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.

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.

.

Easter is easy. Christmas is a snap. The Forth of July is also a no brainer when it comes to a greetings. But Good Friday, that is a hard one.

For starters why is it good? A guy dies in a not so ordinary way, what is good about that? A sleepless night of guys whipping and berating him…not good. He found himself carrying a heavy piece of timber through a mocking crowd and up a hill…not pleasant at all. Professional executors were called in to make sure his crucifixion was done properly as he was hung out for all to see…really not good. After he breathed his last breath a sword pierced his side as blood and water spilled out…that is just gross. Crown of thorns, punches to the face, spitting crowds, and three huge nails piercing his body…basically an all around bad day.

I asked Father Olson (the priest of the Catholic congregation by our church) this morning at Starbucks, “what do you say as a greeting for Good Friday?” “Holy Good Friday“, was his response. Ok that is an awkward way of saying hello to someone but it works.

We went on to talk about why it is good and what that means for our salvation. Even though this day was not very nice in the physical realm, it was really glorious in the spiritual realm. It is because of the cross and death of Christ that are debt of sin was paid. The other good thing about his death was that he had to die before He could be resurrected from the dead. (small detail…but some believe that Jesus never died). And is it because of His resurrection that we can have life. His empty grave equals us having a full life.

So I guess in a round about way this is a Holy Good Friday. Or is it ‘Wholly Good Friday’? Oh well back to square one.

See you Sunday.

.

They are let out and told to now share this ‘message of life’ back at the temple. This message of life is a message of freedom. A message of once being bound by chains and now you are set free. A message that you were once stuck in a stinky, damp, rodent filled, dark prison and now you are in the light.

Christ said He came to release the captives and set free those that were oppressed. (Luke 4:18) Christ comes just like that angel did and opens the prison gates and unlocks the chains. Now we are called as free people to share this message of life with others. The problem is (as I see it) that we might be outside of the prison but we still hold onto the chains.
Chains of anger
Chains of abuse
Chains of bad relationships
Chains of legalism
Chains of addiction

When Christ sets us free we need to leave the chains back in the prison. I know we are familiar with those chains and we don’t think we can do life without them.  But chains don’t look appealing to those that we are trying to share a message of life with. So many times Christ opens the door of freedom for us and just stay in our filthy prison embracing our chains. 

Those that are in Christ are free. I pray we not only leave the prison of sin and death but we drop the chains on the way out.

Wow this story about Ananias and Sapphira is a serious buzz killer.  Dr. Luke just got done telling us the stories of miraculous healings, rescues, sacrificial giving and how the church is at an all time spiritual high. Then like a slap to the face two well meaning nice followers that gave lots of money are dead. What is up with this?

Then I realized this wasn’t some simple misunderstanding of a couple.  This was a calculated effort of two people to experience the spiritual realm through natural means. They would have just encountered the great joy of Barnabas when he gave all the proceeds of the sale of his property. I would speculate that they wanted what he had and they thought they had the financial resources to make that happen.

But the fact is you can’t manufacturer the spiritual realm through natural means.  No matter how hard you work up a sweat or how hard you study or how much you give you can’t push God’s hand in your favor through your own efforts. This story didn’t have much to do with money or telling a lie and everything to do with how the spiritual world is real and is not a game to be played through human means. 

The foundation of our faith is happening here in chapter five.  Just like a cancer to the body this idea that you could buy spiritual rewards through human efforts needed to be removed.  If you try to have spiritual results by natural means you get problems… hopefully it isn’t death. (oh by the way it never says God killed them. I wonder what did?)

Acts 4:32 says “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had”  and later on in verse 37 we find that, “Barnabas sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.

This is a great story of sacrificial giving and the body of Christ coming together to help those in need. There was of course no mandate from the leaders for everyone to sell there stuff and bring the proceeds to the church. From time to time some were prompted by the Spirit to give of what they had. This was a very spiritual undertaking.

The thought that was most intriguing to me was that Barnabas just gave the money to the apostles. We would think that he would give it to those that were in direct need of his assistance.  This made me think, ‘you haven’t really given until you have given up the control’. So many times in our American culture we give with strings attached. But is it giving if we tell the recipient what we want them to do with the money?

Some times people have given me $100 and said, “Now go have some fun with this, don’t spend it on your bills”. I received something, but has that person truly given it away? Maybe the most fun thing would be to have my bills paid! Or if you give your kids an allowance and then proceed to tell them all the things they need to spend that money on.

This is why special offerings or when specific disaster strikes we awaken and start giving generously, because we want to know specifially where those funds are going. General giving is not as glamorous to us.

How about we just give and give liberally to organizations or people that have proven themselves to be good stewards of resources and then step away.  Don’t tell them what you want them to do with it. Don’t have strings attached to your giving. 

Because, have you really given if you still want to have control?