My Worship Revolution

Rachel and I just got back from a trip to Santa Cruz to look for a place to live.  It was a LONG day of looking at about 10 different places.  Thanks a ton to Ed and Julie (the pastor and his wife) for cruisin with us all day.  To be honest, we didn’t expect to get back to Southern California with a place in the bag, but God does awesome stuff sometimes!

We got a call before getting on the plane today offering us our top choice!  It’s actually a 2 bedroom house in Soquel, just outside of Santa Cruz city.  I may have liked to be a little closer to downtown, and Rachel may have liked something in the redwoods, but after looking all day yesterday, this is definitely the place.  Yeah God!  We’re pretty pumped about the place.  Kinda crazy, it is becoming more of a reality with this step, though. 

Anyway, here are a few pics.  Enjoy!

P.S.  Ummm, definitely a rental.  Lifetimers baby!

First morning at Pace Elementary in Bellflower.  It was a crazy week of picking up lots of new equipment, racking it all up, connecting it, testing it out, shooting and editing a videocast…

Check out the video and see how it went:

So that was my Sunday!  Bellflower team – you rock!  Lakewood peeps – way to hold down the fort!  It’s fun sharing my Sunday with you.  Hope yours was great!

That’s what I am right now, thus the absence of poss this week.  Bellflower, videocast, look, Bellflower, video bumper, Sunday, Bellflower…did I mention Bellflower?  Lots of equipment to have ready for the preview Sunday this week.  Still got lots to do.  But I’ve had a couple of great reminders this week about the importance of prayer and intimacy with Jesus.  I guess the stress level is really makin me lean on Jesus and that’s a good thing.  So here’s a real quick Friday rewind with a couple of the fun highlights:

Monday – I love Jack Bauer!  24 is definitely my saving grace as I start my week.  Gets it started right!

Tuesday – I love the people in my life group.  I’m gonna miss them the most.  This was one of those weeks where the Spirit took over and we just had some amazing organic conversation.  Good Stuff.

Wednesday – Got to visit with our friends Rob and Leah and introduce them to Caleb.  They just got back (well, several months ago) from a trip to Turkey and Qatar.  Had our first cultural experience with hookah and ended the night with a great time of prayer with each other.  Good stuff!

Thursday – Actually, Wednesday and Thursday were crazy days picking up equipment and getting it all racked and tested for Bellflower.  Still working on that actually.  Thursday night we decompressed a bit, though, by hangin at Jenny and Darrenn’s for dinner and Survivor.  Darrenn shared this Weird Al video with me.  Enjoy!

Friday – Tonight (yeah, I know, that’s more like fast forward) we join our 4×4 group for what will have to be our last date with them to do dinner and see Amazing Grace.  Can’t wait to check out the movie!

Was hoping to get all my work done by today, but I’ll definitely be back here tomorrow.  So that being said, I’m gonna get back to editing that videocast!  Catch ya later!

It was almost three years ago that I was at The Happiest Place On Earth every day.  I was a dwarf.  Sounds funny, I know, but it actually paid quite well and was a fairly steady gig.  At that point in time though, about 6 months or less into married life, I knew God was calling me back into occupational ministry.  I had a desire to affect lives for Christ in a different way.  That was when I was hooked up with Revolution Church.  God had captured mine and my wife’s heart for church planting and this was the perfect opportunity for Rachel and I to be a part of a new church, to invest in that community, and to really experience some of the realities of planting and growing a faith community.  That was the first of several transitions in our life as a married couple.  Some of those transitions have been small, some big, and there will be many more to come throughout our life.

Yesterday at Revolution Church it was announced that my wife and I are once again about to enter another season of transition, this time along with the newer family addition of Caleb.  If you weren’t there, we recently accepted a new position as Worship and Connections Pastor at Christian Life Center in Santa Cruz, CA.  Our last Sunday at Revolution will be March 18th.  Two more left.

It has been an amazing two years and nine months at Revolution Church.  I have grown exponentially in a number of ways.  I have become a better leader. A better time manager.  I discovered gifts I didn’t even know I possessed.  I’ve learned to navigate different aspects of ministry through great times and through really discouraging times.  My knowledge in areas of production, team building, and worship leading has increased.  And that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.  Man, I am stoked for the time I’ve had here to prepare myself and my wife for our next adventure in life and ministry.  Above all, we have met numerous people who have touched our lives and our souls in ways that will change us forever.

And now, God has guided us north.  This transition is one of the big ones for us, and it brings about lots of emotions, including excitement, fear, and sadness.  I am so excited to see what this next season brings, to discover all that God has in store for us as we move forward.  Afraid at times of the unknown – area, church, people, expectations.  And, of course, bummed about many of the friends who mean so much to us that we won’t see every Tuesday at Life Group or every Sunday at Artesia High School, in addition to our families that all reside in Southern California.  But I know that God has brought us to this point to use us in incredible ways.  I know that he will continue to bring people into our lives that we will love and that will love our family, and I am pumped as I see how he has used our prior ministry experience to prepare us for this next move.

A few friends have actually asked me if I’ll be keeping this blog.  Heck YEAH I’ll be continuing to blog!!  And I hope that you all stay tuned to share with us all the ride that will be this transition.  So there’s our big news.  It should be a blast to see where things go from here!

Today Rachels parents were in town for her cousins volleyball tournament.  We went with them to see some games, and did some hangin at the house throughout the day.

Our roommates three-year-old daughter, Kaelyn Corns, came out to join the fun with her keyboard to play with.  Rachel’s dad taught her everything she needs to know to become a PC owner!

(Sorry Jenny…it’s another "Jesus post.")

So Monday I mentioned the supposed "discovery" of the bones of Jesus Christ.  Y’all left some great thoughts.  And I agree.  I don’t believe for a second that these could be proof of no resurrection.  But for just a moment let me encourage you to really use your imagination.  I know that may be tough, especially since the thoughts kinda border on heresy.  But what if there were proof, undeniable, flat out proof that Jesus had not risen from the dead?  Would it really affect the way you live?  (Notice I intentionally said how you live…not what you believe.)

The reason I suggest this is that as it got me thinking, it reminded me of one of my favorite messages I’ve listened to.  It was John Piper from Passion ’06.  In the message he tells the story of a Catholic monk that was interviewed by an Italian news station.  When he was asked what would happen if he got to the end of his life and atheism was true and there was in fact no God, his response was something to this effect:

"Silence, solitude, and sacrifice are beautiful things in and of themselves.  Even if there is no God, I will have done well with my life."

Piper points out that this is NOT the attitude that Paul had.  If it were he would not have said in 1 Corinthians 15:19 –

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Paul could say this because he took serious risks throughout his life for the sake of Jesus that brought about suffering in his life.  Had it all been untrue, it would have been stupid to take many of these risks.

So back to my original question.  Would MY life really look any different if I found out today that Christ hadn’t raised?  It’s easy to say that being a Christian and believing in the resurrection of Jesus is truly the core of who I am.  But does my life and my actions really reflect that?  I hope so.  I want to be so sold out to Jesus that I am willing to risk all I have as a result.  The Bible promises that if we are Christ followers, pain and persecution will most definitely follow.  There are Christians around the world who know this truth in a much more real way than I do.  So I’m gonna choose to be prepared for whatever difficulties the world might bring, cause I know they’re gonna come.  That is, IF the resurrection really impacts the decisions I make.

How about you?  Do you take risks for the sake of Jesus?  Have you experienced any difficult times lately,  perhaps as a result of your faith in Christ?  And as a result, are you able to step back, see the big picture, and count it all joy?  Sure we believe without a doubt that Jesus raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, but does that really make a difference in the way you live daily?  Wow…that ridiculous news story really got me thinking. 

I really want to see this movie.  And Chris Tomlin is da bomb.  This is one of my favorite tunes from his last album.  Enjoy!

HT: Two Blond Boys

So I saw a teaser for this news story.  Apparently a filmmaker and an archaeologist have found the tomb and the body of Jesus Christ in Israel.  I found the story on MSNBC.  Here’s a small excerpt:

"The Lost Tomb of Christ,"
which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient
ossuaries — small caskets used to store bones — discovered in a suburb
of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his
family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.

One
of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting
that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an
ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected
and ascended to heaven.

Check out the whole article here.

So after seeing it on TV, it kinda got me thinkin.  Of course I have a very deep faith and strong conviction in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I guess I have to admit (and some my call this ignorant) that you could not convince me otherwise.  I’ve seen science mess up too many times before.  The Bible is clear about what happened and those documents have been proven time and time again throughout the ages.  God has manifested himself and revealed himself to me in too many way throughout my life.

However, it did get me thinking for a moment.  Let’s say that they somehow provided "undeniable" proof that this really was the body of Jesus?  What if they could "prove" that Jesus had not ascended into heaven?  For those of you who are Christ followers, what would that do to your faith?  What would it do to mine?  Would I be shaken at all?  Would I doubt?  Would I stand firm?  Would it make a difference?  It got me on some really good thoughts.  What about you?  What do you think?

Recently I started reading a new book by Earl Creps called Off-Road Disciplines.  I got the book for free with the condition of reviewing it this blog, so when I get through it, I’ll let ya know what I think (and who knows when that will be!).  So far, not quite what I expected, but I am enjoying it.

Earl Creps specializes in the study of current churches that are seeking to engage a postmodern culture.  He heads up the doctoral studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.  Anyway, all this to say, after having pastored churches in the past, I read this morning that he is now entering the world of being a church planter.  There’s a great article over here about some of the things that God used to lead him this direction and the lessons he learned as a result.  As a recent finder of Creps ministry, I’m looking forward to hearing more about how things go as the journey progresses.

Holy moly!  Alright, at this point, I’m gonna have to stop posting fro every one and do an accasional update of new Revolution bloggers.  I love that I get the ability to keep up with more and more of your lives on a more consistent basis with technology!  So…

Click here for Christopher Lytle.

Click here for Annalynn Catalasan.

P.S. – Sorry to any of you that didn’t get a special shout out in the past.  I should have your link on my side bar, though.  If I missed you, though, let me know and I’ll be sure to get you on there.