Extremists...

I worked with a man of the Baha'i Faith when I was a computer technician, we had several good discussions over the years as we worked together. One day we were eating lunch and he told me he believed it to be dangerous to take any extreme position, even if that position is love. He said that people can sometimes love too much. He believed the key to peace in the world was to dull our passions and extreme positions, so we can all live side by side. I disagreed with him, but it got me thinking if it was possible to love too much?


A popular thought of the day seems to point toward a this sort of apathy. Instead of bringing change into the world we are called to be more tolerant, instead of living life to the full we are called simply to co-exist. It is an interesting thought to imagine that the world is calling us to strip ourselves of any kind of passion so we can live in peace. Recently I read Francis Chan's Crazy Love and he said something that resonated with me. 

You are a danger to the world if you love nothing, and you're even more dangerous when you love the wrong things. When there is a vacuum of love within your soul, hate, bitterness, envy, and racism rush to fill the empty space.

This idea of dulling my sense to love in order to be less extreme is opposite of the way we were created to live. Dr. Martin Luther King was named an extremist in his time, and at first it discouraged him, then after more thought it strengthened his resolve. He said:

“Was not Jesus an extremist for love — 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you...Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice — or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime — the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.”

King goes on to suggest that the world needs more, "creative extremists for love." This idea of extremism is opposite of the way many think today. We find ourselves paralyzed with fear when we consider the second part of Chan's thought, "you're even more dangerous if you love the wrong things." My challenge to you is that pure love can never be wrong, follow it! Search for love and I believe you will find God. John tells us in 1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."


Don't give up on love, because "when you give up on love everything else seems to go with it - joy, hope, forgiveness, compassion - they're all interconnected." Erwin McManus

Passion for God's movement in the world

I have seen this movie a couple times now through different avenues, I thought I would share with you a moving story about a girl in love with God and his mission.

What catches my heart about this video is how this girl keeps talking through the death of her mother and father and breaks down crying when she comes to talk about the mission of God in her life. It makes me think, what breaks my heart?

Care packages for 10th Mtn. Division in Afganistan

Our Church is sponsoring 87 soldiers in Afganistan this Christmas by sending care packages with supplies. Here are a couple pictures of the supplies and ladies boxing it up.

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Feeling Blest

Last night was the last night of the corn maze, and it was a ton of fun. We had a great turn out during the trunk-or-treat time (pictures to come) and we had a a solid last evening of people trying to get their corn maze experience in before it closed down. There were more than 4,000 people who came through the maze over the month and we made money to help benefit the community. The greatest experience for me was getting to serve with and get to know so many people in the church and community. It was an amazing way to jump right into the Palouse. There was a letter to the editor in the Daily News written by a member of our community,

"I would like to applaud Real Life Ministries on the Palouse for the community contribution they have made through the Palouse Corn Maze this fall. It is apparent that much time and energy went into organizing such a flawless production. They succeeded in organizing a safe family friendly event void of any Halloween influences inappropriate for children. In a word, the Palouse Corn Maze can be described as wholesome. Thank you Real Life Ministries for providing a harvest/Halloween event that I can confidently recommend to families with children of all ages." -Britta Johnson

On another note, if you weren't aware my salary for the year is not supplied by the church, but individuals who are investing in m and my future in ministry. I feel blest for all the people who have decided to help and those who are just now starting to support me. The only problem is sometimes funds jump up or down from month-to-month. Real Life has decided to support me and make my budget stable for the entire year. They raised my salary and are willing to cover the expense if the money doesn't come in. I am in awe of how much they are investing in me and look forward to the returns that will come through this year.

As a thank you for the work Bri and I put in at the Corn Maze the church are sending us to Coeur d'Alene for 2 days to spend time together and relax! We leave tomorrow and look forward to a couple days of nothing but fun! Aaron told me he was teaching me an invaluable lesson for leadership. To give good rewards for those who work hard and take on added responsibility. I am thankful I get to learn such a valuable lesson in such a satisfying way ;-)

p.s. the church is doing Christmas care packages for troops just deployed to Afganistan, to learn more about preparing a care package go to www.liferotp.com

Out-of-the-box thinking for a Church

Here at Real Life, we have been talking about what it means to be a Christian.. The more we thought about the paradigm the more we realized that church is only one piece of what it means to live our faith. Jesus came to preach what he called the Kingdom of God, and that encompasses more than just the church, meaning the building, sermon, and ministries rather than the collective Body of Christ. The problem is that for years, we have preached from the pulpit that the best way to influence culture is through the church. If we could only get people "inside" the church there would be a movement toward God nationwide. The truth is, that theory has never been proven.

We watched a video by a somewhat eccentric guy named Lance Wallnau. He teaches that there are 7 molders of culture within society, and he calls them seven mountains. He believes that the Kingdom of God includes not only the church, but these other six molders of culture. This may sound like a simple enough idea for people new to church or outside the church, but to those who have been in the church for a while it is a radical concept. That is because we have told people that the best way to serve God and God's Kingdom is through serving the church, and ultimately if you are serving full time in the church you are serving God's Kingdom in the highest way possible.

This thought process has led to the church separating itself from society and later pointing the finger at culture when it fails. There is a movement calling Christians to start thinking outside the church, to start climbing the other six molders of culture in order to influence the world for the Kingdom of God. The thought process is different because is starts aiming people toward the areas where they are the most skilled and influential to proclaim the Kingdom.

The reason this method can work is because Kingdom principles work. The Kingdom of God is called the gospel, and gospel means good news. It is not only good news for the church, but for the entire world. We can start influencing the world by implementing Kingdom principles throughout every aspect of our lives, primarily where we have the greatest influence, whether that be your family, government or media.

If you have the opportunity and want to hear more details, listen to Aaron's sermon this week. http://www.liferotp.sermonpodcasts.net/.

Sermon Real Life - October 17, 2010

I had the opportunity to preach at our church, Real Life on the Palouse this past Sunday. The sermon is about how to pray for those who don't know Christ and the passage I preached on was Matthew 9:35-38 and the audio link is posted below.

http://www.liferotp.sermonpodcasts.net/index.php?id=177

^{Matthew 9:35-38}
"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Corn Maze in the Moscow Pullman Daily News today

October promises frighteningly good fun this year

Corn mazes, pumpkin patches abound this fall

Brandon Macz Daily News staff writer

Posted on: Saturday, October 09, 2010

Photos:

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News

Corn Maze on the PalouseWhile the weather is still settling into its fall chill, people taking advantage of the agreeable temperatures this month have a lot to look forward to on the Palouse and the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley leading up to October's Halloween finale.

This new addition to the Palouse opened last weekend just outside of Pullman on State Route 27 and features a 4-acre corn maze made more difficult to navigate the later people go, said Derek Murphy, maze coordinator and leadership resident with Real Life Ministries Church, which is putting on the event.

The Corn Maze on the Palouse runs noon-10 p.m. Saturdays and 6-10 p.m. Sunday. Starting Oct. 15, the maze will be open 6-10 p.m. every day but the earlier start-up times Saturdays all the way to Halloween with a scarier maze on Freaky Fridays, which is "for teens and college students who want to come in and get scared," Murphy said. "We also have a straw maze for younger kids to go through."

The farm was made available by owners and church members, Steve and Kevin Mader, and also boasts a corn launcher - one of the most popular attractions, Murphy said - where people shoot ears of corn from a giant slingshot at a target for prizes.

Admittance to the Corn Maze on the Palouse is $5 for adults, $3 for children 3-12 and children two and under get in free.

Murphy said last weekends run was a great success and the maze typically takes people a half-hour to clear, though many end up never finding the exits, instead coming back through the maze entrance.

"Everybody who went through this weekend was very excited," he said. "It gets increasingly difficult as it gets darker. It's got quite a few deadends, switchbacks. We've had people say they've gone down the same turnaround three times." He added there will be volunteers navigating the maze to offer assistance to "people who may be directionally challenged."

It is highly recommended that participants bring flashlights, and this weekend is also the start of pumpkin sales at the farm though novice carvers will have a chance to learn from an expert 2-5 p.m. Oct. 16 provided by the Daily News as part of our online pumpkin carving contest at www.dnewscontests.com.

Murphy said the church plans on distributing some of the proceeds throughout the community and several members are expected to solicit ideas from the Pullman City Council.

"We really want to fill a need in the community is where we're heading," he said. "We're still looking. We really want to help the community in a big way."

For more information, call (208)882-2484 or visit www.cornmazeotp.com.

The Corn Maze

The first weekend at the corn maze was great. It was a perfect dry run for the madness that will come later in the month, we had more than 45 volunteers out at the maze this weekend and many of them will be back to help later on as the month goes.

The maze itself is pretty awesome, for some people it has taken more than an hour to make it through, others have come out the entrance after 30 min thinking they had found the exit. In the words of one of our volunteers, Beth Mahaffy "the corn maze is totally legit".

The other popular attraction is our giant corn launcher, basically it is a huge slingshot for ears of corn, and in my opinion it is the bomb! We also have a bunch of family activities from a straw maze, to face painting and corn hole. Keep an eye out for updates on the maze. It has been a great and humbling experience to be entrusted with the biggest event ever held by the church. (Pictured above is the Palileo family serving in our snack shack).

Planting a New Seed

Today is the final service at my home church in Boise. I fondly remember the years growing up, and all the  teachers who invested in me: Steve and Becky Overlin, Nick and Lindale Adams, Dave and Eileen Benton, Paxton Tupper, Nadine Mack, Joel Rice and so many more. I remember falling asleep on my parents laps during the sermon and getting woken up by one of the elders in the church week after week. I know I probably shouldn't tell a story about falling asleep in church, but I experienced the love of Christ when Steve Altman took the time to wake me up and talk to me for a few minutes after church.

The church is doing something incredible in my mind. They care so much about the mission Christ has set upon them to reach the world, they are closing their doors. At first glance this may seem like giving up, but it is quite the opposite, they are sacrificing their own pride, name, rituals and traditions and are giving their building and other resources to help plant a new church. The church and its leaders have the insight to see how they have been ineffective in reaching a growing community. They want to see a church in Southwest Boise who is effectively reaching those who don't know the love of Christ.

In my mind they are planting a seed for the Kingdom. Jesus often used farming illustrations when he spoke, and one commonality in all farming illustrations is the care it takes for a seed to grow. Someone must take the effort to plant the seed in fertile soil and tend to that seed. Without the seed being planted the Kingdom would not grow. Today my church is planting a seed that will grow, it will start small, but with the proper care it will grow to effect the world.

Thank you to the people and leaders at Desert's Edge Christian Church for being people who are selflessly looking to better the world and their community and I look forward to seeing the fruit of this seed in Contact Christian Church led by Daro Thol.

Reading for pleasure

I am entering the first year of my adult life outside of school, and after 7 years of college it is nice to read a book that I chose to read. I have joined in on a mens study group that is reading based. The first book we are discussing is "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I have had the opportunity to read Chan's Forgotten God (see video The Big Red Tractor) and have had the opportunity to hear him speak, but this is my first time through Crazy Love.

Today we looked at the second chapter of Crazy Love. The title is "You may not make it through this Chapter." The big idea Chan gets at is that our lives should be entirely focused on God. He points out that our worry and stress show our reliance on our own efforts and energy. Worry proves our distrust of God and his path for our lives and the stress of our busy schedules gives us the excuse to let the world revolve around us and our priorities instead of the priorities of God. This chapter takes me back to what Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, to seek the Kingdom first and when we do that the rest of our life will be ordered by God. I am cut to the core when I realize how far I still must grow to truly be singularly focused on the Kingdom. I realized that this week when I we fasted as a church, cutting food from my life showed the other distractions I have that keep me from seeking God. I look forward to continuing Crazy Love in the weeks to come, check it out www.crazylovebook.com.

Today in our staff meeting we looked at the spheres of influence in a growing church. The premise is that there is always a core group of people who start a church. That core group sets the "DNA" (The DNA of a church is the culture, vision and mission) of the church.  The core group then influences those who have not bought into the vision and mission of the church ( or the periphery). A growing church will grow its core of people who believe in the DNA of that particular church. The aim is to maintain two spheres of influence, which means there are always people who have already bought into the mission of the church influencing those who have not yet bought into the mission of the church. 

One pitfall in a fast-growing church is the possibility of having 3 or 4 rings of influence within the church. This means people are inviting new people at such a rapid level that those who are on the periphery are the primary influencers of others who are on the periphery, rather than those who are already sold out to the DNA. When this occurs there can be an unhealthy DNA spreading throughout the church. 

This happens when the core stops influencing the periphery. When spheres of influence are added the DNA of the church is diluted, and ultimately unhealthy DNA is spread through the church, which ultimately impacts the effectiveness of the church in the community. 

The best way to combat the addition of unhealthy layers of influence is maintaining focus on relational discipleship, which means all those who have bought into the DNA must be encouraged to influence the periphery and in turn, grow the core. As the core grows so does the capacity for creating a healthy church environment.

This idea connected with me because I believe passion transfers primarily through relationship. In order to create disciples who are able to create disciples there are no short cuts, it takes time. It takes investing in people. The problem is most ministers spend far more time away from people than they spend with people. This is an area where I personally need to grow, it is easy to get wrapped up in the tasks that need accomplished and forget the most important aspect of church...PEOPLE!

First Post on the New Blog

Many people have asked how our move went. Well we made it, and we are making it. All I have to say is our life is an adventure. We arrived in town on Friday the 27th of August. I started at Real Life on Saturday morning with CPR training! Sunday was a big surprise, coming from a church of about 50 people we walked straight into the lobby of a church with over 900 in attendance. Actually before the 900 people arrived we were there at 7 a.m. with a crew of about 50 setting up the building that the church rents out for Sunday service. The service was great. Aaron talked about how we as Christians are meant not only to be disciples of Jesus, but we are meant to make disciples as well. To sum it up, he was saying church is not a spectator sport.

I found out Monday that I would be in charge of the Corn Maze the church is holding this year. I asked Aaron what was done, he replied "the corn is cut, the rest is up to you." before I got too overwhelmed he gave me a lesson about how work is done at RLM. He said "This is a huge project, and you are going to have to use the team to make it happen." I have been working with the team for more than two weeks now and I love working with other people. It may take more time in the short run, but in the long run I believe collaboration is more effective. A philosophy Real Life has is that a win for an the individual is a loss for the team.

I have a bunch to say about the corn maze, but I will wait until other posts. The biggest thing happening in my life and in the church right now is a week long fast. Today is day 4, and the fast will break on Saturday night. This fast is a not just for the staff, but for the entire church. The better part of 900 people on the Palouse are praying for guidance and direction from God and are giving up something in their lives that has distracted them from God. The church has a blog they are keeping for the week for people from the church to post what they are hearing from God (http://rlotpfast.blogspot.com/)

Pray for the Kingdom and for Bri and I. We are mighty hungry and looking forward to Saturday Night.

We love you guys. Thank you for your support and making this possible.