Souljourn

This 'Rocks'

Yes, that is the 'Rock' on the movie screen, while we stuffed eggs we watched 'The Game Plan'.  Here are some pictures from our egg stuffing assembly line on Tuesday (sorry I'm late getting them up).  We had a great time serving together and it is going to be fantastic seeing children in Campbell River & The Comox Valley gathering 16,000 eggs!  I have also included another 'teaser' photo of our children's outreach coming in April.  Our master's students are going to take it to Gold River, Campbell River, The Comox Valley and a couple other churches.                

                                    

How costly is it?

'The Costly Call' is a book about modern day Muslims who have come to faith in Jesus Christ.  It is a collection of testimonies from people living in; Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Thailand and other regions with a significant Muslim population.  As I have read through this book these are some of the stories I have read:

• the story of Hassan, who had his father taken away by the police for professing faith in Jesus Christ.  This young man grew up with his father in prison, enduring severe beatings and ultimately being murdered for his faith. 
• the story of Muusa, who after converting to Christianity as an adult, was abducted by the police coming home one day, severely beaten and thrown in prison.  He was not allowed to notify his wife where he was and for one year she had no idea what had happened to him.  He was kept in prison for four years in a rat infested cell where two times a year he would be severely beaten and given an opportunity to renounce his faith in Jesus -- each time he refused.
• the story of Abdul - who came to faith in Christ as a young man and had his family disown him.  A few years later his father passed away and he did not find out about it until one week after the funeral.

As I have read these, and other stories, of amazing faith in Jesus Christ and what people have had to endure to follow Christ, I have felt quite uncomfortable about my own comfort.  As a Christian in Canada, my confession of faith has not caused me any great hardship.  I have not had to endure any beatings.  I have not lost a job, or any material possession, because of my faith.  My participation in Jesus' words, '...whoever would follow me must deny himself, pick up his cross (an object of death) and follow me...' has not brought great sacrifice or trial into my life, as it has in the stories I've just read - yet even in the midst of this they write that they are experiencing great joy, peace and fulfillment.

As we look at the great mission field in our own Nation, I wonder if the greatest obstacle we are facing is our desire for comfort and unwillingness to sacrifice?  It may be easier to point our finger at the media, the government, or many other external factors, but are these the real issues or is it simply easier to look anywhere else but at ourselves?

These aren't questions I'm asking you, they are questions I'm asking myself -- you can respond as you feel led.  I'm not trying to divert the conviction I currently feel for my inadequate level of sacrifice onto you.  Holy Spirit has stirred it in my heart so it for me.  I would however, ask you to consider this issue.  In light of what God has called us to, how are we currently living out the life of sacrifice that He has clearly called us to?

Teens helping Teens

Teenagers in Washington State are rallying to stop teenagers from starting, or continuing, smoking.  They are working to make it COOL not to smoke, and UNCOOL to smoke.  To get out their message they have have started an organization called No Stank You.  “No Stank You” is a tobacco-prevention effort created for teens and funded by the Washington State Department of Health.

They have a variety of t-shirts that teenagers can get for free to help promote their message.  They also have to take the 'pledge', which is their affirmation that they won't be smokers.  It is very clear in its message and also quite funny (I had Emerson read it out loud to us all and we were all laughing hilariously as he went through it).

Here is the pledge...
THE MOB PLEDGE

(Say the following out loud, really loud, and I dare you not to smile)

I solemnly swear that as a member of the No Stank You MOB, I will not let tobacco turn my mouth into a 24-hour gag factory that can’t be helped by even six packs of the strongest gum they sell, even the stuff you need a prescription to get—if that even exists. I won’t make my lungs look like they got stuck in a chimney for three years then dragged behind a swamp buggy for 83 miles, then eaten and coughed up by a stray cat. I realize that over 50% of tobacco chewers have oral lesions and 80% of teens would rather date a nonsmoker. And that smoking can cause “Black Hairy Tongue,” which is even more stanktacular than it sounds. I will not make my clothes stink like funky-foul smoke stank so that, when my friends or a hot male/female gets near me, they won’t wish their nose had been lopped off in a weed-whacker accident. And if I even look like I’m thinking about breaking my MOB pledge, my fellow MOBsters have the right to yank on the little hairs on my neck as many times as it takes for me to snap out of it. And it’s my duty to do the same for them. Forever and ever that’s it.

Sermon video

Corey made up a great video for our series on Social Compassion & Righteousness.  I love the song, the images and the text that highlights certain aspects.  Campbell River & Gold River will be seeing this next week but I thought it would be okay to post it here now anyways.  It certainly doesn't hurt seeing it more than one time.

The way Corey ended the video with 'GO' hovering there is a powerful ending that puts the ball squarely in our court.

I saw it again...

There it was.  Right in front of my eyes.  Another fantastic example of the heart of service that we are seeing developed in our church family (GET to vs. HAVE to).

14 months ago we became a multi-site church with the launch of our 2nd campus and 2 months ago we launched our 3rd.  Needless to say the learning curve has been incredibly steep and were it not for the passionate dedication of countless people there is no way we would be where we are today.

One of the areas that has required the steepest learning curve has been in the whole area of 'tech'.  Now that we video tape our services (worship included for our 3rd campus!!!) this has required cameras, lights, capturing & burning hardware, and several 'exorcisms' of the sound equipment (I was looking for a herd of pigs this week). 

We had another technical glitch this week that required a lot of extra work for certain individuals and even more for one in particular (thank-you Randy!).  I just got back from the church (Saturday night @ 11pm) and there IT (the heart of service) was.  Sitting in front of a computer screen working on our project with a complete willingness to invest 3 more hours tonight in the project and then come in early Sunday morning to get it ready to go (READ - way and above the call of duty)

As I took this all in I had two emotions rise up.  1 - a total frustration for the never ending technical glitches that seem to plague us and, 2 - a sense of gratitude and awe for this display of service that, where I not observing it, would have gone unnoticed (not by God of course).  Needless to say, the 2nd emotion quickly swamped the 1st and I was left feeling humbled by the willingness of people to serve with their gifts and talents for the advance of God's Kingdom.

Oh and the icing on the cake, there was even an offer to go and get ME a Starbucks (and not just so he could get one because he already had one).

Our church is so incredibly blessed because of service like this.  I know that this isn't the only place it is evident but it's just the most current that I've seen so I wanted to tell you about it.

Yeah God!