-setlists-62/

So, here we go!

We are currently doing a series entitled "Champion". It's about all the things we want to champion as a church - so, not like a sports champion, but just things we want to pursue. Today's theme was "People Need the Lord".

Band today:
Piano
Keys
Drums
Latin Percussion (first time ever!)
Bass
Electric Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
Me and 3 vocalists

Songs for today:
Montana (prelude)
Santo Santo Eres (hence the Latin percussion)
Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?
Remedy
God of this City

Our church has a growing presence in different Hispanic communities. First, we have multiple mission trips a year to a few different orphanages in the Baja, Mexico and we also have a ministry to a community in Painesville, OH with many different ethnic groups. So, for this morning, we did a prelude and our first song in our worship set in Spanish. Santo, Santo, Eres (Holy, Holy are You) is cool because it has a nice English translation that we sang in conjunction with the Spanish. It is so awesome to experience the message of God in other languages and cultures. I also think the congregation appeased me kindly and maybe even enjoyed it a bit as well ;-) God of this City was accompanied by some video footage our people and places in our area to help focus us on where we are asking God to come and do amazing things.

Dr. Bob brought it home, as usual. I think the message of the morning was clear and effective. Those of you that were there - what did you think? I'd love to hear your comments.

The Missing Feelings

2009-09-05T22:05:00.003-04:00

Well, this post is entirely copied, and taken out of context.
This is part of an article written by John Piper, you can read the article (speaking about being angry with God) here.

Talking about our love and passions for Christ, or our Christian life in general, we many times dismiss our feelings because they "can't be trusted" or "our passion for God shouldn't be about feelings" and so on...

Here's what John Piper has to say about feelings:

This kind of thinking about feelings is one of the reasons there is so much shallow Christianity. We think the only things that have moral significance in the world are acts of volition. And we think feelings like desire and delight and frustration and anger are not acts of volition, but waves that break on the shore of our souls with no moral significance. Small wonder that many people do not earnestly seek to be transformed at the level of feelings, but only of "choices." That makes for a very superficial saint (at best).

Woah.

It's coming...

2009-07-22T15:20:00.002-04:00

What is worship supposed to look like? That, of course, is a huge question that has been asked for thousands of years, and I am sure not about to give some kind of trite answer to that here.

However, I want to put forth these questions:
What is worship supposed to look like for you?
What is worship supposed to look like for your church?

All over the world people of all backgrounds, races, and cultures have decided what worship looks like for themselves. One of the biggest problems that missionaries have had in the past century is going to foreign countries and suggesting to the people that appropriate worship is "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" or "Amazing Grace" and the expressions in their culture are completely invalid. What those people believed is that we were giving them the "American God" but not a god they could relate to, and they lost interest. It wasn't until we told them to embrace their culture and redeem it for the Lord that they began to see revival. God was now in their language.

So, what about our language?
That's the funny thing about America right now, we have a bunch of different languages, especially in the church. We have people who claim that true worship is only the hymns of old, we have people who proclaim that unless you're lifting your hands in surrender during an emotional praise song, you're not worshiping, and so on and so forth.

What if God is looking for none of that? What if He's looking for all of that?
So, what's coming?
Change is coming.
Our church is a few months away from embarking on a new journey in worship. I believe that God has given us so many expressions to worship Him with, but we have kept our creativity in a box.
What if we, as a corporate body could worship God through song, through dance, poetry, drama, paintings, sculpture, and many other things as well? It would be a service not of pattern and predictability, but of wonder. A time when we stand in awe of who God is and express our affections toward Him in incredible ways.
It's time to create a voice to God that is unique to our church, that is in our language and reflects our hearts.

So, start getting the word out today.

If you sing, play an instrument, dance, act, write stories or poetry, paint, draw, sculpt, rap, or whatever(!) we want you to be a part of this new journey of artists.
More details will be coming in the next month!

I'll be on vacation next week, so I'll possibly just have an occasional tweet, but no blog post. Cubs game on July 29th!!!! Hey Chicago, whadda say? "Cubs are gonna win today!"

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Joe and Joanna

2009-07-10T11:45:00.002-04:00

This has been an interesting week.

Saving you the long story, I was at the courthouse on Wednesday morning to speak to the nice man behind the big desk about some issues with my license plate and then pay them some money. While I was there, I met a young mom named Joanna.
Joanna has a 7 year old daughter who was with her, and she also was paying for a license plate issue - but it wasn't her car, she was just the one driving it at the time. Anyway, she has no job, no husband, and no car of her own, so things are a little rough for her, and this was only compounding the situation. I was able to engage her in some conversation and eventually invite her daughter to our performing arts camp next week at church. Also, I was able to find her daughter a ride from Eastlake everyday for the camp. That's the short story, but I really hope that God begins to do a work in their lives.

Next, comes Joe. Joe is 29 and is from San Diego, CA. For whatever reason, he decided that the picnic tables outside our church was going to be a great place to take an afternoon nap. I too decided that it was a great place to be yesterday and went there to enjoy a nice Chipotle(!) burrito before rehearsal. After he woke up, we had a nice conversation. His parents are atheists, he works for a small company his brother owns, he believes in God, but believes that all religions teach the same thing. We played guitar for a little while until he had to go to pick up his coworkers. I gave him a new testament and my e-mail address and we left.

Please pray for both Joe and Joanna (and her daughter) that God would move in their hearts and help them see that He is Lord. They both also have some life issues that need to be worked out as well.

I am so blessed that God led them to me this week and allowed me to be a small part of their lives. I pray that He will continue the work and change their hearts.

Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. If you live in the Cleveland area, come out to Blossom on Sunday night at 7:00 to hear Sarah and I sing with the Cleveland Orchestra! (if you come, let me know so we can meet up afterward).

The Sloppy Wet Kiss

2009-07-01T14:59:00.006-04:00

For about 7 months now, I've been aware of a song by a worship leader named John Mark McMillian entitled "How He Loves". At first listen, it is a very vivid picture of the deep, passionate, intimate love the God has for us. Lines describing God's love as the wind of a hurricane and we are like the tree bending beneath the weight of his mercy. Finally, the chorus comes which is an anthem in a much higher part of the key simply proclaiming "He love us." Again, the first time I heard this song, I was intrigued by the imagery and the massive wall of sound a local worship band created during the chorus.
Verse 2 is where I began to get confused.
It begins in much of the same manner as the first verse, but then includes this line describing God's grace: "heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss." First, I was distracted, then almost amused, then confused (not by the lyric, I understood the meaning, but by the necessity of such a picture), then finally just resigned myself to the fact that it wasn't my song and I should leave it alone.

So, I did.

But it kept coming back! Everywhere I turned I heard this song playing. It was so strange. Then, last week, I learned that David Crowder Band had recorded it for their next album! Again, confused. Finally, today I heard the full recording and they have changed "sloppy wet" to "unforeseen" which I think gets more or less the same meaning across.

So, what's the big deal? I'm not sure either and since no one reads this blog, no dialogue is going to occur about this anyway. I've been trying to make myself accept the original words, but have been unable to so far, but should I?

In the William Rees and Robert Lowry hymn, "Here is Love" they use a similar picture.

Grace and love like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
Heaven's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love

As best as I can figure, that pretty much says the same thing, in the same language (well, it would have been in the 1800s) and it's not offensive to us at all.

So really, I think this has all been a meaningless ramble. I still don't know where I stand. I like the song, very much actually, but those 2 words have stopped me from accepting it. I like the translation by David Crowder even better. Anyway, if you're reading this, go ahead and plop your 2 cents in below, and take a listen to the song www.myspace.com/davidcrowderband.

Crime and Punishment, or Sin and Death

2009-06-25T11:59:00.005-04:00

So, I never read the book Crime and Punishment, but it seemed like an appropriate title for this post.

If I were to commit a crime, it is quite obvious that a punishment would follow. Either a jury would vote, or a judge would make a ruling and a fine or prison time would be imposed. But perhaps, depending on the crime, that would not be where the punishment ends. The punishment would also be hurt friends and family, broken relationships and the like.

Sin works the same way. The ultimate punishment for sin is death, but we receive many earthly consequences for our sin as well. Often, our sins hurt well beyond what we think. We think, "well, it's my choice, it only effects me." Unfortunately, many times those choices effect others as well. Broken relationships. Hurt people. Consequences that continue well beyond what we would have thought.

However.

God gave us two awesome gifts. Forgiveness and Grace.
Selah (I'll try not to overuse that)

The punishment for sin may be death, but in Christ, there is no more sin, there is no more death! What's more, he gave us the ability to forgive each other, so the relationships we hurt can be repaired. What a joy it is to be a child of God.

Back to Joseph. After his father had died, his brothers assumed he would now use his power in Egypt to punish them for what they had done to him. However, God had used the sins they committed against him for His glory, and Joseph was able to forgive his brothers. Not only did he forgive them, but he supported their families and gave them much more than they deserved. What a great picture of what Christ has done for us.
May God allow me to forgive like that.

Finally

2009-06-22T13:28:00.004-04:00

Well, here I am. Finally posting a blog for you all to read. I've also moved from Xanga to Blogger.

Anyway, I'm not really sure what's going to end up being posted here. I'm thinking that it's going to become more like a journal that people can comment on. I also really encourage conversation. I'm going to talk about what God's teaching me and what I'm learning about His Word and living a life of worship. There will also probably be some rants here and there...

So, here we go...

Sarah and I have both begun a journey through the entire Bible. We're not necessarily reading the same thing everyday, but we're trying to get through it all. I'm sure that you will hear much about this journey. Today, my readings had me near the end of Genesis, the life of Joseph. What an incredible story. The picture of redemption and the foreshadowing of Christ just shows how God planned history. In our minds, we see Joseph as a pivotal character in the Bible, but in his mind, I'm sure he just thought he was an average, unworthy person being used somehow by God. It was really because of how God used Joseph that the nation of Israel even began. Bringing his brothers to Egypt, they would birth the 12 tribes of Israel and eventually be exiled back to the land God promised them.

Perhaps that's the most important thing. God's promises. How amazing! Wow! (as Nancy Beach would say) We make so many promises to our family, friends, people we don't even know, and even ourselves. How often do we find that we either made a false promise, or can't live up to the promise we made? God's promises are sure, true, everlasting, and REAL. So awesome!

Selah (that means, stop reading and think about that for a minute)

He promised Israel the Land. He promised them a nation. He promised them a Savior. All three have come, but only in part. They have their land, but not the eternal, glorified land they will have. They have their nation, but again, not the eternal one waiting for us. The Savior has come, but will come again and restore Creation to what God meant it to be!!!!

I'm sorry. I'm getting wordy, but I'm just so excited about the coming glory of God!

That's all for today friends.

Have a wonderful week.