never been here before

...is my favorite new song. It's been with me since I first heard it. That never happens to me. Watch New Song Cafe on the song here . Listen to it here

Discuss what is important for children, students, young adults, young parents and beyond to know, feel and do as followers of Jesus Christ and beginning to assess how to get them there. With that, to also assess if there are areas where ministries overlap and where there are gaps between our areas of importance and areas of practice. Yowza. This meeting is tomorrow night? To Know: The first thing anyone needs to know as a follower of Jesus Christ is that he loves them, just as they are. After that follows the basic outline of what it means to be a Christian. We've all sinned and that separates us from God. We are unable to earn our way into God's approval, so God sent his son to the earth to live, walk among and teach the gospel. He then died in our place. His death was the perfect sacrifice and allows God to see us through his blood that covers our sin. Our free will to obey him or not still exists, and once we've understood the sacrifice he made for us the expression of ...

How did you learn to do what you do in serving others, particularly in your area of ministry? (hands) How do any of us learn to serve? Is it something learned? It doesn't seem like it could be. I don't know why this is my first answer to this questions without thinking about it first. Hm. My crazy friend Angie sent me this email on Friday with the subject "One word game". The object was to reply to the message and use one word to describe the person who sent it, then forward to your friends and be surprised at what you got back. Being the masochist I am, I sent to a few friends quote curious to see what they'd say. I was looking forward to being able to reply back to them, so I could say in an email something I'd never said to friend before. Today, I got a reply that I didn't expect to get at all. MMMmmmm....servant.....yup, I think that would have to be my word for you.....the one that we all try for, but you just seem to embody. Thank you for being such ...

Do yourself a favor and read the first two questions under " Less Frequently Asked Questions " as you scroll down the page of this link. It will make you laugh.

In continuation of my assignment due for the next Ministry Team meeting, let's explore #2. What shaped how you think and feel about God and church and ministry (heart)? This is a loaded question if I've ever heard one - one that cannot just be answered simply but must be answered extremely carefully. Not for fear of offending anyone, but for fear of being taken the wrong way. Yikes. Here goes. What shaped how I think and feel about God? Well, to be frank, the world did. God is not a being I can talk to face to face and see his reactions to the questions I may have for him. I cannot have a two-sided conversation about politics with God. I cannot debate him about the state of the church (although I've tried). So, how I think and feel about God has only come through revelation - general and specific. How I feel about God is through seeing what he created. That is the greatest insight we have into the complicated nature of his spirit. What a person creates - in music, art, wri...

Wow. I did not expect this .

For the past seven years of leading worship, I've also been on our church's Ministry Team committee. Composed of all the leaders of each ministry at Westmark, we meet about every other month. Most meetings consisted of an assessment of where each ministry was headed, what events were going on and as a committee, we existed to schedule events together in order to avoid a significant amount of overlapping. Our new pastor is thankfully taking it to a new level, a little of which I posted about here . So, our next assignment, received via a reminder email this morning: I had asked you what made you who you are in the areas of your head, heart and hand. To be more specific – · How/where did you learn what you know about God and Christianity (head)? · What shaped how you think and feel about God and church and ministry (heart)? · How did you learn to do what you do in serving others, particularly in your area of ministry? (hands) · Discuss what is important for childr...

Times of testing seem to come without warning, don't they? Not that knowing ahead of time would make it easier, but sometimes a little heads up would be nice. To steel myself against the dark valley of despair, the brace my soul for the jarring potholes ahead, the put my mind defenses up to keep the distractions of life far away. It's been two years since I was tested like this. Two years since the tears I expressed so wracked my body I could no longer sit upright. Two years since God had my full-blown attention so much so I don't even remember what I did at work today. Two years since every sense was heightened, every word had meaning, every piece of art touched me deep, every song written was just for this moment. The simple fact that God never changes but the rest of the world does at a lightning pace makes me long for a rebirth. Bathed in the tears of my own sin and sorrow, I promise to be nearer, closer to the one I am meant to be. May I also promise to accept my serio...

I watched the proverbial sunrise coming up over the Pacific and you might think I'm losing my mind, but I will shy away from the specifics... 'cause I don't want you to know where I am 'cause then you'll see my heart in the saddest state it's ever been. This is no place to try and live my life. Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it. See that line. Well I never should have crossed it. Stop right there. Well I never should have said that. It's the very moment that I wish that I could take back. I'm sorry for the person I became. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change. I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again 'cause who I am hates who I've been. Who I am hates who I've been. I talk to absolutely no one. Couldn't keep to myself enough. And the things bottled inside have finally begun To create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up. I heard the reverberating footsteps synching up to the beating o...

So I've spent the last two weeks thinking. A lot. And I've spent the last two weeks sheding many many tears. I've never really thought of myself as a negative person. In fact, I've ended two significant friendships because their negativity having such an affect on me I knew I had to get away for fear of being sucked in. But when at rehearsal last week our keyboardist seemed unusually frsutrated with me, I asked a fellow team member when we had a moment alone if I was difficult to work with. I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong, and naturally I assumed it was me, and I wanted to know what I could do to prevent it in the future. What I didn't expect was the answer I got. I have to change who I am. 'Cause what I am's not good. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Just change who I am. But it's who I am. And whenever I think about that, the tears come. That's not okay with me. Who I am is who I am. Can you just wake up one day and decide to...