Losing it All

My favorite chapter in the Bible is Philippians 3. In verse 8, Paul says...

"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ."

I have found this to be true, though I have questioned and found it painful. In my recent transition out of vocational ministry it feels I have lost it all.

• the church I pastored
• my career
• some friends
• my credit score
• my house
• district support
• my reputation
• my possessions are in storage
• stability for my kids
• money, lots of it
• my dog can't live with us
• american amenities and luxuries
• position, status, recognition
• privacy, solitude, control of quiet
• my books are in boxes
• platform for ministry
• neighborhood friends, routines, places
• maybe even a portion of my faith

I don't naturally have the proper response: mourn, detach, refocus, anger, depression, paralyzed, cocoon, vengeance, cursing and cussing. I know I am not like Paul yet and far from the quality of Jesus. I lack contentment, peace, love, faith, hope and forgiveness.

It amazes me to think of what Paul lost. In the religious world of the Jews, he had it all: education, position, success, accolades, mission, status. As a Pharisee he was set for life and a 401K to retire on. Paul chose to lose it all for Jesus. Or Jesus chose Paul.

Top 10 Pick Up Lines for Christians

1. "You've opened the eyes of my heart" - Paul Baloche

2. "Beautiful one I love, Beautiful one I adore, Beautiful one my soul must sing" - Tim Hughes

3. "You are my all in all" - Dennis Jernigan

4. "Draw me close to you" - Kelly Carpenter

5. "All of you is more than enough for all of me" - Chris Tomlin

6. "I could sing of your love forever" - Martin Smith

7. "Every move I make" - David Ruis

8. "I stand in awe" - Mark Altrogge

9. "You never let go" - Matt Redman

10."I called you answered and you came to my rescue and I wanna be where you are" - Hillsong United

Psalm 23 - is for the Dogs

If we changed the metaphor from sheep to dogs...

Jesus is my master, I do not have to beg for anything.
He invites me to sit on his lap,
He fills my water bowl with cool water
He refreshes my panting mouth and tired paws.
He holds my leash and guides me down the right path because he is good to me.
Even though I cross major intersections, I don't fear people who want to hurt me,
For my master is always with me;
Your "down boy" commands and "good boy" affirmations comfort me.
You feed me everyday and give me treats,
The coyotes and big dogs are close but you protect me
You get me groomed and my water bowl overflows .
No doubt you will continue to be good to me and pet me all the days of my life,
and I will be a loyal companion in my Master's house forever.

13 MANscaping Tips

The philosophy behind manscaping (landscaping of a man's hair) is if you get a haircut for the top of your head, you should consider caring for the rest of your hairy body. If your wife says she doesn't care or notice, she is lying! Never manscape in public (like the gym locker room) and don't think people don't notice your curly, pubic-like, shoulder hair when you wear a tank top. Lastly, the motivation for manscaping is for a woman, not to become one.

1. Trim your hairy chest, arms and legs. Shaving them is metrosexual, trimming is manscaping
2. Wax your back, it's gross
3. Keep armpit hair in your armpit
4. No one should ever see hair coming out of your nose or ears
5. If you're going bald, shave it. You're not fooling anyone and Agassi's hair was a wig
6. Never give yourself a haircut and if no one has ever complimented you after your wife's attempt she must stop too
7. Shave your neck line between haircut appointments
8. Uni-brows are still out so pluck and shape but don't over do it Alice.
9. Eyebrows should have a length limit. How come you don't notice that 2 inch wild hair?
10. Cut your sideburns parallel to your jaw bone and cut facial hair symmetrically
11. Don't miss a patch of hair while shaving. We notice the left over stubble under your nose and around your moles
12. Trimming some areas make objects appear larger than they are!
13. Knuckle hair shouldn't cover your wedding ring

Top 10 Favorite Things of NorthGate Church

Kristan and I have spent the last 5 1/2 years serving as lead pastors at NorthGate Church of the Nazarene. Here are just some of my favorite things...



10. Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the church with former pastors and families

9. Ministry to people and seeing God move to help and change them

8. Participating in life's passages such as marriages, baby dedications, baptisms and funerals (can you believe the Benson boys finally got married! Most painful to me was saying goodbye to Emma Simpkins - see you soon)

7. Preaching the Word - nothing greater than trying to communicate God's heart for people

6. Doing church at the movie theater - thanks for leaving the 99 so we can search for the 1

5. Getting healthy - I found a safe atmosphere to get physically healthy and strengthen my marriage

4. Taking trips - Mexico, Mt Whitney, Uganda, Grand Canyon rim to rim and Ireland!

3. Learning about leadership and loving people by teaching, practicing our faith and finishing my B.A.

2. Raising my family - Kennedy was 2 and Kristan was 8 months pregnant with Jameson when we came. NorthGate was a great introduction to my kids

1. People - Thanks for your love, support, patience and forgiveness. We love you too!!!

Emergentia - Missional

Dave Curtiss presented this message from Mark's Gospel.

He opened with Genesis 12 and the vague vision of God's plan. 2 of the most powerful words in Scripture..."Abram went".

This was paralleled with Jesus' call to his disciples...

"Let's go to the other side."

The other side of the lake was home to pig worshipping herders, demon possessed people and backslidden Jews.

Hear the voice of the Holy Spirit sending us on the Misseo Dei.

Emergentia - Holiness

Stan Reeder presented this topic. Very helpful in seeing the distinctive between yesterday's understanding of holiness and today's. His outline was Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. This was debated on who is exactly under what. While being helpful, I didn't find it hopeful. Synthesis was a future reality not to be experienced today.

Thesis (1838 - 1960)

A. Personal Piety

B. Heavenly Focused

C. Crisis Emphasis

D. Prophetic Destiny

Antithesis (Today)

A. Authentic Community
B. Missional Focus
C. Discipleship Emphasis
D. Historically Rooted

Synthesis (Future - the pendulum will settle in the middle)

A. authentic community enjoyed by individuals of personal piety
B. mission focus compelled by eternal motivation
C. discipleship journey punctuated by crisis of experiential grace
D. historically rooted with a sense of prophetic destiny

What if the pendulum is the wrong image to think about in regards to God's revelation of holiness?