It's Official

As long as everything comes together in the next week I'll be leaving South Carolina on May 10th and be moving back to New Hampshire!  I'm moving to the Upper Valley and will be serving with http://www.riverbankchurch.com/ in Lebanon.  At this point I don't know where I'll be working, or where exactly I'll be living.  I just know that I'll be loading a truck, and trailer and making the trek back north.  The rest of the details will come together once I'm there.  Living in South Carolina has been an amazing experience.  But New England is where I'm supposed to be, so I'm coming back.

On My Mind

The Lamb, the cross, & the empty tomb...John 19-21

Unexpected Trip

Have you ever taken an unexpected trip?  Over the last couple years I've had the opportunity to take quite a few unexpected trips.  NYC and PA a couple times, DC, TN, KY, AL, PA, VA, MD and a couple trips farther south to the ATL.  But last Thursday I was given the opportunity to put a new trip on the calender.  This too was completely unexpected and pretty much a total surprise.  

As much as I've loved all these other trips the last couple years, I am more excited about this trip coming up than any these past couple years.  There are so many reasons, but the possibility of experiencing the 4 at the bottom again would be AWESOME!  This trip coming up will be short.  However, it will hopefully be the first step in an extended stay.

 New England

WINTER

SPRING

SUMMER

FALL

Video @ Church?

Last weekend I had the great privilege and honor of capturing the launch of the Theatre Campus for Victory Church in Lititz, PA.  Victory is one church with two locations.  Everything is live with the exception of the sermon, which is streamed via the internet.  

I am part of a church that uses this technology and I love it.  However, I started out as a sceptic.  I like a live preacher.  When I communicate and engage with people I like it to be live face to face.  Don't know why, it's just the way I'm wired.  But reality is church is not ultimately about my preferences.  It's about connecting people to Jesus.   In Acts 2 we read about all the people who came together when the church started.  Verse 5 talks about Jews coming from every nation.  I'm not a bible history person but that's gotta be a lot of people.  In verse 13 we see that some of the people made fun of what was going on.  Ultimately that day about 3,000 people came to know Christ through Peter's preaching.  Peter engaged with the culture, he connected with the people gathered, he shared The Truth and people choose to follow Christ.

Peter stood up and faced the critics.  He stood up and faced the people laughing and questioning God's methods of bringing The Gospel to all nations.  The fact of the matter is God has chosen people to be his instrument to bring His message to a lost and dying world.  Ask anyone who has met Jesus through a Chuck Swindoll radio message or a Billy Graham TV program if it matters that they never saw them live.  Ask anyone at my church if they care that they came to know Christ via video preaching.  They'd tell you that they could care less.  They would say that they are just overwhelmingly thankful to have heard the message and that they meet Jesus when they did.  They are just thankful for God's grace and forgiveness.  Do you think that any of the people who accepted Christ at the day of Pentecost cared that it was Peter bringing the message and not Jesus.  NO, they were just overjoyed to have heard the message.

In the end I really don't think that the medium the message is delivered in really matters.  I've personally talked with many people at my church who have become followers of Christ via video preaching.  I'm no longer a sceptic.  Some day there will be churches using technologies that don't even exist yet to connect people to Christ.  What matters is that people are hearing the hope that having a relationship with Jesus Christ brings.

I am super excited for Victory Church.  I'm excited for all that God is doing and will do through this body of believers.  If you've got doubts about video preaching, just talk to the 2 people who came to Christ via video last weekend at Victory's Theatre campus.  I'm sure they wouldn't complain.  How awesome would it be if every screen in Penn Cinema was streaming video every Sunday?  

Photos in Song

"If faith can move the mountains, let the mountains move

we come with expectation waiting her for you

waiting here for you

Your the Lord of all creation and still you know my heart

the author of salvation you’ve loved us from the start

waiting here for you with our hands lifted high in praise

and it’s you we adore singing hallelujah"...

When listening to music many, many times I see images to go with the lyrics.  I've never been very creative when it comes to writing poetry, verse, or lyrics.  But I love the thought of taking lyrics and matching them with an image that's been frozen in time. It just helps me connect to what's being sung.  A friend recently gave me a copy of "Waiting Here For You" sung by Christy Nockels, and on one of the first listens the mountain came into view.  

It's by far my favorite mountain.  I've driven past it and stood on top of it many times.  The song really isn't about the mountain at all.  However, for me the image of this mountain connects me to who the song is about, The Creator of the universe.  The fact that we can be with God. We can each connect with Him.  That he loves each one of us no matter how insignificant we feel at times.  That even though He's powerful enough to move mountains he still cares about each one of our hearts.  That even though there are billions of people on this earth He knows my name and I can wait on Him, and he will be faithful.  That I can wait in expectation of someday standing on top of this mountain again and raising my hands in praise.

Hello Daisy