THIS WEEKEND. I am excited to hear all of the great reports about the weekend with Ron Heagy. Thanks Ron!! Your story is an inspiration to so many people. I was glad to talk with you on the phone! Looking forward to spending time with you in the future.
SKYPE. I was so excited to talk to 4 of the 6 services at Brush Prairie campus this weekend. I got to talk to Michelle, who thoroughly made me blush at a few different "fun" comments. The only weird part was being up at 4:00 AM to talk to our 9:00 AM service. Peter and Karen even got to be part of the 1:30 PM service on Sunday. Yeah God for technology WHEN used to glorify God and further His kingdom.
NEW ZEALAND. We had a good time in New Zealand. Peter and Karen Taylor are amazing campus pastors. Over and over I kept hearing how people love them here and how they feel so loved and cared for. The campus is 18 months old and this is the first time I have been able to be there in person. Simply ONLY GOD is all I can say. They have moved four times in that time, they have seen many come to Christ. They have served this community and are just loved. To partner with the church in NZ is a great privilege and blessing. This Sunday was the second highest attendance and there were lots of people who came to Christ. They do a lunch "family" thing each week, which is great! If you can, email Peter and tell him thanks: pandktaylor@kinect.co.nz Thanks Peter and Karen for ALL that you are doing, for how you are risking and in Heaven we will rejoice together! See ya next time. Peter is planning to meet us in India for our first crusade. So excited.
ONLY GOD CAN, India. The cans are out and coming back. Blessings to every person who is donating and praying. This will be our first (and definitely NOT last) crusade for Living Hope global. Together we will partner and then celebrate thousands who will find their way back to God. IF you haven't, please grab an ONLY GOD can. 33 cents is what it takes for one person in India to get bus fare to the crusade. We are anticipating between 30 and 50 thousand people each of three nights. Please pray! Only 2% of India is Christian. A country that has the highest level of poverty and the highest level of AIDS in the world. God has opened so many doors for us. November is the crusade! The team is being developed. Lots of details, but when the day is over, we are going. For God so loved the world......
TODAY. It is all you have friends. Getting on planes always reminds me of how short life can be and there is always a sense of urgency for me the day I leave somewhere. Urgency. The hours count down, the time to depart doesn't (normally) change. Packing, cleaning, preparing and eventually leaving. That is the way it is traveling. It is also the way it is in life. So much of this life is just about packing, cleaning, preparing and eventually leaving this world and instantly being in a different world. For me, I can't wait to get home. To my home, to my wife, to my kids and to where I ultimately belong. It is the same with all of us. We are made for eternity and it says in the Bible that God has planted eternity in our hearts. Friends, do what you need to do today. Life is short, it will end and one day we won't have the option to do what we need or in some cases want to do. I love Living Hope sooooo much. My first and primary calling is to this church. I know that when I travel, I represent what God has and is doing in your lives. You are truly my friends and heroes. Can't wait to see you all this weekend.
As Christ followers, we spend our whole lives wanting to talk to people about the Jesus we follow.
This last few days I have had the chance to share the gospel on TV with an audience of millions of people who were willing to listen. I was able to speak at our campus in Kona with people who were willing to listen and respond. One of the greatest things was seeing a girl named Lyra, who came to church for the first time here, pray to receive Jesus Christ and then ask if I would baptize her before I left town.
Those are the moments you live for, the moments you hope for, the moments you remember. But they’re not the only moments that matter.
What about the ones when someone hears and doesn’t respond? Or when someone blows you off? What about the moments when someone asks, and then makes fun of you? The gospel is not easy.
I wish I could say I had a better attitude after talking to a girl named Devony during an airport layover. As I talked, she basically laughed at me, made fun of Jesus and said that it was all a bunch of crap. I feel like I was able to call it like I saw it; I said that she was angry at her father, and she told me she hated him. It was obvious that I must represent the things that she hates.
I shared the gospel with her, and there was no visible response to the truth…only anger, sarcasm and unbelief. She clearly was not ready to hear the gospel, but God was asking me “Are you ready to share it, even when it’s not easy?”
I believe in my heart thatif the gospel was as easy as we want it to be, everyone would believe. It’s moments like these that matter… when our faith is confronted with the reality of desperate brokenness. I found myself mad at Devony, and now as I sit waiting for the plane, I realize again how desperately broken I am. "Sometimes" reaching out is less about us reaching others, and more about God reaching us. Such was the case for me today.
I hope someday we all (let me go first) are able to love like Jesus really loved. That when our faith is confronted – we love. When our assumptions are questioned - we love. When God’s plan for salvation is laughed at – we love. I did the best I could – next time I hope to do better.
When the day is over, to Only God be the Glory. Please pray for Devony, that God would bring someone to share the message in a way she will understand. Please pray for Lyra that having heard the message, she will now live it.
I will very soon be getting on a plane to NZ. Am desperately missing my wife (I’m radically codependent and admit it), excited to spend time with our campus in NZ, hoping to spend some time writing, for sure will spend time thinking, praying, and thanking God for every opportunity to share the gospel – even when it’s not easy.
Don’t miss Ron Heagy this weekend. I will see you next weekend.
I can't believe after 2 years of thinking and praying and being invited, it's finally time.
“God so loved the world…” are the words that God has imprinted my mind with. When I think about India, our orphanage, and remember that just 2% of the people are Christians, I’m excited that we are going to do our first international evangelistic crusade.
The word crusade means “war of the cross”. I love that. That’s what we’re doing. We’re praying for people even now before our team leaves in less than three months. It’s a war for people who right now are headed toward a Christ-less eternity.
It’s interesting, because less than 200 miles from where we are going there has been intense persecution. Recently a nun was killed, a pastor was hung, and buildings burned simply because they believe in Jesus. Where we are going is a war for souls.
Yesterday, a good friend came by the office and gave a check for $5000 for the crusade. That single donation will represent 15,000 people being able to hear the Gospel message and statistically from that one donation, between 4 and 5 thousand people will surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ.
We launched an initiative last weekend, “Only God Can…India” If you weren’t a part please take a can this weekend and involve your family in donating. We will let you know when to bring the cans back. If you want to, you can also donate online here.
It is time, Living Hope Church, to walk in our calling. God has given us the opportunity and I’m very excited about this new season.
Couple of quick updates:
1. Today Michelle and I are flying to California and I will be on TBN "Praise the Lord" tonight at 7pm – 9pm.
This is the second opportunity I have had to be on the show to share the Living Hope story and also to pray for people around the globe to come to Christ. Please be praying, and if you can, tune in tonight.
2. We’re doing a little different format on Saturday nights, having pizza and putting tables in the auditorium. So if you can, come to one of our two Saturday services at 5pm or 7pm, or come to one of our shorter services at 8:30 & 10am Sunday. We also have extended worship at 11.30am and 1.30pm Sunday.
3. It looks like we will make budget in August, which will help cover a little bit of the deficit from June and July. Thanks you for your faithful giving and for your heart to reach this community for Christ.
4. In two weeks on Labor Day weekend, Ron Heagy will be at Living Hope. He has a fantastic story as a quadriplegic, and he is bringing the firebird that he has been fitted to drive. www.RonHeagy.com
My prayer is that you will have a great rest of the week, and enjoy the last few days of summer.
It happens every day in every city in the life of every leader. We miss miracles. Mostly because we aren’t looking.
I am deeply convinced that in the American church, Jesus really isn’t the problem.…Christians are. Which means we are.
Let me clarify something: I have devoted my life to serving in the local church. I LOVE THE CHURCH. I love when things go great, and I am devoted when things are difficult. I think we so often miss what God wants to do because we are more about trying to convince God to get in on what we are doing. When you read the gospels, you see miracles. People were saved every day, lives were transformed, leaders were exhausted (for good reasons) and we see the impact of the early church on its culture. In fact, miracles are normal for God and ought to be for church leaders.
Acts 17 talks about early church leaders turning their cities upside down. What does that mean? They made a difference in their cities. PEOPLE (The Church) got NOTICED. PEOPLE GOT SAVED. CHURCHES WERE UNIFIED. FAITH WAS SIMPLE. MISSION WAS UNCOMPLICATED. BOTTOM LINE: A bunch of largely rejected "leaders" simply saw, and walked in, the path of what God could do. I am convinced we will never know what God "will" do until we step seriously into the waters of what God "could" do.
Albert Einstein said, "We will live our lives as if everything is a miracle or nothing is.” I would say we will live our lives, and lead our churches with a mentality of ONLY GOT or ONLY GOD.
To see a miracle happen a few things have to happen.
FIRST. I have to see that God can do it. I will never as long as I live forget when we put the Easter vision of 2007 in the hands of the church. I said “you give, and God will tell us what to do. “ They gave so much money that anything small didn’t make sense. We were learning that with God all things are possible. EVEN RENTING THE ROSE GARDEN ARENA for an Easter service in 40 days. What seemed completely crazy became a catalyzing event that our church will never ever forget. With very little advertising, and with only 40 days we risked, we prayed and we simply believed God could do the impossible. Honestly, every time I talk to leaders about it, they give me the same “you-have-to-be-kidding-me” look. Day one we decided. The next 40 days were days marked with risk, overtime, exhaustion and even a little doubt. We set up 4 pools, we rented every parking space available and on our 41st day 15,000 people showed up. We saw 700 people baptized. When the day was over we simply and very authentically said two words: “ONLY GOD.”
As a leader, if you want to see a miracle you have to see what you aren’t seeing right now. A big God should elicit big faith. YOU HAVE TO SEE WHAT NO ONE ELSE SEES AS POSSIBLE. What miracle are you missing?
The next step is the disconnect for most leaders. Be foolish in risking all that you have. Go first and go big. That is the signature of the early church. We read about it, but what will people read about us? Will we be known as followers of God who play it safe? Is paying off the mortgage the biggest thing on your calendar? Jesus risked EVERYTHING to reach the people that God has divinely trusted to your care. You are charged to reach your city and you can’t reach without risking. I live in the back yard of Nike. Their symbol the swoosh says simply “do it”. The Cross said simply “done”. Let God lead you. SEE the possibility and then go forward. You will fail when you risk, but you will fail way more if you don’t. The Rose Garden was met with tremendous cost and yet there was virtually no effect after that day Easter 2007. In fact we started a campus in Portland (3 different times) and failed pretty miserably each time. If you risk you will fail. When you fail you will learn. When you learn you will be better positioned to charge ahead again.
When I see what can happen and take necessary steps in that direction, then I have to REMEMBER ONLY GOD. The tendency is to think how good we did in the wake of a real miracle. Truth is we are compared to sheep. Without Him we simply go astray. Give the glory back to God. Remember HIM. Tell your church and your families about His goodness. Tell them about His loving kindness. Tell them about the miracles you have seen and trust them to lead even to levels beyond where today finds you.
To summarize how a miracle happens: We have to first see only God, and respond to only God, then thank and remember only God.
I am excited for NOC 2009. I believe it is one of the most needed conferences in America today. I an honored to speak at this conference and to learn from other Reach-oriented leaders. If you haven’t signed up, please prayerfully consider being part of this time. www.outreachconvention.com/ In our generation, there is a revolution waiting to happen. It is real and it is now.
This weekend we began a new series called Living Hope at the Movies. I want to give a big shout out to all the volunteers who made the set look incredible and worked countless hours. It looks amazing, and with the hundreds of bags of popcorn, it was a great start to the series.
The message was called "The Heart of a Warrior". And I wanted to help us understand how courage is developed, why conviction matters, and how character is built in the dark places like caves.
Of course my favorite movie is Braveheart. We looked at William Wallace and his defining moment in the Battle of Stirling in 1297. With faces painted blue, they were willing to walk into a battle outnumbered, outmatched, and outarmed, to fight an army that previously had not lost a single battle. Through that day in real history we get to learn about the heart of a warrior. The heart of someone courageous and willing to lose his life to fight for something he believed in.
I often times feel like we shrink back from battle, because we choose comfort over courage. When we have courage to fight, it will always cost us something.
On that day William Wallace was called and is still known today as the Guardian of Scotland.
There is another day in the life of a man called Gideon, who never asked to fight but was called by God to be something he wasn’t, but God knew he could be.
Lots of moments make up the heart of a warrior:
It’s the moment when we wake up to the right voice. The voice of God. How often do we seriously listen to the voice of the enemy? How long will we continue to allow ourselves to behave based on lies? How long? We have to learn to listen to the voice of God. Check out what God told Gideon: When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." Judges 6:12
At this point Gideon wasn’t fighting – he was in fact hiding. He was a first class Chicken Little. God didn’t call him what he was, he called him what he could be.
It's the moment we realize that it's in our weakness coupled with God’s strength that battles get won. I believe that in weakness we either run from our calling or we trust God and become dependent on only Him. Judges 6:14-16 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” 15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” 16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Gideon heard what I hope we will hear. God is with you, God is for you, and the battle has already been won.
Here’s the formula: Your availability + God’s dependability = Only God Blessability.
The question is, will you be available? You are a mighty warrior and God wants to use your one life.
The third moment in the life of a warrior is when we realize we have to look inward before we act outward. Gideon had to acknowledge who he was in order for God to show him who he had called him to be.
There is also the moment when we step onto the battlefield, and start to simply trust God. “Then the Spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms…” Judges 6:34
Here is what I have learned in my life personally: God will often take everything away that I have counted on to bring confidence and courage to my life. God wants my faith in Him alone, plus nothing, and perhaps no one.
In Gideon’s case, they had 30,000 people that became 10,000, that became 300. The enemy army was 135,000 strong, the odds went from 3 to 1, to 13 to 1, to 450 to 1. There is no way that Gideon could win without absolute confidence in God. The Battle belongs to the LORD.
Great weekend – looking forward to seeing Only God work as we step up and trust.
Excited for the series, it’s a great one to bring your friends to.
Love hearing about your favorite movies, keep sending them in.
Never forget – You are a mighty warrior and YAHWEH is with you!
I wanted to give a quick update after the weekend, which was the last weekend in the series.
1. ATTENDANCE. Attendance was surprisingly up (for summer) at most services and campuses. I think it tells us that talking about family, marriage, and parenting stuff is a topic we all want to learn about, and need encouragement in. Thanks campus teams!!
2. BUDGET. Our contributions were down for July. It's to be expected. In case you haven't been able to give because of summer stuff, maybe consider giving online this week. I am excited for the new financial season we are in. ONLY GOD for sure. I know pastors across the countries that are moving from annual budgets with expectations to quarterly budgets with no expectations. Here is my expectation: It is Jesus' church. He will build it! He will supply all that we need to accomplish all that He has for us. Where God guides, God always provides. For 13 years it has been what we have trusted.
3. THANKS TO VOLUNTEERS. Thanks to all the teams that make the weekends happen and to the people who work tirelessly (you know who you are) to build sets and do everything we do.
4. THE MESSAGE. Good end to the series. We talked about reconciliation. We have been given the "ministry of reconciliation" in 2 Corinthians 5. In this message we looked at what it means that we have been reconciled and what it means for us to take seriously the task or ministry to reconcile others. We looked at several things. First, we need to ask "What is my goal?" To be right or reconciled? Once we determine what your goal is, we need to ask "What direction am I moving?" Are we moving closer toward someone, or moving from them? Three things move us. Our attitude (humility), our actions (acceptance) and our atmosphere (safety). Then we asked the last question "Where does it hurt?" To reconcile means to forgive. God has forgiven us! In spite of our stupid choices.
5. NEW SERIES. LIVING HOPE AT THE MOVIES. Not sure which movie to start with..... Any ideas? I have a few I love. You will love the series; the set is being built right now. AWESOME series to invite your friends, relatives and co-workers to.
6. FAIR. We need volunteers to work the lemonade booth we have at the Clark County Fair. Contact the church or email if you can help.
7. LIVING FREE. Maybe you don't know, but we have a mid week service that is staffed with awesome leaders and teachers who want to serve you and help you become more devoted to Jesus. Lots happening there. Tuesdays 6:45 PM. Check it out.
8. CAMPUSES. Have you visited a campus? Maybe consider visiting a campus in the near future. Chances are there is a campus close to your home. We have tons of information about our campuses on our website. Great leaders and pastors who make it their job to serve you.
9. MY FAMILY. In our last several weeks of summer I hope you will pause to spend time with your family. The unscripted and unplanned moments sometimes are the most precious of all. My daughter Katie and I sat and talked for a long time today, about the Bible, about ministry and about life. She has such a pastor's heart and as she is in Multnomah Bible College (University), I am so proud of her. She is now going to be working with teenage girls at Living Hope. Anyway. Point is: Take the time, because those moments matter more than you can know. I loved my unscripted time with Katie, and am trying to be more intentional with relationships.
10. REMEMBER. It isn't what you know that matters. It is what you do with what you know that matters!! I am praying that you fall more in love with God this week than you have ever been.
I hope everyone is having a great week. Sorry for the long time periods between blogs.
This week I asked everyone to spend intentional time reading the words of Jesus in Matthew 5,6 and 7. The Sermon on the Mount (our titling) is chocked full of so much wisdom.
We talked this past weekend about QUAD THEOLOGY. It's really the process of how faith is developed.
My quadding experiences taught me about different days in our faith journey.
DAY ONE: The day we move things from theory to real life. The day we move the quad from the trailer to the sand dunes. It is when things feel so perfect, and so awesome and our faith is at its best, when life hasn't wrecked it yet. Seeing literally thousands led to Christ in the last few years has been a blessing. It's that "day" when you get that the story is real. That faith is what God wants. That Jesus really died.
DAY TWO: We "risk" and get a little vulnerable and sometimes get hurt. When we get hurt, we have a tendency to shrink back. In my case, to put the quad back in the trailer. In Hebrews we see that the early Christians literally shrunk back in the face of difficult circumstances. I think today, so often we hear a plastic view of the gospel. Truth is, it is dangerous and you will get hurt. Day two quadding; I fell pretty hard. I tried to logically catch myself and the tire grabbed my foot and threw me from the quad. My tendency was to be done riding. Faith is like that. You have to learn to follow, and in following you get hurt sometimes.
DAY THREE: When we get hurt, we have a tendency to get "stuck" in our faith. I tried to climb a 350 or 400 foot dune (following Chuck) and after watching him, I was inspired to risk again. The problem was when I got to about 250 feet I began to get fearful and really at that point stopped pressing the throttle, which stopped me and I was stuck in the dunes with nowhere to go. I was stuck because I was afraid, and afraid because I was hurt. Fear will paralyze you. When you think about your life, the places you get stuck were the times you got hurt. For me, I had to wait for the person I trusted most (in quads) to come get me. In life, we simply wait on the one who knows us the most and will come to our rescue.
DAY FOUR: I learned about new! In the dunes when the wind comes, it wipes away the tracks. Not only can you not find your own, but you can't see any at all. The greek word Pneuma translated means wind, breath, or spirit. I was talking to Pastor Duane about how the Holy Spirit will come like a wind to erase the tracks in our life, and make us new. The thing is, we have to move past the third day to experience the fourth.
DAY FIVE: Is the day we go home. The great thing about vacations is time and new experiences with family. The best thing about vacations is going home. The best thing about this life is that one day we get to go home. Think about Peter who was walking on water and everything was going well, until he took his eyes off the one he was following. In life we can take our eyes off the prize and forget the day is coming when we get to go home. Keep your eyes on him.
Which day are you in? The newness of faith? Are you stuck? Hurt? Are you waiting for rescue, or wanting to get back out there and make new tracks?
See you this weekend. We are finishing the series with a talk about what it means to reconcile; how it happens, and what we can expect when it doesn't.
I want to start by saying thank you for being the church that you are. Your lives and faith have been instrumental in touching the lives of so many around the world simply because you believe the gospel message, and you believe that Jesus really did come to transform not just to inform people.
As a pastor my first calling and commitment has been to the local church, specifically Living Hope. In that, we have always been committed to walk through the doors Only God has opened. About two years ago, as some of you know, we began to explore a vision of airing on TBN locally once a month. We began to see immediate fruit and have been waiting to see what Only God would do with it. We are so excited to announce that our messages are now nationally syndicated and can be seen in nearly 48 million homes across the country. This could not have happened without the generous donations of the people that believe in the message beyond our walls.
The information about different TV programs and channels is listed below. Our team would love to encourage you to share our message with friends and family across the country. The east coast time is pretty early here (3:30am) so as for me and my house, we will set our TIVO (because even Jesus wouldn’t get up that early!).
As we humbly and prayerfully continue to allow this ministry to reach beyond just our walls, we want to stay in the center of God’s will and give Him all the glory and thanks.
Your prayers, friendship and support matter more than you will ever know.
Have an Only God blessed day,
John and Michelle
P.S. I wanted to share with you some touching testimonies of how God’s message is being used to reach and change lives across our country…Thank YOU for being the kind of church that lives God’s love and gets what we are doing...
Patty was so touched by John's message and the story shared. This was the first time she had seen the program. She just happened to wake up and it was on. She wanted prayer for her husband who left her and turned away from God. She wanted to pray for him to come back to Jesus and for reconciliation and restoration for them as husband and wife. She also wanted prayer that they would be able to move and get a brand new start (mentioned would love to move to Washington and attend Living Hope). Patty said she loved what she saw of John. She said he was fresh and new and had a humble spirit that she really liked. She wants to continue to watch him on TV (GMC-Massachusetts)
“My husband and I are having a lot of marital issues in our lives right now and it’s very scary. We have been together for 12 yrs and married almost 6yrs, and we have 4 wonderful children that we need to look out for. This is a very hard time for the both of us right now and we are trying to cope and deal with this situation that has come upon us to get through it as fast as we possibly can to have a stronger marriage and to have the happy family without the issues we are dealing with. I would just like to ask everyone to pray for us and give us the strength and support we need to get through this not just for each other but also our child. Thank You & God Bless” (TBN- Washington)
A man named Kevin called and left a message. He was overflowing with good things to say about Pastor John and the ministry. He said John’s message really touched his heart. He shared with me that he was in his fifth year of sobriety and was working at coming out of the gay lifestyle. He remarked that he would like to hear John speak about that issue, because John comes across as non-threatening. I shared with him about Living Hope hosting Ted and Gayle Haggard and invited him to church. He was so excited but unable to attend without a ride. The second time I spoke with him he was just as excited about coming to Living Hope saying he’s been searching for a good church home for a long time. He also said he wanted to get baptized! (TBN- Oregon)
Sunday morning I was blessed with a call on the John Bishop TV hotline. A man from Illinois named Rick “just so happened” to wake up early in the morning for no apparent reason. He couldn’t sleep due to a mind full of spiritual warfare. He sat down and turned on the television and as he started channel surfing he stopped on John Bishop TV. John was starting part two of the Boy Meets Girl series, and God immediately started working. Within ten minutes of the service starting, Rick had broken down. When I answered the call he was in tears as he started to explain his story to me. He’s been in a relationship with a wonderful girl and a miracle baby on the way. He lost his job, some other things went wrong and the spiritual warfare in the relationship started to get heated. She had just left him and he’s been struggling to see God's plan through it all. He had been trying hard to find hope but he felt like there was none left and no reason to go on. I talked to him for 30 or 40 minutes and than prayed with him. What an amazing blessing and encouragement to see God working so powerfully across the United States bringing hope and healing. (GMC- Illinois)
I am actually now on my way home from Prineville from our annual family reunion/vacation.
Excited about our new series and am pumped as our campus pastors kick it off with their "family" stories.
The fact of the matter is, families matter. When the family breaks down, all of society breaks down. Every year we have intentional focus during our summers on family issues.
This series will, I believe, bring encouragement, needed conviction, and definitely wisdom from God as we turn away from what culture does and says to what God has said. The one thing I want to say is that in families it is always too soon to give up.
Galations 6 says “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. “
Thanks to all the pastors who help lead our church and campuses for sharing this weekend, and for allowing God to work through your lives. What you do matters. Who you are matters. I’m so glad to be able to serve with you.
Campus pastors will rock the house at Living Hope this weekend!
1. Great ending to a really great series. Over 100 people baptized at all campuses today. Awesome memories.
2. I love that we were able to have July 4th off so our staff and volunteers could spend time with families.
3. I’ll never forget Beula, officially the oldest woman baptized at Living Hope Church, who will be 97 years old next month. After making the huge effort to climb into the pool, she said to me “I have to publicly declare my faith in Jesus”. To see her then help baptize her daughter and granddaughter was simply priceless.
I was thinking about how she has limited eyesight, and yet could see more than most of us. She could see Jesus and what He wanted for our lives.
4. Every time we do baptisms and I see an entire family baptized like today, a husband and wife, 2 kids & a grandma, it reminds me of the book of Acts where it says whole families were being saved.
5. I love seeing different campus pastors baptizing people from their campuses who I have never even met. To see them so loved by the people they have served blesses my heart.
6. The tireless volunteers who always make what God does so worth it. Photographers, choir, bbq team, worship team, ushers & greeters, setup team, baptism team. Awesome.
7. I met a guy (a 6’8" rugby coach), who has not been in church for 29 years. He loved Living Hope, the authentic people, the feeling of acceptance, and the down to earth message. (Although he said I looked like Jack Black… not sure how to take that)
8. We now actually have ONLY GOD beach towels. Who would have known that so many people in Vancouver would want huge bright beach towels?
9. The vast majority of the people baptized today were saved today. I love the verse in Luke that says “heaven rejoices when one person repents”. To see our church rejoicing each time someone is baptized is just incredible. Have I ever said “I love this church”?
10. My daughter Hannah made a commitment to Christ in October of last year. Last night she told me she wanted to be baptized. The priceless memory of being a daddy knowing all three of his kids know Jesus is a blessing beyond words. She was the last person of the day to be baptized, and it was so cool that Michelle, Katie, David, and myself all got in the pool and together baptized our baby of the family.
I want to blog more about the things Hannah said and need to talk to her first. But it was incredible insight from the heart of a 14 year old girl…
I’m excited about the new series “All in the Family” starting next weekend. There is always a lot to say and learn about families. It will be a great series.
More updates later this week.
See you John and Michelle
P.S. I wanted to share with you the stories we saw this weekend, and the reason we do what we do. Check it out...
