Off to Japan

Pictures from April 2011

When the tsunami hit Japan in March, the devastation was extensive. Entire towns were wiped away. Earthquake aftershocks left the country with even more damage. Before the country can rebuild, they must clear away what was destroyed. I have the opportunity to travel to the town of Sendai and help with the relief effort, specifically cleanup of the disaster left behind. A team of 6 people, including myself, will be traveling to the affected areas to help in the relief efforts on May 15. While on the ground, we will be partnering to help clear debris and give aid. Our plan is to spend a week doing hard labor wherever there are needs. We will also make connections to help our church send a larger team to rebuild in August. Tom Shook with ReachGlobal is our contact on the ground, and he is preparing work for us to do while we are there. As the pictures show, there is still substantial devastation, so we will not have a problem finding work that needs done and people who need help.

The trip will last roughly 10 days with travel time. We plan to fly into Tokyo and spend the night there, and Tom has secured a van for us that we will drive to Sendai and then on to Takiama. We will stay in a missionary guesthouse in Takiama as a base of operation.

We are each raising our cost for the trip, so I need your help to make this happen. The trip will cost between $2,000 and $2,500, and I will need money for a plane ticket as soon as possible. Any funds beyond travel and food needs will be used for the cleanup effort. Please consider making a donation of any amount and keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. I set up a Paypal account to make donating easier (button below), and you can always contact me if you would like more information or to discuss our plans.

Any financial support and/or prayer you can give will be greatly appreciated. Please continue to keep the people of Japan in your prayers as they recover from this tragedy.

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."