i just got done attending church online with lifechurch.tv. what an amazing experience again. it's incredible as someone who serves in vocational ministry, to have a place where i can go and get fed! beyond that though, it is an amazing experience to literally be able to go to church with people from all over the world. life church has developed an instantaneous translating tool that allows people who don't speak the same language to communicate with each other in online chat! unbelievable!! what a cool experience to literally be part of a global church.

my plug for church online aside, this morning's gathering was awesome! pastor craig spoke on being dissatisfied... which is quite a relevant message to someone who lives in a culture where more is always better. who hasn't said, "if i could just have a little bit more, then i would truly be happy"? it's the mantra of our human existence. yet God calls us to be content with what we have... to not concern ourselves with worldly things but to pursue him with reckless abandonment.

it's interesting, because most of us would say that money can't buy us happiness, yet in the same breath, almost all of us would say if we had a little bit more money, we would be happier... seems quite contradictory.

the big idea that hit square between the eyes this morning was this:

we can all say we believe something, but ultimately the way we live our lives shows what we believe... and the way most of us (me included) live our lives says that what Christ has to offer is not as good as what the world has to offer.

i'm not sure what God is up to in me, but all i know is that my heart was truly broken in repentance as i realized the way i have fractured my pursuit of God with the pursuit of worldly things. i don't want to live my life, constantly dissatisfied! God, breathe in me a spirit of contentment.

I'm becoming more and more convinced every day of the value of taking time to sit and think and write. So often when I engage in this discipline I see the hand of God at work in my life. Not even so much in what I might have to say to others but what I can learn about myself. I have had the desire to blog on a daily basis for quite some time but so often I feel like I have nothing to say. Yet when I just sit and think and write, the words always seem to come. I'm not sure that anyone will ever read any of this but here it is... My attempt at the discipline of writing.

Love is Patient, Love is Kind from Skot Lokers on Vimeo.

the apostle paul encourages the people to follow him as he follows Christ. i've been thinking about those words a lot in terms of leadership. no one would likely question that paul was a great leader, and yet paul's instructions were not to simply follow him because he had it all figured out, but to follow him as he followed Christ. ultimately we are not in charge. as great of a leader as we may be, every one of us is called to follow Christ - and even those of us who are commissioned to "lead" only do so effectively when we follow the true leader who is Christ. may we all learn what it truly means to follow the leader.

as a staff at ecclesia we have been reading aqua church 2.0 by leonard sweet and it has been a truly fascinating read! the image of an aqua church has got me thinking a lot. the interesting thing about water is that it is obviously very fluid in form and yet it never changes in substance. the substance never changes and yet the form is always changing so that it can flow where it needs to flow. what an amazing analogy for a church that seeks to remain pure and true to the substance of what it has been called to be and yet must be ever evolving as it seeks to be relevant to an ever changing culture. may i learn to always be an aqua christian!

god is really amazing! i was thinking this morning about the simple truth in scripture that god's mercies are new every morning... what an amazing gift! to think that god is so loving, so patient and so merciful that everyday he gives us a fresh start! what an awesome promise to start each day with... to know that the past is the past and even when we blow it over and over again, god let's us start each day as a brand new day! praise god for who he is and all he has done!

i'm thinking a lot today about the power of words. i was reading the story of jacob and esau in the book of genesis today and it got me thinking. there seems to be a pattern in scripture that when words are spoken they cannot be taken back... and not only that those words have power and they mean something. when jacob deceived his father to steal his brothers blessing, there was nothing that could be done to change it. isaac had spoken the blessing over jacob and HE WOULD BE BLESSED. the bible also declares that there is life and death in the power of the tongue.

i think about how frequently i speak without thinking about what i am saying; how i often i say things i don't really mean and wish i could take them back. yet once those words have been spoken, they can't be taken back. words can be incredibly powerful, inspirational and uplifting; or they can be incredibly destructive. may we all stop and think a little more about the things we say.

i've been reading through the book of genesis lately and thinking a lot about rhythms of life. it's fascinating to me to read the creation story and see the rhythm and pattern in which god creates. so many things in our world move in rhythms and patterns... including us as human beings. a few weeks ago in church we talked about the importance of routine in our faith; of establishing patterns of discipline to grow with god. as part of that message we talked about people's natural rhythms; some people move in daily rhythms, some people move in weekly rhythms, some people move in seasonal rhythms; our minds and bodies naturally function differently. it got me thinking a lot about my own routines and rhythms.

maybe it's just me but i've always had this idea in my mind that in order to be a disciplined person, i need to wake up before the crack of dawn and get into my daily routines. i'm not naturally wired as a morning though so no matter how hard i would try to develop this "disciplined" lifestyle i would always fail. i'm not sure what it was that finally clicked for me but i realized that i need to learn to work within my own natural rhythm. i need to reorient my day around my own patterns and rhythms but i can still be just as disciplined in a routine that works for me. for the past couple weeks i have been reorienting myself to work in my own natural rhythms and it has been incredibly rewarding. there are still the natural struggles of being disciplined on a daily basis but it is much easier to do it in a pattern that works for me.

exciting things happening at ecclesia... we move into our new building this sunday, february 1st, at 1050 w. southern ave. in muskegon. if any of you want to come check it out, you're always welcome.

i heard somebody say once, that if you discipline yourself then nobody else will have to... what great advice! i only wish i could follow it. i'm the kind of guy who really wants to be disciplined (when i feel like it) but the problem is all those times in between when i don't feel like it. i mean when it boils down to it, who really likes to be disciplined. it certainly is no fun to be disciplined by someone else so why in the world would you discipline yourself? i know the answer to that of course... it's as momma always says, it's for your own good. in the end healthy discipline does make us better people. so i am trying to be more disciplined... i'll keep you posted on how i'm doing (if i feel like it!) :)

i suck... that's all i have to say. i have failed miserably at all of my new years resolutions and i haven't even made it half way through the first month. new years resolutions are just a great way to make people feel terrible about themselves that's what i think. oh well! we''l keep trying.

so none of my kids have ever liked wearing things on their heads when they were babies, so cute hats and bows were always out of the question... then along came Ili. she thinks it's the greatest thing in the world to put stuff on her head (including her dinner which makes keeping her hair clean a real chore). we took this picture of her wearing my sweatband and she thought she was the greatest thing since sliced bread. she had no interest in taking it off for quite some time.

okay, so i've never been big into new years resolutions but in the spirit of the holiday i figured, why not... so here is my list of new years resolutions.

1. to blog on a daily basis (this is blog #1)


2. to read through the entire bible in a year


3. to exercise on a daily basis (starting tomorrow because the gym was closed today)


4. to eat healthier (mmm... i love junk food)


5. to stop drinking soda (i hate this one! i love drinking soda but it's so bad for me)


it's day one of 2009, we'll see how far we get.