Posterior Posterity
May 29, 2008 Uncategorized
This picture of Dan, JR, and I was taken Saturday night at a wedding:
This picture of Dan, JR, and I was tattooed Thursday night on Kevin Judy’s rear end:
We have been immortalized.
What is the Gospel?
May 27, 2008 Uncategorized
As I am flying this week, I will be working on some conference messages I am giving over the course of the summer and in several of them, I have been asked to give a message “on the Gospel.”
Normally, this would not be a hard message to give. But I am learning that a lot of people out there have some pretty divergent views on what the Gospel is.
So, here’s my question for you: What is the Gospel?
Without looking anything up in the Bible or anywhere else, give me your answer in the comments section of this post. I am very interested to see what everyone writes. Then, sometime in the next week or so, I’ll post a general outline of my message I am working on.
Congrats, Jane
May 26, 2008 Uncategorized
Congrats to Jane (my wife’s sister) who is getting married to this guy:
Booed? Seriously?
May 25, 2008 Uncategorized
I got “booed” at in church today.
Not sure why…maybe this picture will give us a clue of some sort:
The Morning Fog
May 24, 2008 Uncategorized
Last week, Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman’s 5 year old daughter died when she was accidentally run over in her own driveway.
It was heartbreaking to many people around the world.
This morning, my friend Susan died unexpectedly of an infection that hit her bloodstream. She was only 30 and left behind a husband and 2 year old son. I spent the whole morning with her husband who is “feeling lost.”
It was heartbreaking to me personally.
I can’t help but think of this verse:
James 4:14
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
Chapman’s family is different this week than it was last week. Susan’s family is, too. This is the nature of the world we live in.
And now, I’m sitting alone in a restaurant trying to process all of this. I have to deal with it now because in less than two hours, I’ll be performing a wedding for some other friends. Then tomorrow, another wedding. I have to pull out of sorrow to celebrate joyfully with these two couples. .
Oddly, my greatest source of comfort are the words of Susan’s husband. To each person who came by the hospital today, this “lost” man said the same thing:
“God knows what he is doing. Susan and I met fast, fell in love fast, had a kid fast. Now I know why…God knew this was coming and he wanted us to have this short time together, because he knew it was all the time we had.”
Wow. What an example of a man who is both grieving and standing firm in his faith in God’s sovereignty. His words also strike me in another way. Susan, knowing I was teaching on homosexuality a couple months ago, volunteered to share her story at Riv. I asked her, “are you sure?”
Her response?
“I think that God wants me to tell my story now. I don’t know why, but I am convinced this is the right time.”
It was indeed the right time. For those of you who missed it, here it is:
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Have fun with Jesus, Susan. Thanks for sharing your life and story with us.
We’ll see you soon.
Isaiah 61:3
To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the LORD has planted for his own glory.
Fatherly Pride
May 23, 2008 Uncategorized
Any regular reader of my blog knows about our family’s growing obsession with baseball. Who knows, maybe we’re living at the start of a Heikkinen Baseball Dynasty.
Regulars also know that my son Jesse has been pitching this year in a competitive league. I have been so impressed with how well he has done, especially since he is so young. When I watch him play, I find myself thinking, “that boy has a gift!” Of course, every dad thinks that about his kid, so read that with a grain of salt.
This week, he pitched an amazing inning and I was beaming on the sidelines. He rushed over to me and almost jumped into my arms with excitement. I was thrilled to see my son use his gift.
As I sat back down in my lawnchair, I thought about this verse:
1 Corinthians 12:7 - A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
God the Father has given each of us a gift–we are wired to do something well. How excited he must get when he sees us using our gift! It must be somewhere in the neighborhood of my excitement when my son uses his gift.
I am Jack Bauer
May 22, 2008 Uncategorized
That’s right. And I didn’t even try to manipulate the results.
Times, they are a changin’
May 21, 2008 Uncategorized
Something just dawned on me: I am only teaching in the current Riverview auditorium one more time. (Technically, 3 times but only one weekend.) After that, we will be in the new building!
Wow.
I am so excited about the new facility and the opportunity to reach more people for Jesus. I’m almost giddy. OK…I am giddy.
Go Penguins!
May 20, 2008 Uncategorized
Would this be a bad time to mention that I’m a Penguins fan?
Southpark Pastors
May 20, 2008 Uncategorized
Thanks to Gary for his rendition of Riv’s pastors (sans Mark).
Food and Conscience
May 19, 2008 Uncategorized
I must be a prophet.
A year or so ago, I was teaching at Riv on “Brotherly Love.” You can watch the whole message here. Specifically, I was teaching on what to do when you disagree with another Christ-follower on an “open handed issue,” which is a non-sin issue that people have differing convictions on.
Here is a 1.5 minute excerpt where I predict what may be coming for the church in America:
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Well, I was right–this issue hit Riv last week. Sunday, we had a fund-raiser for our outreach in Mexico. As part of the event, we roasted a couple pigs. All in all it was an amazing event, with lots of support raised to help out orphans in need.
The week before the event, a member of our church, who is either vegan or vegetarian (I’m not sure) was concerned about us roasting pigs. She felt it would be better to have a vegetarian event. Suffice it to say, it snowballed to the point that PETA got involved. They sent us a letter and even placed a PSA on a local radio station asking us to have a vegetarian event instead. It was all very fascinating to say the least.
The best part of the whole thing was the example JR (the guy overseeing our Mexico stuff) set. He could have gotten into a big scriptural debate with the Riv member, but he didn’t. He could have ignored the whole thing, but he didn’t. Instead, he responded very graciously to her concerns. Here’s the note he sent:
Thanks for your email concerning the fiesta next Sunday. I really appreciate you sharing your conscience and convictions with us about the pigs and using them to feed people at the party.
While I completely agree with your statements about all animals being God’s creation, I don’t necessarily share your convictions about eating them. I certainly want to respect and honor your conscience and convictions in an area such as this even though I would suggest this is not a black and white or wrong and right “sin” issue.
That is probably one of the things that I love most about Riverview. We live by the principle that we obey and submit ourselves to the things that are clear in the Scriptures as sin. After that, we follow the laws and authorities we’ve been placed under by God. Finally, we yield to our conscience and convictions concerning the things that the Bible is silent on! Living by this principle together is a reflection of what Biblical community is all about.
Again, thanks so much for your willingness to have open dialogue and remain in community with one another - even when we disagree about things.
Great job representing Jesus well, JR. So glad to have you on our team.
Hipster
May 17, 2008 Uncategorized
My boys got some hipster sunglasses last week.
Last night when they were hanging out with my dad, I realized where they got their style.
The Best Teacher Ever
May 16, 2008 Uncategorized
My wife homeschools each of our kids Kindergarten - First Grade. It was been an amazing thing, because they really are able to get pretty far ahead and start public school with quite an academic advantage. I have always been impressed with how well Grace does at teaching the kids. She doesn’t stress them out, but has a really laid back approach that fits our family well.
I always thought she was the best teacher ever. Now, I know it to be true. I stumbled onto this note that Ethan gave her on his last day of homeschooling (which was this week).
Is Jesus coming back on June 7th?
May 15, 2008 Uncategorized
I am always fascinated when I read about different religious leaders predicting the end of the world. In fact, Grace and I watched a special on this the other day. Ironically, when the promised date goes by, these leaders never seem to be bothered by the fact that they were wrong and the world still spins.
Even more fascinating to me are pastors who predict when Jesus is coming back. Now, I firmly believe Jesus is coming back one day to set up his kingdom. I just don’t think we get to know when; heck, Jesus doesn’t even know when.
Why do I mention this? Because I just read online that Jesus is coming back on June 7th. It’s such a lock that the pastor predicting it writes this:
Dear readers, you have only 29 days left from the time I am concluding this study, until the coming of our Lord to rapture His people to glory. You can use this time to do those final things you think you need to do. Or, you can use this time to study, pray, fast, witness, set your spiritual house in order, and seek to draw closer to the Lord than you have ever been. The choice is yours! May God give you the grace to make the right choice. And may God have mercy on us all during the next 29 days.
I always wonder what the first church service after one of these dates passes is like for the pastor who predicts Jesus’ return.
I will say, though, how ironic it would be if he is right. Because the weekend after his predicted date is the first weekend we will be in our new building. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
You Have Seriously Got To Be Kidding Me
May 15, 2008 Uncategorized
This, my friends, is a real toy. Wow. (via A Picture is Worth 1000 LOLz)
I wish…
May 14, 2008 Uncategorized
I seriously wish I had time to learn how to do this (via inultus):
My Vote Will Count
May 14, 2008 Uncategorized
I have finally decided who I am voting for for President.
Competitive Baseball
May 13, 2008 Uncategorized
Time to brag like a good dad. Jesse made it onto one of Holt’s competitive baseball leagues! That means that his last game with the Parks and Rec Division was last Saturday and his first competitive game was tonight. Crazy tight schedule. His team didn’t even get a practice game in before tonight, all they did was assess the players.
And Jesse got to be starting pitcher again–here’s his first competitive pitch:
Thanks for Praying
May 13, 2008 Uncategorized
Thanks to everyone who prayed yesterday. It was a great planning time and we got a lot accomplished. In fact, we didn’t even stick to our agenda, but jumped off into a few other conversations that we have been meaning to have.
The bottom line is we are trying to figure out how to effectively care and shepherd such a large church (that is only getting bigger). I really feel we made some big steps yesterday and you’ll be hearing more and more being announced over the next couple months.
The Likeness of…
May 13, 2008 Uncategorized
This morning, I was reading this passage in the Bible:
2Corinthians 3:18
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
It’s an awesome thought that we are being changed more and more in the image of Christ. It is a deep and profound theological truth. Too bad Jesus doesn’t look like Dave Grohl, because if he did my friend Jason would be the most Christlike person in the world:
