Immanuel Homecoming Week

Jeremy swinging the sledge at the car. Awesome.





Are these girl pants or boy pants?






Men in Black.


Happy Youthing

Lift Letter and PSA

Fellow Youthers-

Hello all, instead of my usual babbling on about things that are relatively meaningless in my opening paragraph I am going to be productive, and let you all know something incredibly important; both of my fantasy football teams won this week, with great performances by Matt Schaub and the Denver Bronco defense. Don’t be confused, I am not a Broncos fan, as a matter of fact I am very bitter about the Broncos being 6-0 mostly because regardless of how well my teams are doing, Pastor Craig’s always seem to be doing a little bit better, even when they are supposed to.

So, two things, first, the High School ministry went to see Immanuel’s performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as we had a few of our youth involved and it was fantastic, we took 12 students and 3 leaders to go see it. Secondly, The Great Pumpkin Chase Volume III is this Sunday Night and we are still deficient in the driver area. If you are available to drive Jr. High and High School students around for a little over an hour please give me a call 305-4868, you don’t have to have a student in the group to volunteer either. One last thing, out on the horizon is the High School Lock-in in December, it will be the 18th-19th from 9pm to 7am and the cost is 25 bucks.


In Him,

Peter Anderson

Raising Dorks

Raising Dorks

Here is a brief little article about raising dorks that I think speaks to teens trying to walk the tight rope between social acceptance and reckless abandonment to the Lord. Enjoy.

Starbucks Studying

I came to Starbucks as I usually do on Thursdays to study and dig a bit deeper. Last night at Reality Jr. High I talked about the importance of community and consequently today while reading 'Total Church' by Chester and Timmis, this is the topic they are tackling. Granted, this is what the majority of the book centers around but I saw a quote I wanted to share.

"this cross-love is the primary, dynamic test of whether or not we have understood the gospel word and experienced it's power. Not our doctrinal orthodoxy, as important as that is. Not our ingenious strategizing, as fascinating as that is. Not our commitment to preaching, as vital as that is. Not our innovative approach to planting, as radical as it may be. It is our cross-love for each other that proclaims the truth of the gospel to a watching and skeptical world. Our love for one another, to the extent that it imitates and conforms to the cross-love of Jesus for us, is evangelistic."

I thought this was powerful and convicting especially for those of us in leadership positions in the church. What are we more concerned with, what we are preaching on Sumday or who we are preaching to???


Happy Youthing

Thoughts from Dallas Willard

Abandonment in Christ equals Joy and Peace. It doesn't seem to go hand in hand that abandonment, something that sounds a lot of times painful and a lot like giving up, would go hand in hand with joy and peace, but that is exactly what Dallas WIllard is talking about in his book Renovation of the Heart.

The question remains, what exactly does that mean, and beyond that, why does joy flow from abandonment?

According to Willard, "Peace is the assurance that things will turn out well. We no longer strive inwardly or outwardly, to create some outcome. To be a peace with God and others is a great attainment and depends on graces far beyond ourselves and our own efforts."

So when we are at peace that means that the grace of others and of God are overflowing, we are receiving them and that is awesome, but what if someone decideds not to extend you grace? What if someone condemns you over something you did to them or refuses to forgive you even though you have done all you can to deal with the repercussions of your sin?

Then we need to think about who it is that is condemning us (reminding ourselves that it is not God) and "draw on the abundance of it (grace) from God." If we remind ourselves that ultimate grace comes from God then we are assured that we can pursue peace with all people, even those who condemn you. And once we get to this point we are okay abandoning our lives to Christ, to get full peace and joy in Him, because He knows what gives us life and life to the fullest, He knows the desires of hearts and he knows the plans He has for us, all of which to prosper us and not harm us.

So when we are secure in the grace that God gives us then we can begin to live in joy and peace, fully.

September 1 Lift Letter

Alright, alright, putting aside the fact that the Giants swept the Rockies (there goes my job security, sorry boss) we are still doing ministry around here. Now in the past I have told you about how we are in an exciting time in ministry and probably used really cool lingo like; “we are rolling” and “this is peachy keen,” and what not, but let me tell you, we are rollin’ in this peachy keen time of ministry! Now as September is officially here and the cool 99 degree breeze is upon our cheeks, let us think about change and reflect upon the newness of this season of life, back to schedules and waking up early, packing lunches and attending sports games.

That’s how life is around Selma FBC as well, we are back to our weekly routine, and beyond that we are into our competition series for both the Jr. High and High School students. This means that on Sundays and Wednesdays your student has been placed on a team and are competing for the championship of the world. Points are based on attendance, bringing new people, winning the games, and wearing their team wristbands and colors when I see them at school. Speaking of school, Tuesdays I am at Selma High, Wednesdays I am at ALMS and Thursdays I am driving out to Immanuel.

Once last little announcement, the Junior High Lock-in is this Friday and it is going to be radical(radical…really?)! It starts at 9pm and goes until 7am, dinner is provided as well as entertainment and a great night of friends and a message at midnight. The cost is 20 bucks for the whole night and when you think about it, that is less than hiring someone to babysit for a night, and we are entertaining them. So drop your student and one of their friends off at 9 and don’t be late to picking them up on Saturday, as I would like to recover a bit on Saturday. Any questions, give me a call.

Lift Letter for July

It has been quite a June and frankly, other than the heat, I can’t believe it is July. It seems like just yesterday I was on vacation in Cayucos with my family relaxing in a scorching 74 degree heat (okay, it was just yesterday). Bottom line is, I am rested and glad to be back with you all in our booming metropolis and Rasin Captial of the World. But onto the important things.

Camp is a few short weeks away so if you have not gotten your forms or your deposits in, I need them as soon as possible or else you will incur a late fee, sorry. If you want more info about camp and what is going on at Sugar Pine this summer you can either check out their website at www.sugarpine.org, or give me a call at the office and I would be glad to answer any questions you may have. On August 2nd there is no High School Reality YM due to camp and on July 15th as well as the 29th there is no Jr. High Reality YM due to VBS and then Camp. Lots of changes, but roll with us as we navigate through our choppy Summer schedule.

Other than that I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who supported our Mission Trip to Glorieta both with your prayers and your generous donations. We were in the thick of what God was doing down there and it was awesome to see our students respond to it. We will be sharing more on Youth Sunday on August 16th.

Rebuke

I am drawn to Titus at the end of chapter 2 when Paul talks about using the tools he has described to not only teach but also to rebuke. We have an obligation as followers of Christ to make sure other followers are not damaging the faith, essentially we are called to be intolerant of the sin in others lives.

Granted, the way in which we do this is of utmost importance. If we are merely calling people out due to our disdain for their actions and the way they live their life then that is not biblical at all. But if we rebuke out of love, showing them that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, then ultimately we are doing them a favor.

I had breakfast with a friend of mine this morning who told me not rebuking someone is like not telling someone when they have a disease. If someone is sick, you don't shrug your shoulders and pretend like everything is okay, you do the hard thing and tell them what is wrong, and then walk through the appropriate course of action with them.

I have been rebuked on numerous occasions, sometimes by those close to me, other times by people who I barely have a relationship with, and it never gets easier to handle, but I am thankful for those conversations because I am a better person for it now.

A favorite quote of mine, and speaking from a believers perspective, is this, "Tolerance is the weakest of virtues."

Labels

After reading my brother-in-law's blog about getting caught up in the differences in life and faith I decided I wanted to weigh in as well, because it amazes me how so many people hear the good news of Christ but are still so affected by things as basic and laughable as labels.

Now don't get me wrong, I am just as petty as the next guy, but last I checked we serve a huge God, a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever as Hebrews 13:8 puts it. A God that has called us to be one body with many members in Christ. So why is it that things as man-made as political affiliation, monetary gain, and the color of our skin get pushed into the Sanctuary? Why is it that we need to have a small group with people who think exactly like we do? Why is it that money separates believers from communing with each other? Why is social status a big deal even in the church?

The cross was one of the most humiliating ways to die, it was, "The most wretched of deaths. (Josephus)" It was such a horrible way to do that "The ancient philosopher Cicero asked that decent Roman citizens not even speak of the cross because it was too disgraceful of a subject for the ears of decent people. (Cicero, Pro Rabirio 5.16)

The cross was a horrible horrible excruciatingly way to die, yet our massive God, creator of everything you see around us, the being who spoke Half Dome and El Capitan into existence, the being who knew grapes would wither into raisins, the being who filled the oceans and made everything work in a delicate balance, the being, went to the cross for all of us. That being, died one of the most painful and degrading deaths imaginable for us.

And we sometimes have the audacity to talk about churchgoers behind their backs, to stick our noses up at the people who are different than us. The cross was supposed to free us from our sin, our pride, our differences from each other and embrace one another as brothers and sisters united under the banner of Christ. Sadly, we dont always see that happening.