http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110522/NEWS01/705229935

Then we get the weather report, Nautilus  training, and a geography lesson of the northern  Mediterranean Sea.  Seemingly a throw away chapter in the Bible as Luke describes the maritime travels and perils of Paul on his way to his greatest ministry opportunity, Rome.

I however stop and take in every moment of this chapter because I see the adventures of my own life and my fellow travelers as the words flow off the page. This chapter is the reality of life.

Who doesn’t miss a port or two?
Many of us feel like life goes black for more than two weeks.
I have thought on a number of occasions I would take just one ship and had to get on another.
We have all known days on the open sea with the wind on our back and a drink in our hand.
Followed by the next day, we are inches away from crashing into a rock embankment and starving.
Who hasn’t thought ‘Fair Havens’ was a good spot to rest and found out it was not as billed?

This chapter is not a throw away because it is about the journey of our lives. I am all about the journey more than the destination.  It is in the journey that we find if our faith really functions in times of crisis.  We see if we have the guts to drop the anchor or even cut the ropes. Do we have the intestinal fortitude to release the man-made life boats?  Can we deal with endless opinions of the professionals of what seems the logical steps or  just trust the last word we heard of the Lord?

That is journey stuff, the stuff of life.

Traveling the seas of life is hard.  Jesus does not say this will be a nice walk on sandy beaches.  But he does say- “Take courage because I will be with you”.  I will lean on that as the boat I am on is headed for the harbor…or is that a rock?

Thanks for sailing with us.

Crescent Lake Bible Camp in Rhinelander WI was where Christy and I first met. The year is still debatable but we can agree that we were only in grade school. Growing up across the state from each other we would find ourselves writing, calling and spending lots of time together during youth events.  We then got married at the young age of nineteen at the Rhinelander Foursquare Church.  Many have asked us, “why so young?” Our response usually is, “we wanted to do life together.”

And life together we have done and it has yet to be boring.

We spent nine years in Minnesota cutting our teeth at college and in church ministry. Two years in Virginia learning the voice of God.  It then took me three years in Washington to realize I am not perfect and all my ideas are not gold.  These last four years at South Everett Foursquare we have felt the heart beat of God for the poor, the foreigner, and the parentless.

These last 16 years have been a great journey. And, three kids, seven different mailing address, three college degrees, seven cars, one motorcycle, endless friends and 5841 miles later we are circling back around to where it all started.  It is with both joy and sadness that we will be moving back home to pastor at the church where we said “I do” to a life’s journey together.

Some transitions are hard and others are easy. This is both. 

It has been extremely hard to envision leaving what we have had a hand in developing here in Everett. This is a great church that is little in size and big in heart with thriving ministries reaching out to thousands of the most vulnerable in our community. Our hearts and hands will be breaking as we leave some great leaders and very dear friends that have chosen to come and do life with us. Because of that this has been the most difficult decision our family has ever made.

On the other side, it is easy for us to envision returning home because of the connection we have established over a lifetime with family and friends. It is a great church that is thriving and looking towards the future impact they can have on their community. It is an honor to go to a church where the last two pastors have been there a total of 50 years.

We do not yet have a firm transition timeline but look to stay in Washington until the end of the school year.  Those in leadership over our church do not what to rush anything.  Our Foursquare district team will be working with the local church leadership to find the right person to fill this pastoral role in an appropriate timeframe.

We have had a fair amount of moving these last few years and we are so grateful to those of you that have given a bit of yourselves to us and we hope that we have left a deposit of our ourselves with you.  Scripture says in Romans 13:8, “owe no one anything but love”.  We are forever in debt to you for the love you have shown us. 

See you on the road as we journey together,

Joseph and Christy

Great, so what does that mean? 

When we look at the Book of Acts we find several story of such activity happening in the early church. (Acts 2:41, 8:12, 8:38, 9:18, 10:48, 16:15, 16:33 18:8 & 19:3-5) These give us instances of baptism but still don’t give us the why or what happens in baptisms.

The greatest story of a baptism happened in Luke 3:21-22 and Matthew 3:13-17 when Jesus was baptized by his cousin John.  This gives us a great model of baptism and as we look at others scriptures that give us a clear understanding of what happens.

The word used for baptism in the Bible was a very common one that meant to immerse, plunge under, and submerge. It is what we do to cucumbers to make them pickles, we baptize them in the brine.

That is the simple answer to how we baptize people, we immerse their whole body in water. But what is spiritually happening when you get baptized in front of your friends, family and other onlookers?

 #1. You are making a public stand for Christ.
 Galatians 3:26-27 “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes”

Just like putting on the jersey of your favorite team you are clothing yourself with Christ when you publically declare that you are a follower of His.  Public is important. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, the most public gathering around. People went there for their drinking water, to wash their clothes, to cool off on a hot day, and to go fishing. Everybody gathered there.  

Matthew 10:32, “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven but whoever disowns me before men I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

We are ultimately making a public statement that are…  

#2. Being baptized into Christ’s Death
Romans 6:3-4;6-7 “Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

Our old self is dead. 

Your old nature dies in the water grave of baptism. It is the burying of one’s pasts.  Whenever your old sinful life comes back and reminds you of what you did you can say, “you’re dead!” You were buried with Christ in baptism and it is really weird to listen to dead things.  That old sin that used to grip you has no more power over you.

And glory to God through baptism you are…. 
#3. Raised into new life.

You are going to be raised out of the watery grave into new life. You are different now as the Holy Spirit of God is active in your life. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead raises you from the death of sin.

Romans 6:4 “Just as Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the father, we too may live a new life, a totally new life in Christ.”

We have a new life now to live out the commandments that Jesus spoke of while here on the earth. This new life is now empower through the experience of baptism.

One note of warning.  The Greek word for baptism was also used for the process of dyeing garments. I once thought I could dye a polyester shirt even though I was told repeatedly that only cotton could be dyed. I thought I could take a garment that wasn’t able to accept the color of dye and force it into the fabric. It didn’t work and everyone laughed. 

Just like in my experience we need to prepare ourselves for the water of baptism and it has nothing to do with our clothes. We need to prepare our own spirit to except the water of baptism into the fabric of our life. We can prepare ourselves for baptism by:

1)     Expecting the free gift of Christ salvation and choosing to be a follower of Him. If we don’t do this we are just getting wet in front of a crowd.

2)     Spending time in his Word and read the stories of Baptisms so you are not surprised when a truly spiritual moment happens.

3)     Be prepared to share your own story of your past and how you want this moment to declare publically that you are a follower of Christ and how you wish to die to your former self and be raised to a new life in Christ.

Baptism has symbolic meanings but at it’s core it is a deeply spiritual event and encounter that every follower of Christ is asked to partake in.

Our new favorite game is Blokus.  We have started buying it as a gift for birthdays and graduations .   At first we thought the game  was pronounced blow-kiss and embarrassingly enough called it that for a while.  One day it dawned on us  that the whole point of the game is to block the opponent from being able to lay his or her block piece, thus the pronunciation  block us not blow-kiss.  Funny how obvious it was yet we missed the point completely.  The game is simple lay one piece at a time and every piece you lay has to connect a  corner of the last piece you played.  You have to strategize and watch out because your opponent is always on the look out for ways to block you from your next move.  The goal in the end is to lay every block combination you have been given.  Whoever has the least amount of block pieces left in the end, is the winner. 

In the beginning, I would always end up with my larger combination blocks leftover .  Being the student and competitive gamer that I am, I was not going to settle for less than my best.  After playing a few rounds ending with the same results, I realized I better ditch the bigger combination pieces early on because later when things got more difficult it was nearly impossible to play these pieces.  

This game is a great metaphor for life.  Starting with the name….block us or blow-kiss.  Looking back it is so obvious, duh block us.   Isn’t it funny how sometimes all life requires is a glance back to gain a little perspective?  If I did this than the result would be that. Hindsight, right?   It was all there in the name of the game.  The mission statement, the directions, the course of action, yet why was I blinded to it?  I relied on my own common sense or lack of and proceeded forward without a thought for the details.  Details that could have been easily found in the rules and with a little practice and application.

What I really love about this game is that once you start to figure it out, you start to dream of where the pieces can go and the different combinations of plays that will get you to the goal.  All the while, keeping in mind that you are facing an opponent with exactly the same goal.  You have to adjust and sometimes have multiply plans going at the same time.   

So here is my spiritual link-  God’s will.  As Christians we devote our entire lives to knowing and living in God’s perfect will.  Yet to be honest we struggle to be confident in his perfect will because we don’t even recognize the name of the game.  And in the game we really have many options, but it is up to us what we do with the pieces given to us.  Our strategic plan or application is simple.  Remember the big pieces first.  If not you can’t play them later in the game.  It is called priorities.  Mine go something like this God, Marriage, Family and then the rest of the world….. When I don’t “play” the big pieces first, I have to readjust.   Sometimes I have to scrap all the pieces and start over.  I have never completed the game of Blokus, meaning using all of my block pieces.  I usually end up with 6 or 7 blocks left over.  Yet I am improving and that keeps me returning to the game.

So Moses is floating down the river to a life unknown.  How did he get there?  What circumstances led him to this defining moment?  Who could imagine that the life of this baby would eventually serve as the great liberator of his people?  The Bible devotes 1/8th of its pages to the story of Moses’ time.  Yet as I read of these powerful pages, I want to dissect each chapter.  The story is painful yet provides hope.

The details are vivid.   Mother and daughter assembling  a humble papyrus basket  coated with tar and pitch.  What conversations transpired during this?  How many other people were a part of it?   The depression, the grief, the fear the faith, all  the various emotions that encompassed this time were held in silence because they were in hiding.  The journey of grief and loss does not come with a timetable.  One never knows what will trigger it yet, they had no choice they had to move forward. They had to trust that God had a plan.  Without fan-fare they released what they held dear and waited for God’s supernatural intervention. 

What are you holding on to?  Do you have a dream that you have recently experienced slip away?  Maybe you have a child whom you are hoping will turn his heart back toward the Lord?  What is it that you feel so compelled to hold on to that you are paralyzed with fear to let go of? 

Releasing what one holds dear is agonizing yet provides freedom.  Loving with open hands as my friend Cindy likes to remind me.  If one is releasing something physically, the posture of the hand must remain open?   This mother when she released her child extended to him a life of opportunity and position.  She couldn’t have known that at the time, yet she walked in obedience and God honored her faithfulness.  When she released him into the open water, she had to push him out into the reeds.  Then she had to let go.  She pushed him into the river of unknown and she released him with open hands.

I have been reading about the life of Moses.  Starting prior to his birth.  It is surreal to me that even before he was born, his destiny was in the hands of God and those who feared Him. The hope of restoration and reconciliation rested in the birth of an unwanted child.  The Hebrew  people endured the threat of death and destruction everyday.  The bondage of slavery was real.    They were not in control of anything  including the well being of their own children.  Children born into a life of turmoil if they were given life at all.  The fate of the male children rested in the hands of the midwives.  The king had commanded that all Hebrew male children were to be put to death upon delivery.  Exodus 1:17- But the midwives  feared  God and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.  When questioned by the King, the midwives responded that Hebrew women are not like Egyptian woman, for they are vigorous , and they give birth before the midwife can get to them.  So God was good to the midwives and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.  And it came about because the midwives feared God, that He established households for them.

 It wasn’t like the threat of death and destruction ended there.  Good job midwives, here are families of your own to care for, now you are blessed.  No the adversity just intensified.  They were still being asked to do kill and destroy innocent lives. Yet they held strong to their faith and fear of God above all else.    What quiet and intense strength  they must have had.   It seems like God had  abandoned his people and left them to die a slow and painful existence yet you see his provincial hand upon these lives. How do you see beyond the years of slavery?  These midwives had faith to believe that God would not abandon them.  They had an inner drive that enabled them to think beyond themselves to future generations.  The face of adversity brought strength in numbers. 

This sets the stage for the birth of Moses.   A man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.  The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.  Jochebed, the birth Mother of Moses is a hero.  To become pregnant with the understanding that if this child is a male, he will die unless she does something.  I love that it says when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for 3 months.  3 excruciating months.   I honestly question where my sanity would be. 

A few years ago I  watched a Mother give up a child whom she brought into this world.  It was a painful and difficult journey but she came to the place where she wanted to give this child something more.  She knew that because of her own circumstances she could not parent this little one, yet she still brought her into this world.  She will always be this child’s mother and forever this child will remember her.  Life had been so hard on this young Mom, she was scarred both physically and emotionally.  She just wanted someone to love her and be proud of her.  She gave the ultimate gift, she gave someone else an opportunity to love and parent her child. 

When I read the story of Moses I see a woman who bravely gave away a child so that He could have life. One that she hid for 3 months before releasing him into a basket to a new home and a new future.  My dear friends are awaiting adopting a beautiful little girl from China.  They are eagerly anticipating her arrival.  They long to give her a home where she can have a different life.  I am contending in prayer with them for her arrival, yet my heart can’t help but grieve for this mother who brought this beautiful little girl into the world.  No less significant or important in this little ones life.  One could not happen without the other.

Adopting a child is on my list of things to do before I turn fifty.  I am 35 so I have a few years yet but I have recently had an awakening in my heart regarding adding to our family again.  I have no desire to give birth to another child and Joseph is thankful.  Pregnancy was extremely hard on our entire family.  And the farther removed we become from changing diapers the more I think this is a crazy idea.  A few friends  have recently adopted or are awaiting  clearance for a child to become on paper legally theirs.  The waiting process is taxing on ones mind and spirit.  You feel as if your heart will be ripped in two.   Some of my friends  desperately want to be a parent but the struggles of infertility have stopped them from giving birth to a child.  My heart is sad  for them.   The Bible is filled with relationship heart aches.  Stories of infertility, children born out of infidelity, abandonment and adoption.  My hope is that as I focus  my thoughts  I will be renewed in my passion to wait when things are difficult and contend for answers during those  moments that seem as if time is standing still.

The past two years I have seen families torn apart by difficult choices.  I have seen addictions take the upper hand and cloud the priorities of those held captive by them.  I have watched a mother grieve as she recognized that she could not parent the child she brought into the world.   I have seen children whose innocence has been robbed and the cycle continues.   Sometimes I am left with more questions than answers.  Why God, would one couple long for a baby for years and another cast aside the one she has because she is consumed with her own needs? 

Two summers ago I set up a tent in my backyard. I pitched my tent out of sheer frustration and faith.  The Old Testament is filled with testimonies of those waiting for an answer.  An altar was built and the wait began, literally.   A prayer of deliverance was lifted up and the wait continued. I was waiting for our foster parent licensing to become official.  I had dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s.  I sent in more paperwork than necessary and yet the process was not without bumps.  Please resubmit this form.  We are sorry to inform you that we need you to fill this out again, we have temporarily miss-placed it.  I filled out the same background check five times.  I angered a lot of office workers  in the process because I would call everyday to check on the progress.  I got in touch with someone working for the State Legislature and for a few days things were really moving.  I knew that action would bring about results.  It did not.  All it brought was more time to wait.   I was emotional.   It took nearly 6 months for our license to become complete.  When I look back on that, it really was not all that long, yet when I was going through it, time seemed to stand still. 

The past two years have brought a whole new set of questions spurred on by the lives of 8 foster children and the biological families and multiple others whom I have become  connected with thanks to the world of foster care.  I have watched children weep as a parent made a choice that in turn affected them.  I have watched parents battle with addictions that kept them teetering back in forth.  One step forward, two steps back.  I have watched the disappointment when things did not go the way all had hoped .  I have also experienced broken families reunited.  Making a new story for themselves as they forge ahead, one day at a time.  Waiting….for how some of the stories will turn outh as caused some serious anxiety on my part.  It has also kept me in a perpetual state of dependency on God.  I can’t fix each of the families but I can pray for deliverance and strength for each of them and for myself.   

Waiting allows us time to pray and believe for things beyond ourselves.  A prayer of deliverance, a prayer of expectation, a prayer of peace, a prayer of faith, a prayer of reconciliation, a prayer of hope.  As much as I hate the waiting, I can’t live without it.  I pitched my tent and God revealed himself to me in ways I could not explain or expect.  The questions keep coming…and I get upset when I don’t have the answers but the leading and longing are always the same.  Go pitch a tent, and see what God  will do.

Steering Through Chaos: Mapping a Clear Direction for Your Church in the Midst of Transition and Change

One premise making this read unique from other change-management books is that the author recommends you, as the leader, be the initiator of, not the reactor to, change. While it may seem counterintuitive, the author provides some practical advice on how to create change yourself when your church is doing well—not when it starts to decline—so that your congregation may experience even greater growth.

Another area that makes this read different than other business or management books on change theory is the Pentecostal/theological perspective of the author. He offers practical advice, but does not sidestep the spiritual endeavors that need to take place when dealing with change and chaos. He balances the two very well.

The book includes another nice touch—10 vignettes from other pastors and leaders highlight the topic and give another vantage point for readers. The author also provides helpful questions and group discussion topics at the end of each chapter, which will assist pastors in analyzing and implementing the book’s principles in their own settings.

Scott Wilson does not negate the pain that occurs when a church goes through change. But he does give the reader hope, a plan, and numerous practical and spiritual nuggets to navigate through the stress. I, for one, have already implemented a couple of his concepts into my ministry.

(orginally posted at http://foursquare.org/articles/1242,1.html)

‘Most believers won’t be inviting non-Christian friends to Easter services this year, according to a new Barna report. We asked a sampling of Foursquare pastors what they thought about the subject, and how they view Easter weekend in their churches.’

Check it out here.

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