District Assembly Recordings

The good folks at Nampa College Church of the Nazarene recorded sermons during the 2009 District Assembly and have made them available:

Wednesday evening (Dr. Jesse Middendorf)

Thursday morning (Dr. Stephen Borger, partial)

Thursday evening (Ordination Ceremony)

Friday morning (Dr. Jesse Middendorf)

(Depending on your connection speed, you might be able to simply click on the link and listen, or you may be more successful left-clicking on the link, saving the link target to your hard drive, and then listening once it has downloaded completely.)

Also, delegates from around the globe are even now beginning to gather in Orlando, Florida, for the 27^th General Assembly and Conventions. Every four years, tens of thousands of Nazarenes come together for worship services, legislative sessions, workshops, service projects, exhibits, and fellowship. More information is found at www.gacorlando.org, and events will be broadcast live during the event.

Why Do You Do This?

Acts 1:1-8 contains an incredibly speedy review -- Jesus came, taught, died, resurrected, and taught some more -- which sets the scene for the next three verses. He promised again the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would empower the disciples to tackle their God-given mission. Then "he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight."

"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going..." Makes sense, doesn't it? This Jesus, their Savior and Teacher and Lord, was not just leaving, but leaving in a pretty spectacular manner. I wonder how long the disciples would have stood there watching if not interrupted by the "two men dressed in white" who prompted them with this question: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?"

It reminds me of the question asked of the women by two similar figures at Jesus' empty tomb: "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5), and it reminds me that God does not meet my expectations of how the world works.

Travel Time

The Apostle Paul was intentional about discipleship in its many forms. He was a preacher and a teacher, but did not limit his discipleship to the crowds. He invested in individual people, in individual conversations. Perhaps no one was so thoroughly influenced by Paul as young Timothy. They spent time together -- not just "doing ministry," but traveling, eating, talking. I imagine they both challenged each other and grew quite a bit through those times.

That's what a lot of world-changing discipleship looks like -- friends talking about life while sipping coffee, parents talking with their kids while driving from place to place, groups of people chatting before and after church on Sundays. We are shaped in significant ways through our everyday relationships with others.

I'll be going to youth camp again this year. It is not an insignificant distance -- around seven hours of drive time each way, in addition to the usual stops. Because camp starts in the morning, we will leave the day before and stay that extra night in Idaho. Practically speaking, the distance adds quite a bit of expense and inconvenience to the whole experience. But there is far more to life than speed and convenience.

I'm looking forward to the trip because it is an opportunity to invest in relationships with these young people, and I pray that God will guide and bless our time together.

Take time to evaluate

We finished up a series of small group lessons on prayer last evening. At the close of the lesson, we spent some quality reflecting on what we had learned over the last several months. I enjoyed the responses that came from various people, but the one that grabbed my attention was a young man who said "I never considered myself a guy who prays all the time, but I have found myself talking to God throughout the day." From that comment, I knew the topic had penetrated his heart and God was drawing him closer to Himself.

Taking time to listen to the impact of God's Word on someone's heart helps us to know if what we are teaching is changing lives and helping them on the journey of following Jesus.

Works For Me

I tend to be a very relational guy. For me discipling is all about the journey, the relationship. It is not about having the right curriculum, God already gave us that, nor it is about having all the right answers, I don't. As Jesus walked with his disciples he often assessed their understanding of himself, of the Father, of the mission. One of those times, out of his time of communion with the Father, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" This opened the door to a new revelation that the disciples may not have been able to articulate had he not asked. Good questions help those we are discipling to think through what they think, believe and know in the depths of their hearts. Good disciplers practice forming questions until they have developed a habit of asking the right question at the right time to help those they are discipling come to a greater understanding, and a deeper commitment to following Christ.

Filling Cracks in the Heart

We're touring the District this week for the annual SDMI training event. This year, we have been enjoying the company and teaching of Pastor Hal and Debbi Perkins. They are passionate about and committed to making Christlike disciples who, in turn, also make disciples. This is the life to which we are called.

Hal and Debbi are parents of four grown children. Their parenting years started with a set of triplets and grew again with the birth of the fourth several years later. I love Debbi's account of the significant role Hal played in the life of their son David during a particularly difficult time. The video below tells that story, including the impact years later.

Finding Simplicity

A week or so ago I spent Saturday attending the annual district women's event hosted by Nampa 1st church. The theme was "Breakaway to the Simple Life." I came away with an increased longing in my soul to find ways to "keep it simple." I even made a plaque in one of the workshops to remind me! The simple word "Simplify" gently challenges me to let go of burdens not meant for me to carry; it helps me say NO to the empty promises the world offers; it calls me to a place of quietness where I can hear the Voice that matters most. As I listened to the speaker and overheard conversations among other women at the event, I am struck by how full and busy and complicated and noisy we insist on making our lives because we think we need to have it ALL, when ALL we really need is standing at our heart's door gently knocking.