The Plaza

There’s an old story about Akiva, the rabbi, who had been in the village to gather some supplies. Walking back to his cottage, he absentmindedly took the wrong path. Suddenly, a voice came through the darkness: “Who are you, and why are you here?”

Shocked to awareness, Akiva realized he had wandered into the Roman garrison, and the voice had come from the young sentry keeping guard. But being a rabbi, he answered the question with another question: “How much do they pay you to stand guard and ask that question of all who approach?”

The sentry, now seeing that this was not an intruder but a rabbi, answered meekly, “Five drachmas a week, sir.”

At that point the rabbi offered, “Young man, I will double your pay if you come with me, stand in front of my cottage, and ask me that question each morning as I begin my day: ‘Who are you, and why are you here?’”

Akiva, the rabbi, saw the value of accountability and paid for the daily reminder to retain clarity of identity and purpose so as to not waste a single day.  Now, whether this story is true I don’t know, but ever since I first heard Pastor Wayne Cordiero share it early on in my church planting journey, I’ve never been able to get it out of my head.  It’s easy to lose the clarity of purpose in the midst of the tyranny of the urgent and the isolation of ministry.  I need someone, perhaps many someone’s, to challenge me about who I am and what I’m doing here.  

Akiva asked for it, but for Archippus, the opportunity for accountability was thrust upon him in a very public manner.  As the Apostle Paul extended greetings from all of his friends to the church in Colosse he insisted the letter be handed around to all the churches to be read in public.  Just before his closing signature he then drops this bomb on Archippus, “And say to Archippus, ‘Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.’” (Colossians 4:17)  Ouch!  Not only will Archippus get this Apostolic charge directly, but every other church who reads this letter all the way up to my reading of this letter today in 2013 will read of it as well.  Undoubtedly all will ask the same questions I did, “Did Archippus carry out the ministry Lord gave him?  What was that ministry?  Why the public shout out?”  The historical answer is that Archippus’ charge to action, with built in accountability, was directly tied to the letter of Philemon (where Archippus is desribed as a “fellow soldier” and pastor of a house church) and involves the receiving and caring for Onesimus, the restored slave.  The spiritual answer is that Paul was prompted by the Holy Spirit just before the close of the letter to the Colossians to make direct mention of Archippus and call him out!  The clarity of what Archippus was to do and why he was to do it was now evident to all.  We will never know for sure what he was wrestling with or what Archippus may have felt like doing when the slave who deserted Philemon and his church returned home. We do know however that he needed to hear this from Paul in order to fulifll his God-given assignment.  For Akiva it was the Roman guard, for Archippus it was Paul’s letter, for me it was Pastor Burt Smith’s large Marine fingers that called me to accountability and moved me to action.

I wasn’t even sure why I had been asked to be a part of the Disctrict Advisory Council to the Northwest District of Foursquare churches.  I looked around the room at some amazing pastors of very large churches with years of experience and wisdom under their belts and was just happy to be there to learn from them.  This was not false humility I was feeling.  There was no one else in the room as young and inexeperienced as I was.  Dave Veach, our District Supervisor, was brainstorming with the group on how to make the District Fall Conference something that would be truly meaningful, practical, powerful, and useful to all the local pastors who would be attending later that year.  This group of pastors and apostolic leaders began to suggest fantastic break-out sessions and subjects.  I wanted to attend all of them they sounded so good.  Then, the conversation suddenly shifted to the need to hear from the 40 and under leaders.  Quickly my friend Jon McIntosh I  found every eye in the room on us as they talked about the need to develop affinity groups in the District for younger pastors to be able to support each other in the ministry.  I thought this was a great idea and was looking forward to someone else working on that.  It was if Pastor Burt Smith could sense my passive agreement like a predator senses its prey.  With one quick and forceful movement I found myself staring down the barrell of his massive Marine fingers pointed right between my eyes.  His gravelly voice barrelled out with strong conviction to the group and then to me directly that it was time I started speaking up because God had something to say through me and my generation.  This was my first time interacting with Pastor Burt Smith and I will never forget it. There’s a reason that the insanely accurate bio on the Living Water Foursquare church website describes Pastor Pastor Burt as having “a unique way of taking complex concepts and making them understandable, useful, practical, and attainable. He challenges those around him to achieve the high destiny that God has for each of us. He is known for his ability to motivate people to excel in their God-given gifts, calling and abilities.”  I experienced this first hand, literally, and, to this day, am grateful for the agony of accountability this provided.  I didn’t want to be called out, especially in this group of exceptional leaders, but I needed to be.  I had been ready to abdicate my God-given message to someone “more qualified”.  After this accountability encounter I  could no longer get away with ignoring who I was and what I was called here to do.

Accountability has been such an overused, misused, misunderstood concept in Christian circles over the years that it has lost all it’s veracity and consequently priority in many of our lives.  It may feel like an agonizing loss of individual freedom to open our lives up to allow others to speak into them, but it’s actually quite the opposite.  Proverbs 11:4 reminds us that “Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.”  Accountability isn’t an encroachment of who we are, but rather an emboldening force to move us into what we’ve made for.  We aren’t supposed to just stand by and wait for someone to speak into our lives either.  Like Akiva, we need to seek out those who will challenge us.  The reason we often don’t seek out accountability is that we assume we don’t really need it.  Paul warns us about the arrogance of avoiding accountability in Romans 12:

3 As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. 

I’m choosing to embrace the agony of accountability. I’m choosing to seek out the Roman Soldier, the Apostle Paul, and the Burt Smith who will not tell me what I want to hear, but what I need to hear!  Will you do the same?

Here are two opportunities to step outside your comfort zone by inviting someone inside your home.  

The first comes from a young man our Men’s Life Group met on Wednesday.  His name is Branden and he used live in this area, but has just recently moved back from California.  He needs a place to stay for even just a short time while he gets back on his feet and finds a job in the area.  He doesn’t have any money, but Jeff Baker is hiring him to work at his house for a bit.  So, if you have a couch Branden could crash on, a tent he could stay in (seriously), or a job opportunity please contact Jeff Baker via The City here or at his email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Right now he is sleeping behind the 76 Gas Station in Shoreline so anything would be an improvement and any help would be apprciated.

The second opportunity comes from Stuart Peeples.  He’s a young man who used to attend New Hope when he lived in the area and his coming back.  He needs a couch to crash on at minimum 5-7 days over nights so he can catch a busride to a transit center first thing in early morning to be downtown seattle around 5-7 am for a new job opportunity.  He can pay under o a week.  If you have a place or an idea you can contact me here at email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thanks for your consideration on these opportunities and for lifting these guys up in prayer.

Aloha New Hope Men,

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been over two weeks since our Band of Brother’s Men’s Retreat.  For some of us it was an eye opener.  For some of us it was a slow burn.  For all of us it was clear we weren’t even close to be done yet!  In fact there were many men from all four churches who weren’t able to go and every man who was there expressed interest in a monthly men’s breakfast to dig deeper into the 8 characteristics (or spokes in the wheel) of Christian manhood.  So, we will be doing just that!  We are kicking off the B.O.B. Breakfast this Saturday, June 22, from 8-10 in the Blu Cafe at New Hope Seattle.  A different church will host the breakfast every month in the Blu Cafe.  Grace, Roots, New Hope North City, & New Hope Seattle will be banding together to dig deep into God’s Word and apply it to our lives and the lives of the young ones around us that we’ve been called to raise up.

Band of Brother’s Breakfast Format:

8-8:30- Breakfast- Pancakes/Bacon-Egg Scamble (served by Host church)

8:30- 8:45- Discussion of Subject- Character & Integrity

8:45- 9:00- Worship (led by Host Church)

9:00- 9:45 Dialogue, Scripture, Personal Testimony (led by Host church) 

9:45-10:00 Prayer 

Whether you went to the Men’s Retreat or not you are invited to join in the Band of Brothers!  We need your help so let your pastor know if you can support your church and pitch in! Please RSVP so we have enough food.

New Hope Seattle is up as Host church for this 1st Breakfast.  Contact Steve Moll at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 206-595-5929 if you can help w/ breakfast & clean up.

Operation:  Light Rail- It’s a grass roots effort of volunteers to connect the reality of Christ to our communities in consistent, practical, reproducible and tangible ways at the intersections of everyday life. #OLR #loveunfiltered
(The names are changed. The stories are true.)

Two weeks ago I had the joy of bringing my Dad with me on a Friday morning as we served coffee and muffins to all the folks who frequent that intersection. My Dad & Mom pastor a Foursquare church in Santa Ynez, Ca and were in town for 10 days. It was such a blast to introduce him to the people we have been building relationships with over the past six months. When we arrived to set up the table and coffee I saw Sarah walking along the sidewalk with a black trash bag full of trash. I went over to see what she was up to. She told me she knew we were coming and wanted to clean it up for us. I was blown away! It was a gift of love on such a tangible and humble level that I will never forget it. We give out our coffee next a closed down strip club located in between a methadone clinic, a smoke shop and a bus stop. Needless to say the trash can really pile up around there as people walk by and toss their stuff. This was Sarah’s way of giving back to us and improving this area where we all hang out on Friday’s. The atmosphere was being changed by acts of kindness. I thanked her profusely and she came over for some coffee and conversation.

A little later in the morning my Dad struck up a conversation with Richard who was telling him about his high blood pressure problem. For fifteen years Richard has been fighting with high blood pressure and has not been able to get it lowered even with medication. He told my Dad that he was heading for some tests and was less then thrilled about it. My Dad asked him if he could pray for him. Richard said, “Sure”. So my Dad & Kalene laid hands on him right there. As cars were zipping by on their morning commutes down Aurora Ave they prayed for healing and a lowering of his blood pressure in the Name of Jesus. Fast forward to my conversation with Richard this morning. He couldn’t wait to tell me how his testing went. After two hours of testing with the heart specialists they couldn’t find anything wrong. His blood pressure was healthy and lower then it had ever been in over 15 years. He knew it was God who had healed him and had the biggest smile on his face as he told the tale. He asked me to make sure I told my Dad thank you for the prayers.
With this story God reminded me of the power of present tense prayers! When someone comes to you and I with a need, crises or problem it’s really easy to give them the classic Christian platitude, “I’ll pray for you.” If we are honest most of us forget to even do this once we have walked away. When I look at the Scriptures I never see Jesus or the Apostles doing this prayer delay. Let’s practice the power of present tense prayers. Let’s see what might happen if we pray in moment the need is presented. One guideline I use for myself is that if I’m feeling presently tense it’s time for a present tense prayer. Even if the one talking to you is not a Christian I have rarely found anyone who doesn’t want prayer. When all Hell is breaking loose, most people will take all the help they can get even if they don’t believe in God yet. It could be the very answer to that prayer that shows them God is real and loves them! If you decide to take me up on this present tense prayer challenge please respond to this blog. Share your stories. Let me know what happens, big or small, so we can encourage each other. Let’s expect that God is going to meet at these intersections. The truth is that when you show up, He shows up!

Michael Donovan is being rushed to Swedish hospital on Cherry Hill via ambulance.  Kristen found him with a massive gash laying in pools of blood and cannot remember a thing.  Right now it looks like it may have been a seizure.  Please put him in your prayers.  Ask the Lord for a quick healing, wisdom for the doctors, and peace for Kristen.  Thank you.

We can never pay Christ back for His sacrifice, but we can pay forward His love to those around us!  Kindness is eternal.  Start small.  Start now.  Find your intersection.  Here are some videos to inspire action:

Brent Cunningham & Boston Marathon

Life Vest Inside

*  Totally Free Car Wash

*  Free Drinks

*  Lawn Mowing/Watering

*  Newspaper Giveaways

*  Notice The Nursing Homes

*  Grocery Bag Packing

*  Free Hot Dogs

*  We Do Windows

*  Free Flowers

*  Generosity Experiments

Please share what you are trying, experiences you have, conversations you experience.  Your story will inspire more stories.  It doesn’t have to be big, just obedient!

Kone Nisperos posted this testimony directly to men at New Hope, but I wanted to send it out to everyone.  A lot of times a man needs enouragment from his wife or girlfriend to pursue God in a new way!  If you are a New Hope woman, don’t underestimate your role in encouraging the men in your life to attend this years Men’s Retreat.  If you are a New Hope man, before you decide whether or not you want to go, ask the Lord first and read this tesimony from Kone.

An investment to recharge my spiritual battery

One of my greatest weakness as a man is my imaginary strength.  What I am simply saying, is, that, I tend to think I possess a certain degree of self-sufficiency, that I have it all together, that I  have no needs. However, one honest look into my heart shatters that image. I have needs. But to admit my needs, some may think, is feminine and therefore, not cool. I thank God for my Men’s Small group as they allow me to be honest with myself and help me to acknowledge the veil of my imaginary strength. Men need God.  Below are my three reasons for the Men’s Retreat.

As men, we need to grow in our role as spiritual leaders.

I used to wonder if the retreat was just another thing to take me away from my family and free-time, but then I ask myself this, will taking one more step toward being a stronger, more spiritual leader in my family or community help, or hurt, my family?  Instead of seeing the retreat as competition with “family time,” I look at it as an INVESTMENT.  In other words, the best thing I can do for my wife and family is making more progress toward being the man of God I was called to be. 

As men, we need to be encouraged toward higher priorities.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, our priorities determine our decisions.  As a Christian man I need to pour more time into my own spiritual growth.  I need to take this 3 day break from life-as-usual in order to get focused biblical teaching that feeds my soul.  I challenge every men to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) by making whatever adjustments are necessary for you to attend.  You will not regret it!

As men, we need friends.

Let me put it to you bluntly. Three of my closest friends that I have today, I met through the Men’s Retreat. Men need friends. This is another one of the needs that we are very slow to admit to and our individualistic culture tends to prevent us from recognizing this need. In his book, Disciplines of a Godly Man, Kent Hughes exhorts us,

“We must set ourselves against the cultural consensus and pursue and practice friendship if we are to be all God wants us to be.  God’s Word demands a countercultural manliness which is capable of deep friendship.  We need to put some holy sweat into our relationships, resist the lure of our architecture with its moats, drawbridges, and descending doors, and overcome the technology of autonomy—the isolating lure of our televisions.  Most of all, we must overcome our privatized hearts—for Christianity is a relationship with God and His people.  God’s truth is most effectively learned and lived in relationships.  Friendships hold the promise of grace!”

Note:  Please join New Hope North City, New Hope Seattle, and other local Shoreline churches for an hour of worship and prayer tonight at 7 on New Hope Seattle campus.

C.S. Lewis writes in his book “The Screwtape Letters” from the perspective of a head demon,Screwtape, instructing his apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to manipulate humans.  One of the lessons Screwtape gives involves keeping us from praying:  “mortals always picture us (demons/tempters) as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”  If this day is about anything, it’s about remembering what we so easily forget about God and His purposes!  Here’s my Life Journal entry from today’s reading.  May it drive you to your knees as it has me.

SCRIPTURE

Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Israel, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. Remember his covenant forever— the commitment he made to a thousand generations. (1 Chronicles 16:11-15 NLT)

OBSERVATION

Why does David continue to emphasize remembering the Lord in his song of worship at the arrival of the Ark?  He answers this in this other song:  Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly! Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord ’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea. (Psalms 106:6, 7 NLT). The Lord delivered His people despite their doubts.  Then the song goes on to describe a pattern I recognize in my own life. The people worshiped God for this miraculous deed and then, after some time passed:  "how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel! (Psalms 106:13 NLT)

APPLICATION

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  In and of itself it could simply be “just another day” or worse, an empty gesture to curry the favor of a Deity no one really takes the time to know.  However, this day could also be the spark that lights the fire of remembrance and repentance as David so beautifully models in the passages above.  Just like the people of Israel, I let the wonders of my God throughout my life slip into faded memory and soon begin to suppose again that life is really all about me and all up to me.  When I walk in my spiritual short term memory I don’t suppose I really need to wait on Gods counsel for direction, plead for His mercy upon our country, or thank Him for the great things He has done.  In arrogance I move forward as if I have arrived at this place of freedom and provision on my own and by my own pluck and ingenuity have forged my destiny.  What if, on this National Day of Prayer I actually got on my knees and took a few moments to remember that it is God who has brought me this far? It is God, very God, who has given me another day of breath in my lungs and sun on my face.  The food I ate this morning for breakfast, the car I drove to work, the bed I will sleep in tonight all comes from His hand.  Oh, how quickly I forget.   

PRAYER

Lord, forgive me for my spiritual short term memory.  No wonder you instructed the disciples at the Last Supper to “remember” You every time they took communion. I forget so quickly and then I stop praying altogether.  It is by Your sacrifice on the Cross, by Your Resurrection from the dead that I can look at these impossible situations in my family, my city, my country, my world and know that it’s not too much for You!   The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:25, 26 NLT)

NOTE:  Today is my parent’s 43 Year Wedding Anniversary!  They are up visiting from California so we get the privilege of celebrating with them!  They are more in love with each other now then they ever have been.  This is encouraging to me and I hope it is to you too!  Even if you didn’t grow up in a stable home, even if you didn’t have good role models, even if you are struggling to keep your home together right now…DON’T GIVE UP!  My parents would be the first to tell you this love they have did not come without a fight and it’s something they continue to fight for on a daily basis.  As Cyndi & I work through the tensions and stresses of life both as a couple and as parents it always helps to see a few good examples along the way!  Find them in Scripture.  Find them in your church family.  They are there!  Don’t buy into the lie that it’s over.  Keep pursuing Christ with all you’ve got!  When God is in the house, He changes everything…

SCRIPTURE

The Ark of the Lord remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his entire household. Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. (2 Samuel 6:11, 12 NLT)

OBSERVATION

I imagine the only one not celebrating that day was probably Obed-edom.  He had the unforeseen benefit of having his home along the path to Jerusalem.  When Gods anger struck down  Uzzah for putting an unclean hand on a holy Ark no one, including David, wanted to proceed with the Ark without further instruction.  I can only imagine the fear and trembling Obed felt as he was informed the Ark, the very presence of God, would be left at his house for an indefinite amount of time.  I know how I would have felt…"So, let me get this straight, Uzzah is dead because he touched the Ark.  King David doesn’t even want it in His city right now… and yet you are asking me to keep an eye on it for you?  How did I get the short end of the stick?  What if one of my kids trips and falls on it?  It’s like handing me a powerful nuclear warhead and saying, “Whatever you do… don’t drop it.”. What could have been a very vexing situation for Obed and his family ended up becoming a massive blessing.  The Ark of the Lord brought life, wealth, health, and greatness to the entire household.  So much so that in three months time word had spread from Gath all across the land of the good things going on in the household of Obed-edom.  No, wonder King David was emboldened to give it another shot and to bring the Ark of the Covenant home to Jerusalem.  He had just spent three months missing out on the blessing of being in the very presence of God!  Where King David had failed in a rushed procession of the Ark to Jerusalem, Obed had succeeded.  The Ark was not in glorious surroundings, it was not getting royal fanfare, but was it treated with the awe and respect due.  David learned from this and therefore moved the Ark with a great intentionality and sacrifice every six steps back to Jerusalem.

APPLICATION

Thankfully, through Jesus, I have access to the presence of God no matter where I am.  However, if I want to see the blessing of God on my entire household the way Obed did, then I must prioritize the presence of God the way he did.  I must not take for granted the fact that God, very God, is in my home.  No doubt, Obed, a Levite himself, instructed his family on how to respect the Ark.  No one died in his house.  Quite the contrary, his whole house was blessed.  No one has died in my house, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think darker thoughts towards my sons at times, especially when I’m actually trying to be the priest of the home.  Praying together before school is great idea.  How is it that my boys can turn that in to a competition?  You’d be amazed.  What about the cringe-worthy times around the dinner table when I’m trying to celebrate the good things God has done in the day and my five boys are talking over each other, playing with their food, or completely zoning out?  It turns out that pursuing the presence of God in day-to-day life isn’t easy.  Thus, prioritizing the pursuit becomes a far and often forgotten goal.  It’s easier to lower the standard and just resign to, “Well, at least we remembered to pray for our meal today.”. I find encouragement in the fact that even David, a man after Gods own heart, got it wrong when wanting to bring the presence of God into his house.  I find it strangely encouraging that David’s own wife Michal, was disgusted and mocking of David and his wild pursuit of the presence of God as the Ark entered Jerusalem.  Though Cyndi & I are thankfully unified in pursuit of God, very often our boys are not. They are good boys they would just rather do other things. I can either let this be a discouragement to me, an excuse to force them to worship out of anger (which never works), or, like David, I can worship the Lord all the more, believing that God will capture their hearts as He has mine.  If I want to see the blessing of God on my home, I must, as David and Obed did, prioritize the pursuit of the presence of God in my home.  I must continue being vigilant against the hardness and cynicism that so easily creeps into my heart when I don’t see the response I was hoping for from my family.  

PRAYER

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.(2 Corinthians 3:17). As I sit around this table in my home letting Your Word read me, I thank You God for the rare privilege of being raised by parents who prioritized Your presence in the home.  Pop & Mom sit with me this morning, writing out their prayers in their journal, still running after You after of all of these years.  I know how much they had to put of with and endure with me when I was young and yet they never gave up.  Thank you for this example, this legacy, this hope for tomorrow for each one of my boys!  Let Your freedom reign in this home and your blessing flow to every part!  How awesome would it be if in three months time the word spread that God was literally in this house?

April 28th – Asian themed

May 4th – Cinco de Mayo (Mexican)

May 11th – BBQ theme  (Mother’s Day weekend)

May 18 – Breakfast-for-dinner  (Men’s Retreat weekend)

Saturday night’s potluck is in the Blu Cafe 5:30 – 6:30, with the service following in the sanctuary 6:30 – 7:30.

Last year’s VBS was a smashing success, so post this date on your summer calendar now.  For the bargain price of 0 1st child ( for additional children), your kids can have a safe and fun place to go for the entire day (9:00 – 5:00 pm) the week of August 5 – 9th.

The theme is: Kingdom Rock, Where Kids Stand Strong for God

Ages K – 6th grade.

Jr High and Sr High can volunteer and help the kids learn about Jesus in a fast and fun environment!

Kingdom Rock VBS will be an amazing adventure with craft experiments, super snacks, cool music and Medieval games. Grab your friends and bring them along so everyone can stand strong!

Wow!  That’s the first thing that comes to me when trying to express my thoughts about this past Easter Sunday!  We knew we were running out of room at our building on 19350 Firlands Way every Sunday, but we sure didn’t think we would run out of room at the Schirmer Auditorium that is three times the size!  

The weekend was kicked off by the Presence of God and a packed house on Good Friday!  The reverberations of the six testiomonies of those being baptized are still being felt!  We are so proud of each of you who took a courageous step and became a bold witness for Christ through water baptism!

A big thank you to all of you who served tirelessly to prepare the way for the largest Sunday in N.H.S. history (600 on Sunday, 700 if you count our Good Friday service)!  Another big thank you to all of you who invited family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even enemies!  God used your service and boldness to provide for over 30 souls to come into the Kingdom through salvation in Jesus Christ!  We also handed out over 90 iron keys signifying a permanent and powerful unlocking of the heart!  I would love to hear your stories from Easter.  Please take a moment to share them here so God is glorified even more!

Here are some video links to celebrate what God has done and to prepare for what He is about to do as we continue our #loveunfiltered series this weekend (don’t forget the brunch this Sunday too):

*  The Marvin Yong Story Pt. 1

*  Jeffrey Coe’s Special Dream

*  Easter service  (11:15am) Apologies for the dirty audio (Crista radio tower feed somehow was picked up by the audio into the camera).

It was such an amazing journey we took this past weekend at New Hope as walked through the reality of Revelation 12:10-11.  With extended worship, multiple real-life testimonies, and communion we were able to go deeper in our pursuit of #loveunfiltered.  I wanted to share two videos with you from this time together to either relive the moment or to spur on your own story this week:

Kris Vierra:  A Safeway Story

Take What I Have- an original song I wrote and recorded out in Quilcene on my iPhone

Saturday Night Service will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with some Irish food at our potluck at 5:30 pm! That means corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, irish cheddar, irish soda bread, sausage, you get the idea!

The #loveunfiltered series continues after the potluck.

(The Italian theme may very well be on the 23rd)

If you have a minute read my journal entry for today and then watch the video at the end…

SCRIPTURE

“If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility. (Deuteronomy 22:1-3NLT)

OBSERVATION

My 21st Century mindset likes to write these laws off as trivial or quaint.  I like to explain away any need to apply this kind of care and concern for my fellow man as appropriate for a simpler time.  Then I begin to wonder what our modern advanced society would be like if we actually took the time to notice what was going on around us and then cared enough to do something about it.  This passage about taking care of a neighbors wayward sheep or goat is really about walking out 
Jesus’ command to love our neighbor.  If Jesus commanded it then I can’t explain it away as just old covenant stuff.  He wants me to care about others the way He does.  To go out of my way to show love unfiltered.  We wouldn’t have to be told to not “ignore” our responsibility to care for others if ignoring others wasn’t in our very nature.  We tend to walk with blinders on, with an intentional indifference so as not to impede our schedule or distract from our oh-so-important goals.  God is saying to His people, this is your goal!  Notice what’s going on and do something about it.  It’s not somebody else’s responsibility, it’s yours!

APPLICATION

I was in a similar spot just yesterday.  I had just missed the left hand turn arrow at the light and now had to wait for all the green, yellow, red lights to cycle through at the four-way stop on 220th and Aurora.  Now, I didn’t see any wandering sheep or goats, but I did notice that the car next to me wasn’t driving forward even though the light was green. I then noticed that the driver, a teen girl, was flustered and calling someone frantically on her cell phone.  All the cars behind her started pulling in to the other lane so as to make the light.  I immediately went through the thought process this very passage of scripture is addressing.  Im sure someone else will help her.  Whoever she was calling would be there soon.  There was no emergency here.  I had to get to work.  I was already running behind. Then I kind of snapped out of my selfishness and realized I needed to take action and quick before my green turn arrow came on again.  I got out of my Jeep and asked her what was going on.  She informed me that she ran out of gas and her Mom was coming.  I motioned to the men directly behind my car and hers to get out and help me push.  When we finally showed her how to shift her Jeep into neutral we pushed that thing up hill and slowly across the intersection and directly into a well placed Shell Station on the opposite corner.  I was breathing so hard and had of course missed another cycle of lights, but it sure felt good to know I hadn’t just driven off into the rest of my day ignoring my responsibility.  I wonder what I would have felt like this morning as I sat down to read Deuteronomy only to find this passage staring me in the face?  I wonder what it will feel like on that last day when I am looking back at my life and noticing all the things that were my responsibility that I sluffed off, ignored or pretended not to see while Jesus is face to face?  Ultimately, it’s caring about the small things that ensure we will not miss the big things.  Like the true story in January of the man waiting for the Subway who sees a man having a seizure falling onto the tracks.  As the train is coming fast with no time to stop he doesn’t hesitate to jump down and lay his body over that of the man as the subway train comes rumbling over them.  With just half an inch clearance between the top of his head and the bottom of that train he had saved the life of a complete stranger.  The station was filled with hundreds of people, but only one took the responsibility and the very real risk of losing his life to save another.  That’s why these things matter to God.  That’s why these things need to matter to me.  Taking responsibility for the small things around me ensures I won’t miss the big things going on around me.

PRAYER

Lord, the chances of me seeing a stray goat or sheep today are pretty slim.  I do know that there will be many small things I encounter that matter to You.  I pray that they would matter to me.  Forgive me for the cop-outs and passive care I live in so often!  I don’t want to ignore what is going on around me anymore. As it turns out, I am my brothers keeper. 

Subway Superhero Video