hillside church | community blog

Community Boards

2009-09-30T16:42:00.003-06:00

We won't be doing much active posting on this blog anymore, but here are a couple resources we'd like to keep available. Don't be shy, they're here for you to use!

This board is to post stuff that you're looking for or have to give.

Occasional stuff "for sale" is okay, but we'd really like to keep it to borrowing and giving.

This board is to post your professional services or home businesses.
Please note our policy on active vs. passive selling in our church community.

PS. If you've commented on either board and it's no longer relevant, please delete it. Thanks!

The Gift of Tongues

2009-07-27T13:36:00.003-06:00

We've certainly been moving through some challenging passages in 1 Corinthians in recent weeks, and this past Sunday's message on the gift of tongues was no exception. And while I realize we tackled a lot regarding what Paul says about tongues in chapter 14, I'm curious to hear what, if any, observations or experiences you've had with this gift. Specifically...

Have you ever been to a church where people spoke in tongues? What was that experience like? Was someone able to interpret what was being spoken? Were you and others encouraged and built up?

Christlikeness

2009-06-18T09:06:00.003-06:00

"Scripture and tradition tell us that formation into the likeness of Christ is not achieved by always getting what we want."

--Skye Jethani

A message from Service Sunday

2009-06-08T21:07:00.003-06:00

Hi There-

I've just been working on finalizing all the follow-up from the Grace Chapel/Hillside Church Extreme Community Makeover day on May 31st and I wanted to share that info with you so you realize the huge impact you had in one day of serving!

* 6 people signed up for Denver Digs
* 12 people signed up for the City's recycling program
* 23 people signed up for Groundwork Denver
* 61 projects completed
* 295 people involved
* 885 hours invested in the community

We would love to have you join us again at any time with a small group, a company group, a neighborhood group, really any group you want to put together... Thanks again for partnering with us. :)
www.extremecommunitymakeover.org

A quick note for the Billionaires out there...

2009-06-04T14:18:00.002-06:00

"Give it away, you'll enjoy it," Gates tells rich

Gates has given much of his wealth from Microsoft, the U.S. software giant that made him the world's richest man, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic powerhouse.

"I think all billionaires should give away the vast majority of their fortunes -- though I don't say they shouldn't leave anything to their kids," Gates told a gathering at Oslo's opera house.

"I think they would enjoy it, their kids would be better off, and the world would be better off," Gates said.

"I'm a great believer that great wealth should go from the richest to the poorest," he said... [read article]

On 1 Cor. 6:12-20...

2009-05-22T11:36:00.002-06:00

Somehow Paul envisages the Christian's relationship with the Lord Jesus not simply as a 'spiritual' one, but also a physical one: not of course in the sexual sense, but in the sense that Jesus wants to know us and work through us as fully physical human beings, both here and hereafter. After all, God raised Jesus the Lord, and will raise us too; so what you do with your body matters.

--N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians

What are we teaching our kids about God?

2009-05-07T11:00:00.005-06:00

This article about the religious/spiritual views of American teenagers interacts with a book on the same subject, which calls the dominant creed today "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" (MTD). Here are some interesting points...

Rather than transformative revelation from God, religion has become a utility for enhancing a teenager's life. Smith and Denton lay out the five points of MTD:

1. A God exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

Surely American teenagers did not invent this new religion. A quick scan of bestseller lists, television guides, or public school curricula will reveal MTD's appeal. Indeed, the God of MTD sounds like the "cool parent" teenagers adore.

Obviously, we've got some weak and bad theology. But other than that, I'm wrestling with the two parts I bolded above.

I'm wondering about the connection between revelation and transformation. If we saw "our religion" as revelatory, would it be more transformative?

And, secondly, if teenagers are expressing spiritual views they've learned, what are we teaching our kids about God and what a relationship with Him entails? What are they hearing at home? What are they seeing in your life as a parent? Is it the kind of transformation that comes from revelation?

I'm going to chew on this some more, but what do you think...?

A Two-Handed God

2009-04-23T10:29:00.002-06:00

As we got started in the lesson last Sunday, I said this:

In the Bible the right hand of God is the metaphor used to describe God’s power. The right hand describes a God who creates and restores, who judges and rescues, who wields limitless power—and hopefully on our behalf! (And assuming it is on our behalf, this is the way we want God to demonstrate his love for us).

And then one author uses the left hand as a metaphor to describe the other side of God’s love for us. But this kind of love feels very different because this is when God seems very quiet and seems painfully slow to act. The left hand of God feels powerless (but it's not) and allows pain and suffering.

The author’s point was that both are a kind of love from the One, True God. He says the right hand brings order and the left hand brings transformation. Both hands are powerful and both hands are loving.

...But the hand we emphasize, or the one we think should shape the world and our lives, will shape our theology and our approach to the Christian life in significant ways.

If you want to read that article, it's called "Serving a Two-Handed God" by Mark Galli. And it's really good. As always, your comments are welcome!

Town Hall For Hope with Dave Ramsey

2009-04-20T15:09:00.003-06:00

While I'm not sure exactly what Dave Ramsey will say about the economy, he will surely have some good things to say about money and the current climate of fear from a Christian perspective. The broadcast starts at 6:00 p.m. (in Denver) on Thursday at lots of places. And it's free...

The Stool

2009-04-18T16:47:00.001-06:00

I'm Alive!

2009-04-13T11:59:00.003-06:00

Ok... so before you watch this you'll need to prepare yourself for the mild cheesy-ness factor. But the question at the end is thought-provoking. Do you find yourself living like Jesus is still dead? What would change in your life if you fully grasped the Resurrection? How would you prayers change? Run with it...

PS. Elgard said he'd buy lunch for the person who leaves the fifth comment on this!

"Does God Exist" Debate

2009-04-09T09:06:00.002-06:00

It was awesome to have so many of you in attendance at last night's webcast debate between William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens. Thanks so much for coming out! Also, a special thanks to the Chiappinis for hosting this event and the Brennings for footing the cost of it.

Due to the length of the debate, we didn't have the opportunity for any questions or discussion, so I thought a we might share our comments through this medium. In order to help facilitate things somewhat, I've listed some questions below that I hope will better focus our thoughts and conversation with one another.

1. Which, if any, arguments from Craig did you feel to be strong or convincing? Which, if any, did you regard to be lacking? Briefly share.

2. Which, if any, arguments from Hitchens did you feel to be strong or convincing? Which, if any, did you regard to be lacking? Briefly share.

3. What addional thoughts or questions do you have based on the debate?

Additionally, if you care to respond...

1. How would you rate the debate overall? [1 = "I hated it"; 5 = "I thought it was fairly entertaining"; 10 = "I loved it"]

2. Based on what you already know or have recently learned about Christian apologetics, how much interest do you have in further studying this subject? [1 = None; 10 = A great deal]

Preparing Our Hearts for Easter Sunday

2009-04-06T15:34:00.003-06:00

This past Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, marked the beginning of Holy Week, which is a week observed in many Christian churches to commemorate the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago.

During Holy Week, as Christians we have the opportunity to reflect upon some very significant events culminating in Jesus' resurrection:

Thursday = Passover meal with the disciples/Jesus' arrest in the garden
Friday = Trial/death of Jesus
Saturday = Jesus in the grave
Sunday = Jesus' resurrection!

As a church, we've been making preparations for our "Pancakes and Eggs" event this Saturday. While this is good thing, let's also, as we move through this Holy Week, be preparing our hearts for the Easter celebration on Sunday.

Deep thought

2009-03-20T14:43:00.003-06:00

The soul, then, is the essence of a person as God has created them. It is the true self that is God-given and God-breathed. In a redeemed person, the soul is animated and indwelt by the Spirit of God. While we cannot take credit for having been given a soul--which is to say, our personhood--we have a choice about whether we will cultivate the true self that we have been given or whether we will squander it in the pursuit of other things that we deem to be more valuable.
--Ruth Haley Barton

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

--Jesus (Mark 8:36)

BolderBoulder 2009

2009-03-16T08:00:00.002-06:00

When: Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day)
Where: Boulder, CO on the CU campus
Time: Depends on what wave you sign up for

We would love to have anyone who is interested join us in running the BolderBoulder. The race is 10k (6.2 miles). You can sign up via the website or at a Runner's Roost (Arapahoe and Parker). You can be a runner, a jogger, a walker, or a little bit of everything. It is a fun race!

We will set up a meeting place in the stadium for everyone to meet up after they finish the race and cheer others on as they cross the finish line. If you don't want to run the race, you can still come and cheer for those who are. There is a large expo at the end.

If you're interested in doing the race, let us know in the comments.

It's all about Jesus

2009-03-10T17:03:00.004-06:00

In 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 we learned that...

Paul works for Jesus (v.1)
The Corinthian believers have been purified by Jesus (v.2)
And so is everyone who calls on Jesus (v.2)
Grace and peace is from Jesus (v.3)
Jesus is the embodiment of God’s grace (v.4)
Believers are enriched and equipped by Jesus (v.5)
Jesus will return as Lord (v.7)
Jesus keeps believers blameless to the end (v.8)
Believers are in fellowship with Jesus (v.9)

Corinthian Leather

2009-03-05T15:20:00.004-07:00

We're starting a new series on 1 Corinthians and I wanted to clear up any confusion that may have been caused by this man and/or commercial...

There is no such thing as "Corinthian Leather" (read here). The Corinthians were known for other things... and we'll talk more about that on Sunday.
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Stewardship of the Earth

2009-02-22T16:39:00.002-07:00

The lesson today was almost entirely about the theology needed to undergird and inform our convictions on stewarding the earth/environment. To be good stewards it will be important for us to apply those convictions thoughtfully and prayerfully. Here are a few resources for help you research some of the issues:

Cornwall Alliance For the Stewardship of Creation
http://www.cornwallalliance.org

Evangelical Environmental Network
http://www.creationcare.org

Evangelical Climate Initiative
http://www.christiansandclimate.org
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About the meltdown

2009-02-12T15:36:00.004-07:00

I know you can't judge a show by it's preview (or something like that), but this looks really interesting--"House of Cards"--tonight at 6:00 MST on CNBC. I'm looking for some deep thoughts on stewardship...

Elders

2009-02-08T20:58:00.004-07:00

We've recently shared that the Deacons help bear practical burdens in the church so that the Elders are freed up to bear spiritual burdens in the church. So what do the Elders do and what are those “spiritual burdens”?

Elders serve as leaders in the church and have spiritual authority in the community.
Elders guard the doctrine and teaching in the church to ensure we are rightly dividing the Word of God.
Elders also govern the church (certain decisions, discipline, etc.) in submission to Christ.
Elders shepherd the flock. That means investing in people's lives--encouraging them to grow in Christ and caring for them spiritually.

Currently the Elders are me (Matt Wooley), Josh Brgoch, and Mike Magrin. (Steve Fullmer was until a week ago when he become one of our first Deacons). And our wives are invaluable partners in this ministry. Seriously.

We’ve also been talking with the Elgards about Josh becoming an Elder. Josh and Robin have already been shepherding in their current role and we think this is a very natural fit for them. And, more importantly, we think they meet the biblical qualifications for this kind of leadership role.

On a related side note: since we believe the Elder role is for men only, we're taking this opportunity to share our conclusions from Scripture and have posted that here.

If you have any questions about the role of an Elder, or any feedback on the Elgards, please email the Elders. If you have any general comments you can always post them here on the blog.

Women in ministry

2009-02-08T20:19:00.004-07:00

With all the talk about our new Deacons (and Deaconesses) and Elders (but no "Elderesses"), we thought this would be a good opportunity to address the somewhat sensitive topic of women in ministry.

Over the last few years the Elders have talked about this issue and studied key passages, and we've finally put our thoughts down on paper here.

Hillside is a non-denominational church and we, no doubt, have people from a variety of church traditions with different ideas about women in ministry. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us or post a comment here. And we'd be happy to meet with anyone in person to discuss this further if needed.

Matt (for the Elders)

Stewarding Life...

2009-02-02T18:18:00.007-07:00

Last Sunday we looked at what it means to steward life [audio]. This was definitely a challenging part of our series and has a lot of implications for us as followers of Christ, some of which we didn't have time to discuss.

Here are a few areas we didn't have time to apply this biblical theology to at any length (or at all):

our own health/bodies
substance abuse
the death penalty
worldwide starvation
modern war
war in the Old Testament

We addressed abortion the most, but could definitely discuss that some more. Do you want to discuss any of these topics more on the blog? If so, post a comment with a topic from the list (or something else I hadn't thought of). This is like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books! Do they still make those?

And if the interest is high enough, and the blog discussion isn't conducive/effective enough, then maybe we'll tackle some of these on future Sundays.
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A modern day Parable of the Talents

2009-01-28T17:49:00.004-07:00

We talked about stewarding our talents last Sunday and looked at the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. This is from LarkNews.com (Christian satire--not real news) and, I think, a really funny/sad modern day version of the parable. I was going to read this during the lesson but didn't get around to it...

Man, 91, dies waiting for will of God
. . TUPELO — Walter Houston, described by family members as a devoted Christian, died Monday after waiting 70 years for God to give him clear direction about what to do with his life.
. . "He hung around the house and prayed a lot, but just never got that confirmation," his wife Ruby said. "Sometimes he thought he heard God's voice, but then he wouldn't be sure, and he'd start the process all over again."
. . Houston, she says, never really figured out what his life was about, but felt content to pray continuously about what he might do for the Lord. Whenever he was about to take action, he would pull back "because he didn't want to disappoint God or go against him in any way," Ruby says. "He was very sensitive to always remain in God's will. That was primary to him."
. . Friends say they liked Walter though he seemed not to capitalize on his talents.
. . "Walter had a number of skills he never got around to using," says longtime friend Timothy Burns. "He worked very well with wood and had a storyteller side to him, too. I always told him, 'Take a risk. Try something new if you're not happy,' but he was too afraid of letting the Lord down."
. . To his credit, they say, Houston, who worked mostly as a handyman, was able to pay off the mortgage on the couple's modest home.

Read it on their site here.

Community Boards

2009-01-24T13:42:00.004-07:00

We've had these boards for a while now, but they've gotten buried on the blog. So here's a refresher...

This board is to post stuff that you're looking for or have to give.

Occasional stuff "for sale" is okay, but we'd really like to keep it to borrowing and giving.

This board is to post your professional services or home businesses.
Please note our policy on active vs. passive selling in our church community.

PS. If you've commented on either board and it's no longer relevant, please delete it. Thanks!
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Deacons

2009-01-18T15:40:00.005-07:00

We've got Deacons!

The word “deacon” simply means to be a servant and the role was formalized in Acts 6:1-7 when the practical needs in the church/community became too much for the spiritual leaders in the church.

Deacons help bear practical burdens in the church so that the Elders are freed up to bear spiritual burdens in the church.

This is a biblical role and we see the qualities of a Deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. We have asked Steve & Holly Fullmer, Brad & Nicole Rowell, and Tim & Karleen Wagner to serve as Deacons. We believe these people represent the biblical qualities of Deacons, they clearly have amazing servant-hearts, and we trust they will be a blessing to you and free up the Elders to lead and shepherd.

Elders:
. Lead the church as shepherds
. Guard the church in doctrine/teaching
. Govern the church in submission to Christ and His Word

Deacons:
. Serve the church through practical care
. Encourage the church/community through ministries of mercy
. Administer God’s grace through wise benevolence
.
One other quick thought... the Deacons will not be meeting all the practical needs of the church by themselves! That's not the idea. They will undoubtedly roll up their sleeves but the Deacons will primarily facilitate the Body meeting one another's needs.

If you have any questions about the role of a Deacon, or any thoughts about these Deacons, please email the Elders. We'd love to hear from you. If you have any general comments you can always post them here on the blog.

If you are curious about why we have only men as Elders, or why we have men and women as Deacons, we plan to post our conclusions from Scripture this week. Stay tuned. Or you can email the Elders. Update: see here.

In the future, you can contact the Deacons here.

Talking about Jesus

2009-01-13T16:56:00.006-07:00

I realize we talked about "Initiative" last Sunday (which we mean as initiative with one another inside our church community), but this is a great reminder about how important it is for us to be people of courage to engage those who don't follow Jesus. This is from an interview with Chip Arn.

Asked why each person became a Christian, here's a list of eight things that are always mentioned.
A special need arose in my life, such as a death or catastrophe. That's 1 percent to 2 percent.
A spontaneous walk-in—I just decided to go to church one Sunday. That's 2 percent to 3 percent.
I had a relationship with a pastor or someone else on church staff. That varies from 1 percent to 6 percent.
I was visited; somebody just knocked on my door. That's 1 percent to 2 percent and continually dropping.
I participated in Sunday school or some other Christian education. That's 4 percent to 5 percent.
Participation in evangelistic crusades, television, and radio ministries is less than 1 percent.
Church programs, such as special events or other advertised activities, drew 2 percent to 3 percent of those surveyed. If you've been following the numbers, the percentages are still very low and there's only one item left to list.
A friend or relative talked to me about Jesus. Of all the tens of thousands of people we surveyed, 75 to 90 percent of them said they're Christians because a friend or relative talked to them about Christ. That's not just a U.S. thing, that holds true from my visits to Korea and India as well.

What's your blog made of?

2009-01-07T16:31:00.006-07:00

For all you bloggers out there, here's a little tool to see what your blog is made of: http://www.wordle.net/create. Just paste in your blog URL and this will give you a cloud of the more common words.

The one for this blog should be showing over there to the left. I'm not sure the value of this little exercise yet... let me know if you think of something. I wish the word "Jesus" was bigger and bolder.

And add a comment with your URL if you do this so we can give props to all the Hillside bloggers.
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Almost 2009

2008-12-28T22:12:00.003-07:00

Does anyone make (or track) new year's resolutions?

I Am Second

2008-12-17T13:23:00.005-07:00

This doesn't really have anything to do with Christmas (except that "Jesus is first"), but I stumbled across this site and think the stories are great. Check it out at iamsecond.com.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-05T17:07:00.007-07:00

Earlier this fall I was considering promoting this at church for Advent...

I love the message and the much needed refocus. If you know me, that probably doesn't surprise you. I'm all for fighting against consumerism, ESPECIALLY at this time of year when it's done in the name of Jesus. For the love.

But then I had another thought... what should our role be as citizens in this economic environment? I don't think this is a good thing, but our economy is driven by consumption. More like greed. We definitely need a recalibration back to reality rather than living beyond our means on credit. But is there something to participating fully in our economic system (albeit imperfect) in this recession? If we stop buying in a time like this are we causing more problems like unemployment?

Here's what I know: spending a little less is probably a good thing (and you may not have a choice!). Finding ways to slow down the consumption and making more room for Christ in our lives is a great thing.

And here's what I'm wondering: would spending a lot less actually create bigger problems for our economy and our "fellow man"?

Any thoughts...?
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Advent is here

2008-12-04T09:48:00.005-07:00

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
--John 3:16 (Amplified Bible)

Christmas spending

2008-11-21T15:12:00.003-07:00

PS. If you are spending less this year, and it has nothing to do with the economy or your current financial situation, please add a comment and explain.

Bible Illuminated

2008-11-18T07:42:00.003-07:00

Has anyone seen one of these?

I'm intrigued, but a little cautious. Seems like they have a point here about the way we read literature today. But I'm curious about the pictures they've used and the extra comments they've added. Not sure I want to spend $24 to find out (Amazon.com has a few sample pages).

A couple comments from the video that need parsing:

"[The Bible] is an object that is quite powerful, and that makes it often, also, uncomfortable."

"They [those who don't read the Bible] are hiding the Bible because it's too connected to Church."

The mission of the church

2008-11-12T10:47:00.006-07:00

From a newsletter in my inbox...

Earlier this year Leadership launched a research project in conjunction with the National Christian Poll to determine how pastors' understanding of the gospel and mission has changed. The findings were illuminating. The trend appears to be toward smaller, people (not program) driven churches where the gospel is demonstrated and not just proclaimed.

You can read the report summary here. This is an interesting read and covers things like the presence of the kingdom, the purpose of church, defining the gospel and the balancing of both proclamation and demonstration.

Hillside was started with a desire to see "church-goers" really become "disciples" and co-laborers in the kingdom. Discipleship is our heartbeat because we believe so many other facets of our lives are transformed when Christ is Lord. When people are transformed, relationships are transformed, our church is transformed, our community is transformed... and even our culture is transformed.

It's exciting to see God bring so many people to Hillside who want to grow in this way! It's costly growth, and sometimes slower growth, but we believe it's healthy growth and we trust that God is glorified in the process.

Commitment

2008-11-11T16:18:00.004-07:00

If you missed Matt's sermon this past Sunday, it's certainly worth taking a listen: http://hcf-audio.blogspot.com. I think I enjoyed it so much because he did such a good job at presenting a hard challenge without any sense of legalism, which is something unique to what I often experienced growing up. It seems to me that the conviction of the Holy Spirit is the most powerful when this balance is achieved.

Christians & voting

2008-11-03T11:41:00.004-07:00

Somebody sent me an interesting article on Christians & voting. It's based on 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 and entitled Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting. Here's a piece of it:

Christians should deal with the world. This world is here to be used. Dealt with. There is no avoiding it. Not to deal with it is to deal with it that way. Not to weed your garden is to cultivate a weedy garden. Not to wear a coat in Minnesota is to freeze—to deal with the cold that way. Not to stop when the light is red is to spend your money on fines or hospital bills and deal with the world that way. We must deal with the world.

But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

By all means vote. But remember: “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

--John Piper

I know Hillsiders have varying philosophies of participation in government--some are very involved with campaigns, some have strong opinions, and some may not even vote. Let's not make this a discussion about who you're voting for, but I am curious what you think about the import or value of our voting (and the outcome) as Christians. Will elected officials actually make our country more of a "Christian nation"? Or is that not the point?

Did you get your "I Voted" sticker?

2008-10-30T14:03:00.005-06:00

New Creation - video

2008-10-15T11:46:00.005-06:00

I love the creativity and the words...

From Fellowship Church on Vimeo.

And here's a little explanation from the guy singing.

Hillside Retreat Committee: "Thank you!"

2008-09-22T12:31:00.004-06:00

Hey, once again, "hats off" to the retreat planning committee! Burkes, Douds, Chiappinis and Thomases--you all did a fantastic job of making this past weekend a very memorable one for Hillside! Thank you so much!

For those of you who coulnd't make it to the retreat, we missed you.

For those of you who did come, please take a moment to express your appreciation to the planning committee for the hard work and energy they put in.

Our own fencing pro - Russell Gibson

2008-09-12T10:50:00.002-06:00

Wait for it... (just after 1:30)

Praying for year #4

2008-09-08T21:36:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we had some cake to celebrate our third anniversary as a church, and we took a few minutes to pray for year #4. The heart of our prayer is surrender. We want to ask God to do what He wants at Hillside in the year ahead. This is His church.

There were three aspects of that prayer--asking God to do what he wants IN us, AMONGST us, and THROUGH us. It might be too personal to share your prayer for part one, but what do you think God wants to do amongst us and through us in year #4?

The Kingdom of God

2008-09-04T15:42:00.009-06:00

We are wrapping up our current series this Sunday and I thought a little retrospective summary might be interesting. The big picture for this series was that Jesus' miracles demonstrate the in-breaking of the Kingdom and a very real battle with Sin and the consequences of sin.

By studying some of Jesus' many miracles, here's what else we've learned about the Kingdom of God... (you can read the Bible text here)

The Big Catch (Luke 5:1-11)
Jesus invites us to help him gather people into the kingdom.

An Exorcism (Matt. 12:22-30)
The King has arrived and he is beginning to set things right and make things new again. And... you are either gathering people to or scattering them away from the Kingdom.

Favorite verse of the series: "But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matt. 12:28)

Healing a Leper (Mark 1:40-45)
We are called to proclaim and display the Kingdom through compassionate care.

Healing a Paralytic (Luke 5:17-26)
Jesus can forgive and bring people into the Kingdom of God. He has authority in heaven and on earth.

Healing a Sick Woman (Mark 5:21-34)
The power of the Kingdom is not impersonal but rests on and comes through a person--Jesus Christ.

A definition of the Kingdom: God's reclamation of humanity (his creation), and the recognized reign of Jesus Christ over all things.

Raising Jairus' Daughter (Mark 5:21-43)
There are no worldly barriers or headstarts to entering the Kingdom. Everyone is equal before Jesus.

Feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6:30-44)
Those in the Kingdom are under the watchful care of the Good Shepherd.

Healing a Severed Ear (Luke 22:45-53)
There's conflict between kingdoms... stay tuned!
.

www.biblemap.org

2008-09-04T15:14:00.001-06:00

I love maps...

www.biblemap.org

On forgiveness

2008-08-28T15:45:00.004-06:00

Last winter I was able to hear N.T. Wright (Bishop of Durham, Church of England) speak at a conference. He has a big brain, but it very humble and gracious. Anyway... I came across this quote in my notes today. He was talking about the task of the Church in reconciliation. Profound, I say!

"Forgiveness takes sin (and evil) very seriously-- it names it and shames it, but it won't let it shape the reality of things."

Fakin' It

2008-08-28T11:07:00.001-06:00

So this news story is in my inbox this morning about this pastor in Australia who has been faking his 2-year bout with cancer. What?! The guy has been on stage preaching and singing with an oxygen tube in his nose. I don't even know what to say. Apparently a song he wrote during this time made it onto the latest Hillsong CD. I saw the video of him performing it a few weeks ago.

Obviously this is a horrible violation of trust, leadership, the pastorate, ministry, etc. I can't imagine the confusion and damage he's caused people in his ministry. And, obviously, this man is indeed sick in some way... and he needs healing and grace.

But here's the boomerang thought that pops into my head about an hour later: sure, this guy was faking his illness but how many times do we fake health? Let's take a really big step back here. Isn't that damaging to the Body of Christ too? I know I fake health sometimes.

Any thoughts?

Parker Tornado

2008-08-25T10:48:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture from the Chiappini's neighborhood last night...

Service Sunday

2008-08-18T22:35:00.008-06:00

Yesterday was our second Service Sunday of the summer. I'd like to thank you all for jumping in and working hard for people you probably don't even know. And I want to thank the many project leaders and those who planned the day's (and night's) events--it was a great day!

Here are a few pictures... and I'd like to encourage everyone who participated to add your thoughts about the day in the comments.

Elders & Sabbaticals

2008-08-18T22:00:00.003-06:00

We sent this update out in a newsletter a couple weeks ago, but it's always good to put things like this out there for any questions or comments:

Steve Fullmer, who is one of the elders at Hillside, and his wife, Holly, have been on sabbatical these past six months (Feb-Jul), enjoying some much-needed sabbatical rest from the responsibilities of their leadership role. They are back in August!
And with the Fullmers returning, it's Josh and Karen Brgoch's turn to take a sabbatical. Josh also has served as an elder at Hillside, and he and Karen have been working very hard these past few years. We're glad to be able to give them a break this fall--his elder sabbatical will be from September through December.
If you're not familiar with an elder-led church: being an elder at Hillside involves proactively shepherding the congregation, providing biblical church leadership, and caring for many of the spiritual needs that arise. The elders can be contacted here or at elders@hillsidechurchfamily.org .

Please comment here or email the elders if you have any questions about our church leadership structure. Encouraging words are always welcome too!

www.equip.org

2008-08-07T15:35:00.002-06:00

Here's another good study resource. This is from the Christian Research Institute / Bible Answer Man:

www.equip.org

www.primetimejesus.com

2008-07-22T17:05:00.003-06:00

www.primetimejesus.com

.
. I came across this site today and thought I'd pass it on. From what I can tell, this site is dedicated to addressing current discoveries and/or claims about Jesus and the New Testament--the stuff you hear about in the news--from an evangelical, Christian perspective.
. The contributors are solid biblical scholars (I have commentaries from a few of them on my bookshelf), and since it's in a blog format these guys interact with the comments. It can get pretty technical, but it's good stuff.

We'll try to post more study resources on the blog in the weeks ahead. Look for the "resources" label in the future. Maybe this will turn into a nice online library of sorts.

Sesqui...

2008-07-15T10:42:00.001-06:00

It's not a sesquicentennial (150th year), but this Sunday will be our 150th week! That's 150 Sundays we've gathered to worship God and learn from his Word. 150 Sundays to fellowship together and serve one another. Our prayer is that lives continue to be changed and that God is glorified. Thanks for being a part of it!

Miracles

2008-07-06T19:38:00.001-06:00

So today we started a new series on "The Miracles of Jesus (and the Kingdom of God)." I'm curious, before we really get into things, what your experience and/or opinion is about miracles. Here's a working definition of a miracle: an extraordinary event, with supernatural results, brought about by God.

This little poll can get things started. If you're up to it, please share more in the comments. I'd love some thoughts before Sunday.

Fireworks

2008-07-01T20:59:00.003-06:00

You do watch fireworks, don't you?! TV doesn't count. Not even a little. What would the 4th be without feeling the concussion of a low "boom" against your body?

Here are a few lists online:
http://cfapp2.rockymountainnews.com/spotlight/fireworks/
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/family/4652803/detail.html

So what's the best place around town to watch fireworks? Maybe you know of a good show or spot that's not on these lists. Do tell! And then invite someone to watch fireworks with you after the church picnic.

Service Sunday

2008-06-30T11:44:00.003-06:00

A big thank you to everyone who served and coordinated this Service Sunday!

Yesterday was our first (of two) Service Sundays this summer. These are days we go out into the community as a church to serve in the name of Christ. There's no way to know this side of eternity what kind of spiritual fruit comes from these service projects. But we do trust that God is working through us--and in us--as we serve.

We'd love to get a little "sharing time" on the blog here:
. What did you see hear, notice, or observe during this process?
. What encouraged you?
. Any particular ways in which you saw God working-- in your life or in someone else's life?

Don't be shy... let's celebrate! Post your comments here.

The Ideal (American) Life

2008-06-24T16:25:00.003-06:00

New research from Barna shows... that I'm sorta cynical. I've assumed "The American Dream" was more stuff. Sounds like at least 1,003 randomly polled Americans say otherwise.

Comments from Barna...

Barna also indicated that the mainstream media has portrayed American society as changing more radically than it has. "There have been some hugely significant changes in the laws of the land over the past quarter-century. However, when you examine what people want, in essence they are seeking what used to be described as traditional family values: a single marriage for life, a solid family experience, displaying good character, living a life that has meaning and impact, and having an active faith.

"Sometimes the abundant opportunities and challenges of daily life distract or divert people from their commitment to these outcomes," the researcher continued, "but in their hearts they have retained some pretty basic and traditional hope and dreams.

[click here to read the full article]

Longing for God

2008-06-24T08:20:00.000-06:00

Something to think about...

We prefer comfortable to risk. The Spiritual world, however, cannot be made suburban. It is always the frontier, and if we would live in it, we must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed. The Ultimate Reality will not yield to our small-minded blueprints for the City of God. Any realistic longing for God must wrestle with the apprehension that we don’t know exactly what we’re getting into.

At times this life can be very uncomfortable, because we know that we will be changed without always knowing in what way. However, where there is discomfort, there is also security. As we pursue this life, a confidence grows that knowing God, whatever the risks, is safer and sweeter than any other path.
--Howard Macy, Rhythms of the Inner Life

This was sent to me and I haven't read this book, but I love the quote. Lots to chew on.

An update from Sudan

2008-06-11T21:54:00.006-06:00

Hillside supports the Powells in their work with eMi and I wanted to share Scott's latest trip report. Take just a few minutes and read it here (620k pdf). Here's a snippet:

When they pray here, they don't pray for creature comforts or better jobs. They pray for peace in Darfur, for wisdom for the Sudanese government, for their brothers and sisters in the hospitals and refugee camps. They have an urgency in their prayers for things of eternal significance. They recognize that prayer isn't a bedside telephone to summon room-service; it is a wartime satellite connection to call in support from headquarters.

Gas prices

2008-06-10T15:40:00.003-06:00

Let's commiserate. Check all that apply.

Genesis Q & A Resources

2008-05-19T13:20:00.004-06:00

During Sunday morning's Genesis/science Q & A, Mike and I mentioned posting some of those resources which might prove helpful for any of you interested in further study of these topics. The following books and websites are recommended:

The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel

"If you are looking for a summary book with highlights of intelligent design, along with several key evidential problems with evolutionary theory, this is it." [Click for full description]

Darwin on Trial by Phillip E. Johnson

"[Johnson] evaluates the evidence for evolution by natural selection using legal principles for assessing its...value, and examines what he sees as the philosophical presuppositions of the scientific community." [Click for full description]

Darwin's Black Box by Michael J. Behe

"Behe claims that with the opening of the black box of the cell through the last 40 years of research in molecular and cell biology, there are now numerous examples of complex molecular machines that absolutely break down the theory of natural selection as an all-encompassing explanation of living systems." [Click for full description]

To learn more about both the "young earth" and "old earth" views advanced by creationists, you can access the links below.

Support for "young earth"

Support for "old earth"

Also, if you have any comments and/or feedback from the Q & A, please post away!

Father and Mother to us all???

2008-05-15T15:42:00.003-06:00

Hello all. I got to thinking about our Mother’s Day service and felt the need to follow up based on something that was said during the course of my prayer. If I remember correctly, I made reference to God being both father and mother to us all which, in hindsight, may have been a little confusing.

For clarification’s sake I want it to be known that I do not think of God as some androgynous being. To the contrary, we can look, for example, at passages like John 14-17 in which Jesus refers to “God as Father” more than three dozen times to see the role in which he plays in our lives.

In referencing God as both father and mother I was simply acknowledging the fact that our Father God has the ability to love us in ways most often associated with motherhood, i.e. the capability to nourish and comfort. At least that’s what was going through my head. (A couple examples from Scripture that reveal God is like a mother are Isaiah 49:15 and Luke 13:34.)

Just remember that Jesus does not pray to God as if he was our father. He is our father!

Word to your mother...I mean father...Geez, just forget I said anything!

Keeping courage on the radar

2008-05-05T14:57:00.002-06:00

With Community groups off and running, we hope and trust that many of you have been encouraged by your times together. By this point, many of you have already had the occasion to meet a couple times. As such, you’ve hopefully been able to spend some time discussing with each other what it means to pursue personal and biblical convictions in the area of courage and engaging those who don’t follow Jesus.

That said, I’m a bit curious about how your discussions and conversations have gone. I’m particularly interested in one of the questions that was asked on the discussion sheet: How often does engaging those who don’t know Jesus involve explaining our faith with words? In your experience, when has using words been appropriate and not appropriate?

I’d love to get some interaction and feedback on this question. Any comments?

(I realize that perhaps not all of the groups have had the chance to have their second meeting yet—scheduling can be a challenge! If you’ve not met for this first group discussion, hopefully you’ll be have the opportunity to do so before the end of May.)

EXPELLED movie

2008-04-29T08:36:00.001-06:00

So Josh and I went to this last week and both found it really interesting. Since we're planning to go as a big group I don't want to spill all the beans here. But what was amazing, I thought, was how such smart scientists could say such bizarre things and not hear the inconsistency in their words. It went something like this:

Smart guy: God didn't create/design the universe.
Ben Stein: So how did the first cell form?
Smart guy: Maybe life on earth was seeded from outer space.

Yep... that's an advanced Alien Life Form seeding our planet. A.L.F. is okay; God is not okay. Is the movie biased? Sure. Is it edited to accentuate the absurdity? Probably. But it's still a good movie with a lot of truth in it.

If you've seen the movie, feel free to add your thoughts here. If you haven't seen it, plan on joining us late Saturday afternoon. I'm waiting for the theater to post their Saturday times, but I'm thinking 4-ish at the Chinese.

Let us create man

2008-04-28T08:33:00.001-06:00

On Sunday we covered days 5 and 6 where we read about the creation of humankind. God says, "Let us make man in our image..." (Gen. 1:26). Us? Our? I only made a passing comment about that during the lesson and that's the one thing I had a few people ask me about afterwards. So here's a bit more.

There are a variety of interpretations, but probably the most common is that this plural represents the plurality of the Godhead. As Christians, we would read that as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--the Trinity. Three persons; one God (not three gods). We know from the New Testament that the Son, Jesus Christ, was very much a part of creating (see John 1:1-3 and Col. 1:15-17).

But the ancient Hebrews would not have had a Trinitarian understanding. Most likely they would have understood what we call the Godhead to be God and his Spirit (the Spirit of God is mentioned in Gen. 1:2 as hovering over the formless earth).

But the ancient Hebrews were monotheistic. This would have been seriously counter-cultural because many ancient cultures believed in a multitude of gods. Of course, they didn't live out their monotheism perfectly and this is why they got into trouble.

Other options for the plurals in Gen. 1:26...
. it's a "royal we"
. God is addressing the heavenlies and/or the angels
. God is addressing creation
. some kind of self-deliberation

Genesis 1-3

2008-04-21T09:25:00.007-06:00

On Sunday we started a new series on Genesis-- we're going to go through chapters 1-3 over the next couple months. [listen]

This Scripture is so encouraging if we let it speak to us on its own terms. But as post-Enlightenment and post-Darwin thinkers we have lots of questions as we try to harmonize scientific theories and the biblical text. Can we harmonize? Should we? What questions do you have of the text?

During this series we are considering having one or two Creation Q&A Sundays where we'll hit the pause button and try to answer your questions. We don't know what those Sundays will look like yet, but we do need your questions!

So if you have questions, please post them here as a comment. We need lots of questions so don't be shy. If you feeling really shy about posting here, you can email Matt and Josh. But it would be great to share and maybe even discuss them here. Thanks!

The courage self-assessment numbers are in...

2008-04-15T09:20:00.003-06:00

A couple of Sundays ago we focused on and talked about courage. You’ll recall that toward the end of our teaching and discussion we had some time set aside for everyone to do a little self-assessing. We gave four general categories—my heart, my head, my fears, and my soul—and asked everyone to rank, on a scale of one to five (1 = no barriers; 5 = lots of barriers), how great the barriers were for them in each of those four areas. After reading through your papers and looking at the numbers, here’s what you all had to say:

Of the 69 people who took the self-assessment…
12 said their Heart presented the greatest barriers to courage (average rating 3.7)
21 said their Head presented the greatest barriers to courage (average rating 3.6)
26 said their Fears presented the greatest barriers to courage (average rating 4.0)
10 said their Soul presented the greatest barriers to courage (average rating 3.5)

In no way do we wish that by posting the data from these surveys you will be discouraged or deflated as you push ahead in your quest for courage. Remember, growing in the courage to engage those who don’t follow Jesus is a process—a process that first involves identifying those barriers that stand in our way. Our hope and prayer is that we would each learn to recognize how certain barriers can prevent us from experiencing the power God has already given us to live courageously.

Initiative in personal ministry...

2008-04-14T17:08:00.004-06:00

Here are a few key ideas and statements from our discussion on Sunday about taking more initiative with one another:

Personal ministry is anything the Christian does in service to God, regardless of title, training, or formal structure.

Initiative entails awareness & responsibility.

Initiative is making decisions under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that are others centered.

This would be a good place to share your thanks for ways people have ministered to you recently-- let's celebrate!

Courage to engage...

2008-04-10T16:41:00.008-06:00

Here are a few key ideas and statements from our discussion on Sunday about becoming more courageous:

Courage is not the absence of fear, it's acting in spite of it.

The Holy Spirit gives us courage (Acts 4:13).

Engaging is being Christ whenever we can, and sharing Christ whenever we can.

Good stuff to keep us thinking and praying--and doing. Feel free to add your thoughts; what are you thinking about courage to engage...?

Visa victory!

2008-04-02T10:20:00.002-06:00

Update from the Callisons: Wade and Mutebi will, Lord willing, be back in Denver late Thursday night! This has been quite an adventure for their family and there is still much more ahead. Please continue to pray for safe and smooth travel over the next couple days and for this big transition for their entire family in the weeks ahead.

After talking with Shannon, here are some things that would be helpful:
. lots of prayers and encouragement--notes or emails are great (they may not be able to respond to them all)
. a little time to adjust as a family unit (they plan on introducing Mutebi to us on Sunday morning)
. specific offers for help--a meal on this day, help with these kids on that day, etc.

If you have any other ideas or questions, the Callisons are in the Brgochs' community group and they can be your point of contact.

PS. Shannon said five people offered to watch the kids so she could go to the airport. Amazing!

Bible satellite

2008-03-28T11:07:00.007-06:00

File this one under odd and interesting... at least eye- catching. The idea behind this is to portray biblical events with satellite pictures. This is the crossing of the Red Sea.

It seems like the artistic statement being made (see here) is less of a religious one and more about our trust in satellite imagery. See a few more "pictures" here.

Callison Update

2008-03-26T09:04:00.002-06:00

Wow... sounds like amazing things are happening in Uganda. One more hurdle--pray hard!

Sunday audio blog

2008-03-26T08:47:00.003-06:00

We've set up a new blog for our Sunday audio files: http://www.hillsidechurchfamily.org/audio/. It's a bit more user-friendly and better for archiving. I think this internet thingy just might make it! You can still navigate there through our main site like before.

courage + initiative

2008-03-17T21:24:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday we rolled out what we want to focus on as a church over the next year or so (listen online). Just two words, but with a lot to say: courage and initiative. Courage with those who don't follow Jesus. Initiative in personal ministry to one another. We want these things to be descriptive of us as people--courageous with those outside the church and taking initiative with one another.

There is much more to unpack and discuss, which we will start to do together in April. Until then, do you have any questions or thoughts you want to share here? Speak up in the comments section... we'd love to hear from you. Yes, you!

PS. Last September, at our 2-year anniversary, we asked everyone to share one way they'd like to grow or see Hillside grow in the year ahead (the one we're about half way through now). Click the picture below to peruse the words. Do you remember your word?

Callisons

2008-03-17T15:13:00.004-06:00

Sounds like there's a lot going on this week in Uganda for the Callisons. They could use our prayers and encouragement. Read more...

No church building

2008-03-10T12:28:00.005-06:00

There are lots of churches that start this way and meet in a school each week. But one of the things that may be somewhat unique about us is that we have no pressing desire to have our own church building. I won't say "never"... but it's just not on the radar.

Stewardship is important here. With a ministry philosophy like ours, we think it's a much more effective use of the funds God gives us to rent this school (with a big meeting space) where we pay for only what we use, versus owning something this big all week. There are disadvantages to meeting in a school. The lighting and the acoustics in the gym stink. And there could be some advantages to having a church building. It could be a place we really open up and utilize for our surrounding community.

We would like to have a place to use/rent during the week, but that would be smaller than an actual church building. Call it a ministry center--a place to have offices, meetings, youth group, Bible studies, etc. That would be nice and useful. It's not in the budget this year, but it's still early in the year and God may do something special!

The day may come when we have our own church building. But we will probably be doing Sunday morning setup for a long time. So... a big thank you to everyone who helps setup and cleanup on Sundays--trailer crew, sound crew, band, and anybody else!

QUESTION: The disadvantages of meeting in a school are pretty obvious, but what advantages can you identify?

Callisons in Uganda

2008-03-01T11:44:00.004-07:00

The Callisons made it!

"We arrived tired but safe in Uganda on Wednesday morning at 8am. Mutebi was waiting eagerly for us to arrive and greeted us with big smiles and hugs. We have spent the past two days getting to know him..." [READ MORE]

Communion

2008-02-19T21:10:00.004-07:00

A quote from Sunday:

The Eucharist [Communion] is the definitive action practiced in the Christian community that keeps Jesus Christ before us as the Savior of the world and our Savior, and ourselves as sinners in need of being saved. …Without the Eucharist as focal practice, it is very easy to drift off into imagining Jesus as our Great Example whom we will imitate, or our Great Teacher from whom we will learn, or our Great Hero by whom we will be inspired. And without the Eucharist it is very easy to drift into a spirituality that is dominated by ideas about Jesus instead of receiving life from Jesus. The Eucharist says a plain "no" to all that. The Eucharist puts Jesus in his place: dying on the cross and giving us that sacrificed life. And it puts us in our place: opening our hands and receiving the remission of our sins, which is our salvation.

Good words from Eugene Peterson (Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, 203)

Teaching Our Kids

2008-02-07T17:26:00.002-07:00

We've been encouraging all the parents at Hillside to be teaching their kids throughout the week about the lessons we're learning on Sundays in community worship. We've covered some great topics in this "Why _____?" series--why pray, why fast, why read our Bibles... and we've still got three more important topics in the weeks ahead (giving, communion, and baptism). This is good stuff. We love our kids and want them to grow in grace and truth. Right? We want them to understand their faith and why we Christians do some of the things we do.

Here's what I'm realizing (and confessing to you all!)... it's hard to carve out time in the week to teach my kids! My kids are old enough that they're in school all day, they have homework, and if we're home in the evening we like to unwind a little and play the Wii or watch "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" together. I'm just saying the week feels full.

Then I come across this from Deuteronomy 11:18-21...

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (NIV)

In Deuteronomy 6:7 the command is almost the same, but the verb changes. The NIV translates it as "Impress [these commandments] on your children..." expressing the idea of repetition and the molding of their minds and hearts--shaping their love for God and encouraging faithful obedience to what He asks.

So... anyone else having a hard time carving out the time to teach their kids?! Anyone want to share their thoughts on why it is sometimes (or all the time) difficult? Any suggestions or ideas of your own?

Fasting

2008-01-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

"But when you fast,
put oil on your head
and wash your face..."
(Matt. 6:17)

Week two of our "Why _____?" series covered the practice of fasting. Why do we do it? This is one of those sometimes unclear expectations Jesus has of us. Do we even need to do it today? Here are the reasons Josh shared on Sunday for why we fast, even today: to strengthen our prayers; to seek God’s guidance and direction; to show concern for those around us; and to show God that we are dependent on him. [audio page]

We wanted to open it up here and find out what your experiences have been with fasting. Here are a few questions to prime the discussion:

. Would you consider fasting a regular practice in the life of a Christian?
. How long have you typically fasted?
. Other than food, what things have you fasted from?
. When you've fasted from food, how have you made it a healthy experience?
. What things did you learn from your fasting?
. What has made fasting spiritually meaningful to you?

Fire away... long-time-blog-readers/first-time-blog-commentors get a special award!

Wisdom for a new year

2008-01-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a great story I hijacked from another blog:

The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.

The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said, "I’ve got enough to support my family's immediate needs."

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, senor?"

The American laughed, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, senor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos..."

From Timothy Ferris' The 4-hour Work Week

Wrong number

2008-01-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

Presidential Christmas Message

2007-12-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here is this year's Christmas message from the president [link]:

"But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High...his kingdom will never end.'"
Luke 1:30-33

During the Christmas season, our thoughts turn to the source of joy and hope born in a humble manger on a holy night more than 2,000 years ago. Each year, Christians everywhere celebrate this single life that changed the world and continues to change hearts today. The simple and inspiring story of the birth of Jesus fills our souls with gratitude for the many blessings in our lives and promises that God's purpose is justice and His plan is peace.

At this special time of year, we give thanks for Christ's message of love and mercy, and we are reminded of our responsibility to serve. America is blessed to have fine citizens who reach out with a compassionate hand to help brothers and sisters in need. We also remember our brave men and women in uniform who have volunteered to defend us in distant lands. Many of those who have answered the call of duty will spend Christmas far from home and separated from family. We honor their sacrifice, ask God to watch over them and their families, and pray for their safe return.

Christmas is a time to rejoice and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Laura and I pray your Christmas will be blessed with family and fellowship, and we wish you a day of glad tidings. Merry Christmas.

GEORGE W. BUSH
###

Jesus and Santa

2007-12-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

.
It's tough to give good theology and not totally dis' Santa for the kiddies, but I think they did a pretty good job! (from Igniter Media Group)

Deep Thoughts

2007-12-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

To the Church:

"Collectively the 'called-out' people of God, the church, is empowered to stand up for wandering humanity to see, like the cloudy pillar by day and the pillar of fire by night that guided the Israelites through the desert."

To the believer:

"Individually the disciple and friend of Jesus who has learned to work shoulder to shoulder with his or her Lord stands in this world as a point of contact between heaven and earth."

From Dallas Willard in Hearing God.

All I can say is, "Wow!"
.

Christmas Lights

2007-12-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Just to balance out any perceived or real bah-humbugness in my previous posts about Christmas, I thought I'd share this link I just found. It's a guide to homes with lights in your area. (But don't look for our house on there... Kristin won't put up the lights!)

Staying Free

2007-12-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

We covered a portion of Colossians on Sunday that was pretty amazing (2:16-23). In light of Christ's victory over sin and death (2:13-15)--which, by faith, is also our victory over sin and death--we are told to stay free. Don't let anyone--the legalist, the "super"-spiritual, or the moralist--put you back into a non Christ-centered way of living. Wow!
So that's been lingering in my head this week. In part because of a lunch conversation after church. The starting point of the conversation: "Freedom in Christ is pretty vague... what does that actually look like?" Yeah... good point. We didn't really unpack that in the lesson. After tying a few thoughts together from the passage, the lesson, and the lunch conversation, here's maybe a little more to go on:

Freedom in Christ is not freedom to do whatever I want. Freedom in Christ is doing or not doing whatever Jesus asks me to do or not do.

There are so many things implied in that... intimacy, peace, kingdom-mindedness, etc. But I wonder how free and full our lives would feel when we aren't doing anything more than Jesus asks us to do, and we aren't avoiding anything Jesus asks us to do. Does that sound free and full to you? How many times a week or in a day would we need to ask Jesus and/or recalibrate ourselves in order to live this way? I realize there is a moment-by-moment ideal, but what's realistic?

Santa Tryouts

2007-11-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, another post about Christmas. I'm really not trying to be a Grinch or squelch the Christmas spirit or anything... I really do love this time of the year--sentimentality and all. But I couldn't resist after this quote from the "Santa judge" in the video clip below:

"I really liked that you told a bit of the nativity story. Of course, it was not possible to tell the whole story, but just to explain the history. Because many children actually do not know what we are celebrating."

Merry Christmas!

Commandeering Christmas Day

2007-11-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

I love the idea that celebrating Christ's birth on December 25th was a theological statement by the early Church:

Christ's Birthday
Perhaps as early as the year 273, churches decided to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25. This day already hosted two pagan festivals: natalis solis invicti (the Roman "birth of the unconquered sun"), and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian "Sun of Righteousness" whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. Seeing that pagans were already exalting deities with some parallels to the true deity, church leaders decided to commandeer the date and introduce a new festival.
—Adapted from Elesha Coffman's article, Why December 25?

Have you thought of any other ways to be subversive and/or counter-cultural this season?
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Almost 2008

2007-11-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

It being Thanksgiving week and all, it's beginning to feel like the end of 2007 is "nigh." After that clever realization, my next thought was... Seriously, was that whole Y2K thing a full eight years ago?!

I just thought we could all share a lucid moment together.

Shared Worship Say What

2007-11-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

As we rapidly approach the 2007 Chirstmas / Advent season, a season in which Hillside makes a special effort to involve our community members, I wanted to take a few moments to refresh our memories about the concept behind our "Shared Worship" time.

Shared worship is an intentional effort during each service to encourage everyone in attendance to actively participate in, and not just observe, worship beyond singing at Hillside.

At Hillside we believe that worship should be a shared community experience. The intent being, that through the spirit we would take an active role in leading, and participating in, all facets of Christian worship.

In fact, the first aspect of Hillside's vision is that we strive to be a worshipping community, as true community provides opportunities for growth and the living out of our faith in ways that isolationism cannot. The character of our worship, then, should be defined by giving back to God—our praises, our obedience, and our sacrifices—in recognition of his unchanging holiness.

That said, it is Hillside's goal to continually facilitate ways of actively involving other people in the worship experience. It says in John 4: 23, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” We feel that Hillside has been blessed with a community of true worshipers and we are eager to share in your devotion.

Hearing from God

2007-11-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

I've been slowly reading the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard, and it's really good stuff. Throughout it he continues to apply his insights to the local church and to the dynamics of pastoring-- a congregation running around claiming they "hear from God" can get messy, right?! It definitely can be, but he argues that the alternative-- not hearing from God, or spiritual deadness-- is far worse. Here are his words:

Speaking pastorally, one of the greatest harms church leaders can do to those under their care is to convince them that God is not going to meet them personally or that he is really doing so only if the leaders approve of what is happening. If our gospel does not free the individual up for a unique life of spiritual adventure in living with God daily, we simply have not entered fully into the good news that Jesus brought.

Like I said, really good stuff.

Dr. Blomberg's Message

2007-11-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

If you didn't get to hear Dr. Craig Blomberg's message this past Sunday morning, make sure you check it out (www.hillsidechurchfamily.org, under the "Sundays" and "Audio" links). I thought his conclustion of 5 challenging questions were great. They went as follows:

1. Christian love is for outsiders, nobodies, enemies. Can we each identify at least one person who we wouldn’t normally do something nice for and reach out to them?
2. The very people you might expect to respond often aren’t those who do. Will you make sure you aren’t one of those just pretending to know Him, no matter how much church activity you might be a part of?
3. No government can ever do what Christ through His church alone is called to do. Will you think this issue through in terms of your distinctive involvement in the world nearby and far away?
4. Faith calls for us to give Christ our very best year round. Will you recommit to serving Him wholeheartedly this holiday season and throughout the new year?
5. We need to be realistic about the strength of the opposition. Will you avoid both the triumphalist attitude that thinks we can Christianize the earth and the defeatist mentality that says we can’t make any difference at all, and let God surprise us with just how much He does choose to use us to make this world a better place?

The first one hit me the hardest, as I know the enormous importance of loving the unlovable but have such a hard time moving from conviction to action. I expect that every person might be affected somewhat differently by this cluster of questions, which is why I wanted to post them. Any comments?

melting pot

2007-10-25T07:56:00.001-06:00

I read an article that reminded me of what we've been studying in Colossians with Matt. It's a good example of the melting pot of ideas that permeate our society. This is one of the quotes by Norman Mailer (from his book, On God: An Uncommon Conversation), "What I'm offering to people as an ethic is to have the honor to live with confusion,"he says. "Live in the depths of confusion with the knowledge...that there is a purpose to it all, that it is not all absurd, that we are all engaged in a vast cosmic war and God needs us."

What do you think about his thoughts on God? Is confusion from God? Does God need us?

Ouch!

2007-10-18T16:22:00.000-06:00

Every now and then you come across a little statement that really encapsulates a lot of truth...

"Modern Christians tend to make satisfaction
their religion."
-- J. Hampton Keathley (pastor and theologian)

You could really go in several different directions with this. I'll start: "I'm guilty."
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The Melting Pot

2007-10-15T13:31:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we started a series on Colossians [read it/listen online]. The big idea was that the ancient city of Colossae was a melting pot of religious ideas and philosophies and the letter is written to emphasize the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

Here are a couple examples of our modern melting pot of religious ideas and philosophies, pushing Jesus to the side as one option among many:

"The Secret"

Oprah had a couple shows on "The Secret" earlier this year.

The Unitarian Universalist Church

Be sure to watch what is said about 3 min. into the video...

____________________

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Colossians 2:8-10 .....

Is Salvation Really Forever?

2007-10-09T08:54:00.001-06:00

On Sunday after church I had the opportunity to discuss with several people their thoughts/responses regarding the question “Is salvation forever?” I was certainly curious to hear where people stood on the debate, and what reasons (biblical or otherwise) they might use to bolster their belief. I have to admit I was quite happy to find that no one I talked with disagreed with the position I took and endorsed—but obviously I didn’t speak with everyone.

Anyway, it was in the course of a conversation I was having with a couple people that one of them began to express a challenging concern related to this question: “What about those who’ve at one time or another claimed to be saved, even manifested the spiritual fruit of genuine salvation and yet later, for some particular reason, either rejected God outright or fell away?” Aren’t we to conclude that these persons have lost their salvation (albeit by their own choice, of course)? Isn’t this proof that one’s salvation may not really be forever?

Certainly there’s no denying that this is an important and difficult question to answer. That being said, however, I’d still like to hear from you. What thoughts do you have? How would you weigh into this discussion?

Note: Here is a link to a seminary paper I wrote last year on this subject. It addresses and unpacks (in a rather lengthy and in-depth manner) the meaning of Hebrews 6:4-8, a central text which is most often used to support the view that Christians can lose their salvation.

Insert your caption here...

2007-10-02T15:54:00.000-06:00

This is either an invitation to insert creative captions, or a caution to anyone who sends me a private picture. You decide...

LarkNews: Mini-church acts mega

2007-10-02T10:50:00.000-06:00

Here's the first part of a new article from LarkNews (read the whole thing here.):

On Sunday morning at Horizon Christian Fellowship, a 15-member worship band cranks out praise songs and the pastor preaches with the aid of stadium lighting and jumbo-size screens. But the church, which is only eight months old, has an average attendance of just 28.
.. "If we build it, we believe they will come," says pastor Rick Allen, 26, a recent Bible college graduate.
.. Ninety percent of the people who attend the church participate in the service somehow, either in short dramas, humorous video clips or in traditional roles like ushering. This means that at times there is virtually no audience.
.. "We sit and listen in shifts," says one woman who is the lighting tech, third camera operator, head greeter and fifth grade Sunday school teacher.

Funny. But maybe it's only pastors who think church humor is funny...? There's been an ongoing joke about me using an earpiece mic thingy at Hillside (think: big church, motivational speaker, or Britney Spears). This is exactly why I'm opposed.

The funny and truthful part of the article was the multiple ministry titles everyone had-- that's a lot like Hillside. Meet Josh Brgoch, elder, treasurer, comm. group leader, outreach guy. Meet Jen Wright, setup crew, comm. group leader, sunday school teacher. Meet Kyle Carlson, soundboard team, comm. group leader, the edge leader. I could go on... but it makes me appreciate again everything everybody does around Hillside. Whatever you're doing, I hope you are doing it because you love Jesus. Thank you!

* Disclaimers: 1.) LarkNews is not real news. 2.) Satire usually has a victim or target so don't go to their site if you're feeling thin-skinned today.
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Election and Evangelism

2007-09-24T10:03:00.000-06:00

Somewhere around Friday morning last week I was really regretting my topic selection for Sunday. A month or so ago when I was plotting out this short series on "Salvation" I was grouping questions together and thought "Who chose who?" would be a good umbrella question for week two--simple, pithy, grammatically incorrect. Then last week as I was trying to put together coherent thoughts, do the texts justice, and connect the dots... well, that's when I started to second-guess myself.

With the help and feedback of Josh E. (and my wife, who gives me feedback before and after every time I teach--she rocks!), I think it turned out okay. Thanks everyone for being gracious through a challenging topic. We touched on a lot of the important ideas, questions, and tangents. But you just can't delve that deeply into a topic like this in 35-ish minutes.

So the question I heard the most afterwards went something like this: If God chooses us, why do we evangelize/share our faith if it's a done deal? Good question. I can wrap my mind around that about as well as I can wrap my mind around time travel and quantum physics. What I can say, though, is that God's election and predestination of some never stopped Jesus, his disciples, or Paul the Apostle from preaching the good news of the gospel to everyone. See, for example, Acts 18:9-11.

But surely there are more thoughts or questions about this or about the lesson in general. Let's talk...
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Salvation

2007-09-17T15:06:00.000-06:00

I seriously considered showing this clip yesterday, but I didn't want everyone to think of Jesus in blue tights and a cape (a blue sash is fine, but not tights). And the theology breaks down pretty quick, but in many ways it's a cool portrayal of salvation.

The thing I love is the way I want to respond when he sets that plane down in the field--it makes me want to cheer, and it makes me think Superman is a stud!

This is a long clip, but the good part starts about 3 min. in and goes for about 3 min.

A Monday Prayer

2007-09-17T08:33:00.000-06:00

Almighty God, who of Thine infinite wisdom hast ordained that I should live my life within these narrow bounds of time and circumstance, let me now go forth into the world with a brave and trustful heart.
...It has pleased Thee to withhold from me a perfect knowledge; therefore deny me not the grace of faith by which I may lay hold of things unseen.
...Thou hast given me little power to mould things to my own desire; therefore use Thine own omnipotence to bring Thy desires to pass within me.

John Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer (1949)