Childlike Faith

This Sunday at Story Church we kick off a brand new series called "Childlike Faith". It's a series I've been thinking through in my head for three or four months now and I'm really excited about it.

In Luke 18:16-17 Jesus says this:

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

So here's a question for you - what do you think Jesus meant by that? What does it mean to receive the kingdom of God like a child? What are the child like qualities that you think Jesus wants us to mimic?

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California

I recently spent about a week in my hometown of Yucaipa, CA touching base with old friends, family, and those that pray for and support me and my family. It was a pretty incredible trip. Here's a recap:

• First of all, I got to meet with many individuals over coffee or lunch and tell stories about Story Church. That was a huge highlight. Only a year ago, there were no stories to tell! Now I could go on talking forever about the people, the life change, and the growth and excitement we are experiencing.
• One night I got to hang out with some friends who were former students in my youth group. There's about 8-10 of them that gather every week just to pray together and talk about Jesus. They are about 20 years old. How cool is that? Blows me away. Anyway, I shared with them a bit about what God has been teaching me, and then they all laid hands on me and prayed for me. Very humbling. Very awesome.
• I spent one evening with my best friend and his family, eating dinner, laughing, sharing stories and just catching up. I miss him and his family a ton.
• Another night I got to catch up with another friend and his family. He's kind of my arch-rival. In a good way. We are both super competitive and we love to compete in whatever way we can. This time it was one of our favorites - FIFA on the PS3. We used to be neighbors and we spent many nights doing this same thing.
• On Saturday I got to reignite another passion of mine - baseball. Before moving I was a coach at our local high school. This day they happened to be holding some tryouts so I got to head out to the field and hang out with a bunch of young talented players and all the coaches. They put me right to work evaluating players and I had a blast.
• Later that day I headed over to my aunt's house for a BBQ. It was great to see my cousins, aunts and uncles and grandma. My aunt Missy made her famous Skor bar cake in my honor. Doesn't get much better than that.
• Sunday was all about telling stories with my home church. I had the opportunity to get on stage in front of both services and thank them for loving us well, sending us, praying for us, and supporting us.
• That evening I got to go hang out with some other friends who are planting a church in the neighboring city. I love seeing what other church planters are doing and learning from them.
• On Monday I got to hang out with another former student and encourage him. He's had a rough couple of years, spending some time in jail and fighting addictions. Pray for Billy.
• Finally, Monday I spent a little time in heaven. In case that's not totally clear to all of you, I'm referring to Angel Stadium - the home of Angels baseball.

It was a jam packed week but really a great time reconnecting with people. The goal of the trip was to raise some personal support and to thank those that have supported us for these two years. In that regard it was a successful trip and I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to go, thanks to my friends at Converge.

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Happy Courage Day

August 1 is Courage Day. At least in my house it is. Two years ago on August 1, 2008 I climbed into a truck with all my earthly belongings and drove away from a comfortable life in southern CA to plant a church in Durham, NC. Yesterday morning I was busy setting up preparing for the weekly services of that church when my daughter came running in with a card yelling "Happy Courage Day." Apparently my wife has turned this day into a family holiday - a day to celebrate a step of courage that our family took together. How awesome is that? So yesterday was a day of celebration in our house. And every year now on August 1 we will celebrate together.

Do you know what is strange about courage though? When you take one step of courage, you want to take another. It's as if the first one is the hardest. When we are finally willing to take the "risk" to do something different, to do something extraordinary, it's as if a switch is flipped mentally and we are suddenly freed to pursue all kinds of dreams. What seemed to me to be a HUGE step two years ago seems tiny compared to the dreams I have for our church now.

So Story Church - we celebrate with you on Courage Day. God has been so good to us. Your willingness to take a risk and join us on this adventure is such a blessing to us. But - are you ready for what's next? I believe the greatest need for courage is still ahead of us. God is birthing some huge dreams in us right now and I can't wait to go there with you. The best is yet to come!

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