Suffering well!

Hi Everyone, here is a quick video I wanted to share with all of you, its 50 minutes long so make some time, but it is absolutely worth it. 2 giants of the faith who love Jesus so much teach us on how to suffer well!

Here is the Link:

http://www.theresurgence.com/matt_now_knows (sorry, will have to cut and paste, still working out a link bug on this blog)

would love to hear your thoughts

Cal

Full Circle - Moving Back to West Michigan!

What?

Yes, it is true, my wife and I (and our puppy) will be moving back across the country once again this summer as we come home back to West Michigan. I have accepted a Pastoral position at a new Harvest Bible Chapel church plant in West Michigan that Lord willing will be launching this fall.

The past 2 years serving at HBC Orlando has been an absolute joy for both Mary and myself, we have loved our church, our students, and having this adventure out on our own. We will definitely miss many parts about Orlando and are so excited to see how God is going to use HBC Orlando for His glory in the future.

That being said, we are so excited to be moving back home and serving at the next place the Lord is leading us (hopefully for a long long time!)

When?

The tentative plan right now is that our car will be packed and we will be on the road early Monday morning, May 24th. My last official Sunday as a staff member at HBC Orlando is May 16th, we will take the next week to finish packing and making sure everything is all set and ready to go, and after a goodbye lunch on the 23rd with our church family we will be all set and ready to go.

Why?

There are a ton of different reasons that I could give but the major reason is that both Mary and I feel that God is strongly behind this and that He is the one moving us. Here is a few reasons that we feel this is the case:

1. The staff that is assembled: I am so excited that my dad is pursuing God's call on his life to pursue role of teaching pastor. He is one of the most gifted communicators of God's Word that I know, and I am confident that God is going to use him in great ways. Also, my dad has had more influence than anyone else on me and I feel that working under him will be a smooth transition and that this is the best place for me to grow as a pastor and as a person

Chris Mulford, my brother in law, is coming up shortly after us along with his wife Carolyn to be our Worship Pastor. I count myself lucky to call Chris one of my best friends, his love for Jesus is infectious and both encouraging and challenging to me. He is an extremely talented worship leader and musician and I believe he has both the talent and love for Jesus that God will use him to transform lives in West Michigan! Chris is the full package, and I am so pumped to work closely with him for the same purposes! I really believe he will inject a spirit of Worship into our church that Western Michigan desperately needs!

2. My heart is burdened for West Michigan: West Michigan is one of the most churched places in America and also one of the most spiritually dead places in America. People ask "Why plant another church there?" and the answer is because that place DESPERATELY needs Jesus Christ! I have seen it in both the public and Christian schools, people dont know who Jesus is and don't have a saving faith in Jesus but think they have it all because they go to church. The study of God's Word is not encouraged and people are lost. This is my home and my heart has always been burdened for West Michigan, and I feel strongly that this is where the Lord is leading me! Enough said!

3. My Pastoral Position: Like at HBC Orlando I will be overseeing the youth ministry initially. I have loved working with Jr. High and High School students in Orlando and am so glad I will continue to do that on some level. But on top of that I will oversee the Adult Ministries, Discipleship, and have the opportunity to grow in my preaching of God's Word. In all of these areas I need to continue to grow but I have such a great passion for both preaching God's Word and discipleship, seeing people grow in their walks with the Lord. I am so blessed to be able to serve God in this way and I am excited to see God grow me in these areas!

4. Mary's Role: Mary just graduated with a degree in Children's Ministry this spring from FCC and it is so cool to see the Lord open up a place for her to use what she has learned immediately. Mary is happiest when she is serving in children's ministry and every time we plan for it or talk about it her eyes light up and it is such a cool confirmation of what the Lord is doing in her life.

5. Being Back With Family: Both Mary and I cherish our relationships with our family and have missed seeing them over the past 2 years. We are so excited to be able to lean on them and grow those relationships even deeper in the future! Such a blessing!

Prayer Requests

1. That God would continue the work in the students we are leaving in Orlando.
2. That our house would sell quickly.
3. Safety in travel.
4. That God would continue to grow and bless HBC Orlando.
5. That God would stir in the hearts of people even now to join our new Church and be a part of what God is doing!
6. Protection against opposition that has and will come!
7. For Zoning on our building to be approved.
8. That God would provide older men to mentor me and help grow me.
9. That this next chapter in our lives would be one of fruitful service to the Lord!


cal

View from the Sky

Have you recently had a moment when the reality of the mere size and vastness of God has blown you away?

I had a moment like that yesterday that I want to quickly share with you:

The last 3 days I have spent at Harvest U which is an intensive church planting conference which was held in Elgin, Illinois. The conference was wonderful! Very focused, practical and concise and I was proud of myself because this may be the first conference ever where I have been at every session and never skipped out of anything. At conferences I have the attention span about the size of an ant and am usually bouncing around or grabbing lunch with friends or meeting with people rather than sitting through sessions.

However, this time I felt like I needed to soak in as much as I possibly could. I learned tons about small group formation, service planning, staff relationships, and the importance of making Church about God and not about us!

As I boarded the plane last night with Mary, my mind was literally moving at about 90 mph thinking about what I have learned, excitement for the future, what I can do better, and what the Lord has in store for me.

I was in the middle of playing a game of boggle on my phone with Mary when I happened to glance out of the window of our plane.

The sun was setting and when I looked down at the ground all I could see was groupings of city lights separated by miles and miles of land. It's hard to explain what I felt in that moment but I was blown away at the size and presence of God. I thought to myself as I looked at the night sky "all God had to do was speak and this happened." It is truly unfathomable! Psalm 19 tells us that God holds the Universe in the palm of his hand and my spirit literally felt that in that moment.

As I sat in the plane and looked out not only was I gripped by the size of God, but also about the frailty and smallness of myself. The truth of the gospel that says that outside of the blood of Christ there is nothing in me that can please God was made new again for me. I so small! how can I even pretend to be of any worth outside of Jesus Christ.

Thinking back on this whole experience, the coolest thing about it was that I unintentionally responded in the exact same way that Isaiah did in Isaiah 6, where in a vision he is brought into the throne room of the Lord!

Isaiah's first response was "woe is me for I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." When standing before the Lord Isaiah's first response was repentance. This same exact thing happened to me! I immediately repented of sin as I looked out of the plane window. "forgive me for my laziness, forgive me for my pride, forgive me for making you small and me big, forgive me for when I make life about me and not you, forgive me for forgetting how great you are, forgive me for making ministry about technique and not about you!" As I was gripped by the greatness of God all I could do was repent of my sin and thank him for his love and graciousness towards me!

The second thing Isaiah does in Chapter 6 is offer himself for service. When the Lord asks "who will go for us?" Isaiah responds by proclaiming "here I am! Send me." It is in the moments when our eyes are opened who how great God is that we can fully understand that there is no greater purpose in life than to serve him. As I sat in the plane I was so energized and ready to do whatever God would have me do for him! This is the call of all disciples of Jesus to make more disciples and I was so pumped to begin and continue the work God has called me to!

So as I look back and think through that experience, it is so cool that even though we were separated by thousands of years and thousands of miles Isaiah and I shared a similar response to seeing the glory of God. I believe repentance and action are a Biblical response to God and it was so amazing to see those Biblical principles come alive in a very real way for me!

When is the last time you have been struck by the awesomeness of God? And what was your response?

I think being in the presence of God is the place to be, let us strive to work towards that end together in humility!


cal

The 3 vs 30 dilemma

My Aunt Kim recently made a comment that resounded in my heart. Kim is an accomplished academic who has her doctorate in the English Literary field and she recently said "the thing you need to know about school is this: it takes 3 hours to write a "B" paper and 30 hours to write an "A" paper.

This statement made a lot of sense to me as I think back on my college days. The question becomes: Do you do the minimal amount of research and put a small amount of time in to get a good grade or spend nights in the library researching vast amounts of materials and spending hours upon hours writing and re-writing your papers to get an excellent grade?

I was the prototypical "B" student. I knew that I was smart enough to get good grades without trying too hard and I would put the 3 hours I needed into a paper to get somewhere between an A- and B- and then would be on with my life. As I would start a paper I would make a mental scale in my mind, and on one side would be the amount of time it would take to write a thorough, great paper. On the other side would be spending time with my fiancee, hanging out with my roommates, intramural soccer, video games, going out into the city to eat or hang out with friends, general happiness, and sleep...

The paper never won!

I viewed college as a means to an end that would give me the credibility I needed to pursue where I felt God was calling me and I was not emotionally invested in my school work. I also was not a huge fan of the academic community and the general arrogance that flowed out of some of my professors and colleagues (as it turns out, it is possible to love Jesus and not read and write fluent Greek). I think my attitude towards academics was not perfect, and I probably could have gained some had I cared more, but at the end of the day I got a pretty good GPA, had a blast living in Chicago, and don't have many regrets.

Anyways, the reason I write about this is because I believe we often translate this type of attitude towards our relationship with God.

What I mean is, that it is easy to turn our spiritual life into auto-pilate and go to church, do ministry, pray, and study God's word on a minimal level that "gets the job done" but leaves no lasting benefit to us or others.

In the Psalms, David writes "as the deer pants for water so my soul longs after you". I have a dog so I know what it means to pant. when we take our dog to the park, or on long walks by the end she is worn out, her tongue is out, drool is happening, and she is panting with each breath for water. Do I yearn for God like a dog or deer longs for water? Not nearly enough as I should.

Last night I heard Dr. James Macdonald preach on James 1 where James says "if any of you lack wisdom let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach." What is amazing about that statement is that God promises if I need wisdom in a trial to come to him and he will give it to me, and not even hold it against me for asking, yet so often I rely on my own strength, understanding and power which leads to failure and exhaustion.

All that being said, I think if we should strive for excellence in anything it should be in our walks with the Lord and yet so often we turn in "B" or "C" work because we don't care to put the effort in for "A" material.

As I get older I see more and more what a gracious and patient God I serve and am so grateful for his lovingkindness towards me all the time! He is much better to me than I am to Him!

I know this is nothing new to anyone but a good constant reminder none the less.

cal

The Resurrection Matters! (Response to Rob Bell Video)

Part of what I enjoy doing in my free time is hopping around the internet checking out websites/blogs of different churches and evangelical leaders. As a young man who is dedicating his life to serving the Lord via the local church I think it is important for me to have an understanding of what is going on, being taught, and what is making waves in the evangelical community.

On of the best times to do this is the Monday after Easter. I found it so encouraging to hear of all of the new people in churches on this last Sunday and the story of lives being changed through the power of the gospel!

Unfortunately I am not always thrilled with what I see. Yesterday I stumbled upon a video that troubled my heart, got me angry, and made me sad. I want to share that with you now, not for the purpose of bashing an individual (frankly, I don't care enough, nor do I like writing enough to spend the time to go after someone just for the sake of doing it) but I do love the gospel and I do love the resurrection which is why I want to take some time to reflect on what the death and resurrection of Christ does and does not accomplish.

Please check out this video now...or the rest of what I am writing wont make a ton of sense! (copy and paste)

http://vimeo.com/10639312

First of all, on a mere production value, this video is really cool. I find it encouraging when churches and pastors are committed to doing media well. I think sometime churches think that because Jesus lived 2000 years ago we are free to use 2000 year old technology...not the case! One of my favorite churches is Mars Hill Church in Seattle, and they go to great lengths to develop excellent media resources that go to further developing the Kingdom of God! On top of that Rob Bell is a very gifted communicator and has an eye for the artistic that I will never have, I will be the first person to say that he is good at what he does!

However, unfortunately in this case, cool production is used to hide a very dangerous message that in my opinion undercuts and takes all power away from the gospel, something that all Christians should care deeply about.

I knew things were headed in a downward spiral about 30 seconds in when speaking as Jesus, Rob Bell says "I am going to be killed, thats where this is headed because you don't confront corrupt systems of power with out eventually paying for it, sometimes with your own blood"

Let me make something obnoxiously clear here: THE REASON FOR CHRIST"S DEATH WAS TO SATISFY GOD'S WRATH ON SIN BY BECOMING SIN SO THAT WE MIGHT INHERIT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST"

Jesus did take on a corrupt system of power, but stating that as the reason for his death is not only laughable, it is false teaching! Scripture makes this abundantly clear, most notably Romans 5:6-11 which states that "Christ died for the ungodly", "we are saved from the wrath of God through Christ's blood", and "while we were yet sinners Christ died for US" notice the emphasis on Christ dying to save us from sin and not on taking on a corrupt system of power. Romans 5 is just 1 of many times scripture clearly lays this idea out for us!

Bell spends the rest of the video encouraging his listeners that this world is not a dark place that should make us despair, and he points to the resurrection of Christ as proof that God cares about "every kind word","that what we do with our lives matters", "that every work of art that celebrates the good matters" and "that every fair business transaction matters" According to Bell, all of these things belong and will go on. All of these statements left to themselves are fine and I would affirm that God does care about us and what we do.... But please understand that this is not the gospel!

Nowhere in his video does Bell mention sin, wrath, judgment, atonement, satan or even that Jesus did anything on our behalf. Bell believes that the world and all in it are inherently good, and that the resurrection of Christ is to celebrate all that is good triumphing over evil. According to Bell it was the government that put Jesus to death, not our sin, we have no responsibility because we are all good. Again, citing Romans 5 I would argue that this teaching flies in the face of what scripture teaches and Bell is making Jesus out to be little more than the South Vietnamese monks who burned themselves in protest of the war.

So why talk about this? Why should we care?

If the reason Christ died on the cross 2000 years ago was not to atone for my sin and to satisfy God's wrath on my behalf I am still damned... Christ death accomplished so much more than what Bell proclaims, Christ death offers SALVATION, RECONCILIATION to God and VICTORY over sin and death! (coincidently those words don't appear in Bell's video either)

Christ did not rise from the dead to redeem the world as Bell says, but to redeem me, a sinner deserving eternal damnation whom Christ has graciously called to Himself and as a result I am able to love, worship, and have a relationship with God both in the present and to eternity. This did not happen because I deserved it or because I am inherently good but because Christ purchased me with his blood. That is the power of the gospel! Christ victory over sin and death is what makes Easter such a beautiful day!

In his video, Bell says that "its easy to be cynical" and I am sure that he would write me off as merely a cynic looking for a reason to be grumpy. But I would say that it is even easier to subscribe and teach a non-offensive, toothless gospel that doesn't deal with the issue sin and has no real power. I have learned in life that the less I talk about sin the more people like me!

So while I understand I am probably not winning myself any friends today, I strongly believe that Christians need to not only be continually grateful for the 1 true gospel, but we must also in humility fight to protect it and not let false teaching take root in our hearts or in our churches. Acts 20:28-29 reads:

"pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained through his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock;"

this is a sobering warning and the reason any of this matters is that if we lose the truth of the gospel, we have lost everything!

I hope those reading this understand that my heart is not to be cynical, angry, arrogant, or critical, but if I firmly believe that we need to protect the gospel, and if I remain silent, I am falling short of my calling.


cal