7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

There is more to come. I am excited about the future. God is not done with us. In our infancy we are just starting to roll over, and then we’ll learn to crawl, and walk, and run, and leap. Few learn these things over night, but as we grow we will look back and be amazed at when we stood for the first time. We are His workmanship fashioned for His purposes and He is working on us! There is more to come! More of His amazing grace. More of His passionate love. More mercy, faith, trials, and grace. More, more, more! To the praise and the glory of His name and of His fame forever and ever. Amen

7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

Lesson 6

You never have to swim alone. In the Penguins of Madagascar there’s this great dialogue that occurs when one of them gets lost:
Kowalski: Oh, no. He must be out there all by himself.
Skipper: He's one of us, men. You all know the Penguin Credo.
Kowalski: Never bathe in hot oil and Bisquick?
Skipper: No.
[Rico speaks Japanese gibberish]
Skipper: No, that's the Walrus Credo. It's "Never swim alone." Private's out there all by himself, and we never leave one of our own.
Kowalski: Oh, yeah.
Skipper: Let's go. 
I love this idea, the Penguins Creedo, "Never Swim Alone." Not only are we in this church plant with amazing families and friends supporting it, but the point that you don’t go alone is crutial. He (God) is with you and you don’t carry the weight by yourself, He never leaves a man down. I have taken heart in this; He will never leave me or forsake me. All the prayerful plans we have made for this church, all the things that we dream for it to be and do, all that the current moment has and that the future will have. One; they don’t have to rest entirely on me. And two, if we are pointed toward Him we are in the right direction and we never have to swim alone. That’s good news.

7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

Lesson 5:

The sacrifice is worthy of the calling. AKA, church planting is tough, but it’s so worth doing! This life in Christ will cost you. It will cost you everything. It will cost you your very life. I know that’s not a popular view in today’s culture, but it’s true. This year I left so many things dear to me on the altar of sacrifice; time, family, friends, maybe a little pride and arrogance too. I’m not talking about throwing my family under a bus in some crusade or quest for my glory (Church planters; that is in no way Gods will for you and your family!). I’m talking about laying down MY rights and My conclusions and My way on how things should go. It’s about the internal wrestling of my heart and affections. In my journey I have wrestled, am wrestling, with what this all means, but I know that when I give my stuff  up to Him I am a better father, husband, friend and pastor. Sacrifice is worthy of the calling. He is challenging me to sacrifice my rights to participate in His calling. And what has He called me to do? The same exact thing He has called you to do. To follow Him. Lay down my life (daily the Bible says) and follow Him.

7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

Lesson 4:

God loves me. I can hardly type this right now without crying because I know that I am loved. Have you ever been truly loved, accepted, adopted, and cherished? I don’t always feel this way, but I know that is His view of me, and there are times when I feel it. This summer we were getting ready for a driving trip we were taking on Sunday, but Thursday the car broke down. So I start on the process of finding out what’s wrong with the thing, on the process I spend 40 dollars on miscellaneous parts, then narrowed it down to the alternator. 130 bucks for that. We are family of 5 on a budget, only doing cash for everything, and we are on the salary of a teacher. That cost was the difference of gas for our trip, and it had to be paid. You might be guessing the rest of this story, but it’s so good I’ve got to share it. I had told another church that I would come out and speak on Friday night at a special service. I did not want to go. I was in a poor mood, frustrated, upset, sour. But I had committed so I went. And God is so good, on the drive over there I was praying about it and giving my poor attitude to Him, and felt the weight lifting. So I spoke there and had a great time. On my way out, the pastor slipped a check into my hand. He says, “We prayed and felt like we were supposed to give this to you.” Now, mind you, I did not even mention the vehicle troubles or cost at all and was not expecting anything in payment. Politely I said thank you and got into the car. On the drive home I opened the check. It was exactly $170.00 dollars. I was so overwhelmed I had to pull the car over, tears pouring down my face, my breath taken away. Overwhelmed by the love of my Heavenly Father. He loves me. He shows it and I know it.

7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

Lesson 3

God still hears our prayers. So, one thing that I would recommend to anyone; put God to the test. I know that’s dangerous language, but you know what, God is big enough and He cares about you. We don’t preach a name it and claim it message, but we do believe that it is His will for the Kingdom to come here and now. Sometimes we pray and things happen, sometimes nothing happens. It’s just the way works. I am not what I would consider a man of great faith, but maybe I’m learning to be a simple man of honest trust. He loves us, He loves you. We have seen people, in our church, with physical injuries, be prayed for and be healed. We have seen people with significant emotional wounds find a peace that passes all understand. He is not far away, He is right here in the good and bad, joy and pain. I have seen it this first year and I know we can say with confidence God still hears our prayers.

7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

Lesson 2

The joy of community. For years Joanie and I dreamed of being part of a community of believers (in Silverton) that loved God, wanted go deeper in Christ, and to reach out in His name. I’ve never been a part of a church like this. People genuinely care about each other, pray for each other, and are trying to live life for Him. Some of the community stuff is radical and amazing, but usually it is so simple. Our family came home from a vacation this summer to a de-thawed freezer. All the food ruined. I didn’t even tell anyone, but the next day members from the church (who had heard about it somehow) stopped by with a freezer full of food to give us. We have friends and co-laborers right where we live who have accepted us and become our good friends. Super cool. And it is a sheer joy to walking with this group and growing in Him together. Amazing.

7 Lessons I’ve learned this first year:

Lesson #1:

Death is all around us. I know it sounds morbid, but it’s true. I had never even thought about this but within the first three months of church planting I had performed 2 funerals. I knew that pastors did that sort of thing, but I never even had that on my radar as something I would be doing. We had friends diagnosed with cancer. We saw addicts return to their old habits, financial collapse, and much more. The weight of life taking it’s toile. Listen, I learned this year that life is hard, and we all hurt. And if it weren’t for a merciful and loving God, I’d have no place to take the pain of pastoring. There is hurt everywhere, but there is also life, and I have learned more this year than ever that He is the source of life and I/we will cling to Him.

What went wrong tonight?

This evening I had one of those moments where in worship I totally biffed it! :) We were singing 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman, and I went up an octave at one pint only to find I could not come back down for a whole chorus! Painful! I was so out of tune vocally I think it sounded like a dying Yak. But you know what, I felt like God was there in the moment. This moment of me pushing my way into His song. He reminded me that it's about Him, and we need to fall into His presence, that I need to just dial down and really focus on Him. From there I slowed down and our church entered into some really sweet worship. I love it when God loving reminds us of the right priorities, and that He is in control and He gets the glory.

A Deep Cry.

This week I have been moved deep in my heart to pray for our church. All week long I've been praying over and over for our members. I talked on Saturday about Hosanna and in the Hebrew how this word was originally a cry to be saved, and this theme keeps reverberating in my spirit. God would you save us! Save us from ourselves, save us to be Yours! I keep finding myself taken back to a place that aches for the restoration of the lives of the people in our church. For us to be freed in Him so that when we cry out Hosanna, it is both a cry to Be Saved, and a celebration of the salvation we have in Him. Our church NEEDS one thing, and that is Him. Take us deeper. Ignite a flame. Let us walk with You.

Last weekend our Core group met to check in and review our first 6 months. It was awesome! We had a great time of worship and prayer, then dove into how we're doing and where we're going. I am absolutely amazed at the men and women I get to "do the stuff" with in this church plant. They have such amazing hearts for God to meet the people that are being drawn in to our church. They are a group of people who love God and long to see the Kingdom of God advancing here and now. We got some stuff to work on, that's certain, but for the most part there was a consensus that we are on the right direction. :) I love it! If you're checking out this blog I want to give you a link to an incredible resource; http://www.vineyardusa.org/site/church-planting-audio

I have been diving into lots of old Vineyard stuff, and if you can get your hands on the Cost of Discipleship by John Wimber, it will be SO worth your time.

Blessings,

Benson

The Times they are a moving, quickly

So the last several weeks at EVVC we've been consentrating on being intentional to think about the death and resurrection of Jesus. On Saturday nights we have walked through ideas like giving up or giving in, confession, devotion and this week humility. For this season of Lent I opened my big mouth and was challenged to give up one of first loves, coffee. And this has been an absolutely wonderful and grounding experience for me personally. Time is flying by here, and there's a ton of stuff on my plate to do. Seems like it's hard to even catch my breath, or turn my mind off. BUT then there's this Lent thing, and I am not kidding, multiple times a day, I want some coffee and then I stop to think. I take a deep breath, and I think about the cross, that Jesus gave it all for me, and I find moments of centeredness and deep calm. Reflecting on the price that was paid seems to be impacting my heart, and despite the rush of life there are pockets of grace throughout my day. :) May you experience His presence and find the moments to reflect on His great love for you

Tomorrow is the Start of Lent :)

So tomorrow is the beginning of the Lent season. I wonder what people will choose to set aside so that they can intentionally focus on God? I am excited for our church community. I am praying and believing that as we give up and in to Him we will find new life. Ready Church? Here we go. :)

Blessings,

Benson

8 simple things you can do to encourage others

I didn't get to this tonight, but thought it might be a nice addition

• Show genuine interest. I believe this is by far the most effective way of encouraging others. Let them know you care. Express genuine interest by asking questions. Get them talking. I find the act of talking and thinking can fire up the engines (roar!). With some hope and luck, this can lead to positive action. But don’t be fake about it and don’t go overboard.
• Acknowledge what’s important to them. When you acknowledge what’s important to others, you provide a form of affirmation and validation about who they are and what they’re doing. Whether they can admit it or not, each of them deep down craves this acknowledgement. The affirmation and validation is like nitro for their confidence and self-esteem.
• Say “Well done”. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. If it’s easy, then it’s not worth doing. Worthwhile things always takes time and effort. One good way of providing encouragement is simply by saying “Well done” or “Congratulations”. These magical Words of Encouragement at the right time can make all the difference between “keep going” and “give up”.
• Say “Thank you”. Common courtesy. Good manners. That what this tip is about. It’s only natural to expect a reward after hard work. It’s only natural to thank someone when they do something for you. You can start now. Thank your wife after she cooks a nice meal. Thank your friend for lending you that Stargate DVD. A simple thank you lets others know what they have done is worthwhile and meaningful to you.
• Reciprocate the favour. If someone does something nice for you, a great way to show your appreciation is simply to reciprocate the favour. Think of this as a pendulum. They do something nice for you. You do something nice for them. They do something nice for you. You do something nice for them. And so on…
• Respond with something unexpected. Another effective way to encourage others is to respond with something totally unexpected. Out of the blue. That’s when the maximum impact is delivered. Such acts can reach them at an emotional level and our brains are hard wired to respond to emotional things.
• Ask for advice or confide in them. This is like flattery. Haven’t you felt like you were on top of the world when your peers asked you for advice or confided in you about something personal or important to them? Didn’t that make you want to help and do everything you can to ensure their faith in you is well founded?
• Offer to lend a hand. Waiting for someone to ask you for advice is passive. You can be proactive by offering to lend a hand. If that person sees that you are willing to commit your own time and energy in their interests, they will be more committed to seeing it through and less likely to give up themselves.