Hey friends, I wanted to send out one last quick email to all those who have partnered with me on my journey to Greece and back this summer. One of the things the Lord impressed upon me this summer was that I need to be open to being used in worship ministry in the future. With that in mind, I have decided to do an internship at Timberview, my old home church in Spokane, WA. I will be working primarily with the worship arts as I seek to gain a greater understanding of that facet of ministry. I hope to grow and mature in my giftings so as to serve as well as I can wherever I may be. This fall I plan on checking out some Masters programs and applying for schools to attend in the fall of '09.
Thanks again for all of your support and encouragement!
In Christ,
Doug
Dlpettis@gmail.com
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Greece Update
Week One News
Warning--this is a couple pages long--
Parakalw (Hello) from Greece, I have a few minutes and I want to give you guys an update on what’s going on here in Porto Astro. It is currently 1530 on Friday and I am sitting outside a makeshift office on the Porto Astro property. The good news: there is a wireless network that was just set up at the camp. The Bad News: it works hardly ever and is as slow as the Internet during the Dial Up Days. I wrote this email last Wednesday and haven’t been able to send it til now because of internet server problems.
*The Property: PM is located about 2 hours north of Athens on a bay on the Aegean Sea. It consists of six acres of rock. We are sleeping in tents (although we have twice gotten the opportunity to sleep on the Morning Star, the 70 ft sailboat used by the camp to evangelize). Everything is powered by a couple generators since it is not connected to the city power grid. We are trying to drill for fresh water, but have been unsuccessful so far. Thus we ferry water across the bay every couple days in the mornings. The goal of Hellenic Ministries is to reach Greece for Jesus, and this property is one good way to evangelize and build up/train leaders in Greece. It is a sports camp which has a couple of powerboats (for wakeboarding/skiing/tubing etc), jet ski’s, and other fun things. It is one of the few places in Greece that has these things to offer.
*Greece: 11 million people, but only 20,000 Evangelical born-again believers in Jesus. The country is 97% Greek Orthodox, but from what all the missionaries here have said, Christianity is for most a cultural tradition and not a living vibrant faith.
*The Weather: Freaking hot. Always hot. Only getting hotter. The Aegean Sea is quite refreshing and there is quite a bit of shade at PM so that is nice. And don’t worry Mom I’m not getting burnt. Much.
*What We’ve Been Doing: Jake, Vanessa, and I got into the property last Thursday and got straight to work after unloading all our stuff. For a few days, we just worked our butts off getting the property ready for the first camp. There are endless work projects and things to do so there is never a shortage of jobs. The first camp we put on was a Refugee Camp that went from Sunday til Wednesday. We hosted about 45 refugees, primarily from Iran and Afghanistan, who are living in Athens because they got misplaced. Most were Muslim and didn’t know Jesus as Lord, but through the camp the gospel was preached and there were many testimonies as to lives being changed and people finding new hope. There were tons of kids, and probably my favorite part was simply seeing the joy and excitement that we could offer to them while they got away from the incredibly worries of everyday life. While many of them do not even have a place to stay, while they were here they didn’t have to worry about that. Along with preaching the gospel, we were able to simply love on and serve them through waterfront games, rock climbing, a magician show, soccer (football), cards, meals, and much more. It was neat to bless some of the less fortunate people, to serve them as God would like us to, and to see people come to know Jesus. God definitely answered some prayers!!!
Rhythm: The camp has a good healthy sense of rhythm. While I won’t go into the details, everyday we have communal meals and communal time praying and worshiping God. At least once a week we have a day off to rest and be rejuvenated, which is quite wonderful (today was our day for that). I really like the routine and rhythm of PM.
*What God’s Been Teaching Me:
-Working to see the church more unified-ok here’s a big one. I think God is giving me a direction to pursue. I’m not sure if this is something in the immediate plans or long term plans or both, but I feel God leading me towards working on being a uniting agent in the church. And by church I mean all of God’s people. I have been reading in John 17 and Ephesians 4, and I see that the church is supposed to be connected and united, not broken and divided. I don’t presume to think that denominations should all end and come together as one big church. I think it is normal and natural for people to have differences in many of the non-essentials of the faith. However, if the body of Christ could be healed of it’s spirit of competition then the church could grow up in love and more truly represent the Father. Matthew 5 says “Blessed are the pure in heart...” Rich are those who are pure in their motivation, in their heart. Rich are those who desire to only love God and see him glorified. I think this verse applies to the church as well. If our individual churches were more concerned God getting the glory and his work getting done, then the world would be in a better place and God’s kingdom would be closer to the earth. Unfortunately there is a spirit of competition among churches. There is a tremendous sense of pride that hinders the body of Jesus from reaching more people and spreading blessing. What would happen if churches would be networked and could all share resources? What would happen if churches from all denominations were seen working together for the same purpose and same goal? The church would be closer to being one in purpose and mission as Jesus prayed in John 17; the church would more accurately reveal the Father in Heaven (Jn 17); the church would be able to bless so many more people with the influx of resources that comes from being connected instead of broken; the body of Christ would simply be more effective in being Jesus’ ambassador to the world and seeing his kingdom come. The sky is the limit. While I feel people of all ages would desire to see this happen, the younger generations in particular are hungering and thirsting for the brokenness and hurting and dysfunction in the body of Christ to end (or at least go down). It seems the church is trying to do it’s work with it’s hands tied together. What if we could model this type of unified church in our cities? What if we could encourage this spirit of openness and humility to other churches across the US? What if we had some sort of gathering/conference, casted a vision for pastors and then provided the start for greater networking/sharing of resources? Perhaps I’m just sheltered and the church is actually a lot better at this than I am aware. If that is the case, then praise the Lord, we’re in great shape. But if it’s not, then I think it would be a worthy cause to pursue. We’ll see what happens, but this is something that the Lord has placed on my heart since I’ve been here in Greece. I’m continuing to seek Him out.
-Expect Big Things From God-God wants us to ask for big things. God wants to work in big ways. He wants to reveal Himself to this world. I’m learning that it’s ok to ask big things from God and have faith he will work.
-”The Lord Knows”-this has been the common theme for the camp. There have been so many circumstances and situations, both with myself and with others, where things have just worked out absolutely perfectly and we couldn’t have planned it any better. I am so confident that the Lord is guiding each and every one of us and that his plans are perfect. Along with that, God is sincerely asking me if I really believe he is good. If I truly believe he is good and truly loves his people, then I can trust him with my plans and future even (especially) when I am not sure of what I should do. If I’m seeking him out and trying to be obedient, then I don’t need to worry about anything. (I know these things all seem so simple and basic, but it seems it’s the basic foundational truths of the faith that are the ones so easily overlooked to our detriment)
*What’s Next: Our next camp is the pre-teen one which starts this Tuesday and goes thru Saturday or so. We are busy preparing for that camp, as well as working on improving the camp more and more. Sometimes I get tired of doing manual labor and the thought of hard work all the time in super hot weather until the middle of August is not exciting, but usually that thought doesn’t last too long.
Please pray as you feel led. In particular for the camp to be a true extension of God’s work in Greece. Thank you so so much for your thoughts/prayers. It is so encouraging to know that you all are doing that and it definitely makes a difference!
I would love to write more but I am short of time. I’m not taking any pictures, but Vanessa is and she does photography for a living, so when I get the chance I will put a few up (but don’t get your hopes up on that happening in a timely fashion). I would love any email updates from you (While I cannot promise I’ll respond individually, know I’ll read them). Luke, thanks for the nooma videos, especially the “kickball” one. Really spoke to me. Nikki, I just started reading Gilead and I’m excited to continue. I’m praying for many of you.
Peace,
Doug
Warning--this is a couple pages long--
Parakalw (Hello) from Greece, I have a few minutes and I want to give you guys an update on what’s going on here in Porto Astro. It is currently 1530 on Friday and I am sitting outside a makeshift office on the Porto Astro property. The good news: there is a wireless network that was just set up at the camp. The Bad News: it works hardly ever and is as slow as the Internet during the Dial Up Days. I wrote this email last Wednesday and haven’t been able to send it til now because of internet server problems.
*The Property: PM is located about 2 hours north of Athens on a bay on the Aegean Sea. It consists of six acres of rock. We are sleeping in tents (although we have twice gotten the opportunity to sleep on the Morning Star, the 70 ft sailboat used by the camp to evangelize). Everything is powered by a couple generators since it is not connected to the city power grid. We are trying to drill for fresh water, but have been unsuccessful so far. Thus we ferry water across the bay every couple days in the mornings. The goal of Hellenic Ministries is to reach Greece for Jesus, and this property is one good way to evangelize and build up/train leaders in Greece. It is a sports camp which has a couple of powerboats (for wakeboarding/skiing/tubing etc), jet ski’s, and other fun things. It is one of the few places in Greece that has these things to offer.
*Greece: 11 million people, but only 20,000 Evangelical born-again believers in Jesus. The country is 97% Greek Orthodox, but from what all the missionaries here have said, Christianity is for most a cultural tradition and not a living vibrant faith.
*The Weather: Freaking hot. Always hot. Only getting hotter. The Aegean Sea is quite refreshing and there is quite a bit of shade at PM so that is nice. And don’t worry Mom I’m not getting burnt. Much.
*What We’ve Been Doing: Jake, Vanessa, and I got into the property last Thursday and got straight to work after unloading all our stuff. For a few days, we just worked our butts off getting the property ready for the first camp. There are endless work projects and things to do so there is never a shortage of jobs. The first camp we put on was a Refugee Camp that went from Sunday til Wednesday. We hosted about 45 refugees, primarily from Iran and Afghanistan, who are living in Athens because they got misplaced. Most were Muslim and didn’t know Jesus as Lord, but through the camp the gospel was preached and there were many testimonies as to lives being changed and people finding new hope. There were tons of kids, and probably my favorite part was simply seeing the joy and excitement that we could offer to them while they got away from the incredibly worries of everyday life. While many of them do not even have a place to stay, while they were here they didn’t have to worry about that. Along with preaching the gospel, we were able to simply love on and serve them through waterfront games, rock climbing, a magician show, soccer (football), cards, meals, and much more. It was neat to bless some of the less fortunate people, to serve them as God would like us to, and to see people come to know Jesus. God definitely answered some prayers!!!
Rhythm: The camp has a good healthy sense of rhythm. While I won’t go into the details, everyday we have communal meals and communal time praying and worshiping God. At least once a week we have a day off to rest and be rejuvenated, which is quite wonderful (today was our day for that). I really like the routine and rhythm of PM.
*What God’s Been Teaching Me:
-Working to see the church more unified-ok here’s a big one. I think God is giving me a direction to pursue. I’m not sure if this is something in the immediate plans or long term plans or both, but I feel God leading me towards working on being a uniting agent in the church. And by church I mean all of God’s people. I have been reading in John 17 and Ephesians 4, and I see that the church is supposed to be connected and united, not broken and divided. I don’t presume to think that denominations should all end and come together as one big church. I think it is normal and natural for people to have differences in many of the non-essentials of the faith. However, if the body of Christ could be healed of it’s spirit of competition then the church could grow up in love and more truly represent the Father. Matthew 5 says “Blessed are the pure in heart...” Rich are those who are pure in their motivation, in their heart. Rich are those who desire to only love God and see him glorified. I think this verse applies to the church as well. If our individual churches were more concerned God getting the glory and his work getting done, then the world would be in a better place and God’s kingdom would be closer to the earth. Unfortunately there is a spirit of competition among churches. There is a tremendous sense of pride that hinders the body of Jesus from reaching more people and spreading blessing. What would happen if churches would be networked and could all share resources? What would happen if churches from all denominations were seen working together for the same purpose and same goal? The church would be closer to being one in purpose and mission as Jesus prayed in John 17; the church would more accurately reveal the Father in Heaven (Jn 17); the church would be able to bless so many more people with the influx of resources that comes from being connected instead of broken; the body of Christ would simply be more effective in being Jesus’ ambassador to the world and seeing his kingdom come. The sky is the limit. While I feel people of all ages would desire to see this happen, the younger generations in particular are hungering and thirsting for the brokenness and hurting and dysfunction in the body of Christ to end (or at least go down). It seems the church is trying to do it’s work with it’s hands tied together. What if we could model this type of unified church in our cities? What if we could encourage this spirit of openness and humility to other churches across the US? What if we had some sort of gathering/conference, casted a vision for pastors and then provided the start for greater networking/sharing of resources? Perhaps I’m just sheltered and the church is actually a lot better at this than I am aware. If that is the case, then praise the Lord, we’re in great shape. But if it’s not, then I think it would be a worthy cause to pursue. We’ll see what happens, but this is something that the Lord has placed on my heart since I’ve been here in Greece. I’m continuing to seek Him out.
-Expect Big Things From God-God wants us to ask for big things. God wants to work in big ways. He wants to reveal Himself to this world. I’m learning that it’s ok to ask big things from God and have faith he will work.
-”The Lord Knows”-this has been the common theme for the camp. There have been so many circumstances and situations, both with myself and with others, where things have just worked out absolutely perfectly and we couldn’t have planned it any better. I am so confident that the Lord is guiding each and every one of us and that his plans are perfect. Along with that, God is sincerely asking me if I really believe he is good. If I truly believe he is good and truly loves his people, then I can trust him with my plans and future even (especially) when I am not sure of what I should do. If I’m seeking him out and trying to be obedient, then I don’t need to worry about anything. (I know these things all seem so simple and basic, but it seems it’s the basic foundational truths of the faith that are the ones so easily overlooked to our detriment)
*What’s Next: Our next camp is the pre-teen one which starts this Tuesday and goes thru Saturday or so. We are busy preparing for that camp, as well as working on improving the camp more and more. Sometimes I get tired of doing manual labor and the thought of hard work all the time in super hot weather until the middle of August is not exciting, but usually that thought doesn’t last too long.
Please pray as you feel led. In particular for the camp to be a true extension of God’s work in Greece. Thank you so so much for your thoughts/prayers. It is so encouraging to know that you all are doing that and it definitely makes a difference!
I would love to write more but I am short of time. I’m not taking any pictures, but Vanessa is and she does photography for a living, so when I get the chance I will put a few up (but don’t get your hopes up on that happening in a timely fashion). I would love any email updates from you (While I cannot promise I’ll respond individually, know I’ll read them). Luke, thanks for the nooma videos, especially the “kickball” one. Really spoke to me. Nikki, I just started reading Gilead and I’m excited to continue. I’m praying for many of you.
Peace,
Doug
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Quick Update
Hey Friends, just thought I'd give you a quick update. Sam, Christy and I got back late last night from Mexico. We were in San Carlos for the past nine days, with the main reason to celebrate the wedding of Christy's younger brother Kevin. However, it was an amazingly relaxing and fun time as we stayed at a condo for free and enjoyed the good food, warm water, uncrowded beaches, snorkeling, cliff jumping, and all that fun stuff. I'm back in Pasadena, packing everything I can into my car for a road trip to Spokane (via Seattle). I'll be up in Spokane from Monday June 2nd til June 10th, when I will drive over to Seattle and fly out for my missions trip to Greece for the summer. I will send out periodic updates via email/this blog throughout the adventure. As always, I'd appreciate any and every prayer you can muster about the missions trip, and I'm stoked to see what God does.
Peace,
Doug
Peace,
Doug
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Unemployed
I am officially unemployed as of two days ago, Friday the 16th. Now it's off to Mexico to be a bonafide beach bum and take part in Kevin and Ashley's wedding. Rough life, I know.
I was reminded again of how Jesus came to completely reshape the way we view religion and rules and God. In Luke 6.6ff Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath and some of the Pharisees come up to him to see if he is going to heal a man on the Sabbath. They want to catch Jesus disobeying the law that they believed was all important. If Jesus healed the man, then they could accuse him of disobeying God's law and not being true to His commands. In their mind, religion was about obeying the letter of the law. However, just like Jesus does all throughout the sermon on the mount and throughout other Scripture, he completely changes the premise of the accusation and cuts to the heart of the issue. Jesus asks them: Is it better to do good and give life, or to destroy it? The Pharisees could not answer because they knew they had been trapped. You see, according to the strict Pharisaical interpretation of the law was that you couldn't do any kind of "work" on the Sabbath and therefore Jesus would be disobedient if he healed someone. But Jesus reframes the whole issue by getting to the heart: does God want us to do good and give life, or be apathetic and destroy life? Obeying Sabbath laws are not the end; loving God (and, consequently, loving others) is the end. Jesus doesn't want us to follow a bunch of rules. He set us free from them. He wants us to live in the incredible freedom of his forgiveness and be free to love God (and others) with all that we are. We are set free from legalistic living!
I was reminded again of how Jesus came to completely reshape the way we view religion and rules and God. In Luke 6.6ff Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath and some of the Pharisees come up to him to see if he is going to heal a man on the Sabbath. They want to catch Jesus disobeying the law that they believed was all important. If Jesus healed the man, then they could accuse him of disobeying God's law and not being true to His commands. In their mind, religion was about obeying the letter of the law. However, just like Jesus does all throughout the sermon on the mount and throughout other Scripture, he completely changes the premise of the accusation and cuts to the heart of the issue. Jesus asks them: Is it better to do good and give life, or to destroy it? The Pharisees could not answer because they knew they had been trapped. You see, according to the strict Pharisaical interpretation of the law was that you couldn't do any kind of "work" on the Sabbath and therefore Jesus would be disobedient if he healed someone. But Jesus reframes the whole issue by getting to the heart: does God want us to do good and give life, or be apathetic and destroy life? Obeying Sabbath laws are not the end; loving God (and, consequently, loving others) is the end. Jesus doesn't want us to follow a bunch of rules. He set us free from them. He wants us to live in the incredible freedom of his forgiveness and be free to love God (and others) with all that we are. We are set free from legalistic living!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Sweet Corridors Video
Check out this legit video of us at Corridors. Yeah us.
Also, we are featured on reelfm.tv with this vid if you want to see it bigger. Nice fun fact.
Also, we are featured on reelfm.tv with this vid if you want to see it bigger. Nice fun fact.
Moses
Last week I was lying in bed trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep. My mind was wandering everywhere, and at one point I began to ponder the next step for me in ministry. I thought some about leading worship, and I began to doubt again that I would actually be used to do that. As those doubts were creeping in my head, I saw in my head a clear image of a man who I knew to be Moses. I felt God telling me that, like Moses, God's work doesn't depend on His people's own abilities, but on being open to letting God use them. Moses was quite convinced that God had chosen the wrong person to be His mouthpiece. Moses thought himself to be a terrible speaker, too unqualified. God had other plans and used him in mighty ways. This has been a recurring theme recently for me. God is reminding me that it is not through my own strength or skills that He will be most glorified, but through me submitting those skills to Him and letting Him to with them what He pleases. I should not be audacious enough to think I can limit what God can do with what He's given me.
In 2 Tim Paul warns Timothy about godlessness in the last days before Christ comes back. One particular verse stuck out to me. He said that there will be people who are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. There is such a war that wages against my desire for immediate pleasure versus a desire to be obedient to God first and foremost. Don't get me wrong-I think that God is the author of all good things and there is no "more pleasureful" experience than really experiencing God. However, it is easy to just do what our flesh wants (usually what is easiest and most comfortable) instead of submit to God. That's why we're called to die daily and surrender. Quite the paradox. So when I would rather just watch another episode of LOST because that sounds more fun and entertaining, perhaps I should spend some time to read the Word and seek the Lord out. And true vibrant life is in the dying daily and loving God, not indulging daily and loving my own fleshly pleasure. Word.
In 2 Tim Paul warns Timothy about godlessness in the last days before Christ comes back. One particular verse stuck out to me. He said that there will be people who are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. There is such a war that wages against my desire for immediate pleasure versus a desire to be obedient to God first and foremost. Don't get me wrong-I think that God is the author of all good things and there is no "more pleasureful" experience than really experiencing God. However, it is easy to just do what our flesh wants (usually what is easiest and most comfortable) instead of submit to God. That's why we're called to die daily and surrender. Quite the paradox. So when I would rather just watch another episode of LOST because that sounds more fun and entertaining, perhaps I should spend some time to read the Word and seek the Lord out. And true vibrant life is in the dying daily and loving God, not indulging daily and loving my own fleshly pleasure. Word.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Quote
Here are a couple of quotes/thoughts which I resonate with. They are from Jim Cymbala's book, "Fresh Wind Fresh Fire." Good stuff.
Cymbala quotes William Law, a 18th century Englishman: "Read whatever chapter of Scripture you will, and be ever so delighted with it-yet it will leave you as poor, as empty and unchanged as it found you unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God, and brought you into full union with and dependence upon Him."
Often times I can read the Bible, but it can seem blah and dry and unapplicable. It is pretty easy to grasp intellectual concepts in the Bible. But what is important is connecting with the Spirit of Christ, who breathes life to the words on the page. Without a living connection to Him, we cannot truly understand/grasp the heart of the Scriptures, the heart of God, and we cannot truly live in the power that He offers. It's funny because the common conception is that faith is easy because it just takes a simple act of believing. People think that intellectually rationalizing concepts in the Bible is more difficult. I think it's the opposite. It's easy to see how many theological concepts "fit" into a "system" of theology. It's much more challenging to truly believe the incredible words on the pages of the Bible, to believe what God has done, to believe that His Spirit lives in us, to believe that we can experience the living God, perform miracles, receive true forgiveness, not be a slave to sin, be set apart. That's tough, but that's where life is found.
Going along with that thought, Cymbala points out in a relevant Scripture in John 5 where Jesus is talking to the religious leaders: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that BY THEM you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to HAVE LIFE." It's not by knowing Scriptures that we have life, but by coming to Jesus. Nor is it by reading books about God, like Cymbala's. Everything needs to point to a real, living experience with the true, living God.
Cymbala quotes William Law, a 18th century Englishman: "Read whatever chapter of Scripture you will, and be ever so delighted with it-yet it will leave you as poor, as empty and unchanged as it found you unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God, and brought you into full union with and dependence upon Him."
Often times I can read the Bible, but it can seem blah and dry and unapplicable. It is pretty easy to grasp intellectual concepts in the Bible. But what is important is connecting with the Spirit of Christ, who breathes life to the words on the page. Without a living connection to Him, we cannot truly understand/grasp the heart of the Scriptures, the heart of God, and we cannot truly live in the power that He offers. It's funny because the common conception is that faith is easy because it just takes a simple act of believing. People think that intellectually rationalizing concepts in the Bible is more difficult. I think it's the opposite. It's easy to see how many theological concepts "fit" into a "system" of theology. It's much more challenging to truly believe the incredible words on the pages of the Bible, to believe what God has done, to believe that His Spirit lives in us, to believe that we can experience the living God, perform miracles, receive true forgiveness, not be a slave to sin, be set apart. That's tough, but that's where life is found.
Going along with that thought, Cymbala points out in a relevant Scripture in John 5 where Jesus is talking to the religious leaders: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that BY THEM you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to HAVE LIFE." It's not by knowing Scriptures that we have life, but by coming to Jesus. Nor is it by reading books about God, like Cymbala's. Everything needs to point to a real, living experience with the true, living God.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Pride Sucks
As I have been growing more and more in the Lord and experiencing him, a curious thing has popped up: pride. Obviously pride is always sneaking around, creeping up here and there, but I noticed it much more recently. I am not surprised this has happened, because as soon as things start going well our natural inclination is to start to get big headed and think we are hot stuff. Stupidly, we turn our focus off of the one who is the source of all good things in our life and start to think we ourselves should get the credit. This has happened in a couple of areas: one, with this blog, there is a temptation to just write something so that I will look good or appear like I'm learning a lot. Also, after God used me in leading worship the past two weeks, I found myself starting to think I was pretty hot stuff, that it was my own voice, my own ability which made it go well. Ridiculous. And there are many other examples. As soon as we start growing in the Lord more and more, either our eyes start being opened to our pride or we see the good things that are happening and naturally start looking inward at ourselves for the credit instead of to God. Or both. Pride. Something to be aware of. The Word says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The first words out of Jesus' mouth in the sermon on the mount: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Being humble enough to realize your need for Christ, to turn to him for strength and sustenance, not to yourself. To be poor in your spirit so that you can be rich in His.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Waiting...
Sometimes it is so difficult to be focused. I tried to spend a good amount of quality time just listening to the Lord and seeking Him out, but I found myself not being able to focus for more than a few moments before thinking about other things. Baseball, the sun, basketball, guitar, relationships...kind of frustrating. I found it helpful to read some of the Psalms to help me pray my heart out. I know I need more of God, to be poor in Spirit, so I will continue to seek Him and trust that He will continue to be patient with my wandering mind.
On a different note, I was finishing up 1 Timothy the other day, and I think Paul was probably the original founder of Focus on the Family. Dobson's got nothing on him. Paul is emphatic on the importance of caring for one's family, especially the immediate relatives. He claimed that those who don't look after their own family are "worse than unbelievers," implying those who didn't claim to be Christians thought it normal and expected to take care of their own family, and so should Christians. In America, the family is becoming less and less connected and people are becoming more and more independent. Often times the attitude is to let everyone fend for themselves. I have to look out for number one. Paul calls us to not only love our neighbor, but to love and care for our own brother/parent/grandma. It was a good reminder for me to read that.
On a different note, I was finishing up 1 Timothy the other day, and I think Paul was probably the original founder of Focus on the Family. Dobson's got nothing on him. Paul is emphatic on the importance of caring for one's family, especially the immediate relatives. He claimed that those who don't look after their own family are "worse than unbelievers," implying those who didn't claim to be Christians thought it normal and expected to take care of their own family, and so should Christians. In America, the family is becoming less and less connected and people are becoming more and more independent. Often times the attitude is to let everyone fend for themselves. I have to look out for number one. Paul calls us to not only love our neighbor, but to love and care for our own brother/parent/grandma. It was a good reminder for me to read that.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Weakness and Worship
I had an interesting day yesterday. Usually Sam leads worship for our Sunday night service, and I speak the message. Well, Sam was in Boise this weekend, leading worship and signing papers on his new house he bought. So I was given worship duties, and our new pastor Kevin preached. Let me give you a little rundown of my thoughts on leading worship. I usually stress out when I have to lead, especially if I am leading by myself. While I love music, playing guitar, piano, drums, whatever, I have quite little confidence in my vocal abilities. Consequently I usually shy away from leading with my voice and would rather just participate in the instrumental side of worship. Unfortunately, there was no other option last night. I was in charge of leading. I got everything set up in the afternoon, but I was a bit nervous for the evening. A couple hours before service started, Kevin introduced me to a friend of his, Paul, who graciously offered to help with worship. Paul and I ran through the set once, and after that there was about an hour before the service started. My feelings: I felt like worship was going to go poor/average, I didn't think we sounded together musically, I felt like I couldn't sing in tune, and I was literally resigned to the fact that this would be the last time I would try to lead worship because I was expecting it to go so poorly.
The service started, I led and felt the Spirit moving. I didn't feel too confident in my voice still, but with Paul's background vocals, I felt like God used us and it went well. The Spirit of God showed up and worked in me, and I didn't feel like I messed things up too much or sung too off key.
After the service was over, Kevin came up to me and thanked me for leading. I just thought he was being gracious and I thanked him for the compliment, but then he went on to say that he was really blessed by the worship, that he firmly believed I have a gift for leading worship, and that numerous other people had come up to him afterwards and said how much they appreciated the worship. I was blown away. I told Kevin that I was planning on telling him he could find someone else to lead worship for the next while because I didn't feel adequate to do it, and Kevin told me that he doesn't want anyone else to lead at all. He wants to use me for as long as I'm here. He proceeded to compliment me on some of the aspects of the worship leading, and I was incredibly blessed. It's crazy how much your perspective can change in just a few hours. I went from thinking I would be involved at worship leading much to thinking it could be a gift of mine. I was clearly being a little too proud and audacious to think that the quality of worship depended on my own vocal abilities. God got his glory, and he used us to allow people to worship him. I suppose you can get things confused and backwards when you start focusing on your own abilities instead of what God can do through you. This situation brought to my mind Paul's words about boasting in his weaknesses, for then God is strong.
I just thought I'd post that, because I feel like I am excited now to see what God has in store for me and to further develop some possible giftings of mine. Whatever happens, it's God working in me that causes the good to happen.
Also, I just fount out I AM NOW AN UNCLE!!!!!! Little Eli Joshua Pettis was born today around 3.15pm at 7lb4oz and 20 inches. Congrats DJ and Charese!
The service started, I led and felt the Spirit moving. I didn't feel too confident in my voice still, but with Paul's background vocals, I felt like God used us and it went well. The Spirit of God showed up and worked in me, and I didn't feel like I messed things up too much or sung too off key.
After the service was over, Kevin came up to me and thanked me for leading. I just thought he was being gracious and I thanked him for the compliment, but then he went on to say that he was really blessed by the worship, that he firmly believed I have a gift for leading worship, and that numerous other people had come up to him afterwards and said how much they appreciated the worship. I was blown away. I told Kevin that I was planning on telling him he could find someone else to lead worship for the next while because I didn't feel adequate to do it, and Kevin told me that he doesn't want anyone else to lead at all. He wants to use me for as long as I'm here. He proceeded to compliment me on some of the aspects of the worship leading, and I was incredibly blessed. It's crazy how much your perspective can change in just a few hours. I went from thinking I would be involved at worship leading much to thinking it could be a gift of mine. I was clearly being a little too proud and audacious to think that the quality of worship depended on my own vocal abilities. God got his glory, and he used us to allow people to worship him. I suppose you can get things confused and backwards when you start focusing on your own abilities instead of what God can do through you. This situation brought to my mind Paul's words about boasting in his weaknesses, for then God is strong.
I just thought I'd post that, because I feel like I am excited now to see what God has in store for me and to further develop some possible giftings of mine. Whatever happens, it's God working in me that causes the good to happen.
Also, I just fount out I AM NOW AN UNCLE!!!!!! Little Eli Joshua Pettis was born today around 3.15pm at 7lb4oz and 20 inches. Congrats DJ and Charese!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Spirit
I have thought for a long time that there is more to the Spirit of God than what I have allowed in my life. I see all the power and energy and life-giving examples in the New Testament and it makes me think there is more to God than I have allowed. In a sense, it is almost like I have been dampening the Spirit (1 Thes 5.19ff) when I want to be fanning the flame of the Spirit. Consequently, I have been seeking God, asking for more of Him, to know Him, and to be filled with His Spirit. I have also been exploring the various gifts of the Spirit mentioned and written about in the Word. Things like prophecy, healings, tongues, and other miraculous happenings. I know that all of these things are occurring all over the world right now, which is wonderful, but I want to grow in my understanding and equipping of them. Do I have the gift of prophecy? Maybe. Should I be confident that God can use me to heal people and perform miracles? Absolutely. The whole "charismatic" movement gets a lot of flak because of two reasons: it is just weird to some people, and it has been abused. But just because something is abused doesn't invalidate it. One error doesn't make it ok do do another error. "Do not treat prophecy with contempt, but test everything" (1 Thes 5). I am cautiously seeking after the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 13.31), testing everything, not as an end but simply because those could be manifestations and fruit for life with the Spirit of the living God. The goal is to seek God, know God, love God, be consumed by God and for God. As I live in His Spirit more and more, I want to be open to experiencing whatever else His Spirit has in store for me, which could be prophecy, tongues, healings, other miracles, etc.
Any thoughts? Does anyone think I'm going crazy/looney? "If I am out of my mind, it is for God's sake" 2 Cor 5.13a
Any thoughts? Does anyone think I'm going crazy/looney? "If I am out of my mind, it is for God's sake" 2 Cor 5.13a
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Speak Truth
Sam and I had a good discussion this morning about ministry. One thing we discussed was how often times we worry about being too invasive or judging and so we won't speak truth into people's lives. Or we will spoon feed basic biblical truths but not really call people into the lives that God wants for them. I'm fed up with that. I want to be able to speak the truth in love, and not worry so much about potentially upsetting people or offending some people. I understand the need to be gentle and loving in how you approach people and the motivation behind what you do, but it is so important to be willing to speak truth to others. In particular, we need to tell people who they really are in Christ. Identity in Christ is key, because it allows us to truly embrace our real self. There is great power in knowing who we are, knowing what Jesus has done for us. I am convinced I need to be more forward in encouraging people to live up to the calling God has called us to (Let us live a life worthy of the calling we have received). Allright that's it, just a quick ramble.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Presence
We had Doulos, our Sunday night worship service last night. We at Corridors are right in the middle of a transition, with Sam/Christy/me leaving at the end of May and new leadership coming in. The leadership is coming from Marina Christian Fellowship, and Kevin is the pastor who is in charge of overseeing Corridors as well until a new pastor is appointed. I was reminded last night of how much will change at Corridors. Not that change is bad, but it is usually uncomfortable. I can see that a ton of work needs to be done and many hurdles need to be overcome. Throughout the evening, though, I was reminded again and again that if this church is going to thrive, God needs to do it. Each and every person needs a living, vibrant relationship with Jesus. And despite the apparent difficulties and storms, I'm confident that God will carry through with the work he's been doing here in Pasadena. We just need more of God. A true and vibrant relationship, open and willing to seek and believe.
It's all about love. Love God, love each other, love yourself. I am reading in 1 Timothy 1 and Paul says that the goal of his command/encouragment is love. Love is at the core, the crux of who God is. God has attributes of strength, omnipotence, compassion, etc, but God IS love. Everything is rooted in that. In that same verse, Paul encourages Timothy to have love based upon a pure heart. What is a pure heart? I taught on this a few months ago in Jesus' sermon on the mount. Matthew 5 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." When I read verses that speak on purity of heart, my first inclination is to think about purity in terms of guys and girls, lust, and so on. But God's trying to expand my viewpoint to something a little bigger. God's telling me to check my motivation in all that I do, and make it pure. That I would desire to act and live out of a love for God and to glorify God. Those are pure intentions, coming from a pure heart. God wants to transform my motives for doing what I do. I am definitely not there yet, and I don't even know what that looks like or how it will change. But I do know that if God's calling me to do it, then I just need to believe and ask and seek and he will answer.
Lastly, I am officially going to Greece this summer!!! The plan is to drive up to Spokane in early June, stay for a week, then fly out around June 10th. Then I will come back August 18th or so in time for Ky-Eazy's wedding extravaganza. Good things.
It's all about love. Love God, love each other, love yourself. I am reading in 1 Timothy 1 and Paul says that the goal of his command/encouragment is love. Love is at the core, the crux of who God is. God has attributes of strength, omnipotence, compassion, etc, but God IS love. Everything is rooted in that. In that same verse, Paul encourages Timothy to have love based upon a pure heart. What is a pure heart? I taught on this a few months ago in Jesus' sermon on the mount. Matthew 5 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." When I read verses that speak on purity of heart, my first inclination is to think about purity in terms of guys and girls, lust, and so on. But God's trying to expand my viewpoint to something a little bigger. God's telling me to check my motivation in all that I do, and make it pure. That I would desire to act and live out of a love for God and to glorify God. Those are pure intentions, coming from a pure heart. God wants to transform my motives for doing what I do. I am definitely not there yet, and I don't even know what that looks like or how it will change. But I do know that if God's calling me to do it, then I just need to believe and ask and seek and he will answer.
Lastly, I am officially going to Greece this summer!!! The plan is to drive up to Spokane in early June, stay for a week, then fly out around June 10th. Then I will come back August 18th or so in time for Ky-Eazy's wedding extravaganza. Good things.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
...
I taught on this the other night at Doulos, our Sunday night worship service, so here is the cliff notes version.
Most of us all know Christian principles. Intellectually, we know how we are saved, what we are to do, the correct things to say, etc. But we are misguided when we use substitute living from those principles for living from the presence of God. Deut 8.8 says that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God's word, his breath, his presence breeds life. Often times in American Christianity we focus so much on having right belief and right intellectual thoughts about God that we aren't ever too concerned with actually experiencing him. This is a travesty. As much as it might look like you are being a "Christian" if you are doing Christian things, there is no life there. What is life-giving is being connected with the real presence of the living God. In the sermon on the mount Jesus speaks to this point early and often. He says that God hates the kind of religion that is all about the outward appearance but is not really transformed on the inside. I was listening to the Hillsong United song "Inside Out" today, and it had a whole new meaning when I sing it in light of what I've been talking about. "Consume me from the inside out" We need to be transformed on the inside first, being in real communion with the presence of God, and then the outward transformation will follow.
Another thing-if you are struggling with some kind of sin, believe that Jesus has conquered the power of sin for all of us and we are no longer slaves to it. Thus, pray that God helps you realize that truth and kills the sinful desire in you which you deal with. We are no longer to be held captive to sin. There is tremendous freedom in Christ. Ask and believe. Ask and believe.
Most of us all know Christian principles. Intellectually, we know how we are saved, what we are to do, the correct things to say, etc. But we are misguided when we use substitute living from those principles for living from the presence of God. Deut 8.8 says that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God's word, his breath, his presence breeds life. Often times in American Christianity we focus so much on having right belief and right intellectual thoughts about God that we aren't ever too concerned with actually experiencing him. This is a travesty. As much as it might look like you are being a "Christian" if you are doing Christian things, there is no life there. What is life-giving is being connected with the real presence of the living God. In the sermon on the mount Jesus speaks to this point early and often. He says that God hates the kind of religion that is all about the outward appearance but is not really transformed on the inside. I was listening to the Hillsong United song "Inside Out" today, and it had a whole new meaning when I sing it in light of what I've been talking about. "Consume me from the inside out" We need to be transformed on the inside first, being in real communion with the presence of God, and then the outward transformation will follow.
Another thing-if you are struggling with some kind of sin, believe that Jesus has conquered the power of sin for all of us and we are no longer slaves to it. Thus, pray that God helps you realize that truth and kills the sinful desire in you which you deal with. We are no longer to be held captive to sin. There is tremendous freedom in Christ. Ask and believe. Ask and believe.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Actually Colossians...
So that verse I mentioned in the earlier post about Christ dwelling richly in your heart? Well I said that it was in Ephesians 3, but the verse I was actually referring to is in Colossians 3. But hey, I'm sure they're both good chapters, right?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
word
Couple thoughts-
Something that's been running around my brain a bunch in the past couple months is the phrase in Ephesians 3 where Paul is praying for the church and asks that from God's glorious riches Jesus would dwell in their hearts. That's what God wants-us to be living off of the living presence of the living God. In 1 Thes 5 Paul pleads with the people to not put out the Spirit's fire. God's Spirit is a fire that wants to consume all. If we aren't reciving Him, making room, spending time listening and asking, then we are at the very least dampening his Spirit, if not extinguishing him. It's like there is this incredible unrealized potential in each of us, and we simply need to receive more of God's Spirit in our lives to begin to realize that. When a college sports star has some much potential for success and greatness in their sport, then they get injured or are lazy and make wrong decisions, people call it a travesty that they didn't fulfill their potential. There is a tremendous amount of unrealized potential in our lives. And it is a travesty if we are not seeking to fan the Spirit's flame, to live in what God has called us to be.
Something else God is doing: helping me realize my identity in Christ, and to live from that identity. To believe and receive and live. So, if I struggle with something (forgiveness, love, purity, joy, whatever), then I go to the Word and see what God has promised/declared, and pray that back to Him. If I struggle with purity in thought, then I turn to the Word where God says his will is for us to be sanctified, having pure thoughts, being set apart. Since I know that Jesus has destroyed the power/dominion of sin in the world, I know that I am not a slave to any sin. So I have confidence that, through him and his Spirit living in my life, I can be free to live for him. There is so much freedom and power in that way of living and praying!! If God's word says I am forgiven, I am free from sin, I am to be set apart, I am to encourage others, I am to love, I am to be consumed by Him, I am to have peace, then I WILL if I believe and ask God for it. It only happens through his living presence in our hearts/lives, but it will happen. Lots of power in this. Ask, ask ask.
I'm working on figuring out my identity in Christ. More to come as I learn.
Something that's been running around my brain a bunch in the past couple months is the phrase in Ephesians 3 where Paul is praying for the church and asks that from God's glorious riches Jesus would dwell in their hearts. That's what God wants-us to be living off of the living presence of the living God. In 1 Thes 5 Paul pleads with the people to not put out the Spirit's fire. God's Spirit is a fire that wants to consume all. If we aren't reciving Him, making room, spending time listening and asking, then we are at the very least dampening his Spirit, if not extinguishing him. It's like there is this incredible unrealized potential in each of us, and we simply need to receive more of God's Spirit in our lives to begin to realize that. When a college sports star has some much potential for success and greatness in their sport, then they get injured or are lazy and make wrong decisions, people call it a travesty that they didn't fulfill their potential. There is a tremendous amount of unrealized potential in our lives. And it is a travesty if we are not seeking to fan the Spirit's flame, to live in what God has called us to be.
Something else God is doing: helping me realize my identity in Christ, and to live from that identity. To believe and receive and live. So, if I struggle with something (forgiveness, love, purity, joy, whatever), then I go to the Word and see what God has promised/declared, and pray that back to Him. If I struggle with purity in thought, then I turn to the Word where God says his will is for us to be sanctified, having pure thoughts, being set apart. Since I know that Jesus has destroyed the power/dominion of sin in the world, I know that I am not a slave to any sin. So I have confidence that, through him and his Spirit living in my life, I can be free to live for him. There is so much freedom and power in that way of living and praying!! If God's word says I am forgiven, I am free from sin, I am to be set apart, I am to encourage others, I am to love, I am to be consumed by Him, I am to have peace, then I WILL if I believe and ask God for it. It only happens through his living presence in our hearts/lives, but it will happen. Lots of power in this. Ask, ask ask.
I'm working on figuring out my identity in Christ. More to come as I learn.
Monday, April 7, 2008
What's up
God's doin some things
I asked for more of God, to really experience him instead of just act on his principles, and he's changing things. The Word becomes alive. It pierces my heart more. I can worship. I am not cynical (or not nearly as much as I was) and uber critical of every last detail. I can just worship God. Amazing! Until I just wrote these words, I didn't really realize how big of a deal that is. I hardly ever felt like I could worship in any kind of setting before, but now I can anytime I hear a sweet song I like. Crazy. I am becoming more free. It's not natural/normal yet for me to raise my hands, but it's becoming more so (not as worried about other people and what they think). I don't always feel God's presence. Even when I pray, sometimes it feels like nothing has changed since before when I wasn't seeking God's presence out as much. But something is different. His word penetrates me more. I am more willing to speak boldly about things I am learning and experiencing. I can see God working in situations. I am beginning to learn and embrace who I am in Jesus. Slowly. I repeat those promises back to God in prayer, and I am sure of them. I don't have things figured out, but I know that all I need is God's presence in my life, that Jesus would dwell richly in my heart, that I would be sanctified through and through. All I know is that I need to come to God and ask, ask, ask. Be real and ask. I don't feel like one thing is changing incredibly fast, but that just about everything is slowly undergoing a deep shift from its roots. My perspective is becoming different. God's doin some things. God's taking my feeble efforts at speaking and sharing his word and transforming them into something powerful true. I have this growing desire and sense of urgency to be spending quality time alone with God, listening, seeking, asking. I think God's stirring up his people to really embrace him and his Spirit and live with him. I think he's doing something big. That's what's up.
I believe God gives us words of wisdom not only to benefit us but to benefit others. So as I am learning and growing, I'll post some thoughts on this little site. Feel free to check them out if you like.
I asked for more of God, to really experience him instead of just act on his principles, and he's changing things. The Word becomes alive. It pierces my heart more. I can worship. I am not cynical (or not nearly as much as I was) and uber critical of every last detail. I can just worship God. Amazing! Until I just wrote these words, I didn't really realize how big of a deal that is. I hardly ever felt like I could worship in any kind of setting before, but now I can anytime I hear a sweet song I like. Crazy. I am becoming more free. It's not natural/normal yet for me to raise my hands, but it's becoming more so (not as worried about other people and what they think). I don't always feel God's presence. Even when I pray, sometimes it feels like nothing has changed since before when I wasn't seeking God's presence out as much. But something is different. His word penetrates me more. I am more willing to speak boldly about things I am learning and experiencing. I can see God working in situations. I am beginning to learn and embrace who I am in Jesus. Slowly. I repeat those promises back to God in prayer, and I am sure of them. I don't have things figured out, but I know that all I need is God's presence in my life, that Jesus would dwell richly in my heart, that I would be sanctified through and through. All I know is that I need to come to God and ask, ask, ask. Be real and ask. I don't feel like one thing is changing incredibly fast, but that just about everything is slowly undergoing a deep shift from its roots. My perspective is becoming different. God's doin some things. God's taking my feeble efforts at speaking and sharing his word and transforming them into something powerful true. I have this growing desire and sense of urgency to be spending quality time alone with God, listening, seeking, asking. I think God's stirring up his people to really embrace him and his Spirit and live with him. I think he's doing something big. That's what's up.
I believe God gives us words of wisdom not only to benefit us but to benefit others. So as I am learning and growing, I'll post some thoughts on this little site. Feel free to check them out if you like.
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