Love Always Means You Say You're Sorry

I don't pay for Cable TV. We have an antenna on our roof and I surf on about seven channels. One channel I get is called RETRO. I seldom watch it but one day I was lazy, it was raining outside and I ended up on this old movie channel. I began to watch an old movie I had seen many years ago called Love Story. It's a real tear jerker so I made sure my wife didn't know what I was doing downstairs in our TV room. I hate to have her see me cry. One of the classic lines in the movie was Allie McGraw saying to Ryan O'Neil, "Ollie, love means you never have to say your sorry." Wow, if only that were true.

Roi Lene and I have been married for 40 years and we are just now learning how to offer a sincere apology that diffuses anger, heals hurt and overcomes misunderstanding. Here's what we've learned about making a sincere apology:

First, when we apologize, we try to be clear about what we're sorry for. Just to say, "Sorry" doesn't seem to be that affective or adequate. I am learning to say, "I'm sorry and this is specifically what I'm sorry for".

Second, I am learning not to say, "I'm sorry YOU...." I have been known to say, "I'm sorry YOU feel this way....." "I'm sorry you didn't understand me..." I'm sorry you took what I said that way...." A sincere apology is not offered for what the offended has done but for what the offender has done. In other words, I can't apologize for her (their) feelings but for what I did to offend them.

I am trying not to say, "I'm sorry BUT...." "I'm sorry but I'm just having a bad day". "I'm sorry but I'm tired and hungry." This is not an apology but a sneaky way of making an excuse.

A sincere apology is not, "I'm sorry IF you're sorry." My apology cannot be dependent on the other's willingness or unwillingness to say they are sorry.

My hope is that when I offend or hurt, I can offer a sincere apology, much like the times I ask God to forgive me. I am learning to say "I'm sorry because......", taking ownership of what I have done, realizing the degree I have hurt the one I care about and seeking restoration in relationship.

The truth is, love demands that we say we are sorry.

Restoration Requires Dismanteling

A week ago, I took a day and visited my younger brother. Dave is two years younger than I and a publisher of a newspaper in Albia, Iowa. It had been a long time since we spent quality time together. I attended church with him, visited his adult Sunday School Class. After church we had a great lunch in a little country diner and told stories about our childhood. We walked out to his pasture behind his house and shot clay pigeons with his shot guns. We saddled up his horses that I had recently given him and rode these two newly broke horses for an hour or so. My butt was sore but it was a blast.

The highlight of my trip was going over to the neighbor's house whose name was Rocky to look at a restoration project. He was restoring his 1951 Chevy Business Coup. What a car! It was made of steal, not plastic, gunboat gray with chrome everywhere. Everything was original. The steering wheel was made of mother of pearl. The dash was polished steal. It was spectacular for a 60 year old car.

There was only one problem with this car. It was laying in Rocky's garage in about 50,000 pieces. And each piece was being meticulously cleaned, shined and lubricated. Seals were being replaced, rust spots were being patched and painted. It was a mess but it was beautiful, at least if you had some imagination. Rocky hoped to have it on the road by spring of 2012. He invited me to come down at that time and take a ride. I'm sure it will be a SWEET RIDE!

Today, in my devotional, I was reading in 2 Corinthians and this is what Paul said as he closes this letter. 2 Cor. 13:11-14 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Do you know that if you aim for restoration in your life, restoration in your relationships, in your marriage, in your finances, in your physical health; it may require some dismantlement. You may find yourself laying on the floor in a bazillion pieces. And it may be a while that you feel like you're ready for a cruise.

But if you aim for restoration and aim to help others in their restoration, God in his great love and wisdom will put you back together. Only the parts of your life that were once dirty, rusty and worn will be cleaned, lubricated and repaired.

Oh, you won't be perfect, just beautiful. Someone worthy of a Holy kiss.

The Advancing Kingdom

Since going on this sabbatical, I have had time to think about what my wife and I saw in God's heart that brought us to this place to plant and lead what has become by God's grace a wonderful church family. I know that "vision statements" are the vogue these days. These simple, short sentences that define a preferred future can become very helpful in keeping organizations on track. John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Church movement used to say, "Stay focused on the main and the plain!"

So what is the "main and plain" for the Heartland Vineyard Church? What is our vision? What do we see that keeps us firmly planted in the will of God and moving toward His purposes?

I find the Biblical word "Kingdom" as something that carries a beautiful picture, a vision of what I personally want to be involved in all my life and lead others toward. Jesus' central message was the Kingdom of God. He never taught without mentioning the Kingdom of God. His parables were stories describing the Kingdom of God. Jesus didn't just talk about the Kingdom of God. He demonstrated the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Demons would leave oppressed people and Jesus would call that the Kingdom of God. Broken, hurting people would be healed of all sorts of maladies and Jesus would call that the advancing Kingdom of God. Compassion and mercy would fall upon people lying in gutters of sin and be lifted into the fullness of their created purpose and Jesus would call that the Kingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul in Romans defined the Kingdom of God as "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". The Kingdom of God is not a future reality we love forward to some day called heaven. Though heaven is a part of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a present reality when God's loving and holy ambitions for His people are fully realized.

The Kingdom of God is when God's original and blessed intent for men and women, boys and girls are established and people find themselves living an abundant life. The Kingdom is when God is ruling and reigning. When a husband and wife find loving and harmonious union as they follow Christ's leadership, children experiencing the affection of their dads and moms because Jesus Christ is the King of that home, this is the Kingdom of God. When defeated, desperate people are led by God's loving Holy Spirit out of the bondage of addiction to live productive and generous lives, the sick healed and people are lifted from depression and fear into joy and peace, this is the Kingdom of God. When people reconcile through the power of forgiveness, anger absolved, criticism silenced and encouragement and affirmation expressed, this is the Kingdom.

Ultimately, when people realize the immense love God has for them and they accept the gift of life through Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross and begin to walk with God in real and life giving relationship, the Kingdom of God has come.

When I hear the word "Kingdom", I picture everything that is wrong in this world being made right. And as a member of God's church, He will use me and he will use you to advance His Kingdom. Jesus said, "The Kingdom is forcefully advancing and the violent take it by force".

What is the vision that drives me as a Christian? What is the vision that drives the church? It is a vision of advancing the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Beauty in Suffering

This is the first blog I’ve written since going on my Sabbatical. I will attempt to do a post each week to update our friends on our time of seeking God for healing and refreshment.

To start our time of restoration, we decided to drive our pick-up truck to a cabin that has been graciously loaned to us by our dear friends Tri and Nancy Robinson. Tri is the Senior Pastor of the Boise, Idaho Vineyard and the cabin he and Nancy have built is near Cascade, Idaho in the isolation of the tall pine mountains. We felt that solitude would be an important starting place for my sabbatical and this cabin will definitely afford us some seclusion. Our little home away from home is powered by a generator and is off the grid in terms of TV, cell phone and internet connection.

Roi Lene and I left on our journey en-route to Idaho on Monday, June 6th. We chose to take the northern route on I-90, which took us through the Bad Lands in South Dakota. We took a little detour to see Mt. Rushmore and enjoyed the awesome beauty of that country.

Traveling through northern Wyoming placed us at the eastern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Our original plan was to spend a day looking at the sights in Yellowstone but quickly realized that to take in the sights of a two million acre park was going to be impossible in one day. Actually, it would take months to take in the spectacular features of Yellowstone.

We communicated with the Robinsons that we would be arriving in Idaho a few days later than expected. We were not prepared to camp so we proceeded to purchase a blow-up mattress and two sleeping bags. For two nights we bedded down in the back of our pick-up truck. There we bunked beside three RV busses each worth about a half million dollars. If you can picture Roi Lene and I in our Chevy pick-up, zipping ourselves into our sleeping bags and watching episodes of Seinfeld and Little House on the Prairie on my Mac computer with string cheese, wheat thins and beef jerky as snacks for our evenings.

Both nights the temperatures fell to 25 degrees. Believe it or not, with the massive snowfall they have received in the northwest, some of the snowdrifts that remain on the ground in Yellowstone are well over six feet high. Needless to say, the nights were a bit chilly. I am blessed to have a wife that is up for adventure.

Of course, at age 59, I would have to get up in the middle of the night, winch myself out of the pick-up, put on my flip-flops and do all I could do to miss the piles of snow as I made my way to the public restroom facility about 100 years from our camp sight. I would always take my cell phone with me in case on the way to relieve my bladder I was mauled by a grizzly bear. I’m not sure what a cell phone would have done for me in that event.

The dawn would awaken us and the discomfort of the night would be swallowed up by the magnificence of gorgeous water falls, geysers, majestic snow capped mountains, buffalo, bear, elk and moose living their lives in the wild.

I can’t say that my back was all that excited to lie back down in the bed of our pick-up but the anticipation of the Grand Tetons, Devils Tower, Old Faithful and all the other sights that were in front of us made the discomfort worth it all.

The Bible tells us that suffering is that way for a follower of Jesus. Paul writes in Romans 8; “these momentary, light afflictions are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us”. He goes on to say in the same chapter that God is causing everything is working together for our good.

When we as followers of Jesus go through hard times, discomfort and pain, how much are we anticipating the “good” that is coming toward us? There is beauty in suffering. Are you living with dread or anticipation?

A Sabbatical

Twenty three years ago, my family and I began to pioneer the Heartland Vineyard Church. It’s been an exciting journey and you’ve been an important part of that journey. We’ve seen the church grow in size, scope and influence. People have been radically transformed by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.

We’ve also shared in the pain that comes with a life committed to Christ. As kingdom people, we should never forget that we’re in a war. A real and deadly battle is taking place right now all around us. We all know someone who has either been wounded or lost in this battle. Yet, we are here, fighting for the cause of Christ. At times we get tired and need to rest and sometimes we get wounded and we need to heal.

I’ve been in full-time ministry half my life. Those 30 years went by quickly. For the past two years, I’ve been experiencing physical symptoms that I didn’t understand. I knew I was getting older but I was experiencing things like headaches, body aches, insomnia, appetite changes and worst of all debilitating fatigue. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was the diagnosis given by the physicians at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN after days of testing.

Shortly after going to Mayo Clinic, I was given a book by a friend entitled “Leading on Empty”. It’s a wonderful book that every Christian leader, young and old should read. It’s the story of Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of New Hope Church in Hawaii, a mega-church of over 14,000 members. After 20 years of serving his church, he found himself exhausted and unable to continue in ministry. In this book, he describes his healing and restoration.

This book helped me realize that my condition might be less physical and more connected with my emotions. We’re all wired differently (Psalms 139) and I happen to be wired with expressive emotions. Sometimes that wiring works for me and sometimes it works against me. Given that so much of my work requires much emotional output; counseling, funerals, weddings, preaching, caring for hurting people and leading our church into God’s call, I see now that I had become emotionally fatigued to the point that it had begun to affect me physically.

As Roi Lene and I prayed about this, we felt we needed to take another step. We opened ourselves up to extensive emotional and psychological testing. After going through a battery of tests at Campion, Barrows and Associates in Champaign, Illinois, clinical therapists sat down with us and explained our condition. Their conclusion was that I had hit a wall emotionally. Roi Lene had also hit a wall in trying to care for me. This wall was like a marathon runner hitting a wall physically at about mile twenty. I had gone too long, working out of my strength and passion without real rest. Growing up on a farm taught me many things. Something I didn’t learn was how to rest. I had done the best I knew how taking care of our church but I had failed to take care of myself.

The Christian therapists were extraordinarily professional and helpful. They advised me toward a treatment that I believe will lead me to total health and an ability to lead our church into the next decade. However, the most important component of the treatment will temporarily affect our church.

I still remember that day when I sat with the therapist and he said, “Dan, for you a sabbatical leave is not optional. You must disconnect from your duties as pastor for a season so that your soul can be healed.” I was mortified. But after praying with my wife, visiting with our family, our Staff, our Small Group and our Board of Directors, I know I must take some time to heal. The therapist said, “If you do what we ask, you will not be as good as new, you will be better than ever.”

Our Board of Directors has graciously given me the opportunity with their blessing and support to take a five month sabbatical beginning the second week of May. I have worked for weeks to formulate a plan to heal. I have met with our Staff, our Board and a team of Regional Pastors including Happy Leman, our Regional Overseer. These wise counselors have been of great help to us. This sabbatical is not a glorified vacation. This is a time that I am investing in myself and my wife so we can be the pastors this church needs and deserves. We have been blessed with a wonderful and capable staff and a committed leadership. Therefore, I am confident that our church is in good hands.

Roi Lene and I will not be attending our church for these five months. We will likely visit churches outside our city and this will afford us the opportunity to attend church as “Christians” and not as pastors. I will not be responding to email. Vickie Minard, my trusted assistant will be handling my email. I will not be personally responding to email or voice mail beginning May 11^th and continuing through September.

Much of our time will be spent at home. Therefore, if we see you in town, we will look forward to visiting with you and receiving and giving hugs. However, we will not be open to discuss church related or personal needs issues for this time during our sabbatical. I must discipline myself to disconnect from pastoral duties. Our pastors will be in the office as usual and so if you have needs, please don’t hesitate to call our church office.

Be assured that Roi Lene and my relationship with each other as husband and wife is as good as it has ever been. We deeply love each other and are not experiencing any marital crisis. Our relationship with Jesus is strong and vibrant. We have never been surer of our call to the ministry. We want to finish strong.

People might wonder, “Did Dan fall into some sinful behavior?” The only sin involved in this situation is my inability to recognize how much a loving God would want to rest His shepherds. God is fine-tuning my understanding of His love and I am grateful for these lessons, as painful as they might be.

We are asking you, our church family, to make this investment into our lives for these five months by doing the following. 1. Pray for us. 2. Continue in faithfulness to meeting together at church and in your Small Groups. 3. Continue in your faithful giving and service to Jesus knowing that you can never out-give a loving and generous servant King.

I will be sending Heartland Vineyard Church a monthly update on our progress during our sabbatical leave. I know that this time to disconnect from our duties as your pastor is necessary but we will deeply miss all of you.

There is much to do in the coming decade for our church. The Kingdom of God must be advanced by the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to make certain that I can lead our church with 100% of my heart and vigor.

I have never been more convinced that God prophetically birthed this church. He is building His church so the gates of hell will not prevail. He’s completely committed to each and every one of us, promising to never leave or forsake us. He has a magnificent plan.

Take the Son

I love stories. This one is worth reading.

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When war broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art. The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned here today. And whoever buys that one painting will inherit the entire estate, including all the other paintings. The man who takes the son gets everything!"

Amazing

This past Monday, I saw something that reminded me that God is amazing.

My wife and I showed up at our church cafe' to help serve a prime rib meal to a group of single mom's who where living in a woman's shelter. Two business guys and their wives who attend our church felt Jesus leading them to hold a monthly meal for these dear ladies and their children. This event is truly a God thing. I'm so proud of these families who have gone out of their way to provide an exquisite meal for these dear people who are experiencing great difficulty.

When we arrived at the church, the cafe' was abuzz with activity. A meal was being prepared for about 30 to 40 people. The prime rib smelled awesome. I asked how we could help. Jake Huff, one of the guys who leads this meal told me that he wanted us to go out and sit down and just chat with these women. That sounded simple.

At first, I walked around not knowing how to engage in conversation. I felt like an idiot. Finally, I sat down with four women and began to ask them questions. The conversation was forced and uncomfortable at first but then things began to loosen up. One young woman explained to me that she had to be assisted into the building because she had a condition that required chemo-therapy. In the process of receiving chemo, her hip sockets had degenerated and she was now facing a double hip replacement at the age of twenty. I asked, "Can we pray for you?" She said, "No". She realized I was startled by her response and then said, "Well, at least not here."

As we continued our conversation, the love of God began to fall on me. She told me that the day before, a friend of hers had spoken to her and said, "God's going to get you!" She explained to me that she was terrified of what that meant. She indicated that she probably deserved everything that was happening in her life. Without thinking, I stood up and said, "I know what that means." I reached out to her, drew her head to my chest and held her. She is younger than my own children and I felt deep compassion for her. I could feel her weeping. I explained to her that God loved her deeply and was not angry with her.

After they had finished eating, I asked her again, "Can we pray for you?" This time it was a very quick "Yes". I asked a friend to help her to a soft chair. She was barely able to walk as she hobbled to a little corner of the cafe'. She had left her crutches at the woman's shelter. She need so much help.

Once she was seated, a group of people from our church surrounded her and asked if they could place their hands on her. (I am so proud of my church) She agreed and we began to pray. We prayed for what seemed like about five minutes, calling on our God to show His mercy and power. I asked, "Is there anything happening?" She said, "I don't know." I assured her that it OK and we wanted her to be honest with us. We continued to pray and after another few minutes I asked her again, "Are you experiencing anything?" She moved her left leg and suddenly tears began to stream down her face. She was not making a sound but it was as if her eyes had sprung a leak. I have never seen so many tears. She said, "It feels better." Our faith was now strengthened.

We took another few minutes and prayed, asking God to demonstrate his love and mercy, commanding the body to come in line with His will. Again, we stopped and I said, "How's it going?" Before she could answer, someone in the group said, "Maybe you should stand up." She winced expecting great pain and then rose to her feet as easily as a normal twenty year old. Her first words were, "Oh my gosh!" She raised up on her tip toes and again said, "Oh my gosh!" More tears as she lifted each of her knees as if marching....."Oh my gosh!" Suddenly, I heard myself whisper to myself, "Oh my gosh!" She walked around the cafe' with a big smile. Her friends were visibly stirred by what had happened.

I have seen God heal before but this was dramatic. God's love had penetrated a broken, fearful heart and brought the gift of healing to his young woman. That night, two things happened to me. First, I fell in love with my God all over again. Second, I am re-enlisting in the mission to equip an army of fully devoted disciples of Jesus who extend God's Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hydroplane

I had an unusual experience yesterday morning. I had gotten up early so I could drive in to our church to join some friends at a prayer meeting. I was running late. Before leaving, I had a few things to do. My morning regiment includes feeding our three border collies, three horses and our one barn cat. I rushed through the chores. I had to gather all the things I needed for the day. I had to fix a cup of coffee for my trip into town. As I gathered my stack of stuff, I realized I didn't have my wallet. I searched and searched and became frustrated. Finally I had to wake up my wife because she knows where everything is located in our house. I praise God for this wonderful gift He has given her. She told me my wallet was on our dryer where I had left it the night before. I finally got in my car and headed into town.

A few inches of snow had fallen that night and the road was a little slick and slushy. But I was focused on getting to the prayer meeting and I was determined to get there on time. I was hustling as usual.

I had driven for four minutes when suddenly, my car began to hydroplane. The back end of my car began to slide around to the front. I steered into the slide like they teach you in Driver's Ed but nothing would correct this situation. My brakes didn't work. I could not steer the car. I was out of control. I slid down the pavement backwards for what felt like a mile or two. (It was probably 50 feet) Then I could feel the car slide across the center line and toward the ditch on the opposite side of the road. I am now watching the forward progress of my car through my rear view mirror. As my car began to move toward the ditch, just another fifty feet down the road I spotted a light pole coming toward me. I'm going, "Oh crap...Jesus help me".

By the time I reached the light pole, I was going about five miles per hour but I struck the light pole with my rear passenger side door. My car spun around at impact and I ended up in a shallow ditch with coffee spilled all over my clothes. I sat there for a moment, coffee dripping off my eye brow trying to figure out what had happened and then it occurred to me. "Dan, you've got to slow down. You've got to take time to live. This pace is not healthy."

I write to my dear friends who are reading this blog. I want to encourage you. Slow down. Give yourself the gift of time to read and pray more in the quietness of the solitary moments of your life. Take time to listen to God's voice. Leave more time to "be still and know that I am God". Make time to watch your kids grow up. enjoy your spouse and your closest friends. Coffee is not meant to drip from your eye brows but to be shared with friends in loving conversation. Don't hydroplane through live. Life is so precious.

A Community of Hope for a Despairing World

A few years ago, the National Director of the Vineyard Churches, Bert Wagoner passionately called for the Vineyard to become "A community of hope for a despairing world." That phase has stuck in my heart. Yesterday, some friends of mine and I were talking about hope. What does it mean to be a "community of hope"?

Reggie Hovenga, one of the pastors of our church related a teaching his Small Group had done on what it would take to become a healthy, enabling and loving body of believers. The first aspect that was discussed in becoming an authentic community of faith was honesty. We live in a very disguised and hidden culture riddled with deception. We are often times afraid to be honest for fear of the judgment we might incur. It is hard to find people who will really be honest about their feelings, thoughts and behaviors. But without honesty, authentic and trusting relationships cannot be formed. Even in our relationship with God, honesty is so necessary. Dishonesty in our relationship with God can only lead to dead, cold religion. Honesty with God leads to fervent and effective prayer and a peace filled walk with God.

Second, Reggie talked about obedience. As a Christian community, obedience is mandatory. How can we announce Jesus as King unless we are willing to be wholeheartedly obedient to His word and will? A true Christian community assists it's members in maintaining an obedient posture before God. The Holy Spirit has been given to us who believe to empower us to live obedient lives.

Reggie then spoke of patience. That in order for us to be able to grow in our relationship with God, we must learn to be patient with each other and patient with ourselves. We are all in process. No one has hit the pinnacle of the Christian life. As God is patient with us, we must learn to be patient with Him in waiting for the fulfillment of His promises. I'm grateful that patience is listed as one of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 6.

Finally, Reggie talked about being a people filled with expectation. We are to filled with an expectation of God redeeming each and every situation in life and bringing them into harmony with His will. We are to live filled with an expectation of His great and wonderful promises coming to fruition. We are called to live our lives with an expectation of the powerful presence of the Spirit to move among us and radically transform our lives, an expectation of good rather than bad.

Honesty, obedience, patience and expectation. These seem to be core components of what launchs a people into becoming a "community of hope for a despairing world".

A Prediction from Rev. Franklin Graham

I was struck by this article. In the 40 years I have walked with the Lord, I have watched this post-Christian era develop. I believe we are entering a marvelously powerful and challenging time for the church. Please read the following article.


The Rev. Franklin Graham says just mentioning the name Jesus Christ in the public square is increasingly frowned upon and warns: "The spirit of anti-Christ is everywhere."

The Samaritan’s Purse founder and son of beloved evangelist Dr. Billy Graham voiced his dismay at the rapid secularization of society during a Tuesday chapel service at John Brown University, a private Christian university based in Siloam Springs, Ark.

Graham, who was banned from a Pentagon national day of Prayer event last year for expressing his opinions about Islam, told students: “Even in our government today, you can't pray to Jesus in many public meetings. You can pray to God or a god. You can mention Buddha or the name of Muhammad -- but you can't pray to Jesus Christ.”

The president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association criticized the recent memorial service for the Tucson shooting victims.

Unlike the memorials held after the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11, he said, the Tucson program did not include an official prayer or mention of God. Graham noted gratefully, however, that President Barack Obama did quote scripture from the biblical book of Job.

The one religious dedication on the program came from a member of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, who delivered a peroration that among other things called out to “"Father Sky, where we get our masculine energy" and "Mother Earth, where we get our feminine energy.”

Earlier this week, Graham penned an op-ed in the Washington Times saying it was “a shame” that the University of Arizona had failed to put God anywhere on its program.

“How sad,” the Graham op-ed stated. “Father Sky and Mother Earth can do nothing to comfort Capt. Mark Kelly, who had been at the bedside of his wife, Rep. Giffords, wondering if she'd ever leave her bed. Or Mary Stoddard, who was only alive because her husband sacrificed his life by shielding her with his body. Or the family, classmates, teammates and friends of little Christina, whose life was snuffed out before she could play another season of Little League.”

Graham told the university students what was missing from the memorial: “There was no call for God to put His loving arms around those who were hurting,” said Graham. "Why did they leave him out? They scoff at the name of Jesus Christ."

Graham predicted the persecution of Christians will get worse in coming years, and he encouraged students to use the new media and the Internet to spread the gospel.

Dan's summation:
The church of Jesus Christ was birthed in an environment similar to the one we live in today and revival burned for centuries. If there was ever a time for God's people to rise up in a deep devotion to King Jesus, it is now. Prayer must become not just a simple Christian discipline but a necessity in our lives.

A Disciple: What do they do?

As we enter a new year, I renew my heart the the mission God gave our family 22 years ago when we moved to the Cedar Valley from New Mexico to plant this church. Our stated mission was to equip and army of a 1,000 fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ who would extend the Kingdom of God.

What is a fully devoted disciple of Jesus. I suppose you could define a disciple in many ways but here's the way we have learned to define the activity of a disciple.

As a follower of Jesus we want to:

1. Grow in our ability to enthusiastically and sincerely worship our God.

2. Reach out to those who are poor in spirit with compassion.

3. Learn to do the ministry of Jesus with a hands on approach.

4. Graciously study and then obey the Word of God.

5. Come to enjoy the blessing of loving carefrontational community.

6. In all that we do, we do it with a humble servant heart.

These are the six primary practices that we are determined to promote in the Jesus followers who are part of the Heartland Vineyard Church.

Join us this year in growing as a fully devoted disciple and experiencing the joy of extending the Kingdom, that is, the rule and reign of God upon the earth.

It's coming! 1/1/11

I like the way God designed time. We have new beginnings regularly. Every morning, we have the beginning of a new day. Every Sunday, we have the beginning of a new week. We are getting ready to celebrate another new beginning, the beginning of a new year. And new beginnings allow us to adjust our ways into greater harmony with God and the people around us.

If you abbreviate the numbers of the year that is before us, the beginning of this year is 1/1/11. That's got a real ring to it. And so may I encourage all my friends to take on four new life advancements, one for each number one in our new year. Take some time and think and pray about four adjustments you can make to your life that will enrich your life and the lives of others.

Now these advancements might be something you want to give up. I want to give up about 25 pounds this year. I want to believe that my desire is not vain but for simple reasons of health and strength. If your advancement is something to give up, tell as many people as you possibly can. Take out an add in the news paper if you can afford it and announce what you're giving up. This will add some accountability to what you want to accomplish.

There are "givin' up goals" and then there are "goin' up goals". Goin' up goals are things like reading a few more books this year, setting up a date night with your spouse, spending some quality time with your kids, learning a new skill or giving Jesus more time in devotion. For those kinds of advancements, the goin' up kind, pick out a few very close and trusted friends and invite them to ask you periodically through the year how you are doing with that goal.

May I suggest a "goin' up goal". Go to www.gatewaybible.com and sign up for a daily reading of the Bible. This simple system will allow you to read your Bible in one year. I am surprised by how many Christians have never read the Bible from cover to cover. It is a wonderful experience. Once you go to their website and sign up, Gateway Bible will send you free of charge an email with the reading of the day. You can select from a number of different approaches but typically, you will read from the Old Testament, the Psalms and the New Testament. If you are married, my wife and I have found it is a wonderful way to start the day together. The reading will take about 30 minutes and by December 31, 2011, you will have the blessing and satisfaction of having read your Bible from cover to cover.

I am praying God's great love to fall each and every day on your life as you seek to advance your life and the lives of others into a closer and closer relationship with the Author of life.

Sinking Deeper into God's Love

Some one has said that life is cyclical. We are either in a challenging season of life and in the midst of a dilemma, we are coming out of a challenging season or we are getting ready to go back into a challenging season in life. That sounds a bit fatalistic but it seems there is some truth in that basic life concept.

In this present life, there is no perfection. The world we live in is broken. And though heaven awaits those who have placed their faith in Jesus, God's Kingdom and Rule has not yet been fully established. Therefore, we will be regularly tested with dilemmas, crises and potential loss.

I have noticed that there are three issues in life that seem to gather my attention more than anything. I call them the "Big 3". Relationship breakdowns, financial stress and physical / emotional sickness. In my nearly 59 years of life, I have faced all three and every time I do, I find myself responding the same way. I am, at first, disoriented. I sometimes reel in pain. I then take some time to worry, fret and lose some sleep. Finally, I find myself deepening my life of prayer.

Most of us don't feel that confident in prayer. That may be why so many opt for worry over prayer. I am still, after 38 years as a Christian, a novice when it comes to prayer. But nothing teaches us more about prayer than to simply pray. And nothing, it seems, motivates us to pray than when we are facing a painful situation. I have read countless book on prayer and all of them have been helpful. But I have learned more about prayer by just praying. And when I am face to face with one of the "Big 3", my prayers are more intense, they are less wordy and religious and they seem to sink deeper into God's love.

I don't believe there is anything you can do to more effectively create an environment of peace, joy and contentment for yourself and those living around you than to diligently develop a life of prayer. As the great pastor James said, "the fervent effectual prayers of a righteous man avails much".

Examination

Who am I?

Deep question right? Do you really know yourself? All of us have a public life. That's the part of life that not only we know but everyone around us sees and knows. We also have a private life. This is the part of our lives that few people know, only the ones we have allowed to enter into our confidence and trust. My wife, for instance, knows things about me that no one else knows. We also have secret lives, the part of our lives that only we know.

Since becoming a Christian, I have wanted to be authentic and transparent. What you see is what you get! My public life is not that much different than my private life. What people see when I'm down town or at church is pretty much the same as what you would see behind the closed doors of my home. I've wanted my secret life to be pretty small and becoming smaller as I grow in my trust of other believers who desire the best for my life. I think we all want a life free from hypocrisy. None of us want a huge gap between our public and private life and a long list of secrets we work to keep hidden. That's why it's so important to be in a Small Group and have people surrounding us that we can truly be accountable to, people we trust will love us no matter what and to tell us, not what we want to hear but what we need to hear. I think that is a major part of Christian community.

But there is another part of our life that really interests me. I would call it the inner life. It's that part of life that people don't see and is hidden even from us. It is the part of our life that only God knows, the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It is that part of life that David spoke of in Psalms 139 when he asked the Lord to search him and see if there was any wicked ways in him and to lead him in the everlasting way.

Would you like to know more about your inner life? Let me give you a practical way of discovering a bit more of what makes you tick.

Carve out 30 days after the Christmas season and take 15 minutes at the end of each of those days and journal two things. First, jot down the part of your day that gave you the most fulfillment and created the most joy and offered you the most strength. Don't be too haste in what you write. Give the Holy Spirit time to review with you your day. This might be as significant as getting a salary increase or as small as receiving a word of affirmation from a friend.

Second, partner with the Holy Spirit in determining the place in your day that was the most disappointing, the most life draining, that brought you the greatest sense of grief, fear, anxiety or discouragement.

Then, before your finished, ask the question "Why"? Why did this event in my day create joy and why did this particular event create anxiety and fear. Give this little exercise 30 days and I believe you will see a pattern. And for the things that strengthen you, be thankful and aware of the Father's delight in filling your life with joy. And for the things that drain you, let God touch those areas of your life, allowing Him to bring His healing and love and to strengthen you in that area of life.

If anyone takes me up on this little exercise, I'd love to hear from you.

I pray that Jesus will fill your Christmas and lead you through the coming new year.

I Love Thanksgiving

I am writing this blog a day after Thanksgiving. I love this holiday and what it stands for. It's so much more than a day off with family eating turkey and watching an NFL football game. Thanksgiving is a time to look intently into God's face and say "thank you".

It seems like yesterday that we loaded our Rider Truck and moved our family 1,200 miles from New Mexico to Cedar Falls, Iowa. We felt we were coming to the Cedar Valley because God had spoken to us. We were, as far as we knew, to start a church from the ground up. It's been 22 years since that trip to Iowa and so much has happened.

But in summary, just as God sustained and blessed the pilgrims hundreds of years ago, He sustained and blessed us as a family. As I sat at our dining room table abundantly filled with food, watching our three natural born children lovingly relate to their spouses, all of whom they met at the church we planted, I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of gratitude. And then to observe these three families raising their children, our grandchildren, to love and revere God, I almost broke into tears. And to have our adopted son sitting at out table, laughing and talking to his brother and sisters and playing with his nephews and nieces brought me nothing but sheer joy.

The church we had come to plant has been planted. And the church we planted has sent out leaders to help establish 6 other churches. We have seen hundreds of people come to Christ in these past two decades and the work is not yet over. And yet is this was the end of His provision, God truly does exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever ask, think or imagine.

To Him I say, "Thank you!"

A KNOWN CONDITION

Have you noticed that whatever you are aware of and you set your thoughts on, the importance of that and the intensity of it increases in strength and effect? That's why worry has so much power. The more you think on things that bring you fear and anxiety, the intensity grows.

Case in point.

Many of you know that I have been on a leave of absence from my duties as one of the pastors of our church. The reason is I am suffering from an unknown physical condition that makes me feel like I have the flu each and every day. I have been aware of this condition for nearly a year. I have been tested for arterial blockage, heart abnormality, lung malfunction, Lyme disease, thyroid condition, sleep disorder and on and on the list goes. So far, there is no diagnosis. But each morning I wake up, I am very aware of this sick feeling. And as time goes on, the intensity of this condition seems to have grown.

Naturally, someone might say, the condition is worsening. But I believe that the symptoms are no worse than they were six month ago. What has changed is that I am more aware of the symptoms and have had more time to think about them. I have not only thought about them, I have gone on the internet and researched them, discussed these strange symptoms with my wife, my kids, my friends, my doctors. I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure this thing out. My point is this. The more I think about this crazy condition I have, the more intense these symptoms become.

OK, enough medical stuff. Let me shift gears and visit with you about how this works in another dimension of life. How aware are you of the presence of the Holy Spirit within you? If you are a Christian, God the Holy Spirit lives inside of you and God's Spirit is one with your spirit. He, the Holy Spirit, is your friend, your guide, your strength, your guarantee that you are right with God. He is your comforter, your counselor and your peace. He not only convicts you of sin but he convicts you that you are God's dearly loved child. He cries within your heart, "Abba Father". He prays for you, gifts you with spiritual gifts and encourages you during difficult times. How often during your day do you take pause and think, "I am the temple of the Holy Spirit"?

Listen, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus is within you. The same Spirit that had the power to raise Jesus dead body to life lives within you. Wouldn't you agree that this is a condition that is worth thinking about now and then? Why not say right now "I am full of the Holy Spirit".

You see, the more aware you are of His presence, the more intensely He works within you. The more your mind acknowledges your known condition of being a host for the Holy Spirit, the more importance and strength He has in your life. The more you practice His presence, musing on the mystery of His life with you, the more you find yourself living more freely from anger, anxiety, fear, lust, jealousy and other besetting negative emotions and actions.

I am learning that as I swing my legs out of bed and wonder if I still have this unknown medical condition that makes me feel sick, I am more quickly taking that thought captive as I direct my thoughts to my known condition. I am a Holy Spirit filled man.

Political Complacency?

I know I'm about to get into hot water but here it goes.

While listening to the radio today, I heard that 100 pastors in our country have signed off to lose the tax exempt status for their church by directing their church members to vote for particular political candidates. This practice violates federal laws governing non-profit organizations. Since this issue has, however never been tested in a court of law, these pastors believe they are not in danger. Their belief is that the IRS would not want to litigate against a church.

Recently, I received a news article from World Net Daily. In the article entitled, Pastors Taken to Task for Political Apathy, Rick Scarborough, a former Southern Baptist pastor and now the president of a group called Vision America said this, "What we have in America is a preacher problem." Mr. Scarborough castigated pastors and especially large church pastors for political complacency. He said, "The problem with us Christians today is that we're so afraid of offending our little ears that we've dug holes and buried our heads in them," he said. "The holes that the 'gays' came out of, the church went in, and it's not going to change until the church comes out." Mr. Scarborough finished his speech by saying, "If the church doesn't awaken now, if the tea party and everybody involved doesn't understand that God is at the heart of it all, then we lose".

Now understand that what I am about to write is my opinion. I believe that we definitely have a preacher problem in America. I am one of them. But the problem is not in political complacency but in prayer complacency. It is my opinion that we don't need a church that is politically active as much as we need a church that is active in prayer. But in our intellectual, Western mind ruled by rational, scientific logic, we fail to understand the role Satan and his demons are playing in this drama. We fail to realize that angels are at our disposal to assist in this conflict. But we would rather attend a political rally than a prayer meeting because that makes more sense to us. We would think nothing of spending hours soliciting votes for a candidate or arguing the merit of one form of government over another but to think of spending two hours in prayer boggles our minds.

We need a move of God in America. To hell with the tax exempt status. We need the Holy Spirit to awaken us, to rekindle the flame not for national patriotism but for our allegiance to Christ and the Kingdom of God. I love my country of birth. I am blessed to be an American. I honor and pray for those who defend our freedom. But the nation that will be sustained until the coming of Christ is the Holy Nation, the church. And it is that nation that must do business with God on bended knee. If only pastors, (me included) would take seriously 2 Chronicles 7:14 and equip the priesthood of believers to invest serious time and energy in their closet of prayer.

OK, I've ranted enough. I know there are those that will take me to task on what I've said but believe me, it won't be the first time and hopefully not the last. "Iron does sharpen iron".

The last three words that Mr. Scarborough uses I disagree with adamantly. "...then we lose."
Mr. Scarborough, I have read the book many times and each time, I close the book with a certainty in my heart. "We win!" Praise be to our King.

24

A few years ago, my brother asked me if I watched the TV show "24". I'm one of those guys who refuses to pay for TV so I surf on three channels, those I get with my roof antenna. I said, "No". My brother was aghast. He told me I was the most out of touch person on God's green earth. My life went on as I blew him off.

This summer, a friend of mine asked me the same question but rather than mock my cheap, no cable TV policy, he asked me if we would like to watch season one of "24" on DVD. I accepted his offer to loan me the series not knowing what I was getting myself into. After two episodes, we were addicted. During our vacation this summer one rainy day, we started watching "24" at 10 a.m. and watched one episode after another about counter terrorism until 3 a.m. the next morning. I crawled out of my man cave looking like I had been in a "Sleep Deprivation Study".

I will spare you detail but "24" but it is about the life of a government agent, Jack Baur who works for CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit). Each season is composed of 24 episodes, each episode is an hour in real time of Jack's life. In my opinion, the show is absolutely captivating. Anyhow, I'm not trying to sell you on the show as much as I've realized that the main theme of the show is trust or the lack thereof. There is not a character on the show that trusts anyone. And every time someone decides to trust, they pay dearly. Everyone is looking over their shoulder and can't give up their hand. And yet countless times you hear statements like, "You have to trust me." "Don't you trust me?" "I wish you would trust me".

Anne Jackson asked on her blog, “What is one thing you feel you can’t say in church?” She was overwhelmed by hundreds of repressed responses, like, “I’m not sure I believe in hell;” or, “I’m addicted to porn and I can’t tell anyone, not even my pastor—I’m afraid he would ask me to leave the church;” or, “My marriage isn’t working, but I am a pastor—who can I turn to?” or, “After my divorce, nobody called me; it broke my heart … again;” or, “My brother is gay and a Christian. I don’t feel I can talk about it in church.” Those anonymous admissions were the inspiration for Jackson’s just-released book, “Permission to Speak Freely".

Who do we trust with the secrets hidden in the deep inner recesses of our lives? How many of us have people that we could spill our guts and they would stand with us? Could the neurotic nature of our society stem from not being able to trust? Maybe the most direct way I can ask this question would be, "Who do you trust?"

I'd love to hear from you.

Ragbrai: A Taste of God's Kingdom

In February of this year, a friend called and invited me to join him in attending the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida. This was one of those "once in a life time" experiences and even though the wrong team won (in my opinion), the fact that I was there in Shark Stadium watching the Colts play the Saints was mind blowing.

Last Friday, I had another one of those surreal experiences.... sort of. My son, Josh has been after me to join him in Ragbrai. He and his father-in-law (one of my dearest friends) have been riding across Iowa on a bicycle for the past five years. Josh and Scott have continued to hound me and I finally broke. However, I didn't fully dive in. I agreed to ride one "leg", from Waterloo to Manchester.

In June, I got out my blue Diamond Back cross-trainer bike and logged about 50 miles on the beautiful Cedar Valley bike trails in preparation for the 62 mile ride to Manchester. Not enough prep but I was pumped. Our ride began at 8 a.m. My youngest son, Arnold, agreed to go with us and baby sit me along the way.

Our ride started in a torrential downpour of rain. As lightening flashed and the thunder roared, we began our journey toward our first stop in Gilbertville. By the time we arrived, we were soaked and forced to stop and wait out the rain. Of course, we had to knock down some biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos and home made pie.

The rain began to let up a bit and so we forged on. We got to Brandon and though the rain had stopped, I was pulling on my biking shorts, you know, the ones with the stitched padding in the backside. Scott, my close friend took one look at me and asked, "Are you wearing underwear under your biking shorts?" "Ya", I said, "Aren't you suppose to?" Scott handed me a tube of cream that read "Butt-butter" and pointed toward the cornfield. I walked, head hanging down, into the cornfield, took one article of no longer needed apparel off and I hung it on a corn stalk, I then smeared about a half cup of butter on my behind, put my bike shorts back on and came back a bit more ready for the last 40 miles of our trip. By that time, Arnold had spotted pork chops roasting on the open fire so we ate again, washing it all down with a couple of bottles of Gatorade.

Back on the road to Quasqueton, the "lunch stop town". We pulled in to Quaskey at about 4 p.m. ready to eat lunch. We had Blue Sky ice cream (to die for) and another couple bottles of Gatorade.

Now understand, there is a certain etiquette when riding Ragbrai. All along the way, Josh had been teaching me the Ragbrai lingo. "Biker off" was what you were to yell when you were going to pull over and stop. "Biker on" was yelled as you pulled back onto the road. "Car up" was the call when a vehicle was coming toward you. "Car back" was called when a vehicle was coming up behind you. My favorite was "rumble" announcing to riders there were rumble strips on the highway that could potentially throw a rider off his bike. Every bit of lingo was somehow connected with care for the other riders. Everyone was looking out for everyone else. You could hear people calling out to each other all along the way.

We fought a head wind the last 40 miles and by the time we got to Manchester, it was 8 p.m. We stuck together the entire way. I was exhausted and yet felt fulfilled. Not so much that I had ridden 62 miles on a bike but that I had experienced something very similar the Kingdom of God. People intently watching out for their "brothers and sisters" on the same journey.

It made me think of this Bible verse; Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

I can say I had fun and will do it again. But the thing that is etched in my mind is how dangerously safe I felt on my journey. Not that I was competent as a rider but that my fellow Ragbrai'ers were watching out for me.

What is the church for?

I'm going to try to stir the pot a bit by asking a question. What is the church of Jesus for?

The latest study shows that 94% of all church goers believe the church is for them. They expect service. Good preaching and teaching, good music, good facilities, good care for them and their children. Nine in every 10 people believe the church is another institution to help meet their own personal and family needs.

But what does Jesus say in Matthew 16:18. I'll let you look that one up. If I'm reading this verse correctly, as far as Jesus Christ, the King of the church is concerned, He created the church to attack the gates of hell.

Why then do the vast majority of church-goers in America attend church like Olympic Ice Skating or Gymnastic judges with scorecards in hand, scoring everything from quality and quantity of preaching, to music volume, style to the bathroom conditions.

John Wimber, the founding pastor of the Vineyard Church Movement once asked a provocative question. He mused, "When does God get what He wants?"

Thoughts? I look forward to hearing from you.

Dan