- Sounds like Winter Camp went really well.
- I’m excited to get more of a full report from our staff today, but from my oldest’s perspective (her first time), it was a wonderful experience.
- Was fun to pick her up yesterday afternoon and hear all about it.
- I’m so thankful for the people who serve their hearts out on behalf of these students.
- It’s exhausting, and they do it joyfully!
- Enjoyed kicking off Ephesians while all those folks were at camp (watch or listen here).
- I think it’s pretty cool how you can get the theme of Ephesians by looking at just six verses (1:10, 2:10, 3:10, 4:15, 5:14, and 6:10.
- I got that idea from a message I heard by N.T. Wright and then I changed it slightly and made it my own.
- Was fun to have one of the bands from R/Tempe leading us.
- They had a great attitude and spirit and were so much fun to work with.
- This morning I have the honor of preaching at a funeral for one of our members, Warren Blomseth.
- He was such a sweet man and he and his wife, Dee, have been a great encouragement to me over the last few years.
- They’ve asked me to speak on Habakkuk 3:17-18, which I’m happy to do.
- Then this afternoon I have a series of meetings with our staff and elders where we’re hosting Larry Osborne, one of the senior pastors at North Coast Church.
- Larry is a wise, experienced leader who has written a bunch of great books and been faithful in ministry for a long time.
- I got to know him a few years ago when I was part of a pastors mentoring group through Leadership Network.
- I heard he was coming to town and asked if he’d spend the afternoon with us and he gladly agreed.
- Larry has talked a lot about how as a church or organization grows it moves from being a decathalon (one person plays all the positions) to a golfing foursome (everybody plays everything and the best part is hanging out) to a basketball team (more specialized positions, but everyone still fits on the same team bus) to a football team (highly specialized and decentralized).
- I’m excited for him to talk more about these dynamics with our team, as we anticipate more growth and change in the coming years.
- Today is a great example of how much variety is involved in pastoral work.
- It’s not just preaching and shepherding and it’s not just leadership — it’s always both.
- That makes it pretty complicated sometimes, but it’s a huge joy and privilege.
- This week we really launch into the deeper stuff of Ephesians (election, union with Christ, etc.) and I can’t wait.
- My guess is some folks will be hearing about election for the first time, so I hope they can see it as beautiful and glorious as the Apostle Paul does.
- Some will surely have questions, though, so Seth and I are firing back up the class “Introduction to Reformed Theology” in a month or so.
- Should give people a good chance to dig into these truths more and get questions answered.
- Alright, first meeting of the day starts in 14 minutes, so I need to get rolling.
- Have a great day!
