HALLOWED OUT ~ 11/1/07

Wow! I have never been so impressed by such a big crowd in such a small place.  Halloween night in downtown Weaverville is officially crazy. And really fun!

Last night Esther, Nathan, Aaron and I ate a frantic and fantastic nacho dinner at the Rupp's house before heading out into what had been, only an hour before, a sleepy main Street.  but suddenly there were people coming out of the woodwork! Superman was casually strolling down the sidewalk with Spiderman, comparing notes, no doubt, on crime deterrent strategies.  I’m pretty sure I caught a glimpse of Catwoman holding hands with a very small transformer.  And just ahead of me in a dense crowd stood none other than Captain Jack Sparrow, casting a covetous eye on the pumpkin candy pail of what appeared to be a large, walking eyeball.  I felt very underdressed.

If you were out braving the craziness last night, I hope you stopped by and got some candy at the office – we were open and  passing out candy with the best-dressed of them, our new office sign leaning against the window and our Outpost pumpkin cheerily lighting the entrance.   My thanks, again, to those who volunteered to staff it so that Weaverville could again be made aware of our presence here in town!

Surrounded By Grace,

Josh

BEAR WITH ME ~ 10/25/07

Q.) What's black and tan and tries to get run over?

A.) A bear chasing a chicken across the road.

Okay, so there wasn't really a chicken being chased by a bear - but there was a bear being chased by a car - my own!  Sunday morning, on the way to our service in Weaverville, I caught a flash of  black in my peripheral vision, just to the right of the road.  Now keep in mind we're on our way to church, we're still within Redding's city limits, we're dressed up, and we're drinking coffee while listening to worship music - our minds are somewhere else entirely.  Then a sudden flash on the right, and before I even know what I'm saying, I yell - "BEAR!"

Esther goes, "Huh?," Nathan repeats what I've just said, but at a much higher frequency, and I hit the breaks, still unsure of what I thought I saw - and boy, I'm glad I did.  Just as I'm getting the car to a manageable speed, an explosion of galloping fur crosses Hwy. 299, 300 lbs. of breakfast burrito with teeth, not 5 feet from my front bumper.  By this time I'm laughing hysterically for some reason, Esther's gasping and clutching her door handle with white knuckled ferocity, and Nathan has gone into machine-gun speech mode, chattering for the next 5 minutes about his newfound appreciation for bears.  "And it was a nice bear, and he looked at me, and he liked me and wanted me to pet him, and..." You get the idea.

The last I saw, that bear was pounding its way up a manzanita-covered hill in the general direction of Bill's house.  I offered up a quick prayer of thanks (for the miss and because it was now headed for Bill) and enjoyed an uneventful rest of the journey over Buckhorn and into Weaverville.  Now that's how a Sunday morning drive to church should be!

Surrounded By Grace,

Josh

GRACE & UNITY ~ 10/20/07

At The Outpost, we talk a lot about Grace.  But I'd like to briefly touch on the role grace plays in the unity of the body of Christ. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus addresses this issue.

"(v.15) If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother..."

Here are some questions to routinely ask yourself if (and when) you are faced with a Christian-inflicted would:

1) Were you sinned against, or are you just allowing yourself to be easily offended?

2) Were you sinned against, or were you just more vulnerable than you realized, due to similar wounds from your past that have yet to heal?

3) Were you sinned against, or could it just be a misunderstanding?

4) Were you sinned against, or are you just reacting to a personality difference?

The discernment part of this is you being honest about a situation where you felt slighted or hurt, and evaluating whether or not you were intentionally wronged.  If what wounded you was possibly unintentional, or a recurring personality difference, or someone else with strong opinions that differ from you and yours ~ these are grounds for grace.  These are God-given opportunities to practice "gracing" another.  Here's the spiritual maturity part ~ If you conclude it was anything other than sin, your challenge is choosing to seize the opportunity to grow up, let it go, and move on.  God will supply you with what you need to do this if you ask Him.  BUT ~ if you feel traumatized by a specifically sinful action taken against you and designed to hurt you ~ by a fellow Christian ~ and you are pretending like it doesn't bother you under the guise of "grace," what you are now engaged in is avoidance ~ you are avoiding resolution (and healing, and growth, and unity, and peace...) ~ because it's easier (it is), or because it's safer (usually true), or because you feel like it's not your place (who's place is it?) ~ and if it was clearly sin, by not addressing the problem you are unwittingly enabling that person to continue in a habit of sin, and hindering their own growth ~ and possibly your own.

The rest of Matthew 18 reads ~ "But if [your brother] will not hear (after going to him privately), take with you  one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church... (v.16,17b)"

SO ~ If you have been hurt by a fellow member of our church ~

1) Be honest with yourself and seek discernment from God as to whether what happened was clearly 'sinful' or merely unpleasant.

2) If not clearly a sin ~ I encourage you to take this as an opportunity to grow in maturity, and truly "grace" them ~ give them what they may not deserve ~ the benefit of the doubt ~ and ask God to help you let it go.

3) If you feel that person's actions were specifically sinful and not just a difference of personality or opinion, then go to that person privately, motivated by love, looking for resolution, with the hope that you can make peace.  Don't allow yourself to avoid the problem!

4) If, after privately going to this person, you are ignored or attacked again, if they won't hear you out ~ at that point, take one or two other people as witnesses (like an intervention) and try again to resolve the situation.

5) If even then this person remains defiant and lacks remorse, talk to myself or one of the elders and at that point, we will step in (Gal. 6:1).

6) Finally ~ if you are approached by someone who has felt hurt by you and wants to make you aware of your part in that, don't be defensive!  Try not to see it as an attack!  Instead, even if you don't feel you've done anything wrong intentionally, BE THE STRONGER BROTHER (or sister) and try to patiently work out together what went wrong.

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus... (Rom. 15:5)

Surrounded By Grace,

Josh

FALLOUT ~ 10/19/07

The leaves are changing and the winds have picked up in Trinity County -- and I love it; this is my favorite time of year.  When people ask me "why," I usually refer to the color changes, the wind, the tumultuous skies, the way every candle suddenly feels like it's own fireplace.  Esther insists it has something to do with deer hunting... I'm not discounting that theory either.

I used to think it was just the cold weather that was responsible for the infusion of so much  color in our deciduous tree leaves -- I was wrong.  Turns out it's actually the decreased amount of daylight as well as the colder nights that triggers the formation of a "woody plug" in the leaf stems.  This plug continues to solidify until it completely cuts off the flow of chlorophyl -- wat keeps the leaves green -- allowing for the other pigments usually overshadowed by the green to "show through."  Chlorophyl's "final rally" for supremacy takes place when the leaves turn from yellow to red -- the color of the chlorophyl in its final stages of decomposition.  Then the leaf falls.

There is a flow of unity that cannot be allowed to be interrupted as we continue in this vital stage of growth as a venue/ church, or the health of The Outpost will, well... fade and eventually fall.  All that to say, if you really want to scare me this Halloween -- come dressed as a woody plug.

Surrounded By Grace,

Josh

FISH ON ~ 10/11/07

"I can get you to where the fish are, but I can't catch them for you!"  That pretty much sums up my day last Saturday.  I had been invited, last minute, to be part of a bass tournament being put on by Fishers of Men, a Christian Sportsman's group in Redding that began as a Neighborhood Church iGroup.  This particular tournament was special, because it was free to all Redding pastors, and was being offered in honor of "Pastors Appreciation Month."  A trophy was to be given to the church whose pastor, partnered up with a bass pro, had the heaviest catch (5 fish limit) at the end of the day, as well as a brand new fishing rod and reel.  And I wanted that rod and reel. 

But many hours and very few fish later (the absolute worst fishing performance of my life), I was forced to consider the very possibility I was casting so frantically to avoid -- I might just be a lousy fisherman.  The facts seemed to confirm this; I was using the equipment of my pro-partner, fishing with the same lures, and, obviously, was fishing in the same areas (we were on the same boat).  And yet -- he was the only one catching fish.  Yes, he was a pro.  And yes, he had the practice and experience.  But for goodness sakes, I've caught more fish in my bathtub than I caught that day.  It was really, really humbling, and it eventually prompted the good-humored comment mentioned above -- "...I can't catch them for you!"

Many Christians feel ashamed about their "Christian performance" on those days that come between Sundays, whether it has to do with inconsistency in their daily devotional life or the fear of sharing their faith.  I'm also willing to bet that many of you also have an accusing "head voice" that continually whispers a similar version of my own reflective torment -- "I can get you to where the fish are, but I can't catch them for you!  You have all the tools you need to be a good Christian, so why aren't you performing?"  

Do you remember that familiar "Footprints" poem?  The same message applies here.  You are not the only fisherman in the boat -- there's a pro in there with you.  At the end of the day last Saturday, although I never caught anything even worth putting in a fish tank, we ended up winning the tournament -- because  the pro actually did catch the fish we needed to win -- for me.  The annual "Best Fishing Church in Redding" trophy now belongs to Neighborhood, and the rod and reel belong to me (hurrah!).  I told someone it's the nicest gift I ever got for completely relying on someone else in order to win -- and that's the point.  Fish on!

"It is God who works in you to will (desire, want to) and to do (the power to do it!) His good will." Phil. 2:13

ALL THINGS NEW ~ 7/29/07

"New Faces, New Series, and New Life!"  That would be the headline if last Sunday were a newspaper -- we were truly blessed in Weaverville to have 29 adults and 10 children in attendance at The Outpost as we watched the first installment of Bill's new series "ID Me."  I counted 4 first-time visitors -- and the new life?  That would be the young man named Justin who looked up at me at the end of Bill's sermon and during the response time to indicate his decision to follow Christ.  'Praise God, who gives the increase!'

All of this, on any Sunday, would have been encouraging, to say the least.  But on this Sunday it felt like a special answer to prayer, a gift to all of us in Weaverville and those as well in Redding who have continued to pray for 'new faces and new believers.'  Just that morning I had been reading in 1 Corinthians, and felt prompted to ask God to move through power that day, as He did so obviously through Paul's ministry, and not just through human words.  It felt as though God were prompting me to pray specifically for someone to be saved that day, as a display of His power -- "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power" (1 Cor. 4:20).  He did just that, powerfully winning the battle for Justin's heart.  'Praise God, who gives the increase!'

Esther and I were so blessed by the warm reception our first Sunday back, and we hope it felt reciprocated by us showing off little Aaron to so many of you who have patiently waited for his arrival.  You will be the first church family he ever knows... I couldn't be more happy of that fact.  We left for home after the service with the joy of being re-connected with our church family and the comfort of God's reminder that He continues His work in Weaverville.  'Praise God, who gives the increase!'  Can't wait to see you all next week!

Grace induces faith & 'grace is obligated to faith...'

Surrounded By Grace,

Josh

ESTABLISHED ~ 4/30/07

In the midst of many mind wanderings over the past few days, I have thought repeatedly about what it will take to ESTABLISH the Outpost in Weaverville over the next weeks and months, and what BEING ESTABLISHED really means for us, as a church and as individuals.  As I was reading Psalm 93 this morning, the Lord spoke to me.  Would you take a moment out of your busy day and read this short Psalm?

"The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength."

When we come to God with questions that don't seem to have answers, He has this tendency ot respond with truth statements about the nature of HIMSELF, rather than the nature of our problems... Have you noticed that?  I asked God about the ESTABLISHMENT of our church, and about how we should do it, and He responded with words about HIMSELF, through the words of King David, who observed:

"Surely the world is ESTABLISHED, so that it cannot be moved.

Your throne is ESTABLISHED from of old;

YOU are from everlasting."

I asked about US, and God responded about HIMSELF... what's that all about?  The Psalm goes on to talk about another mighty thing, possibly the mightiest force known to the ancient world, the untamed strength and power of water, or the ocieans.  What could stand up to it's constant roar, it's incessant pounding force... what?

What about us God?  What about The Outpost?  What about the many developments that lay ahead of us, the challenges, the growth, the structures, the money, the location, what about our establishment in the face of all the roaring, in the midst of all the incessantly pounding waves?  Oh... And then I read verse 4:

"The Lord on high is mightier

than the noise of many waters,

than the mighty waves of the sea."

And I am reminded that what matters is that GOD IS ESTABLISHED, and mightier than all the pounding, roaring forces of this world... and so are we already ESTABLISHED in all the ways that really matter when we rest in HIM.

Surrounded By Grace,

Josh